Rest in Peace, Walkazo

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Awful news. I hope she knows how badly she will be missed by everyone here and how much we appreciated her presence.


If there's any way we can help as a community, don't hesitate to reach out.
 
I owe Walkazo everything.

We didn't spend a lot of time together. We weren't particularly close. Our relationship was one of constant back-and-forth. I wrote things, she reviewed them. She gave me feedback for years to help me improve my skills. More than anyone else, I wanted to impress her as I got better and better at writing.

Today, I write for a living. This isn't a skill I would've gained without her help, and I would be in an unimaginably worse position without her helping me develop the skills required to get here.

This is heartbreaking. I can't imagine what some of you are going through, and to be honest I'm not really okay either. I'm so frustrated that I didn't make anything new for her before this happened. I thought she'd always be here, I thought I could take all the time I needed.

But she's gone. I don't know what to do about that. I don't know what to say. It took me a while to even post here because I don't want to risk dishonoring her memory, but I also know that she deserves to be memorialized, that I have to say SOMETHING.

Pantaro, I hope you'll be okay. You and I weren't ever on the same page, I don't think, but you're a cool guy and I can't imagine what you're going through losing someone as amazing as your sister right now.

I know you can't hear me, Walkazo, but you're an amazing person. I wish I told you just how much before this.
 
This all feels so surreal. I never thought something like this would ever happen, I guess, especially this suddenly. I feel awful about it.

My thoughts go out to you and your family, Pantaro. I can't even imagine what this must be like for you.

Rest in peace, Walkazo.
 
I'm still trying to process all of this. I know that no matter how much it hurts for us, It hurts for Pantaro and his family so much more.

I've been a mod around these parts for many years now. It's been a fun little distraction from everyday life. I've seen members come and I've seen members go. NEVER have I thought that one would leave us like this. Walkazo was always super cool and I really liked hanging around with her, even if it was just in a virtual space.

To Pantaro, I don't know you and you don't know me. But I and everyone else here wish you well and for you and your family to stay strong.

To this community, I know at the end of the day I'm just some guy on the internet but I want you all to know that I care deeply for every single one of you. I joined this community on a whim all that time ago and it was one of the best knee-jerk decisions I ever made. You are all great people and I want you all to stay safe.
 
Let's relive our memories of Walkazo with these two funeral suited songs and cry.



:'( May you be missed.
 
Rest in peace, Walkazo.
Unfortunately I knew her mainly through our shared interest for the Koopalings and so I never knew her that much, but I am sure she must have been a great and interesting person, if only by looking at the dedication with which she approached the Wiki and the university studies and at her drawings - and I am sure she was much greater than what her works show to us.

Condolence to you and your family, Pantaro.
 
You and your family have my deepest condolences, Pantaro.

I still can't believe this happened. Having someone who's done so much for the community so suddenly gone like this...it just seems so unreal.

Rest in peace, Walkazo, you will be missed.
 
BMB wanted me to post this on his behalf:

I really wish this wasn't real and I want to believe that it's the wrong person and that she'll post the next day. Walkazo was always an amazing person and I loved talking to her on the forum because she always have helpful and encouraging advice, and loved to see the pictures she posted in the real-life images thread. I am deeply sadden by this, and I'm sorry I cannot post this myself. I hope everyone is holding strong and that her family is doing well as well. Walkazo, you will be missed.
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Kirstie Maldonado said:
I've never been this distraught before. Walkazo was one of my first friends when I joined so long ago and this is just so... surreal. Oh my god.

I know I just tweeted at you, Pantaro, but I love you bud. I haven't seen you in so long and I wish seeing you again could be on different terms. I'm so so sorry. God.

I miss you, Walkazo. Walky. Ahaha I used to call you Walky all the time. I can't feel anything right now.
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I wanted to add onto this now that my head is on my body a bit more and I can properly think... a little bit, anyways.

