Wow... I am kinda speechless after watching this one. It was truly engaging to listen to the historical facts as well as your perspective on hope and growth in face of an apocalypse. The things you said really resonated with me on levels I didn't even expect going in. Thank you.
This spoke to me. As an artist who is often cripplingly aware of the passage of time and the decay of manmade structures, I chose clay as my medium. The same material that preserves so much of our ancient history. My current project is transcribing poetry onto ceramic tablets, and hoping that some time in the future, I can find a place to put them where they will be found
That's wonderful!! I wonder who'll find those tablets in the future... I know there was a family (I think in Ukraine?) that just picked up a metal pot from somewhere and had been using it in the house for years but it turned out to be thousands of years old and was still completely fit for purpose so things are always being dug up haha
"Even Paper Decays" is the name of the Doom Metal band i'm starting after watching this video. It's also a poignant summation of the daunting scale of apocalypse, its slow onset, endless duration and pointless experience. Thinking about the vastness that exists outside of my brain is scary but helpful some times. It makes it all the cozier inside my comfort zones, a much needed periodic reprieve from caring about the outside. My issue with a lot of apocalypse media is the simple clear cut reason and starting point for the "collapse" when in reality an apocalypse probably won't even present itself to us until we've already stopped caring, or are focusing somewhere else. Worse than not knowing what's going to happen, I fear not realizing what is happening as it occurs.
Thanks so much for watching the whole thing! I'm definitely with you on worrying about the slow buildup; it's that gnawing dread that things around you are slowly but surely getting a bit worse everyday and there's nothing you can do about it. Maybe there will be some big event like a nuclear strike or a famine but... it won't be out of the blue. That's why I think we need more stories where the future turns out okay. If we only ever envision the future as an inevitable pollution and wildfire riddled wasteland then people kinda subconsciously stop wanting to try. The future is already decided and it's gonna suck. Why bother? But I figure if the world changes slowly, we can too. It's gonna take a long time to reverse the damage that's already been done but we are inventing new tech that's helping. And when things change so slowly it fades into the background to some degree so I figure that focusing on helping out the people you can around you is the best thing you can do, including yourself. I ended up making this because I was playing the last of us and was like... So when all the loot runs out...? Do you know how to make more stuff? Shit do you know how to make the materials to make stuff?? Oh no. The scale of how much is gonna get lost in a disaster event is so daunting but we've done this more times than we can record. We'll get the hang of it again, even if it takes a few hundred years ^.^
Oh I loooove that tidbit about marking life-ending waste so that future civilizations will be warned regardless of their language. So wild to think about.
Yeahhh so many things rot and decay but also some things just kinda...sit. They'll go away eventually but plastic takes it's sweet time and with all the nuclear waste we have to bury it's kinda terrifying to think about someone accidentally finding out about radiation poisoning!
I feel like I’m one of the only people who bounces off of apocalyptic media. The genres tend to revel in the misery of their premises. I don’t mind survival genres where the entire world isn’t fucked, whether you are lost in the wilderness, or if you are an explorer out in space. There is something about requiring the world be broken that never sat right with me
as someone who was funneled into high-powered, competitive academia bullshit from a very early age, learning concrete skills and how to make things from scratch wherever I can has been rly precious to me over the years. post-apocalyptic stories are wonderful precisely bc they force ppl to consider how precious "basic" or "unskilled" jobs are.
I'm gonna take that as a compliment haha, but yeah post-apocalypse is a lot. I think we need more hopeful stories. Not because happy endings are necessarily better, which depends wildly on the material, but because when we only ever picture the future as purely bleak and hopeless, just an inevitable system that chokes out the populus in cyberpunk, or people slowly dying thanks to environmental/nuclear disaster etc, it slowly embeds in the back of people's minds that this is inevitable. There's no point trying to fix things now, we're already screwed. Even if the story is about the death of the world, put heart into the people. I think people are worth surviving for.
Choosing hope, ignoring the thoughts of "it doesn't matter" is one of my favorite ideas every time I hear it. It's such a great response to a statement that is too easily interpreted as a correct argument. I love how you wove it into the video, a relevant message pre- and post-apocalypse. It's all kind of a matter of scale. And an excellent quote pick for the end! :) The parallels you drew between all these different games and movies were seriously intriguing, I have never thought to compare something like Hollow Knight and Darkwood in that way. Light Criticism: Even with the thumbnail, I did not expect half of the video to be about TWD. I was a bit surprised when I checked how long that segment would go, I think that weakened the structure a little. Not because the analysis isn't good, it was very well explained and interesting, but it didn't feel like the genre was the focus anymore, it was now a genre study by the example of TWD. (Apropos cultural fragments that need not be elaborated on in the culture itself, it was funny to hear you bring up a greentext, a concept that will probably fall into even deeper obscurity in the next decades.) (One more note, I enjoy it a lot whenever I can spot familiar soundtracks like Hollow Knight or Nier Automata. Good picks!)
Yeah!! With the current state of the world it's very easy to just...tune out and give up hope for anything improving. There's a lot going on that's completely out of any one person's control so I figure focusing on what you can do, being the most person-like person you can be, is probably the best way to go. Hope is a skill I think (and I'm relieved the grimdark trend is over now because hope isn't naive dammit!) I love games with interesting worlds to pick through! Putting together histories and picking through ruins are so much fun, but I'm also very picky about open world style games so finding one that does this is tricky haha. But Darkwood is SO good at this. Not so much in making a history but in living through a transitionary state in the woods and all the characters having their own priorities and moral codes is just wonderful. Like, there's hints about the world before and research teams entering the forest but the priority is getting a handle on this new scary world before it eats you and damn it's engaging. I have to make sure not to boot that one up too often or I will just pour days into it haha. And that's very fair! I tried to reign TWDG stuff into just the first two games as the first two are Clem doing all of the learning and prep to making it on her own while figuring out how to be a person but er, there's still a LOT. I think it ended up being about 1/3rd in the end? I cut a lot out but yeahhhh there's a lot hahaha. The criticism is very much appreciated though; it's extemely helpful to know how something feels to watch and listen to as opposed to writing it (and reading through it so many times that you have lost all sense of whether it's any good anymore XD), so thank you for the feedback! (also pfft greentext is already kind of a relic now that you mention it, I've never really been on any of the boards that host them but the odd one would break containment and cross onto my tumblr dash. I wonder what the next weird ass story telling technique is going to be on forums) Thanks so much for watching and commenting, I really appreciate it!! ^.^
Honey Bat your channel has been my go to comfort channel for the past two months. And as someone interested in reading Terry Prachett I'd love to see a video on his work with your words. You are a good person, I won't see the uglier parts of you anymore than you see the uglier parts of me, but you're a good person regardless. Thank you so much
Thank you so much for this beautiful video essay, in these harsh times it gave me hope for the future. Your work is so important and refreshing thank you again !!!
I love the stars and vastness of space because they constantly remind me of my insignificance and by extension the insignificance of my problems. As insignificant as I am however it's also impossible to understand just how lucky I am to exist on this planet. For the right ancestors to meet and create my family line and the millions of sperm to find the right egg, the right people survived and the right people died so I could exist on this planet and actually experience how wonderful it is. Before you ever took your first breath you already won the lottery a hundred times in a row and the universe around you is vast and unexplored ready for you to embrace it.
I find your video essays incredibly compelling and I really enjoy them. Your Visceral Femininity one first popped on my radar and I loved it so much that I'm binging through the rest of your videos!
Interesting how this video connects with me so deeply. I find myself as a single father struggling to connect with people in reality and quite frequently finding comfort in these kinds of media.
I love any kind of story rooted in it's characters! It's comforting to find plots that resonate with your experiences, even if the background they're living in is exaggerated, and that their strengths are in you too.
@@HoneyBat it’s always seemed in these kinds stories the characters have more genuine relationships than in reality. Focusing more on the importance of others you care about as where it feels like in todays world relationships are treated more expendable.
Wow, this was such a nice refreshing view of the world in a time where everything feels hopeless! I love the use of one of my favorite games, TWDG, as a vessel for that hopeful narrative :) ILL DEFINITELY CHECK OUT DARKWOOD TOO!! You did beautifully on this video and I hope you make many more :D 💗
Bread is actually pretty easy to invent. I did it a few times, with a few different grains, over the course of 2020. Start with a grass seed, grind it into a dust as fine as you possibly can, mix with water, cook on a hot flat rock. Whatever you made with those instructions is edible, even if its hard tack. All else is experimentation to make it good.
I may come back to this multiple times. I’ve been thinking about/tinkering with a post apocalypse saga for an embarrassing number of years without having published any of it, and this video is FANTASTIC.
I'm so grateful for the zombies CW before the video! I've got such a bad fear of them and I think this is the first time I've seen someone put a CW about zombies up ever. Thank you!
