From the Human in @SheriffNorthman's Head

I do my best never to go out of character during my RP'ing (roleplaying for those clueless on the lingo) on Twitter. In fact, I take great care in making certain that Eric only rises once the sun is set wherever he may be at any point in time and safely tucked away for the day by the time the sun rises. I keep personal tweets out of the stream as often as possible, and keep all of my out of character notes, plotting, and real-life Tweets on my personal account (@DamnTrees), so I never take away from the story me and my fellow RP'ers are telling. I have nothing but respect for the character that is Eric Northman. I've been fascinated with him and by him since first reading the Southern Vampire Mysteries two years ago. I've been RP'ing as him ever since then, first, on various message boards, before finally coming to Twitter in October of 2009.

I've been RP'ing in general for over five years now. I started while an undergraduate in college, and did it all through graduate school. I've since entered the real world, and find RP'ing to be my one creative outlet in my world otherwise full of facts, figures, and left-brained thinking. Many of my closest friends, family, and colleagues are completely unaware of my nightly writing addiction, though I'm not remotely ashamed of it in any way. RP'ing is simply my escape, my chance to get away from the issues and the negatives of the "real world" and to just enjoy myself. I hope that as I write and find my fun in doing so, others are able to find some kind of enjoyment in it as well, but at the end of the day, I do it because I love to do it. Whether anyone ever reads a single thing I say or not doesn't truly matter. I'm telling my story and enjoying doing so every step of the way.

I realize not everyone who reads this blog post is going to like what I have to say. I realize that some people may very well cease to follow me. I realize that some people may very well block me. I realize that some people may leave rather harsh comments after this post. I realize that I may be trashed in the Twitter stream by others, directly or through vague yet pointed comments. That's okay. If any of the above happens, I will not point it out. I will not delete negative thoughts. I will not start a stream war. I won't tell all my friends and have them fight a battle for me. That's just really not my style, never has been, and never will be. I'm putting my thoughts out here for the world, and completely respect that others may not agree with them, or may be offended by them. I respect your right to feel however you may choose to feel.

Especially because this post is ultimately about just that. Respect.

I really don't think there's enough of it out there, which in a lot of ways simply baffles me. The internet is an amazing thing, bringing together people of all ages, races, genders, sexual preferences, religions, backgrounds, upbringings, political beliefs, etc. The list goes on and on. I'm 25 years old, the only son of a Pentecostal pastor and a psychologist. I'm a business consultant, a recent college graduate, an uncle, a brother, a boyfriend to an amazing girl, born and raised in Wisconsin, and do you know what? None of that matters the moment I open up my laptop and get online. When I get on Twitter, I get to be a thousand year old Viking with a penchant for battle and big-breasted telepaths, and I love it. I team up with other people, each who have their own real lives and crazy existences they check at the door the moment they log in, and we have ourselves one hell of a time.

Lately though, I can't say we've been having the fun we've all been set on, however, and no one thinks that's more unfortunate than me. I'm not going to speak for anyone but myself in this though, and haven't run this post by anyone else. This is purely me... my feelings and thoughts, and I hope no one else is held responsible for them.

I don't know if it's the anonymity of being online that leaves people believing their entitled to be hypocritical, cruel, disrespectful, and downright mean to one another, but I see it happening more and more, and I don't think it's possible to find anything more sad. Behind every character out there is a real person, a person who's anxious to escape from whatever situation they're in, and no one has the right to take that away from them. In this day and age, I would hope people would know that wars of words are no better than wars fought with guns and bombs. They're not more civilized, they're not intellectual. Do not kid yourself and believe that if you trash someone else by wrapping your insults in colorful vernacular that it's somehow more respectable, profound, or mature than another using juvenile school yard insults. It's not. And no one is fooled.

Fighting online, for whatever reason, isn't the "in thing" to do. Trying to make mutual acquaintances pick sides isn't behaving like an adult. Lumping in others with one you have a problem with is not mature. Doing any of the above may get you attention, it may have people frantically DM'ing one another or rushing to their messenger services to hear the latest gossip, and you know what? You may have the spotlight for thirty seconds, but it will be for all the wrong reasons. If you're here to RP, let your writing and what you do IN CHARACTER speak for itself. If you have to resort to anything else, you're not as good or as special as you think you are.

If you don't respect your writing enough to let it stand on it's own, don't expect others to respect your writing. If you don't respect other authors (even authors writing in 140 characters at a time), don't expect others to respect you. If all you do is criticize and find fault in those around you, don't expect to be lifted onto a pedestal yourself.

Everyone has the right to RP what they want, when they want to, with who they want. If you don't like someone's storyline, don't read it. If you don't like someone's character, don't follow them. If you don't like someone in general, don't work with them. Don't talk about them, don't talk to them. Don't trash them in the stream, directly or indirectly. Don't offer your opinion on anything or everything they say or do. Just move forward with your own things. Focus on what you have going on. If you don't have anything going on, work on changing that. Don't wait for or expect someone to change it for you. If you don't care about your own RP enough to grab it by the horns and run with it, why should anyone else care about it?

