Underappreciated Author Spotlight: Jay Bear · 7:04am Feb 27th, 2021
Y'know, I'm kind of running out of candidates for these. (No, that's not a plea for you to fling suggestions at me. Not yet, anyway.) I do still have a list I haven't exhausted, but it's getting shorter. It's hard to find people who meet my criteria:
1. Obviously, I must have read enough of their stories to get a sense of the overall quality. That's already pretty hard to meet, as I don't do much reading beyond things I'm reviewing, and everything I'm reviewing is by request, one way or another.
2. Just as obviously, enough of the stories I've read must be high enough quality.
3. To be considered underappreciated, I arbitrarily set the threshold as being fewer than 500 followers. I've featured authors above that, but not by much.
Why is Jay Bear worth a follow? After the break.
Jay Bear is user #32 on this site. Wow. I joined the site 3 months after him, and I'm #1924. So he was here right from the beginning. I didn't create an account until I needed to post a story, but I was already using the site at the time Jay Bear was posting his first stories. Unfortunately, something got screwed up with his original account, and he lost it right as the fandom was starting to explode.
I didn't start doing much editing and reviewing until late 2011, so I was reading a lot when I first joined, and that's right when Jay Bear was posting his stories on that old account. He only had 3, but I read 2 of them. However, I don't remember a thing about them. I was reading too much for any one thing to stand out, so I honestly couldn't say whether or not I liked them. His first story, "There is Always a Way," got featured on EqD, for what it's worth. The second one, "Late Bloomer," was as well. Looks like I left a comment on that one saying it was a pleasant read. Those are the two I've read. Then he lost the account in early 2012 when the fandom was really starting to explode after having accumulated only 18 followers. However, lots of readers didn't bother creating accounts back then, since you didn't need one to vote or leave comments at the time.
Skip forward 4 1/2 years, and Jay Bear decided to start posting stories again. By then, he'd missed the fandom's peak readership, plus he's only posted 8 stories in the 4 1/2 years since, so that's a tough road for getting followers. The new account has 76.
Of those 8 stories, I've read 5, and I liked them all. I think those 5 were all featured on EqD as well, but I don't know if any of the other 3 were ever submitted. If they were, I normally at least have the first chapter marked as read, since I dip my toe in pretty much everything that comes through the queue.
First up is "Corrigenda," which is a crossover with Puella Magi Madoka Magica. That's not a series I've watched, though it is in the list of ones I'll get to. It's near the top of that list, too. Anyway, this and one other crossover I read already pretty much give me the plot of how the series goes, so now I know all the twists. That's beside the point, though. It really depends on how specialized you can expect your audience to be, but in general, it's a good idea to write a crossover in a way that readers unfamiliar with either property can still understand the story without feeling like they're missing important context. On this site, it's safe to assume the reader already knows MLP, but as I hadn't watched Madoka Magica, I didn't feel lost here at all.
These stories typically go one of two ways: have characters from both shows encounter each other, or cast one show's characters in the roles of the other's. "Corrigenda" does the latter, and again, since I hadn't seen Madoka Magica to this point, I didn't have an opinion on how well the MLP characters take those roles. But of course, they don't necessarily have to. It's enough to bring in the other show's premise and universe without duplicating the characters in it.
So judging this as a standalone thing, I enjoyed it. Now, part of that "not having a lot of time to read" means also not being able to keep up with longer stories. At the time I read it, only 8 chapters had been posted, so I didn't pick it back up after that. 6 more chapters got added later. In short, I don't know how things turned out, but from what I did read, I liked the exploration of how Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash would react to the situation. That doesn't lock them into a course of action. Fluttershy's timidity could make her want to avoid becoming involved, or she may express her kindness by wanting to help people. My point is that either way could work for either character, provided the story gives that justification, and that's what I liked best about it. It takes its time showing how and why each of them (and additional characters, as we learn about them) decided whether they wanted to participate in hunting witches. I'd recommend it as an action-drama anyway, but especially if you like Madoka Magica.
