#hashiramathetheTherapist

[senjuhashirama]

My quandary is rooted in a separate fandom. I and a few of my friends have character blogs in this separate fandom. Well we aren't popular or that well known, but we have fun and we don't harm anybody. You see there is another group of character blogs as well [in this same fandom] who are very popular. They instantly get likes and fanfare from stans. Our blogs are nothing like theirs. We don't try to duplicate or mimic them in any way. However they (the popular character blogs) have on occasion ripped off our posts and posted our words to their blogs, have used our rp situations, have tried to do things that we do, that we noticed. We ended up blocking them. That's not my quandary though, my problem is one of my friends, let's call her Marsha, who rps her character perfectly and is funny and amazing, decided to start rping with them. Normally I wouldn't have a problem with this, but they are who they are, and Marsha is rping the stuff we do with her.. now with them. Isn't that odd? Marsha pities them because she (and we) suspects that in actuality, the popular blogs are run by 1 or 2 people (there's quite a lot of those blogs). I suspect Marsha is right. But? Is this even fair? I don't trust her, because why is she emulating our rp style, with these blogs that hate us for nothing? 

This is part 1 of the quandary but I'll break it off here, due to length, and tell me what you think?

Addendum: I'm not trying to flex, but we put a lot of thought into our blogs, a lot of care goes into building our characters. We take it seriously. The other character blogs are based on crack threads. Which is always welcome, but it feels so frustrating. Even when we do crack threads I'm sorry but we're just funnier. 🤷🏼‍♀️ Not tootin my own horn but when Marsha posts with the haters (lack of a better term), she's giving them more likes and we sort of feel, hey, look at us here, we're just rping alone. 

(If I could show you what the other blogs post about, 50 reblogs about utensils and.. You would see what I mean!! And again, anyone has the right to post whatever they desire as long as it's not harmful, but their actions against us is what riles me up.)

It's so stupid how what should be a fun time has this added layer of stress. I haven't been sleeping or eating. I'm sorry for dumping this on you. But I need a voice unrelated to my fandom to just.. Tell me what I'm not seeing. 

(If you want me to shut up I will!)

Hi ♥ First, I’m sorry you have to go through this. Fandom, especially RP parts, can be traumatizing. And it’s hard to really leave, because there are people you care about. And sometimes it’s almost impossible. I will put it under the cut, bcs it’s long. 

Second, I would advise you to be careful about what the group is saying about the second group. Masha (for some reason I imagine Marcia from Succession) maybe chose the strategy - if you can’t defeat them, you must join them. Which sometimes can be good, but it can get weird. Sometimes people just want to join the popularest plastics because the promise of popularity seems great (I shrug because this is literally tumblr, why are people still playing plastics lmao). That’s really on them, but there’s a chance she might tell them everything you’re saying, so I really think you should be careful. People like to take things out of context to show how abusive other people are. Just be safe and in case there’s anything sensitive, delete it, because these things can get pretty messy very fast. I’m not saying she will do it, I sincerely hope she won't, I hope she feels only sorry for them, but it’s better to be safe than sorry. 

Third – do not tell them you think they are copying your content. I know this sounds like terrible advice, but many people were accused on this website of stealing stuff and used it as evidence that the other person is shitty. For some reason, RP attracts people who don’t have a very strong sense of identity (which is fine by the way, sometimes I struggle with that too, so I know how it feels) and sometimes these things happen, and they don’t even realize. It sucks, but it is what it is. And your complaining will be used as ammunition. 

You can get into a fight, but honestly, it’s not worth the mental turmoil, because this is basically what thirteen years old children do, mimicking Ar*ana Grande or other famous celebs. It is hurtful to see other people being rewarded for your content, but it’s not like you can do anything, there are no judges. Unless the person is level-headed (if someone told me I would probably apologize bcs it’s my big fear, copying someone! I’d rather know that continue that behavior), there’s a little chance they will admit that they’re basically stealing it from you and most likely they don’t even realize (which is not an excuse, but it lowers the chance of them admitting to it). You probably won’t win and if you will, you will pay for it with your mental health. Most likely, you both will lose in the end or it will be a pyrrhic victory, take that from me. Also I have one thought about it being one or two people – they might be unconsciously mimicking one another, so they might appear as the same, just thought.

