DUST

You’re more than welcome! We hope you’ll find this helpful!

For Gull: we’d love to see the blanks filled in when it comes to the things that weren’t expanded upon in their biography. How did they feel about the compound they grew up in? How did they come to terms with the life-long commitment of saving lives that was placed on their shoulders so early in their life? Did they accept and embrace the rigorous lifestyle they were born into, or did they have far more negative feelings about it? How did they end up leaving the compound? Did they build a different life for themself in between leaving and joining the Odyssey gang or did they jump into the life of an outlaw right away?

Another thing we’d love to see explored further is the numbness that’s established in their biography. What does it entail exactly? Is it simply a state of emotional detachment that they put themself into in order to optimally deliver the help and healing that people need? Or does it go deeper than that? Was there a specific event that made them recognize this numbness for the first time? Or is it something that they’ve always shouldered? Do they seek the sea specifically as a cure for it, or is their numbness and aspiration two different, separate things?

For Brontide: the lesson they never learn, “that they only learn the value of what they have after they’ve lost it” - what does it stem from? Does it go beyond the unfortunate incident of their father’s death, or was it that event in particular that birthed this conflict for them? How was their relationship with their family and does it tie into that at all? How does the Odyssey gang fit into it: are they in the same place in Brontide’s heart as their family, or are the two more distinct than that? When push came to shove, Brontide chose their family over the Odyssey gang, so what was the reason for that? A yearning for redemption that perhaps only their family could provide, or something else? Basically, we’d love to see Brontide’s character and motivations fleshed out, both when it comes to their past with their family, and the present and future with the Odyssey gang!

Beyond their motivations, we’d love to see an exploration of their role in the gang. They’re perhaps the most established member in the gang considering how long they’ve been a part of it, along with their unique, tight-knit relationship with Jack and Courier that not many others could claim to have. How does this all place Brontide within the gang? How exactly did they come into the position of enforcer? What’s their dynamic with Cain and Shotgun within the unit of enforcers? What future do they see and wish for the Odyssey, and do they see themself as a part of that future? Do they have any goals for themself within the gang, or do they still solely define themself by their regret and the lessons they never learn?

Definitely! Great choice!

Hey there, thank you for the kind words! We think that Lauren, Diane, Kiki, Wunmi, Golshifteh, and Tanaya are all fabulous choices for Dove.

Hiya! Great catch! The Factions page is correct, and their biography has been updated; Dove is a scout. Thanks for reaching out, I probably wouldn't have noticed otherwise!

Hey there, absolutely! We're sort of spitballing here, but the price of things is about twice the cost of things today. For example, if you go to a bar for a pint and pay $4, now you're paying ✹8. An apple might be ✹1 instead of .50 cents! Pay for a room at an inn, and you're looking at ✹200 instead of $100. The Faith produces a lot of Divinity in order to distribute it and get it back by way of tithes and taxes, and the economy functions relatively well all things considered, but the Jack Odyssey gang has been a problem for nearly thirty years and doesn't seem to be disappearing any time soon — thus why their bounties seem so astronomically high! The Faith really would like for them to be dead, or captured and taken care of.

Hey, no worries at all! We're happy to answer this for you. :) <3 I'll admit that Hellion is one of the faves solely because of how openly unbearable they seem to be (and maybe a little unhinged, in a certain light), and I think that's something we really want to see shine through in the application — Hellion takes and takes and takes and takes, and they admit to taking. It's something not many people would do, even among outlaws. What, at their core, do you think spurred that on? Why do you think that desire to see their bounty climb is still around, however many years later, after they've left their family and friends and past life behind? Why the name Hellion of all things? What does it mean to them? We'd like to see the truth of Hellion explored. They aren't someone who lies to themselves, save perhaps for when they're trying to decide what they want. There's this line, in the bio: "Desiring anything else was always out of the question, but a part of you feels that if you turn these people away, it might be the last chance at a family you’re ever going to get." Does Hellion want a family? Want acceptance? What will they do to get it -- will they commit the same bloodshed for divinity as they have for family? Once again, please know that we're happy to answer any questions for you; we hope that this helps a little bit!

Hey there! We're so glad you're excited to apply -- we're looking forward to seeing your app! For Dove, I think a lot of what we want to see is where they were when their husband first died versus where they are now. What did that grieving process look like? How did they reconcile with joining up with a gang of outlaws in the moment -- are they still reconciling? What do they want out of their future and for their daughter? Do they think the relationships they've built are going to last? Obviously these are all some sizable questions, but Dove has been through a lot, and we'd like to see how they've changed touched upon. We'd also like to see some exploration into their motivations. Their biography touches on how much they've come to care for the Jack Odyssey gang, but they're still struggling with vehemence and desire for revenge against The Faith. How can you see that culminating? How does their anger manifest? Do they show their true feelings or smother them? Altogether, we really want to see an expansion of what's implied in their biography and where you can see them going! Hope this helps -- once again, looking forward to your app! <3

We can see her working for Twelfth!

