It feels like being dumped for 'another woman' so to speak.

We roleplayed everyday for about 8 months. He totally 'got' my rhythm and interests and boundries.

Then he started using AI.

He started posting his AI art and is getting a pretty large following and is now posting there nearly daily.

He says it 'scatches his itch' more.

I hate AI lol.

What hurts is he has had the account that is taking off for 19 years. Posted maybe 5 times before a few months ago. And now has nearly 1k followers and a swath of fans who feed that response I think we as RPers crave.

I cant even tell if the AI art is good because I have such an aversion to AI art.

I found a group that I really like. It’s very well organized, and they explain things really well. The problem is me, I feel overwhelmed. The system seems a little complicated, and I feel embarrassed asking questions all the time. I don’t know who to roleplay with or what I’m supposed to do. I feel paralyzed, and I also don’t want to create extra work for the organizers. It must be difficult having to deal with inexperienced people like me.

I have a partner who is a good writer and a sweetheart ooc but she keeps having her character go into separate rooms and closing the door. Or not being at locations where my character is sent. It’s really super annoying to always have to chase her down and just get nothing to reply to. Especially since this is supposed to be enemies to lovers. My character would NOT chase her??

Hi everyone, sorry if this isn't the sort of thing usually posted here I'm just beating myself up a bit and needed some advice.

Basically, I've been RPing with the same person for maybe a couple of weeks now. We were playing as two canon characters in a franchise (keeping it as vague as possible cus I'm paranoid they'll see this for some reason lol) - It was going really well at first! We were both having a lot of fun and gushing about the franchise and the characters alongside it. I thought we were getting close. But, today, I made the mistake of making a joke at the expense of the character they were playing and admittedly I did mis-characterise him a bit. I was making a comparison between him and the character I was playing, saying it's funny how he was so dramatic about what happened to him when arguably what happend to my guy was worse. I do regret this now, not just because of what happened next, but it was in poor taste.

They then went into a long rant. They took it as me hating on the character, saying I didn't have the depth to understand media, that I was labelling everything as "good or bad," when it's all grey. I felt like a lot of it was projection because they then went into how they're tired of everyone moralising it, when I didn't do anything like that.

After they'd got that off their chest, they just said they give up and it's why they "don't RP him with anyone."

I sent a longwinded apology saying I was sorry for the joke but I wasn't applying morality to anything or being malicious, I was just making a joke, but I understand why it'd be frustrating. I haven't heard from them in over an hour so idk what's going on. Did I fuck up?

Normally I don't mind having a discussion, I am 100% sure I am not the only one with this idea. Frankly I do not believe trouble only happens to myself regarding this. That being said, when I do these homebrew projects, I always feel like they are incredibly niche because it isn't a fandom people can just pickup and work with for source material.

That being said, what have been your woes regarding homebrew projects and or custom projects? Be it group rp or even one on one.

I am in the mood for some discussion of the "Woe is me, why do I suffer." I don't know. Haven't been to work in a hot minute, need some fresh suffering to keep me going

Anyways

- What are you hurdles regarding Homebrew projects
- What problems did you encounter

- What kind of thing did you do to try and get people on board, only for it to fall apart anyways.

Discuss, take your libations and above all, keep it civil

So...

I don't usually rant a lot but here I am writing one.

TLDR, I have a plot that maybe only 4 subs that are moderately active accept. Its NO SMUT, but it does fall into the adult category regarding physical trauma, mental trauma and action. Want a comparison? Demon slayer esque rp.

Now this became a fairly major problem, one sub decided to outright ban the post after I had to ask for clarification in mod mail...twice. One time about a banned word list (Which isn't even there might I add), and another for it being strictly SFW but only after I asked the mod about it when I couldn't post. Suffice to say, bit ticked off but I understand that a mod can run their sub however they like so I accepted it and moved on.

After stating its strictly SFW i realized that my post wasn't appropriate I decided to post on 4 subs, but one sub requires mod approval before being accepted. This also counts for their 24 hours timer. Made a post before bed? Well unfortunately, now you have to either

- Keep posting at the time they approved it
or
- Experience the same song and dance but in the afternoon when the mods are likely asleep.

