application: fandom
application: fandom
( Original Character application is here )
➾Please e-mail all apps to DIRTYVEGASMODS(AT)GMAIL.COM with a subject line consisting of:
[Application] Fandom Name - Character Name
APPLICATIONS ARE OPEN AT THIS TIME.
Reserves will open on Thursday, December 15th, 12:00 AM EST (GMT-5).
Applications will open on Thursday, December 22nd, 12:00 AM EST.
Apps & reserves will close on Friday, December 30th, 11:59 PM EST.
At this time any outstanding reserves will be reset. No reserves will be honored beyond the end of November 30th for this round.
See more info on our app schedule here.
A sample application is available for reference here.
A list of commonly asked application questions, as well as more detailed rules regarding canons and adaptations, can be found at the bottom of this entry. We strongly recommend you at least glance over these before writing your app.
Please note that we absolutely will not accept any applications with known plagiarized material. This includes descriptions in the Powers/Abilities section copypasted from Wikipedia, game FAQs and the like. Please write about your character in your own words.
A revision request is not a rejection! We very much dislike having to reject apps, and vastly prefer to work with you to make sure everyone ends up happy with the application. A revision request simply means that we found some issues with some section(s) of your app, but we still feel like you would be an excellent addition to our game.
While we do allow - and encourage! - returning players to re-submit their applications wholesale, please do not assume that you will automatically be re-accepted. Our application standards are constantly evolving, and we cannot justify excluding veteran players from the standards new applicants are held to.
OOC
Name: Your alias of choice. Socks are fine so long as you do not try to play under multiple names in DV.
Contact: AIM/MSN/e-mail/PM/whatever. This is primarily for the mods to contact you; it is up to you to add contact info to the general community page for it, should you choose.
Age: No one under the age of 18 will be admitted to this game, as it contains explicit adult content and adult themes. By submitting an application, you are confirming that you are of legal age to view and participate in this game. Should we find out you have lied, you will be perma-banned from the game. NO EXCEPTIONS.
Current characters: For existing players only. Write N/A if you're applying for your first character.
IC
Name: Personal name, family name.
Fandom: We accept all forms of popular media, provided it is readily accessible in English. Media only available in Japanese/with Japanese reference links is okay if and only if there's little to no expectation it will ever be released in English; characters from the latest blockbuster anime or super popular video game series will have to wait. We can't handle other languages at this time, sorry. Please see the sections on the FAQ and Application pages for more detailed information.
History link: Any reliable fansite will do. We expect this link to be thorough enough to substitute as a history section. If there is not enough out there, please write it out yourself. We do accept reasonable amounts of headcanon and widely accepted fanon in the event of minor characters, but please denote what is canon and what is not. If you do write your own history, please keep it short and sweet. As this is not an intensely plot-driven game, we do not need a 4,000 word novelization of their history - simply a chronological bit of prose mentioning the most important details of their history will be acceptable.
Age: If canon doesn't state it, give us your best estimate. Please understand that any character under the age of 18 is kept in a separate city from the time they are removed from canon to the day they turn 18, whereupon they will be allowed in Vegas. Further details and exceptions on that are here.
Canon point: Just for reference. Please define this by a landmark event rather than an episode/chapter number as we likely won't know all fandoms. A landmark is something such as 'just before his pet dog dies' or 'a few months after he finds out his mother was secretly his father so that he's had time to process the information'.
Personality: Your character as he is now, in the present, in your own words. Give us as complete a psychological profile as you can. We stress quality over quantity, but we encourage that you also be thorough. Don't just give us facts - give us explanations as well. We don't only want to know what a character is like, but also why he is like that. Additionally, try to provide examples of his actions or behavior. Don't just say what he's like - show us as well. Please write this section of your application as though trying to introduce your character to an audience who has never before even heard of him. Do not assume we know your canon well enough to pick up on omitted details.
