InsaneJournal

For Clarification.

Character - When we say "character," we are talking about the actual person that you create. Former Tales are now open for play! This also means that Tale transfers are allowed in-game.
Tale - One's "Tale" refers to the actual fairy tale character that they represent (ie: The Big Bad Wolf or Peter Pan). This also refers to the status of being a Tale (ie: if you are Cinderella, you are a Tale), versus being a mortal.
Mortals - Refers to normal people. The only mortal characters allowed at Grimmingly are those that were Tales or those that are (shortly) going to become Tales.

Number One → The Abilities.

All characters have a level of magic and powers that go hand in hand with what story they come from—and those are up to the player. For example, our ____ can control _____. This ability is completely up to the player, but it must be logical. The moderators have a final say in what power your character has—but we’re not picky. We just don’t want anyone having the power to raise the dead or anything that strong. The popularity of the story, legend, or myth determines how powerful they are in relation to other characters. The more popular the Tale is, the more powerful their ability could be. Cinderella would be more powerful than, say, Akela from The Jungle Book.

Number Two → Becoming a Tale

In most Tales' lives, they reach a point in time where they wish to settle down and live like a normal human being (especially since, as a Tale, they cannot have children). At this point, the normal (and most accepted) course of action is that they will find someone similar to themselves, someone that they believe will do their Tale justice. Snow White may choose someone based on their innocence; Cinderella may choose someone based on their oppressive family; one of the Lost Boys from Peter Pan could choose a playful orphan; and so forth. It doesn't have to be a perfect match; in fact, the vaguer the Tale, the less that there is to judge a match from. This means that there is a lot of freedom in the game for how your character was "chosen"—it can be based on life experiences or personality.

Once selected, it's up to the current Tale to convince the mortal to agree to become the next incarnation of the Tale. Usually, they'll become close to the person—as a friend or mentor—before breaking it to the person one day. Once they mention the existence of Tales, however, they only have until midnight on that day to get the mortal to agree. If they are not successful by the twelfth strike at midnight, then the mortal's memory of Tales is erased and the tale must start again, if they still even want the person to take their place. Sometimes, they'll just cut their losses and try someone new.

If the mortal agrees, the transfer is somewhat anticlimatic. There is a touch and, while not felt right away, something passes between them. The magic that has kept the Tale immortal and given them magical abilities goes to the "fledgling" tale, halting their aging and endowing them with an ability that is linked to the story their Tale originated from. The ex-Tale, however, is now just a mortal, and they are usually quick to get on with living the rest of their life.

Of course, the transfer isn't always as ideal. Some (more malicious) Tales trick weak-minded mortals into agreeing (rare), or even transfer the Tale knowlingly but without the recepient's knowledge (extremely rare). Sometimes the chosen mortal doesn't quite live up to expectations despite the shared similarity (a little less rare). And some transfers are unplanned. These "accidental" transfers are prevalent enough among Tales that it deserves more of an explanation.

These are the results of violent deaths of the Tale, where the body can't survive. Things like fire, decapitation, and other instances where the actual body is destroyed. In this case, the Tale is, in essence, ejected from the destroyed body and takes hold of the nearest compatible person (someone that shares a few traits). The newly made Tale is often left dazed and confused with their new abilities, but, as though by instinct hardwired into the Tale's magic, they know what they have become—and they are aware of the "rules."

Number Three → The Past Lives

There’s also the concern of ‘past lives’. As each tale is a single consciousness passed on from person to person, your characters memories are strictly contained to what he or she knew in their past form. However, since there is a consciousness that’s being transferred, your character will remember everything that was experienced while in the previous body (or bodies). Any memories made in that period will be memories that they can call upon in their new form. Memories from the time before that previous body became a tale are sort of a toss-up—your character will only remember them if they were frequently called to mind.

Essentially, anything that was experienced by the tale while they were in the previous body, and anything that was recalled often enough to affect the tale will be something that is carried on as a memory into the next body. Thus, enemies might be remembered from body to body, or perhaps lovers, or even friends.

Number Four → The Immortality

So, your character is immortal. But what does this mean? It’s not immortality in the sense that your character is invulnerable to injury; a plane crash or a bomb is still going to kill them. It is immortality in the sense that the body doesn’t age. From the moment the tale transfers into a character’s body, that body no longer ages. Likewise, the moment the tale is transferred to a new body, the previous body begins to age at a regular pace.

