[Talk] Themes and Motifs
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Motifs? Are we in a bioinformatics class? As if I haven't had enough of them...
Jokes aside, I find myself not necessarily planning for themes for my characters at first and leaving many things up for interpretations, but latching onto them later on and finding themes for my characters when I need to define them more or - for example - when I'm stuck with writing and characterizing them.
And so I end up with a lot of themes! The obvious one I mentioned already is Avril, Arianne and Charlotte being Uxie, Azelf and Mesprit: something that actually came up randomly and was totally unplanned for, but that I can use as inspiration to define my three girls more~
Another theme that works in a similar way is the Weather girls in Trainers... where Arianne and three other NPCs that are important for her (Courtney, Serenity and another one I can't mention just yet) are associated to each of the four typical weather effects in Pokémon.
That's definitely the most important ones, I'll have to think a bit more about the individual examples and such... 😇
Jokes aside, I find myself not necessarily planning for themes for my characters at first and leaving many things up for interpretations, but latching onto them later on and finding themes for my characters when I need to define them more or - for example - when I'm stuck with writing and characterizing them.
And so I end up with a lot of themes! The obvious one I mentioned already is Avril, Arianne and Charlotte being Uxie, Azelf and Mesprit: something that actually came up randomly and was totally unplanned for, but that I can use as inspiration to define my three girls more~
Another theme that works in a similar way is the Weather girls in Trainers... where Arianne and three other NPCs that are important for her (Courtney, Serenity and another one I can't mention just yet) are associated to each of the four typical weather effects in Pokémon.
That's definitely the most important ones, I'll have to think a bit more about the individual examples and such... 😇
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Well since I've only really done Pokemon RPs so far (and probably will continue to for the foreseeable future honestly) I like going for some kind of theme in my character's Pokemon. Now I didn't really have motifs of any sort in-mind for my first RP character, Gwen, but NPCs, important and minor alike, I try giving some sort of motif in their teams. For example, Bethany, a reoccurring NPC in Trainers, is a rich girl from Galar so she uses lots of regal and elegant Pokemon. Stuff like Alolan Vulpix, Galarian Ponyta, Honedge... and then there's Feebas representing her ugly side. Even if it evolves into what's allegedly the most beautiful Pokemon in the seas, its still an ugly-ass Feebas, which is fitting given Bethany was adopted into a rich family and has a thick Scottish accent to contrast her appearance.
Do mono-types count as a theme/motif? Because I don't need to say anything for June other than she's a bug catcher and, well, that's kind of it.
Do mono-types count as a theme/motif? Because I don't need to say anything for June other than she's a bug catcher and, well, that's kind of it.
I'd say that counts!
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Nope! I'd say I'm quite clear of anything that could be described as that, at least consciously. I try to make every new character fit their setting and shape them from what makes sense there + what I'd like to play this time around. I don't think there's been any motif that would make people go Ah That's Riki's Character. Or? xD
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I don't think I have recurring ones across RPs- not that I've particularly identified yet anyway- but certainly each individual character has themes in there as they move through the story.
A lot of Casey's stuff revolves around fear. It wasnt meant to, not really, but as I've opened up his internal world, a lot of his actions and focuses make a lot of sense if they have fear driving them. Being afraid of Ghost-types to the point of it affecting his relationships and his ability to participate in things is the most basic and prominent, but there is also the idea that he fears helplessness. He has made himself physically strong and makes sure he is fed appropriately to maintain health so that he can manage any situation. He learns everything he can so he has knowledge and experience on his side for everything. He leans on others as little as possible- and that ties into underlying distrust that anyone will take care of him, and fear that he will be proven right.
A lot of Casey's stuff revolves around fear. It wasnt meant to, not really, but as I've opened up his internal world, a lot of his actions and focuses make a lot of sense if they have fear driving them. Being afraid of Ghost-types to the point of it affecting his relationships and his ability to participate in things is the most basic and prominent, but there is also the idea that he fears helplessness. He has made himself physically strong and makes sure he is fed appropriately to maintain health so that he can manage any situation. He learns everything he can so he has knowledge and experience on his side for everything. He leans on others as little as possible- and that ties into underlying distrust that anyone will take care of him, and fear that he will be proven right.
I also don't have any recurring themes or motifs really - although I have noticed that I have a weirdly high percentage of characters with some sort of bird-related thing going on. I wouldn't count this though as it's more coincidence than anything.
