What If Your Character Were Aware of YOU?

"There's that guy again! Behind me! He's always behind me! IS HE LOOKING AT MY @SS?!?!?"

This is such a fascinating discussion I just had to jump in.

In my case all my characters ARE aware of me. It's one of the premises for my comic. Each character also knows it's a game and that they are just playing it to a degree. It's a curious mix of "the game is real" and "the game is just a game" that I didn't plan. It just sort of ended up that way.

Shadowe: "So... you're... my own personal god? That's an over-simplification of the matter, naturally. Fascinating. In that case, I have to ask, purely in the spirit of enquiry you understand - I have always been interested in determining the truth of certain facts of reality, and this is the perfect opportunity for me to do so - just one thing: You made me rich beyond the dreams of avarice, you made me handsome, you made me a genius. Somehow, despite all of the flaws you put into my personality, I have managed to maintain a stable romantic relationship, and apparently that's thanks to you, too. So why, please, for the love of all that's holy, why did you give me a costume that makes me look like a black feminine pleasure product?"

Luminescence: "So... my powers change so often because you actually have five different versions of me just so that you can have me wearing lots and lots of different slutty outfits? Sugar, you're weird."

Julie Slater: "My life... is all because of you? Everything in it is because of you? You *******!"

This thread reminds of indie comic I stumbled across, were a bunch of D&D like characters realize that there whole exsistance is based on the purpose to satisfy the whims of their teenage creators. Can't recall the name off the top of my head, but I thought it was amusing. Also reminds me of an episode Fairly Odd Parents, were Timmy enters the world of his hero, The Crimson Chin, and tells the Chin that he's just an imaginary character in Timmy's world.


Any ways back on track, I would say that about 85% of my characters, especially the villains, either all have some kind of mommy and daddy issues or come from broken homes of some kind. I would say that my villain characters would definitely want to kill me or slowly torture me till I beg for death. A few heroes would beat me to an inch of my life for the hell I created as their origins and the remaining would be angry and avoid me at all cost or think long and hard before doing anything to save my life.

Saw this thread and instantly remembered that video ages ago about where a player had his character "come to life" as such He was talking to her and everything!

Desmodas Siazar would probably say the following to me:

• I'm ok with you staring at my back side for hours one end, and yes I'm ok with running around half naked with only my Dark Armor powers to protect me. I'm mostly ok with running into impossible scenarios you like to test me with, but for the love Atlas can you switch my costume to something more modest when we're in the sewers...or the snow...or anything involving tentacles. It's really not a lot to ask.

Heeheehee... this is an interesting thread.

I'll start by saying that some of my other characters I have actually thought about the things that the author does to their characters, and some of the moral qualms about that. In particular, one of my D&D characters I gave her a backstory in which she had been violently assaulted, much like Red Sonja. It shaped her character, though, and made her who she ended up as. I still feel guilty about that, though. Which I suppose is good, I can at least say that I have respect for my characters, and try to treat them as such...

My sister also came up with a character who had the ability to travel between universes, and I played with the idea of her travelling to other fictional universes, and even knowing that her own was fictional. She would be interesting to talk to, I think, because she UNDERSTANDS that, more than just coming to that realization, it is an instinctual knowledge to her. (Or the entity she is bonded with, anyway)

As for my characters here in CoH:

I think Sandy would be embarrassed that I'm always staring at her butt. Not upset, it would just make her really shy and self conscious. She would probably be constantly glancing back to see if I'm looking, or covering herself up. She'd probably wear the costume in which she has pants on more often.

Alan Midnight would grumble something like "figures" and drop the subject. His AI Rachel would completely understand the idea of living as an avatar in a virtual world. She would also have exactly the opposite reaction to my always looking at her from behind. She would flaunt it.

Bloodwolf would punch me out for killing his wife (well, coming up with the story that his wife was killed, anyway) in order to make him into a vengeful vigilante. Then he would eventually realize that I can't bring her back, and he still has work to do.

Blue Diamond would probably punch me out too, just in general, but then slap me on the back and say, "It's been great fun, though. Write me a really cool one where I get to beat up all the bad guys next time." Jade Dragon would be curious and ask a lot of questions. He'd be particularly curious about the motives of Silver Bolt, his rival that I created, as well as my knowledge of the villain groups in the game. He would love to get his hands on Paragonwiki. (So would Bloodwolf, actually, and he'd probably break into the site sometime after learning of my existance)

Silver Bolt would be very frustrated at the idea of someone creating and controlling him, but would question the wisdom of killing his own creator. He would probably end up responding very much like Jade Dragon, grilling me for information. He would probably kidnap me for it, only to have JD come along to rescue me, and then I'd probably have the reconcile the two by saying I'd be glad to sit down and have a nice friendly chat with both of them.

Joe would say, "You could have at least given me some powers."

My characters that I have renamed and changed their character would say "Make up your mind!"

The level 1s I created to pad my SG would ask when I'm ever going to play them. Not to mention the ones I created to hold a name while I moved the original to another server. "What? I'm a CLONE? Do you know how lame that is? I'm freaking Ben Reilly! GAH!"

Wow, with so many of you afraid of what your characters would do to you if they knew that you are responsible, I think we have a serious case of creative abuse going.

On behalf of the afflicted toons, I've hired Chris Jenkins, Attorney at Law to file a class action suit aiming to improve working conditions for all toons everywhere.

And we are going to organize a union, and get some collective bargaining going too!

Kissage?

Mine love me.

