Players of Gaia -- DO YOU SELF-INSERT?

FESS UP!

Not at all. I don't even feel like I live in the Gaian world.	30.3%	[ 67 ]
No, I am okay with being just another face around town.	40.7%	[ 90 ]
I am just as important as an NPC. My impact on the plot is there in spirit, though not in manga.	15.4%	[ 34 ]
I am personal friends with most NPCs, and I am romantically involved with one of them. It's cool, though, no one else likes that NPC.	5.4%	[ 12 ]
I am Gaia's savior, loved by all. I will wed both Louie and Ian, and rule Gaia as a double vampire queen.	8.1%	[ 18 ]
Total Votes:			[ 221 ]

[Xashowd]

Pie

Xashowd

I can guess at the first two, but what's Cliff?

As in "throw off a cliff". wink

Scythes, Watermelon, and Flowing Breezes.
These are the things that bring me Joy.

Ahhh...Well, I don't think there's any character I'd throw off a cliff. I like each of them for different reasons.

I am Xashowd, the Nocturne Zephyr!

[Sadismancer]

I've always immersed myself with the Gaia storyline. It's how things seemed to be back in the day. Immersion based, I mean. Not so much these days, if at all. There was lots to do back then when it came to the storyline, especially with getting involved. I joined in completely with the G CORP storyline in any ways I could and did lots of role play as a G CORP-er. I will always see myself (Gaian self - not necessarily my avatar, mind you, as it changes too much) as a G CORP employee.

Oh that fateful day ten years ago this halloween...

[MingSao]

I've never given Ming a backstory or anything, but I'd like to think of her as a citizen of Gaia. I joined E-Corp during the whole Easter Bunny vs Diedrich event and even though I'm not super active in E-Corp... I can see Ming hanging out in E-Corp HQ on the world map. 3nodding

[Red October Archangel]

Self-inserting your Gaia character into the plot. Did you ever do it, and do you still do it now? Is it something you're proud of, or ashamed of?
Back when the Gaians in Black were still a thing, yeah, I self-inserted my character into the plot. Nowadays, though, with the GIB being a moribund shell of its former self, I see no real reason to self-insert.

What about other people? Do you like seeing or reading about other people's characters? Which ones do you like, and ones get on your nerves? Could any of them pass for real Gaia NPCs?
I used to enjoy reading about other GIB agents. I'd think some of them could definitely pass for real NPCs.

Speaking of, do you like that we now have a way to do just that, through Tickets? Do you want one just to fulfill a little piece of your secret Mary Sue dreams?
I'd definitely like a ticket, if only to satisfy my own morbid curiosity.

If you could write your own plot -- and I don't mean a Ticket event, I mean a full fledged plot with a big manga update, a two-week event, new characters and a lasting impact on Gaia's canon storyline -- what would you write? Would it star your character, or even feature them at all?
I'd actually like to feature some of the settings and characters we've seen in various RIGs. Something involving the Enigma Institute would be particularly appealing to me, if only because I'm a huge Danganronpa fan. In any case, my character would not be featured at all, except maybe as a face in the crowd.

Hard mode: Do you ship your character with your favorite NPC? Do you judge other people who do, or are there some NPC/OC ships that you actually like?
Hell no. I don't particularly care for those who do.

Shag, Marry, Cliff: Edmund, Louie, Nicolae?
Leave all three alone.

If I started a "fanthread" for OCs, celebrating all the ways we self-insert ourselves into Gaia's plot, would people join in? ... or would I get run out of the GCD?
There's nothing stopping you, so go for it.

[Azura Cantarella]

Pie

Azura Cantarella

I hardly show it but I still do feel interested and immersed in the Gaia world and plot. I guess it's because, as you said:

Quote:

...Gaia made it easy, since it's so open-ended and so many potential roles one could fill.

And that's what I love about it. biggrin I mean, more worldbuilding details would be nice but what we've got still feels workable and it's less restrictive than building characters for fandoms that have a lot more detail backing them.

I have made an OC out of Azura, but keep it mostly in my head. I've only built chunks of background details surrounding her and simply think in terms of how she'd react to the events that roll around. It's nothing all too extravagant either (I think, besides the point about her indulging in world-jumping ouo;; ); I mostly play her off as just another face in the crowd, having minimal interaction with NPCs. She's not romantically interested in any of them, but the most she will admit is that she finds Edmund and Louie hot pieces of a**, haha. She adores Rufus because she's a cat lover, Jack Frost is a childhood idol to her, and she takes offense in being mistaken as part of "that Kuro rabble". Her ancestors' origins can be traced back to the tribes that were ruled by this guy.

