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taxonooc2013-07-30 04:07 pm
trojanhorst) wrote in taxonooc2013-07-30 04:07 pm
Entry tags:
Not Quite Hamsterball Material
Hi, Taxon! I meant to make this post yesterday morning, but I've been languishing with The Headache since then -- but since I cried off work sick today, I'll take a minute to put it up now, and I hope you'll all take some time to chime in. This isn't meant to upstage the official check-in post below, so please answer that one before you tackle this one. <3
One thing that's been weighing on my mind recently, is how do other characters actually feel about the Taxon experience? I think we kind of blanketly assume "okay, well, no one likes being imprisoned, duh," but this isn't just any prison, and the reality is that people are more complicated and have more things going on in their psyches than that, and there are plenty of reasons why individual Taxonians might have more complicated feelings about their present circumstances than that. Do they actually all hate it here? Are there some aspects they like?
So, in hopes of each of us learning more about what other people are exploring with their characters, the following little meme:
How does your character feel about being in Taxon --
1) In general, do they like it here?
2) Do they want to stay here? Do they want to leave? Do they have mixed feelings? Do they not much care either way?
3) Is there any reason they might want to stay in Taxon? Is there any reason they might not want to go home to their own reality? Is there anything or anyone they would miss from Taxon that might make them hesitant to leave if they had the chance?
4) Does it bother them that Taxon isn't like their home reality?
5) Is there anything or anyone they particularly miss from their home reality? (Is it pizza? Be honest, admit it, it's probably pizza. Just kidding.)
6) Do they wish Taxon had more fully sentient citizens? Does it particularly bother them that there aren't many people to talk to? Are they lonely or lacking the ability to socialize with large numbers of people, or is this something that doesn't much impact their life/happiness? Or do they prefer it this way?
7) Do they like living in this particular environment (climate/urbanity-wise)? Would they be happier if Taxon looked/felt like someplace else, or does this not much matter to them?
8) How do they feel about the Taxonian economy? Do they enjoy the financial security of Taxon's job/income system? Do they dislike the limitations of the sorts of jobs they are forced to take and/or the boredom inherent in doing them, or do they not much mind?
9) Are they interested in solving The Mystery of Taxon? Are they only interested if they need to solve it in order to escape? Or do they not particularly care what the fuck Taxon is? Do they think there's any point in trying to solve it, or trying to escape?
10) What's their current guess/theory about what Taxon is?
These questions are very freeform -- I put a lot of leading thoughts in there to try and draw out some of the complexities of the questions, but feel free to answer as briefly or as lengthily as you want, or to talk about any other aspect I didn't cover.
There are no right or wrong answers -- whether 95% of all characters have the same exact answers, or every single character feels entirely different, both of those are awesome in the end because it means we have a unified group of people (awesome) or a group of people who are bound to get frustrated with each other and bicker like hell (also awesome). I just figure we should talk publicly sometimes about what's in our characters' heads, not just what they've been up to -- so I thought, what the heck, I'll ask.
TL;DR HOW DOES YOUR CHARACTER LIKE BEING IN TAXON, GO
One thing that's been weighing on my mind recently, is how do other characters actually feel about the Taxon experience? I think we kind of blanketly assume "okay, well, no one likes being imprisoned, duh," but this isn't just any prison, and the reality is that people are more complicated and have more things going on in their psyches than that, and there are plenty of reasons why individual Taxonians might have more complicated feelings about their present circumstances than that. Do they actually all hate it here? Are there some aspects they like?
So, in hopes of each of us learning more about what other people are exploring with their characters, the following little meme:
How does your character feel about being in Taxon --
1) In general, do they like it here?
2) Do they want to stay here? Do they want to leave? Do they have mixed feelings? Do they not much care either way?
3) Is there any reason they might want to stay in Taxon? Is there any reason they might not want to go home to their own reality? Is there anything or anyone they would miss from Taxon that might make them hesitant to leave if they had the chance?
4) Does it bother them that Taxon isn't like their home reality?
5) Is there anything or anyone they particularly miss from their home reality? (Is it pizza? Be honest, admit it, it's probably pizza. Just kidding.)
6) Do they wish Taxon had more fully sentient citizens? Does it particularly bother them that there aren't many people to talk to? Are they lonely or lacking the ability to socialize with large numbers of people, or is this something that doesn't much impact their life/happiness? Or do they prefer it this way?
7) Do they like living in this particular environment (climate/urbanity-wise)? Would they be happier if Taxon looked/felt like someplace else, or does this not much matter to them?
