"Fandom" Request Threads

[BakedBeans 1up]

Is it misleading to put "fandom" in a request thread when you're only interested in playing as an OC?


It's a common thing on a lot of RP sites.  You click on a request thread because it has "[insert favourite show] Fandom" in the thread title. . . only to find out the pairing isn't really a fandom pairing.


I'll use Spiderman as an example.  For the most part, Spiderman and Mary Jane are "the" pairing in that fandom.  Or Spiderman x Gwen Stacy, at a push.  So if someone watches the films, and goes "I think it'd be fun to do a Spiderman RP based on the films", do they want to. . .


1.  Write a Spiderman x Mary Jane pairing, seeing as how MJ is a major part of Peter Parker's character arc?


2.  Or write Spiderman opposite a completely made-up character who was orphaned at a young age, experimented on by the Government (if she is a mutant), involved in a tragic accident (that gives her superpowers) or is the sister of Mary Jane and childhood friend of Peter Parker who is basically just the author writing as a fictional version of herself?


So I ask, is it fair not to put (canon x OC) in the title, especially as a lot of people keep that little fact hidden away in their request thread?


Bonus thought:


A "Walking Dead" RP.  However, it has no canon characters nor is it even set in the same area of the country.  So . . . it's just a zombie story, then?

 

[call me rae]

Fandom roleplays on this site are

Roleplays containing pre-written or fan-created settings or characters of certain books, video games, movies or other franchises.

So yeah OCxCanon pairings fall under that umbrella. As all the fandom prefix means is you are using elements of some book, video, movie, etc.

 

[NemoTheSurvivor]

Rae defined what fandom means, so I'll just answer the bonus question.

A "Walking Dead" RP.  However, it has no canon characters nor is it even set in the same area of the country.  So . . . it's just a zombie story, then?

No. If the story takes places in the Walking Dead universe, and all of the fandom lore (cause of infection, how the infected behave, general state of society, timeline of events, etc.), then it is a fandom roleplay, but explored in a different place with different characters. There's more to a fandom than just the cannon characters, and it can be fun and exiting to explore the lore without having to follow the plot of the main story.

 

[KhazTheGiraffe]

There's more to a fandom than just the cannon characters, and it can be fun and exiting to explore the lore without having to follow the plot of the main story

PREACH. 

 

[Umbrie]

Rae defined what fandom means, so I'll just answer the bonus question.


No. If the story takes places in the Walking Dead universe, and all of the fandom lore (cause of infection, how the infected behave, general state of society, timeline of events, etc.), then it is a fandom roleplay, but explored in a different place with different characters. There's more to a fandom than just the cannon characters, and it can be fun and exiting to explore the lore without having to follow the plot of the main story.

so true.


all you need is the Universe and a Different Feasible Location. you also need a new plot unique to that Location. don't do what Weekly William Did and Copy Pasta the major characters from the Original Story with their names changed and maybe a few physical differences. if you took a 10 year old Blonde haired girl in a white gothloli dress and matching hat, named her Elena, had her start with a pikachu, have her earn all her badges through pity, have her somehow gain all 3 of her region's starters. and have her wander the region with the 2 weakest gym leaders in the region, literally reset her team down to a mere pikachu with every region to start all over, and somehow release every pokemon she gains when it is suffiiciently evolved or leveled. you didn't even make a new character at all. all you did, was copy and paste the story, personality and practices of Ash Ketchum, take a Picture of Lillie from Pokemon Sun and Moon as a Faceclaim, change the name and change the gender to match the new faceclaim.

 

[call me rae]

Also to your specific question about putting canon x OC in the title I don't know as it's better or worse. From my experience most people who do fandom want the canon x OC style roleplay ( whether platonic or romantic ).


Honestly it's just a matter of reading through the search and seeing what the person is looking for.

 

[BakedBeans 1up]

It's a little unfair for the person writing as the canon to click on the request thread, thinking it's about a pairing on the show, only to find out it's not.  For me, I think it's a bit selfish to play as an OC but expect someone to write a canon.


