Sort of stream of consciousness, so I'll be just talking at first about my initial impressions of Ana. This isn't a riff on the player or anything, just my initial impressions, ideas, and suggestions.
It seems like Anabella has an anger issue, but seems to reserve it especially against the Amarr. Which, as a defining characteristic, is something I like to call the CAPSLOCK paradox. It's taking something UAD from the lore of a certain people and making it louder and more important. The problem with the paradox is that by making the letters bigger, it sort of makes it more important without making the substance any different. Therefore, Anabella is doing the Matari thing exactly as we'd expect a Matari thing to be, just moreso. Which is probably giving you the problem that, on the one hand, it makes her "Matari" the person and thus subject to every racist comment from a member of the IGS, but also doesn't give you a lot of fuel because she doesn't stand out enough by manner.
There probably is a lot more going on behind the curtains for her, but it doesn't come off that way because the IGS is extremely heavily weighted towards the PVP community. That means our characters' races and cultures get pretty immediately slotted into a set of easily-defined categories. In other words, the CAPSLOCK paradox Bella seems to have isn't necessarily your fault. It's just happening because as complex as her control panel might be, all you've ever had much cause to hit has been the red button that comments on certain subjects. It's Hell trying to get the IGS onto another subject and keep it there so that we can process some character development.
I've been trying to engage Bella on a more human level so that she has a bit more room to breathe, since it's obvious you're really trying to push another dimension in on her. It's just fairly difficult, especially considering Constantin's race is going to be constantly getting in the way. That might be why there's a fairly noticeable RP burnout I've seen so far. It just gets so calcified that people literally have nowhere to go. When they try to go somewhere new, they start dragging baggage.
So, that said, if you want to give her another angle, I would step completely out of that factional mindset. I don't think Bella is going to be able to showcase any other sides if everything she is ever involved with is going to rotate around her faction and trying to branch out. You've basically got two options:
1: Additive. Add a quirk to her personality that breaks up the monotony. Give her a reason why she dislikes the certain things she dislikes more than just because she has to. Give her reasons and then look for breaks in that armor that allows her to treat individuals on more of a case-by-case basis. That will give Anabella a reason to interact more flexibly with other characters she might not have interacted with before. It will also, probably more helpfully, let her interact more idiosyncratically with people she already interacts with. The problem will be working that angle in, as the IGS isn't exactly a good place for people to see a lot of angles. It's worth a shot though.
2. Subtractive. Have a major event that causes Anabella to rethink her life. That's a way to sort of roll back certain things you think might be pigeonholing your character. If you think the problem is that the direction you're going is just too far from where you want to be, you can always introduce a plot element that causes Bella to alter course and affect her worldview. This is a little harder to do convincingly and takes a while to do organically, since as most people know it's very difficult to change your mindset in real life, let alone when you're essentially an immortal god-being who doesn't necessarily have to worry about personal danger. It's also a more drastic option, but it might be the only way forward with the character. It'll at least get people talking if you pick something worth commenting on.
Either of these two options or a combination of both can get you back on track. Your goal is to make Bella stand out not as a character that you can sort of summarize in a few words, but someone that stands out from everything she's a part of. If she's just a particularly loud part of the background noise at IGS, you'll probably find personal interaction with her difficult. To make her stand out, though, you have to be working towards making Bella very human and very understandable in real terms. That way, we don't just see her as a fan wearing the team colors, but as a person with legitimate gripes, beliefs, and rationality.
If you need me to, I can probably write a post to give you a canvas, though she doesn't seem to be fond of any Amarr, including Constantin. Still, if I can help, let me know.
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Topic: Stalled and need advice (Read 5918 times)