Fic recs, April 6th! · 7:55pm Apr 6th, 2020
This month's much needed Flash Fiction Online includes meeting a space monster, endless parading, and hitchhiking robots!
So this is going to end up being Xycron edition. FandangoTV and Murtage33e both took down all their pony readings, and Xycron only has two left, with no extras, then transitioned from readings to Let's Plays. Now the only pony content he posts is Gmod related, so that's not enough to devote an entire blog to. He's still active, though!
H: 1 R: 4 C: 2 V: 1 N: 1
On the Transience of Adelasters by WritingSpirit
Reading by Luna Farrowe, ShadowOfCygnus and Cloud 9
Sequel to Cascade! Clouds Above, Obfuscate!
Genre: ScratchTavia/Horror
Vinyl and Octavia's cabin weekend in 'paradise' turns horrifying.
This is currently the last of this 'series' of stories, and the audiobook my final destination in having read the rest. Again, it has nothing to do with any of the previous stories, that I can ascertain, which is just fine. A bugaboo, though: I looked up the word 'adelaster' before reading this, just in case it was important thematically. It's a botanical term, so it's an actual word, but here it's given a new definition, as the identity of the creature stalking Vinyl Scratch. This jarred me simply because there doesn't seem to have been a reason to use the word in this way, and thus I have no idea what the title means. But that's ultimately a minor thing; this was good, creepy horror. Straightforward, though there is at least one twist, and I was pleased that the worst that happens isn't the worst it could have been. That would have been narratively unsatisfying. So yeah, this is definitely worth it if you want to be creeped out, and doubly so if you listen to the reading. :)
Recommended
Epitaphs by Baal Bunny
Reading by Midnight29
Genre: Light Dark Comedy
Rainbow Dash and Applejack got on the topic of how they'd like to be remembered.
Everyone's written stories like this — I know I have — and they tend to come in two stripes. When poorly done, they're just a communication of the author's headcanon, maybe with a punchline, applied to each of the Mane Six in turn. When done well, as this one is, they utilize or even inform the characters, though they still tend to lack heft. That being said, this is a nice, fun, short read, an oldie but a goodie. It was unusual and pleasing to see the Mane Six talk about a subject as sticky as death, I particularly liked Applejack's plan for herself.
Recommended
The Mason Jar by Syke Jr
Genre: Sad
A pony wanders the land, searching for the right place to open her jar.
This is a very simple piece about letting go, and for having been written in an hour with no editing, it's pretty good. I'm not actually sure there's anything else I can, though I will mention the way a certain character's name is given right near the start kind of rubbed me the wrong way.
Recommended
My Path by Silver Moon
Reading by Scribbler
Genre: Slice of Life
I don't have to be afraid of the Everfree Forest, so long as I stay on my path.
The draw here is of course trying to figure out just who or what Fluttershy's mother is, that Fluttershy can only visit her in the forest. Was she raised by some strange, monstrous denizen thereof? Is she a tree? The answer is maybe less imaginative than I would have liked, but this still succeeds at providing a well-written first-person Fluttershy.
Recommended for Fluttershy Fans
Let Me Snuggle You. by ThatAverageDude
Reading by VisualPony
Genre: AiE Comedy
Anon doesn't want to snuggle with Princess Cadence, no matter what she does.
Well, this was a time. :) I'm all for Cadence pulling off this "acting stupidly out of character to get something unimportant" deal. The pacing was snappy, and I found myself laughing a lot. It's dumb fun!
Recommended for Laughs
Stagnancy by PegasusMesa
Reading by Goombasa
Reading by Voiceguy
Genre: Drama
Rainbow Dash hasn't been herself lately. Rarity tries to find out what's bothering her.
This is a story about something very important, though if you ask me, it doesn't quite go far enough. Falling out love with someone, not being as "in love" as when you first started dating, is a very natural part of relationships, but it can tank the relationship of someone whose expectations are wrong. Still, the message here is about the importance of communication, and it is important, so it's a necessary first step. Rarity demonstrates a number of equally important social cues as well, and in all, this is a really solid portrayal of a failing relationship in which one of the members never even makes an appearance.
Recommended
Second Best by Mist Twister
Reading by Xycron
Genre: Slice of Life
The problem with this story is it's very flat. Applejack reminisces about a lot of things, adding some depth to her backstory, but those details are later told by her to Apple Bloom. Everything's just very matter of fact, and the heck of it is that through it all, we're shown affirmations of what it is she's good at and why she's valuable. Important, since the final scene is her listing off her friends' best traits and comparing herself negatively to them. An unusual decision, we don't get a lot of angsty, introspective Applejack, I just wish this had been better executed.
Vaguely Recommended
Friendship Is Manly by MnM
Reading by Xycron
Genre: Random Comedy
Point 1: The writing is extremely flat and telly, and the 'plot', as it were, is the broad strokes of The Return of Harmony. Point 2: Trying to explain kanashiipanda's classic videos or make them make sense in the show was a big mistake, and also led to a lot of the telling. Point 3: I don't know if I'm alone in this, but I always felt the "Friendship Is Manly" videos were of a part aligned with, say, that meme of the skinny dork and three buff dudes using computers, or those "Buff Dudes" comics I see on Twitter occasionally. The idea being that one can be masculine without being a douchebag, and that manliness includes respect for others. Instead, the characters in this story are douchebags concerned primarily with working out and fucking bitches. Then again, I didn't know "body lifter" was a term until I looked it up, and I had to figure out what "natty" meant as I went along, so what do I know, I guess.
Not Recommended
Broken Record by Somber
Reading by Poniverse
Genre: Drama
Once, Rainbow Dash broke every flying record, because she was Rainbow Dash. But with time, training and ingenuity, those records are slowly beginning to be broken themselves.
Does it need a shipping tag if the shipping is canon? I am of course talking about canonical post-show AppleDash, or CP-SAD, which is what it made me. :C First story I've read with it, though, I'm pretty sure, and I'm pleased with how their relationship is portrayed. However, that's hardly the point. This is a story about what it means to grow old, viewed through a lens of sports records, training and doping issues. It hits hard on every cylinder, as we watch Rainbow struggling with wanting to keep her records and having the authority to make sure they remain. Also worth noting, this is maybe the first flight fic — a subgenre I've never had much interest in — I've seen done well, because the stakes aren't "will the race be won" but how the characters feel about the race being won. There are a few typos, but nothing too bad. Don't let them stop you from reading this excellent piece.
Highly Recommended
Ah geeze, you reminded me of the Friendship is Manly videos, I had entirely forgotten those existed
I mean, not like it's really canonical, and if it's not the focus of the story...
Suspension of disbelief snapping
5237285
You heard it here, folks! :O
Got anything more recent you'd rather share? :)
Broken Record is a great story and does not fall into the "sad because character old" tropes these damn kids won't stop writing about. It has a more mature rainbow dash deal with complex feelings. Almost what you'd expect from a Spitfire fic, appropriately.
5237864
By all means. :D
5237285
If I may ask, how old are you? I always assumed you were around my age (27)
5240811
Well happy early birthday! Enjoy the last year of your early 20s! I turn 28 in 8 days >_>
5240829
Normally I celebrate by doing
and sellinglots of drugs at BABSCon, but that's obviously not happening this year.I'll still probably do lots of drugs though.