been out the loop a while, how do i get back into rp and writing :((
For the latter I too need tips.
As for roleplaying, I only have the tip to get the muse you find most comfortable playing and grab yourself a partner who makes up a good story.
But that isnt a very good tip, so please, guys, help us!
I like to add the question: How can you also trick your brain into "roleplaying" with yourself? I can't write by myself anymore for my muses are only active during roleplay. So... how?
Ughh I wanna get back into roleplaying but I’m absolutely terrified about using discord to roleplay (plus I have no idea how to roleplay on there cause I’ve been using Amino for years-)
And I got a character in the works that I desperately want to use (he’s a toxic asshole because I wanted to make one)
So like if anyone has any tips and tricks for roleplaying on discord that would be amazing.
(I stick to Warrior Cats roleplays cause I’ve been doing them for years but I’ll occasionally drift over to different fandoms to roleplay)
I also made a playlist for this WIP oc, also I need some names for him. (I unfortunately gave him the personality of Sangwoo, Dabi, Shigaraki, and literally every other toxic/manipulative character I could think of.)
When I first starting looking to get into rp I saw a lot of blogs on hiatus or outright abandoned due to the mun having trouble to conjure up the muse to write. Because of that I made a rule for myself: Rp should never not be fun. I decided if I ever stopped having fun, if it became more of a pain and source of stress then fun that I would take a step back/ take a break or stop. You shouldn’t be tearing yourself up trying to write for your muse(s). Keep this in mind and it helps so you interactions aren’t feeling like they’re being demanded of you.
2) Use the queue
Drafts or asks piling up can be stressful once you’ve established yourself and have a good number of people interacting with you. Some people reply very quickly, which can also lead to stress to someone who’s trying to get back into rp or just have general balance. I implore you, use the queue. This will help stagger out replies so you can really only have as much on you plate that you want at once. In your mind it checks the “done” box in your brain and gives you a while to breathe as well as regulates the posting schedule.
3) Remember no one’s grading
It’s good to want to improve your writing and think out your replies/put a lot of effort in them. We’re all striving to improve and that’s great :) But remember, no one’s grading. This isn’t a literature or college course. No one’s going to give you an F. Rp is a hobby, and while it’s great that you want to improve on your writing, but don’t tear yourself up over not having everything perfect. And remember, just because you don’t think highly of a reply/interaction doesn’t mean others won’t! They may love what you hate-- you are your own worse critic.
4) Things don’t have to look nice/aesthetic
Muns who don’t know how coding works or how to do fancy icons or replies (myself included) y’all are good. Some people really like to go all out, but you don’t have to. If you like to that’s perfectly ok :) But also again, if you’re tearing yourself up about making everything picture perfect and it’s causing you stress, maybe just sticking to simpler themes/posts would be easier and help your stress levels.
Hello there, I don't know if I can ask you this, but do you have any advice how to roleplay a bird? I have never done it before, but I really want to. The ony problem is that I have no idea how to portray that character. It is similar to Anivia, though.
//Hi there! Bit of a reassurance first - I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone get mad about these kinds of questions. Definitely feel free to ask me anything you can think of, and I think most others are pretty comfortable fielding a bit of randomness - worst case, you just don’t get a response.
Second - I’m really no expert on roleplaying. But I do have suggestions, so just keep in mind that this is one random person’s thoughts that people may just as easily agree or disagree with.
Character First
From my point of view, the most critical thing behind any kind of roleplaying that you do is the work that you put into the character themselves. The way you interact with the world is mediated first and foremost by your viewpoint. So if you have a bird character that’s highly curious and explorative, you’ll find yourself going after things that are very different from a bird character that might be high strung and anxious, vs one that is depressive and quiet. And they’d all easily fit into a fantastic character. So don’t try to change the way your character is simply to fit into one thing or another.
Watch Actual Birds
One of the best ways to start getting a bit more versed in the behaviors and mannerisms of birds is to just watch them. I’m probably a bit of a fanatic, but I spend a lot of my spare time - and even my working time - with bird videos on screen. This day and age, you can see whatever you want: nest cams in the wild, documentaries of hunting birds, people playing with or training their pet birds, birds who just happened to get caught on camera doing funny things… the possibilities are endless. And as it turns out, different birds can display a _huge_ amount of personality with even the same species, ranging from temperamental and hostile to positively cuddly, and everything in between. There’s a lot to see!
Reach Out and Touch Something
Perhaps the most overarching advice I can give to bird-roleplayers is to pay a lot of attention to the way you interact with things. Birds don’t have hands to interact with things at a distance - they’re either touching them with their beak, which puts their face right up against what they’re touching, or with their feet, which tends to then be quite hard to see. Wings sometimes act as a barrier to keep things away (look up mantling), but very rarely to pull things closer. This is what makes small birds often so tentative with the way they’ll pick at things. And even large birds a bit flighty (Exclude Ostriches and other land-bound birds. Those things are tanks).
Patience is a Virtue
Birds represent a very interesting dichotomy. When they’re actually doing something, they tend to invest a pretty huge amount of energy into it. Flying isn’t something that they’re going to do just for the hell of it, it’s basically like sprinting. This means that, with the exception of some pretty seriously specialized types of birds (I’m looking at you, hummingbirds), most birds are pretty content to stay put if nothing’s bothering them and they’re not hungry. In fact, they’ll typically spend quite a bit of their time simply surveying their surroundings. This makes their transition from being active to waiting a pretty stark change, that can really be brought out in a character. Particularly if they’re spooked. Which brings me to my next point.
