Simple as that, I guess! I'm very social, and I just love being able to interact with folks! Seeing people's writing styles and characters inspires me to better myself as a writer. Not only that, but I do like showing off my own hard work... a little cheeky, I know!
I'm very glad I found this site - I know I'm horrendously sentimental, but everyone here is so lovely. Thank you, all
A little addition that I got into RP when I was young due to personal things, and for me it was an escape. Even now - as a semi-happy, semi-adult - I do find comfort in it! Writing can be a healthy way, I think, to give yourself a safe space.
I'm very glad I found this site - I know I'm horrendously sentimental, but everyone here is so lovely. Thank you, all
A little addition that I got into RP when I was young due to personal things, and for me it was an escape. Even now - as a semi-happy, semi-adult - I do find comfort in it! Writing can be a healthy way, I think, to give yourself a safe space.
It's an escape from life for me.
Playing these characters makes me feel free and in control where I feel that I'm not in real life.
Playing these characters makes me feel free and in control where I feel that I'm not in real life.
I think what makes RP different to me is collaberation. You get to talk with your partners, get excited about your characters, bounce ideas off each other. There's also a level of uncertainty because you're never 100% sure what other players are going to do, so there's an element of surprise and having to react to unexpected situations! (That's one reason why I really like dice-based RP because you're going to roll a 1 eventually and you need to be able to bounce to plan B and take the setback in your stride)
Roleplay sparks my creativity, provides an escape from reality and is an enjoyable way to spend time with friends.
That's the TLDR answer, so I will now dig into every aspect of that.
Creativity
Roleplay sparks my creativity in ways that other things can't. While I usually feel like a creative jack of all trades, most of my creative hobbies require for me to start from a blank canvas, a blank page, a ball of cotton... You get the idea; they are all blank slates, and they need ideas from me and me alone to really turn into a finished project. Now of course there are sources like TikTok, YouTube and Pinterest that can help give me ideas, but they never feel quite right and when I make those, I struggle embracing the mixture between their idea and my own original input. With roleplay this is different. A roleplay post from my partner is supposed to merge with my own personal input and theirs can give me inspiration as to what I can do with my own character. Other than in regular writing, it gives me content to interact with and build out that I normally wouldn't have as building stores for a story. Even when my mind goes blank, my partner will still put out content that will then help me to make my next post. It also helps that it is often a long-term and ongoing project without the pressure of finishing it.
Escape
This is honestly why I started roleplaying in the first place. As for everyone, teenage years were rough and my youth in general on top of that had a fair list of challenges that I couldn't get through without a healthy coping mechanism. When I discovered roleplay, that became my way of dealing with things. As I grew older life became a little bit easier and former problems moved to the back of my head, but roleplay remained a way for me to clear my mind after a busy day or whenever I have a free moment that I can fill in. I enjoy being with my characters in my worlds and reading the posts of others feels like taking a walk in theirs, getting the chance to meet their characters too.
Shared passions
Last but not least, there is the opportunity of spending time with friends and sharing the passion of writing, creating and worldbuilding throughout it. Roleplaying has become one of my favourite pass times and even brought me friendships with people I never expected to deserve in my life. It has brought me many cherished bonds and connections and I even met my spiritual wife through it. Even on difficult moments when it was sometimes too hard or too painful to talk through what was going on in real life, roleplay has been a way for me to maintain those relationship and connections.
There, I hope that properly answers that question. Thank you for asking by the way, it is very interesting to read everyone's reasons.
That's the TLDR answer, so I will now dig into every aspect of that.
Creativity
Roleplay sparks my creativity in ways that other things can't. While I usually feel like a creative jack of all trades, most of my creative hobbies require for me to start from a blank canvas, a blank page, a ball of cotton... You get the idea; they are all blank slates, and they need ideas from me and me alone to really turn into a finished project. Now of course there are sources like TikTok, YouTube and Pinterest that can help give me ideas, but they never feel quite right and when I make those, I struggle embracing the mixture between their idea and my own original input. With roleplay this is different. A roleplay post from my partner is supposed to merge with my own personal input and theirs can give me inspiration as to what I can do with my own character. Other than in regular writing, it gives me content to interact with and build out that I normally wouldn't have as building stores for a story. Even when my mind goes blank, my partner will still put out content that will then help me to make my next post. It also helps that it is often a long-term and ongoing project without the pressure of finishing it.
