RP Help Central

Out of Character: Often a term for a moderator/admin/mun. This can be used as a person whom role plays a character that is not their usual self as well - occasionally being under a Magic Anon or otherwise. It's not the set personality of a character, in other words. This can be interpreted as a insult.

In Character: Usually used as a form to say the character is being played in their set personality that the OOC (Moderator) creates or is given. Depending on the setting, this can be either a bad or a good thing.

As a roleplayer, you should have your limits. Some people may get offended with what you say in character, or vice-versa.  The point being; you should be tactful and try to understand what gets under the other moderator's skin. (Whether it's making fun of a name, language [god forbid], or a appearance trait.)

However, there will be exceptions. The moderator may make fun of this themselves - giving the impression they don't care about what is said. You still shouldn't do it speaking as courtesies' sake. It may be tee-hee-ha-ha but it can really offend someone with what you wrote, or even worse, you make a impression of yourself.

Original Character: A character made by someone, and is not featured in any single show, novel, unless published or created by the person who created this character. They can be inspired by another character, or a real person, the idea is also able to spawn from an event. At this character's core, their creator has thought up their personality, appearance, background; everything related to that character, physically and mentally, has been created by one person or a group of people. (Yes, OCs can be shared!)

They are originals.

Canon Character: This is a character pulled from a show, book, or other type of series with a premade history, and at least a partially formed personality.

What you see, is a general distinction! Just because someone created an OC of their own, does not mean that it's bad! OCs can be very well developed and characterized, too. You should not discriminate if someone has a roleplay blog for an OC, nor should you think yourself as better simply because you roleplay a canon character.

Both are equally awesome.

Sometimes there can be confusion between these two. Can a canon character become an OC? Can an OC become canon?

These answers are completely circumstantial. Sometimes people change a canon character around so much, flipping their personality, changing their past, etc., that it seems like it becomes an OC. Though, in reality, a good roleplayer should always be able to adhere to a canon character's core.

Similarly, in reference to an OC. Say you're watching a show and you see someone in the background, and you like their appearance. You give them a name, a personality, and a background. But suddenly, they become important in that show! Should you change your OC so that it becomes canon?

The answer is no.

An original character can be inspired by a canon character.

There is nothing wrong with that.

Now, there are a couple of things that can be covered with both OC and Canon characters.

First of all, we have headcanons. These are, essentially, ideas that an author/mun have about their characters. These bring nearly endless possibilities. A headcanon could be the character's favourite food, a pet peeve, mannerisms, how they treat others, fears, likes, dislikes. The possibilities are endless. Canon characters aren't the only ones with headcanons, either. OCs can also have them.

Next, we have the Alternate Universe (AU). This deals much more with canon characters than OCs; however, if you have an OC who is linked to a certain series and you'd like to have them interact with people/characters elsewhere, they can also make appearances. This is especially used in human-to-non-human swaps, or vice-versa.

Essentially, an Alternate Universe is another world. It's like moving your character from Pandora to Narnia, or Earth in the year 1000 to Earth in the year 3000. It isn't necessarily realistic.

Also linked to Alternate Universes are changed background. Say your character is a dragon slayer in Camelot.

And now he is a teenage boy attending high school in 21st century downtown New York.

He will have a different past, no? Similarly, key points in his personality, most of which were made through experience, will also be different.

Don't have Photoshop or whatever picture editing program? Never fear, avatarmaker.net is here! 

Genderbends are always fun to RP, though as a mun, you have to remember they're in a completely different universe than the canon character. 

This means that: 

They have no idea the canon characters exist. 

Nearly everything about them is flipped. Genderbend characters generally have the personality of the canon character. Unless you're RPing a genderbent with a set personality (like in the Hetalia's genderbend world, Nyotalia), it's good to keep close to the canon character's personality. 

