9 posts tagged “caden”

Rogue

Rogue's actually my most active character at the moment, though that's not saying too much.  As far as her personal life is concerned, things with Pietro are progressing interestingly, though I do need to get her out interacting with other folks more too.  I know I owe Marrow and Nikolai scenes in particular, as well as just generally catching up with the BHers and perhaps even getting her a life, gasp, outside of the HQ.

I've also been working on some mission stuff for awhile, but it keeps getting bumped back due to scheduling difficulties and logistics.  So I'd like to get my thoughts in order and then work on getting that going again, with the hopes that it'll revitalize the BH.

Rahne

Rahne's slowly getting back into the swing of things.  She's working on her science fair with Tyson, so that has at least given me an excuse to start getting her active again.  However, she really needs to get out there again, meeting the new people at the school and catching up with old friends.

Before the hiatus, I was working on her slowly coming to the realization that a) she's not cool and b) this is not a good thing.  I'd like to start bringing that out again, pushing towards her slowly coming out of her shell and adapting to life in modern America.

Of course, she also needs to get back to her X-Men training, her martial arts, and volunteer work, either with the kids in the school, or getting back to the youth club at the rec centre.

Caden

Caden's personal plot is stalled a bit, but I've been seeing some interest in it again, so I'll have to look at getting that going again.  She's also got a role in a few plots revolving around other folks, though those seem to not be going anywhere fast.

I also need to get her out interacting with the darker element on the game, back to the Boar's Head, and maybe picking up a little more clientele.

Doug

Doug is kind of a difficult character to play sometimes, since I really expected people to respond to his being a public mutant, but it's been a non-issue in most of the scenes he's been in.  I'm not sure what's going to be expected of him in terms of X-Factor, so I've largely just been focussing on his life outside of that team.

I also am getting more and more set on having him start up a sort of mutant outreach, something along the lines of a soup kitchen or shelter that would be pro-mutant for those who can't get help at the more conventional places.  It took awhile to find anyone interested ICly in helping out, but I've since had a few takers, so who knows, it might happen yet.

I'd also like to work on bringing more to the fore just how badly he gets bullied at school or even just on the streets.  I've again painted myself into a corner, since he doesn't like to talk about it, feeling that complaining about such things wouldn't be heroic.  So I have to get creative on ways to bring it out within the scope of RP.

And with another holiday upcoming comes more holiday-related posts.  Here, IC and OOC resolutions for all my characters.  IC ones being some they might have themselves (whether or not they'd ever admit to it; and admittedly, in Caden's case, she probably wouldn't actually bother worrying about resolutions, but it's fun anyway), and OOC ones being those that I, the player, would like to work on with them in the new year.

Auld Lang Syne

Glenn Miller

Rogue

ICly: To make a sincere go of things with Pietro.  To spend more time training.  To get to know the other members better.

OOCly: To mix it up more with new and old players.  To run more missions.  To get things adhering more as a team.

Rahne

ICly: To make more of an effort to fit in.  To get back to Ninjitsu and volunteer work.  To try to be a little more self-confident.

OOCly: To spend more time working on the X-Men side of things.  To do more RP in general.  To push the character beyond the Goody Two Shoes mould.

Caden

ICly: To take out the enemy.  To accept help a little more often.  To make more money.

OOCly: To finish up the pending plot.  To get more IC jobs and contacts.  To progress inter-personal relationships.

Doug

ICly: To stop getting beaten up all the time.  To make more of a difference in the world.  To get girls to notice me more.

OOCly: To start the mutant-friendly outreach/soup kitchen/shelter.  To get to know X-Factor team mates.  To do more with his computer-related abilities.

Just killing a bit of time, I thought I'd continue getting myself into the holiday spirit by imagining what my characters think about various things around the holidays, especially since I won't necessarily have the chance to RP this stuff all out.  Well, and mostly because I'm a dork.  Anyway, enjoy!

Favourite (Guilty Pleasure) Carol

Rogue
Blue Christmas by Elvis Presley, I think.  I could see this appealing to both her love of country music and her rather bleak outlook on things.

Rahne
Since Rahne would have grown up with only very traditional Christmas carols, I could actually see her liking something a little more modern because it's new.  Most particularly, I could see her getting into one of the social conscience songs like So This Is Christmas by John Lennon or Do They Know It's Christmas? by Band Aid.

Caden
Seeing as Caden doesn't seem to much even notice Christmas, I would think she'd actually be cool with pretty much any of the music, not having been as inundated with it as most, and not tying it to particular memories, good or bad.  I just don't know that she'd ever pay enough attention to have a particular favourite.

Doug
Hm.  Perhaps Feliz Navidad, O Tanenbaum, or even Meli Kalikimaka (sp?) since they'd give him a chance to play with his powers a bit.

