Post by Lizica on Jul 6, 2018 21:25:19 GMT -5
It’s my ten year netwuffiversary! =DD ...Or, technically, June 21st was. In typical belated Lizica fashion, I noticed the date several months ago and made a mental note that went something along the lines of, “Oh! How exciting! I should make a post about it on the day of, which occurs during a month starting with the letter J, so it’s probably July, right, so let’s not check specifics again until that month comes around.”
Anyway, for the occasion, I’d like to tell you a story.
...Said story is buried under multiple layers of context, though, so bear with me.
The first layer of context is a short explanation of one of my favorite video games, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. The hyper-condensed premise is that a group of friends opens a mysterious book that takes them to a magical world that is tailor-made to their deepest wishes, and once there, they have to decide whether or not to stay and keep that world as it is.
The second layer of context is that I still like telling myself little stories before I fall asleep. Partly it’s a bedtime story to myself, and partly it’s just interesting because sometimes in that foggy transition between wakefulness and sleep, the story treads a fine line between me being the storyteller, and the story being told to me by my dreams.
So, every once in a while, I’ve told myself little stories that take place with the FFTA game premise. I think I’ve done so with multiple groups of my own friends over the years.
Yes, including you guys.
This one was a good several years back, but it’s still relevant. I’m pretty sure it was mostly just a fun little story about everyone being transported and getting to be in this magical world together. It began with the obligatory confusion of “what’s going on, how did we get here, who are you??” and then went from there. We talked, we explored, we played games, we ate local food, we split up into groups occasionally to go battle monsters or see separate things. We probably rode chocobos at some point, but I don’t remember.
Now, the thing about telling yourself stories before bed is that sometimes stories don’t get finished, even when you pick them back up night after night as best you can. But the story about you guys from the NTWF being mysteriously transported to a magical land? It was concluded.
The conflict of needing to choose whether or not to go home was a difficult one. Our wish that the magical world fulfilled was simply that we all got to be together. And going home would mean that we would all have to return to our separate locations and our separate lives.
But in the end--we chose to go home.
Do you know why?
Because we realized that as much as we loved being all together here in this world--back in our home world, the real world...we made that world a better place. And in your absence, that world was much poorer without you.
You wanted to help brighten that world that you came from, a world that you still loved, a world that needed you, a world that we could all still share nevertheless.
You chose to go home because you were each little points of brilliant light in a vast expanse, and you made the world a better place to be in.
And you still do.
--
From my quiet “Iunno, this place is huge and these people are cool and therefore absolutely terrifying, I’ll just post on the games board” days, to my heartfelt sidechat messaging days--thank you for having me here for so long. <3 You have been so kind and so warm, and you’ve helped me be a little more confident in myself over the years. You’ve been my friends to laugh with and rant at through ups and downs, to write with and read from, to share with and talk with, to bounce ideas off of and learn from. You mean a lot to me. And you know, we do still visit each other in magical worlds sometimes--it’s just, they’re usually worlds we make ourselves.
Thank you for everything, you awesome, wonderful, insane geniuses. <3
Stay awesome and keep rocking. With lots of love,
Lizica
Anyway, for the occasion, I’d like to tell you a story.
...Said story is buried under multiple layers of context, though, so bear with me.
The first layer of context is a short explanation of one of my favorite video games, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. The hyper-condensed premise is that a group of friends opens a mysterious book that takes them to a magical world that is tailor-made to their deepest wishes, and once there, they have to decide whether or not to stay and keep that world as it is.
The second layer of context is that I still like telling myself little stories before I fall asleep. Partly it’s a bedtime story to myself, and partly it’s just interesting because sometimes in that foggy transition between wakefulness and sleep, the story treads a fine line between me being the storyteller, and the story being told to me by my dreams.
So, every once in a while, I’ve told myself little stories that take place with the FFTA game premise. I think I’ve done so with multiple groups of my own friends over the years.
Yes, including you guys.
This one was a good several years back, but it’s still relevant. I’m pretty sure it was mostly just a fun little story about everyone being transported and getting to be in this magical world together. It began with the obligatory confusion of “what’s going on, how did we get here, who are you??” and then went from there. We talked, we explored, we played games, we ate local food, we split up into groups occasionally to go battle monsters or see separate things. We probably rode chocobos at some point, but I don’t remember.
Now, the thing about telling yourself stories before bed is that sometimes stories don’t get finished, even when you pick them back up night after night as best you can. But the story about you guys from the NTWF being mysteriously transported to a magical land? It was concluded.
The conflict of needing to choose whether or not to go home was a difficult one. Our wish that the magical world fulfilled was simply that we all got to be together. And going home would mean that we would all have to return to our separate locations and our separate lives.
But in the end--we chose to go home.
Do you know why?
Because we realized that as much as we loved being all together here in this world--back in our home world, the real world...we made that world a better place. And in your absence, that world was much poorer without you.
You wanted to help brighten that world that you came from, a world that you still loved, a world that needed you, a world that we could all still share nevertheless.
You chose to go home because you were each little points of brilliant light in a vast expanse, and you made the world a better place to be in.
And you still do.
--
From my quiet “Iunno, this place is huge and these people are cool and therefore absolutely terrifying, I’ll just post on the games board” days, to my heartfelt sidechat messaging days--thank you for having me here for so long. <3 You have been so kind and so warm, and you’ve helped me be a little more confident in myself over the years. You’ve been my friends to laugh with and rant at through ups and downs, to write with and read from, to share with and talk with, to bounce ideas off of and learn from. You mean a lot to me. And you know, we do still visit each other in magical worlds sometimes--it’s just, they’re usually worlds we make ourselves.
Thank you for everything, you awesome, wonderful, insane geniuses. <3
Stay awesome and keep rocking. With lots of love,
Lizica
