application walkthrough

BIOGRAPHY WALKTHROUGH

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This walkthrough is to ensure that all new members that are ready to write their character biography can have a sense of what's acceptable, what's not acceptable, and how to properly fill out areas of biography to make it easier for staff for reviewing. If by all means that you feel you do not need to read this, then you should definitely take the time to do so.

In this walkthrough, I will cover all aspects required for this role play's expectations. Please be sure to refer to this when you have an inquiry about what you're writing, although it never hurts to ask a staff member as well. If there are any questions about this walkthrough, or if there is something written that confuses you, please let us know.

You'll notice 'BR' under sections of this walkthrough. Simply put, it means 'base requirements: the least possible amount of information you can write within the section. It is very much advised to exceed the base requirements, however meeting the base will not condemn you in any way shape or form.

As a disclaimer, this was not made to personally attack anyone. This was created to help you.

CODING

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For those of you not familiar with v5 coding, it's very simple and easy to get used to once you know what you're doing. It's best to make sure you understand the basics of it before applying to this site, otherwise you'll have the slightest clue on what to do. As always, the coding for the template is made to ensure uniformity (and of course to make things look pretty.) Please refrain from making it look sloppy and deformed from what it's supposed to look like. If you do, you're simply giving us more things to do, as well as letting us know you don't care in general. Let us know if you don't know how to fix a code instead of leaving it the way it is, we will help you fix it to what it's supposed to be.

Never delete anything with *div. Deleting brackets seen anywhere in the coding will mess it up entirely. Please be aware of what you're deleting. If you're familiar with v4 coding, you'll notice that instead of *newclass, everything starts with *div instead. Only fill in what you are needed to. Do not try to fix any coding yourself if you're not familiar with it.

APPLICATION OVERVIEW

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Please make sure you are choosing the correct template for your character before starting. When you do, you may feel overwhelmed by the coding if you are not familiar with it beforehand. Scroll through it before attempting to start so you can understand where everything is and where things should be placed, as well as read through any additional notes placed in there.

For your images, you do not touch or change i.imgur.com/cxxURSO.png at the top. What you do change is this portion, placehold.it/350x100. Please keep your image as the dimensions required. Anything wider will resize, but the length will not, so keep it reasonable. You may use this free image editor - here - to quickly do so. Also, please make sure your mini profile image to the left (which is referred to as the hover image when you modify your settings) is of your character and the proper dimensions as well. The second image after you hover (which would have originally been an 100x100 icon,) states the proper dimensions and is preferred to be as a gif. You do not have to use a gif image if you prefer not to. You may use this free gif editor - here - to quickly make or resize one.


Please make sure you write each and every part of your character's biography in third person (ie. he said, she said) Refrain from referring to 'you', as well, as you aren't talking to the reader directly.

CHARACTER NAMES & SCHOOL YEARS

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Please choose your character's name realistically, as in, do not name your character something you wouldn't name a human being in real life. The setting here is located in Japan, so the more common collection of names would originate from Japan, but of course other types of names are accepted as well. You must also take into consideration that someone else may already have their character named the same name you want. If that's the case, please change your idea. We don't want millions of Bobs and Sallys, it would confuse many people when trying to plot and interact with their fellow role play partners. Last names goes without saying; if they are related, then it's fine, but if they aren't related, please choose differently. There are millions of names online that you can find; don't be lazy and use someone else's. We will point out the name specifically if you haven't noticed yourself (being it a coincidence or not.)

As many of you know, or do not know, Japan's school system is different than of the states (if you live there.) There are three years to a typical high school, the third being the last year. Once you're in your third year, you graduate. So, if your character is going to be in his or her first year, they'd typically be aged fifteen to sixteen. Second year is from sixteen to seventeen, and third is from seventeen to eighteen.

ESSENTIALS

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For originals, this your appearance section. Even though your face claim gives away many obvious details already, it's best to describe further and let others get inside your head as to how you personally perceive your character's appearance.

