Old and young

[Rune 1,099]

I don't want to RP with kids. I don't want to write kids. But I also don't want to hang out with kids IRL. I can handle small doses of teenagers, but kids aren't my thing. I don't enjoy them. I find them annoying and I find the way most people RP them even more annoying. (No kid tawks wike dis. Especially when they're older than 5.) If kids exist, they're NPCs. But, I also run 333 boards and don't allow anyone under 18 generally.

 

While the 'older' characters on my board are immortal, I still have a handful that are older and mostly mortal. They're fun to play and no different than any other character except, perhaps, in physical limitations. 

 

I've had a character on WoW for 11+ years now and she's a grandmother and still one of my favorites.

[Lawman 88]

Well, outside of the concern over the possibility of running afoul of the law courtesy of overprotective parents or outraged moral guardians... I don't really see why dealing with children and teenagers to be such a pain? Or that writing them as characters is such an epic challenge. But hey, if it's challenging then shouldn't we as writers ought to write them more? Cause well, there's something about venturing outside of one's comfort zone and challenging oneself being a key element to growing as an author that I keep hearing?

 

Like, there's always talk about challenging oneself as an author by writing characters who are of a different race, sexual orientation, gender, etc. So why not age? Like, is it just me or do I find it weird that so many writers who are in their 20s to 30s seem to relish the challenge of writing characters who are significantly older than themselves, yet balk at the idea of writing one that is younger than themselves?

 

Especially those who fall on the lower end of the above bracket - like, these people were probably minors themselves just a few years ago. If you ask me, I think age differences is probably one of the "easier" challenges. Cause we can't become another race or change our sexual orientation... but certainly everyone was a kid once, and everyone will become an elder eventually. So it's one of the things by default we all have experience in.

[Morrigan 1,826]

On 8/5/2018 at 10:32 AM, Rune said:

No kid tawks wike dis. Especially when they're older than 5.

 

I actually have to disagree with this. My son has been in speech therapy since he was in kindergarten. The lack of annunciation and syllables used to be a really big problem for him. He still starts to lose me when he talks too fast. "Everyfing" is still a word he uses when he's not thinking through his sentences. I still have to look at him and go, "Every what?". My son is ten.

 

Yes, I understand that this an exception, not a rule, but there are children that have these issues past five (pretty sure his speech therapy class has 20+ kids from his age group in it) and so approximately 5%?

 

Additionally, my brother David used to fuck up words all of the time. I think my mother still says "forkhead" to this day because she thought it was so fucking cute that he couldn't say "forehead" (and I believe that is a way that she keeps his memory alive for her). OH! And ninners instead of fingers.

[Rune 1,099]

3 hours ago, Morrigan said:

 

I actually have to disagree with this. My son has been in speech therapy since he was in kindergarten. The lack of annunciation and syllables used to be a really big problem for him. He still starts to lose me when he talks too fast. "Everyfing" is still a word he uses when he's not thinking through his sentences. I still have to look at him and go, "Every what?". My son is ten.

 

Yes, I understand that this an exception, not a rule, but there are children that have these issues past five (pretty sure his speech therapy class has 20+ kids from his age group in it) and so approximately 5%?

 

Additionally, my brother David used to fuck up words all of the time. I think my mother still says "forkhead" to this day because she thought it was so fucking cute that he couldn't say "forehead" (and I believe that is a way that she keeps his memory alive for her). OH! And ninners instead of fingers.

 

Yes, it happens. My brother was similar. But its never used as a speech impediment. It's always used in an attempt to make them look cute and innocent. Similar to how lisps and stutters are rarely played unless they are solely used for quirks. Your typical child doesn't misplace Ls for ws. And I've noticed that its never Ss or ths. It's always always Ls for Ws. 

[Morrigan 1,826]

I could go back through my son's speech therapy but it was (at least for me) primarily lack of annunciation. It wasn't that he didn't know the sound it's just that he didn't say it right.

 

My brother Seth, for example had issues with pronunciation early on because he had inner ear problems. Put tubes in his ears to drain out the extra fluid and all gone (an actual common problem in my family) . He made things sound how they heard to him which were basically like being under water (or as close to it as I can explain).

