or if you are one of those people, HELP ME

I just struggle cause if I don't have much to work with I always get STUCK

like if its just direct action

I find it hard to slip into that rp but then the characters/muses are always so good

Like I always use their thoughts to then make comments about my characters, and kinda bounce off it

when its just direct action I feel like im missing a lot of the MEAT

I need halp

i like to consider that my character can't hear the other character's introspection too - helps me keep from writing too much about [my introspection reacting to their introspection], if that makes sense?

For me, generally I don’t mind when I get more quantity than I can give in general or vice versa. I’m usually an extremely concise writer and I work on making sure I’m giving enough to work with and to give some insight too.

so (ideally) the introspection that goes into my tag would be on what my character thinks of an action they'd seen, or the action that they're personally doing

almondlychee: This is true!! It's like DIRECT rp'ing instead of kinda writing together sorta thing

but also yeah I think I write shorter tags than others do but that's a me thing haha! I just try to be sure the action and dialogue I give has a hook for someone else to react to.

But it sounds like sometimes you’re not getting the quality (ex: enough to work with/respond to) than it being the quantity?

I guess if its not explained how they respond and what they are doing with their body, its hard to figure out what the action is

almondlychee: you do not write short tags my friend hahaha

almondlychee: same, im not a huge fan of others commenting on my character's introspection directly as though they're mind-reading, though that's just a personal preference i think as ive seen a few people do it

I try to match people's styles and lengths. A tag can be short but also very crunchy and good, but sometimes i do find it bland

I get tags from people sometimes that 80% is inner monologue etc and not stuff my muse can know/see aside from body language they could pick up on.

So I only have 20% of the tag to work with

guessmonster: Yeah!! i think concise is fine! That's good to work with! I feel like I am similar

But sometimes a shorter writer a little bit of action/thought/facial expression or body language I have 80-100% of the tag to work with

Idk what I’m getting at sob

that 80% is fun to read for sure! but I won't be able to use it in my tag :')

I have gotten like 1K tag from a person before and there was nothing my muse could do w it?

decimalplaces: Yeah I think its not always introspection though - as in thoughts, but getting a more well-rounded view of the character, motivations, thoughts, movements etc etc

looks at my Everything

i like giving inner monologue as i find it interesting to read in others' tags. WHY the character is acting the way they are. or if the brackets totally contradict what they're doing or saying aloud, thats interesting too. rp is about creating an overall story as much as it is writing to respond to someone

I always vacillate between the two, but I try to match what I get. Then again, if there’s not much my character can react to, then it gets difficult hahaha

i simply do not adjust. you'll get my 800 words in brackets and you'll like it. match my freak or don't it's happening either way

I make sure I have questions/leading thoughts/dialogue that tips something of interest. I'm definitely more of the sparse side but I use inner dialogue when I feel it matters instead of just having it there all the time

Also in my tiredness I wonder if I misconstrued your original meaning

for things like saying hi or like. basic exchange of info, I don't think characters are having deep thoughts about it

izutsumi has no deep thoughts you get whatever she is

Okaamiii: no no i love introspection and thoughts. what im referring to is like. [hubert has x perception of the character based on their actions]
other tagger: [hubert is WRONG] lol

Yeah! I mean I don't even need to be able to respond to it 🤣 but I guess as I usually play characters who are very conniving, see into people a bit, if I have no basic info to use; like sussing, then its hard to play with it

[intense thoughts and inner monologue about the universe and where we are] "hi"

decimalplaces: HAHAHA oh yes you're right!!

mackleberry: you and I are the same 🤣 get my whole damn novel

For me wordier writers saying to I don’t expect tit for tat as long as I’m getting actionable content? Is the best adjustment and usually when I feel secure in that it frees me up a bit more to not get sticker shock at a block of text at times

mackleberry: lol i love ur freak

IT'S WHY WE BOUNCE OFF EACH OTHER WELL I FEEL LOL

guessmonster: No I like where you went with it!!