I mean, imagine wanting to do a Romeo and Juliet story, and clicking on a "looking for Romeo" thread -- how many people would honestly click on that, and be happy that it was "Romeo x OC"?  Who reads Romeo and Juliet and throughout the story, thinks "I'd love to write about this more. . . but replacing Juliet with me another character?"


And I completely disagree with the Walking Dead responses.  The Walking Dead has never revealed what caused the infection, so we can throw out that point.  Zombies in the Walking Dead behave the same way as George Romero's ". . .of the Dead" series and Resident Evil, all of which came before the Walking Dead.


It's like doing a high school vampire story and calling it an Avengers fandom because it takes place on Planet Earth.

 

[NemoTheSurvivor]

And I completely disagree with the Walking Dead responses.  The Walking Dead has never revealed what caused the infection, so we can throw out that point.  Zombies in the Walking Dead behave the same way as George Romero's ". . .of the Dead" series and Resident Evil, all of which came before the Walking Dead.


It's like doing a high school vampire story and calling it an Avengers fandom because it takes place on Planet Earth.

If the zombies were infected by the T-Virus, C-Virus, Las Plagas, or Uroboros, to name a few cases of infection, or you mention key words like S.T.A.R.S., Umbrella, Tricell, TerraSave, or BSAA, then it would be a Resident Evil fanfiction. As for differences between George Romero and the Walking Dead, there's more than just how the zombies were first infected. There's also how the infection spread, how the government reacted to the start of the outbreak, how survivors actually survive, and how fast it takes for an infected survivor to turn, not to mention things like how the zombies behave (hearing, smell, sight, whether the bodies decay or not, to name some examples).


The devil's in the details, and that's what sets them apart. It's making sure that all of these little details match up with the fandom you're writing for that makes it fanfiction or fandom RP.

 

[Bacon is fluffy]

@BakedBeans 1up While I enjoy using canon lore and locations for roleplaying, I would never play a canon character. There's no way I could pull off a luffy. Or pull off a good Issei. Or pull of a good elliot from mister robot. Doing fandoms without the canon cast allows you to explore parts of a universe that aren't explored, like the northern war in Lord of the rings or an original planet using starwars as a template. It opens things up, allows you to feel like you're in the starwars verse and you don't need to use vader to do it. Hell he can be a sphere of influence,but doesn't have to be there to actually be a fandom rp.


Maybe not everyone approaches a fandom this way,but that's how I do it. 

 

[call me rae]

It's a little unfair for the person writing as the canon to click on the request thread, thinking it's about a pairing on the show, only to find out it's not.  For me, I think it's a bit selfish to play as an OC but expect someone to write a canon.


I mean, imagine wanting to do a Romeo and Juliet story, and clicking on a "looking for Romeo" thread -- how many people would honestly click on that, and be happy that it was "Romeo x OC"?  Who reads Romeo and Juliet and throughout the story, thinks "I'd love to write about this more. . . but replacing Juliet with me another character?"

Okay I'm going to be honest I have a lot of problems with this post and I'm going to do my best do illustrate them in a respectful manner.


POINT A. The idea that Canon x Canon is the default "correct/fair" representation of pairings.


I have been doing fandom roleplays for going upwards of eleven years now. And I'm going to respectfully say this is incorrect. I'd say at least half of all fandom roleplay romantic pairings are Canon x OC ( and to be honest I'd accept an argument that they are actually the majority with Canon x Canon being the minority ).


And that's not even counting the people that do OC x OC pairings too which are a decent minority. 


POINT B. That people are unfair if they don't put their preferred pairings in their search title.


People are not obligated to put diddly squat in their titles. They can name their searches whatever they want and it's up to you as the searcher to click on whatever titles you think are interesting. I'm sorry if you're disappointed when someone in your fandom doesn't do your preferred pairing but they are not obligated to do so. Nor are they obligated to advertise if they don't. 


