• Member Since 3rd Sep, 2011
  • offline last seen 7 hours ago

PresentPerfect


Fanfiction masochist. :B She/they https://ko-fi.com/presentperfect

More Blog Posts2550

  • Saturday
    Twilight the 没用

    Yesterday, a fellow named SoothingBell asked if they could translate Twilight the Useless to Chinese, and no way was I gonna say no. :D

    And they turned it around in 24 hours, amazing!

    https://fimtale.com/t/64723

    4 comments · 129 views
  • 6 days
    Idle musing

    so-called because that's what led me to the realization

    What is so compelling about the idea of "warrior woman runs afoul of a wizard and is flung centuries into the future" that I made it happen twice?

    ...And with slightly more musing, I also realize, in a roundabout way, it was with the same wizard. >_> Huh.

    Read More

    7 comments · 161 views
  • 1 week
    Fic recs, March 20th!

    Posting a day earlier than usual because the next reading is a long one!

    H: 1 R: 2 C: 1 V: 1 N: 3

    Read More

    6 comments · 187 views
  • 1 week
    Fic recs, March 14th!

    Lotus Moon has done a reading of Fleety's What's Philomena's Name?!

    Hey, help out Regidar, he's looking for experimental fics! Self-promotion allowed!

    Read More

    5 comments · 234 views
  • 2 weeks
    Fic recs, March 8th: Top Ten of 2023!

    Whaaaaat, two review blogs in a row?

    Well hell yes, because I have done much better with the top ten this year and I am inordinately pleased with myself! :3 here's the explanation of the setup, for all that it has never adequately explained what's going on to like, literally anyone:

    Read More

    19 comments · 270 views
Aug
12th
2014

Fic recs August 12th: Pre-Reader Battle edition! · 8:33pm Aug 12th, 2014

Someone asked recently, and the answer is YES! I was still reading the entries. Reading and reviewing Order from Chaos, et. al., was part of that, plus Bronycon happened, so I'm a good two weeks off. Anyway, if you want to see what the prompts were and who they came from, please check out my journal on the subject. Otherwise, on to the reviews!

H: 1 R: 1 C: 4 V: 0 N: 0 I: 1

What Cannot Be Unseen by Polecat
Genre: Lovecraft Crossover
When Twilight discovers Sunset Shimmer dead in her new castle, she sets about trying to figure out how she died, not to mention how she came back to Equestria. Clutched in Sunset’s grip were two books: a collection of stories by HP Lovecraft, and a book on human magic, and as Twilight delves into them, they start to consume her. For starters, this is a pretty good Lovecraft crossover, building up a lot of great dark imagery without crossing the grimdark line into ridiculousness. Granted, some of the dialogue is pretty overblown toward the end, but the entire ending is weird, so there’s that. This also features a lengthy section about various types of magic that didn’t bog down the narrative, and I always appreciate those. With that said, the writing was not great, often splattering minutiae everywhere that added nothing whatsoever to the story, up to and including long explanations of things that happened in the show. I also found it odd how EQG-world was equated so directly with Earth history (I tend not to think of them as the same place). But while it’s no The Star in Yellow, neither is it overdone as a Lovecraft tale.
Recommended If You Like Lovecraft

The Rose by Bradel
Reading by Neighrator Pony
Genre: Tragedy
This was the story based on my prompt, and I’m quite happy with how it turned out (even if he didn’t use the title “The Rose of Hatred”, this is entirely a worthwhile substitute). We follow a stallion married to Roseluck as he watches her health slowly deteriorate for unexplained reasons. At the same time, a magical rose she found in the Everfree starts to change color, growing darker as she gets worse. And in true Poe style, our narrator slowly loses his mind, consumed by the idea that his wife is lying to him. This leads up to a marvelously twisty ending, but a couple of things could have made this better. For one, it feels awfully short. The pacing is good, but I definitely see room for expansion. Secondly, it would have helped just a bit if Ember’s preoccupation with others lying to him was established earlier in the first part. Once we get into it, it works really well, but seeing that tragic flaw right off the bat really would have helped bring everything home. Still, this is a great piece in a genre that’s not often taken on in ponyfic, and definitely worth the read.
Recommended

Teddy Bear by The Mechanic
Genre: Silver Spoon Redemption
This is the most roundabout way to redeem a character I have ever seen. It’s also the most balls-out bizarre story I have ever read that wasn’t also atrociously written. We get a heaping helping of weird courtroom drama as Pinkie Pie is dragged before the Princesses on the charge of stealing a national treasure: a teddy bear passed down along Chancellor Puddinghead’s family line to Silver Spoon. Said foal comes to Pinkie’s defense and… that’s about where this stops making sense. Even if the logic holds up, I just couldn’t believe what I was reading. Of course, this is heavily predicated on the odd and unsubstantiated idea that Silver Spoon gives even half a damn for Pinkie’s welfare, so that didn't help any. This definitely takes place in the midst of Silver Spoon’s reformation (she mentions owing the CMCs apologies by the end), and so will require a certain amount of acceptance on the reader’s part as to her character's position. Again, this is just the most convoluted method I think I’ve ever seen to get to a particular resolution, and for that, it works best as a part one of something longer. Or, maybe a part five of something that’s been going on for a while. Anyway, if you’re into character redemption and like happy endings, this does at least deliver.
Recommended If You’re Loose With Character Interpretations

