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[ application: original characters ]
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—
The following would not be allowed:
Before applying, please be sure to read the following:
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!
⌈ 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:
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:
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:
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:
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: 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.
Zivis | Guild Wars 2 (MMO OC)
Player: Mikki
Contact:
Age: 29
Current Characters: Finn (
Re: Zivis | Guild Wars 2 (MMO OC)
Character: Zivis
Age: 2, mentally 20 [11 of Scion, 1327 (July 11th)]
OC Type: MMO-OC
Point Taken: Zivis is taken from current gameplay, 1330—present day. Only this is after the current chapter of Living Story 3.5 (briefly summarized here via game), since this release is still relatively new (as of 5/2) I can give a summary of what transgressed in the White Mantle attacks and the Flashpoint release if necessary. However, since she isn't part of these conflicts, it's rather unnecessary other than context of how her race is received.
World Building: Zivis is part of a very young race (less than 30 years) called the Sylvari on a world named Tyria.
Backstory: Zivis Awoke during the hot summer months, just as Living Story 2 kicked off and at this time Leyline magic, the magic that controls the Waypoints, is given a hard metaphorical kick to the gonads. This is the "doorbell" to Mordremoth waking up and beginning to call his minions back to him. She instead only heard the siren call of the water in the early dawn, they were only able to keep her on land for a few hours before she was getting more than her feet wet. All throughout her Dream she found herself wanting to know more about the water, more about the life that lived down there. And most importantly, if they could ever make friends with the Krait. Zivis spends every waking moment that she can in the water except when being on land is a necessity. Like when the stormy season is at its peak and the waters are extremely rough. She can pretty much count the times she's been on land on two hands, as such she has a sort of reverse "land legs" going on.
One of the few times she ventured onto land was when she was about a year old because of Mirlowe, a Sylvari mesmer who was Soundless like herself and talented in a sort of singing-mind manipulation. Mirlowe was singing along the shore near one of the Soundless havens and spotted Zivis swimming nearby, enthralled with her song. The older Sylvari beckoned her nearer and eventually got a flighty Zivis to put her head on the other's lap, starting their lovely companionship. However, even Mirlowe wasn't able to bring Zivis more than fifty feet away from the waterline, the elementalist preferring to stay close to what she considered her home. The mesmer is always telling Zivis tales of the ships and sailors she’s brought to their doom, Zivis never can tell if they're true or not.
Most of her time passes with learning what kind of life, plant and animal, lives in the bodies of water. Obviously any body of water that can carry life as well as hold her own body under the water sustainably for the duration of her learning. She's spent the majority of her two years searching the waters of Caledon Forest, trying to find a way to make friends with the Krait. Though many of her endeavours have turned out...not all that great. Several times she made it back to the small cave she keeps as a home with minor injuries. Zivis used her magic mostly to protect herself, to keep them from coming after her, but never to harm them. She hoped that somewhere it would strike a chord with the Krait, that she never attacked them. Perhaps that they would some day treat her with kindness as well.
It was part of her Dream that has her so wrapped up in trying to make friends with them, in the Dream it was possible, so she got stuck on that along with trying to learn everything she can about the water. Her very first encounter...well, she was perhaps a bit too naive and thought it would have been just as easy in real life as it was in the Dream. She was horribly wrong. Zivis encountered an adult Krait Witch and tried to make a non-threatening greeting which only got halfway finished before the female Krait threw out a net and summoned her piranha to attack the unprepared Sylvari. By the time Zivis managed to pull her trident out, she was already bleeding from various cuts, and managed to use her water skills to push herself back, putting a icy wall between her and the Krait. And while she could have shattered the wall and damaged the witch, she chose instead to shoot herself away with Tidal Wave, healing herself as well. Her confidence in making friends was roughly shaken that day as she slowly swam her way home to her seaweed bed in a small cave. It was a few days before she managed to make her way back out again, spending time nursing her wounds and her pride.
As a result of her trying to make friends with someone who considers the other races the enemy, she's only just now gotten to the last watered area of the Forest. One that she's put off considering the kind of people that live in the Wychmire Swamp, the Nightmare Court. One of those most recently turned towards their teachings is a Sylvari she's somewhat adopted through their very few meetings. A male Sylvari named Almos who has very few friends aside from a pet rock because the pollen he releases often causes those it comes in contact with to fall asleep. Zivis, staying primarily in water, has no issue with this since she'll routinely duck herself under the surface to "rinse off" every once and awhile. They happened to meet by chance while he was gathering seashells for decoration and she was simply curious. Much to the dismay (or annoyance) of Mirlowe, Zivis was fond of Almos to the point of sometimes trailing after him along the coast just to make sure he was okay. He in turn, keeps her from feeling lonely, mostly him talking and her listening but for them it works. It's how she learned that Almos drifted towards the Nightmare Court, but in return for the sense of family their friendship provides he manages to keep the Court from trying to take her from her beloved waters.
