Does anyone else like character studies?

[Illysia]

I have been wondering if anyone else here likes character studies. By character studies I mean focusing more on the personality of the character and the motivations which shape it as opposed to the actions the character takes. For me, this is the whole reason for RPing. I do it to see how other people interpret a character and how that character in turn reacts to various influences and circumstances.

But for me, the reaction isn't just the actions they take. For instance, last year I posted some of my favorite RPs from what is left of my logs. The part that I like most about those RPs is not just that the characters are reacting but that they reacting in ways very unique to their personalities. Not just the usual pleasantries. But even though it was just talking in those cases, it was still interesting, largely because of how funny the reactions were to what my character was doing or what was going on. For the most part, the RPs I liked the most were ones that had me cracking up OOCly.

My favorite of the RPs in that post was the RP with Marq and ixala... that was hilarious and I was definitely on the sidelines for that even though I was right in the middle of it. But it was so much fun watching Marq and "Mimmi" interact that I was too busy laughing and enjoying watching them to try to push Zandral more into the RP. I couldn't fade in the background entirely since I was sitting between them, but I readily admit that the true gold in that RP didn't have a blessed thing to do with me.

I especially like it when characters not directly involved are interacting indirectly with the RP. Even if it just watching and smiling at funny moments or making faces and passing judgement. It's even fun sometimes when another character interrupts and changes the direction of the RP, as long as it makes sense. Like what Sarras did in one of those RPs.

One of the things that has been lacking for me in game so far is a collection of characters and I don't just mean players playing a character. I mean characters with pretty distinct personalities. And by the way, I don't count "crazy" as a distinct personality quirk anymore. However, I am please to say that at least most characters I have come across do have personalities. This is a big change from before.

 I know part of the problem is that I haven't spent a lot of time with most characters I have just met, however, I'm kinda spoiled in that most of the people I had the most fun RPing with in the past, had at least one character that had a distinct personality that you would recognize instantly... Orgonwukh or Lolitra probably take the award for that one. Some had several which was a shame since you didn't get to see those characters often. XD But I miss that. For me that was action... watching two sharp witted characters expertly insult each other like a finely choreography fencing match. Or watching two charismatic characters flirt circles around each other. XD

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Anywho, after all of that, is there anyone else out there that likes to watch the character's personalities bounce off of each other like that?

[derula]

My favorite RP was when Aurelyn & Jamona were just hanging around all day, pretty much doing nothing except for shaping their relationship (and discovering each other's pasts, etc). Also, Jamona was trying to get her band started. At that point, suddenly Vanissa came in, a very young Nolthrir, who fell in love with Jamona. With Jamona being sort of mentally unstable at that point (long story), she was unable to break Vanissa's heart. Eventually, Jamona suggested that she could be there for both, which Aurelyn didn't like to hear all that much. In the end, Jamona was so confused and disturbed that she took the blame for everything, went into the sewers and attacked one of those dangerous people down there, who didn't hesitate to kill her. It was an interesting mix of emotions.

Sadly, Vanissa disappeared in the middle of the RP. She remains one of my favorite characters to this day, because she was RPed with such a nice attention to detail and really felt like a real person to me. Well, or maybe it was just my hormones.

But yeah, Jamona's character went through a lot of different stages. When she went away for several months and came back, she was largely influenced by who she stayed with in the meantime. The main problem was that the idea how her personality should look like was well there in my head, but I often failed to RP her the way I wanted, which frustrated me.

I'm still thinking about how Jamona's character is changing now. Drastically, of course! (She's sort of trapped in a weird place... again, long story) I wonder if there will ever be an opportunity to RP her again.


Personalities that change during time? Hell yeah. All of my characters have their own unique personality, at least in my mind. But again, my problem is often to play it out correctly. Also a reason I lost interest in the game... my characters never appeared to come across as planned. I can't really RP a good liar, because I'm not one. I can't RP someone extroverted with a healthy self-confidence well, because I'm not like that. I can perfectly well play someone who has my exact personality, but that's not interesting. Not what I want to do with RP.

[Illysia]

Yeah, some of my favorite RPs are watching my characters with their boyfriends. Because I don't know know exactly how the other person is going to react, it's really more like reading a book than acting to me. And I like watching and seeing how the characters interact with each other. It is often very cute as my characters were pretty well matched with their boyfriends.  I also remember Vanissa. I didn't play with her a whole lot though.

It's funny because I had the same problem with playing Zandral the way I had originally planned for her to be, but eventually things came back around and the RP worked out so that I could easily transition her into being the way I had planned her character. Shame though, now there isn't much call for cranky, spiteful characters. However, I agree that personality development is even harder once you have taken a break. I try to imagine how Illysia would have changed if I ever decided to bring her back from the dead and I'm still not quite able to decide on how she would be... Ah well.

