#not roleplays meant for two people exclusively or specifically rp blogs

[0neiric-0ur0b0r0s]

📍PINNED📍

This post may get updated over time, so checking it every once in a while if you plan to frequently interact would be appreciated.

This is an OC-based RP blog owned and run by @conteststarribbon. Please read the pinned message on that account before interacting with this account, as information such as DNI & BYF also apply to this account, even if it is a roleplay blog.

This specific blog (@0neiric-0ur0b0r0s) is intended to be a RP blog for two of my OCs that do not necessarily 'belong' to a specific fandom, but their settings do take inspiration from the Persona series & various games in the 'death game' genre, most notably YTTD and Danganronpa, but these are extremely vague inspirations and knowledge of them is not required to interact.

'In character' posts will be tagged with these emojis (🌤/💫) depending on which character is meant to be posting with red and blue text being used for emphasis respectively.

Information like design references and anything else relating to the OCs themselves will be added to this post when necessary and completed.

Topics such as death, suicide & suicidal thoughts, graphic injury may be mentioned on this account. I will try appropriately tag when these topics are mentioned, but please remind me if i do not. If there are any other topics that people who want to interact with this blog want to be tagged, please let me know. I may also accidentally reblog things on incorrect blogs.

CHARACTER REF SHEETS!!!

Aster (💫)

he/him+ae/aer (it/its in reference to the plant parasite in past/flashback sequences, they/them for the original owner of the body)

Lance (🌤)

he/him+xe/xem (it/its exclusively for the shadow forms)

[empathicstars]

How to make such a well rounded OC with so much canon character interaction?

   Over the last few weeks, I’ve received this question, and questions like this, a lot. As in, at least fifteen times “a lot”. And I’ve never been quite sure how to answer, because roleplay -- writing in general, but especially with other people -- is a very personal experience. It’s very ingrained in not only who you are as a person, but who your character is, as well. Things that work for me, Serena, may not work for you, Anon, because we may not be the same person, write the same characters, in the same fandoms, in the same way. Things that would be genuine and right for you to do would make no sense for me to do, and vice versa. Some people have great success hopping on every now and again, formatting no replies, and focusing on a few select partners. Others have great success spending hours formatting everything, spending a lot of time on aesthetics, and talking to a lot of people. It’s really unique to who you are as an individual. From blog to blog, I even run things differently. So I’ll attempt to answer this ask ( that I received about fifteen years ago ) as well as I possibly can.  

   First of all, I want to say thank you! Because I believe this is meant to be a compliment. You said she’s well-rounded, and I know many people on this website quantify “success” with “canon character interaction,” so I thank you for thinking Aella’s a good character and is successful. That’s not ever personally been my goal, however, but more on that later. 

   I’ll start with the well-rounded OC portion. As I’m sure most of the people who follow me know, I’ve been writing Aella consistently on Tumblr for about 5 years. She’s very well-developed to Star Trek, but you may or may not notice she doesn’t have a lot of other verses, because, uh... she’s very well-developed to Star Trek. I’ve read the Memory Alpha and Beta pages for Vulcan and Betazed about 90 billion times in order to get context for the world. I watch Star Trek almost daily in order to get context for my world. Though I’ve always been a believer of Nature over Nurture, a lot of where I got my cues was from knowing her world and her context very, very closely. I spent a lot of time asking myself in-depth character questions, imagining her in different situations. I wrote drabbles, I got to know her. No one knows my girl better than I do. And that’s true for every muse and their mun. I learned and memorized how she was in every year of her life, found out how much or how little would change. It did take time, though. Quite... a bit of time. I used to write a three+ paragraph starter for every single follower. ( I was brand new to Tumblr, I didn’t know what I was doing, I was too soft and silly. ) That may have helped me kick-start it.