Claimed Favourite Carol

Please Come Home For Christmas

Bon Jovi

Rogue
None whatsoever.  It's a stupid holiday.  Grump

Rahne
Something exceptionally traditional like O Holy Night or It Came Upon the Midnight Clear.

Caden
Either nothing at all or something completely unexpected like Frosty the Snowman, just to mess with people and keep them guessing.

Doug
Probably something he thinks is at least a little cool, like Run, Run Rudolph or Please Come Home For Christmas.

Favourite Holiday Movie

Rogue
While she'd probably avoid them all just on principle, she could be convinced to watch something that goes against the peace and love crap, like Bad Santa.  I suspect she also secretly likes a few of the children's classics like Rudolph and Frosty.

Rahne
Rahne's still just getting into the whole television and movie thing, but I think she'd get into the classics like It's a Wonderful Life, and of course, she'd have read Dicken's A Christmas Carol, so she might enjoy seeing the movie of that.

Caden
Again, I think Caden remains largely oblivious to this stuff, though she probably watched a few of the movies during her childhood.  Since she's turned out to be a fan of Casablanca, I could see her maybe liking some of the other black & white standards.

Doug
Probably something a little bit dorky but cute like Elf.

Favourite Tradition

Rogue
If asked, Rogue would spurn all the trappings of Christmas, though I think she actually likes getting stuff for other people a bit.  She's a little more thoughtful than she likes to appear, so having an excuse to be nice to people for at least a day doesn't hurt.

Rahne
Christmas is largely a religious observation for Rahne, who would save most of her partying (such that it is) for Hogmanay.  I think she'd especially appreciate the general sentiment of the holiday though, family coming together, letting people know that you care, peace being discussed openly, etc.

Caden
Caden doesn't really do tradition.  Though she appreciates the extra business that commercialism brings her way, so in that sense, she's quite into the idea of presents.

Doug
Family dinner when he gets to spend some real time with his dad.  Also, the time he's not at school getting his ass handed to him.

Secret Wish

Rogue
To be able to make it through the holidays without getting into a fight with Pietro.

Rahne
To get to spend a little more time with Moira (though she'd never say as much, not wanting to make Moira feel badly for having to work).

Caden
To be able to 'get' what this Christmas stuff is all about.

Doug
For people to get into the holiday spirit enough to stop being mean to him and other mutants (why can't we all get along?!).

Letter to Santa

Rogue
A new pair of gloves, a DVD player, and for her powers to work right.

Rahne
World peace, a winter coat, and the ability to fit in with her peers.

Caden
Money, cigarettes, and beer.

Doug
Self-defense lessons, a Palm Pilot, and for people to get a clue.

Expects to Get

Rogue
Rogue has no clue what to expect, though she knows that Pietro is planning on getting her something.

Rahne
Something nice and perhaps a little more expensive than she's used to from Moira.

Caden
A lump of coal.

Doug
Some video games from dad.

Needs/Plans to Buy For

Rogue
She knows she has to get something for Pietro and Marrow, though it hasn't occurred to her to get stuff for the other Brotherhood members yet.  She'll pick up a little something for Mystique as well.

Rahne
Something for Moira, about as fancy as she can afford, along with smaller gifts to be given upon her return for her friends at the school.

Caden
No one.

Doug
Dad, Topaz, his civics teacher, something small for his coworkers both at the UN and X-Factor.

You're a Mean One Mister Grinch

Boris Karloff

Rogue

Rogue isn't much into the holiday spirit currently.  In fact, she's been surprising me a bit with a downright bah humbug attitude about the whole thing, which I suppose ties into the rather strong kneejerk reaction she's had in the past to the idea of organized religion.  All the same, she's doing her best to keep from seeming an absolute Grinch about the whole thing.

However, since she's actually got people around to celebrate with this year, I suspect she'll come around a little by the end.  Not exactly It's a Wonderful Life, but perhaps she'll have to grudgingly admit that it doesn't entirely suck.  At any rate, she will be buying presents for those who are closest to her, which I guess she'd better get on figuring out.

Caden

Unlike Rogue, Caden remains largely indifferent to the holiday season on a personal level.  It tends to bring in more business, since people buying presents are often just as happy with a stolen car stereo or a counterfeit Rolex.  Personally, it's just never been something she particularly worries about.

Though she has Riley and perhaps a few others whom she could actually celebrate with, this hasn't even occurred to her.  She won't really be buying any presents, and her day to day life remains largely unchanged unless some outside force shows up to change it.

Rahne

Rahne observes the holiday both religiously and on a personal level.  She enjoys the trappings of the holidays, though tends to remain somewhat oblivious to the more materialistic aspects of the modern day Christmas.  For her, it's more about the sentiment and the religious meaning.

