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[Seriphyn]

I struggled to articulate this point in chat so I figured I'd make a post here. The question is, if the other person has to leave, do you prefer pausing the RP to resume at a later date or handwaving it? Obviously this applies to private RP which can be in its own continuity and thus inserted anywhere in the timeline of the overall RP. I was wondering that it depends on the context of the RP.

For example, I have RPed with people where every line and words spoken is crucial to establishing the dynamic and relationship between the two characters. When either have to part due to OOG reasons, I find it better to pause this RP, as handwaving it will dismiss critical RP opportunities that could be used to continue to cement the dynamic...as such that you can't really even handwave because the RP is deep enough to a point that you can't assume how the characters behave anyway!

Whereas, certain RP can very easily be handwaved due to the nature of it, such as two characters chilling in an apartment or whatever. I wonder if ability to handwave/assume RP is correlative with how much you know the character IC and the roleplayer's ability OOC? My character was having dinner with another and we picked it up the next day since the dialogue was deep and fresh enough that to just assume the rest of it would be an outright shame.

Maybe nobody really cares at all, and it's no big deal, but interested to hear your thoughts.

[Havohej]

For me it really depends on the subject matter of the RP at that time, like you said.  Is it some serious business thing that really needs to be settled IC?  If so, pause and resume.  Is it some more or less casual social RP where nothing really 'important' depends on the outcome of the conversation?  Then handwave the assumption that a merry time was had by all and the characters will see one another again later.

I've had different RP conversations stretch over three or more play sessions (such as a 'first date/dinner' for example), but after those 'crucial' interactions are passed it's not as big an issue.  Throughout the course of a relationship, though, different 'crucial' things may come up in the course of the drama (not negative 'drama', mind you) where the pause and resume option is necessary again but for me that's a situational thing that both players involved will probably readily agree on.

[lallara zhuul]

To me all hand waving is bad.

I consider all the RP interactions to be as deep, as relevant and as crucial to the character.

To me the hand waving would break the immersion, it would take away from the character and cheapen the interactions with the other characters in New Eden.

[Laerise [PIE]]

Ah, its this topic again.

As I have said on other occasions, I always try to make-do by placing chat-rp in that part of the day when the character is actually not in pod and/or docked up safely somewhere.
It's true, being summoned to some plex through an alarm call is fun for the first half a dozen times.
If you can't have a half decent conversation though because some unwashed infidel has decided to run circles around some random beacon in a speed tanked rifter, then it gets bothersome really quickly.

Especially in my own channels I advise people to just slot the interaction somewhere where it fits, as long as it doesn't cause some major paradoxon.
That way noone needs to keep extensive time tables for their characters to enjoy a bit of RP every now and then. _{And it helps keeping you sane to do some rp while orbiting that damn beacon...}

[Silver Night]

I personally don't mind hand-waving. I've more than once had RP go for 8 hours. At the end of that, it's almost DT, and all the stuff I feel is crucial might be done, so I and whoever I'm RPing with might agree to handwave. I also find the hand-wave useful when my time to actually play is limited, and I can maybe get more RP things done using it.

Now, if I was RPing with someone who felt that not hand-waving was important to them, I wouldn't mind pausing and finishing things up later or interrupting the RP with an IC reason to leave when I had to leave OOC for whatever reason.

[Ashar Kor-Azor]

I am a completely roleplay-centric player.

As such, in EVE's client, with EVE's communication systems, there is no reason for me to follow rules about having to have my character in a system physically, or a station, or what-have-you, to participate in roleplay. I cheerfully comply when a great many friends - or a few friends, or new people that seem interesting - require it, but if all it produces is some jumps through highsec and a string of text in the local memberlist, I'll make every effort to say 'fuck that' at some point.

With my best friends or my core roleplay group, we go with what's decided, and it's usually roleplay over specific rules of any given establishment. Now again, if we respect the channel owner, that's different.

As such, this already involves handwavin' in terms of my character not physically being where I put him or her through what I put forth to others in the game, and it is done because I'm sufficiently disciplined to create thoughtful ingame physical interaction without needing the crutch of the client to act as a random factor and create a variety of fair (or satisfying) outcomes in, say, a fight. But this isn't always satisfying, so I undock plenty when I'm playing hard.

And, my time is limited and my typing speed is fast, so I can usually justify splitting my attention to deal with simpler in-game mechanical actions (running a mission, or other PvE shit) while I'm roleplayan. It's important not to begrudge each other the chance to play the game you're paying for.

If things get too complicated to continue the roleplay, I might ask someone whose preferences are unknown to me there and then what they'd like to do. OOC communication on the small scale is the balm that heals all wounds, and coming up with an IC reason to table the subject for later is simple enough if one thinks on it.

On the whole, it mainly comes down to the question of convienence. Is it more convienent for you to use one convention, or the other? Usually, that in turn raises the question of greater comfort; if you figure out which one of these bothers your group less initially, you're good to go.

[Ciarente]

I don't have a set preference.  For me it's a combination of whether the other player feels strongly enough about it one way or the other, combined with the subject of the RP and sometimes, whether anything significant has happened during the "pause". - eg if I've been called away to travel for work for a week and when I get back IG there's been an event that significantly affects the characters in the scene, sometime's it's best to handwave rather than try to retcon your character's mental state, for me, at any rate.


I also find handwaving useful when RL and timezones conspire to prevent my characters from talking to people who, according to their relationship, they should be in regular contact with.  Cia is alive 24/7 but I  not logged on 24/7: I'd have to either have no close IC relationships with anyone not likely to be logged on on the three hours before DT or find a way to justify why she doesn't even exchange phone calls with close friends for weeks at a time if I didn't have an agreement with some players to handwave off-screen interactions, timeshift others, and otherwise find workarounds for the unfortunate fact that the earth is round and all too many RPers have to work for a living.

[Katrina Oniseki]

Thank you, Cia!

And now, over to our Historical Post Specialist; Makkal?

[Makkal]

Thank you Katrina. I haven't read this thread previously, and so haven't bumped it from the deepest abyss of the forums yet to add a response that's likely to bore anyone who happens to bother reading its second coming.

Unless it's sex, there's no way I'm going to be interested in a specific RP conversation or event for more than a day. There just isn't.

Handwave it.

[Vizage]

Unless it's sex

Handwave it.

[Ché Biko]

[..]to add a response that's likely to bore anyone who happens to bother reading its second coming.

Unless it's sex[..]

I see what you did there.

On topic: Im not much for pausing or handwaving. If I really have to leave, then my char will probably excuse himself.

[Mizhir]

Unless it's sex

Handwave it.

OP's signature makes it even more funny.