(05-09-2014, 12:39 PM)Blue Wrote: I am going to be a little bold in this reply, and I hope nobody takes offense. In my defense, I immediately state that I too RP an orphan, so I'm perfectly aware of the topic and know what I'm talking about. So don't take my reply as apathetic.
Unless you have a RL friend who logs in at the same identical time you do and feels like being IC at the same identical time you do, to rely on other roleplayers as static presences in your IC life may be a lost cause.
My character (Jet'a) has a story of orphanhood in his past, and I have even RPd some of it in forms of flashbacks during the beta phase of the game. At a very young age he and his family were deported from their homeland to be sold as slaves, and a few years later he was forced to escape on his own.
For some time, he was a street urchin much as you are now. Sure, a PC mentor/adoptive relative would have been great, but I became aware that to request one out of other RPers would result in a huge responsibility for them, as well a great time sink. It would force them to go out adventuring less, to take care of me, and to do things that, while sweet and fun at a glance, will result oppressing and repetitive on a long-time basis. And since your character will not grow by the minute, it will be a long-time commitment.
So what I did with my character was to create an NPC who adopted him. A Lalafell merchant with modest alchemist knowledge, who lived in Crescent Cove. He raised my character, taught him how to read, write, speak Ul'dahn, and even some alchemic basics. My character lived with this NPC until he was old enough, then the NPC gifted him with a recommendation to present Frondale's Phrontistery, thanks to which he was taken in as an apprentice Alchemist. That is when Jet'a's adulthood began.
So my generic two advice here (and again, I'm not trying to be mean) are:
1 - Make your own paths for your character, without having to rely on others;
2 - Try to not mix OOC feelings with IC feelings. That tends to always end up poorly for you. You are playing a game, and while moments of pathos are normal, it shouldn't burden you to feel bad or hurt personally.
RP is to be enjoyed, even while on moderately tragic roles. Think of all the dramatic movies out there, and the many actors who played those parts. There are many tears and sad moments, but I'm sure that each of those actors at the end of the day went to sleep with a smile on their face, because it is a job they enjoy. Roleplaying is no different!Â
To be more precise the whole RP is, let this kid wander town and see where it leads... Now some people will feel for the girl, others will not.
It's like a social experiment. Some people have gone to great lengths to see this girl safely. If she gets adopted by someone then cool, but I have never forced someone to adopted her. Now that she has a little backstory and such. I cannot help but feel for her as she gets turned down. In no way am I letting my ooc emotions ic. Ooc I would have given up, but Gumi keep going even after being turned down.
In the end that is why I enjoy playing her, people don't truly understand her situation and she doesn't either. Gumi doesn't know that her mother left her on purpose. She doesn't know that people cannot just have a child to look after. All Gumi wants is her mother back someone who won't return.
This RP, I don't want to add anymore npc's only if I feel it needs it, ooc I just wanna break through my monitor and hug Gumi, but not everyone thinks that way. The RP interactions I have with everyone are real ic. And watching little stories on a little girl like this got to where she is, it is heartbreaking. But it doesn't affect my RP, like I said Gumi keeps on going.
She is a strong little girl...