Diskwrite

I've certainly seen (and experienced the fallout of) that sort of bleed. But in my experience, the real problem happens when someone tries to change the IC situation for OOC reasons- and not all parties are on the same OOC page. If all parties are in agreement OOC about what they want out of the situation, then is there a problem? Different styles can create this kind of conflict themselves, because the players aren't in agreement on what they want out of it and how they approach IC interaction.

Well, my RP partner and I have been friends for a good 2-3 years, and that friendship is a lot more important to me than any story. But we do work together very, very well. So what I would do in this situation was talk to her and work out, together, what we wanted to do. She takes priority. Hopefully everyone would be able to work things out amicably, but if not, then I'd go with her. We've been collaborating very closely on our character's stories anyway. And it's not like either of us would make a big deal out of a plot twist (or derailment) unless it was very important. So... it works for us. Whether or not that's a good idea in the situation you're describing? Well... I can't answer that. Communication is key. But if your old RP partner and your new RP partner can't come to an agreement, then you might have to make a hard decision. I don't think there's necessarily a "right" answer here. Weigh what's important to you, communicate, and act accordingly.

I think, if this is something that would completely disrupt your and your RP partner's plans, then you should have a conversation with your RP partner about it. I get the "roll with it" idea entirely, but when this happens, its important to keep your RP partner(s) in the loop. Thing is, your character has their story and their character(s) have theirs. But when you're working together, it's not just your story anymore. It's a collaboration! If something happens that would affect your RP partners' stories so thoroughly, you should include them in the conversation. UNLESS, you have established in conversations with them before, you know they like being surprised that way. My RP partner and I love surprising each other with twists and turns, but if something came up that would completely change our plans, I'd talk to her about it. We'd figure out together how we wanted to handle it.

Intentionally steering RP in a direction satisfactory to the player over the character counts as using external factors to affect a game. This is fine. It's not actually a problem. I don't think, in this regard, it is a problem either. It's one thing if it's being done in order to get something. But if you're doing it so that the RP thread doesn't upset your OOC partners? Then I think there's a place for it. Such as, I don't tolerate my characters being sexually harassed. I have to deal with that stuff IRL, and I don't want to deal with it in-game. When it does happen in RP, sometimes I find myself deeply unsettled or upset. I don't want to deal with that when I'm engaging in the fun hobby of RP. So that's a boundary I draw. And once I communicate this, I expect my RP partners to follow it. Another example- RP relationships. What if someone, for any reason, isn't comfortable OOC with some IC entanglement? As the person RPing with them, you'd have a responsibility to them. Now you'll need a good IC reason to break it off, or something along those lines. RPers will have their own OOC limits and boundaries, and it is a responsibility, I think, of their RP partners to respect those. Even if that means nudging the characters in a different direction. As I mentioned before, when I've done this, my character has made choices that were in-line with what they would do. It just might not have been their decision had I not intervened. But since I did this for the good of my RP partners, including people I've been friends with for years, I don't see anything wrong with this.

To be honest? I'll do this too. Sure, I'm not going to compromise my character and who they are by doing something that doesn't make sense for them. But there have been times where I've deliberately taken- or not taken- the RP in a particular direction for the sake of my RP partners. In these situations, she'll do something that she would, in fact, do, but I gave her the nudge that way on purpose. It's not something I do often, but it has its moments.

The way I tend to do it is, I give a character certain traits to shoot for a certain level of attractiveness/unattractiveness according to conventional beauty standards. And then I let people judge it as they may! For instance, I don't view Ojene as unattractive by any means, but she certainly doesn't match American beauty standards. Now, whether or not other people's characters see her as such is entirely up to them. When someone refers to their character as "attractive" or "unattractive," I use much the same notion to judge how my character reacts. What they say gives me a good idea of how the character is supposed to be judged (probably according to conventional standards of beauty), and then based on my characters' tastes/judgement, they behave accordingly.

Yeah, sometimes! Ojene may be Lawful Good, but she is also a dick. She has a tendency to steamroll other people. And she's got one hell of a temper. Sometimes this combines in wince-inducing ways. When it happens, I'll usually make a point to communicate OOC. I'll make some "goddamnit Ojene" sort of comment to let the other players OOC know this is all IC. Just in case.