ultimately i think not everyone is compatible writing with everyone and that's alright too

^ This is also true!! I really want to be able to adjust though cause a lot of the time I love the characters, but find it hard to make a connection with limited information

mackleberry: such a trooper

Also me:I’m such a concise writer like sometimes I don’t go off and write a 400 word starter in 4 minutes...

timmtams: Izutsumi is so funny I love her hahahaha

5*

guessmonster: HAHA OMG

Okaamiii: I feel the same. sometimes its a matter of sticking it out to see the crunchy bits come out of the woodwork, or sometimes i just kinda move on

I'm glad! I think in regards to sussing characters out, it's good to have communication with the players too

But nah my average is probably 100-250 words a tag but if I need it to be longer to feel like I’m giving actionable content then it’s longer lmfao

because sometimes I do have players drawing upon their own knowledge of canon instead of drawing from the character themselves

trevenant: Yeah! If its shit posting or greetings I oscillate too, not much brain power is needed - but I do struggle with lack of reactions

It doesn’t help that sometimes I play characters who have tumbleweeds between their ears and I’m just like sorry I play an idiot...

For me its more like; Im a V expressive person in real life, and I take that whole '80% of information gathered is not from speaking' so I assume our characters are like that too and I try to givw others as much to work with as possible

Playing someone like Kageyama can be a struggle because it relies a lot on people picking up micro expressions he makes but then again it’s ... canon for people to not and to like just think he’s an asshole

I think that makes a lot of sense but there are also a lot of people that don’t give off as much externally etc

timmtams: Yeahh 🤔 I get that! Ive not superr struggled with that as much, like going from canon v the characters, cause a lot of shit I just dont know 🤣 which is why I like info cause I dont know anything about em

Ooooh makes sense!

My sweet autistic characters I’m looking at you

I used to play a lot of incredibly popular characters so this used to be the bane of my existence. but yeah everyone has a different writing style, some things don't click

guessmonster: yeah for sure! I totally get that; I play damn Maki... and let me tell you she is a damn bitch that doesnt say anything HAHA

timmtams: Oh noooo D: Like who?!

Kaheyama and Maki are actually v similar lmao

Lmfao but also yeah not everyone is compatible but communication can help esp if you can talk to someone and express what you need

a friend of mine often calls rp an "acting" hobby rather than a writing one because we're playing off each other. and that's how I consider it. I play "off" physical reactions/keywords and work on my character's reaction/question/lead so that the thread continues

like a give or take

if my character isn't giving much i play up the fact that they're not giving much lol. "he stares, long, blank, unblinking" is someth i write a lot with jeritza

In saying that I can still write a fuck tonne somehow about her 🤣 idk where it comes from

They should meeet he needs... people

and uhh tons I've been in this rp for a long time, but I've played from mcu/star wars/supernatural etc etc

Look I can write a dissertation for kags if the mood strikes but sometimes the boy is just stares with crickets

timmtams: Yes! I see!! I think for me it IS a writing exercise, I love prose and making stories together, god damn writing major, so its a very different way we look at it!

anyway when someone doesn't have a cue/something to lead with, I do tailer my response to lead the thread into a direction they're into. if they pick up on it, good, if not, I may tailer in another direction. versatility in "acting" so to speak

decimalplaces: JERITZA IS SO FUNNY HAHA

timmtams 10000% rp is as much improv as it is writing!! that is the hill i die on

Oh seeing it as acting is different but it makes total sense

mackleberry: yeah! I think the improv part is a huge part of RP and thinking how to play off people is as important as the writing component

timmtams gets it haha, way more articulate than I could have put it. +1s their responses <3

timmtams: oh man the mcu stuff woulda be so harddd cause everyone has different headcanons and interpretations and stuff

A lot of times people forget yes and or no but lmfao

I like improv prose

almondlychee:

lets improv poetics at each other HAHA

but yeah as someone who is sparse and if people need more, I also welcome a nudge saying "hey this response doesn't give me much to work with" and I'm happy to tweak

i think putting actionable cues in tags (whether in physical action, dialogue, tone of voice) is important and it can be disheartening when someone doesn't pick up on it lol but we persevere!!

