Viewpoint Controversial themes in writing/RP

[A Sparkling Zombie]

Sometimes I like exploring gray areas, messy truths, and ugliness. Sometimes I also like creating awful characters, or at least "awful" relative to the usual concepts players develop. I think originally it spawned from a desire to create some kind of IC drama in groups where any character's worst flaws were being blunt or a klutz, before coming to the understanding that the people who make those characters usually aren't looking for the same things in roleplay that I am. Now I think it's more because I like to use it as a way to work out things, seeing how certain bad ideals, actions, and traits influence that character's life.

Often that means rounding out awful characters and not always portraying them as scum - not because I want them to be condoned/forgiven/accepted/whatever, but because, as the saying goes, every antagonist is their own hero, and every person is, for better or worse, still human at the end of the day.

So, sometimes I have played homophobes, sexists, murderers, toxic masculinity, and other unsavory things, and I don't mind people playing similar concepts if the understanding is that we're just telling a story and exploring characters. It's an entirely different thing to be glorifying controversies or using roleplay as a platform to promote toxic ideas.

But I also sometimes like to avoid prejudice, too - just cut out homophobia from the story and simply let the gays be, even if it sometimes means bending reality, sometimes for the escapism, but mostly because I want to explore other themes and conflicts without having to give nods to prejudice every time.

 

[AaronMk]

It takes a lot of tact to tackle big themes; and it's understandable anyone would want to avoid doing it. Though at some point someone may try and discover they fucked it up so hard they retreat from it. But because bigotry and class can be big aspects that inform a character's decision making at a meta level, once you feel like you're able to attempt it you should give it a go as a part of character creation and how that interacts with whatever else is going on.

 

[k0arr]

It’s pretty situational. I’m sure this is just a repeat conglomerate of previous answers but-

Everyone has their limits and everyone handles difficult topics in their own way.

For me, deciding to write and share in creativity is often a vulnerable space. For this space to work we both need an understanding of each others limits and how dark themes are presented and handled.

I’m perfectly fine exploring the oppressions I face as a gay trans masc individual through writing and often this can be therapeutic. But that’s just me. And I am far different from my friends who are different from their friends and so on.

I don’t think there’s one correct way to approach these topics and trying to piece together a singular moral ground is impossible when in discussion with so many people from so many walks.

Be mindful and tactful and respectful of the people you write with and their boundaries while also advocating for your own. Also consider the point of the writing. Is it meant as a way to cope and alleviate the feelings prevelant in the real world? Is it simply being used as a character flaw?

And if you find the person you’re writing with is not compatible, find a way to assert your needs again or find another.

 

[snicker_sage]

I do not mind exploring most terms, in fact, it really helped me to explore my past experiences and dealing with the trauma better.

 

[caramelisedbrownsugar]

When it comes to themes that are controversial and a wish to explore such themes in writing/RP, I think its important to discuss with your RP partner beforehand on how to portray such scenes respectfully and confirm that all parties are agreeable to being open with topics that are sensitive, and if it reaches a certain point where anyone may be uncomfortable with the level of portrayal, to call it off.

There are many ways to discuss such issues in depth, but its important to ensure that everyone remains respectful and understanding that works do not necessarily mean the author condones actions that are harmful to others, nor does it mean they deserved to get attacked for writing about controversial issues.

I feel like in the age we currently live in, people are quick to jump to conclusions and critic/insult others for their works, and it becomes worse when a majority of users will hop on a bandwagon without a thought of what will happen after. It's happened over and over in every website, with works written to portray a topic in negative light, only for the author to get bashed with baseless accusations stating they support said topic although their writing says otherwise.

Separating art from the creator is possible, there are numerous depictions in art where a character smokes, (albeit a "harmless" example to use), but the creator of the art discourages smoking and doesn't smoke. Art is made for entertainment but also to spread awareness, and the content of art doesn't speak for the artist's own opinion on matters that are otherwise complicated and nuanced.

