Viewpoint Why do you enjoy roleplaying?

[Appleblossom2287]

So, what's in it for you? There are so many creative writers out there that can put out top-notch material, as well as casual roleplayers that are always into something! With so many different types of roleplayers I'm sure I'll see a variety of answers.

I'm gonna be completely honest with you all here, no bullshit. I wouldn't even consider myself a casual roleplayer, as I only do it once in a blue moon.

As stupid as most of us think it is, I'm one of those people that CAN get emotionally attached to fictional characters, whether it be movies or TV, even video games. It doesn't happen a lot, but when it does, I usually begin to crave a roleplay.

I hate admitting it, but I am an emotional person. I'm pretty good at hiding it! Nobody in my family was ever very nurturing, so they come off as unapproachable and sometimes downright cold to me. So I crave the hell out of hurt/comfort themes when it comes to finding fanfiction and roleplay. Just kind of trying to fill a void somewhere in Lala Land.

When I want a roleplay, I like to try to find someone willing to play a canon character for me, and I create an OC to self-insert. Not gonna bother sugarcoating it or beat around the bush. I double up roleplays for anyone that is just like me, so then that person can also have a turn at possibly self-inserting with our mutual favorite character. And I make sure my roleplay partner is well taken care of! I listen carefully to their preferences, and even though I am particular about what I want in my roleplay, I am much more open-minded for the other person, and will give them almost anything they want. Of course we create a decent plot to help develop our characters and their relationship to each other.

I don't even LIKE most erotic fanfiction or roleplay. It is tedious and boring for me to read and write. I want ALL the fluff. If you're a fandoms type of person, chances are there are 600+ erotic fanfics for it up at AO3 if it has a decent sized fan base. Not easy to find a large collection of content featuring platonic relationships or intimate friendships and so on.

When I find that one special someone for a roleplay, as hard as it is sometimes, it can be very rewarding for me emotionally. So that's pretty much why I do it.

How about you? I'm sure you all have different reasons as to why roleplaying is rewarding for you, and I'd love to hear them!

 

[Juicy Peach]

I like to write and I like the unpredictability of another writer tagging along with me.
Life in general is pretty boring so in roleplay, I can live out these fantastic, interesting lives. ​

 

[Seige]

Periodically people overlook those who are tender and honestly a vast majority of the best of the best writers where emotional individuals. I can relate because of how I grew up. I love it when someone puts their feelings into their work, it shows they care and a part of them is imbedded in it like a trees roots digging deep into the soil.

I savor roleplay because it's an escape, I can jump into character and live out a creative fantasy. I love to eat it up and greatly enjoy what can flow off the pages like a mesmerizing waterfall. My writing also grows and matures from the constant roleplay and the metamorphosis from the perpetual wordplay is amazing to watch. Its like a caterpillar evolving into a beautiful butterfly hatching from its cocoon.

 

[Franklin]

I can relate to this. I grew up in an extremely toxic and cold home. My mother would cringe hugging me. I mean, when I say that out loud, it sounds horrible. When you grow up with it. It's not so abnormal. My parents loved me the best they could. Oh, I was so close to my father. Although, he too was abusive. It took me a long time to come to terms with my parents being abusive. It took a psychiatrist saying " Wow, your parents are certainly contributing to your disorder." For me to be like. Oh..Validation. My parents did make mistakes. My father and I rekindled a friendship in my twenties and it was really hard when he passed away five years ago. My mother an I are on good terms now but I limit my exposure so she's pleasant when I visit. And I love her dearly she was just meshed with the toxic relationship with my father and her own unresolved trauma. So, yeah, I can one hundred percent relate to role playing filling a void. Sometimes ,I HATE, DETEST, DESPISE, AM INCREDIBLY OVERWHELMED, when I role play or create a role play. However, I've always been an avid writer. I really enjoy creating something for others to enjoy and also delegating it. I'm an extreme introvert and also it fills a social void too. Because of my up bringing its hard for me to socialize at times. I got into drinking and drugs. I guess role playing also kind of helped me steer away from that life style and back into a healthy routine. Over all, role playing has really helped me stay sober.

So I mean, there are my reasons, probably pretty spot on to your own. I feel like we could really relate to each other. Feel free to inbox me any time =)

 

[AntarcticRomantic]

I started when I was younger it was because it seemed fun, maybe a bit goofy.

As I got older, I wanted to try to emulate the qualities of my favorite authors while developing my writing and my own style. I still enjoy it as a hobby, and I'm a sucker for developing plots and world-building. The type of storytelling that comes with roleplaying as a joint effort between two or more people has always been kind of addicting to me. Sometimes you just don't know what someone else is going to throw into the mix and making a character you've created and developed respond to it can be it's own kind of adventure.

I think in my mid-teens through early twenties it was filling a part of me I didn't know was missing; in some ways, it still does. Maybe people who crave love, kindness, and compassion in various forms find solace in writing. Even writing a compelling villain can be cathartic.

