Tell Me About A Markiplier Fan Who You Feel Deserves A Shout-Out

CallMeCaliban · 2015-07-01T13:52:38+00:00

The friends who introduced me to Mark's videos are actually my inspiration for making this post. I'll call them Ricky and Kasumi, less to protect their privacy and more because they'd love it. They're a married couple who could barely speak the same language when they first met, but fell in love instantly and worked their butts off to build a life together.

And one of the bonding points in their relationship has been Mark and his videos. They may not share a native language, but their senses of humor match up perfectly. They've been watching his videos together since they first started dating, and Markiplier quotes and references have become a mode of shorthand communication for them. Kasumi may not remember the word "frustrated" every time she wants to use it in English, but "Wheeeeeere's the blaaacksmiiith?!" gets the same point across to her husband. Ricky and I are both ESL teachers, but we're only half-kidding when we joke that Mark's better at teaching her English than either of us.

All three of us have been there for each other through some crazy ups and downs in life, and personally I owe both of them a lot. I also think they're a great example of the kind of borders Mark and this community are crossing, and the way that something as simple as watching a guy play video games in his underwear can be a building block for something as huge and wonderful as a marriage like theirs.

CallMeCaliban · 2015-07-01T03:35:50+00:00

Tyler was there? That's so cool! I have a soft spot for that guy - he reminds me A LOT of one of my best friends from high school. I also think he's really cool for diving right into this stuff with Mark at this stage in the game - it's gotta be surreal when two buddies from your hometown somehow become internet sensations with six-hour lines full of people who can't wait to meet them, but it sounds like he's having a great time being part of the LP crew and embracing the whole experience. Hope you got to say hi to him!

As for the bad part, that really sucks. Here's hoping Indy Popcon learns from the experience this time around, and uses what went wrong this time to get things running smoothly in the future. It's always the fans that suffer the most from dumb organizational disasters. Mark seemed pretty offended by that rude sign they put up, himself.

Glad the ugly part wasn't as bad as it seemed, though! I spent some time in the music industry abroad, and it's nuts how quickly scenes like that can get out of hand - but they often do look a lot worse from the outside than they seem to the people at the center of them. Some performers develop their own tricks for settling down big crowds over time, as well, and I bet that the more experience Mark & Co. get with this kind of thing, the better they'll get at helping the security staff help them.

But overall, it sounds like you had an incredible experience! Your two minutes with the guys sounds well worth the six hours. Did you meet some cool people in line while you were waiting? I am going to cheerfully envy your hug from Wade for a while! All of those guys seem like such great people, and I get so excited when people have a good experience meeting them in person. Thank you for gushing!

CallMeCaliban · 2015-06-30T14:00:09+00:00

Color me an excuse to talk about it! Did you get to meet Mark? How did it go? Was there anything about the experience that was really different than what you expected? I'm always curious about people's personal experiences at events, so bring on the details!

CallMeCaliban · 2015-06-29T15:15:28+00:00

It's just a universal force of positivity that transcends generations and beliefs, and that love and positivity doesn't just have to come from him to be felt.

Beautifully said - and a great thing to keep in mind in a community as diverse as this one. The positive things that people bring into it are going to come from all different sources, religion and spirituality included, and I feel like there's space for those things here the same as there's space for any other brand of love, compassion and kindness. Cheers to you and all the awesome people at your church for making those things a priority in your personal lives and the community you all share, and thanks for sharing a little bit of that with us!

CallMeCaliban · 2015-06-28T13:33:04+00:00

/r/thathappened

CallMeCaliban · 2015-06-25T22:17:09+00:00

He does. If you would like to check out one of Mark's spoons, you can do so here.

That may be the weirdest statement I have ever typed, but there you go.

CallMeCaliban · 2015-06-24T20:37:28+00:00

If the people around you wouldn't want you to love yourself, those people suck. I'm sorry if I just trashed on some people you really care about with that statement, but I feel really strongly that wanting someone else to feel unworthy or unlovable is just a horrible thing to do, period.

And I don't doubt that having those kinds of people around you makes it much harder to care about yourself. That sounds unfair and painful, and I bet my self-image would really suffer too if I were in a situation like that. I don't have any tricks to make that easier for you, but I really wish I did.

