A Farewell

[Combat]

(Warning, this post contains spoilers to Pokemon Reborn, and touches on some difficult subjects. If neither of these things are for you, I’d advise you to leave.)

 

I guess the only way you describe this is closure? I’m not really sure.

 

Hello Reborn community, this is Combat. You might remember me, or you might not. Chances are you won’t, it’s been a good few years since I was really active on this website. I hope all of you are doing well and general stuff like that. Seeing that this place is still around after all that time is a good sign I’d suppose.

 

Honestly, I never expected to really come back here again, but a little bit of my anxiety wouldn’t shut up about Reborn. It kind of felt like I just disappeared one day, which is exactly what happened. I was part of a beta test for a new version and lacked the willpower to grind up a team to fight the water gym. So I left, thinking I would avoid spoilers that way, and I never really came back.

 

Time passed and I would occasionally come around, posting things in the status bar to see if my “astonishing” sense of “humor” would get any attention, but it really didn’t. Not that that mattered though, as o was usually coming around to pick up the newest version of Rejuvenation. Frankly, I had kind of given up on Reborn as a game and stuck to Rejuvenation, which thankfully had a difficulty slider. A few weeks ago, I decided to give Reborn another shot, and with the help of the sandbox mode to even the odds, I plunged back in.

 

And then I watched Corey kill himself.

 

In the time between my two playthroughs of Reborn, which was two to three years, I’ve grown as a person and have had events occur in my life. Corey’s suicide had much more of an impact now. Suicide is a touchy topic for many people, and in media, it has to be handled very delicately. It was around this point that I realized something, something that made me feel a little sick to my stomach. I realized Corey had been a real person.

 

According to most sources, Corey had been a member of the Reborn roleplaying community who had killed himself in real life. Now while I’m well aware that you can’t really trust anything on the internet, I’ve never seen anything suggesting this isn’t the truth. Memorializing someone in a video game is actually a very beautiful thing to do, but in the case of Corey, it feels like a slap in the face. What’s worse, the least likable character in the game makes fun of him instantly after his death, and having a trench coat wearing ghost make us watch it again makes me feel a little ill.

 

So that’s why I’m done. This is my grand farewell. I would have liked to have left on a slightly more cheery note, but I really can’t consider the circumstances. A part of me really hopes I’m just overdramatic, or that Corey’s death isn’t even a real event and was made for drama's sake. I’ve had good memories with Reborn, but as life goes on and circumstances change, things change. Events like Corey’s virtual death become more meaningful. I understand that what I’m saying might come off as blasphemy, and if a moderator or an admin chooses to lock or delete this thread, I’m fine with that. I don’t believe I’ll be coming back, at least not as Combat, and it won’t be to download Reborn.

 

This tread really isn’t much, is it? In a way, it’s not for anyone but myself. It was almost like a weight has been affecting me for a while now that can only be vanquished by saying “I’m done” and walking away. I guess if there is anything to take away from this, is to know that life will get better. Even if the world seems set against you, and it doesn’t seem like there’s any hope left, suicide is never the answer.

 

I wish all of you a good night and hope you continue to prosper. As for me, I think I’ll be logging off for good now. I had a good time Reborn, and I met some incredibly nice people while I was here. Maybe we’ll cross paths one day, in a different branch of fate.

 

Peace!

 

-Combat

 

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255

[Gham]

Hey Combat, we all deal with certain topic and issues in different ways. I think in todays society, while I'm happy we are all striving to be more accepting and put a foot down on toxic behavior, some fail to realize that someone having a different opinion than you doesn't equate to someone has to be wrong and someone has to be right: so don't think you have to apologize for thinking anything.  Sorry you had to go through this experience, a valid experience I might add.

 

I remember when I first read the dialogue between the water gym leader and Titania, the topic of killing yourself because your life was a lie really hit home for me (and the beautiful soundtrack didn't help). 

 

Anyways you're prob gone by now,

 

-Ham