#i think these are only useful as say. icons for accounts or RP stuff

[dreamingofmuses]

New Year's Resolutions: RP Edition

Howdy all, Ash here. I've been having a think while with family this week, and I've decided I'm going to implement some new 'resolutions' to try and help make writing in 2024 be way more successful than in 2023. This will include things from the running of blogs to jobs I really want to get finished. I'm putting them under a read-more to keep the dash nice and clean.

I will say, this has taken me an hour to write up, and I'd recommend you doing likewise if you think there's little ways you want to improve.

-

Overall Running of Blogs

I'm going to experiment a new approach to running the blogs. For this, I'm going to put all active blogs to low-medium activity. In other words, even if I am personally lurking on mobile, I won't be constantly writing things if I'm not able to. (Work is just about to get super busy and I'm anticipating chaos)

A queue/schedule function will be used for all blogs. I intend to dedicate one weekday evening to working without interruption on replies. Taking commutes to the city and family visits into account, this is looking to be a Thursday, which is the only day I am neither travelling to the city nor have a guaranteed family visit. Of course, this may fluctuate, but that's what I'm hoping to work with, assuming those things stay as they are.

However! What all this means is that I am going to tentatively take skullandbowties off hiatus. With that blog being quiet, it should be possible to juggle it better now. Plus, it's officially off-season so the demand for him from new blogs ought to be low. I'm very smart :D

I also plan to update all pinned posts. I am aware some of them are marking a vacation from months ago.

Individual Blog Maintenance

Create "New Here?" posts to add to the pinned posts/info tags. This is going to be a very quick crash course on what to expect from the blog, especially where some characters might diverge from fanon expectations.

FINISH. WILF'S. BIO. It's not actually relevant to anything being written on the blog itself at present, but I really want to flesh out his character and show that he was stuck in stories for years, decades even! The doc has the word count to 4,888 at this precise moment. This is a mix of summary and brainstorm. Since it's getting a 'little' out of hand, I intend to have a 'tldr' at the start that people can read, and then longer versions if they're curious to get the full story. Maybe even have it that they can jump to particular parts but... I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.

Likewise, Noah's version of Space needs to be finished. This one is going to be a summary, but it's a case of making sure the pieces are in place sufficiently to have parts match canon Space, but also make it clear that there is a lot of differences between canon and what he went through, with his plot entirely spiralling away for 'Part 2'. This is at 5,794 words, and the ending has yet to be ironed out...

(I am going to stop creating needlessly long-winded projects for myself that realistically add nothing of value to my blogs. These two projects are exhausting...)

Theauthorlives is returning to a very small multimuse. Any muses that aren't ones I genuinely enjoy writing are being fully archived, unless they are muses that get no traction but I want to keep the possibility open. Details of that will be shared when I do this.

Redo some muse icons (not all of them!). Though the selection I have for particular sets is a lot, I still feel like I'm missing some expressions or poses. I would like to remake one batch of icons for three characters, and finish iconning a third. Replies seem to be shifting toward iconless, but I like them for asks or IC commentaries.

OOC/Mun Related stuff

Following matters that have happened both online and IRL, I've decided to take a step back from actively engaging with people. My focus will be people that I have been in good communication with for the last twelve months (as well as people I don't talk to frequently but am on friendly terms with) rather than people I feel I have to 'chase' after. Saying that, I'm going to try and not let past experiences meddle with anything in with new writing partners - whether these are brand new to the community or people I've not had the chance to properly interact with prior to this. Just be aware that I might not be super outgoing at first. (This is where setting limits and boundaries is good practice, everyone! Don't sell yourself short, and don't spread yourself out too thinly!)

Which is where I now say I want to send even more asks! Not just memes or sentence starters, but general questions about headcanons or muse opinions. I want to get people thinking more.

My stance on Discord still stands, in that it's solely for OOC stuff, but I'm not giving it out to everyone. However, I have been in two group servers that have little-to-no connection with writing rp threads in them. I would hope that I can fully regain my sense of comfort using Discord as a whole.

Art related

Despite socially stepping back, I still want to keep some semblance of 'community' where my blogs are active so people don't feel isolated. For instance, I want to do something that encourages invasions of ask boxes. That was good fun to watch as the chaos began to spread, and when people are good-humoured to go along with my silly ideas.

I want to have one huge art-related event at some point this year. I'm not entirely what or how to do it, but I think it would be a great excuse to practice something. Portraits, comics, something like that. I'll have a think. (For those who remember, the water gun event was supposed to have an art conclusion but plans for that fell through.)

I want to try and upload drawn responses to heythereneighbor once a week if I can. Obviously, this is depending on how busy it is.

I'd also like to try doodling more on other blogs? But I'm not sure if this is even something people want to see anymore. People might prefer I focus on writing if I have free time instead of doodles or little comics.

... the writing blog. I need to do stuff with that in general. Whoops.

Finally, I want to do what I can to the best of my abilities on a particular day. I've always told people over the years that real life comes before rp, and I still stand by that. Whether I'm around or not every day isn't the end of the world. The communities I write in are a lot slower paced than they were when I started, which is great! I need to remind myself that I don't need to be writing just because I have a bit of free time.

[askliljudd]

// Heya! The mod of this blog here!

From what I’ve gathered, a lot of people, especially in the splat rp community are new, which is great! As someone who’s been roleplaying for a long time, I love seeing new faces. However, it also seems less veterans of similar communities are around and as such, tips and tricks that people have learned with askblogging and rping on tumblr haven’t been regularly brought up!

So consider this post a helpful guide to tips and tricks to rp blogging on tumblr! I’m not here to tell anyone how to do things, but these are simply things I’ve learned and I personally think help enhance the experience! If you have advice you want to add, or questions you want to ask, feel free to add on, ask me or DM me! Without further ado, let’s get on with it!

QOL Tip 1 - RP icons!

While not necessary for the rp experience, icons can help with viewer engagement and also visually spice up text; especially if there’s lots of it! While any size would be fine, 100x100 pixels or under is recommended! This is to avoid making the post longer than it should be! I’ll be using some of my mod icons throughout this post to demonstrate! You can acquire icons under the various ways: canon art, fanart, or your own art! Canon and your own art are easy, since people know the source and you don’t need to credit yourself! If you want to use fanart, be sure to ask artists for their permission and credit the source!

QOL Tip 2 - Blog themes!

I’ve seen a surprisingly low amount of custom blog themes! In fairness, tumblr has been kind of quietly shoving them away for some time now, though it’s one of the best features in my opinion! It’s a classic part of older internet culture, where you get to cultivate a theme to what you want to portray! Don’t know how to code? There’s plenty of free themes people upload for use! One of the most famous blogs to get them from is theme-hunter, though individual theme makers may have their own blogs so be sure to be on the lookout!

You can enable custom themes in your account settings! Click the edit theme button aaand!

You’ll find the custom theme button right at the top of your settings! You simply replace all the code in here with a custom theme you found! Be sure to try and make it legible for others to look at!

QOL Tip 3 - XKit!

It occurs to me not many people may be aware of what XKit is, so here’s a quick rundown: it’s a third party add-on that improves your tumblr browsing experience! Whether it’s aesthetically or functionally, XKit is here to help! There’s been quite a weird experience with the add-on for years; a history I won’t step into right now, but XKit Rewritten is openly available and free to use! I highly recommend using its many features if you haven’t already. Here’s both the Chrome and Firefox versions!

Blog Tip 1 - Blogs are your friend!

I’ve seen a lot regular anons rping in inboxes lately, which is well and good! But personally, I like being able to find stuff I send people, or being able to reblog it somewhere specific or keep my muses I send out in order! If you operate from a main blog, like I do, sideblogs are great to make and simple! Being able to keep your muses and any asks you send out organized in one spot not only helps yourself, but anyone you send asks out to or you want to reply to I would say this is a bigger personal decision than some of the other stuff in here, but I find it helps in the long haul especially if you want to keep certain things going! Even a blog where you can just reblog asks you send out would be nice! If you wish to not reveal your main blog for whatever reason, you can simply send it on an anon and include your sideblog’s url in the ask!

Blog Tip 2 - Organization and Setup

If you’re intent on having a blog, simply having a blank page can only take you so far! There’s a few important things that I highly recommend blogs have if they wish to help themselves and others.

1. Tagging system: While not required, personally I find this helps me stay organized! Sometimes, all you need is to tag asks or rp responses, but I also like to tag anons and specific blogs I interact with! It helps when I want to look through something and I can use the tagging system instead of the search one, which sometimes leaves posts out! (Note: As far as I’m aware, the tagging system on blogs recently changed when trying to find them from how it used to be, so be aware of that!) Another important thing with tagging systems is to keep them consistent! This may seem obvious, but I had a serious issue with this when I was younger and had about 3 tags with slight variations of each other so none of my posts showed up in the same tag! 2. Blog pages: Even with the default themes, you can make custom pages on your blog that’ll even show up on mobile! (There’s a button for it to show up on the page, though most people link them in custom themes.) You can use this for many things, such as a reference page for your characters and other things, but I highly recommend setting up an about/rules page. These help with interaction between other users

Blog Tip 3 - Roleplay and Post Length

Roleplay is one of my favourite parts of blogging in these sorts of communities; getting to interact with other bloggers and muses is awesome! Which is why it’s so important to keep your experience in mind when roleplaying! Ye olde ancient tip is to “trim” rp posts that are starting to get long! What’s trimming a post mean, you might ask? Well, rp posts tend to get rather long on tumblr, and it can make it a lot to scroll through! Both for you and others. Trimming it allows the rp post to not be as long, but you can still continue with your partner(s). My recommendation is to try and trim before 5-7 replies are hit, but this can vary dependent on the length of replies!

There’s two main ways to trim posts! 1. Use XKit’s feature: XKit has a feature that allows you to trim rp posts; it can end up a little funky sometimes, but it makes things shorter for sure! 2: Make a new post: This may seem like a lot, but making a new post is no big deal! It’s main done by linking the previous reply somewhere in the new post and either pinging your partner or messaging it to them!

As previously mentioned, I hope this doesn’t come across as me telling anyone what to do. These are just things I learned when I started roleplaying, and I’ve kept with me since then. And I hope they help you! If you’ve made it this far, I hope it was a helpful read at least! I tend to not make posts like this; I certainly didn’t expect to make one on this silly kitty blog but what can I say. People outside of the splat community are welcome to rb this if you think it’ll help! I may have missed something, or may not personally use it, so feel free to add on things in the replies or reblogs!

I hope you all have a nice day, and thank you for reading and following this blog if you do!

[scrappy-urchin]

Rules and Notes for mobile

RP-related stuff:

The Basics:

This is a sideblog to @huds-hub, which means all follows, likes, and comments on posts will come from that account. I’m not mutuals only, so don’t feel discouraged to RP with me if I don’t follow you back!

No godmodding unless it’s discussed beforehand.

Muse does not equal mun. Don’t take any of Undyne’s words or actions as a reflection of what I personally think about you or your character.

I RP with Undertale/Deltarune characters, their (popular) AUs, and OCs based on them, but am multiverse-friendly within those constraints. RPing with muses outside the fandom will be rare and selective.

I am flexible to adjusting small details of my blog’s headcanons to match your muse’s verse. However, I ask that you do not expect Undyne to act out-of-character to appease your depictions.

Timelines are messy and weird. Even though Undyne is a teen and lives pre-game, it doesn’t mean your character needs to be aged down. So, don't worry about it too much. Just have fun and make an interesting story!

Instances of human characters interacting with my Undertale Undyne will be rare. Why would it be common? This fish monster doesn’t care for humanity! If you want someone with a tolerable view of humans, try one of my Deltarune AUs...

Do not reply passively. In other words, your replies should not just react to what my character says and does... it should help move the story forward! RPing is a collaborative effort. If one person carries all the weight of writing the story, it is an unfair balance. The only exception to this is if it has been discussed OOC.

