Well, I think its time that I admit defeat and finally concede my temporary hiatus has become permanent. It has been an absolute pleasure to be part of this breath-taking world for so long (no matter how much I might nitpick), and there are so many people I want to thank for making it such a wonderful experience. And yes, I have always liked to make long, barely legible posts... don't expect me to change here at the last!
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Jasper, if you still read this forum from time to time, I want you to know that I couldn't have asked for a better IC brother. I think you are probably the most awesome poet I know, even if you did choose to play a big smelly oaf.
I don't think there's anyone else whose presence I could be more comfortable in, nor whose RP so easily and perfectly inspired my own, and I really don't know if I could have immersed myself as fully in Lusternia as I have without your friendship. Oh, and without Ravyn's patience with us both too, for that matter.
Merloch, wherever you are, thankyou for responding to my gamble. Elryn was the first gay character I've ever had the courage to play, and I don't know if you realize how grateful and moved I was that someone as wonderful as you were would be willing to share the fun we did.
Anarias/Anaria, thankyou both for being such a constant and insightful friend. I don't know if there's anyone else who is able to keep me as grounded and as aware of both the potential for things I haven't thought about and the realities of my current predicament as you can. Both IC and OOC I know that whenever I'm feeling flat or a little switched off, a few minutes talking with you will not only make me laugh, it is always going to inspire me out of whatever funk I might be in. Oh, and the fact you agree with me all the time does wonders for my ego.
Shorlen, thankyou for your wisdom, wry humour and direct honesty. I absolutely love every time we discuss something important because you have always got such a wealth of either forethought, knowledge or experience to bring to bear on any problem. You're one of the most unique and interesting people I know, and I've come to rely on you (perhaps more than I should) as a close friend and confidante, not to mention one of the best envoys out there.
Nejii, thankyou for your generosity and warmth of spirit that you consistently demonstrate without any effort. Even though I am always intimidated by the strength of your intelligence and breadth of knowledge (not to mention your typing speed!), I have thoroughly enjoyed every conversation I have had with you, and I think you've opened more doors to things I'd never considered trying than anyone else.
Lisaera, Elcyrion, Charune, Viravain, Elostian and Terentia, thankyou for the magic you brought to those very special moments, the patience and tolerance you showed in putting up with me, and the phenomenal work you did both in front and behind the scenes to keep Lusternia running. I've never quite been able to shake the inherent reverence for God/admin peoples either IC or OOC, but I've instead grown to look on many of these brilliant and amazingly talented individuals as rather frightening friends.
I can't tell you how much I look up to you guys, because you really are some of the most intelligent, witty and insightful people I've ever met (which is probably how you got there, but still!).
Roark and Estarra: thankyou, thankyou, and thankyou again. I have a great depth of respect for you both as people - Roark, I was and remain touched by your compassionate and reasonable response to my Faeling crisis, and Estarra every time I have spoken with you I come away feeling like I've been extremely lucky to have briefly had the attention of someone who exemplifies so many things I admire and yet remains kind, personable and with that unshakeable sense of humour. But I don't really know how to thankyou for the crafting of the world and community of Lusternia itself with such originality, artistry, and beauty. I guess the best way to explain it is that it is rare any game would be worth near two years of your life - Lusternia is the only one I know of.
There are of course so many more that deserve a personal thanks, but I will be here for another two years going through them all. Instead, let me just say that I don't think I've ever found as many friends in one place as I have in Lusternia, and I hope that I don't lose contact with any of you. I'll probably lurk around on the forums for quite a while (as well as making sure the various wikis and resources I maintain don't disappear), so it's probably not going to be that hard.
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I should also take this opportunity to apologize to anyone who I insulted, annoyed or disappointed during my time in Lusternia (and there are probably a lot of you), and you should know that there is really no-one who I ended up hating oocly. I know that Glomdoring the nation has been my loudest objection in Lusternia, and caused me the biggest struggle in finding meaningful immersion or identity exploration, but I honestly like and respect most of the players within. Even though I still believe the various shifting implementations of that one nation have been the number one reason that I personally lost the magic of the game, I shouldn't have blamed either the players who were doing their best with what they had, nor the administration who were doing what they believed to be the best by the game as a whole. No decision can be made based on how every single player will be affected.
To the administration particularly, I am sorry if I ever caused you grief with my complaints, objections or arguments. Please understand that as wrong or as silly as they might have sounded, they were born of a passion for Lusternia that only your crafting could inspire. To the forum populace, I'm sorry if my constant nitpicking caused you to lose even a fraction of interest in the game or to question whether it was without doubt the best of its kind, that was certainly never my intention.
--------------
Thankyou again for sharing this wonderful experience with me, and I hope some day I will be ready to delve into it again and see how much it has improved.