After it happening 4 times, I decided to limit my posts to 3 subs.

Which brings me to my story.

My post was approved for weeks on end with 0 issues. I followed the NSFW marking, I posted once every 24 or even after 26 hours.

Today, apparently none of it mattered it seems.

Post got removed and I got a 7 day ban

Key notes:

- The reddit follows a 3 strike system, as far as I remember, I only had 2 after slipping up with the NSFW marking (I admit it...I forgot it once every 4 months when consistently posting)

- I got corrected on the word count which is funny because I got that notification but yet again, for 3 whole months, this was a non issue

- I got told I didn't wait 24 hours which is hilarious because I did actually.

- Got told I didn't mark it for NSFW, even though those 4 letters are tied next to the flair

Currently challenging mod mail for it because its again a sucky I get limited to post what I can and it isn't even smut or ERP, this is a regular post I was forced after a year of revisiting to mark NSFW by the same subreddit. Plot is the same, premise is the same.

Anyways kids

RANT IS OVER

I am not mentioning the sub because frankly, FAFO. You will realize what sub I mean.

End note, this really sucks, it really does.

Edit: Apparently if you messed up 3 years ago, they keep that to your strike counter, just an added note. They keep that shit in the files man. Absolutely hilarious

Edit 2: Please do not mention the sub in here, I decided to not mention it on purpose because I don't want people to dogpile mods nor do I want people to avoid the sub if they had good experiences with it.

Edit 3: My ban turned into a permaban, Did my hostility help the situation? Absolutely not. Not a prime example to take. Did I agree with the decision after they pulled out my FILES like I was in an FBI case? Absolutely not, they used 1 strike 3 years ago to enforce the recent 2. Am I too bent out of shape about it? no. Honestly again, I became hostile, I did not agree with their 7 day ban, I got what I asked for.

I found out a person that was in my writing groups since maybe 2009 just copy-pasted one of my oldest and most beloved characters into a forum rp a few months ago. they weren't even slick - they kept the fc, his special interest/preferences, his background (sorta, since they changed his place of birth which is... infuriating considering my concept) and at first even his occupation, although they have changed it by now. yay.

but since I am noisy and also kinda bored sometimes, I recently made the mistake to kinda-sorta get into the forum they copy-pasted my character into in order to stalk what they were putting my OC through. yeah, I know - I fucked around and found out.

turns out some of the writing style they used for the character is... somewhat weird. like I know their style after all those years and it was different. also it not only felt strange but the character's spoken humor really felt more like something I would write - not only because ot was my character, but also the references and words used. like "their character" referencing a quote I always connect my character with but I know this person hasn't read. idk, it seemed sus to me.

so I put some of their texts through an AI detector and meanwhile I know these things are only somewhat reliable... yeah. they all flagged their texts as at least partial AI texts.

I hope I am wrong but even imagining them putting my writing into an AI/GPT knowing I really, really don't like them feels like such a betrayal... and for what? they could have just copied the vibe, behavior or actually nearly everything of the character and if they weren't so unashamed to keep the fc and special interest, I don't even think the people that informed me would've noticed. all they changed at the beginning was badically my OC's name and their place of birth which is really relevant to the person he became/is.

btw, I even know this person in RL and we used to went on trips and all of that, so this feels like even more of a low blow.

I think I should just laugh about it since it is downright pathetic behavior but I can't. I don't even want to confront them since it feels a) petty since it's just a character and not that special I guess (although he is to me) and b) ...yeah I stalked a forum I wan't part of. oops. but it makes me never want to trust them with anything again - not online, not in RL.

also the plots they are writing with my OC's fat free zero sugar version suck. free my boy, he deserves so much better.

tl;dr: longstanding rp friend copied one of my favorite OCs and possibly fed at least his description and at worst my writing into an AI/GPT. thank you for reading my vent. ~

I feel like I’m constantly posting or Dming people who have posted on Reddit to try and get roleplays going.

