InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Life's Short, Run Around Naked"

Dixon (dixongardner) wrote in modcooperative,
@ 2020-02-03 16:50:00

Entry tags:

advice, feedback wanted

Looking for some more advice but this one's far less thorny than my last one.

I have a player whose character has a large family. They are wanting to play one of the same character's children for another line they would like to bring in. They have said that they will not play 'with themselves' as in one on one scenes with those characters for AC, that all - or at least most - interaction with the characters will be in group scenes. I can't see a reason to say no to the request, but I just wanted to get some perspective. I will add there are two other family members in game, as well as the line they are planning with a different character which is why they want to bring the new character in, so I don't have any worries that they will end up using this situation to fudge on AC.

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sassylime
2020-02-04 03:24 am UTC (link)

Mmmmm. Okay, my main RP experience is with HP RP so it’s helpful that we have the Weasleys, and that I’ve done a lot of next gen. And I have seen people play their own cousins, not just in very small, especially Weasley-centric next gen games. But tbh, having seen it done very very badly (one Potter-Weasley backing up the other Potter-Weasley’s outlandish and arguments in a really uncomfortable way) I just.... don’t like it. I really don’t. But that’s because of very bad past experience.

So wait, how are the two characters they want to play related? I’m a little unclear on if they’d be playing siblings or parent and child.

Oddly enough, I don’t actually mind them playing against themselves, maybe because I tend to box my own characters’ families a lot? But there’s some danger I think in letting someone have two characters of the same family, there’s an imbalance there that makes me worry the other played family could get bulldozed (which I have also seen, badly). Do the other players of that family know about it?

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dixongardner
2020-02-04 03:32 am UTC (link)

It is helpful, definitely. I can see why your past experience has you hesitant, I haven't seen that personally, but I feel like I've heard about that kind of thing happening.

Parent and child, that part I do know. There's two other children in game already, and they have discussed things and let me know they're okay with it - we haven't discussed in depth but I will be asking a couple more questions before/if I approve this, just to make sure all the family members are on the same page.

The basic storyline is that the player is actually bringing in a prior sl from another game - I have no issue with that.

Though I might ask, actually, if they can discuss with any other characters who might want children. There's actually one of mine that could take a character of that age as a child and I think I'd honestly prefer that over them playing their character's child. I hadn't even considered that for some reason and it's nothing against them, I think it is more I was trying to solve it as they brought it to me rather than think further out.

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sassylime
2020-02-04 04:51 am UTC (link)

That's good that the other players are okay with it. That's really important.

You know, I really like to play multiple generations of my favorite families. I like to see how one character's parenting affects their children. But whenever I've seen games where I could play someone from one of those families and the parents could also be played, I've stumbled away in horror because I don't want anyone else playing them, and playing them myself is generally not allowed. Established culture makes a big difference.

But playing parent and child really isn't that different from playing the kids of a ship and then NPCing the parents, I guess. If the other players are fine with it and if the player who wants to do it is a cool and reasonable sort of person, I guess it's fair enough as long as they do it fairly, without giving too much preference to their own character?

(Sometimes I just need to think how I'd feel if I wanted to do it to turn my cringe to, "Well, okay.")

(Reply to this) (Parent)

	dixongardner 2020-02-04 03:33 am UTC (link)
	There was supposed to be an addition that it's a romantic line from another game up there somewhere. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	sassylime 2020-02-04 04:35 am UTC (link)
	box = npc, come ON autocorrect it's not like I never use that term (Reply to this) (Parent)

	blackflame28 2020-02-04 03:39 am UTC (link)
	My opinion? If they want to play within the same family, go for it. As a mod, I don't have a problem with it, as long as they don't use the thread, when they do play with themselves, for activity for both characters. That defeats the point. But if they want to play both? If it doesn't hurt anyone else, why not? (Reply to this)

eckcooties
2020-02-08 02:42 am UTC (link)

I know that some people have had bad experiences with this, because they were dealing with mediocre/bad writers. But Im for letting players fill roles to push plots. From my perspective this is something that helps build/flesh out the world that might not otherwise occure. Im also a fan of family dynamics and dont have a problem with players wanting to explore that in games - even if they have to double up. Since it can be difficult to get others to fill family lines I have personally doubled up on family & friend groups in GPSLs but not in big open games. So i can understand the hesitation on your part?

From a mod perspective if they are decent writers, have distinct personality differences in their character development, and have a defined plot motive that I think they will actually work to accomplish Id say yes. Course the, "Im not going to play with myself" or write scenes with a parent/child relations would concern me - unless theirs a plot reason for that. Id rather they write scenes where it would be natural for their related characters to interact instead of pretend theres no reason to interact because their main focus eould be on the relationship with the non-family character. If that makes sense?

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