Set Roleplay Boundaries and Return After Fade-to-Black
Agree on what may be shown, what never enters the fiction and what can happen offscreen. Then name the cut and the allowed return state. This weather-station example plays that agreement from a missing signal through a morning re-entry, with the reader still choosing what happens next.
Updated by the tempteo editorial team
The writing examples below are invented. They illustrate the advice and are not recorded chat results.
On this page
- Write the agreement and return form
- Filled weather-station agreement
- Use the method as writing preferences
- Independent scene starter
- Play the whole scene through cut and re-entry
- Copy the accepted cut separately
- Repair an excluded retrospective detail
- Continue with the accepted aftermath
- Sources
- Copy a starter or worksheet
Write the agreement and return form
Keep all three content categories even when one says "none."
Write the agreement and return form
Reader character and retained control: [ ] AI portrayal and stop point: [ ] Include: what may appear on the page: [ ] Exclude: what is absent from the story, including reports and recaps: [ ] Offscreen: allowed event whose process is omitted: [ ] Cut trigger and exact last visible beat: [ ] Reader decision accepting the cut: [ ] Allowed offscreen actions, owner and object cost: [ ] Actions or outcomes not authorized: [ ] Return time, place and cast: [ ] Allowed canon and aftermath at return: [ ] Excluded detail status at return: [ ] First re-entry action and next open reader decision: [ ] Unwanted retrospective detail to reject: [ ] Last accepted return state and focused OOC repair: [ ]
Filled weather-station agreement
Filled weather-station agreement
Reader character and retained control: Bea, transmitter operator. Reader writes her actions, words, feelings, permission and choices. AI portrayal and stop point: Tavi, maintenance colleague, and surroundings. Stop before Bea's next decision. Include: what may appear on the page: Rain against windows, lost signal tone, a disagreement over whether to wait, wet boots from the balcony, ordinary morning fatigue and hot drinks. Exclude: what is absent from the story, including reports and recaps: Animal encounters of any kind. None occurs offscreen either; do not mention an excluded incident as a remembered fact. Offscreen: allowed event whose process is omitted: Tavi's passage through the cramped service duct and replacement of the failed fictional transmitter lead. No interior or bodily sensations narrated. Cut trigger and exact last visible beat: At 19:15 Tavi stands by the closed service hatch, one sealed spare reel in hand, before entering the duct. Reader decision accepting the cut: Bea agrees OOC to omit that process, waits in the control room and requests next morning at 07:30. Allowed offscreen actions, owner and object cost: Tavi replaces the failed lead using the one spare reel, closes the hatch and returns the key to its balcony hook. Bea has chosen to wait, not accompany him. Restored signal tone may be established at return. Reel is consumed; empty wrapper at maintenance bench. Actions or outcomes not authorized: No animal incident; no new Bea promises, excursion, injury or revelation; no replay of duct work. Return time, place and cast: Following morning 07:30, weather station control room; Bea and Tavi, hatch closed, key back on balcony hook. Allowed canon and aftermath at return: Tone restored, spare reel used, wrapper on bench, hatch key on balcony hook, previous evening's wet boots drying by door, rain eased. No spare remains to promise elsewhere. Excluded detail status at return: Absent from canon, with no offscreen implication or recap. First re-entry action and next open reader decision: Bea hears restored tone and asks what stock is left; Tavi reports none and offers ordering or a stock check. Reader decides which, if either. Unwanted retrospective detail to reject: Narration claims Tavi remembers an animal in the duct. Last accepted return state and focused OOC repair: Resume morning control room, tone restored and spare used, with no animal incident ever established; leave Bea's next choice open.
Use the method as writing preferences
The TTRPG Safety Toolkit is a directory of tools with their own authors and attribution. Consent in Gaming's product description explains that wanted and unwanted themes differ between players. Those human-roleplay resources support agreeing on preferences before a scene. They do not establish an AI protection mechanism.
Write exclusions as absences from the fiction, and name offscreen events separately. Here the duct repair may occur without depiction; an animal encounter may not occur at all. Name the cut at a visible action boundary, then agree on the smallest return state that makes the next scene playable. At the return, Bea still decides whether to check stock or order a reel.
Preferences are writing instructions within the platform's rules. Review the next reply and pause if it crosses the agreement; no wording guarantees protection or overrides a policy.
Independent scene starter
It asks for agreement before the cut.
OOC scene message
OOC: A fictional weather-transmitter scene at 19:10 in a remote station. I control operator Bea's words, actions, feelings and decisions; portray maintenance colleague Tavi and surroundings, then stop for me. Include rain against windows, a lost signal tone, practical disagreement and ordinary fatigue. Exclude all animal encounters from the story, including offscreen events, retrospective remarks and recaps. Keep Tavi's cramped service-duct work offscreen: no interior or bodily sensations. The cut trigger is Tavi at the closed service hatch before entry; wait for my agreement to the cut and return state. A single sealed spare reel is on the maintenance bench. The signal tone is missing. Begin with Tavi asking whether we wait for morning or use the spare tonight. Do not accept the repair, move Bea into the duct or advance time for me.
