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Ignacius · **04-16-2014, 08:42 AM**

(04-15-2014, 08:36 PM)Zhavi Wrote:
(04-15-2014, 08:24 PM)Ignacius Wrote: Honestly, it really is that way. Â There might be drama in and around it, but I get bored, quick, when the focus of an RP is the drama. Â Mostly I think that's because I hated high school and if I wanted to listen to people's "feelings" all the time, I'd have paid more attention when I worked at Target.

No, I'd rather talk about squeezing somebody so hard their head pops off.

Seriously, though, I interact with normal people having crazy dramatic moments every single day. Â I don't want to make a hobby of doing it with imaginary people at home. Â I'd rather explore the drama associated with combat, crime, and justice.

Actually, I'll be honest, I'd rather just RP where the drama can sometimes take a backseat to the sudden outbreak of violence. Â Nothing like sitting in a bar listening to people talk about their love life and wishing somebody would just throw a punch already.

The terrible part of me kinda wishes you played on Balmung so I could find you and mock-drama rp at you. Â Juuust because. Â Though I guess that's probably not a nice way to act towards strangers. Â Still though, temptation.

But on a serious note, I'm not sure if by justice you mean violent justice or like interaction within the law's system. Â Because the latter is so much fun. Â Of course, I don't know, do you like verbal smack downs as much as physical ones? Â One thing I've always enjoyed was the game of insult-without-being-obvious-about-it, especially when there's a snippy old woman involved (gosh I love snippy old women, as long as they're not facing their wrath towards me). Â Political rps can be fun in the same way. Â Smack talk for daaaaays.

Definitely violent justice. Â Not only that, but I suppose most people don't have the research put into criminal activity, gang culture, and organized crime that I do. Â One of my favorite things to do in RP is to bring that up and run with it.

Take, for example, justice. Â Just about all criminal organizations, from your local slicer-dicer gang to La Familia have a strict code of silence. Â You don't go to the police ever, not just on behalf of a victim but on behalf of yourself. Â If someone breaks into your house, you don't call the police. Â If someone shoots your best friend, you don't call the police. Â You get justice yourself, blood for blood. Â That's not something, I hope, anyone here has experienced or really understood. Â It's not just that your angry and want revenge, it's literally an honor-bound code for vengeance and violence that you have no choice but to participate in.

My smack talk generally serves as the early warning system that someone's about to go off the deep end. Â I have more suave characters that can dismantle you with words (Jaconsus St Croix comes to mind in WoW), but my favorite characters are usually the ones who drop a Dirty-Harry style one-liner to inform people that they are inviting an asswhooping. Â That whole, "If'n y'open y'mouth one more goddamn time, they're gonna need a good pair'a pliers t'pull y'teeth outta th'table, son..." sort of thing.

People who talk about melodrama like that tend to earn derision or the sort of advice they probably wouldn't appreciate. Â "I dunno, kid, why don'tcha jus' chop th'guy up, toss'm n'a lake f'the critters t'eat, an' tell'r y'love'r at th'guy's memorial service? Â M'jus' sayin', y'ain't thinkin' solutions here."

Ah, if only I could just move that character over. Â Love playing him. Â If only Final Fantasy had room for that sort of brutality, but even I feel like that would be a stretch. Â I'll have to get back into WoW a bit now that my internet is working.

ArmachiA · **04-16-2014, 08:48 AM**

(04-15-2014, 06:50 PM)Zhavi Wrote: Just pointing out that I can write emotion without needing to feel it at the time of the writing. Case in point: your character breaks a bone. You are able to write the pain without experiencing it firsthand as it's happening. It's the same with any emotion -- you know what it's like, you've observed how other people deal with the same emotion, you alter it to fit the character. I can get that not everyone wants to rp that way (to each their own) but why are so many people insisting that without actively experiencing the emotions as they're happening for the character the rp becomes bad? I admit to a sense of puzzlement. I can understand what the character feels and desires without needing to feel it at that moment myself, without losing out on my sense of enjoyment and immersion. :s

Because it's a style of acting. Some actors don't get into character to the extent of others. There's a famous story of an exchange between Dustin Hoffman and Laurence Olivier, that - I'll just quote it here:

There's that famous, but likely apocryphal, story about Laurence Olivier and Dustin Hoffman when they were working together on Marathon Man. To prepare for a scene, Hoffman had gone for a few days without sleep and looked pretty rough. Olivier asked him why he was putting himself through such an ordeal and Hoffman replied that he was trying to be convincing in the role. Olivier replied, "Try acting dear boy".

