Final Status Update: Stepping Away · 3:15pm Apr 4th, 2018
First of all, to avoid any confusion, yes, this is one of THOSE posts. If you follow a bunch of people on Fimfic you've more likely than not seen a "leaving the fandom" post every now and then. Well, this one's mine.
Normally I'd prefer to just quietly fade away instead of drawing attention to my departure, but I know there are people out there that were looking forward to Exchange's new side story and the hardcover, and I feel I owe them an explanation.
In the roughly year and a half or so since I decided to take on these projects, much has changed for me. New responsibilities to occupy my time, new challenges to overcome... just life stuff, really. I've made it no secret that my presence on "the ride" (does it truly never end?) for the last 3 years or so has basically been me flopping out of one of the side cars attached only by a caught belt loop as it whirls around the track. I haven't been following the show or the fandom, and my only real exposure to Pony has been through reading a story every now and then. The truth is, I could've fallen off a while ago, had those pesky but talented Russkies not gone and made such a beautiful hardcover of one of my stories!
Due to my schedule, I realized that in order to accomplish these projects, I'd need to set aside a major block of time for them, and that's what I did. I worked on planning stuff at night and blocked out a two week window in my schedule to write and compile the physical version. Those two weeks finally arrived, and they didn't go according to plan. Life intervened again and I only had a fraction of the time to work that I thought I would, but that's not the reason why I'm calling it quits here.
Basically, it comes down to the phrase, "Strike while the iron is hot." A year and a half ago, my passion for the subject matter, while diminished from its highs in the early fandom, was still there. But now, I'm really not feeling the whole Pony thing anymore. I look at the excellent story notes I compiled and I know I could produce a finished product without issue, but that wouldn't be good enough. Passion turns an average story into a memorable one, a good story into a great one, and a great story into a legendary one. All my work, even the little throwaway shorts like The Lusty Human Butler, were written passionately and from the heart. I think that's why they resonate so well even to this day. To write without passion would be to betray myself and my audience. I'm really not interested in doing that, and feel it's better to admit the situation and step away than to power forward and not give my best effort.
I hope that explains it. You guys were great, and thanks so much for all the awesome support over the years. I'll be minimizing my time on this site going forward as I move on to other things, so I may not be quick to reply to questions, but I'll try to stay in contact.
Now, for those wondering, if there is anyone out there who DOES want to produce physical copies of my work here, or do readings, or translations, or anything of that sort... YOU HAVE MY BLESSING! Please feel free... these works, basically written anonymously anyway, are in the public domain and you're free to use them as you wish. All that I ask is that if you do produce physical books to PM me the details so I can buy a copy.
Also, I'll be updating Exchange one last time this weekend with the various error corrections I found by having the story read back to me via text-to-speech last year, so if anyone's intending to pull the text for archival purposes, EPUBs, etc... please wait till after Saturday so that you get about 150 or so error corrections!
Thanks so much, and take care.
Getmeouttahere is finally getting his wish. He’s getting outta here.
Best of luck in the real world!
Been a fun ride and it wont be the same with out ya. Good luck out there.
Sorry to hear that you're leaving.
Thank you for all your wonderful stories.
Wishing you all the best for the future!
Your words, now and past, will stick with us forever. There's no doubting that.
Thanks for being on the ride with us. Live long!
I am sad to see you go, this was the story that made me like Celestia! Exchange is so universally important to me because I did NOT like Celestia nearly as much as Luna, and when I read it, I was hooked. Since then, I have nursed a soft spot for the sun princess and the story was very much an enjoyable read. So much so that it is on my list of important stories that I have enjoyed on my profile and it was really hard to let it go when I did finish it.
Thanks so much for writing it! I now have all the more appreciation toward Celly Sunbutt
Good luck out there and have a great life
sad to see u go though
Written yesterday
Stayed forever
Good luck in life bro
And another one of the great authors on this site leaves. Why does it have to end like this?
