"To have friendship, Merle, it requires you to... love someone and... be invested in your shared happiness." "That's very kind of you, *_old friend._* I'm *_glad to hear you say that,_* actually."

@skullptures142

4 жыл бұрын

That made me tear up when I listened through the first time

@ashnesslinguistics3570

3 жыл бұрын

Character development!

John, the only world eater that's ever been well written.

@johnthedork723

4 жыл бұрын

And that’s a fact.

@8Rincewind

4 жыл бұрын

Was Galactus ever good in the comics? He seems popular and I remember him being good in the Fantastic Four cartoon from the 90s.

@ATMOSK1234

3 жыл бұрын

@@8Rincewind it varies from comic to comic

@matthewgallaway3675

3 жыл бұрын

@@ATMOSK1234 that's not a yes

@chrisspence5757

3 жыл бұрын

*screams in 10 voice lines alduin*

Every time I hear the “I told people what they needed to hear” I get chills.

@coler3077

9 ай бұрын

41:19

The fact that Griffin wanted to make their big bad so relatable with such an amazing character arc and Clint embracing that and making this one of the most touching friendships in the show really speaks to me at how good these boys are at writing

@BlizzardofDreams

5 жыл бұрын

Hayley MD Perfectly said; he’s so strangely tragic. I really want to know what happened in his world that /everyone together/ became the Hunger

@capriottimultimedia

Жыл бұрын

@@BlizzardofDreams Probably something similar to what it takes for another world to find the life of creation.

You can hear everyone else struggling emotionally when Clint says “I wrap my arms around him!” and I love Merle so much

@DrFunkman

4 жыл бұрын

Teela Comeau The guy kills him dozens of times and yet Merle’s first instinct is to save him. The whole time they’ve talked, Merle’s been trying to save John from the monster he’s become, and even at the end, when John’s clearly beyond rescuing, he tries to save him without hesitation, knowing he has no magic to protect him and believing God has abandoned him

Griffin: oh I gotta think of a voice for this guy Griffin: (literally just his own voice)

@eldon8712

4 жыл бұрын

I figure even if it's not intentional, it's metaphorical; Like Griffin, John is the focal point of an infinite multitude of characters and beings, just like how Griffin is a DM

@miskathonic

2 жыл бұрын

I think there's some truth to that, but there are some minute differences that really make an impact.

@Queer_Nerd_For_Human_Justice

2 жыл бұрын

@@miskathonic Yeah, like the way John chooses his words slowly and methodically with clear stops and spaces between. He's just ever so slightly trim and uncasual.

@MagnaFae

Жыл бұрын

A voice is more than just the pitch, accent, and timbre. It’s also the word choice, and while Griffin is very eloquent himself, I can tell he emphasized and incorporated certain words that he doesn’t use in casual conversation.

What really gets me is that the last Parlay scene from The Stolen Century was entirely improvised. Sure, Griffin generally put a lot of thought into John's character and this episode and had some idea what to say, but Merle's last question completely caught him by surprise. Both him and Clint just created this chilling and awe-inspiring scene and delivered it with so much emotion, that it's hard to believe it wasn't written and rehearsed. They got sense for dramatic tension too. That's story-telling taken to the next level. Thank you for doing this compilation, John is very close to my heart.

@skrytetemnoty7590

6 жыл бұрын

It's really amazing how the majority of this show is improvised, and it makes sense because this is a role-playing game, but then there are just moments where you completely forget and it's just.... it's chilling what can happen in those moments.

@skullknight2024

5 жыл бұрын

That's why I'm glad there's graphic noval of this series and is getting 2nd book,maybe a 3rd book

@capriottimultimedia

4 жыл бұрын

I am buying every single one of the novels because I need the McElboys to be financially supported enough to justify finishing the series because I NEED to see John

@tea_n_ink

3 жыл бұрын

Time stamp?

@cartoonking1789

2 жыл бұрын

@@capriottimultimedia I buy two paper back volumes and two hardcover volumes of each book for a total of four books for myself. Then I buy five copies to give to friends to help insure that they complete the whole story. Hopefully they can do Amnesty too.

"You can apologize to me and tell me you were wrong." Merle with his life in John's hands still shows that he has more power than a reality swallowing entity. Amazing.

oh he's SUCH a good good world-eater boy

@psychedelllica

4 жыл бұрын

i rEALLY want to like this but i'd ruin it

God, the sheer MENACE Griffin put into "I find that pretty vexing." He did such a fantastic job playing this character.

