Do your characters personify yourself?

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

This is a question I often find myself asking. Depending where I am with each character, and where I am in life itself, the answer varies.

Pretty much, do your characters depict or explain away aspects of yourself?

I can instantly throw Dan and Darth Decepis out of the mix, because these characters are completely artificial, and I don't think they can really exist inside a reasonable person. Marcus is a plot-filler, and Eluna only represents me insofar that every male human being has wanted to be trapped in a woman's body for a day.





Sanis is the obvious choice for me. My interaction with the world around me mimicks Sanis's style of dealing with problems, which is to not deal with them at all. We both try to plan as little as possible, and ride our little surfboard on the wave of life, whether its up or down we go. It keeps us simple in a way. That being said, we're not very ambitious people. We would certainly like for fame, fortune, and popularity to be heaped on us, but we're not going to try all that hard to get them.

Sanis reflects in me all of my worldliness. The occasional bout of chemical dependency, a happy kind of irreverence for pretty much anything and everything, and a realistic appraisal of self worth. We're not cowards, we've just got long fuses, and know how to let everything that is unimportant just slide.

We're both accomplished liars, but we both exist in a strange kind of honesty. We don't hide who we are to people we meet, and certainly not those we care about.





Cirrsseeto is probably my inner child leaking out of my brain. He's mentally and emotionally vulnerable, which I guess is why he's so physically imposing. There's a lot going on with him, which is interesting because he's an extremely simple guy on the surface. He's a bit of an introvert for whatever reason, and that reflects my need to sometimes shut myself off from the world. Not because I have to hide, but sometimes its just more fun for me to have quality time with my lonesome.

We enjoy life in a way that most people would find weird. We play a little too rough, eat and drink a little too much. We're not defined by our excesses, but they speak for us sometimes, and put people off.

There's a lot of loyalty in the character. He's expressively loyal, and can't survive without some manner of a family figure in his life. I've always felt that kind of connection, and while I might live on the cuff like Sanis or enjoy time by myself, I've got to have some kind of tether to bring me back to center. I've got a great family, and I've got great friends. Cirr needs Sanis, needs Danaari, and even ol' Taataani out there somewhere.

There's also the issue of speaking in small syllable words, eating raw meat, and wanting raw women too. What can I say, that's just 100% me!





Anbira is a part of me, but also not. There's something unattainable but infinitely seekable in his character, that's in turn built into me. He's the person I want to be. He has all of the virtues that I do not. He's temperant, virtuous, spiritual, wise, humble. I admire all of these things, but I'll never have them to the extent that I seek. Maybe that's some kind of whiskey priest religion in me doing its magic. Maybe just in seeking it, he's personified in me. If I were to ask Anbira if he had any of those things, he'd deny it just like I did, but I think the difference is evident.

Ultimately, there's something higher here at work. I'm really glad I have this part of me at work, because no matter how much I hate to plan and live for the moment, I know there's a plan for me at work, and I will follow it as long as I try.

[Litika Dor]

All my characters reflect me to a greater or lesser degree. I think that's a fate no author can avoid entirely: something of the writer's personality will come through the writing, be it only a small quirk--Rhea and I both hate medical needles, for example--or physical characteristics (my quieter characters tend to have the same coloration as me).

Most of my female characters have very little in common with me. I have charas that are brash and strong, and those that are happy and fun. These are the least similar to me. My quieter characters are more like me, or more likely to channel me, though they tend to be much smarter and more quietly brave.

By far, the character most like me is Rhea Kaylen. I don't know how it happened--perhaps it was because this was my first foray into online RPing--but Rhea turned out to embody many of my personality traits and personal beliefs. Like me, she is quiet and clumsy and likely to say exactly the wrong thing at the wrong time. She and I are both unattractive (though in totally different ways; that is, we look nothing alike), both very insecure, and both sarcastic and self-deprecating. Rhea has my sense of humor and my beliefs regarding gender roles, romance, and male dominance.

Rhea, however, is far more independent than me, and much more intelligent and inquisitive. She is also more bitter and deeply sardonic. She and I are both overly maternal and good at listening, but she is far more empathetic. She is also far more loyal to fulfilling causes that she takes on--almost obsessively so. And her outlook on life is not nearly as bleak as mine.

