Fic recs, March 25th? · 1:36pm Mar 25th, 2016
Yes, we're a day early, but after an edition and some minifics, my review list is teeming, plus no one's gonna care about fic reviews after tomorrow, I'd wager, and I'd like to give all of these fair shakes. :B
News! Aquaman’s back! You better believe I’ve got that story on tracking and will be letting you know what I thought of it once it’s finished. :3
My word of late has been "why". Everything is "why"! Why did you write that? Why did the show writers think this scene was a good idea? Why is MidnightDancer making vague threats upon my mental well-being? D: Let me PP in peace!
Anyway, today we've got reviews of Happy Ending by plumander, theRedBrony's That One Passenger, The Old Country by Astrarian and much, much more!
H: 3 R: 4 C: 4 V: 2 N: 0
The Taxening by Admiral Biscuit
Reading by ShadowOfCygnus
Genre: Dark Comedy
For Written Script, tax season can really be murder.
Once again, a reading did not prepare me for what was to come. If you’re expecting another story like A Taxing Evening (for all that this fits well into its continuity), you will be surprised and perhaps dismayed to realize this story is morbid. Not to spoil anything, but Written Script kills more than one pony. In cold blood! All but premeditated! While drunk! It was shocking. :C The funny thing is, my main complaint about Taxing Evening was that it was far too true-to-life to be anything like actually funny. Taking that into account, I can’t honestly complain about the murdering; they’re already not in show-tone Equestria, why not go all the way? Plus, there were two jokes, one actually dealing with a dead pony, that made me laugh a lot. I kind of have to worry about the author’s state of mind, but at the same time, I kind of like this more than its predecessor.
Recommended If You Like the Dark Stuff
Love Is Love by teamidris
Reading by Brian Random
He’s got good speed and clarity, uses small details to differentiate characters, and has a nice touch for subtle ambiance. Another keeper!
Genre: M/M Romance
Two old friends get to know each other in a new way.
I hate having to specify that genre tag, but it’s so rare in this fandom, it’s worth pointing out. That said, I’m not sure this will scratch the itch. Most of the story, and relationship, is told, and I never really got a good feeling for the characters. (As in the Pony Poets series, one of them inexplicably has a human name.) The usual “stop the narrative to describe the OCs” segment doesn’t happen until halfway through. Worst, the word ‘awkward’ is constantly used. They’re awkward around each other. Their relationship is awkward. It’s awkward to date a coworker and it’s awkward being a couple on the road. Along with the not-terribly-veiled homophobia they encounter, it doesn’t really portray them in a positive light. By the end, I wasn’t really feeling it. Those who need more stallion-on-stallion romance in their lives might want to check this out, but others may not find it terribly interesting.
Vaguely Recommended
Happy Ending by plumander
Genre: Sad
Golden Harvest never wanted a filly, but now she’s got one.
Often, Sad-tagged fics prod you continually with ever-increasing woes, like sticks, hoping you’ll eventually break and cry. This Sad-tagged fic punches you in the junk and steals your lunch money. I’ve never seen ponies written like this, though in saying that, I have to point out that there is nothing pony about this story whatsoever. From the characters to the situations they’re in, this is earth-analogue to a fault. But damned if this isn’t overall really effective storytelling regardless. The bubble metaphor, while gimmicky, leads Golden Harvest through the piece, constantly giving her things to bounce off of, no pun intended, while presenting a picture of someone who has zero control over her life, is highly aware of this fact, and resents it. Golden’s general inability is the highlight of this piece, and probably what I latched onto most. A lot is said without much being said, so this is one of those stories for the deep reader. It’s quite the experience.
Highly Recommended
The Clop Conundrum by Final Draft
Reading by Captain Sand
Reading by Winged T. Spears
Reading by LetsPlayWithBronies and Final Draft
I’m only mentioning this to mention that this isn’t a reading channel, and therefore it’s not worth mention. Not that they did it poorly or anything. <.< You can find the link in the story description.
Mature: Sex
Genre: Poem
Sometimes my only reaction to a fanfic is “why was this written”? I got a distinct Green Eggs and Ham vibe off this, which was entirely intentional. In a poem about Discord trying to convince Anon to clop to ponies. I just… It tweaks my poetic sensibility cheese hard -- not a lot of attention was put into the meter -- but I found myself consistently amused by the lengths gone to to create a raunchy rhyme. And it says some funny shit about the fandom. I just… Why was this written?