When I joined this community 8 years ago, Walkazo was one of the first people I met and she immediately set herself in my mind as one of the nicest and brightest people you would ever meet. I remember talking to her, and I think Stooben and Dippy a LOT on the old Userpedia forum about Guitar Hero. For some reason those posts have always stuck around in my head even though they were never significant but I always associated them with Walkazo.

A lot of my memories are so fudged up because my memory is just bad, but I got to work and grow alongside so many of the Userpedia staff, Walkazo included, during my first two years. When we tried to find the best fit for Userpedia after Scribblewiki died, Walkazo was one of the few who dedicated the entirety of her time to try and find a home for Userpedia and our community. I remember we tried Refereta and Editthis and neither of them ultimately worked.

I think I disappeared from the community for a bit and the last contact I had as a means of conversation with Walkazo through PM was back in 2010 on Xephyr. I don't remember what I told her because my sent messages didn't save, but I wish I had said more. I wish I had talked to her recently.

I always considered Walkazo a really good friend and I always looked up to her. She's been, as stated, a pillar of this community. There aren't many people who poured themselves, their time, dedication, heart, to this community to the extent that Walkazo did. I got to see it first-hand for the first few years of my wiki life, and I've gotten to see how much she's continued to pour out into this place the last few years. I also think she had a really awesome pet - a snake, I think? It used to creep me out. ^^;

This is the first I've ever... lost a friend. I didn't get to know her to the extent that some others surely did, but this is just still... unreal. I can't imagine Pantaro's pain, and the family's pain. You guys are all in my thoughts and prayers and I will be thinking of you guys forever.

I said the other day in Star's topic that you guys are my family. I love you guys. I've never been more terrified and distraught as I am tonight. I don't know what my final words were to Walkazo, and tonight just shows you never really know. If anything ever happens, I want you guys to know I love you. I love you all to the moon and back.

Rest in peace, Walky. We love you.
 
This is sad. I have great memories with Walkazo. I don't even know what to say right now, I will miss her being on the wiki.

Rest In Peace, Walkazo :(
 
i never talked with walkazo too often, a few times on the forums and maybe once or twice off of here but when i did she was always incredibly nice

to me she always gave off a feeling of intelligence, not a feeling of "i'm better than you" intelligence that most people like that give off but a genuine sense of intelligence, like she knew so much and would be more than happy to share that knowledge with people without making them feel stupid for not understanding it

i asked her a couple times to translate a few japanese phrases i needed for another wiki i was editing, but she helped me with it. that was sort of the extent of my talking one on one with her. i wish i could have gotten to know her better

i don't really understand why or how something like this would happen but it's absolutely depressing especially when it was somebody who was so active in the community

i had a friend pass away recently and im sort of in awe about how something like this would happen so soon. even if i never talked to her too much she was active on this site and i love this site dearly, so it's still the same sort of hurt

rambling right now because i never think straight but it isnt really going to be the same around here without seeing her post
 
I'm kind of shaking right now and I don't know what to say.

I know we've not always seen eye to eye the past year and our relationship had become very rocky recently. But I guess... even though we both agreed not to talk to each other anymore, a part of me... secretly hoped that we'd be able to make amends some day and put everything that happened behind us? However unlikely it may have been... I don't know.

I still am really sorry for everything that went wrong during our collaboration, and the huge part I played in making you feel awful. You've been one of the first people I've talked to in this community and I've always enjoyed the long chain letters we'd write each other. It meant a lot to me when you said you consider convincing me to stay here one of your biggest MarioWiki accomplishments.

I'm sorry that everything had to happen like this. I hope that you will find peace in a better place.
 
I am in my peak of finishing college stuff and exams, but I hope I can throw them away now. I can't take this. She is one of the artists I truly admire and respect in this community, and I don't even know what will happen if I never knew the art she gave for us, especially Dragon Problem. I just...

Thank you, Walkazo, for everything you created for this community.
 
I think my heart skipped a beat when I saw this post. I'm still in shock.

To Pantaro, my heartfelt condolences to you and your family. I'm so sorry for your loss.

I didn't know Walkazo personally, but I do know that she has been one of the most outstanding and essential members of the Super Mario Wiki for many years. She cared a lot about this place, and it showed. Her loss is an immense blow to this community, and her influence will always be with us.

