#[ooc / mun talks: Was this an excuse to show some hc I have for the HS designs? Yes. Yes it was.]

[0m0-0m0]

Where are your friends?

Not here.

[They’re in a safe place.]

[countlessrealities]

🔥 any subject you want, go wild lmao

Unpopular opinions || Accepting !

[OOC] Let's talk about a very common and very general issue, which is the foundation of pretty much all the problems in the RPC (at least in my opinion, then hey, I could be wrong, but this is how I see it).

People use the excuse "RPing is a hobby" to act like selfish assholes towards the people who are not their besties or favourites or whatever.

I could write a whole essay about this, but I'm gonna sum it up because I doubt that anyone wants to see me going on a 2k words rant on dash xD

Taking care of your mental health, assure your comfort and prioritise your issues is legit and valid. Everyone has the right to do it because yes, this is a hobby. Real life comes first, and I'm a firm believer of this.

However, this doesn't give you the right to enact a certain series of behaviours because that's not creating your safe space, that's being a self-entitled JERK. Here's some example

Letting OTHER people do all the work when it comes to initiate interactions. And this include: coming out with plot idea, writing starters, sending memes, reaching out in general

Linked to the point above, sending a meme takes literally five seconds, so there is no excuse for NEVER sending one to people. I'm not talking about interaction memes, because if you don't want extra threads, that's completely understandable. But mun memes, HC memes, things that can be left as a one-shot, etc? You should spend those FIVE SECONDS to send something in. Especially if the other person does it with you

And that leads me to a more general point: taking people for granted. I don't know where this idea comes from, but a lot of RPers just assume that their mutuals / followers will keep on feeding them stuff without them having to raise a finger in return. That's NOT how it works. RPing is a two-ways street and sooner or later people get fed up and leave. And then said people wonder why no one wants to interact with them -insert long eyeroll-

Crying for attention on main and trying to guilt-trip people. Guilt-tripping is ALWAYS wrong, no matter the context. It's a fucking asshole move and that's were people should shove it. That said, feeling down about low interactions is normal, we've all been there. But how about actively looking for them instead of sitting on your ass and waiting for them to fall in your lap?

Posting replies always and anyway at your convenience, without giving a shit about people who OPENLY SAY that they are struggling. You wanna get that particular draft done? Cool, your free to do it, nothing against that. But instead of dumping it without a care in the world, how about scheduling it so that it posts in a week? It's not that hard.

...I could go on, but I want. Instead I'll put down what I think are easy basic rules NOT to be a selfish asshole: pull your weight, try to match people's efforts, keep your mutuals' biggest needs in mind, show interest.

And the most important of all: DON'T BE A FUCKING ASSHOLE.

[radmanraditz]

🔥 🔥 🔥

{Send me a “ 🔥 “ for an unpopular opinion. || Open and Accepting!}

I fucking hate when people say they love the portrayals of my muses, but then get all uppity when I tell them I’m holistic with canon. (Meaning I consume as much of what’s out there for them and incorporate those bits into how I write them.) Look, it’s fine if you prefer the manga more for YOUR enjoyment/portrayals. But don’t sit there and act like you’re better than me when it comes to “understanding canon” because: (1) I’ve been in this fandom for a long ass time and I own all the volumes of the manga too (2) My opinions are just as valid as yours and if that pisses you off well *fart sound* IDGAF I’m gonna keep being holistic (3) If you like how well-rounded my muses are, and how “in character” they are when you read my IC content, well then that means I’m doing something right, aren’t I?

Look, I get why people are manga purists, but that doesn’t mean you gotta be a jerk about disagreeing with me. It doesn’t bother me that you disagree with me, and all I’m doing is just explaining my side. If you can’t handle a conversation where two people talk about their differing opinions, then just tell me so I don’t have to waste my time or words on you. 

If you wanna RP, just do it. Don’t annoy your mutuals and followers with empty promises to see you active and then hours later be like “Oops sowwie guys!” Don’t give us the same reason/excuse every day for why you aren’t RPing, especially if you know you should be on a hiatus. And don’t bitch and moan about nobody being interested in your muse if you’re not putting in the effort to be active. 

You wanna RP? You prove it with actually doing it. At whatever activity level you can manage. And this is coming from someone who has unapologetically gone on hiatus/low activity for various reasons over the last almost 2 years now when I’ve needed to.

Let’s end things on a more positive note? 

Minor inconsistencies and changes to how you write in general or how you write your muse aren’t things to be afraid of. 

