2016 Positivity Thread (Good things that happened, you came across, etc.)

[Apollo Chungus]

Within the last couple of months, 2016 has widely been considered one of the shittiest years in recent memory, mainly for being a year of (to quote Jim Sterling) "political upheaval, death and tragedy and uncertainty and fear." However, as valid as all of that is (and please don't debate the how and why here), this thread is for posting up the good things that happened in 2016.

Good things that happened in your personal life, good things that happened somewhere, or even just coming across good pieces of entertainment; all are welcome here. This isn't to say that 2016 wasn't a shite year (for many it was, and rightfully so), but more to say that even in a year as terrible as this, good things still happened and you can find good things that make you happy enough to get through the metaphorical stormy weather. With that said, I'll list a couple of things, and maybe post more at a later date. Have fun!

Games:

Destiny - Yes, I finally got into this game after years of hearing about it. And you know what, it's really good. The gameplay is really satisfying, the story's pretty decent (bolstered by a voice cast that features the sexiest voice Dee Bradley Baker has ever mustered), Bounties and Strikes encourage me to come back to the game every day; it's just a very good game. I'd honestly say it's Bungie's best game since the original Halo.

Wolfenstein: The New Order/The Old Blood - I can take or leave the decent gameplay, but my love for these two games has everything to do with the storytelling. I love the conversations between the many characters you come across (including the surprisingly heartbreaking background conversation where a drunken Nazi has an existential crisis about not being able to protect any of his children or descendants from harm). The scene where BJ and Set Roth discuss religious faith and certainty in the face of Nazism contains a line I adore so much that I've taken to using it as a personal mantra whenever I'm feeling down. The facial animations convey so much subtlety that I was often convinced these were real people I was interacting with. God, the people behind these games' stories deserve a big damn medal; everyone of them.

Personal Things:

I started uploading music I composed onto Bandcamp, and have actually made money from it. For the first time in six years of producing creative things, I've actually profited from it. The feeling of seeing that receipt showing how much I've been paid is indescribably amazing.

Attending a Film & TV Production course at a local college, I've produced about four or five short film scripts and have even filmed one of those scripts. I don't think I'm terribly good at what I do (mainly due to being stupidly self-critical of my work), but the fact that I've done that at all is awesome.

(On a side note, I've also come across the soundtrack to It's Flashbeagle, Charlie Brown, and it's surprisingly really good. This song in particular is utterly delightful.)

[Monkey Destruction Switch]

...To be honest, on a personal level, this was a very, very good year for me. Not because anything particularly amazing happened, because nothing did, or I had what I would consider any especially noteworthy experiences, because I didn't. But just because, especially during the latter half of the year, I've finally made serious progress when it comes to my own emotional and psychological issues. Even though they're far from perfect, they're way, WAY better than I used to be. I used to hate myself and feel unhappy most of the time, and now...well, I don't. I would actually describe myself as at least somewhat happy. Overall, I've gotten infinitely better at managing my own emotions, which used to go WAY out of control at the slightest provocation. Overall, I'm actually almost stunned thinking about how awful my issues used to be, and how much better they are now. I'm still not satisfied with myself and I still have many issues, but they're so comparatively manageable compared to how I've been for...well, my entire life. Another extremely good thing about 2016 is that I feel like I actually have some good friends now, which is amazing, honestly, because I've always struggled socially.

[MightyRay]

Well 2016 gave me two good things. Being able to meet my partner not once but twice in the span of a year! He came out to Oz in June and him and I spent two weeks in bliss. I then came went over to NYC to visit him and his family for thanksgiving and again it was lovely. I wish he and I could be together for good and not have to rely on bloody skype or save money for expensive trips overseas to see each other but I'll take what ever I can get.

As for art... I think I've been improving bit by bit... I've noticed that my poses aren't as stiff as they used to be and that my style is becoming more flexible, able to draw different characters that I would have had trouble with even last year. I still need to do more backgrounds though.

Pokemon Moon is fucking great. Gamefreak really refreshed the game and gave everything a new lease on life. I really like the NPC's especially Lillie and Hau. Such sweetiepies! Gladion is much better as angst ridden doofus than Silver could ever be. (That guy was so annoying.)

So yeah... That's some of the happy things that happened in my 2016.

