NZXT PODCAST - #125 - Pridecast #1 (Ft. Critical Bard)

Episode Date: June 9, 2022

For this week, we start our first Pride Month Podcast with Omega Jones aka Critical Bard! We talk about pride, DBD, his obsession with Taliesin Jaffe's characters... and eyebrows! Follow CB at twitter.com/criticalbard Tune in live every Thursday at 10AM PT on twitch.tv/NZXT and send your questions to: [e-mail]

everyone welcome to episode 125 of the nzxt podcast the official podcast of the nzxt community this podcast is recorded live on the official nzx t twitch and is available to stream on demand on apple podcast google podcast Spotify and sound cloud my name is mike and with me as always is ivan how are you doing ivan you're doing great mike i'm happy to be back from paternity leave ready to get these podcast going again and very excited to have a special guest today. We have NZXT partner and Pride Ambassador Mr. Omega Jones, aka Critical Bard, aka C.B. AKA a hot mess, honestly. Yes. How are you doing? I'm doing good. I can't complain. I got some code brew. My cat

is not screaming right now, so life is good. Thank you. Is that it again? What's your cat's Um, Rumpel Stilskine, he goes by Rumpel or everything under the sun when I call him and scream at him. But yeah, he's like the best and worst boy in the same breath. I like that name Rumpel Stilskin. It's good and bad at the same time. Mm-hmm. Well, it's also, I used to love Once Upon a Time, the TV show, and he is 100% named after that Rumpel. Gotcha, gotcha, gotcha.

Well, I guess first things first. Before we get started with asking you a million questions here, why don't you just let people know who you are and what you do, what your pronouns are, all that good stuff? Of course, yeah. So hi, as I said, my name's Omega Jones, also known as the Critical Bard. My pronouns are he and they. They're interchangeable. Use either one you want. Just don't call me something I'm not. I am a professional actor and vocalist from the Midwest. I have been performing on stage since I was a kid. and then the pandemic happened and someone said stream and I said, cool, I'll try to do that, I guess. And now I'm a Twitch partner.

I'm a tabletop professional in the sense that I play a lot of tabletop. I run a lot of tabletop games as a GM. I also am a tabletop designer. I'm currently one of the writers for Into the Motherlands, which is a new Afro-Futuristic TTIRPG,

amazing content that was kickstarted. And it's been a show on Twitch for a couple of seasons now. And it's finally getting the book out there. So I'm excited to be working on that project with them. I'm a host. I'm a moderator. I say I'm a Jack of Altrey's master of like three of them.

And I'm just here to have a good time. That's really that. I can't complain. I mean, with all that stuff on your resume, it definitely sounds like you're having a great time. Yeah, the resumes is packed, which I'm not complaining. about. It's a good thing, yeah.

But I guess before you got into all this, you know, acting and streaming and hosting and whatnot, what do you do before all this? I was birthed and then I existed. And then I started singing. I've been singing since I was a very little. I was a soprano and choir from as far as I can remember through a freshman year of high school. and then puberty happened and then I became a bitiner. But so performance has been in my bones, in my veins since I was very, very young.

So it was only natural growing up that that became, you know, performing on stage and X, Y, and Z. But past that, before I really got into doing it professionally, I mean, I worked. I didn't do much. I mean, I've always known that I was going to do something within arts. I went to college for many different degrees And then I didn't finish college because oops But I knew that I wanted to do something in that realm And I've been luckily to be able to be a professional actor

And work during that A good chunk of my adult life Until again the pandemic happened What got you into singing if you don't mind us asking? Of course I grew up in church I think a lot of folks, especially a lot of African-American folks can attest to having to get up on Sunday mornings, probably even a Wednesday or a Saturday as well,

and having to go to church with their grandparents or their parents in some way, shape, or form. My grandmother, my mother, and my aunt also all were in the choir in church as a kid. So naturally, all of me and my five siblings also were in choir. It didn't stick with them. Some of them. My sister just those things. But it stuck with me.

So, yeah, I had been just, you know, for lack of a better word, indoctrinated. But, I mean, but again, it's just what my family did. So it's something that I started doing. And yeah. You're going to have to hear those vocal cords now, right? You can pay me. Yeah.

Mike, could you give me 100 bucks, Mike? I can hear the Sopanos. I love my wall and another pants, you know. But actually, you know, it's interesting you bring up the singing and whatnot because I love music and I have like no, I don't have a musical bone in my body other than the fact that I just like listening to music. But when I first heard your, ever since I heard your voice, I was just very impressed with it.

I can tell right away just from hearing you talk that, you know, you have. of like that gift, whatever it is, that gift of, not gab, but just like that voice. I don't know, I don't know what to call it. Like that gift of having a good voice. I mean, yeah, there's definitely a level of like there's a difference between like a singer and a performer. That's a difference between someone who read music and who understands music, right? And that idea is universal across the board.

It's like, I know how to hammer something into a wall, but am I a carpenter? nor, you know. So, and that's saying, so yeah, it's like people get music and people understand that it is a thing, but not everyone like understands it and doesn't seep into everyone's soul. Like something I did not know growing up is that a lot of people can't harmonize, like at all. And when I hear music, I automatically sing harmony, even if it's not in the song. even if it was not written, I sing like the third or seeing things I know fit melodically. And I didn't know that people couldn't do that.

So I'm like, what do you mean? You can't. It's right there. And they're like, no, it's not. And I'm like, you're lying. And they're like, no, you're just some super genius or something. And I'm like, oh, oh, I'm a musician. I get it now.

So did you always have perfect pitch or did you like work for it? Like it was just, it was just. I've always. I mean, to be. be fair, I don't have perfect pitch, even though I love to say I do. I have an extremely, extremely good, a relative pitch. And for those who don't understand the difference, a perfect pitch is basically, you tell me a note or you sing something and I can name it immediately.

Like, it is there. Whereas relative pitches, you can know, you can know it, but you might have the work to get to it. Not hard, but you can go, oh, that's that because I know this note is blank, right? You can get to it. So I have a really good relative pitch. And I've always just being able to hear something to go, okay, I know that, so this is the third above that.

