#cc mention: solidarity gaming

[mcyt-confession-room]

I've seen stuff about how Joel is the first Life Series winner to have won by focusing on family/allies which is just untrue.

Scott was the first one to do that in Last Life. Why do you think the finale happened the way it did? It was because they were all Allies and they were good allies, sure Ren and Martyn joined later but they had a great relationship and were good allies which is why nobody just started killing each other the moment Joel had died.

Infact I've noticed a lot of just people hating him or like demonizing him for double life when everyone involved in the Divorce Quartet was horrible (I say this in the most affectionate way I love the divorce Quartet and their whole messy dynamic) .

I've seen someone take his "I ran into Jimmy in a cave, and we ended up as Flower Husbands" said right in the beginning of Secret Life to Scar and Jimmy as negative, like he was saying it was a bad thing when he was literally just saying what happened!

He ran into Jimmy in a cave and boom they were married and if anybody thinks that Scott isn't happy about that they clearly never watch his POV.

He just gets hated on when he breaks a rule (Killing on green when Tango did that twice without anyone complaining) or his crazy achievements get forgotten (He was one of the two green names left on the server outran literally everyone trying to kill him and did an insane bucket clutch from the top of the Nosey neighbour's tower ON A CLIFF SIDE!!!!)

I'm sick of people misunderstanding his character and using it as an excuse to hate him.

.

[felassan]

Snippets. 🐺💜

For Game Informer’s July 17th DA:TV article, "BioWare On Returning To The Dragon Age Series, 10 Years After Inquisition", the article is still titled as such on its own page, but it looks like on the GI DA:TV Hub page its listing was updated to "Dragon Age: The Veilguard Is 'Respectful And Referential' To Previous Games Without Making Them Mandatory"

[previous comment for context - Brenon: "we do have "decision saves" before big choice moments, but there are still a bunch that depend on a whole mess of stuff you've done earler...so yeah...RIP"]. Derek on this: "Choice and consequence, baby." [source]

[context: DA official Twitter's news about what's coming in August] Derek: "Buckle up!" [source]

Bryony Corrigan (Rook) on the strike: "I care a lot about this game! @/dragonage. Gutted we are unable to speak more about the game for now but absolutely in solidarity with actors in the US. I hope @/EquityUK are also fighting for better protection against AI clauses in the UK too…!" [source]

Matt Rhodes recently wrote to his mailing list that "The project I’ve been working on for many years is nearing completion. In my rare free moments, I’ve been starting to organize concept art to start posting after the game ships." [source] So it sounds like DA:TV is nearing completion and that he will be posting DA:TV concept art that he created after release. [This] is the link to his website where you can view his art, including some existing DA:TV and previous DA game concept art. If you click the envelope symbol on this page, that's how you can subscribe to the mailing list

from Community Councilmember Ladyinsanity - Lucanis x Rook apparently might be an "angst pairing" and there's maybe another one of these in the game also...? 👀 [source]

A user mentioned that they aren't keen on the word "roadmap". Michael Gamble explained: "all it means is a list of cool things you can expect to see us showing." [source]

Bellara's family name Lutare wasn't recently changed as some users wondered, it was Lutare at least a year ago during development. It seems it was just mis-printed or mis-reported in the GI coverage [source]

This article describes DA:TV as the most beautiful game the writer saw at SGF. It says the prologue is dated 9 years after DA:I. "Varric isn’t a ginger so much as a grizzled gray fox now". On Solas, he "wants to tear down the Veil that separates Thedas from the world of demons, restoring his people’s immortality and glory and sacrificing thousands in the process. But when his ritual goes awry, two of his most ancient and powerful adversaries are released. They seek only to finish what they started millennia ago – the complete and utter domination of our world." The game moves quite seamlessly from action to cutscene, and in the prologue "every cutscene is clearly building toward something larger". Position matters in combat. There is an accessibility option which involves the path-tracing of enemies' ranged attacks. At the beginning of the demo, the devs mentioned that they thought about the way different lighting affects your character. " The animations associated with combat are complex for one reason: responsive character features." CC has "inclusion of thick curly hair and capturing the tightly curled texture of Black hairstyles and natural hair", customizable shoulder-width and "a much-welcomed broad spectrum of skin tones—capturing both cool and warm undertones of both white and brown skin". The article highlighted the fluid movement of cloth. The writer also said, "I’m sure other Summer Game Fest previews will have a lot to say on the evolving relationship between Varric and Solas". [source] ((I don't remember seeing this article til now, it's from June though so I either missed it or have seen it and forgotten. also I don't know how accurate it is but the writer was one of the attendees of the DA:TV demo at SGF))

[character limit text break!]

