Feral Heart

Game & Forum Discussion => Game Discussion => Topic started by: Lady_Alizarin on February 04, 2014, 04:23:15 pm

Title: Violence against pregnant characters? Why?
Post by: Lady_Alizarin on February 04, 2014, 04:23:15 pm
This sounds like a touchy subject.... but I want to know why some people feel the need to bestow violence on a character that is supposed to be an expecting mother.
I have been part of roleplays where there is a character who is an expecting mother (and sometimes she will have the "unborn(s)" sitting next to her or underneath her). Suddenly, out of no where, some random strangers come around to pick a fight with the pack/pride/clan I'm in. They will mostly fight over the territory, or because their species is a rival with our species. When the fighting begins, they will often times go to the preganant female (who isn't even fighting and wanting to stay out of it) and start saying -Kicks hard at Lily's stomach to kill her unborn-  "Now your baby is dead!" I mean...really? -_- Not only is that a powerplaying kind of move, but it's also a very cruel, heartless thing to do to someone who isn't even fighting.

I've seen it happen many times. It happened to me once a long time ago when my fox character was supposed to be pregnant in a roleplay. Suddenly these clan cats start to pick a fight with our fox clan, they attack us, and one of them says, "This fox is pregnant! Lets kill the unborns to ensure our safety and survival for the future!" And then a few proceed to attack me and start kicking at my character's pregnant stomach. 
And then there was that time in another RP where I was helping a she-cat give birth to kit. Well there was a fight going on at the time, because these rogue apprentices wanted to prove they were strong enough to take on a full grown bobcat (my character) and some experienced warriors (my RP partners). Well while my character is trying to help the she-cat with the birth process and one warrior is trying to fight off the apprentices, one of the apprentices flies over and knocks her in her pregnant stomach to do harm to the unborn. Why?! She's not even involved, yet he went and did a cheap shot move like that.
And I saw an incident in Bonfire Island where a mare was kicking at the stomach of a pregnant mare because of some jealousy issue. I forget what it was all about, but one mare was trying to kill another mare's unborn foal.
There are many other stories and instances where I've seen violence against pregant characters, but there's too many to tell here.

What I don't understand is why some people would want do something so cruel to a character? Is it out of meanness? Is it to be cruel? To ruin the mood of a roleplay? Why? It's really nothing to be taken lightly. It's a very cruel and heartless thing to do. To interupt someone's roleplay and just go over to a pregnant character and "kick the stomach to kill unborn" is just terrible. Not only are you powerplaying, but you're being insensitive and rude.

What are your thoughts on this? Have you seen anything like this before? Has it happened to you during a roleplay?
Title: Re: Violence against pregnant characters? Why?
Post by: Chunky_Squirrel on February 04, 2014, 04:34:48 pm
Well, I've seen one time, but it was a very long time ago.
Reading your post here about the rude peeps made me angry.
If there was a technoligy that kicks rude peeps out of the game.
The game itself would be very awesome. :I
Title: Re: Violence against pregnant characters? Why?
Post by: WhiteLightHeart on February 04, 2014, 08:09:25 pm
I've never actually thought of this before, but you're right, that actually is a fairly prevalent occurrence in roleplay, with a pregnant (especially heavily-pregnant) character.

It kinda makes my blood boil, honestly, and could possibly be attributed to a lot of different things out in the real world, too (insensitivity to life, "unborn" life, and even whether it is a living soul, etc.).
But we're not touching that, for fears of this discussion going pro-life/pro-whatnot political, if you know what I mean.
That gets touchy.

My guess with this, though, is that it's another effect of the over-glorification of violence you see in many roleplays.

Let's look at one of the biggest and surprisingly most glorified character archetypes we see out in the public maps-- "The big, savage, cold, heinous heartless blah blah BRUTE." (Slightly exaggerated here, but you see my point.)

While some characters, especially testosterone-pumped males, may be pre-disposed to aggressive behavior, there are cases where roleplayers want to augment this fact by making their character... Well, more aggressive, or appear to be. They'll do this by making troubled-past bios like, "I killed my whole pack," or "I killed my father/brother/mate/etc.," and make them out to be ruthless characters.

