“The Best way of successfully acting a part, is to be it” -Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventure of The Dying Detective
Dear World,
Hello again, It’s me while I do think I may have other more important topics to discuss in the future. I do think this one is as interesting as any other. I first began my foray into roleplaying as a young child I think we all do at some point. Playing pretend they call it. Of course the adventures I had were much more grandiose and complex, especially the ones shared with a good friend; but the thing is Roleplaying (or RPing as its often shortened) did not end for me once I got too old to have an active imagination and body. If you are not of course aware of RPing as the internet age has allowed and produced. You might expect that I would be referring to video games or Dungeons and Dragons or some similar type of formally organized game; this assumption would be incorrect. Much along the same lines of what one would do with a Lover in the bedroom, many have taken to the Internet as a sort of way to live out impossible fantasies through ways of image and text… like a kind of multiplayer Text Adventure (or Choose Your Own Adventure Book) where the only thing dictating what happens isn’t a narrator or a set script but rather the constant adapting minds of the players in question.
However, Despite all the Kinky, Erotic RPs out there, as Fanfiction exists, so do the complex yet simple Roleplays of which I speak! My first foray into this specific type of social interaction was in the early days of my interest in the “My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic” fandom. I’m not sure exactly what led me to it, why I suddenly decided that of all the ways I could inspire my urges to write would be to invite my friends to write with me. As ideas were created and shared live, But I did, and i’ve continued to do so since. RPing comes in many different types often based on a given or made up scenario by one or all of the participants and can have more or less restrictions depending on how people wish to enjoy. It offers up a unique kind of escapism which cannot be replicated in any traditional or modern media, since the entirety of the experience is reliant solely on the participants, from the structure to the formatting to the subject matter, and so long as everyone is having a good time, nonsensical stories can be written that make sense in the moment, and in the future but on reading back, someone who was not in the heads of the Role-players at the time, may simply stare in confusion.
RPing is quite popular if a bit niche, on the internet as anyone can do it, all that’s required is a way of communicating, and the internet has no shortage of that. Its for this reason that It’s to no surprise at least to me that RPing is an activity generally enjoyed by people from the ages of 14–30, a way to relive childhood wonder, and stimulate the mind. What is perhaps most odd about the whole thing, at least to me, is how well a person can immerse themselves in a world that is not their own, as a person they are not, and at the same time be able to do this while creating “characters” which are simply branches or mirrors of the self…perhaps deeper on a subconscious level, In my experience you .can learn a lot about yourself and the people you choose to roleplay with just through examination of how and who you and they play. It should then come as no surprise that its so immersing, and yet it is.
Casual RPing as some would call it is an activity that Psychologists seem to only employ with children, which I find quite odd. that said many people would find the act of pretending to be something or someone else, or to have relations with someone even in pretend that is not in actuality that; a tad bit off putting or strange. And I think perhaps the internet and the magic of words on a screen have made this easier. Earlier I mentioned it worked as escapism, for some it works as a way to live out fantasies, for others a way to deal with stress and depression. My mother personally doesn’t understand it, and if she does, she has yet to let on. I personally view it as just another form of writing.
I wrote this post like one would an Article or editorial. perhaps a report or essay. In reality though I only meant to discuss RPing as I understand it, at the time of writing this all out. I hope if anything it helps someone to fully grasp just why the hell people keep making OCs and posting them to Deviant Art and Tumblr.
I’d be glad to hear your thoughts and I always am… comments are enabled or you can shoot me an email, but until then, this has been the world as I see it, Real Life, with me.
Sincerely Yours,
Mjax Majoran
