Feral Heart

Game & Forum Discussion => Game Discussion => Topic started by: Kerriki on August 26, 2013, 02:14:58 am

Title: The Most Unrealistic Characters
Post by: Kerriki on August 26, 2013, 02:14:58 am
I'm not talking about some neon mate center, I'm talking about some person who claims to be a specific animal yet they are totally unrealistic. So... yeah.

The most unrealistic characters I probably have ever seen is a female lion, but with a full mane. I also remember seeing a tiger... but with spots. One time I saw someone claiming to be albino but they had a black pelt. I also saw a stallion, but it didn't have the spotted hyena marking on its tail... I could go all day with this. x3
Title: Re: The Most Unrealistic Characters
Post by: hugrf2 on August 26, 2013, 03:00:38 am
I don't think stallions need spotted hyena markings on their tails? o3o Just to add creativity to the design...

And claiming to be albino when you have a black pelt? waitwut. Also, are you sure the tiger and lioness are those species or a made-up subspecies/species...? Meh, those are strange if they aren't.

Hmm, let's see... I don't remember seeing anything unrealistic honestly like that, but for a fact I have seen stallions with no spotted hyena tails. I have even had a feline character that was a horse before, but I have my opinions on how to make horses sometimes.. ;-; Okay, back to the topic.

A colt that was completely red, like unrealistic red I remember seeing. Seriously? o3o I think I have seen this... and a human that was pitch-black. Never seen it, really. o3o Though I ain't judging them.
Title: Re: The Most Unrealistic Characters
Post by: Silhouette on August 26, 2013, 03:07:11 am
The crayon  yellow and cheeto colored cheetahs, I need not say more.
Title: Re: The Most Unrealistic Characters
Post by: Smilodoncat on August 26, 2013, 03:10:49 am
Grey hyenas. Enough said.

Also, white tigers with black stripes. White tigers have brown stripes (not to mention mental problems and serious genetic diseases, yet everyone treats them like normal tigers in rp.)
Title: Re: The Most Unrealistic Characters
Post by: nubeees on August 26, 2013, 06:23:46 am
The crayon  yellow and cheeto colored cheetahs, I need not say more.
My god I hate seeing those. I like to refer to the orange once as "Pasta Cheetahs", because they look like they rolled in a bowl of pasta...
Title: Re: The Most Unrealistic Characters
Post by: Kona on August 26, 2013, 06:57:12 am
Hah, I could go on all day with the things I've seen. A white Tiger with a Full Mane, completely black lions, "Albino" Cheetahs with normal markings and colors, White Tigers with silver/white-ish stripes, etc. There is so many more that I could think of, but as mentioned above...the one that bothers me the most is the Crayon/Cheetoh colored Cheetahs...
Title: Re: The Most Unrealistic Characters
Post by: WoodDog on August 26, 2013, 08:21:15 am
.
Title: Re: The Most Unrealistic Characters
Post by: meeeea on August 26, 2013, 09:15:25 am
I saw many feline characters pretending to be wolves, not to mention their pitch black '0' pelt and bright red scar markings. + They had wings.

?(=^???^=)?
Title: Re: The Most Unrealistic Characters
Post by: Lady_Alizarin on August 26, 2013, 04:03:44 pm
 1.) Fox characters that are fire truck red or cheetoh orange, with the toeless sock markings, and tail ring markings.
2.) Hyena characters that are grey with pitch black spotted hyena markings. If they are pretending to be a stripped hyena, that's a different story.
3.) The bright yellow/orange cheetahs.
4.) Neon orange tigers.
5.) Pitch black lions with bright white main and red scar markings.
6.) Pitch black wolves with the bright red scar markings.
7.) Yellow lions with red mane.
Title: Re: The Most Unrealistic Characters
Post by: Wizardmymom on August 26, 2013, 04:31:59 pm
(1)
A female lion with crayon yellow pelt and a red, poofy mane.

(2)
A fox with bright orange pelt and pure white underbelly.

(3)
A dragon with pure white pelt, pitch black underbelly, and ice blue markings.
^ Yes I know dragons aren't real, but come on. Rlly?

