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nowplayingblog · 3 years

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Why the charictarization of Remus Lupin matter so much to me?

A character study of Remus Lupin

Disclaimer: I think every interpretation of every character is valid and should not be torn down (further discussed in this post). The following is a discussion of how I interpret a character, and things that I (me, specifically) don't like to see when I read fic, or even in fanart in many cases, and why.

(Just a friendly reminder that if you don't like someone's interpretation of a character, you can click off the fic, or block their account. It's OK to create a happy space for yourself.)

I'll begin with the reason I decided to make this post.

I've noticed a lot in my many years of being a marauders fan that there is a generally accepted interpretation of Remus, and the way certain people in the Fandom feel about it is that this is the only acceptable interpretation.

Based on my own observations, "Fanon Remus" is:

Negative/pessimistic.

Rough around the edges.

More confident in himself.

Borderline mean to anyone who he isn't friends with.

Usually smokes (cigarettes, weed, or both) and drinks.

Perpetually sad and tragic.

Tends to come off as disinterested in everything.

Fully accepting of being a werewolf and feels there is no separation between himself and his werewolf form.

(To be fair, this list is based on how I view this interpretation of Remus so it's likely bias.)

This interpretation of Remus has seen an increase in popularity with the re-emergence of the popular fanfic All the Young Dudes by MsKingBean89.

Here's the thing - I don't take issue with this version of Remus existing, it's definitely not to my taste (and we'll get into that more later) but it's a valid interpretation of his character.

Where I take issue with this is attitudes surrounding it, and people in the Fandom trying to make me feels as though this is the canon/only interpretation of Remus there can be.

I've been on multiple platforms where fellow Wolfstar/Marauders fans have stated that they hate seeing Remus depicted as:

Shy/timid.

Not as confident in himself and his abilities.

Thankful for his friends for the simple act of being his friends.

Overall softer (both in appearance and personality).

Being kind to most people he meets.

Being physically smaller than the other boys.

Referring to his werewolf state as something that is separate from him.

These people have argued that their interpretation is back by Canon, and writing Remus any other way is out of character - but the truth is that we know very little about Canon Remus (or any of the other Marauders or characters from that era.)

However both interpretations (or rather these two generalized interpretations, as I believe everyone sees every character a little differently) address aspects of what we know about him:

He's a werewolf and he has a complicated relationship with that aspect of himself. You can either interpret it as an internal conflict where he doesn't want people to be hurt by the part of himself that he can't control, or as an external conflict where he sees himself as a threat all the time, because there isn't a definitive line where "Remus" ends and "The Wolf" starts.

When we meet him in Prisoner of Azkaban, he is a warm and inviting, if a bit unorthodox, teacher. We also later learn he was a part of a group of friends who were notorious for playing pranks. Some interpret his unorthodox teaching style and his occasional sassy-ness (seen in flashbacks and in the present plot of the books) as an indication that he was always on board with the pranks - sometimes the mastermind behind some of them - and also that he was a bit rude or mean to anyone who he wasn't friends with. Others interpret his warm and caring personality to be at the core of who he is, and that his friends taught him to be a little mischievous, sarcastic and sassy.

As I've stated several times now, both are valid interpretations. One is no more rooted in Canon than the other. (I tend not to rely on Canon too much regardless, but that another topic for another post.)

But I think the real core of my problem with "Fanon Remus" comes back to a topic that I spend a LOT of time thinking about. So much time, in fact, that I have original stories and fanworks in the works that address this very issue:

The importance placed on the "dominant" or Type A personality.

(For clarity - Type A personality means someone who is achiement-oriented, ambitious, constantly working towards success, while the Type B personality is the more passive, flexible, easy going personality. )

We tend to see dominant, Type A personalities glorified in our society. We like go-getters, leaders. We glorify CEOs, activists, people who lead change.

We see the more submissive, Type B personalities as weak, passive, lacking the strength needed to succeed in this world.

But being passive, submissive, Type B, doesn't make someone weak. You can passively support causes you believe in. All leaders need followers.

I am more of that Type B, submissive, follower personality, and I identify and look up to characters and people who are like me, and are still strong.

I like to see - and want to see - characters who are more passive, less sure of themselves, but they are still strong and do what's right.

Which is why, while valid, I just can't interpret "Fanon Remus" as MY Remus. I can't relate to "Fanon Remus" and that interpretation of him doesn't serve the purpose I need in the kinds of stories I like to write.

And I'm sure a lot of people feel the same way, about a lot of characters.

They way I see Remus, is like this:

He is shy, he's one of those introverts that gets found by his extrovert friends and has no idea how to make friends outside of that.

He is focused on academics - in the Hogwarts world I see this as a way to prove to himself that he deserves to be here. To James and Sirius, their studies (magic or otherwise, depending on the AU) come naturally to them, but Remus works hard for his grades. (In this way he is a Type A personality, but he's not that dominant personality type.)

He loves his friends and unknowingly starts to mimic and adopt some of their traits the longer they are friends, which is how he becomes more sarcastic and mischievous.

He is kind, to the point of being overly apologetic.

He's one of those students that during parent-teacher conferences the teachers say he's "so quiet" and "a joy to have in class".

He's pessimistic in a "if I don't get my hopes up I won't be disappointed" kind of way. He wants to be optimistic but can't really visualize the things he wants as something that could be true. He feels like his wants are silly wishes. However, he's not pessimistic in the way that "nothing good will ever happen to me."

He's open to things turning out a little differently than he had planned.

He's supportive and wise. He gives good advice to his friends.

He has bad self-esteem issues, often falling into negative thoughts along the lines of "nobody actually likes me" "nobody can stand to be around me" "everyone wishes I wasn't here"

Loves doing big, thrilling activities, but needs his time to have quiet, introspective, and calming activities.

A true introvert, while he loves spending time with people, his social energy drains when he's around others, and recharges when he is alone.

So the moral of this post is meant to be - every character in every fandom is going to have lots of different interpretations, and is going to be even more different from person to person. We all see things differently. They may look wildly different from your interpretation, or even from Canon, but that doesn't make them less valid, and they don't deserve to be told that they're wrong.

There is now correct way to see a character - there are only ways that you disagree with.

Expect to see more character studies and interpretations in the future

#remus #remus lupin #wolfstar #marauders #harry potter #marauders era #mwpp era #mwpp #moony #character study #fanfic #fanfiction #now playing: Wolfstar #now playing: sweater weather

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slytherinsnekxvii · 3 years

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let's talk about lily evans. she's an interesting character—or rather, the case surrounding her character is quite interesting.

i honestly don't know if i can say i dislike her. by all means, she should be a fan favourite, and she is... but for some rather intriguing reasons.

for one thing, due to the fact she's hardly expanded on in the series, certain parts of the fandom have been forced to either take the few qualities that she displays canonically and amplify them to the extreme (eg. immediate righteous anger at the slightest hint of injustice in fic) or create an entirely new personality (eg. no, i didn't actually disapprove of your pranks, it was just sexual tension). of course, the option of creating a new personality is much more tempting when you can just add amplified canon traits on the side.

for another, her relationship with james sometimes seems likes it's being weaponized against snape and his fans. i've seen arguments that go like "haha, snape just wanted to fuck lily, but james got her in the end anyway, sucks to be you", and not only does it entirely reduce her to an object, it feels like they don't even care about the relationship, the dynamics or the characters. she's basically a plot device.

and thirdly, half of her characterisation in fic is to be a peter stand-in. we don't like the rat man, so let's take the pretty girl and put her in place of the guy who was canonically a member of the marauders, even up until he was named secret keeper. suddenly, she's a prankster and an enabler.

but, snek, you may say, all of that is fanon lily, tho. you just explained that people seem to like her because they just put any personality they want into her as long as she's at least vaguely a good person. you would be right.

let's look at canon lily. she's described as the brightest witch of her age, most everyone speaks favourably of her. in fact, the only people we see actively disliking/being upset with her are petunia, out of jealousy and the invasion of privacy concerning her letter, severus, who lashed out and used a slur that also applied to him in a moment of serious distress and apologised after, and well, pureblood supremacists by virtue of her being muggleborn. interestingly enough, even this dislike manages to develop everyone's character more than it does her own.

as a teenage girl myself, let's look at her actions as a teenage girl. not necessarily in chronological order because I'm writing this at 2am and my memory is already mediocre at best.

1. she's done well enough in school to be considered trustworthy and responsible enough to be a prefect.

okay, i can respect that. a good few of the prefects at my school were really just appointed based on how much the teachers liked you, but at hogwarts, there's so few of them that they must put at least a little effort into it, so i'll move on.

