Advice/Help How do I continue this character without his roleplay?

[actuallysweet]

My character was derived from another character of mine, which is no longer in use, specifically for this one roleplay. Now that I've stopped roleplaying with this person (we roleplayed for about 2 1/2 years) he's grown a lot on me. I really want to continue writing him, specifically in original works and future new roleplays, but it's like he was tailored to this one roleplay. I can't write him the way he was in this roleplay without my old roleplay partner's characters, and frankly, I'd find it a bit creepy and untrue to form to write her characters in her place. I'd probably get them really wrong too and they'd essentially be "supporting cast" instead of their true own characters. The roleplay unfortunately went unfinished so it's not like I ever got closure too.

It's very depressing to think about that I'd either have to start from 0 with him in terms of character development, with enitrely new characters, in a very similar but not quite the same setting. Really this roleplay ended not because one of us lost interest, but very very unfortunate circumstances (won't go into detail here) and it left a big hole in my heart if I'm honest. How can I continue writing this character or replace this roleplay?

 

[Idea]

Well, depending on the character, and presuming you don’t want (as you seem to be saying) to outright re-use it in a reboot fashion, then I’d say you have two options:

1. Use the character again, but have the character continuing from where you left of. In other words use the character where they are post-development, perhaps with some added changes for whatever may have happened between the interruption in your last RP and your new one.
2. Instead of using this character as your player character, one trick that is often used in tabletop roleplaying is to have previous significant characters turned into significant NPCs in other campaigns AKA future roleplays.

Naturally, the specifics of the character and their setting will heavily influence how feasible this is as an option.

 

[actuallysweet]

Well, depending on the character, and presuming you don’t want (as you seem to be saying) to outright re-use it in a reboot fashion, then I’d say you have two options:

1. Use the character again, but have the character continuing from where you left of. In other words use the character where they are post-development, perhaps with some added changes for whatever may have happened between the interruption in your last RP and your new one.
2. Instead of using this character as your player character, one trick that is often used in tabletop roleplaying is to have previous significant characters turned into significant NPCs in other campaigns AKA future roleplays.

Naturally, the specifics of the character and their setting will heavily influence how feasible this is as an option.

Maybe if I specified more on the character/rp setting it'd help to understand?

He was a junior detective still in training (under a private investigator's wing), but more importantly, the character development I mentioned stemmed mainly from how much he'd opened up to my rp partner's characters (and some conflict between them which was on the way to getting resolved). They were both older than him & it was a rlly unique situation. I'm not sure how to emulate this. I was thinking of making him be a detective working for an actual police station (or go off after the latest case in the old rp to do so since we'd planned a break for him anyway) , but I'm not sure how to recreate that dynamic between her and my characters. I suppose he could just get a new mentor or something. It's just kind of sad.

 

[Idea]

Maybe if I specified more on the character/rp setting it'd help to understand?

He was a junior detective still in training (under a private investigator's wing), but more importantly, the character development I mentioned stemmed mainly from how much he'd opened up to my rp partner's characters (and some conflict between them which was on the way to getting resolved). They were both older than him & it was a rlly unique situation. I'm not sure how to emulate this. I was thinking of making him be a detective working for an actual police station (or go off after the latest case in the old rp to do so since we'd planned a break for him anyway) , but I'm not sure how to recreate that dynamic between her and my characters. I suppose he could just get a new mentor or something. It's just kind of sad.

Like I said, you can carry the same character just having had the experience of that dynamic. Maybe it's not longer something they are involved in, but it's something that changed them and that they learned from. Such a character could be your player character or an important NPC. The character seems like the kind of thing that could fit in most minimally developed settings, though again the character's own setting will still have an effect on what settings you can put it on.

If you specifically want the same kind of dynamic in a character currently experiencing it, then you also have options. You could, instead of using your partner's characters, use new character and swap the dynamic between your character and your partner's characters with those new ones.

If you could accept using a new character instead, you could have an RP that starts with the premise of two characters already involved in that kind of dynamic, in the same way a RP might focus on the relationship after the romantic confession/proposal that a lot of stories build up to.

The final alternative is to try to understand at a core what made that dynamic work and what are the essential parts of it, then try to create the conditions with a new character and roleplay to achieve it again.

Yeah it's sad when an RP dies short of its potential, especially when things were going well. If you want to recapture some of it, it's always going to take a degree of compromise. Fortunately for this situation there is a lot of leeway on where to put that compromise, but it's going to be there regardless.

 

[GojiBean]

Hoyo!

If I may be 100% honest I think you're making a false equivalency when you say: "... but it's like he was tailored to this one roleplay. I can't write him the way he was in this roleplay without my old roleplay partner's characters, and frankly, I'd find it a bit creepy and untrue to form to write her characters in her place."

First, no, he wasn't tailored to that roleplay. That's part of the false equivalency I mentioned earlier. He was tailored to a situation which became a story. And that situation was him being a junior detective working under his mentors. So long as this element of his design remains consistent, along with at least half, preferably more of his backstory, the bulk of his identity will remain intact.

