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[Pistol Annie #1 NPC]

@Cham
I love Reiko so much!
Also, I think I understand what you mean by the little pocket of extreme conservatism. Reminds me of a neighborhood I used to live in where everyone seemed to think similarly. Some of their views were a little... backwards? But it was kind of like an echo chamber, which made it hard for them to change their views.
I agree with you! Here's my order: Fire, Air, Earth, Water. From what I remember watching the show, Water was the most obvious and consistent with the sexism. Any gender discrimination that happened with Earth seemed to be diluted with other things from what I saw. Do you get that feeling?

Whaaat! That's definitely a terrible first impression, and it doesn't sound like it ever got better. It sounds frustrating, especially if you were hoping for a friendly dynamic between the two.
"Thanks for saving my life! But I think you're a monster for no reason, so I'm going to try and murder you." Wow, what a nice fellow eh?

[Chamrosh]

@Sunny
Reiko's a good bean. I've always liked the trope of people who make up for not being very skilled practically by inventing stuff since I first saw Tangled: The Series, and first witnessed Varian? That kid is such a mood. Everything he does is a mood. Everything. And I've loved the trope since then!

I grew up in one of those super-conservative churches? Like, the rest of the neighbourhood was pretty chill and calm, I think we had a gay mayor at one point and no one really cared about it, etc. But this church? Oh boy. It's a really extreme case of a bubble of conservatism, definitely. My parents still go there and they genuinely have a pastor who believes that gay people are literally demons? (And oh boy am I glad I'm not out). I have had some wild conversations and experiences with this church. Honestly I'm sort of proud of myself that the first things I really started doubting about them, after the obvious stuff of 6-days Young Earth Creationism and such, were all the stuff about gay people having something wrong with them, or women not being allowed to lead stuff, or trans people "violating how God made humanity". I think it reflects well on me that the first things I wanted to investigate properly were about equality? And now it's sort of a pet thing of mine now to make characters who had to deal with stuff like that in their childhoods and either grew out of it or will grow out of it, learning to be less prejudiced and all, and, honestly, I just think it's another little tool in the toolbox of still dealing with it emotionally?
And yep, that's the same order I'd put them in too! Like, a big gap between Air and Earth, and then a big gap between Earth and Water? Southern water tribe doesn't seem too sexist, from what I can tell, as extreme environments normally do get divisions of labour, and from what I can remember, their division was pretty soft in terms of how much was divided and the judgement for going against those divisions compared to the northern water tribe? Katara didn't seem to get judged for not wanting to instantly use her abilities to heal, and Katara and Sokka were sent out as equally capable fishers and such... I might be completely wrong (especially as we literally only see them after they lost all but one of their male members...), but definitely the northern water tribe is the most sexist.

That's how they took it! And I was really anticipating them getting on and it being very pure and wholesome. And... it was not so much.
My character could disguise themself at-will (byyyy shape-shifting into people... like a döppelganger), so it's not entirely/i] unfounded, but, like. The only spell-casters in D&D who can't disguise themself are clerics, so maybe half the population can do easy disguises? It's a big leap from "you can disguise yourself very well" to "you're a döppelganger, it's stabby time" with probably about half the population being able to imitate that....




In other news, I just went through all the character sheets properly and??? Solidly. I was liking everyone before. I was not in [i]any way disappointed bar in my inability not to ramble ;P
and that liking has been really firmly cemented? All of them look really fun!! Both to witness and to interact with!

[Pistol Annie #1 NPC]

@Cham
Omg I love inventor characters so much. They always intrigue me with how their ideas and creativity can overcome almost anything! It reminds me of my brother, he's always tinkering with something.
WAIT DOES REIKO MAKE RUBE GOLDBERG MACHINES?? MY BROTHER LOVES THOSE!

It's incredibly difficult to challenge the beliefs you're surrounded by your entire life, so it's amazing you grew into such a conscientious and equality minded person despite that upbringing. Exploring these themes through writing is, honestly, one of the best ways of dealing with it in my opinion.
I agree that the Northern Water Tribe is way more sexist. To me, the key piece of evidence is Katara's reaction! If North was the same amount of sexist as her home tribe, I don't think she would be so surprised and outraged. So she is, and that's what tipped me off that North is more "strictly traditional" in that sense.

Talk about an overreaction! That's like a smart university student who gets straight-A's helping her study buddies, but then they cut her out of the friend circle because "You're too smart! You must be a robot in disguise!!" (After she helped them all pass a test that'd be impossible without her help.)

I love all the characters too! So looking forward to them all meeting up together. I might not be able to predict what the group dynamics might look like, but that just makes it all the more exciting!

[Chamrosh]

@Sunny
I hadn't considered that but I need that energy now? "I'm bored, I'm going to spend 3 hours prepping something to save me 20 seconds of work later" is good energy! I love watching them too!

I think writing it out is almost always a useful way for me to process things like that which have a strong emotional sort of basis? And I think it helps a lot with making interesting ideas for me?
Yes, I agree exactly! Katara's reaction really confirms it, but I think I'd come to that conclusion without Katara's reaction, as we get to see just enough of the Southern Water Tribe to know they didn't fall apart or seem to lose knowledge when they lose all their men? I think if they were heavily segregated and it was particularly strict, that would definitely have caused them to lose their knowledge about certain skills?

It was very much that energy? But also like "And your very innocent bean of a friend is also a robot because she's associating with you" being added in there?

I know! There's lots of different ways I see combinations of characters bouncing off each other and it being really fun still? And honestly, I think even if they don't get on well, each of their reactions will still be really fun to see from what I can tell!

[Pistol Annie #1 NPC]

@Cham
Yes! Honestly, that's my brother's energy all the time. The best Rube Goldberg machines are the ones where the machine actually takes longer on the task than the manual approach would take. For example, setting a massive contraption just to pour a glass of orange juice. I love those! They're so ridiculous and great.

Oooh agreed. Growing up, writing helped me develop better empathy and explore emotions I'd be otherwise unfamiliar with. Roleplaying was especially helpful because I could interact with others and see different points of view.
About the Southern Water Tribe - that's a point I never considered before! But in hindsight, I should have noticed it. Very good catch! (This is what I mean! Roleplaying communities are great for getting new insights.)

That's even worse!!
Oooh and I agree about the reactions. If Ganika doesn't get along with someone, he resorts to being fake polite and then passive-aggressively monologuing in his head. "What kind of abhorrent behavior- What is this? To say I am disappointed would be an insult to my level of outrage! I cannot believe..." (I think he is too dramatic to be threatening)

[Zyn]

xxx

{ @Chamrosh - hahahahaha he is a special dude. he is the kind of guy who thinks extended eye contact means you want to fight him XD. hopefully kazuya and zopa can work some magic and help him become a bit more calm and chill. also awwww i love justice's characters too! they are such sweet beans }

{ sorry i was so absent, i have been super busy the past day or so. }

[Chamrosh]

@Zyn
Chihiro's the sort of person, imo, who I know would annoy me irl, but in an RP is really fun to interact with, and to see reactions to? And yes! Yes, hopefully having two very chill characters around should chill him out too.

[Pistol Annie #1 NPC]

@Zyn
AWWWW THANK YOU! Hug

@Cham
Suyin is just going to hug everyone until they spontaneously become friends. Good plan right??