Post by Deleted on Dec 23, 2012 0:21:32 GMT -6
I'm aware that this is rather late, given that the season of drama has passed. However, I wanted to place this here so that should it come back, we can direct the offending parties somewhere. (I admit, I found this on tumblr. It's re-worded some as the original post was much more negative. This is not meant to be a jab at anyone in particular; as I said, it came from someone else.)
RP is not your job. It isn't your duty. Real life will always come before it. While it is nice if you're able to warn us before an extended hiatus, none of you should feel obligated to apologize if real life deals you a bad hand.
If RP ever upsets you (which it can, I know), remember that it’s only writing.
RP is not real and your characters are not you. I know a lot of us put a lot of ourselves into our characters. So do novelists, and you don’t see them self-harming or killing themselves over their writing or fanfiction or the like, do you?
Relationships in RP aren't real either. They are STORIES. You are not in an actual relationship. You do not need to get upset because someone you write with RPs with someone else.
Related to above: You cannot and should never try to force someone to 'ship with you. That means no coercing, no "but pleaaaase" and no getting upset if someone doesn't want a romantic relationship with your character. It's awful form to try and coerce someone into any relationship with your characters; if both parties want something to happen then that is when it will happen. On the flip side, remember that you have every right to refuse to play out a relationship with someone else.
You can't always get what you want, and in that same vein...
RP is not mandatory. People are not required to RP with you, nor do you have the right to guilt trip them just because they choose not to, for whatever reason they may have.
People have every right to RP their character how they see fit. This is a two way street. You can’t just say ‘well that’s how I see my character’ and then get mad if someone responds negatively IC.
Not everyone is going to get along, IC or OOC. That's expected and to an extent it's okay. What isn't okay is constantly starting drama with people you don't like. Just ignore them.
Just because someone’s character doesn’t get along with yours doesn’t mean they don’t like YOU. IT IS NOT THE SAME.
If you cannot distinguish between things that happen IC and things that happen OOC, if you cannot take IC things PURELY as IC without getting upset and offended, you might need a break.