I’ve been thinking a lot lately about my relationship with the My Time serie, my ocs, and this whole little journey that somehow ended up following me for the past few years.
Before I start I do hope people who showed some disapointement toward me lately understand that this blog was never really meant to be a dedicated fanart account, but more of a personal space where I shared whatever I wanted to.
When I first made Sandara during Sandrock’s early access, I genuinely didn’t expect any of this. She was just supposed to be a fun little way for me to experience the game and share my playthrough like I always did when I got attached to a world. At the time it honestly felt very small and personal, almost like keeping a scrapbook of feelings and memories I could look back on later with this very blog.
Then little by little came the community around it. And I don’t think I realized at first just how much that would end up meaning to me.
Seeing everyone talk about their characters, their ships, their lore, all the tiny details they cared about so deeply, it made me want to create even more too. Some of my favorite memories from these past years are honestly just people rambling together about their silly little guys and create around them with such pure passion.
Even with all the drama and rough moments fandom spaces sadly tend to go through, I’ll always be grateful for the people I met and everything this community brought into my life creatively.
I think that’s also why this current period feels a little bittersweet to me.
A lot of the spaces that once felt lively and comforting have slowly changed over time. Some got quieter, some disappeared, some just don’t feel quite the same anymore. I know that’s normal. People move on, interests shift, life changes. Still, I can’t help missing that softer period during Sandrock’s early access where everything felt exciting and simple and full of possibility.
What surprised me the most through all of this is that these characters I made up never really left me afterwards.
Usually when I make an OC for a game, their story kind of ends once my playthrough does too. But Sandara, Menkya, Nan, and the whole Alaqa story stayed with me in a way no other characters really have before. Somehow they kept growing long after the game itself.
Part of me has thought about fully separating my fan lore and the Alaqa story from My Time entirely and letting it become its own thing so it wouldn’t be wasted. But at the same time, these characters were shaped alongside certain canon characters and relationships that became deeply tied to who they are. I could replace things, rewrite dynamics, even push Sandara fully toward her childhood bond with Nan I barely showed here, but it wouldn’t really feel the same. These characters were built through very specific emotional connections, and removing all of that completely sometimes feels like pulling out part of their souls.
I don’t really know yet what shape all of this will take in the future with Evershine and such, or how much I’ll continue sharing publicly versus quietly keeping for myself but I do know that these characters and this community changed me in a very real way.
More than anything, they reminded me why I loved creating in the first place: simply to make tangible all the little moments, emotions, and stories living quietly in my head.
And for that, I’ll always be thankful.