#rps!advice

Before creating a blog:

B

     Breathe first and think things through. Do not rush. Upon gaining a muse, you should be able to visualize how to play them, what you want to happen to them, the possible universes that muse would be involved in. If you yourself aren't sure of things, it would only cause you negative vibes as you go along, loss of confidence and motivation. This is an important step to undertake, at least for me.

R

     Read. Research. Reference. Gather background information. Role playing would stretch the limits of your muse's personality, and there would be some sort of struggle if you yourself can't predict his/her responses. There is no 'perfect' or 'best' response--role playing allows for some twisting and morphing, but if the jar from which you get your 'cookie of inspiration' is empty then your muse would go hungry and weaken. Before going at it, especially in mainstream fandoms, even the tiniest of foundations matter. Don't be afraid to read fics to get the feel and the gist of the character--just don't copy everything because it will confine you to a box and you'll depend on it too much; regret will follow suit. 

E

     Establish your writing style. Again, the issue of formatted writing vs casual writing comes into play, or grand narrative vs casual narrative. Don't be bothered by that. By 'establish' it means setting your own way of conveying your muse's thoughts and emotions, setting aside all other factors like fancy texts and formats. Would you write your muse with italicized internal monologues? Would you let those thoughts just linger between the lines? Those kinds of things. It's never bad to write test paragraphs in your free time to build your chemistry with your muse. After all, it's not just about your muse's relationship to others, things get affected with your relationship to him/her.

A

     Ask for advices/mock rps, for they are hella useful. (This majorly applies to first time tumblr RPers.) If you have friends who write fics or roleplay, perhaps you could ask for some tips or have a mock-rp with them. This would give you an idea on determining your muse's interaction for a particular set of characters. For example, I have mock-rped my Cloud Strife muse (for a long time) with a Tidus, so I kinda figured out how his reservedness would clash to the other's vibrant attitude. Saves you a lot of trouble to be honest.

K

     Keep the flame alive. I usually encounter this with my friends; they'd create a blog for a muse and then delete the following day because they lost touch, and then create it again--the vicious cycle continues. The thing is, starting over and over is a bitch (not even kidding). It makes you waste your effort. We don't want that. So before launching a blog, keep your newly-gained muse close to you for two or three days up to a week for a gracious grace period.

After creating the blog: (Yooooo! Welcome to the fandom!)

P

     Promos. The first thing we encounter when we have a new muse (and we don't have any friends in the fandom *sobs*), it's that we're lonely. No playmates whatsoever--this is where promos come in, and they're an efficient means to say, 'Hella~ I have arrived in this fabulandia~' and get people get a glimpse of your preferences. If your likes and dislikes match, you'd gain potential rp partners and hence you could start your journey together. (If you need to ask for help in promo banners, you could drop an ask and we'd try to help you create it.)

O

     Offer. Offer your muse, don't shy away from plotting. Respectfully. If promos don't do the trick, then don't be shy to follow others and visit their inboxes. Remember, if people had started roleplaying for a long time already, it's not odd for them to not pay much attention to their follower count. Lower our prides a little. It's not begging, it's simply giving a little nudge that you're interested with interacting with them, and for RPers, that gesture means quite a lot. It's courteous and they get to know you as a person so it's hitting to birds with one stone: you gain a partner and a new potential friend. Isn't that great~?

W

     Welcome. This word entails different meanings, but it's up to you on how you'd do it. If you're new to a fandom, there's so much reluctance that it could suffocate you anytime, and in the end if you don't take an initiative at the very least, things would not be as pretty as you want it to be.

     Welcome as in warmth. Post anything that acknowledges your followers, IC or OOC, thanking them for finding you in the vast fandom even if you're just new. You don't have to do it very grandly or pretentiously. Be yourself and just express it. Gratitude does wonders and it gives good vibes to almost everyone.

     Welcome starters are cool, but as much as possible refrain from doing grouped starters because honestly, most people tend to look at that as 'lazy'. Doing starters one by one is more 'intimate' but sometimes are ignored for some reason (either unintentionally because they don't see it in the tag, they're buried in drafts, or they're plainly not interested) and will take more effort. Again, up to you. 

     (Related from the previous entry: you could hit up their askboxes, telling them something like 'Hey frand, thanks for the follow. Do you want a starter? We could plot.' This is more efficient in the long run, trust me.)

     Most importantly, welcome yourself. 'Twins' in the fandom are inevitable and perhaps you'd go on thinking, 'they don't need me here, there are more quality peeps than me'. DON'T. That's bs-ing yourself. Roleplaying caters to different and unique interpretations of characters. No matter what happens, you have something to give, something fresh, something new to the table. Don't be discouraged. Think of yourself as a member of the fandom, because as cheesy as it sounds, it all starts from within.     

E

     Engage. When you're online, try to post opens or reply to opens if you find it favorable. Let's face it, staying idle and just watching from the sidelines is the best way to remain unproductive: you're keeping your muse inside a shell, and what's more, you'd feel very bad about yourself. Solution? Reach out and engage. Through it, you'd hone your skills and gain some character development bit by bit (think of EXP) and you get to enjoy as well.

R

     Respect. For me, nothing could be a better bait for attraction other than courtesy from the mun (even if your muse is a dbag). 'Respect' is a two-way process: being polite to others would grant politeness towards you as well (most of the time, cause some are just arrogant lil shits--again, just don't mind them).

     Realistically speaking, reputation plays a part in getting people to talk to us whether we want it or not--but keep in mind as well that you could be polite without not being yourself. It's not seen, it's felt.

     It comes in various forms as well. Reading the 'ABOUT' pages is one, reading the 'RULES' is another, or being an over-all respectful person could do magic. Let me rant at this: this is damn important, so you'd know when you're crossing the line, forcing a ship, or the most often mistake, ROLEPLAYING WITH AN OC AND THINKING THAT IT'S A CANON CHARACTER BECAUSE OF THE FC etc. You can't deny that when people do that, you kinda get flattered because they're paying attention to you. Also, it makes interactions easier and you'd avoid awkward turning points.

     Finally, roleplay for fun. Roleplay for fun. Roleplay for fun. Fun comes naturally and fun attracts people. (FUN is for you and me hahaha.) Don't be hard on yourself. 

     Respect yourself too.