2. she does not press for details when informed that her best friend's life needed to be saved by someone who has been publicly tormenting him for years

now, see, there's no reason why she needs to play therapist. it's not her job, she's just a girl, and we know that snape wasn't supposed to talk about the incident, so he would've been stuck if she had asked for an explanation. however, i also feel like she doesn't seem particularly concerned about his wellbeing, and when he brings up his concerns about lupin, rather than ask for proof, she dismisses it. which, fair enough, i would hate to listen to someone talk about the same thing over and over and over, but, i also feel like the fixation on a theory like that would be cause for concern.

3. she dismisses the actions of a group known to play tricks that harm people and have specifically been tormenting her best friend on the basis that they don't use dark magic

first, i'm going to establish what i usually assume dark magic refers to. aside from jinxes, hexes and curses, i also include anything that produces an effect similar to any of the unforgivables (takes away your life, your free will or your ability to feel safe in your own body, such as when you're in excruciating pain), and magic that would require a sacrifice of some sort.

when snape tries to point out the danger in what the marauders do, she insists that they don't use dark magic. and they don't... but they do use illegal magic. she then argues against the company that snape keeps, which, again, to be fair, is justified considering mulciber's done something to mary macdonald... it's also not a particularly realistic ask. snape probably shares a dorm with these guys, and he's a poor half-blood so he's already on the outs. as far as he knows, any dissent will be met with him getting hexed in his sleep. but, i digress.

given that the marauders have been shown to be doing extremely dangerous with little regards to anyone's safety, and actively tormenting her best friend, i disagree with her choice here. on the other hand, she's made her own friends in gryffindor and perhaps she sees a nicer side of them that we don't get to. she's justified in her actions, but i still disagree.

4. she intervenes when her best friend is hung upside down by a spell of his own invention at the wands of the people who have tormenting him for years

she does object to the marauders' treatment of him, and she does try to get them to let him down. if i were in her position, i would absolutely do the same. i respect the decision to stand up for her friend.

5. she does not seriously attempt to help him or punish the marauders

i do not respect how she handled it. at any point, she could have drawn her wand. but, snek, you say, perhaps she didn't want to get involved physically. she wanted to follow the rules. in that case, at any point, she could taken points, assigned detention, or sent someone to get a member of staff. she does none of those things and i viscerally disagree. if we were ever friends and someone tried to hurt you, i can assure you that i would try to at least see to it that they'd be punished, even if it wasn't immediate or by my own hand. lily, however, chooses to argue rather than take action.

6. she smiles when severus gets hung upside down

chances are, it was more than likely an involuntary reaction, like laughing when your friend has fallen over. however, the fact that it was intentionally written in seems like it's mean to be an indicator that the friendship was already falling apart.

7. she comments on her best friend's poverty and uses a name that's been used to make fun of him after he calls her a slur that also applies to him

she was 100% within her rights to be upset by being called a slur. it is never okay to use slurs. the only situation in which a slur could possibly ever be appropriate would be if you were an oppressed group attempting to reclaim said slur which is not at all what snape was doing here. he was experiencing cruelty, being humiliated, publicly, for no reason beyond existing and he was in distress, choking on soap and upside down. it was damaging to his pride, especially when james suggests that he needs lily to fight his battles for him (paraphrasing) which is an emasculating statement to make, especially to a teenage boy. so, snape lashes out with the most hurtful word he could think of, which happened to be a slur that also applies to him. lily was 100% justified in being upset about this, and she retaliated in kind. she was very much allowed to say what she said. i understand that she was hurt and angry and i respect that, especially as i can't guarantee that i would not have been just as upset in that situation.

8. even when the threat of sexual harassment is made, she still does nothing

i get it, at this point, she's hurt, she's mad, she wants him to suffer since she's a teenage girl and teenage girls hold grudges like it's nobody's business, but... i definitely couldn't just stand by and watch it happen. she basically just let them go through with it.

9. she does not accept her best friend's apology for calling her a slur that also applies to him, effectively burying the friendship

she is, by no means, obligated to continue being friends with him. however, if i were in that position, and the apology was sincere, i would take the friend back.

10. she goes on to date and eventually marry the guy who bullied her former best friend for his entire school life

no. i disagree. but, snek, you say, james changed. no. he didn't. we know, that at this point, james was still going after snape behind lily's back. you can say that she didn't know, but that means that she would have allowed james to lie to her and that doesn't sit right with me bc a relationship built on lies is a relationship that is going to fall apart, especially when your partner has been disappointed by your actions before. you can say that she did know, and that proves that she simply didn't take her responsibilities as head girl seriously enough to stop the head boy from harassing people when she explicitly told him not to. the point is, no. there is no way that this would have worked out as a long term relationship. james is too comfortable lying to her. i can't even say she was justified. there is no circumstance where i personally see this as okay for anybody involved.

alright, so, essentially teenage lily was justified in (most of) her actions, even if i find them questionable.

adult lily dies at 21, while saving her son, but her death also helps save the wizarding world. good job. she, as expected, did what any good mother would.

and that's canon lily.

my thoughts: she's a perfect example of why writing tips are so adamant on making sure people try to show and not tell. we were told that lily is meant to be good and pure and lovely, but the author never bothered to actually prove that, so what we're left with a dissonance between what we see and what we know.

as a result, i still don't know if i truly dislike her. her actions are justified, but they don't match with what we've been told, and we don't have any other information to go off of. at best, i can say for certain that i disagree with many of her choices, despite understanding why she would have made them (except for marrying james potter, uggghh, the only good thing to come out of that was harry and the saving of the wizarding world by extension, ig).

thanks for reading all that, btw! hope it made sense :)

#meta #lily evans #lily evans potter #anti lily evans?#just to be sure #james potter #severus snape #harry potter #thoughts #my opinion #not sure what i should tag this as #im tired and have to get up for work in like #five hours lol #anti jily #im sorry but i really can't do jily

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padfootagain · 6 years

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10 things I wish someone had told me when I started to write fanfictions

To start this little series of posts where I will attempt to gather the best advices I can give you concerning writing, I'm going to go through a list of 10 things that I wish I had known when I started to post my first fanfictions on the internet. The first few are more about being a fanfic writer on this hellsite, but then I drift towards more writing stuff.

This might also be interesting for people who don't write, if they're curious about the whole process, I hope some of them read this as well.

I do not pretend to be right. I will never dare to pretend to be right about anything. But from my personal experience, here are a few things that I feel like you should know if you are writing fanfics and want to share your work.

This post is long, sorry. Feel free to pick up the bits that you're the most interested in.

Also, if you want me to treat a particular subject in one of these posts (that should be shorter in the future), please, do tell me. I'll be happy to (try to) help :D

Word count : 4914

Alright, let's go!

1. Spread love, spread love, spread love and spread even more love

If you are around here, it means that you love these silly characters beyond what is reasonable. It's okay, we are all in it together. Then, do not bother with people you find annoying or spread negativity through a fandom. Block them. Avoid them. There is enough negativity in life without it spreading to stain what makes you happy. Do not hesitate to block people. You will find your stay around here much more enjoyable then.

Be kind to people. No matter if they message you on or off anon, no matter what they are asking, be nice. Listen to them. Some are very shy and clumsy with words, some make tons of mistakes while writing in English, it doesn't matter. Be kind. Make them feel welcome on your blog. Show them that you are a safe place around here. You wouldn't want people to dismiss you after you try to be nice to them right? So don't do it to other people. There are many people around here who keep on telling me that they were hesitant in messaging me because they were nervous. Don't be nervous. Talk to each other. Talk to me, I want to talk to you. Be nice with each other. If we have created this kind of fanfiction blogs, it's because we love the characters we write for. We will always be up for a chat about them.

2. Wisely use your tags, you shall.

Because it is extremely annoying as a reader when you are looking for a Sirius Black x Reader fic and you end up with some Jily angst. Make sure to tag all your stories, but do it accurately. Do not tag something as wolfstar if it's a Remus x reader imagine. It's just so annoying when the results don't match what you are looking for. Personally, it doesn't make me want to read the imagine, on the contrary, it just annoys me, and I will not visit the blog where it was posted.

To tag your stories, try to think about these three things :

- Who is the main character in my story ? Are there other characters that are really important in the plot?

- Which fandom am I writing for ?

- What part of the fandom is this character involved in?

If several characters are involved, try to determine which ones are the most important and tag them first. You can tag a character using both the full name or just the first name, so think about including both versions.

So, for a Sirius Black x reader story some Jily, you will have the tags:

#sirius black #sirius black x reader #sirius black imagine #sirius black fanfiction #sirius #sirius x reader #sirius imagine #sirius fanfiction #hp # marauders era #marauders #marauders imagine #marauders fanfiction #jily #jily fanfiction #jily imagine #james potter #lily evans potter

See? Then your imagine will come up first if people are looking for Sirius. It might appear for Jily too, but the order of the tags indicate that they're not that important in the story. You can also tag if you are writing fluff, angst… it's up to you. If you don't really know which tags you should use, try to check the tags used by fanfiction writers that you like, it might help.