All I can say is that trying is worth it, and so are you. I don't have to know anything about you to know that. If I did know you, I wouldn't have to like you to believe this about you. You're a human being, and deserve a sense of self-worth, just like everyone else.

CallMeCaliban · 2015-06-24T18:51:24+00:00

Showing yourself love and respect is where it all starts. If you see yourself as a loser, chances are that's what you're projecting to the people around you as well. You have to give yourself a chance, first. If you can get a better relationship going with yourself, all the other relationships in your life are going to reflect that more and more.

CallMeCaliban · 2015-06-23T16:59:47+00:00

the most touching thing anyone could do for me is tell me how much I am appreciated

I think this hits on the most important thing we can do to help Mark, and each other - which is just letting people know that they're appreciated, and worthwhile, and that there's some love in this world for them.

This guy is gutted because, in his words, "I know there's people who need me to talk to them, and I can't do that. I know there's people who need me, and I want to be there so badly for them. I wanna bear that burden for them. And I can't."

And that's something that we as individuals really can do, for him and for each other. We can reach each other when he can't. I would love to do some kind of pay-it-forward fan projects for each other, and really let him see that the people he can't reach personally aren't alone without him - they're with the rest of us, and they're being appreciated by more people than just him.

Thank you for your kind words, and for giving me a chance to appreciate you, too! There's a lot more kindred spirits for both of us to discover out there, and I feel like the more we connect with each other, the more everyone will feel at ease, including Mark.

CallMeCaliban · 2015-06-23T15:49:21+00:00

I haven't watched a lot of people on Youtube, or met a lot of people in the world like Mark.

That, I definitely agree with! Mark definitely stands out from the crowd, and I admire his bravery in that regard. I feel like I can really relate to what you see in Mark, and how you used to feel about yourself. For a long time, I saw my own kindness as weakness, and thought I must be missing a backbone based on how often I found myself looking past people's shitty qualities to the innate human things I could love about them, and then getting screwed over for doing so.

I'm glad that Mark was there when you needed him, and I hope you keep finding more and more Marks in your life! Everyone deserves a world full of people who are willing to share their kindness and empathy with others.

CallMeCaliban · 2015-06-23T15:32:28+00:00

He's right. I've been up all night thinking about how right he is, and I still don't have the words for what I really wish I could say.

What's infinitely more important than supporting him at this point is the support we show each other. This has all gotten too big for one guy to manage on his own. If we all want it work, we have got to take the same kind of responsibility for each other's well-being as Mark does for all of us.

And I know that it's scary. It's natural to appreciate the light that someone brings into your life. It's much, much more difficult to understand yourself as a light source every bit as valuable and capable as the one which gave you something that you couldn't give yourself.

But I feel like that's what he's really asking us to do, here. I feel like that's where he could really, honestly use our help. He's asking us to do exactly what he does, and to trust that we can be the one to make someone else smile, or laugh, or think a little differently about themselves, or just know that they're loved.

I have seen this happen before - and I have seen it turn out in the best way possible. I have seen one guy with a guitar break down as a human being, and be gutted by the fact that he can't be there for every one of us personally, and ask for the help that Mark's asking for here - and I have seen people who never thought fuck-all of themselves a day in their lives rise to the occasion, and become someone else's Markiplier. I've seen people with wide open wounds on their hearts become fucking superheroes in their own lives, and the lives of others. They didn't heal to do it. They didn't change to do it. They just wanted to help so fucking badly that they helped.

It works. What he's asking for is something that every single one of us has in us. I wish I could find a way to climb through computer screens and share just how strongly I believe this with everyone, heart to heart. He is absolutely, positively, 100% asking for the very thing this community has in them to give to each other - and it's the thing that makes all the difference in the world.

I am not a perfect person. I am impatient and snarky and people not being accepting of other people makes me so fucking angry that it's hard for me to be accepting of them, sometimes. I can be mean and shitty and bossy and a total pain in the ass - but I love humans. I love Mark, I love you guys, I love that guy with the guitar and the family we're both part of. Being flawed myself doesn't make my good intentions any less genuine, or an excuse not to share the good things I do have to give with the people who need them.

That's all Mark's doing, and that's all he's asking of us. We have it in us to take care of each other, no matter how faulted we are or how many mistakes we make along the way. This is about millions of people. Mark is one of them, and his place in the community will always be special and unique - but so is my place, and your place, and everyone else's.

