Fic recs, December 30th, plus stats and State of the Reviewer 2016! · 4:02pm Dec 30th, 2016
Here we are, my final review blog of 2016, and I have nothing to report. :B Well, other than that last expansion of Sentinels showed up at my house not half an hour ago, when I hadn't expected it until Tuesday. :D
I hit one more milestone in this journal! You can head below for reviews of Sounds of Lunacy by The Engineer Pony, Sharkrags' Moonstruck, Lapidify: To See and Die by Impossible Numbers, a bunch more stories, and the promised stats. :) Happy new year!
H: 1 R: 3 C: 4 V: 0 N: 1
Sounds of Lunacy by The Engineer Pony
Reading by Illya Leonov
Reading by VisualPony
Genre: Comedy
Just how did Equestria suddenly stop having a villain problem after Luna's banishment?
This is really something. :D It's very understated, with a couple solid chuckles along the way, before building near the end to a really terrific punchline. The writing is also pretty darn good; saidisms aside, the preponderance of audio imagery enhances the overall point of the story. Mostly, this is some marvelous Trollestia, and I laughed forever at the end.
Recommended
Moonstruck by Sharkrags
Reading by Scarlett Blade
Genre: 2P/Human/Fantasy
You can't help but notice Princess Luna resting on the moon.
Talk about better than it has any right to be. At its heart, this is a story where you get to hang out with Princess Luna on the moon; your standard fare for something billing itself as fluff and tagged 2nd Person and Human, right? But, and not to oversell this, what this reminded me most of was In the Place the Wild Horses Sleep. Y'know, only the story I consider the pinnacle of MLP:FiM fanfiction? Just about everything that goes into this story helps enhance the sense of fantasy and wonder. It doesn't rush to get anywhere in particular. It's filled with Gaimian turns of the fantastic, things like climbing a stair cloud to visit a moon that is literally just a crescent up in the sky. Even the POV shifts, normally something I would come down hard on and doubly so in a story focused on perspective, build this sense of living in a fantasy world. If you can, from the ground, speak to a princess lounging on the moon, who's to say you can't know what she's thinking as well? Perhaps best of all, it doesn't waste any time whatsoever explaining where you are, or why a human and a pony have the opportunity to interact, something that I think above all else kills HiEs for me. I had exceptionally low expectations going into this, but I'm very glad I gave it a chance. It's entirely worth the read.
Highly Recommended
The Sun Burns Brightly by Eakin
Sequel to The Moon Glows Gently
Genre: Sister Shenanigans
On the eve of a peace summit with the griffons, Luna decides Celestia needs to relax.
I'm inclined to call this a comedy. I mean, I sure laughed a lot. Mostly, this is just a fun piece of Celestia-focused fun, featuring a good turn by a Luna who is equal parts pranky and caring. (She gets the best line ever.) I can criticize the tone, because the humor doesn't mesh well with the seriousness of the whole peace treaty thing (which, I should add, is pretty interesting on its own). Celestia's characterization is another sticking point, though. At the start, she's wracked with self-doubt in ways I've never seen her written before; by the end, though, she goes way beyond the pale of what I think she would actually do. I still enjoyed the scene, it's very cathartic, but unrepentant Celestifag here and all. :B Overall, it's not bad, but definitely not going to appeal to everyone equally.
Recommended for Celestia Fans
The Moon Glows Gently by Eakin
Sequel to The Sun Burns Brightly
Genre: Light Comedy
Fraught with anger at stubborn diplomats, Luna needs a way to calm down.
I normally don't read sequels in the same post, but given that these two stories are cyclical in that regard, I felt it prudent to do so. Calling these 'sequels' may in fact not do either of them justice, but one can take them as a unit. Of course, doing that doesn't do them justice, either. For instance, one can see a certain aim of making the non-focal sister look really good by making the other into something of an idiot. Luna definitely gets the short stick in that regard. But this also has the same structure: Luna having problems with negotiations (though more a seething ball of rage than a twisted ball of self-doubt), has a scene with a POV shift to another pony, then takes some advice to heart and wins the day. Book Binder is a little more interesting a character than the guard from the other, but Luna's continuous petulance may rub many the wrong way. This one may be a good bit more genuinely funny, though, and on the whole, if you read one, you may as well read the other.
Recommended for Luna Fans
Lapidify: To See and Die by Impossible Numbers
Genre: Horror
What was meant to be a pleasant if pointless meeting of town ambassadors becomes a life and death struggle when a cockatrice enters the house.
