Post by Darake Kitoushi on Jul 16, 2014 8:15:28 GMT -5
Basic Rules
• No one below age fifteen.
• Obviously no god-modding, meta-gaming, or using information outside of your characters knowledge.
• You may not kill a character without the owner's permission.
• It requires two mods in order for an application to be approved.
• Only three applications per person and only one of those may hold a high ranked position. Create a separate account for each character. Use last name, first name style as per Japanese society.
• Rank taken by NPC may be replaced by actual characters after consulting staff about the spot.
• Please have a cbox account that matches the name of your main character.
• Posts are expected have substance as well as accompanied by proper grammar and spelling. We understand everyone has bad days and aren't always on their top game, simply try your best.
• Relating to the substance comment above, refrain from overuse of "purple prose" and fluffing up posts with pointless matters that don't have real context to the thread.
• Read below in detail about our site philosophy. This isn't a site for everyone and we are trying to achieve a particular experience here. Once you have read that, show us you accept these rules and are ready to role-play by placing a link to your approved application in your signature.
• No one below age fifteen.
• Obviously no god-modding, meta-gaming, or using information outside of your characters knowledge.
• You may not kill a character without the owner's permission.
• It requires two mods in order for an application to be approved.
• Only three applications per person and only one of those may hold a high ranked position. Create a separate account for each character. Use last name, first name style as per Japanese society.
• Rank taken by NPC may be replaced by actual characters after consulting staff about the spot.
• Please have a cbox account that matches the name of your main character.
• Posts are expected have substance as well as accompanied by proper grammar and spelling. We understand everyone has bad days and aren't always on their top game, simply try your best.
• Relating to the substance comment above, refrain from overuse of "purple prose" and fluffing up posts with pointless matters that don't have real context to the thread.
• Read below in detail about our site philosophy. This isn't a site for everyone and we are trying to achieve a particular experience here. Once you have read that, show us you accept these rules and are ready to role-play by placing a link to your approved application in your signature.
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Collaborative Storytelling
The first and most important aspect of this site is that we have a very different goal and methodology here in comparison to many of the other Bleach sites we've witnessed out there. We are here to have fun just as is any role-play, but we have fun in a different manner. Other sites like to have many super-powerful beings running around and frankly many of them become ego trips and power fantasy. Here we want to avoid that completely. Our goal is to have members sit down and discuss the kind of story they want to tell. What aspects of their character they want to display in this thread, how they would like this story to play out. No antagonism or hostility about who's going to win a fight, because that isn't what's important. The story we are creating together is what's truly important.
Creating A Story
When making a thread, we are attempting to create a story. A story at it's very basics should have a beginning, middle, and end. To often you will see on other sites you have a player make a post about them punching a tree or other nonsense, without any plan for how this will proceed and it ends without any real subject, trailing on until no one can think of anything else to say. Before making a thread, you should have a story in mind that you want to tell, a beginning, a middle, an end. What is it you want to happen in this thread? What is it you want your character to display in this thread? More than just this, you should discuss with the others who our going to be in the thread your basic idea. Work with them to create a compelling story. This doesn't mean you can't surprise each other or throw twists in there that the others didn't know about. The important thing is every thread and post having a purpose behind it.
Power-levels
These can be a major cause of aforementioned ego trips and arguments that flair on other sites. Here we attempt to avoid this by stating that for the most part, everyone on the site is of similar power. This is an area where we diverge from canon. Yes a captain is stronger than a vice, but not so much that the vice cannot win. Power-levels are far less important and a factor here, when used it is done purely for story telling purposes such as with the NPC characters. Again, no animosity or arguments about who's stronger than who. We're all on a similar level and together we are writing a story. A battle between two individuals is not a contest, who wins should be be dictated by agreement of which provides for the better outcome of the story.