I've been on this site for a long time now. Over the years, I've seen a lot of authors come and go, but recently its been mainly go. A lot of them have quietly left, and simply not relogged for months or years. I've never felt that was the right way to end the relationship with the readers and I appreciate you posting this. I've read most every important or well written popular story on this, but you were a favoured author or mine. It'll be sad to see you go, but at least we know the tale has finished and a chapter has been closed in this site's archive of legendary authors. With your passion I believe you will find success in your endeavors, and thank you for the memories :)
Sad to see you go, but there's no point sticking around if you really aren't feeling it anymore. Godspeed, man.
I'm so sad that you'll never be here to see that magic moment when your follower count hits "1,234" though
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Yeah, sometimes folks leave in a such abrupt way that there's always a lingering thought that they might dead, or incapacitated in some terrible way. It sucks to see an author whose work I enjoy announce their leave-taking, but I'd rather read the announcement than be left to wonder.
Good luck with all of your future endeavors, and I hope life treats you well.
take care out there. come visit if you get curious.
We're really sad to see you go, but you've gotta take care of you and nobody can fault you for that. Exchange and I Dream of Luna remain two of my favorite and some of the most memorable stories that I've ever read, even to this day. While another side story of Exchange would be nice, I would rather have one that you feel is up to snuff and not something that's simply 'good enough'.
Thank you for writing for us and I hope all goes well for you! Be sure to stop by and say Hi once in a while. Even if you aren't writing pony anymore we'd still like to know how everything is going for you.
I wish you the best. Your fics were some of my personal favourites and provided me with much entertainment to read through.
Good luck in life.
We will be always grateful for your contributions here!
Always remember that, if/when life knocks you down!
While I’m sad to see yet another good author go, I support your decision and wish you luck.
Thank you as well for actually telling us and not just leaving like so many others
Good luck buddy!
That's the best part about these fic's. You can walk away from the fandom, but a part of you will be here until they can't afford the domain anymore. As one of those dedicated Exchange people I'm sad to see you go but I completely understand, I'm almost in the same boat. The only pony things I keep up with anymore is this website. Exchange was the first fic I read that really caught me and made me read all the way to the end, so thanks for everything!
I'm sad to see you go.
I can't fault ya for wanting to do your best work and if you're not feeling it; you're not feeling it. I truly loved "Exchange" and "I Dream of Luna". Thank you so much for creating and sharing. I wish you all the best in your future endeavors. Please do stop by to say "Hi' every so often.
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Yes, it took a while, but I finally fulfilled my destiny!
Ha!
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That's a good point, and it makes me realize that even if I didn't have any project info to share, it'd be better to inform everyone so that they're not left wondering. Definitely something to keep in mind in the future.
Thank you so much for the well-wishes, everyone. It was a pleasure to write for you!
I'm sad but i understand and wish you luck. Thank you for writing my favorite stories on fimfic.
You will be missed. All the best wishes and other lame stuff that losers are supposed to feel.
I'm sorry to hear that, Getmeouttahere. You were - and still are - one of the best fanfiction writers I've ever had the pleasure of experiencing. Thank you for doing what you did.
You are gonna be missed.
So I can only tell you one thing to sum all, thank you for you fictions.
I'll miss seeing the Exchange side story but I can understand if you simply don't have any desire anymore. I have enjoyed all your stories but it's the quieter ones like Performance Review, Pirate Hats and Homemade Kites that I think I like the best. I hope your future life is warm and bright.
I understand why you're doing what you are. It saddens me immensely, but I understand. I was really looking forward to getting a physical copy from the man himself, but... I guess it wasn't meant to be. Best of luck in life, man.
Always a bummer to hear, but we all have our own lives and our interests and passions change with time. Despite not reading Exchange until several years after it was published, I can safely say it was one of the most compelling and impactful pieces of fiction I have ever read, fan or not. I can still remember some of the feelings that the story left with me with as strongly today as back when I first read them, and that's, at least to me, incredible. I hope that even after leaving this fandom and your passion for pone behind, you know that your works were greatly loved by many of us, and you've left behind something wonderful.
