#supermeta

[heretherebedork]

I think the reason why it’s being brought up that Leon is/was a “shy kid who’s scared of strangers” is to give context to the audience about why it is that Leon seems to be so attached to his brother and acts the way he does around Leo/Fiat but not when he’s on campus. The dynamic these three share where Fiat and Leon fight for Leos attention and he tries to please both of them was cemented in their childhood which is something the audience probably won’t get to see so at least hearing about it makes everything make more sense, at least for me.

I am super happy to get this ask because this ask really forced me to realize what I didn't like about Leo describing Leon as being shy but him not being shy at all and it's all about NARRATIVE.

I was presented, because I don't watch interviews, with a narrative of Leo describing his brother only comfortable around him and shy/disliking other people. And then I saw a Leon who is, in fact, a bratty pansexual king who seems rather popular.

But I am given this without any reaction from Leo or Fiat of this being out of character or different.

If Fiat had grumbled about Leon 'not being so shy anymore'? I would have been satisfied. If Leo had raised an eyebrow about Leon's new spot as pansexual campus king? I would have chuckled as he accepted this new version of his brother.

Without that narrative acknowledgement of the change, I felt like I'd missed something. Without any characters seeming to notice the contradictory statements, I felt like I'd missed something at some point and it bothered me.

I understand that it's likely a plot point of some sort (maybe the way @leofiat-bunny said or this way) but I feel like I missed out on reactions and it lead me to feeling like I'd missed a step somewhere in their relationships.

[downypond]

Up next, How How How It’s Made Is Made Is Made!

[marcos-brandao]

Para algumas pessoas, o amor sufoca. Você precisa aprender a ser amada.

[eviligo]

Oh definitely its clear that Matt is the one that mainly interacts on patreon. I would even bet that Ryan hasn’t been the one to interact on patreon once lol! I totally agree it’s clear Matt does bulk of SM communications (and lots of other stuff) while Ryan just wants to focus on the creation of content which is understandable, but he has to realize Matt needs help and like you said, you have to play the game you’ve chosen. To me, it feels like Ryan feels almost above social media or interaction with fans if it’s on insta/twitter. He’s a peach when it comes to chat on livestreams so I know he appreciates fans but there’s a disconnect that I think he could make better just by being 1% more involved with the social media part of SM.

i’m glad you mentioned him on the streams because he really is so personable in the member’s only streams, he tries really hard to give everyone a fair amount of attention and it’s really sweet that he (and matt!) remember people’s names if they frequent the streams. it’s those little gestures that create dedicated fans. which is part of what gives me pause to just make a blanket statement that ryan doesn’t care about the channel, alongside his passion for creating. and he’s never really played the social media game like matt, but dropping off completely is certainly a choice. one that i emphatically understand, considering what happened with the drama and specifically daniel. but man, i dunno. respond to a patreon comment or two. tweet that matt’s gay. participate! supermega is a duo! it doesn’t work any other way.

[eviligo]

Ive wondered the same thing “What roles do they each (M&R) play at SuperMega?” because it honestly feels like Matt does most things. At least whats outwardly apparent. Maybe Ryan handles backend stuff more like finances and maintenance/tech stuff? Idk but even editing seems like it’s mostly Matt that is ever finishing up a video. Maybe that’s just because Ryan doesn’t talk or share about himself editing? But I agree that there’s got to be a path where they can run SM more efficient. I know they have trust issues but that shouldnt stop them from admitting they need another hand, they just make sure they are prepared for HR things that may pop up. It’s like we know they love doing this stuff but they run the business themselves and it ends up feeling half assed even though they care a lot simply because they need another hand, not even that many Id say get just one more helper. Even just getting back a producer like Jim who also helps with socials here and there would help a lot. Ryan seems very technical about stuff and I’m sure he does a lot we don’t know about as far as planning and editing goes but I do also wonder if Matt’s plate is heavier or if it just seems that way. I love them both so much and I’m sure they have meetings about this exact thing but when we don’t hear from them online for a week and matt’s on vacation it just becomes painfully obvious that there’s a whole part of SM that doesn’t get touched by Ryan. His disdain of social media might be a little irrational if he won’t even touch the channels instagram hahah

oh i am sure there are things ryan does that we don’t see but i still believe matt does the lion’s share of the work, and he does so happily because he loves supermega and he loves ryan. and trust me i really do get ryan’s hatred for social media but look man, if you wanna succeed on the platform you’ve chosen you have to play the game. he doesn’t need to have a personal account on anything but at least tweet from the main account once in a while. he says he reads every patreon comment but tbh i don’t believe that since it’s 100% matt who responds to all the comments. i’m almost positive the one tweet (wash your monkey monday does not count) that was made from the sm account while matt was in japan was also written by matt.

