04-28-2017, 05:58 PM
(This post was last modified: 06-22-2018, 02:13 PM by Dane Regan.)
Personality Breakdown
Note: I should really rework this at some point - if you don't know how to write him, outside of a fight, write him like your average person with no distinct traits besides intellect. He'll seem nice at a glance, and any internal mind games he plays rarely make it to the surface.
Dane Regan is by all means a very complex individual. He acts like a normal person most of the time because that is beneficial to him, but in most cases he really doesn't care. Suffering a large disappointment in the past led him to believe many of his years were wasted, so out of spite and sheer willpower he tries his best to make the most of the skills he has - putting them to use for the sake of putting them to use. With the exception of actions driven by curiosity, he helps people because he can, not because it's the right thing to do. For example, he might know of a better method of crop-rotation than the current one a village is using. He'll introduce this to them simply because otherwise his knowledge is going to waste. Yes, he could sell it. But anyone he sells knowledge to will usually make more money overall or benefit more from it than Dane himself would from the income - so out of spite Dane provides most information for free unless there's something he wants in return.
Coming back to his curiosity, Dane strives to learn more about the world. He believes everything can be explained logically and rationally with rules and laws, even people and Omni. Should he not know these rules or laws, he will try to make and discover them. Naturally, because of this outlook, he finds solace in mathematics and general logic (so he would probably enjoy computers should he ever access one), so often equates other concepts to mathematical equivalents, or tries to explain using maths based analogies.
If there's no evidence, he will reject something unless the claim sits within something that's easily believable. Even after witnessing something he thought was impossible, he will often try to find a logical explanation that sits within the possible. For example, some things like conservation of energy he believes will always remain true.
While Dane acts like a social animal, and definitely does not see any shame in asking for help when help is needed, he is not phased by someone acting antagonistically towards him. In fact, he actually revels in the sensation. When given something or someone to rebel against, he will jump at the opportunity. Perhaps because it's putting his skills to good use. Complimenting this, Dane will never make the first move in a fight, unless him being attacked in inevitable. Or he's outnumbered and, should the very likely fight commence, he needs every edge he can get. Or if someone else he likes is liable to getting hurt if he doesn't strike first. He will, however, try to provoke someone into fighting him, and has done so in the past, just so he has an "excuse" to fight them back. Dane will always respond to violence on a higher magnitude than that dished out to him. So, if someone intentionally shoves them, he'll flat out punch them in the face. His aim is to push a strong image of himself onto others, and he reasons a potential fight will be stopped a lot quicker like that.
Dane is a borderline narcissist. He avoids acting above others unless it's from an egotistical point of view. He does, however, still look down on most people who aren't intelligent. His reasoning is that he isn't actually that smart and that he just thinks better than everyone else. How many other people actually question the world, and then use the answers they get? Not many. Of course, Dane probably is smarter than most regardless of what he thinks. Which may just be a somewhat optimistic point of view on his part as he wishes everyone else was smarter. Likely because he associates intelligence with rationality.
Despite his rational outlook, he will often do irrational things simply because he can. His rational reasoning for this is that if he only acts rationally then he'll quickly become predictable. This is partially the reasoning behind his unorthodox fighting style. It also includes why he'll happily risk his own life while doing something unexpected. Though this is partly due to him being curious about what would happen.
"Split personality":
Lastly, Dane has a somewhat split personality. He is very capable of acting like someone else, so, he reasons, he should also be able to think like someone else as well. What originally started as a mental game due to a lack of individuals he perceived as being "friend-worthy", turned into a compulsive habit. Dane constantly talks to himself in his head. Or, more specifically, Dane's alter ego's talk to each other. They often insult, criticise, or complement "Dane" and each other. Dane hasn't assigned labels to any of them.
In the past, I used to colour code them (see the spoiler below). Now I just write them all in italics as they're not actually "real" alternative personalities. He just talks to himself in a variety of ways.
[spoiler]
Red: Can generally be summarised as Dane's anger, frustration, pessimism, and impulsive tenancies. It primarily criticises Dane and very rarely gets a "front seat" to his actual actions. It pretty much suggests to do everything Dane even slightly wants to do but knows he can't/shouldn't/would be disadvantaged if he did.
Blue: Can be summarised with the word "science". It isn't a bundle of logic, but it prioritises his curiosity and new knowledge. As well as laments any sciency thoughts to keep his brain occupied during silence.
Green: Dane's "feelings matter" persona. A replication of what Dane imagines a more emotionally driven person would act like.
[/spoiler]
Of course, while these may all seem distinct, they do tend to merge together in some circumstances. And often agree. Dane himself is a mix of these, and he often has them talk to each other while he's performing actions, writing, or talking out loud. Which causes him to seem scatterbrained. He may occasionally make jokes about "the voices in his head" telling him to do something should someone ask why he did something "dumb". Lastly, the thoughts use "we", "I" and sometimes "you" mostly interchangeably. Though primarily, "we" will be used for an agreement or something Dane will do or has done. "I" for a specific personality. And "you" for a different persona. But this varies on occasion.
General Note: I won't always write these. They will mostly only provide the dialogue when he's confronting someone or he's alone. Regardless of if I write his split personality, he is talking to himself somewhat regularly - except in fast-paced situations he might not have the time to think coherent sentences and just has to focus on acting.
