#// I'm perfectly fine with older muses. I rp PLENTY of older muses myself.

[cbsessive-blog]

hi i was wondering how indie roleplaying works? i really want to start one for an oc, but i'm not 100% sure how the whole thing works.

Hi there Nonnie! Sorry it’s taken me so long to get back to you, it’s been a rather long and dull day at work. Also, I’m not sure I’m the best person to ask since I am absolutely CRAP at explaining things. HOWEVER, I will give it my best shot.

Things You Will Need:

A Character: It looks like you’ve got one in your head, so you’re off to a great start!

A Blog: it is easiest if you use a blog with it’s own email, as opposed to a sideblog. You can’t like things or send asks from a sideblog and both of these features are pretty important for RP. Sideblogs can work, I have a couple myself, but if you’re just starting out I would recommend a primary blog.ON YOUR BLOG   -  An ‘about’ page: this is doubly important for OC’s since the rest of us will know nothing about them. A run down of who your character is and what they’re all about is important for other RPers to decide if they want to play with you or not. Many people won’t play with OC’s if there isn’t a detailed bio.  -  A ‘rules’ page: this isn’t necessary if you don’t have any rules but most people do and it’s expected that people read them before following. Often rules will include whether or not the blog is selective or not, any triggers they may have, and how they generally conduct themselves here in indie rp land.  -  A ‘verses’ page: Verses are just different universes your character plays in. For example, if your OC is fandom specific, your verses will include a default verse that you play in the most, perhaps an older or younger verse for different times in your characters timeline, alternate verses where things played a little differently and your character ended up on a different path etc etc. If your OC is fandomless, i recommend these and also fandom specific verses, so that the people you follow from those fandoms know how you expect to play with them. You can also have alternate fandom verses if your character is already fandom specific if you want to broaden your partner pool.

Icons: these are by no means compulsory all though they are fun. Roleplayable icons of your muses FC can break up a wall of text or help your partner have a better understanding of what’s happening in your post. But there are plenty of indies out there who don’t bother with icons and that’s just fine too.

Once you’ve got all that together, go and follow some people! Make sure you read their rules clearly before doing so as you might find that you’re not as compatible as you hoped. It also helps to make yourself a little promo and tag it with ‘indie rp’ and with the fandom you’re playing in so that other people can see it and follow you too. 

A good way to get started once you’ve got some followers is to send ask memes! You’ll find that a lot of the people you followed posted memes with sentence starters that you can send in and start a thread with! Often people will be happy if you continue this meme as a thread once they’ve answered ( but remember to always check their rules first to make sure ).

Liking people’s starter calls is another one. Check to make sure you are mutuals with the person, or that they aren’t mutuals exclusive, and like their post! They’ll write up a starter and you can carry on from there.

Or post your own starter call. A little “like this for a starter” and some people will be eager to have you start things off.

A bit on etiquette:

I’ve said this a couple of times already but ALWAYS READ PEOPLE’S RULES. There’s often a lot of important information in there. As well as letting you know how selective they are with their partners, there will be trigger information which is very important to know about people who might be seeing your posts, also things like age, which is important to know regarding smut posts ( remember is against the law to write smut with someone who is under age! ). You’re not expected to remember every single one of everyone’s rules all the time, but it is polite to read them before deciding to follow someone, and to check back occasionally, to make sure you’re not about to break their rules.

Trim your posts. It can get a bit messy when people let their threads get really long all in one post. It takes up a lot of dash space and can make some of us a little anxious. Just, when you go to reply to someone’s post, delete your own previous post from the thread to keep things tidy.

Be kind to your fellow rpers, and most importantly be patient. This is a hobby, not a job and as such no one is obligated to be here all day every day. We’re here because it’s fun. And it stops being fun when people are jerks. It’s perfectly fine to remind someone occasionally that you’re waiting, but don’t hassle them. There’s probably a hundred reasons they haven’t got to your thread yet and that’s fine.