So Long, And Thanks for All The Fish

[Lysse]

So, this has really been a while coming. I've really enjoyed my time on Clok over the years, and I can't put down in words how much I appreciate how hard the GMs have worked on it, especially when it's come to Dunwyr specific stuff, and the slew of bug reports I sometimes sent in daily. This game is amazing, Rias, and the amount of work that you and the GMs have put into it is just astounding.

That being said, I think I'm done with the game. I might be back, but to be frank, I don't forsee that happening. I've been playing another MUD (and putting a good deal of time and effort into my character there), as well as other games, and as much as I adore Clok, I just can't motivate myself to play it. There's certain aspects about the OOC environment, and a small amount of players, that I think are toxic, and I find it disagrees with me. I can't motivate myself to putting effort back into the game for any length of time, and I ultimately end up getting annoyed or cynical, and therefor grumpy.


However, I don't want to focus on the negatives. I wanted to say, thanks to everyone that contributed positively to the game. Thanks to everyone that submitted ideas, and lore, spoke constructively and in a civil manner OOCly. I have a list of PCs, that I'd like to point out in particular. It's by no means exhaustive, but these are the names of people that stood out to me as characters that were usually fun to interact with, in no particular order. I'm also going to try avoiding mentioning too many RP specific things, that might not be common knowledge.

Lae - I think you are, hands down, the best example of a Monk of the Church of Lightthat I've seen. It was a good deal of fun RPing with you, especially regarding the Hyra.
Evelyn - You're an excellent example of a Dwaedn Wyr. It was really refreshing to see a Dwaedn Wyr that didn't care much about riln, and cared more about the thrill of battle, and the respect shown to the animals she fought.
Slaidh - I really wish I would have gotten more interaction with you, on Lysse. The primal aspects of Slaidh were intriguing, and you seemed (from the little I did) like another great example of a Dwaedn Wyr.
Dactor - Despite the fact that our characters didn't get along, the interactions between Dactor and Lysse were still very interesting, and I can always respect a character that sticks to their proverbial guns.
Barius - You were a very fun character to RP wth, even if it was limited. Seriously. And props to you, because most people when I hunted them down in the woods to question them would blatantly brag about tree felling, or what faction they were apart of.
Bryce - Again, interesting to interact with! I wish Lysse and Bryce would have spoken more often, but the little they did was great, and it would have been nice to find out more about him.
Jaster - Much along the same lines as Bryce. My interactions with Jaster were limited, but enjoyable.
Kent - Even if you frustrated me on an OOC level at times, in hindsight, it was refreshing to see a character that was untrusthworthy of magic (particularly Sorcery).
Alexander - You're, to me, the prime and shining example of both a Templar of the Church, as well as a member of the Church of Light in general. I loved the times we got to roleplay.
Hadya - There are three elemancers that stick out, and you're one of them. You were a genuine pleasure to RP with, especially your interest in the Hyra, and it's a pity nothing was ever able to pan out with that.
Ryland - It was really cool finding someone that was playing a proper sort of bard, and it was always interesting to run into people that were intersted in the Dunwyr. It was really cool to talk to someone that ICly was looking for tales to tell.
Faylen - There were several new druids I'd heard about, when I last started to play again, and it was really great to come back to finding a little community of druids to roleplay with. Faylen's dedication to the Gaea without crossing the IC territory of being super aggressive like Lysse was well played, I feel. There are a couple of others as well around this time, but I'm afraid I can't remember any but two of your names.
Skjotur - It probably goes without saying, but I loved getting to RP with you. I wish you'd been able to be around more often. I would have liked a chance to learn more overall about Skjotur.
Orris - I don't remember, unfortunately, how much of my interactions with you were as Lysse, or an alt of mine. Regardless, I've never had a bad experience RPing with you, and (like many others) I wish I'd been able to RP with you more!
Nootau - I never got to interact much with Nootau through Lysse, but Nootau was one of the few people that didn't throw a hissy fit when Lysse refused to take riln as a payment, which was really cool.
Ardor - Ardor was really neat, in that during the times I interacted with him, he was never a "Jack of All Trades" Trader. He focused on (generally) one thing, Mining and Smithing. To me, this was cool because he probably could have easily made money trying to knap and sell on the market, log and sell on the market, and woodwork and sell on the market. To me, that's just cool, and I don't know if it was a conscious decision for the character, but it's cool nonetheless.
Drayla - Drayla is the second person of the 'new druids' that I ran into when I came back, and again, it was just really cool to have that IC community around. I wish we could have, as a collective, done more regular meetings, but it was super fun discussing different Druidic perspectives/points of view.
Kiyaani - Due to IC circumstances, Lysse never really had a chance to interact much with Kiyaani, which was a bit of a bummer. It would have been nice for the two to have chances to talk, because your character seemed like she had a good amount of interesting backstory and motive.

