Hydaelyn Role-Players

Tyriont Wrote:I like my (RP-romance) women like I like my coffee...COVERED IN BEES!

That is super hot.

Monadi Wrote:That's the tough part, because even if you're not playing as the character itself and their emotions aren't your emotions, it's totally easy to come to really care about what happens to that character anyway. When things go wrong for them, it's a lot like watching a close friend get kicked in the nuts, and it's hard not to care, even if it's not a real person.

About 4 or 5 years ago when I was really new to RP and I didn't really understand much about it, I had gotten my character into a relationship and got WAAAAY to involved, I totally messed up a lot of stuff, I actually ended up quitting the game which was probably a good thing (it was WoW, only played 4 months, THANK GOD!)

I certainly learned my lesson, I think everyone gets too involved in their characters at least once in a while, it's hard not to, especially when you are on for long periods of time.

Monadi Wrote:

Tyriont Wrote:I like my (RP-romance) women like I like my coffee...COVERED IN BEES!

That is super hot.

LOL!

Tyriont Wrote:

Goliam Wrote:The moral of the story: Get a gamer significant other and brace for HORNETS COVERED IN BEES.

(That are on fire).

I like my (RP-romance) women like I like my coffee...COVERED IN BEES!

Finally, someone got the joke.

Tyriont Wrote:

Aveline Wrote:Or you'd just try to have a conversation with someone or make a friendly comment and the guy of the two of them would get all macho and be like "YOU TALKIN' TO MY WOMAN??"

Fun response: "No, I'm talking to mine." Then stand back and watch the fireworks as said guy goes all Internet Tough Guy[size=xx-smal]tm[/size].

So angry, so, so angry on the internet.

Tyriont Wrote:It's really easy to say "well, some people just can't keep IC and OOC separate so they suck". Not that anyone's doing that, but it's a common argument. Problem is, we play these characters a lot, RP them a lot. Get inside their heads. Especially those who don't use a lot of alts and just stick with the one character...in a way, they become an extension. It's only natural to feel some sort of "emotional feedback" which can pass over into OOC interactions. The key is to identify them ahead of time and take steps to stop it before friendships are lost, shells ripped aparts and dogs and cats wind up living together.

Very well said. Ive always been attached to my rp characters, long term or not. Theyre kinda always a part of my repertoire.

Tyriont Wrote:It's really easy to say "well, some people just can't keep IC and OOC separate so they suck". Not that anyone's doing that, but it's a common argument. Problem is, we play these characters a lot, RP them a lot. Get inside their heads. Especially those who don't use a lot of alts and just stick with the one character...in a way, they become an extension. It's only natural to feel some sort of "emotional feedback" which can pass over into OOC interactions. The key is to identify them ahead of time and take steps to stop it before friendships are lost, shells ripped aparts and dogs and cats wind up living together.

Very very good point. I think I used the "seperating IC and OOC" line too, but you are absolutely right, it's not black/white. Even if we don't feel that our characters are us self, they are often someone we care about, and why shouldn't you? you spend a lot of time "in their shoes"...

What I think most people know when they talk about separating IC and OOC, is to know when a conflict is between the characters, and between the people playing them. Same with relationships.
It is also one of the reasons why I prefer having an OOC guild chat for instance, because not only with relationship, but with rp in general, to me, when it's people I roleplay a lot with, it's really important to know the people behind the character as well, so you can stay on the same page, and I think that avoids a lot of misunderstandings.

I think it's almost impossible for a Roleplayer to completely separate IC and OOC. I'm not saying it's totally impossible. I'm not saying it's never been done. I do it often... but every single time no matter what? No.

There are always times someone does something really mean IC and you just sit back and think... "Huh... you know, that person is kind of... well, a dick." Not all the time. Sometimes you can tell it's COMPLETELY IC... sometimes the player is awesome and they literally TELL you OOC they are just being IC and clear things with you. (That's the best, keeping an OOC dialogue running)

But there are times, and if you think hard about it, trust me, you'll remember those times... when it just feels like someone is being an arse IC and are ALSO being an arse OOC.

Ergo, sometimes you have an IC relationship that doesn't cross ANY kind of boundary... and sometimes you just have one that does. It might not happen a lot for some, it might happen almost never for others, it might NEVER happen to you. There is just no way to tell how things will go down in life, is there? The best anyone can do is prepare themselves as best they can for "potentials."