John is a really fascinating villain. I can only imagine what was going through his head right at the end there. He thought he was a part of this grand work to escape the boundaries of existence backed by a billion billion like-minded souls but it turned out in the end he was the only one in that huge gestalt consciousness that really gave a shit about any of that. That "beautiful" creation of his had only ever been a hideous, mindless monster that just wanted to devour everything for no grander reason than...well...hunger.

@hanko6277

3 жыл бұрын

whaaat hey I loved that interpretation I don't speak English very well so it was hard for me to understand the podcast but I loved your way of listening and reasoning it thanks for your comment it gives me a better vision of what happened in the end, do you know where I could find some podcast Similary? although well I think the drawings made it 100 times more enjoyable

its so ironic that despite all john says, that emotions are too small for him, he contradicts himself, he ends up feeling sad

He never apologized.

@Hjernespreng

5 жыл бұрын

But he did seem to express regret.

@belugaval144

4 жыл бұрын

i think there was a moment where he wanted to, but couldnt. so the best he could do was say "i told people what they wanted to hear"

@spacetearable

Жыл бұрын

Eh, he's got infinity to come around. I'm not worried.

@alastorlapid2365

Жыл бұрын

"I'm glad to hear you say that old friend". It's not an apology, but it is an admission that he was wrong.

Idk why but Griffin gave John a customer service voice

@carlogalbiati6157

4 жыл бұрын

noam ratner who better to be unsatisfied?

@lastlife0726

4 жыл бұрын

noam ratner new theory, John is Griffin if he kept his job as GameStop and worked his way up the corporate ladder.

@KingNanoA

4 жыл бұрын

I mean, he was a public speaker, and they're pretty good at voices that crowds would like to listen to.

@matthewgallaway3675

3 жыл бұрын

It fits though.

@jacklarus

3 жыл бұрын

Idk why but FUCK it's a mood.

And the sun drops further and further behind the sea, until the final sliver of light is gone. And so is John.

griffin *really* needed to emphasize that merle was hugging john in that one scene huh

I just realized. I just fucking realized. Ep 68, scene 2, John wants Merle to kill him. He is done with it. He wants that eternal oblivion that he always preached he understood so well. He is slowly becoming consumed by the very ‘salvation’ he devoted his life to.

John: Where am I? Merle: This... is the parley room. John: The parlor room? Merle: Sure, let's go with that.

"There is something I'd like to know." Griffin's mind: OK. Gonna get ready for some tactical chess mind game answer. "Are you my friend?" *Griffin.exe has stopped functioning. Give it a moment to restart*

The emotion in Griffin's voice in the end as John passes. Such a good ending for one of the most terrifying and compelling villains I've ever encountered

I keep thinking back to the crystal kingdom song... "kept from our children, lovers, friends / subject to laws we did not make". It's like it's echoing John's words "There are laws and limitations placed on every living thing that they are never made aware of." I guess both Legion and the Hunger were born from discontentment.

@Queer_Nerd_For_Human_Justice

2 жыл бұрын

No taxation without representation!!

@chrismccoy2252

Жыл бұрын

I'm pretty sure that the legion was like one step away from being the hunger 2.0. If they had torn through the astral plane and into the material plane and destroyed the laws of life and death it would have probably thrown the whole cosmoscope out of order. Wonder if it was intentional.

I was literally crying at Merle’s joy speech.

@zach5539

Ай бұрын

There's an interview where they talk about the motivation from that scene and Clint says it was based off his wife who passed. He said that was how she saw the world. Gets me everytime.

@knightboulegard5483

Ай бұрын

@@zach5539 Oh man, wasn't expecting a reply to a 5 year old comment. Yeah I knew about that, its really sweet.

Why do I love John? Just... why? Why do I want to embrace him and tell him everything's going to be alright? Why do I want to be by his side? Why do I want to comfort this thing that used to be a man?

@shockofthenew

2 жыл бұрын

perhaps he reminds you of part of yourself who needs those things... the way I see it John's vision is fundamentally devoid of hope, and Merle's philosophy is fundamentally hopeful. A lot of us could do with more of what Merle brings to the world.

