Fic recs, December 31st! Plus State of the Author 2024 and review stats!! · 12:54am January 1st
Oh man, wow, how is it the end of the fucking year already? @_@ I swear this month was compressed temporally somehow. Like, I could feel time speeding up over the past couple of weeks... Maybe it's just me getting older. D: Sucks!
Anyway, this is the last bit of those 3.5k or shorter fics from RIL. Next thing I do will be the top ten for this year, and/or the next five readings from Skijaramaz! Happy New Year!
H: 2 R: 9 C: 10 V: 0 N: 0
A Murder of Pegasi by Zontan
Genre: G5 Dark Comedy
When her sister is named heir to the throne, Pipp swears revenge.
This is great because Pipp Petals sucks, 5/7 it's not bad :'D
No, but seriously, this was a lot of fun. The ending feels like it might have been a bit rushed, but the eventual 'confrontation' between the two was pretty much everything you could ask for. And it's not as dark as I perhaps make it out to be. What's a little attempted fratricide between siblings?
Recommended
No Safety in Numbers by RB_
Genre: Dark
Twilight has less than an hour to save Canterlot.
This is kind of a fun, very immediate rework of The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas, where walking away really isn't an option. It's so short, but it delves deeply into trust as well as just what is at risk in horrible, apocalyptic scenarios that hopefully no one will ever have to make these sorts of decisions in. This is bleak, but it's also pretty neat.
Recommended
Sunset's Sales Snag by Loganberry
Genre: EQG Comedy
Door-to-door saleswoman Sunset Shimmer has a misunderstanding with a customer.
When Loganberry posted this blog last year, I of course had to move this story up my list. And, uh, well, his own evaluation of his own work is spot-on, I'd say. This comedy of errors is funny, but the conversation also vacillates wildly from topic to topic, and since both are speaking in assumptions about what the other is doing, it sometimes took a good bit of effort to follow. And yeah, the ending is a real head-scratcher. I guess the joke is glass houses and all that. So definitely not his best work, but far from bad.
Recommended for Sunset Fans
Sunset Shimmer's Sexy Sapphic Sacrilege Surprise by Sporktacles
Sequel to Sunset Shimmer's Very Respectable Class Reunion
Genre: Sexual Comedy
Sunset's diplomatic trip to reindeer lands goes, uh, sexier than expected.
You look at a story title like that, and you maybe think, "No. No way is the story actually good enough to hold that up!" But, no, in this case, it absolutely is. Whether this was written from the title or written from the title, the story itself holds together marvelously. It's all about execution, a series of real-time magic journal texts between Sunset and Princess Celestia interspersed with the occasional all-dialogue flashback. And this is just a perfect series of spaghetti incidents all across. :) Also, you definitely don't have to have read either of the prequels, though you absolutely should. Highly Recommended for Fans of Sexual Comedy
Recommended
In the Shadow of His Brother by garatheauthor
Genre: Crackfic/Seinfeld Crossover
Discord visits his younger brother.
Abandon all sense, ye who enter here. What — and I mean this sincerely — the fuck? XD I would mention never having seen Seinfeld before in the context of attempting to understand this story, but then I remembered I once wrote a science fiction version of a Seinfeld episode for a fucking school assignment, so really, I have no excuse. This does that thing where the situation is completely bonkers to us, the readers, but the characters find it totally normal, and it works out well. I will say, this has an awful lot of swearing? And the fourth wall jokes get rather convoluted. But by golly, you know what you're getting into with this one now!
Recommended for Weirdness
Discord Spices Up Your Date by Flutterpriest
Genre: 2P AiE Shipping/Random Comedy
You finally got the guy of your dreams. Unfortunately, Discord is still in control of your body.
Hey, a Femanon story! Finally, an Anon fic I can relate—wait, what's that? She's into boys? D: I can't have anything. >:| So this was fun. It's a one-joke fic, but that joke made me laugh, and that's all that matters. Also, good job having filled us in on what exactly has been going on in such a small word count. This works!
