Other What are some of YOUR red flags

[StuartAnderson]

I thought i'd flip the discussion on it's head! We all have them; things that we do that may put others off. what are yours?

I love OOC chat
- I love making playlists, sending memes etc about the rp
- Partners have to be willing and able to play side characters and NPC's (I do too, i'm not making them do all the work!)
- I know nothing about anime which rules out a lot of roleplays (and i'm not keen on anime/drawn reference pics)
- The only fandom i'm confident doing is criminal minds
- I hate canon x OC pairings
- I like slice of life

 

[nerdy tangents]

As a note I would maybe change the title to “why do you think people turn away from your requests.” Or something like it (it’s early and I’m notoriously bad at coming up with titles).

Mostly because the way it’s worded now makes it seem like you’re asking people what makes them turn away from other peoples requests.


But to answer the actual question it’s kinda hard to say for sure since obviously I don’t set out to turn anyone away from my search threads. But through past experience I would say the following requests turn people away ;;

1. Romance must be slow burn. I am not confident in my ability to portray rom com style meet cutes (despite being a romance novel fan).

2. I will not write characters who have pre-existing relationships with each other ( with the exception of estranged family members ). So no “our characters dated for six months prior to the roleplay beginning” or whatever.

3. I do not ship characters. I don’t mind writing romance as long as the first two points are followed but I am not the kind of person who thinks of her characters in terms of pairing them off. They are fully formed people separate from relationships.

4. I do a lot of world building and I tend to give large paragraphs of lore in a single chunk. I am trying to learn how to give tl:dr but it’s a work in progress.

5. I have specific headcanons for my fandoms. I am attempting to hold back on them until requested specifically because they seem to be the most common reason people leave my roleplays.

6. I do a lot of brainstorming. I refuse to start a roleplay without extensive planning and questions to ensure my partner and I are on the same page. This is often a turn off for people who want a quicker start to the roleplay.

Edit ;;

Remembered a few more

7. LGBTQ+ superheroes or superhero stories that are about every day life and not punching bad guys.

8. Non canon storyline in fandom roleplays.

9. Anything to do with the treatment of women, marginalized people, or deconstructing racism in fandom setting specifically.

 

[RuRussy]

Interesting premise.
- I like Gm'ing more than being a player, because it allows me to tell more stories. and roleplay as different characters.
- When I'm a player I always rp as someone with a mysterious backstory or suspicious personality because I crave a twist, and staying as a single-layered character bores me.
- I make up lore for everything when I'm a GM, so I apologize for story bombardments and too many details when they come.
- I don't like quickly romanced characters, or characters that are shipped beforehand. I like it slow and steady.
- When my characters are not interacting with someone, I like to give a long internal monologue.
- I don't like roleplaying as teenager unless I'm a GM that needs to, or if they can be 18.
- I get put off by characters that need babying or constant hand-holding
- If there is a campaign that has something to do with powers or tech, I pick a seemingly weak or mundane power that I exploit into becoming the most powerful.
- I prefer to roleplay as support characters rather than fighters.

 

[Edric Blight]

Seems to be a HUGE turn off for people so I’d say my “red flag” is that I enjoy slice of life RPs.

I also will not double anymore.

 

[Onmyoji]

I think after this thread no one will rp with me. Oops

- I tend to get very busy irl. And I mean extremely busy. To the point I can't remember my own name sometimes, let alone have energy to rp. Usually that means huge breaks in rp. Which sometimes kills the rp entirely. Yes, I may ghost but it's usually unintended.
- I only do 1x1 and never do groups.
- I like planning too much. Sometimes it gets in the way a bit. Yeah like planning how the rp will end before it even starts.
- My style of writing. I'm capable of writing a lot but I don't want. It's the path I've chosen. Although even one-liners are 300 words minimum. I can't write too little either lol
- I'm mostly a fandom roleplayer and I rp niche fandoms. Moreover, I prefer to rp canon characters. And as the final nail to the coffin, I prefer to rp canon ships.
- I tend to rp a few specific genres and not much else. Also I have a few 'default' character types I enjoy playing and not really willing to step out of my comfort zone.
- Tooth-rotting fluff. Romance may be optional but fluff is not.
- I hate modern settings. It applies to both original plots and fandoms. None of my fandoms are in modern setting and I don't enjoy modern AUs for them.

