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. But that’s still 1.5 more than usual.

Read More

And, here’s December. Christmas is approaching again fast. So much to do, not enough time. Got gifts to decide on and buy, a Jinglemas entry to write, other fics to at least not fully pause work on, plus video games to play and Ponyfics to write and review. A ghost’s work never dies, you might say. But, you know, I’m okay with it. I like being busy enough to not be lazy, without being so busy it gets to be too much. If that makes sense. I’ve at least already read and prepped

Read More

Nice advantage of a Bank Holiday Monday is I don’t have to have Monday Musings^TM 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 Monday off.

Read More

I don’t know about America, but the price of travelling is going up more and more here. Just got booked in for UK PonyCon in October, nearly six whole months ahead, yet the hotel (same as last year) wasn’t even £10 less despite getting there two months earlier. Not even offsetting the £8 increase in ticket price. Then there’s the flights and if train prices will be different by then… yep, the worldwide travelling cost spike in the wake of COVID sure isn’t slowing down!

Read More

It’s probably not a surprise I don’t play party multiplayer games much. What I have said in here has probably spelt out that I prefer games with clear, linear objectives with definitive ends, and while I’m all for playing with friends, in person or online, doing the same against strangers runs its course once I’m used to the game. So it was certainly an experience last Friday when I found myself playing that (by now ancient ) early lockdown hit, Fall Guys.

Read More

I don’t really talk about my personal life here, except in the abstract, and that’ll be the same today. But an intro that didn’t mention the below would feel really fake to me right now, like I was trying to tell myself it didn’t matter.

Read More

As some of you know, ever since Friendship Is Magic ended, I’ve been gradually rewatching the show. From Season 4 onwards, I’ve more or less kept pace just ahead of Loganberry’s My Little Repeats watch-along. And let me tell you, rewatching Seasons 4-6* at this slow of a pace has proven quite the contrast to how I initially binged the show’s then-seven seasons in 53 days following the release of the movie.

Read More

Ghost Mike’s Ponyfic Review Monday Musings #50, you say? How about that. This would make for a good anniversary, but no, we’ll save that for #52 in a fortnight’s time. Don’t want to get too ahead of myself here! I will say that this week will be the last ‘normal week’ for a while, with at least two weeks with special theming to follow, if not more. So keep your eyes peeled for that.

Read More

I think it’s telling that only on launch day last Tuesday did I really register that eight more episodes (okay, a two-parter and six regular episodes) of Make Your Mark were dropping. Mirrors the level of enthusiasm I’m seeing in most circles. This, despite having noticed the promos for Chapter 4, up to and including a palette swap of Pipp with frazzled hair voiced by another Disney Channel “star”.

Read More

Read More

Read More

Read More

So, after having paused two episodes before the end months ago, I finally finished my glacial rewatch of Season 5 with The Cutie Re-Mark. And that’ll probably be it. I can admit Seasons 6/7 are just weaker continuations, not the dropping off a cliff of the following two, and something that’s still (mostly) watchable. I still don’t intend to do so with an eye towards reforming definitive takes on the episodes the way I have till now. If anything, I need to redo it for Seasons 1-3 more, my

Read More

In lieu of much else to note this week*, I will content myself with the observation that I’m coming up on my 5^th anniversary of my induction to MLP, which occurred with the G4 film on October 31^st. Not the same as my fandom introduction, which didn’t come until January of the following year, after I’d binged the series, but it’s something.

Read More

All the recent Everfree Northwest blogs have reminded me that UK PonyCon is fast approaching. I’ve been all booked for months now, but with it only six weeks away, I'm starting to get excited again. Too soon? Mayhaps, but I am an easily excitable spirit, least for the right things. Last year’s edition was the rare holiday for me where I didn’t have a “home sweet home” feeling when it was over, which should tell you how much it meant to me.

Read More

It was for the best to take Author Spotlights off a set schedule. The last few in June, when they were almost done, came out far better for it, with fics chosen for that purpose and reaching a conclusion about the author’s style over the “eh, five fics that happen to be written by the same guy, why not” approach prior. Some time away reinvigorated the approach, so by that same criteria, here it returns, with Lucky Dreams.

Read More

With yet another August, and thus yet another year about to be added to my age tomorrow, it felt high time, nearly five years after creating an account here (that long? Dear lord… ), to make a key change. Being honest, this has been present at least as long as I’ve been doing Ponyfic reviews, since March 2022, and further back still in how I present myself. But now it’s official. Eagle-eyed viewers may have already spotted it…

Read More

Time’s a funny thing, innit? Today just so happens to be my birthday. And get this: in my first year of doing these Ponyfic Review Monday Musings, it coincides with my birthday being on a Monday. And thanks to the calendar-correcting oddity that is Leap Years, that won’t happen again until 2033. My first year of doing these, my birthday falls on one. What are the odds, eh? Must be a sign, me thinks. Honestly, I probably wouldn’t have mentioned it were it not for that overlap.

Read More

Last batch of the stories for the Who Crossed Over My Little Pony? contest reviewed today. We’ll be back to a regular menagerie of fics from all over next week again.

Read More

First things first: happy thanksgiving to all you Americans out there! Couple days early, yes, but it’s not like I’m gonna have a blog on Thursday to say it then. May not mean to us this side of the pond, but we can appreciate spending time with family and being thankful for what we have for sure.

Read More