#im much better at chatting on servers too. I'm bad at finding them though. they seem to be closed communities 90% of the time.

[buddy-arc]

// my activity is probably gonna wind down for a while. there's a lot of stuff going on for me school-wise and family-wise that's hard for me to handle. i'll likely be the most active on @sisturn and discord. if there's any rp servers people would wanna write with me in, feel free to friend me and pls send an invite. i'm enderthermic#7129, please specify who you are if sending a request. i wish you all a good coming weekend.

[lollybliz]

Uhh, Anon confession/plea for advice I guess? Around the start of the year I joined this amazing group of people! And we became super close; Like found-family close. The thing is- I recently only turned 12 and I feel so bad for deceiving them and they have a right to know but I don't want to upset them either. So it's just a constant cycle of lies and guilt. Do I tell them and leave? I'm worried that I'll ruin everything for them. Thanks for listening 💛

heya duckling. you really got yourself into an interesting fix here, eh? I’m not the best person to come to for this sort of problem, unfortunately. i would probably suggest a therapist if you have one but ultimately its kinda between you and your friends. i’ll do my best though!

The most important thing to figure out, I think, is why you felt the need to keep your age from them in the first place. are they very much older than you? do you feel safe around them? you dont every have to tell anyone your age, except doctors and the like, if you dont want to- no one can force you to share personal information. but why you chose to keep your youth to yourself could help determine how to handle this situation now. for sure we want you to be free of the guilt, whatever that takes. a cycle of guilt is an awful thing to be stuck in and i wouldnt wish it on anyone.

if you dont feel safe with these friends, regardless of their age, i would suggest you leave the group. you dont owe anyone an explanation, you dont need to excuse yourself, you wouldnt need to apologize. i doubt thats the problem you’re experiencing but i wanted to cover that just in case. you never ever have to participate in a friend group that is hurting or scaring you to make them feel better about themselves. you deserve to be happy and safe too, duckling.

if you do feel safe with them, then you’ve got some thinking to do. do you want to tell them your age or do you feel obligated? i will say again: no one can force you to share personal information. if you dont feel safe sharing, if you feel you’re not in a good position to share, heck, if you just dont want to, you never have to unless its medical staff or in rare circumstances legal authorities. if you want to tell them, consider the timing. maybe its classic to make announcements with an @/everyone and all that but maybe you’d be more comfortable saying it quietly at 2am and waiting for them to find it. think about what method and timing would make you the most comfortable. personally, i dont think you need to apologize or acknowledge any ‘lie’ if or when you reveal your age because keeping it secret wasnt really a lie and was well within your rights. you say in your ask that they have a right to know but like, no, not really. its personal information. if they’re much older than you or including you in chats and servers that are inappropriate for you thats another issue but its a lot like sharing your name, it can make people feel very uncomfortable to reveal something that important and thats fair.

if you want to tell them but arent doing it out of a sense of obligation, if you have a method you like for telling them, if you’ve thought of a time and a place that you’re comfortable with, then i would suggest trying to go through with it, as i think ‘coming clean’, for lack of a better term, is the best way to alleviate your guilt cycle. i cant promise things wont be a little weird for awhile as your friends find new boundaries and figure out a way to respect your youth while not treating you like a baby. things will be weird. if some of your group is on the older end they might wig out just a little and go overly mother hen on you. if you’ve been let into adult spaces by accident somebody is going to worry about that. everyone might be a little awkward for a little while as they overreact to the new information. but if they really are like a found family to you, they’ll fall back into a comfortable system shortly and everything will settle into a new normal. new information and changes are always weird and confusing and sometimes complicated, but the people who love you will figure it out and find a way to give you the respect and care you deserve.

so TLDR, only tell them if you feel safe and want to because you do not need to, its private personal information and no, they dont have a right to it. if you do tell them, be prepared for a little awkward for a few days, maybe a week, as they figure out what your youth means in relation to their actions around you. and if they really care about you, they’ll figure it out. 

