Fic recs, August 24th! · 8:38pm Aug 24th, 2015
Hey, back to regular fics, and that means NEEEEEEWS!
Starting with something unexpected: Scribbler, et. al., did a reading of a Sonic fanfic, as a birthday present to Sonic fan Goombasa. I’m chagrinned to say I didn’t pay enough attention to it to review it properly (the Sentinels of the Multiverse multiplayer beta turned out to be far more engrossing than I had anticipated), but it seemed to be quite good, taking place during the birth of Princess Sally and the problems surrounding said birth. Just being able to get back into a SatAm mindset after all these years was kind of a nice thing. I wonder if that series is on DVD.
Speaking of old cartoons, I recently purchased the 2nd season 2 DVD of Gargoyles, and just finished watching it. I couldn’t help thinking, as I finished off what was the bulk of the series, just how smart it was. There’s all the mythology, the constant references to Shakespeare (one of the recurring bad guys was actually Macbeth), and the world-spanning trip that explores non-Western mythologies, geography and culture. The characters were strong, and their dynamics grow and evolve. Many characters, The Pack most especially, go through radical transformations over the course of the series, and the consequences of these are never left to the imagination. It was able to explore topics like environmentalism and disability with considerably more aplomb than its contemporaries. And when was the last time you saw a cartoon with episode titles like “A Lighthouse in the Sea of Time”?
Of course, when it was on TV, I was also thrilled by just how many Star Trek alums did voices: Troi, Riker, Data, Worf (he’s actually two characters), Geordi, Captain Janeway, Captain Sisko, even Chief O’Brien shows up as a side character in one episode. And oh my god Marina Sirtis is a great actress. I mean, Johnathan Frakes had range as Xanatos, but Demona destroyed. If that show was before your time please don’t tell me, you’ll make me feel old, do yourself a favor and go find it. The first two seasons, anyway, which account for a good three or more seasons of a regular TV show. If you can accept that season one is mostly silly "meet the characters" stuff, and that animation in the 90’s was pretty inconsistent — some shots are really good, some are barely removed from My Little Pony Tales — you’ll be in for a treat.
But you're not here to talk about 90's cartoons, you want ponies! Click below to read reviews of ArgonMatrix's A Draconequus' Guide to Immortality, Safe by Sharp Spark, and the just-completed Resolution by xjuggernaughtx, as well as three other rip-snortin' fanfics!
H: 0 R: 3 C: 1 V: 0 N: 2
The Daddening by Bad_Seed_72
Genre: Dad Jokes
Dust Devil is horrified to learn his fathers are getting a divorce. They don’t seem too fazed by it.
This is weird. And kind of dumb. It’s literally just an excuse to make lots of bad “Dad jokes” (though I’ll admit the four-way one is kind of worth it). I spent the entire story commiserating with our POV character, Dust Devil, because I had no idea what the fuck was going on either, and mostly I was just trying to figure out if Soarin and Braeburn were actually the worst parents ever. The ending leaves a lot to be desired, with a random POV shift, though the actual attempt at Dad jokes was kind of amusing. Beware, there is no point herein!
Recommended If You Like Dad Jokes
A Draconequus’ Guide to Immortality by ArgonMatrix
Reading by me
Genre: Immortality Fic
On the night of her coronation, the most important night of her life, Princess Twilight Sparkle’s mind is on other things.
Being from just after the season three finale, some may say that this hasn’t weathered the intervening time. Yet, as immortality angst fics go, I think it approaches the subject in a unique way and so earns a place among the classics. It’s all thanks to Discord acting like his usual self while pulling no punches in helping Twilight walk through her misgivings. (It also makes the good choice of not declaring whether or not she’s actually immortal.) It’s full of good characterization and description, though I found myself thinking that various actions were repeated continuously in amongst the dialogue. Not sure about that. Still, a worthwhile piece about an old idea that, again, stands out from the pack.
Recommended
No Love for the Sun by Bendy
Reading by Violently Irreverent
He’s got a voice somewhere between Akash the Reader and Neighrator Pony. Big downside is the levels of the background music aren’t mixed well, meaning some of his quieter passages were drowned out. Other than that, he seems to specialize in clopfics, and after hearing this one, I think I’m gonna give him a pass on fic choice. I won’t say he’s a bad reader, though.
Mature: Sex
Genre: Second-Person
Celestia wants to buttsex you, much to your displeasure.
I left this reading feeling confused, angry, and wondering why I ever entertained the idea of listening to it. Here are my thoughts, in no particular order: I don’t get butts. I detest the normalization of the desire for human/pony sex in this piece. If the human is steadfastly against fucking Celestia, why all the description of her ass as attractive? Who’s the narrator that’s trying to convince ‘me’ of how desirable she is? There are a couple funny things, like the William Wallace impression and the batshit-nutty reference joke at the end. That final joke could have been better. This is probably meant for a specific audience, which I am not part of. At least the human never gives in. I definitely could have lived not reading this.