Hope you have a good one
Good bye, you're awesome. Keep being good at it
*Sigh* I knew this was going to happen.
Well...Goodbye, find happiness, find something else that could relight that passion of yours. And even though you quit Fimfiction, never give up. You have an amazing talent for writing. You showed me that it's not about what other people think Its about writing something that makes you happy. All those references and joes really made me laugh, like the Solar Flare in "I Dream of Luna" It caught me off guard, I never thought something like that would happen in a good quality of a story as that.
Thank you and Farewell, you will be missed and I'll always remember...or at least I'll try.
Thank you so much for all the incredible stories. You are one of the greatest authors I've had the pleasure to read here.
Best of luck in all your future endeavors!
Damn, wasn't expecting this today. Maybe I'm just oblivious...
All the same, I can only mirror everyone else's sentiments and say that I'm sorry to see you go, but I'm happy you're doing it on good, reasonable terms. Better to know than not know. It's hard, but sometimes you just gatta get outta' there. I appreciate the countless hours you've spent to both entertain and elevate others (being that I am among both parties), and wish you the best of luck in all future endeavors. Thank you for the great content, and thank you for the words of encouragement.
F. See you next week, nerd.
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LOL, emotions, amiright? Say hi to Moonie for me.
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No problem man. Keep doing what you're doing, you're definitely talented and I know you've made a lot of people happy with your work.
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And as for you... keep making people laugh, nerd! Your brand of humor is a national treasure. (Be sure to check under your bed for Nicholas Cage.)
RIP the best author on fimfiction.
Edit: Also, please tell us if you ever write anything not on here!
And the declining quality of the show claims another author. Oh well, I can't say I'm surprised and you did take the time to let people know so props to you.
Also, if you have plans/notes/scraps for things you were planning on writing, you may want to make a blog post to dump them here for anyone who wants to read them.
You're absolutely right. I don't remember everything that happened in the story, but for some reason when I think of 2014 I think of Exchange. I remember reading it every day until it was all finished and I loved every bit of it. Seeing all of you big authors reminds me that one day I'll silently fade away as well.
Oh fuck im gonna miss you. You go and have a wonderful life. Thanks for the great stories definitely will remember them fondly.
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i haven't watched the show since season 4 LUL
Sorry to see you go—I still push Exchange whenever I can as an example of good 2nd-person writing and great worldbuilding. I don't suppose you do writing anywhere else? I understand if you don't want to link it back to this account, but I just hate to think of writing potential not being applied at all, so I guess I want to say I hope you'll never stop exercising your creativity, wherever it may be.
There goes another one, another one bites the dust.
So long. And thanks for all the fish.
Kinda feel like beating myself up for not seeing this until now. Bummer about your plans, but what can you do.
Kinda feel like there's a hole, now, which I'll obviously get over before too long, but man. Guess I don't even know what to say. Godspeed, I guess. Hope you'll pop your head back in one of these days, but that's all up to you to decide. However you or anyone else feels about it, you were a damn solid author, and I doubt I'll forget about you. At least not any sooner than anybody else, huh.
Later, man.
SHIT I'M LATE D:
In any case, I am and always be a huge fan. Have a good life my dude.
I'm happy that I at least got to say goodbye.
Thanks a lot for the fics! They are awesome!
P.S. But never tell "never" ;)
I just finished reading the Exchange, and I must say that it was beautiful. It's unfortunate that I wasn't able to join you guys on the journey, but binge reading it was a delight!
Thanks for taking me on that wonderful adventure, I loved every second.
Have a great life man! /)
Goodbye old friend.
What would it take for you to come back to write at least a short story? :3
Thanks for your wonderful stories btw :)
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I have to be really inspired by something to write, which hasn't happened in a while and I don't try to force it. It's not impossible that I'd write a pony story again one day, but it is unlikely.
Oh, and you're welcome! I'm glad you enjoyed my work.