Well, the answer to making this "serious RP," as you put it- I believe that lies in making this a character who happens to be intersex. You can't think of them being intersex as the center of who they are or how you play them. It's just another part of who they are, like the color of their hair or the shape of their eyes. So my first suggestion is, relax about it. Let this just be an incidental fact about them rather than the center of how you think about it. My second is to do your research. First, look into how intersex tends to actually work in the real world. Intersex people do not tend to have both a full-sized penis and vagina. (It happens but it's pretty rare.) Second, read what intersex people say about their own lives and how they prefer to be talked about, including what language they'd prefer to be used. (Remember that intersex people are not a monolith, and there will probably be disagreements amongst that community!) Third, familiarize yourself with the non-cisgendered community in general- again, the language they use, how they talk about their own lives, what they say about things. All this is very important to approaching this sort of thing respectfully, and I don't suggest cutting corners. I know it seems daunting, so I'd start with Googling some 101 articles to give yourself a good place to start. I'd give you some recommendations, but I'm at work so I can't get at that stuff. Don't hesitate at playing this sort of character because some people treat it like a fetish- as long as you aren't fetishizing it, then don't worry about it. Just because someone might assume it's an ERP character based on the fact that your character is intersex... well, they'd be in the wrong. But if you decide to do it, I strongly advise doing whatever you can to do it respectfully. I see this as a responsibility, not an option, when it comes to this sort of thing. Bad representations of already sorely underrepresented group can be really harmful, so this is important! Don't let it discourage you. I just want you to fully embrace the responsibility you're taking on if you do this. :3

You know, this isn't really a question I concern myself too much about. Often enough, I'll play it by ear. I try to give the impression, based on the skillsets of the people around her, where my character stands in comparison to them. But even though I picture her as one of the strongest people around, that doesn't mean she can just wrestle anyone into submission. It's a balancing game, and the ways I show her strengths and weaknesses change depending on who I'm playing with. Because in the end, roleplay is about mutual storytelling. Not making my character out to be the most powerful person in the room. I think, as long as you keep that at the forefront of your mind, this really isn't a big deal. Your character might be one of the best at what they do, sure, but there's always a bigger fish.

I love making things agonizing on my characters. ...Of course, part of that could be attributed to the character I've played for the last three or so years. She insists on making everything difficult on herself. So plotting out things that induce emotional agony in her come very easily. But even for her, piling on tragedy after tragedy would get a little much. I like running her through the emotional ringer so it can all pay off in a wonderful catharsis. Let it all build and build until finally, she scratches out a happy ending through her own pain and blood. That is truly satisfying to me. Not tacking on a sad conclusion at the end. (Besides, I'm pretty sure if I did all that to her and didn't give her some peace in the finale, she would rebel in my head.) Not to say sad endings are bad. I love a good sad story, and the heartbreaking plots I've participated in have been great RP. It's just not my preference. At least, not with this character. It doesn't fit her well, I don't think. If I played a different person on a regular basis? I might be a lot more inclined towards a tragedy ending! But this is what feels right for her, so it's what I prefer to pursue.

It's kind of a cop out to act like the people who are disagreeing you are offended by what you're saying. Especially because later in the thread the people you thank for "providing the thread with sensitive arguments that didn't fall to personal insults or the 'Your opinion offends me' spectrum" are the two people in this thread arguing most prominently in your favor. You say you're looking for a discussion, but when you then discount in this manner the people arguing against what you're saying, it comes off as a bit disingenuous. My point ultimately is that while this discussion is well and good, this thread is not, in fact, constructive criticism. It is gatekeeping. It is saying, "if you do not posses 'x' faculty, you cannot do this." So this raises a number of questions, which include: 1) Who gets to judge whether or not someone has 'x' faculty? 2) Who gets to judge whether or not said person's character portrays 'x' faculty correctly? You seem to be saying this is a personal attack, questioning YOUR capabilities to determine who is and isn't "witty" or whatever other faculty we're talking about here. You say this is easy to determine. That, perhaps, people are calling you stupid when they call this capacity into question? But I don't think this question is so cut and dry. I don't think this is an easy thing to determine, and I'm unclear as to what the standards of possessing "wit" are even being defined as here. Whether or not someone has it or not seems pretty subjective to me. So, whose standards are we going to follow here? But let's say we all come to an agreement on what this means and who has it. That doesn't change the fact that this entire discussion says, certain people are allowed to play a kind of character and... others aren't. This IS a form of gatekeeping, and gatekeeping is not a healthy part of an RP community. As I said before, this doesn't mean you have to play with people who do not play this sort of character convincingly to you. But that doesn't mean you should tell them they can't play their character the way they want to play it. It's one thing if someone's IC/OOC behavior is harmful. (e.x. if someone's self-professed "lady-killer" character is actually harassing every female character in sight and making other players feel uncomfortable and potentially unsafe.) But no one's being hurt if someone's witty character doesn't quite seem like the bastion of wit they're made out to be. When we start saying to people "don't play this," we're stymieing an avenue of their creativity. We make them self-conscious of their own abilities and whether or not they pull it off. And as I said before, this is supposed to be a hobby. A fun hobby. Nothing rides on people's characters coming off as smart as they're supposed to be. The more gatekeeping rules we throw in, the more people start to feel uncomfortable or unwelcome. And pushing people away not only doesn't help them, but it makes our community smaller. We become more concerned with evaluating each other or ourselves instead of... you know, just having fun. Gatekeeping is not a good thing for an RP community. Which is why I resist, and will continue to resist, assertions that someone just shouldn't play a character because someone else says it is so.

