hello i am trish! This tumblr account will be gaming (minecraft mainly) focused!
i stream on twitch and youtube if you wanna hang out! (i have a discord, but its kinda dead - go read 'thats the spirit' and join there to find me :) )
Games i like/play Often: minecraft, deep rock galactic
genre games i play sometimes: idle games, merge games, coolmathgames, puzzle games
games i want to get and play: stardew valley, zelda (dunno which one)
games i have that i wanna play on stream: inscryption, slay the spire, dont starve together, lostwinds
games i have play / play sometimes: peak, it takes two, bapbap
my minecraft ideas:
(main survival world):
find the pale garden (✅)
create actual (safe) nether pathways instead of cobblestone
the entire prismarine farm
an actual house
bring All the pets to my main base ( :checkmark: )
get All the Wolf Variants! ( :checkmark: )
(any world):
get better at building in general
defeat a trial chamber
defeat the ender dragon (multiple times / get better)
start a modded series
try and use references and floor plans to remake rl houses into mc
experiment with the fancy new color lighting once it officially comes out
Risk vs. Reward vs. Retention: An Analysis of the Significance of Music in the MCYT Creator Space
(this was written for the @mcytmetazine! it was a pleasure to write for this zine and i'm very happy to finally share my piece. a quick disclaimer - i wrote this piece mostly over spring of this year, so more recent videos and developments in mcyt music are not covered. a very special thank you to jet @jumped-for-the-yaoi, who made some absolutely beautiful art for this piece featured in the zine!)
enjoy!
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What makes a memorable Minecraft Youtube video? Is it the creator themself, or the elements within the video? Over the last few years, music has risen to the forefront of crucial elements within an MCYT video – often without viewers noticing how important music is to the content they consume. For a majority of creators, music is a key factor in defining their content — whether background, intentional, or a key element their video would not succeed without. When the viewer watches the video, music can be the deciding factor to whether the viewer clicks away or sticks around to watch. In recent years, music within the MCYT space has evolved to resonate with the viewer, enhance storytelling, and craft a specific narrative that would be impossible without the intentional choices of certain tracks. With these creative directions, music has become one of the most imperative elements in a Minecraft upload. Of course, not every facet of MCYT can be explored — there are hundreds of subcommunities within MCYT, and exploring every single one's relationship to music is impossible. In this essay, each of the three main types will be discussed, and analyzed to better understand what a successful video in the MCYT sphere is. Before that discussion, a brief overview of the history of music in MCYT and the recent evolvements will be given.
With the ability to monetize content on Youtube (1), many creators dedicate time into making their videos as retention and algorithm-friendly as possible. From clickbait thumbnails to certain editing styles, every element of a Youtube video has been ticked down to a science (2) — sometimes to the detriment of creativity. In the Minecraft community, study of the algorithm has been no exception. Some creators, such as Karl Jacobs, follow the tried-and-true MrBeast style of over-editing, packing each minute with content built specifically to keep the viewer completely hooked. Other creators, like Wato1876, have worked against the retention standards to create content of a more unique style (3). For most MCYT creators, they fall somewhere between the two ends of the spectrum.
As a key element, music in the Minecraft space has evolved over time. In the earlier years of MCYT, music often was not added, instead relying on the in-game Minecraft music itself, which, while a masterpiece, did not reinforce the creator's content. Today, most MCYT videos utilize certain DMCA free tracks to underscore the tone of their videos. Textbook examples of this can be found in many of Grian's, Smallishbean's, or TommyInnit's videos. In these cases, the music typically stays upbeat, is often used repetitively throughout the video and in subsequent videos, and is used as a simple tool to match the content on-screen. Notably, these videos do not have much storytelling. The music is there to support the entertainment, but does not become a key in their videos. However, thanks to the reinforced usage of certain tracks, it becomes easy to identify songs with a certain creator. For TommyInnit, the Able Sisters track is an example, while Grian and Smallishbeans use the same easily recognizable track in many of their build montages. As a general rule, Grian's videos stay relatively PG. Under these circumstances, Grian's content rarely dips into a deeper storyline, since the heavy undertones could turn away younger viewers and parents. However, in 2021, a new meta emerged, encouraged by the roleplay drama of the Dream SMP, and started to shape itself thanks to a couple experimental moves made by MCYTers, including Grian.
During Grian's Third Life finale, an unexpected shift in his music heightened the emotional ending of his series. Rather than ending the series on the usual upbeat, Grian recognized the potential his series had to tell a story — and took the opportunity. 'Someone to Save' by Timothy Lewis, a track licensed under Epidemic Sound, became the farewell to Third Life (4). The song gave the viewer hope — and despair, as the melodies and chords of the song bid the viewer to stew in what had occurred. Song usage in this way was not common yet, with other members of the series barely editing in music if at all. During Limited Life, InTheLittleWood attempted a similar stunt, adding a suspenseful track moments before he betrayed the final two players (5) left to win the series. In the rest of the MCYT space, 'classic' tracks including songs from Animal Crossing or Undertale dominated storytelling videos. Grian and Martyn were ahead of their time — but ultimately, they never took the plunge into the groundbreaking usage seen today. When considering their audience, this makes sense, although many of their fans greatly enjoyed the dramatic shift.
