Sample Application

Sample Application Explanation

In order to help newcomers with the web-based application process, I have written up a sample application below for a random concept OC. Please note that this is meant to be a guideline of the type of applications that do well on XMR. There may also be some inconsistencies as I have not had the chance to proof-read this (to happen in the near future once the applications list gets a little smaller!), so keep in mind that this is a first-draft. But it should give some idea as to the sorts of things we look for in an application, what kind of format works, power-levels, etc.

Pipes

If you take note of the attributes in powers, skills, etc., you will see that there is a title for the section, then a "pipe" ( | ) symbol and the explanation following it. If you're willing to put this type of formatting into your application from the get-go, it would be appreciated. It's not necessary, granted, but if you do this, it makes life easier for the appstaff, since we have to copy and paste your application onto the game once it's approved and manually put this formatting in. Putting these in speeds up the process on-game for getting your character ready for you!

Carriage Returns

If you notice, when a single entry needs to be split up, there are two carriage return symbols put at the end of a paragraph: %R%R

If you wish to put these in for us as well, feel free, otherwise we also need to put these in manually while copying and pasting. Just like with pipes, putting these in speeds up the process on-game for getting your character ready for you!

Paragraphs & Titles

As requested in other files, we also ask that you keep things broken up into manageable paragraphs, if nothing else, putting titles on entries where you can so that it makes it easier for us to read and copy & paste onto the game later. You may also put titles into your bg in sections, otherwise they will be broken up into parts called 1, 2, 3, etc.

For more notes about formatting preferences and requirements, also see the Formatting page.

Flaws, Skills and Resources

Every character should have Flaws, Skills and Resources filled out. Even high school students would have resources, for example, such as parents to fall back on in emergencies, or their teachers, maybe even part-time jobs or drivers licenses, etc. Skills for them would also include subjects they're good at, sports that they indulge in, any pertinent hobbies, etc. Everyone should have all three sections filled. No exceptions. Even homeless have resources such as known shelters and meal wagons.

Note: Powers-related flaws should go into the Powers section, not Flaws, so be sure to fill up the Flaws section with non-power-related flaws!

Full Explanations

Once again, as explained in other files, full explanations for every entry are necessary because we are not a stat-based game, so the write-ups are what defines what your character can and cannot possibly do. Remember to work into these things such as 'outs' for other players, possibilities for failure, limitations and restrictions, etc.


The Application:

IC Info

Character Name (login name): Mort
Fullname: Mortimer Mourning
Actual Age: 25
Apparent Age: 25
Codename: The Mime

Background

Mortimer was born to Molly and Mark Mourning in 1990. Raised in Manhattan, Mort had a pretty normal life, as these things go. His father was an honest man who worked hard to support his family, working in a meat-packing facility in Jersey for long hours, decent pay and even benefits. His mother took time off of working to stay at home with him until he could go to school, then got a job waiting tables at a local English pub, bringing home a minimum wage paycheck every two weeks but a bit of a decent bonus in tips each night.%R%R

While they were never rich and it took them about ten years after Mort was born to buy their first (if small) brownstone in Jersey after living in a cramped apartment in Manhattan. It just made sense to move closer to Mark's work. Molly simply found another waitressing job in New Jersey once they settled. By this point, the boy was ten and didn't like the upset of moving away from his friends, but his parents did what they could to get his friends out to visit him or vice versa on a weekly basis so that he didn't lose touch with them.%R%R

He started to rebel a year or so later, wearing black clothing, painting his face up like some demented goth clown. All his friends were doing it. For a while, it was just the manner of dress and the music he chose, but eventually he started acting out. It started with a handful of detentions in school and dropping grades. But then he got into scraps with other students at school, which meant the principal started getting involved. Suspensions happened. He was facing expulsion as well, but his parents fought hard to keep him in school, despite his apparent lack of interest.%R%R

