Fic recs, August 27th: Brian Random edition! · 4:39pm Aug 27th, 2020

Our new fic reader is Brian Random! Amazingly, not only is he still active, he's still doing pony stuff, though his channel is mostly song covers, VA work and comic dubs. He in fact didn't do a whole lot of fic readings even when he was doing them, so it's almost a little unfair to judge him by that. But what he's got, you'll find here.

There isn't even a List because I've read all but these! And there's just barely enough readings beyond that for an edition! In fact, this was so short, I don't have any non-new readings to make the next blog out of. So I'm gonna listen to a longfic for a different edition until that happens, and make a decision from there.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm taking a mental health day. :3

H: 1 R: 2 C: 1 V: 0 N: 0 X: 1

Big Pony, Little Pony by Lopoddity
Reading by Brian Random and CharPonyVA
Genre: Future Fic
Peachy Keen just wants to help out.
Here's something a little different. I've been following Lopoddity on DA for years, but I've never had a chance to review one of the little ficlets she always posts with her future AU pics. And this one, despite being quite short, is just packed full of super cuteness, with a very special lesson for young kids. But seriously, if you couldn't tell by the image, Big Mac's daughter is adorable. :D
Recommended

Bath Time by Luz (formerly Cold Blitz)
Reading by Brian Random and DrMcCrimmon
Genre: Slice of Life
Fifty bits says Applejack can finally give Winona a bath.
I've read a couple of this author's stories under a different name, and it turns out, they all had the same problem as this one: the writing is awkward as hell. What's changed is that the author identifies themself as being from Honduras, so all that awkwardness is honestly within tolerances for someone whose native language is probably not English. Getting past that, this is a cute, low stakes story that would probably be fun for little kids. POV does shift around a lot, but I dunno, it was amusing to me.
Recommended for the Forgiving

The Origin of Random Select by Brian Random VA
Reading
Genre: N/A
Hey, once again the reading and story are one and the same! But goddammit, this isn't actually a story, it's 18 minutes of silence for an April Fool's prank. :| Yet if I don't review it, I won't have enough reviews here to post! Curse you, Brian Random, you drive me to drink! At least the ending made me snort.
No Recommendation

Campfire Chat by Darth Link 22
Reading by Brian Random, Sparrow9642 and ThelifeonCloud9
Genre: Crackshipping
Ahuizotl has been defeated. Now Daring Do just has to deal with his former hostage.
I'll admit, the Romance tag is really overselling itself. This is more friendshipping with one-sided flirtation and an "I guess so" at the end. But what this does have is good backstories for both characters. Daring gets some background, and Blueblood, well! He's written as prissy but not an idiot, secretly cool but not infallible. It's a very nuanced take on his character, and something I wish I could see more of. So while it's mostly sort of two ponies sitting around talking about themselves, it really does offer something unique.
Recommended

Discord Goes to Heaven by naturalbornderpy
Reading
Genre: Random Comedy
He's just as surprised by this as anyone.
There isn't much more to say about this than it was so funny, I never had time to stop and contemplate the ramifications of overlaying Danteic understanding of the Christian afterlife on top of Equestria. No, this was a laugh a minute, featuring the best Shining Armor joke I've ever heard. Also, I was amazed by the author's ability to continually produce alliterative things for Discord's guide to be. You'll get it when you see it.
Highly Recommended