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Post by Masahiro Sakurai on Feb 27, 2022 21:05:41 GMT 10
Big duel here, if Yoshi were to win, this would be the stage for it to happen on.
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Post by Masahiro Sakurai on Feb 28, 2022 3:42:10 GMT 10
I guess communication styles are a good enough place to start. Squirtle is happy with most communication styles along the interweaving spectrums of long/short wordy/concise character/strategy humour/business rapidfire/hoursbetween adn tends mostly to just respond in kind. The redflags for badvibes come more from content and intent then from style: - Straight up ignoring Squirlte. Either by just not responding (Pyramythra!) when seriously it should be a super basic rule not to log on here if you're not prepared to respond to all new messages in a reasonable window. - Or ignorance by not actually responding to what was said/asked in the message they're replying to (also Pyramythra this round, though they're usually better, and Dedede to an extant, but this was donkeymonkey's major offence, and wario borders on it at times too, just ramming you with their current agenda after ignoring yours for hours so that he can pretend it's irrelevant now) - Kind of a corollary of that is that ideally every message should open up the conversation some. Add something which invites a response, even if it's not a direct question. When Squirtle doesn't get that, Squirtle senses the other smasher doesn't want more talk with Squirtle and is just ticking boxes. Kingcruel falls afoul of this sometimes. But he's also willing to doublemessage later when something comes up, so it's easier to accept it as his style/preference - it just means that when he doesn't invite a substantial reply, Squirtle doesn't give him one. His stock with Squirtle has lowered this round because of the any hours that passed between messages, with Squirtle as last reply and Kingcruel not re-initiating the discussion. I love this from Squirtle's latest confessional. Not just because it's readable, and not because I necessarily agree with all of it, but because I think it really hits the nail on the head at explaining some of the fundamental issues at play when people communicate in these games. K Rool's occasional messages that are either non-sequitur or impossible to reply to are something I've noted a few times scrolling through Lakitu, particularly with non-allies. I definitely notice a lot of very conveniently unanswered questions when people reply to a PM again after a long time too, from several people all throughout the game. It's a classic trick. This is the kind of Squirtle content I adore, analytical and fun insight into how he plays and forms opinions. It's really good food for thought for people reading after the game who want to improve that aspect of their game. While I think it's tinged with a little bias arising from perspective, the only thing I personally super-disagree with is the part about not logging in if you're not prepared to clear out your inbox. There's so much more fun to be had with ORGs than PMs, which are so many people's least favourite part of games precisely because of this kind of meta and the mentality it promotes.
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Post by Sandbag on Feb 28, 2022 8:00:14 GMT 10
Legit should just take that confessional and shove it in the rules
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Post by Sandbag on Feb 28, 2022 8:51:28 GMT 10
Wario to Kazuya - "Others are worried about you/Dark Pit but don't worry, i'm downplaying it"
Wario to everyone else - "O M G DARK PIT AND KAZUYA ARE BESTIES, OBVI BECAUSE THEY WENT TO THE STANDS, AND HE DIDN'T TELL ME ANYTHING, AND HE CLEARLY HAS THE SMASH BALL OBVIOUSLY BECAUSE I COULDN'T FIND IT WITH THE INSTRUCTIONS HE GAVE ME AND ITS CLEAR HE'S LYING ABOUT THAT. WHAT A LIAR"
Most everyone else already - "We should be cognizant of Dedede/Dark Pit/Kazuya because they were supposedly close on early green."
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Post by Sandbag on Feb 28, 2022 8:54:36 GMT 10
Meanwhile, Falco has got his beak so far up his own butt that he can't see the shit he's spreading and thinks nobody else can either.
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Post by Tabuu on Feb 28, 2022 10:39:34 GMT 10
Falco is a little hard to watch right now. I have been loving the mess all premerge and most of last round, but watching him be the biggest one targeting himself because he started spiraling and deciding he was doomed when nobody had even suggested a name yet is uh... it's a little sad. He probably will be the main target now because he's made sure of it, like why is Kazuya going to consider a potential pitch from Falcon to vote elsewhere if Falco is giving himself up already?
He and Pythra have really pissy attitudes in this merge and I'd abandon ship immediately if I were an ally of theirs, and I think their being defeatist instead of just trying to move past it and survive is a bad look for them both.
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Post by Sandbag on Feb 28, 2022 10:41:10 GMT 10
It's like a race to see who can be more wrong. Falco and Pythra are toxic at this point. yikes.
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Post by Sandbag on Feb 28, 2022 10:49:24 GMT 10
BUT WAIT, HERE COMES FALCO!
Falco (To Kaz): "Hey Kazuya, I think its me, but i dont want a side war, should we both volunteer?"
Kazuya (To Falco): "idk what Side War means but we should try and avoid the ring. Explain?"
Falco (To Blue Chat): "omg, Kazuya is TARGETING ME! He all but said so!"
