Story Reviews » SA Reviews #119 · 8:41pm Dec 30th, 2017
Seattle's Angels is a group that promotes good stories with low views. You can find us here.
“So it’s us two this time, huh?”
“Eyup.”
“Amazing how much we can get done, even with our compound getting destroyed.”
“Sure is.”
“This is what, the third time?”
“Dunno. Lost count.”
“Think we’ll make it in time?”
“It’s gonna be close, that’s for sure.”
“How much further?”
“Just a little more… there!”
Corejo stepped back and admired his work. A giant bronze sculpture of Seattle stood tall against the sky as Intern nudged it into place with a swarm of remote controlled drones. The statue sat in place in front of the compound entrance, an opened book resting in the crook of its arm and a pen held high in the other.
Dusting off his hands, even though he did none of the work, Corejo turned to Intern with a nod. “Great. Now that that’s done, back to the reviews.”
Intern chuckled. “Oh yeah, that other thing we do.”
ROUND 119
Staying overnight in the hospital is already creepy enough without having to deal with ghosts...
You know, I'm always on the fence about yelling at you guys to read more Lucky Dreams. On one end, this guy is spectacular and deserves a hell of a lot more attention than he gets. On the other, though, it gives me more reason to gush over each and every one of them.
Cursed Be He is a simple story about Sweetie Belle spending the night in a hospital before some unnamed procedure, and the fears and concerns that come with such a thing. And while the story lends due attention to those fears, the spooky atmosphere is quickly offset by the beautiful language and word play that sets the tone squarely within the boundaries of children's literature, with all the endearing trappings you expect in that art form.
It's a small story with a big heart and a commanding message, and I can't help but love it to pieces. This is easily the most adorable story I've read in awhile, and I'm more than happy that I had an excuse to read it again since its publication.
Seriously, people, read this guy's stories—all of them. They're beyond fantastic.
Let’s start off with a cute and surprisingly touching story. If you’re not familiar with Lucky Dreams (and for shame if that’s true!), this type of fic is his bread and butter. He loves exploring the small things of everyday life that we all take for granted or simply don’t find important.
With this tale, Sweetie Belle is having trouble sleeping due to an operation she’s having the next day. Add to that the over imagination of a little kid in a dark, unfamiliar room and you’ve got a situation that I challenge anyone to deny they never experienced. Who hasn’t laid in bed, unable to sleep, and convince themselves that there are monsters hiding under the bed?
What makes this story more fascinating is that this takes place in Equestria, where monsters (and possibly ghosts) do exist. So when Sweetie Belle begins a conversation with a ghost in a closet, I’m not one-hundred percent sure that it’s real or not. However, this isn’t just a ghost story, but something a lot more.
And you’ll need to read this to find out what I mean! It’s not very long but it does the most with its word count with nothing left out.
STORY 2
Snowblind, by Aquaman
If diplomacy is an art form, then it's surely the most boring one of the lot. After a full day of fruitless trade negotiations with the Crystal Empire, I'm about ready to give up my royal title if it means avoiding more mind-numbing talks tomorrow. In the meantime, though, at least there's a nightclub in town. And from what I've heard, her Highness Princess Flurry Heart is its most frequent, infamous, and insatiable patron.
On second thought, maybe this trip won't be as tedious as I thought.
I've always loved Aquaman’s stuff.
He's got a knack for powerful, down-to-earth prose. And when I realized that this story of his met our requirements, you can bet your livelihood I snagged this faster than anything.
To begin, stories centered around diplomatic relations tend to get my “ugh” vote. I've never been one to enjoy politics or anything related to it. Snowblind goes about it in a much subtler fashion, though, one I initially didn't expect going in.
It's a story about a business stallion meeting with a grown-up Flurry Heart after a long session of trade negotiations gone sour. It’s got nightclubs, it’s got loud music, it’s got hot and heavy overtones that, while they are certainly hot and heavy and definitely teen rated, they don’t push any trigger-worthy boundaries and are securely within the realm of ‘important to the atmosphere of the fic.’
