Fic recs, February 18th: Top Ten of 2020 edition! · 8:54pm Feb 18th, 2021
Toldja I was doing another one today! :V
You know, despite how often these top ten blogs lead me to having to read extremely long stories, I actually really enjoy the format? Like, I'm kind of sad I only have to do one of these a year now. It's a great excuse to read random stuff, often including things I've been wanting to read but never had the chance to. And in case you're unfamiliar with the format, here's the layout of each review:
Title of Top Ten fic
List of other recommendations from Also Liked list, underlining those I’ve reviewed previously
Commentary on the selection
Title and author of fic selected from other recommendations, like usual
Genre like usual
Review like usual
Recommendation like usual
Remember, these are the ten best stories I read last year, regardless of when they were published, and the fics I'm reviewing are related to them by site algorithm. If anything. :B Okay, let's do this.
H: 1 R: 6 C: 2 V: 0 N: 1
Days of Wasp and Spider by Luna-tic Scientist
Final Solution; By Way of an Apology; A Method to His Madness; Outside the Reaching Sky; Harmony Theory; Directive: Grow; Stormsinger
Huh, looks like Luna-tic Scientist has a fairly loyal following. Lots of adventure and sci-fi in here. Plus a reminder that Harmony Theory and Directive: Grow will never be completed. :(
It Will All Be Over Soon, Princess by Luna-tic Scientist
Genre: First Contact
Contact between Equestria and the human world had been peaceful, until it wasn't.
The Adventure tag on this story is a really odd choice… yet, if Luna-tic Scientist had picked an actual fitting tag, it might have given the whole thing away. In the same way, I don't want to give away what happens here, save that this includes a lot of very interesting and original takes on what might happen when crossing dimensions, along with a strong message about not letting fear get in the way of trust.
Recommended
Discursive Formations: phantoms forever by The Red Parade
My Little Investigations: Wonderbolts Under Fire; What Makes It Stop; Wonderbolt Academy; The Imperial Ace; To Live, Love and Die in the Sky; Fire & Rain; Juggernaut
Nothing but Wonderbolt fics. A few romances, but mostly either military or flight fics at first glance. This story is not quite what you'd expect if you like those...
Trial by Fire by Fahrenheit
Genre: Internal Drama
The sky is blue, and she does not belong in it.
On the surface, this is just a really excellent piece wherein a young Spitfire is a late flier because she feels like the sky wasn't made for her. The convolutions of child logic this takes the reader through are fascinating, painting a brilliant picture of this would-be Wonderbolt completely alien from the one we know. And I can't help but feel like this was all a metaphor for something, a metaphor I cannot grasp, which tells me something about what it might actually be. Regardless, to anyone who ever wrote a story about flying that I read and was like, "ugh, boring," this piece is made out of what yours was missing. This is the importance of flight.
Recommended
Fang and Flame by horizon
The Heart Beats Still; Through a Glass Darkly; Doctor Caballeron and the Convention of Consternation; End Realm; The Prince, the Mockingbird, and the Dreadful Twilight Sparkle; Return to Sender; Under a Luminous Skyfall
Lots of comedies, romances, adventures, and more than one spy thriller? Okay...
The Sum of Our Parts by Aquaman
Genre: Sad Shipping
What I really need is for Apple Bloom to not see me right now.
Well, this was really great. I never expect less from Aquaman. :D It's a solid look into the character of a grown-up Diamond Tiara as she tries really hard to convince herself she doesn't regret not hooking up with Apple Bloom. Also, I realized, it's the first piece of post-canon-Diamond-Tiara-reformation-DiamondBloom I've ever read, though I'm sure it's not unique in that regard. Yup, it's just some really good shipping.
Recommended
The Irony of Applejack by Mister Friendly
The Advent of Applejack; Winds of Change; Solitary Locust; Mirror's Image; The Three Sisters: Extended Family; Princess Celestia: The Changeling Queen; Without a Hive
Changelings, changelings, changelings! And they're all really damn long, too! Well, I guess this is as good a time as any to get into the sequel...
The Irony of Applejack Aftermath: A Warm Hearth by Mister Friendly
Sequel to The Irony of Applejack
Read by Fimfiction
Genre: Drama
After all she's been through, Applejack just wants to celebrate Hearth's Warming in peace. But given what she is, that's unlikely…
I've always said the world of MLP:FiM is a poor one for exploring real-world racism. At some point, no matter what you do, your metaphor is going to break down because real-world races are not different species, nor do they have different magical powers from each other. But you can still use fanfiction to explore the concept of racism itself: how to spot it, how to deal with it, how to handle one's own prejudices, and so on. That's what this story does. Does it do it well? Ehhh… I hate to call something from 2014 "outdated", but really that's correct. This is much more concerned with getting along with people despite their differences instead of because of them. Plus, Twilight's ultimate solution is akin to, if not equivalent to (again, real-world comparisons break down) blackface, which… yeesh. The one thing that surprised me about this, though, was the would-be antagonist: Verily Vermillion, an uptight stage director who's in charge of the Hearth's Warming pageant in Canterlot, where the mane six star. She's the kind of character who the main characters misread completely in order to bring their own flaws to light, which I usually hate, but even if they tended to come directly before the big reveal, there are clues for the reader to see to know that Twilight and company are on the wrong track. As for the rest, it seems like a good stopgap between Irony of Applejack and its major sequel, giving us some indications of how life is going for changelings living in Equestria, and getting AJ more used to being herself around ponies. Though I will say, it's got the same writing problems as the original, and given that this story isn't anywhere near as epic, that kind of brings it down.
