Fay

Fay heard the distress signal while in space. Quickly realizing who it was, she responded.

“Wolf? Wolf, what happened? Can you hear me? It’s Fay. I was just flying around and heard you. Can you tell me where you are?”

The lupine had been on the frozen planet of Fichina for two days now. Cold, alone and hungry, he’d been trying desperately to get someone’s attention. However, the weather had proven to be a rather large obstacle, as Wolf was incapable to maintain a strong signal.

The little dog thinks for a minute, trying to remember the information of the planets she had been on. Not thinking of any, she gets a little worried.

“Wolf, I have no clue where you are. Are you on a planet that’s cold or just a cold area?”

ESTABLISHING CONNECTION. 

…

…

…

“Le- —  -anther —”

“Stranded on — -or two —”

“— -olfen — ” 

“Anyone —”

…a PSA.

I’ve seen and heard many reports of late where a few RPers, some new and some not new, have been pressing their ships on others.

This message is meant to offer guidance on the proper way to approach shipping in the Tumblr RP world.

SO YOU FOUND SOMEONE TO SHIP WITH

You ship it, and another character is the other half of your OTP for your muse. Great!

However, the other Mun:

may not ship it

may not know you well enough to instantly ship it, or ship it at all

may prefer to build a ship rather than simply assuming one

may not be a multishipper, and may have one of your muse already

may also may not feel that your version of your muse and their version of theirs are truly compatible

Before you put up a starter or hitting someone’s Askbox referring to your respective characters as married, involved, or otherwise sharing intimate moments, embraces, kisses, etc., ask the Mun if he or she is on board with your plan.

It can also save you time if you read a blog’s ENTIRE Info section. I know, some are long (like mine) but a good blog will offer details involving at least some relevant limits. If you’re in a hurry, use your browser’s Find function (Ctrl-F on your keyboard) to search for keywords like “ship”, “multiship”, or “smut”.

SMUTTING

So you’ve got an arrangement to ship, great!

First of all, make sure the person you’re shipping with is interested in smut if that’s where you want to go.

They may prefer the “fade to black” approach, or may not know you well enough to smut your muses. There may be legal impediments to their writing smut with you if you’re under the age of 18.

Check with the other Mun to see what’s on the table. If you’re unsure of legal considerations and are concerned, ask the other mun their age. If their age makes you uncomfortable, say so, and be honest when you say whether you are over 18 or under. I’m a tumblr “Illuminati” (over 25) and am uncomfortable, given the laws in my country, with smutting with an underage person. That’s enough to get me labeled a sex offender!

It may be an impediment for your partner (legal or moral), so be honest and respectful of your partner.

And if your partner says they’re uncomfortable writing smut in general, prefer not to write smut, or are not sufficiently comfortable with you IC and/or OOC to write smut, respect that.

People have a right to refuse RPs and writing topics that make them uncomfortable.

UNSOLICITED ASKBOX SMUT

If someone hasn’t recently (like within 12-24 hours tops) posted a meme looking for smut in their askbox, and you don’t know the mun well enough to know if it’s welcome, DO NOT SEND IT.

If you’ve got an inclination and aren’t sure, ask first. You might have something triggering in your plan. The person may just not be comfortable with getting unsolicited smut.

Sure, a lot of us are dirty buggers who loves us some smut, but send it ONLY if it’s solicited or you know the mun is receptive to getting it.

If smut is solicited in reblogging a meme, it’s fair game, but try to avoid anything too triggering. You wouldn’t want to hurt or upset your prospective partner. 

NOTPs

Do try not to shit on anyone else’s ship. You may not ship it but they may either think it’s glorious, or fun, or their OTP. You can say it’s not your cup of tea. You can say “I don’t ship this because ________.” (I often do this with my opinion of the pre-Flashpoint Nightwing/Starfire ship).

In other words, it’s fine to have and express an opinion, but do it respectfullly.

Don’t just say, “Eeeww, Joker/Babs is gross how can you ship that!” (I don’t ship it, but I know of another Babs who did in the course of her RP. She got crap for it constantly.)

Someone’s ship(s) might be considered cracky to you or others. It might be perceived as downright disgusting. It might just plain stretch credulity. But do be respectful.

SAVIOR IS YOUR FRIEND

If you see a particular ship come up on your dash, or RPs which involve someone whose style you heartily dislike, just install Tumblr Savior and put in the relevant blacklist details such as the URLs or keywords. Some of the Tumblr extensions such as xKit also offer blacklisting options.

You can also do this for other triggers you have provided that those you follow tag their posts accordingly. 

Tumblr Savior is available for:

Chrome

Firefox

Opera

Safari

Note: Some installations may require or work better with the Greasemonkey extension installed as well as Savior.

YOUR PARTNER LOST THEIR MUSE

This REALLY sucks, dude, and you’ve got my sympathy. Maybe your partner’s muse is generally struggling, or they’re having trouble writing a reply for your thread, or maybe even they’re intimidating by your quality. This one isn’t limited to shipping - it’s more general to any sort of IC interactions in all RP formats and forums.

Don’t fret. It doesn’t mean you suck, or that your partner thinks you suck.

Sometimes a muse will only cooperate with certain threads at a given time, or will lose the muse entirely for a ship or line of character development.

