FAQ.
+ What is this?
This journal is a roleplaying journal used in various communities dedicated to roleplaying. What that means is that the person represented in these posts is fictional. Think of it as a writing exercise. Brody is not real; he's a character from a story I made up, and every single post in this journal, unless tagged OOC, is part of a fictional story. He's not any more real than Legolas or Santa Claus or Jimmy Kimmel. ... maybe that last one. Srsly, I can't stress this enough. This journal is written from the perspective of a fictional person. I don't think I'm a vampire.
+ WTF Roleplaying?
Man, do I make fun of your hobbies? Roleplaying is when a bunch of nerds like me sit in front of their computers making fake journals for their fake characters and respond to each other "in character," playing a ... role. Hence, roleplaying. Google it if you really need to know more. Brody primarily roleplays in xanadoodle and thedressingroom; he responds to prompts in various communities as well.
+ Who are you? I heard you're a huge bitch. My name is Ariel, and I can be reached via private messaging on this journal. I live on a diet of baby feet and sadness and write a lot. Yes, I am over 18.
Additionally I have no idea where I got my e-reputation but I honestly don't sit around manipulating the puppet strings of the internet to troll people all day. If my character(s) are mean to you it's honestly nothing personal; if I am tagging you, I probably like you! I don't troll IC.
+ So who the hell is Brody and why should I care about him?
Well, you don't have to. In fact you don't have to read any of his posts at all. But Brody is an original character from a short story I'm in the process of writing. Everything you could possibly want to know about him is here, but in summary:
Brody is a character I invented and began playing in the fall of 2007. He grew up to a poor family in the South, to a white father and a Native mother. His parents loved him but didn't take very good care of him, and after he developed stigmata (which he calls his "Jesus PMS") at the age of twelve, he began acting out and making very stupid, very risky, and very inappropriate decisions. When his parents came to the conclusion that he was gay, they sent him to an ex-gay camp to "help" him. Severely traumatized, he ran away with an older man only a few weeks after being released, and was then re-traumatized when his parents died, his "boyfriend" assaulted him and left him for dead, and he had to relocate universes after the destruction of his. He had some misadventures since then (three+ years of game canon is a long time, y'all) and is currently 17 years old (...permanently) and a Tzimisce vampire, having been Embraced due to someone accidentally killing him and the Sabbat believing he's a lot more important to their cause than he is. He is a sex worker who's trying to navigate the evolution of his personality towards hardened street kid behaviour with his very confused racial, gender, and sexual identities, while coming to terms with an ethical code that's causing him to question what sin and forgiveness really mean.
The initial inspiration for Brody was a documentary called Jesus Camp. I had done some reading previously about the ex-gay movement, which took me in that direction. (For the record--nothing I write about in that regard is hyperbole. It's all based on real things.) He draws inspiration from a number of different sources, namely, that documentary, the movie But I'm a Cheerleader, Biblical canon and apocrypha (yeah, I actually read the damn thing), and personal experiences with the mental health industry, institutionalization, queerness, gender identity, and sex work.
His username is a play on words; "Camp Jesus" is what the ex-gay camp he was incarcerated in was nicknamed by the kids there, but it could also mean "a campy Jesus".
+ Whoa that is some violent shit, wtf is wrong with you?
So, so much.
Okay, no, since, like, a lot of people don't get it: look, this character is not supposed to be Happy Snuggles Sunshine Rainbow Kawaii Uke Yaoi ^___^ Time. He used to be a lot "softer" in terms of content, but as I've played him his storylines have gotten darker, and I am writing a vampire. You know, the fucked up monstrous kind, not the sexy True Blood/Twilight/Vampire Diaries kind. (...OK to be fair WoDpires are kind of ~sexypires~ it's just that mine are not the type you want to date.) He is supposed to be disturbing; if it disturbs you, then... good, you're a normal human being? I openly admit in like, nearly every OOC discussion I have about him that what he does is fucked up and weird and distressing and often pretty wrong. For instance, you should probably not eat anyone :C
Anyway, so, like, yeah, if he squicks you, all you gotta do is tell me and I will not tag you anymore. I always put warnings for content that may be triggery, but if I leave something out that you find triggery please tell me and I will start warning for it. I don't know, I don't even think his shit is all that ~edgy~, this is basically par for the course for old World of Darkness. (Have you read the Nephandi book? I have. Why did I read it.)
