Off and on over the past few weeks, I’ve been writing articles at the Hope Station encyclopedia, to try and get kind of a fully functional reference for my writing, without having to worry if I have all my materials with me; they’ll be online any time I need it and without having to worry whether or not the database crashes like a MOO can from time to time. The cool part is, I’m writing a little more and more on background and getting a much better feel for the universe to help perfect it. I’ve made some significant changes to some of the history, now that I’m no longer 20 years old (it was 1996 when I started Hope Station).
There’s a bit of nostaglia, though. I had to reread a great many of my own role-play logs from the old Phoenix RP Archive, and I laughed and cried all over again. I was a little dismayed at some of the role-play, but then again, it’s a defunct game these days and it’s nothing to get upset about. I just realize how sometimes people can misinterpret a theme so horribly at times, and yet be imaginative to come up with ideas I never thought of. The darkness of the theme has seeped into my own writing in other genres, so Phoenix served as a catalyst for trying to draw out the darkness that resides in us all. Though, the angst factor was almost comical; one player in particular seemed bent on creating chaos in order just to draw attention to it. The status quo quite literally was angst in all forms. Reliving all of those moments reminded me of how cool it was, and the personal/emotional attachments that came with it may have come at too high a price. This is a major reason I decided not to ever ressurrect the Hope Station theme as a basis for role-play. But I can’t thank Steph, Jeff, Mike, Linda, David, Abbie, Peter, Selena, and a great many others enough for trying so hard to keep it going and ultimately finding some enjoyment in the project, even if it didn’t end up that way. It was one very unforgettable ride.