YOU are Olivier, this people getting into the zone and inside their characters heads are Hoffman. Both are VALID forms of acting and the two have merits and flaws all their own.

I prefer the Hoffman approach because I feel I can be more authentic. That's all.

Quote:(sometimes I even have a sense of unholy glee when putting my characters through awkward/embarrassing situations. heh heh heh)

It should be known I love putting my characters through a lot. I believe in character growth through adversity. Armi has been stabbed by the enemy (4 times since the games launch), shot, kidnapped, almost killed my her friend, possessed by a voidsent, had limbs broken, been beat up, fought Garleans regularly, lost to Garleans reguarly, killed people in war, etc etc. I enjoy that kind of RP as well. I enjoy, also putting my character through those situations.

But Armi has also struggled with making friends, finding who she is, falling in love, had her heart broken, taught someone how to make cupcakes, danced at social ball, learn to drink like a sailor (Still working on that), cried over boys, had long emotional talks, held hands in the rain.

A well rounded character does all of those things and I think, as someone is stating in this thread, that saying thats all characters they see do may be disingenuous. If you saw Armi talking in the bar* you'd have no idea she'd almost been blown up by a bomb a week ago (True story) and assume I only do social rp because you don't see me running off and trying to get revenge or find Armi's missing friend or whatever.

*AS a note: You won't see Armi talking in a bar currently, unless her friends force her to go as she recenty had a bad break up and has been reeling over that for 2 weeks SO FAR. I try to be as authentic with pain as possible. If she's hurt, she's out. If someone gets hurt, it takes awhile for her to process, etc ,etc. The bomb also caused quite a fright and she's dealing with that as well. It's not just "This happened, oh well time to go to a bar."

Kage · **04-16-2014, 09:29 AM**

I feel like this thread exemplifies why whenever someone states an opinion there's always that [for me, my belief, my opinion] that's usually just left unsaid but is meant and implied. As stated before, not everyone needs to be a method actor. For some, they feel that that is the best way for them to experience everything. Obviously not everyone believes that or feels that it's necessary.

We just have a lot more method actors in here ;3

Other than that... I really can't say much more on that topicÂ for now other than echo what ArmachiA has said.

(04-15-2014, 09:32 PM)Skyless Wrote: I would like to start with announcing 3 things first: I was beta and enjoyed what I saw immensely. second, that I don't entirely own the game yet but was planning hopefully Saturday or Friday to be able to launch the game officially. Third, I never participated in a Role play server before But from the obvious amount of post, I assume it is both emotionally exhausting and emotionally rewarding, depends on ones pursuit. But enjoying the game is priority but as a Rp character is something new to me. Is there a few rules and tips and points of interest that can be noted once I begin? If so can I get feed back with a honest opinion or two. Most of the post here are either reflecting negative or highlighting some inheritance to both fun and fears.

Could you clarify exactly what you're asking or hoping for us to help you with? I don't want you to feel like you've been ignored but for the most part I have no idea how to respond since I'm not exactly sure what you want from us.

I think most people here will tell you that the reason why our characters go through much pain but also much joy is because we feel like it is more 'realistic' or authentic. For most people, the average person isn't going to live a life where they are brooding all the time ravaged by hardships. At least, they wouldn't without some good in their life. Some moments of happiness where they spend time with someone they can call a friend. As mentioned, a lot of people like to get into their characters' heads and rolling with it.

