The Rules

[the_marines]

After You've Been Accepted...

• Join the comm with your character's journal.
• Wait to be approved for membership (should be less than 24 hours, likely less on add days).
• Add your contact info.
• Add all the other characters as friends!
• READ THIS POST.
• Post! Comment! Have fun!

The Rules

• Playing the game:
  
  
  • Your character can be a pirate, a bounty hunter, a Marine, or really anything else that can justifiably be found in the One Piece realm.  [Due to the impact Gol D. Roger's death had on the world of One Piece, he is not eligible as a playable character (either apped or npc). Other characters who have died in canon will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.]  Your character can do a variety of things through his or her Livejournal: share adventures on the seas, find new crew mates, form alliances, strengthen bonds with your nakama, plot a coup d'état, pick fights with other pirate crews, OR ANYTHING ELSE YOU CAN THINK OF.
  
  
  • Your character uses his or her Livejournal just as anyone would use a personal LJ, which means that your characters are communicating over the internet, not in person.  Use it for personal reasons or for social networking, but make it interesting and fun and stay in character!
  
  
  • Yes, there is wireless internet while on the ocean.
  
  
  • *Asterisks* and [Brackets] - These are fine to do in logs to denote actions, but for the most part you will stick to first-person replies in normal livejournal entries.
  
  
  • [Actions] - HOWEVER, there comes a point in some threads where it no longer makes sense for your characters to be talking to each other via a computer when they're sitting right next to each other.  In this case, you can now use an [Action] tag in the subject line of your comment, and in the body of the comment you can do actions using *asterisks* or [brackets] to depict what your characters are doing (please, no prose-form tagging for [Action] threads).  There are some separate rules that go along with this:
  
  
  • All posts will be still be in the usual livejournal format, and therefore all threads should start out as normal livejournal threads!  They can turn into [Action] threads at a later point.
  • You MUST put an [Action] indicator in the subject line of your comment!  These threads should be clearly marked so it's easy to distinguish if they are or are not still part of a normal livejournal thread.  Once the thread has turned into an [Action] thread, you can assume that the characters are no longer communicating online and therefore outside characters cannot witness what is happening in the thread from that point on.  Kind of like it's a private thread!
  • Characters can only use an [Action] tag if they are in close proximity of each other!  In other words, physically close characters, like characters on the same ship, can interact with each other utilizing the [Action] tag, but if one character is on Water 7 and another character is out in the middle of the Grand Line somewhere, they cannot use [Action] tags with each other!!  The reason for this should be self-explanatory, which is that it's illogical for characters nowhere near each other to be enjoying a cup of tea together.
  • Because of the above, visits between crews are encouraged!  If you want to interact this way with characters not on your ship, have your crews meet up for awhile!
  • Also continuing in the same vein, [Action] tags should only be used to depict what your character is doing when they are interacting with another character near them.  Not how they are feeling or what they are thinking if they're threading with a character miles away. This is still a livejournal-based game, so normal livejournal comments should be used for the majority of your tags, which means that the character on the other side of the computer does not need to know what is going on inside your character's head!
  • Repeat, [Action] tags should only be used to depict actions and interaction between characters in the same general area and should not be used at all between anyone else or to explain a character's thought process.
  
  
  • [Private] - Can be used in the subject line of a comment indicating that thread is private between your character and the owner of the entry you are commenting on. Please don't actually make any real screened threads because that's no fun for the rest of us. I mean come on, who doesn't want to read a private thread between say...Kakashi and Chopper?!
  
  
  • [Filtered to/from _______] - Can be used in the subject line of an entry to indicate if it is locked to certain characters or not. Please don't actually make any real filtered entries because then thats no fun for the people who aren't included!  You cannot filter sections of one entry, either the entire entry is filtered to one person/group or the entire entry is public.  If you want to discuss something in private with someone, either make a private thread to them, or make an entire entry dedicated to being private to that one person.
  
  
  • Voice/Video posts - This is still a livejournal-based game, and we don't intend to have other methods of communication such as phones or video-communicators replace that. But, since people have asked, you may post a "phone post" or "video" to your journal. Just make sure it is clear OOC that you are posting in that manner. However, all replies to the post will be in comment format as always.
  
  
  • - Because your character has a livejournal account, strikes work the same way here as they do anywhere else.  Can you read this?  Well so can any characters in the game!  There is no level of readability regarding strikes.  If you want something to be "invisible", white font is always an option!
  