For this discussion, music use in MCYT has been categorized into three different 'Types' of music form. The first type of music has already been discussed above. Type A, 'The Expected Conventional', includes creators who use classic non-DMCA music for their videos, or do not use their music for narrative-driven storytelling. Many Hermits, Lifestealers, and content creators within Empires SMP are classed here. In many cases, tracks overlap between creators, reminding of the constraints of DMCA — or, to the informed viewer, confirming the creator subscribes to a music service to safely use music without fear of a DMCA notice (6). When listening to the music in these videos, it becomes quickly apparent that music, for creators in Type-A, isn't a relied-on aspect for their content beyond retention.
To understand the key difference between Type-A and Type-B creator's music decisions, careful consideration must be made to the content both types of YouTubers make. Where Type-A keeps their stories lighthearted, with a focus on the game instead of a plotline, Type-B: The Plot-Driven Unexpected delves into Minecraft Roleplay (MCRP), and heavily focuses on telling a lore-driven story. In these cases, the creators still use DMCA-free songs — but each song is chosen carefully, with the goal of pushing their narrative forward. The flair and personality of the creator shines through each song, and in some cases, completely changes the perception of the content.
One example of Type-B can be found from Pentar, an up-and-coming YouTuber with 76.9k subscribers at the time of writing. From his first upload, Pentar's sense for understanding how important music choice is sticks out. A montage of placing fences times perfectly with the beat in the background, drawing attention to the content in the video, and therefore raising the retention rate (7). In many of his videos, Pentar uses music to create a signature for himself, and shape his own narrative. In his recent series, dubbed the Secrets Trilogy, Pentar takes the events of Lifesteal SMP and crafts a specific narrative, all wrapped around his teammate ECorridor. Without the music in certain scenes, heavy emotions and nuance is lost, and when added, the viewer feels every ounce of what Pentar feels. For one scene (8), Pentar struggles morally with the balance of lying to ECorridor for personal gain versus giving up violence for peace with ECorridor. Pentar chose to use the track 'Forgotten' by Evan Honer, with the following lyrics:
If I'm gone will they remember?
How they watched me burn down to embers?
Or will they make up a lie
And tell everyone I was a great guy?
This is far from the first time Honer has appeared on Pentar's channel, especially as insight into Pentar's character. Songs from Honer are used at the rawest moments in each video, typically just once — so Pentar's choice to use his music is intentional, with lyrics from Honer's songs heightening emotions, relatability, and heartbreak from the viewer. Beyond that, Pentar does use Epidemic Sound and MusicBed, but specifically uses tracks that flow perfectly with the scenes in his videos. These choices reminisce to Grian and Martyn's moments in the Life Series, but Pentar keeps the tone throughout the video, choosing to step into territory that is somewhat unexplored.
Other creators headed in their own unique directions include Wifies’ ARG videos, where he uses tracks to heighten the horror of his videos; DumbisDumb, who uses a style similar to Pentar (9); and Wato1876. For Wato, her music use is almost exclusively video game OST (especially Minecraft), but used in a way that directly contradicts the retention meta of Youtube. Another worthy mention of a Type-B creator is Wemmbu. His Unstable Universe series uses non-DMCA music in the narrative-driven style, with each upload raising the bar for himself on how carefully music choices are made. Unsurprisingly, he’s recently been following in his co-creator's footsteps, which may soon place him in the Type-C category.
Each of these styles encourages the viewer to connect with the character on-screen in a deeper, more meaningful way than the Type-A creators — and the reward is a video that drives plot forward through emotion and sound, and stands out to the viewer. Because this is a newer type of meta, many creators stylizing their videos are smaller, but are quickly rising to mainstream MCYT. However, recently, a third type of music use has transcended the already high expectations for this category.
Type-C: The Plot-Driven Groundbreakers contains creators fashioning their music in ways previously completely unseen in the MCYT space. For this class of creators, it is difficult to compare and contrast, because the unique directions each of them have taken sets them apart from each other as much as it places them firmly in the same category. In many cases, the creativity has proved lucrative, with fans praising the effort and recognizing their intent. However, some in this category have faced backlash and misunderstandings from fans about the intent and purpose of songs used. This raises a question: is taking the risk with drastic narrative music worth it? Additionally, where does the line for 'success' versus 'failure' fall? What decides whether or not music in a video matches the narrative, or fails to meet it?