I think the first point in this list is the worst and I'm sorry if I let some of you down.
I truly appreciate my rp partners that stayed with me despite all that

 

[floripher]

- i don't rp fandoms with people online.
- oc x canon instantly makes me close out of an interest check.
- ooc chatter is my lifeblood
- if you send me an anime fc i am Simply not going to reply most of the time. i'm not sorry lmao we are writing a 1930's crime duo your character's faceclaim is not katsuki bakugo!!
- i will randomly disappear for weeks / months at a time. no i am not ignoring you. my brain decided it was time for throw me into a psychotic break and i'm too busy keeping myself alive to write.
- my inconsistency in length. i have been known to exceed the character limit over imessage and i am completely able to write novella style long ass replies but. i simply do not want to. lol. if you get more than 2000 words out of me on the regular you are special.
- all my characters are disabled in some way and they're not going to Suck it up. sorry if u don't like that but i like playing diverse characters and i'm not changing for you xoxo
- groups >>>>>> 1x1. finding people to rp 1x1 is So difficult for me. shoutout to those who put up with me 1x1 xoxo
- i straight up will not write with anyone under 15 i dont know irl. i can tell if ur not 15. idk what this influx in obviously too young users is anyway

another shoutout to my rp partners and people i've met through groups. i heart u guys sm

 

[Yuel]

Things I noticed throughout the years:
- I write too little and most of the time I forget interesting things I wanted to add to the scene.
- I hate romance. Period.
- My urge to play comes from the want to do specific scenes. I know jumping straight to a few seconds before the scene happens is preferable but I can't not go through what my character did that week, who they met yadda yadda until we get to the scene... And I'm tired after all that fluff.
- Some artistic styles can turn me off completely, mainly things you can find ok tumblr and deviantart.

 

[Calyx]

My biggest one is probably that I'm a weaboo.

That red flag aside, I prefer to use anime-styled, artistic, or written descriptions. There is something that makes me personally uncomfortable about using real people as my faceclaims though I know that has become more popular in recent years, so I imagine that it isn't doing me any favors. Other red flags. . I don't look for romance, I'm open to writing canons though against writing them as love interests for my partner's OCs, my slow as molasses response time, and that I'm only looking to write one fandom (nothing original) at the moment.

I'm sure that I'm missing some, but I just woke up, so these are the ones that I can think of.

 

[A Sparkling Zombie]

I like half-orcs. Who in their sane mind likes half-orcs? Only someone insane, obviously.

What's with the gawdy formatting with my interest checks? Like omg, can't even.

The fact that I occasionally show my ass on this board.

 

[Jannah]

I'll list mine. In no particular order:

1) I'm simply garbage at coming up with plots. I just usually have character ideas or a basic setting I want to use and then hope a story develops from there. I also have pretty niche interests, which doesn't help.

2) I don't really believe any subjects should truly be taboo or off-limits in writing. I also don't shy away from exploring these subjects (things like real world social issues, drug use, violence, etc.) in my stories as I believe writing to be a relatively safe medium in which to do so. That can be a bit touchy for those who are more sensitive about these things.

3) I don't do MxM romance. I used to, but I've gotten so burnt out on it. I know MxM is extremely popular in the RP community and some players write it exclusively, but it's not really my thing. In a similar vein I only write cis characters. I have tried to write trans characters in the past. I cannot do it, nor do I have much interest in doing so from a narrative point of view.

4) In 1x1's I don't do face claims, character sheets, or code. For some that is definitely a dealbreaker.

5) I like RP's that take place in non-western settings. I know a lot of RPer's like to stick to what they're familiar with so will choose settings like North America and western/central Europe (or at least settings inspired by those places), but I like to broaden my horizons. I have an interest in world cultures and always have. Writing I believe can be a safe way to explore these settings and even teach myself about some of the cultures in the process. And yes, I'm always respectful about my portrayal of marginalized cultures. I do the necessary research.

