Ithiliel wrote on 2011-09-22 15:38
My sister said it best and very eloquently so I'll just paraphrase it, "You have a mask in place, and ever so slowly it cracks. When it finally shatters instead of leaving the pieces, you pick them up, brush them off with a slight smile and put it back on". So yes, I do have a "front", am I going to discuss about what or why? No.
Sumpfkraut wrote on 2011-09-22 16:06
I don't really create a fake image but I tend to vary wildly in my behaviour, at least on the internet, I guess because I emphasise less with people I can't see, smell, hear etc.
There are some things I would not like to be public but they never come up anyway, so...
Chockeh wrote on 2011-09-22 17:34
I always try to impress people :/... I act like I'm a very social person, IRL and online, but I'm actually quite anti-social. Whenever I'm invited to a party or something, I don't want to go, but I go anyways. I really don't like drinking, but I drink when I've been offered to. I guess that I really succumb to peer pressure. Hell, I even lost my virginity to it... Also, I try to hide my interests and hobbies. Nobody except my family knows I watch anime or read manga. NOBODY. Hell, my whole online persona is a total secret to everybody 'cept me.
Cynic wrote on 2011-09-22 17:36
Personas can be fun. They can get you in a lot of trouble if used improperly or you lie a bit too much, but yeah.
Worst that ever happened is when I got called out for pretending to to be a guy (this was when I was 13 and still in vacation in Narnia, mind you). I had a name, interests, like and dislikes all picked out..
It's like split personality disorder, but without the /actual/ disorder.
Strawberry wrote on 2011-09-22 17:42
Not much, but I do believe if you're ever going to lie, lie for a friend. Or, lie to get yourself out of a situation where you feel like you have to use your blood and sweat to crawl you out later on.
Nobody really knows my interests, or my online stuff either. Irl, I'm extremely anti-social for a fact, and don't make friends that easily. I don't mind working along for the most parts of stuff at school or anything, but honestly, I hate when I get called out by my teachers telling me to go make friends. Honestly, I am fine with the current friendship circle I have, and choose not to get involved with people with irrelevant things to say.
Arsik wrote on 2011-09-22 17:45
For the most part, I'm actually very honest and open about myself. I'm not very outgoing (read: shy), so I don't talk to many people on my own will, but if they're willing to talk to me freely and want to get to know me, I have no problem talking to them. Because of my shyness, I appear from the outside to be an extremely silent person who only talks when spoken to (which is kinda true), but once people get to know me, they see that I'm actually a [s]birdbrain[/s]carefree and loveable guy that's a bit of a clown with a quick wit. And once I feel that a person actually has an interest about me, and not just asking because they feel forced to, I will talk to them about myself and what's going on with my life.
I pretty much wear most of my emotions on my sleeve, so it's pretty obvious for people to know when I'm in a bad mood or not, which is both a good thing and a bad thing. While it's nice that people that care about me will ask me what's wrong when they see me in a terrible mood, there are times when I don't want to be around people and keep things to myself, and get a little annoyed when they do ask what's wrong. Anger is an emotion that I, for the most part, have gotten rid of, and don't show when I truly am pissed at/about something. Going through puberty, I got angry often, obviously because of hormones, though there were times when I just got truly angry. When someone made me truly pissed of, I more often than not, black out and come to sometime later unaware of what happened after I went angry.
One example was during gym freshman year, a kid purposely threw the ball at my face because I was playing some good defense against him. The next thing I know, I'm standing there with blood trickling down my face, fear in the eyes of my classmates, and then noticed that there was a trail of blood around the gym. Apparently, I didn't do anything but just stare down the kid who chucked the ball at my face with some pretty murderous eyes and walked after him, though not really going for him. Though, if what everyone that witnessed the event told me was true, I probably would have severely beaten the kid to the brink of death, if not flat out kill him, if I had gotten my hands on him, just from the look in my eyes, which looking back truly scares me that I do have the potential to kill someone, and scared even more that I won't actually remember the act of doing it, which would traumatize me more, coming back to my senses bathed in someone else's blood with no clue on what happened. Of course, if I do kill someone in a fit of rage, unless a person has actually seen me get pissed off, they will tell you that they in no way believe that I could have done it, because they know me as a gentle person that wouldn't hurt a person if at all possible.
I wouldn't really call my gentle nature a mask, since again, I have no recollection of what happens to me when I'm pissed off, nor am I angry all the time and just pretend to be gentle so that people can be around me. Hell, aside from a few rare moments, I'm seriously never angry. I'm not an antisocial person, so putting on a smile to talk to people isn't a mask. Once you know me, you'll see that I have problems talking to new people because of my shyness. I don't "lie". I do lie when it comes to passing by greetings like "Hi, how are you?" "Good, and you?". Even if I know the person to the point where I'll confide in them, I won't tell them that I'm having a bad day if it's just a passing by thing. It's much easier to just reply "Good" and go our separate ways than it is to tell them that I'm having a ****ty day, and have them stop and listen about my problems.
