This is somewhat of an off-topic post, it doesn’t directly relate to roleplaying, nor is it something that’s unique to Argent Dawn or Warcraft in general. By most accounts however, 2020 has been a terrible year, with all manner of ugly societal issues making themselves known, and a pandemic that has kept most of us indoors more than we would otherwise be. It’s a stressful time for many, and that stress can carry over or even be caused by our hobby.
Unlike the homophobic behaviours put on Argent Dawn, I believe that AD’s mentality to people with stress, mental health issues, or IRL problems in general is pretty great. Almost every guild I’ve been in has been compassionate towards my anxiety or my depression, as well as understanding and empathetic towards the plights of others, and I hope that continues to be the case for myself and others going forwards.
The real point I want to get to with this thread, is that IRL comes first. OOC comes first. Regardless if you are a member, an officer, or a GM of a guild, your health and well-being comes above anything that happens on screen. People might be upset that their roleplay is cut short, but any roleplayer worth their salt should be more upset that the person behind the screen is doing poorly. If you need to take a break, if you need to step away, if you need to stop playing all together: That’s okay.
Maybe this thread is somewhat irrelevant to a lot of people, and it’s stating the obvious. But I’ve personally allowed myself to fall into the trap of adhering to expectations and standards that literally nobody is holding me to, and if this thread can help others realise that they are in that same trap, then I feel like it’s worth making.
Look after yourselves. Look after each other. It’s a rough time for everyone out there and a little bit of consideration goes a long way.