rpanons | Make that anon suffer

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how do emphasize that your asshole of a character does not reflect you or your thoughts on an ooc level? i feel like it's pretty "duh" but a lot of people still take mean characters personally it seems like

also how do you keep up with their mean streak in the sense of keeping that edge to their personality? if it helps, the character i am thinking of is a ambitious and self-centered type...

just treat people like human beings and that's it. if people really complain about you because your character is rude, then don't bother with them, since they should be old enough to know the difference. i love rude characters myself, and although i joke saying "i'm rude because my character is" from time to time, most people have stopped complaining.

your character's expression can work. things like looking at people with disdain, folding their arms across his chest, or just being kind of passive aggressive work perfectly. of course it all depends on the character, review a few bits of your character's canon and check their attitude towards people, their movements and stuff. it should give you a good hint.

great tips; thank you so very much!

Usually when I'm playing an asshole character, I occasionally point out in the narrative the flaws in their logic or approach, because I also worry about people taking things personally or thinking I'm not looking at things objectively when it comes to my character. I don't CONSTANTLY point out when they're wrong or acting like an asshole, because that would get very repetitive. But the occasional "x doesn't consider that someone might be hurt by what they say," just a simple acknowledgement that you know your character is saying something upsetting, can help show that you don't share your character's thoughts and feelings on whatever is happening in the thread. Mind you, I don't think this is necessary to play an asshole character and that people should improve their sense of IC/OOC divide, but as it is, poking fun at their awfulness in the narrative has given me some comfort about it when I'm playing a real douche.

As for the mean streak, above anon has some good advice. I also really carefully examine it when I find myself writing tags where the character acts nicer than usual, and ask myself if they really have reason to be nice. Sometimes with mean characters it's better to second-guess a bit when you find yourself writing nice tags, since I think, generally, people are polite and default to that in writing interactions. If I can't think of a good reason that my character would be politer to the person they're interacting with, I'll rewrite the dialogue and body language to something with more of an edge.

More specifically, if your character is self-centered, they might not pick up on body language or tone that indicates someone is upset. Even if they do, they might flat-out ignore it because acknowledging it won't help them any. They could notice it, but be annoyed or put out that they have to deal with it. Since they're ambitious, they might even try to think of a way to use it for their own gain. This is the same for most other emotions, too. They might be dismissive of other people's excitement or happiness because it's not their own excitement or happiness. They could belittle someone's anger as insignificant, because if THEY'RE not angry, why should anyone else be angry about it?

This is all generalizing, obviously, and it's hard to say without knowing the character in particular! But I hope this helps somewhat.

actually this is perfect advice; thank you!

You're welcome! Glad I could be of service.

i posted a disclaimer on my character's journal (more or less "this guy is violent and mean, let me know if this is a problem") and i guess it worked out, because nobody ever accused me of being a bitch.

I play a villain. They are legitiamtely a terrible person. I have an opt out post for this reason. Use the opt out to express the sorts of action or interaction that may/will be encountered. Ask a few questions, like are you comfortable with my character being an absolute dick to yours. Be sure to have a link handy for CR memes to remind old and new alike it exists

Make that anon suffer

"mean" characters

no subject

op

Re: "mean" characters

op

ayrt

Re: "mean" characters

+1