The Triumphant Return of Hoopy McGee! · 2:46am Nov 17th, 2021
(Alternate Blog Title: My god, so many notifications!)
Hi, everyone! Hope you’re all doing well in these trying times!
Well, I’ve decided to return to Fimfiction after an incredibly long absence. I’ve really missed this site, especially the community that resides here.
I’ve seen people speculating on my health, my living situation, and so on, and I am really touched by the concern, especially after I’ve been away for so long. And some folks reached out to me after I canceled my Patreon support (more on that in a minute) to make sure I was okay.
I’m okay, for the most part. While I have some health issues, they’re all mobility related at the moment, and not life threatening. And, of course, I’ve got all the standard aches and pains that you get around the same time you get your AARP packet in the mail, but I’m otherwise healthy physically.
So, what’s been going on? Well, now’s my time to overshare, I guess!
The truth is, I don’t really know how to explain my absence. Severe depression? According to my former therapist (whom I’ve had to stop seeing, because insurance stopped covering him) and my doctor, I’m definitely depressed. But I've got meds, and they seem to be working well enough. Stress? Anxiety? Imposter syndrome? Sure, bucketloads of all of those, but lots of people have issues with those things and I’ve been dealing with it my whole life. I mostly had things under control.
I think it was the death of my younger brother around five years ago that gave things the final push that was needed to start me spiraling a little bit. I decided to take a break from online activities for a while. I wasn’t meaning to be gone long; maybe a month or two, tops. Enough to get my head on straight. It wasn’t just FimFiction I pulled back from, it was pretty much every community I was in online. I withdrew—a bad habit of mine when things get emotionally tough. I get all quiet, stoic, and just want to be alone. Which makes things really hard on the people who care about me, I know. My wife definitely had a hard time with it the last few years, which I truly regret.
Anyway, a month or two of absence turned into half a year, then two years, and so on. And so here we are today, with me wondering where the heck all that time went.
Every time things started to get better, something cropped up, making it two steps forward and one step back on the road to recovery. Work has been insane, especially recently, leaving me both physically and emotionally drained. And, more recently, my wife has lost her job, meaning our finances are starting to look a little tight. Unfortunately, due to an ongoing illness of her own, Mrs. McGee probably won’t be able to get a new job any time soon, so it’s just going to be on me to financially support the household. We’ll be okay, but I’m a natural-born worrier. But, for those wondering, that’s why I canceled all of my Patreon support—sorry to everyone I was supporting! Once I get my finances in shape enough, that will be the first thing I bring back!
So, yeah… that's all going on. But really, it's not bothering me as much as it has in the past. Honestly, I’m feeling ready to come back. I’ve wanted to come back for a while, but I wanted to do it with something fantastic. Something like, I don’t know, a completed Project Sunflower: Harmony, or at least some new stories.
I don’t have either of those things, at least not yet. So, I’m not going to make any promises, because I really don’t know what’s going to happen next. Also, I’m tired of breaking promises to people, including and especially to you folks.
But I’m going to tell you what I intend to do: I’m going to be around a lot more frequently. I’m going to try to be more engaged, because long experience has taught me that withdrawal doesn’t help with my depression one bit. And I really want to get back to writing. It’s one of the things that made me feel whole.
So, I’m just going to try getting going again, just writing whatever comes to mind, and see where that takes me. Maybe it will be pony fiction, maybe not, probably it will be a mix of all sorts of different things. I’m just going to do the writing I love doing and stop beating myself up when I feel like I’m not doing it well enough.
In any case, I wanted to apologize for my long absence and thank everyone who stuck around. And for everyone who expressed concern, whether it was here on FimFiction or in an email? Thank you, truly. I can’t tell you how much that meant to me.
Talk to you again soon!
~Hoopy
I'm glad your doing better, good to see you back even if you don't want to write horse words.
Hoopy's back! It's good to hear from you again, even if the news you bear is a bit of a mixed bag.
Good luck to you and Mrs. Hoopy both.
Welcome back, dude.
