returnjourneymemes | FEBRUARY PLOTTING MEME

FEBRUARY PLOTTING MEME

Welcome to the Return Journey's first plotting meme!

In plotting memes, we share what we're doing next, our dream storylines, and any gentle workshopping on tricky subjects or character choices — essentially a CR Meme with an optional smidge of How's My Driving.

These memes are not mandatory, but they are highly encouraged because it's a place to plan CR and communicate your character arc in a way that can get others involved with yours. They're meant to be low pressure and high yield. When in doubt, ask questions!

Every month, we offer a few different prompts or character-building questions. These are entirely optional; you can absolutely just fill in the base form if you want.

Monthly Prompts

This month we're asking questions themed around consequences.

Think about the thing that your character desires most — if they failed to fulfill that desire, what would the consequence be? Does it change how they pursue their desire? Is it entirely personal, or beyond them, impacting others?

What consequences does your character need to grow? Consequences are crucial to telling a character arc for both inmates and wardens. Without them, there can't be stakes or tension, and without stakes or tension, there's no impetus to grow. What's a kick in the teeth your character needs? What are they robbing themselves of when they try to avoid these consequences?

How do consequences affect your character externally and internally? How do they react? What kinds of consequences are intolerable or tolerable, necessary or unnecessary?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Player: Tam
Contact:

weirdtakoyaki
HMD: use this comment please!
Notes:
-EST, fairly quick to respond to threads (depending on IRL workload) most active in the late afternoon/evening
-I like both positive and negative CR, I try to balance the comedy of my characters and their canons with more serious beats

Character: Rhys "Danger" Strongfork
Canon: Borderlands
Status: Inmate
Info: Rhys fuckin sucks. He's still deep in exuding that slimy, super corporate attitude and will either be schmoozy with you or an absolute dick depending on his first impressions of your character. Easy to get along with when you're on his good side, a pain in the ass when you're not. Rhys is always looking for advantages, and will stick closer to characters who have something worthwhile to offer him (even if that's just his ~~desperate~~ need for company.)

Plotting: Since arriving Rhys has gotten his nose broken, gotten into multiple public fights (that didn't result in more broken face bones, but only because of warden interference ((thanks claire)) ) and committed grand theft auto with some warden assault on the side which he was put into solitary for for a week.

He currently only has ONE SHIRT which he is pretty annoyed about, and has lost various privileges.

Goals: I'd like to work on deeper CR for Rhys, especially because at some point I think it would be interesting to learn about his "past self" in the setting (aka: TLV's OG Rhys) who some of the characters knew. He's going to have an existential crisis about this and I'd like him to have someone to confide in when he does.

Other than that: He hasn't faced a lot of (any, really) the shit that went down shortly before he came here. Handsome Jack, the space station crash that was 90% his fault, the former friends who died or he lost contact with in the fallout of that, and how Fiona wasn't wrong to leave him in the dust. I want these things to come to light slowly and organically but I'd like him to have to start dealing with some of it beyond the front he puts up currently.

And longterm: I play Rhys at his absolute worst, but that doesn't cancel out the route where he's at his canonical best (he can still be a cutthroat asshole, but he's kinder, more empathetic and wants to work alongside others.) Those traits are still in him, somewhere, but his crueler and more callus traits have become the ones that are dominant. The plan is to eck those traits out until they're his prominent ones.

Etc: Monthly prompts!

Think about the thing that your character desires most — if they failed to fulfill that desire, what would the consequence be? Does it change how they pursue their desire? Is it entirely personal, or beyond them, impacting others?

What Rhys desires most in life is success, and the way he's gone about conceptualizing this is in the form of being a Business Man (he has dialog where he talks about how when he was a kid he made tiny business cards to hand out, cringe.) Failing this isn't an option for him, because it will mean all he's been through (and all those around him that have been effected by his decisions) wasn't worth the cost, and I think he'd genuinely have a breakdown if it came to this.

It would be cool if he could learn that success is beyond his current idea of it, though.

What consequences does your character need to grow? Consequences are crucial to telling a character arc for both inmates and wardens. Without them, there can't be stakes or tension, and without stakes or tension, there's no impetus to grow. What's a kick in the teeth your character needs? What are they robbing themselves of when they try to avoid these consequences?

I think he needs to get to a place with people where he's dropped most of his pretenses, become vulnerable, and then screwed it up for himself. I think he needs to feel loss and not turn to spite as the recourse in order to move forward because while he's survived by using this method, he's ultimately ended up alone.

"It's lonely at the top" is how he's rationalized it, but he actually really needs and desires connection with others (beyond them being like, his little corporate posse where betrayal is just a matter of time) he's just shit at it because friends aren't his end game.

Rhys is the kind of guy to go into a situation saying "I'm not here to make friends" and then be hurt when he has no friends.

Edited 2022-02-26 05:55 (UTC)

volk thinks of rhys as like:

this guy is goo in the middle he doesn't want power he wants approval and acceptance

WHICH MIGHT BE THEIR BIG FUNDAMENTAL DIFFERENCE

but: im sorry i didnt push on the space station crash, volk was like "why hurt the dude's feelings?? i gain more here long-term from showing that i give a shit about not sticking my fingers in his obvious trauma"

WE SHOULD DEVISE A WAY FOR IT TO COME UP AGAIN

Oh Rhys absolutely wants power, it just contradicts the things he actually *needs* (real friends, community, etc. the things that will help him create something good for the universe instead of destructive)

And no worries! Slow burn is the intention, I’m sure it’ll come up again

FEBRUARY PLOTTING MEME

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