i have a little sister who’s 10 years younger than me. my relationship with her is very different from my relationship with the sister who’s only 2 years younger than me, and my relationship with her equally young friends is wildly different from my relationship with my own peers. that being said, i do not believe it is impossible to be a friend to someone young. i think that that sort of situation is a bit case by case, and complicated, but not impossible. my best friend when i was 9 was a ninety-two year old lady from our church named Miss Dolly, and i miss her dearly. if you feel safe around your friends, if they’re good people, i think you’ll be just fine. i think they might be surprised, i think You might be surprised if they’d already guessed, but i dont think they’ll be really upset, and i dont think you could ‘ruin everything’. you’re gonna be ok little ducky. im proud of you for reaching out, and i hope everything goes super well and you wonder what you were ever worried about!

(for whatever reason it wont let me tag this, i’ll edit in tags in a moment)

[laurcrps-blog]

Any advice for first time admins? I'm desperately trying to start up this roleplay but I'm having a hard time. Thanks!

no problem, bub !! * finger guns * i’ve only ever been an admin once, an rp that my friend created. it was hard at first, i have to admit, which i feel it is for most people. you get a spark of an idea, but it sometimes doesn’t quite ignite the flame. you just have to keep trying and don’t give up. if you want to know anything else, just send another ask, or send me an im, but i feel most of the things will be addressed under the cut. 

personal advice: 

i would like to put emphasis on you, the person behind the admin. managing an rp is great, but you also need to take time for you and your life. don’t suffer at the hands of your rp, and don’t let people make you feel bad for taking time for you, either. because let’s face it, people can be really impatient and try to make you feel bad. ignore them. whilst, yes, it’s also for them, it’s also for you. so make sure you don’t take things out on yourself if it doesn’t work out straight away. you’re going to make mistakes as a first-time admin, creating an rp from scratch, just keep that in mind. you just need to correct those mistakes when they happen. the fact that you’ve managed to pull together a plot, bios and the rp in general, is something to be proud of in itself, even if it doesn’t take off. not everything is going to work out straight away - an rp doesn’t start up overnight. but, if you keep at it, and don’t give up, even when things get tough, then you’ll persist through it. dedication is a large chunk of being an admin, especially when you’re the admin that started it all. but don’t let that dedication ware you out and make it all seem tedious, which it can if you put too much pressure on yourself. it’s not a job, after all. it’s something you’re doing out of your free time because you enjoy it, don’t let people take advantage of that. it’s your group. just have optimism in what you’re working towards, and not where you are. like drake said, started from the bottom now we’re here. 

and, if things ever get too tough, why not consider getting a co-admin, as my friend did with me. so, you could possibly ask a friend on here. it’s so useful when it comes to queueing promos. however, i know there can be drama sometimes when admins clash, but i rarely see that happen, not nearly as much as i used too. but, i would understand if you were against it too.

general:

enthusiasm. it’s a key factor in putting a spotlight on your rp and gaining members because it shows how excited you are about your rp, which tells them you’re passionate about it and it means a lot to you.. it also shows them how much effort you’ve put in, and you haven’t gone into this all aimlessly. 

communication, which this sorta overlaps into enthusiasm too. when your rp firsts opens, embrace them with open arms and welcome them into the group personally. by taking care of your members from the get-go, it creates a positive atmosphere where muns want to stick around for longer, therefore ensuring that the rp lasts longer. a members first few weeks are a key time for shaping their opinion of the rp, since it can be so intimidating if you don’t know anyone in the group already, and people sometimes are unsure of whether they want to stay or not. it’s one of the reasons why i feel an ooc chat of some sort ( i get onto this in a moment ) is very important, as it allows you and other members to get to know one another. i’ve always noticed that when the rp feels more like a big family, and the admins are very welcoming, it tends to stay open for longer. it’s definitely why i stay around in rps for longer times.

