It's an odd feeling being back here, not unlike driving past your childhood home and reliving all the memories (hopefully not so immersed that you nearly run that stop sign).
There was a point where I began to lose interest in the series and delve into other things, under the assumption that SBK DS had driven the final nail into the franchise's coffin, and that the series had no remaining uncharted territory of sorts to explore. That's it, there's not going to be another game, we've discovered all the Easter Eggs, we've mapped every sprite and texture in the courses, we contributed to its TVTropes page, we made a Wikia, and... my work here is done.
Circa 2005-2006, I moved on to other things. I went through a great many different obsessions. I had a weird retro Nintendo phase where I was playing StarTropics for 8 hours a day and digging through the internet archives of Nintendo's Howard and Nester comics. Then, a friend got me into Rockman.EXE, and I went on about that for a year or so. Then I had a Pokemon Renaissance of the ages, then a period where I was absolutely enamored with the adorable characters of Sugar Rush, and then there was even a Homestuck phase.
Freaking. Homestuck.
So yeah, for the past eight years, I had my hands full with a lot of different strange obsessions.
Then, just this past week, someone on Tumblr dropped a bomb on me. They called me the BNF word. (...words.)
Big Name Fan.
No, I said, I dunno about that. I ran a cute little group on Yahoo! Groups (when Yahoo! Groups was actually still a thing) and I did a little moderating on the forum but that's pretty much it. But no, they insisted, you're Raichu! I know you! People still remember you. They still ask about you. You've contributed a lot more than you think. You've developed a reputation among this admittedly small community. Even if the series has met its official end, you're still recognized among some fans of the series. You've brought us so much joy.
That made me ridiculously happy.
So, I'm back. Maybe not back full-time, maybe not with the same enthusiasm I had when I was younger, but I recognize now that the fun doesn't end when the series does.
A reputation is a hell of a thing to keep.
There was a point where I began to lose interest in the series and delve into other things, under the assumption that SBK DS had driven the final nail into the franchise's coffin, and that the series had no remaining uncharted territory of sorts to explore. That's it, there's not going to be another game, we've discovered all the Easter Eggs, we've mapped every sprite and texture in the courses, we contributed to its TVTropes page, we made a Wikia, and... my work here is done.
Circa 2005-2006, I moved on to other things. I went through a great many different obsessions. I had a weird retro Nintendo phase where I was playing StarTropics for 8 hours a day and digging through the internet archives of Nintendo's Howard and Nester comics. Then, a friend got me into Rockman.EXE, and I went on about that for a year or so. Then I had a Pokemon Renaissance of the ages, then a period where I was absolutely enamored with the adorable characters of Sugar Rush, and then there was even a Homestuck phase.
Freaking. Homestuck.
So yeah, for the past eight years, I had my hands full with a lot of different strange obsessions.
Then, just this past week, someone on Tumblr dropped a bomb on me. They called me the BNF word. (...words.)
Big Name Fan.
No, I said, I dunno about that. I ran a cute little group on Yahoo! Groups (when Yahoo! Groups was actually still a thing) and I did a little moderating on the forum but that's pretty much it. But no, they insisted, you're Raichu! I know you! People still remember you. They still ask about you. You've contributed a lot more than you think. You've developed a reputation among this admittedly small community. Even if the series has met its official end, you're still recognized among some fans of the series. You've brought us so much joy.
That made me ridiculously happy.
So, I'm back. Maybe not back full-time, maybe not with the same enthusiasm I had when I was younger, but I recognize now that the fun doesn't end when the series does.
A reputation is a hell of a thing to keep.