Malcolm: "When I joined DA:Ve I was really hoping there'd be a romanceable dwarf companion and boy howdy did that come true. Harding is ☀️delightful☀️" [source]

[context: this Tumblr post of some neat art] Malcolm: "This is amazing and I fully went "oh wow that really sounds like Emmrich" before remembering that Nick Boraine is in fact a entire human person." [source]

User: "Speaking of Stalker, as a player the description of Bellara and Veil Jumper i've heard so far, alongside their exploration of Arlathan, somehow reminds me of Clear Sky and Chornobyl in Stalker series..." John Epler: "great eye! roadside picnic, Annihilation and STALKER were all absolutely inspirations" [source]

John Epler: "time to slowly make my way home after an awesome 4 days. thanks for an amazing experience to everyone who was a part of it. back to work." [source]

User: "We know there are returning characters in The Veilguard, so my question is: How would you and the rest of the writers go about writing a returning character who was originally primarily written by a writer who is no longer at the studio? What is the process?" Trick Weekes: "1. Watch videos to get the performance, how the character speaks. 2. Don’t try to replicate the character exactly. Allow them to have grown. Morrigan in DAI wasn’t Morrigan in DAO. She’d grown up. 3. Trust Character Art and Performance/VO. As soon as Morrigan walks in and talks in DAI, it works." [source]

Ali Hillis (Harding) on Twitter: "@dragonage @/bioware @/BioWarePulse @/ea #/DragonAge #/SDCC #/SDCC2024 FOLLOW ON INSTA FOR MORE!" [source]

Alex Jordan (Rook): "To all the D&D loving Dragon Age fans out there, let me tell you about my D&D group, made up of faces from the games industry! Including the voices of Geralt from The Witcher, Clive from Final Fantasy XVI, and Noah from Xenoblade! We are ⁦@/NaturalSix ⁩#/DragonAge" [source]

Erika Ishii (Rook): "Grateful I got to spend SDCC celebrating my roles in 2 games I love. Thank you to the devs (including laid-off workers who deserve full credit!), my friends, and the community. This is the last you’ll hear from me about my games from struck companies until they sign an interim agreement or the strike is won. Keep playing games, but share info from the union and let people know we’re taking a stand for all creatives. See you on the other side! ✊🏼🎮" [source]

Jeff Berg (Rook): "Damn, I love making video games. It’s like the perfect blending of theatre on film, where an actor is encouraged to collaborate and let their imaginations soar. And damn, do I ever love the incredible support from the fans of this incredible medium. Unfortunately, we’re in a time of upheaval in the industry. So let me make it perfectly clear: Video game performers deserve fair wages, safe working conditions and A.I. protections. I call on the employers to #/LevelUpTheContract. Guys, this is no single player game. We need you on our team. #/SagAftraStrong #/VideoGameStrike". Text in the accompanying video reads “Video game performers are stuck in a grind. AI is stealing voices, and companies are hoarding profits. The future of voiceover and performance capture artists is at stake. But out fight isn’t single-player. Whether you’re a gamer, a fan, a performer, a labor ally, or just someone believes in fairness. Keep video games people powered. We need you on our team. Video game companies must offer AI protections to ALL video game performers. Join me and show your support for those who bring our favorite games to life.” [source]

Jessica Clark (Neve): "Aaah a true bucket list moment!! Thrilled to play Neve Gallus a Private Investigator & one of the companions in the upcoming DragonAge The Veilguard Video Game!! We are appearing at the San Diego Comic Con as we speak!! With so much thanks & appreciation for the most fantastic team @/bioware & inspiring fellow cast members including (not limited to) @/missalihillis @/nickboraine @/zach.mendez @/jeffberg1 & more 🙏🏽 Draon Age The Veilguard releases this Fall 2024 & from what I've seen... It's truly epic!! You will love it & yes, it's worth the wait. (SAG-AFTRA issued us a specific window to promote & celebrate at Comic Con & from Sunday night onwards we will all be joining our fellow actors in the picket line for the Video Game Strike)." Text in the accompanying video reads "I’ve wanted to share this for so long! Thrilled to reveal that I play Neve Gallus in the upcoming Dragon Age The Veilguard!! Appearing at Comic Con San Diego as we speak” [source]

[source]

Jessica: "Last night's Comic Con San Diego's Fandom red carpet celebrating Dragon Age The Veilguard! Releasing this Fall 2024!!" [source]

Zach Mendez (Lucanis): "A truly amazing first day of SD Comic Con at the @/dragonagegame poster signing at @/darkhorsecomics booth. Thank you to the fans who made my first con unforgettable #/sdcc /#sdcomiccon #/dragonage #/darkhorsecomics #/lucanisdellamorte #/voiceacting #/bioware #/eagames #/theveilguard #/babysfirstcon" [source]

Zach: "Dragon Age. Dancing. Derulo. Thanks @/fandom for a killer party" [source]

Nick Boraine (Emmrich): "Thank you @/bioware @/ea and @/comic_con - had an incredible time! #/dragonage #/theveilgaurd #/emmrichvolkarin @/zach.mendez @/missalihillis @/thejessicaroseclark - can’t wait for the fall release date." [source]

Ali: "Honored and thrilled to have been a part of another epic @/bioware story w @/ea . Thanks from the bottom of my heart to the whole team! We worked hard, and put our all into this one. Can’t wait to see you all at #/sdcc2024 this week to celebrate @/dragonagegame #/dragonageveilguard" [source]