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Post by Tabuu on Feb 28, 2022 10:58:23 GMT 10
It does seem like Falcon and Squirtle want to vote for a green this round, and the only issue is that Falco's attempts at... whatever he's attempting is making it almost impossible to do that. He's decided all his connections are dead and is trying to burn them to the ground while everyone else was just asleep? Ready to align with Falco the next day because this was an easy vote where Pythra agreed to be voted but was secretly furious and just didn't tell them? And so he's saying Kazuya said he's voting Falco when Kazuya's message was just "what side war are you talking about? i would rather us not duel?" and being pissy with Falcon/Squirtle for letting the round be a Falco/Squirtle duel when those two literally want to save him and have heard nothing of his name coming up this round.
It's just... idk. I think it's a case of needing to log off sometimes and clear your head. He would be in a much better position if he were not online at all.
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Post by Masahiro Sakurai on Feb 28, 2022 15:38:20 GMT 10
That was an interesting duel. I don't know where Pythra made a mistake initially, but it certainly cost them here. That concept strongly helped Yoshi; he is very fortunate to get a Sicily-exclusive concept from Falcon.
Wario is currently plotting to send in Dark Pit and a Dark Pit vs Falco duel would be hilarious if it ended up happening that way.
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Post by Tabuu on Feb 28, 2022 17:53:39 GMT 10
Legit no idea who is getting voted in with just one hour left. I think if this duel is Falco vs Yoshi it will be entirely Falco's fault because he wanted to have his cake and eat it too by voting Yoshi to not piss off Dark Pit while also wanting Dark Pit sent in. Every other non-green is making the effort to shift things but he simply will not stop digging the hole for himself and blaming everyone else.
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Post by Master Hand on Feb 28, 2022 18:17:39 GMT 10
I said in Discord I didn't have enough time to do this but this round is making it unavoidable: ~THE MASTER FINGERS~
THE THUMB
I totally understand where Wario qualifying for this would make more sense because he is playing in such an OTT manner, but immunity is going to delay anyone acting on that and his case is more a continuation of his game to date, whereas these three are creating a new situation for themselves. I kinda get how Kazuya is falling into this trap since he hasn't played in eight and a half years, but the other two not clicking with what they really should be doing is shocking to me. Dark Pit was on the exact opposite end of this scenario at the Ghibli merge, while Dedede is usually so good at knowing when to move on from anything.
The concept of sticking with Green and even actively creating a scenario where none the five them duel is insanity to me. You cannot spend weeks claiming to not be invested in something and working on other relationships and then do nothing of substance to support the latter over the former. If Green stay intact after this it'll only galvanise the four who remain into voting against one of them on their own, with Green able to offer zero input or opinion. The aim would be to knock at least one off, most likely more, and that should make it obvious King K. Rool has zero incentive to stay loyal to Green. In choosing Smashville and openly talking of his lack of confidence in challenges, K. Rool would be the one voted for 100%. And between Wario's personality conflicts and having one of his wins be unconvincing, he too does not have much reason to play along.
Maybe the battle is won, sure, but the war will be lost if clarity is not gained, and fast.
THE INDEX FINGER
Tying into the above, King K. Rool is handling everything this round impressively well and doing the logical thing while also covering his tracks. He has established himself as a credible voice in this movement and I feel that has been vital because there are so many factors surrounding Wario that undermine his intentions. With the acknowledgement that there may be a tipping point where he is thrown into the Ring because everything is that messy, K Rool has been able to recognise the state of play and his position within it, and his self awareness is continuing to be an asset for him.
THE MIDDLE FINGER
I decided on this overnight because I did not want to give Falco a third Thumb in four editions of this. I am supposed to be a soft blogger in all my hosting roles why must you constantly direct me into acting otherwise This is hard because like, I hold such high respect for Yog and have considered him a friend and colleague for a decade now, but he's just...tanking badly in this game. The others have articulated it above so I'll avoid piling on too much.
To me, it is the Why that I want to delve into. Falco needs to realise this is not ORGY, and not the ORGY meta, and whatever issues he had in that environment (which are likely valid) do not apply here. He is constantly going on about not liking aspects of the format and the way people approach games and in doing so he is creating the exact atmosphere for himself he claims to most despise. I worry that this overall experience will turn sour for him fast if he can't course correct.
THE RING FINGER
Over a decade later, there's still nothing quite like watching Amolly in action together in an ORG for me. At this stage of their ORG careers they really have seen and experienced everything, especially in Arena, but opportunities for them to play together as clear allies haven't been as frequent as one might expect. This development has been an exciting one to watch unfold over the last 24 hours or so, I'm curious to see if they're able to cement a long-term working relationship as appears to be possible.
