#A fragment in time (Roleplay threads)

[chirrups]

I'm SOO hooked on your scarian squared AU

but besides the scrimblos themselves, I want to know more about the world logic - like how it functions, what grian/xisuma as a server admins might be capable of, how third!gri and secret!scar managed to wriggle their way to HC. how interactable is the games code....

I like when MC fanfic acknowledges game mechanics like inventories and the chat in various different ways. I need to know all your headcanons!!

Ok! Ok! [cracks knuckles] Let's get into it, my sick and twisted Minecraft lore.

THERE BE LORE AHEAD!!!

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⭐ This little block universe exists in two parts:

A physical-plane (all the physical things you can touch and feel) and a code-plane, colloquially "the code" (the supportive structures that guide and direct the happenings on the physical-plane; in-universe it's often visualized as an network of threads spanning, connecting, and crossing infinitely).

Worlds are aggregations of physical and code-planes close together to form "reality", sort of like a zipper. Servers are the shared form of these worlds.

They are oriented in space in loosely grouped "thread-lines" with related worlds (being made by the same creator, for the same series, etc) organized from first to latest. This means that it's easier to travel vertically through worlds (within the same threads/series) than horizontally (between two different threads/series).

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⭐ Players are a type of being that exist both in the physical-plane and code-plane of the universe. They are created when a being that exists solely on the physical plane "cracks" (basically the being dies and in their place something emerges in the code-plane).

Players are defined by their ability to alter the code-plane (i.e. coding); importantly condensing particles from the wider universe into worlds. This skill is mostly instinctive but can be developed further with research and practice.

How and what this looks like varies widely between players and is often flavored depending on favorite hobbies and motifs.

For example, to Xisuma, altering the code is analogous to actual computer coding. To Grian, it's similar to weaving or untangling a particularly confusing ball of yarn. To Scott, it's a set of harmonies between notes on an infinite song, and to Doc, it's a series of ever-blinking switches and dials. There's a lot of possibilities!

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⭐ Players TECHNICALLY exist only on the code-plane as sort of a metaphysical blob of sentience. However, their innate coding ability allows them to exist in worlds on the physical-plane. They do this by splitting off pieces called "clippings" or "fragments" (term varies by region and upbringing and honestly how nice you wanna be about it), from their metaphysical self to act as vessels for physical experience.

These clippings can be modeled physically and mentally to fit a purpose either as 1-to-1 vessels to hang out with others or as characters for roleplay/storytelling purposes (that's right, I've made every smp canon all at the same time).

Through their clippings, players can look like whatever they want but generally, tend to make themselves look like what they did in their old pre-player lives as that is at least familiar.

In addition, players can choose how much "sentience" each clipping receives (used in-universe in reference to a player's awareness of what they are, alongside associated memories of their existence outside a set world). Usually roleplay-based servers remove or alter memories for immersion purposes which is consensual on the player's end (and not so much on the clipping's end just for some added drama there).

(Overall separation between player and clipping is really muddy, which leads to lots of complications.)

Using Grian as an example, his Hermitcraft clipping is an almost 1-to-1 of his player self and is fully self-aware of his existence as a clipping (though fully accepting is a whole another thing). His Life Series clipping(s), however, are meant for roleplay and have been altered (clumsily) to be completely unaware of any of the more metaphysical parts of their existence. There is always a degree of separation present between the player and their clippings (and clippings are nebulously their own people), but how much really does vary by situation.

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⭐ As far as server admins go, they aren't really that more powerful or capable than the average player. Admin is just the title for players who maintain server spaces for others. This can go as little as just being the guy that tidies up the world's loose bits every once in a while to basically being the "lifeguard" in the world's most immersive LARP session.

Typically, players will enter contracts with admins (this is especially true on roleplay servers), giving away some code agency in exchange for the admin's care. This can be as light as giving admins permission to teleport players during emergencies to full control on memories, pain limits, available foods, etc.

Any player can become an admin, the only barrier for entry is wanting to learn how to do it. That being said, keeping a server safety, operational, and fun does require a good grasp of coding (which can either be learned through study or intrinsic skill).

---

⭐ About Third and Secret's survival: I can't say much since that is highly plot relevant to the fic I want to write someday.

But as a teaser: Grian is a very instinctive coder and learned to do it without a lot of technical instructions, something he failed to account for in his own clipping.

---

⭐ Some misc. lore tidbits that I can't really fit but I think you'd enjoy!

⭐ In the process of "cracking", newborn players consume the worlds they were born in for their universe particles as part of their development. Players then create new worlds to play and interact on, which, when abandoned, become cradles for the next generation of players to be born in. This serves a dual purpose of killing off the physical connection to the player's old life and as a way to keep the universe's components cycling through states of stagnation (worlds) and free flow (universe particles). ⭐ Clippings often don't look exactly like each other. Every version of a player is always a little different because, to them, physical composition is very much something you can just change on a whim. Of course, this does account for lots of cases of unsettling doppelgangers. ⭐ A common rite of passage for young players is the creation of your first physical-plane "skin". It involves a lot of deliberation on who and what you want to be. There are many player-developed resources dedicated specifically to customizing yourself. Hybrid forms are extremely popular. ⭐ Avian-form bodies are considered a complex form to pull off, requiring some sort of innate talent or study into anatomical AND spatial "tuning" on the physical plane (as powered flight is a hard thing to balance correctly). Flying for most players is often short-cut by using the wind-magic found in elytra cores to stabilize movement in air. So making yourself a bird is seen as a hard but rewarding way to earn flight (and it's def not for everyone). ⭐ Modding and data packs are commodities; often, they are pre-packaged code-plane alterations or guidelines that let other players experience this cool thing you've just made. Some servers specialize in producing these, along with other specialty goods like furniture, ingredients, games. ⭐ Speaking of food, there are different types! Craft-food is built purely from the code-plane. It is easy to make from a template, accessible, nutritionally balanced, but not that tasty. Cooked-food is made from the physical-plane, which is more tasty and overall better for mental health, but that, like irl cooking, takes skill. Complex dishes are difficult to replicate from code-plane only, but not impossible (Xisuma has tried, Impulse has succeeded). ⭐ All players claim to have heard a "song" during their birth into playerhood, which guided them instinctively on what to do next. It starts off as a tune, then clarifies over time, as the player grows, into words. It's referred to in-universe as "the cradle song" and is often used as a measure of how far along a player has grown (since the age that a being initially "cracks" is not a set variable). We know it as the end poem :)

[socialitesleuth]

Welcome to the Creighton-Ward Manor!

Please, do take a seat and make yourself at home. I'm sure Parker will be here with the tea soon (and by that I do mean actual tea, and not the T.E.A. We don't want to be having to sort out any situations just yet, do we?)

Right then, shall we get down to business?

*clears her throat and lifts up her agenda of rules, boundaries and tagged-related items*

Firstly, this is a roleplay blog run by hebuiltfive. All posts, unless otherwise stated, will be purely in character. It has also been a while since the mun has roleplayed on this site, so patience is much appreciate.

Secondly, no hate of any kind will be tolerated on this account. Parker will be doing security checks routinely and any hate will be deleted and the account promptly blocked. This is a safe space for everyone and I would rather much like to keep it that way, thank you.

Third on the agenda is activity. I'm often called away for lectures, parties and, more often than not, important missions (meaning this is the mun's secondary account, meaning activity levels might droop on this one.) All that we ask of you here at the Manor is patience when waiting for any replies and that you do not badger us for them. Again, it would be most appreciated.

Now, onto the less serious points.

This version is set primarily in the TAG universe, however there may be references to both the TOS universe, extended media and the 2004 movie universe occasionally.

Tags will be used for navigation purposes, as listed below.

Generic Tagging: Thunderbirds RP (very generic, used in mostly all posts, but mentioned here as it is a tag) Penny Answers Day In The Life Of Penny Penny's Daily Thoughts Penny at Christmas For The Memoirs (Penelope's past, often told in fragments, that are usually headcanon based)

Roleplay Thread Tagging: Garden Party Gale [with starman-john-tracy] First Date? [with squidsinashirt]

Lastly, please do not be afraid to interact with any posts. There may, on occasion, be a few solo pieces, but they will be tagged as such. Sherbet is the only biter in the Creighton-Ward Manor but, so long as you're a friendly face, he will be as welcoming as I.

