Fic recs, February 17th! · 1:43am Feb 18th, 2021
I was planning to post a mopey whiney blog today, but instead, I think I'll post some reviews! :)
And as luck would have it, I expect I'll be finishing the longfic I'm currently reading tomorrow, which means another blog then! Because that's how this works. Afterward, I've got one more, even longer fic to do, but there's a good chance I won't read the entire thing. <.< Point is, I want to do three more of these five-fic reviews because then I'll be caught up with the Oversaturated World, and that'll be pretty neat. :) Then we'll get back to audiobooks and fic readers. Look forward to it, darn ya!
And hey, only two months into 2021 and I've hit 100 reviews! :D
H: 2 R: 2 C: 1 V: 0 N: 0
Transmission Spectrum by FanOfMostEverything
Genre: EQG Adventure/Comedy
Yesterday, Sunset Shimmer was the embodiment of magic in the human world. Today, she woke up, and that was just the start of her problems.
Wow. The thing about Oversaturated World stories is that they always hit a point — if not an entire plot arc — where common sense goes out the window, the multiverse is very present in everyone's mind, and things get — to borrow a phrase — completely kaizo. And while that does happen in this story, it's considerably less mind-bending than, well, a lot of this verse, at least in part because the bulk of this takes place in the canon EQG universe. This is basically a blending of canon and AU, looking at both from the perspective of the other, and it is so good. Lots of great Sunset moments, EQG characters in Equestria, Equestrian characters interacting on levels they don't normally have to in the show, I could go on. I would almost call this a decent jumping-on point for the Oversaturated World, for anyone who wants a head start instead of going back through everything like I have. The main thing you'd miss out on is the understanding of what's at stake (and, well, the experience of navigating those crazy moments). But I think anyone can appreciate the redemption that comes at the end. :) I don't mind saying this is some of FOME's all-time best work, I loved it.
Highly Recommended
Diamond in the Darkness by Sharaloth
Genre: Dark AU
She'd been good, hadn't she? Why was this happening to her? It wasn't fair.
Speaking of AU's, how about something related to The Archer and the Smith? :D It's the last one in the series, actually, as Sword and Song hasn't been touched since 2015, and it gives us another angle on the events of the Fallen World, with Diamond Tiara bemoaning her lot in life as she tries to escape Ponyville only to end up in the clutches of Diamond Dog miners. And, no spoilers, it isn't the redemption story I thought it was going to be, written mere months before Crusaders of the Lost Mark gave us the real thing. In fact, the ending is considerably darker than a life spent slaving away in a gem mine, and that's the real beauty of this piece.
Recommended
Heliocentrism by Ice Star
Genre: Dislestia
Celestia is worried. Discord is there to talk.
Boy, this was weird. At its heart is a very good look into things Celestia might be worrying about post-season four. Her relationship with her sister is spelled out in clear words, in a way that I don't think I've ever seen explored before. On top of that, this won't tell you how Discord and Celestia got together, but it definitely illustrates how their relationship works. It's subtle, in other words, but you can see they fit well together and Discord is willing to put in the effort to support her. So I appreciated that. But then there's a large portion of the dialogue, which… I mean, I can't see Celestia saying things like "pish-posh" or "balderdash", but I'm also pretty sure that that's the joke? c.c Like, with "peeved" being a Bad Pony Word, maybe this is an extension of that gag and I was just not ready for it. So, uh, on reflection? A good story, not just for shippers.
Recommended
(THE FLESH IS) WEAK by Paper Thin
Reading by Lotus Moon
100th Review of 2021!
Genre: Horror
Love was Fluttershy's end.
According to the note I left myself, this is Aragon "going Imploding Colon on us." By which I think I meant he was trying to post something on a new account to see if it could get featured, which it did. (There's an excellent blog on the other account, but you should neither read that one nor this until after you've read the story.) And no wonder. This is a short piece by virtue of being exceedingly economical with its language, presenting us a situation in which Discord has done something terrible to Fluttershy and, despondent, essentially committed suicide. And the horror is manyfold: cosmic, existential, psychological, bodily. Just the words and the bits that are repeated are terrifying in and of themselves. And it all comes back to one fundamental truth: immortals and mortals don't mix. (For once, I was really pleased to see Celestia having feelings for Twilight, because it illustrates the point.) Anyway, this is the best Fluttercord I'll ever read lol :V
Highly Recommended
My Little Pony Head by deadpansnarker
Sequel to Celestabellebethabelle
Genre: Random Comedy/Star Vs. the Forces of Evil Crossover
Celestia is outsourcing Equestria's next first contact mission this time.
When I found out CBBB had a Star Vs.-themed sequel, I of course had to get right to it. This lacks something in comparison to the original, but if nothing else, I applaud the author's ability to write a pitch-perfect Princess Pony Head, and this coming from someone who absolutely detests her. More than its predecessor, though, this is definitely only for those familiar with the character. Otherwise, you're going to end up wondering why you're reading a story where some bodiless bitch spends a thousand words doing nothing but trash-talking the mane six!
Recommended for Star Vs. Fans
That's good to know, particularly as it's got lots of Equestria bits in it? I've heard so many good things about the AU, but I detest EQG... so I've held out. But this sounds like it might be worth it for me, particularly if it diverges from the official bog-standard High School nonsense.
Holy carp! Thanks for the heads-up about Paper Thin! I didn't know.
Yeah, the Aragon story is a tight little ball of WTF. Given that it's Aragon, I of course mean that in the best way.
Also,
(Also also, working on the next OW fic now.)
5456092
It's about half and half EQG and Equestria. If you're not into EQG, you're probably better off skipping OW, since it's 90% EQG. :/
5456096
I hope you take a while so I can actually clear this out. >:V I NEED THIS, FOME
That's actually one of my favorite Aragon stories, though I know it's not meant to be. It just scratched all the right bits of florid fun for me, while going for the Fluttershy-and-Discord-is-dysfunctional-past-platonic stuff that writes itself. In general, I'd recommend it to anyone looking into wanting to read good body horror and ominous atmosphere work regardless of their preferred ships. A good story is a good story.
5456092
I can say that bog-standard high school nonsense is in short supply. We pride ourselves on finding new and exciting forms of nonsense!
5456149
Also, enjoying it will drive him up the wall and remind him that you cannot troll the untrollable. :V
5456235
I thought it led to a fairly obvious conclusion...
5456220
Well, I've heard lots of good things about the AU, and if this has got significant ponies in it... Or should I start with Oversaturation?
5456351
If you can put up with technicolor hominids as long as they aren't playing out stock teen drama tropes, Oversaturation should work out fine. If you can't stand EqG on principle... well, the AU may just not be for you, but Transmission Spectrum will offer a sampler platter of what I've gotten up to and has a good chunk of its runtime set in Equestria.
5456421
Sounds good, thanks. Now, all I have to do is find more time to read!
5456235
I exist solely to be bullied.
;_;
Nah but for real (posting on phone, editing is so cumbersome I'll just doublepost, hoping you don't mind, PP) that story was an... Interesting experiment, i guess. Re-reading it now, it's more obvious to me why people like it, but like, God. I still hate it a lot.
The blog I wrote about it tho, that one slaps. That one rocks. Read that instead of the story, folks, please.
5456621
Both of the blogs are great.
You just couldn't troll your way out of a paper bag. :V
hi
:I
i just wanna talk to sum1
Aragon
Ikr