simpathis | [ application: original characters ]

[ application: original characters ]

— APPLICATIONS ARE OPEN AND WILL BE PROCESSED ON WEEKENDS —
Canon Applications are here

IMPORTANT! We are officially in endgame until August 31, 2020. Applications are on a rolling basis. There is a small "block" period from the 1st through the 4th of every month to allow a bulk of apps to be submitted, and then applications can be submitted at any time during the month. Notices will be sent out all at once after the first "block" period, and then between 24 hours to the end of the weekend depending on how many and our schedule. Applications are guaranteed to be processed during the weekends.

IMPORTANT: Only the following types of original characters are allowed to be applied for—

Pure OC. These are the typical kind of OC that everyone is familiar with. They are characters that are the player's own creation with their own world that is also of the player's design. There is zero relation to any pre-existing canon.
MMO OC. MMOs, or Massively Multiplayer Online games, particularly those with a lot of roleplay and character build-up, have existing world building and lore that they have to follow. These characters are created by the player and can have their own story, but they have to follow the rules of the game lore. We consider "main hero" characters as those who are one of many in a great group that influenced the storyline, rather than the singular Great Hero character. This is to help multiple MMO OCs from the same game to have stories that mesh well together. In the sake of fairness to current FFXIV OC players and consistency with previous mod teams' decisions, we do not currently allow FFXIV Warriors of Light.
Blank Slate Canon Protagonists. For our criteria, these types of characters are those which you control throughout the game and essentially make the player the main character. They may have a name and a couple of personality traits, but everything else is up to the player to interpret. Examples of these are most of the main characters from Dragon Age, Skyrim, Pokémon, etc. Important: Please note that this category ONLY pertains to the protagonists of canons. This does not allow side characters or other support NPCs as they have set stories and personalities. This section has nothing to do with how much headcanon is used and is only about the purpose and design of the protagonist character.

The following would not be allowed:

Fanon/AU OCs. Characters that are based off pre-existing canons or an alternate version of the canon. We would not allow these OCs not because we are against them on principle, but it could cause unwanted confusion and complications with current existing casts. This type of OC would have needed to be allowed from the very beginning so players would know what they were getting into.
Game Native OCs. Currently the game is not ready for such a type of character, as it would introduce other complications and worldbuilding that the interested player would have to be aware of. In addition, it would require more close connection with us the mods than we are currently ready for.

Before applying, please be sure to read the following:

Read the Rules and the Game Information.
RETURNING PLAYERS! You only need to submit any old application. Does not matter how long ago, as long as it was accepted and you have good standing (ie, not banned), it will be valid.
Suggestion: Find some character sheets that have questions directly related to character building. These will help flesh out your application and give some guidelines as to how to write about your character.
Feel free to use the most recent test drive both for practice as well as to use for samples. IMPORTANT! If you submit threads as samples, you must submit the application with that character journal. This is the only way we can ensure that the samples are from you and not someone else.
Linked samples must have been made within the past year.
You may apply for up to two characters per cycle.
Do not plagiarize. If we find that the information provided was directly taken by either another player or some other source material, the application will be rejected immediately. If we find this after processing the application, we will revoke the application and have you removed from the game with potential ban.
Reusing your own applications from other games is allowed. We only ask any original written samples to conform to our game. That is, we don't want to read samples that are set specifically for another game's premise. Note: this does not apply to threads linked from other games used as samples.
If you are rejected, you cannot reapply for the same character for two weeks. However, you can apply for a different character in that same period.
Those accepted must fill out all of the required entries within a week to be considered part of the game. Otherwise, we will consider it a revocation of the application.
Fill out the form and comment to this entry! All applications must be posted directly to this entry; no linked-in applications allowed.

We have compiled sample applications from our players to show what the mod team and the application moderators are looking for in terms of writing quality and depth. We hope you find these samples useful!

Sun Wukong (RWBY)
Luke Skywalker (Star Wars)
Goro Akechi (Persona 5)

⌈ PLAYER SECTION ⌉
Player:
Contact: Journal/Plurk/AIM — anything to help identify since someone might share your name handle.
Age: You must be at least 13 years old to apply.
Current Characters: If a new player, just put "N/A"

⌈ CHARACTER SECTION ⌉
Character:
Age:
OC Type: Indicate whether this OC is a Pure, MMO, or Blank Protagonist type of OC. If it is a Blank Protagonist, indicate the canon here.
Point Taken: A sense of time when the character is taken. More applicable to MMO and Blank Protagonist OCs.

World Building:This is separate from the character's personal history. This section is to provide us with information about the character's “canon” in general. We will have no idea what kind of world that the character is coming from, and this is the only place we can learn about it. We don't want an encyclopedia, but we will need to know important details about it so that we can understand the culture the character is coming from and how that will affect how they think and behave. What countries are important? What kind of geography or political climate? Are there any social conflicts that would impact the character or would influence how they view others? For MMO and Blank Protagonist OCs, linking us to wikis will suffice, but feel free to add more to it.

Backstory: While we don't need a play-by-play, what we would like to see includes how the character lived, what choices they've made and why, what events occurred that developed them, and other important facts that will help us understand the character. For MMO OCs: Most MMORPGs will have a set storyline that the player character has the opportunity to play through. Keep in mind that rather there being a singular "Great Hero," all MMO OCs are to be seen as a part of a large group of heroes if you choose to follow the main storyline. Also keep in mind that all MMO OCs will have to follow their game’s canon lore. For example: A character could not save the NPC that canonly died, nor could a mission fail if it is set to succeed. However, your character could have died and or had difficulty fulfilling the mission. It is also possible that your character had no part in the overall game's story and had their own adventures in the world instead. Finally, there can be no romantic or familial relationships with named NPCs.

Personality: We're looking for how they think, why they act the way they do, their strengths, their weaknesses, their thought processes, their opinions, their conflicts, what makes them feel the way they do, their significant traits. When writing your character, be careful! We want to avoid characters that are the super invincible almighty hero that can do no wrong. The one who can charm anyone with a smile, can easily trick and deceive, has the power to bend wills with ease. All characters have flaws—no one is perfect. But more importantly, such infallible characters are not interesting to play and interact with. In short, the character should be realistic, balanced, and well thought out. If we feel that your character does not meet this standard, then we may ask for a revision or reject if it cannot be changed.

Abilities: If there are any particular abilities the character has supernatural or otherwise, list them here. Referencing to a wiki list is acceptable if applicable. However, if there are any particular abilities that need to be weakened or removed, note them here.

Alignment: Please refer to the Alignment entry to choose which alignment your character would most likely fall under. Include a brief (a couple of sentences max) just to help explain why you think your choice is the best fit.

Other: Anything else you'd like to mention.

⌈ SAMPLE SECTION ⌉
Sample: We have two sample requirements.

General Sample: We should see examples of the character's dialogue as well as some introspection or additional narrative to further show how you intend to write the character. This is the most important part of the sample and where most of the weight will be.

Emotion Sample: This is our "game setting" requirement. Essentially we want to ensure that you have a basic grasp of the game's premise, especially with the use of emotions. It can be a small scene, even incidental to the main sample. A reminder that apathetic characters will also create effects, such as loss of color, surface distortion, holes forming. This section doesn't have to be lengthy, but the effect must be clear for us to see.

The emotion sample can be part of the general character sample. If so, please link directly or directly quote that portion so that it's easier for us to quickly find it.

The samples can be "written" in three different ways and you can choose which one will work best for you:

Test Drive. You can utilize our test drive to cover both requirements of the sample. So long as there is enough character portrayal and a scene with an emotional reaction, be it within the prompt or done during the thread, then it can be used for both.
Link out + Written. You can link to threads/entries from other games, memes, or museboxes to show character portrayal, and then write an additional short scene for the emotion portion of the sample.
Original Sample. You can write a complete sample that shows both character portrayal and a scene involving emotion use. This can be one sample or two separate samples. If you opt to write an original sample, you are welcome to use any prompts from any of our Test Drives, Intro Logs, Task Board, and even past events. You are also free to change things up and are not restricted to any of these prompts. They are just here to help offer ideas.

Format wise, you can use either [ brackets ] OR narrative prose. We do require that the writing at least be coherent, have proper sentence structure, and is mostly grammatically correct (we realize that writing styles can be loose/creative in [ bracket ] form so we're giving a bit more leeway). One last suggestion we have is try to have the character interacting with the environment and try thinking of the sample less of a narrative piece but more like a post or thread prompt you might make in the game. That will help the sample show not only how you will write the character, but also how you will play them in practice.

