Flavor Text and you. How to stop having sexy-buttcheeks

[Dea Tacita]

Flavor Text:

What it is: A configuration option that’s available (But not required) in the character creation menu. It’s grown quite popular since it has been implemented a few years ago, and even got a new face with the update allowing for limb-specific texts. It is used for ‘objective’ physical descriptions of a character.

What it isn’t: A place for background information, descriptions of specific clothing, or ‘emotion-forcing’ to other characters.

Writing a flavor text

The point of a flavor text is to give a person the ability to look at your character and ‘see what you see’ in-so-far as your character, going beyond just “Oh, a 2D spessman”.

A decent flavor text contains any important physical features of your character. Such as height, hair, facial features, tattoos, scars etc. What I generally do is ‘go down’ a character's body, starting at head and working my way down with the description as this is generally how someone will notice you, head then everything else.

A critical part of writing a F.T. is an understanding of the correct type of tense to you. I’ve seen people use 1st. person, which is incorrect and should be replaced with the more correct 2nd or 3rd person, like “This is a short, asian woman”, or “You see a short, asian woman.” instead of “I am a short, asian woman.”

The most common error I see is a subjective description instead of the more correct objective description. What I mean by this is “They are a beautiful woman”. By doing this, you are forcing a train of thought into another character's head. Another good example is “They look scary” or “They look like a badass” avoid these.

Instead of “They’re the prettiest girl you’ve ever seen” actually describe their physical features and leave it up to the players to decide if they’re pretty. Beauty is subjective, not everyone looks at one specific type of facial feature as “beautiful”.

Another thing to avoid is putting how your character moves or talks in your flavor text. Instead of writing this off and demanding everyone hear your “Thick space-Russian accent” actually RP a Russian accent to the best of your ability. Use emotes and the ‘me’ verb to show how your character moves. A good way to look at this is, it’s perfectly possible that someone might see your character while they’re seated, or sleeping in the dorm. How would they know how your character walks, talks or moves?

An issue that’s rarer than most of the rest of these is the inclusion of clothing and or gear into a flavor text. Your character will not always been wearing these particular pieces of clothing and that’s generally something to be avoided. Vague references to how your character wears certain things are permissible however, such as “Their hands tend to hover around in their pockets”

[Guest Menown]

I've found a use of "often" is a good thing to have in your FTs.

It implies that your character has a changing emotion, which lots of people do. It can also be used to describe visible changes, depending on their clothing, IE, a woman with a feminine figure, might not have that easily shown in say, an Engineer's jumpsuit.

[Guest Marlon Phoenix]

actually RP a Russian accent to the best of your ability.

 

Please don't. I'd rather imagine the russian accent after reading it on a flavour text than cringe repeatedly watching a train-wreck of someone failing to write an accent correctly.

Iz like ze german charakterz havingz ze bad accents, ja?

[Rusty Shackleford]

actually RP a Russian accent to the best of your ability.

 

Please don't. I'd rather imagine the russian accent after reading it on a flavour text than cringe repeatedly watching a train-wreck of someone failing to write an accent correctly.

Iz like ze german charakterz havingz ze bad accents, ja?

 

What he said. Most of us have probably not gone to Russia (or Germany for that matter) and resided within it long enough to pick up the nuances of a proper Russian accent. Also, describing motion is something good to put in your flavor text, because constantly using a 'me' to describe your character's limp gets annoying fast.

The biggest thing, is to avoid the subjective and include only the objective in your flavor text. Other than that, you can put anything you want, really.

[Rechkalov]

...with that being said, would anybody here happen to have any useful tips as to writing convincing accents?

I mean, I find that extremely difficult (without resorting to the Hollywood Nacistic Communist villain sort of approach) - I don't think knowing the language as such really helps.

(welp, I'm a slav, and I have no clue as to how do you write a slavic accent)

I suppose there should be two main points-

1) How to make the accent convincing

2) -without making it annoying as an SSD baldie.

I've heard somebody suggest to use 'v' instead of a 'w' for German accents - how about that?

[Carver]

I've heard somebody suggest to use 'v' instead of a 'w' for German accents - how about that?

 

[Tainavaa]

I've heard somebody suggest to use 'v' instead of a 'w' for German accents - how about that?

 

 

I remember reading that in a book compilation of scary stories when I was 15. It made me laugh.

I also believe that describing the general movements of your character is perfectly acceptable, and in fact should be encouraged. The general section of the flavor text is for a general description - if your character moves about lazily, someone looking in their general direction is going to notice that.

[Valkrae]

Onto the clothing post, with the articles of clothing.

What about custom items that may reflect a person, but aren't in a game? Perhaps a necklace, or a ring, etc etc.