For Jamona, you could try doing more research on the personality type you want to give her. If you have a really good understanding of how people with personalities like that act, it makes it easier to RP that personality, whether you have those traits personally or not. I usually like to go to TVTropes.org for such things, since it breaks down many character elements in fine detail.

[Knightspark9]

I love to see personalities of different characters come in contact with another. I for one, liked the roleplay where Ardoin hates being hugged. In fact, this was after Esorono hugged him. Ardoin didn't like it, and began ranting screaming, etc. It then began in some odd clash of Ardoin's belief in restraint of public affection, or affection like hugging. (Or as LigH would like to call it, being a prude. ) And Esorono's belief in spreading the wonderful gift of hugs to his 'friend'. I also like it when Ardoin compares his mother to some char's attitude. Ah, I like those kinds of role-plays.

[Illysia]

*Illysia considers hugging ardoin*

[Knightspark9]

*Illysia considers hugging ardoin*

Ardoin would get into a fit of rage.

Also, doesn't anyone want to share their roleplaying stories? Anyone at all?

[Mariana Xiechai]

[Well Ardoin, you asked, I'll deliver. One of my favorite RPs I've ever had with Miomai, who also happens to be one of the best RPers I know. Quite lengthy, but also fun to read, at least for me anyway. I believe this falls under your category as well, Illysia, though I suppose technically it could be a bit more action-y than is typical. The premise is basically that Miomai believes her goddess has assigned her to a killing, and Mariana is attempting to prove her wrong.]

