Two Freakin' Years

Hey guys! A lot of you probably don't know me, but I know that most of the older members will. Still, since whenever I look in the Cbox I recognize virtually no one, I think it'd be a good idea to introduce myself.

My name is Jack, but I go by Jasik here. Semper may call me Paul and Pika may call me Husband. I joined HGRPG exactly two years ago today, which is actually why I'm making this thread. After the 57th(?) Hunger Games, I became increasingly inactive until I pretty much left the site altogether. I've participated in two Games: the tropical one (can't remember the number) with Sul Tervish from District 1, and what I believe is the 57th with Snip Bysho of District 4. Obviously, they're both dead now.

So. The reason for this thread. Part of it was just to say a big hello to all of my old friends here, and the other part was to offer a thank you. To cover the first part... I don't know who out of the old crowd is still around, but if you're there, hello!

When I joined HGRPG two years ago, I fancied myself a very good writer. As shown by my first post/thread, this was clearly not the case. But even with the craptastic writing quality of my first year or so of roleplaying, I loved it, and I made quite a few friends just fooling around in threads that went on for page after page but lacked any real substance.

But over time, I started to improve. As I tapped out hundreds of cute little excuses for posts at my computer, my wordplay became more skillful, my characters became more lifelike. This all reached a turning point in one fateful Hunger Games -- coincidentally, not on HGRPG, but on a little sister site called Origins that I have not visited in over a year. Through the adventures of Halt Dravix and his struggle to protect the girl he loved (played by Cam lol), I realized what it felt like to have true muse and to become emotionally attached to a character.

I continued to become a better writer and make even more friends over the coming months, eventually deciding to branch out and try new roleplaying forums. Even though I liked quite a few, none of them seemed able to compare to the magnificence of the good ol' Hunger Games RPG.

Eventually, Snip Bysho, my aforementioned District 4 character, was selected in the reaping to participate in the Hunger Games. Since he was a relatively untouched character of mine created in my amateur days as a new member, I accepted the position with little hesitation, feeling pretty lucky to have a character I didn't care that much about being thrown into the arena. With him in there, I could have some fun, but wouldn't be too devastated when he inevitably perished.

Turns out I was wrong. Throughout his painfully short career as a tribute, I realized just how much I cared about the albino, aquaphobic kid that I had rarely used. I'm not sure what it was -- his difficult past, his desperate efforts to protect his friends, the unexpected support from other members that he suddenly received -- but I grew attached to Snip. After a narrow escape from a troublesome, oversized bat, I realized that I actually wanted Snip to survive.

Of course, he didn't. He was poisoned in the attack. That wasn't what killed him, though; through a collective effort from a number of other members -- I can recall Pika, Damen, and Cam were in charge of it -- Snip received enough sponsor support to obtain an antidote, and kept on going for yet another night. It was not until the next day that he died, after reuniting with his allies that he had become separated from in the chaos of the bloodbath. In the skirmish that ensued with a handful of giant bats -- yes, more of them -- he was slain with a bite to the side of the head.

It was not until then that I realized just how emotionally invested I was in Snip's survival. Losing him somehow felt like losing a friend; for a couple of days after, I felt curiously empty. Sure, the shock subsided after a short period of time, but afterwards, I just couldn't seem to summon any muse to write here anymore. That was when I began to drift away from my beloved first forum.

Since then, I have become active on a couple of other sites, and have continued to write on a fairly regular basis. I've even begun writing a novel, initially for NaNoWriMo but now simply because I want to write a novel. I'm now a freshman in high school, and I have received a number of compliments from teachers who are astounded to see a teenage boy who actually enjoys writing. It's all thanks to you, HGRPG; if I hadn't stumbled across you when I was a thirteen-year-old, arrogant, wannabe-writer, I never would have gotten to where I am. Thanks for everything, and I hope that sometime in the near future, I'll be able to find the will to take the plunge back into the insanity that is this site.