Some Clarification . . .

[Sarah_Kerrigan]

Alright, so I've finally been able to read through that massive event topic known as the Scramble, and from reading it, I just have a few things that I would like to be made a bit more clear for me:

Roleplaying as other Playable Characters

This is not something I am inherently used to, and, it could be because I have not been roleplaying that long, but, I have never seen it done to the extent that it has been in the Scramble. I suppose I would just like some finite rulings about it . . . more so than the only mention of it in the rules which seems to be in regards to battling with other Primes.

Basically, what is and what is not expected? Do I HAVE to let others roleplay as my character, and, do I HAVE to roleplay as theirs? Answers to those sort of questions is what I am looking for.

Controlling Npcs

This somewhat goes along with my first section, but, I noticed more of an inconsistency here with how people are dealing with them. Some for instance are not roleplaying them at all (which honestly I would prefer), and letting the staff roleplay both their characters and the Npcs responding to them. While others are doing both, roleplaying the npc's and their respective characters, while, allowing staff to do the same.

Likewise, I have similar questions as above. Does staff always have the right to control what our character's say, or, how they respond? Again, do I have to roleplay as the Npcs myself as well?

Thanks in advance for whomever responds to this~

[Ganondorf]

No one expects you to roleplay their character. It can, however, enhance your writing. You know, rather than write a 20 word post where you simply ask a question and wait for an answer, you think about how that person has portrayed their character up to this point and you extrapolate their answer. You can even ask them beforehand about how they might reacts to certain stimuli. No, you don't HAVE to roleplay anyone else, and if you don't want anyone to roleplay your character, you could ask that no one does. It's just something most of us have become accustomed to over time. And, obviously, if somneeo roleplays someone else far outside how they would portray their character, not only do they look like a jerk, but they may also be punished by the staff.

The answer goes along with the above. You don't HAVE to, but the option is there. If you don't want to, simply request that a staff member control any NPCs you come across. If you do want to, just stick to their character and you'll be fine.

[Ganondorf]

Examples for the above points: If you and me were roleplaying, you could write Ganondorf as being a polite jerkwad and it'd be totally accurate and I'd have no problem with it. If you wrote Ganondorf as being a 3 foot tall, blue midget who squeaked his r's and gives people wet willies... well, that'd be another thing.

If you were to roleplay King Bradley as being confident and slightly condescending, you'd be golden. If he and Thrall were to suddenly express their forbidden love in front of their soldiers... well, there you go.

Basically, when you start writing with someone long enough, you'll start to get an idea for how they play that character and you can take certain... liberties with them. Nothing over the top, of course, but if you know that Joe Blow, the guy you're writing with, likes to say a cheesey line then pop a stick of gum into his mouth in response to seeing a new girl, you could probably get away with writing that into your post without any hurt feelings.

[Nanoha Takamachi]

Just to build a bit on what Ganondorf is saying... I think the biggest thing you can do to handle this is communication. Talk to the folks you are doing a story with, ask them about writing their characters, or about them writing yours. It's very much accepted that if you'd rather people leave your character to you, just say so and folks will respect that. Likewise, if you want to make sure that someone is OK with you writing theirs, go ahead and ask them. In many ways, what we are doing here is just communal writing, and not only will strong communication make things more comfortable, but it can really enrich the writing that everyone does. The forums have PMs built in, or you can ask someone for steam or skype names for some IMs if you feel comfortable with that- however you'd like to do it.

You've probably noticed that a lot of us have known each other from other sites, so quite a few of us are really comfortable with each other and slide into writing each other's characters very easily. It's just part of us having become comfortable with each other, and now it's just very natural to do so. I'd also say it's fair to assume that a lot of the interactions within The Scramble had some conversations behind them (I know that I talked to several of the people I included heavily in my posts, for example), so again this isn't just a case of it being an assumed thing all the time.

So I'd just straight up say that if you are going to be working on a story with someone (or multiple people) then make it really clear what you'd prefer, and what you're intending to do, before you even get started. When in doubt, it is always best to be clear on things, or to ask if you aren't sure (which you're obviously happy to do, considering this thread )

[PepsiWhirda]

Not sure if this needs more clarification, but maybe an example of something actually happening on the site now would help.

Nyx and I are the only two people posting in Isolation (The Tangled Green), so we go about it by PMing each other our ideas, plans, etc..., and also communicating a lot about how our characters would behave in the present situation. We've each taken some minor liberties in our posts when we were unsure, but they've worked out due to reading over past posts by each character and focusing more on our own character's perspective with brief mentions of what our counterpart is doing.

So, sort of what Nanoha said. There's a PM functionality on the site, and no one expects you to rapid-fire off posts without communicating first. I've found (so far) those two factors make any issues with misrepresentation negligible at worst, nonexistent at best.

Plus, it's all in good fun. I've found myself working other people's perceptions of Whirda into the character because they were unique and interesting, instead of forcing my idea of her down my own gullet. It's made her a little less "bad ass pragmatist battle mage who don't play by nobody's rules," and a little more introspective and empathetic to the needs of the other players.

[Maximillion]

A *great* example is my post, where Maximillion asks Thraal and Bradley questions pertaining to their realms. Yeah, I could RP as the characters and get some info from them.

But I don't feel 100% comfortable doing so. Call me skittish, but my experiences in the past have made me leery about taking liberties with others' characters, whether or not they have given me permission to, with the exception of if that character and mine are teaming up for something; even in that case, though, I would still only write out their actions, not their words.


ALTERNATELY!

If you're still not sure, you can often PM someone, and ask "what would your character say in response to <question/action/statement>". Our players are mature, serious writers, and will have no problem assisting you in this area.

[Omni]

Everyone pretty much covered it here. I will say, if you ever want an NPC response, shoot me a PM just saying as much. I generally read all the posts, but don't assume someone wants me to respond unless they let me know OOC.

[Sarah_Kerrigan]

I am somewhat the same as Max, I would not feel comfortable roleplaying as characters I do not have a great knowledge or understanding of, especially, if I am hesitant about their proper characterization

Going along in that same vein, for now, I would prefer if no one save for staff roleplay my version of Kairi, as, I barely have a consistent characterization of her down myself, and, would definitely like some time to remedy that before someone else attempts to imitate it.

[Eighteen]

A handful of us have RPed together for years, this means knowing how we work as writers. Not only that, but some of us are playing characters we usually play, even if they're different names.

I, myself, broke off from that sort of style. I used to be able to write other characters with ease, but I started writing on other forums away from the Chubbs community and I learned that it isn't always like that.

The best thing to do is talk with the people you're writing with, also, make it clear via PM or in your roster whether or not you want your character written by someone else. We're all pretty laid back and understand how it is.

Also, you don't need to write another character with back and forth to add to your posts. You can add character development, inner dialogue, thoughts and detail .

[Magus]

If it helps, I generally go about it like this. I read a post or two of a character I'm not familiar with to get an idea of who they are.

Even then, I try to limit their input only to prevent... misunderstandings.

After a while, as we grow more comfortable writing together, more liberties get taken. You sort of get an intrinsic feel of what is and isn't okay. It's just good to take care and, for me at least, to take my time with it.