Bleed-through

[Oscare]

Thirded.

I will be the first to admit that Oscare is, quite simply, a douchebag. And that's how I intend to play him, because I like it that way. I get a lot of people saying "Wow, you don't see so many people just play outright mean characters like that", and it brings a smile to my face. It's okay to act in-character, it brings out all your planning you made for them.

 

Everyone is different. <3 And that's how we should play. Not everyone can be "the nice girl/guy next door".

I probably completely missed the point and I'm just making stuff up. >_<

[Unnamed Mercenary]

Thirded.

I will be the first to admit that Oscare is, quite simply, a douchebag. And that's how I intend to play him, because I like it that way. I get a lot of people saying "Wow, you don't see so many people just play outright mean characters like that", and it brings a smile to my face. It's okay to act in-character, it brings out all your planning you made for them.

 

Everyone is different.

I probably completely missed the point and I'm just making stuff up. >_

 

I completely agree, although in my case it was a little more insane than mean. It's fun to plot away and see how not only your character grows, but the other characters involved. A few of the people I know are familiar with an OOC joke of *plays the "terrible friend" card*

[Askier]

Hey Warren, I completely understand the feeling.  I normally am able to keep myself relatively objective when rping Askier(well as object as one can be while rping a part of you lol), but during the recent rp event with Roen and Itar, I got gut punched.

 

Basically, Itar said he was going to torture Askier IC.  At first I had no problem with it, once I established the rules of how far he could go.  but then Itar sent me an email describing what exactly was happening to Askier aboard the boat in that torture chamber and I'll admit, I just stared at the e-mail and had to re-read it.  I'll admit I was kinda numb.  It hadn't -really- hit how much I had agreed to put Askier through -until- that moment and I couldn't bring myself to reply to Itar's post IC cause how brutally damaged Askier was and i didn't want to read anymore.  I felt powerless, honestly, too, since Askier had no way to stop Itar at this point. 

 

Even now, my rping while on Askier has been, well, subdued.  Osric, Kanaria, or Kahn'a can tell you Askier is certainly more humble and while most of that is IC reasoning, part of -me- feels, well bad for having a character I love to rp end up so badly mangled and mentally broken and I prefer to keep him out of harms way currently, least for a bit.....knowing Askier, I give him a week before he does something rash, sorry Osric =p.....lol.

 

Just wanted to let you know, you aren't alone when it comes to characters affecting the roleplayer.

[Warren Castille]

We're a strange sort of cruel gods. We love these shards of ourselves, yet we continue to fill their worlds with heartache and misery and opposition. I think we just want to see them succeed, see them overcome, see them earn their rewards and happiness.

 

More weight.

[Melkire]

"More weight" is right. There's little to no emotional impact come journey's end if there hasn't been a struggle.

 

The more a character suffers, the more cathartic their victory.

[Oscare]

The above two posts.

All of it.

Every single pixel. 

Our characters are humans (well, at least, try to act like them, hehehe) and have emotions. It's our interactions that make it all the more realistic, and in the end, it feels satisfying that they overcame their obstacles like actual human beings do. It's a strange kind of relate-able magic.

 

OFFTOPIC;

[Askier]

 

The more a character suffers, the more cathartic their victory.

 

*Flexes Jin'li's fingers* 

 

And suffer you shall, for I am kind.

[Melkire]

 

The more a character suffers, the more cathartic their victory.

 

*Flexes Jin'li's fingers* 

 

And suffer you shall, for I am kind.

 

...I didn't say I wanted more catharsis.

[Askier]

 

The more a character suffers, the more cathartic their victory.

 

*Flexes Jin'li's fingers* 

 

And suffer you shall, for I am kind.

 

...I didn't say I wanted more catharsis.

But you didn't say you wanted less...*innocent whistle*

[Roen]

I agree about more weight and struggles making the character's journey that much more... significant. Their growth and their story that much more compelling.

 

This is set in a fantasy setting after all. The trials the characters face should be more dramatic than what we ourselves are able to deal with in real life.

 

And yet we do step into our characters' lives, because that is what makes each of their interactions real, their relationships more meaningful, and it makes the character's reactions all that much more affecting.

 

I too got into the similar boat (HAHA PUN) as Askier with the kidnapping storyline. Itar and I decided what would happen on the boat offscreen and I agreed to somethings for the story sake. The entire arc, and the tragic irony that was created by a poor plan but with good intentions was made that much more dramatic because both Askier and Roen really did suffer on that boat. But it did leave me with  "huh... how the heck do I get my character out of this state of mind..." feeling for days. And she is definitely more subdued right now, as those who I have RPed with since will notice.

 

Now I am really looking forward Roen's growth having survived the ordeal. But definitely, IC stories do occupy my thoughts when I am not in game. But it is in a good way, something that gets my creative juices flowing, and makes me either grin silly or shake my head at random moments thinking about things.

