Who let the meme sheep out?

[agoodmusekickin]

Pick a character* I've written and I will give and explain the top five** ideas/concepts/etc I keep in mind while writing that character that I believe are essential to accurately depicting them.

* Try to make it someone I've written either often (including characters I RP'ed) or recently in order for me to answer. [My addition: you don't have to! But if I've only written them once or twice, you'll probably get a shorter answer, and I may be coming up with it off the cuff.]
** May not actually be five.

Comments

[agonistes]

LOOMPAS

[agoodmusekickin]

1) At the moment there are three separate enclaves of Loompas. There's The Little Guy who lives full-time in Austin Powers' universe with Dr. Evil. There's the Rogues who are the Milliways Cleaning crew. Finally there's the rest of the population of Loompas that live beneath Milliways somewhere.

As a result of the time they've spent a part, all three groups have divergent cultures. In fact there's really only a handful of things they still have in common.

- Singing
- A strong desire to serve/be needed/be useful
- That they don't like you

Meet the Rogues:

- Dreads: the leader
- Glasses: the brains
- Billy Idol: the muscle
- Hat: the sniper
- Braids: ...that guy. He's just, always that guy.

2) The Rogues have never been the masters of their own destiny. They are part of the last generation born under the heel of The Wonka, and as such they don't really know what freedom is, since when the whole lot of them escaped to Milliways they replaced one Dictator with Another.

Freedom can be a dangerous thing to the uninitiated.

3) Humanity is far more pliable in the Wonka-Verse because Dahl is a twisto. Sometimes the Loompas forget that you can't just up and stretch people from any old world.

4) At their core the Rogues are quintessential adolescents. They love doing what they love to do, and they'll drag their feet, hem, and haw when they're forced to do something they don't. If there's a corner to cut...they will flay that corner on the spot.

5) There are two Loompas who do not fall under the Everyone Sings umbrella: Tommy Lee Jones, who can actually speak without lyrics, and The Little Guy who's entire vocal range is divided into "Oompa" and "Loompa."

[lunamystic]

Raph! :D

[agoodmusekickin]

1) Raph is fiercely loyal to his family, to a fault. Especially Mike, who is one of the few capable of talking him down when he's in one of his moods. From where he's standing the only person who can be disrespectful to his family is him.

2) He is mildly learning disabled, particularly when it comes to understanding the written word. As such he's slower than his brothers when it comes to reading and writing. Learning by doing has always come easier to him, so he tends to lean towards activities that showcase that. Things like punching people who make fun of him for being stupid.

3) There is something non-typical about how his mind works, and he could probably benefit from counseling and/or medication, but the chances of him seeking either out are so non-existent that they're laughable. He views the quickness his mood swings to anger as a defect, and he's ashamed of it. In his eyes he's broken, and there's nothing to be done about it but make sure that when he does have an episode he's pointed in the direction of people who deserve it, and not those he loves.

4) Raph has very definite ideas of what constitutes personal space, and if he crosses into yours it's for a reason. Chances are that reason isn't going to end well for you, unless you're family or Abigail.

5) He grew up poor and as a result knows the value of a dollar. Raph doesn't really have a need for fancy things, but he's very protective of his personal belongings.

[ceitfianna]

Aang!

[shati]

Dammit you beat me!

Appa

[agoodmusekickin]

Appa really did eat Momo.

[agoodmusekickin]

Aang has been the hardest of these to write, as evidenced by the fact that it's been nearly a week since I made the post.

I don't know that I even play him all that well, so I'm probably not the best person to be making some sort of END ALL/BE ALL list of this, but this is the stuff I think about when I make an attempt:

- He's immune to recognizing most dangers. It's a combination of his airbending abilities as well as the fact that he's 12. Jump off a mid-flight sky bison several thousand feet above the ground? Sure! What could possibly go wrong?!

- Aang is genuinely curious about damn near everything.

- He loves damn near everything.

- Wrapped up in all that love and curiosity and joy at living is a very scared little boy. He was traumatized by the reveal of being the Avatar. While he does work through that trauma, the memory of it is what helps him to keep the Avatar State in check....when he gets the ability to control that.

- Did I mention he's 12, because he is. This is important, I feel, for getting him right: remembering that he's a kid. And not just that, but that he KNOWS he's a kid.

- He is the Laughing Avatar for a reason.