And then I just, I used that as I grew up and started singing. I guess didn't know that other people couldn't do that. Hey, it's my superpower. I think most people can't, you know, that's why I'm so impressed with people that can because it's, I'm jealous. I wish I could do that. In the karaoke bars I've made people, ears bleed.

Definitely. Another thing that it's on your resume, I don't think you mentioned on here is something that you're also known for is for being the host and creator of the Black AF Roundtable. Yes. Can you talk a little bit about that? Because I think it's very interesting. Yeah. So I started streaming. This is just a time.

The timeline is important. I mean, it also shows you how much I work. I started streaming March 2020. And then summer of 2020, George Floyd was killed. And a lot of us obviously were raw and just had a lot of feelings about it. We all know what went down.

Don't need to really rehash it. But we, I mean, and then different communities started talking about the racism within their specific communities. And so me being a tabletop influencer content creator, I was just like, a lot of people don't realize how much racism is just baked,

into the games that we love to play, especially tabletop, especially D&D. And, you know, and we were already going through a case of people trying to have a better understanding of the history of racism within the game. So I said, you know what, let me get a group of people together. I literally just posted about it on Twitter one day saying, hey, I want to have a conversation who'd be interested. it. And I got a group of amazing people,

Cypher of Tear, Tanya to Pass, Honey and Dice, Michael Sinclair the second, Gabe James Games, and Christine R.L. We all, and Christine R.E.L., if you know, the name is the host of the Star Wars show that came out recently. We all just sat down and talked about the realities of racism within Tabletop. And I said, I'll stream it. I'll put it on my channel. I am, and I hate to use like big stream or small stream and like that I'm a relative. I was like, eh, just somebody just starting at that moment. I did not realize how many people needed to hear that

because I, that one stream had over 20,000 views live with so many people with like retweeting it and sharing it and everything. And I was I didn't do it for the exposure. But it was just nice to know that a lot of people were willing to listen. And yeah, we talked to. We talked honestly about, you know, what's going on. Like a lot of people didn't realize orcs

and D&D orcs and like, Lord of the Rings are heavily racist. Heavily. Like, it is, we know this. Or, and then, like, you know, there's another entity in D&D or in Tabletop called the Drow, the dark elves. And they're supposed to be this dark-skinned,

purple, gray-skinned type of elf who's just naturally evil. They are a part of this matriarchal society and their goddess makes them evil, blah, blah, blah, and they live underground. And we're all like, if you live underground, why are you darker than the people who live above ground

when you don't get light? But in the same vein, a lot of people have like the high elves, like the high city, high class, you know, elves tend to be more pale. And it's like, we are just going into the, the reaffourcing, reinforcing this idea that the dark of you are, the more evil you are. And it's like, it might not have started that way,

but that's what it is. So we are just trying to like, just like let you realize, hey, X, Y, Z is not okay. Like, all the monstrous races don't get to be monsters are evil just because they're monstrous.

Like, that's inherently racist as well. So just a lot. We had a lot of, um, uh, a chat, a lot of conversations about it. And we were heard and people like really,

uh, was happy and proud to have been able to listen to it. It was a very touching experience. And we got to do it three more times. Uh, after that. I love to hear that, man, because that time, the George Floyd stuff, it was a wake-up call for a lot of people.

Like, in many regards, you just gave, like, some really good examples for people that they never thought of. That's very eye-opening, right? And even for us as a company, you know, that was the first time where we ever started talking about, like, Juneteenth and Pride and Hispanic Heritage Month and things like that was because we couldn't open up social media, you know, and not see our community be impacted by this, talking about this. It was like so in your face where it's like, if you're not, if you're not speaking up about it, you're just contributing to the problem now. Like something, it's, we're at

the point where, you know, as a society, I think, like, where we really have to just open our eyes and help each other and uplift each other and help each other. So I think it's awesome what you're doing, you know, much love and respect to you, man. it up. Well, and you mentioned something. And obviously, it's no disrespect to anyone. But like, you said that, you know, a lot of people didn't realize this stuff happened until George Floyd. A lot of people who wasn't really understanding that this was a problem, you know, excuse me, a problem before George Floyd. And it's like, yeah, there's a list of black folk who have been killed before George Floyd. And you only listen now. It's like, something I don't talk about a lot. I'm from Ferguson where Michael Brown was killed. Let me, let me,

let me put it in a better perspective. I was at rehearsal when Michael Brown was killed. A, basically a, a couple of blocks away from where he was killed. Oh. The day, the day of.

Like, I was, I was in town when it happened. I was also in, and this time, I was actually in, Ferguson, when the police officer, who I forget his name, and I don't, I don't even give him, you know, free range in my space. I forget his name, but when he wasn't indicted, I was around the corner from the police station where a lot of the riots have, like, I was there.

And like, this happened way before George Floyd. So, like, this has already been baked into my spirit. Unfortunately, as a black individual just trying to exist. So when this stuff happened and people were like, oh, I didn't know. didn't know me and a bunch of other, you know, black creators, especially in the table talk to me, it's like, how do you not know? We've been screaming about it for so long, which is why we're like, let's have a conversation. So that's really what it came out of. Yeah. And not everyone is as vocal about it as you are, you know, and I was looking through your Twitter like this morning before we

started the show and you tweeted something in the middle of the night that I just think it's awesome. So I'm going to read it. You said late night thoughts. I've accepted that I will miss out on many opportunities because some companies can't risk being associated with someone who uses their voice like I do. Too many sit in silence while the world burns around them. I won't. And if it costs me, so be it. And I just think that's very powerful for you to come out and say that because it takes a lot of guts.

You know, it's not many people have that have that in them. So, you know, kudos to you. Yeah. It's like I, I mean, it sucks when you miss opportunities, but also like, and we kind of hinted that beforehand, it's like if I miss out on an opportunity because I use my platform, I use my voice to speak out on a wrong, whatever that wrong is. And you just, you can't associate yourself with that, then that means I wasn't meant to work for you.

