Choose Your Own Adventure

[@tacticalnuke9715]

The fact that they went along with it and stuck with the persons choices is impressive

[@GamerBoy-fe4fp]

I want to do this with my friends.

[@ConstantChaos1]

​@@GamerBoy-fe4fpbefriend a crab with your friends? Same

[@andywap3]

Basically The Stanley Parable.

[@SebastianSolace_fangirl]

​@@andywap3 STANLEY PARABLE MENTIONED 🔥🔥

[@frenchsilkpie167]

One of the best books I ever read had the quote “Whenever you are presented with two options, there are actually five. The first, the second, both, neither, or one freshly conceived” and I try to go about my life with that in mind

[@directrix777TrixieKagami]

See, logic along these lines is why I used to say “All three” when referring to both of two options! Cuz I’m technically choosing three options instead of two! Unfortunately people didn’t get it, so it never stuck. More people should think like this!

[@sethbettwieser]

Which book is that?

[@frenchsilkpie167]

@@sethbettwieserOne of the “Fury of a Rising Dragon” books by Sever Bronny. Its a YA fantasy series, but one of the best Ive ever read

[@domi-no1826]

the binarians are mad with you. they could have accepted four, but your audacity to add the third option means you must commit and choose eight, get. to. work.

[@baranjan6969]

The last 3 would still apply if there was 3 options tho. So you always have n+3 options really. Much more than 5.

[@hatandhoodie_]

I love how everyone was deliberately making new choices, and instead of addressing it or getting upset, OP just went along with it. It's funny how Tumblr has become such a chaotic yet wholesome place on the internet.

[@Vinnyc11]

Tumblr is so unpredictable.

[@enderguardian7443]

tumblr did a purge of overly political idiots by banning nsfw posts… somehow guess horniness and political idiocy work together

[@enderguardian7443]

ever since the ban and tumblr’s so called “death” it’s been improving as a community like it just removed a cancer

[@ConstantChaos1]

​@enderguardian7443 you must be fun at parties 🙄

[@enderguardian7443]

@@ConstantChaos1 just saying, it’s true

[@olpash]

A silly game turned into a philosophical lesson... Wow, reality and life are a bottomless well of possibilities! (Like a choose your own adventure, lol)

[@Silver_Sonic_23]

Choose your own adventure, put you pick none of the options and make up a new one.

[@deep_sea_creature99999]

''THIS IS *MY* STORY, NOT YOURS''

[@jacobc9221]

The only option that was originally in the story was choosing the warrior path

[@Arkylie]

This is basically the distinction between most games, and tabletop RPGs. I still recall the time our team looked at an obvious trap room and decided, instead of trying to deal with any of the traps, to chainsaw our way in through the back wall 😂

[@phahlastname8321]

so basically dnd

[@Alchemyyyyyy]

@@phahlastname8321 dnd with an laidback gm and a chaotic party

[@pixlbelle8081]

I think another great point made in this exercise is that ending- it shows that there are times that when you are presented with decisions, it’s okay to leave them and think outside the box, but they are something you can always come back to when you feel ready to choose. Now not every decision is like this, some are on a timer or really are once-in-a-lifetime, but the ones that do stick around you can always return to when you have more things like support, experience, or a clearer state of mind to make that choice.

[@Chriseindt]

The comment about 8 billion world population reminded me: If 99% of people don't like you, that means 80 million people think you are at least okay.

[@kamataros5172]

When the entire population of Germany think you're "at least ok"

[@Scp4521]

This is brilliant! I write role-playing campaigns pretty often, so I might send this to my friends, then construct a campaign in a similar format, just to see what happens...

[@owlishwillow7242]

Sooo update on that? That sounds really cool

[@Scp4521]

@@owlishwillow7242 they weren't interested.

[@MySerpentine]

@@Scp4521 Aww

[@bazookablastoff6447]

YOU! WHY WON'T YOU SCREAM!?

[@dailyduring2]

This kinda reminds me of spex, a form of amateur theatre at Swedish and Finnish universities. In them the audience can shout directions at the cast like "Speak German!" or "You slip on the floor!" and everyone has to go along with it. One of my favorites is nej-spex where the audience can only shout "No!" if they don't like the scene and the cast has to keep coming up with new ideas on the spot until they hit something the audience likes. It's very fun to watch and often the entire scipt turns useless!

[@m_affiliates]

That sounds incredibly fun to watch

[@satibel]

@@m_affiliates I watched some impro theater with a friend and it was hilarious, slightly different, but you could write notes at the entrence, and they would pick from the stack and improvise on it. it's basically "acting prompt: "

[@WingMaster562]

That reminds me of a certain imprompt game from Whose Line is It, where Drew would change or like rewind stuff like that

[@coruscaregames]

it's like the "new choice" improv game!