It’s definitely possible for a body to be killed, any number of ways. Immortality is only a lack of aging; it doesn’t prevent disease, injury, or violent death. It’s merely the fountain of youth, as it were.

Number Five → The Research.

The concept of the game means that there are going to be things you have to know to create and play your character. The most obvious is, of course, the publication date for the story your Tale comes from. (Yes, publication. We have to be able to set a definitive time for when these Tales came into being in the real world, and for simplicity's sake this is best. For some of the older stories we realize this is difficult - being vague is fine if there is no specific date of publication available.) But in addition to that you should have a general knowledge of what was happening in the world during all this time your character has been alive. The very nature of the game requires some research and history, it's really that simple. World events such major social or political movements, wars, etc. are unavoidable: your character has had to deal with them in some way.

We aren't asking for anything in-depth and we aren't demanding that all character histories be shaped around these things but please consider these issues and look up facts or dates as needed when fleshing out details. (Remember, if you aren't willing to put in some effort on an application then we're going to assume you aren't going to be putting effort into play, either.)

Number Six → The Character Limit.

There is no character limit at Grimmingly. The goal is to let your imagination run wild! However, there should be no character hogging. Don't take Cinderella, Peter Pan, and Snow White. Try to keep a happy medium of minor and well-known characters so that everyone has a fair chance. However, as far as the character limit goes: be responsible. Only take as many as you can honestly keep active, because if we feel that you cannot handle as many as you have, we will ask you to drop one or two. What we’re trying to avoid through this is the accumulation of inactive characters and journals that other people might want to play, and would keep active. It should be noted that after your third character, we will be keeping a closer eye on your activity should you decide to apply for a fourth.

Number Seven → The Literacy.

This is a literate site—which means we’d like for you to have a firm grasp of the English language and not type “1ik3 diz”. It doesn’t mean that you have to write novels for role-play threads, or paragraphs upon paragraphs for your character’s information. However, it does mean that we’d like for you to put time and effort into your writing.

This shouldn't even have to be mentioned, but be courteous when it comes to your replies. If someone just wrote a page or two for a post, don't be a dipshit and respond with only a few lines. It's rude.

Number Eight → The Out of Character Drama.

There is no out-of-character drama. Or, rather, if it ever happens, we’d appreciate it if you’d keep it off of the communities and out of the game. If it can’t be solved, or it develops to the point where others are starting to take sides, or characters are falling out of character in order to bicker, take it to a mod to help you solve it—that’s what we’re here for. Don't be afraid to let us know about any drama that a member is stirring up—we will keep your name confidential and there will be no backlash for your honesty.

Number Nine → The Posting & Activity.

All journals are first-person entries made by your character. And it’s not done on computers. It’s not done on some magic book created by one of the characters. The journals just are. And no mortals are on them.

All role-play threads are to be third person, written in story-form, and posted behind an lj-cut with a short disclaimer above it. All letters, “emails,” or messages of any kind between characters are to be posted in the role-playing community behind a lj-cut. There is no disclaimer necessary for messages. You may also have AIM Conversations between characters—these are to be posted as a completed conversation and behind a LJ cut. For simplicity's sake, just use the first "part" of your character's e-mail as their screenname (such as "w.darcy" from "w.darcy@gmail.com" for Wendell Darcy).

Due to the fact that Grimmingly is a large community, we do require you to post a journal entry for each of your characters at least once every two weeks. After four weeks of inactivity (without a notice of hiatus posted as a reply to the friend-all button), your character will be removed from the game and you'll have to reapply to get back in. The best way to avoid this is to update your character's journal regularly so that we can see in a single glance that you are still a part of Grimmingly.

Number Ten → The Allowed Tales.

Only select tales are allowed at Grimmingly. Luckily for you, there's an entire list dedicated to this. If the story you want isn't on the list (or its storyteller isn't listed), for simplicity's sake, it's not allowed at Grimmingly. Likewise, for some of the more popular stories with multiple authors we have chosen one version to use and have listed it under that author. Please make sure your character conforms to that specific version of the story. If you're looking for character ideas there is a list of wanted characters that have been requested by current players - fill a plotline! It will make us happy.