#rpedia

[rpedia]

I’ve seen your post about good starters, is there anything with good conversations starters that’ll actually get characters somewhere?

So, starters are something that gives other people an idea of how you play your character, what your goals are, and what you're looking for. They also need to be pretty open ended, or happen in a public place unless you want to hook a specific other character. That means a starter is infinitely customizable and super personal to write. Just copy pasting any given starter is not going to do the job you need it for, it'll stymie your growth and leave you scrambling to keep up with whatever someone else chose for you. On top of that, starters are not what keep RP going: The plot and player is.

So, let's jump in and break it down a little more so it's easier to put together your own starter from absolutely nothing, and how you as a player can keep plot going after the initial starter is dead in the dust behind you on your little journey, shall we?

When you write a starter, basically you're writing a hook to get someone involved in a situation. You're putting out into the world a question, or something that looks like it needs to be interrupted or acted on, so that other people will interrupt or act on it. So write it from that perspective: what would make you want to engage with a post?

So, pick apart what's important to you to get from a partner. When you roleplay, you look for specific goals, an A to B, essentially. Are you writing this scene in an attempt to explore the character and maybe find out something about their past or reveal a secret? Do you simply want to see how they respond to others? Or do you have a plot in mind? If there's an arc of a story you wanna get through, you're gonna have to nestle your starter securely in a situation that will allow you to forward that plot. See what I mean about it being deeply personal?

For example: If I were playing Tony Stark, and I wanted him to show off a new invention while handling his PTSD, I might drop a starter invoking curiosity. I'd set it up with a scene, probably near his workshop but public enough someone would have a chance to see me. I'd be carrying something remarkable but, questionable. "Did you just see him with a bomb?" This item would effect another character, so it would be rewarding to double check Tony isn't about to wreck your household by blowing it up. Then I'd have an experiment or invention in mind. He's made a robot that goes and grabs bombs, and folds over them to protect the household ala Steve Rogers jumping on a grenade. Mostly to stop Steve doing that shit. Cool, cool. I'll have that in mind when I describe what they find if they call out to him, and he ignores them and keeps bolting, or they follow him to see what's up. Then I can discuss it, and show emotions in my post that lead the other character to ask questions why I made this. Reveal a personal story or anecdote, and eventually get cornered by their curiosity or my loud mouth into joking and revealing some deeply personal trauma. Tada, a starter!

A starter that only works for my goals of exploring Tony's trauma, that only works for Tony Stark, that only works with characters who would see him when he's vulnerable at home with the other Avengers. So it's absolutely personalized and broken for anyone else.

Except, throughout, you can see how I logically broke it down! Here is the hook, here is my character's interests, here is why another person wants to care, here is my goal for the reveal, here's enough plot to feed into the machine to keep them interested, here's how I expect the scene to get to a certain point. It's very loosely put together, because by the end of it I might be looking at their trauma instead if, for instance, the explosion sets off a panic attack. Keeping flexibility helps keep a conversation going.

It also helps to provoke. Prod, ask questions, be curious, or offer something that makes other people want to know more. When you just roleplay hi, how are you, hello, how's the weather that's not a conversation so much as small talk. Which will die out quickly because there's no bonding or true interaction beyond the surface level. Like a geode, a character must be broken to see what shiny things are inside. So find something to crack them open a little, a chip here or there.

Now, if the other person absolutely fucking sucks at prompting you or offering a chance to open up? You may wanna, as a player, screw with the narrative and make for external pressure. Put your character under a deadline, by making them be waiting for something stressful. It makes them try to get things in fast, and they mess up. Maybe have a phone call or something happen, so they have to talk in front of the other character and divulge more than they meant to. You can force things on your character from outside, and it can help keep things going.

Relying entirely on your characters to keep things going is a fool's errand if the characters are not expressive, extroverted, and mouthy. A quiet stern guy who keeps to himself will want to kill a conversation quickly, and it'll drive other players off because they think that's you doing it, not your character. So make sure your narration explains why they're acting like that, and give tips to approach for the other character. Like I said, external forces may be the only way to force someone out of their shell while making sure your RP partner wants to keep digging!