8) How do they feel about the Taxonian economy? Do they enjoy the financial security of Taxon's job/income system? Do they dislike the limitations of the sorts of jobs they are forced to take and/or the boredom inherent in doing them, or do they not much mind?
9) Are they interested in solving The Mystery of Taxon? Are they only interested if they need to solve it in order to escape? Or do they not particularly care what the fuck Taxon is? Do they think there's any point in trying to solve it, or trying to escape?
10) What's their current guess/theory about what Taxon is?
These questions are very freeform -- I put a lot of leading thoughts in there to try and draw out some of the complexities of the questions, but feel free to answer as briefly or as lengthily as you want, or to talk about any other aspect I didn't cover.
There are no right or wrong answers -- whether 95% of all characters have the same exact answers, or every single character feels entirely different, both of those are awesome in the end because it means we have a unified group of people (awesome) or a group of people who are bound to get frustrated with each other and bicker like hell (also awesome). I just figure we should talk publicly sometimes about what's in our characters' heads, not just what they've been up to -- so I thought, what the heck, I'll ask.
TL;DR HOW DOES YOUR CHARACTER LIKE BEING IN TAXON, GO
no subject
Not really. Sherlock doesn't haaate it here--as prisons go, it's a pretty comfortable one with a reasonable number of things to do and poses an interesting number of unsolved existential mysteries. That being said, it's also small (compared to the London metropolitan area, much less the UK or Europe or Planet Earth) and stultifyingly boring on a day-to-day level. Aside from the existential stuff, there aren't many puzzles to be solved, aside from idly working out things about new arrivals: which isn't always possible from so little data, and is more like a party trick than anything else at this point.
It could be a lot worse, but it could be a lot better, too.
2) Do they want to stay here? Do they want to leave? Do they have mixed feelings? Do they not much care either way?
Unless they come from a war zone or post-apocalyptic wasteland or some other form of abject misery, Sherlock can't really understand why anyone would want to stay here. He's not dying to get out on a moment-to-moment basis, but there's no way he could be kept prisoner and not want to leave. He is surprisingly patient about biding his time, but he wants out and he means out.
3) Is there any reason they might want to stay in Taxon? Is there any reason they might not want to go home to their own reality? Is there anything or anyone they would miss from Taxon that might make them hesitant to leave if they had the chance?
The possibility of death isn't a big deciding factor for Sherlock--he's obviously not dead right now, so either his body didn't physically die or it did and he's being given some false simulacrum of life as a comatose or dying person, in which case he'd rather have the plug pulled.
He misses his family and friends (countable on one hand combined) as much as anyone abducted from loved ones who may not know whether they're alive or dead. Maybe a little more, considering the circumstances of their parting.
4) Does it bother them that Taxon isn't like their home reality?
Yes. The world is huge and brimming with people and possibilities. Taxon is tiny and populated by a few people and a lot of simulacra. Whatever was wrong with Sherlock's life wasn't wrong with the world per se.
5) Is there anything or anyone they particularly miss from their home reality? (Is it pizza? Be honest, admit it, it's probably pizza. Just kidding.)
Just about everything! Sherlock never appreciated how much he liked having a variety of people, places, and things to choose from until he lost them.
6) Do they wish Taxon had more fully sentient citizens? Does it particularly bother them that there aren't many people to talk to? Are they lonely or lacking the ability to socialize with large numbers of people, or is this something that doesn't much impact their life/happiness? Or do they prefer it this way?
See above.
7) Do they like living in this particular environment (climate/urbanity-wise)? Would they be happier if Taxon looked/felt like someplace else, or does this not much matter to them?
Indifferent. A hollow replica of London would be no less hollow.
8) How do they feel about the Taxonian economy? Do they enjoy the financial security of Taxon's job/income system? Do they dislike the limitations of the sorts of jobs they are forced to take and/or the boredom inherent in doing them, or do they not much mind?
Not having to worry about money is admittedly fairly nice and the life of a Taxon busker is a bit better than the life of a real one. Still, if he'd wanted to be a violinist, he'd have become a violinist.
9) Are they interested in solving The Mystery of Taxon? Are they only interested if they need to solve it in order to escape? Or do they not particularly care what the fuck Taxon is? Do they think there's any point in trying to solve it, or trying to escape?
I take it a 'yes' will suffice? :P
10) What's their current guess/theory about what Taxon is?
The Matrix. Some kind of VR construction with more advanced technology than anything he's ever heard of on 2012 Earth. Purpose unknown.