Take it easy Hogwarts,it has been..totally awesome

Admit it – who’s weeping? In all seriousness, this is a lovely gesture from someone who has a reputation of being very expressive and eloquent in personal interactions and in interviews, but who has generally shied away from using social media to address the fandom at large. It’s no secret to Darren Criss fans, that Darren has a true understanding of fan culture and is integrated into his fandom – one of the things that has always made Darren’s fandom so loyal and so familiar. From starting out with Team StarKid – where the “us” and “them” dynamic isn’t “us, the fandom” and “them, the stars” but “all of us” and “the rest of the world who aren’t in on the joke,” Darren has held on to that attitude while growing into his position as one of today’s brightest young stars. Some celebrities never have that attitude, never have that relationship with fans, because they never came from fan culture. Darren Criss does.

He’s proved that time and time again, in every fan interaction, in every livestream, every time he’s given the chance to go a little off-book with the press, when he’s at his Broadway show’s stage door thanking the crowd every single night. And he’s proved it here, in writing, which will doubtless be quoted and reblogged all over Tumblr and printed onto teeshirts in Skreened stores in a matter of minutes.

So if anyone ever wonders what the deal with that Darren Criss guy is, what’s with the hype surrounding him, what’s with the pink sunglasses? Point them here, because it’s not simply that he’s on Glee, because he has a charming smile or sings a cute song or kisses a cute boy. It’s this. This is the deal. He’s still the “us.”