A little list of OC questions based on the seven types of love identified in Ancient Greek thought. Obviously this is a highly simplified presentation of some quite complex philosophical concepts from Classical History, intended more for the purposes of entertainment than education. I also left out Mania, which is arguably an eighth type of love (Obsessive), because I'm keeping it mostly positive in these tricky times!
Eros – Romantic, Passionate Love.
Is your OC romantic in the traditional sense? Do they enjoy giving or receiving gifts of flowers or confectionary? Or are there other courtship traditions from their culture of origin that are important to them?
How important is sex to them in a relationship? Do they see it as something essential to their happiness? Would they be able to remain in a monogamous relationship with someone they loved without sex?
How do they feel about public displays of romantic affection? Does it make them uncomfortable? How do they feel if a romantic partner kisses them in public?
Do they believe in love at first sight? Have they ever developed a crush or romantic (or erotic) fixation upon a stranger based on their appearance alone?
How closely is their opinion of their own beauty (or lack thereof) linked to their confidence? Do they see themselves as more or less worthy of love or sex based on how attractive they feel?
Philia – Affectionate, Platonic Love.
Does your OC have a Best Friend? If they do then how long have they known each other and how did they meet? If they don't then do they have a close group of friends they love equally? Or are they more of a loner?
Does your OC find it easy to make friends? Or are there barriers to them doing so? If so then are these due to issues of inclination, communication, or something else entirely?
What qualities does your OC most value in a friend? Loyalty? Shared sense of humour? Or something else?
Is your OC able to build close friendships with people very different from themselves? Perhaps in terms of culture, age or personality?
What is their most fervent wish for their best friend(s)? How far would they go to make it happen?
Storge – Unconditional, Familial Love.
Did your OC's parents love them unconditionally? If so then has this helped them feel confident as an adult? If not then how has this affected them? What were the conditions their family attached to their relationship?
Does your OC have children? If so then how fiercely do they love them? If they have more than one then do they love them all equally? If they do not have children then is this part of their future plans?
How far does parental approval (imagined or expressed) impact upon their current sense of self-worth? What might they sacrifice or attempt to achieve in order to ensure the approval of their parents?
Does your OC have any siblings? If so then did their parents have a favourite growing up? Has their relationship with their sibling changed in adulthood? If they don't have any siblings then do they perhaps feel they have missed out on an important relationship? Do they have any especially close friends who go some way towards filling that role?
Is your OC able to love without necessarily needing or expecting reciprocation or reward? Or are all their relationships to some extent transactional? Have they ever loved another person unconditionally, whether a child or another adult?
Agape – Selfless, Universal Love.
Does your OC wish to make the world a better place? How far do they see that as being their responsibility? What lengths would they go to in order to help achieve this?
Does your OC feel a spiritual connection to the world around them? Do they have a particular love for nature or living things?
To what extent does your OC believe in the value (or even existence) of true altruism? Do they see an unselfish concern for the welfare of others as being naïve or foolish? Or as a moral quality to which people should aspire?
Does your OC have a religious faith which emphasises the importance of a love for all people? If so then do they try to follow these teachings authentically? Or do they just pay lip-service to them? If not then do they follow a more martial or mercantile faith? Or none at all?
Does your OC find it easy to empathise with their enemies? Or do they see it as important to dehumanise them in order to combat them with sufficient determination?
Ludus – Playful, Flirtatious Love.
Does your OC have any particular favourite chat up lines? If not for themselves then perhaps ones they have suggested to a friend? How effective do these tend to be?
Is your OC particularly skilled at flirting? Have they had to practice this or does it just happen naturally?
How does your OC feel about one night stands? Have they ever enjoyed a night of passionate romance with a stranger? Is this something they are quite keen on recreationally? Or only something they might engage in under specific circumstances (such as the eve of a battle or after a difficult breakup)?
Who was your OC's first crush? How do they feel about it now?
What seduction techniques are most likely to be effective when it comes to your OC? Are there some things guaranteed to get them going? Or are they immune to such things?
Pragma – Committed, Long-Lasting Love.
Is your OC in a committed long-term relationship (or relationships)? If so then what has contributed to this relationship lasting so well? If they are not in such a relationship, then is this something that saddens them or which they regret?
What is the biggest challenge that your OC has had to overcome in a long-term relationship or friendship? What helped them get through this?
Are your OC's parents still together? To what degree do they look to their own parents as a model for their own ideal relationship?
After the initial fires of passion cool to some degree, what would keep your OC engaged in a relationship? Shared goals? Similar values? Or contented companionship?
