#sequence break [ooc]

[chaos-cousins]

So we tried to raid the Team Galactic building, but there was a problem.

A locked door.

I can't lockpick it because it needs a key card, Ene can't hack it because it's not connected to the internet, AND there's not a USB port I can plug my phone into, and we can't break it down without immediately alerting all the grunts.

So it looks like we're doing the gym.

[kel-the-lucky-kitten]

🍿 - for the ask game?

well, obviously i have butter on my popcorn! and extra salt! y'know, why have popcorn if you're not gonna flavor it? and for colored popcorn, i've never encountered it, but it looks cool!

[mod is here to say that I've never seen colored popcorn either. aside from in plastic bags that you get from convenience stores.]

[mirrorlings]

(hi)

(the fritz showdown from braindead 13 but peppino and the noise. think about it)

[feroluce]

Oh my gosh the way the Pop-Up Shop event ended and what it hinted at that's going on rn, and what it might imply about what's in store for the next time we see Sampo, I'm so excited AAAAAAA

Because it seems it really IS our Sampo, and whereas before I was absolutely delighted by the thought that he was possibly getting fucked with by some outside influence, and that was why he was saying such strange things... There's nothing quite like that going on here. There's no memetic virus messing with his head. There's no imposter, no possession, no nothing.

Just Sampo, and the ominous, all-consuming dread that hangs over his head like a guillotine, as he willingly walks right into what he is sure is a trap. ♡

Because this event was weird right off the bat, yeah? Sampo invites us in on a business deal that won't make him any money? The hell???

And I was just waiting on pins and needles for it to make sense, and oh, I was not disappointed at all. Because I've got a nice meta post about it over here, but Sampo actually DOESN'T make a lot of money most of the time- but he does always get something out of his dealings. He works for favors and good will and networking, but never for nothing. And it was the same here!

Sampo didn't make any money with this little business venture because that wasn't what he needed from it. That was never his goal to begin with. He just needed something entertaining.

Sampo has the key to get into the tavern's basement where Sparkle has been keeping his mask for him, but he still needs to be let into the front door of the tavern itself. The fun stories he got from this event were his entry fee. He leaves at the end because he's probably already on his way to Epsilon, where the World's End Tavern should be.

So that explains part of what was so strange this event. It's the rest of his ooc tendencies that have me like foaming at the mouth though because AAAAAAAAAA

There's long been hints of...some? kind of strain between Sampo and the rest of the Masked Fools. Like it starts all the way back in Belobog's main quest with the big infamous fourth-wall breaking sequence, where Sampo talks some shit.

And it continues in the Aetherium Wars event, where we finally get the confirmation that Sampo is a Masked Fool and even get to see him interact with Giovanni, one of his brethren! And where Sampo talks more shit. He also leaves the trailblazer a warning against Sparkle, who they hadn't met yet, and probably the Masked Fools in general.

And for some strange reason, it seems to be popular fanon that Sampo like. Talks a lot of shit? Or is rude in general? Like I feel like I see a lot of jokes about if Hook says a cuss word, it was probably his fault. But Sampo is actually pretty polite with everyone. I think the only time we really see him be harsh is when he has to set some hard boundaries in the museum event. Otherwise, he conducts himself like a model friendly businessman. Like he IS super shady and slimy, but he's still polite about it. I'm pretty sure the only time he actually talks any shit, and so bluntly, is about the Masked Fools or Epsilon as a whole. He really seems to have some sort of beef with them.

There's also his hilarious relationship with Sparkle, which I'm including for consideration because we don't know how common people like her are in the Masked Fools, so she might represent how Sampo interacts with a lot of them. ...But I'm pretty sure Sampo's grudge with her runs deeper than that anyway jdksajfdkljas

She's so funny I hope she fucks with him more FJDKSJAKD

Anyway, the point is, Sampo doesn't seem to see eye-to-eye with a lot of the rest of Aha's followers. And it was never hinted at before the pop-up shop event, but now I'm wondering if it might be like. An actual dangerous sort of situation.

Because during those brief packaging sequences, you get some. Pretty wild text dropped on you. There was actually a really cool explanation for it by another user already! But basically, all of the phrases are more fourth-wall breakage. They're mostly in-game achievements...except for one.

"This must be a trap create"

We never get to see the rest of the phrase. Just "This must be a trap create."

That is the only one we don't have an explanation for yet, at least as far as I know.

AN EDIT: Thank you to @/kittaykattz for this one, because it looks like someone DID find the source of this line. Unfortunately, it only came up in my search after I looked for the full phrase. I couldn't find it on the wiki before orz And yet this somehow does NOT make it any less ominous ajfdklsjkl The full phrase is "This must be a trap created by a Masked Fool!" and it comes from another in-game achievement, "Boxes and Ladders." Which is really cool, because I had figured the last line must be something from Penacony, since it was the only area not represented so far. So in that way, it fits perfectly with the rest of the text. Now we have one achievement from every area of the game, which fits with the theme that Sampo has been following the Astral Express, the trailblazer specifically. It's the way that it doesn't fit that's the weird part though. Because the rest of the lines that come from in-game achievements are all titles; that's why they were so much easier to find. For some reason, Hoyo saw fit to single this one out. They didn't use a title. They specifically chose the line about falling into a trap set by a Masked Fool, a trap with seemingly no way out, where one's only choice is to take a leap of faith and pray to make it out ok in the end.

Love that. Absolutely love that. That's so fucking tasty, I will be daydreaming for days on end now about Sampo finding himself in a horrible situation with no way out where all he can do is make a desperate attempt and pray to whatever might listen (probably not Aha fjaksljdk) that he'll survive it WHEEEEEE

Because Sampo talks so strangely throughout the whole event, but it gets worse day by day, morose and morbid and dreading and sometimes even almost like he's warning the trailblazer against something about to happen.

I've already lovingly discussed it in an analysis about Sampo's name (alias included) but like. There certainly are some fun connections there. The Sampo of myth was smashed and lost to the sea. Poisson was flooded. Brueghel died suddenly and left a final painting of a storm at sea unfinished.