Questions: If you have any questions, ask them here.

Clean copy and paste form here:

<div style="text-align: justify;">
<center>⌈ PLAYER SECTION ⌉</center>
Player: 
Contact: 
Age: 
Current Characters:

<center>⌈ CHARACTER SECTION ⌉</center>
Character:
Age:
OC Type: Indicate whether this OC is a Pure, MMO, or Blank Protagonist type of OC. If it is a Blank Protagonist, indicate the canon here.
Point Taken: A sense of time when the character is taken. More applicable to MMO and Blank Protagonist OCs.

World Building: 
<div style="margin-left: 25px;">INFO</div>

Backstory:
<div style="margin-left: 25px;">INFO</div>

Personality:
<div style="margin-left: 25px;">INFO</div>

Abilities: 
<div style="margin-left: 25px;">INFO</div>

Alignment: <div style="margin-left: 25px;">[Choose from one of the following: Aiada, Daimonia, Elios, Peromei, Piphron, Sosyne, or Thras. Refer to the proper info page for more information and be sure to include a very brief reason why you chose the alignment.]</div>

Other: 
<div style="margin-left: 25px;">Any other information that doesn't fit in the other sections can go here.</div>

<center>⌈ SAMPLE SECTION ⌉</center>
Remember that we ask for samples that show 1) core character portrayal and 2) some use of emotions, such as environmental effect. You can also use the same sample source for both, just make sure to directly link or quote the emotion portion. We highly encourage using the Test Drive, and you can use prompts from the Test Drives, Intro Logs, and the Task board if you need them. Refer to the main application page for links and more suggestions.

General Sample: Written or link to sample for general character portrayal

Emotion Sample: Written or link to sample for use and effects of emotions. If part of a thread, please DIRECTLY LINK to the specific tag.

Questions:
</div>

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

World Building:
Pilouette is coming from a Modern Earth setting in 2010; every major event that has happened in Earth’s history has happened in this universe. The only real difference is alternate versions of most popular culture, though this is mostly to avoid fourth walling. For example, while the original fairy tale Snow White exists, the Disney movie (and Disney itself) does not. Instead her world’s Disney Equivalent made a movie about Little Red Riding Hood which serves the same role in history.

Backstory:
Originally from Lille, France, Pilouette was born in 1994 to Armand Bonheur and his wife, Camille, who met while working for the same company, though they worked for different branches. An exceptionally serious woman, Camille lacked a sense of humor, so when Armand made a joke about naming their infant daughter after his childhood dog, Camille went ahead with it.

Since her parents worked a lot, Pilouette spent much of her formative years with her grandparents in Lille, while Armand and Camille worked, both overseas and in Paris. She would often go weeks at a time without seeing either of her parents and as a result became very attached to her grandmother, a retired kindergarten teacher, and her grandfather, a doctor specializing in athletic injuries. Not long after Pilouette turned three, Armand was transferred to the US branch of the company he worked for and, along with his wife and child, moved overseas to Key City, New York, a city several hours outside New York City. Being so attached to her grandparents, Pilouette was very anxious about the move, more so than she would have been just moving to another house or city.

It was at this point that her parent's marital problems began. Little by little they began fighting about one thing or another and eventually got divorced. Shortly after Pilouette's fourth birthday, the two were divorced. Camille, for personal reasons that still remain unknown to her daughter, decided to sign over her parental rights and give her husband full custody. Not long after, she was transferred to the company's Chicago office and would begin living there.

From this point on, Pilouette and her mother had little significant contact. Armand, thinking he was doing what was best for his daughter never offered an explanation because she never asked and having no explanation offered, Pilouette found herself afraid to ask. Feeling as if she was rejected by her own mother, Pilouette became a very shy child and had a hard time making friends with other children when she started school. It was in kindergarten that she met Peter Hartell, an equally shy boy who had difficulty making friends due to his unintentionally angry –looking way of holding his face and generally quiet nature. Since neither had made much progress in the way of socializing with the other children, the teacher encouraged Pilouette and Peter to play together and the two gradually became close friends. Within a few years, the Hartells became almost like a second family to Pilouette and she would often stay with them when her father was working late. It was during this time that Pilouette developed an interest in baking after watching Mr. and Mrs. Hartell testing out recipes for their cafe. As she became older, this interest in baking became something Pilouette would consider making a career of later in life.

Many years later, just before Pilouette hit middle school, her father was promoted into a position that required him to make regular business trips to Paris. He and his daughter moved to a neighborhood across town that was a little closer to the local branch of the company he worked for and Pilouette was transferred to an all-girls private school that was closer to their new home. Pilouette was initially upset about the move since it would prevent her from seeing the Hartell family, especially her best friend Peter, quite as often and her shyness began to increase. While across town may not necessarily be terribly far, to ten year old Pilouette it was quite a long distance, especially since she was going to a new school with no friends.

However, it was at this new school that she met Patty Summers who had just moved to town (coincidentally in the same neighborhood as Pilouette) and the two became friends. Patty, who was a little more outspoken and positive than Pilouette, helped her new friend become more outgoing, eventually leaving a good deal of her shyness behind, though she still remained awkward when meeting new people and in unfamiliar situations. In an attempt to make herself more likable, throughout her middle school years and into high school she would become something of an “unofficial club member,” willingly helping out and taking on tasks from clubs and other extracurricular school groups when they needed extra help, despite not actually being a member of any of them and, at times, not having any actual “friends” in a particular club.

Shortly after she turned fourteen, she convinced her father that she would be alright on her own while he was away on trips, though he initially only allowed it because Patty's parents would offer to check in on her every now and then. However, over the next two years these check ins would become less frequent. Though Pilouette wished to prove how mature and adult she was she was by taking care of the house on her own, as she came to believe that being an "adult" was something desirable and respectable, she simultaneously wanted him to be home more and secretly resented the fact that he seemed to constantly put his work before her. However, believing that a “mature person” would not feel that way, she insisted she didn’t mind despite many missed or cancelled plans and a general lack of parental presence.

Personality:

Pilouette is very much a typical teenager; she rarely experiences anything that could be called extraordinary and, like many kids her age, just wants to fit in and be cool. She’s a good kid, but she's also a bit immature and wears her heart on her sleeve, often feeling emotions in strong bursts like some sort of emotional confetti cannon; feeling them strongly and usually levelling out before too long. As much as she tries to play it cool sometimes, she's not exactly a good liar and it's easy to tell when she's being dishonest about how she feels...or anything else for that matter. However, she still tries (sometimes, a bit too hard) to appear calm and mature because of how badly she wants to be taken seriously.

Being liked and accepted by others is something Pilouette values very much and is what drives a good deal of her actions. Unfortunately, she can be a bit naive in this regard; a bit of praise and kindness (sincere or not) is all it takes to allow someone to gain her trust. Also, while she is pretty friendly and gets along with people, she generally has difficulty forming close bonds with people due to her own self-consciousness. However, once she makes a friend, that person will mean a lot to her and, unless what they want to do is very obviously wrong, will have little trouble getting her to follow their lead.

Though she doesn't hold the highest opinion of herself or have any abilities she considers “real talents”, she genuinely tries to get better and works hard at what people ask her to do so she can be more helpful to others. She’s content to see others succeed, having resigned herself to the idea that she will always be less interesting, less intelligent, less…everything than others. However, this also means that when she has any measure of success she feels a little more pleased with herself than others would in the same situation. However, she can be just as easily discouraged. She’s a bit contradictory in this way; she wants so badly to be able to stand on her own and be taken seriously, but due to her own insecurities she would rather follow someone else’s lead than take charge herself.

While Pilouette may be a bit ditzy she’s not altogether stupid or unintelligent despite her opinion of herself. In fact, when she really puts her mind to it, she can come up with a good idea or two. However, her way of thinking can be described as a bit of a slow burn. When shocked or suddenly being put into a strange situation, she tends to freeze up and it can take her a few moments to fully comprehend what’s happening. She sometimes also jumps to somewhat bizarre conclusions and occasionally lets her imagination run away with her.