On the subject of others' characters, um, I wouldn't say I go out of my way to learn about them but it's nice running into bits of info. This topic was a blast to read through and it's interesting what fellow users have come up with. surprised If there's one I positively wish I could throw an Emerald Ticket at, it's Bellecoso. /)_( fudge I'm going to sound like a stalker here and I'm terribly sorry about that but I've admired the character from afar, the thought and development that user put behind her before she seemed to have lost interest in connecting her to the Gaia world.

whoa dude what is this what do you think you're doing here

... ... ... I mean uh

long time no see!

You've brought up an interesting thing here with that mention of world-jumping. Not really what my topic was about, but... we do see a lot of characters popping in from other worlds. For sponsored advertisements and as player avatars. And we already know there's an Alternate Gaia... I wonder if Gaia can actually be considered a crossover world?

More on topic, I wonder how many 'outsiders' we still have?

i have always been here, a lurker. watching. ninja

Nice seeing you around again! ^u^

Yessss, Gaia as a multiverse hub has been my headcanon for the longest time. 8D It's the easy answer to why not just one character but several versions of the same character can turn up. And if we're going to count more of the little CI plots, then there isn't just one Alternate Gaia, there's several. Not to mention, Loyal seems to keep finding these otherworldly gates, and the Impractical Gala is a thing that happens annually. Add to that the (possibly) many players playing off their own OCs as world-jumpers, and with all these trans-dimensional/temporal channels, I figure it makes the fabrics of time and space surrounding Gaia kinda wonky and prone to spitting "outsiders" into the world.

There could very well be more than we know, and they perhaps might have even been around longer than we think. surprised

Quote:

Also, I have to agree -- Bellecoso really does deserve an Emerald ticket. (Personally, I find her sig art adorable.) Kind of a shame those Ticket things aren't really distributed on a 'deserve' basis.

It is. D: I'm going to have to add that I was totally on board Cresento x Bellecoso, aaaaaaahh.

On a side note, it was something I forgot to mention before but I also miss the old days where there were users starting discussions in the GCD in-character. I can't grasp how it garnered the negativity it did and I still find it kinda sad. I mean, yeah, I've seen the reasoning but it's like..."man, people, why you gotta be like that." D:

By the way I'd totally support the "fanthread" idea of yours. smile How would it turn out, a place where people would post a few details or short bios?

[Pie]

Kid Jak

Hard mode: Do you ship your character with your favorite NPC? Do you judge other people who do, or are there some NPC/OC ships that you actually like?


Answer: no I do not ship myself with Logan or Jack though I have been shipped with Jack by others. Halloweens can get weird.

Fish Don't judge though, If it makes them happy I am happy for them.

My NPC Ships are Jack and Easter Bunny I Love JackRabbit so much I wanted Halloween 2013 to end with them Kissing so badly.

I like Loie and Moira I think they are good for each other.

I think Sasha might of shipped her self with ever other NPC though.

It's funny, the way people dogpile on ships! I was actually by far not the first to ship Pie and X... I mean, I always thought X was pretty cool, but I was actually pretty embarrassed when other zOMG!ers started shipping it. ... for a while. Then I came around.

Still, fish and pumpkins... sounds like a weird recipe. Then again, I don't eat much seafood, and the only pumpkin I usually eat is in pumpkin pie. Maybe it's tasty, and I just don't know it.

[Kid Jak]

Pie

It's funny, the way people dogpile on ships! I was actually by far not the first to ship Pie and X... I mean, I always thought X was pretty cool, but I was actually pretty embarrassed when other zOMG!ers started shipping it. ... for a while. Then I came around.

Still, fish and pumpkins... sounds like a weird recipe. Then again, I don't eat much seafood, and the only pumpkin I usually eat is in pumpkin pie. Maybe it's tasty, and I just don't know it.

Why would you want to eat our Love! gonk

[That Slender Man]

A few years back, before the Gaia Cash system, I was immersed in the Gaia lore and the Gaia announcements. I roleplayed and everything.

Now? Not so much. I'm definitely more along the lines of an observer. I can't see myself ever supporting Gaia again. They have gotten lazy, and only want our money.

Least to say, the only NPC I'd ever ship with my character was Jack. emotion_kirakira

[Pie]

Kid Jak

Pie

It's funny, the way people dogpile on ships! I was actually by far not the first to ship Pie and X... I mean, I always thought X was pretty cool, but I was actually pretty embarrassed when other zOMG!ers started shipping it. ... for a while. Then I came around.

Still, fish and pumpkins... sounds like a weird recipe. Then again, I don't eat much seafood, and the only pumpkin I usually eat is in pumpkin pie. Maybe it's tasty, and I just don't know it.