I'm definitely a dialogue player

I’ve had a lot of luck with sometimes asking someone like okay I need a little less say “describing the color of the wallpaper” details etc or asking someone for more this or that to body language cues or that there aren’t any etc

almondlychee: !!! Actionable cues are really important to me! otherwise I can't read their language properly

almondlychee: I'd say you and I are pretty similar in how we write, like I wouldn't say your short at all! you give a lil introspection, a lil action, a lil emotion

Sometimes like slight adjustments can be made w people that you know are open to communicating and meeting you half way on making writing together work even if you have vastly different styles

^ yeah absolutely

timmtams: THANK YOU! Honestly you've helped a lot in understanding this and I feel a lot more confident now

me sitting here at my big 5'0" height: no, i'm very short

You're welcome glad I could help

Sometimes I actually think they arent as engaged cause the tag is small compared to whatever the fuck I wrote and go but its just a different style

Yeah I sometimes sit on a “long” tag bc I’m so worried someone will think that

I like the 'acting' view of it! it kinda makes it a lot more tangible

Oh this is SUCH a good question that I've struggled with since starting rp YEARS ago hahaha because it can really disheartening to end up with a tag (of any length, super long or a couple sentences) that gives you very little to bounce off of

almondlychee: HAHAHA STOP U

And then they think that cause I’m sitting on the tag waiting to feel like I can match word for word

And the day just never comes. So I try not to think like that and either just I have trust in the other player to understand it’s not that or I apologize that my tag is shorter lmfao

Oh wait nvm I read this so wrong LOL if you just mean in terms of inner thoughts etc I personally think just keep doing you! I don't intend to stop writing tons of inner monologue any time soon lol

Every once in a while I get to apologize for word vomit. Like rn

timmtams: So would you suggest, lets say, when rp'ing with you; to focus more on dialogue, and direct actions, and kinda just not reference anything else? 🤔

sekritsauce: no

you understood me right the first time

and then you back peddeled haha

I DO think it can helpful to whoever u are rping with to maybe describe a little of how those thoughts possibly impact their expression? The other character can't be a mind reader of course, but they could misunderstand an expression, or question them over it or that kinda thing

for me it's natural that some tags have more introspection/detail than others, while some can be just one line of dialogue and an action, all in the same thread

guessmonster: HAHAHA we all have our word vomit days!

OH okay hahaha

wingything: Yeah!! Im talking more about that regardless, thats the rp'ers style! like short tags comared to mid or long!!

I'm USUALLY a mid tagger I'd say, unless its other yada yada greeting stuff or whatever

hmm I would say it's fine to stick to whatever style works for you! in regards to myself, I look at dialogue > icon+physical expression > thought because ultimately, my character can only respond to the first two. the third helps inform (whether in narration voice or inner voice) what direction the thread can go in.

sekritsauce: Yeah!! its more like my character can only respond as much as the information u give me; or I might just say 'he replied' over and over 🤣

>_> I don't adjust. Because knowing my pups headspace is more for me than for whoever I'm playing with hahaha. I don't really care for people reacting to the inner blurbs though--it's more there for context and a way for people to direct a thread a bit. (i.e. if there's something of note happening and we either want to avoid something or dive head long

into it)

jelmling: GOOD POINT... YES... I AM USUALLY WRITING THE INNER THOUGHTS FOR ME LOL

timmtams: Interestingggg, so dialogue, like you said, is your main wheel to conveying information! okay okay