The Masked Fools are referred to with imagery of water and the sea. And frequently so.

And so I do wonder what Sampo knows, and what he's expecting to happen when he gets to that tavern at the end of the world. If maybe he thinks he's walking right into a trap, and is doing it willingly, doing it anyway, because, well.

Belobog is on the line.

And Sampo has already proven he seems so ready to do whatever it takes to protect it.

[zeravmeta]

Thoughts on RvB Restoration Finale

not really that long just my 2 cents

I wanna say I liked the movie because I did enjoy myself watching it, but honestly I'm very much gonna stick to the RvB17 open ended finale

Overall the movie was... ok? It wasn't unwatchably bad the way RvB Zero was but it also just made a lot of choices that I disagree with fundamentally both with the writing and the core themes of the series as a whole. I've had this take ever since RvB14 on the fanbase and the writers but this movie flat out says it:

The writers are fucking unable to let go of PFL and Chorus in a meaningful way.

For a series thats core message is about saying goodbye, they literally dont let that part of the show die. They are functionally unable to let go of the past peaks of the franchise and write something new. And I get it: RvB fundamentally cycles with its storytelling, but what was so refreshing to me about RvB14-17 was that it actually progressed itself Past those peaks of RvB10 and 11-13 (and honestly people REALLY dont appreciate the good in those later seasons). It felt like a natural (if wacky) progression, and it definitely wasnt perfect but it gave the extended cast more opportunities to shine in ways we didnt appreciate before

This movie just doesnt do that? Honestly the fact that they KILLED Sarge and Doc was so... disrespectful to me? Like not in the sense that it was as bad as how RvB Zero (fake) killed Tucker, but more like it felt like the writers killed them off because they were following a book titled "How To Write Story" and saw 'killing off characters is good writing'. Sarge got a dramatic send off that also didnt feel that impactful? And I did see it coming from the start but having Doc be Washs' guilt haunting him just left a bad taste in my mouth.

Its a really self contained story, a whole bunch of characters outside the main 3 reds and Caboose felt ooc, a good chunk of characters dont even show up (dude where was DONUT??? youre telling me he only has 5 seconds in Simmons' mind in a cheerleading costume?), it was composed of like 3-4 sets total, Carolina, Tex and 479er all just kind of Show Up to be badasses in the way The New Person would show up in an MCU movie...

Honestly watching this movie I kind of felt like it would have a twist ending. Like the credits would play and then itd zoom out to show the Reds and Blues post S17 in a movie theater watching this dramatic finale, because thats honestly what it felt like: The whole movie was a cheap facsimile of RvB as a whole. The fact that Trocadero wasn't allowed/signed on to make the music for this finale really does influence this movie, since they used a whole bunch of songs and osts that felt out of place (though I will admit Vale Deah softly playing as Grimmons said goodbye to each other did make me choke up a little)

Despite my negative review, I do still recommend watching it, since there was stuff I did like: Simmons in a leader role, Tex and the fun reveal during her fight with Tucker-Meta, Grif FINALLY getting to retire, Caboose as a whole was really well written, there IS good in this movie! And again it's not unwatchable bad, it just... kind of leaves a somber, sour taste in my mouth. This movie threw a whole bunch of stuff to the wall not to see what would stick but to break it all and leave for the insurance money. Just a "hey since we're sinking might as well make all these callbacks and break a bunch of stuff along the way."

Welp. Goodbye, RvB. At least this way I know that RT dies without riding your coattails any longer. And hey given that RvB technically has 3 endings (RvB17, Zero and RvB19) you can just take your pick on what you like best anyways. Quick edit no jutsu I forgor to mention there is the sequence at the beginning of the movie where it is implied RvB19 COULD also be one of the simulations in and of itself so. yeah you can in fact just take it as you will

[kafkaoftherubble]

再谈JJK 236五条悟的心理刻画// I want to talk about Gojo's psychology in chapter 236 again 

I'm quite happy to say that my thoughts on CH236 have evolved—even if I still greatly dislike many of its executions, pacing, logic, and other storytelling issues. Previously, one of the things that really pissed me off is the character derailment Gojo Satoru suffered in CH236.

I'd mentioned before that the idea of the afterlife dream sequence is massively appealing to me. It's just that there are so many little things in it that sounded wrong enough that in the end, I wondered if I was looking at Mahito's Idle Transfiguration at work. As one person familiar with the JP side of Twitter reportedly saw (take it with a reasonable grain of salt for there is no link to the tweet, but no big deal):  "Gojo sensei didn't just die, it feels like his soul was killed as well."

However, unlike many detractors, my gripes were not centered on "Gojo dickriding Sukuna jobber mindset." I actually think the self-deprecation was perfectly valid for the human Satoru (my previous rant had more details on this). I thought it was humanizing to see him freely admitting his vulnerabilities. 

I was more offended at his downplaying his achievements as though he never had a chance. I thought someone who was as enlightened as he is in judging a person's strengths and weaknesses should be better at assessing his own feats instead of sounding like my pathetic ass whenever I talk about myself. I know I have a rather abysmal self-esteem issue, but nothing in the story indicated Satoru as possessing that trait. That loss of measured self-assessment was one of the things that made me reel. But after reading some comments on this Reddit post, I've come to realize I forgot a very important piece of context:

This is Satoru after he lost.  

Being the strongest was, by all the web of causes around him (his birth, the way people regard him, the things people keep pointing out about him, the system's assessment of him, etc.), a huge part of Satoru's sense of self. It did not necessarily matter if he himself truly believed "being the strongest" was all there was to him. See, even in the real world, there is no "true self" (yes, "there is no self" is one of my most steadfast scientific +/philosophical stances). There is, however, a social self; a person's sense of self is porous and dependent on the environment and society (which can break up into communities) they exist in, and it reflects back to the person who comes to accept it as their own personal narrative. Being the strongest was part of Satoru's fable; the world around him even decided that it was his raison d'être.  