Ali: "1st day of San Diego Comic Con 2024 !! The lines were long and the signings so much fun! Met some really nice fans, hung out w dragon age performance director @/ashley___barlow , companions @/thejessicaroseclark @/zach.mendez & Nick Boraine . So SO grateful for this #/dragonageveilguard family!" [source]

Ali: "I love every one of these people. There, I said it! What a warm welcome we received! Thanks to ALL! For EVERYTHING!" [source]

Ali on SDCC: "Gooooooood times. ❤️" [source]

Here is a 'behind the scenes at the DA:TV SDCC panel' photo -

[source]

Here is a photo of Erika Ishii with Rook's blue knife -

[source]

Here is an excerpt from Brianne Battye's website:

Text reads: "Dragon Age: The Veilguard Defy the gods. Rise as Rook, Dragon Age’s newest hero. Be who you want to be and play how you want to play as you fight back and lead your team of seven companions, each with their own rich story. Together, you will become the Veilguard. Coming soon From EA/BioWare. I was responsible for a companion story arc, significant side characters, faction content, exploration content, and helping develop and expand worldbuilding lore."

[source]

Also, last year Zach Mendez (Lucanis) made a prior podcast appearance:

Zach: "I was lucky enough over the pandemic to have just hit a really nice commercial, and then I got this beautiful job on a video game where I was doing motion capture. Motion capture? Okay, so you put on this leotard, this black suit, and those little dots on, and you do all the motion for a video game, and you get to do the voice, and they put all these black lines on your face, so they capture your performance and whatnot. And so I was doing that and had some commercial money, so throughout the pandemic, for the past few years, I’ve just been getting to live off acting, which is great." -- Zach: "[Voiceover is] what I'm working on right now." -- Zach: "My father's from Spain." -- Zach: "I'm currently working on a video game, I can't say which video game." "It is a big one, it's not a big deal, it's a big one, I'm one of the main characters, it's not that big a deal." The interviewer asked about how acting in video games works. "Somebody's giving some performance that of course, they layer on imaging afterwards, like in graphics, right? But you're giving facial expressions, that's what gives it the reality, that's what I find so fascinating about motion capture, is that, you get to give big performances, because you're playing these crazy characters in crazy situations, and a lot of your performance is coming through in the final product which is, just gets me excited about the future of things about all the different ways. It's my voice, a lot of my facial features, I voice, I think, one or two characters in this game."

[source (dated ~a year ago. source link isn’t work-appropriate. I don’t recommend the podcast)]

[riacte]

Re: reddit. Warning, lot of yapping about stats. Yh i agree the reddit does shit even in the best players and their "golden boys" (what they did to purpled last season was weird af, and they adore purpled as one of the more competitive players), although i would argue that is part of their goddamn goat debates. With "players who are praised with just existing" I was more talking about players who are seen as incredible while other ccs of similar and better stats are regarded as far worse.

For example, Owen and Krinios have better average placements than Joel, but the reddit tends to forget about both of them while Joel is often predicted top 10 (and for the record, i love Joel, one of my fav povs and ccs in general, but his reddit fanboys irk me). Kratzy and Hannah are so underrated it s almost funny atp. Martyn is inconsistent so it s difficult to explain his case, but i felt it was weird how people s reaction to his top 4 in party was "well it is non canon", while Joel is still praised for his top 1 in scuffed (where the games were, well, scuffed) and his average is only 2 spots better. Grian is also regularly overrated, and weirdly enough I have seen that Gem is as well? People assume that she is far better than Pearl and False, while in reality they are all kinda similar statistically. Pete s case is so funny, bc he s not underrated individually but people always assume his teams will do badly. The second Jojo steps down of top 6 or 7 people stop considering her s tier, while sapnap or dirt block never had that issue, and people still bring up mcc 23, when she was 18th or so, to argue she s not that good?

So yeah, as you said, the reddit shits on everyone, but there are some big biases and 2 different types of shitting: disappointment in s tiers for not doing their absolute best (which puts lots of pressure on them and is toxic af), and certain players being systematically underrated (which obv pisses them off). Sorry for the rant, I like to analyse the mcc reddit as a social experiment. I think i could write a whole ass book

Ohhhhh yeah definitely. Your last paragraph is very true. Massive shitfest. There's also again, the popularity aspect and well-intentioned overrating which could lead to underrating of other people (I was frustrated at Reddit during S2 and the whole "Grian is good at BM so every hermit must be" thing but then I stopped caring lol). And their inability to acknowledge they might be subconsciously biased against women. No one is immune to accidental / subconscious sexism. Not me, not you.

Watching everyone scramble to include Joel in the hermits' stats was originally heartwarming but then it started to feel unintentionally dismissive of the 2020 hermit cohort? Like yeah, builders in general were underrated, and Joel + 2020 hermits share that similarity. But he did Orange10, not Blue9. He was part of Pink9, but it was Grian who did the iconic move. Joel (and Pearl) can be included but it somehow feels diminishing of what the others accomplished with the hermit identity. And I mention the hermit identity specifically because they teamed together as friends and hermits, and inter-team solidarity was displayed because they were hermits (Pink9 and Blue9). Not just "haha yeah xyz hermit achieved this on their own". They were moving forward as a group under the hermit banner. False, Ren, Cub, Grian.