Speaking of Sherbet, it's time for me to take him to the doggy salon. So, for now at least, I think that is all. Any edits to this post will be made as and when if necessary.

Enjoy your stay and please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or if you find yourself in an emergency. You'll find that Parker and I are well-equipped to handle most situations.

FAB!

Penny x

[feidant]

#FEIDANT.　⁀➷　closed roleplay blog for 𝐅𝐄𝐈𝐗𝐈𝐀𝐎 from HONKAI: STAR RAIL, affiliated with gnostic hymns. directed by rai ( she / he ).

heylo it's rai, after many moons with the honor of writing for feixiao! i'm 30, in eastern time, and hanging out otherwise on @fanfaire and @avcnturine here at gnostic hymns. 　

i enjoy exploring complex character dynamics and situations with a lot of moral and emotional nuance on both sides. as with all my blogs, i do maintain a thread cap for myself because i don't like to keep my partners consistently waiting⠀(⠀and because if i overload myself, i freeze up and panic-drop, and i don't enjoy finding myself there.⠀)⠀thanks for understanding. 　

as always, i use the cn dub as the basis for my portrayals, so there may be some variation from characterization as presented in other dubs. 　

and a couple feixiao portrayal notes.

(⠀2.5 spoilers!!⠀)　i'm choosing to interpret the events of the end of 2.5 as feixiao's moon rage condition not being cured by swallowing the fragment of the plaguemark, as i think this makes for a better narrative for her and, more importantly, more compelling to rp. however, i do hc subtle changes in her condition, which may be expanded on elsewhere. if knowing these details is relevant for your muse⠀(⠀i.e. jiaoqiu or moze, or any character who might be able to detect her unseen condition⠀),⠀please let me know. 　

good guy plot armor and a need for marketability positions feixiao in canon such that we are encouraged to see her as cool at all times, but let's face it——she displays belligerence, brutishness, and egotism, and certainly sees herself as the protagonist of her own story. i'm interested in exploring these aspects of her that i think canon is reluctant to bring out, as well as her behaviors and beliefs that run closer to borisin values. this is a psa mainly to say that feixiao thinking she's swag does not always mean mun thinks she's swag, and that other muses are free to have their own views on her behaviors now that we are outside the bubble of hoyo protag goggles, HAHA.

[kittyofalltrades]

Fantasy Vesera Kingdom RP Server

☾⋆｡𖦹 °✩Vesera Kingdom ☾⋆｡𖦹 °✩

═Welcome to the Land of Dreams═ | Age Gated | Furry & LGBTQIA+ Friendly | Social | Roleplaying | Fantasy friendly

☾⋆｡𖦹 °✩Time Period ☾⋆｡𖦹 °✩

Time period for the Vesera Kingdom is an alternate 1603; limited modern time; No Modern time guns, rifles, tanks, laser. These are forbidden within the server .Think Medieval/ fantasy/steampunk style.

☾⋆｡𖦹 °✩A Sneak Peak ☾⋆｡𖦹 °✩

The Kingdom of Vesera is a realm steeped in the rich tapestry of fantasy, where magic and intrigue intertwine with the destiny of its people. Its origins are shrouded in legend and myth, passed down through generations as a tale of power, ambition, and unity.

Centuries ago, long before Vesera took on the mantle of a kingdom, the land was a fragmented region of city-states and warring factions. It was a tumultuous time, where rivalries and disputes seemed insurmountable. Yet, amidst this chaos, a common thread began to emerge that would weave the disparate elements into a unified kingdom.

The story of Vesera's transformation begins with the Serein family. The Serein family was known throughout the land for their unmatched wisdom and mystical prowess. They were renowned sorcerers, revered for their ability to harness the elemental magic that flowed through the world. The family's matriarch and patriarch, Emperor Alden Serein and Empress Elara Serein, were the most powerful of their kind. And now their time to pass on the torch to their only son Isu Serein and his wife Téa Serein and hopes they will continue the legacy they had created for them and the rest of the Kingdom

☾⋆｡𖦹 °✩What We Offer ☾⋆｡𖦹 °✩

☾ Easy & Fast Verification (Day/Month/Year: 14/12/19XX) ♢ In need of active Staff and one last Guild Master ☾ Level system to advance within Doom Tower ♢ Guilds and guild fun + Shop(WIP) ☾ Organized Roleplay Channels ♢ Doom Tower Raiding (Monsters galore) ☾ Organized Item Shop ♢ A safe space for all members of the LGBTQIA+ community ☾ Fun, Fun and More fun ♢ More stuff to be added ☾ Still growing

☾⋆｡𖦹 °✩Sow knowledge, reap wisdom☾⋆｡𖦹 °✩

Come join us in the Vesera Kingdom, where all magic, guild fun can truly be. Link is below and come on in, lords, ladies and all those that wish to come. Sever link:

[freeanimerp]

We all decided that there just weren't enough Free! rpers in one place. It was difficult for us to find one another and our community was fragmented. So we created a server to help connect players still interested in the fandom.

Take a look at our masterlist to see which characters are in the server. At this time, we are allowing double muses. See a muse on this list you want to play? No problem!

Our community is adults only, so you need to be at least 18 years old to join. While group roleplay is an option, we also allow for stand alone threads and verses just like you would play privately.

Contact us if you're interested!

[esspecn-a]

#  𝐈𝐍𝐂𝐔𝐁𝐔𝐒𝐅𝐌  ,  an  upcoming  supernatural  &  crime  roleplay  based  on  discord  for  a  small  group  of  dedicated  writers  ;  the  hunger  gnawing  at  the  belly  of  the  underworld  has  given  way  to  a  city  wrought  with  greed  &  sin  ,  pleasure  &  pain  ,  glamor  &  grit  .  where  armies  once  rose  and  fell  for  a  war  as  old  as  time  itself  ,  new  political  factions  vying  for  status  have  forged  themselves  in  the  ashes  of  generations  that  have  long  since  gone.  vampire  covens  splintered  into  family  branches  ,  widespread  lycan  packs  scattering  into  pockets  of  lone  survivors  –  in  these  jagged  fragments  ,  three  alliances  have  risen  throughout  the  winding  streets  of  new  york  city  .  war  has  since  shifted  from  a  blood  feud  to  skirmishes  over  borders  ,  over  territories  ,  over  the  glory  of  power  .  

lying  in  the  heart  of  brooklyn  stands  the  only  pillar  uniting  all  of  the  underworld  together  ,  regardless  of  creed  or  allegiance  .  𝐈𝐍𝐂𝐔𝐁𝐔𝐒  was  established  by  a  vampire  simply  known  by  the  masses  as  THE  KINGPIN  ;  elusive  ,  but  powerful  .  dangerous  ,  yet  a  magnate  .  a  business  mogul  ,  but  secretive  .  THE  KINGPIN  hails  from  a  powerful  ,  old  -  world  coven  that  retains  the  last  shred  of  traditionalism  from  a  war  that  had  ceased  long  ago  –  and  for  this  very  reason  ,  he  declared  his  shrine  to  the  debauched  a  neutral  territory  for  all  who  descend  from  the  beast  &  the  bloodthirsty  .  while  incubus  hosts  carnal  pleasure  in  the  form  of  a  hidden  industrial  nightclub  exclusively  for  the  underworld  hidden  in  the  basement  of  an  otherwise  unremarkable  tourist-trap  of  a  nightclub  ,  its  true  nature  lies  in  the  twisted  web  of  lies  &  secrets  threading  through  its  core  .  at  club  incubus  ,  treachery  comes  cheap  –  so  let  the  night  take  hold  in  your  ribcage  &  come  undone  as  the  underworld  beckons  you  to  fall  deeper  &  deeper  into  its  darkness  …

𝐈𝐍𝐂𝐔𝐁𝐔𝐒𝐅𝐌  will  be  opening  for  applications  &  invites  shortly  ;  if  you  are  interested  ,  please  like  +  reblog  ! tracking  #  incubusfm  . 

