Category: Characters

An Interlude With Meho

Last night I viewed a stream that Meho2007 was doing on Twitch. I managed to get him between games – he’d just finished one and was moving on to Halo by the time I left. When I dropped in I said Hi to Meha and the chat. Meho, who is very loud, immediately shouted out Hi back, and told the chat (about 48 people) that I was FacelessJim’s dad. There were several people I’d met online before, and lots that I hadn’t. A number of people said hi back. Meho went on (again very loudly, I think his internal amp is set to 11!) to tell them about my blog and how Faceless (and friends, as it turns out) are helping teach me how to game online, as I’ve mentioned in the first blog posts that I’ve done on here. He also told them the blog site url, and posted it for others to go to.

All this time Meho’s close-up camera was on as he was preparing packs of Pokemon cards that he was selling, and preparing for a giveaway game that happened a few minutes later. His regular camera was set to record him – standing and pacing up and down and dressed in a grey tank top. I suspect he works out as he kept pulling the shirt up to reveal an impressive set of abs and pecs. At one point he stopped and suddenly shouted “everyone go follow Old Geezer (me) – he’s going to start streaming soon and needs followers!” A few minutes later I had a look at my site – the number of followers had jumped from 3 when I first signed on, to 13 after Meho’s shoutout. I figured I’d better get on there & start streaming asap (see next blog post for how that went).

Shortly after the shoutout, the stream took a more emotional turn, with Meho revealing that a friend of his had died about 15 years earlier, and he started talking about his friend, and shedding a few tears along the way. Chat was very supportive, with others revealing heartbreaks that they had had in their lives. Meho walked out of the frame for a few minutes to compose himself, then came back and continued opening packs and commenting on the cards in it. I had to leave at that point.

I had no idea before I started this project that gaming could become such an intensely personal experience, allowing for the expression of deep emotion and compassion. I had thought it was a place where little was said and the gaming experience was paramount. How wrong that impression was.

Introducing the main characters

There are three main characters involved in teaching this Old Geezer new tricks.

old geezer twitching

First up is the old geezer himself. Old Geezer is a retired librarian, whose first personal computer was a Radio Shack TRS-80 computer, which had 16K of RAM, and used a cassette tape as backup. I just realized that I got this a full decade before FacelessJim was born. Over the years Old Geezer became the lead on introducing computers to the library for both staff and public use, and helped develop a massive database of photographs and information dealing with local history. Previous gaming experience is limited, with my favourite game being a pinball game made for the PS1, which was unfortunately never upgraded to any other version. I still own that disc.

Old Geezer decided to learn how to game using Twitch after watching FacelessJim and mastervara77 play Grounded and seeing the interaction they had with their followers, who welcomed my presence in their chat room. In fact, some of them now call me dad, and others grandad. It is obvious from watching FacelessJim game that his mother and I were completely unsuccessful in stemming his use of bad language!

Next is FacelessJim. Faceless describes himself as a wolf Vtuber who loves to play games, open Pokemon cards, and hang out, which is evident when you visit his channel. Faceless has two older siblings, and plans were in place for a younger sibling, and then, well, he came along and his mother and I decided enough was enough and I got a vasectomy. Not saying that he was a difficult child, but, to quote Robin Hood, Men in Tights, “what an unusual child.”

In real life, Faceless loves paintballing and is an accomplished and meticulous CNC operator (he uses special cutting machines to make tiny parts for satellites). He’s taken this penchant for creative detail onto his home base, with his own laser cutting and engraving machine to make specialized equipment for paintballers, as well as gift items that are totally customizable. He uses some of these as rewards and draws on his channel for those who subscribe. Visit his Etsy shop, JimsEngraving. I was watching one of his live streams the other day where he gave away one of the laser engraved photo tiles that he was going to engrave with a photo of the winner’s choice.

FacelessJim’s avatar was created and is copyrighted by @JuliaWinterPaw

mastervara77 has known Old Geezer and Faceless since she and Faceless were in elementary school, and Old Geezer moved to a house across the road from mastervara’s family. In high school they developed a symbiotic relationship and became inseparable, so much so that when Old Geezer got remarried and relocated to a town further down the highway Faceless and mastervara threw their lots in together and led a somwhat nomadic existence until they settled into their current home with their children, a cat, dogs, and an iguana, and a whole bunch of fish. The fish they actually raise for food in an aquaculture setup where the water is filtered through an aquaponic garden to grow their vegetables.

mastervera has an impressive collection of whips, handcuffs, and other devices that Old Geezer would prefer not to know about. I suspect that their use may be in some way associated with her name.