#just my two cents on this whole thing

[royal-misfit]

The main reason I think Goncharov worked better as a piece of mass produced fiction over Zepotha really does come down to the basic concepts of each piece. Goncharov had a concrete idea from the start, it was a lost 1973 mafia film directed by Martin Scorsese. Meaning that people new to the joke could more easily understand how to add to the story. Martin Scorsese has an unique style to his films, he has directed multiple mafia/crime dramas that people could pull from to create a cohesive story that sounds plausible for him to have made. People were able to come up with characters (and the actors who played them) and an actual plot by just studying the genre and finding what would work. Zepotha is just marketing a single artist's work under the idea of "an 80's horror film", no director, no actual genre other than "horror" (what kind of horror? Slasher seems to be the most popular, but Zepotha sounds more like a giallo style supernatural horror to me). There's no director listed, so no one knows how this film would play out or look. Because horror is such a vague descriptor here, people are throwing just about everything to the wall to see what sticks, which slows down the actual storytelling potential. People are making up characters first, before a plot leading to there being like 50 named characters, but any actual story is lost. Tldr; Goncharov found it's footing much easier and faster by starting out with a concrete idea, while Zepotha is stumbling because it's vagueness makes it hard for anyone to agree on basic things like story or characters.

[royalarchivist]

Bad: I don’t think people understand the effect QSMP had on some of the streamers in terms of like… The real raw mental impact, so I’m gonna set the stage for you. [...] Imagine that you were given a friend to play Minecraft with — like your best friend — BUT if this person dies, if they die in the game, you never get to talk to them again. Can you imagine what that’s like?

Bad: If you did not live through the QSMP, if you did not live through that, it almost sounds like, crazy. But I don’t think people realize how much of a joyous experience the Eggs were. They were SO awesome! They were literally so awesome to just hang out with and spend time with.

Bad: I’m not saying I regret it. To this day, I loved the experience. I’d do it all over again in a heartbeat. Even knowing how everything went, I would still do it all over again. [...] I would still do it all over again, because — even knowing like, all the trauma and suffering and stuff like that — because it was just… It was just that fun, it was just that fun.

Earlier today during his stream, Bad shared his experience and thoughts about the Eggs and the significant emotional (and traumatic) impact they had on him and his fellow QSMP members.

This clip a very edited-down version since his commentary was ~13 minutes long, so I highly recommend checking out Bad's VOD if you have the time. (Timestamp: 47:36 - 1:00:14)

[ Full Transcript ↓ ]

———

Bad: To be fair Chat, I really think the QSMP... I don't think anyone really can relate to it, Chat. It's something that's so... I've told people this before, like– but it's hard to understand. Right? Like...

Where was I? Sorry Chat, I'm losing my train of thought. Look, let me explain Chat– here's the dealio, ok? Here's the dealio, and this is what I mean when I say like, it's important to keep this in mind, Chat. Ok? It's important to keep this in mind:

I don’t think people understand the effect that the QSMP had on like, some of the streamers, in terms of like… The real raw mental impact, so I’m gonna set the stage for you. This is the analogy I’ve given to every person who I’ve like, shared this with. Imagine you meet somebody– [He hears a strange noise] What the fudge was that? Did you hear that?

Anyway– Chip! The story I was just relaying to Chat, Chip, was this: I was sharing this story with them, I said–  I was giving them an analogy. 

Imagine Chat, for example, imagine that you were… playing Minecraft, with like– you were given a friend to play Minecraft with, Chat, like your best friend, and [unintelligible] were like, “Hey, you get to play Minecraft with this person, right? BUT if this person dies – they’re currently your best friend, Chip – but if they die in the game, you never get to talk to them again. Ever again.” Can you imagine what that’s like, Chip?

