-Martial arts "masters"--why are they always cocky and obnoxious and completely undisciplined violent jerks? I'm pretty sure part of the training it takes to be a master involves learning to NOT be like that.
YES. THANK YOU. I AGREE.
I think some people just missed the point of The Karate Kid when playing martial arts masters. Like you said, most I've seen are cocky and undisciplined. But the key to mastering most any martial art is humility. You may be able to kick the ass of everyone in the room, but you don't. Not without a very, very good reason. And you always use restraint.
You've got a great point with the rest of these, too.
Mine are schizophrenia, homosexuality, homophobia, and drunkenness. If your character is a schizo and is ~*super cool*~ because of it, you're doing it wrong. Nobody has fun with that shit. If your character is gay and all they can do is cry and have emotional sex, you're doing it wrong.
Every once in awhile I pick up homophobic characters in games I know are full of gay characters, just to balance it out. You'll never guess how many players think that homophobic character = homophobic player 9_6
Every once in awhile I pick up homophobic characters in games I know are full of gay characters, just to balance it out. You'll never guess how many players think that homophobic character = homophobic player 9_6
THIS. I'm a yaoi roleplayer, but every once in a while, I'll pick up a homophobic character, and people will jump all over me about "THAT'S SO INSENSITIVE AND RUDE." What, to balance things out?
I would love that to happen in my RP! love it like piiiieee.
The only homophobic character is sadly player influenced and then the player is just so horribly confused when my one completely confused as to his sexuality character doesn't like it when the other character makes snide comments about him being gay.
For reals. I don't even pick up ones who throw rocks or beat gay people, I just have them comment on entries talking about gay sex (or whatever) with my character being grossed out. I get IMs from players not even involved in the discussion telling me it's insensitive and offensive that my character ~*shock*~ isn't completely open-minded or accepting of everyone. :/
Oh god, yes, over the years the number of prostitute characters I've seen that make it out to be something wonderful and glamorous where nobody ever gets ill treated, hurt, sick, pregnant... the list goes on. Don't you know girls, it's all sunshine and roses and why aren't we all on our backs for a living! >.
Let's not forget that sometimes the prostitute ends up a victim of a crime (remember the Green River murders and Gary Ridgeway?) And if the prostitute is a victim of sexual assault, the victim isn't as willing to go report it because s/he's afraid his/her "profession" may come up and then "Oh, well. s/he didn't get paid enough for his/her services, so..."
Along with that, female prostitutes tend to have a certain type of distension far sooner than their "non-professional" counterparts (except for females who are "free" with their "love".)
Some also turn to illegal drugs and/or alcohol to help "distance" themselves/"numb the pain".
Oh, yeah. Before I forget: not all prostitutes are female and not all male prostitutes do malexmale nor do all female prostitutes do "het".
At the same time, one can take precautions, and both things exist in most people's sex lives too, and I also get tired of seeing the ZOMGTRAUMATIZED prostitute, or the prostitute-as-helpless-victim character. Especially in fantasy societies where the social stigma/legal issues don't exist.
Honestly, I think there's a spectrum: a high-class courtesan may well find it pretty awesome and glamorous; a streetwalker with an abusive pimp is probably gonna have a pretty suckful life; and there are probably many who view it as a job, with all the awful and non-awful bits of any other job.
Oh, wow, for real? The Yakuza thing, I mean. That made me LOL. And yes, I play a few mentally ill characters myself, including an antisocial one, and they are WORK to keep in-character properly given their extra issues. It's just not something you can be half-assed about. Well, okay, you could, but you'll look pretty dumb to those who actually know a thing or two about whatever disorder you're claiming your pup has.
I have developed a seething hate for shy/antisocial/loner characters.
Mind you I'm sure they can be done well (just like a lot of stuff on that list...). It's just that when you've got a player whose character had a panic attack at "How are you?", ran off to the bathroom to calm down, then snuck back in to watch people silently from a corner - and then has the gall to complain about the game being slow ... yeah. So much fucking hate.
