This is largely a love note to my fellow roleplayers, regardless of if you know me, or if you don’t. I’ve been roleplaying since around the time I was eleven years old, at the time of writing this I’m twenty two. I’ve grown a lot in that time, and I’ve seen a lot, met hundreds of roleplayers in various formats and sites. There’s a few things almost all of us have in common, and if you’ll bear with me I’d like to shed some light on them. Like to explain a few things that eleven years have taught me.
Somedays, people are shitty.
Maybe you’re not getting replies and someone else is, maybe people are just cross or absent minded or absent, period. It’s almost never got anything to do with you. Maybe you did something, but most likely you didn’t, if you’re worried try talking to them. I can’t say this enough, roleplaying is an artform and a community built on words and yet, in our most crucial hours we almost always faulter.
This may be a bit of a weird hobby, but you should never, ever feel ashamed of it.
It’s no different to how mankind has functioned since forever, just, it’s in a different format. Roleplayers are a community of storytellers, of seekers, of people searching for answers through fiction without being content to simply read other’s answers yet wanting the input of more than their own mind. Human culture and tradition was built on the backs of storytellers who whispered tales in the night to keep the monsters away and it’s not going to stop even with all the science and modern technology in the world.
Sending hate, anon or otherwise is never good.
As much as you may hate or dislike someone, just don’t. Roleplaying is a hobby that gives light to peoples lifes where it may seem pitch black most of the time. It’s a release of demons for some, for others a fantasy playground to make everything seem right in the world if only for a little while and shame on you if you think it’s your right to ruin their enjoyment of that, if they’re bothering you, tell them politely or simply ignore them.
A lot of roleplayers have self confidence issues.
They already hate themselves more than you could ever hate them, they think their writing awful even if it’s fucking novel worthy, don’t push them around for shits and giggles or because you don’t like them. They don’t deserve it, and you’re a better person than that somewhere down inside.
You are beautiful. Say it with me now, I (you) am beautiful. Beautiful.
Regardless of how you look, what you wear, your gender, sexuality, taste in music or anything else. You are beautiful, and you deserve to be on this earth, and you deserve to do wonderful, glorious things if you desire them. Haters ain’t got nothing on you. Be brave. Don’t you dare let got of your hopes and dreams.
Never shame anyone for writing smut, or for not.
It’s their choice. No one should be forced into writing what they don’t want too, and equally no one should be shamed because they like writing sex or other related things. There’s nothing wrong with either option, it just depends on the audience, the writers, sometimes even the thread in particular or the characters.
Not everyone writes the same.
This particuarly goes for people who play canon characters, who find themselves caught up in the vicious cycle of this roleplayer plays them better than I do, or they get more replies/asks/etc than I do I must suck. Don’t. You may not be the best, I’ll be honest, but you can only write what rings true to yourself, and some people won’t approve, but some will, and those are the ones that count. As much as people try to make this a popularity contest, it’s not. Write for yourself, then for your partners and if you care at all after that, then you can worry about your fans or followers.
English? (or whatever you roleplay in) Not everyones first language, or even best subject.
Sometimes people make mistakes, if it’s so jarring you can’t work out what they’re trying to say, ask them. They probably want to improve, just be nice about it for heavens sake.
But mostly? Be fantastic to each other. Write what you love, with who you love. Write what excites you. Write what challenges you. Write out your demons or your desires, your death marches or your love songs. Don’t forget to be awesome, and know that I love you. The universe loves you, even if it rarely seems like it. Roleplaying is for fun, with it’s myrad of styles, methods and thousands of players, be a good one. Care about each other, and yourself because, really?
You are beautiful. You don’t need twenty people reblogging a post from you or sending you asks for this to be true, you need to know this or you’ll never be happy in this community. For the two people that say they hate you, chances are there’s another 30 chilling, waiting for you with open, loving arms. Your writing may be imperfect, or not in your first language but it doesn’t matter, just have fun continuing on a tradition we’ve had ever since we could tell the first stories.
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