• Member Since 31st Aug, 2018
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Ghost Mike


Hardcore animation enthusiast chilling away in this dimension and unbothered by his non-corporeal form. Also likes pastel cartoon ponies. They do that to people. And ghosts.

More Blog Posts226

  • Monday
    Ghost Mike's Ponyfic Review Monday Musings #106

    In Monday Musings’ early days, if I was lacking in a suitable blurb opener, I would often reach for whatever I’d been watching or playing lately. I kind of retired that after a while, mostly because they tended to not be what my regular readers are interested in, and largely only elicited shrugs of the “I don’t care for it” variety. Well, this time, it’s too dear to me to hesitate: on Friday, I

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    20 comments · 150 views
  • 1 week
    Ghost Mike's Ponyfic Review Monday Musings #105

    Nice advantage of a Bank Holiday Monday is I don’t have to have Monday MusingsTM ready to go on Sunday night, owing to not working up to nearly posting time of 6PM UTC (distinct from GMT, which doesn’t account for time zones). Meaning I can, and am, throwing this together shortly before pressing submit instead. Not a bad side bonus to national holidays always giving the following

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    12 comments · 128 views
  • 2 weeks
    Ghost Mike's Ponyfic Review Monday Musings #104

    March 1st saw witness to a brief but strong (and unexpected, to the ire of the weather people) bout of snow. Which, if you’ve never been to Ireland, is extraordinary rare – the last notable such spell we had was six years ago in March 2018, a cold front so strong it actually shut schools and college down for several days (all your Northern Americans and Canadians are yawning at this,

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    9 comments · 96 views
  • 3 weeks
    Ghost Mike's Ponyfic Review Monday Musings #103

    Eventually I’ll have to contend with these yearly anniversaries getting a day further off each time (or two, Leap Year and all), as I started on March 7th. Price to pay for committing to a fixed day in the title, eh? But that day isn’t yet (likely next year, where I’ll have it three days after rather than four before, to be closer). Right now, it’s here. Folks, Ghost Mike’s Ponyfic

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    20 comments · 187 views
  • 4 weeks
    Ghost Mike's Ponyfic Review Monday Musings #102

    Anyone else ever remember giving something up for Lent when they were young? Even though it hasn’t been a thing in close to two decades for me, I’m reminded of it by two people in the house doing it for the first time in donkey’s years. Okay, one person, my mom to combat her sweet tooth: my brother is merely relaxing on the soft drinks outside of before and after sports training/matches.

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    11 comments · 156 views
Mar
7th
2022

Ghost Mike's Ponyfic Review Monday Musings #1 · 6:00pm Mar 7th, 2022


Mrs. Cake: “Ssh! Ghost Mike’s Ponyfic Review Monday Musings are a secret surprise, we’re not supposed to tell anypony about them yet!”
Pinkie Pie: “Oh, Mrs. Cake, where’s the fun in that? It’s all cool, I convinced him of the value in starting this project now! At the rate he was going, it would have been months before he took the plunge on his own!”
Ghost Mike: [shrugs] “Eh, she’s got me pegged. Sometimes you just gotta make something public once you have a good head start on it. No way to know how it’s gonna fare otherwise. And this is all about sharing it with others. As Pinkie said, it’s no fun to hold it in for too long! Apparently she speaks from personal experience, or something.”
Mrs. Cake: “Personal experience, right… that sure is one way of describing it, dearie.”

Why Monday for these? People could do with a post like this as they trudge back into another working week, and the other Ponyfic reviewers publish on other set days. No sense in squeezing up against them, this is better for all of us!

I can already hear some of you groaning at the notion of another person, pony (or in this case, spirit), throwing their hat into the ponyfic reviewing ring. I’d probably agree; I debated whether this was a worthwhile direction for the longest time. Despite the reassurance the reviews could be just edited and posted as comments on the fics if I decided not to plunge ahead, I remained unsure. Obviously I eventually decided it was worth taking that plunge, as you can tell. I’ve put the explanation for me doing these reviews at the post’s end, as I recognise many people won’t be interested in that, and would rather I get to the reviews themselves. Especially since this first blog has to explain how they work.

