Story Reviews » SA: Round 184 · 12:16am Mar 28th, 2021
Seattle's Angels is a group that promotes good stories with low views. You can find us here.
“I see. Alright, I’ll let him know.”
Intern twisted a dial on the small mechanical piece attached to his ear, retracting a blue, see-through visor from across his face. He turned to Floydien, crossing his arms. “It’s confirmed. Generation 5 is on its way. Season 2 of Pony Life is just around the corner. And the series finale of Equestria Girls was scrapped for a holiday special.”
Floydien lifted an eyebrow. “And, what does that mean for us?”
Turning away, Intern lifted up a cylindrical device and twisted the end of it between his thumb and pointer finger. The tip of the cylinder lit up and projected a large image of fimfiction.net on the far wall. “It means several more years of story speculation, what ifs, crossovers, and self-insertions. It is our job, as Angels, to sift through them and find the most promising ones that got looked over and highlight those to the readers.”
Floydien nodded, a knowing look on his face. “Indeed. Our job is far from over.” He gave a sideways glance at the object in Intern’s hand. “By the way, what’s up with the doodad?”
“Hey, I may work in a janitor’s closet, but I still get to use all the neat toys laying around here.”
ROUND 184
Trixie and Octavia must work together to put on a holiday show. Too bad only one of them wants to do it.
Let’s start off with some good, old-fashioned friendshipping! I don’t see these two characters interact much so it’s nice to see interpretations like this. The setup has Trixie and Octavia stuck in a remote town during a blizzard. They can’t leave for a few days, so why not pass the time by doing what they do best? Entertain! Simple, right?
Well, Trixie still has some prickles to work out from her nature. And Octavia has little patience for ponies that are, well, like Trixie. I love the mare but I’ll be the first to admit that Trixie would be difficult to work with.
So, if you’re curious as to how this resolves, give it a shot. I have no complaints.
There are some stories, I’ve found, that with a few tweaks could work amazingly as actual episodes of the show. This fic is one of the very few that needs almost no changes whatsoever to be adapted as a 22-minute animation of pastel-colored horses.
In short, this is a great character piece that focuses on an unlikely friendship in extenuating circumstances, and it’s executed wonderfully. Do yourself a favor and read this, especially if you’re a Trixie fan.
A story featuring the average day in an average pony's life. There is no problem, no villain, and no laughingly convoluted romantic plot. Just a day in the life of Average Statistic, citizen of Equestria.
The description isn’t lying. Through the course of a day, we get to experience the mundanity of a pony’s life. This might not sound all that exciting, but I want you to give it a try. Because this story really captures how we can get stuck in a rut and miss the things around us. Average Statistic is the machine in all of us, repeating the same routines day in and day out.
However, unlike a machine, Average has opportunities to grow. I want you to follow along and spot those opportunities and learn from them. You don’t have to do something drastic, but perhaps a small change here and there can spice things up in your life. Give it a shot before the drudgery sets in.
_NAME_ is the writer formerly known as Rcw99, and this story is a very peculiar one indeed, despite what you may glean from the title. It’s a sort of experiment in mundanity that just about anyone can relate to, no matter your age. Nothing much happens, but that’s the whole point, isn’t it?
It’s interesting how many layers there are in this story purportedly lacking what we consider to be traditional elements of fiction. I do believe that there is something here for everyone and that, just maybe, this fic can teach us something about what it means to be average. Give this a shot, think about it a while, and read it again from a fresh perspective.
STORY 3
The Canopy, by Flashgen
Starlight and Trixie, on a trip outside of Equestria, find themselves lost in a dark forest.
The atmosphere is absolutely the reason to give this story a go. It’s fantastic how the author lovingly details a trip gone awry. This is Mirkwood from The Hobbit on steroids.
The interactions between our leads is great as well. For a sense of overwhelming presence, you can’t go wrong with this. This is art given textual form and shouldn’t be missed.
