Death's RPH

1. Not all traumatic experiences are created equal.

The death of a gold fish isn't going to be as traumatic as the death of a parent. Simple as that.

2. Not all characters are the same.

Depending on your character, different experiences are going to cause different reactions. For example, if they're sensitive, the death of the family dog might send them into an emotional slump. Or, perhaps your character will choose to bury their negative feelings when their parents announce a divorce.

3. Experiencing trauma doesn't make you an expert.

Giving someone unwanted criticism or critiques on how to write their character after a big event (or in general really) isn't cool. Hopefully, they've done their research, and they're writing the character to the best of their ability. Who knows, they may be playing out their own personal issues and telling them they're wrong is just kind of douche-y.

4. Is your character behaving OOC?

Your character's personality > Everything

Is your character emotionally strong? Write them as such.

Are they weak? Write them as such.

Are they self reliant? They should internalize their feelings and avoid getting help from others! Do they depend on their friends and family? Well, they're sure as hell going to need that support after the event!

It doesn't matter how your character copes. There is no wrong way. The only difference is how well you fit it into their personality.

5. As mentioned above, RESEARCH.

1. Finding the Roleplay

This is probably the hardest part of choosing an RP. If you want to play something fandom based, all you have to do is search "Fandomname rp" but what if you want something different. You could just search "rp" or "roleplay" in the tags but that brings you to a huge number of possibilities. Try something specific like "asylum rp" or "city rp" or "celeb rp". Check to see when the last post on the main RP page was posted. If it's too old, the RP is probably not active anymore.

2. Read the pages

There is nothing more irksome than an applicant who doesn't know what they're getting into. For example: If you're underaged, you shouldn't be joining a mature RP or you should alert your partners that you won't be able to write sexual NSFW threads. Or perhaps somewhere in the rules it says that NSFW topics are not allowed and you go off reblogging sexy graphics or trying to get into smutty situations. Many RPs will include little "password" type things that need to be included in your app to make sure that you've read the rules and such. SO READ THE FRICKIN' PAGES. KNOW THE PLOT.

3. What's the app like?

If the app is lengthy, you're probably getting yourself into a higher level RP. This means that if you're just going to write one liners and slap a gif on, that ain't gonna fly.

Likewise if the app doesn't even require an IC para sample, you're probably going to look out of place with multi-paragraph starters.

The application for an RP can sometimes indicate what level of RP you're looking at (IF THE RP LEVEL ISN'T ALREADY INDICATED SOMEWHERE IN THE RULES/INFO WHICH YOU SHOULD HAVE READ IN STEP 2)

4. Look at the FCs

This isn't a necessary step, but for me, I often look at the type of face claims an RP uses. Overused FCs and a paper-thin, over-used are definitely a turn off for me. Those two things are usually coupled with gaudy, myspace-esque themes and it all just gives me a headache.

5. I don't like it here!

If you are accepted to a roleplay and you find that you:

1. Don't fit in with the level of writing, whether it's too challenging or not challenging enough

2. Dislike your RP partners (They irritate you, there's too much OOC drama, etc.)

3. Just don't enjoy RPing in the group for whatever reason

First Impression:

The idea is really unique, which can be good and bad. The good is that it's fresh and fun, the bad is that it caters to a certain fan (You'd have to like both Pokemon and Once Upon a Time.

Theme:

It's visually appealing, but not to the point that it's overwhelming. It's simple, mostly easy to read, and easy to navigate. 

Plot:

The plot is general and I'm feeling like most of the actual plot is going to come from the individual wants and needs of the characters. This is good for role players who enjoy lax environments to write in, but it also opens up the possibility for lulls in the plot. In order to avoid lulls, the mods/admins should come up with events to keep the members entertained and writing.

There are some crucial tidbits in the plot and rules. This is just an added precaution, just in case some applicants aren't inclined to read through all of the links (it sucks, but it happens). Maybe having something added into the bottom of the page "If you've read through this entire page please include: "Pikachu I choose you" to your app" or something. I was a part of a group that had a policy like that and it seemed like it worked really well, but it isn't a requirement.

Characters:

Main characters are outlined very nicely with bios that are well-written and to the point. I like that you encourage players to have bios on their own pages because that helps to get people in touch with their characters. The loose structure you're using is great for people who are creative and enjoy fleshing their characters out. But, beware, it's also a trap for people who are too lazy to get to know their characters. To avoid someone taking a canon character and gutting them and turning them into a Mary Sue/Gary Stu, I'd suggest adding a few positive and negative character traits to the bios you've already written. It provides a basic skeleton for a character so that people aren't tempted to make villains too evil or good guys too good.

Rules:

I like that you're very clear on establishing rules to keep things in check. For example: Not allowing people to start with a legendary Pokemon. It's great to have rules like that to keep power hungry muns away.

What could be a possible turn off for some RPers is that it's allowed for players to interact with people outside of the RP. However, it is good that the characters being interacted with are not allowed to be canon OUAT characters.