To extrapolate a bit on where I'm coming from on this, I believe that everyone has some portion of themselves in their roleplay characters. No matter how great or how infinitesimal that portion may be.
This isn't to say that if you RP a jerk that you are a jerk, too. But rather, your interpretation of how that jerky character should act is formed uniquely from your perspective. Putting your own spin on a character archetype is putting a piece of yourself into the character. Exploring the results of that is actually one of many reasons RP is so much fun.
However, everything I just described up there should not be confused with "bleed" or "blending".
When most RPers talk about blending, we're talking about negativity that is bred from doing so. We're talking about something that goes beyond escapism sometimes. People who either can't or have great difficultly separating fantasy from reality. To be fully immersed or invested is one thing. To use roleplay as a means to nurse some fragile obsessive need a person may have to be praised, desired, or vindicated... That's something else.
This isn't to say that if you RP a jerk that you are a jerk, too. But rather, your interpretation of how that jerky character should act is formed uniquely from your perspective. Putting your own spin on a character archetype is putting a piece of yourself into the character. Exploring the results of that is actually one of many reasons RP is so much fun.
However, everything I just described up there should not be confused with "bleed" or "blending".
When most RPers talk about blending, we're talking about negativity that is bred from doing so. We're talking about something that goes beyond escapism sometimes. People who either can't or have great difficultly separating fantasy from reality. To be fully immersed or invested is one thing. To use roleplay as a means to nurse some fragile obsessive need a person may have to be praised, desired, or vindicated... That's something else.
