Fic recs, January 24th! · 10:55pm Jan 24th, 2016
Just for the sake of proving that my Youtube channel is not dead, I uploaded a short toy review of some cool new stuff. Check it out if you like:
So hey, my entirely selfish plea for story reviews worked! I don’t really have anything in mind to reward people with, but I can at least signal boost them!
Vertigo-01 reviews Rainbow Dash Doesn’t Know What Hooves Are. I hope he does more reviews (of other stories!), because I like his style.
Icy Shake reviews a bunch! And he gets them.
EquestrianKirin did not like Tomodachi no Kyoupon. :(
Cleverpun gave Persephone his usual detailed rundown! (I asked for that review directly, but hey, you should be following him anyway!)
And Swooty Bell reviews Fluttershy Goes to Narnia. Apparently, I “capture the ebonics of [Chronicles of Narnia] really well”. XD
More hopefully to come. :B In the meantime, I've got five more mostly-audiobook-driven stories to review!
H: 0 R: 2 C: 2 V: 1 N: 0
A Pony Walks Into a Police Station by Admiral Biscuit
Reading by ShadowOfCygnus
Genre: EiH
Sergeant Piobar’s April Fool’s Day takes a turn for the weird when a pony walks into the station looking for its parents.
This reminds me of another story — I think it was also an EiH, but I can’t remember what it was — where the human portion struck me with its economical creation of strong characters that were then not really utilized when the pony showed up. This isn’t a bad little read, it’s just that nothing really happens. The officer freaks out inwardly at the talking pony, then goes and helps him. The journal linked in the author’s note at least explains why this story was written; I just wish more had been done with the idea.
Recommended as Light Reading
To Be the Candle by Loganberry
Reading by Loganberry
Genre: Dark
Mirrors just don’t break like they used to.
This is a very pleasantly creepy piece. Its central trope is one I’ve grown somewhat inured to during my time with the SCP Foundation, yet I nevertheless enjoyed seeing it play out here. This does a lot of calm building through small details (though the mention of dollar coins had me scratching my head) while meditating on the nature of mirrors and the idea that modern ones are magically reinforced. Calm, quiet and decently chilling, just don’t look for meaning in the ending that isn’t there.
Recommended
MLP: Fallen Angel by Dainn
Reading by Captain Sand
Genre: Dark
Applejack must decide what to do when Winona brings her a dead Angel Bunny.
Lying isn’t the opposite of honesty; dishonesty is. And everything Applejack does in this piece is dishonest to the core. Not to mention, she ought to know that Fluttershy would be able to tell the difference between “died of natural causes” and “mauled to death”. This story just doesn’t do well by its characters. The Poe-esque ending almost makes this worth reading, but you will be forgiven if the setup is a turnoff.
Vaguely Recommended
Campfire Stories by Admiral Biscuit
Reading by ShadowOfCygnus
Genre: 2P HiE
If there’s anything I can say in this story’s favor, it’s that it focuses on the differences and adjustments necessary to live in an alien world. (I also like the smores line.) This is all, unfortunately, to set up a really... I don’t want to say it’s a bad joke, but it’s definitely bottom-of-the-barrel and not really worth all the setup. The writing is good, but I sense this will have limited appeal.
Recommended If You Like HiEs
One Day by ArgonMatrix
Reading by Me!
Sequel to One Friend
Genre: Dark
Luna visits Twilight Sparkle and discovers just what’s happened to her.
So here we go: the culmination of the questions posed by One Night and the ideas presented in One Morning, not to mention the reveal for what happened at the end of One Friend. And boy, is it satisfying. It’s also somewhat gruesome, though not too gruesome; the squeamish need not fear blood, guts, or Twyrant Sparkle. And though this story is focused mainly on wrapping up the series, it still leaves a few questions left that the author could perhaps explore later. Overall, it’s a very worthwhile series, you’ll just want to commit yourself to read all four stories from the outset.
Recommended
I've been told that Highway 502 and A Pony Walks into a Police Station are the same story, except one is set in Equestria and one is on Earth. I probably should have done more with A Pony Walks into a Police Station, except it was the end of October and I could write no more. It's amazing it's even coherent.
Campfire Stories was meant as a shaggy dog story right from the beginning. On the other hand, given the current crop of presidential wanna-bes, it's an even more horrifying tale.
Also, I propose that the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000 is be nicknamed the 4S6k, since the c in cider makes an s sound.
Thanks for the review! I'm pleased you liked the story, though frankly a teensy, weensy, eensy bit surprised that you felt it worthy of an R; I was expecting a C, really. I've never really thought of myself as being much good at [Dark] stories, and this was my first of any significance in any fandom. I guess I may have to write another one of these days...
tl;dr answer: I screwed up on the research.
Longer answer: I remembered that "cents" are mentioned in the "Mine's got rocks in it" scene near the end of the cider episode. "Bits" are mentioned in the same scene, so I inferred that they were two different things. Given that you can (usually) buy tomatoes for one bit ("Putting Your Hoof Down"), it's hard to credit that a cent would be any use at all if it were worth 1/100 of a bit. Therefore, "dollar" seemed the sensible term for a silver coin, especially as I thought that word was also used in the episode (it isn't). Silver Buck's name means the reference stays here, but the word "dollar" is only mentioned once and doesn't affect anything important.
Honestly, I think the tl;dr answer is the one to go with here.
You're welcome, and thank you for the boost!
Certainly beats hearing the opposite! :V
(For the impatient, I'd suggest jumping to about 38s.)
3710308 I think half the joke there, or perhaps the greatest terror, comes of the fact that the joke's equally applicable no matter who's in office.
3710844
Okay, now I need to see this movie.