Fic recs, August 12th! · 11:25pm Aug 12th, 2020
In case you've not seen it in someone else' blog, Novel Idea and her family need help!
Because the call went out just after I'd posted another review, I wanted to get a new blog out as soon as possible. So I've done the reverse of what I did last time: We've got a story I came across and needed to read, followed by four things off the top of my RIN. Digging way back for some of these!
H: 1 R: 2 C: 1 V: 0 N: 1
By Way of an Apology by Luna-tic Scientist
Genre: Self-Insert PoE
So, spoilers, I've been reading Days of Wasp and Spider. :B And it does a really weird thing, right in the middle: It has an alternate bad ending. Like, who does that? Not to get ahead of myself. But at the end of that ending is an exhortation to come read this fic, so here I am. For starters, you don't have to have to have read DWS to understand this unless you really want to know what's got Celestia so upset. Second, geez, I've accused Super Trampoline of posting blogs disguised as stories; until the part where Celestia shows up, this fic looks like the kind of thing you'd expect out of Cynewolf's blogs, the very detailed, writerly portrait of the artist that's also a wee bit masturbatory, if we're being honest. But this isn't just a dream journal, it's also got a point about belief and the relationship between creator and created. Above all, it's just weird, but it's also unique, and it's not bad at all, so I guess go try it.
Recommended
4 Conversations About 1 Thing by Gofindnova
Genre: Best Sisters
Princess Luna has returned to Equestria. She and Celestia talk.
Hey, something that's only been posted on EQD! The author apparently has a Fimfiction account, but they were only present for one year and left no trace of their passing. And what a shame, because this was really great. Each of the titular conversations is emotional without being sappy, mostly covering Luna's adjustments to modern life and her fears about herself. In front of each is a letter to Celestia, chronicling friendship lessons across the centuries. And it all comes together in the final scene, which earns the story its Sad tag. It's always amazing to find old stories that still have this much heft to them. No wonder it was rated 6 stars.
Highly Recommended
pony sexed one shots by kingofwhales
Mature
Genre: Trollfic
And now for something completely different. What strikes me about this is… it's not good trollfiction. Like, seriously, you can do this notably poorly. I liked the setup, but the more I read, the less I enjoyed it. The author's idea of grammatical trolls includes constantly putting -ed and -ing on the ends of words and only ever using "vachina" for "vagina". Like, that's top-tier laziness! No effort was put into this! I have to say, I'm really disappointed. The heck did I save this for?
DNF 2/7
Nyx and Snowdrop Save the Hearth's Warming Eve by Samey90
Mature: Sex
Genre: Crackfic
Nyx raises Snowdrop from the dead so they can get smashed and have sex or just have Hearth's Warming adventures, that's cool too.
Well, that was something! Pure goofy-tits silliness in a fast-paced comedy that isn't hung up on things like logic or internal consistency. The EME is atrocious, and leads to some off-color jokes, be warned. I don't know why it's called "the" Hearth's Warming Eve though. Like, was that a gag? And questions like that are why I can't enjoy this too much, though I definitely enjoyed it. Probably didn't need to be M-rated.
Recommended for Laughs
Beautiful: Fleur de Lis by TheLandgrave and Nom_deCheval
Sequel to Beautiful: Rainbow Dash
Genre: Romance
Fleur finds herself at a bar with somepony who doesn't know why she's there, either.
Gee, I hate when it takes me five years to read a sequel. :/ I don't think this story answers any of the questions I had about its other half, but maybe upon reflection, that's not the point. This is about two people finding each other when they needed each other most, and didn't even know it. They both come away from their encounter changed for the better, even if one of them has tragedy to return to. And the characterization is still really good.
Recommended
What is, "EME?"
5334595
Early Modern English! i.e. the thees and thous of S2 Luna.
4 Conversations About 1 Thing? There's a blast from the past! As I remember, I loved it, too. Even though the four scenes weren't bound all that tightly together, they had just the right emotional punch for me without, as you said, getting sappy.
It's been a while, but if I recall correctly this was before auto-approval and the mod was apparently the only person who thought it needed to be M.
5334832
Ah well, explains it then! :B