With Sara "Zarine" Jessop
Why Zarine wants to go:
Ah, Black & White, one of my favorite gatherings. It has all of my favorite things: Fancy clothes, formal court, masks, socializing, dancing, delicious hors d'oeuvres, and of course, death. Now many of these things will be different this year as we need to use magical means to get together due to in person activities being unsafe. I love mingling in all formats, so I for one am quite intrigued to see how Chimeron will present their usual finery within this new form of socializing.
The food at this gathering is always delicious, and I hear that they may be making some of the recipes available to try at home. Dancing might be a bit difficult to transmit magically, yet they have laid claim to it happening and the idea of dancing without having to physically touch any of you sounds divine. Auctions are always enjoyable, as I do so love winning things, even if I have to wait for a courier to deliver all of my winnings to me here at home. Formal court is always a favorite of mine, and with this new communication style maybe we'll actually be able to hear what people are saying as truly most of you all are horrid public speakers. This tends to be one of those gatherings where very big things are announced and you do not want to miss something important! Socializing, while different, will still be easy to do and after months of isolation many of us really need a chance to talk to people outside of our own household.
And the masks! There will still be an opportunity to magically share your image with everyone, and really there is no better way to see all of your faces than when they are mostly covered. Now I know we are all sick of wearing masks for safety reasons, but this is different my darlings, this is masking for fashion! I personally will be giving out a prize for my favorite mask of all, so make sure you wear your very best one, my dears!
The biggest reason I want to go though? I actually miss all of you. You know I have been cooped up too long when I am looking forward to interacting with all of you plebs. Then again, a gathering where I don't have to leave my own luxurious surroundings is my favorite kind of gathering.
Why Sara wants to go:
Much like Zarine, and probably most of you, I am sick of social isolation and lack of events. Getting to be someone else for a day is an escape that I miss more than I can even explain. Obviously having in person events right now is no bueno so we have to be creative. There have been a few virtual events so far and they have been fantastic, and they are always being improved upon as we learn what works and what doesn't. Black & White being a mainly social event lends itself well to gathering over Discord, and I am so excited to see how Chimeron presents things in this relatively new (to us) medium.
I miss socializing with all of you, both in and out of character. I miss putting on way too much garb and feeling like a different person and the confidence I get from that. I miss buying things from my friend's shops and supporting their passion. I miss my friends trolling me with ridiculousness and trying to get me to crack and break character. I miss can't evening all the things that can't be evened, and even the ones that can. This event is an opportunity to do all of those things again, and I cannot wait! And the best part? When you want to leave you just take your headset off and disconnect from Discord. No carting stuff to your car, no awkwardly half ungarbing in the parking lot, and no driving! You're already home!
It can be hard to stay motivated to do Realms related things without a lot of events happening. It is likely not an easy task to modify an event to be virtual while still maintaining an immersive environment and having enough content to fill the time and we should support the people who are putting in the effort. They are taking the time and energy to give us the opportunity to be someone else for a day, and that is an incredible service to the community that should not be overlooked. There have been quite a few folks who have put a lot of effort into still proving some content during this strange and difficult time and we should let those folks know they are appreciated in the easiest way possible: participating in the content they create. So come. Participate. Even if it's just for a little while. I hope to see (or hear) you all there!