Other Is there anyone here who doesn't rp anymore?

[scorpiodragon]

Just curious if I am the only one that never rps on here anymore. The only things I do publicly now are updating my poetry/stories and art threads.

I do rp, it's just private 1x1 rps with three trusted friends. Any other friends/ acquaintances I made on here...we no longer rp together or talk on discord or on here. It's the same with the adult website Inner Sanctum...I don't really rp on there either.

Any rps I was in, they died due to the creator losing interesting or myself losing interest. Perhaps I'm just too old for rping now, being in my mid-30s. Perhaps, it is that my interests haven't 'evolved' in the years I have been rping (since 2015) and that has caused people not to rp with me. I don't know but it's something I've come to terms with.

Or am I just weird for being on an rp site when I don't rp publically?

 

[DisneyGirl]

I still roleplay on RPN, but I’m in a similar situation except with a game. I haven’t played the game in months and I honestly don’t really have any desire to but I adore our little community on the discord server so I just chat with people there, lol.

So no, not weird at all. As long as you’re enjoying your time on here, that’s all that matters. You’re still part of this community and welcome in my eyes

 

[scorpiodragon]

That's unfortunate. This used to be a place where I could get away from life and it doesn't feel like that anymore honestly, regardless of the rp website I join. Heck even the group rp I posted hasn't gotten any responses and of course Inner Sanctum, group rps aren't popular there. It's all 1x1 rps.

Well...what kind of game are/were you playing? I never got into the tabletop games, I think they were either before or after my time but it could be because I have no social skills and was always the new kid so I never got the chance to make lifelong friends. The only tabletop game I know of is Dungeons and Dragons.

 

[Onmyoji]

I still rp but not very actively. There are extended periods of time when I don't rp at all, and when I do it's usually a couple of private 1x1s.
And I don't usually rp publically anyway, it was always private 1x1s.
There are still fandoms and plots I enjoy and I have some rp partners I keep in touch with even when we don't rp. But real life is the #1 enemy of all things fun, so it does a great job at keeping me away from roleplaying haha

I love the community here so I lurk in discussions and join conversations about roleplaying if I have something to say.

 

[scorpiodragon]

I can understand real life getting in one's way and not wanting to do much rp grouping. Those seem to die fast, at least in my experience. Soemtimes it is just easier rping with people you trust in 1x1s.

 

[DisneyGirl]

That's unfortunate. This used to be a place where I could get away from life and it doesn't feel like that anymore honestly, regardless of the rp website I join. Heck even the group rp I posted hasn't gotten any responses and of course Inner Sanctum, group rps aren't popular there. It's all 1x1 rps.

Well...what kind of game are/were you playing? I never got into the tabletop games, I think they were either before or after my time but it could be because I have no social skills and was always the new kid so I never got the chance to make lifelong friends. The only tabletop game I know of is Dungeons and Dragons.

I feel the same honestly. RPN is still my escape, a little safe haven for me, and my favorite online community but the community and my relationship to the site has changed a lot from what it was four or five years ago. I think it’s just a part of growing up to be honest. I had a roleplaying friend group for three years back in high school before we all went our separate ways and that’s how I came to find RPN. Found some great friends here, too, but a lot also left. Just the way life goes and I feel your pain ):

If it helps any, I haven’t really done many group roleplays in the past couple of years. It’s mostly been 1x1s for me even when I first joined and most are private. 1x1s with friends seem to be the easiest for most people, especially adults, from what I gather. I’m thankful to at least have those, ya know?

It was a Disney game, lol, but I’m not very much a gaming person. I love the people though.

 

[scorpiodragon]

It's true that life takes you away from things as well as growing up. I figured I was the only one on here who didn't rp anymore. I'm wondering sometimes whether I got too late into the game so to speak or if rping just isn't for me, given it often fails in one form or the other. I suppose the good news in that is that it gives me time to do what I really love and write fanfiction and draw.

 

[nerdy tangents]

I’m also in my mid thirties and started when I was eighteen. I’m lucky in that I focus mostly on slice of life stories and Harry Potter, so there is always interest.

I also don’t really stress about it. I don’t compare myself to others or worries if real life throws a wrench in things.

This is a laidback hobby, it’s not the end of the world if a roleplay falls through. There is always a new partner to find and get to know.

