A New Reality, A New Earth: Setting Synopsis

How Did We Get Here?

Heroes and villains and everything in between are being pulled out of their native realities by an unknown force. What it is, no one knows. For what purpose? Well, keep playing and find out!



Where and How Do We Arrive?

Great question. The answer is, whatever you like. Every Canon Character needs an official introduction thread detailing how they appeared in this New Earth. It can be a solo or, if other players are willing to chip in, be a fully fledged introduction thread. What it looks like, how the transition happens is up to you. We've had it described as being sucked into a black hole to waking up from a dream -- 30 feet above the ground. Whatever you chose, an intro is required as it will dictate how much attention your character has garnered, which will affect everything from that point on.

You must also include in your character history at what point in time/how you arrived to New Earth. Think of it as a set-up for the aforementioned introduction thread. This also means we'll have to do less edits to your app.



Where Are We From?

Due to the unique setting of WIO, characters from Alternate Universes ARE allowed. For example, if you want to app a character from a particular AU -- let's say Arkham Knight Red Hood or New 52 Harley Quinn -- you can! Or, if you wish to make an amalgam from multiple universes -- say New 52 Harley Quinn but with elements from the comics -- you can do that too. *If unsure of what is and isn't acceptable, please contact an admin via PM*

HOWEVER, there cannot be multiples of the same character on the site. Since Wonder Woman is already taken, the Flashpoint Wonder Woman cannot be applied for.

Character's histories do not have to match up. This unique setting allows for characters that know each other, are from the same universe, but come from different points in their timeline. So corroboration between character histories is NOT required, however we do ask that you keep this distinction very clear in your application

Characters that have the same alias but are different people can be applied for. For example, Batman from Flashpoint is Thomas Wayne, not Bruce Wayne. Multiple heroes have also held the mantel of Flash. This number of alternate characters this way will be carefully limited depending on the scope of the site and if we have too many. Ask an admin before applying.



When Are We From?

Furthermore, not all characters have to come in the same point in time, as mentioned before. You can get a hero who's just starting out their career, or one that's gone through hell and considering retirement; bruised, battered, and not the hero friends might recognize. That's the beauty of WIO: You can get interactions that would otherwise never happen, and have utterly unique stories and possibilities without the tight noose of following a particular version of canon.



Who Are We?

You're not necessarily constrained by canon as well. Let's face it, comic writers are flying by the seat of their pants half the time it seems like and no character has gone without being horribly misinterpreted at some point. (Captain America is a Nazi! oy vey) So you are free to make a bit of an amalgam of your characters. For example, if you want a character to have past history or interaction with another, but it only happens in a reboot/continuity you don't wish to follow, that's okay. So long as you can make it work and flow plausibly, you can simply say your char comes from a reality where it DID happen. It doesn't have to be a canon alternate reality -- in the multiverse, there's infinite shades to pick and choose from and we at Walk It Off want you to have that freedom to take a character you love in a slightly new direction with opportunity you wouldn't have anywhere else.

This flexibility WILL be considered on a character-to-character basis and must be looked at carefully by staff, so please be patient with us. We all want to have the ideal vision and interaction for our favorite characters but we also want to be fair to all.



What About Original Characters?

It should be made very clear that only canon DC/Marvel characters come from their respective universes. OC's however, are native to New Earth. Which brings us to the challenge of a New Earth that affects all characters.



What Is New Earth Like?

At best, unfriendly. At worst, straight up hostile. People with extraordinary powers and abilities have never been a common part of life and everyday knowledge here. In fact, the existence 'super humans' has been assaulted with decades of low-key government discreditation. 'People with powers' is considered a to be nothing more than a vast government conspiracy -- and everyone but a few real paranoid whackos actually believe it. There's tons of poorly made wiki's online about it, which also include alien abductions, how to commune with the Old Ones, and using spells to get a better mortgage on your house.

In reality, people with powers have always existed and the governments of the world have been 'collecting' them as soon as they track them down. They have developed excellent methods of trapping these people, which are called 'neo-human'. What happens to these neo-humans? No one knows. Only blackout levels of intelligence and government know that the wild conspiracy nuts are actually right. But the rest of the world doesn't and they intend to keep it that way.

Then people with powers and extraordinary abilities start literally dropping from the sky. Now the likes of Superman and Iron Man -- and Magneto and Joker -- appear out of nowhere and the populace of the world is sent into a panic. The world your characters enter into is a world on the brink of breaking down into chaos. Governments have responded with a strong show of force, hunting down and imprisoning neo-humans as soon as they arrive to maintain some facade of order and prevent full-blown breakdown of civilization.



What Does This Mean?

This means that Original Characters will have to explain how they've lived in such a hostile world and avoided detection and capture for so long. Since the arrival of other apparent 'neo-humans' (characters from Marvel and DC) they may feel emboldened to step out of hiding and calling out the abuse and disappearance of all other neo-humans that's been going for generations. Or they may wish to stay secret, quietly search for others and figure out if this is the rebellion they've been waiting for.


Bonus! New Terminology!

Since the setting is unique, we have decided to create new terms for just New Earth. There are no slang terms like 'mutants' or 'metahumans'. Instead, characters that have powers of any kind are called 'neo-humans' or 'neos' for short. ALL characters (namely canon chars) that have been pulled from their respective DC/Marvel universe and stranded in New Earth are being called 'Vagrants.' This is the terminology we expect you to use in your posts and this will help keep all players and characters communicating on the same level. Thank you!

We now have an official Lexicon of New Earth found here!


(continually being updated as more FAQ's appear!)