midnightactual

[midnightactual]

"TURN DOWN FOR WHAT!?"

[midnightactual]

PSA: No, People Don't Secretly Hate You, You've Just Hit the Wall

Something nobody will tell you about roleplay (because it's not commonly thought about) is that there's a phenomenon that's somewhat adjacent to both "bleed" and "burnout", yet is also completely different from both, which you will almost certainly encounter at some point regardless of what muses you run, what fandom they're from, or whether they're canon or OC. It's not about confusing a muse's emotions with your own (or vice versa) but it does typically produce an emotional response in a mun.

Do you suddenly have a sneaking suspicion that everyone hates your muse, and it makes you feel like they hate you by proxy, or anything kind of in that general vicinity? That's what I'm talking about.

There's no official term for this phenomenon, yet just in the past few weeks I've seen many people experiencing it. Let's provisionally call it "Hitting the Wall". When I put together my thoughts on it, they were generally received positively, so I'm cleaning them up and posting them to let you know that if you feel this way, you're not the only one. Pretty much everyone feels like this at some point.

For a canon, Hitting the Wall can manifest as a kind of... metatextual awareness which you may or may not be consciously aware of. If you're not, it'll probably register as an emotion rather than a thought. It can be as if you're suddenly in physical contact with the superstructure of fandom perception of your muse, bouncing and scraping across the consensus viewpoint and expectations of them. You might become much more aware of whatever misconceptions others may (or may not) have about your muse, double standards your muse is held to, or general negative trends expressed toward them like misogyny or Flanderization, and it will probably start to grate on you. Interactions might start to take on a feeling of, "If only you could see what I see and understand all the possibilities before you." It might feel like everyone's pretty meh about your muse because you're not meeting their expectations in favor of these possibilities and your own vision, and therefore it starts to feel like they're pretty meh about you.

For an OC, Hitting the Wall is fairly similar, but it's more to do with a perception of apathy and indifference rather than ingrained preconceptions since there are usually few if any preconceptions to be had. (Although, perhaps FCs might lead people a certain way.)

A certain truth that RP will teach you if you do it long enough is that around 99% of the time, whatever someone's behavior is, it has nothing to do with you. They're having a bad time at work or school, they're having personal or interpersonal issues, there's simply a lot going on in their life, whatever. It's extremely unlikely that there is actually any kind of stand-alone conspiracy against you, let alone an organized one. It's rather unlikely that people are even thinking of you at all when they act in ways that impact you.

(I say this not to minimize oppressive fandom pigeonholing of canons or RPC apathy toward OCs, both of which are absolutely very real phenomena themselves, but rather to say that those are seldom the reason why people behave how they do, which in turn informs your own responses.)

Just because your perception of what's happening may not be grounded in a factual circumstance though, that doesn't mean what you're feeling isn't real and valid. It's simply that the source of that feeling may not be what you think it is. More than likely, you are the source of that feeling. That feeling is probably rooted in a known or unknown dissatisfaction with your current status quo state of affairs with your muse.

While it takes two people to properly roleplay and you're limited in terms of what you can do by the roleplaying partners available to you, if your dissatisfaction is truly originating within yourself, that means you can actually have total control over it.

So what do you do if you find you're Hitting the Wall? Good question! I'm still working that out myself! I think the main thing is to flip the script. On the one hand, perhaps let your muse try new things if they've grown too comfortable and seem dissatisfied. On the other, maybe seek out things you know to be comforting to them if they feel out of their comfort zone. At any rate, I think looking within is a more productive response than looking without, and you're not alone. Now you know, and knowing is half the battle.

[midnightactual]

She's just there with that sad ODST saxophone coming from somewhere.

[midnightactual]

"Standby for Titanfall, loser—it's Spooky Season."

[midnightactual]

"Woe unto whomsoever decides to bring 'hag' talk around the SWA."

[midnightactual]

Yoruichi's brows lifted marginally at the word 'sarcasm', as if to wordlessly protest her innocence! How could such a guileless face possibly be up to no good? Yet she said nothing until after the remarks which followed the huffy hair toss and wave. Perhaps Yoruichi was even more irritating for knowing when not to mouth off, or even say anything at all, than she was just for her quips in the first place. "Oh, I was just saying hello there! Since I've got your attention though, I suppose I might as well voice an idea I've been rolling around that might interest you."

