Outwitting my fate is something I shall never regret. I showed up, subconsciously and consciously. I wanted to do more with my life than give in to something I didn’t know I had.
I was aware there was something different about me but my need to survive as a child, meant I needed to leave whatever I had on the back burner, until such a time I could change my life. Those years were difficult.
Over the years coming face to face with my rock bottom, came in the shape of a commitment to myself to change my life and my emotional health. Through my mental and emotional suffering, I found a purpose and The CP Diary was born.
I continued to stay present and never gave up on wanting to find out what was wrong with me. I never gave up on wanting to know about ‘me.’
It was important my suffering didn’t get the better of me, and my mental and emotional health. I had already worked out that if I ignored my issues forever, I would mentally and emotionally struggle. I needed to bide my time.
But outwitting our fate takes courage, a determination to change and watch our life change for the better. As a child I didn’t think about success, but I don’t think you do. Instead, you may think about what you may want to do when you’re grown up. In many cases, it is simply changing what is to what our life can be, and watching out for any potential success.
In my years of working through change, I could never envisage or know how that would look. Although it came late, through my continuous connection with the universe, I was aware my circumstances had to change. For things to work, our reasoning for change, should be in keeping with what the universe thinks is achievable, and we’re not stepping on anyone toes to get it.
My only burning desire as a child was to be allowed to come face to face with something I could see, that angered, irritated and upset the hell out of me; to know what was wrong with me and to be given a name to my physical and mental disability.
For more inspirational, life-changing blogs, please check out my site https://www.thecpdiary.com
Remember, everything I say under the cut is constructive criticism. I am not trying to hurt or upset you, only help you, and nothing I say should be taken personally. Please acknowledge this post once you’ve read it.
FIRST IMPRESSION
Icon & URL: Your icon is ... a little strange, I'll be honest. It's part of the Glee season four promo image tilted sideways with an odd purple-y tint to it. I don't think it's bad, exactly, I just don't really understand your reasoning behind it, beyond the fact that it's the Glee cast for a Glee roleplay. Your URL has a hyphen in it, and doesn't indicate to me that's a roleplay at all, let alone a Glee roleplay. It does, however, give me a good expectation of what the plot should be about, so bonus points for that. I would recommend at least tacking 'rp' or 'rpg' onto the end, just so people can tell right away that this is a roleplay account.
General: First of all, I just want to apologise for taking longer than I anticipated to get this review done. I've been in a constant state of total exhaustion the past couple days and it just wouldn't have been fair to try and give you a decent review while I was like that. But back to the review -- your roleplay seems clean and organised, and there's no mistaking that it's a Glee roleplay once you open the page since the cast is, well, everywhere, and I think that's great.
AESTHETICS
Theme: I'm personally not a huge fan of this theme, but I think you've utilised it well. Like I said above, it's clean, the colour scheme is simple without being boring, and you've used the surrounding graphics to your advantage to aid that. I'm glad that the header moves with the page, since a static header that big would make the rest of the page feel really claustrophobic when scrolling, so kudos for that. It does, however, really bug me that the sidebar stays up at the top, too. Having to scroll back up to the links is one thing, but having to scroll back up in order to change the page is just really tedious for me. If you're handy with HTML, I would recommend getting the sidebar (or at least the pagination) to stick in a certain place when scrolling so you can switch pages regardless of how far down you are.
Colour Scheme: The colour scheme is very simple, but attractive. It's mostly black and white, but the blues are very appealing and there isn't any part of the scheme that's particularly glaring or anything, so major kudos for that. It neither bores me nor blinds me, and finding that balance with such a simple scheme can be difficult.
Graphics: I love how you've used the promo images, but I'm really not crazy about the one on the right. It's ... I'm not sure what word to use because I can't remember which feature in photoshop can make it look the way it does, but it looks like something went wrong. Especially compared to how sharp, clear, and attractive the other side and the header image look. I can only assume you've tried to use a smaller image, made it large enough to fit the screen, and then expected it to look the same. I highly recommend re-editing it so that it's the same quality as the image on the left. Here's a version that's 1280x853.
The character graphics look good, and I adore the fonts you've used, but I'm admittedly not too crazy about them. I like that the one on the right is blurred, but I feel like it's a little too blurred? And this is really really nit-picky of me, I know, and I'm sure most people wouldn't notice and/or care, but there's no ... pattern behind the images you've chosen. Some of them are episode stills, some of them are promo images, some of them are photoshoots, some are from events. I even noticed that you used a personal picture that Grant posted on Instagram for Sebastian's graphic. Like I said, this is really fussy of me and is definitely more of a personal preference, but they feel a little all over the place.
Also, just so you know, you spelled Marianna's name wrong on her graphic.
PLOT
Sidebar Plot: Your sidebar plot is fantastic. It's informative and gives potential applicants a strong, basic grasp of what the roleplay is about and where it's set. It has everything a good sidebar plot needs, so kudos. The last sentence of the actual plot is phrased a little strangely, so I'd consider adapting that to get it flowing more naturally.