So when he lost, it dealt a really hard blow to his understanding of who he believed he was. It didn't matter if he was enlightened in his judgment of people. One of the statements everyone, including himself, had taken as a fact had just been completely disproven. Why wouldn't he then express doubt on the rest of the "I am the strongest" narrative? Why wouldn't he start to become skeptical of his strengths and feats, to the point of seeing the opponent who bested him as more powerful than Sukuna really was?  

It's just another glimpse into his humanity. Who among us feels not a shred of self-doubt when we fail at what we believed we were good at?  

In this light, it became easier for me to reappraise his expression of doubt.

--------

There was a part when he made it sound as though he was trying to reach out to Sukuna and shit "all along", seemingly at the expense of his students, colleagues and adopted son. Make no mistake, the omission of his students and the goals Satoru made as himself (instead of as "the strongest") in this afterlife dream thingy is still bad.

Reaching out to Sukuna, though? I don't think it's necessarily OOC.  

See, Satoru shared many traits and inspirations from Shakyamuni, the historical Buddha. In line with those references, it's my interpretation that Satoru does not actually exhibit egoism—I know, it runs counter to the dominant understanding of Gojo's psychology in the JJK community—but self-less-ness. 

Not selflessness as in "altruism", but anattā--one of the Buddha's realizations upon his awakening (and again, a concept I strongly support. My best friend can tell you how much I talk about this. Hell, my blog description says as much). The way I see it, Satoru's confidence in himself is no different from his confidence in other people—it's all rooted in what he perceives this given "person" is capable of. To him, "Satoru" is simply another person who happens to be really good at a lot of things and so deserves to be praised and uplifted as anyone else who's good at what they do; the fact that this person happens to be himself is irrelevant*.  

*Note: I once had a YouTube comment discussion with someone, who was surprisingly knowledgeable on Buddhist philosophy, regarding the blurry line between selfishness and selflessness in Gojo. It was great; we discussed anattā and śūnyatā and ended at the Mādhyamaka (Mahayana) school. There, I expounded on why I interpret Satoru as "self-less" instead of "enlightened selfishness" in greater detail. I intend to transcribe it and preserve it here someday. Not now, though!  

When I put that understanding into CH236's context, it no longer shocks me to see Gojo wanting to reach out to Sukuna. For a self-less being, there are no distinctions between them ("them-self") and other beings ("other selves"). They are all psychocausal processes in the form of persons. Sukuna is, therefore, "another person" in Satoru's eyes.

Sukuna is a person who's the strongest in his time and was worshipped and feared—not seen as human but as a calamity embodied in a living creature. Note that Satoru's empathy for Sukuna didn't make him condone Sukuna's way of living as "the strongest" (i.e. hedonistic egoist) even in his bare-my-soul afterlife sequence; he merely expressed an understanding of Sukuna's psychology. That understanding led to Satoru expressing compassion to a person who was burdened by being too strong at the top—it was even doubly easy for him to empathize because of Satoru's own lived experience. You can see why Satoru then tried to alleviate Sukuna's suffering in a way he believed could work: giving his all, through humor, etc. These are likely what Satoru wanted someone else to do for him.  

You can trace this same attitude in the way he mentored his students. He didn't hold back much (ask Yuta and Hakari again how it feels to be punched by their sensei). He regaled his students (and sometimes colleagues) with excessive humor. He was unabashedly "giving his all"—his childishness and "annoying narcissistic ass" and insanity—to those he especially believed to be liable for being lonely, whether it's because of strength or perceived danger (Yuta, Yuji), circumstances (Yuji, Megumi), life experience (Maki, Nobara), mindset (Nanami, Hakari), etc. It could be gleaned even as far back as his interaction with Riko Amanai when he started to see her less as a job and more as "a person", and so recognized the sort of isolation and alienation Riko was starting to feel as a Star Plasma Vessel. He did the same thing with her—trying to alleviate her suffering through what he believed was best. And yes, he gave his all even back then (no sleep for 3 days, guys.)

---------

Gah the translator for this chapter is fucking amazing! I'm jealous! Also, "I love everyone" is poignant, I think, as it paralleled what was in his head during his awakening ("I don't hate anyone.") 

The choice Gege made in depicting the "flower" as lotuses has become subject to various theories. After all, it symbolizes rebirth in some cultures and interpretations. I think it's a valid point for his comeback theories (though I dare not allow myself to hope), but those aside, I actually simply thought of it as yet another allusion to Satoru's connection to Sakyamuni.

Pink lotuses symbolize Buddhahood—a bloomed one is a Buddha; a bud is a Buddha in the making. In Mahayana Buddhism, everyone supposedly has a Buddha nature and is therefore capable of liberation the way Sakyamuni did. They simply need the knowledge (dhamma)... and The Noble's Eightfold Paths/The Noble Eightfold Path taught by a teacher, of course. Gotta subscribe to the course, aye? 

This translation actually made me realize that yes, Satoru did mention his students... in a very annoyingly subtle way. 

I don't think these lotuses refer to himself. I think they refer to his students. 

Hear me out. His goal has always been to raise a generation that could all be strong, so that no one has to be lonely again... including Gojo Satoru (a.k.a. himself), because this would be a world that no longer needs him. To match it with the Buddhist allegory: Satoru, "the Buddha", is trying to raise all of these lotus flowers ("buddhas-in-making") to bloom.  

He can make his students bloom (his goal of raising them). He can admire his students (he's proud of them). But he cannot tell his students to "understand him."

Ultimately, he seems to think his students—or anyone, really—don't actually understand how lonely it is to be up here. He doesn't resent it ("I don't feel lonely now"), but it's still an experience that predisposed him to find some resonance in Sukuna. I find it plausible that perhaps, in Satoru's mind, Sukuna is no different from his students in some regards. It certainly fits the trait of a Buddha/Boddhisattva—to be capable of compassion even to creatures and beings most of us wouldn't be.  

(Or maybe this feeling comes even more easily considering the fact that Sukuna is wearing Megumi's face.) 

---------------------------

Now, I know this is already a long read, but my evolved thoughts are not done yet! This is concerning what I previously saw as the biggest character assassination: Nanami and Haibara's comment on Satoru's character. They basically painted him as a dude who really just did it for his pleasure and no loftier goals. The fact that Satoru didn't even deny it was just crap.

