Creating a "real life" for your character...
This post probably won't interest anyone outside of damned rpg, so feel free to skip.
Lately, I've been thinking about my characters' "real life" backstories as well as their diagnoses. I'm not very psychologically savvy or anything, so it's been pretty hard as far as answering "why" they should be in Landel's. So I would really appreciate some helpful suggestions if anyone has any. Making up their RL histories has been a little easier, though I would also appreciate any comments you might have considering what I've come up with. Thanks in advance, guys~
As a quick note, these descriptions may be a little dry since I'm trying to mostly put up the bare facts behind the issues and I haven't really gotten too in-depth with anything so far. Sorry, I guess. ^^;
Aigis
Real Life History: Angela Cassidy lives in a family of two--herself and her father. She's never quite clicked with her quiet father about much, save for their love of guns. Since she was young she would watch him shoot and even went hunting with him from time to time. But after her mother left them when she was very young, Angela's father has become much more distant. Angela fell into a depression when she passed her tween years and began listening to a lot of screamo music. She distanced herself from most of her friends, drowning in her music and her two big hobbies, drawing and guns. Before entering Landel's she decided to commit suicide, but a friend managed to talk her out of it. Her father, who hadn't realized how serious the problem with his daughter was until then, decided it was time for her to receive professional help.
Diagnosis: Depression and anxiety are all I have for her so far.
Damon Gant
Real Life History: Richard Glover is single, with no family. He's always been a bit frivolous and flighty, so the idea of staying home and inheriting the family business just never sat right with him. As soon as he could afford a car of his own (he was 17 at the time), he left home for L.A. where he worked a series of odd jobs just trying to get by for the next 10 years. Through that time, he managed to use the piano lessons his parents had once forced him into to make it playing at various bars, cafes, etc. though his ultimate goal was to one day take on the stage. A few years later, he finally got his chance when the main act at a small time comedy club failed to show. It was only a small success, but thereafter he would never allow himself to stoop down for a job any lower than the stage. He had a fair amount of success over the years, but he never quite reached his dream goal--acting. Still, he didn't mind being a comedian as it suited his fun-loving personality.
At this point, I'm not sure where to go, but I've thought maybe also giving him a history of drug/alcohol abuse (he's in L.A. after all) and perhaps accidentally overdosing a time or two? And I've also toyed with the idea of having him suffer from loneliness in his more recent years, after realizing he no longer has a family to return to and never took the time to make a family of his own.
Diagnosis: ??? - If I go the drug/drink abuse route, I could probably pull from there. Or, being in his sixties, it's possible he could be showing signs of various aging issues which lead to dementia and such, but... hmm, I just dunno.
Ilia Silvestri
Real Life History: Elaine Curtis is a single college student, with both parents still alive. Ever since she was young, she has been driven to be the best. Her parents held high expectations of her, so she worked diligently on her studies and chosen extracurricular activities, which included various martial arts training. While she would have loved to do nothing more than curl up with good sci-fi novel, her parents thought such things were a waste of time. Anxious to please, Elaine did all she could to make something of herself, but she could never seem to satisfy all the people who urged her on. She managed to get accepted at an Ivy League college a year earlier than most, but it still didn't seem good enough. She began to fall ill shortly after orientation, but she ignored all the fatigue it placed on her. While she struggled to keep up high grades in all her classes, Elaine found she could lessen her stress marginally by writing. Everyday after her classes she would spend hours writing her novel, and sometimes she found herself working through the night on it. She found herself writing from the point of view of a character that not only managed to reach all the goals Elaine herself was striving for, but also managed to do it all early in life, along with securing a position in a high military rank. The character had great interpersonal skills and a gentle heart and basically had all things Elaine wished she could have right now.
I think after this, Elaine eventually began projecting this character on herself and tried to become the fictional woman, but I'm not sure if that's plausible. Do people go crazy looking for extreme escapism?
Diagnosis: ??? - She thinks she's her own fictional character. I'm just not sure. I've considered having the illness she fell under shortly after starting college grow more and more as she exasperates it, and that could also lead to something.
As you can guess, Ilia's backstory is the newest and so the most unpolished. Gant's is also fairly new, but I've been stewing on Aigis' a good deal longer. I'm just no good with these things, I think. :/ Anyway, if you have any helpful hints, comments, or just know that something in there sounds totally wrong, please comment and I'll take all advice into consideration. Thanks!