Oh god, I know right? I have a friend who can do such charactrs EXCELLENTLY, but she's a rare case. I generally avoid making them myself because I consider myself much less stellar at plaing them. They really only work in the right situations, and only if the player, like my friend, has some decent skill at getting them proactively involved while still keeping them in-character as shy/antisocial. Most people, however, are like you describe--sit in the corner, wait to be approached, try to avoid conversation once approached, and then gripe OOC about not getting any action.
Oh yeah, same - I once tried to play the strong-n-silent type and it ended up being utter fail. Well, I think I managed a pretty decent job of being involved, but there's only so many ways you can phrase "I tag along and do my job quietly" before it becomes tiresome to RP. (That and the job was boring.)
There's definitely a way to do it properly, but players who can do it are like needles in a haystack. x_x
But god, so many players do this even when their characters aren't billed as "omg shy" - RPing is about playing with other people, dammit, so go talk to someone instead of lurking in a corner.
Yes! Not that it cannot be done well, but if someone is playing a character who is shy or antisocial, the burden is on THEM to interact, not on other people (whose characters may not even know them at all!) to try and draw them out of their shell.
Honestly, if you walk into a coffee shop in New York City and a total stranger is sitting in the corner with their books looking busy and studious and trying to avoid being noticed -- why on earth would you go up and have a conversation with them? And if they blatantly ignore hooks you try and throw at them, well then.
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YES. THANK YOU. I AGREE.
I think some people just missed the point of The Karate Kid when playing martial arts masters. Like you said, most I've seen are cocky and undisciplined. But the key to mastering most any martial art is humility. You may be able to kick the ass of everyone in the room, but you don't. Not without a very, very good reason. And you always use restraint.
You've got a great point with the rest of these, too.
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Every once in awhile I pick up homophobic characters in games I know are full of gay characters, just to balance it out. You'll never guess how many players think that homophobic character = homophobic player 9_6
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THIS. I'm a yaoi roleplayer, but every once in a while, I'll pick up a homophobic character, and people will jump all over me about "THAT'S SO INSENSITIVE AND RUDE." What, to balance things out?
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The only homophobic character is sadly player influenced and then the player is just so horribly confused when my one completely confused as to his sexuality character doesn't like it when the other character makes snide comments about him being gay.
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Yes, STDs and unplanned pregnancies do exist! It is not a glorious profession.
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Along with that, female prostitutes tend to have a certain type of distension far sooner than their "non-professional" counterparts (except for females who are "free" with their "love".)
Some also turn to illegal drugs and/or alcohol to help "distance" themselves/"numb the pain".
Oh, yeah. Before I forget: not all prostitutes are female and not all male prostitutes do malexmale nor do all female prostitutes do "het".
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Honestly, I think there's a spectrum: a high-class courtesan may well find it pretty awesome and glamorous; a streetwalker with an abusive pimp is probably gonna have a pretty suckful life; and there are probably many who view it as a job, with all the awful and non-awful bits of any other job.
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Mind you I'm sure they can be done well (just like a lot of stuff on that list...). It's just that when you've got a player whose character had a panic attack at "How are you?", ran off to the bathroom to calm down, then snuck back in to watch people silently from a corner - and then has the gall to complain about the game being slow ... yeah. So much fucking hate.
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There's definitely a way to do it properly, but players who can do it are like needles in a haystack. x_x
But god, so many players do this even when their characters aren't billed as "omg shy" - RPing is about playing with other people, dammit, so go talk to someone instead of lurking in a corner.
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Honestly, if you walk into a coffee shop in New York City and a total stranger is sitting in the corner with their books looking busy and studious and trying to avoid being noticed -- why on earth would you go up and have a conversation with them? And if they blatantly ignore hooks you try and throw at them, well then.
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