Experiences What's one RP trope/topic that makes you leave without discussion?

[StrixDesmodus]

I don't know if it's a trope as much as it is annoying, but I will generally nope out if another person's character is beyond ridiculous for the setting. Some GM's will crack down on stuff like that, but others let every Tom, Dick, and Harry character skate by and join even if said character is totally out of place. For example, I once joined a WWII roleplay wherein someone was allowed to join as a magical anime loli. I disappeared from that RP faster than a fart in the wind.

Is it weird that I'd actually like an rp based on characters not fitting the setting? Like, obviously it's not ok to just do it if it's not planned, but I'd love to see something like a legit wizard winding up in a cyberpunk setting or whatever.

 

[CherryTart]

Doubling turns me away whenever I see it advertised, specifically doubling that only occurs as an "only if you." Instead of a roleplay feeling like socially writing a story with another person it turns into something transactional. The mindset of "I'll do this plot if you double with this other plot." shows that clearly one of the members has zero interest in a the rp and only wants to do it to keep their partner hooked for their plot.

I'm okay with doubling if both parties actually want to do each separate plot or explore other facets of a world through different viewpoints, but when it's clear that neither wants to do their partner's plot then it is time to end that rp and find partners with similar interests.

 

[Murdergurl]

Is it weird that I'd actually like an rp based on characters not fitting the setting? Like, obviously it's not ok to just do it if it's not planned, but I'd love to see something like a legit wizard winding up in a cyberpunk setting or whatever.

I had (many, many) years* ago thought of how out of sorts it would be to have a D&D-esque setting, except that as the adventurers delve deeper into a subterranean dungeon, the walls give way to sleek metal and eventually they find themselves in the guts of an ancient starship. Their bio-signatures triggers the security systems to boot up and fight them.

*I say "many, many" because I'm not sure how long ago. But 3.5 was the current edition of D&D. lol

 

[yutohase]

Wow... I'm sorry you guys have to deal with these things. For me, it's more simple. I nope out if it's overly dark and edgy, or if it gives off those undertones. Especially if it's a good concept but the players make it edgy.

 

[cool memes]

Never did get doubling. It is a clever solution for a hobby too full of a certain type of roleplayer and not enough of another, two wrongs don't make a right though.

To bring a new dealbreaker to the table: no plot is worth a partner who requires a sample post. Groups where everyone has to as quality control before they come in and make friends are fine, searchers who make it optional or include their own are fine, but to demand one 1x1 from a potential partner is bad news. Really, you can't tell if someone will be a match or not by, oh, I don't know, talking to them? Their pitch to someone else matters more than their pitch to you? I know answering any ad is sort of a tryout, making it into an actual tryout sets a tone for a relationship I want no part of and is, to borrow from the thread, an abusive dynamic.

If anyone reading this demands samples and it works out I'm happy for you, no need to tell me about how you make people submit a demo reel before they can be your friend.

 

[BakaTheIdiot]

What's one RP trope/topic that makes you leave without discussion? Like, you don't even bother asking if they can change their post/character if it involves XYZ.

For me it would be (teen) pregnancy. Not at all a "weird" topic in general, I just don't want to get involved with it at all. It makes me so uncomfortable.

Or someone wanting to write in first-person, rather than third. I want there to be a clear difference between character and author.

Don't fight in the replies, yo. This is all based on personal experiences. To each their own.

*inhales* ...oh no.

Anything to do with drugs, anything where one of us is an abusive partner, and then there's doubling.

I try to be open to harder topics, especially regarding trauma, but those are my exceptions. They hit a bit too close to home.

As for doubling... I once knew a dude who played - and this is not an exaggeration - 13 characters in the same roleplay. At one point, simultaneously. I think it goes without saying, but never, ever do this. It's incredibly difficult and honestly at some point it just starts being a roleplay with yourself.

On a slightly more relevant note, doubling is HARD. Staying in perfect character with two completely different characters is already hard for someone like me. I'm awful at multitasking.