[fanfoolishness]

on the subject of rocks (SUF)

Steven and Jasper have a long-overdue conversation.  Set two years after SUF, canon-compliant. A little angst, a lot of hope. ~2500 words.

***

Steven is eighteen years old when he decides he wants to try to speak with her again.  

If she wants to, that is.

He thinks he’s ready.  He thinks the conversation might dim the feeling of her fragments cutting into his palm, the weight of his crime crushing his heart, his gut, his gem.  Therapy has helped a great deal. But there are still nights he wakes up panting, remembering what it felt like to let go, to hurt, to shatter, and he wonders.  

If Jasper has the same terrible memories, the same haunting, then maybe they should talk about it.

He talks with Dr. Boverman for hours.  He wants to be sure this is right.  Not just for him, but he wants to make sure this won’t damage her further than he already has.  They go round and round.  They’ve spoken of so many things, old wounds that pierced and bled and fractured, but most of those wounds were done to him.

The blood on his hands is less than he’d once feared it was, but it still doesn’t scrub clean.

“It will always be with you,” Dr. Boverman’s calm voice says.  “You shattered Jasper.  You didn’t intend to, but it’s what happened.”

“I know,” says Steven, and the thought no longer incapacitates him with shame.  It was terrible, violent, the worst possible action committed at nearly his lowest point.  But he accepts it, now, accepts that this will stay with him always.  That it should.

And yet -- 

He and Dr. Boverman strategize.  Roleplay.  Hours of scenarios, how to accept if she never wants to talk to him again, what to do if Jasper says she isn’t ready, what to do if she lashes out, what to do if she fights him, what to do if she bends her hands into the Diamond salute.  Each scenario frightens him at first, sends his heart racing.  The first time they talked about it he glowed pink again for the first time in months.  But the terror fades a little every time they speak, and several weeks later, he thinks he might be ready.

***

Little Homeworld is always different and always the same.  It’s a comforting flow of change, new Gems appearing each time he visits, old teachers moving on.  His family is still there, of course, and he has plans to catch up with them tomorrow.  But today -- today he wants to know if this is the right time.

If there will ever be a right time.  And if there isn’t, he thinks he can make his peace with that.

He finds Jasper sitting on a fallen log at the edge of the forest, alone as he’d expected she would be.  A sketchbook sits in front of her, colored pencils at her side.  His footsteps crunch on autumn leaves.

“Jasper?” he asks hesitantly, ten feet away.  

She turns to look at him, her form unchanged from the last time he saw her, the stripe through her eye disrupted, her horn broken.  So she hadn’t gone to Yellow, then.  A thread of fear mixed with guilt begins unspooling within him.  Maybe he wasn’t ready after all.

Jasper snorts, a gruff smile spreading over her face.  “I wondered if you’d stop by, one of these days.  I heard some of the others say you were coming into town.”

“Hi,” says Steven hesitantly.  He takes a deep breath, remembering his strategies.  “I -- I’d like to ask you something, Jasper.”

“Shoot,” she says in disinterest, picking up a pencil.  She makes scratchy marks against the sketchbook paper, scribbles he can’t quite make out.

He edges closer.  “I was wondering… I’ve done a lot of thinking.”

“Sounds like you.”

Despite himself, he chuckles slightly.  “All right, fair.”  

“Thinking about what?” she asks.

“About you,” says Steven honestly.  “And me.  What I did to you.  What we did to each other.”  He lets out a long, tremulous sigh, returning mentally to his gemstone, taking deep breaths with his diamond as his anchor.  “And I wanted to see if you wanted to talk about it.  It’s okay if you don’t, or if you want me to leave you alone.”  Breath.  Another.  “I’m so sorry, Jasper.”

She glances up at him, giving him an odd look, then gestures beside her with a powerful shoulder.  “Go on.  Sit down, already.”

No ‘my Diamond.’  He’s more relieved than he’d expected to be.  He sets down his bag and sits down on the ground, resting against the log instead of sitting on top of it with her.  He sinks into the soft loam, leans against the fallen trunk.  It’s more comfortable than it looks.  A few feet between them seem like miles, or inches, he isn’t sure.

Jasper regards him coolly, tilting her head slightly to one side.  “Why’d you really come here?”

“To talk to you,” says Steven, his hands folded and calm in his lap, his breathing slowing.  “You told me once that I was the one who needed help.  I’ve been getting it.”

“Told you,” she says, but there’s no gloating in her voice.  She purses her lips, face tensed in concentration.  At last she says, “So have I.”

He blinks, hands coming apart, fingers falling open.  He raises his head and gazes up at her, wondering if he’s heard her right.  “You have?”

“You told me to do something better with my life,” says Jasper, picking up her sketchbook.  At this angle he can see what she’s drawn.  It’s a rock -- what was it with her and rocks -- but a tenderly realized rock, craggy edges shaded in carefully, mosses and lichens rendered in textured shades of green and brown.  

“Jasper, that’s -- that’s really beautiful,” says Steven.  He’s been working on his art, too, but he’s no good at the type of delicate detail work laced into her sketch.  “Who taught you?”

“Ruby,” she says.  She sets the pencil down beside her, hands tensing on the sketchbook.  “I don’t go to Lapis’ classes.”

“Right.”  Part of him is saddened to hear it.  Another part of him is grateful for Lapis’ sake. He wonders which of them he’s most like.  “It seems like you’ve really taken to Little Homeschool.  I’m glad for you.”

A small scoff of a laugh, but it softens at the end into something more like a real smile.  Jasper shakes her hair, its white strands catching in the dappled sunlight beneath the trees.  She looks… calm, like this, and it’s not a state he ever remembers seeing her in before.

“What about you?” she asks suddenly.

“I’m doing well,” he replies, still shocked that they’re talking at all.  It’s going far better than most of the scenarios he’d practiced with Dr. Boverman.   “I visit with my family every couple of weeks.  I’ve been spending a lot of time in cities lately.  All the noise and hustle and bustle… it’s different, sometimes it’s overwhelming, but I like the energy.  It’s… good.  It’s really good.  Connie and I meet up every week.  And I talk to my therapist.”

“What’s that?”

“A therapist?  Um… it’s like a healer for human minds.  But it’s not instant, like with Diamond powers.  It takes time.  A long time.”  He gives her a small smile.  “Sometimes it’s two steps forward, one step back, but overall, I’m feeling a lot better than… before.”

Jasper considers his words.  She leans down, and he realizes a shiny blue beetle is crawling over the tip of her boot.  He tenses, waiting.

Jasper watches the beetle go, making no further move toward it.  It ambles away peacefully.

“You are not my Diamond,” she says into the silence.

“No,” he agrees, and something inside of him unclenches.  “I -- I’m a Diamond.  But mostly I’m just Steven.”

“I hated you for so long.”

He fights an urge to be sarcastic, to bite back at her.  This doesn’t sound… angry.  He keeps quiet, and lets her speak.

Her hand clenches into a fist, heavy against her thigh.  “I thought that if you could stop being weak, if I could make you stronger, I would have my Diamond again.  My purpose.  Someone to protect, someone to serve.”  

She stares into the woods, and he remembers his hands and legs awash in pink, the glow as he tore through the trees beneath a starry sky.  He remembers jagged laughter, his gem humming, a power crueler than he’d ever felt before --  

“I know.”

“Don’t ‘I know’ me when I’m talking to you,” she snaps.  “I’m trying to -- arrgh.  I thought this would be easier.”

“You thought what would be easier --” he starts to ask.

“You know.  Talking.  Ugh.  It’s nothing like a good fight.  The target keeps changing.”  She crosses her arms, still staring off into the trees.  The sun shifts overhead, casting her face in shadow.

“That’s called a conversation,” he says gently.  “Battles are battles, but a hard conversation… it can hurt.”

“Now you tell me,” says Jasper, and it takes him a solid minute before he realizes it’s a joke.  He laughs, but it’s too late, and Jasper shakes her head.  “Look.  Steven.  I -- I’m sorry.”  The words are hasty and fumbled and fast, but he catches them, barely.

