#;; guide

[askanerd]

LET'S TALK: ROLEPLAY MEMES

Roleplay meme etiquette can be confusing at first, but Tumblr RP has this unspoken system about it when it comes to roleplay memes and it's time someone shared those 'rules'.

REBLOG A MEME FROM THE SOURCE!

If you see a cool meme come across your dash that you wanna reblog-- it's not as simple as just slapping the reblog button! Especially if your friends have in their rules reblog memes from the source. Not everyone does this, but it's always good form to check the rules of the blog you're planning to repost from, just to make sure you're not accidentally ruffling the feathers of someone you're following!

But how do you get to the original post? It's simple!

On every post on Tumblr, you can see these three dots on the edge of the post. Click them to get a menu that expands to show all sorts of handy options!

Including this very important one-- VIEW ORIGINAL POST. Now you might not see that, you may see VIEW PREVIOUS REBLOG. In which case you keep doing that, going back through reblogs til you either find the original or end up on a repository for memes!

Also known as a resource blog, there are plenty that keep these roleplay memes around, long after the original blogs that made them have deleted.

WHAT'S 'REBLOG KARMA'?

Reblog Karma isn't required, but it's considered good form to engage in it. Basically, you send the meme you found on the dash to the person you've gotten it from [after or before reblogging from the source]. It's basically the Tumblr equivalent of being like 'thanks for bringing this to my dash!' and you also get to interact with your writing partner, as a treat. Practicing reblog karma isn't just a solid method of getting interactions, but also a way of having characters interact in unique ways they might otherwise not!

Now get out there and be respectful to one another! Reblog this to share it around so others can learn this super cool bit of Tumblr Roleplay etiquette!

And as always, my askbox is open to inquiring minds. If you've got questions, we've got answers!

[askanerd]

How do you deal with mutuals continuously using you as a meme resource blog and never sending memes?

Meowdy Partner, looks like you're asking about REBLOG KARMA.

Reblog Karma is the act of sending in a meme before reblogging the meme from the blog you've gotten it from [usually a mutual on your dash]. It's considered good form but not law in the Tumblr RPC. Most folk learn about it and start to practice it as a means of not only boosting interaction, but as a little thank you to your buddy who reblogged a good meme.

As Tumblr changes and grows-- reblogging from the source seems to grow ever more difficult. There's plenty of old meme blogs that aren't around anymore-- so there is no source. Not to mention how easier it is to hit the reblog button, rather than clicking multiple things to get to the source.

A trick I've personally employed is linking to the source post or a meme blog repost [if the source has since deleted/moved blogs] whenever I reply to the meme. So if someone wants the source, it's easier to get. This method has resulted in significantly less folk reblogging from me instead of the source.

We're kind of in a Catch-22 here. While engaging in reblog karma is a great move-- finding the source of a meme can also be difficult. On the desktop app there's tons of tools like XKit or Tumblr Savior to allow you to block posts and notifications from a post. Your only other option is to simply put something in your pinned/rules requesting folk reblog from the source, or practice reblog karma. Either way, the only person who can tell folks what to do on your blog is you! Don't forget to advocate for yourself.

As always, the askbox is open! For clarification on answered queries, or for further questions on RP meta and whatnot.

[askanerd]

Will people throw tomatoes at me if the character is too different from canon

( ⬭ _ ⬭" )

The phrase you're looking for is CANON DIVERGENT.

There's loads of reasons a blog might become canon divergent. If a series comes out every few years with new episodes, folks might make up their own ideas in the meantime. You see this a lot in fandoms that start from a pilot on youtube, then get serialized later on.

One might also be canon divergent for the fun of exploring a new AU of a character-- the most common probably being P2 AUs [player 2 AUs] where a character colors are opposite, and the personality is usually divergent as well.

Headcanon based blogs have looked at the canon and decided to politely disagree with it-- doing their own thing and sticking to it as the primary 'canon' of their blog. These characters can be a far cry from what they are in canon-- if a character is obscure enough they basically become an OC template.