I'm bingeing all your videos while I draw and I just wanna say that very often I have started thinking about whatever PTerry quote you add before you bring it up and am so pleased when it happpens. It's so clear that Discworld made as a big an impact on you as it has me. You do a great job translating those ideas in these videos. GNU
Thank you so much!! It was a surprise everyone suddenly found it as I haven't posted in a while thanks to doing a master's course, sloooowly chipping away at another video when I have a bit of time hahaha
nothing is guaranteed you can have an apocalypse without a zombie outbreak things can go wrong so its about survival and the mental aspect is usually harder than the physical.. fighting a losing battle is not easy sometimes you have to be realistic and change your goals according to what you are capable of .. you have to adapt and find hope in something different ... sometimes the end goal will never come the experience is worth the struggle ..just like the game you just showed there is no real purpose to them just the pleasure of the journey
cried once or twice while watching this, i have no fancy words for you on the video topic, it was indcredible and very worthwile the watch, but i don't think i have extra conversation material. your voice is really sweet, i think i have a new goal with my voice training!!
I think much of the charm of these stories is that they often ask "what comes next?", which is where rebuilding comes in. My favorite post-apocalyptic story is the Parable of the Sower, by Octavia Butler. The protagonist is a teenager slowly watching her life within a gated community crumble as wealth inequality, climate change, authoritarian politicians and pandemics are slowly but surely making society collapse around her in the far, far future of 2024. It was published in 1993. Fortunately the author's insights don't stop there. The protagonist grows into a wellspring of hope for those around her and her goal is to build a community based on empathy. A lot of this video reminds me of the things she says. Big recommendation.
YEAH! It's the rebuilding after the apocalypse or setting up that potential for growing and healing after apocalypses that's my favourite part of the genre. So many of these kinds of stories are both a warning of the way things will go if we don't change, but also sometimes I like when the disaster happens but we survive and then we get to change when the previous system wouldn't allow for that. I'll definitely look that story up! Thank you for the recommendation!
I discovered this channel thanks to your bloodborne video and i'm absolutely charmed by how you explain the topic of your videos. I didn't even notice this video was an hour long, i went through it and time passed way faster than i wanted to. This channel has something that not many have and that something made me enjoy the video more than any other similar content. I'm going to stick around for more, this time as a subscriber. Thanks for this awesome video, keep going!
Such a underrated video. Watching this whole has made me learn about myself, others, and surroundings. I love the articulated subjects and which order you put them in, they simply became digestible. Truly a masterclass of a video analysis.
I know im late, and there have been no videos on your channel a while, but, continue, your content is great, and so.. intimate to my instincts, thank you
Your channel is an absolute gem. The Bloodborne video was excellent and this one is no different. You offer a unique perspective and your insight is genuinely riveting. What you said between 26:52 and 29:42 is something everyone needs to hear. The vastness of the cosmos can be overwhelming for our solipsistic nature as human beings. There's an early indoctrination that we are important in this world, and that there needs to be a goal - that life has to mean something in the grand scheme of things. And yet, the beauty and meaning can be derived through the simplest of things. The correlation between intelligence and depression exists for a reason. The more you know, the more you realize you don't know anything. The sense of insignificance that comes with understanding our place in the universe goes against everything that humans are taught from an early age. Even the little things, such as being asked "what do you want to be when you grow up?". It's one of the most harmful questions ever, even if it's asked with good intentions. You are right. We shouldn't have to matter in the grand scheme of the universe. I found peace with it a few years ago myself, and one can do the same just by observing... other animals. Different animals with different metabolisms experience time and life at different speeds. To us, a dog's life seems short, but to them and their slower sense of time... it probably feels just as long and as fully lived as our own. We might think insects are fast, but to them, we're probably just perceived as slow. Swatting a fly seems instantaneous, but to them, the pain is perceived as something that lasts much, much longer. These creatures' lives, to us, might seem insignificant... to them it's a rich collection of life moments and complex experiences. Something to think about. One can also find this peace by observing dogs. But not just dogs, it just happens to be my personal experience. Ever noticed how dogs are happier than us? They don't go to work or think about long term dilemmas like what they will do if the owner leaves the world before they do, or if food ever runs out. They're not pondering about what their life means. They make exhilarating adventures out of the most mundane activities. They live a more fulfilled life by doing much, much less. That dog might not matter in the grand scheme of things... but they don't care. And ironically, through that care-free perspective... they end up meaning the world to us. That dog did not need to change the world or feel important to live a meaningful life. So why do we? Our legacy does not need to be permanent to be meaningful. Life is not about finding meaning. Whether we are unique and alone in the universe, or just a tiny spec of dust in an endless sea of living things we'll never encounter in our lifetime... it does not matter. Regardless of which answer is correct, we all matter by virtue of just existing. The meaning of life... is to just live it. I hope your channel takes off with every video essay, not just the Bloodborne one. Also, I noticed you used the track "Harmonious" from Ender Lilies. One of my favourite tracks from one of my favourite games in recent memory. The tone you set in these videos is just so good. Keep it up!
Thank you so much!! Humans are weirdly biased towards viewing ourselves as the default and seeing ourselves as far more important than other animals but we're in a massive web of life and everything in that web affects everything else. Bacteria and fungi are adapting to survive at higher temperatures thanks to global warming so more diseases are spreading. Species are becoming endangered alarmingly quickly. Humans are just creatures good at invention and tool using, and the way we've built our society means we've had a much greater impact than the rest of the other animals in the world but...we're still animals! We're deeply social, creative and imaginative but we're also prone to bias, in-fighting and tribalism. We are very important in this world because we can affect so much but also we mean nothing. We're a tiny speck that is so unimportant we're not even a footnote in the universe. Getting a handle on both of those scales is a real mind bender! I don't think anything or anyone is "meant" to matter but that means you can find meaning in anything and that's so much better!! Also even though the universe doesn't care about or notice you...you are still a part of it. You're tiny but you're not discarded by the universe, you're contirbuting to it! In every little thing you do! I forget that sometimes. I rambled a bit about that in my DS9 video but I love that people set goals for themselves and find enjoyment in growing and learning etc but also we tend to forget that the journey's normally the best part. Results from that journey start to feel hollow when you're just achieving things to achieve things. It doesn't mean anything, it's a checklist that some faceless entity at large has decided is important. I think a big part of growing up is finding out what you actually care about and value, both as concepts and in people. What do you want to keep in your life? What *actually* makes you feel good, why? And you do that over and over your whole life as you change and it's great! Like you said, an animal like a dog doesn't get caught up in all of this conceptualising, they just fully LIVE. They do the things that make them happy but they're not usually selfish. If you show them that a thing they did was bad, they tend to stop, that's the whole point of dog training. It communicates to them that hey, this is bad for the pack, don't do it and they go, oh okay noted, apology lick. Same for learning to read their body language; it's so you both live together more comfortably and it makes them a part of the family! And we love how full of love and life they are. And YEAH I love Ender Lilies!! (Admittedly, I haven't finished it but I adored the art and music and the world! Also I love how varied the combat can be with all the companions!) It's always cool when people recognise a bit of music I threw in from a game I like haha I've never known what I wanted to be. When I was a kid and got asked what I wanted to be what I grew up apparently I frowned, thought about it and said, "I want to live in a tree." So...er, maybe I haven't changed that much haha. But I think I'm just going to aim to be the best version of me that I can. I think that's a good goal. People can and will find meaning in anything and everything and I love that. (also sorry for rambling so much but yeah thank you so much for watching and sharing your thoughts, it means a lot! ^.^)
@@HoneyBat Quite ironic, isn't it? Our insignificance in relation to the universe's scale can feel depressing, and yet when we limit our scale to just our world, we take that significance way out of proportion. Almost as if it's compensation. Honestly, "I want to live in a tree" is a great answer. In retrospect, I wish I had answered such a pointless question in that way. It kinda reminds me of that internet quote: "When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down 'happy'. They told me I didn't understand the assignment, and I told them they didn't understand life." It's (allegedly) a quote by John Lennon, but then again, Albert Einstein also said "don't believe everything you read on the internet", and he totally said that. (I'm obviously kidding lol) "Even though the universe doesn't care about or notice you... you are still a part of it." I wanted to highlight this sentence because this is exactly the hidden optimism of Dark Souls' depressingly apathetic world. It's why so many people say Dark Souls saved them, but can't figure out exactly why. Dark Souls' difficulty is unique because it isn't really a difficult game, it's just the protagonist is insignificant in such an indifferent world. It acts as a metaphor for an existential crisis. When a character so worthless can finally defeat the most significant lords, significant enough to be the first thing the game displays in all their glory... it's basically the greatest portrayal of a David vs Goliath win in video game form. Ender Lilies is absolutely intoxicating. Perhaps an unpopular opinion, but I enjoy it even more than Hollow Knight. The contrast between these two is amazing. Hollow Knight is portrayed ever so quirky and whimsical (it's very Tim Burton-esque), yet it is quite bleak. Ender Lilies is hauntingly melancholic, yet Lily is both the literal and metaphorical beam of light that can save the kingdom. Hollow Knight's bleak world also carries the same theme of optimism because it scales down to the insects' world, making the characters feel contextually significant and full of personality. Dark Souls, Ender Lilies and Hollow Knight are three extremely different games, but they all have that thematic link. I've been wanting to do video essays on all three, but my style of videos is usually separating all three games in their own videos. The running theme of these games seems to align very much with your video essay format and the style of topics/themes you cover - would love to see you break down these games and the linked theme from your perspective! I'll have to binge-watch all the other videos in the meantime. Thank you so much for replying!
