Fic recs, January 22nd! · 9:28pm Jan 22nd, 2017

Scribbler's newest reading is Sendor's A Brother's Love, with Chaotic, KayVox, Keyframe and Dr. Wolf! I only just reviewed that story, haha, fancy that. c.c;

Before I get to the reviews today, I need to get something off my chest. I've promised a lot of people a lot of things over the years, and delivered on not as many as I'd like. If I've ever told you I'd do something, doesn't matter if it's been three weeks or three years, I've got a note about it somewhere, and I will do it someday. If I haven't yet, it's just because I suck, and not anything personal. :C

Anyway, my next five audiobooks are one-shots, which will take me through to the 25th. After that, I've got a medium-sized one, so I'm hoping to get a few things done while that happens! Stay tuned!

H: 1 R: 3 C: 4 V: 0 N: 0

She's Only Sleeping by YourBronyGod
Reading by Scarlett Blade
Mature: Sex
Genre: Selfcest
Unable to sleep, Shimmer does the only thing she knows to settle herself down. Just one last time.
Normally, I would be morally outraged at the idea of "sleep-fucking", or upset at the use of "adoptive sister" to add that extra layer of titillation, or even grossed out by the cum inflation at the end. But I can't be any of those, because what. This is a story about Sunset Shimmer, who has a horse dong ~~of course~~, having sex with her human counterpart while she (the counterpart) is asleep. What. And I actually like that we get a story where human Sunset isn't dead or murdered or something; I'm surprised more people don't do this kind of thing. I had a good laugh or two, but seriously, what?
What

A Chance by elmago02
Reading by Astro-Brony
Genre: EQG Shipping/Drama
Fluttershy's been given a chance to spend some time alone with Sunset Shimmer. Can she reveal her true feelings?
I'll say this much: this piece is inexorably cute and convinced me this pairing could work. But it's also got a lot of the problems of shipfics in general, from Convenient Mutual Attraction to the shipping being the only real plot. Fluttershy's characterized well, at least, awkward and filled with self-doubts, the kind of thing I liked in the first movie. But it's one of those stories where, gasp!, everything's going wrong on their "date"! Fluttershy showed up late, she ran out of the movie, she spilled her milkshake all over Sunset, Sunset got hit by a truck and ended up in the hospital… Wait, what was that? Yes, Fluttershy nearly gets hit by a truck in this story, and Sunset takes the hit for her, getting a concussion and a broken arm. Just a broken arm. Needless to say, I found it all very hard to swallow, and once again found myself laughing at a story not tagged Comedy. Only shipping enthusiasts will appreciate this one.
Recommended for Shippers Only

OH YOU CAN JUST GO EAT THE BIGGEST DICK by PegasusMesa
Reading by Scarlett Blade
Genre: Random Comedy
Starlight's first attempt to make friends doesn't go so well.
I'd been looking forward to this piece, and I have to say, I'm a little disappointed. I think the problem is it just goes on too long. There are some really good laughs to be had, the "five F's" is a great running gag, and there are even a couple excellent insults (notably, the burn given after the title is said), but most of this is just Starlight and an OC standing around bickering, while Twilight freaks out in the background. If that sounds funny, it is more or less worth reading, it just isn't as tightly focused as it could have been.
Recommended for Laughs

The Morning After by RainbowBob
Reading (part 1) by VisualPony
Genre: Comedy
Celestia wakes up after the New Year's party with a hangover and Discord in her bed.
If there's anything I like about this, it's the Dislestia tease and the perfect Scooby-Doo reference at the start. If there's anything you'll like about it, it's Discord being a rotten little shit. I was able to predict a number of the turns, but I had fun being proven right, and there are plenty of good jokes in this besides. I will say the epilogue isn't as strong, with more buildup for less payoff and a final punchline that represents a severe tonal shift. But for the main body of the fic? Absolutely worth it.
Recommended

