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snowblindmods) wrote2015-04-06 10:43 pm
snowblindmods) wrote2015-04-06 10:43 pm
Application
| Application | |||
Applications are closed permanently. Thank you to everyone who has applied over the years! Before applying for a character, make sure you've read the rules and FAQ. You should also refer to the application guide to see what we're looking for in our applications. You may apply for one character per application cycle and three characters total. Please put your character's name and canon in the subject line of your application comment. Applications must be posted directly to this post and cannot be links. We will screen your application if you request it of us after we review it. Application challenges are allowed, but someone who did not place a reserve challenge cannot challenge a reserved application. Once reservations expire, an application challenge can only be placed before we process the character application of the applicant you would like to challenge. In the event of us nearing our application cap and having more applications than slots, we will attempt to choose the most well-written applications. First-time applicants will be processed first, then applications for second characters, and finally applications for third characters. We may allow more applications to be submitted than we have slots for in the name of greater selection. We will clarify in our response if an application is not being allowed into the game because of the cap or because of issues with the application not meeting the standards of the game. Original Character Application | |||
Manuel Laurin | Original | Reserved
Name: Maddin
Age: 36 or 37 depending on when this app is processed
Contact Info:
Other Characters: Brian Thomas
Character Information
Name: Manuel ("Manny") Laurin, aka Standing Waters
Canon: Original/Old World of Darkness
Age: 22
Gender: Male
Inventory: Clothes (Coveralls, t-shirt, underwear, socks), steel toed boots (with the steal toe removed if needed), his wallet (with ID, business cards and one credit card, no cash, inside) and a dirty (with oil and grease) rag (about hand-towel sized)
World Description: Since Manny's from an established (tabletop RPG) setting, hopefully links will suffice!
Main game
Species info
Manny is a human born (homid), Setting Sun/Warding Mokole-Mbembe with an american gator suchid form (not that the will matter in Norfinbiry).
Background: Manuel was born in the swamps of southeastern Louisiana to a family of kinfolk who ran a small alligator farm/refuge/rehabilitation center. Shortly after he was born, the only other Mokolé at the farm--Sunlit Marshes (aka 'Sunny')--was informed by the spirits that Manuel had 'bred true' instead of just being kinfolk. Thus he's known all his life of the role he's meant to play.
Until he was old enough to go to kindergarten, Manny lived exclusively on the farm with his family. This was largely to make sure he understood why everyone else didn't need to know the family secrets, but the time was also used to teach him the very basics of the Mokolé (and how to do a few chores around the farm). He's always been fascinated by Sunny's stories of their kind and the past, and spent a large part of his childhood looking forward to when he'd be able to experience those things himself. Unfortunately, as far as he was concerned, he was also expected to do chores around the farm and--once he was old enough to go to school--keep up his grades. Even after he was old enough to go to public schools, Manuel still spent a large amount of time on the farm with his family. Sure, he had friends his own age to play with (usually at their places, for some strange reason parents didn't want their kids playing by gators), but he always felt closer to his family.
In school, Manuel was generally a good student. He got average grades, but was prone to day dreaming and had trouble getting tests done before the class period ended. He has more of an aptitude for arts and history than math and sciences, but never really found any subjects he was that interested in until he discovered machines. One day, when Manuel was seven, his father asked him for help with repairs on one of the family's cars. At that age he did little more than hold tools and ask questions, but Manny quickly discovered how fascinating it was. From that day on, he'd try to talk his way to getting his normal chores exchanged for repair and upkeep to the various machinery around the farm (and instructions on how to do it, of course, but he learned that quickly). By the time he was 13, maintaining the cars, boats and hovercraft at the farm was mostly Manuel's job. He later learned to operate them all, but found that working on them felt more satisfying. So, after graduating high school, he went onto a vocational college to study mechanics. He currently works at a garage owned by an older friend from school, and relies mostly on his sense of touch to work.
Manuel had his first change at the age of 14, and due to that ended up taking a year off of school before high school. It was explained away as 'family issues,' but in truth aunt Sunny took him away to learn more about the Mokolé. She took him to a Caern (a magical holy place) hidden away and tended to by a group of Mokolé. There he learned more about his place in the world, how to handle the abilities he'd recently come into, and even more about the history of the Mokolé. At the end of the year, Manny was given the choice of remaining at the Caern, going out on his own, or returning to the farm. He chose to return to his family, wanting to continue to protect them and their land.
There was a bit of social confusion when he returned home and went back to school, but Manny rolled with it. He'd always found it easy to talk to people, so he had little trouble making friends and saw no issue with being a year older than most of his classmates. The friends he had before he changed more or less remained, though some of them would continue to ask questions about his disappearance for awhile. School work was largely the same as it was before he changed, but he did find it even harder to finish tests in the allotted time. Which lead to a bunch of extra-credit assignments (and annoyance/complaining at them) but he was still able to pass on time with a C average.