(4)
A hyena with a bright red pelt and white markings. 'Nuf said.
Title: Re: The Most Unrealistic Characters
Post by: darkknight on August 26, 2013, 09:33:42 pm
I have to say the most unrealistic character I have seen is a lion with a green pelt, red mane, and blue spots on it's rear and a purple dear with yellow and sky blue stripe markings. Added to this, I think the most unrealistic character I  have every made, least for fun, was a lime green jackal with black spots, a white undercoat, and a Santa's hat. ~
Title: Re: The Most Unrealistic Characters
Post by: Galaxies~ on August 26, 2013, 10:40:49 pm
The thing that bothers me the most is Warrior Cats with lion tails, neon pelts and full manes. It gets so annoying, and when warrior cats are as big as lions. AND, when they have lion ears, dragon ears or stuff like that.
Title: Re: The Most Unrealistic Characters
Post by: Silver-Scratch on August 29, 2013, 11:14:32 am
Haha, I have too seen the crayola cheetahs...
The worst I've seen though, was the "F Wolf Dog" with green underbelly and neon pink markings. And of course red eyes.
Title: Re: The Most Unrealistic Characters
Post by: Remix on September 05, 2013, 08:06:30 pm
Hmm.. Probably a bright red fox and a black tiger with white markings.
Title: Re: The Most Unrealistic Characters
Post by: Compass on September 05, 2013, 08:20:17 pm
Owe gosh.

1) A 'demon' pitch black wolf with this color scars... even if they aren't real can't you make them look more real?

3) Sparkle RP Dogs that said 'realistic'...

4) My friend was a crab with me... I looked more like a crab, no offense, but fire truck red isn't a crab really.

5) Yellow cheetahs

6) A neon robot

7) A pitch black arctic wolf named Dark...
Title: Re: The Most Unrealistic Characters
Post by: JGree on September 05, 2013, 08:39:16 pm
I would say a brown dog with neon green jaguar patterning and red eyes asking people to join its realistic roleplay.

Oh yeah, and the pitch black wolf with red eyes and scar markings.
Title: Re: The Most Unrealistic Characters
Post by: ritat on September 05, 2013, 09:43:28 pm
I have many realistic characters, but they are not rubbish. I would say creative and bright coloured C8.
Title: Re: The Most Unrealistic Characters
Post by: Fallenleaf on September 05, 2013, 09:47:04 pm
The 'FeralHeart Crocs'. They're not crocodiles, they're hulkified wolves 8I
There's also the lion-sized warrior cats.
I also blame past me for creating a neon-colored miniature feline (neon green main fur, neon yellow underfur, neon violet full mane, neon yed tiger markings and cyan eyes) named Bacon.
Title: Re: The Most Unrealistic Characters
Post by: greenart6 on September 05, 2013, 09:52:41 pm
A pitch black African Wild Dog..
Neon orange foxes...
And bright blue elephants (theyaregreyishteachersalwaysshowthelittlekidspicturesofelephantsandtheyarealwaysbluebemorerealisticorthisiswhatourhorribleworldbecomeswithicyblueelephants) (If you can read what I just said... xD)

Also a neon orange lion.. D:

I don't really care about them unless they do claim that they are 'realistic'. We can be creative as we want.
Title: Re: The Most Unrealistic Characters
Post by: MysticHeart on September 08, 2013, 10:52:06 pm
-neon color tigers
-people with christmas hats
- cheese named preset but the preset was blue green etc etc
-colorful mares/stallions
Title: Re: The Most Unrealistic Characters
Post by: Jango_Fett on September 12, 2013, 11:30:48 pm
........................... I have a White Tiger with Black Stripes.... deal with it -.-
Anyway, I have seen Linos with BRIGHT BRIGHT BRIIIGHT FireTruck Red Scar MArkings, Neon Yellow Cheetahs (I call them, PHone book Yellow O.o)   AND Lionesses with manes, (AND I MEAN HUGE ONES!) ad Normal Lions with. Bright. Seizure. Red. Manes. and. Tufts. >.<! and don't even GET ME STARTED ON FOXES with REd pelts and PURE WHITE UNDERBELLIES!
Title: Re: The Most Unrealistic Characters
Post by: Vacio on September 13, 2013, 12:45:49 am
I'm not really bothered by cartoony looking characters in a cartoony looking game.
Besides when you make 'realistic lion' or such, there is not much of an option to make your character have it's own individual characteristics appearance wise.
And not everyone is in a 'realistic roleplay' despite playing a lion. Kinda like if you read most fantasy books you get humans and the like, and additional species/races and magic and such.