And the twist at the end is a magnificent capstone to both the story itself and to Flurry Heart as a character. Although, obviously, this is a projection of one of many possible personalities she might have when she grows up, but I'm all for this as headcanon.
This is my top pick of the round. If you must pick only one, make it this one.
Another well known author around these parts, Aquaman rarely disappoints with his material. With this one, we get a grown-up Flurry Heart taking part in what all princesses secretly wish for: parental rebellion.
At least that’s what’s presented to us through the eyes of our main character, a business pony who’s taking the night off after a long round of trade negotiations (No worries Prequel haters; no boring, talky scenes of that kind happen). He meets the young princess herself and shares a few drinks, both slowly becoming loose. Flurry is delightful in her role as the bad girl flirting her way through the night, culminating in a steamy romp.
Yeah, fair warning, it does get to some heavy petting near the end but remains in Teen range for those that might get a little uncomfortable reading this type of thing for a character that’s still a baby in the show.
One last thing to keep in mind is to let the story play itself out. A few characters and situations show up that may not seem important or just padding, but everything culminates at the end. It takes a practically characterless Flurry Heart and makes her into a compelling and clever pony that I can see ruling the Crystal Empire once her parents step down.
Fluttershy’s struggle with her crippling shyness seemed to be over, now that she had six best friends whisking her off on adventures on a regular basis. Her therapist had other ideas, such as her making a new pony friend all on her own. Her attempt to fulfill that challenge, by way of introducing herself to the first pony to cross her path, didn’t go at all like she expected.
Well this is a cute little story if I've ever read one. A simple title with a simple story from a simple time in the series, this one hails as a season one story, despite how recently it was published.
In short, it's about Fluttershy seeing a therapist to help her get over her crippling shyness and the pony she meets there.
It's a romance, but it didn't quite feel like one to me. Sure, there was romance in the traditional boy-meets-girl sense, but this like any good romance story didn't sit squarely on the romance itself. Rather, the romance follows in the footsteps of the story, that of Fluttershy learning to overcome her shyness, with the passage of time given via season one events.
Shell Game isn't anything groundbreaking, but it hits all the right notes in the right order with believable and compelling emotions.
In a lot of ways, I’m glad I’m a part of the Seattle’s Angels group because I’d probably pass over stories like these without a second glance. There’s so much I could be missing out on that I shouldn’t and now I get to tell you why that is!
Here, we have Fluttershy as she’s depicted during the first season. Extremely shy, to the point of being a recluse, but the addition of new friends has changed her. Or so she thought, as now she’s being challenged by her therapist to make a new friend all on her own. She does, almost by accident, and this changes things for her even more than she could imagine.
Romance time, but one that has a slow burn and doesn’t just rush to the “I love you!” finale. Noteworthy is a fine character, with a terrible case of the sneezes whenever he stresses out. I really liked how these two bounced off of each other, taking each other’s conditions into account. It felt natural, is what I’m saying.
Very cute, as well. Fluttershy fans will adore this and romance fans will hopefully get something out of this that they don’t normally find elsewhere.
STORY 4
Carol, by JawJoe
In the magical land of Equestria, ponies speak of great heroes and greater adventures, of foes overcome, and of hardships bravely faced. This is not one of those stories.
Sometimes, a mare is just a mare. Yet, just sometimes, even an unremarkable footnote of history might be worth listening to. Princess Luna loves her little ponies, be they old or young -- and on the night before the new year's dawn, she takes the time to visit a jaded old mare.
Because even a pony in the twilight of her days deserves help, whether she will admit it or not.
Nothing like an old, crotchety lady to set the tone of a somber New year's fic.
At first, I was worried that's all this story was going to be, but luckily it became much more than that.