That would be like me saying oh if I put Fandom as my prefix I have to list every one of the fandoms I'm interested in. No I don't.  Does that mean some people are going to click on my thread and be disappointed.Yes. But then the same can be said for me. But I don't let that disappointment get me down nor do I think it's unfair that the person didn't state something in their search title. I just shrug and move onto the next search


POINT C. It's selfish to play as an OC and expect someone else to write as a canon


Once again people are not obligated to do diddly squat. That's like saying if someone wants to do a male x female pairing they should be willing to play both genders or it's not fair. Roleplaying isn't about fairness. Or at least not this score keeping kind of fairness - You do this for me and I'll do that for you. 


No. No. No. If you don't want to do something no one is putting a gun to your head and making you. But by the same token you shouldn't be putting a gun to someone else's head and making them do what they don't want to do.


Some people don't want to play canons. Should that mean they only do roleplays in original universes and never get to play with their favorite characters? of course not. They have as much right to enjoy themselves in their fandom as you do. 



if you only want to play canon x canon that's fine. your entitled to enjoying yourself. but don't get angry when other people don't feel the same way. we're all just here to have fun. no one should have to cater to anyone else.

 

[CastoffCaptain]

@BakedBeans 1up While I enjoy using canon lore and locations for roleplaying, I would never play a canon character. There's no way I could pull off a luffy. Or pull off a good Issei. Or pull of a good elliot from mister robot. Doing fandoms without the canon cast allows you to explore parts of a universe that aren't explored, like the northern war in Lord of the rings or an original planet using starwars as a template. It opens things up, allows you to feel like you're in the starwars verse and you don't need to use vader to do it. Hell he can be a sphere of influence,but doesn't have to be there to actually be a fandom rp.


Maybe not everyone approaches a fandom this way,but that's how I do it. 

I agree with this, and I'll add:


Most people don't do the canon character justice.  Not to the extent that it would convince me that the original writers of said canon would agree that that's their character.  No offense meant, of course, but I tend to be stupid-picky.


Therefore, I wouldn't want to play to a person playing a canon character. If I'm doing a fandom, it's in that fandom's universe, with that universe's rules, ideas, settings, etc, but canons are generally out of the question for me. So it doesn't bother me if I click a fandom link (not that I really often do) and find someone wants to play non-canons.

 

[kitphiroth]

Is it misleading to put "fandom" in a request thread when you're only interested in playing as an OC?


It's a common thing on a lot of RP sites.  You click on a request thread because it has "[insert favourite show] Fandom" in the thread title. . . only to find out the pairing isn't really a fandom pairing.


I'll use Spiderman as an example.  For the most part, Spiderman and Mary Jane are "the" pairing in that fandom.  Or Spiderman x Gwen Stacy, at a push.  So if someone watches the films, and goes "I think it'd be fun to do a Spiderman RP based on the films", do they want to. . .


1.  Write a Spiderman x Mary Jane pairing, seeing as how MJ is a major part of Peter Parker's character arc?


2.  Or write Spiderman opposite a completely made-up character who was orphaned at a young age, experimented on by the Government (if she is a mutant), involved in a tragic accident (that gives her superpowers) or is the sister of Mary Jane and childhood friend of Peter Parker who is basically just the author writing as a fictional version of herself?


So I ask, is it fair not to put (canon x OC) in the title, especially as a lot of people keep that little fact hidden away in their request thread?


Bonus thought:


A "Walking Dead" RP.  However, it has no canon characters nor is it even set in the same area of the country.  So . . . it's just a zombie story, then?

I feel you on this.  I roleplay a lot of fandoms, but it would usually end up that someone would be message me about OCs instead of my preferred pairings or setting.  Sometimes, it is just nice to know that they mean they want to roleplay the actual canon out and explore those relationships that start new ones with an OC that would probably, and likely go against their characters arc.  I can already see people roleplaying Glenn without Maggie or Sasha not having feelings for Abraham.  When you come t bringing in OCs  that are love interests, it can be difficult to play against an OC because you have to make up BS to play your canon at this point.

 

[BakedBeans 1up]

"There's more to a fandom than just the cannon characters, and it can be fun and exiting to explore the lore without having to follow the plot of the main story"


So Die Hard would be just as much fun if someone re-did it using an OC instead of John McClane?  Or what if Deadpool got replaced with an ultra-serious OC?


