Fic recs, November 23rd! · 7:05pm Nov 23rd, 2019
I somehow did not notice that I had already read Obselesence's Familiarity, rendering that reading by Scribbler, Agent0Fluffy and Flame Lionheart kind of moot. c.c; (I, uh, guess it's a redone version of the old reading? Since I already have it listed? What is going on? @_@)
She's also done a reading of Loganberry's It Doesn't Matter Now, with Illya Leonov and Quirky Craft!
Also, ScarlettBlade has started a reading of brokenimage321's Celestia XVII!
I'm trying to keep close tabs on the Youtube situation. I'm still expecting the worst, but recent disclosures are making it look less and less like an inevitability. In any instance, I want people in this community to stay informed and not act on panic (i.e., do as I say, not as I do). Sim Gretina has already taken his music down; do any fic readers around here have any plans to do similar? And if so, or even if not, how are we going to approach fic reading when people (i.e., mostly just me) can no longer save "kid friendly" videos to playlists? Do we have any ideas?
H: 1 R: 3 C: 1 V: 1 N: 0
Souls and Silicon by Syke Jr
Genre: Sci-Fi
Far in the future, Princess Luna awakens in darkness, a soul in a crystal jar.
Nice to see a sci-fi fic that doesn't need a bazillion words to get going, though I certainly would have read more in this setting. We get the bare bones of this far-flung future, precisely enough to understand what's going on, and it's pretty cool. There's some existential considerations, but mostly it's about Luna regaining who she used to be despite having become something other. The final victory is pretty hard-won, too, and presents a really cool image.
Recommended
I'd Like to Be a Tree by Totally_Not_Furry
Reading by ScarlettBlade
Reading by Mic the Microphone
Mature: Sex
Genre: Crack Clop
Fluttershy goes to Sweet Apple Acres to be with the one she loves.
It's fuck, actually. Fluttershy would like to fuck a tree. And in this story, that is what she does, and I am trying very hard to ignore the fact that this is not the first story like this I have ever read. So what do we have? Well, the situation is innately hilarious, as is a lot of the framing story, but the sex is played perfectly straight… which is actually still kind of funny, if you think about it. I've really got no complaints, this was everything it needed to be.
Recommended If You Like Sexual Comedy
Applejack-o-Lantern by Vineyl Scratch
Reading by Quill Feather
A perfectly suitable reading. I liked the little hints of voicing. And at least she saved the loud music for the end. c.c
Mature
Genre: Grimdark/Transformation
Discord asks Applejack to help with his Nightmare Night decorations.
If you ask me, this kind of transformation is always grimdark. c.c So if this had been written in the current year, it would probably have warning tags like Non-consensual, Fetish and probably Death. The thing it wouldn't be is not a complete retelling of the linked comic. I mean, it goes into a lot more detail, and even expands on the original a little, but the major plot beats are still the same and none of the expansion is in any way meaningful. As for who would like this, my instant thought is people into inanimate TFs, but… I mean, there's a really interesting section of Applejack discovering what it's like to be a pumpkin, but then you get to her experiencing being carved and it descends into I Have No Mouth territory. I just found this horrifying.
Vaguely Recommended
Unemployable Cutie Marks Anonymous by TheDriderPony
Genre: Comedy
What's a pony to do when their special talent won't lead to a job?
This story makes a big ask of the reader: Are cutie marks like superpowers? Can ponies have special talents that either don't fit them or don't fit society at large? If you can suspend your disbelief that much, you may be pleasantly surprised by this funny and somewhat touching story of misfits finding each other at last. For sure, the original characters are all great, even the ones who aren't as original, and they've all got interesting stories about how they got to where they are. (I particularly liked Lucky Die.) I was kind of hoping there would be more to than essentially just introducing the main cast, but the writing is strong and honestly, I can relate? You will too if you've ever struggled with self-worth or finding a place in the world.
Recommended
Don't Open the Door by Grimm
Reading by Robin Jacks, et. al.
Excellent reading! This guy's as good as Scribbler, and he's got the army of VAs to prove it. :) Moreover, he's a perfect example of how you can keep your voice low, perfect for this reading, yet still project. He's got a pleasantly light accent over a smooth tenor. Definitely check him out!
Reading by Quill Feather
Genre: Horror
Two ponies, one of them injured, spend the night in the wrong cabin.
On the off-chance this is not already the case, it's time for people to start paying attention to Grimm. This might just be the best pony horror fic I have ever read, and hopefully I can explain why. First, it does all the main horror stuff right: creepy atmosphere, slow pacing so we can drink everything in, a monster whose identity is revealed just enough for it to be scary. Also, solid character work. And that's the other thing it does right, that many other horror fics don't: these characters exist outside of this story. They weren't pulled into this situation just so bad things could happen to them. Something was happening before this story began, it continues throughout the events, the horror sets a wrench in things, they have plans for after it ends. Just… everything about this story works perfectly, in exactly the way it needed to for maximum tension and fear. This is really something else.