Hmmm I think the discussion about introspection is really interesting in here! Because I personally do enjoy when myself and the other writer sort of co-write in a sense by reflecting on each other's inner dialogue. but I do appreciate how there are lines you can cross when doing that

XD YES HAHA

jelmling: LMAO SAME THOUGH I DO THIS TOO

it helps me get into their headspace when otherwise im like "howwww will he react to this one"

I think as long it doesn't impact your characters actions it's totally fine tho and very fun to me

I do love that co-writing prose of inner monologue 😭 it can be soo sweet when the characters are really closee too

ngl, it's part of why I'm at a stand still in RP because I haven't had time to actually sit down and do this exact thing lmao

sekritsauce huge same lol my castmate and i will do this for a zillion words and it slaps so fuckin hard. the brackets can be fun! play with em!

mackleberry: bruh we were meant to be

you n me

Okaamiii completely agree! I've found it works best with either cast mates, or cross canon cr that's had a really nice build up. Or if you're very familiar with the other writer haha

yeah. it's just my preference in terms of tags/getting tags out and also getting to do a robust back and forth. because as I said, it's like acting and I'm playing off another so I look at those things. I do long bracket stuff too but for really high emotional peaks

and it's also very important when playing a character who is practically mute unless it's the doomsday talk about their current jamjar

mackleberry yes!!! It makes me SO so happy when I get to do this. I'm really truly excited to hopefully delve back into it now that I'm in a game again haha

Chan, I guess I'm going to take this plurk as a full go ahead to go introspective ranting with Mirko when I'm tagging you hahahaha

timmtams: Yeah!! its very direct acting, in the moment, in a way it's good for me to get outa the symbolism of shit sometimes 🤣 so this will be a good muscle to stretch honestly

sekritsauce: Why havent u been doing that already

Thank you everyone for your thoughts! I have learned a lot and about different ways to look at rp too

It's been v enlightening

yeah nothing against introspection (love that stuff, love reading it, love writing it) but I think if I churn it out for every single tag, even like. first encounters, base line convos, it slows me down entirely. so I start small and when cr develops or if something triggers a reaction, I ease in more.

AH jelmling having also played a character who was voluntarily mute I FEEL THIS . My tags were all: deep introspection for 3 paragraphs. Clear description of how they've moved/a gesture/whatever someone can actually react to. No sound. It REALLY pushed my creativity hahaha

Okaamiii been finding my feet with her I think 🤣 BUT GET READY HERE COME MY RANTS STRAP YA PANTS ON

unrelated but im thinking of maybe throwing jeritza in laby... not sure yet lol

decimalplaces: That would be so funny

Im here for it!!

depends if his gf nina apps

I've been uhming and ah'ing about a 3rd character but can I do it? realistically 🤣

decimalplaces: oh cuteeeee!! that would be

moooood lol

If it's the one I think ur thinking of, I'll absolutely join you hahahaha

you seem to have a lot on your plate

i dont even know who nina is

sekritsauce YEP. SO MUCH BODY LANGUAGE GOD. And to top it off this one is all guarded so with new people all you get is the occasional eyebrow raise or frown ;lsakgajs;ldk

one of LiLi's OCs

decimalplaces: when i find a character that I know is gonna mind fuck and be SUPER FUN TO WRITE - I cant damn HELP IT AHH

decimalplaces: omg cuteee he has a gf

i like playing onion characters so much

jelmling ah man see that's hard!!! The guy I was playing had a hoodie + a mask on a lot which made shit ROUGH lol

