I N F O ; A P P L I C A T I O N S

[singularitymods.livejournal.com]

APPLICATIONS ARE CLOSED They will open on 01/08

RESERVES ARE OPEN They will close on 01/08

app and character limits

Players may app up to two characters per app round, and can play up to a maximum of ten. Moderators reserve the right to restrict how many characters a current player may apply for if it appears they are having difficulty maintaining activity with their existing characters. While not an absolutely immutable rule, before a player applies for further characters, we would like to see one post a month from all their characters already in the game or regular commenting on other characters' posts. This is not an AC requirement and no one will be removed from the game for not meeting it. It is a guideline to help ensure that our players can keep up with their character load. Since we accept AU characters and characters with CR from other games, we have a restriction on how many copies of a character can be in the game at a time before they become unavailable. As such, only one canon, one AU, and one other game CR AU will be accepted, for a total of three different versions. In the case of malleable protagonists, we allow three different versions. That could be three "canon" versions, or two canon and a CR AU, or any other combination. This is still the same effective cap in number as for other character types, but includes a little flexibility about how we define AUs for the purposes of the game, since any two Couriers or Grey Wardens can be very different, yet equally canonical. During the app round, a mod will reply with acceptance, rejection, or request for revisions as soon as possible. Please note that the mods and app team make a strong effort to respond to apps in the order received, but the mods may appear to skip over some apps depending on their familiarity with the canon or because of ongoing discussion amongst the team. Some apps are easier calls than others, but no app is ignored. If you would like to know the status of your application at any time, please ask a mod. When apps are closed, (stated in the status block at the top of this page) reserves will open here.

what is appable

For the most part, any character is appable, provided the player can demonstrate the ability to play them. Singularity accepts characters from all media, with a few exceptions: Media not available in English in any form, even fan translations. Fan characters. Real people, unless deceased and from a fictionalized portrayal. (Examples: The American Founding Fathers from 1776, Nicola Tesla from The Prestige, William Shakespeare from Shakespeare in Love.) Mythological/folkloric characters, unless taken from a specific adaptation. (Examples: Hades from Disney's Hercules, the Archangel Gabriel from Hellblazer, Constantine, or The Prophecy, Amaterasu from Okami.) Singularity does accept minor characters with little canon, but we require that the application thoroughly flesh out their personalities with well-reasoned extrapolation from what canon information is available. Occasionally, a rapidly-developing canon like Homestuck or Red vs Blue may throw plot curveballs. For well-established characters, this is not usually a problem, but minor characters may be substantially altered by new information. While not strictly banned, if your character is likely to be affected by revelations in the near future, we ask that you hold off on an application until the story arc is resolved.

original characters

Original characters are welcome, but only from existing players. This might seem unfair to some applicants, but we'd like to see how a player performs with someone else's character before playing their own. OC apps are given closer scrutiny than fandom apps, because we are essentially serving as editors in their case. Fandom characters have already been through the editorial process, and have been vetted for inconsistencies and implausibility. (Some more successfully than others, but we work with what we have.)

playing closely-related characters

As a general rule, a single player is not allowed to app two closely-associated characters. These would be siblings, lovers, close companions or rivals, etc, regardless of whether one is canon and one is AU. An exception is made for characters who naturally "go together." For example, 3 and 4 from 9, or Doc infected with O'Malley from Red vs Blue (since O'Malley has a different personality inside Doc as opposed to inside someone else). Players don't have to app pairs like these together, but they have the option. Additionally, both characters will count toward your character limit, so please app wisely. Another exception: characters with multiple personalities, whether perfectly healthy and functional or resulting from a psychological condition like Dissociative Identity Disorder can arrive with those personalities intact, and will count as only one character, regardless of how many identities they have.

playing physically-incompatible characters

Characters that are physically incompatible with the human-scaled, O2 environment of the station may be converted to a more compatible state--for instance, Na'vi from Avatar would be able to breathe oxygen, and Omega Supreme from Transformers might find himself only as tall as Optimus Prime. Characters without independent bodies (for example, the AI Cortana from Halo) have the option of being inserted into a mechanical body or some sort of mobile platform. They can always switch out to another body later. If you have a character with attributes not covered here and are not sure how they might live in Singularity, please visit the Contact page to speak to a mod or app team member.

apping from alternate universes or timelines

Singularity accepts multiples of all characters, but only one "canon"/original universe (OU) version of anyone. All others have to be alternate universe (AU). The least complicated AUs are the canon AUs, like the Kingdom Hearts versions of Square Enix characters or the various Commanders Shepard from Mass Effect. "Canon AU" is something of a misnomer; malleable protagonists and canons with multiple continuities are equally canonical and the apps are judged as such, but any duplicates are considered AUs for game bookkeeping purposes, such as community tags and caps on the number of multiples. Player-made AUs are also appable. However, this doesn't mean that any given player-created AU is going to be a good match for the game. You should be able to explain convincingly why your version of the character fits and will be playable while remaining recognizably a canon character. For instance, Commander Shepard can plausibly be male or female because the setting of Mass Effect is gender-egalitarian and the story does not change more than superficially with the player's choice of gender for their Shepard. On the other hand, an AU where Commander Shepard was not human--say, a Turian--would require the plot of the Mass Effect games to be entirely rewritten because it would change everything about the background and motivations of the character, and would make no sense without substantially altering the sociopolitics of the universe. A case where gender would matter is for a Disney princess like Ariel from The Little Mermaid or Belle from Beauty and the Beast. Because of the gender roles assumed by the setting and the major effect this would have on the character's relationships and the story itself, it goes beyond the scope of an RP character to simply do a gender change. Players may find it easier to app from AUs where one key event from after the story is well underway is altered--for example, if Luke Skywalker had accepted Darth Vader's offer at the end of The Empire Strikes Back. It is a challenge, but not an insurmountable one, to explain why Luke would have chosen differently in the AU. Star Wars would still be recognizable as Star Wars, and Luke as Luke. However, an AU where Luke and Leia were raised by Vader fundamentally alters the premise of the story; the plot of the Star Wars trilogy would be entirely different in a universe where Leia hadn't grown up on Alderaan as the adopted child of a Rebel leader and Luke had never been a farmer on Tatooine or met Ben Kenobi. The idea, while compelling, is material better suited for a fanfic than RP, where you as writer control not only your character, but other characters' reactions to them, and have the opportunity to set the stage for the reader and guide their expectations. RP is a collaborative exercise for creating and exploring stories jointly, and intricate AUs are a bad vehicle for this. Mods and app team members do reserve the right to reject or ask for revisions on an AU app if that app includes AU information that does not seem to make sense for the character/canon being apped. If you are trying to AU a children's movie into an unnecessarily dark scenario with cannibalism and murder and what have you, or you've turned a serious, philosophically-inclined canon with adult themes into a lighthearted slapstick AU universe, you may be asked to change the AU to fit the canon better, or have your application rejected entirely if the mods can't see how the AU could be made acceptable. Keep in mind that canonmates and gamemates in general will be directly affected by your AU, and not everyone may be comfortable with what you've chosen. Signing up your character's canon friends to interact with someone from a world either substantially more horrifying or substantially sillier than their own is not particularly considerate to their existing players, or to any who may app in the future. As a rule of thumb, the more extreme an AU is, the harder it will be for castmates to interact with, and a good AU for the game should not deliberately put castmates off from interacting. Plausibility and interaction dynamics are especially important in AU applications. An individual player is not allowed to app two versions of the same characters, no matter how distinct the AUs may be. If you are at all unsure whether an AU concept is suitable or not for the game, visit the Contact page to discuss it with a mod or app team member.