  
  • Character Deaths - Killing characters in game and subsequently resurrecting them is not allowed in this RP.  Your character is to remain alive at all times!  They can be injured in battle and whatnot, but nothing beyond that.
  
  
  • Logs - Go for it. Anything is fair game for log posts, be it *asterisks*, [brackets], or prose-form paragraph style! Post logs OOCly to your character's journal, not the community. Friends locking is suggested if it has risqué content!  Logs will NOT count towards your character's two post per month requirement.  Open logs are encouraged as well!
  
  
  • NPCs - Go for it! Just respect other people's NPCs. If someone is already NPCing them, don't make another version. Also, if you find you are playing a certain NPC around a lot, we ask that you app them. Playing an NPC around a lot is like having a full character without any of the posting requirements, and it's unfair to the other players in the game.
    
  
  
  • the_marines is the mod account. If you get a comment from them, please read it! And if for some reason you want to pick up one of the marines from One Piece or something, it's not a playing character so don't worry about offending someone!  They will be posting about once a month with new wanted posters, if there is anyone worthy.  Your characters will not be able to comment to these entries, assume they saw the wanted posters in port/in the newspaper/by word of mouth/etc.
  
  
• Posting requirements:
  
  
  • At LEAST two posts a month, please, even if your character was accepted in the middle of the month. But seriously, the more you post, the more fun everyone can have! And the more the game keeps rolling.
  
  
  • If you don't meet this requirement, you will be purged on the first of the month. Or you could grovel at our feet and we'll probably forgive you. But no promises. This only serves the purpose to keep things updated and keep people interested. I don't want to have to purge anyone, but it is a necessary evil.
  
  
  • New characters are added the first and third Saturdays of each month!


• Other stuff:
  
  
  • The mallowmateys community - is for OOC posts about hiatusing / dropping, and for official announcements from the mods.
  
  
  • The mm_shipshape community - is for OOC memes, getting to knoooow each other~, or anything players wanna chat about.  It is also where all the Ship Posts will be located, and you can find them conveniently linked in the sidebar.
  
  
  • The mm_marines community - is for IC announcements and plot-related information/posts.  This is a comm that only the mods will be posting in, but keep an eye on it for potential Marine activity, game-wide treasure hunts, and more!
  
  
  • Hiatus - e-mail mallowmateys@gmail.com with Hiatus as the subject line, state what characters it affects, the character's username, and how long you'll be gone. If you do it before the 15th of the month and have it last until past the end of the month, you'll be exempt from posting that month.
  
  
  • Dropping - e-mail mallowmateys@gmail.com with Dropping as the subject line, state what character it affects, and the character's username.
  
  
  • Character Limit - Four characters per player, please. Stick with who you're good at and who you enjoy playing! NPC characters before you apply for them to give them a test run if you want.
  
  
  • Age Requirement - Please, no one under 16, sorry!
  
  
  • Cursed Fruits - The most important thing to note about these is that their effects are not permanent. Generally they last for about a week, but that can be extended or shortened by a couple days as players see fit. Each character is allowed ONE fruit use in a three month period. There are currently five of these fruits allowed in-game, and they are as follows:
    
    
    • Gender-changing Fruit (pink banana) - Eat this one and your character gets a sex change for a week. If you’re a girl, you become a guy. If you’re a guy, you become a girl!
    • Age-changing Fruit (blue carrot) - Add some years to your character or take them off. You can become a teen again, relive your toddler years, or find a cane for the sudden grandpa. Whatever you want!
    • Body-switch Fruit (red peach) - Two characters suddenly find themselves in each other's bodies after eating this fruit. Awkward much?
    • Size-changing Fruit (yellow strawberry) - With this fruit, a character will either shrink to pocket-size or grow to gigantic proportions. Have fun coping with their newfound size for a week!
    • Super-power Fruit (purple apple) - Your character will gain a stereotypical superhero power with this one. Will they have super strength? Maybe they can fly or go invisible! Almost like a REAL Devil Fruit, except the effects only last a week!
  
  
  • How's My Driving Posts - It's recommended that each player have one in their journal, HOWEVER, there is also a permanent community-wide HMD post for anyone who doesn't want to have their own. It can be found here!

The Golden Rule

R-E-S-P-E-C-T
Find out what it means to me.

• No godmodding. Period.
• If your character is ICly an asshole, by all means, go for it. But OOC respect is key!
• If you see something going on that you're concerned about, don't be afraid, contact a mod! We're here for you~