modormenace (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
modormenace) wrote2020-09-03 11:28 am
modormenace) wrote2020-09-03 11:28 am
APPLICATIONS
JOIN THE GAME
Please complete the form below and paste the full content under your own thread in reply to this top level.
Do not post it to your own journal and link it to us.
Sample applications are here. Feel free to ask questions if you're confused about anything.
Please use <p /> or <dd> for paragraph breaks.
GUIDANCE
PLAYER INFORMATION:
This is all fairly standard! We ask for:- PLAYER NAME:
- your preferred handle & pronouns, so we know how to refer to you.
- PLAYER CONTACT:
- how should we (and other players) contact you? list your plurk, discord or personal journal.
- CURRENT CHARACTERS:
- if you are currently playing other characters in the game, please list them here. Please note, we currently only allow a player 4 characters.
- RETURNING CHARACTER?:
- y/n did you play this character in Mask or Menace previously?
CHARACTER INFORMATION:
Brief, one-line answers to the following:- CHARACTER NAME:
- given name before surname, as they would appear on US government documentation
- JOURNAL:
- username to be added to game communities
- CANON:
- title of canon or "original" for OCs
- CANON POINT:
- episode/chapter/issue/major event
- AGE:
- approximate, actual, or apparent age
- ALIAS:
- superhero/supervillain name to be used in game (doesn't have to be canon)
SYNOPSIS:
- in 100-300 words, give us the broad strokes who your character is. imagine their life as a book! what we're looking for is the blurb on the back. are they a fighter? a dreamer? how has their life and circumstances shaped who they are? what is their current driving motivation? really pitch this character to us!
ADAPTATION:
- in 100-300 words, speculate how your character will fit into the game's setting. will they become a hero? a villain? fly under the radar? this isn't set in stone. we'd just like to get an idea of where they're likely to go from here.
PRESENTATION:
- in 100-300 words, describe your character's public persona. how do people tend to view them? are they popular? are others suspicious of them? if they're the kind of person who puts on an act, what image do they project?
PSYCHOLOGY:
- in 100-300 words, give us a glimpse of their inner workings. how's their mental state? what secrets are they keeping? what motivates them? are they insecure about anything? tell us their hopes and their fears. do they have an ultimate goal?
POWERS:
- every character in the game (even if they have no powers in canon) has at least one superpower, but no more than three. these powers do not have to resemble their canon powers. in 1000 words or less, list and describe your character's three powers/power umbrellas (see FAQ for more information). include details like time limits, physical range, maximum number of targets, etc. (if applicable). every power must have a weakness, so explain how your character's powers can be defeated.
SKILLS:
- in 300 words or less, list any other special skills your character has, like eidetic memory or martial arts.
IN-GAME DEVELOPMENT:
- for returning characters only: in 100-300 words, describe any relevant development your character underwent during their previous stay in Mask or Menace.
SAMPLES:
- THREAD SAMPLE:
- provide a third-person sample in prose or action format that takes place within the game setting. you may link a thread from the TDM or a previous thread in the game.
- VOICE SAMPLE:
- choose any five of the following questions and answer them in your character's voice, as if they're being interviewed by official personnel just after their arrival. your character does not have to answer truthfully.
- "Why do you want to return to your world of origin? What did you leave behind?"
- "What is the most historically important event that has occurred within your lifetime?"
- "Have you ever served in the military? What is your experience with armed combat?"
- "What is your criminal history? Don't worry, you won't be punished here for past crimes."
- "Is there anyone who holds a grudge against you? What will you do if they're here?"
- "Have you ever done something that you regret? What would you do differently?"
- "Has anyone ever harmed you? How will you react if you encounter them in this world?"
- "What is your favorite thing about the place you were born?"
- "What is the worst thing that's ever happened to you?"
- "What is your happiest memory?"
- "What is the most unique thing about you?"
- "Have you ever killed anyone? What was your reason?"
- "Do you feel that every life is equal in value? What makes someone less deserving?"
- "Do you believe in second chances? What would be the exception?"
- "What do you need from this world in order to consider it your home?"