One of the first creators to push into unexplored territory, IvoryCello, found her niche in prewritten scripted content. Ivory's Whitepine series launched last summer, shortly after her return to content after a hiatus. As soon as the first episode aired, one of the notable aspects fans noticed was the use of original piano music. The tracks held a weight to them previously not found in MCYT, and matched Ivory's story in a way no other track could. Ivory not only wrote, directed, and edited Whitepine, but also composed and recorded the piano tracks herself. They are crucial to Whitepine, tied in with a piano in the episodes, and often, the music accompanies plot-relevant montages of moments in the series. Each track is mixed to sound like an older song, as if the musician is part of the world on screen. Without these tracks, Whitepine would not hold the audience as well, nor would the series have the early 1920s atmosphere nailed down. Whitepine has proven itself to be a success, with episodes releasing every month or so, and fans consistently praising the music. Parallel to Ivory, AvidMC's SkyBlock Kingdom series contains tracks composed by him for the series. However, Avid combines non-DMCA tracks with them, and his songs have lyrics sung by himself. As a much smaller creator than Ivory, Avid's work has gone nearly unnoticed by the greater MCYT community. Nonetheless, it firmly falls into the Type-C category.
For Parrotx2, shifting from Type-B to Type-C music use started with his exit from Lifesteal SMP, when he posted an edited compilation of his time on the server (10), starting from his first season all the way to his final. For the first time on Parrot's channel, an overarching narrative took the forefront, with the video clocking over three hours of runtime compared to usual twenty minute videos. This step over the threshold of storytelling marked the start of a new meta - custom soundtrack commissioning (11). Parrot commissioned someone to make tracks that could better accompany his narrative than tracks he could find. At the time, not much note was taken of the decision, nor did Parrot repeat the choice until six months later. By that point, Unstable Universe, a scripted SMP, was well underway. Every episode fell firmly into Type-B, but Parrot's musical decisions gained attention, with fans commenting on the immersive song choices that transcended other MCYT scripted content. Starting in September of 2024 (12), Parrot chose to start commissioning artists for parts of his videos, and has not stopped since. The use of custom soundtrack in his Unstable series birthed a new meta that can now increasingly be seen in a few other creators' videos. Parrot ensured the connection between the story and viewers was as coupled as possible by using the custom soundtrack–following the same meta that movies today use (13). Emotions from the viewer heightened, retention rates rose, and the viewer cared about the story at a greater level than before. Additionally, the story itself is strengthened - by using tracks the way he does, Parrot instills expectation in the viewer, meets it, then is able to use that expectation to break it if needed.
The risk of breaking expectations in MCYT editing and meta is a potentially career-devastating play in the Youtube sphere. When a creator breaks against the standard or decides to try something experimental, the uncertainty and danger of losing their audience heightens. Combined with the ever-changing inhuman algorithm, taking a leap of faith completely differently to any other creator can lead to backlash, and is likely the reason many creators stray away from risking it. The final creator to discuss as an example for Type-C is Spokeishere, a third perspective of Unstable Universe. By the end of last season, Spoke's videos also fell into Type-B. At the start of season two, however, Spoke tried out an unconventional use of music - repeated overuse of commonly used tracks on Youtube, mostly by Kevin Macleod (14). This sparked debate amongst the viewers - what was the purpose of such a decision? Why use tracks that did not match the narrative on the screen?
(fig. 1: A screenshot of a comment from one of Spoke’s videos during the ‘100 days’ arc)
(fig. 2: Another screenshot of a comment from Spoke’s videos, this one criticizing his music choice)
(fig.3, fig. 4, fig 5: Further examples of negative comments on Spoke’s videos during his experiment)
By video two, most fans were annoyed with Spoke, and on video three, the majority of comments left in the first few hours were hate-filled or misunderstanding his intention. All five of the figures above are screenshots taken from Spoke’s final ‘100 days’ video. Comments filled with more vicious hatred have been deleted by Spoke, or pushed down by Youtube’s algorithm due to community effort (15). However, by watching the series with a critical mind and an understanding that Spoke chose the music for the narrative, it quickly becomes apparent that the choice was made to match his character's mental wellbeing. Spoke's character, quite literally, is losing his mind - and every single track used pushes a dissociative feeling, to look away from what is really happening. As the episodes progress, Spoke's plan takes forefront, with the visuals, narration, and music all combining together to form a fractured narrative (16). As Spoke's mental state deteriorates, the viewer feels and experiences it with him. The moments Spoke snaps to reality, the music also snaps out of the repetitive overuse. Track use like this elevates Spoke into Type-C, with no creators attempting something similar. However, the backlash and hatred spewed in his Youtube comments and on various social media sites remind of why risks are not often taken. Many viewers have not picked up on the reasoning for Spoke's editing, but some are starting to understand. In the future, Spoke will likely bring his audience back around - but the chances of seeing Spoke take another groundbreaking chance like this is low, given the amount of backlash and viewers who refuse to look deeper.
