Experiences Things that instantly make you drop an RP
- Thread starter thebigbadwolfy
- Start date
rae2nerdy
left site
As I said you could try posting it in the group or pming the people your talking to directly. Visuals tend to catch people's attention a lot more than text. Especially if they're just browsing through the OOC. It's why I said it's a good fix for people who don't read actual posts which seems to be your problem.
DanTheMan
New Member
When the RP has a serious or more realistic tone and too much cartoonish, implausible stuff happens.
Cares
On UK Time
When their ideas are just ridiculous.
Or someone wants to RP something ridiculously unrealistic and write with bad grammar. No thanks.
There has been a time where someone tried TOO hard, they’d even drawn a layout plan for our current setting on an A4 page with little annotations on, and I was just so put off by that. It’s like it was limiting what I was seeing mentally, and making it their own. Nope.
Or someone wants to RP something ridiculously unrealistic and write with bad grammar. No thanks.
There has been a time where someone tried TOO hard, they’d even drawn a layout plan for our current setting on an A4 page with little annotations on, and I was just so put off by that. It’s like it was limiting what I was seeing mentally, and making it their own. Nope.
gh05t
Junior Member
'Doubling' for the sake of romantic connections. I don't feel those things should be forced, and I certainly don't feel like I owe anyone a character who they deem is romantically suitable for theirs. Unless the role play has a focus on romantic relationships, but even then... meh.
I'm not quite sure how to put my finger on the second one. I guess if I feel some sort of disconnect from my partner(s). For example, if there is little to no chat or discussion OOC, or in a group situation, where it just feels like people are throwing OCs in willy-nilly without any regard for the circumstances or the OC's suitability for the setting. It can feel like a desperate effort for someone to facilitate precisely what you want to happen instead of a collaborative story.
I'm not quite sure how to put my finger on the second one. I guess if I feel some sort of disconnect from my partner(s). For example, if there is little to no chat or discussion OOC, or in a group situation, where it just feels like people are throwing OCs in willy-nilly without any regard for the circumstances or the OC's suitability for the setting. It can feel like a desperate effort for someone to facilitate precisely what you want to happen instead of a collaborative story.
AdrianS
I Saw Seven Birds
Hmm....
- When people think that the things you roleplay or have in your character reflects your actual values and what you condone of in reality.
- People who only RP straight cis characters.
- People who want to rope you into torture porn and have you do all the work so their character can cry and whimper.
- When people think that the things you roleplay or have in your character reflects your actual values and what you condone of in reality.
- People who only RP straight cis characters.
- People who want to rope you into torture porn and have you do all the work so their character can cry and whimper.
Miscellany
New Member
Really, that last one you could apply to a lot of situations, like antisocial characters who force you to keep the conversation going regardless of whether either of you has a reason to. I assume this is also the reason that arranged marriage rp is popular, the plot does the work of forming the relationship (not that two strangers forced into a romantic relationship doesn't have the potential to be compelling but I've seen enough where it's just instarelationships the end)
Little iffier on the second though; If you don't have the experience of being LGBT(whatever letters you shove on the end) then I imagine it is hard to get into the mindset of someone who is.
gh05t
Junior Member
LGBTQ+ works, the actual abbreviation is really long.
I'd be inclined to respectfully disagree with you, though. As writers and role players we usually do at least a marginal amount of research on topics and lore before we write about them, so it would be reasonable to expect a decent writer to be able to research and portray a character from a different perspective; be that sexuality, culture, sex, gender identity or what have you.
Now, if you had said some people just don't want to play characters in the LGBTQ+ bracket, then that's another thing. Preference and ability are totally different.
rae2nerdy
left site
Yeah I don't think that's it. The rampant fetishization of homosexuals in romance roleplays pretty much puts lie to that theory.
I think it's more a symptom of what I think is the root cause for all of
AdrianS
issues. Simply put - people who don't understand that a character and an avatar are two different things.
A character is a made up individual who exists to fulfill a function in the plot.
An avatar is the roleplayer placed in the story with whatever cosmetic changes they want to add to make themselves more special/relevant/important/etc.
The problems they were talking about pretty much all come up when someone doesn't realize that most people roleplay using characters who are totally made up creations designed to fit the plot. Instead they assume that everyone else just makes avatars to take part in stories like them.
rae2nerdy
left site
I wish I could give you like fifty million stars for the bolded section. It is exactly why I hate with a fiery passion romantic "doubling". I mean people can claim until they're blue in the face that is has to do with fairness and keeping things equal and all that rot.
But at the end of the day it is basically just Person A dictating to me which characters I have to play to fit THEIR wants.
I mean it's one thing to just ask someone - hey do you mind playing two characters? I have this idea that requires X number of characters.
It's another thing entirely to say
So I want you to make this male crush for my female character.
And then I'll make a male crush for your female character.
Won't that be fun?
Um no Becky no it won't. I do not want to have to play two different characters who are forced to have crushes on your characters because you want to create some kind of rom-com YA trope "romantic" story.
gh05t
Junior Member
rae2nerdy
Absolutely! I would have so much more respect for someone if they were at least up front about why they're looking for doubling (that doesn't mean I'll be convinced to role play with them, but eh). No matter what thinly-veiled excuse of 'fairness' and 'diversity' is thrown at me, I can see right through it like pantyhose.