Abilities:
Pilouette is just your average human.
Alignment: Elios. Pilouette has a lot of love for others and a great desire to be loved, mostly in a platonic or familial sense. Though it can be hard for her to form close bonds with others, when she does her affection for them is genuine. On the other hand, what hatred she does have is mostly turned inward. While she seems to have accepted her self-perceived inferiority, part of her hates being (at least in her mind) so much less useful and talented than others are.

Other:
N/A

⌈ SAMPLE SECTION ⌉
Sample: Test Drive Thread

Questions:
None!

⌈ PLAYER SECTION ⌉
Player: Xae
Contact: Plurk = Tsukeru
Age: 31
Current Characters:
Makoto Kino | Sailor Moon |

courageousthunder
Hiryuu | Akatsuki no Yona |

akashingo (Also apped this month)

⌈ CHARACTER SECTION ⌉
Character: Riley
Age: 22
OC Type: Pure
Point Taken: After his sister's death

World Building:

Riley is from a dying world called Daeseon. Their sun has been dying and at first the people were not worried about it, after all, it would take quite a few million years for this to happen. Eventually the light provided by the sun began to grow dim and their planet was plunged into darkness. This they adapted to, physically they became able to see better at night and other senses heightened as well. They began to develop technologies that would be capable of sustaining them when the sun would no longer would provide them with an abundance of growing plants around the planet. In the end, there was no way to preserve every section of the world and so every decade another piece of land would become nothing more than a desolate wasteland. Oceans became frozen iceburgs and mountains were eternally covered in snow. Survival became difficult and so the masses huddled together, leaving smaller towns and cities and in their places they created Osios.

Osios is the world's largest city and contains ten different sectors that house most of the population. There are approximately ten million people living in Osios and each sector has it's own governing system. It was only in the last two hundred or so years that they've finally gotten serious about getting off the planet and finding a new home for the people of Daeseon. At that time, the government decided it would put priority to building ships capable of carrying them millions of light-years away to a new planet they named Nefios. While they did prioritize their space program, there was also a serious need to survive long enough to be able to make it off-planet in the first place. As such large corporations bought out smaller ones, expanded their workstaff and took control of the last few spots on the planet where life still flourished and this is how the people of the world get their food.

Unfortunately, even in a good world the rich have no worries and the poor die on the streets and Daeseon is no different. With things already being tough to survive on a normal basis, the poor have only two choices - die or learn magic. Magic is very handy to have here on Daeseon. People can use it to stay warm or even to gain jobs that require the use of a magic hand. Unfortunately, using magic comes at a cost. Anytime an individual uses magic, they're using up their own energy and this energy is not something that renews itself. Use too much magic and the caster dies, but not before experiencing some physical changes first. When an individual uses magic the first change they experience is a need to replenish their lifeforce through outside means - some develop a need for raw meats while others crave blood.

For those who experience a need for raw meats, they walk the path to becoming wolves. Gaining the features of these creatures until finally they are entirely wolf - typically the last stage is very quick and painful. There are no individuals capable of simply walking around as a wolf as their lives end shortly after the full transformation is complete. For those who drink blood, they maintain their human form but the craving for blood becomes unbearable to the point where they it is all they intake. They forsake all other foods their body does actually need and they become crazed when their own bodies start to slowly eat itself. Their own blood attacks their organs for nutrients until nothing remains. No one has searched for a medical cure to magic but one did find a magical cure - dark magic.

It may seem strange to combat a magical loss with a magical solution but the people have learned that by killing someone else through dark magic allows them to absorb their own lifeforce, thus giving the killer more time to live. Those who have found this way of living typically band together - wolves form packs and bloodsuckers form clans though "vampires" are more prone to working alone. These packs go around needlessly killing and getting their need for raw meat by sometimes cannibilizing their victims. To combat these vicious killers, hunters were born. Everything about the hunters is shrouded in mystery except for the fact that they actively hunt down those who use dark magic to murder others.

More about the actual world can be found here

Backstory: Here

Personality:

From a young age, Riley has been an extremely responsible individual. His parents were often away trying to put food on their tables so he was always looking after himself, preparing meals, getting to school, taking care of chores. Then along came his younger sister and Riley took on responsibility for her too. While their parents tried to help, it was typically up to him to look after her most of the time. Things only got worse when their parents both died when Riley was almost fifteen. He now had to provide for the both of them and that sense of responsibility lead him to using magic to keep them warm on cold nights and put food in their stomachs. Thankfully no one judges people by their age when it comes to work here - it's common to see children learning and using magic to make money. Riley was one of these people. He took it upon himself to excel in fire magic along with a cleaning spell and would often light fires for others of the poor class who relied on that as a heat source - or he'd clean houses for the uppercrust. It's partly due to his sense of responsibility that keeps him alive and in a situation where he has to do terrible things to accomplish that. Riley is motivated by the responsibility to look after Fara now that they've both used so much magic that their choices are to kill or to die.

He is also a kind individual, he may have to do terrible things to live but Riley is carefully meticulous when it comes to killing others. Typically he avoids taking the lives of someone who is a relatively good person, instead preferring to seek out those who are - ironically - murderers or others who are considered the lowest of scum. Riley is forced to bear witness as his pack tortures and kills others who are innocent and it pains him to have any part in it but he can't stand against them. It has lead him to become someone who makes his kills as quick and painless as possible for his victim - even though they may not deserve it. He does wish he could save those who end up catching the pack's eye and if given the option, Riley would save someone but he is also cautious about his status as well. Basically he might as well be the omega of the wolf pack - the one who gets picked on and abused by the others and he carries absolutely no weight at all when it comes to making decisions.

One might see a different person when looking at Riley and it all depends on who he's with. If they see him with Fara, it's very obvious that he is a caring big brother - from taking care of her to attempting to stop her from doing stupid things, he doesn't feel the need to hold back with her. There aren't a whole lot of boundaries between the two of them and she is the one individual who knows him best. He constantly worries about her and tries to get her to walk a good path in life which is difficult due to their situation but Riley is reluctant to give up on her. It's not uncommon to see the two of them standing close or one of them fussing over the other and he's at ease when she touches him. It's also obvious how much he worries over her too. Anyone who manages to get close to Riley will most likely learn about Fara in the process seeing as how his entire life has revolved around his little sister. He's willing to risk nearly any and everything to keep her safe even if it's at the cost of his own well-being.

When Riley is around another member of the pack, he's entirely changed. There is a tension in him that's perfectly visible an absolute stranger can see it. Riley tends to keep to himself, both physically and verbally. He doesn't offer to touch them and tries extremely hard to not flinch or pull away when they touch him even though he isn't always successful in this endeavor. In all honesty he's treated like he's the omega of the pack - always the one who's picked on and teased and blamed but Riley doesn't mind being the odd man out in this group. Actually he prefers it as it means they don't even bother trying to hassle him into doing things their way and they let him go off on his own to do whatever. They never go out of their way to ask him about it either and that's the way he likes it because he doesn't offer up information or open up to any of them in return. In the presence of another wolf in the pack, Riley is withdrawn, quiet and cautious. On the occasion when he does decide to speak up it's often a sense of caution. A warning to get the pack away from danger but it isn't done out of any kind of attachment or real concern. The only concern he has in these times are towards what might happen to his sister if the pack got into serious trouble. They often tease him about the "concern" he directs in their direction and call him "mom".

This can be the side of him that most strangers will see as well but Riley doesn't imagine everyone as a bad thing. He tends to be more cautious around them then anything which does stem from the need to keep Fara safe. However he is more willing to relax if given the opportunity to get to know someone. A point will come when Riley isn't afraid to speak his mind on a matter or express other emotions such as being irritated or even be happy. The better he knows someone, the more comfortable he'll be around them. While he will never be able to completely let down his guard, he has the potential to be an extremely good friend when given the chance. Kind and caring - willing to listen to their problems or go out of his way to help them and possibly even capable of killing if it came down to protecting them.

Due to the fact that Riley has basically been a very tiny adult during his childhood, he tends to be the same now that he is actually an adult but he can be a regular young adult at times. Riley gets excited over a variety of new things and can be open to trying new experiences. He practically lights up and can become animated during these times, probably capable of talking someone's ear off if that was actually possible. If he's comfortable with the person he's with, Riley would have no problem grabbing them and dragging them around to see everything possible. Even if he's around complete strangers, he may be the one to initiate a conversation with them and not be nearly as cautious as he typically is.

