Ode to an Era

Like many other creators you may be looking at or keeping your eyes on, Little ‘ole me, Mr. Lurks in Other Stories and then Never Posts Anything has a journey to describe to y’all. One that I think will be quite the treat, and one that I’m going to be looking back on for some time to pass.

It was the summer between fifth and sixth grade for me when an older friend of mine directed me to this show- in between seasons 3 and 4, if memory serves me correctly. I was of course, as many young kids tend to be, under the impression that this show was that girly stuff that nobody really gave any real attention to. When I went through it myself, though, it was the first time I felt something- I wouldn’t know it yet, but it was that gut feeling that I’ve come to associate with aesthetics. The show kept me hooked, between my curiosity of character interactions and me constantly comparing things in the show to mythos, literary analysis being another passion I now have that started with both the show, but also a bit of Percy Jackson. It wasn’t too long until after I finished the parts of the show that aired when I found this site, and let me tell you, I am still trying to figure out just how much this place has influenced who I am. The first story I read, Button Mash and Sweetie Belle Play Minecraft, has left an undoubtable impression on me. My love for the ship, my taste in slow boiling romance; it all came from my first couple fics, all of which were of that variety. My few attempts of making content were all mangled garbage from this era, but I still fondly remember when I was active in some small sub-communities.

If the name Dovahbrony or Harmony Charmer comes up in the comments, I’ll be screaming.

And as middle school hit me like a truck, I found myself on here more often- I hated the way people acted in middle school, everyone vying for attention like some rabid pack of wolves. I found myself a couple good friends, ones I still have to this day, and we stuck together like glue. The value I place on other people I trust is immense, and it would be remiss of me to say that had nothing to do with my taste in cartoons. Over the years, as I’ve grown in both patience and maturity, I’ve come to see just how far I’ve come.

I’m a senior in high school now, watching the finale as I stress over college entry and the possibility of friends not coming with me. The impeccable timing not lost on me, as I now move forward into something that utterly terrifies me in an oh so similar manner to our beloved protagonist.

Another thing I’d like to mention- this site has been a major time sink for me. I think I’ve literally spent thousands of hours, doing nothing but follow the absolute passion projects. Starscribe’s masterpiece of human culture versus hostile Eldritch abominations with nothing but fluff and grit? Diary of a Madman? GM Blackjack’s impossibly ambitious Song of the Spheres? Tatsorou’s massive clusterfuck of crossovers? Calm Wind’s absurdly long SoarDash SomDrama? These years have been spent absorbing tens of millions of words, and I don’t have a single regret. This site has brought me so much, introduced me to things I’d never seen before. I just can’t help but gush about the passion of these people, and how they’re dedicated to this bitter end I get to bear witness to. It’s an honor, and I can say with absolute certainty that this site has played a big part in who I am today. To those that personally influenced me... thank you. You know who you are, and I’m so happy you’ve gotten to be a part of this. If you’re not, and maybe this blog just shows up in your feed because you followed me some odd 5 or so years ago... here’s that classic dick punch that half a decade ago, you were satisfied by the workings of a middle-schooler, and the notification that someone wanted to see what he had done made his day. I thank you.

This show has allowed me an avenue to love life that I know I wouldn’t have had otherwise. Through all the real life loss, an unwillingness to leave this and other things unfinished was all I had left to keep me going. Thank you all. And, on this new morrow, I salute thee a good day; the first day of a new era. Thanks for your time.