please don't mistake silence for hatred. please don't mistake unanswered plotting messages as indifference, or a lack of enthusiasm towards you. considering the ages of most roleplayers, many of us have bills to pay, families to take care of, medical conditions to treat, appointments to make, classes to take, homes to clean, and lives to live away from the computer that are far, far more important than writing on tumblr — life has a tendency to get in the way of hobbies and fun things like this. be patient with your fellow writers. if it doesn't work out, it doesn't work out. of course you can set your boundaries, keep your space comfortable, and softblock whoever you wish, but do so while recognizing it's probably not hatred or apathy that keeps them from leaping into your dms with message after message. they probably love this hobby just as much as you... but sometimes life gets in the way.

why are ppl rping with bots instead of writing fanfic??? like isn't the primary reason folks are using the bot bc they are socially intimidated by rp groups? (no judgment there ik how nerve-wracking it can be)

but like instead of talking to a cold machine someone COULD be growing their writing skills by... just Writing the whatever, the OC x canon scenario, the silly lil au, the smut etc etc. doesn't have to be grand literature, can just be a script fic even

and then after a while a person might have a piece of Art (generated by their very own meat computer) that they may want to show others??

folks, we can only win here. we can only lose talking to robots!

A Less Obvious Toxic RPer: The Overaplogizer

I see a lot of RP resource blogs that talk about toxic RP partners in the cases of people who are overtly controlling, aggressive, demanding, and/or cruel, but rarely if ever do I see posts about a different sort of toxicity: The over-apologizer. These RPers don’t get defensive or aggressive, they get so submissive and self-hating and apologetic over the SLIGHTEST criticism or even suggestion. It’s not a problem of “not saying sorry” it’s a problem of TOO MUCH sorry. Here are some examples: Sally: “Hey there, I know we planned for our muses to end up together eventually, but some of your recent asks seem to suggest they’re already a close  couple. I was hoping for a longer slow-burn sort of thing, moving in too fast will definitely scare my muse off. Could we dial it back a bit?” Bill: “I’m so sorry, I completely fucked up! Please don’t hate me ! I should never have started RPing! Let’s just drop the whole thing I’m sorry I wasted your time!” Sally: “Hey, so in your last reply, you had a whole bunch of spiders come out of the walls. I probably should have mentioned this before, but spiders are kind of a trigger of mine. Could we change that to something else?” Bill: “OMG I’m so sorry I’m such an asshole! I should delete my blog, I’m so terrible at this! This is why nobody likes me!” Sally: “Hey, I really love our threads, but our last three have all focused on my muse saving and comforting yours, and the new plot you just suggested seems the same. I like writing with you, but I was wondering if this time around, your muse could help mine instead?” Bill: “I hate myself, I’m such a selfish prick. I push everyone off, why did I think this would be different?” Sally: “I love talking to you OOC, but could you stop messaging me about New Show? I’m just not really interested in that.” Bill: “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to annoy you, I’ll just shut up now. I’m sorry I’m such a loser.” So, why is this bad? Well, for one thing, insulting yourself isn’t what someone’s aim is when they ask you to change something or cease a behavior. It makes the Sally in this situation feel bad, like they’ve just bullied you, when all they’ve done is politely communicate a reasonable request. It changes the topic of the conversation from Sally communicating a need about RP, to Sally having to personally reassure Bill that she doesn’t hate him, he isn’t a terrible RPer, etc. This is really, really uncomfortable for the Sally, and usually, in my experience as a Sally, ends up taking a lot of time and emotional labor all focused on Sally comforting Bill and apologizing a lot herself simply for speaking up about something bothering her. All of this combines to making Sally more and more unlikely to voice any further concerns or requests to Bill, because she doesn’t want to go through this again and again. Which means Sally either suffers through threads that bother her in some way and aren’t fun for her. . .or she gets tired of that and just ghosts. This sucks for both Sally and Bill. Now, I don’t think most people are trying to be deliberately manipulative when they act like Bill. Some certainly are and I hate them, but it can also be that they’re genuinely extremely insecure, anxious people who think they have to over-correct due to either mental issues, trauma/abuse in the past, or both. So I genuinely try to be patient and kind, but I won’t lie, it is still manipulative and it gets my hackles up. It leaves me conflicted between wanting to comfort the person and reassure them, and at the same time being pissed at them. It’s definitely a frustrating experience. And honestly? I still don’t actually know how to handle this when I’m in the Sally position. So I tried to do the next best thing, and write this for the Bills out there, who might not REALIZE this is toxic behavior or why. Bills, you’re not a bad person, and I know this behavior can be hard to rein in, especially when it’s a trauma response, but please do what you can to try! I wish I had advice for how, but I don’t. All I can do is point out that this behavior, while it may have helped you survive a bad situation in the past, is actually really shitty to others now. And if someone WANTS this behavior from you? If someone WANTS you to scrape and grovel and insult yourself when they point out the slightest thing wrong? Get the hell away from them, because that’s toxic as hell too.

