Hey Happy 2020 a month late! Would it mean anything if I said I had been meaning to write? Yeah, probably not. Just like it probably doesn’t mean anything that I plan to write a bit more in 2020. I say that nearly every year.

That said though, I believe that with my New Year’s resolutions it will actually happen. Why is it different this time? This time I’m focusing on self-care in 2020.

Shawn has been deployed to Virginia for the last four, almost five months. He has another two months to go. My focus has been on pretty much everyone else except for me because of it. My clients. The kids. My family. My yoga classes/students. The kids’ schools. I’m the kindergarten grade coordinator (I thought it was for class coordinator only), and I’m helping coach Z’s basketball team. Between the kids’ basketball practices, Z’s swim lessons, G’s therapy, and my yoga classes, I’m beyond busy. And tired.

And then January happened. Remember how last January, I learned of my Dad’s heart surgery, got fired from PSLS, and dealt with Z’s school suggesting he not come back for kindergarten on the same day? Well a similar January happened this year, but it was in the same week instead of the same day. So I guess that’s progress? I don’t want to go into all of the details of what’s been going on, but the big three from the week were:

• I got the flu.
• G was diagnosed as clinically depressed.
• Z’s school once again suggested he find another school.

The following week, my side gig announced that the site is closing in March, so there’s that. At least that isn’t my primary source of income like PSLS was. While that’s a blow, it’s not tragic.

So as a result of that week, I’ve been running around trying to take care of G and find him a new therapist as well as hunting down a new school for Z. I am not fighting St. John’s this year, because I’m just tired of fighting them. I dug my heels in last year, but at this point, it’s just obvious they won’t deal with his dyslexia at all, even with tutoring. So, I’m done. We may be permanently done, depending upon which school Z goes to next year.

I’ve also been unbelievably depressed. I’m already on medication, and it is helping, but this is a lot for anyone to handle on their own, even without a tendency for depression. This is what has spun me into dedicating 2020 to self-care. I already had a couple of resolutions in mind before all this happened, and I’m keeping those, because those are also a bit of self-care.

Self-Care Resolutions for 2020

Read one non-WH40k book a month.
I love my WH40k Book Club I run with Jen. But, as I look at what books I read in 2019, only one book was not WH40k, and it was a book I received for review. As much as I love WH40k, I need to branch out and read some of my other unread books. I failed this resolution for January, but I did start a non-WH40k book at the end of January for February.

Play/Finish one video game a month.
I know this one sounds pathetic, especially considering that I used to review games for a living. However, with the book club and with single-parenting, it’s been hard to find time to play video games. The Switch has made this infinitely easier since I don’t have to be holed up in my office to play games on it. This one I did fulfill in January, which was Pokemon Sword. I have a game I’m supposed to be reviewing but haven’t because I’m a bad person, and that’s next. I’m debating whether that counts, though.

Go to yoga at least three times a week.
For a yoga teacher, it’s been hard for me to make time to practice yoga on my own. And it shouldn’t be, since I used to do yoga 4-5 times a week. But it is, and the busier I get with work, the easier it is to find excuses to not go. I need to make this a priority for several reasons. For one, I need to practice to keep my own classes fresh. Secondly, I need to practice to stay in shape. Whenever I’m steady with yoga practice, my craving for crap food practically dissipates. Yoga is flat out healthy for me. Third, practicing yoga is important for my mind. My mind is always so clear after practice. With everything going on right now, I need this more than anything and yet I’m having trouble going. I need to kick my own ass.

Write for me more often.
I’ve heard that the main reason why New Year’s resolutions fail is because the maker doesn’t set a plan. Saying “often” is not a plan. However, writing what I want to write can’t be planned. If I tell myself to write for me once a week, I know I’ll fail, because I know such a stipulation stints all creativity. It’s honestly amazing I’m able to come up with two daily dispatches a week for Cheat Code Central. That said, I need to get back into writing non-reviews on the Book Club site and writing, well, anything here.

So those are my goals, and they’re all attainable. I just need to stick to an exercise plan like I used to.