Escape
This is honestly why I started roleplaying in the first place. As for everyone, teenage years were rough and my youth in general on top of that had a fair list of challenges that I couldn't get through without a healthy coping mechanism. When I discovered roleplay, that became my way of dealing with things. As I grew older life became a little bit easier and former problems moved to the back of my head, but roleplay remained a way for me to clear my mind after a busy day or whenever I have a free moment that I can fill in. I enjoy being with my characters in my worlds and reading the posts of others feels like taking a walk in theirs, getting the chance to meet their characters too.
Shared passions
Last but not least, there is the opportunity of spending time with friends and sharing the passion of writing, creating and worldbuilding throughout it. Roleplaying has become one of my favourite pass times and even brought me friendships with people I never expected to deserve in my life. It has brought me many cherished bonds and connections and I even met my spiritual wife through it. Even on difficult moments when it was sometimes too hard or too painful to talk through what was going on in real life, roleplay has been a way for me to maintain those relationship and connections.
There, I hope that properly answers that question. Thank you for asking by the way, it is very interesting to read everyone's reasons.
GigaBit wrote:
It's an escape from life for me.
Playing these characters makes me feel free and in control where I feel that I'm not in real life.
Playing these characters makes me feel free and in control where I feel that I'm not in real life.
Couldn't put it any better, other than it's much like playing make believe!
It relaxing yet makes me think. I have even met some wonderful people who I would consider friends
i have found that of the experiences i enjoy, chiefest among them is the way a good story can transport me and move my soul and heart. ive had some of the most enjoyable experiences of my life writing with other people, creating characters, and growing my skills as a writer.
writing alone is fine but there is something definitely incredibly special about rp that i always come back to to try and recapture. love that feeling of a plot and/or character(s) that are just ROLLING along with no end in sight to the muse between all parties involved
metal as ****
writing alone is fine but there is something definitely incredibly special about rp that i always come back to to try and recapture. love that feeling of a plot and/or character(s) that are just ROLLING along with no end in sight to the muse between all parties involved
metal as ****
3 reasons usually.
1. Raw unfiltered escapism. My characters are some kind of extension of myself and who I want to be, and hopefully facilitate how I wish I were treated by others. A lot of my characters are kids, and that is plainly because it's a measure of experiencing a childhood I never had. Most of my characters are also fairly weak and meant to comfortably slide into party dynamics where they might be protected in exchange for offering utility or emotional support, because I could never be vulnerable, and had to be strong for myself.
2. This is an extension of 1, but it's also something I only explore with friends I trust. RP is a proxy for examining personal trauma or pain. It's a cope for learning how to process it. It forces me to externalize things that hurt me to bring out, but hurt more to keep inside. A friend and I started doing one that was this for me, which they were made aware of before we began. We both get enjoyment out of it, and they are more than happy to give me a bit of therapy along the way. (Really not the kind of thing you do with people who you don't absolutely trust though.)
3. I'm a lonely basement-dweller and I require social interaction, but struggle to reach out. (Won't go into it, but it's rarely the fault of others.) Playing make-believe with virtual dolls is a means of breaking the ice that carries less risk than other, more direct methods, so it's one of my 3 preferred ways of making friends. (The other 2 are playing with/against people in online games, or getting in arguments on the internet. I've made most of my friends doing those things as well.)
1. Raw unfiltered escapism. My characters are some kind of extension of myself and who I want to be, and hopefully facilitate how I wish I were treated by others. A lot of my characters are kids, and that is plainly because it's a measure of experiencing a childhood I never had. Most of my characters are also fairly weak and meant to comfortably slide into party dynamics where they might be protected in exchange for offering utility or emotional support, because I could never be vulnerable, and had to be strong for myself.
2. This is an extension of 1, but it's also something I only explore with friends I trust. RP is a proxy for examining personal trauma or pain. It's a cope for learning how to process it. It forces me to externalize things that hurt me to bring out, but hurt more to keep inside. A friend and I started doing one that was this for me, which they were made aware of before we began. We both get enjoyment out of it, and they are more than happy to give me a bit of therapy along the way. (Really not the kind of thing you do with people who you don't absolutely trust though.)
3. I'm a lonely basement-dweller and I require social interaction, but struggle to reach out. (Won't go into it, but it's rarely the fault of others.) Playing make-believe with virtual dolls is a means of breaking the ice that carries less risk than other, more direct methods, so it's one of my 3 preferred ways of making friends. (The other 2 are playing with/against people in online games, or getting in arguments on the internet. I've made most of my friends doing those things as well.)
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