[Jancis]

I think ultimately the biggest draw for me after these characters and personas that I personally care for get dragged through is that they will survive and live on. Become better from it in some way.

 

Really makes the ordeal worth it and creates a real bond.

[Faye]

I don't stress in real life over IC matters and RP plots, but I must admit OOC matters and others blurring OOC and IC (in a most recent example, people getting upset that their character's IC leadership role does not give them OOC power) stresses me from time to time. I role-play for fun, and I have fun regardless of how great or terrible things go for my character. I only start stressing when other people OOCly take the fun out of RP with metagaming, godmodding, drama, arguing, rumors, etc.

[Verad]

It happens, and I think it's largely inevitable. Sometimes that's a good thing, sometimes not.

For my part, I try to keep at least some emotional distance, if not total detachment, from my character. It's necessary when I need to make him look like an idiot as I very frequently do. I can always tell when I'm getting too close in that regard because he stops being funny. Then I make him suffer more, and the problem is solved.

[Faye]

Somewhat of an afterthought, but I think the easiest way to avoid bleed-through is not to base your character on yourself. Don't make a self-insert, and don't make an idealized version of who you want to be. I've yet to see a single instance of such characters not inevitably bringing about some problem in terms of blurring OOC/IC or other forms of bleed-through.

[Roswyn]

I've noticed that when it comes to my character when it rains it pours. During these times I can get bummed oocly and want to log in less because I don't really want to go into the mindset of my character while she's upset about whatever events just transpired.

 

Like coming home from whatever and now I log in and...Oh right. THAT happened. Ick. This is why, when it comes to character altering events, I always ask people in RP ((Are you SURE you want this to happen? Ok then.)) And I let them make the choice about the event because it's their character. At the end of the day I RP to have fun and I'm sure other people do too and a little OOC communication can go a long way.

[Maril]

One thing to remember is that "their" world is your world too. If you pour a lot of time and effort every day into your plots, I'd call it natural that you're getting a bit affected by the ongoings in the world of RP. I've always considered RP to be of a very good quality if it can make you laugh and cry on the behalf of your character, but there of course needs to be a balance. 

In my position as an FC leader, I end up getting stressed a lot, because I can't be in as many places as I want to be and also have fun all the time. And then when stuff starts going the route of conflict, of any sort, and I'm already stressed I sometimes have to slam the ooc breaks and take the conflict another day because my head can't handle it that day. Fortunately people around me have been very understanding with it. 

There's a little bit of ourselves in all of the characters we make (All of my characters have autism, because I do and it bleeds through in my perception. They never mention it though, as I don't consider it to be a thing in Eorzea,), I also find that having more than one character (despite the alt hostility of FFXIV) can help lift some stress off your shoulders, especially if the stress is prone to trigger when you can't for whatever reason RP on your main. They might be trapped or ill or whatever, it does happen. This also goes a long way in honing your skills so that you can make diverse characters that are more and more not like you, which can in turn also help with the stress. 

 

But in all of this the first step is to realize and recognize that there is something that, if left unchecked, could become a bad problem. I'm talking in the size of month long burnouts here. So give it a ponder and remember to take your mind off things, maybe by playing another game like The Sims or so. It's always nice and relaxing when you can drown people that mysteriously are called names of the people you don't like in a pool..

[Zhavi]

I think the sorta stress I feel in regards to character interaction is two fold. The biggest upset I've ever had with a character was when some fairly traumatic stuff happened to one of my old ones, and she became unplayable. That upset me a big deal, because her reaction would have been to become a genuine recluse (ie, leave everything and go wayyyy far away) -- so she was dead to the rp, essentially. I feel bad for my characters, but I don't get sad.

 

Besides that, the most stressed out I get is when I have a character who I don't fully get. Case in point, I have a playboy on another site who is using a woman's recent upheaval (husband died, had a miscarriage) to further his own goals within his social circle. He's faking love for her, and even though she knows this, it still makes me disgusted to play him. Like, I don't want to get into that mindset. It makes playing him difficult, and some days I wish I hadn't made him -- he's in effect a compilation of some of the worst behaviors I've experienced with men-who-are-also-assholes, and so by trying to play him in a sympathetic fashion I tend to not want to play him. And it doesn't help that the character I'm playing opposite is so gosh-darn likeable that I sometimes wind up icking myself. Sadly, he's an important part in a plot, so I can't just give up on him, but I'll admit to sometimes avoiding the rp because I don't particularly feel like playing him.

 

And other that that, I also tend to sorta spend time daydreaming and thinking about plot and character, and sometimes it's a matter of 'ooh, I need to do this, start that thread, I need to pm this person and ffff it's been ages since I checked up on this, I really need to touch base there and snap, I told so and so I was going to do this today but I also need to do this' -- which can affect my mood, but I'd much rather have lots to look forward to than nothing at all!

