you and I, honey... we're not that bright

[rivendellrose]

Have you ever had played or written a character who makes you feel... well, kind of dumb, just by virtue of playing them? Not like you think they're totally stupid, exactly, but that when you're writing them, you don't think of things you're fairly sure you'd normally be bright enough to think of, on your own?

That's IB little!Cissa for me. I'm not sure exactly why, but when I play her, it's like some little switch goes off in my head that inhibits higher consequence-prediction. It's fabulous for storytelling purposes, but sometimes it just leaves me kind of flabbergasted with our mutual stupidity.

She's a sweetheart, gods love her, but she's got major issues in the "planning ahead" department. I'd love to just keep my mouth shut and pretend I did this on purpose, for plot device stuff, but I'm afraid I really did totally miss the implied end result of Bellatrix being pissed off at a person... not the part about her ordering the directly involved people dead, of course - I'd have to be totally spaced out to miss that. No, I missed the "kill the ones close to you" part. Heh. Whoops.

*Snuggles Cissa and hides under the bed with her* We'll just be down here, if anybody needs us... hiding from the doom.

Comments

[diea.livejournal.com]

Aww Getting swallowed by your characters much?

*feels a bit like hiding from the doom herself* Any room down there?

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

Sometimes, sometimes.

Hiding from the doom can definitely be a good thing. And unless my cat is under there, too, there should be space... ;)

[zhapper.livejournal.com]

Just wait until you discover meta fiction. :)

My characters get way too comfortable in there. I sometimes have to avoid writing for a good long while just to let stuff cool down a little.

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

I'm not a huge fan of meta, myself. I mostly just enjoy letting my characters do whatever they want in a story... but keeping the fourth wall firmly intact.

[dalhessian.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately for Narcissa, Alacrity has about the prediction ability of a rock when it comes to things like that. It's also, unfortunately, part of his character makeup to enjoy pissing off people. He takes too much amusement from turning the world upside down on people like Bellatrix and Lucius.

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

Oh, yeah - they're a well-matched pair.... *pets them*

Mostly I'm just fascinated by the fact that I do more stupid things while I'm in her head than I do as anyone else. With the exception of Lucius, of course - but I'm aware of how stupid the stuff he does is.

[theladyfeylene.livejournal.com]

Hey, it makes for some fun chaos. And at the moment, Bellatrix isn't blaming Cissa yet.

We all fuck up with our characters sometimes.

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

I know. I was mostly amused by the fact that I honestly seem more likely to miss things as certain characters than as others. I guess it's just the effect of getting into their mindset.

[theladyfeylene.livejournal.com]

It does happen. I know I think differently with most of my characters.

Don't worry, Bellatrix has been distracted anyway. I'm literally speechless at her interaction with Tonks, and not in the good way.

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

It never really hit me how much I think as them rather than for them. I don't really sit there and think "how would Cissa react to this?" I just... react, but her reactions are still different than what Hermione's or Lucius' would be. Kind of a funny feeling, when I really think about it.

Yeah, that was... special. I didn't read all of it, and kind of skimmed what I did read (too much there for me to read at work), but it certainly seemed a bit weird.

[theladyfeylene.livejournal.com]

I'll never forget when Kari told me should could tell who I was writing just by my facial expression and body stance. Lenna will ask me if everything's okay, a lot, when I'm typing because my face tends to take on the emotions of whoever I'm writing for. It's really a neat thing, how into these characters we get.

Yeah, it was long. The whole post is mega huge now, and Bast has been invited on Bella and Lucius' little outing tonight.

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

Heh - I do the same thing. I'll never forget that horrible fight Lucius, Bellatrix, and Narcissa got into a couple years ago - I was hunched over my keyboard, curled up and literally shaking, I'd gotten so deep into Narcissa's upset. That's why I say this is my replacement for acting - I still get to live it all, just not for an audience.

I saw, and he's going to bring Dementors! That'll be fun. I'm sure they'll cause wondrous amounts of havoc. Poor Lucius... he's a little bit messed up by this whole thing. He felt shitty enough about Severus marrying 'his wife,' but now that a horrible dead traitor-thing has stolen her he's really pissed.

[theladyfeylene.livejournal.com]

It's really so funny. It helps, though, I think. It helps me, anyway.

Yes! Mmm, chaos. Bellatrix is just royally pissed all over at this point. She doesn't like having her plans fucked with. :D And I wanted to cause chaos, this is just as good an excuse to.

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

It really does. I can't properly write what a character would be feeling if I can't at least partially get into the mindset myself, and physicality is such a huge part of that. There was this whole big psychological thing I read about a while ago, talking about how if you make the expression of a certain emotion, like anger, your body will start to exhibit the physiological signs of that. And everyone was so surprised... I just laughed. Every actor knows that, and probably every writer, too!

Yay, chaos!

[theladyfeylene.livejournal.com]

Yes! I remember learning about that in some class, about facial epxressions and emotions. It's really so bizarre.

Sadly, there will be no RPing of it. I'm just not up to RPing stuff out today. :/

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

That's no problem. If you want people to do anything specific, we can just talk it over on the OOC board, probably.

[theladyfeylene.livejournal.com]

No specifics other than the usual 'leave no one alive' order Bella is so fond of.

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

Lucius can soooo handle that with all the aggression he'll be working out tonight. This whole situation is hard on his poor little brain. *snuggles the little psychopath.*

[theladyfeylene.livejournal.com]

If tonight's attack were a videogame, it would be rated 'killocity'.