Birds Spook
Probably a last one here, because it’s getting pretty long. Everyone’s heard of the ‘fight or flight’ response, and it’s named that for a reason. When birds are scared, they instinctively take to the air, because that’s a space that’s typically much more safe for them. This has a few implications in roleplaying: where a human character might find themselves ‘scared stiff’ in a given situation, a bird will run immediately. As a result, hiding is a somewhat difficult prospect for a bird, since something surprising is prone to throw them into the air. Not to say it’s not possible to dream up an assassin bird, but keep in mind that the place they feel safest will generally be the air.
Feel free to let me know if you have any more specific questions. I know this answer is coming a bit late, and I don’t really have any way to contact you, but I wish you the best of luck in character creation and roleplaying.
The character I want to play has the ability to read minds/sense emotions, how should I go about this without falling into meta information/godmodding territory?
Oh, I love characters like this! Despite the intricate little dance you have to do to stay cool-beans with everyone, they can be immensely satisfying to play with/against/or at all. A lot of it comes down to checking in OOCly and creating a sense of trust between you and other players. You can't just jump in willy-nilly, but you've already shown that you recognize that! So...
First things first, you need to build a rapport with others. This can only be built through time, roleplay, and the trust that comes with seeing how you use your powers. Any person on the street walking up to you and just misusing your inner thoughts is going to get a realistic reaction from both player and character: disgust, annoyance, and generally thinking you're a prick they want nothing to do with. Do not jump any player character with anything you'd be weirded out with IRL without accepting there will be negative consequences. In this case, they might just reject all RP with you—
So you're going to have to prove yourself.
Start out by pointing out their abilities to people. Then, in narration (that's the story bit the player is writing), maybe reference a reaction to it. Keep a light hand, make it a thing that exists, but don't misuse it. It's flavoring, and if you don't use it to be an absolute twat right off the bat, you can get people to trust you with more details, or information.
Communication is key here, and in this case OOC communication is downright needed. You can contact someone, and set-up rules and comfort zones. You can ask them details, that you can expound on to give the writing more oomf. The trick is, this is cooperative writing, you're both working together to make something that's fun to write, fun to read, and has an impact when put together nicely. That means they want you to succeed as much as you want to succeed. Let them.
Having limits on it that allow people to 'block' your character, or temporarily distract them can help a ton. It gives other users a sense of control/power over your powers, so they feel like they're on an equal playing field. Maybe how far away they are effects how clearly they can hear those thoughts. Maybe they're preoccupied, so they can't focus on them. Maybe tinfoil hats, for once, work. Whatever your reasons, giving yourself human weaknesses can be a delightful way to work off the power.
I, for one, enjoy exploring how although a character may be able to read minds, minds may not always be so clear cut. Are you reading their jumbled thoughts? Can you just collect the general gist of their uppermost thoughts, and are deeper thoughts something you need to push to get to? What if they're a type of mind that can't imagine images because of aphantasia, or what if they think in internal narration? Some folks don't have an internal narrator. Some have a million voices that seem to be thinking at once. You might not even understand what the symbolism of their thoughts mean. This person feels yellow: what the hell does that mean to you?
Misunderstandings also humanize your character, which means failure is an option, and plot can be safely worked around. It's another failsafe that keeps you from overdoing it, or being a godmodding jerk. You can simply 'oopsie' around any thought you shouldn't be able to pick up because it would ruin the RP by simply... not looking at that moment. Or being in someone else's head at the time. A lot of using this power is going to be down to balances like this, where you as a player hold your character's hand and gently nudge them down a staircase if they're doing too much and hurting other people's enjoyment.
Once you find partners who feel safe, pushing the boundaries with them can be more fun because they know what to expect so you're not some stranger weirdo. You're someone who is communicating, and they can trust you to catch them when they narratively freefall into your arms. They know you'll use the power to further the story, not cut the legs out from under it.
It's important in these situations to have a major idea of what you are to everyone else. Attention seeking, godmodding, forcing yourself into situations you don't belong, whiteknighting because you can sense other people's distress and ruining their distressing-on-purpose-RP. These bad habits and more can come up in RP, and when you have the power to "see beyond the 4th wall" so to speak, it becomes even easier to fall prey to them. You need to understand how you exist in this space, and be conscious of stepping on toes.
Check in, check in, check in. If you have any doubts, run the idea past your partner, and then do as they feel comfy. Check in for this, or that. Clarification. Give them a spoiler for your upcoming post and go 'Hey, can I use your PC's thoughts to jump start this plot advancement' and 100% let them direct you. If they say no, sorry bud, you gotta respect that whether or not your character should be able to do it. The more you ask, the better you'll get a feel for the tone of others, and what they're cool with, and the more you can do without asking knowing both of you will love the outcome.
It just takes working with your partners, and developing that trust. I know it takes a while, but you can do it. I believe in you!
does anyone know how to make tumblr post tags smaller? i have seen it in roleplaying, and would love to use small tags, but i can’t seem to figure it out! help a girl out?
