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TCC56’s “Glow In The Dark, Shine In The Sun”

27 Saturday Jun 2020

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A villain might just have a bright future in today’s story.

Glow In The Dark, Shine In The Sun
[Equestria Girls] [Drama] [Slice of Life] • 27,035 words

Despite all attempts, Cozy Glow still hasn’t been shown a path to friendship. No pony has been able to get through to her, and she’s only gotten worse with each attempt.

Reluctant to return the filly to stone again, Princess Twilight has one last option. One pony she hasn’t tried. Or in this case? One person.

Sunset Shimmer.

Can Sunset do what no pony has been able to?

FROM THE CURATORS: Stories about late-season characters are relatively scarce.  Happily, though, there are still gems to be found — such as this examination of redemption.  “Reforming Cozy Glow is not a simple task, not least because the show refused to even give her much in the way of redeeming elements,” FanOfMostEverything noted in his nomination.  “Chrysalis had her children, Tirek had his brother, but Cozy just appears to be a young sociopath with no purpose beyond being a manipulative little hellion.”  So who better to redeem her than another former manipulator?  “The core idea here gave me one of those ‘of course!’ moments that only fanfiction can deliver,” AugieDog said, “but the story goes beyond that and executes the idea in a way that makes the Equestria Girls characters shine.”

The solidity of that execution led our praise.  “Sunset acting as a blend of friendship guru and parole officer works magnificently given her tactical similarities to Cozy in her own bad old days,” FanOfMostEverything said.  “Plus, Cozy’s journey in the human world feels natural and earned, with stumbling blocks and false starts that keep it all from feeling too ‘neat’.”  Present Perfect added: “Cozy herself is excellently written.  I was also pleased with Sunset’s portrayal, the bits of foreshadowing preceding the magical storm, and the shape which that storm takes.”  And there was plenty else to appreciate along the way, AugieDog said: “It’s maybe the third or fourth story I’ve come across on Fimfiction that makes good use of different-colored text.”  Its strengths made it a good starting point despite being tagged as a sequel, Present Perfect noted: “This isn’t a true sequel to Three Second Chances — it definitely stands on its own.”

That was bolstered by powerful character work.  “Each of Sunset’s friends is written with a mind toward different life experiences undercutting similarity to the pony characters,” Present Perfect said.  “We see this as Cozy Glow is continually tripped up by the actions of the ‘professors’ she otherwise knows to their cores.”  But far from being just a character piece, this also had some surprises in store.  “I quite liked the eventual revelation of the story’s antagonist, and the realizations that Cozy comes to during their confrontation really made the story for me,” AugieDog said.  “I also like how the story ends with us seeing just the beginning of a path forward for Cozy Glow.  As a plain ol’ piece of storytelling, this takes top marks.”

Read on for our author interview, in which TCC56 discusses antagonist chemistry, Beta Ray Bill, and 3 AM backstory.
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Chiko’s “She Kills Monsters”

17 Friday Jan 2020

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Today’s story will leave a monster of an impression.

She Kills Monsters
[Adventure] [Drama] [Equestria Girls] • 15,000 words

After losing her sister, Rarity buries herself in her work.

Just as lost, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, armed with a personal Ogres & Oubliettes module, try to help the seamstress open more than just her boutique.

FROM THE CURATORS: We have an informal policy not to nominate contest entries until after the judging is complete — but with this silver medalist in FanOfMostEverything’s “Imposing Sovereigns II” contest, it was hard to restrain ourselves.  “I see positive comments from one or two of you on it already, so maybe I’m stealing this out from under you,” RBDash47 said in his nomination, “but you snooze, you lose!”

The story sailed through our process even after recusals from the contest judges, and it wasn’t hard to see why.  “This has more depth than any story I’ve read in recent memory, and not only begs but rewards rereading,” Horizon said, while Present Perfect called it “absolutely devastating. … An excellent story, tackling a difficult subject in an unusual and memorable way.”  All of us commented on the strength of the story’s rigid structure: “The bare fact of of making each chapter precisely 500 words reinforces that a lot of care and work was put into this,” RBDash47 said, while FanOfMostEverything noted in the contest judging: “This is a master class in how to say a lot with a little.”