For the most part, other than trying to get into my characters' headspace I've always had fun with the RP I'm involved in. If I feel a lot of negativity from it and about it that isn't stemming from a place where my character is (I have not felt this yet), then I assume that I'm just not having fun with RP. I'd have to step away from the situation or something because if it's not being enjoyable then what is the point for me? I've certainly felt bewilderment and I'm sure my character has been the cause of it. My character has knowledge and has been of sorts involved in others' RP. A character who I would have never thought to be involved mentioned something about the others' RP and my character just had to follow up. The entire time I had no clue what was going on but when we finished that RP session all I could think was "Wow... that was entirely unexpected but... that was great."

Maybe that's just because now I know how others' felt because Kage just couldn't let things goÂ >_>; kagetastrophy!

Magellan · **04-16-2014, 10:12 AM**

(04-16-2014, 08:42 AM)Ignacius Wrote: [quote pid=83983 dateline=1397608581]
. Â "I dunno, kid, why don'tcha jus' chop th'guy up, toss'm n'a lake f'the critters t'eat, an' tell'r y'love'r at th'guy's memorial service? Â M'jus' sayin', y'ain't thinkin' solutions here."

[/quote]
I do not mean to pick on you, because I actually deeply respect the sense of intensity and commitment you seem to bring to your characters, but I have such a hard time reading that OOCly, that I think my only legitimate IC reaction could be 'uh..... what?' Accents are tricky like that.

A couple of people have mentioned all the traumas their characters have gone through, and admittedly that's a bit of a pet peeve of mine. My characters may have one or two defining traumas in their past, BUT, I fully explore those themes and don't arbitrarily heap on more drama for the sake of drama. I'm often left scratching my head, wondering... doesn't anyone like to rp... you know, HAPPY characters?

WITH THAT SAID, one of the great things about rp communities is the diversity, and ability to provide content for a variety of different tastes. I see no reason why people of differing tastes cannot find common ground to work with if they rp here and there, but the truth is people will rp with other people who enjoy the same brand of storytelling they do.

Think of a library. Everyone has vastly different tastes in books, hence why there is such a wide offering. You aren't likely to sit through a book you hate (unless its for school) so its no surprise if you find yourself unable to connect with a character or a storyline in rp as well.

In short, everyone is entitled to their version of fun, and there should be no ill-will towards others who don't share the same brand of fun as you (I.e, 'actor' vs. 'Method actor')

I love method acting. I wanna feel what my character is feeling because that is the draw of rp to me. I want my character to be telling me what to type on the screen, not me telling the character what to say. Is it possible to go in too deep? Absolutely. But like with all things, practice can help you hone your craft and be the most effective storyteller possible.

Ignacius · **04-16-2014, 10:22 AM**

(04-16-2014, 10:12 AM)Magellan Wrote:
(04-16-2014, 08:42 AM)Ignacius Wrote: [quote pid=83983 dateline=1397608581]
. Â "I dunno, kid, why don'tcha jus' chop th'guy up, toss'm n'a lake f'the critters t'eat, an' tell'r y'love'r at th'guy's memorial service? Â M'jus' sayin', y'ain't thinkin' solutions here."

I do not mean to pick on you, because I actually deeply respect the sense of intensity and commitment you seem to bring to your characters, but I have such a hard time reading that OOCly, that I think my only legitimate IC reaction could be 'uh..... what?' Accents are tricky like that.

A couple of people have mentioned all the traumas their characters have gone through, and admittedly that's a bit of a pet peeve of mine. My characters may have one or two defining traumas in their past, BUT, I fully explore those themes and don't arbitrarily heap on more drama for the sake of drama. I'm often left scratching my head, wondering... doesn't anyone like to rp... you know, HAPPY characters?

WITH THAT SAID, one of the great things about rp communities is the diversity, and ability to provide content for a variety of different tastes. I see no reason why people of differing tastes cannot find common ground to work with if they rp here and there, but the truth is people will rp with other people who enjoy the same brand of storytelling they do.

