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I guess this has been a long time coming.

Before you ask; no, I'm not leaving Gaia entirely (at least not yet). I am, however, taking a step back.
Like many others, I've grown weary of the blatant greed that has infested Gaia over the past year or so. At first, I was more than happy to spend a little gcash here or there to help support the website I had been part of for so long; then it just became a lazy alternative, no longer needing to quest new items in the MP.

And... when I stopped to think about it... that was one of the biggest reasons why I've become such a lurker lately.

I used to get excited when a new gorgeous item came out and, after grinding posts, playing Booty Grab and drawing until my fingers bled, I would feel legitimately elated when that item would finally be mine. But now? Why bother to quest at all? Not when you can just buy everything from the latest 'sale' shoved down our thoats. Or, if the item you want isn't being sold, why not just buy up to one trillion gold and buy whatever you want? Suddenly that Angelic Halo's looking pretty shabby, isn't it? Want a D-Tail? Have 10! All it takes is your paypal address.

At first, I'll admit, it sounded really enticing. Everyone remembers what it was like as a newbie with less than 100 gold to their name. To be given the opportunity to bypass all that tedious grinding and make an awesome avatar was really tempting. But, really, it misses what Gaia was all about. Where's the sense of achievement? Where's the incentive to participate in the community?

There are a number of reasons why I haven't drawn much lately.The most recent reason was because I had moved out and started a new job and was too stressed/drained when I got home to bother hooking my tablet up to my laptop and draw anything. Though, I'd be lying if I were to blame my inactivity souly on the move. Every year, I posted a 'spam dump' collage of the commissions I had drawn for Gaia on my DeviantArt page and, each year, the size of those collages have deminished. My motivation to draw has steadily been decreasing ever since my country gained access to gcash. Where's the incentive? Gold is practically worthless now and I could just buy the new items I wanted if I so desired. Heck, I was recently offered several billion gold for a commission. If that had happened a year or two ago, I would have pounced on it, in spite of the subject matter not falling within my usual shop rules.

Even though I have made some wonderful friends who still chat with me every now and then, there's a reason I'm never the first person to post in my shop now. I don't want to have my shop on the front page taking up space, when it's not open for business. There are still some amazing artists willing to draw for gold and I don't want to take business away from them.

Anyway, this is long enough as it is, so I won't keep rambling on. Bottom line; I am closing Dew Drops indefinitely. I hate being spammed by announcements and having my wallet drained when all I get back is a lack of motivation.I haven't decided to quite entirely yet, so you can still chat with me via PMs or on my profile if you wish. I will still check back regularly, but I don't intend to be overly active any more. If I decide to open RLCs on DeviantArt, I will add a link to my profile.

It's been a blast, everyone. Catch you later.
~Cy