mayfield_ooc | Applications

• Please read over all the rules and information before applying in order to minimize any confusion before joining.

• If applying for a character that has already been dropped, it would be a good idea, though not required, to know something of their previous interactions. You are also free to pick up a dropped character with no memories of their previous time in Mayfield.

• All content for the personality and sample entry in your app must be written or roleplayed by you; for the personality section in particular, we do not accept copied text from wikis or other sources. Obviously, you may not copy your app from other players, whether in Mayfield or other games. Application plagiarism will result in a ban from the game.

• If you wish for your character to be placed in a specific house, please mention this in the relevant section of the application and specify that permission was obtained by the PCs already residing in that house. We will be operating by the Honor System for this, and there is no need for others to comment their permission in this post!

• Other special requests would also best go in the beginning of the application. Remember, grammar and spelling are important -- if your app contains errors, you will be asked to revise.

• Please post all applications or canon updates in this post; posting them elsewhere and linking to them from here may cause them to get changed later. Posting them here keeps us from having to save them.

When Applying, Fill Out the Following:

Name: Not the character's name, but yours or however you'd like us to refer to you.
Personal Journal: If you have one; a journal on another website is fine.
Contact Info: Any other way of contacting you. IM screen names, e-mail address, etc. AIM appears to be the common link between most players, so having a handle on AIM is preferable.
Other Characters Played: Any other characters you play at Mayfield, if applicable.
Preferred Housing: We encourage random matches, but if there is a particular house you want, you will need to contact every person in the house for permission. Please post your app AFTER doing this. If you cannot get in contact with any one person, please wait a week after contact and we'll accept it as a good faith effort. It is not necessary for those you received permission from to comment; we believe you! If you have no housing preference, simply put "N/A".

Character Name: Names, nicknames, whatever is applicable. In western order, please. If the character has no last name (adult males especially), you are free to either make one up or let us do it.
Character Series: 
Character Age: 
Background: We will accept copy/pastes or links to Wikipedia or another source, provided that the source reasonably explains the canon. This section is necessary, so if you can't find an explanatory source, you'll have to write something up yourself.
Personality: The more detailed here, the better. This lets us get a good feel for the character. Please try to back up your details with canon examples when you're getting past their basic character and more in-depth. Generally, we want to see at least four good-sized paragraphs.
Abilities: This section may end up being optional for you. If your character has any abilities or powers, such as magic, they'll be taken away upon arrival in Mayfield. These will come back over time, though.
Sample Entry: Please write as if you've already been accepted and writing an ordinary post from your character during their stay in Mayfield. Using an "introduction" post is fine, but we tend to discourage it, as the typical "who am I where am I what is this crazy place" format doesn't really give us a good grasp of how your character will behave on a daily basis. If you have trouble writing sample posts, we allow links to museboxes or other RPs to demonstrate as a sample. However, you'll want to post with the account you'll be linking to in that situation. Please make sure that your app is written in first person (!!!), as that's the format that will be used in the roleplay. Generally, we want to see at least five sentences, if not more. Prose log style samples will not be accepted. If you're confused about the distinction, we will be happy to explain. Remember, we're looking for FIRST-PERSON format; prose narration is fine, but it cannot make up the bulk of the entry.

When Applying for an Original Character, Fill Out the Following

Name: Not the character's name, but yours or however you'd like us to refer to you.
Personal Journal:
Contact Info: Any other way of contacting you. IM screen names, e-mail address, etc. AIM appears to be the common link between most players, so having a handle on AIM is preferable.
Other Characters Played: Any other characters you play at Mayfield, if applicable.
Preferred Housing: We encourage random matches, but if there is a particular house you want, you will need to contact every person in the house for permission. Please post your app AFTER doing this. If you cannot get in contact with any one person, please wait a week after contact and we'll accept it as a good faith effort. It is not necessary for those you received permission from to comment; we believe you! If you have no housing preference, simply put "N/A".

Character Name: Names, nicknames, whatever is applicable. In western order, please. If the character has no last name (adult males especially), you are free to either make one up or let us do it. 
Character Age: 
Background: For OCs, we require a detailed background to be fully written out. Please make sure to describe both the character's specific, personal background, and the world the character is from. If it is exactly like the real world, you'll still need to describe the location and the specifics of the society the character lives in (also please note here that we no longer accept 'Canon OCs,' so if this world is not one invented by you, the character is not appable).