What defines failure versus success in Type-C? It certainly isn't views — IvoryCello averages less than 450k views per Whitepine upload (17), and yet was the most suggested creator by members of the community when asked for examples of unique music usage in MCYT (18). AvidMC averages around 3k-5k views per video, but has a strong community built up that actively engages and appreciates his music. On the flip side, neither Parrot nor Spoke have any Unstable Universe uploads under a million views (19), but Spoke has faced more controversy regarding his music than any other creator mentioned. If success in music use is decided by community response, Spoke's experiment could be a failure. It is a mark of character that these creators have not moved to exclusively music usage that definitively works within the elusive algorithm. Thus, the answer to the success question is subjective. For Avid and Ivory, their experiments are successful because their communities are established and appreciative of the story built with the music. For Parrot, success is found in the community’s love for his story and immersion, and the spread of custom music commissioning. As for Spoke, an argument could be made that his success is more in the self-satisfaction of telling the story his own way, and in the comments of the individuals who recognize the potential in his music choices.
To conclude, what decides the success of any creator when it comes to their music choices? Depending on the type of creator, this changes person-to-person. Type-B creators find their success in high engagement levels with their audience, and in the emotional connection their viewers reach with their character. Additionally, Type-B creators can mark success in how their music visibly affects the narrative, pushing their stories to new heights for the viewer to enjoy. Success, for Type-B, is attention, acknowledgement, and discussion of the story. As for Type-A, the connection and plot is less relevant, and thus their success in music use is more dependent on ensuring their videos meet the mark in other ways. As the MCYT community changes, so does the meta — and currently, Type-B and Type-C are on the rise. Several creators have recently started commissioning custom soundtrack, as creators analyze what's working to draw in audiences. Type-A creators are in no trouble when it comes to audience, but their music use is currently stagnant. As the new generation of creators starts to rise, the music meta will continue evolving — and for now, the future is bright for MCYT storytelling and MCRP.
Note: A playlist of videos from creators referenced, and additional examples of all three types can be found here.
Footnotes:
For more information about monetization on Youtube: “Welcome to the Youtube Partner Program”, Youtube Partner Program, Youtube, https://www.youtube.com/creators/partner-program/
Example of one such study: 133 slide presentation analyzing the MrBeast video style
Wato1876. “I don’t want to keep viewer retention, I want to keep your curiosity. Why? If you are curious, you’ll want to watch it through, if I just have your attention, I only keep it as long as I give you more and more. End Barrens was not for attention, it was for curiosity.” Twitter, 24 Mar. 2025, 6:26 p.m., https://x.com/Wato1876/status/1904314434220110048
To see the exact example: 3rd Life: Episode 8 - THE FINAL LIFE (timestamp 28:52)
Exact example: OUT OF TIME - Minecraft Limited Life #8 (Finale) (timestamp 32:17)
For more information about Epidemic Sound Licensing: https://www.epidemicsound.com/how-it-works/
How Music Can Boost Engagement: The Psychology of Sound in Content Creation
Exact example: I Have Minecraft's Deadliest Secret timestamp 37:48
Dumb has acknowledged the importance of music choice in their official Discord: https://imgur.com/a/niAF899
Exact example: The Full Story of Lifesteal SMP. Timestamp not included - custom soundtrack moments can be found throughout the video.
Technically, custom music commissioning has existed for a while as seen in many Hermitcraft videos and the occasional theme song for other creators. For the discussed type of commissioning (soundtrack and narrative-driven), this is a newer meta.
ParrotX2, “I Built Minecraft’s Safest Civilization,” 9 September 2024. 3:47:08, I Built Minecraft's Safest Civilization.
Understanding the Score: Film Music Communicating to and Influencing the Audience
Macleod’s music is often called ‘the internet’s music’ due to the widespread usage of his tracks. He has composed over 1,500 individual tracks, all royalty-free. His website: https://incompetech.com/wordpress/
In the initial backlash of Spoke’s third video, the author of this essay noticed the significant amount of hatred in his comments and arranged an effort between other community members and friends to leave positive feedback and encouragement on the video. Participants also liked each other’s comments, and disliked the hateful ones. These efforts succeeded, and have made the hatred less visible on both the third and fourth video of the ‘100 days’ saga. That being said, some hate is still visible upon scrolling down, although it does not appear as pronounced as before.Parts of the community rally can be found here: https://imgur.com/a/some-of-community-efforts-to-change-spokes-comment-section-NDA0IOw
Exact example(s): 100 Days Hidden in a Minecraft Chunk Base, timestamp 19:27.100 Days TRAPPED in a Minecraft Void Base..., timestamps 25:30, 26:17-27:55, 29:43.
Exact average is 409,500 views per Whitepine upload.
Members of the MCYT community were asked over a period of time in multiple Discords.
At the time of writing, Spoke’s most recent U.U. upload is still under 1m views. However, at its current trajectory, it is expected to surpass 1m views within the month.
Works Cited
Arnaud, “How Music Can Boost Engagement: The Psychology of Sound in Content Creation,” Bensound, https://www.bensound.com/blog/how-music-can-boost-engagement/.
AvidMc, “Destroying Minecraft’s First Skyblock SMP,” 7 February 2025, 39:45, Destroying Minecraft's First Skyblock SMP.
Caldas, Tyler. “How Music Crafts a Narrative.” Everything Is Noise, 18 Apr. 2020, everythingisnoise.net/features/how-music-crafts-a-narrative/.