And two, that means I don't want to work for you. Like, let's, I will get my money elsewhere. Like, if we want to go there, right? So it's like, I'm going to miss on the opportunity and that's totally okay because that means I needed to miss out on the opportunity. Yeah. What do you think, Mike? Yeah, I was going to pretty much bring up the same thing.

Like we as like a company, we also want to work with people that want to actually use a platform for good. You know, some that are just for entertainment, some that just want to be as escape route for, you know, the outside world. but there are times where we want our creators actually like stand up and stuff like that. So we really want to make sure like during this Pride Month, I know there's a lot of misconceptions with, you know, Rainbow capitalism and, you know, marketing off of it or just doing the bare minimum. So I'm glad that I think it's becoming a little bit more of a,

not a norm, but it's becoming more people or starting, more companies are starting to actually start to take a stance now rather than just do the bare minimum of a picture profile pick. Yeah. It was done, you know, and then get rid of it by July. And the thing that people, the thing that companies, it's wild that they haven't understood this yet, is that we can tell when it's just ingenuous.

We can tell when you don't care and you're just using it for the marketing employee to get more people to view you. We see it. And then when your sales drop, you under why. Right? So it's like, it is very clear. And then I won't work for people who I know are just trying to use my name or use, you know, whatever XYZ to just boost themselves. I won't do it.

So like when I, you know, got a chance to be a NZXD partner even before Pride, you know, I was very happy because I, you know, this bad boy has been with me since day one. And then, you know, becoming a Pride ambassador, I'm like, yes, because I see, you know, the NZXDXD actually cares and actually wants to try to uplift. specifically right now, queer individuals, but not just queer individuals, you know, marginalized queer individuals because a lot of people do the bare minimum when it comes to like uplifting others. They do the lukewarm, the acceptable versions of everything. So it makes me really happy that, you know, you all reached out and made sure that your pride and the best team was diverse and, and yeah.

And it's awesome to hear that. And it's because, you know, we are trying to do that. Well, and Amanda did a fantastic job selecting the NZXT partner roster. So whenever I see comments on social from our partners saying similar things, I think it's beautiful. That's like, that's what we're trying to do, you know. And even with like Pride Month, you know, it happens every year where we get called out and accused of, you know, things like, you know, you guys are just changing your logo for the month. they're not doing anything or you guys are doing this to actually make money and things like that. But what people don't know is like people get really pissed off at us for doing that.

People unfollow us. People send us nasty emails telling us they're never going to buy from us ever again because we're supporting this community. And for us, it's like, well, kind of like what you tweeted last night, so be it, you know. It's not always about just making more money. It's like about doing the right thing for everyone, you know, and we have people that work at NZXT that are part of the pride community. So for us to not support them, it's just we're not being authentic to ourselves, right? So it's awesome to hear that you're seeing that.

Yeah. And also, like, I am a very blunt individual. Very upfront. I'm a realist. And I say the things that people don't like to hear. So when people are like, oh, I'm not going to buy from you because you are actually being a kind and sweet company who cares about people. And that's not cool for me. I'm like, okay, you're like one of one million on this, on this world and you don't have the range.

Like if I want to be that person, you're $50. Change this company. So keep it. Go buy some McDonald's or go buy, you know, some shoes. somewhere, do something, and we don't need it. Keep it. Do you think that is happening less and less? Like there's less people that feel that way? It still exists. Like you think it's happening less? No. I think it's, I mean, let's be real. The Trump administration brought a lot of stuff to light. And a lot of people now feel more allowed to speak out, knowing that they have friends to back them up.

So it's not that there's less we're just now seeing everyone who has been hiding this entire time, which is fine. You know, do what you got to do. And if in your spirit to be a bigot, then

do that publicly and we'll just shun you for it. The reason I asked that question is because in years past when we supported pride, we got a ton of like, you know, hateful comments from people for showing the support. This year, we did get the comments like that as well, but what I'm seeing more of now is I'm seeing people kind of defending us a little bit, like kind of shutting down

others. And I think it's kind of making people not want to, you know, say something. I mean, I don't have the analytics, so I can't sit down and be like, this is it, X, Y, and Z. But I think there's two, there's two big things when it comes to that. while people while bigots have felt like they have more power now, a lot of people who care also feel empowered

to like stand up to that finally. A lot of people were so silent and they're like, no, we're not going to let this happen. So a lot of people are like jumping in like, nope, you're done and I'm going to tell you why you're done, right? But also, I think the reason that it's kind of may die down

X, Y, and Z is that we're still in a pandemic making people are tired. So like, you know, like it's being real. Like a lot of people they literally don't have the access energy to waste being hateful, which is great. That means we don't have to hear your voice. But it is true that we're still in a pandemic. And even though the world is trying to open up and it really shouldn't be right now,

the world's trying to open up, people are physically spiritually tired. So I think a lot of people are conserving their energy. They'll come back and then they'll just be clapped up in the same breath. It's a good point. I think about that. And the other thing, too, besides like being in what year three now of this pandemic is, wild. I feel like we're technically in a recession, I think, at this point, with inflation being

as high as it is and gas prices being double what they were this time last year. Maybe people are just tired of complaining so much, you know, maybe. I don't know. I wish I had the answer. I'm just going to do me and live my life. That's all I can do. Yeah. That's all you can do.

Just enjoy your life and do what you can, right? Yep, exactly. Speaking of enjoying life, kind of taking this a little bit lighter now. I'm curious, what games do you like to play for streaming and for fun? Ooh. I love Dead by Daylight. I mean, I feel obligated to say that because I'm a fog whisperer. But I do love Dead by Daylight.

Dead by Daylight has become a comfort game for me, which is wild because I'm a killer Maine. So that probably says something about me, and I'm just going to leave it at that. But I do enjoy that game a lot. I enjoy Fortnite more than I ever thought I would. You do the building? I didn't like building. I don't like building.

I am not about the builder. Well, when Zero Build came out, it was like, thank you. Well, and here's the thing. I get that building, I mean, for people who think that building, is Fortnite, Fortnite did not start with building. Get your facts straight. But building has become synonymous with Fortnite, which is totally valid.

