My Silly 5AM SS13 Thank You Thing.

[Benjaminfallout]

My name is Benjamin. I love pixel art, role playing, and being a huge nerd.
That being said I was happy to find SS13 a few years ago. It had everything I listed and even more.

A somewhat complex system to learn for all departments, a mostly friendly community, forms full of stories and guides to learn from, and most importantly it was a great escape for the real world for me.

I found the game a year or so and I've dumped a laughable time into it. Over 2000 hours in total and 1800 of them being on Paradise alone.
I've lived, I've loved, I've cried, and I've had my fair share of fun stories to share. Both embarrassing and impressive.

I can still recall my first round ever playing.
I was a janitor named James weasley. I join just after the round started and did my best to fit in. As I said it was my first round so I was still learning the controls and trying to find out how the heck the hands worked. I cleaned the halls and chatted with a few people. I wish I could remember her name so I could thank her since she was why I didn't quit the game. I told her I was having a hard time with the new job and she just told me to keep trying and that everyone "was a janitor at some point"

To be honest it may seem like nothing but coming from toxic games on PC it was both extremely kind and encouraging. It shows how much a simple act of kindness can do. I played for a few more round and changed my name to Benjamin Betterwater and later Jessica Betterwater. I loved the fact that actions and conversations that happened in past round would be cannon and it encouraged me to act like a person. I kinda take pride in all the history Jessica Betterwater, now known as Jessica Connor, Pretzel, and all other of my snowflakes have. The stories I can call that no one will ever experience in the same way I did.

How Jessica fought a rage cage and beat down any and all challengers. How a skeleton came out of the shadows to fight me for my soul in the ring. How I won and got a neat crown for my efforts.
How she talked down a xeno queen and convincing her I was also a queen since we could both have children.
How She cut down half of the station with a chainsaw just to be brought back for round two by another traitor.

and with all the storied I gained I also gained friends to go with them. Logan Connor, Beer, Moi, Amy Page, Winter, Boris, "Boris's Sister", and many more have been permanently engraved into my mind. Each names bringing both a smile to my face and tears to my eyes.

The plan to kill the Chaplin with a fake wedding turning into true love to only turn into the slow and painful realization that the love was born out of adrenaline and poor dissension making. All taking over a real life year to slowly fall apart with more stories then I could ever tell.

How a brand new IPC walks into the bar to ask the bartender that a doughnut box was and leaving after making a new life long friend and thinking that pianos hurt organic livers. Then needing to break both SoP and Space Law as an IAA to keep him and his family safe. Telling her father figure she didn't want to speak to him when she was normally overwhelmed with joy to see any of her friends.

How her sister and brother where forced to watch a demon talk to her and freak out when she talked back. The demon only asking her to draw a flower and being super nice to her as they freaked out. How this demon became a friend she talked to even when she knew he wasn't around. A voice in her head telling her to stay safe and tell her friend he said hi. I can honestly say the Forgotten One will be something that I think of for years to come.

Beer in someone both Pretzel and I looked up to. Both a father figure and a mentor. I showed my love for his character and his kindness by making him a bunch of lame art. Something I loved doing on the forms. I would actually post something then constantly check my phone to see what people would think of it. It may sound stupid but people giving me the little hearts and the dancing rainbow guy used to kinda make my day. I'd share screenshots and my ideas for the game and I loved it when people told me they liked it or would even go on to improve my idea with me. It both make me feel like a leader and a possessive addition to the community.

Overall Space Station has been a wonderful and life changing experience that anyone and everyone can contribute and learn from.

I've been gone for a few long months and I'd love to come home, grab a plate, and stick my fork into our little slice of Paradise.