 

[Jannah]

When it comes to themes that are controversial and a wish to explore such themes in writing/RP, I think its important to discuss with your RP partner beforehand on how to portray such scenes respectfully and confirm that all parties are agreeable to being open with topics that are sensitive, and if it reaches a certain point where anyone may be uncomfortable with the level of portrayal, to call it off.

There are many ways to discuss such issues in depth, but its important to ensure that everyone remains respectful and understanding that works do not necessarily mean the author condones actions that are harmful to others, nor does it mean they deserved to get attacked for writing about controversial issues.

I feel like in the age we currently live in, people are quick to jump to conclusions and critic/insult others for their works, and it becomes worse when a majority of users will hop on a bandwagon without a thought of what will happen after. It's happened over and over in every website, with works written to portray a topic in negative light, only for the author to get bashed with baseless accusations stating they support said topic although their writing says otherwise.

Separating art from the creator is possible, there are numerous depictions in art where a character smokes, (albeit a "harmless" example to use), but the creator of the art discourages smoking and doesn't smoke. Art is made for entertainment but also to spread awareness, and the content of art doesn't speak for the artist's own opinion on matters that are otherwise complicated and nuanced.

This is very well-said actually. Writing has always been a medium in which to explore different ideas and even speak out against injustices in society, thus it's inevitable that some sensitive subjects will be explored. Sure, not everyone is into that and it's their right, but writing a homophobic character for example does not mean the writer is a homophobe.

 

[caramelisedbrownsugar]

This is very well-said actually. Writing has always been a medium in which to explore different ideas and even speak out against injustices in society, thus it's inevitable that some sensitive subjects will be explored. Sure, not everyone is into that and it's their right, but writing a homophobic character for example does not mean the writer is a homophobe.

I can’t agree more! If art as a whole form was restricted to only being morally correct, I feel like it would heavily stunt peoples’ ability to critically think, as well as understand that exploration of more sensitive isn’t inherently negative, as it can actually help you reflect and grow as a person, by truly understanding the circumstances around situations that help influence your opinion over things.

Different and unique ideas doesn’t mean they don’t have merit, and its always worth a shot to be open-minded and learn more about the world, just to navigate situations with more tact and understanding than you would have before such discussions.

People are entitled to their own opinions, and if they don’t wish to broach topics that are sensitive for them, they don’t need to. I think it really boils down to people just respecting each other for being people, and learning where to draw the line when it comes to certain things.

 

[Jannah]

I can’t agree more! If art as a whole form was restricted to only being morally correct, I feel like it would heavily stunt peoples’ ability to critically think, as well as understand that exploration of more sensitive isn’t inherently negative, as it can actually help you reflect and grow as a person, by truly understanding the circumstances around situations that help influence your opinion over things.

Different and unique ideas doesn’t mean they don’t have merit, and its always worth a shot to be open-minded and learn more about the world, just to navigate situations with more tact and understanding than you would have before such discussions.

People are entitled to their own opinions, and if they don’t wish to broach topics that are sensitive for them, they don’t need to. I think it really boils down to people just respecting each other for being people, and learning where to draw the line when it comes to certain things.

Yes. Let's just say there's reasons why authoritarian regimes throughout history have banned books. Words do have power, whether people realize it or not.

 

[snicker_sage]

This is very well-said actually. Writing has always been a medium in which to explore different ideas and even speak out against injustices in society, thus it's inevitable that some sensitive subjects will be explored. Sure, not everyone is into that and it's their right, but writing a homophobic character for example does not mean the writer is a homophobe.

People sincerely need to separate the fiction from reality, and fast.

Someone who is writing as a criminal, doesn't mean he or she is that in real life, unless if it's proven with proofs and rational speaking.

In a society of false-accusations, people should know better.

 

[Jet]

I think everyone agrees that writing evil bigots is acceptable, but what about normal everyman bigots? I've known racists and yes they have terrible ideas, but one also saved me when my car was broken down. He took an hour to drive me home so I could grab tools from my garage, then drove me back to my broken car, and he refused payment when I offered him money. He also made extremely racist comments when we passed an incident at a gas station, where a black man was being arrested by police.