But I also liked the fact that Zero Build made you have to be better as a shooter. Because if you're a builder, especially if you know how to build very well, you can build around, jump down shotgun them and they're dead. Right. But when you don't have that barrier anymore, you actually need to aim.

So it's like, I think, I think it helped on both sides of that. Like people who are builders can now hone their actual shooting ability in the game. So when they go back to building, you know, both, which is why I'm not going back. I'm never going back to no build. I mean to actual building. I'm not doing it. So yeah, Dead by Daylight, Fortnite has been a good game. I like a lot of games, but I don't play a lot anymore.

It's wild. It's like, I say I have all these games and I'm looking at all these games and only play like three of them because that's been my life for the longest time. But yeah, I mean, I like a lot of action, adventure games. I love a game, but a good story. That's always going to be something that I'm drawn to. Like, I am a campaign mode all day. Like, multiplayer is great, but give me a campaign and I'm set. So, yeah, yeah, that's what I like. So speaking of a dead by daylight, how do you feel about Mr. Turkey Man, Mr. Dredd? How do you feel about it? Mr. Snoo-Snew? So me and my friend, Malady, Cofetti, shout-up.

We kept joking because when they first came out in the PTB, which is a public test build, we played together. And they have this ability if someone's in the locker and they teleport to that locker. They, like, grab you inside the locker and they come out. Oh, it's snoo-s-s-noo. So that's where the snoo snoo came from. But I liked them a lot. And I think they're going to be one of my mains. Like I'm really good with them now.

I don't know what's going to change. But yesterday when I stream, was it yesterday? It was day before yesterday. When I stream dead by daylight, I did not. I only didn't get a 4K one time with the dredge. Not a 4K once. Yeah, I only didn't. Yeah, 4K or it's okay.

I like, it's. Wild. How much I like them. I told somebody, because I don't know how much you play, Sadako from Ringu came out before them, and they have this teleportation ability where they go through TVs and stuff. And it's cool, but I was like, the locker teleportation is what the TV teleportation wanted to be. It's so much better. Yeah, it's so good. And I think I have an okay build with them. And I'm still learning and seeing what's working. But yeah, I like them a lot.

I agree too. I think also when it's the nightfall, I believe is the thing where everything just goes dark is terrifying. Oh, you know what's worse? Nightfall on Midwitch. Oh. Yep.

I actually screamed. I actually, because I was like, I was a, this was during the PTB, so I haven't played a n- but during the PGB me and my friends were on Midwitch and when it goes dark it is like

Silent Hill you cannot see through the rest of the hallway. It is terrifying. So I'm like, nope, nope, not me, no, Hermione, I'm not doing it, so. So speaking of of DVD, since you said

a dredge is slowly becoming your favorite killer, who was like the one before that day you were like, this is like my favorite or this might. So I was a hag main for the longest time. I know a lot of people like, hag, you know,

trap. It's something like she doesn't cheat. You just don't know how to play against her. Also use a flashlight. But I used to be a hag mane and I used to suck with Huntress. The tables have flipped. Now I'm really good with Huntress and I have been trashed with Hag. So Huntress has been a main for me.

Trickster has been a main for me. Who else? You know, I've been getting really good with twins as of lately. Yeah, Hansel and Gretel are my favorite. Especially Victor. Victor just running around being evil. Yeah, I've been really enjoying them. I think those have been the ones I go to a lot and the artist.

Interesting. Okay, a couple of projects. I'll... Yeah, I'm kind of an FPS killer, I've realized, and that's totally valid, because also Deathlinger is one of us for it in my... So, I mean, what? Moved, like a gnat, sorry.

So there's one last question for DVDs, since we all want to move on to the other questions, but what is, like, one thing that you hope that DVD will either, like, fix, add or remove to make, like, the game feel a lot better for you? Oh, what can I say? It's not that I want them to add or fix anything. I mean, they've already fixed something that a lot of us wanted to fix was the fact that boon totems couldn't be destroyed.

They can get snuffed, but they couldn't get destroyed. And now there's a new perk shattered hope that destroys a boon totem when you snuff it. And we're just like, bye, Michaela. But past that, a character, okay, I'll say this, two characters I would love for them to bring in. This is not, like, nothing, nothing about this is official. I've been screaming about this even before I was a fog whisper. Two characters, I would love for them to bring in.

One is Candyman. Because when they brought in Penhead, Pennhead also introduced scorch hooks, which meant you can start interacting with the hook to do X, Y, and Z. And I'm like, yes. And we also know that they can like add and do. separate things like you know they add stuff to the lockers now and it's like I want them to bring in Candyman and I all I know is he has a normal attack but then he has his his hook and if he hooks somebody he can do something like leave the hook in them basically and it probably

hemorrhages them or mangles them or something I don't know they are like tract or whatever they always know where they are until they take the hook out but the issue is once they hook somebody the hook is taken off of his hand and you have to go to an actual hook to replenish it. And once it gets replenished, that hook also becomes sabotaged. So it's not just like you can get to use the hook and it's there.

You take that hook from the actual hook in the game. It sabotages it for like 30 seconds or whatever. And then you could have your ability back. I think that gets me really cool. And then maybe some bees and stuff because bees are also a part of their whole lore. So that's what I want with Candy, man. I also was very sad that they brought in Bill

from Left for Dead and didn't bring in one of the, the zombies from left for dead. Oh, what he affected? I want the witch in DVD. How would that work out? So what I think is that she's a surveillance character because her big, she's a surveillance mixed with a auto-exposed character like Myers can be or a ghost face can be.

So what, and it would have to be the wandering witch variant, but it could be the normal witch variant. What I think happens is she sits down or she starts to cry. Like her main ability is starting to cry. When she cries, it's basically like echolocation. She sees like everybody in a certain radius. But while she's crying, obviously she can't do anything. Like she's like, you know, locked.

So it's a good way to know where people are. And if you're within that terror radius when she starts to cry, she builds up a meter. If she gets above that meter, because basically when you get close to her and left for dead, the more aggressive she gets when she gets to that point, she just goes ham. So like if you're in that radius while she's crying, that meter goes up. When it gets full, she can instantly down anybody in that radius because that's what she does. She one-shots you in the game. So I think I think she has the echolocation plus a one-shot down ability once a meter goes up.