I feel like I’ve tried pretty much every kind of roleplay story even ones I’m unsure about, and either just get no reply or for whatever reason it just doesn’t happen.

And then the 2 roleplays I’m actually doing I feel like I’m the only one pushing the story forward, making things happen for our characters to respond to.

I just feel very deflated by it all, I don’t remember it being this hard.

I found a roleplay partner who replied to one of my posts. At first, they seemed really enthusiastic and messaged me here on Reddit with a good attitude. But when we moved to Discord, they started being more dry... “Did my Sanrio Discord avatar scare them?” I jokingly thought to myself, because that person started being more dry and giving one-word replies while we were getting things ready for the roleplay.

I didn’t say anything about it. Then, without me even complaining, they apologized and told me to forgive them for being dry OOC, and I told them it was no problem. It really isn’t, I guess. We’re all human. Sometimes we’re more talkative and sometimes we aren’t, or maybe not everyone wants to have a lot of OOC conversation.

Oh, I don’t talk much either, because I don’t want them to get annoyed with me or anything like that. I try to mostly talk about the preparations for the roleplay.

One thing in their favor is that whenever I have questions about how to set up a server, they send me links to tutorials. They don’t explain things to me themselves, but I still get to learn from the tutorials, so that’s nice.

Uhm... I try to take initiative with the plot planning because they don’t really show much initiative in that regard, and we’ve been preparing for days but still haven’t actually started roleplaying. That’s why I’m wondering if maybe they don’t actually want to roleplay with me but are just trying to be nice.

But I don’t know. I also take a while to write sometimes, so I can’t really blame them.

It’s just that they asked me to start the roleplay, but I’m shy because I don’t know their writing style yet, and they’re the first person I’ve ever roleplayed with. I’m afraid I’ll bore them or write something stupid 🥶

I also feel bad asking them to write the first post because I feel like it wouldn’t be fair since they’re the one who made the server.

How do you know if someone actually wants to roleplay with you?

Dont get me wrong. I love rp. Great experiences. But man, within the years ive done it I need to vent.

Sexual harassment. Dude. If I had a nickel for each time some man went into my DMS unasked for and asked for NSFW I would be rich. Not only am I 1. Not looking for nsfw most of the time on the discord account I use, but 2. Im gay as fuck.

The servers I'm in are adult-only and not centric around NSFW. Im tired of people who join the servers im in, see my "female" role, and DM me their ERP plot as if thats all I fucking am to them. A female. A sexy woman to advertise to and lure in. They'll ignore ALL boundaries I have, because to them thats all they see me as. A kink dispenser. Even if theyre not nessesarily looking for NSFW, they'll still try to brew romantic plots with my EXPLICITLY lesbian character.

And if im not seen as an object, im seen as a bitch because I'm firm with what I dont want to do. Im a bitch because I don't want to RP with someone who made me uncomfortable.

I thought adult-only spaces would be devoid of adolescent pettiness, but I forgot that some adults dont outgrow highschool.

…because they sent their sample and I realized immediately that our writing styles don’t click.

So I responded to a great ad for a fandom I love. We started chatting and have many of the same genre and trope interests and seemed like a great match! We only have one little issue before the writing sample, which was that they were looking for a specific kind of character as a love interest who doesn’t really fit the characters I tend to write. I said that and discussed how I would approach the concept, and they said that was totally fine. Great!

But after that, I did start to feel less excited. Because they would keep sharing how they imagined the dynamic between our characters would work, I would say “how about more like this,” and they’d agree. Yet, it was clear they were looking for something specific. Then they sent me a roleplay sample. And it wasn’t bad per se. It But wasn’t good either.

I only have the bandwidth for 1-2 roleplays, so I want to enjoy them. But I only really enjoy roleplays with good writing. It doesn’t have to be amazing, but it needs to feel like I’m reading a scene play out - show and not tell. I told them the sample was “fine.” Now this writing partner is soooo excited for our story, especially after so long looking for a rp partner. I’d feel terrible if I just noped out, even with explanation.