Or seeing as 90% of the community like The Lion King [and many are roleplaying it] Basically, nothing in The Lion King is realistic, not the behaviours, not the appearnce. [Simba is kind of a yellow lion with a red mane, not very realistic]
Title: Re: The Most Unrealistic Characters
Post by: Tearless on September 13, 2013, 01:36:07 am
I'm usually content to live and let live with realism levels, given that it IS a game and sometimes the results are pretty cool-looking, but there was this one time when I came upon a white tiger with a black mane. He started impromptu RPing (which was cool, since I was bored and in the middle of nowhere in Fluorite), and kept addressing my character (a realistic male Saharan cheetah) as 'she.' When I corrected him, he seemed almost offended and told me that I should have a mane, because all male characters 'have to have manes.' No matter how I tried to explain that the character was supposed to be realistic and cheetahs don't have manes, or that I just don't like putting hair or manes on creatures that don't normally have them, it didn't seem to get through to him; he was just really convinced that if you were a dude you HAD to have a mane. It was a very odd conversation and I eventually just gave up and walked away.
Title: Re: The Most Unrealistic Characters
Post by: Lady_Alizarin on September 13, 2013, 04:18:25 am
I'm usually content to live and let live with realism levels, given that it IS a game and sometimes the results are pretty cool-looking, but there was this one time when I came upon a white tiger with a black mane. He started impromptu RPing (which was cool, since I was bored and in the middle of nowhere in Fluorite), and kept addressing my character (a realistic male Saharan cheetah) as 'she.' When I corrected him, he seemed almost offended and told me that I should have a mane, because all male characters 'have to have manes.' No matter how I tried to explain that the character was supposed to be realistic and cheetahs don't have manes, or that I just don't like putting hair or manes on creatures that don't normally have them, it didn't seem to get through to him; he was just really convinced that if you were a dude you HAD to have a mane. It was a very odd conversation and I eventually just gave up and walked away.

I would have told the guy, "Since when are you an expert on looking masculine, or being realistic?" The only time I ever put mane on my male characters is if they are characters that have long fur. There are some that can do without it, but it's my choice. No one should ever tell someone how to design their characters. It's the creators choice, no one elses!
Title: Re: The Most Unrealistic Characters
Post by: Nymphadora on September 14, 2013, 05:36:29 am
This one shouldn't be this tricky >:O ~ I've sat here and nodded to everyone else's sightings, and now I'm left clueless as to what I could have seen that no one else has. o.o


I guess what bugs me most, are 0, 0, 0 pelted characters, and  255, 255, 255 pelted... ~ They're never that solid in colour x.x


I once saw a 'white' lion with a bright blue, poofy mane o.o... Female of course.
A ginger hyena
Dark brown lion with a ginger mane
Oh oh oh! Giant black warrior cat with a pink underbelly named: Bladescar...

I think that's about it ;-;



~Nym
Title: Re: The Most Unrealistic Characters
Post by: femalecreature on September 15, 2013, 03:48:07 am
Winner (1st place in unrealistic-ness):
"Official" Simba/Kiara/Scar/Kovu characters (yes, all of them. When was yellow with neon red manes "realistic"?)
2nd place in unrealistic-ness:
Cheeto Cheetahs (Already listed, but it's stupid)
3rd place in unrealistic-ness:
Demonic lions/wolves/cats/anything (Pitch-black, red eyes, red markings, powers, etc. and you get the gist)
Runner-ups:
"Realistic" Warrior Cats - i.e. cats who instantly kill, have collars, over-bulked, evil, etc.
Newbies - default lion/wolf skin, or has default-colored anything left, plus neon markings + white wings
"Angels" - always fighting demons, good, etc. and extremely annoying as newbies
"-------- f dog/wolf" - has the tag "f" and "dog" or "wolf"; honestly, that's what bios are for
Wolf-speakers - we need ENGLISH. Not made-up words/words you use that don't mean what you think you mean (i.e. "banner" being tail - just say tail. =-=)
"I'm a mod's friend" person - if you don't do what they want you to do, they'll threaten/harass you with the fact they'll have you banned by their "mod/admin friend." Sure, go call your "cool" mod friend, that's IMAGINARY.
<3 Love this thread, it's so amusing!
//EDIT\\
The last one I listed they say through RP - example:
Me: (lazy to make full post 'bout this) The she-wolf padded uneasily, trying to get away from the male. (So lame x-x)
Person: hey let me kill you))
Me: No, sorry. I like this wolf, I don't want her dead.))
Person: get out of my territory" he snarls leaping instantly killing you
Me: Nope. -Walking away-))
Person: POWERPLAYER IM GETTING MY MOD FRIEND TO GO BAN U
Me: Yeah, right!
(http://i42BannedImageSite/332ndrr.jpg)
//ANOTHER EDIT\\
I was sitting on my newest husky/wolf Avril when I saw this "husky" trying to join a realistic group of huskies (nametags turned off for privacy):
(http://i41BannedImageSite/1zgxohf.png)
I honestly had no idea what that black-and-white husky was doing. But man, that's a brighter red than any Simba's mane I've ever seen. e-e What have huskies COME TO?!
(If you were the red husky in this photo, no offence. It's just that was... uncalled for... when it came to "red husky" stuff)
Title: Re: The Most Unrealistic Characters
Post by: Shenidan on September 15, 2013, 04:55:37 am
Ofcourse. Neon yellow lions, pitch black wolves with no marks, albino simbas o.o
Title: Re: The Most Unrealistic Characters
Post by: .:L:. on September 15, 2013, 05:46:40 am
Quote
Grey hyenas. Enough said.

