The chronicles of Project Horizons : Chapter 15

This chapter is both interesting and unfortunately suffers from the continuity of the audio recordings that we have been made to listen to which I think I need to adress in details now. As for the rest, I honestly think the fight against the hydra could have been better, it was less cool than the combat against the dragon but then again, I think Somber is starting to slowly run out of giant monsters because while it was grandiloquent, I just didn't feel any rush. Mainly because there was no way BJ would suffer anything lasting since we have Scalpel and her magical machine.

Without further delay, let's go.

Before going about the things that doesn't sit well with me, let's give some credits where credits is due and talk about some lore exposition about the different drugs and Hydra essentially being extremely dangerous for the body. It gives a bit of information about the world and state clearly what each drug would do and we even get to see how Hydra is made. I always encorage people to go through with their lore and to have some fun, especially since Somber strayed so far away from FO:E that I can only consider it a distant relative. However, I'll stay vigilant and will point out any discrepancies I notice.

Regarding the memory orb of Big Mac meeting Maripony for the first time, I have a bad feeling about this. Maripony is clearly talking like a camouflaged Twilight and if that were to be the case, the fiction would really need to explain some things in minute details because that would be such a stretch that I think would make the fiction weaker. However, it's only a gut feeling since I don't know why we would focus so much on Maripony otherwise.

Now... for the big one. Blackjack's learning that she killed P-21's lover. I'll try to be utterly clear : Somber created two Blackjacks, the special snowflake we have now and have since chapter 1, and the BJ of the past that did all those heinous stuff. I say that because at no point did we see Blackjack act as if P-21 was some kind of subequine trash just good with using his cock. I mean, we're not talking just passively about following the endoctrination by saying their property. She downright beat one to death with a baton and didn't care for a second. This very audio recording reframes completely the character of Blackjack and makes her an impossibly worse character.

First, I call bullshit on the fact that Blackjack forgot her true first kill (yes, I'm talking a purposeful act of murder, not just accompanying someone to a death chair) especially since if he was P-17 at the time of the recording, it means that this event can't be more than a year old (from what we get of P-21's words, he had only up to a year before becoming P-21). This is retroactive continuity and I don't believe for a second that Blackjack would have forgot something so absolutely unambiguous in its abnormality. Yes, beating a male to death, especially since she was punished for it, is not normal and I am absolutely convinced that Somber didn't think of that initially since it doesn't reflect in BJ's characterization.

Second, it completely reframes the first kill recognition thing I had and made it worse because either she considers that male are insects and killing them is not even worth mentionning which is clearly not BJ's character as of chapter 1 (she protected P-21 for fuck sake because she felt compelled to). If she didn't care about killing males, why would she ever have those instances of doubt when killing raiders when she beat an innocent stallion because she was scared in the past. How cool would it have been to have BJ state that killing males isn't murder because they weren't ponies ? However, Somber couldn't make an amoral character right from the get go so he decided to work his magic by making some retroactive continuity and it doesn't work, it simply doesn't work. If this BJ had been the one we got, I would have loved Project Horizons far more. Here, it just feels like a cheap way to get some drama inexpensively.

Third, the death of P-21's lover never came up in their time together ? Really ? Are we supposed to say that the two of them just never commented on how completely heinous BJ was ? Are we supposed to understand that P-21 didn't confront BJ regarding the death of his lover or never mentionned him ? Hell, when he screams at her in chapter 3 or 4, why does he mention stallions who can't say no to a mare instead of the... oh, I don't know... the fact they are considered property in such a manner that beating one to death is considered just a minor offense ? Either Somber purposefully hid that aspect for some cheap twist or he didn't think about it that far and I'm not sure which I dislike the most.

Yes, it explains why P-21 didn't want to have a gun on him (even if I'd counter that using explosives is as much lethal and deliberate) but the fact that BJ didn't even think about the fact that she killed one of them is simply stupid. Killing males with a baton is not common, hell she could have said something horrible. "You're still hung up about me beating your friend ? I've been punished you know : double shifts !"

I know that the most common answer would be "she just didn't think about it and so she forgot." and I call bullshit on that. You don't forget something as emotionally straining as being panicked so much that you killed someone to defend your life. Even if she didn't consider it murder, it should still be ingrained in her mind, especially since she's... living a boring, monotone life.

I don't have anything to say about the Hydra fight except that Rampage is a welcome addition to the group even if she still just feels like a badass BJ without the inhibitions.

However, the cliffhanger ending is interesting because I think it'll help me decide how much of an issue this BJ's characterization is. And having some info on P-21 would definitely help. That way I'll be able to make a diagnosis of his character.