(frozen comment) APPLICATIONS: [MONTH] [YEAR]
(frozen comment) RONAN LYNCH | THE RAVEN CYCLE
(frozen comment) no subject
PLAYER INFORMATION
PLAYER NAME: Pana (any pronoun)
PLAYER CONTACT:
CURRENT CHARACTERS: N/A
RETURNING CHARACTER?: Yes
CHARACTER INFORMATION
CHARACTER NAME: Ronan Lynch
JOURNAL:
CANON: The Raven Cycle
CANON POINT: Call Down the Hawk - Chapter 79
AGE: 20
ALIAS: Greywaren
For seventeen years, Ronan's nature was a mystery even to himself. Sometimes he would have a dream and wake up with that dream in his hand. Sometimes he would have a nightmare and wake up in mortal peril. His father, who had the same ability, called it the Greywaren — before telling that story too often got him bludgeoned to death in the driveway of his home, which is where Ronan found him. It was the end of his innocence. Going forward, Ronan was a tortured soul, isolated and angry at the world.
The same man who had his father murdered also came for Ronan. And he was only the first. The Greywaren holds enormous potential, the ability to change reality itself. It's a power that can save the world or end it in the blink of an eye. While Ronan is more introspective artist than mass murderer, inclined to dream beautiful sentient forests and glittering light, no one is willing to bet the fate of the planet on his mental stability. Which is why he's now on the run, relying on a mysterious voice in his head to guide him. Once his secret came out, there was no going back to that quiet life on the farm.
But he can't not help someone. If there's a problem right in front of him and he knows that he can fix it, he'll rise to the occasion, even if it costs him his life. It's not the danger that he fears, it's the attention. If someone knows that he's done something good, they're likely to expect him to do it again, and he's afraid he won't meet those expectations. It's easier to allow people to perceive him as a villain, even though he's never truly acted like one.
If anyone else can answer the call, Ronan isn't one to volunteer. If he's the only one who can save the day, though, he'll do what has to be done. And the truth is, he loves the feeling of doing good, even if he prefers to do it secretly. So while he may not put himself forward and accept the title of superhero, he will certainly be lurking nearby, waiting for the moment to step in.
He's mean. He's a foul-mouthed bully. He makes cutting remarks and digs at people's insecurities, dashes their hopes and calls out their lies. Until Ronan decides that he likes you, he's deeply unpleasant to be around. Since he dropped out of high school, this tendency has softened somewhat. While he used to be prone to bouts of violent rage, his anger has settled into a simmer, a bitterness that permeates most interactions. He remains highly selective about who he'll deign to speak to and rude to all the rest.
It's not all bad, though. Ronan is wickedly funny. He deploys his humor in sharp observations and sarcastic barbs. When he decides to indulge in a verbal spar, onlookers find it hard not to root for him. He was the class clown, with the sort of disregard for rules that his peers could only daydream about, and he's still a prankster and an edgy memelord. As he's prone to stupid stunts and risky behavior, he can be fun to watch... from a safe distance.
Self-acceptance helped heal some of that damage. Ronan was raised with Catholic values in rural Appalachia, which meant that he grew up ashamed of his sexuality and convinced he'd never find a boy who could love him. But as he learned to let go of the past and fix his attention on the future, he applied his devil-may-care attitude to his insecurities and found pride in his identity. This inner strength eliminated the need for some of those walls he'd built to protect his heart, allowing him to to be vulnerable at least with the people he loves. Though his gentle nature had been destroyed by his trauma, he's beginning to find that devastation doesn't have to be permanent.
For someone with a tendency to conceal his own sentimentality, it's funny that Ronan values honesty as the greatest virtue. He cannot tell a lie — though he's invented some masterful tactics to evade the truth for his own survival — and he resents being lied to by others. His life has been ruled by secrets and deception. It's a deep betrayal when a trusted acquaintance forces him to question what he thought he knew. His grasp on reality is tenuous enough without these added doubts. What he really needs is security.
POWERS
POWER #1: Greywaren
Dreaming has a draining effect on Ronan, as well. Every time he brings something back from his dreams, he's paralyzed upon waking. How long this paralysis lasts also depends on the size or complexity of the object he just created. It could be a few seconds or it could be an hour. The draining effect will impact him more severely if the creation has a magical rather than mundane use, paralyzing him for twice as long upon waking and leaving him low in energy for hours after.
The act of dreaming can be dangerous in itself. When Ronan is experiencing emotional turmoil, his nightmares can manifest as monsters. More than once, these night horrors have nearly killed him. If Ronan accidentally brings back one of his nightmare creatures, he is still subjected to the increased draining effect associated with his magical creations, leaving him paralyzed and unable to defend himself against them.