So I would advise you to just block them and not watch them. In the end, it’s embarrassing for them to steal something. And as someone who had their content stolen (ironically, by people who would probably prefer if I died and who lied about me and last time I was told they’re still at it but I can’t let that get to me), there’s one thing that always calmed me down. That they can take some things from me, but it doesn’t matter, because it came out of my head, my head is mine, they can’t replace it by taking the things it created. That’s the thing they want, but will never have, your mind. People say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and it is true, it just sucks that people will take the credit.

But what you can do is evolve your ideas. They will be better since they came from you. You aren’t replacable. Try to focus that stress into something creative, even if it’s just out of spite and pettiness. If you don’t want to leave, there’s only that option left. And it’s much better than obsessing about what they took away, because it will only stress you out. You already have the most important thing – your mind and that’s already a higher ground. Not people liking it. It’s much better than fighting them and being petty on main. Believe me, you don’t need that kind of negativity in your life. Some people will notice, some won’t, but you don’t want them around anyway.

Oh and the last thing – take care of yourself. Sometimes I wish people on the internet could see the other person, because I doubt it would be as scary. This is like a high school and nothing more. I hope you will find peace in your ideas, and you won’t feel the need to check them. It can really get uglier than it is now, because some people feel they are entitled to make your life hell, don’t be one of them. Just say no to that negativity, be careful and don’t check them out, because it will ruin your fun. Try not to spiral down and not let the bad thoughts in, this is how you protect your safe space. 

I’m sorry for telling you to kind of surrender, but safety and mental health comes first. And this is the only way it worked for me. 

[senjuhashirama]

I'm having problems with cliques in the rpc. I saw some amazing rp-ers and picked up a muse that I thought would fit their group well. But there's already another version of the same muse, who was on hiatus when I created mine, so I never saw them around. It's just. I really enjoy writing this guy but I wish I picked someone else. Because no one in the group even acknowledges my muse anymore. The other muse came back from hiatus and we've just been shut out. The other guy deliberately leaves comments after mine and obviously get responses from their friends. I can see that I'm not welcome in their posts. I leave likes and comments and just. Nothing. None of them have mains listed nor are they exclusive to each other (apparently). I should just walk away right? This fandom is small so I'll probably just move to another one altogether. I just needed to vent. And it makes me sad that there's no space for human decency and variants in fandom.

Hi ♥ No, don’t leave, the RPC community is already small as it is.  So many people left. I will put it under the cut bcs I prefer to leave fandom stuff there. 

I’m sorry you feel this way but let me assure you that every version of one muse is different. As someone who roleplayed with a few versions of one muse, I never even tried to compare them, because everyone portrays their muse differently and that’s why everyone is irreplaceable, and everyone is special. I know this sounds very hippie, but I think there is too much competition over nothing.

It’s also sometimes hard to navigate a community, especially when people who have been here for a few years are present and understandably have more friends. Sometimes it’s not only about roleplay but also about making connections and people who were here sooner have more of them. And sometimes it’s just hustling. If you’re enjoying it, continue. Try to talk to people in private or just find more people to connect with, plot. Many people here have years and years of notoriety and they probably used to be where you are now. Try to take it step by step, person by person. I honestly think variants are great, unfortunately people are sometimes insecure for no reason whatsoever, because our only competition is ourselves.

There’s enough space for everyone. Don’t be discouraged, the only people who prevail weren’t discouraged when they felt like giving up. And mainly, have fun. This is supposed to be fun, don’t compare yourself to other people, because it’s an impossible thing to do, since you only see the parts of them they want you to see. Take it more as a challenge and try not to take it personally (imho most people here aren’t worth it and most likely they only want to make their friend happy and it’s not about you at all). You will find the right connections and it will fit. I know it can be hard at first to find your place, but you will find it. 

That being said, if you find it very toxic and you don’t think you can handle it, you should look for your mental health first.