What importance or value does your OC attach to marriage? Do they believe that it is important to make a public statement of commitment to another person (or persons)? Or are they more concerned about inheritance rights and security for their family? Or do they not see marriage as a necessary signifier of commitment and loyalty?
Philautia – Self Love.
Does your OC have a healthy sense of their own worth and value? Or do they see themselves as failing to live up to their original potential? Perhaps they are convinced of their own sinful or inadequate nature?
Does your OC believe that it is important to love themselves in the first instance? Perhaps in order to be able to give and receive love authentically? Or because they believe first and foremost in "looking after number one"?
Does your OC judge themselves by the same standards as they apply to others? Or are they sometimes hypocritical in condemning others for faults they also possess? Or perhaps they find it easier to forgive others for things that they cannot abide in themselves?
Which of your OC's qualities makes them the most proud? Do they think more people should be like them in this regard? Or do they quite like being rare in possessing it?
Has your OC always had the same opinion of themselves or has this changed over time? Have they learned to love themselves - perhaps with the help of others - as their journey progressed? Or have the consequences of their actions only served to erode their sense of self-worth?
✰ lead vocalist of american deathcore band The Womb That Devours
✰ lead guitarist of american metal supergroup Blessed Be
✰ former rhythm guitarist of american metalcore band As Said the Whore of Babylon / former lead vocalist of canadian progressive metal band The Paranoia Paradigm
PHYSICAL PRESENCE AND GESTURE.
1. How do they move and carry themselves? Pace, rhythm, gestures, energy?
2. How much physical space do they use, active and at rest?
3. How do they position themselves in a group? Do they like to be the center of attention, or do they hang back at the edges of a crowd?
4. What is their size and build? How does it influence how they use their body, if it does?
5. How do they dress? What styles, colors, accessories, and other possessions do they favor? Why?
6. What are they like in motion–in different environments, and in different activities? What causes the differences between these?
7. How do they physically engage with other people, inanimate objects, and their environment? What causes the differences between these?
8. Where and when do they seem most and least at ease? Why? How can you tell?
9. How do they manifest energy, exhaustion, tension, or other strong emotions?
10. What energizes and drains them most?
11. How are they vocally expressive? What kind of voice, accent, tones, inflections, volume, phrases and slang, and manner of speaking do they use?
12. How are they bodily expressive? How do they use nonverbal cues such as their posture, stance, eyes, eyebrows, mouths, and hands?
DISPOSITION AND TEMPERAMENT.
13. How do they greet the world — what is their typical attitude towards life? How does it differ in different circumstances, or towards different subjects? Why do they take these attitudes, and why do they change? How do these tend to be expressed?
14. What do they care deeply about? What kind of loyalties, commitments, moral codes, life philosophies, passions, callings, or spirituality and faith do they have? How do these tend to be expressed?
15. What kind of inner life do they have — rich and imaginative? Calculating and practical? Full of doubts and fears? Does it find any sort of outlet in their lives?
16. Do they dream? What are those dreams like?
17. Are they more shaped by nature or nurture — who they are, or what has happened to them? How have these shaped who they’ve become as a person?
18. What kind of person could they become in the future? What are some developmental paths that they could take, (best, worst, most likely?) what would cause them to come to pass, and what consequences might they have? What paths would you especially like to see, and why?
CONNECTIONS WITH OTHERS.
19. How do they behave within a group? What role(s) do they take? Does this differ if they know and trust the group, versus finding themselves in a group of strangers? Why?
20. What kind of individual relationships do they have with others, and how do they behave in them? How are they different between intimate relationships like friends, family, and lovers versus more impersonal relationships?
21. What kind of relationships do they tend to intentionally seek out versus actually cultivate? What kind of social contact do they prefer, and why?
22. How do people respond to them, and why might these responses differ?
23. How do they respond to difficult social moments? What makes them consider a social situation difficult?
24. How do they present themselves socially? What distinguishes their “persona” from their “true self”, and what causes that difference?
25. What do they need and want out of relationships, and how do they go about getting it?
26. How do they view and feel about relationships, and how might this manifest in how they handle them, if it does?
ACTIVITIES AND PREFERENCES.
27. What do they strongly like and dislike, in any category? Why?
28. What are they likely to do if they have the opportunity, resources, and time to accomplish it? Why?
29. What kind of activities, interests, and hobbies do they have? What significance and impact do these have in their lives, both positive and negative?
30. What is their preferred level of activity and stimulation? How do they cope if they get either too little or too much?
