Advice/Help How to get started with 1x1 rp?

[Kazig]

Hi!

So, I have been rping on and off for a few years now, pretty much entirely with group rps. However, I've been wanting to try 1x1 rps for a while now and I still have no idea how I'm supposed to go about it. I enjoy storytelling and learning about other people's characters and ideas! I just don't know the proper ettiquite for these types of rps. Are you supposed to bring a pre-prepared plot and characters? Just go along with the person who set the interest check? What does half of this pairing stuff even mean and how does someone turn this into a story?
I haven't felt comfortable asking because it seems like most people have 8 years of experience with this exact thing and already know the score.

However, since a lot of y'all seem to be big in 1x1 stuff, figured I'd ask for help because I am so lost with this. Thank you ^^'

 

[Chordling]

Some people bring a plot idea to the table. Other people like to propose character pairings (ex. werewolf x vampire) I tend to list the genres I'm interested in. You should take a look at some of the threads in the one x one recruitment forum and observe how some other users might have set up their threads. One x One roleplays require both writers to talk and collaborate with each other to develop the story. You can discuss details surrounding the characters, the world building, the plot, and much more. Group roleplays and one x one roleplays are different roleplaying experiences. A majority of my roleplaying experience is with one x one roleplays and I have done very little in the way of groups. There's no shame in this. Just be honest with the people you reach out to.

There's no wrong or right way to go about it. Try different things and see what works best for you.

 

[Idea]

What Musician said is already pretty much it, I would just add this: Try considering the other side. I know this can be difficult especially when one is already worried what the other person might think to begin with, so maybe try to think of it in more general terms, but still taking that idea into account:

For example, do people want to see your own stuff or should you follow what they provide? Well, if they wrote ideas down those are probably the things they actually want to roleplay, BUT it would show interest, passion or just commitment to bring some of your own stuff as well. Those things should add to the idea though, not attempt to change or replace it.

I must also very vehemently recommend, that you double and triple check that your preferences and your partner's do in fact match. Believe that you don't want to get midway through setting up what kind of roleplay you'll do, only to have to let the whole thing fall apart because it turns out they want someone who can respond every day and you're not up for it.

What does half of this pairing stuff even mean and how does someone turn this into a story?

Generally there are a few things people advertise in 1x1s. However, always keep this in mind: 1x1 interest checks are not generally about a single idea, but rather the real advertisement is the other player. A group roleplay centers around a roleplay idea. They aren't there because the other people involved are necessarily the best group for them, but because they wanted to gather to participate in that idea. A 1x1 roleplay, on the other hand, is explicitly the result of people finding themselves suited for each other as partners for the roleplay, it's a lot more personal than 1x1.

That said, these are the types of things advertised aside from people's preferences:
-Plots: A premise for the roleplay's story
-OCs: A specific OC someone wants to play. May or may not come with something else attached.
-Fandoms: A roleplay based on a given media, show, etc... Generally distinct are the "OCs only" camp (where cannon characters are not allowed, only original characters the two players play in the setting of the fandom), the "cannon character" camp, which generally favors playing cannon characters (usually these are expressed in a list of pairings under the fandom) and the "oc and cannon" camp, who usually have oc x cannon pairings and often will ask you to double up (so each player is playing two PCs, in two separate pairs)´
-Pairings: Something x something. These carry a lot of variation, but the best way to think about them is character roles (for instance knight x king may be a roleplay where one character is a knight and the other is a king, whatever form those characters or plot happen to take). May or may not have romantic implications depending on the player, and they may prefer to either just jump into the roleplay with just the roles or want to make a plot around the pairing first.

The above are the generally found. Below are ones either only I, or at least very people used:
-Setting: Just a roleplay setting, in which characters can either just be dropped or defining a plot first.
-Rip-Offs: Just something I named a part of my interest check, they are like fandoms but without using the actual fandom, just a would-be-copy of it or highly derivative setting or plot based on its concept.


I tried to be as general as possible so the wording may sound confusing, feel free to ask me if there's anything you'd like me to explain better. Either way, hope this helps and happy RPing!