Experiences What Have You Learned From Your Character?

[MG Maggio]

What have you learned through your character(s) through roleplaying? Whether learning about yourself via writing for them, a new skill that you had to delve into for them, or some other wisdom?

 

[MG Maggio]

For me, I started studying herpatology for a character obsessed with his pet snake, and I actually love it now. I have also done some really fun gender exploration via roleplaying!

 

[nerdy tangents]

I know so much about hobby farming, dairy goats, dog shows, Victorian pets, and various folklore for my characters. I play almost exclusively magical farmers so it’s really fun combining real world realism and fantasy elements

 

[Daisie]

Well I've learned a lot about heroin addiction and withdrawal over the past few weeks! With my search history, I think I've rather concerned Google.

I've also learned that it's possible for my own character to frighten and/or deeply unsettle me. I'm talking about you, Malice.

 

[Onmyoji]

I'm learning irl the music instrument my character plays XD Started after rping the character!

 

[Corrosion]

I now know the seven most lethal places to strike with a knife to kill someone.

Don't ask.

 

[Heatherling]

A lot of Victorian Era facts and trifles, some basic survival knowledge, and a stupid amount of very specific medical knowledge based on trying to figure out how a character would act based on wounds they have gotten. One of the most ridiculous things I've learned over the years was how tobest set a frozen pig on fire to keep warm in a storage freezer with no exits. The more you know.

 

[Chordling]

Lots of biology. I... tend to injure my characters.

 

[Melpomene]

I have a strange amount of knowledge on ancient civilizations and their culture.

As well as injuries. Lots and lots of injuries.

 

[MG Maggio]

I am hearing that many of you have learned how to torture! I'm both intrigued and scared! Hahaha

A lot of Victorian Era facts and trifles, some basic survival knowledge, and a stupid amount of very specific medical knowledge based on trying to figure out how a character would act based on wounds they have gotten. One of the most ridiculous things I've learned over the years was how tobest set a frozen pig on fire to keep warm in a storage freezer with no exits. The more you know.

I just. I need to know how you set a frozen pig on fire now.

 

[Heatherling]

I just. I need to know how you set a frozen pig on fire now.

It basically sums up to - use whatever supplies you find in there - crates, shipping foil, more pigs - to build a bit of a heat containment, make sure there is a vent nearby so you do not die of smoke exposure instead, and use the ears as a starting point. The tallow will make it burn nicely, but it will take quite an amount of effort to catch, so be persistent. Also make sure your head is wrapped in cloth as well, to reduce heat loss.

 

[MG Maggio]

It basically sums up to - use whatever supplies you find in there - crates, shipping foil, more pigs - to build a bit of a heat containment, make sure there is a vent nearby so you do not die of smoke exposure instead, and use the ears as a starting point. The tallow will make it burn nicely, but it will take quite an amount of effort to catch, so be persistent. Also make sure your head is wrapped in cloth as well, to reduce heat loss.

Incredible. Now I'll be ready just on the off chance I get stuck in a freezer! Thank you

 

[Heatherling]

Incredible. Now I'll be ready just on the off chance I get stuck in a freezer! Thank you

I assume that search put me on some watchlist, so if it would be helpful to someone one day, that would be worth it

 

[Syntra]

I guess I've learned to empathize with people that are unlike myself more. I try to play a wide range of personalities, so often, I end up playing the opposite of who I am, and since my style is pretty introspective, I delve into their thought processes deeply. It's been enlightening.

 

[Dreamtique]

What have you learned through your character(s) through roleplaying? Whether learning about yourself via writing for them, a new skill that you had to delve into for them, or some other wisdom?

I explore escapism with my characters a lot, I think developing these characters gives me the incentive to deal with this problem for myself.

For me, I started studying herpatology for a character obsessed with his pet snake, and I actually love it now. I have also done some really fun gender exploration via roleplaying!

I don't have a particular interest in astronomy but I started a minor in astronomy when I have the chance to. A story I wrote was based around an astronomer, tbh a significant chunk of my motivation comes from there. I guess the stars just kinda aligned, lol.

 

[CookieGalaxy]

I learned that living outside of the character has some pretty extreme punishments. I learned to create my own characters and learned that my life is non existent because everyone leaves me on my own.

 

[MG Maggio]

I explore escapism with my characters a lot, I think developing these characters gives me the incentive to deal with this problem for myself.

I don't have a particular interest in astronomy but I started a minor in astronomy when I have the chance to. A story I wrote was based around an astronomer, tbh a significant chunk of my motivation comes from there. I guess the stars just kinda aligned, lol.

