Ponyfic Roundup 312

Read it Later story count: 187 (-3)

I want Blogger to keep letting me use the old editing interface, but if it would stop giving me the option to "revert back" to that it would be appreciated. Department of Redundancy Department again. Anyway, I'm back up to three stories this week, which these days is probably something to cheer at. Unless you don't like PR, in which case why are you reading this? Anyway:

Killing Time by Prak
Loving the Nightmare by Penalt
But, I Don't Want To Become A Wonderbolt! by Deep

★: 0 | ★★: 1 | ★★★: 2 | ★★★★: 0 | ★★★★★: 0
Note: I use a skewed rating system. A fic I find average scores two stars.

Looking forward to rewatching Season 3 of FiM

 

( YouTube text link if you can't see the video )

Yes, this is why that Network Musical Ensemble song hit the fandom!

All being well, I will shortly start the next chapter of "My Little Repeats" as I rewatch S3. This, of course, is the first season where I got to experience the hype and the build-up as it happened – see video above! I remember having huge expectations for the S3 premiere, along with much of the fandom... and being disappointed, along with much of the fandom. That may – may – change this time around, since I now know what comes later.

One thing that thankfully won't be happening alongside the season now is a seemingly interminable fandom-spanning argument. Not that one, anyway. Twilicorn was, I think, the most miserably wearying row that I experienced in the entire run of Friendship is Magic. It seems almost quaint in 2020 that people were so exercised about whether a picture of Twilight with wings was real that some left the fandom over it, but that's the way it was.

S3 is also of course the only half-length season. I can remember many people predicting that 65 episodes would be all we'd get, I think because that was some magic number in terms of syndication on US television. (Come to think of it, even the idea that TV is the be-all and end-all also seems almost quaint today.) That brevity does hurt the season a little, I think, though perhaps not as much as most of us felt it did back in 2013. Having a one-part finale definitely did hurt, though.

That finale provided another long-running, though generally less heated, argument: did the episode work? I generally come down on the side of yes, but not as well as it could have done. Being the first of several musical eps gave it a different texture. The season doesn't have an awful lot of other obvious highlights, though: "Sleepless in Ponyville" is really S3's only cast-iron classic. Though maybe I'll change my mind about that as well! As always, we shall see.

Ponyfic Roundup 311

Read it Later story count: 190 (nc)

This week has been a bit of a struggle at times, for reasons that have nothing to do with ponies or the fandom. I have managed to feel in the right frame of mind for enough time to get two stories read, so at least there is a (minimal) Ponyfic Roundup for you! Here's what I've got:

The Carnivore's Prayer by Cold in Gardez
Teacher, Instructor, Dash! by HapHazred

★: 0 | ★★: 0 | ★★★: 1 | ★★★★: 1 | ★★★★★: 0
Note: I use a skewed rating system. A fic I find average scores two stars.

More meta stuff

Ponyfic Roundup will be on Friday this week. That's because I've had a rather off few days and so haven't felt in the mood to read. Nothing startling, just another bout of 2020 fatigue. Hopefully it'll sweeten the pill a little if I say that I plan for the final PR of September (30th) to see my first Spotlight review for some considerable time.

This will be Georg's story Drifting Down the Lazy River, which I chose from my shortlist partly because it's a sequel to a fic I've already read, partly because it looked interesting and partly because... well, partly because I wanted to read it. Not sure there's any better reason than that, really! Before then, expect regular PRs on the 16th and 23rd.

My Little Repeats: Reflections on Season 2

It's taken me far too long to get through S2; in fact, I posted my "Reflections" post about S1 back in February! Admittedly, world events since then have been somewhat distracting, and look like remaining so for some time to come, but I still seem to have taken an age. Anyway, I'm here now, so let's get cracking.

I'd been looking forward to Season 2, and indeed it proved to be a generally entertaining experience. As it happens, my mean star rating of 3.38 was the same as it was for S1. There's list of each episode's rating beyond the cut. Perhaps I was slightly generous to "Ponyville Confidential" and slightly harsh on "Dragon Quest", but that balances out. I think on the whole S2 was about as good as I'd remembered it being.

Come with me past the cut for more waffling!

People getting excited that the "Elements" song series will be completed

Which is certainly good to hear. Not entirely sure why this is considered news though, since Re:Make / Acoustic Brony said during their set at UK PonyCon last year that they intended to finish the set. Above is embedded their performance of "Honesty", though I imagine this will be a bit different in its final form, and after the song it's stated very clearly that they intend to do "Magic" as well. This is why you need to pay attention to happenings outside the US, fandom. ;)

Ponyfic Roundup 310

Read it Later story count: 190 (-3)

For those of you interested in the longer fics I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, I expect to have the first one reviewed this month. I won't yet give away which fic it is, except to say that it's one that's been on my radar for quite some time. This week, I'm looking at these three:

Yours Truly by Thanqol
If My Heart Was A Compass by Astrarian
A Feather in Her Cap by GaryOak

★: 0 | ★★: 0 | ★★★: 2 | ★★★★: 1 | ★★★★★: 0
Note: I use a skewed rating system. A fic I find average scores two stars.