Other Roleplay Pet Peeves

[Kumii]

That is always such a downer in Roleplay stories. I had recently been trying out a story with someone and they would post five words if I were lucky. After telling them I was through with it they claimed they could post longer and proceeded to post a sentence and a half. Yeah, its longer. But its still not going to cut it.

That's just them being a smartass it feels like lol

 

[apolla]

I get it, no one's perfect, but-- these are mine.

1. When someone obviously doesn't read something I wrote, usually in my rules but in the posts themselves sometimes, too. It's like-- why did I even type that out, then?

2. People who assume I will play a guy for them. Now don't get me wrong, I love romance roleplays-- doesn't mean that's all I want in the roleplay, just means it's an aspect I enjoy. In 95% of my roleplays, I will double. But there are certain roleplays/times where I just want to play a female. I state that (going back, again, to people who don't listen/read what I write) in my rules though.

3. People who make the story all about their characters. I roleplayed with someone on here a few years back who was an excellent writer. Everything was going great at first. And then, the bad guy was going strictly for their female. I tried to do something with my female, and instantly she was shot down in favor for their girl. Shit irritated the hell out of me.

4. People who get mad when I ghost. I have a fucking life. I roleplay for fun. Granted, I am on here alot, but I still have a husband, a family, and a real life job. I also don't like to be mean, so if we start roleplaying and I don't think the RP is gonna go anywhere, I don't want to say that I hate your writing or anything of the sort. So I ghost. I've been told that people talk about me on this site for that, and it made someone 'uneasy about roleplaying with me'. Then don't, sweetheart. If someone ghosts me I don't hunt them down and pester them for a reply. I pull and Elsa and let it go.

5. The fact that when I say I want romance, I have to say 'but not insta-romance' or some bullshit. In some instances, insta-romance is okay. Of course if you're writing an in depth story/roleplay, there's gonna be build up and drama and other things. Why do I need to put a disclaimer on my preferences? Still on romance, what's wrong with wanting to roleplay it at all? I feel like some people seriously look down on people who roleplay romance, and it's quite annoying. Roleplaying is all about preferences, right? I happen to like romance. If you don't, move on. I double mostly because it's fair as quite a number of people on here rp romance and wanna be female. I don't roleplay as just a guy because it's boring for me, and I'm honest with people when I say that. But yes of course I will be a guy for you if you're a guy for me. It's just... nice, I guess?

6. People who double and obviously put more effort into their preferred character. It's obvious.

I think those are the big things... I don't wanna ramble on too much (ha, I already have) but those were the first things that came to mind.

 

[Platypus]

4. People who get mad when I ghost.

Honestly, that's fairly reasonable. Sure, you got stuff in irl that has higher priority over rping, who doesn't? But it's still kind of a jerk move to ghost people. Just tell them stuff has come up and that you aren't able to rp with them anymore.

 

[rae2nerdy]

apolla

When people look down on romance. They aren't looking down on the romance genre in and of itself. They are looking down on the people who use it as an excuse to create their own self-insert (power) fantasies. (which I believe ties into your insta-romance gripe)

Basically people who make their own little self insert (female) character who is the center of attention and exists only to be fawned over and adored by the object of her affections.

Now there is nothing innately wrong with this. Look at Twilight that is basically a self-insert fantasy where the shy nobody gets to be fawned over by a pretty *~*magical*~* boy who love her so much he's practically obsessed with her every move.

This can be flattering to feel like your character (and by extension yourself) are the center of someone's universe and the most important thing to them.

The problem is that roleplay is a collaborative medium not a novel.

So that means that the person who gets suckered into playing the "Love Interest" to your self insert super special avatar has to do the emotional work of building up you and their character. It's a very one sided romance usually with one person being fawned over and the other person being the fawner.

And even in the cases when both characters are equally fawned over they're about as interesting as Cardboard.

Which brings me into the second reason people HATE the self insert fantasy style of romance.

That is because it usually means one or both of the characters are Pretty Lampshades.

Which is basically a character that is so useless and one-dimensional that they could be replaced by a pretty lamp and nothing of important to the story would change.