A minor in astrology! That's incredible. I love it. And having the insight to recognize escapism in your character and in yourself is impressive. I'm always very delighted to see how others process their lives through roleplaying. You may be interested in the work of Bowman and Hugaas, who talk about bleed from roleplay into real life, and how people meet their needs via roleplay!

Magic is Real: How Role-playing Can Transform Our Identities, Our Communities, and Our Lives

What is magic? From our perspective, at its core, magic is a form of manifestation: the ability to alter the self and the world around us through the power of intentional thought, force of will, and creative action.[1]Mat Auryn, Psychic Witch: A Metaphysical Guide to Meditation, Magick &...

nordiclarp.org

I personally love the relationships I've created via writing the most. I cherish the creativity and liveliness my writing partners bring, and am so grateful for a really weird, fun, unique way of getting to know people. I also totally see myself doing what the authors call "creating an alibi." Realizing that this is a thing I do has helped me stop, haha.

I learned that living outside of the character has some pretty extreme punishments. I learned to create my own characters and learned that my life is non existent because everyone leaves me on my own.

Sounds like you've had it hard, poor thing. Best of luck to you!

I guess I've learned to empathize with people that are unlike myself more. I try to play a wide range of personalities, so often, I end up playing the opposite of who I am, and since my style is pretty introspective, I delve into their thought processes deeply. It's been enlightening.

Oh my god, agreed. My empathy is SO much stronger having played a variety of folks. I second this, 100%. What character did you learn the most from, if you don't mind my asking?

 

[Reid]

for me it's:
Maybe that I have personally some really ugly traits that I should probably think twice about lmao. The character I work with is from a fandom so not exactly an ooc, but once you start looking for ways to be accurate to a character that isn't originally your own, sometimes you might get a in a little too deep. Oh, and perhaps it's best if you don't bottle up your emotions too much. This character does that a lot and his life went down the toilet because of it. Moral of the story, trusting some people is... okay. Being overly mistrustful is just as bad as being too trusting.
Oh and I looked up a little too much about chinese wuxia stuff just to understand portions of the type of world that character lives in. Which is... Interesting albeit it can be difficult to find exacts since translations can differ >_<

 

[Redfork2000]

In my RPs, I love to have characters with very different personalities. One is outgoing and confident, another is shy and introverted, another is aloof and serious, but protective and caring, another is grumpy and irritable, etc. But the thing is, all of my characters have at least a bit about myself poured into them, so by exploring how these characters interact with each other and with others, how others react to them, I've learned more about different sides of my personality, how others might perceive me. I love when posts include the characters' thoughts, as it gives me a bit of an idea of how different sides of my personality might be perceived by others.

I've also learned specific things through different characters. One of my characters is a skilled cook, so I researched about how to make certain recipes, because he was guiding another character through the process of making some of his favorite recipes. I've actually developed an interest in cooking, and I like to experiment!

But one of the things I've definitely achieved with some characters that have a bit of myself is explore my own emotions, and figure out things in my own life.

For example, while I do have an outgoing and confident side, that side of me only surfaces either when I'm with people I know, or when I'm talking about a topic I know a lot about. Most of the time around people I don't know I'm actually very quiet. I find it difficult to start a conversation, and many times I don't say much, or ask too many questions, mostly because I don't want to annoy people. But in one RP, I had a character that had this same trait, and my roleplaying partner had their character thinking my character didn't care about them, because my character would just answer to their questions and not ask any in return. I realized this is probably the case in real life, and I've learned to try and open myself up, talk more, and contribute more to the exchange. While I'm mostly an introvert, I feel I've progressed a lot in how I talk to people in real life as a result. Of course, chatting by text is a lot easier for me, but I've been doing progress to try to apply in real life what I learn through roleplaying.

Another character of mine has this unique trait in that they don't like the idea of growing up. He's a young adult who honestly never wanted to grow up during his childhood. He felt like during his childhood everything was better, there was nothing to worry about, and people had a lot less expectations of him, so when he inevitably aged and became an adult, he did so with that mentality that he really wished he didn't have to grow up. He was afraid of adult life, what people would expect of him, and feeling like he was losing something very valuable as he was forced to leave his childhood behind. He wanted to still live with a childhood mentality, even though that wasn't possible anymore, and he felt like he wasn't ready to grow up and be an adult.

I'll never forget what my roleplaying partner had her character say to him next. No one is truly ready, and starting a new phase of life with so many changes can be scary, but it's an adventure, and so many opportunities were ahead of him. While it can be hard to let go of the past, there's so much to look forward to, a life worth living. The truth is, I kind of had the same issue my character had. I really didn't like the idea of having to grow up, leaving behind a stage of life full of fun, bliss, no concerns, and happiness. I remember the roleplay was heavy on nostalgia, with both characters exploring their past and bringing memories back, and well, all that made me get nostalgic about my own childhood as well. To be honest, I've always been concerned of the idea that one day I'll have to finally assume my role as a responsible adult, and leave behind my childhood mentality. I never felt like I was ready to grow up, to actually act my age and think like an adult.