The post Heyyyyy A New Year’s Post in February… appeared first on CrunchyChocobo.

He’s not doing that. He doesn’t recognize all of the letters in the alphabet. It’s all due to his speech delay, which causes a delay in all language cognition. They recommended that I look into Preston Hollow Presbyterian, a school well known for helping kids overcome their learning differences. I have friends who have sent their kids there and they loved it. I’ve heard nothing but great things about it. It’s also practically on the other side of Dallas from where I live.

Needless to say, I’ve not been excited about the prospect.

If I could send him where Gabe goes, I would, but they don’t start until first grade. I had to get the ball rolling ASAP. They require a psychoeducational evaluation, a 4-6 hour test to assess where a child is in all subjects. Again, Zack is FIVE. I think it’s absolutely ridiculous to subject a FIVE-YEAR-OLD to this exam, but here we are. The earliest I could get Zack in for the assessment was April. I was calling in early February, for the record.

PHP let me know that they couldn’t guarantee a spot for him, which I understood.

And so it begins…

Before the eval, I went to a moms’ dinner with other Pre-K parents (I know, I was social. It was crazy!) and I talked to quite a few moms who were having similar issues. Well, similar in that the Pre-K teachers were recommending their child repeat Pre-K. Zack can’t repeat because he’ll be six in August. A few of the moms agreed to hold their kids back, but a couple refused. One mom said she was pushing her daughter forward to kindergarten and was looking at language therapists to help. Her daughter is behind with the alphabet too. At that moment, I turned to her, and asked if she thought it was ridiculous we were getting language therapists for kindergarteners. She laughed and agreed. That was the first time I said out loud, “It’s fucking kindergarten!”

Because it is! This isn’t fifth grade or even second. It’s kindergarten. Isn’t that when kiddos are supposed to learn to read? These are five- and six-year-old children. This is not supposed to be a time of stress and frustration. It’s supposed to be a time when learning is still fun. But here I am, stressing on my child’s behalf over whether he can hack fucking kindergarten.

After the eval, the psychologist said she thought Zack would do fine anywhere as long as he had speech and language support. All of that is extra at St. John’s, but it’s part of the curriculum at PHP. Okay fine, whatever.

Aaaaaaand I’m Done.

Fast forward to today. I can’t set up a formal visit with PHP until the report from the psychologist is in. I reached out to her and she said it would be another 2-3 weeks. That means PHP won’t see him until mid to late May. I paid the deposit to St. John’s before I got the news about needing to look elsewhere. I’m technically not in limbo about where he will go to school.

So today I officially said fuck it. This is all ridiculous, something I knew from the beginning. He’s going to return to St. John’s next year. No more of this limbo. No more of this waiting on others to decide his KINDERGARTEN fate. I reached out to Gabe’s language therapist and got her on board. Do I still think it’s ludicrous for Zack to need two therapists at this age? Abso-fucking-lutely, but I also need the school to way off my back about this.

If he is struggling in kinder, then yes, I’ll send him to Dallas Academy where they are fully equipped to work with delays and learning differences. But for now, the money I’ll “save” by sending him to a school where he won’t need extra tutors is not worth this stress. It’s not worth putting him in potential limbo for a school next year. It’s definitely not worth the stress I’m going to have next year trying to get two kids to school by 8 a.m. on the opposite sides of town when I have no husband able to help out in the mornings or a nanny. Do you know who will feel that stress more than I will? It’s Zack. I know parental stress bleeds into kids. It’s not worth any possible monetary savings.

Also? IT’S FUCKING KINDERGARTEN.

The post It’s Fucking Kindergarten! appeared first on CrunchyChocobo.

January 29, 2019 is a day that will always live in infamy for me. My first mistake that morning was to take a shower. While I was in said shower, I missed a call from my mother, who asked me to call her back soon. She said that “Dad is fine, but please call me.” Uh huh. Nothing good comes from those first three words. He had an aneurysm in his aorta that they need to remove. This means he gets the big chest crack. It’s not the most horrible news, but it’s not the best way to start the day either. It turns out, that was just the warm-up for the day.