Thank you so much!! The algorithm is a mystery but I figure I won't ever get bored if I just make whatever I'm interested in rn and hope people find it haha
Your video essays are incredible...I love the way you present your ideas, I'm someone who really loves engaging video essays thoughtfully exploring philosophy and emotional themes in media, and discovering your channel has been an absolute gift. You've made some of my favourite video essays in recent times! Sorry I haven't found capacity to comment on all of them, but am leaving this comment now that I'm all caught up on them. Beautiful work, thank you for your passion!
An absolute frickin bangin essay! I love the bit about greetings and the literal translations of them. It works really well! Im genuinely really excited for your next essay
Oh! Also the dark ages and lost history stuff! Gosh the entire concept of the sea people is so wild. Just... everything about this essay is perfect and amazing. I really appreciate your part on disability and how we've always been cared for in history, and will be cared for in the future. Sometimes it feels bleak being disabled, but it's nice to look at history and see how we've always been here.
Thanks so much!! I got to the end of the script and was like...if anyone makes any sort of survival of the fittest comments I am gonna be very unhappy. I'm also disabled but you can't tell from looking at me and I've worked a public facing job throughout the whole of covid. The things people will say when they think you're "one of them" is a real trip. We've always been here and we always will, and we'll always have value just in being ourselves 💛
One of my favorite things about your videos is listening to the different game osts in the background. It's so fun trying to figure out where i heard that particular melody and a fun surprise when i'm doing something totally different and notice a tune i heard in a video of yours. Absolutely love your content, it gives me so much calm happiness :)
This has been so inspiring for me. I’ve had a really bad few months. I’ve called 988 more times than I want to admit. Listening to an essay about the pre-apocalypse, predestination and loss that has a positive theme makes a huge difference. The bit about the guy improving for his shrimp really hit hard. The thing keeping me going lately has been that my dog would be sad if I was gone and the hope the final 2 books in a trilogy that I love might be converted to an audio format. Small things matter so much. They can keep us going. Nothing is to small to hold on to as long as it gives you hope
Long-form, essay format analysis videos are the bomb digs, and i love this stuff. UA-cam tends to deincentivise this sorta thing, and because people need money to.. live, seeing stuff like this is a real treat. :)
Only just discovered your content thanks to the phenomenal Bloodborne video, then I binged the DrakeNieR videos too. I cannot believe how captivating you make these videos. The music, the tone, the ideas presented. All absolutely top notch and I commend you for some of the best stuff I've seen in a long while. Much love
i watched through 3 of your videos so far and you have indeed affected me positively. Im in a rough spot in life rn but having very interesting and intelligent ideas to listen to makes life easier to go through. I am awaiting for your return but if not thank you for the good times!
Your message of hope at the end regarding people with disabilities...thank you. That really meant a lot x Humanity and empathy are what make life with others worthwhile...and the idea that love can persist even in the face of the collapse of everything else...that brings hope
What is an ocean but a multitude of drops? Every drop in the bucket matters. Every act of kindness. Every smiling moment. Less bad, even if it doesn’t make it good, is still less bad. Every breath is resistance. We are a remarkable creature, and it is together we have come this far.
I wanted to thank you for what you are doing with this media. I just discovered your channel and I simply consummed your videos. Without the glimpse of a doubt I'll wait for your next one patiently.
ever since i found your bloodborne video i've been watching your video essays and so much of what you have to say is so insightful and resonates with me. i'm only halfway through the video so far but i started tearing up at the part you started discussing nihilism and finding reasons to just. want to continue i guess
That's one goodass video on a gem of channel, you hooked me the Bloodborn video and there's this master piece, hope more people see this, this is great.
Just found your channel today and wow this is amazing. Not once did I stop paying attention to the hour long video. You weren't talking just for the sake of talking but because you had something to say, more than once I paused the video to write down a sentence you said because it was so well put and poignant. I cant wait to watch your previous videos and look forward to what's to come from you!
Oh man, I'm so blessed to have discovered your channel! This was a really deep and optimistic look at the issues, people like you give me comfort and hope for the future :) Also, I love your narration and editing! Very easy watching.
Thank you!! I haven't posted in forever because I'm stupidly busy doing a masters degree and a job and streaming but I'm slowly working on another video in the background when I have a minute haha Thanks so much for watching and commenting ^.^
I found your stuff recently, and im hooked. I havent found someone who in their video essays talks about hope, and the positive parts of humanity as much as you have. Its like a little light that ive found in the dark of this maddening world we are in. Rarely do I watch videos and come away with existential yet happy and hopeful thoughts. Your videos make me think much more than most and still entertain extensively. I wish I had something more poignant to say, or could at least communicate my thoughts better. So I guess to wrap up my rambling comment. Thank you, your videos are awesome and I hope your content gets the attention it deserves
Hey, I Just wanted to say I discovered your Channel After seeing the bloodborne video of yours being recommended ti by the algorithm (Still haven't watched It yet, but planning on It eheh). I don't really know how to express how much I am in awe with your writing; It absolutely stunning and captivating and so, oh so very delightful to listen to. You have a real talent and I thank you so much for the work you've done. This video especially manages to beautifully capture how I'm also feeling in regards to the future and it's "not-so-nice" prospects, and in a way I could never have done It. Really excited to see your next projects come to Life! In the meantime, take care, I'll be rewatching this One over and over ahaha
1:02:03 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺 there it is, the representation that I need. The thing that hits home the most for me, and how I want to write. You’re a goddamned miracle. Thank you so much.
incredible video, I watched this and your Bloodborne one and am happy to say I am more than glowing in my reviews of both. you're really good at structuring these and keeping me engrossed, even if the video doesn't have my fully attention. Phenomenal!
Just watched this and your Bloodborne piece. You're an exceptional and thoughtful essayist, and I got a *hell* of a lot out of both of them - thank you!
This is such a beautiful video, and I’m glad I sat down to listen. I love how you talked about different apocalypse media and what they teach us. I’mma big fan of apocalyptic media, so this video felt like a love letter to a genre that has shaped my life and childhood. I just wish I had something substantial to say in return besides this: thank you, wonderful job, and I hope to follow and see you keep up this amazing content.
Hey- I’m a concept art student aiming to work in the professional games/animation industry someday, and I absolutely love your ideas and how you present them. I also grew up playing This War of Mine, watching gameplay of TLOU and Nier and I’ve always loved analysing the thematic aspects of these games. I watch your videos while working on designs. Blissful Death playing out of nowhere gave me chills!! Such a nice background track for a topic like this. Looking forward to hearing more of your analytic thoughts in the future
Your video essays are absolutely excellent - on par with all my favourites for gaming video essays. I've so far watched the Bloodborne one, as well as this. The way in which your points are articulated just does good things to my weird little nerd brain. You remind me of Kay and Skittles, Joseph Anderson, Hello Future Me... opinions on those creators notwithstanding, the point is that your video essays are just super high quality. can't wait for more content.
Yeah! The concept of "The Future" is so big and abstract it's difficult to really envision, especially with, er, everything going on right now. So I'm gonna focus on helping the people around me, I can control that much and I'm probably still going to be existing 30 years down the line so investing in practical life skills like first aid and in being with my friends gives me hope. I figure if we approach the future as a thing that will happen that we have some control over it'll go better for us than the future is coming and it is terrifying, inevitable and will crush you like the meaningless grape you are hahaha
I found your channel just minutes ago with your Arcane video and now this one, truly amazing videos and I hope you keep it up (a bit sad to see your last one was 6 months ago), your scripts are great and the way you narrate things pulls me into wanting to hear what tou want to say Anyhow, great video again.
This was an awesome video, covering so much of what is kind of missing from post-apocalyptic material. Commenting to hopefully keep adding it to the almighty algorithm. My name might be Hope, but I still think going out Shiny and Chrome on Fury Road is the best option 😜
Stunning video. Great writing, editing, research and voiceacting. Very thoughtfull, funny but also emotional. I thought I'd watch some fun videoessay on apocalypse media, but it got a lot deeper then that. It made me reflect, think and feel a lot more then I was expecting. 10/10 Content, I hope this channel grows. PS: Never hearded of the dark forest theory. That really fucked with my head.