Highly Recommended
Futa Mares: A Dr. Seuss Story by WhatDidIJustRead
Mature: Sex
Genre: Believe it or not, this is Green Eggs and Ham but Pinkie Pie has a dick
I thought I had jumped the gun on this blog and needed one more review, but apparently I can't count. Well, anyway, can you blame me for wondering what this story was? It's hilarious, is what it is. And it's a testament to how far some people will go for a joke. The rhyme and meter could both use some work, but I am honestly 100% impressed by this. The author wanted to do something, and they followed it through. And there's also another one, oh boy. Highly Recommended for Terrible People.
Recommended
As much as I really shouldn't be adding anything to my RiL right now, this Grimm character intrigues me. I suppose just this once won't hurt.
Holy frick you gave me a heart attack. I've been listening to Sim since 2012 but I've been a bit out of the loop for the past few months and I had seen neither his YouTube nor Twitter. Thankfully, he made his videos publicーfor nowーso I know what I'm going to be doing for the next little while.
I'm freaked out about how many people are going to straight-up delete their content. Reading the liturature, I don't think any bronies or fandom creators are at any real risk, especially when one reads their guide.
Although the content is centered around a show produced for children, the show has a visible and well-known adult fanbase. If a YouTube channel is listed as not being for children and has nothing specifically targeting children I find it extremely unlikely that the FTC would try to make a prosecution. They might as well make a blanket sweep and say, "All channels that commentate on, spoof, parody, or in any other way portray content that could be construed as being directed toward childrenーand furthermore, any content that children might have interest in will be prosecuted." There are thousands upon thousands of channels that could, by skewed definition, be argued as being "targeted toward children", but among those channels even the largest brony channels are small fry indeed.
That's just my two cents. I'm sure you've seen them but these links are useful.
https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/blogs/business-blog/2019/11/youtube-channel-owners-your-content-directed-children
https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/childrens-online-privacy-protection-rule-six-step-compliance
5159681
It hasn't been entirely clear. It's getting moreso. There's still a ways to go.
Yeah, the Green Eggs and Ham one was kinda messy, but I had fun. The next one is probably my proudest piece of writing, so if you do read it, I genuinely hope you enjoy it. Thanks so much for the review, and I'm happy that you liked my silly story despite its flaws.
I'm a bit late to the party, but I wanted to come in here and throw out some (hopefully not needed) reassurances that, at least in my circle of acquaintance, I don't know that any fic readers are planning to go anywhere just yet. A couple of us are considering contingency plans in case things do go south, but a lot of it is a wait-and-see thing. Youtube does a very good job of making the things it does look a lot more catastrophic at the outset than they will likely actually turn out to be.... which doesn't do it any favours, really, but also has me wary of going into a panic over much of what it does.
5160937
Youtube does do that. Thanks for posting, I'm out of the social loop of fanfic readers these days and hadn't heard anything at all so far! :B
5160982
Glad to be of some help ^~^
The folks I know are keeping one another in the loop about what the real situation is as more information comes out. So far, what it looks like is Youtube is trying to press its responsibilities to the FTC onto creators, who are then lashing out at the FTC instead of at the proper culprit. And those responsibilities are... not to collect data from users under 13 for the purposes of targeted advertising. IE Youtube has been getting away with illegally using data from under-13 users to target ads based on their usage when other similar sites have been strictly following the rules - ergo, Youtube basically now has to fall in line and be Neopets circa 2005 and/or every other website with a mixed audience and limit social (aka info-gathering) functionality for child accounts if parental permission is not given to collect data on sites/videos/etc they visit.
When I read all that, it explained more clearly to me why some videos marked by users as "not for kids" can still be re-marked "for kids" by the system - because the intent is less about demonetising those videos or penalising content creators who make adult-directed fandom content from child-friendly source material, and more about making sure that content that has kids as a primary or secondary audience can't have personalised adverts on it.
The only major problem here is that Youtube has decided to treat content creators as responsible for its data-gathering, which is the real root of all the fuss over those giant fines. The way that it came out at first gave a lot of people the impression that it was the FTC that had decided this, but it was actually all on Youtube's end of things.
5161304
Yeah, the more time passes, the more it becomes obvious Youtube really are the bad guys. They're just leveraging the fact that most people haven't heard of COPPA or the FTC to get back at the FTC. And by "leveraging" I of course mean "implementing changes purposefully poorly to anger the userbase". :B
5161414
Sometimes the love of money really is the root of all evil. xP