Honestly, I hesitate at the language of "can" or "should" here. RPing is not a profession. We do it because we want to. Because it's fun. While some of us may also be writers, we're not setting out to create the next bestselling novel when we RP. When you tell people that they shouldn't play outside their own limits, you're discouraging others. And someone who might have been eager to try a new concept, a new character, or even just play their current OCs and stories, it might make them feel like they should just give up. Like they shouldn't do it anymore. That's not a healthy attitude to inflict on an RP community. Regardless of whether you feel like another player is "up to your standards," a healthy RP community is going to have people from all walks of life. And maybe they don't play that genius character in a way that's convincing to you. If that bothers you... you don't have to play with them. But unless that person is specifically looking for feedback, it's not cool to criticize. You can and should, of course, choose where you want to spend your time according to what you want. And if you or other people are interested in improving how you play a character, widening your own repertoire is something to explore. But when it comes down to it, we're just a group of people trying to enjoy a hobby. I think it's important to respect that.

That's how I felt when I read Death Note. Just cause you're really smart doesn't mean you can figure everything out without sneezing. Out of curiosity, did he paraphrase like that (i.e. emoting that he's delivering a long-winded explanation) or did he also write out the explanation itself? I've seen people type out something like those before. /em explains how ____ works in regards to ____ It's my preferred way of dealing with this, too. You can embellish the sentence and such as you choose, but it means you get to move forward with the RP without trying to explain things you don't know about!

Can they be RPed by anyone? Of course! Like the previous examples given in the thread, our characters can be a lot of things that we, ourselves aren't. But if you want to get more in-depth in your understanding of what your character does and how their mind functions, I suggest doing some research into what they're good at. You don't have to be a master at what they do, hardly. But I personally find it invaluable to have a notion of what your character might think of. How their mental process would work. Things that would make them react and why. How they would respond. So on and so forth. Now, the challenge with a "genius" type character is, the brain functions differently. Without an insider's knowledge on how a genius thinks, it's an extra challenge to be able to write/RP this authentically. (The same could be said for characters with mental disorders, learning disabilities, etc. that you yourself do not have) This isn't just a problem for RPers. This is something professional writers can and do struggle with. As a kid, I always scored ridiculously high on IQ tests, and... well, the "child prodigies" I saw in books or TV shows rarely felt real to me. I don't think this should deter you from playing what you want. This is your hobby, and you should do what you feel like. Whatever is most fun to do.... well, do that! And don't let anyone tell you that you shouldn't. Or that you're not doing it right.

Ojene here certainly pretends to be fearless. She'll take calculated risks and get in someone's face even if she has a feeling an actual confrontation would go very badly for her. But she will try to glare someone into the ground, and she doesn't take very kindly to being mistreated or pushed around. (Or at least, if she perceives herself to be!) This is even more exaggerated if she gets angry. Cause then good sense gets left behind. But this means to people who don't really know her... she seems ridiculous. Fearless and brash in situations she really shouldn't be. But in truth, her air of confidence is half a bluff. This has created some... unpleasant situations for me, OOC. But I try to impress on people that my character is my character. And the way she acts is just... well... that.

Well, the most obvious question for Ojene is, what if she didn't go to Ala Mhigo in 1557 to help the resistance? ...Then she'd have gone another time. Another way. There's no way she could have stood to hear of all that suffering and done nothing. The thought would have eaten her alive! Now, if for some reason she hadn't heard about Theodorac's tyranny? Or the Garlean atrocities? She'd have stayed in Aleport. And over the course of the two decades she was there prior to the Calamity, she would have continued con her mercenary track to become something of a renowned hero. Even if she was still a bit of a curiosity as a foreign Duskwight in La Noscea! She'd probably have gotten married in another few years after 1557. Would've had a couple of half-Roe kids. But then again! She always had a penchant for doing things the hard way. Chances are, she'd have found something else to get sucked into. Now that she's 52, she looks back on what could have been with wistful eyes. But at the time, in her 20s and 30s, she wasn't likely to ever slow down long enough to have the happy familial life. So there's a second question I could ask that seems a little more plausible to me. What if, after she spent her first year in Ala Mhigo, she'd never gone on the secret mission in to Garlemald? She'd have likely remained in Ala Mhigo for about 3 or 4 years. She'd have stayed until she sustained a grievous enough injury that she couldn't fight there anymore. And at the urging of the rebels, she'd have left. Gone back home to Aleport. And in a good few years, she might have been able to start making that happy familial life. Just a little... delayed. But her mercenary days would still have been over. And she'd still carry the mark left behind of the atrocities she'd seen. But she'd still have had a very different life! The Garleans wouldn't have had it out for her, so she wouldn't have to lay low. She'd have found a way to make a career fighting them. Even she wouldn't have lifted the arms herself. ...Of course, this is assuming that, in those 3 or 4 years, the object of her affections wouldn't have come find her. Because he would have been the only person who would have been able to convince her to leave all that behind.

Hedge trees! What are they, exactly? Aside from, you know, part of the hedge. I'm trying to find a good spot in the Shroud for a small, private wedding ceremony, and the area around one of these trees seems really nice. So I wanted to make sure it wouldn't violate some cultural more to hold one there.