I cannot stand played-bys.
Hear me out. I’m a blind player of text games and have been for a long time, but was only introduced to the idea of a PB when I got into mushing. Where I play currently, it’s a common thing on wikis and the like for the people who want to put them, which is obvi fine. When I started to app on Ares games, though, the played-by as a literal component of character creation kind of grated on me, especially since it shows up at the end of character descs and the name of the actor is in the profile. I have to go to staff every time like yeah hey sorry im leaving this out because i can’t see. But this isn’t a dig at Ares, just the prevalence of pictures to convey imagery in what’s supposed to be a text medium.
I know this is like probably super unpopular and obviously a very personal bias. I’ve spent years honing my knack for physical description, and one of the main draws of a mush for me, other than them being one of the only types of games I can play, is the niche art of making pretty stuff with words. I don’t think PBs negate this or anything, but it’ll always be a peeve for me when I can’t get a good visual from a desc because the person is relying more on a picture. I have the same philosophy about ascii but that’s a whole other rant.

It’s annoying when I’ve just quit my longest standing MU and want to join and be involved with others, but the investment is difficult to build up and my mental state derails me half the time. There are so many new and awesome games out right now, that I want to support, while I’m simultaneously trying to work on my own and torn as to where to focus my attention, so I end up getting way less done than I’d like. Just kind of feeling like a flake rn.

Hi. I figured I’d come out of the woodwork for this post because it feels pretty relevant to me, since I started rping around 13 and only came of age a couple years ago. RP has single-handedly been one of the most cathartic outlets for my creativity, personality, and sexuality, and also one of the most emotionally taxing. I genuinely don’t think I’d be who I am without years of rp under my belt, but I also would have avoided tons of unnecessary stress and a lot of very real hurt. As a kid, I lacked the mental and emotional bandwidth to handle some of the heavier situations that arise in these spaces, not just abuse, but general bleed and vicarious feelings. I think it’s especially easy for kids who don’t have much of a social life to immerse themselves way too deeply, so instead of a hobby it becomes a coping mechanism. Obv this isn’t an age-specific issue, but people of lower maturity level are certainly more susceptible.
So, on one hand, rp was integral to my development as a person, but on the other, it kinda fucked me up and I’ve had to reevaluate my relationship with it recently. Collaborative writing can have such a beautiful and powerful impact, but I’d say underage people should stick to spaces with others in their age range, and if they are caught on an 18+ game, turn them away with an invitation to return later.

speaking out against abusive players is difficult

bolded text

@hellfrog said in Star Wars Age of Alliances: Hadrix and Cujo:

@Polk said in Star Wars Age of Alliances: Hadrix and Cujo:

I think it’s a fair complaint that you get shut out of RP in a game unless your PC is a young woman willing to, er, “put out.”

Honestly, I don’t.

I think this gets ASSUMED to be what is going on a lot more than it is actually what is going on. And if it is going on, and you are truly getting shut out of ALL RP on a game because your pc is not the sexually desirable flavor…that game is not for you. You don’t fit the team. Time to move on. What it isn’t time to do is make it seem like the people who are playing whatever fits the team are victims or bad people, or only fit because of sexual reasons. Focus on the people you know to be violating boundaries and being a problem. Do not just assume or lump together anyone who does manage to find rp.

To me this is a weird thing to defend? I get your point about not lumping people together, but as a player who has experienced this exact kind of ostracization, I think it’s perfectly right and good to critique such behavior on a game-wide level. Of course, if a game advertises itself with those kinds of themes, it’s a different story, but most places where it gets complained about are not doing that.

when players are so nasty and unpleasant to deal with you’re afraid of being spied on and bullied a second time for imposing IC consequences.
lol this isn’t even a mush thing, i’m on a mud, but shit i just needed to say it publicly somewhere. carry on with your actual MU peeves!

i hate insomnia
that is all

Hello! Just dropping in to say I had a really fabulous time at the battle scene today. Normally events of that caliber give me a lot of anxiety, but everything about it was well-paced and very easy to keep up with, and I was able to relax into it and just enjoy the rp. Congrats to everyone who participated, and thank you @apos

@Kestrel DOWN WITH PLAYED-BYS

I am with Hellfrog on this one that I enjoy descriptions and even fluffy ones! I’ve also made my opinion on this known before, lol. It’s kind of crazy to me to hear someone suggest nixing descs as a whole. To put it plainly, I love writing descriptions, I love writing them in detail, and I love describing clothes because it makes me feel like I am playing with Barbie dolls. If you don’t want to read that, then don’t. I often include enough detail about my character’s physical traits and attire when I pose/emote anyway.

@Mushling-0 lol bruh

Some people are good at writing descs and some aren’t, and being bad at it/not wanting to doesn’t detract from your skill as a writer. Im just saying to have no desc at all will never not be lame to me, it’s literally how im able to picture a character. To be honest, no, a lot of people do not adequately pose their character’s looks in a scene, because it is generally the cultural norm that they have a description for reference, or a pic!

@Prototart i could not play them if i wanted to because of this, it’s super ultra lame asf

executive function is a fucking miracle and superpower

speaking out against abusive players is difficult

@helvetica Thank you. I checked out one game where characters were not required/encouraged to have descs, just pbs, and I was like …um I guess I’ll see myself out.

I am with Hellfrog on this one that I enjoy descriptions and even fluffy ones! I’ve also made my opinion on this known before, lol. It’s kind of crazy to me to hear someone suggest nixing descs as a whole. To put it plainly, I love writing descriptions, I love writing them in detail, and I love describing clothes because it makes me feel like I am playing with Barbie dolls. If you don’t want to read that, then don’t. I often include enough detail about my character’s physical traits and attire when I pose/emote anyway.

when players are so nasty and unpleasant to deal with you’re afraid of being spied on and bullied a second time for imposing IC consequences.
lol this isn’t even a mush thing, i’m on a mud, but shit i just needed to say it publicly somewhere. carry on with your actual MU peeves!

@Pavel I ardently agree

Every now and then I get a strange and achy nostalgia for arx. Game was such a vibe. I doubt it’s as strong for me as it is for players who were around the whole eight years, but it really defined a particular moment in time for me.