But someone pointed out that the face he made was a frown—Satoru was actually upset that this was what Nanami believed.

Now, I've always been crap at discerning emotions, which extend to expressions. I've interpreted his expression as Satoru feeling embarrassed for being called out or accused. But honestly, it also makes sense to think that this is Satoru frowning at the fact that he's still being misunderstood even after death. He likely didn't bother to correct Nanami because he rather asked Nanami how he felt when he died.  

And that, I think, actually dives into heavy meta.  

A sizeable number of those who decry Satoru as OOC in his death were upset that the man didn't show his signature self-assuredness, arrogance, and "winner mindset" (this is the gripe I personally disliked the most because it's close to turning Satoru into this Alpha Male egoist role model), and is all-around "acting like a jobber." It's as if they like Satoru because he's the strongest—not because he's Gojo Satoru.  

Some, meanwhile, were seething to see him praising Sukuna and trying to reach out to him, calling it OOC glazing, meatriding, etc.  

Even those who like him for his character and traits, such as myself, ended up upset at what we believed Satoru was not showing.  

Satoru is showing a side of his humanity and it was confusing to a lot of us in big and small ways, for different reasons. A good chunk of it is still, I maintain, the problem with Gege's execution. 

But in a meta-sense... 

It kinda shows that we don't understand him completely either.  

We're kinda being Nanami here. We think we get Gojo Satoru, but then sometimes, we don't... at least not until we try to understand him on his own terms. 

What's Gojo famous for?

For being the strongest, most handsome motherfucker who's cool and cocky as fuck with cool-ass OP powers and all that meme-worthy stuff.

He's famous for being Gege's "most hated character," for the jokes about him having zero personality, etc.

Famous for being MAPPA's golden child with glossy ass lips and eyes that burden their animating budget.

He's sexy and hot; fuck did you see what he did to Jogo in Shibuya? He's feral and insane; fuck did you see what he did to Hanami? Or that time he turned Toji into a donut? He's bombastic and larger than life.

He sometimes feels unreal, like an alien. Some people hate him, and some people adore him to bits.  

But it takes some digging and analysis for us to realize that Gege lied about him having no personality. Because Satoru is one of the most fleshed-out characters he's ever created. He had more human sides to him that surprised even us—we didn't know he was capable of self-deprecation. We didn't know he was so compassionate he tried to reach out to the villain as if he was Naruto fucking Uzumaki. We suspected other things, like his loneliness at the top, but most of us believed Satoru was more gleeful and smug about being at the top than being angsty about it.  

Maybe this was what Gege was trying to do. Or...maybe he didn't intentionally try to do this, and simply fumbled and messed up his way to genius meta-hood (honestly who knows by this point).

Either way, CH236 could be read as an experiment on how right Satoru was about him never being understood. There are just that many larger-than-life projections/assumptions imposed on him—with "he's the strongest" as the most dominant narrative. He was a "living creature" experiencing alienation and dehumanization, even when surrounded and loved by his admirers and supporters, despite sharing everyone's common thread of the human condition.

All he could do when we argued about how weird he was because he didn't fit what we believed... was to frown and move on.

---------

Extra thought:

I know it's a conspiracy theory by this point that Gege did Satoru dirty because Gojo is his least favorite character, but I really think Gege is joking. If CH236 sucks in its execution of Gojo's afterlife sequence, it's because Gege hasn't been doing emotional beats and characterization well for a long time by now. Not because he hates Gojo.

Think about it—Gege hasn't cared to pause the battle for some deep-cut emotional shit since the Culling Game arc, and yet CH236 is where the battle takes the backstage (so backstage it's a fucking OFFSCREEN DEATH. COME ON, GREG!). Every panel in that chapter was drawn with details and care, and he took a step back from the fighting just to give Gojo even more characterization and flesh.  

Guys, I really think Gege loves Gojo.

Him bashing Gojo is him teasing Gojo the way Gojo teases other people like Utahime and Nanami and Megumi. He doesn't really know how to show his love for Gojo in the manga because his executions do miss, but I think he crafted Gojo lovingly. He fucking loves him. I think I'm actually willing to bet on this.

----

The evolution of my CH236-centric ramble goes from here, to here, to this. I also wanna shout out to the answer in that Reddit post that helped me understand the emotional beat of CH236 better (which allowed me to realize something else). I don't have a Reddit account though. I ghost-read!

Thank you for reading my ramble.

[aquaburst3]

Jamil's dream wasn't as bad I thought. Which doesn't say much since the bar is literally in Hell at this point, but at least it's something...I guess. He doesn't pull a Sultan Jafar and just beat Kalim up. But it's still pretty dumb.

The dream is a complete role reversal. Kalim is the poor servant, who is waiting on him hand and foot, while Jamil is the rich kid. Jamil has his own school built honouring Jafar, where he's the school council president. After Jamil orders the dream!Kalim to make them a feast, things start to fall apart. Kalim and Jamil fist fight...for some reason. Jamil overblots and has a random villain monologue. He's defeated. Move on to the next dream. Where do I start?

This dream doesn't fit Jamil at all. Jamil isn't after power like Jafar. All he wants is to be free of the Asim's grasp and travel the world. What about that would fit...this? While I know the point is that Malleus doesn't understand what will actually make these guys happy, something like this would make Jamil snap out of it faster. He should know that something doesn't feel right. He would break out to join the others.

Plus, Jamil seems a little OOC as well. He seems much more Jafar-like, being pompous and overly indulgent asshole. Yes, those traits were there the whole time. That's why he wanted to have a feast and have everyone praise him was enough evidence of that. But my reading of that was that Jamil was so beaten down by a family of rich assholes that he wanted to kick back for once and be served for once, not that he has a secretly wants to be sultan himself and for everyone to worship him like a god! This is so off base that I genuinely wonder if Yana know her own characters, if Vil acting like a spoiled diva in the last one wasn't obvious enough of that.

What's with Malleus gifting Jamil a school in it? He's super smart and studious, but school isn't the be all end all of his existence, so it seems like a random conclusion for him to come to. Same goes for Kalim, if not more so.

