TERMS OF SERVICE
These TERMS OF SERVICE (TOS) govern your access and participation in the UNLEASHED (SHÌFÀNG 释放) community. These Terms are crucial to ensuring a fair and respectful experience for everyone. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact staff through the Discord.
FIRST AND FOREMOST, player behavior will be up to staff to determine if Terms have been violated, if punishment is warranted, and the severity of that punishment. The three levels of punishment are Warning, Suspension and Permanent Ban. Repeated or severe violations can result in an outright ban without prior warning or suspension. UNLEASHED is a place for people who want to collaborate on a new direction for efedding. It is not a place for toxic players who want to poison everything the moment they don’t get everything they want. Keep this in mind before applying.
RIGHT OF USE
We reserve the right to use your character(s) in graphics, promotion, booking and results. UNLEASHED is a collaborative eFed. Players are welcome to make suggestions and offer input on how their characters are presented but staff have final say on what happens and doesn’t happen on shows. If you leave or are removed from UNLEASHED, your character will continue to remain in previous promotional material and match results but will cease being represented on future programs.
CODE OF CONDUCT
TOXICITY
Respect your fellow players. Do not start arguments in Discord. Any disagreements between players should be handled privately with staff or moderators.
Any form of racism, homophobia, hate speech, sexism, harassment, and general bigotry is prohibited. This includes using derogatory or discriminatory slurs.
Any type/form of trolling, spamming, toxicity, or aggressive behavior can result in punishment.
Do not influence or trick another player into breaking TOS.
Do not cause drama. Do not argue about match results. Do not make booking demands.
SOCIAL MEDIA
We currently use twitter for all social media interactions that count toward matches, though we are open to eventually shifting to another platform if the community wishes.
You are not allowed to BLOCK other UNLEASHED players because we use social media as part of our match decisions and future bookings. However you do not have to follow or interact with anyone unless you are matched up. If there is an issue stemming from a previous eFed or interaction that is causing OUT OF CHARACTER issues between players, please speak to staff. If the conflict is all in character, then we respectfully suggest your character gets over it and takes the money.
METAGAMING
Do not use information gained out of character to benefit your character’s knowledge in-game. Do not enlist other players OUT OF CHARACTER to have their characters help your character, or use your secondary character to help your primary character, unless there has already been in-character roleplay performed to establish a connection.
All story interactions should play out in character to the best of everyone’s abilities but we understand that some things require OOC planning and collaboration. What we DO NOT want to see is someone getting all their friends’ characters to jump in on a twitter interaction against your opponent because you DM’d asking for help. The general rule of thumb is that if your character has no logical reason for saying something to or performing an action against another character, don’t do it.
POWER GAMING
Do not roleplay with mechanics that force someone else into a situation where they do not have choices. For example, do not attempt to trap other players by having your character challenge their characters to parking lot brawls or hotel skirmishes. Do not try to tell the stories for other players’ characters. Do not use the characters of other players in your own stories without proper permission.
THE FOURTH WALL
Professional wrestling in UNLEASHED is a real combat sport. Characters’ move sets and match results will reflect this. It combines the grappling of amateur wrestling with the striking of stand-up martial arts like boxing. We do allow standard pro wrestling attacks, such as aerial maneuvers and throwing people into the ropes, but our goal is to present them in a grittier, harder-hitting and less flashy manner. However, some of the more fantastical things you see in pro wrestling are not allowed. For example, hapless referees who watch with their hands on their heads when they are supposed to interject or people standing around waiting for someone to jump on them.
GIMMICKS
We do not allow fantasy characters, however there is some wiggle room here. Your character can believe they are something they aren’t or present themselves as something on television to get over. For example, let’s say your character believes they are an alien from a distant planet. That is perfectly fine so long as the character isn’t actually an alien. Maybe they wear a costume or makeup. Maybe they actually believe they are an alien due to illness or brain injury, or maybe it’s just a gimmick they came up with to get people to cheer for them.
The reason for this rule is tied to POWER GAMING. If you want your character to actually be an alien, vampire or some other fantastical creation, then you are forcing other people’s characters to acknowledge and accept this as fact.
In short, you have the freedom to make a character different and even bizarre, but other players should not be boxed in to sell that reality when it goes against their more grounded characters. If you want your character to be weird and wondrous, allow other characters the room to disbelieve it, handle that doubt in character, and roll with it.
NO-SHOW
We understand that life happens and sometimes it’s impossible to submit a story or fulfill twitter promotion. However, repeated occurrences will lead to repercussions. We are a limited roster eFed and as such, we want people who are committed to being active. If you need to take some time off, we offer a VACATION MODE where your character will remain on the roster but temporarily be left off booking. Please contact Mike if you need to pause your spot on the roster.
