deathpixie | Unsung Legends.

Normally someting like this appears around New Year's on the Rant and Rave board, but I was thinking about the last year, and about the people (the many, many people) who helped me get through at various times, and about how I can never properly thank them all. And then I was thinking about those people who have been there for me, no matter the hour or their own problems (and some of them have had a rough year themselves), and how they never once gave me the impression I was being a pain in the arse. And then I started thinking about how there's people in the fanfic community who do the most amazing things for people, and yet never seem to get thanked for it.

So this is my personal Hall of Fame for those people.

Mel: Mel is one of those people I feel I've known for many years, and wish I'd met back then because she is just such a wonderful person to know. She has this joy about her that always picks me up when I'm feeling down. She also has a way of looking at the world that makes you sit there and go, "Hey, yeah!". And she gives killer shoulder rubs. I hate to think what her phone bill is like after some of our phone conversations.

Dex: If there was ever someone who deserved a break, Dex is it. The amount of time, money and love he puts into the community far outweighs any thanks he gets, especially when it seems the preferred way to build yourself up is to take potshots at him. Yes, there is the online rep of the Bastard, but like all of us, there is far more to the man than that. He is generous and witty and has the knack for making you feel good about yourself. And he doesn't mind me beating him at pool, even when I skite about it. ;)

Lise: Dia's beaten me to the post with this one, but just because it's already been said doesn't make any the less sincere. Lise is not only a great editor and writer of wonderfully evocative scenes, she is also one of the most thoughtful people I've ever met. Be it sending me postcards to give me mail that isn't a demand for money, or asking me how it's going and listening to the respsonse and never once complaining herself, even when it seems things aren't going so well. I always feel I don't appreciate Lise enough, which is bad, because she deserves so much appreciation.

Farli: Zen hugs and unfailing support and enthusiastic greetings on AIM. I miss my FarliChilde.

Falstaff: King of the weird hours. I don't know how many times I've gone into chat, feeling down, and found Staffie there. Even when he was exhausted, he was always happy to let me vent at him. And he's always quick to /msg with little political snippets or West Wing or Buffy quotes. There's nothing that makes you feel so wanted as someone messaging you just to say hi. I need to do it more often.

Hex: I was kickikng myself for having forgotten to add Hex to this list - very remiss of me. Hex has done a lot for the community over the years, be it funding people to come to Dexcon, to cheering them up with silly pick-up lines when they're depressed. Hex deserves many thanks for what he does for people, quietly and without fuss, and I hope he finds what he's looking for.

This isn't the whole list by a long shot, nor is it all the people that have helped me get through the past year. But to me, they're the ones that deserve some kind of recognition, some of the people who are more the foundations of the community than the "Big Name" writers. They are the ones who make us a community, rather than just a bunch of people online. And they don't get half enough thanks for it.

Merry Christmas, guys. May 2002 be all that you hope for.