I don’t think a lot of people understand like, what that does, right? I’m not gonna say that like, it creates this situation, Chip, that like, messes with your head, but it– Chip – but it totally, totally does, Chip. It messes with your head! It literally puts you in a position where you’re second-guessing and thinking about everything, Chip! You’re thinking about EVERYTHING Chip! Ok? And that’s the problem, Chip– is you turn into a paranoid monster because of it, Chip! Like, you don’t understand Chip– I was- I was so afraid of every dirt block, I used to carry a shovel with me Chip, and I would specifically right-click dirt blocks that looked suspicious because mines, Chip– mines could not be shoveled! Like, I was crazy, Chip! But here’s the problem, Chip: that craziness is still there. I’m genuinely like–

I remember thinking Chip, that I would one day– I was like, “I’m going to move past–” here, let’s go up here, Chip. I remember thinking one day Chip, I was like, “I’m gonna move past the underground base, one of these days. You know, one of these days, I feel like I’ll be able to grow and achieve the desire to build a base that doesn’t have to be underground.” But I don’t think it’s possible now Chip, because I think… I just don’t know. I feel like the paranoia– there’s still like, residual leftover trauma from that situation, Chip.

But here’s the problem Chip: I don’t think I don’t think– I don’t think people understand it. Like, I just really don’t. But I also don’t blame them Chip, ‘cuz I don’t think it’s possible to fully understand it if you haven’t lived through it. Like, if you did not live through the QSMP… I’m talking about the QSMP, I don’t- I don’t know if that was obvious– if you did not live through that, it almost sounds like, crazy. But I don’t think people realize how much of a joyous experience like, the Eggs were. Right? I don’t think people realize it. Like, they were SO awesome! They were literally so awesome to just hang out with and spend time with, Chip. So, it’s just one of those things that–

[He’s interrupted by a loud rumble of thunder above them]

Did lightning just strike here? Is it thunderstorming out…? But anyway, Chip. That’s the food for thought.

But that’s the problem– Like, every time it rains in Minecraft, I have to like, look at the sky, and I get this weird, like, second--hand vibe because of the trauma. The trauma, Chip! The trauma is real! But that’s the point– I’m not saying I regret it. I, to this day Chip, I loved the experience. I’d do it all over again in a heartbeat. Even knowing how everything went, I would still do it all over again. 

[He falls down] Dangit, don’t come over here Chip, ‘cuz I’m coming back up! Ok.

I would still do it all over again, because — even knowing like, all the trauma and suffering  and stuff like that — because it was just… It was just that fun, Chip, it was just that fun. I really wi– I don’t think it’s ever gonna be possible, Chip, to give people that same energy, like that same experience. You know what I mean, Chip? I don’t think it’s ever gonna be possible again. Like, EVER.

Because… because like, one: I will say on one level Chip, I will say on one level, like– it’s sort of emotionally like… It’s emotionally devastating, and I think to actually go through that– and this is where like, if I ever do end up going to a– see a therapist, if I ever do end up going to see a therapist at any point, I’ll talk it over with them and be like, “Hey, what do you think about this?” Because I genuinely think on one level, like– it’s created this fear of forming attachments because of like, how things can go. You know what I mean? Like, the fear of getting attached to something and then potentially losing it. Like, it’s- it’s a genuine thing. I think people forget about that.

Like, at the end of the day, everything was RP, right? On the server. You know what I mean? Like, everything was RP, Chip. BUT at the same point, even though it was RP Chip, it was still like– there the reality of you were still playing like, with another person, and you were still getting that experience, and it felt like you were genuinely attached to someone and you didn’t want anything bad to happen to them. It was GENUINELY stressful, Chip.

But at the same point, I don’t regret it, and I don’t think it was a bad experience. I’m– 

Sometimes in life Chip, you go through stuff, and maybe you have a certain amount of like, things that like, can happen, that you’re like, “You know what, maybe this wasn’t a good thing that this happened,” but at the same point, you still aren’t necessarily upset about it, because… it’s like growing as a person, right? Here’s the thing Chip; even bad situations, Chip, can lead to an overall good outcome. Like–

Even if you’re going through something bad Chip, just because a bad thing happens doesn’t mean that only bad things have to come from that. That’s one of the things I tell people all the time, Chip, is that if you go through a bad situation, you can learn from it, and you can use your experience to help others. And you can be that– you can be, at the worst-case scenario, you can be someone for other people who are going through that same experience to lean on when they go through that.I think there’s a certain amount of comfort that comes from that; from knowing no matter how bad your situation is, you’re not the only person who’s experienced it. You know what I mean?