Full Plot: My first thought upon reading the full plot was, "But wait, where does changing destiny come into this?" Considering the URL, the title of the roleplay, and even the sidebar plot all revolve about changing destiny, I can honestly say that I was expecting something different. I was expecting a huge twist that would change their destiny forever, or that the plot would focus on how the kids were going to take control and change their destiny for themselves. And ... destiny wasn't even mentioned in the full plot. It makes me feel like the title and everything is all a little misleading. With that being said, though, I do like the plot of this roleplay. You've taken the school we all know and love and put it somewhere else, tied the Warblers in, and given them all a whole new story. It's original, it's interesting, and it's to the point. And the "apparently the star is important" part made me chuckle.
SET UP
Navigation: The navigation page is simple and has all the basic links included. I would consider, first of all, extending the plot section by 10 pixels or so because that scrollbar is hardly necessary and it's bugging me really bad. That's me being nitpick-y again, though. Also, mostly me being fussy again, but I can't help but think that it would look a little better if the background of the links themselves were white instead of dark grey. White is such a prominent part of the main theme and this page feels quite dark in comparison. The navigation itself though is great, so I can't complain.
Rules: Your rules are strong, firm, and thorough, and I think you've covered all the basic rules that all roleplays need. With that being said, most of your explanations are unnecessarily long-winded. Like, your activity rule for example. All we need to know is what counts as activity, how long your inactivity limit is, if/when/how you'll warn us beforehand, and your stance on hiatuses. It doesn't need to be any longer than a few lines, but you've turned it into a whole novella of unnecessary ramble. I personally suggest reading through and cutting down as much as you can, until you're left with the bare essential bones of each rule.
Also, when trying to reel in potential applicants, it's important to come across as professional but friendly as an admin. That last rule? Comes across as super intimidating. You're literally threatening anyone that applies with the possibility of ruining their name if you think they've lied, and that's not professional or friendly at all. I get it, I really do. I would call them out on it publicly too, if I found out someone in my group lied or stole in their application, but you shouldn't say that in your rules. Right away, I feel like there's a strong chance that I'm going to get wrongly accused of lying and that my name will be ruined in the Glee roleplay community for something I didn't even do, and that makes me want to run in the opposite direction. By all means, tell them they'll get kicked out if they lie, and agree between yourselves that you'll call anyone out on the off chance that it happens, but don't threaten people.
Application: I love your application form. It's detailed and thorough and I believe you'll be able to get a really good idea of a person's ability to play their desired character with the information you want them to provide. Great job, I love it. I notice that you haven't actually linked to your submit box anywhere, though, so I would suggest adding that to the bottom of your form, or somewhere in the navigation/header/sidebar.
Other Pages: Your other pages all seem really great to me. Your masterlist page is clean and organised, and your checklist is thorough and detailed. I recommend having a tag with all the biographies in regardless of gender or status, and perhaps even separate tags for ND and the Warblers, and then linking them all in the character page of course. I also think your 'Around Orange County' page is great so far, even if it's currently incomplete. Everything is clean, efficient, and well thought-out, so kudos for that.
CHARACTERS
Faceclaims: I can't say much since it's a Glee roleplay and you have the Glee faces. I will say, though, that I never understand why so many Glee roleplay groups leave so many important faces out. I get that some of them are hard to fill, but really, if you're going to include Sebastian, you should include the other people in ND. If you're going to include Marley, you can't then leave out the rest of the newer kids. You gotta be fair game.
Biographies: I love your bio format. I always love seeing personality traits and tweets in the bios, so these get a major thumbs up from me. Also, thank you for saying "[x] is represented by [faceclaim]" instead of something like "[x] is often mistaken for [faceclaim]", that's a pet peeve of mine and I'm glad you found a way to avoid that while still having the bio layout that you do. I'm personally not a fan of including twins for some characters but not for others; I feel like it should be one or the other, either twins for everybody or twins for nobody, but I guess each to their own? I know a lot of people like only having a handful of twins around.
ADMINISTRATION
You're clearly both very professional and experienced, your responses to questions are to the point, and you explain everything thoroughly and clearly. You don't use mascots, which is great to see, and you've done a fantastic job setting the blog up. I would recommend trying to come across as more friendly and welcoming. I know the line between authoritative and friendly can be difficult to balance, and there's always the risk of being so friendly that you lose your professionalism, but people want to know that they'll be welcomed into the group with open arms and I'm not really getting that feeling from your roleplay right now. It honestly doesn't take much -- a bit of enthusiasm in your response to anonymous questions, a less threatening tone in your rules, and that should be enough.
OVERALL
Overall, this roleplay holds a lot of potential and I really do think it could be something amazing. It's got a good, original plot with a clean and organised theme, and consistent accurate grammar throughout. I recommend either changing the title of the roleplay or establishing something into the plot that will actually connect the title into everything, because right now it has nothing to do with destiny. I also strongly suggest cutting down your rules so they're quick and to the point, and including more of the canon characters would also definitely help reel in more potential applicants. I really hope this roleplay goes somewhere, because it seems amazing and you've clearly put a great deal of effort into piecing it all together.