In the Shower by FuzzyFurvert
Reading by Scarlett Blade
Mature: Sex
Genre: Romantic EQG Erotica
Sonata joins Adagio in the shower. To save water.
This one really surprised me, for a number of reasons. Sex is used to further assert the romantic side of a relationship. I never thought I'd like Sonagio. I never thought I'd call a clopfic "elegant". As an attempt to inject some quality into the slew of Mature fics on Fimfiction, it succeeds wildly. It's not perfect — there's a POV shift, and use of "the girlfriend" as a referent — but it's a fair sight better than most other sex fics I've been reading of late. And really, it does sell that relationship well, despite not giving them much of a reason to be together in the first place. (Well, in the second place; they were apparently an item beforehand.) Honestly, I just like seeing a piece about the sirens being happy and well-adjusted. If nothing I've mentioned in this review sounds like the kind of thing that you'd hate to see in a story, do give it a shot, it's pretty well worth it.
Recommended

Never Have I Ever by TheNewYorkBrony
Reading by Astro-Brony, et. al.
Mature: Sex
Genre: Sexual Comedy
Twilight goes to the human world for a sleepover, and things get raunchy.
Major, major, major points to this story for doing something I've been clamoring for with other EQG fics lately: recognizing that two of these characters are horses, and one of them has very little experience in this world. Twilight's naivete to human slang provides the basis for a few laughs, and though Sunset is more familiar with it, much is made of her origins. As for the rest of the content, it's silly and fun, if predictable. I mean it's just the girls playing "Never have I ever", and things get sexual because. But as for the content, you don't need to worry about it. They're just being crude. Even the "big sexy finish" built up to is hamstrung at the end, in a very amusing way. I will say I'm slightly confused by the presence of a sequel, when the characters very emphatically declare they're never playing this again. Not mind-blowing by any stretch, but definitely amusing.
Recommended If You Like Sexual Humor

The Legend of the Gift Horses by LiterarySerenity
Genre: Fable
I always appreciate strong pieces of in-universe writing. It's just a couple details that mark this story as such, but boy is it good. The use of Starswirl the Bearded as a mythic figure, roaming the land solving problems, just adds so much to this. It's got a solid premise besides, for all that it's something of a feghoot, and I really got into it as a story in its own right. The language use is occasionally shaky, but for every bobble, there's at least one good turn of phrase to balance it. This is just a really worthwhile piece of writing.
Highly Recommended

Arête - Princess Alicorn of Hackers by Lise Eclaire
Genre: Cyberpunk
Dinky's Web life as a rising star hacker collides with her real life when she's recruited to free the Mother of Hackers.
Cyberpunk is not a genre you can generally do with ponies, yet this story somehow pulls it off. I think what helps most is that the "web" exists in (or alongside, it's never quite clear) the realm of dreams, hence the name Dream Web, and that the "tech" is never really described in detail. What comes of it is a fast-paced, action-packed thriller, the kind of story you just have to keep reading to see what happens. It's not perfect, though. The typo-averse will likely want to steer clear, as there are some spots where I couldn't even guess at what was meant to be said, and the writing is like this all the way through. There are also some scenes that made no sense, primary among them being the "date" with Shady Daze. It devolves into drama for no particular reason, ending in Dinky's Web persona being revealed to someone in her real life, a major mistake that it's suggested is dangerous… yet nothing ever comes of it. The ending was a tad head-scratching, too. Still, if you can handle some imperfect writing, this is lots of fun, and the best thing I think I can say in its favor is I'm really looking forward to the sequel finishing up.
Recommended

Report PresentPerfect · 1,157 views · #fic reviews

Comments ( 65 )

PresentPerfect

More Blog Posts2557

Tuesday State of the Writer, April 2024!

6 days Fic recs, April 28th!

1 week Fic recs, April 22nd: Jordan179 edition

2 weeks Another post about video games and Youtube and stuff

3 weeks Do you like video games? How about philosophy?

Fic recs, January 22nd! · 9:28pm Jan 22nd, 2017

Stats

FIMFiction

Follow & Support Us

Tuesday
State of the Writer, April 2024!

6 days
Fic recs, April 28th!

1 week
Fic recs, April 22nd: Jordan179 edition

2 weeks
Another post about video games and Youtube and stuff

3 weeks
Do you like video games? How about philosophy?