Triggers and Tagging:

I am sensitive about tagging triggers. Please make sure you list any trigger tags on your ‘Rules’ page so I may heed them as best as I can! Whether you RP with me or are just a “spectator,” please shoot me a message if you want me to tag anything. I WILL tag them if you ask - no questions asked!

Themes pertaining to rape, sexual assault, and self-harm by cutting are HARD NOS for me.  Please ask me beforehand if you want the theme of suicide to appear in our RP.  

I tag standard generic warnings, such as #gif warning, #suggestive, #long post, etc…

CONTENT WARNINGS YOU SHOULD BE AWARE OF: please block #violence cw (catch-all tag for intense descriptions of physical conflict), #depression cw (catch-all tag for intensely sad ideations), #food cw, #entomophagous cw (the eating of insects), #eye trauma cw, #blood cw, and #body horror cw, if those topics bother you. They are typically not graphic nor frequent, but I suggest blocking them just in case. I don’t want to ruin anybody’s day. :(

In order for to ensure blacklist scripts are effectively blocking sensitive material, any other content warning tags will be in this format: #[content] cw. If new triggers appear (aside from the ones listed above), the post will be hidden under a ‘Read More.’

Shipping:

I portray Undyne as being exclusively attracted to females. If shipping occurs, it will be will female or feminine-aligned characters that are within the same age range as her.

If interested in shipping with Undyne, please make sure your character is clearly specified on your blog to be of teen age or has a teenage verse.

DO NOT LEWF MY MUSE. The Undyne this blog depicts is AGED-DOWN from her canon age and is under 18 years old. Though she experiences attraction as a typical allo teenager would, I will NEVER write s*xual RPs involving an underage Undyne.

OOC blog-related stuff:

Anyone can follow and ask my Undyne questions! However, I will only RP in threads with designated RP blogs. We don’t have to be mutuals to RP together.

Usage of icons, post formatting, and matching the lengths of my replies doesn’t matter to me. However, matching passion does!

Feel free to send in Magic Anons! However, I’m selective about which ones I accept.

You do not have my permission to use my art specifically made for this blog. All icons are modified from the original game’s icons by me. Same with my fanart. Do not modify or re-upload them on other websites.

I am duplicate-friendly. I love seeing how people interpret canon characters and reading all the different headcanons out there (especially for my favorite fish warrior *_* ). We’re all here to have fun - it’s not a competition!

I am extremely patient with replies. There is no rush in replying swiftly to anything I send you and you don’t need to apologize if you haven’t replied in a long time. After all, RPing is our hobby, not our jobs!

Speaking of which, I. Am. SLOW at replying to threads. If I do not answer quickly, it doesn’t mean I’ve lost interest in our RP. I don’t mind returning to threads even though it’s been months since my writing partners have replied... as long as we are enjoying it!

Please don’t reblog RP threads that do not involve you. Likes and comments are okay.

If you decide to drop one of our RP threads, feel free to send me a message letting me know. I won’t guilt-trip you or ask you why.

If I don’t reply to RP threads, please don’t spam me with messages or make passive-aggressive comments about it. One PM simply reminding me should be enough.

I have the right to discontinue RP threads or not answer asks that I don’t have muse for, turn down story lines, and block people. And so do you! I won’t guilt-trip you about your decision, so please extend that same courtesy to me.

Have fun! If you made it this far and understand the rules, “like” this post so I know you read this page.

Happy RPing!

[sincerely-krp]

most of the time gen rps are just social clubs where muns put on a face and act out their fantasy lives. // say it louder!! there's not a single bit of work put into gen rp and i'll die on that hill. i used to be in gen rp only, so i like to think i have reference to speak on it. all it is is pretty mewe bios and layouts and a glance at kprofiles. you copy cute symbols? use pinterest icons? deviantart templates? sure, utilizing resources is always good, but you're contributing nothing new to the story of the person you're roleplaying. to the people willing to argue that fostering ships, taking creative liberty to build onto their fc's likes/dislikes, and other things takes work, no. your character base is still premade for you (it's a real life person after all) and you're following by that. if you're not? well, you're doing exactly what op said. you're just using gen as a space to project a social life onto. making your barely legal muses into sexual deviants, more mature muses into keysmashing tiktok memers, and a ton of other unrealistic characterizations you're forcing onto a real life person's persona aren't the move. just a few examples of the weird stuff i've seen, i'm aware not everyone in gen is like that, but my opinion on originality and creativity stands for all of gen. the most you can do is have a "style" to your profile and that's all the originality you get. which is a bold statement considering "styles" are usually trendy, so most people stick to one format. deeming it unoriginal, yet again. glad to have jumped into au and oc because finding people who actually write in gen is like finding a needle in a haystack. they exist, sure, but it's becoming rarer and rarer. that being said, if you go into gen for that very reason, then it's fine. i get that it can be a time saver for those who just want a chill account to dick around on. just replying to the whole "why don't people in gen write" age old question. well, that's why.

・❥・

[matrotas-muse-hub]

Rules

I am a multiship, multiverse blog. Every roleplay occurs in a separate AU. None of my characters’ relationships with any other muse affect their relationship with yours. That is, unless you specifically want to share a verse with someone else.

I am a semi-sfw blog, but the semi is only there for angst, violence, etc. While mun is in his mid-20s, I will not rp smut. Romance is fine (welcome, even). If our muses were to reach a point in roleplay where it would become intimate, the scene will fade to black.

Minors: Minors are welcome to send asks and interact with my posts, but not be roleplaying any threads with minors.

I do not necessarily believe in reblog karma. While I would certainly love you to send in stuff if you reblog, do not feel obligated to do so. I won’t guilt trip you.

Feel free to remind me if I take a long time in responding. I try to save everything to drafts, but if I drop a thread, hold me accountable. I apologize in advance, as I have a bad habit of dropping threads. If you’d like to continue a thread and you haven’t heard from me in a bit, just send me a PM.

I am somewhat selective. There’s certain types of characters (think anime-level plot armor) that I dislike writing with.

I am OC friendly. Should be a given, this is an OC blog after all.

Do not control my characters’ actions or thoughts in your written responses (unless we’ve discussed it prior). This is a back-and-forth, please don’t assume to control my character for me.

Do not godmod.

Potential triggers: Please never initiate a scene where someone is about to commit suicide and/or has to be talked out of it. I’m fine with discussing suicide as a topic, be it something that happened in a character’s past, etc., just not that specific scenario a “talking someone off the ledge.” Related to this, I try to tag any obvious triggers that may come up, but if there is something specific you’d like me to tag which isn’t mentioned in your rules page, please let me know.

Feel free to ship with me. If your muse starts to develop feelings for one of my muses, send me a PM and we can discuss the ship and maybe plot and see how to advance it. In recent years I’ve been less interested in starting new ships with him, but that doesn’t mean there is no chance.

Feel free to ask me for a roleplay any time you want. Just go into my ask box and throw stuff at me, I promise I don’t bite. You don’t need a prompt or an invitation, though I may be slow in responding at times.

All icons are my own artwork, and thus belong to me. Do not use my icons.

On the subject of icons, you do not have to use icons to roleplay with me, I just sometimes use them for fun.

This blog does not tolerate hate. Bigots get blocked.

Last of all, have fun. Roleplaying is a hobby, so enjoy it.

If you have read the rules, send an ask saying “Legends are Eternal.” (This isn’t required, I just like knowing.)

[afterschoolvocaloidrpg]

all icons I used in my Vocaloid fan game experience (formatted for rpg maker vx ace)

idk if these are useful to anyone but here they are anyway if anyone wants these available for personal and noncommercial use . the miku is kinda too specific to my game since they’re my own design but everyone else looks pretty generic. minor edits to expressions and resizing are ok but not much more beyond that please. dont use for anything offensive or inappropriate.

[euphoriabled-a]

get to know the writer behind the blog~

Nickname: 👀 i don’t have a nickname on here yet... i’ve only used my name. 🦋 Star sign: libra sun, pisces moon, taurus ascendant ✨ Height: 5′2.5 ( please count the half ! ) Favorite music artist: saint motel, but i’ve been listening to mitski on loop lately. Last TV show you watched: . . . pop team epic . . . What kind of stuff do you post: um, replies? also memes and positive reminders! Do you have any other blogs:  yes ! i have a two other multis, an original character, a meme account, and a secret rp-related blog. 🌸 Why did you choose your URL?: mixture of angst and happiness! just like my threads! ( and it sounds pretty neat ! ) Hogwarts House: gryffindor Pokemon team: i can’t remember off the top of my head, so i’ll just say that i would die for empoleon and i would do anything for that pokemon. i’d go on any team if it made my empoleon happy. :’) diamond and pearl started that love and nothing can extinguish it. that is my boy! my son! (or daughter. all empoleons are valid) 💕 Favorite color: black, lavender, pastel pink, and light blue ! How many blankets do you sleep with: it depends!! but i always have a few stuffed animals on my bed and i think that’s neat :’)

Tagged by:  @killjoysanonymous (the icon!) Tagging: @blueletterss @cultreviews @herflame @ivestwins @jupitcr @juviepunk @witchaotics​ ( and you ! )  . . . but only if you want to, no pressure !!

[razanartuk]

about me tag game thing

i was tagged by the wonderful @nothingunrealistic! thank you very much ily <3

under read more bc i was not capable of keeping my answers brief this time around

why did you choose your url?

this...was supposed to be a short explanation but it turned into quite a tale so strap in i guess because we are going on a ride. back in 2017 i was just getting into musical theatre rp and i was still feeling too shy to really talk to anyone ooc so i would just wait for people i wanted to interact with to post starter calls so i could just do things in character with them the easy way. So i did this with my friend cam, who posted a starter for me using a lyric from If I Could Tell Her. she linked the song so i could listen to it, so i did and i went ‘wait a minute, is that Ben Platt from Pitch Perfect?? (and other things too, but i only recognized his voice at the time bc of the acappella girl movies)’ and yes it certainly was.

i had zero idea what the plot of Dear Evan Hansen was about at that point, and for some reason based off Just That One Song and the poster art of who i assumed was Some Guy in a Polo Shirt i started to think it was about some jock guy who broke his arm and had an emo/goth friend who had either died or gone missing under mysterious circumstances. also i intuited that Evan had a crush on his friend’s sister but he couldn’t tell her that directly or his emo friend would kick his ass. so i was like mostly wrong, but a little bit right.

oh and i knew jared and alana were characters from the show bc cam said that they were i think?? but i had no idea what their role was. so after listening to if i could tell her, i listened to good for you and all i really got out of that was that evan the apparently not-jock guy had done...something... that really hurt jared and alana. and at that point i finally decided to go look up a plot synopsis and i found out i was waaay off base. but honestly this is why cast recordings should include scene dialogue in the songs bc otherwise you just get soundtracks like dear evan hansen where the songs have like. zero context. we really just go from waving through a window to for forever to sincerely me without like. any reason as to what is happening huh. It’s honestly not a surprise anymore that all those people on twitter had no idea the plot isn’t about gay teenagers.

anyways. cam was writing jared and she made a post at one point about wishing somebody would write alana and i was like ‘oh i could do that!’ (after i had actually Seen a bootleg and finally knew what the whole story was, of course) so i made a multimuse rp blog featuring alana beck, nabulungi hatimbi, chloe valentine and some other characters, and cam started sharing her headcanons with me that alana is trans, jared and alana were close friends when they were little kids but they sort of drifted apart as they got older and their priorities in life changed, jared was the first person alana came out to when she realized she’s trans, etc.

one night i started talking about wanting to pick a more theatre-relevant url for my blog and trans-[character name] urls were getting pretty popular, and at least 3 of the friends i made through rp had changed theirs to coordinating trans-[character name] and i think it was cam suggested i should make mine be trans-alana so i did. eventually i realized the unhyphenated version was available so i changed it to transalana with no hyphen and i have lived here ever since. sometimes i think about changing it but i feel like transalana has become a part of My Brand and i am not so great with coming up with cool names for things.

