Hey. Sadly you don't receive messages, so I'll just have to send it here.
I'm glad I've read what you've had to say. You really are admirable and worthy of compliments.
Ironically, I've read this post by complete accident, as the Geno thread is the only link Google gives me ready from having visited it a month ago, so I usually end up here only to switch to the S-E thread. As you may have guessed, I dropped out of this thread. While Geno was not my number 1 pick, I too would have been happy to see him in the game. Heck, Mario has been my favorite videogame series since I was 2, no f-ing joke. And given that the main source of news was here, I came here to discuss the possibilities of other characters as well as Geno, but I felt a lot of backlash for not being faithful and not being 100% pro Geno and stuff. Not only that, but being called out for even suggesting to consider facts that might be bad for our character (heck, even mine has been under fire, but I prefer learning the truth anyway). And a lot of it had to do with this person and some of his/her followers and such, blasting me for simply trying to find out more about the DLC, even if it wasn't what everyone wanted. It felt like a cult, honestly. And this extreme negativity and sensitivity has made me leave this place, as well as even feeling bad for even being an admirer of Geno. I lost a lot of the hype I was feeling for him as well. Bc like it or not, the better part of the fanbase didn't even play the game. And the community is what drives the hype for him more than anything else.
So, with that said, I just wanted to say that you shouldn't feel bad for loving Geno, and you shouldn't be ashamed for being an LGBT person here. You are your own person, and a bright one at that, given how sensible, respectful and moderate you've been. People (at least the reasonably-minded ones) won't judge you because of any group identity. They will judge you for your character. And you've shown quite a good one there. Thanks for the read and sorry for posting this here, but I've got no other choice.