[bubblesxo]

I’m sorry but the flat way that the fandom tackles the Enji Todoroki problem is so blegh. Yes, how he treated them (especially Shouto—we don’t 100% know if Touya’s training was the same, especially because he actually liked his training) was wrong, the way he treated his wife was wrong, the way he ignored his other kids is wrong. HOWEVER, him cutting Touya off from training was NOT 100% wrong. Should he have treated it more delicately? Yes. Should he have been more considerate to his kid? Yes. Should he have gotten him some kind of therapy to help him cope with his obvious mental issues? Also yes. But cutting him off from training when he gets hurt doing so and it’s unavoidable is NOT wrong. He was trying to prevent exactly what happened in the end. Maybe he could have revisited it a few years later when training isn’t all Touya is and looked into support items, idk, but Enji’s approach was the right decision in the wrong way.

[ravensroleplays]

"As someone who was tricked and corrupted into a soul-stealer, the idea of someone willingly selling their soul is one of, if not the, stupidest thing I think someone could do. Most normal people live for...what? 70? 80 or so years, give or take. So unless you made a deal for immortality--and even THEN, it's not like there's a guarantee you won't end up being killed somehow eventually, maybe even by the being you made the deal with, so they can collect on their end of it faster, you're going to die eventually, and then what??! You'll spend the rest of eternity being tortured in some sort of hell. Sounds like a raw deal to me."

[fadelikeclouds]

Diving into Tai’s mind: actions do not speak louder than words

First of all, I will say that I was upset with Tai at the end of episode 10. I am fine that Tai didn’t want to talk to Patts outside on the street. He was probably shocked and frightened by Patts angry outburst, and he wanted to put some time and distance between them so that they could cool off and talk more rationally later. What I’m less fine with is that Tai still refuses to say anything after Patts shows up at his door. And yeah, Patts probably shouldn’t have shown up drunk outside Tai’s door, but he is in pain and needs some comfort, and he tells Tai this. So why doesn’t Tai say anything to reassure Patts?

And now we come to the reason I am writing this. I don’t like staying upset at people, so I try to understand them. After thinking about things I am still frustrated with Tai, but a little less so. Here are the results of my musings.

Tai has been struggling with his parent’s divorce for over 2 years now. It’s easy to say that, but what does it mean? He is a romantic, and seeing his ideal of love crumble before him was frightening because it made him doubt the existence of love and happiness. Soulmates guarantee nothing. Love doesn’t last. Families can break apart. That’s a pretty dismal view of the world. Despair is never easy to cope with. He had his faith in love broken, so of course he wouldn’t talk to his soulmate, because why create a relationship that will only break your heart?

Then he sees Patts, and he starts to hope again. But he’s still hesitant. He’s still scared. He knows that there is no guarantees in relationships, soulmates or not. This is how he goes into his relationship with Patts, fighting against his doubts and fears the whole way. Throughout the beginning Patts is patient, kind, charming, and Tai begins to be more open to the idea of a relationship with this soulmate of his. Then the whole situation with Nara happens, and his fears and doubts about love come up again.

He talked with Nara; he knows how much she loved Patts, and he even cheered her on when he didn’t know Patts was her ex. They honestly loved each other, and seeing them kiss makes him question, again, what makes a relationship last. Confused and panicked, he decides to talk a walk to the Doi Mae Pliang in an effort to figure everything out... which doesn’t work. But he talks with Patts after he finds him in the ditch, and after being reassured that Patts does love him and would choose to love him even without being soulmates his mind clears. He knows he loves Patts, and all of Patts words and actions make him believe that Patts reciprocates that love. So he (nonverbally) agrees to officially date him when Patts asks him the next morning. At a glance, what’s the big deal? That’s only natural. This is a romance, of course they’re going to start dating. But as a character, this choice means that he is willing to face all his fears about being in a relationship, a big shift for the guy who ran away from his issues by remaining silent for 2 years. To be clear, I don’t think his fears go away, but Tai has the resolve that this relationship is worth it, that Patts is worth the risk of heartbreak.