Think of a library. Everyone has vastly different tastes in books, hence why there is such a wide offering. You aren't likely to sit through a book you hate (unless its for school) so its no surprise if you find yourself unable to connect with a character or a storyline in rp as well.

In short, everyone is entitled to their version of fun, and there should be no ill-will towards others who don't share the same brand of fun as you (I.e, 'actor' vs. 'Method actor')

I love method acting. I wanna feel what my character is feeling because that is the draw of rp to me. I want my character to be telling me what to type on the screen, not me telling the character what to say. Is it possible to go in too deep? Absolutely. But like with all things, practice can help you hone your craft and be the most effective storyteller possible.
[/quote]

His dialect is supposed to be somewhat hard to understand; he didn't learn Common in a school. Â He likes to say that he only went to Big Dumb Bastard University, and majored in Bastardeering and Interpretive Bastardry.

Though you wouldn't have understood him saying that either...

Eva · **04-16-2014, 10:55 AM**

I don't really want to "drag this out" any further.Â I've been kind of lurking and passively following along, as I do with the more interesting topics.Â 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.Â Instead, most characters are like most people, their emotions and attitudes stemming from two places: their proactive chosen nature, and their reactive-to-others.Â This will of course vary from character to character depending on how much others' opinion of the individual matters to him or her.Â 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.Â It is entirely a matter of preference, just like style of RP, etc.Â 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.Â I try not to judge too much, but I have my own style preferences, just as everyone else does.Â As such, Eva was meant to be a more neutral character.Â 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.Â This isn't to say she has certain qualities that make her different.Â 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).Â 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.Â But I also don't think she's the sort that has a new adventure every week, etc.Â She has what I would consider appropriate reactions and aversions to violence, etc.Â 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.Â Instead there's a lot of that "all right, tavern time!"Â And I don't think that's incorrect either - don't get me wrong!!Â I think that's some RPers' preference.Â 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.Â I think a lot of wonderful RP happens in "the spaces between" where there's a lot of character growth.Â I'm one of those RPers who loves just sitting around and drinking tea and gabbing with other RPers.Â But I also love the occasional adventure.Â 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.Â 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.Â I got kind of longwinded again...Â Blush

Â Â

Zhavi · **04-16-2014, 11:07 AM**

(04-16-2014, 08:42 AM)Ignacius Wrote: Definitely violent justice. Â Not only that, but I suppose most people don't have the research put into criminal activity, gang culture, and organized crime that I do. Â One of my favorite things to do in RP is to bring that up and run with it.

Take, for example, justice. Â Just about all criminal organizations, from your local slicer-dicer gang to La Familia have a strict code of silence. Â You don't go to the police ever, not just on behalf of a victim but on behalf of yourself. Â If someone breaks into your house, you don't call the police. Â If someone shoots your best friend, you don't call the police. Â You get justice yourself, blood for blood. Â That's not something, I hope, anyone here has experienced or really understood. Â It's not just that your angry and want revenge, it's literally an honor-bound code for vengeance and violence that you have no choice but to participate in.

Ah, if only I could just move that character over. Â Love playing him. Â If only Final Fantasy had room for that sort of brutality, but even I feel like that would be a stretch. Â I'll have to get back into WoW a bit now that my internet is working.

Yeah, I honestly used to be a lot looser about research and stuff -- and then I started rping with this sarcastic mofo with a need for things to make sense. Every idea went through the grinder of his mind, with such questions as "How does that even work?", "Does that really make sense?" , "Why would they do that?", and one of my favorites, "Are we doing that? We're not doing that." (loosely paraphrased) He's bossy and brutally honest, but I really do feel like my writing has improved by going along with him. . .even when he shreds my ego into pieces. Still have a tendency to propose off the wall ideas to him that he takes all of .03 seconds to shoot down, but I've really learned quite a bit, and I feel like hte resulting rp feels fuller, I guess? I get more fulfillment out of it. And now I also do more research! Spent a few weeks researching the origination of the mafia for one rp, and Spanish court systems in the 15th-16th centuries for another. Still doing a lot of research into medieval trade (particularly around the mediterranean, because hte mediterranean is love) -- there is a lot of really, really cool stuff.