You may have to fudge your character's personality or characterization slightly to get the ball rolling. Don't be afraid to make them slightly OOC if it means opening a door to tons more IC things. What, you've never blurted out something by mistake, or gotten mad and said something you regret because it's not really you? You never lied? Tch! They can fuck up too! Let them! Explore that!

Starters are never gonna be as easy as reading off cards, or having something set-up for you. You're gonna have to look at the setting for your character and see what's important. Are there places people frequent? Are there hobbies your character does that may be interesting? Can you arrive covered in blood because you're an assassin to prompt other people to fret until they realize it's not your blood and you can brag about the kill? Can you do something that seems out of character, but is perfectly normal? Be interesting! be interested in what your partner has to offer too, maybe it's not what you intended but following THEIR plot concepts can be super rewarding too!

So, good luck, and happy roleplaying!

[hpsaffics]

smut writing guides and resources: an AO3 collection

Collected a bunch of excellent resources -- tumblr and livejournal posts, mostly -- for a Femslash February smut writing workshop on the @hpsaffics discord server, and finally got around to putting it all in an AO3 collection!

Feel free to join the discord (18+) for more discussion and for a multishipping/SALS, sex-positive and supportive community!

A selection of some of them:

day 1: why write smut?

The first rule of writing smut is don’t write smut. by @/letteredlettered

i don’t know why you wouldn’t want to write bad fanfic. that’s the point of it – it’s allowed to be bad. by @/bettsfic

Smut 101: A Tutorial For Beginners by @/pikapeppa

day 2: easing into it

Writing Smut 101: Overcoming Smut Shame by @/slightlyrebelliouswriter23

Mature is ‘and then they made love.’ Explicit is 'and here’s how they did it *exactly*.’ aka the envelope post by @/tinsnip

any tips for writing smut? by @/ao3commentoftheday and others

day 3: characterization & relationship dynamics

Smut 101: Part 2 by d-dangerlove

Smut 102: A tutorial on writing dialogue during sex by @/pikapeppa

Any tips on how to write smut that actually moves the story? by @/ao3commentoftheday and others

day 4: plotting out a scene

Smut 101: Part 3 by d-dangerlove

Essay: The Formula for Writing Sex Scenes by cupidsbow

Sex Writing 101 by @/pasiphile

day 5: getting down to details

The Ultimate Guide to Writing Smut Fic by QuinnAnderson

Smut-Writing for the unSmutty by Vukovich

The Big Book of Writing Sex; A Tactless Resource! by @/RPedia

lesbian smut guide by @/springofviolets

day 6: genderbending & transfic (and omegaverse fic)

day 7: darkfic and kink fic

[collected by @leftsidedown / @broomsticks]

[ghostflowerdreams]

Do you have any rp ideas?

Here’s a few to hopefully give you inspiration for your muse...

Apocalyptic Writing Prompts: Writing About the End of the World

Bryn Donovan - 50 Mystery Story Ideas: Plots and Writing Prompts!

Bryn Donovan - 50 Science Fiction Plot Ideas and Writing Prompts

Bryn Donovan - 50 Spooky Writing Prompts and Horror Story Ideas

Gatekeepers Press - 100 Creative Plot Ideas Organized by Genre

Haunted House AUs & Strange Town AUs Prompts

Horror Story Writing Prompts: Chilling Ideas for Your Next Creepy Story

List Of Alternate Universes

Odyssey - 13 Roleplay Plots You Haven't Thought Of Yet

Prompt Story Ideas

Prompt Story Ideas, Pt. 2

Roommates Prompts

Soulmate AU - Dialogue Prompts

Soulmate AUs

Themed Restaurants & Cafes Prompts

Think Written - 42 Fantasy Writing Prompts & Plot Ideas

Writer’s Digest - 25 Plot Twist Ideas and Prompts for Writers

Writing Prompts About Ghosts

Writing Prompts about Vampires

Zombie AU Prompts: What Were You Doing When The Zombie Apocalypse Happened?

Here's some story generators too...

Big Huge Thesaurus - Story Plot Generator

Chaotic Shiny - Writing and RPG Related Generators

Perchance - Random RP Scenario Generator

Plot Generator

RP Generator: Mini Scenario

RanGen - Plot Generator

Roleplay Generator: Prompt Ideas

Sci-fi Ideas - Random Story Idea Generator

Seventh Sanctum: Writing Generators

Springhole - RPG Campaign Idea Generator

Story Plot Generator

TV Tropes - Story Generator

Writing Exercises - Random Plot Generator

And if all else fails, there’s also blogs and the search sections...

