"The knowledge that the atoms that comprise life on earth - the atoms that make up the human body, are traceable to the crucibles that cooked light elements into heavy elements in their core under extreme temperatures and pressures.

These stars- the high mass ones among them- went unstable in their later years- they collapsed and then exploded- scattering their enriched guts across the galaxy- guts made of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and all the fundamental ingredients of life itself. These ingredients become part of gas clouds that condense, collapse, form the next generation of solar systems- stars with orbiting planets.

And those planets now have the ingredients for life itself. So that when I look up at the night sky, and I know that yes we are part of this universe, we are in this universe, but perhaps more important than both of those facts is that the universe is in us. When I reflect on that fact, I look up- many people feel small, cause their small and the universe is big. But I feel big because my atoms came from those stars."

-Niel Degrasse Tyson

We are all enthusiasts of the written word here. We see its potential to invoke, to inspire and most of all, to captivate. We, here on FanFiction.net, see works of fiction and non-fiction and we see.. more. We are all those who wish to see them expand and changed. We are those that have the guts, the pizzazz to create these stories. And yet... we fight. We are embroiled in petty squabbles about such things as slash and rule breaking.

I care not if you're the author of some greatly fav'ed and reviewed epic sitting at the top of a fandom, or a nameless writer with a handful of 2-4k word oneshots under the belt, I like you. You write. You craft the imagination with nothing but words on a screen and your will as a writer.

This is where the almighty "But" comes in:

I'm appalled. I'm absolutely mortified by the degenerating condition of this community. Its truly saddening. Smut has its place, I'll be first to testify, but when you peruse fandoms... its... lets take the Bleach fandom for example:

Its an action manga turned into an anime series. It really popular and there are absolutely brilliant reads... but two thirds are some form of slash. Now I get slash. Its lesbian porn for chicks, but then there's what's posted on this site. There are good ones I'll happily grant, but the most of them are... baseless. They are a writer forcing characters to like each other. You can see it in the stories themselves. Bleach has ended, the final volume published and its conclusion fulfilled. It ends with two pairings. Both are absolutely normal. Two Guy/Girl relationships that where seen for miles.

I remain absolutely baffled as to where all the slash comes from. I mean... nowhere in the manga or Anime does there appear any implied slash. Maybe one character, but its just... Ladies (I have yet to find a slash!fic written by a guy), please write smut with either plot, or conceivable character alterations with proper emphasis on the reasons. As a guy, with a best friend batting for the other team, I've seen the revelation happen. This blatant "oh, I'm gay, fuck he's hot" is... detached.

But otherwise; there's great work on here and you guys have sent me on one hell of a ride. Ups and downs. Through midnight and schooltime. Through my depressions and my pealing laughter. Through my time in the hanger and my times as a wrench monkey. Now, now as I get my profile and spare time from the cockpit I just want to thank you all. This is a truly fantastic community. We all need to remember that we all are here because of the same reason;

To write, and to read.

Let's not forget that.