Roleplay Pet Peeves
- Thread starter call me rae
- Start date
I can totally relate with a lot of the topics on here, heck, I can even admit I’ve committed a few in the past (*cough cough* the werewolf one).
I guess one that kinda really irks me is when players can’t differentiate themselves from their characters. Like they literally are their characters, kinda like in an extreme self-insert kinda way, and even talk as though they are the characters in ooc. To me, it seems as though they can’t recognize the difference between reality and fantasy. Though, this only typically seems to occur with younger role players. So I’m guessing it may just be a age thing? I don’t know.
The other, is well, trying to establish a romance with a mentally unstable character and believing that one’s character can ‘fix’ or ‘change’ them. Like trying to establish a romance with a character that is manipulative, abusive, and otherwise psychotic. It just isn’t going to work. Just like in real life, love and affection cannot cure a severe mental illness. You can’t just change a person’s entire personality and behavior, and nor can you expect them to love that said character.
It just rubs me the wrong way when I hear quotes like “she can tame him!” or “they just need some love and affection!” Like nah, they’re wack dude. They need some professional help.
I guess one that kinda really irks me is when players can’t differentiate themselves from their characters. Like they literally are their characters, kinda like in an extreme self-insert kinda way, and even talk as though they are the characters in ooc. To me, it seems as though they can’t recognize the difference between reality and fantasy. Though, this only typically seems to occur with younger role players. So I’m guessing it may just be a age thing? I don’t know.
The other, is well, trying to establish a romance with a mentally unstable character and believing that one’s character can ‘fix’ or ‘change’ them. Like trying to establish a romance with a character that is manipulative, abusive, and otherwise psychotic. It just isn’t going to work. Just like in real life, love and affection cannot cure a severe mental illness. You can’t just change a person’s entire personality and behavior, and nor can you expect them to love that said character.
It just rubs me the wrong way when I hear quotes like “she can tame him!” or “they just need some love and affection!” Like nah, they’re wack dude. They need some professional help.
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BackSet
The Great Thief Yatagarasu!
Damn. Nothing interesting to engage in discussion about.
rae2nerdy
left site
So I think this is ultimately down to a fairly old romance cliche. That in itself is the mark of either bad writing OR some kind of forbidden erotic fantasy. On this site specifically it's a mark of bad writing. As usually in this case the mental illness/abusive behavior/trauma/etc. is used as a shallow means to generate drama. And that's why it can be "cured" just by "love". Because it's not meant to be a real obstacle so much as a means of keeping the characters from boning immediately and to give them something to extend the roleplay.
I totally agree with you on this, I occasionally like to write these characters. Mostly because I love to express certain psychological traits and behaviors in a more realistic way, but I certainly do not want those types of characters being paired up or shipped with any characters.
BackSet
The Great Thief Yatagarasu!
Or, as I like to put it, Harley Quinn Syndrome.
I choked on some water when I read that, then laughed so hard my nose burned.
Man, that movie was a flop...
rae2nerdy
left site
I would say Harley is sort of the flip side of this particular problem. She isn't trying to change the Joker in any meaningful way. Instead she's a battered woman who convinces herself she deserves the treatment that she gets as that is how "pudding" show's his "love."
The problem OP was talking about is more like the Ana x Christian relationship from Fifty Shades. Ana is the "pure" nobody who attracts the "dangerous/sexual" Christian. He starts out terrifying her but through the power of "love" she ultimately "changes him" and turns him into a loving husband and father. (None of that is what happens in the actual book series but it's what people THINK happened in the book series)
I mean sure if you look at the actual relationships themselves and how they progress they are remarkably similar. But they service two very different fantasies.
Harley is about changing YOURSELF to make a man love you. Ana is about changing a MAN through your love.
Brea The Brave
Senior Member
When people take months to reply to you and then rush you to reply immediately after they finally find the time to reply. Like you took months to reply and you can't even give me an hour?
This is a small one because it's not really a hard rule people implement, but
I dislike when people put certain gender restrictions for characters, aka "we need a 50/50 split of male and female characters"
I think bc the aim here is that they want people to be able to partner up their characters, but it's a personal pet peeve for me because I don't really go into most roleplays with romance in mind? It's not a huge thing because most people just suggest it, not force it, but it leads into another thing of mine (again small)
I feel like some roleplayers have a weird distaste for female characters, esp if there's more female than male characters in a RP? It's not like, an outright HATE, but I sense it sometimes. I'd guess this goes back to the romance thing? But yeah, sometimes you sense this weird air that they don't really care about the female characters as much, or are dismissive of them. A lot of times I'll literally barely see female characters interacting with each other in a significant way.
I'm like half asleep so i may have butchered my points
I dislike when people put certain gender restrictions for characters, aka "we need a 50/50 split of male and female characters"
I think bc the aim here is that they want people to be able to partner up their characters, but it's a personal pet peeve for me because I don't really go into most roleplays with romance in mind? It's not a huge thing because most people just suggest it, not force it, but it leads into another thing of mine (again small)
I feel like some roleplayers have a weird distaste for female characters, esp if there's more female than male characters in a RP? It's not like, an outright HATE, but I sense it sometimes. I'd guess this goes back to the romance thing? But yeah, sometimes you sense this weird air that they don't really care about the female characters as much, or are dismissive of them. A lot of times I'll literally barely see female characters interacting with each other in a significant way.
I'm like half asleep so i may have butchered my points
rae2nerdy
left site
I feel like there is actually an overabundance of female characters in 1x1s. As in more people want to play the female love interest rather than the male one. As to women not interacting with each other / people being dismissive of female characters. Well one explains the other.