[@thekingofcats27]

They've just played dnd at this point. It checks the important box where the entire plot is avoided so the group can do anything but, however the narrative through some turn of events goes full circle.

[@sharingheart13]

In Tarot, the 2 of Swords is often depicted as a person holding two items, which if usually a representation of choice. What plenty of people miss is that this person in the card is blindfolded. The actual message of the card is that there are far more than 2 choices. You just have to take off the blindfold to see them.

[@m_affiliates]

That's how I got my gender actually

[@kiraoshiro9251]

​@@m_affiliatesgenderblind? swordgender? tarotgender? im having to think real hard rn to figure out what you mean by this but I might be overthinking it

[@m_affiliates]

@@kiraoshiro9251 probably overthinking it, i was more referring to the message of the card being like "there are more than just two choices" (i'm just outright enby, nothing more complicated) hope this helps

[@kiraoshiro9251]

@@m_affiliates oh ok cool

[@m_affiliates]

@@kiraoshiro9251 thanks for asking the question tho, i like it when people go out of their way to learn more

[@cristaltophat]

What is it to be boring? Like not engaging enough, not having a lot of aspirations,not knowing a lot of interesting things, or is it no matter who you are, there’s going to be someone who considers you boring in their book?

[@internetlurker1850]

Boring is very relative to whatever the person finds boring

[@cristaltophat]

@@internetlurker1850 Thanks so much for the reply, didn’t think I’d get a genuine answer right out the gate. Ya have a good one now😊

[@IWillNotThanks]

I agree that boring is subjective (shared interests for example) but I also think its less to do with aspirations, knowing things, or even being sporadic. I feel like most of it has to do with passion. You could be a scientist inspecting the coolest planets we've ever seen, aspiring to go to the stars yourself one day! But lack passion and you become someone who looks at some sky rocks all day, being closer would make it easier.

[@jon...5324]

if all someone is interested in and expresses are the social norms of their society, they are boring. Any genuine expression of passion, curiosity, compassion etc is not boring. It may not be perfectly acceptable to the majority, and so it is more difficult for some people to step outside that box. But remaining inside the box is boring. edit: I might add that gratuitous rebellion against norms is also boring, it requires as little thinking for yourself as following them

[@cristaltophat]

Looks at amount of likes:69 nice

[@TGTKgaming]

Similarly to being presented with 2 choices, the judicial system presents you with stating innocent or guilty. Next time you're the defendant, plead "No contest"

[@TGTKgaming]

For more context on this, the statement "no contest" means that the evidence provided *true,* though there's more to the story, it's not just cut and dry. In other words, it's akin to when your sibling states you did a bad thing, then your parent asks if this is true, and you answer "yes, BUT-"

[@imbored7579]

Null! Booya!

[@NAGleader]

Personal Anecdote on dating. Give the boring person a chance. SERIOUSLY at least a 2nd date. My wife and I both thought the other was boring on our first date. ( We are now Very Happily Married 5+ years with 2 kids ) - Caveat - the boring person should also make you feel safe.

[@strandedgeek]

This also kind of reminds me of Moonstuck, obviously a parody of homestuck, but it was cute adventure involving Princess Woona (Chibi Luna) and of some the crazy antics that happened during the adventure. It was so wholesome. I loved it.

[@edwardsinger7644]

I came to the comments here looking for Homestucks. This adventure is quite hussiesque.

[@iamagreatape9576]

the funny thing is that even with all the choosing a unlisted option it wrapped back around to choosing one of the first options presented.

[@jimmeven1120]

That's what I thought. Also, why should using a sword to cut seaweed mean you have to choose the path of the warrior?

[@Soulfire702]

3:41 Oh THATS why I like Bowser so much! Thank you Bettina for making that known now. I always wondered why I simped for him.

[@Ikajo]

That's also why so many people like Loki from Marvel. Villains, by their design, challenge the status quo. Which means, they at times do have a point. They are just approaching the point in the wrong way. Because they challenge the status quo, they are also able to express a wider range of behaviour than the hero(es).

[@Soulfire702]

@@Ikajo Ah ok. Thx!

[@zoes32flavaz]

💀

[@ella_cupcake]

Saying this is “no, and” shows a common misunderstanding of what “yes, and” is. At no point does anyone deny the information put in front of them. They acknowledge the choice the character must make or the problem they must solve, then they give a new interesting suggestion of how that problem is solved to help that story continue, and the person giving the choices accepts that answer. That is “yes, and.”

