Have you ever been in a situation where you knew what your character might do, and it gave you a gut-wrenching feeling? Have you ever considered going out of character for a happier ending? Are you a stickler in making your character do what is realistic or reasonable for them?
In my experience, some of the best kind of plots have been when characters stay true to themselves, whether the results are dramatic or happy. There have been many scenarios where I had to check on another player to make sure they’re okay if my character does something to theirs.
I want to hear your thoughts and/or stories!
In my experience, some of the best kind of plots have been when characters stay true to themselves, whether the results are dramatic or happy. There have been many scenarios where I had to check on another player to make sure they’re okay if my character does something to theirs.
I want to hear your thoughts and/or stories!
Hey my peep, excellent topic! 
I can def agree that there’s a benefit to having a character staying “true to themselves” even if it causes conflict. I won’t say it’s always easy, though, and I think it takes a certain level of dedication that a casual rper, a person who likes to avoid IC drama, or a writer that wants to ensure a “happy ending” might not want to deal with. Plus, there’s the fact that dynamic characters (like real people) should really change over time depending on what happens to them, so I think to have one static definition of “true to themselves”/“this character should react to this type of situation the same way every time because that’s who they are” isn’t 100% the answer either, if that makes sense! So I think that identity is fluid, and the way a character starts off should be a base to build off of rather than a wall to fence in their actions.
In other words, the way I see someone being “true to themselves” is acting in line with their goals and how they want to live. But being that goals change, their actions would, too.
As an example of how it has affected me: my current boy is a major piece of work and has tested friendships by his poor choices and behavior, but I don’t regret having him act out. It just makes him and the relationships he has all the more memorable to me!
Sorry for rambling, this was interesting for me to think about!
I can def agree that there’s a benefit to having a character staying “true to themselves” even if it causes conflict. I won’t say it’s always easy, though, and I think it takes a certain level of dedication that a casual rper, a person who likes to avoid IC drama, or a writer that wants to ensure a “happy ending” might not want to deal with. Plus, there’s the fact that dynamic characters (like real people) should really change over time depending on what happens to them, so I think to have one static definition of “true to themselves”/“this character should react to this type of situation the same way every time because that’s who they are” isn’t 100% the answer either, if that makes sense! So I think that identity is fluid, and the way a character starts off should be a base to build off of rather than a wall to fence in their actions.
In other words, the way I see someone being “true to themselves” is acting in line with their goals and how they want to live. But being that goals change, their actions would, too.
As an example of how it has affected me: my current boy is a major piece of work and has tested friendships by his poor choices and behavior, but I don’t regret having him act out. It just makes him and the relationships he has all the more memorable to me!
Sorry for rambling, this was interesting for me to think about!
Oh my characters will throw themselves off a cliff if it's in character for them to do so for sure.
I believe strongly in allowing characters to forge their own stories and the only way that's going to be satisfying is if their arcs, their adventures, all that happens to them makes sense for them.
I mean i've had many a time where it's like "No you fool! what are you doing/saying! Stop! NOooooo this is going to end badly but I can't really stop you because this is just you and oh dear.. oh.. oh dear... "
and it's kinda fun.
Ahem.
I believe strongly in allowing characters to forge their own stories and the only way that's going to be satisfying is if their arcs, their adventures, all that happens to them makes sense for them.
I mean i've had many a time where it's like "No you fool! what are you doing/saying! Stop! NOooooo this is going to end badly but I can't really stop you because this is just you and oh dear.. oh.. oh dear... "
and it's kinda fun.
Ahem.
I like to play characters that are different from myself. Unfortunately, this means I often end up in situations where my characters’ needs and desires conflict with my own. If it’s just something that will just drive the plot in an unexpected direction I’ll generally go for it, but if it’s something I (or another player) feel(s) truly uncomfortable with, I’ll bend or even break character to avoid making the RP an unsafe space. I also have a trend of listing all my characters as being uninterested in relationships for that reason, even though I know that if I were sticking strictly to their characters that might not always be the case. I believe that the comfort and safety of every player involved is more important than staying in character.
I have violated this principle in the past, though, especially where it comes to IC relationships. If you read over any of my character profiles you’ll notice that ERP and romance are always listed under Never—it’s something I just can’t do. But a couple of times in the past a situation has gotten out of hand and I’ve found myself stuck with an IC relationship I neither wanted nor expected, because I failed to communicate with the other player in time or because I didn’t realize where they were going (I’m super dense ^-^; ). It left a sick feeling in my gut, but I could never find a way to break it off until after the rest of the RP fell apart anyway and I approached the other player saying I’d like to annul the relationship because it didn’t feel right for my character.