Ronan also risks his life by not dreaming. Because he is a creature meant for creation, if he ceases to create for a significant amount of time, then he ceases to exist. If he refuses to dream for over a month, his body begins to break down and unmake itself — a process he's named "nightwash". Unless he dreams something again, this deterioration continues until there's nothing left of him.
POWER #2: Claircognizance
POWER #3: Dream Form
When Ronan takes this form, his appearance behaves in a similar way. Like light, but also not. He becomes a spark of magical energy born from a ley line, a wild idea looking for expression. In practice, this makes him a source of power that others can draw from to work their own magic, amplifying their abilities. It also makes him a thing that can take root in someone else's mind. He can live inside their thoughts, communicating with them there in a telepathic and empathic way, experiencing the world through them and imparting his own perceptions. They can share dreams and work in tandem to pull things from those dreams, the way Ronan is capable of doing on his own. He's essentially possessing them without taking control of their motor functions, only granting them his own knowledge and his abilities as the Greywaren.
As he matured, he retreated from show business and focused on tending to his farm. One by one, his friends and lovers disappeared, leaving him just as alone as he'd been in his own world. Like before, Ronan fell into a depression and flirted with self-destruction. He was just about ready to stop dreaming and let the nightwash take him when he reconnected with Kylo Ren, a casual acquaintance he'd once encountered at a bar.
Kylo and Ronan began dreaming together, which saved Ronan from deterioration and gave him renewed purpose. Ronan offered Kylo an unconditional love and acceptance he'd never known, and Kylo — ironically — inspired him to the kind of heroic acts he'd previously avoided performing. Together, they saved the world more than once. More than once, they also nearly destroyed it. They're rarely apart, with Ronan's objectives tied completely to Kylo's ambitions.
SAMPLES
(frozen comment) josh foley | marvel 616
(frozen comment) no subject
PLAYER INFORMATION
PLAYER NAME: Shikki (& she/her they/them)
PLAYER CONTACT: minimoffs @ plurk, FIST FIGHTS#7869 @ discord
CURRENT CHARACTERS: NA
CHARACTER INFORMATION
CHARACTER NAME: Joshua Foley
JOURNAL:
CANON: Marvel 616
CANON POINT: X-Men Blue #32
AGE: 21
ALIAS: Elixir
There's a reason they say, "welcome to the X-Men, hope you survive the experience." Mutants live hard lives. In fact, he used be part of the reason why... until it turned out that he was a mutant. An omega level biokinetic - a healer. Something nobody could've saw coming from his punkish personality. His family disowned him on the spot and he was brought to Xavier's School for the Gifted. There he found friends, a family who loved him unconditionally, and purpose. Xavier's lessons taught him his powers were meant to be used to benefit other people. He believed him, wanted to be an X-man even. Mutants were starting to gain acceptance because of the X-Men.
Then a witch said three little words. No more mutants. Those words triggered the events that turned the quad into a mass graveyard. In the aftermath, the true nature of his powers was revealed: biokinesis wasn't just healing. He could kill just as easily. He was reduced to the use of his powers, and used he was. Worse still, blind eyes were turned when he needed them most. His protests fell on deaf ears.
He died twice while they watched.
When he came back he was alone. It left him unstable and angry, convinced Xavier and the X-Men were both wrong. Their methods didn't work, they cost his friends and himself their lives. Nobody cared. Magneto was right, and when the offer came, he joined him instead.
Only that won't last so long. ImPorts may not be mutants, but they're close enough that he won't feel comfortable sitting on the sidelines while they throw themselves into the line of fire for the sake of others.
You don't get the impression he's wearing a mask, exactly. Joshua Foley seems to be precisely what he presents himself as... Though there's certainly a hidden darkness within him. Aspects of himself he feels are best left suppressed and hidden. They show in how he often speaks before he thinks. Or the flash of a righteous temper when he's provoked. When not in the spotlight Josh seems melancholy and beaten down, though he's quick to shove those feelings aside if caught during one of those moments. His life has been hard and he suppresses those feelings rather than dealing with them directly. Attending a party or making out with a pretty girl is easier than going to therapy.
