I have no idea why I'm thinking about this, or why I'm lingering on these experiences, but I suppose I should just lay it all out there so I can reflect on the memory and refer to it later...

So, I've been on here for awhile. When I wasn't trolling the BBS or making music, I was trying my hand at voice acting- and given that I didn't have a great microphone at the time, I wasn't selected often for projects, but I remember fondly all the projects I participated in with a number of partners from the Voice Acting Club, back when it was more active in the forums after they migrated from here way back in the day.

At some point, my microphone situation improved, but I wasn't going anywhere with the voice acting-- variables came into play, like attending private lessons to improve your talent in the price range of $250, or some sort of contest that required arbitrary requirements to be met. Those were ok to me at the time, I could try and fail and glean some understanding from it...but what really rubbed me sore was the notion that the favoritism and cliques that people try to escape from, existed all the same on the internet.

They were never outwardly malicious. At least, publicly. There were always rumors about the group and the fact that while some of us caught a glimpse inside, we never saw the whole scene for what it was.

Some of these folks are famous now, and frankly, they're the same cutthroat ignoramuses they were at 16-17-18. They've become popular on YouTube and in Voice Acting- hell, one of em got the lead role in a videogame, and another is on a really trending animated series.

But I really can't escape the frustration that other, much more capable actors and actresses were given the cold shoulder because we didn't fit in, we were different or had different opinions/insights into things. I can remember at one instance, I was witness to a writing meeting for a popular animation series based on Super Smash Bros. That essentially culminated in the artist bad-mouthing everyone who criticized his work. It wasn't much of a surprise that he migrated to YouTube and has a moderately successful videogame channel, because nobody can criticize his art anymore, right?

Another that had joined before I left the voice acting community was nothing but boorish to me and other 'lesser' V.A.s, and did his best to avoid speaking to us, going so far as to mute us on Skype so that he only had to hear the opinions of clique members instead of the rest of us in regards to feedback.

The individual to who this clique was centered around is a well meaning person- sometimes. I mean...well, she's got her own Encyclopedia Dramatica entry, and while I'd take all of it with a big grain of salt, it speaks true to a lot of things that you can't even make a reference to the dumb projects she wrote and voice acted in while trying to be somebody bigger than herself.

I hate to say it, but it was all this Young Adult bullshit that made me walk away from the immaturity of the whole thing, the favoritism that basically propelled those certain now-famous people's portfolios while keeping people like me looking for a chance. Not bitter, but calling it how it is.

Its because of all the dumb things I witnessed in my teenage years that I scoff when someone like ProZD wants to bad-mouth Vic Mignogna or to criticize Joaquin Phoenix's performance in Joker, because it just proves my long-held belief that most Voice actors have a bone to pick with those above them, and give others in their peer group the cold shoulder. It's of no surprise to me now as it was then.

I suppose I only speak about this now because I'm probably ready to get back into voice acting. I'm older/wiser, and I've actually got money to fund the hobby, while trying to avoid the pitfalls of clique drama and favoritism I was subjected to.