MOOD
not gf quite yet but that's our plan with them lol

just a matter of what frickin universe to put them in

ROFL DAMN

ONION CHARACTERS ARE AMAZING OKOK

decimalplaces: omgg if u go somewhere else tell me so i can suss it

its either laby or psl

im just not sure how psychopath man will play in laby lol

decimalplaces: well we got a couple of those already 🤣

GOOD 2 KNO

timmtams: I will be real, it can get labourous doing it for every tag 🤣 sometimes its really fun and sometimes I leave em a bit until the brain starts CHURNING

decimalplaces: Yeah actually there is a feq

and I might app one too so 🤣

ive already got a psycho, but another can't hurt

i didnt wanna creat problemmes

there are SO MANY VILLAINS EVERYWHERW

DRAMAA I live for it

I also just write what I write which is wordy bc I cannot shut up

boywonder: SAMEEE

It's ok if people don’t match! I also don’t mind introspection based on introspection I guess? Maybe context dependent but it's not something I specifically think of that bugs me

But yeah I'm like. I'll write what I write and leave a hook for someone to respond to. They can write whatever length as long as I can respond to something in the tag

boywonder: Yeah!! I think I naturally want to match as well as I can! like theres no point for me writing a lot if another writes short, and vice versa! So I like to learn how to adapt a bit better!

Yeah that makes sense. If I'm writing with someone who writes much shorter tags I'll try to rein it in very slightly but I really just like to write words ig 😂

boywonder: WE ARE ADDICTED TO WORDSS

ME TOO

I generally try to keep introspection down to stuff I think the other player will either:
A: be able to use in their response
or B: enjoy reading

So if it's not explaining the characters posture, or the vibe they give off/motivations etc, it's usually just me making fun of my own characters or sneaking a joke in etc.

depends on the vibe and uh, end goal of the thread to some degree.

ADDICTED TO WORDS it is true

i will match what I am given, like if I am given concise, i tone the introspection down so as to not intimidate (even though it is not natural nia inhabitat)

I honestly struggle sometimes :') I'm generally a long tagger. I CAN do punchy tags, but only really if the thread isn't terribly consequential and isn't prompting any particular Deep Thoughts

I write characters that have a lot going on internally, so a lot of my introspection is me mostly figuring out how my character is feeling about whatever is going on, but it's also a way to signal to my scene partner ways that our characters might possibly connect or grow their CR

I try to match other ppl at this point like if I get smaller, ecats style tags I will return that to the best of my ability bc im assuming it's their pref. but I have a terminal case of can't shut the fuck up in any capacity so. lmao.

So part of it is to introduce A Vibe to give the overall emotional tone more flavor, but I also try to connect that with some sort of physical thing by describing their expressions / if they're holding silence / if they move in a physical way

because so often what they're saying might only scratch the surface of what they're thinking, but there might be other physical nonverbal cues that I try to include for the other character to pick up on

but im also in RP for me and I like introspection, motivations, reading words and writing words. so if i send a long tag lmao that's just how it is. it's what I wanna do so I do it.

as long as i put in hooks somewhere for the other player it's fine and I'm cognizant of that

OR TRY TO BE. I DO MY BEST.

nods nods Yes I think thats why naturally I gell well with both you're writing cause I am THE SAME terminal introspection disease and vibes

I don't need people to match my verboseness but tbh I do struggle a little if I can't tell of the other character is making any kind of mental or emotional connection to mine. That isn't going to entirely inform how my character reacts, but Levi especially is fairly good at reading people but not good at words

terminal introspection disesase, me

*disease

I gotta say a lot through the actions cause a lot of their dialogue doesn't actually match their thoughts or really give enough

THE DISEASE IS REAL

yes! physicality in a scene is pretty important imo. SO much communication is nonverbal

IM INFECTED BY IT (happily)

oh god yeah akechi is lmao when it comes to thoughts matching actions. that's why I try to relay that in tags too WE ALL JUST OUT HERE

we all do play characters that lend to that as well so it makes sense 🤣

> says one thing
> whole fucking reason behind why that isnt their 'truthful self' or why there's more to it

akechi > says something
> it's a lie
> lmao

I like leaving clues for people to pick up on and I like picking up on other people's clues. That doesn't mean they'll specifically get called out but maybe it means Levi is more suspicious about something or feels a way about something else

also / circling back a bit, maybe it's a little bit meta cheating, but if someone writes something in their introspection or whatever that seems like something the characters can connect on, I can make a note of that and maybe steer the interaction in a natural way towards whatever that is

or have it come up later on

that is exactly what I do too 🤣

the meta cheating

I mean Maki literally just got a vibe about akechi and decided she didnt like him

