Fic recs, February 6th! · 3:02pm Feb 6th, 2016
Quit my job this week, so expect more and possibly longer posts. :B Of course, I don't want to do anything major until I finish the Project Horizons review, so...
Illya Leonov has released a reading of Up There by Miller Minus!
Hey, Chrome users, any idea why I can’t save my password for this account? When I log out, I get Shivered Timbers as my main option, that’s saved perfectly, along with another account, but I can’t seem to force my browser to remember this account. D: It kinda sucks and I’m afraid I’ll forget my passwords, help.
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Silver Spanner Gets Her Cutie Mark by Admiral Biscuit
Reading by ShadowOfCygnus
Genre: Cutie Mark Story
Usually when you read a story about a cute foal, they’re doing cute things. In this story, the cute foal is learning how to be a plumber. And it’s the disconnect between “cute foal” and “plumbing” that makes this such a quirky and charming read. To be fair, that’s about all this has going for it, unless you’re particularly invested in one of those background ponies who appears once in the show and really stands out for no good reason. This treads really heavily on slice of life territory, and worse, we already know how it ends, thanks to the title. (The ending, to be sure, felt awfully abrupt.) But as slice of life pieces go, this does capture a single moment in time: indoor plumbing is a new thing, unicorns aren’t expected to be interested in construction, lots of small background details that paint a picture of this Equestria. For all that the plot is somewhat lacking, the setting really pops, so I guess that’s one more thing going for this story. In the end, it’s a cute, unusual and very slice of life piece that’s worth a quick read.
Recommended
Queen… or Mother? by Kapuchu
Reading by Solar Pony, et. al.
Genre: Changeling Fic
Celestia pays a visit to Queen Chrysalis, just to talk.
I went into this with a certain weariness of “woe is changeling” fics, but my attention was caught by a single name-drop. Unfortunately, that never really panned out; I can only guess at what was implied by it. Instead, we get a fic whose purpose seems just to present an idea that tends to be implicit in other changeling-related stories. I was annoyed by the narrative’s existence in both characters’ heads, and also by Celestia’s characterization. She comes off as condescending, every bit the high-and-mighty princess that someone like Chrysalis might accuse her of being. And for all that it paints the changelings as a truly alien race, Chrysalis’s lack of understanding of basic pony-related things just made her seem stupid, which made Celestia’s constant use of leading questions add to that sense of high-and-mightiness. In all, I wasn’t too pleased with this piece, though fans of changeling fics might find something to enjoy.
Vaguely Recommended
Twilight and Applejack at the Ponyville Cowcus by Chris
Genre: Comedy
This is two things: a ponified explanation of one part of the American political system, and a metric crapton of cow puns. If either of those sounds the least bit interesting to you, this is a fun way to spend a few minutes reading ponyfic. :)
Recommended
Shattered Prism by Kaidan
Reading (part 1) by Captain Sand
Genre: Mystery/Dark
Rainbow Dash doesn’t remember the accident or her recovery. But why won’t anypony tell her what happened? What is Twilight hiding?
So I apparently read this once and stopped after the first chapter; I suspect it was for EQD. The story must have improved if I could make it further on the second try. Because for all that this has writing issues, referential jokes, multiple distractions, and a highly questionable ending, I found the mystery intriguing enough to follow the whole thing through. If there’s one thing this story does really right, it’s the medical side. The author has obviously done their research, and I was absolutely floored to see what sounded like honest-to-goodness medical shorthand on a report. But there really is a lot more to complain about than to praise: close repetitions, Earthisms, those aforementioned referential jokes, including the dreaded Cupcakes reference (which blindsided me after we’d passed a scene where I'd expected it), the fact that this is a story about Twilight acting severely out of character to save one of her friends, a number of spots where character reactions to events felt highly unnatural, the fact that the characters are stuck firmly in seasons one and two, etc. If there’s anything to stick around for, aside from the medical stuff and a really fantastic scene involving a toothbrush, it’s Rainbow being a good unreliable narrator. We don’t really see it in action until right near the end, but it’s obvious she’s suffering from memory problems, and not the super-tragic kind where she can’t form new memories. The actual reason for what’s going on is satisfyingly sinister, but again, Twilight’s out of character. And on that note, let me discuss the end. After it’s revealed what’s going on, I had to laugh because Scootaloo is the punchline and I adore stories that do terrible things to her. But at the same time, there’s a lot of Celestia hate, and emotions swing wildly back and forth: who’s currently friends, what are we planning to do, what should be done, and so forth. Furthermore, it felt like the ending was building toward something and ended a chapter early. Far be it from me to demand a story be stretched out, but I really wanted to see the final conclusion of things, the last decisions about everything that would happen from there on out. So I was left feeling somewhat unsatisfied. This is a lot of work to go through for a story that’s ultimately just kind of okay, but consider giving it a try if you’re forgiving.