3. Comments are rare, but it's not because it’s you

As a writer, you have put all your energy and soul and emotions into this piece of writing you have just posted. Fasten your seatbelt. You will then experiment the rollercoaster of emotions that goes with it:

- First, the excitement of posting something new

- Then, the long wait for any form of feedback or validation

- Refreshing the page every five seconds to see if your story has a note

- "Oh! A little heart! Someone read it!!!!"

- The slow realization striking that you're not getting much notes

- Going to bed asking yourself a thousand questions and thinking that you are the worst writer on tumblr, as your post didn't get more than 5 notes for now

- Waking up in the morning to find ONE comment on your fic

- Blessing that person with your whole being and worshiping this wonderful human being for a long while as you keep on re-reading the five-words long little message that was written on your post

- Noticing a few reblogs and looking at them all one by one to check if a comment was left in the tags

- Disappointment washing over you every time you see no tags

- A bright grin when you see a 'good fic' in a tag

Yes, this is the usual fanfic writer rollercoaster. You are not the only one experiencing it. Every single writer here does experience the same.

Yes, it is, sadly, normal to receive very few comments on your stories, it doesn't mean that you are a bad writer.

Yes, OCs are not as popular as reader inserts on tumblr. You will get even less notes for these stories. Again, it is, sadly, normal, and it doesn't mean that your OC sucks.

Yes, you will probably get more notes on the first chapter of a series than the rest of your story, especially if you take a few weeks to update. It doesn't mean that your series is less appreciated or is a disappointment.

Some characters or ships are less popular than others in a fandom. You will get less notes for them. It's normal, and again, it doesn't mean that your story is bad.

No, you don't have a psychic link to your computer that tells you if people liked your story without them actually telling you. I know you don't. But there are few people around here who seem to get that. So be patient. Be kind. And don't take it personally, because it's the same problem for everyone here.

Getting just a few notes does not mean that you are a bad writer. We are all struggling to get comments. You are a good writer, even if your story has just a few notes. I didn't get more than 30 notes on my last chapter for my Dr Who fic. My Rose Tico fic struggled to get 10 notes. One of my Poe fic reached 650 notes. There is not always a logic. Do not let the number of notes describe you as a writer. You are a good writer. Getting just a few notes must not stop you from writing. It's not because you don't get many notes that you are not skilled at writing.

4. Make life easy for your readers: make a masterlist and some taglists

Make a taglist where you can store the url of people who want to follow your stories. Keep it organized. If you write for several characters/fandom, accept to make different taglists for each character/fandom, and if you are brave enough, for individual stories as well. These people want to follow what you write, so it takes a little time to you, but people that are tagged might read your story more easily and not miss an update.

You can also add links to the previous part of a series or a link to your masterlist in a text post. I don't do it, because I reckon that my masterlist is pretty easy to navigate through, plus, I'm lazy as fuck… but you can be better than me and do it.

Make a masterlist that can be open on mobile. Lots of people (me included) read fanfics in the bus, or during breaks at work, or when they travel… and they don’t have a computer then. So, if you want them to find your stories on mobile, you will have to make a masterlist that they can open on the app. We will take all the steps to create such masterlist one by one. Perhaps there is an easier way to do it, but no one ever told me how to make a masterlist, and that's the only way I found by myself, so I can't help you more than that I'm afraid. If you can't do it that way, ask me for help or ask another fanfic writer who has a link to her/his masterlist in the blog description and try the method he/she used.

To create your masterlist:

1. Create the text post that will become your masterlist. Nothing more than a very normal text post, and publish it on your blog. On this post, you will put your stories and the links leading to them.

2. Open this brand new post and copy the full name of the page in the toolbar at the top of your screen (the full https://ww.tumblr.com/... thing)

3. Go in the settings of your blog and choose the edit appearance menu (the same that you used to decorate your blog and make it pretty).

4. Choose the 'edit theme' menu (website theme section). You arrive in the edit theme page where you can change the theme for your blog, the colours…

5. In the first section called 'appearance options', you can enter the title of your blog, a short description of your blog and choose your avatar. This section also holds the information that are showed on the app. It is in this 'Description' section that we will put the link to your masterlist.

6. In the description, after you've added the text that you wanted, you will have to enter the whole bit of coding that I am writing here. It will allow you to put a link to your masterlist using the link you've copied to a word written in the description. So, you have to write : <b><a href="Insert the link to your masterlist here "> Enter the name of your link here</a></b>

You have to paste the link you have copied in the bit that I have written in italic. The part written in bold is where you type the words that will appear in your description for the link (I stayed traditional, and wrote Masterlist, for example).

7. Don't forget to save your changes, and in theory, if you go to the page of your own blog, the link has appeared in your description, and when you click on it, you have access to your Masterlist!

After that, it's up to you to keep your masterlist updated! If possible, try to make a masterlist as soon as you start writing (or as soon as you have read this post and realized that you desperately needed that damn masterlist), and try to update it everytime you post a new story, or else you might forget a post, or look through your own blog for a while to find the right post again.

Some people use a tag system instead of a masterlist. I find it less reliable. Everything is in your masterlist, I find it easier for readers to find stories and navigate through your writing. But then, it's up to you. I can't help you with the tag system though, as I don’t use it.

Also, do not hesitate to reblog your fics a couple of times after you've posted them. It's not just about promoting your own work, but you have followers from all around the world. When it's night for you, it's the middle of the day for some of them. So reblogging your story to make sure that every time zone has a chance to see it is actually for your followers, not for yourself.

5. Requests are open, but not everything is okay

An advantage of tumblr for both readers and writers is that requests are so easy to make. For readers, it's wonderful because someone else is going to write a story they are dreaming of but can't write themselves. For writers, it might stir your imagination and make you think of new stories that would have never crossed your mind otherwise.

Now, that being said, as a writer, you have the right to refuse a request. Do not feel guilty about it. This idea doesn't ring a bell? It sounds weird? You just don't like it? Then refuse it. Stay kind with the person who requested it, but refuse. You are the one who is going to spend hours and hours bringing this story to life, you need to like the idea that is proposed to you.

Make sure that all the requests that you have accepted are either in your askbox, or in a google doc, or in a note book… but anyway, all at the same place. It's easier to go through them all when you are looking for something to write then.

You do not have to write them in a specific order. Don't feel guilty for writing a request straight after receiving it when another one has been sitting in your askbox for several weeks. Your imagination is not something that works on demand. Write what inspires you the most, and if a request that you like doesn't inspire you enough to write it for now, then wait, until it inspires you enough to write it.

Most people open their requests and close them once they have received a few. Then they write them all, and re-open the requests later. It's a very good way to do it and to keep control on your requests.

Me? My requests are always open. Why? Because, if a new follower of mine wants to ask for me to write something, I want this person to have the opportunity to ask. Also, if someone just has a wonderful new idea, I want this person to be able to send a request too. It's one way to do it. Then, you will drown in an ocean of requests that you will never be able to get out of. But as long as you accept the fact and warn your followers that their request will take a long time to be written, I reckon it's pretty fair too.

Never feel obliged to open requests. If you don't feel like it, then don't. You are the one who will have to write the whole thing, don't do it if you don't want to.

Do not imagine that the person who sent you a request will leave you a nice comment to thank you. It is extremely rare. Especially for anons. Here again, don't take it personally, it's not about you, you didn't screw up their request, it's just that no one receives this kind of message.

I remember an anon who asked me to make a part 2 to a request that I had written for her/him. And so I asked in my answer to his/her message if he/she liked the first part. He/she said 'Well, of course I liked it! It was wonderful!'

But dear anon, if you don't tell me that you enjoyed the story that I wrote for you, I actually can't know that you liked it…

But dear writer, if you never hear of this anon who sent a request ever again, it's not about you, I'm pretty sure this anon loved your story. He/she just assumes that you know how brilliant you are. Here is the misunderstanding between readers and writers.

Right, now, let's get to the writing stuff…

6. Experiment, experiment, experiment and experiment again

Especially if you are starting to write fanfics, you will need to find out the best process that fits your personality to write. There is no magical way to do things that will suddenly makes it easy for you to write, and writing keeps on evolving as you grow as a person and also in skills. Don't expect a nice little thing you will do to pass the time. If you really get involved in it, writing is tough. Writing is crying on your own as you write a sad scene. Writing is spending hours looking for tiny details and vocabulary to make sure that you are accurate. Writing is forgetting a thousand plot twists between the moment when you are under your shower and you sit down to write. Writing is waking up at three in the morning to write because you suddenly had the best idea ever.

You will suffer. But you will also find the most addicting feeling that exists in this world, if you manage to completely lose yourself in your story. Bye bye debts, responsibilities, family problems, work… if you manage to get to the orgasmic trance of writing, you will forget the whole world, and get lost in your story. And that is worth everything that makes the life of a fanfic writer shitty.

