#sorry for using some screenshots of the transcription instead of the actual video i kept having the fight around the image limit

[sagethegremlin]

an unorganized analysis of salt and pepper in season 2 episode 12 "alternate reality show"

this episode is VERY dear to me because of how perfectly it shows salt and pepper's faults when taken to the absolute extreme: salt's ego being her own demise, and pepper's blind following and full trust in her leading to a breaking point where she finally realizes she's underappreciated.

Throughout the episode, there are many points where we see that Salt sees herself as being in control of the show, adopting a more carefree (or careless attitude) towards being the host, while Pepper is the one actually keeping things together.

so in going through this, i'm pretty much going to be talking about the episode (as it pertains to them) in chronological order just so it's easier to talk about

(And also as a quick sidenote yes I know one reason this timeline is so bad is because MePhone got upgraded and Cobs won but I'm pretty much gonna be focusing on Salt and Pepper so I won't really talk about that too much)

FIRST THING'S FIRST: the grass

it seems unimportant, but it's the VERY first thing we see about the new world that's created when Salt and Pepper are in charge. I'd like to point your attention to the first two shots we see before Salt and Pepper introduce themselves I PROMISE I have a point to make here

Now the grass changes colors from some scenes to others, but its always either a mix between pink and purple, or other times predominantly pink. I was going to do a full inventory of all of the shots and show the ratio between when it was more purple and when it was more pink, but when the ratio became 7:35 (in favor of pink) I decided that was probably enough to say that the grass is mostly pink throughout the episode, and was probably intended to be that way for all of the scenes.

Pink is Salt's favorite color, with Pepper's being purple. This is something that is shown in this episode, but much more predominantly in Fan's Fantastic Feature's 4 when they change the colors of Fan's display and Pepper makes it purple and Salt makes it pink. ALL THIS TO SAY if you're crazy like me you could interpret this to further illustrate how Salt is the one that's more in control of this world (again, in FFF4 she changes the room to be pink, I bet she would totally change the grass on her show if she could).

The Intro

Salt introduces herself first we totally expected this BUT I want to call attention to the way they're positioned when the logo shows up.

Salt is carefree here; totally laid back about this whole thing. Pepper on the other hand, is the one that's actually looking at the logo when it appears. She helps keep Salt on track with this project, and she's proud of herself for it. Again, this could just be how they were posed for the shot BUT i want to be not normal about it so i will c:

and also as a sidenote i know the "directed by no one" is just a cute joke but it also is perfect because yeah there IS no direction here s&p are doing their fashion shows and the other contestants just run around doing their own thing there's no true structure or semblance of a show left it's all just. salt and pepper.

The "Challenge"

Here's where my claim of "Pepper is keeping the show running while Salt is basking in the glory" starts coming into play.

For starters, PEPPER is the one that says it's challenge time, but when she get's things up and running she immediately turns it over to Salt. I believe that even though she says that it's their show, in some part of Pepper's mind she believes that the show belongs to Salt and she just wants to do everything she can both for the show and to help her best friend out. Trend setter/trend follower after all.

When Salt calls MePhone7 over, she asks him to make another fashion show, and Shell complains about it being the 10th time they've done this. Now while you couldddd take this as just "salt and pepper are very feminine and they just really like fashion shows and that sort of thing" but I think there's also an argument to be made in that the challenge being a fashion show is a decision that Salt is making over and over again, not thinking of something new. It's repetitive and shows how much effort she isn't dedicating to the show she's hosting.

AND ALSO PEPPER LOOKS OVER TO SALT TO MAKE SURE SHE'S HAPPY YEAH I'M NORMAL

Tangent 1: Spa

not a lot to say but VERRRRRY interesting that they also made a hotel. This implies that one of them won the million and decided to spend it on this, but why? A spa and resort seems more up their alley, why go for a hotel? Did they possibly get the idea from OJ? What even happened to him? (<-im gonna come back to that later)

Tangent 2: Just Like Me

ok there's not a lot to be said for this montage I just wanted to point out two quick things. First is this cool little monopoly game (I NEED ONE) I just wanted to point out that Salt is the one shown giving the consequence

and two this is totally me grasping at straws here but I just find it interesting that after watching Test Tube tinker with her device Pepper's kind of neutral but Salt is the one to be instantly angered by it. This is her show and she's quick to make sure no one ruins it.

Tangent 3: The Statue (another example of me grasping at straws)

ok gang HEAR ME OUT one of the sides is bigger than the other and is TAKING OVER the other side yeah? yeah? <-she might be losing it

The Confrontation With Test Tube

ALRIGHT GANG HERE'S WHEN THEIR ROLES REALLY SHINE THROUGH and also heads up I have a lot to say about this part and a lot of this is obvious but I'm being super thorough here.

