Viewpoint Unpopular roleplay opinions?

[Dutch]

See what they're like when they're actually in a long-term thing, and see all the struggles and consequences that actually do come with the burden of having a relationship!

Done this it is very fun and I highly recommend. Started the RP with a couple who was married for years, and a couple still in the "trying to start a relationship" phase and I gotta say the established married pair had WAY MORE DRAMA.

 

[PhoenixMire]

Preach! Cringe culture can go crawl back in the hole it came from. Let young RPers enjoy their self inserts, their tragic backstories, their OP badasses. We all did it and as experienced older RPers we should leave that fun well enough alone!

Honestly...? Yeah. I agree with this. As much as I personally don't wanna RP that kind of stuff anymore, I remember just how much fun it was back when I did it as a young and edgy teen. I dunno if I'll ever recapture how those early days of RPing felt.

Even if we don't like it, and even if we may cringe at it, letting them be is not only harmless - it's a good thing. Let the kids have a childhood lol

 

[Dutch]

PhoenixMire I feel like there is a lot of negativity and arrogance in the community it drives me nuts. I agree I will never be able to reproduce what I did back in the day, but I'm also trying to be less critical, less arrogant of my experience and let the young kiddos have their self indulgent fun. Which yes I much different from what I think is self indulgent now, but I have no place to tell them that their enjoyment is wrong, cringe, lower class, or lesser just because I have 18 years experience and they don't.

 

[HavocandBobo]

Unpopular roleplay opionions.. hm, lemme think.

~How about all of the people who would rather only play a female character other than a male, and if they have to play a male then they prefer to double. I mean, seriously? I get liking one gender over another, but only wanting to play your favorite gender and double with the other?
~I love fandoms and all that, but how about when you have like 5 or 7 posts back to back and all of them have Harry Potter, Twilight, etc. Instead of having multiple people doing one fandom, why can't they find someone else who wants that same fandom so there isn't so many?

Sorry for rambling.

 

[Dutch]

Many people demand proper grammar and punctuation, but most couldn't point out the errors in the first place. So don't worry if you misplace a comma or use a run on sentence, people probably won't notice let alone say anything!

 

[rae2nerdy]

I would agree, but I've not actually managed to progress in a (RP) romantic relationship to the point where things simmer off a little bit. I can imagine it though! I think it'd be nice to get to the point where the characters aren't constantly lovey-dovey with each other, and to see how exactly they help each other improve as people on a regular basis. It'd be really cool to see what their regular dynamic is, as opposed to their rose-tinted one during the "crushing" stage. See what they're like when they're actually in a long-term thing, and see all the struggles and consequences that actually do come with the burden of having a relationship!

Exactly. I mean I just don't understand why that kind of thing is so unpopular among romance roleplayers. I would think if you're playing out a fantasy of love you would stick with it to continue on through the crush stage into the married/wedding stage at the very least. Having participated in a few weddings and helped my sister plan on. That stuff is drama central. So many opportunities for fun roleplay shenanigans.

 

[mechablue]

Having some numeric standard in a group, fight-based RP is important to prevent power creep and to keep things fair. If things are purely abstract and based on the "logic" of a fight, the winner in any disagreement will usually be the person who is closest to the game's staff because their logic will be seen as more creditable.

 

[rae2nerdy]

Unpopular roleplay opionions.. hm, lemme think.

~How about all of the people who would rather only play a female character other than a male, and if they have to play a male then they prefer to double. I mean, seriously? I get liking one gender over another, but only wanting to play your favorite gender and double with the other?
~I love fandoms and all that, but how about when you have like 5 or 7 posts back to back and all of them have Harry Potter, Twilight, etc. Instead of having multiple people doing one fandom, why can't they find someone else who wants that same fandom so there isn't so many?

Sorry for rambling.

I mean for the fandom not everyone is interested in the same type of stories. A lot of people for instance like to look for their favorite pairings. (ex. Play Bella for me I'll play Alice for you). Some like to redo the plot of the canon with different characters (ex. Let's do Hogwarts story with original characters). Others might want to take elements of the canon and tell a completely AU story (ex. I want to do a roleplay involving Aurors but set in America in the 1970s)

So a lot of times what happens is people will look at what's currently available in terms of the fandom then when they don't see anyone offering the idea they want they'll make their own search.

 

[HavocandBobo]

I mean for the fandom not everyone is interested in the same type of stories. A lot of people for instance like to look for their favorite pairings. (ex. Play Bella for me I'll play Alice for you). Some like to redo the plot of the canon with different characters (ex. Let's do Hogwarts story with original characters). Others might want to take elements of the canon and tell a completely AU story (ex. I want to do a roleplay involving Aurors but set in America in the 1970s)

So while a lot of times what happens is people will look at what's currently available in terms of the fandom then when they don't see anyone offering the idea they want they'll make their own search.

