Experiences Whats making you angry today? Rp pet peeves

[rae2nerdy]

"Write what you know."

I already live my life. Why tf would I want to write characters that are basically me? Sure, I can understand the intention behind this mantra which (I assume) is to encourage people to not write things they don't understand (such as certain mental illnesses) but that has less to do with "writing what you know" and more to do with being a good writer in general. If my character has any hobbies, skills, mental illnesses, etc. that I am not familiar with... the first step is always intensive research to make sure it's being portrayed correctly. That should always be the first step, particularly when dealing with sensitive issues.

This whole phrase is like a creative cage. I'm intensely grateful that when I was starting out with writing I didn't hear this one. You're not going to grow creatively if you don't get to flex your imagination and put yourself in someone else's shoes. Drives me extra batty when I see people bandying it about and I dearly hope there are no writers out there who actually feel like they need to follow this. Do your research, be respectful of the subject matter you're handling, and write to your heart's content.

I think in some cases though there just isn’t an organic way to do research on a topic. For instance I once had an Australian character. I spent weeks looking up slang and such because I wanted her to have an organic way of speaking.

I still ended up making her a walking talking stereotype which had the one actual Australian in the group laughing their ass off. Granted in this case no one was actually offended but it did show me the gap between actually experiencing something and just looking stuff up online.

Plus for things like sexuality, gender, mental illness, religion, cultural markers, etc there are simply so many variations to the core experience it can prove paralyzing to people.

Im certainly not saying stick to only what you know (I do fantasy roleplays so that would be hella difficult). Instead I think it’s more about asking yourself the following things ;
- Why do I want this character to have X traits?
- Is there more than one example of a character with X traits to prevent unintentional stereotyping
- If you get it wrong don’t be an asshole about it.

(Like pisses me off when people try to Um actually my lived experiences because they don’t fit the narrative they want to believe.)

 

[WildHairedOne]

What makes me frustrated is posting a specific idea and having someone responding saying they're not interested in the idea and want to come up with something else. I posted that specific idea be ause that's what I want to do!

Also triggers. I know people have them due to some trauma or experience. Maybe they get offended easily. I've had my traumas too, but I don't like to leave anything off the table. I feel it limits creativity.

 

[BlackoutThieving]

What makes me frustrated is posting a specific idea and having someone responding saying they're not interested in the idea and want to come up with something else. I posted that specific idea be ause that's what I want to do!

Also triggers. I know people have them due to some trauma or experience. Maybe they get offended easily. I've had my traumas too, but I don't like to leave anything off the table. I feel it limits creativity.

I feel that if you don't understand triggers there's no way you've been seriously traumatized, or you've at least overcome it. For a lot of people it's simply impossible to overcome comepletely. There's lots of people who have PTSD and avoid certain themes because of that.

But yeah, religious triggers like 'no magic' and such can be annoying, as long as they're not dictating it onto your roleplay it shouldn't really affect you though. Everyone can set whatever limits they want for their own roleplays, as long as they don't restrict other people's roleplays.

 

[Crayons]

I still ended up making her a walking talking stereotype which had the one actual Australian in the group laughing their ass off. Granted in this case no one was actually offended but it did show me the gap between actually experiencing something and just looking stuff up online.

People making national stereotypes is kind of a pet peeve of mine, although sometimes it can be hilarious.

I've known a couple of RPers who did outlandish Irish stereotypes - one by imitating the accent badly in the character's dialogue, and one by having their character's bedroom decorated with shamrocks and that kind of thing.

I wish people would just think "people are people wherever they are" and start from that point - THEN add the "local colour" or w/e.

Admittedly I do like making fun of the British stereotypes but I'm allowed cos they're mine. Sips tea.

 

[WildHairedOne]

I feel that if you don't understand triggers there's no way you've been seriously traumatized, or you've at least overcome it. For a lot of people it's simply impossible to overcome comepletely. There's lots of people who have PTSD and avoid certain themes because of that.

But yeah, religious triggers like 'no magic' and such can be annoying, as long as they're not dictating it onto your roleplay it shouldn't really affect you though. Everyone can set whatever limits they want for their own roleplays, as long as they don't restrict other people's roleplays.

