It’s sad, but it’s unfortunately natural for people to deny the validity of so many minorities. Hence why pride is SO important right now.

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Pride Month Has Never Been More Important Right now, I genuinely fear for transpeople in this country. For ages, they've been invisible. Who they are is known, and an alarmingly large patchwork of different creeds and perspectives have evolved to particularly take issue with any progress with regards to gender as anything but a synonym for sex. I believe in a future where there's no need for giving the component of human experience known as "gender" a word. I dream of a future where a someone would be genuinely confused if someone made fun of a man wearing a dress. Like, "Okay. And I'm wearing a shirt? Are you saying it;s an ugly dress?" We rise above. We end it. Right now, pride in who we are is important, and its important to hold onto it. While my closest friends no its a total facade, I present as a "straight white male." I mean, I assume people wonder because of various personality traits and my general atypicality, but that's as far as it goes. Am I straight? I don't identify as anything regarding my sexual orientation, but you don't still bitterly dream about a life with a man you thought you would be with and say, "I was just confused, lol." That dropped out of nowhere. Sorry. My point is, I present this way because honestly? Even though I scoff at the, "You're not allowed to be a straight white male these days" sentiment. As though being a straight white male doesn't give you insurmountable advantages, but then again, these days? I fear it won't be enough. You're a straight white male? Well, are you transphobic? No? Might as well be a social justice warrior. I also perpetually stay frustrated about my own gender. As a cismale, I'm closeted genderfluid. I'm thankful I don't suffer from gender issues to the extent my brothers and sisters who genuinely feel debilitated by the extent to which they both have to put on and respond in a way which would hide who they really are. I can deal with people assuming I'm a "normal man." I can deal with remaining anonymous in my vigorous and unflinching support for LGBTQIA+, and I'm fine with going along to get along, even though there is an array of feminine-gendered fashion and lifestyle choices I would enjoy. So, have you recently come out of the closet and now you got a partner with the same genitals as you? Be proud. Are you in the closet and you're staying there to survive in your current life circumstances? You're strong, and you should be proud of that. You're a transwoman, and now you're fully feminine-presenting? Be proud. Are you a transman but you're staying closeted for the same reason as they aforementioned gay person? That takes strength as well. You should be proud. Are you like me, and you keep the fact you struggle with gender problems you don't understand, you've been with both men and women, maybe you're pan, maybe you're asexual, so all you can claim is queer? You should be proud, because I'm proud. I've been posting MLP, Owl House, and Hazbin pride content all over the internet, I've been getting abhorrently hateful comments, and I continue to assert, celebrate, relish, shove it in their faces. I don't have to feel anything about being queer, but if you try and make me feel a certain way? It's gonna be pride. Sorry. Once again, Happy Pride Month. I may post more about pride month, but I had to post something as soon as possible.

There isn’t a new Helluva Boss season yet. It’s an only been announced it’s coming to Prime where Hazbin already is. When new Helluva Boss episodes finally come out, they will be released on Prime, and then be released on YouTube a month later.

