That's a hit right in the gut. Vitoniz was one of the few unconditionally good people here. In fact, let me something about him with you.
Before I made my main characters leave Sirius, they contacted the Order to get rid of the bounty on them, simply to leave with a clean slate. Vitoniz was one of two to answer the comms and agreed to a deal, where I would give the Order data on the Sci-Data weapons and a nomad/infectee database and in return, the bounty would be removed. We wrote a few posts but things took longer and longer because of RL issues on both ends, so at some point in 2020, I wrote my leaving post and stopped playing the game. While we didn't get to finish the RP, not even remotely, really, the bounty was still removed after I left.
Vitoniz was one of the people who avoided drama on the forum and instead focused on being positive. He saw the positive things in people, and reinforced that in his own way. He sent me Merry Christmas messages via PM, completely unexpected and out of nowhere.
When he knew that RL was giving me tough times, he also sent messages titled "Just hello!" and asked me how I'm doing, saying he was a bit worried about me as a person. He also sent a private Thank you message when I made a birthday thread for him.
When I left, he sent me a final goodbye message via PM.
In a community of people who go hostile at each other over pixels, rumors, miscommunication, trolling and jealousy, he remained positive to the end, through and through. When he logged into the game, he didn't do it with ulterior motives. He wanted to have fun with people, not give people a bad time. I will always remember Vitoniz as Humanity's Shield in this community.
I wish him a peaceful sky. I regret we hadn't much time to know each other a bit better.
Words escape me as I struggle to express the sorrow these news brought me. Little as I knew you, the sole fact of your courage commanded respect.
It wouldn't hurt for many to learn the very same courage.
Покойся с миром, защитник Родины - ты приблизил воцарение над Украиной мирного неба.
Peace, being the distant dream it is, comes inevitably, and goes hand in hand with justice.
Cursed be the war.
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Fuck.
He really was an innocent, caring guy who didn't deserve any of this. No one deserved it.
I really feared for the him when he said he was in Bakhmut and the following silence after the last messages between us. Yet despite how terrifying it was, he was still brave. I still can't understand how or why he was able to be so strong.
I only really talked to Vito for a brief time while we're both active playing the Omicrons before the rework and while I might not have always agreed with him on certain subjects, he always remained one of the more pleasurable people I've ever interacted with and really did not deserve any of this bullshit this war has brought along with it nor the certain remarks from select tactless assholes.
Rest in peace, Vito, worlds worse off without ya.
As for everyone else from our little community who followed in Vito's footsteps, good luck out there and try and make it back to us in one piece.
I have no words. He was a good guy always willing to help others.
Fuck war.
Why are you reading this? Don't you have something else you'd rather be doing? Why are you still reading this? Go out and explore, trade, fight, pirate, or even die thanks to SLRC autopilot. You're still here? What do you want, a poem? Fine. Roses are red, violets are blue, I lose the game, and so did you.