I hope you read this! Honestly as a women it's so refreshing to see video essays like this from a woman, in a way many of you videos have alot more of an empathic approach to the characters and lore as it connectsto real historical references. I aspire to write like you!
The game that finally got me to play card games! The music for that game is so compelling; I've installed an endless cabin mode mod so I can just play cards with Leshy now
There is a very, very, specific post-apocylpse subgenre I like to call the "silent Apocyplyse". It is defined not by survival but by silence, hence the name. I've only seen a single example of it and that is a specific episode of adventure time where an Alien visits far in the future and all the main characters, their civilisations, everything we knew, are gone. It was a very quiet episode, and very odd.
Oooh, YEAH I forgot about that episode!! It's been forever but I remember feeling uncomfortable in a really good way, like there's something here but I don't have the words for it yet. Definitely going to rewatch that one!
I sunk so many hours into that game as a kid XD The internet where I lived was garbage so playing the Sea Monsters one was iffy as I'd die on the video questions because they wouldn't load but Al? Big Al was where it was AT haha
Wow that was amazing, I loved every part of it, especially the walking dead part, I've always loved those games and clementine is one of my favourite characters in fiction. I've watched a lot of video essays about them, but I think you've done the best job and have some very interesting takes. I can definitely see myself rewatching this a lot in the future. Also something interesting you may not know, you said before that "there is no ending where she abandons the baby". One of the first planned endings was actually her doing just that. After the events of the game she would have ended up alone in the blizzard and make the choice to either abandon AJ so she can maybe live or keep him and they both die. I'm very glad they didn't go that way, but it's interesting to think about how much more bleak the original draft of season 2 was.
Thank you so much!! I love Clementine, I really need to get around to reading the comic hahaha. But I love how she grows over the series and ends up coming full circle with her own kid to raise with what she's learned through the apocalypse. Oh nooo, I'm really glad they didn't have leaving AJ as a choice. It makes total sense for her to do but it would have really doubled down on the everything is terrible forever vibes with "and you have now also murdered a baby congratulations!" I wonder how much of that was based around Clem's character in 2 and how much by where they wanted her to be in potential sequels.
@@HoneyBat Personally I dont think I'll ever read the comic, maybe its just me being close-minded but the very premise seems very antithetical to Clems character. It might be very good, but I'll just stick to the games XD. Also yes, her imparting on AJ what she learned from lee and taking care of him for years was amazing to see, her relationship with him in S4 was beautiful and you can tell how much they care about each other (Also AJ always wants to protect Clem will never not pull at my heart strings) Clem has always been a very important character to me, I grew up with the twd games and have always been about her age, give or take a few years. I have to have played the second one (my favourite one) about a dozen times by now. The idea of playing as a child was always fascinating to me, as you said in your video many of your choices and actions dont matter, but Clem can is still very underestimated and will do what she has to too survive. Its why my favourite ending is her being alone, it is dangerous and before the other games it was very likely she'd die, especially with AJ, but after all she's learnt she has a good chance. Yeah I'm very glad they didnt go that route, as I said before the original draft of season 2 was much darker, Clem was originally going to get shot helping Christa instead of getting bit by the dog, there was going to be a cult in episode 4, Mike was also going to be apart of the group that attacked Clem and Christa. There's some other stuff as well, but its been a while since I've looked into it. Season 2 was also meant to not have a sequel, that was always the plan and it is why all the endings are so different, and also why season 3 made such a mess trying to tie up all the loose ends. So the endings presented in the original draft and in the finished version were always meant to be the final vision for Clems arc. Also I just wanna say I've been loving your content! I first watched your bloodborn video about a week ago, I was searching for some video essays after completing it again, your video popped up and I'd never seen that take before, so I was very interested. I think you did a fantastic job with that video as well and think you really made some good points. I'm gonna watch the rest of your videos soon, just finished the cat lady one yesterday
Oh, I wonder if one day you’ll make a video about berserk, ever since hearing your perspective on bloodborne and femininity, I’ve been really curious what your take on it would be..
Oooh that's a point. I never got into Beserk but I'll give anything a shot! And I liked the idea of it based on a Super Eyepatch Wolf video I watched a while back so definitely worth investigating ^.^
@@HoneyBat oh great, we both like super eyepatch wolf haha. Look, there needs to be a disclaimer: the manga depicts trauma, rape, and gore… After watching your nier series and BB video I know trauma or gore are topics that you probably can handle without problems, but I would lie if I told you that the rape scenes did not make me uncomfortable… Other than that, the story is phenomenal, the art is gorgeous, and there is plenty of throwbacks to philosophers like Nietzsche and Jung, and simbolism ranging from Hinduism, Buddhism, Catholicism, and Judaism. Edit: you have to get through the first couple of chapters though, where the story was still in it’s early stages and the art is worse/different. The art gets incredibly better very quickly👍🏻 Have a nice day :)
Hey honey,I’m using it as a nickname, (please forgive my apparent familiarity),but oh my goodness I am speechless and you’ve made me cry in the BB video and once more here,and after a very stressful exam week,I really want to thank you for creating this video essay. The warm guiding voice,that guides us through the apocalypse,be it nuclear holocaust,undead hordes or simply...an absolute disaster. I hope you’re doing well,and I’m continuously impressed by your video quality.
Well, time to consume the rest of your channel's content! Your essays are excellent and I'm very glad I found them. Big shout-out to that Pathologic reference early in this video, ayyyy Have you played Signalis yet, by any chance? It might be very much up your street as far as survival horror goes
Thank you so much! I haven't gotten to Signalis yet but it's on my (ever-growing) to play list, but I've heard excellent things about it from everyone who has so I may need to bump it up that list haha
@@HoneyBat Short game, only about 8-12 hours worth of playtime at most, *very* very good. Probably one of the best video game narratives I've played in years - I'd compare the writing and artistry quality to disco elysium, or pathologic
In the apocalypse, libraries are the most valuable resources that can exist. Knowledge becomes more powerful when access to it is lost.
Wow... I am kinda speechless after watching this one. It was truly engaging to listen to the historical facts as well as your perspective on hope and growth in face of an apocalypse. The things you said really resonated with me on levels I didn't even expect going in. Thank you.
Thank you so much!! I'm really happy you found something valuable in it 💛
Oh yeah….. you’re definitely gonna get something like that with this channel. P much guaranteed imo.
This spoke to me. As an artist who is often cripplingly aware of the passage of time and the decay of manmade structures, I chose clay as my medium. The same material that preserves so much of our ancient history. My current project is transcribing poetry onto ceramic tablets, and hoping that some time in the future, I can find a place to put them where they will be found
That's wonderful!! I wonder who'll find those tablets in the future... I know there was a family (I think in Ukraine?) that just picked up a metal pot from somewhere and had been using it in the house for years but it turned out to be thousands of years old and was still completely fit for purpose so things are always being dug up haha
I'll help you build your library bunker as long as its free for anyone to access up until its sealed for the future.
"Even Paper Decays" is the name of the Doom Metal band i'm starting after watching this video.
It's also a poignant summation of the daunting scale of apocalypse, its slow onset, endless duration and pointless experience. Thinking about the vastness that exists outside of my brain is scary but helpful some times. It makes it all the cozier inside my comfort zones, a much needed periodic reprieve from caring about the outside. My issue with a lot of apocalypse media is the simple clear cut reason and starting point for the "collapse" when in reality an apocalypse probably won't even present itself to us until we've already stopped caring, or are focusing somewhere else. Worse than not knowing what's going to happen, I fear not realizing what is happening as it occurs.
Thanks so much for watching the whole thing! I'm definitely with you on worrying about the slow buildup; it's that gnawing dread that things around you are slowly but surely getting a bit worse everyday and there's nothing you can do about it. Maybe there will be some big event like a nuclear strike or a famine but... it won't be out of the blue.
That's why I think we need more stories where the future turns out okay. If we only ever envision the future as an inevitable pollution and wildfire riddled wasteland then people kinda subconsciously stop wanting to try. The future is already decided and it's gonna suck. Why bother? But I figure if the world changes slowly, we can too. It's gonna take a long time to reverse the damage that's already been done but we are inventing new tech that's helping. And when things change so slowly it fades into the background to some degree so I figure that focusing on helping out the people you can around you is the best thing you can do, including yourself. I ended up making this because I was playing the last of us and was like... So when all the loot runs out...? Do you know how to make more stuff? Shit do you know how to make the materials to make stuff?? Oh no. The scale of how much is gonna get lost in a disaster event is so daunting but we've done this more times than we can record. We'll get the hang of it again, even if it takes a few hundred years ^.^
Oh I loooove that tidbit about marking life-ending waste so that future civilizations will be warned regardless of their language. So wild to think about.
