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| | Reception Area Figuring out how to role-play or even develop a character can be a little daunting. Visit the reception area for some assistance! | 
02-05-2019, 05:26 AM
| | |  Affect of Your Personality On Charries
So, I have been thinking. As much as we might try not to, or real-life personality often leaks into our characters. This can be an easy way for newer roleplayers to get into it, but when we become more advanced, we often try to make characters that are significantly different from or real-life selves. As beneficial as it is to step into the shoes of others qnd expand our horizons, sometimes we need to take a step back and develop our own personalities a little more.
My three main characters, Mary, Lyra, and Joan, all seem to represent a different part of my own personality. This is partially a result of then being my first characters and me being a newer roleplayer. I have recently been digging deeper into this. As a result of my exploration of these connections, I developed all three characters significantly, while also managing to learn more about myself in real life.
Mary, my first character, is the most obvious part of my personality, what most people around me see. She is shy and introverted, often having problems making small talk, even cracking up and running away from people. I do this a lot, to the point where i'm afraid to go up to the deli counter in the grocery store without my mom. This is why I enjoy Role-playing so much, because it's so much easier to make small-talk when you have as much time as you want to plan and revise what you are going to say. But the thing about Mary, is that she sometimes makes decisions on a whim and sort of momentarily forgets about the anxiety. Some examples of these moments are when she spoke out at the rubbish bin in Diagon and when she hopped into Odaline's boat at the start of the term.
As for Joan, I was trying to make her a bit more outspoken, so she turned out a lot more like me when i'm with my close friends. The main traits that define her are a love of reading, a little bit of intelligence, and most of all, intense and passionate curiosity. I am often like this, as I enjoy all things science and engineering. I can read through pages of nonfiction books without getting bored, I stick NASA stickers on everything I own, and I can spend hours researching something just because it interests me a little bit. Joan is like me inside my head, always eager to know more, to find the answers, to share her knowledge with the world.
My newest character, Lyra, represents my desire to reach for the stars. He is always trying to gain do more, reach goals, and will just generally do anything to succeed. I am always dreaming about the future and I will work day and night to get something done. I have always wanted the best, the things that only the smartest, the most intelligent, the hardest-working, and most driven can get. Lyra is like this to the point where he spent several years floating around looking for a job, simply because he wanted a job that would satisfy his need got achievement. I spend almost my entire week outside of school doing other activities, mostly competitive after school activities, because I want the achievement. It gives me life.
It also seemes that all of my characters have a knack for Astronomy, which is significant, because you might recall that I am obsessed with NASA and space. This little connection is really just a little quirk, but it kind of makes the characters a bit more relatable for me.
I would recommend trying this method of digging deeper into your characters. It helped As a general guide, try to answer some of these these questions in about yourself and your characters. - How does your character relate to your own personality?
- If your character does not relate to your personality, what makes you able to roleplay them?
- Do you share interests with any of your characters?
- How is your playing of the character improved by the personality connection?
- Why do you think you portray the character the way you do?
Anyway, basically, this was just a really long and super deep post. If it helped you, you can post some super deep stuff too. If you have any recommendations for the question list, you can also tell me about those. This kind of thing is why I'm a Ravenclaw.  | |
02-05-2019, 02:08 PM
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#2 (permalink)
| | Moke
Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: nickle's back pocket
Posts: 8,912
Hogwarts RPG Name:
Astrid Grimaldi
Slytherin Second Year
Hogwarts RPG Name:
Nikita Vitvinina-Grahn
Ravenclaw Fifth Year  x12
| Kimothée Chalamet • The UWU Agenda • Once Baby, Now Trouble • All Growed Up
I love this thread! I've always thought about this when I update charrie biographies but now that it has a thread of its own, I'd definitely love to hear everyone's thoughts on this. 
I've been a member on SS since 2011 and I was very young when I started. Lots of people on here know this. I personally identify as a Slytherin, and I'll be honest when I say that I used to be so scared of playing out charries that weren't Slytherins like me. All of my active characters from 2011-2014 were both Slytherins and girls (again, older SSers probably noticed this pattern of mine lolz) because I was comfortable playing voices that were similar to mine. And I was also nervous about playing different charries since I thought I wouldn't give them justice. It was only last year that I decided to try something different. I played a boy charrie, Drewett, for the first time (and stuck with him instead of retiring his voice when it started making me anxious) and he's not a Slytherin like me. I have Drewett now, and I honestly enjoy playing someone who isn't entirely me.
But then again, there's always a little bit of me in all my charries! I think it's a bit inevitable? While I do try to be more adventurous and creative with their personalities, I can definitely point out what certain parts of my personality are reflected in my various brain children. For instance, my ministry charrie Rani loves to travel and so do I. She reflects my desire to get lost, get out of my comfort zone, and be part of a culture different from mine. Next, my previous student charrie, Vivian, loved all kinds of creatures, gets really attached to people, and has always wanted to make a name for herself (especially with her family that's successful in their chosen careers). And Drewett now reflects a part of me as well. I consider him my charrie whose most unlike me but even then, his need to please everyone around him, and also his love for books and even printed socks are snippets of my personality as well.
Aside from that, I also tend to integrate a bit of the people I know in real life into my charries as well so that it's not purely my personality. There's variety in that sense Also this post was longer than I thought, but there you have it! 
__________________ It's so magical, feeling that no one's got a hold_______________________________
___________________________________And the whole wide world is whistling... | 
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02-05-2019, 07:32 PM
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#3 (permalink)
| | Shrake
Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: (EST)
Posts: 12,974
Hogwarts RPG Name:
Jacoby Rivers
Hufflepuff Sixth Year
Hogwarts RPG Name:
Callista Rivers
Gryffindor Second Year | Stealthy Ninja Queen | Snake For Life | waddling baker | binge royalty ♚
I love this.
