Wanderer D 5,502 followers · 65 stories

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  • 113 weeks
    SA: The Last Round

    "So, what do you think, Corejo?" Wanderer D asked, politely showing off the stack of papers in his claw.

    The burlap sack with the printed (in color!) face of Corejo remained silent.

    "I see, yes, yes!" Wanderer D cackled. "Ahahaha! Yes! I agree! This story should do fine! So, who's reviewing it? RT?"

    The sack that had the picture of RTStephens on it tilted just enough for a single potato to roll onto the table.

    "And we have two! Alright, team, I expect you all to figure out who's doing the next one, okay? Let's not keep the readers waiting!" He glanced expectantly at the several sacks with pictures around him. "Alright! Dismissed."

    "Sir?"

    "Ah, intern. Is that my coffee?" Wanderer D took the proffered mug and downed the contents in one go. "Excellent! No time to rest! We have to edit what the guys just handed to me."

    Read More

    110 comments · 8,849 views
  • 134 weeks
    SA: Round 186

    Seattle's Angels is a group that promotes good stories with low views. You can find us here.


    The Dodge Junction train ramp was not where Floydien expected to be part of a reunion.

    He especially didn’t expect it to happen four times in a row.

    “Wait, Winter? What are you doing here?”

    Winter’s eyebrows raised. “On Summer vacation. What about you?”

    “Uh, same.”

    “Guys!”

    The two Angels looked to where the voice came from. Cynewulf came running up to them, a wide brimmed sunhat and sunglasses adorning her head. “Fancy meeting you two here!”

    Floydien scratched his head. “Same. Are you on vacation too?”

    “Yep! Had a blast down on the Horseshoe Bay coast.”

    “Well, ain’t this something!”

    All turned to the fourth voice. Knight strode up, his body decked out in fishing gear, complete with a fishing pole balanced over his shoulder. “Haven’t seen so many of us in one spot since vacation started.”

    Read More

    12 comments · 4,652 views
  • 149 weeks
    SA: Round 185

    Seattle's Angels is a group that promotes good stories with low views. You can find us here.


    Winter and Knight stared out at the bleak townscape. All around them, the fires raged unchecked as Ponyville's former occupants stumbled mindlessly about, their undead faces ravaged by rot and decay as they moaned for sustenance. Knight turned to Winter.

    "Ready to go?"

    Winter nodded and shifted a backpack. "Got everything with me. I guess it's now or never."

    Knight gave a wry smile. "That's the spirit. You do have your reviews, right?"

    "Of course!" he said, patting his chest. "Right here."

    Knight nodded and said, "Alright, here's the plan: we stick to the shadows as much as possible. From what I can tell, their eyesight isn't that good, but their sense of smell is excellent. We just have to stay upwind."

    Read More

    10 comments · 4,266 views
  • 156 weeks
    SA: Round 184

    Seattle's Angels is a group that promotes good stories with low views. You can find us here.


    “I see. Alright, I’ll let him know.”

    Intern twisted a dial on the small mechanical piece attached to his ear, retracting a blue, see-through visor from across his face. He turned to Floydien, crossing his arms. “It’s confirmed. Generation 5 is on its way. Season 2 of Pony Life is just around the corner. And the series finale of Equestria Girls was scrapped for a holiday special.”

    Floydien lifted an eyebrow. “And, what does that mean for us?”

    Read More

    10 comments · 4,423 views
  • 160 weeks
    SA: Round 183

    Seattle's Angels is a group that promotes good stories with low views. You can find us here.


    Over their heads the flak guns peppered the sky. The planes roared and sputtered. The clouds were dark, heavy with the child that was war. It was all noise.


    Cynewulf looked around the bend. “You know, I’ve been reading old fics. Remember Arrow 18?”


    Floydien slipped—a Floydien slipped—One Floydien came through the fractured time in the lower levels of the Sprawling Complex. “Uh, human in Equestria?”


    “Yeah. You know, we were probably too mean about those.”


    “They were terrible. I mean some of them. I guess a lot of everything is terrible.”


    “Well, yes. But anyway, I was reading it, and it occurred to me that what I liked about it was that it felt optimistic in the way that Star Trek was optimistic. It felt naive, but in a way one wanted to emulate. To regress back into it.”


    “Uh, that sounds nice?”

    Read More

    7 comments · 5,921 views
  • 165 weeks
    SA: Round 182

    Seattle's Angels is a group that promotes good stories with low views. You can find us here.


    “Okay, Winter, hit it!”