   Now... the canon character question. As interaction with canon characters has never been my goal, I can’t really give you an answer. This differs from fandom to fandom on such a wild basis. The Star Trek community, as a whole, is very good, very welcoming, and very open, so I’ve had great fortune here, but it did take a long time. It took years to gather interest in Aella, but I never felt... slighted, if that makes any sense? I never quantified success in how many people followed me, how many interactions I had, but rather, the stories I wrote. And I think, perhaps, my focus on telling good stories and having fun on here may come through to others, hence my “popularity”. If my starters went unanswered, I wasn’t bitter. If people didn’t follow me back, I didn’t care. I unfollowed people, I reached out to more. I found people who wanted to be friends -- I never made people who didn’t want to be my friends my friends. 

   Since I can’t answer canon character, I’ll answer this as though you said interactions in general. Personally? I just keep my focus clear. I’m here to have fun, write good stories, and spread positivity! So that’s what I do. Every time I’m on the dash and I see an ooc post from someone, I leave a nice comment. I always send in character building memes that someone reblogs. I always observe reblog karma. I offer to do things on people’s wishlists. I welcome people to the fandom. I send nice messages, I ask for Discords. I plot a lot. I reach out to people a lot. And if they ignore me, if they reject me, if they say nothing, I let it go. I don’t think about it. I could not tell you, right now, how many people I have following me, or how many people I’m following. I genuinely have no idea. And I don’t... care, as rude as that may sound? Because that’s not my goal. That’s not my focus. That’s not why I’m here. 

   Listen, I understand how hard it is to have no one interested in your character, be it canon or original character. For two years, I wrote Aella exclusively with two people, and they both ceased being my friends and left Tumblr RP. I wrote three canon characters in a Disney group that fell apart, and I lost every single one of those friends I had spent hours, nights, years with. I wrote an original Disney character that had less than ten threads in the year I wrote him. For years, the only one who wrote with Willow was my husband, and then he left Tumblr RP. I’ve spent genuine, literal years reblogging memes, making starter calls, reaching out to people, and being completely ignored. So I get it. I get how hard it is to feel alone, to feel like you have no friends. I get how it is to do your best and have it not be enough. 

   The difference, I guess? I found things to celebrate rather than belabor. My two friends left Tumblr RP? Fine, reboot Aella -- yay, I finally get a chance to do my tags right! My Disney group fell apart? Fine, change the blogs to independent -- yes, I can finally follow that cool Indie blog I wanted to write with but couldn’t while I was in the group! No one’s writing with Willow? Reboot her, start following people like wild -- yay, I get to reintroduce her, I get to make so many things up myself, this is great! I specifically aim to make my dash a safe place. I unfollow blogs that don’t want to interact with me or upset me to see. I backlist tags I don’t like. I just make my dash safe and inviting and fun for me. Tumblr isn’t a hellsite if you don’t let it be one. There are a lot of wonderful people on this site to interact with. Like anything, you just have to avoid what’s going to be harmful and bad for you.

   Remember, this is a hobby! You’re supposed to have fun! 

   To close, I’ll leave some tips that help me, personally connect with other people, and I’ve noticed have given me great assistance in forging writing relationships with others. Again, I can only speak from my personal experience. What works for Serena may not work for you. Do what’s authentic to you! 

Making headcanon posts, often!

Not being passive aggressive or making fun of others on the dash.

Attitude of gratitude! 

Offering to do starters for others!

Being genuinely, truly interested in other people’s characters, stories, or lives. Be the kind of partner you’re looking for! 

Being forgiving and not taking things too seriously.

Checking up on others and making investments into the muns as muns.

On that note, prioritizing mun over muse! Your reply is less important than someone else’s wellbeing. 

Making sure to match length and effort as much as possible! 

Not putting others on a pedestal or belittling others for their success. 

   I wish you well on your journey, and please remember to have fun. Find out what you want ( e.g. do you want a lot of partners or just a few, a lot of stories or a few, a lot of AUs or... you get the point ) and focus on it, and move on from what’s not working. Be safe, love you! 