and don’t get me started on luke. i don’t even dislike luke but dude is coasting through life right now all because he was the only one who didn’t act like a fucking freak prior to the incident and stuck around during the fallout. yeah i’m a little bitter about justin jumping ship even if he is still tangentially involved with the channel. i’m glad he’s pursuing his own career even if i don’t personally vibe with his content. but losing him hurt them a lot. justin vs luke is like atom bomb vs coughing baby

[eviligo]

the trip to japan was a terrible move, the channel isn’t even at a good place for them to be going on impulsive vacations. it would be different if he had went with ryan because they could turn their trip into content again. i also just think ryan isn’t attached to sm as he used to be and it’s causing the channel to decline. relying on their circle to keep the channel running because they’re too stubborn to hire people actually *equipped* to handle these things will cause them to spiral even again

to be COMPLETELY fair, the japan trip wasn’t impulsive. z posted about it weeks ago. now we know it was for their anniversary (the worst thing to happen on 9/11) and do i still think it was too soon in the channel’s revival timeline for such an exuberant trip? yes. do i think it was reckless to take such a trip during a covid spike? also yes. but i also think that when the trip was planned matt thought the channel would be in a different spot right now. he probably thought the sketch would be out, the new merch would have dropped, and his little radio show project would be up on the patreon. but obviously that’s not what happened, and now we’re in this brutal content drought and matt is sick and the optics are really, really bad.

like i said i do think ryan cares. he just wants to make shit and not have to do the dirty work required to make that shit succeed. that stream last week kind of exemplifies what i mean. i theorize that matt texted him like, “hey man two weeks with no stream is a bad look and i’m in japan can do you do me this solid?” and ryan did it out of obligation. he barely made it two hours.

but yeah, they definitely need to hire out. they need a fucking manager. and not someone who is their friend that’s down on their luck or new to la and needs a job. a professional who can rein them in if need be. they need a brent.

[eviligo]

that matt post… girl you took the words right out of my mouth. i feel like an asshole for it but i see the channel returning to the creative slump it was in following the jackson lawsuit if they don’t figure some shit out. and it’s sad because when things are good they’re really good!! but the way they run things is completely unsustainable in the long run and they REALLY should know better by now.

they’ve lost so much momentum that it’s impossible NOT to notice the glaring issues with their productivity. i really understand why they keep their circle small now but they are a team of just three people; luke who “moderates” the streams and picks up stuff from the po box and merch shipments (which matt helps with,) ryan who edits and plays his part as 1/2 of the duo, and matt who….does everything else. edits, runs the social media, does the graphic design, maintains the patreon upload schedule apparently, promotes the channel and fields all the difficult questions, plus most likely a million other little things. so when matt is sick, or on a poorly timed vacation time (no i’ll never not be mad about it) everything just stops. and it moves at a snail’s pace already!! they hire out for editing the vods and mail vids, as well as the sticker support emails (the latter of which i actually have no gripes with, whoever they are they’re 100% more efficient at the job than luke was) but like. hire an intern. hire a social media person. hire like, one more person. matt is a man put together with matchsticks and scotch tape as it is and he’s getting four hours of sleep nightly, no fucking wonder he gets migraines or otherwise feels like shit all the time.

omg. sorry for this stupidly long response. i’m just so frustrated. it is INCREDIBLE that they were able to come back from the Incident and i am so so so glad they did, but they’ve all but completely squandered their potential for growth. and it’s not for lack of trying either, it’s just…these old habits are going to be the death of them.

[eviligo]

genuinely i think matt’s the only one that still cares atp and even then it clearly has a limit …. they should just fucking call it already and stop putting us through this

the thing is, i believe ryan still cares. he loves to create. he just doesn’t love all the shit that comes with creating on this platform and in this content creator culture. so he’s content to let matt do all the grunt work, who in turn is content to do so as long as he gets to keep creating alongside his best friend. it’s kind of a vicious cycle.

but yeah, the japan trip was really poorly timed. like extremely so, even if i remove my personal feelings from the equation and focus solely on the business aspect.