Boundaries
An issue which one finds many bleach sites is they are filled with characters who have powers which go beyond the boundaries we see in canon. For instance a popular one is a shikai giving armor or making them faster. Also quite often you see kidō doing things quite unlike what canon kidō are capable of. It's our belief that boundaries exist around what the powers of each race can do and it's important to preserve these boundaries to retain both what makes Bleach unique and each race's capabilities unique to them. One way we do this is by close study and classification of our canon examples. For example you can see how we go further than many other sites in doing this in our zanpakutō guide.
Uniqueness
Everyone should have a unique character, but in my belief there is a certain degree and way this should be done. A character having a special shikai with two names situation like Yumichika, the Shunkō technique, and be an animal like Komamura... this would be an example of going to far. A good question to ask oneself is, if my character were to exist within the canon, how much would they stand out? Surely we all want to stand out from the crowd, but am I standing out for the right reasons? The protagonist of any shonen is a good example of what not to do and Ichigo is no exception. At every turn his abilities are unique, Rukia wondering how his sealed blade could be so large all the way to Byakuya saying outright that his bankai doesn't follow the rules of a bankai. People should always look to your character and say that you are unique, but it is extremely easy to go to far to the point where you've become an Ichigo, someone who defies all acceptable definitions.
This distinction must be made because we are a part of a community, not the main character of a story. If we all approach making our characters like they were Ichigo, then we are all so outlandish that there is no standard by which to judge normalcy. Some say this means we are then not unique, but are most of the characters in bleach commonplace? I cannot say so, they have wonderful characters with some exceptional powers while still fitting into the guidelines we present on this site. There is a certain degree in which a character can have unique aspects, but if one goes to far it becomes ridiculous.
So the question to ask yourself is, if your character was placed into canon would they react to you like they react to any other of the unique characters we see, or would they react in the manner they do to Ichigo?
What makes Bleached Soul unique or different than other sites?
Site Philosophy | Click to Expand
}Site Philosophy | Click to Expand
Collaborative Storytelling
The first and most important aspect of this site is that we have a very different goal and methodology here in comparison to many of the other Bleach sites we've witnessed out there. We are here to have fun just as is any role-play, but we have fun in a different manner. Other sites like to have many super-powerful beings running around and frankly many of them become ego trips and power fantasy. Here we want to avoid that completely. Our goal is to have members sit down and discuss the kind of story they want to tell. What aspects of their character they want to display in this thread, how they would like this story to play out. No antagonism or hostility about who's going to win a fight, because that isn't what's important. The story we are creating together is what's truly important.
Creating A Story
When making a thread, we are attempting to create a story. A story at it's very basics should have a beginning, middle, and end. To often you will see on other sites you have a player make a post about them punching a tree or other nonsense, without any plan for how this will proceed and it ends without any real subject, trailing on until no one can think of anything else to say. Before making a thread, you should have a story in mind that you want to tell, a beginning, a middle, an end. What is it you want to happen in this thread? What is it you want your character to display in this thread? More than just this, you should discuss with the others who our going to be in the thread your basic idea. Work with them to create a compelling story. This doesn't mean you can't surprise each other or throw twists in there that the others didn't know about. The important thing is every thread and post having a purpose behind it.
Power-levels
These can be a major cause of aforementioned ego trips and arguments that flair on other sites. Here we attempt to avoid this by stating that for the most part, everyone on the site is of similar power. This is an area where we diverge from canon. Yes a captain is stronger than a vice, but not so much that the vice cannot win. Power-levels are far less important and a factor here, when used it is done purely for story telling purposes such as with the NPC characters. Again, no animosity or arguments about who's stronger than who. We're all on a similar level and together we are writing a story. A battle between two individuals is not a contest, who wins should be be dictated by agreement of which provides for the better outcome of the story.