Play the whole scene through cut and re-entry
This whole scene is an original illustration of a chosen agreement and response. The reader turns show one possible Bea; when using the starter, you write her decisions yourself. The transmitter and repair are fictional story details.
Illustrative AI reply: Tavi, 19:10
Rain rattles the control-room windows. The usual signal tone has stopped. Tavi looks from the quiet receiver to the sealed spare reel on the maintenance bench. "We can wait for morning, or I can replace the lead tonight. That uses our only spare."
Your turn as Bea
"Use it tonight if you're willing. I'll stay at the controls. I want the duct work offscreen, and no animal incident anywhere in this story. Before we cut, show me the hatch and what you're taking."
Illustrative AI reply: 19:12
Tavi steps onto the covered balcony to collect the hatch key from its hook. Rain blows onto his boots. Back inside, he takes the sealed spare reel from the bench. "One reel. I'll use it for the failed lead." He stops beside the closed hatch at 19:15, before entering. The receiver is still silent.
Your turn as Bea
"OOC: Cut here before entry. Tavi may replace the failed lead using that one reel, close the hatch and return the key to its balcony hook, entirely offscreen. Bea waits in the control room; I choose that now. Skip to the following morning at 07:30 in this control room with us both here. The restored tone, used spare and wet boots drying are allowed aftermath. No animal incident happens or is recalled, and no duct details return in a recap. No additional Bea choice or promise during the gap."
Illustrative AI reply: next morning 07:30
The signal tone is steady again. The hatch is closed and its key is back on the balcony hook. An empty reel wrapper lies on the maintenance bench. Tavi's boots stand by the door to dry, still wet from the balcony rain. Rain taps more lightly against the window. Tavi lifts the kettle. "Tea before we count what we're missing?"
Your turn as Bea
"Tea, yes. Does using that reel mean we have no spare for the next fault?"
Illustrative AI reply
Tavi sets a mug on the table. "None left. That wrapper is the last one. We can order another or check the rest of the station stock before promising anything." He puts the empty wrapper beside the mug so it will be counted, without writing an order.
Your turn as Bea
I take the mug. "Keep the empty wrapper on the bench while we decide. I don't want anyone counting an unopened reel that isn't there."
Illustrative AI reply
Tavi returns the wrapper to the maintenance bench. The receiver keeps its steady tone; the hatch remains closed. "It's there. Do you want to check stock first?" He leaves the stock book shut. Bea has not selected a check, ordered a reel or promised the neighboring station supplies.
The cut omits Tavi's duct work. The re-entry keeps its allowed cost, one consumed spare. The reader has explicitly chosen Bea's waiting; the skip does not infer it. An excluded incident has no place in this story, even as a summary.
Copy the accepted cut separately
Use this only at the hatch beat, after the one reel and wet boots are established. It records the reader's decision to wait and the exact permitted gap.
OOC scene message
OOC: Cut here before entry. Tavi may replace the failed lead using that one reel, close the hatch and return the key to its balcony hook, entirely offscreen. Bea waits in the control room; I choose that now. Skip to the following morning at 07:30 in this control room with us both here. The restored tone, used spare and wet boots drying are allowed aftermath. No animal incident happens or is recalled, and no duct details return in a recap. No additional Bea choice or promise during the gap.
Repair an excluded retrospective detail
A wrong continuation adds, "Tavi remembers an animal in the duct." Even a brief retrospective sentence violates the exclusion. Removing descriptive detail while saying the incident happened offscreen would keep the unwanted event in canon.
OOC correction
OOC: Reject the retrospective animal incident entirely. It is excluded from this story, not an event that happened offscreen. Do not retain it as canon, imply it occurred, or repeat it in a recap. Resume at the accepted following-morning 07:30 control-room state: Bea and Tavi present, tone restored, hatch closed, key on its balcony hook, one spare reel consumed, empty wrapper on the maintenance bench, boots drying from the balcony rain. Keep those permitted aftermath facts. Portray Tavi's practical response about the remaining supplies without recounting the duct work or deciding Bea's next action.
Corrected illustrative AI reply
Tavi looks at the wrapper on the bench. "No spare left. We should count the stock before offering a reel elsewhere." The tone is steady and the hatch closed. He waits for Bea's answer.
Only the supplied aftermath remains. Keep it in your manual note after reading the continuation. The rejected line still exists in chat history; the OOC note asks for future writing from the accepted state and cannot erase earlier text or guarantee later compliance.
Continue with the accepted aftermath
The OOC guide explains how to mark writing instructions; app safety questions cover the separate account and policy checks. In roleplay AI chat, adapt the starter and send it manually. Keep the consumed spare in your own note so the next scene begins with the cost still present.
Sources
TTRPG Safety Toolkit provides an attributed directory of human-roleplay tools. Consent in Gaming, Monte Cook Games supports discussing differing theme preferences. The station agreement, cut and return are original examples.
Copy a starter or worksheet
Choose one starter or form to copy. Keep the planning record in your own notes and check the next chat reply against it.