Walkazo, we were lucky to have you. May you rest in peace.
 
No... I am in shock and disbelief and I want to say my heart and prayers go out to you and your family, Pantaro.

I has the privilege to work with Walkazo as part of the wiki staff for some years, and while our methods were often different, I learned many things from her and she had my full respect. May she rest in peace, we will never forget her.
 
this is all a bit jarring, it feels like someone took a baseball bat and bashed me on the back of the head with it.

I remember talking to her a lot back on Xephyr, the old UP forums, even as far back as Mariowiki when she used to share her account with you, Pantaro.

Honestly with how inactive I can be here we'd go a couple years without chatting much, but when I was around the discussions we had were always pleasant, whether it was about jobs, siblings, etc... Think I'll regret not making more of an effort to talk to her more in these recent years.

I really appreciate you letting us know, PP. It's almost weird to think, but with how private people can be on the internet, it's possible we'd have marked her off as another inactive member had you not informed us about this.

I'm so sorry for your loss, I wish you and your family the best through this tough time.
 
While most of my interactions with Walkazo were within the wiki administration, I admired her dedication to not only the wiki, but her love of birds as well. I admired her patience when dealing with problems that arose within the wiki, as well.

My condolences to her friends and family. She will be missed.
 
On a personal level, I barely knew you, Walkazo. But I surely did know your presence around the community, especially on the Wiki.

On the Wiki, from my viewpoint, you were like a machine that could do literally anything. If someone made a proposal and they didn't quite know how to install a new feature, make something work, or something of the sort, then you were always there to try to understand how the problem ought to be solved. Although I regrettably never expressed this to you in person, I always admired this 'get stuff done' mentality you had. I will never forget you for being in that way. I will never forget your massive contributions to the community.

Walkazo, I barely knew you. But even then, you left quite the remarkable dent on me.

I had the privilege to work with you for a short period of time. You understood the importance of letting a person mess up a little when they were new at a job. Walkazo, I am so glad that you understood this in ways that I probably never will, but in your memory I must try. I must try to be as understanding with this as you were, even if it will be tough.

Walkazo, I barely knew you. Yet, you left a mark in me.

Every single time there was an issue on the Wiki, you were incredibly patient with it. I imagine this would have translated into real life problems, too. Being able to remain patient in a world that consistently wants to move forward as quickly as possible is a remarkable feat, which I admired of you.

Walkazo, I wish I knew you.

Walkazo, I wish I got to tell you these things whilst you were still with us...
 
I'm sorry, forgive the very short comment, I can't muster anything more.

I love you so much, Walkazo. I wish I said so, so much more to you in our time together. Please, rest in peace with the birds you adored so much.
 
Most of the things I've learnt about this community are from Walkazo- drawing, editing, small things like that. But what really mattered is that she knew so much and was never afraid to share something with us or contribute to this community.

When I saw this topic, I was shocked at how someone so giving and nice could be taken away from us without warning.

My most sincere condolences to Pantaro and your family. Walkazo will be missed thoroughly by all of us. Rest in Peace, it was an honour to know you.
 
Contra(dictory) said:
I know you can't hear me, Walkazo, but you're an amazing person. I wish I told you just how much before this.
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Elaborating on this, this is a message that I'm addressing directly to her.

You're welcome to read it as well, but it's long and fairly personal, so I've put it in a spoiler in case you don't want a flooded screen.

Hey.

I know you can't actually hear or see this. Or maybe you can, if spirits and the afterlife and all of that are real. I sort of want to believe they are right now. The idea of you being gone, permanently, and you never knowing how much you meant to me, that kills me. But the idea that maybe you're still out there somewhere, that you aren't gone forever, that's a comfort.

I hope that me telling you this now isn't too selfish. I would've told you all of this before, honest, but it never occured to me. I haven't had you on Steam or anything, so our direct contact's been nil for a long time. I guess I could've sent a PM at some point, but I never really PMed you after you started reviewing my stories on public threads.

