I noticed increased frequency of posts in places like r/rpghorrorstories, that describe a situation where the player brings a tiny veiled or just a shameless copy of a popular fictional character - Sokka, Scanlan, John Snow, Walter White - except “more based” or “less of a cuck”. What follows is a story of the player doing some horrible manosphere shit.

I know that a lot of posts on places like these are fake, but in this case I kinda hope they are. Or that it’s all the same guys at different tables. Either is more comforting that an idea of an army of incels trying to rp their extremely toxic fanfiction on the table.

  • jjjalljs@ttrpg.network
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    9 months ago

    I haven’t encountered this. But if anyone said “based” or “cuck” at me, I would have serious questions about if they’re a good fit for my group.

    • Zagorath@aussie.zone
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      9 months ago

      Based is one that, as another user said, could go either way. Its original use is very alt-right, but today I personally probably see it used more in support of leftist ideals.

      Cuck certainly is much more of a red flag. I have seen it used ironically by people whom I have reason to respect, but it’s far more likely to be the source of some serious questions.

      • clickyello@lemmy.world
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        9 months ago

        I posted this under another comment but it was originally from a rapper Lil B the Based God

        “Based means being yourself. Not being scared of what people think about you. Not being afraid to do what you wanna do. Being positive. When I was younger, based was a negative term that meant like dopehead, or basehead. People used to make fun of me. They was like, ‘You’re based.’ They’d use it as a negative. And what I did was turn that negative into a positive. I started embracing it like, ‘Yeah, I’m based.’ I made it mine. I embedded it in my head. Based is positive.”

        • Leg@lemmy.world
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          9 months ago

          That’s pretty wholesome. I can totally see how toxic people twisted the meaning into a toxic place though.

            • Leg@lemmy.world
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              9 months ago

              When they did it to “woke”, I was pretty peeved. I immediately started aggressively reclaiming it.

      • M. Orange@beehaw.org
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        9 months ago

        “Based” was around a long time before the alt-right started using it. IIRC it originated in hip-hop.

      • timgrant@ttrpg.network
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        9 months ago

        My progressive-as-anyone zoomer kids and their friends use “based” all the time, for, as I understand it, any bold statement that’s hard to dispute.

        This is actually the first time I’m hearing “based” being associated with alt-righties.

        • Zagorath@aussie.zone
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          9 months ago

          So ironically, I came here immediately after closing down Twitter, where I saw this in one of the trending tags. Transphobic rather than alt-right, but the overlap between those two groups is nearly 100%. This kind of thing is apparently (based on other replies) not how the term originated, but it’s certainly how the term came to be popularly known.

  • Lianodel@ttrpg.network
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    9 months ago

    Sokka, Scanlan, John Snow, Walter White - except “more based” or “less of a cuck”.

    The two that stick out most to me are Sokka and Walter White.

    A major part of Sokka’s character arc is outgrowing his misogyny. I mean, Christ, the Kyoshi Warriors episode had him humble himself, ask to learn, and crossdress.

    As for Walter White, his arc is becoming “more based” and “less of a cuck.” It’s also about him becoming a total monster.

    There’s been a lot of discourse about “media literacy,” and it’s frustrating that the people who most lack it, often in destructive ways, end up just dismissing the criticism out of hand, as though it’s not dead-on.

  • HikingVet@lemmy.ca
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    9 months ago

    Anybody at my table saying they are playing a “more based” version or “less of a cuck” would be laughed at.

    • Kichae@lemmy.ca
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      9 months ago

      “Ah, so you’ve invited me to cuck the shit out of your character. Got it.”

      • Kyrrrr@mander.xyz
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        9 months ago

        “Ah, you’ve been cursed by the amulet of cucking. It functions essentially like wild magic, anytime you do anything I can ask you to roll on the cucking table. You rolled a 60? Yeah, uh lemme check, your wife appears in front of you and she hits on the rest of the party making sure to see that you’re watching. Roll Charisma save.”

    • ArxCyberwolf@lemmy.ca
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      9 months ago

      Every time I hear someone unironically call someone a “cuck” or “snowflake” I assume they’re a chud and/or a bigoted asshole. It almost always ends up being the case.

      • HikingVet@lemmy.ca
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        9 months ago

        When it comes to “cuck”, I assume they are low-key into it. As for “snowflake”, it’s an admission a far as I can tell.

        • Zagorath@aussie.zone
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          9 months ago

          Considering just how weak and whiny people on the far right usually are, it’s not particularly surprising to me that I’ve seen “snowflake” increasingly used to describe the far right, rather than progressives.

    • Tolookah@discuss.tchncs.de
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      9 months ago

      Unless they were playing a chicken or rooster person, and meant to say cluck. Or wanted a character with a base, instead of a wanderer.

  • WolfdadCigarette@threads.net@sh.itjust.works
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    9 months ago

    It’s funny to notice that “based” sees usage ironically as often as it does unironically, effectively rendering it meaningless without context. It’s the new “Smurf” or “Aladeen.”

    More on-topic, hopefully you won’t personally find any of those players. I haven’t, and that’s very based.

  • littleblue✨@lemmy.world
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    9 months ago

    First I’m hearing of it, and I play weekly in four different groups in a fairly large city known for its geek culture. Seems to me you’re safe in presuming it’s one fucknut at multiple tables. 🤘🏽

    • Zagorath@aussie.zone
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      9 months ago

      As far as I can tell, the original meaning of based came from the alt-right, meaning something is praiseworthy because of how unwoke it is. So yes, being chauvinistic would be considered “based” by the original users of the term.

      But thankfully the term has more recently been claimed by less misogynistic/racist/homo-/transphobic groups, to mean praiseworthy because of something’s opposition to hate. Unfortunately, both usages now coexist and it can be hard to see which one someone means, without adequate context.

      • feedum_sneedson@lemmy.world
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        9 months ago

        It came from a rapper. One of the Lil’s, possibly. He was reclaiming an AAVE variant of “debased”, to mean something positive about himself. It’s all recorded in the ancient texts.

          • clickyello@lemmy.world
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            9 months ago

            “Based means being yourself. Not being scared of what people think about you. Not being afraid to do what you wanna do. Being positive. When I was younger, based was a negative term that meant like dopehead, or basehead. People used to make fun of me. They was like, ‘You’re based.’ They’d use it as a negative. And what I did was turn that negative into a positive. I started embracing it like, ‘Yeah, I’m based.’ I made it mine. I embedded it in my head. Based is positive.”

            not to say I disagree, but this reclaiming is pretty based.