Why do Kalim and Jamil randomly fist fight? Kalim punching Jamil should've happened at the end of Book 4. If this happened then, it would be a hundred percent justified. Jamil backstabbed Kalim and mind controlled him. Hell, I would even say that would be good writing, since it would be a fantastic set up and pay off. But now? It just seems random and like Kalim's resentful for that back then, which is in turn is OOC.

Mentioned this on my server and to one of my online friends, but why the hell is this arc so fucking long? This arc has been going on forever!

Why add all of these pointless dream sequences and flashbacks!? She could've made them a quick montage. Or, better yet, not added them at all and came up with something else. Especially since a lot of these are completely OOC, make no sense or both.

One of my mutuals mentioned that they thought that Lilia would be put to sleep so Malleus could keep him close and block everyone else out with thorns, so we have to work with everyone to get through them like Philip to stop him. Why couldn't it just be that? It would make the writing tighter and get to the fucking point much faster. More importantly, make much more sense. Instead we get a bunch of overlyindulgent trippy dream sequences that only pad things out. What a waste.

At least I give the latest update this. I think Jamil's outfit is FAR better than his overblot design. It makes him look regal, seeming like a younger Jafar, and is much simpler instead of being an overdesigned mess. I'll end up using this one in my fic instead.

[clippedwingsmuses]

‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎" 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐈 𝐬𝐚𝐲? "‎‎

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rules under the cut for mobile users

Typical roleplay etiquette applies here. No godmodding, no meta-rps, no powerplaying/controlling my muse, & don't be a dick.

This blog is PRIVATE, meaning that I only roleplay with mutuals. -- This is a sideblog! I follow from my main; XOX-B1TE-M3-XOX. -- Wanna break mutuals? HARD BLOCK ME! I'll forget otherwise.

Personals will be hard-blocked unless they have a RP sideblog.

I will not roleplay with minors because of my blog's themes.

Proper grammar and punctuation are a must when threading with me.

I exclusively do LITERATE roleplays, typically multi-para in length.

You don't have to match the length of my replies, nor the speed at which I reply! However, I expect more than a sentence or two reply.

If I have not responded to our thread for TWO WEEKS+, tell me! -- Similarly, if you have not responded to our thread for more than THREE MONTHS without notice, I will consider it dropped.

This blog will deal with mature themes, but I will not write NSFW. -- Content leaning to NSFW will fade to black, no exceptions. -- I will not engage in mature themes with minor/aged up muses.

If you write content intended for pr*shippers, or you are one, leave.

I will not roleplay fight sequences unless they are heavily plotted.  -- If our RP is edging towards a fight, please talk with me first so we can discuss where it goes. I will do the same to you.

I am MULTISHIP, so I will ship my muses with multiple characters. -- Every character that I RP with will be set in their own verse. -- Please ask before including other people/muses in our verses.

I am more than willing to write pre-established relationships! -- I will not write pre-established romantic or familial relationships, unless I know you personally.

Don't reblog memes/threads/musings/aesthetics from me.

Specify verses/muses when sending starters/asks! See my verses HERE. -- The main muses of my blog are KIERAN, KOKICHI, KATSUTOSHI, and KITSUNAMI. I will respond as them by default depending on their activity.

I only ship characters in the same age group, including aged up muses. (Ex.: No Scoots x Mane 6, even in the post-finale verse)

If you read these rules, please send an ask with 'I will heal you'. -- I'll also accept you liking my pinned as sending the password.

my blacklist: images of bugs / blood/gore / body horror / spiders, unsanitary jokes

[mirrormazemuses]

——————⋆˙⟡ 𝘛𝘏𝘐𝘚 𝘐𝘚 𝘔𝘠 𝘞𝘖𝘙𝘓𝘋 𝘕𝘖𝘞

private & indie multimuse feat. fandomless & original charas. penned by crowmun.

sideblog to trackdntraild, sister blog to clippedwingsmuses. promo.

an odyssey of drowning within; self-hatred, chronic pain, phobias of abandonment & loss, murder, instability & intense emotional outbursts, suicidal thoughts, emotional manipulation, neglect, depersonalization & derealization, immeasurable guilt, debilitating anger, unhealthy relationships, and moral ambiguity.

please be mindful when threading / viewing, as many of these triggering topics are relevant to the backstories / worldviews of my muses and will be reflected in their thoughts. all topics will be tagged with '[topic] tw' if / when they appear.

i swear a lot ooc, and my characters will most likely do the same. i can tone down the swearing ON REQUEST or based on the rules of my mutuals. swearing will be tagged when it shows up.

rules under the cut. see the character analysis tag and my muses doc for muse info.

——————⋆˙⟡ 𝘼𝙍𝙀𝙉'𝙏 𝙔𝙊𝙐 𝙀𝙓𝘾𝙄𝙏𝙀𝘿?

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀.　　　　　　　　　　⠀⠀⠀✦ ⠀ ⠀　　　　　　　　　　　　　　⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀* ⠀⠀⠀.　　　　　　　　　　. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀✦⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀.　　　　　　　　　　　　　.　　　ﾟ .　　　　　　　　　　　　　. 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　✦ 　　　　　,　　　　　　　. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 　　　　　　*　　　　　　　　　　　. .　　　　　　　　　　　　　. 　　✦⠀　   　　　,　　　　　　　　　* 　　　　　⠀　　　　⠀　　,

——————⋆˙⟡ 𝘙𝘜𝘓𝘌𝘚 𝘖𝘍 𝘛𝘏𝘐𝘚 𝘞𝘖𝘙𝘓𝘋:

Typical roleplay etiquette applies here. No godmodding, no meta-rps, no powerplaying or controlling my muse, and don't be a dick.

This blog is PRIVATE, meaning that I only roleplay with mutuals. -- As this is a sideblog, I follow from my main; TRACKDNTRAILD. -- If you want to break mutuals with me, or you don't want me to follow you, HARD BLOCK ME! I may end up re-following you without realizing/remembering I've been soft-blocked. -- You do not have to follow my main in order to be mutuals with me! A lot of my posts on main tend to be signal boosts and non-rp content that is oftentimes untagged, and may be disruptive on the dashboard. If you want to keep your dashboard clean, you only have to follow this account. -- Please note that if I follow you and you do not follow back after a while, I will unfollow. I'd like to keep my dash mutuals only so I'm not accidentally sending memes/starters to non-mutuals. This is nothing against you personally or your writing.

