tenshinoakuma | Man, now I'm drowning in a flood of notifs (Reply)

I'm guessing cast strength is supposed to be how well they work without castmates? (instead of... how many castmates you've got right now)

[current]

character: Yoshiya "Joshua" Kiryu (20) [

fallingjunkyard]
series: The World Ends With You,

theskytides AU
muse strength: ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ (Ridiculously strong. Pretty much any situation, it's easy to find his response to. Just that anything particularly manipulative, I have a few problems with. You could say that he's my primary, and anytime I'm unsure of how to react ICly, I tend to default to Joshua. It gets... problematic.)
cast strength: ■ □ □ □ □ (TWEWY is great in that pretty much all the characters can work really well on their own and they AU really well, especially when you're a lone canon warrior like I was at the very beginning. Add the fact that Joshua is a fiercely independent guy, who does what he wants, when he wants to for bonus points. But while Joshua doesn't need a Mr H specifically, he needs a Mr H figure in his life)
plotting capabilities: ■ ■ ■ □ □ (Pretty high, but I'm too lazy to make use of it fully)
likelihood of drop: □ □ □ □ □ (There had been a time where I considered dropping him, even with all his CR. It's because he's such a slithery outy character that no matter what I build up while RPing, it'd be so easy to drop it all. It just goes to show that even with a lot of extremely fun IC interaction, it won't hold me back from dropping. That said, it was during a time I felt RPing was a drag and a time where I wasn't feeling the best, so it's a good thing I just weathered it through; as I've said before, I'm only ever dropping Joshua when I drop RPing)

character: Atsuro Kihara (18) [

justplugit]
series: Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor,

theskytides AU
muse strength: ■ ■ ■ □ □ (I have his personality and thoughts (mostly) down, but I still have to work on his voice. Add the fact that I'm lazy to canon review... so yeah)
cast strength: ■ □ □ □ □ (Atsuro's shown that as much as he loves his friends, he's used to friendships drifting apart after time and circumstances. It makes it pretty easy for him to stand on his own and make new friends, but he needs to have a Naoya figure in his life for him to look up to, and if I want him to develop such that he overcomes his confidence issues, Atsuro needs an MC Atsuro-route figure to help him out there. Maybe Souji? fft)
plotting capabilities: ■ □ □ □ □ (IDK, generic nice guy, so I don't really plot with him. But at the same time, I've also been lazy to plot with him)
likelihood of drop: ■ □ □ □ □ (It's nice having a genuinely nice guy in my line-up for once, but I have to admit I'm far more lazy in getting activity with him than I am with my other two. If I ever get too swamped in stuff that I have to drop one, Atsuro will probably be the one to go. That said, it's unlikely I'll drop him soon.

character: Toto Sakigami (16) [

to_kill_a]
series: Deadman Wonderland,

theskytides AU
muse strength: ■ ■ ■ □ □ (The primary reason it's not higher is because canon's still ongoing, and we don't know Toto's reasons for doing anything at this point. We know he's involved in stuff and he's obviously doing stuff but what we have no idea. And it makes me a little more wary and cautious than I would otherwise)
cast strength: ■ □ □ □ □ (Toto's pretty independent, so he stands fairly well on his own once you break the attachments he'd formed in canon so he can form new, similar attachments. It sounds a little self-evident and applicable to anyone, but for Toto, I feel it's something you have to do if you're in an AU world with no castmates. Toto plays fairly well with anyone)
plotting capabilities: ■ ■ □ □ □ (When he's a little more established, anyway. He similar to Joshua in that he's a bit of a troll sometimes, albeit a creepy one, and seems to actively stir up trouble in canon. Except in canon, we don't know WHY yet, so I'm a bit loath to stir up anything major yet. However, there's someone he wants to shank, but I keep forgetting to talk to someone about that)
likelihood of drop: ■ □ □ □ □ (Not at this point. It's a bit difficult tagging things, since I've essentially cut him off from half the interaction he could get by tagging logs exclusively with him (since I feel he wouldn't use journals at all, despite the potential for information). But I don't think I'll be getting rid of him soon)

[Dropped/Unused]

