What Does RP (Roleplay) Mean?
Fandom CultureCollaborative in-character storytelling, where each participant writes as a character and the story emerges from their interactions. RP communities exist on Tumblr, Discord, forums, and beyond.
RP (Roleplay) in Practice
Fandom RP is improvised co-authorship: players adopt characters (canon or original), establish a setting, and build narrative through alternating in-character posts, from rapid-fire chat scenes to elaborate multi-paragraph 'literate' styles. The culture has rich infrastructure — character blogs, ask memes, plotting channels — and its own vocabulary, including mun (the player) versus muse (the character), and OOC markers for stepping outside the story. RP shapes fic culture in underappreciated ways: many writers train their dialogue and characterization through years of roleplay, and some long RPs get edited into posted fic. Etiquette centers on consent and communication, with godmodding — controlling another player's character — as the cardinal sin.
Example usage
"Their Discord RP has been running for two years and the relationship arc is better than most published romance."
Related Terms
Mun
In roleplay communities, the real person behind a character account — short for 'mundane.' The character itself is called the muse.
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Muse
The personified source of a writer's inspiration — fans talk about their muse cooperating, vanishing, or demanding a different story entirely. In roleplay, it also means the character a player embodies.
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OOC (Out of Character)
Describes behavior that doesn't match how a character acts in canon. As a critique it means the characterization rings false; as an author's tag it's a preemptive admission.
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Self-Ship
Shipping yourself with a fictional character — and the community practice built around it, complete with art, fic, and proudly claimed 'F/O' (fictional other) relationships.
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More Fandom Culture Terms
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