Personals will be hard-blocked unless they have a RP sideblog.

I will not roleplay with minors because of my blog's themes.

Proper grammar and punctuation are a must when threading with me. -- Capitalization is not a 100% requirement, as my own writing style is entirely lowercase on purpose.

I exclusively do LITERATE roleplays, typically multi-para in length.

You don't have to match the length of my replies, nor the speed at which I reply! However, I expect more than a sentence or two reply.

If I have not responded to our thread for TWO WEEKS+, tell me! -- Similarly, if you have not responded to our thread for more than THREE MONTHS without notice, I will consider it dropped.

This blog will deal with mature themes, but I will not write NSFW. -- Content leaning to NSFW will fade to black, no exceptions. -- I will not engage in mature themes with minor/aged up muses.

If you write content intended for pr*shippers, or you are one, leave.

I will not roleplay fight sequences unless they are heavily plotted. -- If our RP is edging towards a fight, please talk with me first so we can discuss where it goes. I will do the same to you.

I am MULTISHIP, so I will ship my muses with multiple characters. -- Every character that I RP with will be set in their own verse. -- Please ask before including other people/muses in our verses. -- As these are original characters and not canons, I will be extremely selective with shipping based on the circumstances of the worlds my characters are from.

I am more than willing to write pre-established relationships! -- I will not write pre-established romantic or familial relationships, unless I know you personally.

Don't reblog memes/threads/musings/aesthetics directly from me.

PLEASE specify muses when sending starters/asks! -- This blog does not have a default muse, so asks that don't specify a muse will be DELETED. You may specify muses either by name-dropping in quotes, adding specific design indicators in prose, or adding parentheses () as an out of character direction. -- Please don't be offended if your ask is deleted! I only ever delete asks when a muse is not specified. -- If I'm confused on who your ask was referring to, I will ask you instead of deleting it.

I will only ship characters in the same age group, including aged up muses. (Ex.: Maya will only be shipped with Sonic muses that follow the canon ages and not the aged-up system of the rpc)

I prefer to roleplay using icons, and I would like for my partners do the same, HOWEVER, I will not decline roleplaying with you if you don't use icons at all. It's just a personal preference on my end, and it doesn't take away from the writing in our threads. -- Most of my muses will be iconless until enough art is created for them. -- I very rarely, if ever, use faceclaims for my characters as it confuses me. I prefer to use my own artwork/actual artwork of the character(s) if possible. But, I do prefer to use icons when I roleplay, so very specific characters will have faceclaims if they are higher priority than my other characters. -- Faceclaims for my muses will be named and shown through an icon on a muse's character analysis post.

I understand that sending in passwords can be difficult for those who are anxious like I am, so instead of sending in an ask, please like this post to show me you've read & understood my rules!

my blacklist: images of bugs / blood/gore / body horror / spiders, unsanitary jokes

please note that this blog will contain spoilers for my novel series 'the journal', due to featuring the characters johnathon black, anastasia petals and marcasite sile. spoilers will not be tagged. if you do not wish to be spoiled, please block johnathon, anastasia, and marcasite's character tags.

[ask-grandamiral-thrawn]

[OoC, contains !spoilers! for Ahsoka ep. 6]

Sadly, the Ahsoka Show did the one thing I feared: it ruined Thrawn as a character. While many discuss his bodily features and presentation, I really don't have an issue with that. There can be numerous reasons outside of the control of the crew why they had it to do and as many in-universe explanations. Yes, it contrasts Thrawns philosophy of training body and mind to keep in shape, but he is an old man by now who lived 30 years or so in exile.

The thing is:

I would've wished they had talked about that in the series too. Perfect moment for a witty comment by Sabine, something like "You've changed...". A short reply like "I am aware. The time I spent here has taken its toll" and I would've been satisfied. But I'm getting carried away as, again, this isn't my main issue. The whole introduction is.

Thrawns character was often a bit ambiguous. But when I took one thing from the new books, then it is the fact that he despises to stage a great show. The whole introduction sequence felt weird. His man love him, yes. And surely after this long time, they would've developed traditions that make it look like a cult. But Thrawn would've never wanted that. And he wouldn't have used it like that for no reason.

But the worst thing is, that now...he is basically a generic villain. Filoni has done that in Rebels already, yes. But it was a show targeted at kids and teens, so it's understandable that he wanted to have a villain the audience really can hate. Thrawn must be able to hurt the main characters, that's his job.

In Ahsoka tho, I hoped for a complex, layered depiction. And now, not only does he seem to despise Jedi in general, which doesn't even make sense regarding his history, he then pulls the classic "I'm not gonna break my promises, when I never promised to let them live in the first place". That's the same person who got out of their way to talk to a rebel leader he hunted for YEARS. And after the massacre on the planet he tried to avoid the whole time, he proceeded to low-key threatening his only ally in the political system with consequences for that because he hated losing lifes senselessly.

They better come up with an explanation why he has changed. But I fear it won't happen on screen, since it would have obliged to happen in the introduction scene. People being introduced to the character now will wonder why everyone was so hyped about this very generic villain. And I think this presentation of Thrawn, the fact that people will probably not be interested in "yet another Moff Gideon", that's the big crime Ahsoka did...

[margle]

just watched the episode. thoughts I have so many thoughts here is a list of them in no order

undefined queer dennis canon!!!! my favourite type of queer rep honestly because me too dennis, me too

also I looooove how unsanitised mac's sexuality is. like yesss frank representing people who are fine with some aspects of queerness but rejects the bits they dont understand

funny that dee got the 'engage physically bit' and mac didnt. mac has had anal beads in his arse before he will kiss a man. honestly good for him

dennis is pretending to hate mac again??? this man is incapable of emotional intimacy without like 50 constructed rituals

both of them are now equally delusional with mac not getting that he was in love with dennis the whole time and dennis putting anal beads in his arse because he 'wanted soft shell crab'. sure. sure.

