so i don't know how other people feel, but i adore playing canons. i come from a warriors rp background, which has a very different approach to canon positions in almost every facet compared to most animanga rp i've seen. it's very common to have to complete an extensive form, if not an entire app (tho this has gotten less common in recent years, you usually just have some sort of rp sample in the initial form) and there's a lengthy time where people can apply for said canon position. there's typically multiple people vying for a position at once, and higher activity is expected due to the importance to the overall narrative of the site. 

but yes anyway i adore playing canons. it's important for me to feel like i'm actively participating in the site lore or making connections to it in my own writing. it's the easiest way for me to stay engaged and interested in a site, bc my attention span has been destroyed and i get bored easily. i also feel that typically since canons typically have an attention grabber/archtype and that type of character usually appeals to me. i love playing cartoonishly evil people LMAO

I'm not sure I'm talking about what you're talking about, so first, DEFINITIONS.

Canon: a collection or list of sacred books accepted as genuine. In RP canon characters are ones that come from the source material as opposed to ones that are made up by individual players (OCs). For example, Vegeta from the Dragon Ball universe.

I do like playing canons, but only if I really know/love the character. Otherwise it's a chore of research and how and why did I get myself into this ... I also sometimes play expies!

Canons are never necessary, but they can be fun! And we're all here to have fun.

yes because I like responsibility and i don't need a canon to get things off the ground but a position def helps speedrun my plots quickly.

on the other hand if a site is chaotic and has bad ooc vibes then playing a canon is x5 worse than just playing a regular character. so it kind of depends. now i'm in the mindset of "i would never play a canon unless i knew the staff team has good conflict management skills." just because i'm reasonable doesn't mean that other canon rpers will be.

Submitting the voice of dissent that I don't really like playing canons, for reasons:

1) I don't generally like leadership or "spotlight" roles IRL, so I'm less comfortable playing characters who have them.

2) I like to be fed pre-packaged site plots by staff instead of coming up with major plots on my own.

3) Oftentimes it's not clear from the lore what a faction would actually want to do to shake up the site in a major way.

4) Playing a canon puts more pressure on you to thread with people/characters (especially within your faction) whom you'd otherwise never in a million years, because if you don't, you might be icing them out of a major plot (and the desire to not want to be a Mean Exclusionist is already present in a lot of rpers, even when they don't have canon roles).

I've also seen roleplays introduce key roles in their site and call them "canon". Like if the RP world were Japan, you could have a "canon" role of playing the Prime Minister, with a set number of characteristics you have to conform to to pitch a character for that role.

Given some of the replies talking about leadership and stuff, I suspect this is what the others are talking about...


As far as playing canonical characters from the/a source material goes, I tend to prefer not to, as I'd feel the pressure to write the character right and not make them into something they're not. I used to do it, but after a few too many heated exchanges over whether I was representing them properly...yeah, no.

As far as the "canon roles" go, I've considered it too big a hurdle to apply for one, and I dislike how stringent some of the requirements are when I generally like to write younger characters rather than middle-aged ones. Something about the energetic frivolity that accompanies youth that plucks at my creative strings...and I haven't much of a taste for writing about Adult Problems.

I'll echo what Traveller said and assume this refers to canons as in roles/positions that are integral for a site's narrative and not canons in the other sense. (As in, we're just using Sasuke's face, not literally playing Sasuke Uchiha.) I think they're sometimes referred to as "site canons" to differentiate?

& if that's the case: I usually really enjoy taking canon positions, assuming I'm vibing with the rest of the site! Though sometimes I'll make a more "neutral" or unaffiliated character who's not as entrenched into the main plot and politics of the site, especially if it's a magical or power-based site and I decide I want to write a normie/civilian for once. Playing a canon gives both myself and my character a sense of being part of something greater. Also, it's much easier (for me) to weave plots and establish connections when affiliated with a faction, as opposed to navigating the world as a loner. Those are just my 0.002 cents, though!

Yeah "do you play canons" and "do you play site canons" are two separate questions which is why I defined what I was talking about.

assuming you mean canon as in "site canon" / leadership roles. in which case, generally on the same boat as phim, ink, and lilac. i tend to prefer taking canon roles only if i know i'm 100% willing to commit to the site and trust the community and staff enough. there's a lot of pressure and expectations when it comes to making a canon, imo, so it's very much YMMV and just know what you're in for and what you are and aren't willing to do. i'll do canons if i feel like the position fits my concept and i know i have some kind of plot / direction / source of conflict i can use to get things moving. if i don't have that, then it's no dice.

i tend to view "taking canon roles" as "offering to be the faction's DM". you make stuff happen, manage people in the faction, and ensure that when shit hits the fan icly (and oocly, even) — you're ready to respond, roll with the punches, get things moving, plot with a lot of people, set personal biases aside, etc. it takes a lot of work, but hey, it's a responsibility you chose to shoulder and app in, yk? and i think that if you view canons in this kind of light, yeah they do somewhat become a "much helpful presence", since someone is taking responsibility for a big aspect in the site.

however, echoing what phim said that you don't need to be a canon to make waves and impact the site. while it does offer you a "leg up" to do so, i think that it all boils down to initiative and drive to pursue plots, jumpstart things, and be there for the ride. any oc can do that, when written by a willing rp-er, imo. i also think that the view that "canons" = "plot important" = "necessity" sometimes harms sites, since there's a lot of reliance on a specific set of characters to be around and generate momentum. i've seen a lot of non-canon characters cause impact far more than canons (hell, been there myself) and vice versa (also been there). it's very possible.

necessary if seen as DM-like roles , unnecessary if they're there and taken just for a subset of people who want to feel important w/o understanding the responsibility that comes with it i.e. respond to others' ideas. most of the time they become less important if all they want is for the rest of the site to cater to them just because. 

that is not to say that they are responsible for approaching whatever new members that join their factions tho. ppl still need to have their own initiative to approach those with canon roles and offer what else they can bring to the table to enhance the experience overall. 

phim has already summed up my thoughts, but i'll answer the last question.

i view my characters as an actual person, because i consume more live action media than i do with cartoons these days; i also believe that rping in the rlrpc for about a decade has influenced that too. 

i like playing the roles associated to site canons. not to feel important, but just that i like writing high-ranking individuals. it's all i do in my personal writing time. but i don't like playing site canons for a few reasons:

in public spaces, i've seen how those roles make people turn in (and out) on each other. it boils down to not everyone gets along, nor do they have exemplary communication skills. some people take canons and shirk the responsibility it comes with. others take it too seriously.

the responsibility tagged onto them tends to end up putting them against unrealistic expectations. especially on larger population sites and/or factions. you're expected to write with a majority of the players and push faction plot. then, if there is an event, you're expected to participate if your faction is involved. micromanaging and organizing the ooc faction plotting too.

that is all on top of trying to balance it with personal plotting and threads unrelated to the role. even other characters you want to play.

granted, i know it's not like that everywhere and i'm explaining the extreme side of it. but it's what i've noticed and experienced (in varying degrees) in the spaces i've been in. i think it can be rewarding to slot yourself in those types of roles. but for me, the cons outweigh the pros. they're a lot nicer and easier to manage on semi-private and private spaces. so i tend to grab them there more.