#prompt ideas

#prompts ideas

#roleplay ideas

#rp ideas

#story ideas

#writing ideas

AUideas

Creative Prompts For Writing

Plot Thought - Rp Ideas

Prompts In A Barrel

RPedia: The Roleplay Resource

[evansyhelp]

Hey!! I’m not sure how rping works exactly. I’ve seen those cool starters and stuff, but I’m not sure the specifics: Is it private or public? Do you have to be only one character or can you rp as multiple? (If you don’t feel like answering that’s fine!)

Hi there! It’s so exciting that you’re interested in starting to RP! 

There are three main types of roleplay that follow different rules, so the answer is different for each type!

The first is roleplay groups. These are private groups that you apply to join, and you’ll essentially be developing one specific story with one specific group of people. You can join as many groups as you want but they’re distinctly separate universes, like watching two completely different TV shows. Whether you can only play one character or several is up to the admin of each group! Some allow you to play more than one and some don’t, and they’ll specify what’s allowed on their rules page.  

Tags you can use to find roleplay groups on Tumblr: 

#new rp — for groups that are just starting out.

#oc rp — for original character roleplays, meaning you create your own character from scratch.

#skeleton rp — admins will create character ‘skeletons’ (for example: a kindergarten teacher who’s secretly a centuries-old vampire) and you can create a more developed character that fits the template. 

#[fandom name] rp — for example, #star wars rp or #harry potter rp, for groups set in pre-existing universes. You might be able to play canon characters (e.g. Luke Skywalker) or original characters tailored to the universe (e.g. a Hufflepuff student) depending on the rules of each group. 

The second is 1x1 roleplay. This is a private arrangement between two people to roleplay a specific plot. You can have as many 1x1 partners as you want, and you can have more than one plot with each partner, but each plot is distinctly separate. You’ll typically create a new blog (or at least a sideblog) for every new plot if you’re roleplaying on Tumblr. Traditionally, you play one character each in a 1x1 plot, but it’s up to you whether you play the same character in all plots, create a new character for every new plot, or have a roster of characters to pick from. 

Tags you can use to find 1x1 partners on Tumblr:

#1x1 rp 

#1x1 roleplay

The third is independent roleplay, often shortened to ‘indie.’ This is when you create a public account and interact with other public accounts. You might find indie accounts that call themselves private but this just means you have to be mutuals (following each other) to interact, not that there’s any kind of application process or exclusivity like with groups. In indie, you have the freedom to explore as many characters as you want, and as many plots as you want, with as many people as you want, all on one account. It might be a little confusing for someone who’s brand new to roleplaying, honestly, but if this is the roleplaying style that most appeals to you, it’s not impossible to jump right into indie!

Tags you can use to find indie accounts on Tumblr:

#indie rp

#independent rp

#indie [fandom name] rp — for example, #indie star wars rp.

And here are some more resources that can help you get started!

RP Terminology Masterlist by me.

A Guide To Modern RPing by pirncessleia.

Some of the advice linked here by RPedia is a little dated (you’re not really going to encounter what they call ‘star RPing’ on Tumblr anymore, for example), but still pretty useful for getting started! 

1x1 RP Guide by lolita1x1-blog.

Indie Tips Masterlist by dear-indies.

Indie RP Guide by musepirations. 

Plotting Etiquette Guide by merryhelps. 

Plotting Etiquette Guide by memesfromstuff. 

Plotting Guide by capricxs.

Establishing Character Connections Guide by blacknerdwrites.

Content Creator & Tag Masterlist by rey1x1.

Jcink RP Guide by yoojiimin.

Twitter RP Guide by reedrph.

Discord RP Guide by paralvmans.

I hope this was helpful! Please feel free to send in any more questions you have. 

[the-stanley-parable-roleplay]

thanks for all these resources! I’m curious—I’ve done plenty of rp before but never in a blogging setting. What’s the etiquette for interacting with other rp blogs to start something up?

You're very welcome, anon!

To start off, make sure you have read their rules first. A lot of people prefer to roleplay with mutuals, (unless they wrote something like 'will roleplay with anyone' or 'non selective' in their info page) so generally if someone follows you back, it means they want to interact with you.