As someone who swims in the 1x1 sea I have run into those kinds of characters and roleplays so often that it's totally turned me off romance. I just got sick of being the person who had to tell Player X that they ( I mean their character) where the most special, pretty, popular, amazing individual to ever exist.

Like no. I am not hear to constantly be building you and your character up for the whole roleplay. It's exhausting and frankly really boring for me.

 

[apolla]

apolla

When people look down on romance. They aren't looking down on the romance genre in and of itself. They are looking down on the people who use it as an excuse to create their own self-insert (power) fantasies. (which I believe ties into your insta-romance gripe)

Basically people who make their own little self insert (female) character who is the center of attention and exists only to be fawned over and adored by the object of her affections.

Now there is nothing innately wrong with this. Look at Twilight that is basically a self-insert fantasy where the shy nobody gets to be fawned over by a pretty *~*magical*~* boy who love her so much he's practically obsessed with her every move.

This can be flattering to feel like your character (and by extension yourself) are the center of someone's universe and the most important thing to them.

The problem is that roleplay is a collaborative medium not a novel.

So that means that the person who gets suckered into playing the "Love Interest" to your self insert super special avatar has to do the emotional work of building up you and their character. It's a very one sided romance usually with one person being fawned over and the other person being the fawner.

And even in the cases when both characters are equally fawned over they're about as interesting as Cardboard.

Which brings me into the second reason people HATE the self insert fantasy style of romance.

That is because it usually means one or both of the characters are Pretty Lampshades.

Which is basically a character that is so useless and one-dimensional that they could be replaced by a pretty lamp and nothing of important to the story would change.

As someone who swims in the 1x1 sea I have run into those kinds of characters and roleplays so often that it's totally turned me off romance. I just got sick of being the person who had to tell Player X that they ( I mean their character) where the most special, pretty, popular, amazing individual to ever exist.

Like no. I am not hear to constantly be building you and your character up for the whole roleplay. It's exhausting and frankly really boring for me.

And you know, I get all of that, I really do. Hell, back in my early roleplaying days, I probably did all of that and more. But coming from where I am now in roleplaying, it's awful to like romance and like playing female and automatically be grouped in with the pretty lampshades when I know I can bring so much more to the table. It's why I offer to double-- well that, and I just like playing multiple people. Makes the RP more interesting, IMO.

Btw-- Bella = cardboard. Very good example. XD

 

[rae2nerdy]

And you know, I get all of that, I really do. Hell, back in my early roleplaying days, I probably did all of that and more. But coming from where I am now in roleplaying, it's awful to like romance and like playing female and automatically be grouped in with the pretty lampshades when I know I can bring so much more to the table. It's why I offer to double-- well that, and I just like playing multiple people. Makes the RP more interesting, IMO.

Btw-- Bella = cardboard. Very good example. XD

No I totally get it I have no problem when people ask me for romance. I just tell them - You have to convince me our characters would develop a strong attachment to one another. OR we have to roleplay out like two people who are already in the relationship and actually living together and going about their lives.

None of this - She likes him cuz he's SOOO HAWT. He likes her because she's super speshul and perty.

It's why I love arranged marriages because so often they aren't built on instant lust. They are two people who have no reason to get along finding away to share their lives together. That kinda stuff is my jam.

Or just people being friends and turning into something more. I am like total garbage at writing it but I have no problem with the storyline itself.


As for doubling. I don't mind a person offering to play two main characters and asking me to do the same.

What I have a problem with is someone assuming that just because THEY want romance I have to want romance too.

So it's less - Hey you wanna play two main characters? And more you play Love interest C and D I'll play Love INterest A and B

 

[GoldenSlime]

I hate FNAF romance RPs. The animatronics are ROBOTS they don't have emotions like love. Even if you argue that they're the ghosts of the dead kids, that's still dead KIDS, MAN. KIDS.

