I love re-using characters! In fact, nine times out of ten, a character I use for a given RP is a re-used one. This is because I have a few stories in development, and I see RPGs as great opportunities to develop the characters more and practice story-writing in the meantime. Whenever I sign up for a RPG, my first inclination is to look through my character bank, which consists of about 20 characters that I created, and see which one would fit the RPG. If none would fit, I have to either modify one to kinda fit the RPG, or create a totally new one. I actually had to do the latter twice recently because the world the RPG took place in was quite different from the environment of my stories.
Whenever I re-use a character, the field I almost always have to change is the History, since I have to make it fit with the RPG. However, I keep key elements of the character's backstory, like if they had abusive parents or got a job at an auto repair shop. I usually copy-and-paste the Appearance and Personality, but more often than not, I end up tweaking them a bit, or even re-writing the fields so that they're worded better (especially for Personality). I think about my characters a lot, so I often come up with new stuff to add on to them. And sometimes, their role in a certain RPG will cause me to emphasize different parts of their personality, so I'll reflect that in the signup.
Anyway, I dunno if I'll list my entire character bank, but at least I'll list a few of my most common characters from it:
Phoebe is a young and cheerful girl who is optimistic and loves adventure (and ponies - her outfit is even a bit cowgirl-ish), but can be easily scared or freaked out by unusual things, and thinks most adult things are "icky". I haven't had her in any RPGs for several years, but I do like to put her in Pokemon RPGs where the characters are beginning trainers, since she's one of the main characters of a story that used to be a Pokemon fanfic. In that story, she's allied with the element of Air.
Gon is a young teenage Japanese boy who has recently moved to America (or some other foreign country) with his family. He's very close to his little sister Ari, who I also RP as occasionally. Both of them are computer geeks, being very good with electronic gadgets and gathering information. However, while Gon is very optimistic and outgoing and even a bit cocky, Ari is more reserved and shy and emotionless, having not quite adapted to the move. However, despite these differences, they love each other very much, although Gon feels it way more than Ari does. Usually when I sign up as Gon, I have Ari be kidnapped by the villain or in some other sort of trouble, and Gon's determined to get her back. I usually play as Ari in a Pokemon RPG, where I have Gon get a huge head start on her and be close to entering the Pokemon League when she starts her journey. The two are from the same story as Phoebe is; element-wise, Gon allies with Fire and Ari allies with Spirit.
Ashleigh is an adult musician who is very gentle and down-to-earth in nature. However, she is also rather devoutly religious (Catholic to be exact), and can be rather narrow-minded with regards to beliefs people have. Although she's a main character of my ex-Pokemon fanfic like Phoebe and Gon and Ari are (representing the element of Earth), I've never RP'd Ashleigh before, probably because I don't really identify with her, save for the music part.
Yamiko is a moody teenage girl who lives her life under a curse cast upon her by her great-grandmother. As she is very emotional and unstable in nature, I really enjoy writing about her thoughts on things, and how she feels about situations. As the first fictional character I ever created, she has a very rich backstory, which I like to have her reflect on. She is also almost always in a romantic relationship with someone - whether it's someone from the RPG or one of my other characters. In the ex-Pokemon fanfic from before, she's in a love triangle with two guys, and is allied with the element of Water (although Darkness is more appropriate for her, given her name and tendency to lie and steal).
The Black Cat Bandits are a small group of professional thieves who follow an almost gentlemanly moral code. I always enjoy having them in an RPG involving the mafia or other evil organization (where they're secretly working against it), but sometimes I'll have one of their members in other RPGs as well. Which member depends on the RPG:
- Halberd is both the brains and the brawn of the gang. He's always been the biggest and oldest of the group, so he's used to protecting those smaller or weaker than him. He loves both electronic gadgets and swords, and in Pokemon RPGs, his team is predominantly Steel-type. He's more commonly mentioned as an NPC with the other Black Cat Bandits; I've only had him by himself in one RPG (a Persona RPG where he had the Hierophant arcana) so far.
- Warren is a cute hippie who loves cartoons and just generally being playful. He's also a master of disguise, able to play the role of anything from a hardcore gangsta boy to a police officer. I haven't had him by himself in any RPGs yet, though I did have him as an NPC a couple of times (usually as a cop). He's also a furry (or at least likes furry creatures), and recently became my only gay character so far as well.
- Merlin is a paranormal enthusiast with the ability to read people's auras. As he is a very eccentric individual who is also an extroverted flirt, I frequently end up portraying him rather comically, an oddball in regular situations who still remains calm (and highly spiritual and philosophical). Although I always at least loosely mention the Black Cat Bandits in his History, he most often stands on his own as a character.
