In-character Interactions, Shotai's How-To And Why-To

[Subject Tai]

Howdy there folks!

I'm going to contribute to the discussion to talk about something that is quite literally the anti-forum subject, in-character approaches. An example of an in-character approach can be found here, but other than that, I feel like the stigma of the approach is undeserved. Here's why you should consider In-Character approaches,

Quick Engagements: very quickly, you can engage with a large number of people in an effort to find somebody that clicks well with you. Usually, this means that you need to have a profile for the character, similar to F-list, as well as a means of communicating that you're online and active. However, this doesn't mean that a forum makes an in-character approach impossible. You can set up an RP and set up a contact for others to approach, the most important thing is to be fluent in the case that a player might contribute something you did not expect. An in-character approach is like fishing, you're tossing a line out, and hoping that the fish will take the bait.

Unexpected Encounters: You will encounter something new that you did not expect, nor ask for. This unsolicited means of RP means that you will be exposed to things that you never knew that you liked, and things that you never knew that you disliked. The most important thing is to get off of the high horse, and don't punish people for exposing you to something that you dislike. Like in the real world, a character will approach you that you might not like, try not to cancel them, or try not to cancel what they find fascinating enough to write!

Never Experience Recycled Ideas: It's very common to receive recycled ideas from failed campaigns to failed RP's or perhaps just an RP that you happened to have enjoyed, or perhaps your partner wants to revisit one of their favorite RP's: an in-character response might not have that same grand feeling to it as a pre-developed idea, but you're surely not going to experience the same old same old again and again.; unless if the RP devolves into just writing sex positions back and forward.

Taste New Personalities: Sometimes folks play the same character with different a different body and a different name, but I can't help feel like like many others when I say, they're essentially the same characters. If you approached a person in-character, you could get to experience the same things I do, hopefully! New personalities, new obsessions, new lifestyles, almost as if you're roleplaying on Omegle!

Now remember, QUNT to win! But not before realizing all the negatives that can come with the poison!

IC Responses have the cons of,
- Breaking character takes away from the RP
- Not being able to communicate means that a grand plan will be near impossible to develop
- People that you do not find attractive will contact you
- You will be exposed to triggers and kinks that you dislike
- And so much more!

What're some of your favorite experiences with an IC approach? Mine is being approached with an ass grab. The RP turned into a carnival pier by the ocean, being butt fucked by a furry over a railing. If I could get my main account unbanned on F-list, I'd totally revisit the RP partner responsible for one of my favorite RP's! ^&^

 

[Sophor]

While I see your point, it really depends on what you want out of an rp.

I for example like some prep work, I want to make sure things have a solid foundation for long term fun, I like to talk about kinks, about setting, genre and tone, I want to talk about characters and what both I and my partner want out of an rp - here just jumping into the fun with an IC approach would lead to quite a few of duds, at least for me. Maybe I am just pickier than most, but more than half of the request threads I check out quickly turn out to not fit what I'm looking for. If I know nothing about a person and just start rping then that would lead to a lot of wasted time where I rp for a few days only to see there's no chemistry or that we just want different things out of the rp.

This said - if you mainly rp for some quick fun I can see IC working great. The classic masturbation rp that likely most of us did as teens comes to mind (not that that's something you can't do later on too - I just personally lost interest in these quickies long ago).
I feel IC approaches lead to a way less narratively fulfilling experience, but they lend themselves for things where you just want to play some naughty stuff real quick, no strings attached.

 

[Tanakalian]

There are people who literally are a character when roleplaying. There's a couple on this site, of whom @Allison Kaye is probably the best example. Her journal is her character for instance.

As for me, personally, I am like @Sophor, but probably even further. Not only do I want to know about characters and common ground for a roleplay, I am also highly interested in the peson at the other end of the screen. I welcome personal conversations, and in my personal experience it benefits a roleplay. Not always talk about the play, but the weather as well, and other things that keeps someone busy is something I like to know.

Also, I don't have set characters, for each play I create a new character and while they might have things in common, they're never the same man. So I wouldn't even know how to approach IC.

 

[Allison Kennedy]

There are people who literally are a character when roleplaying. There's a couple on this site, of whom @Allison Kaye is probably the best example. Her journal is her character for instance.

Thanks for the mention here Tanakalian. This personna is definitely a created character and writes more in-character than OOC. The whole reason I am here is primarily to continue an RP story with another character that was abruptly disrupted by my character profile getting deleted outright on another site. We were able to continue our collaborative story-writing here and I did start a new RP with someone I met here. That is going quite well as the storyline fits into my overall character life-story. I use my journal thread for both IC and OOC entries, even though the OOC ones are framed within an IC setting. At the end of the day, I'm here to collaboratively write stories in character, and tend to keep casual OOC chat to a minimum as I find it distracts me and takes time away from me writing IC.

Going by what I have read here and in the linked RT, I'm not sure, and don't think my sort of approach to RP is exactly what Subject Tai is talking about in this thread when he says 'IC Approach'.

 

[Subject Tai]

Thanks for the mention here Tanakalian. This personna is definitely a created character and writes more in-character than OOC. The whole reason I am here is primarily to continue an RP story with another character that was abruptly disrupted by my character profile getting deleted outright on another site. We were able to continue our collaborative story-writing here and I did start a new RP with someone I met here. That is going quite well as the storyline fits into my overall character life-story. I use my journal thread for both IC and OOC entries, even though the OOC ones are framed within an IC setting. At the end of the day, I'm here to collaboratively write stories in character, and tend to keep casual OOC chat to a minimum as I find it distracts me and takes time away from me writing IC.

Going by what I have read here and in the linked RT, I'm not sure, and don't think my sort of approach to RP is exactly what Subject Tai is talking about in this thread when he says 'IC Approach'.

Correct,

While the approach you take does seem to be a bit IC, it's quite clear that OOC elements are still taking place. In most concepts, In-character approaches begin when no line of OOC and IC has been broken, and you remain in character; or at least for the majority of the RP. Disrupting this flow of RP by speaking OOC can be harmful to an IC approach, because people that use an IC approach are strictly looking for that one particular aspect. Otherwise, an OOC approach would serve all of their purposes in a far superior manner.

A profile can be in-character while maintaining an OOC aspect like Allison, this is particular prominent on Discord RP Profiles. The profiles are typically adapted to one specific character, or a small group of characters, and that entire page is dedicated to acting in-character. Approaching in-character is quite common on Tumblr, or at least, it was before cancel culture.

 

[Atlach-Nacha]

IC approaches work best in chatrooms. All of my successful IC approaches (both made and received) were on F-list where I've seen the other character hang out in public rooms and got some opportunities to get a feel for them. This is what prompts an IC approach in the first place: you notice someone sharing your energy to an extent that makes OOC discussion unnecessary. Finding this unspoken "energy" is how I've discoved my best roleplaying partners and had the most profound roleplaying experiences. Pre-planned roleplay can never achieve this effect.

F-list is a particularly conductive environment for the IC approach, and I haven't had success with this anywhere else. Especially not with random people on forums. You need to already know your target's style in order for an IC approach to be worth the effort. For this, you need to see how they play with others. A character profile doesn't reveal this, so you need to study their IC forum post history, if they have any. Unless you fall in love with their writing at first sight, that's quite a bother, and it becomes easier to approach OOC instead.

It doesn't look like your experience is much different, so there's definitely a pattern.