Headcanon is permitted in this section, so long as it follows a few guidelines:
♥ In the case of canon characters, it must be used only as a supplement to actual events - that is, use it sparingly. Limited canon and original characters will obviously follow a slightly different path.
♥ It must be noted, in some way, which portions of his personality are supposition or headcanon. This is so we can better understand what parts of this section are your unique interpretation, and which parts are standard canon fare.
♥ It must make sense with the rest of your personality section. We do not deny that most characters are complex and often contradictory in their motivations and actions, but we still want to see some sort of cohesive human personality come out of this. Try to avoid head-canon that differs significantly from source material, or that makes your character more/less sympathetic then the author intended.
We consider this to be the most important part of the application, and serious issues here will always warrant a revision.
IMPORTANT: For characters who are underage in their canons, please clearly demonstrate for us in this section how they have matured and changed over the time they've spent in Pleasantville. The younger they are, the more important this becomes. We will be judging aged-up characters more strictly for this reason.
Powers/Abilities: Any abilities your character may have that are above the norm, including non-superhuman skills such as combat training. This is a game where characters are allowed to keep most special powers, so while an exhaustively detailed description is unnecessary, we do ask that you provide at least a thorough summary or outline to aid our understanding. One or two sentences is not acceptable unless the character has no special powers. Please keep in mind that we are trusting you to use powers responsibly - just because you can blow up a building or mind-control the entire city doesn't mean we will take kindly to it if you do.
Prose sample: A minimum of 500 words of introspective prose focusing on your character. Reuse of existing work is acceptable. We will be judging this section especially strictly for all characters, and reserve the right to ask for a revision based solely on our opinion of your demonstrated writing strengths. This is a prose-heavy game; if you cannot show us you can write prose with an acceptable level of introspective maturity, you may need to consider another game.
Links: This is not a required section, but if you have any links to threads you've done with this character at other games/museboxes/dressing rooms/etc., feel free to link them here.
Please make sure that the formatting and paragraph breaks on your e-mail are as legible as possible before sending your app, in addition to the usual spelling and grammar checking. Poor formatting makes it extremely difficult to efficiently process apps, and we reserve the right to ask you for a revision if your app is not laid out in a readable, professional manner.
SO, GOT ANY TIPS FOR US?
Quite a few, actually! Consider this a general list of things we tend to look for in applications:
A Developed Level of Stylistic Writing and Engaging Prose - We are not looking for perfect writing, or pulitzer winning prose. We are simply looking for some indication that your ability to write, to express your character, and to narrate action come together into the sort of cohesive whole that shows us you will be an effective RPer. Dirty Vegas is very prose-heavy, and therefore we feel that demonstrating your ability to consistently produce interesting, engaging prose is paramount to your application. This does not just apply to the sample section, but also to the app as a whole. In short, we want to feel intrigued by your writing.
A Demonstrated Understanding of Grammar and Spelling - This should speak for itself. Dirty Vegas is extremely prose-heavy, and anyone sending us an app riddled with grammatical or spelling errors is demonstrating their lack of self-awareness on the matter. We will send any applications with egregious grammar/spelling violations back for revision, as we very much prefer not to reject them, but continued disregard for the spell-check function in your word processor will certainly not endear your app to us.
An Overall Impression That the Person Who Wrote the App is a Clear, Mature Writer - This is a somewhat nebulous idea, but requires inclusion even so. While there is no one correct way to write, the following are a few things we like to see when we're reading applications. This is not a checklist; merely a list of suggestions:
♥ A decent vocabulary. Not too simple, and not too purple.
♥ A lack of short-hand or slang (like emoticons or txt abbreviations) except where relevant.
♥ A clear and focused style of presenting information. Try not to wander too far off topic.
♥ Confidence. We know that feeling shaky about your character or writing is perfectly common-place, however, so confidence in your determination to try anyway would be fine too.
