How do you handle inactive partners/RPers in your plot?

[Morrigan 1,826]

We've all had it.

 

Slow members.

Forever promises of posts that never come.

Real lives that eat people.

 

How do you deal with it? What do you do? How do you tie up loose ends?

 

Alternatively, if that player comes back, how do you re-introduce them to your story?

[Runa 23]

I try not to choose a story line that relies so heavily on certain characters that we can't progress the plot without them. That's just asking for trouble, tbh, unless you're lucky enough to have a solid group that's always super active.

[Somniac 207]

I tend to stick to sites that allow large casts in part so I’m not stuck waiting on something that’s never going to move. I generally give something a few weeks, maybe a month or two max without reciprocal communication, before I start tying things up as non-intrusively as I can.

 

If they pop back up – cool. I’d probably be more comfortable with 1x1s if the same mysterious dynamic is present. That way, I’m not getting my other plotlines held up and still getting to write with someone whose ideas might intrigue me. I tend to cross-reference things a lot and it’s one of my favorite parts about being in a group setting.

 

If it’s someone who’s made it known though that they’re only going to be able to post once a month, or will drop some months but be back others – sweet. If I know what I’m working with, we can usually work something out. On the chance something can’t work out, I’ll let them know and keep an eye out for others who might be interested.

 

TL;DR: Try to initiate a conversation if the current dynamics are hindering my writing; 1x1 or reduced role instead if their communication preference is sparse; accommodate to my best ability if we can figure out what they’re looking for.

[Elena 546]

For slow members, we are waiting for them, sometimes reminding them that their characters are needed in certain collective threads.

 

For those who need to take a hiatus, it is known that their characters will be assumed to be at duty and slightly NPC-ed when needed (e.g. if the master gunner needs to order fire in that battle, one of the gunners hears the order and fires 🙂 ). The one on one threads can wait for when they are ready to return.

 

If several months are passing and the member doesn't return, then the personal threads are closed too, sometimes using NPCs, or, depending on the thread evolution and purpose, other characters who can do the same thing are invited into the thread (or who can twist the thread into another, desired, direction). Sometimes, characters mention in their journals or in other subsequent threads things which happened offscreen as a follow to those threads. 

 

When the writer returns, a quick summary of what happened in the meanwhile is given, together with recommendations which collective threads to join, where their characters are needed.  Also the individual threads get continued, if there is the case. We had people who were deployed overseas in the military and returned after 7-8 months, and they were welcomed back. In the meanwhile, we NPC-ed the characters in the collective threads, on the principle that they were doing their duties.

[Jaxx 317]

For members leaving or going on hiatuses of 3 months or more, I try to reach out to the person first. I'll see how they want to wrap up what they have. We can either work something out together or they'll say they don't care, and I'll decide how things ended. Usually I will put the reasoning on my character's shoulders, for example, my character thought he saw something suspicious during a meeting and ran away. This is influenced slightly by whether or not it's a canon site that will be taken again, in the case of someone leaving - it will be a bit more vague so that I can work things out with the future player. 

 

If someone is slow to the point that I'm waiting a month or more for posts, I'll try to gently tell them that I'd prefer not to write with them again after we wrap up our current thread. For members that leave me waiting 2-4 weeks, I'll say that I would prefer not to do important threads with them, but I'll do "fluff" or "filler" threads with them. In both cases, I would be honest and say that it's because of their posting speed, but I would also say that I still appreciate them writing with me and hope they sill enjoy the board with other partners, and I would still engage with them OOC.

 

If someone is constantly promising posts and never delivering, I just straight up give them an ultimatum. "I expect x amount of activity from my partner, and if you can't provide that, I think it's best if we wrap up our threads OOC so I can move on." I have much less patience with someone who keeps making promises they can't keep than with people who are active around the site but simply aren't compatible with my expectations. There's no harm done with the latter but quite frankly I think it's time to step down from a site if all you ever do is promise that you're going to post soon. 

 

If someone ghosts, in many cases, I just handwave them as never having existed. Especially if we never got very far in whatever we had planned. If a thread only has three posts in it, then i's easier to say that it never happened. Then if it's a significant thread (for example, separated siblings reuniting) I can start fresh with whoever may take the character up next. 

 

For group  or event threads, regardless of reasons for the slow speed, the character will be written out of play and the thread will move on. It's not fair to make everyone else wait on one person, especially with events, as those are typically threads that are only viable for a short amount of time until the event closes. They can't sit for weeks and weeks. 

 

If the player comes back, they're expected to adjust their character to whatever may have happened while they were gone. For example, if there was a war in their country, they will have to add to their app what their character was doing during the war and how it affected them. Other than that, it's generally assumed that their character was offscreen in their absence, keeping on with whatever they were doing without interacting with any played characters. Or, depending on what was going on when the player left/ghosted, we may have written that a character was kidnapped or moved away or something like it. They're generally allowed to pick up where they left off as long as there's not been any developments in the plot that would prevent that. 

[xexes 108]

Abandon it immediately and pretend it never existed! When anyone mentions it, laugh awkwardly and change the subject.

 

Just kidding. Generally I try to move the plot along with some form of "rounds" instead of "turns" so that a single player's participation is optional but the plot still moves along. If it's not possible, I'll try to send a communications to the critical player.