He is also somewhat of a strange person, even as a child he enjoyed things like going to school and learning. Even though he had to drop out of school to support his sister, Riley still pursued his own interests. He would go to the library to study whenever he had time or he'd watch documentaries on historical events. Straight up, Riley is a nerd. He likes science and space and curling up with a good book under a warm blanket. On the other side of that, Riley does not particularly like doing things that are extremely strenous. He disliked it during school and doesn't go out of his way to be active. That said it isn't as though he's out of shape or that he can't run when necessary but Riley is not about to get into a marathon or pick a physical figth with someone. If it came down to it, he would be the sort of person who was a long-distance figher while others got up close and personal. Riley is definitely not going to be flipping anyone over his shoulder or carrying them around any time soon.

While typically pretty calm and grown up there is one person who can get Riley flustered and his name is Aiden. A chance meeting has allowed him to meet his mate - the one person who was meant for him and everything that Riley lacks... Aiden brings to his life. While Riley looks down at himself and doesn't believe himself deserving of love, Aiden gives it to him and hope along with it. Aiden has given him the opportunity to not need to kill in order to live and he may not ever be able to make up for what he's done in the past but the hunter accepts him anyway. It's because he's allowed himself to get close to this individual that he's opened up more in the last six months of his life than ever. He shows his emotions so easily when around Aiden and typically doesn't tend to care about who might be around. Well, it does actually considering Riley is easily embarrassed in private when the other man does something like tease him or look at him so lovingly and being in public only makes it worse. It isn't unusual to hear Riley telling him to shut up or be quiet, it isn't out of irritation but is entirely because he's way too easily embarrassed around the other.

With the addition of Aiden to his life, Riley has added another person to his very short list of people to care for and protect. It's different in the way he took care of Fara. Aiden really does make Riley want to be a better person, to let himself open up and invite someone else into his heart. It does help that Aiden can take care of himself and has been capable of it since they met. Aiden doesn't need Riley to take care of him the way he took care of Fara growing up and so the fact that he does take care of the hunter is because he wants to. The things Aiden needs from Riley aren't really anything he can actually do because he just has to be himself and stay next to the hunter. That's really all he needs to do to make the other happy. Due to this, Riley eventually allows himself to really open up around the hunter. To tell him about his past - the good and bad parts of it and to let him see what kind of person he really is.

He is at the point of comfortableness with Aiden that he is not afraid to invade his space or steal his things because he simply likes it. Or he'll curl up and do ridiculously silly things like braiding Aiden's hair when they're simply sitting around. He pouts and whines and pushes the other away even when all Riley wants to do is be as close to Aiden as he can possibly get. Even though he can't yet tell the other man he loves him with words, Riley lets it show through the actions and maybe it's tough love when he calls the other an idiot or it could be gentle love with soft touches and beautiful words. When Riley pictures a future, he pictures having it with Aiden. That is the kind of relationship the two of them have... the kind where Riley can actually allow himself to hope that they're going to have a future despite all that's currently standing against them.

Someone who is sometimes extremely selfish while somehow sacrificing at the same time. Riley is the sort who would sacrifice himself for the people he loves even if that is absolutely not what the other person wants. While he is willing to look for another way, if it comes down to it he will make a decision that can potentially hurt the other emotionally without their consent. This is shown in the way he decided to push Aiden away and go back to the pack despite his mate's protests. To him, it was how he could save both Fara and Aiden even if it meant sacrificing himself - because no matter what, Riley puts their lives and safety over his own and their feelings. He is under the firm belief that it's better for them to be alive and living without him than for them all to be dead.

It isn't all entirely about selfishness and sacrifice though, his decision to go back to the pack. Riley believes in Aiden, trusts the man with his own life and with the life of his sister. Something that is absolutely impossible for him but Aiden has managed to inspire this trust. While it started off as simply feeling safe in the man's arms, he's come to trust him completely. This is something Riley has never felt towards any living being ever, not even his own parents. Trusting someone else with so much that's important to him is not something to take lightly, especially considering Riley doesn't think his own life to be worthy of anyone's care and attention. To give over trust of his sister is one thing, but to do it for his own well-being has never happened before because it's always been the part of his life that he was never careful with.

Despite the fact that there was a time when Riley went without being able to afford the finer things in life, he is not particularly materialistic now that he's not exactly homeless and poor. He does not look in store windows at shiny expensive things and want them just so he can look at them or because they're pretty. Riley is too practical for that. If anything he's actually extremely frugal when it comes to money, buying food that's on sale or wearing a set of clothes until they practically fall apart. There are nearly no possessions that he absolutely cannot live without but he does have a few that he does have sentimental attachment to and it may be considered strange. The reason for this is because he is used to having nothing or having very little and having to leave it behind. If the pack was being hunted, it was not unusual for them to simply abandon their belongings when necessary so he does actually make sure he doesn't get attached to anything that can be taken or left behind. There is one exception to this - Aiden's hair tie. It was something he picked up of the warehouse floor after he decided to stay with the hunter and from that night on, Riley has kept it near him constantly. To him it signifies the choice he made to be with Aiden rather than to be without - it's a promise to protect the other and at this point, to only be with Aiden in such an intimate and loving way. Basically this is his idea of a wedding ring and so Riley keeps it around his wrist nearly constantly.

Over the last few months of his life, Riley has actually gotten himself a group of friends - ones he can trust even if some might be annoying. It's been a huge change for him being able to open up to a variety of people and being able to depend on them. He'd gone from having no one but Fara and then Aiden but suddenly his world has expanded to include these new people. Riley has become less closed off when it comes to dealing with things, willing to let others do things for him rather than try to be completely independent. It may not be a whole lot of people but it's certainly more than he's ever really had before. Even if he may not admit it out loud, these people have become like a family too him - granted it's a weird one but he'd do anything to help them out whenever they needed it. Though more importantly, he accepts help from them in return. In fact he doesn't just accept it, he does go to them to ask for it - something he's never really done before with anyone.

While Riley has grown closer to his new friends, he's grown more distance with his sister. They saw each other less but that wasn't what was really the cause of it. Fara has pulled away and immersed herself in a life that Riley could never be a part of. She took over leading the pack, started enjoying the killing she was doing and was even eating those who she killed. That was something Riley could never approve of and without realizing it, Riley was slowly starting to believe that the person his sister had been was dying. In her place was someone new who was truly a monster and eventually Riley saw her for who she had become. Of course he blamed himself for not trying harder to save her, for not pulling her away when he had the chance. Eventually he came to the conclusion that she too needed to be killed just like any other wolf.

That is where a lot of his grief stems from but perhaps not as much as he might have thought. Riley grew distance from his sister and someone else became the most important person in his life - someone that he loves more than anything. His mate, Aiden. Though he has yet to say it out loud, he can't imagine living without Aiden even though they've only been together for a year. Aiden's life means more to him than his own does which is why when he thought the other man was dead, Riley did not hesitate to end his. There may be other people he cares about now but Aiden is his reason for living especially now that he knows that having Aiden in his life is also the reason he no longer needs to kill to replenish his lifeforce. He can't go back to killing to stay alive and so he would rather die alongside Aiden than live without him.

Abilities:

Biology

Sunlight
Due to the fact that their sun is dying, it means their planet is quite dark most of the time. While they are fairly adjusted to this fact and that most of their light source comes from what they create, they would be easily burnt by the rays of a younger sun and would find it difficult to see properly. Due to this they have adapted to be able to function in their world and what they couldn't adapt to, they developed technology to help them. So while they might be sensitive to the amount of light another sun puts off, they do just fine under lights that have been artifically created.

Hearing
One of the physical changes that makes Riley unique is his heightened sense of hearing. He is capable of hearing the softest of noises up to one mile away and can hear as far as two miles for slightly louder than normal sounds. It isn't always something he notices as he was born with this ability so he can tune out the sounds around him or may just simply may not be paying attention to start with.

Since he does have a set of animal ears also perched on top of his head at times, Riley actually has extraordinary hearing compared to most. When he has these extra ears, he can hear twice as far as a regular individual from his world. Again, it is something he's learned to filter out most noise so he may not necessarily hear things going on nearby. Typically if he's tuned in to all the commotion in range for an extended period of time, he does get a headache from the sheer amount of noise.

Vision
With their world mostly plunged in darkness enhanced vision is almost a necessity in their evolution. To Riley this means that what a human can't see in the dark - he can. He can see further and sharper and better without the need to squint. Normally he can see his hand in front of his face even if it's pitch black out.

