Etiquette

As we come from radically different roleplay backgrounds, here's some etiquette to try and tie our playstyles together and make sure everyone is on the same page. Please also keep in mind the Hard Nos that require CWs and spoiler shields, and the Scene and Posting Rules.

## 1. Relationships

Please keep in mind the setting conceits for all eras and the worldbuilding. If you are asked to adjust something you've established in play to fit these rules, please do so gracefully.

### 1920s and Versailles

Characters are distinctly forming new relationships. While they may fall into old patterns, we encourage you to build up from ground zero and see what shakes out: new friendships, enemies, allies.

* What does it mean to meet someone for the first time... a second time?
* How does old memory cropping up impact those new relationships?

While some players may chose to *some* have memories return, this is not the expectation of the setting. Do not expect that other characters will remember yours or pressure other players into doing so. Reminder: *No one will ever remember everything.*

### Titanomachy and AG (Ancient Greek, or mythological canon)

We know that while some characters have a relatively straightforward mythological account of their deeds and general personalities, others have many different, even conflicting stories about who they are. In that case, we encourage you to look over the "canon" of myth and decide what elements you like and think help make a cohesive character. There's undeniably a lot of myth material out there for some characters and while great internet sources like theoi.com can help get you up to speed, just focusing on the essentials of a myth works just as well! Feel free to talk to the players of other involved characters if you need help.

When thinking of the Titanomachy version of your characters, **think about the body of myth about them as not only a *starting* point but also an *ending* point.** What do we mean by that?

**The goal** is to have a common framework everyone is working from and to avoid players feeling frustrated because a relationship or story they wanted to play with got altered too much from myth.

* Enemies are enemies
* Lovers are lovers
* Villains in certain stories are still villains

This setting is technically *before* 'greek canon' and the timeline's been shifted (see Titanomachy) so we encourage you to play with that. You can be anywhere on your character's timeline that feels right for you and for the setting, even in the midst of it. We want you to know that your characters can evolve and grow and create new relationships in this setting, as long as it is believable that your myth previously happened or as long as nothing changes so much that your myth can no longer happen as described.

**As an example:** When playing Superman during his childhood in Smallville, you could write Clark Kent wanting to be normal, not liking his superpowers, and being BFFs with Lex Luthor, but it has to be believable that when all is said and done, Clark Kent will become Superman and Lex Luthor will be his arch nemesis.

Please ask a mod if you have any questions about this expectation.

Additionally, while you are encouraged to delve into darker themes, **we will not insist you play anything that you find triggering.** "That can have happened off screen, but I don't want to engage with it." is a valid answer when asked to bring content you are uncomfortable with from the original myths into play. If you would like to alter canon to avoid certain content, please run it by a mod first.

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## 2. World Altering Decisions

We ask that you check in with the mods before making any major decisions or changes to the world, such as having your character be President of the United States, or having cellphones around in the 1920s, or anything that wouldn’t be ‘true’ to the setting in a significant way.

In particular, the historical contexts of the settings are real and present — up to and including the oppressions of the day. There's some definite leeway for this — gods and heroes can get away with more than your average mortal and worry less about the consequences. However, it's still a problem for the mortals who associate with them and should be explored as such narratively. If you prefer not to engage with heavier themes wholesale or in the moment, we ask that you avoid those scenes involving that content rather than invalidating that part of the setting.

### Worldbuilding Reminders

See Character Backstory/Setting Guidelines and the era specific pages for more specifics.

* Characters do not stay awake between eras - consider each one a "reset"
* When characters awaken in a era, their memories of the past are blurred, tangled, or missing altogether
* It's up to you how much they remember, if anything. However, no one will ever remember *everything* about their past life or circumstances
* They do not have an established past or identity in the mortal realm when they awaken (think a vampire coming out of torpor, not reincarnation)
* Characters know they are Gods and they know to hide who they are from mortals
* Their name and powers are intact, and can sense each other, but they can no longer reach Olympus (or Hades).

## 3. Character Autonomy

When instigating an action towards another play, describe the start of the action, not the resolution. This is a small but extremely important distinction: it gives the other player room to resist, challenge, and ultimately determine what happens to their character.