And even then, he’s not ready to go the final step and have sex with Patts just yet. That is another level of vulnerability that Tai eases himself into, something that he doesn’t take lightly. In this episode, when he says he’s ready, to him it’s another way of showing how serious and committed he is to this relationship. He loves Patts, and is willing to face all the fears that comes with being in a relationship with his soulmate.

All of this is a big deal to Tai. These are very large steps that he has taken forward as someone who chose to very litterally suffer in silence every time it rained. Now, does he talk about this with Patts? Not in any great detail. That’s part of the problem.

To Tai it’s not even a question of whether to choose Patts or Lomfon. He loves Patts. All of his actions show just how much Patts means to him. And I think it hurts Tai that Patts doesn’t understand him. Because in Tai’s mind, he’s crossed oceans of fears, fought uphill battles against his skepticism, just to get here. Having Patts doubt Tai’s love makes him feel that Patts belittles all the pain and fear Tai’s endured to get to this point in the relationship. And that hurts because in a relationship, you want to be understood by your partner so that you can share in the joys and pains with them.

But what Tai doesn’t see is that Patts is in pain right now. Patts is scared and needs some words of reassurancs because he is human. He has his own fears and insecurities. He watched as his last relationship fell apart because he has a “soulmate”, something entirely out of his control. And with the appearance of a second soulmate, having Tai lie about seeing Lomfon, catching them at the perfectly wrong moment to see them kiss, Patts loses it. He’s angry and afraid because again, he could lose someone he loves because of this soulmate thing that he has no control over. That fear grips him, and when we’re like that, we can’t think calmly. Sometimes we need the support of others to help us through the dark avenues of the mind.

But instead of helping him, Tai feels like he’s said everything Patts is asking him to say, and he’s upset that Patts can’t hear him. And I get that. It’s frustrating when you feel like you’ve been saying something over and over again, and the other person just doesn’t seem to get it. What’s the point in trying to communicate when nothing you say will be understood? It feels as if all your efforts are just futile. But communication is a two way street. Being understood is an important part of a relationship, but it is equally important to try to understand the other person, which is what Tai is missing here. Tai has spoken through his actions, but what Patts needs are words. He needs to hear that Tai does love him, that he does choose him. We say that actions speak louder than words, but at times words are absolutely necessary.

[that-wizard-oki]

I know im a baby and just want my game play to be Easy Peasy Lemon Squeazy, but when i see people asking to make w101 content harder i simply want to pass away

[numerolock]

Doesn't matter if the anchor loves the ship or if the ship loves the anchor (personally, I do think they love each other), the anchor and the ship need each other. They would not exist without each other.

[teddybearty]

What did the Euphoric Brothers DO other then make a bad game? cuz i haven't heard of any drama

You know I thought that way at first. Like, BanBan was BAD (not to mention they made a brand new game and immediately plugged a merch store) but you know there wasn’t anything entirely wrong with the game.

That was…until I learned about Introvert.

Introvert is a game that ONE of the brothers (Faris) made as a “passion project”. But there’s nothing passionate about a game around school shootings, especially when it was labelled as a “comedy”. And ESPECIALLY WITH HOW BAD IT IS.

I watched someone play the game and as bad as BanBan is, I RATHER SIT THROUGH SOMEONE PLAY THE CANNON MINIGAME FROM GOB 2 a THOUSAND TIMES than sit through Introvert again.

It is insensitive, not funny, and just nonsensical.

If you want more info about how bad the brothers are, you could just watch this video or find other videos about the devs.

Everyone can come up to your own conclusions but these devs feel very scummy. The BanBan designs are so LAZY and UNINSPIRED and they wanted to make a profit off of that. It just…not good.