This section will need to be somewhat long; there's no specific length we want, but we want to have a very clear feel of the character's backstory, so that we can compare it to the personality section.
Personality: This section is probably the most important. We're looking for at least six or seven paragraphs, but what's more important is that this be comprehensive and detailed. We want to see what makes your character tick, and we want to see that you understand what makes them tick and have fleshed them out as a character. Some things we will need to see include their important relationships and the major events in their lives and how these have shaped them, how they tend to interact with others and the world around them, their strengths and weaknesses, and what motivates them, among others.

If we do not have a strong sense of personality or it doesn't seem to match up with the background or sample, we will not accept the character even if your writing is strong.
Abilities: This section may end up being optional for you. If your character has any abilities or powers, such as magic, they'll be taken away upon arrival in Mayfield. These will come back over time, though.
Sample Entry 1: We're looking for a first person sample here; prose or action log format is not acceptable. If you write a sample, please write as though your character has already been accepted and is in Mayfield. You may write an introduction or first post, but we tend to discourage this, as the typical "who am I where am I what is this crazy place" format doesn't really give us a good grasp of how your character will behave on a daily basis. You may also use a link to a post in a dressing room, another game, or a musebox. We're looking specifically for a clear sense of character voice; spelling and grammar are important, but showing strong voice and characterization is more important than anything else. Remember, we're looking for FIRST-PERSON format; prose narration is fine, but it cannot make up the bulk of the entry.
Sample Entry 2: In this sample, we'd like to see a different side of your character than we saw in your first sample. This sample also needs to be in first person, but you may do a sample heavily based on introspection and action as long as it shows us a different side of your character and your first sample was strongly focused on speaking voice. For this sample, we will ask you to write something out as though your character is already in Mayfield. Please do not link to a sample elsewhere or use their first post/waking up in Mayfield here. That can go in the first sample instead.

• Before applying, please look over any applications that were recently accepted to get an idea of what we're looking for.

• If you apply for a character that has already been reserved, we will inform you and ignore the application until the reserve runs out. You may not apply for more than two characters from the same canon. For the sample entry, you may write your own entry, or use a post from a musebox, dressing room, or other game. We recommend testrun_box if you prefer the latter!

• After you're accepted, please follow all of the instructions given. You will need to reply to the acceptance, post your journal to the friend add page and your canon post, join the communities, and use the friend add page to update your journal. Once you're accepted, please introduce yourself on the community when you're ready to play.

• If your app is "Pending", do not freak out! This means that we need you to make some revisions, and does not mean you're rejected. We generally give players a chance to revise before rejecting them, but we will reject apps that do not address the concerns stated when we asked for a revision. If you have been rejected, our reply will clearly state this to be the case. If we have not gotten back to you yet, under no circumstance does this mean you are rejected. If it has been over a week since our last reply, it would be a good idea to contact us with a reminder, otherwise, please be patient!

• If you have received a "Pending" notice, you will have one week to supply us with your revisions, or your reserve will be considered expired and that someone else is free to apply for the character.

• The typical wait for a reply on apps may be anywhere from a day to a little over a week. If any part of your application requires a pending, it may be another week after your reply to that before we can get to you. We process a high volume of apps every round, so please be patient.

• If you have not heard back on a pending for over a week after apps close, please send a PM directly to the mod account.

APPLICATIONS ARE CLOSED.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Personality: Raleigh has no soul.

A cat stole it. Or at least that's what she tells people. At least, that's what she would tell people if she told people anything, but that's besides the point. She is definite about not having a soul. It's just something she can feel, that she just knows without question. She used to just think it, but lately she's been really thinking it. She believes a cat stole it. She does have a different hypothesis, but It involves her own mother selling it to the devil for financial success and the devil giving the soul to a cat.

It might sound crazy to you, but it does make a great deal of sense... to her. While she has no proof other than an empty feeling in her chest and the inability to connect, the lack of a soul could answer so many of her burning questions. Why she feels so separated from everyone else? Why she can't have any friends? Why she is absolutely terrified of everything? Why she is so abnormal? And why do cats keep following her everywhere? All of these can be easily explained by her having no soul. It's all logical, really.

