Post by Headmistress McGonagall on Dec 7, 2010 20:01:45 GMT -5
Name
Treat your character like your child. Put yourself in the position of the child's parents. Make their name personal. Make their name special. Look at baby name websites, seriously. They have huge lists of names from all cultures and their meanings. I only ask that you don't pick something utterly ridiculous.
Family
I want the names of your father and mother. If either is a canon character, make their information as accurate as possible. If your parent is a canon who did not attend Hogwarts, simply enter the name of their school. As far as age is concerned, anyone in Harry's year would be 43 now. Calculate accordingly. If your character does not have siblings, erase the sibling section. Do your research! For a complete student registry, refer here. I update all the time.
Blood Status
If both your parents were pureblooded wizards, you are a pureblood wizard.
If both your parents were Muggles, you are muggle-born.
If one parent is a Muggle and the other a Magical person, you are a half blood.
If one parent is a full-blooded wizard and the other a half blood, you are also a half-blooded wizard.
There is no room for argument.
Wand
New Rule. I grow weary of ridiculous wand cores. I've put up a massive list of possible woods and cores here and here. Please pick one. Every core and every wood is accompanied with an explanation about elements and abilities and the sort of personality they are attracted to. Seriously. You don't even need to make stuff up. I've done all the work for you.
Birthday
Well, this part is obvious. I don't need your year of birth though, just give me a calendar date. Also, if you were born in September or afterward, your character will be placed in the next immediate year. For example. Your 16th birthday is in November? You are a fifth year, not a sixth. I've been getting a lot of questions about this part of the application. Since I'm terrible at math, I'm going to let this slide. If you want to be accurate, you're welcome to. For everyone else, if your character is, say, 16 either before or any time during their sixth year, they are a sixth year.
Patronus
If you are not a fifth year, don't even think about it. If you are, I've posted a huge list of animals and their symbolism to help you pick here. If you see someone has already picked your animal, don't fret. There can be more than one dog or fox or bird, etc.
House
Obviously, make it appropriate to their personality. If they behave a certain way, sort them into the House that feels right. If they need to learn a certain lesson, then sort them into that house. Remember Neville? He was your stereotypical Hufflepuff, but he needed to learn courage, so into Gryffindor he went. Like that. Give me some variety! I don't want to have 30 Slytherin students, and three of every other house.
Year
Again, make it appropriate. Thirteen year olds don't belong in seventh year. Seventeen year olds are not first years.
Pets
As always only cats, owls, frogs and rats are allowed. If I see something other than this, you shan't be accepted until you fix it, no matter what your argument.
History
Here is where I want the most detail. Don't give me four small paragraphs when there is so much you could enter here. I'm not asking for a ten page history, but quantity is just as good as quality. Don't start from the middle of your character's life. I want to know about their family. How did your parents meet? What was their childhood like? What about their relationship to one another? How was your character's childhood? Do they have siblings? Do they get along with their siblings? There's so many questions I want answered, you can at least fill up a solid page!
Appearance
This is why I ask for a model for your character. You can make your description as vivid as possible, but I want a play-by. Please, if your play-by is a blonde, don't describe her as a brunette. Stick to your picture as a guideline.
Personality
I want you to know your character inside out, and I want to know your character well too! So give me at least three paragraphs about their personality traits. Are they disciplined? Are they lazy? Are they neurotic in any way? Tell me! With so many possible character traits, you shouldn't find this section hard to fill. Here you can also explain your character's personality strengths and weaknesses if you listed any.
Likes & Dislikes
Again, I'm not asking for lengthy lists or explanations. Give me a variety, but not to the point that you end up liking everything.
Amortentia
A powerful love potion, and everyone smells something different. What do you smell?
Pet Peeves
Everyone is annoyed by something. Give me a list of yours. At a loss? Google it. It has a wealth of lists of pet peeves.
Strengths & Weaknesses
I'm not asking for a lengthy list, or even explanations. Know your character inside out, and this part should be easy.If you happen to list subject strengths, please choose two at the most. You may be academically inclined, but you won't be good at everything.
Boggart
Give me a fear, and give me a back story. Is there a reason they're afraid of this? Please remember that the Boggart can take on the abilities of a fear. If your fear is a Dementor, they can perform a slightly less powerful version of the Dementor's kiss.
Play By
I only want a name here, no picture. I cannot stress this enough. For a complete list of reserved models, please refer here.
Anything Else?
If there's something that we need to know about your character that doesn't fit under any of the slots in your application, it belongs here. If not, just say that there isn't anything. Or say something funny. Make me laugh.
Roleplay Sample
I'm not asking for a novel here. But three or more paragraphs would be great. I want to see how you write. I'll be damned if you come in here a fair role-player and leave the same caliber. I will push you until you improve or leave.