Bigotry is weird because otherwise good people can be racist. They can support charities and love their children, work at soup kitchens and love animals... and then still be racist. I've written generally evil racists and that was received well, but I wonder how the community would handle grounded racism, where someone can have moments of empathy and heroism, self sacrifice and charity, while also hating those people over there. Take the average soldier during WW2 for example. Those men had moments of heroism we can only dream of replicating, and helped defeat empires of pure evil. Yet most were racist against twenty different groups.

Unlike villainous actions like mass murder and sexual assault, being racist isn't a function of sociopathy or psychopathy. It's not a character condemnation but a character flaw baked into the brain. We know that in-group preference comes from an evolutionary period of competing hominid species, and unfortunately for us, that preference lingered after our competition died out, and it's only defeated by positive exposure to out-groups.

If we look at bigotry as a character flaw instead of a character condemnation, where they become super-hitler in our view, then racism can add a layer of complexity to a morally gray character. The movie Gran Torino was a great example of that complexity, and a great example of character growth and race discussion.

I wonder how the RP community would handle that approach? How would it handle a racist who doesn't walk around killing puppies? Would people claim you're supporting bigots because you don't reduce them to caricatures? I wonder what the people on this thread would say?

Who knows what the reaction would be, but I think it's far more productive than making super-nazis who love killing cats, because the vast majority of racism doesn't come from skinheads with swastika tattoos. It comes from Aunt Becky who baked you apple pies when you were sad, and the friendly mailman who delivers your mail.

 

[Daisie]

I agree with Jet! Though also I want to add my own two cents in that I really personally enjoy humanizing so-called "evil". Not normalizing it, and not romanticizing it, but humanizing.

The roleplay I finished most recently was all about two otherwise good people. They weren't the best people ever - they had a lot of underlying issues - but in society they'd generally be regarded as a bit creepy at worst, and even very loving and affectionate at best. The problem being that that's who they were when they were separate. When they were WITH each other, they literally both spiraled to the point of complete obsession, delusion, manslaughter, killing their pet and just... being horrible people.

But none of that changed the fact that they were still people with feelings. People who USED to be good, and people who spent much of their time sick, paranoid, and crying in each other's arms, trying to find hope.

I think it's easy to label someone as bigoted or evil and just move along guiltlessly, when in reality everyone has a story. This doesn't always excuse their actions, but at the same time, you don't have to be able to excuse someone's actions to have a basic level of empathy and understanding. Humanizing, not condoning.

 

[Merciless Medic]

I wonder how the RP community would handle that approach? How would it handle a racist who doesn't walk around killing puppies? Would people claim you're supporting bigots because you don't reduce them to caricatures? I wonder what the people on this thread would say?

I personally agree with your assessment. Unless you find a group in RpN that are okay or tolerant of it, some people already have a problem with bigotry from personal or secondhand experience to the point where humanizing it could be deemed as condoning it when it's a misconception of your actual intent. You can write something and not condone it at the same time.

But I love the idea. I have actually made a character in a science fantasy setting unironically bigoted towards several groups of people because of how she was brought up in the society around her. That entire society in canon lore doesn't actually believe what they are doing - raiding entire planets and enslaving people - as wrong, even though it is. When questioned on it, they acted like confused children who seemed completely oblivious to the ramifications of their actions. Then, when she was shown by stronger people that might doesn't make right everywhere and enslavement isn't as common as she thought, she had a whole arc where she felt she had to remove herself from an unknowingly toxic mindset.

Bigotry comes from implicit or explicit bias ingrained into us by what we see online, what we hear from friends and family, what nuances we catch from society like subliminal messaging, etc. It can happen to anyone and we might not even realize it until questioned. I knew plenty of good people who had an unfair look on how Mexicans and African Americans were like because of the race percentage of those going to jail or prison. But that can lead to a whole can of worms that I don't want to talk about.

