DOOM: the aspect of inevitability

Includes: Sollux, Mituna, the Psiionic

Working with Doom feels like trying to slip a collar around a feral animal’s neck. Most likely result is getting grievously injured. But it has to be done. Those aligned to this aspect are resigned. They more than anyone see the code of the matrix and know precisely how fucked the situation is. 

As such, Doom is the nihilistic aspect. That one memetic image of “What is nihilism, the stereotype vs the reality” with the stereotype being a dour sad Nothing in life matters and the reality being a radical kid proclaiming Nothing in life matters!– this is the beating heart of Doom and the only two paths for its players. They are depressed with the inevitability of it all. They are also freed by the inevitably of it all because this is the secret: the Doom player knows exactly what is set in stone and exactly what is not, and thus know thoroughly what can be done and are ready to affect some fucking change up in here.

What is unique to Doom players is their comprehension of the mechanisms and structures around them. They know the rules of the Game (and very much see the constraints of the world in that gamified context) and thus can use those rules to tear victory out of the system. They are the rules lawyer, they are the Letter Not The Spirit, they are the political activist who files a lawsuit to get a bad law overturned. The rulebook is their blunt force instrument.

But make no mistake; the world sucks and we’re all doomed. Having this thorough understanding of things makes the Doom player very prone to depressive episodes. And when the laws cannot be broken, when they are bent and bent to their limits, the probability of those laws snapping violently back at the Doom player is high.

The Captors are our Doom players and all know this terribly well. Mituna was able to assist his party with understanding of inevitabilities and oncoming events until his aspect backfired on him so tremendously. The Psiionic has a similar tale, being a right hand to Troll Jesus himself until the inevitability of being strapped into a shitty ship got him, and the Empress’ own powers made his life dramatically worse. And Sollux as a Mage of Doom was rife with understanding of the Game, even helped create Sgrub himself, facilitating the downfall of his species and friends. As such, his struggle with that understanding as well as his own sense of self-importance was a pendulum.

It’s rough out here for the Doom players. But again: if nothing in life matters, then all that matters is what we do. Let that be a needed light in the darkness.

Talismans: The world as a game, exact words, night owls, coffee or other stimulants, arrogance, terrible impossible-to-foresee events, tragic backstories, speedrunning and completionism.

You may be Doom if… your ultimate struggle in life is knowing that change begins small, that you can make life better on a small scale, but the enormity of how fucked up the world is makes you just want to stay in bed.