BLACKKRYSTEL

Interview with BlackKrystel by Sam P. at RTX 2022 in Austin, Texas

Sam: Welcome back to Game Raven at RTX. I am your host, Sam, with a very special guest: BK! BK, introduce yourself to Game Raven!

BK: Hello, homies out there! I’m BlackKrystel, a.k.a. BK for short. I’m on-camera talent for Rooster Teeth’s Achievement Hunter, and I’m so happy to be here at my very first RTX!

Sam: My very first as well.

BK: Oh we’re twinning!

BK & Sam: (laughs)

Sam: So, again, did a little research on you, looked like you moved to Texas.

BK: Mmhmm!

Sam: How has that been?

BK: Hot.

Sam: Yes.

BK: (laughs) That’s it. No, I’m kidding. It’s a big change! I was born in New York, grew up in Florida, went back to New York for the last six, seven years, so… I know a little about driving, but I kind of forgot about it. So, now I’m here in Austin, and I’m kind of losing my mind, but enjoying finding the new community that’s here that’s actually, I think, more outwardly expressive than it has been in places where I’ve kind of had to search really hard for it.

Sam: I apologize for Texas drivers, we are…

BK: Yes.

Sam: We’re a pill.

BK: And not just Texas—Austin. I have never been in a place that drives twenty under a speed limit on a highway.

Sam: (laughs) Either you’re going too slow or you’re going too fast, and there is no in between for that.

BK: Thank you. (laughs)

Sam: Also a little bit of research on you, again, you are very big into mental health.

BK: Mmhmm.

Sam: We are as well here at Game Raven. I have just a quick question on like, your mental health—again, moving to a whole new state.

BK: Sure.

Sam: That can be a big toll. When you’re going through not the best of times, what helps you get out of that?

BK: It used to be one thing, and now it’s evolved into a few things. And I’ll start by saying that it’s not an easy thing to learn how to have these coping mechanisms during such hard times. Often when you get to those places, you kind of throw all the logic out the window.

Sam: Right.

BK: But music is my first and foremost one. I escape into it, I express my emotion through it. There is nothing better than being in a car, blasting some Anberlin, just getting your little emo kid out, screaming your heart out—

Sam: Yes!

BK: —or just hitting every line in that rap like you just—ooh, that expresses exactly how you feel. I have done that too many times on my commute to the studios here. But also, reconnecting with those that are close to you. Just because you moved, doesn’t mean they’re not there for you anymore. And it will take work on both ends, but… you know, a group chat for me has really helped, just to be like, ‘Hey, here’s a picture, I miss you.’ Low-lift friendships are the ones you want to hold on strong when you have to move from place to place or when you’re in a dark place.

Sam: It was right in the end of the pandemic, which is still kind of going on… Where it was like Markiplier, Jacksepticeye did like a big commercial where it’s like, ‘Just check in on your friends.’

BK: Mmhmm.

Sam: Like, the text message of just saying, ‘Hey, how are you?’

BK: Yeah!

Sam: You never know how far that can go with a person.

BK: I’m at the point where I literally send the ‘check’ emoji. And they know that like—no context—just sending a check emoji means, mental health check. ‘How are you?’, right? If I get no response within a day, I might have to call you just to see how you doin’, you know, where’s mom at?

Sam: So, with that, what advice would you give to others that many be going through a hard time? Again, post-pandemic, we’ve all been kind of been stuck inside for the last, like, two years. What would you give as advice to those?

BK: I think it’s my biggest form of advice, and I know I said this in the RTX pride panel earlier this weekend, and that’s really just: don’t give up. I feel like the last couple years, especially, have put that damper on everyone. I can count numerous occasions where I felt like, ‘This is enough. I can’t do this anymore. Why am I doing this? Where am I going?’ and just telling myself to not give up, to push through. I don’t want to be corny, ‘light at the end of the tunnel,’ but… there is a future that you can mold, right? It’s not going to stop just because the world is stopping or halting around you. Find that fire, and fight. You got this! Venture back into the world at your own pace. You’ve got this, and you can do it.