Because we are not based on a fantasy role play, any outrageous face claims (guys with pink hair, girls with purple hair) are typically not allowed. However, what you can do to bypass this is explain how and why they look the way they do. (ie. dyed hair, coloured-contacts)

For canon characters, this section would be your role play sample of the character you are applying for, as their appearance are already set in stone. We require at least 300 words for your sample, as well as renaming this section as role play sample. The sample should be something closely related to what your canon character would do, say, and think. You do not have to be completely perfect, but you must be able to fully understand the canon character in order to be able to 'become' the character.

PERSONNEL
(BR: 250 words)

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The tricky part about writing personalities is that there are many ways to contradict what you're trying to convey. It is going to happen if you're not thoroughly thinking through your character's personality, and not everyone can be perfect about it. The best way to write personalities is by listing their traits and describing them, rather than writing paragraph after paragraph. By listing them, it lays out the positives and negatives in front of you, making it clearer for you to catch contradicting traits rather than having to search through all of your paragraphs and re-reading them constantly. However you prefer to write your personalities is based on you; both ways are acceptable. If you need help with trying to find traits, you may refer to - here - to grab some ideas. This trait site will also help you in finding strengths and weaknesses for your character as well.

An example of a contradiction is as followed:

"She is quiet around people she does not know but she can be very boisterous when voicing her opinions."

An example that is not a contradiction is a followed:

"She is quiet around people she doesn't know, but when she's around her friends she is loud."

We, of course, give all members enough freedom to write whatever kind of personality they would like their character to be. It's your character, we understand, however there are certain aspects we have to tone down or restrict entirely because of obvious reasons:

• Emo Personality: There's something about this stereotype that everyone seems to be accustomed to. There's a fine like between being emotional and being too emotional. We will not allow character personalities that require them to literally cut themselves to pieces in every single post they are in. We will also not allow personalities that are just overall too dark for this light-hearted role play. If you are going to go down this route regardless, you must do so in a very minor-esque way. If you'd like examples of what is acceptable and what is not, let a staff member know. Think about it for a second, though.
• Bi-Polar Disorder or Split personality: Exceedingly moody characters are not allowed. These two disorders are real, and very dangerous, so we'd prefer to keep them off the site. Prior consent by a staff member, however, may grant you the ability to add light variations of these.
• Gangsters or "Yankees": We will not accept gangsters. That just goes without saying. Guns, firearms in general, are not allowed, and personalities that encourage that will not be accepted. However, being the term "yankee" is a light variation of gangsters (in some ways. Most people define it as the same as a thug in america), tough chicks and dudes are perfectly okay. However, because Ouran High is formed from the high class and swarmed with wealthy students, it's best to keep the tough act to a minimum.

Please PM a staff member if you need more clarification on what's acceptable and what is not.

BACKGROUND
(BR: 350 words)

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Histories defines your character and can easily make or break them. We strive to give you enough freedom as possible regarding histories, however we are forced to place restrictions on the content of what you write because of the lack of originality and other obvious reasons. Because this is an Ouran High School Host Club Role Play, we encourage light-hearted and relatively normal, sane character histories. Restrictions are as followed:

• Murder.
• Rape.
• Substance Abuse.
• Domestic Violence.
• Self-harm.

We completely understand that in real life, these types of situations are real, and it does happen. However, because these are real life situations, many people―even children stumble across role play sites daily and do not know what it's like to be in situations like these, therefore we do not encourage histories regarding any of what is listed. What you can do, however, is lightly refer to these situations if you're serious that your character has gone through them. With that, we require you to notify us first before you do so. Please note that you may or may not be granted consent.

With illnesses, we don't want every single character sick with a life-threatening illness (asthma doesn't count as it's pretty common,) so be aware that we may retract that from your bio if we feel we have too many sickly children roaming around.

Regarding canon histories, that goes without saying. Be sure to follow canon rules and keep your history as close to the canon as possible. For originals, remember that Ouran High is made up of wealthy families and very rarely do they accept middle-class or lower. Make sure to take that into consideration when writing your history and filling out your character's parent's occupations as well. You do not have to go all out if you prefer not to; keep it simple, starting from birth to present time, and fill in the milestones in which molds your character into what he/she is today.


(c) to Kei for Ouran High. Please do not repost this on any other site.