The chronicles of Project Horizon : chapter 21

I think it's time for me to give some compliments to Project Horizons since, while it has a fuck load of issues, sometimes chapters like this one can actually give some lovely moments that usually are counter-balanced by stupid and idiotic decisions but here let us talk a bit about the good and the usual bad.

Let's go !

For now, I want to talk about the care that Somber is putting in creating interesting vistas and developping characters to give life to this decrepit place that is the Wasteland. The different sailors are really interesting to see and if there was more of them in the future I wouldn't have any issues with it. Why ? Because those characters feel like characters and not walking victims like P-21, Lacunae, Rampage or BJ. They feel like a part of this world with an actual amount of values, dreams and aspirations. There is a true sense of both resignation and will to explore despite the shit the world throw at them and that is what the main cast should have more of. Sure, not all secondary characters are equals as I didn't care at all for Granny Fishy and her usual "I'm blind so I can see into your very soul" kind of deal since it is a very uninteresting trope to play straight. However, when PH wants to have vibrant characters, it can. They are not fantastic but they feel organic to the world and that's all I'm asking for when it comes to character : make me believe you exist in a coherent world.

Same thing for the vistas, Fallen Towers gave us a very nice scene and despite the usual angst of BJ and her "let me save one" shit that I couldn't care less about, there was an actual poignant scene in how natural this whole scene felt. More of this please !

However, I am a bit skeptical about the whole "Stallions were treated as equal once upon a time then they failed to rebel and they just got transformed into fuckbois". I mean, how did we get to hundreds of Stallions to 40 ? Did they all get eviscerated so the Overmare could have a daughter ? I think I don't have all the info yet. I'll reserve my judgement until then.

As for BJ going to kill Sand dogs because ponies asked her to. I can't for the life of me understand why we are still doing the same thing over and over again ? BJ is a dumbass who wants to help everyone and so she was ready to go kill Sand dogs because... that's what she do. And aside from the usual, "if it cries you won't kill it", they still go for it. Hell, Glory almost died because she went into a quest for... making herself feel better, because that's ultimately all that's about. She's going in circles : she rationalizes her actions, then cry that she's a monster rationalizing her actions, rince and repeat. Compelling character ? I don't think so.

We got to see Lacunae do something too. Still don't think much of her except that she is a special snowflake alicorn who is critical of the Goddess, kept her free will mostly and simply goes along with Blackjack because she has a secret agenda which is most likely to get the Black Book which is a boring aspect of her character because if you read FO:E, you know that she'll never get it. I'll have to wait I guess.

As for P-21 scene... I already said I was done with this character. You can cry all you want about how it was terrible to have been a rape victim so conditionned your brain made you react like a machine ready to be fucked and hoping you wouldn't get hit because of poor performance and while many may have loved that scene, I am still stuck on the fact that... the brutal murder of his lover wasn't adressed. As soon as it will be adressed in a climactic and appropriate manner, I'll care about him being a rape victim (something he just waved like a fucking flag since chapter 1, I don't think I needed more "Do you see how horrible it was ?" moment coming from something that was beaten into the ground.)

Oh, also, theory time regarding Rampage : She has the soul of the Angel of Death inside of her along with the sould of the guy who arrested him back in the day. I'm 100% sure about the Angel of Death part, the other is just an inference.

We also learn that Maripony was created while Big Mac was still alive, meaning PH is taking the route of "the alicorn project" was actually started before the very end of the war. I assume it is to justify why there are Taints fucking everywhere in Hoofington when it was a region-specific thing in FO:E. This little change doesn't bother me much, it's inconsequential to the story of FO:E. Also, I'm not sure that making the Diamond dogs be the... Native Americans in the comparison a particularly pertinent one but then again if it reinforces the idea that hard decisions were taken during the war then it is mostly something I am fine with.

What I'm not fine with is that BJ succeeds in making the Sand Dogs accept to deal with the guy from Riverside with such ease. Then again, it is coherent with her being a Pip 2.0 where she just succeeds if she wants it enough. If she don't succeed, it's only to add angst and sometimes, I would prefer justified angst over fabricated one.

Now for GoldenBlood. I really don't like that character. Originating the secret police of Pinkie ? Telling Luna how to do her job making her look like completely inept ? The only Littlehorn survivor ? Personnally taken care of by Fluttershy in person ? The only one advising the Princesses about zebra culture when there is Zecora, perhaps diplomats or even ambassadors available ? I really think Somber is doing another OC who is the mastermind behind everything and he really starts to piss me off. I never like characters that just pop out of nowhere and just are the basis for everything. Especially with how he is talking to Luna like he is some kind of hot stuff and basically tells her how Celestia ruled when Luna was supposed to be close to her for 10 years now. I think one could have some... inkling of how she was ruling. This character is going to be stupidly important to top it off...

As for the rest, we have a funny scene about Glory punishing BJ for her reckless behavior and more vistas and nice discussions. I even like how BJ's ego in trying to save someone from her abusive mom created more misery than anything else. That's something I can get behind since she was a child and didn't know nuances and complexity... Well, she's still like that.

And we finish with a cliffhanger, Stable 99 being utterly destroyed and the Overmare is seemingly alive ? Well, did the story finally wake up ?

Closing thoughts : A very nice chapter with its usual amount of stupid but a promising follow-up !