 

[Milkshake Crush]

As for doubling... I once knew a dude who played - and this is not an exaggeration - 13 characters in the same roleplay. At one point, simultaneously. I think it goes without saying, but never, ever do this. It's incredibly difficult and honestly at some point it just starts being a roleplay with yourself.

That's not even doubling anymore omg

 

[Murdergurl]

To bring a new dealbreaker to the table: no plot is worth a partner who requires a sample post. Groups where everyone has to as quality control before they come in and make friends are fine, searchers who make it optional or include their own are fine, but to demand one 1x1 from a potential partner is bad news. Really, you can't tell if someone will be a match or not by, oh, I don't know, talking to them? Their pitch to someone else matters more than their pitch to you? I know answering any ad is sort of a tryout, making it into an actual tryout sets a tone for a relationship I want no part of and is, to borrow from the thread, an abusive dynamic.

Abusive dynamic? Seriously? Wow. Calm down, yo. This isn't a "relationship" we are getting into. It's a writing project. I think it's perfectly reasonable to ask and submit writing samples to show your style. Clearly, you haven't had to go through the effort of setting up a large worldbuild just to recruit someone who promises something they absolutely don't deliver. This isn't a personal attack on the other person. This isn't some kind of ego trip. It's just a process so that everyone gets what they are looking for. And to be fair, I give writing samples as readily as I ask for them. I have even written them up on the spot if it was asked of me. Tbh, it's kind of fun to do that. It's like a writing exercise.

If anyone reading this demands samples and it works out I'm happy for you, no need to tell me about how you make people submit a demo reel before they can be your friend.

Firstly, I ask for a writing sample. I don't demand it. This entire premise of online roleplay is an optional hobby. No one is obligated to anything. I long ago realized that people have a great variance in their writing style. Asking for samples is just a way of determining what kind of writers each other are. It saves time and cuts the chit-chat. If that offends you, well I'm sorry for that but I'm just trying to safeguard all parties involved from wasting each others time and effort. I mean, WHY do you think people get ghosted so much? It's partly because they aren't compatible and they just jumped into an RP together without vetting one another.

Secondly, who said anything about making friends? We're all just writing here. No need to get personal and close with one another. Can you imagine how harrowing it would be to try and befriend everyone that contacted you for RP? That'd be ridiculous! Personally, I've never been one for making online friends. I'm friend-ly, but I'm not a friend. Ya know what I mean? I'm just here for the joint narrative and prefer to keep ppl at arms length.

 

[Murdergurl]

...As for doubling... I once knew a dude who played - and this is not an exaggeration - 13 characters in the same roleplay. At one point, simultaneously. I think it goes without saying, but never, ever do this. It's incredibly difficult and honestly at some point it just starts being a roleplay with yourself.

On a slightly more relevant note, doubling is HARD. Staying in perfect character with two completely different characters is already hard for someone like me. I'm awful at multitasking.

I don't like to "double". Like, sometimes I will make a supporting character to my main.

NVK Space Opera

S̸̟͛̋͘o̸̲̝̬̮̠̦̪̅́ȕ̴̝̻̼̼͍̖̹̐͛n̷͉̤̣̙͈͊͗͝͠d̴͇͖̗̺́͜ ̶̣̀̑ơ̸͕̺͙̺̞͑̐̀̏́̿̈f̷̡̭̗̪̼̪̮͍̃͂̋͋̂̚ ̷̢̜̣̩̦̬̮́̓̀̈́̐̈ţ̸̬̭͍͖̝̝̻̮̮̈̚ḣ̵̢̟̱̘̠̙͐̔̐̎͛̌̋̆̀͜ë̵͖͍̬̫́͜ ̸̨͍̙̫̰̙̮̭̳̞̍F̶̢̡̦̙̞̦͔̜̈́̍͋̇u̸͊͋͐̉̅͋͜t̷͉͔̞̓̍̔͘u̸͇͕̭̪̝̥̻͕͙͈̐̂̇̀̈́̎͒ȓ̸͖̠͎̦͖̝͖̑̉e̵̲̪̥͋̏̂͗͘ Nadia Valerie Kosakova " The Ghost of Ursa Major " Statistics »Spe...

docs.google.com

^Nadia has her droid partner, Jeff.