While perhaps not the most accurate one, heroic is an easy word to describe. Josh is one of the first people to leap into danger to protect others. He sets his own well being aside to ensure their safety, and does his best to be a comforting presence.
People literally lived or died based on his actions. That's a heavy weight to put on a sixteen year old boy. When someone died he blamed himself for not being strong enough. And as his powers evolved and he became more skilled, he fixated on how he always had this potential and didn't achieve it when it mattered. Survivors guilt plagues him, and when he can't save someone he has a total breakdown.
Death - touching it, experiencing it, coming back from it - has made it incredibly difficult for him to regulate his emotions under stress. Josh reacts explosively under pressure, lashing out verbally and sometimes with his powers when he feels overwhelmed. He's prone to reckless and thoughtless decisions in the heat of a moment, or leaping at quick fixes for bigger problems. He truly thinks he's too dangerous to live, but because his powers make him largely immortal, he has no choice.
Josh values others far above himself, and while most of it stems from genuine compassion, the rest comes from how he was treated. To most people he's interacted with Josh is a tool first, and a person at a distant second. The body count mentioned before is a product of that treatment. He stated he didn't want to kill again, that he wanted to forget what he knew and go back to a normal life, but he was too useful to be allowed to. He was put into situations where killing was the only outcome. Josh is a follower by nature and caves to stronger personalities.
POWERS:
POWER #1: Biokinesis (Power Umbrella)
On the healing side, Josh could feasibly heal five people from near death. Skin to skin contact is the quickest way for him to heal someone as it focuses all his power, but he's able to project that energy within a fifteen foot radius in a much weaker fashion. The closer you are to him, the more effective it is. He wouldn't be able to heal a life threatening stab wound from fifteen feet away, but he might be able to slow the bleeding and try to encourage clotting.
On the harming side, he could maybe kill one person with a touch - but doing so would push him to his limits and have him drop into a coma or kill him outright. He physically feels what he's doing to other people's bodies and the mental strain of it is too much for him to handle. He also wouldn't be able to significantly hurt someone from fifteen feet away, but he could potentially slow them down by making their muscles produce more lactic acid.
His energy capacity is also limited. He could heal maybe five people from near death, but that sixth one is going to take everything he has and will knock him out.
POWER #2: Healing Factor & Immortality
However, he's not fully immortal. Josh can still die - he just has the ability to get back up after falling into a death-like stasis period. If he's killed with minimal injury to his body (a single bullet wound to the chest, a broken neck, no damage directly to his brain) he's not completely dead and will be able to revive himself in under twenty-four hours.
And he can still die in the proper Mask or Menace way. If there's major damage - severe damage to his brain, severe internal damage, being vivisected, etc. Then he's good and dead and needs to rely on the process of the nanite revival to bring him back.
SAMPLES
(frozen comment) Claudia the Vampire | Interview with a Vampire
(frozen comment) Re: Claudia the Vampire | Interview with a Vampire
PLAYER INFORMATION
PLAYER CONTACT:
CURRENT CHARACTERS: Joseph Kavinsky (The Raven Cycle)
RETURNING CHARACTER?: Yes
CHARACTER INFORMATION
JOURNAL:
CANON: Interview with a Vampire (film)
CANON POINT: An hour before her death, imprisoned by Armand
AGE: ~60 years old
ALIAS: None
'The child forever,' Claudia is an abomination to vampire-kind-- a twelve-year-old girl who was turned into a vampire. Ostensibly, this saved her from death by plague; in reality, her 'maker,' Lestat de Lioncourt, used her to stop his companion, Louis, from leaving him.
Claudia's intellect grew while her body remained young. Frustration drove her to impetuous-- but secretive-- killing and violence against humans. She eventually resented Lestat's domineering attitude as well as her own dependency on others to survive in human society. She herself manipulated Louis into killing Lestat-- or so she thought. Lestat survived and turned other vampirekind against her, for the high crime of turning against her maker-- but leaving Louis unmarked. Sentenced to death, she awaited uncertainty at her canon point.
In her canon, Claudia is the iconic victim of circumstance, who becomes a monster because of the impossible circumstances she has faced.
She may become either a villain or a hero, without personally investing in either role. Instead, her priority will be to enjoy people and experiences now that she's seen as a fully independent person. She'll be equally susceptible to unsavory or positive influences, embrace her new rights to create projects, and seize every opportunity to learn new skills, from robotics to languages. She will still struggle with the craving to drain and kill a person during feeding on an approximately annual basis.