I overcame my trauma and I understand it can be hard for some people to do that. If someone tells me they have triggers I politely tell them that I'm probably not the best partner for them. As I said I don't like to leave things off the table. Writing has been a way to help me overcome my trauma, but that's just me though.

 

[M.J. Saulnier]

If you have legitimate triggers, you shouldn't be role playing. The risk of exposure is simply too great, and you need to address that healing process in a proper, complete manner before subjecting yourself to the rigors of RP.

There's a difference between legitimate triggers and stuff that upsets you a lot. The modern human being is far less capable of dealing with emotional trauma, deppression and anxiety. This is a very real, observable phenomena, and we can't ignore it anymore.


Do not RP until and unless you're healthy enough.

 

[rae2nerdy]

People making national stereotypes is kind of a pet peeve of mine, although sometimes it can be hilarious.

I've known a couple of RPers who did outlandish Irish stereotypes - one by imitating the accent badly in the character's dialogue, and one by having their character's bedroom decorated with shamrocks and that kind of thing.

I wish people would just think "people are people wherever they are" and start from that point - THEN add the "local colour" or w/e.

Admittedly I do like making fun of the British stereotypes but I'm allowed cos they're mine. Sips tea.

Oh the problem was I wasn’t trying to use stereotypes at all. I looked up multiple sites for Australian slang and dialect because I know enough to know their different but not much else.

So it wasn’t behavior so much as for example how a loo and a toilet are the same thing just different dialects. That was what I was going for.

It was definitely a swing and a miss but the other person was really nice about it. They actually gave me a list of some proper slang words and advice on the dialect.

Said it gave them a good laugh so it was all fine.

 

[Becker]

As a Brit, I dislike it when non-Brits roleplay my people's stereotype to the extreme ~ to the point where it's obnoxious.

We don't all drink tea and speak the Queen's English, we don't all have dreams about when we were a Empire and it's all we desire, we don't all see ourselves as being all posh and superior.

...

Now that we've gotten that out of the way, if another colonist throws a crate of our precious tea into the river once more.. the Redcoats shall muster...




I'm serious this time... B-..Baka...​

 

[fcllenstars]

As a Brit, I dislike it when non-Brits roleplay my people's stereotype to the extreme ~ to the point where it's obnoxious.

We don't all drink tea and speak the Queen's English, we don't all have dreams about when we were a Empire and it's all we desire, we don't all see ourselves as being all posh and superior.

Same goes with so many other countries for me. Not all Russians drink only alcohol and drive around with tanks. Besides the real-life stereotypes, there are also the fandom based ones that annoy me so much.
Let’s take Harry Potter as an example. Not all Hufflepuff NPCs are super awkward and high constantly, while not all Slytherin have to be brutally bad and evil and all they want is to praise the dark lord. Like, what?!

I think a topic that is also connected to that could be when someone overdoes a character. Yes, I get that Draco is controlled by his family. You don’t have to mention it in every second sentence. Yes, I get that Harry has nightmares because of his connection to Voldemort. Please, don’t mention it every time your OC tells someone about Harry.

Maybe I am just very sensitive with all this, but it really annoys me.

 

[rae2nerdy]

Same goes with so many other countries for me. Not all Russians drink only alcohol and drive around with tanks. Besides the real-life stereotypes, there are also the fandom based ones that annoy me so much.
Let’s take Harry Potter as an example. Not all Hufflepuff NPCs are super awkward and high constantly, while not all Slytherin have to be brutally bad and evil and all they want is to praise the dark lord. Like, what?!

I think a topic that is also connected to that could be when someone overdoes a character. Yes, I get that Draco is controlled by his family. You don’t have to mention it in every second sentence. Yes, I get that Harry has nightmares because of his connection to Voldemort. Please, don’t mention it every time your OC tells someone about Harry.

Maybe I am just very sensitive with all this, but it really annoys me.

So for the controlling families thing that might be in character. My mom had a pretty crap family and she worked it into conversations a lot. I think depending on context Draco might do the same.