Recommended for Laughs
Rainbow Dash, Spirit of Hearth's Warming Versus the Grand Council of Holidays by TCC56
Genre: Legal Comedy
After accidentally killing the Spirits of Hearth's Warming, Rainbow Dash needs Starlight Glimmer's help.
I want to take a second to focus on the first two paragraphs of this story. Go read them, it won't take long. I've never seen anyone take this view of the Mane Six's friendship before, and I love it? It all makes perfect sense while also being presented in a humorous manner. But not only the type of connections they have, but who shows up is just… I dunno, man, I could have read an entire story just about that, though I suspect it wouldn't have been as much fun. :) Because oh man, is this good. I do enjoy legal comedies quite a bit, but even moreso, I love stories about holidays being real (wait, but holidays are real…) and having spirits associated with them. See Nightmare Before Christmas, Legend of the Guardians, etc., this shares DNA with all of those and more and it's fantastic. Like, I seriously just got super into the lore and want to see more sequels; it's doubly impressive when you see the prompt TCC was given! This is another incredibly indulgent recommendation, but hey, this story was tailor-made for my interests, and it's terrifically funny to boot.
Highly Recommended
Obsession by Gusto Starstorm
Genre: EQG Drama
There's a reason Indigo Zap keeps to herself.
So, the mystery here isn't what Indigo does at home. She's an artist, and she never lets anyone see her art. The why of that is the real mystery here, and the exploration of it I found rewarding. Gusto Starstorm once again is approaching EQG in a way few others do, and in a way I specifically like a lot, and I'm quite pleased with how this turned out. He even shouts out Looking Glass in the A/N. :) You won't get much out of this if you're not into Equestria Girls, but if you are? Totally worth the read.
Recommended for EQG Fans
Ladybugs Awake by Uz Naimat
Genre: Emotional/Episode Followup
Following the attack on the wedding, Twilight hasn't been able to sleep.
Man oh man. Of course Twilight would have trauma from the wedding episode. She would have PTSD building up from all the crap the show throws at her. And it wouldn't just be her, either. This is an excellent look at trauma and recovery, a very quiet and kind peek into the minds of ponies who never seem that troubled on-screen. Good explorations of trauma like this are so hard to come by, yet so important to read. It seems, looking at Uz Naimat's account, that they write about such things rather frequently, so I look forward to reading more. :) This was quite good.
Recommended
Warring Heaven by Equimorto
Genre: Historical
A series of tablets bearing a creation myth, translated as well as can be.
24 chapters and only a thousand words? :O Weeeell, not exactly, as each 'tablet' has its own curator's note at the start, using the author's note function to keep it from inflating the word count. How sneaky! So, this is one of the most original, singular works I've ever encountered on this site, and my guess is, most people are not going to want to read it. The language here is dense and inexact, as befits a translation of an ancient, poorly-understood language. So if you look to fics to tell you stories with clear answers, oh boy, this is not for you. But should you be willing to put a great deal more effort into trying to understand something than is usual, you may just very well be rewarded. I could not tell you what happens in this story, but I definitely have an impression, even if it's several impressions, of what happened, and the way it's all conveyed? Well, that's just my thing, isn't it?
Highly Recommended
Mediation by TCC56
Genre: Comedy/Shipping
Fluttershy attempts to help Luna and Twilight's pets get along.
You know, there's not a whole lot to this, but there didn't need to be more. This is short, it's fun, it sets up its scenario efficiently and delivers a few good laughs along the way. It's all you could ask for in a short form comedy.
Recommended for Laughs
Consider the Spider by Ice Star
Genre: World-Building
So it turns out Luna really likes spiders.
I thought this was going to be a comedy despite there being no such tag on it, because I lack object permanence. c_c; To be fair, the opening scene is pretty amusing, but that's not the point. The point is Luna petting a giant tarantula. Which, speaking as a lifelong arachnophobe, would frighten me solely as any animal that size would, and not because it was specifically a spider. Seriously, when they're bigger than you, what they are ceases to matter. But Cadence learns a lesson and we get some interesting tidbits of Equestrian spider lore. This is doubtless the only relaxing story about spiders I will ever read.