In some ways, Rhea is a clarified, intensified version of me--she is a klutzy super-anti-feminist who forms almost instant attachments or revulsions and is naive, but a near-perfect judge of character. But many of my faults get overlooked or warped to fit her personality better, while her own unique faults are amplified.

And, since I no longer can play Rhea on the boards, I don't mind telling you--without a major change in her life, she will commit suicide.

Now, Astrela, whom y'all will know mostly as Litika, is my first Star Wars character ever, and very optimistic and happy-go-lucky, even now, years after the Purge. She and I have the most in common when I am in a good mood: loud and goofing off, trying to make other people laugh. But in Astrela's case, this is actually her personality, while for me that is more of an escape from or a cover for my real temperament.

While I could say a whole heck of a lot more about my other characters, these are my only two SW characters, so for now I shall stop rambling. :)

[Dasquian Belargic]

I’ve come to the conclusion that there’s a little bit of me in most every character I’ve ever had. Most of the time, the little bits are (my) character weaknesses or faults.

Vega is a bastard. A horrible, arrogant bastard – but I won’t deny that there are parts to him that I do feel have come from my personality. Truthfully, he’s probably the character that I have the most in common with. Looking at him is like putting a magnifying glass over all of my bad qualities. Sarcastic, elitist, short-tempered, easily bored, selfish and sexually driven. It gives my id a little feeling of accomplishment to be able to be this villain that I could never dream of being in real life.

Salem has always been very much the same. I’ve never been a social butterfly, and I don’t think I ever will be. I have difficulty allowing people to become emotionally close to me – and like I said with Vega, I have a pretty caustic attitude sometimes. Salem is my lack of self-confidence and bitterness towards the world, I suppose. He’s the little bit of me that would love to just find a hideaway in the middle of nowhere and exist completely outside of modern society – or at least lock myself in doors all day.

Dasquian I’m not sure about. When I met Mikey (Sieken/Kelt) IRL he said something about my general attitude and demeanour being like Dasquian’s. I suppose the closest comparison I can draw is that we are both usually well meaning, although things rarely go to plan.

[Darth Stratus]

I take alot from mine, a hell of alot.

The old Kelt (the Jedi Knight) was alot like me. ive always explained it like this. I have a good side and a bad side and i take from both when i play each character. Kelt was my good side. Shy, though when in a situation he knows he's safe in lets himself go and (as im told) is funny and random. But i also sit down and listen to peoples probelms and people come to me for advice, like i had Kelt do IC.

Kelt however now is BS Vigo, he now plays my 'wannabe' side, id love to be a gritty underworld guy who has enough money to buy bars and mingle in the more 'underground' part of life, kelt is now playing a more 'wannabee' role.

Sieken who is now Severen plays my darker side. Sarcastic, irretible, spontanious and quiet. When im angry, im all of these things and more, when im in an arguement i do nothing but speak sarcasticly but i also have a very calculated, vengefull sside to.

Zabian (who has taken Ketls place as Jedi Knight) is my more heroic side, hes the guy that i put all my beleifs into, how i think about how justice should be served, how i would be if i was given the jedi Knight rank. He's my more 'more like me that any other char'...char. if you wish to know what im like in RL watch this character because i put alot of inner being into him. he'll be alot like kelt, but with a more grown up sence. When i first started kelt i was 16, now im 20. Think of him as a more grown up me, a more grown up kelt.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

A writer's characters shouldn't always be 'the writer' but when you've roleplayed with a character for five years she sort of soaks in personality traits.

James is probably the most like me of any of my characters. There's a lot of Lilaena too, they're the yin and yang of my personality.

Like Lilaena, I am insecure. This is probably her biggest weakness, and I think it's mine too. She is insecure because of terrible things that have happened to her, and I don't really have any excuse, but there you have it.

James is upbeat, good-natured, and smiles a lot. In her previous incarnation, she was a Jedi who thought that she was always one misstep from the dark side, and that's how I feel too. I am trying to be a good person, doing the best I can, but I always feel the Lilaena in me trying to get out. :eek

Wow, I sound like a crazy person.

[Khendon Sevon]

I typed up a huge self-analysis. These bits I liked (quotes are what was originally in what I was going to post, the other parts are comments elaborating):



But, I mean, they don’t know me. They see the shell, read the lines, and look no further.


Khendon and I are similar in that we both have very inner emotions that we don’t share. We can’t share them. They’re powerful and frightening. What if someone were to take it the wrong way? We both have fear.