Zootopia made a good example of how implicit bias made Judy Hopps act impulsively to Nick when he got frustrated - she is an herbivore and her family and friend group always talked about how carnivores were scary, specifically foxes. While she does her best to treat everyone equally, Nick's angry reaction made her subconscious fear of him apparent and she pulled out her mace specifically made for carnivores. If she knew Nick more than she did, she would have known he would never hurt her. Foxes were probably also seen as tricksters and delinquents due to their cunning nature, which didn't help. But that is an extremely good example of this specific idea and I don't see it talked about more.

Anyway, that's my two cents.


EDIT: English is hard lmfao

 

[Daisie]

she is a herbivore and her family and friend group always talked about how carnivores were scary.

Not only this, but it's interesting because a huge inciting event to usher her towards BEING a cop was protecting her herbivore friends against a carnivore bully. Getting HURT in the process. Despite her proclamation of equality in all things, that experience was still VERY real and heavily impacted her decisions. In a scene we originally thought was set in order to give an origin to her sense of justice, it actually simultaneously established a reason for a bias, foreshadowing to themes of racism we had barely even touched on by that point in the movie.

Very off topic though XD Just had to gush a sec

 

[Jannah]

I think everyone agrees that writing evil bigots is acceptable, but what about normal everyman bigots? I've known racists and yes they have terrible ideas, but one also saved me when my car was broken down. He took an hour to drive me home so I could grab tools from my garage, then drove me back to my broken car, and he refused payment when I offered him money. He also made extremely racist comments when we passed an incident at a gas station, where a black man was being arrested by police.

Bigotry is weird because otherwise good people can be racist. They can support charities and love their children, work at soup kitchens and love animals... and then still be racist. I've written generally evil racists and that was received well, but I wonder how the community would handle grounded racism, where someone can have moments of empathy and heroism, self sacrifice and charity, while also hating those people over there. Take the average soldier during WW2 for example. Those men had moments of heroism we can only dream of replicating, and helped defeat empires of pure evil. Yet most were racist against twenty different groups.

Unlike villainous actions like mass murder and sexual assault, being racist isn't a function of sociopathy or psychopathy. It's not a character condemnation but a character flaw baked into the brain. We know that in-group preference comes from an evolutionary period of competing hominid species, and unfortunately for us, that preference lingered after our competition died out, and it's only defeated by positive exposure to out-groups.

If we look at bigotry as a character flaw instead of a character condemnation, where they become super-hitler in our view, then racism can add a layer of complexity to a morally gray character. The movie Gran Torino was a great example of that complexity, and a great example of character growth and race discussion.

I wonder how the RP community would handle that approach? How would it handle a racist who doesn't walk around killing puppies? Would people claim you're supporting bigots because you don't reduce them to caricatures? I wonder what the people on this thread would say?

Who knows what the reaction would be, but I think it's far more productive than making super-nazis who love killing cats, because the vast majority of racism doesn't come from skinheads with swastika tattoos. It comes from Aunt Becky who baked you apple pies when you were sad, and the friendly mailman who delivers your mail.

I write in a lot of historical settings so already do this a lot to some extent. It just feels more genuine in those types of settings to have societal attitudes reflect the prejudices of the time. Take your average Medieval European, for example. Whether they were a good upright person or not they likely still held anti-semitic views. It was simply normal at the time.

 

[Merciless Medic]

Not only this, but it's interesting because a huge inciting event to usher her towards BEING a cop was protecting her herbivore friends against a carnivore bully. Getting HURT in the process. Despite her proclamation of equality in all things, that experience was still VERY real and heavily impacted her decisions. In a scene we originally thought was set in order to give an origin to her sense of justice, it actually simultaneously established a reason for a bias, foreshadowing to themes of racism we had barely even touched on by that point in the movie.

Very off topic though XD Just had to gush a sec

I completely forgot about that lmao, it's been a while since I've seen it.

But yes, that is another huge one.