Either way-- folks won't flame you for writing your muses how you want to write them.

As always, the askbox is open! For clarification on answered queries, or for further questions on RP meta and whatnot.

[askanerd]

what's the difference between headcanon and meta?

A HEADCANON is a personal, unofficial interpretation of a work of fiction. It can correlate to any manner of subject from mental health, backstory, fears, ambitions-- and more. Headcanons are what you mainly see here in tumblr roleplay blogs, often with their own tag to make locating and reading them easier!

Headcanons vary from blog to blog and character to character. They're based in feeling more than fact. Sometimes a headcanon can be a meta as well, and the terms have grown more intertwined here in recent years. Some blogs have incredibly well researched and articulated headcanons, that are in fact, quite meta.

A META is a broader term, and used in a non-fiction manner outside of the canon. Metas tend to be more analytical and are often based in [and backed up by] facts within the canon being discussed. It references the source material as proof of a theory being factual, despite not being outright stated in the canon itself.

Meta can also be a term used to describe a series being self referential-- such as what Spaceballs the Movie did [in watching itself, referencing merch, etc]. We've reached a point in fandom history where the one word has multiple meanings.

Using my own past writing as an example-- let's look at the character of LeFou from the 2017 remake of Beauty and the Beast.

A headcanon I had was LeFou's first name being Jacques. He has no canon first name, but I looked into common names for the era and found one that fit. I also headcanoned that he and Gaston had a brief tryst during their time in the French Army, and that Gaston was the only one [until Stanley at the end of the film] to know LeFou was gay. A meta I had was using the costumes in film, references in the novelization, and a broad understanding of history to confidently state that BATB takes place a few years after the Seven Year's War in France. Which puts it a couple years before the French Revolution [uh oh].

Now BATB is a fictional work but the remake made it far more rooted in reality than the original animated film. As such, certain metas were able to be drawn from the new source, that one could not glean from the original animated classic.

Hopefully this helps clarify!

As always, the askbox is open! For clarification on answered queries, or for further questions on RP meta and whatnot.

[askanerd]

Hi! One thing I've always been curious about is the images a lot of people use on the bigger, fancier looking role-playing blogs! My brain is blanking and I can't remember what they're usually called right now, but the faces.

Mostly, what I want to know is where people get the images from? I understand how to make something like that, but a lot of the time the images don't seem to be from official media. Are they other fanwork? If you draw them yourself, then that's easy to explain, but otherwise... I have no clue.

Are you perhaps asking about header images?

Stuff like these?

If so-- these [and the much fancier versions made on other blogs] are often the result of work in Photoshop or other image editing software. The source images can come from fanworks, the writer themselves, other official art from the source OR-- fanart.

Personally when I use fanart, I'll usually seek out the original artist and ask them for express permission to use their art in my header-- along with crediting them on the blog [usually in the rules]. However, some blogs just use fanart without permission-- or they'll even edit fanart that specifically requests it not be posted elsewhere.

Those people are assholes who prefer aesthetic over doing the right thing. I like to call 'em aesholes-- geddit?

Unfortunately, this is a more common thing you'll see-- and some writers can be really cagey about where they get their art. Like it's some big secret that they alone are meant to guard. Aeshole behavior if I've ever seen it.

As for where to get your own-- you can either try your hand at image editing software and do the thing on your own, or commission one of the dozens of graphics blogs here on tumblr to make you one!

CREDIT WHOEVER MAKES IT FOR YA THO unless you make it yourself [or like, they tell you they don't care about credit]. Plagiarism is for punks.

[askanerd]

Thank you so much for the advice! I really appreciate it!

Do you have any tips specifically geared towards people with OC blogs?

THIS IS GONNA GET REALLY LONG. But there's some hard truths to having an OC blog.

OC Blogs can be a challenge to get started and get traction. You're essentially trying to sell your creation and get folks to look at it, and find it appealing. Even moreso when you've got a fandomless OC blog.