I need to conquer it more than he does.



My poems, my stories, my art all serve as messages wrapped in shells of glass ready to float to anyone and everyone


Khendon is a bit of message and a bit of me. I’ve used him to express anti-war sentiment, the dehumanizing nature of killing, and the horrible effects of cold depression. He has been a mirror of elements of society that I see daily.

Yet, he is personal. He makes decisions the same way I do and often hides behind the wall of his stern face—something he and I share far too often.

Those are the share-worthy parts.

[Daiquiri]

For me, its very simple and Im sure everyone here who knows me has figured it out a long time ago.

Although Daiq has done some 'dark' things that I would never do, she is me and I am am her. The loyalty and strong bonds of friendship and love that she has comes directly from my heart. The melting over children (most of them, anyway! ;)), animals, etc., thats me all the way and theres not much more to say other than with Daiq, what you see is what you get with the writer behind her.

Tianje is what I couldve been had my life growing up not been so wonderful. A little stronger mentally and a lot more 'street smart', coupled with the nerve to actually do whatever she wants to do.

Nass...not really sure with her. If Im anything like her, you guys will have to point it out to me because I dont see it :)

[Drin Kizael]

I can't help but put a little of myself into all of my characters. Or at the very least, something I can identify with. Each of the hero protagonists either represents an aspect of me, or they are something that on some level I wish I could be.

Or they are drawn from people I know. Ask Nav how easy it was to write Lianna as a little girl. ;)

Villains are always a little harder for me. But the same rules apply for all characters. Find something you hate about them. Find something you admire about them.

[Remi Le'lain]

I have played Athena since 1998, nearly 10 years so yes Athena is much like I am. Very strong minded, and she backs down from little if anything. Her attitude is sad to say very much me... heh, short fused...

Although OOC I am not as much of a bitc-as I enjoy portraying her.

Remi and my other names, are nothing like me OOC they are wonderful creations I get to unlock from my mind every now and then.

[Lucianus Adair]

I've had several characters over the past ...oh I don't know how long it's been...6-8 years, I think, and some have really stuck with me. Here's what I see as being like me:

Falcon Gyndar (Falcon Nytrau Remnikt Kall Gyndar) - The Jedi Knight. Good hearted, patient. Has been through his share of mishaps, but always has the strength to pick himself up again. This is the part of me that actually cares for my family the most, and demonstrates my core strength and wisdom, as well as my deep reserve of patience. This description is one I feel is incomplete, but my words are escaping me at the moment.

Miriya Cailis (Selinica Miriya D'aen Cailis) - The Sith Huntress. My first character I ever created. Represents the distrust I have in my parents, as she was betrayed by her own family and home world.

Phoenix Mars Whyte - The Predator. This is the character I have decided to continue with here at 'Fans. Mars represents my deepest darks, my bursting point. This is my ruthlessness, my cold and calculating parts. This is also my intelligence, my wit, my precision. This is a representation of my anger in its purest form, as well as my self control, which is a strength of mine.


I think that's about it.

[Kyle Krogen]

Kyle Krogen

Is me in almost everyway. He shares my personality and ideas. He's the good guy, like me. Not perfect but he strives to be so and battles with evil things daily. Afraid of things but not to the extent of letting them show. Unsure of what the futures holds or what to do with is life.

Zereth Lancer

Is who I wish I was. Opposite of myself in many ways. Being tall, handsome, and awsome, A master of martial arts and many weapons types. A strong and bold character. All things i wish I was/had. He shares my constant feeling of loniness and sadness but covers it up so that no one would know that it exists. An internal pain without remedy that constantly plauges him.

[Hera]

I dont know who Im really like out of all the characters I write. They are all peices of my personality to one degree or another, some more extreme that the others. For example:

Hera - is my control freak side. She wants everything her way.

Estelle - is the more gracious side of my personality that once in a while surfaces.

Bambi - is me wishing I was as easygoing.

Kajeela - is my paranoid self, and again me with the control freak-ing.

All of them have my sense of humor - I cant seem to escape that side of myself. I also notice I write most of my female characters as very strong independent women. I dont know if that's me -- or just me wishing that was me. I personally feel Im fairly strong and independant. I hope so, anyway, and that computes out into my characters.