[j-esbian]

you know the whole ‘there are no ethical billionaires because to get to that point is dependent on the exploitation of others”

starting to feel like that’s also the case for anyone who achieves a meaningful level of fame.

this is illustrated on a small-scale level by the seemingly endless number of youtubers who appear on my radar only when they are caught in some scandal. it’s not necessarily that youtubers are a uniquely terrible breed; all industries dependent on fame are highly competitive and people willingly step on each other to get ahead. and once you’ve gotten away with that, you feel like you’re untouchable. the rules for other people don’t apply to you because you’ve already proven yourself Better than others, in whatever way that means to you, and maybe you start pushing other boundaries to see what else you can get away with.

talent does not always translate to fame. but, especially in arts industries where it’s nearly impossible to make a living wage without being famous, it seems that way. it’s almost impossible to carve out space to build skill on top of raw talent when you have to work a full time day job, so of course the people who have achieved fame will be able to dedicate more time to their craft. if you’re born without talent, i hope you were at least born rich.

but the guy you’ve heard of isn’t inherently more talented or better at what he does than an indie creator. fame is a combination of merit and marketing

[todayisafridaynight]

sister saw me wearing the puffer that i use for my daigo cosplay since im cold all the time and sweaters arent enough and she was just like 'i really like it :) you look so. 👊💥' and after going What she was like 'you look real cool :) is what i meant :)' like thank you sister of mine youre too silly for this life

[cowboycunt]

i see so many posts with people arguing whether or not it’s worth it or ‘leftist’ to vote and i’ll be real all i can think about is when i told my housemate i wasn’t allowed to vote here he was like ‘damn i could never move to a place i wasn’t allowed to vote’ and honestly i do think a lot of naturalized us citizens just sort take it for granted? like if you don’t wanna vote then whatever go you. but maybe go ask a local immigrant or a felon or a puerto rican about what policies they feel strongly about because i bet a lot of them really wish they had a say in things. then just vote on their behalf.

[atopvisenyashill]

everyone’s been talking about “what if lyanna had survived” and to be honest my stance is “ned is forced to go to war with robert.”

everything we know about Lyanna’s willfulness and “wolf blood” makes me severely doubt she would be willing to marry Robert OR be parted from her son after Ned rescued her from the Tower of Joy. It’s not just that Robert’s idealism of her and temper will be much worse after the war, but that she has been through hell trying to get away from him, and she likely understands he’s now a threat to her son. At odds with that is the fact that short of Lyanna publically humiliating him or a maester declaring she can’t have more kids, Robert is not gonna put her aside. her best bet is that she can’t have more kids bc it frees her from Robert. however, there’s still the problem of Jon.

Because again - i don’t think it’s likely Lyanna would want to be parted from him! I know nobles often don’t raise their bastards but the one two punch of “a war accidentally started in part because Lyanna ran away and had Jon” and “her brother and father died attempting to rescue her and all the Targs are dead now too” PLUS the possibility that she knows something about why Rhaegar wanted a third child, it just makes me highly, HIGHLY doubtful she is letting him out of her sight. And while Robert can be talked into not murdering babies, Ned is not likely to be in the frame of mind to talk Robert into not murdering his nephew.

And that’s best case ie “Lyanna can’t have more kids and the lords pressure Robert to take another wife” - which, I think is kinda likely, honestly? Howland is dedicated to Lyanna (and I think Ashara and the Daynes know All About Jon, but you don’t even need their help, really) and would be more than willing to help cover up shit, as we already know. If Ned says they should tell Robert it was a stillbirth and then they can get married, and Lyanna says “I’m STILL not marrying your dickhead bestie, Ned” I do think Ned is going to try to get her out of it. He’s already sympathetic to her issues pre-kidnapping, adding all this trauma on yhere, he’s gonna give it The Old Eddard Try which means hardcore and secretive - just have a Maester declare her incapable. Howland (or Ashara) offer to hide Jon while they deal with breaking the engagement, and maybe Lyanna is okay with this initially, but eventually she’s turning to Ned and going “i want my fuckin kid back” and the Daynes/Howland just can’t have this random Stark looking baby running around forever, someone is gonna find out and then…what lyanna hides in essos with jon until robert chills out? they stay in winterfell while robert sulks in anger in KL and hope he doesn’t realize Jon is her’s? it’s risky as fuck.

