Whether you know SuperDEBico as Jessika, DEB, or Romolla, you’ve probably seen the Guilty Gear Strive v-tuber tear-through brackets.

interactions like this with ib feel so much fun when you get the hang of doing it more consistently pic.twitter.com/wk6Q1zsW6Z

— DEB (@SuperDEBico) September 16, 2021

DEB was a premiere Sol player on Xrd and cracked multiple major top 8’s, even winning AnimEVO 2019. Now she is one of the best Sol mains in the global Strive community. Her focus on positivity, growth, and teaching constantly introduces newcomers to the scene.

We got the chance to talk with DEB as part of our Women of the FGC series. Learn more about her interest in history, community-driven mentality, and v-tubing journey.

You said you got into Guilty Gear because you're a historian and Roman Cancels caught your eye. Is there anything you learned from your passion in history that influenced your fighting game career?

To be honest, one of my passions is reading through things like Caesar's Commentaries on the Gallic War/Commentaries on the Civil War. I was always impressed by the emphasis on mentality. There were many cases where one army outnumbered the other, sometimes even 2:1. But the outnumbered army had superior experience and typically was stronger through how they refused to route or run away if things got dicey.

It often enabled Caesar to turn losing battles into winning ones through his army’s sheer determination and grit. I always found that fascinating. It is a big part of how I try to approach fighting games even. I think the emphasis on mentality and not giving up regardless of the circumstances was something that sat with me the most.

Is that something that inspires your stance on positivity?

Not really, but it kind of ties in. Throughout my time competing and learning, I've met a lot of people who were prone to getting sad or angry with their performance just because it didn't live up to their expectations at the moment. And so, throughout my time streaming (from around 2018 to now), I've focused on trying to help people learn through having a healthier mindset and being kind to themselves.

Initially, it was just because I didn't want people to feel bad over fighting games as much. But as I progressed and learned things myself, I realized that being positive and staying focused is a huge part of helping yourself improve and learn. There are always people who get angry and can do better if they get spiteful haha, but it's not for everyone.

The more time you have to look objectively at things, the better everything goes, right? So it just kinda worked out. And not only that, in comparison to the Caesar thing - obviously it can help you train your mentality to be a bit more sturdy. In a game like Guilty Gear, which is super explosive and one mistake can cost you the game, it's pretty important I'd say.

Do you think positive learning and reinforcement lead to faster improvement?

Yes absolutely. Having a supportive community, and remembering to be kind to yourself and appreciate smaller things during your progression is really one of the best things for learning. If you have that environment that keeps you wanting to come back and learn more things because it's fun, even if you lose it doesn't really feel as detrimental, right?

There are a lot of people who maybe get sad or angry and need to take breaks from it, but if you're just having a good time and enjoying learning in a community of friends, that alone is a huge difference. If you're getting frustrated in games or upset, it takes away from time you could spend learning. I think in terms of efficiency, it's ideal.

Speaking of community, I'm sure you know as much as I do that the FGC can be overwhelmingly negative at times on social media whether it's talk about fighting games or something related. How do you stay positive and continue to positively curate your community when that negativity is so prevalent every now and then?

I think a lot of people are prone to just venting out frustrations on social media and then it can get out of hand. For me, I try not to focus too much on that stuff. If anything, it's more encouraging for me to write something supportive or just remind people it's not just all negativity in the FGC.

I am very much a glass half empty person and I tend to just like playing new things that are fun to me. I don't really get as frustrated in fighting games (though I used to a lot!). I think if you share enough love and positivity, it can be infectious, and that's also where I think having a good community factors in. I've never really even had to stop people from being grumpy, or stop any fight - everyone is just chill! And I think that's the best part of it.

On the topic of v-tubing, how did you discover and decide to become a v-tuber?

I used to watch Kizuna AI a few years ago when she was active and thought the idea was really cool. When Hololive was starting to pick up steam, I used to enjoy watching random v-tubers of theirs just for the warm environment and how funny it was. It encouraged me to do it myself!

I think the whole idea of having a persona attached to you is pretty fun and entertaining, and while it's not for everyone, I think the sort of "branding" it attaches to you can be really cool.

Have you encountered any challenges attached to v-tubing in the FGC?

I think the most common one is a lot of people just think it's corny or stupid haha. But that's really it! Like I said, it's not for everyone, but the community I've established in streams and stuff has only been positive and good. I really love seeing whatever fanart people decide to make of my v-tuber.

Nothing ever to make me wanna stop or anything. And even for the people who are negative about it, they're so rare that it barely even comes up honestly. Though, I think a lot of people find it funny seeing an anime cow girl playing fighting games competitively haha.

The lore behind Romolla is that she's a cow empress. As a ruler, how does she even find the time to play fighting games and stream?

She thinks it's pretty important to have an outlet to communicate with all reaches of her empire! Maybe sometimes she's streaming too much, but the empire's in a bit of a golden age, so it works out!”

Are there any tips you have for players looking to join the fighting game community that may have second thoughts or feel nerves?

My biggest recommendation is to remember that it's a game. Everyone gets involved and wants to play and just have fun. It's easy to be afraid of online matches if you think people will be mean to you or avoid communities because you're shy. But remember everyone is happy to have you and would love to help you learn. Not everyone is perfect, and not every community is either, but you can always choose the sections you interact with, and the ones that fit best for you.

Most importantly, you don't need to live up to any expectations or be anyone else - you can just be yourself, and people will be happy to be your friend and help you learn. It's all about learning together and improving together, no matter what your skill is at. It's all for fun, having a good time, and making the most out of your time gaming.

I hope people keep that in mind if they have any doubts or are nervous at all!