Getting In Character Challenge #4

[Bane]

Hello Everyone,

It's Dr. Crow here, also known as Bane. I'm going to astound you all with my teachings about getting in character. You see I find that one of the most important things in roleplaying is getting in character. Creating three dimensional characters in roleplaying is important. You see, it's very easy to create a character, but it's harder to create a three dimensional one. A 3-D character will have a back story that greatly influences what they do and how they are today. Furthermore, they are easy to relate to. They make one liners more interesting and posts as a whole more interesting!

Now how am I going to help you with this task you ask? Well, I'm going to give you a situation and you will describe how your character (either one you're using, or one you would like to test out) reacts to the given situation. Now let's get started shall we? Here are some things to consider:

What is your character doing?
What is your character feeling?
Does this situation remind your character of anything?
Are they blaming themselves for the situation?
Do they have someone to blame for the situation?
Did your character lose someone important?
Are they working for the person behind it all?

Situation 4:

There is a woman dressed in rather outrageous clothing who is making an announcement all across the city. Her face appears on screens everywhere. Her hair is curly and short. She looks as though she has been trying to hide her old age behind a serious amount of make up but has disturbingly failed.

"Citizens! Listen closely, many people have been sacrificed last night to the hungry beast known as Endrym. We must hold a ceremony and a feast for their sacrifice. If you have lost a family member or a close friend, I am apologizing to you now. The ceremony will be held in an hour, that is all."

The intercom goes down and there is one girl in particular who is looking rather furious.
"That woman has to die. She killed my mother! My mother is gone!" The girl screams in an outrage and she shoves past the crowd.

 

[Karsikan the Berzerker]

There I stood, crimson cloak about my shoulders, among the crowd but eternally apart from it because of the purpose within my genes. I listened to the announcement like everyone there at was outraged the same as them. Actually it was not that, unlike them I had not lost anyone, since coming to this world I had been alone.

What outraged me wasn't the act she had committed, like I've said I had no one. What struck me was that girl, a child, crying out at the injustice of fate. It was this girl who at once grounded me and spurred me into action. I am Astartes, that much is obvious, and it is our duty and our curse to guard humanity yet remain eternally apart from it. This girl, the one whom I am eternally indebted to, shattered that curse in one cry of outrage. From that day forth I would know a bond with humanity the likes of which I believe only he on his golden throne knew. I knew at this moment, the salvation of the world-ender was at hand, I stepped forward, and knelt before the girl to place a hand upon her shoulder.

"Do not fear little one," I told her, "They cannot hurt you any more."

It was because of her I found a reason to fight, again that isn't entirely true, she awakened a memory within me, a memory of a scared child on that world that knew only death, I knew I couldn't do anything else, because that girl was once me.

 

[Literary_Dreamer]

Rhian stomped her feet against the cold and flexed her fingers to warm them a little. The crowd that had gathered when the screen lit up to announce the governor's speech was restless. Aidyn, Rhian's older brother, was especially affected as he grimly watched the governor make her speech.

Rhian knew what had happened the night before, of course. How could she not? The screams had ripped through the entire city, leaving her too frightened to get any real sleep. She hadn't lost anyone, though, and so she watched the speech with the same detachment reserved for all of the governor's speeches. She didn't like the governor; the head puppet of the puppet government was what she called the crooked old woman.

The Endrym itself was the stuff of legend. People said that it had existed as long as time itself. Some foolish king had tried to harness it in the caverns beneath the city and had failed miserably. Now, the Endrym wouldn't leave. It controlled the government and demanded sacrifices every five years. If it didn't receive its sacrifices, it threatened to bring down the entire city. The stories of what had happened when it demonstrated its power were nightmares.

The Endrym didn't care what the puny humans of the city did after the sacrifices were made and so ceremonies were held and the sacrifices were revered as martyrs. It was considered honorable to die as a sacrifice.

Rhian's parents had been taken in the offering twenty years ago. She'd been too young to remember them and knew nothing more than the orphanage where she'd grown up.

Her brother was older and remembered much more than she did. His views bordered on radical and he was a part of an underground rebel group that meant to overthrow the government. Rhian was a peripheral member of the group because of her brother. She knew and liked the other members of the group but she wasn't sure she wanted to take down the entire government.