It was Almos' turning towards the Court that instigated the changing of her colors, though seeing as how Mordremoth was being slain by the Commander and the broken Destiny's Edge and yet-to-be forged Dragon's Watch, that could also be a contributing factor. Her coloration deepened in color from the pale green to pastel blues, pinks, and purples with only a hint of the green lingering in her hair. During this time she felt very sad and disconnected with the water, it was one of the longer times she spent out of the water and perhaps that's why her body chose its new coloration. To bring the water back to her and she back to it, as it drew her like a siren's call once Almos was settled in. Where as before the Nightmare Court was something to be feared, now she sees a similar dark beauty to them like she sees with the Krait.
She holds no inward illusions about trying to become friends with them, aside from Almos' lady friend, or pulling them towards the Dream once more. But for now Zivis contents herself with finishing the last bit of watered areas in the Forest before moving on. While she wasn't able to make friends with the Krait particular to Caledon Forest, there are plenty of other groupings, and plenty of opportunities. Not to mention a lifetime of learning everything she can about the life under the water. It will take her a while to travel from place to place but eventually she'll have all of discovered Tyria uncovered and perhaps eventually find a group of Krait not like their dangerous kin, or at least willing to make friends.
For her pull point, she's come across another Krait built tower and is attempting to rescue the Hylek, one of the race that the Krait often capture, from their cages. Zivis was able to rescue at least two of them and was working on the third when she was shoved from behind into the newly opened cage by a Krait Slaver.
Personality: When Zivis first Awoke, she was filled with doubt and mistrust about most of the main races. Humans and Asura mostly, followed by the Charr and Norns respectively, even her own race she was cautious about approaching. Not that her Dream had been filled with warnings against them or anything, she just felt too uncomfortable being on land and with those that seemed so at ease there. If it were someone who had a fondness for the sea or was a sailor, she'd be more inclined to trust them and be less cautious about her approach.
Mirlowe was able to lure her in with sea shanty songs and Almos' careful collection of sea shells drew her to them. Mirlowe became a very close companion to her, not quite a lover status but definitely the beginnings of what accounts for being girlfriends. The other most likely taking it slow for the sake of not scaring off Zivis, which more than likely wouldn't be from distrust but more of it being something entirely new that she's not encountered before. With Almos it's a kinship in the way that she cares for him like a younger brother, though her adoption of him is more like a mother-son sort of relationship. So you could say that her color shift was a reaction to finding that he'd given up on the Dream or the ability to return to it if he was Soundless like herself and Mirlowe—not a negative reaction at all, but more like a sad acceptance? After all, turning to Nightmare meant that either you lived or died with the Court and its teachings.
But as she grew more comfortable around the two, so did her comfort zone, soon extending to those on The Weeping Isle and Wychmire Swamp, even if she still didn't go on shore very often. But once you get past the part of her that's cautious, she ends up being a very light-hearted and emotive sort of person even with the mask on. While she doesn't play pranks or anything of that sort, Zivis does tend to help lead jokes on so long as she's not the receiver. Or she'll end up throwing some kind of harmless flirting into things, all in the name of good fun. Sometimes when the right situation hits with her flirting, she sometimes ends up going a little further than she's prepared for. She's not yet had one of these situations, but it's likely that she'll end up pleading out that she didn't know where it was going. Her confidence as a whole comes out more clearly when she's in her natural element, in the water, where she'll attempt her best to share her knowledge with those that will "listen" to her. Sometimes it's clear to her that people get frustrated with her inability to speak so she tries to keep things very simple.
Probably another reason why she doesn't overly socialize, they get frustrated and then she gets frustrated. It doesn't deter her love for the water though and the life that is surrounded by it, Zivis tries to learn anything she can. She finds that she learns something new every time she comes upon a plant or a lifeform in the water, even if she's encountered it before there's always the chance to learn something more about it. In a way Zivis is what anyone in our world would call the eternal student. And sure, she could be a little selfish about this knowledge, but referencing the above, frustration is easily reached when your abilities to communicate are very limited and you prefer not to heal the damage. Which is why she is slowly trying to learn how to write the native language of New Krytan, though so far her efforts in gaining a teacher for this haven't gotten very far.