This is why many claim they keep things COMPLETELY separate. This is a very good thing to do to "prepare" yourself from the inevitability of IC and OOC feelings meshing slightly. This doesn't mean you've completely protected yourself from drama and are now immune to all emotions, however, so always be careful... but it usually helps people feel more secure in their online interactions.

I am an actor, on the stage, in real life... and trust me, when you are really into the part, you have to feel SOME of the emotions you are portraying. Usually it's ok for actors as at the end of show we throw off the character and can become us... but in RP, you are constantly PLAYING that person, day in and day out, and it can be very tricky to claim with 100% certainty you are immune to feeling anything your character might feel.

Here's how I view it all. Dudes and Dudettes, it's ok to feel similar emotions that your character is feeling. The trick is to recognize when it's happening and take certain steps to avoid any serious issues. Is that person really pissing you off even though they've only said IC things to you? Don't RP with them. Walk away. This does NOT, however, mean you start mouthing off to all your friends what a jerk they are (this often happens, and people convince themselves it's completely justified because deep down, we always want reassurance from our friends that we are not... you know... insane). This just means you keep you respectful opinion to yourself and just try to do your own thing.

Feel like you have a crush on a player? First sit back and think "well, what do I know about them?" If you really know NOTHING OOC, you are probably just crushing on the character. If you still think you like them, the person behind the role, then maybe take some steps further. Either talk to them about it, gently, to see if they feel the same (or are... you know, AVAILABLE). If they do, maybe you've just made an important discovery. If they don't, you know clearly that it's rejection time... and it's probably a good idea to get over it and just move on. It helps NO ONE to pursue something like that.

Now, all that being said, I met my fiancée in an online RP community. I think the main difference between us however was that we did not begin flirting and talking IC, but we began our communication OOC. Gradually, it was clear our feelings had nothing to do with our characters, and our characters, frankly, never even really got to the levels of adoration we feel for each other now, or even back then when we were first chatting.

So I suppose to make a long story short (TOO LATE) it's important to separate, yes. It's important to distance yourself, yes... but don't listen to anyone who tells you that you're evil or a drama-llama or a bad roleplayer for slightly meshing some of your OOC feelings into some IC things that happen. The trick is to just be aware that this CAN happen and conduct yourself in a mature and adult fashion.

Just because this is the internet doesn't mean we have to remain uncivilized, after all.

Kashemia Wrote:

Aveline Wrote:"Hey sweetness can you pls cure me?"
"You got it sexy. Good job with that WS."
"How long are we going to xp for before you wanna head up to work on your polearm skill?"
Rest of party: /PUKE

*Is so going to start doing that, just to freak out Iroh*

So not funny

Well, since this IS a "RP-relationship" discussion, and.. this is a relationship, I figure I could flap my mouth here, no? -ALSO! I totally don't mean to derail the direction this thread is headed in, but I didn't think it would be a smart move to dance off and create a thread or anything for a question that is closely related to the subject at hand.


This time around I'm actually trying a new approach to an in-character relationship. It's something I've never had the chance to do in the nine or ten years I've been roleplaying, but something I'm also very excited (and nervous) to try out.

So! I gave my character a younger sister. (Who is ironically being played by the same person who ended up becoming the wife of my character in Aion.) She ended up wanting to play a Miqo'te instead of a Hyur, though, so we decided on going the route of her character having been adopted when she was just a little kitten. Or something like that, as we haven't exactly hammered out all the details, yet.

But, I'm excited to take a new approach to a character that I have never had the chance to take. Having the responsibility of both looking after, as well as providing for a younger sibling, who's also still a teenager.

I am worried about how much the dependency factor will weigh things down, but, we have (Or at least, I have) brainstormed a few ideas to sort of alleviate any major pressure on that subject.

So, I guess my question is this: Have any of you ever roleplayed a sibling relationship? Whether it was a blood-relative, or an adopted sibling, what were your experiences?

Averis and me are going to do it in FFXIV as well, my character Seraj being the older sister and his character Azia being the younger. From what we've been discussing so far, it's going to be a pretty interesting dynamic, since Azia in some ways are probably more responsible than Seraj.

I've done it once before, we did a lot of planning before we started, and it worked fine, it was a lot of fun and pretty interesting. But both of those characters were adult, so it might be slightly different.