Green, Jessica. “Understanding the Score: Film Music Communicating to and Influencing the Audience.” The Journal of Aesthetic Education, vol. 44, no. 4, 2010, pp. 81–94. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.5406/jaesteduc.44.4.0081.
Grian, “Hermitcraft 10: Episode 38 - TAG RETURNS!” Youtube.com, 3 June 2025, 32:01, Hermitcraft 10: Episode 38 - TAG RETURNS!.
Grian, “3rd Life: Episode 8 - THE FINAL LIFE,” Youtube.com, 8 June 2021, 31:03, 3rd Life: Episode 8 - THE FINAL LIFE.
“How It Works | Epidemic Sound.” Epidemic Sound, www.epidemicsound.com/how-it-works/.
“How YouTube Works - Copyright Tools: Rightsholders and Creators,” How YouTube Works, www.youtube.com/howyoutubeworks/copyright/.
InTheLittleWood, “OUT OF TIME - Minecraft Limited Life #8 (Finale),” Youtube.com, 21 April 2023, 35:38. OUT OF TIME - Minecraft Limited Life #8 (Finale).
IvoryTV, “WHITEPINE 1,” Youtube.com, 11 August 2024, 31:19, WHITEPINE 1
LowKeyJude. “I Studied 733 Mr Beast Videos, Here’s What Worked:” Typefully.com, 27 January 2023, https://typefully.com/LowKeyJude/i-studied-733-mr-beast-videos-heres-what-aDCfm0R.
ParrotX2, “I Built Minecraft’s Safest Civilization,” 9 September 2024. 3:47:08, I Built Minecraft's Safest Civilization.
ParrotX2, “The Full Story of Lifesteal SMP,” Youtube.com, 4 April 2024, 3:18:53, The Full Story of Lifesteal SMP.
Pentar, “I Created a Secret Minecraft Civilization,” Youtube.com, 12 December 2024, 1:17:08, I Created A Secret Minecraft Civilization.
Pentar, “I Have Minecraft’s Deadliest Secret,” Youtube.com, 5 August 2024, 1:07:56, I Have Minecraft's Deadliest Secret.
Pentar, “I Made My Friend Immortal,” Youtube.com, 4 November 2024, 1:10:56, I Made My Friend Immortal.
SmallishBeans, “The Gate! | Hermitcraft 10 | Ep.5,” Youtube.com, 22 February 2024, 20:01, Hermitcraft 10: Episode 38 - TAG RETURNS!.
Spokeishere, “I Spent 100 Days Hidden in a Secret Minecraft Base,” Youtube.com, 11 March 2025, 1:07:27, I Spent 100 Days Hidden in a Secret Minecraft Base...
Spokeishere, “I Survived 100 Days Inside a Hidden Base,” Youtube.com, 8 April 2025, 1:06:11, I Survived 100 Days Inside a Hidden Base.
Spokeishere, “100 Days Hidden in a Minecraft Chunk Base,” Youtube.com, 26 April 2025, 33:47, 100 Days Hidden in a Minecraft Chunk Base
Spokeishere, “100 Days TRAPPED in a Minecraft Void Base…” Youtube.com, 28 May 2025, 49:41, 100 Days TRAPPED in a Minecraft Void Base....
TommyInnit, “The Minecraft Lore Competition,” Youtube.com, 12 December 2024, 28:44, The Minecraft Lore Competition.
Wifies, “Finding A Player Who Doesn’t Exist,” Youtube.com, 9 March 2025, 32:33, Finding A Player Who Doesn't Exist.
Wato1876, “I Spent 100 Days in Minecraft’s End Barrens,” Youtube.com, 30 November 2024, 2:34:40, I Spent 100 Days in Minecraft’s End Barrens.
@Wato1876. “I don’t want to keep viewer retention, I want to keep your curiosity. Why? If you are curious, you’ll want to watch it through, if I just have your attention, I only keep it as long as I give you more and more. End Barrens was not for attention, it was for curiosity.” Twitter, 24 Mar. 2025, 6:26 p.m., https://x.com/Wato1876/status/1904314434220110048.
this part is one that i'm really going to hate. in the wake of all that happened yesterday, i need to talk about finances. i know this is long, but i urge you to read through, because i could really use some tangible, real help right now.
as many of you know, the work we did for Avid was substantial. the music we made with him has been our lifeblood for the past several months as we have been reeling from the onset of a severe, life changing disability diagnosis that prevents us from working a typical job. music, video editing, streaming, and making our own videos are about all we can do. our disabling dissociative amnesia prevents the timely and reasonable learning of new skills. while we have been working constantly with a dissociative specialist to inch towards remedying this, we do not expect that we will be equipped to work in any other capacity any time soon.
the royalties we received from the music we made together with Avid were roughly 80-90% of our income on any given month for the calendar year so far, and they have helped us stay afloat while we have been trying to go through the rigorous and ill-equipped disability system.
