Any character that has been in a Final Fantasy is eligible. This includes movies, numbered or un-numbered Final Fantasy games...basically anything you can think of that is Final Fantasy. Minor characters are allowed, but they have to be named characters at the very least. Made-up characters and self-inserts are not allowed*. Also, avoid monsters, summons, etc. Rule of thumb: if they have at least a meaningful line or two in the game (and a name), they're likely allowed.
     Also, make sure the characters you intend to play are not already being played. To check this, just check the Players section. You are allowed to play up to five characters, but I highly recommend those new to the community keep a low number at first. Somewhere between one and three is recommended.

*Note: The only made-up characters are those used by the moderator and vice-moderator to provide background and plot.

     Keep in mind that all of the Final Fantasy events have taken place. The only exception is that massive doses of phoenix downs have been distributed afterwards, so all your favorite characters are alive once again. Yay!

"Huh, well I guess that means we get to kill them again"
-Evil Ted (Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey)

     First, make an original livejournal account for your character(s). Do not share it with another community, and do not use your personal account. It's free, so just make a new journal.

     Once you've made your character(s), simply send me an application. I don't require any sample passages or anything. All I ask is that you have basic knowledge of your character(s) and the game(s) they come from so that you can play them well. Then send me an e-mail with the following format:

     Once I confirm your characters, I'll send you a confirmation e-mail or IM to say the characters are yours and announce you on the community. The further sections of this page explain the more intricate pieces of this RP, but they aren't required. If you have any questions, please just ask.

     The heart of this community is the mall. Since the characters came to the new world, the only opportunity to work is available at the mall: Mallboro. There are numerous businesses within this mall, all of which can be found in the Mall Directory. Here there are two types of stores: NPC Stores and Player Stores.

     NPC Stores are those managed by a non-played character. Unless that store is out of employee positions, your character can have a position at that store without asking. NPC Stores are listed as being owned by NORG in the Mall Directory.

Note #1: Played characters can boot out unplayed characters for a job at an NPC Store.
Note #2: You cannot take a store manager's job, even if that person is an NPC.

     Player Store means that a played character owns/manages the store. Characters that have met certain requirements may create and manage their own store in the mall. These characters gain full responsibility toward their stores, so they are allowed to manage their employees as they see fit. This includes hiring and firing. You must contact the character's player in order to work at this type of store. Sometimes this can be done in-character by replying to a "Help Wanted" post in the Mallboro community. Check the Players section to see who plays the managing character.

     As of 2010, there was a change to the housing system. Now, not all complexes are apartments (though many are) and it costs a certain amount to live at each. The mall uses a very basic wage system where your characters are "paid" with Salary Points (denoted SP). Certain positions are paid with higher amounts of SP. The breakdown is as follows:

     Each of the complexes has different floorplans available, each costing a different amount of SP. This amount is the combined sum of the SP of all residents living in that specific unit. So a Full Time Employee (2 SP) and an Assistant Manager (3 SP) living together can afford a 5 SP (or cheaper) unit. But there has to be one available. Check the Housing section for more information about the different housing options.

Note: Characters working Part Time can take a second Part Time position and will be bumped up into the Full Time pay scale (2 SP). You cannot take a second job if you are a Manager, Assistant Manager, or Full Time Employee.

Like any community, you will be kicked out if you stop playing. Also it'll make me sad if you stop posting. If you can't play anymore, then please send me an e-mail or post something on Mallboro News saying you're done. It's so much nicer to free up a character because the player left than to keep bugging the player about not posting. Here are the rules for how to stay in the community:

1. Post at least one time in your journal per week as the character. The whole game is just your characters keeping a livejournal while working their meaningless jobs in the mall.

2. If there comes a week that you just know you can't post, then announce a hiatus (either on Mallboro News or to a mod) so that I know not to count you that week (or weeks if it's a long hiatus).

Seriously, I don't require much. If you only do short little posts, it'll probably take you all of five minutes out of your week. I like longer, more meaningful posts, but if you can't even give me the short little posts, then you should probably think about dropping the community anyway...