--


All right, so pairings such as OC x OC can work in a setting like Star Wars, because it's a distinct fandom with things like Jedi and the Sith.  And I'll admit that I'm brushing over a lot of technicalities, but I think most of you are missing the point.


I'm talking about important canon x canon pairings that literally make the characters who they are, and why they became so popular.  Example: Characters A and B are a couple, well known for their constant bickering and fighting, but they'll always have each other's back and look out for one another in the end.  You watched the movie, and loved it.  So you click on a "Looking for Film X fandom" request thread and you (naively) think it's going to be a fun story with the two main characters of the film.


No.  It's Character A x OC.  Suddenly, the dynamic of the two characters is gone, and what made the film so great is no longer there.  Because who is this "OC"?  With canons, you sort of know what to expect.  Turns out it's a character who is the opposite of Character B, meaning the pair never fight, always get on and share similar interests so there is no drama.


Imagine an X-Files RP with Mulder but no Scully?  Who is going to keep Mulder grounded, and try to stop him from going on wild chases for aliens or try to come up with scientific reasons for why strange, unexplained things are happening?  Of course, it's the OC who was the youngest person ever to graduate through the FBI ranks, who also happened to have some kind of backstory with aliens, who always idolised Mulder, and believed every answer he had to a X-File. . . I mean, come on folks.


I know I'm fighting a losing battle here, as unsurprisingly the people disagreeing with me are the ones that don't do canon x canon.  Since I posted the topic, I've spoken to a lot of folk about it (both on and off this site) and they can all see where I'm coming from.  It's also interesting that a lot of neutral people (aka people that don't write, just like movies) agree with me too. . .


C'est la vie.

 

[NemoTheSurvivor]

So Die Hard would be just as much fun if someone re-did it using an OC instead of John McClane?  Or what if Deadpool got replaced with an ultra-serious OC?

Die Hard could work, if the OC is written well and doesn't replace John McClane, but instead works in a similar line of work as McClane, or is the villain facing off against McClane. Replacing Deadpool with an ultra-serious OC wouldn't work, but then again, you don't have to; just make an OC in the Marvel Universe (Cinematic, Ultimate, Amazing, etc.). Now you can fight all of the villains alongside Deadpool, plus the X-men, Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, and the Avengers.


There's always going to be stories and roleplays where the main cast of characters are replaced (especially true for self insert stories), and I'm not a fan of those stories. However, exploring the universe of stories, such as the world of Fifth Element, how the End of Days actually happened in The Hunger Games, and the Omnic Crisis in Overwatch, can benefit without trying to make sure you make sure you write the canon characters correctly. It's how people continue to enjoy their favorite content.

I know I'm fighting a losing battle here, as unsurprisingly the people disagreeing with me are the ones that don't do canon x canon.  Since I posted the topic, I've spoken to a lot of folk about it (both on and off this site) and they can all see where I'm coming from.  It's also interesting that a lot of neutral people (aka people that don't write, just like movies) agree with me too. . .

I don't do any 1x1 romance stuff, so let me give you my unbiased opinion: It does not matter how many people agree with you. Trying to force your ideals on other people by trying to explain how they are wrong is not going to sit well with people on this site, as we encourage everyone to do their own thing. You enjoy doing Canon x Canon, so don't worry about people who want to do something different. Let them have fun how they want.

 

[BakedBeans 1up]

After Die Hard came out, if you asked 100 people that went to see it "do you want John McClane in the sequel, or a different main character?" what do you think they would say?


Hey -- if folk want to do OC x OC stories then they can get stuck right in to it.  You're right, there's plenty of big universes with lots of potential, and video games like Fallout are obviously exceptions because you always play as an OC, and technically, you always control how characters behave.  Or games like GTA -- one person's Michael might drive around in fancy cars mowing down cops, another gamer's Michael might never kill any one unless they need to.


I'm just trying to make a point that it's difficult to find true fandom requests on roleplaying sites, and just wish it was a lot easier to find them than endless clicks of disappointment.