Also, white tigers with black stripes. White tigers have brown stripes (not to mention mental problems and serious genetic diseases, yet everyone treats them like normal tigers in rp.)
Acually, spotted hyenas and striped hyenas are usually gray in color, or at least grayish brown. That is not unrealistic.

And some white tigers actually do have black stripes and are quite intelligent. I have seen some up close myself.

EDIT: Oh, and the laughing hyena is also gray.
Title: Re: The Most Unrealistic Characters
Post by: Smilodoncat on September 15, 2013, 06:27:29 am
Quote
Grey hyenas. Enough said.

Also, white tigers with black stripes. White tigers have brown stripes (not to mention mental problems and serious genetic diseases, yet everyone treats them like normal tigers in rp.)
Acually, spotted hyenas and striped hyenas are usually gray in color, or at least grayish brown. That is not unrealistic.

And some white tigers actually do have black stripes and are quite intelligent. I have seen some up close myself.

EDIT: Oh, and the laughing hyena is also gray.


I realize it's possible for white tigers to have black stripes, brown is just more common though. And yes, they can be intelligent, but you do realize the vast majority of these animals are interbred for a rare gene that has been linked to other heath problems. Interbreeding combine with genetic defects already associated with the gene tends to lead to many problems. Here's an article explaining it rather well:
http://bigcatrescue.org/abuse-issues/issues/white-tigers/ (http://bigcatrescue.org/abuse-issues/issues/white-tigers/)

As for the hyenas, striped hyenas are grey. Spotted hyenas are only grey in The Lion King.
Spotted Hyenas:
https://www.google.com/search?q=spotted+hyenas&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=V1I1UsWYM-Tg2gX-
woGoDg&biw=1366&bih=667&sei=WlI1UsufH8SGrAGCr4G4Dg (https://www.google.com/search?q=spotted+hyenas&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=V1I1UsWYM-Tg2gX-
woGoDg&biw=1366&bih=667&sei=WlI1UsufH8SGrAGCr4G4Dg)

And I've never heard of a laughing hyena. The only living hyena species are Spotted, Striped, and Brown hyenas. And the aardwolf, if you count that.
Title: Re: The Most Unrealistic Characters
Post by: .:L:. on September 15, 2013, 06:53:33 am
(https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSL5tJ929Fu13lG8vOO-mactnBSZeBbcS1tHN8prDoG5eoLKn-q)
That one, is a spotted hyena, and it is gray. Some spotteds are gray, some gray-brown. It varies.

And a 'laughing hyena' is a subspecies of hyena that makes a barking noise that sounds like laughter. That is where the term, "Laughing like a hyena" arises from.
Title: Re: The Most Unrealistic Characters
Post by: .:L:. on September 15, 2013, 06:56:31 am
Hold on, wait.. no, I just looked it up, 'laughing hyena' is another term for 'spotted hyena'. They are the same animal, sorry. But they do make barking noises that sound like laughing.

Also, sorry for the double post, the edit button isn't working well for me at the moment.
Title: Re: The Most Unrealistic Characters
Post by: Smilodoncat on September 15, 2013, 07:47:35 am
That hyena looks brown to me...