I've met amazing people along the way, and some of the most amazing writers I know are roleplayers. They're passionate and driven about the stories we tell, and in turn that has fueled my love for this. Even the friends I've made along the way who no longer RP and the ones who still do that I don't write with are still special people to me because of the worlds and tales we crafted together. I'm horribly sentimental, and I have the terrible habit of going back and reading those stories. I'm not ashamed to say I get emotional, but as a matter of pride I still love those bits of writing-- the good and the bad. It's also funny because in looking back, I can remember where we were in life, the things that were happening and how it played its own role in our writings. It's amazing what time will do; how you can change and see it based upon the topics you favored and/or characters you had.

 

[Onmyoji]

I started roleplaying because I loved writing and writing with someone else is fun and motivating.
In fact, I got back into roleplaying after a long hiatus because I wrote a fanfiction in collaboration with a friend, and remembered how cool it was to write with something else. We didn't rp, it was a solo written story, but the fact that we communicated along the way, and each of us added something to the story was very exciting.

I'm mostly a fandom roleplayer. While I love to create OCs and original settings, maybe I get attached to some fandom characters too much lol So I mostly play canon characters, and if I get to play the character I want I don't mind doing canon x OC (if I like the OC of course). And I enjoy talking to people who share love for the fandom. Funny enough, I don't write/read much fanfiction, but I enjoy fandom roleplaying. There is just something special about it XD

I met a lot of nice people through roleplaying, with some of them we don't even rp anymore but still remain friends. And that's how a hobby should be.

 

[Appleblossom2287]

I enjoyed reading everyone's responses!! I thought I was going to have a bad time relating to a lot of people as I don't roleplay as often as most of you! I still love my fandoms, but I kind of pulled away from Internet outlets like other forums and Tumblr.

I feel like this is a nice spot to be for right now, even if just to talk to people. I enjoyed Tumblr very much for a while, and this might be an unpopular opinion right here but I got turned off by some of the crowds on Tumblr, as some of the people are just downright toxic - especially the fandom crowds. It's a lot of teenagers on there and me being in my late twenties, I just really felt out of place there, lol

 

[Franklin]

I enjoyed reading everyone's responses!! I thought I was going to have a bad time relating to a lot of people as I don't roleplay as often as most of you! I still love my fandoms, but I kind of pulled away from Internet outlets like other forums and Tumblr.

I feel like this is a nice spot to be for right now, even if just to talk to people. I enjoyed Tumblr very much for a while, and this might be an unpopular opinion right here but I got turned off by some of the crowds on Tumblr, as some of the people are just downright toxic - especially the fandom crowds. It's a lot of teenagers on there and me being in my late twenties, I just really felt out of place there, lol

I have heard a similar tale of the Tumblr. Never explored it myself but a lot of fans can get very vile quick. These are the people that are crazy dedicated fans and fall into obsession. I had a friend who was in a lot of them. The stories she would say I was like ..."but whhhyyyy???"

 

[Appleblossom2287]

I have heard a similar tale of the Tumblr. Never explored it myself but a lot of fans can get very vile quick. These are the people that are crazy dedicated fans and fall into obsession. I had a friend who was in a lot of them. The stories she would say I was like ..."but whhhyyyy???"

Oh yeah, that's only the beginning. There's just... a lot of really sensitive and edgy teens on there. If you say one wrong thing, somebody will be there to rip your head off. I don't remember ever having any bad experiences on there personally, but I've seen sooo many people attack each other over trivial matters, a lot of trolling and anonymous hate messaging, and so on. Huge cringe.

 

[Lexico]

To be frank, no one knows the answer. The idea of story is in itself very unique to human. I don't know whether any other species even bother to look at what is happening to others or listen to their stories either real or fiction. For homo sapiens, stories excite them. Maybe it takes them far away from their boring every day dull lives or it educates them or it keeps them in a dream like state. No one can definitely answer but would only point at the bits and pieces. The excitement of the story depends on the craftsman whether it is a story teller of an ancient village or a film director. Video games and role plays improves the excitement by pulling us in and literally allowing us to live in it for at least a moment or more. Role play with a good friend is like creating your own dream still caught in it's absurdness. So, did i answer your question?

 

[haleighlujah]

Remember when you were young and on car rides? Looking out of the window, imagining a character running along the power lines and fences, leaping over and under obstacles? I've always gone hard into that kind of daydreaming. I spent much of my childhood staring out of my bedroom and car seat windows, imagining stories and characters and worlds to escape into. I did this in class, or even in video games. Didn't stop when I grew into a teenager, or even now as an adult.
I've heard the term "maladaptive daydreaming", and I can see why it would be referred to in that sense. Way I see it, they called it maladaptive, but my retreat into fantasy and love for my own imagination has prepared me perfectly for the type of world we've grown into; therefore it's highly adaptive.
I love to roleplay because it makes these worlds appear more real. I like sharing creative worlds with others. The things my groups do, the shenanigans they get into!