Jinkka Two Stripes

♫ Goblin Barbarian and Troublemaker Extraordinaire ~ Statistics ~ Age: 20 (Human equivalent to early 30s) Height: 94 cm Weight: 19.6 kg Eyes: Feral Black Hair: "Black as midnight, black as pitch. Blacker than the foulest witch.” ~ Background ~ Jinkka hails from lands within the Gr...

docs.google.com

^and Jinkka has Nuk'nuk, a cockatrice animal companion

For the most part, I'm content and comfortable with just my one character. But "doubling" usually implies that you are going to make a character specifically for some kind of counterpart to the other person's character. The idea sounds awfully clunky and forced. But I don't really have to worry about this a whole lot because it's typically only asked for in 1x1s. Playing multiple characters in Group RPs is almost always optional (IF it's even allowed).

 

[cool memes]

searchers who make it optional or include their own are fine,

Abusive dynamic? Seriously? Wow. Calm down, yo.

And to be fair, I give writing samples as readily as I ask for them.

Firstly, I ask for a writing sample. I don't demand it.

Wow! To be fair you didn't read the "Don't fight in the replies this is all based on personal experiences" part of the OP either.

 

[Murdergurl]

Wow! To be fair you didn't read the "Don't fight in the replies this is all based on personal experiences" part of the OP either.

I did read it. I'm not fighting. These threads are meant for discussion. I didn't think I was being uncivil. Disagreeing, or offering counterpoints is not fighting. I'm not name-calling or berating anyone. It would be weird to go into a thread and expect everyone to just chide in with agreement. Lest we all become "yes-men". lol

 

[Hootle]

I did read it. I'm not fighting. These threads are meant for discussion. I didn't think I was being uncivil. Disagreeing, or offering counterpoints is not fighting. It would be weird to go into a thread and expect everyone to just chide in with agreement. Lest we all become "yes-men". lol

I don't necessarily agree with some of what they were saying and that's fine. You may not agree with it either which is also fine. But it is their personal experience, from what I understand, as the OP did mention.
From what I got from the message, it seems to be more about those who straight up just demand writing samples. I could be wrong. Whatever. Just seems like you are jumping down their throat instead of maybe not replying to it because you yourself don't do what they are talking about.

 

[Merciless Medic]

With all due respesct, cool memes , I read it as Murdergurl defending those who do ask for sample posts and to set herself apart from the group you dislike. xD She's just a bit more forward and I don't think she meant anything wrong by it. But I do see some misunderstanding here. xD

I can see why you think the way you do, cool memes. I personally like doubling because then my own ideas can have the spotlight and I can work with my own characters and feel more invested that way. Most of the time, doubling occurs because it's a canon x oc relationship and the other person wants to have a canon x oc relationship. It's just sharing, however not everyone is suited for it and that's fine. It does take a lot out, especially if the other person asks for you to play a canon character that you aren't used to or don't know how to play. Sometimes, people ask for the weirdest things too. The only time I'll ever not indulge in the doubling is when my RP partner and I vibe so well and I love the canon character so much that I don't even need to use my own character too much or have her be in the spotlight as often. The only time I'll ever not do an RP who asks for doubling is when they want to do stuff with teacher/student relationships. Like, actually teacher/student relationships that are supposed to be romantic, not the kink two consenting adults share and they never had a teacher/student relationship before. It's gross. xD Power imbalances for me have to be done right and, if it comes off as abusive, I'm not doing it.

