Before I get started, I'd like to address that in no way are we trying to restrict and/or force anyone to do something they either do not want, nor are uncomfortable with. That being said, Misha and I have been considering the institution of a rule stating that every player must take control of a canon FMP! Character. This was not meant to push characters on players that they didn't want, but instead it would provide the player with at least one character who is and has always been operating in the home universe. If anything, this is mostly in part that at the moment, we do not have a lot of players, and it is a difficult and sometimes trying thing to adapt outside/original characters into the main FMP!-verse.

At the moment, it is only on the table for thought, but with so few of the original cast being claimed, it is difficult to interact with everyone else who normally exists outside the verse. Aside from that, this forum was created around FMP!, so it makes no sense to not have its characters being played in favor of outside characters. Gatoh literally created, at the very least, a first and last name for many, many characters in the FMP! stories, that literally anyone can be claimed. Did you know that the cook on the TDD-1 had a name? He seemed like a friendly and level headed person who enjoyed cooking. We don't know anything else about him, so there would be nothing keeping someone from claiming him and building upon that knowledge to flesh him out into a playable character. Was he just an exceptional cook, or was he a talented mercenary who just so happened to have been a world class chef before tragedy struck and left him no other option but to seek a life of violence?

Also, it has come to our attention that perhaps a few players may have been feeling left out due to the seemingly rapid pace that Misha and I Role Play. We do apologize if any of you have been left feeling this way, but we also ask you to understand, and consider a few things first. The reason Misha and I are able to post so quickly, is due to two factors:

1. They are all familiar with each other

The characters Misha and I currently control (Kaname, Sousuke, and Kurz) have all had previous experiences with each other, most especially in the Academy section, because of a few factors. The first would be that they have all had their basic histories altered to make it so that they are attending the academy. For example: When I altered Kurz's history, he wasn't able to find work after separating from his master, Casper, due to people not believing that he really could handle himself, being just a teenager. So instead, I had him use the last of his money to locate his Aunt Judy, a character I made up in order to allow him to find his way to the Academy. Sousuke as well had his history changed, so instead of turning down Kalinin when he offered to adopt him the second time they met in Afghanistan, Sousuke agreed. The alterations didn't change who they were, but did allow for some interactions to be a tad more animated than they would have been otherwise. As such, Sousuke is still very awkward, but he is now also painfully aware of it, and is slightly self conscious and shy about it.

The second, is that they can all relate because of the basic idea that follows all of the Academy threads: They are all going to school together, and have done so for at least a year. Do they have other friends/acquaintances in other Companies? Of course, the only reason we don't see them hanging out at all is because it would be pretty ridiculous to have any kind of thread with only one player talking to an NPC, and refusing to interact with anyone else. Do they ever need to speak to faculty members? Yes. Maybe they missed an assignment due to being sick or somehow otherwise had a reason to miss a class. Maybe they feel a connection with a faculty member on a more personal note, and need to speak with them about something personal. The provided list of known faculty members are all from the FMP! Universe, including characters that have had large and small parts within both the anime and the novels. However, any of them may be claimed at any time, and may be inserted into any thread they wish so they may interact with the students. Who knows? Maybe they would like to stick around and hang out with their students to get to know them better so they can teach more effectively. It all depends on the personality of the character chosen, and what the player comes up with for them.

Other characters brought into either the Academy, or Pan-Fandom universe must be altered in some way to fit into the base FMP! universe, and are complete strangers to the main cast, unless explained in their altered character history. An example of this would be when, in the last RP Forum, BontaKun117 wanted to play the character 'Graham Aker' from one of the Gundam Series. Since the Gundam universe has a similar starting history, he altered Graham's past, giving him the chance to have been propositioned for a spot on the TDD-1 SRT. The events in his childhood that shaped him were basically the same, except for the technicalities presented in the original FMP!-verse. This was also played upon when it was established that Graham and Sousuke, while willing to set aside personal feelings for the good of executing a mission, were not friends the same way Sousuke and Kurz are. If anything, they tolerated each other as competent soldiers of Mithril, and had no real urge to spend any more time together than necessary.

2. We know the characters we have chosen

Kurz won't suddenly change his mind about being in love with Melissa just because a really attractive woman suggested he come and keep her 'company' for the night. Sousuke won't just throw caution to the wind and stand up in the middle of a class or meeting and jump on top of the nearest desk to dance the Macarena. Kaname will not suddenly decide that she's done waiting for Sousuke to get a clue and switch sides so that she can bang Tessa. The reason these things will never happen, is because it is not within the character to do so, and therefore, will never even enter their mind to act upon it. Misha and I have taken such things into serious consideration, and have refused to take control of characters whom are either so far out of our normal realm of thinking that playing them would become too difficult, or we don't have an accurate grasp of who they are, both inside and out. Misha and I respond quickly to our posts, because literally, the characters write themselves to us. We have a thorough understanding of who they are as people, how they think, act and react to various situations around them.

