2020. Who dis? Aetolian AMA
Hello!
A good buddy of mine and I were talking when this old thread popped up that was a lot of fun in the past. I thought I'd revive the topic in a new thread.
Feel free to opt in to be asked anything about your character by the community or pose questions to the community at large. I guess I'll kick things off with a series of questions:
- If your character was a real person today, what kind of life do you think they'd be living?
- What kind of life would you like for them in the real world?
- Would you want to meet your character? / Would you be friends?
Hmmmm! Well. Realistically, I think Haven would be either in prison or dead by now. Barring those options, I could see him making a career for himself in the military or doing some type of work in construction. The life I would want for him would probably be a life at sea. Maybe a captain of a vessel somewhere. He's always liked the ocean and found a lot of peace there. So I think that's where he'd be happiest whether he realized it or not. As for the last question... Probably not.
¤ Si vis pacem, para bellum. ¤
Someone powerful says, "We're going to have to delete you."
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- Probably climbing a corporate ladder somewhere. High enough that they don't get their hands dirty, low enough that they mostly go unnoticed.
- Like the first question, I've never really given it much thought. I'll edit this if I think of something.
- Probably not. I imagine that for all his warmth and kindness, Iazamat is actually rather hard to be friends with. He's kind of detached from everything around him and doesn't really care for most people's ideas of fun.
My question: if you could undo one thing about your character with no consequences, what would it be?@Iazamat My question: How did you come up the character name? It's such a cool and exotic name.
@Mjoll: What's your favorite part in playing a troll character? It seems to be a big part in playing the character. It was cool seeing a hint of that background briefly at the wedding. Where do you largely channel the inspiration from?
Full disclosure: I really liked Azama from Fire Emblem Fates, so I took his name, grafted 'mat' from Tiamat onto the end (just needed the t), then slapped an i on the front to even out the sound of it. I decided it sounded sufficiently desert-y and went with it.
It's pronounced Ee-ah-zuh-maht for those curious.
Also, my question applies to anyone commenting in this thread.
Sibatti would definitely be that one lady who doesn't hold down a real job, but always seems to get by with a lot of off-the-books work and generally having a lot of skills to share. She would definitely pursue Instagram fame by taking pictures of herself and the crazy food she is constantly making. She'd constantly talk about how she was going to travel more to "detox the soul" but never actually does it.
What kind of life would you like for them in the real world?
Honestly, I would just want for her to be happy and live a purpose-filled life. With how diverse the world is, I think she could easily find her niche and be satisfied.
Would you want to meet your character? / Would you be friends?
I could learn a lot of self-confidence from Sibatti, so yeah! She's much more confident than I am.
@Haven : What or where is your font of inspiration for the various plotlines Haven is always devising? Do you have a TV / movie character that he's based on?
@Mjoll : Do you know how hard it is to not see your adorable avatar everytime I encounter Mjoll in-game?
She'd be some sort of politician. Somewhere. She might not be a successful one, but she'd be trying to be.
What kind of life would you like for them in the real world?
Well, she's a PRETTY terrible person in many respects, but she adores babies and (generally) wouldn't hurt them or treat them badly: so I'd probably want her doing something like working in a nursery.
Would you want to meet your character? / Would you be friends?
I get along with most people, so we'd probably get on fine. But her dramatics and crazybitch tendencies would probably eventually turn me off.
If you could undo one thing about your character with no consequences, what would it be?
At one point, Zaila left a congregation because of one of the order members' behaviour toward other order members and congregates was making me extremely uncomfortable on an ooc level. Because Zaila had previously left the congregation for a frivolous reason, she got enemied for leaving and it has since messed up her relationship with that congregation/god. I wish I could undo the leaving.
I kind of imagine Phoe would either be designing high end fashion, costume design for TV or movies, or running some kind of Fortune 500 company. Makes sense she'd be involved in some kind of merchantry.
What kind of life would you like for them in the real world?
Cottage by the lake, being able to work from home so she'd still have plenty of time for friends and family. Or maybe running a nice little cafe like she does with the White Lily Lounge.
Would you want to meet your character? / Would you be friends?
Yes to both. I actually know a professional seamstress that's worked on stuff like Suicide Squad, and she loves to talk about the projects she's working on, and we can talk for hours, so I think if Phoe were a real person, she'd be fun to nerd out with.
If you could undo one thing about your character with no consequences, what would it be?
As much as I love all the friends she's made Spirit side since, I'd have probably kept her in Spinesreach. It's the one thing I still linger on and still think about even years later.
She'd be TikTok famous for her hilarious-but-vaguely-unsettling videos until her arrest for ritualistic murder and cannibalism elevated her to cult status. Somehow, she would also have never done anything wrong ever.
What kind of life would you like for them in the real world?
