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Advanced RP for Experts

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Who Should Use This Page?

Use this page if you've been in TwitterPonies for a while. Use it if you've got a character you're comfortable with, OC or SC, or if you need help. Use this page if you're new and want to tips on how to become an expert. In other words, everyone should use this page.

Making Scenes Happen

You've got time, you're "awake," you're ready to RP...now what? What do you do? Where do you start? It's like being a writer sitting down to a blank page or screen, what do you write first?

Solo Scene

You have complete control here, you can always do a solo scene. We've written about this elsewhere, so visit Attracting Followers: Fun on Your Own for more.

Reach Out to Others

This is the hardest thing to do. Let's break it down by situation:

  • I want to play with someone who's asleep. You can't, of course: they're asleep. Their player is not at a computer or device, they're not logged into Twitter, they're not reading anything you type and won't until they get back. If you try to RP for them, that's forcing, which is bad. Never force someone. But you really want to RP with them! Okay, treat them like you would a friend who wasn't home. You can leave them a note. Send them a bird. Leave a message. Be careful to make this an offer and not a force!
    • Offer (Good!):

      *leaves a note asking @mlp_Luna for a meeting*

    • Force (bad!):

      *collapses in front of @mlp_Luna's door, both wings broken, falls unconscious*

There's nothing saying Luna will respond to your offer, even respond enough to reject it, but at least you made an offer. The force is bad because if Luna doesn't respond, it makes it look like she doesn't care. Bottom line: You can always DM the person and ask to talk to them, see if they want to RP with you in the future. Be patient, and be willing to accept a "no" or a "not right now."
  • I want to play with someone who's obviously awake. First, remember, even if someone just posted on TwitterPonies, they might have also just stepped away. If they don't respond it doesn't mean they're ignoring you. Don't feel it's personal! Be patient.

Reaching Out OOC

This is easy and direct. DM them. If they're not following you and you can't DM them, send them an @mention. Here are some examples.

People will TEMPORARILY follow you if you ask nicely, but be prepared for them to UNfollow you once you've had your conversation. For more, see Attracting Followers: Followers in Flux.

Now that they're following you, reach out and DM them. They'll respond when they get a chance. Then just ask them:

Don't reach out with a question you could and should direct to the @mlp_Mod.

Now that you're talking, just run your ideas by them, or ask them if they have any ideas. Be prepared for them to say okay, or to suggest modifications, or even to reject and supply a whole new idea (which you're free to accept or reject or modify), and maybe even for them to say "no thanks." Take it with grace, try again some other day.

Reaching Out IC

Here's the problem:

  1. VERY IMPORTANT RULE: Never force, and don't crash scenes!
  2. VERY IMPORTANT RULE: Don't sit around waiting for a golden invitation, just act!

Yes, these are opposites. How do you reach out and get something started without forcing or crashing? Are you stuck doing solo RP all the time, waiting, hoping someone will join in? Do you always have to start OOC with an @mention or DM and hope, hope, hope they respond to you before whatever's happening is over? How can you "just act" without crashing or forcing or just inviting yourself along, awkwardly?

This is where you have to be a great roleplayer. You have to do two impossible, contradictory things at the same time. You won't always pull it off, and sometimes you'll mess up and even have to apologize. This is risky stuff, and all risky things come with a chance of failure. Don't worry, ponies are forgiving creatures: if you're doing it all in good faith, even a mistake won't hurt your friendships.

Strategy: Backup Plan

Whatever you decide to try, keep in mind a backup plan. Here are some examples:

*leaves a bucket of water on a cloud over  @mlp_fluttershy's cottage* Hee hee, Flutts is gonna get so soaked when she walks out!

You've made an offer. You didn't DM Fluttershy first, you didn't ask them if it was okay to prank them. You just ACTED, you made it happen. You don't know if Fluttershy is going to respond. The "ball" is in their court. They might take it in exactly the spirit you meant, or it may go in some crazy different direction you didn't plan. Roll with whatever comes. Yes, you're tied to whatever they decide to do next: that's the risk! That's why just acting is dangerous. But that's also fun, and a chance for things to get out of control in a good way. Basically, you just gave THEM a "golden invitation." No one ever said it was wrong to GIVE a golden invitation, just don't wait around for someone to give one to you.