Sounds like you've still got more time into it then I do, but hey, if you've got any fabulous links to stuff please do share.

And, well, if you have ideas about brutal criminal stuff for Final Fantasy and don't mind forum rp, I'd be totally down.

(04-16-2014, 08:48 AM)ArmachiA Wrote: Because it's a style of acting. Some actors don't get into character to the extent of others. ...

I prefer the Hoffman approach because I feel I can be more authentic. That's all.

Quote:(sometimes I even have a sense of unholy glee when putting my characters through awkward/embarrassing situations. heh heh heh)

It should be known I love putting my characters through a lot. I believe in character growth through adversity. Armi has been stabbed by the enemy (4 times since the games launch), shot, kidnapped, almost killed my her friend, possessed by a voidsent, had limbs broken, been beat up, fought Garleans regularly, lost to Garleans reguarly, killed people in war, etc etc. I enjoy that kind of RP as well. I enjoy, also putting my character through those situations.
with that as well. It's not just "This happened, oh well time to go to a bar."

Character growth through adversity! Yes!! Perfect way of putting it.

As for the former, I misspoke a bit, I think. While I am not the type to enjoy method acting, my point was more that it's not necessary for me to employ it, but I still have fulfilling and enjoyable rp without it. What I was trying to clear up is that it is still possible to have good rp without feeling exactly what your character is feeling -- even if it doesn't work for one person, it can still work for the other and vice versa (though, I still have my bias and that won't go away any time soon -- I was traumatized by the earliest rp I was in, haha).

(04-16-2014, 09:29 AM)ExKage Wrote: I feel like this thread exemplifies why whenever someone states an opinion there's always that [for me, my belief, my opinion] that's usually just left unsaid but is meant and implied. As stated before, not everyone needs to be a method actor. For some, they feel that that is the best way for them to experience everything. Obviously not everyone believes that or feels that it's necessary.

We just have a lot more method actors in here ;3

Other than that... I really can't say much more on that topicÂ for now other than echo what ArmachiA has said.

Yeah, I do expect that everything people say is their opinion and they're not stating it as the end all be all of truth, but when I read something as "I don't see how that could ever be fun" my immediate response -- if it's fun for me -- is to try to explain how it's fun for me. Likewise if I say something along the lines of "I don't see how (whatever)" I'd hope that if someone has a different way of looking at things they'd speak up. I like getting a peek inside how other people's minds work. Even if, at the end of the day, I'm still like "I don't get it, I could never feel that way" at the very least I've learned something new about someone else/the way others think, and that sort of thing is invaluable to me.

ArmachiA · **04-16-2014, 11:43 AM**

(04-16-2014, 10:55 AM)Eva Wrote: 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.

I think Armi has some form of PTSD, mostly from her time at Carteneau and being skipped ahead, and the long winded stories of the last 7 months have certainly had an effect on her. I'm not going to say not much has happened to her, if you look at her journal it's already 8 pages long, but it didn't feel too whirlwindy - though sometimes it was one thing right after another and she was very overwhelmed.

Over all though, Armi is actually a very lighthearted, fun loving character. She's sweet and (unintentionally) funny, generally happy, and mostly normal. Her idea of getting to know someone is to make them tea. She writes song, collects ugly lamps and was just a farm girl turned priestess. She isn't extraordinary, she just gets thrust into extraordinary situations, which I tend to prefer.

I think there needs to be a balance, honestly. If too much BIG stuff happens it just gets exhausting and you need the small conversations with other people to develop relationships and really get to know your character. In all honestly, I think building those relationship through just having tea or going to a bar is EXTREMELY important. Because if something happens to your character or to the character you've been spending time with it has MUCH more impact.

