4th Anniversary of the Kickstarter's Launch

Well, as I promised, my 4 year retrospective, though it's leaner than I would have liked...I don't quite remember everything from 2015. Curse my poor memory, and it's really something that irritates me more and more as I pass into my mid-thirties, but I suppose there's nothing to be done...

I was 26 and at the mid-point--the peak of difficulty--in getting my doctorate degree. Though it may surprise many to hear this, given my affable, cuddly demeanor amongst my friends when all is going well, and my consummate professionalism when trouble rears its head, I used to be a very troubled man myself when I was younger. Combative, aggressive, always looking for fights, consumed with a variety of extremely foolish prejudices (homophobia and misogyny, though that's a much longer story for another time, and not one most here would find interesting) for very foolish reasons...I was not in a good place.

By 2015, however, that had changed, and changed drastically--largely thanks to Castlevania. I joined the Castlevania Dungeon some time before 2015, not exactly on a whim (I loved the Castlevania games as much as the Fire Emblem games, which was my other main fandom and where I ended up causing some trouble due to my aforementioned foolishness). However, I grew more and more attached to the CV fandom largely because of the positive effect it started to have on me. Most Fire Emblem fans tended to be younger, and when I butted heads with people there, it tended only to reinforce my own foolishness. At the CV Dungeon, however, most folks tended to be older. I started watching how guys like Jorge D. Fuentes, Bloodreign, and Kurt Kalata himself (the proprietor of the place) behaved, and as I lurked, and eventually participated in discussions with them, I realized that all of them were far more accomplished and respected than I would ever be if I continued along my unhappy path. Jorge made fantastic music remixes, Bloodreign knew all there was to know about old-school games, and Kurt had made the most impressive hub of Castlevania lore on the web. One reason they did all this was because they focused on self-improvement and cooperation with their friends in the community rather than bitterness, aggression, self-pity, and wallowing in petty grievance like I was doing. Additionally, interacting with helpful, accomplished women like Shiroi Koumouri and Nagumo at the CVD was enough to knock me out of that stupid malaise of misogyny I was in danger of falling into. Getting more acquainted with the excellent work of Ayami Kojima and Michiru Yamane, two women without whom Castlevania would have been immensely impoverished, also helped, of course. There were other factors leading to my change of heart, but those, again, are stories for another day.

So I took the lessons Jorge, Shiroi, and others taught me to heart. I gradually let go of my negativity and took a much more positive attitude towards life. I learned the value of perseverance and community rather than self-absorption. And what do you know, both online and offline, I began to make a name for myself--a good one, this time. I concentrated on being calm and rational in discussions rather than abrasive, and I focused on learning all I could instead of stewing in my own anger. Online, this led to me being known as an interesting fellow people actually wanted to have around, someone who could either help in a variety of ways or eventually learn enough to be able to help with a project. Eventually, I had become respected enough to be appointed as a mod, where I quickly proved my worth and demonstrated the good use to which I had put what my friends taught me. Offline...well, to say I'm technically "Dr. Gunlord" (though of course I don't mention it much, and prefer not to) should tell you how well things went for me

Now, as grateful as I was to Jorge, Shiroi, and the rest of the CV Dungeon crew, it occurred to me that I never would have met all of them, and embarked on my fortunate quest of self-improvement, if it had not been for Castlevania. Thus, as the summer of 2015 rolled around, and I was enjoying the fruits of the education I received thanks to the CV fandom, I felt myself in a great deal of debt to the guy who made it all possible--Koji Igarashi. Yes, I know he wasn't responsible for the classicvanias, but he was very involved in SotN's development and headed development for Aria of Sorrow, which were my favorite CV games. It's thanks to him I signed up for the CVD, and thus thanks to him I got dragged out of what could have been a mire.

Thus, I'd been paying some attention to the "sword or whip" website he created, and when I found out it was his kickstarter campaign, I promptly paid up 500 dollars. I couldn't afford more than that, but I figured it was the least I could give for someone indirectly responsible for getting me out of a bad situation.

What I didn't expect, however, was to become so involved in the community.

When I saw a fellow named XombieMike posting a link to a fan forum, I didn't initially think much of it. "I gave IGA 500 dollars," I said to myself, "but who knows if the game will even be released. I just wanted to give him a token of my gratitude, but I'm well aware there's no guarantee he'll succeed. Well, even if Bloodstained turns out to be nothing, I'll at least have repaid him for all the joy I've derived from the Metroidvanias. Joining another forum, though...I'm already busy at the CVD, and graduate work keeps me busy as well. I dunno about that."

Well...I didn't think that way for long. I wasn't one of the initial members, but after a couple of weeks, I took another look at Mike's forum and saw that it had grown into a reasonably bustling place. "Huh," I again said to myself, "What the hell, it might be interesting. Not like it could hurt to join up." So I did--pretty much on a whim, this time. But as these things so often happen, my involvement took on a life of its own. A few days passed, and I engaged in more discussion than I thought I would. A few more days passed, and the community was growing at a quick enough pace that we needed new mods. Mike wanted some liaisons with the CV community, so me (and cecil-kain , by the by) were chosen. It seems my good work at the CVD had gotten his attention and made him think I was a wise choice, and if I'd like to say I proved him right ;D And since I had learned at the CVD to take community-building work, and establishing one's respectability amongst one's comrades, as matters of the utmost importance, I put as much time and devotion into my duties here as I did with the CVD.

And the rest, I suppose, is history. The CVD's not as active as it used to be, so even though it was the place (among some others) that turned me into the reliable fellow I am today,  it's now the Bloodstained fandom that truly defines me at the moment. After 4 years, hundreds upon hundreds of hours of work curating the community, solving interpersonal problems when I can, and generally looking after (and popon~ing at) a wide variety of friends here, this place is more or less my home. I've put enough of myself into it and derived enough satisfaction from watching it grow that I wouldn't have it any other way. Even if Bloodstained didn't succeed, I'd have four years of friendship to show for it. So the fact that Bloodstained is looking to be a success makes that some nice icing on the cake!

Though I suppose there's one ironic thing...I donated 500 bucks to IGA, as I said, to pay him back for contributing to a great improvement in my life. But after everything I've gained on top of that from you guys, it looks like I owe him even more now, haha! Well, here's hoping the time and effort I've spent as a mod has helped pay that increased debt ;D