apping from other game canons

"Can I app a character I used to play at another RP and keep their memories of having been there?" Yes! Singularity considers game-canon RP characters as acceptable AUs. Just include all relevant character development under Setting, Personality, and the AU justification section. It's especially helpful if you can provide links to CR charts, threads and screencaps that help to illustrate how your character has changed. Characters with CR imported from other games come with a few restrictions: Any game devices (like microchips, collars, curses of gradual insanity, etc.) cease to function while in Singularity, but are not removed either. They might still become active during events. On the other hand, any game-specific accessories, like that game's communicators, animal companions, or other equipment or resources they've accrued, do not accompany them unless carried on their person. These items will be nerfed as necessary upon the chracter’s arrival in Sacrosanct. characters can recognize anyone they had CR with in a previous game, but only provided the other player consents. Players found to be using past CR to corner a different player into filling the same role will be subject to mod action. ICness is still required. While your character no doubt has grown from their time spent in another game, it should not be so dramatic that they aren't recognizable. Finally, while characters can obtain items and critters from their homeworlds in Zone 00, they can't obtain specific items from other RP worlds. This is still a game, not a pan-RP dressing room.

other guidelines

Players are expected to familiarize themselves with all of the game's information pages (linked at the bottom of each page) before playing. If anything is unclear, use the Contact & FAQ page to answer any questions prior to apping. Serial apping, character squatting, and other activity issues can result in a warning, a strike, or the boot. Lying on the application in any capacity is grounds for expulsion. The same goes for plagiarism. After you submit your app, the mods will evaluate it and come back with one of three responses: ACCEPTED, DECLINED, or REVISIONS. Instructions for any necessary revisions will be included in the response. Apps posted during closed periods will be ignored until the next app round. Likewise, revisions submitted after the 72-hour window do not result in an automatic rejection, but will not be judged until the next round.