To make an addendum on my post, a bigoted character - if you want them to be liked by people who normally dislike bigotry - should find a way to understand where their bigotry came from and get better from it. They don't have to succeed - in fact much of it is pretty hardwired in our psyche up to a point which makes it difficult. But them making an effort is a step in the right direction and would be seen as redeemable or "redeemed enough". That's if you don't want to start a dumpster fire lmaoo.

Bigotry is, personally, fine just as long as it's got some way of lessening it throughout the story, making an effort to change, or when it's been humanized a little.

 

[Jannah]

I completely forgot about that lmao, it's been a while since I've seen it.

But yes, that is another huge one.

To make an addendum on my post, a bigoted character - if you want them to be liked by people who normally dislike bigotry - should find a way to understand where their bigotry came from and get better from it. They don't have to succeed - in fact much of it is pretty hardwired in our psyche up to a point which makes it difficult. But them making an effort is a step in the right direction and would be seen as redeemable or "redeemed enough". That's if you don't want to start a dumpster fire lmaoo.

Bigotry is, personally, fine just as long as it's got some way of lessening it throughout the story, making an effort to change, or when it's been humanized a little.

I think that is where the tricky part is for a lot of people, especially those with less writing experience: portraying these characters in a way that is likeable.

 

[Cogwork]

I think that is where the tricky part is for a lot of people, especially those with less writing experience: portraying these characters in a way that is likeable.

Personally I think the issue is the complete opposite, it's too easy to make them too likable.

It's supringsly difficult to write a character with problematic beliefs in a likeable way without unintentionally having the narrative condone said beliefs.

 

[Jannah]

Personally I think the issue is the complete opposite, it's too easy to make them too likable.

It's supringsly difficult to write a character with problematic beliefs in a likeable way without unintentionally having the narrative condone said beliefs.

Either way it's not an easy feat for many people. Those who are able to pull it off, great. I love to see writing display a flawed version of humanity because we are flawed. Nearly everyone on this planet has their prejudices whether they realize it or not.

 

[Jet]

Personally I think the issue is the complete opposite, it's too easy to make them too likable.

It's supringsly difficult to write a character with problematic beliefs in a likeable way without unintentionally having the narrative condone said beliefs.

I respectfully disagree. The problem is people equating likabability with an endorsement of behavior. The two aren't connected in my opinion, and the only way to endorse behavior is by supporting it in the story. For an easy example, a racist who thinks all minorities are violent criminals. That would only be condoned if the writer made all their criminals (or most of them) minorities.

I can honestly say I've never seen that, not even stories from many years ago. Instead I've seen overcorrection where writers think likeability equals endorsement, and they panick when people like these problematic characters.

 

[Jannah]

I respectfully disagree. The problem is people equating likabability with an endorsement of behavior. The two aren't connected in my opinion, and the only way to endorse behavior is by supporting it in the story. Like if a character thinks that minorities are criminals who constantly attack innocent people, and then the writer makes every minority a violent criminal. That would reinforce and condone the behavior.

I can honestly say I've never seen that, not even stories from many years ago. Instead I've seen overcorrection where writers think likeability equals endorsement, and they panick when people like these problematic characters.

Well said. I 100% agree.

 

[BuggaBoo]

1- Is it ever acceptable to portray these themes in writing, even if the writers themselves are not bigoted?

2- Is it possible to portray these themes, even in a negative light (such as the bigoted characters being antagonists in the story)?

3- Lastly, is it truly possible to separate the content of the art from its creator?

Hi!!

Preface: ALL IMO

1- Yes acceptable. It's fiction. As long as it's not an agenda to glorify Nor promote it

2- yes. It's fiction. As long as it's not an indictment nor inflammatory. but yeeeeeah easily strikes a nerve in some people buuuuuuttttt... really? it is fiction.

3- yes. It's fiction. Unless the author is known to represent aspects of the fiction they write. Then yeah people gunna feel a certain way ofc.

Now that's for WRITING. Now. For RP on rpn apparently it's pretty much all no-no's

The guidelines here and here explicitly state what is not acceptable.