Second, yes, you can write him the way he was without your old partner's characters because your old partner's characters don't define him. They may have helped influence him and his growth along the way. But they don't define him. You could substitute them for literally anyone else. And as long as they're also mentors for him and are able to both challenge and encourage him along the way the core of his development will remain largely intact. Obviously there may be some differences here and there. But who knows? You may find that you enjoy the subtle changes in the long run.

Third, your primary goal seems to be to find a way to write this character in the same, or as similar a manner as possible to how you did before, correct? In that case, you don't need your partner's old characters. You never did.

What's important isn't the characters. It's the function they served in the grand scheme of things which, as you described, was being mentors to your character in his career path. This implies they were educators who taught him, friends who supported him, authority figures who challenged him and at times may have felt like they were holding him back, and most importantly they were imperfect and flawed human beings who served both as obstacles to him, and a resolution to said obstacles once you'd managed to navigate the waters of said obstacles.

So long as you recreate the junior-mentor situation, the core of your character's development path will remain largely in tact. As mentioned in the second point there will inevitably be some differences here and there. But even if there are it doesn't necessarily mean that your character is losing anything. And you may even enjoy the subtle differences between the old and new when all is said and done.

It's a near universal truth that saying goodbye to a great roleplay, or any kind of longstanding experience is hard. It's like leaving a piece of yourself behind because of all the time, effort, and fun you invested along the way.

Ultimately, I would like to advise you on two things:

First, show no fear towards either the future, nor to change. Both are inevitable. And both can be welcomed rather than fought against.

Second, to recapture the magic of this character's identity and development you simply need to be true to who he was on paper and restructure the elements around him only as much as necessary to recreate the situation he was in as a junior detective working under at least one (preferably more) mentors. So long as you do that the core of his identity and development will remain consistent with what you remember. There will inevitably be some minor differences and changes long the way. But don't be afraid of that. Welcome it.

Creativity is change and exploration. So try your best to just have fun with it.

Cheers!

- GojiBean

 

[actuallysweet]

Hoyo!

If I may be 100% honest I think you're making a false equivalency when you say: "... but it's like he was tailored to this one roleplay. I can't write him the way he was in this roleplay without my old roleplay partner's characters, and frankly, I'd find it a bit creepy and untrue to form to write her characters in her place."

First, no, he wasn't tailored to that roleplay. That's part of the false equivalency I mentioned earlier. He was tailored to a situation which became a story. And that situation was him being a junior detective working under his mentors. So long as this element of his design remains consistent, along with at least half, preferably more of his backstory, the bulk of his identity will remain intact.

Second, yes, you can write him the way he was without your old partner's characters because your old partner's characters don't define him. They may have helped influence him and his growth along the way. But they don't define him. You could substitute them for literally anyone else. And as long as they're also mentors for him and are able to both challenge and encourage him along the way the core of his development will remain largely intact. Obviously there may be some differences here and there. But who knows? You may find that you enjoy the subtle changes in the long run.

Third, your primary goal seems to be to find a way to write this character in the same, or as similar a manner as possible to how you did before, correct? In that case, you don't need your partner's old characters. You never did.

What's important isn't the characters. It's the function they served in the grand scheme of things which, as you described, was being mentors to your character in his career path. This implies they were educators who taught him, friends who supported him, authority figures who challenged him and at times may have felt like they were holding him back, and most importantly they were imperfect and flawed human beings who served both as obstacles to him, and a resolution to said obstacles once you'd managed to navigate the waters of said obstacles.

So long as you recreate the junior-mentor situation, the core of your character's development path will remain largely in tact. As mentioned in the second point there will inevitably be some differences here and there. But even if there are it doesn't necessarily mean that your character is losing anything. And you may even enjoy the subtle differences between the old and new when all is said and done.

It's a near universal truth that saying goodbye to a great roleplay, or any kind of longstanding experience is hard. It's like leaving a piece of yourself behind because of all the time, effort, and fun you invested along the way.

Ultimately, I would like to advise you on two things:

First, show no fear towards either the future, nor to change. Both are inevitable. And both can be welcomed rather than fought against.

Second, to recapture the magic of this character's identity and development you simply need to be true to who he was on paper and restructure the elements around him only as much as necessary to recreate the situation he was in as a junior detective working under at least one (preferably more) mentors. So long as you do that the core of his identity and development will remain consistent with what you remember. There will inevitably be some minor differences and changes long the way. But don't be afraid of that. Welcome it.

Creativity is change and exploration. So try your best to just have fun with it.

Cheers!

- GojiBean

tyvm!! this was so insightful and helpful to read! Crazy how sometimes people can understand you better than yourself. I don't know if my post was letting it on, but this whole thing was a real dilemma for me and it was very difficult to sort of see things objectively. Many thanks again!