But, what I do know is that I enjoy writing Hera the most. Should that worry me, I wonder? :rolleyes

ps) - Daiq - you are so true about Daiquiri being just like you :D

[Morgan Evanar]

Morgan right now is me 5 years ago. He's got no idea where he's going or what he's going to do. He's good at a lot of things but has no idea where or when to really apply himself. He is also fundamentally a good person, but is doing stupid and not so good things. He's convinced himself he has a grasp on the world but has no idea, and can't take advantage of good opportunities when they come to exit his cycle to nowhere. Despite this, he flukes and does something right now and again. It is a cycle of crash and burn until there is nothing left and he is forced to acknowledge the reality around him.

Adia isn't fully personified yet, but she has a large degree of my certainity and confidence. I need to think about what I want to do with her as a character in the long term. Adia has always been the least "me" of my characters.

Milivikal is my 12 year old fighter pilot mixed with a bit of my control freak, my teamworker/planner and some cool confidence I find in my back pocket along with five dollars.

[Daiquiri]

But, what I do know is that I enjoy writing Hera the most. Should that worry me, I wonder?

Hera still has a 'warm' side to her and its those rare little peeks that 'she' allows us to see that make us love her more!! Dont worry, be happy!! :D


...and some cool confidence I find in my back pocket along with five dollars.

Best line Ive read in a long time!! :)

[Katchen]

I have to think about this one.

I love to act, ALOT, and my method for finding my characters has always involved standing in front of the mirror, making faces, and talking different ways until the character is looking and talking back to me. I'm not sure what that says about me, but it's FUN. :D :lol

[Blade Bacquin]

Oh this will be fun cause every character I have ever had has had a piece of me in them mostly my bad qualities.

Blade Ice - He started off the character I so wanted to be in life. The guy who wouldn't take crap from anyone and could fight. He never cared what other people thought of him and women where drawn to his rebelious attitude.

Yet as of late he is more me then I would like to admit. He is weak and scared of the world around him. He pushes those that call him friend away because he might get hurt if he gets to close. He feels society hates him and looks down on him. He truelly believes its easier to survive alone then to get intimate or close to another person who might stab you in the back. he gets mad and he makes people mad just to push them away. he hates the world and his life and he doesn't see himself fitting into it.

Old Gerbo Lang - Is more like how Blade use to be a strong confident how I would like to be. Yet he still has a side to him where he doesn't know where he fits. (new gerbo lang hasn't been fleshed out totally yet so i don't know what trait he will take on.)

OW outcast - Oh the side of me people eather love or they hate. Size wise we are totally different but he personofies my comical side, my sarcastic side, and my kinder side. He likes women but never gets um but at least he tries which is more then i can say for myself. One aspect of him I would love to have is he doesn't get discouraged by defeat.

jackson Mcgraves - fits me to the tee old school jedi. Don't show emotion don't get attached and stay quite. He is anti social not because he wants to be but because he doesn't think anyone cares what he has to say. It was so hard for me to play him cause he was shy just like I am In real life. Unless I get comfortable in a situation I am very anti social.

Jason dreggs - Like me in the respect he is sorta a hopeless romantic and has this idea he will be something great. He is smart but rarely ever shows it. He to has the loner side of me but he doesn't shy away from people just his family like I do. Blaming his family for his pitiful existence yet knowing it wasn't there fault only his making it what it was.

Jason mcgraves - Oh he has one good quality of mine the fact that I may shun my family but I am also the first to defend it if someone tries to insult it. I have a deep love for my family that most of the time doesn't show in there presence like Jason does. His dark quality of mine is believing the world is out to get him but he doesn't hate it like me he wants to prove them all wrong.

[Mandy with an I]

Past Dae was like me in that she wanted to belong to something and be loved, desperately. I didn't think I fit in anywhere and didn't think that many people liked me, and as a result, Dae ended up being all over the map. She also was in a constant state of "need-a-man" :lol She would be me if my self-esteem wasn't so low, and if I wasn't shy.

Kyashi is all my fears about being useless and unwanted and alone. He's always going to be a talker, not a fighter. I have a big mouth, and I like to use it to spout out rhetoric when I can. He's most fun to play because I have to think about everything that comes out of his mouth - most of which is vemon ^_^; Again, he just wants a family and a place to belong and be useful.