If Fluttershy doesn't respond at all, or if they show up next in Manehattan, or if they just plain ignore it, you have options.

  • Backup Plan 1: Forget about it. Just forget about it! This bucket-on-cloud thing is low-stakes and not a big deal, you can just never mention it again. This won't work with all your offers, but any offer you make that you can ignore is probably a good offer.
  • Backup Plan 2: Turn it into a solo scene. Get caught in your own trap, Wile. E. Coyote-style. Or have a crisis of guilt, and try to undo it, or anything else. If you don't get any response from Fluttershy, you don't have to ignore it, you can do what you want.
  • Backup Plan 3: Semi-forget it. Keep an eye in the feed, maybe someone ELSE will act. Your offer was to Fluttershy, but players are watching, and no one wants to see a good offer go hanging. If they're good players, they'll wait long enough to make sure Flutts isn't responding, then maybe they'll offer to be part of the scene. Roll with it! Maybe you'll make a new friend.

Having a backup plan is a really smart way to keep yourself from getting stuck with an unanswered offer.

Strategy: Offer Shift

Okay, Fluttershy maybe just went offline, or doesn't feel like RPing this scene. Maybe they DMed you and said, "No thanks." Kinda leaves you hanging, but hey, it happens. So try shifting the offer. Here's an example continuation:

Heh,  @mlp_Fluttershy's gonna get it good...oh no,  @mlp_Derpy is delivering the mail! Right under the cloud!!

Okay, you just shifted the offer to another character, maybe someone you DMed and asked for a "rescue," or maybe someone DMed you and asked to be part of it. Roll with it.

Another way to shift an offer

Wait, is that bucket filled with water, or did I accidentally use my liquid rainbow bucket?!

You've changed the premise of your offer a little. In this example, not much, but you can see this can go very far.

Here's another shift

Can't wait until--oh no, it's Captain  @mlp_Spitfire! If she sees me pranking, I'm out of Wonderbolts Cadet school!!

You've just Raised the Stakes (see below) and you've brought in another person in another role. Again, have a backup: ("Whew, she didn't see me, I got lucky this time!") or something else. Yet again you're giving out Golden Invitations, and those are safe and fun to give.

Strategy: Embrace the Impossible

We're all talking ponies and other mythical creatures, living in a land of make-believe. If your offer is stuck, there's nothing wrong with getting a little weird. Maybe Fluttershy walks right under your bucket and nothing happens. You go to investigate, the bucket won't move. You tug and tug and tug on it, then confetti comes out! Yeah, this is pretty Road Runner, and it's weird, but you turned a rejection and a hung offer into something weird and wonderful. Maybe someone else will notice and it will become the germ of a different offer. Imagine what Discord would say!

Don't FORCE Discord. Don't say, "Discord ruined my prank!" But you could say, "I don't know what happened, but that wasn't normal! I should ask  @plm_Discord, he knows about weird stuff." Now you're back to offering, and you've given yourself something to do: go see Discord. Risky, he might not be at home, or even be asleep, but this is all about risk.

Strategy: Rewind, It Didn't Happen

Don't you hate when you say something, and ten seconds later someone else posts a complete contradiction? Twitter isn't instantaneous, wires get crossed, things get mixed up. You might say, "Here comes  @mlp_Twilight into Ponyville Town Hall!" because you thought you saw her coming, but three seconds later she posts she's in Canterlot. Oops! Or maybe she's coming, but now you see she's clearly in an RP with someone else, and it's advanced and serious and there's no room for you to jump in. You "Just acted" but it came out all wrong and is threatening to derail someone's RP.

Don't feel bad. You can delete the post, you can use (( )) to say, "Sorry, didn't see you there!" or you can just ignore it (see above, "Backup Plan 1"). This isn't optimal. Try to keep from jumping OOC. Use only as a last resort. But don't be afraid to use it.

Advanced Offers

The two rules above were made to be broken. Just break them in a smart, entertaining, sensible way.

Breaking the Rules: Don't Force!