Miomai shouts: Mariana!
Mariana raises her paws to her mouth and leans over the abyss, paying no attention to the inconcievable void. "Miomai!"
Mariana squints in the semi-darkness of the death realm, tilting her head slightly to the side and offering her friend a strangely warm and benevolent sort of smile. She swishes her tail back and forth behind her, swatting at the stale air casually. "So glad you could join me, Miomai. Thank you."
(20:24:39) Miomai runs up to Mariana and stops a few paces. She's angry that her friend followed her here and it shows in her posture: crossed arms, cold stare, and a twitching tail. "So, what brings you to these parts." she feigns polite smalltalk.
(20:25:58) Mariana smirks subtly at Miomai's signs of agitation. She gestures down the walkway. "The Dark Crystal, I imagine that's a good place to visit to try and get a word from Dakkru, yes?" She winks softly at Miomai. "I think it's high time your goddess gave you a more clear command to continue going after this individual you're chasing to kill. Time for her to voice her opinion. I think that's fair."
(20:31:01) Miomai's cold stare turns into one of anger for a moment which grows and then subsides. Miomai smirks and then explodes in laughter. She continues in this manner for a few minutes before catching herself, "You're kidding right? You want to get Dakkru to talk to us? Do you really believe she'll just appear and have some tea and cookies and discuss what she's been doing these past millenia? You really have no clue about the Goddess, Mariana. But I'll follow you to the crystal, because you are my friend, and I think we can clear this up."
(20:33:00) Mariana smiles slowly. She makes no rebuttle, strangely, but there is a telling glimmer in her eyes. It does not reflect fury, however, or even annoyance at Miomai's rebuke. Instead it seems like a stubborness, an unwillingness to back down or to falter. She turns on her heel with the soft clank of her armor and begins to navigate the erroded rusty walkway, silent save for her breathing, her eyes downcast towards the ground. "We're off, then."
(20:36:49) Mariana reaches out towards the purple lights flickering around the violent crystal. Her eyes reflect it, strangely wide open, and she peers up at the high-vaulted cieling for a moment. She suddenly bends at her knees, her head still tilted back to gaze upwards, coming to rest finally upon the crystal's core. "Goddess Dakkru," she says, her voice soft. "I don't really know you, to be perfectly honest. And frankly, couldn't give a damn about what you do and do not want. However, it seems you've asked something of my friend, and I'd like you to take a few seconds to come down off your haughty throne, wherever it may be, and give validity to her claims." She cups a paw by her ear and feigns waiting for a reply.
(20:40:56) Miomai shakes her head, "No, no, no, NO! Mariana! Now you're being rude and insulting to Mother Dakkru. And when you insult Dakkru, you insult me too. Is that why you are here? To insult me, and belittle my religous beliefs? Because you can't fathom them? Because they don't fit you way of thinking?" Miomai turns away from Mariana, clearly agitated and frustrated by her supposed friend's flippant "prayer" to her cherished Goddess.
(20:44:11) Mariana utters a soft sign under her breath. Her eyes flicker again, as if she is pained from deep within. She clenches her eyes shut, hard, and slowly bends to the floor, her paws and the tip of her nose hovering nigh above the cobblestones. When she speaks again, her tone is quiet and sincere. It breaks slightly. "Forgive me for my behavoir, goddess," she says. "You see, I've never been given good cause to believe in your doings. You or any other gods, for that matter. But now, I humbly come before you in your realm and plead for you to simply show a sign to your daughter Miomai." Mariana's eyes water with tears for some strange reason as she continues. "You see I love her very much. I suppose perhaps in some way I can't grasp, you do too. I'm asking you to simply show that love in a way I can grasp now, and tell Miomai whether or not what she is doing is your will. That is all I ask. That simple thing, and no more."
(20:50:26) Miomai returns her gaze on Mariana, a bit puzzled by it at first, since it is not at all how one prays to Dakkru, and then she realizes that this is all Mariana knows about any kind of prostration to a Goddess. The clamod smiles then, pleased at her friend's attempt at sincerity. She casually walks over to Mariana and offers a paw, "You're doing it wrong, but I appreciate the effort. We pray while standing. Proud." Deep respect wells up inside her. "But I still don't expect any sign, do you?"
(20:53:27) Mariana stands up beside Miomai, arching her brow. She tilts her head back towards the crystal, seemingly much more comfortable with her new position. "I do," she says simply. "I most certainly do. Miomai, how do you know someone didn't just 'lay' that path for you? Maybe the one you're after just has an adrenaline addiction?" She raises her paws towards the crystal. "Why would your goddess speak in so strange a way, hm? And why is she not more angry that you've yet to succeed in your task? For that matter, what's the ultimate goal of the task?" She sets her feet stubbornly, chin raised and eyes flashing with fire. "No. She can at least give you a sign, to carry out a task that you yourself know you do not wish to carry out."
(21:00:36) Miomai places her paw on Mariana's shoulder. Are warm gesture made cold by the fenki's armor. "I have thought about that, Mariana. Believe me I have. But the coincidences and the slight chance that I could just 'stumble' into this are too slight for me to believe." She reaches into her sack and pulls out the note, holding it in her paw but not allowing Mariana to read it's contents. "Who could have known that I was about to die at the hands of a cutthroat while trying to rescue some poor ylian? And also know that my favorite food is fish? And also know that I would decide to explore the Death Realm while I was here? That sounds like the omniscience of a Goddess to me, don't you think?" she waves the parchment. "And at the end of the trail of fish I find this note. What more of a sign do you need? Do you want to see the Goddess herself, in her shimmering cloak of crystline shards and those piercing green halos for eyes? You'll not get it, I can assure you. This was enough for me, and it should be enough for anybody."
