Fic recs: September 21st! · 7:17pm Sep 21st, 2020
garatheauthor needs some help getting new living arrangements!
This time, I had a few things I wanted to get read, so it was face time. This included a couple pretty long stories, which is why it took so long. :B Next time, it'll be random normal audiobook readers, including a lengthy multi-part story, so it may also take some time! But I'll go back to reading my usual edition in the meantime. :) So look forward to it!
H: 0 R: 4 C: 0 V: 1 N: 0
Parallel Universes for Dummies by FanOfMostEverything
Genre: EQG Comedy
Flash Sentry just bumped into Twilight Sparkle. Again. Except… she didn't seem to recognize him.
This is a fun behind-the-scenes of Friendship Games, mostly from Flash Sentry's point of view, as he tries to get someone to explain to him why Twilight is different, with no actual luck. It's pretty funny, though I feel — through no fault of the author's — it might have had more impact on me had I read it closer to that movie's release. Like, Derpy headcanon aside, I just don't see things not having gone this way, you get me?
Recommended
Trixie's Winter Wrap Up by Blackbelt
Genre: Lunaverse
Trixie's about to find out just how differently they wrap up winter in Ponyville.
On the one hand, this is clearly a rush job meant to fill a niche. There's plenty of typos, the narrative is very sparse, and the first scene is pretty much just the lyrics to Winter Wrap Up. On the other hand, those lyrics were changed (slightly) to account for the Lunaverse's mane six singing them instead of the originals. Trixie also has a lot of misconceptions about how WWU should work. Granted, none of that translates into actual conflict or anything interesting beyond demonstrating how the episode might have gone in this AU. I guess what I'm trying to say is, the author definitely could have put less effort into this, but it's old, and only their third story, so.
Vaguely Recommended
When Legends Meet by Coyote de la Mancha
Sequel to Equestria Mares: The Secret Apprentice of Princess Celestia
Genre: AU
Sunset is found by the remnants of an ancient evil, looking to help with her problems.
I was thinking at first this might stand alone without its prequel, and maybe it does, but if you want the full heft of what happens here, be sure to read Equestria Mares. As short as this was, it gave me a very pleasant surprise. There's more than one lesson in here for would-be villains.
Recommended
By Blood or Choice by Krickis
Genre: Drama
Rainbow Dash may be the top student at her flight school, but her drive to be the best has lately been hampered by something holding her back.
I regret that the next three stories in this series are all over 100k, one of them over 200k. I've got the stories laid out like I do the rest of the series represented in this review, but I dunno when I'll have time to get to them. :( Cuz there was a lot going on in this story, and it was really damn good. I love how Krickis characterized the parents around their children: Rainbow Dash's are absent and distant, Fluttershy's dad is implied to be abusive. But that's just the backdrop for a story about Dash and self-actualization that she is precisely the wrong pony to be in the middle of. I mean, c'mon, she's Rainbow Dash, she doesn't analyze her feelings! And she's loudly "no homo" about anything approaching a display of affection. But the setting is fantastic, not just the cultural issues that are unique to Cloudsdale, but also this taking place during the time between Fluttershy moving to Ponyville and Dash following her. The final chapter is jam-packed with character growth, not to mention an important lesson about the casual homophobia that remains rampant in our own society, without being heavy-handed. I feel like I'm just rambling, but yeah, this was really good work.
Recommended
Celestia XVII: The Broken Princess by brokenimage321
Sequel to Celestia XVII
Read by Fimfiction
Genre: AU/Drama/Romance
Celestia may have grown into her position as Princess of Equestria, but that doesn't mean things are going well. Far from it, as a matter of fact.
Stepping back into an AU whose first outing I really enjoyed, I want to start by saying this was a very ambitious story. brokenimage decided to tell us two tales: a retelling of the Canterlot wedding, changelings and all, and this verse's version of The Return of Harmony. The way this is done is denoted by the chapter titles: Either they're numbered, with a novel (or song) title reference, for the 'present day' Discord story beats; or they start with someone's name (or "Criterion", I never quite figured out why), and we flash back to a scene at the wedding. Granted, not every not-Celestia chapter is wedding-related, but the point is, there's a good dozen character voices in this piece, and they weave together seamlessly. The author aimed high and hit his mark.
That said, getting down in the weeds, I find myself less than enthusiastic. :/ brokenimage made some good choices, mind, like giving us quick rundowns of a handful of season two episodes in Pinkie Pie's chapter, followed by a longer blow-by-blow of this verse's Lesson Zero, rather than trying to fit too much into the story. That's what this is, really, the Celestia XVII version of season two, with the premiere and finale as time-swapped foci. This could have easily gotten bogged down with "well, this is how I'd do it", a many canon-associated AUs have fallen into.
The funny thing about this is that it got me thinking, this story is basically "Here's my alicorn OC, she's twenty years old and friends with the mane six, and also she's the Princess of Equestria, and Celestia's her mom, and she gets to go on friendship adventures and save the day!" Except, as I noted in my review of the prequel, it's hard to fault the setup because this actually is Celestia. And to be fair, Cece's become a much more immediately likable character in the three-year timeskip from the first story. She's adjusted to her role, she's stopped sniping with Aunt Luna, and though she's frequently wracked with self-doubt — and let's be real, who can blame her? — she doesn't waste any time whining. She's much more confident and capable, without being too confident, in other words, and I liked seeing that she even had grown.
