Let's B!tch. I feel it's a healthy release for our roleplay annoyances 2.0

[Roleplayer001]

@Altered Tundra That's what I meant - the GM is perfectly fine if you make a demigod. And I sure as hell hope you aren't a decent person if you have all these measly mortals around you. (I mean, seriously, who can't recite all of Paradise Lost after reading it once?)

[Rin]

...Look, okay, I'm fine if you want to use coloured text for your character's dialogue. It's not something I personally do but hey, not going to complain if other people do it. But could you please not use such an eye-searing shade? I honestly can't read your posts at all without getting a migraine.

[Anime_Freak]

How Did I Get Here?!

Where am I? *reads title* Oh, Okay

I hate it when people type in black or anything resembling the background color. C'mon people, I can't read your words, my god!-_-

.......How did I get here...?

[Shin Ghost Note]

<Snipped quote by Mr Allen J>

Is it time for ultimatums in that case?

@January

<Snipped quote by Rilla>

Don't call it "spite." Call it sweet, sweet vengeance and run a hand casually through your hair.

@January

Nah, I know when to take the hint. I kinda feel as if doing that would be like begging someone to stay in your RP (Which I vowed never to do). So I'll just move on, then.

[Gowi]

...Look, okay, I'm fine if you want to use coloured text for your character's dialogue. It's not something I personally do but hey, not going to complain if other people do it. But could you please not use such an eye-searing shade? I honestly can't read your posts at all without getting a migraine.

@Rin

I try to use dull colors for exactly this reason, as I know how jarring it can be. Admittedly it’s more difficult on a forum that has dark gray as its general template. But it’s not hard at all to do given an HTML color code sheet is only a quick google search away.

9C4444 is better than red, 5076B3 is better than blue.

[tsukune]

...Look, okay, I'm fine if you want to use coloured text for your character's dialogue. It's not something I personally do but hey, not going to complain if other people do it. But could you please not use such an eye-searing shade? I honestly can't read your posts at all without getting a migraine.

@Rin

On days when I'm in a good mood, just highlight the text and no problemo.

On days when I'm NOT in any mood, this complain stays.

[Roleplayer001]

@tsukune

How is Gold Then?

[AlteredTundra]

<Snipped quote by Rin>

I try to use dull colors for exactly this reason, as I know how jarring it can be. Admittedly it’s more difficult on a forum that has dark gray as its general template. But it’s not hard at all to do given an HTML color code sheet is only a quick google search away.

9C4444 is better than red, 5076B3 is better than blue.

@Gowi

That's why I use goldenrod as compared to, say, yellow. It's easier on the eyes and not as eye-rapey.

[Anime_Freak]

@Altered Tundra

Is 7ea7d8 a good color?

[Shin Ghost Note]

I used to color all my character's dialogue, but it became a pain in the ass to do.

Now I only color my character's headers. Much better now.

[AlteredTundra]

@Anime_Freak Both are.

[Fillet]

I see characters that are supposed to be trans-male or -female. And yet despite this significant character feature, players don't seem to include the day-to-day necessity that defines a trans-person, namely the therapy they must always go through or how they see the world and the world treats them. It looks like trans is a feature people just add on, and it bugs me because their posts mention nothing about being trans and its processes, whether psychologically or physiologically (esp if it's in a magical world or a post-apocalyptic city); it's as if it's become a trendy thing to try on for size. It bugs me because it is a valid character to play, but people don't seem to consider its consequences.

[tsukune]

<Snipped quote by Rin>
On days when I'm in a good mood, just highlight the text and no problemo.

On days when I'm NOT in any mood, this complain stays.

@tsukune

Forgot to add that...

Using colors that blend too well into the background of this forum will slow down my reading speed - and consequently, my response time - by 3 seconds per letter.

There you go.

[Tulpa]

[Fillet]

@Fillet

I'm glad you brought this up. I have experienced similar complaints and it has bothered me for a long time. I am very close with the trans community and I can for a fact speak on this matter.

I really hate when people say that trans people always have to be suffering psychologically, or victims or social outcasts or all of the code-words that basically really mean freaks. We are not freaks - we are just normal people like you. Our gender is just different from our sex. That's it! We all have different types of personalities, tastes and interests. None of us like to be victims of bullying. We didn't choose this. Why would anyone choose to be victim of violence and bullying?

We write in the realm of fantasy. We already go through enough tribulations on a daily basis in real life. Why do we have to drag that with us into our fantasy? Who are you to say that is who we are? In fantasy, it sometimes doesn't even make sense to even do that depending the setting. In fact, I think this attitude is very transphobic and projects a stereotype about us that simply isn't true. Your statements in itself are very destructive to the LGBTQ rights movement, which any reasonable person will know is the right way to go. What do people with similar attitudes mean by "describing the process"? Do want our characters to take hormone pills and go to the doctor to talk which medical procedures they want done in the IC? Why are we obligated to do that?

In real life, we are constantly put on the defensive to justify who we are on the inside. We are told that this a choice, a lifestyle, that we are it's and not real people, that our lives are worthless or that we'll just "grow out of it." I really want to know why it's our obligation to drag all of that negativity into our fantasy with us. Why does it even bug some people? It effects nothing unless the trans character in question goes around and flashes their genitals to people.

