I am him, he is I.

[October Knight]

"Losing yourself" In a fictional character can impact how you behave in your real life.
This study says

tldr (Just read the first short paragraph to get the basic rundown)
Serious behavioral changes can come from our hobby and fiction in general.

my question is

Do you act or behave like the characters you create for RPs after creating them? Or do all your characters, by default, mirror your own real life personality?

Interesting concept.
​

 

[Azazel]

Most of characters mirror me in different lights. I don't think I've ever created a character I tried to be. Instead to help bring a character to life I might imprint part of myself into him so he's more real. But in a way when we create through writing don't most of us ask, what would I do here if this were real? I do sometimes carry the character in my head to better plot out the story, or my next post. That's about it great topic it brings method acting to mind.

 

[Zen]

Very interesting concept indeed.

I don't think my behavior changes when I roleplay but I feel like my thoughts change. It becomes very apparent with my darker characters because roleplaying to me is acting with text (which I know is different to Iwaku's collaborative writing theme). My behavior does change when I am actually writing a book, especially my diction. I'll start talking a little bit like my characters but that normally goes away rather quickly. When I make characters I make them with a piece of my actual personality and then branch off from there. It's my way of identifying with them.

 

[Spammy]

I method act a little, but only a little, and mostly it's in how I walk, I think. But I wouldn't say I've ever lost myself in a character I've made or tried to act like one, because... I know so completely that I am not those those people. I put a little bit of myself into each character for relatability, but that is dangerous, because if you're not careful that is how the lines between real life and the RP get blurred and you turn into a creep.

Although to me that article is less about losing yourself in a character and more about taking away the intended message of stories about other people, "Go vote" or "Don't be discriminating." People who read stories about people who can't vote want to vote, and people who find out the protagonist of the story is gay when they thought he was straight learn a lesson about assuming and all that good stuff.

 

[Parson]

For me, this isn't a "concept": this is reality. Coming from and being part of the furry world, I've seen this happen countless times. This isn't uncommon. It's happened to me as well. When it happens, it certainly isn't acting because acting is fake, a non-reality. When this occurs, the person doesn't even realize it until someone points it out.

Typically it starts with the easiest traits to change: speech, gait, and clothing. As it "worsens," body language changes and core beliefs begin to be molded. It just progresses from there. You can always tell when someone is trying to take on their character: those trying are clearly acting, their actions are not fluid, their conversations are often stilted with delayed responses, and they often appear uncomfortable in their own skin. Slips often occur in those who are trying to be their beloved character. When this happens for real, it's very subtle at first and it's an evolutionary change that can be permanent or temporary.

In terms of personal experience, it's happened in varying degrees. My clothing has changed (permanently) and some parts of my personality have taken on characteristics of characters I've written. These characters shared nothing in common with me. A few events come to mind that are glaring examples of how my personality has changed through roleplay. If one were to compare my core personality now versus, say, high school and show it to someone else, they'd say they were two completely different people.

Another thing I have noticed is this is more prevalent in those who don't like their current lives/situations. Roleplaying is an escape in as much as an exercise. If a person hates their current situation and they fall in love with a character they've made, they may begin to adopt (unconsciously) their character as themselves in an attempt to better their situation. I've witnessed this change a few times. Luckily, it's always been for the better but they almost always end up being an exact duplicate of their character.

 

[Malkuthe Highwind]

I can honestly say that experience-taking doesn't really work for me. I think one of the primary reasons is that I have a strong sense of identity. I know who I am and I know where the character stops and where I begin. I think it might be because I have theatre experience and I know that when you're on that stage, you're not you, you're a character. The same goes for RP-ing. I don't play as me writing for a character, I play as a character writing his/her own story and that knowing that distinction, I can keep myself from integrating these people into myself.

 

[Altair]

Really interesting haven't thought about that yet.
Well in some way they mirror me, but sometimes I try to create something that is completely different, opposite, perfect or even out of the (normal) world (psychopath or something)... And at that moment I find myself wondering how someone like that 'thinks, 'breaths', 'views' or even walks. Sometimes I get lost in that but it always stays in my head, I never see myself as my personage (luckily even) and it always stays someone else (alter ego maybe even?). Also catch myself on making personage who are kinda look-alikes and this is really easy to play, but boring at the same time, just as playing 'yourself' is easier. But then again I think that ropeplay gives a person the opportunity to be someone/something different (or to alter yourself into something you want to be in real life), same concept with internet in general. Someone who won't speak up in real life will make a personage who always speaks up etc.etc. Well this is my view and I'm sure that this isn't for all people (or maybe even unconsciously done by some) but I'm sure that it's a majority.

 

[Zorilla]

The answer is "yes".

I have had characters that were so fervently alive and different that after writing the two paragraph minimum (which I set for myself back then) I was thinking like them, shared their emotions and at some times even had their cronic depression. I could feel myself getting lost int heir personality their being their ideas and thoughts i'd pause for long moments of writing to think like them, ironically I do this irregardless of what i am writing so even on this post. I didn't read the survey because I TL;r the TL;dr and am a lazy person like that sometimes. however, I'd imagine it has to do with the amount of creativity that one must squire to be a 'book reading person' or perhaps, as Malcom Gladwell would suggest, we are being primed to think a certain way. We sarond ourselves with this fictional information for up tot ten minutes and by the time we leave it we are 'primed' to feel or think a certain way. (So the book "Blink" for further information on Priming written by Malcom Gladwell)

I've also had characters, as shameful and unprofessional as it was of me (or i feel so) at the time, that were direct extensions of X side of me. Where X became their likeness, breathe and being. It was a fun thing to have happen, it was alsos omething drastically different that I didn't like. Eventaullyt he RP char evened otu and became like lited above where they were seperate from my being but their own at the same time. I mean I won't lie and say None of cmy chars have nothing to do with me. I just try and keep a level of distance fromt hem I deam 'safe' and because of this I try not to get too attached. Sometimes it works otherwtiems it's a dramatic failure.

 

[Darxaia]

I always create characters that have personalities that derive from some part of myself or my life. I can't play a character that I can't relate to. However I do notice that the more I play a bars get and the more in depth their story becomes, the more my personality will shift to better align with that character.

For someone like me, who roleplays to escape the harsh realities of this world, and to forgot the stresses of my personal life for a while, "becoming" your character is, in a sense, "ultimate attainment".

I roleplay to become someone I am not because, for just that while, I am someone who has (in a sense) complete control over her life and herself. I do not have that in reality, no one does. This is also why I game, it just doesn't quite have the same "immersive" effect for me as roleplay can.