For those who don't know, this is me. ===>

Anyway, this is a guide for all you beginner roleplayers to get started and understand the concept of roleplaying.

So where to start? What is roleplay?

Roleplay is a two or multiperson activity wherein people play the roles of varying characters (original or fandom based) and make a story between one another.

Now there are many formats of roleplaying and many ways to go about it. Some people like to set up a plot or guideline for when they roleplay, and this is usually done before the starter is put down. This is usually a lot easier to think of than you think. If you're intending a romantic roleplay, you can simply set up a plot that brings the characters together in some sort of romantic manner. (i.e., Your character is a dance teacher that is helping your partner's character in a rather choreographed piece. This is fairly firect and usually suggests that the characters will have later on).

Of course, not all roleplaying needs to be romantic. You can quite easily make a roleplay plot that centers around mystery or something else! As a matter of fact, some of my most engaging roleplays stemmed from plots that were not romantically based in the slightest! Anyway, look at the pre-plot system as the foreward in a fan fiction. It gives you a very basic idea to go off of and sets a structure for the roleplay.

There's also roleplayers who like to do things like total improv. Don't be afraid of or look down upon this, because it can be very interesting! Usually total improv is down on a one on one basis, and the only guidelines that are truly set before you begin is who your characters are and what AU they're in. Other than that, everything is usually made up as you go along, and things always keep you on your toes. There's also the perk of them never really having a dead end. I have a roleplay with a friend of mine that has 4297 messages between us! Improv roleplay can also be a bonding experience. The same friend that I have been roleplaying with that I just mentioned is someone I consider to be a close friend, and we met just because I liked her display picture and wanted some 2MIN!

And now on to the concept of characters...

As I said in the beginning, characters can be original or fandom based. Obviously on AFF and RR, you're going to find mainly kpop based roleplays. Don't worry though. Outside of these sights, you can play whoever the hell you want, and then the freedom is much greater.

But let's explain some things about fandom based characters.

When you enter a group roleplay, you usually choose from something called a masterlist. The masterlist is something that gives you a list of all the characters that are availible for that roleplay, and you can choose from them. In some cases, if the idol (I use this as an example for obvious reasons) you want is not up on the masterlist, just ask an admin to add it! You won't always get your request, but nine times out of ten, you do.

Now following up on the fandom characters, don't think that if you're playing Lee Taemin, you must be exactly like Lee Taemin.

I've played Taemin in the past and have made him many things. My favorite Taemin roleplayer is someone who made him a ruthless e! Have fun with it and let your mind wander. Just like in a fan fiction, you can make the characters whatever you want because they're not real (or they are real and you're pretending to be them. Whatever. You get the point)! So go nuts with occupations and such; they usually result in being able to come up with more interesting plots.

Now what is para format?

You'll see the term para/semi-para a lot in roleplays of which you need to sign up for, and even if you start a one on one roleplay with someone via PM, they'll usually ask you if you write in a para/semi-para format. So allow me to explain. Para simply stands for paragraph. They're asking if you write in a multiple paragraph or one paragraph format. Semi para usually dictates that you write a little less than a paragraph, but don't do one-liners. One liners are something I'll get to in a second. Anyway, writing in para is always more interesting. I've seen people you just get into character and then type to each other as if in a Skype chat or talking on their walls as they would if they were out of character. However, I've tried this format in several roleplays, and just found it unstimulating. I would highly recommend veering away from this kind of roleplaying. Writing in para allows you to express emotions, and if you're writing in third person,  it makes it just sound better and easier to understand to the person you roleplay with.

Now about one liners. One liners are acceptable if you're roleplaying with someone and dialogue comes up. But usually only in some cases. If the person you're roleplaying with clearly does not like oneliners, try your best to be creative and describe the expressions and thoughts of the character you're playing in addition to their part of the conversation being had. Now if you've roleplayed with this person forever and they've dropped a one liner or two, then feel free to get a bit lazy. Just don't make an entire roleplay of oneliners, or it tends to get boring. Some people don't even reply to oneliners!

Now you've got all this information, right? But how the hell do you ACTUALLY roleplay?

It's hard to describe the exact process without some examples. So to explain, I'm going to use some exerpts from a roleplay I am currently doing with ruko-chan. Please do not steal any of the material used!

Now this roleplay was planned with a basic premise of plot. Jonghyun has a kid, Key lives alone, and Taemin and Minho are going to come in later with a fateful, dangerous meeting. OH! And we're set in zombie infested Seoul Korea! See how fun the plot is already?