Yeahhh so many things rot and decay but also some things just kinda...sit. They'll go away eventually but plastic takes it's sweet time and with all the nuclear waste we have to bury it's kinda terrifying to think about someone accidentally finding out about radiation poisoning!
I feel like I’m one of the only people who bounces off of apocalyptic media. The genres tend to revel in the misery of their premises. I don’t mind survival genres where the entire world isn’t fucked, whether you are lost in the wilderness, or if you are an explorer out in space.
There is something about requiring the world be broken that never sat right with me
Saving this one for tomorrow, uni is kicking the sh*t out of me 💀
Oof, good luck with your assignments! I hope uni does not eat you haha
as someone who was funneled into high-powered, competitive academia bullshit from a very early age, learning concrete skills and how to make things from scratch wherever I can has been rly precious to me over the years. post-apocalyptic stories are wonderful precisely bc they force ppl to consider how precious "basic" or "unskilled" jobs are.
I think I need to sit down after this one.
I'm gonna take that as a compliment haha, but yeah post-apocalypse is a lot. I think we need more hopeful stories. Not because happy endings are necessarily better, which depends wildly on the material, but because when we only ever picture the future as purely bleak and hopeless, just an inevitable system that chokes out the populus in cyberpunk, or people slowly dying thanks to environmental/nuclear disaster etc, it slowly embeds in the back of people's minds that this is inevitable. There's no point trying to fix things now, we're already screwed. Even if the story is about the death of the world, put heart into the people. I think people are worth surviving for.
Choosing hope, ignoring the thoughts of "it doesn't matter" is one of my favorite ideas every time I hear it. It's such a great response to a statement that is too easily interpreted as a correct argument. I love how you wove it into the video, a relevant message pre- and post-apocalypse. It's all kind of a matter of scale. And an excellent quote pick for the end! :)
The parallels you drew between all these different games and movies were seriously intriguing, I have never thought to compare something like Hollow Knight and Darkwood in that way.
Light Criticism: Even with the thumbnail, I did not expect half of the video to be about TWD. I was a bit surprised when I checked how long that segment would go, I think that weakened the structure a little. Not because the analysis isn't good, it was very well explained and interesting, but it didn't feel like the genre was the focus anymore, it was now a genre study by the example of TWD.
(Apropos cultural fragments that need not be elaborated on in the culture itself, it was funny to hear you bring up a greentext, a concept that will probably fall into even deeper obscurity in the next decades.)
(One more note, I enjoy it a lot whenever I can spot familiar soundtracks like Hollow Knight or Nier Automata. Good picks!)
Yeah!! With the current state of the world it's very easy to just...tune out and give up hope for anything improving. There's a lot going on that's completely out of any one person's control so I figure focusing on what you can do, being the most person-like person you can be, is probably the best way to go. Hope is a skill I think (and I'm relieved the grimdark trend is over now because hope isn't naive dammit!)
I love games with interesting worlds to pick through! Putting together histories and picking through ruins are so much fun, but I'm also very picky about open world style games so finding one that does this is tricky haha. But Darkwood is SO good at this. Not so much in making a history but in living through a transitionary state in the woods and all the characters having their own priorities and moral codes is just wonderful. Like, there's hints about the world before and research teams entering the forest but the priority is getting a handle on this new scary world before it eats you and damn it's engaging. I have to make sure not to boot that one up too often or I will just pour days into it haha.
And that's very fair! I tried to reign TWDG stuff into just the first two games as the first two are Clem doing all of the learning and prep to making it on her own while figuring out how to be a person but er, there's still a LOT. I think it ended up being about 1/3rd in the end? I cut a lot out but yeahhhh there's a lot hahaha. The criticism is very much appreciated though; it's extemely helpful to know how something feels to watch and listen to as opposed to writing it (and reading through it so many times that you have lost all sense of whether it's any good anymore XD), so thank you for the feedback!
(also pfft greentext is already kind of a relic now that you mention it, I've never really been on any of the boards that host them but the odd one would break containment and cross onto my tumblr dash. I wonder what the next weird ass story telling technique is going to be on forums)
Thanks so much for watching and commenting, I really appreciate it!! ^.^
Honey Bat your channel has been my go to comfort channel for the past two months. And as someone interested in reading Terry Prachett I'd love to see a video on his work with your words. You are a good person, I won't see the uglier parts of you anymore than you see the uglier parts of me, but you're a good person regardless. Thank you so much
Thank you so much for this beautiful video essay, in these harsh times it gave me hope for the future. Your work is so important and refreshing thank you again !!!
I love the stars and vastness of space because they constantly remind me of my insignificance and by extension the insignificance of my problems.
As insignificant as I am however it's also impossible to understand just how lucky I am to exist on this planet. For the right ancestors to meet and create my family line and the millions of sperm to find the right egg, the right people survived and the right people died so I could exist on this planet and actually experience how wonderful it is.
Before you ever took your first breath you already won the lottery a hundred times in a row and the universe around you is vast and unexplored ready for you to embrace it.
I find your video essays incredibly compelling and I really enjoy them. Your Visceral Femininity one first popped on my radar and I loved it so much that I'm binging through the rest of your videos!
Wow, thank you! ^.^
Interesting how this video connects with me so deeply. I find myself as a single father struggling to connect with people in reality and quite frequently finding comfort in these kinds of media.
I love any kind of story rooted in it's characters! It's comforting to find plots that resonate with your experiences, even if the background they're living in is exaggerated, and that their strengths are in you too.
@@HoneyBat it’s always seemed in these kinds stories the characters have more genuine relationships than in reality. Focusing more on the importance of others you care about as where it feels like in todays world relationships are treated more expendable.
I bet this channel is going to grow quickly. This is some great content.
Thanks!!
The phrase "spare part sanctuary".
Wow, this was such a nice refreshing view of the world in a time where everything feels hopeless! I love the use of one of my favorite games, TWDG, as a vessel for that hopeful narrative :) ILL DEFINITELY CHECK OUT DARKWOOD TOO!! You did beautifully on this video and I hope you make many more :D 💗
I finally got around to watching it!
Your content really deserves to be seen by more people
Have a nice weekend Honey Bat
Eyyyyy, the uni is vanquished! And thank you, I'm really happy you enjoyed it ^.^ Hope your weekend is lovely too!
"Find your shrimp" I love that
It's shrimply the best way to be ^.^
Bread is actually pretty easy to invent. I did it a few times, with a few different grains, over the course of 2020. Start with a grass seed, grind it into a dust as fine as you possibly can, mix with water, cook on a hot flat rock. Whatever you made with those instructions is edible, even if its hard tack. All else is experimentation to make it good.
I may come back to this multiple times. I’ve been thinking about/tinkering with a post apocalypse saga for an embarrassing number of years without having published any of it, and this video is FANTASTIC.
I've seen a few of your videos, all amazing, all making me think. You gained a sub
Marvellous and underrated - may this comment please the algorithm.
These are good-ass videos AND they often use Pratchett quotes? Absolutely subscribed.
Thanks!! Currently rereading the Tiffany books rn, I love Pratchett ^.^
I teared up multiple times watching this, and I'm not quite sure why. Thank you
I'm really happy this resonated with you, and thank you for watching 💛
I'm so grateful for the zombies CW before the video! I've got such a bad fear of them and I think this is the first time I've seen someone put a CW about zombies up ever. Thank you!
I just discovered your channel a few days ago and this video is stunning in its vision, curiosity and humanity.
Hope is such a wonderful thing.
Yeah!! Hope is a skill, at least I think so. Thank you for the lovely comment ^.^
I'm bingeing all your videos while I draw and I just wanna say that very often I have started thinking about whatever PTerry quote you add before you bring it up and am so pleased when it happpens. It's so clear that Discworld made as a big an impact on you as it has me. You do a great job translating those ideas in these videos. GNU
Wow your videos are criminally underrated, very well written, well edited, good narration 👌
Thank you!
I’ve just finished your video on Bloodborne, and about twenty minutes in I’m already loving this one. I’d love to see more stuff from you!
Thank you so much!! It was a surprise everyone suddenly found it as I haven't posted in a while thanks to doing a master's course, sloooowly chipping away at another video when I have a bit of time hahaha
nothing is guaranteed you can have an apocalypse without a zombie outbreak things can go wrong so its about survival and the mental aspect is usually harder than the physical.. fighting a losing battle is not easy sometimes you have to be realistic and change your goals according to what you are capable of .. you have to adapt and find hope in something different ... sometimes the end goal will never come the experience is worth the struggle ..just like the game you just showed there is no real purpose to them just the pleasure of the journey
I need more Honey Bat uploads. I found this channel wayyyy to early
cried once or twice while watching this, i have no fancy words for you on the video topic, it was indcredible and very worthwile the watch, but i don't think i have extra conversation material.
your voice is really sweet, i think i have a new goal with my voice training!!