Next, the Job

When I got into work, I was reveling in my Kingdom Hearts III review at PlayStation LifeStyle. I was still on a high from reviewing it and writing it up. My boss’s boss said he needed to talk to me, and I assumed (wrongly) that it was about the SEO manager position supposedly coming up in the corporate office. Instead, it was news that corporate was cutting my position. He said it was because of budget cuts, but I learned that afternoon that it wasn’t because of budget cuts at all. Because of the pageview performance of the site at the time, they laid blame on me, said what I was doing wasn’t working, and there’s no need for me to continue copy editing because there was already a copy editor on staff. Never mind the fact that I was this copy editor’s boss, and she uses the Style Guide I created from scratch. Corporate cares about none of these things.

The EIC offered me another position to keep me there, and I tried it for two weeks. On the last Friday, it dawned on me I was writing twice as much for half the pay I was making before. I was miserable, and I knew I couldn’t keep it up, stay sane, and keep my SEO clients happy. I do have my own business, and I have clients that actually pay me well. This may shock you, but writing about video games doesn’t pay well.

Next, the Kids

The 29th was not done with me yet. I had a parent-teacher meeting at my youngest’s school that afternoon, but I wasn’t prepared for what they had to say. While he is doing well there, they feel his speech is too far behind to do well at kindergarten there. I needed to look for a new school for him for next year. At that point, the dam broke, and I burst into tears.

I talked to one of the kindergarten teachers I knew really well to get a second opinion, and he concurred with the others. Evidently, this school expects the kids to be able to read by the time they leave kindergarten. Considering the youngest is still struggling with enunciation and recognizing letters of the alphabet, he strongly believes that the youngest will struggle to the point of needing to repeat. Since he’s going to be six this summer, repeating a grade isn’t ideal. Hence the need to go to a new school to get caught up and maybe come back.

I have started this process. I can’t believe I’m doing this again after everything that went on with the eldest last year. He’s already talking about switching schools again for sixth grade, so we’ll have to go through this yet again next year.

And Now, This Site

Because of all of this going on, I will be more active here, on this site. My reasons are two-fold. One, I don’t want to stop writing. Two, a friend has given me a really fun idea for continuing to write about games on my own personal site. I really want to give it a try.

But this time? This time, this is all for me and all for fun.

The post 2019’s Unkind Kick-off and Rebirth appeared first on CrunchyChocobo.

Life is funny in the way it won’t run according to your plans. Perhaps it’s a sign for me, personally, to not remain complacent with the way things are. I should be pressing onward and always looking for ways to improve or better the current situation. Or perhaps it’s a sign that I should be looking elsewhere with my goals.

The last couple of months have been downright awful. I’ve cried in public more times than I can count. I’ve lost a lot of motivation with my work, with my personal yoga practice, and at home. Instead of working or marketing or cooking, I’d escape to a video game.

This all revolved around my eldest son and his unfortunate problems at school. Some he brought on himself, but the school made everything worse when they attempted to handle it. I worked, at first, to get him back in school (he was suspended). Then I had to work to get him into a new school for the next year. Every day I freaked out when my phone rang, so fearful it was the school calling about yet something else. Once we finally had a new school, I had to get through the end of the school year. That thankfully ended last Friday.

But during that time, I spent all free time playing a video game. I didn’t cook dinner. I didn’t go grocery shopping. I didn’t clean the house. I barely did laundry, and even then that was only because the kids needed clean clothes for school. I couldn’t deal with anyone needing anything else from me. Each day I felt completely spent from all the stress and worry, and it was worse on the days I taught yoga.

I’m not entirely sure if my state-of-mind had something to do with it, but I’m no longer teaching regular classes at Super Yoga Palace. First, my Yin class on Tuesdays was canceled. Then this week, my Vino + Vinyasa class was canceled.

The manager told me Yin could come back in the fall, and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that that comes true. In the meantime, since my regular students really like Yin, they asked to come to my home studio at Chocobo Yoga to take Yin at the same time. They’ve been the biggest blessing during this entire trial.