character: Yoshiya "Joshua" Kiryu (15) [

fallingjunkyard]
series: The World Ends With You,

pokeology_rp AU
muse strength: ■ ■ ■ ■ □ (This Joshua's pretty similar to TST!Joshua in that he's not tied down to a particular place and is less mature and more bratty. And while he's got the unattached to humanity thing that all my Joshuas have, his Shibuya is a little different; it's his Pokémon. The biggest reason my ability to play this Joshua is not as strong as TST!Joshua is that while Joshua has an interest in people, he doesn't have much interest in helping them, due to being young, bratty and having his Shibuya being Pokémon that are excellent at pranking. That small difference makes it difficult for me to grasp this Joshua's world view)
cast strength: ■ □ □ □ □ (Again, he doesn't need any of his castmates, except for some kind of Mr H. figure to keep him in line. However, this Joshua is probably the least attached to his Mr H. of my Joshuas, due to his mobility around the land at a young age and his attachment to his Pokémon. He's far less likely to listen to or consult with Mr H. as well)
plotting capabilities: ■ □ □ □ □ (feels kind of like genaric pranking kind of stuff, since this Joshua's a lot more immature and not as good at trolling than his older counterparts)
likelihood of drop: ■ ■ ■ ■ □ (There isn't all that much I want to do with this Joshua, actually. I guess it's because he's got this kind of... static feeling to him. He already has his Shibuya, and he doesn't have any of that internal conflict he has between his love for people and his hate for people's tendency towards ignorance (in his opinion) that makes the other Joshuas have. This Joshua sees humanity's problems and just shrugs and moves on, because he only really cares about his Pokémon. So yeah, this Joshua is really static, which makes him kiiinda boring to play)

character: Yoshiya "Joshua" Kiryu (15, ~21?) [

fallingjunkyard]
series: The World Ends With You
muse strength: ■ ■ ■ ■ □ (I'm pretty comfortable with canon!Joshua ! But I'm not sure how to deal with the problem of him being away from Shibuya in most canon RPs. See, he could be pretty chill with the idea of being in another world and just kick back and relax until Mr H. comes and bails him out. Or something. He just knows that he'll return home, and isn't one to stop enjoying the world around him. No, it starts becoming an issue when he's been in the RP for about a month a more, and having Joshua really determined to get home because he's got Shibuya's underworld to run starts becoming in direct conflict with what I, the player want, which is to have him NOT get home. And at that point, I'm not sure what to do with Joshua)
cast strength: ■ ■ □ □ □ (same deal as before, Joshua can pretty much function well without his castmates, but he does have some attachment to his little Players and Conductor in addition to Mr H.)
plotting capabilities: ■ ■ ■ □ □ (Assuming some part of his godly powers are kept, plenty of potential. But as always, I'm a lazy bum)
likelihood of drop: ■ ■ ■ □ □ (if I could be bothered keeping up with a canon game, Joshua would be (mostly) pretty easy to play. But again, after a month or so, Joshua would be in DETERMINED TO GET HOME mode, and he won't give up. The thing is, if the current TST plot is anything to go by, I don't think I could stand playing Joshua's DETERMINED side for long. It's a problem of getting locked in staticity. While Joshua outwardly might not seem to be behaving much different, most of his actions are going to be fuelled by determination to get out. It's static. Compare to TST, where his reasons for doing things change a lot, due to both plot and his freedom)

[sry, no image for you]

character: Akihiko Sanada (18) [

puuuuunch] (note: journal no longer belongs to me)
series: Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3,

theskytides AU
muse strength: □ □ □ □ □ (Ah well, to be honest, I didn't really have Akihiko's muse to begin with. I picked him up because I thought I could pick up his muse along the way, like I had done with Joshua and Shiki and Bidoof and Ika-chan. Buuut it turned out I couldn't, and that, ultimately, was the reason for my drop; it shouldn't have taken hours to write a simple journal post that even after I posted, didn't feel like Akihiko)
cast strength: ■ ■ ■ □ □ (Akihiko could easily build a SEES-like relationship with his crew over time, but the biggest difference between the crew and SEES would be that the crew's goals don't coincide with SEES' and thus, his own. Akihiko wanted to get stronger, and Shadows provided a good way to do so, but while that might've been his reason for joining SEES in the beginning, Mitsuru's mission also became his. At the very least, he would need communication with the rest of SEES. And then there's Shinji)
plotting capabilities: ■ □ □ □ □ (IDK. Aside from punching people in the face?)
likelihood of drop: ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ (The low muse strength is pretty much the reason for the high probability of dropping if I reapped him)

character: Bidoof Bidoofson (14) [

derpenter]
series: Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time/Darkness/Sky,

theskytides AU
muse strength: ■ ■ □ □ □ (I used to think it was pretty strong, but then I actually played the rest of the game, most notably his special episode, and realised that while the voice is right, the underlying motive and personality was wrong. Now, it's probably not as strong, especially since Bidoof's backstory touches on similar feelings as I have. Technically it shouldn't affect my playing, in fact enhancing it since I'm so familiar with that kind of failure feeling and Bidoof's main adorableness comes from him moving PAST that, but it does affect me; I don't want to revisit those depressing feelings before Bidoof gets his character development, but after his character development, Bidoof feels very static to play)
cast strength: ■ ■ □ □ □ (While it was fun to derp his way through the Vic II, Bidoof really needs to have friends who accept him for all his failure. They don't need to be other Pokémon neccesarily, but he definitely needs that kind of love and friendship from a GROUP of people, not just one)
plotting capabilities: ■ □ □ □ □ (lol aside from accidentally messing peoples' things up, not really)
likelihood of drop: ■ ■ ■ ■ □ (If I apped him again, I forsee him being fun for a month or two, but not much longer. Partially because I apped him post character development (pre-character development canon wasn't available at the time) and he feels like a really static character after that)