So happy to know you’re interested in our beloved fraud, anon! When it comes to Old Halo, a lot of things are set in stone in their biography. Their hunger for glory, their selfish detachment to all the harm they knew they would cause and continued to cause in their pursuit of it, their fraudulent approach to life, among so many other things. But as far as their future goes and how they’ve moved on from where their biography ends, that is entirely up for the applicant to determine, and I’d say it’s the main thing that we’re anticipating in an Old Halo application.

Who are they now that their halo has been crushed and the image and glory that they spent so long fabricating and building for themself is lost? Considering that they still carry their reputation from their days with The Faith, even if it now comes hand in hand with the story of their exile, do they still cling to those remnants of their past, hoping that they might get a chance to regain it all? Or have they come to the conclusion that they’re past the point of no return? How do they view their role in the Odyssey gang? Does it actually mean something to them or do they have no intention of genuinely committing to it? Where are they gonna go from here? Are they still gonna lie and cheat their way through life, or has their perspective shifted after everything that’s happened to them?

To sum things up: we’re mostly looking forward to seeing Old Halo’s character fleshed out beyond what’s been provided in their biography, especially when it comes to their view of themself now that they’re no longer a pillar of The Faith, and how they’re going to move forward from this point! Hope this helps!

For Twelfth and Gull, we unfortunately can’t see any of the options working. Sorry!

But for Lark, Wunmi would definitely work!

Anonymous asked: Forgot to ask about Sean Teale or Alexander Skarsgård for Gull as well! Thank you!

We can definitely see Sean and Lee working for Gull!

Hello! Okay, so as far as morality goes, Quarter is an interesting case. They’re perhaps the only character in the cast (when it comes to the biographies, at least) who is firmly moral rather than ambiguous or dubious in their morality like the others. But at the same time, their hands definitely aren’t clean considering the events of their past, and even their present what with them being a debtor and an active member of the Odyssey gang. We’d love to see that fleshed out and explored.

Where does Quarter draw the line? How do they find balance between their desire to be as good as the world can allow, and the demands of the gang? Was there a specific event that pushed them to abandon their old cruel ways, or was it a culmination of several things? Do they ever find themself at risk of falling back on those cruel ways, or are they too firm in their principles to fear something like that? How do they operate within the gang: do they restrict themself solely to tailoring and tattooing so they would avoid the conflict of their conscience, or do they go about their way regardless of what anyone thinks and how it might hold the gang back in some aspects?

Another thing we’d love to see explored is their lack of self-righteousness and the careful balance they strike in their personality between wanting to leave a relatively cleaner mark on the world, and being aware of the fact that they’re not exactly better or more “right” than anyone else. It’s an integral aspect of Quarter’s personality, and we’d love to see it captured in people’s portrayals!

Hope this was helpful!

Hey there! I've definitely been there before, so I feel your pain. My best advice for cutting things down to size:

It sounds silly, but the first thing I usually do is read my app out loud! Doing this lets you catch strange-sounding phrases or sentences that can be cut, and also helps you notice if you've got a few extra words you might not need.

When writing under word counts, I typically try to pin down what I think the admins need to know about a character. Are their feelings during this internal monologue needed, or are the actions they're taking speaking for themselves? Am I using repetition too much? (That one is a very personal sin of mine, I think, I love the use of repetition.) Are things in the app clear cut, or does this paragraph complicate things? Does it get to the point? Is this something the application needs, or can I bring it up later in my introduction?

If you're okay with it, let other people read it for you and ask if there's stuff that they think could be taken out to reduce the word count. When I've been staring at an app for days on end, I tend to miss things, but if I show it to Jen, she'll pick out fifteen things that don't really need to be there. That really helps out with shaping things up!

If you've done all these things and you're still struggling to cut down the count, don't worry too much! Reach out, let us know, or make a note of it in your application --- a few extra hundred words isn't too big of a deal versus an extra two-thousand. I hope this helped a little bit!

Hi! This was a fun question, thank you for asking. Region wouldn't have a ton to do with dress, given that dust storms are still somewhat prevalent no matter where you are in Bounty or Fool's Prospect, and protecting yourself from those is the number one priority. It's hot a good 3/4 of the year, regardless of where you are! People also probably only have a few of each item of clothing, for practical reasons, unless they've settled down completely in a city or town and don't intend to move around any time soon. I'd say that most, regardless of class, at least have dusters or jackets, wide brimmed hats, decent gloves, face coverings, and goggles or some form of eye-protection in order to ensure their best possible safety. If you live in a city like York, you might not need to use them as often, but you should have them! For actual dress, I'd say it varies! Class absolutely has an impact -- higher-up members of The Faith are usually dressed very well in elegant, black or vitriol-hued garb. By now most people have been out of bunkers and compounds long enough to surpass the need for Old World clothing, and the clothing that is still around probably isn't in the best of shape. Western genre-esque fits are what we've imagined for most situations, but clothing from previous Old World periods might also make an appearance -- we'd say that nothing is restricted on that end, so long as what's being worn makes sense in a logical way. Cocktail dresses are great, but maybe not the best for horseback riding unless you're going side-saddle. There's also the possibility of armor! Bracers, braces, leathers that go over the clothes wouldn't be out of the realm of imagination, especially for outlaws who are aware that their chances of getting shot at any point are pretty high. Like I said previously, great question!