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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.
Roxanne Monroe | OC - Part 1
Player: Val
Contact:
Age: 28
Current Characters: N/A
Character: Roxanne Monroe
Age: 20 years old
OC Type: Pure OC
Point Taken: Eight months after being rescued, prior to meeting Sofia Sinclair.
World Building:
Roxanne exists in a universe that mirrors Earth, only set in the near future but with more advanced technology mixing with what's more familiar. It's a world that's still transitioning to a sleek, utopian future more commonly seen in science fiction movies. Her world faces similar issues to the real world and similar names and concepts (websites like Facebook, Youtube, and Google for example), with different fictional franchises, brand names, famous people, (although some still exist like Nike, Adidas, and many Hollywood names) and even alternate histories. Roxanne and the people of Earth are still unaware of the existence of other universes that's being monitored by a non-governmental society, who secretly use and carefully integrate the knowledge they gather from these other worlds to improve Earth's current science and technology. Roxanne and her friends only caught a glimpse of the entire conspiracy, with their magical abilities (called Resonance) unlocked and used in their vigilante war against similarly powered criminals who also take advantage of the other worlds.
Roxanne and her friends face against an international crime group with many names, such as Saint Slayers or the Farano mafia (different and unassociated with the non-governmental society called the Spiral Consortium) who deals in trafficking aliens who accidentally find themselves in Earth, being sold in the underground market. Mythical creatures like mermaids, centaurs, and elves for example are being kidnapped by this group. The police are always out of their depth due to being kept in the dark by the existence of the supernatural, which is where Roxanne and her group come in to help liberate these captured entities and help them find their way home. Later on getting the attention of the Spiral Consortium, Roxanne and her friends become an auxiliary team with the support and backing of the Consortium.
Backstory:
Roxanne is the single child of two successful parents in Montreal, Canada. When she was young, Roxanne was popular in school and enjoyed playing basketball but her story took a sad turn when her parents started fighting more and realizing how incompatible they truly were. Her parents divorced, and Roxanne fell into depression where she stopped playing basketball and turned to video games and comics as a method of escape. Her mother remarried a year later to a single father who also had a single child: his daughter Monica. Monica and Roxanne connected easily, with the former looking up to Roxanne as an elder figure despite being the same age and Roxanne actually being younger. But Roxanne showed more maturity, letting Monica in on her hobby of video games, comic books, and superhero movies and used it to bond for years. Although things start taking a turn with Monica overtaking Roxanne as the more popular girl in class due to Monica's friendliness. While Roxanne didn't hold any envy or resentment, it made her be the more dependent one of the pair and drove Roxanne deeper into being reclusive, focusing on her studies to pursue a new dream and love for history and archaeology, limiting her socializing and even gradually losing her interest in the same things she and Monica bonded over.
Still, their bond remained solid throughout the years that they consider each other as real sisters. They graduate high school at the same time and decided to move to Los Angeles, California where Roxanne got a scholarship at UCLA thanks to her excellent grades. Their dreams were shaken by the harsh reality of living outside of their well-off parents' guidance. Monica had to drop out of college to work multiple part-time jobs, while Roxanne struggled to keep her good academic performance while juggling part-time jobs of her own, and she couldn't really get invested in them. They endured even with existential dread for their own futures looming over their heads, finding solace in each other and trying out a new outlet for them to express themselves. Where Monica took to acting, Roxanne used her world's most famous video-sharing website to share her videos. Being an avid gamer with great skills, Roxanne was on the right track to finding fame through this medium that she started occasionally rewarding herself with some self-indulgent shopping whenever she gets more subscribers.
But life tossed another surprise at Roxanne, with her sister confiding in her in how she gained superhuman abilities much like the heroes in the comics they love. All through an app in her phone. Excited, confused, worried, and even a little jealous; Roxanne supported her sister's quest in becoming a superhero in Los Angeles at the same time the news have been spreading about the rising numbers of superhumans in the world. This fact was covered up by the Spiral Consortium influencing world governments from the shadows, saying these reports are exaggerated and were caused by advanced technology that were illegally stolen and distributed to the public, all in the effort to protect the fact of magic's existence. Roxanne's focus in assisting her sister made her want to be a hero like her, too. And it seems her wish was answered one day when she bought some accessories online for herself, not knowing that this bracelet with seven different jewels was magical in nature.
Once worn, the jewels resonated with Roxanne's natural potential although she didn't notice it. Her days went on like normal, but soon found herself being stalked offline by mob men. On the day her sister was out performing heroics, Roxanne was kidnapped from their home by members of the Farano mafia. They took her far from Los Angeles and into Chicago. They planted and blamed Roxanne for "stealing" something the jeweled bracelet from them, and in exchange for her "theft" and her's and her sister's lives to be spared, Roxanne had to become a pawn for the Faranos. Being taught in the use of her magic (called Resonance in this universe) gems by nobody but the Farano boss herself, Vera Farano, Roxanne became a superhuman in her own right only to be commanded to fight against other superhumans. Shipped off to Japan where the Faranos are having trouble gaining proper footing thanks to local superhuman heroes Mariko Ishiwatari and Shoji Nakamori, who Roxanne were forced to duel with on multiple occasions alongside other superhumans being blackmailed/hired by the Faranos.
