See you, space cowboy
Some fitting music
It's certainly been a long and wild ride, hasn't it? I joined this forum way back when I was in highschool. I had grown hungry for more forum roleplaying after participating in a few on my old forum, the members of which I am still very much in touch with - they've become my primary circle of friends. I went out, found this place, and made an account. A very wise decision, in hindsight.
I used this site a lot during high school. So much time spent during class typing up posts or character bios, chatting in the OOC threads and talking with the friends I had made in the private messages. I was (and still am) easily distracted, and I would daydream. This site gave me a way of tying down those daydreams by crystallising them into characters that I could explore on distant planets and strange universes. I still do that now, but with the more concrete framework of a tabletop roleplay system, where I can explore the mechanics of my characters, not just the concepts.
But let's get to the shoutouts, shall we? First and foremost my thanks go to the first people I ever played with here, @Enigma, @Azazeal849 and @Sy23 in Enigma's Interstellar Cruise Ship: Scorpio. The first roleplay on this site that I saw through to completion, and the first to receive a sequel that, sadly, did not make it that far. But even that was a wonderful experience in writing.
And then there's the big one. You know, the highlight of my time here. Pokemon: The Change. A roleplay I joined not long after ICSS that was started by @Tetsuya. It had some momentum, but then Tets disappeared, leaving us players a bit morose. Until we banded together and decided to keep the roleplay alive by electing myself and my dear, sweet other half, @Preach as co-GMs. Under our guidance, The Change lasted four years, and while that might lead you to believe that the roleplay is sitting in the hall of fame with three billion posts, it's actually not. It is certainly among the longest this site has ever seen, but it had very long dry spells that would have killed any ordinary roleplay if it were not for the cast of extraordinarily dedicated players that I had the honour and privilege of getting to know over those four years. @Jacagos, @P.K., @E1Alpha, @Tetsuya (after rejoining as a player), @CartelSaide, @Aki Shinome, @ChronicSanity, @DuskingMorning, @Marc Raehh, @Familiar, @TheTeeJaii, @Tick-Toxic, @traficalshours, @Lord Xarel and @Zatory-Master, please take a deep bow for the years of your time and posts of your incredible characters and of course the sheer dedication you fostered for this project.
As for me, it really pains me to admit that towards the end of its lifespan, I had lost my enthusiasm for posting in it, and the responsibility of keeping it moving began to weigh down on me, especially when I had high school work and tests, and then college work for two years after that. I lied to myself and you by telling us all that I would keep it going, until the day I decided that I would let it rest, which brought great relief to me. However I never said anything about it, which was unfair to all of you, since you deserved my honesty at the very least. I offer you my sincere apologies, and the knowledge that I will ALWAYS regret never seeing the story through to its rightful conclusion, despite how much I planned for it. As a final request, I would like to declare Pokemon: The Change to be completed, and moved into the Hall of Fame section, to commemorate the Herculean effort put into it.
I also want to extend my thanks to @SQJ for his Deadmatch series, and again to Azazeal849 and Jacagos for the unforgettable time we had teaming up and challenging the very gods of the tournament. I cannot put into words just how fondly I look back on that time in my life.
Of course, I must also give my thanks to the staff of RPA for being so accommodating, and keeping this bastion of the written word alive while I was around to flourish with it.
There were many roleplays in between. Little sparks of creativity that one way or another, never sustained to proper longevity, but I'm grateful for the opportunity to explore new character concepts all the same. Many could be referenced in my character bio thread, which is linked in my signature. It's my pride and joy on this site. Every entry on that list is a part of myself taken and formed like clay into a character. I love being able to articulate on how I came to develop them, and how they've changed over time. In fact, I may even come back occasionally to tinker with them, as even now I am still using some of them in table top roleplays, such as Kassandra Travis and Max Stone.
Finally, we come to the end of my time on this site. About a year ago I joined Azazeal and Enigma (along with another huge cast of players who all went walkabout, leaving us alone again) in the recently-completed Expendables. As a call-back to our first roleplay together, Enigma introduced a vital non-player character based on Schizo, my character from ICSS. I was touched and honoured. It was a great roleplay, where prisoners on death-row were given a shot at freedom by exploring a mysterious alien structure found on a remote moon. Definitely give it a read, it's not that long. It's in the sci-fi hall of fame.
I knew it would be my last, because ever since The Change, my enthusiasm for posting has been sharply draining from me. There were times in this very roleplay when I was sure I had let everyone down by hesitating to post for about a month, but every time, it turned out it was not too late, and I would force myself to write something to keep it alive. That's the problem, that I needed to force myself. As much as it pains me, I know that I can't sustain written roleplays like I used to. Maybe I exercised my brain more back then, since I read so much during high school, but now, that steam is gone.
In any case, just hours ago, I wrote a co-post with Azazeal in which our characters talked about what they would do with their freedom, and parted ways. A more perfect note to bring my time here to an end could not be asked for. So once again, I want to say thank you to RPA. You were one of the best things to happen to me during my developing years in high school. If anyone I've mentioned here wishes to keep in contact with me, I am on Discord under Tate#0669.
Until then, I wish you all the best, and I hope you have the time of your life exploring new worlds like I did.
Bang.
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