[ArmachiA]

The part that stresses me out the most is the fact I'm usually a GM and having to deal with OTHER PLAYERS OOC butthurt over things that happen ICly or the fact I don't have as much time as they would like me to have (I don't work, but on top of GMing storylines, running a guild of 70+ people, coordinating endgame, Introducing new members, keeping old ones happy, doing my DR's, doing endgame at all, my time is actually fairly limited. Of the 8-10 hours A DAY I spend on the game, 6 hours of that is usually Upper Management stuff. This doesn't even include off the game stuff like, you know, actually spending time with my fiance). That usually brings me into stressland quickly, when people try to metagame or powergame, get mad about their character not being a hero, etc etc. It's all ooc stuff, though.

 

IC stuff doesn't stress me out so much. I'm not going to lie, I am really rooting for Armi in this universe and I'm fairly attached to her. She's so good and honest and sweet and completely genuine that I find it hard to not want the best for her and when I see she doesn't get it (By my control or otherwise) it can break my heart. Her journal is hard to write for sometimes, when I have to put pen to paper about something that happened to her she just didn't deserve - which happens fairly often since at the end of the day I'm sadistic. Her journal is much, much darker than how she acts in game and I've had people comment they'd have no idea of those thoughts when they rped with her. I adore her, but she is tragedy and it's sad.

 

That being said, I don't get mad or stress out about anything when it comes to her. IF I get mad about something ICly, it's because there was an ooc issue behind it that made me mad. I sympathize with Armi, I want good things for her, but I also understand she isn't real - it's just a story - and rping is supposed to be fun. I do think about rp a lot, because my passion is crafting a story, but it's more with an interest of what's going to happen. Like a really good book or a TV show.

 

I tend to make my characters very different then myself, as well. I am me in real life, I don't really want to play me in this world. Roleplaying is a fun mix of acting and writing, and I like to believe I'm pretty okay at it. Because of that all my characters are nothing like me - from sweet and awkward Armi to Snarky/flirty Loki to Sadistic/Spoiled Isera. I can't really say "This character is me". I think it helps me detach from them once I need to leave their head, which helps with me not stressing out.

[Coatleque]

So, talk about bleed-through...

 

I want to apologize to the long list of people who I had planned to RP with last night, or who I didn't get a chance to say more than 2 words to. A storm came through around 8pm and we lost power. As of now it's still down and I'm at work.

 

So I sat for two hours just jonesing for my internet fix, thinking of all the stuff that COULD be happening. And now today I'll be out doing field work most of the day. So I'm just like... "Ef my life".

 

Is this situation thread-worthy?

[Warren Castille]

*Puts on his ref shirt*

 

Thread's about effects of RP affecting our day to days. I'll allow it.

[Kage]

I was paranoid that people would ruin Kage's life by attempting to either assassinate the Captain or knocking him out before he talked to the Captain or kidnapping him.

 

... I was right to be paranoid but I was able to sorta make sure that people were given the chance to as well as making sure Kage got what he wanted.

[Meghatron]

With most characters the most I do is catch a wee case of 'the feels', feeling happy or bad for them in particularly emotional situations. I've laughed a lot and cried or felt a little crabby more than few times over my roleplaying career, and have edged into territory where I was over-identifying and needed to remind myself to back off a bit. I don't consider a little emotional investment in a good story to be a bad thing as long as you're feeling that FOR your character and not as something super personal. But when it stresses you out or makes it to the point where you aren't having fun things need to change. It's something I actively watch for and try to nip in the bud as early as possible. Taking it the other way and venting certain OOC moods IC is also something that I try to avoid. I'd rather not RP at all if I'm crabby and having difficulty reacting otherwise IC, than bring down someone else's day and possibly veer my character OOC for what and who they're supposed to be.

 

...cripes that was a ramble. Sorry if the flow of thought is hard to follow. Bleed-through is something I struggled pretty hard with in the past, though a big part of it might have been being young and over-invested.

 

No, my main hangup comes when handed OOC authority/responsibility that goes along with my IC fun times. :< My stress management needs work, so I  just sidestep that pothole in the road as often as I can unless the work comes in small manageable doses.

[ArmachiA]

No, my main hangup comes when handed OOC authority/responsibility that goes along with my IC fun times. :< My stress management needs work, so I  just sidestep that pothole in the road as often as I can unless the work comes in small manageable doses.

 

I'm starting to believe we all need some kind of GM support group.

[Coatleque]

So um... yeah..

Bump for recent relevance...

[Melkire]

I accepted bleed-through when Osric opened a box to find a collar inside.

 

The hits haven't stopped coming.