Group Rules

Every group has to have some kind of rules system to keep things in order, and TMS is by no means an exception to this. The Staff has officially decided to go with a "rolling tally" system that falls under a points system. Small infractions will equal a singular point while larger infractions will increase based off of their severity. Don't worry! There will be a page dedicated to this information once it is ready for the public. Right now we're still a small group so we don't feel the need to focus on this too heavily.

At large, we want to keep a pretty open door policy, and if you break a rule, you're going to hear from us about it. If there is room for honest discussion about the rule itself, the staff will be more than willing to follow through with it. However, if you break any of our rules enough times, a larger discussion will have to take place to see what we can do to figure out what's causing the issue, be it misunderstanding or otherwise, or figure out if further action has to be taken.

Blatantly ignoring rules and the staff, however, is not acceptable. We *will* take action if we need to, but the hope is that we *don't* have to. Trust us, we hate dealing with this as much as you do, if not more. There are only a handful of offenses that will directly lead to a banning and our hope is that we will never have to ban a member if we can avoid it.

If you have an issue with a rule at any given time / an interaction in regards to a certain rule at any time, please fill out the following google form

**Changes made to the rules will always be updated with an astrix (\*) and will be posted to our discord's update section.**

## Content Warning

TMS is meant to be **PG-13+** in rating, which means that there may be some stories that are *not suitable for children.* We have animal violence, death, blood/gore, and more like than not there will be stories about rape and/or sexual abuse. Slavery (aka roman and greek slavery) is a thing in this group (because historically that did happen) and we most certainly expect some members to dive down darker holes than others when it comes to this. Please keep that in mind as you enter this group and read through the rules.

It is heavily suggested that when certain content is explored, a content warning is added to your stories. A simple "This story contains: (Sexual violence, abuse, extreme gore, etc)" should normally suffice so that our members know what they're getting into before they start reading.

When it comes to content, our main hard line "don'ts" involves blatantly sexual content or content that draws close to pedophilia. You can *suggest* what happens to characters all you want sexually, as it is your prerogative to play these characters as you want. A simple fade to black gives us all the information we need. We just want to avoid blatantly advertising these items for the comfort of all of our members at large. With that being said, TMS does not support pedophilia in any way shape or form, even if it was considered normal in Ancient Greek Society. We are not the Greeks and we are not about that life.

What you do where we can't see is all on you, but when other members express discomfort, please make sure you're taking their opinions and feelings into account. If another member doesn't feel comfortable with an idea you are presenting to them, their comfort and consent take priority over your personal plots.

### What We Expect of You in this Setting

This group is rated PG-13 for violence and the language that characters may use every now and then. This also goes for OOC interaction. While we try to keep things from getting too far, players may drop a dirty joke here and there; it happens. If this is an environment you don't think you'll be comfortable in, please reconsider about placing your character here. There are plenty of other big feline groups on deviantart.

That being said, keep in mind that if you join and find out that sometimes members use too much language/adult content for your liking, you can always avoid the chats and roleplay with people one-on-one via notes, requesting that language is kept to a minimum.

It should also be noted that the group *is* set in a time period that *does* have some questionable moral decisions and questionable lifestyles. Slavery is seen as okay, there are literal stories about the gods eating their children, and plenty of pedophilia to go around. TMS ***recognizes*** that we are based in a weird period, but we *do* draw a line when certain barriers are crossed. Slavery? That's fine, as we have ranks that actually explore the topic... Eating kids? Eeeeeh, I mean I *guess* your character can do that but that's going to be a bit harder to swallow.

Incest? Again it's on the borderline, since these are felines and they are owned by humans, we'll put a pass on it, even if some of the staff feel very strongly against it.

Pedophilia? We'd prefer not to... Showing instances of "grooming" like in Spottedleaf's Heart and other aspects that are akin to that is okay. Just be aware that if it's reported to the admins and is brought up as an issue we will be messaging you about it. The general rule is that it's okay to do these things as long as you don't romanticize it and keep it from being explicit. Fade to black scenes with younger characters is an express no, as we have children in the group and don't want to expressly show them that it is okay to have these kinds of relationships. Anything involving grooming etc. (while accurate for the time), will be heavily scrutinized by the admins to ensure that we aren't portraying the wrong messages in those stories.

## Designated Mediators

Designated Mediators (DMs) will eventually be needed within TMS as it grows in size. This section details out what we plan on doing and what this role will serve as as we gain traction as a group. **Currently, we do not plan on implementing this DM system until we reach 20 members (not including our staff).** Depending on our size and the need for the position, we will start by "employing" two members for the position and then adjust as our needs grow. DMs get DD for every interaction that they work with us on, starting at 10DD and working up to a max of 30DD depending on the amount of effort the interaction requires.