Those are my two. That's all I want. Behavior, take it. If you want to take it. But that's what I need. I like that. There should be a Candyman game. I never thought about that.

but that'd be an awesome addition to do anything. Candyman's so scary. Yep, that he is. Especially the new Candyman. Do you see that? I actually haven't seen it yet. Not the new one. As a, as a, I feel like I'm betrayed my people, but I haven't seen me yet.

I need to see it still. Are you a big core fan? Yes and no. I'm a punk. Like I am a I'm a teddy bear and a big grizzly when I need to be But I'm a punk so nor I do I do like horror but not all the time Like if I have somebody next to me I'm fine Kitty cat

Oh there is a cat right behind me actually I was like wait Hi Rappled See oh I heard Jesus Oh, actually, I wanted to talk a little bit about your role in D&D, since that's actually kind of wanted to, I believe that's one of the inspirations for your name, correct? Critical Bar. So we also learned that you also created and performed the opening ending to Critter Hug for Critical Role. What was the experience I like?

Yeah, that was wild. I got an email one day saying, hey, we love the things that you do and you do a lot of Acapela stuff. And so when they were with geeky sundry, there was a show called Signal Boost, whether they basically, you know, shouted out different people in the community and different companies, X, Y, and Z. And not saying that Critter Hug is the spiritual successor to Signal Boost, but it basically was it's the idea that we're going to love on and, and uplift members of the critical role community as well as a friendly neighborhood game store.

Because we got to, we got to love the game store. And so they already had this very, this feeling of being community driven and being, you know, the community comes first and uplifting them. So they were like, you're already a staple in the community. And we love the work that you do. You do a lot of a cappella stuff. They were like, do you want to create the jingle, the opening and the ending jingle for the show? And I was like, yes, please.

So, yeah, one thing led to another. And then I'm doing like this very do-wop, not even do-wop. It's like almost like Sesame Street-esque jingle for them. It's just like, you know, dinketting, dink, dink, you know, it's very much that. And yeah, it was just kind of wild that I am a small part of critical role now. At least my vocals are. So I've been a big critical role fan since season one. So I've watched a lot.

One quick question, who is your favorite character in all of the seasons? Oh, okay. In all seasons. If I have to just put him all together, Rob. Move it. He's next to my cords. He's next to the box. And I'm like, no.

Oh, God. In all of the seasons. This is what I'm going to do. This is what I'm going to do. I have to do it fairly into my spirit. Season one gets to be. Percy? Season 1's Percy.

Season 2 is Caduceus. Campaign 2 is Caduceus. Campaign 3 is Ashton. But if I have to pick one of them, it's Caduceus. Wow. Okay. A majority from Talas and Jaffe, actually. Actually, I didn't even put that together.

Towson, that's what you get when you make compelling player characters. I mean, I do, I mean, a second is not a player character and if you don't include Matt as a player character, even though he is, the second's Essex. Essex will always own my heart.

But, yeah, Caduceus. Caduceus wins. Caduceus just vibe. Caduceus is the one, like, you don't mess with Caduceus. You just don't do it. But he's just wholesome. He'll protect you.

He loves you. He's a mess in himself. But then he'll just like blight you. Just be like, oh, well, Hi. My favorite is the contrast of like, you know, like when he talked to, oh God, who's the evil big bad from Trent Ikathon? Trent Inkathon.

I remember that whole thing about like, you know, I hope you find someone that will mourn you. And then the other side of help it again. Help. It's again. Yeah. And that's what I love. There's a serenity that always comes with him. but caduceus is one of the if not like the he's one of the scariest individuals in that group

because if if you ever break caduceus run run just just it's done like you run it is a done deal like we know what caleb can do we know what bow can do all of them if caduceus ever went to that point you're done And then he'll bake, you know, make some tea on your body probably. Oh, yeah. And he'll put you back into the earth to Melora. So the Wild Mother. Oh, yeah.

Oh, yeah. That whole arc with Ford and amazing. I love that. Oh, so good. Oh. Caduceus was actually my first cosplay ever. Really? Ever.

Ever. I mean, I do a lot of makeup and art and art and, you know, things of that nature, but I had never done cosplay. and I did a Caduceus before and I got to see if I can find it I don't know if I showed it off Oh I think I found it from

Wow, that is Okay, I got to show this on stream real quick Go ahead in Look at this Wow How long did this take to do The makeup probably took about an hour An hour minimum

Because it's actually a very very easy makeup to do, even though, you know, makeup is not easier to do. But in comparison, like, it's very easy makeup to do because it's mostly a white base. It's a white base with a little bit of shading. You got, I guess, make sure you have some depth to it. But you don't really have to pay attention to too, too much to that. The biggest things, the hardest things to do are doing the nose because I completely, that's not a prosthetic.

I did the all-with makeup to make it seem like, yes, it's fat nose. So, like, making sure the nose contour is correct, which, sometimes can be weird. I'm going to take off my glasses real quick. It goes like to my eye, like the end of my eye. So making sure it actually looks correct is like a big thing. But then the other hard thing is the hair, the beer, because I don't have a beard as you can see.

I may have this little thing. But making sure that you have the base color. And then you have that's four different, that's at least four different colors in that beard to make it look like it's actual hair because beards are not one dimensional. Like there's a lot of. of depth within the shading. So that was the hardest thing.

Other than that, everything was fine. I was actually going to ask if that was a real beard. Nope, that is all makeup. Wow. Those eyebrows are real, though, right? The eyebrows are mostly real. What you see here? What you see here?

And then I drew the... Yeah. I actually told us to Amanda, but I remember when we signed Critical Bard, I messaged her and I was like, the nicest eyebrows have ever seen on a human guy. I am very happy that I know how to do my eyebrows. The one thing I get a lot of compliments on.