Dal: "If I ever get out of here, I'm dragging the entire pantheon with me."
Me: "Even the parts that would.."
Dal: "Them too. You should have to suffer through this hell. I may even see if I can have you Shattered."
Me: "...Look I"
Dal: "Don't care."
Posikhan: "I told you so."
Dal: "Shut up."

I think what my character Grahm would say to my other characters would sum it up best:

"Okay, so he made us. Everything bad that's happened to us (and that's a lot) is something he thought up or had a hand in. But the same can be said for anything good (and that's not as much) that's ever happened to us.

"The important thing to remember, though, is that we only exist because he finds our lives interesting. Interesting enough to spend his free time and money to support our existance.

"So, be angry if you want. Be happy, be sad, feel about this however you want. But, for the love of the powers, DO NOT BE BORING! I rather like existing."

I got as note from my single player SG and VG, all it said was; "You can kill a god" - I'm really scared now

My main would be like others in that she would be saying,

"Take me ouuutt!! I want to ki....arrest something. Honest, they are not real spikes... it is a mental illusion... Come on, not another day job... I have had this safeguard mission for two years now, let me arrest some carnies.

Open open open"

A couple of my toons would give up their life of crime, like their backstory hints at, and become heroes. A couple of my characters would realize that someone gets it. And at least one toon, a port from my pnp Champions days would be,

"So you are the a hole that got my father killed? For what reason? Why I am going to cut you down where you stand."



There is at least one, in the Cockroach villain group, that would be asking the same question as the wife's.

"Who is this Billy kid, and why do you hate him so much?"

"What if your character were aware of YOU?"
Umm... time to be worried I think.
or maybe not? (lets see)

Lady Arete: So it is you... YOU I have to "thank" for being alive. You are... the God (*******)' [looks me up] 'You believe it is funny messing with peoples life? You know I've never been much of a believer and not sure I should start now, but I'll ask you "WHY?"'
Me: [incoherent babbling as I'm under a holdl and truth spell]
'Oh well atleast I am strong, beautiful and a chance of immortality in the long run. Even though you put me on [censored] learning curve. I guess I should thank you in the long run. I may hate you, but I hate the Circle mor... hang on. You made the story, thus you are the one who really killed... [Fire starts to glow from her eyes and a ball of fire starts to grow near her hands]
Me: 'oh.. oh'

At this point Cyrene shows up.
'Heya Lady, who is that one? Remember we are the good guys?' [she speaks with a soothing, calm and beautiful voice]
Lady Arete looks at Cyrene before saying: 'Oh, only our, your, my creator!'
Cyrene looks dumbfounded: 'Umm.. what, say again?'
Lady Arete: 'Alright deary. We are both just characters in a game, a simulation a world... this person created us. Who we are, who we where, our deeds, our powers... our lives. All of it!'
Cyrene gulps: 'You mean all the times ah've tried to get a boyfriend and they started getting mad... this one was behind it?'
Lady Arete: 'Yes'
me: [oh oh]
Cyrene: 'This person is why ah' never can loose control over mah powers?'
Lady Arete: 'Yes'
Cyrene: 'Even ... even the time when mah voice was taken away from me, mah kidnapping, the years ah've lost, the humiliation?'
Lady Arete: 'Definitly that one'
Me: [mutters afraid]
Cyrene: 'ARRRGH you... how could you.. you.. you... ' Tears emits and she sees i'm held and she starts pouncing on me. 'How could you .. you monster!' [Followed by lots of sobbing]

Triple Kick (part of a triples set I created with two other players): 'Where are my sisters?
Choir of the rest of the alts: When will you play us, why do you keep us forgotten?

[me breaks down crying as my heroes stand before me ready for the kill]
However at this point the walls crumble and my villains (oppertunistic bastards as they are) stand there. The mastermind and her cohorts and robots screen me from the heroes and kidnap me.
Amardin (my mastermind): 'Right Human, if you want to continue to live, you're going to need protection. You know us well enough and we can help protect you from those "heroes". You just have to do a little few favours.'
Me: ummm okaay? What would those be?
Amardin and her gang looks at each other and laughts: 'Create us better of course, but nothing of that Going Rogue thingy, you hear! Remember what happened to your heroes. Just let us continue, make us stronger, create some more allies for us, use your imagination... You know you want to!'

She gives me that smile and I know I'm doomed. Sorry world, in the end I hope my heroes can forgive me and hope they can save the world...

Dang it does not look good if our characters where to know of us... does it?

Lady . . . . . . . im worried

Actually, I think I can sum up ALL my characters' reactions pretty simply...

::Looking over the rules to the Steelclaw Tournament::

"Holy Jeez.... I've seen Federal Tax forms that were less complicated than this! Can we go back to being ignorant of your existence.... please?"

Stop staring at my ***.

Chaos Commander: So let me get this straight, you want me to follow around that guy and make my robots kill everything? Meanwhile you sit there and read Manga? You are so ****ing lazy! And what the hell was with that Recluse Strike Force where you kept making me revive only to get slapped by Back Alley Brawler again? You sadistic little...*FIRE*

Chaos Creator: Hey, I'm tired of sitting here while hundreds of fire imps run around. I know you want to save this mission for some reason but couldn't you do it with someone else? And why don't I ever get to kill things anymore? Not only that you sent me off to a new world (server) and made a replacement which was a CHICK? I HATE YOU!

Most of the newer ones would want to know why I'm so fascinated by watching them do flips via Ninja Run.