ourearth: General Mod icon, shows Earth (Default)
Save Our Earth Mods ([personal profile] ourearth) wrote2017-12-11 01:07 pm
  • Add Memory
  • Share This Entry

Guide to the application: What are we looking for?

A quick guide to what we look for in an SoE application, section by section:

Basic Info:
• If a character doesn't have a full name or a definite age in canon, then you don't need to provide them for their pre-incarnation. We do ask that their reincarnation has both (if applicable - an animal character doesn't need a full name, for example) - you're free to make them up yourself, after all!
• If a character's canon has multiple versions that are technically not the same canon (an original and spinoff/reboot, a book version and a film version, etc.), we do ask that it's clear which version you're using! If you want to use one version to supplement another, please note that here.
• If your character's canon is part of an umbrella canon, please note that here as well.
• A character's re-incarnation may look as similar to their pre-incarnation as you like, within reason, in that a reincarnated character's appearance must be plausible on Earth. For example, if a character's original had violet hair, you may write that they now have hair of a plainer color and/or note that they dye it. Physical features that are unusual by Earth standards can, of course, be Echoed later on!

Pre-Incarnated History:
• You can either write a history wholesale (covering both events directly concerning your character and a brief explanation of any jargon relevant to them), or link a resource and provide a brief summary of your character's history to show how you understand their role in canon in your own words. Bullet points are also acceptable.
• You may link or write information that draws from alternate versions/adaptations of your character's canon if it doesn't contradict the version of canon that you've stated you'll be drawing them from - if you specify that you'll be using it as headcanon!
• If your character is from a canon which includes player/reader choice, please include what route/version of events you'll be treating as "canon" for their past life.

Reincarnated History:
• You don't need to give the unabridged story of their life here, but do note any key points or influences here that shaped who they are today or otherwise give a sense of what kind of life they've lived/are living here! Do they have family, and how do they get along with them? What is their job, and if it's a real career, why did they choose it? Etc.
• Characters are normal people and animals living on normal Earth! Again, you don't need to be extensive with the details, but a character's history needs to line up with real-life plausibility. We may check or ask you to double-check research or facts brought up in what you have in mind for your character. For example, if your character is in their late twenties but you mention that they have a degree which a person isn't ordinarily able to obtain until their late thirties, we'll ask you to explain how they obtained it at their age, or if you're willing to move things around.
• Regarding locations, the rule of the thumb is that Mossgate, being a fairly large and internationally minded town, and Tarwich, being a bland suburban development village, are the most flexible and open. Folkton is the stereotypical countryside village: Intensely locally minded with a few big families whose presence in the village stretches back centuries. Few outsiders (British or foreign) stay for long, and those who do stay usually marry into one of those families. Moss Manor is a younger and less closed-off, but still very similar and international characters will find it harder to fit in.

First Echo:
• Naturally, we will need the trigger and what was gained - but if the trigger was a "reminder" of your character's past life, the relationship between it and the gain needs to be clear!

Pre-Incarnated Personality:
• What sort of person do you understand a character's pre-incarnation to be? How did they influence or react to events in their canon, and how might their canon circumstances have influenced them? Please do make reference to their behaviour and/or other facts in canon to describe who they were at their "core"!

Reincarnated Personality:
• As with above, we're looking for a sense of who your character is both by inclination and due to circumstances. If you're having trouble thinking of reincarnated differences, get creative thinking about the latter - how might being from an entirely different line of work/family/species/culture/setting/time period have shaped them?
• This section should additionally touch on not only what living a different life took away from their pre-incarnated persona, but also what it added on. For example, if a character spent most of their original life as a soldier and their reincarnation has been living a peaceful life on a family farm, it should mention not only how not being a soldier has changed them but how specifically living an idyllic life did.

Abilities:
• Touch on understanding of limitations and ways that a character canonically gets creative with them! If a character has a load of abilities or ways that their abilities can manifest, the bare basics/categories of abilities/whatever measure of depth you find manageable followed by a detailed link is acceptable.
• Please use bullet points for this section.

Samples:
• We'll be looking for a certain amount of personal introspection and/or behaviours in the third-person sample and a distinguishable "voice" in their network sample. The contents/setup for both should also ideally not be too similar (for example, a character being excited about their newly-acquired pyrokinetic powers in the third-person sample and them being shown using them in the network sample).
• We accept linked samples.
• One sample must be set in the SoE-verse and thus be specifically written for their SoE-incarnation, while the other must portray the original character.
• Any samples must be no more than a year old.


Sample Applications:

If you have any more questions with regards to preparing a character for reincarnation or writing your application, please feel free to ask it on the F.A.Q. and/or get a hold of a mod!