Some rpers have side blogs, so they follow from their main blogs which may not have a similar url.

But there's nothing against writing someone a message asking them if they want to roleplay with you. The worst thing that can happen is they say no and if that's the case, don't worry about it! There are plenty of others who will! It's important to respect everyone's choices, though.

Now onto the actual interaction. You follow someone, they follow you back, how do you begin a thread?

There are a few ways you can do it.

Option 1: You jump into their inbox, in character.

Your character bumps into theirs, they ask them a question, and the thread pretty much goes on from there.

Option 2: You jump into their inbox, out of character.

You can also introduce yourself ooc (out of character), say hi and ask how the other person imagines your muses meeting. This works well if you just dont have any ideas or have a very unique one you're not sure what your partner thinks of it.

Option 3: Memes (or sentence starters)

If the blog you want to play with recently reblogged some ask box memes, send one or two! It's a quick way to break the ice.

Option 4: Starter calls

A starter call is a post that says 'hey, like this post if you want me to write you a starter!' If someone likes it, you write them something where your muses meet.

Option 5: Open starters

Open starters aren't addressed to anyone in specific but are open to everyone who wants to write with you. (You can specify mutuals only in the tag so random rp blogs dont jump on it)

More than one person might reply to it, no worries, you can still have separate threads with them.

Note: A closed starter is when you write one for a person in specific. It is etiquette not to reply to this thread unless you are the one who was tagged in it.

RPedia: How do I approach for a set up?

RPedia: How to end a roleplay?

Let me know if you need further help!

[xdepthsofwinterx]

oh, sorry, a magic anon is basically an event submission that affects a character for a certain amount of time. The blog rpedia has a good post explaining it, if you want to search there.

{{I had a read and remember these kind of things from my ye olde days as a Dont Starve RPer. I would be willing, though there are certain themes I won't do; aphrodisiacs, furry affects (not my cup of tea I'm afraid), pregnancy, mind control, anything mentally or physically torturing to my muse or any other muses.

Also the affects would only be effecting posts/asks tagged as M!A, as I dont want these affects to leak into anything canon. It would be for shits and giggles only :)

Nothing longer than a day or so also. Hope that makes sense :)}}

[cage-n-saurian]

For those out there who are beginning to role-play on this site and not sure how things work, check out RPedia .

It’s a resource blog filled with information about the ins & outs of Tumblr Role-Play for those who just getting started.

Hope this helps.

                      - Mun

[morethanaprincess-a]

@monsieur-de-paris​ said:  1, 3, 38

The Be Honest Meme (Still accepting! Already answering 1, 3, 31, and 38)

1. What would prevent you from following someone?

I answered this already here. :)

3. What current rp trend do you hate?

Ooh, I have a few. In no particular order:

- Blogs where the rules, muse info, and mun info are not easily accessible. If I have to click around various moving icons to find what I think a rules page should be, I’m less inclined to want to engage. I prefer rules on pages (and linked in a pinned post) to a google doc but I can use either. I just hate when the blog layout is so stylized that this information is not easily found.

- Replies with gifs. I’m not terribly picky about icons (especially for canon characters. And for OCs that don’t use a canon FC, I understand that it can be difficult to have enough icons with their expressions), but I dislike gifs in replies just because it causes my feed to load slowly.

- Writing styles that are just difficult to read. Double small text, multiple spaces between words, etc. I prefer third person past tense for my own writing but I won’t hold anyone to that, but I need to be able to read posts and replies.

- Self-deprecating attitudes when it comes to writing. It’s hard to be confident all day, every day, in your skills and portrayal but I see more and more blogs insisting they’re terrible to the degree of “I don’t know why people stick around for my trash writing but thank you!” It’s your muse and your interpretation. Own that shit! Because no one will be a bigger cheerleader for your muse and your writing than you. 

- Shyness in being afraid to reach out. Approaching new people is not easy, but the more you don’t even try to send memes, reach out in messages or discord, or find some other way to interact, the less likely you’ll get interactions. It’s flattering to be approached, for sure, but the trend of being so shy and afraid of others to reach out needs to stop. We’re all nerds writing about fictional characters we love. 

