theearth | GUIDE TO THE APPLICATION: What Are We Looking For?

A quick guide to what we look for in an StE application, section by section:

Basic Info:

• If a character doesn't have a full name or a definite age in canon, then you don't need to provide them for their pre-incarnation. For stats/reference purposes, however, we do ask that their reincarnation has both (if applicable - an animal character doesn't need a full name, for example) - you're free to make them up yourself, after all!
• If a character's canon has multiple versions that are technically not the same canon (an original and spinoff/reboot, a book version and a film version, etc.), we do ask that it's clear which version you're using!
• A character's re-incarnation may look as similar to their pre-incarnation as you like, within reason, in that a reincarnated character's appearance must be plausible on Earth. For example, if a character's original had violet hair, you may write that they now have hair of a plainer color and/or note that they dye it. Physical features that are unusual by Earth standards can, of course, be Echoed later on!

Pre-Incarnated History:

• You can either write a history wholesale (preferably covering not only events directly concerning your character but a brief explanation of any jargon relevant to them), or link a resource and provide enough notes or summary of your character's history to show how you understand their role in canon in your own words.
• You may link or write information that draws from alternate versions/adaptations of your character's canon if it doesn't contradict the version of canon that you've stated you'll be drawing them from - if you specify that you'll be using it as headcanon!
• If your character is from a canon which includes player/reader choice, please include what route/version of events you'll be treating as "canon" for their past life.

Reincarnated History:

• You don't need to give the unabridged story of their life here, but do note any key points or influences here that shaped who they are today or otherwise give a sense of what kind of life they've lived/are living here! Do they have family, and how do they get along with them? What is their job, and if it's a real career, why did they choose it? Etc.
• Characters are normal people and animals living on normal Earth! Again, you don't need to be extensive with the details, but a character's history needs to line up with real-life plausibility. We may check or ask you to double-check research or facts brought up in what you have in mind for your character. For example, if your character is in their late twenties but you mention that they have a degree which a person isn't ordinarily able to obtain until their late thirties, we'll ask you to explain how they obtained it at their age, or if you're willing to move things around.

First Echo:

• Naturally, we will need the trigger and what was gained - but if the trigger was a "reminder" of your character's past life, the relationship between it and the gain needs to be clear!

Pre-Incarnated Personality:

• What sort of person do you understand a character's pre-incarnation to be? How did they influence or react to events in their canon, and how might their canon circumstances have influenced them? Please do make reference to their behavior and/or other facts in canon to describe who they were at their "core"!

Reincarnated Personality:

• As with above, we're looking for a sense of who your character is both by inclination and due to circumstances. If you're having trouble thinking of reincarnated differences, get creative thinking about the latter - how might being from an entirely different line of work/family/species/culture/setting/time period have shaped them?
• This section should additionally touch on not only what living a different life took away from their pre-incarnated persona, but what it added on. For example, if a character spent most of their original life as a soldier and their reincarnation has been living a peaceful life on a family farm, it should mention not only how not being a soldier has changed them but how specifically living an idyllic life did.

Abilities:

• Touch on understanding of limitations and ways that a character canonically gets creative with them! If a character has a load of abilities or ways that their abilities can manifest, the bare basics/categories of abilities/whatever measure of depth you find manageable followed by a detailed link is acceptable.

Samples:

• We'll be looking for a certain amount of personal introspection and/or behaviors in the third-person sample and a distinguishable "voice" in their network sample. The contents/setup for both should also ideally not be too similar (for example, a character being excited about their newly-acquired pyrokinetic powers in the third-person sample and them showing those powers off in the network sample).
• We accept linked samples - but request that at least one sample is set in the StE-verse and thus is specifically written for their StE-incarnation, and that any samples are not more than a year old.

Sample Applications:

Impmon ("Stephen Bean") | Yoko Usami ("Yoko Aznable") | Sample application requiring revisions for Nico Minoru

If you have any more questions with regards to preparing a character for reincarnation or writing your application, please feel free to ask it on the F.A.Q. and/or get ahold of a mod!