general
Typical code of conduct rules apply here: please be respectful to others, do not cross the IC/OOC line, and no godmodding or metagaming. Even in a world with magic, we expect fairness in play, and for no one to be wildly overpowered. IC drama (with consent) can be fun, OOC drama is not tolerated. If you have an issue that cannot be politely or amicably resolved between writers, please let us know. We are here to have fun and collaborate on writing an exciting story as a community, so be willing to reach out and engage with other players. Although writers are allowed and encouraged to have their own subplots, any major developments that may have an impact on the plot or other players should be run by the mods first.
applying
APPLICATION: Journal names must relate to your character in some capacity (ex: some variation of their name without numbers, extra letters or underscores, or their race/class/interests/etc), and you must have a backdated IC contact post and an ooc contact post (comments screened) in your journal. In place of a bio sheet, we only require the submission of a completed character SURVEY, posted in an entry or directory page, any format. The questions can be answered either IC or OOC, and well thought out; we do not accept one-line responses.

For examples, we require at least 3 scenes/threads (with multiple replies) or narratives. If you do not have any, we will allow samples written as the character you're applying for. Acceptance is largely based on your writing and your characterization as reflected in the survey. We reserve the right to reject anyone we feel will not fit in our community.

PLAYED-BYS: All PBs must be within 5 years (older or younger) of your character's age, and we do not accept deceased faces out of respect. Although half of the setting is considered period/fantasy, you do not need to have icons in costume for characters from that world. Just try to avoid showing modern or jarringly anachronistic clothing or objects (i.e. cellphones) in those icons. Though the realm most closely resembles medieval Europe, the people of Terociel come in a wide variety of sizes, shapes and skin colors. If you need icons or PB ideas, we have collected some resources to help. We are less strict about the crew, but remember that those characters are all 25+.

Limits: At present, there is no character limit in place, but we do encourage variety in who you choose to play. Additionally, we advise not taking on more than you can handle at once, as activity requirements are the same for every character, and we prefer to see quality in development over quantity.
activity
Activity: As traditional intro posts don't work for our setting, an update or thread participation is mandatory within the first 2 WEEKS of acceptance. We will generally provide a starting scenario, unless you have a specific idea.

We require, at minimum, an update once a month. An update can be an entry in your journal in any format (character's personal log, a narrative, multimedia with captions, get creative!), or participation in a scene/thread (posted in your journal, viewable to the mods, or in the MAIN COMM) with at least 5 replies. Participation in group threads also counts towards activity.

You do not have to share all of your writing with the group, but we hope you will feel comfortable enough to share your work on the f-page, and leave some open starters. Mods will regularly post plot updates and provide opportunities for group threads and activities, but writers are encouraged to do the same and put themselves out there for interaction. We have an OOC COMM and STORYLINES COMM that can be used for plotting.

Removals: We will be performing checks at the end of each month; those up for removal will be given a warning. If there is no response for a week, they are up for override and removal. If you would like to rejoin the game, you must have an update ready when you reapply.

Hiatus: Real life always comes first, but if you need a hiatus or an extension for a period over 2 weeks, please inform the mods. We are understanding about personal issues, but try not to abuse this by barely clearing checks and delaying story progress. It's not fair to us, it's not fair to the other players.
gameplay
Journals & Customs: Obviously, there's no traditional journal/blogging system or social media here, but we have two modes of communication if you choose to use them.
ENCHANTED ITEMS are used by the locals of Terociel for instant communication. Spelled paper is a common commodity, and can be written or drawn upon to share messages between anyone who has their own enchanted book or scroll. If you're familiar with Harry Potter communities, this is akin to sharing "parchments", and can be charmed so only a specific recipient can read it. All Terociel natives will generally own one of these books (unless you specify otherwise), but Astraeus crew will not be able to access them at first, and must obtain these magical items through in-game circumstances. There are also spelled orbs and earrings that can be used for visual and vocal communication (like a phone), though these are more uncommon objects. Of course, some people still write letters and send them by raven or messenger the old-fashioned way!
COMMLINKS are worn by every member of Astraeus, programmed into a standard wrist device. More details about it can be found HERE. The interface includes an instant text messaging system (which has speech-to-text capability), and a built in microphone and camera for a video calling feature. However, the network may be unstable at times, as they rely upon wireless signals forwarded through the evac pod transmitters, and the satellite probe launched prior to the crash. Crew can use this to communicate with each other on the ground and encrypt comms to specific individuals with network access, but natives will not be able to use this technology. (Even in the case of theft, they probably won't know how to use it!)
Cross communication between the two groups will mostly happen through scening and threading at first, though you may also write actionless face-to-face conversations. If you post a public commentable entry, please specify in the subject what format you're using and who you're addressing (ex: Group Text, Crew Only; or Open Scroll Message).

Posting: We do not have a standard format for posting threads/scenes, but it may be helpful to include who/what/where/when. The only requirement we have is for explicit, NSFW or triggering content to be marked as such, and we would prefer any graphic smut-related content to remain private between players. We do expect mature themes to be explored here, but strongly respect sensitivity to such materials.
Icons made by zn & Freepik from www.flaticon.com is licensed by CC 3.0 BY