I'm a Seasons 1-5 Kind of Fan As for the apparently long-discussed "golden seasons" since the show's end in 2019 (I didn't get into the show until last year), I understand the general consensus is that seasons 1-4 are generally considered to the the golden age. After that, I've seen an array of opinion on seasons 5-7, and most agree season 8 and 9 are the weakest. I'm a season 1-5 kind of person. Basically, I thought seasons 1-4 orchestrated an excellent execution in character and lore development with an overarching story slowly integrating itself, season 4's story arc leading to the confrontation of the ever-imposing Tirek and the succeeding erection of Twilight's castle. Season 5? I feel season 5 showed signs of actually choosing to continue on rather than maintain the status quo. First of all, the obvious villain was introduced in the opening, "The Cutie Map," except this time, we didn't haven an imposing or slithery villain, and that villain happened to be...a delightful unicorn. There was something different. Starlight emanated with, "I'm different." There was ambiguity. Ominousness. Complex moves. No reasonable intention can be inferred as opposed to pre-reformed Discord's desire for total chaos, Sombre's fascist desire for power, Chrysallis's obsession with terrorism against Equestria, and, of course, Tirek's unholy cryptid of desire for terror, power, and suffering. Remember in part one of season 5's finale? There was a subtle pan where Starlight wasn't even intended to be obviously seen or the subject. Starlight's mysterious but looming threat was genuinely unsettling. What did she want, and just how powerful is she? The (initially) indescribable personal feel to the battle between Twilight and Starlight was harrowing. Sure, the stakes were high in the war against Tirek, but Twilight vs. Starlight was a face-off. Now that we know Starlight, in hindsight, the face-off holds more weight. Two immensely powerful, complex, and passionate unicorns doing battle over the fate of Equestria, but this face-off was held through a time-loop above the cutie map. A map. The map, the cultivation of the mane six's role in Equestria's evolution beyond Twilight's destiny as a princess (and eventual princess of Equestria). Above that map, unlike the battle with Tirek in which Twilight saw Equestria at its knees, this face-off showed newly-ish Princess Twilight every harrowing potential timeline without Dash's sonic rainboom forcing her to confront just how arbitrary Equestria's fate is in the wake of an approaching new era for the land. What was that back story? Seriously? All imposition, ominousness, mystery, and seemingly deep layers to this new, truly challenging villain is reduced to losing a friend to a cutie mark manifestation? This leads into why I say I'm a seasons 1-5 kind of fan. Starlight Glimmer could have changed the status quo for the show's themes. In hindsight, I see why season 5 is seen as the rocky start to the show's decline, but up until the total waste of an interesting villain's backstory (who went on to be a great character), season 5's end could have been the perfect transition to a new theme. Reformation. Starlight's change of heart should have been extended, she should have had a stronger backstory, and we should have seen those feelings of love and friendship slowly grow and not manifest in a handshake with Twilight just because of an apocalyptic vision of Equestria. So, Seeing as how the changeling's return and Chrysallis's second, more exact and calculated attempt to take Equestria is the culmination of season six in To Where and Back Again, remember when Starlight extended her hand in an attempt at friendship with Chrysallis and Chrysallis turned her away? Imagine how much more power that would have had if Starlight's agreement to stop upsetting the timeline wasn't conditional on friendship. As if she was still hesitant to this "friendship" idea when Twilight extended her hand, and then when Chrysallis, a representation of the absence of love, turned Starlight's offer away, Starlight would then beautifully and tragically see the power of friendship. After all, there's an implied rivalry between Starlight and Chrysallis all the way until the end. We could have gotten more from that. Because season 5 seemed to be changing the status quo, in hindsight, season 5 simply shows signs of seasons 1-4's formula, adventures, and themes rusting, and it could have used this new villain and story arc to use old formula for a new era, but instead, we learned season 5 showed no intention of changing things up much. How could this have happened after season 4, a brilliant, seamless amalgamation of standalone episodes, story episodes, and a climactic, bone-chilling finale? I actually have more to say about what I would change about Starlight's villainy, but I'll share that in a later post. I've just been wanting to share my gripes with this particular story beat, and how disappointing it was despite such excellent buildup.