A few weeks ago, an online friend of mine showed interest in learning to roleplay, they knew I was part of this hobby and basically messaged me with a basic prompt, and made it clear they wanted to try.

This prompt? Absolute fire. Five stars. I was immediately excited by the idea, and hey, nothing better for your ego than introducing someone to one of your interests and teaching them how to do it.

He came out the gate swinging, doing fantastic! I mean, he writes better than a lot of people who have been doing this for years, his response length could use improvement, but the detail and effort into the story is excellent, and his pacing is even better! He already writes literate.

Now, the first reply he gave me I did notice he used AI to modify his response, which we talked about. I told him a lot of people in roleplay spaces don’t take kindly to AI use, and it’s okay to use how he was (he was mainly using it for suggestions on formatting for pacing, and grammar correction. The rest of the response he wrote himself.) he understood and I told him to try not using it at all, which he did, and his response quality actually increased without the use of AI, because it had his human touch of talent and pacing, which really shined through in his responses beautifully. He is an excellent writer.

I assured him it was better, and he decided to not use AI at all from there on out, which is ideal. He makes grammar errors a little more often, but honestly I don’t care, and it’s always something really small like a misspelled word here and there, or an obvious typo.

Well he really took off, and he loved roleplaying! He decided he was ready to take on a partner that wasn’t me, and found what seemed like a good contender.

When I tell you this person gave him the perfect introduction to this hobby, I’m not joking.

Well, he ends up texting me because this other partner was using AI to write their responses entirely, and ON TOP of that, they disappeared. They also said they wrote novella. (get this, they didn’t. It was definitely just semi-lit to literate.) I basically said “Yeah lol that’s the whole experience right there. It feels insulting, doesn’t it? When you put your heart and soul into writing something you care about, and the other person just uses AI.” He basically related back to me, and agreed the feeling sucked.

I kinda feel bad, he spread his wings for the first time and immediately got an AI user.

Oh well, he’s a good spirit about it.

Thought you all would enjoy this tidbit, and maybe even relate to the frustration, and know you aren’t alone when these things happen.

I just hope this absolute unicorn of a roleplayer finds another unicorn.

Would love to hear any other beginner experiences.

Alright, this is a rant about the planning stage. The stage that I seem to struggle getting past in every way possible because after everything is said and done, ✨nothing happens✨.

I think recently the farthest I’ve gotten in the planning stage is sending a starter and then it’s just like daily “how are you”’s and I’m losing my mind. I’m going crazy. Mainly for two reasons. One: I hate small talk. Two: we’re out of the planning stage, they just need to respond, and they only chat ooc.

And then like months later, they send a starter, and it’s all good and we get a few responses in and then it’s back to how it was. I’m a fairly patient person but this genuinely drives me insane.

What gets me the most is that most of these planning chats I didn’t initiate. I didn’t reach out. So I was dmed just for small talk after building an entire universe and plot and subplots. At this point, the planning stage is just dreadful and I don’t even want to do it.

Everrrrry singleee timeee I try to DM someone, one way or another I get green skin. I don't know why I get so embarrassed and/or bored, I just want to skip to the actual writing portion of the interaction and not have to actually talk to or think about the human being behind the profile picture. It just ruins the immersion and makes everything real when its supposed to be quite the contrary, and I get wanting to have a good relationship with your roleplaying partner but I just loathe it. And if someone is being particularly chatty or talking OOC too often, if we even make it to the RP, eight times out of ten ill just completely drop them. I know Im awful and its not even for a particularly good reason but I just cannot stand it and I don't wanna keep doing that because I hate being dropped unexpectedly as much as anyone. Can someone please give me some wisdom or enlightenment

Welcome to the first bad roleplay character design tournament!

Design the absolute most cliché, cursed, and cringe roleplay character you can think of. You can do it! pull it straight out of your deepest nightmares or most hidden subconscious.

Can you come up with something better than the half-angel, half-demon edgy orphan with neon emo hair?

Come on, Y/N, do better than a kawaii Neko or a six-foot-six CEO.

Introduce them in a comment. Imagine they are walking up to present themselves to an auditorium full of cringe OCs, but yours has to be the absolute best. Tell us the lore!