+ Hey wait a minute! Your character said something, but his profile says something totally different!
That's called "lying". Characters do it.
+ Hey, that's cool. I like your writing, can I friend this journal? For sure. I will probably friend you back unless you are using an OOC journal, and I'd appreciate it if you dropped a note, especially, so I'll know if it's OK for me to comment IC on your posts!
+ Can I play with Brody? Yes. Even if he doesn't have you friended, any in character comments are welcome in his journal, or you can PM or IM me to have me set up a post specifically for your character. I love playing with new people. I don't respond in character to journals belonging to real life people, because I have a very firm IC/OOC line and it freaks me out when people break it, but hi, I see you there, thanks for reading :D
+ Your character sucks and is a Mary Sue. Yes, he is. Here is a solution to your dilemma: do not play with him.
+ Who is that in his icons? A dude, mostly. I made them, please don't take them; not that I'm like OMG DUN STEEL but because it took me forever to find a unique, appropriate face for this character (and then make the ten bazillion icons) and it would make me sad in my parts to see them elsewhere. I have a lot of similar PB icons over at pbsbyariel, if you're looking for a face for your own character(s).
+ What's with all those random-ass text icons and weird shit?
So, like, you've presumably got your own Livejournal, and are your icon slots just full of pictures of yourself you painstakingly cropped, resized, and recoloured in Photoshop? No? They aren't? Well, in all likelihood characters wouldn't do that either. With posts and comments that are intended to take place in the fictional version of Livejournal my character uses, I have a set of text icons that he would actually have uploaded to his actual LJ and use in his actual posts. These icons are totally visible by your character, whereas, like, pictures of his face, probably not, because seriously WHO TAKES THE TIME TO UPLOAD LIKE 100 ICONS OF THEIR OWN FACE WITH VARIOUS EXPRESSIONS TO USE ON LJ. No one. The end!
(In formats like SWS, where it's always more ambiguous whether the interaction is occurring in person or through text, I tend to switch between the two, because I'm never sure what the other person is interpreting. FUCKING COMPLICATED. Generally, though, when I want to indicate that interaction is done solely through the internet, I will use this font, which says "THIS IS TAKING PLACE ON A COMPUTER".)
+ I don't understand half the shit you say. IDK MY BFF JILL?
Being a teenager and addicted to The Internet, Brody (and his writer) tend to use a lot of netspeak. Here's a handy dictionary.
BFF = Best Friend Forever
BTW = By the way
FFS = For fuck's sake
FTLOG = For the love of God
FYI = For your information
HTH = Hope that helps
IDK/IDEK = I don't (even) know
IDGI = I don't get it
IMO/IMHO/IMFO = In my (humble) (fucking) opinion
NGL = Not gonna lie
OIC = Oh, I see
OMG/OMFG = Oh my (fucking) God
O RLY? = Oh really?
SMH = Shaking my head
SRSLY = Seriously
TBF = To be fair
TBH/TBQH = To be (quite) honest
WTF/WTAF = What the (actual) fuck
W/E = Whatever
Y SO SRS = 8}
+ WTF? Is he a dude or a chick? Vampires? Jesus? Alternate dimensions? Brody got his start in the roleplaying world on a multiversal/panfandom community, where characters from all different parallel universes converge to interact; for this reason dimensional travel is easy for him. Check dear_multiverse/dmooc for more info on these things. Brody plays with characters from all different fandoms for this reason; the universe he is currently located in is one based around White Wolf's World of Darkness, which, as you may surmise, is a world of fucking darkness, not snuggles and rainbows. As far as gender, in-character, he's still navigating that; he's very young and never had the opportunity to ask questions about his gender identity before now. (I tend to use male pronouns to keep things consistent, but any pronouns are correct.)
+ Is Brody supposed to be Jesus? No. There's a longer explanation, but: no.
+ DO YOU GET OFF ON ALL THIS SEXUALIZING A TEENAGER??!?!?!