♥ Some sort of impression that you take your character, your application, and the setting seriously. We know that DV is hardly the most realistic of settings, and we are not nor will we ever be particularly plot/character development -heavy, but that doesn't mean we want to see people submitting apps that have clearly been written for the sole purpose of logging porn. Other things happen around here, and we'd like to see that you are prepared for them.
Remember that this relatively short application is all we have to go on for judging your ability as an RPer. Perhaps you've played elsewhere for years and gotten nothing but shining reviews, but we don't know that, and this application is literally all we get to see of you. If you can't demonstrate your abilities in a sufficiently clear, concise manner, we will more than likely ask for a revision.
X CANON/CHARACTER DOESN'T FIT INTO LITERARY TROPES VERY WELL. WHAT SORT OF HOOPS DO I NEED TO JUMP THROUGH?
Thank you for asking! If you think your character or canon may need special consideration, please drop us a line. Below are our policies towards some common exceptional canons:
Hetalia: While we gladly accept Hetalia characters, we would like to ask that their 'canon point' be an actual historical date or event, and that their personality reflect the country's political and social climate in that chosen time period. Full humanization is also an option, though we encourage you to talk that option over with the other members of the Hetalia cast.
Silent/Player-Chosen-Personality Protagnonists: Examples include but are not limited to the Persona and SMT games, Mass Effect, and any other series where the protagonist either does not speak or hir choices/morality/personality/actions are chosen by the player and therefore may have a variety of legitimate interpretations.
These types of characters are ok under two conditions: a) the protagonist has enough of a distinct personality even with the player choices factored in OR despite their lack of speech to be appable (Link from Twilight Princess; Souji Seta/Minato/ko Arisato from Persona 3/4); or b) the apper picks a personality route and sticks to it for their interpretation (Nocturne MC, Shepard from ME).
For unnamed or player named characters, we ask that you use either an official name or a name that is generally agreed upon by fandom. Making your own name for a nameless character is not acceptable.
Characters with MPD/DID or something similar: If you wish to app a character with multiple distinct independent personalities (this does NOT include manifested 'dark sides' or other offshoots of an existing personality), please write separate personality, powers, and prose samples for each personality. If there are discrepancies in their shared history, please note that as well. Let us know if you have any questions.
SO WHAT ABOUT THIS POKEMON THING ALL THE KIDS ARE TALKING ABOUT?
We readily accept characters from the Pokemon franchise, but are currently only accepting applications from the following series: Pokemon Black and White, Pokemon Colosseum, Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon (all games, though please see our policy on non-humanoid characters for adapting these), Pokemon Ranger (all games), Pokemon Special (the only manga we currently accept as canon, though you are free to make a case for other official manga), and the mothership Pokemon anime. Please contact us if you would like to app from an official series not listed here.
That said, should you app a trainer, your character is free to keep all the gear from their world and can keep their team with all their powers intact. However, their Pokemon must be bought back from Loki one-by-one as a luxury item (gear counts as a personal item), they can only have 6 Pokemon max, and their team must consist of Pokemon they are shown to own in their canon. No legendaries. Please provide links or detailed descriptions of the Pokemon's moves and abilities in the 'powers' section of the application.
LOKI ISN'T THE ONLY GOD OUT THERE! CAN I APP ANOTHER DIVINE/SEMI-DIVINE BEING?
This is a tricky question! Our general answer is no, but there are some significant exceptions. All religiously or divinely inspired characters, as well as those from folk-lore or other types of cultural 'canon' will be judged on a case-by-case basis and, due to the sensitive, scattered nature of cultural 'canons', we reserve the right to reject these types of characters for any reason. The following guidelines are theoretical exceptions to our general rule. Please contact us before considering a character that would fall under this category.
While we do not accept applications of religious figures from practiced religions, we are willing to consider religious figures from extinct religions. This is mostly limited to ancient pantheons (Greek, Egyptian, Celt, Roman, whathaveyou). Due to the setting, however, we cannot allow Norse deities, as that would cause some serious conflict with your lovely overlord. The only exception to the ban on religious figures from practiced religions is if you app them as a character from a non-religious work. For example, you could app the character of Lucifer from a book, game, movie, or manga/anime, but you cannot app Lucifer himself as a personification of the religious figure.