@nucleartemptations3044

2 жыл бұрын

@@shockofthenew that's very true (sorry I can't come up with a better reply than that, I'm feeling a bit under the weather)

@shockofthenew

2 жыл бұрын

@@nucleartemptations3044 I'm glad it resonated :)

@Queer_Nerd_For_Human_Justice

2 жыл бұрын

He's a classic edgelord... Low mental health, lashing out. In real life, people like that are still precious loved ones who need support and understanding, so it makes sense we want to look after a villain who's hurting... In real life there are no villains, just bad perspectives adopted by previously innocent people who may become innocent again.

ithink its kinda cool that travis immediately called him sterling cooper after the agency instead of roger sterling as the individual agent because johns name is literallly john hunger like his name is the agency hes not an individual

@oojamaflip7192

3 жыл бұрын

Ooo, that's epic

@Queer_Nerd_For_Human_Justice

2 жыл бұрын

John Hunger and other kinda joke names like that such as Sans Undertale are actually OLLLLLDDDDDDD OLD OLD OLD naming conventions where you're named after where you come from, who you're related to or affiliated with, or what your job or title is. That's where last names like Smith and Hill come from. With Sans Undertale, it's a location name. he's FROM Undertale. With John Hunger, it's his affiliation. There's even a book called Jennifer Government, a dystopia where your last name is whatever company you work for, like Bill Starbucks or Penny Microsoft.

"You got it, buddy"

@baconfromheck27

3 жыл бұрын

100% my all time favorite line in TAZ. Clint packs so much emotion and power and care into four fucking words it blows me away.

The supercut we all really needed.

this made me ball my eyes out. i never knew how much a roleplay could capture the meaning of what life is in john, and what matters in merle. when john said "i told people what they need to hear" i got chills. and when merle was explaining his joy and told john to apologize i also did. when john explains meaning and merle explains matter are the two thing we as people need to start balancing out. if we are to much of meaning we will get consumed like john. if we are to much or matter we will be blind to the bad. remember that.

So I'm aware that in the scene where John parlays Merle that he's trying to tell him how to defeat the Hunger, but is it just me, or does anyone else get the vibe that John wants Merle to kill him? See to me, the King seemed symbolic of John, and him rushing in was a death sentence for the King. It seemed to represent John parlaying Merle and making himself vulnerable. John mentions that Merle could kill him, and the Hunger gets angry at that. Every hint he drops makes me feel like he wanted Merle to kill him. Maybe he thought it would stop the Hunger, maybe he'd had enough, or maybe he thought the Hunger would torment him for the eternity which he fears so much, but it definitely feels like John wanted Merle to kill him before the Hunger took him.

@c1k111

2 жыл бұрын

that is exactly the idea screaming in my head during that scene

i think john is the most underrated character in the show. he's my personal favorite character, and i feel like i so rarely see people talk about him.

12:15 he's after sick gains My favorite part

"Mildly eloquent pinata" I need to start using that as an insult for people

I wish Mearle would have summoned John at the end.

@skrytetemnoty7590

6 жыл бұрын

I was literally on the edge of my seat hoping for that to happen.

@shysenpai3032

5 жыл бұрын

Omg that would have been so freaking hype!!!

@noodlezz7545

5 жыл бұрын

Oh that would've been so cool

@zhilemon923

4 жыл бұрын

but then he would be fighting himself

@belugaval144

4 жыл бұрын

that would have been amazing, but i dont think it was possible. because i think he was destroyed more thoroughly than anything else in existence. john had been destroyed, consumed so completely that there was nothing left to summon.

"I think there was probably a time where I had joy. Where I had experienced fleeting happiness, or anger, or fear, but... it's been so long, Merle, I-... I used to spend my days considering the nature of time and existence. Maybe that brought me joy once, but... unlike anybody else who ever thought about those questions, who ever pondered the meaning of it all, I - and you may find this hard to believe - I SOLVED it, Merle. I saw the fullness of time. I pondered eternity, and... was the first person, and ONLY person, to successfully visualize its treacherous arc." He sits back down, across the chessboard, and he says, "You're a man of the cloth, Merle. Certainly you've wondered, too, about what awaits our conscienceness after death, or-..." Then he laughs, and goes, "What am I saying, I've given you a firsthand experience! A few times, in this very room. Perhaps for some people who think about it, there's nothing but... oblivion. The eternal erasure of your consciousness. Or for some, it's eternal life in their god's glorious kingdom, or eternal cycling through all the inhabitants of their world. Any of these options, Merle, any of them, are just... erasure, or contentment, or revival, and all of them are fine as abstract concepts, but-... eternally, Merle. Eternally? You can't possibly conceive the LENGTH of eternity, Merle. I have. It's maddening, and hopeless, but it's a burden we're saddled with from the moment of our creation. It's a finish line that, by its definition, will never arrive. It's stretched forever and ever, it's too ambivalent to even taunt those trapped behind it. It is the cruel price of existence, Merle, and it is too horrible to bear once you've seen it. Existence, Merle? LIFE, Merle? It's... horrible. To exist, to live, it's... horrible."