But I'm not talking about brown-grey ones, I'm talking about the ones that are grey wolf grey. I think everyone here knows what I'm talking about.
Title: Re: The Most Unrealistic Characters
Post by: hugrf2 on September 15, 2013, 10:31:46 am
Meh, maybe it was a TLK hyena though. People can make gray hyenas, no? I see some gray hyenas in them pictures, even if they are gray-brown.. how do you make a gray-brown hyena like that without a preset or two markings which we need Kov to make an update for? lol.

Anyway... I've seen MANY TLK lions with unrealistic pelts and manes and stuff. Plus a snow leopard or something with a gray mane who was advertising for a realistic roleplay... o3o *shrug* at least he looked realistic besides the mane.

And a neon-ish red colt with white spots. The neon red obviously ruined it, lol. Ahh, Bonfire these days.
Title: Re: The Most Unrealistic Characters
Post by: BatEaredFox on September 15, 2013, 01:25:28 pm
Hmm, the weirdest I've ever seen was probably a cub with a full-blown mane.
I've also seen a wolf with the patterns and colors of a Thompson's gazelle, and it looked really cool! They had the tan back, white belly, and even the little black stripe along the side. My character is strange too. She looks similar to a hyena, but she's sorta more like her own species. (She should be in my profile pic, but I think I messed it up x3)
Title: Re: The Most Unrealistic Characters
Post by: Smilodoncat on September 15, 2013, 02:12:29 pm
This is the kind of "hyena" I'm talking about:
(http://oi39BannedImageSite/2imax6u.jpg)

This is an example of a more realistically colored hyena made on the character creator:
(http://oi43BannedImageSite/2j4bsw5.jpg)

I feel we get grey hyenas partly cause TLK (I really don't care if TLK hyenas are grey cause they look grey in the movie. Just as I don't care if TLK lions have bright red manes.)
But I feel we mainly have grey hyenas for the same reason we have cheeto cheetahs. People see cheetahs have an orange-ish color, so they exaggerate that and make them bright orange. People see hyenas are grey-ish, so they exaggerate that and we end up with "wolfiyenas" as I often call them.
Title: Re: The Most Unrealistic Characters
Post by: Tearless on September 15, 2013, 05:06:29 pm
On the 'wolfyenas' note, most wolves aren't actually straight grey either. If you look at an (unedited) photo of even the more greyish ones, they've all got at least traces of tawney or brown. Especially pups, which are almost all brown (barring black ones and such).

That only really matters if you're trying to specifically make a super realistic one, though, since any given illustration of a wolf in movies or books will probably be grey and we recognize that as wolfish, even if it is just a really commonly occuring stylization of the actual animal.
Title: Re: The Most Unrealistic Characters
Post by: Nymphadora on September 15, 2013, 05:51:36 pm
I can understand where you're all coming from with the grey hyenas/wolfyenas, but I honestly haven't seen any for a while o.o ~ Maybe I'm looking in the wrong places or not at all xD I can't say they bother me all too much anyhow.


Saw an unrealistic warrior cat yesterday... Solid black pelt, white toeless socks and a full blown side mane. It was... It didn't even look like a fluffy cat x.x I'm sure it had normal ears too. It wouldn't be the first time though xD ~ I've also come across a warrior cat looking thing to claim itself to be a lion. Even its name was warrior cats based. xD


~Nym
Title: Re: The Most Unrealistic Characters
Post by: Smilodoncat on September 15, 2013, 05:56:58 pm
On the 'wolfyenas' note, most wolves aren't actually straight grey either. If you look at an (unedited) photo of even the more greyish ones, they've all got at least traces of tawney or brown. Especially pups, which are almost all brown (barring black ones and such).

That only really matters if you're trying to specifically make a super realistic one, though, since any given illustration of a wolf in movies or books will probably be grey and we recognize that as wolfish, even if it is just a really commonly occuring stylization of the actual animal.

This is very true as well.
Title: Re: The Most Unrealistic Characters
Post by: Kerriki on September 15, 2013, 09:38:25 pm
For the TLK hyena fans, here is a great tutorial on how to be realistic.

-Link- (http://0abarai0.deviantart.com/art/FeralHeart-Guide-Hatefilled-Rant-HYENAS-349427729)

That should sort out any confusion for realistic hyenas...
Title: Re: The Most Unrealistic Characters
Post by: Narifia on September 17, 2013, 02:50:00 am
Oh boy, been a while since I stalked these forums, and even longer since I've felt like posting.