Not that there’s much to it! Each review introduces the fic, gives my own plot teaser, and then a few paragraphs form the review itself. Each fic gets a rating, and the author is notified both by my adding of the fic to the Reviewed folder and the folder of its rating. And also the comment I leave on their fic linking to the blog, as follows:

An oddball ghost happened across your fic and read it. Have a review!

I do aim to produce some smiles. The show does preach that it’s better to be nice, after all.

The ratings are Excellent, Really Good, Pretty Good, Decent, Passable, Weak and Bad. Explanations of my rating criteria can be found in the bookshelf description by clicking the links, though I will probably more properly break them down in a future Review blog (as well as what tends to affect my fics of choice and all that). In any case, the content of the review is the main indicator as to what it’s like, not the rating. There’s every chance my reviewing criteria, the rating names and other factors could change over the coming months (Pretty Good itself is a recent addition, added because I had too many fics that didn’t fit into Good or Really Good satisfyingly).

Most reviews blogs tend to list the fics being reviewed therein at the start; it allows users (especially the author!) to quickly find the review they want, and to see what’s in this week’s batch. I see no reason to break that trend.

It’s too early yet to say how dense these will be. For now, I’m keeping the posts at five fics a week, though that number may increase if most of them are really short. As you might expect, it’s mostly short fics that will get reviewed here, though I will make an effort to get in some medium or longfics. Relatively speaking, that is: I wouldn’t hold your breaths for more than the very-rare 100K+ fic, I rarely have the time for fics that long. And I’m still undecided if such fics deserve spotlights or to be lumped in with the other small frys.

That’s enough preamble – the reviews themselves will determine whether this pans out. Let’s get to them! As an inaugural bonus, this first edition has some extra stories, just to make it that bit more worthwhile. Future weeks may have themes, but for now, it’s a relatively random selection.

This Week’s Spectral Stories:

Baby Limestone Rides to War by CoffeeMinion
All the Time in the World by Vis-a-Viscera
Of Royal Sisters and Rock Concerts by SacredSturgeon
The Heart of the Matter by Aotrs Commander
Love Is In The Air by Blueshift
Fireside Shores by Noble Thought
Customer Disservice by Estee

Weekly Word Count: 26,245 Words

Archive of Reviews


Baby Limestone Rides to War by CoffeeMinion

Genre: Slice of Life/Random
Limestone Pie, Pets, Igneous Rock
1,712 Words
December 2016

Listened to via Scribbler's reading

Toddler Limestone wanders out to the swamp near the Pie house where Pygmy Gators reside. While the others sensibly flee, she coerces one into letting him carry her, and so she rides him like a horse back to her kitchen, all the while complaining about how her new sister Maud is ruining everything, interning on using her new steed to dispose of the problem. You might say things don’t go as planned.

Not much to add: this is as true an adorable cute fluff piece of a foal being a foal version of their adult counterpart as they come. And it fully commits to that worldview; reading her alligator steed process first his fate, and then the strange behaviour of the pacifier-sucking toddler riding him into a frontal assault, is never less than serious to its characters. Which it’s why it’s so funny for us. That holds true the whole way, right as the fic leans sideways in its second half and Igneous Pie gives Limestone an earnest (for him), sincere talk which the reader gets, but neither the gator nor Limestone does, and she continues being her gruff and gritty self.

One quibble: this fic does run afoul of something I wish authors didn’t do, having much of the backstory and setup be exclusive to the description. Oh, the context is still clear from the story, but it does irk to have that info present, easily accessible, yet not organically integrated. Unlike most cases of such, where the story would remain weak regardless, the actual story is quality here. It’s the only obvious fix in the whole story; what exposition is in there is integrated naturally, so it absolutely could have been done.

In any case, the young viewpoint means there’s minimal narrative wit, but for such a short fic presented this way, it’s not really needed. The gator’s silent disposition and contemplative mood gives him as much character as his more well-known relative, and the silly cute nonsense of a child is hilarious. If you’re in the mood for a foal doing foalish things, this is well worth a few minutes of your time.

Rating: Pretty Good


All the Time in the World by Vis-a-Viscera

Genre: Drama
Starlight Glimmer
2,690 Words
July 2020

In the aftermath of her flight from Our Town, Starlight Glimmer finds herself alone in a hidden cave, brooding. Not on what happened to bring her to this moment, though. No, she's brooding on the state of Equestria, on how it preaches to offer the word to any pony, anything they want, and any friends they want. With firsthand evidence backing up her strong opposition to this stance she's held for many years, she sees it as even uglier now. And thus, she's not only not ashamed of what her next move is, she's proud. For only then will she consider herself saved.