When it comes to characters with strong theming and motifs, my Spear character, Catherine, is probably the best example of any of my characters. Her use of a rain-based team and the consistent rain and storm symbolism and metaphors used in my posts with her have very much been intentional right from the beginning. Rain clouds block out the warm brightness of the sun and make the world seem much colder and greyer which is a direct reflection on Catherine's mental state and inability to see the good in the world. Storms are destructive, violent and chaotic which is representative of the internal struggle she has between her idealism and reality and the fundamental clash between her altruistic ideals and the isolationist tendencies that she is now actively working against. Even her battle style, which is all about controlling the combat environment and turning it to her advantage, relates back to her desire to reshape the world into her ideal version of it.
My character Prim's theming wasn't quite as consciously intended as with Catherine, but it's there. She can shift between being human or a bird because she was quite literally mashed together into a single being with a magical bird as a kid. Birds symbolise freedom, which fits both Prim's free-spirited and confident nature as well as the growing shift in her motivation towards making life better for Touched and Valbestian people. There's more tied to that symbolism but it'd spoil stuff we haven't touched on in the RP yet that I'd rather keep to myself in case any of them read this.
Elek, one of my d&d characters has symbolism literally built into his combat mechanics. Although he wields a destructive weapon in the form of his gunblade, he's generally outstripped as a consistent damage dealer. What he is good at though is taking/avoiding hits and protecting other people. He has a high AC that protects himself as well as the Interception fighting style which allows him to reduce the damage done to his allies. His next few levels will be multying in Artificer which will tie back to his story but will also allow him an even greater range of support abilities. This is pretty fitting for him because his priority is always other people first. He's desperate to free his occupied home city and those like it and he always prioritises keeping others safe first and foremost. He's also pretty unflappable, stubborn and resilient (ties nicely into his own longevity). Originally, he struggled a lot with walking the line between taking his desire to save people to an unhealthy and dangerous extreme and walking that line is still a theme that comes up sometimes with him, but he's largely grown past that stage now, so it mostly comes up in the form of wanting to stay off that path and keep others from walking it too.
When it comes to characters with strong theming and motifs, my Spear character, Catherine, is probably the best example of any of my characters. Her use of a rain-based team and the consistent rain and storm symbolism and metaphors used in my posts with her have very much been intentional right from the beginning. Rain clouds block out the warm brightness of the sun and make the world seem much colder and greyer which is a direct reflection on Catherine's mental state and inability to see the good in the world. Storms are destructive, violent and chaotic which is representative of the internal struggle she has between her idealism and reality and the fundamental clash between her altruistic ideals and the isolationist tendencies that she is now actively working against. Even her battle style, which is all about controlling the combat environment and turning it to her advantage, relates back to her desire to reshape the world into her ideal version of it.
My character Prim's theming wasn't quite as consciously intended as with Catherine, but it's there. She can shift between being human or a bird because she was quite literally mashed together into a single being with a magical bird as a kid. Birds symbolise freedom, which fits both Prim's free-spirited and confident nature as well as the growing shift in her motivation towards making life better for Touched and Valbestian people. There's more tied to that symbolism but it'd spoil stuff we haven't touched on in the RP yet that I'd rather keep to myself in case any of them read this.
Elek, one of my d&d characters has symbolism literally built into his combat mechanics. Although he wields a destructive weapon in the form of his gunblade, he's generally outstripped as a consistent damage dealer. What he is good at though is taking/avoiding hits and protecting other people. He has a high AC that protects himself as well as the Interception fighting style which allows him to reduce the damage done to his allies. His next few levels will be multying in Artificer which will tie back to his story but will also allow him an even greater range of support abilities. This is pretty fitting for him because his priority is always other people first. He's desperate to free his occupied home city and those like it and he always prioritises keeping others safe first and foremost. He's also pretty unflappable, stubborn and resilient (ties nicely into his own longevity). Originally, he struggled a lot with walking the line between taking his desire to save people to an unhealthy and dangerous extreme and walking that line is still a theme that comes up sometimes with him, but he's largely grown past that stage now, so it mostly comes up in the form of wanting to stay off that path and keep others from walking it too.
~~Does varying degrees of depression count as a theme? because hoo boy~~
the only real theme or motifs i can think of having for characters right now are jebediah and porter.