I understand where some of you are coming from. Some character designs can look absolutely horrid and gaudy with those bright neon colors, those purple manes or those bright yellow pelts. I get it, I really do. When character designs are poorly done, they look bad. However, using unrealistic colors (such as "grey" hyenas versus "brown" ones, or having a pink pony versus a realistically colored one, etc.) doesn't necessarily equal bad design.

When you ask the question, "does this character look realistic?" you must also ask, "was this character meant to be realistic?" Not everyone wants to play characters with realistic designs. If it's not your cup of tea to see an orange tiger with green stripes, then kindly turn the other way and ignore it. Now, it's one thing when a person claims to be playing a realistic character when it isn't realistically designed--but even then, one can play a character with an unrealistic design and still roleplay realistically if said design has an explanation (the animal was in an experiment, it's a new species, it's a different world where these colors are normal, some five year old got a hold of the permanent spray paint and poor Lassie now has a bright green pelt, etc!). Bottom line: people can, and will, be as creative as they want. While it's fine and noble to coach newbies on the dos and don'ts of character design, also keep in mind that not everyone has to adhere strictly to realistic design rules. If that were the case, the art of character design would get pretty dull pretty fast.

And... *Sigh* The very reason I even bothered to come on and make a post:

Female lions with manes. Where do I begin?

First of all, you can't call this unrealistic when it very plainly is: http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2012/10/09/weird-wild-rare-maned-lionesses-explained/ (http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2012/10/09/weird-wild-rare-maned-lionesses-explained/)

Second of all, ever heard of chimerism? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSMQcy5ReQQ (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSMQcy5ReQQ) Enjoy learning a few things.

After taking a look at the above article and video, take another look at your lists of "unrealistic" characters and think a bit. That lioness with a mane might not look so dumb after all--she could be an asset to her pride. The same goes for any character with an uncommon mix of masculine and feminine traits--not only is this realistically possible, but it could potentially make roleplay all the more interesting. And even if it's not about the roleplaying, but about character design in general, the fact of the matter is that not every character made has to be a 100% cookie cutter representation of what is "normal," "realistic," or "socially acceptable." It isn't even like that in real life, so how can anyone call it "realistic" in character design? That's perfectionism, which is the opposite of realism.

I'm sorry, I get sick of strictly enforced male/female gender binaries. It's not only UNREALISTIC to expect males and females to be perfect cookie cutter representations of what we expect to be "male" or "female," its short-sighted and restrictive. This is a particular pet peeve of mine. "Gender" isn't even physical, it's a social construct. Any college Intro to Anthropology class will teach this (personally, I've encountered several college classes across anthropology and English/literary studies that emphasize teaching this). Our idea of "male" and "female" is based on what we believe to be socially correct--as for physiological differences, males and females might have a few different parts and functions, but overall there isn't much different about us even physically. And, as the video above explained, we may be even more varied physiologically than we even know.

Want characters to be more realistic? Then stop trying to set standards of perfection, because that just isn't how it works. As for unrealistic colors and markings, understand that not everyone wants to design 100% realistic characters. Enough said.
Title: Re: The Most Unrealistic Characters
Post by: Tearless on September 17, 2013, 04:16:47 am
(I'm sorry, this ended up slightly off topic)

@Narifia: While I agree with some of the points you made (being the creator of a ginger-maned lion with purple accents and Bowie eyes), it seems a bit... overly reactionary. And also very condescending to anyone who doesn't know the exact same obscure facts as you. The thread isn't as much about characters who aren't fully realistic, because most aren't and that's frequently a good thing (there's a huge difference between unrealistic design and bad design), but more about people who doggedly insist that their yellow lion with a red mane or white-haired wolf IS fully realistic. When that happens it just makes finding people to RP with if you actually do want to go full realism difficult and frustrating.

And as much as I'm not a fan of the gender binary, I'm not sure what that has to do with anything that's been said. You can't expect everyone to know or research every obscure fact about lions when they make their character or RP; some people just want to have fun RPing what they know to be realistic lions and, as the article says, maned lionesses are rare. They're also not widely talked about, and the article seems to imply that the anomaly occurs mostly in one population of lions in Okavango Delta. People who assume lionesses don't have manes because they've never seen or heard of such a thing can't be accused of of having traditionalist views on gender; probably most of them don't (you're not the only one here who's on Tumblr). They just happen to not know that about lions. If I'd never heard of gynandromorphic birds and thought such a character to be unrealistic, would that make me traditional or sexist?

