On Leaving, or Quitting. (Not Doing It, Just Explaining Procedure) · 6:18pm Sep 16th, 2018
Drunk Cracker at the moment, quick little PSA.
Given the appearance that Trick Question has joined that long list of people checking out of the fandom or website for various reasons, I figured now's as good a time as any to clarify my own stance or procedure on it.
Number one: if I leave the site permanently, it'll be with a warning. As for reasons: if the show crosses a line I feel is too far, I'll take my leave. Not a lot of lines in the sand on that front, but y'all know which one is my big deal by now. If I feel threatened or unwelcome on the site to the point that I see no reason to continue writing, or if I find my online activities getting linked to my real life, that'd be a cue to clean sweep, in which case my DeviantArt account gets nuked, too. Possibly a few aliases in chat, too, just to be safe.
Is it likely this'll happen? Not really. I write tamer stuff than before, the two or three clopfics were more for the experimental side of things or just to check it off my list. For the more controversial stories, well, you all know I'm a chaoist because I throw it people's faces every few weeks (hey, I ain't got a church to do my advertising for me, okay?) it's easy enough to look up what their stance is on these things. Long story short: I don't buy the whole 'incitement' theory concerning deviant fiction any more than I do when it concerns violent video games, certainly not when it comes to adults in a private sphere. As for the image of the fandom and the greater good: screw that noise right into the wall, you can keep your hive mind and your political bias. We're only united by pony, and a lot of us hate a good chunk of the show now, so even that isn't a common thread for everyone. Your need for positive optics is a sign of weakness; you just want external validation, same with needless flaunting. Protection from persecution is a valid concern, though, and is better achieved through subterfuge. You'll never see me at a Con, and if you did, you wouldn't know it was me. Even my university doesn't have my picture up anymore. If you'd asked a few years ago, I might have accepted the invitation, but now there are enemies out and about and it's not worth the risk, or the cost. Better to be hidden, to conceal your intent, your beliefs, your inner workings. Wouldn't want to get beaten up or killed over them. As long as there is no direct threat in the real world, I'm not going to vanish just like that. If there is, everything goes. Stories, blogs, all the social media I'm on. But I'm pretty hard to find, it's unlikely it'll come to that.
So yeah, if Question is gone, I don't blame them. I can't say I'm a regular reader (of anyone, for that matter) but I do see they put out controversial stories at a fairly regular pace. That can drain you, I know, not just from the feedback but simply from the creative process.
Second, the more drastic option of leaving, the permanent solution to a temporary problem: not gonna happen anytime soon. I have too much stuff to do, I'm not in any of the risk categories (aside from nationality) and I'm not powerful enough to risk performing the Red Rite yet, let alone the White Rite.
Money troubles? Never going to ask for donations here, ever. Even if I wanted to, the tax system here is kind of notorious ('gimping the tax man' is considered a national sport, in fact 
) and I wouldn't have the faintest clue how to navigate it. Heck, I don't have the numbers to matter, anyway.
Oh, and on a side note: some minor job news came in recently. I've made it to a list, even. It can go either way. I may be slowed down further by the time consumed, or I will be sped up considerably by virtue of having a fixed schedule again, like I did in college. We'll see.
I'm probably going to regret posting this once the beer wears off, and I try to keep the personal stuff to a minimum anyway, but given the reactions I've seen to other authors departing... y'all deserve to know what you're getting, is my point.
I hope Trick gets back and this is just a mistake, or randomness.
Cracker out.
Anybody who leaves is dead to me.
4938867
Poor choice of words. Some who've left are presumed dead for everyone. At least one that I know of, at least.
But your honesty is appreciated, regardless. Again, not planning to leave, but I'd rather people know where I stand on the matter than get a nasty surprise.
4938986
But when they return it is with open arms, as if they'd never left.
4939000
Oddities of being a writer: you see a comment like that and the first thing that comes to mind is a scene like
"DRAAACULA, darlink! It as been too long, far too long. 'Ow could you sleep through the World War?"
-"A shell hit my coffin at a weird angle and I got stuck. So I hit dee 'snooooze' button."
On a more serious note, I can see the comparison. Side effect of the whole thing being online, I guess.
Damn, any more info on Trick? He was literally updating his latest story on a day by day basis.
My opinions on best and worst leavers:
AbsoluteAnonymous: Wrote great stories, left at the top with warning saying she was moving on
The Descendant: Wrote the best stories big part of the community, logged off one day and never returned, but is still alive as confirmed on DeviantArt
4939095
Really? Even the Big D took off? Well, I suppose when it gets to be such a big part of your identity, it can be draining to maintain, no matter what you do. Or real life gets in the way, it did for me for a little while.
No word on Trick, apparently he did message Makuta saying he had to go away for a while. Blog here.