any side blogs? if you have them, name them and why you have them

in theory, i have sideblogs... i don’t really use them, but of the ones i do have, there is:

emsbookblog - this was supposed to be where i would post excerpts of the book that i’m working on, but i think i did that maybe one time roughly 2 years ago and then promptly forgot about it/got nervous about my writing and was scared to share anything else. the rest of the stuff that is there is assorted writing tips. i don’t really know what to do with it now. i probably should post all my little thoughts about em and anita and caleb there instead of infodumping on my main from time to time, but if i do that then i have to promo a sideblog and direct people over to it which is always annoying to me when i could just do it on this blog which is much easier

dearnovelhansen - this is basically no longer used, but was a sideblog i made specifically to talk/complain about the novel adaptation of Dear Evan Hansen which was about 3 years ago?? maybe? i can’t be trusted to understand the passage of time. but to summarize: i thought it was an honor just to have the story be made more accessible since many of us couldn’t see the stage performance, but i hated a lot of the creative liberties that were taken. my main grumbles are that everyone who isn’t evan or connor is done so dirty in the novel. connor’s still kind of done dirty in the book, but not as much as like. heidi, alana, jared, and zoe are.

horseisle3 - this one was meant to be a place where i could just enthusiastically post screenshots from hi3, but instead it turned into a blog where i occasionally reblog other players’ hi3 content and bitch about how bad the game admins are bc hi3 is the tumblr famous (infamous?) homophobic horse game. the game where it was once okay to call your club store the gulag bc according to their head of hr, ‘it’s just a russian word for prison’ but you can’t say ‘im gay’ without somebody accusing you of corrupting young children who play the game. unfortunately there aren’t very many good interactive horse games out there, so this one is still about as good as it gets. it’s either that or star stable and i don’t care about star stable.

mlaenie - i’ve had this url saved for i don’t even know how long. way way way back in the day when i wanted to escape from the clutches of the onceler fandom i abandoned my first blog where i basically had an alter ego i guess?? and i decided to just be myself on the new blog. i don’t fully remember who came up with it, but one of my sister’s mutuals suggested that if you scrambled the letters in your name you could come up with aesthetic-looking urls. so lauren’s url became lrauen, and to match with her mine became mlaenie, which i abandoned on tumblr after about a year or so? but have continued to use as my main username on twitter, reddit, youtube, xbox, steam, and discord. i barely ever use any of these accounts aside from twitter, steam, and xbox, but yeah. so i’ve decided to try and turn this empty sideblog into a place for video game thoughts maybe. we’ll see how long it lasts this time around.

how long have you been on tumblr?

i made my first tumblr account in december of 2010, but i didn’t understand how to use it at all or how to customize my theme to look cool and unique so i quickly abandoned it. i made a new account in september of 2011 after some kids at school and my sister told me i should and i have been trapped here with varying degrees of activity/inactivity ever since. i have witnessed the rise and fall of the lorax/onceler fandom, hyperfocused on lord of the rings, star wars and back to the future all at the same time, and for the past 4 years i’ve mostly been a musical theatre blog with assorted other fandom stuff mixed in. i feel i have seen everything and nothing, but mostly i’m just tired and bored.

do you have a queue tag?

no bc i don’t use a queue. i’ve tried using it in the past but i irrationally feel pressured to sustain a coherent theme to queued posts and my brain simply does not vibe with that so i just don’t use it at all anymore. Instead i instantly reblog or post several unrelated thoughts in succession and then don’t post again at all for 3 days. the way god intended

why did you start your blog in the first place?

my very first blog was intended to be a place for me to post all of my petz 5 animals’ profile info, but i didn’t have any understanding of how coding worked at all and i don’t think i really wanted to learn, either. so it just sat there, unused. my second attempt at blogging was as a classic rock fandom person, so as you can probably imagine i was pretty pretentious about ‘modern pop’ vs the beatles, the rolling stones, the who, the monkees, and so on. and then i slowly devolved into a lorax fandom blog and everything went to shit so i made a new blog for lord of the rings/the hobbit which later evolved to include star wars and back to the future blogging. and then for the past 4 years i’ve been mainly a musical theatre blog with other random stuff i like thrown haphazardly into the pot. wonderful.

why did you choose your icon/pfp?

because my url is transalana and two of my most prominent lgbt headcanons are that alana beck is trans and a lesbian. i gotta be shouting out @kinqmike though bc she’s the one i adopted the trans alana beck headcanon from in the first place!

why did you choose your header?

in 2017 i was hyperfixating on Dear Evan Hansen (and Be More Chill, but there weren’t many gif-able videos then considering it ran for a month in New Jersey in 2015 and there was only one yet-to-resurface 35 minute bootleg) so i just grabbed a random gif off of google. i really should get to replacing it with a new header of my own though. i just don’t know what i should do for it.

what’s your post with the most notes?

i have lost track of how many notes it has (i think it’s somewhere around 200 now?) but when Will Roland and George Salazar performed Two Player Game on Good Morning America, i posted a screencap of their Jeremy and Michael along with that one quiz answer meme that says stuff like ‘i want to see it grow up healthy’. i didn’t tag it with any ship names or anything because i was anxious about having it show up in the tags, but somebody who reblogged it from me did tag it as boyf riends and i firmly believe it took off because of that. i don’t think i make posts that are relevant enough to amass thousands of notes, even by accident. which is probably a good thing bc if i did i would have to block so many of them.

how many followers do you have?

on this blog? 175 according to the counter. how many of those are still real people and how many are bots and abandoned accounts? i have no idea.

how many people do you follow?

i try to keep it somewhere around 200. i think i’m sitting at 180 right now but i kind of need to go through and clear out the really inactive blogs.

have you made a shitpost?

let’s think about this for a second. i’ve been on tumblr for nearly 10 years. you might even be able to say i’ve made more than one. they’re just not what you would call...popular shitposts.

how do you feel about ‘you need to reblog this’ post?

that stuff makes me so incredibly anxious that i have to fight the urge to want to yeet my laptop or mobile device through the closest window whenever i read it, so i try very hard to avoid any sort of ‘if you don’t reblog this, i’m judging you’ posts. i find them very manipulative and not particularly helpful

do you like tag games?

yeah babey!! i just frequently forget to do them, but please know that if you have ever tagged me in a tag game i felt incredibly touched by the gesture and the @mention even if i completely forgot to do the thing afterward

do you like ask games?

i do! but also rip to literally anyone who has ever sent me an ask meme bc it takes me so long to answer them. i’m still working on a micro fic prompt from a few weeks ago. also, horrified to realized that it has in fact been a few weeks and not 3 days anymore.

which of your mutuals do you think is tumblr famous?

i don’t know that any are tumblr famous as a whole. but probably @neverheardnothing

do you have a crush on a mutual?

in any sort of romantic connotation? no. not that i’m aware of. there are mutuals that i have friend crushes on where i want to be friends with them but i get so anxious when it comes to meeting new people that usually nothing ever comes of it. i’m really not good at small talk or other casual conversation either which, as you may or may not be able to imagine, sucks. i just wanna skip over all of the awkward introductions and ‘hey how are you, how is life, what are you doing with yourself?’ stuff. not because i don’t care about it. i do, but i think most of my friends/the people i want to be my friends are also depressed and anxious so asking these basic questions about life tends to uh. make us all nervous. and i don’t do much with my life so i always have the most boring answers anyways.

i’m not tagging anyone officially bc the @ thing has just completely given up on me at this point, but if you want to do it, go for it. and then say i tagged you so i can read it c:

[rpbetter]

a vent (feel free to ignore if it's too much!): so recently i've noticed psd makers getting anon asks on whether they're ok with people who write certain topics (mostly rpf, incest, rape, underage, the usual "problematic" topics) using their recourses. now, i don't roleplay any of these subjects on tumblr, so even if a content creator said not to use their stuff, it's not even something i need to worry about - but, and maybe this is me overthinking it, what if i, someday, write a noncon fanfic on ao3? i'm still not using their resources on the subject or writing it on tumblr, but i'd probably feel weird about it, like i'm crossing some boundary. what if a psd maker whose content i've already purchased suddenly goes "actually don't use my psds if you rp abusive relationships", which is probably the closest to what people consider "taboo themes" of the things that i roleplay. it just feels like a fine line between personal boundaries and a shitty situation for a customer - not wanting to cross boundaries but already having PAID for something previously, when no such rules existed. it's making me want to 1. block everyone i see saying this, because even though i don't personally roleplay the topics above, i don't feel SAFE around people who tell others what kind of fiction they are allowed to enjoy and 2. just quit using people's resources and spend years learning to make my own psds so i won't have to worry about this shit. it's just stressing me out, as someone who has been harrassed and bullied online for speaking against censorship. i've had literal sock accounts made just to spew targetted harrassment at me on twitter. i've been accused of being a pedo and supporting incest and this is??? literally for saying "i don't think real people should be harrassed for fictional shit", i've not even shipped underage or incest ships. both make me uncomfortable. but fuck, antis make me 1000000x more uncomfortable than people who ship these kinda ships. i digress, this got rambley, i just. do you have any advice on what to do with the potential psd situation, or am i really just overthinking it? (always worried i accidentally send stuff like this off anon. help)

I need you to know that I actually had to rush-scroll back up and just double check that you did submit on anon lol! I always get worried I'll miss the one person who accidentally didn't use anon, if it makes you feel any better! When someone does submit with their URL attached, I message them first to be sure they are okay with them having it posted that way/it wasn't an accident ;) That's what I would want someone to do!

Alright, so, anyhow...

I've also noticed that becoming a more common thing and it's been on my (maybe huge) list of things to look into for a bit because I really do try to make sure I'm not just noticing things in my areas of the RPC/failing to notice things that do not impact me. Since I do all my edits and graphics, it falls into the first category for me. So, thank you for moving that up the list and informing me that it really is more prevalent and not my imagination!

My take on seeing it was a combination of business logic and anxiety, not going to lie.

On the first: charging to do a psd that is just that, just a psd file being used as a template/to act as an easier version of a photoshop "action" in a way, that's 100% legal and fine. Absolutely no muddy waters there. However, charging to do things like icons, edits, etc. that include images of celebrities and stills from movies (or gifs) is quite muddy. Legally, it's not legal. It's a thing we're allowed to do and use (on most platforms) because we're not making money off of it, we're not claiming to hold rights to the images, and so on - it's ignored but illegal. Charging money for it, however, even when phrased as "for my time" (which, absolutely valid feeling), is a more serious form of illegal and potentially attention-getting. This all gets more iffy though when we add donation instead of direct commission/purchase when working with these copyrighted materials. You can ask people to donate and suggest a donation based on your time spent, and that is always what I advise people to do.

Okay, so, that preface is necessary because the thing about stipulating use-rights is that they're iffy, too, there are variables present.

Often, these same people are charging for things like icon packs as well, meaning that even if they're only charging you for a template-style psd file sans imagery they don't own, they've kind of shot themselves in the foot. Not to mention, it's exceedingly damn hypocritical to pitch a fit about someone violating your rights when you're literally using other people's copyrighted materials lmao And that does tend to occur to me, yeah, it's a consequence of attorney friends and running businesses.

The other issues with this are that usage rights have to be stated at the time of purchase and morality clause-style shit, as pertains to products, is not legally binding.

When you purchase something like a psd file, that purchase acts as a sort of contract.

Think of like...buying a photoshop brush set - the person selling it puts very simple rules as to its use, such as: non-commercial use only, brush pack cannot be resold or distributed for free, separate brushes from the pack cannot be resold or distributed for free individually. Meaning that you own the brushes you bought, but you are not legally allowed to make real-life money from anything you use them in, and you cannot send the whole pack or files individually to friends for free or charge other people for them. By buying these, you have agreed to these stipulations of use and ownership.

