Several orders of business from your friendly neighborhood mods~ PLEASE READ.

[samuraiprosecutor]

Got a few very important reminders guys, so please listen up.

Firstly, I'd like to direct your attention to the Player Guide and Frequently Asked Questions posts! They're filled with info on DramaDramaDuck and its inner workings, and hopefully will be useful to you whether you're new to the game or an oldbie who could benefit from a refresher on the stuff that's less common. We'd love for you to take this opportunity to go look them over, and feel free to comment here or there with any questions you may have.

Secondly, and most importantly, lately we've seen an increase in players not getting the necessary mod approvals for certain game elements. Certain plots, IC actions, or other elements must have mod approval before they can be used in game. This post details what those elements are, and is the place to go to request said approval, but here's a condensed version. PLEASE READ.

Items Requiring Mod Approval

► World-hopping abilities that aren't based on canon, such as one member giving another a world-hopping vehicle or device

► ALL temporary usages of an appable or non-appable canon character for RLs, journal hacking, etc. This includes but isn't limited to: sentient or semi-sentient talking pets, sidekicks, and other canon characters that aren't a part of DDD's played cast (such as canon-basis family members, friends, or main characters that aren't played in game).

Anyone NPCing a character without having obtained permission beforehand will be asked to stop playing the character immediately, and will be on probation for said character until the proper permission is obtained.

► Large-scale plots that will affect the majority of the community.

► Plots involving the death of one or more characters. (If the death is a canon event, no approval is necessary, but we request that you bring the event to our attention before it happens.)

► Plots involving sensitive subjects. These include but are not limited to: rape, pregnancy (especially including means of ending it, such as abortion or miscarriage), self-harm, death, and suicide (including instances where any of these has a canon basis or is a canon event).

► Personal viruses affecting only a limited number of characters.

► Events (parties, tournaments, meetings, etc., as opposed to plots) involving five or more characters.

See the post linked above for more clarification on these categories, and if you have any questions feel free to ask them here. These lists are also not entirely comprehensive, and in some instances things will need to be approached on a case-by-case basis. If you're working on something that you feel may fall under one of the categories but you aren't sure, please contact one of the mods or modpoles, just to be on the safe side. If necessary, you can even post it in the approval post anyway. If it wasn't something that needed approval, we'll be happy to let you know, and if it was, we'll be able to look it over and give you your answer. :)

Any instances of these elements being used without the proper permission will result in a request from the mod team to stop whatever plot is involved, at which point either permission must be obtained or, if it's decided permission can't be given, said plot might be retconned or stopped permanently. The mods reserve the right to deny or stop the progress of any ongoing plot if necessary, and to remove any NPCs played without permission, regardless of their connection to a player's character.

Aaaaaaand I believe that's it. I'll open the floor to any questions you guys have, and thank you for taking the time to read through my TL;DR. ♥

Comments

[maraich]

I'm assuming I'm good since we went over the Figaro stuff? I'll kind of have to NPC him in RLs because Maraich wouldn't exactly be running all over without his baby... But I did the app and everything, it's not like I tried to skip over things.

[samuraiprosecutor]

Yeah, we've gotten the heads up on the pregnancy plot aspect, and you're good with Figaro until/unless he starts interacting with the community. ^_^

[unluckychimera.livejournal.com]

Oh, shoot, that reminds me, I'd been intending to get back to you about the thing with Zel and Eris, since it was likely to involve NPCing Amelia... I sent an email a while ago, but if I ever to a response it got lost somewhere...

[samuraiprosecutor]

Yes, I did need to talk to you about that! Which email address did you send it to? I haven't received anything from you, but if you want to email me today or if you want me to catch you on AIM when I get home, I'll do so! Whichever way's more convenient for you.

[myeggo-ispreggo.livejournal.com]

--ah! Since I'm here and thinking about it and you just went over it. Should I have gotten permission for Juno's pregnancy. > >;;; I didn't even think about it, since it was just moving canon along, but I can put it on hold to get permission if I have to...

[samuraiprosecutor]

Yeah, we also need to be notified of canon pregnancies. If you wouldn't mind putting up a comment at the approval post, I'd really appreciate it. ^_^

Did Juno not already have the baby before she came on DDD? I remember her telling Edgeworth months ago that she'd given the baby up for adoption a while back.

[dependonyou.livejournal.com]

If the Lights and I agree to keep Osabu-san, as that fanon type of history (I'm assuming) has been approved during my application process and the application process of our Yaten, will we need to get approval to refer to him in our entries? It isn't quite roleplaying him, but we would be deciding on what RL actions he took "offscreen" so to speak, so I thought I should ask.

