Silver Lining works as a Hunter, a freelance investigator and hired guard in Canterlot. Life has never been simple, but when what should have been a routine job throws him together with a newborn vampire, things quickly become much more complicated.
Warning! Contains straight shipping and original characters! :P
Coverart made in Krita. Editing by JBL. Pre-read by TheLetterJ to chapter four; Pre-read by Hat after.
Pegasi "magic", vampires and gumshoe detectives. I'm getting a Dresden vibe as well.
You have my interest.
I'm enjoying this so far. Wouldn't mind seeing some more of this story.
I have high hopes for this story, keep on rolling Not-A-Hat!
Looking forward to reading more!
Tavi's got moves, you don't expect a band nerd to pull off that kind of gymnastics.
The plot is coagulating.
Another lovely chapter, eagerly looking forward to more.
Thank you for the story!
It is nicely done and it is very interesting, I cannot wait for the next chapters
And do not be discouraged by downvoters, please.
I believe in this case those are simply jerks who downvote because they see Octavia and straight shipping in story description. Judging from comments I do not think those even read the story itself.
I've noticed that stories tend to accumulate more positive thumbs as they grow in length, so don't feel discouraged if it starts out mediocre.
As for the story itself, I like how you've got things structured so far. The POV switching isn't a problem as long as you make it apparent in the first line or two who is telling this or that portion of the story.
Octavia's demeanor is rather endearing in this portrayal of her, she's got some wit and a bit of a charming attitude.
5641985 Yes, I like 'urban fantasy' a lot. Hopefully I can pull off a decent one. Hopefully I can decide which direction the plot should run, before it starts scabbing over...
5642717 Will do; I don't abandon projects lightly.
5643778 As my antithesis demands, so shall it be!
5645479 One of the things I'm aiming for with this story is to write both strong male and female leads. Octavia is not intended to be at all inferior to Silver, although her strengths lie in different areas. I just hope I don't go overboard in either direction.
5645901 Yeah, I figured I'd get drive-by's on this story. Hopefully now it's out of the 'new stories' list, that will slow down.
5646054 Thanks! The viewpoint should be predictably on/off, and won't switch without the chapter ending, although this might mean some short chapters in the future. Hopefully I can keep it consistent enough, I'm glad you're enjoying Octavia's character. This is the first time I've written a first-person female character - ever. Her watchword here is 'sly', so I hope she stays entertaining and likeable. And although the downvotes are discouraging, I expected some drive-by's on this story; hopefully they'll slow down. At least the comments have all been positive, which is great.
5645479 Well, 'Tavi is a preformer, it wouldn't surprise me if she does some form of yoga or exercise to keep herself fit when she's going to be seen on stage.
So I'm really liking Syzygy. He's that one polite guy that no one really knows how to think about him. Curing vampirism? Noble visions of its origins? Taking ponies to his labs... An enigma, for sure.
I'm also very ok with the direction(s) this story is going. If the conversation between Silver and Syzygy was any indication of how things will go, that's fantastic.
This is good! I like it for a few reasons. This take on Vampires is new to me, and I like it. Octavia is my favorite pony and I always need more of her, and seeing her not shipped with Vinyl for the trillionth time is awesome! Even more bonus points for it being a straight ship with Octavia! Because that is super-rare.
I'm looking forward to this. Keep it up.
5660375 I know, right? I don't have anything against non-straight shipping, I just find it hard to relate... I went the direction I did with vampires for a few reasons, at least partially because the Wikipedia article mentioned they'd been portrayed as 'vermin' in movies before, and I liked that thought. And everyone needs more Octavia. I don't abandon stories lightly, so stay tuned!
5659821 Thanks! It's great to hear my characters are interesting, and even better that my portrayals are working as hoped. I definitely want to have a mix of both intrigue and action here, so I hope I can keep writing to that level. Things will get more complicated further in, so... fingers crossed.
5662897
+100500 to BronyTom's words. I too like characters and I like how the story is developing.
I really don't get why this fic has so few likes... you've hit a lot of topics which normally get a lot of positive attention (vampires, Octavia/Scratch, angst) and you've handled it well and with some intriguing original content as well.
