Hello,
What are your thoughts on using past tense when rping?
As in using - “would” “did” “was” etc
Since we are rping “right now” and we are creating stories “right now” wouldn’t this style be abit odd?
I am not against the use of past tense I am just curious on your thoughts around it for those of you who use it.
When someone emotes “/e would do X” I feel an intense stinging pain behind my eyes paired with a horrid urge to set that person on fire.
@Annlively I can only agree. But then I saw old school rpers do this. And they rp beautifully with this style. I am curious on their throughts around this.
I am open to the possibility to try it.
I find past tense in RP to be incredibly jarring and I don’t really like it, personally. But different strokes and all that.
Not a massive fan myself, but I can’t speak for everyone 
Past tense can work well if you know how to write past tense.
I personally flip between them at random, sometimes i write an emote in the present, sometimes in the past.
Don’t mix 'em tho
I think the primary reason people use the past tense is to give the other character a way out of a certain actions.
“Dastren would kick Sylvanas in the shin.”
VS
“Dastren kicked Sylvanas in the shin.”
The below example is god emoting with a determined action that in narrative cant be undone without hassle. Above example gives Sylvanas a way to avoid or counter the action (as much as she deserves one).
But overuse of past tenses “would” be quite jarring if every action is done using that method.
Overall, if done in moderation and when its needed I see it more as a courtesy.
This.
The way people use “would” in emotes is a bizarre bastardisation of the different uses of the word, often used under the assumption that it is 100% proof you’re not power-emoting because you’re not saying you -do- something.
Like this.
“Dastren would kick Sylvanas in the shin.” - this does nothing on its own. You’re describing the past from the future, like “Jaina was born in Kul Tiras. She would eventually become its Lord Admiral.”. Emotes are actions - present tense - so should avoid this nonsense. If you don’t want to power emote, describe the intent. “Dastren spins on his right foot, the left sweeping low along the ground towards Sylvanas’ shin”. You leave the option of it connecting or not to Sylvanas, and don’t sound like you’re pre-emptively denying the result (“Dastren would kick Sylvanas’ in the shin, if she didn’t backflip out of the way”).
Well ok, I see those too - people who use it while being a mischief.
But I’m talking about those who seriously rp with this style.
They are villains and must be stopped.
Slightly edited my response to include the poster above me.
People RP this way because a couple of people started doing it and it spread wildly amongst Stormwind inhabitants before it could be stopped. Add this to the chances that any given individual on AD is unlikely to have perfect English grammar skills and there you go.
I hate the use of would. Conditional and past tense word that reads horribly when peppered all over emotes.
X would attempt to punch Y.
Is a lot worse than:
X attempts to punch Y.
As far as god emotes go, most of the time things can be read as attempts. If it seems god emotey, counter it anyway.
Attempted or attempts, both give the opportunity for the victim to react and stop the attack. “Would attempt” is incorrect for what you’re trying to convey in the emote for the reasons stated by the posters above.
Now, technically, it can be correct, if you were emoting as if your character were sat in a fireside chair somewhere in a retirement home, telling whimsical tales of what they would do in their youth, but that’s a stretch at best.
Still, it’s a nice coping mechanism for those who have to read the emotes of people who use would out of place.
“I would throw it to Edna, and she would throw it to me…”
“Ildar attacks you.”
Feels more powerful than;
“Ildar would attack you.”
People using ‘would’ make my soul hurt when done as “x would do y” They would do it? Then what is stopping them?
People should be keen enough to know that if you emote something “X reaches out to grab Y by her hair” gives plenty of lee-way to emote out of it
Same for me. I don’t much think of it or consider one necessarily better than the other. Some days past tense sticks with me more than the present, especially if I was working on a story between the roleplay sessions since those I always write in past tense.
Acrona lifted her hem as she began climbing the stairs.
Acrona lifts her hem as she begins to climb the stairs.
I could use either depending on the day.
please just say you swing your sword or attack or something to avoid godemoting, or if you really need to just go with “attempt”
I avoid using past tense and would like the plague as both sound and look horrid in emotes.
For me:
RP in present tense
Stories in past tense
This entire city would need to be purged.
People RP how they want I suppose, as long as it’s nothing that bad it can be dealt with. It’s not like those that say “your” instead of “you’re” or “ofcourse” instead of “of course”.
Or maybe I’m just being a bit pedantic now.
Edit: Yes, defiantly pedantic.