Example: A singular interaction with a member will grant a DM a total of 10 DD for doing their part. While an interaction with a member that requires multiple days of talking back and forth between staff and the member in question will warrant 30 DD.

Applications will be sent out for anybody that is not a staff member to apply for and will be voted on by the members of the group. A DM serves a term for a 6 month period and can only hold a position for a total of two terms before having to take a break unless unforeseen circumstances keep the DM in their position (nobody runs for the position in the next term, a DM steps down unexpected and we need to fill the roll in the interim etc.)

DMs Must

* Have no history of broken rules on their record
* Not show any bias
* Be willing to speak with the admins on behalf of members
* Be open and honest at all times with the members and staff members when mediating
* Be able to ensure anonymity where it is needed. If a member does not wish to let the staff know who they are out of fear of retaliation, that must be respected
* Have the time to dedicate to the role and be open about their capabilities
* Have a clear understanding of our rules
* Be civilized and respectable towards members, even if they don't agree with what they're saying
* Be willing to work to find a middle ground between both parties if it has to happen
* Be willing to interact in chats between members and staff as an unbiased third party

If at any point a DM shows bias or doesn't uphold to the rules stated above, they will be terminated from the position, no questions asked.

## OOC Rules

OOC means "Out Of Character" for members who are new to ARPGs or RPGs in general. These rules revolve around what is expected of our members and how we expect our members to conduct themselves in certain spaces. Some of these rules are as simple as "don't bully others" or are as complex as "how do we handle character ownership".

If a staff member tells you of a rule or decision that hasn't been put into practice yet and tries to give you offense for it, please kindly remind them to post the rule on the rules page as it is currently not listed, and then listen to their decision. We try our best to keep these as updated as possible, but it should be noted that our rules are fluid and the staff reserves the right to hold you to a certain standard of civility when discussing rule breakage.

### Member Respect

As should be expected, TMS expects members to be respectful to others. Please don't do or say anything to others that you wouldn't like for them to do or say to you. The golden rule is the best rule to abide by. Do unto others what you want done unto you.

Please make sure that you do not push personal drama with other members into roleplays. There is a fine line between some of these situations, and the staff will be the first to acknowledge that sometimes in character rifts can spark from out of character turmoil, but please remember that drama between characters does not mean that a member hates you outside of the roleplay. It just means that their character doesn't like yours, which is perfectly okay.

If there is an issue between members, please act maturely. Do not harass a member or badmouth any person who takes interest in our group.

We ask members to try to keep drama from other groups out of TMS. Any content posted outside of the group that is seen as harassment or causes discomfort within the community will be addressed by the staff; despite the fact that it is on a personal account and not posted to the group. "Call out journals", tumblr posts, or discussions within the discord server that disrupt the community can be just as detrimental to the community's health and well-being as posting it directly to the group itself. Remember, many people within the community watch one another outside of the group, and these posts generally cause drama when it attacks the group at large. We as staff wish to keep this kind of drama out of the group to ensure that nobody feels as if they can't rp here.

If there is a problem that you cannot solve on your own and it is in our capabilities, feel free to notify any of the staff for some assistance. We will try our hardest to solve the problem for you. If you as a member feel strongly about something, you should come to the staff and talk about it. We will listen to you as long as respect is given. If you don't feel comfortable with talking with us. Our Designated Mediators at this time are: **(TBA, Current Member count is at 7, applications will open after 13 more members join the group)**

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**TL;DR: Don't be a jerk to others and we won't have to get involved in anybody's business**

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### Bullying Policy

Discrimination, bullying, or harassment will not be accepted within the group whatsoever. This group is meant to be a place for members to branch out and meet new people. Any issues involving racial differences, problems with a portrayed sexuality, the nationality of a member, religious differences, or personal differences with a member that blatantly attack and belittle a member will be stopped at once by a staff member.

If infractions continue, we will take further action. We do not take lightly to these kinds of offenses and will adhere to a strict policy against bullying to ensure that nobody feels attacked. Many of our members have suffered from bullying in other RP communities because of these kinds of actions and we will not stand for it.

You are liable to be warned the first time you commit any kind of bullying offense, but that warning will be your last. If you are caught bullying or harassing another member a second time, you will be removed and blocked from the group.

Should you feel that any member of our community is treating you unfairly, or you feel the need to express a concern about how the community at large works, please message a staff member for help or submit a complaint via this form.

### Settings and Lore Rules

We spent a lot of time on this group's setting, timeframe, and location, please don't make up things that don't fit with it. If you have an idea in mind that you're not sure will fit with what we have built, you can always ask us via a note or message via discord.