Underneath it all, she'll always have an amoral, but emotionally unstable streak. She has choices now, but she spent decades expressing rage through murder, and enduring both intense love and the constant fear of abandonment, which would mean death.
In her child-form, Claudia markets herself as an adorable and innocent little thing. She doesn't make much effort to hide her vampire nature or the fact she's old-- and wise-- beyond her years. However, she's fully aware people assume she's more harmless than she actually is, and plays that to her advantage.
Her adult woman form is a bit more novel, and therefore challenging! In part informed by her vampire nature, Claudia has no sense of sexuality at all, and will identify as aromantic/asexual unless she gives up her child shape entirely. She will still err on the side of playing off a 'harmless, innocent' persona-- perhaps sometimes to her detriment.
Notably, a flashpaper temper is likely to get the better of her sometimes in both shapes.
When Claudia says she wants a normal life, that's actually true. 'Simple pleasures' are actually that. She wants to have conversations without being condescended to, to make plans, spend money, choose what she wants to learn.
However, forced codependency is still codependency that shaped her. She fears abandonment and can overreact to the threat thereof. Her hope, much like feminist memes, is to 'have it all:' both independence and loving, respectful relationships.
She's inclined to keep her history of manipulation and murder a secret. On some level, she knows they were 'wrong.' Backed into a corner about these matters, she'll get defensive and insecure. After all, she just wants a fresh start.
POWERS:
POWER #1: Ricean Vampire
Superstrength: Due to her child size, she is not as strong as adult vampires. Her maximum lift is 300 lbs, easily enough to overpower or even carry most adult humans or shift a car. Her agility and balance are also good enough for her to manage most bulky items of this weight.
Superspeed: Like other vampires, Claudia is unnaturally quick. In closed spaces, she is capable of small, brief bursts of speed that are faster than human perception, giving her the advantage of surprise over most mortals. Over longer distances, she can run at approximately 30 MPH.
Enhanced Durability: Vampires seem significantly hardier than humans, their skin, muscle, bones, etc. seemingly able to tolerate more punishment before breaking. They are probably about as tough as a kevlar vest.
Blood Drinker Physiology: Claudia depends on drinking blood to survive, preferably human blood, requiring a feed at least very other night to maintain optimum functioning. She often kills her food, with no deleterious psychological effects. Note, she will become very ill if she drinks the blood of a dead being.
Low-level Mental Influence: Claudia seems to have a mild 'compulsion' ability like the one established with Ricean vampires in other media, hinted at for example when her piano teacher collapses in lessons beside her, after she fed from him.
Sunlight/Fire Sensitivity: Exposure to sunlight leads to Claudia's rapid incineration and destruction. They are similarly sensitive to any sort of burning fire.
Mentalist limits: In general, she may use this ability to enhance her lies or make others more friendly or protective toward her. Psionic defenses and strength of will may defend against this, and she cannot mind-control anyone into doing something that would harm themselves. She has about a 10 foot range.
POWER #2: Dollmade
POWER #3: Child's Play
Scream: Angry screams can lead to small explosions around Claudia, generally only of inanimate objects (player consent otherwise). In life-or-death situations, if she is therefore emotional enough, these explosions might cause injury.
Animate Toy: Claudia can animate man-made toys and perceive sight and sound through them. Movement with these toys is limited by their physical texture and make-- a little doll's table, for example, might be able to stiffly walk around, but slower than a walking human. This power requires her to go into a partial trance, requiring as much concentration as reading, leaving her vulnerable to attack.
Claudia's scream power has an effective range of 100 feet for both live and inanimate targets. Live and more durable targets (such as metal, as opposed to glass) require proportionate effort, and after using this power to grievously harm another character, she would be exhausted and potentially incapacitated. This will be subject to player consent.
She can affect or observe through a maximum of 5 toys at once, with each successive toy requiring more effort. She must typically be in the same city as a given toy. Sensing toys without having seen them first makes the connection tenuous and more difficult to established. Permission must of course be granted by any players involved.
SAMPLES
APPLICATIONS
To submit an application, please reply to this thread with an empty header comment, with your character's name and series as the subject line. The main body text of your application should then posted in reply to that first comment. Examples of this format can be found in our sample round thread here.