Paul's Thursday Reviews CCXCIX · 9:55pm Jun 23rd, 2022
I learned this week that the Shingles Virus is still a thing that people can get. Apparently it’s been a “thing” in my mother’s family for ages; both my aunt and my uncle got it – him on three separate occasions – my grandmother did, and her father did as well. It skipped my mom, inexplicably. Now it’s my turn. They say it can take up to four weeks to pass, and I’m on week three. I’ve been exhausted, uncomfortable, and in pain the entire time.
Shingles. That’s something I hear about so rarely that I honestly didn’t think people could get it anymore, much less considered it as a potential diagnosis.
In the meantime, I’ve started working on an original fiction version of the Bulletproof Heart glossary I’ve been using since Day 1 to remember things about the world of Sunburnt Equestria. I’ve taken a number of low-detail steps, including reimagining the origins/roles of Celestia, Luna, and Discord, creating a new base magic system, and altering the various races of the world so that they’re no longer direct MLP ripoffs. Once I feel like I’ve got enough background detail, I think I’ll get started on that Sunset story I was thinking about.
For now, I have reviews. Only two stories this week, but they’re good ones.
Stories for This Week:
Machina Cor Armageddon by MagnetBolt
Rules of Hospitality by I-A-M
Total Word Count: 216,645
Rating System
Why Haven't You Read These Yet?: 2
Pretty Good: 0
Worth It: 0
Needs Work: 0
None: 0
Machina Cor Armageddon
159,520 Words
By MagnetBolt
One thing is certain: Equestria is losing the war against King Sombra. Doctor Twilight Sparkle, the most brilliant mind in the world, is hard at work developing the tools necessary to turn things around. That would be a lot easier if Celestia wasn’t trying to stop her at every opportunity with spurious claims that her methods are “unethical”. To prove her wrong, Twilight hunts down spectacular ponies to be part of her equine weapons program. It’s not that they’re strong, or magically gifted, or smart. No, the thing that makes these ponies perfect is that they aren’t sheep.
They’re wolves.
Whew, what a ride. This story was intended to incorporate elements from the animes Getter Robo, Devilman, and Evangelion. I’ve not seen the first two, but I can absolutely see the Evangelion influence. Although if I’m wholly honest, the main reason I wanted to read this was to see how the heck Marble Pie was going to get incorporated.
There are several things going on in this story at once, but the main point is that Twilight places an artificial heart inside ponies that both boosts their natural abilities and grants them the powers of the other pony races. An artificial alicorn, if you will. At the same time as this is going on, Sombra sends a group of bioweapons called Linnorms at Equestria and, more specifically, Twilight’s laboratory. These are a clear nod to Evangelion’s Angels, both in the general concept and in what some of them are capable of (I recognized that ‘final angel’ the moment he arrived).
Our fighters in this story include: Lightning Dust, a former military mare who got dishonorably discharged for a crime she didn’t commit and who is very bitter about it; Sunset Shimmer, fresh from the EqG universe and never reformed; and Marble Pie, who is timid and kind most of the time but liable to become a violent ball of murder when pushed the wrong way. A fourth, less regular addition is Starlight Glimmer, Celestia’s latest student. In the meantime we’ve got Sunburst as one of Twilight’s scientists crushing on Marble and Moondancer as Twilight’s personal assistant with an unrequited love for the mare.
The story is at times episodic, with certain chapters following events unrelated to the main story. For example, there’s a chapter where Lightning Dust helps Daring Do investigate a ruin, and another where Sunset Shimmer goes back to the EqG world to rescue a kidnapped Princess Cadance. In a rare feat, these sidequests don’t detract from the overarching story, instead serving to expand upon the characters and their personal growth into better ponies.
Among the story’s highlights are its excellent if subtle character/relationship growth and its action scenes. Twilight Sparkle regularly appears cold and heartless, yet gradually comes to show her true nature as she interacts more with the ponies working for her. Sunset’s ego begins to make room for friendship and teamwork. Marble begins doing the things that are necessary even when she knows how much it will hurt (and in one case, it hurts a lot).