Recommended for Luna Fans
Hughbert Jellius' Secret Method For Surviving the Apocalypse (Breaking Ok-ish) by Mockingbirb
Genre: Dark/Comedy
After the end of the world, Celestia finds one last pony.
Not enough people have written stories about Hugh Jelly. And yes, he does need a tag. It's 2024, dammit! (For like, two more days…) Anyway, this is probably what you would expect. Hugh Jelly, or Hughbert Jellius, is used very well here, his oddness extending just a bit beyond jelly, for extra fun. Also, Celestia/Hugh is not the 'unusual ship' mentioned in the description. You maybe won't believe it! Or maybe, you will…
Recommended for Laughs
Never Meet Your Villains by FanOfMostEverything
Genre: Comedy
Shadow Lock had once attempted to erase the Pony of Shadows from history. To hear that he now walked among them was more than he could bear.
So I'm pretty sure I read the comic issue that featured Shadow Lock, and then immediately forgot about it because it wasn't that good. Which is to say, even if you've never read it, you can read this, because FOME has crafted a wonderful voice and does plenty to fill us in on the details. Like, seriously, most of the first scene is just a rundown of that comic arc, but the narrative voice — tinged with Lovecraft homages — is just so engrossing, it didn't bother me at all. There are plenty of jokes, plus lots of atmosphere and reference gags; what a fun concept, to connect these two characters like this. :)
Recommended
Lost in Translotion by TheDriderPony
Genre: Comedy
One month is plenty of time to learn two languages, right?
Your eyes are not playing tricks on you: the title does not say "translation". This is a delightful comedy about how near synonyms can mess with a sentence's meaning. :) It is, of course, wholly in my wheelhouse, but I think anyone will be able to get a kick out of this idiot interpreter making a mockery of a diplomatic summit.
Recommended
We Don't Go Past the Garden Wall by Caligari87
Genre: Horror
There are things you need to stay out of.
What is it about Sweet Apple Acres that engenders such fertile ground (HEH) for horror? This story, admittedly, doesn't really get to the actual horror bits until the last few sentences, the rest of it being more of a dark mystery. But the implications are certainly there, and quite solid, considering the shortness overall. Good creepy fic.
Recommended
Foreign Object by RB_
Mature: Gore
Genre: Dark Comedy
Twilight just so happens to schedule her school inspection on changeling anatomy lesson day.
So going into this, I immediately thought of The Head; a comedic takeoff thereof would be, I think, pretty darn fun. That said, I don't believe this is meant to be any such thing despite the similarities, but I also don't think having that expectation will leave you wanting after you've read this. :) Do heed the content tags, though; the main reveal is hilarious if you don't think about it too hard. Which, of course, I just did and now I'm turbo-cringing. x_X;;; But yeah, this was a good dark comedy.
Recommended
It Curdles by Rinderin
Genre: Horror
Change is good.
You know, I'm not down with authors using AI art for their cover images, but when they aren't the ones who 'made' it themselves? I don't know what to think. Which about sums up my feelings on this story. Sure, it's very creepy, being the rare story where the reveal only amplifies the horror that built up to it. But I'm not sure 'curd' is quite the slam-dunk in terms of weird words to use to describe weird shit happening. And like… then more stuff happens at the end, and everything is very unclear why, which is apparently intentional? This wasn't written for a thousand words contest or anything, and I can't shake the feeling that a higher word count would have given it more room to breathe. I don't quite feel right panning it, either. Like I said, not sure how to feel about this.
Recommended for Horror Fans Only
Pure Absurdity by FanOfMostEverything
Genre: EQG Sexual Comedy
Sunset discovers she knows something the others don't.
In the A/N, FOME describes this as "the kind of bare sliver of an idea that works best for the Thousand Words contest," and I have to agree. It's funny, but it's a one-joke fic at heart. A thousand words means it can't outstay its welcome, and actually the funniest part is the climax of the Dash-teasing. So yeah, good stuff!
Recommended for Laughs
I Think I've Made Myself Clear by abrony-mouse
Genre: Historical Comedy
Celestia finds a great way to prank her mentor. And her sister.
