It's no problem! Situations like these can be tricky to explain.
From a completely OOC/RP standpoint, the best way to look at the alignment is choosing one that would best fit the character and how you think they will feel. Under normal circumstances, the easiest way to determine that is choosing which emotion they are most naturally inclined toward and the one they express most. So really it is more of the most "active," and those "active" emotions could come from either the surface or deep rooted. However, some characters are a bit more nuanced and aren't as obvious, and this is where it can be more difficult.
So in your example with love/hate, the initial choice would be Elios (love and hate). But if the reasons for those emotions aren't readily available, you would need to consider what your character will do in the game and how 1) their general behavior would be; or 2) which emotion, even if rare, would reflect his character more. This latter option lends more to your question about the drops. If you choose an alignment that is only "activated" or "visible" very rarely, but is still representative of the character, then yes, those drops would be larger.
To give an example, let's take Tamaki Suoh from Ouran High School Host Club and your character. Tamaki is known to be happy all the time full of love for everyone. So he's a toss-up between Elios (love) and Daimonia (joy). Let's say we pick Daimonia for Tamaki. He might have a lot of happy feelings every day, and that will certainly give a lot of drops, but because they happen so frequently the drops are smaller. They still stain and color the crystal, but the accumulation is slower because of the drop sizes. So Tamaki is representative of option #1. Your character, on the other hand—let's say we choose Piphron. On a day to day basis, not much will happen for Piphron. His crystal will still accumulate other drops, but none that are going toward the alignment so his crystal just remains neutral for the most part. But if an event occurs that triggers an emotion of trust or distrust toward someone, that drop will form and it will be three times larger than the drops Tamaki made. In one event, your character's one drop is about the same amount as three day's worth for Tamaki. That's how it would work for option #2.
There is yet a third way to choose alignments. You can just arbitrarily choose one and that can also be reflected in the character's choice. Generally alignments are "pre-established" so right now most characters are only beginning to learn and discover who they are aligned with. So you as a player can just pick one and the character is set. But it is possible for a character to make an in-game conscious decision as to which Arehtei they want to align with. In this situation, you don't need too deep of a reason, but from an player standpoint, it would be best to choose something that you might want the character to work on. If they don't normally feel joy, you might want to have them aligned with Daimonia and work on that kind of character development for them. In-game wise, that means they could be put in situations where they have to actually try and experience those feelings, either naturally or forced.
This third option is probably the best option for players who have characters that could be all over the place and difficult to choose just one. It's a bit more "forced" and arbitrary, but it's still doable. There are in-game references indicating that even the locals of the past consciously chose an Arehtei and half-forced emotions to work toward that alignment.
Phew, that was quite a lot and I hope I did not end up confusing you more! If I did, let me know and I'll try and clarify any points.
no subject
From a completely OOC/RP standpoint, the best way to look at the alignment is choosing one that would best fit the character and how you think they will feel. Under normal circumstances, the easiest way to determine that is choosing which emotion they are most naturally inclined toward and the one they express most. So really it is more of the most "active," and those "active" emotions could come from either the surface or deep rooted. However, some characters are a bit more nuanced and aren't as obvious, and this is where it can be more difficult.
So in your example with love/hate, the initial choice would be Elios (love and hate). But if the reasons for those emotions aren't readily available, you would need to consider what your character will do in the game and how 1) their general behavior would be; or 2) which emotion, even if rare, would reflect his character more. This latter option lends more to your question about the drops. If you choose an alignment that is only "activated" or "visible" very rarely, but is still representative of the character, then yes, those drops would be larger.
To give an example, let's take Tamaki Suoh from Ouran High School Host Club and your character. Tamaki is known to be happy all the time full of love for everyone. So he's a toss-up between Elios (love) and Daimonia (joy). Let's say we pick Daimonia for Tamaki. He might have a lot of happy feelings every day, and that will certainly give a lot of drops, but because they happen so frequently the drops are smaller. They still stain and color the crystal, but the accumulation is slower because of the drop sizes. So Tamaki is representative of option #1. Your character, on the other hand—let's say we choose Piphron. On a day to day basis, not much will happen for Piphron. His crystal will still accumulate other drops, but none that are going toward the alignment so his crystal just remains neutral for the most part. But if an event occurs that triggers an emotion of trust or distrust toward someone, that drop will form and it will be three times larger than the drops Tamaki made. In one event, your character's one drop is about the same amount as three day's worth for Tamaki. That's how it would work for option #2.
There is yet a third way to choose alignments. You can just arbitrarily choose one and that can also be reflected in the character's choice. Generally alignments are "pre-established" so right now most characters are only beginning to learn and discover who they are aligned with. So you as a player can just pick one and the character is set. But it is possible for a character to make an in-game conscious decision as to which Arehtei they want to align with. In this situation, you don't need too deep of a reason, but from an player standpoint, it would be best to choose something that you might want the character to work on. If they don't normally feel joy, you might want to have them aligned with Daimonia and work on that kind of character development for them. In-game wise, that means they could be put in situations where they have to actually try and experience those feelings, either naturally or forced.
This third option is probably the best option for players who have characters that could be all over the place and difficult to choose just one. It's a bit more "forced" and arbitrary, but it's still doable. There are in-game references indicating that even the locals of the past consciously chose an Arehtei and half-forced emotions to work toward that alignment.
Phew, that was quite a lot and I hope I did not end up confusing you more! If I did, let me know and I'll try and clarify any points.