[Naeya's Scrapbook] Cosmic Love

[Naeya]

Naeya's Scrap "The more I read, the more I acquire, the more certain I am that I know nothing." -Voltaire Hello, Miz! Welcome to my scrap. In this little corner of the internet, with Woody Allen & Voltaire as my guide, I'll be reworking my PC, writing you love notes, and giving you some small insight into my own life. Feel free to pop in, say hello, and drop off your advice & constructive critiques.

[Naeya]

Character Revamp: Naeya Lately, I’ve had problems maintaining consistency between the way I write Naeya’s character in posts and the way she is described on her character sheet, and I’ve decided that her CS is in desperate need of being reworked. It’s funny how characters often take on a life of their own and end up deviating from what you originally intended. Anne Lamott writes in her book Bird by Bird that, “You probably won’t know your characters until weeks or months after you’ve started working with them. … Just don’t pretend you know more about your characters than they do, because you don’t. Stay open to them. It’s teatime and all the dolls are at the table. Listen. It’s that simple.” Naeya’s been screaming at me for a while that something isn’t quite right, so this time I’ll listen. Workshop i. – Character Diamond This first workshop will be Caelum’s Character Diamond (thank you so much for bringing this to Miz, Caelum!). I may not get these traits right at first, but for now this is what I’ve come up with to describe Naeya’s core four. Permanent: Faithful (+), Prying (-) Situational: Spirited (+), Controlling (-) Permanent: Faithful (+) Naeya is “faithful” in every sense of the word. She is fiercely loyal to her family and friends, but this loyalty also extends to religion. She is a devoted follower of the Goddesses Avalis and Semele, and puts her faith in them to guide her. She is also faithful to her jewelcrafting practice, of which she has the utmost discipline. Naeya is dependable and trustworthy, and can be relied on to have a full heart of unconditional love for those she cares about. She is unafraid to voice her concerns about a loved one’s actions, but will ultimately have faith in their decision-making if their certainty is clear. [Adj. 1. strict or thorough in the performance of duty; 2. true to one’s word, promises, vows, etc.; 3. steady in allegiance or affection; loyal; constant] Prying (-) Naeya suffers from “compulsive nosiness,” an affliction on par with “foot-in-mouth syndrome.” At best she is curious, and at worst she is nosy and intrusive. She is particularly prying when it comes to people, but this trait extends to mysteries of all sorts. Her nosiness is often unwelcome, which she has adapted to by asking more subtle questions in order to avoid arousing suspicion. Although she does not concern herself with privacy issues, Naeya is not mean-spirited. She does her best to be kind and empathetic, but she can exasperate and even anger those who do not see her good intentions. [Adj. 1. impertinently or unnecessarily curious or inquisitive; 2. inquiring too closely into a person's private affairs] Situational: Spirited (+) Naeya is a lively individual and is constantly engaged in some sort of project or exercise. She is playful and enjoys a good jest, and more often than not she is full of joy and positive energy. She does not shy away from her emotional nature, and tends to be more expressive than the typical Konti. When in need, Naeya will often surprise herself by digging deep and pulling out the necessary courage to face the task at hand. [Adj. 1. full of energy, enthusiasm, and determination] Controlling (-) Naeya has internalized a need for control over her self and the situations she and her loved ones are placed in. This trait revealed itself after her younger brother’s death when she was 22-years-old, and was worsened by the lack of control she feels over her Divination gnosis. Naeya believes in fate, but often struggles to balance this belief with her control issues. Her need for control is not to be confused with a need for power. Instead, this trait manifests itself as a severe dislike for being in uncontrollable scenarios (ie. illusions, dreamstates, angry mobs, conflict) and as an intense desire for stability. Naeya often attempts to exert control by taming nature, specifically through the manipulation of gemstones and flora. [Contol - Noun 1. the power to influence or direct people's behaviour or the course of events; 2. the power to restrain something, esp. one's own emotions or actions]

[Quasar]

Your Character diamond is so insightful! And inspiring. I'm tempted to make one for my PC now . Also, I put in my template solely for the sake of having a space template high-five with you. *high fives*

[Naeya]

Yes! /space template high-five Thank you so much for the kind comments, Quasar. I'm happy you read & were inspired by that scrap. Caelum definitely came up with a great workshopping idea!