That being said, the complete and total lack of sobriety since around September has brought me to my knees. Forgive the extreme sporadicness and honestly crude sentence structure and lack of verbosity. This is just a "I'm back and I've been hurting" update, and I'm still not all clear in the head. My entire pony collection was sold for money, and I had to take a leave of absence from school. First five seasons, all the equestria girls movies, the 8-book collection including Princess Celestia and the Summer of Royal Waves, all mane-six cheap plushies and a Symbiote Fluttershy plushie, two video games based on G5, and various figurines. All gone along with basically my entire collection of other things such as Breaking Bad, Buffy, and over $1000 of Zelda games. There is a silver-lining. I am as close to being sober as I can be and I've almost quit (only THC 3-4 times a week, just can't cold turkey after also kicking alcohol and other crap), I've bought my way back into returning to law school this fall, I'm gainfully employed, AND My pony collection is now bigger than it was. Both the show and rebuilding that collection have grounded me and reconnected me with who I am. I went through a rouuuggghhhh patch. I was still seeing-ish a woman I should not have been with. I was constantly drinking, smoking, cross-faded 2/3 of the day. I lived on my own, and I told myself I couldn't be who I was anymore. I became (and still am) skin-and-bone, but now that I've went through this horror, I've come out knowing myself better. Turns out, and I'm not surprised, I'm high-functioning autistic, and the majority of my mental issues come from this after I finally broke down and vocalized struggles I had which I did not know how to articulate. I have everything from my collection besides some cheapo plushies I don't care to buy again (the company put wings on Rarity. I forgot Rarity was an alicorn, apparently, lol). I also have season 7, and season 6 and EQ Magical Movie Night are on their way to me. My Little Pony is SOOO special and its helped me explore myself as well as the Hellaverse, which I'm also obsessed with. I just wanted to post an update since I don't think I've visited this site since January, I think? So, I don't know when, how often, etc, but I'm returning to the forums, and it feels very good to be back in Equestria, because no joke, from September to around February, my life was Klugetown. It feels so good to reconnect with who I am and this show, which has actually become one of my favorite "things." When people ask me my favorite show, I always begin, "Well, My Little Pony, but that's just one of my all time favorite "things," and I'll say Breaking Bad, Owl House, Gravity Falls...and last and most certainly not least...Helluva Boss and Hazbin Hotel, which, if they maintain their current quality or better through the end, will also become one of my favorite "things" (It already is, right now, lol). It's so good to be back. I love you all. I will become 100% sober (about 20% soberer than I am now), and I could use all the encouragement, love, and support available. Thank you for your time.

Disclaimer: This post is based on observations and a general discussion I feel needs to be had. Its not coming from a hostile place nor is there a call to action. I also hope my language doesn't seem to vague or abstract or all over the place. I think readers will get the picture. So, it's been echoed recurrently throughout YouTube videos, internet discourse, and overall debates over fans' reactions to their favorite media being criticized constructively or otherwise. A good summation of their response is, "Go outside and touch grass." Listen, I get it. There's nothing wrong with critiquing works of art whether that be television, film, literature, video games, etc. In fact, I would argue its healthy. It's engaging to go farther than "I like this piece of media," or "I dislike this piece of media." It's also compelling to hear different types of critiques which provide a roundabout answer to various questions surrounding the media? What does it mean? Is that character/storyline/message problematic? Should this be explored? How does this fit in with our social climate?" Also, on a fundamental level. "Is this villain's backstory compelling? Was this storyline's pacing rushed or awkward?" I understand critiquing or even disliking a show for which I hold passion on a personal level and on a level of artistic appreciation (fancy way of saying I'm a fanboy). For example, My Little Pony? I understand there are fans of this show and other media that receive any criticism of their favorite show as a personal attack on them. The classic examples of retorts such as, "You just don't understand it!" Or "This show wasn't made for you, anyways!" Or even something suggesting their favorite show is objectively good, great, or even perfect. Trust me, I've become obsessed with My Little Pony, but I don't see critiques or criticisms of the show as personal attacks on me. Even when the criticisms are smarmy, pretentious, sanctimonious, etc, I might politely engage debate with the critic, but I'm not going to respond on behalf of the show as if I'm a defense attorney. From what I've seen on this site, I feel like 99% of fans share the sentiment. That being said...is it not fair to point out when it goes to far and does become a roundabout personal attack? Is there a point where declarations are made or generalized assumptions are asserted or even facetious jokes that take a step too far? What am I talking about? So, I love My Little Pony, and wouldn't you just be so surprised I'm also a massive fan of other pieces of fiction? Hazbin Hotel/Helluva Boss, Owl House, Gravity Falls, X-Files, Breaking