many people in the tags of this post seem to believe i am talking about ttrpgs, or LARPing, or other some such. a great number of other people are proclaiming that they would like to do this, but they have no time for an investment of this sort, or that it’s embarrassing, or that they don’t know how to go about it. i think these two things are at least somewhat interconnected, so let me speak plainly: while there’s nothing wrong with complex, in-depth roleplay and LARPing and ttrpgs, i am talking about extremely bare bones text message roleplaying.
dont get wrapped up in making it complex, or abiding by a set of rules, or making it any more complicated than it needs to be. find a buddy, find or make some characters, and go back and forth sending messages to each other in character. draw it if you want. there’s discord bots that let you set up little fake accounts so you can be more “authentic” with it, but you don’t need those if you don’t want to. find a forum to do it on, or make one. do it with your friends, or take the plunge and join a server full of strangers to make new friends. write one-sentence replies with poor grammar. use asterisk roleplaying like this *puts my hands on your shoulders* if you need to. make it simple. make it easy. make it fun. if it’s not fun, put it down and try again or find something else, but at least give it a try. i’m dead serious here. remember how to play again and experience that kind of wonder that you haven’t in years. it will help you overcome the shame that has been hammered into you. it’s good for you. i promise
