someone mentioned it i think?? but an oc site where you can bring back old ocs in a setting thats similar to "after death" to give them a last hoorah is... such a tempting idea uwah

i actually think about this kind of thing a lot. might be better suited to its own thread rather than this one, but let's see how far i can push it

i've come to accept that pretty much every big public roleplay site that runs how you would expect an rp site to run in this day and age will inevitably become a slice-of-life sandbox if it isn't advertised as one already. "plot-driven" stuff is insanely hard because you have to imagine it like a TTRPG game, except you have around 10-20 players who don't know each other and all have their own different, sometimes outright clashing expectations/opinions for what is fun and what they wanna write, and you have a small team of GMs who also wanna be players, and the sessions never end. you just can't actively engage twenty-something people and make them all play a part in some big story without either a staff team approaching a small company in size or a time investment way higher than what is reasonable for a hobby... or if everyone has just such good chemistry with each other that there is no chance for drama to occur, but *shrek tearing piece of paper out of book* like that's ever gonna happen

the most appealing form of roleplay from both a staff and player standpoint is an open setting where people can make their own fun with some light rules on the side, and occasional events to stir up threads and provide a hook for players to incorporate into their own personal plots. this isn't really a bad way to roleplay at all, but i can understand how frustrating it is to do the same old song and dance on every goddamn site if you don't already know everyone there. in my experience, most sites that try to actively push for a sitewide plot that changes the world and incorporate player characters into it end up dying quick because of staff burnout/frustration. obviously, it's fun while it lasts to feel like you're a small part of something much larger, and some sites definitely pull it off and are able to keep a steady momentum with a sizeable community, but I consider that shit to be a herculean feat on the staff's part, definitely not the norm.

i've gotten burnt out on this kinda thing before but i ended up finding that tabletop stuff is closer to what i want when i feel like i'm apart of a cohesive long-term story with a small group of people who "get" the vibe, while public forum roleplay is more for "in the moment" writing. no thoughts, just words, pure expression.

bottom line is, you aren't alone in feeling this way. hopefully, you'll find what you're looking for

Just curious about this, since joining a site doing all that and then leaving/site dying etc happen A LOT. Would you or anyone else be interested in a site where characters are the only ones, you just join up and there is no communication outside of placing your character in the world and seeing who joins? Or joining others. I've always wondered about this, saw your post and wanted to ask, it's fine if it's just a mood and what I mentioned doesn't appeal to you at all.