Boundaries
An issue which one finds many bleach sites is they are filled with characters who have powers which go beyond the boundaries we see in canon. For instance a popular one is a shikai giving armor or making them faster. Also quite often you see kidō doing things quite unlike what canon kidō are capable of. It's our belief that boundaries exist around what the powers of each race can do and it's important to preserve these boundaries to retain both what makes Bleach unique and each race's capabilities unique to them. One way we do this is by close study and classification of our canon examples. For example you can see how we go further than many other sites in doing this in our zanpakutō guide.
Uniqueness
Everyone should have a unique character, but in my belief there is a certain degree and way this should be done. A character having a special shikai with two names situation like Yumichika, the Shunkō technique, and be an animal like Komamura... this would be an example of going to far. A good question to ask oneself is, if my character were to exist within the canon, how much would they stand out? Surely we all want to stand out from the crowd, but am I standing out for the right reasons? The protagonist of any shonen is a good example of what not to do and Ichigo is no exception. At every turn his abilities are unique, Rukia wondering how his sealed blade could be so large all the way to Byakuya saying outright that his bankai doesn't follow the rules of a bankai. People should always look to your character and say that you are unique, but it is extremely easy to go to far to the point where you've become an Ichigo, someone who defies all acceptable definitions.
This distinction must be made because we are a part of a community, not the main character of a story. If we all approach making our characters like they were Ichigo, then we are all so outlandish that there is no standard by which to judge normalcy. Some say this means we are then not unique, but are most of the characters in bleach commonplace? I cannot say so, they have wonderful characters with some exceptional powers while still fitting into the guidelines we present on this site. There is a certain degree in which a character can have unique aspects, but if one goes to far it becomes ridiculous.
So the question to ask yourself is, if your character was placed into canon would they react to you like they react to any other of the unique characters we see, or would they react in the manner they do to Ichigo?
{
For the most part we are trying to emulate the manga Bleach in it's setting, spirit, and themes presented in it. We however do diverge in particular sometimes specific ways that we believe will create a better opportunity for storytelling. This can be a bit confusing, but for the most part, we entirely disregard filler from the anime only arcs and the movies. However we will at times take an idea from them and incorporate concepts from them, cherry picking the things we find to have potential. Below is a listing of certain things from the canon that we modify or disregard for various purposes.
● While we use the Ōin artifact from the second bleach movie, the events of it are otherwise ignored.
As mentioned before we may use specific elements from filler or the movies, but otherwise not use aspects in them for the complications or contradictions they have with the larger universe.
● Spiritual beings cannot stand on air for more than a moment in the human world without a specific flying ability.
It's long been suspected that many battles in the canon take place in the air (or other sparse environments) because Kubo dislikes wasting time drawing backgrounds. This creates a problem for players in a roleplay as any ability which relies on the ground becomes practically useless in the human world where people can just stand on air. Thus our change solves this by causing platform creation to be exhausting unless a character has an ability that allows them to fly.
● Nearly all injuries can be healed, but permanent injury is possible if you desire.
While significant injuries require attention from a healer, which all fractions are assumed to have even if no one is playing one or an npc yet, just about anything can be fixed. However should you want your character to suffer a permanent disability such as losing an arm or contracting an illness, we can come up with some sorta pseudo-medical/spiritual answer as to why it cannot be healed.
● Bindings and bakudō can be broken.
In canon when someone is caught by a binding, typically the enemy is then either hit with a major attack or it's game over, with few exceptions. Here we allow people to break out of them determined by your Reserves stat expending reiryoku in proportion to the strength of the binding, the strength determining how exhausting this is and how quickly one can do it. The intention however isn't to make bindings useless. Obviously the binding is being used for some narrative reason, so determine with your fellow roleplayer how strong the caster and the binding is, in relation to the target's reserve stat, and how long they should be disabled.
● Bankai don't remain permanently damaged if they are broken.
We felt this was too punishing of a consequence and limited a great deal of potential action during fights. While it is still possible for a bankai to be broken, it will only happen under special circumstances for story purposes.
● Bankai cannot be "modified" or altered within story context.