Thank you so much!! I'm really glad this resonated with you (and that is super sweet of you! Good luck with the voice training ^.^)
I think much of the charm of these stories is that they often ask "what comes next?", which is where rebuilding comes in.
My favorite post-apocalyptic story is the Parable of the Sower, by Octavia Butler. The protagonist is a teenager slowly watching her life within a gated community crumble as wealth inequality, climate change, authoritarian politicians and pandemics are slowly but surely making society collapse around her in the far, far future of 2024. It was published in 1993.
Fortunately the author's insights don't stop there. The protagonist grows into a wellspring of hope for those around her and her goal is to build a community based on empathy. A lot of this video reminds me of the things she says. Big recommendation.
YEAH! It's the rebuilding after the apocalypse or setting up that potential for growing and healing after apocalypses that's my favourite part of the genre. So many of these kinds of stories are both a warning of the way things will go if we don't change, but also sometimes I like when the disaster happens but we survive and then we get to change when the previous system wouldn't allow for that. I'll definitely look that story up! Thank you for the recommendation!
I discovered this channel thanks to your bloodborne video and i'm absolutely charmed by how you explain the topic of your videos. I didn't even notice this video was an hour long, i went through it and time passed way faster than i wanted to. This channel has something that not many have and that something made me enjoy the video more than any other similar content. I'm going to stick around for more, this time as a subscriber. Thanks for this awesome video, keep going!
Such a underrated video. Watching this whole has made me learn about myself, others, and surroundings. I love the articulated subjects and which order you put them in, they simply became digestible. Truly a masterclass of a video analysis.
Thank you!!
An absolute gem of a video! This is fantastic. I hope more people see your channel
Thanks so much!
This is long but so worth it. I enjoyed this immensely. Thank you for making it!
Thank you so much! I'm really happy you liked it, and thanks for sticking round till the end haha, I'm not known for brevity
I know im late, and there have been no videos on your channel a while, but, continue, your content is great, and so.. intimate to my instincts, thank you
Your channel is an absolute gem. The Bloodborne video was excellent and this one is no different. You offer a unique perspective and your insight is genuinely riveting.
What you said between 26:52 and 29:42 is something everyone needs to hear. The vastness of the cosmos can be overwhelming for our solipsistic nature as human beings. There's an early indoctrination that we are important in this world, and that there needs to be a goal - that life has to mean something in the grand scheme of things. And yet, the beauty and meaning can be derived through the simplest of things.
The correlation between intelligence and depression exists for a reason. The more you know, the more you realize you don't know anything. The sense of insignificance that comes with understanding our place in the universe goes against everything that humans are taught from an early age. Even the little things, such as being asked "what do you want to be when you grow up?". It's one of the most harmful questions ever, even if it's asked with good intentions.
You are right. We shouldn't have to matter in the grand scheme of the universe. I found peace with it a few years ago myself, and one can do the same just by observing... other animals. Different animals with different metabolisms experience time and life at different speeds. To us, a dog's life seems short, but to them and their slower sense of time... it probably feels just as long and as fully lived as our own. We might think insects are fast, but to them, we're probably just perceived as slow. Swatting a fly seems instantaneous, but to them, the pain is perceived as something that lasts much, much longer. These creatures' lives, to us, might seem insignificant... to them it's a rich collection of life moments and complex experiences. Something to think about.
One can also find this peace by observing dogs. But not just dogs, it just happens to be my personal experience.
Ever noticed how dogs are happier than us? They don't go to work or think about long term dilemmas like what they will do if the owner leaves the world before they do, or if food ever runs out. They're not pondering about what their life means. They make exhilarating adventures out of the most mundane activities. They live a more fulfilled life by doing much, much less. That dog might not matter in the grand scheme of things... but they don't care. And ironically, through that care-free perspective... they end up meaning the world to us. That dog did not need to change the world or feel important to live a meaningful life. So why do we?
Our legacy does not need to be permanent to be meaningful. Life is not about finding meaning. Whether we are unique and alone in the universe, or just a tiny spec of dust in an endless sea of living things we'll never encounter in our lifetime... it does not matter. Regardless of which answer is correct, we all matter by virtue of just existing. The meaning of life... is to just live it.
I hope your channel takes off with every video essay, not just the Bloodborne one. Also, I noticed you used the track "Harmonious" from Ender Lilies. One of my favourite tracks from one of my favourite games in recent memory. The tone you set in these videos is just so good. Keep it up!
Thank you so much!! Humans are weirdly biased towards viewing ourselves as the default and seeing ourselves as far more important than other animals but we're in a massive web of life and everything in that web affects everything else. Bacteria and fungi are adapting to survive at higher temperatures thanks to global warming so more diseases are spreading. Species are becoming endangered alarmingly quickly. Humans are just creatures good at invention and tool using, and the way we've built our society means we've had a much greater impact than the rest of the other animals in the world but...we're still animals! We're deeply social, creative and imaginative but we're also prone to bias, in-fighting and tribalism. We are very important in this world because we can affect so much but also we mean nothing. We're a tiny speck that is so unimportant we're not even a footnote in the universe. Getting a handle on both of those scales is a real mind bender!
I don't think anything or anyone is "meant" to matter but that means you can find meaning in anything and that's so much better!! Also even though the universe doesn't care about or notice you...you are still a part of it. You're tiny but you're not discarded by the universe, you're contirbuting to it! In every little thing you do! I forget that sometimes. I rambled a bit about that in my DS9 video but I love that people set goals for themselves and find enjoyment in growing and learning etc but also we tend to forget that the journey's normally the best part. Results from that journey start to feel hollow when you're just achieving things to achieve things. It doesn't mean anything, it's a checklist that some faceless entity at large has decided is important. I think a big part of growing up is finding out what you actually care about and value, both as concepts and in people. What do you want to keep in your life? What *actually* makes you feel good, why? And you do that over and over your whole life as you change and it's great! Like you said, an animal like a dog doesn't get caught up in all of this conceptualising, they just fully LIVE. They do the things that make them happy but they're not usually selfish. If you show them that a thing they did was bad, they tend to stop, that's the whole point of dog training. It communicates to them that hey, this is bad for the pack, don't do it and they go, oh okay noted, apology lick. Same for learning to read their body language; it's so you both live together more comfortably and it makes them a part of the family! And we love how full of love and life they are.
And YEAH I love Ender Lilies!! (Admittedly, I haven't finished it but I adored the art and music and the world! Also I love how varied the combat can be with all the companions!) It's always cool when people recognise a bit of music I threw in from a game I like haha
I've never known what I wanted to be. When I was a kid and got asked what I wanted to be what I grew up apparently I frowned, thought about it and said, "I want to live in a tree." So...er, maybe I haven't changed that much haha. But I think I'm just going to aim to be the best version of me that I can. I think that's a good goal. People can and will find meaning in anything and everything and I love that. (also sorry for rambling so much but yeah thank you so much for watching and sharing your thoughts, it means a lot! ^.^)
@@HoneyBat Quite ironic, isn't it? Our insignificance in relation to the universe's scale can feel depressing, and yet when we limit our scale to just our world, we take that significance way out of proportion. Almost as if it's compensation.
Honestly, "I want to live in a tree" is a great answer. In retrospect, I wish I had answered such a pointless question in that way. It kinda reminds me of that internet quote: "When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down 'happy'. They told me I didn't understand the assignment, and I told them they didn't understand life."
It's (allegedly) a quote by John Lennon, but then again, Albert Einstein also said "don't believe everything you read on the internet", and he totally said that. (I'm obviously kidding lol)
"Even though the universe doesn't care about or notice you... you are still a part of it." I wanted to highlight this sentence because this is exactly the hidden optimism of Dark Souls' depressingly apathetic world. It's why so many people say Dark Souls saved them, but can't figure out exactly why. Dark Souls' difficulty is unique because it isn't really a difficult game, it's just the protagonist is insignificant in such an indifferent world. It acts as a metaphor for an existential crisis. When a character so worthless can finally defeat the most significant lords, significant enough to be the first thing the game displays in all their glory... it's basically the greatest portrayal of a David vs Goliath win in video game form.
Ender Lilies is absolutely intoxicating. Perhaps an unpopular opinion, but I enjoy it even more than Hollow Knight. The contrast between these two is amazing. Hollow Knight is portrayed ever so quirky and whimsical (it's very Tim Burton-esque), yet it is quite bleak. Ender Lilies is hauntingly melancholic, yet Lily is both the literal and metaphorical beam of light that can save the kingdom.