(21:06:51) Mariana shakes her head back and forth, circling the crystal. "First of all, Miomai, ever enkidukai and klyros I know loves fish, so we can rule that out. Two, if she went to all the trouble to PERSONALIZE it so much, why not simply write 'dear Miomai' at the top of the letter itself? Make it a bit more solid. Furthermore, do you have any idea how many people come through the death realm? So many things happen, just look at how badly trodden upon the sod is around here. They die off like one-eyed rats up there. I should know. I've lost count of my encounters with death." She circles the crystal, letting her paw trail in the gleaming light. "You speak of coincidence, but no more. And I've seen better coincidence in my life, even than that. Believe me." She smirks as if thinking on a memory. "I don't care how your goddess appears. Shimmering or no, piercing or no, I really do not care. A whisper, a word, heck, a bodiless voice, no visage necessary at all. But there is nothing. Simply a trail of fish and an unspecified note. That does not solidify to absolute certainty that that note contains Dakkru's wishes, and if it doesn't, you're letting a mere mortal use you for their designs, and, far worse than even that, assisting in POLLUTING the name of your goddess. So I say, yes. I do expect her to be more clear when her demands are so incredibly high." She throws her paws above her head and sets her chin, her legs as well in an almost defensive stance. "DAKKRU! I think Miomai deserves a clearer picture of your designs. Tell me, would you let a bit of pestilence possibly tamper with her? Would you truly allow it?"
(21:17:27) Miomai returns her folded parchement to the travel bag slung across her shoulder. She stands there and crosses her arms again, listening to Miomai's tirade. "You've got passion, my friend. Lots of passion. Don't let anyone ever take that away from you." she stands there for several moments longer listening to the hum of the dark crystal. When she thinks it's been long enough she says, "Okay, do you think you've made your point yet? She's not going to show up. She's not going to give us a sign of any kind. As far as that 'well worn path' is concerned, would you like to see where that path lead? I think you may find its not exactly a frequented spot, regardless of the number of bodies that find themselves reconstituted here." She beconnes Mariana to follow her out the door, "Come, we really don't need to be here anyway if Dakkru did want to give us a sign." and flashes a friendly smile.
(21:21:11) Mariana narrows her eyes at the crystal, putting all her frustration and blame on Dakkru rather than on her friend. She bares her teeth for a moment, that spark again present in her eyes. "You're just like all the rest, aren't you?" She says darkly. "You watch and you weave with a dispassionate air as the world falls and tumbles. As children die. As old widows are slaughtered and as countless are abused. You're pathetic. All that power and you remain distant as a far off storm, waiting to show your power only when someone threatens you. To the end with the lot of you. To the end. Rot in your high places, I've no use for heartless beings such as you." She abruptly turns her her heel, hot tears of frustration and anger and possibly even sorrow trailing down her face as she leaves the room.
(21:32:10) Miomai walks out of the room and shoves Mariana forcefully, "Listen, Mariana, you have no idea what you are saying. You think the Goddess is our caregiver? That she's supposed to make everything all better? Even when we bring it on ourselves? The starving in the streets, the sick and neglected, the abused...Who's doing the abuse?! Dakkru? No, Mariana, cruel, despicable PEOPLE! We make our beds, and WE'VE got to lie in them. The Gods and Goddesses made this world, and the rules of it, but it is WE who make of it what we will. And we're turning "topland" into a one big pile of consumer dung, slaying everyone for the fun of it, getting drunk beyond all comprehension...you name it, we've done it. It's all a part of that 'freedom to choose' you so cherish. Think about it, before you blame all our woes on the Goddess." she stomps her foot to mark the end of her speech and figuratively puts away her pedistal.
(21:38:20) Mariana stumbles forward as Miomai pushes her. Her posture stiffens, and the stoic fenki turns slowly, her expression strangely open. Eerie. Empty. She moves her paws towards the cinches of her armor and lets it clatter to the ground with a loud clang, clang and echoes throughout the cavern. She removes her shirt and pants, so that nothing is left but a shift that covers only the parts necessary to remain decent. Scars trace up her body, whip marks, deep, rendering her torso and upper legs nearly totally and completely without fur. She leans forward with a sneer, her eyes growing harder, colder, the long-held bitterness breaking past perfectly formed walls. "Do you think I CHOSE this?!" She grates. "Do you think I CHOSE as a child to be beaten and whipped within an inch of consciousness night after night?! Mari, do this, immediately, or I shall have to break another bone. Mari, that was not very good of you to break that pot there, I think that will cost you another hot iron to your skin." She growls deeply, the sound reverberating in her chest. "I can still his fingers on me, touching me, and I can hear my voice ringing in my head. I begged. To any higher POWER, for FIFTEEN YEARS. Do you know who heard me?! NO ONE. No god or goddess. Nobody. How DARE you imply that that entire ordeal was MY fault." She stands, trembling with rage, unable to continue as wave after wave of emotion wracks her body.
(21:52:04) Miomai's eyes widen as she observes Mairana's body riddled with scars. She turns away in utter guilt at herself for looking at Mariana for even that long. Her eyes water and she blinks away the tears but they only build up even more. Miomai responds slowly, carefully, and quietly. "I would never suggest that you are to blame for your own abuse, my friend." she says and her voice cracks. The clamod pulls an indigo square of cloth out of her pack and wipes away the tears, "Just as you had fifteen years of abuse, I have had my own kind of an abuse. It was not physical, but all in my head." and taps her skull, still remaining quiet and not looking directly at Mariana. "Please, I mean no disrespect to you my friend, my dearest friend." she shakes her head, trying to find the words to go on. "I don't think we should continue this conversation. We'll only hurt each other more, and that will not get us anywhere." she wipes away some more tears, and her lower lip is quivvering, exposing her deep sadness and regret at her friend's horrid past.
21:56:12) Mariana simply steeps in her rage for a few more moments, as if unable to stop the tide from pouring over the dam now that it was already begun. She closes her eyes and breathes deeply, in and out, over and over, as if she can simply exhale out all the emotion with her breathing. She stoops down and picks up her clothing, donning it, followed by her armor. Her face is impassive again, blank, a well-worn and perfectly molded mask. She acknowledges Miomai's statements by merely a nod, the slumped line of her shoulders indicating that she's completely worn herself through. She turns on her heel and moves towards the exit of the death realm in silence.