Updated Farewell (might update the fates of my characters)

It honestly pains me to do this. I've been here for longer than I can ever imagine. This place was like a second home for me, and you all a second family. Most of my experiences have come from this very site, and I feel that I've come a long way from it all.

But lately, I realized that this place has been taking more of my time than I really needed. I love to write here, but I just don't feel happy here anymore. We've all moved on, and I can no longer think of this place as a safe place for me.

So I've made my decision. I'm gonna step down from the site.

It's been great working with you all, but I need to move on. This place can't judge my life any longer. I want to continue my stories, but it probably won't be here. I will continue to write somewhere, as it's a life-long passion of mine, but I need to let this place go.

And I'm sorry to say, but what happens to my characters is completely to myself. I hate to say, but the plans I've had for them are just too much for me to share to you. Just consider Ignis and Dani defeated, and everyone else just living their own lives.

As for who takes up my mod status...just give it to anyone you deem fit. Someone who can do the job well, at any rate.

From your resident Silent Hill, Baten Kaitos, Nightmare Before Christmas, and probably others-fangirl
Adri

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I cannot be on to do this, so I am asking Adri to put this up alongside hers. Thank you once again, Adri.

I was once a member of what people called "the Original Six", the first six members readily active on the forum for an extended period, including Alex himself. AS such, I have seen many turns the forum has taken... and have not seen much well in recent times.

For months, years even, I have been clinically depressed. This depression has had its ups and downs, but a main feature is that I could not be on the forum various times due to being forced to delete and remake my account due to outside forces. The conversations I have had in the intermittent time have not been terribly beneficial at times, though also helped me calm down in others. The balance has steadily shifted in favor of the former in recent times, though.

I can't do this anymore. Sometimes I'm taken down, yes, but that's not my point.

Years ago, I was bullied here for doing what I assumed was my job. I had a mod job, and used it as I thought appropriate. Later mods, though acknowledging that I did not do well, did realize that I was doing what I assumed was right at the time, and apologized for their behavior. Behavior including dishonesty and later jeering. I won't name names, but those people, or at least those left, know who they are and what they did, most likely. I only bring this up because it feels like it is happening again, but on a different level.

When I returned, I had one three-word request, a plea. "Respect and Honesty". Treating members with respect as much as possible, with calm reasoning instead of posturing, and never lying to each other. Though I have only seen one or two examples of posturing, the general disrespect has been more of an issue, and so has the lies. The only difference is that now they are up front, instead of on a chat left unvisited, forcing people away and causing the same exact situation as happened back in 2008.

Far and wide, the moderation team, in recent times, has either been completely disrespected, or, for some of them, inactive. Non-mod members have had to pick up the pace to make sure rules are still followed and we have some order. However, the number one rule of "Respect your fellow members" has been often disregarded, putting high walls in between members due to insults or perhaps rants. Again, I could, but will not name anyone. Recent examples know who they are in all likelihood. And if they don't, I won't point fingers. What I will say is that comments about someone being suicidally depressed being unimportant or entirely their own fault (not the same speakers) are not, and will never be appreciated or seen as in any way humane.

Furthermore, I have been subject to routine, repeated lies from people I once trusted, people who I assumed would know better than to repeat such things when it means nothing to someone who can't trust the truth. When, for sake of effective and realistic character development, I cannot avoid those people, options become extremely limited.

These two facets come together in another form altogether. Regardless of who a staff member sides with due to friendship, there is no reason, none whatsoever, to lie to and show abject lack of respect to him or her solely because they try to do their job and avoid antagonizing others, even if it means annoying one or two people in a shorter term. It's the job of the staff, and to show complete lack of respect for them due to that undermines the very nature of staff authority. You can disagree with something, but there is no reason, ever, to simply state that you have no respect in their authority and to lie that everything is okay earlier.

There are people I like, but negative impressions in general have seemed to offset the positive in many a case. When a normal member is trying to help the job of the staff and is reprimanded for it, it's hard to understand why when there is rarely followup from the staff to compensate for a lack of input from said normal members, leading them to come back, etc.

Once I was upset. Then I became angry. Now... now I'm just tired. I'm tired of the treatment listed above. Regardless of who you are, that never flies. I love to write. I don't think I'm any good, as is known far and wide by now, but others say I am, so I keep writing for them. But I can't do that here anymore.

Some of my best friends are here. I've contacted them about things, and most of the people I still email are counted. I'll be sending out messages to those who I trust still to reassure them, most likely, but for the time being, I'm not going to put that on anyone so that I don't hurt feelings.

That said, some of the people I have grown to dislike are here as well, and remind me of people in my life outside of the forum. These people include former friends in my life, bullies, and more. Nothing good.

