Birthday Message

[Alyx-Sthde]

Every year for the last while I've received but a single email on this day. My (not quite) birthday.

Somehow, after 13 years I've decided to return, if for no other reason than to acknowledge this.

I'm 31 now. Well, I will be in about 5 hours. When I first found this forum, it was lively, it was incredible, and I couldn't participate as actively as I'd have liked. It seems I've missed a lot since February of 2011.

I didn't even know that would be the last time I'd visit this site until today. But we rarely know these things, I suppose.

So here we are, with me as the only member even signed in. There are 777 bots are watching, and somehow it seems fitting that they're the only audience for this message. Lucky me!

I'm so incredibly thankful to LittleKuriboh and his crew for bringing me where I am today. I'm married. I graduated high school. I had a house, for a little bit. I've got a job where I'm a programmer, just like I always wanted back then.

This year I left Spokane. We came to Seattle and now she's in film school. She's busy doing homework as I write this. I'm incredibly proud of her. We brought our best friend with us too, with the hopes that bringing them would help them with their quality of life. So far, I'm glad to say that it seems to have worked!

There's a part of me that misses the old days still. The visits to here, to Ask-A-Ninja, to other subsets of fandoms that were in and of themselves just a subdivision of another fandom.

I guess I wanted to check in, to see if the forums still functioned, to leave something here, some kind of mark. I'm probably not the last person who will visit these forums, but somehow it feels like I'm one of them. The last ones, I mean.

There's something beautiful about the twilight of a forum. The eerie emptiness of a place once filled with activity. The buzz that can be sensed, but only barely. A distinct impression of what once was.

YGOTAS was amazing. Martin inspired me in so many ways to try and be a better person, and in a lot of ways I really am, especially when compared to my teen self. It's my hope that I'll continue to grow and improve, but I suppose we'll have to see what life throws my way.

It'd be interesting to see if anyone responds to this, but somehow I expect that won't be happening. Still, for those of you still alive around here, who may still have some lingering attachment to this place, I'd love to hear what you have to say!

What was your favorite part of the series? What was your favorite moment here, in these forums? Who are you now compared to who you were? Do you still follow Martin on socials?

Lastly, to the wanderers that find this, I wish you luck forever. May your every endeavor be met with success, every interaction met with kindness. Please, be safe on your journey. You deserve kindness.

Happy birthday, Alyx-Sthde. Happy birthday to me!

[killshot]

I check in on this site every few weeks and this is the first time in years I've found something worth replying to.

I found this site fresh out of high school after a friend recommended Little Kuribo to me. I had been a member of several forums, but this is the first and only one where I felt like part of a community. Talking on forums was so much better than twitter or discord because those sites are so ephemeral. I wouldn't have imagined that in the future you would have to ask a discord full of random strangers for help in a video game instead of looking up answers in an archived forum. We really have regressed in this area.

I'm 35 years old now, bought my own home last year, and still think about this place from time to time. Every few years I go back and read some of my old posts and think about the good times we had here. All the games we played, arguments we had, and conversations about the series and other random media.

Its neat to see someone who I don't remember as a regular posting about the good old days. Thanks for stopping by.