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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.
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!
• 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: Canons A-M | Canons N-Z
• When your journal is added by the mod journal, comment to the Player Contact list.
• Join
• Introduce yourself in our Player Intro post and start playing!
Optional:
• Review the Game Info, Emotions, Amulet, and Island information pages.
• Check the monthly mod post for some announcements and an idea of what's in store for the month.
• 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.
• Check this month's plotting post.
• Follow the mod plurk for game announcements.
• Join the game's Discord chat. You can join it by following the link here.
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
Re: Accepted!