If the person sells psd's and you agree to what they've stated about the use (you can't use them to do commissions you make IRL money from, you can't give them away to friends, etc.), that's binding even somewhere as casual as RP Land. The exchange of real currency makes it that serious.

However, there are limits to stipulations of use! One of those things is when you agreed - this person cannot, even one literal second, later change their terms of use and retroactively hold you to them. If they were okay with you not crediting them anywhere or using them in works you will gift others or charge others something like game currency for at the time you purchased, then that's it. Tough shit for them, not you, when they decide a month later that they want credit given where the work appears, that they do not want finished products gifted, or don't want you to make even in-game currency from them.

And that absolutely would apply to the morality wank, yes.

Except that this very morality wank comes with its own issues. Reality is not tumblr. In reality, at least in most instances and countries, you can't throw in a fucking morality clause regarding the buyer, use of item, or finished product.

Think of this in this way: Chik-Fil-A starts denying chicken and waffle fries to anyone suspected of being queer. They're legally allowed to run their business (as a private business, everything does have variables) with some things that are morally objectionable that they feel morally aligns with their religious beliefs. They're not allowed to deny queer workers a job or queer customers service, however, in accordance with overarching laws.

While "being gross" online in fiction is not like, making anyone a protected status person lol this is just an extreme example to drive home the point. Legally, when it comes to items/products be they digital or physical, your rights and responsibilities as the seller don't include your moral policing.

What your right is, is to make people uncomfortable to a degree, yeah. You absolutely can do that. You can state some nasty shit about prospective buyers you don't want. For example, they should (I mean, they should just grow up and get some real concerns, but) be stating that they would not like to see their psd's used by people on this following DNI list of idiocy, and they will block those users if possible to prevent interaction and purchase. That's really it, that's what they can do and the least immature way to proceed.

On the second: none of this logic would make me feel comfortable about interacting with them and their psd's in the future once they had outed themselves as morally objectionable and dangerous to me with this nonsense. And I would still feel anxious about using things I had previously bought because once harassed...it doesn't really go away, does it? It would just give me some ease about the latter with things I'd already made. Like, I could keep using the icons I'd made with those psd's with a little bit more comfort knowing that they honestly have not a leg to stand on outside of their harassment.

I might have the tendency to respond to harassment without much upset, but that doesn't mean I want to be harassed. Especially when I am not doing anything that draws that kind of attention. Not that harassment is warranted over anything, but when I make a PSA or answer an ask that I know is likely to get their attention and piss them off? That's an acceptable risk I am knowingly taking. When I'm just going about my life as a RPer, it isn't.

So, I don't feel like you're overthinking it or being too concerned! In no way did you sign up for getting unwanted attention, and because it has happened before, of course, you're trying to insulate yourself from having it happen again. That's totally reasonable!

Now, what you could do about it...

It's another of those situations in which we're only truly capable of controlling ourselves. Everyone else is kind of a NPC.

You don't have to do anything I'm suggesting, but these are things I would do!

I would block the shit out of anyone saying these things/trying to make them stipulations, yes.

By that, I mean that I would also visit blogs they appear to interact with and they'd be blocked as well. We can all reblog something like resources or a shit post from a user we do not agree with without realizing it, but when it's frequent reblogs, direct support, and friendly vibes going on, it's safer to assume that they are aware their friend sucks. More importantly, that they do not think their friend sucks and support their views.

Even if that is not the case, do you want someone else's repeated inattention to expose you to bad actors? Nope! So, don't run the risk of paying and otherwise interacting with the one resource blog in the group that doesn't express these views/"requirements," but does involve themselves with those who do.

Try to find people selling these resources, that are not connected to the problem ones, who do not have those views. Once a trend starts, it is very hard to stop until it has run its course naturally, so, this might be difficult and take some extreme effort. You might want to consider asking like-minded friends who use psd's where they got them so you can check those users out for yourself.

If they're all the same, problem, people...

Look for users well outside of your corner of the RPC(s) who are not asking to be paid. I know it sounds wild, but there really are RPers out there who just enjoy making things for others! I can think of at least one right off on my dash. They might not be advertising for doing psd's or psd packs, but either they might be willing to do so (especially if they do not appear policing-positive) if you explain what is going on, or they could at least fill some requests for you for fully made icons and such. Hell, people who love doing this work usually know others who do as well, and anti-policing people quite reasonably stick together. They could have suggestions for someone not vile selling psd's.

Depending on what it is you want your psd's to do, I promise you that it wouldn't take you very long to learn it. I know...I know lol that's both really easy for me say when I've been doing it for over twenty years and am about to piss some people off. The latter because the most common settings on popular psd's are extremely simple shit, a lot of that is the kind of thing you're expressly told not to do in design work. Like ramping up extreme contrast, pixelating the fuck out of an image, and turning up the primary colors only. Once you get to playing with photoshop or an equivalent, you will totally see what I mean. You can accidentally make an icon look identical to something that is on trend in the RPC. If that was what you were going for? You've hit the mark, and it's just repetition and tweaking it here and there!

Once you start playing with it, too, it's actually pretty intuitive when it comes to the basic things like resizing, adjusting colors and contrast, and doing easy effects like blurs and sharpening. Frankly, playing with it is better than half the tutorials you'll find because they get unnecessarily complicated when all you want to do is crop your muse's face, overlay some color, and add a damn dotted border. Listen, like I said, I have a lot of experience...and I find many tutorials frustrating and overwhelming!

It is not just you, you're not dumb or anything. People get very comfortable with something and when they try to explain it to others, they use terms and methods that are more advanced or specific to them than they realize. That's all!

If you have friends who make their own things, ask them some very basic questions about what you want to do. They know you, so, they'll know better how to explain to you, specifically. Just keep it simple until you've had some time to experiment! Ask things like, "I want to take this image, resize it to be an icon, and add an orange tint to the image while sharpening only my muse's features...how would I do that? Easy mode?"

And! You don't even have to pay for photoshop or pirate it anymore! Photopea is as an exact copy as possible entirely located in your browser for free. It's all overwhelming at first, a real case of too many options and ways to do the same thing, but the only way it gets less overwhelming is just diving into it. Dive in, get a little frustrated, have some successes, make some awesome discoveries, it gets a bit addicting in short order. Then, the tutorials and tips are so much easier to figure out and expand on, too.

If you'd like, you can always send me a pm here and ask me. I'm happy to try to explain how to do things, zero judgment or impatience. Just an additional option if you both decide to try learning and would feel comfortable doing that. Zero judgment as well on not wanting to do either of those things!

Okay, this one is much harder than learning PS basics because it's honestly a bit terrifying...the way these people are, they're going to take issue with you no matter what you do, and in the end, if they notice you and feel like bothering you, they will. There's literally nothing you can do about it. All you can do is try to buffer yourself, stay away from them, and be aware that you are not the problem.

Like with the AO3 thing or writing what could be viewed as toxic relationships. You can never write or be interested in a single, solitary thing that they're on about (and accusing you of doing in real life when the burning Eye of Moron turns your direction), but to them, you supporting the right of other people to do so is just as bad as doing it yourself. To them, the toxic relationships not only would be problematic, they'd be problematic enough. Being uncomfortable with their policing and feeling unsafe because of it is, to them, a red flag of how problematic you are. Writing anything they've deemed objectionable (or reading or viewing it, for that matter) anywhere, doesn't have to be on this platform or RP-adjacent, doesn't have to actually utilize any of their materials, is enough.

They're absolutely including you in who shouldn't use their shit. That's part of the "logic" and methodology of policing. Everyone is problematic, so, everyone can be labeled a pedo and harassed without too many people getting up in arms about it. No one is safe, so, everyone better behave. You don't actually have to be engaging with or enjoying things like underage, non/dubcon, rape, abusive relationships, etc.

It's gross, it's bullying, it's actually a problem...and there isn't much you can do.

All that is truly up to you is making an effort to avoid them, though, this is very often unfair and likely to get more unfair as resource blogs of all sorts deal in it more. At least, in this case, you do have some small bit of actionable power - by not ever buying from them. They wouldn't be charging if they did not either need or want the money, not giving it to them is a bigger hit than things like simply unfollowing/blocking, reblogging PSA's, and so on is!

Nope, it isn't like you're denying them some extreme amount of money by yourself, but every three, five, ten dollars is felt pretty hard when you desperately need money and/or are saving for something.

I know, I mean, I personally do know, that it's impossible to "get over" bullying, Anon. I'm in no way telling you to just get over it and move on, find some great well of not caring somewhere! What I'm saying is that there is power in not giving them power. The power to make you anxious, uncomfortable, unsafe, when you have every right to be here doing your thing and are not hurting anyone. And it might seem to be a deeply contrary sort of logic, but realizing and accepting that there are people out there who irrationally dislike you for literally no reason, that you cannot infallibly escape or avoid, despite doing nothing wrong is a bit empowering. Because it puts into perspective the things you can control, and when we know what is in our control, it's easier to just enjoy our time here without constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop. If it drops, we can go put it back in the closet where it belongs.

It starts to put a positive spin on the whole, damned if I do, damned if I don't feeling, if that makes sense? I'm probably way too tired to try to be explaining this lol I'm sorry!

Anyway, again, I'm not implying you can or should do any, let alone all, of those suggestions! I just really hope that something will help you feel even a little bit more at ease. It's an unfair situation, it isn't right, and you have every reason to be uncomfortable and stressed. If I could make it happen, you better believe that every policing asshole out there would be writing heartfelt apology letters and sending donations to everyone they've upset lol but...since I can't make that happen, all I can do is say what I, personally, do, would do, or have done.

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #330

“and i don't want ya  /  and i don't need ya  /  don't bother to resist, or i'll beat ya  /  it's not your fault that you're always wrong  /  the weak ones are there to justify the strong”