No. Get out.
This journal is a roleplaying journal used in various communities dedicated to roleplaying. What that means is that the person represented in these posts is fictional. Think of it as a writing exercise. Brody is not real; he's a character from a story I made up, and every single post in this journal, unless tagged OOC, is part of a fictional story. He's not any more real than Legolas or Santa Claus or Jimmy Kimmel. ... maybe that last one. Srsly, I can't stress this enough. This journal is written from the perspective of a fictional person. I don't think I'm a vampire.
+ WTF Roleplaying?
Man, do I make fun of your hobbies? Roleplaying is when a bunch of nerds like me sit in front of their computers making fake journals for their fake characters and respond to each other "in character," playing a ... role. Hence, roleplaying. Google it if you really need to know more. Brody primarily roleplays in xanadoodle and thedressingroom; he responds to prompts in various communities as well.
+ Who are you? I heard you're a huge bitch. My name is Ariel, and I can be reached via private messaging on this journal. I live on a diet of baby feet and sadness and write a lot. Yes, I am over 18.
Additionally I have no idea where I got my e-reputation but I honestly don't sit around manipulating the puppet strings of the internet to troll people all day. If my character(s) are mean to you it's honestly nothing personal; if I am tagging you, I probably like you! I don't troll IC.
+ So who the hell is Brody and why should I care about him?
Well, you don't have to. In fact you don't have to read any of his posts at all. But Brody is an original character from a short story I'm in the process of writing. Everything you could possibly want to know about him is here, but in summary:
Brody is a character I invented and began playing in the fall of 2007. He grew up to a poor family in the South, to a white father and a Native mother. His parents loved him but didn't take very good care of him, and after he developed stigmata (which he calls his "Jesus PMS") at the age of twelve, he began acting out and making very stupid, very risky, and very inappropriate decisions. When his parents came to the conclusion that he was gay, they sent him to an ex-gay camp to "help" him. Severely traumatized, he ran away with an older man only a few weeks after being released, and was then re-traumatized when his parents died, his "boyfriend" assaulted him and left him for dead, and he had to relocate universes after the destruction of his. He had some misadventures since then (three+ years of game canon is a long time, y'all) and is currently 17 years old (...permanently) and a Tzimisce vampire, having been Embraced due to someone accidentally killing him and the Sabbat believing he's a lot more important to their cause than he is. He is a sex worker who's trying to navigate the evolution of his personality towards hardened street kid behaviour with his very confused racial, gender, and sexual identities, while coming to terms with an ethical code that's causing him to question what sin and forgiveness really mean.
The initial inspiration for Brody was a documentary called Jesus Camp. I had done some reading previously about the ex-gay movement, which took me in that direction. (For the record--nothing I write about in that regard is hyperbole. It's all based on real things.) He draws inspiration from a number of different sources, namely, that documentary, the movie But I'm a Cheerleader, Biblical canon and apocrypha (yeah, I actually read the damn thing), and personal experiences with the mental health industry, institutionalization, queerness, gender identity, and sex work.
His username is a play on words; "Camp Jesus" is what the ex-gay camp he was incarcerated in was nicknamed by the kids there, but it could also mean "a campy Jesus".
+ Whoa that is some violent shit, wtf is wrong with you?
So, so much.
Okay, no, since, like, a lot of people don't get it: look, this character is not supposed to be Happy Snuggles Sunshine Rainbow Kawaii Uke Yaoi ^___^ Time. He used to be a lot "softer" in terms of content, but as I've played him his storylines have gotten darker, and I am writing a vampire. You know, the fucked up monstrous kind, not the sexy True Blood/Twilight/Vampire Diaries kind. (...OK to be fair WoDpires are kind of ~sexypires~ it's just that mine are not the type you want to date.) He is supposed to be disturbing; if it disturbs you, then... good, you're a normal human being? I openly admit in like, nearly every OOC discussion I have about him that what he does is fucked up and weird and distressing and often pretty wrong. For instance, you should probably not eat anyone :C
Anyway, so, like, yeah, if he squicks you, all you gotta do is tell me and I will not tag you anymore. I always put warnings for content that may be triggery, but if I leave something out that you find triggery please tell me and I will start warning for it. I don't know, I don't even think his shit is all that ~edgy~, this is basically par for the course for old World of Darkness. (Have you read the Nephandi book? I have. Why did I read it.)