What If I Quit?

I have been roleplaying on Tumblr for well over ten years now. I am now at the point of adulthood where I have responsibilities, ambitions, and things I want to pursue. What I don't have as a luxury is time and energy. More often than not, I don't want to do much stuff because work drains me, and I spend some of my past time just trying to write here. Trying to roleplay. And it leads me to just feeling empty.

A thought crossed my mind. I thought of just quitting roleplaying/writing in order to do more stuff. To pursue passions, like art or video game development, which has been a life dream of mine. But, I feel that there are some things that I need to sacrifice in order to do it.

Work is a must. Gotta pay bills and put food on the table.

But, college, editing videos, personal time. Would stopping roleplaying forever be good, benefit my time and energy? Leave me energy, motivation, and time to do other things?

I thought of this and thought, "What would everyone else think?"

I made so many friends, memories, here is how I created my characters: hell, I met my wife on this site through roleplaying.

But I'm not a kid anymore. I have so many responsibilities. Where is the time to develop skills?

That is what has been swimming in my mind all day. I need to know what the benefits of me leaving or staying... and I mean permanently. Never coming back.

Does anyone have any advice for roleplaying a mute character?

im currently working on a character that i plan on using in a dnd/wanderhome campaign or simply just playing as him a roleplay group but a huge part of his character design is that he cant form common language words due to his mouth.

Hes essentially a thri-kreen from dnd, being able to speak with other people of his own race through mandible clacking and body language and other noises that they can produce, but inter-race communication is difficult.

Im not sure the best way to play as him without just going “hes trying to say this” or “convey this” and im not sure if i can accurately depict how being mute can affect your life as i am not mute and rarely am in-able to speak (there are moments where i do go nonverbal due to places being too loud or crowded but never for extended periods of time and it never affects me for long)

Pro tip: do you have a DnD scene where there are several NPCs all talking in a meeting? You think it's a really cool scene and you want to run it, roleplay it?

Don't run it. Write it.

Really. Write it down if you need to get it out of your system. But running 3+ NPCs with varying agendas and voices and all vying for position is just not feasible. You're already running a lot and doing a lot. That's too much to multi-task

Do write that scene, though. Maybe have it be a cut scene for your players to read between sessions

So, You Want to Try RolePlaying.

I’ve been doing RP and co-op writing for years, but have only about a month of experience doing it with complete strangers. So, here’s my advice, some warnings, and probably some random jokes.

First, who are you doing this with? Your friends? Strangers you want to get to know/write with? Your internet acquaintances? Because that’s gonna affect things.

My first and most important warning is this: don’t expect full control, especially not with strangers/people you don’t know personally.

Don’t expect anything, really. You’re taking a risk, and you may end up having to deal with discomfort. Morals, ethics, beliefs, preferences, triggers, even basic likes and dislikes may be very different between you and those you are writing with, so be prepared for that. My best example of this is that I tend to curse much less than those I RP with on tumblr.

My advice? Don’t be surprised, don’t get offended. If you’re uncomfortable, maybe just remove yourself from that scene. You cannot, and should absolutely not, try to control these things. If you’re very very uncomfortable, and it’s an objective thing, that’s when you should ask for changes. For example, if this isn’t supposed to be NSFW/Suggestive, and someone’s really pushing/has crossed that line, going against explicitly stated and agreed upon guidelines and rules, THAT’S when you say something/explicitly ask for them to stop. Exercise basic respect to everyone, agreement with you or not.