to apply
The application is divided into four parts: Player Information, Character Information, OC/AU Justification, and Samples. There is no upper limit on the length of apps.
	Player Information Your Nickname: OOC Journal: A sock is fine. Under 18? Singularity does not have an age limit; this is just for reference. Please be honest. Lying about your age is grounds for expulsion from the game. Email/IM: Characters Played at Singularity:
	Character Information Name: Personal name - family name, aka Western order. Name of Canon: If apping an OC, just put "original." Canon/AU/Other Game CR: Reference: Links to a wikia page, fansite, scanlations, etc. For obscure characters without a lot of information available, the more references the better. For OCs, a link to any place containing an applicable run-down of their story is helpful. Canon Point: Please don't just say "end of S4, E26." "Right after he finds out his mother's dead at the end of S4, E26" is much easier to understand for those not canon-familiar. Setting: Please describe your character's canon setting in a way that would help someone who is not already familiar gain an understanding of the universe. This doesn't mean the plot, but rather the major factors which shape their world and make it [if at all] different from ours. Is it our modern-day Earth with a slight twist? Is it the 22nd century and humans are part of a galactic community? What are the political bodies? Does magic exist? How is it used and by whom? You are encouraged to describe your character's role in the context of this world, so we can get a better perspective of who they are. Are they a normal high school girl? An adviser to a king? The leader of the Autobots? This is especially important for OCs and AUs, so please take all the space you need. This section should not necessarily be identical for characters from the same canon. Just as one character's highlight episode may not be important to another character's history section, not all details of the universe are equally relevant to all characters who share a universe. Any Star Wars app should at least mention the Force and the Jedi, but they are far more important for Luke Skywalker than they are for Han Solo, and the setting writeup should reflect that. Conversely, details about underworld are important for Han, but not for Luke. Please be aware: We do not want a plot summary. This is not a history section. If you would like to write a summary and include it in the reference section, please feel free to do so, but it is not required. Applications that go into detail about plot yet do not provide a solid explanation of the universe itself will be sent back for revisions. This is by far the most common reason we request revisions on otherwise good applications; before including plot events in this section, please consider whether they are relevant to an explanation of the setting rather than the story. A decent rule of thumb for which plot details are necessary for this section is to think about what events in the history of the canon universe brought it to the state it's in at the point in the timeline from which you're taking your character. Those are the pieces of information that help explain the setting. Events which have a significant impact on your character but not on the universe are better covered in the personality section. Events which are not watersheds for the world or your character are better left out entirely. We request setting rather than history because a plot summary provides little insight into character. Being able to explain the setting and your character's role in it in a coherent fashion demonstrates your understanding of both canon and character. Personality: Describe your character's personality. This would include their outlook, motivations, general experiences, and anything you feel necessary in order to communicate who they are as a person. Referencing events in their canon to support your interpretation is encouraged, but please don't provide pure summary without analysis. For characters with little canon information, this section is especially important. Without much canon to fall back on, we need to see that you've thought out the character in a consistent way that's well-supported by whatever information is available. Minor characters almost invariably require extrapolation from pure canon to become fully-realized; this is the section where you should lay out that extrapolation. Abilities and Weaknesses: Please outline, even if just in list format, your character's skills and/or capabilities, as well as their weaknesses. We would also like to see suggestions for power limitations if applicable. Please see below for details about what this entails. Notes On Power Limitations: If your character has extraordinary and game-breaking abilities, such as teleportation, time manipulation, magic, telepathy, a gun that blows up planets, or anything that puts them at a significant advantage over every other character in the game, we would like to see your suggestions for power limitations. Singularity does not forbid powers, but we would like players to think of this as the setting for stories. Every character should have their ways of triumphing and every character should have ways of being defeated, even if they were the most powerful individual in their original setting, because we want to create plots and CR that are more than just ‘this guy is the most powerful guy ever and no one can stop him from doing what he wants.’ This goes for heroes as well as villains. We want to see your suggestions for limitations because you, the player, would know best how to level down a character without making them unrecognizable or unplayable. You are welcome to lock abilities, downgrade overpowered weapons or items, or even AU weaknesses that don’t exist in canon--for example, playing a vampire character who suddenly finds the blood of willing victims far more nourishing than that of the unwilling. Another suggestion would be a ‘shot limit,’ where some ability that used to come naturally to the character in canon suddenly becomes extremely difficult and physically taxing and can only be used so many times a day. For powers like teleportation and telepathy, we have in the past asked players to keep these abilities confined to whatever zone or city the character is currently in. As a rule of thumb, if your character has any kind of destructive ability that would damage the station significantly, like a hull breach, or kill another character without them being able to stop it, you want to limit that ability. Blowing up buildings is fine, as any involved characters may be able to escape such damage. Instant kills and blowing up entire cities are not fine. Please note: If your character has any kind of ability that would directly affect another character in a way that can’t be countered, such as a telepath who always knows where everyone is all the time, you the player must always ask OOC permission of the other involved player(s) when your character uses that ability, whether or not that ability is being limited. An example of an ability that can can be countered is super strength, and this would not require OOC permission from other players to use. Mind powers, reading the future, telekinesis, and abilities like time manipulation cannot be countered and thus require OOC permission before they are used in-game. The mods and app team reserve the right to recommend greater power limitations than what has been suggested by the player when they deem appropriate. Inventory: There is no real limit to what characters can come in with, but please provide their starting inventory, including any weapons or other devices. Players can always acquire other items from the Junkyard. As with powers, if your character regularly carries a conventional item of ridiculous destructive capability around (is that a canister of anti-matter in your pocket, or are you just happy to see us?), we ask that it not come through the Rift with them, or that it be damaged or reduced in power. Appearance: This is most relevant for characters who do not have a canon appearance, or who are altered when brought to Sacrosanct. If using a PB, please provide the name and a link to a photo in addition to a description. Characters without bodies may be given them, or some other kind of mobile platform. Characters with unconventional appearances, like the tachikoma from Ghost in the Shell or some of the more out-there Transformers designs also benefit from having a visual aid. Age:
	OC/AU Justification If AU, how is your version different from canon, and how will that come across? Again, AU versions need to make sense. We don't need a doctoral dissertation, but please take the time to walk us through your AU and how they fit together. If OC, did you run your character through a Mary Sue litmust test? Here's one, for reference: http://www.springhole.net/quizzes/marysue.htm And another: http://www.ponylandpress.com/ms-test.html And what did you score? There is no hard and fast score for rejection. It's just one factor we'll be looking at in regards to your application as a whole.
	Samples Log Sample: 200 words minimum. The setting can be their transition from their canon setting to Sacrosanct, a purely canon setting, or anything else really, as long as it shows how you will be playing them in the game. If you would like, you can use a sample thread or log in place of a log sample, but please clear it with a mod first. Please write your sample to focus on your character's thoughts and motivations, rather than as a miniature fanfiction featuring multiple other characters. It's fine if other characters feature, but the majority of the sample should involve insight into your character. We have gotten some very good fic-like samples, but this section isn't just a test of your writing ability; we would like you to demonstrate understanding of the character, as well, sort of the "show" to the personality section's "tell." Network Sample: Describe your character's first experience using the station's network. It can be text, voice, video, hologram, or game; intentional or accidental. Keep in mind that "the device turned on by itself!" just doesn't happen here.
sample applications
Several of our players were kind enough to grant us permission to use their applications as examples of what we're looking for: Canon character: Charles Xavier, X-Men First Class [thanks to Roy] Minor canon character: Poniko, Yume Nikki [thanks to Pen] Other game CR AU: Terezi Pyrope, Homestuck, a_facility CR [thanks to Michi] AU: Chell, Portal [thanks to DC] OC: Ismene [thanks to Siri]
Fill out the following application and submit it below:
<b><u><i>Player Information</i></u> ;</b> <b>Your Nickname:</b> <b>OOC Journal:</b> <b>Under 18?</b> <b>Email/IM:</b> <b>Characters Played at Singularity:</b> <b><u><i>Character Information</i></u></b> ; <b>Name:</b> <b>Name of Canon:</b> (if OC, just put "original.") <b>Canon/AU/Other Game CR:</b> (please state one. If OC, put N/A.) <b>Reference:</b> <b>Canon Point:</b> <b>Setting:</b> <b>Personality:</b> <b>Abilities, Weaknesses, and Power Limitation Suggestions:</b> <b>Inventory:</b> <b>Appearance:</b> <b>Age:</b> <b><u><i>OC/AU Justification</i></u></b> ; <b>If AU, How is Your Version Different From Canon, and How Will That Come Across?</b> <b>If OC, Did You Run Your Character Through a Mary-Sue Litmus Test?</b> <b>And What Did You Score?</b> <b><u><i>Samples</i></u></b> ; <b>Log Sample:</b> <b>Network Sample:</b>
thank you for your interest in Singularity please contact the mods or app team with any questions

Welcome to Sacrosanct. Please watch your step:

setting - gameplay - taken - reserves event archive - hiatus and drop - contact and faq maps and locations - requests - job board - deaths

singularity_rpg (network) - singularitylogs (logs community) singularityooc (OOC community) - singularityderp (crack and memes community)

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Singularity is moving to Dreamwidth. To accommodate the move, the December reserve round is being extended through the first week of January. The January app round will run during the middle two weeks of the month. The new dates are reflected in the status block at the top of the page. Please see singularityooc for announcements concerning the move and its effect on reserves and applications. We apologize for any inconvenience, and thank you for your interest in Singularity!