I think that I agree that as RPers we put a piece of ourselves in our characters. I joined ss back in 2006 and I was just a wee little teenager so everyone I had was whiny and mad at the world. But I never stuck with a character too long.
Now after taking a nearly 8 year hiatus from all things ss I came back. I was older wiser and had RPed way more in those eight years. My characters had a bit more depth and told me things all the time.
I leave things very uncertain in my first bio because things change and grow all the time. But Patrick my current kid-o is the first one I’ve stuck with for more than a term or two. He’s somewhat different than me as a person. He’s so up beat and go with the flow. He’s what people tell me I am. When in reality I am very much a sit on my couch and watch movies alone person some days. It’s fun to play him though because he’s so bold he’s doing things I want to do.
My first female character was my shopkeeper who is girly and glam which I myself didn’t get into until very recently and very rarely do for myself. So it’s always interesting to see what she drinks up from my imagination.
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02-05-2019, 09:51 PM
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#4 (permalink)
|  WWW & Potterdom Mod
Newbie Mod
 Wrackspurt
Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: SHIELD's Helicarrier
Posts: 213,945
Hogwarts RPG Name:
Dhruv Vihaan Khanna
Graduated
Hogwarts RPG Name:
Aryan Atreyu-Rehman
Slytherin Fourth Year
 x12  x12
| ~ Mrs. Steve Harrington ~ It be like that sometimes.
I think it's inevitable to put a little piece of you into your charries. They're a part of you and many of us became particularly attached to one or two of them. Most of my charries like Adi and Megan have my bouncy, friendly, easy- going, laid back traits. Everyone who knows me will notice this. Connor and Regina have the side of me that's sarcastic and wary of other humans. Kay, Rachel and Lucas are the ones very interested in knowledge. Zach is the shy side of me. These are just a few examples.
Also, there are charries that are unlike me. Anita, the one interested in fashion. I dislike that kind of stuff. What motivates me to play her is the fact that I like to learn about the various traits of persons; what makes someone who they are. Research plays a big part in this but as I RP her more (and other charries unlike myself), they speak to you easily.
In general, however a charrie may turn out to be, it's all interesting because RPing is something fun. Charries have varying personalities just like any of us RL peeps | |
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02-25-2019, 12:30 AM
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#5 (permalink)
| | Forest Troll
Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Ohio
Posts: 27,991
Hogwarts RPG Name:
Kirsten Delbin
Hufflepuff Fifth Year
Hogwarts RPG Name:
Mateo Theodore
Slytherin Fifth Year
x11 x9
| Puff by day, snake by night | Mj's bestie | Always UP to Something...
I love all the things you have said here! My own characters always have pieces of me, not all pieces though and some have been the polar opposite. I do believe that comes with experience to be able to play some personalities that would in real life drive you crazy. Many of my characters have the same interest as me, b/c it is way easier to RP stuff you know than stuff you don't. I research so much though to make sure I'm as accurate as possible.
I have found many of my characters I find inspiration from my students. Many of them have traits that I have either found funny, hated, or liked. My character Bart is a very big example of this. He was crazy and representing everything I dealt with one school year from a student.
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02-25-2019, 01:07 AM
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#6 (permalink)
| | Bicorn
Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Wales
Posts: 16,721
Hogwarts RPG Name:
Jade Archer de Leon
Slytherin Third Year
Hogwarts RPG Name:
Olive Gracae-Ryans
Hufflepuff Seventh Year | Little Fox | ½ of Lauralie | Ravenclaw with a Hufflepuff heart and a Gryffindor soul | #HouseNATARIANA
Wow. I love this. I think I could talk about this all day.
My characters - every single one of them - probably reflect at least one aspect of my personality. Some more obviously than others. And if they don't have aspects of me in them, they probably have traits/interests that I desire or take on traits from people that I know. I think they also affect my personality. I learned a lot from Bliss (taking responsibility for mistakes), Clara (being able to say no without guilt and sticking up for myself) and Rhea (persistenting despite difficulties and being able to ask for help when it's needed), and I'm so grateful for that.
Bliss, as my first proper character, was definitely too perfect, too nice, too ideal. Those things caused their own problems and became flaws, to a degree. I suppose, because I was so young and really wanted to be liked, I saw her as my chance to be the person I wanted to be through her. She definitely wanted everyone to like her and was nice to a fault. I learned a lot from her, though!
Often my characters share one specific interest with me and that thing becomes their biggest passion. Clara has art and languages, as well as a general Ravenclaw thirst for knowledge. Dee has photography. Rhea has dance. Isobel has music. Those are all things I love and admire but don't have time to explore in my own RL, so I suppose I sort of experience and appreciate them through my characters? It's really to explore and learn about things you're interested in without having to commit to actually doing that thing in RL. I definitely wouldn't have time for all the hobbies I'm interested in!
Harry is loosely inspired by my boyfriend's grumpiness. Riley's personality was inspired by an old friend of mine's personality. Magdalena embodies my habit of becoming infatuated with a hobby for a short period of time but never sticking to things; always changing and trying new things. Clara shared my anxiety. Tessa has my (at least how I view myself) occasional lack of tact.
However, I don't see anything wrong with characters being influenced by our personalities. My characters all have their own individuality - they have different histories, motivations, and are (I hope and like to think) complex. They aren't defined by their similarities to me. I do think that their similarities to me makes it is easier not to lose interest in them and, when a RPing block does happen, it's useful to be able to fall back on that central passion I can connect with.
Anyway, that's just my experience.
*really enjoying reading everyone else's view on this*
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