6) In fandoms I have a strict OC x OC only rule. This is always non-negotiable.

7) I have a pretty unpredictable posting schedule. Sometimes I can post multiple times a day while other times it can be months until I'm able to post.

8) Once I get a specific vision in my head for how I want a story to look I have a hard time budging on it. This can make collaborating with others a frustrating task at times. I have been ghosted for this in the past and I fully admit it's my fault. The creative differences are a very real issue, especially for the stubborn sorts among us.

 

[The Dark Wizard]

Seems to be a HUGE turn off for people so I’d say my “red flag” is that I enjoy slice of life RPs.

I also will not double anymore.

Some of my Slice of Life RPs are really popular. I love them too xD

 

[Jet]

I can be a real bastard

 

[ambien]

i can be slow/get behind on PMs or replies. mostly due to certain circumstances in my life, or my neurodivergence, but i do understand this can inconvenience some or be frustrating.
personally, i don't mind if my partners are the same as me in this regard.
depression is a muse-killer, what can i say?

 

[Celestial Water]

I’m slow… at everything I do. Lol
I see all these great RPers and wanna RP with them all… get overwhelmed and crawl back into the darkness whence I came... trying to be more responsible in this area -cringe-
My muse dies if I‘m exhausted or obsessing over something irl. It’s annoying...
I’m antisocial in the beginning and may or may not initially show excitement; depends on my mood that day. But if I showed interest I‘m definitely hyped aha
I only play male main characters.
Sometimes I have trouble knowing when to shift/change scenes. This is the MOST confusing part in a RP and my biggest weakness.

 

[Pretty Little Creature]

Like my red flags?

I'm a yes man through and through its a curse and blessing.
I rarely rarely rarely do romantic plotlines with other characters anymore. ( Just my own..)*hides*

 

[xxtheghostking]

it didn't use to be, but as of late, ghosting.
I get busy, I get uninspired, and I just don't know how to tell the people. OR, even worse, I leave a rp thinking I'll want to get back to it after a while, only when I turn around months have passed and now I'm too embarrassed to talk to the person again... so I just ghost them...

 

[Steve Jobs]

-I typically do not reach out unless it's about RP stuff. I'll respond but I won't protectively start up conversation
-I don't reply equally to RPs, it's based on my inspiration.
-I whip out profiles faster than posts
-I do not check my PMs as much as Discord

 

[WhiskeyMarten]

I think the main one is that I do not have a consistent posting schedule, I can sometimes write a reply within an hour, but sometimes life and bad brain gets in the way so it takes 1-2 weeks instead. Of course I'd be up front about this though. I also don't reply to rps in order of urgency if I'm feeling particularly inspired to write something less important first.

 

[nerdy tangents]

So something I have noticed recently is that I have a hard time conveying my ideas properly. I apparently come across much more aggressive than I intend to OR I ramble too much and confuse people.

 

[GrumpySwallow]

-I do not decorate my posts. If others like doing that, it's totally fine, but I refuse to do it. I'm old school; I never needed "pretty posts" to enjoy a RP and I see no reason to start decorating them now.

-My posts are as long as they need to get my point across. I don't have a set post size.

-I'm not interested in romance RP, especially in Fandom RP. I will not do Canon x OC pairings. Even if a character I'm playing has a canonical love interest, I tend to imply the relationship rather than outright RP it.

-I have no problem delving into darker, more mature subject matter in RP. I'm also a RPer who doesn't believe any subject should be taboo for writing. Real life can be very harsh and unpleasant. So long as everyone is on the same page, let's get dark!

-As a GM, I am very loose and hands-off. For post requirements, all I ask is for a post to be readable and have enough material to respond to. We've all been new once, and I'm sure a good chunk of us have started Forum RP using one-liners and asterisks for actions. I want my RPs to be accessible to new RPers, or folks who have a harder time with spelling and such. So long as the RPer is making a genuine effort, I'm okay with less than stellar spelling or grammar.