Who knew Roleplaying could be this hard?

I've been roleplaying and writing stories for about six years now, and I have to say, things have gotten noticeably harder over time.

Back then, I could join almost any community and find an engaging roleplay within an hour or two. My skills weren’t as refined as they are now, so sometimes I wouldn’t meet certain people’s expectations. But even if I didn’t make the cut, I could always find another group and try again.

Now, with a solid understanding of how to run a roleplay and how to play my role effectively, it feels impossibly hard to find something enjoyable, especially in the past year or two.

It seems like every other RP these days is NSFW-focused. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that—it’s just not my thing. When I do stumble upon an RP that isn’t NSFW, it often falls into one of two categories: either the character creation process is frustratingly restrictive, or the plots are so overused they’ve lost all appeal.

On the rare occasion that I find something that truly piques my interest, getting accepted is usually a waiting game that takes days, if I’m lucky. And when I do get in, a few things tend to happen:

Many participants seem oddly fixated on NSFW content, even when it wasn’t part of the advertised focus.

The RP fizzles out within a week—or even less.

I don’t know—maybe I’m just unlucky? Or maybe I’m not looking in the right places?

All I want is to write meaningful, enjoyable stories with others. I want to feel something when I write—whether it’s happiness, sadness, anger, or anything in between. I don’t care about the fandom, the setting, or even whether the story is short or long. What matters to me is crafting something memorable with people who are just as invested in seeing it through to the end.

Developing a character from the start of a story to its conclusion is such an incredible experience, and I miss that feeling. Lately, though, it feels impossible to find like-minded people—or at least people who are willing to stick around long enough to see a story through.

I get that everyone has their own lives, and being busy is totally understandable. What I don’t understand is why some people join an RP just to abandon it entirely a few days later. It’s frustrating, and I can’t help but wonder—am I alone in feeling this way?