Five Years · 11:32am Nov 1st, 2017
That's right, today is my five year Fim-Fic-A-Versary. Which means that I'm old enough for magic kindergarten, or something like that.
Actually, I do want to enroll in magic kindergarten.
From the ant-sized Wiki
Even if all the other unicorns laugh at me. Even if I get kicked out (or turned into a potted plant) by recess.
If you'd asked me five years ago if I thought I'd spend five years writing fanfic, I surely wouldn't have said yes. And yet, here we are, with 114 published stories totaling around over 2 million words [as of 11:20pm EDT]. And this is my 450th blog post!
How did that happen?
I don't know. I still remember when my first story passed moderation, and I waited for the comments and adulation to roll in.
I'm still waiting for the adulation.
I think one one of my anniversaries, I gave y'all some numbers, so I'm not going to do that this time. Instead, I'm going to reflect on some of the places I've written ponyfic. And I couldn't possibly list them all; that would take forever. But literally dozens of group homes around Michigan, my parent's house, my own house (obviously), a picnic bench in the Hiawatha National Forest, Trotcon, Bronycon, and Everfree Northwest, Boston, MA, a crappy hotel just off the Pennsylvania Turnpike, a Bed and Breakfast in Alma, MI, San Diego, the Lansing airport, Sunny Haven, on the road between Greensboro and Michigan . . . the list goes on and on.
Heck, even at work on little pieces of notepaper while I was doing an alignment on a box truck. Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.'s got nothing on that.
I also think that I mentioned once--probably more than once--that the reason I was drawn to Fimfiction in the first place was the fact that there were actually serious, respectful discussions in the comments. Like how much energy there is in a pool of liquid rainbow.
I couldn't even begin to list the numbers of discussions like that we've had on my stories, but it warms my heart every time. Why, just recently, on the cusp of my fic-a-versary, I learned through comments on Lost at Sea that equines can't get scurvy, since they can synthesize their own vitamin C.
Just knowing that random tidbit is of course useful should I ever be a contestant on a game show and that particular question comes up.
My readers, of course, live all over the world, and have a diverse background. So is it any wonder that one of them expanded on that random factoid by describing the process?
Incidentally, if anyone wants to write a HiE where the poor human takes a long sea voyage with the ponies and gets scurvy because they haven't packed any fruits containing vitamin C, have at it. I'd read that.
It's been a great five years. Better than I could have even imagined back when I nervously pushed the 'submit' button for the very first time.
I feel like this is the kind of thing where I ought to end with either some inspirational speech or a little tidbit of wisdom.
Truth is, I'm not much for inspirational speeches. That never really was my strong suit. Wisdom, though, I've got that. Mostly (although not entirely, thankfully) gained through experience.
So here's my bit of wisdom:
Never get in a drinking contest with a horse. You will lose.
woot woot party time.
congratulation friend.
Glad to have you with us, Biscuit! Thank you for the great conversations and the inspiration.
I'm pretty sure you've gaine admiration, ain't that close enough?
Congratulation and thank you for these 5 years.
images.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.foodabovegold.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2016%2F05%2FMethod.png&f=1
Learning by Biscuit: it's a thing.
Happy anniversary!
Grats, Admiral Biscuit!
Here’s to the next 5 :D
Congraggleashins! *HIC*
The pleasure is ours :)
Happy Fimficversary! Here's to many more.
Don't forget a decent bar in Southern Canada in a town where the most entertaining thing is the methadone clinic. (gawd, Sarnia. Never again)
I fixed it...
*adulates to the maximum degree*
Seriously, I wouldn't be following if I didn't love your stuff.
Or if you're planning on writing a fic about equestrian pirates battling scurvy. Then you can remember this, and scrap the idea on the spot! :D
Congrats on the five years on Fimfiction!
adulates
In a way, I resent your magnificent comments, because they manage to turn the most boring real-life factoids into interesting ideas, like the scurvy thing.