    Winter pulled a lever that ignited a rocket placed underneath the communal Christmas Tree. The tree blasted through a cylindrical hole and out into the skies beyond. It only took seconds for the tree to become a tiny red dot against the blue sky.

    Winter stepped away from the control panel and down to where Intern was standing behind a fifty-five millimeter thick glass wall. “We could have just picked up the base and tossed it in the garbage bin outside, you know.”

    Intern scoffed. “Yeah, we could, or we can go over the top in a comedic and entertaining manner that leads into our reviews.”

    “You’re getting all meta, now.”

    “Exactly! On to the reviews!”

    ROUND 182

    Read More

    6 comments · 7,953 views
  • 170 weeks
    SA: Round 181

    Seattle's Angels is a group that promotes good stories with low views. You can find us here.


    For the first time in the year that he worked there, FanficFan finally experienced quiet in the Seattle’s Angels Compound. All the other reviewers had gone home for the holidays, leaving him and Intern to submit the last round of reviews of the year. However, with Intern off on an errand, FanficFan was left alone.

    With stories ready to be read by his partner, all the reviewer could really do was wander around the empty building, taking in all the holiday decorations left behind from the Office Christmas Party a few days prior, like office space holiday knick-knacks, lights strown about the ceiling and wreaths on nearly every door. Plus, there was some leftover cookies and egg nog, so that was nice. 

    Read More

    8 comments · 6,366 views
  • 174 weeks
    SA: Round 180

    Seattle's Angels is a group that promotes good stories with low views. You can find us here.


    Cynewulf lay in a grassy field. This was a curious occurrence, as the Seattle Angel’s Dyson Sphere-esque compound basement labyrinth did not usually have grass. 


    But like she had many times before, she’d been teleported here, and whether or not the sky above her was real or not, she didn’t mind. The grass was nice, and the wind was nice, and whatever happened happened.
    f

    There was a great crash and Corejo stumbled into the grass to her right.

    “Oh, god, are we out? How did—”

    “No clue. I suspect that it’ll just take us back anyhow. Did you have the reviews? The machine came for me a few days ago, so I’ve got mine.”


    “I… Uh, I was late. I mean, we both are, unless you’ve been here for days.”

    Read More

    9 comments · 8,124 views
  • 178 weeks
    SA: Round 179

    Seattle's Angels is a group that promotes good stories with low views. You can find us here.


    Winter peered cautiously out the corner of the broken window, surveying the damage outside. He turned to his companion.

    "Looks like we're trapped in here," he said quietly.

    Intern grunted and adjusted the bandage on his arm. "Nothing we haven't gone through before." He looked up at Winter. "Got your reviews?"

    Winter nodded and patted his chest pocket. "Right here, where they're safe." He turned and looked once more out the window. "Now, it's simply a matter of getting through all those ponies." Winter shuddered as he took in the horrors before him.

    Read More

    10 comments · 5,223 views
  • 181 weeks
    SA: Round 178

    Seattle's Angels is a group that promotes good stories with low views. You can find us here.


    Matthew stumbled through the basement, crouching low to avoid all the pipes on the ceiling. Floydien hadn’t told him much, just that it was extremely important, had nothing to do with Intern, and to take the last fire door on the left.

    After what seemed like eternity in an instant, Matthew finally came to said fire door, damp with sweat and condensation. He carefully undid the latch and opened it with one arm raised just in case of any traps. Only to be greeted with the sounds of maniacal but joyous laughter as he spotted Floydien sitting in the center of the room surrounded by thousands of stacks of papers.

    “I found it!” Floydien said, tossing a stapled pack of papers to Matthew. “I finally found the answer. The answer to all of our questions. To our very existence!”

    Read More

    4 comments · 4,521 views
Sep
27th
2016

Story Reviews » SA Reviews #91 · 11:36pm Sep 27th, 2016

Seattle's Angels is a group that promotes good stories with low views. You can find us here.


On a glistening beach sat Red with a fishing pole. It wasn't working out so well, given he had thrown the line about as far as one could throw a squirrel if they were lazy and drunk, and the waves crashed with grinding monotony to bring the hook back to shore every time they came in. The squirrel didn't care, as he was currently the living embodiment of 'vegged out,' his blank gaze hidden behind oversized sunglasses.

Corejo came up behind him, peering over the horizon.

"That's a mighty big ocean, I tell ya h'what," he said.

"Eeyup," said Red.

"Mmhmm."

"Yeah."

A radio next to Red crackled, and a panicked voice on the other end said, "Corejo! Red! Where have you been? There's clamoring at the door for more reviews!"