Okay, so this is easily top-ten in the funniest ever combinations of title and cover art on the site. As for the story itself, the present tense feels a little off, and the fact that the first sentence is in past doesn't help that. <_< Also, I was very confused about what was going on, and took about half the story to realize, Celestia is invisible at the start of the story. This would be obvious if I, y'know, could read. /)_<; In case it's not clear, the italicized dialogue is all internal, that realization also helped things. Moving away from the writing, this is pretty funny, mostly how it turns around in the end. This is a light and silly Best Sisters shenanigans piece of the sort I enjoy. :)
Recommended for Laughs
Between Family and Friend by TCC56
Genre: Romance/Drama
Apple Bloom's new coltfriend is allergic to apples.
Damn, but this is a cute pairing. :O Pistachio is one of those characters I tend to forget exists. He only appeared in the one stand-alone Hearth's Warming special, but I really liked him! And it's weird, the premise and first two lines really sell this as a comedy, but it's not. I mean, by the end, there's nothing funny about what's going on. We're along for the ride with Apple Bloom, and she's honestly heartbroken, poor kid. D: The ending was a bit of a head-scratcher, but overall? I liked this, it works.
Recommended
So, state of the author time!
The author is in a bad state! D: I have about a month, maybe two, before I run out of money and am in deep shit! Need to find a job by then! And if I'm forced to compromise with something that underpays or doesn't offer benefits, I do not know how I'm going to survive! I need healthcare! Welcome to the United States!
It doesn't help that the last few days have been somehow even more stressful than the past two months. Like, it's amazing I haven't died or had a heart attack or something at this point. I don't know how I'm going on! :'D It's bad, y'all!
I'm dialling back a lot of internet stuff. I posted my final video about custom Sentinels decks today, closing a book that's lasted the last seven years or so. I came in one video shy of 400! XD
Honestly? Don't know what I'm gonna do with myself come next Sunday. But I guess that's practice for workdays ahead, huh?
I don't know if fanfic review output is going to slow down next year. I mean, I was doing it back in 2013 when I was working my first 'real' job, so I know it's still possible. Have I ever mentioned that I fucking loathe the necessity of jobs? :') I was not made to live in this society.
Anyway, enough bad shit. You came here for stats, you dirty dog, I know you! So without further ado, here they are!
I reviewed 429 stories this year! That's a really low number, only 7 more than 2022. D: I'm glad it's not a new low, at least, but dang. I'm not sure what happened.
Of those stories, only 4 were vs. posts. Interestingly, two 3s and two 5s!
So of the remaining 425, we have:
Highly Recommended: 52 (12.24%)
Reccomended: 156 (36.71%)
Conditionally Recommended: 155 (36.47%)
Vaguely Recommended: 32 (7.23%)
Not Recommended: 28 (6.59%)
Incomplete: 1
X (No Rating): 1
Once again, it seems like I'm reading a lot more stuff I like. The hundred+ stories from the "short and from my RIL" editions no doubt helped a lot with that!
The authors I reviewed the most are:
Equimorto (9)
Mockingbirb (8)
Rose Quill (8)
TheDriderPony (7)
TCC56 (7)
Admiral Biscuit (6)
RB_ (6)
shortskirtsandexplosions (6)
Jordan179 (5)
The Red Parade (5)
Quite a few newer names showing up more now, though a few old guard are still sticking it out. :) Again, those short RIL editions really helped buff those numbers, not to mention the two author-centric editions for Rose Quill and Jordan179 (RIP).
I listened to 263 audiobooks this year (that's 61.88%)! The readers who brought me the most stories are:
Pony and Wolf Productions (111)
Lotus Moon (40)
No One and Nobody (31)
Agent0Fluffy (17)
Scribbler (16)
Skijaramaz (9)
Quill Feather (6)
TheLostNarrator (6)
Dang, son. c_c It's still very weird that VisualPony isn't uploading constantly. And of course, Skijaramaz is likely going to dominate next year's stats, but there's still time. :)
And that's it for this year! Thanks for reading, here's to us getting through the next one! We'll do it together.