Recommended If You Don't Mind Constant POV Switching
A Lady Fit for Royalty by Fillyfoolish
Rarity Catches the Flu; Lamentations; Le Coeur a ses Raisons; A Touching Nightmare; Twice the Proposal; The Perfect Present; RariTwi: Love Is War
Oh look, lots of RariLight! A couple of these were last-minute additions to the RariTwi Bomb which spawned this top tenner, so I went with one of those.
Spaghetti by _Moonshot
Genre: Shipping
Rarity and Twilight discuss the sentience of noodles, and death.
I love how, as butt-nutty as the opening of this story is, with its hilarious literal spaghetti incident, it's just as capable of diving directly into the big questions of life. And that's pretty much the sum total of this story, but that's really all you need. It's quite the pleasant surprise. :D
Recommended
Looking Glass by Krickis
Playing House; Acts of Love; Finding Home; In Pieces; The Setting Sun; Empty Sky; The Open Road
Gee, it's like Krickis wrote a series of stories so good, everyone wants to read all of them! Guess it's time to dive into the next one finally.
Inner Strength by Krickis
Read by Fimfiction
Genre: Romance/Drama
After overhearing Fluttershy admit she likes mares, Twilight's life turns upside-down.
Hey, did you know Krickis is a really fucking good writer and this is pretty much every bit as good the amazing Looking Glass? Cuz it's true. This is great on so many levels, I don't know where to begin.
The reason so many bite-sized shipfics are unsatisfactory is simply because of their length. Sure, you can tell a good story about a major event happening to a couple, but then your readers want to know how they got together. You can tell a story about two people getting together, but then the relationship simply becomes an endpoint. You really need something like this, that's novel+ length and can get into nuances, intricacies and ups and downs beyond just "will they kiss at the end", to really make a highly satisfying romance.
And oh boy, this story is great because it covers so many different things, and again, with so much nuance. Coming out is of course a big topic, and not even that is presented as a simple choice. Not everyone can or wants to do it at the same rate or in the same way. Communication being a major part of a good relationship is another big theme, with a message of it being easy to say that you need to communicate, but actually communicating well is hard. Mental health is a big angle, from facing your fears to not letting the negative voices in your head drown out the positive ones outside. And really, though many of the specific relationship tips are more about dating a celebrity, this is also concerned with supporting a significant other who's undergone major trauma. Because of course, being in a relationship won't fix you, but a partner who knows how can certainly support you as you deal with your baggage.
(And here, I must give the author major credit for properly priming the reader to deal with the eventual revelation of that trauma. There are hints all throughout the story, many of them quite unsubtle.)
Characterization is another high point. Everyone's written well, but I have to give special shout-outs to Pinkie Pie, who's not a major character, and Luna, who is. Krickis's Luna is quirky, headstrong, self-confident and quite the troll, and she's always a blast to have on-screen. I of course loved both Twilight and Fluttershy, whose headspaces are shared throughout the story, because they both reflect my innermost foibles. There's also a notable OC, which was a surprise, who just leaps off the page and makes herself important in the latter half of the story.
Are there any downsides? Not really. The editing mistakes are well within tolerances for a story this length. I could be uncharitable about this being a story where Twilight gets her wish of being with Fluttershy after having a lengthy crush on her and doing nothing about it, but the actual initiating event is much more nuanced than that. It is worth noting that Applejack is portrayed as homophobic at the start, but even then, after I got over the initial disappointment at what is often a stock characterization, it quickly became apparent that this was all done with intention. She grows and changes over the course of the story, eventually getting over her initial discomfort on learning two of her friends are attracted to mares, and it is very pleasing to watch her do so. :)
So in the end, this is a great fic, and I really can't praise it higher than by saying it's exactly the kind of shipfic I've always wanted to read.
Highly Recommended
The Six Deeds of Harmony by Defoloce
What It Is, My Quagga?; Mankind Triumphant- Relic; The Sisters' Coronet; 2986 Steps; The Power of Popularity; The Proper Etiquette
Not a single one of these stories has any relation to another. o.O What the heck, algorithm?
A Day in the Life of Average Statistic by _NAME_
Read by Fimfiction
Genre: Slice of Life
Nothing of note happens.
