Merely Feed - Tumblr Posts
Henry (Josh Yard) giving MacReady "No one trusts each other any more, and we're all very tired" vibes on The Feed
Of all of us, Josh is really the one making the most of the fact this series is video, not pure audio like we're all used to - the laundry basket video, and now the visual storytelling of the wrist support. When I'm prepping for my instalments I'm mostly thinking about how to marry the prompts into something that makes sense for the character, and the visual thinking is mostly about framing or how I sit in the chair. Josh keeps me upping my game!
Henry's take on THAT fight
A physical fight! On Big Brother! On national television! But who threw the first plate? Henry's got his theories but he's still smarting from his best mate Heidi getting evicted. Can't wait to hear the other housemates' takes on this!
Every turn before this one, I've been the first to go - so this was the first time I got to experience the fun of riffing off events someone else created, deciding how much to agree with and how much my account should conflict. You can do that all the time, riffing off things from previous turns, but this is the most engaged I've felt with that aspect of the game, and let me tell you, it's a blast
Is there anything Malcom won't complain about?
Another take on Plategate and we're no closer to knowing who chucked that first mug. And why on earth can't Malcolm just take the W when it lands on his ... plate? Just enjoy the pool, you big killjoy!
Ellen's videos never fail to make me laugh out loud. Jake's one of two characters she was originally considering playing - the other one was more like recently evicted supporting character Heidi - and I'm so glad Jake was the one that made it to the screen. Now in Full Goblin Mode edition!
Have the Big Brother audience created a monster?
Uh oh, Jake's gone rogue! Since the audience saved him from eviction he's been acting like he can get away with anything. But now that the housemates have put him up for eviction again, are the viewers going to be as sympathetic to Prankster Grandpa Jake as they were to Everyone's Lovely Granddad Jake?
I've been waiting and hoping for weeks for Malcolm's Weirdness Rating to tip over from 'aware but in denial' to 'aware and convinced' ............ does it show?
Violent Malcolm safely back in captivity
What happened to the Malcolm who used to badger everyone else about following the rules? Now all it takes is one misunderstanding with Thora and he's smashing lamps through the walls and trying to flee the Big Brother house! Should we have let him back in at all?
The DAY this newsletter went out, I changed the working title of Project Tallneck AGAIN.
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One thing I'm really enjoying about Unreal is having other players put words in my character's mouth. It's not something I've experienced positively in many other games. It's partly that the game explicitly says everyone's an unreliable narrator - so if I don't like or agree with something someone else attributes to Malcolm, I'm free to just decide they're lying or inaccurate. But having that safety net there makes me so comfortable with others reporting my character's words and actions that I haven't needed it yet.
Jake is all of us right now
Did Jake deserve his forfeit for refusing to team up with Malcolm on a task? Or is Jake the only voice of reason left in a Big Brother house that's coming apart at the seams? Would you be Team Jake (hiding in the diary room, not interacting) or Team Malcolm (tapping on walls, getting weirdly intense about powerful shower heads)?
Oh my goodness gracious. The prompt I just pulled for my next THE FEED video. The timing of this prompt. You all are in for a TREAT when this next one goes up.
Henry's had enough
Henry's the only housemate left in the Big Brother house who isn't convinced there's some nefarious weirdness going on. Could keeping his head, while all about him lose theirs, win him the series?
Playing this game is like when your friends make up their own headcanons for your OCs and you're like "yes! hahaha! yes!" Yes, Malcolm definitely deals with bad situations by telling himself it's not as bad as dealing with Year 9, and just ends up muttering "Year 9, Year 9" under his breath
Is the honeymoon over already?
Jake's joined Malcolm on the zen train, but is finding it hard to stay on the rails where Henry's concerned...
With three housemates left, someone had to be the third wheel.
Henry's new companion
Hey Henry. Henners. We know it can't feel great to be up for eviction so close to the end. And we know Malcolm and Jake have been thick as thieves and leaving you all lonesome. But we need to ask. U ok hun?
Includes some title announcements (for a @merelyroleplayers production and an audio drama) and guest appearance announcements (I'm guesting on What Am I Rolling? for the second time!)
Evictions, resignations and other monumental exits • Buttondown
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This might well be Malcolm's final diary room video! Poor Mal. He might have had the right idea. But we might never know.
Seeing red over a tomatoey task
After bonding with Jake over spaghetti sauce, now Malcolm's about ready to put the old man in detention over a tin of tomatoes!
You would not BE LIEVE how close the eviction race between Malcolm (my character) and Jake (Ellen's character) is. The rules for Unreal include like four different ways to break increasingly close ties, and at the start I thought "these rules will never come up" ... they're now my most referred-to section of the rulebook
There are no words
As the series reaches the end, a 'no speaking' task finally lets Jake hear clearly - and find his fine voice.
Incoming from Merely Roleplayers! Omicron ate our episode buffer, but we've grown it back from the stubble and now we're back to regular releasing from 16 August.
Next up from Merely Roleplayers
16 August:
Vigil: Quarry
A Monster of the Week mystery in 4 acts
Hoofbeats echo off Sherrydown's cobbled streets as Cam, Brier, Melody and Renko race full tilt into their bloodiest adventure yet.
Contains blood, bloody violence, and a character experiencing fallout from childhood trauma.
11 October:
Monumental Exit
A Fiasco in 3 acts
After 67 years, Bilbo Biltong's ready to quit the band. But who out there could possibly step into his worn old shoes?
Contains hard drug use, lewd and morbid imagery, and a funeral scene
22 November:
Vigil: All Aboard
A Monster of the Week mystery in a number of acts to be confirmed, probably 5
A way long shut is open again, promising to carry away all souls stuck in Sherrydown. Will Jess, Calistarius, Gwynned and Harper make it to the end of the line?
And don't forget:
The Feed
A slow burn comic horror powered by Black Armada's Unreal system
Seven housemates enter the Big Brother house. They're signing up to be watched 24/7 - but can they even trust the evidence of their own eyes?
Check our pinned post or visit merelyroleplayers.com to catch all these productions and hundreds of past episodes!
My third time playing Josh Fox's Unreal. First I was a movie Youtuber, second time I was a teacher who liked to think he was the only grown-up in the house, and this time out I'm trying my hand at classical thesp who thinks he more cultured and 'in on the format' than everyone else.
Series 2 of The Feed is kicking off over on our Instagram!
The Feed is an actual play of Unreal by Josh Fox, a video journalling RPG about housemates in a Big Brother house where everything is extremely normal.