I've had a crummy year myself, yet somehow I keep forgetting the dire straits you're in. Really sorry it's still a thing, bud. Not much I can do, but I do wish something turns up for you, and soon.
Ha, funny thing about your final story total. Unlike you, I obviously did hit a low, off stopping regular Monday Musings in August. That said, it still ranked ahead of 2022 for me in word count and average rating (there's a correlation of course, longer stories tend to mean higher ratings, at least when they're all still short stories), so like yourself, still an uptick.
You've also reminded me to do a stats review of the year. Wonder if this time I'll bother with a separate post, regular editions are too sparse to do it across three weeks like last time…
Very glad to see the average rating increase off plucking fics from your RiL list! That's clearly worked out well for you; time permitting, I say, more of it!
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unfortunately, the end result of plucking all those short fics off the RIL is that the remainder's average wordcount has skyrocketed XD there's some long junk in there!
huzzah
one of mine that you liked!
I continue to be a confusing bitch, but you <3 one!
great start to to 2025
happy new years!
Sorry to hear about your employment / financial woes P2. I hope something comes through for ya. And thanks for the recommends, as always.
*Hug* Here's hoping things improve soon.
You sneaky bitch! I did read the first two paragraphs of TCC56's story, and then I was unable to not read the rest. Which is a good thing, because it was wonderful!
Warring Heaven was the other story I glanced at and then couldn't put down. I have to assume that Equimorto has read a lot of ancient texts, because the "vibe" was just perfect! (Also, hurray for clueless scholar jokes!)
I am so sorry that your situation sucks so much. It seems like half the people I know (that are still alive) are going through some very hard times, without much hope of things improving. I wish I had a magic wand to wave to make it all better.
Thank you for the reviews! When I saw that you’d reviewed No Safety in Numbers I immediately became afraid because half the people who read it hated it enough to get really heated about it in the comments section!
Sorry to hear about your situation, also. It sounds like you and I are in a similar place right now. Hopefully it’ll work out for both of us. Fingers crossed and happy new year.
Is the Ko-fi link in your bio still the best way to support you? I can afford to donate a little to the most fun person on Fimfiction. 🙂 And yeah, as I've expressed before, "It Curdles" doesn't seem to amount to much. Decently written, but devoid of ideas.
I had very much the same thought when I read it, so you're not alone.
Also: damn, triple shot for me! (And seven on the year! I'm honored.) I'm glad you enjoyed, particularly Rainbow Dash et al - I had an amazing time writing it last Jinglemas and I'm super proud of it.
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Warring Heaven is a fascinating experience, yes. It really does feel like you're part of the team trying to puzzle out an archaic language, made harder by the author's... inexact grasp of it.
And yes, Never Meet Your Villains is definitely one of my better forays into channeling Howard Phillips with less bigotry. And yeah, the Thousand Words contest seemed like the best place for a one-note gag scene. Glad I was able to bring you a little much-needed joy; here's hoping the world follows suit shortly.
Thank you for the review! I agree with every word of it, which clearly makes it the finest review anyone has ever written of any fic at all.
Even if by some miracle I actually bloody write stuff this year, I doubt any of it will be about human Sunset, which is probably for the best for all concerned! Actually, I should probably do a few more "Looking back at..." blog posts anyway.
That HR fic by TCC56 is going straight on the RiL list. I did read the first two paras and I think they're brilliant. Legal comedies are a bit hit-and-miss for me, especially if they have things that are everyday for Americans but not for us,¹ but that setup isn't something I can just let hang forever.
¹ Jury selection is an obvious one. Over here, peremptory challenge has been disallowed for decades.
I'm sorry things are so tough for you at the moment. I hope the world plays one of its rare <i>nice</i> tricks and brings you some good news very soon.
Really hoping things turn around for you. Get that job, get that bread.
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yes, it does c_c I cannot ask for such support, but if I really didn't want help, I'd remove the link, yaknow?
Wishing you financial stability and well-deserved rest this new year.