Remembering DarthLink22, and Plans for the Future · 1:00am Mar 11th, 2022
So... how long has it been since I actually penned a blog post here? This place is just so dusty...
Anyway, it has been brought to my attention that DarthLink22, one of my longest friends and the man who got me into Friendship is Magic in the first place, suddenly passed away this past 27 February 2022. I don't know the full details of how it happened, but when I received an instant message on Facebook from DarthLink's dad through DarthLink's account there, it was not a good sign. And when I called him, he confirmed as much. DarthLink will be laid to rest next Saturday.
DarthLink was, as I stated, one of my longest friends. We first met on FanFiction.Net in 2005 and we quickly began a correspondence that led to our friendship. Eventually we came to video calls on Skype and then Discord. I was his beta/proofreader for almost as long as we knew each other. Then one day early in 2012, he started sending me something new to proofread: the opening chapters of what would become Post Nuptials. I was not yet in the FIM fandom, so I secretly questioned his tastes. That following summer, I tried out the two-parter pilot, and... well, here we are. I had since decided I would never question DarthLink's tastes ever again.
And so... this brings me back around here, to FIMFiction, and my long-neglected fanfiction series The Elements of Friendship. While I cannot give any firm release schedule, and I feel like I am grimly tempting fate to make promises of renewed activity given the contents of what would be DarthLink's final blog post, the loss of one of my longest and greatest friends may have blown a bit of renewed writing vigor into my sails. I have been sitting on The Elements of Friendship for far too long, and I want it closer to a finished state before I think about other things like Friendship Is Magic: The Next Generation. That being said, I will also continue to produce artwork for both EOF and FIM:TNG.
Rest in peace, my friend.
I wish we could have known each other for far longer.
Jesus Christ, I am so, so sorry to hear that. I didn't know DarthLink22 the way you did, but Post Nuptials and its sequels were among the first MLP fanfics I ever read. Even though it had been years since they'd come out, they were instrumental in my eventual decision to officially join the fandom, and Twilight and Spike's subplot therein - especially in Families, which still ranks as one of my fondest reading experiences in my entire run on this site - was a colossal influence on my own fanfic-writing interests. When I created my account back in December of 2018, I made sure that his account was the first I followed, and I was more than happy to patiently wait for the new chapters that occasionally made their way out. Hearing of his sudden passing... it goes without saying, but it feels like having the floor fall out on me.
My condolences to you and the rest of Darth's loved ones. May he rest in peace, and may the stories he left behind continue to stand the test of time.
Please tell me this is a lie! He cannot be dead! HOW?!
This news hurts. I loved his stories, I enjoyed his journal entries, and I will miss them. Thank you for sharing this info, even if I know it must have hurt to write.
Sorry to hear about this. condolences to Darth's friends and family.