[Nepenthe]

Good life things: My mom remarried and is the happiest I've ever known her, and Dad is amazing as well (<333). I graduated from SCAD finally and held my first job however briefly. I've gotten slightly more interest online for my art from people, and in general I'm bettering my art, costuming, and networking skills. Went from having my Mazda 3 repo'd to being gifted a practically new Lexus ES350 within a week. Been getting some more fashionable clothes and feel better about myself, and discovering I absolutely fucking love sweaters and Jordans. Got some awesome plushies to give my room more character, including a limited edition one of Dashie. Have gotten closer to my sister and am warming up to babysitting my nephew, which is a miracle considering I don't like kids at all. Super bonded with my brother over the year. Discovered a love of escape rooms. Also, I basically fulfilled all but one New Year's resolution, so coolies!

Good media things: Zootopia and Moana, Kung Fu Panda 3, Civil War, Kubo, Trolls, Arrival, Rogue One, Overwatch, Last Guardian, Breath of the Wild reveal (holy shit), Pokemon Sun, Captain Toad Treasure Tracker, and still stunting on people in Mario Kart 8. EDIT: Oh yeah, and Thunderbolt Fantasy.

[Lucid Dream]

This year was pretty great for me personally. There were a lot of great events and things I did with my mother, that includes travelling to another country and traveling across beautiful scenery in the UK. I've also improved a lot as a person, in many ways, and I'll focus on that.

First off all, I finally decided to get my hobbies sorted. I decided to prioritise my favourite hobbies and do them, reducing my hobbies from something like 12-14 to 6-7. Much more manageable and now I'm much happier being able to dedicate my time on what I completely and entirely enjoy. But, beyond that, I returned to having gaming and reading as a hobby. Both were things I've neglected in the past, and I kinda regret doing that. I really love gaming and I enjoy it so much more now. I've also developed in my hobbies well. I passed my grade 5 music and music theory exam, and I did a History essay on a topic I love as an extra subject over summer. I did my Grade 6, dunno how that's gone yet though. 

One of the most important changes in my hobbies was me (finally) starting my figure collection. I've been saving up for 5 years for this, waiting to see if this was actually a hobby I want and will not regret, because of how increadibly expensive figures are.I really love and enjoy my figure collection. One of my favourite hobbies and I'm extremely happy with it, even if it eats a lot more time than it should. 

It's pretty personal, but I've developed a lot in my relationship with my friends and myself. To put it briefly, I've decided to stop deluding everyone and step outside my comfort zone. I've also accepted myself more, and I literally dreamt my dream in life. Well, it was a false awakening, so I likely knew it already. I guess I just accepted it.

I've had problems with studying but I've finally got my game plan down, and it's working. I feel like with more consistant hard work, I can get into those top universities. Even if I have to take a gap year for it.  

Oh yea, I also joined this place this year and became a big Sonic fan again. That was something positive that happened too  

[Boomer]

This year's been pretty fun for me. I finished my college course in Games Design in June and then I went to Walt Disney World for the second time this year over my 22nd birthday where I also did a behind the scenes tour. It was great to catch up with @Felicia ✂ and his family again soon.

I also went to Disneyland Paris again this year as a Twilight Zone: Tower of Terror Bellhop, so many people thought I was a cast member  - the actual cast members loved it!

I also went to a few conventions this year. I went to MCM Glasgow and met up with @Joy which went well. I also went to the Official Star Trek 50th convention where I met Christopher Lloyd

I then met up with Joy again just last week and we saw Moana with a mutual friend, I need to head back up there again soon.

I also saw my New Year's resolutions through, especially to learn my bass. I've now my name on a tribute album too with @The Eleventh Doctor

Finally I got my first tattoo this year

[Big Panda]

Good things in media...

Zootopia and Kung Fu Panda 3 are my two top movies of the year. Movies that are also not far off the mark include Finding Dory, Moana, Kubo and Fantastic Beasts.

My game-related highlights for this year mainly revolve around Pokemon. Sun and Moon was really great, as was getting to play the Gen I games again.

And on TV I got emotionally wrecked by "We're on a Bear Hunt" earlier this week.

Personal life...

I guess that I reached my own personal milestone of colouring a whole picture with Copic markers for the first.

