General thought: it should be normalized for roleplayers to change their minds.

Whether it's closing a thread early, leaving a ship that isn't as fulfilling as you thought it'd be, or stepping out of a plot that didn't give you personal joy, or archiving a character that isn't vibing: it's okay to do these things! It doesn't make you a bad person. It means you tried something and it didn't go how you thought it would, or you agreed to something you later realized you didn't want to do. This is all very normal.

There is so much shame/fear sometimes about 'flakiness,' or being seen as inconsistent, or hurting people's feelings, when often the best thing to do for all involved is just say, as politely as you can, "I know this is what we were doing, and I'm sorry if this is disappointing, but I'd like to do something else now." You don't even have to give details! This statement is more than enough to bow out of something!

So many people either 'ghost' someone or pretend they like writing something they don't so they don't have to have that conversation, and it baffles me.

There is no nobility in writing a thread/ship/plot/character that makes you miserable. You don't owe anyone that, not in a pretendy funtimes hobby.

Thank you for coming to my TEDtalk.