Rules and Regulations: GETTING STARTED

WAIT!!!!! YOU!!!!

I know what you're thinking. You're thinking that this is WAYYY too long and that you'll go off finding a simpler Bleach RPG. But you have to hear me out. Since you've been with me through the background, just have a read-through. I know it seems long, but you know how I talk. Half of that is my rambling, and the RPG is SIMPLE. Please, just dedicate minutes of your time and just read through. You'll find that I like to talk a little too much and that the game is so much simpler than the length of this post seems.

If you are new, I suggest you take some tme and read over the regulations. Some of these are simple rules, while some are proper manners to be used amongst the officers.


Standard Stuff


1. Standard Information

If you don't know what Soul Society is, and is unaware of Bleach information overall, I suggest you head on over to our good friend Wikipedia or Youtube to familiarize yourself. I would describe what Sereitei is and what the heck a Captain is with vivid detail, but that would take up too much room. I suggest that you watch a good portion of the Soul Society Arc of Bleach. That's not even 50 episodes.

That's unfair, you say? I disagree. This isn't just a Bleach-inspired Universe or a Bleach-based Universe. Technically speaking, this IS a Bleach universe. Otherwise, only original characters, and not Bleach characters, would be allowed in. I'm not trying to generalize anything, but when you live in Canada, for example, you generally have an idea that you live in democracy. You know that your Prime Minister is Stephen Harper (again). You know that there is an education system where smaller youths go to elementary, middle, and/or high schools. You know that there are enterprises and companies and all that shabang because that is how our universe runs. This is a Bleach universe. You should be watching a little Bleach, at least.

2. Language Enabling

It's probably a good idea to enable Chinese and/or Japanese on your computer so that you can see a good portion of this forum's title. You may also need it to see other titles in the forum.

3. Choice of Language

If you find someone else who speaks your language, and you guys want to chat at a cafe at the Merchants' Street, that's fine with me. But I do suggest that you don't use your language as much, since no one else will be able to understand you. Unless, of course, it's English.

If you would like to consult the Admin, (oh yay me!) I will suggest English, but Korean is another option. As long as it is limited to the basics, I suppose I can deal with French as well. 'Hands up if you've already guessed that I live in Canada!

As for rude behavior and such, there will be no excessive swearing, 'bad words', or inapproporiate words. Again, I could go on and on, but you guys know the details. Whatever they told you not to do in school sometime in your lives, you shouldn't do here. The problem with all this isn't only that you'll be kicked off the forum. You'll also be charged for office harassment and get kicked off or get demoted. Honestly, what would happen if you were charged with something like that in a police force, you know?

4. Mannerisms: IMPORTANT

Let's be serious. Gotei 13 is a Japanese, shinigami form of afterlife army/police force. There is a great deal of respect and Asian ways of handling things, so we must follow it as well. If there is ever a Kuchiki Byakuya here and you don't follow it, I wish you mercy from his punishments.

First of all, there's a big dispute over whether or not it should be 'lieutenants' or 'vice captains' or 'fuku-taicho(u)'. For the sake of simplicity, I used 'lieutenants', but 'fuku-taichou' is also acceptable, in honor of the original Bleach series. As for 'vice-captains', we won't use it. If you would like to argue with me on that matter, give that thought to your captains, and let's wait until the next Captains' Meeting rolls around.

This takes us to the English - Japanese spelling problem. Some prefer to say 'Good morning, captain!' while some prefer to say 'Ohayo gozaimasu, taicho!'. I don't care. Theoretically speaking, we should be speaking Japanese anyway. In any case, we may use both types of speech. Just make sure not to go overboard with the Japanese spelling, since some of us may not understand when you start saying '18395 northern district' in fluent Japanese.

Now, when addressing a superior officer, there must be a great deal of respect. I suggest you show this in some way. For example, I may choose to say 'my apologies' instead of 'I'm sorry'. Honestly, it doesn't matter what you do, as long as you show the respect. When you see someone of superior rank for the first time, you may wish to introduce yourself or say hello. Just as you wouldn't ignore your boss or the President of United States walking down a hallway, you shouldn't ignore them.