While 'side characters' are acceptable, please do not attempt to app a character copied from a religious figure who is actively worshiped or revered by any peoples in any non-cult religion. Dirty Vegas is, by its very nature, offensive to many religions, but that does not mean we will tolerate the sort of blatant disrespect that comes from intentionally trying to marginalize faith or provoke unnecessary drama.
In all cases, we ask that you pick a major, non-contradictory source as your 'canon'. Myths vary wildly across all cultures, so simply picking a figure out of folklore is not acceptable. Your source can be one book, or one series of myths, so long as all the stories are compliant with each other and demonstrate enough of a personality for your character that they are actually appable. Additionally, we do not accept OCs who are children/relatives/reincarnations/etc of any characters that may fall under this category.
All but the most exceptional of these sources will be considered limited canons, and will be subject to stricter judging criteria.
LIMITED CANON? WHAT'S UP WITH THAT?
There are two answers to this question. First, limited canon could refer to a character who has limited canon, either because they are a background character in a larger work, or because the work in which they appear is itself short or limited. Secondly, a limited canon is that which we feel has too little available source material to be considered a solid canon. This could be folklore, the aforementioned cultural canons, or simply a work that is too scattered or too disconnected to be a solid, linear canon.
We will accept characters from limited canons, provided the applicant understands that they will be judged more like an OC than a canon character - that is, we will look for consistent interpretation, reasonable explanations for missing information, and evidence that your character is well-fleshed out and thought out.
If you have any questions about whether your canon may be considered limited, please contact us before sending in your application. If you reserve beforehand, we will do our best to let you know if we consider your canon limited so that you can have a better idea of how we will judge your app.
Again, these types of characters will be judged a case-by-case basis, and we reserve the right to reject your application or list it as a canon OC if we feel you have not adequately justified your interpretation.
( Original Character application is here )
➾Please e-mail all apps to DIRTYVEGASMODS(AT)GMAIL.COM with a subject line consisting of:
[Application] Fandom Name - Character Name
APPLICATIONS ARE OPEN AT THIS TIME.
Reserves will open on Thursday, December 15th, 12:00 AM EST (GMT-5).
Applications will open on Thursday, December 22nd, 12:00 AM EST.
Apps & reserves will close on Friday, December 30th, 11:59 PM EST.
At this time any outstanding reserves will be reset. No reserves will be honored beyond the end of November 30th for this round.
See more info on our app schedule here.
A sample application is available for reference here.
A list of commonly asked application questions, as well as more detailed rules regarding canons and adaptations, can be found at the bottom of this entry. We strongly recommend you at least glance over these before writing your app.
Please note that we absolutely will not accept any applications with known plagiarized material. This includes descriptions in the Powers/Abilities section copypasted from Wikipedia, game FAQs and the like. Please write about your character in your own words.
A revision request is not a rejection! We very much dislike having to reject apps, and vastly prefer to work with you to make sure everyone ends up happy with the application. A revision request simply means that we found some issues with some section(s) of your app, but we still feel like you would be an excellent addition to our game.
While we do allow - and encourage! - returning players to re-submit their applications wholesale, please do not assume that you will automatically be re-accepted. Our application standards are constantly evolving, and we cannot justify excluding veteran players from the standards new applicants are held to.
OOC
Name: Your alias of choice. Socks are fine so long as you do not try to play under multiple names in DV.
Contact: AIM/MSN/e-mail/PM/whatever. This is primarily for the mods to contact you; it is up to you to add contact info to the general community page for it, should you choose.
Age: No one under the age of 18 will be admitted to this game, as it contains explicit adult content and adult themes. By submitting an application, you are confirming that you are of legal age to view and participate in this game. Should we find out you have lied, you will be perma-banned from the game. NO EXCEPTIONS.
