Fic recs, June 8th! · 8:40pm Jun 8th, 2018
Hey hey, new Flash Fiction Online for this month! We've got a heart-wrenching story just about families and growing up, how hard it can be to let go, and stock markets and war in what is assuredly a Star Wars fanfiction universe. Enjoy!
For those of you who care, I wrote a new SCP. It's about ears. :B Also, I've updated my fic list! Voting is, as always, open, and likely ignored. <.< But hey, at two things that were on the list have been published since I updated it last!
Got some regular reviews today, including one-shot audiobooks and even a paid review! Check out my userpage for more info on those work! :B
H: 0 R: 4 C: 3 V: 0 N: 0
We'll Dismember It for You, Wholesale! by Chuckfinley
Paid Review for Icy Shake
Genre: Dark Comedy
With another dead body that needs gotten rid of, it's time for Trixie and Gilda to earn their pay.
One of the stranger aspects of Twilight Sparkle and the Crystal Heart Spell (the first official MLP novel) was Trixie and Gilda being in cahoots. I'd like to imagine that novel is why we start where we do here. No, not the dead body; I'm talking about Gilda and Trixie being roommates and, as it turns out, pretty decent friends, for all that they bicker like an old married couple. Mostly, I want to talk about the tags. Dark, for instance, is well earned. This is a much grittier Equestria, with cars and police brutality and mob bosses who need cleaners. It needs a gore tagl watch out for that second chapter. No one in this story is kind or loyal or interested in making friends, so there's that tag. The comedy meanwhile is very situational and equal parts sparse and subtle. The impression I got from this, honestly, was like one of those classic movies about criminals that I never understand. (Okay, I just kept thinking about Reservoir Dogs while reading, but I got that movie.) And in that vein, I think this works, though the police brutality joke is ehhhh. I think, though, if you can handle some gore and a darker Equestria, this is a fun romp with some excellent banter in amongst all the killing and whatnot.
Recommended If You Like Mob Flicks
Royals by Einhander
Genre: Romance/Drama/Songfic
Rarity and Filthy Rich share dinner, and much more.
This is an excellent romance, full stop. It's steeped in strong dialogue and a deep understanding both Rarity and Filthy Rich's characters. It was written prior to Crusaders of the Lost Mark, of course, so the future Ponyville has no Spoiled Rich, and Diamond Tiara and the CMCs being antagonists still. It was quite a blast from the past! Downsides are few; some typos but, more distractingly, lyrics quoted from the song as dialogue. Most of them are changed — the first line of the story, for instance, is not exactly the first line of the song, though it's an obvious callback — but every single one I noticed pulled me out. That said, this does very clever things with not just that song, but Diamond Tiara and her relationship to her father. This is, on balance, quite an excellent story.
Recommended
A Slice of (Cake) Life by Epic Yarn
Read by Fimfiction
Genre: Slice of Life
Mrs. Cake just needs somepony to watch the foals so she and her husband can have some together time.
You can tell this was written by someone who has kids. :) Epic Yarn's first ponyfic, it took an honorable mention at EFNW this year, and it's easy to see why. Written as a one-sided dialogue, it's just Mrs. Cake talking to Pinkie, her children, and Mr. Cake while trying to deal with… pretty much everything. I will always have room for wholesome slice of life fics about the Cakes.
Recommended
Anything for Attention! by An Intricate Disguise
Reading by Scarlett Blade
Mature: Sex
Genre: Group Sex/Public Use
Meet Scarlett Blade, Ponyville's most successful salespony.
I think I wanted to read this for the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of hearing a fic reader read a clopfic about their OC. I mean, it's not the first time I've read a story with Scarlett Blade in it, but last time, she wasn't the focus, and I was mad she was there. :B This time? Hilarity ensues. Remembering, of course, that I am someone who finds pony sex inherently funny, I had a really good time with this. There's even legit comedy here, from the reason why Scarlett does what she does (beyond "she likes it") to the Mayor's cameo. The one low point is the appearance of Spike, but at least effort was taken to show he's older. It gets a little gross by the end, but what clopfic doesn't, really?
Recommended If You Like Clop
Magnum Opus Dissonance by Eakin
Reading by Scribbler, et. al.
Genre: Dark/Psychological
It's hard to be proud of your accomplishments when you know they're meaningless.
This story named after the three words that should make every artist shudder to their core is about depression with a capital D. It's about how easy it is to believe your efforts are worthless once you've decided that no one around you know what they're talking about. And it is tough to read. Released before the newer content warning tags, it deals with suicide in a very direct way. Suffice to say, I found this rewarding, but if you don't feel like you can handle a story where the main character deals with constant suicidal intrusive thoughts, you'll want to skip it.
Recommended
Morning Exercise by Lucifer
Reading by Scarlett Blade
Mature: Sex
Genre: Masturbation
I always feel like self-love fics need something more than just the main action in order to have much of an impact. Say, comparing the way it feels to the various mares and stallions you've been with in the past; that's good emotional imagery. But this goes one step further, with a second scene after the first. I feel like the intense outburst Octavia has in the second is meant to be some sort of juxtapositional intensifier. This may in fact be more clever than I initially gave it credit for. (Or else I'm reading too much into it.) Whatever the case, it's well-written and goes beyond 'just sex', but still won't appeal to anyone not interested therein.
Recommended If You Like Clop
Limestone Pie Meets Petunia Paleo by Impossible Numbers
Genre: Comedy
Just what Limestone didn't need: a fan.
Ugh, I love Limestone Pie so much, I'm probably reaching Disgusting Fan levels anymore. D: So just remember I'm seriously biased when I say I loved this? It's a great piece that captures her character, then turns it on its head as she's confronted with someone who doesn't find rock farming boring. The fact that she's unused to this speaks volumes, and it was such a unique way to make use of her. It maybe skips over some prime bonding material toward the end, but I was happy with what I got. :D
Recommended
I'll limestone your pie
Thanks for the review!
My thoughts exactly. If you're gonna write about someone jerking off, it needs to have visceral impact, a turbulent emotional core almost inherently wrapped in on itself until the story peaks in an attempted torrent of both physical and emotional catharsis. If the tone adopts an almost mythic context or ultimately deconstructs/reconstructs core critical concepts regarding the act, that's even better.
4879095
Or pictures
4879033
And then you'll vore it. :B
4879102
You know me all too well
Man, did the Gore tag even exist back then? :V
4879181
I'm pretty sure it always has, along with Sex.
Guess again, mate.
5016633
what in the world c.c