[KHCast]

Kingdom Hearts 2.8 went from skeptical in the eyes of the general public, to really fucking good looking due to all the trailers for it. 

World of Final Fantasy happened and gave me a big ass smile with it.

And in terms of real life stuff, I had my first music festival experience which was fucking awesome! Trying to plan next years, but agh money lol

[Cobalt_Bolt]

This year for me has been rather mixed but since this is a topic of positivity let's dive into it.

Personal/professional front:  I finally have a full-time job at a different company after being a part-timer for two years at my previous place of employment so that makes me feel rather good about myself.

Film front: It has been rather good as I've purchased a Blu-ray player earlier this year and snagged quite a few things to play on it (ie, Star-Wars I-VII, Zeta Gundam, LOTR Extended editions) plus I managed to see Rogue One within two weeks of opening so the film front was quite healthy.

Gaming front: I've managed to snag quite a few good games on the PC this year ranging from indies such as Owlboy to AAA games such as Forza Horizon 3. If I were to go any deeper I would have to post in the Video Games section of the forums.

[Yoko/葉子]

I am getting a new home. 

I entertained my niece, whom is a huge priority.

Watched the entire second Godzilla timeline with mom.

My first game may start production, soon. 

My interest in Kinoshita-sensei's manga has helped me as a person, even more.

Not long after a voice actress I love the work of perished, earlier in the year, I started a writing project in Yuko Mizutani's honor. 

I learned that I can sing in Japanese, in the same style as Mamiko Noto. 

I had tons of birthday wishes on Facebook. 

*can't say for personal reason 

I found an interesting image. 

[Pompadour]

On a personal standpoint, 2016 was better for me than 2015. I finally got the medical help I've needed physically and psychologically for years, and I can't recall the last time I've felt this okay on a day to day basis; It's just been a relief being able to walk, go out, and just do whatever without it feeling like my body is about to collapse from stress.

I've also been pretty happy about my art. There's still more I need to push myself with, but I'm just glad I can look back and say "Wow, I made a lot of progress this year!". My biggest wish is I'll do even better next year regardless what ups or downs may await.

As for media... Games I had been excited about finally came out this year and I enjoyed all of them very much. Up until then I hadn't sat by a console in ages, so being able to once again brought back a lot of nice feelings for me. I even got into a new series (well, new for me) that has really helped make the stressful parts of this year more enjoyable too. Regardless what happened this year, I'm able to look back on how much fun I was having anyways, and I'm very thankful for that.

So with those things, some new friendships, and an improved outlook on my life and health... I'm more content than I was just a year ago.

[SSF1991]

I got a rock.

Does that count?

[Hiki]

[removed]

[Mad Convoy]

Honestly, this year was fantastic on a personal level. I graduated high school with an IB Diploma this year, which was very exciting considering how many hours I've devoted to getting it. Got to go to a special brunch that the school organizes every year for the seniors, as well as the graduation ceremony. Then my family and some friends got cupcakes! Yummy!

I also got into my dream college and spent my first semester there. Its every bit as good as I thought it would be for me. My roommate is super nice and tolerant of my lack of organizational skills, which is great.

As for games, I got Sonic Colors DS, which was really fun.

[sonicgirl313]

I might sound like a broken record for saying this but Transformers. Basically the whole franchise in general. I know it may seem odd for me to suddenly become this huge fangirl that constantly geeks out over the franchise these days, but I do so because how the franchise led to a chain reaction that helped me. Some time early this year, I had slipped into deep depression. I was desperately missing my deceased dad who died nine years ago. I was forgetting what he looked like, what he sounded like, and the things we did together; and it was deeply disturbing me. Because of my depression, I ended up waking up early in the morning before dawn. One day I was browsing channels, trying to find something to cheer me up. Then I saw the Transformers was on. I recalled mildly enjoying the movies and a few series and decided to give it a watch.

From the first episode I watched, I felt myself overwhelmed with joy. So I continued watching and watching, episode after episode each day. I starting learning about the characters, laughing at a few moments, humming a few notes from the theme song. The more I did this, the more I noticed that the show made me feel not just any kind of happiness, but I happiness I had with my dad as a child. I admittedly felt like my dad was alive again and enjoying the show alongside with me. It was then I decided to embrace that feeling. I began doing researching for stories, watching the many different shows, watching every movie, collecting the figures, and so on.