Buuuuut like that being said I had a straight charrie that had a bad same sex experience and so she stayed straight and looked down on lesbian sex. And another charrie i had was a lesbian charrie that was a jaded former feminist. Another charrie was an elf who was a bigot towards humans mostly due to her culture shock and her own caste system.

I hadn't been explicity going outta my way to get them to show off their biases but they did bleed through. Wellllll, for 2 of them anyways lol cuz i was more about making it 'part of their character' rather than it being 'THAT thing about their character ' if that makes sense? Also wanted to tiptoe the line of 'what is not acceptable ' too tho lol.

But as for me separating the fiction from author/irl in rps, for me it's hard cuz like I base 90% of personas for my charries on people I know and of course myself. So like a lot of how I see someone/me feels or reacts reeeeeeally paints how the charries maintains and navigate worldviews.

 

[Diesel2000]

Is it ever acceptable to portray these themes in writing, even if the writers themselves are not bigoted? Is it possible to portray these themes, even in a negative light (such as the bigoted characters being antagonists in the story)? Lastly, is it truly possible to separate the content of the art from its creator?

Judging by the novels, some of them literary classics, where the villain is the protagonist, I believe "yes" is the answer to all of these questions! Or at least it should be.

That said, some people have a harder time dealing with these themes if they're not reading a story but actively writing it alongside such characters. It's naturally easier to take things personally in a roleplay.

 

[GrumpySwallow]

I'm not so emotionally invested in RPs that I'm disturbed by mature or controversial themes. If there is anything in a RP that really bothers me, I can simply leave and move on. Laugh or cringe, move on, no problems.

I do believe in time and place, however. If I make a RP that has war as a major theme, then there is definitely going to be mature themes in that RP. It's about war; I shouldn't have to carefully spell it out that there may be themes of prejudice, genocide, and so on. If the game is a simple Slice-of-Life RP, or one that takes place in an established setting such as Animal Crossing, then those themes may be out of place and I would raise an eyebrow if someone tried to bring such things into the game. Look at a RP, see what tone the GM is trying to establish as well as be aware of the ToS, then exercise good judgement.

I used to RP in MMORPGs such as World of Warcraft, and I remember getting hit with private messages from people telling me to stop having my PC use slurs in regards to other races (Ex. "Knife Ears" for elves) because they want to create a "safe space" for RP, or that I personally wouldn't like it if someone used those slurs on me. Excuse me? You're role-playing in WORLD OF WARCRAFT! You know darn well what you're getting into when you join the RP community of this game! Also, I'm not an elf. Someone who is unable to distinguish creative writing and fiction from reality is someone who should not be RPing at all, but that's another topic.

EDIT
I think it’s quite simple: Does it violate ToS and/or the rules and setting the GM has established? If so, then report it to the proper authorities and carry on. If it doesn’t, then folks are within their right to RP about such topics, and individual players can decide for themselves whether to engage in that RP or not. If there is conflict, then that’s when the GM needs to make a decision on what is acceptable for their RP.

 

[cuzn]

I haven't read all of the posts here yet, but I think it's a really interesting question, so forgive me if I'm just saying stuff that others have already said, lol.

Personally, I think a lot of people's opinions on this depends on why they write and why they RP in the first place. A lot of people write in order to escape the harshness of reality, and in that sense I understand why they would be deeply uncomfortable with controversial aspects in their roleplays, especially because RP is done with one or more other people (and on RPN, it's often with people you don't know). On the other hand, my method of escapism isn't to shy away from topics that disturb me but to thoroughly disturb myself by delving deeply into them. My goal with my writing has always been to make someone feel something powerful by reading it—all of my favorite books and RPs have been the ones that have made me genuinely angry or upset or giddy, and exploring the humanity of themes like bigotry presents a really fun opportunity for me (both when reading and writing it) to feel challenged in my writing skill and my beliefs.

