A collection of pet peeves & behaviours we hate to see in the RPC
#4: Showing interest in interacting doesn’t just mean replying to threads
Lately there have been a few PSAs going around, stating that “lack of interaction ≠ lack of interest”. This rule is both true and false, depending on one’s definition of interactions and interest. I think that it’s time to clear up the main points of the matter, to avoid misunderstandings and conflicts.
What are interactions?
If we look at the formal definition of the word, an interaction is defined as a “reciprocal action or influence” and “communication or direct involvement with someone or something”.
So, “interacting” basically means reaching out to someone else, in any sort of way. It’s not merely answering threads or asks or IMs, it can be something simpler and quicker, as liking a post or sending an ask. It’s not just producing content yourself, it’s helping others to do so.
I would also like to put an emphasis on the reciprocalpart of the first definition, because this aspect is extremely important when it comes to RPing. Writing and interacting with someone is a two-way street. When the effort is one-sided, it becomes tiring and frustrating pretty quickly. No one should be surprised to see others’ interest in you waning, when they are constantly doing all the work and making all the efforts.
What is showing interest?
For what concern interest, the word means “the feeling of wanting to know or learn about something or someone”.
Once again, there are plenty of ways to show that you are invested in your mutuals’ content. It’s not necessarily be a constant and loud presence. An ask from time to time or a small comment or even just a like let your writing partners know that you are interested in them and their blog(s).
So, to sum up, how can I interact with others and show interest towards them?
Interacting and showing interest is extremely easy and, in some forms, it takes less than a minute. It takes the same time of reblogging a PSA and it takes much less time than writing a post to say that you’re “sorry for the lack of activity / interactions”.
If you’re busy / if real life and mental health are kicking your ass / if you don’t have the energy to do more than lurking / if inspiration has been too flaky to write threads, here’s a list of things that you can do to show your mutual that you’re still interested in engaging them:
Like their headcanons posts (and optionally leave a comment if you feel like)
Like their edits / art / graphics / things they make (again, if you can, leaving a comment is nice too)
Send them OOC memes (headcanon memes, mun memes, and any IC meme that it’s not a starter meme) when you see them posting some
These simple, quick things can reassure your writing partners of your interest more than any PSA about how “lack of interaction ≠ lack of interest”.
Take-home message
We all have a life outside the internet, responsibilities, work and / or school, health issues, difficulties of various kinds, and so on. This has, of course, to be respected. However, if you have the time to reblog a PSA or to make a post about how “you’re not ignoring people, you’re just busy”, then you have the time to drop a like on a mutual’s post / HC / edit / whatnot or to send in a non-interaction meme.
Being busy IRL is not a valid justification not to do this. It comes off as making excuses for your unwillingness to do the bare minimum and for being lazy.
Red’s touch is as unexpected as the sight of the painting had been ; the brush of his hands feels electric, tingling sparks blooming where their fingers join. Though her first instinct is to pull away from the intimate touch, she doesn’t. We need this as friends, she tells herself as she gives his hand a squeeze, as if that isn’t an excuse for her to chase her own reckless desires against her better judgment.
Feeling helpless at the sight of his smile, she exhales softly.
“I sometimes wish we’d actually traveled together… y’know, instead of racing each other to the top.” Maybe then, Red wouldn’t have felt like he needed to take on the weight of the world upon his shoulders alone. The latter was in the spirit of rivalry, sure, but that had always been heavily pushed by Green… and look where that had landed him. Them. All three of them are a mess.
Despite her own wishes, she doesn’t linger. Her hand slips through Red’s fingers as she pulls away with reluctance. Her arms then fold over her chest while she retreats behind the walls of her fortress, all under the guise of admiring the artwork lining the remainder of the hallway. It’s uncanny how cold the space suddenly feels without him by her side. She finds herself aching for that small little touch, however brief it had been.
It’s so hard to pretend like she doesn’t feel anything.
“I admire her, you know?” she says softly, now standing before a painting of Snorlax placidly napping across a road she recognizes to be just outside Celadon. It’s her best attempt at redirecting the subject to something neutral. “And maybe even envy her a little. I’ve always wished I had any talent for the visual arts… if you took a peek at my research journal, you’ll find I’m pretty much the opposite. Even my doodles are ugly as hell.”