I hope they both implode

mac's date was so funny especially the lebron comment. dee was great as usual but a bit under-utilised maybe

dee still giving side character vibes this season which is annoying but whatever this episode was too insane for me to care too much

and we also got more lore on her attitude towards banging men. which is very. very. fucked.

I am kissing glenn for all his little expressions this ep. so mischievous

aehbfjk;sladw;ndf;owalk/mfk;wnoja'pfwdk;ld/nf

canonical macdennis penetration?!

all the roofie stuff was uncomfortable but also not really ooc. they are genuinely so tragic. none of them can see what is so violating about that.

the scene with dennis controlling frank was maybe made to imply that dennis was only controlling mac for the power trip but that doesnt make any fucking sense considering the texting, making him fall in love and HIS EXPRESSIONS. so idk why they did that. I guess to just show that dennis can still be arch? just for some cut away humour? idk im going to have to think about that. like the inclusion of frank feels purposeful

also making dennis put anal beads in his fathers arsehole was insane and disgusting and very sunny

the uncle jack stuff just wasnt funny. it is only funny when his creepiness is implied and absurd - like the hands. just straight up child abuse isnt funny. unless it wasnt meant to be funny?? I feel like his character needs to go somewhere this season otherwise his constant presence feels a bit unnecessary. honestly im hoping he dies.

charlie weakly saying 'disgusting' is just sad.

the patrick guy seemed really nice MAC WHAT ARE YOU DOING

I now understand why that reviewer called him a hopeless romantic

im still reeling

there was just so much in this episode

oh and the end sequence was really funny with frank slobbering everywhere

yeah overall this is definitely going to become a legendary episode

it airing directly after the macdennis break up podcast is really funny

[kel-the-lucky-kitten]

[I'm going to say thank you again to @lurantis1 for helping me out of a perfectionist rut.]

[tobiasdrake]

Observations on BelialVamdemon's Vision Trap

The start of the confrontation with BelialVamdemon/MaloMyotismon is less than fantastic. As soon as he reveals himself, his sheer presence makes the entire cast (except Daisuke) so utterly terrified that they refuse to fight and embrace death instead. This feels remarkably OOC, especially for Hikari and Takeru.

Since all of his companions are suddenly useless, Daisuke has to face BelialVamdemon alone, with only the Adult-stage XVmon to fight with. Against all reason, XVmon actually manages to drive back Belial and force him to switch gears to a new strategy.

Belial imprisons everyone in a fantasy sequence of their own greatest desires. It lasts like five seconds before they each break out of it of their own accord, making the whole thing kinda pointless.

It does serve to show us what each of them truly wants most. But. Like. That's not really anything new for half of them. Takeru wishes his family wasn't divorced. Iori wants to visit the Digital World with his deceased father, who always wanted to visit the Digital World. That makes sense.

For the other two? It kinda just serves to draw attention to the disproportionate amount of focus paid to certain characters' home lives. Did you know that Miyako resents having a lot of siblings, and longs to have things in her life that are just her own? Did you know that Hikari's greatest ambition is to unify the Digital and Human Worlds, such that every human has a Digimon partner? No? Well, that's probably because this is the first time it's ever come up.

We've talked about Takeru's home life and personal struggles. We've talked about Iori's home life and personal struggles. We've talked about Daisuke's home life and personal struggles. We've talked about Ken's home life and personal struggles a lot. But Hikari and Miyako's home lives and personal struggles haven't gotten that same level of attention.

Well, that isn't entirely true. It's not like they've been devoid of character exploration episodes. It's just. Not this. Hikari's focus episodes were about the Dark Ocean, a completely supernatural threat that has no bearing on her actual character, wants, or ambitions.

Hikari's kinda just been a static support beam for everyone else to lean on throughout the series. Which is probably why her illusion is the shallowest of them all. "Hikari enjoys seeing people get along with Digimon." This character is so paper-thin that this was seriously the best they could come up with.

Miyako has gotten more attention, but not regarding her siblings and home life. In fact, her episodes tend to focus on her being a Disaster Bisexual. She falls head-over-heels in love with the other boys and girls around her at the drop of a hat. Ken, Mimi, and Mimi's friend Michael have all been recipients of this, off the top of my head.

But for some reason, her illusion focuses on an element of her life that the show hasn't really explored at all. We know that her parents run a convenience store and she has a lot of siblings, but we've never really gotten to know her family and home life beyond that.

And now it's supposed to be an important plot point on par with Takeru's broken family drama, Ken's remorse over the Digimon Kaiser, and Iori's longing for a father he never got to know. And it's just. It's not. The time has not been spent to make it so.

But then again, how important a plot point it actually is? That's debatable, because this amounts to a very quick temptation scene that everyone immediately gets over in like five seconds. I don't like it.

(Honestly, they probably should have let Daisuke get taken by the illusion and had Hikari be the one to come free everyone. We all know what Daisuke's illusion would be. It'd be Hikari reciprocating his affections. He has a well-defined personal ambition, and making Hikari the savior character would avoid drawing attention to the fact that she doesn't. Plus, like, being the light in the darkness is literally her job.

Or, alternately, they could have spent time to properly develop these two characters to the same extent that the boys got. But I digress.)

[unimpressivegayarrow]

I'm actually super hyped for Tuesday but I've got to wait till Wednesday cause I'm in the uk 😭

[spoiler-ish/thoughts below]

I can't wait to see what happens between iris and Carlos and tk. and I'm sooo scared that iris won't get to sign the divorce papers/doesn't do it quick enough, before all hell breaks loose and we get Carlos!whump.

I don't want the writers to go down the route of iris being a villain, I don't think they should write someone in that way as carlos' best friend. They've not seen each other in a while and I want to get to know iris more, and not have her be something I'm against because she's on a power trip.