Current characters: For existing players only. Write N/A if you're applying for your first character.
IC
Name: Personal name, family name.
Fandom: We accept all forms of popular media, provided it is readily accessible in English. Media only available in Japanese/with Japanese reference links is okay if and only if there's little to no expectation it will ever be released in English; characters from the latest blockbuster anime or super popular video game series will have to wait. We can't handle other languages at this time, sorry. Please see the sections on the FAQ and Application pages for more detailed information.
History link: Any reliable fansite will do. We expect this link to be thorough enough to substitute as a history section. If there is not enough out there, please write it out yourself. We do accept reasonable amounts of headcanon and widely accepted fanon in the event of minor characters, but please denote what is canon and what is not. If you do write your own history, please keep it short and sweet. As this is not an intensely plot-driven game, we do not need a 4,000 word novelization of their history - simply a chronological bit of prose mentioning the most important details of their history will be acceptable.
Age: If canon doesn't state it, give us your best estimate. Please understand that any character under the age of 18 is kept in a separate city from the time they are removed from canon to the day they turn 18, whereupon they will be allowed in Vegas. Further details and exceptions on that are here.
Canon point: Just for reference. Please define this by a landmark event rather than an episode/chapter number as we likely won't know all fandoms. A landmark is something such as 'just before his pet dog dies' or 'a few months after he finds out his mother was secretly his father so that he's had time to process the information'.
Personality: Your character as he is now, in the present, in your own words. Give us as complete a psychological profile as you can. We stress quality over quantity, but we encourage that you also be thorough. Don't just give us facts - give us explanations as well. We don't only want to know what a character is like, but also why he is like that. Additionally, try to provide examples of his actions or behavior. Don't just say what he's like - show us as well. Please write this section of your application as though trying to introduce your character to an audience who has never before even heard of him. Do not assume we know your canon well enough to pick up on omitted details.
Headcanon is permitted in this section, so long as it follows a few guidelines:
♥ In the case of canon characters, it must be used only as a supplement to actual events - that is, use it sparingly. Limited canon and original characters will obviously follow a slightly different path.
♥ It must be noted, in some way, which portions of his personality are supposition or headcanon. This is so we can better understand what parts of this section are your unique interpretation, and which parts are standard canon fare.
♥ It must make sense with the rest of your personality section. We do not deny that most characters are complex and often contradictory in their motivations and actions, but we still want to see some sort of cohesive human personality come out of this. Try to avoid head-canon that differs significantly from source material, or that makes your character more/less sympathetic then the author intended.
We consider this to be the most important part of the application, and serious issues here will always warrant a revision.
IMPORTANT: For characters who are underage in their canons, please clearly demonstrate for us in this section how they have matured and changed over the time they've spent in Pleasantville. The younger they are, the more important this becomes. We will be judging aged-up characters more strictly for this reason.
Powers/Abilities: Any abilities your character may have that are above the norm, including non-superhuman skills such as combat training. This is a game where characters are allowed to keep most special powers, so while an exhaustively detailed description is unnecessary, we do ask that you provide at least a thorough summary or outline to aid our understanding. One or two sentences is not acceptable unless the character has no special powers. Please keep in mind that we are trusting you to use powers responsibly - just because you can blow up a building or mind-control the entire city doesn't mean we will take kindly to it if you do.
Prose sample: A minimum of 500 words of introspective prose focusing on your character. Reuse of existing work is acceptable. We will be judging this section especially strictly for all characters, and reserve the right to ask for a revision based solely on our opinion of your demonstrated writing strengths. This is a prose-heavy game; if you cannot show us you can write prose with an acceptable level of introspective maturity, you may need to consider another game.
Links: This is not a required section, but if you have any links to threads you've done with this character at other games/museboxes/dressing rooms/etc., feel free to link them here.
