Aye, it's exactly what these guys said above. ^
Realism is just that-- realistic. So (ideally) in a realistic roleplay, you won't see any pink or blue characters. They also (in theory) act like their species would, as if they were a real animal. Semi-realistic might allow a bit of color/behavior variation, and this is typically the most common style, but the name pretty much explains it all.
As for literacy, it's really a stylistic interpretation or how you write out your roleplay posts.
For example, this would be an 'illiterate' (although I don't like this term) post:
*lands next to river and drinks*
It's the basic idea of your post, and there's not much else to it. Usually it's in present tense (like "says" vs. "said"), and can vary in style.
This is a typical 'semi-literate' post:
*The winged lion lands on the river bank, sees a deer, then leans down to drink*
Basically, it's a bit more detail, and a lot of times you see a slight separation between the roleplayer and their character. Still usually present-tense writing. This one can vary a LOT.
This is a (kinda long xD) literate post:
A dew-frosted morning on the river; Deer crept quietly through the woods as the river gurgled on its course as it always had, peacefully and perpetually at calm in the mountains. The quiet hush of the river, however, was interrupted for a moment as a winged lion's whooshing wingbeats caressed the air, then paused, folded, and wrapped warmly around his chocolate and tawny body. He breathed in, his ears pricking momentarily as he picked up stirring sounds of morning, and met eyes with a curious and speckled fawn, who froze at the sight of the massive creature several bounds away from him.
Linger exhaled slowly, and dipped his head, as if in a bow. He didn't speak deer, but he knew that was a universal sign of "Hello, I am here, and I'm no threat to you" in their body language. Then, breaking his gaze, he turned and stooped to lap up the cool water. The fawn, in turn, waggled his tail in something like intrigued delight, and continued on his riverside path.
OkayImight'vehadtoomuchfunwiththat^
Not all literate posts are that long, of course, but it varies per person. c: I personally enjoy long posts, but never be ashamed of a shorter post, either. A short, detailed post that seems to have love and attention to detail in every sentence is what makes a talented writer, and any 'literate-only' group leader can appreciate something like that.