[@tacticalnuke9715]

That’s one way to choose an adventure

[@zendikarisparkmage2938]

Paused the video during the endcard, trying to decide which suggested Bettina Levy video I should watch next: Monica's Dark Energy or The Epic of Gilgamesh. Then I realized that, in the spirit of this video, I should watch a different video entirely.

[@MythicMachina]

This is honestly what some of my best D&D games have been like. There have been several choices in front of them, only for my players to either completely ignore them and come up with something crazy, or combine multiple of the options given to make something completely new. And the people who surprise me the most are usually new players. Once they realize they have that freedom (or are comfortable enough to try it), they go for something crazy as they have NO sense of self preservation. They have no idea of what is considered dangerous and what isn't that they're willing to try just about anything and I love them for that!

[@zendikarisparkmage2938]

I once asked a new D&D player how they respond to a dragon attack, and they had their character go to a zoo to recruit a rhinurseros (a rhinoceros with proficiency in Medicine) to help them fight the dragon.

[@TheSpazzDragon]

The vibes I get off of these videos are so wholesome and I need more of that in my life. That and Strawberry banana. Though I think that vibe just comes from the color of the background.

[@Orange_Tree_]

This is like "the good ending" for Stanley Parable, except it was made into its own story. Not saying, that SP is a God awful game, nor even that it's a bad game, because it is an incredible game, but Narrator and his stand-ins often feel strangely narrow-minded for how broad the rest of the game is. This story just serves to show, that not all Narrators, DMs and other story-tellers would instantly flip out if you ruined their "perfect picture". Good posts, good video, me happy.

[@zqmxq]

Stanley walked through the door on the left.

[@Orange_Tree_]

@@zqmxq *Actually, Stanley first asked how Narrator's day'd been so far and if they can hang out together*

[@NiennaFan1]

That’s a good point! The Narrator could have been happy if he had been more flexible!

[@Fayanora]

"Choose your own adventure" comic where every choice of A or B is answered "C!"

[@TheStarMachine2000]

"If you only have two bad options, then you just haven't found the third"

[@SarahAbramova]

I love how the Narrator is never angry about the choices being made. It's really fun and sweet.

[@NiennaFan1]

And the people chose a standard option like OP probably wanted in the end, so OP got their story!

[@Ethan13371]

He who gives two options hides a third.

[@zoade5178]

This feels like a DnD session

[@Danka42]

The outside-the-box dating option is _being single_ and being fine with it.

[@Claire-tk4do]

Hehe aroace win 💚💜 (that can work well for allos too I'm just saying it's my default 😌)

[@puppyIntelligence]

but I get lonely,,,

[@Danka42]

@@puppyIntelligence you can be lonely in a relationship, too

[@MySerpentine]

@@puppyIntelligence Friends are a thing :)

[@nixel1324]

I don't find myself boring, so I'll just date _myself!_ Treat myself to dinner, buy myself a nice gift when I see something in the store I think I would like, watch a movie underneath a cozy blanket, and laugh at my jokes, even when they aren't that funny, because it just feels nice to laugh. Never thought I'd date my own gender, but I guess there's a first for everything.

[@floramew]

"I know I don't find myself boring" said like that's an obvious truism... Do... Most people not find themselves boring? Like I can occupy my mind with things but they don't make me an interesting person.

[@darkacadpresenceinblood]

"There are never just two choices. That is a lie to keep you from thinking too deeply." - Rachel Hartman (from the awesome book Tess of the Road)

[@GameyRaccoon]

Love your stuff, Bettina!

[@Acatnamediforgor]

This is the best choos you own adventure I've seen

[@hucool323]

Holy shit, it came full circle

[@G.r.e.g.g.l.e.s]

Warrior, scholar, or painter? Nah, I'm gonna make friends with this cool crab

[@100nodog]

Boring vs Peaceful. I'm out of my chaos days, but so many in my age group are still being little chaos goblins. Where's my nice halfling husband when I need him?

[@guyman1009]

To all my fellow DMs out there, make sure to give your players the option to do something completely unexpected. If they can light up an area at will, let them give the enemies seizures. If they can shoot water, let them cut things with water jets. If they can freeze things, let them freeze the enemy from the inside out. Let them do cool things. Granted, this is coming from a DM who literally doesn’t use a rule book, so this might not work as well for everyone.

[@okami-shaman9548]

As an out of touch person..... the "or are we up to eight? " statment just... fits into my mind the best out of all that was said because , well..., are we? I have no idea and i dont know if i want to know.