Look, I love this show with every fibre of my being. But these scenes hit different. Merle hits different. His character is so inexplicably vibrant and when he does take the spotlight it is an absolute GIFT. God bless.

I only know this story from the "I can't decide" animatic, so I'm actually really interested to hear what the story is actually about now.

@ericathompson7836

Жыл бұрын

Hooooo boy you're in for a treat, if you decide to listen to the entirety of it! The podcast takes forever to get to the Hunger, and even longer to get to John, but the lead-up makes everything hit so much harder. The first few arcs of the story have a very different vibe from the rest, but around the Crystal Kingdom arc it really starts to take on a classic epic kind of feeling, and the world-building starts to really take shape.

"This tremendous gift that I got twice!" And Clint got it thrice 😭

thanks i would die for him

@ernestosera7758

5 жыл бұрын

most of the universe would die for him, he's very convincing

When the knight took the king...was that John trying to tell Merle to kill him? (Ep68 scene 2)

@adrianax1734

4 жыл бұрын

That was John showing Merle that, by separating the hunger from the world, the Hunger would be destroyed. (Which thankfully Justin payed attention to and taako told Lucretia to cast the spell around the hunger rather than the plane prime)

@KingNanoA

4 жыл бұрын

felt like a secret message: The soldiers have taken over. The violent ones have taken command.

This Video is just taz balance from john's pov

his name is Mr. John "The Hunger" Ascendent, excuse you

i have no idea what this is, who these people are, but im fucking crying. That was so good, so beautiful, omg

@skrytetemnoty7590

6 жыл бұрын

Please listen to the Adventure Zone. It's so good. Here, start at the beginning: www.maximumfun.org/adventure-zone/ep-1-here-there-be-gerblins-chapter-one

I always was hoping that John could've been saved. I think he could've been. He was so excited to hear about merles life at the end even trying to send a message. I don't think John was a bad person. I think he was misguided, and corrupt. Maybe it was just too late for John in the end though.

@zacharyheine4177

3 жыл бұрын

I think that at the very end John was saved, in the sense that his soul was redeemed and freed from the hunger.

this got me into taz. i watched the animations, saw the music, and was really impressed, but nothing connvinced me that i could watch 60+ hours of people talking to eachother. I thought, as good as the story might be there's no way i can just not get bored without any visual stimuly but..... this changed it. Its one of the best moments in the entire campaign and it really shows. And at first i was confused as to how the fuck they reach a point where space travel and decades worth of deaths.... And then i almost forgot about the endgame. They improved so much from one chapter to another that by chapter 2 i got wrapped into that current storyline and when the hunger was finally mentioned again i had an OH SHIT moment where i remembered its the same story this compilation comes from, and then, when the big reveal finally happened it was just so amazing, my god its been a journey and thank you for getting me into taz

The whole talk of him and Meryl is just essentially questioning religion if you think about it and I love the perspective it puts on it.

@dismountpsyduck4258

5 жыл бұрын

Day Dreamer how so?

@jariusreece1931

5 жыл бұрын

+Dismount Psyduck Well...because it discusses the afterlife and eternity. They discuss reincarnation and the afterlife, the promises at the heart of every religion, and John thinks it's horrible. He's questioning everything religion promises with a man of the cloth. Not just religion but he calls into question oblivion, the nihilism of a staunch nonbeliever. John takes every outcome, every belief, and deems them all horrible.

@dismountpsyduck4258

5 жыл бұрын

Dante Reece i can see why you guys think that! Thats an interesting way to look at it, i just see it as a life discussion, way to dig deep~

@shockofthenew

2 жыл бұрын

​@@jariusreece1931 This is an interesting comment. I just wanted to add something your wording sparked in my brain, but please feel free to ignore! As a staunch nonbeliever, I don't find the likelihood of oblivion/non-existence after death to be nihilistic at all. Quite the opposite in fact. Knowing that we very likely only have these brief moments of life to do and experience and contribute everything we can, and there is nothing else, no paradise or reincarnation onto which we can project some promised fulfilment of our disappointments in this life is, in some way, one of the most comforting, motivating and life-affirming parts of an atheist worldview. To me, the idea of eternal existence in any form feels exhausting, consciousness-destroying and unnecessary... longing for it feels... ultimately self-centred and fear-driven. What's important is doing what we can here and now, and accepting that our personal importance is measured solely by our impact on the world, not in bargaining for future rewards and salvation or fearing eternal torture. When we are gone, we are gone. We have done our piece, and the only echo which remains is the impact of the actions and bonds we created here on earth, which is why we should try to make those things as positive as we can.

