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ChaoticHazard

Everyone has a dud or two in their Character list, when I say that I mean...A character who you personally really like, but everyone else dislikes it. Regardless of how nice the RP plot is or how polite you are in regards to Reply length/Time, people just leave the Roleplays involving that character.

So my question is, how do you deal with the realization that your character will never know what it's like to see an ending of a RP plot? I know it's not good to obsess over trying to fix every little detail of what the others didn't like about the character, but it seems kind of like a punch in the gut when my character doesn't even get a chance to develop and have their glow up before the person just bounces.
For me, if I find someone who hates, or dislikes, one of my characters then I just Role-Play with someone else. There's got to be someone out there who would like that character and I usually find that person.

Failing that, maybe ask questions. Like, why do they not like your character? And ask more than one person too. The more opinions, the better. And provided they are okay in sharing this valuable information, then you can know what you need to fix in order to make that character more likable.

Hope this helps.
It happens to me a lot, mostly because people just aren't interested in that character as they are in others. Happens a lot to my female characters, and a lot of my previous partners that I had gravitated mostly to my male characters with the intent of shipping with them, and only just. Barely acknowledging any character that isn't piquing their interests.

Sometimes it happens when my characters aren't giving my partners the reaction they want. They want only certain outcomes, and they don't care if it's ooc, you have to be either audience or play a role that's predetermined by them.

Either way, the common denominator of these outcomes is that when someone dislikes the character you made or are invested in for whatever reason, then you guys simply just don't vibe.

When that happens, you gotta sit back and think. Is it worth hampering your fun (assuming your character is within acceptable social lines and is not something you can actually get in trouble for) for the opinions of others?

When that happens, I always fall back to some wise words spoken in Rocky Horror Picture Show.



You didn't make your character for other people. If partners keep ditching you, then it's time to find better people! The search is long and hard, and I myself have a character I've been holding onto for years with only very little people who like her while a lot of people have threatened her life for simply daring to breathe. But you will find people who like your character if you keep looking.

Good luck!
ChaoticHazard Topic Starter

Ultra-Knight wrote:
For me, if I find someone who hates, or dislikes, one of my characters then I just Role-Play with someone else. There's got to be someone out there who would like that character and I usually find that person.

Failing that, maybe ask questions. Like, why do they not like your character? And ask more than one person too. The more opinions, the better. And provided they are okay in sharing this valuable information, then you can know what you need to fix in order to make that character more likable.

Hope this helps.

That's what I was thinking of doing as well, but it's difficult when the people who have Roleplayed with the character just leave without any feedback; even just a basic "They're too wimpy" or "They're too clingy" would be better than nothing at all. But yeah, I'll start asking around in my friend group for opinions about the character in question.
ChaoticHazard Topic Starter

hexblading wrote:
It happens to me a lot, mostly because people just aren't interested in that character as they are in others. Happens a lot to my female characters, and a lot of my previous partners that I had gravitated mostly to my male characters with the intent of shipping with them, and only just. Barely acknowledging any character that isn't piquing their interests.

Sometimes it happens when my characters aren't giving my partners the reaction they want. They want only certain outcomes, and they don't care if it's ooc, you have to be either audience or play a role that's predetermined by them.

Either way, the common denominator of these outcomes is that when someone dislikes the character you made or are invested in for whatever reason, then you guys simply just don't vibe.

When that happens, you gotta sit back and think. Is it worth hampering your fun (assuming your character is within acceptable social lines and is not something you can actually get in trouble for) for the opinions of others?

When that happens, I always fall back to some wise words spoken in Rocky Horror Picture Show.



You didn't make your character for other people. If partners keep ditching you, then it's time to find better people! The search is long and hard, and I myself have a character I've been holding onto for years with only very little people who like her while a lot of people have threatened her life for simply daring to breathe. But you will find people who like your character if you keep looking.

Good luck!

Oh dear, Yeah. I've had people gravitate to Characters who are...more 'exciting in the bedroom' despite the two characters not vibing or getting along at all. It really does suck when that happens, since you know they're only after that certain thing and not actual story development or plot.

But I've never had any characters be practically threatened for breathing...I'm sure that particular character of yours is lovely and obviously doesn't deserve the hate that it gets.

Also, yeah. My character isn't doing anything socially unacceptable, he's just simply living his life the best he could. He likes Legos and Comics. But I agree, if somehow that offends people then I should just try and find new people to RP with.

Also Also, I definitely now have that quote in my head.
I'm not sure how to deal with it so I'm not helpful when it comes to that, but let me know when you figure it out so that I can do it too? Haha.

