im enjoying the site and the theme a lot, i love the pale contrasts. i have trouble reading the low letter spacing though, is there anyway to fix that in posts im sorry if this is a hassle.
not a hassle at all!! we've actually been talking about this for a little bit now and we're looking into upping the letter spacing as we speak :)
hi! would it be at all possible to make the blue boxes on the forum a little bit darker? it's kind of difficult to see the words XD something like #C1D8E2?
yeah no problem! one of the admins will take care of it once one of us gets back home! :)
We have some exciting news for our lovely followers! We'll be opening today. I know, the wait is finally over. You'll be getting to check out our snazzy site sometime today. We'll keep you updated on how far we are off from opening, but expect sometime tonight! While you wait, make sure you've got all of your character/face claim reserves done. Also it definitely couldn't hurt to work on your app, or finish it, or look over it again. The application image is going to be 490x250 and the avatar image is going to be 250x450 (I apologize if this is different from a size we've given you earlier, our member pro code has gone through a few stages, but this is the final one). IT'S TIME TO GET HYPED EVERYONE!!!
I've never rped on jcink or proboard or any of that other than tumblr before but I absolutely adore the idea of this but I'm so hopelessly lost??? can you show me the ropes or link me to a blog/account for an example or link a tutorial?
it can be a bit daunting at first, we’ll admit, but we’re happy to show you the ropes!! i personally haven’t done any tumblr roleplaying but i’ve heard that when it comes down to it, they’re actually really similar!! :) unfortunately i don’t know of any tutorials, but we’ve put together a sort of step-by-step to joining a new site and some tips as well under the cut because it will end up being a LONG post and we don’t want to clog up anyone’s dashboards!
first and foremost, never ever ever be afraid to ask questions! everyone was new to roleplaying at some point in the game and in our experience, people are always willing to help out and answer any questions you might have if admins aren’t around :) we’d much rather have you ask us a question if you’re unsure of anything!
a great place to start is reading all of the site basics and getting acquainted with the site. this includes plot, rules, any other things (they’re usually all in a handy-dandy little forum that will usually be called something along the lines of ‘necessities’). i even usually like to poke around and check out some already accepted applications to see what the admins are looking for in characters and see some already written threads to get an idea of what the site’s atmosphere is like. but most important are the site basics. it might seem like rules would be pretty standard but lots of sites have unique rules that apply just to them specifically and you want to make sure you know them and brush up on them before you jump headfirst into the party, even though we know it can be exciting :)
next, decide on a character. there are a number of ways in which you can go about doing this. our site has a canon list (generally most sites do) that you can check to find which characters are available to be played (you can check out our previews page to get a glimpse of what a sample canon list looks like with our reveals). you definitely want to make sure to check the canon reserves and the incomplete applications, however, just before you get too set on a character to make sure someone isn’t already applying for them!! there will be a little section that will have all of the reservations listed and when they expire :)
if it’s hard for you to choose a character based on the canon list, you can check out the want ads. this is a section where people will post little blurbs for characters that they want to see made for whatever various reasons. personally, i like to check out the want ads even before i get too invested in the canon list so that i can not only make a character that will get assured plotting but also so i can make someone’s day by making a character that’s necessary for them!
after you’ve picked your character, go ahead and register your character. you can do this by going to the very top left corner of the white bar along the top of your page and there should be a thing that says “register.” just follow the instructions, fill in some blanks and you’re golden!
next, reserve your character on the canon list - in code, please!!!! - and write your application. depending on what site you’re on there will be different styles of application but the most common that we’ve seen - as well as the style that will be used on trophies - is freestyle! this means you basically have free reign to do whatever you’d like however you’d like to show us exactly who your character is. there will be a code for you to c&p and then just go ahead and start posting it in whichever forum applies to you, whether it’s incomplete or complete. if you’re stuck on any ideas or need some tips, you can head over to this (click!) answered ask! :)
once you finish the application, you’ll have to wait just a teensy bit while the admins read it and decide on how to sort it. every so often an application will be pended (usually for things like a lack of realistic flaws in a character, or too little history/personality, or not enough information provided, or inaccurate information provided, etc) and very rarely will things be blatantly denied!