So, I don't know if any of my characters really "personify" me. Little pieces of them are me; their actions and thoughts are occasionally mine, but not often. And this thread reminds me that I need to stop slacking and actually post MORE -_-

[Alaric Mirit]

Alaric Mirit - He's charming, artistic, and sometimes very crazy. He has a fear of needles which I can certainly relate to. He has the ability to switch from happy, sad, giddy, and angry within a few minutes, which is something I am also familiar with. He is basically me, but with my attitude multiplied by ten. XD

Elias - Caring, careful, and resourceful. I wanted someone the exact opposite of me. Mind you that is very easily played. I just have to think of the exact opposite of what I would do. Mind you, I am not mean or anything. He is just more patient with other beings than me personally.

[Lady Vader]

While all the characters I have created (yes, all 30+) have come from some corner of my being, the ones that take most of who I am are AB and LV.

When I first created the characters, and because they were created by only a month apart, I essentially placed all of my good traits into AB and all my bad into LV.

I created AB first, and was beginning to feel exceptionally lopsided feeling the good I was placing into her... almost like I was lying to myself that I was"all good". That was when LV was conceived.

And yet, while I felt more in tune with AB in the beginning, now, 6 years later, I find I am more in tune with LV. I don't know what this means as I'm no psychiatrist.

[Kassandra]

*BUMP*

I thought it might be interesting to take a look at this topic again, since our old characters have developed and been joined by new ones ;)

[Csephion Draxus]

Wow, a time machine :D

As for a revisit, the character I'm posting with right now is only personified in my man-crush on the sound of Peter O'Toole's amazing voice :love

[Lilaena De'Ville]

I would have to say now that Sansa is almost a carbon copy of my personality. James is still very close. I think that's why people like how 'real' they are - I patterned them on myself and I have them react how I would, mostly. James not quite as much as Sansa.

[Dasquian Belargic]

I think what I said 3 years ago (:eek) probably still stands. Most of my characters have some part of me in them, some more than others. I couldn't say who is the most like me though... maybe Barton or Gabriel? I'm not sure. Maybe even Daria, with her ability to freak out and yet pretend nothing is wrong :mneh

[Banner Laverick]

Mine really don't stand. I think I've changed a whole lot in three years, and my characters have changed too. (I think anyway)

Banner is basically me with super powers. :x She's probably the only character I've played who's very similar to me.

[Miranda Tarkin]

Hands down, Michele Hawkins is the closest character here that is like me. She talks like me, acts like if I were flung into those crazy supernatural situations ... yeah, I realized maybe by the third thread I did it was .. well me :mneh

[Dasquian Belargic]

I suppose it makes sense that some of the WoD characters would be the most like their players, since many of them are basically just... normal people. Albeit sometimes normal people who can live forever, but still :uhoh

[Wei Wu Wei]

My current view of Wei is what I saw as my interior faith struggle for along time before I joined the Catholic Church. Wei's story arch would have ended very much like my journey to the Church. Doing good, feeling doubtful, put out and harassed until he finally comes to terms with his faith and himself.

Stern is my personal struggle with my purpose in life. He's got this talent, and no idea what to do with it. He's got no clue where he is in life or where he's going. So he's got to learn to work with what he has and with any luck he'll make a lot of it.

[Peter McCoy]

Garrett Blade

All of the roleplays I ever did as Garrett were autobiographical.

No, really!

:p

I suppose Garrett represented everything I obviously could never get away with in real life. No, not sadistic murder or mass-carnage in a drug-fuelled insane rollercoaster laugh-a-thon, but rather being able to do what he wanted, when he wanted, while giving one finger to the consequences, Whenever any of us make a choice or carry out an action, there are always consequences, whether they're big or small. And more often than not, the most important decisions or actions hold the biggest consequences. It'd be nice, though highly impractical, to live a life with no consequences. Bloody hell I sound like the Merovingian.

Usually, there are obstacles between ourselves and the thing we want to achieve. Sometimes those obstacles merely slow us down temporarily, or we have to side step them in some way, but we still reach the goal. Other times those obstacles are more imposing and we can find ourselves stuck, or even forced into situations we didn't foresee or tried to avoid. Garrett represented my longing to be able to plow through such obstacles mercilessly and get what I wanted regardless. Garrett was, and still is, my selfishness magnified. Plus he likes to have fun which is also an experience I like to indulge in.

Yet Garrett had an abysmal sense of direction, whereas I know my way around really well - so mneh!