Hey, I'm actually getting one of these out in the intended fashion for once, and with an all-time reading record to boot. Though just as well, since I'm stuck in early-morning transit a few hours right after the cutoff in about 23 hours:
First Readthroughs
Name of Fic: Of Sand and Shadows
What I Read: Chapters 1 + 2
How I Felt:
So the opening two chapters of OSAS are a little by-the-book for a Colosseum novelization, but I still felt that they added a decent amount of expansion and depth to Orre and its characters from their canonical bases. Especially Neo and Novo, the pair are honestly a really endearing take on Wes' Eeveelutions
even if I wouldn't be terribly shocked if they were on track for a heart attack sometime down the road with how much those two go through bacon.
This was the fic that I ultimately chose to read from the results of the past Review Roulette. I went with it since I'd had a good time of what I'd read of
Nameless in the lead-up to the Mischief and Malice contest and heard a lot of buzz about OSAS on the likes of TRcord in the past, and... it honestly lives up to most of the hype. Color me impressed,
@HelloYellow17 . And I hope to cross paths with this story and its supplemental materials again in the hopefully not-to-distant future.
Gud story, pls update.
Name of Fic: Journey
What I Read: Born, Rebuilt
How I Felt:
Well, I can't say I've had
too many stories that made me feel sorry for a sin against nature that turned 20+ people into chunky salsa... while their blood was still dripping from said sin against nature's body, but you learn something new everyday.
Born, Rebuilt is a one-shot written from the perspective of a Genesect, trying to make sense of a brave new world where everything alien and disorienting and seemingly out to get him. There's some parts that are a bit hard to follow from some barebones description, but it's definitely quite a trip, and it goes places pretty fast in the span of 4300 words.
I honestly pushed myself to read this as a bonus to my Review Roulette readings since
Journey is a bit unsung as a story at the moment and I distinctly remembered
@Joshthewriter having fun showing sneak peeks while it was being written, so I opted to take a gamble on it.
Boy did it pay off, and it's probably as good a sign as any that I need to poke my head in the door for the main story,
Death of Duty at some point.
Also, gud story, pls update (on other platforms).
Name of Fic: Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Depths of Recollection
What I Read: Day 1 + Chapter -20
How I Felt:
I liked it, but there were definitely things about these chapters that could stand a good coat of polish. These two chapters delve into the backstory of
Depths of Recollection's viewpoint character, Zeraora the Fourth, née Galvan
/ Volant, who is an odd-jobber on behalf of the Legendary Pokémon of a variant of PMD Canonworld as part of a system that helps keep his world ticking... and seems to all be built towards hiding some sort of dark secret.
I won't harp on about the structural issues too much, but it was honestly a nice change of pace to see Galvan's earlier life at a more innocent time, as we get introduced to his mentor Zarude, and a wannabe explorer Shinx named Patra that I'm pretty sure are going to have something horrible happen to them in short order given where Galvan winds up in the present day. The author, Dust_Scout isn't here on TR (yet), but if you want to try something different for a PMD story and see one written from the perspective of a Legendary Pokémon that
isn't a cute little babby, his story's worth a gander.
Name of Fic: Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Path of Valor
What I Read: Chapter 44
How I Felt:
Not because the chapter's
bad, mind you, but it seems to be teeing up some reveals and events for the imminent future that feel like they're going to get pretty uncomfortable in short order. Also, if you ever wanted to see some old faces from series mainline far, far from home and in a fresh skin, this chapter had that in spades. Along with a budding villain that I'm sure we're going to see a lot of in the future that's at once hilarious, disconcerting, and pitiable.
Highly recommended if you want a PMD story that just gets a bit crazy and off-the-wall. And hey,
@Ambyssin has been looking to try and get more feedback on his newer chapters. What better time than a lull after a long stretch of earth-shattering developments?
I'd say 'Gud story, pls update' but one's all but guaranteed to drop in a little over 24 hours from now.
Name of Fic: Hoenn Short Stories Collection: The Elite
What I Read: Prompts #37 - #39
How I Felt:
Ah yes,
Hoenn Short Stories Collection: The Elite, my beloved. Ever since I gave this series a chance as part of Review Blitz 3, I've been taken with how well it makes Steven and the Hoenn E4 feel alive and personable. This particular mix of prompts had 2 more jokey prompts, along with one more sober one that played up how the Hoenn E4 looks out for Steven during his moments of personal vulnerability.
But more seriously, read these stories. They're fun little palette cleansers for times when you don't necessarily have the energy for something chunkier, and
@Panoramic_Vacuum does a good job at keeping the scenarios varied and fresh even in small blocks.
Gud story, pls update.
Second Readthroughs
Name of Fic: Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rebirth
What I Read: Chapter 28
How I Felt:
Again, not directed at the quality of the chapter, moreso those dawning realizations / "boy does
this read differently" feelings with the benefit of coming back to the chapter after knowing where things wind up going. This chapter's a bit of a watershed moment in the plot, where a
lot of things about the status quo in the story get torn up in live time, and...
that last sentence, man.
Y'all know how I feel about this story, but seriously, read
Rebirth.
@Shadow of Antioch 's sitting on some gold, and his story's just caught up with its offsite versions, so it's as good an opportunity to get caught up with the story thus far if you're not a huge fan of FFN or AO3's formatting.
Also, gud story, pls update.
