To bonesaw

Yo Bonesaw, i saw you speak out on caleb just like i, and i'm glad you're supportive of barbie (she's a good friend of mine)

I feel like there's always been some weird stigma in the air between you and the jak community and i just wanted to speak my mind and clear up a few things, just because i've been reflecting on my "bad" relationships with people and i just think it's not fair to keep it like this for years. Hope you don't take anything the wrong way here we go:

Back in the day when it was just you zeplins rozer and i running Jak, it seemed so harmless that we were all running a series we all loved. Once popularity sort of struck for you, most people in the jak community (while there weren't that many) felt that you sort of ditched us, never needed us and tried purposefully to disassociate with us. People got banned in your chat for trying to help you with strats, optimizations and more. It's what a community does to see a game get taken lower. You were the best player for the time so naturally people let the best player know what's up for grabs.

When GDQ submissions roll around we (the community) always gathered around to try and figure out what would be the best submission. What has the highest propability of getting in, who should run it, should it be a race? etc. On the other side we've always had to look out for the fact that you might submit. So often we feel that our efforts are never worth it, because you'll get picked instead. The thing i like about GDQ submissions is that everyone gets a chance to show off what they can do, and i truly don't mind you running, but it has always felt odd with you never really being a part of the community. If you simply ran through the jak community and said "yo, can i submit jak 1" i'm sure people would say yes. Your AGDQ 2014 run imo is a perfect display of skill and excitement and is one of the best openers to any GDQ period. Your commentary was exceptional, the room was excited, your end time was great for 2014 and the jak community wanted to see you run. The 2016 run on the other hand is something i've never really gotten over.. While the audience may have enjoyed it tremendously, the community suffered heavily from being known or tied to this run for years to come. The following year in 2017, Headstrong would perform an outstanding lava tube skip run of Jak 1 that went completely overshadowed, partially due to the lack of good commentary, but also partially because people were disliking the video, asking why she was running and not you. She had to tell the announcer to filter out comments regarding your run in hopes of moving past this. I am aware that you also got negative treatment from the GDQ staff after your run and i think it is completely unjustified. Just because i wasn't a fan of the run, doesn't mean you deserve the treatment or punishment you got given. It's another reason i made my big "Is GDQ the best speedrun marathon video" and announced my retirement from ever attending or giving my money to gamesdonequick anymore.

Unfortunately even following in 2018, outrageousjosh would see similar treatment from the chat, asking where you were instead of josh, although it was nowhere near as bad as the 2017 incident. At AGDQ 2019, i did my run of Jak 3 No OoB and i made a fool out of myself, even going as far as to test the boundaries of GDQs runner policy to try and clear our name. A lot of people enjoyed the run and found me and my couch hilarious, but in retrospect i'm embarrased because it's not who i am. I'm far more introverted and laid back than what was seen on stage, but i did it for the future of our community, because they mean a lot to me.

If you see this from a different point of view, i'm sorry. I also thought going into writing this it was going to be a lot more positive, but it is what it is. I've always wanted you to be accepted more by the community, and i've always wanted people in the community to be excited when they see you return to Jak 1 runs, because you're unique, funny and a chill guy. I'm not claiming that the community is entitled to be "the one" to submit and SHOULD be the one that should get the run, but i just wish it could have gone better back in the day. If we communicated more with each other, we may have been more united, perhaps you could have been on the couch for future jak runs to come, or opposite. I'm sure your opinion has changed on the matter since you were treated unfairly, but all i'll say is that, if you ever come to an ESA, and i run jak, you can gladly be on commentary for one of my runs. Marathon runs are about the skill sure, but the commentary and entertainment value is very important too, and that's why we need people like you to help us out in times where we may not have someone who's as expressive as you.

I merely wanted to express my thoughts in hopes that we can move forward on good terms. The jak community has changed a lot over the years and i think it's one of the most kind and welcoming places to be, you're always welcome to join the discord, no one is forcing you, but i hope that if you do submit to a marathon of some kind in the future, let us know, thanks a lot.

Best wishes

- Ricky