[asklotarasarrin]

Getting Started Role Playing

I’ve had a number of asks on this topic over the years, and rather than retyping the same thing repeatedly, I’m gonna try and collect my thoughts on how to go about this. All of this is assuming you’re on desktop; mobile makes some things a little more difficult. Feel free to add to this; I’m sure there’s things I’m forgetting.

Warning: Long Post!

First things first: Preparation

Get your blog in order

Create a character bio - This should include character name, a description, and a background. If your character is a canon character, then it’s not so bad to forego this, but I think it’s a good idea even for canon characters, as not everyone is going to be familiar with every single character in a universe.

Put a short explanation of the blog in the blog header - This is like a pitch or an introduction to what your blog is about. This should indicate you’re an RP blog, who you RP(if you have multiple muses on the blog, I think it’s okay to just say ‘multiple OCs’ or ‘multiple muses’), and maybe the universe your muse is from. Some blogs also include if they’re selective or not, multi-ship or not, open to cross-over/multiverse or not, etc, but not nearly as necessary.

Rules page - not necessary, but sometimes helpful if you have any particular things, such as being unwilling to RP smut, or you have some triggers/sensitive topics that you aren’t will to do, etc.

Make sure your inbox is open - Seems silly, but I forget this one frequently when I’m making a new blog. Check other blog settings as well- (submissions, anon, etc)

Follow other blogs - This seems obvious, but it is key. Follow other blogs you want to RP with! Find others from the universe your muses are set in. Do take the time to read their bios and rules pages, if they have any.

Write an Introduction post - Not everyone does this, but I think it’s very helpful. It should be a SHORT post, in or out of character. Many blogs are disinclined to reblog long intro posts because people instinctively skip over walls of text.

Reblog RP memes - The Intro post will help generate interest, the RP memes make it easy to break the ice.

Next Step: Getting Out There

Provided you have taken the time to read other people’s rules and bios, reach out!

If they’ve reblogged memes you are interested in, send an ask with that meme - These are GREAT icebreakers so you can get started with relatively low effort. Friendly reminder: Read the meme carefully. Typically the meme has some form of explanation or instruction in it, and it is very frustrating when someone sends in a meme when they clearly did not bother to actually read what it’s about.

Use the messenger to ask to plot - Sometimes blogs don’t post memes often, or they reblog memes that don’t quite work for your character. Politely ask to plot. Try to come with ideas. It can be frustrating when someone comes to you wanting to plot but has NO idea about what to do. I personally will frequently take premises from memes I like and adjust them as necessary.

Open starters - Alternative to memes, sometimes blogs will post ‘open starters’. These are usually open ended in-character posts that other role players can reply to. It isn’t a bad idea to post your own open starters either, if you’re feeling up for it. Note: Generally speaking, open starters once taken by someone are not available for additional role players unless otherwise noted in the tags. If you like an open starter that has already been taken, you can also use the messenger to ask if you can also get in on that. Many RP bloggers use thread trackers, so the starter would need to be copied to a new post before beginning RP.

Important Notes: Etiquette

There are a number of rules and behaviors that are important to keep in mind, some obvious, some not so much. In no particular order.

Patience - This is my number one thing. RPers come from all walks of life- full-time students and career people, big and small families, personal struggles, different time zones, language barriers abound. And Tumblr is not a well programmed website, so notifications don’t pop up, or get buried under other things. So don’t panic if people don’t immediately reply. Don’t be rude when following up after a reasonable amount of time has passed. Give people the opportunity to measure their replies to you.

Try to keep your In Character and Out of Character clear/separate - Some RP blogs are actually a mishmash of personal and roleplay. Many blogs indicate in the tags or with markings of some form(the most common being ‘//’ slashes or () parentheses). It can be confusing for people without these markers.

Do not reblog RPs you are not involved in - This is a personal pet peeve. RP posts are often only snippets of the overall story, and when reblogged it is taken out of context. The other problem is it adds notifications to a thread that aren’t from the partner, and can be confusing. RPThreadTracker doesn’t have a problem with it, but other forms of tracking can struggle.