Comments

Azula | Avatar: The Last Airbender

[banerry.livejournal.com]

Player Information ;
Your Nickname: Iddy
OOC Journal: banerry
Under 18? nope!
Email/IM: ZieglerFan719@gmail.com
Characters Played at Singularity: n/a

Azula | Avatar: The Last Airbender

[banerry.livejournal.com]

Character Information ;
Name: Azula. She has no canon last name, but she has papers and ID cards (forged by an expert) that say her name is "Azula Cuddy". She only uses this name on Earth, with people who don't know that she's from another world-- with people who do know, she uses just her first name along with her former title ("Fire Lord") and/or her existing titles (novice sister of the Vatican, AX agent in training).
Name of Canon: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Canon/AU/Other Game CR: Other Game CR
Reference:
Canon links:
Wikipedia's entry on Avatar: The Last Airbender (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avatar:_The_Last_Airbender)
Wikipedia's entry on Azula (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azula)
The Avatar wiki's entry on Azula (http://avatar.wikia.com/wiki/Azula)

DDD entry/comment links:
DramaDramaDuck (http://community.livejournal.com/dramadramaduck)
Azula's entries to the community at DramaDramaDuck (http://community.livejournal.com/dramadramaduck/tag/azula)
Azula's journal entries at DramaDramaDuck (http://peoplesprincess.livejournal.com/tag/ddd:%20!ic)
Azula's journal logs at DramaDramaDuck (http://peoplesprincess.livejournal.com/tag/ddd:%20!rl)
All of Azula's off-journal threads and logs (http://www.livejournal.com/tools/memories.bml?user=peoplesprincess&keyword=IC&filter=all)

DDD-specific CR/characterization/information links:

Various CR charts (http://peoplesprincess.livejournal.com/tag/ddd%3A%20%21relationships)
An explanation of some of her plot with the game's Trinity Blood cast (http://peoplesprincess.livejournal.com/141047.html) (can be retconned if you guys prefer it)
A (now slightly outdated, but still fairly relevant) explanation of her emotional development regarding her home world (http://peoplesprincess.livejournal.com/131630.html)

Canon Point:
After nearly three years at dramadramaduck.

Azula | Avatar: The Last Airbender

[banerry.livejournal.com]

Setting:
Azula's world appears to be relatively small in size (http://www.cartoonwatcher.com/avatar-last-airbender/avatar-airbender-pictures/avatar_world_map.jpg). There are only four nations (one of which technically doesn't exist by the time the main story starts): the Fire Nation, the Earth Kingdom, the Water Tribes (northern and southern), and the four deserted Air Temples of the now-extinct Air Nomads. The largest and most diverse nation appears to be the Earth Kingdom; along with the Fire Nation, it is also the most technologically advanced. The Water Tribes are much smaller and more old-fashioned-- ideas that seem to have become obsolete in the larger nations (such as sexism) are still more common and ingrained there.

One hundred years before the start of canon, the Fire Nation began waging a war against the other nations with the intent of taking over the entire world. Azula is the great-granddaughter of the Fire Nation leader ("Fire Lord") who started the war, daughter of the current Fire Lord, and-- thanks to her older brother being dishonored and exiled-- heir to her country's throne. Many of the people of her world are "benders"-- elemental users who can control and sometimes even create the element of their country. Each generation also has an Avatar, a powerful and spiritual figure capable of learning to bend all four elements: earth, water, fire, and air. The Avatar is essentially one soul that is reincarnated over and over again in accordance with the Avatar Cycle, which dictates the order in which each new Avatar will be born into what nation. By the time that the Fire Nation started their war, the Avatar was due to be born as an airbender. Knowing that an Avatar would oppose a world dominated solely by one country, all but one of the airbenders were wiped out in a (failed) attempt to break the cycle.

As far as her game-induced AU goes, the war has been officially ended by airbender Avatar Aang and his followers (including Zuko, Azula's aforementioned exiled brother). Azula was removed from the throne, Zuko was crowned in her place, and the world began shakily moving towards peace.

Azula | Avatar: The Last Airbender

[banerry.livejournal.com]

Personality:
In canon, Azula's most obvious traits are her extreme nationalism, utter ruthlessness, and lack of any sort of sympathy for her enemies. To put it in the simplest and crudest of terms, she's a bitch-- a huge bitch, with a side of rudeness, cruelty, sarcasm, and the occasional sadism. For the most part, she has no interest in gaining friends (other than the ones she already has) or making people like her personally; in fact, she doesn't seem to like very many people personally herself. She's shown to be completely ineffectual at dealing with people on a social level-- the few times she does try, she ends up putting her foot in her mouth, or accidentally upsetting the other party. However, this only seems to bother her on a minimal level. To her, the vast majority of people are merely tools, there to be used and then discarded when they are no longer useful. She sees herself and her father as better than everyone else, and has an extreme sense of arrogance and self-worth. She is also prone to jealousy when people are able to do things that she can't. That said, she has no qualms about letting people do things for her (as long as it's clear that she could do it herself if she wanted; being seen as weak or incompetent is one of her greatest fears). Another of those fears (ironically, due to her unpleasant personality) seems to be being alone or discarded herself. She holds a great deal of resentment towards her mother, who she felt hated her and abandoned her in favor of her brother. She craves her father's approval. And even though she can treat them horribly, it's clear that at least a part of Azula values her friends as friends, not just as tools or playthings-- even if she has no idea how to appropriately show it.