Bad, etc. I'm a fandom guy and that's just who I am. At a certain point, though, I'm with friends and we're talking about things we all love. Two of my friends and I were talking about The Boys, another show I like quite a bit...not to the level of MLP, but I would consider myself a big fan. Also, they'll bring up shows both or either of them like, and I'll engage in conversation even if its something I don't like. For example, I don't like the Marvel movies? I recognize the artistic merit of some of them, I like some of the characters, and there are a few movies I could see myself watching again, but I'm not a fan. I'll happily discuss them, though, and both criticize and praise various qualities. I'll make my dislike known, but I won't go farther than that. On the other hand, if I start talking about MLP or Hazbin Hotel/Helluva Boss (three shows shows I receive the most negatively for liking), I can't really get a word in? Even if they claim to hear me, every three sentences there's a joke aimed at the show, and I'm present. One day, I even noticed a friend out of nowhere say, "What's that show you like? ****bag hotel?" And there's the constant insinuation that MLP fans simply must be perverted in some way. I even had a friend who's non-Christian say, "I hope the Christians win on this one" talking about Hazbin Hotel. Was he joking? Yes. Did I appreciate it when I can't discuss something I love with friends without supposedly playful bashing? Not at all. Am I being unreasonable? I haven't made these feelings known with these people, but what I'm talking about operates on both an interpersonal level as well as on a larger level regarding online discussion of such media. Sometimes, it feels like gaslighting. Why does it feel like a problem? People like me, and I'm sure plenty of people on this site, have an emotional connection with MLP and other pieces of fiction. Of course, not everyone will have that personal connection or take a liking to my favorite stuff. I'm perfectly fine with that. I mean, lots of people in my family love football. In my law classes, students are notorious for checking in on NFL or College Football, and I totally get it. I wouldn't be caught dead watching NFL, but I understand their appreciation. The athleticism. The competition. Celebrating shared victory with their favorite teams with their friends who have the same favorite teams, or even playfully rub their friends' faces in their team's victory over their friend's favorite teams. I might state I don't like football, and I might even go further and say, "I can't have much of a discussion with you about it because I know nothing," but that doesn't mean I don't respect it? When a small subset of unreasonable fans go out of their way to attack critics of their favorite media, it seems like those critics use it as reason for outright mocking and generalizing certain pieces of media and trying to trip them of any artistic merit? It just feels like there should be a difference between criticism/critique and outright mockery and bashing? To say, "Its just a show, I'm not attacking you" doesn't hold as much water when you're making generalized criticisms as a negative representation of the show's appeal and the types of fans it allures. Constructive criticism of my favorite shows often make me appreciate the show even more. The fact the show has reached heights it compels critique speaks to the power and resilience of the show. But just because you aren't technically attacking the person, I don't feel like its overreaching to ask people to comprehend people have emotional connections with the shows and fiction they're passionate about, so is it a ridiculous request to keep negative comments to constructive criticism, or even just criticism, instead of left-field and outright bully-esque assumptions about the show's popularity simply because you don't like it? On that level, it seems like the critic feels like the show is an attack on them when they don't have to watch it, comment on it, critique it constructively or otherwise. How do you feel? I admit for my own good or anyone else's own good who feels the same way that it would be better to have thicker skin. MLP: FIM wouldn't have had nine seasons, a theatrical film, and a spinoff series of films/specials (Equestria Girls) if the toxic mockery actually had an effect on the show. Hazbin Hotel wouldn't be the most successful debut for an Amazon show if its mockery affected the show. Its just that it feels like the there's a refusal to consider the possibility that while these pieces of fiction are fiction, they resonate with people emotionally. People care about these shows and each fan has their own unique relationship with it. Maybe I'm just ranting, and if I am, I hope you understand. It just seems like the, "Its just a (insert art medium)" is kind of gaslighty when you're criticizing a show for only being popular because of a negative generalization of the show's fanbase or mocking your friends without allowing them to express the positive influence their show has had on them. Would love to hear your thoughts? I could be overreacting, but its a pattern I've noticed when it comes to toxic division between different types of passions whether that be for sports, different types of media (as in, you hate shows like MLP but you love shows like Breaking Bad, a show I also love), cooking...I even have a friend who has a sincere and genuine passion for advertisement design and he's shown me details and observations which are genuinely compelling. What do you guys think? There's a roundabout thesis, here, but I made this post on a whim and I'm new to the site so I'm kind of just trying to get in the habit of engaging the community.