 

[NemoTheSurvivor]

After Die Hard came out, if you asked 100 people that went to see it "do you want John McClane in the sequel, or a different main character?" what do you think they would say?

It doesn't matter if every other person on the planet besides the author would want John McClane in another Die Hard movie. Making fanfiction or fan roleplays is done to entertain the writer/players themselves, not the masses. That's it. Letting other people read your fan content is a bonus. Seriously, I would still write fanfiction even if I didn't have access to the internet because I just want to explore the worlds the way I want to. There's plenty of fan content I won't touch with a 85 1/2 foot pole, but that doesn't mean I'm going to hate them for enjoying themselves.

 

[call me rae]

And again a "true" fandom request has nothing to do with Canon x Canon pairings ( or in fact pairings at all ) at least as the genre is defined on this site. 


All people are trying to say is that acting like your way of doing things is the true way when it doesn't even match up with the sites own definition is a little unfair.


It's like saying your way of roleplay is the "right" way and everyone who does things differently is "wrong".


I'm sorry you haven't found the things you want to roleplay. But treating the people who want to do different things like they're wrong isn't going to win you any friends. Instead of complaining try asking these people - hey would you be willing to try doing A x B pairing instead? 


Or heck do a roleplay without any pairing at all. That way your making a nice compromise between what you want and what other people want.


Try meeting people half way and you'll be surprised at how accomodating people can be. Rather than just being all - you guys are doing it wrong because your not playing the way I think you should.

 

[kitphiroth]

And again a "true" fandom request has nothing to do with Canon x Canon pairings ( or in fact pairings at all ) at least as the genre is defined on this site. 


All people are trying to say is that acting like your way of doing things is the true way when it doesn't even match up with the sites own definition is a little unfair.


It's like saying your way of roleplay is the "right" way and everyone who does things differently is "wrong".


I'm sorry you haven't found the things you want to roleplay. But treating the people who want to do different things like they're wrong isn't going to win you any friends. Instead of complaining try asking these people - hey would you be willing to try doing A x B pairing instead? 


Or heck do a roleplay without any pairing at all. That way your making a nice compromise between what you want and what other people want.


Try meeting people half way and you'll be surprised at how accomodating people can be. Rather than just being all - you guys are doing it wrong because your not playing the way I think you should.

I think he just wants to find a way to find canon only roleplays that do not involve OCs.  I agree that should be a thing, but it would never be a thing.

 

[call me rae]

I think he just wants to find a way to find canon only roleplays that do not involve OCs.  I agree that should be a thing, but it would never be a thing.

You could look through tags but that's about it. And even then I don't know as it would occur to most people to put canons only in their tags.


i know i don't put anything in my tags - but I don't even do romance. So you can imagine the disappointment that causes people. I short change all this nonsense entirely and focus on family bonds or alternate realities.


I mean there isn't really a way to enforce people labeling their searches so you just got to take a chance like everyone else. It's not a problem that is unique to people who only do canon x canon pairings. Imagine how it feels to be a platonic roleplayer  looking for a fandom ?


You know how many times I click on a thread only to be disappointed because 


A. I don't know any of the fandoms


B. The person only wants romance and no platonic roleplays


But I don't make a big thing out of it. I just give a sigh and move on to the next thread.


honestly your best bet if you don't want to bother with wasting your time going over other people's thread is do one of two things


A. Just PM the person and ask outright hey do you do canon x canon pairings ?


B. Make your own post and hope people come to you.

 

[kitphiroth]

You could look through tags but that's about it. And even then I don't know as it would occur to most people to put canons only in their tags.


i know i don't put anything in my tags - but I don't even do romance. So you can imagine the disappointment that causes people. I short change all this nonsense entirely and focus on family bonds or alternate realities.


I mean there isn't really a way to enforce people labeling their searches so you just got to take a chance like everyone else. It's not a problem that is unique to people who only do canon x canon pairings. Imagine how it feels to be a platonic roleplayer  looking for a fandom ?