 

I'll be honest, I don't even know many kids under the age of five that pronounce those incorrectly. That's the movie version of "gee willikers misser, yer sure r strong".

[jenneral_jennson 154]

5 hours ago, Morrigan said:

 

I'll be honest, I don't even know many kids under the age of five that pronounce those incorrectly. That's the movie version of "gee willikers misser, yer sure r strong".

 

A lot more than you think. We had one 5 year old kinder in speech therapy. The rest enunciated perfectly fine. We had 1 second grader in speech because of ear issues. Not a single one of the rest of any of the classes had issues with pronounciations. My 3 year old cousin has no issue with Ls & Ws or pronunciations but then she’s not spoken to in idiotic “baby talk” like many children are because grandparents and parents think it’s cute. It’s not, you’re doing more harm than you think you are doing it.

 

You’re right it’s an exception not a rule so every damn kid should not be talking like that. Less kids talk like that in the real world than they apparently do in the RP world. Also I’ve never heard “misser or yer” in that saying in movies or old shows. The pronunciation was always correct “Golly gee willikers mister! You sure are strong!”. 

[Dragon 673]

On 8/5/2018 at 12:32 PM, Rune said:

(No kid tawks wike dis. Especially when they're older than 5.)

 

So that's obviously an exaggerated example - because few people write child characters like that. Now plenty of people make spelling exaggerations to convey improper pronunciation - in your own words @Rune "no bowady makes kids tawk wike dat" when playing them. 

 

It is often difficult to convey the pronunciation of little ones through text alone. Ergo spelling exaggerations are necessary to get some of them across. 

And to do a little retro touch up on the thread - There are also children who don't have a speech impediment in the usual sense. Speech impediment implies there is some physiological reason that said child cannot speak properly - maybe it is an imbalance in the ear canal, as @Morrigan used as an example. 

Outside of that, there are plenty of children out there with no physiological reason for speech impediment. Children who learned how to speak from watching television, for example. 

[Harrier 5]

I am uncomfortable writing younger characters (under 19) as I'm firstly on sites that are 3/3/3 rating and mature themes can take place. I personally prefer the older genre, closer to middle age or prime of their lives (with the exception of vampires), however it is often more difficult to find general plots with them because too often people are looking for the romantic side and when I make these older classes, I'm not out to love-ship them. I'm out to fulfill a role requested, or to work through a specific story. When others play younger individuals, the interaction potential is often lost because of the age difference, even if it shouldn't be.

[Morrigan 1,826]

While the talking issue was interesting please keep this thread on topic and about playing older and younger characters.

 

Thanks!!

[Rune 1,099]

3 hours ago, Dragon said:

 

So that's obviously an exaggerated example - because few people write child characters like that. Now plenty of people make spelling exaggerations to convey improper pronunciation - in your own words @Rune "no bowady makes kids tawk wike dat" when playing them. 

 

It is often difficult to convey the pronunciation of little ones through text alone. Ergo spelling exaggerations are necessary to get some of them across. 
 

I've encountered a massive amount of players that do, all insisting they do it because "they're a kid!" 

 

I'm actually trying my hand at my youngest character at the grand age of 14 at the moment. I keep having to remind myself he's not an adult. It's weirdly difficult. Though, I am hoping for some glorious teenage drama. One sided crushes and "It's not a phase!" door slamming.

 

Older characters are extremely rare. One of the best ones I've encountered was a literal grandmother, cane and all... That would admonish everyone in her guild for anything "unsightly." It was hilarious and very well played. I'd love to see more of that.

[Jacob 58]

Despite being twenty-nine-years-old, I prefer writing children.  My youngest is seven, and my eldest is 16 to 19.  Boys come most natural to me.  Why?  I am not quite sure.  If I'm looking for a game that will let my nine-year-old werewolf get penned, I am going to turn down locales which expect upped age.  That likewise applies to my juvenile male soprano, although he's not as difficult to nestle.

 

I do actually want the half-orphan's father to be alive.  An age gap exists in the backstory concerning his parents.  Shall my character's sire acknowledge his bastard son?  Will he scorn him?  If they meet, does the non-human pop hope to kindle a relationship with the boy or not?  Such a storyline has never occurred in the entirety of my 15 years of role-playing.  I loathe this going to a benched person.

Edited August 7, 2018 by Jacob