+ Hey wait a minute! Your character said something, but his profile says something totally different!
That's called "lying". Characters do it.
+ Hey, that's cool. I like your writing, can I friend this journal? For sure. I will probably friend you back unless you are using an OOC journal, and I'd appreciate it if you dropped a note, especially, so I'll know if it's OK for me to comment IC on your posts!
+ Can I play with Brody? Yes. Even if he doesn't have you friended, any in character comments are welcome in his journal, or you can PM or IM me to have me set up a post specifically for your character. I love playing with new people. I don't respond in character to journals belonging to real life people, because I have a very firm IC/OOC line and it freaks me out when people break it, but hi, I see you there, thanks for reading :D
+ Your character sucks and is a Mary Sue. Yes, he is. Here is a solution to your dilemma: do not play with him.
+ Who is that in his icons? A dude, mostly. I made them, please don't take them; not that I'm like OMG DUN STEEL but because it took me forever to find a unique, appropriate face for this character (and then make the ten bazillion icons) and it would make me sad in my parts to see them elsewhere. I have a lot of similar PB icons over at pbsbyariel, if you're looking for a face for your own character(s).
+ What's with all those random-ass text icons and weird shit?
So, like, you've presumably got your own Livejournal, and are your icon slots just full of pictures of yourself you painstakingly cropped, resized, and recoloured in Photoshop? No? They aren't? Well, in all likelihood characters wouldn't do that either. With posts and comments that are intended to take place in the fictional version of Livejournal my character uses, I have a set of text icons that he would actually have uploaded to his actual LJ and use in his actual posts. These icons are totally visible by your character, whereas, like, pictures of his face, probably not, because seriously WHO TAKES THE TIME TO UPLOAD LIKE 100 ICONS OF THEIR OWN FACE WITH VARIOUS EXPRESSIONS TO USE ON LJ. No one. The end!
(In formats like SWS, where it's always more ambiguous whether the interaction is occurring in person or through text, I tend to switch between the two, because I'm never sure what the other person is interpreting. FUCKING COMPLICATED. Generally, though, when I want to indicate that interaction is done solely through the internet, I will use this font, which says "THIS IS TAKING PLACE ON A COMPUTER".)
+ I don't understand half the shit you say. IDK MY BFF JILL?
Being a teenager and addicted to The Internet, Brody (and his writer) tend to use a lot of netspeak. Here's a handy dictionary.
BFF = Best Friend Forever
BTW = By the way
FFS = For fuck's sake
FTLOG = For the love of God
FYI = For your information
HTH = Hope that helps
IDK/IDEK = I don't (even) know
IDGI = I don't get it
IMO/IMHO/IMFO = In my (humble) (fucking) opinion
NGL = Not gonna lie
OIC = Oh, I see
OMG/OMFG = Oh my (fucking) God
O RLY? = Oh really?
SMH = Shaking my head
SRSLY = Seriously
TBF = To be fair
TBH/TBQH = To be (quite) honest
WTF/WTAF = What the (actual) fuck
W/E = Whatever
Y SO SRS = 8}
+ WTF? Is he a dude or a chick? Vampires? Jesus? Alternate dimensions? Brody got his start in the roleplaying world on a multiversal/panfandom community, where characters from all different parallel universes converge to interact; for this reason dimensional travel is easy for him. Check dear_multiverse/dmooc for more info on these things. Brody plays with characters from all different fandoms for this reason; the universe he is currently located in is one based around White Wolf's World of Darkness, which, as you may surmise, is a world of fucking darkness, not snuggles and rainbows. As far as gender, in-character, he's still navigating that; he's very young and never had the opportunity to ask questions about his gender identity before now. (I tend to use male pronouns to keep things consistent, but any pronouns are correct.)
+ Is Brody supposed to be Jesus? No. There's a longer explanation, but: no.
+ DO YOU GET OFF ON ALL THIS SEXUALIZING A TEENAGER??!?!?!
No. Get out.