[@Erik_The_grate]

When it said do you want pasta or pizza my dumb as Brian said poot it in a box💀💀💀💀💀💀💀

[@Sewblon]

Its important to remember that some things presented as choices are really just constrained optimization problems in disguise, because there is in fact a singular right answer that gets you the best results, like choosing what to invest your savings in for maximum returns for instance. Its also important to remember that the best way to get people to like you isn't to be interesting, its to be interested in them, because most people find themselves more interesting than other people.

[@derpfluidvariant0916]

Was about to say that first part. Not choosing the two options presented is fine for art and philosophy, but there's a reason the road less traveled was written, and it wasn't to celebrate individualism. If someone gives you two choices, alternative correct answers are very rare outside of riddles. Same with tests and anything with numerically corrected and incorrect answers.

[@Sewblon]

@@derpfluidvariant0916 I thought that the Road Less Traveled was making fun of the poet's indecisive friend by saying that both paths are essentially same and that in truth, the best thing to do is pick one right away instead of agonize over which one is correct. So the opposite of there being a singular correct answer. Edit: Its called the Road Not Taken, not The Road Less Traveled.

[@derpfluidvariant0916]

@@Sewblon upon further examination you are correct. My bad for spreading misinformation.

[@theknightskyisi]

Queer philosophy 101. As a trans lesbian this really spoke to me. Don't limit yourself or your future to what people expect of you, or the options thay lay in front of you. More things are changeable and possible than you probably think!

[@ArcticaTheFox]

The one example of walking or running to the train station that gives an alternative example of skipping instead reminds me of middle school. We had 2 minute passing periods because the school is pretty small. But I was always worried about being late if I walked, because back then I was pretty small. Obviously we couldn’t walk in the hallways. So my dumbass thought “well what if I skip or gallop? It’s almost the same speed as running, but I won’t get in trouble!” And for some reason, no teacher or staff member ever stopped me. They just let me cheese the system for 3 whole years. Eventually I learned the art of power walking, but that’s a personal example I had of thinking beyond the possible in order to make it to my class on time without running. I galloped so I could power walk.

[@sunandshadow6593]

I like that the person went away to think about which path to choose and eventually did choose one.

[@-arcademaster101-]

the stanley parable, stick figure edition

[@Names_Nyooooo]

57 seconds wow I’m getting better everyday

[@nugget9079]

Yup!

[@AnimateTheArts]

both silly and very helpful i love it

[@Aaa-vp6ug]

I’ll make a different branch. 0:17 Path of the War Criminal, commit at least ten separate instances of every warcrime in the Geneva Convention and We win.

[@phictionofgrandeur2387]

You can probably tell by my username that I'm an aspiring author. This helps a lot.

[@sagacious03]

Neat video! Thanks for uploading! Personally, I'm reminded of the pain I feel from Stanley Parable, which presents a narrator with a passionately crafted story & as following his choices as bad & mindless; In a "meta" way, I feel it encourages contrarianism. Obviously, there's merit to questioning, lateral & critical thinking, & creativity. I disbelieve the notion of "overthinking". But I feel sorrow seeing offered choices rejected, especially from a creator. At what point does it go from commendable thinking to sheer contrarianism?

[@themoagoddess1820]

they should give the crab a gun, Bionicle did it.

[@shepherd8171]

puku my beloved

[@therighttrousers343]

I was trying to think which set- It's Mahri Jaller, how could I forget.

[@cccpastolfo9062]

I don't think it's THAT outside the box to leave a relationship with someone you find boring. As for how interesting people are, that depends mostly on what you think. To some people, they might even be an interesting person.

[@savvagenoneedsky7007]

thats just a standart DnD session

[@XtreemAlan]

Obligatory Spy Crab

[@viridian8786]

2:06 unless it's a multiple choice exam......

[@existincey]

The out of box thinking made me remember on a hike my group came across mud and one of the members jumped over it and I walked around it. Someone said it was out of the box but I’m not so sure

[@ilyte1]

He has a choice: die, your true love or suffer, the innocent children

[@fishHater]

I cant see the crab and not think “spy crab”

[@Aaa-vp6ug]

Same

[@k4kadu]

Every handful of times I go somewhere I _really_ wanna skip instead of walking like normal. Then I do it for like 3 steps and already get immense anxiety that people might be watching. :(

[@the_AtomicPunk]

This is just dnd

[@LasKerfuffle]

This could be the character backstory of a dnd character

[@noyz-anything]

this is what it feels like to figure out the correct minigame routes in fnaf 3

[@eric_moore-6126]

I think we're pretty close to _9_ billion, if we're not already there.