K'nahli · **04-16-2014, 11:57 AM**

(04-16-2014, 01:11 AM)Melkire Wrote: This thread is full of people referencing melodrama and other people mistaking them as referencing emotions in general, and vice-versa. Can we please stop doing that?

inb4 someone mistakenly reads this in a negative or disapproving tone of voice and the thread continues to devolve in a series of misunderstandings before hitting rock-bottom at full-blown drama. There, now I've reverse-jinxed it, and it stands no chance of happening.

Hahaha, yes! Every time I saw a post about people claiming there was too much negativity or implying that people were being too aggressive or pushy... I was left scratching my head. Just because someone disagrees or challenges another person's idea in an effort to understand them better doesn't mean you are criticizing or mocking them.

In any case, someone else mentioned something along the lines of "I don't need to have experienced a broken leg to RP it", well unless I am mistaken I don't think anyone said that. Empathizing with a character doesn't mean you have to 100% understand their feelings on the matter, just make a genuine effort towards it. Most of my characters' situations are likely ones that I have ever gone through myself, same thing applies to their complicated emotions. If you don't try to understand how your character would REALLY think and act when certain things happen to them, then he/she is just going to turn out a little random and not remain consistent at all, right?

Eva · **04-16-2014, 12:28 PM**

(04-16-2014, 11:43 AM)ArmachiA Wrote:
(04-16-2014, 10:55 AM)Eva Wrote: My stuff.
Armi's stuff

Oh I wasn't disagreeing. Â One of these days I'm sure Eva will bump into Armi. Â Ever since you first joined the RPC (in the old pre-1.0 days) I always thought that she sounded like a character that was very similar to Eva and more than once I've pondered what manner of things the two would talk about if given the opportunity (because it sometimes seems like they might share a brain, except for the Nymeia angle). Â Maybe one day we'll find out!

While Eva was at Carteneau and experienced all that and was sufficiently shell-shocked when reappearing, there's been time since then and those events served as motivating factors. Â Things certainly do happen, and sometimes it feels like a whirlwind. Â This can be even more apparent when reading back through journal entries. Â In real time, it seems like something fairly ground-breaking happens that directly impacts her every 6-12 months, and the rest of the time is where she is more heavily focused on others' story arcs and what I would consider more "reactive" RP. Â Not to diminish the value of being involved with others' story arcs - one of such arcs which was probably intended to be something fairly minor in the greater scope of that arc wound up being a super-profound thing for Eva(thanks Kylin!) - and it's always awesome when the unintentional stuff like that happens "by accident"

I'm starting to derail a bit, so I will come back around full-circle and point out that there is one underlying element to Eva's backstory that was sort of set in place before RP even began way back before we ever even first logged into 1.0 alpha, and that is the death of her then-fiancÃ© which was something that happened a year before the game's initial launch. Â There are times when she recalls this NPC character and talks about him that I find myself identifying with her and empathizing and to some degree feeling that same sadness. Â We've fleshed out that aspect of her story and the seven years they spent together before he died and described a number of events they were involved with, so in a way it's like he's become something real and substantial, and those feelings associated with him, and the character and her loss is something that hits me right in the feels sometimes. Â And I do think being able to get into character like that and feel that degree of empathy makes RP where she's talking about him or recalling some memory that much more... profound? Â It's hard to describe and I don't think it's necessary by any means to get so in-depth in order to play a role, but it's just one of those specifics that seemed worth mentioning.

Ignacius · **04-16-2014, 01:20 PM**

(04-16-2014, 11:07 AM)Zhavi Wrote:
(04-16-2014, 08:42 AM)Ignacius Wrote: Definitely violent justice. Â Not only that, but I suppose most people don't have the research put into criminal activity, gang culture, and organized crime that I do. Â One of my favorite things to do in RP is to bring that up and run with it.