I’m an absolute control freak sometimes, so I honestly struggle with “I don’t like this plot” discomfort sometimes, to the point of occasionally feeling physically sickened when something feels out of control. A recent bout of this problem is what made me want to write this. My personal way of dealing with this is making my characters OCs FIRST. Dusk, Northeast, even Kit are all from their own original thing somewhere, that this all isn’t really canon to. While they were made for this specifically, that doesn’t mean they still aren’t my characters and I cannot have them also canonically exist in their own bubble where I have control. It’s strange, but it’s my own personal tactic. If you want, I could probably tell you about this “oc AU”, but most people are probably just here for advice. So onward.

Secondly? Don’t be confusing unless you know you can get away with it hoo boy here we go

I accidentally maybe introduced Puella Magi Madoka Magica into a TADC RP I’m in, and while it did end up crossover-ing decently well, it was really rocky, especially because nobody else had heard of Madoka and if you know anything about PMMM it’s that the lore is freaking WILD. So if you want to try something like that, be slow about it. It was about the only thing I got right.

I mentioned the mechanics, then made a character show up who uses those mechanics, then I introduced Kyubey, a way to spread those mechanics, and then and only then did other characters get to use the full potential of these mechanics/lore. Like I mentioned, it was incredibly rocky, but it worked. So do better than me, I beg.

Third of all. Try to figure out the overall tone before writing. If this is a serious piece of literature where things need to be set up properly, ACT LIKE IT! PLAN! SCHEME!

If this is a no-logic insanity mess where everything is surrealist metaphor, ACT. LIKE. IT. PLAN METAPHORS! BLAST PERTINENT MUSIC! HECK YEAH!

If this is 8-15 teenagers writing a TADC AU full of comedy, drama, ocs, and “whatever seems fun”, FREAKING GO FOR IT, BE DRAMATIC, JUST KEEP THINGS BASICALLY LOGICAL AND MAKE SENSE AND YOU’RE GOOD!

…

…Yeah that’s it for now see y’all

So, I don't really rp, but I used to co-write novellas with internet friends I met in an online fiction community that existed for this purpose. We'd pass a manuscript around and each add a chapter (which we kept secret from each other until its release). It wasn't exactly a roleplay, but I think the process is quite a bit like looking for an RP partner.

Seems to me a ton of writers on tumblr are trying to find partners to write with lately (roleplayers or otherwise), but they're going about it in the worst way possible. I suspect maybe tumblr just... never taught you guys how to do this.

Old-school writing group tip for you to help you find your next writing partner? If you want people to respond to your ads, sharing your wish list and DNI is simply not enough. You gotta share a sample of your writing.

"Hi I'm looking for someone to do an XYZ rp with me! Here are my fave tropes and characters!" is not gonna get any traction because it offers no meaningful information. People can't know if they're interested in writing with you if you don't give them some kind of sample of the experience, even a bite-sized one.

A nutrition list alone isn't helpful in picking your dinner off a menu. That's because this information needs more context to be relevant. On its own, it gives you no idea what the meal is going to look or taste like. What form it will take. How it will be prepared.

You wouldn't try to entice someone to order a meal based on that raw info alone... so don't use this tactic to entice someone to spend hours and hours of their life writing with you.

"But my post has special dramatic formatting and is super visually attractive!" Nice, but not useful for this purpose. GIFsets of canon characters and quotes ripped straight from the script are useless to someone trying to decide if they want to collaborate on a story with you. It's because this stuff gives absolutely nothing in terms of showcasing what you're bringing to the storytelling table.

No wonder so many people are giving up and breaking out crappy AI chatbots. I know we're all hyper-vigilant about scraping and theft right now, and for good reason, but if you want to find someone to write with you... you gotta share just a snippet of a sample. You gotta.

Hi! I am a newer roleplay, and I am seeking advice om how I can roleplay as Todoroki Shoto. I am experimenting with new fandoms and characters and I have learned that I am not the best with him specifically. Does anyone have any tips?

what if

i told you you it's okay to write about what you're most interested in. it's okay to fixate on whatever tickles your muse. roleplaying isn't a job, so make sure it's bringing you joy.