I took control of Kurz because we are similar in thought and personality. It is not hard for me to write him at all, because they way he often reacts and processes things, is the same way that I do. We also have similar interests: He's known how to play the guitar since age 14, I have a guitar that I am currently trying to learn to play. We both enjoy being playful and flirting with those we are attracted to, or are even just friends with because it amuses us. Trust me, my husband has rolled his eyes at more of my pick-up lines than I care to count, but that doesn't mean I myself don't realize it's super lame, it's just fun as hell. I can understand and see what he finds so attractive about Melissa, both when he first met her, as well as after getting to know her. If a player has either chosen an outside-verse character, or created an entirely original character, it is the responsibility of the player, to get to know the character they chose.

If you must choose outside existing characters, then it becomes your responsibility to create some kind of history with the main cast for them, so that things run smoother. Perhaps Kaname helped YunYun to find her classroom at some point when she first arrived. Has Kurz flirted with Canaan before? Did she tell him off or did she like the attention? Don't worry about whether or not Misha and I will be left in the dark by any of this. Both of us have had a lot of experience Role Playing both on forums and in face-to-face games, so we don't need you to give us all the pieces. If Canaan yelled at Kurz out of nowhere and stormed off down a hallway while he was talking to Sousuke, and was questioned about why, Kurz can just as easily explain that 'girls are just crazy sometimes', and it can be left at that until more details have been given. Not everyone has to meet for the first time when a thread is started, especially in the Academy Section.

Does Dr. Stark like to sleep-in on Sundays? What is his tried and true method for curing a particularly bad hang-over? Does Hana have a spot on campus she likes to go to get away from everything for a while? Does she have a schedule in doing this, or is it just when she feels a bit overwhelmed? Does Dante still piss and moan over Caitlin leaving/cheating on him? Does Dante miss Randall or is he enjoying his time away from everything/everyone? Does Alto have secret moments when he is truly girly over his appearance and take a few extra minutes in front of the mirror? Does Canaan wish that she could have been put into Crossbow Company because that is where her crush is? Does anyone else bother trying to tell Kurz that he and Melissa will never happen as long as he is a student at the Academy? Has anyone else tried their own scheme of getting Kaname and Sousuke to admit their obvious feelings for each other? How, and did it fail? Do they find it easy or hard to trust people? Are they very social, or would they rather lock themselves in their room and interact only with people on the digital level? Little details like these make your character real, and fleshed out. Remember, you are playing a person who has had a life, friends, enemies, interests, learned lessons about life both easily and the hard way, visited places around their home town and possibly the world.

If for any reason you feel an original character of your own is the only way to go, then before posting an app for the character, we'd like to ask if you could please run it through something called The Mary Sue Litmus Test. It is a test that was created by fan writers, for fan writers, and is aimed at helping authors to create believable and interesting characters for their stories. As with all wide-range media, it can't cover every possibility, but it does cover a wide enough variety, that it should be able to give you a better idea of who your character is, and what makes them tick, if nothing else.

Mary Sue Litmus Test: http://www.onlyfiction.net/ms-test.html

Also, if you are creating a villain, thanks to the wonders that can be found on the internet, we can also provide a link to The Sociopath Test. This test is different from the Mary Sue Test, in that instead of rating a characters originality, it rates their overall mental conditions. Sociopathy is a complex personality disorder. As such, Sociopaths exhibit a wide variety of maladaptive behavior which makes the condition difficult to diagnose. Sociopathy is not one trait; it is a syndrome—a cluster of related symptoms. Misha and I have had some fun with this in the past, testing both FMP! characters, as well as one or two of our own originals, and have found it very helpful. It also goes without saying that the two of us had one HELL of a good laugh over Leonard Testarossa's final score. His was literally off the freaking charts! XDDD

The Sociopath Test: http://www.vodahost.com/web-hosting-sociopath-test-sociopath-definition.html/

We hope that everyone has found this helpful and informative, and if anyone has additional questions or needs some help, feel free to post it here, shoot either of us a PM, or ask us while we're in the chat box. The usual discretion still applies, in that if your question is too sensitive a subject, or relates to another player/players actions, then you should most likely PM us. We all have to keep each others feelings in consideration in order to play well, so it's up to all of us to uphold our forum rules and guidelines.