As for the hot take, I can see why you say that. I can't personally say I've done it on a 1x1 before, but the times I was tempted to asking for one was because I had a hunch that the RP partner might not fit with my RP style and I didn't want to get invested only to realize it's not working out. It's jarring to do multiple paragraphs, only to have a response be a few sentences. That's just me personally, and I won't bash people for writing less. If their posts are succinct and well done, no matter the length, I'm fine with that. I tend to write a lot and be incredibly detailed, I tend to write multiple conversational topics between the same two people in the same dialogue and that's because I can't stand writing one paragraph or waiting to continue the conversation because I have ideas and I'm going to forget them or the conversational topics won't come up again because of the way it works, so I want to have some level of control with it. I do a lot of inner character monologue and inner character monologue lets me gauge how their character works, and it makes me more invested in their character and, therefore, the RP. Plus, I usually write characters who are super intuitive and can read people incredibly easily, so not having people explain what's going on behind their character's actions makes it harder for me to continue the RP. I don't want to make my characters seem like an ass because they assume something of their character, and then the RP partners get upset with me. xD Not because I can't handle my characters acting like asses (I like playing as asshole characters or give them mistakes in their intuition), but I don't want my RP partners to get a bad taste in their mouth when they read my post. xD

If I do demand a sample post, I usually include my own and make sure the other person is okay with how I write because I understand that my writing style isn't for everyone. My level of detail can cause those who try to invest to become anxious as they feel like they have to match my level of detail or length (which I don't want them to). Sadly, I can't tl;dr my posts or make them smaller without doing a lot of hard thinking on my part and I'm doing this for the story and to have casual fun with plots. If it requires too much effort to lessen the amount of words I have in my post, I may not be suitable for that person and that's how that is.

There are many people I mesh well within a conversation, but those same people I don't mesh well with when we're roleplaying because our posting styles don't match and we both get frustrated. We may have the same RP ideas and plots, but if our styles don't mesh and we can't compromise (I have a hard time doing that as I am rather resistant to change due to a possible disorder I may have that makes it very difficult to change without getting super anxious, or that could just be how I have been for a while lol), then it won't work out.

However, I would like to know why you think it's an abusive dynamic. Is it because it feels more like they are incredibly controlling and you feel like they're going to micromanage your posts or just generally be a nuisance with whatever you put? Because if that's the case or similar, I can definitely see that and why you'd drop out faster than a sack of rocks. XD LOL Like, I can understand leaving the OOC as business transactional for the purpose of keeping people comfortable and to not get too invested in a person who may ghost or you may see the true colors of and you don't want to get heartbroken, but I am of the person who does like to make friends with my RP partners so it isn't awkward. XD LOL

I am curious as to your personal experiences as I can tell you were affected very strongly about it and I'm sorry if you were put in a position that caused such strife. I can understand how bad it can feel as I've been through that before. It's not fun having to feel like you can get somewhere, only to feel like you have to "qualify" and the person on the other end makes it clear that if you don't make the cut, you can't RP with them anymore or at all or talk to them at all or even completely ghost you and puts you on an Ignore list.

 

[Murdergurl]

Yeah, what Merciless Medic said. I said my bit, I defended my stance. But I won't aggravate the situation more with any continued comment on the subject.

 

[Whisker]

Is it weird that I'd actually like an rp based on characters not fitting the setting? Like, obviously it's not ok to just do it if it's not planned, but I'd love to see something like a legit wizard winding up in a cyberpunk setting or whatever.

Oh yeah, that's completely fine. It's one thing if it's planned and everyone's cool with it. It's quite another thing if the GM is just a complete doormat and refuses to do any kind of Q&A in regards to the roleplay.

 

[c0urier]

My big one I avoid is big group RPs where everyone brings in canon characters from different universes. It almost always ends up where most of the characters are from major fandoms and end up cliqued up together, and it can be hard to get folks interested in a more obscure character or an OC (if they're allowed at all).

 

[cool memes]

With all due respesct, cool memes , I read it as Murdergurl defending those who do ask for sample posts and to set herself apart from the group you dislike. xD She's just a bit more forward and I don't think she meant anything wrong by it. But I do see some misunderstanding here. xD

Thanks. I defended those who ask for sample posts too, and went out of my way to draw a line between when I think it's okay and when it isn't, which didn't stop her from misunderstanding and getting aggravated, yes, "more forward" is right.