SELLING
Everything that happens in match results is considered gospel and we expect your characters to sell what happens in your matches in the aftermath. If your character suffers a cut at an event, you should not be posting modeling pictures the day after with no change to their appearance. If they suffer an injury, even a minor one like an elbow sprain, we expect some sort of mention of this on social media.
We understand that most players take part in multiple eFeds and we do not force major injuries on anyone without clearing it, but minor bumps, cuts and bruises can and will from time to time occur. These will not prevent your characters from taking part in other matches, but we expect you to not pretend like they didn’t occur.
METAVERSE
UNLEASHED takes place in the same universe as any other eFed. Things that affect your character elsewhere, such as drama, injuries, and interactions, are free to be referenced here.
THE COMPETITION
UNLEASHED currently hosts one monthly event. Your character(s) will be matched against opponents. Winners are decided based on three criteria. The first is a Story Submission. The second is Twitter Promotion. The third, Momentum, serves as a tiebreaker when necessary, though ties are allowed.
RUBRIC
Story Submissions, Twitter Promotions and Momentum are all rated on a ten point scale. Most matches are decided based on stories and tweets, with Momentum only being used in cases of ties when a draw isn’t acceptable.
STORY SUBMISSIONS
Your stories are scored based on the following formula, with the max amount of points earnable listed. They are judged independently from your opponent’s efforts. This means that your story submission and your opponent’s story submission are measured on their own merits.
CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT — 4 POINTS
We require our writers to actually write stories that interconnect with a plot, and each submission, to one degree or another, should push forward your character’s story. That does not mean everything you write needs to make huge leaps forward. Subtle shifts in the plot are equally as appreciated.
CREATIVITY — 3 POINTS
Quite simply, this is a measurement of your character’s journey and the curious and interesting directions you take to get from Point A to Point B. Please, dazzle us. We want to see the unexpected.
TECHNIQUE — 3 POINTS
The basics. Grammar. Punctuation. Spelling. Basic editing. Rhetorical devices and other tricks of the trade for fiction writers are not punished. If something is purposefully written in a way that is technically wrong in order to promote a specific style or idea, such as spelling, it should not negatively impact their Technique score.
EXAMPLE: John submits a 1500 word story detailing his character’s stint in rehab as he tries to prepare himself to compete in Hong Kong. He receives 3 points for Story Advancement, 3 for Creativity, and 3 for Technique, giving him a total of 9 out of 10.
TWITTER PROMOTION
For every event, you are required to post eight tweets with the required hashtags (see below guidelines). Unlike Story Submissions, your Tweets will be judged directly against your opponent’s. After the deadline, all sixteen tweets are measured side by side and a score is assigned based on the perceived winner and loser based on this scoring system. The judges then assign up to 10 points to each player based on how well they competed with one another. Ties are allowed.
EXAMPLE: John and his opponent both submit the required eight tweets with proper hashtags. John receives nine points for his promotional tweets, judged on a high level of excellence. His opponent, meanwhile, only receives eight points, having come up a little short in the eyes of the judges.
DECISION
A vast majority of matches are decided based on Story Submission and Twitter Promotion alone. In both cases, your point totals from all judges are added up and matched against your opponent’s. The player with the higher rating wins. For a vast majority of matches, this is the end of the judging process. However, it is possible for players to end up with the same final number. In this situation, a match can end in a draw or Momentum may be used to break the tie. In either case, that decision falls on staff, though players may be asked for input.
Example: John earned 9 points for his Story Submission and 9 points for his Twitter Promotion. His opponent earned 10 points for an excellent Story Submission but fell behind with 7 points with their Twitter Promotion, leading to a 18-17 victory for John.
MOMENTUM
Momentum, quite simply, is a numerical rating of how your character has progressed in the ring. Every character, no matter their reputation, record or championships earned outside of UNLEASHED, begins at zero. As they win matches, submit segs, and participate on twitter outside the requirements for Twitter Promotion, they will gain Momentum to a maximum value of ten. Momentum is awarded by staff and can affect booking, crowd reaction and, in the rare case of a draw, break the tie when an outright winner is necessary for a match.
STORY GUIDELINES
You have the freedom to write anything you want. We want your character to be compelling, first and foremost. UNLEASHED takes place in a gritty world in a hostile environment. Your character has plenty of opportunities to either rise above it, or be swallowed by it. Please understand that you are free to write about whatever you want, within the realm of realism, minus a few areas we consider off-limits.
LENGTH
There is no minimum or maximum word count for Story Submissions. Write as little or as much as you want. Length does not factor into our point system. A 1500 word story can beat a 4000 word story (or vice versa) based on our Rubric.