Likewise, that doesn't mean that I won't stop to help someone. Even as a little kid, I was always more than willing to help people out with their problems, whether it was a homework problem, help them practice for a sport, or even just to sit and listen to them rant about something to get off their chest. I enjoy the feeling that I get when I see someone smile or just have a slightly better spirit thanks to what I did to help them. I don't do it for the words "thank you", nor for me to use it against them in the future when I need something. As long as they got something positive out of it, I'm more than satisfied. In fact, I get a little upset when someone tries to show their appreciation for what I've done for them. When they thank me, I tell them that they don't need to thank me for what I did, and in the rare occasions that someone actually gets me a gift, I try to weasel my way out of receiving the gift, a good example recently being Katie wanting to buy me a gift on Steam for my birthday a few months ago, and I constantly tell her that I don't want it. Once I gave up on trying to convince her not to get me something, I just told her I'll think of something for her to buy me, and put it in the back of my mind, hoping she'll forget it one day, even though I told her I'll pick something out (sorry Katie). When my family asks me what I want for my birthday/Christmas, I tell them I don't know, and just go about my day like the conversation never happened, and often just get cash so that should I ever come up with something, I'll buy it myself, (though many times, I just use the cash for necessities instead of something special), and the only way for someone to gift me something that isn't cash is like what Hanna did for my birthday and gifting it to me without my knowledge of doing it with no way of giving it back. It's not that I don't like that people giving me stuff, and I just take it for granted, and I'm very appreciative for them for giving me something, but most of the time, the gift is because they appreciate what I've done for them, and I feel like my helping them doesn't need to be rewarded for.
As for my views of the world, I'm pretty vocal about how I dislike many things, such as human nature, government, religion, and things like that. While it's true that I think that humans are an evil group of people, many of whom only think for themselves, I do know that there is good in everyone, and instead of just taking a person as being "bad", or "evil" at first glance and giving up on them, I try to see if I can find the good in them. I never consciously wish death upon anyone, even if the rest of the world believes that said person deserves it, because I view all life as precious. Even if a large majority of the world hates a person, there's at least one person in the world that does care for the person, and that's more than enough reason to let the person live. Now, I'm not saying that I like everyone. There are people that annoy me and I don't really care for, but instead of hoping that they get hurt or something terrible happens to them, I just ignore them as much as possible. I start out, showing respect to everyone I meet, and if they lose that respect, by being an annoying prick, or an inconsiderate asshole no matter what, or something along those lines, then I just pretend I don't acknowledge their existence. If they come to me, seeking help and/or advice, I'll tell them to beat it, and walk away, unless I truly see that they really want it, and not just coming to me because they were forced to, either by someone else making them, or they literally don't have any choice.
And technically, while "Arsik" is a persona for the real Zac, if anything, Arsik is probably a more extreme version of me in real life. I'm much more of a smartass online than I am in real life, and I'm actually much more inclined to fall into a "clique" online than in real life, where in real life, I could pretty much hang out with anyone without having to change my personality. Of course, online, I'm also more shy than in real life, probably because of the fact that online means anonymity, so I don't know if I'm talking to the actual person, or someone that a person made up, where as in real life, it's much harder for someone to put on an act, so it's easier for me to click to a person in real life than it is online, since I can actually read the other person's emotions. But otherwise, I don't put up a front to hide my true self.
ajec wrote on 2011-09-22 18:11
Quote from Yoorah;595172:
TA is a mad scientist! D8
I can't really contribute to the emofest, though. I think I'm a very average person. D: And I don't tend to lie because I suck at it.
^ sorry I'm like Yoorah, I'm pretty average person, I'd say I'm a bit over achiever in RL...but not as much compared to my RL friends.
go to school. volunteer. work. study. hang out with friends. volunteer. do sports. play games. facebook stalk friends. VOlunteer. Study LSAT. Fight with parents. Make up with parents. Watch tv. play mabi. rinse. repeat.
I'd say I'm actually more social in real life than online...
Regarding the op and the idea of "fronts". Everyone plays a role, we act differently towards our parents than towards our friend. I don't swear in front of my mom, but I do use profanity with my friends. I'm formal and polite to strangers and "acquaintances" but I'm quite sarcastic with my close friends.
I talk about Anime and Mmorpg with one of my close friend, but I talk about LSAT, but not anime with my other close friend.
This doesn't make me less "real" towards the other or that I'm putting up a "front."
Phunkie wrote on 2011-09-23 08:01
I try not to do that. But it happens.
For example, when dealing with someone I really don't like (which is rare, since I don't harbor many negative feelings towards people), I act polite and civil, as anyone should, and I expect the same treatment in return.