“You’re sorry?” Steven yelps.  “But I’m the one who shattered you.”  It still comes out like a dirty word, almost two years later.  He wonders if he’ll ever be able to fully say it, if he’ll ever be able to act like it hasn’t scarred him.  He hopes not.  “I’m the one who should be apologizing to you.”

“You have.  Just now, and before,” she says, shrugging.  “But I only said I’d teach you to get you to fight me.  And you did.  And I lost.”

“Because I lost myself, I lost who I was, you didn’t make me --”

“But you were off-color,” growls Jasper.  “You were -- what do you humans call it again --?”

“Sick,” he says softly.  Such a small word.  It barely begins to cover everything that went wrong two years ago, but he knows CPTSD won’t mean a thing to her, and that’s okay, that’s not what he’s here for.

“Sick,” she repeats.  “And I --”  She digs her hands into the tree bark, small flakes of it crumbling beneath her shaking hands.  “I made you worse.  So that I could get something I wanted.  I failed to protect my Diamond from myself.”

“Jasper --” he gasps.  “You’ve been blaming yourself? For me shattering you?”

“Someone’s got to do it,” she huffs.

He rubs the back of his neck with his hand, tries to take another deep breath, reminds himself to return to the thought of his gem as a centering point.  He can do this.  He can do this.  It’s just, this isn’t how he thought it would go at all.  

He closes his eyes.  Remembers the way she screamed at him, punches in the gut, the face, the sides.  Remembers the way she goaded, the way she pressed, how proud she looked of how frightening he’d become.  He doesn’t know what to say.  “I -- I was sick,” he manages finally.  “I -- you’re right.”

“Of course I am.”

He shakes his head at that.  “But I’m still the one who did it.  I still have to take responsibility for hurting you,” he demands.

Jasper gives him an appraising look.  “Hmph,” she says, and he doesn’t know if it’s a hmph of agreement or a hmph of disdain.  It’s hard to tell with Jasper.  She holds the silence an uncomfortably long time before she says, “Maybe.”

“This isn’t how -- I wanted you to be mad at me,” Steven admits.  “I wanted you to be pissed off! To tell me to get away from you!”

“I can still do that,” says Jasper, apparently turning the thought around in her mind.  She chuckles, very slightly.  “But if that’s an order, I’m ignoring it.”

He laughs.  “You’re full of surprises, Jasper.”

“Am not.”

“You kind of are.”

“Don’t be so surprised then.”  She picks up her pencil, returning to her sketch.  Grass starts to grow beneath her rock, verdant blades springing up from dark soil.

“I thought you hated the local ecosystem.”

“It has its functions,” says Jasper begrudgingly.  “If I leave the grass it provides better contrast for the rocks.”  She picks up a different shade of green, adding highlights.  “It’s still puny.  But it has a purpose of its own.”

“What’s yours?” he asks, then kicks himself for getting so personal.

“Only if you tell me what yours is.”

Two years ago, the request would have paralyzed him.  Two years ago, he’d have panicked, spun out with a lie, tried his best not to think about who he was and what he was supposed to do.

He just smiles.  Breathes in the fresh green air, so different from the machine-smell of the big city.  Beneath the green there’s a hint of salt, the promise of the sea.  It smells like home.

“My purpose is to be Steven,” he says simply.  “To be myself.  To grow and change.  To love myself, regrets and all.”

“Sounds all right,” says Jasper begrudgingly.  “Sort of like mine these days.”  She turns to him, frowning.  “You got something to write on?”

“Uh, let me see.”  He rummages in his bag.  “Oh hey!  I have my sketchbook, too.”

“Well?” Jasper says, pointing to the boulder before her.  “Let’s see what you’ve got.”

He flips through his sketchbook, passing pages of silly Connie faces, a self-portrait in pink and white, Lion poses, CPH classic fanart.  He settles on a blank page and Jasper shoves a green pencil into his hand.  He feels smooth wood, the lightness of the organic drawing implement rounded and gentle in his palm.  No sharp edges, no jagged fragments, no terrible weight dragging his clenched hand into the hot water.  He blinks back tears.

The sunlight shifts, the golden hour arriving, brilliant light shafting through the leaves above and lining the forest floor in spun-gold glory.  His hands don’t quite have this kind of magic in them, but he tries his best, his drawing including sketches of the rock, the grass, the trees beyond them. He adds a gleaming line of yellow at the edges.  He’ll show it to Dr. Boverman at their next appointment.

“Not bad,” says Jasper, peering over his sketchbook.  “You added the trees.”

“It just felt more complete that way,” he says.  He glances at her drawing.  The rock is resplendent, resting on gold-touched grass, light captured in patches against the mosses and lichens.  “You can see all of this?  It’s incredible, Jasper.”

“It’s just what it looks like,” she says stubbornly.  “It’s a good challenge.”

“Like a conversation,” he says, half to himself.  

“Something like that.”  The breeze flutters past them, carrying faint birdsong, the far-off scent of the sea.

“Thanks for talking with me, Jasper.  I know you didn’t have to.”

“Of course.  I do what I want,” she replies, and her voice is gentler than he’s ever heard it.

[umbrx]

roleplaying habits questions.

( 1 , 17, & 20 , please ! ) || @bulolity​

1. what’s a grammar rule you find yourself breaking or ignoring a lot? 

|| Honestly, this is a tough question.There are few that come to mind that are intentional. I sometimes begin sentences with a conjunction, sometimes I write odd sentence fragments, sometimes I write in passive voice. It depends on what I’m writing and how I want to convey a complete thought. And make it pleasing to the ear. ;)

17. what is your biggest obstacle to writing every day, if time doesn’t count?

|| My friends, or writing partners. I do tend to chat a lot about all kinds of things: threads, common interests, random everyday things, muses and OCs, etc. And when I do, I obviously can’t write because I get immersed in the conversation. If it’s DnD time or movie watching time, or we’re playing games together, I also give up on writing. I never regret those moments though, they make me happy so time well spent.

20. if you are writing a wrong reply that’s not working out, do you save what you have to be continued at another date, or do you scrap it and rewrite?

|| I scrap them and rewrite. If a reply is not feeling right in that moment, it means it won’t in the next one either. Obviously, if I’m not satisfied with it, it just means it’s lacking something that I deem crucial to the muse I’m writing, and tweaking and dancing around it won’t help. So, I delete everything, think more about it, and leave it for later.

[swanqiu]

7-10 ( habit meme ! )

——— GET TO KNOW ME  /  roleplaying habits

7. are you a morning, day, evening, or night writer?

i looove getting up early (like... before sunrise) to write. i love getting up early in general tbh. my mind is just so FOCUSED when i intentionally wake up early, and it’s really easy to fill up my headspace with a whole agenda of things to do and knock out (see: rp drafts and memes). and the bonus of having all of these extra hours to get those things done and sometimes watch the sunrise while i’m at it?? immaculate. chef’s kiss. incomparable. unfortunately i haven’t had a lot of mornings like that since the endless lockdowns kind of threw my schedules out of loop, and since moving back to the states last year, i’ve been around my family more so i’ve had a lot less time for myself during the day. i've been doing most of my rp writing in the evenings and at night because that’s usually when i’ve had more time to write anything and to message/respond to ims. sometimes i’ll have really strong motivation to write when i’m not around my laptop or can’t physically get away from what i’m doing to write, so i’ll open up the notes app on my phone to jot down really brief thoughts or a rough layout of a thread reply! that happens all the time lmao.

8. how does tiredness affect your writing?

i can’t do it. ☹ if i’m tired, i usually do the best i can with a reply— i’ll finish it (or get somewhere that i, in my tired state, will think resembles being finished), but i draft it rather than post it right away so that i can review later on for typos or contradictions with past replies or inconsistencies with partner’s muse’s history. glaring errors like that. if i’m tired tired tho lmaoooo gg. i open up a draft and stare at my screen for the next two hours while my mind replays a soundbite of whatever tiktok video i last watched.