Not Recommended
The Melancholy Death of Apple Bloom by DontWannaKnow
Reading by Captain Sand
Sequel to A Fun Day!
Genre: Dark Comedy
Big Mac and Applejack conspire to get rid of Apple Bloom.
I wonder when I first read all these DontWannaKnow fics, because I keep coming back to them, and they tend to have downvotes. Anyway, everything I said about A Fun Day! applies to this story as well. This one might actually be funnier, because it doesn’t go as far into gluefic territory, but the best joke is a LyraBon cameo, and it still pushes the limits of “OOC humor”.
Not Recommended
Safe by Sharp Spark
Reading by Scribbler, Caitbug and LupiArts
Genre: Dark
When the sirens go off, Apple Bloom has one job: get everypony into the shelter.
This is a really good study in how to scare by saying nothing. Everything is implied and left to fridge horror, and it’s quite effective. Not to mention, I’m kind of a big fan of cosmic punishment, which poor Apple Bloom goes through by the end. There’s no way to know what, exactly, is going on, but the concept of sirens sounding off a tornado drill or somesuch is easy to connect with, and that’s just one more part of what makes this work.
Recommended
Resolution by xjuggernaughtx
Edited by Me
Genre: Fantasy
Adagio prepares to partake in the ritual of her people against her will. But she never expected what sort of creature it was that would Join with her.
Wow! I signal boosted this, what, two days ago? And here, I’m getting ready to post this journal, and it’s just finished up, so I can review it! :D What can I say? This is a really original take on Adagio and the other sirens, showing us two peoples locked in eternal combat, who can’t exist without one another. It serves as equal parts plausible and out-there in terms of explaining who Adagio is and where she came from. But moreso, it’s a really fascinating philosophical piece about revolutions, generational battles, and why high-minded do-gooders are doomed to fail. It helped that these are things I’ve been contemplating recently, but juggernaught explores them in depth without getting too preachy, and the end result is a really tantalizing toe-tap into canon. This is one of those “you won’t find another like it” fics that is totally worth reading.
Recommended
So this was hot on the heels of Project Sunflower because finishing that allowed me to free up more readings. For those interested, my current slate of audiobooks goes like this:
3 one-shots
A medium-length, 6-chapter audiobook
3 more one-shots
a 12-chapter audiobook that nevertheless looks really short
two more one-shots, which is where extras will likely go as they're uploaded while I read the other stuff
and an old enemy...
I miss Gargoyles. No, really, I miss that series. Used to be a favorite of mine. Maybe I'll start watching the episodes again...
Where are my exes, sucka?!
Thanks for the Recommended rating, though!
Gargoyles is very good, and in many ways feels like a precursor to stuff like Steven Universe, with serious issues being addressed, its own internal sense of morality, ect.
And Xanatos is like, the best cartoon villain ever. He mostly behaves in a rational manner, he has a reason for the things he does, he manipulates people constantly, he wins with his brains rather than just with expensive toys, he isn't out to get the heroes for no reason (or indeed, at all - they're useful to him, after all), he is fallible but learns from his mistakes, he is affable in his evil, he actually DOES win sometimes...
I really love him. I think my favorite bit of him being, well, him was in the Phoenix Gate episode where he was the only person who managed to benefit from time travel, as unlike everyone else he didn't try and change the past, and was smart enough to recognize that he was in no danger (his little retort to Goliath when Goliath says he wants to leave him in the past is beautifully cheeky).
Macbeth is pretty cool too, and Demona was fun for her whole "It is never my fault!" mentality, though she was my least favorite of the three major villains.
3344296
The first two seasons are all on DVD finally! :D I've heard bad things about season 3, though; it's not considered canon and I don't think I'll bother finding it.
3344299
Fuck yo exes. :B
3344321
I heard something similar, although I'd be tempted to look just for the sake of knowing if the rumors are true.
3344321
Rude!
Agggggggggggh!
Gargoyles was too perfect for this world, PP. TOO. PERFECT.
What I'm getting here is a Xanatos in Equestria via the Phoenix Gate fic needs to happen
3344790
The Firefly of the Disney Afternoon. ;_;
3344947
A Gargoyles crossover is one of my oldest fic ideas. But now, having watched all of season 2, I have to make a tough decision of where to place it in canon to do the things I want he said, as if he were actually going to write it
3344964
The only thing I have to add is that the third season is non-canonical, though you probably know that already. It's ridiculous how they shoved the creator out and killed it as a serial.
Gargoyles is something I've been wanting to see for a long time, but I'm going to have to wait until it hits some streaming service or pirate it.
to be fair, DWK was an entirely different person (really, I'm not kidding when I say this, but for personal reasons cannot disclose why) when he wrote his shit on that account. If you like EqG, you'll love the fic he's been writing on his new account.
3345716
Something tells me we have had this discussion... <.<
3346096 yeah, on the last blog you reviewed one of DWK's stories
ponyfic
ponyfic never changes