"I'm, ah, fishing 'em out as we speak, Arch," Red replied, moving only just far enough to push the transmit button. "It's, uh, looking like it's taking awhile here."

"People are clamoring? Really?" wondered Core.

"Well, it's not so much clamoring as a few people wandering up every few hours knocking on the door," said Arch. "But better late than never, aye? Make sure you work hard and—"

"Uh, what's that Arch?" Red said loudly. "Your beard's in the way of the mic again!"

"My what? I—"

Red "accidentally" tipped the radio over speaker-first into the sand. "Nobody tells me to work hard except the missus," he said to Core's frumpled expression. Suddenly, the bobber bobbed.

"Ooo," said Core. "Looks like we got a bite!"

ROUND 91


Princess Twilight Sparkle has died a hero, but no one knows why.

Between an ancient evil that had not even existed until she struck it down, a mysterious crystal ball that bears some unknown significance, and a set of cryptic notes and behaviors from the Princess during her final days, the circumstances behind it all are murky at best and suspect at worst.

And the rabbit hole only grows deeper from there.


There are few stories that really let you have it, throwing adventure, angst, moments of triumph and moments of grief at you all in the same chapters. Feedback is one of those stories, combining the high adventure of fetch-questing with the hijinks of time travel and alternate universes. When I say it starts with Twilight’s death and escalates from there, you know I mean it.

The writing does need an editor’s hand in some areas. For all the emotion that comes of an important friend’s death, it didn’t quite hit me the way it was supposed to. Though this may have been from my growing paranoia when I realized what kind of story I was reading; even for a fic about strange time loops I could barely follow the action for a lack of exposition at the start of new chapters. For a time I was concerned I was reading each chapter as an alternate timeline, but it turned out even that fear was not entirely unfounded. But it was partly my bemused confusion at the whole situation, and also my pleasure at finding a real adventure story that kept me pressing through to the end.

Twilight and Sunset and time loops, oh my!

Okay, it’s not really time loops per say, but there’s a whole lot of timey-wimey stuff going on in this one. Also, there’s Twilight and Sunset Shimmer. What more could you ask for?

Alright, fine, fine, I’ll tell you why you should really like this story. Not that those two aren’t perfectly valid reasons.

So the gist is that there’s some evil horror imprisoned beneath Canterlot Mountain and only Twilight has very recently come to know of it. With the imminence of said evil’s release, Twilight sacrifices herself to keep the monster imprisoned and Equestria safe.

Except, apparently, she never died at all.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, we have a [Dark] [Mystery] on our hands! And boy, is it a goodun’! From the twists and turns the plot takes, to the interactions of our heroines, this story will see your eyes glued to your monitor as Twilight and Sunset work together to contain the evil bent on breaking free of its prison and destroying the world.

For real, though… All the intricacies of RQK’s take on time got me all hot and bothered on an intellectual level. Like, seriously, unf Of the four this round, this is my top recommendation.


In the deserts of Saddle Arabia, an explorer finds more than he bargained for in an ancient tomb.


I love me a good romance. I mean actual romance. I don’t mean to bash clop or anything, but the preponderance of erotica on this site precludes most effort by authors to create a truly honest and sensual romantic experience. Of course, this story is not exactly sensual, nor traditionally romantic, but it is eye-catching and heartwarming.

This story comes recommended due to what it doesn’t do; that is, anything you might expect a story about a lonely stallion happening across a beautiful, magical, subservient mare that calls him ‘Master’ would do. In just a few short chapters it introduces a unique view on the genesis of a djinn which fits remarkably well with MLP canon, gives you tantalizing views of a larger world yet to be explored, and provides a simple and well-made love story that isn’t overstated or drawn too thin over too many words. The djinni herself is at turns cute and mythical, and the stallion may be a bit of a blank slate, but I grew attached to him nonetheless. So grant my wish and read it already!

A genie in a lamp story! World building! A third reason to be excited!

Joking aside, there’s plenty to love and be excited for here in The Djinni’s Tale. Set in what can be inferred as the far-flung past, a stallion goes on a journey to an ancient tomb deep in the Saddle Arabian desert in search of artifacts with historical/magical value, where he happens upon a genie in a bottle. Worldbuilding and other such fantastic headcanon ensues.

What strikes me as the most fitting (and immediately important element to suspension of disbelief) in this story is the explorer’s earlier caution. While most authors might be content allowing their protagonist to leave caution to the wind at the thought of getting three wishes from a spirit released from a magic lamp, but Snake Staff doesn’t even bother hanging that lampshade, electing for the more natural—and smart!—approach: unwavering caution.