This year, she's heading back to Muir Island for just a few days.  Last year, she and Moira didn't get the chance to celebrate together: they'd just come over to America with the plans of spending the holiday together before Rahne would be dropped off at the school for the spring term when an emergency came up and Moira had to rush home, leaving Rahne just a few days before Christmas.  So even though things are busy this year, Moira is going out of her way to make sure they get to spend at least a little time together this season.  It will be the first time Rahne's gotten to see her guardian in over a year.  She may be a little bit homesick upon her return.

Doug

Doug has the most average approach to the holidays of all my characters.  Not especially religious, his family still celebrates it on a more secular level, with the usual traditions.  He isn't particularly into Christmas, but he isn't particularly against it either.  Like a lot of people, he just does it because that's what you do at this time of year, and certainly there are parts of the holiday that he enjoys.

Although it's just his dad and him, they still get the tree and decorate it, doing gifts on Christmas morning and usually a small dinner on Christmas Day, sometimes with a few people from his father's department at the university.  He definitely enjoys the time off of school, and his dad gets some time off too, so he gets to spend some actual time with the professor, which is rare.  Other than that, he usually passes the time in the city or playing video games.  This year, he'll also be using the time to catch up on some work and get himself prepared for his new position with X-Factor.  He's also starting to work on his idea for a mutant-friendly shelter and soup kitchen.

Where things stand...

Caden's been a little elusive to me as a player at times, but the integration of a personal plot has helped develop the character and her interpersonal relationships.  Right now, she's making a hesitant dance with Riley, finally beginning to admit to him and to herself that she likes having him around and being with him, but she's still not willing to trust things to stay good.  In her life, nothing's ever been constant; the bottom always falls out.

She's also been forced to accept help, mainly from Marrow at this point, though there are plans laid to bring at least another person or two into things.  It's still a very grudging acceptance, but she views it as stacking the deck, which appeals to her Machievellian sensitivities.  Still, again, thanks to a very tumultuous history, she's not sure how much she's willing to actually rely on anyone else.  She's always looked out for her and always been the only one doing it.

So right now she's actually not doing too badly for development, and her world-views are slowly being forced to broaden.  I don't think she's ever going to be an entirely easy character to get close to, but she's learning.

Things I'd Like to See Happen...

I'd like to see Caden continuing to grow.  Right now, the way the plot hangs, she's being forced to do something that doesn't sit well with her at all.  She's going to need to reach out if she wants to fix that at all.

She needs to continue forging relationships, though I'd love to see her gain a few enemies as much as allies.  She's supposed to be entirely a neutrally-aligned character, which means she does stuff that could piss off people in almost any position out there.

I'd also like her to start getting a few IC jobs.  Now that this plot has reached a sort of intermission, she should be able to start helping out other PCs now.  Since that was so much a part of her initial concept, I'd love to get back into that again.

Taking advantage of Vox's new cross-posting feature with LJ to pimp my character blog a bit too.  May continue cross-posting future entries to have more than just logs in the LJ.  However, if anyone finds it too spammy, let me know.

So after giving some thought about my Close to the Vest post earlier, and considering some other points of view, I'm considerably less stressed about getting my characters' own stories out there.  I think I got a little too caught up in it for awhile, and it may well be that my RP suffered for it (though I didn't hear any reports to this end), and I know I certainly did.  Because I find if I get too obsessed over what I'm not getting out of RP, I can't focus on what I am.

This isn't to say I've become an entirely selfless RPer, no.  But I want to worry more about the story I'm currently telling and the one I want to tell down the road, rather than the one I've already told in my character backgrounds.  Those have been written.  If I really want them out there badly enough, well, I've got an LJ, a blog and a wiki page to do so.  This isn't to say I see no merit in bringing this information out in RP, just that I'm choosing to think of it as a part of the story rather than just something I need people to know.

I think it's something that's easy to do even in real life: get too caught up on wanting people to know about your past, rather than focussing on the here and now, or even the future.  When Rahne confides in someone about her past, I want that to happen because it's best for the story.  When Rogue tells someone her first name, it's more important to me why she's doing it and what it might mean for her current emotional state, rather than just having the presence of mind that someone out there knows it.

anna-paquin-xmen3-rogue1.jpg

I think it really was playing Rogue that made me realize this.  As mentioned earlier, by design, I don't plan on having her often (possibly ever) tell much about her past before Mystique came into her life.  Not only does this ironically seem to get people really, really intrigued in her story, but it also just leaves me free not to worry about it.  I can focus on the story she's currently telling, her journey.  I need to know her past; I always keep it in mind and allow it to inform how the character will react to any given stimulus - but no one else needs to know it until the time comes that it's right for both of our stories and the central tale that we're telling together.