This is tempered by the presence of Celestia, who in this story is a hypocritical, self-superior tyrant possessing endless disdain for her fellow equines, a perpetually negative attitude, and absolute confidence that her way is the only way. She is a mare ruled by fear and a total unwillingness to acknowledge the feelings or opinions of others, but perfectly willing to crush all others under her gold-shod hooves for no other reason than they were in the way. She works to slow Twilight’s efforts at every turn, without ever actually stopping Twilight because, for now, Twilight’s work is achieving a mutual goal. But when that goal is finally achieved… Well, let’s just say this Celestia is a villain worth remembering.
It’s worth mentioning that not every pony comes out of this one alive. Not just the nameless mooks, either. There are some fan favorites that don’t make it through to the conclusion, some of them surprising. Best to be prepared.
My awareness of the similarities with Getter Robo and Devilman is nonexistent, but given the references and nods to Evangelion I suspect fans of all three shows will be pleased. MagnetBolt is mature enough as a writer to know how to include these references without blatantly ripping the sources off, taking their ideas and twisting them in ways that feel fresh and original. Casual readers with no idea of the source material will be able to follow along easily, but readers in the know will find many moments throughout where they can point and say “I see what you did there!” When it comes to crossovers, I can think of no higher praise.
On a somewhat related note, I can’t believe I didn’t realize who Twilight’s primary patron was. I even did research into what was being referenced, and somehow I still didn’t make the connection.
Then you get the conclusion, an epic final conflict for the very soul of Equestria that dares to ask whether it’s better to live in peace through stagnation or risk conflict via progress. MagnetBolt does this by proposing a fascinating theory about the nature of alicorns in relation to the world of Equestria, a theory I wholeheartedly approve of. It’s an ambitious ending with an epilogue that is surprisingly anticlimactic and yet feels very fitting. The underlying philosophy of the entire story is sold remarkably well by it, and it was that which made me decide this story was worthy of my highest rating.
Needless to say, I loved this one. It’s at varying points fun, grim, adventurous, and dark. The characters are interesting, the conclusion inspiring. The villain is memorably detestable, but the heroes aren’t roses themselves. The references are done intelligently and the theme is effectively explored. I never once stopped being interested in events, and this is one of the very few stories I wanted to read ahead of schedule just to know what was next. I don’t know if MagnetBolt has anything that could top this, but I will be looking through their library to find out.
Bookshelf: Why Haven’t You Read These Yet?
Previous stories reviewed for this author:
Aeroponics — Pretty Good
From Equestria with Love — Worth It
Rules of Hospitality
57,125 Words
By I-A-M
Sequel to Rules of Etiquette
Twilight Sparkle had a nasty fight with Sunset Shimmer over Sunset’s at-the-time new girlfriend, Aria Blaze. Desperate to fix things, she keeps going to the Last Note Lounge, yet she just can’t bring herself to do what needs to be done. Then she stumbles into the Last Note’s bar…
Sonata Dusk is my least favorite siren. There, I said it. Roast me all you want! I’ve always had a thing for tomboys and tsundere, so Aria catches my attention by default, and I’ve got a big thing for high class, powerful women with high standards, so Adagio rates highly even if she doesn’t match my usual aesthetic preferences. Sonata, on the other hand, is typically interpreted as an airhead, a ditz, or at the very least a goofball. I’ve nothing against her, but these traits simply don’t appeal to me in characters, so she always passed under my radar.
Then we get this story, and that cover art of Sonata looking all sauve in her bartender’s uniform (aside: That’s my jam.). Here we find a Sonata who isn’t as much of an airhead as usual. She still can be at times, but underneath her relaxed and playful exterior hides a genius intellect, a caring soul, and a lethal schemer. This is the most unusual – and the most capable – rendition of her character I’ve yet to see, and it’s like a breath of fresh air.