9. have you ever written a serious reply intoxicated?

i tried to do it one night because i was genuinely really curious to see if my replies would be any different? or if i’d have galaxy brain-induced writing?? i wasn’t planning to post any finished replies immediately lol (see above with how i usually draft my replies if i’d been really tired when i wrote them) BUT it was the same night my siblings and i went bar-hopping in nyc and like........ the only writing i got done that night in that little hotel room was the spam of texts i sent the guy from my program whom i apparently had a lot of unresolved mixed thoughts about. long story short— since that night, i have not tried again to write when i am anything beyond tipsy! really love that for me!! self care!!!

10. how much do you proof-read as you are writing vs. proof-read at the end?

i feel like i’m always proof-reading as i write! i like making sure that sentences flow well and that there’s a good, comfortable-sounding mix of long vs short sentences or sentence fragments (because lbr i use those a lot lmaooo). i like to make sure the dialogue sounds the way cho would say something and like to read and re-read what i’ve written every few sentences to make sure it’s easy for my rp partner to understand. when i’m finished a reply, i’ll read the whole thing all together— my partner’s initial reply plus my new reply— to see if it all flows well, and then i’ll make adjustments wherever certain things sound wrong or stand out to me in a bad way! but yeah i just think it’s good practice to always be checking what i write! i’m absolutely someone who revisits my replies a few hours or a day after i’ve posted them, and when i see something i suddenly don’t like as much as i did when i’d been proofreading, i absolutely pray that my partner hasn’t seen my reply yet and swoop in to make those edits right away loool.

[pinevalley]

6, 10, 20!

roleplay / writing habits - no longer accepting!!

6. Do you proofread / edit as you write or do you just wing it and save editing for last?

usually i proofread/edit as i go along bc my mind will get stuck on certain words and phrases that i Need to sound correct before i continue writing. i look up definitions and synonyms a bunch!! my replies often start out as a bunch of disconnected fragments and ideas and dialogue snippets that i gradually connect into a coherent reply. sometimes i get super attached to certain sentences, so even if they don’t end up in the final reply, i save them in another document so i can maybe use them later (whether in a reply or in a drabble). i do my Final Editing in the end, just going over everything to make sure it sounds nice and smooth (and make sure it makes sense)! i also have a visual sort of issue that affects how i edit replies, but it’s kinda stressful and tricky to explain so i tend not to talk about it! and despite my best efforts to polish everything, sometimes i still miss typos....

10. What is your limit for how many active threads you can handle at one time?

aaa honestly not many, but i’m not sure on an exact limit. i like to put my full effort into each thread and i can get stressed if i have too many going at once. my inspiration is also super fickle, so if i have a bunch of inspiration for a certain muse, i can handle more active threads with them. if i don’t have inspiration for them, i get more tired when it comes to threads involving them. likewise, if i have a lot of inspiration for a certain thread, i can get super invested in it and i’m less likely to focus on other threads for a while (even tho i try my best to balance out my focus)!! it really depends on muse, focus, energy, and time.

20. Do you prefer roleplay threads over drabbles? Or Reverse? Or Both?

i prefer roleplay threads!! i adore collaborating with people that way. they also allow great opportunities for character development and world-building! i have to be in a particular mood to write drabbles, but i do enjoy writing them a bunch as well!

[myevilmouse]

2019 Fic Year In Review

2019 was the year I joined AO3 and the year I also joined tumblr. So my year in review is literally everything I have written for the Star Wars fandom.  I was not going to do one of these posts but then realized some people here may not be on AO3 and appreciate links directly to something that sounds interesting.  So if you want to know more...

I do not plot, I do not plan. I either write to an idea or a prompt or create a challenge for myself, so I will give you that little background for each fic, in case you care 😉  I like reviewing how I wanted to write the fic and how it ultimately turned out…so here we go, in chronological order, more or less:

1.            Command Performance

Idea: write hot springs sex and try to work in a non-con type scenario/fantasy

Result: My first foray into Luke/Mara. Fun and hits many of my kinks.

2.          Unity

Idea: Wanted to try writing Thryce smut and was given the TV Trope dialogue prompt “YOU!”

Result:  Wound up being long and not smutty at all, but I enjoyed writing those two self-sabotaging fools and decided I would do more of it.  Basically the fic that convinced me to write more Thryce.

3.          Deal With You

Idea: Wanted to write dubcon/hatesex, set post-TIE Defender factory blowup when Thrawn tells Pryce he will “deal with you later.”

Result: didn’t succeed in writing dubcon/hatesex, instead a power play between these wicked Imperials which wound up with an odd and unexpected happy ending.

4.          The Annual Stormtrooper Relief Fund Ball

Idea: write something cute and short for Thryce Discord “Friday Fluff”  

Result: A Gone With The Wind-inspired dance auction which still gives me those fluffy fuzzies.  I like this one.

5.          Artoo’s Viridian Adventure

Idea:  write something my young nephews could read AKA non-smutty.  Husband insisted Pikachu be involved.

Result:  Crack crossover that is suitable for all ages

6.          Corrupted Cake

Idea:  write Sex Pollen for Luke/Mara

Result:  wrote “how they got together” story for Luke/Mara.  What started as a one-shot turned into a three-chapter fic that is one of my most popular and probably most romantic.  

7.          Conduct Unbecoming

Idea:  write Uniform Kink for the fic whining circle kink challenge

Result:  Mara and Luke in a married roleplay

8.          Interpreter

Idea:  Thryce Discord talking about an AU with Pryce in Vanto’s role

Result:  One of my fave fics, as it plays to basically all my kinks. 

9.          Camera Obscura

Idea:  inspired by Phantasmagoria, a fic by @teagrl​, what would happen if sub!Luke stopped playing by the rules?

Result:  It would not go well for him.

10.     Endure

Idea:  HOW CAN THERE NOT BE ANY LUKE/MON MOTHMA FICS WHEN SHE IS LIKE THE ONLY WOMAN IN THE OT HE’S NOT RELATED TO???

Result:  Something I am proud of, written in a fragmented, experimental style since I figured the audience who dared to read would also be open-minded enough to humor my muse.

11.       Something of Significance

Idea:  Thryce Discord May the Thirst Be With You prompt:  Naboo Wine

Result:  Something sweet?  I hope? That allowed me to indulge in my wine and chocolate kinks.

12.     Common Thread

Idea:  using randomly chosen Kiss and Dialogue Prompts for inspiration, write a series of ficlets about Luke.

Result:  Lots of different scenarios, mashing Luke’s lips with many different women but usually Mara, and inspired a couple other fics!

13.     Kinetic Countermeasures

Idea:  written for “Ascension Week” challenge on the Thryce Discord, and I always wanted to write fuck-or-die…

Result:  The closest I’ve gotten to writing a threesome so far (waves at Vanto), and strangely romantic. I like this one, and had fun coming up with the chapter titles 😊

14.     Something Real

Idea:  Thryce peeps wanted a sequel to Something of Significance

Result:  This “how they got together” story for Thrawn and Pryce

15.     The Warrior’s Dancer:  Sienn’s Tale

Idea:  Another woman Luke isn’t related to, available for Jedi-lovin’! What if Luke/Sienn/Oola had a threesome?!

Result:  This fic got way longer than intended and didn’t turn out the way I had planned (no threesome sorry) but I love Luke in it and had fun fleshing out the character of Sienn who is from a short story in the Tales from Jabba’s Palace collection.

16.     THRYCE:  The Musical

Idea:  What if I did @ap-trash-compactor​’s fic A Dealer In Hope as a musical using only Billy Joel songs?

Result:  Yup, exactly the ridiculousness you would expect.

17.     Fan Mail

Idea:  Epistolary challenge in the fic whining circle

Result:  Hopefully amusing view of Luke Skywalker’s fan club and his life as a celebrity Jedi.

18.     Five Times Luke Skywalker Surprised Ahsoka and One Time She Surprised Him

Idea:  Write Luke/Ahsoka after my Common Thread chapter got such positive feedback on them, limit it to 5 + 1 format so I don’t get carried away.

Result:  I like it.  This is a ship that needs more love.

19.     Conflicting Aesthetics

Idea:  written for the SW Rare Pairs fic exchange, @elsajeni​ requested Thrawn/Original Art Forger.