The statement almost surprises him. Almost. In a way he looks back on it and he can almost imagine that sort of want, if he hadn’t been so focused on his goal of becoming Champion; focused on racing Green to the very top in particular. The thought leaves him feeling cold very fast as she lets go of his hand, yet another moment to slip away from him it seems.
“I sometimes wish the same.” He softly admits, but it seems she’s moving on to looking at the rest of the paintings. He won’t linger on it if she doesn’t want to.
He looks over at the next painting, he remembers moments like this where he had to wake up wild snorlaxes on the road. Always made for a fun battle to happen out of nowhere, but he listens more to Blue changing the subject. Idly he hopes he hasn’t made her feel too strange over his comments, but he also felt he shouldn’t keep things like this to himself anymore. Doing that hasn’t exactly gotten him anywhere.
“I’m not much better, I do like to draw on occasion but… nothing like this. I don’t know if I’d have the patience to hone the skill, and sit in one place to work on something like this for hours.”
“So I suppose I admire her too, it takes a lot of dedication I’m sure.”
(txt): yeah. really bad. we’re working on how to contain the thing and gold had a good idea about it.
(txt): genuinely painful dreams. emotionally and physically. i usually don’t dream but even mine have gotten way worse.
(txt): what’s up? have you been having dreams too?
There’s a pause while he thinks on it, before he decides he might as well talk about it. Even if it turns out to be too ‘normal’, it is still hanging around his mind.
(txt): maybe
(txt): one stood out anyway
(txt): i’m not too much of a stranger to nightmares but the recurring ones i’m pretty used to by now
(txt): but after that party i went to i had a dream about getting into a car crash with blue and green
(txt): they were both dead, and i felt like i was dying myself
(txt): it’s been awhile since one messed me up that badly, considering usually the nightmares are about silph co, or rocket
(txt): no you really shouldn’t. but if you hear any local legends about this thing, it’d help me out.
(txt): well before it got captured it killed 2.4 million people in saffron.
(txt): green captured it. everyone around him is having pretty violent nightmares.
(txt): it did kill him. matsuba doing something actually did bring him back.
(txt): think it might’ve tried to kill blue the way he talks about it.
(txt): really dangerous creature. honestly don’t think its a pokemon. i think its a demon.
“Shit.” He mumbles as he reads, now he’s shocked that something like this went by without notice. If it still happened in his world he supposes people maybe just didn’t want to bring it up, understandably so.
Though he lingers on the point about the nightmares, he wants to brush his own off as just… being a normal nightmare. But he can’t, he has to ask.
(txt): what the hell
(txt): glad to hear green is alright now but that sounds horrifying
(txt): but i keep wondering if somewhere out there we’re all just molecules of the same thing that split.
(txt): my tower is too. radio tower now. so is blues.
(txt): the monster’s under it. stories under. don’t go looking for it, but if you wanna ask around…
(txt): we’re struggling with it.
(txt): at this point that’s not even that farfetched either
But he’s more focused on the second part, again interesting difference but…struggling?
(txt): they’re separate buildings here
(txt): but i’m not going to go looking for it most likely, not unless it starts really causing problems here
He does sort of want to look into it in general, but doesn’t trust that it would go well either. If it’s giving his other self trouble, he would fare no better.
(txt): how are you struggling with it? what is it doing?
Happy Pride Month this protagonist is bigender. Not that he’s really likely to refer to himself that way.
He regards his gender identity largely with a shrug, it certainly exists doesn’t it? Most people tend to use he/him pronouns for him and he’s not really about to correct them on it. However he finds he’s not about to correct anyone on… any pronoun or gender title really.
Boy? Sure. Girl? Okay. Person? Yeah.
He tends to think he has bigger things to worry about than how people perceive his gender.
What is your muse’s favorite thing to do in their down time? (Red)
He’s grateful for a second to breathe over a normal question–
Red enjoys wandering around wherever he happens to be living or visiting, spending time with his pokemon, and volunteering for rescue services. Naturally he still will take on a few battles for those brave enough to approach him about it in passing, but largely that’s how he spends his down time.
There’s probably many pokemon who needed rescue from exceedingly dangerous places that were assisted by him, and also a few trainers who simply lost their beloved partner pokemon and didn’t expect to get Red of all people helping out. Most people don’t believe it’s him when he shares his name. (“It’s Red.” “Like the champion! Wonder what he’s up to.” “This.”)