If you have a job, do you like it? I'm unemployed. Do you like any kinds of fruit? Well of course. Are you waiting for something right now? Covid and this headache to fuck off, May for my tattoo, to be paid to take some pictures again... What is your favorite kind of animal? Kind, not the actual animal itself? In that case, social species, usually mammals. What kind of Dippin' Dots do you like? Holy shit, I haven't had that in like a damn decade or something. I don't know, I barely remember the taste. Who is the most badass woman that you can think of? My mom. My mother is a fucking warrior. Do you have a Pinterest account? Yeah. I get a lot of photography ideas from there, as well as base pictures to make Mark icons, haha. If you were to write a book, what would it be about? The stories I and my friends have weaved in RP. Have you ever seen the television show The Munsters? AHHHHH YES!!!!! Mom loves that show, so I used to watch it with her growing up. Have you ever written one of those 'Roses are red...' valentines? I don't think so. Would you/have you spent more than $200 on any one person for a holiday? I haven't, but I would for certain people. Do you have a favorite Robin Williams movie? Probably Night at the Museum. Thoughts on Slender Man? Have you even heard of him? I think it's a cool creepypasta; he does look pretty unnerving with his height and especially lack of a face. The movie was good too, btw. Do you know what the Tardis is? I think almost everyone does in this generation, haha. Doctor Who ain't no joke to a whole lot of people. Are there any children's shows that you'd watch today if they were on? Sure, like Pokemon or Avatar: The Last Airbender, among others. I wouldn't at all be opposed to watching The Lion Guard, either. I actually want to, with my whole TLK love. I'm not embarrassed to watch "kids" shows or movies at all. What would you call yourself the King or Queen of? Having not an ounce of knowledge on how to love things in moderation/avoid total obsession with things, haha. If I paid for you to take karate lessons, would you? No, especially not now with my legs. Do you read more fiction or non-fiction? Almost solely fiction. What modern technology are you especially grateful for? Laptops, ig. Do you have a favorite science topic? Genetics. Very fascinating stuff. Have you ever read any Sherlock Holmes stories? No. What is the saddest movie that you've ever seen? Either Johnny Got His Gun or Boy in the Striped Pajamas. What's your most popular post? On what? If Facebook, I don't really know. Possibly my "coming out" one or a lovey-dovey essay when Sara and I were together. On Tumblr, it's definitely the gif I made of Mark and Chica (his dog) with I think over 10k notes. Manga or anime? Anime. I don't read manga, though I've been tempted with Deadman Wonderland since the show only had one season and ends on a ginormous cliffhanger, but there's more story to be had. A card game that you're good at? None, really. A popular book you haven't read yet? To Kill a Mockingbird. I feel like every school student has read it at some point. Favorite Mean Girls quote? I don't know any. It's a fine movie, but I've never understood the hype. Name your top 3 albums from your favorite band/artist. Black Rain, Ozzmosis, and... then I can't choose. I love so, so many very dearly. Name your top 5 music videos. I don't really watch music videos, so I definitely can't name five. My #1 favorite is probably "Wrong Side of Heaven" by Five Finger Death Punch; I absolutely cannot watch it without crying. What are you most passionate about? How did this passion develop? Animals. I was born simply adoring animals and have always wanted to protect them and their environment. Do you like monkeys? Do you believe in evolution? Yes and yes. We've literally watched it in action. What embarrasses you the most in front of other people? Discussing RP if you're not involved in it. I'm terrified of people thinking I'm weird. Have you considered running for president? Absolutely not. Which famous person would you like to be BFFs with? I'd say Mark, but I'd be way too interested in dating him instead of being just friends, haha... So with that said, maybe Bindi Irwin? Would you ever go skinny dipping with the last person who commented you? Lyndsey would be that person, so no. She's a great friend of mine, but realistically I'd probably only ever - if ever - do that with the company of my s/o. Are you still friends with the last person who broke your trust? No. How long did your last relationship last? Around two years. Have you ever been banned from anywhere? Online, yes, as a little kid on the Animal Planet forum, haha... Has anyone kissed you when you weren't expecting it? Yeah, Juan. Did you like it? It was a sweet moment, but I didn't want it. Does your dad smoke? Like a chimney. Is your mom over 50? Yeah. Are you currently listening to anything? Yeah, kinda hooked on "The Horrible People" by Manson. I've found a lot of great music lately. Would you ever consider getting breast implants? No, but once (if...) I lose all the weight I want, it's going to be a moderate priority to get a breast lift. I've hated my body way too fucking long and am dying to be satisfied with it again, and with how much weight I need to lose, I would essentially have grandma tits. :x Do you know anyone who is bisexual? Me, haha. Among some friends. Who would you tell, or who did you tell when you lost your virginity? That's not something I'd just go to tell someone afterwards for no reason... I'd only ever mention having lost my virginity if I was actually asked or if it was relevant to a conversation. Is there something you have been trying to learn lately? I'm really trying to practice opposite action and behavioral activation, among other things I've learned in group therapy. When you think about your future career, do you envision yourself becoming the head honcho or CEO? If not, why not? Well, I want to be my own boss as a freelance photographer. In any other job, I definitely wouldn't want that. Too much responsibility and leadership skills. Can you think of a time when you seriously misjudged a music artist based on their name? I don't think so? Have you ever kissed someone that you didn’t really want to kiss (not assault, just indifference)? Why did you go along with it and how did you feel after? Yes, Tyler. I felt like I was "supposed to." I felt really uncomfortable afterwards. If you have to wake up early for something, what time is just TOO early for you to be there and be presentable and sentient? Have you ever had to be somewhere that early? Probably like, 5:00. No. Have the majority of your romantic relationships started with a physical attraction or a deeper connection? Always an emotional connection. Did you ever write a fan letter to a celebrity? How about submit something to a magazine? No to both. What hair color is the most attractive on the opposite sex? Of natural colors, black, but I like unnaturally dyed hair most. Where do you like to go to when you are stressed? On a carride, so long as I'm controlling the music nice and loud and not talking. Where do you go to get your hair cut/dyed? To a family friend's little salon/small business. Why do you want the career that you want? Because I adore art and think it's pretty darn magical that you can freeze a moment forever to not just remember in your head, but actually see. Have you ever watched iCarly? Yeah, I enjoyed it when I was younger. What was your favorite class during your sophomore year of high school? Art. Do you wear bandanas in your hair? No. Have you ever been on a blind date? No, not interested. How many living grandparents do you still have? None. Have you ever worked in an office? No. Who does the grocery shopping in your house? Mom. Have you ever stayed in a hotel without your parents or older relatives? No. Did you have an Easy-Bake oven when you were little? Sure did. Have you ever seen a donkey? Yeah. Have you ever made out in a hot tub? Pretty sure no. Do you always flush the toilet after you use it? Yes. What were the last words you said to your dad? Probably "bye, love you." Have you cuddled with someone you weren’t dating? Nah. Who has the ability to hurt you the most emotionally? JASON. Are you a really understanding person? Yeah, very. Are you the type of person that enjoys getting hugs? Yes. When’s the last time you wore a wig? For a witch costume many years ago. Why were you last hospitalized? Suicide attempt. What’s the longest you’ve ever gone without food? At least 12 hours, but I think I almost went a day once back when recovery started and my appetite was non-existent. What was the last name of your third grade teacher? Mrs. Britt. How was the last chicken you ate cooked? They were chicken tenders. What is your favorite kind of chip? Hot crunchy Cheetos. What grade did you have your first boyfriend? 7th. Have you ever been told that you’ve lost weight? Yeah, back when I actually WAS losing loads of weight. >> Do you have the same political views as your parents? Some things, but definitely not all. Does anyone call you babe/baby? No. Have you ever made a significant other cry? Sadly. If you could make your lips bigger, would you? Maybe just a teeeeny bit. Are you one to sneak food into movie theaters? Yep. Fuck them prices. Are you prone to illness? Definitely not. What races do you usually date? History says Caucasian, but I have no actual preference. I'll date any race. What’s your cup size? C. Ever flirted with a teacher? Yikes, no thanks. Who was the main cook of your Thanksgiving meal last year? My older sister made the most stuff. Have you ever been dumped really harshly? Well, considering it literally traumatized me... Do you have any ex’s you can’t stand anymore? No. Are you more of a phone or a computer person? Computer, definitely. When was the last time you made a sandwich? What did you put on it? Yesterday for lunch. Ham, American cheese, and mustard. Have you ever made friends with someone that you didn’t expect to get along with? Yeah. Do you own any accessories with your name on? No. What brand of eyeliner do you use? I pay no attention to this. Have you ever been sexually harassed? No. Have you ever sent a naughty text message? Suggestive ones, yes. How long have you had your pets? Roman, around two years. Venus, around three or four years. Who was the last person to tell you that they love you, other than family? Sara. Has one of your friends ever tried to hook you up with someone? Colleen tried obnoxiously hard to push Girt and me together. We all went out to eat pizza once just as friends hanging out, and this bitch prefaced an uncomfortable and nosy question to him with an even more uncomfortable "because I'm trying to get you in her pants...", and that, my friends, was the closest occasion I've ever come to slapping someone right across the face. I looked at her in absolute disgust, and Girt was clearly thinking "what the actual fuck" as well. I do not miss her feral mouth. Are you good at staring contests? No. Eye contact is very difficult for me to maintain. Do you like peanut butter? I love peanut butter. When was the last time you had to present something to your class? In this mandatory but entirely pointless entry class at my last college, we all had to do like this PowerPoint introducing ourselves. I hated it. Who was the last person that told you they missed you? I think my friend Chelsea. What store is your favorite shirt from? It's not a real store, but rather an online brand: Cloak. Mark is one of the owners/creators so I obviously support them intensely. Have you ever fell off your bed while you were sleeping? No, thankfully. Do you have something you’re supposed to tell someone, but you haven’t yet? No. What type of food do you never really eat? Vegetables, oops. Have you ever cut someone else’s hair? No. Do you like going to weddings? Not really, if I'm being honest. I'm only interested in photographing weddings for the only the couple pictures and pay, really. I'm not big on formal events. What’s your favorite flavor squash? I don’t like squash. Do you or anyone in your house have a severe allergy? No. Who was the last guest in your house and what were they staying for? Our landlord/family friend, just to hang out for a little bit and chat with Mom. What fad were you actually into? Hm. What was the last spontaneous thing you did? I'm not a very spontaneous person, so I really don't know.

[strrawberrymoon]

name  /  alias : leigh  gender  /  pronouns : female + she/her where  ya  from  ? : europe 👀 the  current  time :  18:53 height :  164 cm, i think that’s 5′4 job  or  major :  double major in sociology and media communications, still grinding pet  (  s  ) :  two dogs! one is a 7 year old maltese and the other a 3 year old cane corso favorite  thing  (  s  )  about  yourself :  im a great listener and i give great advice, i’m straighforward which some people don’t like but oh well, i’m pretty adaptable. i got some nice titties any  special  talents  ? :  i can roll my tounge in any direction + crack a lot of knuckles ajkdshaj

why  you  joined  hqclouds :  i’ve been itchng to write more lately, so when love told me about their group i thought i’d give it a shot !!

meaning  behind  url :  strawberry moon was just a recent occurance irl which was really cool + i associate marinette with strawberries for some reason, and i’m a big fan of the lady moon

last  thing  you  googled :  i’m having some issues with my michrophone and zoom so i googled how to fix it, but no dice

birthday  /  zodiac :  leo ! my birthday is august 11th in  your  opinion  ,  does  your  sign  suit  you  ? : yes and no. leo’s are very misunderstood imo, but each sign has the “more popular” or well known traits and then there’s the flipside of the coin—which i think suits me more myers  -  briggs :  ISFP / INFP moral  alignment :  chaotic idiot hogwarts  house : gryffindor

three  fictional  character  (  s  )  you  see  yourself  in  +  why :  i honestly see myself in katara from atla, the whole smothering mothering routine. it’s becoming a regular thing for my friends to say “thanks, mom” or “ok, mom” so i guess i’m the mom friend. also fred weasly... he’s a twin.. i’m a twin... that’s all i need. and lastly, and very leastly, neil josten from all for the game series. most of you probably don’t know it, but he’s a demisexual chaotic idiot who says “i’m fine” way too much for someone who is most definitely not fine.

i  started  roleplaying : probably when i was around 16-17 was my first official roleplay experience. it was on facebook and kind of a nightmare types  of  rps  i  enjoy :  i like college stuff and small town rps, but i also love plot heavy rps that push you into developing your muse. really anything that isn’t too restricting favorite  fcs  to  use :  i don’t have go-to faceclaims. i tend to make a character around a FC and then use them until i lose muse or just feel like they need to rest. switch it up a lot, but some faces that i’ve really enjoyed playing for a longer amount of time are steven kelly, cindy mello and ellen v. lora fandom  (  s  )  you’d  like  to  write  in : i want to write in all of the fandoms i know nothing about and look like a dumbass. also harry potter, the hunger games, avatar the last airbender, gossip girl, etc etc fandom  (  s  )  you  aren’t  in  but  are  curious  about :  marvel somewhat, any video games are very fascinating to me even though i’m not a gamer + know nothing about them, any distopian kind of fandom re: hunger games

share  a  funny  roleplay  horror  story :  recently an admin of a twitter rp tried to use my male muse for their weird ship narrative. they tried to make him look like an asshole (& i do play assholes but this one wasn’t one) + used another male muse to make it seem as if these two boys were fighting over the person’s girl, even though she actually had a ship all lined up. they were also running the gossip twitter, so they made up a bunch of stuff about our muses without our consent and consequently i told them to fuck off, and both of us left the group. then she had no more “groupies” so she cuffed and the group closed two days later. it was petty hilarious.

fondest  roleplay  memory :  once in an OC group, i wasn’t “technically” doing a ship with a friend, even though the characters had feelings for each other. but for some reason the status of their relationship was a hot topic group wide, meaning everybody had their nose in it and wanting to know what’s up, so they publically kept doing things to make people think they’re together while denying it in the same breath. it was really fun to let it play out like that.

