Fic reviews, December 20th! · 11:07pm Dec 20th, 2023
Local person-about-town Krack-Fic Kai needs some help!
This is one more blog done for the sake of getting the prequel to an audiobook read ahead of time. <_< Glad I could get it done right now. Also, I hit probably the last milestone for the year. :)
H: 2 R: 1 C: 3 V: 0 N: 0
Grading Is Degrading by BewhoUr
600th Review of 2023!
Genre: Comedy
Cheerilee grades the CMCs' latest reports.
I'm of two minds about this. Maybe three. On the one hand, it's chock full of really strong sensory imagery, not just sight but also sound and even taste! This is contrasted by the fillies' papers, which are honestly pretty damn funny in their own rights. And Cheerilee being shocked by how much trouble they get into is likewise amusing. (Also, Scootaorphan, always love that.) But on the third hand, there's not a lot to this. Like, there's no real story? Just, here's Cheerilee, doing her thing, here's three funny papers, that's it. Also, one of the jokes is about the CMCs being bad at spelling, and it doesn't exactly hit home when the first paragraph of the story it's incontains a major spelling mistake. <_< Glass houses. So, on the whole, I guess I'd say it's fluffy, but still entertaining. Can't go wrong with that.
Recommended for Laughs
Under Her Spell by thedarkprep
Genre: EQG Shipping
The Great and Powerful Trixie does not get flustered! She was merely caught off guard!
So here we have what I believe is the first story of the Who We Become canon not written by Krickis! And I will say, knowing anything about WWB isn't really necessary here. This leads into its own mini-series of sequels that I expect will grow closer to WWB canon events in time, but on its own merits, this is just a decent shipfic set during and after Rainbow Rocks. It's quite a bit of fun, too, because like… Do you remember when Adagio brushed her hand under Trixie's chin during "Battle of the Bands"? What do you think something like that does to a teenage girl? Find out alongside Trixie! The real highlight of this piece, for me, was the final chapter, taking place after the movie has ended, where Pinkie sits down and talks to Trixie about what happened. I've never seen Pinkie written in quite this way before, and I loved it. Along the way, there's gay panic and a lot of self-denial followed by reassurance that identity isn't necessarily a one-and-done thing. Good story.
Recommended
The Baker and the Candy Loving Unicorn by Lyrafan38
Genre: Random Comedy
Ever since Lyra started living with her, Bon-Bon has had to keep a close eye on her candies.
This is about what you'd expect from a Lyra and Bon-Bon comedy with no shipping, though it's perhaps a little too silly? I mean, Lyra comes off as completely unhinged; I definitely did not follow the bits that were supposed to be in her head. Which, by the way, head-hopping! As for the rest of the writing, it's pretty simplistic, but the ending at least is funny. It's alright, I guess.
Recommended for Lyra and Bon-Bon Fans.
Scootalong to the Cheer by Blackbelt
Genre: Lunaverse Comedy/Shipping
Cheerilee holds a parent-teacher conference with Scootaloo's father.
Okay, negatives first. This story could have used another round of edits. It definitely could have stood to be pared down a bit. There's a tendency for scenes to go on and on, or exist entirely, being amusing but otherwise not adding anything to the story. So it goes off track rather frequently, and it does devolve into needless drama by the end. But as to what's here? It's honestly great. So nice to see a story this involved that doesn't focus on Trixie for once. In fact, the focus character is really Scootaloo, which is a very interesting angle to take. Consider that, in the Lunaverse, the Apple Family are rotten scoundrels (a fact the author seems to have forgotten?) and so Apple Bloom never formed the CMCs. You've just got Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, who are friends, but this isn't like, earth-shatteringly important. And then you add in Diamond Tiara, who is still kind of a spoiled brat, but mostly because she's tsundere as fuck and bad at expressing herself. Her role in this story was both unexpected and welcome. If there's a canon episode to compare this to, uh, maybe It's About Time because of the way Cheerilee looks? I dunno, but that's still a fun guessing game. So yeah, not the best written example, but still a strong entry into Lunaverse canon. So hard to put recommendations on these!
Recommended If You Don't Mind Writing Problems?
Harpflank and Sweets: Introspection by Arcainum
Genre: AU Drama
The lives — and minds — of the ponies of M.A.R.E. are turned upside-down when Discord appears.
Okay, Arcainum really outdid himself with this one. Gone is any pretense at crafting a silly Saturday morning cartoon, or sendup thereof. This is about the characters in the Harpflank and Sweets universe and what makes them tick. It probably won't have much effect on a reader unfamiliar with the previous entries, but if you are, oh boy, this hits like a truck. Really good use of Discord here, some excellent changeups in writing style, and take a look at those chapter lengths! They're just really fascinating. This is super good, maybe the best entry in the series, certainly the best one that isn't focused on comedy.
Highly Recommended
Piece by Piece by Krickis
Sequel to In Pieces
Genre: Character Piece/Shipping/Drama
The Scootaloo in the human world is a transgender man. What does that mean for the pony version?
Remember in In Pieces, when Rainbow Dash mentioned the thing I used as the summary? Yeah, what's up with that? Here is your answer. In what feels at first like a continuation rather than a true sequel, we explore questions of gender! And if that doesn't sound interesting to you, think again, because Krickis is good at this stuff! If anything, this is the rare heartwarming LGBTQ+ "figuring yourself out" ponyfic I've read that really, really works. Which is not to say there isn't some drama in it, some conflict, because there is, and it's also good. If anything, I'm particularly glad there's a story this good written about a transmasculine character. You just don't see them represented as well as the transfeminine in, well, anything. There's also non-binary representation! :) It's nice to be able to read something like this and finally be able to see myself reflected in it. But even if that weren't the case, this is simply another excellent addition to the canon of Who We Become.
Highly Recommended
Ah, yes. The now-classic event of "these two characters touched and now they are shipped."
In Trixie's defense, it is Adagio...
Piece by piece is amazing.
Thank you so much for the review! I'm really happy you liked the story so much. And as you suspect, future stories by thedarkprep do connect more strongly with my WWB stories.
5760117
more to look forward to! :3
5759960
This man gets it.