I feel like False is in a weird spot on the Reddit because they clearly like her, more so than HC Reddit, False Supremacy memes, calling her queen, etc. But she's not really.... discussed at length? False may be quiet, but I've watched her and I know she's good at comms and has an excellent battle sense. She notices things and reacts quickly. But that depends on how well she meshes with a team, considering People Don't Listen To Her in SkB. Which leads to fluctuating morale and inconsistency and stuff. So I get why Reddit calls her both underrated and overrated? But I am a poor judge of skills but the fact that they mention her and congratulate her is already enough to make me happy lol. The bar is ten feet underground, I'm sorry but I'm a wee bit easy to appease post Demise 2 😭

[bed-of-ashes]

you're right about Jesse's pig dying! I've been playing the games lately on a kick of nostalgia so I do not blame you in the slightest for not remembering much, neither did I until recently

In episode 6, we're introduced to this mansion in the woods (woodland mansion inspired definitely) where a horde of zombies is trapping the group + youtubers inside for the night. The whole thing is a murder mystery that you spend searching for "The White Pumpkin", and Lizzie is one of the main suspects here. Depending on your choices, she either survives til the end and DanTDM dies, or she goes in his place. A huge part of her character is that she was racing Dan to find an enchanted flint and steel that would lead to other worlds—to return to Empires or the Life Series, perhaps? Especially interesting to consider since she was absent for two seasons and returned in SL with a fixation on, you guessed it, pumpkins.

Episode 8 brings us to a very Life Series esque game. A trio of Old Builders are holding dozens of people in death games purely for their own entertainment, and those who don't survive respawn and go down to work in the mines. Veeeery fascinating concept in comparison to our canary in the coal mine, Mr Jimmy Solidarity.

Then the seasons switch, and we get episode 10/season 2 episode 2. For background, a villain called the Admin has built a giant ice tower full of challenges to split the group and determine the worthy. As you begin the challenges, you get the achievement "Winter Is Coming." Somewhat related, the Admin is a red coded character, having red hair and clothes. I think it's a little interesting how right before all the troubles begin, we have a red character give us that phrase via achievement.

Annnd finally, BigB is in season two episode three! We learn here that the Admin imprisons those who don't cooperate with him, and as some other reblogs have mentioned, BigB seems to have beat the Admin in some sort of game, thus ending him in prison. In the game, BigB is called Anthony (the CC's name) and wears a purple suit rather than his usual blue one. This is because he works as a guard, an "associate" in the prison—basically, he got rewarded for good behavior by becoming a guard. Still, he seems to have a panic attack when he thinks he's caught for sneaking cookies. He's more than happy to help Jesse, even if he's very hush hush about it and doesn't go farther than necessary. What's really interesting to me is why he's here, in a meta sense. The YouTuber episode has long passed, and he wasn't in that. Even then, those were huge minecraft youtubers, like CaptainSparklez, Lizzie, Stampy, Stacy Plays, and DanTDM. BigB doesn't play a huge role in this episode, either—he's hardly a named character, and he isn't shown as soon as the plot progresses past his level. His screentime is less than 5 minutes, and he easily could have been any random VA. I highly doubt any lore was intended by this, but it's super interesting considering how much Lizzie and Dan wanted to travel to other dimensions, likely long after BigB was imprisoned. Plus, I wonder what exactly he did to annoy the Admin so much?

Sorry for so many rambles ahjfjd, I have a lot of thoughts about the block men. Thank you for asking!!!

minecraft story mode is killing me. The fact that BigB and Lizzie are characters. The "Winter Is Coming" achievement. The entirety of episode eight. am I just adhd or is this the life series

[cryptid-quill]

crack theory/headcannon time

cc!Katherine’s full channel name is Katherine Elizabeth Gaming

cc!Jimmy’s full channel name is Solidarity Gaming

if we go by typical mcyt naming standards of making those a part of their characters’ full names, they both would probably have the last name Gaming

Therefore c!Katherine and c!Jimmy are actually related and Katherine is the third long lost seabling never mentioned in the book of prophecies

which also leads to the conclusion that Katherine also is an aquatic hybrid/has an aquatic creature associated with her

so therefore I conclude that katherine is a catfish

[ajw720]

Yes cause only gay guys can wear that shirt. It's a law. Straight dudes would definitely be arrested by both the fashion police and the CC police who live in 1950 and believe in extreme gender stereotyping. You all are ridiculous. Also only 10 year olds believe celebrities are secretly speaking to them through Instagram likes.

Dearest Anon,

I have to publish this so my followers have the opportunity to laugh as loudly at you as I have. 

You are a fool, a completely deluded fool.  This has nothing to do with the 1950s, members of the LGBT+ community are discriminated against every single day in this country and even worse globally, and people are closeted by those in power, particularly in the entertainment industry, sports, and politics. Your refusal to accept that fact is actually astounding.