As I mentioned, to get to this fabulous state of mind, there is no perfect recipe. Because it's different for everyone. You need to try different things to find out which process fits you best. So here are a few things that you should try:

- Try to write different types of stories : adventure, angst, fluff, AU… you will find out that there is a kind of writing that you like the most. For me, it's mainly fluff, with some angst to get it tastier…

-Try both reader inserts and OCs. Both have advantages and drawbacks. You can write both. I do write both. Sometimes though, if you have a very clear idea of your character, it's better to make an OC. For a short one-shot, reader insert is much simpler, and will allow you to not spend two bloody hours looking for a name for your character…

-Try to write with 'I', 'you', 'he/she'… You will soon find one that fits you better. Personally, I hate that bloody 'I' for example.

- Try different tenses. Some people prefer to write using present, others past tenses. It's up to you, just try to be consistent once you've settled for one, or it can be quite confusing.

-Try to plan a story, and try not to plan a story. Some writers need to have the skeleton of the story already written down before really writing the whole thing. Try to make little notes on the characters you create then too. Personally, I can't do that. I hate planning fics. I just write the first things that come to my mind. Do not be ashamed of either process, they are both valid, and trust me, they will both get you to writing full fics. My longest fics are more than 500 to 800 pages long. 0 planning. It works for some people. A friend of mine is unable to start a fic if he doesn't know every single plot twist in it. It just depends on how your brain works. Try to apply both techniques, you'll quickly find out that one is better for you than the other, or perhaps you'll just plan a few things but not everything... it's up to you.

Finding your process of writing is personal. That being said, don't hesitate to ask for advices to writers that you like. You can ask for people you trust to read your fic before posting it as well, you can get good advices then.

7. Make sure your comfy

No matter for how long you plan on writing, make sure you are comfortable. In your bed, at your desk, outside… write where you are comfortably sitting/lying down. Take your favourite candies, keep a bottle of water and some coffee/tea near at hand. If it helps, turn on the music. Make playlists for writing with your favourite songs. You will have to experiment the effect of music on your writing too: with music, without music, with lyrics, without lyrics… here again, it's up to you.

Make sure you have the internet too. Because you will often need to check a random fact about the world you're writing about, or some vocabulary… or because after a little while you won't be focused anymore, and you'll probably end up reading fanfics on tumblr before getting back to writing, so be already prepared.

8. Find your own pace

I am here talking to fanfiction writers. We are not paid for our writing. We have no deadlines. Therefore, there is no rush. I think that the worst advice that I have ever seen for writers was a post that explained how to write a thousand words a day. Basically, it was explaining that you had to force yourself to, step by step, increase the number of words you would write before stopping and doing something else. To me, this is the WORST ADVICE EVER!!!

DO NOT FORCE YOURSELF TO WRITE!!!

You are spreading love about characters for free, the last thing you want is pressure coming from it! If you force yourself, you'll start not enjoying it, and that's the last thing you want, trust me.

Here again, you have to experiment. Perhaps you are the kind of person who writes a paragraph every day. Perhaps you only write once a week but then you vomit ten pages in one sitting. Perhaps you write once in a while. Perhaps you are like me and can't go to sleep without having written at least 1000 to 2000 words that night. It depends. Do not force yourself to write. You will find your own rhythm. You just need time to find it. Just write when you want to for as long as you want to.

Also, do not rush your brain to create a story, especially for complex stories like series. Some people are fast, between the moment they have the idea for the fic and when they actually write it. But some people need to think about this idea for a while. Personally, 90% of the time, an idea is going to be brewing in my brain for days, weeks, sometimes months or years before I write it down. It's okay, take your time.

An advice to writers with minds twirling with ideas constantly like me: if you have so many ideas, some will be better than others. Wait for a bit then. Some of these ideas will disappear by themselves after a few days or weeks. Write the ones that remained in your brain, no matter if you waited. They are the best ones you came up with. Write the ones that you still have in your head a month later.

Your pace will also determine how often you post your fics, obviously. Do not put any pressure on yourself to write faster because you haven't posted any story in several days. Take the time you need to finish your story. Take your time. You're in no rush. No matter if people are asking you to update soon, you're the one who's writing the damn thing, so go to your own pace.

Wisdom would make me tell you to try to focus on one story at a time. But wisdom is not a fanfic writer. If you have checked my blog, you know that I write many series simultaneously. It's just because my brain is unable to focus on only one story at a time. So I just start many. If you feel like you need to finish this story before starting a new one, then finish it first. But if you feel obsessed with this new idea, let it out and put it down on paper. It won't leave unless you write it anyway, so better get rid of it before it drives you nuts. Here again, updates for new chapters and beginning of new series must be done at your own pace.

Also, wisdom would make me tell you to finish a story before posting it. But wisdom has much more self-control than I do. You don't have to wait to have finished the whole series to post the first part, unless it works better for you. Once again, your own pace.

If you are facing a writer's block and you need some time away from writing, do not feel guilty about taking that time. Take a few days, a few weeks, a few months if necessary, until you can go back to your story. You can also try to write for new characters/fandoms, sometimes it helps, but sometimes you just need time. So do yourself a favour, and take it.

9. Your story, your words

How many posts did I see on this hellsite telling you to not use 'say', to not use this type of words, but rather that type of words…

Do yourself a favour. Write whatever you want.

If a word exists, it's because it describes something. An emotion, an action… and if you need to describe that precise thing, then use the damn word for it. And use 'say' as many times as you want.

There is no stupid reaction for your character. I do giggle in real life. I do blush a lot. I do cry easily. I do feel better around some people for no logical reason. Do not listen to the cynical bunch of fake intellectuals who are pretending that these actions don't exist. They do. You can describe them the way you like. And if you want your character to smirk, then make that boy smirk.

You have to apprehend writing like a freedom. There is no one controlling you when you write a fanfiction. There are no standards to respect, no limits to your imagination. You can use any word that you may like. You can write the stories that you want, the way you want to.

There's no need to aim for a vocabulary that you don't master. Especially if you don't write in your native language (like me). You can use a few fancy words, but sometimes it'll be clearer with a vocabulary that is considered like simpler. There's no reason to overdo it.

Try to include both descriptions and dialogues in your work. Dialogues are dynamic, they carry a lot of weight in your narration. They are also very important to carry emotions. But you also need descriptions to get the reader in a certain atmosphere, and to make the actions clearer. If a character picks up a knife, but you have never indicated that he was in a kitchen, it may be a bit confusing. But then, the balance between descriptions and dialogues depends on you, here again, no magic recipe. Just try to get both in your story, you'll find out that it'll be easier to carry out emotions and to make the plot advance then.

Ha, and one more thing, because I said that it was your story. There is nothing wrong in writing a very bold fic with an idea you've never seen anywhere before. But there is nothing wrong either in using a popular AU, a popular idea, a popular OC… there is nothing wrong with that. Because no one has ever written that AU the way you are going to write it. So write it. With your own plot twists, and your own words, and your own feelings. Do you know how many coffeeshop AUs I have read? I have lost count. Do I still want to read more? Yes, please. Because it's cute, and I want cute. How many readers were made a fellow pilot in the resistance and fall in love with Poe Dameron? Here again, I have lost count. Do I still want to read more about that? Yes, please, I do, bring me the angst and the fluff! And please, write it, because I've never read this story written by you, and I want to read it.

And now, my last piece of advice for this very long post, but the most important piece of advice that I can give you:

10. If you do not like tips, do not take tips.

Tips are written by people who have one way to look at a problem. They look at the problem, and they find a solution (sometimes, I am not even sure that they have faced the problem themselves to be honest…). But it is the solution that would fit them, not fit you. Now, you may come across some advices that are very good for you and help you get better at writing. Then cherish these pieces of advice and use them. But if you realize that an advice is not working for you, then leave it behind and try something else. Writing is too personal to have golden rules that need to be followed to reach your goal. It's a slow process. You will never stop learning and improving. Here again, try to experiment the advices that seem interesting to you. Abandon the ones that don't fit your personality.

I have never followed a single advice that I have seen on this website. I write rarely less than 2000 words a day. Not respecting tips that you encounter does not mean that you are a bad writer, or that you'll never manage to finish a story. It just means that you don't write like the person who gathered these advices does. And there's nothing to feel guilty about. You are still a valid writer, you are still creating amazing stories, your process to do it all is just different.

Writing will bring you such a feeling of freedom, do not let yourself be trapped in stupid rules that someone else invented out of the blue.

And if nothing that I've written helps you, then it's okay. It just means that we don't see the same thing in writing, and we don't write the same way. But you're still amazingly talented, and I think I'm not that bad either. Just enjoy writing. Enjoy sharing your stories. Enjoy reading the stories that are shared by other fantastic writers that we are lucky to have around here. Just enjoy it all, and be kind, to both others and yourself.