But this scene in our roleplay really seemed to help me a bit. To realize that as good as being a child is, I can't stay stuck in the past forever. Trying to keep living the same life I lived as a child is only trying to fool myself, to escape from the reality of my situation. While I'm still a bit concerned about all the changes that being an adult implies, I'm now more determined to live in the present, no longer letting my memories of the past distract me from what's ahead of me. Nostalgia can really blind us sometimes, and to be honest, even though my life isn't the same it was when I was a child, I'd be lying if I said I'm not living one of the best stages of my life. And there's so much in store for me, but I didn't see it because I was so worried about what I would lose by leaving my childhood behind. Do I feel truly ready to take my place as a responsible, mature adult? Not entirely, but that's ok. No one's truly ready. And in this journey we call life, we all learn as we go. What's important is to not stop growing, never stop learning.

For a long time this worry had kept me from maturing. As silly as it sounds, I feel like I went through all the stages of grief with this whole thing. I went through denial, trying to live as a child despite my age, I went through anger, being frustrated with how the people around me told me to grow up and act my age, I went through negotiation, trying to see if there was any way I could walk into adult life, assume some of the responsabilities that come with adult life, but staying as a child in other areas, and even through depression. While I didn't go through true, clinical depression, I remember a phase where I was feeling sad and upset about the fact that my life would never be the same. But now, thanks to this roleplay, I feel I've finally reached the final stage, acceptance. Now I've fully accepted my situation, that I am a young adult, and that it's not a bad thing. I know there's responsabilities, and that those responsabilities mean I can't continue thinking like a child does, but that there's a world full of possibilities ahead of me, and that I can still live a happy and fulfilling life as an adult. Now I feel excited to continue on with my life, and make the most of it.

So I guess what I mean to say with all of this is... I've learned a lot through RPing. I've learned about different topics. When my character is supposed to be skilled in something I don't know much about, I often times have to research a lot in order to play them well. But sometimes my characters share some of my own personality traits, and on occasions even some of my emotional issues. I love giving characters their own story arcs in which they achieve personal development, and the result is that they end up becoming a better person by the end of the RP, they learn something, they get character development. And when my character's issue happens to be in line with one of my own, I not only feel much more identified with them, but seeing my character developing in that area, getting that closure and growing as a person, on some level it also helps me grow along with them, learn how to overcome certain things that I struggle with in my own life. Sometimes I've just been looking at the situation from the wrong perspective, and seeing characters interact with the same problem in a roleplay helps me gain insight, it helps me see things from a different perspective. And sometimes that's all I need in order to bypass a barrier, or overcome an obstacle. While I roleplay mainly for fun, as a hobby, as I love writing, I can't deny that in certain occasions, it's had this additional benefit, which has impacted my life in a positive way.

 

[MG Maggio]

In my RPs, I love to have characters with very different personalities. One is outgoing and confident, another is shy and introverted, another is aloof and serious, but protective and caring, another is grumpy and irritable, etc. But the thing is, all of my characters have at least a bit about myself poured into them, so by exploring how these characters interact with each other and with others, how others react to them, I've learned more about different sides of my personality, how others might perceive me. I love when posts include the characters' thoughts, as it gives me a bit of an idea of how different sides of my personality might be perceived by others.

I've also learned specific things through different characters. One of my characters is a skilled cook, so I researched about how to make certain recipes, because he was guiding another character through the process of making some of his favorite recipes. I've actually developed an interest in cooking, and I like to experiment!

But one of the things I've definitely achieved with some characters that have a bit of myself is explore my own emotions, and figure out things in my own life.

For example, while I do have an outgoing and confident side, that side of me only surfaces either when I'm with people I know, or when I'm talking about a topic I know a lot about. Most of the time around people I don't know I'm actually very quiet. I find it difficult to start a conversation, and many times I don't say much, or ask too many questions, mostly because I don't want to annoy people. But in one RP, I had a character that had this same trait, and my roleplaying partner had their character thinking my character didn't care about them, because my character would just answer to their questions and not ask any in return. I realized this is probably the case in real life, and I've learned to try and open myself up, talk more, and contribute more to the exchange. While I'm mostly an introvert, I feel I've progressed a lot in how I talk to people in real life as a result. Of course, chatting by text is a lot easier for me, but I've been doing progress to try to apply in real life what I learn through roleplaying.

