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FAQ
So what is this, exactly?
Ink City is a text-based, pan-fandom role playing game meant for cartoon characters. Though this game has a lot of over-arching plot, it’s mostly player-run for events and such. It’s pretty laid-back, and a lot of the story is up to the players.
Do we need to fill out an application?
Yep! Found right here.
What are the main, log, ooc and crack rooms for?
The main community is for action tagged character posts involving broadcasts through their communication devices, or for actions taking place in the city. This where most of the action and character interaction takes place.
The log community is largely for, 3rd-person, paragraph-format entries for your character, although action tags work. Log posts are typically longer and a bit more introspective, showing in detail your character’s feelings and surroundings. You also have to include this at the beginning of each log post:
Where: What’s location in the city is this happening at?
When: Can be a specific date, or if it’s chronologically meant to go before another person’s post or event.
Who: Who’s involved, and if other people are allowed to join in
What: What’s going on! Pretty self explanatory.
Warnings: Warn people in advance of anything that could happen! (Anything violent, inappropriate, or too awesome to handle)
The OOC community is where you go to post Out-of-Character. This is where you go to introduce yourself, let other players know when you’ll be gone on a hiatus, etc. It’s also a place to discuss with other players about things, come up with plot events and recruit other people to join in, or to just do whatever you want~
The crack community is for whatever! It can be a place for whatever oddness you want to share, we have weekly memes, and often times we share whatever creations we’ve made that have been inspired by the game. Doodles, music, and sillyness galore!
How often do we need to be active?
As long as you’re active in some way at least once a month (or so), you’ll be fine. If you vanish without a trace for a notably long time, your character will be listed as Missing In Action and potentially in danger of being dropped. If no activity happens over 3 months, the character will be instantly dropped.
If you call a Hiatus, you don’t need to worry about being dropped for inactivity. Just make sure we know you’re gone.
Do we have to watch the other member’s journals?
Nope! All you have to watch are the main, log, and ooc communities. Crack isn’t mandatory, but encouraged! You’re welcome to watch the other members if you want, though.
What are the communication devices for?
The comms are what your characters will broadcast the majority of their posts with in the main community. You can specify them as being texts, audio posts, or videos. If your characters meet somewhere and interact face-to-face, or if an event is taking place that other characters would notice, then the post is an action. The way that the comms look and more description of its uses are over at the Locations/Settings post.
How do I tag my posts?
Tags will go in this format:
[series character is from] character’s name
example: [powerpuff girls] mojo jojo
What’s up with all this 4th wall business?
One of the main things about this city is that- everyone in it is a cartoon character.
They just don’t know that yet. But if your character becomes involved in solving the various mysteries of how they got there, why everyone is different in style, the strange “natives” of Ink City, and of course the ever-present “4th Wall” beyond the borders of the city... they might discover the truth. Not only that they’re fictional characters, but they could also find out about how YOU are controlling them. Spooky, no? But it’s up to you if you want your characters to figure out this earth-shattering revelation or not. You can read more about the details in the Locations/Settings post.
Wait.. they can figure out they aren’t real?
Only if you want them to. If not, you can just interact around the City and become involved with things within. And it’s also up to you if you want the characters who’ve solved the mysteries to share their secrets or leave it for others to discover on their own. Keep in mind that all of these things will take time to come to light, there’s NO pressure to rush into the plot too fast. For now, the characters just think they’ve been sent to some strange alternate world with no way out. But that is always subject to change.
What are the locations in Ink City, who are the NPCs, etc etc?
Follow this post HERE for more explanations on that!
What’s the “InkWell”?
I’ll describe this one briefly in the FAQ, but more in-depth in the Locations post, since it relates to characters appearing in the city and also to character death. The InkWell is a strange fountain that all cartoons entering the City wake up laying next to, and where their initial ink + paint moment happens. It’s in the middle of the City, and where your character finds their communication device.
Can characters die or get hurt?
Yes, they can! But it’s not permanent. Cartoons (usually) heal rather quickly so you don’t have to worry too much about injuries. If your character is killed, they will be re-generated in the Ink Well. However, death and re-birth will create an event that other characters WILL notice. The dead bodies melt into ink and paint, and seep into the ground. Out of the Ink Well, a blobby mess climbs out and re-forms into the recently deceased, now very much alive. They return to normal soon after, shaken but unharmed. Other characters are free to notice the body vanish, or the blobby body crawl out of the Ink Well and re-form.
What happens when buildings/communicators are destroyed?
When communicators are broken or buildings destroyed, they will repair themselves. Communicators will go missing for a short period of time after being completely broken, but will re-appear in their previous state. Buildings re-appear unharmed a few days after their initial destruction if they are within the city limits.
What happens if my character leaves the City?
If they leave the actual City itself, they have little selection for where to go. If you check the World Map here you’ll find that the City is only a fraction of their small world. The Forest, Ocean, and mountain range are open for exploration, but there isn’t much out there to be seen.. it’s also very dangerous.
Does my character have to live in the City itself?
No, it’s not required- they’re welcome to live outside the City limits, but it’s encouraged to be close to the City so there’s a greater chance of characters bumping into each other. The outskirts are a dangerous place to live, however, and nothing outside the city limits is guaranteed to stay there
What are the limits of the “no-sex” rule?
Flirting, referring to sexual orientation, kissing, intimacy, etc. is all allowed. PG-13, basically. Anything directly and sexually explicit requires a fade-to-black. You’re welcome to take it into an AIM chat or private journal, but please don’t have it on the communities.
Does time in the game follow at the same speed as real-time?
Yes.
But because the game follows in real-time, it means that when you’re inactive or go on a hiatus, the character goes missing within the world of the game. Because of this, we provide in-character explanations for why characters periodically go missing- They’re brought back into the Ink Well in order to be “stabilized” in the reality of Ink City.
If you want to give another explanation for why a character goes missing (they’re busy/being antisocial), go ahead and use that instead!! We’re not going to force the Ink Well scenario onto everyone, it’s just a default.
What does the sky look like, and what is the weather usually like?
During the day, the sky is generally blue, sunny and partly cloudy. There's a wall of fog out over the Ocean, but it rarely moves close to the City. At night, the sky displays a few stars, the moon and faint constellations.
The weather in Ink City is generally mild and follows through the seasons. Freak storms can appear, but in most cases the weather is pleasant.
What are the ink monsters?
All cartoons have model sheets, and a lot of cartoons have a basic general build they tend to follow. The fastest explanation is that the ink monsters are essentially unmade templates wandering around. When your character comes through the well, it is formed from what is essentially an ink monster. You might end up reverting to an ink monster in really strange circumstances. Killing them is not a good idea, but people tend to do it anyway.
And the paint monsters?
The other half of what's required to make someone. They're a lot more rare to see actually walking around.
Are there non-character animals around?
Very few. The only animals are made by the NPCs, and they won't be replaced if they're killed or eaten. If you want to try adopting one, you'll have to ask a mod.
I still have some questions!
I’m sure I missed something, so ask a question here if you’re still confused or need something clarified!