Ponyfic Roundup 148: Spotlight on Vinyl and Octavia: University Days (and University Nights)

A quick plug first for FanOfMostEverything's Imposing Sovereigns contest. It's explained over there, but in brief it's all about writing princess stories. (Interpreted quite liberally: Ember can count, and even Big Mac.) There isn't a chance in Tartarus I'll think of something in time, and in any case many slots are already taken – but do give it a look.

Two reviews for the price of one in this Spotlight! Well, actually one and a bit, as the second one isn't really a standalone. I was going to review University Nights separately, but I feel it's too closely attached to the main story for that. So you're getting it here! I quite like school (well, uni here) stories, even though I didn't much enjoy real-life school, so that won't count against Days. Let's go!

Read it Later story count: 479 (-4)

Vinyl and Octavia: University Days by DawnFade
Vinyl Scratch and Octavia
Comedy/Romance/Slice of Life; 71k words; Apr 2012–Jan 2014; Teen

Vinyl Scratch and Octavia go to university.

Oh yeah, you're thinking. I know where this is going. And you're right: you do. From very early on, it's clear that this is a "how they got together" fic. It doesn't do much that's particularly startling, an important character is poorly drawn, the ending is very rushed and there's a fair bit of LUS. Sounds like a waste of time, right? Wrong. What lifts this fic above that level is its likeable central characters. They're not terribly thrilling, but I enjoyed spending time in their company. Not just Vinyl and Octavia themselves, but Lyra and Bon Bon (who play a decent supporting role) and an OC who's more interesting than he at first appears. This is very definitely easy reading rather than world-shaking literature, but sometimes easy reading is all you want. Days could easily have been a mediocre two, but that sheer pleasantness nudges it into the threes. ★★★

University Nights by DawnFade
Vinyl Scratch and Octavia
Romance; 3k words; Aug 2012–Jan 2014; Mature (Sex)

A collection of tales of debauchery from the students of West Manehattan University.

This piece is not actually as wide-ranging as the description makes it sound; it's simply a couple of sex scenes that would doubtless have been included in Days had that been given an M rating. I feel the first is the better, almost startlingly realistic for a short clop scene. The second is okay, but doesn't really bring anything new and is rather awkwardly fitted into the the Days timeline. Worth reading if you like, but in no way necessary to enjoy the main story. Four stars for the first chapter, two stars for the second, so overall another ★★★.

Come past the break for some more detailed discussion of University Days, together with plenty of spoilers. I won't say any more about Nights, as I think I've mentioned everything I want to about that bit.

Announcing Flashfic 150!

Image is a cropped public domain image from here

A long time ago, I floated the idea of running a ponyfic contest. It never happened, for a variety of reasons but most notably the fact that I was too damn lazy to set it up. Years have gone by and the ponyfic world has shrunk somewhat (more on that topic later this week), but as some of you may have seen already, at last I'm actually doing something about it!

The new Flashfic group on Fimfiction, which I've just set up (rather startled that the name hadn't been taken), will from next month be hosting a fun monthly contest for 150-word flash fiction. Hence my cunning choice of the name Flashfic 150. :D These contests will be judged by yours truly, for the simple reason that I am utterly power-crazed have always wanted to do it.

Flashfic 150 is intended as a laid back affair. "No prizes, no pressure, just fun!" is its slogan. What I'd dearly love to do is to encourage new writers to have a go, and then perhaps to go on to bigger things. However, everyone with a Fimfiction account will be eligible to participate, subject to the rules of the contest and – obviously – Fimfiction's own.

All Flashfic 150 contests will be pony-centric, and the plan is for the first to take place next month, ie April 2017. The group has enough members already to make a small contest workable. Of course, it may be that there just isn't enough interest in something like this to keep it going in the longer term, but I would like to at least be able to say I'd given it a try.

The Flashfic group is right here!

Comic mini-review: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic #51

Comics are coming thick and fast from IDW at the moment! I already have the Guardians of Harmony special issue, which will be reviewed soon, but for now we're back to the main series.

Tony Fleecs' cover appealed to me more than the "toga party" sub cover

A new writer this time! James Asmus, writer of much other stuff including quite a few X-Men comics, makes his Pony debut alongside regular artist Tony Fleecs and colourist Heather Breckel. In this arc, which will apparently somehow tie into Season Seven of the show,* Asmus gets off to a solid if unspectacular start with a fairly interesting story, introducing a suspicious new pony. Most of the character interaction is decent, though a bar scene is a bit odd and I can't see Fluttershy ever using the term "wrestly-doo". A bigger problem, given the importance of book magic, is the absence of even a passing reference to the Bookworm arc. Hopefully that was a choice, not a research failure. Fleecs' art is fine, though it's a bit weird having Fluttershy flying so much and Rainbow flying so little. Enough here for me to be cautiously optimistic, but not enough for me to proclaim Asmus a Pony comic genius. I await the next issue with interest! ★★★

* I'm being deliberately vague here. I know what was announced.

