New Year's

The Beginning of a New Year?

The last two years have been interesting April Fool's Days for me. I've spent a lot of time in the prep stages, but been largely unavailable on the day of. For that reason I don't have a ton to report on today's actual activities-- though I know there was some names which got mysteriously melded, some shot-gun expert level "thievery" abilities, and some parties that ended with all of at least one player's items lost in the river. Hopefully you all had the chance to meet Rumpelstiltskin, frolic in Neverland, climb a giant beanstalk, and discover an underground ballroom, as well.

Some of you probably know the theories in regards to the history of April Fool's Day. Most people will tell you that April Fool's Day originates from a change in calendars, from April 1st as New Year's to January 1st. Those who stuck with the old calendar were 'fools'.
These theories don't account for some of the earliest references to April Fool's (which is referenced even as early as Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales", 200 years before the calendar change). I don't know of any more accurate origination, or if there even is a good solid reason for April Fool's day-- medieval Britons did love their practical jokes so.
What's fun for me is that April Fool's Day is the actually the closest thing we have to a New Year on NarniaMUCK. The game gets completely scoured and redone by staff-- turned upside down in much the same way old Europeans would do for big holidays signifying new changes (like Mardi Gras). RP is stopped for a full day while everyone steps back to explore a new game all over again. For me, there's a lot of fun and carousing, but I also miss RPing a bit, too. It's a reminder of why I love the players (you guys are so fun to goof off with), and also a reminder of what it is I love about the game (I did have a nerdishly great time looking into the history and reinterpretations of all those fairytales, but Narnia is such a full world with such a bright worldview-- even as it acknowledges real evil). When that 24 hours of carnivalesque hullabaloo is complete, the entire game is wiped clean. There's an end of the world feeling to it, as one by one each room disappears and all the players congregate in the last room, nonodding religiously, waiting to be purged, themselves. It is binding. It reminds me of the essentials (you). And then, I hit enter 3 times to let my client know I want to reconnect-- and there's good old Narnia, back for another year.

I've already written a blog about New Year's, so I won't write a lot more on another. Some fun things have happened already this year. I think you might start getting hints in your characters' daily lives of the exciting events going on at the castle soon. In the meantime, I look forward to the coming 12 months, and the next April 1st. Maybe I'm a fool, but I think it's going to be a good one.

<3 Ozm-- I mean, Anth.

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