So for starters the most important thing about this confrontation is that Salt is the one starts it and is the one being the most assertive, while Pepper is the one explaining things in greater detail (the two are still finishing each others sentences, but there's a clear difference in roles if you look at them).

^a few examples of Salt being assertive, aggresive, and overall just feeling very "in charge"

^and here's a quick batch of Pepper being the one explaining how their system works, and overall feeling more like an assistant than the one in charge

^ALSO THIS SHOT IN PARTICULAR BREAKS ME PEPPER SEES ANYONE WHO YELLS AT SALT AS A THREAT AND IMMEDIATELY GETS ON EDGE OUGHHHH I LOVE THEM SO MUCH

I'd also like to call out these lines of dialogue real quick because I think the most interesting puzzle piece in all of this is OJ. We know that Salt was coded to like him, so it's very interesting that he isn't around and she either forgot about him or is saying here that her and Pepper are better than him. It makes sense that these two wouldn't recognize Lightbulb, considering they don't really pay that much attention to other people and she could have been eliminated early, but OJ? His absence here is to me one of the remaining unanswered questions of ii and while I have my own headcanons (pepper straight up threw him into the black hole so salt would focus more on her than him), I'd really REALLY want to know what the official reason is for him not being there.

i LOVE them talking in sync here but also real quick i want to point out that Salt looks a lot angrier than Pepper does in this scene she does NOT like her authority questioned

Tangent 3: 3 mini tangents from before the big fight

again would just like to point out real quick that salt is the one who writes down the elimination she's angry she's taking charge this is her show (and also sidenote but i adore the "it's not cuz she's a nerd it's cuz she's ugly!" line salt you're so petty i love you)

and again pepper is the one who explains how the show works

looking at salt and pepper while lightbulb is rambling is another example of salt being more angry about her authority being questioned while pepper is more neutral

THE BIG FIGHT WOOHOO

So for starters, Pepper was NOT paying attention when Lightbulb was going on her little ramble, but the SECOND Lightbulb implied that Pepper is less than Salt, she immediately jumps to defend herself. To me, this is a lot less of Pepper feeling threatened and a lot more of confirming insecurities that she's already felt. We know she's made to be a loyal follower, and she knows that she'll do whatever she can to make Salt happy, so there has to be some part of her mind that's terrified of her being worth less than Salt is, or her being just as replaceable as the rest of the contestants that keeping rotating through the show. If she isn't part of "Salt and Pepper," what makes her different from anyone else? What is it that keeps her on top?

Lightbulb saying "Salt's fashion show" is what immediately puts Pepper on edge, and I think that's very important. Sure, the "parasite" talk makes it MUCH worse, but I mean just look at her! Poor gal is terrified :(

and even when Pepper is defending that the show is equally theirs, Salt clearly doesn't agree. Salt knows in her mind that it's her show and Pepper is just there to help. She's giving Pepper the exact same looks between "OUR fashion show" and "we're exactly the same!" and that's pretty self-explanatory for how she views their relationship.

Just look at them here Salt KNOWS that she's the one in charge and Pepper is TERRIFIED of that being the case ough they make me unwell

AND HERE WE HAVE IT!!!! THE BIG MOMENT!!!!!! Salt admitting here the she sees herself in charge and saying that Pepper just "latches on" is officially what sets Pepper off and I really do think it's a beautiful moment. There are plenty of times throughout the show where Salt treats Pepper as less of a person than she is (FFF4, the end of s1e1, the way she talks over her a lot), but THIS is the big moment that sets it all apart. The difference between this version of Salt and Pepper and the ones that we're used to is that here they're put into a much larger position of power, and Salt has had confirmation bias for YEARS!!! I think there's also in interesting argument to be made about OJ here too because think about it Pepper is a loyal follower and a good best friend she's always going to be supporting Salt through everything.

OJ is the only person in Salt's life that tells her no.

Without him there, without one person to keep her ego somewhat in check, she's even worse than she usually is (and also I'd like to point out I don't think it's necessarily a good thing considering Salt constantly gives OJ a completely valid reason to tell her no, but I'm just saying he's the only person who does). And Pepper, being pushed aside for so many years, finally snaps AND PUNCHES HER IN THE FACE YESSSS LETS GO PEPPER THATS SOME QUEEN SHIT RIGHT THERE I ALWAYS BELIEVED IN YOU GET THAT SELF RESPECT GIRL

^and look at Chives' face here I like to think he's proud of our girl too c:

ALSO WHAT DOES THIS MEAN. WHAT THE FUCK DOES THIS MEAN.