Hi Hoopy, welcome back! Looking forward to seeing what you write next, even if it isn’t horsewords.
Very good to hear from you. Best of luck in real life and any plans you may have for further horsewords.
Welcome back. Nice to see you.
this is tremendous news :D welcome back!
Welcome back
Welcome back
Very nice
Glad you are back, hope your situation get better
Welcome back Hoopy. Glad to see you again.
Hey, you came back! Awesome! I'm sorry you've had your troubles. I know how badly losing a loved one can send your spiraling. I'm glad you've reached a point where you feel comfortable poking your head out. I, for one, am very glad you did, as are many others it seems. Here's to more good days, more friends, and most importantly of all, more ponies!
Also please write more Cinnamon Swirl I love him so much
You were gone? Who are you again?
...kidding, kidding! Welcome back!
This is indeed good news. Welcome back my dude.
Hurray! Welcome back!
Oh, my, Celestia. Hiii Hoopy remember me? So glad to see you once more, Keepers is still one of the best stories ever.
Also, 17 years till the Black Tide and ponies, right?
Who are you and why are you in my grandpa's following list?!
But seriously, welcome back. Your words are missed and beloved throughout the decade.
Welcome back, Hoopy! Sorry to hear about your troubles. Remember, though, it’s always darkest before dawn. I hope you’ll continue writing soon.
Welcome back, I never gave up on you!
Project:Sunflower was the first story I read on this site.
Now we need to get Merlos the Mad back so we can get the next episode of "A Very Merry Christmas With Erin"!
Project sunflower was one of the first fics I read on this site. It's nice to see you back.
Here's to better times in the future! Glad you are doing okay. It's great to see you again. Miss you and the warm comfort you bring to this site. Like a nostalgia smell, I welcomed it.
Happy to see you back. Looking forward to seeing what you put out after your hiatus.
Glad to hear from you, sir. Welcome back!
I do hope things take a turn for the better for you and your wife soon, though.
cdn.quotesgram.com/img/18/26/927764806-goodnewseveryone.jpg
Hoopy's back baby.
Well, well, well. This is a pleasant surprise. Welcome home.
Welcome back! Glad you're doing better, sorry to hear all you've been through! Take care!
OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG
I'm happy to have you back, though I am sorry for your loss and for any hardship you encountered in those five years.
I'm hopeful that this means more stories from you... and perhaps more physical printings?
I still need to finish a collection of your books, after all. 
wb
I'm glad to hear things have improved. Welcome back!
If you ever wanna talk or hang out, Hoopy, I'm around for yah. Also I reread sunflower recently so I could help editing again, too, if you wanted. ^^
Hey man, welcome back! Thanks so much for giving us an update on everything!
Zomg! Welcome back
You are back!
We should give this guy a Welcome Back party! Loud and fast!
Welcome back, glad to see you again :)
Glad to see you back. Guess I need to add a reread to Sunflower to my list.
That being said, please keep taking care of yourself and your wife first. If you come back as a writer, do it for you, not because of any potential pressure you feel from the readers here.
Oh damn it you
Glad to see you back, Hoopy!
Glad to see you're doing better! Welcome home, Hoopy, your room's exactly as you left it
Welcome back Hoopylicious, would be stoked to chitchat with you and Merlos on Discord sometime. :D
Welcome back, Hoopy! It is wonderful to see you posting again!
Welcome back!
I am glad you are doing better. Best of luck.
You take your time man. Life is always so challenging.
It’s so good to hear from you!
Welcome back to the fields Hoopy!
May things continue to get better for ya!
Glad to have you back!
And absolutely, depression is evil with how it lies and says you shouldn't talk to or bother others with how you feel.
Glad things are improving for you and hope Mrs Hoopy feels better soon too.
I absolutely get you! I've had to take numerous breaks for similar reasons, and yes, depression sucks and is HARD to overcome, so props to you for taking the right steps!
Please don't push yourself to burn out, I did that a couple of times when I was "coming back" and it just made it worse.
Super-glad to see you and I hope it's smooth sailing for at least a while for you!