I'd want her to have friends. Just, like, real, deep connections with people who she trusts and believes love her. Probably, I'd want her to give up the murder, also. Murder's bad.
Would you want to meet your character? / Would you be friends?
Hell yeah! She's adorable, and I love her without a trace of irony. I imagine she'd be like... relentlessly supportive of all my pursuits.
If you could undo one thing about your character with no consequences, what would it be?
HMMMMMM. Probably a lot of people think it's cringe that I'm playing my own retired character's daughter, but Screw Them. I wouldn't change that. I would probably change the way she exited Tanix's congregation, though. Drunken whining is stupid and boring. Could've done something much better, but I rushed myself for no real reason. Alas!
Haven had done something horrible in his childhood due to some tragic circumstances and it haunted him. In his effort to find peace or alleviate himself of his guilt, he made war on anyone and everyone. As I was reading the various help files of the guilds, the Infernals stood out as a great propaganda driven machine in finding inner strength/peace by culling the weak for everyone's benefit. They felt exactly like an organization that would exploit a vulnerable soul like his and propel his tragedy forward. Plus they had cool lore to boot! So a lot of my early plots were seeing how far I could push this tragedy and what impact it'd have on not only his explosive psyche but also on a violent and merciless world like Aetolia. The Midnight Age indeed!
I draw a lot of my inspiration from the community itself too. Haven is very much a byproduct of his environments. I really do take into account and pay close attention to what people say/do around him when I'm playing to help further drive forward long term story lines. It pays off really well for not only the story but the players are usually very appreciative that I bothered to remember little details about seemingly throw away encounters. If Haven is acting differently, it's likely because someone out there on QWHO said or did something directly or indirectly to adjust his path. It's been great seeing where the story has gone over the years.
Other times my plots come from a sense of wanting to know how certain characters or organizations will react to various dilemmas in the public sphere and who will respond so I can gauge potential future engagements. Like when Haven shouts about [insert organization here] or talks on public channels, I try to take note of who responds to his antics and how they respond for future shenanigans. As a recent example, I was bored when a lesser went uncontested and decided to see if I could bait some activity from the Carnifex with a market tell. I was not disappointed and now there's an arc taking place with rippling ramifications.
Oh man! I rambled. xD I'mma stop here.
@Hawa: I really like the aesthetic behind your character design and I've always liked it when people really dig into the lore of their respective guild to highlight culture whether it's drawing a pentagram on their head or incorporating their summons into their roleplay. What was your favorite aspect of being Indorani?
@Phoenecia: If you were to cross over to Shadow, is there a particular guild over there that has your interests? Or would you remain the Rogue Templar Merchant of Attica? Speaking of merchant, have you ever considered creating like a merchant guild/clan with a collection of shopowners to regulate prices?
@Zaila: Is there anything you wish you had more time for in Aetolia? Or is there anything you wish your character could do that she currently can't?
@Iazamat: What's your favorite type of role-play? What really sets you in your groove? Is it political intrigue? Fighting? etc.
General Question: If your character was/is the type to sing in the shower, what type of songs would they sing? What song would make them go all out?
Eh, not really. I rarely feel like I don't have the time to do what entertains me. At most, I guess I wish I was a faster writer/reader so that I could RP with more people?
If your character was/is the type to sing in the shower, what type of songs would they sing? What song would make them go all out?
Zaila is totally the type to sing in the shower: she sings sea shanties while bathing.
General question: If you could change just one thing about an org you're involved with, what would it be and why?
Cayn wouldn't be living at all; he would have abused substances all the way into a tragically early grave. Otherwise, serving a sentence for low level gang-related crime.
- What kind of life would you like for them in the real world?
Well first-up the dude would need himself some serious therapy and a lot of support. But I could see him finding a great deal of peace in taking up a trade like carpentry or mechanics, something useful and hands-on that would keep him busy in a workshop instead of destroying himself out on the streets. I think he'd actually make a pretty decent teacher for any apprentices sent his way, too.
- Would you want to meet your character? / Would you be friends?
ohgodno.
- If you could undo one thing about your character without consequences, what would it be?
MARRYING @ZAILA. ...I'm kidding. I honestly don't have any regrets yet, and that feels a bit unusual!
My question to future posters: What would be the most ironic way for your character to suffer their final death?
Either in jail or dead at this point. Most likely in jail for hitting someone with a cup.
- What kind of life would you like for them in the real world?
Some form of world renowned cup terrorist, or just a bartender.
- Would you want to meet your character? / Would you be friends?
Absolutely Not.
- If you could undo one thing about your character without consequences, what would it be?
Giving his horkval poetry book away to a new knight WHO DOESN'T LOG IN and thus ran away with it.
What would be the most ironic way for your character to suffer their final death?
Cup shaped meteor falling from the sky.
