So...endgame?

[Beaks]

Hi.

Yep, Im still around in some semblance of capacity. Anyways, I can't help but feel that with the beginning of the PT storyline beginning to be told and (admittedly, a long time prior to said beginning) can't help but feel that Halcyon Days is ...well?

Dead.

I know there's still a little writing going on from week to week (mostly Rob), but for the most part the ship has been good and jumped. Maybe it's my trusty old self-sabotaging device talking here, but am I alone in wanting there to be some final cataclysm to usher out one RP in favor of the new? It feels somewhat disrespectful to simply leave the characters we've invested years and countless words into to the ennui. I know, I'm just as guilty of dropping off as so many others who may or may not ever even read this but still the point remains.

One last hurrah?

 

[swaswj]

Hi.

Yep, Im still around in some semblance of capacity. Anyways, I can't help but feel that with the beginning of the PT storyline beginning to be told and (admittedly, a long time prior to said beginning) can't help but feel that Halcyon Days is ...well?

Dead.

I know there's still a little writing going on from week to week (mostly Rob), but for the most part the ship has been good and jumped. Maybe it's my trusty old self-sabotaging device talking here, but am I alone in wanting there to be some final cataclysm to usher out one RP in favor of the new? It feels somewhat disrespectful to simply leave the characters we've invested years and countless words into to the ennui. I know, I'm just as guilty of dropping off as so many others who may or may not ever even read this but still the point remains.

One last hurrah?

All I can say is, we tried.

There is actually a pretty involved set of plot missions that was mostly developed by Sev and Raph. It would have lead to an epic conclusion to the HD storylines. When it came down to it, though, the players weren't interested in writing, including you.

It's one thing to say you want one last hurrah and another thing to actually be there to write week after week and to help develop the plot that leads to that one last hurrah.

I love HD as much as anyone, but it's a community story, and you can't expect just 2 or 3 of us to write everything leading up to the final clash and only then decide that you want to get involved and fling a few nukes.

As much as we'd all like to see a satisfying conclusion, though, I think after 9 1/2 years, everyone is tired of writing Bleach.

 

[Rob]

Although, I do feel like that for a 'grand finale' not enough was given to the players in terms of knowing whatever the hell was actually supposed to go on. It's all sparkles and sunshine when you're just in some intermediate plot twist, but when you're about to finish off a game, you kind of want to give a heads up on what can be expected in the end.

As it stood, we were kind of asked if we wanted to participate and that something was going to happen - to which I still have no clue whatsoever what that 'something' was even supposed to be.

Now that isn't to say that what you said, Will, is wrong. Far from, really, as you're right in saying people should've been more active themselves, but it kind of goes both ways... as always.

Also, totally not tired of writhing for HD, far from...

What I'm tired of is not having anyone to write with since they all decided it wasn't worth their time anymore. There really is only so much you can do all by yourself before you have to ask yourself: do I want to invest time in something that's dead, or spend it on something that may not be as much fun, but is at least alive?

 

[Apeiron]

I still love writing Hare. But in terms of plot there's not much direction to go unless I start doing stuff about him leading the 5th... which only exists as a bunch of extras (mainly). To do anything with the 5th, I'd have to switch from writing Hare as a developing character to writing Hare as a developing leader. From my stand point, doing that means shifting from a smaller scale of writing (individuals and events) to sweeping events like the PMs of '10 (yes they froze for the longest time, but I did stuff with people dammit).

It's either that or take an active role in making suggestions for HD's plot. Something I'm not sure if others would want. I'm best at writing my own stories and even helping others with their own. Not so much creating stories for others.

 

[K3]

So here we go, I guess.

When we talk about a 'last hurrah', what was really meant to happen was a resolution to all the loose ends that Will, Sev, Van, Lil, and even some of what the previous GM crew left behind. In short order, we needed a way to resolve Prometheus, Slappy the Vizard, and Asshin/Raifuku. The idea was never to end Halcyon Days, but to allow a clean slate to exist for people to further their own writing while allowing the GMs to move on to a new RP to work in.

Clearly, that did not happen.

This is, as Rob said, a two-way street; but I would probably say it was more of a self-fulfilling cycle. There was a serious lull in motivation amongst the GMs and staff around the time we started to really sit down and think about not just what the end would have to accomplish, but how it would happen.

With the rising issue of graders not meeting deadlines, and an overall lack of activity in writing, the prospect of simply jumping ship to Post Terminus became fairly enticing. Shallow, but enticing. Ultimately, plans were made to make a sincere attempt to 'end' Halcyon Days. What hadn't been expected, however, was the sheer amount of writer's block and lack of motivation that we'd been hit with. When time came to finalize plans, I don't personally think there was ever really a unanimous decision, or perhaps even one that was favored.

Cue the Two Steps Plot Mission. Two Steps was basically Part One of two final plot missions, and things would be wrapped up within a year. Easy, straight-forward, no mess. Threads were launched, an initial rush of activity seemed promising, we were basically ready for a collective high-five and sigh of relief.

Then the threads died. Now when I say they died, I don't mean in the conventional sense of a lack of activity. I mean that any and all interest in the threads seemed to be null. Nobody was talking about the PMs - or worse, didn't know they were even happening - and more and more we heard people asking about Post Terminus.

I personally believe we gave it the fairest shake we could. Sev, Will, and I all tried for a long month and a half to drag the plot towards some inevitable conclusion, before realizing we were towing a sinking ship.

Do I regret that we couldn't finish HD? Damn right I do. Do I think it's remotely feasible at this point? Regrettably not.

