Ten years ago today, I posed Crash Into You, my first post on AO3. If you look at my account, you'll see a few things older, but those were backdated, things I posted elsewhere that I wanted to collect on AO3. So while Crash wasn't technically my first fanfic (in two ways, because I wrote 3 Doctor Who fics beforehand, and because I wrote almost all of If Running's a Plan first, but it wasn't quite done when I blurted out all of Crash and threw it up on my brand new account first) it still feels like the Start of Something.
That start, was being a Part of a Fandom, instead of just someone who loved a property. I'd been in love with things before, but Marvel fic was the first time I participated in fandom community, and wow, I can't begin to express what it's brought me.
I've made so many deeply important friendships, including bonding with the person who is truly my soulmate and is inextricably wound into my whole life now. I've participated in and run so many events, most notably, being a founder and the lead developer of Marvel Trumps Hate, which has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for charity - something that still absolutely blows my mind.
In those ten years I've made a human (and started making another one, Ferretling #2 en route for Sept 2026!), ran and then closed a business, got a new amazing job with two of my favourite people on the planet (one of whom I met here in fandom!), started and finished a podcast, renovated my house, lost people I loved, gained people I love, rescued over 70 animals, and written over 3 million words of fic.
3,333,555 words, to be precise (and okay, yes, when I went to check it, it was 3,333,554 and I added a word to a fic because I'm a sucker for a pretty number, so sue me).
So, I mostly just want to say thank you. Thank you to fandom at large, for reading, writing comments, giving kudos, for building spaces, moderating, running events, welcoming newbies, celebrating creativity, and even donating your time and money to worthwhile causes. For giving me a home, even though the shape and colour and size of that home has shifted and changed over the years.
I'm really grateful. I'm really proud of what I've accomplished in the last decade, both here and in offline life. Here's to another kickass decade. <3