Anyways the Pepper after she punches Salt into the black hole is genuinely so sad. She shouts "I tried to save her! But she had to go!" rationalizing this in the exact same way she talked about other previous contestants earlier. This girl is the LAST REMAINING character from MePhone4 (assumed from "we just keep asking the mephone to make new contestants!" meaning that 4 hasnt made one in a LONG time) and it's absolutely heartbreaking for her to be left alone where she's the only person who isn't, quoting her, totally zany. Her life as she's known it is completely over. No friends, no purpose, nothing left but the guilt she must feel and then she's just left there!

Now of course Lightbulb and Test Tube go and fix the timeline but man. just man.

Our Salt and Pepper

I'm really really REALLY glad animationepic included this moment because again I think it shows how a lot of the actual ruling was done by Pepper. She's a brilliant mind if only she'd ever get the chance to shine, and the only reason that she did was because her and Salt were given the opportunity. Idk man it's just so interesting to me!!!

The Endcard

OK OK OK I'M ALMOST DONE I PROMISE

^This makes me so dang sad I'm gonna be real but I'm gonna try my best to be coherent about it.

So for one the first thing that stands out to me is that Pepper is talking a LOT more like Salt here. I know that they sound the same most of the time so this could totally just be in my head, but I feel like Pepper here is speaking with an amount of self-righteousness that usually isn't present in her tone. She also says "yummy videos" which to me feels VERY similar to earlier in the episode where Salt describes the viewer votes as "delicious." It almost feels like she's talking like Salt to replace that hole in her life AND SHE SAYS SHE NEEDS HER AUGH

There's also her calling the infinites "parasites" which is some BALLER projection my golly gee our girl is GREIVING

ok gang in conclusion these are some fucked up lesbians if ive ever seen one and i love them a lot the end c:

[yogpetshame]

Hi all, following on from my update post last week, today I want to share some more thoughts and apologise for something that I feel particularly bad about.

In 2016 screenshots emerged on tumblr of Sjin chatting flirtatiously with fans online. During a livestream and reddit post I angrily defended him and insulted those who were sharing the screenshots - something I deeply regret doing and am very sorry for.

At the time I thought a few overly-sensitive individuals were blowing things out of proportion and getting angry on behalf of others. I hadn’t received any complaints and to me it appeared that no one was hurt. I reminded Sjin that chatting with fans in this way was not okay and if it were to happen again he would be removed from the Yogscast. Sjin was a close friend and I stupidly believed him when he said nothing inappropriate had happened (emphasis added).

Last year, a number of women shared their stories with me and I finally realized that he had, in fact, caused a great deal of hurt. 

I understand now that his position of power allowed him to emotionally manipulate and sexually harass members of our community.

I don’t think he really understood that his actions were not okay - or the impact of them - but that is no excuse, people were hurt and they continue to come forward.

Over the last week I’ve seen many courageous women and men share their stories only to be insulted, shamed or threatened with lawsuits or violence and I have been very upset by this. If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the last year, it’s that accusations against influencers deserve to be taken seriously and those speaking up should be met with compassion, respect and support.

Yes, there will be a rare bad apple with a false claim. But if multiple victims have come forward then no doubt there are more who can't speak out in public. This could be because they’re protecting their family, reputation, mental health or career. And they should not feel guilty for waiting until they are ready to come forward.

It's a privilege to be a professional YouTuber or streamer - not a right. I applaud Twitch for taking action to remove poisonous individuals from the platform and I hope other big platforms do the same. But we need to do more: we need to educate influencers that fans are real people with real feelings - something that can be hard to see through the veil of anonymity on the internet.

We have a HR rep at the Yogscast and are implementing a sensitivity training course that all current and future creators will be expected to complete. Perhaps something like this should be built into requirements to join “partner programs” on Twitch and YouTube, just as you’re required to complete a short online training course to get certified for Google Adsense.

I encourage everyone to stand up when they see or hear something wrong and call it out. My [e-mail](mailto:lewis@yogscast.com) is always open to anybody who has concerns about how we do things.

To conclude, it’s become apparent to me that my past inaction and ignorance contributed to the hurt caused by Sjin and others and I feel deeply ashamed about this. I want to say sorry to everyone who has been affected.

There’s been a lot to think about and consider so I’ve decided to take a few weeks away from everything and I’ll be back in due course.