That makes a whole lot of sense now.

 

[Wert]

I like dialogue. I mean I really like dialogue. There's nothing wrong with characters who don't talk a lot, or can't talk at all, but I love writing communication between characters even if it's cheesy.

Another thing, I like making characters with relationships that are established before hand as much as I like introducing my characters to new people in their own ways. To me, it's really enjoyable to have characters with pre made, rooted friendships, or romantic relationships, that can be observed and either grown or torn down over time.

 

[Dutch]

I like dialogue. I mean I really like dialogue. There's nothing wrong with characters who don't talk a lot, or can't talk at all, but I love writing communication between characters even if it's cheesy.

Oh gosh yes. Me too. I love a good dialog / conversation scene they're hella fun to write.

On the note of not talking I played a mute character once, he was so much to play, mostly because he ended up being a very physical character using touch, movement and alternative ways to express himself (outside of sign language of course). I just loved the physicality of the character.

 

[Wert]

Oh gosh yes. Me too. I love a good dialog / conversation scene they're hella fun to write.

On the note of not talking I played a mute character once, he was so much to play, mostly because he ended up being a very physical character using touch, movement and alternative ways to express himself (outside of sign language of course). I just loved the physicality of the character.

Oh, that's really cool. I can't say I've played an entirely mute character before, but it sounds like a good challenge.


Another thing to add. I like subtle expression/communication in roleplays, too. Basically body language, small ticks or habits that someone does involuntarily when they're nervous, confused, or happy. Could also go with someone changing their style of clothing as their mindset changes over time. Things of that nature. I can't say I see this very often, but I'm not sure how unpopular it is.

 

[Tove]

I like dialogue. I mean I really like dialogue. There's nothing wrong with characters who don't talk a lot, or can't talk at all, but I love writing communication between characters even if it's cheesy.

Me too.

 

[Jaeger010]

"If you don't know anything about _________ topic, you shouldn't write about it in a roleplay" No. You're wrong. People should be able to write whatever the hell they want in a roleplay without worrying about being factually accurate. (And yes, if you're thinking that I also mean mental illness as one of these topics, I do think that people should be able to roleplay illnesses and disorders without having to keep them accurate. I do not believe that is offensive at all because it's FICTION...It's not real. What they're writing is NOT. REAL.)
Roleplays are literally supposed to be works of fiction, some of which take place in worlds that do not exist with things like extensive space travel, fantasy worlds, the paranormal, etc. I think it is utterly ridiculous to expect someone to keep certain topics realistic, and it's even more ridiculous to say that people shouldn't roleplay about certain things if they don't know anything about how they work.

Fiction is harmless, and I believe that having to stress about keeping certain things realistic or accurate just makes a roleplay boring and stressful.

 

[Marisathief]

Romance main plots and romance inclusions in RP is valid. Resulting in beautiful character driven story telling full of fun twists and turns that are both engaging and completely fulfilling to write/read. Anyone who complains about its commonplace in the community needs to check themselves. Romance isn't an invasive nuisance that ruins roleplays and is as common now as it was 20 years ago.

Spoiler: Additional spicy take

I think dudes are pissed because girls won't RP their macheesmo hetro power fantasies. Preferring queer romance with all it's accompanying cliches and tropes OR soft, harlequin style female drive romance plots where the male learns to bend and change for the female lead. And now romance is bad and the entire forum will hear about it!!!!

Honestly: I'm a chick and I never liked romance. I agree with your spicy take but I personally just hate how hard it is to find a roleplay that's focused more on story rather than romance. Or even worse they were interested in my plot driven rp just to flirt with every male character with more than a single line of dialogue.

 

[Dutch]

Marisathief This is a general statement on the way I've seen romance as a genre talked about and treated on RPN. I don't dismiss anyone for their reasons why they don't want to roleplay romance. I wrote it more so as a statement on how romance is so much more than just " U w U *kisses* XD *nuzzles neck* " the way people who shit on the genre tend to generalize and treat the subject.

As if romantic love and romantic themes can not possibly be any more dynamic than two 12 year olds faffing around in a thread.

Like it or not the genre is far more nuanced, dynamic and engaging than people give it credit for and the themes, subject matter and plots that derive from "romance" give real dimension to characters, stories, relationships and are not implicitly "swoon over character" narratives. Romance can go beyond just two people looking to get dicked down.

Now that isn't to say individuals haven't had really bad experiences where their romantic narrative was a bag of hot dog shit. I will attest to those situations happening. However, I have had entire stories involve romance and still be grand scifi space opera epics.

I just think romance gets a real fucking bad rap and people are really mean about it on RPN sometimes. And I want people to know it's totally a valid, awesome, fun and engaging genre with a hell of a lot to offer . . . and it's okay to love it, RP and want it like it's cocaine!

