Being Awake For Far Too Long

I used to be obsessed with manga and fanfiction. Power and revenge fantasies were thrilling, OP MCs were fun to follow, isekai was hot shit, edgy, problematic yaoi was the pinnacle of story writing and mary sue-esque villainesses girlbosses were compelling.

I've tried re-reading through some works I've thought I'd loved, and I cringe. A lot of 'clever' MCs turn out to be painfully average people favored by the gods of luck, money, and hotness, living in a world of idiots (villains, simps, NPCs) where the world building is as solid as the vacuum of space and the personalities that inhabit it are as interesting as navel lint with an intelligence to match.

I try things outside of my youthful obsessions and they still don't spark the same joy I know I once felt.

something is...missing. Is it the inexperience? The naivete? The horny?

I feel like a cynical fogey, snarling at some youngsters who are just having some dumb fun.