Abilities

Magic
After his parents died, Riley learned how to cast magic from some kids on the street. He only really learned three varieties to start with and only the basics, building on those on his own to develop stronger abilities in these three areas. The fourth type of magic was taught to him by an unsavory individual and Riley tries not to rely on it too much due to what the magic entails. All magic is powered by the wielder's own lifeforce, the more they use it the more of their lifeforce is consumed. Using magic is one sure fire way to end up dying at an early age though it's effects on the body can sometimes vary from one individual to the next. More on Riley's side effects are below.

Fire Magic
The first and most useful magic Riley learned was fire magic. To start with he could create tiny flames such as the way a match or lighter would make. It was enough to get a bigger fire going if given the right kindling and he got better at it throughout the years. He moved on from small fires to larger ones about the size of his hand. These were even better at starting fires and could provide a little bit of warmth but typically it was for frightening away would-be muggers. Eventually he got to the point where he could create flames of any size. They were good for protection or used in fights. On occasion Riley would have an odd job of boiling water for baths or even helping those who shaped metal with the intensity of his flames.

Water Magic
Clean water became hard to get when he was living in a rundown apartment. This is a magic that he's never really developed past filling a large bowl for quick cleaning or to drink.

Cleaning Magic
It's a quick and effective magic that instantly cleans any surface of any size of any substance. While it might be useful in being done as soon as possible it is also technically a huge waste of lifeforce. However, if one wanted to clean a multiple houses in a single day this is what they would use.

Symptoms
These are the side effects Riley suffers from after using magic. The more magic he uses, the worse his symptoms are.

Raw Meat Consumption
This is the most common symptom that a good portion of the magic wielder's population suffers. They have an intense desire and physical need for raw meat. If it isn't for raw meat then it's for blood. Should one ignore this symptom and go without eating meat absolutely raw, they will become extremely feverish, weak, clammy, nauseated, dizzy, and possibly death. Riley has only had this experience once before he knew what it meant to wield magic and it landed him in the hospital. Since then he has had raw meat in his diet but he is capable of eating other foods.

Scenting
Another change that isn't so easily noticed is a heightened sense of smell. This can be both a gift and a curse as Riley is capable of sniffing out others and can track them on smell alone. Or he can be absolutely bombarded with any number of horrible smells that seem so strong he can almost taste them. Much like anyone would, he does prefer things that smell good and tries to surround himself with them whenever possible.

Wolf
This is the most noticeable change as it does cause physical features to appear. For Riley the first thing to appear are a set of silver wolf ears that are perched on top of his head. These allow for more enhanced hearing but is a sure fire giveaway that he's used a great deal of magic. The second change is a silver and dark gray bushy tail protruding from the base of his spine - it is actually fairly painful when this happens but it's really only the beginning of the pain. Due to his prolonged use of magic, these two features are typically permanent for him as are the raw meat consumption and the scenting. Everything that follows are the changes that take place when he's too close to death.

After the tail growth come the eyes, they are usually silver in color but they become gold in appearance and his enhanced vision does get worse than it is normally. Things are blurry after 150 feet in contrast to his 200 feet of enhanced eyesight but it is better in the more darkened areas. He will no longer see in full color either, losing the most brilliant colors first such as red, yellow or blue. Next come the teeth which is the process of the canines become elongated and is extremely painful. Then his nails start to harden and almost seem to curl up. From then on it's usually a crapshoot of what limb starts to morph until it resembles that of a wolf. These usually gain fur immediately of a silver-gray color. The last physical feature is always the head and by the time they've completely undergone this change, the pain is so excruciating that they are extremely close to dying. The last thing to go is their mind, they might look like a wolf but they don't yet think like one - they can experience the horror of changing while keeping their own minds in the process. It might even take months for this last change to occur and some have gone completely insane in that time. After they go full wolf, death is the last remaining symptom. Their physical bodies are completely drained of lifeforce and they simply lay down and die.

Cures?

Medication
As of yet there has been no medical cure discovered to restore someone's lifeforce after it's been used up. Honestly, no one is looking for one either. Everyone is far too busy trying to develop space travel that they don't have time to worry about some people who were stupid enough to get involved with using magic.

Dark Magic
One known cure is to use dark magic to kill another person. By doing this it seems to transfer the lifeforce from the individual who was killed to the one who casted the spell. This must be replenished regularly as the lifeforce they gain from their victim is drained a lot faster as their own lifeforce tends to reject the foreign one. It doesn't matter if they attempt to never use magic again, they will still die an early death if they do not keep killing others and absorbing their lifeforce. This was how Riley was being kept alive for over a year and the first dark spell he ever cast was called Riax. It is a painful, torturous spell that does cause death but only after inflicting terrible wounds on the other individual. This spell acts like fire, burning a person from the inside out slowly. He has only used this spell once and it was to initially save his life after a murderous pack of other wolves had hold of his sister.

Shortly after gaining his first lifeforce replenishment, Riley immediately sought out another dark magic spell that would allow for quick and painless deaths. This one goes by the name of Zrip and it essentially rips the lifeforce from the intended target in one fatal swoop. No pain, no mess and over in an instant. Most don't even realize anything is wrong and they're dead before they even hit the ground.

Mate
There is only one way for a magic user to stay alive without having to rely on dark magic to steal the lifeforce of another and that is through having a mate. Most people aren't even aware that this is a possibility as it happens so rarely and is information lost to the ages but there is someone born into the world who is a perfect match for everyone. They can't be found through tests or chosen from a list of people who might be compatible - they just exist. When one finds their mate they will feel an instant connection - almost a jolt of electricity or a spark. It's followed by an intense need to be close to them, intimate even and they lose control. Once they have been inimate this desire will lessen but never truly go away completely. But finding and accepting a mate is how someone stays alive without needing to kill. It isn't an instant fix and it isn't permanent but rather than stealing lifeforce, they almost seem to create more. No one truly knows how or why this happens but some believe that the "spark" felt between a mated pair is the spark of life. That it is the creation of new lifeforce and it is shared willingly between the two through the act of intimacy (and blood for those who require it). This means that every time a mated pair share a night of passion, they are creating more lifeforce and will live longer. There are even stories that if they can avoid being killed, they will live forever. Of course people also say that if one of the pair is killed, the other will die soon after. But those are just stories, right?

Riley is one of the lucky few who has met his mate and can therefore sustain his lifeforce without having to resort to killing anymore. It is also capable of reversing some of his more extreme symptoms for a time and eventually he may even lose the ears and tail.

Alignment: Daimonia
Typically Riley would fall better under the Sosyne alignment but recent events in his life have made his grief to be one of the primary emotions. The loss of his little sister strikes him extremely deeply as she was someone he immensely cared for and he believes that he is the one who killed her. Joy is a little harder for him to find these days maybe even impossible on some days but he has to find something worth living for.

Other:

Writing
In a world like there is it important to note that Riley does actually know how to write and can do so quite well as his education was extremely good up until the age of fourteen.

Reading
Reading is also a skill he's developed from an early age and also has a great handle on it even if he will never understand every word to ever exist. After all, his education only goes so far and their world has a great deal of scientific minds.

Cooking
One skill that he absolutely excells in is cooking. Put a random set of ingredients in front of him and Riley can make a meal to die for.

⌈ SAMPLE SECTION ⌉
Sample: Test drive | Test drive thread | Other game log thread | Other game network thread

Questions: None

Edited 2016-11-04 20:50 (UTC)

While the application shows promise, there are a few things that either didn't quite meet our standards, were lacking, or incorrect. Fortunately we feel that this can be easily revised. Here are our concerns:

After reading through Riley's application, we noticed there were a few historical discrepancies between the two. For instance, although mentioned in Rliey's, Aiden's application doesn't mention trying to find the wolf who killed his parents. So we'd like for you to go through and make sure both applications mesh and just fill in any other points that were mistakenly missed.

Please submit your revisions as its own comment in reply to this one. You have one week to submit the revisions, otherwise we will consider it a revocation of your application. If you have any questions or concerns, ask away!

While the application shows promise, there are a few things that either didn't quite meet our standards, were lacking, or incorrect. Fortunately we feel that this can be easily revised. Here are our concerns:

Most of our concerns are regarding Rion's muteness. We are concerned that his condition, as described and developed in the sample, does not resemble the experience of real people who suffer that same condition. We need a further explanation of how this condition compares to typical muteness and any reasons where it might differs if so. This is especially so since his powers indicate that he would be able to sing, which is another thing we would like to see more about and how it relates to his condition.

