Doormat Three: Return of the Welcome

[Flower]

*gently vacuums*

[TheLastOrchid]

*gently vacuums*

❤️😊😄

Wriggles tickleishly

[Sara Nilsson]

Applicant I think is the best term. But I don't know if there is an official one. Welcome welcome however. I see Flower already got the old vacuum cleaner out. Maybe we should do that with all applicants? I have to suggest that, make sure they don't drag in dirt ^^

[TheLastOrchid]

Sounds like a plan. But next time, please - no corner attachment.

[CrownedSun]

I'd assumed that Flower was vacuuming the floor, mind you, but Sara DOES bring up a good point.

[TheLastOrchid]

I'd assumed that Flower was vacuuming the floor, mind you, but Sara DOES bring up a good point.

Assume nothing!

But that said I assumed it was a reply to my own comment about lying down on the floor.

WHICH OF US WAS RIGHT? *gasp*

[Flower]

[TheLastOrchid]

Not just any FBI!

[Flower]

Lol now the theme song is playing in my head.

[TheLastOrchid]

Lol now the theme song is playing in my head.

Similar, but I have the Mulder and Scully song by Catatonia instead. :)

[Lilin]

Hi all! It's Lilin, newly registered here, just thought I'd check in on the doormat and get to know everyone a bit more while I'm still on the waiting list ^^

I hope everyone is having a great start to the new year! It's been a hectic holiday season for me and I'm sure others. It was for the most part nice, but there is something nice about being on the other side of it all.

Also wanted to say thank you to the community here because everyone in my intro thread and shoutbox have all been very welcoming!

[persephone325]

Hi all! It's Lilin, newly registered here, just thought I'd check in on the doormat and get to know everyone a bit more while I'm still on the waiting list ^^

I hope everyone is having a great start to the new year! It's been a hectic holiday season for me and I'm sure others. It was for the most part nice, but there is something nice about being on the other side of it all.

Also wanted to say thank you to the community here because everyone in my intro thread and shoutbox have all been very welcoming!

Welcome!

Glad to hear you're enjoying yourself while waiting.

[Lilin]

Very much! Been browsing the 'Players Wanted' and thinking of characters. It's been a fun exercise of my creative muscles ^^

[Sara Nilsson]

Always fun to come up with character concepts. Just the time needed to write it down that is missing I find.

[Lilin]

Oh yeah! writing it down, I knew I was missing something...

Yeah it would be so much easier if I could just copy and paste from my head to the character sheet. Then again whenever I do get to write it down it helps me think of more new, little details that I didn't think of while I was, say, browsing for a faceclaim lol

[Sara Nilsson]

LOL! it sure would be nice to just pour it out from the brain. Too many times something sounds amazing in my head, but when I try and write it down.. not so much :)

[Lilin]

Definitely! Like I know when a character is fun and I want to play them, but when I have to type it out I'm suddenly fumbling over my thoughts. I (think I) am much better at writing in a character's voice than writing about from a more outside perspective. it just feels soooo clinical, if that makes sense

[Sara Nilsson]

Oh I agree!! 100% Also I just hate describing a character, it always feels like.. I dunno.. a vague list of bodyparts and clothes ^^

[Lilin]

omg sameee. Like there's only so many ways I can describe the Attractive Parts of my characters while keeping in the voice of a character sheet. Everything in a character sheet is just so much more fun when it's in the context of the actual game

something that does help with making describing a character more fun though--at least for me--is kind of bouncing the character off of the GM/the other player. Like "oh, what if we did this" and "yeah that sounds hot, how about this, too?" but even then, I end up still having to plop the back-and-forth onto a character sheet in a way that makes sense.

[Sara Nilsson]

Hmmm might have to try that next time.

[Lilin]

Let me know how it works for you! Making character creation a more collaborative process also really helps get you on the same page with who you're playing with.

[Dale]

For a specific RP I always think first " What sort of character will suit this RP?" and "What do I like to play?"
Then:
What have I not played that sounds fun?

I bounce it around with my partner for the RP a little and find the character talks to me. That is, I get an idea of what the character likes and has no preferences about.

I've never used character sheets per se but I do write a backstory for them including basic description of body parts.
Once I have an idea of what they are like as creatures/people I figure out what has happened in their past that has made them how they are. I always hope that my character has something to learn that will crop up in the RP and changes them.

The hard part, I find is the starter post or replying to it, describing their shape and body parts. I'm still trying to make that sound less like obligatory descriptive info that ought to go into the first post I make.

[Lilin]

That sounds like a good process! And yeah, the first post can always be a little difficult. What I try to do is describe the character and their features in regard to whatever action they might be doing in the scene. Depending on the RP it might add the extra spice to it that will help it stand out from just listing things out.

[Dale]

Yes, Lilin. That's a good plan. I always think about how it reads to set my writing partner on fire to respond to the post.

If I remember rightly, the accepted elements of a scene are exposition, dialogue, action and whatever I've forgotten off the top of my head. I've not had a second coffee to really wake up yet! First posts have to do a lot of heavy duty weight carrying!

[Lilin]

First posts definitely have a big job to do but thanks to their sacrifice all the posts after tend to be a lot easier ^^