[@PipPanoma]

Currently on a dating app with a good match. We find eachother interesting and conversations flow naturally, but I'm not feeling romantic stuff. I just found a digital pen pal!

[@DragonFries12]

This is just dnd. Oh, the dm has provided me with two doors? Well too bad he forgot im a rogue, im climbing over the wall.

[@zendikarisparkmage2938]

I once had a character climb up a banister instead of taking the stairs.

[@DragonFries12]

@@zendikarisparkmage2938 classic dnd indeed

[@justsomejerseydevilwithint4606]

DMs desperately trying to get their players to make a choice

[@Axolautism]

I love how the answer is never one of the two provided

[@_fedmar_]

Average DND session

[@imaplaygames633]

Choose your own adventure book except I burn the book and write my own.

[@17raysplays29]

Homestuck if it was good.

[@SenpapiTT]

So basically, in life you should... choose your own adventure? Instead of picking between the adventures someone else presents you with

[@Loooore3483]

I HATE IT I LOVE IT AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA NOT ONCE WAZS IT SATISFIING YET THE STORY IS GREAT AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

[@ashleylightheart126]

wait, this is just DMing

[@gornser]

We are up to 8

[@learnasienes2983]

D.n.d at its finest

[@barteepage4109]

I think the reason villains are loved is because they don't try and approach the balance of "likability", they just are themselves, for all of the quirks that make them interesting and the shitty aspects that make them horrible. Because of this standing, when we look at the villain from the lense of the whole character, we get someone who's overall interesting and engaging, and when we look through a lense that remove their villanious qualities (fanfic writers), we get a individual who tends to be flawed, realistic, and highly relatable. This isn't something you can do easily with a protagonist becsuse ultimatly, if you have a main character that is unlikable, even if they are realistic, not that many people arr going tk be interested in reading about them. Aaaanyways my usual 'solution' to this is to have the protagonist and the main perspective be two different individuals, or atleast allow the protagonist to be seen through a frame of reference persepctive throughout the story (bonus points if the 'main' character is slightly confused/out of touch with the whole situation so then they continue percieving the protagonists questionable wualities, but aren't sure if they need to dislike the protagonist because of them) This way shitty qualities are permissable, but story is still able to be told with needed breaks from the protagonist. Issue though is avoiding having it be percieved as a 'the trajedy of innosence' tale between the perspective character and the protagonist.

[@EvoWatches]

But what if I pick to be a warrior who fights to obtain knowledge from sources possessed by some unseen villain

[@wesleythomas7125]

Wow, this is v. Wholesome ^^

[@nehpets216]

Huh, a "No, and" is a fun way to do that.

[@サイモンさん10]

THIS IS THE CRIME MAN GUY OMG

[@nicreven]

that's fucking awesome thanks

[@CosmicAggressor]

How would you like to carry this object, in your hands or in the available box. Clearly it would be best to fassion the box into a trevouis and carry a differant thing in it to the pool.

[@UniqueSpirit284]

What if i do find myself boring?

[@plushlover7038]

I really like this

[@padalan2504]

This is what happens in you do the 0 session.

[@heartofgoldfish]

Wouldn't intentionally making a boring choice for your personal matters be particularly unusual?

[@e2b265]

I wish everyone just used improv techniques for everything instead of reserving them for actors. Life would be better.

[@mahbuddykeith1124]

This is basically a quest thread on 4chan.

[@silverdrag0n_]

this is tumblr in a nutshell

[@undead_g0at]

This is the Stanley parables

[@atillerthehun8039]

Lovely 🥰

[@CharlesOberonn]

That url is very familiar.

[@RasheedaParker-qn9ec]

Awesome 🤩

[@PantherCat64]

D&D in a nutshell.

[@freyanimations5040]

i have questions... what if youre to safe and boring to you change yourself to be not boring or do you keep yourself as yourself and look for someone who dont find you boring but change is important though improving thy self so which is it?

[@troncrash7]

That was a fuckin spycrab

[@davidmartin5483]

Amazing

[@bizdaretz8679]

I love this, I actually needed this, and I have NEVER actually felt so validated from a video before... and I'm the type of person who doesn't even value validation. (I'm the kind of person when given those mental health check-up questions before an appointment will be like "No, it's MORE than the options listed.") But this video not only validates the way my brain works but also pulled me out of a slump I've been in.

[@grassman4602]

I love it

[@eolendes6432]

try to do this at 4chan all of the outcomes end in "-ape"