I am not a people person. At all. You may think it’s because I don’t like people–and you would be right. In general. I don’t like people in general, I mean. But I do like certain people, and the RKG slug community (long story) has many of those people.
RKG is on Patreon and at any tier, you have access to the Discord (I believe). I poked my head in when it first started, but found it too overwhelming. It was just one big forum at the time, which I found to be too much. I quietly left and never went back. Until.
Krupa is currently doing the Dark Solus III plat as a producer-tier stream. He platted the original game at the beginning of the pandemic and started DS III soon after. I actually bought the game on PS4 so I could help out, but I was more of a deterrent the one time I got summoned. Then, he had to take a break for awhile after the fourth stream, and I decided to jump into the Discord before the fifth stream–which was last month.
I had a pseudonym when I first jumped in, one that was leftover from my younger years. I commented a few times before I realized that I was not matching the name I use in the YouTube channel (my real name). I quickly switched to my actual name and people were quick to welcome me. One even said that he had been disappointed not to see me when he first joined. I remembered him because he had asked during an earlier stream about how to join Discord, and I hooked him up.
RKG make it clear in their videos that they will not tolerate any kind of hate in their community. There was one in which the lads are doing jelly shots and talking about what is considered acceptable to say and what isn’t. Apparently, one said something so horrific as a joke. Rory said he hoped no one in their community watched that shit. Krupa said quickly that they could fuck off if they did. Then, in typical RKG fashion, they followed that up by talking about nutting. Nothing wrong with that!
They have also called out the last president in their videos and made it pretty plain that they are for progressive policies. It’s really cool, and it spills over into the Discord. Just today, there were a bunch of us in one of the channels talking about being queer and all the different flavors of that. There was a person who is similar to me in that he will go with he/him, even though he feels closer to agender than anything else. Which is pretty much where I’m at. I’m not he/him for sure, but I’m also not she/her or they/them, but I’m fine with being called either, really.
It was nice to have a chat with likeminded people. It’s hard not to feel like a freak in the world in general, so to be with other queers is quite the relief. And not to feel like a weirdo. I mean, I’m a weirdo, anyway, but in this case, it’s nice to be able to talk frankly about things like gender.
Last night, a bunch of us Americans were talking about abortion and how the hell did we get where we are (Roe V. Wade being repealed). It was a bunch of dudes and me, and I legit teared up that there were guys who were just as passionate and outraged about it as I was. I shared that I had written about it for a decade, partly in a political blog, and burned out on it. Now, I can’t believe that my niece and nephews have to deal with less repro rights than I had at their age. That’s not how this works. That’s not how any of this works.
A couple of the commenters said they supposed there were pro-life people in the community, which, true. Chances are there are a few. But. And this is the important part. I don’t fucking care. They can believe whatever they want to believe. They can not have all the abortions they don’t want to have. But fuck anyone who wants to force other people to whelp babies. They can fuck alllll the way off.
It is unconscionable that people can vote on other people’s civil rights as if, well, the latter are chattel. And the far right is not going to stop here. They are already making noises about repealing marriage equality and banning contraceptives.
I appreciate that the lads are very vocal about not putting up with that shit. The fact that they are willing to say that in their videos means a lot to me and to others, I’m sure. It’s one thing to mealy-mouth it in video descriptions, but it’s another to say it on camera. It’s one reason I like Eurogamer as well. They are very vocal about their hatred for Tories and regressive politics, whether in the UK or the US. Two of the members are bi, and Zoe is open about her mental health issues as well. Not to mention her neuroatypicality. And Ian is very outspoken about his support, too. They do a Pride charity stream every year, and they make sure their community is welcoming and safe.
It’s the same with RKG. And I find that the merry band I talk with on the daily is a good group of people. Most of them are Brits, which makes sense because RKG are Brits, but there is a sizeable chunk of Americans, too. This is the level of interaction I want. The channels I visit talk about From games, life in general, politics, and that’s about it. I don’t care about TV, movies, or music, so I don’t visit those channels. Oh! I do check out the food channel and the pets channel, too.
My favorite channel is the one that is for chatting about life and being risque. There are a bunch of inside jokes that are hilarious, and I wrote an impromptu erotic scene that was very much tongue-in-cheek with another commenter.
I like being the best version of me that is authentic, but doesn’t show many of the messy parts. It’s at precisely the right distance for me, which I appreciate. I had two people help me with my Bloodborne plat and many others cheer me on. It’s a great place to get support in many different areas. I care about these people and feel like an elder of the group. That’s not a bad thing–not a bad thing at all.