(If I gave even my top three favorite books, it'd become pretty obvious that my favorite type of protagonists are the ones that are both likable characters and deliberately horrible people. I don't see a problem with making a character with controversial traits an otherwise likable person—it's humanizing, and I think it's important when trying to portray sensitive subjects to treat those subjects with respect. I don't think that "making the racist a villainous Nazi caricature because racism is evil" is treating the topic with respect, but "making the racist an otherwise normal person who just has some thoughts about other ethnicities" is, IMO)

In this sense, I know I (personally) would appreciate if people separated me (the artist) from my art, since I can't think of a single OC of mine whose worldview I 100% agree with. The closest I've gotten to agreeing with how any of my characters think and behave is somewhere around 65%. However, I've also had RPs where I can tell that someone else is racist, or homophobic, or generally creepy, and I'll say here that there definitely is a very different vibe you get both from a person and from their writing when they're just as racist as their OC versus if they're a non-racist who just enjoys writing a deliberately racist OC.

In those cases, separating art from the artist becomes more difficult, but I always try to give people the benefit of the doubt; I don't like the practice of seeing something controversial in someone else's method of self-expression (writing, art, music, etc.) and then labeling that person as x or y because of that. Mostly, because I've had to deal with that sort of thing ever since I was a kid, and it's very draining to be accused of something because of how you express your own creativity in your own way.

I think that in practice it's most important to communicate all of this before the RP starts so that there isn't as much friction between the authors later on. In a book, a comic, or a movie, it's different—trigger warnings were never an expectation in literature or film, but RPs are much more personal, so this much should at least just be done out of common courtesy.

 

[Jannah]

I haven't read all of the posts here yet, but I think it's a really interesting question, so forgive me if I'm just saying stuff that others have already said, lol.

Personally, I think a lot of people's opinions on this depends on why they write and why they RP in the first place. A lot of people write in order to escape the harshness of reality, and in that sense I understand why they would be deeply uncomfortable with controversial aspects in their roleplays, especially because RP is done with one or more other people (and on RPN, it's often with people you don't know). On the other hand, my method of escapism isn't to shy away from topics that disturb me but to thoroughly disturb myself by delving deeply into them. My goal with my writing has always been to make someone feel something powerful by reading it—all of my favorite books and RPs have been the ones that have made me genuinely angry or upset or giddy, and exploring the humanity of themes like bigotry presents a really fun opportunity for me (both when reading and writing it) to feel challenged in my writing skill and my beliefs.

(If I gave even my top three favorite books, it'd become pretty obvious that my favorite type of protagonists are the ones that are both likable characters and deliberately horrible people. I don't see a problem with making a character with controversial traits an otherwise likable person—it's humanizing, and I think it's important when trying to portray sensitive subjects to treat those subjects with respect. I don't think that "making the racist a villainous Nazi caricature because racism is evil" is treating the topic with respect, but "making the racist an otherwise normal person who just has some thoughts about other ethnicities" is, IMO)

In this sense, I know I (personally) would appreciate if people separated me (the artist) from my art, since I can't think of a single OC of mine whose worldview I 100% agree with. The closest I've gotten to agreeing with how any of my characters think and behave is somewhere around 65%. However, I've also had RPs where I can tell that someone else is racist, or homophobic, or generally creepy, and I'll say here that there definitely is a very different vibe you get both from a person and from their writing when they're just as racist as their OC versus if they're a non-racist who just enjoys writing a deliberately racist OC.

In those cases, separating art from the artist becomes more difficult, but I always try to give people the benefit of the doubt; I don't like the practice of seeing something controversial in someone else's method of self-expression (writing, art, music, etc.) and then labeling that person as x or y because of that. Mostly, because I've had to deal with that sort of thing ever since I was a kid, and it's very draining to be accused of something because of how you express your own creativity in your own way.

I think that in practice it's most important to communicate all of this before the RP starts so that there isn't as much friction between the authors later on. In a book, a comic, or a movie, it's different—trigger warnings were never an expectation in literature or film, but RPs are much more personal, so this much should at least just be done out of common courtesy.

Right. I personally have fun digging into those themes as well. I like exploring the psychology behind it and such. For similar reasons I love exploring the theme of otherwise normal people being sucked into political and/or religious extremism.