If we went back and tried now, all we'd be accomplishing is the likely stagnation of both RPs. Post Terminus is, unfortunately, where the core of our userbase now exists. It needs activity and exposure, things that I am supposed to be in charge of. A lack of energy and motivation tends to plague me as of late, but I'm determined to try.

We came close, and we gave it all we had. I'm sorry we collapsed at the finish line.

 

[Rob]

Nana wants to eventually overthrow the Spirit King and become Spirit Queen so she can become immortal.

There's your villain for you, right there.

 

[Dysney]

Just tossing in my two cents here. Admittedly, I do feel a bit out of my league here since I wasn't a major player in the HD plot in or out of game, but I did enjoy it while it lasted. I was excited about the PMs because they would have been my first PMs ever and was eagerly awaiting a chance to jump in. I suppose I could have been more active about voicing my interest and encouraging others to stay invested. Maybe it wouldn't have made a difference. Now, however, HD is, like Raph said, probably not able to be 'concluded' the way the GMs planned.

I do think that if we made a group effort and actually backed up any fancy words and sentiments we might have about HD with writing and activity, we could probably pull something off. Maybe not something with the grandeur and on the scale of what many would like to see, but something. Interest in HD still exists for some and I'm sure there is at least one workable idea somewhere under a rock in someone's brain that would bring about an acceptable "end". To make that happen would probably require the writers stepping up and coming together to draft, outline, plot, and post what we want to make happen. The GMs can't do everything or make HD breathe another breath without the rest of us, but if we did, as fanciful as it sounds, get together and make something and have some sort of solid plan and set it in motion, I can't imagine the GMs would smack our hands and say "no!"

I'll admit it. The mostly quiet site, under-staffing, and lack of writing are not inviting. I find them a bit intimidating and discouraging, actually. To post anymore feels more lonely than talking to my stuffed animals and pet cat. At the same time, since I can't just stand there and let HD go without a proper good-bye without even trying to make an effort to see it off, I'll say this: if Nana wants to start a war and overthrow the Sun King I'd be willing to jump on board with making that plot happen. Why not? It's not a bad idea and now no one can say there wasn't any interest expressed. I apologize for not making that clear earlier that I was invested in HD, because it saddens me the GMs felt no one was interested in the hard work they did. I hope it's not too late to do something now.

 

[Nutella]

Hi! Friendly neighborhood magic panda tossing in two more cents.

Personally, I would still love to RP HD, but then, most of the people I collab with don't have the motivation to finish up anymore. It's like, "oh god my plot is just dangling there how do i save it?"More like, their motivation already shifted to something else. Writing for HD was nice and I had fun times. I don't think it was ever an issue of interest over Bleach, but the interest of writing with others that kept people writing. Like, come on, when I went to my own long vacation, I was so happy that I had all the time in the world to write, but then when I came home, everyone was like 'Meh' because PT was already dangling on their noses. More like, Yeah something's gonna come up anyway so let's not waste any more effort in this and actually move on. It was totally a party pooper and I kinda felt like I just left my chars dangling over there when I want to do so much.

The prospect of PMs were exciting, but then, Raph was right. No one was talking about it. Why? Because a lot of people weren't involved. Like, come on, it is gonna be a clusterfuck if we're all there. But with only Earf doing all their awesome shingmajig and basically leaving out the active writers in forever mystery mode, it's like the suspense is killing me. No, seriously. PMs are exciting, but so few are involved and we have no idea what it is. Heck, we don't even know if we can participate, with these numbers thing and random dangers thing and all. Maybe it'll just fall on our laps and OH HEY, A CHANCE! I mean come on, there are players willing to write, but they're left out in the big thing. It feels terrible. The big players are mostly not there and those who are around to play are too "small" to make a difference (that includes me). Sorry, just being honest with how I felt with the last PMs. =/

I think this'll be downright offensive, but half the people participating in Two Steps were people who weren't writing anymore, but felt compelled to write because it was PMs. Maybe, just maybe, writing for it felt like a chore, more than leisure, and that's probably why it just stopped there, with no more interest from players.

I think I'll be more offensive. Honestly, I felt that the reason people jumped into the PT bandwagon because it was where people is heading. Not because it was particularly interesting, or that they were bored with Bleach. Sure, it's a fresh new start to a dying rp community. I think it was the prospect of having change that was exciting, because their writing partners don't have motivation to continue on with HD anymore. It's more like, "You writing there?" "Yep" "Cool, I think Imma just move so we can still write amazing shit together."

/totes getting farther and farther to the point/ >.>

It's Week 7, but I'm still more excited about things I was about to write Anshy and Yuu than the things I'm about to write for Ameus. I'd totes be interested to participate in an HD end or summat tho.

(p.s. still trying to write that first chap for Ameus. I don't know when I'm gonna finish it, probably not soon.)
(p.p.s. I would've really loved putting that 'vendetta over adele' arc to motion, because Dys was here to RP it.
p.p.p.s. Dys, I wub you. Yuu just doesn't, not by a far stretch.)

 

[Ganner Rhysode]

I know this is a really old thread but I wanted to say I thoroughly enjoyed HD. The problem I had is I'd kinda screwed myself into a corner becoming one of the Masked, since I thought at least Tits would be joining me on that side. Then my computer broke so I wasn't able to keep writing consistently.

I really wish we could've ended it much smoother, maybe our characters fade into the background as NPC's or wise old mystics on Dagoba or something. But I'll be glad to be writing with you guys again, hopefully soon.