character: Ika-chan (8) [

ika_kid]
series: Ika-chan,

theskytides AU
muse strength: ■ ■ □ □ □ (l-lol well her canon isn't exactly your usual RP material. It's sort of like RPing from old SHMUPs in that story is very minimal and you concentrate on gameplay. So yeah, a lot of her characterisation is creative and logical bullcrap, really)
cast strength: □ □ □ □ □ (Pretty much every other character in Ika-chan is unappable, and she's just... a squid who swims around and helps randoms. She barely remembers anyone after she's done helping them)
plotting capabilities: □ □ □ □ □ (Lol baby squid)
likelihood of drop: ■ ■ ■ ■ □ (Well, for one I'd feel kind of bad RPing a character who really doesn't have much to go on for characterisation, and it was mostly done for the novelty of having a baby flying tentacle monster on my cast-list. Aaand there's the fact that Ika-chan is a very passive character, which basically forces the other mun to take the reins of all her logs. I tend to prefer characters who can actively carry a conversation, which she can't)

character: Shiki Misaki (15) [

not_mr_azurill]
series: The World Ends With You
muse strength: ■ ■ □ □ □ (I sort of know how Shiki thinks and stuff, but I have a tendency to make her smarter than she really is. Plus, I have difficulty when it comes to getting into her girly girl side so!)
cast strength: □ □ □ □ □ (Pre-canon at least (where I took her from), Shiki doesn't know any of the cast except Eri, who she wouldn't want around while she makes a new start)
plotting capabilities: ■ □ □ □ □ (She's a pretty nice girl, with the occasional need to depants boys)
likelihood of drop: ■ ■ ■ ■ □ (Shiki's a character I could write an essay about actually. Especially regarding her relationship with Eri, and while she said she was acting like Eri during the week with Neku, she didn't really change her mannerisms and bubbly personality after her character development. I could write a lot about how a lot of Shiki's 'acting' wasn't really acting and blah blah blah but I don't feel comfortable RPing her. I guess it's because I tend to use her as a foil to Joshua in fic, so I tend to see her from Joshua's point of view, or in terms of Joshua, rather than in terms of Shiki)

character: Guy Cecil (YOU KNOW WHAT? I DON'T EVEN KNOW) [

entertheguy]
series: Tales of the Abyss
muse strength: □ □ □ □ □ (I love Guy. I can list off a bunch of his traits, like how he's a nice guy and charismatic, which reels in the ladies, unfortunately for his gynophobia. He's a fontech nerd, and a bit touchy about it when the other party members makes fun of him. But the problem is, I cannot for the life of me link his traits to each other and fill in the gaps in order to form his personality, which is what I do when I RP. In other words, I can list off traits, but not describe his personality. And then there's the fact I don't have his voice at all)
cast strength: ■ ■ ■ ■ □ (Primarily Luke and Van, but at this point in time, he also needs to serve. Even if he is/was a noble before, Guy ultimately ends up as the servant and he doesn't mind)
plotting capabilities: ■ □ □ □ □ (He's a nice guy who's a charmer for the laydees. It promises to be hilarious funtimes, at least)
likelihood of drop: ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ (YEAHHH muse strength)

Code for people if they want to do the meme. Use it for each muse you have.

--

I dunno if whether it's a pattern with my characters RE: Cast strength and just me picking characters who stand well (mostly) on their own without castmates, or just me being able to figure out a way for them to stand on their own. It could also be because all the characters that I didn't drop within a month (i.e. all the characters I have now + Bidoof) were the first character from the fandom in the game, meaning I had to make them work on their own.

I guess I'm touching a little on the whole, castmates vs no castmates thing (as well as castmates vs non-castmates filling in the role castmates provide). In general, I tend to view characters as not needing castmates, and I guess this is primarily because I'm usually apping for

theskytides, where... unless you discuss with other people in the game for backstories, upon entering the game, you're essentially starting your character from a mostly blank slate and filling it in as you RP (sometimes retroactively). And I guess that makes it really easy for new characters to find other characters in the game to fill the roles canonmates normally would, because the way I see it, most characters in canon games (especially since they're being yanked from their world somehow, where conflicts etc. are often still going) are still attached to the people they know. There's often no preparation, no nothing to prepare characters for being yanked from who they know, and you get that kind of longing for the people they're familiar with. BASICALLY the canon roles have already been filled by... canonmates, which makes it hard to fill them with non-canonmates unless you either dump them or squeeze people in. Of course, this is a generalisation, and not all characters will be this way. I guess it kind of explains why I find AUs easier to get into over canon; you don't have nearly as much castmate baggage.

Aaand I guess it's also because in TST I'm safe from the TWEWY fandom shippers lulz :|

It's not to say castmates aren't cool, but these days I just treat them in the same manner as non-castmates, because that's often who they are in an AU game. At least for my characters. Most people are strangers... so they're treated as such.

Man, now I'm drowning in a flood of notifs

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