There were plenty of other things to praise, too.  RBDash47 lauded the breadth of its emotional impact: “A fantastic hook. The first few chapters set a melancholy mood without being maudlin or melodramatic. And then out of nowhere, some of the funniest comic relief I’ve read in recent memory, that made me laugh out loud at my desk.”  Horizon appreciated the way it re-envisioned its source material: “It deserves kudos for using the play as a base and finding a way to build from it that brought the story out.” (“The fic uses the play’s premise and pretty much nothing else,” Present Perfect added.)  And FanOfMostEverything appreciated its construction in his judge’s commentary: “The framing device, the flashbacks, and the many ways Rarity needs to come to peace with Sweetie Belle’s death come together into an incredible work.”

And an already exemplary fic was enhanced by the reading experience.  “This is a beautiful, tragic kaleidoscope of a story,” Horizon said, “in the sense that reading through story comments is almost as enlightening as the story itself: everyone seems to be seeing it from a slightly different angle, and all of them are giving me new and awesome things to consider that I never saw myself.”

Read on for our author interview, in which Chiko discusses Herzog narration, Starlight confusion, and Playstation Portable storytelling.
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River Road’s “Mr. and Mrs. S.M.I.L.E.”

05 Saturday Oct 2019

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Today’s story is classified at the highest level … of enjoyable.

Mr. and Mrs. S.M.I.L.E.
[Equestria Girls] [Adventure] [Comedy] [Drama] • 10,530 words

For centuries anything magic, alien and supernatural has been handled and covered up by the Supernatural and Magical Intelligence League of Earth and their agents. A small city in the heart of [REDACTED] in particular has been designated to always have someone from the agency at hand, even though nothing of note has happened there for so long that nobody even remembers why that policy was implemented in the first place.

Get ready for action, drama, paperwork and misguided marital counseling as you follow the adventures of the two poor idiots dedicated agents currently appointed to watch over the sleepy town of Canterlot, where supernatural events don’t happen regularly so please stop posting videos of them on MyStable.

FROM THE CURATORS: While the march of canon has left many stories’ premises in the dust, every once in a while you run across one which improves with time.  “This story was having fun with the interactions between a Chrysalis and a Tirek long before Grogar forced them to work together,” FanOfMostEverything said in his nomination. “By making it the human analogues’ job to actually prevent mayhem, it makes them even more entertaining, since they act as a fantastic two-person peanut gallery for the goings-on at Canterlot High.” But it shouldn’t have taken the wisdom of hindsight for us to see how great it was, Horizon said: “I am ashamed that I didn’t nominate this back when it won first place in the Villain Exchange Program contest.”

Behind that win (and our feature) was an underlying factor which all of us praised.  “The dynamic of these two characters is the centerpiece, and it’s just marvelous to watch them work,” Present Perfect said. “They may be the good guys, at least from the reader’s perspective, but Tirek as straightman and Chrysalis as wildcard fits them both perfectly.”  AugieDog echoed that: “The characters are so perfectly presented, they make up for every possible minus.  I would devour a series of stories that followed these two around having their own adventures.”  Horizon’s agreement was more succinct — “the characters leap off the page” — while FanOfMostEverything found that dynamic elevating the whole story.  “This isn’t just a pile of wacky hijinks,” he said. “The two show great character depth and care for one another at times, along with some great off-hand comments that add plentiful depth to the human world. The overall effect is a thoroughly entertaining supernatural buddy cop series.”

Our critical acclaim extended beyond the character work, though.  “What’s most amazing about this is just how effectively it works with the strengths of its format,” Horizon said.  “The framing device squarely introduces the story, keeps it focused on the highlights, and then pulls the two halves of it together at the end. And on top of that is a story which unfailingly hits its comic beats and sketches out a cool and enticing ‘Men in Black’ style background for the EQG world.”  It even won over AugieDog despite initial doubts: “This is just great gobs of fun from start to finish,” he said, “and I absolutely loved how it pushed straight through all the roadblocks my pesky little brain wanted to throw in its way.”  All in all, as Present Perfect said, it was exemplary on multiple fronts: “Funny and insightful, it’s easy to see why this was a winner.”

Read on for our author interview, in which River Road discusses stick-figure comics, reader kicking, and Blueprint duplication.
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Darkstarling’s “Tartarus Island”

23 Friday Aug 2019

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Break out from the ordinary with today’s story.

Tartarus Island
[Equestria Girls] • 2,904 words

Once the heir to a Mafia family, now imprisoned for the murder of his brother, Tirek is held on Tartarus Island: the most secure prison in the world. He isn’t concerned. Soon he will escape, and nothing will stand in his way.