For people who are just obnoxious and dumb, I tend to ignore them.
I always try to be as honest as I can with others.
Phunkie wrote on 2011-09-23 08:01
I try not to do that. But it happens.
For example, when dealing with someone I really don't like (which is rare, since I don't harbor many negative feelings towards people), I act polite and civil, as anyone should, and I expect the same treatment in return.
For people who are just obnoxious and dumb, I tend to ignore them.
I always try to be as honest as I can with others.
Athde wrote on 2011-09-23 09:03
Quote from TA;594569:
Yes.
Don't read this if you're going to judge me:
(I apologize in advance if what I've written offends anyone.)
[SPOILER="Spoiler"]I actually don't empathize with the plights of others. Natural disaster, mass murders, personal loss, the death of pets, friends, or loved ones, horrible lives, none of it.
Something is wrong with me. I lack a sense of moral responsibility or social conscience, but I'm not antisocial.
There are many things people are abhorred by that simply don't phase me. Murder, pedophilia, you name it. About the only thing that does bother me is rape and mutilation. If you're going to mutilate someone, at least have the decency to kill them afterwords. And as for rape, well... I only empathize with extreme circumstances, or the rape of children or animals. Though at the same time, I couldn't care less about consensual sex with children or animals. I know I should, but I just don't. With animals, I think it's something disgusting and unnatural that I would never do, but I don't morally judge people that do it. And as for children, well... if it's consensual then I simply don't care whatsoever.
Though along those lines, if it's prior to puberty then I would look at it along the same lines as mutilation, and I would look down on it. But once puberty occurs, like ages 11-13 or so (depending on the individual), then if they want to have consensual sex with someone, then that's fine by me, whatever age their partner of choice may be. To me, putting people in jail and labeling them sex offenders for something like a 20 year old boy having sex with a 15 year old girl with a completely developed body that honestly looks like she's an adult, that's just... it's ludicrous. What gives us a right to assign an arbitrary number to something that changes per an individual basis?
Ah whatever... I have many problems with society.
I always pretend to respect people's religious beliefs, for instance, but if someone is religious I instantly think they're an idiot and that never changes. Especially when people start talking about miracles and the work of god and thanks to god, and all of that stupid bull****.
I have no problem with abortions, or even mothers killing their babies. Like I said, murder doesn't bother me. If murder or death actually personally affects me, then I would care. But anyone else, and I would not.
I have no problems with human cloning either, or slavery, or even experimenting on people to further science - though preferably vegetative people or "clean slate" clones. For example, we could clone people, grow them in labs, and ensure that they are entirely brain dead. It would be great for product testing and also scientific testing and human safety.
Although I wouldn't particularly care if we grabbed people off the street for that, as I wouldn't empathize, I still wouldn't agree with it on principle. People have families and lives, after all.
Though, I am also a horrible person that believes that we should cull people with major disorders like down syndrome and all the others, including physical ones. They damage the gene pool if they're allowed to reproduce and it just strains the rest of us keeping them alive. What happened to natural selection? Now we pamper the outcasts that would have been left to die in nature, and thereby been removed from the gene pool and we would grow stronger as a species. But no, this pathetic human created thing we call "morality" is there like a shining beacon, holding us down.
I'll never forgive ignorance and religion for holding back scientific advancement. Over a thousand years of Dark Ages that we could have advanced. We could have had computers a thousand years ago if the Dark Ages hadn't happened. Just think what kind of computers we could have now... Hell, we could probably have flying cars and space ships! Holorooms, true virtual reality, you name it... A thousand years is a massive time... and the saddest part of all of it is.... we never really truly pulled out of the dark ages. We're still being held down by religion, even today.
Such ignorant masses... it really sickens me. *sigh*
So, yes. I act. I act like none of the things I mentioned above bother me. I act like I care. I act like a model citizen and how a member of my family should act. But, in the private world of my mind... I'm a very different person. Very different indeed...[/SPOILER]
I probably never should have told a soul a word of that though... :gloom3:
I swear that is exactly how I think. You must be a wizard :O
I generally think it's more of a 'let people do what they want' sort of attitude. Cause if they mess up, it's not your fault. You don't point fingers, you simply don't care. And It was Death Note where I believe Kira stated how people put up a facade everyday to blend in with society. You can't give in to primal instincts else there would be a lot more wrong with the world.
As far as careing goes though, the only ones I truly care about is my family(and my pets. you don't mess with a man's dogs). Other than that I'd probably save myself before everyone else. Reason being is I feel like it's everyone's job to make the world better. And no matter who it is, if it's you or me, ill choose me 9 times out of 10 simply because I know what i'll do if you're gone, but I don't know what you will do if i'm gone.
Wow this feels like a revalation :D