Partially this stems from her distrust of others, but once she is friends with someone there's a certain amount of gullibility that leaks into things with the trust she has in them. Any of the stories about the ships on the sea that Mirlowe tells, she believes every one even if they're just a popular legend that she hadn't heard yet. Almos she'd probably follow into dangerous situations believing that some sort of good was going to come of it or that he couldn't possibly be asking her to do the wrong thing. (Which, he probably would never do, knowing even though she's Soundless, she still wants to do the right thing.) Still, in the end, she does have a strong sense of self-preservation, she's always ready to defend herself and she prides herself on her skills to defend herself and others without killing. One day it's likely to get her seriously hurt or even killed, but for now it gets what she needs to accomplish done—survival of herself, the rare encounter with others while danger is around, and the Krait she's trying to befriend.
Zivis errs on defense before offense, and in a lot of ways it's saved her life, but it's only a matter of time before her ideals of trying just to disarm do her in. Even if it isn't the Krait or some other aggressive water-based race, eventually she'll have to attack. Attack to do harm or actually kill. It's something—when thought of—makes her mildly uncomfortable. The thought of killing someone else, something sentient, makes her feel ill. Probably another reason why she'd never really make it inside the Nightmare Court. No, she would rather suffer the injuries or being captured/killed herself than harm or kill someone else.
The Nightmare Court probably wouldn't stand for her being easily distracted by things that involve her passion, either. The slightest glimpse of something new and whatever it was she was previously committed to is left slowly sinking in the water to the bottom of the floor. She does eventually come back to it, once curiosity is sated, but be it what she assumes is a new fish or plant. Within reason, of course, so if the situation itself isn't the safest she'll attempt to come back to it later on. But there's still those few seconds where all her focus is on that new "thing" that might prove to be her undoing at some point. Or it might save her, should the opportunity be safe enough for her to go investigate.
Re: Zivis | Guild Wars 2 (MMO OC)
As a Sylvari, she has an inherent night time glow (pink) that occurs from dusk until dawn and fades in and out, however her blood itself is like yellow sap and she sheds pollen when she moves. The inside of her mouth glows as do the pads of her hands and feet! As a plant-based people, Sylvari are able to communicate with most plant life and direct them as needed such as re-creating a bridge across a gap or directing seed turrets to grow quickly in the field of battle. As such she's also able to grow her own clothes should she need to though it's a slower process, as would be regrowing a limb if necessary however it takes such a long time that needing to regrow a limb is an undesired necessity. (So no wanted limb loss for her!) Zivis has obviously not extended this "healing" ability of her people nor that of her elementalist state to try and fix her vocal cords, signifying that she's content with them as they are. And her abilities with plant manipulation is stronger with those that reside in/on the surface of bodies of water.
Zivis has completely changed her colors once before, something she's not likely to do while in game but it possibly can happen under duress. Here is her former appearance and this is what she looks like today, this ability is again, one wholly unique to the Sylvari people. Those Sylvari that turned—or gave in—to Mordremoth changed their colors to reflect the dragon's own designs. Sylvari eat and drink just like any other race would, the sunlight only rejuvenates them. Heat and cold don't seem to bother her race and she's stronger against cold temperatures being in the water all the time.
Sylvari also share something called the Dream, a way that they're all connected to one another, sharing stories and things that they learn to those yet Unawoken. They continue to share this connection with other sylvari and the Pale Tree after they Awake but it is often weaker than while within the Dream. Zivis, however, drifted away from the Dream and the connections she once had to it, becoming what the Sylvari call Soundless. Their presence in the Dream is barely there, if at all, but it's not turning against the principles of the Dream like Nightmare Courtiers. Their minds are quiet, without the "chatter" of connection to other Dreamers, a state which most achieve with daily meditation and Zivis does with "drowning" herself in the waters.
She is also a very strong swimmer though she does tend to stay out of the ocean's stronger currents, it wouldn't be at all unusual for to take off in what one would call a "Leeroy Jenkins" jump into a rocky water base and come out relatively unscathed. For pretty much living in the water since the day she Awoke, Zivis is very familiar with the currents and riptides and any kind of water based "movement" you could think of. The more dangerous ones, again, she tends to avoid but that doesn't mean she's not familiar with how to deal with them, she just chooses to err on the side of caution. Zivis is a plant-based Sylvari as opposed to a bark-based and while it still gives her limbs a bit more rigidity than normal human skin and bone, her body is much like trying to break a plant of the same thickness, very hard to do but not impossible.