I don't intend for this to sound like I've got it all figured out, or that characters' histories are insignificant.  Sure, I'd still love for someone to sit down with Rahne, Caden or Doug and really express an interest in what brought them to this point, but - I've just reached the realization that I don't need that to have fun.  I could force their histories on people, just to be done with it, but then that cheapens it for both parties, I think. 

Anyway, I consider this almost an RP resolution, I guess, is more the thing.  And I'm putting it here in text so that I can come back and reread it whenever I'm getting frustrated again.

Is it possible to be too reticent with your characters?

I'm finding it's a common problem with my characters, across MU*s, that they never seem to get much opportunity to tell their stories.  I've been playing Rogue and Rahne for almost a year now, and while Rogue's past is secretive on purpose, it isn't by design that still not a single person on the grid knows all or even most of Rahne's backstory.  In fact, only one or two people know much anything before she came to live with Moira.  For Caden, I had to bring in a plot replete with NPC from her past to get her talking about her past.

See, I don't like to force my characters' stories on people.  Or, more accurately, I don't like for them to force their stories on people.  Maybe it's just because I'm somewhat reticent myself, but it always strikes me as false to have a character suddenly start giving exposition about his or her backstory without there being some IC reason for why they're doing it.  Usually this reason is simply because people ask them questions.  But ... no one seems to ask.

So I have to wonder if it isn't because I'm not giving enough hooks there.  Maybe I need to be more forceful in bringing about my character's chance to talk about her history.  I don't know.  Problem is, none of my characters ICly would just bring this stuff up. 

Rogue, as mentioned, keeps her past a secret by design, so - not looking to have that come out to anyone except maybe a trusted confidante or two down the line.

Caden is a closed book out of necessity.  She's a street criminal.  It doesn't exactly do to be all sobbing over a rough childhood when you're trying to convince people you're tough and capable, so don't fuck you over.  But, as mentioned, I have been orchestrating a small plot which is helping with this to a degree.  Though obviously I can't count on dragging out a whole plot every time I want something to come up from my character's past.  Instead, my hope is that this will at least get her started talking to a few people.

Rahne is a horse of a different colour.  She would never lie or obscure the truth, and yet, I think she presents herself as such a sunshiny optimist that no one even thinks to look deeper under the surface to wonder why she has this obsession with the rules, or why she's so hopelessly out of touch with popular culture.  I thought I'd dropped a few hints, but seeing as the problem isn't restricted to one or even a few people, clearly I'm not dropping ones that are broad enough.  So I suppose she'll be my main aim in getting her to open up a little more.  At the same time, if I'm finally going to drop her big secrets, there is a part of me that feels like the other character should have to work for them, at least a bit.  Otherwise, well, I could be revealing something to to me and Rahne is huge, and the other character just sort of disregards them as unfortunately, but ultimately unimportant.  But maybe I should resign myself to the fact that no one else is going to care about her history as much as I do.

Doug, well, I just haven't had enough chance to play him for this to become an issue one way or the other.  I am trying to make him more of an open book, with the philosophy that, well, once your secret of being a mutant is out, there's not much point in trying to be obscure about the rest.  But we'll see how things go should I ever manage to get in more than one scene with any one character.

Of course, this isn't to seem like I only ever think about getting my characters' information out there.  But I think for pretty much all of my characters, they end up knowing far, far more about everyone else than even a single person knows about them.  And it just leaves me feeling like there are aspects of them that therefore don't end up getting explored.  But maybe I shouldn't stress over it so much.  It works for Rogue that I know her past and let it inform her actions, yet never tell anyone about her history.  So maybe I should just take this approach with all my characters until such time as someone wants to know more about them and what makes them tick.

And no, don't bother asking Rogue.  She won't tell you a thing.

Hold On, Hold On

the most tender place in my heart is for strangers
I know it's unkind, but my own blood is much too dangerous
hanging 'round the ceiling half the time
hanging 'round the ceiling half the time

compared to some I've been around
but I really tried so hard
that echo chorus lied to me with its:
"hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on,"

in the end I was the mean girl
or somebody's in-between girl
now it's the devil I love
and that's as funny as real love

I leave the party at 3am
alone, thank god
with a valium from the bride
it's the devil I love
and that's as funny as real love
and that's as real as true love

that echo chorus lied to me with its:
"hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on,"
that echo chorus lied to me with its:
"hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on,"

Gotta Serve Somebody

And these are my first three for Caden.  She was a bit more of a challenge, since I

Mercury

haven't been playing her nearly as long this time around and thus haven't had time to really be hit by sudden inspiration when a song comes on and it just works for her. 

So these are a little more manufactured (read: me going through my library and building up a playlist from what I think will 'fit'), but I think they set the tone for her well.

A Place Called Home