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 Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2011 12:14 am
It's great to feel heroic. Like an unfazed, unchallenged, invincible force. However we mustn't forget the value of being able to portray weakness and fear. Anecdotes of hopelessness can be some of the most gripping moments in writing. If done right.
This should work pretty simply. I'll post a scenario that assigns you all a setting, and situation, and the type of character you will play.
From there you act out the scene however you want. Describing what your character experiences. However the objective here is to be able to portray helplessness, so it would be wise to think about things like the following:
What factors are actually "scaring" my character?
What factors would actually "scare" me in real life?
What are first three things we express concern about during fear?
Are there any habits my character has to deal with his/her panic?
How would my character's mind process all this? Realistically? Poetically? Or would they just panic?
And so on. Posts do have to be relevant to the scenario, but not necessarily to each other. You may make multiple posts during the same scenario.
Everyone should feel free to make constructive criticism on what a post did well, and what you feel can improve.
Also, I will update the thread with a new scenario once everyone seems ready to move on. So let's begin.
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Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2011 12:31 am
Scenario:
Setting: Large city, night
Character type: Citizen
Scene description: A superhero is in hot pursuit of a dangerous villain. This villain is on a rampage through the streets obliterating terrain, structures, even people. What's worse is, you're in the line of fire. You're running away with a large crowd, but the villain constantly seems to get closer and closer. You see no cops and no hero. It's dark out and all this commotion makes it hard to keep a sense of direction. You stand no chance in facing the threat, and your chance for escape seems to be thinning by the second.
*Remember, you can provide details in your post where they are absent here. Notice that no details were provided for the setting or characters and in this case what type of superpowers are being used to terrorize people. That is all up to you.
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Posted: Sun Dec 04, 2011 5:19 pm
We were all suppose to be simply shopping. It's the holidays, get some presents on sale while you still can or put a few things on layaway, that's all. So simple, so mundane, so normal.
As I run with the rest of the crowd down the grimy city street only a faint trace of regret for having come out at this disastrous lingers in our minds as instinct falls back on that old fight or flight routine with flight winning over.
Somewhere behind us there's a defining crash and the screech of metal folding in on itself as a car is flung into a building and debris is sent flying.
Just keep running, just keep running, just keep running.
My lungs burn and a painful stitch shots through my side causing my step to fumble, or was it the Salvation Army donation ringer dressed as Santa who pushed me?
Just keep running!
I've somehow managed to drown out the sounds of those screaming around me; my heart pounding in my ears helps a lot. My foot steps down on something soft yet solid, I don't try to think of what it could have been.
Just keep running!
A wicked laugh rings through the winter air via some rather crappy stereo speakers, you would think with a super powered mechanical suit (that looked like some loser's interpretation of what a Zoid would look like if there was a Cerberus model) they'd have better speakers. But with the villain known throughout our city as Hades getting ever closer, the mecha shooting and biting through everything in it's path who in the hell cared about crappy speakers?
Keep running.
The mob mentality that had taken over all of our senses couldn't afford the task of telling us to spread out and hide among the basic command to run, just run, outrun the rest until....
Until what? Our illustrious Captain Powerfist was nowhere to be seen, the police...where the hell where they? Why wasn't anyone helping us? Why wasn't anyone stopping this?
Tears of pain and panic filled my eyes as I ignore the feeling of my burning legs screaming in protest at every step that I take.
Just keep running.
Why didn't I just stay home?
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Posted: Wed Dec 28, 2011 12:44 am
Why did it have to be this City? Why did it have to happen today of all days?
She held her baby close to her chest, keeping it's small head against her breast. Maybe her heartbeat would stops it's crying. The endless crying was scarier to her than any of the explosions ever could be. Just a teenage mom, never having left the city in her life. She didn't know anything, and she definitely didn't know why this was happening. She didn't care why either. But she did care about her life, and even moreso, the life of her baby.
The crying didn't stop as she ran down the street, her breathing laboring more and more with each step. She didn't know what to do next, but keep running. Heat washed over her back as another explosion blasted off, replacing fresh air with dust and a hot mess of burning oxygen. She coughed, as did her baby. She looked down mid step, checking to see if the newborn was ok.
She tripped, in this vital moment.
She did manage not to land on the baby though. She called that good luck. But now, she looked up seeing the thing that inspired fear in the people still running. There was no way for her to describe it later in her life. She simply couldn't.
The crying in her arms stopped sounding. Looking down, the woman saw her baby reeling away, it's head split open.
This was fear. This was the penultimate of sadness's. She would never be able to describe another pain like watching her baby, once a crying focal point of her world, dead in her sooty arms. No tears came. No scream either. She was silent, and her world turned in upon her, just as if she was being filmed in a movie. Back lit by red, and put in a great position to have her body highlighted by the flames licking up the buildings. Everything went silent in her world. She stood up, holding her bleeding baby in her arms.
She simply turned, and started running again.
No longer was she afraid for her baby. She was afraid for herself.
She wanted to live. She didn't care for the hunk of flesh that was her child. Her child was somewhere else now. this was it's vessel, and she was now the carrier. Nothing more than that.
But she still had life. She breathed in the hot air. She smelt the burning metal and flesh, fresh in her nose. Her eyes suffered from the blasts of light, and her ears pounded with each explosion. Her thighs burned, and her chest was sticking with the middle pains of a stitch. She labored for each breath. A mess, not even looking human anymore.
She still held onto her life though. She wanted it.
She wanted to live. No matter what.
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Posted: Thu Feb 23, 2012 3:24 am
^.^
Wonderful, you guys are magnificent. I'll see if I can come up with another scenario.
Also, I want to stress a new rule. You guys didn't do anything wrong this just came up in my head just now. *ahem*:
YOU MAY NOT HAVE YOUR CHARACTER COMMIT SUICIDE IN THESE POSTS.
I'm not sure how that coincides with Gaia's ToS, but the point of this exercise is to practice the behavior of despair, or rather, being powerless. The focus isn't: "Life sux." It's more about: "Damn, we're in a tight spot."
However the exception is that suicide may be contemplated by your character.(If that type of roleplaying is authorized by Gaia's ToS... I'm not sure.) Anyway, I want this topic to be productive and supplementary. Not a place to spew an-hero antics.
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