MATCH RELEVANCE
You are not required to have anything directly pertaining to your match in your Story Submission. That is what your Twitter Promotion is for. If you want your Story Submission to be a personal drama that your character is wading through while trying to earn a living as a professional wrestler, go for it. If you want to make your Story Submissions on-camera exposé complete with a crew of documentarians following them around, go for it. We aren’t here to tell you what to write or how much of it you spend directly referencing your match. The only thing we would remind you is that your character still has commitments to wrestle for UNLEASHED, and whatever adventure they go on must not conflict with their booking.
PLAGIARISM
Stealing is not only not allowed but will be dealt with harshly. There are two types of plagiarism that we do not allow. First is a direct reproduction of another person’s writings. This does not have to be a word for word. Simply trying to change sentences or structure to skirt the rule is not acceptable. The second is purposefully writing a story “in the style of” your opponent or another player. Unlike the first kind of plagiarism, this one requires more nuance. Simply writing in a similar way to another player is not a violation of this rule. However, if you specifically alter the way you normally write a character to mimic another as a way to undercut their submission, your story will be disqualified.
TWITTER GUIDELINES
Every event requires eight hashtagged tweets from all players booked to compete. The hashtags are provided on every card. The submission period begins with the card announcement and ends on the posted deadline.
TWEET CONTENT
Write whatever you like in your twitter promotion but remember the purpose of the tweets is to market your match and your topics should revolve around it and your opponent. You are free to use as many or few of your 280 characters as you wish.
TWEET LIMITS
You cannot submit more than THREE hashtagged tweets in a calendar day, which begins at midnight and ends at 11:59 PM. We use EASTERN TIME. This is to prevent people from cramming in all eight tweets on the final day before the deadline, or overwhelming other players with a cascade of tweets in short order.
TWITTER BLUE
All tweets must be under 280 characters or less for Twitter Promotion. Do not use Twitter Blue to write more than this or the tweet will be disqualified.
OFF-LIMIT AREAS
You are free to write about whatever you want, including criminal behavior. However, we do have a small list of scenarios that are not allowed in-character.
- Sexual Assault
- Violence against children of any sort
This list is ever evolving. If you are concerned something you are writing might skirt the boundaries of what is acceptable, please reach out to staff.
SHOW PARTICIPATION
Just as with any eFed, you are encouraged to submit segments and angles.
SEGMENTS
We absolutely endorse writing segments for shows. These can either be in-ring or backstage. We have a soft rule that the word count for segments cannot exceed 1k unless necessary for the story and approved by staff. Likewise, you can only submit ONE scene per show unless staff agrees that multiple segments are required to progress the plot.
FORMATING
All matches and segments on our results are written in screenplay format. If you are unfamiliar with how to format your scene and dialogue, please visit this link for a basic guide. You are also welcome to ask Staff for help if you need it. Keep in mind that ANY segment submitted that does not follow the formatting will be rejected and you will be required to rewrite it before resubmitting. Building a show takes a lot of time, and we can’t spend more of it reformatting your scenes.
IN RING
In-Ring segments are basically the same as any other eFed. Various cameras are situated around the ring with a hard cam in the stands. Microphones are stationed at the time keeper’s table and there is a key grip in charge of producing them for wrestlers to use.
OUTSIDE OF RING
There are two types of backstage or exterior segments we allow.
PLANNED
This is your typical situation, where the characters involved are aware they are being recorded. This could be a simple interview segment or any scenario where your character is purposely and knowingly on camera.
UNPLANNED
UNLEASHED aggressively hunts for candid moments between talent, whether they like it or not. TMZ-level operators stalk the halls with steadi-cam harnesses. Mounted cameras are hidden throughout the building. The crew even utilizes ground and air drones. However, cameras will NEVER enter locker rooms, restrooms, or other similar private areas without permission, so if you want a locker room segment, make sure it is pre-planned and approved by those in attendance.
SPOKEN LANGUAGES
In real life, Hong Kong has two official languages: Cantonese and English. A majority of people understand and can speak English. Mandarin is not officially recognized but its usage has grown significantly ever since the UK handed Hong Kong over to China.
For the sake of simplicity, our show is presented in English. The results are written to reflect the English language feed, with its own set of announcers.
UNLEASHED wants wrestlers from all over the world, so you are welcome to have your characters speak any language on camera, but if it isn’t English or Cantonese, they should have an interpreter, such as a manager. If a character does speak Cantonese on shows, their dialogue can be written as subtitles.
ANGLES
You are invited to come up with ideas for your character and submit them to staff for possible inclusion. While we cannot promise every angle will make it to the show, we will do our best to integrate your suggestions into the presentation. Angles can take many shapes, such as a simple match spot, a specific finish, or an overarching outside of the ring story.