Also reporting in to answer questions! I notice that a lot of your questions are addressed generally to the community as a whole; it's important to note that almost all who /pretend/ have their own various emotional and manipulative reasons to do so. With that said, take what I say with a grain of salt, as I, myself, am rather new to this community in general.
Oh, and I'm >>1172 . I explain some of my rationale there, so if I refer back to stuff I've 'already said', I mean that post!
>What are you trying to achieve with pretending?
As mentioned, wish fulfillment is a major one. At one point, I 'struggled' with my gender identity, going as far to consider a transition. While I have no desire to do that now, I love just the 'feeling' of being a girl, even for a little bit. It's somewhat sexual, though that's often times not even my focus; sexy behavior sometimes comes in just to be a 'hook' that will catch the attention of other people. As mentioned, a lot of it is the desire to 'play my character'. I wish to become the cool girl I've fantasized about; the girl is snarky, sexy, and fun, but is also manipulative and mean-spirited. This drives in the next part of the question "Or you just enjoy being romantic. . . ". Romance is only there for a reaction, same as all else. I love to enact 'scenes' with my 'character'. This is all for the purpose of seeing shock, enjoyment, entertainment, humiliation, whatever I can gather. I adore being able to put on a different face and watching how people choose to interact with me differently; girls get the added bonus of both being the objects of my attraction & having the ground they walk on worshiped by 'normal' people and loners alike.
>How old are you, and how old is the girl you're pretending to be?
I'm 18; she's 16-18. It's both an age range I identify with, have the most fun playing with, and reminds me of my happiest times,
>To those who are significantly older than their online persona: are you pedophiles?
I do not fit into the criteria for this question, but I thought it interesting to mention that a lot of people do seem to have a 'creepy' attraction to my, much younger, teenage girl self. It's amazing how many people will come out of the woodwork and do shifty stuff (in the case of a legal standing, at least) in rather public places, like online games.
>Are you homosexual?
I consider myself pretty fluid with what I find attractive; I am firmly gynephilic, though.
>Do you have a chat group
See >>1177 . I, myself am the chatroom's creator, though, so maybe I can get some activity in it. Pop in to talk, sometime; I highly doubt you even needed to be that apologetic in your post, people here have both pretty thick skin and are welcoming of questions!