I'm sure there's people missing from the above list, that I'd like to include, but I'm afraid I don't have the best memory at times, especially for names. I would like to do a special shoutout to a lot of the new players that were around, when I started back up again several months ago. It was so, so great to see people that were so into roleplay, and creating a cool IC environment, and I hope you all stick around to keep the IC environment going.

I had some really great, amazingly fun times with Clok, and I'm sorry to be writing this out, but it just gets harder and harder for me to enjoy the game, and I feel like 1.) it shows in my roleplay and OOC attitude, and 2.) there's really no point in playing a game if it feels like work.

Again, thank you so, so, so much for making this game, Rias. And a big thank you to the GMs that go to so much effort to code in things, and to run events, squash bugs, and build a wonderful world, with such cool, amazing lore.

I'll probably still poke around the boards, almost assuredly in fact because I'm nosy, and sometimes I have good ideas for the game even when I'm not playing. Chances are, I probably won't be super active though, and most of my ideas will probably be directed to the GMs via E-Mail (apologies to the GMs, for potentially lengthy e-mails!), if I feel a neat idea coming on. If people need to get in contact with me, you're always free to PM me on the forums, and if any GMs I've offered to help with anything in the past need my help, they likely have my e-mail, or some other way of contacting me, and are also free to contact me.

I sincerely hope this game continues on as long as it can be run, that the people that play it and make it great continue to make it great, and I also want to leave some parting advice that I've picked up through another game. I think it's applicable to any game, and it's a few words that everyone should keep in mind whenever they're feeling in a bad mood, or should think about before they engage in PK/CvC, or create conflict.


Be excellent to each other.

[Makkah]

Best of luck in your future endeavors! Hope to see you back at some point.

[faylen]

Aww, this makes me sad. I've really enjoyed roleplaying with you as well as our ooc discussions and have been looking forward to getting to know you better on both levels. That said, I can understand where you're coming from and have had to make similar decisions for similar reasons on other games. I wish you the very best and if at some point you do choose to return, I hope we'll get to interact again. In any case, take care of yourself.

[TwistedAkai]

Good luck and take care! Come back soon!

[Rias]

:' (

But you'll be back. They always come back! Until then, enjoy your time in other worlds, and hope you visit sometime. I'll still poke you about stuff to do with a certain group of troublemakers.

[Vertebrate]

Thanks for remembering me, I will make sure Hadya gets your message. Wish I could play more, but RL is so busy, and I so often find myself signing in and doing little more than playing with aliases variables and triggers! I don't get it. Maybe I should learn code and become a DEV

[Isiaa]

:' (

But you'll be back. They always come back! Until then, enjoy your time in other worlds, and hope you visit sometime. I'll still poke you about stuff to do with a certain group of troublemakers.

Very true.

[Noctere]

It's sad that you're leaving us.

If you have any suggestions for us that you think would help us to regulate some of undesirable OOC elements please let us know. If you wish to keep things private, please feel free to send the GMs an email at clok@contrarium.net

[Kent]

Lysse, CLOK was better to have you in it. Too bad. Maybe in six months those OOC irritations can be smoothed out and you'll give it another try.

I want to say, in a world of muds where most people just quit, I think it was classy of you to make the post you did with the list of characters and memoirs as you did above. Thank you.

[Alexander]

My interactions with Lysse were always interesting due to her depth of character and the issues she was involved in. May you enjoy your time away and return to us soon.

[Bryce]

We'll see you later, Lysse. I was hoping to get to know her more and see how she and her terrorist buddies ticked. Come back soon.

[Drayla]

I know how this feels. I've been gone for about a month and a half now I believe because of ghis same feeling. I am about ready to return, though. I hope everyone looks forward to the return of Navii and Roxis. Drayla won't get much use for now until I can figure out which direction I want to take her.

[Orris]

It must have been an alt because I don't remember meeting Lysse. Whoever it was, I hope you come back soon and enjoy more fish, I know I do!

[Skjotur]

Hey Lysse. Sorry to see you leave. But you should at least come back for a little, preparations are almost done.

[Bryce]

[Skjotur]

You're just jealous.