Vaguely Recommended
That One Passenger by theRedBrony
Reading by ShadowOfCygnus
Reading by BigAshRandomVids
Genre: EiH
If I had to meet a pony eventually, it might as well be on an airplane, right?
This is my favorite kind of pony-meets-human fic. It’s simple, not getting bogged down in details about How Things Got Like This, instead focusing on what people in this situation do. In this case, it’s try to calm a pony who’s afraid of flying in a plane. They talk about differences in their cultures, and yes, war gets brought up, but the two characters are very strongly voiced and their situation is eminently relatable. There’s just enough detail in everything to make this a really solid piece.
Highly Recommended
The Old Country by Astrarian
Genre: Adventure
Spike finds himself having deja-vu in the northern reaches of Yakyakistan.
If you’re going to write excellent descriptions and solid world-building, why have a character complain about it the entire time? That’s the question I couldn’t shake as I read this piece. And I’m not gonna lie: the first two chapters are a bit of a slog. Yes, the imagery is wonderful, but no one in the story seems to care. The only thing that kept me going was an interest in musk deer and a certain sense of wonder at the author’s ability to treat the yaks seriously while not losing what makes them silly. Of course, I don’t particularly like/care about the yaks, and I was right there beside Spike in getting fed up with them as they wallowed in the snow, a scene that stretched on interminably. But once they get to the cave, things really pick up, and I’m pleased to say the ending is worth slogging to. Normally, when Spike learns of his origins in a fanfic, he finds a dragon that could be found in any old fantasy setting. In this story, his destiny is entwined with Twilight’s in a way that perfectly fits the setting at large. Not to mention there’s some very cool, very well-shown effects for his fire magic. While I’ll admit a small bit of disappointment at the ultimate fate of the yaks (there’s a line in chapter one that seems like it’s leading to something which never comes to pass), I think this will satisfy fans of world-building, to say nothing of readers who really care about Twilight and Spike’s friendship.
Recommended
Rarity by Bombastic Bookpony
Reading by Emogak and CesarTheKing
Genre: Doctor Who Crossover
And pleasantly enough, it features the Ninth Doctor, rather than the usual Tennant-lookalike Time Turner Doctor. He was written decently well, and if I thought otherwise, it’s probably thanks to the voice acting, which was a little more Tennantish. As to the plot, it is unfortunately more or less a ponification of (part of) the first episode of Eccleston’s run, but I’m all for having Rarity in the place of Rose. Rose was an awful character. D:
Recommended for Who Fans
Twilight Sparkle Gets Stabbed in the Back by AShadowOfCygnus
Genre: Dark
Dying with a knife in your back is really not the best time for a heart-to-heart.
Oh-ho-ho! Our resident droll, British, Biscuit-reader has stories of his own? My suitcase full of BEES Time to read them all! Starting with the shortest, of course, because lazy. Anyway, this is tagged a comedy, but is ultimately a tragedy, so be warned. It’s pretty easy to figure out who’s talking to Twilight, and once you have, this is a decent look at recidivism, reformation, and the very idea of harmony as it applies to ponies. While it’s not outright said who killed Twilight, blame is pointed specifically in one direction, and that might turn a few off. But for the rest of you, this is well-voiced and a little quirky.
Recommended If You Don’t Mind Dark Fics
Princess Twilight Sparkle Flips a Table… And Then Some. by Flint Sparks
Reading by Captain Sand
Genre: Pony Does X
Celestia teaches Twilight the value of tables.
I really wish the Pony Does X title had been avoided. Celestia Fed-Spiking Twilight a table is a supreme non-sequitur, but only if you don’t know what’s coming. As funny as it is to see Twilight gleefully destroy something over and over, you end up instead waiting for the moment when she gets pissed off enough to start doing it. That said, even if the joke hadn’t been telegraphed up front, this still has a problem with overstaying its welcome. Twilight’s tactics get more and more outlandish as time goes, up to and including setting-breaking stuff that really isn’t as funny as her throwing a table out a window. Still, I was honestly amused.
Recommended for Laughs
The Sky Is Big Enough for Both of Us by Seether00
Genre: Comedy/Historical
After Scootaloo gets into a fight with a griffon, Rainbow seeks Twilight’s help to explain why she did wrong.