On the other hand, you have a 1:1 ratio of tracking to likes, it seems, which is awesome. =D
I think you might need to consider throwing this at a few appropriate groups to get some attention.
One way or another, very interested to see the future of this piece. :) Looking forward to future updates!
5671297 Well, it is only nine days old. That's almost two upvotes a day, which is higher than average for the beginning of my last serial. (I think. Maybe I should keep track of this...) I'm sort of glad it didn't attract too much attention on the 'new stories' list, because that's where most of my downvotes happened. It does have some ideas that attract attention, but they're not paired in the way people expect, which I'm sure annoyed some.
Groups are a good idea; I'll look for a few soon, maybe on the weekend. I think there's a straight shipping group, which would be a place to start. Feel free to add it wherever you think it fits, too.
Tune in next Sunday, around four, for the next chapter!
5666727 Thanks!
This is a pretty interesting story so far. I'll admit I was hesitant on reading it since I'm not much into vampire stories. However, this is pretty entertaining so far, so I'll fave it to see where it goes. Keep up the good work!
So she's going down this road now. There's no going back any more. Interesting to see things play out.
Also, I know that feel. If you need motivation, I've found that having other people to work with can be helpful.
Good update. I'm glad to see that Octavia is now aware of her condition. This feels like the calm before the storm, though.
5687595 Simply having an audience does a lot for my motivation. Having a pre-reader is useful, but finding thoughtful ones is hard. TheLetterJ is kinda-sorta not around a whole lot these days, so maybe I should ask another friend.
5687962 Thanks! I hope I can get some real story moving soon; I have ideas, but crystallizing them may be tricky. I hope to remain entertaining, though!
I'm not a fan of the whole 'loner' archetype when it comes to characters. Having trust issues is also a little overdone. It's not really a problem here, but it is something that I felt was worth noting.
It was fun to see him fly against a dragon though! Hopefully things go well at his new job.
5719544 Yes... go well... I think that happened to one of my characters. Once. :P Nah, it probably won't end in disaster, but it's sure to be interesting. Dragons and college kids.
I hope to keep my characters from being stereotypical, so if you see me sliding into that, please let me know! I do appreciate your thoughts. I confess, keeping him likeable is a little worrying to me; I don't want him too angsty or too powerful, and it's a fine line right now. I'm hoping his back-story (which I've barely touched on) will be enough to make him realistic. And him becoming less of a loner, and more trusting, (at least a little) will be part of his character arc. Next chapter Octavia actually talks to him, and getting that right was pretty dicey. Still need my pre-reader's thoughts; I'm sort of conflicted on it.
I'm glad you enjoyed the game! I had my reservations, but it seems to have worked.
Thank you for the update !
Yes, the game was indeed nice
Looking forward to see Octavia and Silver in the next chapter
This is a really good story, lets hope octy doesn't get any feeling to bite anyone :P
Really cool chapter here. I loved all the little tidbits about dragons, and the game was fun. Poor Silver, though! A whole week at a college...
An AU tag would be a good idea, I think.
Another awesome update! I really like the new characters we met this chapter, along with the Gallery. Also:
Lost it!
5722358 Thanks! I hope it lives up to your expectations!
5745817 The chances of this happening... well. It IS a story about vampires.
5747171 Added! Glad you're enjoying it, and it's nice to hear my jokes get a giggle. I can't remember where I came across the idea of a 'private restaurant', but I remember liking the idea a lot. Perhaps it was a travel magazine? They seem perfect for cliques and intrigue.
I can't help but laugh at that warning, though I guess there is no other way to explain the ship in the description, but without further adieu, it's time for me to read your story.
I didn't have the time to read through this one until now, and it's been killing me all week. Now that it's finally done, I just want to say that I liked this chapter. Octavia's got class, and I love it. No complaints here.
5762287 Your continued enjoyment and comments make me want to post the next chapter sooner. it has Syzygy and Shimerelle; so far, side-characters who's names start with 's' have been lots of fun to write. Unfortunately, posting sooner would mean writing the chapter after that sooner... Anyways, glad you liked it. :D
5761756 Yeah, pretty much. :P Especially since this story is a 'slow burn', and there's no 'head over heels' in the first few chapters. I wanted to be clear, but didn't want to tease. I hope you enjoy it!
