Other I'm still in shock but it seems silly doesn't it?

[xpstitch]

I was on another rp site recently and a person stopped responding for a long while. Later I finally get a response but one that just shocked me to my core. It was a message from a relative of theirs informing me that the person I was roleplaying with actually died about a month ago....

I was just in shock... Like... It seems silly because I didn't even know them in real life but I'm still just... Like wow... I know only their close loved ones have the right to feel anything about it but I just can't help myself....

This person was absolutely a JOY to rp with and just to know they are gone is... It's absolutely chilling to the core. Most people ignore the mortality of the people we roleplay with and when one rper drops off the face of the earth you just assume they got busy or something and that's why. One never stops to entertain the possibility that some of those people who perhaps "ghosted" or just dropped out of all knowledge from you may have actually passed away.

There are some around as rpers that despite any barriers imposed upon us by the sheer anonymity of the internet, we grow to at least somewhat care for and admire. Most people who never reply again are simply assumed to have gotten busy. I believe my situation was a rare exception in that the mystery imposed by their disappearance was cleared up in one very tragic and unfortunate way. I asked if the news given to me was just a very serious and unfunny joke. I was replied with an unfortunate 'no'. I'd actually LIKE to think this was simply a bad prank. I really sincerely wish I knew that to be so. I'd LIKE to think that my dear friend with whom I rped such a BEAUTIFUL romance, was simply strolling about town wherever they lived... That they were simply caught up in the whirlwind of a tedious office job or entrhalled in a real life romance. Something of the sort....

It is unfortunate that I am unconvinced that this was simply the most horrific joke I had ever been privy to receive...

 

[Ysera]

I know how that is... I had a friend I loved rping with as well. One day, he stopped replying for the longest time. Then his girlfriend texted me one day, telling me that he had gotten into a horrible car accident. He got amnesia of the last several years (so he didn't even remember me) and had to have his arm amputated. Shortly after, he deleted me from friends. He found it too strange I guess, to be with friends me anymore.

 

[Idea]

It's something I've dreaded happen to me for a long time. A bit of my paranoid side. I'm really sorry this happened to you.

 

[Winter_Wolf]

Years ago I was in a sci fi wargame on another site and an older man (not that he was old) was in charge of it; he was invested heavily in developing it; very detailed in every way. Unfortunately he passed away and his wife notified us. It was kind of shocking, and it was sad. IIRC one of the other gentlemen in the wargame kept it going in his honor.

 

[Morlock]

That is odd that the relative knew their log on details to the RP site. Most people keep this stuff fairly private.

I have been in long distance relationships with people and not knowing if something has happened to them or they are just taking a break/too busy to write is always a problem.

 

[Debacle]

I don't know how to say this without sounding like an absolute jerk, but... do you think it's possible that the person who messaged you saying they were a relative of your friend was actually just your friend? Maybe they got really overwhelmed and then felt incredibly guilty that they'd disappeared for so long, and rather than admit that, it seemed easier to just pretend they'd died and make a new account. If someone I loved passed away, I don't think I'd go digging into a hobby of theirs like online roleplaying to notify their online friends. I'd be in mourning and probably not even thinking about people my loved one hadn't met in real life.

That's just my two cents.

 

[WolfSol]

I see and hear this happen so often to the point where I feel apathy as it usually ends up being what Debacle said, in my opinion. Jerk or not, I believe what they said is incredibly possible and until I see "it" (obituary) I tend to not believe it. Regardless, sorry that you had to receive such news whether it be true or not.