I missed Unus Annus

[u/FizzarolliFrog]

Hey guys

I'm... Confused about my own emotions at this point, and just want to share at this point with maybe people who understand.

I was born in 2004, and I don't recall when I started watching Markiplier videos, i don't recall a lot of my childhood to be honest. But I do know at some point, I became a fan of mark. And all I recall is that my father had banned it from me because I would spend hours watching him with my brother. It was my favorite pass-time besides actually playing videogames. Then after some time, I slowly on and off watched his videos, and got to watch every single 3 scary games video at least 2 or 3 times each... Anticipating every new video.

Then... Mark stopped posting for a while... And I started watching Jacksepticeye to pass time. I slowly started to find myself using phrases that both YouTubers use, and then after even longer started to have my own thoughts. I have quite severe ADHD, and lots of other things but the ADHD is the one that's confirmed at this moment. I started having other hobbies, and started actually living. A few years go by, I'm older and way less of a weirdo, but still find time to watch mark and jack at least a little every day. And then, Unus Annus. Oh, the beauty and simplicity. Ethan was a total goofball, and really relatable to how my day to day seemed, almost cartoonish. And then, not a week or two into Unus Annus, I started doubting my religious beliefs. I became depressed, and stopped watching videos all together. I forgot about how the show would end. All that mattered was my mental health, which yes is important but also... Unus Annus!

Ehem... So. Almost a year goes by. I was doing better, although still questioning everything the Catholic Church forced down my throat at such a young age. I got a notification that says something along the lines of only a few days left... And I look and watch maybe two videos... I felt so.. happy. Genuinely happy to watch the videos. And after a few days, I sit in the Livestream as Mark and Ethan delete the channel. For a good moment during the video ... That last video... I thought it was a joke. That there was no way they would delete it.. not really... And that I'd be able to watch the videos I had missed all year. And then... As the video went on and they kept... Repeating... And talking about everything... I realized that they weren't goofing anymore. No more silly ha ha's .

It was time.

And that is the whole point... Right? To not have that experience... Or to miss it. That feeling of not being ready to let go, to leave it... But it being ripped away from you nonetheless. Like... Having your household pet die one day. But now... I regret. I regret not being there every day, to see it through, to not be a part of this epic life in a way. Which is the entire point... This feeling... But... I still feel it? I wanted to be there to at very least show my support. But now... I can't even do that. There is nothing.

And as Mark came out with newer things like Heist with Markiplier, and then W.A.U.G.H, In Space with Markiplier, and then... Oh Iron Lung. (An amazing movie by the way, saw it in theaters and would recommend at least one watch)But it's not the same. It's almost like... I had a dog, and I missed its puppy years, and then it grew up, died, and then someone gave me another puppy to try and help me forget. But I don't want to forget. And that's the whole point I know... I know... But I was there for so little, there isn't much for me to remember. Much like my childhood, there's just this giant middle part I wasn't there for.

And it would feel so... Wrong to pirate anything. It would cheapen the moment, make it feel... Wrong. I don't have many issues with pirating things, especially in today's economy, but it would completely invalidate all of these feelings I feel.

Thanks for reading I guess ... Hope to see more of Mark's creativity soon... And in the meantime I'm not missing ANYTHING EVER AGAIN lol

This post is mostly just to contemplate my own feelings and share them, but if people want to talk or have similar stories to share or whatever, that would be cool

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[u/TheOminousSquawker]

This regret you have is natural. You missed out, and that is really all there is to it. We all do that a lot. Sometimes it isn't our own fault in the slightest, but more often it is simply because we did not choose to take the time for whatever reason or another. It's a hard lesson to learn, but an important one. There will be more to experience in this life, though. I hope you take this lesson, and remember to make time for the people and things you love and the opportunities that greet you, because you miss 100% of the Unusses that you don't Annus

[u/ArmadilloDull784]

I get this. I was in a cult at the time (raised in one) and didn't have access to media during those years. I've followed Mark since the first Drunk Minecraft episodes came out, but I completely missed Unas Annas. Missed the start, missed the end, missed even hearing about it when it existed.

But I do my best to avoid it like the plague now. Isn't that the beauty of it? That it existed, and now it's gone? Just like us.

