Let's Not And Say We Did

Character Development is SRS BSNSS

I don't know exactly when it happened, but somewhere along the line I've become, like, really serious about designing characters. Maybe it's just me reacting to all the crappy little cardboard recolors I saw get torn down on all the forums I was on as a kid...but I digress. The point is, I seem to be incapable of just throwing characters together and saying 'eh, good enough.' I'm a bloody perfectionist -_-'

My character creation process is to start from a central idea or theme, and work from there, adding in layers of meaning and whatnot as I go. Like a couple of ideas I had recently.

It started with the central idea; Cynicism. From there I decided to be different from the modern interpretation, and went back to the Greek philosophers that originated the name, particularly Diogenes (who, by the way, was a badass.) Because Cynic is derived from the Greek word for dog, I chose a Mediterranean dog breed for his species (in this case, he's a Pharaoh Hound)

Instead of making him a typical 'rawr, I hate everything and I kills you all cause we're all gonna diez n e way' type cynic, I'm adapting him to be something more along these lines:

Quote:

 

There are four reasons why the Cynics are so named. First because of the indifference of their way of life, for they make a cult of indifference and, like dogs, eat and make love in public, go barefoot, and sleep in tubs and at crossroads. The second reason is that the dog is a shameless animal, and they make a cult of shamelessness, not as being beneath modesty, but as superior to it. The third reason is that the dog is a good guard, and they guard the tenets of their philosophy. The fourth reason is that the dog is a discriminating animal which can distinguish between its friends and enemies. So do they recognize as friends those who are suited to philosophy, and receive them kindly, while those unfitted they drive away, like dogs, by barking at them.

Vitriol, I think so far, is a harsh person; he really does not like people in general or himself in particular, but the thing is that he tries. He may think that the world is just evil vs. evil, but he's trying to do something about what he sees, if only to make his own corner of the world a little bit nicer.

Blegh, that's all the rambling I have time for this morning. More development whenever.

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