Fic recs, July 4th: Project Get! #6 · 6:13pm Jul 4th, 2016
Merry Fourthmas to all those of the applicable persuasion! :V
I've determined that I should be done with my audiobook by the end of the week, which suits me just fine. You'll get a vs. post out of it. Until then, have some of this, instead of the minifics!
Project Get! is meant to get eyes on stories. I sort my (complete) Read-It-Later by views, go to the end, and work backwards until I've gotten stories by ten different authors. Some will be unknown gems, while others will demonstrate why they haven't garnered much interest, but do consider taking a look at all of these. Someone put a lot of effort into writing them, after all.
H: 0 R: 1 C: 4 V: 4 N: 1
Are You a Robot? by FIMScourge
Genre: Dark
There's a good idea in here, but it's not developed enough. You've got war veteran Pinkie sitting on a bench, accosted by a filly who wants to know about her prosthetic leg. Some exposition gives us the basic ideas of what happened during the war, to her and her friends, and how she feels about that. Then she attacks the filly, and it's not really clear why. If a few more details had gone into this, it might have worked with the open ending, but between the fast writing, typos and somewhat stock emotions, it didn't leave any effect on me.
Not Recommended
Amnesiac by Yipyapper
Genre: Surreal
This isn't actually a Bastion crossover, but as the video linked in the description suggests, it's written in the style of that game's narrator. If you know what you're 'hearing', it's a perfect style imitation, but without that information, there's something lacking. The imitation is about all this has going for it. It's thin on plot — there's an interesting "losing grip on reality" thing at play, but I couldn't figure out what to make of it, leaving this as your standard "amnesiac OC" story — and filled with tense changes. But imagining it read aloud in that voice? It works, no doubt.
Recommended If You Like Different Narrative Styles
By Blood Moonlight by PhycoKrusk
Mature: Gore
Genre: Bloodborne Crossover/Quill & Blade
I'm freaking out because this just happens to be a story in the same universe as the audiobook I am currently reading. Well, sort of; it's actually a crossover, with some really strong imagery. Our main character (why was she the one doing this?) is a colonial steampunk 'beast hunter', toting a saw blade and blunderbuss as she hunts down ponies whose blood has gone 'bad'. It's an interesting setting, knowing nothing about it, but the story itself doesn't do much more than give us the details, run us through some action, and show what's been lost. Not being terribly close to the main character, I didn't get the full impact of the ending, but I can at least say that if you like action scenes and don't mind a little blood (it's not that gory), it's fun and accessible as a crossover.
Recommended for Action Fans
Mirror, Clearer by SilverAlchemist
Genre: Comedy
Star Swirl's newest greatest invention: a mirror to another world!
This maybe overdoes it by the end, but Star Swirl is presented as a complete crackpot, possibly insane, and this was very funny. The plot is a tad by-the-book as explaining-canon fics go, but in the context of Star Swirl the utter maniac, it is, again, fun. And I do like the running gag about Blueblood's family line.
Recommended for Laughs
Moon Pony by teamidris
Reading by Wuten AiE
600th Review of 2016!
Genre: Sci-Fi
A unicorn finally achieves her dream of landing on the moon. But it's not quite what she thought it would be.
This is cute but would benefit from an editor. More to the point, the narrative is a little simplistic, almost like a fable, but not quite. This might work as a children's story, but probably not for anyone much older than that.
Vaguely Recommended
Caligula's Legacy by CCC
Genre: Erfworld Crossover
Erfworld, as it turns out, is a webcomic set in a world that runs like a strategy game. It's… very weird, from what I can gather, but this is a pretty decent introduction to it. I felt like I understood what was going on, but then I'm at least vaguely familiar with a number of similar games; those without gaming backgrounds may find themselves lost. The weird part is a lot of the terminology: 'dwagons', 'twolls', all the spellcasters having '-amancer' at the end of their titles with random words stuck on the front. It's hard to take seriously, and I was occasionally lost when too much was swung around in a scene. Anyway, as for the story itself, it's a retelling of the series pilot, but with a human main character named, sigh, "Megan Faust". (There was half a good idea in there.) She more or less takes the place of Spike (Fluttershy has the same reaction to her) as she and Twilight "upkeep the city". It really is just a retelling of the pilot as a turn-based strategy game, though the explanation at the end is pretty clever. I, uh, I guess if you've ever wanted to read that, this is the story for you!