I did RP a brother-brother relationship in my super early FFXI years. It was by far one of the most memorable experiences I've had in RP overall. There wasn't a ton of planning involved or anything. I don't even remember how it started. I think I posted a thread somewhere about looking for someone to play the role and he volunteered. We matched up stories and made it work. Awesome experience overall. I sincerely hope that I find at least one person to play a sibling role again eventually.

The only bad thing about sibling relationships (or any relationship for that matter) is if/when that person decides to quit RP, quit the game, and/or just drops off the radar. You kinda get stuck in a bad position then. Thus you're forced to be rather selective in choosing someone who you know will stick through everything for the long haul. That's not always easy if you don't know the person very well.

Well, I don't know about the rest of you, but I talk a lot less with my sister since we both moved away from home and now live in different cities. We talk over the phone, sure, but we don't see each other THAT often. In a world where the phone doesn't exist, I can't imagine it being much easier, so I'm sure it's possible to come up with a reason for siblings to drift apart

Kashemia Wrote:But both of those characters were adult, so it might be slightly different.

Well, I think we ended up pinging her as sixteen or seventeen, so it's not like she's entirely helpless, as I may have accidentally inferred in my previous post. Of course, Rain is still going to have to be the parental figure, as.. they don't have parents. Not anymore, at least.

Good to know, though. We get a long well OOCly, and I like to think we've gotten to know each other at least somewhat well over the past eight months or so we've known each other. So, I'm sure we'll get plenty of planning done in the next two months.

We did actually end up having a bit of a funny moment when I initially suggested the idea. Previously, I had rolled out a bit of a background for Rain's sister back in March (Who was Hyur at that point, and.. not played by anybody.), and when she went to look over what I had previously thought up for the character, she said she was kind of creeped out at the fact that the character I had imagined up a few months ago, was almost exactly like the character she had been planning ever since I suggested the idea of her taking the role. XD

So, if that isn't compatibility, I don't know what is.


Also, that makes a lot of sense, Kashemia. Never really thought to think of it that way. My own brother IRL lives on another continent, but we're still really close.

About the current topics:

About OOC/IC: I think that's why it's so important to me to keep my Guild Talk OOC, so people can get to know each other as people and what they expect in rp. When my guild is RPing, we're also sounding off our characteraps motives, feelings, etc OOC in guild chat, and everyone discusses it WHILE RP is going on. Really clears things up.

About BAD DRAMA: I've only had one bad experiance with Romance, but most of my romance stories have turned out just fine. One bad experience won't keep me away. I don't look for Romance, I don't care if I have it, but I'm certianly not afraid of it.

Iroh: Everything you said is sooo true, though ICly Armi thought you were wierd, and OOCLY I thought you were the bees Knees <3 <3


siblings are fun, me and Stanzie did it in Aion with our alts and it was a blast. They were fraternal twins and complete opposites.

ArmachiA Wrote:Iroh: Everything you said is sooo true, though ICly Armi thought you were wierd, and OOCLY I thought you were the bees Knees <3 <3

I personally find that amusing, since Vahsyl WAS weird, but no one ever seemed to think so. Most people just thought he was charming. But no, he was one weird, messed up, artistic, INSANE crow.

Good to know I got one right XD

Hehe, I think I was the one who got to see most of his weird sides ^^ I still have his and Eden's argument when he was trying to teach her to fight, it's a lot of fun to read.

I think it would be awesome to have someone playing my future chars sister or mother, it would make it much easier to get into a motivated plotline I think (for my char being a bit shy and quiet). When I started a new alt in WoW a friend suggested playing her sister and at first it was very funny, but we didnt have a bigger RP-community around us, so that story some kind of bled to death...

RPing romance always makes me feel like when I first read Harry Potter's romances with Cho and Ginny *giggles*: caring for the respective character and getting excited when things got going, but not something to make a mountain out of (altough it was quite hard to accept that the story wouldnt continue actually...). I think sharing the feelings of your character (to a set point) of course makes it easier to RP him convincingly and its also more motivating than just playing a plot because you think youre character should be into that. Of course only on condidtion that, like everyone else said, all parties are comfort about it, you dont mix up a crush on a character with a crush on a real person and youre always aware of the fact, that it might end apruptly (for whatever reason) and be sure it doesnt tear (you) down RL...