Recently introduced a friend to Villianous, we share a lot of interests and he was thoroughly enjoying the series as we watched, finding all the hidden plot clues and tiny extra details.
But the funniest part of this story is how absolutely gobsmacked and blindsided he was by the appearance of muscly Markiplier Black Hat, stopped talking mid sentence and everything. I paused while he just sat there for a good minute trying to compute XD
Do you remember your reaction the eldritch beefcake?
letting celebrities think they can and should "use their platform" to speak on all current events and political issues regardless of how educated they are on them was a grave mistake
i think one of the best parts about being a teenager in the early to mid 2010s was that cigarettes were definitely not cool anymore and vapes hadn’t popularized yet so my lungs made it out of my peak impressionable years relatively unscathed
The whole Mooneye team and Kyle Banks were some really busy bees in the last few weeks and worked very hard to get our fluffy friend Chesley ready for his big debut!
So with excitement we are happy to finally be able to say the magic words:
🥳 FAREWELL NORTH IS OUT NOW! 🥳
Restore color to the desolate islands of Farewell North, an atmospheric journey where you play as a border collie on an adventure with your human. Explore land and sea, uncover hidden paths and free wildlife to bring color back to her world, while revealing an emotional story about saying farewell.
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It’s been quite a journey for us too and we are so happy that we can finally share this wonderful project with everybody. We can’t wait to hear from your experiences and thoughts and we really hope you’ll enjoy this wholesome, yet emotional adventure with Chesley and Cailey 🐾
Ah, and if you played the game, please consider leaving a review on Steam since it supports the game and everybody who worked on it tremendously ❤️
Had an idea you might be able to use for something: Klingon Soap Operas.
(sigh)
Thanks for the thought. I appreciate your kindness!
But unfortunately, because you've sent me the idea and I've read it, I can now not use it, ever. No matter how much I might like to.
This isn't about you, you understand. And in its way it probably seems like a cruel paradox. You were only trying to be helpful! But if I was working on something for Trek and this concept came up even in casual discussion, I would be honor-bound (and contractually required) to inform them that the idea had come to me from a reader or fan. And then—rightly, from their point of view—they would forbid me to use it, because the idea's originator might some day, despite all their friendly intentions now, sue them over it. And the evidence that I was at fault would be easy to obtain. Sending a DM on any major platform generates an electronic "paper trail" that will confirm its target has opened and read the message in question. And that electronic record can be subpoenaed and submitted as evidence, and would stand up in court.
"Oh, come on, who'd do a thing like that, what are the odds...?" people will say. But it's not generally known that I've already been involved in a high-stakes lawsuit in which someone tried to sue Mattel over material I wrote when developing the initial form of the "Barbie: Fairytopia" universe (and the first Fairytopia film) for them. I'd never so much as met or communicated with the person suing them, had never read even a word of their work... but they still went to great trouble and expense attempting to prove that I'd had access to their material and used it without permission.
Mattel won the suit (as I'd frankly been expecting: the attorney handling their defense was one of the most expert IP lawyers in the US). But it gave me the chills... and made it clear how very wrong things could go, and the kind of damage that could be done to my career and my personal life, if I even accidentally used ideas from unauthorized sources.
Seriously, folks. I know you all mean well! But please don't make me tap the sign. DO NOT SEND ME STORY IDEAS, no matter how vague or general or unformed they may be. To do so is to absolutely guarantee that they will never, ever happen.* (And in my own universes, your innocently-meant suggestion could mean that neither you or anyone else will ever see that particular Young Wizards or Middle Kingdoms plot, no matter how much you'd like to... because I take this stuff seriously.)
...Thanks, all.
*This is also why I don't read fanfic set in my universes. Which you also shouldn't send me: please and thank you.
ETA: I would really, really appreciate it if y'all would refrain from giving @eldritchcatpossumamalgam grief in the tags. They made an honest, well-intentioned mistake, that's all, and they don't deserve to be personally raked over the coals for it. (And any of you who think I would derive any kind of satisfaction from that happening plainly don't know me very well.) So thanks in advance for your cooperation.