And sorta why I think at least on RPN it's a unpopular opinion, as clearly people really don't care for romance here.

 

[Marisathief]

Dutch You weren't kidding! You really had some pent up rage on the subject!

 

[Dutch]

Marisathief I really do. I really love romance, I read it all the time, I write it all the time. It makes my little world go round where stories are concerned and it means a lot to me!

 

[Marisathief]

Dutch I think one reason for the rage against it (and yea I agreed it's unjustified in a lot of instances) is how prevalent it is in the roleplaying community in general, not just RPN. It's genuinely difficult to find a roleplayer who advertises themselves with strictly non-romantic story hooks outside of the tabletop community. It sometimes feels like people are unaware that they are allowed to focus on anything other than romantic relationships between the characters. Like they're missing out on a lot of fun of they dipped their toes out of their comfort zone just a hair.

 

[Marisathief]

Something that genuinely irritates me:
Arbitrary gender requirements.

1) People who write strictly as one gender. There are completely valid reasons for this, like for example, in a romance. Like if you're a female and would feel icky playing a male by all means, play a female. You're here to have fun not feel icky, no one wants that. But some people, I feel, are really limiting their writing potential as a whole. If you want to write a good story you really should know how to write more than just one gender. You're putting all your potential in a teeny tiny box and it's killing me.

2) People who require you to be one gender. Second verse same as the first, if you're trying to enlist people in your space pirate roleplay I shouldn't have to be any specific gender. That's garbage. The story isn't inherently romantic and your roleplaying partner shouldn't be your character's romantic partner by default. And if it isn't for romantic purposes than why? There's no excuse for that.

 

[Crayons]

Dutch I think one reason for the rage against it (and yea I agreed it's unjustified in a lot of instances) is how prevalent it is in the roleplaying community in general, not just RPN. It's genuinely difficult to find a roleplayer who advertises themselves with strictly non-romantic story hooks outside of the tabletop community. It sometimes feels like people are unaware that they are allowed to focus on anything other than romantic relationships between the characters. Like they're missing out on a lot of fun of they dipped their toes out of their comfort zone just a hair.

I have to say, as a newcomer to the site, it surprises me how many 1x1 interest checks on here are purely romance focused (e.g. "I want werewolf(m) X vampire(f), the werewolf is my crush") rather than anything else. I've never really encountered so much of it elsewhere.

 

[Dutch]

Crayons That is ALL I have even known RP sites to be like. Seriously, I've been RPing 18 years and it's basically how the community is. I can link to more that are than are not. I would love to see the places that aren't.

Marisathief I know I'm going to start a riot (possibly) but hear me out. I know "not all women" applies here, but I'm making a sweeping generalization (on many fronts) there will always be outliers to contradict this.

I think a majority of Lit/PbP/Paragraph RP communities are female dominated and the stories female RPers often tell are very character driven (again "not all women" applies, I am aware). So it isn't surprising that romance and romantic theming is very popular in stories about emotion, personal struggle, love, loss and the big one relationships. Stories about characters, not so much about the world around them, lend themselves to being very suitable to narratives about relationships; be it romantic, platonic, or my favorite a combination of both.

Now we all know for sure that fandom shipping circles are very female dominated and the areas they dominate also are rife with romantic theming, if you look at AO3 a vast, disproportionate amount of stories involve romantic theming. And I wouldn't be surprised if Lit/PbP/Paragraph RPing has part of its origin in fandom; I can't prove it.

I think tabletop communities are still very straight male dominated, making romance divergent tablestop stories less common (they exist I am sure). Not only because of the male dominance of the hobby, but the fact that many tabletops have historically been war games or dungeon crawlers lending itself to a far more adventure, action, political and world driven story.

 

[Marisathief]

I hate it when the assumption is that all women must like romance by virtue of having a vagina. Like I wasn't aware our lady parts had a taste in literature or pop culture narratives.

AMEN

 

[Crayons]

Crayons That is ALL I have even known RP sites to be like. Seriously, I've been RPing 18 years and it's basically how the community is. I can link to more that are than are not. I would love to see the places that aren't.

I've been at it for 20, but you know what... I have very rarely found RP through 1x1 interest checks, so maybe that's the difference. Usually it will be - here's a forum/group, I join it (or make it). I find person/people I enjoy playing with... and that's it. XD

 

[Marisathief]

I've been at it for 20, but you know what... I have very rarely found RP through 1x1 interest checks, so maybe that's the difference. Usually it will be - here's a forum/group, I join it (or make it). I find person/people I enjoy playing with... and that's it. XD

That's more than likely the case.
I'm not a big fan of roleplaying in groups and I've been roleplaying online since the early 2000s. Every site I've encountered is mostly 1X1 checks for romantic or fetishistic stuff. Feels like rolling a boulder up a hill.