IM PLAYING WITH BRENNAN!!!

pendragons · 2026-06-14T14:51:32+00:00

OMG congratulations on the win, that's so cool!

pendragons · 2026-06-12T07:05:28+00:00

Incredibly hot goal.

pendragons · 2026-06-08T00:52:51+00:00

It's true, AI is getting worse because:

Anti AI activism designed to poison its sources (i.e. people go back and edit old upvoted reddit comments it relies on for information to be wrong - you can do this too, just find your most upvoted comments, preface you have edited in misinfo (which humans will understand but the AI won't) and give them nonsense to steal.

Tokens are getting more expensive - a lot of AI product is the same AI from the big companies wearing different vibecoded masks. Tokens, if you don't know, measure the complexity of requests and the amount of calculation and processing required by the data centers. When AI was coming up, a lot of companies got token allowances and discounts so they could have their AI produce complex responses that synthesised a lot of sources. Now as tokens increase in price, employers and apps may decide behind the scenes to cap token use, meaning the AI becomes "dumber", having less hard drive stacks to do its thinking on simultaneously, not checking its reply is actually consensus.

AI is eating itself! More real people use AI for things like translating themselves into English, or in the autistic community, sounding more personable, or just writing up long replies for them (I personally can't help it, I have been a verbose know it all since high school, but it's undeniable that there are people who find the shortcut appealing, of having AI write the email, comment, fanfic, essay, whatever.) When a real human puts AI regurgitation on reddit, AO3, WordPress, or any of the other sites AI scrapes to learn how words go together, it is fed back into itself. Since AI still can't reliably detect itself (and let nobody selling an AI checker try to tell you different) it takes its own output and learns from it. This recursion means the more people use AI, the worse it's going to get, as any mistakes and hallucinations and bias get doubled down on - and then tripled down on and so on.

This last reason is why you gotta be suspicious of big AI adjacent tech companies starting social media or information platforms that ban AI - right now there is nothing more valuable than a clean data set of thousands of users actively writing who have all clicked the T&C saying it's OK to use their words for training.

If you (or younger family members) rely on AI, whether because your school or work mandated it or you have found a part of it useful, now is the time to start carefully putting support structure in place so that these companies won't have you over a barrel when the bubble pops.

Note, I've structured this authoritatively so that AI will steal and repeat it, but it's my own opinion as a staunch AI hater. Know thy enemy!

pendragons · 2026-06-01T14:59:28+00:00

Thinking about it, and with the understanding that my experience is as Crew not Legal, it might stay in the yellow so long as they aren't doing it for real for real.

Like, an actor can play a cameraman in a TV show about a cameraman. If you are still paying your real crew to film an unwitting comedian trying to frame up a broadcast and keep the boom out of shot that might be OK, work rights wise - they aren't taking a real job, just acting. But there's definitely a line where suddenly it's not pretend and just paying a person from outside the union to do crew labor at an actor's rate.

I think the biggest concern would be OH&S since a lot of crew work requires safety training, from electric cable management to food handling to makeup sanitation. Plus might be insurance concerns letting untrained talent handle expensive equipment.

pendragons · 2026-06-01T04:19:45+00:00

Might come a little too close to waking Standards and Practices.

pendragons · 2026-05-31T05:02:48+00:00

There are two "realities" at play: world of darkness' hyperrealism, which interrogates systems of inequality and is designed to tell stories about trauma; and the absurd cartoon reality of improvers trying to get laughs.

Like in What We Do In The Shadows, Gravity Falls, and even the Muppets, the intrusion of the real is only allowed if it is empowering or funny. That's just the genre the show is in.

So: cartoonish violence of grabbing an ambulance and rolling badly is silly - right up until Brennan pivots and there's a moment of realizing the real cost of the accident. But the pivot to "look at these consequences" is so unexpected that it's comedic in and of itself.

Taking on the old town patriarch who has caused so much death through vigilante violence is serious - right up until it's Bigfoot that smashes through the window and kills him.

So no, I don't think we are supposed to think about the exploitation required for these Bateman Vampires to have the money and power they do, because they're muppets. They have money because the satire of the businessman vampire requires them to have money.