I have violated this principle in the past, though, especially where it comes to IC relationships. If you read over any of my character profiles you’ll notice that ERP and romance are always listed under Never—it’s something I just can’t do. But a couple of times in the past a situation has gotten out of hand and I’ve found myself stuck with an IC relationship I neither wanted nor expected, because I failed to communicate with the other player in time or because I didn’t realize where they were going (I’m super dense ^-^; ). It left a sick feeling in my gut, but I could never find a way to break it off until after the rest of the RP fell apart anyway and I approached the other player saying I’d like to annul the relationship because it didn’t feel right for my character.
I keep in-character. Depending on circumstances, I may attempt to use external factors to influence things, or I may take some extra time to discern if there's an extra option they might consider, but I play very character-focused.
And I'm not afraid of drama. I thrive on giving all sorts of feels, including heartache. But... I usually don't feel them strongly myself. Just on occasion.
And I'm not afraid of drama. I thrive on giving all sorts of feels, including heartache. But... I usually don't feel them strongly myself. Just on occasion.
All the time. But that's the fun of writing, especially collaborative writing: The unknown of what will happen next and how the characters will react.
As much as I would always love to have my character get a happy ending, I know realistically, that doesn’t happen all that often. So I play by realism. My characters all have established personalities, strengths, flaws, behavior quirks, fears, you name it. When I write, I always keep those things in mind because I know they’ll influence the characters reactions, dialogue, actions, thoughts, and behavior in turn. For me, to break the characters internal continuity is a form of metagaming, and I don’t enjoy doing it. It’s rare that I’ll go to the lengths of forcing one of my characters to do something that's out of character for them to avoid something.
The unfortunates of keeping my characters in character is always the back of the mind realization that something they say or do will irk another player for one reason or another. I always endeavor to keep a line of separation between ic and ooc. I hate crossover, I absolutely loathe the bleed effect that can happen when a player starts to take ic personally. And it has happened to me on a few occasions, to the point where players began to accuse me of persona play when that is the farthest from the truth. It is still a memory that makes me sad, but I had to break off the ooc friendship I had with those players because there was a lingering perception that I was a ‘bad roleplayer’ because writing my character true to its character made them oocly upset, and no amount of ooc explanations could reconcile the confusion.
My character is never me. I am never my character. My characters do things and say things I would never do or say in a million years. There are aspects of my own characters I hate, and I hate writing, but I write them anyway because its something that makes those characters more realistic, more three dimensional. And as much as it might be frustrating, I won’t compromise my writing or the characters I create. I’m all for ooc communication, make no mistake. But I will never break character, and I will never bleed ic and ooc.
As much as I would always love to have my character get a happy ending, I know realistically, that doesn’t happen all that often. So I play by realism. My characters all have established personalities, strengths, flaws, behavior quirks, fears, you name it. When I write, I always keep those things in mind because I know they’ll influence the characters reactions, dialogue, actions, thoughts, and behavior in turn. For me, to break the characters internal continuity is a form of metagaming, and I don’t enjoy doing it. It’s rare that I’ll go to the lengths of forcing one of my characters to do something that's out of character for them to avoid something.
The unfortunates of keeping my characters in character is always the back of the mind realization that something they say or do will irk another player for one reason or another. I always endeavor to keep a line of separation between ic and ooc. I hate crossover, I absolutely loathe the bleed effect that can happen when a player starts to take ic personally. And it has happened to me on a few occasions, to the point where players began to accuse me of persona play when that is the farthest from the truth. It is still a memory that makes me sad, but I had to break off the ooc friendship I had with those players because there was a lingering perception that I was a ‘bad roleplayer’ because writing my character true to its character made them oocly upset, and no amount of ooc explanations could reconcile the confusion.
My character is never me. I am never my character. My characters do things and say things I would never do or say in a million years. There are aspects of my own characters I hate, and I hate writing, but I write them anyway because its something that makes those characters more realistic, more three dimensional. And as much as it might be frustrating, I won’t compromise my writing or the characters I create. I’m all for ooc communication, make no mistake. But I will never break character, and I will never bleed ic and ooc.
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