I just realised, that I never really wrote just how impactful these fangames have been in my life, and @GreyShadow's comment just really inspired me to share my experience as well (while also rambling too much, but I believe this to be a ramble friendly space)
During 2020, I was quite effected by the pandemic, and as someone who's autistic and depressed, I tend to deal with stress through isolation. Of course this was the norm during the lockdown, but even afterwards, I had a hard time meeting people again, or staying in touch with the few friends that I had.
Over the years, my mental health deteriorated significantly, until I finally decided to take a break from failing at life and focus on not failing my brain. These games have stayed by my side through every step of my life since 2020 and have always given me a safe space to explore, figure out, and despair at. I have very vivid memories of playing Rejuvenation while in a mental hospital. I have written a lot of fan fiction about extremely minor characters and my Pokémon team. These incredibly complex worlds that take the Pokémon formula and expand it to such extreme and just insane lenght, breadth, and depth, that YEARS after playing them for the first time I still find new things about them, or ways to love them.
Nowadays my life is a lot brighter than it was when I needed these games. I've got a job that, I have a social life, and I've got a grip on my mental health (not really a tight grip, but a grip nontheless!)
So a huge thank you to Ame, for creating a space and an environment where these wonderful stories can be shared, laying the groundwork for these games that mean SO much to me, and for putting in so much time and effort into a just plainly beatiful game.
Thank you to Jan and the Rejuvenation team, for creating the very best Pokémon game I have ever played. Creating such a vibrant and expansive world that constanly feeds my own imagination and creativity.
Thank you to Caz for having written the most impactful story I had ever had the pleasure of finding in a Pokémon game, and the second most impactful story in ANY game in general I had ever played (second only to Omori). From someone who knows how fickle a recovered mind can be, I fully sympathise with your decision to focus on maintaining your mental health. Take care of yourself! It is very hard to do so.
And of course thank you to Posty and all the other incredible members who will continue telling this story in their own ways. It won't be the same, but nothing ever is. From the few images I had seen so far, it looks quite promising, and I'm sure you all will be able to create something new that will expand and conclude the story in new and exciting ways. It is always difficult to have a story be written by so many different people with differing visions, but it sounds like you all are a team that harmonises and values one anothers insight. You've got this! At least I (a random lurker you don't know and will quite possibly never hear from again) have full confidence that EP 7 will be something novel that may tell the story in a different voice, or tell a different story altogether, but it will be without a doubt enjoyable and lovely in ways I couldn't possibly forsee :D
So yeah, uh, thanks for reading this monster of a comment. Y'all are great. Thanks for being so cool :)
I'll go back to lurking now. Sorry if this was too long and/or disjointed
