R.P. information and preferences

these aren't generally meant to be strict, so much as just guidelines and requests to help potential RP partners get a decent grasp of what i'm looking for. (or not looking for, as the case may be sometimes.)
unsure where a particular instance of something falls into on these lists? please feel free to ask! i'm always happy to clarify things.
colorful list entries with a dotted underline and down-pointing D.D.R. arrow
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favorites

the best! things i love! an R.P. doesn't need all of these things for me to enjoy it, though.
  • casual RP
  • character-driven R.P.
    meaning: the RP unfolds primarily through character decisions and actions, and there's only a weak or nonexistent overarching story driving the RP.
  • comedy
    both I.C. and O.O.C! i absolutely love things that make me laugh in RP, whether that's a character being silly, a ridiculous situation, or IC things that are memes OOC.
  • high fantasy
    a self-contained world, completely outside of the i.r.l. world and making no mention of i.r.l. world things or places
    settings
  • L.G.B.T.Q.+ characters
    i always adore seeing characters that are like myself around!!
  • OCs
  • pan-fandom settings
  • paragraph-style R.P.
  • separation of I.C. and O.O.C.
    this means "try to keep things that happen I.C. completely separate from O.O.C. feelings." i understand this can be complicated to do and some emotional bleed can happen, but completely taking all I.C. actions as O.O.C. offenses isn't something i'm willing to deal with at all.
  • short-term R.P.
  • "show, don't tell" (especially with regards to characters and their backstories)
  • understanding, chill R.P. partners!

totally okay with!

don't feel like you even have to ask about anything on this list.
  • bending / breaking of official lore
  • canon characters
  • character injury (
    minor
    won't affect my character noticeably outside the current RP session
    )
  • E.R.P. (involving characters that are not played by me)
  • having to end an R.P. early for OOC reasons
  • I.C. drama
  • long-term R.P.
  • most R.P. styles
    i will say upfront when i don't think i can work with a particular style, though i'm very flexible and will usually try to match the writing preferences of my RP partners. (at least, within my capabilities!)
    i'm also completely fine with script-style RP, which i'm specifically stating because over the years i've noticed a lot of people are weirdly hostile and elitist towards script-style RPers.
  • new / otherwise inexperienced R.P.ers
  • players who are 21 or older
  • relaxed / imperfect spelling and grammar
    yes, this does include everyone whose first language is something other than english! you're always welcome to R.P. with me! don't feel bad about mistakes!
  • story-driven RP

please ask first

all of these things are either heavily case-by-case dependent, or depend on what i'm not in the mood for.
  • character injury (
    major
    will affect my character noticeably outside the current RP session, especially if the damage is permanent.
    whether i'd play this out or not really depends on the type of injury, amongst other things. always ask first, and please respect my decision.
    )
  • combat
    i've had many experiences over the years with people who RP, especially RP combat situations, where they RP to "win" rather than for everyone to have a good time. i only consent to RPing out fights with people who are comfortable with their character potentially "losing" and will treat the RP like a fun dance instead of a contest.
  • dark themes
  • low fantasy and real world settings
  • multi-paragraph posts
    in theory, multiple paragraphs would give a lot to respond to! but the problem i have is with enormous posts these tend to be long chains of actions, each in turn acting on a previous action in that same long post before my character can even respond to the first ten things. this isn't fun RP for me at all!!
    if you're prone to writing very long posts, run your style by me first, as we may or may not be compatible for RP.
    this is also separate from "multi-para" as a dedicated style, which is not compatible with my RP wants at all.
  • phonetically written out accents
  • IC walk-ups
    please approach me OOC first to ask if i'd like to RP, if i'm not currently flagged as IC. i will decline all IC-first approaches made while i'm OOC.