assuming the application is accepted, you’ll head over to the claims section and make sure to make your claims. this will include claiming your canon, your face claim, and any other extra things like clubs, etc that are applicable. this way no one else can try and come in and take your character from you!! though, we’d never let that happen.
once you’ve done all of that tedious business, mosey on down to the shipper forum and post a plot page! this is where all of the action is really going to take place and the fun part really starts. this is where friendships are made, enemies are born, or lovers are pushed together. making a plot page is super simple: just post a brief summary of who your character is, what they’re about, and what sort of relationships they need. feel free to take a peek at some of the already posted shippers to get an idea of how in-depth to go with your character or if you want any formatting ideas. some people do bullet points to keep it short and sweet, others like to do paragraphs. there’s no wrong way to sell your new character to the site!!
another important thing to remember is to plot with other people! while it would be amazing if things happened this way, we unfortunately can’t expect everyone to come flocking to us just because we’re new. plotting is a two-way street in the roleplaying community, so, while you’re waiting for people to bust the lock off your plot page, go ahead and post in some other plot pages yourself and explore all the possible interactions you guys could have! you never know what sort of things can unfold from even the craziest ideas.
thread!!!!! after all of the above mentioned steps, you’re ready to get started threading!!! most people seem to like to do a communication thread first - like a note or an owl or in the case of technology perhaps a text - to sort of start getting a feel for their character’s voice or how they really interact with other characters just in case they don’t already have a solid grasp on it. again, feel free to take a look at some already posted communication threads for examples.
if you’re comfortable jumping into a longer regular thread right off the bat, the more power to you! regular threads should be written in third person and can really go in whatever direction you’d like! some people like to thread interactions between individual characters and particular plot points relevant to their own character’s development (i.e: running into an old enemy in the hallway and the tension that ensues or a fight that might break out, or awkwardly touching the hand of the boy your character likes during herbology and whatever subsequently unfolds, etc) or it can be relevant to the site plot as a whole (i.e: school newspaper meeting, etc).
keep threading!! don’t give up just because you’ve completed one thread or one note/owl/text. keep your activity up by really making sure you play out those plots you’ve been accumulating since you joined!
and that’s pretty much it, you’re pretty much an expert jcink roleplayer! everyone will be guessing you’ve been doing this for years!!
here are some extra things you’ll end up doing along the way:
post want ads! if your character needs a brother/sister/twin, enemy, lover, best friend, group, etc, feel free to request it in the appropriate forum! it’s just like doing a plot page but instead of selling your own character, imagine you’re selling the one you’d like someone to create for you. lots of people like it if you include a recommended face claim as well, if there’s one that you really see matching the character in your headcanon.
graphics are definitely not everyone’s thing so if you ever need any help feel free to ask any of the admins or a lot of times even other members are willing to help you out. you’ll need an avatar that will be a sort of visual representation of your character for quick reference. for trophies, avatar sizes are 250x450 and you’ll want it to be a HQ image of your playby (with preferably nothing inappropriate, please!).
find a thread template! when threading, people like to use templates - either made by them or pre-made on sites like CAUTION, SHINE, ATF, or ROUX (all resource site names are clickable links). if you’re new to any of the above sites, you’ll have to register to be able to view the sites’ contents, but it’s worth it if you plan to either grow as a board roleplayer or coder/writer/graphics-maker as well as a way to really thank the individuals who have taken the time to make the pre-made templates! most of the templates you’ll find on these sites will require you to make an image to fit in somewhere in the thread template so you’ll want to make sure to do that as well! if you either don’t find a template you like or are pressed for time/cba to find a template from the bunch they have posted on there, feel free to message us off anon and we’ll be happy to send a just plain old justified code over your way. :)
(in regards to resource sites, those are also GREAT for first timers to board roleplaying because of the fact that it’s JUST a resource. yes there are templates and pre-made graphics and samples of people’s writing and challenges and the like, but there are also forums where people are asking questions and getting really helpful answers and things get broken down into easy to understand points for things that run the entire gambit of roleplaying so if you get a chance to really just peruse any of the resource sites beyond just looking for a template i would really jump on it!)
