F is for Friends

Would you look at that, Mr. Posts Reliably is back. Please refrain from mentioning my 8(?) unfinished stories currently active.

Time to get your snackies and tuck into your blankets for another instalment of “Okay shares his thoughts without actually thinking”. Really though, these blog posts are off the dome, wait until I finish my [REDACTED] Talk post for some actual thoughtful content, hopefully.

So what’s up with that title? Other than being a reflection of our favorite sponge’s lyrical prowess, it’s a gentle reminder that this is a relatively niche hobby. There really aren’t that many of us on Fanprose, all things considered. Among this small group, I believe there’s true value in maintaining a healthy and respectful environment. We can all do our individual part.

If you want toxicity, there are a million other places where you can find it.

Now let me be clear. I am not saying you need to be friends with everyone. You don’t, and you shouldn’t. Never trust someone who is friends with everyone. All you have to do is remain somewhat cordial. If that’s too difficult, then just ignore them. We sometimes forget it’s alright to simply ignore someone or something, every little situation does not need to blow up into drama.

Preachy nonsense aside, let’s move onto some of the more positive parts of the community, because I actually love you guys. It’s not just like a beacon of light, you guys are like a disco ball shooting light in all directions. I feel so comfy around the community, for the most part.

Now that we’re being happy again, let’s start with the big news that I’ve incessantly shoved down everyone’s throat the way I dream of Sooin—hold up, let’s keep this blog free from a mature tag—my challenge! If you’re reading this and you’re a writer, you better be looking for a partner or else. Even if you’re not a writer, really consider using this as an opportunity to try.

I love Challenges, they’re such a great way to bring the community together. There’s like this palpable energy flowing through the community whenever an event is going on. By the way, I’m still waiting for a bit of a lull in the Fanprose updates before I suggest this, but does anyone else feel like Fanprose Events could be kinda fun? So much potential, but I know the devs are up to their necks with the current workload, so let’s just bookmark that idea for now — back to Challenges.

I’m also using this opportunity to see how Challenges feel from a UX standpoint, both as a host and as a participant. I’ve already thought of a few ideas — there’s a Challenge discussion in the Town Hall active if any of you have suggestions, by the way! A user mentioned how Challenges don’t feel too exciting as a Reader, but I still can’t think of any potential ways to address this. Maybe it’s just alright that Challenges are mostly for Authors, unsure.

Regarding my Challenge, the response so far has been amazing. Many of the top writers have joined and we’re barely at the 24 hour mark. I know some are vehemently against the concept (I expected this would be the case), but I’m so proud of the people who are willing to give it a shot. I can’t remember the last time I’ve been this excited for upcoming stories!

That’s all for now, I’ll pester the community about it some more later.

Next order of business: blogs! I’m going to generally avoid name dropping people in these because… wait, why did I decide this? Anyway, one of my favorite harlots just started a blog and I kinda love reading the short ramblings other writers are willing to share. It’s like a view into how their mind works, and based on my own blog I’d like to think others are also interested?

People seem to have some interest in my story breakdowns as well, I’m more than happy to do more. However, I think my priority for the immediate future should be actually writing stories and working on my projects. I have way too many going on that I want to actively work on, I need to start trimming down my hedges (is that a saying?).

That being said, what the heck do I write? Like, seriously, if you read my stuff and have any suggestions, please shoot them my way. Usually I have a bit of bias towards a story, but right now I feel like I actually want to work on all of them (maybe the tiniest bias towards Dating Seraphs).

I think that’s pretty much it? The main goal of this post was just to remind people that Fanprose will be shaped pretty heavily by our actions, and each individual plays a role. Just remember that these are real human beings you’re interacting with.

I won’t be uploading another blog post until I finish a story/chapter, so if you have any questions or topics you’d like to see in the next one, feel free to let me know.

<3