That's why 2016 is so memorable to me, it's because of how a franchise manage to help me pull myself out of depression. Now I can't wait for 2017 to see the movie and more.

[Kiah]

2016 has been absolutely the worst year of my life and I have been adamant in expressing that for reasons I won't be getting into due to this being a positivity topic, of course. But despite that there has definitely been some positive things that have happened:

2016 marked the 25th Anniversary for my favorite character of all time: Sonic the Hedgehog. While there were no major games to coincide with the anniversary there were plenty of events, announcements and merchandise to keep us Sonic fans occupied (and broke). I can't recall everything that I bought as far a 25th merchandise but it includes plushies, books, hats, comics, figures...As for the day of Sonic's 25th Anniversary, my niece, 3 nephews and I celebrated by having a Sonic party complete with Sonic goodies galore including chili dogs .

After waiting a year, Sonic Boom made it back on the air with Season 2. I'm really enjoying it so far amid its improvements and I'm glad that I have the opportunity to make my takes on each episode in the Sonic Boom cartoon thread like I did with Season 1 as I really enjoy doing this .   

While there were absolutely no video games that was interested in 2016 (I think this is the first year since 2010 I haven't bought a new video game), it is going to be a totally different story in 2017 due to the announcements of Sonic Mania and Project 2017 back in July as I've been hyped for both since the initial trailers and my hype for Sonic Mania has increased with every new discovery .

Zootopia was an amazing movie! I've honesty lost count of how many times I've watched it as it is that awesome and hasn't gotten stale in the slightest.

On more of a personal note, I got a new niece back in February. Her older 2-year-old sister calls me "Auntie", and out of the 6 nephews and 4 nieces I have, she is the first and only one to call me that (aside from the baby who isn't talking much yet, they all call me my my nickname that the rest of my family calls me) so hearing that was like music to my ears.

I was able to attend a professional pre-season football game for FREE back in August courtesy of my boss giving me 4 tickets (I invited 2 of my nephews and one of my managers to come with me). What made this more sweet in addition to me being a big sports fan is that I had an opportunity to do this the year before but I missed out due to a terrible car accident that had me stuck in traffic for over 4 hours so I missed the game so this was an unexpected and unbelievable second chance I got here. Even better as my team won the game . 

For the first time in my life I am living on my own as I managed to get my own place back in October and the peace and quiet I am experiencing and enjoying is absolutely priceless. Right after I moved I went to North Carolina 2 of my really good friends' 10th Wedding Anniversary party to find out it was a "family only" affair and I was invited because I am "family". That made me so happy and feel so loved as they as well as their family have always treated me as such.

My baby brother got married at the end of October and the wedding was beautiful and very festive. I put up a picture from the wedding in the Picture Thread here. Speaking of pictures, I had my biggest photography outing ever as I took over 700 pictures (something else positive is that I've gotten back into taking a ton of pictures again as I slacked off recently and photography is my favorite hobby so I'm very glad to get back into it again). I definitely had a field day with my camera and then some! It was great to be around friends and family and to see everyone so happy and enjoying themselves. Especially my father.

Regarding my father, I have mentioned several times here that he is currently battling cancer. He is doing a lot better recently and is staying busy and has even gone back to work full-time. He recently bought an antique car and is really enjoying it as well as being in better spirits and having more energy. Aside from feeling total relief, this makes me so happy as the happiness of others means so much to me. Especially that of my family.

All of these positive things here definitely helped counteract a really rough year for me as well as gave me something to smile about and memories to always cherish .

[SSF1991]

13 hours ago, King of KFC said:

Does this post count?

I certainly hope it counts more than the unnecessary snark you replied with. Because it was just a light-hearted joke.

[Zaysho]

12 minutes ago, SSF1991 said:

I certainly hope it counts more than the unnecessary snark you replied with. Because it was just a light-hearted joke.

Meanwhile, King of KFC actually attempted to contribute to the thread. How about you let this go? This is not the thread for slapfights. If you're having a problem, report it.

[PaddyFancy]

There have been a few bad things I can say about 2016, but when I stop and just think, this year wasn't that bad.