It’s OK not to have your canon muse’s characterization down pat. Everyone’s at different levels as writers and RPers. Some people pick muses who still get new content put out of them, etc. Some muns are newer to RP than others, and will improve/change as writers the longer they write. Heck, I’ve been RPing/writing my muses for more than a decade and I’m still discovering new things and getting new content once in awhile for Nappa and Raditz! Most of the time it adds/validates what I’m already doing, but I also have had HCs that get proven wrong when faced in certain situations in threads. (And sometimes with new content too.) Or maybe they just...change naturally as a person? I can see how I’ve changed as a writer and how my portrayals have grown while rping here for nearly 2 years now. And it’s not a bad thing. A writer should be constantly improving the more they write. It’s natural. 

And if you have an OC, it’s OK to let your character change as a person naturally over time. A lot of times these OCs are making their debut and as they make bonds with various other muses, the muse will show other sides that can’t be predicted. You as a mun may have to tweek the character, or just keep in mind what will compromise your muse for their character growth or regression as a person. Just make sure you’re not doing it to bend your muse to appeal to someone else or their muse. (The only exception to this is if your muse IS the kind of person who will change themselves to appeal to someone else. But this is something you need to make sure you make clear about who your muse is. Otherwise it’s going to seem like you’re making them OOC.)

[thnxrick]

❍ ─ hey dudes !! i feel pretty hype to be here. i’ve been rewatching gg for the past three weeks and pretty much neglecting my creative side/avoiding all of my writing friends. i was rping in another fandom on discord and i just started to lose inspo, y’know that flame was starting to blow out. on a whim i decided to check out the rp tag on tumblr again ( i haven’t rped on tumblr since 2016 btw ), and whaddya know, the second post i see is from a gossip girl rp. ─ could’ve been a coincidence, could’ve been a sign ?? idk. point is that i’m here !! and i’m really hoping to fall in love w/ writing again. 

ok, lemme introduce you to a boi i made up 48hrs ago.

A LITTLE MORE OOC

// so um, FUNNY STORY, when i joined i was planning to fill up a connection from another roleplayer here as their brother, but they were gone as soon as i was i accepted looooool. so now i lack a sibling and i took their last name. ah well, gotta make due with what you’ve got i guess. 

// that being the case, it sort of inspired me to make a VERY convoluted family tree for him. i’ll touch some bases, but i’ll probably make other posts getting more into it i suppose. 

// just to be clear, i’m going to keep it canon that he has a sister named olivia, i was straight up coming up with a lot of relationship HC’s before approaching the mun, and some where based around that character’s profession. i like what i came up with so i’m planning to keep it that way.

// let’s just say olivia isn’t on gossip girl’s radar. ─like a jenny humphrey from season one lmao. 

THE SKELETON 

.･:*:･ﾟ’ twenty one, cismale, roderick bordeaux was made in the upper east side and attended st. jude’s. he still resides in new york, and is currently a model who progressively grown weary of his profession. they are staying up til’ 4am laughing at memes, mischievous looks, suggestive stature, eccentric humor, silk tuxedos. onlookers say they resemble shawn mendes. ( al, 19, idc, cst. )

FROM THE BEGINNING 

roderick grew up with two older siblings and two very wealthy parents. 

his family is very popular in the social scene of manhattan, we’re talking generations on both sides of their family.

they’ve always kept up appearances and have made bountiful donations to noble and not so noble causes.

his father ( lawrence ) is exemplary businessman and his mother ( keighley ) is a retired actress who’s found her life as a socialite a “profession” on its own.  

his relationship with his parents had its moments of toxicity and neglect but overall he’s never been resentful towards them as he realized the privileged life they handed to him and his siblings. 

rick has always had a penchant for doing stupid things and getting away with it. he gets bored easily !!  but to be clear his intentions are usually positive. his parents barely know of his ventures, they’re not very interested in GG to keep up with it either. he is the youngest─ he gets off the hook a little easier than his siblings do. you bet your ass they envy that.

he’s always been academically inclined, but school was never really his priority. he spent most of his time at constance with his friends. he’s a social butterfly at heart, and he wasn’t one to stick to cliques. basically getting along with almost anyone. always open to making more connections with people. doesn’t mean he lacked his fair share of enemies. 

up until then he was unaware of any other type of life. party, fun, drama and the occasional responsibility. things took a bit of a turn after high school though.

