Read it Later story count: 222 (-4)
Slightly against my expectations, I've managed to get through three stories, which is just about enough for an edition of Ponyfic Roundup! I don't have a great deal to say about them beyond what I'll put in their reviews, so let's do a quick run-down of what's on the dissection table today:
Byte sized by Sir Hat
Ticklesprites by Holocron
Untwisting the Knot by Flashgen
★: 2 | ★★: 0 | ★★★: 0 | ★★★★: 1 | ★★★★★: 0
Byte sized by Sir Hat
Rainbow Dash, Roseluck, Vinyl Scratch, Berry Punch and Noteworthy
Comedy/Slice of Life/Human; 15k words; Nov 2013–Jan 2014; Teen
It started with one: one little pony that decided to crawl out of my monitor. Now I'm stuck with a load of tiny ponies. Things could be worse. Things could be worse though they're entertaining to say the least.This is a really odd take on the "ponies arrive in the real world" setup. The ponies are, as the description suggests, much smaller than they usually are in these fics, small enough to go in bags. The human protagonist and various associates summon them in ever-increasing numbers. This should lead to madcap fun, and some of the time it does, especially when various ponies are running around bouncing off each other – usually metaphorically. One problem, though, is that more than once both human and pony behaviour ticks over from bizarre to creepy, such as when Noteworthy is sexually harassed by in-heat mares to the extent of (implied) actual assault, and this is played for laughs. Or when the main character asks whether Rainbow needs to go to the little fillies' room for a "one" or a "two". The more pervasive problem, though, is that the author is apparently trying to write a (southern) English narrator – and fails spectacularly. It's not just the use of Americanisms like "faucet", it's the trying-too-hardness. "Bloody rectum was speeding [...] Bloody arse", for example. Even in a comedy, it's nails-down-blackboard level to anyone remotely acquainted with actual British English. Unfortunately, for me that made the story an utter slog, even disregarding the creepiness. ★
Ticklesprites by Holocron
Mane Six and CMCs
Comedy/Random/Alternate Universe, 6k words; Mar 2017; Teen
The Cutie Mark Crusaders accidently open a portal that summons tickle bugsHere's another super-prolific author – 123 published fics as I write. Sweetie Belle, who is remarkably magically proficient, is responsible for the spell – and, later, for helping Twilight fix things. In between times, we get some mildly amusing scenes in which the ticklesprites behave, as their name suggests, like a very tickly version of parasprites. There's not much substance here, but with the ridiculousness played up a bit more it could have been quite funny nevertheless. It doesn't gel, though, and technical errors abound: "the white filly Unicorn filly Sweetie Belle" is fairly representative. ★
Untwisting the Knot by Flashgen
Rainbow Dash
Drama, 3k words; Nov 2019; Everyone
Sometimes, Dash feels a knot tightening in her chest. She can't seem to loosen it alone.Third time lucky this week? Yes! At this point I should say that I know exactly what Rainbow Dash is going through in this fic. I've always found stories interesting that depict a contrast between a character's public face and her inner feelings, and this is one such, though she isn't herself the narrator this time. The story is set in the aftermath of a party Rainbow has been to, at which she's outwardly been the brash show-off everypony knows – or thinks they know. We share her doubts and stresses and discomfort and fears about her friends. Been there, Dash. Been there. I'm not entirely sure I like the way Applejack deals with things – but that's really my only reservation, and it's a small one. Recommended. ★★★★
Next time on Ponyfic Roundup: stories reviewed should include Dave Bryant's Conference.
Welcome back!
ReplyDeleteOh dear, "bloody rectum"? Oi oi gorblimey bleedin' Martin Poppins guv'nor. I always wonder what media somepony has consumed to think that's how British people speak. The Ragamuffin Effect!
I've no idea what the picture comment is about but I'm slightly worried now.
Thanks!
DeleteI don't know why I didn't think to mention Ragamuffin, actually. That accent is pretty close to how I imagined this character would be speaking. :D
I won't be posting the picture, because I don't want it on my blog -- to my mind, it's racist plain and simple. I'll give enough of a description to explain, though. I can't say it's something I've especially enjoyed finding out about.
It's at times like this when I feel glad I'm insulated from The Fandom (TM) at large - I still have no idea what you're referring to but it doesn't sound great.
Delete(also "Martin Poppins" is quite the autocorrect, sorry about that!)
On the plus side Untwisting the Knot is a keeper, so yay!
It's not great -- though not an existential threat to the fandom or anything. I hope to write up my thoughts in the coming few days, and I'll certainly explain more then.
DeleteI thought "Martin Poppins" was deliberate! I rather liked it. :)
And absolutely. I have social anxiety, so it was an interesting experience to read.
I enjoyed Flashgen's story and helped him with it a bit. I have quite a bit of social anxiety myself, but I didn't take that as Dash's problem. She seemed more fatalistic, with a pronounced lack of confidence. Sure, those things can accompany social anxiety, but they don't have to. This felt close to depression to me, where it's more likely you'll avoid social interaction for fear of seeming stupid or annoying to others. Straight-up social anxiety is closer to dreading the interaction itself, regardless of how you'll be perceived for it. At least that's my experience, and I'd gotten the impression that's how it is for most people, but maybe I'm the outlier.
ReplyDeleteI don't have depression, so it's hard to say. It's possible there's a Transatlantic difference in the definitions of social anxiety symptoms -- the NHS's is pretty broad. (For comparison, here's the page on depression.)
Delete