Either way, maybe we should start a roleplay thread for those "unlovable" characters so that we can get to know each other's and bounce some posts back and forth, see if something sticks? Just a thought of course, but I would love to meet any character that others have deemed "unlovable". (And I could of course bring my own babies too.)
Helloo, I thought I'd chip in, because I might actually have a few tips, or at least something you can consider, that doesn't involve changing the personality traits of your character. I have a lot of unlikeable-but-loveable characters myself, and they make bad first impressions. I like playing characters that struggles to do the right thing, and I like trying to find ways to defend their behavior, which often makes them quite charismatic once you get to know them. But having characters with mean/annoying/dominant/cringey/bratty whatever else personality-traits in that kind of category, means you have to be really good at balancing 1. how much space they take up and 2. how much they reject the other characters intents. 'Cause those traits are antisocial behavior, and while they can make a really interesting charachter, they posess a challenge for the character meeting yours, and whoever is trying to write that character. The same actually goes for characters with really dominating bacskstories that takes up a lot of the rp, so you can count those characters in as well.

1. Remember that everyone put a lot of thought into their characters, and they probably want to show you what their characters are like, basically what they have prepared. If your character is the type to fill the whole room, or cut people off or the like, be very attentive as writer, that you are still offering the other character space to express themselves and 'make it about them' sometimes.

2. This one is same principle with the first, but is mostly relevant for snarky/dominant/snapping back characters: Be careful that this type of character doesn't 'say no' to all inputs from the other character. If you character 'always wins the arguments' or 'always end up knowing better', theres no room for your partners character to develop. And if your partners character try to make jokes, but they are never laughed at, or tries to offend your character, but your character is just too cool to be bothered, it is in a way the same as repeatedly saying no to your rp-partnes ideas.

And one last thing mean/arrogant/aggressive characters: If you are playing 1x1 or in a closed group, make sure to inform your rp-partners that your character comes off as mean, and that it will change progressively. And make sure to let your character 'loose' or become insecure, cause that just makes it so much easier to like a character that is being antisocial with the rest of the group.

Anyway, this became very long, and I don't know the character you are having a problem with. But my guess is, that if you have other characters that does well, and only a few that doesn't, it might be because you have picked a personality trait for your character, that is just difficult to play!

I don't know if any of that made sense, hope it did, hehe. All I know is, that the only character where I have had the same experience as you with, as a character that I later realized, just doesn't open a lot a play-room for the other players. And then it doesn't matter if he is well written or not, he is just not good for co-writing.
HOH, YES I KNOW WHAT YOU MEAN

aaaand the fix I found, forreal, is inclusion of one or more 'NPC's (non-playable characters) to help compare and contrast your more difficult Main Character (MC).

Suspect your character is 'too wimpy'? Well maybe in the lunch they're sharing with your partner's MC gets interrupted by a delinquent cousin rushing by who hurredly stashes drugs or contraband into your character's jacket, for safekeeping. Since YOUR character is too much a pushover to say no to that, the cousin then imposes themselves into the luncheon, and the story has a more layered cast through which your character's wimpiness can serve the conflict arc!

It takes some practice and a dedication -- writing for more than one character POV can cause paragraph bloat for sure -- but just know that character taste is subjective, you can't please everyone, AND it's the structural writing mechanics that can be tuned up to better engage the interest of your fellow writers no matter what your character lacks.

Every 'somebody' has their own room to grow. NPCs are excellent plot catalyst, and often enough become pretty great MCs on their own!
Nobody seems to like the oldest identity of Cyphrus, Goodman (early). It's literally its creator. I know Goodman (late) is the far better choice to pick because of the edge, but I like the old, less nuanced version of the AI. It just fits with some of the RPs that I like, but people think that the colder, more deceitful version of Cyphrus is better.

I'm also creating more versions of it as I'm writing more short stories with Cyphrus as the villain, so whatever.
I tend to play kids, common practice in the past has been people really hating my characters, especially in games where they want death to be possible (but aren't telling me that until I press them a bit, because, lord have mercy you might be upfront with what you actually want from a game! XD)

Happens less on RPR and adjacent than it used to on other sites, which is nice. Also does tend to happen to me the most in tabletop games, so I opt to play shameless edgelords in those instead. :)

Easy solution? Eh, find someone who jives with your vibe, otherwise you're both just wasting your time and theirs. Also, state clearly what you're after upfront, just as a general rule. Doesn't have to be plotting out the entire thing in an ad, but just, tell people exactly what kind of mood or themes you're into right up front, as concisely as you can, and you stand a better chance of attracting the kind of player who wants the same thing as your character needs to be realized.
PinkBrat

Personally, I'm patient af. I have a character that is roughly 20 years old. Everyone I rp'd with abused her. It made for some great character development! But after that no one liked rping with her. Long story short, I made minor adjustments, took a hiatus, etc. I JUST recently found someone that will put up with her so she will have her story continue. I waited for about 10-15 YEARS for that 😂😂

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