- Sending anon hate. I don’t think any more needs to be said about this.

- Unless the muse is a Danganronpa canon character, automatic friendship and knowledge about my muse without plotting first. I know there’s the various memes that go around to the likes of “We don’t need to write our characters meeting for the first time!” or “Let me know straight up if our characters can ship!” I like growing those bonds throughout threads, especially if I’m writing with a canon character from a different fandom. Everyone portrays their muses differently and my muse may not react the same way to one portrayal of a muse versus another. Of course, chatting OOC and plotting can help streamline this process along but it’s more of an annoyance when it comes out of nowhere, because first meeting interactions aren’t terribly popular.

- When muns tag long IC posts with a trigger warning (specifically because it’s a long post). For me, my favorite type of long post to see on my dash are long IC posts, in contrast to images, gifsets, memes, etc. I get it if long posts just make the feed more difficult to load, but why should writing length be a trigger?

38.  What advice would you give to someone new to rp?

This could go two ways, being new to RP in general or being new to Tumblr RP. So I’ll try to go over both!

- If you’re interested in playing a canon muse, know that muse and their fandom very, very well. Play their games, read their books, watch their shows. If it’s a popular fandom, you will likely be interacting with other muses from that fandom who will expect it from you. If not, you might just sell other muns on checking out your fandom by your portrayal!

- Unless you’re confident you can handle it, do not take on too many muses at once. Doubly so if you’re in a popular fandom(s). Keeping up with threads, sending asks/memes, doing promotion, queueing content...that all takes a significant amount of time, not to mention writing for several different characters and voices. Start with one and see how it goes, maybe try a test muse here and there (maybe with a meme prompt?). If you’re able to keep up with it all, then make a second blog or add more muses. It’s easy to get overwhelmed fast when you’re just excited to RP for the first time and want to try everything all at once.

- Lurk. Lurk where you want to be roleplaying. If that’s tumblr, go through the applicable RP tags for your intended blog (Are you indie or wanting to join a group? What about fandom? If you’re writing an OC, which sorts of fandoms or mediums do you want to write them in?). Get a feel of not only what muses are out there, but some of the more accepted conventions of tumblr roleplaying: see how others set up their about pages, their rules, their verses, etc. Find out how people are interacting (plotted starters? memes? spontaneous asks?). It’s easy to sign up for an account but I’d recommend spending some time researching how different platforms approach roleplay. When I started on tumblr for both indie and group RP, accounts like @rpedia​ were very helpful.

- Decide, at least to start, what your rules, limits, and interests are. Maybe you’re underage or just not interested in smut, make sure that’s in your rules. Maybe there’s a fandom you don’t want to interact with, make sure to list it. Are you only interested in one-liner responses or do you want to write multiple paragraphs (or both!)? How quickly do you want to respond to threads? And if you want to participate in shipping, that’s a whole different set of things to consider. Before jumping into the tags, threads, and reaching out to people, having at least the beginnings of your rules, your muse info, your mun info (age and mun name/pronouns as the bare minimum), and possibly your verses should be available for potential partners to peruse. 

- But still be flexible. Your rules can change and your interests can change. This happened to me with my shipping preferences and I’ve updated my rules over time to reflect that. I’d also add ‘Be open-minded’ to this as well: interact with muses from other fandoms and OCs. Try new friendships and possibly romantic relationships you might not have considered for your muse when you decided to write them. I’ve found that being open to all sorts of interactions brings some fantastic muses, writers, and often friends into your life.

- Do not be discouraged when you’re first starting out and don’t have too many interactions. Especially if you’re writing an OC, a canon character in an unpopular fandom, or you’re just plain new to the RP scene (in general or on any platform). It takes awhile to appear in the tags and to grow your network. Post drabbles, post headcanons, follow accounts you want to write with, and don’t be afraid to reach out to potential muns. For the most part, many of us are very easygoing because we know what it’s like to start in this hobby!

- If someone says they do not want to write and/or ship with you, do not take it personally. They may not care for your muse, your fandom, your writing style, your portrayal, your content, or just the ship in general. You, the mun, are writing your muse the way you want to and there’s nothing wrong or bad about it, but it might just not work for the other person. There are always plenty more people to write and ship with. But there’s no use getting angry, begging for them to change their mind, or worse, slander them on your writing platform (or off it). Just take it in stride.