At this point, pretty much all of those personality traits are still there, though some are more muted and less prominent. Her nationalism is as strong as ever-- in nearly three years, she's had absolutely no development that would cause her to start thinking that the Fire Nation's war is wrong and that they have no right to forcibly take over the rest of the world. She's still just as ruthless towards those she considers enemies, she still has no qualms about killing those she feels deserve it, and she still has a great deal of trouble empathizing with most people (her reasoning is, why should she care? they're not her, nor are they someone that particularly matters to her). However, as she's matured, her unabashed cruelty and occasional sadism have lessened. Just as at fourteen she had grown out of throwing rocks at pond animals like she did when she was eight, at seventeen she's largely grown out of mocking or berating people for fun. In most of her day-to-day interactions, she's more serious and grounded-- experience with other worlds and dealing with those stronger than her has taught her to be wiser and more cautious, as well. While she still isn't above using people for her own gain and she doesn't see anything morally wrong with it, she does realize that there can be extreme negative consequences to using people willy-nilly, and she's more likely to simply ask for help or assistance directly (unless it's a situation in which her pride gets in the way, that is). She still wants to attain perfection and gets frustrated with the failures of herself and others, but she's less arrogant-- being pitted against fighters that vastly outranked her and finding herself unable to defend herself or the things she wanted to protect have actually done quite a number on her overinflated self-esteem, and while it's still pretty high in some cases, it's not ridiculously so. She does still believe that she was very close to perfect in the past, during her "high point" when she was hunting the Avatar and conquering cities, and (though she isn't going to admit it to just anyone) the fact that she sees herself as having gone into a decline since then causes her quite a bit of insecurity at times.

Azula | Avatar: The Last Airbender

[banerry.livejournal.com]

How she interacts with other people is another thing that has undergone some changes. While she's certainly capable of working with others, holding conversations, and forming shallow relationships (moreso now, even, than she was in canon), her ability to truly care about most people hasn't really improved at all. She has formed a few more meaningful relationships in-game, however (they'll be described in more detail below), and she's definitely gotten better at showing concern, feelings, affection, and etcetera for them. This has really helped her in learning how to function normally in a healthy social relationship, something that, in canon, she has a great deal of difficulty with. In addition, she's gotten a little better at showing/feeling empathy even for those that she isn't close to, though this is generally reserved for people that she feels are similar to her in some significant way. She's more of a generally pleasant person (though this shouldn't be mistaken for being a generally nice person), and she is capable of forming casual friendships-- though the majority of them are shallow and loose connections, as "friend" and "person that I genuinely care about" aren't categories that necessarily always overlap. Stressful situations that cause her to be more emotionally vulnerable than usual are more conducive towards her forming close relationships-- she became close to one of her two Most Important People when Ozai first betrayed her, and she became close to another during a plot that caused her to think that Most Important Person #1 was dead. Being dropped on Sacrosanct would shake her pretty badly, and up her chances of growing attached to people (that doesn't mean that it definitely will happen-- it'd just be more likely to than it would normally).

Obviously, there's still a great deal that she could improve upon, and she's still way behind most people in terms of social normality-- but at least in dealing with people that actually mean something to her, she's getting better at it. Diplomacy is another area in which she's gotten a bit better-- while she's shown in canon to view any sort of disagreement as an act of personal betrayal, she's more willing to let the little things go now, particularly when it comes to those that she does care about. Still, she's increasingly frustrated with how socially stunted she is, even with strangers-- if she accidentally upsets or angers someone, she'll rage at both herself (for being deficient enough to make a mistake) and the person she angered (for being sensitive enough to be hurt by her words, particularly if they had no real ill intentions behind them). In the end, though, she'll still see it mostly as their fault, which makes it hard for her to improve herself.

In terms of personality and how she acts, this Azula is somewhere between how she is for the majority of the series (cold, calculating, in control at all times) and how she is during the show's finale (uncontrolled, unbalanced, prone to hysterics and crying fits). On her good days, she can be nearly as calm and collected as she was in the past, not allowing others' opinions to get to her and able to simply brush off anything. On her bad days, however, even the most mild of criticisms can send her flying into a rage. Though some days are better than others, she's far from completely stable and emotionally healthy. She suffers from both insomnia and nightmares, thanks to some of the things she's been put through during her time on the community (for example, a plot that involved her mother figure having her head ripped clean off has given her a bit of a phobia of headless bodies, even though gore doesn't normally phase her). Hiding her emotions and forcing herself to appear unflappable and flawless is another thing that she's generally given up-- while she still avoids admitting to "weaker" things such as fear or sadness, she's more willing to talk about herself and what she's feeling, even with people that she doesn't know all that well.

Azula | Avatar: The Last Airbender

[banerry.livejournal.com]

In some ways, Azula has changed a lot. In other ways, she hasn't changed much at all. A lot of this has had to do with necessity of change (or lack thereof)-- for example, one of her biggest flaws in show canon is her single-minded determination to win the war and take over the rest of the world, at any cost. In this AU, that hasn't changed, because she's been given no reason for it to change. Sometimes she can be mature beyond her years. Other times, she can act much younger than she actually is. This is especially true in DDD canon, where some parts of her psyche have matured while others have devolved. All in all, she can be a pretty odious character, but she can also be surprisingly pitiable. She was trained from very early childhood to be the perfect soldier, and unlike her brother, she eagerly jumped at the chance to do whatever her father asked of her. While I personally don't think that she was brainwashed or forced into doing the things that she did and I believe that a great deal of responsibility for her actions should lie on her shoulders, early childhood indoctrination and lack of healthy, nurturing parental relationships essentially obliterated any chance she might have had of growing up normally. Though it's shown that she is far from simply the emotionless soldier she'd like to portray herself as, years of unquestioning belief in and fighting for a cause can't be simply erased. While the creators of her canon have said that she does have the potential to heal and even "redeem" herself in the long run, there's no denying that this would be a long process with far more opportunities for failure than for success.

Azula | Avatar: The Last Airbender

[banerry.livejournal.com]

Below I'll provide a list of relationships (canon and otherwise) that caused her to change and develop within DramaDramaDuck's setting:

Ozai (Avatar: The Last Airbender): Throughout her childhood and early teens, Ozai was the one person that Azula admired, idolized, and followed. He trained her to be a mini version of himself, and she was eager to learn-- and while a lot of what she did she did for herself and for her country, it's still clear that pleasing her father was always one of her primary motivators. Ozai was always someone that she felt she could count on: while theirs was far from a typical parent-child relationship, he was still her father, her leader, and her teacher. His betrayal broke her like little else could, and in a way, at least partially fractured her sense of self and idea of what she should be. If Ozai had stayed by her side, she never would have formed such close relationships with anyone else-- partly because she wouldn't have had the emotional instability that made her susceptible to needing emotional attachment to rely on, and partly because Ozai was such a prominent figure in her life that, even in the absence of any sort of warm, nurturing bond, she didn't feel as if she was missing anything.

