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When exactly one week has passed since the release of the latest BFB episode, you don't expect much to be released in Jacknjellify's name.[1] So the release of this video was perhaps too surprising to handle, not only because of its earliness but also from its subject matter.

There are a number of titles on Jnj's channel that leave one scratching their head for clarification—you have to watch the whole video to understand why it's called that—but this one is as simply put as a YouTube video title well can be: "BFB Contestants React to Wiki Comments". The idea of this isn't new[2], but I still find it astonishing that Jnj made an entire video about it. Also, Pen—a major character on Pencil 2.O—is on the thumbnail, which, of course, means an instant click.

If you've ever seen short videos or shows like "Celebrities Read Mean Comments" and 90 Day Fiancé: B90 Strikes Back!, you'll understand what Jnj are trying to copy emulate. The person to whom the tweet or comment is directed simply repeats what the other person wrote about them, saying their thoughts on what they just said, and are basically given a platform to do a "clap-back" to defend the actions that caused them to have other people write about them. You will be entertained, excited, and most importantly, lost without context!

My biggest confusion over this video is why Jnj had chosen to use the comments from the BFDI Wiki Fandom.[3] Although, having thought about it, it really does make a little sense. Even when the community was smaller, I noticed the different attitudes amongst BFDI fans:

  • If you were a casual fan of BFDI, you'd leave your questions/complaints/whatever in the comments section of the YouTube video. Before 2014 or '15, you could see it above comments by people who vote years too late.
  • If you were a little more interested, you'd be a frequent visitor on the BFDI Wiki.
  • If you were more interested, you'd be an active editor there, a thriving member of the community. That's when you'd go to other websites like the Object Shows Community Wiki[4] and write fanfics for the object show community. Maybe even go on DeviantArt or Tumblr and post object show-related art.
  • If you're a superfan, you could do one of three things.
    • Make your own object show as an homage to the original BFDI.
    • Start writing fanfiction on other websites like Wattpad, Fanfiction.net, AO3 (we need more of these) and this one.
    • Pay money to be noticed by Jnj on those live chat walls during an episode premiere. This one is much newer but has been consistent for YouTube channels since the late 2010s.

Had I been writing BFB episode reviews from where I left off, I would always point out how much older I am compared to many of the fans of this show. I don't have to do that (right) now after watching the first few seconds of this video, which left me abandoned like a flip-phone in an antique shop. Futuristic techno music? Vlogger-type monochromatic zooming? "Subscribe to this channel" with that rainbow static effect so common on TikTok? Someone pinch me; it's so not 2013 anymore.

The video[]

Oh yeah, there's a video to watch.

Before we begin, let me and this website remind you all that this is not canon, thank whoever made that edit! As we all I know, the equivalents of the BFB contestants on Pencil 2.O have their own houses, their own lives, their own children, families, etc. But in this video, they're all seen reading from one computer in a house with the Jacknjellify-post-2017-æsthetic.[5] I'd say more about that, but then again, this ain't canon.

Firey comes first because of course. He reads a comment from TheGanonMaster, who says that once eliminated, he should be doused in petrol by Uncle Rob, who is an Internet personality who apparently sets things on fire. O-kay. Firey claps back with a smart retort that gasoline actually makes him stronger. Should have said Viagra instead.

After a wavy fire transition, Pen comes next. Yaaaaas! If I were Jnj, I'd change the title to "(Ex-)BFB Contestants", unless something is being implied here. Not my words. I actually can't find the comment on YT! Anyway, Pen reads a comment by Cheekymonga[6], who points out that he "is the only one out of SB, Blocky, and Eraser who hasn't killed anyone intentionally". He thanks the commenter for that and explains that he is on a slightly higher moral bar than the rest of those bloody murderers are. The "cool cockiness" under the guise of meek humility? Oh gosh, could it be? Our boy is back!

Firey reads that TrendyRuby is awfully happy that Firey's been eliminated, and then the scene cuts to one of those awful userboxes that they have there:[7] "This user is a despiser of Firey." Really? Oh, and Firey admits that he hates/loves Coiny more, and then they get all S&M with each other in a bitter slap fight.

Blocky gets all in-love with one user's appreciation of Woody, becomes flattered by another's comparing him to mothafuckin' GOD[8] and then Woody himself appears and speaks slurred English like someone who's had one too many a drink.