- And most importantly, read (and watch and play, but especially read) and write. It is very easy to get writer’s block or just feel like you cannot match someone’s length. But I suggest writing something you want to read, and how to do that is to read something you want to read and practice, practice, practice. I find movies, TV shows, and most games can give great plot ideas, but when it comes to putting those ideas into words? Nothing beats the written or audio word. You don’t have to immerse yourself in anything particularly highbrow that’s found in a lit class, either. Just indulge in writing styles, plots, and characters that inspire you and your muse, and then just write. Drabbles, headcanons, replies, starters, writing frequently keeps you in good practice. That might be every day, that might be every week, but the more you keep doing it the more it’ll improve. And then it’ll feel less like a chore.

- But that being said, take a break when RP is more of a chore than it is fun. You might be burnt out on a variety of things, but don’t forget to tell your partners!

[purpledragonrp]

Purple dragon friend, do you have any blog suggestions for new RPers? Like blogs dedicated to show new RPers stuff about RP? Or develop their characters? Or help with terms? (Like, I am confused what the difference between a starter call and an open starter is..) Maybe some helpful resource lists too? (It would have stuff like reverse dictionaries. I saw one of those one time and can't find it now.)

Oooh - a hefty request, OP.  LOL!  I think any active, RP-related blog would be happy to answer questions you might have as you navigate the chaos that can be tumblr roleplay.  ^_^  First, let me start with some of the blogs I follow on this account.  Please note - some of these blogs may not be active anymore, but that doesn’t mean they don’t still have good/useful resources.  These are also in no particular order.

Roleplay Advice/Help

@rpedia​ - @rptoolkit​ - @fuckyeahroleplayadvice​ - @publicservicememes​  - @confessionsofa-roleplayer​ (While not technically an advice blog, the mods do a great job of answering questions when they have the time)

Writing Advice/Help

@writerswritecompany​ - @the-write-ideas​ - @s-graves-writes​ - @yeahwrite​ - @writersrelief​ - @writingquestionsanswered​

Roleplay Memes/Ideas

@historical-rp-memes​ - @sexlessrpmemes​ - @needsmorememes​ - @rp-ask-memes​ - @plotsforall​

Blog Themes

@linthm​ - @octomoosey​ - @borntobewildcodes​ - @glenthemes​ - @hunterthemes​ - @nonspace​

As for help with terms - while certain word meanings can vary from person to person, I did find a couple that might help:

Roleplay Terms - Roleplay Terminology

If you’ve got a Discord account, you might also consider joining the Confessions of a Roleplayer discord server.  It’s got a section for resources and there’s almost always someone around to help with any issues or questions you might have.  :)

And to answer your question:

A starter call is when you make a post offering to write starters for anyone who faves the post.  Some people will limit things - for example, only writing a starter for the first 5 people or only writing starters for people they haven’t written with before - but unless that’s stated, it typically means if you fav the post you’re going to get a starter.

Ex:  I’ve been getting a bunch of new followers lately.  If anyone’s interested in getting something going, like this post and I’ll write us a starter!

An open starter is when you write the beginning of an RP and do your best to leave it open for as many of your followers as possible to respond to if they’re interested.

Ex: Jesse wove his way through the bookshelves, checking his phone as he went.  Not really paying attention to his surroundings, he rounded a corner and ran right smack into someone standing on the other side.  Fumbling to keep his phone in hand, he offered an apologetic smile.  “Sorry ‘bout that.  Should've been payin’ attention. You alright?”

As for reverse dictionaries, a quick Google search pulled up a few for me:

One Look - Reverse Dictionary - Wordsmyth

I hope this is a good starting point for you, OP, but if you have any other questions, please feel free to ask!  ^_^

[adesertedstateofmind]

What does independent rp blog mean? Aren’t all rp blogs independent?

From RPedia: “Independent blogs are roleplaying blogs that are not connected to any group. It might be an OC, it might be original, but there’s no one laying down the law on how they roleplay or who they roleplay with. They’ve got their own rules on who can contact them or who they’ll RP with, and there’s no big over-arching storyline that they’re a part of handled by moderators, only what they devise themselves. The difference here is it can be harder to find RP if you’re not established, while an RP Group can connect you to people. Sometimes the group leaders can get overprotective of their group and install the weirdest rules.”