What we have here is basically an inner monologue where Starlight exposits on how Equestria is a Crapsaccharine World/False Utopia. But not in the usual way you'd expect. It's all told through blunt statements where the real point is showing how twisted Starlight's psyche is. Both through how she honestly believes her goal with Our Town was a noble one, and how the predestined destiny bestowed by cutie marks is exactly why Equestria is a terrible place for those outside the lucky few.

Pieces on what makes Starlight tic when she was a villain, and what made her go after Twilight in the Season 5 finale beyond "cartoon revenge", are surprisingly rare (a side effect, no doubt, of how much her Season 5 Premiere incarnation differed from her thereafter). This is an unusual one, wavering dangerously close to Starlight coming across as insane, yet keeping her sane, but in the kind of way that makes her thoughts and perspective even more dangerous. What's most surprising is this fic is tough to read, for an E-rated story. The constant use of short, barbed sentences cutting Starlight's own thoughts short make even condensed thoughts land with the weight of longer points, and coupled with how many thoughts the fic cycles through by its conclusion, it's draining. I am glad it's only 2.7K, and even then, it could do with being a bit shorter. But it benefits from this, leaving a piece you're glad to have waded through. It probably helps knowing things turned out alright in the end – I can imagine this piece being too tough to get through for some had it been released during Season 5.

If the notion of a dive into Starlight's psyche, where bitterness at Equestria's culture and the justification of her crusade fester into a pit of resentment, sounds interesting to you, this one is worth a look. Competently crafted, and with unusual ideas delivered sharp and raw. I'm glad I read it.

Rating: Pretty Good


Of Royal Sisters and Rock Concerts by SacredSturgeon

Genre: Comedy
Celestia, Luna, OC
2,128 Words
February 2014

Listened to via Scribbler's reading

Howls of Catastrophe, an a capella rock band noted for their ability to screech anypony’s ears off, are set to follow up their Equestria-wide tour with a concert at Canterlot. The band’s members are so intoxicated with their music and attitudes – or perhaps select substances – that they barely register any unusual behaviour. Meanwhile, Celestia and Luna, secret fans of the band, have disguised themselves and gone to the concert.

What promises to be a interesting crossing between these plotlines doesn’t really land, though, because of the fic’s length – 2,128 words is simply not enough space to do more than rush through these plot points (at least, after the first scene, which exposits the setup regarding the band and their members’ origins and personalities). Thereafter, descriptions are bare, and even the details given earlier about the band don’t matter, as none of them do anything. As for the Princesses’, we mostly just get standard “ha, Celestia has a fun side, and Luna should loosen up” jokes. Nothing to write home about.

The fic does have a sense of humour, present in the descriptions and the characters, but the outline, bullet-point-like feeling means these don’t land much, and even the jokes there are just tossed out and laid bare, not built up to or integrated much (and when they are, like what Celestia/Luna left behind to not arouse suspicion, there’s still much wasted potential). The final result is a very bland fic that doesn’t leave much of an impression at all.

It all feels like a very early fic for a new author, one just figuring out how to craft a story and pen compelling prose. Hey, we’ve all been there. Sadly, SacredSturgeon only published 15 short fics between December 31st 2013 and August 16th 2014, averaging 2,161 words and with none of them breaking 5.6K. That many fics over that short a time, their style probably didn’t improve or change more than incrementally. As they haven’t been on Fimfiction in over six years, reading more of their work isn’t a priority. I will eventually, though, just to see if much changed.

Those who like the concepts here criss-crossing in quick parallel might get a mild chuckle out of this, but the story beats and execution is too lacklustre to recommend even to the curious.

NOTE: Being an early-ish Scribbler reading (okay, 2016), there’s enough roughness to some of the performances that while it works out better than reading the fic, it’s still only a marginal improvement.