THE PINKY
The game has descended into chaos and nobody really qualifies as such for the Pinky, so I'll give this to a staff member again Sandbag may look harmless and silly, but there is much more to them than meets the eye. This is also an opening to talk about the massive impact all the sandbags have been having on everything, it has been such an iconic addition to the format. Even as I speak, Wario has surely snatched the Shield Sandbag to be immune at Final 9, and we just saw Yoshi take down a formidable competitor in Pyra & Mythra by being able to get his preferred challenge concept. There so many dimensions to the twist, I've enjoyed seeing them and found it refreshing
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Post by Tabuu on Feb 28, 2022 18:36:15 GMT 10
Anyway, today's Tabuu Topic is....... the effects of brain worms and what they can do to you Everything I read of the pink team makes it abundantly clear why Gold deserves to win out here, and the funny thing is that Gold isn't even really trying to stick together. Pink is just being so stupid that they physically can't make a move on anyone from Gold. Like Wario is voting for Dark Pit to blindside some old Greens, but Dark Pit insists on being dumb and not turning on Green because they're still amazing connections for him. I will give some props to Robin for seeing the writing on the wall and trying to just abandon ship here. Ok it looks like it MIGHT be Dark Pit vs Yoshi at the time of writing, and it is absolutely deserved in Dark Pit's case. His allies needed him to make some attempt at showing he's not just Green Strong and he would not do it, and now those greens are sending his ass in and he'll look stupid for it. Even Robin is tempted to vote him in too because of the lack of compromise there. Ranking now featuring faces because I just found out those emotes exist! Want to also preface this by saying this is a GREAT cast and I have very much enjoyed watching this whole game play out. I think they've all really brought the format to life in a way I didn't think they would, and I hope the ones who have come out of retirement for this consider playing more in future.
Captain Falcon
Still my fave in the game. He is navigating this round as well as he possibly can, while all the people he would've needed to make moves with (besides Squirtle) are being dunces. I give him props for dealing with that blue pm chain without yelling at Falco.
King K Rool
It really needs to be said that K Rool is handling this merge the best out of everyone. On paper he is the easy vote in, he's a green member who is shit at challenges, but what K Rool has is a level of awareness nobody else has in this cast. He's able to see exactly what the others really plan on doing and is one of the lowest targets this round because of it. Regardless of where K Rool places, this merge has been him at his best. edit: and minutes after I write this, Robin finally convinces the Dedede/Pit/Kaz trio to boot K Rool lol Amazing
Robin
Robin sees the writing on the wall and has made attempts to really distance himself from Pink and that sinking ship, and as a result his name is not coming up at all despite how easy it should be to make it happen, with him being the only Red to make merge and losing that entire first week of connections. His later swap gameplay left some question marks, but I think he has played great here and is still a sleeper pick for the win.
Wario
Wario may be considered the loose cannon of this game atm, but for me it's in a good way. I still love Wario, his messiness is still fun and while yes him thinking Kazuya turned on him because he doesn't understand the smash ball shit is hilarious and dumb, all his schemes still have an element of FUN to them. It's the good kind of OTTN. Lady Eboshi approved villainy.
Squirtle
Maybe the highest Squirtle has ever been? I kinda view him as an extension of Falcon at this point, minus his very well hidden Smash Ball that I doubt anyone will ever learn of until he plays it. Squirtle's shtick is still almost impossible to read and I only ever take the effort to try when it's a small message, but he is in a very interesting position here where he could be a key player moving forward.
Kazuya
I can give Kazuya somewhat of a pass for this, because I don't think there was any way for him to really see this shift coming when nobody's given him the heads up lol. Wario thinking Kazuya turned on him and lied for reasons that don't exist is hilarious, since I do think Kazuya probably joins this move on Dark Pit in 9/10 scenarios? But the impression I had that he was a green cheerleader is the impression everyone in the game had, and so while as a host I can see he trusts Falcon the most, the players aren't lucky enough to have that and realise he would be willing to turn on Green. Next round may be pivotal for him.
King Dedede
Kinda sleeping atm. Is not a big target or even considered for the vote, but also has not done anything to really benefit himself recently. I think this vote on Dark Pit will be an eye opener that he can't just expect everyone to do what he wants.
Dark Pit
Idk how he expected to make this plan to force two non-greens to duel and for everyone to just be ok with that? He really did this to himself. I expect him to win the duel but hopefully this round makes him wake up, he's had the game too easy.
Yoshi
Really should not be the vote, but also I think I am simply bored of the eggs now and am forgetting he is here fairly often now.
Pyra and Mythra
I'll edit these girls in too since they were in most of the round. I think they were tapped out by the time they left, and probably weren't going to bring much else in. I saw their jury posts and um, that's a lot. I think they gave all they were going to be able to give here, and if they kept living they would probably be a less chaotic but as negative version of Falco. Still, I want to give props for how they handled the swap week, they played that to perfection.
Falco
We've seen the comments on Falco in here this round. I have been a huge fan of him during the premerge, but this round (and last round to a lesser extent) he's been terrible. Him spiraling while nobody was naming him at the time has made him a huge target, and if he survives this round it will be despite his efforts rather than because of them. I really hope if he is safe here he'll use it as an opportunity to like... calm down. If he gets it together then I'll be sending him right back to green, because overall he has been one of my faves in the cast (maybe the fave before this round)
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Post by Masahiro Sakurai on Feb 28, 2022 18:43:24 GMT 10
Danger for K Rool here with people conceding to Robin because of course I have seen 500 names mentioned, I am still unsure how this shakes out
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Post by Tabuu on Feb 28, 2022 18:48:22 GMT 10
Thank god the Pinks finally see it and actually make some effort to help themselves. 10 minutes before deadline
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