Dear Followers, all 3,895 of you.
I'm just going to come right out and say it, I'm closing up shop for this blog again. I know this would be the second time I've said I'm going on a permanent hiatus, but last time it was for different a reason, this time I'm not likely to pick it up again in the future. Here's the thing,
I've been absent for about a month and a half, this is partly because I'm on vacation, which is why I said posting was going to be spotty for awhile but it's also because I've been doing some thinking. Truth is, I'm losing interest in being active in the fandom. It's not that I've lost interest in Star Wars, or my favorite fictional couple of all time, it's not that at all. But, I'm finding it's a chore for me to upkeep the blog by looking for content in the very active community Star Wars has.
When I started, around the end of 2012 it seemed to me that the characters of Anakin and Padme had fans, and loyal ones at that, but they were scattered around the net. My only goal, was to round up all the art I could possibly find for them and showcase it in a way that would show how much love people had for this couple, and the Star Wars prequels in general. I also hoped that when people saw a bunch of fanart for them, they would be inspired to do their own, or be reminded of the prequels again if they had forgotten how much they used to love it.
After a year or so of blogging, like a train engine slowly picking up speed, I witnessed fandom growth, on tumblr and other social media platforms, for GL's last three SW films and the recent Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated show. Year after year, more activity then the last. This now huge community, became a haven for fans and so many of them happened to be artists. It was a real surprise and delight that appreciation was merging with art. Fan videos, fan-fiction, fanart and just a plethora of things in general were getting uploaded everyday. Content you could find through tag searching was easily buried by new posts pouring in. I can't say for sure if I helped at all, but numerous blogs sprung up and it was like the voices of those who loved George's stories, embolden by other around them, decided to shout out their love too. Fans becoming no longer concerned of what geek media said or thought and others just tired of the constant irrational hatred against the movies.
But now that prequel appreciation has reached new heights of activity, the still-recent acquisition of Star Wars by the Disney Corp. is changing the atmosphere, at least in my view. New and different fans are jumping on board because they love what Disney will do with the property. Some fans who love all six films are positive about the future as well. But, personally, I feel the train stops for me here. New episodes or comics etc. may come out for my/our beloved couple, but the era of time I was in love with is kinda over. George is no longer at the forefront of his creation, or even credited by Disney going forward. Unfortunately, Dave Filoni doesn't have a huge role to play either. I have not watched Rebels, I've heard mixed reviews, but honestly, my radar is on Anidala. As expected, their roles are near invisible since one character is dead and the other will always be represented as Darth Vader if Disney shies away from telling prequel-era stories. I guess, truthfully I'm just not interested in what Disney makes if George is gone.
Now, I have stuck around for awhile, even after the cancellation of SW:TCW because the potential ending of our last source for new content didn't/doesn't deter me from fangirling over the pair. I could run this blog for as a long as I wanted, I've hoarded so much material. And even if nothing new canonically ever came out again, I would make or find more things to post, if my heart were still in it. Star Wars becoming disneyfied is not something I'm crazy about but this restless feeling I have is actually more about feeling like what I started out to do, has been accomplished.
There is so much love for Ani and Pad's now, so much for the prequels, and all this acclamation from brand new fans who came in after watching the animated shows. Maybe this growth sensation is a mistaken feeling, depending on you you ask and it's only an amplification because it's just easier these days for every fan to be active voices through easy-to-use social media. Regardless, the fan-base definitely feels alive and well. And now, It just no longer feels necessary to prove that A/P are well appreciated. Others have also set out to do the same and I'm so thankful for that. My personality is such that I want to begin new things in areas that seem empty or in need of repair, but when a task is complete, it's on to the next for me. For these reasons, I realize it's time for me to move on. It's also not fair to run a blog dedicated to what I love, with half-hearted enthusiasm.
So, it will be like before. kazaikos.tumblr will remain an archive, not deleted but not updated and my last update will be tomorrow. Heh, I never did get around to posting everything I collected, in fact I do have so much more, but for the past year or so, what I've been finding has been coming from tumblr anyways; or other platforms like instagram, facebook and twitter. Before, it was like scouring the net using word and picture searches and finding near-lost art on dead sites. I wanted to save and archive all of it before it was completely lost. Thankfully, with the trend of social media, it's easier for art to get an audience and remain afloat.
And as to this blog itself, there's maintenance I would have wished I completed before leaving, such as tighter tag organization but it's energy I don't have. Hopefully, all my posts are searchable. :P
Please don't feel the need to say goodbye again, if you already did so back in 2014, I don't mean to appear wishy-washy, coming back again that time was unexpected but I realized I had a bit more I wanted to do, this time it's final and hope to gracefully close the curtains. Much, much love to all those who followed and enjoyed the posts. I've enjoyed running the blog so much and salute the effort put in by the fans to keep the Anidala fandom vibrant.
You can still message me to this blog if you want, because I will still check my messages. I’m not gone as a fan, just as a blogger for this subject.
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