But for the Vino + Vinyasa, I keep wondering if there was something I could have done to prevent its demise. Was it the time? Did I not promote it enough? Were my flows not very good? Was it because I was so out of it during most of that time? Was it because we accidentally broke the countertop the second class? (We fixed it too.) This has to be because of me, right?

It’s probably not my fault, but I can’t help but blame myself. I did completely check out in early April. My mind was constantly stressing over the situation with my eldest. I even had issues when I practiced on my own, because I couldn’t keep my head in the practice. I’ve been a complete mess, and I can see how that could have easily seeped into my teaching. I might not have wanted to take classes from me either.

So now the big question is, what am I supposed to learn from this? Am I supposed to wait and get my head on straight before pushing through with teaching yoga? Or am I supposed to look into other teaching opportunities? Was I always supposed to be looking to expand my yoga teaching? I really wish someone would tell me what I’m supposed to do now.

While I’m waiting on this epiphany that may or may not come, I need to remember to be thankful for my blessings. My son is going to a new school next year. I have lovely students who are willing to come to my house and pay me personally for a Yin practice. I know who my friends are. I have an amazing family. I’m healthy. I’m still able to practice yoga. I’m able to eat each day. I have a roof over my head.

Yes, this is a setback for me. But it’s not the end of the world. I have more than enough to keep my chin up and keep swimming.

The post A Setback for Summer appeared first on CrunchyChocobo.

I have gone nearly two months now without taking any ibuprofen. When I get a headache, rubbing my hands in lavender and deeply inhaling takes care of it, especially sinus headaches. When my bad knee swells due to weather or a race, I massage copaiba into it. It didn’t take long before I was into Young Living’s Thieves line, buying the Thieves hand soap and dishwashing soap. I run Thieves through the diffuser daily, and thus far, none of us have gotten winter colds.

It’s been a bit of a “so holy crap, my oil-obsessed friends and yoga teachers (especially the yoga teachers) know what they’re talking about with essential oils!” epiphany over the last couple of weeks. Do I believe they’re a cure all? Absolutely not, but they do help.

So this weekend, I decided to take the oil craze one step further—I made my own shampoo, conditioner, and dishwasher detergent. If the dishwasher detergent works, then hot damn, I know how to save our family money. I’m already thinking about making my own laundry detergent. I’ve already tossed out the dryer sheets for wool balls with a few drops of Purification oil blend. There’s no static, the clothes dry faster, and they smell amazing.

As for the shampoo and conditioner, my jury is still out on that. My hair definitely has some amazing volume, but it feels, for the lack of a better word, weird. I’m not sure if it’s an adjustment on my hair’s part, or if it’s not rinsing out well. Shawn said it just feels dry, which could be why it feels weird to me. I’ve never had dry hair in my life. I’ve found another recipe for DIY shampoo that’s supposedly more moisturizing, so I’ll see if that makes a difference. I don’t want to give up just yet, because I know that without the chemicals in typical shampoo, my hair and scalp are going through a weird “culture shock.” I’m not doing the no-poo method of baking soda and vinegar (I ain’t that brave), but the castille soap base has less than half the chemicals of traditional shampoo.

So hey, I guess I’ve stepped into the realm of the damn dirty hippies. Shawn is on board so far, because he sees the cost-effectiveness of making our own detergents and using wool balls instead of dryer sheets. I doubt he’ll let me make him shampoo, though.

The post Adventures in Being a Damn Dirty Hippie – DIY Shampoo appeared first on CrunchyChocobo.

Believe it or not, I did not like football at all until my senior year of high school. I guess being forced to watch every high school game every Friday (marching band nerd right here) was bound to catch my attention sooner than later. It intensified when I went to Baylor, where I was once again in the marching band. The crowd really gets you excited, even if you don’t care about sports. It wasn’t long before I started to want to understand the sport more, and just a few years later, Sundays were for the NFL.