Their names are obviously going to be different. Make sure you know the character's first and last name before you pick out a name for them. For example, if you're RPing the genderbent of Eru Chitanda (Hyouka), make sure you know that Eru is her first name and Chitanda is her last one. You might want to keep their names close to each other. However, this shouldn't limit you to adding 'to' or 'ka' to the end of their names (like with the genderbends for Rinto/Rinta and Lenka/Lenko Kagamine (Vocaloid)). You can find names that are similar in meaning or relate to the character's background. Lovino is the canon name for APH South Italy, and while Lovina sounds like a ridiculous name, it's actually a variant form of the name Lavinia. Lavinia is the name of the legendary mother of the Roman people. See the connection there? 

Try not to exaggerate the personality too much. Try to RP your muse like they would be if they were the opposite gender. If your character is canonly a guy, imagine how they would act with boobs instead of a weewee; this being the same with a canon female. It's natural to make them react more to some things. However, with Makoto Tachibana (Free!) as a female, she wouldn't pee her pants if she were scared because she's still Makoto Tachibana but just as a girl. She would screech and hide behind Fem!Haru like Makoto would. She would still be her motherly self and all things that would make Makoto himself. 

As for appearance, keep it as close to the canon character as possible. You can add in your own little tweaks here or there, but remember, when making a character you always have to answer the big question of "Why?". Do they have a scar? Why do they have it? Do they have a piercing? Why? Why is the answer you'd always want to answer when you're coming up with headcanons. If the character you RP is canonly tall, try not to make your genderbent way shorter than them. Also, try not to make them too muscular unless the personality or habits call for it. 

"Okay, so what if my character is a guy and he's girly? And what if he calls people by adding '-tan' to the end of their name?" 

You can go ahead and make the female somewhat masculine since genderbends are pretty much mirrors of the male or female they originally were. They could use 'kun' or '-kyun'. You know, whatever you want. But it'd be cool if you came up with a headcanon to support as to why they say whatever suffix you choose (though that's just good for character development is all). 

"How should I make my character react to the canon versions of the people they know in their universe?" 

Well, how would you react to a genderswapped you? I for one, wouldn't call another Admin Aya "Alternate Aya." Upon first meeting, I would say "Woah, you're like a guy version of me!" or if it was the genderswap of someone I know, I'd say "You look like someone I know, but, ya' know, as a dude."

As time goes on, your muse will get used to dealing with the apparent genderswaps because to them, they're used to seeing the canon characters as whatever the opposite gender is. However, try not to let your muse know they're in an alternate universe right from the get go. Having them confused and questioning things is good for character development because then they'd get a deeper understanding of what's going on.

"What if the universes clashed and they're suddenly not separate anymore so they know there are the regular characters?" 

That's perfectly okay! I've had a muse that was completely like that, and treated the her regular bend as a brother rather than a stranger. However, this could be considered an alternate universe and is recommended to put on your blog that your character is aware of such things. "My muse knows the existence of which there is another her but as the opposite gender. She is aware of all of the opposites!", something like this. 

"No one wants to interact with me because I'm a genderbend RPer!" 

Oh, sweetie, you're completely wrong! Your blog may not be too well-known due to being a genderbent. Believe it or not, people actually like seeing genderbends of their favorite characters, you just have to find these people. And don't wait for people to come to you! Follow people and interact with them! The more interaction you have, the more your blog is shared around. It's like free advertising for both sides of the thread! 

"Hold a diddly darn minute! We have to follow these exactly?" 

No, of course not! These are just tips that you can follow if you want to. There is no right or wrong way to RP a character. There are many ways to RP a genderbent, and you're always welcome to incorporate your own ideas because it's your character.

Roleplaying: The act of writing a story with one or more characters, wherein each person controls their own character(s) in the story.

Genre: The overall subject of the roleplay. Can be multiple genres.

NPC (Non-Player Character): A character present in the story, but can generally be controlled by anyone or mostly anyone. Usually is not as important as main characters.