Now, while these ruthless characters might like a big fight with a tough enemy.. But.
How fitting is it for this "big, savage, remorseless fighter" to hurt an 'enemy' in perhaps one of the most cruel and saddistic ways possible? Attacking a pregnant female, who is heavier and slower from carrying her precious baby, and kicking/attacking her until she has a miscarriage? Bereaving her, of her own cubs, kits or pups? Being forced to give birth to lifeless young, and not to mention the emotional trauma of the entire incident? What if it kills her, too? What of her mate?
That player's big brute would certainly look like a big, vicious beast now.
And so, the vicious, "standing up and fighting," "taking everything away from my enemy"-type character sometimes equals glorified in some roleplays, even if this "enemy" is a mother with helpless young. Not always, but it is a recurring theme.

I feel that--even if it isn't intentional--this is an underlying cause of why some players might see pregnant characters and their helpless unborn young as an easy target, and a "great way to boost their kill count," perhaps.
Title: Re: Violence against pregnant characters? Why?
Post by: peete on February 05, 2014, 12:21:59 am
Hmm....to me it sounds like these players just want something to happen to make the Rp more interesting or whatever. I mean come on....violence is the one key thing to drama or suspense in rps, especially rivalry. Kind of like how in some roleplays the cubs and pups are always getting in trouble (sneaking out, fighting, etc.). They'll go out, do something dangerous, and the whole group is jumped up and things get crazy.
If killing pregnant characters (or their unborns) is done correctly without powerplay and with a legit goal/reason (can't think of a word...), to me personally it's not a bad thing.

Now... if they see some random preggo and start attacking them for no apparent reason whatsoever, that player being attacked can either:
1. Tell them to stop.
2. Roll with it (just play along with the scenario)
3. Block them if all else fails
Title: Re: Violence against pregnant characters? Why?
Post by: Kerriki on February 05, 2014, 12:51:57 am
This has always bugged me. I personally have never experienced this or have seen a friend experience this, but I've listened to some people's roleplays before. It's a very cruel thing to do, in my opinion. Even in the real world criminals won't murder a pregnant woman, right? It's just so heartless.
Title: Re: Violence against pregnant characters? Why?
Post by: Tenturo on February 05, 2014, 02:40:45 am
I was in a roleplay not long ago for a horse herd (because I am amazing o.o)  any I was a character as a young filly.  Another mare who I shared a bond with as friends was pregnant, expecting a colt.  She'd picked out a name, when randomly a flock of squirrels comes along.  They said, "Scan the area secretly.  If you see any young or pregnant ones, kill them, or at least the babies."  And then a random squirrel named "Deathvibe" starts attacking the colt-expectant mare.  I was just like "o.o the hell is happening..."

I guess I never really noticed how often it happened until I started to roleplay a bit more in game.  I usually sat and chatted with my friends and barely noticed it.  But I also noticed that it happens in many books.  For example, the warriors series.  Often, there are kidnapping times where a clan invades and steals or kills the kits of the clan It is invading.  If you have started on Dawn of the Clans, the 2nd or 3rd book involves a lot of protection of kits being killed or kidnapped. (I don't want to give too much away for those who haven't gotten there yet.)  I guess I never really noticed how often It occurred.  I agree, it is violent and cruel, especially if the mother and/or kits are trying to avoid the fighting.  It bothers me the most when they either powerplay about it, or only when the seek out the pregnant females and the young.  So.  Yeah.  Meow.
Title: Re: Violence against pregnant characters? Why?
Post by: Lady_Alizarin on February 05, 2014, 03:23:23 am
Quote from: Kikiorylandia on February 05, 2014, 12:51:57 am
It's a very cruel thing to do, in my opinion. Even in the real world criminals won't murder a pregnant woman, right? It's just so heartless.

