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[Sepherim]

I see what tonight's outburst was about.

[Katrina Oniseki]

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NECRO
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Alright, so... I've decided to step back from the Space Lesbians thread, because I was having trouble understanding when people are subtly pointing at my character, or pointing at the hypersexual 'Space Lesbians' trope, or pointing at the entire lesbian RP community. My OP in that thread has been clearly stated and answered to my satisfaction. What concerns me now is my personal character, Katrina Oniseki. So I'll post these questions in my character specific thread, instead of the broader scope thread mentioned.

As many are aware, she is married to a female. She was previously dating another female. She is interested in males too, but for OOC reasons both times, I've not yet gotten the chance to explore that side of her sexuality. It should be stated that I place great effort into trying to roleplay Katrina's fight to keep her relationships separate from work, and the conflict of interests between being State loyal and love loyal. Some of the issues she battles with directly related to this are/were:

- The conflict of interests between dating Simca, who was often her superior professionally, and not letting it interfere with work.
- The fact that the State does not recognize homosexuals as liberally as she'd like.
- That she is State loyal, yet found a marriage license in the Federation (subtle hint there that she has attained Federal citizenship in secret)
- That she could be called out at any time as disloyal to the State for marrying a Federation citizen (who is also a woman)

So, with that in mind... I want to ask this community what you think of my portrayal of it. Does it offend you? Do you think it's inappropriate? Is it realistic? Does it need work? Do you feel you're more likely to avoid interaction with my character because of her sexuality? Do you feel I should simply 'stick to guys'?

Note: I realize some of you are going to simply say "Do what you enjoy", and believe me... I've no intention to suddenly change her sexuality if some are offended. But I want to know if and why people are offended, specifically by and/or about Katrina. I want to know how I could improve if necessary. I want to know how to avoid appearing as a one dimensional character.

I want to be recognized as a legitimate roleplayer, whose character has depth and geniunely interesting dynamics, without having to shoehorn heterosexuality into her story.

[ArtOfLight]

Having RPed with Katrina several times, though only once on a personal level in her home, I find the character to possess a lot of depth and nuance. Malcolm placed very little judgment on her choice of relationship because he didn't see it as any of his concern. Primarily it was the concern of her CEO (John) to treat it as he chooses, and Mal left it at that.

I've always enjoyed Katrina as a character and I've never found her to be offensive at all.

[Makkal]

Kat is great. She's a better portrayal of a woman attracted to other women than many I've seen or read.

...shoehorn heterosexuality into her story.

This would be sad.

[Esna Pitoojee]

Two words: Hell. No.

As in, it does not offend me one bit. Kat is practically a walking inversion of the negative aspects of that trope.

[Makkal]

Biggest RP issue with Katrina: Not on. Cannot get RPs.

[Creep]

^^^

I don't think anyone in the Space Lesbians thread was talking about you. In fact, what I kept reading was that Kat was the example of a NotSpaceLesbian Lesbian, making your character the textbook example of What To Do.

Just reading this thread (...oh god procrastination...) makes it very clear that you take your personal roleplay extremely seriously, and are way more concerned with your portrayal of Katrina than most people are with their own characters. I'm pretty sure you're quite safe from the 1-dimensional characterizations that some RPers end up with.

[Natalcya Katla]

You have nothing to worry about, Katrina.

[Pieter Tuulinen]

"You're a fuckin' roleplayer Kat - I ever tell you any different you punch me in the face."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=m95qHOmoUXs&list=LLa0S_B7fjMHT2bAy_KN2riA#t=354s

[Desiderya]

I still fail to see where that (space) lesbianism stuff comes into play when discussing your character.
Subtle hint here: You seem like you're making this 'an issue' all by yourself, because whenever I witnessed or had interactions with your character it never was remotely connected to her sexuality, at least in a way that puts it prominently into the foreground. And even with sexuality being a valid aspect of a character it is by no means a defining characteristic unless you decide to make it one, for example by constantly pushing the issue OOCly or - what at least I don't see you doing - playing out the trope to its fullest in every IC channel/situation.

