On January 29th, 2012 We made the very difficult decision to close the Seven Isles. It wasn't something we wanted to do, especially not the way it was done. But we felt as if there was no other choice. It is a long story, if asked in world I will give it to you, but I don't feel like going in to it here.
It's been just over two months since, why haven't I talked about it yet? I wasn't ready to, I guess. I spent some time and energy trying to maintain some form of it, but that didn't work out. It might have done, but Real Life has been harsh to my family. We are barely getting by, and if it were not for in world services, and favours (such as Eaken's DJing) We'd have no in-world income at all. We don't have much, certainly not one to start a new sim.
Though for now I am able to afford a cute little parcel on the mainland, 300 prims for 300 lindens a week is a hell of a deal, Just enough prims for building, and since it is on "forgotten" mainland there is no lag!
Besides, Where else can you find automated tanks and ice cream trucks in a neighbourhood, if not on the mainland?
This is by no means what I consider home in the Role-play sense, though. I don't really know what to do. A huge part of me is relieved to be free of the financial stress that came from running the sim. There is a part of me that just wants to find somewhere else suitable to live out our RP days in peace. Eaken and I have alts that can find RP, but my little fake family means a lot to me, more than I ever realized until the place we could be was gone.
So, I am on the search for somewhere to rest our branches and hooves. So far I can only search groups, since out internet connection here at our new RL home (which is temporary, thank gods) is *terrible* but I am so discouraged at the amount of innocuous sims that do not allow youth avatars, or furries.
What should stop me from resettling in a place where furries are not allowed? Call me a snob if you wish, but I have always judged the quality of a sim based on Furry discrimination. A lot of people say theme has something to do with it, but I don't see how a Furry dressed in theme is any different from a Centaur dressed in theme. In fact, there isn't much of a difference between the appearance of mythological creatures from furries. I don't understand why one is acceptable, and one is not. It's fantasy, we're supposed to use our imaginations.
But I digress, my point is, the perfect place for me to call home, *was* the Seven Isles.
Both in Second Life and Real life finding a new home is tough. I don't really have a place to fit in and settle in world, and our current home, well, we don't fit in much here either. That doesn't stop us for looking for the right place in both worlds, though.
People ask us a lot if we ever plan to open another sim. There is such a huge part of me that wants to, to let the stories, the atmosphere and the community to live on. But I have to be honest, there is a part of me that never wants to stress again about those issues again. I did it because I loved it, but I must certainly did not thrive on it.
So my answer is, I don't know. I would like to think of that world just being on pause. The things that went on there are still going on in spirit, just as they were. It's just like that tree in the forest, no one is "there" to hear it, but it is still making noise, with the sounds of life carrying on as usual.