However, by the time I got into pro football, my hometown team, the Houston Oilers, were long gone. Since I was living in Waco, my attention naturally turned to the Dallas Cowboys. I really liked Troy Aikman and Emmett Smith, but when then head coach Jimmy Johnson and owner Jerry Jones got into a pissing match, my support left with Jimmy Johnson. The more I learned about Jerry Jones, the less I liked him. I could not, and still can’t, support anything that man is behind.

My attention next turned to the Green Bay Packers, which I fully admit was because I found Brett Favre to be hot. It didn’t hurt that at this point in the Packers’ history, they were really good. The first year I was a fan, they won the Super Bowl. I definitely came across as a bandwagoner, but I’ve stuck with them ever since. Many of those years with Favre at the helm were pretty bad. Even this year is nothing to write home about. Here I sit in one of my Packers’ jerseys, watching Fox NFL Sunday, gearing up to watch the Packers possibly lose another game.

(They say Aaron Rodgers could come back in week 15, but at this point, why risk him getting hurt again? Don’t let Rodgers become a Romo.)

So that’s really it. I didn’t like football, and when I did like it, I didn’t have a home team. I loathe my state’s other team. Brett Favre caught my eye, and the more I learned about the Packers organization the more I liked it. I think it’s awesome the town owns the team instead of one individual. Is the town itself a little weird and trapped in the 60s? Absolutely. But there’s something quaint about it. Plus, how many pro stadiums sit in a neighborhood?

Also, the Packers have this nasty habit of NOT hiring criminals and women beaters. It’s the little things like that.

GO PACK GO!

The post Why are you a Packers fan? appeared first on CrunchyChocobo.

Sad thing is, it took a friend to bring me to tears to make me realize how I’ve stopped finding joy in things. How I can’t be happy unless I find that joy once more. Most importantly, how I can’t be happy until I’m happy with myself and where I am.

Of course, I can’t instantly become happy after such a realization. It’s been a bit of baby steps. I’m not going to stop reviewing and writing about video games, but I’m going to accept the fact that I can’t burn through a 60-hour RPG in two days. Embracing that alone has removed a load of stress off my shoulders. Rushing through games like that took me away from my family and cost me what little sleep I’m able to get these days. It also killed my enjoyment of the title. Gaming isn’t supposed to be rushed and crammed into a weekend. It’s supposed to be savored and enjoyed the way the player wants it to go. This player likes taking her time and doing every single damn side quest programmed in. Because THAT’s how I find joy in gaming.

I’ve also found joy in comics again. My fantastic friend Jen and I have always tried various writing projects together, but nothing has really stuck. This year, we finally found something we’re both incredibly passionate about. We started a comics podcast together, and that’s spawned into writing about comics. I forgot what it was like to do something simply because you have a passion for it. I used to be like that with my strategy guide review site, and I’ve lost that passion too. I hope to rekindle that in the coming year as well, which I hope will happen with changing my outlook with games writing.

Speaking of plans for the new year, I’m not going to make resolutions for 2017. Resolutions are stressful and anxiety-inducing. Instead of focusing on what I don’t have, which is pretty much what a resolution does, I’m going to focus on finding joy, love, and my passion. After all, as a friend pointed out to me, I’m never going to be happy long-term if I don’t have those things. Losing weight and fitting back into my pre-pregnancy jeans is a short-term goal that will bring temporary happiness. Accepting how my body has changed is the first step to long-term happiness. None of this will happen overnight, and it’s going to be hard to get there.

But nothing worth having isn’t hard.

It’s hard to find joy. It’s hard to be loving. It’s hard to find your passion. But once you get there, you realize how much more it all means to you because it was so hard.

If I have any resolutions for the coming year, it’s to continue finding joy and love. It’s to embrace who I am and my insecurities, and love all of it. No more pretending to be something I’m not in order to make friends. No more begging my friends to spend time with me. No more fearing what other parents say about me. No more stressing that I’m not part of the in-crowd.

There’s only me and loving who I am. It’s easier said than done, naturally, but simply starting this pattern of thought is incredibly freeing.

May we all find joy, love, and our passions in 2017 and years to come. May we all be as free.

The post The State of the Crunchy Chocobo appeared first on CrunchyChocobo.