~D.Cager, who needs help doing everything, it seems. :|
Lately, I've been thinking about my characters' "real life" backstories as well as their diagnoses. I'm not very psychologically savvy or anything, so it's been pretty hard as far as answering "why" they should be in Landel's. So I would really appreciate some helpful suggestions if anyone has any. Making up their RL histories has been a little easier, though I would also appreciate any comments you might have considering what I've come up with. Thanks in advance, guys~
As a quick note, these descriptions may be a little dry since I'm trying to mostly put up the bare facts behind the issues and I haven't really gotten too in-depth with anything so far. Sorry, I guess. ^^;
Aigis
Real Life History: Angela Cassidy lives in a family of two--herself and her father. She's never quite clicked with her quiet father about much, save for their love of guns. Since she was young she would watch him shoot and even went hunting with him from time to time. But after her mother left them when she was very young, Angela's father has become much more distant. Angela fell into a depression when she passed her tween years and began listening to a lot of screamo music. She distanced herself from most of her friends, drowning in her music and her two big hobbies, drawing and guns. Before entering Landel's she decided to commit suicide, but a friend managed to talk her out of it. Her father, who hadn't realized how serious the problem with his daughter was until then, decided it was time for her to receive professional help.
Diagnosis: Depression and anxiety are all I have for her so far.
Damon Gant
Real Life History: Richard Glover is single, with no family. He's always been a bit frivolous and flighty, so the idea of staying home and inheriting the family business just never sat right with him. As soon as he could afford a car of his own (he was 17 at the time), he left home for L.A. where he worked a series of odd jobs just trying to get by for the next 10 years. Through that time, he managed to use the piano lessons his parents had once forced him into to make it playing at various bars, cafes, etc. though his ultimate goal was to one day take on the stage. A few years later, he finally got his chance when the main act at a small time comedy club failed to show. It was only a small success, but thereafter he would never allow himself to stoop down for a job any lower than the stage. He had a fair amount of success over the years, but he never quite reached his dream goal--acting. Still, he didn't mind being a comedian as it suited his fun-loving personality.
At this point, I'm not sure where to go, but I've thought maybe also giving him a history of drug/alcohol abuse (he's in L.A. after all) and perhaps accidentally overdosing a time or two? And I've also toyed with the idea of having him suffer from loneliness in his more recent years, after realizing he no longer has a family to return to and never took the time to make a family of his own.
Diagnosis: ??? - If I go the drug/drink abuse route, I could probably pull from there. Or, being in his sixties, it's possible he could be showing signs of various aging issues which lead to dementia and such, but... hmm, I just dunno.
Ilia Silvestri
Real Life History: Elaine Curtis is a single college student, with both parents still alive. Ever since she was young, she has been driven to be the best. Her parents held high expectations of her, so she worked diligently on her studies and chosen extracurricular activities, which included various martial arts training. While she would have loved to do nothing more than curl up with good sci-fi novel, her parents thought such things were a waste of time. Anxious to please, Elaine did all she could to make something of herself, but she could never seem to satisfy all the people who urged her on. She managed to get accepted at an Ivy League college a year earlier than most, but it still didn't seem good enough. She began to fall ill shortly after orientation, but she ignored all the fatigue it placed on her. While she struggled to keep up high grades in all her classes, Elaine found she could lessen her stress marginally by writing. Everyday after her classes she would spend hours writing her novel, and sometimes she found herself working through the night on it. She found herself writing from the point of view of a character that not only managed to reach all the goals Elaine herself was striving for, but also managed to do it all early in life, along with securing a position in a high military rank. The character had great interpersonal skills and a gentle heart and basically had all things Elaine wished she could have right now.
I think after this, Elaine eventually began projecting this character on herself and tried to become the fictional woman, but I'm not sure if that's plausible. Do people go crazy looking for extreme escapism?
Diagnosis: ??? - She thinks she's her own fictional character. I'm just not sure. I've considered having the illness she fell under shortly after starting college grow more and more as she exasperates it, and that could also lead to something.
As you can guess, Ilia's backstory is the newest and so the most unpolished. Gant's is also fairly new, but I've been stewing on Aigis' a good deal longer. I'm just no good with these things, I think. :/ Anyway, if you have any helpful hints, comments, or just know that something in there sounds totally wrong, please comment and I'll take all advice into consideration. Thanks!
~D.Cager, who needs help doing everything, it seems. :|