1. How it works

If this is your first time roleplaying on toyhouse forums, don't be hard on yourself if you make a mistake. In fact, it's easy! We have a total of 12 threads (not including events or classes) for you to jump right into! Some are more casual for meeting new people, while others require relationships built. Threads will let you know which ones those might be! We will walk you through the process if you need.

📚 How to start

• Check in our #target-hunting channel
• Post a link to your character and briefly describe what you're looking for
• Wait and see who reaches out!

Sometimes members want to wait until others have posted because they are not sure what to say. You can imagine, if everyone waits, no one starts! We encourage you to be that member who inspires others and gets the ball rolling. Aside from starting, remember to keep your RP partner in the loop every time you post on the forums by using our #forum-postings channel to let them know. Not everyone checks toyhouse on a daily basis.

📚 How to end
When you are getting to a certain point where a conversation is dying out or ending, your character traveling to another location, etc. please type a [end] at the bottom of your post when you are finished with that roleplay. This helps our members know when it is okay or too late to jump into a thread! When you end a post, the character is no longer in that location & day or time changes for the next person posting. We recommend members to leave your posts open (before ending) at least 7 days. This allows members to have the chance to reply or interact with your character(s). Please know that our RP isn't on a time limit, but if it is dead for a week, we will end the posting for you. 

• You can edit your posts to put [end] instead of making a new post
• A post is considered dead after 7 days
• Subscribe to each thread you post in to be notified of new replies
• Do not post onto the forums without planning something through the server

2. Class structure

Classes happen now and then whenever a person is available to host one. These may take effort, so they happen sporadically and are always in advance scheduled. Typically, people can hop into class anytime when one starts. However, if you are uncertain if it is too late - feel free to ask in the server as this can vary. Professors have control over what type of assignment they are teaching & sometimes combine the two.

📚 Interactive assignments
An interactive assignment is when a professors asks their students to write/draw. Keep in mind we will always let you know if an interactive assignment is going to be present in class so that every person involved is prepared. If you join a class without taking the initiative to go over this guideline or check yourself [cannot make something] then your student will fail, but there's always next time. Remember that this is your character doing the assignment ideally (not you), whether it is writing or drawing - so make it interesting! This is a great feature that makes things feel authentic.  Examples: 1, 2, 3

📚 Traditional assignments
A traditional assignment is a simpler method, where you will use this site to get a random score (choose from 10 to 100). Numbers are already put in, all you have to do is press “draw again“. During class we want an authentic experience with our students here at Animal Academy! Due to this, everyone will get their fair share of high or lows, meaning you won’t have full control on what your character scores. We hope you’re okay with things being out of reach from time to time! 

Click here to read more.

3. Stuck midway

Do you find yourself stuck? Sometimes, it takes some members longer than others to reply to posts, and with life in general this stuff can easily become forgotten. You are more than welcomed to ping your RP partner in our #forum-posts channel, or message them directly. It's good to do this before the 7 day mark, as this allows time for a member to post. We ask our members to be considerate and only start something you're able to finish. Not many people will prefer to engage with you (RP wise) if you're known to bail frequently. However, do not let one fault sour your entire experience! If you do happen to fail to keep communication the first time, it’s alright - but try to be mindful of your rp partners. 

4. Different levels

Because we don’t require any RP samples and generally accept everyone, you might find yourself with someone below or above your writing skills. If you know you're not able to type something more than just a paragraph, we strongly suggest you not to interact with others who do. AA generally seeks those more experienced in role play. That being said, if you are experienced and only receive half of what you typed, reply to that person around the same word count as they did yours  to prevent burnout. We want everyone to have a joyful experience! 

Below are some helpful tips to consider when finding a RP partner.

• Ask about their activity
• Ask about their post lengths
• Prevent typing only few sentences
• Ask your RP Partner if they preferred to be pinged on the server when you post

5. Brainstorm

We highly recommend you join our server for news and future ideas for your characters. Before posting, brainstorm and make head-cannons with other members to make progress in our plot, make connections, friends or enemies, and so on. While we our server isn’t required to join, it is required if you plan to engage in roleplay. There’s a lot of things said and discussed there! Some threads may be open to more activity than others. Join the community to make friends!

6. Events

Parties and planned events will be hosted and advertised through bulletins. They are planned a weeks or a month in advance and you can even suggest some in our server for us to keep track of! These are made sporadically to balance things out. Everyone is welcomed to join these! When started, these have no specific time limits. An event ends when everyone in that setting (ends). To learn more about roleplay events, click here.

📚 Art events
These typically happen seasonally, special art prompts are given for you to engage in and mostly consist of members drawing their characters in an outfit! Deadlines will be present, but these only refer to being able to allow us to show off the work you created through our bulletins. If you miss a deadline, don't let it discourage you from posting it!

7. Roleplay brackets

You might be seeing some of our members use brackets for single words. Here is a the list of definitions, some already explained above! These are typically used at the bottom of postings, but if there is a TW it needs to be mentioned before.

📚 Definitions

• [end]: A member has ended their characters post. It is no longer available for interaction and that character is no longer in that location.
• [skip]: A member is allowing their character to be skipped in roleplay. They either do not have the time to keep up or continue posting at the current moment.  You can edit your post or create a new one stating [skip]. This can only be used if there is more than two participants. 
• [private]: Two members are roleplaying in the forums and are not seeking any unexpected characters to jump in. It is planned and only between the following participants. This must be added to every post you create, until you end.
• [tw]: Stands for trigger warning. See our rules for more information.
• [entered] This bracket is only available during class. IC, posting this into a class thread ensures that you want to participate but don't want to type out a starter or your character making an entrance! You do not need to post anything else with it, as it just lets us know your character is in class - and lets us know if there are enough participants to continue.