Fata Morgana: Reflections [A SCS Fanfiction]

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

The second child of the Montero Dynasty, a family with full control of the New Houston Flotilla, has finally returned home from a (utterly disastrous) business trip to New New York, returning to a life they hate and a family that despises them.

A newbie maid working for the Monteros is doing their best to live their life, one song, one step at a time. Trusted with a monumental task by their superior, they begin their descent into the deepest depths of New Houston.

For one fraction of a moment, one heading up, one heading down, their paths cross and are forevermore linked together. They’ll grow closer, one dead Antithesis at a time.

Things to expect:

A city beneath the waves

A mermaid with a lot of problems

A somewhat more 'normal' maid with a penchant for singing

Their romance, and the many aliens that die in the wake

This story is set within the Stray Cat Strut FF Verse, but you do not need to first read Stray Cat Strut in order to read this story. I do however, highly, highly recommend you do just that.

Cover art by the Wonderful Tachibana!https://sendou.ink/u/dr_tachibana/art

Information

Status: Hiatus
Year: 2024
Author: Aliapanacea

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.7/ 5.0
Followers: 524
Views: 105,857

Reviews

No reviews yet. Be the first to share your thoughts!

Community Reviews(3)

CaptainB3rryRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
ok let's start with the easy one:
The grammar is fine, with few if any mistakes. Certainly, none that I noticed.
The characters are definitely the strongest part of the story to me thus far. Aliapanacea comes swinging right out of the gate with a strong introduction for both of the main characters which succeeds in characterizing them very well. I think the scenarios that the characters are forced to respond to also help illustrate different facets of their thought processes and past, preventing them from feeling 'flat'.
Overall, the style is very smooth and flows nicely. I also like how the author utilizes varied sentence structure and length to punctuate dialogue/statements or emphasize tension. However, the reason for a 4.5 instead of a 5 is that certain scenes involving Emmelyn and her habit of disassociating via singing or performances feel a bit stunted in their setup. It feels as though there is not sufficient time for the reader to be absorbed/immersed in the scene.
Additionally, we all know about "show not tell", but in some cases the style feels as though it could benefit from a bit more telling instead of showing. An example would be
(chapter 3)
I gape at the information, my eyes wildly scanning the project description I was reading to see if it was a joke or not. I flip through them all, my blood running colder with every single file I open. When I get to the final one, titled ‘Project Davy Jones’, I can’t help but gasp and do a double take at it.
“The crazy bastards…” I immediately rush away from the terminal, and running up to a door labeled ‘Biological Hazard’, I scan my card, then tap my foot as I anxiously wait for it to respond.
The prose here is good, and the reader can get a somewhat general idea of what the project is based on the character's reaction and some of the following actions she takes, but there's still some confusion over what specifically happened, what the purpose of the project was, etc (at least for me personally) I would also say
EleeyahRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
It's a bit early, but I saw that this story doesn't have a review yet, so of course I had to write one.
Lemme start from the rear:
The characters are truly well written, I'd say they're the strongest aspect of Fata Morgana. Each one has a very distinct personality and voice, whether we're talking about the main characters, or the sorta-villains, or even the few side characters we've seen so far. Further, they're complex characters with agendas and priorities each. Nobody who got screen time seems to exist just to be a face, so far.
Grammar's fine, but there's the occasional typo or wrong word. Language is good though, and the reading experience smooth. I don't see anyone bouncing off due to any quality issues, there aren't any.
The story is great, things are interesting, pacing's tight, nothing's confusing that isn't supposed to be. I've only read twelve or thirteen chapters though, so I can't make a more informed judgment at this time. I do figure Alia's good at picking/inventing her plot, though, so I won't get bored, I don't think.
Style's just a bit weak in one specific way. One of the earlier chapters has Emme, the second main character, deal with a crappy situation in the way she usually copes - singing. She does this in a kind of theatric way, turning the situation into a screenplay, like it were a scene in a movie or on the stage. Unfortunately, the moment was not appropriately prepared and I did not manage to...join the vibe. I knew intellectually what she was doing and why she was doing it, but it came so suddenly that I wasn't along for the ride and it got weird instead. Whoops.
But that's one situation, and so I debated whether I should give the Style category 3.5 or 4 stars. It was a pretty massive impairment to my enjoyment of what should've been a momentous scene, so I'm sticking with 3.5 until I see Alia avoid the same problem in the future. If she does, that's a smooth 5 stars for Style, because she doesn't fall flat elsewhere. Alia even does interl
Ren_The_TURKRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Okay, so three POV's seems kinda hard to juggle, but with three unique and interesting characters in development it could be amazing. So I say, let it cook. I'm certainly liking each individual path, and there's enough for each to be its own story, but since they seem to interweave so much with the first two I can see why the author decided to make it all one story. An over arching plot that has depths yet to plum. Intrigue, backstabbing, love (both filial and romantic), this fic has a lot to offer. ^_^