The comment with the most votes wins!

(Note: emdashes for professionalism)

Is it just me, or has discord group roleplay shifted away from the actual 'writing' part of the hobby?

Lately, I’ve noticed a trend across a lot of discord roleplay servers. Even those that advertise themselves as 'welcoming' and active. There are a lot of people in there, loads of lore and channels to write in. The onboarding process is great and people are sweet OOC, character approval goes smoothly, people gush over your character sheet, react to your RP ads and talk excitedly about potential plots. But as soon as it’s time to actually start a scene and write posts?

Chirp Chirp. Complete crickets.

It feels like a lot of spaces have turned into hype clubs rather than active writing hubs. People love the idea of plotting, but no one actually wants to walk the walk and put words on the page.

Beyond that, I've noticed it's gotten much harder to find partners if you maintain basic boundaries between your real life and the writing space. I personally don't join voice chats or use vent channels as I like keeping a healthy disconnect between RL and RP.

I miss the days when you could have civil, fun discussions about writing, games, art and many related hobbies OOC without feeling like you have to overshare your personal life or trauma just to be integrated into a group.

To an extent, I get it. The "OMG welcome! We love your character!" reaction is low-effort validation. Once you're past the threshold, the real core of the server is usually an established group of friends who have been writing together for months or years. They don't mean to be hostile, but their writing bandwidth is already reserved for each other.

If you don't form deep, parasocial bonds in OOC chat, it feels like you're permanently left on the outside of established cliques, no matter how polite, active, or reliable of a writer you are.

Has anyone else experienced this shift? How are you finding quality group spaces or reliable writing partners who just want to keep things chill and friendly and focused on actually roleplaying?

It’s the middle of the night for me, and instead of sleeping, I am thinking of the balance between character action and thought in good RPs.

I’m curious.

What do most players, especially more literate and novella-length writers, want in terms of internal exposition?

I had an interesting discussion about this with one if my RPing partners, and it made me wonder about what others do, how to effectively move stories forward, and how to balance it with what’s going on in the character’s heads.

I’ve played with some writers who write pages and pages of beautifully written text about what their character is thinking and feeling, and almost nothing about what their character does.

I tend to be more the opposite in my writing, where I spend more time focusing on what my character is saying and doing that reflects what he or she is thinking. Sometimes I put small bits of internal exposition to clarify his actions, but for the most part I try to show my writing partners what’s going on in my character’s head, rather than telling by writing about his thoughts.

The other part of this, at least for me, is that if I’m running into page after page of a character’s internal life, without much dialogue or action, I tend to lose interest and have trouble coming up with responses because it’s hard for me to grab onto the other writer’s text and interact with it.

My characters aren’t psychic, so “thought bubbles” in the other character’s head are off limits. I can’t interact with them.

For example, if my character asks about partner’s character day at work, and my partner comes up with multiple pages of how things went wrong, in thought but only smiles and says, “fine,” in action, all my character has to grab onto is the “fine.”

And, since I tend to write male characters, unless the other writer signals by body language, tone, or some other tell, my character is more likely than not is going to assume fine, as opposed to the “bad” fine that doesn’t mean fine at all.

Again he’s not psychic.

Sometimes a disconnect between thought and action leads to interesting drama, but when it’s consistent, it leaves me with very little to interact with. Pretty soon it’s really hard to come up with responses, because I can’t (or rather my character can’t) interact at all with my partner’s character’s thinking.

I’d like to hear what everyone’s thoughts are on this. Right now I have a group of really lovely partners. All are good writers, but I worry I’m blowing it because I naturally tend to want to show rather than tell, and most of my characters tend to be straightforward so their actions reflect what’s going on in their heads.

Your thoughts?

Friend: God I'm so busy, I got like 20 threads to reply to and a bunch of asks in my inbox!

Me: ...you get threads and asks?

I'm a shy person and I'm working on it, but wish my buddies would read the room.

Does writing more mean quality?

When is it too much environment and description?

(The image is a parody of extremes)