BEFORE THE FALL

first of all, his ex-girlfriend’s-mother married into his family. holidays already came with the uncomfortable “greeting family you haven’t seen for months to years on end” how the hell are you supposed go about it─ “oh hey we’ve rubbed genitals together, we’ve hated each other for a while and now we’re cousins, want a turkey leg” ??

second, his father wanted college, roderick didn’t, but obliged after his father threatened to freeze his accounts.

for three years, he attended harvard, likely due to his parents connections i might add─ he almost claimed the title of a lit major, but in retribution for a new revelation about his parents, he quit.   

WHAT GG DOESN’T KNOW....YET

in his third year of college rick picked up a course in theater, dance and media, partially due to the crush he had on another student. during his attendance he met a classmate who he quickly befriended. one evening she invited him to her birthday party, and to say it changed his world would be an understatement.

after spending more time with her and her family, he felt strangely attached to them, he desired the type of relationship she had with her parents. and soon enough the universe offered him a truth that could make that a reality.

turns out his parents weren’t really his parents. rick was involved in a tangled plan filled with lies and deception. ─his close friend from college ?? was his sister.

this was a lot to take in for rick, he had an entire genealogy that he didn't know about, and they were seemingly everything he wanted in a family. of course this was conflicting. he loved the people he grew up with unconditionally, but his loyalty wavered the more the truth was uncovered.

A GENERATIONAL FEUD 

 his “parents” didn’t even want him, they were blackmailed by his biological grandmother ( thalia ) to keep him away from his biological parents. his grandmother disapproved of his biological father ( lloyd ) and wanted nothing to do with him or his family. 

her distaste was unwarranted however, completely biased. her issues were purely against his mother ( harlow ). they have toxic history together, and share a hatred for each other. so much so that they put aside their disagreements to work together. there was no way in hell harlow would share her surname and it’s perks with thalia’s offspring. and thalia wasn’t planning to have a familial tie with harlow.

harlow promised to take away lloyd’s life of luxury if he married rick’s mother ( rowan ). 

thalia called for some favors owed, and successfully managed to manipulate rowan and set her grandson up for “adoption”.

unfortunately for the high class devil’s their game only played out for a few months, lloyd and rowan loved each other too much to let go. the loss of a child and the loss of luxury wasn’t enough to keep them apart. 

they eloped against their parents wishes, and lost everything. by their early twenties, they were no longer royalty of manhattan, they were “nobody’s”. practically disowned. if it meant they cut ties with their sadistic families, it was fine by them.

rick’s biological parents searched for him, for years, they almost divorced as a ploy to get information from their parents, but it lead them to more questions than answers. it was eventually a mutual decision to end their search, the pain was too overwhelming to continue.

call it fate, who would’ve thought the search would end with academic career and their daughter. 

CURIOSITY KILLED THE CAT

understandably, rick was extremely upset with his “parents” and ultimately detached himself from them. 

he quit school, and disconnected himself from most of his friends for a while. it was necessary to go over his options alone. and soon enough he planned an intervention. in four months time, he planned to expose his parents in public at an uptown charity event honoring them. 

he told four of his closest friends about his strategy requesting for a helping hand, and they willingly accommodated him. 

all except for one. one of the four ratted him out before he could pull it off. and his “grandmother” ( genevieve ) was informed and immediately warned thalia and harlow of the proposition. 

they took matters into their own hands, and made things very personal. suddenly grandma genevieve wasn’t as sweet as she had been.

rick’s ex-girlfriend-now-cousin was instructed to seduce and drug him in his loft, if she failed to follow through, her mother would suffer the consequences. 

with much hesitation she compelled. and on an odd night out she convinced him to catch up, and eventually got him drunk enough to have him pass out on his couch. she called their grandmother right after and waited 10 to 15 minutes for a sign to leave. there were a few stern knocks on the door by two men in very posh tuxedos, she was conclusively excused by their entrance. 

THE SECRET GOSSIP GIRL KNOWS

his cousin-ex-lover left his loft around booty call hour. lacking a walk of shame... but stamped with a very guilty face.

off schedule─ his housekeeper arrived to his loft a bit earlier than usual, having much to do that day. her extended family was coming in from out of town for a familial celebration. and we all know how important family is, don’t we?

she suspected rick was working early as well, and went down the list of her duties. her first priority was his restroom, as he generally left wet towels on the ground after his morning showers. however the only elements she found were scattered pills and emptied bottles on his bathroom floor, along with rick... in a bathtub filled with water looking a little too pale.

with a disheveled 911 phone call, she preformed crucial CPR, and an ambulance shortly arrived─ rick was sent to the hospital to have his stomach pumped, and the bordeaux’s made a private entrance, feeling troubled with emotions of guilt and regret. 

in recovery rick denies the suicidal accusations but was sequentially sent to a rehabilitation center against his will. 

he spent his summer in connecticut, and his family lied to keep press away from their charity event. to what the public knows, rick pursued his modeling career further and traveled through europe for the summer. 