Yes, there are middle grounds, but the negative is outweighing the positive far too much in recent times to be good. I was once very happy to be here. Now I just can't do this anymore, barely able to even keep writing in lieu of increasingly frequent fights, increasingly vicious insults, lacking apologies for the latter when I would give an apology for any I did not mean, and other events.

I would say that I wish that you guys not forget me, but I can't control that. What I can do, however, is say that I wish that will not happen. In order to clear things up on my end for characters, I'll just fill that out.

- Greg continues to wander the worlds. He is probably still in a relationship with Kynthia, and would not get into another fight with her unless she accentuates her racism once more. He is helping people as he passes worlds, but has not been seen since some time after his time with Kiva Warwick, having gone on a mission from Death and the Nexus to bring the fight closer to the "multiverse of life". Some assume the worst, but he has not been seen since.
- Isaac, on another mission, went to Aselia once more after the business in . In the process of saving it from the demonic forces of Niflheim some time after the events of Dawn of the New World, Yuan Kafei had to use the mana of both halves of the Summon Spirits via the Mana Cannon, "Thor's Hammer", on Remote Island, launching it into the small window opening of the Otherworldly Gate in order to force the mana-phobic demons back in. However, in the process, Isaac was thrust into Niflheim along with Nyx Zivaku, the evil version of Naito's sister, Nótt, in order to prevent such an event from happening again, and the entire southeastern third of the map was devastated by both the beam and the flooding of the ensuing tsunamis, especially the city of Palmacoasta. Isaac has not been seen since, having either been killed by the beam, forced permanently into Niflheim, or otherwise affected by the insane amounts of mana in such a way as to make the ultimate effects nearly impossible to understand.
- Azumi eventually went back to the time of Halo 3 some time after the encounter with Yuki in Deep Space. In her time there, she learned to trust the Elites, and ended up on Installation 04B (Alpha Halo Mark II). In her last act, she took Sergeant Major Avery Junior Johnson's place in being hit by 343 Guilty Spark's beam weapon, but, while fatally wounded, managed to help the others get back to the frigate Forward Unto Dawn. In the process, she did learn that while the Spartans are professional, they do care about their fellow humans, and even to a degree other species, not unlike herself. She herself also made her way on to the Forward Unto Dawn, but fell into the slipspace rupture, and has not been seen since, alive or dead, but was recognized by Arbiter Thel 'Vadam as one of those who fought for the survival of the worlds. Prior to this visit, she and Zero had a falling out from Cetea due to the latter not believing that Azumi was sacrificing herself for the group, and instead just trying to help her friends, effectively slipping the leadership to a bit less certain on the Interference Assassin Order.
- Naito and Jasmine remained together. I am not certain how they would go, but I will discuss it with Sorin. If he so desires, they might have gone back to his time given the option eventually, not to return to the present again due to being closer to one another.
- Sora and Roxas continued on their way through the worlds, eventually going to Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance. I would greatly appreciate if Alex could take them up as his characters, since, given the subtle changes I have made to their attitudes, I find it difficult to see anyone else being capable of pulling them off.
- Kira has continued to work in the Space Paranoids network. However, she was with Azumi in the Halo 3 mission to the Battle of Installation 04B, but managed to stay in the Forward Unto Dawn half that landed on Earth.  Her administrative Dumb AI (NOT STUPID, just unable to learn new functions, and still very capable) copy remains in Space Paranoids, monitoring the portal to other cyber worlds and making sure that no villains can use that portal to get through. She still has memory of any game released through 2018 in real time, so you can use her for data, but she is hesitant to give information to most anyone, thinking, far and wide, that Humans Are Bastards. Her only friends, therefore, are those who helped her in "The Game Has Changed" (more Audrey than the rest due to further help), Tron, kindred AIs, and Zero. Nonetheless, she still has what one would call a "kuudere" personality, so it's not very reliable. If nobody wants to touch her, she's mostly out of sight then, basically doing routine maintenance until she maybe deletes herself as she possibly becomes Rampant regardless of what happened in "The Game Has Changed" (that being a false rampancy). When she does so, she would integrate with Marathon Eva and the Sigma virus in the walls, effectively rendering the new Space Paranoids silent.

That said, I am most likely effectively done here. I have ideas, but will likely move them elsewhere. Best of luck to anyone else. If you leave a message, I hope for honesty and respect, but don't expect it anymore.

Signing off for the most likely last time,
Greg, a.k.a. Gregzilla

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSWMDgzHAqM&list=FL269vkM-oPq5uVgf8l8FyzQ&index=46&feature=plpp_video[/youtube]