- Lupin is a highly skilled thief who is also nocturnal and very quiet and serious in nature. As he has a dark past and an obvious sentimental side, I like to play with how those things contrast the usual lonely and somewhat intimidating vibe he gives off. He's always my first pick for RPGs involving crime or infiltrating evil organizations, though I also like to place him in catastrophic situations, especially alongside Yamiko, since he's supposed to be her lover.
- Panther is an uppity motorcycle gal who is loud and outgoing and also quite tough and muscular, yet quite accomplished as a cat burglar. Thus, she serves as a foil of sorts for Lupin. However, I rarely get to RP her anymore; the last RPG I had her in was a superhero RPG, where she had silencing her footsteps as a power and cat ears and a tail for costume. Oh, and she's also Warren's big sister, although she got separated from him at a young age. And as she's canonically a last-minute addition to the Black Cat Bandits, I hardly ever mention her as one in RPGs. That or I'm just sexist.
Mr. D is a passionate and romantic French guy who loves dancing and is affiliated with a fashion design company. However, he's not too bright, and can get rather overprotective of those he loves. Especially Yamiko, for he's the other guy in her love triangle, and the one who is officially her boyfriend. With this love triangle, I change it a lot in the three characters' Histories. If I'm RPing as Yamiko, I'll either mention one of the guys or none at all, but never both together. If I'm RPing as Lupin, sometimes I'll have him be Yamiko's boyfriend, and sometimes I'll have Yamiko be engaged to Mr. D (and have Lupin just be by himself in the RPG). I've never had Mr. D in an RPG by himself; I've only had him in one RPG period, and that was with Yamiko. Oh, and his real name is Remy Demange, if anyone's curious.
Zuri is pretty much the distaff counterpart to Merlin - like him, she has a strong interest in the paranormal and has a habit of speaking in a wise and mystical fashion. However, she is a bit more reclusive and mellow as a person, probably due to having a different background. Her parents practiced witchcraft, but died when she was very young, leaving her to live with her devoutly religious grandmother who tried to save her soul. Due to both her albinism and habit of contacting her parents' spirits, she is often compared to a ghost. I really like using her in RPGs involving a bunch of young heroes with magical powers or companions, as she was originally from a Digimon fanfic.
Amanda, or Venifica as she is sometimes called, is my Black Magician Girl (Zuri being my White Magician Girl with her healing and protective magic). She is highly sadistic in nature, and even loves having pain inflicted on herself. I practically always give her black magic powers, like the summoning of dark fire, necromancy, basic hexes, or her signature torture spell (essentially the Cruciatus Curse). She's also my token anti-hero. Usually I put her under some evil influence (usually that of a villain), and like to have her occasionally show the kind and gentle (and fantasy-loving) side of herself.
Lilith, as the name suggests, is a succubus, but her background is a bit more in-depth than that of the mythological character. She was the leader of a mischievous bunch of young witches called the Wicked Roses, until she fell in love with a man who turned out to be an incubus and had a daughter. In an RPG, I usually find some way to get rid of these other characters - usually I just have them move away or grow distant from her after she became a succubus. Anytime I see an RPG involving vampires, she's the first character I consider.
Tiffany and Daisy are a pair of characters I really like to play with, especially in RPGs involving an unusual emergency situation or stumbling into a strange world. Daisy is a timid and kind-natured flower lover, while Tiffany is an ostentatious perky goth. Where Daisy remains level-headed and cautious, Tiffany goes off on her own and often gets into trouble. And yet, they are the best of friends, so I also like to have them (lovingly) bicker with each other. I recall another RPer comparing them to an old couple, amusingly enough.
Candy and Andy are another pair of characters I like to play with, although I rarely find an RPG they would fit into. They are a musical duo, specializing in bubblegum dance (a type of Eurodance), having a lot of quirky and light-hearted songs about fantastical topics. Like Tiffany and Daisy, I like to play with contrasts in their personality - Candy is the outgoing and energetic one, while Andy is more reserved and calm, and both have their secret badass moments (at different times).
I also have a few characters from a fantasy story I plan on writing, but haven't found a place for them in RPGs here lately. These characters include an ordinary women who discovers she's of royal blood, a boisterous elf who wields a rifle, a pyrokinetic gnomide with a gentle nature, a half-snake necromancer who betrayed the bad guys for the side of good, an attractive harpy who wants to fight rather than start a family, an envious lion who yet likes to help people, a cheerful little witchling with telekinetic powers, and a reclusive vampire with a knack for astrology. Though, I now have a sort of variant of the latter in a My Little Pony RPG, oddly enough.