She inhaled, shut her eyes, and held her bare hands up, palms out, as if to suggest a vidscreen. "Imagine: somebody who's well-known and trusted by the Solo community begins to officially recommend the goods and services of other like-minded professionals. Ripperdocs, Techies, suppliers of odds and ends, all that. Not a job primer or weapon guide like Blackhand used to write, but standard, formal service reviews—like the old Michelin Guides, but just for Solos. Sharing the wealth of experience ensures more Solos know about and get the best support and gear for their price points, they survive longer with higher success rates, there's more competition for work which means they have to bid lower, but there's also more work to go around that they'll live through. Win-win and profits for everybody."

Yoruichi exhaled and opened her eyes again, locking gazes with Rogue. "Not like a medieval guild or something, but a... mutually-beneficial and informal community association. Could even call it something ironic such as, oh, Going Rogue or the like? Maybe a subtitle too. Surviving and Thriving in Night City? Of course, such valuable insights would never come free, with a nominal subscription fee ensuring continued quality..." She spread her bared hands aside as though to complete the vision of all the money on the table from subscriptions, lower Solo takes, more Fixer work, possibly ad revenue from service providers (certainly not kickbacks!)...

YOU'RE LOOKING FRESH AS A DAISY. @midnightactual

" your sarcasm isn't appreciated. " unless it wasn't sarcasm, in which case the compliment, pulled out of the blue for what was surely some nefarious reason or another, was even less appreciated. when people wanted something, which rogue assumed to be the reason the other had approached her at all let alone with empty praise, she much preferred when the request was made outright ─── yanking off the bandaid for both involved and letting the chips fall where they may.

a sigh, followed by a sweeping gesture which would find a majority of her hair moved from one shoulder to the other, a single hand waved at yoruichi in order to give her the floor. " what is it that i, and my daisy fresh self, can do for you today? "

[midnightactual]

Gundam RP Masterlist!

Reblog this post and add in the tags

your URL

if you’re a single muse or a multimuse

if they're canon or an OC

from which series they are

your muse’s name

EXAMPLE: scrunklyrpblog, single muse, animal crossing verse, Scrunkly the Mighty

to be added in the list!

NOTE: if you have a multimuse blog, write as many muses as you have; if you’d like, feel free to give your muse a “title” to describe them!

Characters in alphabetical order can be found HERE

[midnightactual]

By this point, Yoruichi had received pretty much every kind of reaction to her public performances which one might reasonably expect from a semi-randomized Japanese audience. She'd been doing these on a rotating basis here and there for long enough that the people who weren't fans usually knew to just leave for a while rather than kick up a fuss, so whoever did turn up was typically enthusiastic. or at least curious. It'd been a while since she'd been to this park in particular, though.

It accordingly struck her as somewhat unusual for someone to try and get her attention before her set, as this young woman was now doing. From the moment she turned her attention to the gal, she wasn't really expecting heckling given the attire and appearance, but what was asked was if anything only more surprising. Her brows visibly rose above the frames and lenses of her sunglasses for a second, before she gave a pearly white smile and a double thumbs-up. "Do as you like!"

She couldn't even start to guess at how many times she'd been sketched, drawn, painted... forget photographed. She turned her attention back to her own affairs, getting up on the small portable stage and checking her mic and audio before starting up her little hour-long 'concert', singing whatever 'parodies' and covers amused her. The genres were eclectic, but there was no denying her voice and energy!

When she'd finished, taken her bows, and turned off her gear, she gladhanded for a moment with whomever lingered, then made her way over to her impromptu inspired artist. It was only natural for a muse to be curious about the work they'd inspired. "Well, I hope that was to your liking! Might I see what you've made?"

Closed Starter for @midnightactual

Sitting underneath the tree, Flora has her sketchbook propped up on her knees as she watches the woman getting ready to perform in the park. Other people started to form around her, a small audience eager to see what she had in mind. This was unusual to see, after all. Plus, the clothes she wore were quite dramatic and theatrical. That was precisely why Flora had something she wanted to ask.

Putting the sketchbook down beside her, she pushes herself up off the ground and dusts herself off for a moment. She was nervous to say anything, usually choosing to take inspiration from people rather than draw a stranger detail for detail, but she couldn't pass up this opportunity when she had it. Approaching the woman, she calls out to catch her attention.