So after choosing our plot, I started off with this:

"It wasn't supposed to happen like this.
It seems like just yesterday, everything was normal. Now, Kim Kibum was holed up in his apartment, trying desperately to get ahold of his friend Taemin, his parents- anyone. The first week he was able to manage. Though sleep was scarce due to the fear pumping through his blood, provisions were fine and Kibum was actually able to live comfortably, save for the undead monsters and their gnashing teeth outside his apartment complex. His neighbors were gone; they fled the city as soon as possible. But Kibum was young a naive, and he stayed. Now, a week and a half into the apocalypse, he needed food. Plumbing was still good for the time being, but he hadn't eaten in three days.
Now on January 2nd, 2013, Kim Kibum was about to go out into the undead infested world for the first time, and all so that he could eat for a couple more days. He creeps out of his apartment, the flickering lights in the hallway outside giving him the creeps. He takes the stairs, in assumption that the elevator is wrecked. But as he nears the second floor and hears the and footsteps of those horrible creatures, he begins to get cold feet, leaning against the railing and holding his pocket knife close. He knew it was a bad weapon, but he didn't have anything else, and he felt like he was going to starve."

Notice that my character, Kim Kibum, was the only one I wrote about. I don't write about my partner's character, because that's called power play or god-modding. You don't do that. Always stick to your character and their responses. And also notice that the starter looks like a start to a fan fiction chapter, right? That's the magic of para formatting. But also note that you can very easily do a first person POV instead of a third person. Third person is only being used in this roleplay I'm in because ruko-chan and I are turning this into a fanfiction.

Anyway, here was ruko-chan's reply.

"Jonghyun was trying to stay calm to not scare Micha more than she already was. He thought that they would be able to hide in their small flat – they had enough food to keep them from starving for at least a week. He had to admit that he kind of hoped that everything would just turn back to normal after some time – he knew that he was probably being a bit too optimistic and naïve, but he tried to not go completely insane with the thought that nothing will ever turn back to how it used to be.

However, his wishful thinking was thrown completely out of the window, as he was woken up from an already stressful sleep by noises coming from outside the flat. For the passed week Jong had been sleeping in the same bed with his little daughter – both of them felt more comfortable and save that way. His girlfriend had been cowardly enough to just leave them on the first day of the apocalypse, she ran away, deciding that staying with her parents would be the better solution than to be ‘burdened’ by her own child.

So, not only was Micha having to go through the horrors of an apocalypse, but had to do that without her mother. Of course his girlfriend had never been quite the role model for the perfect mother, but still her presence gave Micha an additional feeling of safety. Jonghyun didn’t quite know how to replace that unconditional love that his child was experiencing and the continuous questions about her mother’s whereabouts, were getting increasingly difficult to answer.