#carole gives writing tips #writing #writing tips #writing advice #advice

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porcelaindagger · 6 years

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since this won’t show in the tags from the actual blog

After speaking with some people privately, I had been under the impression that I had been doing a good enough job keeping my head down, minding my own business, and not making a fuss, but it’s evident that this is not the case. I have been back in the community for about a year now as Elle, and since then I have made every effort to use this new alias as an opportunity to turn over a new leaf, make a new start, and be an unobtrusive and altogether quiet presence in the community. I came back simply to write – not to make a fuss or make waves, and I was open and honest about my identity and my past mistakes with those who came to me to ask, and have a small group of people who know that I am Beth, who have known for quite some time now. It was not my intention to “fool” anyone by returning under a different alias, but to exercise the change that I’d implemented in my own life and to show both myself and those who I’d so horribly hurt in the past that I have changed, and that it is possible for people to change for the better. I think the fact that I’ve flown under the radar until now is decent proof that I am not the person I was a year ago; a year ago, I would have gone absolutely nuts in the face of the PSA that’s floating around, and I would have lashed out with irreparable damage – we all saw it happen last time, and it’s because of that that I was so determined not to do it this time. I understand completely why people would not want to be close to me given what I’ve done in the past; I lied, I talked about people behind their back, I pretended to be someone else to hide from what I’d done, I spread slanderous lies about someone who had been nothing but a dear friend to me, and I kept that same friend’s group from receiving the love and praise it deserved simply because I was bitter, paranoid, and malicious in my mindset. I was in a horrid place and going through a downward spiral in which I could not recover from – and though I knew I could not recover, I lashed out and pulled people down with me simply because it was the only option my toxic mindset gave me. I wrecked people who I’d considered family, who’d followed me through hell, high water, and two roleplay groups which ended with my complete meltdown. It was all building up from mistakes I’d made, even before that – in 2013, I copied things from a drabble someone had written; in 2015, I encouraged a friend to write a PSA about another friend simply because I felt that they were drifting from me, and I was so selfish and paranoid that I just couldn’t handle it. I was immature, and felt as if I didn’t have to own up to my mistakes, but as I see the error of hiding from this all and hoping that it’ll just blow over, I think that it’s time for me to put it out there. I was Wesley, I was Beth, and this blog was supposed to be Elle – the new leaf. Elle would never start a positivity blog, only to filter the messages; Elle would never send nasty messages; Elle would never vague blog; Elle would never strongarm someone out of playing the same character; and Elle would certainly never steal, though Beth once thought she could get away with it, and owned up to it.

In my personal life, the last semester has been an absolute trainwreck, and this blog, in my own corner with a small collective of people who I’d told, and in the roleplay groups that I’d chosen to join, was an oasis, and I am incredibly proud of the progress and of the changes that I’ve made in my life, as reflected by my unobtrusive and quiet presence in the RPC. I’ve done my best to be nothing but positive – and those who I’ve found myself close to can attest to that. I never thought of this attempt at a positive new start as an attempt to “trick” anyone with friendship and kindness, and I am so sorry that it’s come across as that, or as anything even remotely underhanded. I hoped that by being Elle and by starting over I could somewhat start to make right the wrong I’d done when I was Beth, and by being kind to those I’d wronged in any way I could, I thought that I was. I never intended for any of this to become a question of lies, victim shaming, or anything of the sort – I was just trying to keep my head down, and mind my own business. I’d even become close friends with one of the people I’d wronged in the past, proving to them that I’d changed before they even knew who I was, and I spoke to another, leaving things on what I assumed was a peaceful note. Perhaps it was a mistake to apply for a character that I’d played so often while I was using my old alias – but I never thought that it would start the wildfire that it did, since I’d been nothing but supportive in doing it. If anyone would like to message me privately, and not anonymously, to discuss the things that I have done, I would be more than willing to do so openly and frankly at my new url, which was created not to hide but to post fandom content rather than rp content without clogging up anyone’s dash.

I do, however, wish to address the claims of plagiarism that have been floating around, as this may be the only chance I have to do so. I understand that everyone’s concerns have merit; I have been a horribly sketchy person in the past, but the claims that are going around now are ones I hold issue with, and I’d like to address them here. Firstly, I’ll start with the claim that I plagiarized an OC from the group I used to run, Fidite Nemini. The character in question is named Holly – I don’t even remember the OC’s last name. A wonderful OC, written by a wonderful person; perhaps the best OC I ever had the pleasure of writing with. But the fact that I also have two characters named Holly is now being called plagiarism, and with this I take issue. First, I have Holly Blanchard, named as such for Holly Golightly. I’ll link her biography HERE. Second is a character in another roleplay that I ran named Holly Gilmore, who was named as such for the plant reference, and because I was going through a heavy Gilmore Girls phase at the time of writing her. Her bio is HERE. I cannot link you to the bio of the OC simply because I deleted the Fidite Nemini main and have no way of finding it. I don’t know where it is, I don’t know what her last name is; the only similarities between these characters is the fact that they’re named Holly and that they’re generally nice, sweet people. I can see how, upon first glance, having a character named Holly might raise some eyebrows, but upon actually reading the bios, it is quite clear that there is no other overlap.

I was also accused of stealing things from the person who played Bellatrix in my group – I cannot link anything here since the Fidite Nemini main has been deleted, but I used, in applying for a Marauders group recently, the bio that I, as an admin, had written as a jumping off point for an application. I’d gone through the old player’s blog to find the biography that I’d written since the main was deleted and I hadn’t saved anything for my own use, and I understand how that must have looked, but had I not deleted everything I could when I left Tumblr the first time. I’d be happy to dig through my google docs and link the application that I’d written up in this post, but I regrettably cannot access the Fidite Nemini bio anymore, or I would. The person who played Bellatrix at Fidite Nemini is, without question, one of the greatest writers I’ve ever had the pleasure of collaborating with, and I must say that it would be very obvious had I stolen from them, as their writing truly stands alone.

I would now like to address the claims that I stole a fair bit of characterization from the user who wrote the PSA about me. I’ll start by saying that yes, I did pin a few of their pins on Pinterest (but I went to a lot of Pinterest boards to create my own), and we have reblogged some of the same things – were I to remain a large presence in the RPC, I would make a point not to reblog musing from anywhere but inspo blogs to avoid this. But I must raise some issue with the claim that I stole a headcanon about sunflowers, a headcanon about running/athleticism, and a FC. I use flower symbolism in a fair number of my applications and characters, and this particular headcanon was written when I read the ProFlowers description of what sunflowers meant (in fact, at the time I was buying flowers for my grandmother, whose birthday I had forgotten, and thought sunflowers might be nice according to the description). I’ll link the headcanon HEREas it includes a link to the article. The running/athleticism headcanon is twofold – the graphic linked HERE is from a quiz which many people in the tag were using, and was therefore not my own doing. But I had put some stock in the character’s athleticism, since it’s both canon that she’d have to be athletic, and because the character is suffering, in the plot, from severe PTSD. It is often recommended to sufferers of PTSD, like myself, and like my combat veteran father, to put much of their anxiety into athleticism, as linked in the headcanon HERE. I put a lot of myself into my characters, and I thought that, as I am dealing with my own battle with PTSD, it would be appropriate to make a point of expanding upon it in the development of a character who very clearly has it. This is not copied and pasted from any blog, nor was it written in an attempt to mimic anyone else’s portrayal. And to insinuate that I am stealing simply because there is overlap in the usage of two face claims is also up for question – I will admit that I did take an interest in Lindsey Morgan as the character because the author of the PSA used her, and I commend you for your excellent FC choice. But the second mentioned, Deborah Ann Woll, is merely a coincidence, and I must take issue with the idea that face claims are exclusive.

In the PSA, it linked things from my old Alice blog that I’d recycled because I am who you all now know I am – were I trying to hide, I wouldn’t have done that. I’d have never been so obvious. I was too optimistic, I suppose, in that I’d kept my head down enough to play this character again, and I truly am so sorry for making you all uncomfortable, and for making you all feel as if I was trying to be devious by going under another alias. All I was doing was trying to mind my own business – and that is what I’m doing now, by turning my writing blog into a simple fandom blog. I’m even further in my corner now, and though I have no intention of leaving my corner, I thought it appropriate to leave this here as both an admittance of everything I’ve done, and a defense of the new character that I’ve built for myself. I understand that the PSA was made to warn people about someone horrible – but I’m not that person anymore. I have nothing but remorse for what I’ve done to those I’ve hurt, and I will never stop regretting the friendships that I destroyed. I considered so many of you my family, and I hurt you. It’s irreparable, and I will never ever stop trying to be a better person because of it. All I wanted was to turn over a new leaf, and to have fun writing with those I could reconnect with, and I apologize from the bottom of my heart for drudging up old hurts. I never want to hurt any of you again, and I never plan to. If anyone wishes to come talk to me about this, so I can explain and own up further, or if you would like a direct apology, I’m now at arhwen. I hope you’re all well, and finish out 2017 well, too.

