And to be brutally honest, this is going to offend some of you. So if you do not want to risk being upset today, then move along and come back later, because I am not trying to upset you, I want you to think. Also, I don't want to hear reasons or excuses, I know them all, so don't waste your time, unless you are just that bored (time for a CVS lotion run)😉. Edit: yes, in the middle, why not? Look, this post is not a slam against stories, this post covers more then stories and the basic jist is that I want you, yes you, you be [i]you[/i]. I want you to feel safe to do your thing here, not feel like you have to follow a trend! Inspiration is something we can not control and I understand that. Basically it is this, [i][u]stop copying each other in an attempt to be popular.[/u][/i] Seriously, for -blam!-'s sake, it is idiotic. Do you know why it is idiotic? No one wants copies, that is why. Why is Lee popular? He is an artist and he can be one hell of a stand up guy, but he is doing his own thing. Why is Ringleader77 popular? He is chill and he is one hell of a guy doing his own thing. Why is Toaster popular? He is mentally unstable and we are all scared he might actually bathe the world in atomic fire? No, it is because he is doing his own thing. Why is Nil popular? Why is ECCHO popular? Why is Peaches so loved? Simple they are being themselves and [u][i]doing their own thing.[/i][/u] Once in a blue moon, it is funny when folks make a bunch of similar posts. Not. Every. Day. Or. Even. Every. Week. I like to write, I love it actually, yet do you ever truly see Story Time with Xombie? No. Why? You have 10 folks all pouring out stories. I have gotten to the point, even I am sick of all the damn stories. Oh wait, maybe if I do a story where I put in all the members, I can be cool too......yeah, for 2 seconds as you stroke their egos. Hey, look, it is _____Day! Let me copy the 50 other _____ Day posts......please don't. I am going to be an edgey tween and everyone will think I am CoolHandLuke.....no, they won't. Oh, I bet if I repeat what my daddy said from the Alex Jones Show, folks will like me...... nope, we have heard & seen it. Same with religion. You want to be a news caster, then be truly unbiased and find something that none of us have ever heard of. You want to know what will gain you ground? Be you and be different. Not Man/Bear/Troll different, just be unique. Talk about what you are into, no kinky shit, save that for the next time you are alone with that fuzzy channel your parents get pissed at you for flipping by, and talk to us about yourself. We are all odd, which is why we are here. Talk about your interests, your passions and for the love of molasses cookies, [i][u][b]use punctuation and paragraphs!![/b][/u][/i] Honest words here, no one likes trend followers, because next week, that trend will be in the clearance bin at your neighborhood dollar store and you will just be a ghost again. So be you and make an online friend or 2 and stop worrying about being CoolHandLuke or trending on here. Dwarves are master race. [spoiler]shots fired[/spoiler] [spoiler]No need for anyone else to reply.....my mission here to twist Xronad’s shorts in a wad is complete![/spoiler]