Granted, I can see a lot of readers hearing this and sharpening their pitchforks because “not my Sonata!” And pitchforks aside, that’s fine. Sonata has been fan-casted into a set characterization, and if people want to hold on to it that’s their business. Personally, I’m glad to see someone take her in a different direction, one that is new but which doesn’t detract from what we know of her from the show alone.
Yet we must not forget that this isn’t just a story about Sonata. This is just as much a story about Sci-Twi. I-A-M interprets her as an asexual introvert suffering from a sense that she’s not ‘normal’ and in desperate need of someone to prove to her otherwise. Her disagreement with Sunset makes for a huge element of her story arc, a continuous and often understated problem that is only one part of a complex and hurting young woman.
I was a little annoyed at how Sonata and Twilight fell for one another near-instantly, but that’s par for the course with this series so I won’t let it bug me too much. The real thing that interests me is the complete about-face of the romantic theming here. Both AriaSet and AdagiTavia were going at it like rabbits, constantly hitting us with their high libidoes. TwiNata, on the other hand, features of pair of women who are, for all intents and purposes, completely asexual. It’s a big change, but not an unwelcome one. It worked wonderfully to demonstrate how different these two are from those around them, and I-A-M did a great job showcasing their affection for one another without the seemingly obligatory sexual interest.
Much of the story revolves around Twilight’s gradual evolution and self-recovery thanks to Sonata’s influence, alongside revealing Sonata’s (startlingly dark) past and the siren’s own need for someone other than her sisters to help her move past it. The former was nicely implemented to keep Twilight a curious and ever-interesting character while the latter was all kinds of fascinating. I think one of I-A-M’s greatest successes here is getting these two elements to constantly play off one another, allowing the women to build each other up and keep each individual topic from overwhelming the other.
Did I have any problems with the story? Not really, and those that do come up are mere nitpicking. Really, this felt like the cleanest, most interesting, least problematic of the series so far. The only thing that comes to mind is a question of the timing of the epilogue, which had me confused as to exactly how much time had passed due to contradicting statements. That and the epilogue might have felt a little too… I think I’ll go with ‘saccharine’. If those are the only complaints I can think of, both in the epilogue rather than the general content, I’d say I-A-M did a great job.
Definitely my favorite of the trilogy. I loved I-A-M broaching uncommon territory via a romance without any sexuality at all (the polar opposite of how this series started, which feels like a great strategic move) and the unusual depiction of Sonata, and all the other elements work well together. Those who prefer their Sonatas on the ditzy side and their romances with a bit of sexual attraction may shy away, but I can see no reason not to give this one my highest rating.
Bookshelf: Why Haven’t You Read These Yet?
Random aside: Have this, because bartender girls are cool.
Previous stories reviewed for this author:
Rules of Engagement — WHYRTY?
Rules of Etiquette — Pretty Good
Stories for Next Week:
Urohringr by Imploding Colon
A Puppet To Her Fame by Kaidan
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Good fanart being used lmao
Eugh, that sucks. Well wishes for the recovery from your lousy news. Did you end up with the back patches, or did it not get that bad?
Shingles, that’s awful. Hope you get through the remaining weeks without too much more pain! Keep well and take it easy, all that.
We get so many commercials about shingles vaccines that I thought everyone would be super-familiar with it. It's just chicken pox virus, back for revenge.
MagnetBolt is indeed tops. I'd recommend this story of theirs first, since it's shorter and different genres while still being excellent:
- MLP: FiM
- Romance
- Drama
- Slice of Life
You are cordially invited to the wedding of Apple Bloom and Diamond Tiara. Please RSVP and send one hundred bits cash or money order, no personal checks.Both excellent pieces. MagnetBolt's is honestly a surprise to me - it's excellent but one of the author's least viewed. Which is a real disservice to it.
And of course, I-A-M is always top-tier.
