mancalledtrue (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
mancalledtrue) wrote2011-12-25 09:43 pm
mancalledtrue) wrote2011-12-25 09:43 pm
Bronydom Fanfic Reviews: Dash's Secret
Merry Christmas, folks! As a present for the invisible readers, I'm branching away from FIMFiction and going back to the old workhorse - Fanfiction.net itself.
Today's subject: Dash's Secret
Author: Hopefox
Genre: Drama
Short summary: Rainbow Dash's parents are in town, forcing her to reveal a secret she's held for a very long time.
Review:
I can't review this story without revealing the secret, so spoilers ahead.
Rainbow Dash's secret is that she's a stallion. This is probably fairly common, but this is the only story I've personally read that uses the idea. It goes into some details about how she's hidden it (she dyes her hair by dipping it in rainbows - apparently only mares have rainbow manes - and her friendship with Fluttershy and her "freaky knowledge of sewin'" has helped with the most obvious aspect), but the story doesn't address the single most important aspect of pony gender - how does she get around her muzzle shape?
The discovery is precipated by 1) her famous weatherstallion father coming to Ponyville to give a speech and 2) Twilight Sparkle asking exactly the wrong questions. She does this a LOT in fanfics.
Needless to say, her parents have never approved of it, but in a major improvement over the usual, their reaction has been to never refer to her as anything but her birth name and gender (Sonic Dash). They still acknowledge her existence, and that gives this story a much more workable plot than it could have fallen into.
The inevitable reveal scene has its upsides and its downsides. Pinkie Pie's reaction is note-perfect (she just doesn't get it), but Applejack's is the biggest weak note in the entire story. I am so tired of the countrydweller or "dumb muscle" characters being turned into homophobes (or transphobes as the case may be). It's tired, hackneyed, and in this case out of character - Applejack is far too accepting to turn on a point like that. The story uses it for a point about the Element of Honesty, but if any character needed to be the transphobe (and in a story like this, there usually has to be at least one), having Rarity undergo a "Eew, disgusting!" reaction would have worked just as well, what with Generosity and all.
Aside from the utter failure with Applejack, the story manages to keep everyone more or less in line. The plot moves at a good line, and manages to keep everything within a oneshot without it feeling too much like a tidy resolution. Hopefox manages to keep the formatting clean as well, without any noticeable grammar failures.
Although the blatant misuse of Applejack still bothers me, I still recommend this story.
Today's subject: Dash's Secret
Author: Hopefox
Genre: Drama
Short summary: Rainbow Dash's parents are in town, forcing her to reveal a secret she's held for a very long time.
Review:
I can't review this story without revealing the secret, so spoilers ahead.
Rainbow Dash's secret is that she's a stallion. This is probably fairly common, but this is the only story I've personally read that uses the idea. It goes into some details about how she's hidden it (she dyes her hair by dipping it in rainbows - apparently only mares have rainbow manes - and her friendship with Fluttershy and her "freaky knowledge of sewin'" has helped with the most obvious aspect), but the story doesn't address the single most important aspect of pony gender - how does she get around her muzzle shape?
The discovery is precipated by 1) her famous weatherstallion father coming to Ponyville to give a speech and 2) Twilight Sparkle asking exactly the wrong questions. She does this a LOT in fanfics.
Needless to say, her parents have never approved of it, but in a major improvement over the usual, their reaction has been to never refer to her as anything but her birth name and gender (Sonic Dash). They still acknowledge her existence, and that gives this story a much more workable plot than it could have fallen into.
The inevitable reveal scene has its upsides and its downsides. Pinkie Pie's reaction is note-perfect (she just doesn't get it), but Applejack's is the biggest weak note in the entire story. I am so tired of the countrydweller or "dumb muscle" characters being turned into homophobes (or transphobes as the case may be). It's tired, hackneyed, and in this case out of character - Applejack is far too accepting to turn on a point like that. The story uses it for a point about the Element of Honesty, but if any character needed to be the transphobe (and in a story like this, there usually has to be at least one), having Rarity undergo a "Eew, disgusting!" reaction would have worked just as well, what with Generosity and all.
Aside from the utter failure with Applejack, the story manages to keep everyone more or less in line. The plot moves at a good line, and manages to keep everything within a oneshot without it feeling too much like a tidy resolution. Hopefox manages to keep the formatting clean as well, without any noticeable grammar failures.
Although the blatant misuse of Applejack still bothers me, I still recommend this story.