Result:  My longest fic to date, completely took on a life of its own. I had way more fun than expected creating an OC, and there are way too many plot bunnies for sequels in my brain.

20.   The Art of Disguise

Idea:  Halloween Fic for Thryce, prompted by my sister suggesting Pryce dress as Thrawn for Halloween and my adamant refusal that would never happen in a gazillion years.

Result:  Fluff

21.     Corporeal

Idea:  Halloween fic for Luke/Mara, where I keep trying to get these two non-conny, and I tried to sneak a ton of Shakespeare into the fic just add to the complications of writing it

Result:  Hopefully something disturbing and spooky.  Also needs a sequel.

22.   Impetuous

Idea:  Play in @celinamarniss​’ Thrawn/Luke/Mara sandbox but get Pryce in there!

Result:  I got Pryce in there but had to neglect Mara, oops.

23.   Uneasy Alliance

Idea:  write a Padme/Thrawn treat for @theartofcertibbs​

Result:  in the course of my research, learned Zahn ships it.

24.   Anamnesis

Idea:  write Hera/Thrawn for the SW Rare Pairs fic exchange for @ysalamiri-queen​

Result:  something disturbing

25.   The Politics of Gifting

Idea:  write a holiday Thryce fic

Result:  fluff from Faro’s POV

26.   Catalysts

Idea:  write a holiday Luke/Mara fic for the Secret Santa fic exchange with two dialogue prompts and trying to get them to huddle for warmth, a trope I’ve always wanted to write.

Result:  fluff and tropes and wampas, oh my!

Other stuff:

Sonnets:     I wrote a bunch of sonnets about Luke’s outfits and one about Han for @jadedjo​.  I love sonnets.

31 Days of Star Wars:  I put all my Fictober prompts into one fic on AO3.

It’s been a productive year and I want to thank everyone in the Luke/Mara fandom and the Thryce fandom and all the other readers who encouraged and supported me.  I’m really happy to have found this creative outlet this year and look forward to providing you more fluff, smut, and angst in 2020!

[kindcstguardian]

ooc./ It seems people FORGET about this fragment of my rules so I’ll make EMPHASIS on it as much as possible...

THREADS. Important thing about me, I never drop threads! Not even when I have low muse, I keep them all. I simply leave the option of dropping a thread to my partner. No need to explain or justify, just drop it if you no longer have fun or found it tedious. Roleplay is to relax, not stress !

With this in mind, I have over 200+ drafts with 20+ asks and I queue them all a majority of the time. Also I mean it, I seriously whole-heartedly mean it. I never drop threads, I moved ALL OLD THREADS OF MY FORMER MULTIMUSE HERE and I plan to reply to everything I owe and what is replied to me. So please, don’t apologize for replying late or ask me if I will drop the thread because I won’t and I will also reply late.

EDIT. Also this doesn’t mean I won’t be up for more threads with the same or new partners! I am always up for random starters or plotting! I roleplay for fun and as a hobby, having that amount of drafts won’t stop me.

[lunaetis]

psa ; portrayal - rin & misaya

most of my old followers from my rin blog probably know this so feel free to ignore it but since i don’t really have about page for all muses on this blog, i think it would be good for me to make a small psa regarding the headcanon on connection between rin & misaya ( as well as counter guardian!rin / cg!rin ) so my followers know what to expect & what background info i have for them !

TOHSAKA RIN ( magus / master / holy grail war participant ) verse: fate/stay night unlimited blade works ( main ) / fate/zero / fate/grand order / alternate universes interaction tag: .[ tohsaka.rin ]

my main verse for rin is fsn ubw based on ubw anime by ufotable. please note that i’ve NOT played the VN nor have any knowledge other than ubw anime & fate/zero anime & heaven’s feel anime with a touch of fate/grand order so my portrayal of her would be developed upon the base of ubw anime ! whenever i roleplay with muses from other fandoms, i usually would throw her as herself from fsn setting into that verse other than making another setting / background for her in that verse, but the latter do occur from time to time. it depends on my partner’s preference & interactions !

TOHSAKA RIN / CG!RIN / CASTER!RIN ( counter guardian / caster class servant ) verse: varies depending on interactions interaction tag: .[ rin.verse: more than a thousand lifetime: counter guardian ]

some of my followers probably had seen me using this fc & icons around in threads — she’s basically tohsaka rin as you know it but a tohsaka rin who had traded her remaining lifespan including afterlife to become a counter guardian in search for a certain archer. she will be summoned as a caster class servant and i mostly roleplay her with those who want to take the role of a master with rin as their servant. she’s a more mature version of rin, with the biggest difference being her alignment change from lawful good to chaotic good. this means she won’t hesitate to kill and she had killed people before, a drastic difference where normal rin would be averse in killing someone. cg!rin had lived through many lifetimes and had seen cruelty of the world.

REIROUKAN MISAYA ( magus / second master / the CHERUBIM / pseudo-servant ) verse: fate/prototype, fate/grand order interaction tag: .[ reiroukan.misaya ] / .[ misaya.verse: queen of the underworld: fate grand order ]

it’s my personal headcanon developed from a few past interactions with close friends of mine to treat misaya as ‘ prototype!rin ’ aka rin is a reincarnation of misaya. ( this is based on how misaya was supposed to be a prototype design of rin. ) i mainly stand by that headcanon in my portrayal of both misaya & rin but it has little to no effect or influence on how i write misaya. i sometimes hinted on that headcanon if a muse had interacted with both my misaya & rin where rin would get flashbacks from things that happened in the thread with that muse and misaya. my portrayal of her uses what’s shown in fate/prototype ova as well as information from fate/prototype materials and incorporated bits and pieces from fate/prototype fragments as a base, and i develop her further with interactions and headcanons. moreover, in fgo verse, misaya is a pseudo-servant & a vessel of HEL, goddess of the underworld. more info on that verse could be found: HERE

[themanofgloom]

Established Relationships

Disclaimer: Some of these aren’t officially accomplished within roleplay threads yet, but they are planned enough to be.

@fire-vampire - Ormad &/vs. Death. 

The two of them met to work together originally, but their relationship quickly turned abusive. Both of them are emitting toxic fumes. It’s a confusing mix of unhealthy companionship, obsession, and rivalry. Hopefully, they can repair it.

@kyaaanite - Ormad &/x Amber.

Ormad attacked Amber during a night where he was starving for negativity. And it didn’t go well. After meeting him for a second time, she aimed to make him a better person than the monster he was trying to be. And steadily, she’s getting to know him. They’re both finding each other’s presence a bit warmer than usual.

@flowersandhoodies - Ormad x Maddy.

So Ormad thought Maddy was a source for negativity at first. After suffering an injury in front of her home, she brought him in to care for him. And he grew soft for her. She grew soft for him as well. They are now a lovely couple living in the woods -- whether that be Maddy’s forest or Ormad’s forest.

@penciladdictontheweb - Ormad & Rudy & Shots.

Shots stumbled into the Negative Side one night. Ormad and Rudy took him in. Now, he’s a fellow friend who may babysit Rudy once in a while or just visit whenever he wants to.

@fragmented-desire - Ormad & (x?) Vempyremon.

They were originally enemies. Vempyremon stumbled into the Negative Side, and due to an angry and bitter reaction to meeting her, Ormad wanted her to get out. Later, they became friends, and now she is living with him.

@sicklexclaw - Ormad & Cirus + Rudy & Cardinal.

Ormad is friends with Cirus. They have a companionship that’s mostly just based off on the two of them being fathers. Meanwhile, Rudy and Cardinal are best friends and like to play video games and drink slushies.

@monster-or-man - Ormad x Bruce + Ormad vs. Achim + Rudy & Bruce.

Ormad is Bruce’s lover. They contrast each other greatly, with Bruce being a bit more silly and warm while Ormad is grumpy and cold. But they do love each other. Meanwhile, Ormad despises Achim and Achim has the same exact feeling about him. Lastly, Rudy looks up to Bruce as a big friendly giant dad with cool teeth and cool scars.

@rxdhairxdsirxns - Ormad x Taryn.

