Sleek
Show me a good time, Jack!
Female Characters, as a male RPer.
That and slice of life RPs.
That and slice of life RPs.
Experiences Guilty Pleasures
- Thread starter AdrianS
- Start date
rae2nerdy
left site
Sleek
Is that a thing? Are male players not supposed to play female characters? Cuz that's some double standard B.S. if so. ( Says a lady who has been begged for YEARS to play males )Sorry slightly off topic but that just caught my eye because I do 1x1s and most of them are MxF pairings where one partner is being begged to play a male. And I have never seen that further clarified as it must be a male person playing the male character. Then again to the best of my knowledge none of the people doing romance* are men so maybe it's just a thing I haven't run into yet.
I say doing romance. Because I do see men posting online dating ads. Where they are looking for a female to write ERP or Date. But that's not really the same thing as writing a romance story.
Back onto the topic at hand, I would say a guilty pleasure of mine is basing characters off family members. I just think it's kinda fun and it helps me keep track of their characteristics.
Specialist
Senior Member
Guilty pleasure o'er yonder is simply creating a scenario (such as a F.E.A.R RP I'mma bring back here soonish once I finalize the lore and everything) and simply watching the choices, actions and encounters characters have with one another.
hologram
mostly inactive
I have to say I never really understood the mindset behind "I can only write characters of my gender" because portraying characters of varying types is a cornerstone of writing. This doesn't seem to be an issue with any other sort of fiction. Sure, there are plenty of stories that choose to focus mostly on a cast of a particular gender, and sure, there are a lot of folks out there who really don't understand how to write other genders (she breasted boobily down the stairs, etc). I also understand there are plenty of reasons to feel more comfortable with portraying a particular gender. But it seems odd that this is the only type of fiction (that I know of) where such a wall exists to the point where some people assume it's somehow wrong to be writing characters of another gender.
To actually add to the topic at hand... hm, it's difficult for me because I really don't like thinking of any of my preferences in terms of guilt or shame. I pretty much exclusively do fandom-based RP, usually of the Canon + OC variety, which some folks would definitely categorize as a guilty pleasure, though.
To actually add to the topic at hand... hm, it's difficult for me because I really don't like thinking of any of my preferences in terms of guilt or shame. I pretty much exclusively do fandom-based RP, usually of the Canon + OC variety, which some folks would definitely categorize as a guilty pleasure, though.
Specialist
Senior Member
I've to say, it may be because of insecurities, or fear. Because I played a female Spartan IV (and wasn't glory-filled like the community gives the label, mind you), people assumed me to be female. When I spoke to a member of the RP in Discord chat (just playing a casual game) they were relatively fine until I left, until the server blew up with memes targeted directly at me just for playing a female. It eventually got to the point where I always decline to discuss my gender when RP'ing because I have no idea how the other person will react. (To be fair, Discord should be in absolutely no comparison to RPN in the slightest.) Other than that, I'm perfectly fine.
Coward
A marshmallow.
1. Edgy Dark Pasts (can’t help it! My current character was tortured a bunch AND has amnesia AND is a borderline psychopath)
2. Demons and assorted other supernatural junk
3. Romance fluff, of course.
4. Outrageous dystopias where like, the boot is on the face at all times.
Specialist
, I would LOVE to see more dudes playing women. It’s such a rarity. One thing I always wanted to do was play a hetero romance where the genders were swapped for both players. I think it’d be funny and interesting.
2. Demons and assorted other supernatural junk
3. Romance fluff, of course.
4. Outrageous dystopias where like, the boot is on the face at all times.
Specialist
, I would LOVE to see more dudes playing women. It’s such a rarity. One thing I always wanted to do was play a hetero romance where the genders were swapped for both players. I think it’d be funny and interesting.
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Specialist
Senior Member
Coward
Seriously? That's honestly surprising, really. Also, I've never thought about that before.
Coward
A marshmallow.
Yeah man, I mean I think your willingnesss to try shows empathy and a healthy attitude towards gender. A lot of men don’t ever write women because they see us as these unknowable aliens (HoW CAn KKnow What woMAN ThinK?!?!). That to me is far more offensive than a guy trying and maybe having some missteps.
Specialist
Senior Member
(Jeezus.)
