Role Playing

Role Playing Partners

Look at this! Another post within a short period of time, this is a miracle. Finally, it's not months and months and months you have to wait. It seems that maybe my brain is finally working right. Or maybe I'm just going to BS everything I write. LOL, not that I really want too. 

Today's topic, as you can see, is Role Playing Partners. This has been a big issue of debate for me and my friends. We can all come to a consensus on what we believe in, but when it comes to actually voicing it all to different people, well it doesn't seem to go so well. So in this post, I'm once more looking for your comments and opinions and expereinces that you've had. Enlighten other readers that may have gone through the same thing you have and maybe, just maybe, I'll be able to give you feedback on how to handle certain issues.

So, the first thing that needs to be cleared up is role playing. What is it? Now, I've said this to many people who are outside the realm of role playing. I get responses of "sounds kinky. Are you the naught nurse?", or  "Oh really? What's your s/n on WOW?!" Those are both role playing, don't get me  wrong. However one is for the bedroom only, and the other is for online computer games that normally involve millions of players at once.

They type of role playing I'm talking about is one that many yaoi lovers are probably familar with. It's like the online gaming role plays, where you  could have as many people as you want playing, or just two people, and it's like the naughty bedroom only role playing where it's sexy time and it's filled with smut. This role play I'm talking about, also called RP for short, can invovle message boards, forums, emails and the ever popular instant messengers. It's basically two or more people take a plot and with it, write a story with characters they have either created, or characters from different animes/mangas/games.

Yaoi fans are huge with this type of RP, and I've found countless different message boards that support either specific animes, all animes, or just yaoi in general, most of which I'm apart of and I thoroughly enjoy participating in. And anyone who knows what role playing is would have to agree. It's like an escape to a fantasy world where anything is possible and all the impossible things certainly do happen. 

But, and this is the main topic of the post today, there are certain people who should not be allowed to rp and I will describe them to you.

I know many of you who like to rp are the type who take the time to think out their posts. Or if you're like me, you just start writing and pout comes such a stupendious post that it's almost unnatural how it just came about.  But the thing that's in common is that the post in one paragraph or more in length, with detail of the surroundings, what the character is thinking and doing, as well as dialogue that could leave a person in stitches or feel the pain and hatred the person is feeling without having to you use the dreded caps lock.

Those are the people I like to rp with. Other people, such as those who like to write in present tense, are people I so hate to rp, but as long as they can give enough detail to go off of, it's tolerable. I never understood why people rp in present tense. It's like a story, a novel a rp is, and in novels you never read it in present tense, maybe first person, but never present tense. For those of you confuse present tense would be "Roy takes the food and eats it quickly. He looks over to his friend and say "Hey." How the majority of rps write is "Roy took his food and swallowed it down in a few bites. His stomach had been growling all day and as the hours went on, the hungrier he got. It was only natural that he would eat everything in a few swift bites to sate his hunger. While relishing in the tasty-goodness that was McDonalds, he saw a friend walk and waved to him, calling "Hey" to get his attention."

As you can see, the second post is everything I described that most rpers are, compared to the first one which I've had the unpleasantness to rp with. But on top of that, I had one partner who rped in present tense, but also couldn't use proper grammer nor could use punctionation. Now, take my long post above and take out all the periods and commas. That would be the posts I would get. I could never decipher the posts and basically winged my responses. After awhile, it got horrible and ot the point that even after trying to help her improve, she just wouldn't.

So beware rpers, there are people out there like that.

Another type of person out there that i hate to rp with are the ones that only write one sentence. I hate one sentence liners. It's like, the person can do more than just  nod and agree with what my character is saying. He can respond back, or leave so we can do a time skip or something! But no, it's just one sentence, or sometimes, even two words "He nodded". I hate those replies out there too.

Now, if you're reading this and you are a person who rps like that, or have been accused of doing that a few times, don't fret. If you're willing to change and work on how you rp, then do it! Find someone who's willing to teach and help you and soon, you'll be rping with the best of them. Truly, it's not that hard to just make up something on the fly if you're lacking in a post. Even three sentences are better than one. It almost looks like a paragraph and usually it has just enough detail in it  for you to draw off on.

Remember guys, there are two things you have to keep in the back of your mind in order to be a good rp partner. One: It's not just you in the rp. It can't be centered around you all the time. It takes two people to rp, otherwise you just have a fanfic. So be kind and think of your partner when you reply. And two: you are not god. You are in no way in control over every character and every event in the rp (once more then it would be a fanfic). Taking control of another person's character just doesn't work, it can't happen because you don't know what your partner has in store for you. They may have come up with the most wonderful of plot twists, but by taking control of their character, you've ruined it all. Not to mention, it is their character! Someone they created, you have no right to take them from them and rp with them.

I've had partners that have done both. One always wanted her characters in the scene, or would conviently leave out my character and his partner and only focus on hers. IT was mean and I would tell her so, but she continued to do it. What I don't understand is how she thinks her character, who was on the other side of town, could magically appear at the house. It made no sense. She also got very upset when I would ignore her posts on trying to keep her characters in the scene. It was a mess.

Just recently I had a partner that took control of my character. Once more, it was a person who wrote in present tense, who wrote only one or two sentences with no detail and hardly any dialogue for me to go off of. It was utterly stupid. The person was continuely thinking of other things but what was going on and never responded to my character. So I got fed up with that left that rp. 

And let's not forget the one partner I had that joined an rp with me, and it went good for the first post, but by her third post, she had her character just walk off alone and leave the group and it was like...huh? But they're having a Truth or Dar game. WHy is your character leaving, especially when nothing was done to that character to upset him? It doesn't make sense.

So just remember, that there are people out ther that like to rp like that. Now it's okay if you like those kind of posts and want to do that. But if you don't like that, or don't think you would like that, becareful when you read posts. First posts are always quite decieving. Make sure you do your research and check other rps the person is apart of and read their posts. If it is something you don't like, then make sure you stay away.

Take this advice to heart everyone. I wish I had somone who would have warned me. Maybe everything I've been through could have been avoided if I had this knowledge. 

So until next time, take care all! And happy times with role playing!!!!!