Disguising himself as a human, Ormad met an odd lady in the park, and over time, they began meeting each other at that same exact spot. Ormad found that Taryn was more relatable than he expected, and they soon developed feelings for one another. They are now in love. Whether or not they have spilled to each other about their past, however, remains undecided.

@crestfxllenfxte - Ormad & Fate.

Fate stumbled into the Negative Side one day, and in the cold land, she met a cold man. Ormad and Fate befriended each other, even when they only met once. Perhaps it was the relatability of them being parents that connected them. Rudy very much wants to meet Fate.

@susans-weird-blog - Ormad & Rudy & Susan.

Yikes! Ormad meeting a mercenary. He’ll be honest and say that he doesn’t like them. Rudy is 100% more than happy for a new mom to come into her life. She’ll make just about anyone into her mom. Even science mercenaries.

@devilishcrybaby - Ormad x Lucifer.

The Boogeyman and Satan himself have quite a connection. At first, they were just evil and cold. They spoke to each other as nothing more than acquaintances. But over many drunken nights together, the two of them revealed a deeper part of themselves to each other, and they fell in love.

@lovedbypoptart - Ormad & Milo & Rudy.

Milo is a lot like a big brotherly figure to Rudy. They often hang out a lot. And fortunately, Milo has seen a lot of weirder stuff than the Boogeyman himself to be intimidated by Ormad. So he looks up to him as his own father as well.

@addressyourarsenic - Ormad & Fenrir.

They don’t really like each other. But you can’t exactly call them enemies. The two of them are just very slightly annoying the other. They have a lot more in common than they think. They just have to open up.

@out-of-the-sky - Ormad & Leo.

Leo is underneath Ormad’s wing. Whether that is a good or a bad thing is up to him. But all he really knows is that Ormad isn’t who he says he really is. He’s a lot more emotional and sensitive -- and surprisingly, he cares more about Leo than the kid thinks.

@lorenz-hidalgo-skitter - Ormad & Lorenz.

So one night, Ormad came across a baby bat. Or what seemed to be a baby bat. He took it home out of curiosity and loneliness. Now, he has a little baby bat living with him. He is both annoyed and adored by it.

These will be updated as time goes by. 

If you don’t see a relationship on here and you are roleplaying with me, that is probably because we haven’t roleplayed much of that relationship yet and we don’t exactly know what’s going to happen!

[calleo-bricriu]

Gotta be honest: I dislike that "OC Struggles in the RPC" post that occasionally hits my dash.

This one, right here.

In short, because it comes off very, "If you won't RP with my OC you're an elitist dick" even though I'm certain that wasn't the OP's intent.

But, as someone who has been writing the same Harry Potter OC (this one, right here) since 2001 and has played dozens of OCs in MMO settings, D&D, etc...starting from about 1988 on through now, let me just address the post point by point.

1. "That soul crushing feeling when you see 'no OCs' in someone's rules."

That's a you problem.

Nobody is obliged to write with you.

Perhaps that person has had numerous poor experiences with OC players in the past and just wants to avoid it happening entirely.

Perhaps they find it difficult to find ways to interact with OCs.

Perhaps they simply don't care for OCs when there are dozens of canon characters, including characters that are so minor that they might as well be a skeleton outline of a character.

None of those are invalid reasons and none of those are personal insults toward your OC or your writing; grow up and move on.

2. "Constantly having to dumb down your canon"

Look, if you're finding multiple people over multiple fandoms are telling you that your OC is too overpowered--just to cram it all into one word--you do need to stop and consider if they may be right and, if they are, if you care enough to change it.

There have been times I've looked at criticism I've had on Calleo and decided, "Yeah, they're right, that is a bit much" and other times when I've decided that yes, they are correct, but I don't care because I'm having fun as are the people I write with, and times where I've just plain disagreed.

It's also possible that your OC just isn't a good fit for whatever person is telling you that, and that's nobody's fault; not everybody likes the same things.

3. "Adjusting to adapted canons"

Literally nobody is forcing you to do this.

Everyone makes concessions now and again so things mesh with the group, that's part of what roleplaying is: A group activity.

If you feel as though you shouldn't have to adjust to someone else's adapted canon the problem is on your end and you're clearly not a good fit for the other player so maybe look elsewhere.

4. "The amount of your own canon and lore you have to sacrifice to do that."

Again, nobody is forcing you to do so.

This comes up a lot with people whose OCs are related to major canon characters and some of it is a big reason why it's generally recommended to not try and write those outside of established games.

In established games, the other players know this aspect of your character and, since you're part of the game, have implicitly agreed to go along with it.

For independent blogs, it does take longer to find regular RP partners because by having a backstory like that, it can feel like you're trying to force your, let's call it, adapted canon, onto canon and not everyone is going be on board with that idea or, at the very least, are implying that anyone who writes with you has to go along with it.

Again, that is not their fault and it doesn't mean you can't write an OC like that but you do need to be aware that if you choose to have something like that in your character's background, it's going to make it more difficult to find regular canon RP partners and that fact is entirely your fault, not the people who RP canon characters.

Same applies for those times when your OC has multiple rare abilities; the abilities might be canon but, sticking with Harry Potter as it's the main fandom I play in, if your character is a genius at everything, has the Standard Abusive Upbringing, is a metamorphamagus, is an animagus (usually unregistered and mastered by age 12 or so), is part-something-not-human, is a "transfer student to Hogwarts", is a major canon character's until now unknown sibling/cousin/best childhood friend, can cast all sorts of difficult magic before they even hit school because they're just that smart, is an orphan, and can sass Voldemort to his face without consequences--people aren't really going to want to write with you for several reasons.

- It looks like you haven't fleshed the character out well and are just throwing a pot of tropes at the wall to see what sticks.

- Writing with characters like that always feels like a dick measuring contest and if you dare try to hint that the OC might not be better at or just as good at something as a canon character, the most typical response is for the OC's player to get mad and tell you you're being elitist or bullying them.

5. "When you mention wanting to write a canon, people that have never shown any real interest in your OC jump out of the woodwork to encourage you to do it."

Yeah, there's no polite way to say this: If this is what happens to you, it generally means your OC is poorly thought out and can only hit one note (i.e. YOU only show interest in writing certain things; angst, shippy threads, etc...but never want to branch out to anything else) in your writing. That gets boring after awhile.

In short, your OC is probably a little boring and a little two dimensional and the reason your friends are encouraging you to write a canon is because they don't want to tell you that and know that a canon will be more interesting on virtue of you not having to make up all the source material the way you  have to do with an OC.

6. "When you do it, that canon gets more attention than your OC ever did."

See #5. Your OC was probably a kinda dull one trick pony and your friends were trying to be nice about it.

7. "The alternative of that: When your first character was canon and you transition to writing an OC, people suddenly disappear."

See #5. Your OC was probably a kinda dull one trick pony in comparison to the canon character you were writing, and your friends were trying to be nice about it.

8. "Fandom OCs that outgrow their fandoms and muns tha tfeel they have nowhere to put them."

That's lack of creativity on your part, not an "OC struggle".

This character of mine has had fragments of his personalty spawn off into roughly thirty or so different characters across multiple fandoms. On occasion, I've directly ported him into another fandom, just changing the Harry Potter specific things into things that fit the new fandom.

9. "Endlessly worrying if your character is too sue-ish, even after x-amount of years."

Stop caring.

Seriously, stop caring.

Caring about that usually ends up making you kind of less than fun to write with on an OOC level and on an IC level most people take it too far in the other extreme and end up with a character that's about as engaging as wet cardboard.

Not to mention, no matter what you do, there are always going to be people who will think your OC is "too sue-ish" no matter what, simply because they're an OC.

Focus more on people who are interested in your OC and not on the people who don't like your OC (and block them if you have to). You'll have a lot less stress and a lot more fun that way.

If you can't stop caring due to anxiety, get to a therapist and get on meds or--stop roleplaying until you get your house in order. If you get that stressed over roleplaying, it's not worth your mental health to continue; just go write fanfic.

10-13. All the stuff about female OCs being held to higher standards than male OCs.

This, unfortunately, is true. It's extra true if you're a female OC that gets into any sort of relationship, platonic or otherwise, with a canon character.

