Okay, so, no one needs to read this monstrous post. This isn't about the state of the RP, nor is it even useful information. Only read it if you're curious about the subtler nuances of Chapter 4 and want to see me flail ineffectually about how I feel my writing came across the wrong way.
Anyway. I kinda ranted about something to Greens. I got to thinking about it, and, I dunno if I should share it or not. I guess I just want to because I feel like I should get it off my chest. I'm afraid it'll come across whiny, and I don't want to be that way. But, I dunno, I think it's better than not being open. I'm not upset; I just wanna set out my character's angle for anyone who cares to see it, and finally expose all the intentions that were hidden.
I was gonna copy and paste the log, but logs are hard to digest, so I'll just summarize with better-organized scraps from the log.
Here's the sitch'. I think I may actually be starting to subconsciously resent the simplification of this... Rock situation, as of the end of chapter 4. I jestingly say "he sent them to Chun-nan 'cause he's a jerk, lololo" but I think some folks may be taking it seriously and elevating him to memetic jerkdom. No, Rock is no saint or martyr — geez no, he's not — and he definitely hasn't chosen the wisest path of greatest peace or best outcome, but the results of chapter 4 aren't so simple, and I don't think they can all be pinned on Rock alone.
Let's break it down for a sec here.
1. Chapter 3b. They get to space, and find that Tracer is a dangerous criminal associate of Coop's. Rock goes hairtrigger on her while she tries to swipe an emerald from Jam. He subdues her, but Badge is a pure, white-hat hero and stops him from finishing her off. Tracer uses the opportunity to blow a hole in the side of Rock's head with a cluster of micromissiles and eviscerates his entire left ear in the process.
2. Badge is then entrusted with keeping Tracer in custody. He loses her. She escapes because he forgot about her. No one finds out about this, though, so it doesn't affect much. (She's eventually found offscreen with the other survivors on the Nocturnus world, anyway.)
3. Chapter 3b: Day 1, pt. III, Geoff becomes hostile as soon as he sees Rock and starts trying to strongarm him and Jam into following orders. He very blatantly takes advantage of Rock's weakened condition and even throws his injuries around as motivation for them to listen to what he says to do, replete with ultimatums. Uncharacteristically, a weakened Rock actually chooses his battles, does not retaliate, and walks away without retort. (Jam said enough, anyway.)
4. Later, they somehow manage to work together anyway, and eventually, they get home from the Hell Trip In Space. Chapter 4: Day 1, Eggman tractor beams their returning spacecraft, and they are trapped in a situation where there is nothing that can be easily done. Murdoch is Murdoch, and starts outright assailing Rock and co., blaming them for what's happening, demanding information, etc. (Again, this is Murdoch As Intended, I obviously feel, because he is who he is.)
5. Rock could try to escape with them, but he doesn't know for sure it'll work. He doesn't know if he'll be able to do anything if it does. So, he demands that Badge (the only other pilot) stay in the ship, goes out to meet the enemy, plays his cards, and falsely joins the opposing side. He gives Ace the option to work with him, or to go help save the others while he buys time for him. The hint is subtle, but it's pretty clear what Rock is intimating if all facts are considered. Ace gets unsettled and immediately distrusts Rock, and gets out of there with the others not just to save them, but because he thinks Rock is genuinely switching sides.
6. Rock goes out of his way to get Caz to make sure she is okay, and so Ace can see she is okay whenever they eventually have another chance encounter. They have that encounter in the club (the club that was directly neighboring the Eggman factory they all attacked, and thus was bound to get approached by Eggman forces eventually anyway). Rock drives people out rather than capturing or harming anyone. Rodolf attacks him, but Rock is indirect and just avoids him and hurls him away rather than actually trying to subdue him. Ace distrusts him all the more.
7. Ace & friends make a getaway in the van Rock was using. (Not Rock's van, per se, but just an Eggman Empire vehicle he was using. No "you stole my bike" sentiments here.) Tau is still in the back of it, hidden as a covered lump of indiscernible Robo Stuff, seemingly deactivated. He listens in to their conversation then tells Rock later, and Rock in turn tells Rouge, with whom he was in contact. Rouge goes to help the party in Dry Lagoon the next morning.
8. The two parties have their encounter on the command center ship in Eggmanland. Ace, Geoff & crew do the hard part of busting in; Rock and Jam follow and help throw Seven off balance—not a big, helpful rescue, but just enough to tip the scales and give them a better opening. Geoff subdues Seven. Rock stops the ship from crushing everyone by fixing the artificial gravity and restoring life support. By this point, Desmond has threatened him with a knife.