We'd also like to note that because of his condition, he wouldn't be able to hear that inner voice as he's never heard it before and thus would have to construct something else on his own, be it using a voice he's heard before or sounds and imagery.

Please submit your revisions as its own comment in reply to this one. You have one week to submit the revisions, otherwise we will consider it a revocation of your application. If you have any questions or concerns, ask away!

Congratulations! You've been accepted to the game. Just follow the following steps and you'll be officially considered part of the game. Remember you have one week otherwise we will consider it a revocation of the application.

• Reply to this comment with the journal you will be joining with.
• We do require you to keep a copy of your application and/or an information post in your journal for easy player reference. In doing so, you are free to use one of our Profile Codes.
• Comment to the Taken list.
• When your journal is added by the mod journal, comment to the Player Contact list.
• Join

empatheias,

crystalnet, and

empatheias_ooc. They are all open membership so no approval required.
• Introduce yourself in our Player Intro post and start playing!

Optional:
• Review the Game Info, Emotions, Amulet, and Island information pages.
• Make sure you understand how the Network works. Remember, Empatheias uses telepathy as communication!
• Feel free to make a "Message Box" type post for any private messages that could be sent via messenger bird.

Please use the Character Introduction Log for your character intro. If you have any questions at any time, feel free to contact us! Have fun :D

While the application shows promise, there are a few things that either didn't quite meet our standards, were lacking, or incorrect. Fortunately we feel that this can be easily revised. Here are our concerns:

The history section was a bit difficult to read due to constant tense shifting and incorrect word choices. Thus to meet our standards of quality, we would only like for you to proofread and edit that section to fix the mistakes.

Please submit your revisions as its own comment in reply to this one. You have one week to submit the revisions, otherwise we will consider it a revocation of your application. If you have any questions or concerns, ask away!

No problem! I feel ridiculous for having left out such important details, but thank you for giving me a chance to fix that!

Here is a post that contains a revised section of his history, since I'm pretty sure it would have been too long for a comment.

Rion's muteness absolutely isn't the same as a typical person's muteness. The closest it would be compared to a real life person is an extreme form of selective mutism - though I know 'selective' implies the capability to speak at some points and not at others, but it's a psychological issue rather than a physical issue.

The reason he can't speak is due to a use of those powers when he was small. He has no recollection of this - his brain has blocked it out, but a tiny (approximately 2 year old) Rion triggered his powers and took out a portion of the house of his birth parents, which has resulted in his brain essentially shutting everything related to that down. That happens to include his actual ability to speak. There's nothing physiologically wrong with him, and a side effect of his particular power being triggered from his voice is that realistically, his voice box *should* have probably atrophied from a lack of use at this point, but is prevented from doing so by his set of powers.

Even if he does get into a crisis situation though where he does use his powers, he's not going to go from "inability to talk" to "magically talking", though. He won't be able to use most of his power set because he still actually has to learn how to talk, which would be an ordeal all on its own since he doesn't actually have any recollection of talking.

You're right that his powers indicate he would be able to sing at some point - he wouldn't be capable of using them until he'd gotten past that point, which is an ordeal that would take a significant amount of time and in-game deveopment before he would be able to. The point is, however, that functionally, everything is fine and once he's able to get past that block, he would be able to speak... he would just still have to learn how to do so. At no point would it go from "mute" to "magically able to talk".

As for the test drive - I asked another player if they thought it would be possible for him to do that and was either misinformed, or misinterpreted them. I have no problem with him using a different 'voice', or just sounds or thinking text at people, or any other potential communication method.

empatheias,

crystalnet, and

empatheias,

crystalnet, and

This is the journal I will be joining with!

Thank you!

This is the journal!

⌈ PLAYER SECTION ⌉
Player: Lylith
Contact: Lylith_st@yahoo.es | Or send me a PM | Plurk: lylith
Age: +18
Current Characters:N/A

⌈ CHARACTER SECTION ⌉
Character: Dray Lyell
Age: 25
OC Type: Pure OC
Point Taken: The same night the Red Bastion burns down and Dray escapes imprisonment.

World Building:

To make Dray's world more easy to understand, it's important to know the appearance and habits of his species first. Here it's explained the different kinds of Eidions that exist and how they behave among themselves. More visual information about them can be found here.

Dray’s world is separated into two planes. Arcadia, the land of the living, and Miktlan, the land of the Gods and the spirits where souls go to rest. Arcadia looks like a natural paradise, an immense valley with a jungle at its center, rivers and waterfalls, with rocky mountains surrounding it that form a natural barrier. Magic is a common thing, so are gods, spirits and all sorts of other fantastic creatures like dragons, elves, centaurs, chimeras…Most sentient races have their own mythology and pantheons but humans don't exist in this land.

There are four Holy Gates that connect the planes of Arcadia and Miktlan, and four monstrous Guardians that guard them. In the past, it was possible for all living creatures to travel between Arcadia and Miktlan to visit the spirits' world. After one of the twelve main Goddess was murdered by a visitor, her sisters ordered the doors to be closed forever. Now, only the souls of the departed can cross to the God's world.

Eidions and Guardians lived in different tribes and villages scattered across the valley, with a council of Queen Eidions in charge of each of them. With time, resentment among Guardians grown and they stated to debate why they should be ruled by those considered weaker than them. Tensions arose between families and tribes until one day a guardian attacked his parents and ate their hearts, turning into the first Ghoul to ever exist. That incident came to be known as the First Wave due to the spiral of violence and mistrust it started.

For years to come, Guardian and Edions tried to get over their rising differences to improve their relationships and find an equally balanced power society. The Council of Nacene, one of the Eidions’ Colonies, wanted to restore the previous status quo of power and seek the help of a Kreet, a dark magic user. In the end, their bad decisions lead to the assassination of the whole Council under the hands of a rogue guardian named Khye. The conflict escalated into a full-scale civil war known as the Second Wave, where battles and conflicts destroyed what was once a semi-peaceful existence.

Ten years later, the civil war is still going on, with no side having a real advantage or prospects to end it any time soon.

Backstory:

[CW: Mentions of kidnapping, sexual abuse and violence. The story focuses on the aftermath and what connects individuals as a family, but those events shapes the lives of the characters.]

When Dray was fifteen years old the Second Wave started, turning the conflict between Guardians and Eidions into a full scale civil war. A group of rogue Guardians, lead by a Ghoul named Nava Eyka, attacked his colony. They intended to destroy the Queen Eidions that had for so long had been controlling their lives. Dray seized from his family, whom he assumed was killed in the fray, and taken away to the High Mountains where the Guardians had developed militarized settlements.

Guardians devoured the hearts of Queens to evolve, it gave them power and made them Ghouls, and that was how Eyka came to exist. He didn’t want to lose his status as the leader of the new revolution, so he only allowed a few Guardians to change. He ordered the murder of the older Queens and only kept the young ones that still hadn’t developed their hive mind abilities. Controlling the surviving Queens ensured that he was the one in charge.

Dray was held captive in a settlement called the Red Bastion for 10 years, hidden mostly in isolation except when he had company during his heats. He developed a weak friendship with Poh, the Guardian in charge of being his guard, but their relationship was hindered by formality. Poh was younger than most other Guardians but capable, which was why he had been assigned the dull task of keeping an eye on their prisoner. He didn’t agree with the way Dray was treated, but he had little options himself due to their situation. Every now and then Dray convinced Poh to bring him books or tell him what was happening in the war.

Through the course of a decade, Dray gave birth to different twin guardians that were taken away from him right after their birth, no matter how much he tried to fight for them. They were all sent to different settlements. Eyka was hoping for another young Queen but it wasn’t until Dray was in his early twenties that he became pregnant with a single child. He was allowed to keep the baby with him for a month. Then, Nava Eyka himself came and took it away from Dray after a brief, violent fight between them. Realizing that his child was doomed to either be killed or become breeding stock was the last straw for Dray.

For ten years he had practiced what his parents had taught him about the Queen’s shared hivemind - what he could remember of it - and trained mentally. For ten years he had been unwillingly sharing blood and other body fluids with different Guardians of the Bastion and developed influence over them. For ten years he had bottled up his anger.