#rpt #rpc #rph #rp #roleplay

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ivoryandbonerpg-blog · 7 years

Photo

CONGRATULATIONS, Bree!

You have joined the ranks of the second Wizarding War as EVANDRUS MULCIBER under the Richard Armitage faceclaim. In order to fully prepare for what the Dark Lord has in store for you, it is advised that you read through the new member playbook, create your account within the next 48 hours (as this is a secondary character for you, a sideblog to your main character is acceptable), notify the headmistresses, and immerse yourself into the world of a war-torn wizarding world.

Your journey awaits you--in the darkness, in the light, or somewhere in-between.

OOC INFO

1. NAME: Bree

2. AGE: 24

3. TIMEZONE / ACTIVITY: Pacific, estimating about a 7-8 due to working full time but primarily from home! This means I’ll absolutely at least be checking things daily, most likely replying to short things daily, and to longer things every couple of days if I get swamped.

4. PREFERRED PRONOUN(S): She/her and they/them, not fussy but I’ll say if I want one or the other specifically at any given time

5. TRIGGER WARNING(S): omitted for applicant privacy

6. HAVE YOU READ THE RULES?: omitted for admin use

7. HOW DID YOU HEAR ABOUT IVORY AND BONE?: I’m a member yo! :D

8. FAMILIARITY WITH RPING?: 13+ years of experience across many many sites and fandoms, and I’ve been RPing on Tumblr since 2011. Harry Potter was where I started on tumblr, first with an OC to feel out the community, then in a Marauders Era group. Now I’ve been here for a couple weeks!

IC INFO

1. CHARACTER NAME: Evandrus Mulciber

2. CHARACTER AGE: 38

3. CHARACTER BASICS: Hogwarts, Slytherin; Pureblood; Death Eater (Dark Mark)

4. TOP THREE FACECLAIMS: Richard Armitage. Luke Evans and Gideon Emery as backups.

5. CHARACTER SEXUALITY: Bisexual

6. PERSONALITY TRAITS: Sadistic, impatient, controlling, resilient, charismatic, perceptive

7. BIOGRAPHY:

For a family that has always prided itself on the purity of its blood, the Mulciber name is not to be found on the list of the Sacred Twenty-Eight pure-blood families, a slight that the remaining Mulcibers today do not take kindly to. The reason for the omission is what has been termed “a lapse of judgment” on the part of one Arsenius Mulciber in the latter half of the 18th century. When he married Miss Eudocia Prince, she assured him that her family was as pure in blood as his own. It wasn’t until the birth of their son Clarus that the truth came out: she was a Muggle-born who just so happened to share a surname with a noted wizarding family, and had used many cases of mistaken identity to cement herself among the pure-blood elite. Despite long-standing efforts to keep this quiet, the truth won out eventually, and Cantankerus Nott took great pleasure in omitting the Mulciber name from his famous list in the 1930’s.

Since then, it has been the family goal to wipe all trace of this blot on their name from history. Marriage to pure-bloods was never a question, but a requirement, and drastic measures were always taken to ensure that the newest child in the family was a witch or wizard. Mulciber children always had a way of dying young, particularly if they seemed to be magical late bloomers. Evandrus was one of the lucky ones who showed more than enough magical talent early on to avoid a mysterious case of Dragonpox, unlike the children his parents bore before him. And what a testament to his family name he was. His father Caecilius couldn’t have been more proud to produce a son who was already shattering teacups with a clap of his hands at a year old, and making the family Kneazle levitate by three. He was intended to be the figurehead of the Mulcibers, the wizard who would lead their family back into the lofty circles of the pure-blood elite. No Muggle-borns, Squibs, or even half-bloods had tarnished their family tree since the despised Eudocia Prince, and Evandrus was diligently trained to keep it that way.

His childhood was marked by his father’s frequent absences, during which he plotted with a man he called the Dark Lord. Though they had apparently attended school together, Mulciber Sr. looked to this man as a messiah for pure-bloods everywhere, a leader he would follow to hell and back. The Dark Lord, whose name Evandrus learned to spell the moment he learned to write, was a mythical figure in his house, worshipped like a god. For Caecilius had seen but a smidge of what the Dark Lord was capable of, the lengths he would go to for power, and was awestruck. One day, he told his son, Evandrus would have the great privilege of meeting Lord Voldemort and becoming a Death Eater like his father, and he expected his son to make him proud on that day. Nothing else mattered. Every inch of command Evandrus learned over his magic, every spell, potion, and book, prepared him for service to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Only the powerful and the strong were worthy of following his father’s master, and by god Evandrus would be powerful and strong. His father forced him to learn a great many hexes, jinxes, and curses beyond the norm for children his age, his mother Renata never lifting a finger in protest but merely healing any wounds these early studies inflicted on her only son. If he cried or so much as trembled, he would be Crucioed. And in turn, should he manage to surpass a test set by his father, he would be rewarded with a trip to the nearest Muggle suburb for a bit of Cruciatus practice himself with his father’s wand.

By the time he started at Hogwarts, Evandrus had hardened into a cruel boy whose merciless streak manifested instantly. Not in his immediate placement in Slytherin house, but in the way he strutted to the table and threatened a fellow first year out of a seat he wanted. It was done with a smile as charming and as winning as any would imagine, but the malice behind it was unmistakable and more than enough to establish him at the top of his class’s pecking order. Throughout school, he did as his distant idol Voldemort had done. He amassed followers and cronies, allied himself with more powerful older students and won their loyalty. He was a charming boy in ways that surprised many, and with time he turned that into as much of a weapon as his wand. But he was never loved by the masses, only feared, for everyone knew that he had a quick temper and an overwhelming need to control all around him. Perhaps because of his tightly controlled upbringing, he refused to allow others the same control over him. Only one wizard would be allowed that right. Any who underestimated him or annoyed him in any way would be subjected to one of his many curses.

Only one of his fellow Slytherins was considered his friend: Dominic Avery. Dominic was the only person in the whole school, aside from a few of the staff, for whom Evan had any amount of respect. Between the two of them, they made a formidable team. Dom had the patience that Evan lacked, and the cold calculation to perfect and elevate their schemes. He was also perfectly happy to submit to Evan’s whims, never questioning anything, merely suggesting and improving. Within a few years, they had the whole of their year cowering before them wherever they went, aside from that prick Potter and his friends. Things only improved when they took Severus Snape under their wing—his talent for devising new hexes and jinxes added to their terrifying arsenal, and once that filthy ginger Mudblood cut ties with him, his devotion to helping them cemented their reign in their final years of school.

It was a surprise to no one that Evan refused to find work upon graduation. The pretense was his family’s small fortune, which made work unnecessary. But there was only one true calling for him: immediate service to the Dark Lord, who was making bigger and bolder moves daily. Snape followed him, as did most of his former cohorts and underlings from school. Receiving his Dark Mark after proving his worth (Imperiusing an aide to the Minister) was a crowning achievement for him, which he relished as the Dark Lord himself branded Evan’s arm before his father’s eyes. At last, Evan was ready to fulfill his destiny. But to his dismay, Dominic did not follow him immediately. He’d never had as strong a stomach or heart as Evan, and per his father’s request had taken a job at the Ministry. The Averys’, unlike Evan’s family, were one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight and had appearances to maintain. Though Evan found it distasteful and cowardly, he waited sullenly until his friend could finally join him without fear of discovery.

In the meantime, his own parents deemed him ready to take on the other sacred task he’d been raised for. At their behest, Evandrus was wed to Lyra Rosier. It didn’t start as a loving marriage by any stretch of the imagination. Both Evan and Lyra knew they were only together to propagate and maintain a pure bloodline. But their combined talents in magic and the bedroom lead to, if nothing else, a certain fondness between them. They were an exceptional pair, lauded by the pure-blood community and respected among Evan’s fellow Death Eaters, who appreciated Lyra’s bloodthirsty desire to watch her husband at work. But there was little time for forging more romantic attachments; more important things were going on in the world around them. War was descending upon England, and once Dominic was at his side among Voldemort’s followers, Evan felt unstoppable. He rose as one of Voldemort’s most notorious followers, his knack for the Imperius Curse and his sadistic love of torturing prisoners earning him favor quickly. Everything was perfect. The Death Eaters were winning, soon Lyra would no doubt have a child that would carry on his legacy, and no one remembered the Mulcibers’ shame anymore—Evan had seen to that.