However, you may be good friends with a superior officer. You could be a 20th Seat while your brother is a Captain. You can say whatever you want to, to someone you know, like in that situation. However, when you are around other Captains, you shouldn't say 'Oh hey there John'. There's a great deal of professionalism here. Just think of it like an army base: even if the General is your sibling, you wouldn't come in the middle of a strategic meeting and call him by his nickname.

All this brings us to the problem of suffixes, honorifics, and the whole problem of what the heck you call each other. Captains and lieutenants should always be addressed as 'Captain', 'Lieutenant', or their Japanese counterparts. Names can be attached to form 'Captain John' or something. That doesn't matter so much. The problem is the lower-ranks, right? If you're a superior officer, calling on a lower-rank, you can simply call them by their last names or their Seat, like 'Smith' or '7th Seat' or '7th Seat, Smith'. Japanese counterparts are also accepted here. If you're a lower-rank who is calling on a superior officer of 3rd Seat or lower, you may just say 'sir' or 'ma'am' or '7th Seat' or '7th Seat Smith (sir!)'. It honestly doesn't matter all that much; just remember that you shouldn't be calling them only by names. But then again, you may know them, and you can refer to the previous paragraph for what to say then. If things get difficult, you can ask them what you should call them, or maybe they'll tell you straight up what they want to be called.

For better referencing on the respect and mannerisms, simply watch Bleach. You see shinigami panicking and bowing and kneeling everywhere for their superiors. There's casual bowing, 'Hai's, and so on. Watch a couple samurai movies, too. You guys should be pretty familiar with the whole 'respect' idea.

NAMES ARE AN IMPORTANT ISSUE. Whatever you are writing your full name for, last name must come before your first. Should your name be 'John Smith', it should be writtten 'Smith John'. Forget the comma. It's NOT 'Smith, John' or anything like that.

5. In Charater/ Out of Character

You should always be in character, wherever you are. Simply pretend that everything that goes on is a part of the series, Bleach. When you watched Bleach, you didn't see Rukia turning around and announcing, 'I gotta go afk. I'll be back in a couple days'.

You can be out of character, however, in Rukongai. There, you can post up all non-RPG things, like your fanfictions and fan art. Feel free to draw yourself and load it up. We can also bet yen on what should happen in the next manga chapter. The point is that, everywhere else, you should be in character. Notice that this RPG is heavily RP because this is about being someone that you are or are not, as a character.

Oh, and I'm out of character in rules and regulations because otherwise, it would be weird. If you would like to contact me privately to post an emergency question, you may send me messages in however way. But if it's something that can wait, you may give it to your superiors to bring it into the next meeting.

6. Going/Leaving: SUPER IMPORTANT

When you're at a place, you must post something there. Otherwise, you are nowhere and walking somewhere or logged out. When you are at a place, and then want to leave to go somewhere else, you must post at the end of your post, 'LEFT'. Otherwise, you are still at the place.

This is a forum, so I could be logging in 2 hours after someone. This sort of thing will always happen. So for example, if I log in at 3 o'clock at Urahara Shouten and say something WITHOUT saying 'LEFT', it means that my character is still there. A guy named Fred could come into the store and say hello to me WITHOUT saying 'LEFT'. 4 hours later, I could log back in and say hello back to him, then leave the store by saying 'LEFT' at the end of my hello. This creates the illusion that we were at the store for about 5 minutes. (haha).

7. How to Speak in Posts: IMPORTANT

You're probably wondering how you speak in posts. You don't write out a page describing your smirking entrance and other people's dialects.

You simply say something, as you would say it in real life. For example, I want to go to the Demon Arts Institute and walk into a classroom, and then say 'Hello, class! I will be teaching you today.' Then I want to pick up a pencil and ask 'Whose pencil is this?' After that I want to walk out of the classroom. All I have to do is:

1. Click on the proper links to a specific place in the Demon Arts Institute. This means that you have entered a place. Try to think of the image realistically in your head.

2. Type in 'Hello, class! I will be teaching you today'. Please don't say 'said I' or anything like that. That just drags everything out.

3. Type in that I have picked up a pencil. But remember that this is a discription. I'm not actually saying anything. So I could distinguish it by bolding it, puttng it in italics, etc. I could then type 'Picks up pencil.' or 'I walk over to pick up a pencil.' or 'Yusana picked up a bright pencil from the podium stand. The typical orange paint was chipped off somewhat by bite marks and a student's ordinary abuse.'