no / not interested

i understand if things accidentally slip into R.P., but intentionally ignoring my boundaries is never acceptable.
  • bigotry
    i don't expect (or want) everyone's characters to be 'good people', but there's enough bigoted people in the real world i just don't want to personally deal with that in collaborative writing involving me.
    i'll generally try to let people know something is hateful or otherwise shitty, but if that's ignored or the bigotry seems intentional my second response will just be a permanent block.
  • blurring or ignoring I.C./O.O.C. boundaries
  • dice-related anything
  • directly telling characters' thoughts and backstories (instead of letting them be discovered naturally through R.P.)
  • E.R.P. (involving my own characters)
  • godmoding
    as i've seen this term used over the years, it can mean either "taking control of other peoples' characters in your own posts" or "never allowing anything negative to happen to your character, to the point of twisting the narrative of the R.P.". i'm not interested in either of these things in any R.P. i'm a part of.
  • minimum post length requirements
  • players under 21
  • posts with very few/no
    R.P. hooks
    'R.P. hooks' are things in a post other characters can respond to or act on. posts that are, say, almost entirely a character's inner thoughts/feelings or references to their backstory with no actual visible cues are hooks only for characters that can read minds! otherwise, this kind of thing makes coming up with a response exceedingly difficult to impossible, and just drains all the fun out of an R.P. for me.
  • romance
    i'm not interested in romantic relationships outside the ones i'm already invested in, both I.C. and O.O.C. any further I.C. relationships i decide on will be only between my own characters, and O.O.C. romance is just off-limits in general.
    (involving characters played by me)
  • R.P. elitism
    being rude or mean about other peoples' characters, or the way they choose to R.P., is intolerable and guarantees i won't want to RP with you at all.
  • strict adherence to lore
  • text-only R.P. mediums
    this means everything that has no constant visual element. i don't have anything against text-only R.P! i just personally cannot stay interested in it for the life of me.
    (and yes, believe me, i've tried many times and disappointed many friends in trying and failing to do text-only R.P's. i just can't.)
  • R.P. elitists and bullies fuck off. i am actively hostile to your presence. i have no patience left for people who try to make others to RP the way they specifically want in public RP areas where there are no or very few rules. public RP spaces are a sandbox everyone has to share; nobody is obligated to all RP the same way. i will verbally tear people a new asshole if i see them bullying other RPers minding their own business for not RPing how the bullies like. learn to share the sandbox and play nicely with others, and just don't interact with people who don't RP to your liking. it's not hard!!
  • i'm experienced as an R.P.er, and if i'm flagged I.C. on anything with a flagging system i'm probably looking for my usual preferences of more casual, lighthearted themes interspersed with some comedy. if i'm not flagged I.C, i'm probably just people-watching and enjoying the atmosphere. either way you're welcome to come say hi! 😺 i can't promise my characters are always friendly, but i try to be myself. (at least, to people who aren't being assholes.)
  • my characters are not meant to be infalliable, and will have opinions and do things that reflect the flaws in their nature. your characters are allowed to disagree, argue with, and even attack mine! my characters may not appreciate such a reaction at all, but i as the player am fine with and even love some good I.C. drama. (just... again, keep it purely I.C. i have no interest in O.O.C. drama.) also, my characters do not always share my views or opinions; one of my characters doing or saying a shitty thing doesn't mean i think the shitty thing is okay, and one of my characters having an opinion or belief about something does not mean i feel or think the same way.
    in this same vein, my characters' experiences and understandings of things may sometimes be incomplete or wrong, because i try to play them realistically and real people make these kinds of mistakes all the time! my character misremembering or mistelling a canonical event is likely to be that i'm just having fun making them be wrong about something (or, well, that i'm misremembering myself, but the result is the same! mistakes can make RP a richer experience and help characters feel more real; i don't accept people being pissy and pedantic OOC about this.)
  • private messages i receive, even during an RP, will be treated as OOC by default. if you PM me wanting to have your character whisper something to mine or something along those lines, please make that clear in the initial message and i'll respond in kind.
  • i'm a slow typer! please be patient with me and my posts, and of course i'll do the same for you.
  • i am over 21 O.O.C, and am comfortable with (or at least not especially bothered by) adult themes not listed in the "no" column appearing in R.P. with me. for people i am very close to, some entries on the "no" list also become "please ask first", but be aware — i will answer honestly, so any inquirers should prepare for the answer to potentially be "no, sorry."
  • please use my character's correct pronouns in all posts! i do allow for speculation of gender and use of different pronouns in the speech of other characters, especially for more androgynous characters of mine (like Silver), but all non-speech should still refer to my characters by their correct pronouns.
    (i'm also very tired of OOC questions about the "real" gender of some of my androgynous characters or about me directly. what people seem to be really asking about, intended or not, is about my/my characters' genitals... i should hope it's pretty obvious asking unprompted about other peoples' genitals is creepy and highly invasive! my response won't at all be kind anymore, as my patience has been thoroughly exhausted. this is your only warning.)
  • my O.O.C. writing style doesn't reflect my writing in roleplay; i use proper grammar and spelling to the best of my knowledge when actually IC.
  • being a "background character" is something i find very enjoyable, so i may linger at times and occasionally post to nobody in particular. There's no obligation to respond! Just consider me part of the atmosphere.
  • please be upfront if something is upsetting O.O.C-ly, or you can't continue the R.P. for any reason. i understand, don't worry! i just can't accommodate for things i'm not aware of.
  • i prefer to advance my characters' stories through personal, private writing. this means all R.P. my characters are involved in that could affect their story i consider AU by default, and i won't automatically or immediately canonize the RP. RP is only added to my characters' canons through extensive deliberation of only storylines i absolutely love and players i deeply trust, and even then it isn't guaranteed. if some R.P. isn't canonized involving your characters, it's nothing personal! however, if this would bother you we're probably better off R.P-ing with different people.