Hollow Knight's bleak world also carries the same theme of optimism because it scales down to the insects' world, making the characters feel contextually significant and full of personality. Dark Souls, Ender Lilies and Hollow Knight are three extremely different games, but they all have that thematic link. I've been wanting to do video essays on all three, but my style of videos is usually separating all three games in their own videos. The running theme of these games seems to align very much with your video essay format and the style of topics/themes you cover - would love to see you break down these games and the linked theme from your perspective! I'll have to binge-watch all the other videos in the meantime. Thank you so much for replying!
i have thought about this a lot your video has put it all into words thank you!
Can you do a genre talk on cosmic horror?
This was a great and engaging video. Dunno why it was in my feed but stuff like this is what youtube was made for.
Thank you so much!! The algorithm is a mystery but I figure I won't ever get bored if I just make whatever I'm interested in rn and hope people find it haha
Your video essays are incredible...I love the way you present your ideas, I'm someone who really loves engaging video essays thoughtfully exploring philosophy and emotional themes in media, and discovering your channel has been an absolute gift. You've made some of my favourite video essays in recent times! Sorry I haven't found capacity to comment on all of them, but am leaving this comment now that I'm all caught up on them. Beautiful work, thank you for your passion!
An absolute frickin bangin essay! I love the bit about greetings and the literal translations of them. It works really well! Im genuinely really excited for your next essay
Oh! Also the dark ages and lost history stuff! Gosh the entire concept of the sea people is so wild. Just... everything about this essay is perfect and amazing. I really appreciate your part on disability and how we've always been cared for in history, and will be cared for in the future. Sometimes it feels bleak being disabled, but it's nice to look at history and see how we've always been here.
I think Bat streams regularly so if you ever wanna hear her blush you can drop by and thank her live haha.
Thanks so much!! I got to the end of the script and was like...if anyone makes any sort of survival of the fittest comments I am gonna be very unhappy. I'm also disabled but you can't tell from looking at me and I've worked a public facing job throughout the whole of covid. The things people will say when they think you're "one of them" is a real trip. We've always been here and we always will, and we'll always have value just in being ourselves 💛
I've been binge watching your videos, and they're quite good. A lot of the stuff you say I've thought about and connect to on a personal level.
Thank you! I'm really glad they resonate with you, it's lovely to hear ^.^
One of my favorite things about your videos is listening to the different game osts in the background. It's so fun trying to figure out where i heard that particular melody and a fun surprise when i'm doing something totally different and notice a tune i heard in a video of yours. Absolutely love your content, it gives me so much calm happiness :)
This has been so inspiring for me. I’ve had a really bad few months. I’ve called 988 more times than I want to admit.
Listening to an essay about the pre-apocalypse, predestination and loss that has a positive theme makes a huge difference.
The bit about the guy improving for his shrimp really hit hard. The thing keeping me going lately has been that my dog would be sad if I was gone and the hope the final 2 books in a trilogy that I love might be converted to an audio format.
Small things matter so much.
They can keep us going.
Nothing is to small to hold on to as long as it gives you hope
Long-form, essay format analysis videos are the bomb digs, and i love this stuff. UA-cam tends to deincentivise this sorta thing, and because people need money to.. live, seeing stuff like this is a real treat. :)
Only just discovered your content thanks to the phenomenal Bloodborne video, then I binged the DrakeNieR videos too. I cannot believe how captivating you make these videos. The music, the tone, the ideas presented. All absolutely top notch and I commend you for some of the best stuff I've seen in a long while. Much love
i watched through 3 of your videos so far and you have indeed affected me positively. Im in a rough spot in life rn but having very interesting and intelligent ideas to listen to makes life easier to go through. I am awaiting for your return but if not thank you for the good times!
Bat streams three times a week and has been wrapping up a postgraduate degree, but has said she should be working on new videos next month!
It's fun to watch the part about skills and materials while stitching leather, lol
Eyyy!! I know a metal worker irl but nobody who works with leather. Artisans are so skilled
@@HoneyBat yeah, I've met some professional leatherworkers that make pieces of true art, they're so damn good!
I sat down today to watch this video and just started crying through the whole thing. Thank you for that
Your message of hope at the end regarding people with disabilities...thank you. That really meant a lot x Humanity and empathy are what make life with others worthwhile...and the idea that love can persist even in the face of the collapse of everything else...that brings hope
What is an ocean but a multitude of drops? Every drop in the bucket matters. Every act of kindness. Every smiling moment. Less bad, even if it doesn’t make it good, is still less bad. Every breath is resistance. We are a remarkable creature, and it is together we have come this far.
I wanted to thank you for what you are doing with this media. I just discovered your channel and I simply consummed your videos. Without the glimpse of a doubt I'll wait for your next one patiently.
Thank you!! I want to post more but I'm SO busy haha, slowly chipping away at another video whenever I have a minute
ever since i found your bloodborne video i've been watching your video essays and so much of what you have to say is so insightful and resonates with me. i'm only halfway through the video so far but i started tearing up at the part you started discussing nihilism and finding reasons to just. want to continue i guess
That's one goodass video on a gem of channel, you hooked me the Bloodborn video and there's this master piece, hope more people see this, this is great.
Thank you so much!!
THIS VIDEO IS SO GOOD! its such a good exploration of the genre thank you for this!!
Thanks!! I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Just found your channel today and wow this is amazing. Not once did I stop paying attention to the hour long video. You weren't talking just for the sake of talking but because you had something to say, more than once I paused the video to write down a sentence you said because it was so well put and poignant. I cant wait to watch your previous videos and look forward to what's to come from you!
Wow, thank you so much!!
Oh man, I'm so blessed to have discovered your channel! This was a really deep and optimistic look at the issues, people like you give me comfort and hope for the future :)
Also, I love your narration and editing! Very easy watching.
I just recently discovered your channel and really love the videos you have made! Looking forward to whatever and whenever you next video is released!
Thank you!! I haven't posted in forever because I'm stupidly busy doing a masters degree and a job and streaming but I'm slowly working on another video in the background when I have a minute haha Thanks so much for watching and commenting ^.^
@@HoneyBat Lol I definitely understand that hustle. Good luck on the degree! I'll try to check out a stream sometime :)
I found your stuff recently, and im hooked. I havent found someone who in their video essays talks about hope, and the positive parts of humanity as much as you have. Its like a little light that ive found in the dark of this maddening world we are in. Rarely do I watch videos and come away with existential yet happy and hopeful thoughts. Your videos make me think much more than most and still entertain extensively.
I wish I had something more poignant to say, or could at least communicate my thoughts better. So I guess to wrap up my rambling comment. Thank you, your videos are awesome and I hope your content gets the attention it deserves
Such a great and engaging video, asking simpel questions with many different and complex answers. Thoroughly enjoyed watching/listening.
Hey, I Just wanted to say I discovered your Channel After seeing the bloodborne video of yours being recommended ti by the algorithm (Still haven't watched It yet, but planning on It eheh).
I don't really know how to express how much I am in awe with your writing; It absolutely stunning and captivating and so, oh so very delightful to listen to. You have a real talent and I thank you so much for the work you've done. This video especially manages to beautifully capture how I'm also feeling in regards to the future and it's "not-so-nice" prospects, and in a way I could never have done It. Really excited to see your next projects come to Life! In the meantime, take care, I'll be rewatching this One over and over ahaha
1:02:03 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺 there it is, the representation that I need. The thing that hits home the most for me, and how I want to write.
You’re a goddamned miracle. Thank you so much.
incredible video, I watched this and your Bloodborne one and am happy to say I am more than glowing in my reviews of both. you're really good at structuring these and keeping me engrossed, even if the video doesn't have my fully attention. Phenomenal!
Just watched this and your Bloodborne piece. You're an exceptional and thoughtful essayist, and I got a *hell* of a lot out of both of them - thank you!
Your videos are so well executed, catch me binging your stuff right now ❤️❤️
This is such a beautiful video, and I’m glad I sat down to listen. I love how you talked about different apocalypse media and what they teach us. I’mma big fan of apocalyptic media, so this video felt like a love letter to a genre that has shaped my life and childhood. I just wish I had something substantial to say in return besides this: thank you, wonderful job, and I hope to follow and see you keep up this amazing content.
Thank you so much! I really love post-apocalypse games so I felt like I should make something that highlighted the good in the grit haha 💛
This is such an underrated channel.. Your way of narrating is just fenomenal! I hope to see more of you soon!
Hey- I’m a concept art student aiming to work in the professional games/animation industry someday, and I absolutely love your ideas and how you present them. I also grew up playing This War of Mine, watching gameplay of TLOU and Nier and I’ve always loved analysing the thematic aspects of these games. I watch your videos while working on designs. Blissful Death playing out of nowhere gave me chills!! Such a nice background track for a topic like this. Looking forward to hearing more of your analytic thoughts in the future
Thank you so much!! I've done a series on the Nier games as well because they're incredible ^.^
You need more subs. Some really great, fresh content you've got here.
i could listen to you analyze clementine for hours!! thank you for this video
Thank you!! I love Clem, she's such a great character ^.^
This was great!