AT A CROSSROADS

all forms of communication were taken away from rick, and he spent most of his time at rehab trying to reach out by bribing his nurses.

one of his nurses fell into his bribe and let him make contact with his cousin. out of fear she confessed and delivered his SOS to their grandmother.

sooner or later, his grandma showed up─ grandma.. thalia. to most and to gossip girl? a stranger. 

she proposed a settlement with roderick, he was to forget about his biological family and continue mingling in his social circle as if nothing ever happened for exchange of his freedom and his family’s freedom.

he begrudgingly agreed to it, and flew back to new york with built up resentment and a thirst for retaliation.

he’s back home now, as if nothing ever happened. last he heard his biological family tried to invite him to their halloween feast. but no word after that.

as of now, his course of action is to figure out what “bestie” ratted him out. what did thalia, harlow or even genevieve have on them. and what could he do about it ??

if all attempts fail, we still have gossip girl.

LMAO MORE OOC

ok ok ok ok ok, ik it’s a lot of shit to read. i’m sorry but not really, i enjoyed myself waaaay too much to truly feel guilty about it. SO idk if you’ve noticed but, i took a lotta of inspiration from the show since i just finished the series again. ─i figured rick is a dumbass but he doesn't lack that much morality to do something awful without warrant. I’LL BE SHOOK IF YOU REALLY READ THROUGH ALL OF THIS BUT HEY IF YOU WANNA PLOT W/ ME PLEASE DO. i have a connections page that has to do with normal connections and it also has connections related to everything you’ve read here !!  feel free to im/dm me at anytime, or like this so ik you’re interested in plotting w/ me, i don’t mind hitting you up. OKAY, MUCH LOVE EVERYONE. 

[bountyman]

(whispers all of the above for the canon questions thing :3c)

questions for muns of canon muses! || x || no longer accepting || 1-9

What is the biggest headcanon deviation from the canon material that you have incorporated into the way you write your muse? Why did you come up with it?

I actually try pretty hard not to deviate from canon material, especially since Josh lives in a time where a lot of the problematic things presented in the show are fairly accurate. Fortunately, even in a problematic era, Josh is pretty liberal about a lot of things. Despite serving in the confederacy (he was drafted, not serving by choice), he isn’t racist and treats minorities with a heckuva lot more respect than the other characters, even if he doesn’t understand them or their customs completely. He’s very protective and defensive of them. There are a lot of times when he goes out of his way to fight for native tribes, etc. BUT I’m getting off topic… 

Despite Josh being more liberal and generally accepting and open-minded for his time, he’s also pretty sexist. I don’t try to cover that up in my portrayal. BUT I totally retconned the “To the Victor” episode from my RP canon just because it’s so ridiculous and out of character half the time. Josh is forward with women and, yeah, sometimes a little forceful, but he’s only that when he feels something spark between himself and that woman. He doesn’t force them into a kiss and hold them there when they obviously don’t want him to. And he CERTAINLY doesn’t give a crap about whether or not women wear dresses or jeans. Sure, he has his views on what’s ladylike and how he thinks women should look and act and so on, but in the long run? It doesn’t phase him that much and he keeps his views to himself.

Maybe I’m not scholarly enough to appreciate the nod to the Greek play Lysistrata, but I could rant for days about how much I hate “To the Victor”. It’s the only deviation I’ve made to canon. Everything else, I try to stay true to.

Do you have any controversial headcanons that go against what is generally accepted by the fandom? Do you incorporate this into writing your muse or keep it to yourself?

Considering there isn’t a talkative fanbase–if there’s a fanbase at all–for Wanted: Dead or Alive, not really?

What is something that was never addressed at all in the canon material that you have independently developed for your muse?

Why Josh started bounty hunting and what happened to his parents / the majority of his younger life. I’ve also developed the relationship between Josh and Susan far more deeply in my headcanons than canon gives us. Namely, having them travel a while longer together before falling in love. I might make proper HC posts for that.

Have you made any outright changes to the canon material in order to write your muse the way you wanted (entire scenes you chose to omit, chapters you say never existed, things you assume were never said, etc.)?

Ahh, I guess I sorta answered that in the first question. I omit the “To the Victor” episode. Just because it peeves me off that much.

