User blog:Flamefang/In Commemoration

As I'm sure we all know, [[User:Firebird14|Firebird14]] left us a few days ago. In commemoration of his outstanding service as a member and administrator of this wiki, I feel that it is not only my obligation as a friend, but by duty as a Bureaucrat to write this blog in his memory. Although I am given to understand that he will be returning in the future, the internet has always been a place filled with rapid and drastic flux, change, and reversal. For all you know, or for all I know, I could entirely dissapear from this wiki in the aftermath of posting this blog; as could he. Fortunately, I very much doubt the chances of this occurring are particularly high. In either case, I am writing this blog with the intention that not only current members of this wiki will read it and that those in future times may do so, but also in the hope that Fire himself will take the time to at least glace over what I have written here today. After all, let's face it, we all like compliments and, as strage as it may sound, they often mean a lot more in retrospect.

For me, Fire is particularly hard to talk about because, in the end, he's so much like me. When I first stepped foot in internet communities years ago, I could very easily have been the same person who left us only days ago. I've already explained some of my past interactions on the internet in prior blogs, and so I won't bore you with the details but, basically, the situation he found himself in here is an exact mirror of the one I found myself in during middle school. His comments on his leaving blog, those regarding me at any rate, only served to hit the point home. When I speak about Fire, as I am here, I almost feel as if I am stepping into anothers' shoes and as such, for once, I don't quite know what to do. I would love to be able to simply go on to say "Fire was an amazing member of this community who contributed for months and made an amazing impression upon not only myself but our entire wiki as a whole". But, that doesn't do him justice. No long glorified chain of compliments will do because if you ask me, he's a lot more than that. The problem is, as you may have already guessed, I'm having endless trouble describing what "a lot more than that" really is. Thus, I leave it up to you. I have told you, and him, what he means to me. So, why not tell him who he is; what he meant to you? I believe that is the only way we can truly give him an honest farewell.

Honestly Fire, you've got a long way to go yet and a hell of a lot of potential to get you there. Good luck,

Flamefang 08:41, November 20, 2011 (UTC)