Go ahead and force. Yes, you can force! A powerful force done with wit is sometimes called a "pimp." Pimping someone is like Bugs Bunny putting a dress on Elmer Fudd and pushing him on stage. The idea is for Elmer to start dancing, smile, try to hold on to his dignity, or even fend off the amorous advances of Yosemite Sam. There are all kinds of "good forces," but they all have one thing in common: TRUST.

The best way to do a Good Force is with a safety net: DM the person first, ask if it's okay. But if there's enough trust, you can go without a net.

IMPORTANT: Just because you have an idea in your mind of where the force should go doesn't mean the other player has to take it that way. You've only made an offer, you haven't the right to script others' responses. Let them do what they want, then roll with whatever happens. Maybe you hate where they took it--too bad! That's part of the risk. You forced them, they might force you back, try to let it grow into a scene, don't deny them and stop it just because you didn't expect it to go that way.

Breaking the Rules: Don't Crash Scenes

Go ahead and crash the scene. Wait, isn't this the worst thing you can do? Usually, but as an advanced player with lots of trust, you can sometimes crash a scene. It all depends on how it's done. You should strive to add to the scene, but not take it over. You should leave a Backup Plan to bail out of the scene if you get strongly rejected (and never take it personally!). You should try and keep it light.

Crash a scene when you have a reason to, a gentle offer, or something that can be refused without much drama. Be prepared to back off: like any offer or force, a crash can be refused. Don't take it personally.

PRO TIP

You can "semi-crash" a scene by simply observing it. See some TwitterPonies doing something? You can comment with @mention but without inserting yourself into the action: you can just see it.

You should "semi-crash" for fun and to support someone's RP, but who knows, maybe they'll try to work you in anyway? If not, no problem, you were happy just to contribute, right?

Breaking the Rules: Don't Wait for a Golden Invitation

Okay, wait for a golden invitation. There's nothing wrong with making it clear, IC, that you're free for roleplay, that you have nothing planned and that you'd love someone to come along and give you an offer. It doesn't mean you'll join in on ANY offer, you always have the right to refuse, but you can sometimes just be ready for adventure without offering something yourself.

This is risky. Who knows what crazy thing someone might ask you to join? Don't yank their tail: it's very rude to make it clear you want a golden invitation and then, when you get one, throw it back in the person's face. If you have to say "no," find a nice way (use DM) or try to half-accept their invitation, just altering it a little and hope that's okay.

But what if no invitation comes? There are ways to ASK to join someone's else adventure without being clingy, or begging, or sounding like an annoying kid sibling trying to tag along.

Yes, it's much harder to join someone if you're not a Show Character. But we all have our specialties, strengths and reasons for being part of the world of #TwitterPonies, and we can all grow and acquire new facets to our characters, especially OCs. If there's no occupational reason why you think you might be a good candidate to join something, try DMing first, or support the RP by joining "in the background" without ever actually impinging on the scene, simply being a witness to it. You'd be amazed how you might get a golden invitation out if it!

"I'm Bored"

You're bored. You've "lost the spark." You've done everything. None of your friends are on. You have solo-RPed until you're sick of it. You have no idea where to jump in or what to do. You're burning out on TwitterPonies because you're always giving, giving, giving, and you feel drained. You've been here for literally years and it's all feeling stale.

Okay, it happens. It's good that you recognize it, because you don't want to be here in bad faith. The only reason to be here is because you enjoy playing in the world of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. Don't be here because you're lonely, depressed, bored, feeling defeated or looking for others to validate you or even improve your mood. It's no one's job, and it's bad faith.

But you can be in good faith and simply bored or feeling uncreative. Everyone who's been here long enough has had to face this, even the founders. Here are some tips:

DO: Ask for Help

There's nothing wrong with simply DMing someone you know and being honest. Tell them you're bored and lonely or don't know where to begin, or feel like you've "done it all." A burden shared is a burden lessened!

  • DANGER: do not play the "yes, but..." game (rejecting every suggestion), and be sure you aren't starting an OOC pity party.

Asking for help means you're willing--eager!--to accept suggestions from others, even if they don't seem like fun or that they'd solve your problem. When you're in a funk, nothing SEEMS like it's going work, so you have to try what looks like junk. Do it anyway. You asked, accept as much as possible.

