dependent on the people. my straightforward yet vague "don't ask further questions" description of rp to strangers, or people i'm not close to, or who i know don't share the same quirky hobbies (i.e. if i know you play dnd or have ocs, i'm more likely to mention rp to you) just tends to be "online writing group". if i'm probed about it further (i.e. like when my therapist asked me to elaborate since i did opt to get therapy after one bout of a rough rp stint), i'll just say the whole deal. i think internet and nerd culture these days makes it a lot more, like, accessible and less prone to weird stares tbh.
funnily enough, said stint did lead to me exposing myself as an rp-er to my rl circles (family, close friends, a work friend who eventually became a close friend) for, let's chalk it up to Reasons(TM) — and honestly? worth it. granted, a lot of it was due to the fact i treated rp/my narratives in rp as a labor of love, so it was rlly just,,,, Nice(TM) to show that, hear the opinion, and the response of people i know in my rl. everyone i knew were invested at best (one of my friends straight up asked me if i could link them my home site so they could read ALL the threads i did for several narratives + gave a rlly indepth analysis of the ideas and plots i wrote that i didn't even think of myself but it was super cool to hear the outsider perspective), and at worst, all i got was "damn i can see how much this rlly shows what ur good at and how you incorporated the shit you did for rp into rl and flourished, get that bread".
ofc my experience definitely, like, doesn't feel like it would be the Standard response. but hey, it was good for me. i think a lot of ppl—writers, especially—deal with the whole "fear of being known" and, like, same. but honestly? sometimes it's just nice to take that leap and ppl can be way cooler than you expect them to be
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