You will be eventually be kicked out of Mallboro if you stop posting. If I know you're still involved then you're fine, but if I start to get the idea that you've moved on and forgotten about us, then you'll be kicked out, thus freeing up your characters so others have the option to play them.

     If you prove to me that you're a dedicated player, then I'll let you own your own store. This is where the real fun of the community begins, so please work toward this and start hiring up other players. Once one of your characters has made 20 posts, that character can open a store. If you're playing multiple characters and all of them do 20 posts, then up to three are allowed to have their own stores.

As a store owner, you get to name your store, hire employees, etc. If you'd like, you can even make logos and such and I'll put them on the website. Just go nuts. After doing 20 posts, you can contact me with your store's info: character opening the store, the store's name, and what kind of store it is (what it sells). I'll get it on the website and you can put up a "Now Hiring" post in Mallboro and get started on your new store! 

     Mallboro is reserved for semi-in-character posts. This is the community players can have fun on. Players can write up third-person stories about their character(s), compile RPs with other players, submit pictures they've drawn, etc. This is also where a lot of Mallboro mini-games (Blitzball, Triple Triad, Chocobo Racing, etc) post logs of the events. Store Owners can also post a "Help Wanted" ad here to gain employees. All characters should join the community, though it is not required.

     Mallboro News is reserved for news regarding the site. Every week, one of the mods will post the weekly updates here and other news bulletins of world events. It is also used for new player announcements and hiatus announcements. All characters should join the community, though it is not required.

     Mallboro is seeing several changes to make the community more interactive and fun. If you are ever feeling like you don't quite understand what's happening, check out the Mallboro Maniacs site. Laguna Loire (played by me) writes articles about the world so that players/characters are all aware of the background and plot behind this community.

     There are several mini-games I have added into the community to make the experience more fun. I can only write fairly basic programs, but I use them to simulate games that are played at the mall. These include Blitzball, A Fighting Arena, Chocobo Racing, and Triple Triad. In addition, there is The Grind, where different people band together to create clans. These clans gain rankings based on how well characters are doing in the mini-games. Mallboro "super stars" gain more benefits as their clan rank increases.

     Since the 2010 arrival of Chaos, there has been a new concept added to Mallboro: Quests. These are sponsored typically by the moderator or vice-moderator, but can be hosted by a player as well, though they must submit their quest idea and format to the moderator beforehand. Quests are very free-structured and how a quest is done is entirely up to the quest's designer.
     Some quests may have special requirements that limit who can take them. In addition, managers and assistant managers have a special restriction for quests. The restriction being that a store must have a manager or assistant manager at all times. So if a manager takes a quest, his assistant manager must remain in the store until his return and vice versa.

     Each character can only take a certain number of quests each month and this number is based on their job title. The number of quests you can take is exactly the opposite of the pay scale:

Note: If you work two part time jobs, consider yourself a full time employee, meaning you can only take 3 quests per month.

     Just so you know, your characters can all see each others' journals, so feel free to comment on other journals. It makes things a LOT more fun, so go for it. This is just a fun little game about all the Final Fantasy characters meeting up in some mall, so go nuts. To make things more fun, every week I'll post up an announcement about what's happening in the Mallboro world, just so every week doesn't have to be the same.

     If you don't want other characters to see a specific post, simply make a cut-tag specifying what character can see it such as "Sephiroth Only," which mean only Sephiroth can read that journal. If you'd like to pretend a journal entry is private-locked, simply put a cut-tag labeled "Private," which means nobody except the character writing the post can see it in the true journal/diary fashion. This way we can all still enjoy reading the post even if our characters cannot.

     Trust me, I'm easy to talk to, so if you have any questions or anything, just ask me. I recommend you join my site's forum since there is a Mallboro thread that you might want to read and join in the discussions. Plus it's a great way to contact the other players and me. And I'm always open to suggestions for more fun in the community. Thank you for reading through the rules. I know there's a lot to take in here, but I'm just being thorough for those who have never played in a livejournal role-playing community before. Enjoy, everybody!