"U-Um, h-hey! I-I have a question before you start your performance... c-can I... draw you, please?" She points back to the place she was just sitting under the shade of the tree, the notebook closed, and the pencil laid on its cover.

[midnightactual]

The irritated response yielded only the faintest impression of a smile from Yoruichi—the corners of her mouth ticked up a few degrees. By the time Rogue had her sunglasses up and was fixing her with a cool gaze, she had already moved to inspect the damage from a closer vantage point, apparently not even noticing the glare. Maybe Yoruichi was a little showy about how she did her review, first looking down contemplatively, then squatting with the greatest of ease, one forearm folded across her knees with the hand palming the elbow of the other, propped to cradle her chin thoughtfully. (It also emphasized how perfectly her backside filled out her leather pants, which scrunched enough to show off a crescent of her lower back, though that was—presumably—not the point.)

"Baseless?" Yoruichi repeated back, though her tone wasn't mocking. It was more like she was tasting the word, as though for the first time. "It's actually kind of flattering you imagine I plan on following you around all day playing Twenty Questions," she continued, now sounding a little entertained. "I could fix this whole thing up for you, you know." She pushed herself back to her feet and faced the Fixer with a smile.

"Better quality of work and price than you'd get taking it in somewhere. Could even spruce it up some if you liked."

DAMN, ROGUE, HOW MANY CARS CAN ONE PERSON CRASH ? @midnightactual

" as many as one person wants. " a less than warm welcome on a more than warn morning afternoon. sunglasses pushed upwards settled in her hairline, gaze narrowing as though the question itself were an insult ; the word CRASH was so ... violent. an exaggeration, really, given that the car now safely parked in her assigned space was almost exactly as it had been the night before. still, rogue would admit to having paid less than full attention on her way in, just as she would admit that her car ( which, again looked almost exactly like it always had ) had seen better days. " is this a preview of what i have to look forward to for the rest of the day? baseless questions and a lack of personal boundaries? lucky me. "

[midnightactual]

I have a quick question for you; do you think Kukaku may be on par with Yoruichi when it comes to maneuvering and wrangling others? And the only reason Kukaku doesn't move often is because she has zero interest in getting involved until Yoruichi calls in a favour or two?

yes, if not better at it. Kūkaku is, as I've said elsewhere, imo Bleach's Broly: pretty chill until provoked, monstrously powerful and terrifying once she is. this is why she's able to effortlessly cajole Ginjō, Tsukishima, and Giriko, who together should be able to pretty easily overturn almost any situation that annoyed them. they don't even try with her. Yoruichi herself is also pretty surprised at how Kūkaku handles Ganju (which, although played for comedy, is more proof Ganju was born after Yoruichi left and she didn't know him at all, and perhaps Yoruichi isn't used to seeing Kūkaku's wrath)

something which foolish wannabe Bleach fans never consider when they dismiss Kūkaku's power and try to lowball her as only being like Vice Captain-class or low Captain-class is, if she's so weak, and Aizen thinks she's Kisuke's minion, why didn't he just go full Anatar with Kyōka Suigetsu and try to seduce her (platonically or sexually) to get an inside track on disrupting Kisuke's efforts, or at least surveil him better? well, Aizen avoids things he can't win against easily or at all, like Yoruichi in TBTP, Kenpachi in HM, and Yamamoto in FKT, so the math isn't hard to do

as for her movements, it's hard to say. CFYOW calls the Shiba homes "fortifications" or something like that, suggesting they're essentially bunkers, and at least somewhat characterizes Kūkaku and the Shiba more broadly as like doomsday preppers. their symbol is called Crashing Heaven's Downfall and all...

[midnightactual]

"Yeah? That's my name, don't wear it out."

oi,   yoruichi.

[midnightactual]

"𝔻𝕚𝕕 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕜 𝕪𝕠𝕦'𝕕 𝕘𝕖𝕥 𝕒𝕨𝕒𝕪 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕚𝕥? ℍ𝕒 𝕙𝕒 𝕙𝕒 𝕙𝕒 𝕙𝕒 𝕙𝕒 𝕙𝕒 𝕙𝕒 𝕙𝕒! 𝔻𝕚𝕕 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕜... 𝕀 𝕨𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕𝕟'𝕥 𝕜𝕟𝕠𝕨?! ℍ𝕒 𝕙𝕒 𝕙𝕒 𝕙𝕒 𝕙𝕒...!"