Read it Later story count: 93 (+1)
Words read this week: 22,805
And I'm back! Hopefully I'll be able to stay on a weekly schedule for a while now, but I'd better not make any promises. What I can promise, however, is a pretty good crop of ponyfics this week! Not the biggest edition of PR in terms of total word count, but quality trumps quantity and there's certainly plenty of the former on show today. Here we go...
Seasonal Shift Day by darkcyan
There's an Ocean Outside Your Front Door by paperhearts
Singles Combat by MrNumbers
I, Opaline by Rune Soldier Dan
We Are All Made From Silence by Lucky Dreams
★: 0 | ★★: 0 | ★★★: 1 | ★★★★: 4 | ★★★★★: 0
Note: I use a skewed rating system. A fic I enjoy an average amount scores two stars.
Seasonal Shift Day by darkcyan
Luna and Starlight
G4; Adventure; 1k words; May 2023; Teen
Luna searches for nightmares to soothe and finds something unexpected in Starlight's.
Entered for a contest with the prompt "Daylight Saving Time", this little number makes that phenomenon part of Equestrian pony-controlled nature. An artefact called the Stone of Seasons is employed – though, as Twilight says here, it's not actually needed but is used more for social reasons. I like this kind of adapting real-world things to more of a Pony setting, but in this case I'm not absolutely sure what the point of the story is. The Fimfiction comments are mostly US readers complaining about American DST, which doesn't help me much. A moderate three, but I acknowledge I'm perhaps undervaluing this through my own ignorance. ★★★
There's an Ocean Outside Your Front Door by paperhearts
Moon Dancer
G5; Drama/Slice of Life; 2k words; Nov 2019; Teen
Swim deep.
Yep, that's all the shortdesc we get, so for once I'll quote the longdesc too: "Moon Dancer was not prepared for the flood that swept through Canterlot. Twenty days can really change a pony, though." Without giving too much away, this is a story based on the feeling that the ending of "Amending Fences" was perhaps a little too neat and easy for Moon Dancer. It's a discomfiting story, with the watery theme being used in a way that to me suggested MD being analogised to the sea and its ebbs and flows. The writing is truly lovely, lyrical and achingly evocative. I can't help feeling there are undercurrents I didn't quite grasp properly, and that's the only reason I feel a slight frustration with the story – it's my fault, not the author's, and it's still a lovely and thought-provoking piece and enough for a four. ★★★★
Singles Combat by MrNumbers
Twilight and Luna
G4; Romance; 11k words; Nov 2023; Teen
Twilight and Luna have both been escaping to the moon for a break - except they've always gone to opposite sides. Now that Luna's found Twilight, she'll have to fight her for it! This is obviously a love story.
Gosh, this is interesting stuff. It was written as a commission for iisaw, a guy who is fonder of TwiLuna than I am, so I wondered whether it could overcome that for me. Answer: yes. Largely because it's so different. Usually in TwiLuna the Princess of the Night is in control. Here, you always get the sense that Twi has things in hoof. I adore the way she's written here, which is entirely convincing for the stage of life she's at. Luna is great as well, whether it's the spits and spots of Early Modern English¹ or startling yet perfect revelations such as how Luna could "only see beauty from an angle", that angle being below. I think like Ghost Mike I'm slightly more impressed than entertained, but in all honesty probably only my relative lack of connection with the ship itself stops me raving about this fic. For me it's a top-end four and is heartily recommended. If you like TwiLuna, then Singles Combat is quite likely to get over the line to five-star territory as an absolute Do Not Pass This One Up story. Either way, it's very good. ★★★★
¹ I'd prefer "thou durst" to "thou darest", but that's a minute quibble.
I, Opaline by Rune Soldier Dan
Opaline, Hitch, Sunny and Zipp
G5; Drama; 6k words; Mar 2024; Teen
On the cusp of victory, Opaline... surrendered. And even she doesn't know why.
This fic requires at least a reasonable knowledge of the plot of Make Your Mark – or at least to know who Opaline is. That said, who Opaline is... is really the whole point here. She's under what passes for arrest, albeit with Hitch leaving her cell unlocked in a way she finds bizarre. She broods alone, she interacts with other ponies, hints are dropped about her background and life story. I really, really like what Rune Soldier Dan has done with her characterisation. You do need to read quite carefully, and I'll confess one aspect passed me by until I'd read the Fimfiction comments. Special mention for Zipp, who is extremely appealingly written. This certainly joins the fairly thin ranks of really good G5 series-inspired stories. ★★★★
We Are All Made From Silence by Lucky Dreams
Fluttershy and Scootaloo
G4; Dark/Slice of Life; 3k words; Sep 2016; Everyone
Sometimes, it's good to talk about your feelings. Other times, the only way we can understand ourselves is to sit and listen to the silence...
Isn't that an intriguing combination of character and genre tags? From one of my favourite authors, it was just too good to ignore any longer. So, I am pleased to say, is the story. Interestingly, it feels aimed at a slightly more mature audience than something like In the Place the Wild Horses Sleep (PR 20).¹ It does, however, retain that story's sense of wonder and keen awareness of the power of the senses. Also the power of leaving things unsaid. Characters are very well defined and the narrative voice is compelling, with Lucky Dreams' trademark magic ("halfway between whispers and breathing") well on show. Perhaps this didn't quite blow me away, but I could certainly feel the stimulating breeze. Another very comfortable four! ★★★★
¹ Have you read that? If not, drop everything and read it right now.
I live for weeks like these! Such talent in our fandom, and it's wonderful to see. Another five fics on the slate next time around, and those will be these:
Recurring Dreams by Lunatone
Krastos' Krew by Masem
Run for the Skyline by Rambling Writer
Conundrums by Reviewfilly
Even More Awesome Than Me by Emotion Nexus
Four 4 star ratings and an average of 3.8? While I won't go so far as to suggest it's an academy… I mean, Louder Yay record, it surely must be a contender for pole position.
ReplyDeleteVery hearty agreement on the three of these I've read (I, Opaline was one of those top-end Pretty Goods for me that translates to a low-end 4-star on your scale). Singles Combat is probably the strongest (and considering how much I really don't like both Celestia-sized alicorn Twilight from the epilogue and when she's so in control like this – and don't understand how someone could have a bias in favour of those elements – for it to make those super-dicey elements not only work, but thrive, is nothing short of miraculous), but I really want to champion the other two: I, Opaline for being not just the rare worthwhile really solid G5 story, but easily the best Opaline one I've read (only took going AU to get it!), and We Are All Made From Silence for being a very under-read Lucky Dreams tale slightly heavier than his usual children's stories but capturing much of the same tone, whimsy and wonder. Easy recommends for all three to anyone, reading preferences be darned.
One thing's for sure, total word count wasn't a liability for this quintet at all! And hey, two fics next week I've read, will look forward to what you have to say on them.
I think it might in fact be the best week's average ever, at least when I've had at least five stories on the slate. But yeah, a very enjoyable week of ponyfic reading. :)
DeleteWow! Quite the slate this week! I've added the four-star fics I haven't read yet to my list. Both are not fics I'd usually be eager to read but, as a few people have mentioned recently, an extremely well-written story outside of one's usual tastes is better than a mediocre one that "checks off all the boxes."
ReplyDeleteI have two additional bits of praise for Mr. Number's story:
1) He wrote it in less than a day!
2) I have been thinking about the dynamics of the Tuna ship for a very long time (perforce) and he came up with observations and ideas about it that I hadn't considered before but went "Of course!" when I read them.
Less than a day?! Okay, I may have to disqualify the author for clearly not being human...
Delete