Experiences Your Partner vs Your Storyteller

[S h i s h a]

I've come to believe your RP partner can be split into two parts:

Your Partner: Who you plot with and chat with outside of the story itself. You check in and get to know each other on whatever personal level feels best for you both. You come to them with ideas and discuss the future and how things are going at present.

Your Storyteller: Who you write with in-character, your partner's characters, writing style and content.

I've begun to look at past RPs I've taken part of and the ideal partner is both a good partner and storyteller. However I've also come across exceptional storytellers who aren't great on the partnership side, they would write so well but they would be difficult to brainstorm with or they'd always harp on about their ideas and characters, never engaged in yours. Or there's the reverse where you and someone click so well and have all of these ideas but when it comes to execution, their writing isn't so great and it leaves something to be desired.

I've wondered if anyone has noticed this themselves or has another theory or thought when it comes to who you are writing with. You could write well with someone who is kind of a jerk or might be toxic to your mental health. Do you put up with it because the RP is so good? Or do you stick with a boring RP because your partner is such a good person and you want to think it'll work out somehow down the line? Maybe you've found the great partner you've been looking for, they're easy to plot with and respectful but they also write in a style you're happy and comfortable with.

What are people's thoughts on this?

Have any of you stuck with a story even though you weren't totally into it for any of the mentioned reasons above? Or was it something else? I do see a partner as two different expectations needing to be met, personal and professional. I do also understand some people don't want to get to know their partners which I don't mind. But I do think even if your partner doesn't communicate often, do they at least do it well? Just some thoughts that have been rattling around in my head.

- S h i s h a

 

[Onmyoji]

I tend to agree with your theory. There really may be some discrepancy between being 'OOC partners' and 'IC partners' as you put it.
Ideally, both sides should match with your own requirements. And when that happens, those rp are the most enjoyable and last longer.

I have stuck with the story because I liked rp partner as a person, yes. We had fun OOC talk and plotting, but the story somehow didn't click with me enough despite all the plotting. I still continued that rp because it wasn't bad overall, just not very exciting.

If the story and writing are good but the person is toxic - I don't think I would stay. I haven't been in a situation like that but I've seen some examples with my friends. I don't think any story is worth having a "toxic OOC relationship", no matter how good their writing is.

I don't mind having little OOC communication if everything else is good. I had plenty of partners that I only talked about the rp ideas with, and almost never about anything personal, and those were still good rps, because our communication was enough to discuss the story and our writing matched well enough as it was.


TLDR; Yes, I also noticed that!
For me, the ideal scenario is when rp partners match on both writing and personal levels. But *if* there is a discrepancy, I would put more importance on personal communication rather than writing and will be able to put up with not-so-stellar writing or story if we have a good relationship outside the story.

 

[ChessieGirl]

Ive had any and all of these situations. And I think each scenario depends greatly on the writer (partner) themselves.

Ive been on sites where part of the persons 'looking for' ad is 'no OC Chat.' but their looking for was so tempting, I went for it anyway. I have come to learn that I crave at least SOME connection to the person Im writing with. And I usually send along a little 'hello' OC even as stated. Now Im not talking 'Hey there Bestie! Tell me all about your life!' I get that some people just aren't here or chatty chit chat. But I feel there needs to be at least some form of OC chat. Even beyond plotting. For we aren't computer generated players. Our ideas come from somewhere.

But Ive also made some really good friends from Roleplayers. People who I've connected with, through our stories, and subsequently through our RP chat.

On the reverse side, I have had some not so great connections with people on the other side of the screen. Who take what my character does personally. Who demand an outcome to go differently. Who's personal life gets vomited all over my screen, and demanded to be responded to. I find (and it may be the type of writer the above 'no OC Chat' guy above had met previous, which incurred his demand. LOL) it tends to affect our writing. Whether it be my own feelings for the writer, imprinting on the play. Or the play's actions as a result of the writer is a fine line.

Ive been fortunate enough that I haven't really had the scenario where I really connected with the writer, but couldn't enjoy their writing. I do think the type of writer, and the type of connection are closely related with me. Im not intentionally a writer snob. I think more likely its that if we get along and connect, we probably strive to make our story great for each other. So the play is enjoyable, no matter.

Typed with only minor amounts of coffee. I hope it makes sense!

 

[rae2nerdy]

For me it’s always been more about attitude. As even those people who I can’t write with usually end up just being online friends.

I have at least two people in mind.

The first it wasn’t the quality of their writing but how they approached roleplays. They liked to spring “plot twists” on me usually in a passive aggressive way. Like oh I was thinking that my character was actually XYZ even though I said they were ABC. They also tended to assume my characters shared my own political views and would get into political arguments with me OOC. However we got along great when we just casually chatted about our days.

The second one was more of a comedy of errors. We just never seemed to be available at the same time for roleplays. But we chatted pretty regularly for like two years.

So I think for me I look more for people I connect with in the OOC. Even if our writing doesn’t mix we can always be friends and talk to each other when we’re bored.

Whereas is your writing is great but your personality sucks than your not going to be a fun person to be around so why bother?

 

[Idea]

By my experience, though it isn't with the names you've given it, this is a general thing most people have albeit not explicitly already realized. It's really such a huge leap: You want to work with someone who you'll enjoy as a person and as a roleplayer. You want to get along with whomeveer you are working with , but you also want the roleplay to feel rewarding.

There are many different ways to put it, but pretty much that's about something more or less everyone knows. Well, there are the rare cases where someone wants nonuntersction because they feel it will break the immersion, but that's a fringe case.


With me personally, I never stuck with RPs for either of those reasons. No matter how good the partner, if they are a jerk or they can't meet my baseline expectations for writing, I feel no need to keep up a roleplay with them. However, I can at times keep roleplays long past my lack of enjoyment out of a sense of duty, most notably if I'm the one that asked for the RP in the first place.


I do think there are more elements to it than just the two you mention. Namely, one thing I've grown to sunderstand as an RPer is that passion is an important factor. I want my partners to be doing something they WANT to do, otherwise this will have an impact on the roleplay as well. Basically you want a good storyteller and good partner, but you also a partner that wants YOU to be their partner as much as you want them. Who wants to do those things you want to do, out of their own really interest.


I hope you find this helpful! Good luck and happy rPing!

 

[S h i s h a]

Thanks for the feedback and thoughts guys!