a roleplaying guide blog

this blog is meant to help the roleplaying community in general with simple things that many people do not know.

[iiolaus-blog]

Definition:

Something that makes you go “ewwww” and wish you had never seen/read it. Something that makes you deeply uncomfortable. Something you’re not interested in reading/seeing/thinking about, ever. [x]

Not to be confused with Trigger. “...[squick] does not carry the implications of intensity or trauma that “trigger” does.” [x]

A “squick” was a trope or topic that made the reader deeply uncomfortable, even might cause anxiety or intense emotional reactions. Everyone’s squicks [are] personal and diverse, and it [is] considered polite to say, “sorry I can’t read this because it squicks me, but you have fun in your corner doing what you doing.” [x]

Key to the concept of “squick,” as it was first explained to me lo these many years ago, is that it is not a value judgment.   If I say “mpreg is gross,” that’s a negative statement about mpreg (and, by extension, about those who enjoy writing or reading about it).   If I say “mpreg squicks me,” that’s a value-neutral statement about me and my emotional reactions and how they affect my enjoyment of fiction. [x]  

How to tag ‘squicks’

tag ships appropriately and adequately.

tag your nsfw posts with “nsfw” as a rule. tagging individual nsfw tags is tedious and inefficient for people who actually don’t want to see any of it. 

tag other squicks (or whatever if you’re not sure) with “cw” which stands for “content warning.” Example:      - incest cw*      - tentacles cw      - mpreg cw 

* I should note that incest could very well be a trigger, but tagging the content first before the cw or tw should work either way for people who have the incest tag blocked.

[iiolaus-blog]

Definition:

Something that [someone] associate[s] with/reminds [one] of a past trauma (mental, emotional, or physical) and therefore triggers [one’s] personal reaction to trauma (be it flashbacks, panic/anxiety attacks, unhealthy behaviours, a crying jag, whatever). [x]

More clearly:

Triggers are specific memories, behaviors, thoughts and situations that jeopardize recovery - signals you are entering a stage that brings you closer to a relapse. The process is much like riding a roller coaster that loops over itself. Once the roller coaster car gets to a certain spot in the track, a threshold is met, there is no turning back, and it starts the downward loop - a relapse. [x]

How to tag triggers so people can block them:

trigger tw trigger tw;;

as long as the trigger word comes first in the tag. tumblr savior and blacklisting works more effectively if you DON’T have a fancy way of tagging triggers. The blacklist will pick up on the first word and tag it rather than having to go and specifically see the post with triggering content and having to go into blacklist and block a special snowflake tag.

some examples:       - gore tw       - sexual assault tw       - blood tw

As roleplayerscoffeeshop​ once said:

“Be kind to your followers,  even if the stuff you’re posting                     doesn’t trigger you.”

But what if I have a post that isn’t a technically a trigger, but I want to tag it like one so people can block it?

tag it with “cw” (in place of tw) which stands for “content warning.” Example:       - negativity cw       - whales cw

[writersrelief-deactivated202404]

Is your grammar pet peeve listed among these misused and confused words? Let us know!

[iiolaus-blog]

Now, before I get into the definition of this particular convention, let me just say that having a character daydream in a thread is fine if it does not detract from the scene. A little daydreaming can add a bit of spice and backstory if necessary, but should not be used lightly.

What is daydreaming?

"a pleasant visionary usually wishful creation of the imagination OR a visionary creation of the imagination experienced while awake; especially : a gratifying reverie usually of wish fulfillment."                              --Merriam-Webster Dictionary

Basically, a daydream is a tangent that distracts the daydreamer from the moment--the now. If it is a short distraction, there is nothing wrong with that unless it is overused and/or is not relevant and/or distracts the writers/readers from the actual scene taking place outside of the daydream.

