The Black Pot

As some of you were concerned about potentially having more than one version of a character, we have a new and improved plan.

You can check this post for the full details, but basically, we're going to have a list of characters in play, with kind of a roll-call each month, and characters are only lost if they aren't claimed for three months in a row - at which point they can be picked up by someone else.

Like I said, details in this post here. Come August 1st, these new rules come into effect, but you can make your starting comment-claim over on this post starting now.

Queries and concerns here, please. Everyone happy?

After some consideration, and with neither Emerald nor I able to devote the time we'd like to applications, we've decided to do away with applications entirely.

In effect, membership will be open and you can pick up and put down as many characters as you like, even other characters in play. Consider it the walls of reality breaking down, if it helps. Some of you may have experience with dressing-room communities, which is pretty much what Seaside Cafe will become.

Topics of discussion will continue as ever and this shouldn't affect any storylines you have going. I'm hoping this will make gameplay more enjoyable and less rigid. I'm optimistic. :)

Hello there from your not so green and sparkly mod! Just a few quick points.

1. Please remember to hit your 100 word minimum on posts! If you can't write that much, include a picture. If you/your character can't draw, so much the better.

2. Please only post to the seasidecafe to respond to discussion topics. If you're not giving your response to a topic, you really should be over at the noticeboard.

3. In the New Year, we shall be thinning out the players/characters who haven't been taking part. RPing in the comments doesn't count as activity, unfortunately. That's an extra, so please, if you have neglected characters, get them to shout out!

We're really not too strict about the rules so long as everyone is having fun, but occasional prods can't hurt, right?

Just a quick notice to inform you that we've upped the limit on characters from two to three. I can't ever see it going up to four so if you're on two already please think very carefully about taking on a third.

There is no obligation to have more than two characters, or indeed more than one. If you're here for the RPing, having three might exhaust you. If you're here for the writing/creative output side, then three might work out nicely.

If you're already a member, there's no need to apply for your third. Just comment here (screened) to tell us who you want and we'll go from there. I can't see anyone not getting who they want as a third unless they're already taken or you've already got someone from that fandom.

First of all: thanks to all for bearing with us, and sorry for the delay in getting things started. We're now all set to open up the seasidecafe, and so James and Regulus would like to extend a very warm welcome to the new residents of Margate by way of a raffle. There are plenty of fantastic prizes to be won, and hopefully a few new friendships to be forged as well. So please, do come along and enjoy yourselves, and maybe you'll even get a free cup of tea or two (if you're lucky).

The raffle will be starting tomorrow evening - we hope to see you all there!

Dear all, just a quick note to fill you in on a few things.

1. Emerald (and, by extension, Regulus) is currently off moving house and as she can't be expected to move house and open up a cafe in the same week, and James can't be trusted in the kitchen by himself, we're going to hold off on opening until she's back. We're looking at early to mid September. I know, it's a wait, but apronstrings is entirely worth it - trust me on that.

2. The bug with OpenID on IJ seriously screwed with the app form and I am only now just able to access the applications again. So bear with me if your character details aren't immediately added to the posts and if I'm a bit slow answering comments/emails. I'm currently a one-woman show!

3. Once Emerald has returned, we'll be opening things with a raffle, in proper Women's Institute style. It will hopefully set the tone and give you a chance to get to know the other players/characters.

Thanks for bearing with me!

Gameplay
Once a month, either Regulus (Emerald) or James (Flesh) will make a post giving the Topic of Discussion for the month. This can be absolutely anything, maybe something personal or maybe a wider debate point, (eg. 'Tell us about your ideal holiday' or 'Paris Hilton: Hot or Not?')

Your character(s) have the next month to post an in-character response. Text responses should be somewhere between 200 and 1000 words – anything over 500 words, with images or porny/violent should go behind a cut. This doesn't include a brief bit of scene setting. Responses don't have to be text. A sketch with a few brief lines of explanation will do nicely – also behind a cut, please.

If the Topic of Discussion is really stumping you and your character just can't come up with a response, no matter how tangential, then your alternative is to have your character tell us just what they've been doing in Margate this month. Have they been visiting the funfair? Trying to open a bank account? Looking for a job? Once again, picture responses are fine. The object of the posts is to let you play around inside a character's head and to spark a bit of conversation. On that note, thread-crashing in the comments is positively encouraged.

seasidecafe is only for the social evenings; there's also cafenoticeboard. If your character wants to find someone to share a flat with, ask about the sword they found tucked under their chair at the end of last meeting or find information on the best pubs in town, please use cafenoticeboard.

It's fine to run these kind of posts, especially if they feed into later character responses to Topics of Discussion but try to keep them secondary to the social evening posts. RPing's great but it can be stressful for people who don't have time to catch up on everything that's happened and we don't want people feeling excluded.

Characters
To claim a character, please read this post...