Crawling Clueless in Dungeons

Dear DM Robbie, How can I make a dungeon crawl exciting? Mine seem to drag on for the players and they get bored. -Clueless in the Dungeon Dear Clueless, This is a question I ask myself and still I struggle with a solid answer. Like most things that come with being a Dungeon Master, fixing it takes time, practice, and preparation. Here are a few good, general tips from Sly Flourish! The problem with dungeon crawls is they’re predictable. Most of them devolve into one of two scenarios. Scenario 1, you send the rogue, or whoever has the best stealth ahead to scout things out and they return with information and then you plan an attack. There’s nothing wrong with this scenario! It happens a lot and it’s a tried and true way to safely and efficiently give the party the best chances of survival. When it’s happening once every handful of sessions, that is. But when you’re in a dungeon crawl and it’s happening for every room, it leaves everyone else in the party bored. So, how do you break up the predictability? You don’t want to deny the sneaky character the chance to flex their skills and be useful to the party. But you need to give the other players a chance to do the same. Find ways to include challenges or obstacles that your players have the tools to overcome. Perhaps there’s a trap that is triggered and now the only way through is shutting it off on the far side. The Wizard could Misty Step through, but what dangers lurk on the other side? The Ranger could try to hit the switch with an arrow, but what if it breaks and can’t be turned off? The Barbarian could rage and run through, taking minimal damage. Do any of your players have specialties that don’t get to use often? Maybe the Bard took a feat to learn extra languages and can speak, read, and write in 7 different languages. Give them a chance to help decipher a forgotten dialect. Fending off boredom in dungeons is usually just about finding what tools your players have and like to utilize and giving them a chance to do it. Dungeons don’t have to be a crawl, nor do they always need a map. I find that when you drop them in a dimly lit cave and ask them to explore, they always default to the slow, stealthy approach and have a hard time kicking it. But here is my hot take on dungeon crawls, which lately hasn’t seemed to be that hot, don’t do them. If everyone in the group gets bored during dungeon crawls, you don’t need to put them in your games. At their core dungeon crawls are just a series of events meant to drain the resources of your party leading up to an eventual boss encounter. If the gas tanks are all full, then the encounter is likely to be a breeze. But the fact of the matter is you don’t need to present a full dungeon map for them to explore square by square to achieve this. My good friend Kali and fellow Dungeon Master achieved this with great affected in a session she once ran that featured four challenges, a roguelike mechanic, and a final battle in the Feywild. An entire dungeon crawl can be done using theater of the mind and only busting out the map when combat calls for it. Don’t let the confines of a map stifle your creativity, or funnel your players into a specific playstyle. Find ways to surprise your party, keep them guessing, and keep them using different skills and tools from start to finish.

If you have a question or a situation you'd like advice on from Dungeon Master Robbie, you can submit it via this link, https://forms.gle/d4rib7nR9kiHYf3fA

remember that this is always a slow time for the rpc. as we get deeper into the holiday season, remember that people are finishing classes and taking big tests. they're slammed at work or taking on extra jobs to pay the bills. people are stressed about money or family, figuring out flights or trips, dreading the colder weather, struggling to put food on the table. some people are experiencing more dark outside than light, which might mess their schedule up a bit. some deal with seasonal depression during these months.

when your dash is slower and quieter this time of year, and when less people are liking your posts or sending memes, it doesn't mean the community is dying or we're all headed for the end times. i understand that less interactions or less support might be discouraging, especially when some of us are already dealing with the doom and gloom of darker, colder months and the stress of the holiday season... but please don't turn around and scold people for their inactivity or their lack of enthusiasm. don't get fatalistic about the fate of this community and declare it prematurely dead. this period of time always happens every year. now is not the time for unfair expectations. now is the time for kindness, generosity, understanding, encouragement, and love. now is the time for "take your time with replies," and "talk to me if you need anything. i'm here for you."

My favorite DND character to roleplay, has been formally trained in combat for most of her life, and is very, very skilled as a result. Not to mention she dedicates most of her downtime to practicing (fantasy) martial arts, as that's what she loves to do.