Please make sure that the formatting and paragraph breaks on your e-mail are as legible as possible before sending your app, in addition to the usual spelling and grammar checking. Poor formatting makes it extremely difficult to efficiently process apps, and we reserve the right to ask you for a revision if your app is not laid out in a readable, professional manner.
SO, GOT ANY TIPS FOR US?
Quite a few, actually! Consider this a general list of things we tend to look for in applications:
A Developed Level of Stylistic Writing and Engaging Prose - We are not looking for perfect writing, or pulitzer winning prose. We are simply looking for some indication that your ability to write, to express your character, and to narrate action come together into the sort of cohesive whole that shows us you will be an effective RPer. Dirty Vegas is very prose-heavy, and therefore we feel that demonstrating your ability to consistently produce interesting, engaging prose is paramount to your application. This does not just apply to the sample section, but also to the app as a whole. In short, we want to feel intrigued by your writing.
A Demonstrated Understanding of Grammar and Spelling - This should speak for itself. Dirty Vegas is extremely prose-heavy, and anyone sending us an app riddled with grammatical or spelling errors is demonstrating their lack of self-awareness on the matter. We will send any applications with egregious grammar/spelling violations back for revision, as we very much prefer not to reject them, but continued disregard for the spell-check function in your word processor will certainly not endear your app to us.
An Overall Impression That the Person Who Wrote the App is a Clear, Mature Writer - This is a somewhat nebulous idea, but requires inclusion even so. While there is no one correct way to write, the following are a few things we like to see when we're reading applications. This is not a checklist; merely a list of suggestions:
♥ A decent vocabulary. Not too simple, and not too purple.
♥ A lack of short-hand or slang (like emoticons or txt abbreviations) except where relevant.
♥ A clear and focused style of presenting information. Try not to wander too far off topic.
♥ Confidence. We know that feeling shaky about your character or writing is perfectly common-place, however, so confidence in your determination to try anyway would be fine too.
♥ Some sort of impression that you take your character, your application, and the setting seriously. We know that DV is hardly the most realistic of settings, and we are not nor will we ever be particularly plot/character development -heavy, but that doesn't mean we want to see people submitting apps that have clearly been written for the sole purpose of logging porn. Other things happen around here, and we'd like to see that you are prepared for them.
Remember that this relatively short application is all we have to go on for judging your ability as an RPer. Perhaps you've played elsewhere for years and gotten nothing but shining reviews, but we don't know that, and this application is literally all we get to see of you. If you can't demonstrate your abilities in a sufficiently clear, concise manner, we will more than likely ask for a revision.
X CANON/CHARACTER DOESN'T FIT INTO LITERARY TROPES VERY WELL. WHAT SORT OF HOOPS DO I NEED TO JUMP THROUGH?
Thank you for asking! If you think your character or canon may need special consideration, please drop us a line. Below are our policies towards some common exceptional canons:
Hetalia: While we gladly accept Hetalia characters, we would like to ask that their 'canon point' be an actual historical date or event, and that their personality reflect the country's political and social climate in that chosen time period. Full humanization is also an option, though we encourage you to talk that option over with the other members of the Hetalia cast.
Silent/Player-Chosen-Personality Protagnonists: Examples include but are not limited to the Persona and SMT games, Mass Effect, and any other series where the protagonist either does not speak or hir choices/morality/personality/actions are chosen by the player and therefore may have a variety of legitimate interpretations.
These types of characters are ok under two conditions: a) the protagonist has enough of a distinct personality even with the player choices factored in OR despite their lack of speech to be appable (Link from Twilight Princess; Souji Seta/Minato/ko Arisato from Persona 3/4); or b) the apper picks a personality route and sticks to it for their interpretation (Nocturne MC, Shepard from ME).
For unnamed or player named characters, we ask that you use either an official name or a name that is generally agreed upon by fandom. Making your own name for a nameless character is not acceptable.
Characters with MPD/DID or something similar: If you wish to app a character with multiple distinct independent personalities (this does NOT include manifested 'dark sides' or other offshoots of an existing personality), please write separate personality, powers, and prose samples for each personality. If there are discrepancies in their shared history, please note that as well. Let us know if you have any questions.