Hair-trigger social justice rants at people who did nothing to deserve them tend to achieve exactly the opposite of what they're meant to, especially if they treat everyone else as lesser intellects.
Title: Re: The Most Unrealistic Characters
Post by: Narifia on September 17, 2013, 04:31:31 am
Nah, I reacted mostly to the comments about maned lionesses. It's a nitpick I've seen over and over again on just about every IT (or IT variant), FH, or roleplay forum I've been to. Sorry if I sounded overly defensive about it, like I said it's a personal pet peeve of mine so maybe I did over explain it a bit. As for the obscure facts, I pointed them out to back up my argument that what is considered unrealistic may not necessarily be. Sure, I don't expect everyone to know this. I point them out merely to get people to stop and think: if they realize that what they thought was unrealistic actually is realistic, it might get them to stop and question other things. This isn't about proving who knows more, it's about sparking conversation and pointing out things that people might find interesting and enjoy learning more about.

I mentioned that it's understandably annoying when people claim that their unrealistically designed characters are realistic, but also I mentioned that it can still be acceptable when the unrealistic design has a reasonable explanation attached to it. As for those who don't have such explanations and are insistent that their bright yellow lion is realistic, well, best to just ignore them and move on. The sad fact of the matter is, most of the ones to whom threads like this are addressed don't even go on the forums, and trying to explain these things in-game is nearly impossible. So, let them learn from their own mistakes: when enough people start ignoring them over it, they'll eventually either get the idea or leave.

(Also, I don't use Tumblr :/ Where'd you get that idea? Just curious :) )

EDIT: "People who assume lionesses don't have manes because they've never seen or heard of such a thing can't be accused of of having traditionalist views on gender... They just happen to not know that about lions. If I'd never heard of gynandromorphic birds and thought such a character to be unrealistic, would that make me traditional or sexist?"

To be fair, I wasn't really accusing anyone of that. I mentioned the gender binaries because usually, people assume "male" or "female" when they look at a character because that is all they normally see in reference to real life. However, that is not always what happens in real life--not all animals are strictly "male" or "female." I merely pointed this out and backed it up with facts.

Honestly though, the same can be said for those who create and play grey "TLK" hyenas. If all they know is that hyenas are grey because they saw grey hyenas in TLK, then isn't it treating them as less intelligent by constantly pointing out that they are wrong? I saw a picture posted on this thread that actually RANTED about it, and with far more hurtful language than anything that I used--is that any less condescending than what I said? And said picture backed up its facts with real images of hyenas, as well as interesting facts about hyena behaviors and social order. Anyone who plays a grey hyena could say, "how do you expect me to know all of that? I just want to have fun and play a hyena character, I don't have time to research all of those obscure hyena facts."
Title: Re: The Most Unrealistic Characters
Post by: Tearless on September 17, 2013, 06:06:34 am
Well, I'm sorry if I jumped down your throat a bit then. It wasn't so much the bringing up of obscure facts that bothered me, I appreciate the intent, but the way it was worded came off as if it was about who knows more. It's a two-way street is all I'm saying.

As for the Tumblr thing, I assumed because the last paragraph about the socially constructed gender binary and the overall way it was worded is very characteristic of that Tumblr, and part of the reason I reacted to it. While I like many parts of it, that site has a tendency to get very confrontational and unnecessarily hostile about things like that and it gets old.
Title: Re: The Most Unrealistic Characters
Post by: Jango_Fett on September 17, 2013, 09:43:49 pm
@Narfia, Liked how you used that video, (ALSO because it had Venus in it =^_^=) and you proved some very good points, I saw a lioness (Realistic looking) with a mane, and in he r bio, said the she had a genetic disorder
Which caused he to have a mane, and, that she could not reproduce.

sorry If I ranted earlier on unreal looking charries, But i saw yesterday a group fox bright orange foxes,
And they were not being illiterate, but more semi literate.  So, they Rp just fine, and are actually quiet
Friendly.

And too Kikiorylandia, with that link to dA with the TLk thing, that, was a little over-board.  Just saying.
Title: Re: The Most Unrealistic Characters
Post by: SparkFenx on September 20, 2013, 08:18:06 pm
Actually, female lions CAN have full-blown manes.
Title: Re: The Most Unrealistic Characters
Post by: Jango_Fett on September 21, 2013, 02:16:30 am
Thank You for pointing that out Spark