Vaguely Recommended
The Great and Powerful Trixie Bakes a Cake by Admiral Biscuit
Reading by ShadowOfCygnus
Genre: Pony Human Does X
...while singing “Scarborough Fair”.
For all that this is a solid example of “plot is in the title” fanfics, it’s also very strange, equal parts uncomfortably intimate and weirdly sexual. The former comes from a sense of peeking into someone’s life when they don’t know we’re watching. The latter would come from the fact that Trixie takes a shower in the middle of the story, except that all the brief, laser-focused moments on various parts of her body happen when she’s clothed. It’s confounding. Anyway, those looking for deep characterization or conflict will want to look elsewhere. All this offers is a believable look at human Trixie’s home life and a relatable viewpoint about frosting. I kind of wish her dad had come home.
Recommended for Trixie Fans
The Counselor by CoffeeMinion
Reading by Dr. Wolf
Genre: PSA
In the middle of the Cutie Mark Crusaders’ cute-ceñera, Apple Bloom pulls Twilight aside to ask an important question.
In this story, Twilight and Apple Bloom discuss mental illness, the stigma thereof, and how to approach without coming off as what Tumblr would term “neurotypical”. Framing this in the aftermath of Crusaders of the Lost Mark as a discussion of cutie marks makes sense, but it still doesn’t disguise the fact that this is author tract, nor does the fact that said tract has a good message absolve the various fandom shoutouts present in the piece. This isn’t a story so much as an idea, equal parts headcanon dump and attempting to give good advice through the ponies. If you’ve been struggling with mental illness of any sort, this might provide a smidgen of relief, but otherwise, don’t read it if you need plot in your stories.
Vaguely Recommended
Hmm, Chrome can be a odd duck when it comes to settings. I think I may have even encountered the password problem you've run into before and can't recall if I ever figured out how to fix it. You can try clearing out your browser history and cache under settings. It may be corrupt cookie data.
An alternative to having the browser remember your password is to use a password manager instead. This program can store ALL of your different passwords. The only thing you need to remember is the password needed to get into the password manager. This is the method I use to keep track of all the different accounts I've set up. I no joke use unique passwords up to 64 characters long for every new account. My preferred password manager is KeePass and the place I create my 64 character passwords is at GRC. Give it a try and see what you think.
The Great and Powerful Trixie Bakes a Cake?
Quoth Admiral Biscuit:
Get on my level.
For the multiple accounts thing, you could try using different browsers. It has the added benefit that you don't need to keep logging in and out of stuff.
Although to be fair, usually all we see is her butt or the back of her head.
Anyhow, she's cute.
t11.deviantart.net/ga2V5P514DMlg3TczAkNbyKOS-8=/300x200/filters:fixed_height(100,100):origin()/pre14/c74f/th/pre/i/2013/277/0/2/quick_fix_vector_by_matteocafi-d6p68mq.png
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That's how all the cool people roll.
reactionimage.org/img/gallery/33995443.jpg
As a real comment to your concerns, you could always go into your Chrome settings, write down your passwords/usernames, and then delete them from your autocomplete. That should force your Chrome to re-ask if you'd like to save the pw/un combos.
Not exactly the best review for Queen or Mother, but I can't really expect much else ^^ Even then, I'm very glad (and honored) to even see it reviewed here!
I could make excuses about how its quality isn't the highest because I only spent 3 hours making it, after I had a sudden idea, but that doesn't really help anything. Fact is that it's not very high quality, with lots of flaws. It's far from my best work (though one of my favourite ideas and concepts), and I'm just glad to see that people read it, and give their honest opinions.
So, there's that. Thank you for being honest
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I've baked a few cakes in my day, and I at least appreciated the realism in her recipe.
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Oh yeah, herp duh, I can totally see what the passwords are thanks Corejo :3
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You're welcome. It's the least I can do. :)
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Never laid it be said that Kapuchu can't take critique of his works :D
Thanks for the review! If there are two things I
love andtolerate, it's the mechanics of politics, and puns.Answering your question regarding your password problems. Hows about you tell me your passwords and credentials! You should write down your passwords and store them in a safe place, that way if you DO forget them, you can just get them out and BOOM!!! There you have it!
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But I want to be lazy is the point. :B
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Then maybe you could give me your account. That way you can be lazyANDnot worry about forgetting the password to it.Then I got nothing.Also, I don't think you'll be able to finish a review for FoE:PH, since that fic is, like, as flipping long as the Bible, if not longer.
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He's doing it in installments for that reason.