And doubly so if the muses are anything other than cis men. That's another hard truth. There's been a shift in the paradigm in recent years, but it's always been harder for femme/queer OCs to get traction opposed to yer standard conventionally attractive dude muses.

If you only and exclusively write your own OCs, make sure to have your bio and lore documents in order. Folks cannot read your mind-- so you need all your muse info available. As much as you can manage. Your OCs lore might grow and change, you might develop more verses or AUs for them-- put that information where people can see it.

Understand your OC might not be for everyone, and understand that rejection is part of the process in roleplay. When you've got an OC blog/multi it might feel kinda personal if folks overlook you-- just because you're not someone's cup of tea, doesn't mean you're not a hot cuppa coffee to someone else.

Avoid the pitfalls of your OC being too perfect. Seriously. Flaws make characters appealing and relatable. If your muse is good at everything and liked by everyone, then there's nowhere for them to grow. Give them some conflict that's not entirely driven by causing your OC endless trauma.

It can take a lot of work to shape your OC into something that works for you, and can play well with others-- but it's a skill you gotta develop all your own.

Have fun with your OC-- make memes about them. Write drabbles-- get your writing on your blog so folks coming by can see what you can do. If your blog is just inbox prompt after inbox prompt-- it doesn't give a visitor much to go on.

I cannot stress this enough-- WRITE WITH YOURSELF. Drabbles and ficlets are a good way to flex your writing muscles. Think of it like arranging furniture in a house you're trying to show to prospective buyers. It'll get folks interested in interacting with you.

Send yourself anonymous questions to answer! There's NO RULES AGAINST THAT! Pick the brain of your OC so folk can see how they work.

And my biggest tip-- if your OC has that deep lore-- give new folks the CliffsNotes version. Have a simplified post/document on the basic info of your character, with a richer document available for people who REALLY wanna have a meal with it.

Be patient. Reach out to others, and try not to take rejection or being ignored personally. OCs take a lot more work to get steam behind them, but you can do this!

[askanerd]

How do I politely tell a mutual that I have absolutely no interest in a few of the characters they keep trying to throw at me? I have so little interest in the fandom that I have interest in even doing an au with the characters tbh but I feel like an asshole...

Your consent matters in roleplay! If someone's trying to foster interest in a muse or characters you've got little interest in, just be direct.

Something as simple as-- "I'm going to be honest, I have little interest in those characters. Perhaps we can plot something else with X or Y characters instead."

You shouldn't be afraid to say no to a roleplay partner. Agreeing to write with someone doesn't mean you are obligated to interact with every single one of their characters. You may be unfamiliar with a series, have little interest in that subject matter, or outright be uncomfortable with the fandom.

And that's okay!

And sure, there's the chance that they'll take offense to it. But that's not your problem. You are not responsible for how someone else reacts to your declination. Offering to interact with them in an AU is a great means of compensation, and more than enough to go on. If they don't want that, then you just-- don't write together. It's that simple.

It sucks when someone doesn't want to interact with specific characters, but you cannot force a roleplay partner to write with a specific muse. CONSENT MATTERS on both sides of the conversation. Flexibility in having a writing partner is key.

And if someone is disregarding your consent and comfort, BLOCK THEM. You don't need to announce you're doing so-- you can just-- block them and move on. You owe no one an explanation. If you feel like you're being disrespected, then protect your peace.

That being said-- it is also good form to try and find some common ground. I've personally had folks ignore my OCs in favor of my canon characters frequently. It can be really frustrating, especially when they only want my canons to write against their OCs.

Truth be told, I've blocked and terminated interactions with folks like that. If you want someone to write with your OC, then you should write with theirs, too. Roleplayers are not machines here to play out your fanfiction dreams with. We're all humans with our own needs, wants, and desires.

A little compassion goes a long way.

As always, the askbox is open! For clarification on answered queries, or for further questions on RP meta and whatnot.