I had a few good holidays away and had lots of fun. One big one in late July I went away on the longest solo holiday of my life so far, taking a week away to London. During that trip I attended a splendid Pet Shop Boys concert in the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.

I met a friend I knew online for 8 years in person for the first time and spent the day together (including a tour of the stadium of his favourite football team).

Visited two heritage railways and travelled on my favourite type of train, and even travelled in the cab of one.

Finished that weeklong trip to London with another concert, the David Bowie tribute concert at the Royal Albert Hall, with famous stars such as Marc Almond and Neil Hannon of The Divine Comedy performing.

 

Returned to London again in early September and the friend I met in July we met again and we hanged out again. This time spent going around the Science Museum then going to a pub to watch the Chelsea v Swansea match which came to a draw, and drank in the Dublin Castle, the pub the band Madness are famously associated with.

Last half of the year has seen me get back into proper railfanning, which saw me going places to try and see specific trains. Found how good my iPhone is for videoing trains so accumulated quite a few nice videos.

Perhaps the biggest thing for me this year was getting into a job, which although its temporary for now, I've been at it for 4 months now and its still going. Its a fairly simple manufacturing job but I'm really happy to be doing something and earning money for it. Hope it leads to a permanent position.

So yeah, for a personal level 2016 hasn't been bad at all.

 

 

[Graystripe2000]

1 hour ago, Zaysho said:

Meanwhile, King of KFC actually attempted to contribute to the thread. How about you let this go? This is not the thread for slapfights. If you're having a problem, report it.

Not everything has to be serious or be a giant wall of text to contribute to the thread, you know. 

[Mr Loopone]

While the year hasn't been great for me in fact its been stressful to put it lightly, at least that I can say some positive things did happen this year as it is a positive topic. Not much big things but plenty of little things.

Firstly was that in 2015, I was incredibly worried about my dad as in that he kept collapsing and fainting so early this year, we went to the hospital to get it sorted out and turned out that he was fine since the thing that caused him to do it, he no longer does it. My dad has been mostly fine this year, just with a few coughs so that's good.

A realisation happened. After 4 years of depression, I have started to move on from the bad eras of my life [ex-friend, high school] and starting to get better despite the odds. Someone really pleasant helped me earlier this year after mentioning the cause to her (that I'll sadly miss), just like Silver here got better for cutting ties with a friend that was a mean jerk. It took until recently though before I started to get better as all sorts of bad events happened shortly after and the good old SSMB has been making me better. From helpful posts from helpful members to that BOUNCE PAD stream to reading the Roleplaying thread, seeing Marcus Fenix using his lancer or Lupin being his goofy self cheered me up. I've have been more active on SSMB since 2015 was a no show for me (I thought the forum closed down) and even got to talk to some great people this year. A bad event here caused me to be closer to here and realise that you know here? It's quite good. 2017 will get interesting is all I can say at the moment.

2016 hasn't been a great year for new games for me due to being in a different demographic but it isn't to say that nothing came out. Rather that one of my favourite companies in gaming and the reason why I play games to this day has decided to strike up and gone back to their roots. That being Sega. Two important games from them, one being the release of Sega 3D Classics Collection and the announcement of Sonic Mania. It also shows how passionate the fans were, begging Sega Europe to release it and surprisingly they did. Physical too. They didn't have to do it but I'm glad that they did, sure it was a poor seller but the goodwill that the release generated is a stronger emotion and hopefully release Final Stage. By launch date as in 6 months after the US and nearly a year after Japan, I got Sega 3D Classics Collection. A collection made with passion that you don't seem to get anymore. Games that developers wanted to work on such as Galaxy Force 2, Thunder Blade and finally after 10 years or so, the International release of the Fantasy Zone 2 System 16 remake as well as Puyo Puyo 2. The first really good home version of Power Drift, pushing the 3DS to its limits and used wizardry to pull it off. Oh and a decent version of Sonic 1. I honestly enjoyed playing Fantasy Zone 2 and Maze Walker a lot more than Resistance Retribution during the holiday season. When the only complaint is that they forgot the Maze Hunter 3D ROM and perhaps a sound issue, you know they did good. Sonic Mania is going to be my first ever Steam game that I will buy. Studiopolis light up my eyes the first time I saw it in (lights, camera) action and Mirage Saloon shows that it isn't a fluke. Sure I've got a few concerns about the game however I just know that it is going to play great, perhaps the best Sonic 2D platformer in years.