- If your character was a real person today, what kind of life do you think they'd be living?
Firstly, there would be no proof that he even exists but Drystin would definitely be a CIA agent, Jason Bourne type of individual.
- What kind of life would you like for them in the real world?
I would want him to manipulate Kim Jong Un's inner circle to the point that they assassinate him and think it was their own idea all along.
- Would you want to meet your character? / Would you be friends?
Yes, and I think we'd be great friends! Although, I'd be very suspicious as to why my children all look so much like him.
- If you could undo one thing about your character with no consequences, what would it be?
I probably wouldn't have joined any existing families. I've always wanted to create my own and that was the original plan for this character.
- If your character was/is the type to sing in the shower, what type of songs would they sing? What song would make them go all out?
Obviously 'bruises and bitemarks'.
- If you could change just one thing about an org you're involved with, what would it be and why?
I'd make it so that citizens of Enorian could join Bamathis' order. I miss papa Bambam.
My question for everyone else: What is the most important thing to your character and what would it take for them to forsake it?
- If your character was a real person today, what kind of life do you think they'd be living?
Elene is a person who's been indoctrinated into a hardcore cult since she was young, where ritualistic murders and torture are the correct mediums to gaining insight into people, culture, and organizations. She also married (and re-married) a violent man who has grandiose notions of himself.Soooo... I think she'll probably be living life as a brainwashed wife of the leader of an extreme religious cult...
- What kind of life would you like for them in the real world?
Honestly, I don't know if she'll be able to have a normal life in the real world. Maybe Elene can serve well as a CIA intelligence officer who's given certain freedom of choice on info extraction methods?- Would you want to meet your character? / Would you be friends?
I would stay the hell away from my character. If I ever meet her, I'm probably going to be a victim or another brainwashed follower of her cult. No thank you!- What would be the most ironic way for your character to suffer their final death?
Ironic? Eh. I'm not exactly so sure. Probably to die being a ritual subject, just like she was indoctrinated.- What is the most important thing to your character and what would it take for them to forsake it?
Her past as Cabalist and therefore, her connection to the Spheres, serves as the foundation of her existence. I don't know if she will ever be able to forsake it. Carnifex soulstone concept seems intriguing enough to distract her though.My question for everyone else - Do you think you'll be able to play your character completely opposite to how they are now? Eg. If you enjoy combat, you now try to avoid it. If you hate hunting, you now love hunting. If you're a 'lochian, you're now an Enorian.
Absolutely not. While I'm sure I could RP a transition, I don't think I'd enjoy forcing it or fully abandoning/flipping any given aspect. It's entirely possible that I could burn out on any given activity, however, and pick up a new one for a bit.
If you were to cross over to Shadow, is there a particular guild over there that has your interests? Or would you remain the Rogue Templar Merchant of Attica? Speaking of merchant, have you ever considered creating like a merchant guild/clan with a collection of shopowners to regulate prices?
If I decided to sidehop, it'd be a toss-up between Syssin and Carnifex, no question, but given that I find a lot of guild progression and city tasks to be super tedious, I'd likely stay a rogue merchant. I like merchant RP, and I can handle doing it for long periods of time. To answer the last part of the question: I have and did, or at least tried. Shortly after Farming was released, I created the Southeastern Trade Union clan to try and educate people in regards to farming and provisioning, but the idea kind of fizzled. I might try and resurrect it at some point as a player-run merchant union geared around creating events, promotions, and trends. As far as regulating prices goes...I don't believe in fixing prices, but rather encouraging a competitive market. There's a minimum you have to charge for things in order to still make profit, and I think that'd regulate things once commodities aren't a crapshoot.
What would be the most ironic way for your character to suffer their final death?
Might be a bit of a TMI, but, uh...probably either while in the middle of being intimate with someone or getting killed by a current or ex-lover.
Do you think you'll be able to play your character completely opposite to how they are now? Eg. If you enjoy combat, you now try to avoid it. If you hate hunting, you now love hunting. If you're a 'lochian, you're now an Enorian.
Yes. I actually had ideas in the event that I went 'full dark' with Phoe. I'd have styled her towards kind of a succubus type or a vengeful and vindictive death knight. I might enjoy it for a little while, but I think that type of character would burn me out pretty fast.
What is the worst conflict (world, personal, or both) your character has been a part of?
Most people who know me will know what this is.
My question for everyone: If you could associate your character with a specific dessert or candy, what would it be and why? What savory dish would you associate with them? (If anyone remembers Eleanors uber cute food chibis, think like that)
@Haven The silliest thing my character has ever done - this is a tough question to answer, Sibatti isn't a very silly person in general. Do drunken escapades count? One time she did wear her Kerrithrim costume to show up and give Edhain a heart attack, so that was pretty silly of her.