Another character of mine has this unique trait in that they don't like the idea of growing up. He's a young adult who honestly never wanted to grow up during his childhood. He felt like during his childhood everything was better, there was nothing to worry about, and people had a lot less expectations of him, so when he inevitably aged and became an adult, he did so with that mentality that he really wished he didn't have to grow up. He was afraid of adult life, what people would expect of him, and feeling like he was losing something very valuable as he was forced to leave his childhood behind. He wanted to still live with a childhood mentality, even though that wasn't possible anymore, and he felt like he wasn't ready to grow up and be an adult.

I'll never forget what my roleplaying partner had her character say to him next. No one is truly ready, and starting a new phase of life with so many changes can be scary, but it's an adventure, and so many opportunities were ahead of him. While it can be hard to let go of the past, there's so much to look forward to, a life worth living. The truth is, I kind of had the same issue my character had. I really didn't like the idea of having to grow up, leaving behind a stage of life full of fun, bliss, no concerns, and happiness. I remember the roleplay was heavy on nostalgia, with both characters exploring their past and bringing memories back, and well, all that made me get nostalgic about my own childhood as well. To be honest, I've always been concerned of the idea that one day I'll have to finally assume my role as a responsible adult, and leave behind my childhood mentality. I never felt like I was ready to grow up, to actually act my age and think like an adult.

But this scene in our roleplay really seemed to help me a bit. To realize that as good as being a child is, I can't stay stuck in the past forever. Trying to keep living the same life I lived as a child is only trying to fool myself, to escape from the reality of my situation. While I'm still a bit concerned about all the changes that being an adult implies, I'm now more determined to live in the present, no longer letting my memories of the past distract me from what's ahead of me. Nostalgia can really blind us sometimes, and to be honest, even though my life isn't the same it was when I was a child, I'd be lying if I said I'm not living one of the best stages of my life. And there's so much in store for me, but I didn't see it because I was so worried about what I would lose by leaving my childhood behind. Do I feel truly ready to take my place as a responsible, mature adult? Not entirely, but that's ok. No one's truly ready. And in this journey we call life, we all learn as we go. What's important is to not stop growing, never stop learning.

For a long time this worry had kept me from maturing. As silly as it sounds, I feel like I went through all the stages of grief with this whole thing. I went through denial, trying to live as a child despite my age, I went through anger, being frustrated with how the people around me told me to grow up and act my age, I went through negotiation, trying to see if there was any way I could walk into adult life, assume some of the responsabilities that come with adult life, but staying as a child in other areas, and even through depression. While I didn't go through true, clinical depression, I remember a phase where I was feeling sad and upset about the fact that my life would never be the same. But now, thanks to this roleplay, I feel I've finally reached the final stage, acceptance. Now I've fully accepted my situation, that I am a young adult, and that it's not a bad thing. I know there's responsabilities, and that those responsabilities mean I can't continue thinking like a child does, but that there's a world full of possibilities ahead of me, and that I can still live a happy and fulfilling life as an adult. Now I feel excited to continue on with my life, and make the most of it.

So I guess what I mean to say with all of this is... I've learned a lot through RPing. I've learned about different topics. When my character is supposed to be skilled in something I don't know much about, I often times have to research a lot in order to play them well. But sometimes my characters share some of my own personality traits, and on occasions even some of my emotional issues. I love giving characters their own story arcs in which they achieve personal development, and the result is that they end up becoming a better person by the end of the RP, they learn something, they get character development. And when my character's issue happens to be in line with one of my own, I not only feel much more identified with them, but seeing my character developing in that area, getting that closure and growing as a person, on some level it also helps me grow along with them, learn how to overcome certain things that I struggle with in my own life. Sometimes I've just been looking at the situation from the wrong perspective, and seeing characters interact with the same problem in a roleplay helps me gain insight, it helps me see things from a different perspective. And sometimes that's all I need in order to bypass a barrier, or overcome an obstacle. While I roleplay mainly for fun, as a hobby, as I love writing, I can't deny that in certain occasions, it's had this additional benefit, which has impacted my life in a positive way.

Your insight into yourself is so multidimensional and deep, and I loved hearing how your character has taught you more about yourself and about transitioning through life. Thank you so much for sharing this- it's given me a lot to think about, too. When I have words for it, I'll be sure to share here with you.

 

[Redfork2000]

Your insight into yourself is so multidimensional and deep, and I loved hearing how your character has taught you more about yourself and about transitioning through life. Thank you so much for sharing this- it's given me a lot to think about, too. When I have words for it, I'll be sure to share here with you.

Thanks, I'm very glad to hear that what I had to say has had an impact. Of course, feel free to share your own thoughts whenever you want