This might seem like an odd thing to point out, but just understand what I mean when I do. It’s moments like that that really bring out the best in the story, that Snake Staff understands the material and the weight of the world and the actions/choices characters make within it. That’s the mark of a good author, and it’s wonderful to see that intelligent story choices like this are prevalent throughout. It really adds the polish to an already intriguing story. Did I mention the pacing is absolutely splendid? Because it is. There’s no nonsense to be found here.

A beautiful story from start to finish.


A series of personal tragedies has left Roseluck despairing of life. Now in the hospital, she faces a difficult path to recovery from her depression. With caring but imperfect friends, an unconventional counselor, and a head full of questions, will she ever return to a happy, normal life?


Wouldn’t it be nice if most of our problems in real life could be solved with a blast of a friendship rainbow? Just one look and poof! There goes your financial burden. Poof goes your melancholy. Poof goes your feelings of loneliness. Well unfortunately this is real life, little filly, so buck up and get ready for a story about it!

Bed of Roses isn’t exactly a ‘pony’ story. As far as I can tell there’s no problem as insurmountable as depression and suicidal thoughts in Equestria, or if there are it’s handled much differently than for us. But what are ponies if not a mirror from which we can see some of ourselves? So perhaps, if you struggle with the problems Roseluck does in this story, it helps you too. This story is best described as “domestic” in that it skirts around the issue of cutie marks, downplays the magical remedies to everyday maladies found in the show, and doesn’t deal with anything beyond what a totally normal person might face. It’s refreshing, sometimes, to get a story like this, unburdened by the need to justify a brand-spanking new magic system or why a dragon can have kids with a griffon. The writing isn’t particularly subtle, but it doesn’t detract from a solid theme of “friends can still help the worst situations, even if they aren’t farting rainbows.”

Depression sucks.

It's a difficult thing to pin down when rooting through your feelings, be it the feelings, the causes, the seclusion and all the other little factors at play. But putting that into words others can empathize with? That's the real feat.

A Bed of Roses is about Roseluck fighting through depression as one tragedy after another impacts her life. It strikes a meandering pace fitting in tone, and treads a very introspective line in perspective. If you like interpersonal relationships and finding inner strength, this one is definitely up your alley.

While its light on the body language, which leaves some sections wanting in terms of inferences, writing strength is definitely present here, and so is the understanding in no small part.

Half the Battle states in the author notes that this is a recollection of his experiences with depression (and good on you for putting this sort of thing to paper, man!), and the understanding shines through in the final product. He makes it feel right, as wrong as that sounds. Natural would be the best term for it. And, really, that's the best you can shoot for.


Every so often, a storm comes along that even the Pegasi can't control. Best they can do is warn everypony to bunker down and ride it out. Equestria hasn't seen a blizzard this bad in over half a century. AJ and Big Mac were out when the first winds hit, so Applebloom's stuck with Granny Smith in the farmhouse.

But ol' Granny remembers, she tells Applebloom. She remembers the last blizzard, and what came with it. Can't help but wonder if they'll stop by again.


I don’t usually go for stories that are just stories within stories. I find it a rather clumsy and inefficient way to introduce new world building, and unless the writing stands stark against that of other contenders, I just pass on without even remembering what I’ve read. Why not just write a story about the story being told? Yet sometimes, just sometimes, I find one that manages to do its job.

That’s what we’re faced with in this chilling (har!) little number, where Granny Smith tells a creepy tale of strange messengers to Apple Bloom during a life-threatening blizzard. Now, I know this story is marked horror, but it’s not a particularly horrifying tale, depending on how you view ghosts, death, and the inevitability of our own mortality. I can’t spoil too much, but there are no shocks, no creeping critters that delight in destruction, and no final ‘gotcha!’ There’s just Granny and her old story that could be the product of a batty mind, but turns into something much more fearsome, and if I’m interpreting the story right, much more relevant than mere fantastical monsters.

Who wants some horror this round? Any takers? Good, because you're getting some.

We here at Seattle's Angels like a good bit of horror. Whether its olden pony come to claim her rusty horse shoe or Pav Feira popping in to make a lewd joke (the attempt is the true horror), the goosebumps are always welcome here. This story hits you like the Goosebumps of yesteryear.

Slow on the upstart, the mood is set. A grandma and impressionable young filly holed up amidst a blizzard and a tale of terrors beyond the snow. The voices ring loud and clear, even between two characters that share similar speech patterns, and these nuances really sell Granny Smith's story.

