I must be in different communities because I pretty much never see people fight over faceclaims. At most someone is just disappointed something is taken or waiting for an inactive claim to be freed. And even then, usually just DM'ing the person resolves the issue. Faceclaim sharing has been a cool thing too, just ask if you want to use the same claim.

No, I don't believe that RP society will be peachy if everyone can just use what they want. I don't believe it's about being possessive about pixels you don't own. I do believe that it's about common courtesy in a cooperative space. FCs are just an extension of this concept. Do you really have no problem with it if someone else's character has the same themes, background, personality as yours? If they have the same names? If they look the exact same? And you had no say in this. You don't feel like this is taking each other's thunder, you don't feel miffed when people confuse your characters?

If you're such a saint as to have no problem with this then kudos to you. I am annoyed by it. We are all in a pool, there is no need to belly flop onto each other, just take your floatie one meter away so everyone can fit and continue the ibiza foam party.

Mature-looking women is for sure one of the hardest categories to FC. They exist in a lot of media, but are not popular among artists I suppose.

I've had better luck with Korean or Chinese illustrations for this.

Speaking of Mihoyo gachas, they have a lot of older-looking characters as well and are practically drowning in art - so I see why they're so widely used. I am getting fatigued with their designs though, like the girls often have the same Chinese-feudal-flowy-rimmed-with-metal-dress with tights or thigh-highs.

You don't have to play Genshin or Honkai to see one of their characters and be like 'yep'. It's like recognizing Sakimichan's art randomly while you browse.

Notes from staffing stats-, pvp-, or generally competitively- oriented sites:

- 'I'll think about it' was my last and best resort for difficult or vaguely malicious feedback/suggestion because chances are I will think about it, even if you're the community goon. But 'ok' makes a promise and 'no' made people feel unheard.
- Step away from the computer, don't be available all the time. Somewhere between a heavy hand and being anxious for member approval is a comfortable area for your sanity.
- Make your decisions, be open to feedback, but don't be wishy-washy. Members will unconsciously respect you less or try to get away with more when you pivot your stances constantly. Sometimes they need to sit down and let your plan play out for a bit, then re-evaluate from there.
- Be transparent where possible and take your time with changes. But like a good DM, sometimes you want to hide your hand because the result will be cool.
- Consistency imo is the most important quality for a staff member to have. A simple, well-executed idea driven to its conclusion is a rare gem.
- People care about skins and aesthetic a lot.

Confession:

Warhammer 40k: Rogue Trader

Stellar experience sans the game-breaking bugs in the latter half. Probably my favorite cRPG... once I can finish it.

Where your companions convince you that blowing up a planet filled with billions is for the Greater Good, all the while tech-priests (IT guys) fix spaceships by banging on them with a wrench and praying to god.

Peak 40k.

He skipped every cutscene in every story-based game that you loved, and hence can't be trusted.
He has funny OCs in tabletop campaigns though.

- RP. I've been on hiatus x hiatus because apparently when I RP too hard my SO gets lonely, so how sway
- I'm in my hooligan tales era. I just want to be that person on the periphery who doesn't talk much but uses a whacky fc or whose character says whacky things and generally acts unpredictable circa 2015. Will they fight? Will they fuck?? Will they defenestrate the previous BBEG, ushering in a new era of affably evil???

Amendment: Have I become... the villain?

While I haven't RPed in a while, I've thought more and more of my characters in the last few years.

Bastards, womanizers, misanthropes, hellknights, and other barely polite monsters that would shoot the dog.

Have I become... the villain player?

- Gambling threads. This is only so specific because I have a RP friend who loves to write these and no matter how many times I research it I can't get good at cards and casinos, why do I keep agreeing... FML
- The low-stake no development random open slice of life thread
- Vague-shipping, if I wasn't leery of scaring off people I would rather just draft up our Shipping Contract and Clauses and be exclusive from day 1
- Settings with low-effort or nonsensical lore/world-building
- Magic/power systems with ambiguous definitions
- Crazy or manic characters

I think roleplaying is one of the better hobbies one can have.

It is productive in developing skills (writing, communication, creativity), low- or no- cost, encourages having a range of experiences or consumption of other media for ideas, develops social interaction, and by definition induces self-reflection and empathy for others.

It has many things in it that can naturally help mental health. It also has aspects that are detrimental for mental health, but I think these are more related to either general vices OR internet-related exacerbations instead of those pertaining to an artistic sphere.

E.g. investing too much time/becoming too absorbed in it, not 'touching grass', entering echo chambers, getting into drama, etc.

What character I make / FC I use depends mostly on the site, I don't reuse.
Play male or female, just depends on which the site has less of.
Ideally I have the space to go unusually young (teens, preteens) or older (thirties and above), also because it tends to be what is less played (the golden middle twenties is hot rn).

My favorite FCs are those with memorable traits though I don't get to use them much, e.g. eyebags, bushy eyebrows, closed-eye look, spectacles, uneven teeth/fangs, sanpaku eyes, hair with unique silhouette, religious veils...

But in the end even a 'mainstream' FC like someone from Genshin can look very different depending on artstyle. Sometimes one artist gives an FC a very different look that matches the setting well.

My era of consuming trashy isekai/reincarnation/villainess stories is nigh.
Also webnovels, progression fantasy, cultivation...

I really like stories about growing up from kids but damn do authors struggle to write kid dialogue. I know a five year old, they do not sound how you think they do!!!

Here are my judgy opinions.

APPs
I don't need apps to be long but I would like them to have actual facts in it, the more concrete the better (but I rarely see actual numbers put in).
E.g. born here, names of family, years spent doing x, jobs, specific hobby or liking random object y.
This gives me ton of plot points to work with and things to reference even when the character isn't present.
I can work with less but I avoid apps that that either have nothing or are overly emotional/narrative freeform.
I got less patient as I got older and really can't vibe with long monologues anymore. I just want to know who is your daddy and what does he do.

FCs
I am wary of characters that are made with very recently popular faceclaims, like the show just came out. I associate this with dramatic muse shift rpers.
Conversely, if I see someone using manga caps I'm all in, sign me up.