Do you have any tips on how to get engagement, if I may ask? I don't have much trouble with it in PokeIRL, but I always struggle to get any sort of engagement in the RPC, despite doing my best to engage back as much as I can.
hi! thank you for asking, i'll try and summarize my thoughts...
i personally think you are doing a great job of engaging with people here and i think your ideas around the roleplay characters i've seen (ninetales) are really intriguing and great, i love the exploration of the voice of life concept. you asking people questions (like you just asked me) also is very much appreciated because i think when people feel like their opinions are valued, it really makes a world of difference in how welcome they feel in a community (at least that's the case for me! it feels good to get questions).
first and foremost, i think just like. valuing people's portrayals by reading their ideas is the most important thing (and truly actually reading them; i always have a good time reading people's abouts, headcanons, metas, etc.). think about what makes a roleplay community great: it's having a lot of people around that are really passionate about the characters they write. people who think a lot about the character, want to develop that character, share their thoughts and characterizations through their writing, etc. it's just so exciting to me when i come across a blog of a character in the disney canon and i see that the person is spending so much time thinking about them and writing them. i want to encourage that always, so i take the time to engage with their thoughts by commenting on things they post that intrigue me - and letting them know what thoughts came into my head when i read theirs. this is really cool and is a win win, because it oftentimes leads to really cool discussions, and you can also get more ideas for yourself that way. it also makes the other person feel seen and can help them develop, too. if you think about an interest you have, what makes it feel good to you? for me, it's when people talk to me about it and ask me questions about it or add their own thoughts about my interest (interest here being character). i also find engaging with people's characters in this manner makes this place a more fun place to be and it's even fun for me to do, too. and imo, people do benefit from hearing other people's thoughts on their own.
some other things i've tried to do in the rpc and seem to help my blog's engagement:
posting open starters, like little open ended dialogue things, for my mutuals to respond to with their characters. sometimes when i'm not in the mood to write my drafts but i want to engage with people, i do shorter things like this. off the cuff stuff is fun and can give people opportunity to interact with you if they also don't have time or have been stuck on how to do so, etc.
i like to ramble a bit about headcanons i have, or just thoughts / jokes i think about regarding my character, on the dash. i think that can lead to people knowing who you are a bit more as a writer and that's always fun to see from other people, too. it shows that they love the character they write
liking stuff that my mutuals post that i read and think is funny, smart, or that i just want to support. when i get likes on my posts it feels good, even if it's just brief and minor - it feels like people enjoy my content, and that can make someone happy. i know some people like keeping their likes neat, though, and in that case, commenting is also great (and probably even better because it's sharing thoughts!), which leads me into my next point
commenting on things my mutuals post. i love hearing other people's thoughts. some of the comments i have on my posts gave me some of my best ideas and funniest interactions
i see that you reblog a lot of peoples promos which is great! that's super helpful and important. i try to do the same, it can be hard getting a blog out there, so getting blogs visible is always appreciated. when i reblog someones promo, i usually add comments in the tags, too. this is always fun for me to see when someone reblogs my stuff too. if i think the promo is pretty i say so in the tags, i say why if i can put my finger on why... if i'm excited about the character i say so in the tags. if i love the portrayal or am intrigued by it, i also say that in the tags. that's just me, though, but i know i love when people do that to my posts when they reblog it.
i make my blog a bit more personal by trying to reblog memes that go around. if i see a meme my mutual has reblogged that i find interesting, i participate in something called 'reblog karma' - where i send in a few prompts to that mutual i saw the meme from, and then reblog it myself. usually, people will repay that favor and it just makes engagement go up.
last but not least, don't be afraid to reach out to people via IM to plot or even just say you're excited to see them around. i do this pretty often when i feel it's genuine and i find that that can also help people feel more comfortable around engaging with you!