Oh you'd be surprised to know that there are criminals in this world who actually will do that to women. Most of the time criminals will not care who the victim is. They will not feel any remorse or regret for killing or harming someone, not even a woman who is with child. Someone told me a story about how they knew someone who robbed a gas station convinient store, and shot the pregnant woman behind the register. Shot her right between the eyes and killed her. When she died, so did the unborn baby. When the police caught the guy and asked him why he killed her, his response was, "Eh, just for the fun of it." So he was locked up in prison for the charges of killing her. He was only charged for murdering her, and not her unborn baby... even though he should have been.
The sad truth is, there are cruel people in this world who would not hesitate to kill a woman who is expecting. They hold no value for the lives of others, and have no remorse whatsoever.  

@DevilBurgers.

Well... I suppose if it's part of the story plot and everyone is in agreement that that's what's part of the RP, then I suppose it's okay.
I was basically refering to the kind of people who show up out of no where and pretty much barge into an RP for the sake of starting a fight and harming characters. If they show up and start kicking at a pregnant character for no particular reason but just to disrupt an RP, that's when it gets annoying.  
Title: Re: Violence against pregnant characters? Why?
Post by: flomfloat83 on February 12, 2014, 08:21:19 pm
Some people just to make the characters' seem cruel and heartless.
That's the only scenario I've ever seen. Not just to annoy.

But it is damn pretty annoying when some bub comes over like this:

Stranger: The dark, cold brujo stepped over the expecting femora and began to beat her stomach ruthlessly. "Now, your stupid spawn will never infect our perfect pack" He growled, his ivories baring.

Me: O.o
Why would anyone do that? It's actually disgusting.
Title: Re: Violence against pregnant characters? Why?
Post by: Dirrane on February 13, 2014, 05:49:19 pm
It does get quite stressful when you are indeed trying to escape a rival attack, or just the drama, and some other comes up and attacks an expecting mother. They may just be trying to increase their kill count or make their brute of a character seem bigger, almost more powerful than intended, as WhiteLightHeart stated before me. I might add, though, that some animals may pull an attack on, or kill, an expecting mother and their offspring if they do not belong to the attacker. Otherwise, it does bug some people.

I myself have never been in a roleplay in which someone pulled an attack on any of my expecting characters, but have been in other situations similar to such a thing. It does seem like a cruel, seemingly cold and heartless thing to do.
Title: Re: Violence against pregnant characters? Why?
Post by: Jango_Fett on February 14, 2014, 02:48:44 am
When one is with child, you are a lot weaker, as it progresses.

Tired, and, sometimes, immobile, when the mother giving birth.

Most animals, before and after they have children, are vulnerable.  Thus, making them easier targets.

And it looks like, to, my, dismay... These people know that too.

It's pure cruelty.

That is all.
 
Title: Re: Violence against pregnant characters? Why?
Post by: ProudSpirt on February 16, 2014, 11:08:42 pm
This happened to me once , i think it is because they want attention  :-X when they did they stalk our pack first and when we were about to sleep a herd of horse gallop on us  ( xD lol horses) then they said "As the mustang is the strongest we shall give him the honor to kill the weak and pregnant" and the 'mustang' jumped on me :-\ some of my RP friends got angry but the rest of us just told each other to move , tho that didn't help cos the herd or 'horses' stalked us until they got enough  ::) i find it annoying , just going to someone that is simply playing and attacking them especially pregnant as they are more slower  ???
Title: Re: Violence against pregnant characters? Why?
Post by: BlackLuna06 on February 23, 2014, 10:39:10 am
I haven't really noticed this that much. o.o

