Well, it's officially over now...

[Emily Waverage]

I'm really psyched for those of you who got to spend your last pirate adventure with your friends, especially those of you who got to be reunited with old faces! The thing that had always made the game extra special to me was the awesome friends I had made along the way. I'd only come online a few times over the past year, but unfortunately, even though I logged in nearly every day over the last month, not one friend or guildmate came online. Granted, the vast majority of people on my friends list had been there since 2008 and 2009, but I still saw most of them around from time to time, so it seemed odd. I considered weeding out my friends list a bit since I was at the maximum so I could make some new alliances at the end and not be left alone in the final days... but when I considered the possibility that someone might come online for a last hoorah, I couldn't bring myself to do it. It was disappointing, but I'm glad I held out for them anyway. Would've always wondered if I had missed someone otherwise.

Anyway, I spent the last day before closing going to every island and taking screenshots of various locations and my favorite nooks and crannies. On the last morning, I spent some time soloing the Colossus flagship, something I remember getting really scared to do even with a crew back in my early pirating days, so it's become sort of a hey look at how far I've come I can do this by myself no sweat hobby. Sad to have done my last one ever. I used to be really scared of the Stumps, too, so I stopped off at Outcast and took down some of those bad boys. I visited Tormenta, defeating all the enemies I once avoided like the plague. My last morning was like a big... day of reminiscing and doing things I once couldn't do as a baby pirate and reflecting on how far I'd come.

As time neared its end, I realized I would regret spending the final moments by myself, so I went to Port Royal and lost myself amongst the crowd that had gathered. I thought the fireworks were a nice - but heartbreaking - touch for closing time. Can't imagine I was the only one who cried at that.