Be good to one another,

Lewis

I felt like taking ages to get around to responding to this -  that’s why it took me a while. When I see a long letter and I agree with every point I don’t feel like throwing myself at it. I’m not chasing it down like I’m trying to hunt the post and kill it.

In case you were missing the context, Lewis is referring to what we’ve been calling the “Fuck You Stream,” a Deck Rippers stream from April 2016 in which Lewis screamed “fuck you” at least five times to people who had brought accusations against Sjin. The Yogscast appear to have delisted the video, so I’m having trouble giving you the context you deserve here. This post contains a large transcript of the things that were said, and I might have archived it somewhere, but if it’s already up somewhere, let me know.

How fucking long ago was “Yogscast needs HR” a slogan? All it took was one errant flail in their everyday uncontrolled brawl to punch a hole in Yogcon, and suddenly focusing on sensitivity and tackling the harmful repercussions of their behavior began to make financial sense. One year later and the Rooster Teeth partnership as well as pressure from Twitch finally forced the Yogs to get HR.

It’s easy but often toothless to say “They should do the right thing because it’s the right thing to do.” Which is why my main point was always, “the right thing to do will make financial sense in the end.” The fact that Sjin was leaving dozens of victims in his wake doesn’t seem to have immediate financial repercussions, but £100,000 and a crater in their reputation later... An ounce of prevention,  £100,000 of cure. You could attribute MadCat leaving to his shitty behavior and insubordination, or, as Madcat says they described it, you could call him a “brand risk.” You get to the same place in the end.

There’s one thing Lewis does state clearly but is easy to miss, and probably wasn’t something he wanted to emphasize.

In 2016 screenshots emerged on tumblr of Sjin chatting flirtatiously with fans online.... At the time I thought a few overly-sensitive individuals were blowing things out of proportion and getting angry on behalf of others. I hadn’t received any complaints and to me it appeared that no one was hurt... Last year, a number of women shared their stories with me and I finally realized that he had, in fact, caused a great deal of hurt. I understand now that his position of power allowed him to emotionally manipulate and sexually harass members of our community.

The only difference between 2016 and 2019 was... empathy. Really. I don’t see Lewis stating that he discovered any missing information. I see a man in 2016 who saw these women complaining and couldn’t take them at their word until it came explicitly paired with an explanation of the harm.

I don’t find that so surprising, considering he initiated the Fuck You Stream four years ago by dragging Minty, calling her a jealous and unsatisfying ex of Sjin’s. You have to really forge a person to change them from that kind of beast into someone who actually empathizes with other people, who actually wants to ask and to learn who has been harmed rather than read and pass instant judgement.

We need to educate influencers that fans are real people with real feelings - something that can be hard to see through the veil of anonymity on the internet.

Because Lewis didn’t always know that.

So while I’m being slow and ponderous instead of a screaming eagle for once, I have an actual mellow suggestion for Lewis. If he thinks there should be sensitivity training, really dig into the experience of changing your mind and share that. Why you thought they weren’t real people, what you heard that changed you the most. Bring it to the Yogscast’s audience, and to leadership at Twitch. You’re among the vaccinated now, go share the vaccine.

It’s been interesting to me, watching those final hardcore dregs of Sjin’s fanbase try to smell out some weakness in this. Lewis says “Sjin was a close friend,” and they go, “hmm, does not compute, they are clearly still friends,” or possibly more desperately, “maybe there’s a chance they’ll be friends again!” 

They put it down to pressure the way Lewis did in 2016, and say it’s not Lewis’ fault, it’s those guys on Reddit running the whole conspiracy who are to blame. Much like how Reddit used to blame the accusations against Sjin on Tumblr. Because clearly the only valid source of information is the social media platform you yourself are using.

Some of the real Einsteins say, “well none of the damage would have happened if they’d just kept this private matter private.”

Sjin would never be stopped if it was kept private.

Sjin behaving this way was never a private matter, it was an abuse of his professional position.

He would not have been enabled to cause this damage without combining his private and professional life.

Sjin literally harassed his professional contacts within the Yogscast. It’s literal workplace sexual harassment.

At any rate. There’s always going to be doubters. It’s just good to know we’re not watching the Yogscast management pander to them anymore.

There’s been doubt about it but again, this blog’s going to continue to exist. It started because people were being censored on Reddit, and they still are, and because Lewis and others were muffling complaints sent in through their emails which may or may not have come to an end. Lewis watched while Turps and Sjin helped reinforce systemic issues in the Yogs, and we’ll see whether Lewis is serious about dismantling what he did.

Starting with earnestly tackling that subreddit that Bouphe doesn’t like, maybe?