It gave a boost to my anxiety medication that I didn’t think was possible. If I go to practice feeling upset or angry, I leave calmer. I’ve learned how to meditate and calm myself during panic attacks without medication. It’s been an amazing experience for me over these last two years when I started to practice.

Physically, I’m stronger than I ever thought I could be. I’ve gotten more flexible than I ever thought was possible. I’ve never been able to touch my toes in my entire life. One practice about three months in, I touched my toes for the first time. I nearly cried in the middle of class. Now I’m learning arm balances and I’m super close to doing a headstand. All of these things I always believed were out of my reach. With yoga I’ve learned that it’s never what I can’t do, it’s about what I’m not able to do yet. And most importantly, it’s about trying. What’s the worst that can happen? You fail? Well, now you have a goal.

A friend of mine is a yoga psychotherapist, something I had never heard of before, but it made perfect sense. Yoga has helped me with my anxiety; I know it can be helpful to several others too! Then it dawned on me maybe I could use what I’ve learned to help others. As I was looking into getting my own yoga psychotherapist certification, my friend told me her office was about to offer their own school on yoga psychotherapy. The first step is a 200-hour certification, which is required by all yoga teachers. But in this program, they bring in the psychotherapy and science behind yoga, which is fascinating. This 200-hour program is also just one step toward a 1000-hour certification to be a full yoga psychotherapist.

The program has been fascinating so far, but after a few months, I started to wonder if I could even be a yoga teacher. Could I stand in front of people? Could I help them get into correct poses? Could I create a practice that makes sense and flows? My test came with our annual family trip to Galveston. My sister asked if I would lead yoga in the mornings, and I agreed. Then I had a complete panic attack. I would have to create a practice on my own, and one for those who have never really done yoga, like my mom and my aunt. Before we went down to Galveston, I went through my class materials and came up with four practices with four different themes. I couldn’t believe how much I enjoyed that. But then I had to teach my family, and that’s when the real enjoyment set in.

My students started to drop out each day for various reasons, but my aunt stuck through it and she liked having the private practices together. It was an amazing experience, one that taught a lot about what I can do as a teacher, what I need to do as a teacher, and what I should never do as a teacher. The next time I had to get up in front of my own certification class to teach a practice, I felt calmer and more ready to do what I needed.

This. This is what I love doing, and I never would have thought that this is a plan God has for my life. I’m already making plans to start a business with private sessions after I get my certificate in February. I still love writing about video games, so until that goes away completely, I’m not going to look for life in a studio doing group classes just yet. But I have already talked to my own teacher trainers about the second step for psychotherapy, which will start in April.

I’m not sure how I got here from being a paralegal or even a Russian major in college, but I wouldn’t change a thing. I’m looking forward to officially starting this next chapter in my career!

The post New Chapter in Career Life: Yoga appeared first on CrunchyChocobo.

So last Tuesday, right before E3, my boss flagged me on IM to say he really needed to talk as soon as possible. As this was 8:30 a.m., I knew this couldn’t be good news. Which it wasn’t. Action Trip, the site that has employed me for over three years, will close down at the end of the month. At the end of June, I’ll be out of a steady-paying job. At the end of June, I’ll be yet another unemployed video game reporter and reviewer scouring for the precious few paid gigs that still exist.

Kind of a huge plunge downward from announcing I was the new Editor-in-Chief just two weeks before, huh?

At least I can take solace in knowing that the decision to close the site had nothing to do with my leadership. I hadn’t been there long enough to kill anything yet, and I actually had huge plans for how to move forward. I had brought in a couple of other writers, I had a plan for weekly and monthly columns, and I had an eSports writer ready to join the team in just a month after he returned from a photography tour. We were going to go places or go down in flames trying. Turns out we were just going to go down in flames.

If you follow me on Facebook, you probably noticed I went to E3 anyway. My boss told me to go on ahead and go, act like nothing is wrong, and do my best to network. The whole trip was already paid for, so why not head out to LA, play some video games, and talk to as many people about work as possible?

