semi-hiatus(?)

[problemsoncauthess]

Hey everyone, I realized I forgot to post about this on the comm... Ardyn here was involved in a big way in the last event, and ideally I would have wanted to thread out a lot of things with him dealing with the consequences of it or even gloating about things.

However, unfortunately I live in Russia, and the Russian government started the war against Ukraine last week. I am not doing very well mentally, physically I am very far away from the border and any military action should escape me (except for some very, very bleak scenarios). But it has been a huge shock and there is a lot for me to deal with, not in the least considering fleeing the country because censorship and dictatorship is growing absolutely brutal. So, um. Things aren't great, even if they don't even start to come near how bad things are in Ukraine. And for obvious reasons I don't... feel comfortable playing out Ardyn doing bad things.

So this is a kind of semi-hiatus notice because I will still sometimes come back to RP when I need an escape, but overall I'll be trying to deal with IRL stuff. I also play Hythlodaeus here (weenwoon), and while he's not important outside of close CR, I'll be slow/absent with him too.

If you want to plan/handwave stuff regarding Ardyn's involvement in the event, please send me a DM!

Comments

[ragingblossom]

We haven't talked before now, but I just wanted to drop a line to say: Stay safe, and do what you need to do to take care of yourself. I'm wishing you well from here!

[problemsoncauthess]

Thank you! I too hope this nightmare comes to an end soon. It still does not feel real.

[cultivatingsin]

Please look out for yourself first and foremost! I'll be thinking/praying about/for you. And if you want to talk/plot/whatever, poke me through PMs, on Plurk (tiger_eyes) or on Discord (madviolinist#5122). Be safe. ♥

[problemsoncauthess]

Thank you! ♥ I have no idea how things will go even in the coming weeks, but I do want to try and do things in RP as a way to escape all... the things that are happening. Let's hope the situation stabilizes somewhat soon. There will be negotiations this weekend again, and while I have no real hope for it, I wish there will be a ceasefire.

[cultivatingsin]

That's totally understandable! If you want to do anything with Xue Yang, Padmé or Sansa, just let me know.

I hope it stabilizes too. The people of Russia and the Ukraine didn't ask to live a nightmare. :( Just let us know you're okay when you can?

[mayoninofukucho]

Our characters don't have CR, but please take good care of yourself and stay safe (and do come back to us whenever some distraction helps)!

For what it's worth (since I don't know how much of this gets through to Russia at this point), the news over here (EU) emphasised strongly from the start that the Russian people had no say in this, and that is also felt among the people here.

[problemsoncauthess]

Thank you! Yeah, leaving the country is a little scary for fear of repercussions abroad because of what our government is doing. In fact, propaganda within the country has readily jumped onto the idea, saying that Russian people in other countries are getting beaten up/harassed/students are expelled/people lose their jobs/etc, etc, russophobia, etc. It's quite vile to read.

But it's true that we've had no say in this; we haven't had a say in anything the government does ever since Putin came to be president, I think. But I was a kid for most of it. The war, though, was unexpected even for Putin's closest circle. No one really knows what's happening or why or what to do, especially those of us who live in smaller towns/over here in Siberia; we have very little political power as opposed to the European part of the country. Sigh I'm sorry to ramble, my head is spinning all the time. OTL

Either way! Thank you so much for your concern and well-wishes; I'll do my best to stay okay, too. Hopefully in a couple months I'll be back on track with having a more peaceful existence...

[mayoninofukucho]

Don't apologise, you're not rambling! It's really terrible what's going on; even over here we're all beyond rattled.

It has to be incredibly difficult to not be influenced by the only information your government still allows, all the more with the knock-on effect the sanctions are bound to have on the Russian economy (though I know that companies providing essential goods, such as EU-based supermarket chains in Russia, will continue to operate so as to not punish the civilian population for Putin's actions), but everyone I've spoken to, from friends abroad in the USA or SEA to my old grandfather here, they all see the oppression of the Russian people and the brutality with which it is enforced.

Hope prevails, though! Here's to a better future, and may it come soon.

[angel_of_death]

I am here for you, Tonake.

And if you want to handwave stuff with Hythlodaeus, we can do that, too.

[tsumtsuki]

We haven't spoken before, but I wanted to extend my well wishes to you and your loved ones! Stay safe and take care of yourself as best you can.

[leicesters]

I'm late in seeing this, but I hope you're staying safe, and I'm glad internet censorship over there hasn't extended to this obscure little website so you're able to keep in touch. I hope you're able to get out safely if you can, and if you need assistance in facilitating that, I'm sure plenty of us in the international community would be willing to help.

Please stay safe and don't hesitate to reach out if you need someone to talk to! Either moonsilver#4734 at discord, or moonsilver.

[problemsoncauthess]

Thank you! Yeah, DW should be safe (for now?). It's not regarded as an alternative to Livejournal by the Russian community and so there are few political blogs, so the odds are low that it would be blocked as "spreading misinformation" and "libel against the army and the special operation". There were concerns that we might be disconnected from the global Internet, but so far those seem to be incorrect rumours (originated from documents sent out to government bodies in case of more cyberattacks). Some outside Internet providers refuse to work within Russia, but Cloudflare at least agrees that Russians need access to outside Internet because otherwise all we'll have will be only state propaganda. :/

I'm honestly really grateful there are so many kind folks out there. Even if I am not directly affected by the war (yet), it's still such a horrible and horrifying thing. I hope it never comes to your or anyone else's country; it should be something we only see in fiction.