 

[scorpiodragon]

In my experience, Harry Potter doesn’t last long but that could just be my experience. I could be going into this out of fear/belief that nobody wants to rp with me either in which case I probably bring it on myself. Slice of Life I have tried but they seem to center around high school/teen pregnancy for some reason or just have no real plot for my tastes. Or, like everything they fall through. Maybe I am just not finding the right people outside of my circle.

 

[nerdy tangents]

scorpiodragon I find it helps to use filters. As I search platonic/magic/Harry Potter filters (in various combinations) and it usually helps me find people with similar interests without sorting through stuff I don’t want.

 

[Murdergurl]

Late thirties, here. I started RPing when I was 13 or 14. So it's been a long run. And yeah, I don't really RP anymore. Not for lack of trying. I just don't really see anyone running anything I want to jump into. And the few times I try to advert stuff, no one really seems interested. On the rare occasion something I'm interested in comes up, it usually falls apart before it even starts up (or as soon as it starts up). I know that's the general nature of RPs, they have a high mortality rate. And it wouldn't really matter if interests came up more often. But with how few actually withhold a plot/setting I want to participate in, it's that much more disappointing/demotivating when they go belly up.

So yeah, I can totally relate. I've had peeps suggest that I try other RP sites with a different age group. But honestly, RPN is one of the more active RP sites that I've been on in recent years. Other places are a lot more dead. Especially in my areas of interest. Like, you get to the second page of adverts and they are already months old. And despite how old they are, it's still more of the same topics I don't care about. Adult RP sites are usually popular. But being adult-oriented, the theme of all the RPs are pretty much all geared to the same kind of interaction. Big yawn.

I've considered a lot of variables as to why I'm not getting anywhere. And honestly, I think my decline in roleplaying activity stems (mostly) from a lack of common interest. Another problem is that I don't like 1x1s, but that's another discussion altogether. Anyhow, I feel that the interests of an RPer have a lot to do with age group. For example: An RPer of an older denomination will be more likely to be into the shows of their youth, to which a younger crowd has not likely even heard of. Classic tropes like the high adventure of Dragonslayers are replaced by the newer concepts of players wanting to RP as the Dragons instead.

Someone had mentioned Harry Potter in the above comments. Harry Potter is one of those super common RP topics. But I could never get into it. Some of my younger cousins got into it, but I think I was just above the intended age group when the movies came out. I read the first book out of curiosity, and was not super impressed. Anything doing with schools and academies is totally off-putting for me. And I just can't relate to a bunch of kids bumbling about in the awkwardness of their youth. I'm like, "Where the fuck are the adults in all this?"

I'm not saying that finding others in my age group guarantees that I will find common interests. But it definitely doesn't help to be set in a population of younger RPers that are into fandoms and settings that I simply can't relate to. I'd like to say that it's been five or six years since my schism of interest. But if I'm gonna be completely truthful, it's probably closer to a decade. It is also quite possible that I'm remembering the "good ol' days" through a nostalgic filter, and maybe it's just always been this way. lol

 

[Crayons]

No, you're not weird. I haven't been RPing much lately but when I have it's been on discord - even when it's been with people I've met on here.

I think this site has a lot going for it other than public rp threads so I'm happy to stick around and read/participate in discussions when I'm in the mood.

(I do think it's slightly weird that my fellow olds on this site don't have changing and developing interests as they move through the years. Do you really all still only like movies/books/tv etc from your childhood and adolescence? Did you really never pick up anything current in your adult years?)

 

[Melpomene]

Admittedly, I don't really RP that much anymore. I have been more concentrated on personal writing pieces and school work. I do still enjoy being on this site and engaging in discussion about books and fiction! I think being here is what made me realize I wanted to be a humanities major haha.

But you're definitely not weird at all. While I do RP, it is rather slow going and for long stretches of time, I really am not engaged in anything.

 

[Jannah]

It's on-off for me. I'm in a couple RP's now, but I will go through months where I don't RP at all. That's mostly due to having trouble finding RP's that fit with my interests, though.

 

[Murdergurl]

...I do think it's slightly weird that my fellow olds on this site don't have changing and developing interests as they move through the years. Do you really all still only like movies/books/tv etc from your childhood and adolescence? Did you really never pick up anything current in your adult years?)

Short answer: Yes, for the most part. Not really.

