I thought I should say this before the site gets frozen. If there’s one thing I want future readers to know about us, it’s that this is a community like none other.
I wanted to do this eirlier but it didn’t feel right to address this to the Book when it was written to the community. I don’t get sentimental often and when I do I usually reject it and stifle it so I’m warning you beforehand that this letter is a downright mess.
I had to grow up quick. I feel like I was always rational and practical while other children were playful and careless. It was necessary for me to be that way and that’s all there is to it. I dont resent it or wish it was otherwise but sometimes I do feel like i missed out on something.
I would try to act like the others sometimes but “Fake it 'till you make it” loses its power before very long. I couldn’t understand other people my age so I retreated into books. In Dragonlance I found Raistlin, an eldest child like me, but who broke from his responsibilities in a disastrous fashion, starting the apocalypse. In Narnia I found Susan, doing her best to keep her siblings safe and together in a strange land. I could relate to these characters but they were never quite real, and would never really be whole without the responsibilities of eldest.
That was ingrained in their characters, a part of even the most dysfunctional of them that could not be denied.
That never quite fit me. Eldest never quite fit me. I know why now. TMP allowed me to explore myself independently from real life and real responsibilities in a way no other forms of escapism had quite achieved. I didn’t need to latch on to a character similar to myself and let them guide me through the story. This time, I was the heroine. This time, I could be who I wanted without the responsibility of real life hanging off my back.
The Monarch Papers allowed me some freedom from the troubles of life but it was the community that really staggered me. From the moment I joined, I could practically feel the love and acceptance from everyone involved. It was like nowhere else on the internet and I loved it. The world itself was amazing, but the people really made it. Every one of my fellow Mounties are amazing, wonderful people. I don’t know how @CJB did it, but somehow Basecamp became a home for what I think is the best, kindest, and most loving fandom I’ve encountered so far and I want to say thank you to each one of you for going on this journey with me. I have made many true friends in the process and there is no way I can thank you all so suffice it to say that I care for all of you more deeply than I thought possible. I’m not a person who says that easily, mind you. This is not something I would say to just any group of weirdos online (And you are certainly all quite wierd). I don’t know what exactly I’m trying to say anymore but I’m sure you get the point. I told you this would be a mess. Thank you again, Basecamp, for becoming my second home, and thank you @CJB for making this possible.