But the issue is, I don't know how to convey that in roleplay, as I'm just a nerd who's never stepped into a martial arts gym or dojo before. What should I do?

You're running into a limitation with D&D, and not even realizing. This isn't a flaw per se, it's something D&D does very well, until you get off script.

To set up a false dichotomy, there are two ways you can create a fictional character: You can create an organic mixture of experiences, skills and outlooks; and blend that together into a coherent individual. Or, you can take a per-built archetype, and then tweak it slightly, to fit what you need.

The advantage of the first approach is you're creating the simulacrum of a person. This is likely to be, “more realistic.” However, it is a lot more work, and it can create characters that are much harder to communicate to the audience. Also, if you have an unconscious bias, you can easily create characters that are completely unrecognizable to the audience, failing the, “more realistic,” component of this approach.

The second approach is to start from a prebuilt archetype. You're already doing that here, you're just running into a situation where you're cross-threading two different archetypes, and then asking, “wait, what happened here?” Depending on the amount of relevant literature you've read, you should have a pretty solid grasp of the various archetypes is your genre. In the case of D&D, you don't really need to ask how to roleplay as a wizard, or a rogue, or (in most cases) a fighter. In fact, most of the base classes are pretty easy to improv roleplay (even if this does shortchange some really interesting classes like the warlock and sorcerer.)

If I told you, roleplay your character as a monk, you'd probably have a much easier time grasping that concept and running with it. If you want a single sentence answer, that's probably your best bet. Your character is fairly close to a monk, and honestly, if I was building a character like that, I would probably have main-classed Monk, and then focused on the weapons with the monk keyword. (Players forget that monks actually have a set of weapon proficiencies. and it's relatively flexible these days. You might even be able to find a splat that lets you add some additional martial proficiencies to your monk list. Historically the monk weapon list was pretty underwhelming, but newer editions have more appealing lists.) (There's a third party Monk spec, in the 5e SRD, Way of Iron, that lets monks use a lot of martial weapons, and armor, with some limitations. I'm not sure if there's a similar option from WotC, though it's certainly possible.)

Monks are the class that tend to spend their entire life studying martial combat. The class's defining characteristic is their ability to fight effectively without gear. There's a metagame stigma against it, but it's entirely valid for monk to multiclass. (The reason the stigma exists is because one level of monk can be a very potent “splash,” for optimized builds. There's a lot of potential for abuse here.) So, if your character spent their formative years studying martial combat, and now works as a mercenary, it would be entirely plausible for them to have started with a level of monk, and then start taking fighter levels.

Monks tend to be extremely disciplined (in previous editions the class was hard locked to lawful, if that helps you understand.) These are characters who have dedicated their lives to combat. They're also likely to be pretty relaxed and confident in the face of nearly any threat they can potentially overcome. Even against impossible odds, it's not like they're going to crack, they're simply more likely to have a fatalistic view of the situation.

So, why am I saying, “monk,” when that wasn't what you were asking for? It goes back to what I said about this being a limitation of D&D. There isn't a good way to graft martial arts onto a character. It's not like a game like Shadowrun or World of Darkness, where you can simply put a few points into the relevant unarmed combat skill. In some editions you could take a feat to give you unarmed fighting, but D&D heavily punishes throwing a punch if you don't know what you're doing. Further, outside of the monk, there really isn't a way to establish that your character dedicated their life to martial combat. You can add that as roleplaying flavor to a normal fighter, but it isn't particularly reflected in game. So, while your character is (in theory) extremely familiar with combat, they're still working off the same stats as the farmer turned mercenary who's been doing this for six weeks, but has the same XP pool.

So, this loops back to that false dichotomy I started with. You can either start by assembling your character piecemeal, or by creating an archetype. You're going to do the same thing in most RPGs, except the game has already chosen which route you'll take. In the case of D&D, you're picking a class, short of homebrewing a class from the ground up (which is very daunting), you can't really create a new class, piecemeal, to fit your concept.