Extended answer: Even when I was younger, I was pretty selective about the stuff I found an interest in. And as I got older, the "new" ideas I saw emerge only mimicked old ideas I was already familiar with. Read enough books & watch enough movies, and nothing is new and novel anymore. I can call out the plot to most movies I watch within the first 20 to 30 minutes of watching it, filling in the "plot twists" before they happen. Series are dull and empty. Books... geez is it hard to find good books nowadays. It's all so very much the same rehash over and over. I'm not saying that my familiar interests weren't the true blue original of something. But when I saw/read them, it was the first time the notion was introduced to me. Every time I've observed it after that, it's just a copy of an imitation.

Add in to this monotonous mess, the fact that I just generally don't care for a lot of the forced inserts of the modern media culture. So many of these new shows/movies are a blatant play at some sociopolitical agenda (usually liberal). They are rather gag worthy. I mean... did you see the dumpster fire that was the ghostbusters remake, as well as the Terminator: Dark Fate movie? Those are perfect examples of why all these new movies suck so bad (TV series too). I hate that every kind of entertainment platform is now used as a stage to spew this crap. It's really annoying.

 

[Crayons]

Murdergurl I'm going to agree with you that most American movies of the last 20 years are trash (although I did quite like the Ghostbusters one, but then sue me I'm a liberal) and that the art of screenwriting is pretty much dead (especially in America but also there's a lot of lazy writing in the UK too). But that doesn't mean there aren't other areas of entertainment are exciting and fun. I certainly can't believe you've tried hard enough to find decent books for a start. There's no reason you have to try hard if you don't want to I just find it very weird that people younger than me are bitching about how it aint "the good ole days anymore" and not being able to relate to younger people, when I've never had a problem with that myself. I think it's more a personality thing than an age thing tbh.

 

[Murdergurl]

Murdergurl I'm going to agree with you that most American movies of the last 20 years are trash (although I did quite like the Ghostbusters one, but then sue me I'm a liberal) and that the art of screenwriting is pretty much dead (especially in America but also there's a lot of lazy writing in the UK too). But that doesn't mean there aren't other areas of entertainment are exciting and fun. I certainly can't believe you've tried hard enough to find decent books for a start. There's no reason you have to try hard if you don't want to I just find it very weird that people younger than me are bitching about how it aint "the good ole days anymore" and not being able to relate to younger people, when I've never had a problem with that myself. I think it's more a personality thing than an age thing tbh.

I have a small stack of books that I need to eventually get around to reading. The authors are tried and true: Ben Bova, Philip K. Dick, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Robert E. Howard, Arthur C. Clark, Ray Bradbury, etc. These are classic names, though. Generally, their writing has been acclaimed over the years and their works are pretty "safe" to pick up and read. I have a hard time finding new authors that write consistently good books. Like, I will read the first in a series and thoroughly enjoy it. So I go out and buy the rest of it. Then the second book kind of drops the ball. This has happened to me a couple of times. Or a book starts off strong (or was enthusiastically recommended) and quickly gets dull or overly complicated or simply goes off in some direction that makes me lose interest. Admittedly, I am this way with Television series. I can get through MAYBE the first season before the whole thing gets convoluted and stupid.

Now, I will say I could certainly try harder, and put more effort into finding good books. But my time is limited as it is. I do have a queue of stuff I need to read. So I'm not in a particular rush to go out and lengthen the list. It's just that when I have dabbled in "new" authors, they tend to be dissapointing.

As far as relating to people, I can most assuredly relate in sentiments and how we all feel on common issues. That's pretty universal. But in the sense of online roleplay... well, it's just not there. In my fledgling days of RP, I jumped into all kinds of half-baked plot ideas. Hell, a lot of it was just drop-in RP. Plot was fleeting at best. But as I've gotten older, I crave more substance for the time I'm going to put aside for this hobby. I now have less availability for it, too. Which makes a good return on my effort that much more precious. Because of this, I don't even blink at most of the fandoms I see people requesting for. The fandoms aren't interesting to me because I didn't grow up with them, and I've no interest in trying to get to know them now. I simply don't have that kind of time to waste. Especially because I know I'm a picky bitch, and the odds are that I probably won't be interested even if I do take the time to look into it.

 

[nerdy tangents]

So I don’t think it’s an age thing at all actually. I think it’s a versatility vs. niche issues.