 

[-book-dragon-]

Honestly for me its just an over-fetishising of ANYTHING. I've role-played with heaps of guys who fetishise my character because she liked girls or because she is ethnic. It's just gross and I have noticed that with a lot of people who role-play - they just use the role-play to satisfy their own perverse fantasies which isn't necessarily always a bad thing but when it becomes obvious that someone is simply playing their role in order to get my character to play into their fantasy of whatever a queer Indian chick would do (for example) as if my character is constantly going around wearing saris and having secret taboo romances with other girls then it becomes boring and repetitive.

 

[younghaunting]

I'd personally like to role play mentally ill characters, but not in a hospital. I'm curious as to how many people who partake in those role plays have been in actual psychiatric wards themselves. Sometimes the rules and settings do seem accurate but I wonder if that's from extensive research rather than experience. The reason I'm curious as to whether any of these people have been in psych wards themselves is because well, it's very very boring. That was just my personal experience but talking to others I don't think it changes much, at least across my country. I understand since it's fictional everything would be heavily dramatised, but personally it still feels... weird. If you've been in a ward yourself that last thing you'd want to do is reenact that. I totally get playing mentally ill characters, I enjoy it myself as a way to explore my own issues in a safe and controlled environment but why hospitals? Idk, my ward was extremely strict so I guess it's different for different ppl, but I still can't get my head around being discharged and then engaging in make-believe of the same place...​

 

[rae2nerdy]

I'd personally like to role play mentally ill characters, but not in a hospital. I'm curious as to how many people who partake in those role plays have been in actual psychiatric wards themselves. Sometimes the rules and settings do seem accurate but I wonder if that's from extensive research rather than experience. The reason I'm curious as to whether any of these people have been in psych wards themselves is because well, it's very very boring. That was just my personal experience but talking to others I don't think it changes much, at least across my country. I understand since it's fictional everything would be heavily dramatised, but personally it still feels... weird. If you've been in a ward yourself that last thing you'd want to do is reenact that. I totally get playing mentally ill characters, I enjoy it myself as a way to explore my own issues in a safe and controlled environment but why hospitals? Idk, my ward was extremely strict so I guess it's different for different ppl, but I still can't get my head around being discharged and then engaging in make-believe of the same place...​

Most of the people who play mentally ill characters do not have experience with mental illness themselves. To them the hospital is just a setting. Like putting your roleplay in a police station or on a farm.

They don’t necessarily have to have experience actually visiting those places. They might go off what they see on TV or what they can research.

 

[younghaunting]

rae2nerdy yeah, of course. I just know a lot of people who role play mentally ill characters do so because of their own experiences. It simply feels odd after being in a ward to see people actively wanting to role play one. I guess it comes with the glorification sometimes associated with mental illness, and the interest that comes from that. I suppose you could switch it around to the numerous gang role plays that are popular atm and that I also participate in, anyone who has been associated with an actual gang wouldn't see the appeal because of their experience of the harsh reality of it.​

 

[GoldenSlime]

I need something to WORK WITH.
I gave this person a scene where they could've
A) Stood up for my character.
B) Reassured my character.
C) Sat with my character.
D) Interacted with my character AT ALL.
And they didn't. And then they went and sat at the other side of the room. WHAT DO I DO NOW? WHAT am I supposed to do? They gave me NOTHING to work with, NOTHING to respond to, NOTHING AT ALL.
(Btw, this is a 1x1 RP so it's not like I can just have my character hang with someone else. If my character and their character don't interact, the RP's over.)

 

[apolla]

rae2nerdy yeah, of course. I just know a lot of people who role play mentally ill characters do so because of their own experiences. It simply feels odd after being in a ward to see people actively wanting to role play one. I guess it comes with the glorification sometimes associated with mental illness, and the interest that comes from that. I suppose you could switch it around to the numerous gang role plays that are popular atm and that I also participate in, anyone who has been associated with an actual gang wouldn't see the appeal because of their experience of the harsh reality of it.​

While I do agree that mental illness is glorified to a point, from my own experience and from what I've seen, it (people roleplaying mental illness, or rping in a mental hospital setting) could also stem from maybe they have dealt with it. maybe it's a coping measure for their own illness, or an illness someone they know has. its a way for someone to deal with something they may not fully understand. in roleplay, you can generally make things go the way you (and your partner) want. you can create your own character, and if they are a broken character, you can possibly piece them back together during the rp course whereas in real life... it's not quite that easy, or doesn't always have a happy ending.