On that faithful day, when the hideous creatures that were causing the chaos outside, at last realised that someone was still inside the building where Jonghyun’s flat was located – he finally decided that it was time to leave their ‘save’ place. So, he took the small backbag that he had prepared some days ago for an occasion such as this one. He then turned to the bed and gently picked up Micha, who was still sleeping soundly.

~~~~

Once they made it outside, Jonghyun let a deep, relieved breath pass through his lips. He gazed around and his heart pounded frantically in his chest, as he realised for the first time what had become of the city in the few days that he hadn’t left his home. It was a horrible sight to behold, truly and Jong was glad that Micha was still sleeping in his arms. He moved her small body up a bit, so that her head was resting on his shoulder now. He left a soft, loving kiss on the top of her head, and couldn’t help but smile at the cute noises that she made in reaction to his affections.

Jonghyun knew that he needed to do something, which would make Micha cheer up a bit. So, he made his way to a nearby supermarket, hoping that they would still have his daughter’s favourite brand of cookies. He was aware that it was something rather insignificant, but the prospect of seeing Micha’s sweet smile, was a goal that he really wanted to reach.

It seemed that the supermarket, which was the nearest to his place, had been thoroughly destroyed. The apocalypse had admittedly one plus point – you don’t have to pay for the items that you wanted to purchase. Jongyhun entered the supermarket, hopeful that he would be able to find something fitting for his daughter’s taste.

Micha suddenly stirred in his arms, as they entered the shop - gazing around with round, curious eyes. She blinked cutely, and Jonghyun couldn’t help but smile, when he saw her eyes brighten as her gaze fell on something placed upon the shelves.

“Daddy! Daddy! I wanna have that,” she demanded, pointing her little, chubby finger in the direction of a box of her favourite cookies. Jonghyun gave a relieved sigh as he spotted them as well.

“Sure, angel. Let’s go get them,” he said, pinching her rosy cheek, which made her let out an adorable giggle. Moments like these made Jonghyun forget in what a downright desperate situation they were."

Yeah. That was a long reply. But again, this is being turned into a fan fiction. When you're doing para with someone just for fun, they may write entries this long, or they may stick to the length that the starter was. Lengths vary one what happens in the roleplay. Best just to experiment. But anyway, notice how she only wrote about her character? There's not much character interaction in the next couple of entries, so let's move on a bit into it.

"He was ing horrified.
As he walked down the stairs and pushed the door open, he was met by the sight of those undead bastards walking about the street in hoards. He'd learned from his observations out his balcony that they reacted to sound. 'So...I'll just be quiet then,' he thought, beginning to tip-toe and weave his way through the crowds of monsters. He spotted the supermarket not far off. It was practically in ruins, but that didn't change the fact that there had to be some remnants of food there. And where there was food, there was going to be Kim Kibum. He snuck over to the abandoned place, sighing in relief when he saw there were no undead lurking in there (at least, from what he could tell at a first glance).

He walked into the store, taking deep breaths as he moved and keeping his knife ready. He wasn't prepared to die- not yet. Some aisles were completely barren, while others were just barely stocked. Kibum grabbed everything he could carry without too much difficulty, putting some into the bookbag that he had. Finally, he reached an aisle at the end of the store that was practically b with food. He grinned, jogging down in and checking out what was there. He gasped, however, when he saw a figure walking toward him. The flickering lights didn't help his vision, but as the figure got closer, he saw the man and immediately held his knife at him. He saw him carrying a child but...he couldn't be too careful, right?

"Who are you?" Kibum said, his voice laced with venom. "Have you been infected?"

He looks to the girl, who appears to be awake (though drowsy) and well. "Is she yours?"

To which ruko-chan replies:

"Jonghyun was happy to see his daughter's eyes light up at the prospect of eating some of her favourite cookies. Micha rested her head against his shoulder again, he could sense that she was still tired, afterall it was probably rather early in the morning right now. However, in situations like these, time was passing in a different, unpredictable way - he assumed that they would have to get used to it.

Jong finally reached the shelf and was just about to grab the box when he heard the sound of footsteps to his right. His arm halted in mid-reach as he tried to control his heart that was suddenly beating frantically against his chest. He pulled his arm back, putting it around Micha's body - so that she was pressed more closely to his chest.

His eyes turned to where he had heard the footsteps come from and he was soon met by the figure of a boy. Jonghyun couldn't see him too clearly, as the result of the flickering lights above them. Admittedly, it was creeping him out a bit. He swallowed heavily, regarding the other boy more closely.

Jonghyun saw a pale face, slightly too thin, maybe as a result of the apocalypse. But even in this malnurished state and in the weak light, he could tell that the other boy's face was of an angelic beauty.

He was woken up from his observations as the other started to talk, his voice sounding confident and a knife fixed towards Jonghyun. On impulse he stepped back, hearing Micha whimper quietly in reaction to the knife.

"I'm Kim Jonghyun...and no, I'm not infected," he tried to keep his voice calm, absentmindedly moving his hand in soothing circles over Micha's small back.

"And yes, this is Micha, my daughter," he replied, his eyes fixed on the knife in the young man's hand.

"Now, please could you put away that knife? You're scaring her," he gazed down at Micha, who had buried her face into Jonghyun's chest.

"And also...who are you if I might ask?"

Notice the interaction here? We hardly controlled each other's characters, but still managed to make them communicate and keep a healthy plotline.

Roleplaying is definitely just as hard as writing a good fan fiction. There's always the fear of being judged as well as being afraid of messing up. But the best way to go is to just jump into it.

I hope this was helpful to any beginners. Artwork was by me as well as this guide, and some of the creditted entries above belong to the lovely ruko-chan. Thanks for reading, and leave any additional questions you have in the comments, as well as anything else you would like me to give a guide for!

So to summarize...

• Plots - guidelines determined by the roleplayers to give a base for the roleplay.
• Characters - either original or fandom based, and can be manipulated to the satisfaction of the roleplayer
• One Liners - Big no-no's unless established
• Para/Semi Para - refers to the paragraph format when roleplaying
• Improv Roleplaying - has only vague guidelines and the potential to go in any direction
• Masterlist - in a large roleplay group, the masterlist gives a list of all possible characters to play
• Characters not on a masterlist can sometimes be requested
• God-Modding/Power Play is forbidden!