I have worked with people between 20-50 for 16 years. In two separate jobs.

And they are all able to follow along with pop culture media or understand so called “nerdy” media easily. People who have never owned a comic in their life can enjoy Wandavision. People who don’t like movies can comfortably talk about Harry Potter.

People like me who are deeply uninterested in Romance can talk about Rom Coms, Nora Roberts, or Debbie Macomber.

It’s down to just being versatile enough to listen as someone explains the things they enjoy and find the common ground between them.

This happens at every age from teens to eighties.

Some people are just comfortable moving through different comfort zones and some people aren’t.

I know plenty of “old” role players who are willing to embrace new things and plenty of young role players that wouldn’t try something new if you paid them.

It’s just down to as Crayons said personality really.

 

[Jules8008]

I do RP, but very rarely. Barley any roleplays on here interest me, and if I do find one that I like, it normally dies out super quick or I start to become more complicated - I am definitely not the easiest writing partner, as the slighest change in tone towards me OOC makes me feel super unwelcome.

 

[Murdergurl]

People who have never owned a comic in their life can enjoy Wandavision...

I actually like comics. Specific comics. I've actually never heard of Wandavision. But then my interest in comics was more Dark Horse and Image... and only some specific stuff within those. The only thing out of Marvel that I ever really got into was Conan the Barbarian and Judge Dredd. I'm not into the superhero stuff that is so common with DC and Marvel. It's overabundance is actually a big put-off.

People who don’t like movies can comfortably talk about Harry Potter.

My husband is a potterhead. I'm avidly NOT into Harry Potter at all. It encompasses everything I don't care about: kid/teen protagonists, school setting, focus on magic.

People like me who are deeply uninterested in Romance can talk about Rom Coms, Nora Roberts, or Debbie Macomber.

Deeply uninterested in Romance is definitely me. I think the extent I've talked about the romance genre might be with Jannah here on the RPN forums. And it is mostly just about how I'm not into it, and they are. Nothing profound. As far as rom coms, I barely watch television, much less romantic comedies. I wouldn't have a lot to add to a convo about it.

It’s down to just being versatile enough to listen as someone explains the things they enjoy and find the common ground between them.

This happens at every age from teens to eighties.

Some people are just comfortable moving through different comfort zones and some people aren’t.

I know plenty of “old” role players who are willing to embrace new things and plenty of young role players that wouldn’t try something new if you paid them...

Firstly, I will totally try stuff if you pay me. lol

But on a serious note, I think it's better to find common interests with someone and talk about those rather than talk about your separate interests and struggle to find something about it you actually care about. I've commonly worked in places where I'm one of the older employees. There, I pretty much wind up talking to the management more than my coworkers because they go on and on about subjects either don't care about, or have an opinion do differing that I already know it will ostracize me from their conversation (and potentially effect the work environment adversely). So I just keep out, and mind my own business.

However, I have noticed that I can (generally) talk to folk that are OLDER than me without a lot of issue. It's mostly the younger crowd that I seem to have a schism of interests with.

 

[Jannah]

Add in to this monotonous mess, the fact that I just generally don't care for a lot of the forced inserts of the modern media culture. So many of these new shows/movies are a blatant play at some sociopolitical agenda (usually liberal). They are rather gag worthy. I mean... did you see the dumpster fire that was the ghostbusters remake, as well as the Terminator: Dark Fate movie? Those are perfect examples of why all these new movies suck so bad (TV series too). I hate that every kind of entertainment platform is now used as a stage to spew this crap. It's really annoying.

I'm all for more diversity in media, but when it's forced that's kind of gross. That we agree on. Like, don't just throw in a minority for the sake of diversity. Make the character fit the setting and be interesting in their own right. I recently read a book where one of the prominent characters was gender-fluid. It was quite well-done too since the character was actually interesting. It did not feel forced and their presence was justifiable in the setting/plot. That is diversity done right.

 

[nerdy tangents]

Murdergurl so you used a lot of words to basically prove my point. Especially since I actually wasn’t calling you out and just making a general observation about my experiences IRL.

You and I are in the exact same age range but I am unfamiliar with most of your niche interests and I expect you would be unfamiliar with all of mine.

So it’s not as simple as people being of a specific age. It’s more people have to be interested in the specific things your interested in. Which is less of an age issue and more of a fandom issue.