Ursa (Avatar: The Last Airbender): In canon she has a great deal of mother issues, but amazingly enough they'd all but disappeared by the time she reached her late teens. The first version of Ursa that was present at DramaDramaDuck publicly disowned her, which helped sever thin emotional ties or longing Azula had for her-- and later on she gained a new mother figure on the community who essentially replaced Ursa in her mind, particularly since they ended up having a much closer relationship. This brings us to...

Azula | Avatar: The Last Airbender

[banerry.livejournal.com]

Lisa Cuddy (House): She met Cuddy pretty much as soon as she joined (May '08), and didn't really like her at first, seeing her as shrill and incompetent and annoying. She ended up being sent to Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital sometime that summer with a gunshot would, and she got extremely angry when Cuddy wouldn't release her medical records to her so that she could destroy them, to keep them from falling into her enemies' hands. For a while, she delighted in irritating Cuddy and insulting her hospital (and by extension, Cuddy's administrative skills) at every opportunity, which Cuddy was pretty clearly not happy about-- but she still kept treating her when she needed it, badgering her into getting flu shots, and so on. For about a year or so, Azula's opinion of Cuddy was quite low, and (if old relationship meme answers are anything to go by), Cuddy's opinion of Azula was that she was just someone who tried to be tough, but who had never really been allowed to be a kid. Then Ozai betrayed her and tried to have her killed, which completely shattered her to the core because he was the one who raised her and trained her, and she looked up to him a great deal. After the revelation that the father she worshipped didn't see her as useful anymore and wanted her dead, she was a lot more emotionally vulnerable, and Cuddy immediately moved in and took her under her wing, acting maternal towards her as she (once again) recovered from serious battle wounds in her hospital. Azula needed somewhere to stay while she was on the run from her father, so Cuddy offered her house and they ended up getting closer from there, eventually coming to see each other as mother and daughter. Even after she ousted Ozai and was running the Fire Nation on her own (which did a number on her mental state in and of itself), she stayed at Cuddy's house most nights because of how empty and lonely the palace was, and how she was slowly starting to become conscious of the fact that she didn't necessarily want to be alone all the time. Her relationship with Cuddy is by far her healthiest-- she is secure with it, she doesn't fear Cuddy abandoning her or betraying her the way Ozai did or the way she considers Ursa to have done, and she doesn't get jealous about Cuddy's other close relationships like she occasionally does with Lilith (see below). Azula is protective of her (sometimes to a ridiculous degree), and would literally do anything for her. If someone was threatening her and actually had the means to carry that threat out, she would eliminate them with neither remorse nor apology.

Lilith Sahl (Trinity Blood): Despite the fact that they are polar opposites in many ways, Azula adores Lilith to the point of reverence. Of course, she doesn't mindlessly idolize her or anything; there are definitely things about her that she recognizes as weaknesses or shortcomings-- but overall, she just thinks she's amazing. The fact that they're both working towards a common goal (i.e. taking down Cain/01) does a lot to propagate that-- in addition, Azula is very impressed by her Crusnik form and abilities, and wishes Lilith wasn't ashamed of them and didn't see them as making her a monster. Even off the battlefield, she still thinks she's awesome, and she loves hanging around with her. Lilith has a lot of the traits that Azula values in her maternal figures: she's smart, she's wise, she's strong (both physically and emotionally), she's respectful, and she's nice to her in a non- fakey, non-cutesy sort of way. Basically, Azula almost has a girlcrush on her (though she has absolutely no sexual feelings for her at all, and would be quite grossed out if someone got the impression that she did). She wants to please her and impress her and doesn't want to disappoint her; she thinks she's beautiful and regal and an excellent fighter and overall amazing. The fact that Lilith told her that she sees Azula as a sister only encourages this. However, she isn't as confident of their bond as she is with her and Cuddy's, which means she often overcompensates-- and which means her jealous streak sometimes comes into play. Luckily for Azula, Lilith literally has infinite patience, so she isn't in danger of ruining their friendship.

Azula | Avatar: The Last Airbender

[banerry.livejournal.com]

I fully recognize that while Azula has some pretty complicated and intense CR from DDD that she'd be bringing with her if she were accepted, I in no way would expect any other players of those characters to duplicate it. ICly, Azula is well aware of the concept of different worlds and multiple versions of characters-- and while meeting an old CR mate would obviously spawn some sort of reaction, she would recognize that they were, by and large, a different person from the one she knew and she'd treat them accordingly. OOCly, I have no desire to force CR on other players, and I have no problems with relationships evolving differently, or even not happening at all.

In addition, I went through Sing's list of taken characters and made a list (that thankfully turned out to be fairly small!) of characters that she would recognize from the community if she talked to them aboard Sacrosanct:

Aradia Megido
Gamzee Makara
Jade Harley
John Egbert
Kanaya Maryam
Rapunzel
The TARDIS
Terezi Pyrope
Vriska Serket

None of their DDD counterparts had any serious CR with Azula, and if I'm accepted, I'll ping these players before throwing her at them-- and I will respect any wishes to have her simply never come into contact with them if their players don't want to deal with other-game memories.

Azula | Avatar: The Last Airbender

[banerry.livejournal.com]

Abilities, Weaknesses, and Power Limitation Suggestions:
Azula is a firebender-- one of the best in her world, in fact. Essentially, this means that she can create and control fire, and use it for a variety of purposes (namely, fighting). It's indicated that fire in ATLA canon is a bit different from regular fire-- people who fight and are attacked with it can come away with burns, but this doesn't always happen, which indicates that a talented user can, to a certain extent, control the damage their fire causes. Azula is capable of a few special techniques that seem to require a certain skill level, such as the creation of blue flames, which are hotter and more intense than the more elementary red or orange ones. While she normally uses her hands and feet to bend, she's also been shown to be capable of shooting fire out of various orifices, such as her mouth and even her ears.