31. Is there anything that counts as a “dealbreaker” for them, positively or negatively? What makes things go smoothly, and what spoils an activity or ruins their day? Why?
32. Do they have any “props” that are a significant part of their life, identity, activities, or self-presentation somehow? What are they, how are they used, and why are they so significant? How would these props’ absence impact them, how would they compensate, and why?
THINKING AND LEARNING.
33. How do they learn about the world–what is their preferred learning style? Hands-on learning with trial and error? Research, reading, and note-taking? Observation or rote memorization? Inductive or deductive reasoning? Seeking patterns and organization? Taking things apart and putting them back together? Creative processing via discussing, writing about, or dramatizing things?
34. How do they understand the world–what kind of worldview and thought processes do they have? Why?
35. How and why do they internalize knowledge? What effect has that had on them?
36. How much do they rely on their minds and intellect, versus other approaches like relying on instinct, intuition, faith and spirituality, or emotions? What is their opinion on this?
37. Have they had any special education or training that colors their means of learning about or understanding the world? Conversely, do they lack some kind of education considered essential in their world? What kind of impact has this addition or lack had on them?
38. Is there anything they wish they could change about their worldview or thought processes? What, and why?
39. What sort of questions or thoughts recur in their lives, either specifically or as a theme? Why are these never answered, or answered permanently to their satisfaction?
40. What do they wonder about? What sparks their curiosity and imagination, and why? How is this expressed, if it is?
FREE FOR ALL.
41. What associations do they bring to mind? Words or phrases, images, metaphors or motifs? Why?
42. I have a question of my own!
A - Advocate - How do they show their support for others? Are there any causes that they publicly support? Why?
B - Boy/Girl - What is their gender? What’s their relationship with their gender? Has this changed over time? How does their gender identify relate to their gender expression?
C - Caregiver - How do they give/receive care best? Do they care for everyone or just a small number of people? How do they react to someone in need?
D - Director - How much do they feel the need to have control over their life? Do they spend a lot of time telling others what to do or and they more likely to be more obedient to others?
E - Entrepreneur - How do they make money? Are they willing to take financial risks? How do they approach making deals with others?
F - Friend - What kind of friend are they? How do they judge potential friends? Where do they draw the line between platonic and romantic relationships? How far would they go for a friend? How do they handle conflict in relationships?
G - Growing - How have they changed over time? How has their self-image changed? Are they more or less of a risk-taker? Has their approach to romance changed?
H - Hero - What makes someone a hero in their eyes? Who is their biggest hero in life? Why? Do they consider themselves to be heroic?
I - Inventor - How creative is their thinking? Do they seek out the opinions of others or rely on their own ideas? What’s their problem solving approach?
J - Joker - What’s their sense of humour like? Do they enjoy slapstick comedy? What kind of humour do they enjoy in others?
K - Know It All - Are they a Know-it-All? Do they actively seek out new knowledge? How do they behave around others how have a great amount of knowledge on a topic?
L - Lover - How do they show love? Do they love themselves? Do they believe that all you need is love?
M - Miracle Worker - Who or what do they consider to be a miracle? Do they believe in magic?
N - Navigator - What’s their sense of direction like? Do they have a set path in life that they’re planning on following? What do they do if they’re knocked off course?
O - Organiser - How organised are they? Do they have any unusual organisation systems? What would cause them to be uncharacteristically (dis-)organised?
P - Philosopher - Are they particularly philosophic? What do they believe is the purpose of life? Do they have any particularly strong convictions or ideologies?
Q - Queen - What kind of leader are they? Are they entitled? What have they inherited from their parents? How powerful are they? Do they act superior towards others?
R - Rebel - Do they follow rules, bend or break them? Do they find rebelliousness in others attractive?
S - Seeker - How do they go in search of new information? Do they accept ideas on faith or do they need to test out information for themselves?
T - Teacher - How often do they have to teach others? How do they go about it? How do they learn best? Do they dive in first and reflect later or study the theory of something new before putting it into practice?
U - Ugly - What traits to they find unattractive in others? Do they have any of those traits themselves?
V - Visionary - Do they have a plan for their future? How imaginative or creative are they? Do they have vivid dreams?
W - Witness - What do they consider the best thing they have ever seen? What would they most like to see in their life?
X - Xceptional - Who is the most exceptional person in their life? Are there any rules that they have notable exceptions to? What gets them excited in life?
Y - Yes! - Do they believe in luck? What makes them feel lucky/grateful?
Z - Zoo - What’s the favourite animal? Do they ever behave animalistically? If they were an animal, what animal would they be? Why?