The mystery of who this author was ends at the very second line of the story: RIP Rcw99. :B (Though why does it say you're not here if you were last seen 2 hours ago, huh?) Anyway, what is it about an author saying that nothing happens in a story to make you automatically distrust them? In this case, the intro is completely true: nothing happens in this story, at least nothing of note. It's slice of life to the core, and our protagonist is completely unremarkable. It's honestly sad, though. Whether or not you find the unremarkableness of Average's life unfortunate, the narrative is aware enough to point out a lot of the things he's missing out on in his day to day life. The story's honestly quite good, but those desiring some kind of payoff for their time might find themselves wanting.
You Get What You Pay For
A Sweet Taste of Cake by The Descendant
The Brief, Torrid Love-Affair of Fernando the Straw and Madame le Flour; Rhubarb; Mrs. Cake Loses It; Sugarcube in the Corner; Empty Nest; The Girl Named Pinkie Pie; The Father of My Children
People who like Descendant's writing like it so much, I had to go to the Similar tab, which is pretty much all stories about the Cakes. And some more by the Descendant.
The Sweetest Love. by hghmpegasister
Genre: Romance
Interestingly, this is Youngverse related. :O It's also the author's only story, and it's clear they didn't have a lot of writing experience. This is pretty bad. The jammed-together single lines of dialogue in the second chapter did me in.
DNF: 2/6
There's a Monster Under the Stairs by Grimm
Freeze; Don't Open the Door; One; The Lights Between the Trees; Vertical Vertigo; Overcast; The Price You Pay
Oh look, horror fans like reading horror! And they all read the Halloween in April contest! :P
To Be Seen by Seer
Reading by Scribbler
Genre: Horror
Rarity is woken by a noise in the middle of the night, and that by itself is worrisome.
Daaaaang, this is what I want to see from horror fics! It deals with fear of fear itself, putting on a brave face, and the thing lurking in Rarity's storage room, and we never get a solid answer about anything. The entire story is about vagueness, the way the passage of time blurs even the sharpest memories of childhood, and I dunno, I thought it was really cool.
Recommended
Three Second Chances by TCC56
Glow in the Dark, Shine in the Sun; All That We Are; Two Words; Bizarre Happenings; At the End of Ambition; The Ending of the Beginning; Scenes from a Life (Post-Villainy)
No surprise that everything is focused on the Murder Trio, specifically Cozy Glow. Got quite a few sequel trees in there, too!
And I Would Live in Stone by Grimm
Genre: Tragedy
Once, I was weak. Now, I am stone. I am strong.
Outside of creative reformation stories like Three Second Chances, this is what I want to see: Chryssy defiant to the end. :D This is a long string of her thoughts as she and the others of the Terrible Trio are visited time and again by Twilight Sparkle — sometimes once a year, sometimes much, much longer — and asked whether they want to try and do good. The whole time, she wrestles with her identity, her sanity, the passage of time, and somehow, hatred and anger keep her going. Don't get me wrong, she's clearly nuts — her standards over who gets out first and why are ridiculous, for one — but even if that wasn't the best way for her character to go in canon, I've always liked it. Yes, this one was for me. :)
Recommended
Thank you so much for your extremely positive review here! I'm flattered you thought so highly of this story, and I enjoyed reading your final review almost as much as I've enjoyed your continuous running commentary in the comments! I'm very glad to hear Applejack's portrayal won you over in the end, and that you found Amber so endearing. All in all just ecstatic reading this review, thank you again!
Hey, I've read "To Be Seen." I thought it was alright, but I never had enough context to be afraid of anything. It did convince me Rarity was genuinely afraid of it, but I never got enough sense of why it scared her or what it was even capable of doing to have any dread of my own.
5456623
is ver gud storee yis
There’s no click link to your top tens favorite stories! 😱 QwQ now I must copy paste and do some extra work to find these wonderful fics (what a chore, but may add to the adventure)
5456782
Here ya go. :)
The only reason I've never done it in the blog itself is... well, I've never done it. c.c I dunno why. Maybe because I figure you've read the stories by now? Or just so they don't confuse/take the spotlight away from the new reviews?
5456821
*pats your head*
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Trial by Fire is great, and Fahrenheit is criminally underappreciated.
Honestly floored you picked mine in your top ten! I definitely do have my own mixed feelings about that piece like I talked about in the blog for that storied so I'm super stoked you liked it so much :D
Thanks for the shoutout and thanks for taking the time to review these stories!
5457339
What can I say? It pushed all my buttons good. :)
I looked at this and read the stunning review of Krickis' excellent story and didn't even notice I was recced in the top 10 until Nonchalant pointed it out to me.
I am good at reading 🙃
Thanks for the recommendation. Seconding what The Red Parade said :>
5457396
You did a good. :D
The entire mainline series for Who We Become is worth reading. The next pony-world story (Finding Home) is my absolute favorite of the bunch. I also really, really like In Pieces. Enough so that I capitalized it and used a comma between the "really"s. Amber is a great character.