In contrast, if an RPG starts with a point-buy system, you're creating a character from scratch, when you roll them up. Now, in most cases, even with point buys, the game will provide you some kind of example templates to work from. It can be pretty difficult to establish what a character should look like, if you've never seen a completed character sheet for it. As a result, you will see some optional archetype build suggestions.

In reality, there's a spectrum between the two points on that dichotomy, especially if you start from an archetype and then work away from it, expanding them into a full character. There might be value in, “assembling,” an archetypal character out of their component parts, though that would be more valuable in critiquing the archetype itself.

With the way D&D is designed, it expects you to start from a pre-established archetype for a character. Now there's still a lot of freedom to completely reinterpret the frame you're offered, and come up with an entirely different read on one of the classes. (Previous editions lightly suggested doing this with the rogue in the Player's Guide's text, but it is an option for any class.) Also, multi-classing (especially with class levels that reflect an earlier era in your character's life) can be a really interesting way to make a character stand out, and give them more of a unique identity. (Just, be aware this is also a tactic in munchkining, and if your DM says, “no,” they have legitimate concerns.)

-Starke

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Building A Better RP Ad

“I am seeking a Natasha to play against my Bucky” “I am seeking a Steve Rogers to play against my OC” I see a ton of ads that look like this. I used the Marvel fandom, but it could be any. And I think that people who post super-sparse, bare bones ads like this would get MUCH better results if they got more specific about the dynamic they’re seeking between characters (is it romantic? If so, is it slow burn or instantly established? Snarky sex partners? Enemies to lovers? Domestic fluffy lovebirds? Married with children?) and offered up a few plot ideas. Not only would the latter showcase what sorts of plots and themes you’re interested in—thrillers, fluff, AUs, emotional conversations, fast-paced action–it would also demonstrate that you have ideas you can bring to the table, you’re not just going to expect the other person to think of everything. You don’t need to pitch a novel, just a few basic sentences about what you’ve got in mind. Here are some examples: “I really want to do a fantasy AU, something with dragon-riding! I’m looking for a mixture of action/adventure with more chill domestic aspects, like just hanging out flying together or taking care of their dragons and talking.” “I’m seeking a nitty-gritty exploration of both our character’s trauma. Healing might be at the end of the tunnel, but only after they’ve both faced the worst parts of themselves and their pasts. I don’t want any sanitized, instantly-fixed-with-love stuff here, I want realness and long, drawn-out angst.” “I really like conspiracy/thriller plots, and I have ideas for several. For instance, one or both of our muses loses their powers and they have to track down who caused this and find out why, or an important figure from one of their pasts comes calling with a dubious agenda, or there’s a heist where our thieves are both racing towards the same prize but fall in love on the way due to being so impressed with each other’s skills!” These are admittedly pretty specific, so if you don’t have an idea that concrete in mind, you can always do something like: “I’m seeking a romance in a dark setting” “I’d like something lighthearted with a pre-established ship” “I want platonic slice-of-life most, but I also have a couple AU settings I’d love to try” And if your ad is for someone to play against your OC, whether it’s OCxCanon or OCxOC, a brief bio or overview of who your OC is and what they’re like would probably do WONDERS both at helping your advert stand out, as well as making people more likely to respond. After all, there’s nothing enticing about a total blank whom you know nothing about, but “my OC Maya, a no-nonsense pipefitter in her 30s with strong feminist and environmentalist leanings, a frank and direct demeanor, and a touch of paranoia due to past trauma. She’s likely to be found at the farmer’s market getting fresh local produce, enjoying some Korean food, or rocking out at a 90s alternative cover night.” See? That wasn’t a massive bio, but it gives someone a pretty good quick picture of who Maya is, and they probably will have a better sense of if their muse would vibe with her or not. It may still be a “not” of course, but now the people who DO have muses who would like her will KNOW! Here’s some more examples with my OCs: “My girl Lemon is in her late 20s and she’s a big buff boisterous ball of energy! She’s not the brightest around, but her heart is big and so are her biceps! She’s super sunny and always eager to meet new people and explore new things, but she can be a little (or a lot) much for people. She could be a shy friend’s extrovert besty OR their worst nightmare!” “Aviram, or Avi for short, is a sensitive and introverted plant dad. He’s a conflict-avoidant vegetarian and while he’s great at listening and offering sympathy, he’s not good at actual solutions. Despite this, he has a love for controlled thrill scenarios like sky-diving, paint-balling, or spelunking.” “Alya is a married woman in her 40s who is currently struggling with her faith due to a miscarriage. She’s maternal and