I'm assuming if we ever have a RL (or random video post) where we would want him/need him included, those would require approval on a case-by-case basis.

[samuraiprosecutor]

Sorry for the lateness of the reply! So you want to incorporate a fanon character, their band manager, into DDD canon, right? Fanon characters or non-canon characters don't actually need to be approved. A lot of people on DDD have filled in the gaps in their characters' backgrounds by bringing in elements from fanon or using their own headcanon. I've borrowed the non-canon/director's joke element of giving Edgeworth a pet dog, for example, and tweaked it to fit my own view of the character.

As the band manager affects more than one character, all players do need to agree on including him, but it sounds like you guys have already worked that out. We prefer actual appearances from that type of character, like video posts, to be kept to an minimum wherever possible, but no approval is required for simply incorporating fanon into your character's life or history. ^_^

One last note: if you get other canonmates in the future, they won't be required to abide by any fanon or non-canon elements you've already established unless they're willing to.

[aerinos-aoria.livejournal.com]

I had 2 things!

1) There's a point in canon where Zelda's spirit passes into Midna. Since I have no Midna, or a Link, I've been dragging canon out for a while, and keeping her stuck in her tower. If in the event I ever do decide to move her through canon, would I need to app Link or Midna (hell, or both)? I originally thought she passed the triforce to Midna through her spirit, but it's almost as though she dies. When it comes time for that, if it ever does, I'll get with the mods again.

2) I got permission a whiiiilllle back to use Sheik as an alternate persona for Zelda, since she does it in Brawl (and it's actually her just using her magic to change herself). In order for her to continue posting to the comm (and keep up with the AC >.>) I was wondering if it would be alright if she posts, as Sheik, under the assumption it's a different lj name, blah, blah, blah! Like, using this username, but oocly note it in small!text at the bottom to please be assuming it's a different LJ, and all who might know who she was to please lock responses?

[samuraiprosecutor]

1) Hm, that's a good question. So, she basically transfers her spirit into Midna and...dies without dying? As for the actual death aspect of it, since it's canon and it's not technically a death, you shouldn't need any approval, though we'd appreciate a little note on the approval request post to remind us it's coming. :)

As for how to handle Midna and/or Link during the situation, how would you be usin Zelda after that happens? Would she be on an IC hiatus, or would you want to have her talk through Midna or something? What you'll need from us will depend on how you handle it. Canon events can be implied in the background without approval, if you want to imply most of it. If you want to actually play any of it out in one or two RLs, or have the journal hacked by Midna or Link, stuff like that, you'd only need to get each instance approved. I don't think there'd be a need to actually app either, unless you plan to use them extensively or make them do things that would drastically change canon.

2) That would be fine! Several of our characters do something similar when posting as their alter egos or secret identities, i.e. Kaitou Kid, Karen Minazuki, Bruce Wayne, Dr. Johnathan Crane, etc. Just be sure to note each time that the characters will see it as a different journal and you should be good to go! ^_^

A-also, did you think about having a Brawl event? It came up when your request was made and it sounds like it would be awesome if the Brawl characters wanted to put one on. *_*

[death-chopper.livejournal.com]

C-can we get a link to the mod approval post on the OOC comm sidebar, if there's room for it? I can't remember if this has come up or not, orz.

[samuraiprosecutor]

We meant to put it up there a while ago, but we needed to adjust because only a certain number of links are allowed by that layout, and eventually it got left behind temporarily in favor of other stuff. Thanks for reminding us. XD;; We're working on it now!

[clockmaster.livejournal.com]

I spammed you on the Mod Approval Requests ^^' sorry.

[samuraiprosecutor]

So I saw! :D I've got answers for you, but I'm at work so they may have to wait until I get my lunch break. Sorry!

[hotpinkaura.livejournal.com]

Since I'll be going through Wonka's canon soon, I wanted post this here before I forgot.

Will it be okay if I post accidental video/voice posts of the 'bad' kids demises (with Veruca's song thrown in, because who doesn't like it?)? It will involve minimum NPC-ing, but if I go through the video post route, there will be little involvement from non DDD characters.

[samuraiprosecutor]

Since those are canon events and won't require much NPCing, you're good to go for the 'demises' of the bad kids! Keep in mind if you want to change any details of the events, any canonmates you happen to get later won't be required to follow those changes, and anything beyond the actual video/voice posts of the kids' failures (posts of other events or journal hacking or anything) will need separate approval. :)

I'm going to link to this post in the mod approval post, for reference, so there's no need to repost the question there.