 

[younghaunting]

Yeah, that was the point of my original post. You can see the second post was just me replying to rae2nerdy .​

 

[apolla]

Yeah, that was the point of my original post. You can see the second post was just me replying to rae2nerdy .​

I might have missed that, I do apologize! ^^

 

[Clocks]

Oooh, that is a good topic.
For me it's certainly:

1. Omnipotent characters.
This goes especially for characters who start as talented in something. But then, story progresses and turns out that they are The Best in another area. And then another. If other character is skilled in something - they are better. If other went through something tough - they had it toughter.
That is especially about characters who immediatelly assume that someone is worse at (pretty much everything) than themselves, unless THEY decide otherwise. I mean, I am sucker for characters that are ace in something. But when one hits such a single-player it sorta feels that everyone else is just supposed to either cheer for them or to be a background to highlight their great talent.

2. Hoarders.
I generally see a group roleplay to be either a bunch of separate scenes connected by main arc, or just one arc and everyone cooperating and aiming for one goal. But sometimes there is THIS person. Someone who must be involved in everything. Everything must revolve around them. If roleplay is broken up into many separate scenes happening between separate characters - they better are in grand majority of them or else. If there are characters undergoing some sort of difficulties - they better be prioritized when it comes to support and comfort.
I understand propritizing everyone in turns, but it really rustles my jimmies when a person decides they are The Protagonist.

3.Twitters.
People who answer twitter style, all the time. I understand that sometimes one has little to add, but it's really demotivating when you write half-page worth of text with lots of feelings and internal dialogue and get. "She nodded in agreement".

4. Game Masters.
It's okay when it's a dice-controlled tabletop roleplay, but sometimes there are people who take the role of game master, just like that. What I mean is: Stuff happens and at certain point someone else decides, what happens to my character.
Something like "And then I find you and take you home.", regardless of what is my plan for the scene, if my character is so to speak "find-able" or if I agree to it. They play a powerfull/influential character and they just do it. No discussion.

 

[GoldenSlime]

Someone comes to me, says "omfg I read you love Steampunk and Cyberpunk let's RP!" I'm like "omfg yes I do that's awesome!' We plan a whole, really cool plot together and then they ask, "Have you seen (insert name of show)?" and I say no because OF COURSE I haven't seen it! IT'S RATED R, MAN. I'M 13. So, I say no, obviously, and they never respond again. Real nice, asshole, real nice.

 

[rae2nerdy]

Someone comes to me, says "omfg I read you love Steampunk and Cyberpunk let's RP!" I'm like "omfg yes I do that's awesome!' I plan a whole, really cool plot together and then they ask, "Have you seen (insert name of show)?" and I say no because OF COURSE I haven't seen it! IT'S RATED R, MAN. I'M 13. So, I say no, obviously, and they never respond again. Real nice, asshole, real nice.

Well they might not have known your age tbf. And They could have been a little uncomfortable roleplaying with a kid. I mean if someone was all “No I haven’t watched R rated show because I’m thirteen” I would nope out too. Especially if I like the R rated show and you seemed uncomfortable with the content

 

[GoldenSlime]

Well they might not have known your age tbf. And They could have been a little uncomfortable roleplaying with a kid. I mean if someone was all

No I haven’t watched R rated show because I’m thirteen I would nope out too. Especially if I like the R rated show and you seemed uncomfortable with the content

They saw my RP search where it says I'm 13. If they didn't read my search, that's not MY fault.
I wasn't "uncomfortable" with any content -.- the show was rated R. what parents would let their 13-year-old watch a show that's rated R? They didn't ask if I'd seen the show until AFTER we did all the plot planning, too.

 

[rae2nerdy]

They saw my RP search where it says I'm 13. If they didn't read my search, that's not MY fault.
I wasn't "uncomfortable" with any content -.- the show was rated R. what parents would let their 13-year-old watch a show that's rated R? They didn't ask if I'd seen the show until AFTER we did all the plot planning, too.