empathetic, but these same qualities sometimes lead her to being manipulative with those she cares about due to feeling she knows what’s best for them.” Then just combine them! I’d introduce the character first, then the scenarios you’re interested in. And even if you’re writing a canon character, it still may be useful to include any specifics about your own portrayal, such as what sources you draw on, if there’s any source material you ignore/disagree with/don’t include, relevant headcanons, etc. So yet again, here are examples, this time using my OCs with canon characters from X-Men, She-Ra, and The Vampire Chronicles/Interview With the Vampire: “I’m seeking a found family RP for Laura Kinney and/or Gabby Kinney with my OC, Maya. Maya’s an adult woman, so it would be a protective/platonic thing. She’s a no-nonsense pipefitter in her 30s with strong feminist and environmentalist leanings, a frank and direct demeanor, and a touch of paranoia due to past trauma. I like the idea of her finding one of the girls and protecting them as best she can from those after them while also trying to convince them she’s safe, especially since she knows how hard it is to trust when you’ve been hurt. Definitely a feels-heavy RP, with some action scenes from the bad guys after Laura/Gabby/both girls. It would be set in the Marvel comics universe or the “Logan” movie setting. Trigger warnings for a lot of dark themes and trauma exploration definitely apply.” “I’m seeking someone to play Scorpia against my OC Lemon! Lemon has a LOT in common with Scorpia, she’s also a big energetic buff lady!  She’s not too bright, but she has a HUGE heart. I think they’d bounce off each other really well! NGL, I’m hoping for a ship but that doesn’t have to happen. Wholesome fluff either way! Also, I’m a sucker for college and coffeeshops AUs! My biggest plot bunnies right now is that they’re university study-buddies, roller derby teammates, or that Scorpia gets set up on a blind date with Lemon (maybe by Netossa and Spinnerella who know her from a local Pride group?) after being rejected by Catra again. Open to other ideas though ;) “ “I’m seeking someone to write Claudia, Armand, Petronia, Gabrielle, or their own Vampire Chronicles OC against my VC OC Gaspard. Gaspard is a non-binary English vampire as well as a fencer and a violinist; they’re dapper, elegant, reserved, and chivalrous. I think they would really want to protect Claudia or Armand, and I’ve always wanted an ending where Claudia survived. Of course, if they protect Claudia, any relationship with an Armand would be kill-on-sight! For Gabrielle or Petronia, I’m seeking more shippy vibes, but they could end up enemies with Petronia too due to Petronia’s predatory nature. I really like the tragic, existential themes of the books, so that’s what I’d want to play out, but I do love goofing around with crack too! Gaspard became a vampire in the Victorian era, so my picks for setting would be either that, the 1920s in Paris, or modern-day US or UK, but I’m open to other scenarios. Please note I use the BOOK canon, I haven’t seen the show and I don’t like the movies much. I won’t write nsfw with Claudia or Armand, but it could be on the table for the others with the right buildup.” Also, while I think this advice could help ALL kinds of ads, I do admit it was inspired by seeing so many adverts that just say  "I want someone to play [popular male canon] against my OC" I don’t mean to sound mean, but I often wonder if the people posting these ads realize just how MANY ads exactly like their own are out there----why should players of these often highly in-demand characters pick YOUR ad to answer when they're probably swamped with such requests? The fact is, they’re probably quite wary at this point of these sorts of ads, as some will always be people just seeking someone to fulfill their personal fantasies while contributing nothing in return. I’m not saying that’s all OCs–lots of canon writers are the same, I can attest to this!---but if you’re playing a popular canon, especially a male, you do get gun-shy after awhile due to too many bad apples. So hopefully spicing up your advert with the above will help you stand out as a very good apple, and get you some bites! Some other things helpful to specify in your ad: - Your typical reply length and reply speed. For instance, I tend to reply every few days to a week at my best, and prefer multi-para - Triggers, squicks, and no-gos. You could also include stuff that, while it doesn’t bother you, you’re just not interested in. For instance, I’m not a meandering fluff-type person and I’m largely not interested in romance/shipping. I also don’t like writing the female half of m/f couples. And there are some FCs that I won’t write with. - If you’re seeking a nsfw RP or not, if you’re willing to do smut or not, and what sort of kinks or sex acts you WON’T do (similar to triggers and no-gos, but specifically for smut) Including the sort of sex acts and kinks you’d strongly prefer can also be helpful finding someone with similar interest! - If you’re a minor or not, and what age range you prefer to roleplay with. Even for sfw stuff, many older roleplayers can be uncomfy writing with someone significantly younger, and vice versa. - If you do doubling - If you give out your Discord, or if you’d prefer to communicate through Tumblr’s IMs or asks Note that of course I understand you can’t send this much detailed info in an ask to an RP advert blog, but if you’re just posting in the tags? More detail might be the way to get more results! Give it a try, you have nothing to lose!

