Imperfections Are Perfect

[Broadwaykat]

Here on FAD we would love it if everyone could get along and be able to write fair, balanced characters. However, while some of our members may be experienced in creating well-rounded characters, others who have joined us may be roleplaying for the first time! Some users may not know how to create a perfectly balanced character, and this can result in the creation of what the roleplay community tends to call a 'Mary Sue'

What is a Mary Sue?

• A Mary Sue is a character who has no flaws, no weaknesses, and appears to be perfect all-around. These characters often result in Powerplaying and Godmodding, which can cause arguments between members and disrupt roleplay. This is something that we wish to avoid entirely here on FAD for the comfort of our members. Below will be a detailed guide on flaws and weaknesses that you may add to your character to round them out.

 


Personality and Self-Perception

Personality is the main part of a character- it's what dictates what they say, how they act, and how they respond to current events and clanmates. This is also what dictates how other characters will react to and behave around your character. While it may be tempting to create a character that's wonderful and incredibly likable, we ask that each character has at a minimum one good and one bad personality trait.

- Positive Traits

    • Every cat has some good in them! Some cats have them more than others. For example, one cat might be very bitter, but they are incredibly loyal to their clan! Or in the case of another cat, such as a Den Dad or Permaqueen, they would have to be kind, passionate, and patient in order to handle their role in the clan. Some cats may be very self-confident and have good leadership qualities. Each cat can have a variable of good traits, ranging from one to as many as you see fit. Here's a random cat as an example: Porcupinefur of Shadedclan is kind-hearted, cheerful, confident, sympathetic, close minded, and self-centered. He's a good shoulder to lean on, and is a natural leader. But notice how despite all his positive traits, he is still close minded and self-centered, which are negative traits.

- How the Good Can Become Bad

    • Some positive traits may wind up being a negative trait, if they are pushed and bent enough. A character who is incredibly loyal can wind up becoming prudent and stuck-up with cats who are not a part of their clan, or towards cats who follow the code looser than they do. Another example would be a caring cat, who can become incredibly overbearing or nudge their nose into business they have no right to involve themselves in. Or how a natural leader can become snappy and bossy. Let's revisit our friend Porcupinefur; he is very confident in himself. However, his confidence grows very large, and he winds up overshadowing cats and lying about things he has done to fuel his own ego.

- Negative Traits

    • Let's face it- everyone has a negative quality about themselves. Be it minor or major! Here on FAD we encourage players to include at least one negative trait about their characters, but much like positive traits, you are able to include far more than one. Characters with an abundance of negative traits are often characters who wind up as villains in the roleplays, though some may just be very rude, snotty cats! Let's use a random cat as an example: Rabbitnose of Breezeclan is brave, bold, secretive, vicious, short-fused, and does not abide by the warrior code. He attacks and rebukes his clanmates, and is eventually exiled. He is an example of a character with an abundance of negative traits. Notice how despite all his negative traits, he is still brave and bold, which can be seen as positive traits.

- How the Bad Can Become Good

    • Much like how good traits can be bent and fiddled with, bad traits can also be seen as a good trait depending on the circumstances. Vicious cats can be seen as brave and strong fighters, motivated by the safety of their clan. Ambitious cats can be seen as strong, proud cats that stand up for themselves or have the best of their clan in mind. Let's look back at Rabbitnose again. He is secretive, vicious, and short-fused. Depending on the situations he finds himself within, these traits may be seen as good if he protects clan secrets, fights hard against enemies, and knows when to not be patient with an enemy or intruder.

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Physical Body and Mind

Warriors have to be strong, at least, that may be how kits view it. Cats have a variety of different body types, as well as many different strengths and weaknesses. Shadedclan cats are thin and nimble, Oakclan cats are large and stocky, Mistclan cats are sleek and strong, and Breezeclan has mostly fast, fluffy, but lithe warriors. However, physical size and strength will come with a downside. You can not have both sides- your cat can not be a large powerhouse but be fast enough to zip out of range of an attack. 

- Strong, Stocky Cats

    • Strong cats have a good advantage during fighting- they are big, strong, and can both take a hit and pack a stronger one. These cats are often in the front-lines, as they can deal a lot of damage and take a lot as well. However, strong cats are large either in size or muscle mass. This makes them an easy target that can easily be overwhelmed, and they can easily be foiled by a cat who is faster than them. Large cats are slow cats, and can not turn, move or react as quickly as smaller, sleeker cats. On the flip side of fighting is hunting. Strong warriors can easily take on bigger targets like pheasants, quails, turkeys, rabbits, hares and predators like foxes, badgers and birds of prey. However, animals like voles, mice and squirrels are faster than they are and will be able to hear or feel their heavy paw steps long before they are seen.

- Sleek, Fast Cats

    • Where there are strong, big cats out there, some cats are thinner, sleeker and quicker. While they are fast, they are weak. These cats are more fragile as well, but they are very fast, and can easily outmaneuver a larger cat and deal damage. However, due to their fragile nature, they can not take as many hits as a bigger cat. Often times small, fast cats will form in groups to effectively take down a larger target. In the clans, these kinds of cats may also be used to chase down fleeing enemies, deliver messages, or chase fast prey into the paws of their clanmates. Prey like mice, squirrels, voles, fish and songbirds are easier for these cats to catch, but they may struggle from the size and strength of rabbits, larger birds, and large fish.

- Right in the Middle
    • Say you want to make a cat right in between strong and fast. This is possible, in fact! It gives your cat a fair fighting chance with everyone, as well as hunting different types of prey. However, in order to be both fast and strong, they have to give up from each section. A cat in between these aspects will never be as fast as a nimble, lithe cat, and they won't be as strong as a large, muscular cat. This applies to hunting as well- they are able to catch all kinds of prey, but might not be as good at catching rabbits, birds, pheasants, voles and other prey that strong or lithe warriors excel in catching.

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- Self Esteem & Other Mental Health Related Issues

    • While we do not encourage people to include serious mental illness into their characters, there are a host of other quarks and things that make a cat work differently than others. Personality ties closely to mental illness & self worth. For instance, a cat can be incredibly self-centered and hold themselves up on a pedestal. Other cats may lack confidence in themselves and have poor self esteem- which can result in side effects like depression, anxiety, and performance issues. Some cats may suffer from parts of their past, which can result in things like agoraphobia or suffering from aphobia. Other cats may just be born differently, and exhibit lack of sympathy or empathy, disregard for others, or uncontrollable bursts of violence and anger.

    • Although mild mental illnesses are allowed to be included in characters, we do ask that users avoid writing in certain, extreme mental illnesses, or do not give them by name. It is preferred, though, that these mental illnesses are not included in RP to protect our users and prevent misrepresentation in our community. It is often commonplace to see these illnesses vilified and misrepresented by many people who are none the wiser. These illnesses include, but are not limited to: Schizophrenia, Dissociative Identity Disorder (also commonly referred to as Multiple Personality Discorder), Suicidal Depression, and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. If you wish to include any mental illness in your character, be sure to do the appropriate research and studying so you do not misrepresent it or give it a bad name.