I would literally die for them I don’t care

This is an extraordinary cut together, thank you so much for it. I can't help that this is Clint playing Clint cast as Merle... what a guy!

I still come back to this video, absolutely love John and Merle

I wanna listen to big emotional moments like this from TAZ but I feel like I’m not allowed to since I haven’t listened to all the moments leading up to this. Is listening to everything beginning to end in order worth the wait?

@SebastianMartin

5 жыл бұрын

oh, it DEFINITELY is.

@mossasaur

5 жыл бұрын

GOD YES IT IS DO IT

@aphorasity9495

5 жыл бұрын

OH GOD YEA

@s.r.s.362

5 жыл бұрын

DO IT FOR YOUR OWN SAKE

@caiterbunch3932

4 жыл бұрын

i spoiled myself and i regret it now, after watching the podcast, so like, yeah

Some fantastic RP right here :D

Thank you so much for this!

This is great I could watch this on repeat.

This is genuinely amazing, thank you so much!

oh i LOVE johnny vore man. i love him. i LOVE this man. fucking JOHN KINNIE kfsdjhfkjasdhfkajsdgh

@ignorancesbliss6149

5 жыл бұрын

john hungry man is the first real serious villain ive ever liked in a story and Oh Boy I Love Him With My Whole Being

@SebastianMartin

5 жыл бұрын

@@ignorancesbliss6149 you're so fucking valid

43:52 this scene... it fits david and jasper so much im sobbing

@therailroad3921

2 жыл бұрын

Who are David and jasper

I keep coming back to this video. It's just such a thought provoking and deeply affecting character arc

this video is my happy contemplative place

Is it okay that i cried during the beach scene?

This character is what I based a backstory character to my DnD campaign's PC on. I only hope it lasts long enough to see him in game.

I can't stop wondering what would've happened if Merle hadn't stopped seeing him. I mean it seems like the only time he's human or at least close to human is when he's with Merle which makes me think him and Merle's friendship was a strong enough bond to at least pull him away from the hunger for those short moments. I know it would have ended at some point regardless, but I really wish they had found some way to save John :/

Bless

...The episode 69 art credit just takes me to a porn site?

@SebastianMartin

5 жыл бұрын

OOF i'm very sorry about that, idk how that person's old url wound up redirecting to porn but i've fixed the link

@horiziac

4 жыл бұрын

I feel like that's fitting

john and merle, as characters, are far better than TAZ itself as a piece of fiction. the entirety of 63, john’s suicidal ideations in 68, and his conclusion in 69 are all, individually, magnitudes better than the entirety of graduation, or any of the crappy moments inside of it

Can anyone explain what John was trying to convey with the final chess game?

@claudiag.9307

4 жыл бұрын

[Spoilers for the final episode if TAZ, it's worth listening to] He tried to explain how to defeat the Hunger. It's a cluster of things and people tied together by "bonds", basically a force keeping everything together in the World of TAZ, being misused. By breaking the bonds, all the Hunger's "content" is released and returned to its proper place.

@capriottimultimedia

4 жыл бұрын

Gotcha, I got confused because I initially thought he was trying to tell Merle to kill him in parlay but that didn't seem to totally fit.

@couldntthinkofacoolname9608

3 жыл бұрын

1. He wanted Merle to kill him in Parlay. 2. He was telling Merle how to defeat the Hunger, by severing it's bonds.

Help I keep imagining Morgan Freeman as John Hunger send help. edit: Like John looks like Morgan Freeman. Thats what i mean

::) 👏🏻 good good boys hooooooooooooooooooo boooooooyyyyy

28:49

ok so i just kind of stumbled upon an animatic of this and wanted to learn more, but i cant really find anything. can someone explain what taz is?

@SebastianMartin

2 жыл бұрын

It's a podcast called The Adventure Zone that's basically a comedy d&d campaign

@thehmmyone

2 жыл бұрын

@@SebastianMartin thanks

!!!