No, a man who constantly defined as a “straight cis dude” and who seemingly is so uncomfortable with playing gay that he must assert his sexuality in EVERY DAMN print article and EVERY OTHER spoken interview, not to mention has his leech of a plus one glued to him constantly, is going to a night called Spirit Day designed to encourage LGBT youth, particularly those who are bullied, proudly wearing and displaying his “God Save the Queer” shirt. I didn’t see the other straight allies wearing anything remotely similar.

Further, openly queer, LGBT+ activist Justin Tra/nter invited him onstage to perform. there is no way in hell he would have a man that often sounds like a straight ass in the media on his stage at such an important event that has so much value to LGBT+ youth if he was not fully aware that D is so much more than the person presented in the media, which frankly is not a pretty or sympathetic image.

D knows precisely what it means to be bullied as he has been closeted,against his will, for EIGHT years.  he has lived in hell, and while he absolutely still is under contract and is playing the game, which is his JOB right now (promote the bar and that lazy woman), he takes the opportunities handed to him to speak and last night was one such opportunity.

Someday dearest anon you will wake up and reality is going to be harsh.  We may laugh about delusionville but honestly it is not a healthy place to live as you are shutting out reality and wearing rose tinted glasses imaging a world that is a hell of a light kinder than reality.

LISTEN TO HIM FOR ONCE IN YOUR PATHETIC LIFE.

Love, Me

Spirit Day is a means of speaking out against LGBTQ bullying and standing with LGBTQ youth, who disproportionately face bullying and harassment because of their identities. Pledging to "go purple" on Spirit Day is a way for everyone — forward-thinking companies, global leaders, respected celebrities, neighbors, parents, classmates, and friends — to visibly show solidarity with LGBTQ youth and to take part in the largest, most visible anti-bullying campaign in the world (x).

[goatyellsateverything]

So this was mentioned on my other post as a “gotcha” and I’m glad that Tim covered it.

There is a claim that, in 2011 (yes, 2 whole graduating classes ago so it had jack to do with the situation right now) there is video of a Covington Catholic kids wearing black body paint, black clothing, and white markings on their faces. People are saying its an example of CC being racist towards black people, calling it Blackface.

HOWEVER, the white markings on the one kids face (yes, ONE KID, not all of them) are not traditionally associated with Blackface. The markings are clearly more clown/jester inspired. There is also something called a “Blackout Game” which is when a school, often at finals games, wear all black as a show of solidarity towards their team (not to be confused with an NFL blackout game which is very different). I honestly dont know how it started, I cant find any information on the origins, BUT it is a documented event that many MANY schools take part in. Considering the inconsistencies between the kids face paint and Blackface, as well as a large number of the other students being dressed in black, I think its fair to assume this ISN’T a racist display.

Also in this video Tim touches on a tweeted video by a girl claiming that the CC boys harassed her and her friends. Not only is the scene nowhere near the site of the incident, there is no evidence the boys in the video are even FROM CC at all. They have MAGA hats on. Thats it.

The video shows a bunch of boys, sitting on a bench, yelling “MAGA” and “Build the wall” so you might say that this little group are a bunch of racist assholes.

But, lets take a step back.

Tim goes on to highlight some other gems from the girls twitter that include:

[source]

I think its fair to say that something else might have happened just before her little video.

I’M SPECULATING HERE but could it be that she said something racist/homophobic and they were making fun of her? We dont know. There is only this 8 second video and her account to go on. But, again, I’ll point out how there is no proof these boys are associated with CC in the first place.

[thenannyreviewed]

1x09 Personal Business

Hello, hello I’m back! So sorry for the super long hiatus. I started a new job and I guess I need to work on my time management skills. Anyway, I’m back now so let’s get back to making fun of my favorite television show, shall we?

The episode opens with Fran entering the room with her arms outstretched (show of hands: who’s surprised?) and sporting another bathrobe. Why this woman has 34308 different bathrobes, I’ll never understand. Maxwell compliments her on her robe and she tells him Victoria’s Secret was having a sale and that she bought some other stuff, but that’s her secret. Then she flirtatiously nudges him. There are children present. And he’s her boss. Brighton asks if she saved the catalogue and Niles cuts in and says Brighton can have it when Niles is through with it. I just…yikes. It’s like I wanna make jokes, but it might almost be going too far, ya know what I mean?

Moving on, Satan Sheffield arrives sporting a matching robe and pose as Fran.  The phone rings and everyone fights over who it could be. (Maxwell thinks it’s a business call. Maggie thinks it’s James Marsden calling to give her a good morning kiss. Spoiler alert: James Marsden doesn’t return to The Nanny though, so game over. Maggie.) It’s actually Val calling for Fran to gossip about Fran’s ex Danny. Fran’s phone call causes Max to miss an important business call so Maxwell lectures her on keeping business and personal separate. I’m sure this is going to turn out well.