What is an aspect of your muse’s canon material or canon existence that you never had the opportunity to explore but really want to?

Answered here!

What is the general opinion of your muse’s fandom about them? Do you agree with it?

I don’t know what the general opinion is of my muse within the fandom since the fandom is so tiny. We all probably think Josh is a great guy, though. How could you not? 

For movie or TV muses, what is your muse’s favorite scene? Why? Can you show a screenshot?

This one is hard to answer because there are SO many scenes that I love. Practically any scene in “The Twain Shall Meet”, “BaaBaa”, and “The Cure”, all three are fantastic episodes. But I think one scene that always stands out to me the most in reflection of Josh’s character is a scene in “Surprise Witness”. We see Josh get angry a lot over the course of 94 episodes, but the scene where he visits Domingo in the jailhouse… man, it’s CHILLING. I could do a whole breakdown of that scene alone, gushing about McQueen’s delivery and the intensity in his eyes and voice. I won’t, but because I love this episode so much, I may go into more depth in a separate post later on.

Just know that this scene ^^^^ and the steel in Josh’s voice when he says “I’m gonna watch you hang” is absolutely incredible. Better yet? How you can SEE Josh mentally trying to pull himself out of that moment of boiling anger and hatred before he leaves. It’s the first time we see real murder in Josh’s eyes. If he wasn’t so tied to his own morals, I’m certain he would have beaten Domingo within an inch of his life for killing Leon and he would have enjoyed it.

"Surprise Witness” may not be an episode with the most fascinating plot (it’s actually sort of slow in comparison to other episodes), but it’s still a great episode that adds much needed depth and insight to Josh’s character. I love it.

For movie or TV muses, what is a scene with your muse that you hate? Why? Can you show a screenshot?

Literally anything from “To the Victor”. But specifically this. I think I already explained why I hate this part. Unfortunately, it’s not the worst scene of the episode, but it is the worst scene that involves my muse’s characterization.

I hate how he INTIMIDATES this woman, circles her, gets up in her personal space, close to her ear, and tells her what makes a “real woman”. 

Like??? Okay. Josh is known for bluffing and being threatening, doing whatever he can in order to scare or force information or reactions out of criminals so that he doesn’t have to use actual violence. I can let that slide… EXCEPT SHE’S NOT ACTUALLY A CRIMINAL??? ALL THE MEN IN THE TOWN ARE JUST PISSY BECAUSE ALL THE WOMEN LEFT THEM AS PROTEST AGAINST THE OWNERSHIP OF GUNS (which admittedly is really silly given the time period and fact guns were a necessity then) BUT THAT DOESN’T MAKE HER OR ANY OF THE OTHER WOMEN CRIMINALS. Josh!! Wouldn’t!!!! Do THIS!!! TO A CIVILIAN!!!!!!! And did the writer of this episode completely forget that Josh has traveled with women who regularly “acted like men” by wearing pants / shooting guns / fighting / etc.??? Did they forget that Josh didn’t so much bat an eyelash at any of those women??? THAT HE LITERALLY COULD NOT CARE LESS???????????? THAT HE HAD RESPECT FOR THEM REGARDLESS OF NOT LOOKING OR ACTING LIKE THE SOCIALLY TYPICAL WOMAN???????????? And!!! If that isn’t enough!! HE DOES THIS AFTER SHE SLAPS HIM:

EXCUSE ME. I know he’s getting paid for this crap, to try to bring the women back, but what the heck, Josh??? I don’t know what’s worse, the fact that Josh thought forcing a kiss on a woman who obviously does not like him or want to be kissed would somehow “bring her to her senses” to start acting like a “real woman” OR the fact that the writers thought it was necessary to have a moment after where Strata looks like she’s considering it, like one nasty kiss changed her mind. I think if it had actually worked, I might have screamed. Thank heavens the actual resolution of this episode–though weak and still excruciatingly stupid–isn’t quite that stupid.

I won’t pretend that W:DOA isn’t a product of its time to some degree in most every episode, but “To the Victor” is just an OOC train wreck that I can’t forgive. 

For movie or TV muses, what other character played by your muse’s actor/actress has a lot in common with your muse?

I haven’t seen many of Steve McQueen’s films, but I can say that Vin from The Magnificent Seven is basically Josh. They’re practically the same character personality-wise. They’re both drifters, quiet, use really bizarre metaphors / idioms / analogies, they’re generally caring and understanding, and have an eye for pretty women. Vin just speaks more clearly and isn’t a bounty hunter.