(no subject)
Heheheh. Essaying again. I'm so trendy. But this time it's on Kaylee!
Ever since I picked up Kaylee, I've been having this thing where I try to get her out to meet people, or just have silly chats. And each time I try, it Just. Doesn't. Work. My Kaylee muse is uninterested and so it tends to fizzle out into pointlessness or I just give up on the thread. Now I, as a human being, kinda suck at small-talking, but I don't have the same trouble with other characters I've played in the past. It's even easier to get River out. So I started trying to examine the reasoning. Cause yeah, my characters do things that I don't always expect, and my reasoning for doing these things is can end up being 'gut reaction' that I get to realize later. GO ME. It's a special way to play.
Now, everyone describes Kaylee in ways that obviously tend toward extraversion--she's friendly and kind (usually) and sunshiney and people tend to just like her. All of the crew treat her affectionately, even Jayne, and everyone is concerned with protecting her. She was the crewmember left to recruit passengers, Book was instantly taken with her, Simon was instantly taken with her, she made friends with the children of Haven (where Book was in Serenity), etc. etc. etc. Kaylee has speshul powers of being liked by people.
Here's the thing. Other than with Tracey (which is a different sort of situation), all of Kaylee's relationships are either established or happen when other people come to her. Kaylee isn't reaching out to people so much as people gravitate to her because she is such a sunshiney soul.
Now, in her own 'Verse, that's fine. At camp, it...doesn't work. There are so many people at camp that the principle of Kaylee Gravitation just doesn't work. Quietly sunshiney people are never going to get as much attention as loud, flashy people. It's the way of the world. Among normals, Kaylee might stand out, but at camp, she gets lost in the crowd of superheroes and people with neato powers.
So what it kinda comes down to is that Kaylee is never going to try and go out there and sell herself. It's just not something she does. I mean, she got her job on Serenity in the first place not by actively selling herself, but by being unembarrassed in an embarrassing situation and happily volunteering information on what was wrong with the engine. (And she noticed what was wrong with the engine while she was having sex with the old mechanic, which is probably worth another essay on Kaylee and sex.) She wasn't angling for the job, Mal gave her the job because it was obvious that she knew what was up and his mechanic didn't. Kaylee likes being around people. She likes taking care of people, things, and spaces (see: the mess and her bedroom on Serenity). But she's accustomed to people coming to her, not actively going and searching people out.
In terms of camp and the camp relationships she has established, most of them are from people she knew before (crew), people who approached her (Wesley), or people who she kinda got thrown in with (boys 19, Lex). She will happily befriend/mother/establish a working relationship with anyone who approaches her and doesn't seem like a complete ass. And she'll certainly flirt with any attractive men who joke with her (hi, Roy!). But she has never had to seek out company before, and probably isn't going to start in camp unless there's a really, really good reason for it (if Winry ever comes back, Kaylee's going to go looking for her, ostensibly because of the automail plans). She's happy with her camp family, and she's not displeased or upset by the fact that people don't gravitate to her like they used to. In fact, she really doesn't realize it at all. Deep down, Kaylee is optimistic and pragmatic--even when things aren't great, they're still pretty good, and she's not going to be unhappy with her lot in life.
Ever since I picked up Kaylee, I've been having this thing where I try to get her out to meet people, or just have silly chats. And each time I try, it Just. Doesn't. Work. My Kaylee muse is uninterested and so it tends to fizzle out into pointlessness or I just give up on the thread. Now I, as a human being, kinda suck at small-talking, but I don't have the same trouble with other characters I've played in the past. It's even easier to get River out. So I started trying to examine the reasoning. Cause yeah, my characters do things that I don't always expect, and my reasoning for doing these things is can end up being 'gut reaction' that I get to realize later. GO ME. It's a special way to play.
Now, everyone describes Kaylee in ways that obviously tend toward extraversion--she's friendly and kind (usually) and sunshiney and people tend to just like her. All of the crew treat her affectionately, even Jayne, and everyone is concerned with protecting her. She was the crewmember left to recruit passengers, Book was instantly taken with her, Simon was instantly taken with her, she made friends with the children of Haven (where Book was in Serenity), etc. etc. etc. Kaylee has speshul powers of being liked by people.
Here's the thing. Other than with Tracey (which is a different sort of situation), all of Kaylee's relationships are either established or happen when other people come to her. Kaylee isn't reaching out to people so much as people gravitate to her because she is such a sunshiney soul.
Now, in her own 'Verse, that's fine. At camp, it...doesn't work. There are so many people at camp that the principle of Kaylee Gravitation just doesn't work. Quietly sunshiney people are never going to get as much attention as loud, flashy people. It's the way of the world. Among normals, Kaylee might stand out, but at camp, she gets lost in the crowd of superheroes and people with neato powers.
So what it kinda comes down to is that Kaylee is never going to try and go out there and sell herself. It's just not something she does. I mean, she got her job on Serenity in the first place not by actively selling herself, but by being unembarrassed in an embarrassing situation and happily volunteering information on what was wrong with the engine. (And she noticed what was wrong with the engine while she was having sex with the old mechanic, which is probably worth another essay on Kaylee and sex.) She wasn't angling for the job, Mal gave her the job because it was obvious that she knew what was up and his mechanic didn't. Kaylee likes being around people. She likes taking care of people, things, and spaces (see: the mess and her bedroom on Serenity). But she's accustomed to people coming to her, not actively going and searching people out.
In terms of camp and the camp relationships she has established, most of them are from people she knew before (crew), people who approached her (Wesley), or people who she kinda got thrown in with (boys 19, Lex). She will happily befriend/mother/establish a working relationship with anyone who approaches her and doesn't seem like a complete ass. And she'll certainly flirt with any attractive men who joke with her (hi, Roy!). But she has never had to seek out company before, and probably isn't going to start in camp unless there's a really, really good reason for it (if Winry ever comes back, Kaylee's going to go looking for her, ostensibly because of the automail plans). She's happy with her camp family, and she's not displeased or upset by the fact that people don't gravitate to her like they used to. In fact, she really doesn't realize it at all. Deep down, Kaylee is optimistic and pragmatic--even when things aren't great, they're still pretty good, and she's not going to be unhappy with her lot in life.