Heh. Remember our private exchanges? We had a secret review system going on that nobody knew about it, like spies or something. B)

Incidentally, this is, like, the exact opposite of the privacy you seemed to value. I hope you don't hate me for that. I need to say all of this, and I guess I need people to see it, too. I hope you can understand that.

I can barely believe you're gone, even now. I never told you, but I've dealt with death in only a few ways before. A couple of dead dogs, and my baby sister who I don't even actually remember. Thinking about her still makes me cry. Her name was Cecilia, and she died when she was born. My mom, see, she was a smoker, so she couldn't breathe. That's a really personal story that I only tell the people closest to me, but I never managed to open up to you and let you know about her until now.

I know that we weren't super close. It might even confuse you a little bit that I'm so sad. But I miss you already, and I know that's only going to get worse the longer you're gone.

You made me a better person. If it weren't for you, I would be ten different kinds of screwed after I'd moved up to Virginia. Instead, I really started to focus on writing, and that saved me. I wouldn't have been able to write like that unless I'd met you, unless you'd taken so much time out of so many days to sit down, read my work and tell me how I could make it better. I always loved seeing new messages from you. Your feedback motivated me to keep going. You and Jav and a few others always had me wanting to prove myself, to show you that I was worth the time and attention you were giving me.

I just wish I could've said all of that in time. I never talked to you like this. Never poured out my heart. It never occured to me to, and neither did the idea that my time with you was limited, that I would never see you again.

I'm also a little sad. I never got back to work on Project 132, I've been grappling so hard with depression and motivation. But I wanted to rewrite it and get back into it, for you and a few others and myself. I wanted to depict you, too- I wanted to finally get around to writing you and Javelin being awesome and blowing stuff up!

I remember that you were looking forward to that. I feel so shitty that you died without ever being able to see it.

I don't know if I can write anymore. Not fiction, anyways. What's the point of writing a story if Walkazo never gets to read or review it?

But then, I know you wouldn't like that. If I know you, you would've wanted me to keep writing, and keep improving, and keep going.

Every word on every page I write for the rest of my life, I will always remember you. It seemed so little to me back then- just innocent little fiction reviews- but it built the foundation upon which I've built my career, and my new life. Without that foundation, I never would have made it here. Not without you.

I love you, Walkazo. Not in the unnecessary, forced romantic way (you would hate that, lol), but in the way I love the rain. I don't know if I ever told you, but I take walks in the rain. The water weighs down my hair and seeps into every fiber of my being, and that calms me to the point where my mind is clear enough for me to think about anything. I love the rain for its ability to calm me, and I love you for your ability to motivate me to better myself.

Even now, I want to prove that the time you took out of your life for my sake was worth it. I want my name on a bestsellers list, I want my name on the biggest websites, and I want to memoralize you in any way I can.

You're gone now, and I hate that so much, but I will never forget you. I won't stop trying to better myself and I won't stop writing. You would hate if I did that, wouldn't you?

This is my goodbye. I wish I knew so I hadn't left all of this unsaid. But it's out there now, and I hope that somewhere, somehow, you know what you did for me and how I felt for you.

Thank you, Walkazo.
 
That's terrible. I didn't know Walkazo personally, but it hurts so much to hear someone from this community passed away. Car accidents are scary seeing how bad it can turn, she didn't deserve this. I will remember her for her great and unique art.
May you rest in peace.
 
I'm shaking. I can't believe she was here posting just yesterday like nothing was different. You're always told that today could be your last day but there's no way you can prepare for it happening to someone you know.

She was taken so suddenly. She was so young, so bright. I can't remember if we ever had a private discussion but her intelligence always shone through her posts and I had so much respect for her abilities. I enjoyed reading about her love of linguistics and I always wanted to chat to her more about it but the time never seemed to come up. And now it's too late. :(

But even though we didn't talk much, I could see that she tried really hard everyday and was a really great role model to the members here. She was the kind of person who made you want to be a better person. Her legacy will live on.

R.I.P. Walkazo.
 
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