modormenace: (Default)
modormenace ([personal profile] modormenace) wrote2020-09-03 11:28 am
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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?"
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nightmarist: (Default)

(frozen comment)

[personal profile] nightmarist 2020-09-09 08:20 pm (UTC)(link)

PLAYER INFORMATION


PLAYER NAME: Pana (any pronoun)
PLAYER CONTACT: [plurk.com profile] pana / pana#3353
CURRENT CHARACTERS: N/A
RETURNING CHARACTER?: Yes

CHARACTER INFORMATION


CHARACTER NAME: Ronan Lynch
JOURNAL: [personal profile] nightmarist
CANON: The Raven Cycle
CANON POINT: Call Down the Hawk - Chapter 79
AGE: 20
ALIAS: Greywaren

SYNOPSIS:
Ronan Lynch is an alcoholic loser who was abandoned on his family's empty old farm while his peers went their separate ways after high school. Not so long ago, he was tied up in his best friend's obsessive search through the mountains of Virginia for the enchanted tomb of an ancient Welsh king. It was a mission which suited Ronan a lot better than renovating dilapidated barns, because Ronan himself is a creature of magic.

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.

ADAPTATION:
Deep down inside, Ronan wants to be a hero. He grew up on stories about old Irish heroes and Celtic kings, and there's a part of him that desperately wants to emulate those legends. But all those fairytales have tragic endings. And Ronan, in the aftermath of his father's murder, isn't exactly the picture of heroism. Anyone who sets eyes on him assumes the worst.

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.

PRESENTATION:
Most people who encounter Ronan tend to find him shady and intimidating. Part of that has to do with his appearance. He's over six feet tall and styles himself in menacing goth-punk attire. He's got a badass tattoo and a boxer's arms and a face that seems to have been sculpted for malice. But most of the impression comes from the way he holds himself. He keeps his guard up around strangers, which makes him look like he's spoiling for a fight. He doesn't waste his time with niceties and he stares just a little too intensely at anyone who attempts to engage him in a conversation he wasn't looking for.

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.

PSYCHOLOGY:
Ronan was deeply traumatized by the discovery of his father's mutilated corpse. In that moment, something broke in him and he became unrecognizable to the people who loved him. The light went out and a joyful, imaginative, expressive boy suddenly collapsed inward. After he fell into darkness, Ronan became aggressive and wild, lashing out at others and recklessly throwing himself into life-threatening situations, escalating at every opportunity. He was suicidal, though he didn't fully realize it until later, when he figured out what his nightmares were trying to tell him.

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

    DESCRIPTION:
    As the Greywaren, Ronan is capable of bringing anything out of his dreams and into the real world. In order to do this, he must be able to perfectly visualize an object in his mind and negotiate with his dreams to bring that object back with him, out of his subconscious. The dream objects he creates are not bound by the laws of physics. If an object is capable of doing something in his dream, then it is capable of doing the same thing in the real world, regardless of whether it makes any physical sense. This ability can even be used to create living beings, although their lives depend entirely on Ronan's survival, and they will fall into eternal sleep upon his death.

    WEAKNESS:
    Use of the Greywaren's power requires a nearby energy source. The amount of energy depends on the size of the object being created or the frequency with which Ronan is creating objects. In his own world, Ronan utilized a nearby ley line to feed his power. Without access to the ley line, his power must instead feed on other supernatural sources or electricity. This means that his dreaming may cause blackouts in his immediate vicinity or may weaken the powers of imPorts who are close to him while he's sleeping.

    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

    DESCRIPTION:
    Ronan knows things he couldn't have possibly learned for himself. From time to time, knowledge enters his subconscious seemingly out of thin air. It's as if he's an antenna for ideas, picking up signals even from far-off places and relaying them into his mind. This ability gives him a latent insight not just about the world, but about the people around him. Essentially, it's a kind of widespread one-sided telepathy that gathers information from the collective consciousness and grants him latent understanding.

    WEAKNESS:
    This is not the same as active omniscience. It's imprecise and random and frequently useless. He doesn't know everything there is to know about anything, right off the top of his head. The knowledge he receives is likely disorganized or altogether indecipherable to him when he's awake, though his dreams can sometimes (but not always) piece it together for him.

  • POWER #3: Dream Form

    DESCRIPTION:
    Ronan is the offspring of a dreamer and a dream, and with this power, his dream nature comes to the forefront. A dream, in the physical world, resembles something like light. But it also reflects the viewer's expectations. It is difficult to look at because it's difficult for the mind to comprehend. Somehow, what at first looks like a spark of light can be mistaken for a book, a bird, a planet, a mirror, a whisper. A dream is a living hallucination.

    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.

    WEAKNESS:
    Lingering as an unformed idea waiting to be snatched up in astral space is a precarious circumstance. Although he's intangible in dream form, he's not immortal or invulnerable. In fact, he's more vulnerable to supernatural forces and certain powers when he's in this form, compared to his human form. Someone with an energy manipulation power could capture him the same way they'd manipulate other forces, to pull him out of a vessel or to drain him or to use him as fuel. A magician could fashion an artifact out of him. Someone with demonic abilities could snuff him out completely.

SKILLS:
Ronan is adept at street brawling and trained in boxing. He is experienced in manual labor and farm work. He speaks Latin fluently and he's knowledgeable in other areas related to the classics. As a musician, he's skilled at piano, highland bagpipes, tin whistle, harp, bodhran, and guitar. He's a dancer as well as a singer, primarily focused on Irish tradition. He displays some degree of eidetic memory for aesthetic and tactile information, and he's highly observant of emotional cues and others' psychological states.

IN-GAME DEVELOPMENT:
Ronan spent about three years in Mask or Menace, canon updating a few times along the way. When he first arrived, he was a rowdy delinquent who hadn't fully come to accept himself. He became one of the stars of EdgelordTV's "fuckups & tryhards", a reality show following Ronan and his facetwin John Murphy as they adapted to imPort life and pulled dumb pranks along the way. The residence they shared with a number of other unsupervised teenagers, on a farm called the Meadows, earned a reputation as party house. Unlike back home, Ronan explored his sexuality under the public eye, which made him something of a gay icon to the younger generation but messed him up on a personal level.

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


THREAD SAMPLE:
Log Thread

VOICE SAMPLE:

  1. "What is your criminal history? Don't worry, you won't be punished here for past crimes."
    "I'm a terrorist. I didn't actually do anything, but it's not like that matters to the pigs. I mean, I did steal a car once, but I got away with that one. So that doesn't count."
  2. "Has anyone ever harmed you? How will you react if you encounter them in this world?"
    "Haven't we all been harmed by this shit society? It's death by a thousand cuts. You're harming me right now, wasting my time with these stupid fucking questions. Look at that guy over there. Look at his paisley tie. That's harming me, but I'm taking it in stride."
  3. "Do you believe in second chances? What would be the exception?"
    "I'm Catholic. Look it up."
  4. "Do you feel that every life is equal in value? What makes someone less deserving?"
    "Oh, now you're just baiting me. I'm not getting into this fucking debate. I don't have a uterus."
  5. "What do you need from this world in order to consider it your home?"
    "A hundred million dollars and a castle transported from Ireland and reconstructed stone by stone in Shenandoah. Not a shitty castle, either. One of the cool ones."
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