I personally enjoy the "adventure one week, freeform the next, and sprinkle in some lessons" schedule as it allows participants of the adventures to debrief and share what happened with those who weren't there and also provides a forum for those who prefer to be more contemplative in their Jedi-ing. I'm writing this on my lunch break, so I don't have themes in mind at this particular moment, but, after November 10th, I'll have more time to dedicate towards events and their planning, whatever the theme!
I won't actually be available this Thursday! We have a single, one screen theatre where I live, and the lil' sis and I are going to see a movie there before it switches to the next one. Thursday, unfortunately, is the only day that works for us! Could we push the adventure back to the 13th? Does that work for everyone else, too?
Currently, Mamma Mia is eating up a lot of my time, so my only free evening during the week is Friday. Otherwise, it'd have to be a Saturday or Sunday for me. I'll be there in spirit regardless!
I see a lot of doom and gloom when it comes to the state of our community and the health of SWTOR. And, if I'm being perfectly honest? It really ticks me off. Yeah, it's not what it once was. Yes, if we want to revive it it'll take work. But it's not dead. It's far from dead. I regularly (albeit not frequently) meet new RPers who are writing their own stories and interested in interacting with us. Begerencolony.org and /republic- and /imperialooc are not the be-all-end-alls of the Satele Shan community. I think we BCers have becom a little isolated and set in our ways, remembering what was and resenting it instead of attending to what is. We might have gotten the short end of the stick regarding server merges, but, even if we were merged with PvE and PvP servers and not the remaining RP server, that's still servers full of people who might be looking to try out—or find—the RP scene here on SS.
But I recognize I'm a part of the problem. I, too, have become used to being surrounded by wonderful, capable RPers who, as a whole, are available to me whenever I wish. And I simultaneously understand the lure of the promise of having that again. But I also look back to my first days on the Begeren Colony server, when the RP scene was arguably more active in a visible way, and... well, I really struggled. I almost left the game entirely because it felt empty and pointless to keep putting in the effort, and then I had a chance encounter with a certain RPer here and it changed everything. In my recent experience, RPing out in the wilds of the game world is the most effective way to find the spontaneity and excitement needed to revitalize one's burn out. Because this is what it is. It's burn out.
The game has been out for over half a decade. That's quite a long time to be dedicated to something! And certainly enough time to get past the honeymoon stage of your new RP friends and all their exciting RP stories. We've seen it, haven't we? Bickering, fighting, talking behind backs, sarcasm, and a general lack of patience and kindness. When everything is new and shiny, it's easy to overlook flaws. Now we're starting to have to actually, you know, deal with them. Work through them. And it hasn't always been pretty. But this is a tangent that I won't go into further. My point there is, the gloss is coming off, but that doesn't mean what's underneath is ugly, boring, or bad. It just... you know. Takes more work.
And I guess, in my mind, that's what this all comes down to. Things are novel anymore. It's easier to see flaws and shortcomings. And when RP doesn't give the same, easy thrill that it used to, it's easier to say, "nah, I won't log in tonight". It's easier to go, "I think I'd rather spend my time preparing for my D&D campaign than preparing a SWTOR event". And once person X starts skipping, then person Y goes, "ah, X won't be there. I won't log in" and similar. In my view, SWTOR just isn't the priority it was on many people's lists. Which is fine. But I suppose, if it's something you do want to keep enjoying in the future, maybe bump it up a bullet point. Just one. Make an appearance at an event even if you're tired. Reach out to the new face you see. I honestly think all our RP community needs is a smigeon more collective dedication.
Nic and Ash, there are times when I'm entirely tempted to check out SF. But, like many of the others here, it's just not feasible for me to make the jump over. I'm an Empress Teta original, heh. I already spent my seventy dollars moving all my toons to this server and, while I'm not as financially strapped as some folks here, it's not something that's an economically wise choice for me. I would be interested in checking out an event like the one @Ash has said they might have a willingness to set up, but it would be something, if I'm honest, to try and encourage SFers to hop over here as much as the reverse. For me, this is my community, and, unless something catastrophic happens, this is where I intend to spend the rest of my SWTOR days. I'd leave to many friends behind if I didn't.
And so, to conclude, I leave you with two special clips: link and link.
Using my data to reply here--I won't be at Jedi Night tonight, unfortunately. I was supposed to have internet yesterday, but there have been complications. I'm still trying to check my PMs, so if you need me, send me a message there!
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