Rating: Weak


The Heart of the Matter by Aotrs Commander

Genre: Adventure
Twilight, Cadance, Shining Armor, Spike
11,361 Words
July 2015

After much toiling, Twilight, with Cadance, Shining Armor and Spike for support, has finally concluded negotiations for a treaty between Equestria and the Alphyns. A matter made infinitely infuriating by the Grand Prince deliberately dragging out talks and treating them none too well, but staying just within the bounds of acceptability. All that’s left now is the Prince’s final request. An Honour Duel to prove himself over a Princess of Equestria. However, he didn’t say which Princess…

Cadance is one of those characters who’s just there in the show, but has great fanfic potential, something which this takes advantage of magnificently. Basically it’s a big counter to her being the weak, disposable Princess, with much of the fic’s 2nd chapter being the “honour” duel itself. I was a little apprehensive about what amounts to an overlong fight scene, and while it is still overlong (as is the whole fic, nothing a tight editing pass couldn’t fix), it’s very well done, breaking up the flow with audience reactions, letting us in with Cadance’s tactical thoughts throughout, not repeating beats and ensuring it all flows from one point to the next. It’s just dangerous enough with mortal peril as a possibility to be gripping too. Though the main reason it works is the buildup of the first chapter, making such a smirking moustache-twirling villain out of the Alphyn Grand Prince and his lowly opinion on the Equestrians, that it’s super cathartic to see him meet his match.

The comic relief, as it were, that’s provided during the duel and other scenes (coming in three flavours from Spike, Shining Armor, and another veteran guard) is a nice bonus, as is the re-contextualisation of Cadance’s role as Princess of Love to fit the fic’s setup. And though a minor element, the lore about this particular nation and myth-derived species holds interest too, given it does allow for a more varied fight scene (even Twilight admits they can do things which alicorn magic can’t!).

While this is an instant read for those partial to fics with a proactive Cadance who takes names, or those who like lengthy, well-executed fight setpieces, this fic does enough things well to be a heavy recommendation for everyone else too. Just don’t get on Cadance’s bad side.

Rating: Really Good


Love Is In The Air by Blueshift

Genre: Romance/Comedy/Random
Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Spike
2,769 Words
August 2012

Listened to via Scribbler's reading

Twilight has tried everything short of actually confessing her feelings to get Rainbow Dash to fall in love with her. But it’s like laying out hints for a wall with a prismatic mane. She eventually hits on the most logical solution – Rainbow Dash will realise she loves Twilight if only Twilight can get them to cuddle up together as they sleep. Rainbow Dash takes daily naps on clouds. Ergo, Twilight must turn herself into a cloud. Spike has his doubts this will all work out.

This fic holds nothing back on mixing Twilight being laser-focused on being with Dash with “Lesson Zero”-level craziness. And Twilight loving it when Rainbow Dash snuggles up to sleep on her. Truth be told, it’s actually in many ways a dark shipping comedy, and were the fic not nestled so much in wacky comedy mode, the implications of what happens within would be very frightening (though it had the decency to finish on a crude punchline to end it on the right note).

That’s really about all there is to it, though I would be remiss to not mention this is actually quite funny, and I chuckled quite a bit, laughing once or twice. As long as one doesn’t mind some of the humour being a little crude, but it's pretty tastefully-done, so that works too. Even apart from coming out during the fanfic boon of Summer 2012, it’s easy to see why this has been read so much.

Rating: Pretty Good


Fireside Shores by Noble Thought

Genre: Slice of Life
Sapphire Shores, OC, CMCs
3,613 Words
April 2014

Listened to via Scribbler's reading

Sapphire Shores loves her regular music, but sometimes it’s not always appropriate for the mood, being pop largely eschewing emotion. She decides to organise an unusual concert celebrating the rain for foals who can’t afford to go, taking advantage of the greedy nature of scalpers in the process to facilitate this. But the real goal, involving a pony close to a colleague of hers, is even more devious.

This fic is… strange. Both the description and the buildup within make it seem like the focus is on Sapphire getting one over on ticket scalpers, but that’s really only a passing moment. Then the fic is largely about the concert celebrating the rain for foals. Then it turns into a forced spotlight moment for someone else. Then the full extent of Sapphire’s plan is revealed after cutting away from showing us the result of her plan.