I also think from the basis of what we've seen iris and Carlos are best friends and it would be ooc for her to try and stop Carlos from being happy. However I do think that potentially there's going to be an exterior force stopping the wedding from happening in 8 weeks.

we know iris will get hurt so that can impact the divorce papers being signed, we also know that Carlos has a big case this season and he'll get hurt too. potentially both of them getting hurt at the same time or in quick sequence.

maybe iris plans on signing them before she even meets tk based off of Carlos' raving about him. but in good old bestie fashion just wants to have a bit of fun with no intention of screwing them over (which i think is the better option please dont villianise her shes not been there for carlos for the past what seems to be over 6 years) even when they were married it seems like they didnt see much of each other, at least what i can gather from the previous seasons, maybe im wrong. then from the screen grab in ep3 she could go missing or get in trouble and then the wedding storyline get knocked off course.

we know in ep8 that there's going to be wedding planning so either the whump will happen before this (which I think is most likely) or afterwards and more towards the wedding.

I don't think the wedding will happen in 8 weeks because if we're going by the normal timeline (if you can even assume there is a timeline), 8 weeks should, in theory, bring us to episode 8.

but we also know that from episode 1, ep2 will happen the day after. and looking at the promos their still planning the wedding. so there's no real telling how much time has passed.

so it's possible they could still have their wedding in 8 weeks if the episodes have shorter time skips between them but if we're also assuming Carlos is hurt for at least an episode to get some proper angst, there's going to have to be some length of time skip or week by week skip. especially if iris is hurt and can't sign the papers within 2 weeks too.

so there's some of my rambley thoughts stated in no particular order as I write directly from my brain with absolutely no sense. but either way I'm over being angry at the show and I'm ready for some fun shenanigans and quips, and I'm also hyped for Carlos being the one tk has to worry about for once, at risk of sounding like an awful person. but it would be a nice change of pace.

thanks for reading if u read this far

:))

[quiet-filming]

hello...

This is @peridot-the-kitten's BadTimesWithScar rp blog!

I also run a GoodTimesWithScar blog @jellie-tamer, an LDShadowLady rp blog @critter-cove, and a Cubfan135 rp blog @vexing-mask

While Scar and BadTimes are both disabled in nearly the same way in this rp AU, BadTimes opts to use his vex magic to hover most times, rather than use a wheelchair. (He will use mobility aids sometimes though)

(BadTimes speaks in whispers at all times, the loudest he can physically get by himself would be around metso forte for a singer)

Tag system below cut

General tags:

Talk tag: #well hello there... [talk]

Ask tag: #little friend [asks]

Casual rb tag: #diamonds! [Reblogs]

Angst tag: #out of film [angst/heavy content]

Dream sequence tag: #hold your head up (moving on) [dream sequence]

Writing/oneshot tag: #scarrrred for life [writing]

Watcher tag: #into the middle of nowhere [watchers]

Ooc tag: pretending to be you [ooc]

Character blog tags:

GoodTimesWithScar tag: #I will help you out [jellie-tamer]

Grian tag: #beauty is beyond compare [ask-the-grian]

Evil X/Xanthus: #fireworks and hurricanes [lightning-snap]

Anon tags:

Mumbo Jumbo tag: #promises I tend to prefer to break [askmumbojumbo]

Pearlescentmoon tag: #faith steps in and sees you through [pearlescentmoondoesthings]

Blaze anon tag: #Living with the Lost Boys [blaze anon]

[cavegirlpoems]

Your arguments are incorrect and poorly constructed and I am going to pick them apart because of that. If you didn't want that to happen, then you shouldn't have responded to my posts to begin with. How is he 'playing a different game'? He's at the table making decisions for his character and rolling dice just like everybody else.

How does his decision prevent the other players from 'playing the game'? You assert that this is the case, but you don't actually explain how or why.

How is a player deciding to cast lightning bolt because they read the module already different to a player who hadn't deciding to cast lightning bolt based on a lucky guess, or because they'd run out of fireballs?

I genuinely cannot follow the logic leading from 'a player uses ooc-knowledge to go off the railroad' to 'the other players are now no longer playing the game'. Your argument here makes a huge, totally unjustified, leap. You assert that playing the game having read ahead and not having read ahead are different games, with no explanation or justification for how this is the case. You also claim that these are a zero-sum game, that both cannot exist at the same table, and again there's no explanation or justification of why this is the case.

You seem to believe that using outside knowledge to sequence-break the GM's railroad is so disastrous as to totally destroy the game for everybody involved. What kind of weird and terrible games are you playing where figuring out the boss monster's weakness too quickly is so bad that - in your own words - the other players don't get to play the game?

Anyway, in conclusion, metagaming is still good, actually, and you - fluxxdog specically - are just bad at playing pretend.

Metagaming Is Good, Actually, You Just Suck At Playing Pretend

OK so metagaming is a term with an incredibly nebulous definition, but the way it gets thrown around - particularly in That Fandom - is just ridiculous. You are, in fact, playing a game. For fun. You should make your in-game decisions based on what will be most enjoyable for you, and the other participants in this game, and to do that well, the nature of the game is a consideration.

Some, non-exhaustive, examples of positive metagaming: -Deliberately taking plot-hooks even when you don't have a good IC reason to. -Deliberately grouping up with the other PCs even if they're basically strangers. -Making genre-appropriate decisions for the type of game you're in (being overly curious in Call of Cthulhu or petty and melodramatic in Monsterhearts). -Making tactically optimal choices in challenge-based games (such as osr dungeon-exploration, or 4e combat). -Not taking actions that will be unwantedly upsetting for other players ooc (such as not using arson as a weapon if a player has trauma relating to a house-fire).

'being in character' is not a suicide-pact compelling you to make bad decisions because 'it's what my character would do', and indeed 'it's what my character would do' is shorthand for a particular type of shit player for a good reason! If you fuck things up by making stupid ic decisions, or unfun ooc decisions, to avoid 'metagaming', you're a shit player.

If 'how would I know that' comes up, you can just make something up to explain it. RPGs are games about making things up. Add an incident to your backstory, maybe, and get some free character development out of it.

Anyway, yeah, despite what some people will tell you, metagaming is a positive behaviour so long as you're not deliberately using it to enable behaviours that would be toxic even without metagaming.