Character Study #2 - Chris Q - 11/3/13

[Deleted]

I do miss the old days of 3-4 RPs per cycle of back-and-forth shoots.

Sometimes.

[Deleted]

I know I'm new here, but I just can't resist commenting on this as a guy who's primarily written naked shoot style RPs since getting into this game long, long ago.

The two mistakes I think people make when going shoot-heavy are, first of all, thinking they have to wait for their opponent to go first. Don't. Set the table. Use your shoot to get right into your opponents face and try to force them to address the strengths/weaknesses of the matchup as you see them. Getting out early allows you to shape the narrative and lets you set the talking points.

Secondly, people make the mistake of using their shoots to try solely to counter what their opponent said in theirs. But roleplays are just that... roleplays. They are the players way of influencing what the actual 'cannon' of the fed is... but they're not the core of that 'cannon'. The true undisputed backbone of a fed is it's results. The results are the staff presenting the absolute cannon of a fed, their view of who the characters actually are after considering the handlers attempts to shape that view through their RPs, and it's the results that hold the true gold of a successful shoot, in my opinion. Going after your opponent with material dredged from recent event results is always going to be more effective than just going point-counterpoint with them from one RP to the next.

That's the way I see it, anyway.

[styg]

Oct 30, 2013 23:09:19 GMT -5 @desastor said:

first of all, thinking they have to wait for their opponent to go first.

This, absolutely. A few months ago I had a match where I posted my roleplay about 8 hours from deadline. My opponent - who had not yet roleplayed himself - accused me of sandbagging. Why couldn't he go first? Could he really not write without me giving him something to work from? Bleh.

[Vinny]

This is an excellent discussion, and I'm glad the character study sparked it but I don't want it to hijack this thread any more than it already has. I'll post about this topic in the OOC Discussion. Please leave the rest of this thread as it relates to the Chris Q character study, until everyone has posted their feedback.

Link: fgawrestling.proboards.com/thread/2839/rping-first-response

[Chris Q]

I'm still hoping to hear from a few people...

[Vinny]

Jesus, my bad. For some reason I thought the deadline was the 10th. How embarrassing...

[Vinny]

Character Study - Chris Q

Favorite RPs

- The Hit List. A bit of a self-serving choice, but I liked this RP. The simplicity of line “They fucking stole it from me. Now they’re all dead…” perfectly encapsulates Chris Q's persona. The rage, and the singular focus. It also shows Q's ability to respond to a loss. As I'll talk about later on, this shows Q's ability to eviscerate a character's flaws in a shoot, and does so in juxstaposition to Q's own flaws (namely, alcoholism and self-loathing). 

- Back In Hell. I enjoyed RP because it is a case study in building anticipation. There's been questions about Chris Q's past, his motivations, etc since he came into FGA, but you've resisted the urge to answer those questions too soon. This extra bit of build-up made the pay-off all the more compelling. Also, the shoot on Madman was venomous and excellent.

- The Yearlong Party. Finally, the pay-off to long unanswered question, the revelation of what Chris Q was running from and how it was coupled with the realization that he is really is as much of an asshole as he pretends to be. That's a powerful moment for a heel character; when they go "all-in" into being a bad guy. We see not only Chris Q's cowardly departure, but his complete lack of remorse. He doesn't give a second thought to leaving and at no point in the year since he's left has he even looked back. 

Favorite Segment
I enjoyed the back and forth with Sean Sands. This did a lot to establish Sands as a legitimate contender. 

Character Analysis
When I read a Chris Q piece I'm reminded of the Rolling Stones' song "Sympathy for the Devil." There's something charismatic about Q, despite the fact that he is an obvious and unrepentant asshole. It's always easier to like a winner, and Chris Q's winning streak was something epic. It is a testament to your ability as a writer to take a tired trope (the hard-drinking bad-ass) and keep it fresh and entertaining. At no point in reading one of the RPs did I think I was reading something I'd read before.