There's a subtlety to this one. There's no overblown horror or eldritch going on (unless you deem it so). It’s a creeping kind of horror, given strength by the pacing, and the ending, while mildly predictable, still greatly satisfying, with a surprise twist of world building that got the goosebumps going up and down my arms.

This is a solid pick all around. Don't pass it up.


On a glistening beach now spotted with craters and sea flotsam, Core and Red sat shivering beneath a half-wrecked dinghy. A snapped fishing pole sat next to them.

“That went better than I thought,” said Core, peering over the top of the dinghy. “Or worse, relatively speaking. Do you think we got them all?”

“The stories are getting more fearsome, even way out here!” Red wailed. “I can’t take the pressure, man! That last one had all the tags that keep me up at night! How’s a guy supposed to get work done during a vacation like this?”

Corejo rolled his eyes. “Well, at least the tide’s going out. The stories won’t come back for some time.” His eyes narrowed like an old salt’s. “But they always come back, written in single space to hide their numbers.”

“You don’t think that beard shot was too harsh before, do you?” Red squeaked miserably, perhaps getting some inkling of a guilty conscience after such a close call.

“I couldn’t hear you, your tail was in the way,” Core said.

“Oooooooh!” said the radio, still face-down in the sand.


Feel free to visit our group for more information and events, and to offer some recommendations for future rounds. See you all next time!

Report Wanderer D · 2,676 views ·
Comments ( 10 )

Corejo came up behind him, peering over the horizon.

rude :derpyderp1:

Some interesting looking stories this round, though. And for once I haven't read any of 'em! I'll have to check them out.

4230217
Here's some hidden, super-secret-squirrel praise for The Djinni's Tale that I wrote as part of the duo that approved it for The Royal Guard:

"I can't do this story justice with words.
Just read it, and embrace the awesome, the beauty, the inevitable liquid pride.
Perhaps I can think of something better to put here when I'm not such an emotional wreck.
Amount of story read: All of it."

4230217

It would have been ruder if it was spelled like this:

Corejo came up behind him, peeing over the horizon

RQK

Wow! A feature! Color me surprised! Glad to get some spotlight, obviously. :pinkiehappy:

Although you could color me a bit befuddled as well. Even at the outset, I was sure that SA focused on low-view stories, and Feedback had a decent share of views (it's approaching 3k by the time of this writing). I'm not complaining by any means, given ya'll find it a worthy fic, but I would have thought it would be over the viewcount threshold.

4230492
Uh... Admittedly, I dropped the ball on this one. The original proposition was for Substitute to be featured, since it falls under all our requirements for a feature, but then my brain was like, 'but this is the sequel. It wouldn't make sense to feature a sequel!' So I reproposed Feedback for chronology's sake without thinking about viewcount requirements.

So yeah, I dun goofed. :facehoof: What's done is done, though, I guess. I'm gonna go put myself in time out now.

How big is the SA bathroom if they have to leave a large sized tub in the middle of the litter-box? After all, to get to a real beach, you need to leave the place you are all holed up in, and I don't think they'd let you leave without dropping off a few reviews first.

RQK

4230648

Substitute to be featured, since it falls under all our requirements for a feature

lmao I disagree. Substitute is utter crap. :trollestia:

Honestly, I've wrestled with that problem despite the null possibility of encountering myself. Featuring a sequel in a way requires that its prequel is of considerable quality as to warrant reading it before the featured fic. And there are undoubtedly some that have not and will not read the original in its entirety. That should by no means prevent a featuring of the sequel in the first place but there will exist reasons to feature a non-sequel over it (especially if said sequel is incomplete and thus not yet wholly good).

4230648 What confuses me is that I thought SA had already featured Feedback in a previous installment. Unless I'm mistaken and it was in a Round Robin one instead.

Whoa.

I check back in on one of my stories, and suddenly it's exploded.

Thank you for the review! It's always nice to get feedback, and especially to hear that I achieved what I set out to do. In a way, It's fair not to call it a horror story---I aim for terror.

I was sleep deprived last winter when I wrote Restless Couriers, and I think at some point I was convinced that writing this story would summon the snow. The cold and the dark, plentiful where I live when winter rolls aroud, both do strange things to my head, and I think to a lot of other people around here as well. I wanted to capture that feeling when the snow piles high and the winds shake the whole house and the power goes out. Of the stories I've released, I think this ties with my other short horror story (Crooked Stems) for my favorite thing I've written so far.

Again, thank you! It means a lot, and I hope people enjoy Restless Couriers.

Yours Strangely,
Cadejo Jones

Actually, a point of curiosity: how DID you come across my story?

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