Flashgen is a master at giving life to that weird prickling feeling on the back of your neck, because there is a sense that something is off, isn’t there? It isn’t just your imagination? This story is no different, and that looming unease is developed naturally over the course of the fic from the very first paragraphs.
Starlight and Trixie are, of course, well done and a perfect choice to highlight the atmosphere by reflecting their respective neuroses into the environment around them, heightening the tone of the piece. Definitely check this out if you’re a fan of darker works.
STORY 4
A Perfect Day, by Shaslan
Fluttershy wakes up to the sound of birdsong and the sight of a beautiful day. But something isn't quite right in Ponyville. Ponies are missing, or suddenly covered in horrible scars. It's up to Fluttershy to solve the mystery.
Fluttershy has many great days. She couldn't ask for a better life. It’s just too bad Angel and Discord aren’t around today to join with her. At least she’s got Rarity to enjoy the spa with. That makes things perfect.
Not.
It doesn’t take very long to figure out how things are going to progress in this story. The road to creepy town is a short trip, culminating in one of the most WTF moments I’ve read recently.
To say anymore is to rob you of the experience. You gotta check it out.
This is one of the most chilling stories I’ve read in a while. Much like the previous fic, there’s this awesome sense of discomfort that grows and continues to grow long after the story has ended.
It’s worth noting that, although she is sort of an obvious lead character for this sort of story, Fluttershy stands very well on her own here, never being played for cheap gimmicks or anything of that nature throughout the piece. In fact, I think it’s a rather clever choice… but I’m saying too much now. Why not see for yourself?
Floydien gave a content sigh as the review post went up. “You know, as taxing as this job can be at times, there’s a certain amount of satisfaction in it as well. I get to pick out stories I like and share them with others. I could think of worse things to be doing.”
When no immediate response came back, Floydien turned and let out a groan. Intern stood where he had started, staring blankly at the display projected on the wall. His visor had reactivated, covering half his face in a blue filter. Every few seconds his fingers would twitch, twisting the cylinder in his hand to change the projection.
“Great, he overloaded again.” Sighing, Floydien made a quick call from his own earpiece. “Recovery, you better get down here. Yeah, it’s him. Are you surprised?”
Receiving a confirmation on the other end, Floydien cut the call and took a seat at a nearby desk. He pulled his favorite music playlist, sat back, and waited. “Intern, someday you’re going to be the end of all of us.”
Feel free to visit our group for more information and events, and to offer some recommendations for future rounds. See you all next time!
ok
Another day, another dollar
Glad to see a story I'm really proud of pop up here again.
Hm. Wonder if any of my stories would ever pop up in one of these, lol not likely
Thanks for reviewing Perfect Day, I'm really glad you guys enjoyed it!
Thanks for the feature! Part of the credit for that story belongs to Short-Tale, who asked for a Trixie/Octavia fic for Jinglemas. It was actually much more difficult to write the story than I initially planned, just because (as RTStephens said) there haven't been a lot of canon or fan fic materials where they interact, and thus I was basically having to play it by ear. I literally wrote down all their personality traits and tried to find the similarities and differences which would produce the best conflict. I decided to focus on their differing performance styles, as well as how the egos of different artists can cause problems between one another. I'm glad I went for a smaller stakes story, since it allowed me to focus on their interaction instead of a bombastic plot. A lot of other story possibilities I outlined were more action-oriented or even grimdark (one idea had a Hearth's Warming-obsessed psycho forcing the duo to perform their acts for Eldritch beings that lived under his estate; interesting idea, but that didn't seem in the spirit of the event). All in all, a challenging, but fun experience, and I'm happy to see others enjoy it.
(Also, not to be Captain Correction, but it's "The Show Must Go On", not "The Show Must Gone".)
Hi, quick question, how do I make a site blog? That everypony can see?
5512460 You can't. Only site moderators and administrators can do that. Any blog you post, however, is public so your followers, people that visit your user page, or people that browse the blogs section will be able to see it no problem.
5512695
Oh, okie! Tysm!