Honestly, that's pretty much a guarantee to get me to switch off on you completely. I love romance as much as the next person, but I don't need it and it certainly isn't why I role play, so as soon as the conversation becomes 'how can we engineer this relationship' I can pretty much guarantee not much else is going to be fulfilled. What happened to... you know, playing our OCs because we've put so much love and creativity into them, why do they have to be hellbent on being in a relationship? Isn't it so much better when it happens naturally anyway?
I think I'm showing my age here, haha.
HeathertheGamer
Princess of Everything
What I find incredibly annoying is "I only play males/females". It looks inflexible and lazy, especially because most RP has multiple side characters. I have done RPs where I was pulling the strings with all the side characters, and it ended up not being fun for me since my partner would only play their main character.
rae2nerdy
left site
Absolutely! I would have so much more respect for someone if they were at least up front about why they're looking for doubling (that doesn't mean I'll be convinced to role play with them, but eh). No matter what thinly-veiled excuse of 'fairness' and 'diversity' is thrown at me, I can see right through it like pantyhose.
Honestly, that's pretty much a guarantee to get me to switch off on you completely. I love romance as much as the next person, but I don't need it and it certainly isn't why I role play, so as soon as the conversation becomes 'how can we engineer this relationship' I can pretty much guarantee not much else is going to be fulfilled. What happened to... you know, playing our OCs because we've put so much love and creativity into them, why do they have to be hellbent on being in a relationship? Isn't it so much better when it happens naturally anyway?
I think I'm showing my age here, haha.
And the really frustrating thing? They don't ever actually roleplay the RELATIONSHIP. I've offered that as a compromise before.
Like *sigh* fine if you absolutely insist we can have our characters be dating and they sort of team up as a quartet to save the world in time to make the 12:30 reservation at Olive Garden. or you know whatever plot relevant shenanigans come into play.
But you ask the people to actually roleplay a romantic relationship where the characters you know interact like people in love and actually do stuff together as romantic partners.
Nah.
Get thee gone with such tom foolery.
And i'm like. uuuugh. You just... But...ya know what fine. I'm out.
Sea Jay
Tord kin loser
When the interest check is a fucking novel
AdrianS
I Saw Seven Birds
I love your entire sentiment, but that sentence and the sentiment it represents alone cleared my skin and watered my crops. Life is great and my day is made.
AdrianS
I Saw Seven Birds
I understand how it can certainly seem that way, but at the end of the day, a GLBTQ+ individual is just a person.
gh05t
had it right by saying some modicum of research should go into any character when you're deviating from a culture, background, or upbringing different from your own. I think avoiding writing a character one don't really understand from a personal standpoint holds a writer back, and makes for a very bland cast of characters for others to play with.
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rae2nerdy
left site
Also the people who don't roleplay things outside of their own experience tend to just be making avatars and not characters. By which I mean to an extent everything they are creating is just a way to put themselves into the story.
Your mileage will vary on whether or not you consider this a good or bad thing.
Personally I don't mind it as long as the person understands that MY character is not ME. That just because my Character does/says/thinks X doesn't mean I necessarily agree.
Your mileage will vary on whether or not you consider this a good or bad thing.
Personally I don't mind it as long as the person understands that MY character is not ME. That just because my Character does/says/thinks X doesn't mean I necessarily agree.
AdrianS
I Saw Seven Birds
I agree. I think I personally have the inclination to be uninterested if the ONLY thing a person RPs is an avatar, even if it's just multiple facets of their own self. For me, no one person could possibly but that interesting.
salty_ moustachio
thug . life
I have found that people who have Mary Sues change just enough that they think their character is unique and quirky and not them.
Like their character will have a profession the roleplayer really wants to try but has never done.
Or has pretty red hair when the roleplayer is a brunette.
Or has had x trauma happen to them which the roleplayer hasn't experienced.
That way they fool themselves into thinking they have not created a self insert but the poor souls who roleplay with them can tell there's something not quite right about their "unique, quirky" character.
AdrianS
I Saw Seven Birds
I think for new writers Marys and Garys are appropriate stepping stones. We ALL started with some awful, OP, quirky special unique characters and that's fine. So long as the writer grows, and expands their character making repertoire.
rae2nerdy
left site
Well a Mary Sue is wishfullfillment. It's basically writing the best version of yourself and passing it off as an original character. It's why they don't necessarily bother me in and of themselves. I'm not going to dump on someone for making the best version of themselves and putting it into a roleplay.
I will however dump on that person if they make the entire roleplay experience basically - Look how awesome I am ! Don't you think I'm just the coolest? It's like so totally not like in real life where I'm invisible and no one knows who I am.
Like those kinds of stories are fine. But only when it's a solo narrative.
They don't really work in a collaborative form where everyone is supposed to get equal screen time so to speak.
rae2nerdy
left site
Or they don't and they just learn that those kinds of characters are not appropriate for a medium which requires characters to share screen time.
AdrianS
I Saw Seven Birds
I think I would count that as 'growth.' But yeah, those writer need constructive feedback and time to digest and come to terms with it. It's not an easy process.
salty_ moustachio
thug . life
I refuse to believe that.
Haha. I started with playing canon characters in different fandoms. It was years before I played anyone original.
I think that's one of the markers.
If someone absolutely cannot play a canon character of any kind then there's some red flags IMO.