FROM THE CURATORS: “One of my favorite moments in fanfiction,” AugieDog said as we discussed this story, “is when I see a story description, smack myself in the forehead, and say, ‘Of course!’ And when the writer turns that terrific idea into a good story, it’s an even better moment.”

And while the central idea here leaps off the page, what elevated this story to a feature — and third place in the Villain Exchange Program contest — went far deeper.  “This fic is a blast, pure and simple, a great send-up to prison escape stories, but also more than that,” Soge said in his nomination.  “It is one those stories which is not afraid to wear its influences on its sleeves — the real-life Alcatraz escape and The Shawshank Redemption being the most obvious ones. But it is through its characterizations, particularly the way it manages to transport Tirek to EQD-land, that it manages to differentiate itself.”

Other curators quickly agreed.  “The transition between its use of historical fact and original fantasy is seamless, which speaks well of both halves,” Horizon said.  Present Perfect went further: “Casting Tirek as a disgraced mob boss is really original. It merges both settings in a natural way. On top of that, the characterization is excellent, not just for our narrator, but for the two main OCs who help plan his escape.”

Along the way, it defied our expectations.  “There are plenty of twists and turns to keep you on your toes, and the final conclusion is as well-executed and surprising as it is expected,” Soge said, while AugieDog quipped, “I think this story might contain the best use of an accordion that I’ve yet seen in a pony fic.”  The overall effect, as Present Perfect said, was captivating: “This one hits the nail on the head.”

Read on for our author interview, in which Darkstarling discusses stick villains, pedestrian parallels, and airborne murmurations.
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Fallowsthorn’s “Time”

22 Friday Mar 2019

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You’ll find yourself making time for today’s story.

Time
[Equestria Girls] [Slice of Life] • 6,635 words

The whole school saw Sunset Shimmer’s demonic form get hit by the Elements of Harmony, and half a second later she was in a smoking crater in the ground, sobbing and repentant. From Sunset’s perspective, her change of heart took a bit more time.

FROM THE CURATORS: Often, what keeps us coming back to fanfiction is finding new angles from which to explore the depths of the show.  “I clicked through to this from the Featurebox on a whim, only to find it filling in a gap in canon that for eight years I’ve never realized I needed a fixfic for — how the Elements of Harmony work to redeem their targets,” Horizon said in his nomination.  “I’m sold.”  Its speedy approval showed that he wasn’t the only one impressed.  “I love that this isn’t the author saying, ‘Equestria Girls did something wrong, but here’s how I can fix it’,” AugieDog said.  “It’s more the author working with the movie — in harmony, if you will — to take an already-moving scene and lift it to another level. It takes tropes at least as old as Dickens’ A Christmas Carol and shows how some deft thought and handling can keep them absolutely fresh.”

That fresh take was shored up by exemplary character work on multiple levels.  “This is a fantastic examination not just of Sunset’s mindset at the end of the first EqG movie, but also of what each of the Elements means,” FanOfMostEverything said.  Present Perfect agreed: “There’s so much depth, such a perfect and thorough exploration of Sunset’s character and what could convince her to change. Not just that, but this delves into the concept of each Element of Harmony, to wring out what it really means in an everyday, practical kind of way. The discussion about Generosity, for instance, was superb.”  Horizon had his own favorite: “Fluttershy’s appearance in particular is breathtaking. In the span of three words she blows the whole thing open.”

So it’s no wonder that we all found ourselves sharing superlatives, despite finding different things to appreciate. “Every part of this was fantastic,” Present Perfect said.  “‘Why would she abandon me if I didn’t deserve to be abandoned?’  That’s the kind of line that elevates something way beyond ‘just fanfiction’.”  Horizon, too, called it “utterly fantastic.  Also notable is how convincing the argument feels to me as a reader. I’m truly sold that this is a line of reasoning which is capable of the dramatic turnaround we see.”  And FanOfMostEverything noted: “Fantastic stuff. The psychological vivisection is as merciless as it is insightful, and it certainly justifies Sunset’s tears. The fact that the story also justifies Vice Principal Luna falling for literal cut-and-paste photomanipulation is icing on the cake.”

Read on for our author interview, in which Fallowsthorn discusses omniscient parents, boxed seeds, and French villas.
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J Carp’s “It Turns Out They’re Windmills”

08 Friday Feb 2019

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Turn to today’s story for some cross-dimensional drama with heart.