Note: I should really rework this at some point - if you don't know how to write him, outside of a fight, write him like your average person with no distinct traits besides intellect. He'll seem nice at a glance, and any internal mind games he plays rarely make it to the surface.
Dane Regan is by all means a very complex individual. He acts like a normal person most of the time because that is beneficial to him, but in most cases he really doesn't care. Suffering a large disappointment in the past led him to believe many of his years were wasted, so out of spite and sheer willpower he tries his best to make the most of the skills he has - putting them to use for the sake of putting them to use. With the exception of actions driven by curiosity, he helps people because he can, not because it's the right thing to do. For example, he might know of a better method of crop-rotation than the current one a village is using. He'll introduce this to them simply because otherwise his knowledge is going to waste. Yes, he could sell it. But anyone he sells knowledge to will usually make more money overall or benefit more from it than Dane himself would from the income - so out of spite Dane provides most information for free unless there's something he wants in return.
Coming back to his curiosity, Dane strives to learn more about the world. He believes everything can be explained logically and rationally with rules and laws, even people and Omni. Should he not know these rules or laws, he will try to make and discover them. Naturally, because of this outlook, he finds solace in mathematics and general logic (so he would probably enjoy computers should he ever access one), so often equates other concepts to mathematical equivalents, or tries to explain using maths based analogies.
If there's no evidence, he will reject something unless the claim sits within something that's easily believable. Even after witnessing something he thought was impossible, he will often try to find a logical explanation that sits within the possible. For example, some things like conservation of energy he believes will always remain true.
While Dane acts like a social animal, and definitely does not see any shame in asking for help when help is needed, he is not phased by someone acting antagonistically towards him. In fact, he actually revels in the sensation. When given something or someone to rebel against, he will jump at the opportunity. Perhaps because it's putting his skills to good use. Complimenting this, Dane will never make the first move in a fight, unless him being attacked in inevitable. Or he's outnumbered and, should the very likely fight commence, he needs every edge he can get. Or if someone else he likes is liable to getting hurt if he doesn't strike first. He will, however, try to provoke someone into fighting him, and has done so in the past, just so he has an "excuse" to fight them back. Dane will always respond to violence on a higher magnitude than that dished out to him. So, if someone intentionally shoves them, he'll flat out punch them in the face. His aim is to push a strong image of himself onto others, and he reasons a potential fight will be stopped a lot quicker like that.
Dane is a borderline narcissist. He avoids acting above others unless it's from an egotistical point of view. He does, however, still look down on most people who aren't intelligent. His reasoning is that he isn't actually that smart and that he just thinks better than everyone else. How many other people actually question the world, and then use the answers they get? Not many. Of course, Dane probably is smarter than most regardless of what he thinks. Which may just be a somewhat optimistic point of view on his part as he wishes everyone else was smarter. Likely because he associates intelligence with rationality.
Despite his rational outlook, he will often do irrational things simply because he can. His rational reasoning for this is that if he only acts rationally then he'll quickly become predictable. This is partially the reasoning behind his unorthodox fighting style. It also includes why he'll happily risk his own life while doing something unexpected. Though this is partly due to him being curious about what would happen.
"Split personality":
Lastly, Dane has a somewhat split personality. He is very capable of acting like someone else, so, he reasons, he should also be able to think like someone else as well. What originally started as a mental game due to a lack of individuals he perceived as being "friend-worthy", turned into a compulsive habit. Dane constantly talks to himself in his head. Or, more specifically, Dane's alter ego's talk to each other. They often insult, criticise, or complement "Dane" and each other. Dane hasn't assigned labels to any of them.
In the past, I used to colour code them (see the spoiler below). Now I just write them all in italics as they're not actually "real" alternative personalities. He just talks to himself in a variety of ways.
[spoiler]
Red: Can generally be summarised as Dane's anger, frustration, pessimism, and impulsive tenancies. It primarily criticises Dane and very rarely gets a "front seat" to his actual actions. It pretty much suggests to do everything Dane even slightly wants to do but knows he can't/shouldn't/would be disadvantaged if he did.
Blue: Can be summarised with the word "science". It isn't a bundle of logic, but it prioritises his curiosity and new knowledge. As well as laments any sciency thoughts to keep his brain occupied during silence.
Green: Dane's "feelings matter" persona. A replication of what Dane imagines a more emotionally driven person would act like.
[/spoiler]
Of course, while these may all seem distinct, they do tend to merge together in some circumstances. And often agree. Dane himself is a mix of these, and he often has them talk to each other while he's performing actions, writing, or talking out loud. Which causes him to seem scatterbrained. He may occasionally make jokes about "the voices in his head" telling him to do something should someone ask why he did something "dumb". Lastly, the thoughts use "we", "I" and sometimes "you" mostly interchangeably. Though primarily, "we" will be used for an agreement or something Dane will do or has done. "I" for a specific personality. And "you" for a different persona. But this varies on occasion.
General Note: I won't always write these. They will mostly only provide the dialogue when he's confronting someone or he's alone. Regardless of if I write his split personality, he is talking to himself somewhat regularly - except in fast-paced situations he might not have the time to think coherent sentences and just has to focus on acting.