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Ramblings of My 7th Arrival Day
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Jasper's true arrival day is April 25, 2010, 14 years ago this year. My fabc arrival day, however, was earlier in the month, apparently on the 1st [I could've sworn I remembered it being on the 3rd]. As always, I must brag that it's only my account that is this old, I first came around in 2013 when this website was merely a dress up game. Fun fact, Wind owned this website before Pixie Hollow even announced closure. In 2014, I kept up with the rewrite project and was highly interested in both its potential as *the* Pixie Hollow rewrite and its reality as the glitchy, eerie, 1P demo that it was; enough so that I wrote an entire [terrible] creepypasta about it that can still be found on PHF if you dare try. Only after the insanity of high school ended did I finally find my way back only to discover that the rewrite had officially launched, the forum held a reliable database of user accounts that belonged to all of the friends I had yet to meet. Integrating and being able to play my favorite game didn't feel like enough; I wanted to be part of it.
So, with work and dedication, I climbed my way from forum moderator, to global moderator, to administrator, to would-be dev were it not for international communication difficulties. I even designed some [outdated and goofy] assets for the game many years ago. My close friends have all heard me say it a thousand times, but this was the first place where I felt that I actually had a purpose, that people liked me, that I was capable of making and maintaining friendships despite the hand I had been dealt in real life. When I came here, I was still frayed and frazzled from the disasters and mishaps of HS, and I was 17, so obviously I still acted like a high schooler. Not only was it my first time feeling truly accepted, it was my first time pursuing and successfully maintaining any sort of community leadership role. Proving to myself that I am capable of doing exceptionally well in an area of life that I otherwise struggled with [social skills, confrontation] has always been a steady source of self esteem, many times the only source. Sure, it's easier behind a screen, but I have learned countless real life lessons that I will carry with me forever, and I will always be grateful to Su and Wind for giving me the chance to be a part of this, to Dawn and especially to Pandora for believing in me enough to help me gain more responsibility.
Friends often say forever without meaning it, but with each passing year I find that my fabc friends and truly I do mean it. Not only do we still keep daily contact after 7 years, but I've had 6+ meetups now, not even counting the ones that I wasn't a part of. I feel that this website is one of those that, instead of being declared dead, morphs into a close-knit community of people who are all doing their best to keep the magic alive. It's easy to forget that fabc was once the hotspot for Pixie Hollow fans, that what is now the past was once the future. Mellow, tame, quiet old FairyABC was once riddled with the drama, social hierarchy, scandals that naturally come with the level of activity and the demographic that we had. It's surreal to remember a time when we all played fabc every single night and there were always many people online. I remember rushing home from work to make it to the hangout often, I remember fuming when I had to work Friday nights because I couldn't be at FCF. And it's wonderful that we still continue the tradition of FCF, especially in Abi's temporary absence. Now that I'm an adult with a real career, it's nice to [typically] have Friday nights free for this reason.
Nowadays, we're all doing the best we can. With Su on hiatus, it's hard to know what to expect for the website itself, and with Abi on hiatus, it's hard to pick up where she left off and do half as good of a job as she does. But I must give major, major credit to Juno as well as the rest of the fairies who've put in countless hours of work to pick up where Abi left off in creating fun and spirit where melancholy could instead fester. I've been less active in recent months, discouraged by burnout, health issues, and the reality that the golden years of a younger fabc are behind us. The reality, the necessary truth is that the most effective way to be rid of the dramatic social climate that once plagued us is to be lower in number. Naturally, in time, the ones who truly care for the website and its people will be the ones who stick around, so the problem effectively solves itself. I'm glad to be still among you wonderful lot, and I hope we have many more years of flying together. FairyABC has given me friends for life. It changed my life forever, and between you and me, I don't see it as a Pixie Hollow rewrite. I haven't for years. It's its own thing, with its own characteristics, its own memories, its own nostalgia.
Thanks everyone who made this past 7 years great. I love this website very much and it will always have a place in my heart.
-Jasper, Admin