In this case, I’m not part of the main Killjoy-verse, and I’m not affiliated with any other blogs. This blog takes place at a time before Jet meets Poison, Kobra, and Ghoul. I haven’t spent much time fleshing out his story, but I plan on posting an intro of sorts about this alternate timeline.

[rpedia]

How do you tell someone that you don’t wish to rp with them? I don’t want to seem like a jerk.

Ah, this all comes down to simply wording things that are true, but not particularly pointed. Here are a couple of my favorite ways to turn someone away without hurting their feelings. You can borrow them, or adapt them to your use-case! I know it can be kinda goofy to use a script, but hearing how other people approach it can help you develop your own voice for this kind of thing, so I’m happy to provide examples.

“I don’t think we’d really have chemistry, but good luck anyways!”

“I’m sorry, I’m not a big fan of your portrayal, but I’m sure you’ll find someone else!”

“I’m afraid you’re not quite what I’m looking for right now. Thanks for the offer!”

“I’m not really feeling this roleplay, but thank you anyways.”

“Your character isn’t really what I had in mind for my next RP, but I’m glad you took the time to ask!”

“I’m glad you offered, but I’m afraid this isn’t something I see working out.”

“We’re really different RPers, so I don’t want to lead you on with an RP I don’t think I’d be really involved in. Thank you though!”

“We seem to have very different goals in mind for RP, so I think we’d be better off playing with other people. Good luck!”

“I appreciate the thought, but I think I’m looking for something else right now. Thanks though!”

“I’m not sure I can see this working out, good luck elsewhere!”

“Sorry, it’s a good idea, just not for me! Hope you find someone else to take you up on it!”

“All the best, but this ain’t it chief. Good luck elsewhere.”

... look, okay, I’m very ‘nice’ but sometimes you just gotta whack ‘em with the, “Nah, not my kinda thing. You do you.”

Good luck with dealing with this! I know how hard it can be. If they push back on you saying no, be firm. “Hey sorry! I know you’re excited, but I already said no. I’d appreciate it if you’d respect that!” kinda vibe. Or “I’m not comfortable explaining further, but again, thank you for asking.”

[therapardalis]

4. How do you explain rp to someone in the real world? // 14. Do you think rp has had a positive or negative affect on your life or you as a person? // 38. What advice would you give to someone new to rp?

[Be Honest meme for @agentharrisonofshield (aka dammit Zen why can’t I @ you on Vivian’s blog?)]

4. How do you explain rp to someone in the real world?

Ah, do you mean ‘potential worst nightmare’? It’s something I’ve actually thought about a bit, as there’s an outside chance someone at Decent Work is going to get curious (boss is away for a month so I’ll be here with my laptop open while workmate is in the office, and she may ask). I’ll probably just say that we write collaborative stories as a creative writing hobby, and if she asks further that it helps the writing process to incorporate and deal with whatever the partner comes up with in our response. Or something like that >.>

14. Do you think rp has had a positive or negative affect on your life or you as a person?

Both. Totally both. It’s basically taken me on a very long learning curve about myself, my self-worth, my mental health and overcoming my own shortcomings in dealing with other people. I’ve been trashed, and through bad responses and habits I’ve trashed myself, but as the phrase goes ‘my god, you learn’.

It’s still a work in progress, but after a few falls into some pretty murky depths internally and in my own behaviour, I’m slowly coming out the other end stronger, better and with a much improved grip on what I deserve, the decent way to behave, and what I need to do to take care of myself.

38. What advice would you give to someone new to rp?

Funny you should ask ;)

I’d also nudge them over to RPedia and a few other help/advice blogs.

[bothsidesofaquestion]

Hey there. So, just wondering how this whole muse and mutuals thing works. Might want to join in sometime. :D

::ooc:: hello dear!

Actually, it depends of the rper, since I’m an indie blog I decide my interactions. Some blogs are mutuals only, some blogs are not selective ( they’d rp with anyone), there are many combinations.

In my case, I’m mutuals only and selective. I decided on that because my time for interactions is limited and I’m looking to rp with certain types of muses. Not all rp blogs are like me tho, but, you’ll need a rp blog for starters :) most rp blogs if not all won’t rp with personal or art blogs.