Yes, because my wife complains about my eyebrows all the time. So I'm always like thinking like, you know, I should probably go somewhere and get my eyebrows fixed. But yeah. Well, I like specifically, and I don't know why this was the thing that stuck with me, but I got told when I was younger that I had Jack Nicholson's eyebrows. They were just wild. So I always like thought about that growing up. And then, like, in college, I was like, I'm going to try something. And I, like, just shave the sides off completely.

And now they just haven't grown back. And they go back very, no, little. So I'm like, this is what I have now. And I guess use this. And I follow that. And bow. You have any tips on how to take care of your eyebrows as well as you do? You have good eyebrows.

You don't have to work by anything. Really? Yeah. See, I, so the thing about eyebrows is they shape your face. Right. They shape the needs of your face. So, like, yours actually fit your face very well. you have a very square top with a rounded bottom.

And so, like, you have something that frames your features very well. I don't. So I have to. I have to ask. What about my eyebrows? So, yes, they are thicker, but, again, I think that fits. That fits because you have, like, a thicker beard and you have, you know, you have a lot of. Surprisingly, it actually pulls a lot of focus to your eyes.

Could it adds, if you don't, if you're not paying attention, it brings some depth to like your eyelid area, which also makes your own eyes pop out because they're becoming the brightest thing on your faith. I actually don't want that. I'm going to shave. I don't want that at all. I'm going to shave my eyebrows. I haven't slept good in months because I have a newborn at home. So I'm like always tired. So I want as least attention as possible to my eyes. So I'm going to show you these off after the show, Mike. And then you can come over and paint me up. Shave them. Don't shave them. Just use, just use it. Elmer's a glue stick. You'll be fine.

All right. Going back into some more pride discussion here, one thing about you, Critical Bard, Omec, is that you identify as demigender. For those that don't know what that is, can you talk a little bit about what that means? Of course. So if you haven't realized that the big old flag right here. I mean, it's blurred out because my face is more important at this very second. But so basically the idea of being dimigender, for me, I, I am a, I use him as well as. And I'll get into that in a second. I do, I do know that I am a masculine male individual. But like when I was growing up, I, you know, I always hung out with my sister and I was like,

I was like, no, it was a soprano in choir. I started playing around with makeup. I started performing and I realized all of these things were just coping mechanisms for the part of me that I wasn't allowed to express. Whether, you know, growing up as kid even through, you know, adulthood. Like I've realized I'm like, I'm just using that because if I'm like, if I'm performing and I have all this makeup on and I look feminine, then, you know, it's just a performance. And it's just me being able to have an elevate itself, but it's not me because if it is me, then the world gets to ridicule me. You know, it's a lot that goes into it. And it was only recently.

It's actually almost like a year, a year and months ago, that I realized that it wasn't that I feel like I'm a woman in any way, shape, or form. I do not use she, her pronouns at all. I don't feel like I'm a woman. I just know that I'm more than what a guy is, basically. And people might not want to hear it, but gender is a spectrum. There's so much to it. Like there is, and if you want to get scientific, there's scientific evidence that there are more than two genders.

Scientific evidence, go look it up. But regardless, I'm a very logical person when I think, I think very logically. And when it came to my sexual identity, I knew, excuse me, I knew that I was a homosexual, but I was also interested in non-binary individuals, which made me go, okay, I'm not actually. homosexual because homo-me-same is a whole thing and then I'm not pansexual because I'm not open to all so I just call myself queer so that's that's a lot the logic going on my brain I apply that to my gender I was like I'm a guy but I feel more than a guy but I don't feel female help what is this and while I am under the non-binary umbrella specifically being demigender means you have a partial connection to a gender, a very specific gender, but not a complete connection to it.

So I have a connection to being male. I have a connection to masculinity, but I also feel more than that. But not enough to be like I'm fully, you know, androgy. I'm fully, you know, like a halfway point. Like, if anything, I'm like, I don't, like, I'm 70% male, 30% whatever. It's not really that. It's just I know I'm a guy. I just feel a little more than that.

a lot more than that. So for me, I'm a dimmy guy because I lean towards the, the male spectrum of that. But there are also Demi girl or Demi woman or whatever you decide to use it. I don't use Demi Boy because it's very infantilizing and I'm not a child. But I am a Demi male, a demi guy. And that's just what I use. So my pronouns are he and they. So I respond to he him.

I respond to they them. So he, they are the things that I are the purpose. pronouns that I use. And yeah, that's just how it works. If you don't mind us asking, like, when did you, like, come to Israelization and stuff like that? And was, like, your family okay with this and everything? Sexuality or gender?

Gender. I haven't really had, like, the big conversation with my, with my, I mean, my family follows me all my rituals and they know that I talk about a lot of time and I use they pronouns around. And it's one of those things where, I wouldn't care if they weren't okay with it. So a thing that I don't talk about a lot, I mean, I do, but not as enough.

Why you got to poop right now, Rompel? Sorry. Is that I was a foster child. I know my family. I know my birth family. I lived with my mom and dad on and off, but for a variety of reasons, drugs, and X, Y, and Z. I was put into the foster care system.

So just going in and out and out of that, I became independent very quickly. Actually, the third time of being in the foster system with my brother, when my mother wanted to get us back, we both said no. I said, nope, we're going to stay in the system because we are thriving better here than we are with you, which is a hard thing to say. But that shows how much we had hardened ourselves and had to become independent and care for us and us alone. So no one could tell us or try to dictate our lives anymore. when I came out as queer, when I came out as gay, I have family members who was like, I don't approve of that. And I said, okay, where were you?

You weren't around so you don't get a, you don't get a say in what I do. So applying that to now, I mean, especially being a whole, like, I would not care because it's not your choice. I'm just, I am informing you. You don't have to accept it, but it doesn't change to I am. So, and I know I would not have an issue with any, with, with anyone. Actually, was like scared. to come out to my foster family because I am adopted.

I mean, I'm adopted now. I am adopted by white individuals. So I was like, oh, okay, I'm not only am I'm the black child and a black queer child now. Oh, shit. Oh, shoot, sorry. But, excuse me. Once I knew that was fine, I know that anything else is okay. So, yeah.