It Turns Out They’re Windmills
[Equestria Girls] [Romance] [Comedy] [Drama] • 64,228 words

As Fluttershy’s birthday approaches, she learns two jarring things: not all of her friends are as fine with her new relationship as she had previously thought, and her human counterpart is extremely closeted.

This is a story about queerness, friendship, bunnies, humans who think they’re bunnies, magic explosions, and extremely terrible flirting.

FROM THE CURATORS: When we discuss a story which is posted as a sequel, usually our conversation drifts to whether to feature the series’ first work instead.  But in this case, discussion shifted from the original to the sequel once we realized everyone was even more excited about it.  “Everything that makes the prequel, I Am Awkward (Yellow), great is amplified fivefold in Windmills,” Present Perfect said in his nomination.  “The jokes are further between, but they are adamantly memorable. The pure relationship drama has been replaced by a coming-out story that uses the dual-dimensional setup of Equestria Girls to perhaps its fullest extent. I mean, just the ethics of whether knowing a pony is gay means that you’ll out their human counterpart, alone, makes this worth exploring.”

The number of superlatives in our discussion quickly made the breadth of our appreciation clear.  “This knocked it out of the park,” FanOfMostEverything said.  “It has everything: Romance, drama, action, comedy, parallel universe shenanigans. … The story passed by in an amazing rush — mine, not the pacing’s — making the plotlines sync together in brilliant, seamless passes from one narrative arc to another.”  AugieDog, meanwhile, gushed about the story while assigning it a top score: “The author’s character work is gorgeous,” he said.  “There’s a scene in the first chapter where Fluttershy quietly seduces Moondancer that is funny, adorable, and sexy all at the same time, and the jaggedness under the surface of Twilight and Moondancer’s relationship gets completely exposed and explored during an arc that I can only call harrowing.  That the author brings in the Equestria Girls characters as well allows the story to explore their similarities and differences in a way I don’t recall seeing before in a fic.”

That was made even more impressive by the number of moving pieces this juggled.  “What stands out most, perhaps, is how good J Carp is at writing nuanced characters,” Present Perfect said.  “One has to imagine it was already hard enough to write two versions of the same character — and there are a lot of characters in this story — but every canon character has had their motives and personality thoroughly considered in order to drive the narrative. And that’s to say nothing of the one important OC.”  All those factors added up to a compelling argument for time-starved readers to dive into the middle.  “The only things you need to know,” AugieDog noted, “are that Twilight has hired Moondancer to move to Ponyville so they can study the Everfree forest, and that Moondancer and Fluttershy have fallen quite deeply in love.”

Read on for our author interview, in which J Carp discusses planetary rankings, mumblecore maturity, and superior Carolinas.
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Krickis’ “Each Small Step”

01 Friday Feb 2019

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Today’s story looks at some big problems.

Each Small Step
[Equestria Girls] [Romance] [Drama] [Slice of Life] • 13,137 words

[Note: This story contains themes of sexuality and self-harm.]

It’s been a long time since the Battle of the Bands, and a lot has changed for Aria. One of the bigger changes has been Sunset Shimmer. The two of them were never supposed to happen, but they somehow still did.

Not that it matters. Nothing good ever lasts, not for Aria Blaze.

FROM THE CURATORS: While stories like last week’s feature draw emotions from MLP by playing the show’s themes straight, there’s also a great deal of power in going the other direction — colliding the show with real life to show characters with all-too-familiar struggles.  And this Honorable Mention in the recent Sunset shipping contest left us all feeling a little punched, in the best way.  “This hit close to home, and it was really a tense marvel to sit through,” Present Perfect said in his nomination, while Soge was likewise drawn in: “Even when going through slice of life scenes, there is this undercurrent of tension to the prose, as if everything could break apart at any moment.  It is this well-constructed web of people doing the precise wrong thing at the wrong time, because that is just how they operate.”