favorite  canon  muse  (  s  )  to  play : roy mustang from fullmetal alchemist, katara from atla, and my baby marinette favorite  original  muse  (  s  )  to  play : the last original character i played and fell in love with was named alex. im obsessed with him. still doing 1 x 1 with his girlfriend. they’re having a baby, it’s all very emo and domestic. maybe i make him relapse for funsies. canon  ships  you  can’t  help  but  love :  lupin x tonks from harry potter, korra x asami from legend of korra, danerys x daario naharis from game of thrones, katniss x peeta from the hunger games, etc... trope  (  s  )  you  tend  to  be  guilty  of : i use the rich kid douchebag stereotype a lot. i also make a lot of my characters addicted to something to make them struggle with that.

i  prefer  .  .  . angst  ,  smut  ,  or  fluff :  bro... i am a sucker for ansgt and smut. i do fluff on special ocassions >:) long  or  short  replies :  i prefer when they start out shorter, but medium is my fave pre  plotting  or  chemistry : chemistry all the way. plotting can be really fun but it’s a miss more often than a hit for me. plotting can be good for pre-established relationships but that’s about it sentence  starters  or  headcanon  memes : sentence starters single  muse  or  multimuse  blogs :  i’ve never done a multimuse blog, and i’ve actually been super against them in the past, but i’m starting to change my mind hehe gif  icons  ,  medium  gifs  ,  or  static  icons : static (or none honestly)

grab  the  book  nearest  to  you  and  pull  a  quote  from  it :  ❝ You were children. was there no one to protect you? ❞ — ❝ Was there no one to protect you? ❞

what’s  a  quote  or  song  lyric  that  speaks  to  your  soul  ? :  ❝ I loved her, and sometimes, she loved me too ❞ 

top  current  celebrity  crushes :  zendaya, margot robbie always last  movie  you  watched :  365 days (2020) did  you  like  it  ? :  i hated it, what a waste of a perfectly good 2 hours  favorite  movie  (  s  )    of  all  time : harry potter franchise makes me nostalgic, perks of being a wallflower, my sister’s keeper favorite  tv  show  (  s  )  of  all  time : for some reason i’m obsessed with grey’s anatomy but i hate it favorite  tv  show  that  hasn’t  ended : well fricking grey’s anatomy favorite  series  of  books  /  novels  /  comics : the hunger games, harry potter sports  team  (  s  )  you  rep : my friend is into sports i rep her ksdsdj favorite  video  game  (  s  ) : the sims. i like playing animal crossing vicariously through switch owners favorite  youtube  channels : don’t usually keep up with yt channels but i just binged some stuff from psychology in seattle hobbies :  procrastinating

what  are  the  three  non  essential  things  you’d  bring  to  a  deserted  island  ? : sunglasses, hairtie, hand cream

put  your  music  on  shuffle.  what  six  songs  pop  up  ? : 

say goodbye by skillet, 

off the grid by alina baraz & khalid, 

bury a friend by billie eilish, 

break up with your girlfriend by ariana grande

get back by nine lashes

marry you by bruno mars (man)

personal  aesthetic : growing out my hair only to always wear it in a bun dream  vacation  ? : i just wanna go to the seaside with my friends dream  job  ? :  i literally can’t stand capitalism. wanna move to italy and collect berries and draw titties all day dream  car  ? :  something that drives itself if  i  could  live  anywhere  ,  it’d  be : somewhere in canada near the woods favorite  musical : mama mia? counts favorite  food  (  s  ) :  bananaaaaas, ice cream, cereal. these are all foods ok coffee  order : i don’t drink coffee unwatched  stuff  in  your  netflix  /  hulu  /  etc :  13 reasons why (i’m too bored), the flash, outer banks, elite, the half of it, intersteller, locke & key aaand some stuff that’s not mine but someone else using my account

what’s  a  subject  you  know  too  much  about  +  never  get  tired  of  talking  about  ? : idk anything about anything askldhl

[rpmemedumpster]

Hi, I'm an old Role Playing veteran. I've been trying really hard to get back into the semi literate rp world (do people still use these terms??) but all of my old rp sites and forums have been long shut down. Do you have any advice for me on where I can start my rp journey again?

Hello! I have no experience with forum rp, i only used to rp through private messages on DeviantArt, so if any followers here would like to chime in with more advice that would be superb! I have an rp aid tag that might help as well.

Anyway, tumblr is a pretty good site for rp if you ask me, because of the format. You’ve got your inbox people can send messages to and publish, and the nature of text-posts I’ve always found super helpful. I’m going to go into this assuming you’ve got no knowledge of tumblr rp so I hope this doesn’t come across as condescending or anything but I wanna be thorough!

Firstly! You’ll need info on your character (on tumblr, these are frequently called “muses”). 

A muse can be a canon character from a piece of media, or an original character. This information is best held on some kind of about or bio page, however those who roleplay on mobile cannot edit their blog pages to my knowledge so many have been hosting their bios on google docs, and linking to them in their description! This is the most important thing, because if nobody knows anything about your character, it’ll be hard to rp.

Next, a rules page!

Many will not want to rp with anybody who don’t have one. A rules page includes basically a little bit about your boundaries. Whether or not you rp with ocs, whether or not you engage in sexual rp, if you like to ship your character, things you need tagged, ect. If you don’t know where to start, it might be a good idea to look at some other folks’! I found that very helpful in my start on tumblr.

Get some kind of promotional post, and utilize the tags!

Some people create pretty graphics, I’ve got templates for them in my resources tag. Other people tend to do something a bit more simple, just an icon of their character perhaps and a little short advertisement of their character in a text post. People can find you if you use the tags. Say, if you’re roleplaying as Naruto, you’re gonna wanna tag the post as: #naruto rp, #manga rp,#anime rp, ect. For something like an oc you might want to tag it as: #oc rp, #fandomless rp, and any genres you might want to rp in such as #horror rp, #crime rp, #historical rp

Lastly, reach out! 

Sometimes the tags, especially original character ones, can be super flooded to the point where you might get lost in a sea of posts. Following people in my opinion is a good way to get noticed, because often they’ll check your blog out and maybe follow back. Some people are particular with who they interact with and there are some community specific terms I’ll link below but it never hurts to reach out and ask people if they’d like to roleplay.

Community terms: (some may be missing but i tried my best)

rpc: roleplay community

muse: a roleplay character. Can be an original character, or a character from an existing work. Sometimes real people as well such as youtubers but this is frowned upon generally.

mun or mod: the person who writes the character

ic: in-character

ooc: out of character. Can also be used to say a particular portrayal is poorly written, or not true to canon. (ie: this ___ blog is so ooc)

fc: face-claim, some blogs may used icons of actors or models in place of drawings for their characters appearance. FCs may also be from comics, manga, or cartoons.

mun fc: icons on ooc posts from the mun, different than the blog’s character.

private: (usually) will only roleplay with people who they follow, and also follow back

selective: this person may be choosy with who they chose to write with

semi-selective: this person is more open about who they write with, but will still deny some blogs

nonselective: this person will most likely right with just about anyone

musings: reblogged posts that often are something their character might say or think

thread: whatever particular rp scene that is being written. Usually takes place in the form of a text post.

meme/starters: something to be sent into the inbox for rp. Can be ooc or ic depending.

multiverse: multiple “verses” or timelies. Used for AU’s or for separating multiple ships.

multiship: this blog ships with multiple characters, each existing within separate timelines so that the character is not dating 10 different other characters at the same time.

multimuse: this blog has more than one character.

f2f: face-to-face, the characters are interacting in person

blog or online: a more meta (i guess?) style of rp where the characters are interacting on their tumblr blogs or otherwise online

one-liner: usually just dialogue in a response

para: a single paragraph in a response

multi-para: multiple paragraphs in a single response

novella: very long thread responses

group: a roleplay group! I don’t actually know how these work but that’s what this is.

indie: independent rp, not affiliated with a particular group.

fandomless: usually for an OC, this is an original character not created to exist within a pre-existing piece of media. tldr; not a fan oc/fan chara

self insert: an oc that exists to be the mun within the rp space.

Other helpful stuff:

new x-kit: very very helpful and a must-have as this will allow you to tag asks on desktop, check mutuals right on your dash, and most importantly trim posts so they’re not super long.

sessionbox: if you have more than one character you rp, and have a separate blog for each of them, this extension allows you to be logged into multiple accounts in different tabs

fancy text generator: lets you get text 𝓽𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝕝𝕠𝕠𝕜𝕤 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝖙𝖍𝖎𝖘, just by pasting in the plain text!

BeFunky: collage maker for moodboards and such

I hope this helps, if you have any more questions feel free to send another ask!

[bloodfcst-a]

                 HAPPY HALLOWEEN !

I don’t really do the whole milestone things these days, but I’ve been doing some deep reflection lately. This blog has been a journey & a reflection of my personal growth, a testament to my endurance. I’ve placed myself in an entirely new fandomless experience, have retained very little of the people I’ve known from the last 3 years I’ve been on tumblr rp, and I’ve been rebuilding my self-esteem from the ground up. I won’t lie, there’s been moments where it’s been really hard! But there’s also been moments where it’s extremely satisfying to know that I didn’t need to rely on anyone from my past-- that I’m fully capable myself of connecting with people & forming cohesive relationships if I really apply myself to it. 

2019 has been hard. I moved 2000 miles away from an unhealthy domestic situation, away from local connections I’d bridged throughout my high school and college years, away from anything familiar. I started a new job with an age group I had no familiarity with (and at that time, comfort level, too). I had to figure out housing in a new city, making connections, navigating. And even though I’m a seasoned solo traveler, there’s a difference between vacationing aimlessly and relocating somewhere aimlessly. I might be a Leo sun, so people think I’m confident and bold and daring.. and some of that is true! However, I’m definitely an Aquarius moon, and all of the intense fueled-by-emotions, the over-thinking, the “I’m pushing myself beyond my own boundaries and I’m not sure if this is sustainable” is mega accurate. I’m desperately trying to maintain a balance. And this, on top of chronic illness, is like... literally so difficult to manage as just... one individual.

While I do tend to mourn all the friendships that haven’t worked out one way or another, I have to say I’m incredibly grateful for all the connections that I do have currently. And so, in no particular order, I’d like to just shout out the names of those who constantly remind me of my value and worth, who encourage and inspire me, who motivate me, who I adore and... quite frankly, if it weren’t for you, I don’t know what I’d be doing. So. Thank you.

@garrotejima ! I don’t share this on the dash frequently, but you know personally that.... you mean the absolute world to me. The word ‘ best friend ’ feels really trite, quite frankly, and doesn’t really encompass or embody like... the amount of feeling I have for you. I’m so grateful. Thank you for all the laughs and tears you’ve allowed me to share with you. I have had so many low moments and so many sob stories and so many really devastating moments with you & not once have you ever made me regret it. I truly adore you & would do anything for you. I love you, Dean.

@shimmerseas !  Alex! We have truly survived some shit this year!! And you have been my role model throughout my experience with this blog. You spearheaded making me feel connected somewhere, helped me to actually connect with people I’d lowkey had been afraid / intimidated to speak to but had always admired, and like... you’re literally such a blessing! You’ve also been around for a while so like... u know what a shitstorm fandom experience I came from & somehow you’re still rolling around in this with me together. And now Tida & Yufi are best friends. I love this for them, naturally, but I truly love this for US & all the growing up we’re doing these days. Go team!