Here's one that went through the rounds not too long ago; if you didn't read it then, you should now. Unfortunately, I had to close my browser while writing this review, and I don't remember all the details. Know that this uses a familiar show monster to create horror, which was surprising, and features a narrator with a strong, consistent voice, written in a quasi-Victorian style that I found very pleasing. The action movie aesthetic keeps things trotting along at a good clip while never shirking on the tension. This is good stuff.
Recommended
Shining Armor Can't Buy Movie Tickets by Stunt Monkey
Reading by SJF95fighter
This is surprising: this looks to be a gaming channel for the most part, but he's done a couple readings, and if this one is any indicator, they're pretty good! He assembled a solid voice acting cast, his own narration is strong if maybe a tad mumbly, and the production values of the music and sound effects are really good. I'd call this a solid hit! Thanks to EQD for giving folks like this guy a spotlight, cuz I'da never found him otherwise. :B
Genre: Random Comedy
Buying Star Wars tickets was never so hard.
Two things about this story. First, it takes place in a world where ponies have Star Wars, computers and the internet. It's so earth-analogue that, other than the necessary question of how and why Spike the Dog would be looking at porn on the internet, one has to wonder why it wasn't written as an EQG fic. Which leads us to our second point: a main joke is that Spike looks at porn on the internet. If this bothers you in any way, steer clear. But, for my mileage, if this was all done in service of the final joke, it was kind of worth it, because I laughed. :) Just keep those caveats in mind.
Recommended Only If You Don't Mind Sex Jokes Near Spike
7 x 13 = 28, DUH! by sonicfan05
Reading by Astro-Brony
Genre: Random Comedy
Twilight will be Pinkie's baking assistant for a week, if only she can prove that seven times thirteen is twenty-eight.
This is, almost word-for-word, lifted from an Abbott and Costello routine. You can scroll down ten comments and watch the entire fanfic in the format it was originally intended, and it will work better for one reason. Pinkie's ridiculous Pinkie logic fits with Lou Costello's frantic stage persona, and that's fine. Pedants may cringe at the ridiculous and obviously incorrect math, but the whole point, taken at face value, is Pinkie messing with Twilight, and that's worth a laugh. The point I'm trying to make is, we have no preconception about the intelligence of Abbott's character; Twilight, on the other hand, would be able to form some kind of cogent argument against what Pinkie's doing. I mean, seriously, all it takes is, "Pinkie, those aren't legitimate mathematical operations" and either her "proof" falls apart or she comes up with some appropriately Pinkie explanation for why they are. That's the point at which the fic would change from a straight adaptation to something with a life of its own. Instead, it's wholly derivative, adds nothing to the original joke, and features some notably poor writing to boot. ("Pinkie Pie shouted who suddenly appeared".) Do yourself a favor and just watch the video, it's honestly pretty funny.
Not Recommended
Well, This Is Awkward by Samey90
Reading by Scarlett Blade
Mature: Sex
Genre: Sexual Comedy
A night of drinking leads to a sticky situation for a certain super-flexible pegasus.
This reminds me of that Redheart story I read not too long ago. It's full of swearing and cynicism and med school in-jokes, not all of which fits with the setting. Of course, a videotape is also a major plot point, so setting be hanged, apparently. The sexual aspect of the story is not overt: two guesses as to what it is Blossomforth's done, and since it's already happened, you don't see too much. There's still a lot of sexual humor besides, but honestly? On the whole, this isn't super funny. At the end, I was just kind of shrugging. Still, it's not too bad, it just depends on how much you can deal with Earth-analogue Equestria.
Recommended If You Like Sexual Comedy
Faster, Faster, Faster by Jammo
Reading by ShadowOfCygnus
Review #3900!
Genre: Flight Fic
The speed of light, like any rule, exists to be broken.
This is very similar to the flight fic I reviewed last time, but it succeeds for two reasons. First, Rainbow Dash is in character: very important. Second, this can't just be summed up as "Rainbow Dash loves flying". She starts out with a goal in mind, and her attempt to achieve that goal is interesting. This climbs into the realms of science fiction and comedy by the end. Things happen. Suffice to say, this was far better than I'd anticipated, and while the joke at the end is goofy and kind of outdated, I sure appreciated it. :)
Recommended
And now, the promised stats! :V First, where I've been:
Total stories reviewed: 1070
That's down 120 from last year. :B
Scores:
H: 142
R: 311
C: 347
V: 103
N: 148
I: 2
Those numbers don't add up, but otherwise look pretty normal. >.> As for vs. posts, I only had six, leading to a 5, a 4, a 3, a 2.5, a 2 and a 1.