Within canon it has become an apparent trend for the main characters to have their established bankai altered or modified through science. We unfortunately cannot allow this, for it would simply diminish the importance of bankai and cause fairness issues. Out of character you can request for your bankai to be altered but this will not be noticed by characters in-story, it'll appear as if the change had never happened.
● Zanpakutō are not weightless to their users.
We felt there are many problems with this development and that it causes many smaller weapons to lose their major advantage.
● Hollow become arrancar through a dramatic event triggering an instinctual removal of their mask.
We lack the Hōgyoku here, so this is the method all arrancar were created.
● No arrancar have a Segunda Etapa.
With only one instance of it in canon, we aren't allowing any arrancar to have a second release until more examples of it are provided.
● Las Noches now has it's own Shakonmaru barrier.
The Espada were able to acquire Sekkiseki stone in order to create a protection for their base.
● The Wandenreich's main base is not located in Soul Society.
Their main base exists within the Schatten Bereich (Shadow Realm) of a cathedral theater in the human world. They still also have the Silbern in Hueco Mundo.
● The Quincy can no longer use their shadow ability to get past Seireitei's defenses.
After the previous Wandenreich's attack on Seireitei, the shinigami modified the Shakonmaku barrier to prevent the technique allowing them to sneak in.
● Gathering reishi for a Heilig Pfeil still minorly taxes the user, unique Quincy abilities are not powered through gathered reishi, the user powers it through their own reiryoku.
This is more of a clarification rather than a deviation from canon. While Quincy fire projectiles through gathered reishi, the process of gathering said reishi still takes a toll on them, minor as it may be. Their own unique abilities however, are entirely dependent on their own spiritual energy.
● Johann Van Strauss is the npc leader of the Wandenreich and takes the place of Yhwach.
For all functional purposes he has a similar history of his power originated and his creation of the Quincy.
● A Sternritter's epithet letter only signifies their order of succession to the throne, not their power.
Letters closer to A simply signify they are closer to the throne, not that they are more powerful. Z could be the stronger than Y, and so forth.
● Only when joining the Sternritters and receiving their epithet do Quincy obtain their unique ability.
For balancing reasons we have limited unique abilities to Sternritters, when they join this order Van Strauss inscribes them with an epithet that is relevant to their hidden power, this epithet draws this forth. However, it is possible for them to show minor signs of their hidden power manifesting, which tends to influence their acceptance within the Sternritter order.
● Quincy bankai stealing medallions are rare.
Some of the Wandenreich do have access to them, but they are difficult to make and are used in specific story circumstances.
* A big shout out to Sasaki Nanami for creating this list and the idea of it in the first place. Without her creative mind and hard work, this site wouldn't exist.
How is Bleached Soul different than canon?
Canon Divergence List | Click to Expand
}Canon Divergence List | Click to Expand
For the most part we are trying to emulate the manga Bleach in it's setting, spirit, and themes presented in it. We however do diverge in particular sometimes specific ways that we believe will create a better opportunity for storytelling. This can be a bit confusing, but for the most part, we entirely disregard filler from the anime only arcs and the movies. However we will at times take an idea from them and incorporate concepts from them, cherry picking the things we find to have potential. Below is a listing of certain things from the canon that we modify or disregard for various purposes.
● While we use the Ōin artifact from the second bleach movie, the events of it are otherwise ignored.
As mentioned before we may use specific elements from filler or the movies, but otherwise not use aspects in them for the complications or contradictions they have with the larger universe.
● Spiritual beings cannot stand on air for more than a moment in the human world without a specific flying ability.
It's long been suspected that many battles in the canon take place in the air (or other sparse environments) because Kubo dislikes wasting time drawing backgrounds. This creates a problem for players in a roleplay as any ability which relies on the ground becomes practically useless in the human world where people can just stand on air. Thus our change solves this by causing platform creation to be exhausting unless a character has an ability that allows them to fly.