No one but you is responsible for your own RP. If you point fingers and blame others, you're really only kidding yourself. And if you're viewed by others as someone who insults the very people you want to work with, why would anyone (blamed or blameless) want to expose themselves to the risks of more negativity?

I don't need nor want that. I don't know many who would.

There really is no need to invent drama. If someone is ranting in the stream about unnamed persons, it doesn't have to be about you. It doesn't have to be a personal insult. It doesn't have to be the start of a war or another shot fired in an ongoing battle. If someone sends you inappropriate Formspring questions, you can delete them. You can require everyone to leave an identity on them. You are not required to say you're getting nasty questions, nor are you required to answer them. It's not being a bigger person to give attention in any way to the juvenile situation. It's just stooping to that level.

If you're RP'ing for some kind of "internet fame" or glory, you're doing it for all the wrong reasons, and pretty much kidding yourself. Since joining Twitter, I have found dozens of RP'ers out there I admire the writing and work of. I am well aware of the fact that I am far from the first Eric Northman on Twitter. In fact, I'm well aware of the fact that I'm not even close. I don't tend to speak to other Eric's out there, if only because it's incredibly awkward for me since we're all playing the same character, but I respect what they do and their right to do it, and none do I respect more than the original. The mobbing the original receives and manages every time he logs on, I can't even fathom. Frankly, I don't want to fathom it, because just the thought of it is pretty overwhelming. I do my best to reply to my mentions. In fact, most nights (unless working on a plot), I don't get the opportunity to leave them. If I don't reply to someone, I really do feel badly, and if I've ever neglected to respond to something someone has said directly to me via a mention, I really am sorry.

The thing is, I'm not trying to be that Eric Northman, nor am I trying to be any other Eric out there but my version of him. My @SheriffNorthman is mostly loyal to the book with a very little TrueBlood thrown in there (ex. his Maker is @AppiusOcella, but he really has a thing for flip flops and sometimes track suits), and beyond that, he's mine. He has his own bonds (with original characters), more children then just Pam (something mentioned in the books, though they're never named nor introduced), an original second... the list goes on and on. I don't want to RP an episode of TrueBlood, I'm not going to try. That's HBO's work, not mine, and if you're expecting it from me, you've got the wrong Eric on your hands. Every night, I do original plots and character development, to make my character even more my own. I'm not in competition with any other RP'er, I'm definitely not in competition with any other Eric, and more than anything, I don't want to be. I'm here for the FUN of it (I'm the Eric that stuffs his progeny in trunks and dealt with camel toe in Egypt, after all), I respect others having their own fun with it, and wish more did.

It's actually really tough to be compared to other RP'ers. I wish everyone, regardless of who's Eric/Sookie/Lafayette/Bill/Jason/Sam/random character flag they're waving would take into consideration their words, both positive and negative before saying them. It goes back to the idea that there are real people sitting behind these screens, real people who are entitled to have their fun however they may like. Respect their right to be there, just as you are there, just as everyone else is. Twitter is a big world, and no matter the drive, none of us is going to get famous doing this, so I've decided I'm going to start unfollowing people who feel the need to belittle others in order to lift another up, and I'd encourage others to do the same. There's too much negativity in the world already. Making our escapes hostile and competitive does no one any good, not even the one being praised.

Being nice really isn't overrated. There's a shortage of nice people in the world. Don't let them become an extinct population entirely.

And when it comes to people who aren't nice, or who you can never see eye to eye with, the block button is an amazing feature on Twitter. In a single click, you can be rid of the negativity and the problem and never have to deal with it again. Use it. Once you use it, don't sit on their page and refresh frequently to see if they've said anything new about you. Don't have others who may still be following them report everything to you, and if others try, simply tell them you're done with that. You don't need to inform the world that you've blocked someone, nor do anything else that could be equated to throwing gasoline on an already burning fire. Be the adult and walk away from the situation. Don't expect others to referee for you. This isn't a play ground and no one is being paid to babysit.

If all you want to do is rant in your stream and be negative, especially if it is out of character, I'm going to unfollow you. I am committed to taking back the fun in my RP. I have some great storylines going on, with great RP'ers, there are many more I want to work with, and so many more ideas in my head, but it seems I seldom have the time when I'm left to wade through the piles of complete and total bullshit.

And if you've read the above and actually agree with what I have to say, don't be afraid to DM or mention me on Twitter, email me (SheriffNorthman [at] gmail [dot] com), or get a hold of me in some way, because chances are, I'd love to work with you.

With all of that out of the way, this will be the first and (hopefully) last out of character post you will ever read here. With this weight off my shoulders, it's back to being the Viking Sheriff I want to be, and not a moment too soon.