Then again a lot of people also don’t realize the behavior their family is exhibiting is controlling. So it’s one of those it sort of depends on the roleplay type things

 

[fcllenstars]

So for the controlling families thing that might be in character. My mom had a pretty crap family and she worked it into conversations a lot. I think depending on context Draco might do the same.

Then again a lot of people also don’t realize the behavior their family is exhibiting is controlling. So it’s one of those it sort of depends on the roleplay type things

That’s true! It’s just usually, that even if it’s an post-war roleplay and Draco’s character has been established as independent from his family, they still mention it in terms of making the character opposite Draco feel bad for him constantly.

 

[M.J. Saulnier]

As a Brit, I dislike it when non-Brits roleplay my people's stereotype to the extreme ~ to the point where it's obnoxious.

We don't all drink tea and speak the Queen's English, we don't all have dreams about when we were a Empire and it's all we desire, we don't all see ourselves as being all posh and superior.

...

Now that we've gotten that out of the way, if another colonist throws a crate of our precious tea into the river once more.. the Redcoats shall muster...


View attachment 689035

I'm serious this time... B-..Baka...​

How do you think your kin across the pond feel? Now, I get that British characters are found far more often in media and RP than Canadian characters, but Canadian stereotypes are so basic and few in number. So little is known about our cultures that when people do Canadians it's all hockey, beer, politeness, and that ridiculous mock-Canadian accent. I really hope at least some people understand that the, "I'm aboot to stir this maple syrup wit me hockey stick" accent is exaggerated, and only found in the northern regions of western provinces like Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Then you have the Quebec (French) accent, the rural East Coast (Irish flavors) accent, and the Newfoundland accent, because they do everything their own way, right down to their own timezone. Most Canadians sound no different than Americans. Tired of reading and hearing Torontonians say "aboot".

EDIT: I'd also like to add that, that accent comes from First Nations and Métis influences over English accents. Could be useful to use and look further into for anyone doing a character from those regions.


At least British characters are usually sophisticated and wealthy.

 

[rae2nerdy]

That’s true! It’s just usually, that even if it’s an post-war roleplay and Draco’s character has been established as independent from his family, they still mention it in terms of making the character opposite Draco feel bad for him constantly.

Honestly that’s pretty in character for Draco himself. He is kind of whiny and I can see him sort of attempting to use that to deflect attention from his own short comings.

Now granted that would be a negative personality trait and shouldn’t be reinforced by other players. But it at least makes sense for him as a person

 

[Becker]

I guess since we're on the topic of stereotypes and such. I have a big issue with people throwing in national stereotypes into entirely different worlds and it doesn't mesh well. Take the Valkyria Chronicles world that's clearly Western European based and thus characters don't come across as Yankee doodle Texan men with a mouthful of chewing tobacco and a vocabulary of various slurs.

...

But I found myself bitterly annoyed and disappointed when characters made for a VC themed RP I took part in had a British themed Paratrooper from a Bridge too far, a American OSS agent with a briefcase and a couple of generic American GIs with grease guns and AR-15's...

Is it that hard to follow a world's demographics?

Edit: My point being, I just don't understand why someone who clearly wants to do a historical WW2 RP decides to force their character into a 'fictional' setting and hopes no-one will notice any discrepancies.​

 

[luvoratorrrry]

No, I'm not interested in the thing you mentioned. I was not interested ten minutes ago, and I do not want to play it now. I've told you my interests. Stop asking me for the same thing after I've ignored you when you did it again and again and again. Take a hint.

Wattpad's a hellsite.

 

[rae2nerdy]

No, I'm not interested in the thing you mentioned. I was not interested ten minutes ago, and I do not want to play it now. I've told you my interests. Stop asking me for the same thing after I've ignored you when you did it again and again and again. Take a hint.

Wattpad's a hellsite.

wait you can roleplay on wattpad?

 

[luvoratorrrry]

wait you can roleplay on wattpad?

You can! I wouldn't recommend it,

 

[Damafaud]

No Karen you can't have an evil god here. No, not even if you make him mortal or weakens his magic BECAUSE THIS IS A REALISTIC SETTING

I slapped 'NO MAGIC' on the top of the character creation rule and yet someone still went and thought 'you know what will mesh well with superheroes? God.'