Pony Music Library 40: "Step Around"

I've been pleased with the reception I've had for The Book of Ended Lives. A relief to know that I haven't crashed and burned with it – yet, anyway. So far, so good on that one! As far as this blog goes, there'll be a review of main-series comic #51 in the next few days, but today it's time for another PML induction.

( Text link )

What? "Step Around"

Who? Wasteland Wailers

Which? Original song

When? April 2014

Why? The Fallout: Equestria game this relates to is still in production nearly three years later, but regardless of that this is a very nice jazz number, albeit rather more upbeat than you'd expect for the setting. It's a genre I like, but one that's not hugely well represented in the fandom. This particular song benefits from Brittany Church's vocals; she does an excellent job as Velvet Remedy. The trumpet solo is the work of Danielle Horan, while Joel Stumbaugh plays the drums. The song is well produced, too, and an all-round joy to listen to.

New story by me: The Book of Ended Lives

Marvel at my astounding "yeah, that filter, I suppose" skills, y'all!

To my enormous relief, I've finally got a new story up on Fimfiction. My last fic, More than Alive, was a pretty niche affair set in an alternate universe and still has under 100 views after two months. Even for me, that's not many. This new story, set firmly in the Ponyville we know, has surpassed its predecessor (and by quite some margin) in two days. Here's the summary:

The Book of Ended Lives by Loganberry
Applejack and OC
Sad/Slice of Life; 4k words; Feb 2017; Teen
I'm Last Account. For quite a while now, I've been the Keeper of the Book of Ended Lives here in Ponyville Town Hall, and it can be hard work – especially when Fluttershy visits the office. This afternoon, though, it's Applejack. She's here to tell me about the timberwolf she killed earlier. To start with.

My last published fic rather came out of nowhere. The Book of Ended Lives did not: in fact, it's been in my mind since well before More than Alive was, and I've been working on it, on and off, since late last year. One reason it's taken so long is that it began life as a very different story, centring on the Fluttershy aspect that now forms only a small part of the tale. I didn't sit down to write the AJ fic it's become, but sometimes the story won't let you do what you want and insists you do things its way. This is one of those times.

The Antelope Party – a play about bronies, apparently

This casting call for Theatre Wit in Chicago is, um, interesting. The record of stage productions based on My Little Pony is not terribly good, with only the Rainbow Rocks musical really standing out in recent years. The Antelope Party is... well, here's the description given:

The Rust Belt Ponies Meet Up Group for Adult Fans of My Little Pony has gathered in Ben's Philadelphia apartment, but two members have not yet arrived. A new recruit seems unusually shy and curiously paranoid about a local neighborhood watch group. What happened to their Pegasister, Maggie? Why is Brony Doug so paranoid? What does it all have to do with the 9/11 Truthers and an emerging group of "concerned citizens?" In the midst of increasing violence and authoritarianism, how can our heroes see the magic in Everypony? And, even worse, what if they do? And that's just the first ten minutes of Eric John Meyer's amazing and timely new comedy. With its My Little Pony cult prism, Meyer explores the rise of a new social order and how the currents of history, normalization and fear can sweep up even the most Generous ponies of Celestia.

I can't say this has made me especially optimistic. For a start, the meetup group's name is ridiculous. Also, over here it would be highly unusual to hold a meetup in a private home; maybe it's different in the US but it feels quite wrong to me. Who refers to female members of a group as "their Pegasisters"? And the words "My Little Pony cult prism" are hardly calculated to make a fan feel this will be a well researched production.

The cast required consists of three male and three female bronies, all aged mid-20s to late 30s. I guess that's not too bad, though most meetup groups are male-dominated and I'd be a bit surprised not to see anyone a little younger. Still, I'll let that one pass. However, at the end we get this:

For more context, view the trailer for the documentary Bronies: The Extremely Unexpected Adult Fans of My Little Pony.

I would hope that someone serious about playing the part of a brony would do more than watch one trailer! When the aforementioned Rainbow Rocks musical was announced, one of the people behind it (I think it was Hugh Osborne) came onto EqD and interacted with fans for a considerable period. I'm not saying that's necessary, but at least knowing about EqD and some fandom basics will help.

So, right now I'm interested but deeply sceptical. It'll be interesting, if anyone from the fandom goes to see this play, to discover whether it does feel as though it's been researched, rather than just picked out as another "weird bunch of weird guys" thing.

Ponyfic Roundup 147: A Bringer of New Things

Read it Later story count: 483 (+1)

Last week, most of the stories I reviewed were several years old. This week, I'm going in the other direction. With fewer ponyfics being published now than there used to be,* I think it's more important than ever that there's good new stuff appearing on Fimfiction. So all the fics I'm reviewing in this PR have appeared since the start of 2017. Will it work? Let's see.

* Fimfiction submissions have fallen by slightly more than half since their 2013 peak.

Glimmer in the Snow by Emperor
Ignited Embers by Inquiry Tales
Can Pegasi Have Magical Surges by redtau
Cold Currents by Odd_Shot
A Heart of Cold by HMKv2
Spare Me by Fangren
A Monster Looming Over Us by Brass Polish

★: 2 | ★★: 4 | ★★★: 1 | ★★★★: 0 | ★★★★★: 0