My utmost sympathies! Shingles wasn't really in my sphere of awareness either, until my friend's sister got it... in her eyes!
After visiting her in the hospital, I went out and got the two-part vaccine as soon as humanly possible. I hope you recover quickly and completely!
Ow. Hope it passes soon, friend.
Bleah to shingles. I had it a few years ago and it was a decidedly un-fun experience. All the best for a speedy recovery!
Ech, sorry to hear you got shingles champ! Get rest and get better.
I liked the review on Machina Cor Armageddon; I'll make sure to add it to my reading list and check it out later
Well wishes, my dude.
I've heard shingles is a bitch to get through, but good to know you're getting through it all right.
Every time I hear about someone getting shingles, this silly little video pops into my head. But dang man, I know it's liable to take someone out for quite a while. Sounds rough. At least it's almost over? Theoretically?
I've personally never thought of Sonata as airheaded and stupid, only as slightly spastic with some genuine underlying sense and cleverness not very visible to others. Like Pinkie. Sucks that most stories dumb her down a fair amount though. Either that or they make her weirdly manipulative.
Also, just in case you haven't been notified yet, DSNesmith is back and the sequel to Love, Sugar, and Sails is up and running. Plus, this time it's apparently already fully written ahead of time.
Thanks for the reviews. See you next week
Hope you get well soon!
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Apparently it's only a mild case, an inch-wide spot on my side. But because Shingles targets nerves I can feel pain well beyond that area, including my stomach and my back. Worse, it's my right side, i.e. the side I sleep on normally, and as I learned sleeping on it is a bad idea.
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On her eyes? I can't and don't want to imagine that kind of pain.
5667080
That video was an amusingly fun thing to wake up to, thanks!
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Thanks for the well wishes, everyone! It really does seem like I'm on the tail end of this thing, so hopefully I'll be back to my usual bright and bushy-tailed self this time next week.
5667080
A sequel to Love, Sugar, and Sails, you say? That might be worth a look. Thanks for the heads' up.
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I am going to consider this a review request for the specific purpose of having it skip my usual and very long waiting requirements.
Shingles tends to pop up when you're stressed or immune compromised, which allows the latent chicken pox virus, hiding in your nerve tissue where it evades complete eradication, to re-activate and take a nice slide down your nerves to the surface. Not even vaccination is guaranteed to stop it occurring, as the vaccine itself is an attenuated live chicken pox virus that will asymptomatically infect your nervous system in the same way the regular virus does. It has a moderate chance of mutating into a non-attenuated form in the process.
People tend to think of shingles as an adult or old persons disease, but it can affect anyone who has been infected with varicella, as long as the conditions are right. I actually had shingles as a kid, a few years after a nasty chicken pox infection. On balance I found it preferable to the chicken pox, because at least the pain was only in one place rather than everywhere.
Anyway, you probably need to de-stress. Take a break. Go hunt mammoth or something.
Also, seconding MagnetBolt as a great writer in general. See? I can be on topic!
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It's odd. I don't feel stressed. I practically never do. Of the many things people can say about me, the most consistent is my laid back nature. So I'm not sure stress is an issue. My parents tell me I did have chicken pox when I was little, but apparently I was so little that I don't remember. That or it was such a traumatic event I blocked it out.
This started the day after my parents came to visit me, and after a couple days using the exercise bike they handed down to me for the first time. It seems absurd that exercise might have been the catalyst, but my doctor told me that if I'm not used to it then it's a possibility.
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I can believe it. Doesn't take much to send your body into a tizzy, sometimes.
5667080
I'm still laughing at this and if stress is a factor am about to get shingles at any moment.
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Never a better time to get your shot then!
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"it's only a mild case"
This reminds me of when I had a kidney stone about 10 years ago. I had an easy time of it, in that it can case severe pain for upwards of a week in some cases, whereas I was done in 4 hours. But there are no easy times of it. Shingles is like that too.