It wasn’t pretty when Dray finally let it out.

When Dray's attack started, Eyka gave the baby Queen to a Guardian that wasn’t under Dray’s influence and told him to run away to the settlement in the Cloud Forest. He stayed in The Red Bastion, battling the Guardians that were now attacking each other after to Dray commanded them to. Dray ordered Poh to open his cell and leave as soon as possible while he raided the fortress looking for his child. He made sure no Guardian he had influence over attacked Poh, but Dray also told him that he never wanted to see him again or he would make Poh walk off a cliff.

No matter how much he tried, Dray couldn’t find his baby or any other Queen Eidion that might have been imprisoned in the Bastion. He was forced to leave after the main tower in the settlement caught on fire. Heading down the mountains, Dray retreated into the forest but was still being followed closely by a pack of Guardians who weren’t influenced by his powers. On the brink of passing out from exhaustion, he fled into the Tryad’s territory. Dray was hoping that the risk of infuriating the Tryads would dissuade the Guardians from following him. He found shelter in a small pit house in the woods and hid there for two days.

Avin Zatoq, the Tryad responsible for guarding the border, wasn’t pleased to find an Eidion in his second house. Two days before Avin had to fight off the Guardians that had come into their land and he was aware that they were looking for someone. Taking pity on him, Avin told Dray that he would let him go without repercussions but that he had to leave the next day. That night, Dray tricked Avin into making an Oath to help him. Oaths were sacred to Tryads, they had to keep them to maintain their honour and position among their clan.

Less than happy, but with no other option, Avin took Dray to his pack and into his first house. The other Tryads in the Colony were used to doing trade and commerce with Eidions but didn’t approve of outsiders living among them. Most of the time Dray kept to himself and focused on training his hive mind abilities, hoping to locate others like him. Sometime later, one of the Tryad’s best fighters, Vaaros Barh, came to ask for help with his newborns because his wife had passed away and he had no idea how to take care of pups so young. Dray took care of them and later helped other Tryads who were expecting or had very young infants. That helped to reduce the mortality among Tryads’ children, which was quite high, and they started to accept Dray.

As weeks went by, different Guardian groups were looking for the escaped Queen Eidion and searching other small villages. Dray’s powers had become more accurate and he managed to track down his baby’s hivemind signature as well as some other presence he couldn't decipher just yet. He left the Tryad’s territory to go looking for it and met Cara Ree, another Eidion that had found the baby the night the Red Bastion was destroyed.

Cara Ree was an outsider among the Eidions for his accidental contribution to the start of the war. He wasn’t part of any Colony and lived on his own by the edge of the forest. Months before he had seen smoke caused by the Red Bastion burning and approached the outskirts to investigate. On the way there he found two Guardians that had killed each other in a fight, and a crying baby: Dray’s child. Cara knew that bringing the baby Queen Eidion to his old Colony could earn him forgiveness and he might be accepted back. But the other Eidions didn’t know how to raise a Queen any better than he did, and he didn’t want the pup to become a political tool. He decided to keep it and nicknamed it Baby for the time being, raising it alongside his partner Khye, a Guardian Eidion who left his own colony the same year Cara Ree lost his own.

Dray resented Khye and believed that he would turn on them to gain Nava Eyka’s favor. It was Cara’s willingness to protect the child with his life and to return it to Dray, once he realized he was Baby’s parent, that cemented his trust in the pair. Cara and Khye lived together and had been helping two other young Eidions, Taron and Gala Noz. The teenagers had been on their own since they were young, when their original colony was destroyed. A few weeks before Cara Ree found Baby, the teens had been attacked by a Chimera and Cara had healed their injuries. They became friends and stayed together since then.

His early childhood memories were vague, but after meeting Taron it didn’t take him long for him to make the connection that he was his missing brother. Gala was also an unforgettable friend because all the trouble they had caused together as kids. After being reunited, Dray and Taron decide to stay together and join Cara Ree’s group. Dray freed Avin from his oath, telling him that he wouldn’t be his problem any more. However, while Dray was saying goodbye to the Tryads, a group of Guardians found Taron and noticed Dray’s scent on him. Taron was taken to what was left of the Red Bastion and an injured Nox was left behind to warn Dray that, if he wanted to see his brother, he would have to come back to the Guardian’s settlement. Unwilling to let his brother suffer the same treatment that he did, Dray asked Cara Ree to take care of Baby while he went to confront Eyka.

Gala Nox and Cara Ree refuse to let him go alone. Khye tried to reason with them, telling them it was a suicide mission. When Cara Ree put his foot down and Khye realized there was no changing the Eidion’s mind, he offered to go with Dray instead. He argued that they didn’t know what they were dealing with and someone had to take care of Baby if something happened to Dray. Cara Ree begrudgingly agreed to stay behind.

Avin offered to help as well but Dray refused to let him get involved, he had gotten Avin in enough trouble already. Then the Tryad explained to Dray that because he was coerced to make the Oath without intending to, his vow was not a valid one. Back then, he had no obligation to help Dray. He did it because Avin actually liked him, and that was why he wanted to help him now. Eventually, Dray, Khye and Avin headed to the Red Bastion.

Cara Ree, too worried about them to sit back and wait for the outcome, decided to visit the Kreet. They were a mysterious species, healers and warlocks of the occult, that years ago played a big role in Cara Ree's fall from grace and the start of the war. Knowing that they had a blood debt with the Eidions, the Kreet had been expecting him to come to collect it one day, demanding the life of one of their own. Cara Ree had no intention of doing something like that and for years had tried to avoid even thinking about the Kreet. Instead, he asked for the warlocks to make Eyka and all the other Ghouls mortal, since they were virtually unkillable. The Kreet deemed it a fair demand and complied.

Back in the red Bastion, the group had tried to use Dray’s knowledge of the fortress to sneak in unnoticed, but the Guardians were waiting for them and had set up different traps. They were saved by Varoos, who had heard about what happened and came to help alongside others members of his clan that Dray had helped in the past. They weren’t going to let one of their own fight alone. A battle broke out and Khye, who had turned into his beast form, killed Eyka with Dray’s help. Finding themselves without a leader, the few remaining Guardians stopped fighting, looking up at Khye for guidance. He told them that it was up to them to make their own decisions and choose what they wanted to do with their lives. Khye also warned them that if they wanted to stir up more trouble, then he would kill them without a second though.

The guardians were left behind in The Red Bastion to figure out their future on their own, while the Tryads, Avin, Dray and Khye went back home. Dray decided to raise Baby with Cara Ree and their respective partners, Avin and Khye, knowing that if something happened to one of them, the others would take care of the kids. The war was still going on. Their conflict hadn’t ended, but the remaining Ghouls all across the valley were now able to be killed and news travelled fast.

Personality:

Dray is emotional but charming, often gullible and demanding. Very, very curious, too, like all cats tend to be and because being locked away for ten years makes you highly interested in the outside world. This, of course, leads him to be drawn to anything that’s aesthetically pleasing or noteworthy and often also gets him in trouble. Any activity that helps him pass the time is of great interest to him and he’s very excited about learning new things.

Just because he’s been locked away most of his life doesn’t mean he’s stupid. Knowledge and intelligence are two different things. Given his confinement and interrupted education, Dray doesn't know about many things that might be common knowledge, but he is highly intelligent and uses his instincts to make decisions. One of the reasons why the Guardian's plans to keep him locked up backfired on them so spectacularly was because no one expected Dray's memory to be so dependable or for him to be so skilled with the few things he had available. He’s a fast learner, usually a good judge of character, and capable of recognizing danger when he sees it.

He’s concerned about his appearance and might come out looking more shallow that he actually is. The only times Dray bothers to get dressed is at the request of others and because he’s excessively sensitive to criticism or disapproval. When he lived in the Red Bastion, disapproval meant he got beaten up for going against his captor's wishes and, while Dray still fought with them, he had learned to play along when it looked like it wasn’t worth the trouble.

He has a deep need to feel close to people and a strong sex drive. For the last ten years most of his experiences interacting with others had involved sexual contact, unrequired or not, and normal interactions were scarce, ignored or trampled upon. That led to Dray coping with a dysfunctional system in a dysfunctional way. He thinks that if he's not getting attention, there must be something wrong with him.