They chalked it up to puberty. That's likely all it was. He was starting to become a very angry young man. He was picked on in school. He had a big mouth but not the big muscles to back it up. He was jealous of what other people had and was essentially spoiled, as an only child. His parents both worked, often odd hours, so he was often alone when he was old enough to take care of himself for a few hours. He longed for attention though he'd never admit it. %R%R

His parents were desperate. They tried counselling. They tried encouraging him to get involved in sports or other extracurricular activities, even more academic or crafty. He grew more and more dispassionate about the goings on about him. But on an off-handed suggestion from his desperately pleading mother, he tried out for the drama club one day.%R%R

And he stuck with it.%R%R

He found that he liked acting. He could, for a short time, be someone else. He could put on a costume and maybe some makeup or a mask and just not be Mort, the weakling. And best of all? He got the attention he craved. When he was in front of a crowd, people paid proper attention to him. They respected him. They applauded him. He loved it.%R%R

He started to come around a bit. The fighting all but stopped at school. His marks got better. It seemed that acting was the medicine he needed. It didn't cure him, certainly, but it gave him relief for those things which ailed him such as the desire for attention, a focus and so on. He got serious about it and by his senior year, he was the lead in one of the plays in the local drama festival, organizing the drama club at school, getting high 90s in his acting classes and just generally doing better than ever.%R%R

The idea that he was a possible mutant hadn't even come up by the time he got into college in the theater program back in Manhattan. There, he learned about many different acting forms, including miming. Seeing the clothes and the makeup made him nostalgic for an angrier time, but without a need to go back to those emotions — unless on stage, of course. He found he fell in love with this style over any. The idea of being able to make someone believe, even for an instant, that you really were walking into a huge wind where none existed appealed to him greatly. There was just something about it that was truly magnificent and powerful. To be able to do this without a cast, without a script, without any words and just use movement to convey what you wanted was extremely appealing to him.%R%R

And so he exceled in this. He performed as a mime as often as he could, even taking to the streets and Central Park to perform. In fact, it was a great source of spare income, as he found out. Despite what people say about mimes being creepy, people still are intrigued by it and consider it an interesting performance. Whether they appreciate it or not, they appreciate the idea of a busker and will usually toss a few coins or bills at a busker just on sheer principle. %R%R

It was only during a particular performance that his powers finally manifested. They had lain dormant for years, perhaps even much longer than most mutants experience. But during a late-night performance in Central Park, he realized that while he was miming being sleepy and arranging an invisible pillow on a park bench, that others started doing the head-bob thing, fighting sleep from taking over. The longer he kept it up, the more into it they got and before long, people were sleeping and yawning all around him in his immediate vicinity.%R%R

At first, he was outraged. He took it as an insult, not realizing it was due to any mutant powers. But when it happened a second night with other people, he began to wonder what was going on. On another evening, he began his one routine which involved him sneaking around in a very obvious fashion. He'd 'hide' behind a sapling, then a pole, then he'd run and to a small somersault into a bush that was too small for him to hide behind as well. This is when he realized no one was really even paying him any heed. He tried this out in the daylight. He eventually decided to try to sneak into the girls' changeroom at one point in his school — and it worked. Well, that is, it worked until he lost his concentration and stood there, oogling at one of the girls who was about to undress. That's when she spotted him and screamed. He ran off and did his best to lie low for a few days, but campus security finally figured out who he was.%R%R

When he was questioned, he did some quick-talking claiming that he used to sleep-walk when he was a kid (an obvious lie), that he had been on meds for it at one time, and that this habit had started to plague him once again. As the girl confirmed that he, too, looked rather dumbfounded when she screamed, it added creedence to his report that he had simply woken up there when she screamed and was just as confused as everyone else as to how he had gotten there. It was a flimsy excuse and security was obviously not buying it, but as the girl decided not to press matters and Mort seemed rather apologetic and promised it would never happen again, they let him off with a good warning. If he did it again, he would be expelled and charged by NYPD for peeping and other charges. It was messy and scary for him and now he's on record with the campus security as being a person of interest.%R%R

