Ilandar

but I always had the impression you didn’t really like me

Not at all, I'm not sure why you'd think that.

Seventeen-year-olds, last I checked, were kids.

It's one of my favourites! I have a box set of the manga too. :)

The first character I created in the MMORPG Star Wars: The Old Republic back when it launched was an Imperial Agent (Operative) called Lastelle Ilandar. Lastelle is the name of the Princess of Pejite in Hayao Miyazaki's 'Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind' and Ilandar was an original surname I thought sounded good when paired with Lastelle. Because I played on a roleplaying server initially, I created a little backstory for the character where she was a daughter of a noble Alderaanian family (House Ilandar). Her family planned to marry off against her wishes, so she joined Imperial Intelligence as a means of rebelling against them. A lot of people use their nickname or gamer name as their online username but I've never had one of those so this has sort of become the default one for me, although I haven't used it that often.

Who said anything about five year olds?

They should, but unfortunately today's parents have been convinced that the world is extremely dangerous and that letting their children go outside to have adventures and build their confidence is "bad parenting".

I've been scared of animated movies about cute robots ever since WALL-E made me cry within the first 5 minutes.

I agree with you, not really sure why this film wasn't panned more. It's just another nostalgia bait reboot filled with derivative ideas taken from its superior predecessors (which is saying a lot, considering how bad Prometheus and Covenant were). Shit like this is exactly what that South Park memberberries episode was making fun of, and that was over eight years ago. The "you bitch" line was so forced it was physically painful to watch.

There's been a bit of a vibe shift over the last year as activity has dropped off and the instance has become even more of an echo-chamber than it already was. People are becoming more callous and less interested in multifaceted conversation as a result of events like the Gaza war. I was already debating whether I really wanted to be here around the time BanDHMO left, which was a big blow because they were one of the few posters who were not only enjoyable to discuss big issues with but also tried (often in vain) to steer those conversations in a less angry, reactionary direction. I was posting and checking in a lot less, I had a growing block list which meant the instance was pretty quiet, I couldn't branch out to other communities because of the sync issues...it was all getting pretty pointless. The Brian Thompson shooting was the final straw. I don't know why so many people here think that is something worthy of celebration but it's an absolutely delusional take and there was no way I was spending another minute surrounded by people who are incapable of criticising the victim and/or his profession/industry without simultaenously worshipping his accused killer. That news story sort of sums up the state of social media now, where so many people have developed these completely insane and extreme beliefs without even knowing it and suddenly the people like me who still believe murder is morally wrong and that vigilantism is not a solution to society's problems are considered fringe.

There are still some good communities and people here, don't get me wrong, but I don't intend to interact with the instance in any major way going forward so there was no reason to keep the account. Maybe I'll check in to some of the communities I still enjoyed on this new account, or maybe I'll just delete it in a few days. I'm not really sure whether I want to persist with Lemmy or social media in today's world, I just think it's getting worse with no end to the decline in sight. But I thought before I give up entirely I should at least see if it's any better when I can interact with a broader range of people from the .world instance and its many communities. Sorry to leave abruptly, but I didn't actually think anyone would notice since I wasn't particularly active.