Hello, I'm the magistrasa. I'm not playing Arelith right now, but I've been on this server for somewhere around 5 years now. The server and I have a complicated relationship sometimes, but I'm pretty sure I like it here. I'm not in a position to be able to play on it at the moment (and likely won't meaningfully participate in the community here for the next 3-5 years), but lately I find myself yearning for a return. And that's funny, I think, because I - like many of us - spend a lot of time complaining about the server and telling people I wish I wasn't on it when I am an active player. Sure, those things are usually said as some cheeky, facetious joke, but sometimes with serious feelings of bitterness and grievance. Yet now that I'm out, I fondly dream of the day come back in. It brings to sharp awareness the reasons why I play and enjoy Arelith, and what I'm trying to accomplish while I'm actively playing. When I'm logging in, I am seeking the fulfillment of various objectives that can't easily be done anywhere else (and frankly can't easily be done in Arelith, but that's what makes success so satisfying).
One of those objectives is to discover myself through the act of embodying a new personality archetype, exposing myself to the emotional extremes of the often fraught relationships of an Arelithian lifestyle in a safe and controlled environment, coming away from that with some new understanding of my own mental fortitude and habits of coping and resolving conflict. In essence, I play Arelith as a form of exposure therapy to experience and overcome no-stakes emotional stress as a way to train myself to handle stress in the real world.
Another objective that perhaps rivals the previous in personal significance is that I also aim to help others learn about themselves and the world through our interactions. I find it extremely fulfilling to challenge others' perceptions and play some role in aiding their development and growth, even though the majority of our interactions occur through the filter of roleplay. Being able to touch upon some nugget of truth in this game of make-believe almost feels more powerful because of its unexpected serendipity. As a byproduct of these poignant shared experiences, I've made some wonderful lifelong friends along the way.
The third major reason I come back to Arelith is for artistic inspiration. I'm never more productive as a writer or illustrator as when I'm playing on this server. Here we host a confluence of creativity, a meeting of the world's most interesting and diverse and narrative-driven minds, and every time I boot up the launcher, I am looking for something to inspire me. Rarely do I come away empty-handed.
No one does anything for no reason - and if you're playing Arelith, I imagine that's an exceedingly true statement. Despite our developers' best efforts, I don't think it's controversial to say the game isn't exactly "fun" as a solo experience. So there's gotta be something else bringing us all to the table. Yes, "roleplay" is the simple answer, but that's surface level. There's a deeper "why" behind each person's presence here, something we're each looking to do with our time whenever we log in. And as I consider my reasons for playing, I find myself wondering about you. So I want to point the question your way. Not just because I'm curious, but because I bet it'll be useful for you to put the answer into words.
So, why are you here?
What are you trying to accomplish?
What is Arelith offering you?
What do you get here that you can't seem to find anywhere else?