Pet Story Idea: Is this in bad taste?

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#1 :: July 12th, 2012 @ 12:34 PM

is a Mirage

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I'm making my pets into people. I don't know if those kinds of stories get nominated for the pet spotlight (are they?), but if not, I can always turn them into roleplay characters. Anyway:

One of these character, however, I'm hesitant to start writing on. To be blunt, she's clinically insane. Think mental institution, straightjackets, and paranoia about burning butterflies. But here's the iffy part: I was going to take a slightly cartoonish angle and I didn't know if that was going to upset people.
I love writing mentally unhealthy characters and reading psychotic thrillers, but I was wondering, "Is it in bad taste to write a pet story along those lines?" Is it okay to write a character like that, or should I write it dark so it's not cartoonish? Or should I just scrap the whole "mentally unhealthy" theme and start from scratch? I haven't written anything yet, so I wanted to ask before I started working on my characters.

(I thought this would be the best place to ask, seeing as how it's not an overlay or profile, but if it's the wrong place, go ahead and tell me so I can ask it to be moved.

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#2 :: July 12th, 2012 @ 12:45 PM

is a Mirage

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Speaking from the perspective of someone who has had no exposure to people who are clinically insane, I would say go for it -- there will always be people will always take offense at things like this and if it does bother them, just ask them if there is a way you can alter your character's story so that they find it more acceptable.

Worst comes to worst, you take down the story, which would be the same exact state you would be in if you had never written it. So you don't lose anything by just taking a chance =)

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#3 :: July 12th, 2012 @ 12:48 PM

Is the Pumpkin King!

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I think it all matters in how you execute it. I'm a bit confused as to what you mean by 'cartoonish angle' of writing.

#4 :: July 12th, 2012 @ 12:48 PM

Only has Room for One

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Pets are definitely allowed to be people, I see them all the time. Some pets that have won the spotlight only have human art on their profile.

As for the mental illness bit, I've seen that around a fair bit as well. As far as upsetting people, though, I'm not sure.

#5 :: July 13th, 2012 @ 12:10 AM

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Moved this over to the Writing forum for you! ^^

#6 :: July 13th, 2012 @ 1:53 AM

is a Mirage

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Ah, that's very true! I never thought of it that way. Thank you, I'll take this approach to it!

@
Mental illnesses are serious things, but there are some politically incorrect ways to show it, which some people get offended by. These sometimes appear in cartoons, played up for the humor angle. Examples being: hysterical laughter with a maniac grin, rocking back and forth in a padded room, Dr. Demento's "Funny Farm" song, etc.
I suppose what I was asking for is, "Should I take a serious approach to it, with it being dark, or can I make light of the subject without offending someone?"

@Vanviel
Really? I've only seen actual pet stories (and no insane ones at that), but if people stories are good too, then I can start working on them. ^^ I need to create references so people would be willing to draw them. And I need sP too... to the quests!

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Thank you very much. ^^

#7 :: July 13th, 2012 @ 10:08 PM

is a Mirage

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I've run across some, ah, intense pet profiles that touched upon sensitive subjects. I don't know if it's necessarily in bad taste in itself as it mainly depended on the user and how they interpreted the various subjects they were writing about. You seem to place enough importance upon your subject so it seems you wouldn't be doing anything meaningfully in bad taste - which is more important. A little light humor is fine, and what you're saying sounds like something you could find on tv. It should be alright, and I agree that you should take the chance.

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#8 :: July 14th, 2012 @ 3:23 AM

Silly Spamming Sausage

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I'd say go for it.
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#9 :: July 14th, 2012 @ 5:19 AM

is a Mirage

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Yeah, I'd never purposefully degrade a mental illness. I've gotten encouragement from everyone so far, and like Hydrogen said, if someone has an issue with it, they can tell me what's bothering them and I can change it. =) Thank you for answering. ^^

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I really liked reading the story in Batlike's page, Pallor the butcher. ^^

#10 :: July 14th, 2012 @ 11:08 AM

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i would say treating it lightly would drastically increase your chances of offending someone, whether or not the people offended have/had mental illnesses of their own (that should have been obvious, though, haha). honestly, as someone who has been diagnosed with a mental illness, but also as someone who has just been exposed to a lot of media, i have to say the whole ~funny farm~ dynamic holds no personal interest for me - i've seen it done several times before, and it's sort of lost whatever charm it used to have for me both due to that and due to the fact that i've experienced firsthand what it's actually like to be mentally ill and around other mentally ill people for an elongated period of time. i think in most cases that sort of approach is done in bad taste, but if you take serious precautions to tread lightly, i think you will do best not to offend someone.