[hotheadedrebel.livejournal.com]

Because I lack players for movie Leo's brothers and sensei, and my slots are full(I think) I've taken to NPCing them, only in voice posts so far, do I need permission for that? Or just if say me and Movie April player decide to do a family RL or something?

[samuraiprosecutor]

Occasionally having their voices in the background of a voice post or playing them giving someone a quick greeting during an RL is fine, but any NPCing of canon characters (as in, interactions with characters on the comm or longer interactions in RLs, anything where you're speaking for those canon characters) does need mod approval. For any future uses of them in this capacity, please post a request in the mod approval post.

It does look like your slots for the TMNT canons are full, but if you'd like canonmates, there are a few really good places to advertise for them! char_pimp_rp is designed for ads for specific characters, and there's a pimp comment at the beginning of every roleplaysecrets that can be used once a week to pimp for games or canonmates.

[akihiko-sanada.livejournal.com]

I have no idea what this is about, but I want to take this opportunity to say ILU bb~

I also just wanted to let you know, if no one had up to now, that (SPOILER ^_~) Minato is scheduled to die on March 5th. It's a canon event and all of our canon-mates are aware of it, and I believe we're going to try to get him back once canon is completely done at the end of March.

[samuraiprosecutor]

It wasn't really about anything. :D It was just looking like a lot of people didn't realize the extent of the stuff that needs to have approval, so we thought a reminder might be needed. I was already planning to start my (hopefully regular) pimping of the Player Guide and FAQ, so I just tacked the other (massive list of) stuff on the end. XD aldnhrh thank you bb, ilu2. ♥♥♥

Yeah, we've been informed of that event! I think Vivi was the one who posted it in the mod approval request post. I told her you guys were good to go, but we'd like to review your method of resurrection, whenever you get one, before you go through with it. ^_^

[stfu-herbivore.livejournal.com]

Is it still okay to npc animal companions that would otherwise could not be apped?

I'm talking Timcampy, Hibird, Haro, Scorpy, etc. etc. Anything like those guys since they do have intelligence but can't exactly be apped?

[stfu-herbivore.livejournal.com]

Cause a while back one of the mods said that's fine, but I'm just curious if it's still okay. :B

EDIT; also in the above post it should really be some intelligence.

[awakeningadvent.livejournal.com]

I've got a bit of a question on that. Right now Giro has in his care the toddler-aged Vent and Aile who are canon characters, and are the player characters in the game Megaman ZX (although granted, 10 years older than at this point in Giro's DDD canon). My question is, since they're technically appable characters is it a no-go on any unapproved extended interaction with them in RLs or in posts Giro does, regardless of the fact that the Vent/Aile he currently has are babies? Granted it hardly ever comes up anymore (the most Giro will do is mention them, but they don't actually appear) but I thought I'd ask about it anyway.

[samuraiprosecutor]

As long as they're not interacting with people on a large scale you should be fine for them, since if they're basically infants they should only have a very limited interaction in personal RLs. If they're actually at the level where they can interact with people, or if you ever wanted to have them do stuff like posting to the community or commenting to people themselves, that sort of thing would need approval, but if it's not something you do often anyway, asking for approval whenever/if ever you do need them hopefully wouldn't be a big deal. :D

[pandorabox]

Okay, this little virus thing only affects two characters, but I thought it'd be best if I asked anyway :O On Saturday, April 4th, Lylith and I would like it if Kaito and Aoko were hit with a 'rewind' virus kind of like Blackout was hit with (it's rewind them to before they joined DDD). Their's wouldn't be permanent though. Rather, it'd last until the Saturday after (April 11th, I think?) It's just a brainbreaker virus, really, figured I'd ask for permission before going through with it :D;;

[samuraiprosecutor]

Sorry for the wait! If it's a virus, it actually does need approval, no matter how many characters are affected. You have approval to put them through this virus until Saturday, the 11th! ^_^

I'm gonna link this request from the Mod Approval Request Post for easy reference, thanks!

[clockmaster.livejournal.com]

Uhm...I never did this before, sorry if it's not needed (Better be sure than sorry, uh?).

At the end of the week or so I want to make a accidental videopost involving Tatsumi and Eris fighting (Both are my characters). It's because Eris it's been..Eris, and she messed with one of Tatsumi's friends (Alice Cullen) to the point that he's going to confront her. Tatsumi will use his shadows against her and it will look like he killed her, but he will just trap her using his powers. I wanted to know if it's ok so people don't think that I killed Eris out of the blue.

[samuraiprosecutor]

If she's not actually going to be killed it doesn't need any approval! But thanks for letting us know in advance, so we don't end up going "Wait, what!?" at you later. ;)

I'm sure that post will make a few comm members veeery happy, even if it's not real.