This is a multifandom RPG. Any fandom at all. The only thing that doesn't go is real people (Jensen Ackles = no, Dean Winchester = yes please) or beings that would be unable to stand up in the middle of a café one evening and give a little presentation on their most memorable birthday, (Fang = no, Dobby = yes). On the subject of language, a most remarkable side-effect of so many universes colliding is that every spoken language (from English to Klingon) is universally understood. Handy that.

Please don't neglect your characters. If you find you're playing much more as one than the other, consider giving the other up.

There is bound to be shippiness. We all like our porn after all. And as James and Regulus are hardly a canonical couple, players should feel free to break up canon pairings as they wish – so long as it is fully discussed between all involved players.

If your responses are completely dominated with your shippy joy, however. please don't be surprised if members of the audience mock you or vomit on your shoes. But if you're coming into the game as a couple on the run from the same universe? More power to you. It's how James and Regulus made the jump.

Your character cannot bring anyone else with them from their universe (meaning Rufus Shinra cannot bring the Turks and Harry cannot bring Hermione and Ron). So if we end up with a Soubi who doesn't get on with the Ritsuka in the game, or an Aragorn who's in love with Grima Wormtongue (hey! It could happen!) we must assume that the characters are versions from different realities. Genuine chemistry between players always makes for more entertaining play than assumed chemistry. That said, try to keep your interaction vaguely in character – Dean Winchester is unlikely to be a complete arsehole to any Sam Winchester he meets, even if they're not as buddy-buddy as canon would have it.

In that vein, if we have a Remus already playing and a Sirius joins, it should not be assumed that they're from the same universe. They can be if you've discussed it in advance and you're both happy, but it's fine to have Remus from Universe A in play meeting a newly-joined Sirius from Universe B.

Your character must have some excuse/explanation for coming to the seaside café. James and Reg were fleeing horrible canonical fates. Bad things happening to your character in canon are a good starting point. That said, your character may perhaps have ended up in Margate by mistake and be simply killing time with fellow outsiders while actively looking for a way back home. Perhaps they just fancied a change of scenery.

Basic point: a character shown to be perfectly happy in canon must have some excuse for setting up a new life in a universe divorced from their own. We don't care what it is but give us one.

Admin
Please post a response to the Topic of Discussion at least every other month. That's just six little responses a year. If you don't want to get caught up in RPing in the comments, that's fine. The response posts are really what it's all about. And remember, we like crack. A bit of angst is fine though, just don't leave us tearful after every single one of your posts.

Your subject line should read 'Character Name: Topic of Discussion', obviously with the relevant info filled in. There's no other required header. There might eventually also be character name and topic tags, which it would be great if you could use, please.

Please be warned that you may inadvertently be spoiled for every fandom under the sun by playing here. It's kind of unavoidable. That said, please be cautious about using new spoilers. If an episode of House goes out one week and your response refers to events that happen within it, either put it beneath a cut and a warning, or steer clear of using the material for a few weeks. But once again, please accept that you're bound to pick up a few spoilers here and there.

Godmodding shouldn't really be an issue as the game isn't set up like that. Basically, don't include things in your post that affect other players, not without discussing it with them first. Don't comment on the earthquake that hit Margate and don't say you saw Severus Snape coming out of Ann Summers (though you can say you saw someone you thought was Severus Snape coming out of Ann Summers).

The exception to this is when you're answering a more personal Topic of Discussion. If you want your Kadaj to mention that Loz always had really bad breath, that's fine, even if we have a Loz player, because we will obviously assume you're referring to the Loz you left behind in the universe from which you've come.

This is meant to be fun and reasonably low stress. If it stops being either of those things, let one of us mods know and we'll do our best to help you figure out how we can make it all good again.

To claim a character, please read this post...

Here's how it works:

New/potential players:

1. Check down the list of characters to see who is already in play. If the character you wish to play is not claimed, join the community with your character journal.

2. If the character you wish to play has been claimed, but three consecutive months have passed without the month being claimed, then you may join the community with your own character journal and start playing.

Existing players:

1. Comment below with your character journal. In the comment-subject, please put your character's name. In the comment-body, please put your character name again and which fandom, (with your personal email and/or IM too if you don't mind being contacted). Do this separately for each character you play.

2. At the start of each month, please comment in a thread to your original comment, with the month/year, to say you're still in play. See below for the 'Sephiroth' example.

3. No pre-emptive or retro-active month-claiming, please. For example, you can't claim December until it's actually December 1st, though you can claim it right up until December 31st.

4. If three consecutive months pass without you claiming the month, then you forfeit the character and someone else can take them on.

5. If at any point you wish to drop a character, simply delete your comments.

6. James Potter and Regulus Black are claimed for all eternity. ;)

This system does lend itself to some abuse, yes. Hopefully, everyone will play fair and not stockpile characters, claiming months and never posting. If, however, you notice someone doing this and it's affecting your own gameplay, have a quiet word with one of the mods and we'll do something.