I am merely saying that the way you reacted seems kind of a lot. I mean you can say “ No I’m not familiar with X show it’s a Rated R and my parents don’t let me watch that stuff”

But it seems like you had a strong reaction so they could have been intimidated by your reaction.

I mean I’m kinda blunt so I would have just said bye and left. But I know a lot of people don’t have my confidence.

 

[GoldenSlime]

I am merely saying that the way you reacted seems kind of a lot. I mean you can say “ No I’m not familiar with X show it’s a Rated R and my parents don’t let me watch that stuff”

But it seems like you attacked them for asking you about the show. Which yeah I would leave too. I mean they should have said something sure. Like hey didn’t realize you were so young my bad. But I guess we won’t work out but good luck with your search

I didn't attack them. Christ. I said "no." Literally. They said "have you seen x show?" I said, and I quote, "Nope" I later researched the show and found out it was rated R (MA, whatever, same thing) I don't see how saying no is "attacking" them.

 

[rae2nerdy]

I didn't attack them. Christ. I said "no." Literally. They said "have you seen x show?" I said, and I quote, "Nope" I later researched the show and found out it was rated R (MA, whatever, same thing) I don't see how saying no is "attacking" them.

Well it’s the way your describing it. Like you went off on them for mentioning an R rated show when they could have been unaware of your age.

As I said there are some people who get intimidated and don’t like to cause confrontation so they just ghost.

I don’t mind myself but I can see how it could be annoying.

Personally I hate it more when people just assume that they can add stuff to the roleplay without even asking.

Just randomly oh yeah my character is X person/thing from Y show. I didn’t mention that before posting ? Lol I wanted it to be a surprise.

 

[GoldenSlime]

Well it’s the way your describing it. Like you went off on them for mentioning an R rated show when they could have been unaware of your age.

As I said there are some people who get intimidated and don’t like to cause confrontation so they just ghost.

I don’t mind myself but I can see how it could be annoying.

Personally I hate it more when people just assume that they can add stuff to the roleplay without even asking.

Just randomly oh yeah my character is X person/thing from Y show. I didn’t mention that before posting ? Lol I wanted it to be a surprise.

Um, sorry? I didn't go off on them at all, geez. You completely read into that. -.- I thought we were writing an original plot, which is what it was supposed to be, and I would be totally down for doing something similar to that show but I can't do that exact show because my parents would never let me watch it. I thought they were going to ask to do something similar to that, which I would've been interested in, but no. They ghosted when I simply said that I didn't know of the show. I didn't even have the chance to say that I couldn't watch it, they just asked if I'd seen it and I said no. They didn't even give me a chance to be confrontational.

 

[rae2nerdy]

Um, sorry? I didn't go off on them at all, geez. You completely read into that. -.- I thought we were writing an original plot, which is what it was supposed to be, and I would be totally down for doing something similar to that show but I can't do that exact show because my parents would never let me watch it. I thought they were going to ask to do something similar to that, which I would've been interested in, but no. They ghosted when I simply said that I didn't know of the show. I didn't even have the chance to say that I couldn't watch it, they just asked if I'd seen it and I said no. They didn't even give me a chance to be confrontational.

And I think your misunderstanding. I’m not saying you did anything. I am saying they probably THOUGHT you did.

Like you saying no was seen as confrontational. Not because of YOU but because THEY are over sensitive.

There are people for whom anything can be seen as an attack.

You could say “ No thank you “ and to them you might as well have screamed at them for five minutes .

 

[GoldenSlime]

And I think your misunderstanding. I’m not saying you did anything. I am saying they probably THOUGHT you did.

Like you saying no was seen as confrontational. Not because of YOU but because THEY are over sensitive.

There are people for whom anything can be seen as an attack.

You could say “ No thank you “ and to them you might as well have screamed at them for five minutes .

Well, if saying no comes off as an attack to them then I think I dodged a bullet. .-.
(sorry if I was short, today hasn't been the greatest day and this didn't really help but I probably should've just walked away and collected myself before responding rudely)