It’s unfocused, putting it frankly, with only Sapphire’s banter with her manager throughout acting as structural glue. It’s good banter, happily, and Sapphire in the story is well-characterised, putting a decent voice and personality behind a character confined to two show appearances as a plot device and conceived of as “pony pop star with sassy African-American voice and vernacular who is always ‘on’, though friendly and approachable”. That’s not a half-bad achievement.

This was one of Noble Thought’s earliest fics, and they admitted in comments only a year after writing it that it’s one of their weakest. Yet for such a wandering, strange and confusing story, I still feel positive about it. There still is a clear story and point, even if the route taken to get there is strange. Not a recommendation then, but well worthwhile if you're curious, especially as regards reading a Sapphire Shores fic. I was, and on that front, it’s a minor success.

Rating: Passable

NOTE: I would not recommend listening to Scribbler’s reading for this fic – Sapphire’s enunciation is tough to understand at times (and the filter effects when she’s onstage amplify this) and one character has an ill-fitting voice. More noticeably, two paragraphs at the halfway mark scrap some lines and move up some ones from later to fill the gap. I’m guessing there were technical issues with the scrapped lines and Scribbler couldn’t get a pickup from Sapphire’s VA. The written version of the section flows better and gives more detail, even if one wouldn’t notice anything was amiss without comparisons.


Customer Disservice by Estee

Spike: "Let me guess – no cover art from the author, right Twilight?"
Twilight: "No sweat, Spike. You know me, always got an image as backup for such situations!"

Genre: Comedy/Slice of Life
Twilight
1,972 Words
October 2014

Listened to via Scribbler's reading

You would think getting your mailing address changed would be a simple affair, just send a request via mail. Maybe an extra letter or two, perhaps a couple sheets of paperwork. Toss in proof of new address for good measure. And if they cite difficulties, there’s always one’s new status as an Element-bearer to flaunt around and speed up the process.

Twilight, honey, welcome to Dealing With Customer Service.

Estee fics that aren’t Triptych Continuum entries at all (which I've read many spin-offs and side stories of, though not the main mammoth fics) still feel tonally of the same place, with a kind of (usually comedic) idealistic cynicism permeating either characters or how the world operates, often both (though not the lead characters, generally). This is no exception, with the utter refusal of the customer service ponies to do anything useful feeling all too hilariously real, no matter how exaggerated their responses get.

Even just told through their responses, with Twilight’s complaints omitted – a bold choice that allows so much to be said through omission – the feeling of smug superiority and satisfaction behind the letters is palpable, making you want to punch their lights out. Any story that can get that kind of reaction out of letters is pure craft. Then it all comes to a head with the final two letters, about which I will say nothing, except they leave a strong fic on a high note.

Despite being a bit too slight to truly linger in the mind rent-free, this is an easy recommendation. Plus, unlike many Estee fics, it doesn’t overcomplicate itself to an elongated length (though this is an early work in their career, before they ballooned with greater frequency). Read, laugh, baulk and grin.

Rating: Really Good


Spooky Summary of Scores:
Excellent: 0
Really Good: 2
Pretty Good: 3
Decent: 0
Passable: 1
Weak: 1
Bad: 0


Future weeks will likely contain which fics will get reviewed at the end, but this early, it's not finalised that far in advance. You can wait in full anticipation for now instead!

As stated at the top, here is a (brief) tale of how I ended up doing these reviews.

Though I joined Fimfic in August 2018, it wasn’t until May 2021 that it dawned on me how I not only had no track of the fics I’d read, I had no way of tracking what I thought of them. So I decided to make use of Fimfic’s Bookshelf system, and categorise what I thought of all fics I read from that point on (while adding any fic I came across which I’d read before to a folder to store them for a reread). At the time, I still found leaving comments very difficult, and tended not to unless a fic had really absorbed me. So I figured I might as well make the shelves public, so users would be notified I’d read their fics.

Obviously this didn’t really solve anything, and was rather shortsighted of me – a user receiving a generic message I’d added their fic to a folder, without comment as to what landed in that bookshelf, must have been very frustrating, especially for the weaker fics. Being told your fic is lacking, without any reason why, can be very demoralising, like you’re not even given the chance to find out what didn’t work. About two months back, I started leaving comments on the fics I reviewed, but found this quite draining – I was still in lengthy review mode for a comment, and knew this wasn’t sustainable.