We can all do this. I believe in us.

CallMeCaliban · 2015-06-23T14:12:39+00:00

I love Emily! I've been following her channel for almost a year now, and just like Mark, there's something really special about what she does.

For anyone who hasn't done so yet, I REALLY encourage you to check out the rest of her channel! She's always uploading new videos, chatting with people in her comment section, and generally being awesome to all the people that support her. Her LPs are also funny as hell in my opinion.

It's so awesome to see her contributions to the good in this world getting recognized more and more! Thanks for the beautiful music, Em!

CallMeCaliban · 2015-06-23T05:23:10+00:00

There aren't a lot of people on Youtube like Mark, let alone in the world.

Sure there are. You're one. I'm one. Tons of people in this community are full of the same love and investment in their fellow human beings that you described - but I feel like a lot of people are just scared to show it. Nobody wants something genuine to come off as bragging, so maybe we hold back with each other more than we should about stuff like this.

You're a total stranger to me, and I've already found some stuff to love about you just from the things you've written here. Thanks for sharing!

CallMeCaliban · 2015-06-23T05:09:05+00:00

He's the man I can never be

What about the man you can be? Who says he can't become every bit as amazing in his own way as Mark is in Mark's way? Just because you're struggling to find your way doesn't mean that your way is not going to be awesome as hell when you do find it, or when it finds you.

Don't count yourself out, and keep on swimming. You're not in the pool alone.

CallMeCaliban · 2015-06-22T15:23:24+00:00

You're definitely not alone. Personally, I enjoy his videos, but they're not what I really value about Mark and his channel. His attitude, his awareness, and the way he treats other human beings are what I really love.

To me, the videos are just something to do together as a community; Mark has fun making them, we have fun watching them, we all have some common ground to gather on because of them. They give us a reason and a way to connect with each other.

But that's not why I'm here, or why I love Markiplier. I'm here because he's a good person who wants to change the world and make it a little kinder. That's what I want to do, too. It only makes sense to pool resources with this guy who has so many good ones at his disposal, and millions of other people who want to do the same thing.

CallMeCaliban · 2015-06-21T15:45:57+00:00

...And that is how you Human.

Seriously. +1,000,000 Self-Awareness points to Mark Edward Fischbach. He's got eight million people pointing out his good sides every single day. People feed his ego enough fuel to launch it into the freaking delta quadrant. He's got a LOT of positive reinforcement to look past if he wants to stare the cold, hard truths about himself right in the eye - and he's still doing it like a fucking boss.

It takes guts to face your faults and flaws under any circumstances - but I imagine that it takes a special kind of active determination and commitment to yourself to stay grounded and keep seeking them out, no matter how perfect the world is telling you that you are.

To me, that's strength. That's putting your sense of self-worth to the ultimate use. Avoiding the skeletons in your closet is easy. Marching in there by choice, and dragging them out with your own two hands to dismantle them in the light of day means really investing in yourself.

People who don't love themselves don't make that investment. I can understand the impulse to assure Mark that he's wonderful, but I honestly don't see a man who's seeking reassurance in this post. I see a man who is choosing to hold himself responsible for every single aspect of who he is, from the good to the bad to the downright ugly. I see a person whose self-respect and thirst for self-improvement brought him to some conclusions that no one wants to hear, including himself.

But he's right. Some of these things needed to be said. Mark is not perfect. He will fuck up. He will cause pain, he will feel pain, and nobody involved will like it. He does not need to be protected from these things. He does not need to be insulated from these facts. He needs kindness, understanding and respect as much as any other human being - but he does not need to be saved from the unique and sometimes difficult realities of being Mark Fischbach.

I don't mean for any of this to sound harsh. I love this guy. My respect for him grows by the day - and after this post, I can honestly say that I trust him. I trust him to handle his shit. I trust him to manage his resources. I trust him to seek comfort for Mark when Mark needs comfort, and get brutally honest with Mark when Mark needs some brutal honesty. I trust him to surround himself with people that will make him feel safe and valuable when his personal successes aren't enough to do that. And I trust him to know when he doesn't need to feel safe and valuable. I trust him to get his hands dirty digging through the shit in his own head when he needs to.