Raises mug, "Here's to the next five." Swigs, "What is this...?
~Dollars.
Congratulations my friend, you have been a pleasure to be around and your stories have re-defined my life, keep up the good work and stay with us for another 5, also I'm still working hard at that little project.
congrats glad these damn ponies drew you to write
Congrats on being here 5 years! Personally I believe that you are one of the better writers on this site and you do have quite the following and have some of more memorable stories on this site.
Welcome to the 5 year club.
...I'm not drinking that orange juice, Twilight. I know where it came from.
i.imgur.com/zx0k66w.png
Pic related to magic kindergarten, probably. It's been a long time since Trixie was first introduced, huh?
Happy anniversary! Here's to many more years of small horse friendship!
What? Still waiting for the adulation??? Just from the comments, I'd say we've never stopped ...adulating you!
That must really be a word. My spell-check passed it without complaint.
"...Cause of death: The victim was apparently adulated at approximately 4:00 PM. Bring in the usual suspects."
So if I become a creepy stalker fan, does that count as adulation?
Also You're amazing and thank you for making this fandom so much richer
You have made many days a little brighter by pushing that button, mine as well.
Happy Anniversary Admiral.
Grats on the 5 years!
Did you know... guinea pigs CAN get scurvy. It was fortunate that the guys studying scurvy just so happened to use guinea pigs for their experiments... otherwise it might've taken quite a lot longer to figure out what the hell causes it.
Though the fact that citrus fruits cure/prevent scurvy was discovered by almost by accident a long time before we found what scurvy actually was. Some dude wanted to cure scurvy and just used the shotgun method to find out about citrus fruits.
Congrats, AB. Between your stories and the entertaining education of your blogs, it's been great fun.
Congratulations and thanks for all the wonderful stories!
Congrats! While I haven't been the biggest perused of your stories I've really enjoyed your blog's. Have a nice howdy from Texas. And keep writing.
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Thank you!
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Thanks!
Any time!
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?
Yes!
Thanks for reading and commenting!
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It's a great cycle--readers learn stuff from me, I learn stuff from readers! Wins all around!
(also, FWIW, I don't know how to bake a biscuit.)
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Thank you!
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<raises mug>
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Thanks!
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Did I ever mention that you're one of the reasons that I got into ponyfiction, and how I got my parents to at least accept it as a thing that I do?
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Oh, yeah, I did write some stuff there. Finished up a chapter of Silver Glow's Journal on a park bench overlooking the St. Mary's River.
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Pfft, Bad Horse doesn't stand a chance. I'm literally twice his size.
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Aww, thanks!
It honestly wouldn't be the first idea I'd dropped because research told me I was wrong.
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Thank you!
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The most boring real-life factoids are the basis of good stories, IMHO.
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i.ytimg.com/vi/0jtwpSzRhq0/hqdefault.jpg
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Thank you!
Looking forward to it!
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Thanks!
I'm glad that they did, too. It's been a fun five years.
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<blushes>
I'm not going to make the claim that I'm that great a writer, but I am persistent, and that's what counts, right? And I probably do have some of the more memorable stories, for good or bad.
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Thanks!
I'm still waiting for Knighty to send me a party hat.
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Yeah, like back in 2011 or something.
Yay!
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Of course it's a word. It's a perfectly cromulent word, in fact.
Hey, if enough people are adulating, it could be fatal.
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Sure, but you'll have to one-up Obey Bunny.
Thanks for reading my horsewords!
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Thank you!
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Thanks!
I didn't know that!
That's the kind of happy coincidence you sometimes get in medicine. Although I bet that back in the day, there was a lot of stuff they wound up getting wrong, too.
Funnily enough, that's how we just fixed a brake issue on a '02 F250 diesel.
I was reading stuff about brewing, and watching YouTube videos about how they did it back in the day, and they didn't know that yeast was actually alive. They'd figured out the brewing process, but didn't know how it actually worked (or why sometimes it didn't).