This won't let me sleep, so...
Aug. 14th, 2006 06:37 am... I'm writing it down to get it out of my system, and maybe get input form others. I got into a discussion with someone this morning about my character Mary from the Werewolf game I'm in. To say thart they have a less than positive view on the character is being rather mild. There position is that if a person was in the IRA, they're obviously rampaging, babykilling monsters on the same scale as Osama Bin Ladin. My position is that its NEVER that simple.
The other problem I have is that there seems to be a lack of ability to step back and see the difference between fiction and reality. Mary's background IS controversial. Its supposed to be. But its NOT REAL. I don't have a heavy background on the IRA or on the Troubles in general, but I know that not everyone is automatically 'X' for being associated with 'Y'. Whatever 'Y' might be. Fiction is rife with characters that start out as unsympathetic and then 'see the light' or are otherwise redeemed and become heroic. That's the kind of character Mary is supposed to be.
Here is a capsule-version of her origin to try and illustrate my point.
( Mary In Brief; PLEASE READ )
The other problem I have is that there seems to be a lack of ability to step back and see the difference between fiction and reality. Mary's background IS controversial. Its supposed to be. But its NOT REAL. I don't have a heavy background on the IRA or on the Troubles in general, but I know that not everyone is automatically 'X' for being associated with 'Y'. Whatever 'Y' might be. Fiction is rife with characters that start out as unsympathetic and then 'see the light' or are otherwise redeemed and become heroic. That's the kind of character Mary is supposed to be.
Here is a capsule-version of her origin to try and illustrate my point.
( Mary In Brief; PLEASE READ )