putting all your eggs in one basket is never a good idea regardless, and the fears i had building for the past couple of months only further emphasized this. as such, i have been trying to diversify by engaging with streaming, trying to get my name out there for collaborative work in other SMPs, and reaching out to my creator friends for editing work. i really can't thank two people in particular enough - LeonSBU and NatureOfGaming - for providing me work as they have been able to afford and especially in Leon's case, getting my name out there for other SMPs.
unfortunately, the true extent of Avid's manipulations and lies were more than i could ever have imagined. the fact that my entire understanding of his intentions has been flipped in a matter of no more than 3 days feels like being hit by a truck. for full transparency, i am no longer in contact with Avid, but i did inform them that i was leaving the fate of our music in their hands. in the final messages he sent to me before i cut contact, he told me that he "would never cut [me] off financially". he told me he would never do a lot of things, so forgive me if i have trouble trusting this. regardless, the dropoff in listenership after what has been revealed will be substantial and immediate.
in the best case-scenario, i have a month or two left before royalties catch up to this dropoff, and will see consistent income for that time still. in the worst, i will no longer be able to afford my rent by the end of the month if he does remove the music and disable my royalty splits.
what i need is two things: i need immediate funds to fall back on in case things go poorly, and i need longevity. i have been so lucky to be surrounded by so many truly astounding and generous creators who have been willing to put my name out there for work. i am hoping this comes to fruition. i am already hearing from some about potential editing opportunities which is amazing. but things are still up in the air, and i need to be quick and smart. this is why i am doing something that my fans know i hate. i'm asking for help.
as i see it, there are three pillars to this. all the highlighted text below links directly:
immediate aid - if you have the funds to spare, buying our music on Bandcamp and donating to our Ko-Fi are methods of which we see the funds in a matter of days, if not instantly. this will help us build an emergency fund if worse comes to worse.
supporting our work - by spreading the word about our streaming on Twitch and listening to our music on streaming services such as Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube (and any other platform our music is on), you provide a significant source of consistent income that we can rely on month-to-month.
word of mouth - talking about what we do and why you enjoy it is a surprisingly big help, because it helps us find connections for potential growth opportunities and commission work. additionally, letting people know we have a Discord and are the ones responsible for Avid's music in the first place not only helps us, but it helps the people who loved Avid's music know there is more out there from the person who made his songs possible.
i'm gonna level with you all. i fucking hate writing this. i feel like a beggar. i feel humiliated. these past three days of piecing things together have been some of the worst of my life, and having to once again ask for help is the cherry on top. since i learned about the truth three days ago, this has been constantly looming over me. everything else has been made crystal clear to me, so i at least know without a shadow of a doubt what happened. but with this? i'm terrified. Avid knew my situation, my disability, my reliance on our work together. he has left me in a truly impossible situation. i am taking it as an opportunity to double down on the work i was already doing and try to turn it into a positive. i hope that you all are gracious enough to help me make that a reality. it would really mean the world right now.
for some positivity in all of this, here's a sneak peak of my next song. i'm so ready to move forwards and i'm trying to let this empower me to make some awesome fucking art. thank you to everyone who read to the end. hope to see you all soon <3
Hey, you. Scroll back up and read all of that again in case you missed it.
Yeah, I’m talking to YOU.
Musi is one of the nicest people I know and an incredibly talented musician. She’s going through something unthinkable and she needs some support. If you want to hear some of her music, here are some of my personal favorites:
Someday, we will reach a day where the radioactivity of conversation around the Dream SMP will have died down enough to actually have decent and productive discussions about it with people unfamiliar of its details.
Fandoms have gone through this Untouchable stage before, and though some people never fully let it go, Untouchability has a short half-life.
There will come a day when blind bashing of anything even halfway associated with the Dream SMP or MCYT will no longer be in fashion, and they will be given their due consideration.
This is partially inspired by what goes down in character poll comments and reblog tags - which is a Pattern at this point, so far as having the funny effect of “outside fandoms blind-hating anything MCYT” and “other MCYT fandoms blind-hating anything DSMP” and by Funny I mean Please Stop - but there’s other ripple effects.
I saw someone earlier today struggling and debating with themselves over the thought of deleting their artwork from that period of time. As if anyone who ever made anything that even touches the general direction of the Dream SMP is forever tainted, irrevocably. Like it’s an all-consuming taint, a “single drop of water poisons an entire river system, and any crop irrigated by that water” kind of thing. People debating the destruction of things they cared about making just to hide that they ever liked it in order not to be future harassed about it. As if art, made from and of joy and creativity and inspiration, must be scrubbed away in some act of repentance for
*looks at hand*
Liking a thing that was popular and was at all touched by A Guy Who Did Things that weren’t known about until the end of that thing’s popularity.
And fuck, doesn’t that just hurt? Isn’t that just exhausting to think about?
The person didn’t delete their stuff, and I’m so happy about that, even as I’m heartbroken it had to be a consideration.
