Question: SpongeAddict?! Is that really you?
Question: Where have you been?
Answer: Nowhere! I never left. I know it may not have seemed like it because I was maintaining radio silence, but I promise, I’ve been here the whole time.
Question: Is everything okay?
Answer: I mean objectively, no. Like around the world, definitely not. But everything with me is fine. Could be better, could always be better. But, could also be worse.
Question: What happened to make you go away for so long?
Answer: The short response is nothing and everything. The slightly longer response is I’ve been feeling exponentially discouraged by the myriad of nonsense that has been growing increasingly more present nowadays, especially on the internet.
Question: Do you have an update on your Scooby Doo fanfiction? Have you started writing the next installment?
Answer: If you can believe it, I’ve been working on Scooby Doo and the Warlock’s Curse since August 2024.
Question: That’s almost two years!
Answer: Not a question, but you are correct.
Question: So why is it taking so long to post?
Answer: Because it’s only about halfway finished. And I am afraid.
Question: Afraid of…what?
Answer: Being accused of using artificial intelligence, honestly. I am a serial emdash user – you can go back and look through all my old stories for proof (and also this sentence). And even if I wasn’t, I am typically pretty careful when it comes to writing. I always try to make sure words are spelled correctly, that sentences are structured accurately, that situations where I have no personal experience are properly researched. Do things fall through the cracks? Yes, of course, because I’m human. And I want to be clear, I have never and will never use artificial intelligence, especially for creative outlets like this. I guarantee that you can read my shitty cartoon fanfiction with the peace of mind that it is 100% human-written. The stories of mine that you read with your human eyes were typed by my human hands in direct response to my human brain. The revision process is 100% human, as well. But because AI is so ubiquitous, I worried that people would accuse me of not writing my own work. And I know that the good people of the Scooby Doo fanfiction community deserve better than AI slop, and the idea that anyone would ever think I would put that out into the world broke my heart.
Anyway, so I was basically too afraid to write anything and if I’m being honest, I’m still a little afraid. But I’m putting on my Big Girl Pants and sucking it up because a new Scooby Doo TV series has been announced (maybe you’ve seen the news) and it is high time I got back on the fanfiction horse.
Question: So you’re going to start publishing again soon?
Answer: Let me explain. As I mentioned before, I’ve been making slow-ass progress on Scooby Doo and the Warlock’s Curse since I finished Scooby Doo and the Book of the Dead in the summer of 2024. As of the posting of this FAQ, I’m on chapter 9 of 18, which is the halfway mark. Normally, I would start posting chapters now on a weekly basis and hope that I caught up with my schedule eventually. But for my own peace of mind (and honestly for yours), I’d really like to finish the whole story first so that I can just focus on the posting and not so much on the writing/revision/fear/anxiety. I know this is probably not the news you wanted to hear (if anyone even cares anymore – I’ve been gone so long I really wouldn’t hold it against any of you if you left), but for my own mental health, this is how it has to be.
Question: So…when will the new story start coming out?
Answer: *vague noncommittal noises*
Question: What does that mean?
Answer: It means that it took me almost two years to write 9 chapters, so unfortunately I do not have an answer for when I will start posting again. And for that I am sorry.
Question: Then what was even the point of this?!
Answer: To apologize for and attempt to explain my long absence, to let you know that I am still here, and to promise you that I still plan to come back to the world of fanfiction! I am so sorry that I’ve left you hanging for so long. Your patience and understanding (for those of you who still care) mean more to me than I can say. I am doing my best to overcome my anxieties so we can get back to what’s really important: Scooby Doo fanfiction.