People are dismissive of female characters because they feel like most of them are written solely to be the romantic interest of someone else. Now obviously that's not true of all female characters but it isn't a unfounded fear.
Especially when as I said you do have an overabundance of women in romantic centric roleplays. And people who solely make female characters to ship them with someone else. So therefore these characters aren't really going to be interested in interacting with characters who aren't the object of their affection. Which in turn makes people dismissive of these kinds of characters.
So it's probably just bad experiences honestly. People associate female characters with bad past experiences and so avoid them.
d1uni5ys24si3o
One Thousand Club
Lol, biggest pet peeve would be roleplaying with an ethot who makes everything between you and her out of nowhere.
I guess it's like; I've noticed the majority of roleplayers I've met are women (not aaaall before people start) and people tend to prefer playing what they know, so, lots of female characters. (Romance is kinda the genre where you're encouraged to be really self indulgent so it's cool, I get it.) So for those wanting to do romance RPs with straight couples, a lot of them wanna play the female and partner up with a male character, and don't want to be the male character. With 1x1s that's fine because you're only role-playing with one other person so it's easier to find a partner that fits
It becomes a problem for me when it happens with group roleplays though; esp if they're not inherently focused on romance. People want to play the female character and partner up with a male, and it results in like.. lots of female characters who are only interested in interacting with the dudes, and are apathetic about any OC that's not a man. It's sorta annoying, esp bc I personally don't c a a a r e about romance lol
(Side note, I had to say "female characters" so many times in that because 'women characters' doesn't sound right and i hhate the word female, so this hurt me)
It becomes a problem for me when it happens with group roleplays though; esp if they're not inherently focused on romance. People want to play the female character and partner up with a male, and it results in like.. lots of female characters who are only interested in interacting with the dudes, and are apathetic about any OC that's not a man. It's sorta annoying, esp bc I personally don't c a a a r e about romance lol
(Side note, I had to say "female characters" so many times in that because 'women characters' doesn't sound right and i hhate the word female, so this hurt me)
d1uni5ys24si3o
One Thousand Club
lol ik and the groups that focus on having a very fix male to female ratio as if other genders and sexualities dont exist!! Like hello????? HELLO???? If this aint a fucking tv show roleplay, why is it important???
YESSS exactly! I was gonna include a thing about that but my post was already getting too long lol. Lots of people straight up ignore that some of these characters are gonna be nonbinary, or their characters are going to be women interested in other women, stuff like that
d1uni5ys24si3o
One Thousand Club
yeah, but then again roleplays in general lack diversity (although, the last two years ive seen a bit more variation').
I remember when i started roleplaying EVERYONE wanted to play the pretty blonde blue eyed girl and the cool fuckboi blonde looking fuckboi.
Guilty as charged, ive played those stereotypes but i immediately stopped when i noticed EVERYONES CHARACTER Was literally paris hilton wannabes.
like i legit remember the names of the faceclaims people used the most LMFAO
d1uni5ys24si3o
One Thousand Club
rae2nerdy
left site
I think it's not so much "play what you know" but play what you can project yourself into. For those people who are focused on romance they will play straight females or gay males because they want to be able to project themselves into their characters during the romance.
I would say for people who are more platonic based (such as myself) there is less of a strict adherence to a specific gender. Because if there isn't any romance than it is pretty easy to just project yourself into whatever character and go along for the adventure. Like if I'm already playing in a world populated by superheroes what difference does it make if my particular character is male/female/nobinary/etc? Not a single one.
This also I think ties into lack of diversity as well. I'm not saying that every person who roleplays is a white blonde lady. But they have been conditioned by media to see white blonde lady (or man) as the ideal character. And since they want to play the idealized version of themselves they'll make the character white blonde male/female. (Or really just white, as other hair colors do get their due.)
Brea The Brave
Senior Member
Well in most role plays a good portion of the participants end up being heterosexual and the reason I see some people do this is because they don't want a situation where one or a small group of people are being harassed because literally, everyone is trying to get with them for some reason. Like I had a friend who couldn't really enjoy an RP because most of her interactions consisted of warding off male advances like she couldn't even enjoy her fights which she's really good at being creative with her fighting because most of the fights, if it was a dude, would turn into a creepy "If I win you'll be mine" situation or flirting in the middle of the fight I assume they do this so people can have more options and you don't into a situation where one person feels like all they're there for is to be everyone's crush or only has enemies because their crush likes you and not them...I felt so bad for her.
And I quote, the cool fuckboi blonde looking fuckboi.
I can't even lol lol.
d1uni5ys24si3o
One Thousand Club
qfquiweh I ALWAYS DO THAT!
like i cant even.... i always repeat myself. FINE YOU'VE FIGURED ME OUT! IM like a rambling mess on the loop in my head just fucking ticking time bomb lmfao
That's a good point, I think romance is one of those genres where even though you recognize that you and your character are separate - there's an element of like, y'know, you're doing it to get like the.. How do I put it, the excitement (???) that comes with romance stuff. Sure, your character could be completely different from you so it's not a self insert, but you still get the satisfaction from role-playing that scenario. Like I said before, it's one of those genres where you're usually encouraged to be sort of self indulgent and like "what if that were me tho"
So.. tl; dr that stuff results in lots of women playing characters who are women
d1uni5ys24si3o
One Thousand Club
OMG ANOTHER PET PEEVES --> people that roleplay as themselves.
Brea The Brave
Senior Member
The super suspicious character who is automatically distrustful of the secret villain despite having absolutely no reason to mistrust the secret villain who somehow figures out their plan despite absolutely no clues to said plan being left lying around and always has to follow the secret villain because they don't trust them despite having any reason not to.
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