 

[Crayons]

So it’s not as simple as people being of a specific age. It’s more people have to be interested in the specific things your interested in. Which is less of an age issue and more of a fandom issue.

And most importantly a flexibility issue. If you're only interested in one or two fandoms/specific genres for your entire life then of course it's going to be hard to find RP regardless of age.

 

[Murdergurl]

Murdergurl so you used a lot of words to basically prove my point. Especially since I actually wasn’t calling you out and just making a general observation about my experiences IRL.

You and I are in the exact same age range but I am unfamiliar with most of your niche interests and I expect you would be unfamiliar with all of mine.

So it’s not as simple as people being of a specific age. It’s more people have to be interested in the specific things your interested in. Which is less of an age issue and more of a fandom issue.

I'm aware that you weren't speaking to me, specifically. But I like the conversation, and I'm not doing much else on the site atm. lol

Yes, within my own age group, my interests are quite niche. In fact, I think the whole superhero genre was actually aimed more at my demographic than it was to kids. At least, initially it was. Guys in my age group went to theatre all giddy with excitement to see the heroes of their day. Kids didn't even know who (insert character X) is was until they watched the film. No real draw for them. But that's the franchise cultivating a new generation of consumers, using nostalgia as the bait for the parents with the aim of hooking the kids. But I digress...

The interests I DO have are much, MUCH less likely to occur in a younger age group. For instance, Cadillacs and Dinosaurs or Conan the Barbarian. The former was most popular as an arcade game, but saw a short life as a Saturday morning cartoon that was cancelled in the mid-90s. Conan the Barbarian was a lot more popular, and saw its peak in the early 80s with the Schwarzeneggar films. However, I also have books and comics from this franchise as well. Either way, these are both very dated fandoms that don't really have much interest by a younger crowd. I used to be on some Conan the Barbarian groups on FB. And 90% of the other members were men over 30. I was actually kind of the oddball, being a gal. But that's another story.

Anyhow, my point being is that age definitely is a factor, niche or not. I suppose if someone has broad and popular interests, it's less of an issue. But if the interests of an individual are tied more to fandoms of decades past, the people that have those same interests tend to be older.

I'm all for more diversity in media, but when it's forced that's kind of gross. That we agree on. Like, don't just throw in a minority for the sake of diversity. Make the character fit the setting and be interesting in their own right. I recently read a book where one of the prominent characters was gender-fluid. It was quite well-done too since the character was actually interesting. It did not feel forced and their presence was justifiable in the setting/plot. That is diversity done right.

There was a pirate series that I had been watching for a little bit. It was pretty good. One of the main characters had a past riddled in mystery, and eventually you find out that he had a gay affair with a prominent officer (or something like that). It actually made sense for the plot, and the surrounding events that were uncovered and hidden from the other characters (and the viewers) were pivotal to the story.

Juxtaposed to this, I had attempted to watch some sci-fi series recently. All the cast of the crew were an obviously hand-picked diversification. Needlessly. It's like they had a list of minority groups that they went and checked off when making the cast. It's obvious pandering. They had blatant in-your-face homosexuality and transexual characters done in a gross cliche... which had absolutely nothing to do with the story. This crew of officers was completely unbelievable because of their flagrant disregard of professionalism. I don't like it when movies/series just insert sexuality (of ANY denomination) for no reason at all. The series seemed more driven to horny teenagers hung up on their personal identities, and less focused on the character roles for the plot. It was stupid beyond repair. I didn't bother watching a second episode.

 

[Jannah]

Juxtaposed to this, I had attempted to watch some sci-fi series recently. All the cast of the crew were an obviously hand-picked diversification. Needlessly. It's like they had a list of minority groups that they went and checked off when making the cast. It's obvious pandering. They had blatant in-your-face homosexuality and transexual characters done in a gross cliche... which had absolutely nothing to do with the story. This crew of officers was completely unbelievable because of their flagrant disregard of professionalism. I don't like it when movies/series just insert sexuality (of ANY denomination) for no reason at all. The series seemed more driven to horny teenagers hung up on their personal identities, and less focused on the character roles for the plot. It was stupid beyond repair. I didn't bother watching a second episode.

This is precisely the sort of thing I mean. That kind of attempt at diversity just ruins the story. Out of curiosity which series was it?