[RP Advice] Self-Inserting To Muse (Please Seek Help)

This is something I should have covered a while back, it’s something I also noticed is making a slow return. There is are reasons why you should take great care when it comes to a self-inserting partner.

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There are multiple reasons why roleplayers may self-insert. What is this? self-inserting is when roleplayers use their real life selves, and reflect that upon their fictional character portrayal. I’m sure there are some of you who have had such an event happen. It’s not bad, but it’s also not good and quite unhealthy.

One of the biggest reasons someone may self-insert, is due to the lack of certain actions in their real lives, that they are trying to receive from becoming one with a fictional character. If the admin behind a muse is beginning to act like a fictional relationship is real? that said person likely did not receive enough affection in their life, and are trying to get it through a fictional story. Unfortunate as it is for the person, all it will ever be is make-believe, especially if the partner catches on and starts to feel uncomfortable with this.

When we put our real life experiences into a fictional character, the RolePlay is no longer taking place in a fantasy world, but is making it all about us, rather than a place of imagination. This is very unhealthy for one’s mental health, and it can even sever partnerships between admins. Take great care when you come across a self-inserting partner, because you never know if their lives had such traumas that they’re seeking their lack through a character.

What should you do? if you find your partner is self-inserting, talk to them. Ask them why they feel they need to use their real life selves. And most importantly? gently remind them that you’re RolePlaying and the scenes containing your characters, is not actually happening. Let them know and help them realize they are trying to use their real experiences for the RolePlay. If their behavior persists? contact a Leader or Officer/Curator. We want safe RolePlay all around.

Hi! Any suggestions for first time roleplaying? I think it'd be fun, but I may be a bit awkward. Contacting through Tumblr or discord I suppose..? I'm not sure what else to mention

Hello hello! :D

Roleplaying is meant to be fun! Don't be afraid to ask questions to your roleplay partner once ya got one! It's important to make sure y'all know each other's boundaries too, what their okay and not okay with roleplaying. Ex: some people don't like roleplaying smut or anything too violent. It all depends on the person and it's important to set those boundaries!

Another thing is writing style! Some people prefer to roleplay long messages with plenty of paragraphs and internal dialogue, descriptions, and dialogue, while some other people like to do just one liners! It's pretty good to know what you like and can do.

In my experience, discord is the best place to roleplay on but you can roleplay virtually anywhere. I know some people who roleplay in Twitter DMS or Tumblr DMS. Anywhere you can message you can most likely roleplay on.

Roleplay all really depends on the person and it's fine to be nervous or awkward about it you're not alone! I still get a little worried and awkward when meeting new roleplay partners.

Ways to find roleplay partners is through Tumblr blogs like this one, amino sometimes, reddit I think has some, I'm sure Twitter has some as well. Main thing I use is Tumblr blogs and branching out with roleplay partners I already know, joining discord servers, making friends through friends. It all depends on what you're comfy with.

The main thing with roleplay is to communicate, be respectful, and have fun! I met my best friend through roleplay so you never know who'll you'll meet ^^

Have fun in your future ventures if you get into roleplay!

-Grayson!!