Take, for example, justice. Â Just about all criminal organizations, from your local slicer-dicer gang to La Familia have a strict code of silence. Â You don't go to the police ever, not just on behalf of a victim but on behalf of yourself. Â If someone breaks into your house, you don't call the police. Â If someone shoots your best friend, you don't call the police. Â You get justice yourself, blood for blood. Â That's not something, I hope, anyone here has experienced or really understood. Â It's not just that your angry and want revenge, it's literally an honor-bound code for vengeance and violence that you have no choice but to participate in.

Ah, if only I could just move that character over. Â Love playing him. Â If only Final Fantasy had room for that sort of brutality, but even I feel like that would be a stretch. Â I'll have to get back into WoW a bit now that my internet is working.

Yeah, I honestly used to be a lot looser about research and stuff -- and then I started rping with this sarcastic mofo with a need for things to make sense. Â Every idea went through the grinder of his mind, with such questions as "How does that even work?", Â "Does that really make sense?" , "Why would they do that?", and one of my favorites, "Are we doing that? Â We're not doing that." Â (loosely paraphrased) He's bossy and brutally honest, but I really do feel like my writing has improved by going along with him. . .even when he shreds my ego into pieces. Â Still have a tendency to propose off the wall ideas to him that he takes all of .03 seconds to shoot down, but I've really learned quite a bit, and I feel like hte resulting rp feels fuller, I guess? Â I get more fulfillment out of it. Â And now I also do more research! Â Spent a few weeks researching the origination of the mafia for one rp, and Spanish court systems in the 15th-16th centuries for another. Â Still doing a lot of research into medieval trade (particularly around the mediterranean, because hte mediterranean is love) -- there is a lot of really, really cool stuff.

Sounds like you've still got more time into it then I do, but hey, if you've got any fabulous links to stuff please do share.

And, well, if you have ideas about brutal criminal stuff for Final Fantasy and don't mind forum rp, I'd be totally down. Â

Actually, I'd say to check out a few television shows to get you into the mindset. Â HBO has run a few, especially series about prisons. Â Gangland is sort of my favorite series. Â It's annoying to watch sometimes on DVD because they have a tendency to catch people up, so you'll have a lot of stuff repeated between slots for commercial breaks. Â But they're very thorough on giving you a historical breakdown on how gangs form and dissolve. Â Netflix is your best friend, as you can catch up on a lot of more in-depth history through National Geographic. Â They have a lot not just on large syndicates, but also biker gangs, narcotics rings, and street gangs. Â It's really the street gang stuff that gets you into the mindset. Â Especially when you get interviews with active gang members and they talk about the sense of disenfranchisement in greater society versus acceptance in criminal culture. Â It's very similar to ancient tribalism.

As to the second part, that's a lot like what architecture school and practice is like. Â Essentially, I've been doing that for some eleven years, so I totally get what you'd find helpful about it. Â It's a great way to learn in a hurry.

As to the third part, I've no problem with forum RP. Â Wouldn't mind it at all, though I might have some delays finding time. Â I might restart RP in WoW because I've been thinking about my favorite character in WoW to RP as. Â Kind of looking forward to going grimy.

Zhavi · **04-16-2014, 04:24 PM**

(04-16-2014, 01:20 PM)Ignacius Wrote: Actually, I'd say to check out a few television shows to get you into the mindset. Â HBO has run a few, especially series about prisons. Â Gangland is sort of my favorite series. Â It's annoying to watch sometimes on DVD because they have a tendency to catch people up, so you'll have a lot of stuff repeated between slots for commercial breaks. Â But they're very thorough on giving you a historical breakdown on how gangs form and dissolve. Â Netflix is your best friend, as you can catch up on a lot of more in-depth history through National Geographic. Â They have a lot not just on large syndicates, but also biker gangs, narcotics rings, and street gangs. Â It's really the street gang stuff that gets you into the mindset. Â Especially when you get interviews with active gang members and they talk about the sense of disenfranchisement in greater society versus acceptance in criminal culture. Â It's very similar to ancient tribalism.