It's not that I had a, I have to come out to them. They already have an inkling and they've seen stuff. enough talk to my mom. But yeah, and I literally realized who I was gender-wise a year ago, a year and a couple months ago. And your story and also your explanation of what demigender is is exactly the reason why I think Pride Month is so important. It's just an opportunity to learn what these things are and what people go through. And, you know, a lot of people just ask the question, like, why do we even have an entire month dedicated to pride, you know? But I want to hear what you think about that.

Like, why do you think it's important to have an entire month just dedicated to pride? I think people put too much weight on time. And what I mean by that is like, why are you so pressed? Why is it hurting your spirit that a certain group of people are just being uplifted once? right? Like the world is saying, hey, let's pay attention to them for a second. Because historically, we have been oppressed. So what is so bad about one month of uplifting? Like, are you really that insecure? Right? So I think like if people are mad about it, they can kick rocks. Because like you have been able to get through this world, you know, unscathed if you are not queer, if you're not black, if you're not, you're not. you know, disabled if you're not, X, Y, Z, if you're not, if you're not, you know, if you're a woman, it's hard for you.

You know, X, Y, and did so much it goes into it. And it's like, it is okay for the world to just take a moment to just appreciate those who historically have been oppressed. There is nothing wrong with that. Because guess what? We wouldn't need this if you just cared about us from the get. so this is actually your fault sorry about it

that should be the slogan for Pride Month that should be why are you so pressed which is true right why are you so pressed and if you're going to be this press go make yourself a Panini because I'm not dealing with it that's awesome that's a good tweet Mike write that down please

write that down that's one of those things that I've definitely been seeing in the comments, especially when we started Prime Month and we're doing all these things. A lot of people were against it. People were like, why is there no straight months and stuff like that?

And there's, in the end, I would tweet from the account, like, why are you so mad? Why are you pressed? Like, why are you so angry about this? Like, it shouldn't be bothering you. It's supporting those that, you know, have actually gone through all these hardships.

You may not have dealt with it and you may not have actually seen it for yourself, but it does not mean that it's not there. Exactly. And it's like, if you are so mad that the spotlight isn't on you, because that's what it is, you're so mad that the spotlight isn't on you, that, that, that is the crux of this. Stay mad. I don't care. I'm not going to be inconvenienced because you feel inconvenienced when you're not.

So keep that. I think I do want to kind of go along with more instead of the other side of people going against. Is there any other ways that we can kind of become better allies that we can help support the community in any other way? As a company and as an individual, right? I think uplifting those who supporting is so easy to do. it's so easy to do, especially in this day and age when a lot of stuff is digital. Like when I'm a stream and I like, you know, have a go live tweet something I say all the time. If you know, go like it, go retweet it, go comment.

Engagement is important. That same aspect can be applied to the things that people are doing. Uplift their joy, not their sorrow. A lot of people are so quick to, excuse me, a lot of people are so quick to, you know, see when someone's suffering. And uplift them when the going is right. rough, but you don't keep that same energy when they're thriving and they're celebrating their wins. Celebrate their joy.

We are not just our pain. That is like first and foremost. Give us opportunities. Give us opportunities not because we're queer, not because we're black, not because we're, you know, disabled X, Y, and Z. Like, don't give us these opportunities because you're trying to, you know, tokenize us. You know, we are humans. I mean, most of us are.

I'm definitely like an Eldridge being wrapped up in a blob. but like give us those opportunities because you care you know if you see you have an activation and you see your group you're making a conscious decision if you only have all white men in your activation that is a conscious decision even if you don't realize it and it's not saying that you know if you're a white guy you're to be villainized a lot of people are quick to be like X Y is bad and it's like I'm not saying you're bad just give me some some love that's all that's it So like, but you're making a conscious decision if you look at the around you and the things that you're doing and the people look like you or the people have the same views as you, right?

This world is a melting pot for a reason. We all can have differences, but those differences make us who we are. So we can celebrate those differences and not attack each other, I guess, because we're different. Uplift people who are different. It is that easy. I mean, yeah. And as far as just being a better ally, you know, actions speak a lot louder than words. Don't be performative.

End of story. I mean, we've talked about it. You know, Rainbow capitalism is a thing. You know, and we can always tell who actually cares versus who's trying to profit

profit off of our pain. So, yeah, I mean, just be a good person. Just be good people. That is like the first way to be an ally. Just be a good person.

It's like it's harder for some people than it really is. It's just support. Easy. Yeah. Just support people. Yeah. One thing I think about a lot of freak often is, you know, I'm a dad to two little girls.

You know, one's four and one's one month. And before I had kids, you know, I would kind of always just think, oh, bad people are bad, evil people are evil, dumb people are dumb for whatever. It's like their fault that they're like that. But now I'm starting to realize a lot of this stuff, too, also comes to, like, how they're brought up, you know? because if you're brought up thinking a certain way and then you pass it on to your kids, they're going to pass it on to their kids, they're going to pass it on to their kids.

And if we don't stop the cycle of just passing on these mindsets that are not uplifting others, like you said, you know, it's about uplifting. It's not necessarily about, you know, putting people down and things like that. Then, you know, it's just never going to end. So I, for me personally, like the last thing I would ever, be upset about is my kids sexuality or gender identity or anything like that

and I hope that as time goes on because I feel that way hopefully they feel that way and hopefully their kids feel that way etc etc so do you think that there's any sort of like steps we could take as I know this is probably like a really impossible question to answer but do you see any steps like we as like as a

as a planet can take to start kind of shifting this mindset into something more positive, like so we can uplift each other. I'm going to be honest about something, and a lot of people won't like this. We are not living in 1950 anymore. It is 2020. This, it's already happening.

So if you're not actively trying to uplift and up trying to teach, you are making a conscious decision to be a bigot. 1950 was different. Hell, 1970 was different. We associated with a certain time, but it was still very bad. Silver rights, just different. Silver rights movement was just ending and barely even so. Like, you can't use the, this is how I was raised anymore.

Because you were not raised during the 1950s. Your grandmas might have been. Your grandparents might have been. And but even to that point, you go, but you're living in 2020, you've had 70 years. You've seen the change and you're still a bigot? That's a problem. Right. So it's like, it's not saying that you can't use that, but it's saying that we are in a time where there's almost no excuse anymore.