Post opening credits, Fran and Grace interrupt Max’s work day to tell him they’re going shopping. Recognize Fran’s outfit from the pilot? Who even cares about that when CC is wearing … I don’t even know how to describe that. Anyway Max complains that he needs a leading man for his show. CC makes a comment about Fran’s outfit that I can’t even compute because WHAT IN GOD’S NAME ARE YOU WEARING, CC?

FUN FACT: CC Babcock’s entire Season One wardrobe was actually donated to Hamilton the musical for the Founding Fathers to wear.

CC tells Fran she’s wearing an Adolfo and Niles says “As in Hitler” and exits the room as she glares at him.  CC then hangs up with whoever the hell she’s on the phone with, with a classic “Kiss kiss, love you, ciao!” God bless that blue-blooded princess.

CC then sits on Maxwell’s desk (Petition to Give CC Babcock Her Own Desk 2k17) and tells him she’s gotten Brock Storm to be in their show. Brock plays River Shane on the hit soap opera One Day After Another. Fran is super excited about this because he’s apparently a big deal; some deli named a sandwich after him. Maxwell has eaten him. This isn’t even me being funny this is straight up dialogue from the show. Anyway, Fran thinks that because River Shane is perfect, Brock must be too. She’s unable to separate the fictional character from the actor. Hard to believe that Fran Fine, a vivacious Jewish girl from Queens, would have a hard time separating a character from the actor that portrays them.

The next scene opens with Brock Storm (hello Stefan Cassadine from General Hospital!) (and Tucker on The Young and the Restless!) (and Steve Johnson on Days of our Lives!) (why am I only just now realizing they got a legitimate soap opera actor to play a soap opera actor?!) singing Oklahoma and spelling it wrong (fun fact whenever I hear the song I almost always accidentally sing it the Brock Storm way. This show has done irreparable damage to my brain.) Also CC has had a wardrobe change and she’s gone from Founding Father to Classic 90’s Hillary Clinton.

Anyway, Brock makes it known that he’s still meeting with other producers such as Andrew Lloyd Webber (Is this the first we hear of Maxwell’s hatred for ALW?) and  Maxwell argues that he should do his first show on broadway with someone who epitomizes  style and class.

Enter Fran wearing this monstrosity! They exchange some flirtation which CC puts a stop to by threatening to hurt Fran. (Perfect person.) Fran and the kids leave and Brock says he’ll do the show if he gets top billing, the highest salary, and Maxwell’s nanny.

Stupid Maxwell thinks Brock really wants Fran to be an actual nanny to take care of his children. Niles and CC have a moment of solidarity over how dumb Maxwell is and my heart exploded.

The next scene picks up with Fran, Niles, and the children watching Brock’s soap opera together. Apparently Brock’s character got a woman pregnant even though he’s had a vasectomy. Grace asks what that is, and Maggie says it’s surgery like when CC went to Switzerland and came back without her thighs. Good for her. Grace asks if CC’s had a vasectomy and Niles says he’s heard that she’s given a few and I don’t really get why that’s an insult? Like is he saying CC emasculates men?  We get it Niles you love CC but you’re intimidated by her power.

Maxwell refuses to allow Fran to be part of the deal with Brock. CC doesn’t understand why he’s being such a terrible business man, why he’s the boss and she’s not, and why he gets a desk and she doesn’t (okay I made a lot of that up but really, I’m probably right.)

Niles comes in as CC is giving Maxwell a neck massage and telling him they just have to do it, and the look on his face is CLEAR JEALOUSY. The three of them realize Fran loved meeting Brock so setting her up with him would actually be doing her a favor (And not just pimping her out. Niles’ words, not mine.)

Max and CC call Fran into the office and CC tries sucking up to Fran, which just scares Fran. They tell her they’ve set her up with Brock for the night and she lights up like one of her sequined tops.

Maxwell is still kind of hesitant, telling her not to have too good a time. CC yells/glares at him and he shuts up. I wish CC got to yell at Maxwell at least once an episode because honestly I’m living for this. Fran is super excited and happily accepts.

Then she comes back and asks if her going out with Brock would be better for the show/Maxwell’s business. Max and CC’s reactions are priceless. CC tries to act offended at the thought but then Max cuts in and tells Fran the truth. Fran doesn’t really care.

BUT WAIT, then Fran remembers Maxwell’s rule of not mixing business with personal, and she decides to milk this for all its worth. Maxwell snaps and tells Fran he wants her to break all the rules. He’s so good at being a boss.

The next scene is Fran getting ready for her date with Maggie and Grace. Maggie puts on blush like she’s auditioning for the Ringling Bros.

Fran makes a stairwell entrance, of course. Brock seems like a real lech, which leaves Maxwell feeling really unsettled. Fran and Brock leave, and Niles asks Max if he’s worried she’ll have a bad time or a good time. He’s so insightful, that butler. Maxwell stares out the door looking very melancholy, like he’s in an emo music video. You just know he’s gonna wait up for Fran to get home. 

