Friday DE

[bjornwilde]

Being uninspired this morning, so pulling from the suggestion box.

From i_am_your_host : 

Does your mood affect the way you play your pup(s)? As in, does your pup's mood/dialogue reflect the way you're feeling, or can you separate the two entirely? And do you find that your pup's mood affects you, too? (For example, if your pup gets into a stressful situation with someone, do you feel stressed as well?)

Comments

[bjornwilde]

I tend to play pups depending on my mood, as their play can definitely effect how I'm feeling. Putting a pup through cathartic things forces me to play another pup who is more light hearted. I've also gotten in the habit of having one pup who is purposefully light hearted so that I can pull them out for a break or when I need to switch my mood. Somehow, I always end up with feels with even the most light hearted pups, even if it doesn't show.

I've noticed this can interfere with play as well. Threads end up stalled or in slows because I am in a mood that doesn't fit the thread or the pup.

[ceitfianna]

Yes, it does. I need to feel smart and together to be able to play Charles and there's always some reflection of what's going on with me in my choices of EP. Sometimes its fairly simple but other times, more complex.

When I first started playing I had some bad character bleed which I knew how to balance in tabletop and LARP but had to learn for online. I try to keep things separate but RP is one of the ways that I feel better so there's always some back and forth.

[i_am_your_host]

I asked this because I myself get very emotionally invested in my pups to the point where sometimes I have to just...step back. Ahaha. But sometimes the heightened sense of empathy is actually good for character development, since you're not second guessing yourself on how your pup would behave or what they would say. I find that it's also a good time to write drafts for OOMs, because you can put those emotions into something that you may or may not commit to. It's just good to work through what you're feeling. Of course other times it would be totally out of character, and that's the time to step away for a bit and rationalize.

I tend not to play when I'm tired or in a bad mood. Which is funny because you think you want to do something enjoyable to lift that mood, but it doesn't really happen for me like that.

[bringspeopletogether]

Yyyyup. I've always kind of written stuff by gut instinct and emotion, so I just roll with the characterbleed. It rarely gets to the point where I have to step away and go do something else for a bit, but sometimes I have to pause, imitate that gif of Troy Barnes yelling "MY EMOTIONS!!!" for a second, and then get back to writing.

I can't play when I'm tired, either. My RP brain just refuses to work past a certain time of night nowadays. Sometimes I'll channel what I'm feeling into an EP, though; if I'm cranky at something, that is the perfect time to throw in one of my crankier characters.

[just_cant_lose]

It does, in that if I'm feeling low/knackered whatever, I won't post a pup in going wild with energy, because I won't have it myself to sustain theirs. And sometimes if I'm furious about something, I find it excellent to put an angry pup in because it's cathartic, and easy to play.

But more specifically no, because...well, for example, I won't have Jim replying angrily to something because I'm angry about something. Pup interactions are still guided by whatever's happening in the conversation, and not by me. And sometimes it's great because I can be in a foul mood but something happens to cheer a pup up, and it distracts me from myself.

I don't really get character bleed, though. It happens occasionally, but mostly what they're going through is their thing, and not mine. If another pup hurts one of mine, I never feel hurt too. I have a pretty strong IC/OOC divide.