So, maybe just chill out, you're doing fine.
We've already told you that, I think.

[Vieve]

My only complaint about Katrina is that none of my characters have gotten to RP with her.

She's on my list of "Characters Whom I Would Someday Like To Stalk With A Sekrit Alt".

[Katrina Oniseki]

I still fail to see where that (space) lesbianism stuff comes into play when discussing your character.
Subtle hint here: You seem like you're making this 'an issue' all by yourself, because whenever I witnessed or had interactions with your character it never was remotely connected to her sexuality, at least in a way that puts it prominently into the foreground. And even with sexuality being a valid aspect of a character it is by no means a defining characteristic unless you decide to make it one, for example by constantly pushing the issue OOCly or - what at least I don't see you doing - playing out the trope to its fullest in every IC channel/situation.

So, maybe just chill out, you're doing fine.
We've already told you that, I think.

I appreciate your response. I suppose what makes me keep thinking I'm doing something wrong is that when reading some of the opinions expressed, I keep thinking they could be applied to my character. I've been told that my character is fine, yes, but I've also been told my haircut looks just fine when it doesn't. People are not always entirely honest about what they really think, and I tend to try and read between the lines sometimes.

I think you make a good point, and I'm glad you've made it. I can be quite insecure about my character building.

[ArtOfLight]

I appreciate your response. I suppose what makes me keep thinking I'm doing something wrong is that when reading some of the opinions expressed, I keep thinking they could be applied to my character. I've been told that my character is fine, yes, but I've also been told my haircut looks just fine when it doesn't. People are not always entirely honest about what they really think, and I tend to try and read between the lines sometimes.

I think you make a good point, and I'm glad you've made it. I can be quite insecure about my character building.

Having had similar issues myself, let me offer you a word of counsel:

A lot of what people say about things can be applied to our characters. It is not the application of these singular items that make them bad, it is these items either in conjunction with one another or in solitude without any other qualifying factors that make them bad.

In other words, that a few "negative" things can be applied to Katrina doesn't make Katrina a bad character or make her fit into a negative stereotype because those "negative" things are in the middle of a variety of other factors that make her complete character. This means they're not negative any longer, they're simply part of who the character is, it gives them scope and depth.

Consider it like this: Chlorine is a toxic gas in its natural state, poisonous to humans and highly combustible. Sodium in its natural state is a very soft metal that conducts electricity and explodes when exposed to water. Alone, either one of these elements could potentially kill a human being upon consumption. Put them together and you have table salt, which contains sodium and the isotope chloride which together help regulate blood flow and metabolism.

Katrina is the table salt, not just chlorine or sodium.

[Lyn Farel]

I have not have the occasion to RP with her, or very briefly on the Summit, which is unfortunate.

- The conflict of interests between dating Simca, who was often her superior professionally, and not letting it interfere with work.
- The fact that the State does not recognize homosexuals as liberally as she'd like.
- That she is State loyal, yet found a marriage license in the Federation (subtle hint there that she has attained Federal citizenship in secret)
- That she could be called out at any time as disloyal to the State for marrying a Federation citizen (who is also a woman)

That is what works really well and is really well thought in the character.

[Katrina Oniseki]

What originally began as an OOC happenstance to start dating a female ended up turning into one of the most nuanced and interesting roleplays I've ever had. Exploring the biases and entrenched cultural limitations of a wholly fictional culture like this, while playing to my RL strengths of emotional introspection... has really turned out to be rewarding for me.

This is why I love roleplaying Kat as dating women, despite not intending her to. It's become far more interesting than heterosexual relationships to me. I realize that might appear as offensive, perhaps even trivializing the real struggles of real lesbians in real life... but I experience those issues too IRL. Not as a lesbian, mind you, but as someone who often must hide my attraction to other males.

Reflecting those struggles into EV and exploring what those same struggles might mean for somebody so wildly different from me, a Caldari executive and military commander, is both helpful for me to come to terms with my own insecurities and incredibly engaging because it's a touchstone for things that mean something to me IRL. It's creating a movie that reflects my own struggles, without it being a self absorbent autobiography in space.