Jebediah was a magical cowboy that was always running, pushing himself to go further and do more at the cost of his own life. he had immense hate for both himself and the outlaws that had taken his family from him and was on a warpath to either getting revenge or finding a permanent, early grave. His main form of combat was short range teleportation and the ability to control how his bullets flew through the air. He wasn't particularly powerful, but he pushed himself to the point where he would begin to bleed from his eyes, nose and mouth as he forced his body to continue to do the magics that he otherwise wouldn't have been able to. Typically this was in the name of protecting someone, but he'd done it a couple of times to collect on bounties as well that loose ties to the main guy he was after. he was definitely more the antihero type because of some of the fucked shit he would do and the people he eventually hung around to better fulfill his goals.
then there's porter - a boy that was born and bred to be a monster and who has accepted (thanks to finding himself raised by 'civilized' goblins for an extended period of time) that just because he's a monster that doesn't mean he matters any less or should be hated any more than everyone else. he uses magics that he's crafted based off of the abilities of other creatures/monsters and if not for being in a world filled with conflict and strife, would likely just be a researcher of some type since he spends most of his time with his nose in books and the only chances he gets to go out and see the wildlife up close its because they're there to kill it, or keep from getting killed by it. he also has some of those self sacrifice traits of jebediah, though his are more... from not being sure about why it is exactly he still exists, and trying to find meaning in that question by sacrificing himself for the survival or good or someone else that is more deserving.
the only real theme or motifs i can think of having for characters right now are jebediah and porter.
Jebediah was a magical cowboy that was always running, pushing himself to go further and do more at the cost of his own life. he had immense hate for both himself and the outlaws that had taken his family from him and was on a warpath to either getting revenge or finding a permanent, early grave. His main form of combat was short range teleportation and the ability to control how his bullets flew through the air. He wasn't particularly powerful, but he pushed himself to the point where he would begin to bleed from his eyes, nose and mouth as he forced his body to continue to do the magics that he otherwise wouldn't have been able to. Typically this was in the name of protecting someone, but he'd done it a couple of times to collect on bounties as well that loose ties to the main guy he was after. he was definitely more the antihero type because of some of the fucked shit he would do and the people he eventually hung around to better fulfill his goals.
then there's porter - a boy that was born and bred to be a monster and who has accepted (thanks to finding himself raised by 'civilized' goblins for an extended period of time) that just because he's a monster that doesn't mean he matters any less or should be hated any more than everyone else. he uses magics that he's crafted based off of the abilities of other creatures/monsters and if not for being in a world filled with conflict and strife, would likely just be a researcher of some type since he spends most of his time with his nose in books and the only chances he gets to go out and see the wildlife up close its because they're there to kill it, or keep from getting killed by it. he also has some of those self sacrifice traits of jebediah, though his are more... from not being sure about why it is exactly he still exists, and trying to find meaning in that question by sacrificing himself for the survival or good or someone else that is more deserving.
I really like Porter's whole "we're all monsters" theme/motif/schtick that keeps coming up. It's a really interesting viewpoint to observe.
For Ruben (My Pokemon Spear character) the theme was responsibility. His responsibility as public figure, his responsibility as the older brother to his siblings, his responsibility as an athlete, a pokemon trainer a boyfriend...his 'responsibility' as 'the rich friend'. That was always what drove his story and while I might have overdone it and burned myself out with the number of angles I tackled the theme from, it made for some of my favourite RP storytelling I've ever done.
For Logan (My Seeds character) the theme was Loss and fear. The character would go to extreme lengths to cling to what he had or what he thought he had, to the detriment of himself and everyone around him. He starts the story giving a stolen churro to a kid he sees as worse off than him, but proceeds to irreverent, over excited ball of blue chaos whenever his friendships, golden honey or horribly fragile ego fall under threat. All jokes aside, his was deeply rooted in his desperation to keep his friends around due to his character wound being his abandonment issues.
Other characters have them, but probably not as strongly. Luther (D&D character) has themes of pride and family but that's mostly surface level...he's a D&D character in a West March campaign, so it's probably better that way. Can't really pick and choose the conflicts he'll face, so naturally it's harder to touch on those themes as frequently as I'd like in the way that I'd like to.
For Logan (My Seeds character) the theme was Loss and fear. The character would go to extreme lengths to cling to what he had or what he thought he had, to the detriment of himself and everyone around him. He starts the story giving a stolen churro to a kid he sees as worse off than him, but proceeds to irreverent, over excited ball of blue chaos whenever his friendships, golden honey or horribly fragile ego fall under threat. All jokes aside, his was deeply rooted in his desperation to keep his friends around due to his character wound being his abandonment issues.
Other characters have them, but probably not as strongly. Luther (D&D character) has themes of pride and family but that's mostly surface level...he's a D&D character in a West March campaign, so it's probably better that way. Can't really pick and choose the conflicts he'll face, so naturally it's harder to touch on those themes as frequently as I'd like in the way that I'd like to.
There's little more satisfying to me in a story or character than incorporating themes and bringing them out in a character.