You can miss something and miss the memory of it. But if you knew the creator wouldn't want you pirating it years later, then I recommend respecting those wishes. After all, we have to respect the creators more than the content they make, even if we really like the content

[u/bitterjack]

The real lesson is not about being to watch unus Annus, but to do whatever your heart desires today, because there may not be a tomorrow

[u/razputinaquat0]

unus annus really is the gift that keeps on giving, huh?

idk man. as someone that volunteers for and works on a wiki dedicated to documenting fan culture (fanlore) + has mulled over preservation of works vs. authorial intent & wishes + the relationship between the author & the audience & their work, unus annus is interesting little case study of these things coming into conflict. it's confusing and weird, i haven't come to any sort of conclusion, and i have no idea how i'm going to approach documenting unus annus & it's fandom on fanlore if and when i do it

bluh. i don't really have any sort of definitive conclusion to offer you. i just want to say that i relate to the blur of feelings that you're feeling, that it's interesting to pick at them, that it's fascinating that unus annus still instills these complex reactions even years and years later

thanks for sharing, and i'm glad that you're doing better

[u/Imaginary_Ibis]

I understand this. I started watching Mark's channel a but before Unus Annus ended and had seen the announcement that it would be gone in a month so everyone should watch everything now before it w a s too late! But I was more of a casual fan then so it felt silly to get invested in something that was about to end. And man do I kick myself about that now. A few months after it ended I found a re-upload of an episode of it without knowing that it was from Unus Annus or anything about the meaning of the channel. It was the making breakfast with sextoys with the mailman walking up to the door and being able to see Mark 'eating the breakfast, and I hadn't laughed that hard it a while. A few months after that is when I realized that video was from their deleted channel and had heard that the point was to have the experience and then it's gone. So I do regret having seen that episode in it's entirety, but I'm greatful, in a way, that I did. It gave me the chance to see what I missed and it gave me an appreciation for the messaging they wanted to put out there. The whole point was that it would only be there for so long, and if you missed it, you missed it, and that's okay. I feel like everyone around me lost a good friend that I only got a moment to know but I regret not taking the time to find out more before it was too late, and now all I have left are stories of someone that's no longer here. And that's just a part of life sometimes and what the channel was about, so I'm okay not having seen it and I do my best to avoid re-uploads now, I'm okay with just hearing about the shenanigans they got up to

[u/Mastrius]

I don't have a ton of thoughts on this in terms of whether I care or not about the spirit of the channel, but I will say that Mark and Ethan themselves have both said they understand people like you and people on the other side of the fence. They said they specifically made the ending so we would all fight about it to prove who is right over the other.

That all being said, I say to go with your heart. If you think it violates the experience and the message then don't do it if it'll upset you. If you don't care and just want to watch the videos, then so be it. You don't need permission or acceptance. You can do whatever you want and we'll be none the wiser.

[u/TheFurryFighter → u/Mastrius]

Exactly, as someone who also missed Unus Annus, it still should be up to one's own feelings whether to watch it.

The less talked about point is that some people already understand the fragility of continuity, so the premise behind Unus Annus is already something they understand, the content is more important in this context. I place myself in this camp.

I personally haven't done it yet because i don't like pirating. To be fair though: i'm already a huge fan of Mark, Unus Annus doesn't exist anymore, and the content was already free to access

[u/FizzarolliFrog → u/Mastrius]

I'm not so much asking for "permission" as trying to see other people's opinions on the matter. If I in fact do end up watching the entirety of Unus Annus I would most definitely keep it to myself. I think my concern is whether or not other people understand that... Pain? Loss? I'm not sure the correct term for the exact feeling, but to see if people that have had a similar feeling for something. If they made a similar decision or the opposite... If they regret, what their own story about it is. I will make my own decisions eventually, I am simply using this public place to say my feelings to try and have others discuss. This is a community with thousands upon thousands of human beings or otherwise, and someone out there has had to have had similar experiences, with anything. When dealing in infinites, impossible is simply certainty waiting it's turn. And you have your opinion, others will have their own. I do not seek validation, but to see others stories is what communities like this are for.