Just give us a measure of believability with your character. I've seen some amazing applications, and I've seen some utterly ridiculous applications. I can be picky. So please, make your character make sense. That's it folks! On to Step Four! That's your application. Good luck!
Treat your character like your child. Put yourself in the position of the child's parents. Make their name personal. Make their name special. Look at baby name websites, seriously. They have huge lists of names from all cultures and their meanings. I only ask that you don't pick something utterly ridiculous.
Family
I want the names of your father and mother. If either is a canon character, make their information as accurate as possible. If your parent is a canon who did not attend Hogwarts, simply enter the name of their school. As far as age is concerned, anyone in Harry's year would be 43 now. Calculate accordingly. If your character does not have siblings, erase the sibling section. Do your research! For a complete student registry, refer here. I update all the time.
Blood Status
If both your parents were pureblooded wizards, you are a pureblood wizard.
If both your parents were Muggles, you are muggle-born.
If one parent is a Muggle and the other a Magical person, you are a half blood.
If one parent is a full-blooded wizard and the other a half blood, you are also a half-blooded wizard.
There is no room for argument.
Wand
New Rule. I grow weary of ridiculous wand cores. I've put up a massive list of possible woods and cores here and here. Please pick one. Every core and every wood is accompanied with an explanation about elements and abilities and the sort of personality they are attracted to. Seriously. You don't even need to make stuff up. I've done all the work for you.
Birthday
Patronus
If you are not a fifth year, don't even think about it. If you are, I've posted a huge list of animals and their symbolism to help you pick here. If you see someone has already picked your animal, don't fret. There can be more than one dog or fox or bird, etc.
House
Obviously, make it appropriate to their personality. If they behave a certain way, sort them into the House that feels right. If they need to learn a certain lesson, then sort them into that house. Remember Neville? He was your stereotypical Hufflepuff, but he needed to learn courage, so into Gryffindor he went. Like that. Give me some variety! I don't want to have 30 Slytherin students, and three of every other house.
Year
Again, make it appropriate. Thirteen year olds don't belong in seventh year. Seventeen year olds are not first years.
Pets
As always only cats, owls, frogs and rats are allowed. If I see something other than this, you shan't be accepted until you fix it, no matter what your argument.
History
Here is where I want the most detail. Don't give me four small paragraphs when there is so much you could enter here. I'm not asking for a ten page history, but quantity is just as good as quality. Don't start from the middle of your character's life. I want to know about their family. How did your parents meet? What was their childhood like? What about their relationship to one another? How was your character's childhood? Do they have siblings? Do they get along with their siblings? There's so many questions I want answered, you can at least fill up a solid page!
Appearance
This is why I ask for a model for your character. You can make your description as vivid as possible, but I want a play-by. Please, if your play-by is a blonde, don't describe her as a brunette. Stick to your picture as a guideline.
Personality
I want you to know your character inside out, and I want to know your character well too! So give me at least three paragraphs about their personality traits. Are they disciplined? Are they lazy? Are they neurotic in any way? Tell me! With so many possible character traits, you shouldn't find this section hard to fill. Here you can also explain your character's personality strengths and weaknesses if you listed any.
Likes & Dislikes
Again, I'm not asking for lengthy lists or explanations. Give me a variety, but not to the point that you end up liking everything.
Amortentia
A powerful love potion, and everyone smells something different. What do you smell?
Pet Peeves
Everyone is annoyed by something. Give me a list of yours. At a loss? Google it. It has a wealth of lists of pet peeves.
Strengths & Weaknesses
I'm not asking for a lengthy list, or even explanations. Know your character inside out, and this part should be easy.If you happen to list subject strengths, please choose two at the most. You may be academically inclined, but you won't be good at everything.
Boggart
Give me a fear, and give me a back story. Is there a reason they're afraid of this? Please remember that the Boggart can take on the abilities of a fear. If your fear is a Dementor, they can perform a slightly less powerful version of the Dementor's kiss.
Play By
I only want a name here, no picture. I cannot stress this enough. For a complete list of reserved models, please refer here.
Anything Else?
If there's something that we need to know about your character that doesn't fit under any of the slots in your application, it belongs here. If not, just say that there isn't anything. Or say something funny. Make me laugh.
Roleplay Sample
I'm not asking for a novel here. But three or more paragraphs would be great. I want to see how you write. I'll be damned if you come in here a fair role-player and leave the same caliber. I will push you until you improve or leave.
Just give us a measure of believability with your character. I've seen some amazing applications, and I've seen some utterly ridiculous applications. I can be picky. So please, make your character make sense. That's it folks! On to Step Four! That's your application. Good luck!
