The ocean is unimaginably vast. While life is abundant in the salty waters of this blue planet, it is not equally abundant throughout its 352 quintillion gallons. There are reefs, of course, where life explodes into riotous, shining multitudes, from butterflyfish to blacktip reef sharks. Humanity likes to focus on these waters— warm, tourist-accessible, and fantastically entertaining. Yes, the famous coral reefs— the ones that make up less than 1% of the ocean.
I am not for the reefs.
Ignore, for a moment, that I have chosen the username “baskingshark.” For the purpose of this metaphor I am no longer a lazy, ever-gasping basking shark, cruising through Grecian waters. I am a pelagic thresher shark.
“Pelagic” is a word that refers to the open ocean— the vast, yawning fathoms of blue water, stretching endlessly into darkness below. The pelagic thresher shark may visit coastal regions for its own purposes, but it is built for lonely waters— waters that so many never even think about, except to pass over in a jet plane.
Commercial social media, for the purposes of this metaphor, is represented by coral reefs. Flashy, shallow, and widely beloved. The rest of the internet is the open ocean. This includes the tiny fish of Choose Your Story dot com.
I have spied this tiny fish, and I have chased it and taken it into my jaws. In other words, I signed up. Unfortunately, I am but a dumb old pelagic thresher shark, and cannot reliably tell your average mackerel from a lure designed to trick me. It seems as though this fish is exactly what I need, but it could be Bass Pro Shop’s finest shiny fish-shaped hook.
Hi. I’m baskingshark, or M. I love interactive fiction, and I’ve been looking for a website where I can make and read IFs for free, preferably in a constructive community of active readers. I’ve had a look around, after gleefully signing up the second I found this place. I’m not sure I’ll love it here, as I don’t think I’ve ever been anywhere quite like it. My wildest dream is, of course, that I love it, and you all love me, and I become one of the greatest writers ever to grace this website, and you all join my fanclub and shower me with 8/8 reviews. My moderate hope is that I like it, and you all can enjoy what I write.
I can assure you that, like the placid basking shark, I don’t get into arguments on the internet, and I only rarely throw tantrums. I hope we can become great colleagues in the business of the interactive fiction-writing hobby with time.