Most of our discussion became praise for the way this illustrated its protagonist’s problems.  “The moment we see Aria’s state of affairs in this story, it’s obvious she’s suffering from depression,” Present Perfect said.  “It also quickly becomes obvious she has no idea what that really means; ergo, the word is never once used. Instead, we’re shown a long, painful snapshot of a woman self-destructing.”  AugieDog agreed that was exemplary: “As someone who’s never experienced anything close to this level of depression, I find myself so glad that fiction just plain exists,” he said.  “This story does such a fine job of showing rather than telling, too, not trying to explain Aria’s situation to me but just plain putting me inside her head to let me see the world as she sees it.”  And while the story goes to some dark places, it never abandoned pony’s sense of hope and friendship.  “It was a great choice to never come right out and say ‘Aria is depressed,’ and I did like the message — you don’t have to go it alone,” RBDash47 said.

Moreover, digging into the meat of the fic revealed depth beyond that solid portrayal.  “There’s some clever prose which brings the full weight of the emotions to bear,” Horizon said.  “Although Chapter 1 is arguably the biggest train wreck, the callback at the end of Chapter 2 is exquisitely painful.”  That plus exemplary character work rounded out the experience.  “I think this might’ve been the best Sonata I’ve ever read in a fic,” AugieDog said. “In just one conversation on the telephone, the author brings her completely to life — I mean, I totally want to read about her and Trixie’s adventures now.”

Read on for our author interview, in which Krickis discusses open worlds, messy ships, and misspelled rabbits.
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PapierSam’s “We Are Forever”

28 Friday Dec 2018

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We are impressed with today’s story.

We Are Forever
[Equestria Girls] [Comedy] [Slice of Life] • 9,973 words

The pilot episode of the Rainbooms’ reality television show, in which the band breaks up.

As expected, mild drama, washout humour, awkward pop culture references, and character bending to breaking point ensues.

FROM THE CURATORS: While it’s a truism that stories should work with the strengths of prose rather than try to mimic another medium, it can be a joy to find tales which effectively break that rule.  “Here’s a story that genuinely made me feel like I was watching TV,” Horizon said in his nomination.  “The way it imitates that tightly cut, fast-paced style not only works brilliantly, it also centers golden dialogue and witty repartee that carries the story.”  On its way to a feature, the story accumulated significant praise on that point.  “The way it plays with the medium shouldn’t work nearly as well as it does, and yet here we are,” FanOfMostEverything said.  “All told, this is a brilliant collision of the modern music industry, reality TV, and a certain septet of multicolored humanoids.”

And while that was a combination which invited comparison, the fic found itself in lofty company.  “I was getting serious ‘This is Spinal Tap’ flashbacks all through this fic, and that’s a very good thing indeed,” AugieDog said.  “The story even manages the amazing feat of parodying the characters we know from the Rainbooms while still remaining absolutely true to them, something else that ‘Spinal Tap’ did so very well.”  That wasn’t the only story element whose execution pleasantly surprised us.  “It even manages some visual gags that by all rights shouldn’t have worked — I’m specifically thinking of the running gag with their cell phones — and works in some great running musical references that might be seen as fourth-wall breaking but to me just came off as endearing,” Horizon said.  And Present Perfect loved several different aspects: “The droll narrator helps keep the fast pacing natural, while also providing us with a huge helping of the comedy,” he said.  “The ability to juggle so many characters, and make all their contributions to both halves of the story meaningful, was impressive.  But mostly, I just love how well the constant cuts to the Interview Area were handled.”

It all added up to an oddly endearing package.  “This got weird at times, and I mean that in a good way,” FanOfMostEverything said.  “Overall, it was a great read, somehow combining sincere seven-way friendshipping with the sort of characterization and casual mockery I usually see in goofy crackfics.”  Present Perfect agreed: “Oh god, the references. This was a marvelous, original piece, something completely unlike anything I think I have ever read, fanfiction or otherwise.”

Read on for our author interview, in which PapierSam discusses cheese brags, common pianos, and multitalented block parties.
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Coyote de La Mancha’s “Twilight Sparkle Was Shot”

07 Friday Sep 2018

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Today’s story starts with a bang.

Twilight Sparkle Was Shot
[Adventure] [Equestria Girls] [Alternate Universe] • 9,173 words

After the reformation of Sunset Shimmer, the Mane Six united their powers against all manner of threats. Then, Twilight Sparkle joined their number, and over time the bonds between the Mane Seven have become stronger than ever.

They have called upon their power to aid their friends, to protect the innocent, and even to defend their world.

Never have they called upon their power out of anger, or to seek revenge.

Until now.

FROM THE CURATORS: Vengeance isn’t a goal typically associated with a hero, especially a hero in the My Little Pony franchise. And yet in this week’s feature, the drive for vengeance that binds together our protagonist and antagonist in a yin and yang of pain feels almost breathtakingly real.