and that’s IF he’s talked into giving her up. again, i think it’s unlikely ned rocks up with lyanna with zero plan to get her back to winterfell safe with him, but if they can’t convince robert to set her aside, lyanna is stuck in the capital, parted from her baby, forced to have robert’s baby, and that’s not a situation lyanna is gonna take lying down. feels less likely benjen goes to the wall in this scenario; he may very well opt to stay with lyanna to protect her, and the north has a bigger presence in KL to watch over their girl, but Tywin is still there jockeying for power and LF is still going to show up wanting to fuck things for his grand plan, AND that’s not to mention Varys. So many variables and none of them are good for Lyanna.

i just feel, no matter what scenario, lyanna is not marrying robert nor giving up jon and in this specific case, a grief stricken and desperately relieved ned will fight for her. if ned can get robert to see sense and set her aside, maybe after a decade or two, lyanna and jon can come home from essos, or ned can have jon “foster” with lyanna and howland where robert can’t easily reach them. maybe lyanna gains a sort of elaena targaryen reputation, where the dubiously consensual relationship she had with a targ that resulted in a son is seen as a thing of a past, a silly mistake a young girl made, and she marries later in life to a man of her choosing. or maybe not, because elaena didn’t have viserys plumm and the waters kids hanging around her at every moment while lyanna will still have jon around. and a jon raised in such a volatile environment is very likely to be protective of his mother.

idk. it’s complicated and sad, is the answer. as they say in the books, ned loved jon’s mother very much. he has faults, and he has very big issues with misogyny that are sometimes glossed over, but i do believe that when pushed, ned would have fought for lyanna’s independence after the tower of joy, and it’s going to bring him into conflict with robert big time. all his anger over robert’s approval of the slaughter of elia, rhaenys, and aegon are going to collide with his habit of sacrificing his honor to save his family much sooner than it does in the books.

[starsaught]

Regarding my posts whenever I mention Via drinking, I wanna clarify this real quick.

Can Via drink alcohol? Well, a couple of factors play into the answer.

She's 17, yes, but if we're going off demon age timelines & the fact Stolas may be well into his thousands by the time Via was born, it's likely that she herself may be in the early hundreds regarding her age. I personally see her in her early two-hundreds, still young but capable.

They're?? Literally?? In?? Hell?? I don't think they have a legal drinking age, & even if they did--she's royalty. Who the hell cares if a royal brat drinks???

& she's always with a trusted family member ( Andre, Stolas, hell, even Stella-- ) I don't see her making a fool of herself in public.

[arthrobug]

Gob I hate socializing so much dudes

An accident just happened to the house directly next to mine (its America its no surprise a drunk guy crashed into a house at 9PM) and my mother's best idea was to WALK ACROSS THE WHOLE STREET TO GO TALK TO THE CROWD

Eventually I get over there and I think one of them comments on me coming over is already making me nervous and I find out they're not even talking about the frackin crash they're talking about the latest gossip??

I'm just standing there like a fish out of water thinking what the frack am I going to do

And then she decides -because we brought out our tiny dog- to go talk to our other neighbors,,, who in fact don't speak a lick of English but are generally very friendly and every ounce of latino in me left me a long time ago

It is now 11:00PM. I am so tired and feel so awkward cuz I was starting to have an autism moment and twitching a ton they def thought I was on drugs

[lady-zephyrine]

Honestly the thing that bugs me about AI is that no matter how "good" it gets, it'll never be able to replicate what a human can do.

Like, if you asked me to draw a black cat, the first thing that would come to mind for me would be my own black cats, both with their own distinct personalities and everything.

And if you asked someone else to draw a black cat, their drawing would have some kind of meaning or personality even if they don't own a black cat.

But if you asked an AI to draw a black cat, you'll get what you asked for but there won't be any thought or meaning behind it. There's no thought or meaning behind it, it's just a black cat.

[keikakudori]

There are some things that are just not okay to write. Historical accuracy my ass. It's vile. Like of all the things I've seen in this RPC, this kind of thing is absolutely ... not at all okay to write! There's some things that should just not be put out there and some things that are not your place to write on or touch at all. Forcing one's own viewpoints onto others without any care or regard for how your words or behavior can impact others is terrible. Ignoring the boundaries and comforts of others does not make you a good person; it just makes you absolutely disgusting. It should not be that hard of a concept to grasp, that maybe some things are better left being kept to yourself rather than saying them aloud.