@dojiryu !  Oh, Danny... I’ve been admiring u for 38 years on this account ( but paci, it’s not even a year old! ) & it’s only lately that we’ve really started talking and plotting and stuff, but since the day I discovered your blog, you’ve brought me nothing but joy and comfort. To me, you’re like... idk, the ideal person when it comes to like... what the rp experience should be like. You’re such a role model. You’re never judgmental, you’re ICONIC, you’re having fun with what you do, you’re passionate, and you don’t back down from what you believe in. I admire you and your Kiryu so much. I spent so many months worrying that if I approached you I’d mess it up somehow & you’d never like me & I’d ruin everything.... but you’ve only ever been warm and kind to me. I cherish you so much. Thank you.

@nshikigoi / @extremepath ! WORM! I dunno, we just like hit it off the bat & I was just like, I see it, Nishiki & Yufi, the end. I’m so glad that we’ve been able to connect with one another. I adore all of our calls & talks & sessions together. icb I really let u drag me ( in more ways than one!! ) & now I’m dyin’ over Shenmue as well. Devil, you’re actually darling & let’s be real, I’ll probably just follow u forever.

@onlyliberty ! If I gush too much, two things will happen: 1) you’ll cry; 2) you’ll kick my ass ( pls don’t, I’m babey ). You only respond two ways!! But let me just say that like. I love you tons, thank you for like supporting me & wanting to be around me & always being down to connect even if we’re in way different fandoms or experiences or places in life. You’re always a gentle light in my corner I know I can reach out to, and that really means a lot to me... so thank you.

@sentofight @enshijou @damxum @meyvn @90smagicalboy @cihcreha @guiltpossessed @magitekelite @dawnled @tradittore @hananoken @residentangel @dramaytan @starszakrew @blogdepository @devilglow @flamereign @officiums @vibraea ! Thank you so much for always being available for me to just .... talk to, or to be there for me, or just your available support. It means a lot to me & I’m really grateful for your presence & company.

                                            & thank you EVERYONE for just being you! 

[arthur-rex]

5 / 7 / 14

Questions for Muns of Canon Muses // answered for @lespendragons​

5. What is an aspect of your muse’s canon material or canon existence that you never had the opportunity to explore but really want to?

Everything involving the legends that is/was too adult to be shown on a family tv drama. I want to explore Arthur the promiscuous lover who had sexual relations with his half-sister and various other women and illegitimately sired over a third of the boys who grow to become knights at his round table (naughty man). I want to write about Arthur the warrior, who once went on a rampage and killed over 470 warriors in a single day on the battlefield (according to Geoffrey of Monmouth’s account). And yes, I want to somehow relate all this morally dubious behaviour back to a king who still strives to do what he thinks is right, and who absolutely crucifies himself if he thinks he’s made an error in judgement somewhere. The character is made to be tortured, and while I try and balance that with lighter moments, it’s always a matter of time before the darker stuff comes back to bite. Ouch.

On a lighter note, I would also like to flesh out the headcanons I have for Arthur and his love of falconry, aka “The Sport of Kings.” I have it that Uther once gave his son a goshawk and laid down a challenge. If Arthur could tame the bird and call her to his fist within the week, then one day, he might similarly win the trust of his people. Did Arthur succeed in that challenge? Hmm. Well… let’s just say Arthur’s bird of choice nowadays is a peregrine falcon, named Iseult. She’s a fantastic predator, and very biddable to her master.

Anyway, @aquestionthatsneverbeenposed and I are exploring that with our Arthur and Merlin muses :)

~

7. For movie or TV muses, what is your muse’s favorite scene? Why? Can you show a screenshot?

I haven’t seen it yet, but…. I’m almost certain it’s going to be this iconic moment. (Quick google search got me this very nice gif - you’re welcome). In any version of the Arthurian legend, I absolutely love the connection between King Arthur and Excalibur. It’s the magic contained within that legendary sword (and its scabbard), coupled with Arthur’s undisputed prowess as a warrior, that makes them such a formidable combination. I love how in some versions, claiming Excalibur is the only way Arthur will be accepted by the people as the True King of Albion. In others, I really dig how it’s used more as a personal metaphor for Arthur to find the king inside himself, and in doing so, the enchantments binding the sword to the stone yield to him - and Excalibur is his. 

However it plays out in BBC Merlin, it’s got to be the character defining moment for our blond-haired prat and I’m really looking forward to it :)

Note: Just doing a little bit of research this evening, I see that Excalibur is actually given by the Lady of the Lake to Arthur (often via Merlin) and the “sword in the stone” actually goes by a different name: Caliburn. So apparently, that means Arthur has two magical swords in his possession. Hmm. Perhaps one of them could eventually be wielded by his significant other?

~

14. What is your ideal AU for your muse?

Oh dear. Haha. I have far too many AU ideas bubbling away in this brain for Arthur and those really unfortunate people he interacts with. I can’t decide which one grips me the most tbh, it varies very much with my mood. 

But I suppose if you’re asking me to pick, I’ll go with my dragon!Arthur AU.

“Deep within yourself, you must find the voice that you and Arthur share.   For your soul and his are b r o t h e r s.”

Full plot detail found [ here ] 

I must say I’m rather fond of it because it’s not only a fantastic opportunity for Merthur - it also incorporates dragons (which I geek heavily over - I’m a legit dragon fanatic) and provides a great opportunity to explore that Dragonlord mythology (which I am absolutely weak for). There’s also some rather nasty body horror elements with the transformation Arthur’s forced into, tons of angst and h/c, and a resolution which I think leads quite nicely to a series finale which I would love to see happen in canon. But we won’t get it, so there’s the AU.

Note: I know you asked and so I’ll spill. Armor has grown massively on me since starting to RP Arthur. Our extended AU is right up there on the top of the ‘favourites’ pile. I just primarily came to this fandom due to the Merthur which felt so obvious. I’m not going to deny my pull in that direction too.

[perfcell]

Do you have any tips or pieces of advice for someone who's looking to start up an rp blog for a character? I have plenty of experience roleplaying, but none of it is with tumblr.

//OH sure sure !! 

lets get the technical stuff out first, make the account for your new blog in advance, before you prepare anything else because tumblr has this anti-bots security system in place which doesnt allow new blog’s posts to show up in the tags (and tags such as #indie rp, #anime rp, #insert show here rp are pretty important in getting ur blog out there). you’ll also have to follow some people, get followed back by at least one, reblog+like some posts before your stuff starts showing up in the tags

of course u can disregard the whole promotion thing and just follow people and wait for them to follow you back, but if u want new people to find you without you actively looking for them, its good to drop something in the rp tag. but again, you dont have to do any of this.

ALSO IM PUTTING THE REST UNDER READ MORE BC IT GOT LENGTHY:

so heres stuff you can prepare (or not, its totally up to you !!)

icons - a relict of dreamwidth era , not necessary but i find that they add some zest to the interactions so personally, im a fan. usually 100px x 100px u can make them fancy or not, your choice. just get some basic facial expressions (but again, you dont NEED them)

themes - some rpers pay a lot of attention to blog themes, i used to be like that but tbh rn i dont think anything beats a nice basic theme w/ a readable font. hit up theme hunter and snag a theme u like !!! OR DON’T, thats totally up to you !!! 

also you can set your blog to dash only in the blog’s settings which means u dont have to bother w/ a theme !! its a popular thing in rpc nowadays !!!

oh and just a hint – id avoid using somebody’s art for icons or elements of theme… i mean sure u can credit them but hardly anybody looks at credits so idk id just avoid it altogether cuz the artists dont like that and theyre absolutely right. i used to use peoples art for icons and i had some artists reach out to me and ask that i dont do that and tbh now i cringe at my past-self for not seeing that its soo disrespectful of the artists

what to put on blog: 

about page - its a page where rpers put some basic information about the character they write as. it can be super important if youre writing as an OC (not many people will follow an OC if they dont know anything about them tbh) !!! if youre writing a canon character u can just resort to filling out a basic dossier (like listing their name, age, whatever… YOU CAN USE THIS and fill out what u like). or you know, do whatever. on cell, i just wrote a piece of Something and linked his wikipedia page lol. do what you feel like, its just a thing in rp community. 

rules page - slightly more important. this is where you set boundaries and introduce yourself ooc. after introductions ur expected to tell people what’s NOT ok by you, for example, you say that godmodding is not ok (godmodding is when people write in their own responses what ur character is doing), maybe shipping is not ok by you, maybe u dont want to write smut ever etc. you put all of that there and any additional info you feel the need to add (for example, asking people to tag certain triggers etc). try to browse other peoples rules pages to get the feel 

verses page - some blogs have a lot of specific verses like idk, an AU in which ur character is evil etc. this is a page where u can put them and add descriptions, UP TO YOU. i find that its less important than about or rules page, focus on those 2 first, especially the rules page bc its what people usually check out first before writing with u!! add verses later !!!

how to start an rp blog: 

OK so lets say you’re prepared and ready to write. i usually post a promo to announce my Arrival to the rp market. take a look at what’s in the indie rp tag for example, just to give you an idea what ppl post there. it used to be REQUIRED to post like… a graphic advertising ur blog but tbh these days u can just drop a text post (preferably with ur icon so that people know which character u write) and you say smth like ‘HELLO, a new (character here) RP blog here!!! like/reblog if youre interested in writing with me!!’ (ofc write whats natural to you, just introduce ur blog in whatever way u feel like it– OR DONT, YOU DONT HAVE TO DO THIS)

BEFORE POSTING A PROMO MAKE SURE YOUR POSTS SHOW UP IN TAGS FIRST. YOU MIGHT HAVE TO FOLLOW SOME PEOPLE FIRST (refer to this) – where to find those rp blogs?? refer to tags below.

what to tag your promo with: remember that only 5 first tags will show up in the search results. so pick some good tags, i think the most important tag is #(show/movie/books name) rp. heres my promo, u can check the tags i used there and come up with your own accordingly. and also browse these tags to find people to follow, like idk, lets say u wanna rp sb from naruto, then u hit up #naruto rp and just scroll and follow ! also avoid using swear words or nsfw words in ur promo bc tumblr will censor it lol

but remember YOU DONT HAVE TO POST A PROMO, THIS IS ENTIRELY UP TO YOU !!!!!

how to start WRITING on an rp blog:

ok so youve gathered some followers, now what. i usually just post a starter call! this is a post that people who want to write with you will like and you in turn will start a thread with them (doesnt have to be IMMEDIATELY, take ur time). you can also reblog rp memes which are like writing prompts people send to you (but i dont recommend starting ur rp blog w/ a memes barrage, people usually want to get to know your blog a little bit more before they send you a prompt). 

you can also wait for other people to post starter calls and then you like them (but check their rules first !!! for example, most people have a rule about being mutuals only, which means they will write you something only if youre following each other back), which also works. 

AND THATS HOW IT GOES !!! you are now writing on an rp blog. remember to take it easy and do what feels natural !!! browse some other rp blogs to get Inspired (but dont just lift things, stealing is a big no-no in the community). do what you feel comfortable with, if you dont want to make icons then dont! you’ll always find somebody who’ll write with you without icons (we just rly like them lol). be patient with others and yourself, read peoples rules, be nice, dont reblog an rp meme without sending a prompt to the person youre reblogging from (thats called reblog karma, if you dont wanna send a prompt then rb from the source), put yourself out there and UHH have fun !

[reedrph]

                                                                  REEDRPH

                HOW TO TWITTER RP (A DETAILED GUIDE)

As per request, I’m about to tell you how to roleplay in the Twitter roleplay community if you’re interested in starting.  This is just my take on Twitter roleplay, and I’m sure there are others with different methods. But I’ll try to break this down step by step with pIcTuReS because I fucking love pictures. 

TLDR; (Because im lazy)

GENERAL

Alright so if you’re unaware what twitter roleplaying is it’s roleplaying via Twitter; though you’ll find all the roleplay mains on tumblr in the ‘twitter rp’ tag.  Unlike tumblr roleplaying where you write in the third-person, for twitter roleplays you write in first-person. As it’s social media based your tweets come from a first-person perspective which means everything is ‘I’ based. However, it is not uncommon for people to roleplay out paras in the DMs just like how you’d write on tumblr.

