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Post by sidonia on Aug 19, 2007 17:36:01 GMT -5
Hello, all. <3 Well, as a few of you know, Sid is... well, not herself lately. Kinda nuts, actually, due to a series of traumatic events. *Sigh* And I'd kind of been looking forward to her being happy, for once. But no matter-- I would simply like a bit of advice on how to play "crazy." Never done it before, despite the OOC tendency to act so... >.> So... yes. Any advice would be greatly appreciated, as well as any ideas on how Sid would eventually get better. I'm a tad out of ideas. Thanks, guys!
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Post by Deilakrion on Aug 19, 2007 18:42:18 GMT -5
Well. Heh, I suppose this is one of the few things I have experience in. There's all sorts of ways to play insanity, and a few different ways to go about it. I know that I gradually worked out one way, when I created Deilakrion back in . . .gosh, 03? Somethin like that. The thing is, you have to know the ins and outs of your character back to front. You have to know how she's going to react to any given situation, and if you don't know, you should set a standard and stick to it.
How I play insanity is based on a series of rules and restrictions. You must be consistent. When you think about it, those with mental problems have repeated symptoms that build the backbone of their diagnosis. Now, if you wish to go really in depth with it, I'd suggest picking out an illness and following those guidelines--but then again, I never did that. I loosely based Deilakrion's insanity off of schizophrenia as well as an inability to follow society's norms. In her own way, Deilakrion is really quite sane, but according to society and 'normal' behavior she is far from it.
Make a list of rules and actions. I started, quite simply, with these few guidelines:
-Does not use first, second, or third person in the normal sense. No I, you, we, me, my, your, their etc.
-Refuses to wear any clothing (symbolic to how she cast off society and its standards)
-Calls herself creature, the creature or a creature. Refers to others as flesh, meat, and prey. (It wasn't until later that I added hunter and predator to the main mix)
-Keeps herself clean, mostly, and hunts for sustenance. Due to this hard lifestyle, she is scarred, near-starving and generally unappealing to look at.
-Cannot and will not tolerate touch from other people. Flips out if someone touches her. Only time she accepts touch is when she has the intent of killing someone or seriously wounding them.
-Has a tendency of wandering around, leaving off conversations, placing her hands flat against the tops of her thighs, won't look at people when she talks to them, etc etc
I wrote down the reasons why she was insane, and why she couldn't ever lose that insanity. Although you won't need the latter, it's a good idea to keep in mind why she can regain sanity. You will have to keep in mind why and how the reasons built into her new mindframe, because believe me, it helps with the consistence.
Until you are ready to begin phasing her back into sanity, DON'T act outside of the boundaries you have given her. This will make it believable and real. It's a pain in the arse, and really a bother at times. Hell, I've had to take breaks on Deila just because it gets so hard to keep her acting the way she does when I, the player, wish to do something else. (or actually participate in normality)
Do a look up of temporary insanities or such. People will act weirdly if they are under denial about some traumatic event or are trying to cope with things. Grief, anger, sadness--it can pull you over the edge. As well, these things are curable; people get over it with time and help.
And lastly, have fun with it. Playing an insane/abnormal character has its challenges, but I think in some ways it's easier than being a 'normal' person. If you want more help structuring her out, just say summat and I'll see what I can do.
Hope I helped
Kat
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Post by Caedan on Sept 2, 2007 1:09:05 GMT -5
I actually did the same thing with Caedan, Kat. Make a list of things your character will and will not do. The more unique they are, the better, so you don't accidentally rip off another's insanity. And it does get difficult at times, having to forgo certain events, or miss out on RP's that sound appealing, because your character simply wouldn't be there ... although there was this one time (at band camp) where someone dragged Caed kicking and screaming to a party or something equally droll. Good times. Anyway. This isn't meant to be helpful, really, because I'm more remarking on the absolute similarities in the way I've handled Caedan compared to what Kat said. She's spot-on, yo! Best of luck, Sid. Only true advice I have to offer is to avoid making her too much of an emo crazy. I've fallen into that trap with Caed on occasion, and I'm well aware whiny gets annoying to read day in and day out. Deil sticks with hunting, and nakedness. Caed sticks with homicide, and premonitions. Find your niche and cozy up!
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