#### Alternate Universes

Members can choose to interact in the main world of TMS or two "variant worlds" that give members the option for fluidity if they're not in the right mindset to handle the cat/human interactions that exist in the main world. The first variant world is a Human AU while the second is a Cats Only AU. Any and all interactions that happen between these three worlds carry over, so anything you do as a human still impacts your character as a cat and so on. The only time this will be an exception will be under staff designated circumstances (aka April Fools Jokes or otherwise). In the Cats Only AU, any and all humans that are listed in the wiki are no longer listed as such as the cat acts as if they have lived in a place where they are able to build human architecture without issue and act as their own ruling body. A merchant guard is still a merchant guard, it's just that the merchants are now cats. A Roman feline follows the two feline consuls with no human influence and so on, as an example.

#### Time & Place

As always, we ask our members to keep in mind what kind of environment this RP takes place in. These are big cats in Crete dealing with mythological issues, war, and in some places, discrimination. We're not warrior cats in the forest, we're not playing people who are living in modern day Crete, etc. We're in the age of the Late Roman Republic, 72 BC to be exact, and because of that, there are going to be things that do and don't work for your character.

#### Contribution Rules

This RP is only semi-realistic, and does rely on some fantastical elements (we're playing smart kitties who literally have deities messing with their lives here, folks), but we also have cultural information and major background information that should, at the very least, be recognized. Making up your own rituals or ways for these characters to live isn't exactly respectful to the staff who have taken time to research the information presented, and although it is fun to have creative freedom, there will be a time and place for it. If you want to have your singular character do their own thing, that's fine, but you cannot state that certain practices take place in a singular faction at large, as that is distinctly under the staff's domain. If you are told that your ritual or concept doesn't fit within the timeframe of the group, please be respectful of the staffs decision on the matter.

This does not mean we're stunting you! We just ask that you keep in mind these are big cats and that there is already a lot of groundwork put down for you to work from. If you want to add lore, we plan on setting up lore contests and events for members to contribute information, and generally have this wiki open for members to edit if they decide to create their own sub-factions within the group. The staff will always have a final say on whether it matches with our lore or if it is respectful to the cultures at large in which you are taking from. It should also be noted that if it's outside of Crete/Rome, we're pretty lenient, as *none* of that staff has bothered to see how other parts of the world are fairing. We will not accept anything that blatantly shows disrespect for the cultures they are pulled from, as we do not wish to appropriate any cultures that we are not a part of.

If we say no to an idea, please be respectful to it, as we're just trying to keep the setting and lore information the same across the board.

## Art Submissions

It should be noted TMS has it's own special fighting rules that should be read here.

### Handling Sexually Graphic Deviations

No sexually graphic roleplays can be submitted to the group.  If you really want to roleplay such things, keep it to your own gallery.  The same goes for any sexually graphic illustrations. We don't care if you do those things with your characters, just remember that the deviations won't be accepted into the group's gallery.

### Folder Organization

When submitting deviations to the group, make SURE they are going to the right folder!  We may just decline the deviation if no one has the time to place it in the right folder for you, so please save yourself the trouble of having to resubmit a picture and check to make sure that you are placing your deviation in the right place.

### Art Theft

No art theft or tracing from non-stock photos.  Stolen and/or traced art is simply NOT acceptable for roleplay groups.  Please understand that this group is trying to strive towards a more mature audience, and if you do not understand the concept that art theft is ***not tolerated***, you will be banned. You can trace to improve your art in your free time, but when it comes to this group please submit your own artwork. Your ability to draw will not be scrutinized considering this is a group geared towards literature more so than drawn art.

Using stock photos from both dA and the internet is completely okay as long as you have permission through either public domain or direct permission from the artist that it's okay to use these works for stock purposes.

## Member Activity

### Absences

If you aren't going to be here for a while (vacation, hiatus, computer issues etc.) please note us! TMS doesn't actively make members take part in any kind of Activity Checks, but if you play a character that is key to any plots or was won via a tryout, we would like to know why you haven't been around.

### Account/Username Switching

Please notify us if you are changing your username or switching to another account. This may not seem super important to you, but we have to adjust all of your information in our documents so that we have the correct username on file. Trust us, it's not fun to go through a document trying to find a character that belongs to XIX when it still says they belong to IXI.

## General Don'ts

A big note: Christianity doesn't exist in this group, if only because we're *literally* in the time before Christ was born (about 40-50 years before, approximately). This religion has not been founded and if you're seen wearing a cross, just be aware that it is a symbol of torture and death. If you try to submit your character as Christian, it's going to get shot down right away.