A: In the middle of the intense shootout, I dash across the narrow alley, ducking and weaving in hopes to avoid getting hit. I'm unsuccessful; two bullets peg me in the shoulder, throwing me back into a Dumpster.  B: The bullets make me think back to my days as a youth, when I had to melt down tin soldiers to use as musket balls against the Redcoats... or was it redskins? I can't remember. Anyway, I had to walk uphill all three ways to school and back, running from glaciers all the while. It was torture, lemme tell ya. And then there's the story of how I met my first wife...                                         (example from Great-Pan on gaiaonline.com)

Going off on long tangents helps to greatly improve your word count and fluff up your para roleplaying, but honestly, it can get very dry very fast, ESPECIALLY WHEN NOT RELEVANT. If daydreaming could fill in a para that you want in your reply to match your partner's huge novella-length reply, don't do it. It will be a paragraph of wasted space. Better to come up short than make your writing dry or stale just for the sake of length.

Daydreaming, if overused, can greatly detract and distract from a roleplay, but sparsely and correctly used, it can add a little something to one's writing.

[iiolaus-blog]

In gaming, the term 'aimbot' describes a hacking mechanism that automatically locks in on the opponent's head, making head-shots basically guaranteed. In other words, it is cheating.

In roleplaying, aimbotting is automatically defeating another person by having the exact solution to that person's demise. This includes things like getting this solution without a struggle or actual reason to possess the knowledge/means to their demise beforehand.

For example:

"Aha, you fool, the only way you can stop me is if you can defeat my army of three-hundred androids!" "The joke's on you! I had an EMP device in my back pocket the entire time! Your army is dead and useless!"

It's a sure-fire way to kill a scene. Don't do it.

[iiolaus-blog]

I love this blog already.

I’m rather enjoying it, too!—CM

[iiolaus-blog]

What is blocking?

In roleplaying terms, blocking is ignoring or denying something your partner/partner's character said/did. Not blocking a hit in a fight, mind you, but blocking in the sense that one absolutely refuses to acknowledge the information that another writes.

To avoid unintentional blocking, please communicate before writing a scene.

Unintentional blocking may occur: 

when one character assumes something about another character that is false. 

when one character assumes something about another character and that is true, but the other character completely denies what the former assumed to be true.

Blocking is not deception. Blocking is not ignorance. Both of those are roleplaying conventions that can be part of a character's make-up, and may be easily forgiven. 

Blocking is similar to god-modding, but is in a little field of its own. It is blatantly refusing to acknowledge something that another person does or says. This is usually an ooc decision rather than an ic decision, but sometimes it can translate into writing. This is partially why people have about pages (especially with alternate universe/event 'canon' muses), so that those that write with them gain information and do not presume anything about their muse.

Example:

Villain walks into frame. Hero shrieks, accusing villain of torturing them horribly and getting understandably upset. Villain stands there confused. Did not actually torture Hero. Just wanted to carry out his evil deeds in relative peace. Says as much to Hero. Hero continues on with his self-righteous (and totally wrong) assumptions, vows vengeance for his imagined slights that are completely irrelevant to this particular Villain.

Now, who was blocking in this scene? The answer is actually both of them. Villain is refusing to acknowledge something that Hero insists happens, but Hero is apparently misinformed and refusing to acknowledge that this is not the Villain that tortured him.

Unstoppable force meets immovable object.

Both parties are blocking the other. The scene will die and both parties will likely leave unhappy, or even angry.

Please, please, p l e a s e, communicate with your writing partners to ensure blocking doesn't happen, whether intentionally or unintentionally. And remember, scrapping or editing a scene because of blocking can be a legitimate thing that can happen. One may have to apologize, but blocking is something that can be avoided.

[iiolaus-blog]

When roleplaying, always keep in mind that a plot always stagnates if someone says 'no' to something and does not build on the scene. 

The "Yes Let's" game is from drama, but can be very helpful in writing situations as well. The game starts with one person saying "Let's ____!" the other person automatically must say "Yes, let's!" and does whatever the first person suggesting, but--and this is a very important but--they also suggest something else to do that goes along with what the first person says.

