Read it Later story count: 268 (nc)
Just two stories today. There should have been three, but one had gone by the time I reached today. This seems to be happening more often than it used to, perhaps because of the relative ease of nuking Fimfiction accounts now. It's a shame, but there it is. Anyway, today's pair are:
The Life of a Quill: The Taste of Cold Steel by Quillian Inkheart
Twilight Spun... by Starscribe
★: 1 | ★★: 0 | ★★★: 1 | ★★★★: 0 | ★★★★★: 0
Note: I use a skewed rating system. A fic I find average scores two stars.
The Life of a Quill: The Taste of Cold Steel by Quillian Inkheart
Dark/Sad/Slice of Life/Human/Equestria Girls; 5k words; Jul 2018; Teen (Suicide/Self-Harm, Profanity)
Quillian has hit rock bottom. His dreams are unreachable fantasies and his hopes mock his every waking moment. He is existing, not living. Now, he reflects on his life as he considers the ultimte silence.There's a boldface note on the long description: "This is a seriously depressing story." Well, yes. Though if you read the end Author's Note, it's put into a different context, one that brings it home a little. The Quillian Inkheart of the story (yes, it's a self-insert) is in a very bad place after losing his girlfriend, his friends and his ability to write; we get to see some of the events that led him to this pit of despair. Slightly unusually for a fic like this, it's actually quite well written, with an actual story progression and an ending in what seems to be the right place. Although indeed depressing, it's not simply 5,000 words of edgy teen angst. So, why the one-star rating? Simply put, because this is not a My Little Pony story. There are a few Equestria Girls references sprinkled about, but they could be replaced with Earthly ones with absolutely no difference to the story. This is a fic about Earth humans, and I'd much have preferred it to be written that way without any attempt at a MLP link. Since PR is specifically a ponyfic blog series, I can't recommend this. ★
Twilight Spun... by Starscribe
Twilight and Starlight Glimmer
Random/Sad; 4k words; Jun 2017; Teen
Twilight Sparkle didn't consider what might happen when she used an "Object Possession" spell to check on her student. Now she has to live with the consequences. Forever.This, on the other hoof, absolutely is a My Little Pony story, one that simply wouldn't work in our world. It's inspired by the Twilight music box in "A Royal Problem", except that this time Twi has ended up stuck permanently in that form. Well, kind of: there's still a Twilight Sparkle out there – but it isn't her. The second and third chapters, which feel more original and imaginative than the first, continue the story well into the future. We get several intriguing hints about Starlight's own future, and when the fic ends you're not quite sure what your reaction should be to Twilight's situation. This is really rather clever. ★★★
Next time on Ponyfic Roundup: gasp in awe as Logan attempts actually to do his job properly for once! Just don't expect me to...
I think you mixed up your intros...
ReplyDeleteWhoops! Thanks; now fixed. The amusing thing is that it makes my "Next time" line even more appropriate...
Delete"Reflects on" There's another variation on that deadly phrase again.
ReplyDeleteHey there! I'm actually Quillian Inkheart from FiMfiction. I wanted to point out that my Fic, 'The Taste of Cold Steel' is a part of a long anthology of Fics, each one cemented in EQG and Equestria proper. This story, the only EQG one, was cemented as a self-inset that is coterminous with the other "Tales of a Quill" anthology. Unfortunately, due to my writers block, it's the only part of the anthology to be released.
ReplyDeleteIf you're interested in a more solid MLP story of mine, with HEAVY roots in canonical inclusion and continuity, go check out "Between Bassdrops and Bowstrings," which is kind-of my Magnum Opus on FiMFiction. If it's right and proper horse words you're looking for, then that's your Fic!
By-the-by, thank you for the Review. I'm sad that you gave it only one star because of something so capricious, but I do understand why you gave it. You went in looking for normal horse words, and found people words instead. Still, thank you from the bottom of my heart for the kind words.
If you're curious, I only just now learned about your review from the "Big Master Review List" put up by Singularity Dream from FiMFiction. His profile there has a section in his Library that links to a Forum post that... well, it's convoluted, but just know that your review is on that list.
Thanks one final time. I always love seeing what people think of my work.
Yours Truly, Quillian B. Inkheart
First up, thank you very much for taking the trouble to comment here. I always appreciate hearing back from authors.
DeleteI don't think I'd say I was "capricious" in my score. This is certainly not the first time I've given a low mark to a story for the reason I gave, and I don't think it's likely to be the last. It's fundamental to Ponyfic Roundup that the stories it reviews are significantly different from original fiction, however good.
FWIW, I would certainly have rated your story higher without this problem, although I'm not sure exactly what. It's very difficult for such a downbeat fic to get a really high rating with me, since I've always been open that my personal enjoyment is a big factor in the ratings I give.
the "Big Master Review List"
Ah yes. One of the great achievements of this fandom, if you ask me, and it's a real shame it's not more widely known.
As for Between Bassdrops and Bowstrings, it's already on my Read it Later list. However, at north of 100,000 words, it's not going to be something I'll have time to read any time soon. Some day, yes.
Not a problem! I don't get many reviews and I love talking with people who read my stories.
DeleteI suppose 'capricious' was a poorly chosen word. It came off a little more obnoxious than intended, on a later reading. I want to apologize for that.
Cold Steel was a very... sad fic, yes. Like you said, it carries most of it's weight because it's based on fact. Without that bit of information, the fic would be something even I would probably rate poorly.
Bassdrops and Bowstrings might actually be accepted by Equestria Daily shortly; the editor loved the story and suggested a few changes to it to streamline it better before it goes on the blog there. But yeah, it's a LONG story. I promise though, it's worth it. :)