Levi shakes hands w Maki there's something Weird about That Dude

but if I didnt have that extra stuff to kinda base her bad vibe on then that might not have happened just cause I literally dont know aboht it 🤣

ADHFHSGSG

LIKE PAPA LIKE DAUGHTER

WOW

LITERALLY GUY JUST STANDING THERE consumed by static

just a lil guy

CONSUMED BY STATIC IS SUSS

it's fine dw about it

they got that third eye static aura reading ability

the vibe radar

TRULY

they're basically siblings

Maruki in their thread is SO FUNNY - instantly goes dad mode on Akechi like wtf is going on here

akechi and maki bouta get a time out

lolol omg

THEY SHOULD THEY'RE AWFUL TOGETHER

IT'S THE BEST

it's my favorite

Maki has a secret second dad though; Levi, who she'll tell on akechi too

it really is my favourite

yes good tell him

stir shit

GOOD LMAO

TELL TELL he's so nasty

he bullied me

you don't say

maybe i broke his arm and ribs but dont worry about it

ghfhghghg

completely innocent

he probably deserved it

he did

Levi approves

akechi is gonna try to drown her too so

trade off

after suicide bombing them both asfghsgs

u know, as siblings do

normal sibling things

LMAO

eventually Levi's just like "nevermind, work this out yourselves, i got shit to do"

ADGHSGAH

they are!!! they're having a great time

it's enrichment

time to make it Levi's problem

throw a Kong ball in there and they're good

(please make it his problem)

look it'll be his problem when they decide to fight near his house and another bomb goes off

LMAO

HONESTLY

kicks both your asses tbh

pls

GO PLAY SOMEWHERE ELSE

PLEASE

HE REALLY WILL

no

scruffs Akechi and dumps him on Maruki's doorstep

HAHAHA SCUFFS

honestly gjhhhddhxhcbhg

(akechi probably has several inches on him but he's doing it anyway)

SHE STARTED IT!!!!!!!;!

well he's FINISHING IT-

SHE ALWAYS STARTS IT!!!!!!

Good--

WOW

exactly like this please

Exactly that

LMAO Basically

Maki better get a pat on the head thou

WOW???????

A pat and a threat to not do that near his house again and spook their horses or he'll be making her muck stables and scrub floors for a month or something

< maki, prolly

and she'll accept cause she's a good daughter

then go start some more shit

as expected

the town is gonna have so many craters in it there's gonna be an intervention party adfhsbs

just making pools for ppl!!!! that's helpful!!!

Oh an invitation to be crazily introspective I will take this

To the person who said 'match my freak or don't it's happening either way', day made lmao. I guess for me it depends on what's happening in the thread, but it also matters what kind of writing it is too. Either way, it's been really cool to see all the perspectives int his plurk!

nskajsjjss IM HONORED

I also cackled a that ngl lolol

MOOD REALLY

such a mood

Yeah it was absolutely great lmao

I liked this plurk so that I could come back it and I'm finally here!

So, back in the day in my beginning days of RP, I would write paragraphs that would break the comment box and then some because that was like what you did

and was definitely the elitist bitch who was like >( MATCH MY LENGTH (I am def not like that now because I'm old and adhd lol) but anyway, as long as I have content to work with and actually respond to, I'm cool. If you're not getting that ... I think just being honest with the person might be good?

A person can only adjust their writing so much

I also find that I tend to monologue less if I'm using brackets vs prose but that's probs just me trying to adjust to the brackets life at times

(i have no idea if this is making any sense or is even helpful/related to the question)