Cheerio and thank you!

Luas

Hi. Sappy goodbye post incoming. Prep your eyerolls. Click 'back' if allergic.

<sap>

I had toyed with the idea of a goodbye post for a while but ruled against it because I guess I was embarrassed. But since the retirement went through, I realized it's unfair to some of you for me to just disappear without an explanation. So here we go.

After MkO was killed (rip), I drifted between MUDs for a few years. Nothing stuck. Until eventually I landed here in Aetolia, and I'm so glad I did. I've had a lot of good times here. Key word being 'had.'

I'm not leaving because of any particular individual. I'm leaving because I stopped having fun.

There was a series of incidents that left me extremely disenchanted with the game. And even after giving it a solid period of effort, I never really recovered my enjoyment of it after that. I lost confidence in my roleplay and was haunted by the idea that my chosen style was doing more harm than good to the playerbase, and that really killed the fun.

I found myself actively withdrawing from RP opportunities that before, I would have leapt at the chance to take on. Having a positive impact on the community means a lot to me, and when I was given cause to start questioning that, all I had left was, 'then why am I here?' Every time I logged in. 'Why am I here?' It became a habit that I couldn't break. Retirement has broken it for good, and I feel so much relief.

You've all been excellent. Templars (somuchlove), Enorian, all allies, all enemies, all godmin. There were two people who did their utmost to help me overcome the self-doubt and I owe them a lot. @Lexen and @Zaila, I would've stopped playing far, far sooner without you guys. Thank you so much for caring and for trying. I'm sorry for letting you down.

Be kind and understanding to one another. We all become hugely invested in our characters, but at the end of the day, your individual enjoyment of the game hinges on both direct and indirect interactions with others. Imagine if you logged in, did QWHO;CWHO;GWHO;HWHO, and it was only ever you. Treat others well because you need and want them to be here.

I wish every last one of you the very best. To anyone I hurt: I'm sorry.

Lots of love,


-Pof Luas

</sap>

Benedicto

Why is there no sad button?

Going to miss you brother. It's a huge blow losing you, but I understand the reasons why having been close to the same decision myself on a couple of occasions.

Vyxsis

man, bummer. i'm sorry you've been feeling this way. for what it's worth, i really liked the bit of Luas i knew. whenever he and Vyx fought, you'd send a tell afterwards that was just... nice, and i'd find myself thinking, "gee, that Luas sure is a good bean." wish more people (including myself lol) had that same attitude that you consistently displayed to me. you def were a net positive for my aetolia experience.

anyways, you gotta do what you gotta do, yeah? best wishes to you duderino.

Agothaxl

Having been where you are several times, I can't blame you for making your choice and I wish you all the best. You were fantastic and made the game a better place for many people, myself at one time included. Hopefully you'll find things to do with your time that bring brightness to it.

Zaila

Having been in a relatively similar friend position a lot of times before oocly and icly (poor Zaila, girl just can't catch a break), of course I am always sorry to see nice people and excellent role players leave the game because other players make the environment hostile for petty reasons. Everything folks have done IC to remember Luas by have been super sweet and adorable and it's been so nice to see players and characters honouring our 'fallen' like that. And I know at least a couple of us haven't made it through entirely dry-eyed. 

But let me also remind you what I always tell my retiring friends:
You didn't let us down, you didn't let me down. You didn't let yourself down; you did what you needed to do to feel better and happier. That's doing yourself a huge solid.

I'm glad you're feeling relieved, and I'll miss the bloody arse off of Luas, he was just so much fun.

  

Mjoll

I really enjoyed playing cat and mouse with you over minors. Thanks for the fun times and scary fights!

Lexen

I saw the writing on the wall when you didn't conspire to RP with me, and I started being sad then. Still a blow to lose you, and my character did NOT need another complex (thanks for giving him one anyways!). To be clear, though, I don't consider this goodbye. You don't get rid of me that easily. I don't need you logging in to Aetolia for me to stay in contact. I agree with Zaila -- you need to do what makes you happy. If that's not hanging out on a character, then it's good that you learned that and had the courage to walk away. Good on you, and I hope you land somewhere that makes you feel the way you deserve.

Iesid

It is sad to lose a good man IC, but I am happy for you that you've made the mature decision to do what makes you happier. That is what humans should do, but we often find ourselves making a different choice for any number of reasons.

Stay safe out there, man!

Kalinaar

one of these days I'd appreciate it if someone quitting aetolia would let Kalinaar eat them IC instead of just disappearing. This would make their reappearance in the future so much more interesting. Just saying! 

Oonagh

You were a good bean Luas.

You made me want to play more, even when I was feeling down. I have definitely felt how you felt, which is why Oonagh was created, so I could really just detach completely from my norm and be absolutely silly.

Thank you for the times we did have

Alexsandor

This is sad.

Oonagh

Alexsandor said:

This is sad.

Alexa.....play Despacito

Antehe

Somewhere in the Pools of Creation...