I recommend you to take a look at @rpedia because they’re the best source and guidance to start your own rp experience 💙

[the-stanley-parable-roleplay]

@thursdaysdove 

@neverendingparable - Okay okay, so I am considering it. But I'm very nervous! Can you create a roleplay account as a duo? I'd really like to operate as the Narrator and the Author - we come as a packaged deal in this case! Also, most rp's I've seen have a more serious mood to them. I can do serious, but also how much silliness can I get away with?

That's great to hear! You don't immediately need to jump to roleplaying the moment you've made your blog, feel free to take it slow, update your characters' about pages or post some drabbles and headcanons so people can become familiar with them.  

You can absolutely run a roleplay blog as a duo. The amount of muses you have is completely up to you!

The same thing applies to your roleplays, you can be as silly as you want.

(In my experience, sometimes crack/lighthearted threads end up getting a bit more serious automatically, but that doesnt apply to all of them)

The more serious threads are often used for character development, to push the story along for blogs involved. Such as secrets and hidden backstories your muses don't like to talk about, or strengthening relationships through hardships, etc.

RPedia's How Do I Start RPing? could be helpful, btw.

If you'd rather do silly threads for now, go for it! You can always try out other types later.

What's important in roleplay is that others can find a way to interact with you! It's like a conversation, you say some things and then it's your partner's turn. Just like there are soul bearing conversations, there are convos where you just joke around and have fun. Being interactive is key!

I hope this helped you and please feel free to reply if you need any more help. 

Oh and, there's also another self insert roleplay blog who's around the TSP community often, her name is @morniing-frost! 

[ofmymuses]

Hiii amanda!! I've always wanted to join the rpc but I never understand how they work. I'm so used to my stand 1d role-play kind of blogs that when I go to the real rp blogs and see all the fancy gifs, fonts, and "audition" type character paragraph things that I get scared!! can you maybe give a quick like summary on how joining an rp works and how it's set up and where the actual roleplaying/writing goes on? Thank you in advance! MUAH. xx

First, I love that you said MUAH. MUAH back @ you but the rpc can definitely be a scary place but it doesn’t have to be :-) some general advice I’d like to give is just go with your own flow – do / format things so that YOU’RE comfortable because there’s nothing worse than doing things that you’re not cool doing

+ now here are some resources for ya :-)

roleplay basics by rpedia

rp definitions by howto-rp

a rp masterlist by howto-rp ( definitely read this if not anything else )

reminders for para-based rping by pontmercym

making a character with a pre-written bio your own by benedicthelps

multi-muse “mumu” roleplaying by stansebas

if you need some more help / this isn’t what you were looking for, please let me know + I’ll give you some more resources. best of luck !

[sasslightertm-a]

Uh, so, questions: do you have a tag for, like, how to begin roleplaying on Tumblr or a link to a post that does or something like that? Also, for creating a roleplay blog, would you say you should have a primary blog? (Also, cause I'm curious, do you have a different account that you don't roleplay on?)

I don’t think I currently have a tag for how to begin roleplaying on Tumblr, but I probably should. RPedia is a really good blog for how to begin roleplaying (and what you should look out for). There’s a basics post {here} if you want more information.

     As for creating a roleplaying blog… Yes, I would say it’s easier for you to have a primary blog for that. It’s easier to send messages or asks in-character, and your dash isn’t as cluttered as it would be if your RP blog is attached to a personal blog (where you either have to go on anon and sign with your url, or go in under your personal url and let the other mun know it’s meant for your RP blog). (If you’re curious, I do have two other primary roleplay blogs, but have side-muses on sideblogs attached to both this blog and my darkAU!Tenth Doctor blog. Those are generally for muses that pop in and out of my head or have otherwise low activity. Sideblogs are also good for testing out a muse to see if it sticks around—if you want you can always give that muse its own primary blog later.)

     And yes, I do have a personal blog that I do not roleplay on—at this point it’s mostly multifandom stuff (primarily Animorphs—those six shapeshifting warrior children were my first-ever sci-fi fandom and I still love them). I also have a writing sideblog attached to my personal, and this blog has a sideblog {x} for ficlets/fics/imagines about Chris Halliwell.

     Thank you for the questions! It’s always nice getting things like this in my inbox.