Fic recs, January 13th! · 3:36pm Jan 13th, 2017
Oh, hey, look at that! Happy Friday, I guess. :B Don't die.
In case you didn't already see PaulAsaran's post, Foals Errand needs some help!
A few extra today because of the edition earlier this week. Head below for looks at Dragon Bucking by deleteme29358, Megapone's Angel Cake, What They Don't Know by SoundoftheWaves, and much more!
(Yes, Megapone's headlining a review post. That should tell you something!)
H: 0 R: 3 C: 3 V: 2 N: 1
Octavia Arrested by Hopeful_Ink_Hoof
Reading by Astro-Brony
Genre: Light Comedy
Vinyl is all too willing to bail Octavia out of jail, but she'll have to pay for it…
This story is honestly perfectly serviceable. It doesn't spend too much time on how Octavia got into her predicament, and it showcases a friendship between Octavia and Vinyl where they can tease each other and know it's not for realsies. Of course, it also showcases a friendship where they dress up in sexy skirts and dance for each other, so I think maybe the word "friend" in the narrative was a little off the mark. The other main problem is telliness, and the fact that I was never more than generally amused. It is, again, decent, and likely worth it for Scratchtavia fans, but it's not gonna blow anyone's mind.
Vaguely Recommended
Amour by Cartoonlover13
Reading by Scarlett Blade
Mature: Sex
Genre: EQG Clop
Trixie helps Starlight with her French.
It surprises me just how much I'm into this ship. Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy this story nearly as much as the last one, mostly because of the writing. I appreciate that it does things like give us a "what now?" scene the morning after, but the shipping itself is pretty bad, and the fast pacing doesn't help the sex. Seriously, they go from having a conversation — and not even a terribly deep one, just Trixie recounting what happened at the battle of the bands — to suddenly kissingnakedsex. Like, what? How did that happen? I wish something more had been done with the "French tutoring" setup, even just some wordplay, something that would have set this apart from any other EQG sex fic. (I mean, there's a spot where Trixie tells Starlight to "watch your language"; that was the perfect opening, and nothing came of it!) Again, I find myself saying, if you're just here for the sex, you may like this, but even then, there may not be enough to satisfy. The author calls themselves a "rookie at clop", and it shows.
Not Recommended
Dragon Bucking by deleteme29358
Reading by ShadowOfCygnus
Reading by Midnight29 and Gina M
Genre: Friendshipping
Rainbow Dash thinks she can do something about Spike's flightlessness.
I am very proud of this fandom for creating not only a story but a piece of art with this title and neither of them being pornographic in the least. It's the little things. :V Anyway, this is a marvelous slice of life piece on its own merits. The centerpiece is Dash doing something nice for Spike. It's one thing to see Dash being a Good Friend to her pony friends, but to Spike, with whom she has no particular relationship? Well, it makes for feel-good all around. Fans of world-building will likely appreciate the setup, as well, but mostly, this will please anyone who wants to see something nice happen to Spike.
Recommended
Starlight Dicksuckler by DeluxeMagnum69
Reading by Scarlett Blade
Mature: Sex
Genre: Anthro Clop
Do you really have to ask what this story is about?
Yeah, I uh… yeah. Wow. Well, at least nothing is left to the imagination, right? Unlike the last few clopfics, this one's pretty light-hearted, so it's more up my alley. Like that last one, at least, it goes straight from talking to sex. (At least there's a scene break?) There's a romance angle, as well, but like surprise buttsex it comes out of nowhere and is just kind of jammed in at the end. My other complaint would be word choice, I suppose. There's just an odd focus on how small Starlight's mouth and head are. I've never seen that before, and it was weird. At least it has soft hands. Thankfully, I can say that if you want to read some written sex, this will satisfy, and I would definitely be willing to read an actual StarMac shipfic now.
Recommended If You Like Clop
After the Battle by Jay-The-Brony
Reading by Astro-Brony
Genre: EQG Comedy
There's been a rash of music-related injuries among the students of Canterlot High.
