Monster Masquerade NPC Statement

05/10/24, 1:35 am

Hi everyone,

I'm the Mod who has brought the Monster Masquerade Mascots to life as NPCs for the past five years.

The NPCs were originally made solely to give love to, and donate items to the Giving Tree, at most giving a heads up in Live Chat. Hoping to help alleviate some work, I took over that job from Krisgoat during the year of Vampirella and Mothman, and it was my idea to turn them into actual characters that members could say hi to or ask questions to.

What started off as that small idea to do in my free time turned into something that a lot of people looked forward to every Monster Masquerade. It was a lot of fun, and I have tons of great memories of it.

Eventually, however, it became a very heavy workload. On top of my normal site work and the additional task of approving entries for Monster Masquerade, I was playing as characters for hours at a time, 3 times a week. As fun as it was, it was also very exhausting to do. Answering questions and staying in character wasn't all there was. I started to receive many questions or be the focus of conversations that made me very uncomfortable. I'd receive many flirtatious remarks while in character from members. Members would also verbally berate the characters in order to see how they'd react. It became very taxing on me mentally to play as the mascots, but I continued because it brought the community so much joy.

When it was brought to my attention that the mascots were no longer enjoyable, however, I knew it was time to say goodbye. I know that there are many who are upset by this decision, or would like us to rework the mascots, and believe me when I say that no one is as saddened by the end of NPC Interactions as I am. The truth is, the mascots have become more than I can handle, and this decision has come after three years of deliberation. There is not one sole reason for the decision, but rather many reasons that have finally become enough that a decision had to be made.

I'd like to address some of the concerns of Big Bad Red as a character. Big Bad Red was intended to be a gloomier character like Graveyard Groom, who many people seemed to enjoy. She was intended to be shy, lack confidence and struggle with her new status of 'monster'. Overtime, she was meant to blossom and become more confident and realize how loved she was by both the community and her friends, as well as accept herself. Many of the mascots I portrayed tended to have character arcs, such as Vampirella loosening up, or Phantom Maestro and Deathly Growler rekindling their friendship, and these first two NPC meetups were only the beginning of hers.

Big Bad Red's struggles were never intended to be taken as an allegory for mental illness, DID or any other real world situation. Red's struggles with being a werewolf were always intended as just that, a struggle with a fictional scenario. As a person with mental illnesses that are often vilified myself, I take great care to handle discussions of mental illness with respect, and I would like to apologize for the confusion and hurt at Red's portrayal.

As of right now, NPC Interactions will not be making a return, not this year nor next. I want to thank everyone who made these Live Chat visits so fun. It has been an honor to be your Mascots.

From myself, Vampirella, Mothman, Pumpkin Pirate, Sweet Bat, Ribbon Mummy, Graveyard Groom, Phantom Maestro, Deathly Growler and of course Abyssal and Big Bad Red: Thank you all, and have a wonderful Monster Masquerade.

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