If you think your owed reply is missed, it is acceptable to drop them a line after a few days, particularly if they’re active with other threads. They may have just missed a notification, which tumblr may have eaten.

But don’t:

Harangue/guilt trip the other mun for failing to reply

Spam their askbox with more than one note every few days, at most, and only then if they don’t acknowledge your first note (as sometimes tumblr gets hungry and chows down on an ask)

Seek to publicly humiliate or badmouth the other mun for not replying

DO:

Be accepting of your partner’s challenges with their muse and IRL/AFK

Be appreciative of the opportunity you’ve had to interact

Be forthright with your partner(s) if you’re in a position where you’ve lost your muse or otherwise need more time or can’t reply to a thread for a while

IN CONCLUSION

Force Shipping = Not Cool

Talk to your partners if you want to ship before you start sending stuff.

Know their limits.

Read their ENTIRE info page so you know what their limits are. If you can’t find one, ask for a link. 

Smutting

Don’t assume your partner(s) are willing to write smut with you.

Be willing to ask your partner(s) their age if the possibility of underage smutting is not acceptable to you

Accept if people are uncomfortable writing smut (with others, with you, or in general)

Askbox Smut 

Don’t assume your partner(s) looking for smut if they haven’t asked for it or you don’t have a strong sense that they’re willing to accept unsolicited smut.

nOTPs

Don’t rip on others’ ships.

If you don’t ship it, be respectful when you say so.

Savior

Use Savior to avoid triggering content and RPs which are likely to annoy/trigger you.

General

Accept that muses sometimes don’t cooperate

Be kind to and appreciative of your partners 

FINALLY…HAVE FUN, BUT MAKE SURE YOUR FUN ISN’T DISRESPECTFUL TO OTHER MUNS’ LIMITS OR ENJOYMENT.

🍰 - What is their favorite type of dessert or sweet? 🐢 - What type of animal would they keep for a pet? 🐙 - They are crossing the ocean. What are the circumstances and how did they get there? 🌎 - If money were no object, where would they live and what would they do with their life? (Ex: entrepreneur, playboy, philanthropist, etc) 🎂 - Do they celebrate their birthday? 🎓 - Are they well-educated? 📬 - A mysterious letter has just been found in their mailbox.  How does your character react?  Who would it be from? ⌚ - Is your character punctual or procrastinator? 💰 - Your character just found a fat sack of gold on a bench. What do they do with it? 👙 - Is your character trendy or do they just not give a damn? 🎠 - Your character is at the carnival.  What kinds of rides or games do they check out to entertain themselves? 🔮 - Your character is having their future told by someone pretty shady. Do they call the fortune teller out or just roll with it? 🎃 - What is your character’s favorite holiday? 🎶 - What would your character say about your personal taste in music? 💒 - Does your character want marriage or a lifelong commitment? ♓ - Hey baby, what’s your sign? What would your character’s zodiac sign be and what qualities do they carry to make them fall under that sign? 🚼 - Does your character have or want kids? ⚠ - What has your character almost done that made someone talk them out of or convince them not to do it? ♿ - Is your character in some way handicapped? (This includes physical, emotional, and mental.) 💊 - Is your character on medication?  If so, why? 🌞🌜 - Is your character an early bird or night owl? What makes them that way? 📚 - Does your character read? 📓 - If your character keeps a journal, what is the most secret thought they keep in it? 📰 - An obituary for your character was found in the local paper this morning. What did it say? 💢 - What frustrates your character more than anything? ✌ - Your character just made a trespass against someone else, how would they go about righting it given the chance?  Or would they at all? 🍴 - What is the absolute worst meal your character has ever eaten? Were they verbal about it or did they just not say anything? 🍜 - Carnivore/Pescatarian/Vegetarian/Vegan/Other? What kind of diet does your character have? 💋 - Your character was just kissed by someone they can’t stand. Why and how did it happen? 😇 - What was your character’s last good deed? 😁 - Someone just tripped and fell in front of your character.  Do they laugh or help the person up? 😨 - Your character just broke wind in public. Do they try to hide it or own up to it? 😍 - Your character’s lust object just passed right by them. How awkward do they get as they try to make conversation? 😒 - “Ugh!  Not him/her/them/it again.” How does your character react to annoying people? 😂 - Your character is moved to tears. What’s a kindness that another showed to them? 😄 - What has ever made your character laugh so hard that they almost passed out? 😈 - What’s your character’s favorite cuss word? 😏 - Is your character having a dirty thought right now? 🍺 - Cheers! What is your character’s favorite alcoholic beverage?  What was the last thing they got smashed off of? 💫 - Your character is suffering memory loss after being knocked unconscious.  What happens afterwards and how did it happen? 💡 - What is the best idea your character ever had? 💍 - Does your character wear any type of jewelry? ⛪ - Is your character religious or spiritual in anyway? 🎱 - Your character and a talking raccoon walk into a bar… 📼 - An interrogation tape emerges regarding a recent interview with your character.  What are they being questioned for? 👟 - Is your character into personal fitness?  If so, what’s their exercise routine? 📺 - What would your character’s favorite TV show be?  What’s their favorite genre?