Also, before you ask, these cats can't have pets of their own.

#### How we move forward in time

Time moves slowly in TMS. Basically the groups starting time is June of 72 BC and will move forward as the plot progresses and we think we need to move forward. The group will always let you know when we move into a new month and if there are any major changes to the world around you because of the month change. At the beginning of each new month in the game we'll let you know if any natural disasters or issues with prey occur for your characters to keep a lookout for.

Currently we are in Late June of 72 BC and currently have no plans to move forward until we gain a bit more traction within the group.

## Writing & Roleplay Rules

TMS by no means considers itself a "literate" group. If you can type decent sentences and can read/write basic English, we're probably going to accept you and your characters. However: *u shud n0t b tryin 2 typ liek dis*

We just ask that you try to make a conscious effort to write well, though when playing with other people it is completely fine to write out short burst RPs or even script RP. Just remember that when we're doing major RP events, we're going to request that you at least write posts 150 words in length. Outside of events, as long as we're capable of understanding what you're writing, you should be fine.

Want to RP your felines as humans in the same time period? That's completely a-ok! As mentioned above, the same rules apply to the characters*.* The big thing is that ***anything*** that happens in Human RP's that you submit to the group are ***considered canon events*** for the felines unless ***it is made clear*** that the RP is for joke. Normally in the artist comments if you state "not canon" where we can see it, you'll be fine. The same goes for if you RP in the main universe or even the cat only universe. If it's not supposed to be canon, please notate it as such.

If there is an ongoing roleplay in any of the discord chat rooms, please respect the players and don't spam up the chat in an attempt to socialize with others. Either do this in a separate chat with each other or don't spam, period.

If you wish to partake in a session that is going on, **ask** first! It is important to know for certain if you are able to join in or if the session is private. If you aren't able to join in on a RP, don't be disheartened! There are other places for you to RP, you just have to ask others what best suits them if you don't have a preference.

## IC Rules

In Character (IC) rules are rules you should generally try to follow when roleplaying / writing / drawing your character. While the above rules were mostly about how we expect you to act towards our members at large, this section is meant to focus more on how to handle roleplaying with other members and what we expect of you when you submit your works to the group.

### General Etiquette Involving Other Players

When you submit items to the group, sometimes they will automatically involve other members' characters. Stories, drawn submissions, and even roleplays may expand past just the other person you collaborated with. In most cases, this is not an issue and is actively encouraged for member. However, sometimes members will find that interactions written don't match how their character would have reacted if they were roleplaying them.

If you find yourself in a position where a member asks you to change the interaction to better fit how their character's reactions, you may opt to either go through with the adjustment that was requested (if it doesn't impact the story too heavily for you), or you can opt to create an NPC that fills that interaction for you. Both options are completely viable and it should not be seen as rude if the member doesn't wish to use your character if they don't fill the role that they need in that particular piece.

Members cannot tell another member to remove their character from a picture unless a strict "Do Not Contact" order is put into place. We *insist* that members should not take part in "gatekeeping" plots and events from other characters. This means that members shouldn't get after other members for adding other members' characters into a picture/written piece. If you are found guilty of this, you will only get **one verbal warning** before your character is removed from the group.

If you don't want your character taking part in plots/events with other characters outside of your friend circle, either make it clear that the character only interacts with a handful of characters from the get go, or don't join with said character.

To reiterate: if you realize your character is being portrayed incorrectly in a piece, it is fine to bring this up to the member and have them fix the portrayal! We are by no means trying to stop you from having a say in your character's business, but we also don't want you keeping others from interacting with your character. It's a little strange to join an RP group and not let your character interact with others. The point is to build a community, not tear it down.

#### In-Character Drama / Lack of Drama

Disagreements and 'drama' will happen between characters in this group. It's expected when we roleplay in an environment full of political drama and personal problems. However, we do want to try to keep drama relevant. This doesn't mean that we expect you to angst it up and make life hard on your character, but it also means that we don't expect you to have a perfect little life with your family and never deal with any kind of problems ever. Cats **die** in this group, characters have a real chance of getting hurt and losing limbs, there are likely going to be stillborn cubs and other relatively dramatic life issues that will occur for you. You can't avoid everything, but you can't have everything happen to your character either.

Don't throw your character off a cliff while they're scratching their forearms trying to kill themselves because they're so in love and aren't being noticed by their senpai (you laugh now, but we've seen it happen)

Don't bully others into keeping their characters in one place or keep their characters as "you envisioned them". If a member decides that their cub that you gave them is non-binary, you don't bully them out of it.