Also, she's dating Soarin? That's a thing that happened, apparently. It never really left a big impression on me.
But that doesn't mean we can't still have drama. I have to say I enjoyed it a lot less than what showed up in the first story. Without giving too much away, the main reason for that is that Cece, likable though she is, ends up being the bad guy here. Yes, Twilight takes some of the blame near the end of the story, but it was too little, too late. The drama was the sort that presents itself as a mystery: someone (Cece) has done something to upset someone else (Twilight), and it could all be aired if not gotten over if only that second someone would say what's on her mind. Except that, right when she's about to, Discord shows up. Not a spoiler; he's on the cover. I just did not like the reveal of what had happened between them, and I think it speaks to how much I like this young, awkward version of Celestia as a character. But not even the "Friendship isn't about being perfect" lesson at the end assuaged my distaste for the development.
But, all right, not to dance around it anymore, the real issue I had with this fic was Discord. The author's gone for a much less chaotic, much more realistic portrayal of Discord. He's more an eldritch being who's been trapped outside space and time, rather than stone, and is trying to gather relics to complete a ritual that will return the rest of himself to the material plane, the mismatched visage we are familiar with being just a projection of his true self. The fact is, there was so little chaos in this story, I almost forgot the villain was supposed to be Discord. And his plan is convoluted, but it's convoluted for absolutely no gain over canon, while losing pretty much everything that made him a fun character and villain.
Also, it ends in a knock-down, drag-out fight, which seemed really out of scale for a being of his supposed power. Like, why is he not just disintegrating ponies with laser beams, since he's not the kind of Discord who cares about killing?
Look, there's nothing wrong with gritty realism. The changeling story ends in a dramatically dark way that was nevertheless really fucking awesome. I loved everything about the wedding! (One of the best reveals is just whose wedding it is!) But Discord, not so much. He's supposed to be a smooth-talking devil, sure, but he's also supposed to be a wacky if sinister trickster whose main weakness is overconfidence. The only real Discord-y thing he does is turn the various characters inside-out, grey coat and all. Again, gritty realism in the way it's handled, but the explanation for what that does and what happens to more original characters like Cece and Luna was actually really cool. I don't really know how to explain what went wrong, save that one piece of canon didn't really have to be changed, and it was, and it lost something for having been so.
In the end, I found myself enjoying half of this story quite a lot, and the other half not so much. I'll keep going with this series, but it'll probably be quite some time before I get to the next installment. What, like two years? For the successful narrative ambition alone, I'm going to give this a full recommendation, but take note, it's a weak one. Maybe you'll get more out of this than I did.
Recommended
Thank you so much for the positive review, I'm glad to see that the issues I have with the story are mostly me being too hard on myself lol
Honestly, I consider that a compliment. I've definitely gotten worse reactions than "Your story works so well, I don't see how else it could have gone."
5360542
I know what that's like. :)
5360551
Any guesses as to why I read this? <:B
Thank you so much for the boost PP, it's really appreciated!
Thanks for the review! I appreciate the praise (along with the praise implied in the length of the review), though I'm definitely sorry it wasn't entirely your cup of tea.
For what it's worth, the drama between Cece and Twi, at least in my head, was a little more complex. Twilight was so affected by Cece's remark that she thinks Cece knows what she did--how could she not, after she hurt Twilight so badly? So, she's waiting for Celestia to say sorry and own up to it. However, Celestia was somewhat distracted at the moment, and made the remark more-or-less without thinking. She doesn't even remember what she said--and it's this realization, more than the remark itself, that breaks Twilight's heart.
In other words, Twilight isn't being a b!tch on purpose. She's waiting for Celestia to be the bigger pony--though she is getting increasingly impatient with waiting for her.
Regarding Discord specifically: I was actually quite pleased with what I managed to do with him and his characterization. For what it's worth, I was going for a little less Mxyzptlk, a little more Tzeentch: That is, he's more into breaking spirits, ruining friendships, and overturning world order than chocolate-milk rainclouds. That sort of chaos.
However, you're not the only person to take issue with his characterization.
Not to sound passive agressive or anything, but would you happen to have any suggestions for "fixing" these sorts of situations in future stories? I know you're not neccesarily my editor, but I value your opinion.
5360890
I hadn't mentioned it in the review, but Twilight feels a lot more like Sci-Twi in this story. I can't even explain how, nor do I consider it a good or bad thing. Well, kinda good, I like it.
Fixing it? I have no advice. You wanted to do a thing with him, and you did it. Where I differ in interpretation is how his powers express themselves; the most show-like thing he does, other than turn ponies grey and mean, is move the hedge maze around. There's no clicking his talons, all the weirdest shit is said to be happening offscreen. It's like he's hardly even there. But if that's not what you take as the quintessential part of Discord, I certainly can't argue with his characterization. It works on some level, it just wasn't what I would have done, and when you get to that level of disagreement, ain't nothing left to do but move forward. :B