This is a story of love and love lost, of kids being kids, growing up and learning the hardships of life. A Boy-Meets-Girl story gone sour, and how it all reflects upon the narrator.
Most of Carol’s life is told to us indirectly through the snippets of life we see every new year's. How life has changed, how time has passed and her relationship with Meadow has dwindled. It's an excellent method for compact storytelling and lets us fill in the blanks and draw our own conclusions.
For those that like their worldbuilding, there's some to be had here. We get a wonderful bout of it in the new year's festivities, which are a nice, symbolic touch on multiple levels that I won't spoil, and a few hints here and there throughout the story with Jawjoe’s simple but elegant use of tribal differences.
If you want something to counterbalance all the silly feel-good stories that swarm this site every Hearth's Warming, this is definitely one that fits the bill.
Christmas may be over, but we’ve still got a holiday special to end off this round. This one deals with the new year, so we’re just in time for that, at least!
The titular Carol is a pony in the twilight of her life. She’s worked hard, she’s loved, she’s lost, she just wants to be alone. But those darn foals keep trying to cheer her up! The nerve! Her behavior draws the attention of Princess Luna, who plays the part of the mysterious and wise figure perfectly. Carol isn’t having any of it and goes to sleep just wanting to forget.
But then she dreams, and we get to see just how a pony like Carol got to this point of her life.
This is a character piece. We dig into Carol’s psyche and learn that she’s worth exploring. We get the highs and the lows and everything in between.
If there’s any takeaway from this, it’s that no one’s too old to change or to stop caring about. I really liked this simple journey. Even small adventures are worth checking out if it means it has something to say about the human condition. Have at it!
“Think it will last?”
Corejo shrugged. “Who knows. About as long as anything else that exists on the internet.”
Nodding, Intern said, “Words of wisdom, pal. Words. Of. Wisdom.”
Feel free to visit our group for more information and events, and to offer some recommendations for future rounds. See you all next time!
Shell game and snowblind were so good they hurt. He really made the best flurry heart; one molded by her mother and father into something more
Oh man, Cursed Be He That Moves My Bones. :D Lucky Dreams needs all the attention, seriously.
Wow, thanks for featuring Shell Game!
4762751
Lucky Dreams defintely needs more attention!
Cursed Be He That Moves My Bones is gold
Oh hey, I've almost forgotten about Carol. I keep writing these big sprawling adventures with blood and death in them; I never write anything quite like this one. To date Carol is my first (and only) attempt at "romance" (and those are some pretty serious sarcasm quotes there). I suppose it's a nice little story, although I was never entirely pleased with it myself. I hope whoever cares to read it will enjoy it, though! Thank you for the feature.
Say, Corejo, did you ever end up reading Seven-Point Star?
4763163
Us dark writers need to stick together, and [Romance] comes in all shapes and sizes, so there’s nothing sarcastic about it here.
I... was waiting for a hardback version because I thought that was legitimately going to be a thing. And then I completely forgot about the whole endeavor. If it’s gonna stay digital, I’ll pick up a copy here shortly.
4763297
I dunno about hardback, but I still intend to get a printed version out, uh, sometime. I was almost entirely neglecting my writing/publishing duties this year (focusing on uni instead), but now that I've graduated I'm hoping to get everything in motion again. This includes getting the print version of SPS out there, hopefully sometime early 2018. Basically I just want some new cover art (might be problematic finding the right artist), plus I need to figure out how to approach printing to begin with. I know Amazon offers that service, there's Lulu.com, and a bunch of others. I need to settle with one (or not?), figure out their formatting requirements, work out costs, etc..
Bottom line, it's probably coming and maybe soon. Or not. Make up your mind based on that. If/when you end up reading it, I hope you'll enjoy it.
4763330
Sounds like a plan! Grats on graduating, too!
If it’s a definite probably, I’ll be waiting with baited breath. Got a lot of other stuff to catch up on in the meanwhile.