You know how many times I click on a thread only to be disappointed because 


A. I don't know any of the fandoms


B. The person only wants romance and no platonic roleplays


But I don't make a big thing out of it. I just give a sigh and move on to the next thread.


honestly your best bet if you don't want to bother with wasting your time going over other people's thread is do one of two things


A. Just PM the person and ask outright hey do you do canon x canon pairings ?


B. Make your own post and hope people come to you.

I've made posts before where no one came to me, or if they did they wanted to play an OC. So, lol. I feel it would be cool if there was a canon only section.

 

[call me rae]

I've made posts before where no one came to me, or if they did they wanted to play an OC. So, lol. I feel it would be cool if there was a canon only section.

Sadly roleplaying is a waiting game for everyone. Pretty much it's all about networking, searching the interest threads, and getting super lucky.


There is no magic solution that will help you find people faster. Even if you had a canon only section you could be faced with the hard truth that maybe people don't want to do the pairings your interested in, maybe they're not into your fandoms, etc.


Your best bet is to just keep looking. Don't give up. 


Sometimes it takes weeks or months to find someone worth hanging on to. 

 

[RatFlail]

That's always the difficulty with fandoms. There is so much media that it is impossible to be literate in all of them. Let alone know how to accurately simulate a character that professional script writers have a hard time getting right. It might be a problem that requires requesting an existing RP partner if they'd be willing to do the research for it. The worst thing that they can say is "No". But you never know, they might be looking for an excuse to get into a new universe.


@kitphiroth


Ninja edit: Alternatively, have you tried using the search function of the site to find someone interested in your fandom? I doubt many people go into the interest checks every day, so there may be someone who has already posted a check for your fandom. It may just be an older thread.


I actually did this to find someone for a Lost Girl RP, and we've been posting approx. once a day for a month now.


You may also find someone in a group RP that would be willing to do a 1x1. Most people are reasonable if you don't seem crazy strict about canon or are willing to include one of their ideas. Bonus is that you see a writing sample this way.


In fact, a lot of 1x1 interest checks should probably be viewed as a profile rather than an active check. Maybe a mod could post something in there encouraging people to do searches for existing checks rather than spamming bumps.

 

[call me rae]

@RatFlail do you mean just have a mod search for active checks? as I'd think that would be fairly difficult. as you said yourself sometimes older threads are active they just haven't been bumped up in awhilr. other times people might be on the front page that are filler because either someone bumps a older thread or the OP gets a lot of pms and hasn't had a chance to update.


SO short of a mod going through and asking peep -to this still open?


Sorry I was on my phone and didn't realize how many typos the post had. What I meant to ask @RatFlail is how would mods be able to tell if a check was active or inactive unless they actually went through and checked.


Short of just having the threads be deleted after a set period of time and making people remake them when they wanted something new there isn't anything the mods can do I don't think. 


Unless maybe they had like some kind of notification come up if a thread didn't have activity in a set amount of time? Just to remind people - yo this thread is still out there might want to look into that. 


Actually that's a good idea for interest checks in general .


As for canon based roleplays I guess they could make some kind of reminder to have people put idk in tags what their search is about. It's no guarantee anyone would abide by it but it's about the closest I think they'd ever come to making a canon specific forum.


@BakedBeans 1up  your welcome to suggest something like that here -  https://www.rpnation.com/forum/23-site-questions-information/

 

[RatFlail]

@A Nerd Named Rae


The mods could pin a post encouraging people to use the search function of the forums to find partners for their specific fandom. Doesn't matter if a check is active or inactive, since it's easy to tell if a player is active, and even an old check indicates that they are familiar with the universe and were interested at one point in time.

 

[call me rae]

@A Nerd Named Rae


The mods could pin a post encouraging people to use the search function of the forums to find partners for their specific fandom. Doesn't matter if a check is active or inactive, since it's easy to tell if a player is active, and even an old check indicates that they are familiar with the universe and were interested at one point in time.

Ah I see i misunderstood what you were talking about. It's a fairly simple solution actually and something that would benefit all interest checks not just fandoms. You should definitely put it as a suggestion in the site questions forum.