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## 4. Tone

Greek mythology is full of conflict, hubris, and consequences. The gods and heroes represent both the best and the worst that the world has to offer, and our ideal for the stories we weave together here is to acknowledge and explore the often gritty and tragic roots of these myths while also providing for moments of levity and warmth.

While there is room for all kinds of roleplay on this server, from serious to silly to sexy, please keep in mind the tone of the scene you are entering before joining. If you are going to instigate a major tone shift, please check in with the players present. If you're not sure, you can always ask in #negotiations-and-plots !

**Tip:** If you want a scene to have a specific tone, include that in the scene start blurb!

## 5. Leave the Door Open

When in an open scene, make an attempt to 'leave the door open' and include other players when they enter. Greet them, ask them a question, insult them, kiss them: help give them something to hang their entry on once they’ve posted in. If you would like the scene to become a closed scene, simply tag a mod in #server-suggestions and we'll make a break off room.

## 6. Play to Lift and Pass the Spotlight

Your character is not the main character. This is an ensemble game, where each character has goals and narrative arcs of their own! Give moments to other characters, let them have their time to shine. Take turns lifting up each other’s play and story- meaning sometimes choosing to lose or be outwitted, or being less good in a certain domain, or just taking a side-burner role in a scene to leave them space to sparkle and build their own story without making it ‘about you’.

## 7. Feedback

This is a collaborative space, and we're all human, *so please speak up* when there's a problem, respect each other's boundaries, and accept critical feedback gracefully. This applies to both IC and OOC spaces. Please don't wait for something to become a Big Problem before you bring it up. *We encourage you to speak to fellow players directly, but you are always welcome to ping a mod if you're uncomfortable doing so.*

Please speak up directly in the channel or in #negotiation-and-plots and ask for what you need - whether that's a reduction in intensity or abandoning the subject altogether. You may provide, or other players may ask for, clarification.

Your scene-mates want to make sure you’re comfortable and having fun!

In addition to respecting explicit requests for topic/tone shift, please also pay attention to more subtle social cues attempting to re-direct or stop a particular topic or scene trajectory and adjust your posts accordingly.

## 8. Pinging Players

It is alright to tag someone *once* in #negotiations-and-plots if you see them active in other areas *after a day or two* waiting on a scene. (This is a low key server, but we all lose posts occasionally.)

After that, please give them *at least an additional week* before pinging them again.

If there's no response, let it sit until they wander back of their own accord. We said low-stakes, low-commitment and we mean it.

## 9. Hiatus

If you think you'll be absent for a couple weeks, but intend to come back, just message a mod and/or make a post. We'll hold your character and give you the “hiatus” role. We encourage you to find a way to gracefully duck out of or fade into the background of active scenes. If you're unable to, that's fine! Remaining players will simply skip you in the turn order or end the scene as most makes sense.

**There is no pressure to relinquish a character at any point.** If you decide to relinquish your character, please message a mod, as word-of-mouth is not something we will consider when freeing up characters.

## 10. Re-Assigning Characters

When a character is re-opened, reassignment method will be on a character-by-character basis. Some are in more high demand and will require more discussion, and some can just simply be reassigned by first-come-first-serve basis.

When a character is reassigned, it is up to the new player to determine whether they want a fresh start or a continuation. There is *no pressure whatsoever* to continue old story lines, but rather an opportunity to form new ones! Hand waving with a loss of memories is also an option.

Please always request the character by pinging a mod.

**Reminder:** You are limited to 2 characters to start - one Olympian/Pantheon god and one Demigod/assorted character. Players who had two Olympian/Pantheon god characters before this rule was implemented have been allowed to keep them. This is to allow folks a chance to join and to get a crack at characters, and may be opened up as we go.

## 11. The Mods

The mods aren’t going to be around all the time, so if you need something feel free to ping us @mods, but be aware it may take us a day or two to get back to you. Feel free to remind us if we’ve missed something, if we haven’t updated #the-story-so-far, or what have you. You can also message us at any time if there is conflict, if a scene rubs you the wrong way, or you generally need support. We can’t read everything, so we’re relying on you to keep us looped in and keep each other safe and comfortable!