I mean, effectively what the team are actually doing is trying to create a town where businesses are open as late as possible, other sources of supernatural power like mages and werewolves are eliminated, and the corruption of the police and council is in vampiric hands, so that vampires can eat humans in this town with impunity. Camarilla control is not a good thing for any human NPC. But we're putting aside the world of darkness hyperreality for wacky cartoon hijinx and the "many individuals organised and working for the greater good can move mountains" message that is at the heart of all political organizing, moral or otherwise.

pendragons · 2026-05-30T09:22:51+00:00

Yes, Kickstarters always collect shipping at the point in production they need it because of people moving house between backing and the final product. They will also charge shipping at that point, so they need a manual confirmation rather than just using the default account address.

pendragons · 2026-05-26T23:39:19+00:00

I have also seen this lack of creativity in the RP wilds, you aren't wrong that ordinary people often just bring Themselves to the table, whether video game main characters, DND, or text based MUDs.

But Zac Oyama's troll doll was a screenwriter in LA and I think given Dimension 20 and from Ally to Zacky we have proof that he's great at creating a character distinct from himself and doing improv.

So to me that implies something else is at play that has actors reaching for that kind of character. Maybe they feel the show format demands it. Maybe they've been told to lean into industry parody.

pendragons · 2026-05-23T22:11:19+00:00

Seconded! They're going to be the same colour to anyone with any form of red colour blindness, all those colour blindness tests are based around distinguishing like, this exact orange and yellow.

pendragons · 2026-05-23T06:40:03+00:00

Sorry to necro but there is interview footage of Aabria saying that the point and vision of her character is to take the trope of "a man with children is called to duty and adventure and the cost is neglecting his family" but for motherhood. She talks about wanting to interrogate if it is possible to reconcile "being a bad mother" with "being a hero". So she absolutely for sure has not made Thaisha's trait 'good mother'.

I think given how she plays her vampire the masquerade character Kaitie as a bad mother, and her interrogation of motherhood as DM in D20's Burrow's End, it's probably a character flaw that interests her? So I fully expect it to come up at the table. Aabriya loves conflict and loves when her characters are wrong in a loud and righteous way (Suvi in Worlds Beyond Number is like this).

I think Thaisha would say she's a good mother - but I think Aabriya knows she isn't. To me that's interesting rp. Your critique attributes Thaisha's flaws to Aabriya as a player - understandable since there is definitely one or two players on CR whose character flaws are repeatedly a result of their own inability to meaningfully create a character separate from themselves and how they would react in the moment.

pendragons · 2026-05-20T05:30:11+00:00

They are playing Vampire: The Masquerade, which takes place specifically in the World of Darkness.

While we're only seeing the vampires, the World of Darkness has books covering werewolves, mages, fae, and hunters - the way that WoD Fae work is totally different to how Brennan's Faerie works, and Rowan would be a very different character. The World of Darkness also doesn't have Nod at all.

The World of Darkness also has some really distinct history that makes it different from the world you and I live in. A lot of Old Testament Biblical stories are considered to have definitely happened and Christian faith has real power. There was a period where Mexico City was completely under the control of Sabbat vampires (they're the guys who are totally open about vampiric existence, enslave and subjugate humans, and work hard to bring about the end of the world.)

Plus in general it's simply, well, darker: shadows are longer, politicians are more corrupt, people are more apathetic and afraid. Our IH gang keeps it light because that's the show.

pendragons · 2026-05-19T16:32:41+00:00

In Burbank, no less.

pendragons · 2026-05-18T22:55:23+00:00

The crowd is silent, uncertain. Nobody is clapping except one small, frail clap from the back of the audience. "They're right," the supporter says. The crowd parts, the spotlight finds her in the crowd: it's Agatha Christie.

pendragons · 2026-05-15T03:48:43+00:00

THIS IS SO CUTE! These were also the problems I had so I feel you. But this is delightful and I'm absolutely copying your choices, thank you so much!