Additionally, Azula is a master of lightningbending, which is just what sounds like (that is, the creation and control of lightning). Very few firebenders are shown to be capable of this technique, and it is indicated to be exceedingly difficult to learn and become proficient in. Azula's mastery of it at the mere age of fourteen really solidifies her place as a firebending prodigy. However, it does have its limitations, even for her. Unlike firebending, which is fueled by anger and rage, utter peace of mind is needed to successfully bend lightning. Should someone attempt the technique without being completely calm, they could easily kill themselves via accidental electrocution.

Despite all this, Azula isn't on the level of a canon godmode. She's still human, after all, and can be hurt as easily and as badly as anyone else. She also doesn't have super strength, super speed, or any other superpower (on her world, bending is completely normal; if asked ICly if she had any super-human powers her answer would be no). Any equally-talented fighter with such extraordinary powers would be able to take her down eventually, and there are plenty who would even be able to call an easy person to beat. She knows this, though she doesn't like to admit it (even to herself sometimes), and in DDD she's been handed her ass multiple times by those far more powerful than her.

Even without her firebending, she's a damned good fighter-- though in those cases she tends to work more defensively than offensively, using her strength and acrobatic skills to evade, distract, and generally run circles around her opponents rather than all-out attacking them like she would with her bending. She was a full-time Fire Nation soldier overseeing armies by at least age fourteen (my personal fanon says that she started out as a foot soldier at age thirteen, since it's canon that children of the Fire Nation royal family are expected to fight in the army and she seemed to have already had quite a bit of experience by the time she appears on the show). Because of this, she has a lot of experience with leading people, as well as convincing them to be led by her-- a gifted public speaker, she does a good job of getting people to follow her, either through intimidation, manipulation, or simple persuasion. In the world of her AU, the latter has become a lot more common than the other two.

I haven't set any specific power limitations for her (beyond the obligatory dampening) because they didn't seem godmode-y enough to need it, but if you would like me to I will!

Azula | Avatar: The Last Airbender

[banerry.livejournal.com]

Inventory:
- Her day clothes (plain harem-style pants and a tunic shirt, bought on Lisa Cuddy's Earth)
- A feather (infused with magic that allowed her to go from world to world in DDD's setting; in Sing it'd just be a plain old feather with no magical properties)
- A large leather-bound book (used to contact the community in DDD's setting; in Sing it'd just be a regular book with blank pages)
- A thin gold chain necklace
- A chain with a sterling silver pendant engraved with "Lilith" and some Chinese writing on one side, and "Azula" and some Chinese writing on the other.
- An ornate gold rosary with "soror fidelis" engraved on one side

Appearance:
Azula's on the short side, but she looks like she could easily be years older than she actually is-- at her canon age of fourteen she looks like she could easily be eighteen or older, and at seventeen she looks to be in her early twenties. She has long, very dark brown hair that she usually wears up in a topknot or back in a ponytail. As a young teenager, her obsession with perfection extended to her appearance too, and while she's relaxed somewhat since then she still always likes to look clean and well-groomed-- brushed hair, neat clothes, manicured nails, the works. At home in the Fire Nation she tends to wear orate royal costumes, military armor, or-- when she's just bumming around-- silk robes. While on Earth, she tends toward more simple tunic-style shirts and loose pants.
Here (http://www.livejournal.com/allpics.bml?user=emberandash) is a link to some icons of the PB I'd like to use to portray her if I'm accepted. She looks like this (http://www.livejournal.com/allpics.bml?user=peoplesprincess) in canon. (I use the PB to show that she's aged physically, but if I'm accepted and you'd like me to just use canon icons in Sing, I definitely will.)

Age: 17

Azula | Avatar: The Last Airbender

[banerry.livejournal.com]

OC/AU Justification ;
If AU, How is Your Version Different From Canon, and How Will That Come Across?
Because of the premise of the game (characters stay in their home worlds unless they choose to leave, and are connected via a magical internet community), Azula's canon was derailed fairly early on, and therefore turned out quite differently from how it did on the show.

The first major difference is that, thanks to a version that turned on her and spent months trying to kill her, Azula stopped trusting her friend Mai fairly early on. This meant that, while she didn't dislike any later versions that she came across after the first disappeared, she stopped involving both her and their other friend, Ty Lee, in military or state affairs. By the time both of them disappeared from the community-- and their world-- for good, she didn't consider either of them "traitors" the way she did in show canon, and they had never stopped being friends in her mind (she and Ty Lee had even been involved in a tumultuous on-and-off romantic relationship). While she's aware that there are versions of her world where her friends "betrayed" her and were thrown in prison, that fact matters little to her; she considers her Mai and Ty Lee to have been different.

The second major difference is that, soon after discovering the community himself, Ozai decided to have Azula crowned Fire Lord early. However, it didn't take long for them to have some major disagreements with how to handle the reality of other worlds (Ozai wanted to spread the Fire Nation throughout the multiverse, while Azula thought it would be best not to spread their armies too thin, particularly with one war already going on). Eventually, Azula earned enough of his ire that he decided to just do away with her entirely, and assassins were sent so that she would be killed and he could reclaim the throne. The ensuing power struggle lasted for months, with first Azula on the throne, then Ozai (with Azula first being tortured in prison, then being harbored off-world, on Earth), and then finally Azula again (with Ozai in hiding and presumed dead). By this point, Azula was nearly sixteen, but her mental state did not lend well to running a country solo.

