Other Writing as a Canon character...

[-Q-]

Just wondered if anyone else did this:

So, say you were to attempt to channel a specific character from a fandom and it was kind of all new to you to write as that particular person; would you go in search of other threads/people who also write that character to see how they do it, or just binge watch the series/movie/other and hope for the best?

 

[Tove]

I tried a couple of times, it doesn't work for me.

I don't think that if I looked at other people playing a canon character or binge watching the series the character is from would help me, there's still something missing. If I did play a canon I would probably put my own spin on them even if that wasn't liked.

 

[Hall Kervean]

Just wondered if anyone else did this:

So, say you were to attempt to channel a specific character from a fandom and it was kind of all new to you to write as that particular person; would you go in search of other threads/people who also write that character to see how they do it, or just binge watch the series/movie/other and hope for the best?

I have done something that is either identical or similar to what you're talking about.
I ported Master Chief from Halo into the world of Hunter x Hunter. I changed a bit of Halo canon for the background (Noble Team survived Reach, Master Chief made it off the Ark, the planet where Hunter x Hunter exists was discovered by the U.N.S.C. in the middle of the human-Covenant war, so first contact hadn't been possible until after the events of Halo 3.) And then kind of just... ported him over. It was fun, it was fun.

 

[Amerikia1126]

I played a canon character once and it was stressful. I was a fan of headcanon in the fandom, which gave the canon character a very different spin to it. Multiple spins. To a character that was literally a stereotype. I settled with just going off what the wiki said, but I still felt I had to prove everything. Eventually it just turned into me being an idiot in every post, which seemed to work well enough. This was almost two years ago now, and I probably won't play the character again in a forum rp.

A friend who was in the rp with me had to go on a trip and told me to play their character, also canon, while they were away. This character was even harder to pull off since they actually had a personality, and it was one that was really fucking hard to get right, pardon my French. I probably won't go near canons again in a serious rp. But damn it, it was fun as hell.

 

[FriendlierTerms]

Urgh, I'm terrible at role playing canon characters. I find real life acting difficult so I feel as though my inability to do that is transferred to role play... It really amazes me when people can successfully portray a character correctly.

 

[Borkus Lazorus]

Ah, it's easy to play a canon character.

For Rick, just get drunk while typing.

 

[Sumirenko]

With me, if I'm one hundred percent honest, I turn to fan fiction and other types of media to get a feel for the character. Playing the game certainly helps, but I don't feel like my character is really complete until I look at the many interpretations out there. Then I use a combination of those interpretations and some of my own canon. My characters are walking collages, lol.

That being said, I'm often told that I play characters very well, so I guess I'm doing something right somewhere. I certainly love playing them.

 

[Dragonslayer Oliver]

Just wondered if anyone else did this:

So, say you were to attempt to channel a specific character from a fandom and it was kind of all new to you to write as that particular person; would you go in search of other threads/people who also write that character to see how they do it, or just binge watch the series/movie/other and hope for the best?

Well, true to my name.. I did roleplay as Dragonslayer Ornstein for quite a bit, in a scenario whereas he followed the Nameless King and left Anor Londo, but abandoned his previous mentor and traversed the lands as a lone knight. I made Ornstein as I envisioned him - loyal to his friends, rather than a superior force (Nameless King > Gwyn, Lord of Light), kindhearted and usually thoughtful, whilst suffering from depression after the apparent losses of Gough, Ciaran, and Artorias, alongside his abandonment of his duty and Smough.

In the end.. he got married and retired, funnily enough. There's a new Dragonslayer about - or rather two, Olivia (used by me) and Nathanial (used by a friend). Fun stuff.

 

[SanNarciso]

Sometimes, for me, canon characters are easier to play and sometimes they're muuuuch harder than OCs.

I figure it's to do with how much I like/connect to/feel like I understand the character's motivations and tones and whatnot. It's really frustrating to see/read characters written.....not so in character in other RPs or in fanfiction and whatnot, and I think maybe because i've seen those not so great portrayals I can kind of feel when i'm doing that as well?
Nothing is more satisfying than reading a perfectly in character portrayal of a canon character, so I think it certainly helps in writing canon characters myself.

 

[Hall Kervean]

I tend to play as characters I know pretty well.
Having played Halo a lot, I could play as Master Chief, anyone from Noble, or anyone from Halo 3 ODST.
I could also play Gon, Killua, Kurapika, Leorio, Light Yagami, or L with reasonable accuracy.
Heck, in an RP right now, I'm playing as Emile, and will be introducing Jorge soon. In the Reach game, Jorge was sort of Emile's counterbalance, so there could be potential conflict with what Jorge wants/needs and what Emile has done so far.

Reading/writing fanfiction is a really good way to understand a character and develop them.