Thank you!!
Your video essays are absolutely excellent - on par with all my favourites for gaming video essays. I've so far watched the Bloodborne one, as well as this. The way in which your points are articulated just does good things to my weird little nerd brain. You remind me of Kay and Skittles, Joseph Anderson, Hello Future Me... opinions on those creators notwithstanding, the point is that your video essays are just super high quality. can't wait for more content.
Ooooh an uplifting / romantic apocalypse is a type I'd never considered xD I want that one, please!
Yeah! The concept of "The Future" is so big and abstract it's difficult to really envision, especially with, er, everything going on right now. So I'm gonna focus on helping the people around me, I can control that much and I'm probably still going to be existing 30 years down the line so investing in practical life skills like first aid and in being with my friends gives me hope. I figure if we approach the future as a thing that will happen that we have some control over it'll go better for us than the future is coming and it is terrifying, inevitable and will crush you like the meaningless grape you are hahaha
I found your channel just minutes ago with your Arcane video and now this one, truly amazing videos and I hope you keep it up (a bit sad to see your last one was 6 months ago), your scripts are great and the way you narrate things pulls me into wanting to hear what tou want to say
Anyhow, great video again.
Jesus, you made me cry at 4am in the morning
Love your content! Thank you for your uploads. Very thoughtful and thourough
Very Good Video, have you changed more to streaming?
She's been busy studying a masters degree for the last year, but is reportedly back to working on video essays now and has more in the works.
in dire circumstances light shines brightest
This was an awesome video, covering so much of what is kind of missing from post-apocalyptic material. Commenting to hopefully keep adding it to the almighty algorithm. My name might be Hope, but I still think going out Shiny and Chrome on Fury Road is the best option 😜
Thank you!! And: WITNESSED!
Stunning video. Great writing, editing, research and voiceacting. Very thoughtfull, funny but also emotional. I thought I'd watch some fun videoessay on apocalypse media, but it got a lot deeper then that. It made me reflect, think and feel a lot more then I was expecting.
10/10 Content, I hope this channel grows.
PS: Never hearded of the dark forest theory. That really fucked with my head.
Your content is amazing, thank you!
Thank you so much!
I hope you read this! Honestly as a women it's so refreshing to see video essays like this from a woman, in a way many of you videos have alot more of an empathic approach to the characters and lore as it connectsto real historical references. I aspire to write like you!
Thank you very much for the content. Really enjoyed hearing your perspective on Bloodborne
Absolutely love your videos and the details you put into them!
I love the inscyption music used!!
Is that the Inscryption music in the background? God i love that game
The game that finally got me to play card games! The music for that game is so compelling; I've installed an endless cabin mode mod so I can just play cards with Leshy now
There is a very, very, specific post-apocylpse subgenre I like to call the "silent Apocyplyse". It is defined not by survival but by silence, hence the name. I've only seen a single example of it and that is a specific episode of adventure time where an Alien visits far in the future and all the main characters, their civilisations, everything we knew, are gone. It was a very quiet episode, and very odd.
Oooh, YEAH I forgot about that episode!! It's been forever but I remember feeling uncomfortable in a really good way, like there's something here but I don't have the words for it yet. Definitely going to rewatch that one!
Amazing video, and I just have to show my appreciation for the inclusion of Ender Lilies music!
It's such a good game!! I wish more people had heard of it but I played it on stream and had an abolute blast, and it's gorgeous to boot
Bravo. You've made a difference
I saw "Big Al Game" and my neurons ACTIVATED
I sunk so many hours into that game as a kid XD The internet where I lived was garbage so playing the Sea Monsters one was iffy as I'd die on the video questions because they wouldn't load but Al? Big Al was where it was AT haha
@@HoneyBat oh my gosh YES you and I had the exact same experience. I had nightmares about the crocodiles
Wow that was amazing, I loved every part of it, especially the walking dead part, I've always loved those games and clementine is one of my favourite characters in fiction.
I've watched a lot of video essays about them, but I think you've done the best job and have some very interesting takes. I can definitely see myself rewatching this a lot in the future.
Also something interesting you may not know, you said before that "there is no ending where she abandons the baby". One of the first planned endings was actually her doing just that. After the events of the game she would have ended up alone in the blizzard and make the choice to either abandon AJ so she can maybe live or keep him and they both die. I'm very glad they didn't go that way, but it's interesting to think about how much more bleak the original draft of season 2 was.
Thank you so much!! I love Clementine, I really need to get around to reading the comic hahaha. But I love how she grows over the series and ends up coming full circle with her own kid to raise with what she's learned through the apocalypse.
Oh nooo, I'm really glad they didn't have leaving AJ as a choice. It makes total sense for her to do but it would have really doubled down on the everything is terrible forever vibes with "and you have now also murdered a baby congratulations!" I wonder how much of that was based around Clem's character in 2 and how much by where they wanted her to be in potential sequels.
@@HoneyBat Personally I dont think I'll ever read the comic, maybe its just me being close-minded but the very premise seems very antithetical to Clems character. It might be very good, but I'll just stick to the games XD. Also yes, her imparting on AJ what she learned from lee and taking care of him for years was amazing to see, her relationship with him in S4 was beautiful and you can tell how much they care about each other (Also AJ always wants to protect Clem will never not pull at my heart strings)
Clem has always been a very important character to me, I grew up with the twd games and have always been about her age, give or take a few years. I have to have played the second one (my favourite one) about a dozen times by now. The idea of playing as a child was always fascinating to me, as you said in your video many of your choices and actions dont matter, but Clem can is still very underestimated and will do what she has to too survive. Its why my favourite ending is her being alone, it is dangerous and before the other games it was very likely she'd die, especially with AJ, but after all she's learnt she has a good chance.
Yeah I'm very glad they didnt go that route, as I said before the original draft of season 2 was much darker, Clem was originally going to get shot helping Christa instead of getting bit by the dog, there was going to be a cult in episode 4, Mike was also going to be apart of the group that attacked Clem and Christa. There's some other stuff as well, but its been a while since I've looked into it.
Season 2 was also meant to not have a sequel, that was always the plan and it is why all the endings are so different, and also why season 3 made such a mess trying to tie up all the loose ends. So the endings presented in the original draft and in the finished version were always meant to be the final vision for Clems arc.
Also I just wanna say I've been loving your content! I first watched your bloodborn video about a week ago, I was searching for some video essays after completing it again, your video popped up and I'd never seen that take before, so I was very interested. I think you did a fantastic job with that video as well and think you really made some good points. I'm gonna watch the rest of your videos soon, just finished the cat lady one yesterday
Great video, looking forward to the next
Oh, I wonder if one day you’ll make a video about berserk, ever since hearing your perspective on bloodborne and femininity, I’ve been really curious what your take on it would be..
Oooh that's a point. I never got into Beserk but I'll give anything a shot! And I liked the idea of it based on a Super Eyepatch Wolf video I watched a while back so definitely worth investigating ^.^
@@HoneyBat oh great, we both like super eyepatch wolf haha.
Look, there needs to be a disclaimer: the manga depicts trauma, rape, and gore…
After watching your nier series and BB video I know trauma or gore are topics that you probably can handle without problems, but I would lie if I told you that the rape scenes did not make me uncomfortable…
Other than that, the story is phenomenal, the art is gorgeous, and there is plenty of throwbacks to philosophers like Nietzsche and Jung, and simbolism ranging from Hinduism, Buddhism, Catholicism, and Judaism.
Edit: you have to get through the first couple of chapters though, where the story was still in it’s early stages and the art is worse/different.
The art gets incredibly better very quickly👍🏻
Have a nice day :)
Hey honey,I’m using it as a nickname, (please forgive my apparent familiarity),but oh my goodness I am speechless and you’ve made me cry in the BB video and once more here,and after a very stressful exam week,I really want to thank you for creating this video essay. The warm guiding voice,that guides us through the apocalypse,be it nuclear holocaust,undead hordes or simply...an absolute disaster. I hope you’re doing well,and I’m continuously impressed by your video quality.
Well, time to consume the rest of your channel's content! Your essays are excellent and I'm very glad I found them. Big shout-out to that Pathologic reference early in this video, ayyyy
Have you played Signalis yet, by any chance? It might be very much up your street as far as survival horror goes
Thank you so much! I haven't gotten to Signalis yet but it's on my (ever-growing) to play list, but I've heard excellent things about it from everyone who has so I may need to bump it up that list haha
@@HoneyBat Short game, only about 8-12 hours worth of playtime at most, *very* very good. Probably one of the best video game narratives I've played in years - I'd compare the writing and artistry quality to disco elysium, or pathologic