If anything, there has been more respect to pregnant characters in the RPs I've been involved in. Though fighting ruthless enemies, I've seen a few specifically bypass hurting a pregnant character, though with the usual 'You, the mother, are never safe from us. We'll be waiting." And when in peaceful times, the pregnant characters are looked after the most, and given the most attention.
Title: Re: Violence against pregnant characters? Why?
Post by: inuyasha1086 on February 23, 2014, 01:52:02 pm
Drama like this is one of the main reasons I always try to join mapped rps. You never have to worry about random people crashing on your rp and causing trouble. At the moment I'm only in 1 maples rp and it's in South Pole so I rarely ever see any outside drama. I have only seen this happen once myself, but I just try to look away and not get involved. People act cruel like that to get attention so if there's no reaction to them they usually leave to find more gullible prey. Personally, if people ever try anything with me, I just block them until the rp is over and then unblock them later.
Title: Re: Violence against pregnant characters? Why?
Post by: Majca on February 26, 2014, 02:33:25 pm
If I am not mistaken,some animals actually do try kill the pregnant females/unborn babies,mostly group animals,but I think male cats do kill babies if they aren't their own.
In roleplay,it gets annoying really fast and I don't like it. Of course,if you are alright with it,then I don't  see any problem with it.But if your pregnant wolf,for example, is just chilling in the grass,minding it's own business and then a mare just comes by and kicks her in the womb,then it's really not okay.
I don't have any pregnant characters currently,so that never happened to me,but I can feel how annoying that must be.
Title: Re: Violence against pregnant characters? Why?
Post by: Jango_Fett on February 26, 2014, 03:38:35 pm
Quote from: Maja on February 26, 2014, 02:33:25 pm
If I am not mistaken,some animals actually do try kill the pregnant females/unborn babies,mostly group animals,but I think male cats do kill babies if they aren't their own.
In roleplay,it gets annoying really fast and I don't like it. Of course,if you are alright with it,then I don't  see any problem with it.But if your pregnant wolf,for example, is just chilling in the grass,minding it's own business and then a mare just comes by and kicks her in the womb,then it's really not okay.
I don't have any pregnant characters currently,so that never happened to me,but I can feel how annoying that must be.

Ay, Lions tend to do that, was do Bears, and other animals.  It is sad, and not ok for some one to do something as cruel as..... This.
 
Title: Re: Violence against pregnant characters? Why?
Post by: Metronome on February 28, 2014, 04:27:29 pm
Sounds to me that they're trying to get a reaction.... Or they're just bad at RP.
Title: Re: Violence against pregnant characters? Why?
Post by: WolfRam on March 01, 2014, 05:58:12 pm
This happened to me once, as well. I was with my pack, and my friend was an expecting mother. Some person came up and went, "Scratches pregnant person's belly and kills baby." That is really rough, and not a thing you should be seeing in feral heart. That made me really mad, she was my best friend. She thinks I called him over, and now she hates me. That really makes a person rage. Especially me, it's like committing a crime. Think: would you do that in real life? I wouldn't. It disgusts me someone would do that. I also don't like power players much, too.
Title: Re: Violence against pregnant characters? Why?
Post by: Celeyan on March 02, 2014, 01:26:33 am
This is totally unrelated, I guess it could be but I have a story.

My friend and I were playing as young lion cubs, exploring around while our mother went off to hunt. These three male lions  came up to us and asked to roleplay, we said: yeah sure. What we didn't expect was for the older male to try and attack us and kill us. I mean, isn't it polite to ask someone: hey is it okay if I kill your character? I mean that sounds weird, but they just started randomly attacking us.

Luckily our mother that was a distance away come to our rescue, yet still- they continued to try and attack us, I can see why though, I mean lions in the wild try to kill cubs, but eh.
Title: Re: Violence against pregnant characters? Why?
Post by: wolvesaregreat on March 02, 2014, 12:21:42 pm
Maybe they're trying to kill them because unborns, well, are easy to kill. They probably have the logic:"If I can't kill adults, let's kill something that can't fight back." It's just an example that there are lots of heartless powerplayers in need to kill. :I
Title: Re: Violence against pregnant characters? Why?
Post by: WolfQueen on March 02, 2014, 04:30:06 pm
The stereotypical pregnant character on this game would yell/desire for a "unborn" cub or a mate (that's why they get this bad rap), and/or the attackers are attention seeking.
Title: Re: Violence against pregnant characters? Why?
Post by: magicfairy on March 02, 2014, 05:03:45 pm
That is very rude of them, it's also very unfair. I think the same as you, Alizarin.
Title: Re: Violence against pregnant characters? Why?
Post by: ShopnSaver on March 02, 2014, 10:55:22 pm
I honestly don't understand some RPers, they really annoy me.