about
neartown is a sol gpsl set in the neighborhood of montrose. located in the city of houston, montrose is a vibrant and eclectic neighborhood. a few short miles from downtown, the neighborhood is known for it’s nightlife, restaurants, and weekend pop ups and markets. established in 1911, the neighborhood is a diverse area with renovated mansions, bungalows with wide porches, and cottages located along tree-lined boulevards. montrose has been called the 'heart of houston' and the 'strangest neighborhood east of the pecos'. during the 1980s, montrose was the center for the gay community and affectionately earned the nickname ‘the gayborhood’.

we plan on focusing on the daily lives of residents of montrose as well as welcoming any characters who works in the area with group activities planned, found at menil, as well as a local dating app for swipes at numbrs.

expectations
we want to create a safe and welcoming space so any acts or forms of racism, misogyny, homophobia, transphobia, or other forms of hate and discrimination will not be tolerated. please inform the mods of any bullying, harassment or unwelcome behavior listed above so we can take action and address the issue. just like the actual neighborhood we're based on, we will strive to create a fun and comfortable group so everyone involved can enjoy their time here and develop characters and relationships. we also suggest either locking all posts to avoid anon harassment or adjusting your comment settings to allow friends only.

line blurring and godmodding are not tolerated.

if you feel something in your bio, updates, etc. contains sensitive or triggering subject matter, please utilize a trigger warning. if you are unsure it needs one, feel free to reach out to the mods.

if you have any other questions, concerns, comments, or suggestions, please let the mods know in the screened post and we will get back to you as soon as possible! we ask that everyone use common courtesy and try to communicate with your fellow writers before any issues arise.

setting up
to apply, you will need:
➔ we accept ooc or ic journals but ask that they have minimal missing letters, no underscores, etc..
➔ an ic friends only post as well as an ooc screened post, both backdated so as not to clutter the friends page.
➔ a bio of at least 200 words, please feel free to include important details, a fact list, personality information, likes and dislikes, npcs, established connections, and any other fun info to help everyone get to know your character.
all characters and pbs should be of legal age (18+) and we ask that if your pb is a person of color, you do not whitewash them. characters can be aged up or down five years from your pb's age (for example: margot robbie is 33 but a character using her could be anywhere from 38 to 28 years old).

we reserve the right to reject any applicants that the mods feel would not be a good fit in the community and will not be responding to inquiries as to why a character was rejected.

activity
intros: everyone will have 72 hours to post their intro in the main community and respond to all comments. failure to intro in time will result in removal of your character. an extension can be granted if you contact us in time as we understand everyone has responsibilites outside of ij that can get in the way.

updates: we ask everyone to post one substantial update a month, which can be mixed media, social media posts with multiple images, moodboards, etc.. while it is not required, we would love to also see everyone interacting with community-wide activities as well to help further establish connections and promote character development. if you need help with coding, writer is a great resource but the mods are also here to help with any questions regarding that matter. please remember to comment your monthly activity here so you are not removed by mistake.

members added during the last week of every month are able to use their completed intro post as their monthly activity as well.

removals: removals for lack of activity will happen at the end of every month.

hiatuses and extensions: because we know life can always get in the way, hiatuses and extensions can be granted if you need one. please get in contact with the mods when you are able to and we will help out in any way we can.

off-site apps: we will not be banning apps like wire but we ask that a large majority of your ic interactions happen in your journals. off-site apps are not a requirement either. if there's enough interest, there is a possibility of an ooc discord server to help streamline plotting and line development.