Stuff That Isn't Reviews, Upcoming Reviews, and Reviews You Can Read Right Now!

Well!  The end of the year has proven... busier than I'd expected.  I thought that moving from an environment where I was interacting with over a hundred kids every year to a single-classroom setting would mean less end-of-year scrambling, but my current job and age range came with its own unpleasant surprises on that front.  Good news: they're all (almost) behind me, and summer is officially here!

So, sorry for missing the last two posts, and thank you for not tracking me down and egging my house in the interim.  To repay you, here's a pseudo-roundup of ponyfic-related stuff--including episode discussion, my reviews, and other people's reviews.  Check it out below!





-----I'm still not quite caught up on episodes--I haven't watched the most recent one yet--but I did manage to slip some time in for Hard to Say Anything and Honest Apple.  The former was okay on its own merits, I thought, but it really left me wondering why the writers used the CMC instead of their sisters.  I mean, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo basically are Rarity and Rainbow Dash in this episode, much more so than they are "the foals."  Other than the costume gag, a lot of the humor seemed like it would fit young, naive adults better than actual children.  It didn't ruin the episode for me or anything, but it did feel like an odd choice.



-----As for Honest Apple?  There was one big thing annoyance for me: Rarity practically begged Applejack to be a judge, specifically asked her to focus on practicality, never once complained to her about how she was going about offering critique... and then declares that it's all AJ's fault that things go to pot!  Now granted, when she finally does blow up, we see that AJ's actually empathy-impaired rather than just mildly clueless, but still: I really wanted Rarity to take/get at least a little of the blame for bringing in an utterly unqualified judge, giving them one direction and no suggestion for how to achieve it, and then acting surprised when it blew up in her face.  Also, I couldn't help but notice that, while all the ponies got offended by AJ's declaration that fashion is ridiculous... but none of them argue the point.  I think their reaction is less "that's such an ignorant belief" and more "she hit a little too close to home, there."



-----Just in case seeing my reviewing here and with the RCL isn't enough for you, I'll take this opportunity to officially announce that I've been shanghaied dragooned brought aboard totally voluntarily by Seattle's Angels.  Look for me in their next FiMFic post, where I'll be talking up some criminally under-read stories!



-----And if you need some reviews to read before then (in addition to my own, I mean), let me point you to something especially cool.  Bugs the Curm (you remember him, right?  The grumpy rabbit in the comments section?) has started a project to catalogue some of the best early fiction in the fandom.  Focusing on stuff written during the first season, he's looking at what stories caught on, as well as seeing what kind of overarching themes fanfic writers were exploring at different times, what bits of fanon and characterization were still developing, and more.  He's done one good-sized post already, and if you want to know more about the fandom's early days--or if, like me, you were here for most of them but love to see what an archivist's eye can bring back--this is definitely something to check out and follow along with.