Forget emoji, now you can express yourself virtually with mime

In the beginning there was SMS. Then came emoji. Now, there is MimeChat.

If you’ve ever wanted to dye your hair purple or fish-slap a friend in the face but didn’t quite have the nerve, now’s your chance. Virtually, of course.

A free app for iPhone and Android, MimeChat allows you to create an animated avatar that can converse with others through the act of mime.

Choose from more than 60 mimes expressing the full spectrum of human emotion, from happy, excited and in love to mildly violent.

You can also customize your avatar with an array of skin tones, hairstyles, clothes and accessories.

If you want to take your MimeChat avatar elsewhere, you can save and use it on Facebook, Twitter and your other favorite social media sites. You can allow MimeChat access to your contacts to see who else you know on the network, but it’s pretty sparsely populated at the moment.

If no one is around for a chat, you can also talk to MimeBot a la AOL’s SmarterChild. Although truth be told, he’s kind of mean.

Why text your feelings when you can express yourself in mime?

Read next: Emojis account for nearly half of the comments and captions on Instagram #RIPtext