post some character development! these come in a variety of forms, especially on trophies. character development can be a blurb or a journal entry, little images of things you’ve found online that represent something your character fancies like a sort of visual scrapbook. it can be fun facts about your character that we weren’t aware of based on the application alone, a playlist you’ve made, any of the countdown things or prompts that we’ve posted here on the tumblr, even you’re more than welcome to translate over onto the site for your character development thread. we love seeing that stuff, it really gives your character a whole extra dimension.
a lot of these things will make more sense once you see the site and get poking around, but if you have any questions AT ALL please don’t hesitate to contact the admins once the site opens or even message the tumblr. if you’d prefer we reply to you privately about anything, just message us off anon and we’ll be happy to respect those wishes!! hopefully this helps ease your mind and makes you (and anyone else who might be new to jcink roleplaying!) a little more comfortable with joining our site because we’d love to have you!! it’s really not so bad, even though i ended up writing basically a novel-length how to guide!!!
god damn are people rude. this site is going to be awesome, and i for one don’t mind having a bit of extra time to work on my character(s). either wait it out or don’t but stop being rude to the admins. it’s not going to get you anywhere, and all you are doing is creating hate and bad feelings all around.
thank you so much for this, anon!! we really appreciate everyone for being so understanding and the encouragement to remind us that even if there was a setback, that we should keep on going and that it is something to still be excited about!
i understand why you're waiting longer because of the preemptive reveal but you're wasting precious summer which is ideal roleplaying time. what are your plans for the deadness which is september/october in regards to site activity?
there's still plenty of summer left!! at least we hope so because then that means school is going to start up again at some point ;(
but your concerns are entirely legitimate because frankly, you're right, the fall typically comes with dead sites and lack of activity. but part of what makes trophies unique is that there are really so many opportunities for site events, big and small, and a number of things that members can really sink their teeth into. on sites that we've all been on in the past, we noticed that there typically aren't site events during the fall months or if there are, they're events that members don't really feel a need to get involved in or that can easily be sort of overlooked for the sake of other plots or in some cases are a little stale. we respect so much how other sites choose to run their site, but that's not how we plan to do things on trophies. our site is going to be extremely character driven and we plan to really get everyone - old members and new ones who might be joining us - involved with everything we have going on!
this site better be the most amazing goddamn site known to man, with the way the staff team talks about it. "waaaaahhh one or two people saw our amazing flawless skin and our amazingly written info waaaaahhhhh now no one is allowed to see it!!!! >:( bad potential members!!!!!!! baaaaaad!!!!!!"
that’s silly. why would we, or any staff team for that matter, want to release something that’s half-assed and not well-thought out? or that they don’t think is an amazing site? wouldn’t you want everything you’re putting into this to be as best as it could be? we have close to 100 followers. we’re not going to apologize for trying to make sure that we try and create the “most amazing goddamn site known to man” so that all of our members have a great roleplaying experience. as for your passive-aggressive quote there, we’ve already explained why we’ve chosen to do what we’re doing and how we’re remedying it so feel free to check out any of the other responses if there’s any confusion as to why things are where they are.
hi i heard that apparently maybe we can reserve two canons so can i also have the seventh year gryffindor weasley + fei fei sun but if not then bye ignore me bye
yes, yes, you can reserve two canons!! and both those reserves are all yours! :)
is there any chance that you guys release the application code beforehand?
things are being re-coded now and since we're going to open the site as soon as possible, we probably won't do the code beforehand!! just because by the time it's done, we'll probably have opened!! ;)
i think that the link to the site was a total accident, i mean ya someone went looking for it out of curiousity but that doesnt mean they gave it up in spite. i hope u've spoken to the person who did it and explained to them personally the cus. a lot of us could have done the same thing, not out of disrespect but becus we're looking forward to it for so long. its rare for a site to be kept such a secret in this community, i admire it i really do. i just hope you dont have bad feelings towards us
no, for sure! we understand that it wasn't something that was intended to be hurtful or spoiling in anyway but unfortunately at the end of the day those are the feelings we walked away with and like we said, it just really surprised us because we thought everyone was sort of on the same page supporting the whole anonymity of it all and that, exactly as you've said, everyone was cool with it being secretive in the community. we have spoken privately to a couple people who have come forward apologizing and it's fine! what's done is done now and there aren't any bad feelings toward anybody in any way, we're just going to take a little longer to open now, that's all ;)