At its heart, this is just a story where some background humans talk about what happened during the battle of the bands. Nothing earth-shattering or insightful, but nevertheless a fun little story. I mean, it's hardly mind-blowing to have the non-mane-six students wonder aloud why they were being so mean to each other, but it's nice to see discussed nevertheless. Word choice is occasionally weak, and I wish a little more had been done with "music isn't supposed to hurt", but if nothing else, this got me in the mood to rewatch Rainbow Rocks, and that counts for something. :)
Recommended for EQG Fans
Angel Cake by Megapone
Reading by Scarlett Blade
Mature: Sex
Genre: Romantic Erotica
It's an intimate night in for the Cakes.
Now here's a worthwhile reason to write about two horses having sex! This is just as adorable as it is raunchy, and I couldn't help but enjoy the two of them calling each other pet names while, y'know, cuddled up and ready to do it. This is maybe a little overwritten in spots, and it focuses rather oddly on how fat Mrs. Cake is, but you kind of have to expect that sort of thing in this context. If anything, I liked how much Mr. Cake reassures her about things like not being too old or too fat, telling her she's always sexy. Like, this is the good stuff, right here. If you like horse sex, you'll deffo like this.
Recommended
What They Don't Know by SoundoftheWaves
Reading by Illya Leonov
Reading by Lotus Moon
Genre: Character Piece
Diamond Tiara may not like everything Ponyville has to offer, but at least it's not Manehattan.
Short version: This is a very good story, it's worth reading, I got a kick out of the future tense. Long version needs spoilers, and it's absolutely not worth spoiling yourself on this story. Did this story convince me Diamond Tiara is trans? Eh, not really. Does it slot easily into the world created by the show? Absolutely not. Does it, despite this, portray a young person dealing with transition in a respectful, non-maudlin way? 100% yes, and that's what makes this work. The pacing is perfect, the information on her situation being doled out first as a leak (Why is she happy to look at her ID?), then a trickle (Changes to her body? Right spells?) which quickly turns into a deluge. And if anything else makes this work, it's the look at Diamond herself. Not overly much sympathy is given to her; her bullying of the CMCs, while likely an effect of being bullied herself, is portrayed mostly as a vendetta, a nice touch. Overall, this is a solid piece that avoids a lot of the cheap tactics employed by other trans fic, and really sells its primary idea as a result.
Recommended
Carpet Munching… For Dummies by Enigmatic Otaku, Seventh Heaven and Flutterpriest
Reading by Scarlett Blade
Mature: Sex
Genre: Sexual Comedy
Starlight's newest friendship lesson: teach the dumbest pony in Equestria how to pleasure a mare.
I don't know what to tell you about this one. There's one really big laugh, but it's right at the end. The rest is all buildup and obvious jokes. Like, the "what's going on" is really easy to figure out, and the trip to get to that laugh is just dull. It's not even particularly sexual, i.e., all the sex is off-screen. This was a good idea, and if you really like sexual comedies, it might be worth it, but you're going to need an awful lot of patience, and I'm not sure the payoff balances the time wasting.
Vaguely Recommended
Stupid, Sexy Twilight! by TheNewYorkBrony
Reading by Astro-Brony
Genre: EQG Comedy
I've never seen a fic that more perfectly matched my expectations. From the title and description, it's obvious what this is going to be about. I then expected that the meat of the story would be highly amusing, and that it would end on a weak joke, and I was 100% correct. So yeah, a shippy comedy from which not much comes, due to the lack of the Romance tag, some good laughs at bad Sunset Shimmer's expense, and a fairly cliched ending joke which is the title. Your mileage will definitely not vary.
Recommended for Laughs
I'm going to die just to spite you now. :V
You know, looking back at that story, I totally agree. It is VERY long for what it wants to do. I think that honestly comes down to the collaborative format. we all wanted to do our scenes well, and as a result, the pacing coulda been faster to build to the joke more effectively.
That said, the first part (my part) was the longest, so that's likely my fault.
Looks fun, and clearly this was the porn edition, why not revel in it?
Alas, it is Friday the 13th and I have no means of proper celebration save for horror games I've beaten 5 times each and movies I already know everything about. For shame.
4381472
I will make a spot for you next to Pav in the "list of people who can be blamed" shelf. :V
4381567
Every edition is gonna be porn edition for a while, it looks like. :B
4381641 Perfect! My profile description says I'm literally the worst, so it works for me.
4381641 Aws