For real, this time. Or at least, until further notice.

[Erk Mizuhara]

ACF is a community, a group of friends who share life, experiences and fun times with each other. As such, all members must be present fairly often.

I, unfortunately, am not. I can only come online three times a week (if that) for half an hour (if that). That's not a decent amount of time to spend here. It's just not good enough. ACF deserves better. More commitment.

So, until I can either get online more often at my library, or get my own internet at home, I'm leaving. Farewell, everyone. Hope to see you again soon.

[Mac]

-pimp slaps Erk-

WTF man. =/

[frank]

You've been here 4+ years, Erk. Good times, bad times, in-between times. Membership doesn't come with a quota of time required. WTH is that?

Like Mac said, "WTF man =/" w/out the **** slap, but with a swift boot on yer arse end. To help you think a bit more clear.

[Takai]

What the heck indeed? O_o Everyone understands that some members have school/work/family and other things that may make them visit less often. This isn't a place that requires people to throw away their lives and post away 24/7. You're being silly =/

[Dark Shadow]

Agreed. I have a different work and can post in the short breaks I usually take... you are just being unfair... in a sense.

reconsider and come back.

[The Guiltiest Gear]

Take care and cya when you get an ethernet i guess,but I do agree no need for alot of time to post any amount is good enough.^^;

[Sarah]

I'm not sure why you're leaving. :? Not for the reasons you gave, anyway. Of course, it's your business and I apologize, but it doesn't seem right to just leave because you can't spend more time here. I can't either.

[Elfina]

I'm sorry I didn't say anything sooner... I must have missed this. I'm sorry.
Mr. Erk, you're being silly. Although you're probably long gone by now, I still wanna say this.
I don't come here very much. Since I started dating Carl, I've been on here less. I've talked to frank about my not being here much, and he's assured (did I spell that right?) me that it's perfectly fine. I think you should come back, unless you have a different reason for leaving, but just didn't want to tell anyone. If you really left for the reasons you said, then you should come back, and stop being silly.
... I babbled at the end there, didn't I? >_<

[Hara Michiyo]

*joins in with mac and the slapping*

Sorry, but, don't go :(

But if you need to, then, we respect your decision

[Erk Mizuhara]

I have now decided to leave ACF for good. Things have happened at home that have given me cause to leave. I won't tell you those things, because they may seem strange reasons to leave, particularly since ACF has nothing to do with these events. Suffice to say, a piece of my life has broken; a piece I thought unbreakable. A part of my life is drifting away; a part I thought eternal. I cannot stay here, and deal with these home occurences at the same time. I must choose one or the other. I have chosen home. I have chosen my family. So, this is my final farewell. But before I say goodbye for the last time, I wish to say a few things.

First, I love ACF. It has been my home away from home; my sanctuary. A place where I could be among people who share the same interests. People who I could call friends. My decision to leave was a tough one to make, but in reality I left ACF a long time ago. I left when my life started turning in a direction I hadn't expected. ACF was an escape for me. A way for me to forget my troubles and problems. A way for me to ignore what was going on around me. A way for me to be who I wanted to be, not who I had to be. But now, I realise that I cannot think only of myself. I must think of my family, and I must be who they need me to be. A son, a brother, a shoulder to cry on, and a friend to turn to. ACF has helped me realise this, and has helped me prepare for fulfilling this role.

Also, I must confess to multiple accounts. I know other members have multiple accounts, but I feel the need to tell you of mine. I'm sure many of you know of Nino/Aiko/Uronakin. That account was made to feed my humour regarding Erk Mizuhara and his life problems. I also used her as an excuse to explore my sexuality. One or two of you may recall Aiko's flirtings with Jeff.
Another account I had was Mana. I'm sure some of you know her. I created her on my own personal mission to keep ACF free of perverts and so forth.
And now we come to the very interesting case of Elfina. I beg you to read this thoroughly before you make harsh judgements.

Having forgotten the password for Mana, and the e-mail account used for her, I decided to create another female user, for the same purpose as Mana. I had been playing a game called Elven Blood. In light of that, I decided to give the user an elven name. Saphia (of my own imagination), Saphina (of my own imagination), Aria (from the Eragon series), and finally Elfina (of my own imagination). I decided to use Elfina, and gave her a small background that I planned to develop over time.
So imagine my surprise when another user joined, bearing the same username, and even the same picture I intended to use for an avatar. Even more to my surprise, after reading her journal entries, her home situation was remarkably similar to the scenario I had planned for my Elfina. So, to those who know of my keen interest in her; there you have the reason. I had thought of using that character, and suddenly she appeared. I thought, at first, that maybe Mel had done it, since I spoke of it with her. Or perhaps I told a friend (I cannot remember doing this, though), and they decided to do it. Or maybe someone overheard me speaking of it to a friend, and they stole the idea. This belief was further fuelled when she gave herself a title similar to what I had in mind. It was bizzare, so I was keen to know more about this Elfina person. I am now satisfied that it was nothing more than a tremendous coincidence.

