Generous Things for Generous People · 6:06pm May 23rd, 2019
It's a proven fact that generosity makes you a happier person. I mean, I have yet to prove it myself, being that I'm a selfish melon fuck who squeezes out his pitiful creative essence into mutated pony literature abominations.
But this thread is about generosity... moreover two focal points of it, which have come to my attention as of late. Specifically, I'm humbly requesting people check out the two links down below.
When you're second-most-subscribed on Fimfic, it's not uncommon to get people in DMs asking that you signal boost their stuff or do reviews or provide commentary on subjects that are seen as requiring attention. I have a terrible habit of mostly ignoring all of these inquiries because:
1) I'm an asshole
2) I really don't want to oversaturate my blarghs with shout-outs and the like and
3) I'm an asshole
I only ever do shout-outs when I desire to, when I feel concern over the situation at tentacle, or if it's someone I know.
As it turns out, someone I know is going through a rough patch right now. Thing is, he didn't ask me to do any signal boost, but seeing as I have a way to casually alert about 6k people, I figured it wouldn't hurt to pass word along.
Luke is an artist and all-around-snazzy-Internetter who's been my dear friend for going on half-a-decade now. A real source of affirmation and positivity in my life, I've been blessed to know him--almost entirely outside the spectrum of poni poni poni. Yes, I do have an existence beyond these digiwalls. He writes and he draws--some of the content you can find here at his miraculously surviving tumblr account. We have a mutual admiration for vidya games, most especially Zelda (and the smexy contents thereof).
Lately, Luke has fallen upon hard times. Which sucks, cuz... well... it sucks when sucky things happen to people you care about. As it would seem, his insides are dancing without permits, and as goofy as that sounds it gets less so when medical Benjamins stack up.
So, biting the pride bullet, Luke set upon creating a GoFundMe page. A day or two after learning this, I had a bathroom thought: Well, snap, why don't I share that with the marsupial alumni?
So h3r3 it b3zz: A Journey to Wellness
From the looks of it, Luke is on the right track of figuring out what's up with the downs that he's been experiencing. It's just a matter of the good ol' American coin purse. Many of us have been down this road before... and a lucky few of us can likely testify as to what a monumental difference just a small push can make from the outside.
I asked Luke if there was anything he wanted to convey when I told him I wanted to make a blargh on this site. So he put this together for me to share with y'all:
"Hey there, and thanks for taking the time to listen. For the past couple of months, I've been dealing with an array of symptoms, including but not limited to pain and tingling in my body. The doctors so far have said it's anxiety, but I'm still being tested to rule everything out. It's putting a financial strain on my husband and I, so I'm very thankful for those who can lend a hand with the costs. Do keep in mind that the goal may raise as more testing is done, and I'll do my best to keep tabs on what I'm going through on this journey. Anything over goal will be used to finding / treating what's going on with me. Brings an ease to my mind, heart, and soul to know people can be so kind to help me through this. Thank you again."
I've been a mite bit choked in the paper tubes as of late (computer fixing, tax season, Megacon--all my own fault). But I threw a little bit into the pile. I intend to throw more in at the end of this month once pay day allows. Over time, I've been made extremely fortunate by many generous people offering generous little bits, and I think--in this case--every little bit could go a long way.
I'm not gonna guilt y'all into donating anything. It's a tough world we live in, after all. Luke's been a wholesome source of positivity for me over the years, and I do believe my friend's helped me in places where--before crossing paths--I had been a bit less at ease with who and what I am. Seems only fitting I throw some attention his way.
Hey, remember way up above when I stated I was an asshole? Like, three times? Well, it's true, and a lot of you can attest to this. Some of you probably wish you didn't have the mental faculty to remember the fact. Which is why I'm wasting this paragraph in a ludicrous segue to remind you about it.
But you know what's not assholish? Trying to get your friends to join you at Bronycon.
No, I'm not going to Bronycon. I think Baltimore has enough trying to make the city implode on its own any given second.
But someone I know is, and he's trying to ferry his friends along. And I know him. And he knows me. And I know that I know him and he knows me and somewhere in the midst of all this, the asshole dissolves--if even for a nanosecond.
Anyone remember this guy?
He's got a face a mother could love
Pwnego's a cool sonuvabiscuit and I'll remind you why. A year and a half ago, he wrote this thing:
It was a product of Jinglemas... that queer ancient tradition still plaguing the site from the bygone days when obselescences still roamed the earth. The cosmic exchange appropriated him with the task of writing a Flashpie prompt for me, and what he ended up doing was a magnificent and nuanced tribute to Flounce!, one of my favorite EqG fics. I liked his work of recursive fiction so much that I wrote a blargh about it. It's especially flattering (if not curious) that he made that his one and only literary contribution to the site. The dude never begged for fame or attention, as much as I feel like he deserves it. He just wrote a story he believed in for a prompt, and that's the mark of cool writer.
Well, connections were made... although not for long. Cuz I'm an antisocial bastard and he's got a friggin' question mark for an avatar. Consistent communication was never meant to be... until recently--when he realized his friend would need a definitive push to actually join him for the real End of Ponies up in Baltimore.
And a GoFundMe page has been erected.
And... well... that's about the extent of it, really. In my opinion, it's not a grave situation mirroring the sort of stuff that Luke is going through, but that's not Pwnego and Company's fault. It's likely not too terribly different a situation than what most bronies on this site are going through in 2019. So why mention it?
Because...
In a time when I was starting to realize the meta-depths of what a character like Flash Sentry meant to me, Pwnego flew in on a reindeer sled and delivered me a gift that made me feel far... far more cheerful about the matter. And I think that's worth something.
Thanks for y'all's time and attention. I don't deserve your kindness--in fact, I never have. I think a lot of us can agree on that being the ultimate truth.
-SS&E
That was a very touching and surprisingly coherent blargh. I'll help come payday.
Damn, it's almost like friendship is magic around here or something.
You're good people, Skirts.
You might think people would be more considerate of the fact that you have your own life and your own problems to deal with.
Shameful.
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5063327
Cheeky one, you are.
5063330
You two are incredibly entertaining
5063400
You better believe it.