By sheer coincidence, Monica and Shoji happen to be friends online. His mention of his encounter with Roxanne pinged Monica and wanted to rescue her sister. Promising to bring her back, Shoji and Mariko delivered and defeated Roxanne and promised to protect her from the Faranos and bring her back to Los Angeles. Mariko's massive wealth have helped in ensuring her and Monica's safety from then on. But with what Roxanne have witnessed under the Farano's influence, she couldn't feel at ease going back to a normal life as a college student or even an online personality. Wanting to be useful and be by her sister's side, Roxanne asked to become a part of Mariko's team of superheroes and use her powers for good and to find out the mystery of how she got to become the jewels' wielder, what really is the Farano group's true nature beyond their veneer of being a mafia group, and how she and the rest of the team are linked to this mysterious entity called The Grey Man.
Later on in their careers as amateur superheroes, Roxanne and the group have encountered an agent of the Spiral Consortium named Sofia Sinclair. They have all been watched from the start but was mostly left alone as they were regarded as a minor threat, and how the Spiral Consortium is busy with external threats from space and in other universes. With Sofia being impressed with their teamwork and tenacity, the team of young heroes become inducted into the Consortium as an auxiliary team focused on their same goals of taking down the Faranos on Earth but backed by the Consortium's technology built in dealing against supernatural threats.
Personality:
Simply put, Roxanne is a shy individual with the disposition to match. She appears quiet and sleepy all the time. She is introverted but very observant and analytical; and can even be described as someone who "thinks too much". Roxanne is mature for the most part, although she still has some immature tendencies such as having a silly sense of humor, being a little vain, and overly protective of her material possessions in her various collections (mainly her shoes). She often shies away from big social events unless she has a good reason to, often taking to the sidelines as an observer rather than a participant since she finds it exhausting to be talking to strangers for too long. She can be easily intimidated by people with strong personalities or rough exteriors, but also is quick to admire and have crushes on others who manage to connect well with her. All of this leads to Roxanne being a lonely individual, who is both aware of her flaws but lacks the courage to change herself as she struggles from self-esteem issues.
Regardless, Roxanne is lively on the inside. This part of her is revealed more when she's communicating through text messages, talking about things she's passionate about, or to those whose company she has grown accustomed to. She can be silly and a bit of a prankster around her friends, and sometimes shows a sharp-tongued wit or a subtle occasionally crude or self-deprecating sense of humor. Roxanne has a hidden but great amount of courage and an immense capacity for love beneath her indifferent and anxious shell, with the former unlocked later on when she realizes how much her life has changed upon acquiring superpowers, making Roxanne a significantly braver person who will go great lengths and fight for her friends and strangers alike. While her ability to love shows itself in how supportive she is of others' goals and pursuits, even to strangers. She thinks that helping others is a way for her to feel fulfilled, for she finds her life to feel hollow until later on when she found a purpose as a superhuman hero. She is often even willing to spare a big chunk of her personal time for someone if it means helping them or making them happy. As the sister of a fellow superpowered indivudual, Roxanne have assumed the role as the more responsible sibling of the two and often reins her sister Monica's impulsive behavior and acts as their team's voice of reason, especially when she gets over her fear of confrontation and learns to value her opinion more.
Roxanne fits the typical "nerd" archetype. She has an intense love for video games, movies, TV shows, and comic books and managed to even influence her sister in becoming as much of a fan of these mediums as her. And if anything can get Roxanne talking or even show confidence, it's through her knowledge in these things. Especially when it comes to video games. Roxanne's competitive side even shows when it comes to video games, with her sister and friends even warning not to challenge Roxanne in a video game match, speaking of how skilled she is at many titles. She is academically brilliant with interest in unorthodox subjects such as archaeology and technology. She's a quick-learner and notices details most people tend to miss. Being well-read but isolated, Roxanne has developed a slightly cynical view of the world that she keeps mostly to herself. While not a jealous person, Roxanne does feel envy to others who have their lives figured out or to people who are comfortable with themselves in general. But that envy is quick to form into admiration, which Roxanne later learns to channel into inspiration to better herself with.
Apart from video games, which she's good enough to compete with other people online, Roxanne is an avid fan of history and has an encyclopedic knowledge of many historical topics. She is also into fashion, particularly casual street fashions and sneakers. The latter which she has a growing collection of. She's into assembling computers and puzzles, so much that she likes assembling furniture and building things out of Lego bricks. She's good at giving massages, making costumes for cosplay, and cooking/baking despite being only self-taught from tutorial videos.
Roxanne Monroe | OC - Part 2
Alignment: Thras. She's easily consumed by her fear and anxiety.
Other: Roxanne will be sharing a PB with another player's character. We have an OOC agreement to it and an IC reason as well.
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: February Test Drive Starter
Emotion Sample:
Accepted!
Please follow these next few steps to officially be considered part of the game. Remember that you have one week to do all this, otherwise we will consider it a revocation of the application.
➟ Reply to this comment with the journal you will be joining with, then join the following communities:
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empatheias
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crystalnet
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empatheias_ooc
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memepatheias
➟ Please comment to the appropriate Taken Characters list: Canons A-M | Canons N-Z.➟ You are required to keep some kind of information post in your character journal for easy player reference, as well as your application. You are also free to use one of our Info Post Templates.
➟ When your journal is added by the mod journal, comment to the Player Contact list.
➟ Introduce yourself in our Player Intro post and start playing!
➟ Use the Character Introduction Log for your character intro!
➟ Please note that while we will create a character tag for you, you will need to type it in the first time you use it in each community for it to show up on the list.
Some optional things:
➟ 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 an Inbox post for any private messages that could be sent via messenger bird.
➟ Check this month's plotting post.
➟ Follow the mod plurk (
➟ Join the game's Discord chat. You can join it by following the link here.
If you have any questions at any time, feel free to contact us! Once again, we welcome you to Empatheias, and we hope you enjoy the game!
no subject