[Pash'nar]

The Character Diamond from Caelum really helped me when I was first creating Pash, though I can see already that he's one to stretch boundaries and define himself even when I thought I knew what I was doing. I had an idea in mind, but he always seems to find his own momentum. For me, I really found a feel for Pash by writing some flashbacks, even with other PCs. I don't know why, though I had intentionally left his past a little open (especially since I gave myself over a century to work with there). When I started off writing an intro thread and then a couple of Flashbacks, it seemed to help things fall into place. Eventually, I should re-read my Plotnotes. Probably soon. I have a feeling I have some editing to do already. Love that quote in your previous post, by the way. Heehee. It really ends up ringing true so often.

[Naeya]

Pash- I feel like Pash’nar is definitely the type to do what he wants (and petch what you wanted him to do, haha). All of our characters are, really. & what you wrote about flashbacks is spot on. As of yet, I’ve avoided writing out Naeya’s history (though it’s floating around in my head) because I’d like for part, if not all, of it to come out in flashbacks. Thanks for the lovely post and words of wisdom! Workshop ii. – Ethics, Morals, and Values I found this exercise in the Mizahar Discussions forum. Many thanks to Gossamer for bringing it to Miz! I really had to get into Naeya’s head with this workshop, and separate what I personally believe from what she believes. I think, though, that I ended up choosing an accurate ethical type and list of defining values. If anyone’s interested, I went through a list of values that I discovered here and picked out the ones that Naeya most connected with. Ethical Type: Universalist "A universalist is a person who thinks that absolute rules should be followed by everyone. For example, many people (across all human cultures) believe in some version of the Golden Rule, ‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.’ Believing in the fact that everyone should follow the same ethical rules or principles." Naeya's code of ethics falls, for the most part, under that of a Universalist. Her code of ethics stems mainly from her upbringing in Riverfall, where a set of hard laws governs and guides the population. Her inexperience with the harsher realities of Mizahar and her own relatively easy childhood also supports this code. She believes that there are some rules that everyone ought to ethically follow, such as never stealing from another citizen, never killing another individual unless in self-defense, and treating other people with respect and kindness. This belief guides her interactions with people throughout Mizahar, as well as her own thoughts and actions when she is called on to make a hard decision. She does not necessarily think that there are never any exceptions to her ethical code, but she feels that these exceptions are very rare. I expect her ethical code will be shaken and challenged as she progresses. Note: I’ve yet to determine how Naeya’s ethical code defines her views on slavery. She’s been raised in a society that allows slavery in several forms, and her own mother was a Nakivak-turned-wife. I do know that she would be against abusing or mistreating slaves, but I’m not sure of her views beyond that. They might very well be: “that’s the way life works, unfortunately.” Defining Values: Truth – Truth plays an integral part in Naeya’s life. She is constantly searching for what’s real, true, and honest. It is one of the reasons she appreciates shows of emotion and is so accepting of her own emotions. She desires to know the truth about people, not just what they want the world to see. For Naeya, truth is the one thing that is always worth striving for. Beauty – Naeya highly values beauty and the aesthetic pleasure that can be obtained from it. She appreciates beauty in all its forms, especially natural, architectural, artistic, and physical. Excellence – Naeya’s view on excellence refers mainly to professional excellence (though also expands to other aspects of her life) and refers to putting the utmost care and quality into one’s work, whatever that may be. She strives for excellence in all things, and expects the same of others. Perseverance – Naeya’s approach to obstacles and challenges is to steadily persist. Perseverance is such an important aspect in her every day life, and it dictates her approach to learning new skills, perfecting old ones, and dealing with difficulty. Justice – Justice, for Naeya, means experiencing appropriate consequences for one’s actions. She links justice closely with fairness and values, in a more general sense, the upholding of righteousness and goodness. Stability – Naeya values the comfort gained from stability. She does not value the familiar so much as value the steadiness and reliability. Family/Friends – Naeya believes in placing the needs of family and friends above those of others. She thinks that having a strong support system leads to a happier life, and that maintaining these connections should be a priority. Trust – “Trust,” for Naeya, is a very different value than “truth.” She sees trust as something to be earned by following through when one give one’s word, being sincere and trustworthy, and keeping one’s confidence. While she gives out her trust easier than some, there are very few who she puts total trust in: her family, her closest friend(s), and her goddesses. Joy – Joy brings light to one's days, and happiness to one's heart. Naeya values finding joy in the everyday, and loves to laugh and make others laugh with her. Kindness – Naeya’s default setting is to be kind. She sees strength in kindness, particularly because it can be difficult to practice this value in so harsh a world. Respect – Naeya believes that basic respect is something that every sentient being deserves, though some deserve more respect than others. Respect means showing deference and courtesy to those who have a wider degree of experience and mastery (ie. elders, masters of a craft), or to those who earn it through their actions.