[snowpines 7]

I cry and then pick up the pieces. just kidding... Sometimes, depending on if we did not get too far, I will just erase it from the character's narrative. It's just easier that way unless I can think of a reason to keep the story or tie the disappearance into some further character development. As for slow people, I'm actually really patient and am used to waiting so it doesn't really bother me too much. If it does, I end up just biting my tongue. It's not worth the hassle, and it's probably not worth it to the other person to be bugged.

[blindxsecrets 15]

I'm stupid patient, usually past the point of reason, when it comes to waiting for RP partners. I've waited six months for a post before, lol. If it's a huge plot then I'll wait and pray they come back. If it's not, I usually just drop it altogether and move on. I try to connect my character(s) to as many people as possible, so if something falls by the wayside, the character isn't completely stalled out. It's always good to have other things happening, and I'm not a fan of having a character exist strictly for one person -- learned the hard way to NOT do that. 

 

Then again, I can be slow, too. Sometimes my posts are 2,000 or 3,000 words and it can take me a week or so to pump it out. I'm a wordy beeetch sometimes and it can be an issue if I'm writing with someone who wants posts right now, right now, right now. But if I know my RP partner posts shorter than that and wants posts quicker, I try to adapt and post less words so I can be faster.

 

But yeah, not a lot you can do but wait or drop it if someone ghosts bad enough, unfortunately.

[Huskerdust 625]

I write my character out of it and move on with my life. Sometimes it sucks because I really enjoyed the story or the characters but I'm not about holding people down and trying to force them. I wouldn't want to be treated that way. So while it's sad, it happens and I just do my best to keep moving. 

[Honorem 219]

Firstly, I give them a disclaimer in my thread to let them know that I have no intention on stopping the adventure if they happen to disappear without warning. That way they know to expect us to have continued without them.

 

Secondly, I write them out in a way that doesn't harm their character, and allows for them to rejoin at a later date if they want. I recently had a thread that took place during a long ship voyage with multiple stopovers. A member went awol, so the rest of our characters just assumed they got off at one stop and missed the boat. Whereas, we're still on the boat, so if they do return, they can say they were there all along. That kind of thing, wherever possible. 🙂

[Yona Carlin 44]

Got a couple members like this. Shit moves on without them. I write with them when they're around and let things sit for a while when they're not. When way too much time passes I usually fin or post the truncated thread. Doesn't bother me at all. Usually these people aren't super essential to the plot anyway, and once I know who you are I make sure to only involve you in contained stuff between us rather than anything that would impact the game at large.

[Mab 58]

Cry into my pillow in the frustration of it all. 

 

No honestly, i don't think there is one hard fast rule, and either way its super frustrating. Especially when they don't communicate and just leave you hanging with what or what isn't happening. My biggest peeve of them all is, im going to post today, no today, no today i promise and then it never happens, second only to the just disappearing act that happens.

 

From an admin perspective inactivity is annoying when major things are happening, especially on the smaller sites where movement hinders on the moving parts on the site. Honestly i usually give them a month if there is no communication, longer if there is, and truth be told i don't do anything. 

 

If its an event ill come up with an overall ending that doesn't particularly mention the characters involved. If its singular threads etc then unless iv been told, i don't come up with a reason as to where/what has happened, if they have connections, possibly leave it open ended of oh they just disappeared one day, that way when or if they come back then its easier to bring them back in. The drama of oh you just left me high and dry is always fun to deal with.

 

And honestly i do the same as a member as well. Like it's not down to me to say what happened to a certain character so leaving it as open ended as possible is how i try and go for it because i would hate to force someone into a hole when they come back.

[Divinity 24]

I honestly try to write around them  if something real life eats them up for a time. I understand and adapt because work and all those things can often hinder writing. I also keep open communication so that even if I am not around I encourage a message letting me know something came up. It has worked well for me because prior to this I had some horrible things.

 

There were two people I had written extensively with and had a pattern habit of disappearing for 6 months no word and I was left holding the bag on many tales and characters because they tended to like to write with me. Or we just both had some really great ideas. 

 

I finally no longer have that patience. Unless I get some sort of communication or know that something came up, I wait a few days then move it along without any issues.

[ammut 42]

The short answer: I will wait for around a month (longer if the member communicates with me), but after that, I am plotting this character out if I still have muse for them.

 

I didn't go through the trouble of making an app just for the character to twiddle their thumbs. Not to mention I think it is important to have more than one plot with a character, or to have a plan B. Hinging a character entirely on one member/character is asking for trouble in my opinion.

[StudioEden 9]

I know that I've recently hit this snag with my co-head admin. While 98% of the lore and story is written and moved by me, we started this story many years ago and so a lot of my characters are wrapped up with theirs. Now, after reopening the board, a lot of "real life" things have come up on their end that basically has them "floundering/waffling" and while irritating as it may be, I refuse to let my characters sit around doing nothing. Ships could possibly be sunk and story lines may be changed, but I have to do what I have to do in order to keep my stories/characters afloat. It sucks, I hate it, but I don't like the idea of anyone sacrificing their creativity due to inactivity. I would ask the same of my RP partner if I was the one being devoured by real life/floundering/waffling. It isn't fair that I make a person stay on standby for months at a time, denying potential plot development for their people, because I can't deliver. I won't do the same for my people either.