It's a pretty across all fandoms thing too, and it's definitely unfair.

I know 100% that if Calleo were a female OC, he would not have even a fraction of the interactions and threads that I have with him; people would think he's bitchy, stuck up, and annoying as all hell--and he is, but he's a guy, so it somehow funny and endearing I guess.

I think he’s often bitchy, stuck up, and annoying as all hell and I’ve been writing him for close to 20 years now.

He'd also probably be written off as some kind of slut because I've always written him as being in open relationships and often having multiple open relationships going at one time.

14. "People assuming simple, stupid things"

Yeah, that's not OC specific. Not even close. It's good form to always read someone's about and rules page, even if it's a canon character, because nobody plays even canon characters exactly the same.

15. "Feeling like you have to jump through hoops to keep up with everyone else and keep your character fresh and interesting so people don't lose interest."

Again, this is not an OC specific thing. Canon, unless a series is ongoing, is pretty finite, and anyone writing any character has to keep their character fresh and interesting and not just write variants of the same thing over and over or people will get bored of them as well.

A pretty good litmus test here is to look at it and see if it's just one or two people who lost interest or if it was a whole lot of them.

If it was just one or two people, that sucks, but it happens. We've all been dropped at some point.

If it's a LOT of people, it's time to take a close look at your OC and what you're writing to make sure you haven't just turned into--well, the literary equivalent of wet cardboard.

16. "Canon blogs that shit on OCs--you realize you were OCs too right? What would the original writer of your canon think?"

Well, if it's Anne Rice, she'll probably think to send a cease & desist.

That joke aside, be glad they do; it's a big red flag to avoid them as they're likely overall unpleasant people even if their writing is good. It also saves you from wasting your time trying to interact/write with them.

Remember that part about not focusing on the people who aren't interested in writing with you? Go read it again.

17. "No seriously, it can be so discouraging writing an OC. How many ideas are you killing by snubbing OCs? The future of creative media is in our hands."

Miss me with this emotionally manipulative bullshit.

Nobody is obliged to write with you and nobody is obliged to like your OC.

If a canon blog rejecting your OC is enough to kill your ideas, that's your problem, not the canon blog writer's problem.

If you can't find someone to RP your ideas with you and you really like those ideas, I'd suggest writing fanfic.

If you really want to RP those ideas, you'll either have to keep looking until you find someone who also wants to RP those ideas, or you'll have to be willing to do some compromising to make those ideas work in a way that other players will find interesting.

If your OC always has to be center stage and the best at everything, or you only want to write ship threads, or you only want to do angst, or your OC is always being injured, nearly killed, in emotional distress, etc...all the damn time, that gets boring for everyone else really quickly.

That's a you problem, not an other writers problem.

18. "Has someone stolen my canon?"

Look, if the stuff further up on this list is an issue for you, I guarantee you nobody has stolen your canon.

In general, nobody will steal your canon; there are not infinite numbers of ideas and tropes are very common both in canon canon and for OCs.

Unless someone straight up lifted everything about your character and just changed the name and whatever face claim you're using, there's about a 0 % chance they stole your ideas.

19. "Is my canon too similar to someone else's?"

See the bit in #18 about common tropes; given that, probably.

The bigger question is does it bother you enough to rework your OC? If it doesn't, stop caring.

If it does, get to work reworking your OC.

20. "Do they think I stole their canon?"

Have they said something? Do you have overlapping RP circles? No? Then they probably don't know you exist, let alone think you've stolen from them.

21. "And what do you do when somebody does steal your canon? It can be so hard to prove and it's so easy for it to be dismissed."

If it's hard to prove, it's too generic to have been stolen unless they just did a direct copy paste.

22. "Having your OC written off because of the face claim choice - that face is constantly typecast, nobody takes it seriously, they've been overplayed and ruined."

The only people I've had, 7 years of Tumblr RP, give two fucks about face claims are:

- Control freak admins of organized games that usually fall apart within 6 months due to drama typically caused by the control freak admins. I actually had one game have the admins get angry at me because I wouldn't stop doing cosplay for Calleo's pictures and just pick a celebrity.

Bullet dodged there.

- People who are also just generally unpleasant OOC; if a face claim alone is enough to make someone not want to RP with you (and it's not a case where the person whose face it actually is has been clear about them being uncomfortable with people using their pictures in that manner), that's a red flag that that person, if you somehow still want to write with them after seeing that, will likely be incredibly, bizarrely dramatic in all the wrong ways.

Sure, some of them are fine and they just have a hard time picturing an OC who also looks uncannily like Taylor Swift, but people who have things in their rules about refusing to write with people who use certain icons should be taken as either a red flag or a, "Well, I dodged a bullet here."

Also, in case nobody has told you this: Icons are not necessary for RP. They often add absolutely nothing to the post or thread that isn’t just as easily accomplished by using words. There’s nothing wrong with using icons but, you know, run far, far away from people who require that you use them.

Maybe instead of getting into the mindset that nobody wants to write with your OC because they’re an OC, take a look at your OC, ask people to give you honest and constructive feedback about the character (even if they tell you things you might not want to hear), consider working on your OOC personality as the victim mentality or using emotional manipulation about ~*~*how hard~*~* it is to write an OC to try and guilt people into writing with you is incredibly off putting on every level.

The more someone whines and complains about how nobody wants to write with them, honestly, the less interested I become in writing with them.

You also have to put some effort in, and that includes answering submitted memes or people who write you starters (or like an open starter call from you); if you fail to do that more often than not (and no, ‘low/no muse’ is not an excuse when you use it all the time, especially when you clearly have muse and are responding to whatever Themed Thing--usually angst or shipping--you get but ignore anything else or take ages to reply to anything else), the people sending those things in will assume you’re just not interested in writing with them and will stop trying.

And, bottom line?

If even you can’t sell your OC as being interesting and write off lack of interest from others as Unfairness Toward OCs, why should anyone else be interested?

If you have an OC that’s legitimately interesting, engaging, and not based around generally disliked tropes (across fandoms those are usually related to a canon character, multiple rare abilities, the OC being able to somehow always ignore or overtly go against social norms and suffer exactly zero consequences--or worse--be adored and admired for it by everyone, and Not From Around Here, in that order), and aren’t unpleasant OOC, people will want to write with you.

If you don’t, well, that’s your problem, and no amount of posting about how hard OCs have it will make people interested.

[joeyvoeman]

Do you have any personal methods/styles for how you write in roleplay situations with other players? What makes for good RP in your experience?

//You mean other than my addiction to commas and fragment sentences? xD

I don’t think my writing is anything special. I’ve been RPing specifically on tumblr for a while now and honestly I’m pretty mediocre to this day. For me it’s all about having fun, not having the most flowery sentences or introspective observations. 

I agree with a lot of what others have said. I love having NPCs that my partner controls, I focus a lot on keeping things interesting and keeping the action moving forward, including not minding if people move my character within reason, and I’m all about improvisation in a thread, especially when it has to do with showcasing the supernatural aspects of the town/characters.

As far as things more specific, I can find myself getting caught up in details quite easily, as far as backstories go. I get into complicated timelines and deep research that I sometimes find bogging down my writing, but that’s definitely something I’m working on. I’m also a big planner as far as big picture goes, but I’m usually flexible with the details within that big plan. That’s what makes Joey so scary though. I have no plan for where I want him to end up, and it’s the first time I’ve ever had a character I didn’t go into with an overarching plan in mind.

I do try to make every character I play different from all the others before. I don’t like to recycle characters if I can help it, and I think that has helped me grow as a writer over the years.

Also, this has nothing to do with writing styles, but since I can’t get on tumblr on the computer at my current job, only mobile, I’ve found weirdly effective success with writing my replies out on paper and typing them up when I get home. I find it provides less distractions and more creativity flows out of me that way.

And finally, what makes for good RP in my mind is no assumptions (like the character bleed that Lori mentioned), no railroading, player/character mesh (and understanding when that’s not the case), and everyone enjoying what’s going down. 

I’m sure I’ve forgotten something but I’m not good at writing about my own process. Or myself in general lol.