As the World Turns
You know, I never thought the day would come when I'd be writing one of these. The world of Dragonlance and Krynn have persisted for well over 20 years, something many of us never thought we would see. It continues to grow in ways that we never imagined, lure in the unsuspecting and open minded, and surprise us with tales of fantasy.
But all things do come to an end, for better or for worse. As one of my favorite bands once said "the sun was born, so it shall die"*. Dragonlance will probably never die, but it will end. When will that be? Only time will tell.
If this sounds like a goodbye, it's because it is.
Something tells me that the time is now for Dragonlance Underground. It's time for the Raistlins in the Tower of Bad Sorcery to step down and move on with their lives (whatever those are). We've stuck it out for almost six years (has it been that long??) and published Dragonlance satire as much as we could. We supplied a home to other writers and artists to showcase their talent at mocking the world they love and developed a community of fans beyond our wildest imaginations. I don't think Niltsiar and Raistlynn had any idea what kind of monster they were creating when they first fathomed up the idea of a website dedicated to mocking any and all aspects of Dragonlance. And that monster has left one heck of a giant footprint in the history of the fanbase and the web. At times, I think that monster left its footprint in the middle of my back.
But websites move on, fandoms change, and the Raistlins have to hang up their robes sometime. We've stuck it out as best we can and we've given it the good 'ol black robe try. We were successful for the most part I think. And now we move on to bigger and better things.
To all the Raistlins that worked with DLU through the years, you're a lovely, if somewhat psychotic, bunch. I love you all!
Niltsiar and Raistlynn: Thank you from the bottom of my heart for inviting me into the black robed fold. Being part of this was something I never imagined and was a dream to be a part of.
Raisted: If you could get your head out of the cups long enough, I'd probably give you a big wet sloppy kiss. Nah... you'd just use it as an excuse to grope me.
R4i5t1in: I hope your hacker skills bring you far and wide, but not into any place that contains bars and a roommate nicknamed "Bubba".
Raistlame: It may have been part of your name, but your photo manipulations were far from lame. Beautiful, just beautiful!
Raistputin: Did I ever tell you that your voice acting on Incident at Schallsea: Declassified: Dramatic Reenactment made me laugh for *days*? I replayed that video over and over again just to hear "Well that was bloody lame!"
Raist666: You know, I'm really at a loss what to say about you. You were the black sheep of DLU, the only one who would take on the nastiest assignments, the one who created the most disturbances in the fan base. Maybe someday we'll have the guts to match you. Then again, we like being invited to parties.
GoldenBoy: Your bitterness towards the evolution of Dragonlance and its fandom was inspiring, in a lemony sort of way.
Raistalanthalasa: You came up with some of the best ideas that I've ever read over the years. I'm sad that we didn't get to implement even a quarter of them. I can just imagine the cries of pain and outrage if we'd released some of the questionable ideas you've come up with.
Raistlehoff: Your multiple talents definitely were an asset to the team and the site. Your extensive contacts gave us a lot of opportunities to reach out and handle others.
Raistlicious: Girl, your sense of humor is probably your second best feature. I won't say what your first best asset is.
Evil Raist: You never really did live up to your name... decaffinated evil.
Raist-Chan: Keep up with those drawings and paintings and you'll go somewhere!
SacRaistic: Your voice of reason definitely was needed. Thank you for being my strongest supporter and my pseudo-second-in-command.
Rambling Rose: Your talent never ceases to amaze me! Thank you for the wonderful dinner last year. Meeting you and your family was the highlight of that summer.
The Guardian: Yes, we killed you off and you may be gone, but never forgotten. Your never-ending pessimism was something that brightened our days because it made our lives seem so much better.
-- Cassandra Jacobs
* VNV Nation - Further
Goodbye all you people,
There's nothing you can say,
To make me change my mind.
Goodbye.
- Pink Floyd "Goodbye Cruel World"
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