Since November - Edgar

[@pedrostormrage]

17:48 That's a John Green quote used in two different vlogbrothers videos (titled "The Necessity to Struggle / The Futility of Effort" and "Against Nihilism"): "Ultimately I believe that effort is never futile so long as there are people to share in that effort and people who might benefit from it. In the grand scheme of things, maybe nothing will matter but we don't live in the grand scheme of things - we live here in the day-to-day, at gate A7 on an early Wednesday afternoon, and we struggle on together not because humans are great and eternal but because we are vulnerable and weak. We need each other. We struggle on in the hopes that the lives to come and of the worlds to come, but also in the hope of the lives we are sharing now". "Now of course, none of this matters in the grand scheme of things. The sun is still going to turn into a red giant and boil our oceans away. But we don't live in the grand scheme of things. I think there is meaning in human life because there is meaning in us and in how we are bound together. There is meaning in loving and being loved, and in hearing and being heard [...] So yeah, maybe nothing matters, but only until we make things matter. And maybe life is meaningless, but only until we make it meaningful". 39:43 "So, we tell ourselves stories, right? Why?" If I learned anything from Masterclass ads about writing, it's that "human beings are storytelling creatures", "we need stories to understand ourselves", "fiction is not a bunch of lies, it's actually one of the best ways for finding truth". As for story structures, they're based tried-and-true formulas for creating engaging and compelling stories (but that doesn't mean you have to follow known formulas to make an interesting story). 45:44 "All of that mythology. We can't accept the world as it is, so we tell stories about it, right? And then we let those stories becomes the truth. Truer than we are. And we call them God" It's more like we can't accept unanswered questions (quoting Kurt Vonnegut: "Tiger got to hunt, bird got to fly; Man got to sit and wonder 'why, why, why?'. Tiger got to sleep, bird got to land; Man got to tell himself he understand"). Explaining the world (even if those explanations are made up) is one of the main functions/purposes of mythology.

[@Hematitebear]

For Keith Ballard's VN it is not what I thought it would be. The depth and description was not what I expected from him. The way he takes apart VNs I guess had me expecting much much more. Maybe it will develop into something? He has been mentioning that he is writing one for over 3 years. A post apocalyptic end of the word with a functioning mall after the event and 5 friend living there. I was expecting something mind blowing and original that left me going "Well I never thought of that.". I can pick every part from another VN or movie. Well at least you read it well. Your voicing is on point as always.

[@caolanthestoat]

@@Hematitebear I feel like there is maybe something missing, but overall I generally liked the limited scope, that he left certain things abstracted and how it wasn't drawn out. Like I think taking the same premise, it is tempting to tell the story of the weeks leading up to the end, but he took a more interesting route by just showing us the last hour. All in all, I enjoyed it, but it's not a new top 5.