Be Kind Rewind

1. no yuri whatsoever (e.g. Bunny Drop)
2. mild yuri subtext/innuendo (e.g. Lucky Star)
3. features at least one openly lesbian character and/or a lot of subtext/innuendo (e.g. Railgun, Kampfer)
4. features multiple lesbian characters and/or focuses heavily on subtext (e.g. YuruYuri)
5. features actual lesbian romance and/or mild intimacy (e.g. Kanamemo)
6. focuses heavily on lesbian romance and/or intimacy (e.g. Aoi Hana)
7. focuses almost entirely on lesbian romance, features couples actually having sex, though not explicitly (e.g. Girl Friends)
8. focuses almost entirely on lesbian romance and sexuality, features multiple instances of sexuality (e.g. SonoHana)
9. focuses almost entirely on ‘explicit’ sex and intimacy between two girls (e.g. 90% of all yuri ero-doujins ever)
10. features ‘hardcore’ pornographic sexuality between two girls (e.g. I’m sure you can come up with one yourself)

TheSpoonyOne addressed the issue of being able to level up while doing nothing in his FFX-2 review, but then again, I think that a lot of RPGs have some way to do that. Take Persona 4, for example. A game he likes. You can use Rush mode and those ‘Pringles’ monsters to trigger an infinite battle and haul in massive amounts of XP.

Despite that, I still love Spoony’s reviews. He may rage on the post-VII Final Fantasy games, games I personally like —even though I don’t know his opinion on my favourite of the bunch, XII—, but he never totally destroys them, even though any review of his about those games features at least one ‘THIS GAME IS TERRIBLE AND YOU SUCK FOR LIKING IT’ rant. He always adresses things he likes or admires about the game or its concept before tearing it apart.

His reviews always strike a perfect balance between representing his own opinion, representing an objective, general opinion and being funny or angry. That’s why I am never butthurt when watching him raging on a game I like. Because he is always reasonable, despite what he might say about people liking the thing being utter retards.

• Choose your character wisely. Don’t just jump headfirst into an RP when you stumble upon a character you like. A good or likable character isn’t always immediately good for RPing. Choose a character with a strong, remarkable personality and some quirks, such as a typical favorite food, to use to your advantage.
• Stay within canon, but not too much. It’s important to stay close to canon. You are a character someone else came up with, after all. If you are only the character in name only, why should you even carry that name? On the other hand, it is impossible to stay completely within the limits of canon. If you do that, you’re very quickly going to run out of stuff to do. Don’t be afraid to add some fun things of your own.
• Be careful with relationships. I know, it is fun to RP relationships and they can be fun for followers too, but for crying out loud, there’s a limit as to how fare you can go. Relationships in RPs quickly devolve into one never-ending stream of kisses, cuddles and hearts. You can kiss. You can cuddle, but talk as well. Strike a balance between being all lovey-dovey and having conversations not related to the relationship. Or even better, instead of separating both, join them together. Act like a real couple. And in my honest opinion, there is a limit. Don’t get engaged. Don’t get married. Don’t have kids. Don’t have sex every waking hour and for pete’ sake, don’t mention who your RP sweetheart is in your profile.
• Get some friends. It is a fact that any RP account gets automatically better when it has someone to talk to. And what’s better than another character for casual conversation? A character that has a ‘spark’ with yours. A rival. A vitriolic best bud. A funny man to your straight man. A dense male lead to your tsundere. Also, pay attention to who’s behind the other RP accounts within your group. Talk to them, arrange things. RPing is like writing a story together.
• Don’t just RP for yourself. This is the most important one. As an RPer, I do think that you have a certain obligation vis-à-vis fans of the franchise to represent a proper incarnation of the character from their beloved franchise. Be interesting for your followers. Think about what you say. Talk to people in character. Answer the questions they ask your character. Have an open mind for any contributions they might want to add, within the confines of how you want to RP. If you want to live out your crack-pairing, RP sex, one-word-per-post physical fantasies, go on Skype or use DMs. If you use a public service, post things that are interesting for people who are not you.

And finally, screw these rules. Have fun above all. If your disregard all of this, you still have the right to RP, as long as your enjoy it. Don’t force yourself to change. Finally, if you feel offended by this, don’t. This is advice is just my ideal, and I don’t mind if your ideal is totally different. In fact, you may be more right than I am. Just do whatever makes you feel good; what you and your RP buddies want to do.