DO: Get Out There and RP

Role playing isn't easy. It's hard work. It's like exercise. When you think about hitting the gym, it feels like a chore, like a horrible painful bother. But if you go to the gym, there's nothing to do there but work out, and suddenly you're enjoying it or at least getting into it. Treat your RP like that: remember that it only seems like a chore because you haven't put yourself out there yet. Once you get going, you'll often amaze yourself. So even if you've done a solo RP a million times (or that's how it feels), try again. How many times has Applejack opened her cart? Or Princess Celestia ran court? Or Spike tended his garden? Something new and fun happens almost every time.

DO: Get Out of Your Comfort Zone

Don't be a one-trick pony. You can do things that aren't in the narrow definition of your character without actually breaking your character. Think about your character as you would yourself, in RL. If you were  @mlp_Roseluck, in real life, you wouldn't be a florist every second of every day. Sometimes you'd go to a movie. Sometimes you'd have to do something for your flower job that doesn't seem very "flowery" at all, like visit a florist convention or trek into deepest Everfree to find a rare seed. Sometimes you just want to go eat lunch. Or maybe you get a "call to adventure" that could happen from anyone or anything, independent of who or what your character is. Anyone can have a sick grandmother in a far-away city who needs a helping hoof. Anyone can discover they don't have enough money to pay the Tax Pony this year. And everyone has hidden talents and histories that never get mentioned: maybe someone from Roseluck's past writes her saying she needs to return to the Army to help fight a big baddie. Who knew she used to be in the army? Well, now we know, and you can turn that into tons of character building about her time there, why she left, and so on.

DON'T: Create New Accounts

This is a mistake many players make. They don't get what they want out of their OC, so they make other OCs--and not the good kind, which are supporting OCs. They try to make entirely new "personal" OCs because they're certain they won't be bored as a sailor or unicorn mage or dragon or guard pony or gryphon or fashion maven or...and the list goes on. While there are no rules against having multiple accounts, remember everything has to be done in good faith: the reason to create a new account is because you want to, not because you NEED to, to cure boredom or because you've "done it all" or are sick of your old account. It can be hard to tell the difference, but be very, very honest with yourself and you can usually see your true motivations. When you discover you're about to create a new account for the wrong reasons, stop and recognize the challenge of freshening up your current account. Embrace that challenge and have fun!

DON'T: Radically Change Your Character

Been a baker for two years? Don't decide there's "no future in RP for bakers" and instead you want to tame lions or be a magic school professor. The "cure" for boredom, loneliness or feeling "left out" isn't a new uniform or something more "epic." See above.

DO: Question Yourself

Some of the very, very best RP ever to happen on TwitterPonies came when someone turned a crisis of boredom and loneliness into a questioning of themselves, their purpose and their reason for being.

  • DANGER: This can quickly become a pity party, you must avoid at all costs!

Don't get existential (unless you're  @mlp_GummyGator), don't get all tears and moaning. But you can take your own feelings and turn them into interesting RP. This is a good chance to go on a voyage of self-discovery, or to ask advice of someone else, or to play it for laughs (always a great decision).

An example of this is the episode with TroubleShoes the pony, from MLP:FiM Season 4. TroubleShoes was sad, he thought he was bad luck. But it turns out he didn't realize his cutiemark was calling him to be a great rodeo clown. This is turning a problem into an asset.

A TwitterPonies example: during the  @mlp_Despair arc, Despair somehow got to Spike so he thought Twilight Sparkle was only pretending to be his friend not to hurt his feelings, and Spike was trying to "be honest" and "cut through the lies" and "do the right thing" and leave Twilight. Of course, this was all wrong, but it gave everyone RPing the scene a chance to reaffirm their love and affection for each other. Many feels, no real change in character, but a chance to explore difficult truths about a relationship. These are the places you can go when you question yourself--but don't let it tip over into drama or pity or tears or destruction! Advanced RPers only.

DO: Ask the Mod

This is part of the  mlp_Mod's job, to help players in trouble. Bored? Want a suggestion for RP from a truly neutral source that can't even be part of your RP? DM the Mod. They'll help in any way they can.