Around the time he graduated from high school, a fledgling vampire attempted to move into town. The family discovered this after the vampire dumped a blood-drained body in the swamp, expecting the local wildlife to clean it up for him. Instead the family discovered it and, knowing what it meant, began an investigation to discover the vampire's nest. A first they turned up little aside from a few reports of transients or homeless people disappearing and a single ghoul servant that had to be quickly dispatched. Thankfully about a week into the investigation a were-raven's travels brought her into town. She had been known to stop in to share news with the family from time to time and was more than happy to help them rid their town of the blood-sucking menace.
With her help, since were-ravens were very good at searching out secrets, they were able to identify the vampire within a week. Him, his two lesser vampires and assorted ghoul servants were dispatched without prejudice.
More recently, a monster moved into the swamp a few miles from the farm. Manny learned of it after hearing tales of a bigfoot or swamp-thing like monster being spotted at a local bar. A preliminary investigation of the area the sightings had been it also turned up increased amounts of pollution and signs of evil spirits (the two tend to go hand in hand in Werewolf). Neither were on the family's territory but they were close enough, and likely enough to get worse, that when Manny brought the news back home it was decided they needed to take action.
It was discovered that a fomor (person possessed by an evil spirit and turned into an evil mutant) had taken up residence and it, along with the evil spirits that had followed it, was responsible. The search for and battle with the creature at the center of it all only took a few days, but cleaning up the lingering spirits and real-world pollution took about a month.
Currently, Manuel works part time at the garage and spends the majority of his off time at the farm or in the swamps surrounding it. He does have a group of mundane friends he hangs out with once a week or so, but they understand that family always comes first with him. He doesn't have nearly as many chores to do, but he is responsible for protecting the farm against outside threats. The farm is small, and not well known aside from locally, so thankfully its under the radar for most threats.
Canon Point: A couple months after cleaning up after the fomor swamp monster.
Personality: Manuel is generally a nice guy; he's friendly, open and enjoys helping people, even those he doesn't know well. His kind say he's destined to be a protector, and that fits him quite well. Manny would gladly protect his friends and family with his life, and will even step in to protect strangers he sees as innocent or weak (though he won't risk as much--his family needs him alive). He's generally rather cheerful and tries not to get bogged down in depression or anger...though he does have quite a temper at times. Werewolves and vampires piss him off to no end, as do normal wolves to a lesser extent.
Manuel and his kind worship the Sun, the Earth (Gaia) and Dragon (their people's totem); he's very ritualistic about such things, but usually keeps them in private. His fondness for the sun shows through in a few ways, though, like his tendency to sun bathe, preference to live diurnally and greeting of friends with "Sun sees you." He also has an affinity for water and loves swimming (in either human or alligator form).
Even though he's only 22 years old access to the memories of his kind make Manny view things on a much larger time scale than normal humans. He's got incredible patience (what's waiting a few days when one remembers centuries or more?), but is usually rather slow at making decisions. The bigger the decision, the longer he takes to mull it over. His thought process can be considered 'slow' because of this, but he's not stupid. He just moves at a different speed.
Aside from protecting his family and friends, Manuel aspires to create something lasting. It need not be a physical object; a great deed or other form of legacy would work just as well. He'd like to be someone useful in the memories of future Mokolé. To this end he also eats up as many stories--preferably true--from people he meets. Manuel is proud to be what he is, and sees the destiny he was born into as a gift that should be cherished and used to its fullest.
He also dreams of one day 'settling down,' taking a mate and raising young. He's terribly careful and ritualistic about anyone he's considering getting into a relationship with. Manny's less cautious about casual sex, but isn't very promiscuous.
Flavor Abilities: Mokolé have an ability called "Mnesis." This is the ancestral memory of their kind, passed from parent to child and thus different for each Mokolé. These memories are usually viewed by going into meditation or dreaming, and are viewed from the point of view of the Mokolé (or kin) who originally experienced them. Some Mokolé can remember only a few centuries, where as others can remember back to the Triassic period. Manuel can remember about a millennium. Obviously this will be sealed, but I'd like him to still be able to remember what he's previously remembered (subject to normal human limitations on memories, so no photographic memory of past lives).
There are also a few weaknesses I'd like to keep! Wounds caused by silver or gold are harder to heal than normal wounds. They won't supernaturally burn him, but they'll always end up slightly more serious than they would on a normal person. Should anyone ever find something that's made of silver or gold (plated don't cause this problem, as there's not enough of it, nor do alloys that are more some-other-metal) to attack him with.