Godmode (Godmoding, commonly misspelt as godmodding): The act of making your character invincible; hence ‘God’. This also includes dodging everything/hitting everything in a fight, perfect grades, perfection in general, etc.

Powerplay: The act of controlling another player’s character, what they say and what they do.

Mary-Sue/Gary-Stu: A perfect character. Beautiful, perfect grades, perfect body shape, quite often comes with a tragic history. A character without flaws.

Doubling Up (Multimuse): Having multiple characters being controlled by one player.

Starter: The first post in a roleplay; generally defines the situation and the setting. May also include additional details.

Open: A roleplay starter created that anyone can reply to.

Closed: A roleplay starter made for a designated person/people.

One x One: A roleplay between two people.

Group Roleplay: A roleplay between multiple people.

Magic!Anon: A prompt or request sent in by an anonymous asker. Usually affects the character in some way via transformation, personality change, etc.

Original Character (OC): A character created by someone, and not taken from a series, television show, book, etc.

Muse: The designated character of a roleplay blog. There can be more than one muse.

Mun: The writer behind the muse.

One Liners: Single-sentence roleplays. Literally one sentence replies, generally used in quick-shot roleplays with no real plotline.

Dialogue Roleplay: A roleplay with limited actions.

Semi-Literate: A more loose form of roleplay; common among beginning roleplayers or those that want the roleplay to be a bit more relaxed.

Literate: Arguably the most common type of roleplay. Includes multiple paragraphs in a reply.

Advanced: A roleplay(er) with extremely lengthy and complicated replies. (These people are generally very lazy and can be slow to reply).

Out Of Character (OOC): Text posts not part of the character.

In Character (IC): Text posts in which it is of the character (roleplays are done in character, for example).

Not Safe For Work (NSFW): Mostly anything involving sex, gore, and more mature themes.

General:

Always ask your partner their limits. There may be some things that your roleplay partner is uncomfortable to read or roleplay with. It should be your job to know! There’s no harm in asking. If they have no limits, then that’s fine. If they do, then you should respect those.

Read their rules. Sometimes they’ll have a page which lists what they will and will not do. If you cannot find one, then it isn’t the end of the world.

Roleplaying is a learning experience! It is not something people do for a living. Have fun with it! You don’t need to feel stressed out by it.

Roleplaying is for fun, it’s not a commitment or a job! Please keep this in mind! People can be busy, and there are times when someone may not be able to reply within an hour or two.

Personal health and real life should always come first. This really should not need much of an explanation. School, jobs, and your own health is much more important than writing that one reply before the big exam.

Crude criticism is not nice. People are not going to antagonise your own writing style, so you shouldn’t do it, either! Pointers are one thing, but be gentle about it. Whatever language you roleplay in may not be another person’s native language.

Don’t be a dick.This can be a big issue. Between either hounding for replies, nagging someone’s writing style or complaining when the reply isn’t “up to their standards” is just plain rude. Treat others as you would like to be treated.

NSFW:

NSFW should be tagged and placed under a read more. Some people are just plain uncomfortable with that kind of stuff. Be courteous to your followers and put it under a read more. Clicking an extra link will not hurt your roleplay partner.

Always ask permission before starting anything nsfw. Sometimes people are uncomfortable. Even if you know their limits, you should always ask!

Tagging:

Tagging your roleplay partner’s tracked tag is a must. Sometimes tumblr bugs and will not show that notification. By tagging your replies to them, it gives them easy access to finding your reply. That way they don’t need to hunt through your archive and sometimes people do forget to draft replies .

Theme warnings. Very important! This is for your followers and people who read your roleplays. Tagging your theme warnings will prevent anyone from reading things that may make them uncomfortable or bring up bad memories.

Dropping Roleplays:

Talk to your roleplay partner, otherwise they will be left waiting for a reply. Sometimes it’s because of a lack of ideas, or maybe you’ve just gotten tired of the direction that the roleplay is going in. Letting your partner know that you’d like to drop it isn’t just polite, but it lets them know that you are aware that they replied.