The trip was okay. It would have been 100% better if my head was in a happier place, but it really wasn’t. I was so happy to see my friends, yet I couldn’t help think that this may be the last time I’m in this hall, talking to these PR people, and hanging out with other fellow reviewers I only talk to via Twitter and Skype. Plus I had this crushing feeling of, why am I even here? Is there a point to me meeting with any of these PR reps? Taking up their time? Who else could better utilize this moment than I, as someone else has a place to definitely write for. As much fun as E3 was, I remained sad most of the time.

One question I’m getting a lot is, “what are you going to do?” Well, I don’t have a complete answer for that yet. I’ve been freelancing for PlayStation Lifestyle for the last few months, and the directors over there have said they want me to continue freelancing for them. There’s also a possibility that I’ll have Game Revolution work as well, where I used to write until I was transferred to Action Trip. But as I told my family, I’m keeping my fingers crossed any hopes in check. This is one unstable industry all around, from press to PR to developers to publishers.

I still want to write and review games, but I’m coming to grips to the fact that most likely, it won’t be all I’ll ever be able to do again. It will be a part-time gig, full of uncertainty month-to-month like virtually every other writer in the industry.

Thank God I’ve made that plan for yoga psychotherapy, yes? Although, I won’t complete that certification for several more months, so in the meantime, I’m going to look into getting a flat 200-hour yoga teacher training certification so I can perhaps offer private sessions as a business. One day, yoga will be my business, so why not get a jump start on it sooner than planned?

And of course, I’ll still write about games. I can’t NOT write about games. I love games too much, I love writing too much, I love the people in this industry too much, and I’ve just started to get good at it.

If it’s not too much trouble, please keep your fingers crossed for me as I see what freelancing I can drum up and still pay my bills and still be around for the kids. This is going to be one long and strange summer.

The post That Time I Was Editor-in-Chief for Two Weeks… appeared first on CrunchyChocobo.

Let’s…let’s just take a step back for minute, okay?

The reason why Deadpool worked wasn’t because it was rated R; it worked because 1) it’s Deadpool and 2) it’s something different. There’s no real rite of passage, the main character doesn’t achieve personal growth, and he doesn’t even try to save the world. Deadpool is a mercenary. He has no fucks to give about high morals.

I will personally not be pleased if Deadpool‘s success opens the floodgates for R rated superhero movies. We’ve already had one with Wolverine 3 announcement, which, okay, fine. Wolverine likes to slice up people with his claws, so I can see how the violence factor will add in to that. But the last thing I want is to see the Avengers go R. Or Batman. Or Black Panther. Or Superman. Or, God forbid, Captain America.

It’s not entirely because I want to be able to watch the movie with my kids. That’s a part of it, sure, but that’s not the only reason. I don’t want to see them go R because they don’t need it. Even with Tony Stark’s womanizing, they haven’t had to show nudity to get the point across along with several innuendos. Guardians of the Galaxy found really creative ways to express frustration and humor without the mother of all cuss words. The Dark Knight had so much violence, but they Alfred Hitchcocked it, making it worse because you DIDN’T see the horrible things the Joker did. You got the gist and your imagination took over. I’m already not too keen on hearing that a future X-Force movie will be rated R, because I don’t see how X-Force needs it either.

Looking back on my favorite superhero movies of the last several years, if they had an R rating, it would feel forced, like they were working hard for that shock value. Deadpool IS shock value. Hence why in this situation, it works.

Remember the movie Kick-Ass? It was rated R, and it was awful. It wasn’t awful because it was rated R, though; it was awful for the simple fact that it was awful. However, like Deadpool, a Kick-Ass movie would not have worked without this rating because that is what the comic was.

And that’s really my point; don’t make these comic movies something they aren’t. Don’t force them to be kid-friendly or hardcore. We don’t need every superhero movie to be suitable for kids, and conversely we don’t need them to make Betty White blush. We need superhero movies to be as true to the comic as they can, given the natural constraints a movie has.

We also need fewer Wolverine movies. Seriously, fuck that guy. Most overrated X-Man ever.

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