[Naeya]

Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I'll meet you there. When the soul lies down in that grass, the world is too full to talk about. Ideas, language, even the phrase "each other" doesn't make any sense. Rumi.

[Naeya]

I was stalking perusing some of Gossamer's older scraps, and came across this gem. I've decided to repost it here to refer back to as my character grows within Miz, because I think it's such an awesome approach to gameplay. Player Driven Initiatives What do I mean by that? It starts with a thread - a single thread - that plants an idea and then captures a player's imagination that then infects other players and grows into something bigger that more than one person shares in. You see, I've been asked lately about player organizations. People seem to want to write a huge extensive background for a group, make up members, then rp being part of that group. Fine. That's one way of doing it, but it's not - the best way - in my book. I know each of our 'books' reads a little differently, so your ideas might be vastly different than mine... but wouldn't you rather write the history of your own organization? Wouldn't you dearly love to say 'I created that?' or 'I'm the founder?' Each of you here gets to be that person if you think about it. Start with one. Start with yourself, fully formulate a plan, get a facility or safehouse, start doing threads, recruit others, form goals, have secret meetings, take charge. Take charge. Don't invent history, write history. It's nearly impossible for us to say no if someone lays the groundwork in thread and does all the ic work for it. I can't tell you how vast Mizahar is and how much room it has for everyone to be doing their own thing. They can. They will. There's plenty of space. This is one of the reasons we've recently picked a Featured Character, for doing just this - player driven initiative. Syndre is doing a drug lord scenario where he's starting an in game drug trade. I won't call it trafficking because drug use in Mizahar is not illegal. Someone else recently began a dialog about creating new dog breeds. I am very familiar with this topic since I have a PC in Riverfall that's creating a new horse breed IC (and who also founded an organization). I'm happy to help with this and give advice and suggestions. This is just the type of rp scenarios we need here. Are you a summoner? Discover a new world. Travel to it. Catalog it. Make that your thing. Sure there are risks, and you need someone left on the Mizahar side to open a portal so you can get back (since you can't portal TO mizahar)... but start a group dedicated to doing that. Just run an outline of the world through the help desk on what you want to discover, get approvals, and do it all IC. Your pc can write a book on anything. Just do it IC. Guilds should be abundant. So should secret societies. Historians should be desperate to recapture techniques and lost technology. Herbalists should be dying to find ancient pre-valterrian crop or medicinal seed and make it viable. Healers can form groups. Mercenaries can form groups. Heck, we said no villages and outposts in Mizahar other than the major cities unless they are player founded and supported through lots of RP. Go for it. Anything is possible IC. Anything. Don't waste your time inventing history. I can't say that enough. Live it.

[Naeya]

I’m pretty swamped with a combo of real life & things I want to finish/start on Miz before the season change, so I’ve decided to make a list to keep organized. Placeholders may be needed for some of the threads, but we’ll see how I do! To Do Before Fall 512 Threads To Write/Start (Naeya): Reply to Sanity Centre with Mirage Rhy (Knirin Gardens) Gianne (Beach or Waterpark) Serrif (Kulkukan Tavern & Inn) Solo: Dagger Training, Part II Solo: Dagger Training, Part III Alvadas with Pash, Ayanna, & Ortha Thread #2 in Syliras, with Savitaire Solo (?): Caravan Travel (Syliras to Zeltiva) Character Development (Naeya): Faith Goals Fears Love Family Descriptions Personal History Threads to Reply To (Thalia): Job thread (Colombina) Hai Wagon thread (Colombina) Character Development (Thalia): Character Diamond Ethics, Morals, and Values Family Descriptions Personal History Miscellaneous: Write a Peer Review for Irelia’s lore on Alahean Stones Have Naeya’s picture edited to make it more “Konti-like” or find new model Note: Still need to edit in scales, eventually.

[Caelum]

Your scrap is beautiful. I particularly enjoyed reading over your character diamond. You really seemed to nail down the concept well. Also? I heart Rumi. Just to clear it up, the character diamond technique isn't mine. It's a relatively standard writing structure tool used and taught within various storytelling fields. I just talked about it and tried to explain in a more Mizahar-related fashion. Keep on with the pretty. - katie.