I’ve started popping in every so often after the last few years (even just describing something using that amount of time seems batstuff crazy to me wow). I had a dream the other night of Blockland and immediately rushed to the forums when I awoke to make sure that something was still left of my beloved virtual adolescence. To my relief, a few users were still keeping vigil. I was nearly driven to tears. I remember exploring countless worlds that players had built piece-by-piece with amazing friends from around the globe. I remember surviving zombie apocalypses. I remember the dozens if not hundreds of Bedroom DMs. The death races. The freebuilds. Kalphy’s legendary NYE parties. I remember so much of it, and I owe so much of this to people who have seemingly vanished from the face of the earth. I will likely never know them again. But in these moments, we were adversaries, comrades, and friends. Our fates converged at the same time a bright flash known as Blockland consumed us, if only for that moment. After all, that’s all it was: a flash. An fantastical eyeblink in time that we will always carry with us.
Friends, we’ve made it. We sit stoking the embers of a once-raging inferno, tending it if only to be in each other’s company for just a little bit longer. Soon, the sun will rise again, and the fire will no longer needed. Still, we will always know that the fire not only kept us warm, but gathered us around it to enjoy the warmth together.
Edit: crazy to think that Blockland used to be populated by several hundred users (if not more) at a time. Hope to see y’all on Brickadia someday.