There's no excuse for your, you have the education, the free education on Google.com. and if you don't have a internet at your home, go to a library. They have internet, right? The places around you have access, even if you don't. You have the ability to look up and see what's going on in this past, you know, X amount of years to educate yourself away. You've seen the acts. You've seen history before your eyes. You cannot say you don't know.

You do know. You're making a conscious decision. Exactly. So when people, you know, say, well, this is how I was born or this is how I was raised, X, Y, and Z, I just nope out. Because all you're telling me is, yeah, you might have been born that way, but then you actively ignored everything that's going around you. So for me, I protect, I protect my piece. That is one of my through lines of my life. I protect my piece. I will educate to an extent. I'm not going to educate for free coffee.com slash critical bar. I'm not going to educate for free, especially when it's out there for you. But if I see that you haven't even tried or if I start to educate X, Y, and Z and you start giving rebuttals, like you're trying to refute the words that I have lived and are telling you, I'm out.

Because I'm not going to give my energy to it. Can you bring up a really great point? This is like the first time ever in the history of the world. world where humans actually have not just the choice, but the opportunity to actually consume whatever it is they want, right? Like you brought up going to the library, going to Google, and like educating yourself, you know, and it wasn't always like this. It wasn't. So I guess, so is there any like books or podcast or movies, whatever shows that you recommend for people to kind of learn more about these issues?

Oh my gosh. I mean, there's so many to name, honestly. I mean, look up organizations who are actively fighting for change. You know, color of change is a good organization to go to. The Trevor Project has a lot of information for LGBTQ youth out there.

You know, there's so much media out there that clearly talks about the realities of representation and how important it is. Like, I think about Pose on HBO. I think about Paris is burning. which is a very important document and it kind of kickstarted

and really solidified the queer movement, especially for people of color. I mean, there's so much out there for me to even try to go through a list. Again, as we just said, you know, the internet is at your fingertips. Look it up. Love it.

So I guess we're going to go ahead and bring this broadcast to a close, but I do want one last little segment from you Mr. C.B. Are there any words you'd like to leave to anyone watching?

I'm hoping to make this clip as like its own personal statement that we can post as your week for this Pride Ambassador week comes to a close. I kind of want to see if we can, if it's with your permission, we can post this tomorrow. I'll be like, this is what you want to say.

There's a lot that goes on around you. and sometimes you feel like there's a lot on your shoulders or you can't handle the realities of the world around. But even with that, that doesn't mean you're not allowed to celebrate who you are. That doesn't mean you're not allowed to have joy in this world that seeks to bring you down. for me pride is the fact that we have a chance to stand up and just be unapologetically who we are and the most powerful thing you can do is stand up for yourself and say I am who I am and no one else can stop that whatever your marginalization however you identify be strong in your truth and don't let anything or anyone tell you otherwise.

Life and time is too short. I say it all the time. Time does not work for you. You work for it. So use the time that you have to be 100% you. That's all. Love that. Love it.

It's beautiful. Thank you. Yeah. I guess we'll go ahead. Thanks, yeah, thanks so much for joining us in the podcast and educating us and our listeners. Very, very proud to have you as a Pride ambassador as well and an NZXT partner. And hopefully we can have you on here again. Of course, you already know where to find me.

It was a good time. It was a good conversation. Definitely a good wake up for me, literally. Yeah, that's true. Thank you for waking up. Mike, we have a few announcements before we wrap it up. You want to go through this? Yep, we'll go through these real quickly.

Like we said, we are doing a Pride fundraiser whole month for Trevor Project. Surprisingly, we are almost at our goal, and it's only been a week or almost at 15,000. So please check out some gear that we have. There's some hoodies, hats

available. You can just donate straight. All proceeds go to charity. We do not make anything. That is also one thing I want to make notice, is that we are not profiting off. We're actually losing a lot of money off of this, losing a lot of followers and everything. We do not gain anything out of this other than just supporting

the LGBTQ community. So, please, if you guys have anything, can be $1, $5, go ahead and donate to that link right there. Trevor Project's awesome. We keep doing this for all the years for the go. We also launched a bunch of new products recently. We launched a new 8-7,

Flow, and 8-7 Elite, some new motherboards, tons of more things. Check it out on our website you can just see all the things that we just released um we also have an 87 giveaway for the new case that came out uh just basically post a picture of your setup can be anything it doesn't have to be as fancy as like a three-moner setup it could be literally just a laptop in a desk go ahead post that use the hashtag nzxts setups giveaway uh or hashtag nzxt setups hashtag and uh make sure to sign up for the h7 giveaway link just make sure that you actually do because we'll pull the winner

or someday. And then please go ahead and follow Mr. Critical Bard here on social media. We're going to go ahead and post his links right there. Follow him on everything. I mean, we just had a, we just literally sat and talked for about an hour and you can just tell he's awesome. Super proud to have him as a partner and a Pride Ambassador. I don't think we could have anyone better to start off the week with. So thank you so much, Mr. B.

Follow me too at at Critical. eyebrows. I actually love that. Thanks a lot. Yeah, thank you so much for having it. I think that is it. Do you have any last words or anything like that? Honestly, I'm just happy to be here, you know,

and I'm happy when others are happy. I'm happy that feel, you know, empowered to live their, live their best life and live the truth. So thank you for having me. Again, thank y'all for listening. As I said, my link is right there. Follow me on for all the things I do. I'm doing way too much this season,

which is a good thing. And I'm doing a lot of traveling. So yeah, that that's that. That's that. Thank you so much. All right. You too. I guess we are going to go ahead and end the podcast. Thank you guys for joining us.

And remember to tune in live every Thursday at 10 a.m. Pacific Standard Time on the official NSXT Twitch and don't forget to listen to previous episodes on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and SoundCloud. And please leave us a positive review if you like what you hear and even if you didn't. Got any questions for us, send an email to

podcast at nzxte.com or just tag us at NZXT on social media. And I guess we'll go ahead and end it off here. Bye everyone.