hate. it’s something that not only all rps receive, but all people receive. it’s the downside of anonymity since people feel that they can hide behind the feature and not face the consequences. it’s the worst. but, you can be the better person. sometimes, it can be straight out nasty what they say, or someone words something in a condescending way. there’s one thing to have a criticism about an rp in a constructive way, but it’s another to send hate about it. either way, you either delete it but keep it in mind, or respond with maturity and dignity. in my personal opinion, don’t give the anon the satisfaction by posting it. but, do make a post about anon hate, to reinforce the fact that anon hate will not be accepted. the thing that a lot of anons forget is it’s actually very easy to track them down. 

promoting. get out there and promote as much as possible. there are many ways you can do this. you’ll want to advertise on your main blog, tagging the posts effectively with the correct tags. but, a key thing is also creating a promo blog  ( which can just be a sideblog to the main, ) and promo graphics for it that focuses on the aesthetic of your rp and is eye-catching. then write out a little teaser plot to go underneath your graphics with different links for the rp too - capture the essence of the plot, but don’t go into too much detail - just something that will catch people’s eye. since people will get the rest of the information when they arrive on the main. it’s like meeting new friends, you don’t wouldn’t everything about yourself straight away on the first encounter ?? because then there’s no mystery and people get bored. and, then there’s the queueing. but, with the help of xkit, that should be slightly easier since it has a more advanced timer. it can take a while to copy and paste the promos, but if you stack 2 or 3 days worth, and then use a timer of whatever time you feel between posts, you should be okay. just, try not to flood some tags, since some are less busy than others. another way to promote is to go to different rphs that do shoutouts and reviews and request those. use a description you feel will make the rp stand out, which are generally the ones that catch my eye. especially, since, the shoutout tag will have lots and lots of other rps trying to promote their blogs too. but, be patient with rphs. if they haven’t gotten around to your shoutout or review yet, it probably just means they’re a little busy. if you want to look at anything more about promoting, i would advise looking at this post.  

uphold your rules ( which i have to say look perfect ) to a fault. a few rps i’ve been in, i’ve seen that the admins have favourites, and therefore were more lenient with certain muns. so, just make sure, you treat everyone the same when it comes to rules. of course, if someone is having real life issues, then it’s okay to be sympathetic, but don’t let people take advantage of that. 

also, there’s always the decision of making either an ooc blog, discord server, chatzy server or really any type of platform that could be used for members. there are disadvantages to each, but also pros to each. my personal preference would be discord since it’s easier to keep track of. but, it can be stressful at times. but, that’s the thing. it is about personal preference. so, when the rp opens and you have a certain amount of members, create a poll to see what they would like, since not everyone likes all of them, and it’s just fairer that way. now that i mention it, polls are very handy for knowing what your members want. like, if you have ideas for an event but aren’t sure, do a poll and see what the members choose. 

application

picking certain applications over another can be tricky. one thing you want to look out for when picking an app is their originality and the direction they take the character since in your rp it’s all up to the players. though, personally, it will be tough, since you don’t want some people to be left out when it comes to connections ( maybe have a max of 3 ?? ), so that will be something you need to look out for to make sure characters will have the same amount fo connections. and, sometimes, you have to choose between two people who have applied for the same character. so, if one mun doesn’t get the character, but the app was still very good, then just send them a message saying they enjoyed their app, but it wasn’t accepted, and hopefully, they can apply with another character, since there are many bios on offer. 

aesthetic / theme:

make sure your theme is coherent and readable, balancing that with aesthetics. both are needed. an aesthetically pleasing layout and colour scheme do attract potential members, but you also have to make sure that it isn’t at the expense of font size or texture, which can make it harder for people, especially those with impaired vision, to read the text. make sure the colour of any of the text doesn’t clash with the background, especially with graphics on the blog. and, last but not least, make sure your navigation page is easily accessible, both on mobile and desktop, but from looking at what you have so far, it seems very easy to find. i also think it would be great to have a masterlist page, with all possible characters on one page, using a page theme like this or this, where you could create filters on availability, gender and affiliation. a locations page could also intrigue people too, using this page theme or a similar one.