This is really two stories in one. The first is a silly slice of life piece about Scootaloo having gotten into a fight with her newest classmate and Rainbow Dash stepping up to be the responsible big sister. Rainbow is actually really awesome in this first scene, taking those responsibilities seriously while also getting in some pratfalls with the CMCs. In the second half, they visit Twilight, in what is probably the weakest part of the story; Rainbow and company being exasperated by Twilight’s silliness isn’t conducive to the reader feeling any other way, and it went on a bit long. But then we get the tale of first contact between griffons and ponies, and it is epic. Granted, it’s kind of gross, because interspecies (what else did you think that Romance tag applied to?), and I kind of failed to see the “importance of ponies and griffons being friends” aspect, unless that importance is “half-breed babies”. My only other complaint is that the two halves do not mesh whatsoever, so you’ll have to be wanting both comedic slice of life and epic historical romance to fully enjoy this story. But it is most definitely enjoyable, even if it’s not necessarily tonally coherent.
Recommended
The Most Annoying Infestation by ocalhoun
Reading by Winged T. Spears
This guy kinda sounds like Loganberry. :) He’s also got a surprisingly good “girl voice” for the characters. I think I’ll be adding him to my list sooner rather than later, so I can read the sequel to this story. :3
Reading by Snogwritts
Genre: Cute
The infestation in Rainbow’s house isn’t exactly what she expected.
Selling points of this piece: Rainbow taking pot-shots at Twilight. Rainbow in over her head as temporary “blue mommy”. Cute foal. Batponies if you like that sort of thing. Batpony names. (I was not prepared.) Surprisingly zero time wasted on dumping batpony headcanon. If there’s a reason why I had no trouble liking this piece, it’s that last iota, because I’m so done with batponies. But yeah, this ends up being a good balance of super-cute and funny without wasting words on extranea. Twilight’s role is maybe a little background, all things considered, but if you like cute stuff, this will appeal greatly.
Recommended
In Celestia We Trust, All Others Pay Cash by Georg
Reading by Captain Sand
Genre: Bureaucratic Comedy
After having to get a loan to buy ice cream, Celestia discovers the downside of centuries of generosity.
This slots in well between A Filly’s Guide to Not Making Headlines and GhostOfHeraclitus’s body of work. :3 The comedy stems from this idea that the Equestrian government has gotten out of control, to the point where Celestia hilariously has no money of her own and is hemmed in from all sides by rules and regulations. Also, there’s a lot of fun Royal Sister bickering. If you like GoH’s stuff, you’ll like this, and if you haven’t read it, it’s right there on the sidebar, check him out after you’ve read this one. :V
Highly Recommended
Admit it, Loganberry! You were Winged T. Spears all along!
As for The Sky is Big Enough for the Both of Us, I think you do have a point about the two parts of the story not exactly meshing. The story within the story probably goes on for a little too long without bringing it back to the CMC and getting reactions. I didn't think about that when I was reading it.
Still, I thought it was a good read, overall.
3826029
Oh, it definitely is, I was mostly just exasperated by Twilight acting silly. I wanted to read the damn story, y'know?
3826037 I honestly don't even remember Twilight being silly. She was enthusiastic, but I didn't get silly. However, I do write a lot of Pinkie Pie, so maybe my measure is off a bit.
I'm still confused as to how you magically found Happy Ending two years after it was published.
Awwww. There's goes my desire to write a crack shipfic between a batpony and Celestia, just to buck the fandom's trend.
3826167
Because that's what I do. :B
3826183
Hey, if it doesn't suck, go for it! :V
(n.b.: The bar for "this doesn't suck" would be very high in this case. c.c But you don't have to appease me to write something!)
Yea, In Celestia We Trust, one of my oldest and most classic fics. I have to credit Bad Horse a *lot* on this story, because he helped edit and get it into EqD with two of his short stories in the Sisters collection, Bet The Moon and Socks.
Also nice to see Seether00's story get an R. It was a lot of fun to help edit back when he was writing it, and I'm still working with him on stuff, so I must not have been too annoying :)
Where do you think griffons come from?
Goddammit PP. Now I have to rewrite this week's RCL feature to add that quote.
3826374
Griffons
I am ok with this.
3826620 sorry for the junk-punch :P
. . .
Thank you!