Random Yuletide AO3 stats.

I haven't been doing very much fic-writing or public posting due to some rough RL stuff, so here's my top 5 Yuletide fics each year from 2013-2017, along with some random comments. The starred items are either my assignments for the year or pinch hits I picked p.

2013:
1. Should You Fail To Lie Still, 491 hits (Peter Pan)
2. And Of Course I Don't Know Why, 469 hits (The Cabin in the Woods)
3. Echoes In My Head, 441 hits (The Tomorrow People, 1990s and CW)
4. Then Our Promise, 426 hits (Kamen Rider W)
5. Still to Witness, 267 hits (Villains by Necessity - Eve Forward)*

The Peter Pan fic in the top spot was gifted to Astolat, thus the popularity! That year's assignment (wherein I had way too much fun doing religious worldbuilding in the Villains by Necessity universe) just squeaks in at the fifth spot.

2014:
1. Is But A Weapon, 481 hits (Sekirei)*
2. I tasted wheat in rosy youth, 407 hits (999: Nine Hours Nine Persons Nine Doors)
3. River Wash the Mountain, 275 hits (Kamen Rider Gaim)*
4. Split Apart the Light, 265 hits (Kamen Rider Gaim)
5. The Lotus Won't Sit in the Chair, 230 hits (Conscientious Objector - Edna St. Vincent Milay)

I always find it interesting that "Is But A Weapon" is so relatively popular, as it was the least-hit fic when authors were revealed. I apparently have a few people who like my Sekirei fic! And I'm glad that my last-minute, weird worldbuilding fic "The Lotus Won't Sit in the Chair" ended up in the list too.

2015:
1. Never in a Rush, 276 hits (Power Rangers Dino Charge)
2. Pick the Broken Ruins Up, 264 hits (12 Dancing Princesses)
3. Random Zig-zag, 247 hits (Plants vs Zombies)
4. The Bench Still Warm, 178 hits (Kamen Rider Blade)*
5. Looks Upside Down, 171 hits (Romeo & Juliet - Shakespere)

This was a weird year. I'm not surprised that the top hit is Power Rangers Dino Charge - I am somewhat known in Power Rangers fandom, I guess? And I'm very happy to see that my assignment got onto this list.

2016:
1. Five for the Five, 286 hits (Stardew Valley)
2. Your Brief Moment, 167 hits (Kamen Rider W, Kamen Rider Kiva)
3. Strengthened by the Vision, 158 (Doubutsu Sentai Zyuohger)
4. Why This is So, 125 hits (Monument Valley)
5. And If You Take My Hand, 122 hits (Fantasy Life)

Interestingly enough, my assignment this year didn't end up in the top 5 at all (it was Ghostbusters (2016) fandom, which was exploding at the time). I'm very surprised at what did end up, though - especially since the number two spot belongs to two canon children (one shown on-screen and one mentioned) having an adventure in a haunted house! (And I didn't think anybody besides me and the recipient would be interested in Misao mentally debating presents for his friends, but it's in the number 3 spot....)

2017:
1. The Plants Grown Under The Right Star, 149 hits (Stardew Valley)
2. Gamma Leonis, 122 hits (Hustle Cat)
3. Sky of the Summer Star, 106 hits (Kamen Rider 555)*
4. The Lights in the Noonday Sky, 62 hits (Stardew Valley) (tie)
5. Healing in the Noonday Sun, 62 hits (Voltron: Defenders of The Universe) (tie)

My top hit for the year seemed to hit a chord with people who liked Maru and Maru/female!Farmer, and I'm not surprised it did well. The rest of this list surprised me a little, however. "Gamma Leonis" was a POV swap for Mason's route in Hustle Cat, "Sky of The Summer Star" was Takumi/Yuuji in a fantasy setting, and two Yuletide Madness ficlets that I kind of wrote at the last minute beat out this year's pinch hit!