Sam: Absolutely. I suffer from depression. It’s… one of those things that in the middle of the pandemic, hit me really hard, because it is, like you said: I’m sending text messages out and not getting anything back, so something must be wrong with ME, ’cause, you know, no one’s responding.

BK: Yep.

Sam: And there are days where it’s just like: ‘I don’t feel like getting up.’

BK: Yup. I’ve been there!

Sam: Like, I got my blackout shades, and I’m like, ‘Eugh, the sun! Evil! How bright you are in the morning!’ But again, never giving up is honestly the best advice, man. Like, day at a time, second at a time…

BK: Yes. That part, literally living in the moment. And not on some, ‘Yay! Young, wild and free!’ living in the moment. No no no, like actually being present.

Sam: Yes.

BK: We have our phones, we live in a world where we’re thinking all the time and doing all the time. This weekend has been one of the first times I’ve had no excuse to not be in the moment! And I know that’s going to continue, and I’ve been challenging myself, so I’d like to challenge your listeners and whoever you have in your community to try to do that. Be present more! It will help, I’m tellin’ ya.

Sam: I love that answer, man. All right, the last question—

BK: Sure.

Sam: —the most important question.

BK: Ooh!

Sam: We have a theme, ’cause we are an indie game podcast, that—(laughs)—for some reason, we believe that the Pokémon industry is an indie game. There is some documentation on that, it is somewhat, kinda maybe true. Don’t worry about that. Puppet, they’re all lookin’ strange, ’cause this is your idea.

BK: Sorry, yeah, my face of utter confusion.

Sam: It’s, it’s, it’s fine.

BK: Nintendo’s a small indie company, got it!

Sam: Small! Just like, you know, Zelda!

BK: Got it. Just like Blizzard!

Sam: Like Blizzard!

BK: Got it! Understood.

Sam: Just like THQ! Who?

BK: Who? All right.

Sam: They did fire me that one time, though.

BK: (laughs)

Sam: So. Favorite Pokémon?

BK: Oh man, you’re really about to do that to me?

Sam: Yes.

BK: God damn it! I’m gonna be so stereotypical, you’re gonna hate me so much.

Sam: You love Pikachu.

BK: No, I like Eevee!

Sam: Really! OK!

BK: I like Eevee! So I’ll give you a quick explanation. Maybe it’s the queer in me, but that’s like, the one Pokémon with so many evolutions.

Sam: True, true true true.

BK: And to be able to see one Pokémon become so many variations of itself that are all so unique, it’s like, awesome for me! I just love that concept. You don’t really see that in a lot of other Pokémon. You maybe get one or two, three and they all look the same, and all of a sudden the animals turn into bipedals and it doesn’t make sense. But at least with Eevee they all stay on four legs, and they’re BEAUTIFUL, they are elegant! I just—and cute, kawaii, like just…everything for me. So, that’s probably why I like Eevee so much.

Sam: Samurott. I hate—I love Samurott until he got on four legs, and then I’m like—

BK: WHY?

Sam: You’re a bit samurai person. Just give him a sword.

BK: Thank you.

Sam: Ugh. But, OK. Is there an Eevee you would like to have that does not have a typing yet?

BK: (gasps) Oh my gosh, I think—do they not have—isn’t metal a type now? Or—

BK & Sam: STEEL!

Sam: Yes.

BK: That would be sick.

Sam: Mmkay. I want a ghost, and I know how morbid that may be. But…I love ghost types.

BK: That would be awesome.

Sam: And I’m like, ‘Where is my next…ghost type?’ (laughs)

BK: TOTALLY! Just an ethereal spirit. I would love to see that!

Sam: Oh man. But again, Krystel, BK, thank you for joining me. And again, where can they find you?

BK: Oh you can find me all over on the interwebs @blackkrystel. I’m on Twitch, Twitter, and of course I’m live on Achievement Hunter all the time, you can check me out on Rooster Teeth content as well.

Sam: All right, thank you again!