Cut to Fran having a terrible time on her date. Brock takes her to happy hour, keeps obsessing over how to part his hair, they get nachos and wings for dinner, and he pulls out an eye patch because he relates more to his soap opera character’s evil twin. I’ve had worse dates.

Oh my god and then my cold, black heart melted at the sight of Maxwell and Brighton sleeping in the living room waiting for Fran IN MATCHING BATHROBES!!! HOW STINKIN CUTE IS THAT? Fran comes in and asks if they were waiting up for her. Max tries to deny it but Brighton wakes up and asks if she’s home yet. Stop this is so cute. IT’S MESSING WITH MY SNARK.

Fran and Max have a sweet moment discussing how because they live together there’s bound to be some mixing of business with personal. Maxwell says he doesn’t really want to work with Brock anymore, and Fran says that’s a shame because now he can really hit those high notes as she saunters off to bed, leaving Maxwell and Brighton to simultaneously cringe.

The episode ends with Fran and Brighton playing scrabble, Maggie doing Grace’s hair, and Maxwell gossiping with Val on the phone about hiring soap opera actors for his shows. Niles is watching One Day After Another and notices that the show has replaced Brock with a new actor and wonders why. Fran asks how to spell “eunuch.” Lots of mentions of emasculating men in this episode. HELL YEAH GIRL POWER WHY AREN’T CC AND FRAN BEST FRIENDS YET?!!?!

To wrap it up:

Best Character of the Episode: CC “Kiss kiss, love you, ciao” Babcock

Worst Character of the Episode: Maggie, for no real reason. She was her usual self, which I suppose is reason enough.

Guest Star Likeability: Brock was a huge tool, but at least he didn’t really take away screen time from regulars on the show (cough cough CC). So for that I say we like him.

Best Outfit: I gotta go with Maxwell and Brighton’s matching pajamas.

Worst Outfit: CC’s take on colonial America

On a Scale of 1-10 how much does CC Babcock deserve a desk: 45

Alright folks, there we have it! Up next: an episode that was one of the reasons I started this blog.  Can’t. Wait.

[mcyt-confession-room]

I am considering running a little experiment where I write a series of Flower Ranchers fics but treat them the same way I see Ranchers fans treating Flower Husbands (the whole "Scott is toxic and evil because [writer] doesn't like him" problem) just to see how quickly people will pick up on it

But I'm low-key scared that if I do I'll get death threats and doxxed over it

.

[mcyt-confession-room]

Me and my brother adopted 2 rabbits and called them Jimmy and Joel and they fell in love and are like gay partners now or something i dont know but its cute

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[mcyt-confession-room]

one time I saw someone say they hated jimmy which. fair! completely okay, man, u hate who u want! even as Jimmys number 1 fan (permit pending), I don't care lol ...but then they went on to say "and all of his reaction content just feels like sssniperwolf now!" and... i was so confused. yeah, he reacts to stuff- and yeah maybe you think its boring, good for you! but. he's interacting with his fandom? I don't get it? he's reacting to things the fandom has made? not just? random things? and? I think you just think reaction content is all horrible and not good now? thing is, he has CREDITS! in the videos! I just. do not get it??? I just think people are looking for reasons to hate people at this point..........

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[riacte]

I’m going to put some thoughts about MCCP Pink Parrots under the cut (not all are positive, so if you don’t want me to be a party pooper please don’t read)

I know people (*cough* Twitter) have issues with this team because they’re all Cis Het White Males and one made a “lesbiophobic joke” five years ago or something. I agree that it’s probably better to “split the clout” to uplift other creators, especially with three (3) Clout People in the same team (unlike the infamous Pink8 which only had Two Clout People), but I understand why Scott made this decision.

This team feels almost specifically made to hype people up, and the combination will attract people to watch and donate, thus raising more money. While representation is good, I think money raised to practically help people > representation this time. Because this is a charity Pride stream, not just a Pride stream. Raising money is the focus here. Famous cishet white male allies can raise a lot of money. Money can help people. These are all facts whether you like it or not. And if you want to see more LGBTQA+ creators in MCC, support them. If you don’t like a certain creator, don’t watch their team. The end.

Don’t know too much about the other three, but I think Grian is good at hosting charity streams. I’ve watched his Love Tropics stream with Iskall (2019?), the first SOS Africa stream with Ren (2020), the MCC 9 stream (2020), and the second SOS Africa stream with Ren, Bdubs, and Scar (2021). Throughout the streams, Grian is consistently respectful and humble. He urges his viewers to donate by patiently talking about the cause in simple terms (since he knows a lot of kids watch him) but without being patronising. Grian also loves putting numbers into things people can measure (eg. How many hot meals can this sum of money buy, if everyone watching right now donated $1 we can reach our goal). Grian also knows his privilege and mentions he’s just a well off guy playing video games in a comfortable place. When Ren thanked him for supporting his fellow South Africans, Grian replied with “we’re all human”. So I believe Grian will spend a lot of his MCCP stream urging viewers to donate, reading out donations, appreciating donations, etc etc. Grian knows his influence and knows how to use it for good. Someone on Twitter mentioned Grian seemed like the type of person to skip this MCC to give more slots for other creators, and I agreed, but then Grian probably thought he could use his influence for good (considering he had MAJOR success for all his past charity streams).