Mort had a lot of thinking to do. His miming abilities seemed ramped up. It wasn't coincidence. And for the time being, it only worked with a few types of messages, so to speak: he could make people sleepy, make them go away, or make himself nearly blend into the background and seem unnoticed to people around him. But what could he use all that for? He couldn't make money off of that; not legally, anyway. And nevermind that, but there was a name for people like him: Mutant. And in the political atmosphere of the day, being a Mutant was not a good thing. Kelly made sure of that. Mort has been very careful to be the first to get the hell out of Dodge during a Sentinel attack. Although his powers are not obvious and probably not harmful, he could still be detected as a mutant and since he's not bothered registering, that could be bad.%R%R

He's since graduated and is living on his own in Manhattan, working a couple of part-time jobs and doing his miming on the side, though his potential for what he could use his newfound powers for are still uncertain to him. He just lives day to day, trying to make an honest living and keep his head down. He hasn't attempted to seek shelter at Ryker's because he doesn't want to be identified too easily as a mutant. But it might only be a matter of time before he's caught or forced to pick a side. For now, he just doesn't want to get caught up in it all and wants to be left alone.

Powers

Overview & Limitations|Mort is a capable mime due to his training, to be sure, but his mutant powers amplify them to the next level. First, he must act in a way which is in line with the ability he wishes to use (see explanations below). His range is generally only a 20-foot radius and only affects people who are actually looking at him, so he must be within their line of sight. It doesn't matter if he can see them, they /must/ see him for the effects to work. It should also be noted that he has to concentrate for each ability to work and only one ability at a time may be employed, especially since it tends to be a crowd effect — everyone around him would be experiencing the same effect.%R%R

So, in essence, he can't make half of a crowd fall asleep while creeping out and repelling the rest. It just can't work that way. It's an all or nothing deal. Particularly strong-willed people, telepaths (especially those with some experience with illusions or mind control) or anyone under the influence of stimulants, for example, may be resistent or altogether immune to the effects. Anyone under the influence of depressants or sleep deprivation, for example, may find themselves being affected more easily than others. There may also be varying degrees of effect — it's not always 'work, doesn't work' with his abilities. He can only keep up any effect as 'active' for ten minutes at any given time and has to remain focused on the task, so he can't make people fall asleep so he can rob them blind at the same time, as an example. External forces may interrupt the effect, as well, such as sudden, loud noises (e.g. car backfires, gunshots, feedback in a microphone, etc.).%R%R

He cannot make people do anything which would put them in harm's way. He cannot make people who are driving pass out at the wheel (primarily because they will be concentrating too hard on driving to pay much attention to him, first of all, but secondly it would go against their sense of self-preservation). He cannot creep people out enough to make them run into a burning building. If they're trying to get away from him, they will pick the route that will not harm themselves or just put distance between themselves and The Mime. He also cannot talk in the middle of his pantomimes or it will break the illusion.

Sleep Inducer|Mort is capable, through his powers of miming, of inducing grogginess and fatigue to flat-out sleeping in a crowd of people. He must actively pantomime things equated with sleeping or sleepiness, such as yawning, yawning-stretches, curling up on the ground or a bench and pretending to hug a teddy-bear or fluff a pillow, etc. He must do this in a convincing manner or it won't work. The effects usually last no longer than five to twenty minutes after he has left an area or lost his concentration, depending on each person's strength of will, alertness prior to being affected, etc. People will not stay asleep for the 20 minutes if the effect lasts that long, but once his concentration breaks and he runs off, they will wake up and suffer the effects of grogginess dependent upon their own physical and mental situations.

The Creep|This power is primarily defensive in nature. Mort can, if he mimes the part right, creep people out enough that the'll just go away and leave him alone. This isn't about control or suggestion as much as people will just wig right out about something about him and decide to walk away. The pantomime might be as simple as him following one person or a group of people around, staring at them without blinking with a strange look on his face. Or maybe he'll mime something gross like picking his nose and inspecting it, then trying to show the invisible product to the people he wants to get rid of. Whatever the case may be, providing he's successful, they will get creeped out or grossed out or whatever and will leave him alone. Once they turn away, the effect fades as the other effects do, but it should be enough time for him to put more distance between them before the targets realize and remember they wanted to be up in his grill for whatever reason.