Respect and ‘Don’t like Don’t follow’ - universes big and small, OCs and Canon Characters over the top and from humble beginnings, we’re all here to have a good time. You’re not going to like every mun or muse you come across. Not every other blog is going to like you or your muse. People talk shit about self-inserts, teenage OCs, people who like to RP almost exclusively smut, and myriad of other things. But those muns are doing things that make them happy. And you don’t get to control what other people do. If you don’t like it, don’t follow. Don’t RP with them. Let it go.

Self Care - This is part of a larger topic and related to the above bullet point, but important to at least touch on. Not everyone who RPs is well or good. This is meant to be fun. So if you are stressed out or overwhelmed by an RP partner or thread for whatever reason, talk to your partner about it. If they do not respect your requests or needs, then it would be better to not RP with them. There are people who struggle with a myriad of health and situational issues. You will at one time or another meet people who will insist you cater to their every whim, try to control you and your muse. Block these people.

Read tags - This may not seem like an etiquette thing, but this is important. Some people communicate extensively this way. It will help to prevent communication errors.

Read More - use the read more function for NSFW threads. It’s the [...] at the end of the options bar

Tagging - Tag NSFW, triggering content, and anything else you think appropriate. I also try to tag my different verses, my in character and out of character posts, etc.

Trim Your Posts - This is hard to do on mobile, but necessary. When a post has many reblogs, it can be tedious to scroll past. Trimming them/cropping them makes a big difference. [Link here for a tutorial on how to trim - Browser]

Mun and Muse Knowledge [Meta Gaming] - There maybe things your character does not know, and cannot know, that you know. Remember to keep the distinction. Nothing kills my desire to RP with someone than their character somehow reading my character’s thoughts.

Controlling other Characters [God Modding] - You control your character. Your partner controls theirs. You don’t control if they get hit by a punch, if they dodge, if they punch back. It’s part of the give and take.

Drive the Story - Role Playing is joint story telling. Don’t put all the burden if directing where the story goes on your partner. Give your partner something to react to, to build on. If you only ever give one sentence replies, it’s going to get tedious fast.

Other Tips and Tricks

I am a big fan of XKit, a browser addon that makes Tumbling much easier for RPers. [Link here!] The specific functions that are most helpful are Editable Reblogs and One Click Reply. Editable reblogs makes it far easier to trim in post. One Click Reply makes it possible to reply to comments and other notification forms.

In addition to those two, I also like to use the Blacklist, and Post Block functions. Some RPers or topics I particularly cannot stand, so I use Blacklist to keep them from my dash. Post Block is great for those discourse posts and individual RP threads that just squick you out for whatever reason.

I also am easily lost and confused by the innumerable notifications I get on the daily, so it became very important for me to use a website called RPThreadTracker. I highly recommend it, as I occasionally have threads that don’t get replied to for weeks. They also have an add-on button so you can click to add a thread to your list quickly and easily.

Terms

There is a bit of a jargon with this. Sorry if it’s been confusing thus-far!

Mun - the writer behind the blog

Muse - the fictional character, the character

IC/OOC - In Character / Out of Character

OC - Original Character

Thread - the roleplay, the chain of posts making up the story

Selective/Semi-Selective/Private/Mutuals Only - This is often in a blog header - indicates how picky the mun is about selecting RP partners and threads. Read their rules. Respect their decisions to RP or not to RP.

Multi-verse - Indicates the blog is open to threads outside of their designated universe. (IE, my Warhammer character being willing to RP with an Overwatch character). It is advisable to message the mun to hash out the details.

DM or PM - Direct message or private message. Both indicate the tumblr message system.

AU - Alternate Universe. Indicates a deviation from the traditional universe.