During Living Story 2 it's discovered that the main reason Zhaitan cannot corrupt Sylvari into Risen is that they are another dragon's minions. A dragon that has begun to awaken due to Scarlet's tampering with Leyline magic, a dragon named Mordremoth. He (most of the dragons are referred to as he, the only exception is a non-elder dragon named Glint) in turn summons all those Sylvari that would listen to him and turn towards him, away from the Dream or the Court, and serve him instead. After his death, it is widely assumed by the player-base that any Sylvari previously caught up in this is freed but left somewhat unstable or insane.
Alignment: I feel that Aiada would be an appropriate Arehtei for Zivis. She has an overwhelming appreciation for sealife and any life really. She’ll do what she can to keep others safe, even...if sometimes they’re a misunderstood enemy…? *coughKraitcough* Any kind of envy she feels is more towards anyone’s ability to live so easily on land.
Other: She'll be coming with her scepter/dagger combo, the clothes on her back, her underwater air-filtration device, and glittering wings backpiece.
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:
test drive link
test drive link with soushi
test drive link with peter/starlord
I will say that with these samples, Zivis shows a large amount of growth in how she trusts. This was done with the intent of the character having been in the game for a while and initial shock has worn off. I'll be doing something more original to her personality in the emotion sample.
Emotion Sample:
She'd been in Verens—or more accurately, Lake Niras—for over a month, yet she still hadn't been able to find her way. The disconnection from the Dream, while already weak on Tyria, was completely broken here. The time she'd usually spent at home deep in the waters trying to distance herself from the Dream had first been filled with exploring the lake and contributing rivers. With all the free time she had now...well, it only took her two weeks. This last one had been rather long, the thrill of a new area had worn off and she found herself...missing her friends. Even though they'd never really stayed together all the time, she knew she could at least contact them.
The water around her grew colder the longer she pined for her friends or at least some kind of contact! There were nice people here, that she would agree with, but at the same time? They weren't people that would understand her, not without a million questions. Oh, how she took for granted living in Caledon Forest, surrounded by her own kind and the only questions asked were "why are you always in the water?" The area around her grew darker now was well, not that Zivis paid any mind to it, the cold or the darkness; though more and more of the native sea life took care to avoid her.
That she noticed, the water going colder still, turning it into a icy slush. Her arms and legs move more sluggishly in the water, her constant motion to keep herself steady in the water bringing her attention to the difficulties in keeping afloat.
This was...new.
After the initial shock, the forceful swim back and quick glance around to look for a possible enemy? She finds not a single lifeform around her, at least not one with malicious intent. The slushy water in front of her was darker than everything else around it and was slowly sinking down into the deeper waters without her keeping it stable. Curious now, more than startled, Zivis follows the clump of semi-frozen water. At least until she gets distracted by the disappearing shimmer of a rather large fish tail.
The Sylvari pulls up short, glancing down the mouth of one of the rivers that feeds into the lake. Head tilted to the side, she swims towards the opening, ignoring the slush that's slowly dissolving below her. Zivis wishes not for the first time that she had her trident with her as she reflexively reaches for it. A stream of bubbles slip out of her mask as it vents her earlier frustrations and she shakes her head, using the annoyance to fuel her swimming. The mouth of the river was lighter than the waters she was currently in, but still deep enough that it allowed for hefty vessels to navigate them. She passed under a few of those boats in pursuit of the large fin she'd spotted earlier.
She shivers as the temperature further in gets warmer, the difference becoming more noticeable in the brighter waters. Shadows from trees and shapes above start playing tricks on her eyes and once or twice she finds herself darting after what she thought was the large fish only it turns out to be a sail of a sunken vessel. The second one seems...newer than the other and she squints at it, noting the lack of growth of any sea moss or fishes using it as shelter. Hands on the railing she drums her fingers, wondering if it was worth swimming into the open hatch to see what was inside. Perhaps something to identify the owners so they could pull it out if it wasn't an intentional sinking.
But even as she goes for the hatch, something large darts out of it, the whirlwind of its speed knocking her to the side. The surprise of it all sends bubbles bursting all around her in the water, tinged with a bit of heat at the annoyance that went with it. Zivis righted herself and looked around once again, this time for the fish, only to once again be left with nothing at all to be seen. Beneath her mask she frowns, the water around her turning rosy with determination. This fish would not be able to escape her that easily, it could bet its fin on that!
Questions: Zivis is mute vocally and I'd like for her to stay that way, so if we could do no healing! ♥
Accepted!
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Re: Accepted!