And yeah, this is kinda personal. I spent a year writing a short fic a DAY about stuff on that server. I’m fucking proud of what I accomplished, and not going to apologize for doing it, or try to pretend that I never cared, and Everyone Knew All Along It Was Awful And Nothing Good Came From It. Most of those fics don’t have to do with Him, and even the ones that do still mean something to me. And I don’t feel guilty about that, and I shouldn’t, and I refuse to.
I know this is the Fandom Politics Cycle, but I remain as ever tired of it.
Spend time uplifiting what you love instead of tearing down something you were told you need to hate.
Bringing this back this morning for a quiet plea, from one small-time author:
Don’t delete your art. Don’t delete your drawings, or your writings, or your crafts. Even if you have some need to take it down from the public eye, have it backed up somewhere that you will find again.
No matter how cringe. No matter how retroactively radioactive the fandom. No matter how thick the discourse. No matter how low the note count!
Art you put time or care or love into making is never wasted. And there will be a time, perhaps years down the line, where you will want to look back on your work. Remember the things you loved so much you bore the burden of creation. See how far you’ve come from how you used to be (even or especially if you don’t “like” your old stuff anymore). Appreciate your own younger self for what you did.
You can’t do that if the work is gone. You can’t see how long and shapely the road is, if you burn it behind you.
Since the last list, more people wanted to contribute testimonials, plus there were really eye-opening opinions in the tags. (Plus some... other situations.) I think one thing people need to consider is that just because you don't see your fandom named, does NOT mean someone hasn't experienced these things in it. There were multiple times someone would comment 'I know exactly what fandom this is'... and it wasn't.
Last time, it seems the images and alt-text were still not accessible to everyone, so this time I'm going to do that AND reblog with the list as a whole. It will be admittedly long. 😅
As always, Black fans, you are valid and real and I appreciate you. Everyone else, make sure to support the Black fans in your communities.
Imagine all of these things being a possibility every single time you log in to your 'escape'!
To my Black readers: You are VALID! You are not sensitive, not 'overreacting', and you had every right to be hurt by the way you've been treated. These are not isolated events! And if people won't stop being racist, they should continue to feel uncomfortable for being so!
To my nonBlack readers: You are not an ally for NOT doing these things, but for STANDING AND SPEAKING UP when they do.
(So APPARENTLY Tumblr won't let you zoom in on Desktop, but I put the lists in the Image Description! Sorry 😬 i did not know Tumblr doesn't allow zoom in on desktop. It's easier to zoom in on mobile.)
This is what hieroglyphs and figures in ancient Egyptian temples looked like before their colors faded. They were recreated using a polychromatic light display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, following thorough research.
not to be maya on side but please do not call someone or something “mayan” when talking about our people, culture, etc. “mayan” refers to our language family (a language FAMILY, in which there are plenty of unique languages). we are the maya, not the mayans. i am maya, not mayan. it is the indigenous maya community, not the indigenous mayan community.
Anita Sarkeesian, feminist who interpreted media under a feminist lens. She did a series about video games and she was the subject of targeted harassment. That was the start of gamergate
Minor correction, the start of gamergate was based around a different reporter, Zoe Quinn, but they were both absolutely violently threatened over their involvement in video game criticism and development. A hate campaign was started by Quinn's ex-boyfriend when he wrote a post falsely accusing them of dating video game journalists in order to receive positive reviews on their own game, Depression Quest, which led other bad actors to accuse all women in the industry (Zoe identified as female at the time) of perceived sexual immorality. Anita Sarkeesian's brilliant Youtube series Tropes vs Women in Video Games (which everyone should watch, right now) sparked a particular nerve for criticizing popular games of killing and/or victimizing any important female character (there is a CHILLING bit that borders on ludicrous where she describes the plots of a seemingly endless parades of games as "In [title], [male player character's] wife dies, and you then have to rescue [his] daughter."). That series did actually make a huge change in the industry, especially when touted by progressive legacy developers like Tim Schafer (Monkey Island, Psychonauts), who went on to expand hiring in his company to front women and minority voices, but the shift didn't really show for a long time and echoes of the sexism that plagues the industry at its core are still rampant.
Thanks for the correction! I was like 8-10 years old when this all went down (2014-2016) so I only know vaguely about it. I’m still learning about this.
So even though this is more spring/summer like, I’ve been thinking Bout apartments. There’s a video saying that four stories is the maximum where people can still feel a part of the street as you can still hear the goings on and stuff. And if you have a courtyard inside there’s a space of “oh let’s be a bit more quiet”. So I was thinking that there could be wildflowers, some bushes and trees outside the apartment that people could walk by and grab whatever fruit that’s growing and ripe. While inside the courtyard is a bit more maintained for the folks who have pets and kids who wanna run around. And on the roof there’s solar panels angled for snow and rain to fall off. Perhaps underneath that solar panels the roof has a community garden for the people in the apartments. Probably use rainwater and snowmelt for the apartments, and then use grey water for the plants in the courtyard. Maybe have a bio system for black water treatment? Each apartment has a balcony, and they can have sun shades for the windows that’s in the direct line of the sun in the summer to help with the passive cooling and heating. And underneath there’s a good sturdy basement for things such as tornadoes or just plain ol’ get togethers. Maybe that can be where the community kitchen could be too. I’m also thinking that each doorway is tall enough for someone who’s like 6’5” could comfortably walk through while the doorways, hallways, and walkways are large enough for someone who’s using the world’s biggest wheelchair could confidently do a u-turn in. Some apartments are formatted for wheelchair users while every unit has accessibility features like a seat in the shower you can put up or down or a bathtub you can easily get in and out. And yes the elevator will have braille as well as the signs for each apartment. Maybe the building materials will be hempcrete. Ideally reusable materials from old buildings and the like to give them new life. I’d also like to ensure the building is good against floods, tornadoes, fire, earthquakes, and the like. Pretty sure that’s what everyone wants to do lol.