The only actual exception I play when playing male characters are only either canon characters from specific series (haven't tried genderbent before), or generic soldier combat units (Like F.E.A.R Replicas- they are exceptionally fun to play.) My most developed character is a female Spartan-IV Commander from Halo. It's amazing the responses I get when I apply for these characters on things like Gmod Serious RP servers. No Bueno.
Coward
The only actual exception I play when playing male characters are only either canon characters from specific series (haven't tried genderbent before), or generic soldier combat units (Like F.E.A.R Replicas- they are exceptionally fun to play.) My most developed character is a female Spartan-IV Commander from Halo. It's amazing the responses I get when I apply for these characters on things like Gmod Serious RP servers. No Bueno.
Coward
rae2nerdy
left site
Yeah I mean as I mentioned women are asked ALL THE TIME to play men in romance. I mean it’s basically kind of expected for a section of women to play outside their gender.
So I was genuinely surprised to hear that apparently there is some kind of double standard in play. Like seriously we’re out here forcing women to play men but a male choosing to play a woman is all “pearl clutching horror catch me I have the vapors?”
Bullshit. As they say what is good for the goose (female) is good for the gander(male).
So if women are ENCOURAGED/BEGGED to play men than men can absolutely play women if they want.
rdctve
lama with hat
(Jeezus.)
The only actual exception I play when playing male characters are only either canon characters from specific series (haven't tried genderbent before), or generic soldier combat units (Like F.E.A.R Replicas- they are exceptionally fun to play.) My most developed character is a female Spartan-IV Commander from Halo. It's amazing the responses I get when I apply for these characters on things like Gmod Serious RP servers. No Bueno.
I think in some cases it might just be one of the writers being uncomfortable with writing certain things (mostly probably sex scenes) with a writer of the opposite gender. Maybe someone had bad experiences, or is generally awkward when it comes to socialising with the opposite sex.
However, if that is the case I think it should be open from the start (i.e. in your search post, or in the first few messages both writers exchange.)
If it's just about role playing though, I think it's asweome for men to 'put in the work' and try to tackle female characters. As has been mentioned before, a lot of women simply start writing men because it's needed for a romance plot, or because they like the character. And it can/should be just the same for men wanting to write female characters.
I usually don't ask about the gender of my writing partners, and I still have cases where I couldn't even tell if the person writing the posts is male or female, and I mostly write against female characters.
rae2nerdy
left site
And that’s fine. I wasn’t saying there is anything wrong with playing your own gender or playing with specifically gender IRL partners.
But like the point of the threads for the things u do that your maybe a little embarrassed about or that are outside the norm.
And playing opposite your gender shouldn’t be considered embarrassing or outside the norm because it’s really common. At least in the female playing male sense.
And if it’s totally okay for a woman to play a man than it should be equally fine for a man to play a woman.
Now if you just don’t prefer to do either that’s also fine. I wasn’t trying to indicate that people have to do either version.
Just that if men specifically are made to feel like it’s not okay for them to play outside their gender than it’s not okay.
Because women do it all the time and no one cares.
Specialist
Senior Member
At the end of the day, you'll harbor no negative judgment from me. If someone tries and BEGS you to play a male, it's no requirement. They'll just have to deal with being told no. Fight 'em!
I have never heard the opposite before from anyone. Like the whole double-standard; that's probably the most shocking thing I've heard. When I play female characters, I harbor a consistent fear of being mistakenly identified (and interestingly enough, I have been hit on before OOC). In actuality though I mean if someone goes out of their way asks you OOC if you're female just because of the character you play, it's a little strange in that respect.
However, back to another point in the general topic...
Guilty pleasure numero dos? An original, deep, story-driven long term '4x' Faction RP. I'm testing the waters with my F.E.A.R Roleplay just to gauge how I can do at coordinating small-scale events and whatnot, but I aim to (if anyone has played Stellaris), making something out of that. It's not just about combat on both air and the ground; it's about diplomacy, relations, and everything in between. Planetary invasions, conquest, territory wars... It's something I've honestly wanted to do for a long, long time. I've read all the Halo novels, played all the ME games and read a good portion of the Tom Clancy books; going through Command Authority right now. 'Fore I get sidetracked if I haven't done already, that's my second guilty pleasure.