[Dea Tacita]

I can understand stuff like rings/necklaces... but those could be in-game if you wanted them to be and make an application to the custom board.

what I mean in the post is like "Her blood-red sec uniform reveals her sexy buttcheeks"

[Guest]

(welp, I'm a slav, and I have no clue as to how do you write a slavic accent)

 

When playing my russian character, I just use bad english language syntax without an accent, similar to the one I use while speaking my first language (Srbocroatian). My main problem when spelling english language are the vowels, whose pronunciation changes depending on position, while they are constant in my own (only the first vowel in a word is accented and it's done simply).

Example:

Correct syntax(I think. If not then FU english.): "Mark, can you please bring me a cup of creamed coffee?"

My bastardized slavic english syntax: "Please, Mark, can you bring me a cup of coffee with cream?"

While they could both work in english, the differences are that 'Please' is used to bring attention to yourself while 'creamed' isn't grammatically correct form in my language (since it would mean that the coffee is made of cream, not coffee with cream). Other than that, I just tag my above mentioned vowel problem as an accent and also often use "Yes?" when answering, which may or may not sound weird.

It's not so much as tearing the grammar or spelling apart and mixing foreign words as it is about subtle differences in speach. I've yet to get feedback if people actually hear my character as a russian chick, though.

[Valkrae]

-snip- could be in-game if you wanted them to be and make an application to the custom board. -snip-

 

Currently, There is a large backlog of apps, due to the new map taking precedence. So, The items in flavor text are somewhat needed.

[Dea Tacita]

-snip- could be in-game if you wanted them to be and make an application to the custom board. -snip-

 

Currently, There is a large backlog of apps, due to the new map taking precedence. So, The items in flavor text are somewhat needed.

 

Like I said. Custom little items like that I think are fine, aslong as you don't go into deep-fuggin detail about your 'fancy red jumpsuit'

[Guest]

Please, tell me all about your dorito stains on your beard and pantlegs.

[Valkrae]

We don't talk about that guy anymore.

ever.

[Farcry11]

We don't talk about that guy anymore.

ever.

 

I am bringing Kevin Mahoney back.

I AM.

Moving on from the subject of intentionally cringey neckbeard characters... This is what I subconsciously visualize every time I see "Russian accented" characters:

 

[Guest]

Moving on from the subject of intentionally cringey neckbeard characters... This is what I subconsciously visualize every time I see "Russian accented" characters:

 

Idk what you're talking about, this is my russian character.

 

[EvilBrage]

It ain't too hard t' jus' type out th' accent when y'get used t' it - long as th' other players know what'cha mean when y'type it out, y'should be a'right.

[swat43]

First off, brage.. Jesus. H. Christ.. what is that! Are you Texas boy or something?

But anyway, to serious part, what about having a link that shows the person through a picture, like hand drawn art of your OC.

[Valkrae]

There are multiple people that do that, so I'd assume it's fine.

As long as its SFW and tasteful for the server.

[Vittorio Giurifiglio]

First off, brage.. Jesus. H. Christ.. what is that! Are you Texas boy or something?

But anyway, to serious part, what about having a link that shows the person through a picture, like hand drawn art of your OC.

Used to do that, lost the link.

[Guest]

Is it okay if we describe the intricacies of tattoo design on our buttcheeks?

[Jamini]

[Draculabot]

As a player of a character with a great deal of tattoos, is the description I have for her ink a problem?

[Ryfer]

As a player of a character with a great deal of tattoos, is the description I have for her ink a problem?

 

It's only okay if the tattoos are on buttcheeks. And they have to be sexy buttcheeks.

In all seriousness, I don't see a problem with that. That's something I feel flavour text is for, along with people's edgy scars and whatnot. Stuff you'd actually just see, nothing more, nothing less. As long as it stays realistic.

[Dea Tacita]

As a player of a character with a great deal of tattoos, is the description I have for her ink a problem?

 

As long as it's tastefully done, it should be fine. I have tattoos on ....basically every Human character I have.

Ex:

 

At the edge of her fore-arm, just below her elbow is a water-color ink tattoo of a human curled up in the fetal position, with their back and feet dissolving into a mass of scattered blue-pink dots. Beside it being a black-ink star, wrapped in the words "We are all stardust"

 

From shoulder-blade to wrist, Atalanta's entire right arm is engulfed in a sleeve of ink. From a flock of peaceful-looking white birds of an indeterminate species at her shoulder to an seemingly endless cluster of wispy clouds on her upper-arm, and a torrent of stormy seas, complemented with the occasional sea-creature from below her elbow to her wrist.

 

On her upper-right shoulder, she has a tattoo of a relatively simple Silver catholic cross, shaded sharply on the edges and fading ever-so-gently as it nears the center where it quietly yields to her own skin. At the center of the cross lays a three-headed leaf of some form painted evergreen on its left portion, bone-white in the center portion and bright, almost neon orange on the final right third. Under it is "Eire, mo bhaile" in stylized lettering, colored in three in the same manner as the leaf above it.

 

At the top of her left arm is a black-ink tattoo of a ribbon, wrapped completely around the circumference of her arm. In the middle of the ribbon in bold gothic, style text is "PLVS VLTRA". The ink of the tattoo has a sheen to it, looking fresh.