Fic recs, January 23rd: Homecoming edition! · 3:31pm January 23rd
Ice Star really needs some help for his boyfriend!
And Skeeter the Lurker is back and also needs help!
Scribbler has done a reading of Majin Syeekoh's Solving for Death, with MrTurnLeft, Agent0Fluffy and Animelodie!
And Agent0Fluffy's newest is FamousLastWords' Every Day Is Beautiful!
goddamn x_x I think it's safe to say I am not okay right now. 23 days into the new year and I'm finally posting the first review blog? I've got a fucking vs. post that's been sitting around, waiting for me to finish writing it, since probably the second! Apologies to the folks above who needed a signal boost a little sooner. Happy 2024 I guess.
Anyway, today we are finishing up something I started very, very early last year -- I do believe it got co-opted by the previous year's top ten list -- the first five stories (I think!) in a series called Homecoming, all written by Rose Quill. :) Hope you like SciSet, because you're about to be in for a pound!
H: 0 R: 2 C: 3 V: 0 N: 0
Homecoming
Genre: EQG Shipping
Sunset goes back to Equestria after receiving bad news, and Twilight comes along with her.
It's a really interesting idea, having Sci-Twi turn into a slightly different looking pony than her princess counterpart. Not being an alicorn is one thing, almost expected, but the different coat and mane coloring was original. That said, this hits about all the points I would expect from a story about Sunset going back to Equestria, nevermind one that includes Sunlight shipping, but it also doesn't really linger on any of them. The first two-thirds especially feel rushed, which the low chapter word counts will attest to. I also felt like there were some logical issues at play. Like, Rarity more or less flat tells Sunset that Sci-Twi is into her, a fact which Sunset then immediately forgets for the rest of the story. Even near the end, Sunset tells Sci-Twi something in one chapter, which Princess Twilight then tells them in the next chapter as though for the first time. So is this perfect? No. Is it cute? Hell yes. As the author reminded me, this was only her second fic, so while it may not have necessarily been satisfying, it was definitely enjoyable, and there's nowhere to go from here but up!
Recommended for SunLight Shippers
At Night, All You Have Is…
Sequel to Homecoming
Genre: EQG Shipping
Sunset lays awake, listening to her darkest thoughts.
I read the previous story, then 2023 happened. c_c So it's kind of nice that this recaps Homecoming, though extending that to a few canon events was less so. But if you want a short, fluffy comfort fic about Twilight helping Sunset deal with her literal demons, you can't go wrong here.
Recommended for SunLight Shippers
In for a Bit, in for a Pound
Sequel to At Night, All You Have Is…
Genre: EQG
Just how did Sunset survive when she first came through the mirror?
If I describe my reaction to this story as 'nonplussed', it's likely because I've had this precise thought about this particular topic, and possibly even planned to write a story like this myself. Well, now I don't have to, which is nice; I just didn't find any surprises here. Well, aside from the bit about money not being very important to Equestrians, but it's not focused on too much. Basically a short headcanon dump, but it definitely needed to be written.
Recommended
The Wooing of Sunset Shimmer
Sequel to In for a Bit, in for a Pound
Genre: EQG Shipping
Sunset's relationship with Twilight has gotten pretty serious. So it's time to meet her family.
So, we've come this far, it's time to shift the relationship stuff into high gear! Which is weird because they're still in high school. <_< As a later chapter reminds us. But nevermind that, you're here for cute shit, and you will find that aplenty. I'm not sure if it would be injudicious to describe this as "Who We Become without the drama" — granted, there is drama, in the final two chapters, but it both appears and is dealt with so quickly, it may as well not have been there in the first place — but I think that speaks to both the quality of the relationship dynamic and the general feel of a long-form slice of life romance set in Humania. Character dynamics, especially among Twilight's family, are what make this work, and it really is quite a good example of long-form slice of life, something not enough people are willing or able to tackle. Plus, a large portion of the first half takes place in Equestria, and you know I'm always here for that. :) (Interestingly, though a later chapter would lead me to think otherwise, this was written before Spring Breakdown, so none of Sci-Twi's things are horse things.) This is a solid culmination of everything that's come before it, the rare story I can describe as fluffy and feel-good that still was totally worth reading, and the epilogue suggests even bigger and better things to come!
Recommended
Keeping Me Warm
Reading by Lotus Moon
Sequel to The Wooing of Sunset Shimmer
Genre: EQG Slice of Life/Romance
We come, at last, to the thing that started all of this, that reading from when I was still going through Lotus Moon's channel, which, geez, that was a while ago. D: The first third or so of this is a recipe, and a meditation on how cooking is chemistry, thanks to one Twilight Sparkle. Interestingly, this means the story is told from her first-person perspective, which I think is a first in this series? From there we get a short conversation about magical stuff, followed by the reason for the T-rating. I wouldn't blame anyone for thinking this is all a bit disjointed, but the relationship is the glue holding everything together, and I think that's just the way a story like this ought to go. :)
Recommended for Shippers
Nice to see stuff like this - Homecoming's on my to read list (mostly being held back by being a continuity with 57 stories currently in it) so a little peek ahead is always valuable. This series ought to keep you busy for a while!
Sorry you’ve had a rough January so far. It does seem to be a month that brings that sort of thing for a lot of people, doesn’t it? Either from the get-go, or after a Sunny stretch for a few weeks.
Very, ah… shipping-heavy week this, eh?
Three fics of the five in the series recommended just for shippers will do that, and I get the impression the other two aren’t much different, just more polished to not feel like a chore for non-shippers to wade through. But SciSet has its fans and then some, so I don’t begrudge them this. To judge from the views, these fics have clearly worked for lots of people. 
5764877
yes, as of this morning I have only just begun to discover how many more of these stories there are @_@ Rose Quill is prolific!
5764879
The good news is that while there's a huge number of stories, they're mostly of reasonable size. The whole thing only comes out to 446k, which isn't bad given the story count.
5764880
yeah, that's just under 8k a story on average, so not bad :)
There's a name I haven't seen for quite some time.
Oh, the days of Keeping Me Warm…back when I was a fluff ship writer.
5764913
what lies in store? :D
I'm onto you
5764928
You’ll find out if you continue on.
There is certainly a theme for this one!
Sorry things aren't going so well. This damn year seems to be starting off in Major Suckage mode for just about everyone I know.
I am very not into EQG, but I have often wondered what went on when Sunset made her first jump through the mirror to Pedestria, and never found any hint that someone had come up with some cool ideas about it. So your review of In for a Bit, in for a Pound has me intrigued. Will I have to read the previous stories to get into it?
5765179
If you can accept that Sunset is dating the human version of Twilight Sparkle that is not also a princess of Equestria, it stands alone.
But also, the answer is probably not that interesting. :B I leave it to you.
5765192
Isn't that a common ship? I mean, I really don't pay much attention to that side of the mirror, but I'd think that the shippers would have every possible combo covered multiple times?
5765231
it is :B
5765236
Okay, so I read it, and it was good! The first-person wasn't bad at all, and getting the inner voice wrong for a known character is a deal-killer for me. This case was not strong, but in a low-stakes situation, that's understandable. So... cool.
5765262
I will not lead astray those who follow :P
Thank you so, so much for the attention to my fundraiser. It's around the halfway point, so I'm going to be boosting it again.