lets imagine you’re running a dnd game, and one of your friends tells you they wanna play an evil-aligned character who’s prone to doing some really, seriously fucked up shit.

“fiction isnt reality” is why I’m not gonna automatically assume that’s a direct indicator of their personal morals and that they’re a horrible, fucked up irl (unless, of course, in the unfortunate but less likely event that they prove themself otherwise). a game of dnd is just fiction and it can be a safe space to explore topics and characters like those.

but “fiction affects reality” is why they have to check in with the other players about what they are and aren’t comfortable seeing that character do in-game. like seeing them shoot a random dude for his money could be fine but seeing them torture the dude is... a little too much. it could have a negative effect on the mental health of the other players.

fiction definitely is a safe space to explore taboo and problematic topics in but you still gotta be mindful of the people around you and how what you do or write could potentially harm them. you gotta be respectful of what people are comfortable and uncomfortable with seeing, and realize that, no matter the situation, there will always be definite lines you can cross.