This is the inconvenient truth.

WHO WE ARE IS NOT A TREND. IT IS NOT A CHOICE.

People who perceive trans as a "trend" are just people who haven't been exposed to it before. There always has been and always will be transgender people, and therefore there will always be transgender characters! If I were to write out a trans character, I do it my own way. I want them to be strong and good. I don't want them to be a victim. As a person in the LGBTQ community, I have a question.

WHY SHOULD WE HAVE TO JUSTIFY OUR IDENTITY AND THE IDENTITIES OF OUR OWN CHARACTERS?

In some settings I can understand why someone would want a history, BUT WE SHOULD NEVER BE FORCED TO DEFEND OUR CHARACTERS JUST BECAUSE THEY ARE TRANSGENDER.

If you want to understand how our characters got to where that are, that's reasonable DEPENDING on the setting of the RP. But forcing our characters to be victims, or having to explain their transition medically or just defending their transgenderism IS NOT RIGHT.

@Tulpa

I can see what you're saying. You want your character to be treated equally. Fair enough. I don't understand why then the character needs to be mentioned they're trans-male or trans-female if their transgenderism is not going to at all affect their character like what you want. Just as I make a male character whose sexual orientation isn't going to affect their character or storyline, I don't see a need to mention it; or, really, anything that's not significant and in play. Because from what I'm getting from your post, it sounds like it is worth a mention but the character, being treated like say, a male char, then is simply a male char in essence and the chars would be written as exactly a male char. (Except for one that I saw whose transgenderism actually helped to shape other parts of the char.) Them being trans doesn't come into play or in interactions, since they will be treated as male by everybody necessarily anyway, like you said. I'm not saying it isn't important and so just remove the trans-mention. I'm saying since it's significant, I'm not understanding how it comes into a story from the group rps I've seen. That is, are you saying someone can and should write a trans-person in the application, just to label the gender as trans, and in IC do every bit as they would a cis-male or -female anyway? I'm clarifying your point.

Btw, I didn't at all say they need to be victims. But in a magical or post apocalyptic world or a survival rp - basically reality based rps or not-high sci fi - I don't see how it's unreasonable for a trans-char to justify their continuous journey if food and water etc are significant problems for the chars in the games.And I didn't at all say their journey is negative. Please don't shadow my words with what you've come across from other people.

And on my phone, apologies for not deleting the quote. And double apologies for rambling on somewhere. I wanted to reply before I head off.

[Tulpa]

[January]

@Fillet

If labeling someone as a transgender makes no difference to how the RP perceives them in terms of traditional gender roles, then what's the harm in ignoring it? Labeling a character as such allows for future events to bring up the transgender issue if the player feels like it. Labeling a character as "male" and then bringing up a possible transgender issue in the RP would cause significantly more confusion.

Perhaps the gender comes up in a moment of conversation between a few sympathetic or curious characters, or perhaps it never comes up at all and the player simply...plays. In any case, the assertion that someone must be strictly "male" or "female" unless their transgender status makes a difference to the character or the story inherently implies that "transgender" is something different--something too special to mention unless it matters. Personally, I find that a little off-putting. Just read "transgender" like you would read "male" or "female" and the issue goes away. How other characters perceive/interact with a distinctly labeled "transgender" is an entirely separate matter from the character's actual gender identity.

I do, however, understand your complaint when it's a blatantly careless labeling for the sake of being different--the people who do that are abusing the identity for special snowflake purposes, but the line isn't particularly clear between a special baby and a genuinely transgender character whose gender identity simply has little effect IC. Since that's the case, perhaps give characters like that the benefit of the doubt since there's no issue to be had, honestly.

[Fillet]

@January Good points, you knew what I was getting at and made fair explanations that resolved my problem. Thanks. I'll do that.

@Tulpa What January said. :D

[Roleplayer001]

@Tulpa I don't mean to be offensive by anything I say, I'm just a bit confused as well.

You mention that these worlds are fantasy, and that in these worlds people who are transgender should not be persecuted because it is fantasy. I can understand that.

However, sense these worlds are fantasy couldn't everyone simply be born with the same sex and gender? I understand how many people play characters similar to themselves. However if you were born male but were of female gender (IRL) wouldn't the best representation be to simply play female? Sense, essentially, you are female?

Everything obviously is up to GM decision, but why as a player would you want to play transgender? Isn't the ultimate goal of transgenderism to be the other gender without a problem? (Not discussing lighter forms of transgenderism, like cross-dressing)

The only reason I can see playing as a transgender character is if you believe the transgender experience is different somehow from being cis gendered at a fundamental level. In which case, wouldn't that make it an issue?

[Strawberry425]

Well I mean, if you look at it from the other side of the coin, being trans is still an integral part of a trans person's life. It defined them in a HUGE way, and its not something to be taken lightly. Some people might want to keep that special definition to the characters they make, whilst playing in a role where they feel accepted. Its a way of keeping an integral part of their personal history with them, while also having a character who is not being persecuted for the way they are. It doesn't mean they have to focus on it 24/7, but it might feel good to know you've created a character very much like yourself who isn't being targetted for the same things you are or could be experiencing.