returnjourneymemes | MAY PLOTTING MEME

MAY PLOTTING MEME

Welcome to the Return Journey's 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 motivations.

What is your character's core motivation for being here? If they're resistant to being here, what meaning could they find aboard the Peregrine? Is there any CR you'd like to drive that kind of revelation?

What would motivate your character to grow, for better or worse? For inmates, how could a warden get through to them or do the opposite? For wardens, how could an inmate play them to their advantage or give away their intentions?

Are there any scenarios you'd like to put your character in? What would make them react? What would the consequences be? Are there certain kinds of events or CR that could facilitate this?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Player: Jenn
Contact: victoryfanfare on plurk
Notes: Ya girl has been doing 50+ hr weeks for [stares into space] a month??? I don't know!!! I'm on the last week of it (theoretically) but suffice to say you have my apologies for my absence.

Character: Travis fucking Touchdown
Canon: No More Heroes, specifically between NMH2 and Travis Strikes Again
Status: Warden or Inmate
Info: Travis is an eccentric, foul-mouthed punk with a perverted streak and a thirst for blood, known for greatest hits like "will fight anyone who is down for it (or pisses him off enough)" and "foam wife" and "that one ATV joyride that left a warden beaten." He has recently been paired with William and down to clown for general mayhem. Ask him about his taste in video games!

Plotting: Travis has been zoning out thinking about how he missed Bhujerba because he went a little cray-cray in the previous port and contemplating how hard it is to look cool when The Powers That Be know exactly where to prod in your inner workings. Planning to do an open post in the next week or two.
Goals: I want this motherfucker to be a good dad, actually, and become basically anything but a murderer who isn't making other people rich by ruining other people's lives.

What is your character's core motivation for being here?
Travis has no problem being here. While it's not exactly ideal –– he'd rather be free, thank you very much –– he's got some responsibilities back home he's not too hasty to get back to, and "retirement" on the Peregrine is a lot easier than "retirement" in backwoods Texas. He's getting tired of what feels like takeout but it sure beats, um... child support? Bending to his wife's demands for him? Killing people for profit? He'll take his time, thanks.

That said, Travis doesn't particularly think he has anything wrong with him. Sure, murder is wrong, you don't gotta tell him twice, yadda yadda, but as far as he's concerned, he's dealing pretty well with the hand he's been dealt in life, and he's not like other murderers. He kills people who kill people. It's fiiiiine. (It's not fine.) But since he doesn't think anything in particular is wrong, he's without much in the way of direction on how to close that chapter of his life and keep it closed.

For this, Travis could use some patient CR willing to tease out the hows and whys of being an assassin and what makes it different (or the same) as other forms of m u r d e r. He also needs to develop some productive ideas of what to do with himself in the future that aren't bloodbaths; right now that looks like video games and beer and road trips, but some more concrete picture of change being possible and what potential might be out there would rule.

What would motivate your character to grow, for better or worse?
Things are effective on Travis:
- Manipulation –– look, it's not good for him, but it's effective. He doesn't think things through or question things much, so he's easily swayed. Carrot-and-stick approaches work pretty good too, especially from wardens; he's likely to just kill/brutalize an inmate who tries to go "stick" with him.
- Real emotions. Travis has some strong feelings about people who want everything to be logical, pragmatic, efficient, robotic, etc; he's big on Feelings, even if he doesn't like to show it. Being around people who can be genuine and earnest and emotional –– regardless of what the emotion is! –– inspires him to open up a little more. He'll match what he gets, basically.
- Fighting. Some real ugly shit gets worked out in fights, to his experience. He does learn from it, especially with follow-through; people who fight him can get a lot out of him by following up.
- Be nice to his stupid foam cat, and be nice about kids. (Actual kids, not teenagers. Y'all are old enough to make bad choices.)
- He's got some pretty intense feelings about capitalism, gentrification, corporations, Disney-style conglomerates, and all sorts of things, but he doesn't really act like it, much less apply it. He's got baby-revolutionary shit going on but has never really given it the time of day because he's too busy melting his brain with chiptune music. Exploring what he could actually do with those things would be good for him.
- Just keeping him busy and engaged. A bored Travis is a Travis who is causing problems or settling into some lone-wolf-sad-sack shit.
- Food lol.

Things that don't work with Travis:
- Soapboxing or being lectured; he thinks it's a little cringe and is likely to tune it out.
- In the long run, Travis does not care if people are rude to him or combative; he actually kinda likes it because it's genuine, and he will come back for more! People who shy away from hard feelings or confrontation will frustrate him, and he's not likely to take anything they say seriously.
- Ignoring him. Check out on him and he's just going to assume he has carte blanche to do whatever he wants.

Are there any scenarios you'd like to put your character in?
I'd like him to kill someone!! Very cool to have to confront someone he killed, normally they, you know, stay dead!

MAY PLOTTING MEME

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