Don't judge other felines if they're in the LGBTQ+ community. We're all playing *cats*. They *do not care* about these issues in comparison to humans. If you project your personal bias against these people onto your characters, the admins *will* note you about it, as your character will have *no reason* to have issue with a character that suddenly wishes to be called a girl instead of a boy or likes boys instead of girls. There is no exception to this matter.

If you're having personal issues or disagreements with other roleplayers, don't channel your resentment through your character and suddenly bully *their* character using yours. This is considered "Self-inserting" and by doing that, you may be causing a lot of problems for the members who are partaking in the RP with you.

If any of this causes you to feel uncomfortable, it'd be wiser for you to find another group to join. Not to say we don't *want* you to join, but if any of this causes issue, we'd rather not see you try to endure torment to be a part of the group at large.

#### In-Character Decisions

You don't have to respect the leaders of the group, they're all NPC's and will probably upset your character at some point or another, that's expected. Just don't expect the staff to roll over and let your character get away with being rebellious or openly defying those that they should be listening to. Your actions have real consequences, so if you get punished or banished or caught in whatever it is that you were doing that you shouldn't have been, don't be surprised. Your character's actions in game do affect how others will treat your character.

## Godmodding & Meta-Gaming

Please refrain from 'Godmodding' and 'Meta-gaming'.  You should know what these terms mean by now if you're a decent roleplayer, but if you really need this to be explained:

Godmodding is when you make your character an invincible "supercat", where you can seriously injure other characters when their players never approved of it. It can also be when your own character never gets hurt because you're constantly having them dodge every attack made on them. It's also when you take control of other people's characters and make them do things without their owners permission.

Meta-gaming is when  you have your character know information about other characters, places, or gang issues that they were never actually informed of (For example; Unless someone's character told you about their past, don't just act like your character knows all about it.)

The best rule of thumb is to ask first if you want a character to do something in an RP. Even if you know the person well, always ask, and always say that you have been given permission to do so from the rper in question. If you're uncertain about what your character would and wouldn't know, ask a staff member. If you ever submit something that doesn't make sense or is using OOC information, we'll let you know.

## Mates and Children

When we open our shop, as long as you can afford to purchase the items that are required for you to have cubs, you can do so. The character doesn't have to be a PC nor do you really have to worry about playing through your character's pregnancy (especially since it'd be a 6 month wait on your end if we had you do that). Instead, when you purchase the item it is treated as if your character had been pregnant for the past two months in game and just wasn't aware of the number of cubs or the genders. There are no art requirements, no time limits, nothing like that. Just keep in mind that if you want to play the cub, you need to be able to buy the cub spot on top of everything else.

If your character does have cubs, you have to wait a year (IRL, since our timeline is all over the place and we don't want to say x amount of time in game... we're not about that life) before your character can have the next litter.

## **Ownership**

TMS does not allow members to transfer or share ownership among characters. If you wish to retire a character, you can either turn them into an NPC or kill them off. There are no adoptions or transferring rights to other people. We've seen too many issues in the past where somebody gave a character to somebody else to play and then that person gave the character up to somebody else that caused the original owner to step in and get upset about it. So, to avoid the issue altogether, we're simply not allowing members to put their characters (that are already in the group) up for adoption.

### Family Members & Important Figures

Giving away family members that haven't been designed or setting up NPCs that others can take over is absolutely fine, as long as the person who joins the group is aware that if they ever get tired of that character, they can't give it away to somebody. The person who is giving the design away must also know that there is no opportunity to "take back" the character and give it to another person. This goes for cubs that are born into the group as well. As soon as a member owns that cub and submits them to the group, it is canon that the cub existed. There is no "replacement" option for family members, cubs, or really anything in the group. You can't just pretend that those relationships never existed when a member leaves or a character dies / is npc'd.

The only exception to this ruling is when a member joins the group with the adopted character and leaves without doing anything with the character in question. As long as a new design is put into place after that member leaves and the character is not an exact duplicate of that of what the other member had, it is then okay to adopt the character out to another member. It is **strongly urged** that you change the newly adopted character's name so that, in the event that the other member returns, there is no issue between the old owner and the new owner, as they both technically own two totally separate characters who relate to yours.

If you give somebody a character's family member, you have to live with the consequences if there is a fallout between you and them or if the member suddenly becomes inactive after playing the character in the group.

### Character Designs

It should be noted that it is completely fine to kill off characters and then sell the design to somebody else. It just has to be noted that if the design rejoins the group, they can't take the place of the old character. It has to be a new character with a new name and a new background. There are no exceptions to this.

## Main Characters vs. Side Characters

TMS has two character types for regular members