When I say sample demands can be an abusive dynamic 1x1, the first (of many) things that come to mind is I've just known people who've quit the hobby over anxiety of auditioning for strangers, so I don't want anything to do with that even if I have to inconvenience myself. No doubt the "here's mine now show me yours" crowd has an easier time of things (I did say searchers who make it optional or include their own are fine) but still no thanks, I'm happy to have more partnerships that don't work out in exchange for the ones that do never starting with a tryout.

Of course, everyone values all of this stuff differently and that's fine. Hopefully no-one else takes assumptions about me on a joyride.

 

[Spoiled Bread]

a WWII roleplay wherein someone was allowed to join as a magical anime loli

Oh, lol. That person must have watch too much Tanya the Evil XD

For me, the thing that turns me away is free sandbox. The type of roleplay where the players make different characters to fill the setting and then all play their own story without any guide from the GM at all. It's just never work from my experience, most players would have a hard time connecting their characters with each others and once the first wave of ghosting come most relationship will crumble. The exception for this is when players already know each other well before said sandbox RP.

 

[Murdergurl]

For me, the thing that turns me away is free sandbox. The type of roleplay where the players make different characters to fill the setting and then all play their own story without any guide from the GM at all. It's just never work from my experience, most players would have a hard time connecting their characters with each others and once the first wave of ghosting come most relationship will crumble...

Yep. I can attest to this from my own experience as well. W/out a guiding entity to spur the group along, they bumble with meeting one another and then... there really isn't anything to do. So the players quickly disappear one after the other. I still try joining in on these if it is a premise that I really like. If for no other reason, you will find other people that like same stuff. If (when) the freeform sandbox fails, you might be able to organize with each other into something that works.

This is also essentially what happens when a GM assembles a group, and everyone gets their characters in and starts up. But then the GM goes missing not long after it starts and the RP dies. I've been in more than a few of those situations, and it really sucks because you never really see it coming.

 

[Syntra]

Anything even tangentially related to slice of life or school settings. No offense to the people who are interested in these things, but I literally can't imagine anything less fun than sitting down and writing that out. The mere idea fills me with dread.

 

[Onmyoji]

Modern/realistic setting. I don't want to write about what I can see and experience normally, let rp be my escape from all that

 

[nerdy tangents]

Also somethings I forgot ;

1. You must be a specific IRL gender. It just kinda makes me uneasy (especially if paired with romantic pitches).

2. You must respond at specific times (usually with a snarky comment about how the OP can reply at these times so you should naturally be able to as well). Like that’s not how scheduling works my friend. But go off I guess.

3. Also when people have specific face claims they want me to use. Super creepy red flag.

 

[c0urier]

3. Also when people have specific face claims they want me to use. Super creepy red flag.

Yes! And when they talk about them like "I have a Henry Cavill I'd like to pair with an Angelina Jolie"
I get that they're just casting a movie in their head but it feels like what they really want is the celebrity and not an individual character someone else made. I'm always happy to find a RL faceclaim for my chars but I feel weird about being told who they should be.

 

[Whisker]

Anything even tangentially related to slice of life or school settings. No offense to the people who are interested in these things, but I literally can't imagine anything less fun than sitting down and writing that out. The mere idea fills me with dread.

If RPN had the functionality to give more than a heart, I would drop it for this.

 

[eirastrid]

Romanticized abuse. I don’t mind writing about darker topics or exploring unhealthy relationship dynamics - I think it can be really interesting and I really enjoy it - but I keep seeing it protrayed as a romance. Just, no! If you’re writing about those topics you need to treat like how it is - horror. Stalker character? Kidnapper? Terrifying, not hot. Treat it as such. It just feels so disrespectful to those topics and to people who’ve actually dealt with that. Making a victim fall in love with their abuser is just straight gross. Stop having them get together and having a ‘happy’ ending. Yuck. Along that vein, if I see the word yandere, I’m out. I’m gone. Nope.

Also fandom rps, anything with pregnancy, anything that’s just straight realistic slice of life (it’s boring to me) just because I’m not interested in those topics. Anything with cop main characters (ACAB) , or involving big age gaps (again, stop romanticizing awful power inbalences) is also a no for me.