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Rarity's Simply Fabulous Application Form

Why hello there, darling! Eager to join our little World of Equestria game? Looking to let all that wonderful creative energy flow free? Well, before you do get started, you're going to have to submit a Canterlot.com character application. A gorgeous dress starts with a fabulous design and much the same can be said for a fantastic character! Your character's application is that design; it's there to tell us all exactly who your character is and how we can expect him or her to behave in the RP. For that reason, it is imperative that you fill it out and fill it out right! Luckily I'm here to tell you just how to make your application shine like the most beautiful of diamonds! So listen up and let Miss Rarity tell you exactly how this is done! The application must include all of the following, so listen closely. Absolutely no skipping anything, now! How to title your application: Now, before we dive in and get started on what goes in the application, I must first explain how we like for applications to be titled. Every character application starts with the title. It's the first thing ponies see--it's the thing that catches the RP Team's attention. So, needless to say it's important that one fills it out just right! Right? But how do we do that? Well, a title needs to start off with a topic prefix for the character's species; you should find a drop down box when you go to post your application that contains all of the options! This part is as simple as just picking one of the choices from the list. When you do, it'll appear in the title for you; you don't have to write anything! You do need to write in your character's name, however, followed by a label for the application's status in the title box. Now this last thing is particularly important, so do listen up, dear. For the status label, you have two options: [Ready] and [WIP]. [Ready] is for applications that are ready to be receive feedback from the RP Team. It does not mean that you are absolutely sure your application is the pinnacle of perfection, and in fact you could still be actively working on it; it just tells us all that you are ready to move forward with the process. Applications with this tag should soon be noticed and reviewed by one of the RP Helpers. [WIP] on the other hand, is for applications that you are still actively working on. These are incomplete applications that are not ready for RP Helper eyes just yet. If you are looking for feedback on an application DO NOT use this label, as it tells the team specifically that you're not ready for them yet (though RP Helpers may still look at and comment on [WIP] applications at their own discretion from time to time). Name: Let's on to the actual application content. To start with, before anything else, your character is going to need a name! Everypony has one! Now, we ponies, you'll find, have certain naming conventions. Our names aren't quite like the names of you humans. A good pony name is comprised of one or two words, usually having to do with our talents or personality. I happen to be a pony of truly uncommon beauty, talent and charm who is also adept at finding rare gemstones, for instance, so of all the possible names, Rarity certainly is the most fitting! Essentially, just remember to stay away from human names and you'll most likely be fine. Oh, and do also remember that we ponies don't typically have set surnames--Applejack and that oversized family of hers don't all have names ending in Apple after all! Of course, if your character is not a pony, you're playing by a different set of rules here! For your dragons, griffons and such, we're more open to all kinds of naming possibilities within reason. Gender: Now this one is simple, dear. What gender is your pony? You should indicate Male, Female, or whatever it is the character identifies as. Be a darling, darling! Age: For a pony's age, we ask that you DO NOT give a specific number (we do not know the number of years ponies live, or at what rate they age). Instead, please use one of the following labels: Foal - for ponies who are young children, regardless of gender Colt - for male ponies who are in their teenage years Filly - for female ponies who are in their teenage years Stallion - for adult male ponies Mare - for adult female ponies. You are welcome to add modifiers like "older" or "young" to give us a a more specific idea of just how old the character is, just don't give us any numbers for age (and that goes for ANYWHERE in the application)! For non-pony characters, you should use equivalent non-pony related terms for age. Child, Teen and Adult will usually be just fine, but if you want to use terms more specific to the character's species, that should be fine as well. Species: Another straight forward field here! What species is your character, dear? A pegasus? An earth pony? A lovely, majestic unicorn like myself? Or perhaps you are looking to create something a little more exotic? Griffons, zebras, cute little baby dragons like Spike? There truly are a lot of options! If you wish to avoid undue trouble, please do make sure you look at the Playable Species List to make sure your species is something that's allowed first though! Eye colour: What colour are your character's eyes? Any solid colour is fine, but we ask that you stay away from any really unusual eye effects. Keep it simple and you should have no problems here, darling! Character Colour: Describe for us your character's colours. If your character is a pony, give us the coat colour. A zebra? Tell us about those stripes! A dragon? The scales! Mane/Tail/Other: Tell us about the character's mane and tail! You need to indicate the colour (or colours) as well as a general idea of how the mane and tail are styled. Feel free to include any hats or mane accessories here as well, if you like--as well as any facial hair for all your distinguished stallions! Be as descriptive as you can! Physique: For this, just tell us a little about your character's shape. How big or small is your character? Is he or she muscular? Thin? Stocky? Glamorous? You can also use this space to tell us about any distinguishing marks, scars or physical abnormalities your character might have on his or her body. Use your creativity, but make sure you keep everything within reason and don't go overboard! Your character should look like he or she fits in the world where he or she will exist. Residence: Simple! Just tell us where your character currently lives. This is important, as it tells other players what locations they can expect to see you play your character in the RP. If you need help, take a look at our list of World of Equestria Locations for ideas! Occupation: What is your character's job? Please do keep this reasonable for the world in which the character will exist. If your character d0es not have an occupation, feel free to use this space to tell us how they spent their free time. Cutie Mark: In this section, we ask that you describe your character's cutie mark. Give us details, darling! Pictures help, but are not required. Do make sure the cutie mark is both appropriate and accurately describes your character. Stay away from symbols that are trademarked or already have a clear and explicit association with something else, such as flag symbols; the cutie mark should be something entirely personal having to do specifically with your character or his or her talents after all. You also need to tell us how your pony got his or her cutie mark. Trust me, the moment in which