I don't really want to "drag this out" any further. I've been kind of lurking and passively following along, as I do with the more interesting topics. I also didn't mean to imply in my earlier post that a player experiencing the emotions of his or her character was inherantly wrong. Instead, most characters are like most people, their emotions and attitudes stemming from two places: their proactive chosen nature, and their reactive-to-others. This will of course vary from character to character depending on how much others' opinion of the individual matters to him or her. The degree to which a player chooses to "get into the skin" of his/her character is entirely up to him, and as evidenced by the spectrum of responses in this thread, there really is no wrong answer. It is entirely a matter of preference, just like style of RP, etc. And this is why there are subdivisions in the greater RP community and we're not just all one big FC/LS - and that's a good thing, just as I think it's a good thing that most of us can come together here to talk about these differences and have a discussion like this.
Since we are expressing opinions, I do feel compelled to share a bit of my own with regard to style of RP, past experiences, etc.
From past experience with RP, I had been involved with a lot of [what some might call] "over-the-top" RP events. I try not to judge too much, but I have my own style preferences, just as everyone else does. As such, Eva was meant to be a more neutral character. I used to jibe with friends that I hoped she might win the "best supporting actress" award for RP, since she is a somewhat vanilla character. This isn't to say she has certain qualities that make her different. But she's generally a normal character thrust into this world where all this crazy stuff happens, and she's left to deal with it in her own way (which generally amounts to ample doses of tea and common sense). I think there is some embellishment on what she's endured and how she's coped with things as compared with how a modern day "average Jane" might deal with similar-type situations. But I also don't think she's the sort that has a new adventure every week, etc. She has what I would consider appropriate reactions and aversions to violence, etc. And where I appreciate this may be boring to some other RPers who come here for the "larger than life" element, that's their preference, and this is mine and I sometimes question how these characters don't exhibit signs of post traumatic stress. Instead there's a lot of that "all right, tavern time!" And I don't think that's incorrect either - don't get me wrong!! I think that's some RPers' preference. For myself, I think I like the "middle of the road" approach, where there is action and adventure, but it's spaced out enough that it's not just one thing cascading into the next in a non-stop bombardment of activity. I think a lot of wonderful RP happens in "the spaces between" where there's a lot of character growth. I'm one of those RPers who loves just sitting around and drinking tea and gabbing with other RPers. But I also love the occasional adventure. I can't say that Eva's been through a ton of stuff, but over the span of 2-3ish years she's had her fill of adventure, growth, heartache, etc. - albeit somewhat spaced out. And that's my own preference, and there's nothing wrong with that, just as there's nothing wrong with any of the other preferences expressed here.
The important thing for most of us I think is that we can still come together at this same table and RP as we do at the end of the day in spite of these differences, or in those cases where we can't, we can meet here and talk about it at the very least, and I think that's what's really awesome. I got kind of longwinded again...  Â
Since we are expressing opinions, I do feel compelled to share a bit of my own with regard to style of RP, past experiences, etc.
From past experience with RP, I had been involved with a lot of [what some might call] "over-the-top" RP events. I try not to judge too much, but I have my own style preferences, just as everyone else does. As such, Eva was meant to be a more neutral character. I used to jibe with friends that I hoped she might win the "best supporting actress" award for RP, since she is a somewhat vanilla character. This isn't to say she has certain qualities that make her different. But she's generally a normal character thrust into this world where all this crazy stuff happens, and she's left to deal with it in her own way (which generally amounts to ample doses of tea and common sense). I think there is some embellishment on what she's endured and how she's coped with things as compared with how a modern day "average Jane" might deal with similar-type situations. But I also don't think she's the sort that has a new adventure every week, etc. She has what I would consider appropriate reactions and aversions to violence, etc. And where I appreciate this may be boring to some other RPers who come here for the "larger than life" element, that's their preference, and this is mine and I sometimes question how these characters don't exhibit signs of post traumatic stress. Instead there's a lot of that "all right, tavern time!" And I don't think that's incorrect either - don't get me wrong!! I think that's some RPers' preference. For myself, I think I like the "middle of the road" approach, where there is action and adventure, but it's spaced out enough that it's not just one thing cascading into the next in a non-stop bombardment of activity. I think a lot of wonderful RP happens in "the spaces between" where there's a lot of character growth. I'm one of those RPers who loves just sitting around and drinking tea and gabbing with other RPers. But I also love the occasional adventure. I can't say that Eva's been through a ton of stuff, but over the span of 2-3ish years she's had her fill of adventure, growth, heartache, etc. - albeit somewhat spaced out. And that's my own preference, and there's nothing wrong with that, just as there's nothing wrong with any of the other preferences expressed here.
The important thing for most of us I think is that we can still come together at this same table and RP as we do at the end of the day in spite of these differences, or in those cases where we can't, we can meet here and talk about it at the very least, and I think that's what's really awesome. I got kind of longwinded again...  Â
"One of the deep secrets of life is that all that is really worth doing is what we do for others." Â ~ Lewis Carol
Eva's Journals  |  Eva's Wiki Page (coming soon)  |  RP Handbook
Eva's Journals  |  Eva's Wiki Page (coming soon)  |  RP Handbook