How to put it into one's writing:

"I'm bored, let's go to the mall or something." "Yeah, and then we can get shoes." "Of course. Do you want to go for coffee after?" "Sweet, then I can try to hook you up with the barista!"

And so on.

This can also be applied to actions.

He stepped into the room. She noticed him and patted the seat next to her on the couch. Walking over to her, he smiled, sitting down beside her. He offered his name: "I'm Bob."

The important thing is not only to go along with what your writing partner sets up, but also add to it. When writing, it's nice to have something to actually reply to. If your or your partner ONLY says yes and does not suggest something else (or does not add anything additional to reply to) then the scene can also stagnate fairly quickly.

Give your partner something to reply to by adding to what they already have. Repeat that into infinity and you'll always have a moving plot one way or another.

If for some reason your character would not do what your partner suggested (they can't shop for shoes because they have no feet; they don't want to sit next to the girl because they are socially inept), then offer an alternative that still builds the scene, or COMMUNICATE your issues with your writing partner. Telling someone that you need a little bit more to work with, or something different to work with is perfectly acceptable and any communication ooc regarding ic things should be encouraged.

[iiolaus-blog]

God-modding (or Godmodding, God moding, power-playing, et al.) is describing the actions, thoughts, feelings, appearances, movements, attitudes, nature, and basically anything at all about a character that one is not personally controlling.

Not doing it is harder than one would think.

Let me phrase this very clearly. Without prompts from your partner:

Describing how another character is dressed is god-modding.

Describing how another character smells is god-modding.

Describing how another character gets hit by your character is god-modding.

Describing how  " " acts in response to what your character said/did is god-modding.

repeat into infinity.

But my character is a wolf/fox/creature/olfactophilic and they smell people!!

Then go freaking ask your partner what their character smells like. It's literally that simple.

If one is not given permission by another mun to control their character and any aspects about their character, then one is, in fact, god-modding.

But what if I can't write without the other person's reaction to my action??

"If you find that you feel like you need the other person's reaction before you can go on, stop, and leave them time to respond" (adventurerpg wiki). 

If you're in a fight (or having sex, or whatever), then give the person receiving your actions time to respond. If you want to hit a character, you can give the other character a chance to dodge. If you want to see if your character can find the other character's prostate/g-spot, then for God's sake make them search around for it.

If you happen to be the recipient, then you might as well go along with the action unless you're planning on making the fight/lovemaking/whatever longer and more complex, then please talk to your roleplaying partner about these things. Also don't avoid every hit in a fight while the other guys take damage. That's just boring. And also unrealistic, generally speaking. Besides, sometimes taking a punch or flinching away from a punch but still getting hit are more interesting that a clean dodge.

Be creative.

The whole point of writing with someone else is to actually write with someone else. It may seem redundant to say it like that, but you can write a whole damn novella for a post describing the reactions of the character you're not controlling and it would still be wrong unless discussed beforehand with your writing partner. I don't think I'll ever stop plugging for communication between rp partners. It's so important to talk about what you're writing before and as you're writing something.

[iiolaus-blog]

Muse is the character one plays.

Derived from the Greek goddesses, the muses: "the goddesses of music, song and dance, and the source of inspiration to poets. They were also goddesses of knowledge, who remembered all things that had come to pass" (theoi.com). Poets (not only Greek) would often pray to the muses to write through them to craft their epics. Many roleplayers claim that their characters have a "voice of their own" and "actions of their own" and that can be explained by the way that poets of old viewed the muses. The character itself is the fuel for one's writing, the inspiration.

Mun is the writer behind the character.

"Derived from the word "mundane", a mun is the author writing for a character in an online RPG. Can also be used as a suffix to denote a reference to a character's player rather than the character. Synonymous with certain connotations of roleplayer, author, player."                                      --Urban Dictionary An example of the suffix form of 'mun' would be Loki-mun, or Stiles-mun. Calling the writer by the character's name with the addition of a suffix.