 

[Crenando]

'you know what will mesh well with superheroes? God.'

I get having rules against that sort of thing based on what you're trying to do but it's not like all of the genre is some hard sci-fi with rules against it.

 

[AngelCloud]

My biggest pet peeve? Whenever you have to go on a hiatus and you come back to only one of your partners waiting for you. Yes that partner is one of the most patient people ever, but if others can't have the patience to wait though a sudden hiatus, then they have a problem. One example is I just got out of a three week hiatus because I found myself terribly sick, and the only person that was here when I got back was a partner that I had known for the last three hiatuses. He's the most patient partner I ever had and one of the best, but it bothers me when none of the others even had the courtesy to ask "hey are you ok?"

 

[memento mori]

Complete and utter disregard for predetermined rules. I’m pretty flexible with my partners, but if I run across someone who tries to contact me for roleplay and they either ignore what I’ve previously posted in my threads, or they don’t seem to want to put in as much effort into the plotting process as I do, I just lose interest near immediately.

 

[Crayons]

I slapped 'NO MAGIC' on the top of the character creation rule and yet someone still went and thought 'you know what will mesh well with superheroes? God.'

Thor will be sad to know that you think he's an outcast.

 

[rae2nerdy]

No Karen you can't have an evil god here. No, not even if you make him mortal or weakens his magic BECAUSE THIS IS A REALISTIC SETTING

I slapped 'NO MAGIC' on the top of the character creation rule and yet someone still went and thought 'you know what will mesh well with superheroes? God.'

I mean technically Diana and Thor are gods and superheroes. So like it’s totally possible to have Superheroes themselves be Gods. Plus it’s a lot like that whole “any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic” thing.

In superhero roleplays there are plenty of characters that are functionally gods because they are so much more powerful than the average person.

Plus magic and superpowers overlap a lot. What is magic really but the ability to manipulate reality on a very limited scale which is itself a super power. I would say if you can make the magic fit the rules of how mutations work in the universe go for it personally.

I mean I’m doing a roleplay with Harry Potter in a roleplay universe and I’m basically just having him use accidental magic as that is pretty much like a mutant ability if you just look at what he actually does. (He can teleport, make his hair grow, and shrink objects) those would be pretty weird abilities unless you realize he’s sort of wish fulfilling for each of these scenarios. So therefore his mutant ability would be “limited (subconscious) wish fulfillment”.

 

[Damafaud]

I mean technically Diana and Thor are gods and superheroes. So like it’s totally possible to have Superheroes themselves be Gods. Plus it’s a lot like that whole “any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic” thing.

In superhero roleplays there are plenty of characters that are functionally gods because they are so much more powerful than the average person.

Plus magic and superpowers overlap a lot. What is magic really but the ability to manipulate reality on a very limited scale which is itself a super power. I would say if you can make the magic fit the rules of how mutations work in the universe go for it personally.

I mean I’m doing a roleplay with Harry Potter in a roleplay universe and I’m basically just having him use accidental magic as that is pretty much like a mutant ability if you just look at what he actually does. (He can teleport, make his hair grow, and shrink objects) those would be pretty weird abilities unless you realize he’s sort of wish fulfilling for each of these scenarios. So therefore his mutant ability would be “limited (subconscious) wish fulfillment”.

True, but I wasn't feeling like dealing with magic and problem with gods. It's not as much as how OP a god can be but more of the presence of one in the RP. There's a god now. Of course that means there are other gods. I'm not too keen into factoring those into the equation. The setting is simply a city overridden by villains. I don't really want to change the world history because gods now roamed the Earth and somehow had conquered China.

 

[Phantom Thief of Hearts]

True, but I wasn't feeling like dealing with magic and problem with gods. It's not as much as how OP a god can be but more of the presence of one in the RP. There's a god now. Of course that means there are other gods. I'm not too keen into factoring those into the equation. The setting is simply a city overridden by villains. I don't really want to change the world history because gods now roamed the Earth and somehow had conquered China.

I don't know how realistic the RP is when superpowers are a thing.