100 Followers: Re-Affirming My Identity · 12:28am May 25th, 2016
WHERE DID ALL OF THESE PEOPLE COME FROM?
In all seriousness, though, you guys are awesome. I won't say that you're the reason I keep going, because I can barely even remember all of your names and I've had conversations with about half of you, but you sure are people that care about my words.
Or you're one of that handful of people that only hang around because you're pathetic weaklings who think that we're friends because I kicked your asses o'er the hills and o'er the main, through Flanders, Portugal and Spain. One of the two.
(Seriously, why is this a thing?)
Anyway, seriousness.
There's a lot of ways to celebrate milestones. Some people do AMA's. Some people talk about really cool life experiences. Some guys post cocktail recipes.
Me, though? I've got a different plan. Today, I'm going to tell you who I really am. What I stand for, what I hope to leave behind.
In short, I'm not the guy who writes the little comedy drabbles. Yeah, I've written them, but they're not what I consider my real work. 101 Heinous Crimes Perpetrated Against King Sombra and its surface-thought ilk isn't any magnum opus, and it's certainly not what my passion goes into.
No, what I'm passionate about is the dramas, the stories in which characters grow, change and overcome obstacles both within and without. The stories where things happen, where it feels as though there are stakes. Or, at the very least, a headcanon being treated far too seriously.
And what's more, I'm not the kind of person who writes for other people. I write for me. Commissions always feel like a chore, whereas I can spend months on a single one-shot that only I will like and come away from that more fulfilled than if you were shoveling money into my hands. As an example, I've spent this entire month trying to write a 4000-word piece for a collab, but the unsatisfying nature of the assignment means I'm only halfway in, have less than a week to complete it, and am almost certain that I'll be banking on Fimfiction's slightly weird word-count system to make it past 3,800. To the distress of both myself and the project leader, I'll probably end up backing out of the project once my initial contribution is finished. Sorry, R.P.
That's not to say I don't take requests, of course. A lot of people have utterly fantastic ideas, many of which help me to push the boundaries of my craft, or are just plain awesome. Some of my greatest stories have been, in some way, inspired by you utterly fantastic people. To me, the fandom has always been an experience of community, and nowhere is that more apparent than the great circle of inspiration. I'm a real loyal horse, and I do my best work when pulling my friends along for the ride, but fuck blinders.
Seriously, fuck blinders. I don't care what uses they have in actual horse-stuff, a limited field of view is a nightmare.
But anyway, none of you came here for incredibly basic stuff about my outlook on horse-words. You're expecting some deep philosophical bull, or maybe a story tease? Which one do you want?
Hmm... Let's go for a story tease...
If you've been paying attention, you know at least two things about this story already.
And if you're a certain reviewer in the audience, well... get hype, PP.
Don't expect this right away. I don't work at a lightning pace. I just roll with what life throws at me. Hopefully, I'll have it out by week's end.
So, yeah. A 100 Follower Special coming your way real soon. Thanks so much for hanging around, and for giving me a chance.
As a final treat, have another epic Jonathan Young cover:
PS If you don't like Jonathan Young, then I will... respect your tastes in music.
Seriously, you've only now just reached over 100 followers? Huh, I thought you had way more then that...
3969788 I'm surprised I have this many.
3969796 Well, you do deserve them. You're a nice guy after all.
3969823 Thanks, man.
Johnathan Young is awesome. :D And congrats!
Congrats on the milestone!
Can't wait until you have enough followers that when one of them drops you, you take it personally and try to remember all 100 of your followers to see who is missing to go and chew them out. It has happened to me before. Sadly, I never found that sick, twisted bastard that unfollowed me. 
I like what you said about writing for yourself and what interests you. I've been asked about commissions before, but never accepted any. I honestly can't get passionate about stories that don't come just from me and me alone.
I only hope you continue writing what you're interested in and don't become a fame whore like myself.
(Half joking/half serious.)
3972062 Dude, if you're a whore for anything, you're a whore for Discord.
Seriously, man, Sombra goes to bed lonely most nights. We go out drinking sometimes, but he always says that he doesn't want to go past that with me. He says that someone in the relationship has to stay loyal.
Go home, man. Sombra misses you.
(Mostly joking, barely serious)
3972066 Just because of this, I actually looked through my stories and categorized them:
Discord: 8/37. (0.5 for Bad Dude and Strings. Shared spotlight.)
Sombra: 8/37. (0.5 for Bad Dude and Strings.)
Mane six/Twilight: 8/37.
Other/human/horror/Celestia: 13/37.
So in your face internet person!
Discord, Sombra, and I are in an open relationship! They can't bitch because I pay the bills, damn it!
3972316 Do that equation again, counting only the stories written from December of 2015 going forward. You've quite clearly been all over Discord, and only recently made an attempt to get back with Sombra before your cheating heart brought you right back to Discord's sleazy doorstep. He's only doing those odd jobs because you've stopped bringing the bacon home, spending it all on your new villain-toy!
3972333
True... lately it's been a big ol' Discord fest. But you also have to consider Sombra got his very own multi-chapter trilogy: "Regarding", "Unmotivated", "Crusader King". Stories with FEELS!
All Discord's got is one 118k dark drama that no one read and a bunch of one-shots usually done for a quick laugh.
Better question! Why do I keep defending my actions to you? And why does it make me feel bad about Sombra even though he's not real?
3972368 Because this is my superpower: Everything is real. Every action has consequences.
And Sombra is best villain.
Also, I'm an argument magnet.
I am surprised I have over 100 followers since all I do is comment and read. I have been doing this for a long time on this site, but that is still all I do. I don't have the guts to write something and not be displeased with it.
4000678 You probably have over 100 followers because you're a very smart and pleasant person, and we all kind of assume that if you ever did write something, it would be definitely worth tracking.
4000692
I have been told that before and it makes me a little nervous. This probably doesn't help my tendency of being too much of a self-critic.