Fine Steps: Intermezzo I by Twilight Snarkle
Sequel to Justice
Genre: Slice of Life
Fine Steps is a collection of stories and scenes taking place during, after and before the Order from Chaos series. It gives Pasofino and Snarkle’s Equestria at large room to breathe and grow. We get to see the side characters’ stories, not to mention filling in holes that weren’t important to the original three stories but interesting nevertheless. This chapter is just a tiny scene showing Luna teaching Snowdrop how to lucid dream. What surprises me is that it’s not super-cute, as most things involving Snowdrop tend to be. Luna being immune to her filly charms likely has something to do with that. Mostly, it’s just a long scene with solid imagery, a prelude to what they’ll be doing later on. Infuriatingly, it’s horribly placed in the collection, coming after two very engrossing chapters of a continual story (before that, the components of Fine Steps stand alone). If the next chapter isn’t part of that as well, I shall be very put out. (Spoiler, it is, and I’m not.) A recommendation on this one isn’t really needed, because you’re likely already reading Fine Steps if you’ve read it, and wouldn’t if you haven’t.
Recommended If You’ve Read Justice

Blood Ties by Noble Cause
Reading by VisualPony
Genre: TwiSpike Bonding
This little vignette seeks to define the relationship Twilight and Spike have with each other. The answer is layered and complex, and ultimately satisfying. That said, if you’re looking for something to happen, you won’t find it. Spike makes Twilight breakfast in bed for a “special occasion”, they have a little chat, and everything is adorable, the end. (Though I’ll give the author credit for a really wacky pun, even if it derails the scene a bit.)
Recommended If You Like Cute Fics

Ragnarok by Pascoite
Reading by DeftFunk
Genre: Dark Comedy
Discord, feeling generous, grants Fluttershy one wish, genie-style. She ends up making the wish accidentally, and I definitely do not want to spoil what it is. What follows is a hilarious romp as she tries to run from what’s been granted to her, but even better is the ending, where everything is explained. Running gags like the stick keep the main scenes connected and the narration breezes along at a steady clip. A bit too dark to be a real episode, this has a definite show-feel regardless. Is there anything Pascoite cannot do?
Highly Recommended

Foreigner by AugieDog
Genre: Adventure
After writing this, AugieDog announced that he was going to be continuing it, and it is now marked Incomplete. It definitely doesn’t work as a standalone. Gilda, shaped up and in the griffon military three years after Griffon the Brush-Off, finds Derpy in an ancient griffon city where no pony has ever set hoof. It’s a good setup, with Gilda’s reformation believable thanks to an undercurrent of anger bubbling just beneath her “I’m not that griffon anymore” exterior, and Derpy is hilariously infuriating the entire time. Also, I dig the Roman overtones of griffon culture; I’m too used to seeing them as Germanic, so something different is appreciated. Looks like I’ll be following this one!
Full review here

Report PresentPerfect · 538 views · #fic reviews
Comments ( 11 )

Woo hoo! I got a 'Recommended' from PP for once!

Yaaaay! I loved all the fics in this round, and have genuinely learned a few things too, so I call that a win.

Apparently some good stuff in here. Another few for the to-read list. That said, you are reading and reviewing too many stories. Gotta spread them out more.

2366047 It's a careful calculation. In time, he will achieve singularity, and will review the stories live, as they are posted.

PresentPerfect
Author Interviewer

2366047
I SURE AM! :D

D:

2366839
Until he starts reviewing the stories _before_ they are posted, there's no need to panic.

PresentPerfect
Author Interviewer

2367113
I have actually done this. <.< Now if I start reviewing them before they're written...

2367150
That's kind of what I meant.

"(Though I’ll give the author credit for a really wacky pun, even if it derails the scene a bit.)"

I couldn't stop thinking of how to ponify the Illuminati, and I HAD to stick that pun in there somewhere. That, and it's a deliberate de-rail. You've had your mornings where your brain isn't working completely and you tend to ramble, that was Twilight doing the same thing.

PresentPerfect
Author Interviewer

2372582
I just kind of had to smile and laugh at that, because it was out of left field, derailed the story, yet I still appreciated it. :)

2373541

Success! Whoo! *dances around like an idiot*

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