● Nearly all injuries can be healed, but permanent injury is possible if you desire.
While significant injuries require attention from a healer, which all fractions are assumed to have even if no one is playing one or an npc yet, just about anything can be fixed. However should you want your character to suffer a permanent disability such as losing an arm or contracting an illness, we can come up with some sorta pseudo-medical/spiritual answer as to why it cannot be healed.
● Bindings and bakudō can be broken.
In canon when someone is caught by a binding, typically the enemy is then either hit with a major attack or it's game over, with few exceptions. Here we allow people to break out of them determined by your Reserves stat expending reiryoku in proportion to the strength of the binding, the strength determining how exhausting this is and how quickly one can do it. The intention however isn't to make bindings useless. Obviously the binding is being used for some narrative reason, so determine with your fellow roleplayer how strong the caster and the binding is, in relation to the target's reserve stat, and how long they should be disabled.
● Bankai don't remain permanently damaged if they are broken.
We felt this was too punishing of a consequence and limited a great deal of potential action during fights. While it is still possible for a bankai to be broken, it will only happen under special circumstances for story purposes.
● Bankai cannot be "modified" or altered within story context.
Within canon it has become an apparent trend for the main characters to have their established bankai altered or modified through science. We unfortunately cannot allow this, for it would simply diminish the importance of bankai and cause fairness issues. Out of character you can request for your bankai to be altered but this will not be noticed by characters in-story, it'll appear as if the change had never happened.
● Zanpakutō are not weightless to their users.
We felt there are many problems with this development and that it causes many smaller weapons to lose their major advantage.
● Hollow become arrancar through a dramatic event triggering an instinctual removal of their mask.
We lack the Hōgyoku here, so this is the method all arrancar were created.
● No arrancar have a Segunda Etapa.
With only one instance of it in canon, we aren't allowing any arrancar to have a second release until more examples of it are provided.
● Las Noches now has it's own Shakonmaru barrier.
The Espada were able to acquire Sekkiseki stone in order to create a protection for their base.
● The Wandenreich's main base is not located in Soul Society.
Their main base exists within the Schatten Bereich (Shadow Realm) of a cathedral theater in the human world. They still also have the Silbern in Hueco Mundo.
● The Quincy can no longer use their shadow ability to get past Seireitei's defenses.
After the previous Wandenreich's attack on Seireitei, the shinigami modified the Shakonmaku barrier to prevent the technique allowing them to sneak in.
● Gathering reishi for a Heilig Pfeil still minorly taxes the user, unique Quincy abilities are not powered through gathered reishi, the user powers it through their own reiryoku.
This is more of a clarification rather than a deviation from canon. While Quincy fire projectiles through gathered reishi, the process of gathering said reishi still takes a toll on them, minor as it may be. Their own unique abilities however, are entirely dependent on their own spiritual energy.
● Johann Van Strauss is the npc leader of the Wandenreich and takes the place of Yhwach.
For all functional purposes he has a similar history of his power originated and his creation of the Quincy.
● A Sternritter's epithet letter only signifies their order of succession to the throne, not their power.
Letters closer to A simply signify they are closer to the throne, not that they are more powerful. Z could be the stronger than Y, and so forth.
● Only when joining the Sternritters and receiving their epithet do Quincy obtain their unique ability.
For balancing reasons we have limited unique abilities to Sternritters, when they join this order Van Strauss inscribes them with an epithet that is relevant to their hidden power, this epithet draws this forth. However, it is possible for them to show minor signs of their hidden power manifesting, which tends to influence their acceptance within the Sternritter order.
● Quincy bankai stealing medallions are rare.
Some of the Wandenreich do have access to them, but they are difficult to make and are used in specific story circumstances.
* A big shout out to Sasaki Nanami for creating this list and the idea of it in the first place. Without her creative mind and hard work, this site wouldn't exist.