Your shoots are the best. It's that simple. They are surgical; precise and deeply cutting. Your ability to diagnosis and exploit character flaws is second to no one that I've ever worked with. I remember we came in at the same time and I read your first RP and thought "This is the guy I'm going to have to look out for."

To go back to "The Yearlong Party," the pay-off is all the more effective because Chris Q has been so successful and so charismatic. He cashes in that charisma at a 2-to-1 exchange for heat (i.e. because he had likable elements of his personality, the reveal makes him even more like a scumbag). His complete lack of self-reflection can be explained away by his copious alcohol abuse and, ironically, his success. When you succeed there's no reason to question whether you've done the right thing; but Q finding himself back in Texas offers a ton of interesting avenues to explore and I can't wait to see where you go with it.

I find myself flip-flopping with my cereal box psychiatry degree as to whether Q has an inferiority complex, a God complex, or something else. He's as dangerous to himself as he is to everyone else. He's wild and reckless, but - for the most part - it all works out for him (a great quality in a heel). There's moments where Q, in his own way, actively tries to be less of an asshole. The old woman in Providence (I forget which RP this was) and the girl in Back In Hell are examples. Q is an interesting cat.

Criticisms

Sometimes it feels like everyone not named Chris Q is just window-dressing; they exist purely to further the Chris Q Story and allow him to deliver witty one-liners (my favorite being "Fuck off!" "Everyday..."). But even this is a weak criticism because it shows the transient nature of Q's existence. It shows the hollowness of his partying and the self-centeredness of his focus. The fact that everyone around him is uninteresting actually works more as a positive than a negative. Shit, I guess that's not much of a criticism then is it?

Okay, I'll try again. It could be argued that the build-up to the big background reveal took too long, but I'm a fan of everything going at its own pace. So I guess the only critique I have left is the response stuff that was beat to death in this thread.


I believe I've told you before, Nick, but I think you're one of the most talented writers that I've seen in this game. Your mastery of your character is second to none.

[styg]

Chris Q is someone I'm approaching as much by reputation as by experience. He's pretty much "Mr FGA", with one of the most formidably dominant title reigns I've seen in any fed in the last year. But as a relative newcomer and a part-timer here in FGA, I haven't kept up with roleplays on a show-to-show basis as much as most here.

Descriptions are short and to the point - they get across his personality very economically, but more importantly the brevity of description reinforces how blunt Chris is as a person. Great job there.

He's both a great and logical heel. Quite simply, he clearly loves the sound of his own voice, and I'd wager loves the smell of his own shit. Unfortunately he can back it up, too, so he has a self-created aura of invincibility. Nobody's really beaten him yet, not properly, so he stops believing it's even possible...

...it'll be interesting to see, between his loss to Sean Sands and the revelation in "The Yearlong Party", where he goes next. I'm pretty excited to see the next chapter in the Chris Q story. The slow, gradual change from arrogance to delusion, with odd hints at the buried turbulence partly to blame for it, is fantastic. I don't think that could have been better paced, and now it feels like an organic time for something in him to change.

Another great heel trait Nick does very well in Chris Q is that a lot of the smack he talks doesn't actually really make sense, but you can almost believe it. His recent promo against Madman is a great example.

Regarding Vinny's point about the people surrounding Chris kinda being backboards for him to bounce off... I can't tell whether that's meant to be played straight, or whether all the interactions are filtered through the lens of Chris's self-importance. Maybe it's me at fault there, but I feel like it's the former, and I'm not too keen on that if it's the case.

That aside, my biggest criticism is that almost every roleplay follows the same formula - Chris is a jerk to someone, they get mad and he shrugs it off, then he cuts a promo running down his opponent and calling himself the best. It works, but I personally like to see more variety. That said, instalments like Photograph and Juxtaposition, which still really only hint at the man behind the party, do masses for his development. I like slow burn stuff.

