10 Years (Going by in a Flash) · 9:54pm Oct 10th, 2020
10 years ago... I can sort of remember where I was in my life.
I'd flunked out of my first college choice due to some poor practices and moved back in with my parents. I didn't have many friends at the college I went to because of the commute, and also because I was just always more comfortable online. I had my friends from an RP forum I joined in high school. I had my WoW guild (RIP Venerable Brotherhood from Dragonmaw US). Outside of that though, there wasn't much. I wasn't big into any shows or games (besides WoW and TF2 for a little bit). I'd heard vaguely of fandoms and fanfiction and stuff. I watched a few shows, but I wasn't "invested" in them, I guess.
Then, In February or March of 2011, I stumbled on a version of the Skyrim trailer and shared it with a friend.
At the time, I laughed at it. It was weird to see a cartoon used with a trailer for a game I was looking forward to. I went back to my stuff. Fun side note, it was about this time I also got into Marble Hornets. From birth til then I was like, the most easily terrified person ever. I hated roller coasters, I used to run from the room when the X-Files theme came on, I would hide behind my hands when I went with my parents to see horror movies. I slept with the light on, until I was 21. Marble Hornets kind of changed my view on horror then, like it flipped and switch and I've loved it ever since. Anyway, then I found another video.
I don't know what it was about this video compared to the Skyrim trailer. Looking back, I think it was the line "more male characters than K-On!" Whatever the reason, I was like "I need to give this a shot." So I did, and I vaguely remember saying to the person I shared the Skyrim trailer with that I was giving it a try.
Then, a week later, I was caught up. I watched Over a Barrel as my first live episode. I joined a synchtube to watch episodes and fan videos over and over with fans. I found Equestria Daily, a bunch of art and videos and that they were hosting fanfictions too. I watched the Season 1 finale live. I started making MLP music videos (which are all sadly lost to eternity because I made my YouTube account with my college e-mail and then got copyright nuked from orbit) and got a lot of them posted on EqD. I started reading fanfiction. I made a Rainbow Dash out of skittles (for EqD's first hiatus achievement awards community thing) the video of which is also gone. I started getting my own ideas for fanfiction, and trying to write.
I joined Brony steam groups from the synchtube, making some friends I played games with, and a main core of which I still talk to today. Then I found ponychan when I wanted to get feedback on my writing. I did some chapters of an adventure fic I should have NEVER done as my first idea, and then a crossover I still want to do.
Then I wanted to write about something I knew. I knew what it was to be afraid of the dark for a long time. Seemed like a good idea.
Then Seattle's Angels spotlighted it, and I submitted that to EqD and it blew the hell up. Shoutout to the SA people for still being great peeps to hang out with, even if I don't as often as I could have.
And now, horror has just... became my main thing.
I honestly wouldn't have the time to write about how much I've loved these past ten years. There's been a lot of anxiety related to writing, and there still kind of is, but I've come a long way. I finally finished Fleeting Light this year. Heck, I wrote more in the past year than I did in the nine before (big thanks to Jaxie for starting Quills and Sofas, and for all the people there being so supportive).
There's a lot I could regret not doing, but I know that my life would probably be nowhere near the same if it weren't for Friendship is Magic.
So, I guess the TLDR is just thanks for ten years, and I hope for a lot more to come.
EDIT: I had to do it.
Given that it's also my birthday today, that last bit was more than a little bizarre.
I will hunt you down in electrical.
5375721
Jokes on you, I already vented.
How true it is that writers known for specializing in scary stories are always personally familiar with irrational fear. I've said it before and I'll say it again: Hats off to you for bringing high-quality Horror to this fandom before I ever got around to it.
5376369
Still means a lot to hear you say that, HV.