somepony receives their cutie mark is an important one for absolutely everypony! Just describe in however much detail as you please the events surrounding this pivotal moment in your pony's life. Make sure the story is appropriate and logical. We should be able to easily understand how these particular events lead to this particular mark appearing. It is simply not acceptable for you to not know or not be sure what the cutie mark means in relation to the character. All ponies get cutie marks, and they get them when they are still young. An adult mare or stallion will always have her or his cutie mark, no exceptions! However, for all of your fillies, colts and foals, bare flanks are definitely still a possibility. If this is the case, it is enough to simply indicate as much. Oh, and if your character is not a pony or pony related species, it's fine to simply answer "not applicable" here. Unique Traits: Tell us about the little things special to your pony. If he or she has any special abilities, like my gem finding and fashion magics or my friend Pinkie's Pinkie Sense, include them here. Physical skills and skill with weapons or tools would also go here. As with everywhere else, we encourage creativity, but do make sure that the abilities make sense for the world to which your character will belong. The abilities should also not be of the sort that stress power over character; remember that this is a social game and the fun will come in cooperating with others. No one is going to want to engage with a character who feels unfairly overpowered. I would also advise that you steer clear of abilities which directly mimic those of me or my friends and acquaintances. Unique is the key word here. Rainbow might dazzle us all with her Sonic Rainboom, but that doesn't mean your character should be able to perform their own version of a Rainboom too. It's never fashionable to be a copycat. History: Describe your character's history. Tell us all about his or her life. Be as creative and descriptive as you like, darling. A good history is important, but we're not asking for every detail of your character's life story. As a general guideline, these are some of the basic questions you might consider answering about your pony in this section: Where was your character born? How was life for him or her growing up? Who are his or her parents and how do they get along with your character? Is there any other family we should know about? What is his or her life like now? How did your character get to where he or she is? Where does he or she hope to go from here? Character Personality: This one is probably the single most critical field when it comes to RP: how your character will behave. Again, you should be as inventive and as thorough as you are able. List their hobbies, likes, dislikes and any other little quirks your character might have. Be sure to tell us how your character will act and interact with others. Good characters will be unique, well-rounded and well thought out personalities. Remember that no one is perfect; your character should have flaws and faults, fears and worries! Do note that, particularly introverted characters will be a lot harder to utilize in RP. As I said previously, the game will rely on you engaging with and interacting with others--so characters who refuse to do this likely won't be as much for you or anyone else. Character Summary: Finally, give us a brief summary of your character overall. This should just be a condensed version of who the character is overall. Be sure to include all the most important details. This section should give someone reading it the general idea of who your character is in the broader sense, even if they haven't read any of the rest of the application. That about covers what should be included in the application, but there are a few more things that you absolutely need to know before you get started, dear! Applications should be written in plain, black, left-aligned text, with only the labels for the various fields in bold. Believe me, I understand the need to make everything gorgeous, but the RP team is looking for information that is easy to read, not pretty to look at. We prefer you write applications in third person. It's just easier to extract the needed information that way! Pictures of the character are very much welcomed, but are certainly not required for an application to be approved. If you're still unsure about anything after all that I've told you, feel free to direct any questions you may have to any of the talented and dedicated Canterlot.com RP Helpers! Have fun! To get started, just copy the application form below and paste it onto a new thread for your application: Character Application: Roleplay Type: Name: Gender: Age: Species: Eye colour: Coat: Mane/Tail: Physique: Residence: Occupation: Cutie Mark: Unique Traits: History: Character Personality: Character Summary: Addendum on Roleplaying as Antagonists and the Value of Communication: Since the World of Equestria roleplay now allows for play in worlds where unsavory characters may more commonly exist, there are a few other things we ask you to keep in mind, particularly in the case that the character your making is of a more wicked nature. If creating a thread where conflict is likely to arise, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND that you set up an out of a character discussion thread and link it in the original post. This is actually a good thing to have for any RP thread, but for threads involving villains and the like, just having a space to communicate with everyone else involved will spare you all so much confusion and frustration. "Power gaming", "God-Moding" and the like--that is roleplaying which is unfair, where one player dominates a thread and refuses to let his or her character be effected by events in the thread, be shown in a negative light or simply just doesn't play along with others. If such behavior is noticed, players are advised to report it to the staff using the Report button located at the bottom right of every post on the forum. Reported posts will be reviewed and if we agree that the behavior is inappropriate, the posts will be removed. Guilty roleplayers will not receive punishment beyond this, though they might receive a verbal warning from the mod staff upon repeated infractions. Remember that your roleplaying partners, by rule, must have your consent to do ANYTHING in the RP. If someone does something to your character which you do not like, you do not have to accept that it has happened. Roleplay needs to be fun for everyone involved, and for that proper communication is vital. If you're ever in a situation where you're unsure if doing something to someone else's character is okay or not, ASK THEM FIRST! Courtesy goes along way, darling. And finally, do be aware that, if a thread becomes an ongoing problem--that is, if frequent reports and complaints are received or if wildly inappropriate behavior is noticed--and no other recourse can be found, such a thread may be locked without notice by the Canterlot staff. The goal here is for our players to have fun; newer players should be encouraged to develop roleplay skill without ridicule or threat of punishment for "doing it wrong." Skilled players should do everything in their power to help support the newer ones. Remember that everyone is new once and deserves the chance to improve--something only done through actively playing with other skilled players. I do hope our players will keep this in mind as we continue to develop this -- and other roleplay sections -- at Canterlot!