And then the unthinkable happened. Voldemort vanished without a trace. The tide turned in an instant, forcing Evan and his father to go to ground. Turncoats abounded, selling out their fellow Death Eaters left and right, and it was only a matter of time before the Ministry was at Evan’s door. He arrived at his hideout to find his father and Lyra locked in battle with five Aurors. Renata’s corpse lay abandoned on the floor, caught in the crossfire. Caecilius fell to three hexes in the chest, goading Evan to join the dual and costing him his right eye, but to no avail. He and Lyra were both taken into custody and rapidly sent to Azkaban. Though she was only given a few months, having never taken the Dark Mark and pleading that her husband had Imperiused her, Lyra died in Azkaban. In that dread fortress, Evan waited. Years passed, during which he saw more comrades join him, some lasting only a few weeks, some going mad from isolation. Evan relied on the conditioning his father had beaten into him to remain steadfast and sane; his mind was fixed only on the day when Voldemort would return. For the Dark Lord, greatest and most powerful of all wizards, could never be killed, and Evandrus knew that someday he would return to free his most faithful.

It felt like a lifetime before that blessed day came, but Evan was ready the moment it arrived. With Azkaban cracked open by the might of the re-risen Dark Lord, he lost no time in jumping to his master’s side and was welcomed with open arms. He was long over the deaths of Lyra and his parents, but when old faces amongst the Death Eaters offered condolences, he put on a show of remorse. Now, his passion lies in finishing what he had started. With no other close family to tie him down, Evandrus serves the only wizard in the world who would ever be able to control him and his vicious needs. His skill with the Imperius Curse, his love of torture, and his charming facade to the unwary make him valuable in recruiting new Death Eaters. But whether his impatience and desire to dominate those around him will prove as useful, only time will tell.

8. WRITING SAMPLE: omitted for applicant privacy

#iabaccepted #harry potter rp #group rp #hp rp #lsrp

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crimsonrevolt · 7 years

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Congratulations Arya you’ve been accepted to Crimson Revolt as Marlene McKinnon!

↳ please refer to our character checklist

Wow -- let me tell you that it was a struggle figuring out the right Marlene for us -- given that we had some amazing applications for her. But ultimately yours won us over because we could feel you breathing life into Marlene with every word you wrote about her. Every section of your application was so well-crafted, with new information scattered around everywhere until we got a grasp on exactly how you saw her and were planning to write her in this roleplay. We’re so excited to see her on the dash and for you to explore all of the various complications and imperfections that make her Marlene! She’s going to be an amazing addition to our roleplay and we’re so excited to see you write her! *your faceclaim change has been accepted

application beneath the cut

OUT OF CHARACTER

INTRODUCTION

Hey I’m Arya and I’m 21. I live in beautiful California so I’m from the PST timezone. My preferred pronouns are she/her.

ACTIVITY

I’d say I’m a solid 8. I work about 30 hours a week and when the school year starts again I will be a full time student, but I’m still on my computer for a few hours a day.

TRIGGERS

*removed for privacy

HOW DID YOU FIND US?

Stalking the tags for a new rp.

WHAT HARRY POTTER CHARACTER DO YOU IDENTIFY WITH MOST?

Ugh, okay, so my dad used to read me the books every night and I remember falling in love with Hermione. I know, so did everyone else, but I was so thrilled to see a bookworm who loved being a bookworm and didn’t really care what anyone else thought. I also loved Luna, but I didn’t really identify with her much. Towards the end of the series I started identifying and sympathizing with Draco and how he was always trying to keep up with his family’s expectations for how he should be. I definitely got that same vibe from my family so seeing a character struggle with it was great.

ANYTHING ELSE?

This app contains some triggers, namely addiction and PTSD. Please read with caution, health always comes first.

IN CHARACTER

DESIRED CHARACTER

full name : Marlene Audie McKinnon  Marlene - A mix of Maria and Magdaline, which mean “Star of the Sea” and “of Magdala”. Marlene has always been a little unimpressed with the lack of deep meaning in her name unlike like the Black’s constellations or the Carrow’s mythology. Even Lily has her flowers. Marlene has never really been a fan of her plain name. When she went to Hogwarts and people started calling her Marls and Marly, she fell in love with the nicknames.

Audie - Meaning “Of noble strength”

McKinnon - Meaning “Fair born” or “love”. She’s also been called McKitten, McKnockers and McKnickers. Most warrant a slap.

FACE CLAIM

Freya Mavor is my preferred FC, but that’s totally negotiable. For alternates I’d say Candice Accola or Teresa Palmer

REASON FOR CHOSEN CHARACTER

Story time: I first applied for a Marlene character about two years ago for my first time in the Marauders fandom. Her traits were something along the lines of being wild and passionate and a bit aggressive which is right up my alley. So I got accepted and on a whim went to look for some aesthetic things and was absolutely horrified because her name came up. I didn’t know she was actually a cannon character and thought the admins had stolen her from another RP. I freaked out to a friend because I thought I was playing a stolen character and he finally told me that she existed and had just gathered a fan base on tumblr. Brilliant.

Since then I’ve fallen in love with Marlene as a character. Because she’s a canon character that there’s very little known about, it’s easy to have her plot lines go in all different directions and I love the amount of versatility I get. It means that every RP has a different vibe. Either she’s in a different house, or a different blood purity, or has family conflicts or different friend groups. I adore every aspect of it. Playing out so many different possibilities makes everything extremely unique and bring out different development aspects from the character.

Admittedly, there are certain Marlene skeletons I don’t really vibe with. I’m not a fan of playing her as a stone cold bitch or some sort of ice queen, it’s just not my preferred portrayal, though I still think it’s really cool she can be played in so many different ways. Personally, I’ve always played her more as a bubbly, sarcastic bitch when she wants to be, who doesn’t really recognize she’s upsetting others until they’ve drifted away. She’s hyperactive and passionate about everything in her life with an intense devotion for her friends, family and the causes she believes in. Overall, I’m just a huge Marlene fan.

Mini rant time: I know some people in the fandom don’t really like the character of Marlene because they see her as a cheap romantic partner for Sirius or a fifth Marauder that never was (these are the most common complaints I’ve heard). I understand how that can become frustrating, but it also breaks my heart a little. A lot. I don’t think it does justice to most Marlene players and their characterization choices. I firmly believe she can and should be played in a way that is inclusive and balanced with as many ups as she has downs. End rant.

Speaking of downs, she sure as heck has some. I love that she has an addictive personality, kind of a “I’ll try anything once” gone wrong. She’s the kind of girl to take a handout at a party, not caring what’s in it as long as she’ll be having a good time. She rejects authority unless the authority works in her benefit. Having a wild child character who is equal parts bold and terrified, extroverted and insecure, comforting yet comforted by substance, and supportive but envious is my dream character and I’ve been able to find that in Marlene.

I also love her stance on the war. Marlene is obviously fighting the war, passionate about rejecting the mentality of the Death Eaters. However, Marlene hates the war and hates the fact they have to fight it in the first place. She doesn’t want to be a child soldier, doesn’t want to see her friends being picked off. As someone who believes in the good in everyone, she’s often tried to sway Death Eaters away from their side, but often the conversations end up frustrating both parties to the point where it just turns into a fight. If she was any less emotional, I could see Marlene being a neutral party, someone trying to get both sides to just chill and love everyone. However, because that’s not possible, she’s gone in full force to defend people’s ability to exist how they want.

Being a character that embodies happiness and compassion, but struggles with the cruelty of the world and her own intensity, I’ve fallen in love with Marlene and totally dug her skeleton, so here I am, babble-writing about why I think she’s an incredible character. Marlene’s a force of nature and if nothing else, is willing to tear the world down while sweeping up and bringing everyone around her into the chaos.

PREFERRED SHIPS // CHARACTER SEXUALITY // GENDER & PRONOUNS

Alright, I’m about to go in because I have some pretty strong opinions on this one. To state it simply, I play Marlene as pansexual and demiromantic. She’s cisgender and uses she/her pronouns.

I’ve always seen Marlene as an extremely affectionate character, especially when it comes to her friends. She’s that one who’s going to be sitting on laps because she feels like it, giving cheek kisses to say goodnight or insisting on piggy back rides. Part of this is because she’s a very physical person so it’s a physical outlet for her to show her affection and love for her friends. Another part is it makes her feel validated, wanted. She needs that affirmation

Romantically, Marlene struggles. She doesn’t like the thought of being contained to just one person she’s allowed to be affectionate towards. Additionally, she struggles with coming to terms with romantic feelings and rather than working them out, just shoves them down and ignores them, preferring to stick to herself. She hates the culture of “Grow up, get married, have kids, live happily ever after”. Admittedly, some of this stems from her fear she’d make a terrible wife and mother. Okay, a lot of this stems from that fear. Especially as she’s watching her friends coupling off one-by-one, Marlene feels like she’s being left behind, which only makes her more resentful of relationships.

Sexually, Marlene is adventurous. She doesn’t care who you are or how you identify, if she finds you attractive, that’s all there is too it. Marlene sees sex as just another form of intimacy and doesn’t quite understand why people shame casual hookups. Of course, she’d never consider shagging someone like James, he’s like her brother and that would be gross. But Dorcas? Remus? Sure, if they wanted too, she’d be interested. That doesn’t mean she has romantic feelings for them (clearly, given the above paragraph), it’s just fun.