Also werecreatures are susceptible to frenzy, a state where they lose control and either mindlessly attack everything or flee in terror until they run out of energy. It doesn't happen evertytime they're angry or scared, only when the primal rage that they contain within them gets too strong. Normally they transform into their war form when this happens, but that won't happen in Norfinbury.
Suitability: In Norfinbury, Manny will be mostly concerned with helping out and protecting others. He'll be interested in figuring out what's going on, but as there are a number of other people working that he'll do what he does best and try to protect people.
The lack of sun and cold setting will make him more sluggish than usual (thankfully he's not cold blooded in human form!). It may make him more irritable as well, but he'll figure out a way to cope with it...though it will likely include friends helping him.
RP Samples: Test drive thread includes one network and two log threads :3
REVISION REQUEST
In general, the personality section seems a bit sparse. Specifically, we'd like to ask for more depth regarding Manuel's positivity and how he will react to stressors and adversity; he tries not to get bogged down by negativity, but how does he accomplish this? How will being in Norfinbury challenge him in this way? We'd also like to see an additional sample that is focused on introspection to further develop Manuel's character and better showcase his perspective as someone who has a millennium of memories.
Please reply to this comment with your revisions within three days or your slot will be forfeit.
Re: REVISION REQUEST
Personality Addendum: Manny tries to look on the bright side of things; if he finds himself getting bogged down in negativity he'll step back (if possible) and force himself to think of positive things. To aid with this he often thinks back, doing his best to remember a similar situation he, his family, friends or ancestors have dealt with and how it was resolved. If that can't help, or he's unable to step back, he'll turn to others--often family but also close friends--to assist him by either helping him or distracting him.
As a note, though he's usually good at noticing if he's getting too negative about things if it involved one of his major issues (werewolves and vampires) he's much less likely to see anger as a negative. He doesn't hate much, but what he does runs deep.
In Norfinbury remembering won't be as helpful, as he'll be in a climate and situation neither he nor his ancestors have either dealt with. Smaller issues, like interpersonal relationships or basic survival, he'll likely still be able to call on memories, experiences and common sense for, but the bigger issues he'll need more assistance on.
In addition to being his first time in such a cold climate, it'll be the first time he's been completely away from family (when counting the Mokolé as a whole as 'family'). Though he won't do it consciously, he'll seek out a group of people to form a surrogate family to help. Until he's able to adapt he'll be more irritable and prone to getting overwhelmed (or depressed) by things, but the sooner he finds a good set of friends to bond with the sooner he'll be back to his normal cheerful self.
(At least until exposure effects kick in :3)
Third person sample: It was always interesting working in the front of the store. While he preferred working with the vehicles in the back, Manny found working with customers every so often was a nice change of pace. Even the irritable ones, like the man he was dealing with now who demanded immediate service even thought he shop was currently full. Manny'd assured him that if he left his vehicle here they'd be able to get to it before closing, but that hadn't been good enough.
Humans were so silly in that way. Everything needed to be quickly, soon, ASAP, right NOW or somehow even faster. He supposed it was a function of their lifespans and lack of memory to make them think everything had to be done so quickly. He hadn't felt that way before he'd come into his own Memory but so many humans just needed to move so quickly. It was sad, and it was funny.
So was wasting so much energy on something that wouldn't actually achieve anything. It was best, he found, to let irate customers get their frustrations out. Interrupting them, even to assure them that the issue would be fixed, often created issues. For centuries frustrated or aggravated humans had simply needed to get their thoughts and feelings out and be heard before any moving on could be done.
It was nice if, once that part was done with, they could then work on fixing the actual issue (even if that was making the human in question realize how silly they were being). That wasn't always an option, like now when Manny couldn't suddenly add more workers or space to the shop, but in his, and his ancestor's, experience letting the other person get their anger out would help in the end.
It didn't matter how much he was insulted during it, either. When worked up, people often didn't mean what they said. Or at least weren't in danger of actually acting on it once they calmed down. So it didn't matter how much the customer called him a moron or incompetent. He could still greet it with a smile and apologetic voice while standing his ground. Maybe if he was lucky by the time this man was done a spot would have opened up.
ACCEPTED
A standard single-story house with a kitchen, living room, dining room, bathroom, and bedroom. The house is empty, though; it seems like no one was living here even when the town was populated. "ALPHONSE ELRIC, STEPHANIE BROWN, EDWARD ELRIC, GREED, DAY SIXTY-ONE, TRAVELLING WEST" is written on the wall, alongside "DEAR FORMER RESIDENT, WE ARE FRIENDS, PLEASE DO NOT FEEL YOU NEED TO HIDE FROM US. CONTACT LELRIC." The following is written on the dining room floor in morse code: Duster, Day 124, Gwen, Melengar, Ratibor, Blackwater, brideeth. Beneath that, also in morse code, is "House annoying. Incredibly annoying."
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Re: ACCEPTED