I've been gaming literally as long as I can remember. I'm 33 right now, and my grandma (who babysat often) had an NES. We only ever played Super Mario Bros. 3, but still-- playing with her is one of my earliest memories.

If you're in this subreddit, you know as well as I do that the DS franchise is amazingly rich with lore. While you have to dig for pieces of the story by reading item descriptions (thank god for VaatiVidya), a lot of the story is occurring all around you IN GAME. Like how Old Demon King, the last remanent of a demon race that once defied Gwyn himself and even repelled an invasion by his silver knights, struggles to even stand when his HP is low enough. Or how Gael leaves pieces of his red cloak (which is a sign of honor among the Slave Knights) around the dreg heap to guide you to The Ringed City so that you can kill him, and bring the dark soul to the child in the painting.

DS is a franchise that, if you really pay attention to it, evokes intense emotions. Being able to share that with someone that relates and has also paid attention is amazing.

But then there's Co-op. Holy fucking shit there's co-op!! I had played through the game 3 times before I knew that there were designated subreddits, discords, and such made for the explicit purpose of finding people that want to travel this fantastic world with you. I quickly found a few people I regularly play with, and we just took turns navigating each other's playthroughs so that we could beef up our respective characters.

And even if there wasn't that rich, fan-made, co-op-encouraging environment, there's still everyone else that's sharing the world with you. While the area beyond Pontiff's cathedral has the highest risk of being invaded, the many times I've bumped into and had full-on gesture conversations that spiraled into hilarity there still make it one of my favorite areas in the game. And there's that time most of you can probably relate to when I was about to get stomped by an invader, and then a mad spirit randomly decided to be on my side and even escorted me to the next area. Or any of the other times where I invaded into a full arena where NO ONE was fighting. Everyone was just hanging out. Shit like that happens in this game all the time and its AWESOME.

On a more personal note, I've turned to this franchise in some of the darkest moments many times as a means of escape. And while spiraling into a video game for 10 isn't the healthiest way to handle to depression, being able to play through this world with other people that appreciate the world as much as I do oftentimes got me through the day. That is, to got me to the next day.

So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for sharing this world with me. Ya'll really are awesome!