[Jerry]

(Yes I stole Vinny's formatting. I liked it, sue me. )

Favorite RPs

- Blur. For me, I loved the CD in this rp. You finally get some more of Q's past in his "friend." The really bad thing is after the follow up was posted, I actually felt a little remorse for Q. Fuck his friend and his greedy ass. I also loved the shoot portion of this roleplay a lot. I like how Q. comes on and virtually shits on the other titles that get some play around here from other promotions. It almost felt like he was coming out and defending FGA on the recent beating that it took in FGA/Frontier. I know for him, it's more of a self-serving man makes the title not title makes the man, but for an uber heel like Q., that's probably the best you'd get as an FGA fan. I also think I like this roleplay so much because it involves a member of the Murder. Q. is probably the one force that you feel can stand up to the Murder, and he's only one man. I akin it to the reverse of circumstances leading in to WrestleMania 6 - two top faces in the industry main eventing. The two biggest heel forces in FGA, it makes for a hell of a show any time they lock up.

- The Hit List. Holy shit, Chris Q. is pissed everybody, and I literally mean back the fuck out of his way because I'd be afraid of him if he came into my bar. The shoot in this rp was intense and it really says something when a guy like Q. is actually condescending to a monster like Drake. It was hard hitting, insulting, and speaks to the level of a Q. shoot. Would love to see these two go at it again. Made for some fantastic reading.

- The Yearlong Party. For similar reasons to what Vinny said. Jesus Christ was is possible to have Q. become more of an asshole than he already is? The answer is yes, this one did it. Maybe it also has to do with changing perceptions on life with what's happened with me this year. In any event, it was fantastically played and I was NOT expecting that. I do imagine little Q. growing up without a father and drinking whiskey out of a baby bottle for some reason. :-\ As always loved the shoot here. Q. really plays up to his strengths, as always, making me feel that Sands is a huge underdog going against the streak.

Favorite Segment
I'm going to be selfish, but my favorite was the segment where he rolled Chris Tryon for his stash. I thought it was hilarious and I like looking at Q. as the biggest bully in the yard. You don't fuck with a man who can grow a beard like that. LMFAO!

Ok ok... the back and forth with Sands at Respect is Earned... Fucking awesome. Really built up the anticipation for that match. When you have a segment that makes you feel like you're watching something as opposed to reading it, that's when you know it's well done. This one did that for me.

Character Analysis
Chris Q. is one of my favorite characters in e-fedding of all time. The guy is so flawed you feel like he could crack anytime, but he makes it work. Wrestling is the one thing that keeps him going. One of the things I think that you do an awesome job of Nick, is that you allow him to look vulnerable in the CD segments, but when it's time to do the shoot: It's the Chris Q. Party Bitch! Great dynamics there and I think it adds so much depth to the Q. character. I love how you have slowly built the Q. story over the months. You didn't reveal too much at once and it was a huge payoff prior to Respect is Earned. (Damn, Benny... You were right.) I also loved the CD segments where he wakes up with the blood, crying in the hotel with the sirens... You're thinking that he finally did it. He snapped and killed somebody. Then you did a brilliant job of turning it around on me with the follow up CD segment.

From a shoot standpoint - I think Chris Q. has the most violent, biting, verbally assaulting shoots I have ever read in this game. I remember reading your roleplays was one of THE reasons that I joined FGA because I was so taken aback by how balls out they were and I didn't want to miss out. I'm not going to get on that other conversation in this thread as I touched on it in the other. I think the fact that many times your shoots are strong enough to stand on their own, without a CD piece, speaks to how strong of a writer you are. I sure as hell don't feel confident enough in my abilities to do that. Everytime I think that you've topped yourself in the last shoot, the next one comes along and slaps me around some more. I have sore cheeks reading your shit, Nick. Stop it.

Criticisms
For me, there is none. I love everything about the character: an absolute monster of a heel who seemingly has no weaknesses in the ring, whereas outside of the ring you get the feeling that he's about to keel over and die, hugely flawed, and still an absolute asshole. That's my two cents.