Forums » RP Discussion » Let's talk comfort zones!

Hi guys! I've been roleplaying on and off for about ten years now, and in all my time, I've made the tendency to stick to the same themes, same types of characters, and same prompts. It's one thing to get used to a style of roleplaying (like paragraphs, one-liners, etc.), but it says something completely different about ME, the roleplayer, when I do the same thing over and over. I was just wondering - do any of you have this problem? Did you used to and get out of it?
Nearly all of my characters are white, and all of my roleplay characters ARE white. I love the idea of gifted humans, but I haven't made a character that isn't humanoid in ANY way. Vampires and sirens may not necessarily be human, but close enough.
And just about all of my prompts/themes have been either apocalyptic or on-the-run. I really don't mind this, but I'd like to kind of break that mold a little bit. I've had romances intertwined with these characters, I've even roleplayed relationships with other characters. Fighting and death scenes have been fairly common, too. But that's it. I haven't gone through with any other kind of roleplay, or character, and I really want to know your opinions on this.
Thanks guys

It's fine, there are styles and there are preferences. It's fine to have both too. If you want to break your usual habits and try something new, then go ahead. You can totally do that or totally not do that. Of course, I have a similar issue and not because I don't have coloured characters, it's my colour palettes that limit me often from going with dark skin, although I am most certainly not pale or even as pale as my characters. Yeah I'm definitely dark, but not too dark. I have plans myself to try and move out of my comfort zone too. Like I want to try again with furries, see maybe if things aren't as bad as appear.

I know skin tone/colors isn't everything, but I almost feel "prejudice" in a way when I notice all my characters are one skin tone, or one age group, or one sexuality or something. But I guess we stick with what we know.

Hey, it's no worries at all! If it's what you're comfortable with, then go for it! If you feel that you need a change in pace, then go for it! The only person holding you back is you, and you make the call! You're still gonna find someone to RP with no matter what anyway.

But to be fair, I have noticed a huge trend with all of my characters and that is... I've never made a "100%" straight or gay character in my years of roleplay. Of course, I put that in quotations because sexuality is weird at times. But all of my main characters are either bisexual or pansexual in some way or shape; for example, one of my characters is biromantic even though she's also a lesbian. Even though skin types and race types are very much varied among my OCs, that's the one thing that's constant between all of them (aside from the Lolita Cafe, which is a very different story).

I'll admit to being afraid of attracting the more Mary Sue-ish (I guess is the term I'm looking for) and stereotypical of RP characters if I put a fully straight or gay person into my roster, but I think it's possible for me to give it a shot. I just need to be more comfortable with the thought. Then again, "art imitates life," and my characters are no exception.

I guess there's also a fault on my end that I've become a good roleplayer with the characters I HAVE used over the past 10 years (yes, Melina, Evan, and Alex are all that old, though they have changed a lot) that there's that fear of something new, and not being as good portraying a character that's a different skin tone, sexuality, etc than I'm practiced with. I guess that's silly, because my characters don't have a reflection on my writing/roleplaying abilities, but rather the other way around... If they reflect each other at all. Lol

It sounds like you know exactly what you want to improve on, and I think you should go for it! All these fears can be remedied by research, and there might be new favorite characters and settings out there that you'll never discover if you don't experiment. Just don't worry about 'prejudice' and do this for yourself. We all have concepts we enjoy playing the most, and RP is all about having a good time.

I personally find that leaving things like sexuality, race and gender until I've come up with a solid history and motive results in characters feeling more natural to play. Race and sexuality are only a minor ingredient in a person's identity after all, so there's really no right answer to portraying it. It'll only be as relevant to your characters as you want it to be.

I tend to have a comfort zone which is focused on women. I typically mostly write and draw average women characters, often roleplaying those with an introverted streak. Without coincidence, most of them also happen to be attracted to women, though other times it really doesn't come up at all. I wouldn't worry about it, though if you do want to expand from it that's something that should be encouraged. As long as you have fun with it, and that includes through discovering and doing different things.

Edit: Forget it

I RP canons, but that doesn't mean I am in a canon setting. That is a common misconception on Canon Rpers. I am not good at making OCs, so I am conformable with canons and mingling with OCs in an AU setting. I just hate the stereotype canons get from some snobby OC Rpers.

I tend to like allot of story packed in an RP. Something that unfolds slowly and can build a good friendship with my RP partner's characters. A good example would be Asroc and Light's character.

I use to dislike down to earth type RPs, but now I like them. They develop my characters more and flesh them out in an AU setting.