FanOfMostEverything saw this immediately: “It tackles serious issues with the severity they deserve,” he said in his nomination. “For all this story is about violence and vengeance, it handles them in a very pony way, even if most of the cast isn’t technically equine.” AugieDog applauded “how the author neither shies away from that darkness nor takes it all the way off the edge into grim territory. The world, the characters, the themes, they’ve all been shoved way over to the far end of the scale, but they’re still on the scale, are still recognizably Pony.” PresentPerfect was drawn in immediately: “This is a gritty, hard-hitting drama that utilizes tension like a master chef utilizes spice. I was not prepared to be gripped by the shoulders from word one, but I loved every moment of it.”

The story uses this powerful self-assurance to explore something canon has chosen to ignore, in perfect fanfiction fashion. “Its inventive solution to the Two-Sunsets Problem is so simple, I’m shocked I’ve never seen it before,” PresentPerfect said, and AugieDog also praised “the way the story deals the basic question of what happened to the EQG-world’s Sunset Shimmer.” “What I really love is the attempt to address where exactly Sunset’s human-born counterpart has been,” said RBDash47, “and the completely believable character work that went into both her backstory and her reaction to discovering this interloper in her world.”

The deft characterization on display was a highlight for everyone. “The perspective work is also done very well, placing the reader firmly behind a given character’s eyes and letting us appreciate everything they’re going through,” FanOfMostEverything said. RBDash47 “really felt for everyone involved,” and found that “all the characters’ behaviors in this painful situation are completely believable.” AugieDog pointed out “the author is even able to take Fluttershy into this darker world and still have her be one hundred percent Fluttershy—nothing short of impressive.”

In the end, PresentPerfect summed things up neatly for the curators when he said, “This is what I look for in EQG stories.”

Read on for our author interview, in which Coyote discusses the draw of My Little Pony, the importance of research, and the joys of alternate realities. Continue reading →

NaiadSagaIotaOar’s “Who We Are in the Dark”

06 Friday Jul 2018

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Today’s story, unlike its protagonist, doesn’t have to cheat to win your heart.

Who We Are in the Dark
[Equestria Girls] [Romance] [Tragedy] • 11,505 words

[Note: This story contains sexual themes.]

Adagio, who everyone knows is an immortal sex goddess, is determined to give her girlfriend a perfect eighteenth birthday. If only she weren’t secretly a virgin, it would be easy.

FROM THE CURATORS: Our inaugural Siren fic is “a doozy,” as Soge put it in his nomination — and the rest of us quickly saw why.  “What follows the simple-yet-intricate setup is a beautiful disaster, like a train crash in slow motion, and yet manages to keep this undercurrent of optimism through the whole thing,” Soge said. “The conclusion is striking, unexpected, and effective, elevating the whole thing far beyond what I would expect of a typical shipfic. It’s a perfect Romantic Tragedy.”  An equally impressed Horizon added: “The prose just pops off the page, and Adagio’s characterization walks a heck of a tightrope between redemption and villainy that serves the character well.”

That wasn’t the only praise the characterization got.  “Who We Are in the Dark shows Adagio in an innovative light, trying to deal with the aftermath of losing her Siren powers, which has the aftereffect of making her unable to actually read people, since she always relied on her magic for that,” Soge explained — and all of us found that unique and striking.  “Adagio’s portrayal is what takes this above and beyond just being another beautifully written fic,” Present Perfect said.  “I connected on a deeply personal level with her struggle to read faces and body language. I suspect more readers will connect with her inability to know what to do in stressful situations, to say nothing of sitting, helpless, while watching your world fall apart.”

That combined with fluid writing and solid structure to make this coast to an easy feature.  “There’s so much care put into setting up the characters’ desires and letting those play out naturally,” Horizon said.  “And that care is seen throughout; the confrontation scene is properly crushing, and it manages to take the situation into full meltdown without ever taking the lazy way out of making someone the villain.”  All in all, as Present Perfect said, it was the sort of story that turns heads and changes minds about a character: “I came into this story with no particular love for Adagio Dazzle. By the end of it, watching her world crumble was absolutely heartbreaking.”

Read on for our author interview, in which NaiadSagaIotaOar discusses fanfiction optimization, hilarious ineptitude, and squip removal.
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