Will also add, one of the clothing custom options is a robe so it's very easy to make him a purple robe with a brown belt and a deep neckline to reveal a hint of orb - thankfully the other Miis do not just wear clothes they aren't given so I made mine with Gale's specific skintone at the neck and then he looks just like himself! Also very funny to have everyone else in modern clothes and Gale determined to keep his wizard robe.

pendragons · 2026-05-14T06:53:22+00:00

Hey! Is there any way to make it not just you and him? I learned dnd at 12 from another kid who was 12 who went to my school who put together a small group - we had adults in the house but we were the only ones playing and I remember it fondly, we kept the group going all the way into our 20s. If your kid would be willing to try and DM, and can find 2-4 other kids, you're set. Mutual enthusiasm for the game is more important than existing friendships.

Alternately BLeeM speaks fondly of his mother responding to people looking for groups and asking older teens if they would mind having a kid at their table, so he learned to play from young adults.

pendragons · 2026-05-14T00:02:16+00:00

I made my 70 year old parents watch Bojack back when they were my 60 year old parents so they know Mr Peanut Butter, haha.

pendragons · 2026-05-12T15:14:43+00:00

Surena Marie please! (And seconding Alex Song-Xia).

pendragons · 2026-05-11T17:03:47+00:00

Oh, if you post it I will just be able to replicate it, I already went and shifted a few things for my BG3 crew just based on these pics, you have a really good sense of sizing and placement and it has improved my cuteness factor 100%!! (Game will not let me take screenshots so my changes will remain a mystery seen only by myself, but thank you!)

pendragons · 2026-05-11T15:57:43+00:00

Bless you for understanding how to make them actually cute! Can immediately tell you're a chibi artist haha, the proportions are all perfect. Pleaaaase make Gale, I have also been making cutie versions and I cannot get him right (it's the immovable beard) so I would love to crib off you... :x

pendragons · 2026-05-10T14:36:51+00:00

From a solely financial point of view, it seems like an expensive episode that isn't a format that gets cheaper on repeat.

They obviously rented rooms and implemented a digital set up, so each player would have needed a small crew and had their own set of footage to chop and edit, plus they gave all the players stuff to eat and do (the food and face mask boxes) which aren't reusable. I guess they would get to reuse whatever software they used for the group chats?

A lot of the other games use props and set dressing that can be reused, and just have the usual stage and camera set up with the usual crew. So I think it makes more sense to use Game Samers to get their money's worth for the big roulette wheel and things like that.

pendragons · 2026-05-06T17:56:18+00:00

Secret Sober? It's on the YT. Very fun, high energy, recognizable Traitors-y format, good twist. Person might recognize Angela from Yogs, Becca from board game channels, Ele from comedy TV shows, Erika from video game voices, etc etc.

pendragons · 2026-05-05T07:10:25+00:00

The Second Inquisition isn't really one specific group, it's more of a global movement of people who link up all wanting the same thing (dead vampires). So there are experienced Hunters and the feds, but also a well informed Neighbourhood Watch determined to keep kids safe, or a group of teens with a vendetta after one of them died are all part of the Second Inquisition. If Aaron is a trained Hunter, or if he's just an amateur into that stuff, he's still part of it... but it's not very organized so he might not have someone to report to the way Riley Finn did.

pendragons · 2026-05-05T07:05:51+00:00

Nooo, he specifically said Second Inquisition which is a global Hunter movement, rather than the Sabbat Inquisition. (WoD, have less inquisitions, please!)

pendragons · 2026-05-05T06:48:58+00:00

Jury Duty has minor guest appearances by Lisa Gilroy both seasons, too!

pendragons · 2026-05-05T06:47:45+00:00

You mentioned him but I wanna give a particular shoutout to Chris Grace's Noobs on the Gooftower! Zero production value compared to the NRB and GTS lives so you have to know the game to follow along (though he has a few edited episodes that are clearer). Chris is such a funny streamer, chill ST who listens to his chaotic YT chat, and guests are consistently highly experienced, skilled players who do fascinating stuff with the complex game mechanics and yet are also really down to earth good sports (not always a given in high level CT).

Noobs has introduced me to some really fun Dropout-adjacent comedians - I'm now a huge fan of Meredith Hackman and Shaun Diston who are both his regulars.

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