Around this time, the formal closing of both Seattle’s Angels and the Royal Canterlot Library made it sink in how rare quality ponyfic reviews are these days, and comments on the blogs there noted how many formerly big Ponyfic reviewers, solo and group, have shut up shop over the years. The four notable quality ones remaining – Present Perfect’s Fic Recs, PaulAsaran’s Thursday Reviews, Loganberry’s Ponyfic Roundups, and TCC56’s Recommendsday blogs – are all ones I follow and look forward to weekly. It seemed so obvious in retrospect – why not try that myself? I found once I started writing reviews for a blog, with a proper grading system and format, it was much easier to keep them condensed to a readable size. Not only that, it makes them easier to find, gets more eyeballs on them, and provides a talking point. And since I’ve been in the game of reviewing and/or analysing media for the best part of a decade, I’m confident my musings will be actually worthwhile.

There were some obvious counters – many a user have tried reviewing Ponyfic and folded reasonably quickly. Could I keep it up? I decided, for now, to simply build up a backlog of reviews, enough that even if they go out faster than I can write them, this can be sustained for a good while at the very least. We’ll see how this goes for the rest of the year.

The other, bigger problem, is given I’m starting this in 2022, it renders reviews of fics more than a few years old somewhat antiquated, as they’ll likely be fics many have already reviewed, and everyone has either read or read reviews of. Not really a way around that, but I decided to not let it impede this. If I mostly get comments saying “I remember that fic, read it years ago” for such fics, hey, it'll still provide a good talking point. Sometimes more than for a fic people haven’t read. Besides, a balance of the fandom’s history, even when most of the audience here will have experienced it firsthand, is good. Reading a Ponyfic from all the way back in 2011 is no less valuable than one written in 2021.

Comments ( 13 )

Wait, wait... someone did a reading of that story? I had no idea anyone had done readings of any of my stories, and gawd if that was the first and only one they read, then I feel mighty embarrassed. Thanks for the review and the read (and letting me know someone did a reading. Seriously, I missed that entirely.)

5642130

I had no idea anyone had done readings of any of my stories

Well, it was over five-and-a-half years ago, and it seems back then, Scribbler didn’t leave a courtesy comment on the fic with the reading embedded. So no fault of yours for not knowing a reading had been done!

In any case, Scribbler wasn’t nearly as big then as she is these days, and it does seem the reading slipped through the cracks (8.8K views is small for her, even then). Not sure how I happened across it! But I’m glad I did, I’m always up for unusual side fics with rarely-written characters.

Now, having gotten over the shock... you're doing a good thing. Thank you. And, for what it's worth, getting reviews on older stories can be heartening. If you enjoy it, keep it up and you'll make peoples' days. And a backlog is the way to do it. Feeling pressure to produce content is rough.

You should make that lead pic the adorbs animated version. :rainbowlaugh: I use that in one of my slides in the class I teach.

5642188
You, my dear, are a genius. :twilightsmile: I tend to be lazy with searching Derpibooru because, frankly, I find it messy and unintuitive (though I gather many are used to it). I'm very glad you suggested that, and I went on the prowl to find it – it's so much better now! And now, thanks to my find, I know how to use multiple tags while searching too. Should make future searches much easier!

Also, any class lucky enough to be blessed with a teacher that would use a MLP gif for that humorous purpose on one of their slides is automatically better than any class without it. :raritystarry: As if it needs saying! :scootangel:

More reviews, yay! :pinkiehappy:

I just read The Heart of the Matter, and it hits all of my happy buttons for probably obvious reasons. I'm adding All the Time in the World to my list.

5642286

More reviews, yay! :pinkiehappy:

Just the kind of reaction one wants. :twilightsmile: I hope, in the weeks and months to come, I can build up a solid reputation of quality, quickly-digestible-but-insightful reviews from this.

I just read The Heart of the Matter, and it hits all of my happy buttons for probably obvious reasons.

Obvious reasons? For the author of The Alicorn Adventures? You don't say… :moustache:

I really don't know what was with me that day it appeared on Logan's Ponyfic Roundup, having trepidation. I should have been far more gung-ho. Though the tradeoff was the fic really rocked me when I read it, and even after that had settled, and I reflected on it, it was an easy Really Good. Nothing like a good adventure/action fic with characters being complete badasses, nestled within an intriguing new society with juicy lore. While I can be hesitant around such things, as they're easy to muck up, when they land, they're something very special. :raritystarry: As you know.