And now, something I have been holding back ever since Mac's Modding so long ago. I do not brag in saying this, nor do I expect any variety of comment.

Were it not for me, Mac may never have joined ACF.

I discovered ACF purely by accident at college. I was scouring the internet for anything remotely anime, to further fuel my fascination for the subject. At the time, that was all it was; a fascination. Not an obsession, or a hobby, or such like. It was a fascination. I stumbled upon a forum dedicated to anime and manga, among other things. I joined without hesitation, and told Mac of it that evening. The following day, he joined, too. Time passed, and I became the ACF Counsellor, by the grace of Hiryuu Megami. This was short-lived, however, as people began to distance themselves from me, and I asked Hiryuu to remove the title. This was a short time after Mac became a Moderator. Some time after that, Mac became the Admin and Owner of ACF. Thanks to him, the site has been regenerated and reborn, with new members joining often, and old members returning.
So, I take a private pleasure in knowing that this may not have happened at all if I hadn't told Mac about this wonderous site. I like to call myself 'The Unsung Hero of ACF'. A private pleasure for myself, and I do not expect anyone to encourage this.

Erk, Erk Mizuhara, Erk Sanada Mizuhara, Dagmari, Deathevn, Nikanoru, Enishi and Entity. All alter-egos of Erk Mizuhara. Nino, Aiko and Uronakin. Also me. Mana was another account of mine. I have had many names on this site, but I have always been me, though I have not always been sure of who I am.

Now some messages for certain members.

Mac, keep up the brilliant work with ACF. Make it better than the site I first joined. If you should ever need help with ACF, I will do everything I can.

frank... I know you hate me. I have known this for a long time, and I have no doubt that others know this, too. You blame me for what happened between you and Mel, when all I wanted to do was try and help the two of you, for I considered both of you my friends.

Elfina, I apologise if I may have upset or worried you in any way when I asked you about Facebook. Hopefully you understand now why I asked you.

Takai, GG, and Dyne... the three of you were my favourite ACFers.

Sano... Our friendship, if you agree that it was so, was not very strong. We had little opportunity to enhance it to anything beyond PMs. I regret not trying to.

Hara, I wish I knew you better. I feel that we could have been good friends.

Lady Vamp, thank you for encouraging (harrassing, rather) me to put my Zelda fanfic online. It has been greatly received. And also thanks for introducing to the Twilight books. They are among my favourite books.


Now for one last speech about ACF.

I have had a few friends on this site. Friends who I have talked with, laughed with, and even parted with. I met my first and strongest love on this site, who all but tore me apart. I met my second and most constant love on this site, who I almost lost to another member. I have had ups and downs, good and bad experiences, here, and I shall cherish them all. Even though the bad somewhat outweigh the good, I will treasure all the memories this site has given me. I will miss you all, each and every one of you. Even if I didn't know you, or get along with you, you all made ACF feel like my home. All children must one day leave their homes, and find themselves a new one. Now is my time for this. Though, I would like to think (as corny as this sounds), that I will never truly leave. That a part of me will always remain here. Be it in my threads, or those who remember me, or even my username on the memberlist. I know that a part of ACF will always be with me, and I hope a part of me will always be with ACF.


Finally, a request.

Mac, I would like you to ban Erk Mizuhara from ACF. That way, should I get the temptation to return, and sink into my old life, I will fail. I must strive forward toward my new life, and to be there for those who need me. Returning to ACF would be like shying away from all of that. So, please. Ban Erk Mizuhara. I would ask for complete removal of Erk Mizuhara, but I know you would never agree. So ban him. Please, ban Erk Mizuhara.


Farewell, ACF. Erk Mizuhara is gone for good.

[frank]

Yes. Well, that post was explanatory of many things. I do think it's rather inappropriate of you, however, to don a martyr's cowl while professing knowledge of my emotional motivations. Especially in a public forum, such as this. I prefer to not edit your remarks concerning an assumed guilt, apparently, that you have concerning me, as being inappropriate and even inflammatory, if not trolling, as your final farewell (of many) to stand and be counted for whatever value it may have by whoever.

You came like wind, and like wind you go,
leaving such a trail as the wind would softly blow
across the uncaring seas of Time.

A parting gift, my once-was friend.