Twitter roleplays are fast, everything is happening that day at that moment, opposed to tumblr groups where you may be doing a thread set a week ago. They’re great if you don’t have a lot of time, but still want to roleplay, or want to try out a more fast-paced environment!!

APPLYING

Honestly applying for a twitter group is pretty much the same as applying for an appless tumblr group. 

Now something that I tend to see a lot in twitter groups (at least the last time I checked the tag like three months ago MNXBXNBX and from my experience running them) groups drop into the tag but often won’t have their app up for 1-3 days. During that time they’re basically just building hype and gathering an audience, so when they do open it’ll be a swAMP of apps coming in in the first hour. If you like playing a popular faceclaim (like me and Jungkook) I find I rarely manage to snatch him up before anyone else.

But the actual app itself is normally easy, a lot of the time it’ll be requested you submit it opposed to using the ask box (since they may be a little bit too long for it) so prepare for that!!

SETTING UP AN ACCOUNT

Once you’ve been accepted it’s common to be given 6-12 hours to get your account in. You may think this is a short period of time, but you can put together a twitter account in 20 minutes.

A common theme, that I’ve never really experienced is people getting locked out of new accounts, though from my history using an email and cell phone verification can prevent this. (if you include your cell phone number go into your twitter settings and disable letting people find you from your phone number) As well as people say not mass following a bunch of people all at once also helps, so only follow 20 people at a time (I’ve mass followed 60+ blogs and have been fine)

If it’s a new account (or an old one you haven’t touched in a while), just like a new tumblr blog you may not show up in peoples notifs!! You need to be active first, which is why you may see people posting “//notifs” before things are even open for plotting. This is perfectly fine and the only reason you should tweet beforehand!! If you notice you may not be getting any replies the first night this is likely why, which is why you want to post ‘notifs’ and like some stuff first.

Usernames

When it comes to usernames (your @) people typically play off their characters first name and try to make it funny or interesting. Some examples of my own characters past and present would be:

grayson2gayson

jacobgotjams

theSINinSINNER

Alliteration is a good approach!! Pick words that share the same first letter and it’ll run smoothly. Or sometimes people's names can be turned or related to other things like:

VANITYNOTFAIR

BEVERLYhillsbaby

There are also common name ‘starters’ you’ll see used like:

‘WTF’CARINA

‘STFU’DARREN

‘WTD’TYLER

‘GDI’JAKE

‘1800′MARTINO

Really it’s very similar to how names are set up on tumblr.

Display Names

Display names are a little different than usernames, they’re found above the username and is actually what people see first. A lot of the time people will put in memes, TV characters, inside jokes, quotes, song lyrics really anything. Two examples of display names from my own accounts are:

For one character I’ve chosen a play on his name for his display name that being ‘50 Shades of Grayson’, and for the other I chose a meme, which is ‘Do you take teardrops?’. 

Really what you put in the display name can be anything.

Biographies

On every twitter account, you get a spot to put a biography this is where you can write a little blurb about your character, put in a quote, a joke, tell us their pronouns, and all that fun stuff. Though often if someone doesn’t know what to write for a bio you will see them just put “Bio for sale” as a little joke.

An example from one of my characters biographies which also includes the display name and username is as follows.

I just included a small amount of information about him, used the ‘location’ spot to include their pronouns, and then the website spot to link back to the main group.

Icons & Banners

Depending on what kind of group you’re in changes what kind of icon you may use. For instance, if you’re playing someone famous and rich you may use a shot from a photoshoot, or a magazine. But if you’re playing someone with a less glamorous job, it’s a bit more fitting to start out with a selfie or a candid picture of your muse. (Later you may break out the more HQ pictures, I find that happens a lot)

For example, if you’re in a less glamorous setting the picture on the right would be more fitting. While if you’re in a glamorous setting you can get away with more HQ pictures. (But tbh no one’s gonna question it either way, you’ll see people post photoshoot pictures for milestones a lot!!)

Banners can be anything, you can toss in a picture of a meme, an aesthetic (some people like to match their icons to their banners), if you’re in a ship it’s common for them to change their banner to a picture of the S/O.

Following the Main

Just follow them on twitter, sometimes people will send a little tweet with it like ‘// @.rpname character name has arrived’ or literally just “//@.rpname hi”. But for most all you have to do is follow the twitter main and they’ll follow you back, if it’s an unopened group they may not post a follow, but already opened groups always will!!

INTROS

Okay so you’ve gotten accepted and set up your account now it’s time for your intro. And intros change person to person, everyone has their own style!! I love graphics so mine occasionally are a little fancier, but not always!! 

It’s also common to end off your post with ‘LMS to plot’ which just means if someone likes it you DM them to plot.

IMPORTANT: Do not post tweets or your bio before the main gives the go ahead!! (Aside from the ‘notifs’ tweets)

Option One:

No bio post, you just introduce yourself in a tweet saying something along the lines of

“//Hey my names Reed, I’ll be playing Grayson and i don’t have a bio but he’s a 20 year old solo artist who’s been around here for two years. They’re pretty chill and kind of over dramatic.”

Option Two:

The lists, since a lot of people roleplay on twitter only through their phone you’ll see a lot of bios posted through a note app where they write down some general info, sometimes in lists, sometimes in blurbs. It’s not uncommon for people to post their characters app in it.

Option Three:

As someone into graphics a lot of the time I find myself being extra and just making pretty intros. This is not at all required or expected, but if you want to do it, you can.

PLOTTING

Plotting goes along with intros, it’s extremely common for someone to have a wanted connections list, or just say ‘LMS to plot”. Which means you’ll go to the DMs to plot with them. 

But there are also a decent amount of people who prefer chem over plotting, it all depends on what kind of person you are. 

TWEETING

If the main as given the go-ahead to start tweeting then it’s time to think of your first tweet. Now as I stated at the very beginning of this, twitter roleplaying is done from a first-person perspective (with the exception of if you para in the DMs but we’ll talk about that later.)

When it comes to OOC tweets make sure to always start them with slashes ‘//’ (one or two whichever you prefer), this is just the way of showing it’s OOC.

A lot of people tweet for their characters, like they would for themselves. This is very common in twitter groups, everyone puts a little part of themselves in their muses. But it’s also good to find ways to separate them so you aren’t playing to OOC. As it’s not uncommon for people playing more of a self-insert to feel attacked over IC drama that is not OOC, just since they’ve invested so much of their personal self in them. I personally often play characters opposite to my personality IRL to avoid this, however, if you roleplay and put a bit of yourself into the character there’s nothing wrong with that!!

Your first tweet will always feel like the hardest, which is why I typically choose to reply to other people first to take the pressure off before posting my own. But this can really be anything you could say what they had for breakfast, post something funny, or just say ‘hi’, it’s honestly up to you there’s no wrong way to start.  You can even post a selfie, typically most people do sometime in their first 100 tweets.

REPLY TO OTHER CHARACTERS TWEETS

This is so important, because one of the most common things I see is people who do not reply to other characters, but expect people to reply to them and then they start saying the group isn’t inclusive because they don’t have a lot of threads. But the first few days the dash is always super busy, meaning a lot of tweets will get lost in it, so don’t get sad if some of your tweets don’t get replies, not all of them will. So make sure you’re replying to other people, that’s how you build connections and stay included in the group!! If you ever see anyone posting to RPTs or sending anons to the main saying things are cliquey and you’re in your first 1-5 days, almost 100% of the time it is because they are not replying to enough things themselves!! 

If you’re active, posting your own tweets, and replying to tweets you can get above 100 tweets in your first night. (I’ve gotten 500-600 on the first night before)

You may see a lot of ‘LMS for a DM’ posts too, which just means if you like it, they’ll send you a DM.

SUPPORT OTHER CHARACTERS

Do you see that selfie on the TL?? Go like and retweet it!! Even post a reply on it if you’re really feeling it this is a fast way to make friends. Also, retweet any milestone posts you see posted!! It’s always nice to get support on your own character, which means you need to do it for others.

Also you should get out of your comfort zone, roleplay with faceclaims you may not normally roleplay with, or characters you don’t know.

In the end you'll come to understand more how things work as time goes on, and typically very fast.

DIRECT MESSAGES (DMS)

There are two types of general messages in the DMs (well three, but I’m giving the third its own category)

The first is OOC messages, used to plot, or communicate with your partner. Much like OOC posts on the timeline, you want to always start this out with ‘//’.

Now for IC messages. These are written just as you would write for DMing as yourself, the only difference is you’re doing it IC.  So here’s a fast example I made between two of my own characters to show you how it works. It really is very casual, and sometimes you’ll DM with people everyday, other times it may die out, it’s all about character chemistry.

PARAS IN DIRECT MESSAGES

So paras still do exist in twitter roleplays!! They just happen in the DMs opposed to on the timeline. Now there are two different ways of acting stuff out in the DMs and one of them is the para way (my personal preference) or some people kind of just talk it, which I’ll also explain.

When it comes to para’s, I’m not going to lie the most common times I see them happen is with ships, writing out dates or smut (no smut if yoURE A MINOR). Which you may lead up to happening through messages or hint at it, and then you just ask your partner

“//hey do you want to para this?” and typically they’ll say yes, sometimes people might be too busy. If this is the case you can just headcanon it OOC!! Which just means you discuss what may have happened.

So if you’re wondering what a para may look like, it could be something like this:

Now for the ‘talk’ version, it’s a little different, and I’m personally not a big fan of it, but if it’s my partner's preference I’ll do it. And basically you don’t write out the actions, you just hint at them in what they’re saying. 

So an example of what that looks like is the following:

OTHER IMPORTANT SHIT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT

Milestones: Milestones are when you hit a big number of tweets, for example every hundred tweets. People often celebrate by posting pictures, or videos. Though I find once I pass 1K tweets I don’t do milestones for every hundred, but I at least do them for every 500.

Indirects: An indirect is when someone mentions your characters name on the timeline, this means that when you search the name and hit ‘from people you follow only’ you can see it. These are great for selfie captions, so if you see someone asking for an indirect, give them one!!  An example of one would be if someone said ‘grayson is the wORST’, since they used ‘grayson’ I can find it in my indirects. When using this for a selfie caption you typically credit the person who said it with their @ for example if I made it my characters selfie caption I’d format it as ‘@.characterurl: Grayson is the wORST’.  Notice the period to separate the @ from the username? This is so they aren’t actually are tagged and get stuck with your notifications for that post.

Quirk: Some people like quirk, some people don’t. Basically, it’s characters who post memes constantly, make a joke out of everything, and are just very extra. I find that a nice middle ground is the best place to be.  Don’t let that be the only thing you post, and don’t be too quirky in serious situations. But a little quirk never hurt anyone!!

TWITTER RP LINGO

TL: Timeline

LMS: Like my shit/stuff/status

DN: Display Name

DP: Display Picture

DM: Direct Messages

RT: Retweet

BASICALLY THE DO’S AND DON’TS

Do:

Follow your group's rules!!

Run your plots by the admins!!

Reply to other people’s tweets (as many as you can, don’t be selective!!)

Post your own tweets!!

Retweet all selfies and videos you can 

Be a welcoming person!!!

Don’t:

Expect people to reply to your stuff if you are barely replying to anyone else.

Take IC drama as OOC

Be a shitty person, avoid being racist, sexist, homophobic etc, etc. 

Be cliquey

Guilt trip people for ships!!

Only look for ships / faceclaim hunt ships

Tag up on characters on the dash (if you see two people arguing don’t throw your character in, it’s overwhelming)

Turn people against other players characters. Even if you don’t like them, it’s not right to isolate someone like that.

Go to RPT blogs with your problems instead of the admins. You can’t solve problems that way, if you talk to the admins, they’ll try to help.  RPT blogs can’t, which makes you part of the problem.

IN CONCLUSION

That’s it MNBVCXZ If I missed something you want to know, send me a message!!