July 9, Thomas Ligotti's Birthday

R. von Pnaklendorf said:
I understand that, because of his antinatalist views, this may upset many people—that isn't my intention. Even so, today I'll honor Thomas because, despite never having wanted to be born, he made life more bearable for me. I'll be reading Grimscribe all day today until I finish it.
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Oh, man—don't feel so bad about being antinatalist. We never voluntarily chose to be born into this world, nor did we consent to bear any of the labels thrust upon us; this Earth—a prison without iron bars—never had any meaning to begin with. From the moment we were born, we’ve been nothing but puppets driven by societal expectations, never possessing any true free will.
 
구양송좌 said:
For Ligotti, perhaps never having been born would have been a good thing; thus, celebrating his birthday is entirely meaningless.
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It may seem meaningless to you, and even to him—which would carry even more weight—but not to me. Thomas Ligotti has shaped the way I see the world. His stories have inspired me, and I've found myself reflected in them. Doesn't that mean something? Just saying.
 
R. von Pnaklendorf said:
It may seem meaningless to you, and even to him—which would carry even more weight—but not to me. Thomas Ligotti has shaped the way I see the world. His stories have inspired me, and I've found myself reflected in them. Doesn't that mean something? Just saying.
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Sorry, man—I was too aggressive earlier. I apologize; I’ve been struggling with depression lately and can’t seem to find joy in anything, whether it’s gaming or watching anime. I’m constantly consumed by severe anxiety about the potential outbreak of World War III. Even though I hope it never happens, every time I see news about it, I feel more and more like being alive—or even human existence itself—is a mistake. I’m sorry; I just got too worked up a moment ago.
 
구양송좌 said:
Sorry, man—I was too aggressive earlier. I apologize; I’ve been struggling with depression lately and can’t seem to find joy in anything, whether it’s gaming or watching anime. I’m constantly consumed by severe anxiety about the potential outbreak of World War III. Even though I hope it never happens, every time I see news about it, I feel more and more like being alive—or even human existence itself—is a mistake. I’m sorry; I just got too worked up a moment ago.
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No worries.
 
R. von Pnaklendorf said:
No worries.
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You Americans might not fully grasp this, but as a nihilist from East Asia, I’d like to share my perspective: every day, when I see news about North Korea’s nuclear threats and China’s military encirclement exercises around Taiwan, I worry that a world war could break out in East Asia at any moment. Across the region—whether in China, Japan, South Korea, or Taiwan—birth rates are plummeting. To me, this is absolutely wonderful news, because it means we won't have to see children born only to be saddled with the ideological brainwashing of either communism or capitalism.
 
R. von Pnaklendorf said:
No worries.
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While I may not enjoy discussing politics, I know that if World War III were to break out, the United States certainly could not escape the crisis; at the very least, the world would slide into a 21st-century Great Depression, with trillions of dollars in global GDP evaporating. This is the last thing I want to see. You Americans might not feel the crisis, but for us East Asians, it is a crisis we witness every day.
 
R. von Pnaklendorf said:
No worries.
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To be honest, I’ve given up hope. Watching humanity obsess over various ideologies—even to the point of inciting conflict—makes me feel that humans are simply a mistake in the evolutionary process. Even animals aren't this cruel; at the very least, they don't start world wars.
 
Zaharoff said:
TLO is not exclusively American. Members are from across the globe.
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I apologize; I mistakenly assumed that everyone here was American simply because the conversation was taking place in English. Since Ligotti is American, I wrongly presumed that the majority of his readers were American as well. As a nihilist from East Asia, I only discovered Ligotti after encountering the philosophical concept of nihilism through Google’s AI; prior to the advent of Google’s AI features, the information landscape within my specific Google environment was relatively insular, leaving me completely unaware of his existence. Although I had long harbored an aversion to procreation, I did not truly grasp the essence of nihilism; my opposition to having children actually stemmed from the stifling political atmosphere that has long prevailed in East Asia.
 
Zaharoff said:
TLO is not exclusively American. Members are from across the globe.
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Long before I even knew who Ligotti was—back in my elementary school days—I developed a remarkably keen insight: that growing up to marry and have children inevitably entails an endless drain on one’s wealth and time. Consequently, I resolved never to marry or have children when I grew up. I hadn't read Ligotti at the time, but simply observing my parents deal with the endless, trivial demands of raising a family was enough to shatter any illusions I might have harbored about the romance of marriage.
 
Zaharoff said:
TLO is not exclusively American. Members are from across the globe.
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When I was younger, I harbored a faint hope for world peace, believing that as I grew up, the world would gradually improve and move toward harmony. However, upon reaching the 2020s, I discovered that the trajectory had shifted entirely. We have seen the global outbreak of COVID-19, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, conflicts between Israel and Palestine and between India and Pakistan, and even the Iran war of 2026. These crises are constantly eroding the last shred of hope I held for the world. As you noted, the situation in East Asia has never known true peace. Once I became utterly disillusioned with the world, I became firmly convinced that opposing procreation is the right thing to do—not merely to prevent newborns from being brainwashed by patriotism into becoming cogs in a war machine, but to sever the ties to all state- and religion-imposed labels. After all, none of us ever signed a voluntary agreement to be born into any particular country.
 
구양송좌 said:
When I was younger, I harbored a faint hope for world peace, believing that as I grew up, the world would gradually improve and move toward harmony. However, upon reaching the 2020s, I discovered that the trajectory had shifted entirely. We have seen the global outbreak of COVID-19, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, conflicts between Israel and Palestine and between India and Pakistan, and even the Iran war of 2026. These crises are constantly eroding the last shred of hope I held for the world. As you noted, the situation in East Asia has never known true peace. Once I became utterly disillusioned with the world, I became firmly convinced that opposing procreation is the right thing to do—not merely to prevent newborns from being brainwashed by patriotism into becoming cogs in a war machine, but to sever the ties to all state- and religion-imposed labels. After all, none of us ever signed a voluntary agreement to be born into any particular country.
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R. von Pnaklendorf said:
Which new collection?
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Chiroptera press anounced on their instagram that a new collection will be released with some old uncollected work and some new ones as well.
 
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