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?

That sounds like burn out tbh

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.

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.

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.

nihilism

Don't worry, you likely already are.

1 Thessalonians 4:11

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

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.

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

Did an NPC write this?

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

> I want to live in a skyrim house

https://youtube.com/watch?v=z_h8NNQ842I

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.

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.

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."

Unambitious Loser With Happy, Fulfilling Life Still Lives In Hometown - The Onion

https://theonion.com/unambitious-loser-with-happy-fulfilling...

>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.

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."

I think NPC is the wrong terminology here - everyone should be the main character in their life - to have meaning and agency. But I think the problem arises in how 'main character' is defined and expressed - having the idea that you're supposed to 'do great things' and live this larger-than-life, life.

You don't have to save all the rhinos, defeat every poverty, slay every social cause or overthrow every tyranny. If anything it's arrogance to assume you can, or even should - that your specific brand of saving anything is even correct.

If you look at most people that do well for themselves and have good lives, they live narrow focused lives in domains they care about. They're very much the main characters of their own lives, but also recognize there are other characters running around doing their own things as well.

I think using the term NPC would be more apt if you're referring to someone that's purely on autopilot and not making any effort to ensure that they're leading a life that is meaningful to them.

Doing the things you care about instead of the things you are induced to care about, that is something I agree with. However, what is there to live for, if I am strictly unaffected by the world around me?

I thought hearing about The Cave on repeat for 30+ years was nauseating until video game metaphor took over for all of philosophy in common media.

you don't know what you got (til it's gone)

Reading Dungeon Crawler Carl series... I would not like to be an NPC from that series :D

> drive a boring car... have a boring job. do nothing after work...

This just sounds like mental exhaustion as mentioned. The internet exposes us to thousands of opinions on how to live that those terminally online get information overload and analysis paralysis. I don't think the answer is to give up trying or just settle into a boring life. Adding the 1001th random opinion: go offline more, interact with real people and you'll realize life is actually fine and enjoyable. It's easy to fall into anhedonia or apathy as a safety response. Having a boring, soul-crushing job on purpose is not good advice. Making your life enjoyable through effort is not a bad thing.