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#11 :: July 14th, 2012 @ 12:56 PM

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like others have said, there's plenty of "people" pets out there. I'm actually planning to do some... "place" pets (it's kind of complicated)

If you're talking about any mental illness, you're probably going to offend somebody anyway you take it. lightly or seriously. That's not to say you shouldn't do it. I would suggest making a note at the bottom of the story, something along the lines of 'not every case of schizophrenia is as depicted. Every case of mental illness is different and highly individualized' etc

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I also know that some people have viewed "mental illness pets" as a cheesy, disgusting fad written by people who didn't understand the illness they were portraying, so watch your back there and (no duh) research whatever you're writing on very thoroughly.

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#12 :: July 14th, 2012 @ 4:10 PM

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Honestly if I saw a story like that I'd kind of assume you didn't do any research on the topic and were just relying on stereotypes. I dunno I guess that's just me, but still.
I have a mental illness, and I wouldn't be 'offended' per se, just... would think you didn't fully understand the topic. I probably wouldn't read the story.

Do whatever you want, though; who cares what some people on a forum think if it ultimately pleases you. I mean, you're always going to offend ~someone~ doing everything.

#13 :: July 14th, 2012 @ 5:42 PM

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Question:
Have you done research on this mental illness? If you haven't, do some. If you have, do more. Research it until your eyes bleed.

There is a very large possibility that what you might come up with will be offensive to someone with the illness you're trying to portray, especially if you are not at all familiar with it. This sort of thing is difficult, because when you try to make light of something so serious you often come off as misinformed. In general, unless it's something you're personally familiar with, I would avoid it. It's just a recipe for disaster imo.

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#14 :: July 26th, 2012 @ 12:28 PM

Is Lonely

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Unfortunately you could take any topic and offend someone out there. Though I agree with @ and say you should do at least some research on whatever illness you decide to write about. I have plans for Yoric to suffer with PSTD so eventually I'm going to have to actually learn what goes on with someone who suffers from such a thing, how it may affect those around them, and how they try to cope. Though the difference between our two is that you mentioned yours might be "cartoony." There's probably a fine line between being able to write it well and writing it badly.

Perhaps if you turn away from any usual stereotypes and try for something new? Maybe take a topic that someone could make fun of and see what your offended reaction may be. Then think to yourself how they could take that topic, keep it funny/cartoony, and then apply that to your story? Good luck either way.

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#15 :: July 26th, 2012 @ 10:54 PM

is a Mirage

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The biggest things would be to make sure you do your research. For example, straitjackets haven't been used in more than fifty years. Electroshock therapy is hardly ever used anymore- and things like lobotomy are almost NEVER used. Most (almost all) of the stereotypes are hold overs from the early (and dark) days of psychiatry

I would go for the serious, realistic approach, but the biggest thing is to DO YOUR RESEARCH. Nothing, and I mean, NOTHING pisses me off more than someone failing to do their research on a topic.

Anyway, if you want to run your ideas, characterization and such by me, feel free to drop me a message. Understanding the way the unstable mind works is something of a hobby for me.

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#16 :: July 28th, 2012 @ 9:28 AM

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As many previously have stated, do your research!
And please do it tastefully. I don't mean to sound harsh, I really don't, but as someone who actually has been a patient in a psychiatric hospital, I'm wary of someone portraying mental illness as "cartoonish". Mental illness is not funny nor is it light, so I strongly caution you do to not portray it as such. The stigma surrounding mental illness and the mentally ill is still huge and is not helped by outdated caricatures.

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#17 :: July 29th, 2012 @ 1:39 AM

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@ Fabricate describes killing her mother and she's insane, not sure if that's what you mean though. But she won the spotlight

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#18 :: August 28th, 2012 @ 12:54 AM

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These subjective topics are always hard, heh; mainly because they ARE subjective.

As long as it's not a gore fest or something, I can't foresee a problem with your planned plot, but that's my opinion as well. I enjoy a good fictional story, regardless of the subject matter. Because it's fiction

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