I wanna live an NPC life

ikesau

To make the most facile counterpoint - the reason the Skyrim blacksmith doesn't care if the main character slays dragons is because they weren't programmed to. There aren't consequences either way. To the extent that this post is meant to be inspiring, it only works if you're an NPC in a static world that has no real consequences - where you actually can live your life in a static loop because nothing will change. When the metaphorical dragon comes to burn down your village, are you going to shrug and go back to looping your hammer_nail_03 animation?

rrr_oh_man

That sounds like burn out tbh

jdw64

I want to live like an NPC too, but preferably one that can't be attacked. I'd absolutely hate being an NPC in the Dark Souls series.

jspann

I feel like this take is for a more passive form of stoicism. No you don't have to care about what is going on around you, but you do need to somewhat engage with your life to solve problems, pay bills and take care of loved ones.

tracerbulletx

You can write a good story about anything. Slice of life stories are great. A peaceful zen character can be a main character. A hard working craftman could be a main character. A man or woman taking care of their sick partner or child and barely having time for anything else is a main character. The whole trend of using the term NPC is a very egotistical framing in the first place, but if you care you can be living any type of lifestyle and be a main character. Culture is very relative, people think they're the main character because they act like a dip shit on a live stream and people watch them. In a lot of cultures people like that would not be seen as enviable at all. Its all pretty arbitrary.

coldtea

Don't worry, you likely already are.

leviathanmann

1 Thessalonians 4:11

ChickeNES

Heh, I just shared this elsewhere but kinda relevant here too: https://jonnegroni.com/2015/04/15/the-humans-of-wall-e-were-...

crawfordcomeaux

Live an NPC life, die by the ecocide/genocides of NPC life. One day, NPCs will wake up and give a fuck about other people and the environments that allow for the NPC life to begin with. Until then, they're just here to keep feeding the oppression machines.

Swizec

That’s the best part! We’re all NPCs in other people’s stories _and_ the main character in ours. You can do and be absolutely anything or anyone you want. Just gotta bear the consequences and that’s it. Wanna live a homely life surrounded by loved ones? Go do it! Nobody is stopping you. Wanna galivant around the world having adventures with no roots? You can! And when you meet a local npc bartender on your adventures, you’re just another rando tourist npc. It’s great

shivpat

Did an NPC write this?

roughly

I think the fact that this post is marked as #long is the most salient detail in the entire thing.

sudorm-rf--no-p

> I want to live in a skyrim house https://youtube.com/watch?v=z_h8NNQ842I

tomasphan

This post got the definition of NPC entirely backwards. NPC = follows the rules exactly like they’re programmed to. That means not thinking outside the box, ignoring gut feelings, adhering to a routine, consumerism and generally politically unimaginative. The blacksmith from Skyrim is a great example because along comes a player, puts a bucket on your head and steals all your stuff without any complaints.

oilkillsbirds

This is pure escapism. Numbing yourself to the burden of being. Likely from a stress tolerance so shallow and under-developed that the slightest inconvenience or expectation feels like a crisis. The truth is that after the brief initial relief of excusing yourself from being anything at all, you'll end up in a deep depression. It's a naive and immature fantasy. Remove all electronics from your life, they are a constant nervous system stimulator that has prevented you from truly relaxing into a state of repair. Then introduce responsibilities into your life, start small. We are wired to be needed, wanted, useful, accountable, social. You're just stressed out.

xyst

This is called getting a job. being a corporate drone in the USA. In the US, if you are not part of the Epstein class. You are the help. Or in this author’s pose, "an NPC."

rrherr

Unambitious Loser With Happy, Fulfilling Life Still Lives In Hometown - The Onion https://theonion.com/unambitious-loser-with-happy-fulfilling...

weberer

>be an npc. drive a boring car—who gives a fuck? have a boring job. do nothing after work. why do you have to do something after work? do something because you feel like doing it, not because you feel like you have to. Obviously. People have reasons for buying cool cars or socializing after work. But if you don't have a reason to do something aside from a vague idea of "this is just what people do", then doing it anyway would be considered NPC behavior. You're just blindly following programming without even understanding the purpose of that behavior. Instead of striving to shut your brain off, you should strive to actually use it. Think about what desires people have that cause them to take those actions. List them out. Do any of those desires apply to you? If not, then go ahead and stay home.

stonyrubbish

The Bhagavad Gita 18.47: "It is better to do one’s own dharma, even though imperfectly, than to do another’s dharma, even though perfectly."