He shows sign of histrionic personality disorder, but focused mostly on his partner rather than a larger group. He doesn’t want everyone’s attention, but he wants his current partner to be focused on him and his needs. The idea that the only way to get attention is by exploiting himself is ingrained in his mind. Dray becomes depressed and upset if he feels like he’s losing the interest of the person he’s bonding with, or if he’s feeling unworthy. Dray controls his partners through emotional manipulation or provocative behaviour while at the same time being dependent on them on another level. He’s not always consciously aware that he’s behaving that way, he’s just trying to survive using what had worked for him so far.

Dray doesn’t regret using sexual manipulation because when he was trapped in the Red Bastion it was the only leverage he had, the only way to ensure his life wouldn't get any worse.

Mostly, Dray needs reassurance. He's so consumed by the idea that he's worth nothing that sometimes he gets grouchy, needy and highly anxious. Because of his time in captivity, sex is the first thing on his mind when it comes to being useful. His assortment of issues and PTSD mixed with his low self-esteem blend together to create a constant need for attention. Sex gives him the illusion of emotional closeness and boosts his self-esteem.

Avin is aware of Dray’s manipulative ways and tries to help Dray to see himself as a person rather than something to be used. That said, it's not like Dray wants to have sex all the time. In the Red Bastion he rarely had visits that didn't end that way; now that he's free it's taking him a while to adjust to the idea that some people might want his company because they like to spend time with him. Avin wasn’t used to having a partner like Dray, but as their relationship progressed the Tryad started to become aware his moods and reacted accordingly. That helped Dray understand that it's okay to say no, that he's more than just a body, and that sharing a bed with someone can happen just for the sake of sleeping near your loved ones. In essence, his relationship works because Avin learned how to stop being a solitary grouch and Dray was able to grow into his own person.

Dray, who reacts badly when someone gets between his child and him (that being his berserk button), surprisingly warmed up almost immediately to Cara Ree. They both had their offspring taken away from them, they had been shaped beyond repair by the experiences and they are very protective of the youngsters. From one mother to another, they get each other.

It’s worth noting that while Avin, as well as meeting Cara Ree, helps Dray’s emotional growth and maturity, it doesn’t miraculously make his issues go away. Dray’s a very emotionally compromised person with long-lasting trauma and will never truly be able to get over the years of imprisonment and abuse. He understands desperation and the need for survival but he won't forgive what the Guardians did to him and his children. However, Dray understands why the war started and how both sides were wronged. That's also why he mostly avoids other members of his own species, even regular Eidions.

Issues aside, he’s generally kind, easy to get along with and very protective of those he cares about, especially children. He might be wary and shy around strangers and new environments, but he grows out of it pretty quickly if he feels he’s safe and that people aren’t going to try to trick him. Because he owned nothing when he lived in the Colony, not even his own life, he's defensive of the little possessions he has and overprotective when it comes to people.

He wants to see the world, experience new things and grow as a person but at the same time he’s afraid of it. Living in The Red Bastion was an occasional nightmare but it also meant that he had shelter, regular food and was relatively safe from threats. The world outside meant freedom but it was also really big and scary. Sometimes Dray gets tired of being social, being outdoors, and likes to hide in a place he considers safe and save up his energy.

Dray rarely loses his temper, when he does the most primal parts of his personality take over. Eidions are, after all, more animal than anything else. He will claw, bite and aim to maim his enemy in the worse possible way. He dislikes killing and will show mercy, unless his foe is trying to hurt his offspring or any other young creature. When that happens, his need to protect overcome his insecurities. As an example: Vaaros Barh came to Avin’s house asking for help when he discovered that an Eidion was in his house. He didn’t know how to take care of his newborn children after their mother had died during childbirth. Upon seeing the babies, Dray growled at Vaaros, who was known for being one of the strongest and biggest fighters in the Tryad’s clan, and took the children from his hands to take care of them. Needless to say, that didn’t sit well with Vaaros. But Dray put his foot down and the Tryads were impressed at how someone who was half their size could adamantly protect their babies. The misunderstanding was cleared up soon enough and Dray helped to keep the babies alive and nursed them back to health. Thanks to that, the rest of the Tryads started accepting him as part of their tribe.

He has many fears, too. First and foremost is the fear that his children will be lost forever or hurt, suffering the same fate he did or worse. The fear that he will be caught and locked away again is deeply rooted in him. He’s terrified of fire because his village was burned down during the Guardian’s attack. Just seeing smoke makes him uneasy. Most of all, he’s scared of being deemed useless and being alone. Deep in his soul, he longs to form stronger bonds with people and a peaceful existence.

Abilities:

He has the regular Eidion abilities:

- Accelerated healing, perfect night-vision and keen hearing. Regular Eidions and Queens are also extremely fast because their survival depends on it.

- Eidions are builders and highly imaginative. They can climb anything and build nests everywhere if they have the time and raw materials. Dray also has a very good memory, and an incredible eye for detail.

Abilities specific to Queen Eidions:

- Hive mind / bond telepathy [Only works with members of his species]: His most special ability without a doubt. They can create mental links with Guardians they have shared fluids with (blood, semen, vaginal fluids and breast milk, but not saliva), or who are their direct relatives. The ability allows Queens to influence other individuals, calm them or inspire them, as well as demoralize them or enrage them.

If their bond is strong enough, they can control the individual’s actions. The hivemind makes them natural leaders but can cause mistrust and resentment. The resentment is totally justified, some corrupted Queen Eidions used it for their own benefit instead of for their community.

Alignment:

Piphron: distrust and trust | Dray has been hurt plenty of times in the past as in naturally wary but he's longing to make deeper connections with people. It's because he learns to put his faith in the new friends he meets that he's able to grow as a person and let go of the past, so this is the alignments that suits him best right now.

⌈ SAMPLE SECTION ⌉
General Sample: Test Drive | A conversation with Thace.

Emotion Sample: Test Drive | Options E-2: Dray's negative emotions affect the environment (temperature dropping, frost...)

While the application shows promise, there are a few things that either didn't quite meet our standards, were lacking, or incorrect. Fortunately we feel that this can be easily revised. Here are our concerns:

Your application is very thorough! However, we would like to see a different sample, as the current one is a bit too hard to follow due to the thread's format (multiple conversations at once).

Additionally, we have a question about an aspect of Dray's character. Sexual activities are perfectly fine and allowed in the game, but you mention in his personality his need for sex as a coping mechanism. We were wondering how that was going to play out or be worked with in a game like Empatheias, where such needs aren't really stressed as a whole. We do also allow minors to join into the game, so there would likely need to be a permission post depending on how it's done.

Please submit your revisions as its own comment in reply to this one. You have one week to submit the revisions, otherwise we will consider it a revocation of your application. If you have any questions or concerns, ask away!

Hello, good day!

Here are a few more examples of Dray interacting with people, they're mostly from bakerstreet and the last one it's only from a sex game because a friend of mine wanted to test her other muse but no real sex is involved at all:

- Clothes are overrated
- This is why cats and alcohol shouldn't mix
- New meetings

If you need a different example of Kay's way of thinking rather than him interacting with others, I can write it from scratch.

As for his need for sex, I wasn't really going to focus on that in Empatheias, I would like to explore other parts of his personality more, like his need to see the world and working on his trust towards new people. Dray is flirty to a point of course, and I was already thinking about making a permission/opt-out post in his journal due to his background. That wouldn't be a problem. If in game anything turned too explicit, it would be labeled appropriately or moved to Dray's own journal.

empatheias,

crystalnet, and

empatheias_ooc. They are all open membership so no approval required.
• Introduce yourself in our Player Intro post and start playing!

Optional:
• Review the Game Info, Emotions, Amulet, and Island information pages.
• Make sure you understand how the Network works. Remember, Empatheias uses telepathy as communication!
• Feel free to make a "Message Box" type post for any private messages that could be sent via messenger bird.

All that sounds good with us!

Please use the Character Introduction Log for your character intro. If you have any questions at any time, feel free to contact us! Have fun :D

Thank you! This is the journal for Dray. I'll have the op-out permission post soon and I already had the app in Kay's journal here. He already has an IC contact/message box here.

⌈ PLAYER SECTION ⌉
Player: Kalyn
Contact: Plurk: Lordlings, AIM: Lordception
Age: 25
Current Characters: n/a

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[ application: original characters ]

Part 2

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Riley | Original Character

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Dray Lyell | OC

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Winnifred Prismall | OC 1/2