Flower takes a very short time in parsing SlenderKidz2000's inquiry over why Flower doesn't "care about almost everyone but herself for some reason?" I had to think that one over:

  • Flower does not care.
    • About almost everyone but herself ("almost everyone but herself" = her and a few people).
      • Therefore, Flower is expected to care about only herself and a few people, but isn't.
  • For some reason, and the commenter is asking why.

The view of the contestants goes into FaceTime mode, which is basically a video screen (with a phone icon) set to either old footage or what Cary does with his new videos (the ones where his icon automatically changes emotion without animation). A slick move from one of the animators, definitely.

Pen's up next (the last time we see him in this video), and he reads from Floofyfurret that he is a "meh" and not the super-object Übergott that many in the OSC think he is. You would expect him to take it pretty badly ("Fuck you, I am the greatest"), but he says that maybe it is better not to live life too high or too low on the sympathy scale. So true! Then he tells us a story about a time when he met a group of "super Pen fans" who once tried to take his cap and see the length of whatever's underneath.[9] I believe the Beatles had the same problem on their first American tour. He concludes this story by hiding behind the desk and confessing that someone had to end up in the emergency room. Our boy's a hidden assailant!

So Blocky, Woody and Flower have a conversation with the specific viewers, although it seems more like a three-way conversation with each other and they're all within earshot. Maybe they're in jail, I don't know, but there are some highlights of the last few minutes that I found entertaining.

  • TheFuturisticWarrior7000 says that everyone needs to watch Inanimate Insanity if Blocky gets eliminated. So guess what Blocky's endorsing for a hot second.
  • Flower wants us to change our names so that we're all exclusively fans of her. Flower is love, Flower is life.
  • Blocky reads a meme-ish comment by Killingsworthcj, saying "What if you wanted to go to Heaven, but God said, 'Hey, guys, for a prank—'?" And then places him in the place of God. He's going to get some safety votes from the Deep South /s
  • One of the greatest examples of the absurdity behind the userbox system comes from IITissues45's comment, read by Flower: "This user is a hater of Flower" is an adequate box to have, as is "This user is neutral over Flower". But the whole "This user hates Flower so much, they wrote a list of words to describe her: Afflictive, Aggressive blah blah blah"... Wut.
  • Blocky screams, thus ending the episode.

The first episode of BFDI was shorter than this.

Others' reactions[]

On YouTube, the video has received many positive reviews. At the time of writing, there is a ratio of 100 likes to 1 dislike in this video, because (1) it's the Jacknjellify channel and (2) who doesn't like it when people read and react to the comments by their fans? Especially when the "people" are their favourite characters from a series that's been around for more than a decade.

The reactions on the other Wiki are different.

I don't want to say that the people on the BFDI Wiki panned this video, but judging by the comments that people have left on the page for the video (meta!), people either love it or hate it. Those that hate it don't like that Jnj basically went through the Wiki and put their comments in the video without their permission, but hey, the BFDI Wiki might be more accessible around the world than YouTube. You don't need a password to read the comments people make on that site;[10] everything is fair game. Personally, I'd love to see the contestants react to some of the cringy fanfics I've made over the years.

Now I really love the people in the object show community. I don't know most of them, although I know that they're attracted to humour. A certain type of humour at that, but I think that's what needs to happen to keep the OSC young and healthy. Goodness knows we need more of that.

Notes[]

  1. Then again, it must have been several months since I last posted an episode review, let alone an edit on any episode here, so maybe I shouldn't be one to talk.
  2. "Match, Pencil & Pen React to Their Ask Videos", though four years old, is still a thing, not to mention the reacting to YouTubers' comments on BFDIA 5a
  3. Yes, I know it's changed. Is Wikia a bad word, or has it just been deprecated like Ceylon, transsexual or dope?
  4. I still have it bookmarked on my computer as the "Battle for Dream Island Fanfiction Wikia".
  5. Interestingly enough, I'd planned that the houses on P2O, as with most locations, wouldn't be fully animated. It would be a mixture of animation and live-action stills, à la Amazing World of Gumball.
  6. What a name! Must be Yevanic.
  7. I don't have a problem with their existence; creativity is cool and stuff, yadda yadda yadda, but I can't be the only one who thinks they're getting out of hand, right?
  8. Canonically (according to this show), Blocky is an American-Kenyan with Lebanese Maronite Christian ancestry who hangs out with two Italian Jews (comedic, innit?). I wonder how that would go over there.
  9. I'm going to regret saying that.
  10. They could have added a link to the Wiki in the description for people to find out more, but to each one's own.
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