Obfuscator|With some work, Mort can make himself move about practically unseen. He must press his back up against walls with his palms flat against them, fingers splayed as he sidles along them, or he can tip-toe (in an obvious fashion) from tree trunk to pole, in an attempt to obviously hide behind them, etc. The effect, generally, is that he will quite literally blend into the background. People might actually see him, but they won't realize that he's not supposed to be there, or they won't pay him any mind. They might look right at him, as that is needed for his power to even work, but when they look away, they'll practically forget that he's there.%R%R

He must remain completely focused on maintaining the act and keeping his end goal in mind and sight, or this will utterly fail. He must also be mindful not to do anything which would shatter the effect, such as stepping on dry twigs if he's truly trying to sneak around, as this would put a security guard on the alert, for example, or knocking over a vase and breaking it, etc. This does not fool technology (he would show up on a surveillance video, however, and security guards alerted in this fashion will not be affected by his Obfuscator power when they arrive actively looking for him), nor the stronger-willed, psychics, etc. as mentioned above. If he needs a break in the middle, he should find /real/ shelter so no one can see him or discover him for sure.

Concentration & Distractions|He's only able to keep any of the above effects with full concentration for a total of 10 minutes at any given time. He can only do any effect for 3 10-minute stretches in a row. After that, he can't concentrate to make it or any of his tricks work. He would need to get sleep, meditation or just some kind of relaxation for at least an hour before he could attempt anything again. If someone interrupts him somehow, it is harder for him to drop into his role again to pick up the effect where he left off and he may not be able to gain the focus to do so at all in some (many) cases. Alternately, people who have already been 'fooled' by his ability once that day will not be as susceptible for a second or third attempt, each attempt making it increasingly difficult to pull the wool over his targets' eyes.

Flaws

Over-Confident|Mort tends to be cocky for a weasely little guy, but mostly in conjunction to his abilities. Some people are just not affected by his abilities and no matter how many times this fact gets him into trouble, he is convinced in their infallibility. Despite getting popped in the nose more than once or even implicated in pick-pocket schemes though he never does the pick-pocketing, it doesn't stop him from assuming his powers are always going to work /this time/.

Little Big-Man Syndrome|He's a little weasel of a man. He's short, standing at 5'6" and weighing 130 lbs. But for some reason, perhaps because he's a mutant, he seems to think he's bigger and/or tougher than he looks. He mouths off at people all the time, which is rather ironic considering he's a mime by trade. When the makeup goes on, he's silent, but that's about the only time when he is.

Severe Phobia: Snakes|He doesn't have issues with most things that people are afraid of such as heights, enclosed spaces, bugs, spiders and rodents. No, he shares the same phobia as Indiana Jones: snakes. But unlike the adventurous scholar, his fear is severe, to the point of him running away while screaming like a little girl. No, he can't just say, "Snakes. Why'd it have to be snakes?" and then grimace his way through the room to get to the damsel in distress. He would be reduced to cowering in a corner or running away and causing quite the scene while he did so.

Poor Lady Luck|Whether it's due to his over-confidence, choice of profession or simply a matter of the luck of the draw, Mort seems to have no luck with the ladies. He tries to be a ladies' man. He tries to be suave and smooth. More often than not, he comes off as a sleaze-ball who no self-respecting woman would bother giving any time to. Each time he gets shot down is a real shot to his ego which leads to self-destructive behaviour such as too much smoking, drinking and gambling.

Vices: Smoking, Drinking and Gambling|When feeling down, frustrated or angry, Mort falls back on one of his many vices. Chain-smoking, too much drinking and gambling himself into weeks or months worth of debt is not unusual for him when he's feeling low. Nothing is stranger to see than a depressed mime, knocking back his sixth shot of whiskey (bottle nearby), an overflowing ashtray in front of him, trying to bluff his way through one last hand in hopes of winning back his rent money.