It doesn't matter how you say it. Just make sure to keep it SHORT.

4. Type in 'Whose pencil is this?'.

5. Press Enter once, twice, or maybe more and type 'LEFT'. This indicates that you left that place.

Now, you must be wondering how to say certain things. Yes, you can describe simple actions through your spoken words or a SHORT narration. You can show your face expression using smilies or describe your expression. However, I WOULD PREFER THAT YOU SPEAK. Try not to use narrations too much.

Here are things that you can't do. Some phrases are capitalized, just to express my annoyance.

1. YOU CAN'T TYPE IN YOUR THOUGHTS. You can't say something like 'Who does he think he is, thought John'. Why? Because you CAN'T READ SOMEONE ELSE'S MIND IN THE REAL WORLD. Some people might be able to with paranormal powers and whatnot, but this is for the majority that can't do so. This isn't fanfiction. This is 'reality'. Type in that you said it, or don't type it at all.

2. YOU CAN'T TYPE IN SOMETHING THAT NO ONE CAN HEAR. Guys, this is visual RPG. Everything you read, you should be able to connect with your senses. YOUR VISUALS ARE YOUR AUDIO. Don't write 'She's stupid (mumbling voice so quiet that no one can hear)'. Why? Because NO ONE HEARD IT. IF WE READ IT, WE HEARD IT. I'm sorry, but your mumbling was HEARD. Either that or don't type it at all.

3. YOU CAN'T TYPE IN YOUR EMOTION DIRECTLY. For example, you can't say 'John was happy'. As strange as this is, think about it. In real life, I can't tell if someone is happy or sad right away. I can only tell by what they say or their expression. Even then, they might be faking it and not revealing their thoughts. But the point is that you have to state the physicals of your character. For example, I could type in 'John looked happy' or 'I looked happy' or 'John smiled warmly, as if to express his happiness'. Let's not turn this into an all-knowing first- or third-person fanfiction.

4. YOU CAN'T TYPE IN YOUR INTENTIONS DIRECTLY. I have explained something like this above, 3 times. You should know that you can't type in 'John walked out of the classroom to get a ruler'. Why? Because when you do something, I don't know why. I can only assume from your actions, what you have said, or your expressions. Therefore I can type in 'Guys, I'm going to get a ruler!' or 'There was clearly a ruler missing in John's desk' or 'John reached for his ruler, but he could not find one. He made a desperate expression, as if he really needed a ruler' BEFORE I type 'John walked out of the classroom to get a ruler'.

3. YOU CAN'T CONTROL SOMEONE ELSE'S ACTIONS. Like I said, this isn't fanfiction. You can't say 'Then I knocked over a pail and John came to help me pick it up'. Why? Because you aren't John. You may type in 'Help me pick it up, John'. But what John does is up to John. HOWEVER, YOU CAN DESCRIBE THE CONSEQUENCES OF YOUR ACTIONS. For example, you can type in 'Then I knocked over a pail and John was splashed with water'. You're saying that water was splashed on John. You're not affecting John's decision this way. You can also say something like 'I tripped and tripped John in the process, and we both fell over'. That's understandable, since you can't do much when you're tripped, even in real life.

4. YOU CAN'T MAKE THE CONSEQUENCES OF YOUR ACTIONS TOO BIG. Yes, you can type in 'Then I knocked over a pail and John was splashed with water'. However, you can't say 'Then John was soaking wet with litres and litres of water and he looked like a drowned rat'. The problem isn't the drowned rat reference. The problem is that John was soaking wet. You said that the water was splashed, but how John responds to it is his problem. John may have avoided the splash completely using flash steps. John may have been completely soaked. John may have backed up somewhat and caused some water to miss him. BE CAREFUL NOT TO VIOLATE NUMBER 3 ABOVE.

Because of all those reasons, I SUGGEST STRONGLY THAT YOU USE AS LITTLE NARRATION AS POSSIBLE. Remember to act as you would in real life. If someone is splashed with water, think about it. What would you, as your character, do when you see that?


Still not convinced? Me neither. But this is just standard guidelines and stuff. Head on over to the next post!


- Yamamoto, Admin.