[pastelbrachypelma]

So apparently the new content in the Markiplier fandom is that someone posted in the Markiplier tab and got all butthurt about Mark seeing it. ...I guess because they were a Darkiplier RP blog...?

While I understand the very real fear of a celebrity stumbling upon your content, there are a few things that I don’t understand about the anger from the person in question.

1. Markiplier was right that it has been an established fact that he checks the Markiplier tag from the first day of his tumblr. (He’s mentioned it in several videos.) 

2. The post that was reblogged was not dirty or embarrassing.

3. Markiplier played along with the OP by ROLEPLAYING as the post requested. (As someone who has owned several RP blogs, I understand the nature of the post, but I can see how Mark misinterpreted it.)

OP’s response was unnecessarily rude, without establishing the RP character at all (just so nobody can say they were IC at the time). In my opinion, Mark should not have continued to interact and therefore give OP undue attention, but that’s another matter. OP should have responded differently, and this could have been done in two ways:

1. Thank Mark for appearing on the post and say something like: “I love your videos!” or “x series was my favorite!” Y’know...something that might be said if Mark were encountered in person.

2. Say hello politely, but explain that the post is asking for other RP blogs to join in. {What I think the post was actually asking for, based on experience.) Additionally, thank Mark for appearing, and do same as above.

Certainly if the second had been done, I’d like to think Mark would have stopped interacting. I think he thought he was being funny, and while I didn’t personally find it to be such, I don’t think it was offensive in any way. In fact, it looked like Mark was trying to imitate the structure of “fake RP” posts, like the one between a seal and a basketball player, that circulate every so often.

That being said, I don’t personally think Mark handled the situation in the aftermath as well as he could have. While Mark may check the “markiplier” tag often, he doesn’t “own” the tag, no more than I own the “Game Grumps” tag. It’s a tag for fandom, but it’s also a tag that Mark cares about checking. Anyone posting there should be aware (especially if they are a long-time viewer or follow the markiplier tumblr) that Mark may see it. I’m assuming no one posts lewd fanart in that tag...for obvious reasons. So I feel as though that comment is out of line. No one “owns” a tag, and anyone can use it.

My second disagreement comes over the sarcastic post about a “secret” tag. It starts out deceptively like a legitimate apology, and then becomes incredibly sarcastic, ending with a #SECRETTAG tag at the bottom. Did OP handle the situation incorrectly? Absolutely. Should the situation be provoked further? HELL NO. While OP’s outburst was rude and unnecessary, they may have been frightened if their blog contained content they’d rather prevent Mark from seeing. (I’m sure we all have that thought from time to time while reblogging shipping art of real people. Hell, I know I’d never want the Grumps to stumble on the stuff I write or reblog!) However, Mark as a creator knows for sure that there are parts of fandom that are meant to be kept a secret from the creators, at least as much as humanly possible. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Mark reblogging shipping art. (I haven’t seen Jack doing it either, so I’m making assumptions here.) The content creators, as Mark said himself once, “know the internet is a messed up place” [sic], and therefore know to turn a blind eye to embarrassing posts. OP getting riled up would only encourage a curious celebrity to go looking, I’d imagine. A neutral response like the two I suggested above works better.

I’m going to end this very long post by saying that I’m not active in the Markiplier fandom. I’m a Lovely through and through, and that is where I go for my Let’s Play content. Not exclusively, but most frequently. I only say this because I’m not in the current Markiplier fandom. I don’t create content that is Mark-specific, which is obvious from my blog title. I’d like to think this makes me a neutral party on the subject and in this debate, and I’d like anyone who may see this to remember that. I do my best to remain objective and logical.

Please note also that I do not squarely place the blame with Mark, or with OP. I think both of you are at fault, and I would hope that this post explains why. Anyone who needs further clarification, and who can be articulate and speak peacefully, is welcome in my askbox. I will not answer chats, unless they happen to come from Mark, on the off chance he sees this.

This is my take on the situation. Thank you for reading everything, and have a great day!