Fic recs, April 28th! · 7:31pm Apr 28th, 2017
I don't think I have anything to talk about today! :O Except reviews, of course!
H: 0 R: 1 C: 4 V: 0 N: 0
Maud Takes Boulder for Granite by Flutterpriest
Reading by Dr. Wolf
Genre: Slice of Life
Maud wants a pet.
I've never really understood Maud Pie, or why people like her, and I'm not sure I ever will. Which is to say, I rather disagree with the Comedy tag on this story; what little humor there is in this piece is centered entirely around Pinkie. But with that said, this is a good look back in time at the Pies' lives. The scene where Maud actually finds Boulder has an appreciable momentousness to it. And the eternal struggle between child and parent over the right to have a pet plays out well. It just didn't move me in any particular way.
Recommended for Maud Fans
Arachnophobia by Dennis the Menace
Reading by lieilengi
Genre: Comedy
Celestia is not exactly supportive of Luna's choice in pets.
I've never felt closer to Celestia. :V This is a really fun piece that maybe drags its central joke out too long. Characterization is subsumed for comedic effect, not all the jokes land (the one about nuclear launch codes, for instance, is too world-breaking), and things get overly referential toward the end. But the first half, at least, is genuinely funny, and I can sure as heck identify with the subject matter. A good time!
Recommended for Laughs
King of the Stingers by forbloodysummer
Reading by ShadowOfCygnus
Genre: Post-Credits Scene
It will be very important, imperative even, for the reader to read the description of this story fully, before the story itself. Without that knowledge, this comes off as fluff, even pointless; with it, well, it makes sense. I mean, there's not much content here, beyond an interesting characterization moment for Fluttershy, but what this wants to accomplish, it does. Which means that chapter titled "Cliffhanger" is a warning. But yeah, kind of a neat what-if.
Recommended for EQG Fans
Little Equestria by Ether Echoes
Sequel to Through the Well of Pirene
Genre: Fantasy
A pony goes shopping in Mag Mell with murder on her mind.
Ether Echoes has started a new collection of short Pirene side stories, and I wanted to get the jump on it. :) This one I've read before, in the form of a blog post not that long ago, and it's been changed a bit, not to mention cleaned up, in case you're also in that boat and wondering if it's worth reading again. If you haven't read Pirene, well, first of all, you should, wasn't my review enough to convince you to? :V But second, you'll have to to understand the impact of this piece, and you might be a tad surprised by how much the setting has changed. I labelled this 'fantasy', but it's got quite a lot of modernized elements as well, from a monorail to cell phones and social media. I think some of this was unveiled in the original novel's extra chapter, I'm not sure. But anyway, this is a tidy little piece, to steal some local vernacular, and meant mostly as a bit of metafiction. Again, you'll want to have read the original to get the full effect, but then you'll definitely want to read this as well.
Recommended
A Friend of the Night by Shotoman
Reading by lieilengi
Genre: Happy Luna
When she realizes Luna has been reclusive since her return, Celestia decides a friend would be the best thing for her.
I have to be honest, I kind of zoned out during the first third or so of this audiobook, and it didn't leave much of an impression on me. Highly slice of life — until it isn't — this is more or less your standard Happy Luna. I mean, I missed things like Sugar Heart, for as much character building goes into her, actually being a main character. I had sort of assumed Twilight would be the Designated Luna Friend, but instead, Celestia goes from "Luna maybe needs a friend" directly to finding the one servant in the palace who gives half a damn about her sister and being all, "You'll do." This story has a second function, however, beyond the pranks and sister bonding: it serves to chronicle what Luna was doing during season one and the season two opener. This is not always a good thing. Discord, for instance, is written rather well, but knowing what he did with Luna and Celestia doesn't really add anything, not to mention the shift from "Celestia and Luna's prank war" to "suddenly Discord" is pretty jarring. In all, this is inoffensive, its worst sin being failing the Luna Test (I swear there's not a single 'dost' in the whole thing), but it may not be particularly memorable, either.
Recommended for Luna Fans
Ah, those days when you can't think of anything to say. At first I'm like "Oh, crap, I've gotta say something."
Then it's all, "Wait, this is easy!". Then you post and go play video games with the time you just saved.
...
Or is that just me?
The word count was enough to convince me not to. :B
And, unfortunately, Ether Echoes is someone I always have a knee-jerk negative reaction to through no fault of her own. I keep mistaking her for someone else, and I wish that would stop, since I have nothing against her, but it's hard to shake. The thing is, I keep mistaking Pearple Prose for the same person, too. =/
Thanks PresentPerfect
That's the first review I've ever received, and I agree with every word
I'll just leave this here.
Really, while Maud's type of comedy is as subjective as any other type of comedy, the thing I think is important to read into with her is the method behind her madness. The girl treat her pet rock as if it's a real being, sniffs rocks to identify them, eats rocks, and is rather literal-minded. The question becomes: is she serious with this behavior, or is she just having fun? While the show heavily points to the former, either way the result is the same; Maud marches to the beat of her own drum either not noticing or not caring if anyone thinks she's weird. And in that way she is a perfect foil for Pinkie Pie, who has the exact same attitude with her wacky antics. The two just happen to be using totally opposite drumbeats in practice.
*giggle*
That cracked me up.
I think that's a very fair review.
You should read Three Nights in Manehattan~
4512775
Ouch~
4512779
...huh
So I've always noticed that you were kind of standoffish towards me, and I thought that was odd because Jax always spoke very highly of you. Now it makes sense.
Who are you mistaking me and Pearple for? I'm curious.