On the cusp of adulthood, everything seems to be rushing Raleigh at once, and it's leaving her confused. She has a lot of her mind, many questions that she can't safely answer. She just wants to find all the answers, and to do that Raleigh is willing to connect some imaginary dots, "little thoughts begetting little thoughts, rampantly speculating every possible outcome to every possible situation." Hence her belief of having no soul.

Raleigh's thoughts are very jagged and mixed up. Scatterbrained is the first word one thinks of, and Raleigh finds herself going off on tangents in her mind constantly. She can be very forgetful too, or at least very neglectful about information where she doesn't mention Of course, there are things that Raleigh can't stop thinking about. Stillman, for example.

Don't let her inner thoughts fool you though. Raleigh is very smart and at times thoughtful. Raleigh was singled out at a very early age for her intellect. She appears to be very adept in writing especially, having joined a writing forum on the suggestion of one of her English teachers. She is also very much into reading, and is bilingual in both English and Spanish. Raleigh does not reveal much about her hobbies past that but she does let it slip that she isn't so much into girl activities. The idea of dressing up and putting on makeup is not out of the question, she simply isn't a fan. She did not grow up doing those sorts of things, spending more time in the woods with her best friend. She does have girl friends, ones that she does spend time doing girly things, but she considers them cold, gray useless friends. To match everything else.

Raleigh would much rather say that she has no friends because that's how it feels like to her. She describes herself as a "horrible person". She also states that she is very awkward, painfully so. She states that she “stumbles over her words” and that conversations with her “always lead to dead ends.” However she never really shows any of these signs. In fact, at first glance Raleigh can come off as very cool and self-assured. The worst thing she says is an occasional "Um," or slight hesitation punctuating her speech.

It's not so much a fault of her own that makes it hard for her to socialize. She just doesn't talk much. A very reticent girl, prone to living in her head, Raleigh is not open about her own thoughts and feelings. She appears embarrassed whenever she has to share her own opinions, like others will judge her for it. She would much rather let others control the conversation rather than the other way around, because it allows her to coast without much difficulty. She just prefers not to talk unless she has to. She especially does not like to talk about the important things on her mind, preferring just to "skirt" around them (perhaps because, again, she's afraid of what others will think).

Of course, socializing would be easy if Raleigh was not completely afraid of... well everything. Anything is a cause for worry, from the way someone is staring at her to how she makes someone laugh, from getting to sleep to the conversations happening around her and everything in between. She even jumps when her hair falls in front of her face, which is why she always clips it back. Socializing is just one of these fears - every passing moment spent with strangers gets "longer and hotter and smaller and darker.. and so so so much worse in comparison" to the one before it.

However, there is one fear that is unconscious but much more potent than the other. Her fear of change. Of moving on. The fact that her mind still lingers on her best friend, counting down the days, minutes and seconds since she last saw her, is a huge indication of this. And Stillman... this fear says a lot about her, really. Deep down, Raleigh wants things to stay the same. She does not want change. She doesn't want to grow up.

This also ties into her fear of socializing. When her best friend left, Raleigh felt that she couldn't make friends anymore. She just couldn't make friends, or if she could make them it would be too awkward. She could never relate to them and things would just fizzle out quickly. So she just decided not to bother. It's just suffocating trying to socialize with anyone...

But Stillman. Stillman was different. Stillman understood. Raleigh never indulges much about Stillman, other than he is in university and American, but it's clear that they had a very romantic relationship. Raleigh likes to paint Stillman as the perfect guy. It's clear that Raleigh found solace in Stillman. He reminded her of a time with Claire, where she didn't have to worry about being awkward. He tolerated her. This relationship is one she yearns to hold on to and has trouble letting go of. And yet, something happened between her and Stillman. The only indication we are ever given is a single sealed envelope. Regardless, it was powerful enough to bring her to tears and to leave her so lost. Now she can't get him out of her mind.

Now Raleigh is in a very vulnerable state. Everything and everyone feels alien to her and the last thing she wants to do is think about it. She doesn't want to, but she thinks about it anyway. Because she has to.

In short, Raleigh is at a crossroads. She increases every problem she has tenfold, she is constantly worried about everything and she finds it hard to connect. She has difficulty connecting and is completely afraid of what people will think. She is just an oddball. Like all of us.

Applications

Raleigh / Lost at Sea / Not Reserved