If new stuff can't please me, what about the older games? This year I got myself a 360 and new cables for my N64 so I've been getting quite a fair bit of older games, a few nearly 20 years old! I have got to experience plenty of games and series too such as the Gears of War series, even enjoyed low rated games such as Turning Point: Fall of Liberty and Duke Nukem Forever. Also managed to beat 93 games, my personal record. For someone who isn't good at games, 93 games is a lot and really pleased to do them.

As for movies I really enjoyed Captain America Civil War, smiled the way through and was pleased as punch. Also Bastille Day, Ice Age: Collision Course, Deadpool and Star Trek Beyond, I had some entertainment from them and liked Ibris Elba's role in two of them.

[Celestia]

I've tentatively started being more open about personal stuff with friends this year, which always feels nice (if a little scary at times). Honestly I could probably dedicate a few paragraphs that would ultimately sum up to "I love my friends," so I'll leave it at that.

As for media...well, let's see. Gaming wise, I think the most pleasant surprise for me this year was Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight. It's a fantastic action platformer that I'd recommend to anyone looking for something challenging, but not unfair. Also the art style is gorgeous.

Meanwhile I've been getting more into anime and manga this year than before, which has been, uh....interesting, to say the least, but mostly good! I'd sincerely recommend Shimanami Tasogare, an LGBT-focused manga that's extremely good so far. It's probably the most "serious" manga I've seen that focuses on LGBT characters, but while it can be heartbreaking and emotional it's not what I'd call depressing either? It's just (relatively) more grounded in reality than uh...well, all the shoujo ai stuff I've also been reading... :V I fuckin' love that stuff too, mind you!!

-

Also!

1 hour ago, Operationgamer17 said:

Not everything has to be serious or be a giant wall of text to contribute to the thread, you know. 

I agree, but just posting a quick, sarcastic one-liner doesn't really contribute much? It isn't asking too much of anyone to expect more than that, and it's not like we're treating it as a huge deal either. Unless someone does it constantly even after being warned, we don't strike or ban for non-contributive posts that are otherwise harmless.

Staff didn't even feel the need to say anything in this case until Donnie fired back at someone who replied to him. Again, if he had a problem with that reply, reporting is the way to go. Speaking of:

17 hours ago, King of KFC said:

Does this post count?

If this was intended as a snarky jab at Donnie's post, I'd like to warn you that sort of thing is against the rules. Jabs against other members are just gonna derail things...as demonstrated here. (That said, I read this as literally just joining in on the joke, but it's kind of hard to read intent online so...I guess it doesn't really matter at this point, huh?)

[Kevin]

2016 was much better for me personally than last year. I managed to get 6 trips in and already have more lined up for next year. Having SoS make a comeback and getting to see everyone there was such a treat and is definitely one of the biggest highlights for me! The July 4th holiday weekend was also one of the best ones I've ever had due to being able to spend it with a very close friend of mine and even she had a great time as well!

Last year, I managed to lose 50 pounds and this year, I've successfully kept the weight off and even gained some muscle mass due to getting some weight lifting in while doing my usual walks everyday. Everyone else in my family looks and feels great too!

News-wise, I'd have to say two of the biggest things that stood out to me were sports related stories. The first being Leicester City winning the Premiere League back in May and the Chicago Cubs winning the World Series in November, thus ending their 108 year drought. No one expected either of these teams to go all the way!

[Danj86]

Hmph, odd. I recall stuff that have been good this year but when I open this thread and start typing, I can't remember any of it...

I mean, I've made people smile, but does that technically count as a good thing for me?

I got a new computer which was good, but it was to replace my old one that broke down, which was bad. While I enjoy games, none of them have ever made such an impart to me that it stands out from the rest of that year. I've been to more events but I'm still lonely and have no close friends to hangout with...Nothing special about the media or manga either. I did get to meet some actual Japanese people though, that was nice.

...ugh...I've been sitting here thinking for the past thirty minutes...I'll submit and comeback later.

[Hiki]

[removed]