So all in all, I do think this team can raise a lot of money for a good cause. I am okay with this team. But personally I still have some slight issues that probably don’t matter much, but I need to get them out because it’s been eating me alive. All of these so-called “issues” have to do with fanbases, not CCs. Just because I don’t like part of a CCs’ fanbase doesn’t mean I don’t like the CC.

1. This team will probably intensify the “Grian Is The Only Hermit” phenomenon.

A lot of famous CCs only seem to know Grian out of everybody in Hermitcraft (despite False being in every MCC since debut except the non canon ones). They are somewhat akin to the “Grian Only Hermitcraft Watchers”/ “Grumbo YouTube Stan Army”. There’s nothing wrong with knowing Grian only, or only watching Grian, but most of the times the gigantic population of “Grian Only Stans” will neglect Literally Every Other Hermit (except maybe Mumbo). Even when Grian teams with hermits. Hermitcraft fans are mostly used to this bullshit, and they just nicely try to introduce Grian Only Stans to other hermits (which works most of the time).

So to Techno and Wilbur’s fans (I assume Jimmy’s fans are quite familiar with Grian), they’ll go “omg Grian!! Builder!!! Hermitcrafter!!”. This will introduce a bunch of people to Grian/ Hermitcraft (which is great!) but it has a good chance of evolving into the good ole “Grian is the only hermit that matters” thing. Simply because of popularity.

I actually wanted False-Grian-Techno-Wilbur, because Techno and Wilbur actually know False. Techno of course acknowledged her in Dodgebolt, and False and Wilbur have a surprisingly long history of trolling/ annoying each other (from MCC5-9). Wilbur notably trolled Yellow8 and Blue9 by covering up the letters on their uniforms (both hermit teams WITHOUT GRIAN), and when Grian ignored Wilbur around MCC7 Battle Box, Wilbur chose to annoy False instead. False in return seems to notice Wilbur a tiny bit more than general MCC participants (another one she notices is Fundy), such as being amused/annoyed when he overtakes her in Ace Race and gleefully cheering when Wilbur falls.

False is probably the hermit/ hermit adjacent sans Mr Golden Boi Grian with the most “connections” to SBI, Techno and Wilbur know her (Techno forgot about her in MCC 11 but whatever), and she can deal with the three clout people. Which brings me to the next point.

2. Jimmy Solidarity my beloved…

Naturally, Jimmy has already been neglected because he’s the only one who doesn’t have a lot of “clout”. This is different from the last megaclout team Pink8, because Michael and Burren could “lack clout” together. This time, Jimmy doesn’t have anyone with a similar popularity with him. Red10 made me a little more concerned (viewers have pointed out he seems a little bit neglected by the rest of his teammates, especially during DB when they were shittalking Jimmy’s friends).

CCs wise, they will probably/ hopefully be nice and kind (I say hopefully because I cannot trust anyone from DSMP other than HBomb), everyone will get along, no one will be excluded, everyone is happy.

The toxic fans will probably be rabid towards Jimmy (by extension Grian) if they make even a slight mistake, which is why I’m worried about putting a small/medium sized creator with the BIG BIG creators. But, eh. Toxic people will be toxic no matter what. This isn’t an issue exclusive to Pink Parrots.

3. Clashing attitudes?

Hermits and their friends advocate arrow split. Techno does not. What will happen if this team gets to Dodgebolt? Previously, Grian has always been on “arrow split” teams and greatly enjoyed them. Scott has taken care to put people with similar attitudes together. Now what? I have hope that they’re all mature and can compromise, but eh. Grian is strongly against arrow funnelling and calls it not-gentlemanly. I feel Techno will probably let Grian have a few shots since this is a for fun MCC, but what if they get teamed again for some competitive MCC? They’ll probably work it out, but what might their fanbases think?

To conclude, big fanbases = big benefits + big problems. This is not exclusive to Pink Parrots. In fact, I think this is probably the best mix of builders and clout people for this scenario (I personally do not want to see False-Puffy or Ren-Dream). Techno and Wilbur’s fanbases are already the nicer part of the DSMP fanbase.

The most important part is raising money of course, and the silly “issues” I mentioned above don’t mean anything in comparison. Why care about online matters when the money can help people in the real world?

That being sad, I was just a tiny bit salty and I had to get this out. Nonetheless I’m happy about this team, will definitely be interesting (selfishly hope they don’t win because Twitter will be mad a team of cishets won). Anyways, if you’ve read up to here, thank you for reading my ramblings.

[cornerfluff]

Hmmm

I support this notion but if you do end up doing so, please be careful 😅

I am considering running a little experiment where I write a series of Flower Ranchers fics but treat them the same way I see Ranchers fans treating Flower Husbands (the whole "Scott is toxic and evil because [writer] doesn't like him" problem) just to see how quickly people will pick up on it

But I'm low-key scared that if I do I'll get death threats and doxxed over it

.