Meta: Role-playing
Written for insearchtion, this is a meta on the kink of Role-Playing, beginning with a definition, a discussion of themes or ideas that can be explored in role-play, and concluding with a brief analysis of the unique possibilities of role-play within a fandom like Inception.
I. What is role-playing: When one or both partners (I'm going to refer to two partners in a consensual sexual roleplay for ease in this meta, though theoretically a roleplay could involve many more people in different configurations) takes on a persona for a certain amount of time, often involving or leading to sexual activity.
Examples include: pretending to be teacher/student, cheerleader/jock, strangers meeting for the first time, pirates. There are specialized kinks that may be considered offshoots of general roleplay which have their own considerations and parameters including: daddykink, infantilism, ponyplay, etc.
Kinky sex--in general--can be a way of demonstrating the level of trust and intimacy between two characters. Depending on the sex act, a character may be leaving themselves highly vulnerable to their sex partner, physically or emotionally. They may be showing sides of their personalities they fear being judged or shamed for, parts of their personality they feel are ugly or weak or otherwise negative in some way. When a partner embraces those aspects of a character’s personality without judgment, it can speak to closeness, affection and deep connection. It is a powerful thing to feel as though one’s flaws/idiosyncracies are accepted (and loved) as well as one’s strengths.
II. Themes or ideas that can be explored through role-play:
1. Role-playing can be a way to express secret desires in a ‘safe’ way. Because there’s a layer between the person taking the action (the role), plausible deniability can be at work: I don’t want to be spanked, I was just acting out a role as a rebellious student. I don’t want to fuss over someone and tuck them in at the end of the night, I’m just acting out my role as a daddy. If a particular couple has a specific set of roles they return to time and time again, initiating that role-play may be a shorthand way of one character expressing a desire for a particular act or series of acts without having to directly vocalize the request.
2. It can also be about expressing different parts of one’s personality, aspects that may be otherwise hidden. A more tender part, a more insecure part, a more outgoing part--whatever it is. An example in the form of cross-dressing/dressing up: I want to feel pretty and delicate in ruffles and lace, or, alternatively: I want to feel strong and authoritative in combat boots and fatigues. I want to feel adventurous like a cowboy, or I want to feel innocent and overwhelmed like a virgin. Role-playing gives characters a context to try on different costumes and identities in a safe and limited way.
3. Lastly, role-playing can be interesting to read/write because it’s a chance to explore character in unusual ways--to go beyond the surface of how a character usually presents him or herself. In spite of the fact that the characters are ostensibly taking on a 'role,' the deeper characterization lies in what roles they choose to take up and how they approach those roles. Why did they choose this particular scenario to act out above all others? Why are they doing it? What does it reveal about them? What does it reveal about the relationship between the characters engaging in the role-play? And how does the role-play experience change the relationship of the characters engaging in it? Does it?
III. Role-playing in Inception:
Role-plays in the context of dreamshare can be especially potent because of the potential to change appearance beyond clothing/dress (in the case of Eames) or dramatically alter setting to fit a role-play. You can imagine yourself as gladiators in front of a thousand cheering projections, or in a high school locker room surrounded by sweaty jocks. The possibilities are endless.
One of my favorite role-play stories in Inception is Take What's Yours And I'll Take Mine by Recrudescence, which reveals so much about Eames the man as well as his backstory and his youth, and his relationship with Arthur.
Role-play stories can make for fascinating character studies that are several layers deep--in more ways than one.
I. What is role-playing: When one or both partners (I'm going to refer to two partners in a consensual sexual roleplay for ease in this meta, though theoretically a roleplay could involve many more people in different configurations) takes on a persona for a certain amount of time, often involving or leading to sexual activity.
Examples include: pretending to be teacher/student, cheerleader/jock, strangers meeting for the first time, pirates. There are specialized kinks that may be considered offshoots of general roleplay which have their own considerations and parameters including: daddykink, infantilism, ponyplay, etc.
Kinky sex--in general--can be a way of demonstrating the level of trust and intimacy between two characters. Depending on the sex act, a character may be leaving themselves highly vulnerable to their sex partner, physically or emotionally. They may be showing sides of their personalities they fear being judged or shamed for, parts of their personality they feel are ugly or weak or otherwise negative in some way. When a partner embraces those aspects of a character’s personality without judgment, it can speak to closeness, affection and deep connection. It is a powerful thing to feel as though one’s flaws/idiosyncracies are accepted (and loved) as well as one’s strengths.
II. Themes or ideas that can be explored through role-play:
1. Role-playing can be a way to express secret desires in a ‘safe’ way. Because there’s a layer between the person taking the action (the role), plausible deniability can be at work: I don’t want to be spanked, I was just acting out a role as a rebellious student. I don’t want to fuss over someone and tuck them in at the end of the night, I’m just acting out my role as a daddy. If a particular couple has a specific set of roles they return to time and time again, initiating that role-play may be a shorthand way of one character expressing a desire for a particular act or series of acts without having to directly vocalize the request.
2. It can also be about expressing different parts of one’s personality, aspects that may be otherwise hidden. A more tender part, a more insecure part, a more outgoing part--whatever it is. An example in the form of cross-dressing/dressing up: I want to feel pretty and delicate in ruffles and lace, or, alternatively: I want to feel strong and authoritative in combat boots and fatigues. I want to feel adventurous like a cowboy, or I want to feel innocent and overwhelmed like a virgin. Role-playing gives characters a context to try on different costumes and identities in a safe and limited way.
3. Lastly, role-playing can be interesting to read/write because it’s a chance to explore character in unusual ways--to go beyond the surface of how a character usually presents him or herself. In spite of the fact that the characters are ostensibly taking on a 'role,' the deeper characterization lies in what roles they choose to take up and how they approach those roles. Why did they choose this particular scenario to act out above all others? Why are they doing it? What does it reveal about them? What does it reveal about the relationship between the characters engaging in the role-play? And how does the role-play experience change the relationship of the characters engaging in it? Does it?
III. Role-playing in Inception:
Role-plays in the context of dreamshare can be especially potent because of the potential to change appearance beyond clothing/dress (in the case of Eames) or dramatically alter setting to fit a role-play. You can imagine yourself as gladiators in front of a thousand cheering projections, or in a high school locker room surrounded by sweaty jocks. The possibilities are endless.
One of my favorite role-play stories in Inception is Take What's Yours And I'll Take Mine by Recrudescence, which reveals so much about Eames the man as well as his backstory and his youth, and his relationship with Arthur.
Role-play stories can make for fascinating character studies that are several layers deep--in more ways than one.