Person Of Interest|On a Manhattan college campus, Mort is a person of interest because of a foolish attempt to get into the women's changeroom there with his powers. He managed to talk himself out of the situation but not without it going on record that he might be a troublemaker or resident pervert. He kept his head down and didn't slip up after that but if he were to end up on campus again and was recognized, security could even charge him for trespassing if they wanted.

Not Registered|He considered registering a while ago when it was still voluntary to do so, but then it became mandatory and the Sentinels hit the streets, he changed his tune. Why on earth would he make himself more of a target? But if someone figures him out and turns him in, he'll get tossed in jail or worse pretty quickly if he can't hide fast enough.

Skills

Pantomime|He wouldn't be The Mime if he wasn't somewhat good at miming, right? Well, he actually is classically trained, having gone to school for acting. His studies included Jacques Copeau, commedia del'arte, Japanese Noh theatre, kabuki theatre and the like, as well as more 'traditional' acting methods, such as Stanislavski's system and the Method acting system, history of Medieval Passion Plays, etc. But it was his interest in Jacque Copeau and miming that got him started. Eventually he busked in Central Park and at festivals and has been doing so ever since. He's no master by any means, but he's considerably good at it, as mimes go.

Acting and Subterfuge|Considering his classical training (as mentioned above in Skills: Pantomime), he's a pretty decent actor. Mort can usually talk his way out of most sticky situations (there will always be exceptions, of course), and could easily convince someone that he is one way as opposed to another. He could talk them up like they're his new best friend, though he's only interested in getting something out of them.

Balance|His sense of balance is pretty darned good and while he was never a gymnast or ballet dancer, he can easily keep himself balanced while moving across a slanted rooftop or narrow ledge providing he can do so without external factors trying to foil him. Not that he's in these situations often, but there was something in his acting training and movement classes that helped keep his every day movements rather even, measured and balanced. He's not able to walk a tight-rope but he might manage sort of walking a straight line after a couple of beers.

Bartending|He's not fit to rank up there with Tom Cruise in Cocktail, but he can mix a mean Screwdriver or Bloody Mary. He sometimes needs to refer to a bartending recipe book for the lesser-known/ordered cocktails but he can whip up the regulars quickly and competently enough.

Driving|Mort holds a valid New York driver's license and is able to drive cars and motorcycles under the law. He's certainly no crack-driver but can do reasonably well in rush-hour traffic.

Resources

Car|Mort does own a little two-door compact car. It's a Hyundai with no power breaks, no power steering and no power windows. Well, there's no power anything, to be honest. It's a shit-box on wheels but it does the trick when he wants to get from point A to point B and back… maybe.

Various Jobs|Currently, he is a regular busker in Central Park, weather permitting. While he's certainly not rolling in the dough, he can easily make enough in a week to deal with his rent but little else. It is because of this that he has to carry on a couple of other part-time jobs to make ends meet. He currently works part-time on weekends as a bartender and through the week as a janitor through a temp agency, moving from business to business as ordered. These help pay for the rest of his bills, including food.

Savings|He doesn't have much but he still has $20,000 left over from his college fund that never got used because he lived at home while going to school. He tries not to dip into this too often, preferring to keep that nest egg sitting there, collecting interest. In a pinch, he could probably access up to $2000 in a 48 hour timeframe with notification to the bank. Anything more than that will take time, verification, etc.

Mime Clothing & Makeup|One of his few extravagances is his mime costume and makeup collection. While it probably wouldn't be of value to anyone else, he has invested a couple thousand dollars on his collection over the years, making sure that it's properly dry-cleaned, pressed and stored, when it comes to the clothing, and that the makeup is among the top of the line. If he were to at least auction the clothes, he'd probably get a couple hundred dollars for it all. Maybe even up to a thousand.

Parents|While he's moved out and they don't know that he's a mutant, he could call on his parents in a pinch if he needed something like shelter in their New Jersey home or even a small loan at the time. He wouldn't want to do so, since he's fairly independent now, but who knows what will happen when the chips are down?

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