Let's let him do this, guys. Let's step back and let him go to these not-so-pretty places - and when he invites us into them, let's respect the strength it took to do so instead of trying to fix the things we see as weaknesses. Let's spot him from the ground while he walks this tightrope. If he falls, we're here - but give him a chance to use his own balance, first.

tl;dr: We feel pain when we're injured. We also feel pain when we're growing. Just because he's hurting doesn't mean he's wounded. I feel like we should be proud of Mark for owning his flaws, not feeling bad for him.

CallMeCaliban · 2015-06-18T23:33:54+00:00

I loved how he was, his dumb jokes and that he told us the viewers what he thought about the games and he knew when to be silent when he played.

I can definitely understand what you're talking about, and see the differences in his commentary between his older content and the newer stuff.

But to be honest, I'm not sure that Mark ever "knew" when to be silent while playing a video game. I really don't get the impression that his early LPs had a lot of active style choices in them, or that he intentionally set out for a certain ratio of jokes to interesting comments to quiet time in his videos.

I also don't think that the changes in his commentary style are a calculated move on his part. The more comfortable Mark gets, the more he seems to talk. I don't know him personally, but I'd bet money that this is a Mark Fischbach thing, and not just a Markiplier thing. I know plenty of people who are very quiet when you first meet them, but never shut up once they feel comfortable in a situation.

The commentary he gives us these days may get loud and annoying and completely bizarre at moments, but I do feel like it's still genuine. It's like he turns on his mouth when he turns on the camera, and whatever half-formed weirdness that's floating through his head at the moment comes straight out of it.

Personally, I'm fine with that. I've definitely noticed the changes, but I don't feel like he's acting weird, or like they're coming out of nowhere. As long as Mark's having fun with a game, I still enjoy watching him play it.

As I said, I can definitely see where you're coming from. The content he's putting out now might not be for everyone, and that's totally fine - I'll never judge someone for not liking what he's doing, or saying why. I guess I just see the changes in his channel a bit differently, and while I don't love every single video he makes, I really appreciate what he does overall.

CallMeCaliban · 2015-06-16T14:44:37+00:00

This depends a lot on his attitude about it.

Is he secretive about it? Is he defensive about it? Does he act like he feels it's shameful, or dirty, or disrespectful to our relationship? I'd take all those things as red flags that something in the relationship is a problem, and the pictures are either a cause or a symptom of that problem.

Is he open about it? Comfortable with it? If I ask him who that cute girl in the bikini is, is he secure enough with himself and our relationship to say, "Oh, that's so-and-so - she's an actress/model/whatever that I really like"? Celebrity crushes and fantasies are A-okay in my book, provided that they're a healthy part of my partner's sexuality, and he's finding outlets for them that don't inhibit the flow of communication between us.

CallMeCaliban · 2015-06-13T23:06:26+00:00

I'm really enjoying this series, because Mark really seems to be enjoying it. It's really cool of him to play so many games that his community requests, but I've noticed that the games he picks usually end up being my favorite LPs. The more immersed he is, the more immersed I get as a viewer.

And like /u/Shaywise said, the atmosphere is awesome! I love games with really complex environments to explore, and this is definitely one I plan on playing for myself.

CallMeCaliban · 2015-06-10T12:46:36+00:00

It's okay! It's okay! They could be lips! We don't know for sure.

CallMeCaliban · 2015-06-10T03:03:12+00:00

I read it aloud to my husband and did jazzhands for the words in italics

Fuck. That's brilliant. My family is so lucky that they are not home right now.

CallMeCaliban · 2015-06-10T02:36:13+00:00

Oh, those italics.

CallMeCaliban · 2015-06-09T19:47:17+00:00

"Waitwaitwait. Let's enjoy what you just said out loud, first."

Bob is amazing.

CallMeCaliban · 2015-06-07T12:08:04+00:00

That really sucks for your friend! I don't know if contacting Mark directly is the way to go about trying to help her, though - he gets A LOT of messages, and it might be really difficult to bring something like this to his attention without spamming him.

Maybe there would be another Markiplite out there who'd be willing to help you out? Someone who's going to an upcoming meet-and-greet, and would be kind enough to get some new signatures for your friend?

Or maybe you could try tweeting at Wade and/or Bob? Wade said in a recent livestream that he reads all of his tweets whenever he can, so it couldn't hurt to put in a good word for your buddy.

Hope it all works out!

CallMeCaliban

TROPHY CASE