SO WHAT ABOUT THIS POKEMON THING ALL THE KIDS ARE TALKING ABOUT?
We readily accept characters from the Pokemon franchise, but are currently only accepting applications from the following series: Pokemon Black and White, Pokemon Colosseum, Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon (all games, though please see our policy on non-humanoid characters for adapting these), Pokemon Ranger (all games), Pokemon Special (the only manga we currently accept as canon, though you are free to make a case for other official manga), and the mothership Pokemon anime. Please contact us if you would like to app from an official series not listed here.
That said, should you app a trainer, your character is free to keep all the gear from their world and can keep their team with all their powers intact. However, their Pokemon must be bought back from Loki one-by-one as a luxury item (gear counts as a personal item), they can only have 6 Pokemon max, and their team must consist of Pokemon they are shown to own in their canon. No legendaries. Please provide links or detailed descriptions of the Pokemon's moves and abilities in the 'powers' section of the application.
LOKI ISN'T THE ONLY GOD OUT THERE! CAN I APP ANOTHER DIVINE/SEMI-DIVINE BEING?
This is a tricky question! Our general answer is no, but there are some significant exceptions. All religiously or divinely inspired characters, as well as those from folk-lore or other types of cultural 'canon' will be judged on a case-by-case basis and, due to the sensitive, scattered nature of cultural 'canons', we reserve the right to reject these types of characters for any reason. The following guidelines are theoretical exceptions to our general rule. Please contact us before considering a character that would fall under this category.
While we do not accept applications of religious figures from practiced religions, we are willing to consider religious figures from extinct religions. This is mostly limited to ancient pantheons (Greek, Egyptian, Celt, Roman, whathaveyou). Due to the setting, however, we cannot allow Norse deities, as that would cause some serious conflict with your lovely overlord. The only exception to the ban on religious figures from practiced religions is if you app them as a character from a non-religious work. For example, you could app the character of Lucifer from a book, game, movie, or manga/anime, but you cannot app Lucifer himself as a personification of the religious figure.
While 'side characters' are acceptable, please do not attempt to app a character copied from a religious figure who is actively worshiped or revered by any peoples in any non-cult religion. Dirty Vegas is, by its very nature, offensive to many religions, but that does not mean we will tolerate the sort of blatant disrespect that comes from intentionally trying to marginalize faith or provoke unnecessary drama.
In all cases, we ask that you pick a major, non-contradictory source as your 'canon'. Myths vary wildly across all cultures, so simply picking a figure out of folklore is not acceptable. Your source can be one book, or one series of myths, so long as all the stories are compliant with each other and demonstrate enough of a personality for your character that they are actually appable. Additionally, we do not accept OCs who are children/relatives/reincarnations/etc of any characters that may fall under this category.
All but the most exceptional of these sources will be considered limited canons, and will be subject to stricter judging criteria.
LIMITED CANON? WHAT'S UP WITH THAT?
There are two answers to this question. First, limited canon could refer to a character who has limited canon, either because they are a background character in a larger work, or because the work in which they appear is itself short or limited. Secondly, a limited canon is that which we feel has too little available source material to be considered a solid canon. This could be folklore, the aforementioned cultural canons, or simply a work that is too scattered or too disconnected to be a solid, linear canon.
We will accept characters from limited canons, provided the applicant understands that they will be judged more like an OC than a canon character - that is, we will look for consistent interpretation, reasonable explanations for missing information, and evidence that your character is well-fleshed out and thought out.
If you have any questions about whether your canon may be considered limited, please contact us before sending in your application. If you reserve beforehand, we will do our best to let you know if we consider your canon limited so that you can have a better idea of how we will judge your app.
Again, these types of characters will be judged a case-by-case basis, and we reserve the right to reject your application or list it as a canon OC if we feel you have not adequately justified your interpretation.