Raphael Allard from Spear was a difficult one to get right. He was very ill and desperate to earn enough money to get the treatment he needed to stay alive. His heart illness made it a delicate balance between staying safe and pushing himself on his journey to make it to the top, the place he felt he needed to be in order to survive. The themes of death, time, apathy and hope were ones that stuck with him for the entirety of the story and like others have mentioned they were balanced with the levity of his pokémon, each of which represented a different issue he had to face bar one. His Magikarp Carmen represented his struggle against feelings of inadequacy and being born disadvantaged, his Litwick the looming struggle against death and how lonely that felt, his Eevee an intense determination to fight tooth and nail and becoming unapproachable to some as a result. The only difference came in Vito, his starter pokémon, an adorable little Spheal. Vito is arguably more popular with readers and other writers than Raphael himself is. Yes Vito is adorable, energetic and silly which people love, but he's also Raphael's foil. In a world where everyone has their problems and Raphael more than most, Vito is optimism and the embodiment of that theme of hope. By loving Raph unconditionally and always pushing himself to be the best he can purely for the sake of that love, Vito figuratively (and literally sometimes) drove Raphael to chase him towards a better future. It's because of that hope that Raphael really came to trust other characters in the RP and it helped balance the depressive reality of his situation, allowing me to write a convincing portrayal of a serious matter in a way that maintained a belief that everything would be okay. I'm proud of Raphael for that reason, but in a weird way, I think writing Vito was a greater success.
Now my most recent character, Carson O'Connor is here... and to say he's very different is a bit of an understatement. The themes surrounding him are far apart from Raphael's and interestingly to me are less directly related to his character. Mystery, truth, comedy and crime are words I use, as a prodigious but bumbling and somewhat childish detective Carson is very talented at his job but is held back by his inability to take things too seriously and his excitable antics. He nerfs his own talents by being too eager to reach a satisfying conclusion, he really longs for that moment of truth and revelation to the point where he can slip up and make mistakes. Carson hasn't had the development Raph has yet, but he's definitely going to hit a different vibe as a character that's a little more fun and a little less dramatic to read. Even still, I'm sure as time progresses and he develops so will the themes related to him. My main plan is for him to start eschewing the somewhat selfish desire for the satisfaction of a revelation and come to understand the value and importance of what he does for the people around him... but it's still all up in the air right now so I'm excited to see where his story takes him.
Raphael Allard from Spear was a difficult one to get right. He was very ill and desperate to earn enough money to get the treatment he needed to stay alive. His heart illness made it a delicate balance between staying safe and pushing himself on his journey to make it to the top, the place he felt he needed to be in order to survive. The themes of death, time, apathy and hope were ones that stuck with him for the entirety of the story and like others have mentioned they were balanced with the levity of his pokémon, each of which represented a different issue he had to face bar one. His Magikarp Carmen represented his struggle against feelings of inadequacy and being born disadvantaged, his Litwick the looming struggle against death and how lonely that felt, his Eevee an intense determination to fight tooth and nail and becoming unapproachable to some as a result. The only difference came in Vito, his starter pokémon, an adorable little Spheal. Vito is arguably more popular with readers and other writers than Raphael himself is. Yes Vito is adorable, energetic and silly which people love, but he's also Raphael's foil. In a world where everyone has their problems and Raphael more than most, Vito is optimism and the embodiment of that theme of hope. By loving Raph unconditionally and always pushing himself to be the best he can purely for the sake of that love, Vito figuratively (and literally sometimes) drove Raphael to chase him towards a better future. It's because of that hope that Raphael really came to trust other characters in the RP and it helped balance the depressive reality of his situation, allowing me to write a convincing portrayal of a serious matter in a way that maintained a belief that everything would be okay. I'm proud of Raphael for that reason, but in a weird way, I think writing Vito was a greater success.
Now my most recent character, Carson O'Connor is here... and to say he's very different is a bit of an understatement. The themes surrounding him are far apart from Raphael's and interestingly to me are less directly related to his character. Mystery, truth, comedy and crime are words I use, as a prodigious but bumbling and somewhat childish detective Carson is very talented at his job but is held back by his inability to take things too seriously and his excitable antics. He nerfs his own talents by being too eager to reach a satisfying conclusion, he really longs for that moment of truth and revelation to the point where he can slip up and make mistakes. Carson hasn't had the development Raph has yet, but he's definitely going to hit a different vibe as a character that's a little more fun and a little less dramatic to read. Even still, I'm sure as time progresses and he develops so will the themes related to him. My main plan is for him to start eschewing the somewhat selfish desire for the satisfaction of a revelation and come to understand the value and importance of what he does for the people around him... but it's still all up in the air right now so I'm excited to see where his story takes him.