Documentaries! Good idea. I will most definitely be checking out Gangland, thanks for the tip! Also netflix, watching stuff at work makes tedious stuff go by so much faster.

Kimikimi · **04-17-2014, 03:02 AM**

I have a question. Why is this topic so popular?

Ignacius · **04-17-2014, 08:18 AM**

(04-17-2014, 03:02 AM)Kimikimi Wrote: I have a question. Why is this topic so popular?

Discussion of RP methodology and personal preferences aside, I think all of us who have been doing this for any length of time have had people bleed OOC into IC or vice versa with disastrous results. Â I know I personally did it once when I was fifteen, and I nearly blew up a forum RP. Â Luckily, I had people around who were understanding and explained the difference.

Some people either aren't lucky enough to have those people around or are too ignorant to listen to them, and we end up with people suddenly disliking all the characters of a player who's character screwed someone else's over. Â Or the worst is the romantic RP that totally crosses the line and isn't reciprocated IRL. Â That's sort of the RP horror story, the "girlfriend" that isn't a girlfriend that just won't go away, IC or OOC. Â I could relate some of those horror stories if no one else here feels like it.

Suffice it to say, bleeders are land mines in the RP world, people that seem like normal roleplayers until something happens and they destroy everything around them. Â If there's one thing to take away from this thread, you can empathize with your character, as that's a methodology choice. Â Eventually, though, you empathize too closely, so it's important to know not to do that and make that character's life your own life. Â Bad and good things happen to characters that are NOT happening to you personally; it's all RP. Â If it bleeds one way or the other, we all have a problem.

Ashscarred · **04-17-2014, 09:24 AM**

(04-17-2014, 08:18 AM)Ignacius Wrote:
(04-17-2014, 03:02 AM)Kimikimi Wrote: I have a question. Why is this topic so popular?

Discussion of RP methodology and personal preferences aside, I think all of us who have been doing this for any length of time have had people bleed OOC into IC or vice versa with disastrous results. Â I know I personally did it once when I was fifteen, and I nearly blew up a forum RP. Â Luckily, I had people around who were understanding and explained the difference.

Some people either aren't lucky enough to have those people around or are too ignorant to listen to them, and we end up with people suddenly disliking all the characters of a player who's character screwed someone else's over. Â Or the worst is the romantic RP that totally crosses the line and isn't reciprocated IRL. Â That's sort of the RP horror story, the "girlfriend" that isn't a girlfriend that just won't go away, IC or OOC. Â I could relate some of those horror stories if no one else here feels like it.

Suffice it to say, bleeders are land mines in the RP world, people that seem like normal roleplayers until something happens and they destroy everything around them. Â If there's one thing to take away from this thread, you can empathize with your character, as that's a methodology choice. Â Eventually, though, you empathize too closely, so it's important to know not to do that and make that character's life your own life. Â Bad and good things happen to characters that are NOT happening to you personally; it's all RP. Â If it bleeds one way or the other, we all have a problem.

This is an excellent post. I would only like to add that the issue of Bleeding can easily become much, much worse if it's not checked.

Speaking from my own experience in many RP communities, including table-top groups, message board and in-game communities I have personally seen the following happen because of this issue. Some examples are extreme, but I want to emphasize just how bad it can really get.

Entire, long running role-play communities derailed, divided or completely destroyed.

RP forums that devolved into flame wars so vile that people were actually looking up real-life details about fellow players to use against them.

I've seen IC relationships misinterpreted and escalate to the level of full on stalking, complete with the authorities having to get involved. In one of the worst instances, someone attempted to wreck someone else's *real life* relationship because their characters had broken up in-game.

I've watched people who were friends, in real life, become enemies and remain so years later.

I've witnessed players spiral into depression ranging from mild to severe over IC related events.

Lastly, I got to experience someone I had known and played with for years go into such a dark place that she ended up posting her suicide note on a forum message board.

The bleeding of IC and OOC is the very bane of any RP community. At the very least it leads to drama, damaged story lines and hurt feelings. At its worse... See above.

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