Azula | Avatar: The Last Airbender

[banerry.livejournal.com]

In DramaDramaDuck canon, the Fire Nation wasn't doing so well economically in the last year of the war (DDD AU's war lasted one hundred and two years, instead of one hundred like show canon). The majority of the hardship was caused by the internal Ozai vs. Azula power struggle that went on for months, as well as its aftermath. While Ozai was in charge, he had to deal with assassins and the like sent by Azula's supporters as well as general public dissent for what he was doing to his daughter and heir; while Azula was in charge, she had to deal with assassins and the like sent by Ozai's supporters as well as the tremendous pressures that come with being a young teenage leader. After Ozai's "death", Azula was faced with being a fifteen-year-old girl who, essentially, had to lead the country all by herself-- and while she had already had some experience as Fire Lord at that point, she was neither emotionally nor mentally mature enough to handle such a daunting task. The Fire Nation enjoyed government stability throughout most of the war, but when that stability ended, the country couldn't remain solid and united. If she were older, Azula would have been able to handle running the Fire Nation alone. If Ozai had stayed at her side, she would have been able to handle running the Fire Nation even at the young age of fifteen. But since neither of these things happened, the country was suddenly being led solely by a teenage girl who, at this point, was extremely emotionally unstable and was reeling from the aftermath of the betrayal of the most important person in her life. There was no way that could be anything but a recipe for disaster. By the time Zuko came into the picture, the people of the Fire Nation were desperate enough that many of them were willing to accept an end to the war and a "traitor" as their leader, just as long as things were made better. Instead of throwing her in prison or a hospital, Zuko allowed Azula to be harbored off-world (with the stipulation that if she came back and tried to cause trouble, he'd have to take more severe action). She was taken in by Dr. Lisa Cuddy of House, the same person that she had stayed with during the times that Ozai had been on the throne.

Without her father, Azula had hated being Fire Lord. She wasn't capable of handling it at that point in time, and while her sense of duty and dedication to her country and the war never wavered (even at the worst of times, the idea that she could surrender the war and hand the throne off to Zuko or Iroh was something that she would never even have considered), she employed a fair bit of escapism. She was constantly running off to Earth, and she refused to allow herself to see any negative consequences that her unstable rule was having on the Fire Nation-- the reality that she wasn't doing "good enough" and that she was harming her country rather than helping it would have completely pushed her over the edge at that point in time. Even months after the throne was forcibly taken by Zuko (as he did in canon), it's mostly only ever been hinted at her how much of a disastrous affect her rule had on the country. Her uncle Iroh told her straight out (http://dragonstea.livejournal.com/1088.html?thread=10048&style=mine#t10048) at one point, but she didn't believe him. In order to start accepting it, she'd really have to see it for herself, and that hasn't happened yet.

Azula | Avatar: The Last Airbender

[banerry.livejournal.com]

Though Azula enjoyed and benefited from living with Lisa Cuddy (who she saw as the first person who had ever loved her completely and unconditionally), she was restless. Sitting around being "useless" wasn't really her cup of tea, and in her mind, there wasn't really anything on that version of Earth for her achievement-wise-- she was a soldier/leader/fighter, but modern-day America expected her to be a teenage student and nothing more. This sometimes caused her to pick fights or take unnecessary risks, simply to give herself something to do. Finally, after months of being stir-crazy, Cardinal Caterina Sforza of the Trinity Blood world offered her the chance to start training to join the AX Division of the Vatican's Department of Foreign Affairs. Doing this would eventually enable her to fight against the TB world's Big Bad, Cain Nightlord, who Azula hated for various reasons. At the time of this writing, she's a little over halfway done with her training-- she's been taught how to drive a car (which she's pretty good at), shoot a gun (which she's decent at), and speak/write in five languages other than her native English/Chinese (which she's passible at, but not that great). If I'm accepted, I'll pull her into Sing at this point. (Also, I can retcon her having started AX training if the mods aren't comfortable with that level of canon mixing.)

If OC, Did You Run Your Character Through a Mary-Sue Litmus Test? n/a
And What Did You Score? n/a

Azula | Avatar: The Last Airbender

[banerry.livejournal.com]

Samples ;
Log Sample:

The gods of the community spark Azula's distaste and contempt without her even needing to speak to them. She isn't religious. Before coming to the community, she didn't even really believe in them. They didn't occupy her thoughts, and there's really no reason for them to do so now (she doesn't fear them, she doesn't find them fascinating, she doesn't even really talk to them if she can help it). But one thing bothers her more than anything else, and she can barely even look at one of their posts without feeling a tinge of disgust. She may be good at hiding it, but it's always there.

Azula was born into royalty, but she wasn't born into power. If she had been lazy-- or weak, or stupid, or easily distracted from her goals, or any number of things-- she wouldn't be where she is today, no matter who her father was. From a very young age, she trained diligently-- in firebending, in her schooling, in military history and tactics, in leadership skills. She can hardly remember a time when she wasn't preparing to rule. But these gods? She doesn't know for sure, of course, but from the way some of them act, she gets the impression that they've never really had to try to obtain anything. And not only have they never tried, they've never failed-- never been utterly and completely humiliated; never had things stolen from them; never lost. They'r truly all-powerful, and they don't even have to work for it.

Azula hates the gods.

[In addition, here (http://dragonstea.livejournal.com/1088.html?style=mine) is a second log sample with less exposition and more action (linked to with permission from an app mod).]

Network Sample:

[the video opens to show a young woman peering into the video screen, a hard expression on her face]

This is a strange virus. I don't recognize anybody here, and you can't all be new, which means that most of you probably aren't even from the community. Am I the only one affected?

[she runs a hand through her hair, trying not to appear too disoriented; after three years, she's used to being dropped into new situations thanks to the community, but this whole thing seems weird even for her]

... Not that any of you will know what I'm talking about, I suppose. But that doesn't matter. I just need to know how much of what I've been told by the people here is true.

Are we really in space?

ACCEPTED

[singdemimods.livejournal.com]

Thank you for applying to singularity_rpg. Your application has been accepted!

Please go ahead and reply to this notice with your character journal, then join the following:
-singularity_rpg
-singularitylogs
-singularityooc
-singularityderp (optional)

That done, please also visit the Taken Characters (http://community.livejournal.com/singularityooc/863.html) page and follow the instructions there. You are encouraged to introduce yourself in the OOC community, and stop by our IM chatroom, thegravitywell, to say hello to some of your fellow players. If you have any questions, feel free to ask them here or visit the Contact and FAQ (http://community.livejournal.com/singularityooc/1984.html) page.

Welcome to Singularity!

[emberandash.livejournal.com]

OH WOW SO MY APP MADE SENSE?!

Thank you! ♥ Does this mean that the canon mixing with Trinity Blood was approved too, or do I need to retcon her training for AX from her history?

[emberandash.livejournal.com]

Never mind; this was answered via plurk, derp derp.