The speech was short but it was long enough to make Rhian antsy. She was eager to move on when it was over. She had things to do, after all, and living with the Endrym was just the reality of living in the city. It was a hard reality, she admitted, and she didn't like the way the government dealt with it, but it was an unavoidable one.

One poor girl in the crowd didn't think so. Even as the people began to disperse, she screamed her curses at the screen where the governor's face had just been. Rhian turned to her brother worriedly, knowing that this was just the sort of person he'd think to recruit. When she looked at him, she saw the flash of excited expectation.

"Aidyn…" she complained softly, touching his arm in a mildly restraining way. He wasn't listening and began moving through the crowd despite his sister's reluctance. Rhian didn't have the heart to stop him and instead followed at a distance.

When she caught up, she heard her brother saying, "We've all lost someone important to these monsters. I know the wounds are still fresh, but you have a choice to make now. You can just sit by and watch like the rest of these sheep," he motioned around at the rapidly disappearing crowd, "or you can choose to fight. If you really want what you said you want, meet me at the Black Sawn Bar after tonight, after the ceremonies are finished. I'll introduce you to some friends of mine who share our ideals."

This was the same speech Aidyn used on every new recruit. It hadn't failed him yet. Rhian could tell from the look in the girl's eyes that it would succeed this time as well. Aidyn gave the girl a practiced smile with just the right amounts of empathy and bravery. The girl smiled back weakly. He touched her arm lightly before he turned to Rhian.

"Ready to go?" she asked brightly, like she didn't know that he'd just suckered another grieving person into a radical anti-government group.

"Yeah," he answered. "Let's go home."

 

[Laggy Lagiacrus]

In a way that seemed to be rehearsed - almost disturbingly so - the guard pushed the charging girl down, knocking her to the floor with the side of his rifle. No emotion could be discerned on his face as he stood his ground, no remorse detectable - despite the fact that this, obviously distressed girl, was being treated like dirt. But that was what he was trained to do. He was the kind of person that, despite everything that went through his mind, followed orders to the last. Even if it meant betraying every moral fibre in his body, he held duty before himself, and his 'duty' was what he did.

The crowd immediately around her had mixed reactions. While most moved back instinctively, others held out their hands to help her up, while some just murmured incoherently. He himself assumed his normal position, ready and waiting to block any further attempts to breach the perimeter.
"How could you?" One person shouted, their fist gesturing wildly, "She's not even old enough to work full-time! And look what you did!"
Murmurs of agreement soon rose to shouts, and shouts lead to the beginning of a riot. This was standard - he did not react, his training and conditioning blocking any qualms he would have about shooting civilians. He didn't like it, but given the world's state, it was every man, woman and child for themselves. Firearms no longer slung across chests, the barrels were pointed into the masses, with fingers ready to pull at a split second notice.

Though the crowd could easily overpower through sheer numbers, the fact remained that losses would be too great to justify the means. They'd never get in - beyond the guards, there was a concrete wall that nobody would scale without help from the inside. Inside, even more security measures waited, more than a match for a disorganised mob. The press would just blame it on someone wanting to stir up trouble - with 'Mother' - as she was not-so-affectionately referred to - breathing down their backs, no form of media would ever be able to show it was started by a guard pushing over a young girl. Even the guard knew what he had done - set a spark to a powder keg.

The girl charged forward, screaming incomprehensibly as she did so. And, for a split second - no more than that - he remembered. He remembered before the training, before he became what he swore to destroy. He remembered the sparring sessions, ones where he'd always lose to his big sister, who'd always finish him off by running at him, fist pulled back, her rage channelled through a single shout. And, while he resented never winning, he loved to just be able to have a good time, not caring about how the world was going. But, he was a soldier now - he could not let the past get in the way of the present. No matter how much he hated having lost his sister, he knew he stood the best chance of living by following orders.

A burst of shots was fired, silencing the crowd, for but few long, tense moments. As the empty casings fell and the smoke poured form the barrel, he lowered his gun. The girl dropped to her knees, staring blankly at the floor. Something had caused her to stop abruptly, likely the gunfire. The crowd seemed to back away slightly, as his gun was once again aimed. At nobody in particular, but it could still shoot anybody.
"I will fire no more warning shots. Go back to your homes, citizens, and await further instruction."
He was a soldier first, and a lapdog second. And no good soldier murdered a civilian without sufficient cause.