How's my driving? (Or lack thereof?)
So, uh, typical HMD post here. I think I have all the settings right (anonymous posting on, IP logging off, screening on)...
I'm really new to Luceti, and I've never done any kind of roleplay like this before. AND I'm using an OC. So any kind of constructive criticism is totally appreciated.
I'm really new to Luceti, and I've never done any kind of roleplay like this before. AND I'm using an OC. So any kind of constructive criticism is totally appreciated.
The short version is that if it's a form of oppression that isn't racism or sexism, she's not all that progressive on it. The long version is mostly that while I've got several thousand words of tl;dr on how she deals with people of colour and why, I haven't had a chance to write out the equivalent for homosexicles. That means that, while I know her various feelings, I'm not actually at the point where I know precisely how I want to approach her various issues and prejudices in-game the way I do on other subjects.
Because she's a character from a pretty profoundly bigoted time, this is something I want to give some serious thought to, so that I'm consistent in what I do with her and so I know I have a reasoned argument behind anything especially regressive that I do with her. With a character like Kay, there's a strong possibility of making the game less fun for other players in an effort to keep her in character. That's something I'm trying very hard to avoid, because to do otherwise would be grossly unfair of me.
Which all basically means that for now, if you wouldn't mind leaving off the topic of Robert's own proclivities for the time being, I'd appreciate it a great deal. You haven't mentioned them but in text so far, which is fine, but I just wanted to let you know why I'd prefer you leave them at that for now. ♥
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Now, for me specifically - bigotry is something that, while I personally find incredibly distasteful when it actually exists, is also something that... actually exists, and thus I have no problem having my characters deal with, experience or in any way react to it. Of course, other muns might feel differently, but Robert himself has dealt with homophobic behaviour in-game from a couple of characters (Don's brother Raph especially) and so isn't entirely unaccustomed to the concept.
That being said, while it would be ostensibly possible that Robert didn't mention he was with Don (though unlikely, it happened with Ingrid as well), that doesn't necessarily mean Don wouldn't mention it, or some third party wouldn't... :|a Considering Robert has made no effort whatsoever to conceal his relationship with Don from anybody, and in fact sees no reason to (despite the presence of Karai who is an active danger to the TMNT, albeit he isn't too aware of that at all), I think Kay would probably find out eventually even if Robert never said anything to her.
... Of course, this could probably be delayed, but with somebody like Robert - whose attachment to civil rights is pretty strong and whose bluntness and complete lack of social skills means he tends to talk about stuff without any filters - I'm not sure how long that would be possible to do without it tending into OOCness... :|a; Hrm.
I apologize if my derp's become a problem though D: He... kinda tends to do that.
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So here's the thing with Kay: Homophobia is one of the major plates I have to keep spinning as far as her worldview goes. Kay is pre-Stonewall by almost fifteen years, and that means I have to collate quite a few different angles on the subject here (US law, UK law, social expectation in both countries, portrayal in literature, portrayal in Hollywood, &cet.), covering both rural and urban communities from about 1900 to 1960. From there, I can plan out her reactions to various general subjects and decide where and how far I want her views to develop.
This actually isn't all that difficult for me, insofar as I already have foundational knowledge of the history of lgbtqai visibility (and am always up for rewatching The Celluloid Closet). It mostly takes analysis and consideration, which I haven't previously had time for due to RL commitments. This analysis is something I feel is extremely important to do because, while you've stated that you're not uncomfortable with the idea of playing through bigotry in various forms, the fact of the matter remains that other muns may well be. If I'm going to include sensitive topics in my playing at Luceti, it behooves me to make sure I'm doing so in a way that's purposeful enough to satisfy both myself and others who might have a personal stake in the topic at hand. Prejudices like racism, homophobia, and transphobia are extremely sensitive topics, and so I have to take the time to think about why I want to include them and how before I drop them into casual RP.
So when I say "the time being," I mean for a few days at least, maybe a week or two. I just need some time to get a fully-realized game plan together. If the issue comes up with muns before I'm quite ready, I plan to let them know as well; in the meantime, you are the first person with a character where it seems very likely to end up coming up in a major way in the near future.
If this is going to be an inconvenience for you--if your choices come down to "tag" or "be OOC"--I absolutely will not mind or be offended if you don't want to tag with Kay, for the time being or in general. In any case, I appreciate your time and consideration on this issue, because it's fairly important to me.
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I know some things about LGBA/TIQ history and visibility, especially of the Stonewall-ish period, and I actually have read/watched The Celluloid Closet myself o/` But I can certainly see where you'd need to spend a lot of time analyzing - it makes sense to me, as does your very valid point that other muns might be a lot more uncomfortable with this than I am. (I'm inordinately hard to bother.) It is important, and while I should hope nobody would assume those views were yours', you're still correct in that they could end up offending people if you don't have a strong rationale for them to back it up. (For the record, Robert's downright bigoted in some ways himself - his anti-violence taboos are almost scary. But those probably wouldn't be triggering for any muns.)
That being said, it is definitely a complex topic, made more complex by the fact that this is an unorthodox setting for Kay to begin with, and... well, Robert's not even dating a human man. He's dating an anthropomorphic turtle - and though Kay seems to have no issues with Don as a person, yet, besides the usual "okay wow that's pretty different", it may be a whole new ball game when she realizes how he's involved with Robert.
I'm pretty sure I can have Robert ICly manage to avoid mentioning it so far (or he could use terminology that Kay simply won't register, like "partner" - that happened with Archie Kennedy)... and considering the draft is coming up soon, he'll be way too distraught/distracted to poke Kay much beyond this thread for a bit, so hopefully that should give you time? /o/ I really like the idea of Robert interacting with a character whose views are going to be so different from his - he has really taken for granted the kind of struggles that LGBA/TIQ people, people of colour and other such groups of people had to have in order to get rights, because he's just... used to them existing by default.
... The only other person I can see this being an immediate problem for is Don, depending on where conversation goes during the Thursday dinner :|a; But Don has more tact than Robert and so might avoid mentioning it. I'm not sure. Might be good to poke his mun in that case? \o/ Depending on how much of an issue you think it is, anyway.
It's not really an inconvenience for me unless it starts getting to the point where Robert WOULD just blatantly mention something. 8D But provided I can give him something to latch onto, it should be easy to avoid references to "that giant turtle is my boyfriend" for the next little while, if you need that time to figure out how Kay will take the whole topic. <3
Thanks so much for telling me about all this o/`
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