5763660 I like it, and now back to my HW so I can read the rest without going against my conscience.
5763660 Excellent, my plan is succeeding- er, I mean, who said that?
I really liked this chapter. You have very nice background characters.
Episode with guard helping to get the house and then drinking cloudwine was very nice and Shimerelle is adorable (I hope we will meet her again)
Well, and of course main part is good as always.
Moar!
Good update as always. I'm enjoying the rotating POVs. Keep up the good work!
5766201 What, a nefarious plan to encourage me to write more? How evil! :P
5774226 Thanks! I may need to find more ways to work Shimerelle into the story, because I enjoyed writing her a lot, too.
5775889 Thanks for the encouragement! I'm glad the POV thing is working well; it's been interesting, but I think it's helping me learn.
So far, Shimerelle might be one of my lesser liked ponies of this story. Too much of her personality resembles Pinkie Pie.
You didn't...
I vote that you should have gone with JBL's title suggestion, lol.
Great update! I'm glad to see the seeds of shipping being planted. And it looks like our heroes have a new mission... This should be fun.
Oh, and you're welcome for the promo! You deserved it.
5812663 Yes, I did what you see there. :P Still too many quiets? Ah, well.
"Cast off the dock! Hoist the anchor! Trim the sails! What's our speed?"
"0.1 knots, Captain!"
"Excellent! This ship is leaving port!!"
5806832
This is getting goooood.
Keep it up author!
Hmmm, I am now rather confused, WHERE ARE ALL THE VIEWS?!?!
Keep up the good work, I can't begin to tell you how great it is to come home after a ten day stint at work to read a good book while drinking my vodka, Cheers.
That bit with Gilda kind of came out of left field, and I'm not sure how I feel about it. It didn't feel essential to the plot that was going on in the surrounding sections of story, and it introduced a looooot of hooks that we are now dying to know about.
It's really nice to see our boy Silver starting to change with how things have been going. We'll turn him into a team player soon enough.
Interested to see what happens at the party, as well as when Gilda and Silver will run into each other again. Thanks for the new chapter!
5836449 Writing, writing~! :D Happy you're having fun!
5836859 I wholeheartedly agree, and I'll raise my whiskey glass to that. Glad you're enjoying it! And I don't sweat views; as long as a few people are reading, that's enough for me. They will come as they please.
5837523 It's intended to carry on from his meeting her in his previous chapter... but yeah, it may be somewhat disconnected. I'll admit, Silver's backstory is the part of this fic I'm most nervous about. I ask my pre-reader if I'm handling that okay nearly every time I bring it up. I do plan to answer all those hooks, though it may take some time to get through each one. Please let me know if you feel I'm being too obscure with things; I don't want to be a tease. I mean, not more than you enjoy, at least.
5838605 Looking forward to it? Good! I finished the next chapter today, and sent it off for pre-reading. You're very welcome, and thanks for the encouragement!
I just LOVE this chapter !!!!!
Thank you for update !
5840387 W00t! You're very welcome.
This was fun to read as well. Love the tactics here. Great update!
Thank you for update :)
Seeing Octavia doing daring secret agent stuff was unexpected but nice :)
They make a good team
Sorry it's been a while, glad to see the Dynamic Duo (TM) is in full swing. They work well off of each other's characters.
You know it's sad when people have to warn in the description that
>The ship isn't a poplar one
or
>It's a canon-x-OC ship.
Because the rabid shipper bigots will attack him for it instead of reading the story to see how the romance between them is. Who know it might be better then a canon-x-canon/popular ship when taken into context. Some ponies (Octavia especially) I just can't find any other canon ponies that I could see working with her.
>Vinyl's to different (sorry guys it's the truth)
>She wouldn't get involved with any of the members of her quartet (Fredrick, Beauty Brass, etc.) due to the fact it could effect the performance and/or professionalism from said member.
>Rarity's to much of a snob
Sometimes making an OC and shipping them with a canon is okay. At least in the sense mentioned above.