9. They get to the critical moment where they're up on the deck, aboard the Egg Destroyer, ready to establish the "new Eggman." Everyone is still pretty spiny. They don't want Rock in control, and Rock doesn't want any of them in control. Selfish? Yeah. Can't say he has any reason to want anything to do with any of them except maybe Ace, though, especially after chapter 3b. But then, even Ace attacks him. (Yes, Ace Shot First in this case.)
10. Full battle ensues. It's six on two. Ember, whom Jam & Rock and others had helped after her abduction by Coop, attacks Rock. Mako, whom Rock had rescued from an Eggman base in chapter 1, attacks him. Even Shadow the Hedgehog attacks him, and Shadow was initially brought on board by Rouge to help with everyone's collective cause (that is, Rock's included). In other words, crap's goin' sideways fast.
11. In Rock's ending, he's lucky and makes it through Seven's explosion and finishes Seven off. Tau remotely stops the ship from having a meltdown, and finally, all is done. Rock offers Geoff the opportunity to still be a part of things even after everything that has happened. It definitely isn't because he particularly likes Geoff, and it's certainly not out of the goodness of his heart, but he knows the hedgehog's good for something. (Again, I am merely counting the extent of Rock's misunderstandings and multitudinous misfortunes, not trying to paint him as a good goodguy.) Geoff is resentful and leaves the offer where it lies.
12. Ace approaches and levelly makes a reasonable admission, and kind of opens up at last and seems to want to reconcile things, but remains unapologetic about attacking Rock. Then, he essentially blames Rock on grounds of keeping secrets. This is his justification for launching a physical attack.
13. Rock gets mad and suggests crudely that he should throw them off the ship. Ace is put off, gives up, and tells Rock to send him back to his Caz then walks away.
Final verdict from Rock: Go directly to Chun-nan. Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200.
Rock is left feeling pretty crappy about the whole thing, but takes solace in the cheap revenge of sending them someplace horrible.
Quote: Soul Hander * (11:03:16 PM): So it really was all miscommunication.
Brainwrack (11:04:05 PM): Well, Rock genuinely did not care about some of their fates, and would have just as soon have seen Geoff and the like fall into Eggman's clutches, sure.
Brainwrack (11:04:23 PM): So part of what he was saying about them not caring about him and him not caring about them was true. But there were a lot of innocents caught in the fray that he would have felt wrong about.
Brainwrack (11:04:40 PM): And even if Ace had not helped out, he would have done something eventually to try to help those others, if he was at all able.
Brainwrack (11:04:49 PM): But the sacrifice was one that he felt had to be made to stand a chance.
So... here's the thing. I did want Rock to seem at first like he could have genuinely gone rogue. I did paint a lot of his narrative and dialogue that color of suspicion, just for the intrigue of doing it. That was part of the fun and drama of chapter 4 for me, anyway, and I wouldn't change how any of it turned out. This is not a complaint about how it turned out. And, there were times when he veered dangerously close to truly having the motivations he portrayed, because, frankly, he didn't like or trust some of the other cast members, and probably felt some satisfaction watching them struggle. (He is not nice, either.) But, above all: It would have been boring from an OOC standpoint if everyone trusted him. His methods were not the best, and any other hero who was more inclined to try to keep relationships intact would have probably found some subtle way to communicate with the others and let them in on what was happening without tipping the Eggman Army off.
... But the truth is that he couldn't have had a whole lot of reason to want to do that. There weren't any relationships, nor was there much heroic motivation for him to care for their well-being. A cursory glance at previous chapters shows that things Haven't Been Good between them and that he has been on the receiving end of some crap. They did not like him, he did not like them. And, Ace? Rock simply overestimated the trust (and astuteness to see through the facade) he felt Ace would have had in him after all the things they had been through together.
So, we ended up with a glorious wreck of misunderstandings in the story. And, I love that kind of stuff. The only thing I don't love is how it feels like everybody OOC may have taken it all at face value and just labeled Rock "Jerkass" and called it a day. There was motivation both good and bad there, but at the end of the day, he held good intentions for everyone except a select few... and, I daresay he had a little room to be vengeful toward them.
Quote: Brainwrack (12:03:35 AM): Just to be clear...
Brainwrack (12:03:39 AM): I do not lament how anything turned out.
Brainwrack (12:03:43 AM): This is the kind of drama I RP for.
Brainwrack (12:03:48 AM): I just lament people's perception of it.
That is all.
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