Just some ideas I’ve been thinking about. Been dreaming on making an Solarpunk apartment building. Made a sketch to kinda get a feel for what I want.
it's just really apparent that people think it's okay to want pain but morally abhorrent to want to give it. sorry but the sadist gets to have fun too. it's actually pretty crucial to the process.
Image ID: A screenshot of a tumblr comment that says "yeah, its only abhorrent imo, when the recipient is non consenting, i've" the screenshot cuts off.
hate hate hate how sites are increasingly trying to make right click saving images impossible. facebook, instagram, reddit (app), pinterest*, etc... all make you jump through hoops just to save an image. can you guys not please. how ddo i make them stop. can we get one of those EU regulations or whatever that makes them all comply, or are we going to have to wait for global socialism for that. ugh
i really appreciate seeing all the posts on my dash recently to the effect of "shutting down conversations about race/gender/minorities in fandom spaces because 'fandom is meant to be fun' is just an excuse to not think critically about the bigoted behaviors you are exhibiting". i hope that this energy carries over into the gaming sphere next pleaaseee
pokemon is a series about building Your own team and going on Your own adventure with creatures that You collect and befriend, and is designed from the ground up to be personal and immersive. i have never been able to look like myself in a pokemon game. if i bought pokemon z a today and booted it up and tried to customize myself, i would not be able to look like myself. just fuck me i guess.
if i like speak up about the rampant misgyny in the minecraft community even if it means some of yall's favorite people arent painted in the best light would yall still fw me
idk. give me some time to process and think about it before i really get into this. but i'm getting really, really tired of marginalized people's access to the community being controlled by the reactions of men and whether THEY decide the situation is valid or not. the way the MCYT community runs right now, all it takes is one white man in a position of power over a community (that includes background work too. i'm talking about the ccs AND who works for them) to be able to blacklist a fem presenting cc for speaking out about what's happened to them. every single day is like eggshells just knowing that.
working twice as hard as any male in the cc space and still having my validity and skills doubted. having younger, male chatters objectify me simply because i'm a mod and they don't respect me in either capacity. if i speak out, the male ccs clambering to make sure their performative ass tweets get seen and get praised so everyone knows THEYRE the exception. doesn't anyone else get tired?
on a raw note: the amount of times my identity as an aroace person has been violated because MEN in the MCYT space feel the need to prioritize their wants and the fact i am fem presenting gives them the confidence. they disrespect my gender, and they disrespect my identity, and they disrespect my humanity. they'll tell you publicly they care, they love aroace people and nonmen; and the second the door closes on the viewer it's like night and day. i do not forgive anyone in that space who's done that, and i'm tired of seeing some of them be idolized, and some of them be protected by their famous friends.
i'm not going to sit here and say that it's a nonissue, or that it doesn't hurt watching certain people continue to be idolized despite that, whether it becomes public that they behave in such a way as that or not. i'm tired of seeing male ccs make misogynistic jokes "ironically". i'm tired of seeing people joke about certain streamers hating women, because we exist in a space where that is a reality more than anyone wants to say. i'm tired of seeing the community feed right back into it. please do some critical thinking before you join in, even if it's everyone around you making the jokes. you are probably hurting someone a lot closer to you than you realize when you do.
also i just want to say: to anyone out there who has experienced this and felt scared to speak out: you are not alone, and if you ever need to speak to someone privately my dms are open to you. i encourage everyone to speak about their experience somewhere if they are able - this is a major issue that should absolutely be talked about.
thank you all for listening to me <3 its not easy, but we will make a better community one way or another.
to the one who is probably reading this right now and knows this post is about him and wants to throw a fit and deny everything: you are done. you will never do this again to me or my friends or anyone. your time in this community is over, and your bigotry and misogyny and ego and power plays and manipulation is what has made this happen. i do not forgive you, and i do not regret any action i took.
He didn't steal 10 million dollars. They made that number up as a loss, they never fucking had it. Rockstar has spent more than a billion fucking dollars on GTA VI and will likely make billions more when it gets released.
Uber is a fucking shell game of a company designed to leech investor capital and output bootleg cabs.
Nvidia posted a profit in 2023 of $4.37 billion. This is like someone stealing less than a penny from me.
And they lock this kid in a prison hospital for LIFE?
