Fic recs, August 21st! · 6:55pm Aug 21st, 2019
Remember when I mentioned being interviewed by NPR? Well, none of that made it in, nor does it look like anyone else from the fanfic side of the fandom, but the article's out now. I can't be disappointed, it's such a good news report. :) Thanks, James.
MagnetBolt could use some help, and he's taking emergency commissions to cover it!
So I'm working on two editions simultaneously, which is great, because I'll get them both done around the same time. However, they both include long stories, meaning I'm not going to get them done in anything like soon time. :B So here's five really short fics off the Read-It-Now list I keep saying I'm going to get rid of but never do.
Also, I wanted to try a new format with this. And while I went ahead and did it, I don't think I'll be sticking with it, for a number of reasons. You'll see what I mean when you go below the break and smash that fucking like button
H: 3 R: 1 C: 1 V: 0 N: 0
This one's from this year's Trotcon speedfic panel, so I got to hear the author read it once already. :) This story is amazing for a couple reasons. First, we've got a very strong friendship between Cheerilee and Vinyl Scratch, both as fillies. Second, there's an incident that takes place before the start of the story that leads Cheerilee's classmates to mocking her, but though it's strongly suggested, it's never really confirmed exactly what happened. Third, Vinyl is mute and communicates in sign language. The specifics aren't gone into (likely for the best), but this becomes a major plot point in the middle of the story. This is just a really strong look at friendship, when you come right down to it. Shouldn't all ponyfics be?
Highly Recommended
Sequel to Exiles
I think the language the ponies speak has changed slightly from Exiles, and that is something I just cannot get over. :D Who writes on a large enough scale to show language evolving? Ahh, watching Luna console her sister when we all know good and well what lies ahead for them is so heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time, and that's why these stories are great. This becomes a fantastic look into the power of memory, as Celestia frets in the early cusp of immortality angst, a trope whose name I invoke only so that you'll know it's done well here.
Highly Recommended
Wow. This was some intense horror. We're inside the head of Spoiled Rich, motivation to shedding some of her typical demeanor by intense fear as her home is harangued by a malevolent spirit of some description. It's the sensation of fear as experienced through her that makes this story work, as every terrified movement she stumbles through is relayed to the reader in pure visceral detail. This was really something else, and a standout in the "ponies facing original horror" genre.
Highly Recommended
I don't even feel like I can properly review this one. Taken at face value, it's surreal as hell and maybe even a little bit scary? Looking even slightly under the surface, I wondered if I shouldn't be ignoring the echoes of anti-Objectivist criticisms of The Incredibles. And once you get started thinking like that, it's all downhill. But a comment fromJediMasterEd clears up what the author was going for with this, to which I can only say Twilight works really poorly as both mouthpiece and anti-mouthpiece, and this isn't the only story of Jaxie's I can say that for.
Recommended Only If You Like Deep, Philosophical Stuff
This is another one from this year's Trotcon speedfic panel, which means I also got to hear the author read it, but also she's new on the site so go say hi. :D But yes, I still recall watching yarnmouse be reduced to tears in the midst of reading her own story, because she is such a sweet person and her writing is great. What will guide your reaction to this story will be how much melancholy you can take at this moment. It is just a bit melodramatic, but that's the only downside. The melancholy is there so it can be washed away by the end, and this has such a great turn for Vinyl Scratch. I really love the ending; make sure you check it out.
Recommended
Ugh, yeah, looking at how this blog looks, I hate it. D: Worth a shot as an experiment!
Eugh, blegh, it's so fucking ugly! D: I'd undo it if it didn't mean having to redo all the pre-review info manually!
*reads NPR article*
Huh. Makes me wonder if any other news outlets thought the End of Bronydom (so to speak) was worth some attention.
I've considered going to the embed format myself a few times, but I like my current style far too much to do so. Maybe if I could adjust how the embed looks somehow, but meh, why mess with a system that works?
5109579
Centered, it might look better. That's what you do for cover art, but I dunno, I think the cover art looks better. :B
For me, the embed takes out needing to write down the title, author's name, genre and summary, but I also like doing those latter two, and when I go to put everything in my spreadsheet, I have to do it off a post preview, because the authors aren't there.
Yeah, I like the old style better.
As for... EDIT: [snarky comment deleted]
You could probably just leave this review on all my stories preemptively.
Thanks man. Glad to know you liked it. :D
I like embeds more
5109613
I don't know that I'd say I did, but I also don't think I'd say I didn't either. :B Not helpful, I'm sure.
I'm on the fence about the format, but I do like the way you gave different summaries than the author does.
And wow, I didn't think you'd like House Guest that much. I think I enjoyed writing it more for the characterization than the horror. The little bits about how Spoiled feels about Diamond, what she can do to the cans... those are the little touches that I love putting in or reading in stories. Especially when they're plot relevant, they add so much to the characters.
Story embeds
? What is this madness?
5109783
Crap, that's what. :P Enjoy it while it lasts!
5109685
I just got burned pretty hard there
5109866
Sorry. :C I don't get your writing these days.
5109932
I went from a young entrepreneur who worked 14 hours a day because he honestly believed he could change the world, to a middle-aged middle manager at a company that only exists because we lobby politicians to pass laws saying our useless products are mandatory.
Like, not joking, I think it changed the tone of my work a little.