I'm adding All the Time in the World to my list.

:yay: Achievement unlocked: Recommendation accepted by Reader. :scootangel:

Ooh, a new reviewer appears! Okay, I already knew you were doing this, but it's still great to see it in black and white. Welcome aboard! Of those I haven't read, I think I'll follow iisaw and add All the Time in the World to the Read it Later list.

For now, I’m keeping the posts at five fics a week

...he says, immediately going on to review seven. :raritywink:

it renders reviews of fic more than a few years old somewhat antiquated, as they’ll likely be fics many have already reviewed, and everyone has either read or read reviews of

You'd be surprised. I've been here nearly ten years now, and there are still two fics from 2013 near the front of my RiL list. Personally I like having multiple reviews available for fics in any case, for much the same reason that you want more than one review on Amazon. (What? No, I don't mean that there are kids in Bangladesh earning a cent a day for churning out five-star ponyfic reviews. Well, probably not.)

5642399

Ooh, a new reviewer appears! Welcome aboard!

:rainbowdetermined2: All geared up with fics to review, my friend!

Okay, I already knew you were doing this,

And they say brings friends with a ghost has no benefits… :ajsmug:

but it's still great to see it in black and white.

Hope I didn’t overhype it! And that, as I’d said elsewhere, I kept the review size way down while keeping them interesting. I’m sure little refinements will join this in the weeks and months to come, but I think the format and content has a very sturdy start right now.

Of those I haven't read, I think I'll follow iisaw and add All the Time in the World to the Read it Later list.

I can see why that would pique many people’s interest. The rest of the seven fics here are a mixture of old ones most have read (the Estee and Blueshift fics, the toddler Limestone one), the not-as-high ones, and the two newer, under-the-radar ones. And both yourself and iisaw already read about Cadance taking names. That just leaves All the Time in the World. But I stand by my assessment, and I’m sure both him and you will find much to like.

For now, I’m keeping the posts at five fics a week

...he says, immediately going on to review seven. :raritywink:

I’m going to ignore that you’re ignoring the explanation mere paragraphs later about the extra fics being a launch bonus, and state that I phrased that badly – I meant keeping them at a standard minimum of five a week. Reasons for going over that could include the fics all being short and wanting to “bump” the word count up a bit, an author spotlight, a given theme (I’m pretty sure my first theme will be an all-G5 week the Monday before Tell Your Tale launches, so #5), related fics, my backlog building up so quick I want to shrink it, just wanting to treat my readers, or just because I feel like it. We’ll play it by ear, sure.

Obviously future review blogs will be a lot shorter then this, not just for possibly having less fics but not having the (marginally) lengthy introduction and the backstory outro. Not as succinct as yours, but they’ll be short enough to read quickly over lunch, that sort of thing. :scootangel:

You'd be surprised. I've been here nearly ten years now, and there are still two fics from 2013 near the front of my RiL list. Personally I like having multiple reviews available for fics in any case

Yeah, as indicated, I came to that conclusion too – people may not have read them, as there’s still so many old fics out there (even today, Love Is in the Air is from 2012, though read by tons of people). On top of discussing oldies that people have read, which is always fun. I decided to not actively avoid old fics for this, but just to continue to review everything I read. So fics from the last few years will still be somewhat more common, though not dominant. Look forward to the variety!

PresentPerfect
Author Interviewer

Though I joined Fimfic in August 2018, it wasn’t until May 2021 that it dawned on me how I not only had no track of the fics I’d read, I had no way of tracking what I thought of them.

Change the dates to 2011 and 2012 and you've done exactly what I did. :) Time to follow!

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Actually that was around the time I'd had my breakdown IRL and was ... not quite functional (chunks of time are basically gone from my memory - I did not remember making this fic reading *at all*) so if I didn't leave a note that's my fault and I'm deeply sorry.

A new reviewer!? Who heads his top image with an animation of bestmom?

i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/001/788/251/14a.jpg

A new reviewer that writes detailed reviews and adds them to publicly viewable libraries! :heart:
Instant follow.
Keep up the good work.

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