-------------
Jasper, if you still read this forum from time to time, I want you to know that I couldn't have asked for a better IC brother. I think you are probably the most awesome poet I know, even if you did choose to play a big smelly oaf.
I don't think there's anyone else whose presence I could be more comfortable in, nor whose RP so easily and perfectly inspired my own, and I really don't know if I could have immersed myself as fully in Lusternia as I have without your friendship. Oh, and without Ravyn's patience with us both too, for that matter.Merloch, wherever you are, thankyou for responding to my gamble. Elryn was the first gay character I've ever had the courage to play, and I don't know if you realize how grateful and moved I was that someone as wonderful as you were would be willing to share the fun we did.
Anarias/Anaria, thankyou both for being such a constant and insightful friend. I don't know if there's anyone else who is able to keep me as grounded and as aware of both the potential for things I haven't thought about and the realities of my current predicament as you can. Both IC and OOC I know that whenever I'm feeling flat or a little switched off, a few minutes talking with you will not only make me laugh, it is always going to inspire me out of whatever funk I might be in. Oh, and the fact you agree with me all the time does wonders for my ego.
Shorlen, thankyou for your wisdom, wry humour and direct honesty. I absolutely love every time we discuss something important because you have always got such a wealth of either forethought, knowledge or experience to bring to bear on any problem. You're one of the most unique and interesting people I know, and I've come to rely on you (perhaps more than I should) as a close friend and confidante, not to mention one of the best envoys out there.
Nejii, thankyou for your generosity and warmth of spirit that you consistently demonstrate without any effort. Even though I am always intimidated by the strength of your intelligence and breadth of knowledge (not to mention your typing speed!), I have thoroughly enjoyed every conversation I have had with you, and I think you've opened more doors to things I'd never considered trying than anyone else.
Lisaera, Elcyrion, Charune, Viravain, Elostian and Terentia, thankyou for the magic you brought to those very special moments, the patience and tolerance you showed in putting up with me, and the phenomenal work you did both in front and behind the scenes to keep Lusternia running. I've never quite been able to shake the inherent reverence for God/admin peoples either IC or OOC, but I've instead grown to look on many of these brilliant and amazingly talented individuals as rather frightening friends.
I can't tell you how much I look up to you guys, because you really are some of the most intelligent, witty and insightful people I've ever met (which is probably how you got there, but still!).Roark and Estarra: thankyou, thankyou, and thankyou again. I have a great depth of respect for you both as people - Roark, I was and remain touched by your compassionate and reasonable response to my Faeling crisis, and Estarra every time I have spoken with you I come away feeling like I've been extremely lucky to have briefly had the attention of someone who exemplifies so many things I admire and yet remains kind, personable and with that unshakeable sense of humour. But I don't really know how to thankyou for the crafting of the world and community of Lusternia itself with such originality, artistry, and beauty. I guess the best way to explain it is that it is rare any game would be worth near two years of your life - Lusternia is the only one I know of.
There are of course so many more that deserve a personal thanks, but I will be here for another two years going through them all.
Instead, let me just say that I don't think I've ever found as many friends in one place as I have in Lusternia, and I hope that I don't lose contact with any of you. I'll probably lurk around on the forums for quite a while (as well as making sure the various wikis and resources I maintain don't disappear), so it's probably not going to be that hard. --------------
I should also take this opportunity to apologize to anyone who I insulted, annoyed or disappointed during my time in Lusternia (and there are probably a lot of you), and you should know that there is really no-one who I ended up hating oocly. I know that Glomdoring the nation has been my loudest objection in Lusternia, and caused me the biggest struggle in finding meaningful immersion or identity exploration, but I honestly like and respect most of the players within. Even though I still believe the various shifting implementations of that one nation have been the number one reason that I personally lost the magic of the game, I shouldn't have blamed either the players who were doing their best with what they had, nor the administration who were doing what they believed to be the best by the game as a whole. No decision can be made based on how every single player will be affected.
To the administration particularly, I am sorry if I ever caused you grief with my complaints, objections or arguments. Please understand that as wrong or as silly as they might have sounded, they were born of a passion for Lusternia that only your crafting could inspire. To the forum populace, I'm sorry if my constant nitpicking caused you to lose even a fraction of interest in the game or to question whether it was without doubt the best of its kind, that was certainly never my intention.
--------------
Thankyou again for sharing this wonderful experience with me, and I hope some day I will be ready to delve into it again and see how much it has improved.
Awww, hope you return soon. 
You're an interesting fellow. Go well
You'd BETTER buy Nightfall when I do, and keep me company in there.
You will be missed
You will be missed
Abandon the game, not the forums. You can troll the forums and still be a fulltime member of the Real World.
Elryn hasn't logged on though in about an OOC month, except when I forced him to to whistle his ships back to the dock or something 
You'll be back.