Why would you want to eat our Love! gonk

Because I love to eat?

[Pie]

Sorry about that! Work gets very crazy very quickly. It's going to be better starting in November, supposedly...

Anyway, back to all these replies!

seikueon

I liked how, in the B/C, we used to describe our shops as being in a corner of Durem and stuff like that. I liked how Gaia was a tapestry of our joint experiences. Lanzer wanting the Olympics on Gaia. Being depicted in the manga when the Masque revealed himself. When the Zurg invaded. The labtechs making fun of us for multi equipping on our heads...

I used to be a part of Gaia. I don't know when that changed...

You know, it was a secret desire of mine that Gaia would take advantage of the fact that Durem, Aekea, etc. were bigger cities and give us a bigger, more RP-able map. One with districts and the like, with named streets and some non-shop attractions... I would've gladly found a cozy corner for Pie's abode. heart

I worry it changed because Gaia changed. Maybe not even recently... but over time, with the growth of the community and Gaia wanting to cater to a wider audience. I feel like it's an important part of the Gaia experience, though, and honestly I'd like to see it revived.

[Pie]

Azalea Star

My avatar is usually based off of my internet-wide persona, so she's a self-insert technically but mostly she's just a random fairy in the background. I imagine her as one of the many people that went up against the Animated and is still trying to get people to /do something about it./

I've never understood 'shipping with established canon characters. Not my OCs, I mean; I think a lot of canon 'ships are cute. The closest I ever get to that is my characters being a friend/random acquaintance/student of some NPC somewhere, which is almost never relevant anyway. (I don't mean I have anything against OC/NPC ships! I just have personally never done it or understood the appeal.)

I'd probably get more involved if I weren't so timid about RPing with people. XD

Well, I think there's a few reasons for doing it.

- The first one, and the one that most people think of, is true self-insertion. You see a character you really like, that you're a total fangirl of, that really gets your engine going. Basically, you have a fancrush on them. But no one wants their feelings to go unrequited, so they start creating their own elaborate fantasies to explain how they wouldn't necessarily have to be.

- The second (and one I'll admit I'm sometimes guilty of) is also born out of admiration for the character, but is less about direct gratification and more about... well, wanting to see them get a 'happy ending', I guess you could say. This is more common than people realize, I think -- I don't really watch Nostalgia Critic stuff anymore, but there was a Nostalgia Chick episode about the most popular male characters that pointed out how "women like a fixer-upper". Angsty guys, troubled souls, bad boys who we can still sense the good in. We want to swoop in and become the sunshine in their lives, the shoulder they can lean on, the arms they can run to when they just need a hug. And since we can't do it directly, we write a character we can send in instead. This can actually make a good story if it's done right, and if not... it can get real ugly real fast.

- The third, of course, is for the same reason you'd ship any other two characters: You really, really like the dynamics, and you get invested from an outsider perspective. This doesn't happen as often as the other two, but it does happen. Frequently with RPers, at least in games where both OCs and Canons are welcome. Less frequently with fanfiction writers who start off writing a general fic and then discover partway in that the sexual tension's a lot higher than they originally planned. And sometimes in really unexpected ways... like when the NPC's AI in a certain MMO starts treating your character with special preference.


I'm sure there's others, but those are the ones I think of.

I like to think Pie and X is a combination of the second and third. But I'm sure some people see it as the first.

[Pie]

Meushi

Hmm...I think I'm both with a little more Inserted! I certainly like to sit back and watch what's going on. But I also totally put Meushi in the background LOL

I don't ship her with any of the NPCs....expect for maybe Stein...but that's another story!! I do however super enjoy the idea that she's this weird little...someone who pops up once in a while and make all the NPCs go "....eeeeee....meushi........ neutral " And I just sit back and think about it and laugh and laugh and laugh.

Of course I totally have Headcannons(fanfics) of users and how they fit into the world of Gaia, and who I ship them with and how and why and all of that.....Yes....*looks about the thread* AAAAALL OF YOU....MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAAA!!! scream twisted

That... that seems implausible. Do you know how many users there are? And how many ship permutations there would be as a result? gonk

Meushi

Oh also, I totally have a weird ship of Gino and Rina together. She writes and he draws and they need to make a webcomic..... eek

Also I've started to ship Rina and Stein....I...it started off as them just being BFFs and I just don't know where it went wrong..... sweatdrop

Actually I just ship way to many people together....




Also....Devin and Lance are CANNON!! *runs off*

I think you mean canon. Unless you mean that they're launching projectiles.

... I... um, would not want to get hit by those projectiles. gonk