Second is "Errand, Errant". This won't be the only story about changeling special agent Myrmarachne. The well-known animation error in the cover art becomes the inspiration for a changeling who gets caught trying to juggle multiple impressions at once. The format is interesting as well, written like a mission report back to his superiors. And it's a rarity in that the use of dialogue actually feels justified in a report format. Yeah, he probably wouldn't remember it word for word, but I get the sense he's just winging it and doesn't care that much about accuracy, since none of it ever sounds particularly formal. There's nothing deep here, but it's a fun, quick-hit slice of life/comedy.
Third is "We're Eggspecting!" This story got inducted into the Royal Canterlot Library. Gallus and Silverstream are a couple, and while they'd consulted medical experts about whether they could have children, the answers they get are speculative. But then it happens. And Gallus isn't sure how he feels about this. Part of the issue is that the child will be Seaquestrian royalty, and he doesn't even have the beginnings of a grasp on what that will mean. Another part of it is that it figuratively boxes him in, which is an unpleasant sensation for him, given his claustrophobia. Yet another is just the enormity of the change that's about to occur in his life. The whole thing is this contemplative look at becoming a parent, and it rings pretty true, for those who have been through it. It's told from Silverstream's perspective, so the reader gets to figure out along with her just what's eating Gallus and why. A lot of stories like this would choose Gallus as the perspective character. Either one can work, but in this case, I like the choice of Silverstream, as she's naturally a little on the clueless side anyway, so she provides a good vehicle for having to explore Gallus's reactions rather than just having it all click with her right from the start.
Next up is "Butter, Bitter," which returns to changeling special agent Myrmarachne. Now he's up to dosing ponies with... well, he doesn't even know what. He just knows the delivery medium is cookies, so he needs to disguise himself as a baker and get a business set up. This means getting approval from, of all ponies, Zesty Gourmand. Things seem to be going very well until Zesty makes a clumsy pass at him (while he's disguised as Sweet Biscuit), and then... well, I won't spoil it. The ending is very clever, but unfortunately does require Myrmarachne to drop Sweet Biscuit as one of his cover identities.
Last is "Good Changes, Mostly." At some point in the future, long-distance phone service has been established between Griffonstone and Equestria, meaning they no longer have to wait for the mail to communicate. They're even offering free samples on a public phone installed in the town square. This gets Gabby thinking about how she doesn't regularly keep up with Spike anymore. If they had a phone at the palace, she could just call him. Except this phone business means less demand for the mail, and things are getting rather tight. There's not enough work to keep all her colleagues busy, and the prospect of layoffs is looming. They can make it work, they can spread the routes out, less work for each of them. At least everyone still has a job. But the writing's on the wall. Then she finally does get a call through to Spike, and... it's not the joyful reunion she was expecting. Things are different now. Friendship never really goes away, though. This is a nice exploration of how friends drift apart, but if the friendship is strong enough, it doesn't go away altogether. Especially as a lot of the fandom is aging into people who are going off to college and going off to get jobs and start their new lives, this is a nice piece for endings that don't have to be endings.
These stories are consistently good. Consider giving Jay Bear a follow.
Check out my previous underappreciated author spotlights:
Casca
Lucky Dreams
Ceffyl Dwr
Miller Minus
Impossible Numbers
Newcomers Edition with PapierSam and President Dead
Middle Ground Edition with Chris, PatchworkPoltergeist, and Norm De Plume
NaiadSagaIotaOar
Orbiting Kettle
Interesting and it’s good to see people promoting good writers on here
This one is also an excellent read:
- MLP: FiM
- Dark
- Horror
Campfire tales never scare Gallus. At least, none did until he heard Silverstream’s monster story. Now he’s possessed by an unshakable urge: sink to the bottom of the ocean.Seconding the recommendation for Jay Bear
Also you should feature Magnet Bolt. Yes, they have a lot of followers but considering they’re like literally one of the probably top 15 writers on this site by quality, they should have many many more.
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MagnetBolt has way too many followers for me to consider as underappreciated. If people aren't finding him on their own, they're not trying.
Plus I haven't read enough by him to form an opinion on his writing or do reviews. That's the response most suggestions will get, which is why I didn't ask for any. I did start "The Witch of the Everfree" and didn't like it, and I haven't read anything else by him.
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Magnet is nonbinary.