Blank include, exclude, offscreen and return form
Reader character and retained control: [ ] AI portrayal and stop point: [ ] Include: what may appear on the page: [ ] Exclude: what is absent from the story, including reports and recaps: [ ] Offscreen: allowed event whose process is omitted: [ ] Cut trigger and exact last visible beat: [ ] Reader decision accepting the cut: [ ] Allowed offscreen actions, owner and object cost: [ ] Actions or outcomes not authorized: [ ] Return time, place and cast: [ ] Allowed canon and aftermath at return: [ ] Excluded detail status at return: [ ] First re-entry action and next open reader decision: [ ] Unwanted retrospective detail to reject: [ ] Last accepted return state and focused OOC repair: [ ]
Filled complete agreement
Reader character and retained control: Bea, transmitter operator. Reader writes her actions, words, feelings, permission and choices. AI portrayal and stop point: Tavi, maintenance colleague, and surroundings. Stop before Bea's next decision. Include: what may appear on the page: Rain against windows, lost signal tone, a disagreement over whether to wait, wet boots from the balcony, ordinary morning fatigue and hot drinks. Exclude: what is absent from the story, including reports and recaps: Animal encounters of any kind. None occurs offscreen either; do not mention an excluded incident as a remembered fact. Offscreen: allowed event whose process is omitted: Tavi's passage through the cramped service duct and replacement of the failed fictional transmitter lead. No interior or bodily sensations narrated. Cut trigger and exact last visible beat: At 19:15 Tavi stands by the closed service hatch, one sealed spare reel in hand, before entering the duct. Reader decision accepting the cut: Bea agrees OOC to omit that process, waits in the control room and requests next morning at 07:30. Allowed offscreen actions, owner and object cost: Tavi replaces the failed lead using the one spare reel, closes the hatch and returns the key to its balcony hook. Bea has chosen to wait, not accompany him. Restored signal tone may be established at return. Reel is consumed; empty wrapper at maintenance bench. Actions or outcomes not authorized: No animal incident; no new Bea promises, excursion, injury or revelation; no replay of duct work. Return time, place and cast: Following morning 07:30, weather station control room; Bea and Tavi, hatch closed, key back on balcony hook. Allowed canon and aftermath at return: Tone restored, spare reel used, wrapper on bench, hatch key on balcony hook, previous evening's wet boots drying by door, rain eased. No spare remains to promise elsewhere. Excluded detail status at return: Absent from canon, with no offscreen implication or recap. First re-entry action and next open reader decision: Bea hears restored tone and asks what stock is left; Tavi reports none and offers ordering or a stock check. Reader decides which, if either. Unwanted retrospective detail to reject: Narration claims Tavi remembers an animal in the duct. Last accepted return state and focused OOC repair: Resume morning control room, tone restored and spare used, with no animal incident ever established; leave Bea's next choice open.
Standalone scene starter
OOC: A fictional weather-transmitter scene at 19:10 in a remote station. I control operator Bea's words, actions, feelings and decisions; portray maintenance colleague Tavi and surroundings, then stop for me. Include rain against windows, a lost signal tone, practical disagreement and ordinary fatigue. Exclude all animal encounters from the story, including offscreen events, retrospective remarks and recaps. Keep Tavi's cramped service-duct work offscreen: no interior or bodily sensations. The cut trigger is Tavi at the closed service hatch before entry; wait for my agreement to the cut and return state. A single sealed spare reel is on the maintenance bench. The signal tone is missing. Begin with Tavi asking whether we wait for morning or use the spare tonight. Do not accept the repair, move Bea into the duct or advance time for me.
Separate accepted cut request
OOC: Cut here before entry. Tavi may replace the failed lead using that one reel, close the hatch and return the key to its balcony hook, entirely offscreen. Bea waits in the control room; I choose that now. Skip to the following morning at 07:30 in this control room with us both here. The restored tone, used spare and wet boots drying are allowed aftermath. No animal incident happens or is recalled, and no duct details return in a recap. No additional Bea choice or promise during the gap.
A wrong continuation adds, "Tavi remembers an animal in the duct." Even a brief retrospective sentence violates the exclusion. Removing descriptive detail while saying the incident happened offscreen would keep the unwanted event in canon.
Focused retrospective repair
OOC: Reject the retrospective animal incident entirely. It is excluded from this story, not an event that happened offscreen. Do not retain it as canon, imply it occurred, or repeat it in a recap. Resume at the accepted following-morning 07:30 control-room state: Bea and Tavi present, tone restored, hatch closed, key on its balcony hook, one spare reel consumed, empty wrapper on the maintenance bench, boots drying from the balcony rain. Keep those permitted aftermath facts. Portray Tavi's practical response about the remaining supplies without recounting the duct work or deciding Bea's next action.
Corrected AI portrayal, illustration: Tavi looks at the wrapper on the bench. "No spare left. We should count the stock before offering a reel elsewhere." The tone is steady and the hatch closed. He waits for Bea's answer. Only the supplied aftermath remains. Keep it in your manual note after reading the continuation. The rejected line still exists in chat history; the OOC note asks for future writing from the accepted state and cannot erase earlier text or guarantee later compliance.
