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The dreaded omniscient character...


Frankerz
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So this is just at the forefront of my mind and is something I've been avoiding like the plague since my somewhat recent run-in with it.  In a thread with another member of a forum I was part of (I hadn't Rped with this person before, but they were friendly and I was new, so I leaped at the opportunity to start), their character kept knowing what mine was thinking or planning.  As a random example, she would say something along the lines of "oh... I'm sorry to hear that" but would be thinking in her head "holy shit this guy is a psycho, I'm gonna be found chopped up in tiny pieces somewhere, why did I come here with him?"  And he somehow "sense" her discomfort (when she made no outward indication of such) and reassure her that he wasn't a threat, etc etc.

 

And later on when he suddenly put his hand right by her face (non-threateningly, but my char didn't know this, and after his earlier dialogue she was already on edge) to do a magic trick he somehow "instinctively" caught her arm which she'd frantically thrown out to defend herself from a perceived attack... despite the fact that his dexterity was 4 points lower than hers.  Then after he did his magic hoodoo and she was in awe of it (mouth agape, smiling, dazzled look), she also thought to herself how that magic could also be used for ill, to hurt people or take advantage of them, and she wondered if anyone should have such power.  Well, apparently, and I quote the character: "I can read faces fairly well, and I definitely saw fear and concern. Are you worried I might try to harm you? Because I won't."

 

So frustrating.  I get that sometimes your character will catch on to what mine is thinking, especially if she's showing it in her expressions, but come on, every single time??  I don't remember ever encountering this so blatantly before - and this was coming from a person who'd been Rping for more than five years and is even older than me.  And from what I gathered it was an issue other members were having with this person as well, but no one knew how to talk to them about it.

 

Do you guys ever deal with the same thing?  How do you manage it?  Is there a good way to approach this issue with some tact and sensitivity so it doesn't hurt them, but rather encourages them to see what they're doing and try to correct it?  I ended up leaving the site (for multiple reasons, not just this member) but I'm still friends with a few of them and would like to give advice (as well file away the information for the future).

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With meta gaming like this the only option is to call them out on it. 

 

Don't wait a few posts to see if it changes, call them out the first time. Inform an administrator of the issue, and then speak to the other player about what the problem is, why its a problem, and tell them to correct it. Don't ask, make it clear that it is a demand in order for anything to progress. If they refuse to correct then politely inform that they are not a compatible role play partner and that you will no longer be participating. From there, do not engage plots or threads with them. 

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Before calling them out or anything... Is this a game that features psychic (or supernatural, magical, technological) powers which would grant mind reading capabilities? If so then does their character have these powers?  If they do then maybe have your character realise what's going on and ask them to stop invading their privacy? If not though then calling them on it is probably a good idea.

 

The other option, which might be less fun, is to not give them any kind of extra info to work with. So don't include what your character is thinking. Just write the actions/speech and descriptions as necessary. But no internal monologue or anything like that. They can't respond to something that you didn't put down. 

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VirusZero, there is magic and such, and their character is a magic user, but his is 100% illusion magic that manipulates light to create visual illusions, so it's not like he could read her mind.  My friend who experienced a similar issue with this member's other character started doing exactly what you've suggested and didn't put any possibly revealing monologue or narrative in her posts so that this other member couldn't 'mind read.'

 

I have a hard time with that because I really like growing my characters through their experiences and interactions with others, and a big part of showing that growth is that internal narration of how they're feeling, how their thought process is going - if it's altering in the slightest bit or going the opposite way.  So I kinda just bit the bullet and ended the thread and avoided any more with this member (which was hard, because they're on the site 80% of their waking hours due to no job).

 

I should have done what you suggest, Dragon.  From now on I'll make the straightforward approach - I tend to be very conflict-avoidant, so it's hard for me.  But as I'm an admin of my own site now I need to be prepared to be firm and assertive.  It'll be a good learning experience, haha.

 

Thanks for the advice, guys!

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People like their characters to be perfect. They like their characters to be protected. They want their characters to come across a certain way, and they're not strong enough of writers to actually write it convincingly, so they have to manipulate the information given to them in order to portray the character in the manner they see fit.

 

When this happens, I either approach the member and let them know what's bothering me, or I do the thing where I put little narration and exposition in my posts. I try not to write with them if it's a recurring problem, but sometimes it's necessary or I really like the member otherwise and just suck it up and deal with it.

 

It's a buzzkill, though, and I wish people had better writing skills.

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if this happens, i'll usually just not give any indication of what's going on in my character's head and just focus on perceivable reactions.

 

that way, they won't be able to read my character's mind somehow and just know things.

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I usually start to add in little diddies like "she thought he was a monster, but there was no indication on her face" or "she moved away before he could catch her"

 

That way, there is no discussion on the matter. ^^ if it keeps happening after that, I'd definitely shoot them a gentle "hey narration is narration" message.

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I haven't dealt with this in a long time because I've developed a style of writing that makes it more or less impossible.

 

I don't write what my character is thinking. There is no internal monologue.

 

I have my character communicate through dialogue, touch, and body language.

 

It's very effective at stopping this sort of problem, and often comes with very amusing results when people still try to play that game of knowing everything your character is thinking or feeling- because they're wrong 99.9% of the time, and I get to laugh at them for it.

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I've been on both ends of this issue. I've got a character who's magic manifested in the way that he can read minds. He's privy to a lot of what goes on in people's heads, and he likes to dig around and find out what he can because he's a nosy bastard and can be/is someone very unpleasant to deal with. He's also a very good observer because he's a thief and a spy, it's his job to queue in on subtle ticks and tells (though upon first meeting someone he has to speculate these tells until he can fully understand how this person works). I can completely understand how this can be frustrating to other writers, and to avoid stepping over into unsavory territory I make every effort to communicate with my partner and let them know that this character's mind reading can be stopped with some mental fortification and a strong will.

 

On the flip side, I have a character who is painfully easy to read. As much as she thinks she's good at hiding her emotions, she's not. With this character I've occasionally had issues like OP, in which her thoughts are being read by someone who shouldn't be able to. Even with her visual tells signalling she's uncomfortable, they shouldn't be able to discern why without asking. In these situations, if it goes on long enough, I'll just talk to my partner and let them know their character is knowing things they shouldn't.

 

It's a tricky balancing act, and as always I stress the importance communication.

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Please tell the admin. Sometimes staff members don't get around to checking threads, we rely on members to tell us if there is a problem.

 

Powers are tricky. I tend not to allow powers that take away the rights of the partner in the rp game.  

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