If you could associate your character with a specific dessert or candy, what would it be and why? What savory dish would you associate with them? (If anyone remembers Eleanors uber cute food chibis, think like that)
@Phoenecia If Sibatti were a dessert, she would be... a key lime pie. Luscious, tart, creamy, difficult to get right. If she were a savory dish, she would be ... Grilled red snapper in a super spicy sauce au chien. Squeeze of lime, side of rice. All of the big components of Sib's personality show up here. Spicy, rustic, lively, a little bit exotic, and comforting once you combine it all together. Also - same question for you!
@Iazamat - What's the story behind the golem? Ever since I saw the chibi, I just wanna know. Is he an alligator? Is he as cute as he looks in a chibi? How did you come upon Iazamat's character design, it's very unique.
@Mjoll - What's it like to embrace the undead Troll aesthetic? I feel like actually being undead has gone out of vogue a bit in recent years, how do you like to incorporate it in Mjoll's RP?
Hahaha. Here's the golem's full desc:
A crocodile-headed golem of lapis and gold looms here, its stance both regal and menacing.
Sculpted mostly from lapis lazuli, this construct has been shaped in the image of a muscular humanoid male with a unique and distinctive feature: a
crocodilian head. While the majority of the head and upper jaw are formed from the same lapis stone as the golem's body, the lower jaw has been
constructed from solid, gleaming gold; its mouth has been filled with fangs made of desert glass, indecipherable symbols having been etched into each
tooth. More gold comprises the entirety of the golem's arms and legs, as durable and polished as its jaw, while etched bands of angular clouds
interrupt the otherwise uniform metal at regular intervals, lending its limbs the appearance of armored plates at a glance. Hanging from the
construct's shoulders is its only clothing: a broad mantle of white linen, complete with a high, form-fitting collar and an ornamental, golden
headdress. Shaped in the stylized, disc-like image of the sun, the headdress rises from behind its crocodilian head, framing it in golden, glittering
brilliance when struck by light.
A lot of my inspiration for Iazamat and aspects of him come from fantasy desert cultures and ancient Egyptian mythology and such. Sobek was indirectly the inspiration for the golem, but I almost made it cobra-headed. I didn't really want to associate Iazamat with snakes, though, so went with the crocodile and it has subsequently inspired a lot of other aspects of the character.
I knew I wanted a character that was very clearly "from the desert," so I came up with a list of features that I personally wanted and drew from real life ethnicities and cultures to further flesh him out. My biggest concern was avoiding creating a stereotype, and I'm hoping I've managed that. The tusks themselves are a result of my character's backstory and connection with Mjoll's. I wish I could say more, but a lot of my design elements really boil down to "What do I personally think is cool and works for the character?"
@Everyone: What is something that defines your character and their motivations that you wouldn't change for anything, even if RP facilitated it?
The standard idealism was that Shadow is a more destructive/consuming element, but in roleplay/events/opportunities. It is also a necessary element.
We saw during the mage revamp events what happens when too much of an element floods into the Prime material plane, in fact we saw it effect us as characters, and was one of the reasons I had the Duamvi removed from my person through Damariel's ritual. I felt returning the Duamvi to Rewh'va instead of carrying it on the prime further was the best scenario, for self and the Duamvi.
The arching idealism of Enorian, some older players holding staunchly to the "Age of Dawn" rhetoric, and knowing in my characters IC knowledge/experiences that if that happened, it would be destructive, catastrophic....he departed Enorian on a mission of self-realization. He had opportunities having served Slyphe as Scion of the Maelstrom for many years, being educated further on the elemental planes and embracing the idealism of Change. So...Change happened, he reached out to Bamathis, a Divine created to uphold the balance and preserve Sapience by the Creator Varian, the God who Oonagh in his tenure as Cardinal of Enorian held above all else, Oonagh defends the creator and His children, and always has. This was the next natural step in his progression, to serve the Gods as a whole in a greater capacity, to be willing to put aside the books, and learn to fight, to defend our world.
So far im about at this stage now, facing adversity for some of my choices, but trying to present it in a way that makes sense, if not alone by what is in his head.
Preserving Creation and the balance it holds by any means necessary...this will never change, and never has.
As the Ascendril taught him, "Nothing above question, everything under doubt." - This was Oonagh's first oath, this will never be forgotten.
Until recently, I would forget about being undead until someone brings it up, to which the usual response was "yeah, so what? What're you gonna do about it?" because she's an inflammatory instigator (it's how she makes friends), but since she was bound to Yggdrasil and can hear Its heartbeat there's a constant reminder that she's not living.
As for incorporating it into RP, I like to make mention of how unnecessary a breath she takes or lets out is for emphasis on emotionally challenging or charged scenes.
Here's a question: How do you respond to personal ambiance messages, if you do at all?