"I'm Swarmed"

You get swarmed every time you wake up. Soon as you post anything to the feed, the same two or three (or ten!) people try to be "first in" and claim your attention. Or someone is constantly leaving you DMs or @mentions you have to ignore or refuse, making you feel like the bad guy. Others are turning your RP into a chore and you've had it. It makes you want to never wake your character up. It makes you dread checking Twitter. And worse, when you want to join in some fun, you have to wade through all this or apologize to people for not RPing with them, or for not being on much, or not responding fast enough, and...ugh!

This is not a "great problem to have." It's burned out more players than anything else. It's a trap, particularly for Show Characters, but no less for OCs. The more you play, the better you play, the more you'll have to deal with this, and it's tricky, because if you don't do something about it, you're going to abandon TwitterPonies. Here is a guide:

IMPORTANT: Remember your empathy! A swarmer is just a person, a bored, probably lonely person who may have had a positive RP experience with you in the past. They see you on, and just woken up so not involved in anything yet, and it feels to them like a chance to "jump in first" with something they know they'll enjoy. Try to see it from their point of view.

  • Respond via DM or @mention to every reasonable, non-trolling honest Direct Message or @mention, but respond "No thanks." Ignore trolls of course, and block all you want. But if someone DMs or @mentions you with what seems like an authentic request to RP, get back to them as soon as you can with a "thanks but no thanks." Be clear. No hedging. No "maybe tomorrow!" or "I would RP with you, but you're a Power Ranger pony." They didn't ask for a raincheck and they didn't ask for a critique. All you're doing is leaving the door open for them to say, "Okay, see you tomorrow at 2:30pm!" or "Okay, I'll change my pony now it's not a Power Ranger so now we can play, right? I'm changing just for you!" Avoid: be honest, be direct, cut it short. No thanks. Direct them to this wiki, the Guidelines or the mlp_Mod. Note, if they throw a hissy fit, feel free to issue them a Yellow Card or Block them immediately.
  • DM your swarmers and fans and ask them to back off. Just be up-front with them. "Hi, every time I show up you jump all over me. I don't want to ignore you, I don't want to have to find IC ways to refuse you every time, and I don't want to have to RP with you every time. Please give me some breathing space. Other people deserve RP time with me too." Most folks in good faith will understand. Note, if they throw a hissy fit, feel free to issue them a Yellow Card or Block them immediately.
  • Remind your swarmers there's no way they could be in touch with you right now. Most of the time, a swarmer is bending the reality of the world to make it possible to RP with you. Suddenly they're wherever you are, for little or no reason. Suddenly they're right beside you! That's "teleporting" or crashing badly, and you're right to DM them they couldn't be there, and that this is a good thing: they should RP their reality, even if it means not RPing with you. Direct them to the mlp_Mod for help or ideas. Note, if they throw a hissy fit, feel free to issue them a Yellow Card or Block them immediately.
  • Send them off on their own adventure. This is an advanced move! But if you want, accept their offer to do something, but counter with an immediate offer of your own that takes them far away, alone or with someone else (maybe even a second swarmer!). Send them on a quest. Tell them you're glad to see them, you need their help, you have to get your dry cleaning, can they do you a solid and pick it up? Then DM them that this isn't something you want solved NOW, that they should take their time because you can't RP with them today. This could backfire, but at least you tried to give your swarmer(s) something to do. Note, if they throw a hissy fit, feel free to issue them a Yellow Card or Block them immediately.

The Formula for Success

The basic formula for success in TwitterPonies: The closer you adhere to the spirit and letter and play your character accounts within the letter and spirit of the following guidelines, the more likely you are to get Followers, avoid Blockers, be Included in conversations and adventures and have fun.

The converse is true also: the further you stray from the formula, the fewer followers you'll get, the less involved you'll be in conversations or adventures, and you might get blocked.

Read More

You've read this far, PLEASE read these pages as well. Yes, all of them. It's the secret to a fun time, and it'll keep TwitterPonies drama-free for all:

Community content is available under CC-BY-SA unless otherwise noted.