B
Baracaniguara
Guest
Correct me if I am wrong, but a special snowflake is someone who sees everyone going right and decides to go left because, being different is their goal. I seem to be not interested in going right much, and in going left I realize I fit into this category. The reason why I do it though, is easy for me to understand but hard to convey, and ultimately it is the perception of the others on my decision that matters most, unless they are willing to hear me out.
So hear me out, there are some things people that do roleplay in english on a site such as this one enjoy, based firstly on popular culture and then on their collection of experiences, these people subscribe mostly to a certain brand of popular culture and have similar collections of experiences. That is about as much as I know about this subject, so correct me if I am wrong with this sweeping generalization of mines.
My interests are influenced primarily by my collection of experiences, I was born in the Dominican Republic, spent a brief part of my childhood on the Island of Curacao, spent my teenage years back in my country of birth, and am finishing what would be college now In Netherlands. To talk about this makes me feel all sorts of uncomfortable for various reasons, I do not have the eloquence to sum it up in a few words, in a lame attempt I can say that reality is sometimes equal to fiction with all it’s humor and drama, action and intrigue, romance and violence. I often draw analogies to things I have seen or experienced and turn them into works of fiction.
The sort of culture deemed popular around me is but a trivial thing, I do draw inspiration from it at times but I can not say it is as influential as popular culture is to others. I too have been exposed to the same brand of popular culture everyone else has around these parts, and while I’ve read things like Twilight and Harry Potter, played quite some videogames, watched some bits of anime and plenty of movies with the occasional series, it’s influence too hasn’t been strong enough to make me one of yours.
I’ve always had a very active imagination and lacking a unifying brand of popular culture to subscribe to I have taken onto myself to keep an open mind and expose myself to different ideas, styles of music, brands of literature, waves of philosophy, etc. I’ve come to like what I can describe as Mundane Science Fiction and Alternate History. I’ve expanded onto obscure mythologies and elevated them into fantasy settings and have come up with all sorts of unusual pairings, tropes, stories and roleplays.
So this means I have ideas and know what I like, that is a good thing right? I have been in the business of roleplay for a while and I’ve done quite a few roleplays and have also have a list of things I do not like, allow me to name a few:
See what I did there? This is like, 90% of how people pitch their roleplay ideas. So this makes me a special snowflake when I turn them down, however there is nothing harder than proposing random things to a stranger without a clue of their interests so I try and lay my cards on the table before offers are made and also provide alternatives when I decline something. Yet the nature of the things I like also makes me a special snowflake.
So, I guess I am a special snowflake after all. May some other fancy snowflakes like myself who have experienced this share their thoughts and experiences? Help is appreciated from all who can contribute.
So hear me out, there are some things people that do roleplay in english on a site such as this one enjoy, based firstly on popular culture and then on their collection of experiences, these people subscribe mostly to a certain brand of popular culture and have similar collections of experiences. That is about as much as I know about this subject, so correct me if I am wrong with this sweeping generalization of mines.
My interests are influenced primarily by my collection of experiences, I was born in the Dominican Republic, spent a brief part of my childhood on the Island of Curacao, spent my teenage years back in my country of birth, and am finishing what would be college now In Netherlands. To talk about this makes me feel all sorts of uncomfortable for various reasons, I do not have the eloquence to sum it up in a few words, in a lame attempt I can say that reality is sometimes equal to fiction with all it’s humor and drama, action and intrigue, romance and violence. I often draw analogies to things I have seen or experienced and turn them into works of fiction.
The sort of culture deemed popular around me is but a trivial thing, I do draw inspiration from it at times but I can not say it is as influential as popular culture is to others. I too have been exposed to the same brand of popular culture everyone else has around these parts, and while I’ve read things like Twilight and Harry Potter, played quite some videogames, watched some bits of anime and plenty of movies with the occasional series, it’s influence too hasn’t been strong enough to make me one of yours.
I’ve always had a very active imagination and lacking a unifying brand of popular culture to subscribe to I have taken onto myself to keep an open mind and expose myself to different ideas, styles of music, brands of literature, waves of philosophy, etc. I’ve come to like what I can describe as Mundane Science Fiction and Alternate History. I’ve expanded onto obscure mythologies and elevated them into fantasy settings and have come up with all sorts of unusual pairings, tropes, stories and roleplays.
So this means I have ideas and know what I like, that is a good thing right? I have been in the business of roleplay for a while and I’ve done quite a few roleplays and have also have a list of things I do not like, allow me to name a few:
- Basing a roleplay around two ‘archetypes’: Stories I like to paint can’t quite be summed up with an archetype, I enjoy thinking really hard about the characters, their backgrounds, their motivations, assigning flaws and virtues and give them short and long term goals, give them distinct personalities, etc. Then sometimes these archetypes are more like stereotypes, and some of those I have not ever laid eyes on, like ever. I don’t know what they think like or act like, so I can’t quite do them justice. Ultimately what you expect from say: “Outcast” is totally different from what I envision.
- Highschool as a setting: I went to school like everyone else but there was never a popularity contest about it, or social ladder to climb, everyone was regarded much the same regardless of their interests in music or clothing. I can say that school was regarded by most as a nuisance and instead of being the center of… Anything, school was an extension of life outside school. You would have your friends mostly outside school and if you happened to go to the same school, that was an added bonus. I seriously don’t understand how awesome this is.
- Vampires and Werewolves: They were cool once upon a time, I did it once, twice, and a few more times after that. I’ve done enough of it. It was cool because the characters were supernaturally gifted and well, what else? I think there is an appeal of being in a relationship with something dangerous and sometimes feral, but there are other ways of achieving this same dynamic in a relationship.
- Elves, Dwarves, The Medieval and Magic: I think these tropes have ruined fantasy, when someone says fantasy they, and others, usually thinks this. Fantasy is much more than this, it doesn’t have to include races of humanlike beings, or look so much like Europe in the middle ages. There are many other mythologies out there and sources of inspiration that can produce worlds of fantasy that will rival World of Warcraft or Lord Of The Rings without following the same recipe.
See what I did there? This is like, 90% of how people pitch their roleplay ideas. So this makes me a special snowflake when I turn them down, however there is nothing harder than proposing random things to a stranger without a clue of their interests so I try and lay my cards on the table before offers are made and also provide alternatives when I decline something. Yet the nature of the things I like also makes me a special snowflake.
So, I guess I am a special snowflake after all. May some other fancy snowflakes like myself who have experienced this share their thoughts and experiences? Help is appreciated from all who can contribute.
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