Recommended for Gamer Nerds
Super Trampoline and BABScon Authors Write Ponies by Super Trampoline, et. al.
Genre: Crackfic-by-Committee
Everypony shows up for Spike's 18th birthday party.
Oh my god. This reads like a Madlib. :D I especially enjoy the sentences that explain the sentences coming directly prior to them. I have no idea how this was written, but it's hilarious, and if you like off-kilter nonsense, give it a read.
Recommended
Luna Attempts to Find Tiberius a Very Special Somepossum by Semaj
Genre: Light Comedy
Luna doesn't really like Hearts and Hooves Day, but that doesn't mean she can't find a date for her pet possum!
Tiberius, of course, comes from the IDW comics, and is arguably their best contribution to side canon. It's only natural I'm going to read a story about him. :) This is pretty funny, at least at first, but it's also got some issues, namely tense changes and Zecora dialogue. Plus, Tiberius is generally referred to as 'they', but sometimes 'it', which was confusing. It ends up being about Luna trying to avoid H&H Day, which made her a little too mopey for my tastes. If this had stuck a little more steadily with the comedy, it would have been fun, but the tonal disparity makes it drag by the end. Not the funny possum story I was hoping for.
Vaguely Recommended
Crackshipping and You: SunPunch by FuzzyFurvert and Misago
Genre: EQG
Sunset's first encounter with a human was a little… sloshed.
So the idea behind this series is great, akin to the Circleship thingy I was in a few years ago. I'm really looking forward to some of the pairings on the list. Unfortunately, I hope this story is not an indicator of where things are going to go. It's short, perfunctory and telly, and there's essentially zero shipping, as evidenced by the tags. Sunset makes friends with Berry, Berry quietly pines for her, and there's nothing else to it. I did kind of like it, but all the good stuff is smooshed in at the end. The next installment was literally published as I was reading this, so here's hoping it's be better.
Vaguely Recommended
Rare-ified by Compendium of Steve
Genre: Horror
Something is lurking in Rarity's boutique.
I literally can't this story. It's marked a crossover, but it's a crossover with a music video. And the Random tag plays really strongly. There is some good horror in the middle, though the opening leans pretty heavily on how 'precious' Sweetie Belle is, unintentionally painting Rarity as slightly unhinged. And the ending just… I don't even. If you like your horror undercut by weirdness, this might be for you.
Vaguely Recommended
It took a while, but "Super Trampoline and BABScon Authors Write Ponies" grew on me. Was going to bail partway through, but Skywriter's comment convinced me to keep going. I was happy I did.
Well, that Super Trampoline story was basically done like a madlib, so that makes sense. It was basically ST just yelling out to various people that he needed a (insert thing here). Then he'd dive back into whatever madness he was creating.
Yeah, Caligula's Legacy is probably more friendly to readers coming in from the Erfworld side of things, which makes sense, since it was first written on that site's forum. Still, with canon character names like Jillian Zamussels, Prince Ansom, Queen Bea, and the Don King, "Megan Faust" is one of the more subtle naming choices out there. (Heck, even the name of the protagonist of the comic, Parson Gotti, is an anagram of "protagonist.")
Whoo! I got the professional equivalent of a 'Meh, it's a fic' review!
I'm glad I started with the poorest one of the bunch. They DO get better, I promise.
This is genius level public service
I pretty much have to read that, just because when an author has gone so far as to possomify a word. . . .
vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/hedgecomic/images/f/fe/Heather_(Over_the_Hedge).jpg
Moon Pony is adapted from a piece Idris wrote for the 2015 UK PonyCon con book, and that con is heavily family-targeted, which probably explains some of the simplicity. That's the only one of these I've read other than the BABSCon one (which I didn't care for), so plenty more for the list!
4067428
It's a perfect blend of madness.
4067495
They'd better! >:B I have a lot riding on this, Furvert!
4067540
The concept was originally started by City of Doors, I think! (Or else Loganberry, I can't remember now. ._.)
4067428 basically what juggy said. I was high on Molly and some adhd pills and some alcohol and a little edibles.
But honestly, my sober stuff's pretty stupid too.
Ah, Erfworld. I would read it, but first I have to forgive the creators for making the classic amateur mistake of promising more than they could deliver.
What, me bitter?