Longest Fic Title: Princess Twilight Sparkle Hangs Out in My Bedroom (Not Like That) and Keeps Me Company While I Finally Do the Saddleback Community College Geography Field Studies Morro Bay Camping Trip Post-Trip Photo Journal and Essay Assignment I've Been Avoiding by Super Trampoline
Super Trampoline broke my review spreadsheet. :C
Honorable Mention: Twilight Sparkle Buys a Cursed Starswirl the Bearded Costume on Her Way to a Convention, Which Then Transforms and Transports Her by cleverpun
Most Fics Reviewed:
Admiral Biscuit (48)
Esle Ynopemos (29)
ocalhoun (26)
FanOfMostEverything (23)
darf/Pascoite (19)
Fiddlebottoms (18)
FuzzyFurvert (12)
Cold in Gardez/QuickFics (11)
AugieDog/Eakin/HoofAndQuill/Majin Syeekoh/Nonagon/Silvernis (10)
GhostOfHeraclitus (9)
If I took out minifics, Admiral Biscuit would still win, and that's entirely thanks to ShadowOfCygnus's readings. Speaking of...
New Readers Reviewed: 46
Most Prolific Reader:
Captain Sand (170)
ShadowOfCygnus (51)
Scribbler (28)
Dr. Wolf (14)
Illya Leonov/Goombasa (11)
Yup. :B I'm still not caught up with his channel yet. Pretty close, though! :D I've gotten down to fewer than 70 videos in my playlist, pretty consistently for the last month or so. There's hope!
I don't really feel like giving ratings for authors or readers, so I guess we'll end there. :B As for where I'm headed...
I don't see an end to this. If I get a job, which I should probably do next year unless someone wants to pay off my student loans, output will likely slow, but never stop. Currently, I have a bunch of editions in various states of planning and completion in my notes document:
80 Days edition, which I just have to read GaPJaxie's entry for (I kinda feel like a butt, since I bugged him for so long to finish it >.>)
oroboro's Sunset Shipping Project
An edition based off that journal where I asked you all who I should be watching
A couple of author editions, because some people like writing nothing but novel-length fics :|
FuzzyFurvert's Crackshipping and You
And, as always, there's lot of minifics, regular fics, and other stuff.
Of course, the elephant in the room is Through the Well of Pirene. D: Talk about feeling like a butt. Ether Echoes was nice enough to gift me a physical copy of her novel so I would review it, and in three-quarters of a year, I have gotten exactly halfway through. ;_; It's not even a bad story, I'm just really, really bad at time management! So let it be known, if you want me to review your printrun fic, send me a copy and I will. You just may have to wait a year.
Yay, stats!
What are the Is for?
Wow, you reviewed me 12 times? Are you a masochist?
I've read that Lapidify one and enjoyed it. I understand the author's improved the ending from the original, too.
Huh. Guess that's what I get for having you follow a bunch of my minific collections. Neat. As are the end-of-year stats in general. I'm a sucker for this sort of thing.
Hooray for reviews
You've done something no one else has: you've snuck a 2nd person story onto my Read It Later bookshelf...
Very cool stuff, even the dodgy math at the end
Well, that is more than me, I only got to 87... granted, I started on November 23rd, but that's beside the point.
4361516 Incomplete, I think.
For a moment, I read that as darf and Pascoite as being the same person and was about to go and harass the shit out of Pascoite
... until I saw the rest of the list. You're quite trickster, PP :P
...Is it ok to hope you don't get a job, PP? I kinda prefer you do the pony stuff full time. I mean, if you get a life, then there'll only be Tits McDragon and Paul Aslan to go to for reviews and stuff
And they don't do nearly enough funny stupid crap 
Ok, sure, I could bribe Titanium and whisper recommendations into Asran's ear, but it ain't the same 
#stopppfromgettingalife
4361592
True, but looks like you are on track to join the 100+ elite reviewers pretty soon at your current rate.
4361833
I intend to have 100 done on my 35th review blog... also known as the coming Friday.
4361592
yeh, keep it up! :V
4361516
Incompletes, as Loganberry said. I try to avoid them, but sometimes they happen because of contests. :B
4361721
Unfortunately, I kind of have to get a job next year so my dad can retire. Can't exactly keep supporting four people on a pension. :/
yes, do this thing. :3
4361721
Yeah, admittedly there's a certain kind of comedy fic that appeals to PP that I tend to avoid.
But I'm sure all the awesome stories I read make up for it, right?
Right?
Thanks for the review, PresentPerfect. Kinda saddened I won't get to see the details you noted here, but with the attention the story's already gotten, and with a straight recommendation like that, it would simply be gilding gold at this point. Glad you liked my fic.