In terms of ships, I’ve never really had a particular ship for Marlene, considering I do play her heavily disliking romance. I have been interested in testing the waters with ships like Marlene/Fabian or Gideon, Marlene/Dorcas and I have a guilty pleasure (but not really guilty) for Marlene/Death Eaters. It’s still always been weird to ship Marlene for me since her attitude eventually seems to turn most people off anyway.

CREATE ONE (OR MORE!) OF THE FOLLOWING FOR YOUR CHARACTER:

-A MOODBOARD

Tagged on this blog as { Miss Moody } http://mckitten-marlene.tumblr.com/tagged/{ Miss Moody }

-AN AESTHETIC

Tagged on this blog as { Aesthetic } http://mckitten-marlene.tumblr.com/tagged/{ Aesthetic }

-A MOCKBLOG

http://mckitten-marlene.tumblr.com (the account this is send from) is my mock/muse blog for Marlene. Some of the content is inconsistent, but it overall encompasses my characterization. The tag { Thoughts Can Consume } is general muse stuff and { Delve Deeper } has more to do with character development.

-A PLAYLIST

Tagged on this blog as { Chained to the Rhythm } or Playlist. http://mckitten-marlene.tumblr.com/tagged/{ Chained to the Rhythm }

-EXPAND ON TRAITS

✓ Open-minded: Marlene falls in and out of love with everyone she meets. People are fascinating. Their energy, their flaws, Marlene wants to learn everything she can about people without looking down at them. Not everyone shares the same beliefs and she’s okay with that, to an extent of course. She believes that the world is constantly changing and people should be willing to change along with it. Never one to make judgments on how others choose to live their lives, she seeks to learn from the differences she sees in others rather than reject them. Perhaps the slight exception would be the mentalities of Death Eaters. Marlene hates prejudice, but she hates it because it shows exactly how close minded people are. However, she’s tried to understand them, to find out where their hatred comes from. When she came up with nothing, she’s decided to firmly reject their discriminatory mentality.

✓ Eager: For adventure, for a rush, to learn, to fight. Marlene is always looking towards the future with excitement. She’s a bundle of energy and can’t stand to simply be sitting around and doing nothing. Rather, she’s always looking for the next big thing, whatever is waiting over the hill or around the corner. Always grinning, bouncing from person and person, she wants to experience everything she can. Life is short and with the war, she’s almost certain her life will be short as well, so she might as well do everything she can while she’s still here. If she can pull a few others along with her as she goes, even better. There’s always something waiting ahead and Marlene wants to be the first one to find it.

✓ Forgiving: Marlene believes in the power of honesty. When she was a child, her parents told her it was kind to always accept apologies when they were given and that mentality has remained with her. However, Marlene is not one to say she accepts apologies, but does not trust other after they’ve crossed her. Instead, Marlene forgives others wholeheartedly and accepts them back into her life without a second thought. Though to many it may seem a weakness, to Marlene it is one of her greatest strengths. People deserve second chances and she is more than happy to give them out to those who seem to genuinely seek them.

✓ Intelligent: Though an outsider would never make the assumption, Marlene has always been exceptionally intelligent. She would’ve made a great Ravenclaw like the rest of her family, but shaped her intelligence into something different. Rather than simply reading and becoming book smart, Marlene learned how to be clever, to wiggle in and out of situations, to manipulate. It’s a subtlety, something that has become naturally ingrained into the blonde. She left behind the idea that intelligence existed in black and white and has devoted her time into developing her own kind of brilliance.

✕ Aggressive: Fists first, talk later. Marlene got into her first fight when she was in her second year at Hogwarts when a kid taunted her family during an argument. Since then, getting into verbal and physical fights became a norm for her. Going hand in hand with being too emotional, Marlene is extremely aggressive. She doesn’t like to talk out what she’s feeling, most people don’t understand and don’t want to, so she pushes it into her attitude. Snappish, competitive and willing to fight her way out of any situation, it often is misconstrued for her being a mean person. Marlene’s far from mean, she’s just intense and doesn’t know how to manage her anger.

✕ Emotional: Marlene feels too much of everything. There is no such thing as experiencing emotions half way for her. She is ruled entirely by her heart rather than her head. However, Marlene rarely sees this as a negative (despite the fact it almost always is). In her mind, she’d rather be every emotion bundled into one person that barely be able to feel anything at all. However, given exactly how ruled by her emotions she is, it’s a source of conflict for her in many of her relationships. If she’s angry, she’s complete fury and rage. If she’s upset, it’s as if the world has fallen apart and slipped through her fingers. Managing someone with such intense emotional reactions is a daunting task for any of her friends.

✕ Clingy: It’s ironic, given how easily she pushes people away with her brashness. Marlene doesn’t like to let go of people, nor does she like to ever be alone. If she likes the people around her, Marlene attaches and does everything she can to keep them in her life. It makes her overbearing, obnoxious and frustrating to deal with when she feels like she’s being rejected. Being alone is boring and brings forth the fear of being alone permanently, one of her greatest fears. In an attempt to counter it, she’s desperate for attention and doesn’t let go of people easily.

✕ Self-deprecating: Despite her cheery demeanor, Marlene has deep seated insecurities. Some stem from her family, specifically the constant competition between her brother and her. She often feels second best, leading to her believing that she’s the problem. Then, there comes the people around her. Pushing people out of her life was a common occurrence, but one she has always despised herself for. Again, she takes this all internally, knowing she’s the issue behind it, but unable to change her attitude. For someone who puts on a convincing front of being carefree and confident, internally she’s constantly battling herself and her insecurities. Any sort of failure weighs heavily on her mind and it’s not easy for her to let them go.

-A FEW HEADCANONS

Marlene makes her first kill when she’s 21. On a mission for the order, her group ended up separating from each other and being ambushed by death eaters. With the command to immediately fall back if something went wrong, she found herself stuck in a duel with another. After being injured severely, she speaks the killing curse for the first time before apparating away. Since that day she constantly wakes up with nightmares of what she did and until her own death, was never able to entirely get over the guilt, though she goes on to kill several others.

Since she was young, Marlene has felt that she existed in her brother’s shadow. He was perfect, everything any sensible parent would want from their child. Marlene was anything but. Despite being a naturally intelligent person, at school she was constantly compared to her brother academically, so she learned how to hide her intelligence. In her opinion, no one cared to notice anyway so there was no point to her bothering with putting in work for school. In her mind, she was always going to be second best and despite having a close relationship, there has always been strain in their family because of it. All Marlene has ever wanted to be was individual, but an individual who was recognized for who they were, not who their family was. As a kid, it’s why she acted out as much as she did. Now, as she’s grown older, she’s begun to internalize the belief that she is the “second best”. It’s one of her largest insecurities and something she regularly berates herself over.

When Marlene watched the kidnapping of the Minister of Magic, she was fascinated. Initially, she joined the Order to be a fighter, make a difference in this war. But they seemed to be stagnant, always held back by some idea of what proper justice was. Aversio was different, they acted boldly and apologetically. Immediately, she knew she had to find a way to join them in their cause. Of course she loved being in the Order, it was where her mates were and they acted with a high standard of morality. However, she needed something more than that, needed to make progress rather than just talk about it. Consequentially, she found her way into the folds of Aversio and hasn’t looked back since.

Marlene loves cats. The little shits have an attitude similar to her own and she identifies with them. Cats and Marlene are aloof, keeping to themselves most of the time, but not opposed to a friend or two joining them. They’re only sweet when they want to be and half the time it’s fake. If they like you, they’ll let you pet them, though they’re still prone to swipe you with a paw. If they don’t like you, they hiss and spit until they’re left alone.

As an affectionate person, Marlene always wondered what it would be like to have a normal life after the war. Growing up, she’d rejected the thought of getting married or starting a family. However, as she gets older, the desire to settle down like so many of her friends only grows. Convinced she would be a terrible wife and mother, Marlene is never able to bring herself to get married, or even entirely entertain the idea.

Marlene is a baker. Much to the surprise of her friends, the hurricane of a girl loves being in the kitchen, particularly if she’s making sweets. It started when she was younger. The kitchen was where she and her mother had their own time and place. She grew up preparing family meals by hand, rather than using magic, and continued to do so throughout her time in the order. Some home cooked food might provide comfort to the war ridden, or so she hoped.

She’s always been smart for her age. Most people would consider Marlene a bit of an airhead with a ditsy grin, but you don’t wiggle your way out of as many situations as she has without being exceptionally intelligent. When she was younger, it was easy to see she was nearly as gifted intellectually as her brother was. However, as she got older and made strides towards becoming her own person, she pushed down her “book smart” side. Instead, she applies her intelligence through being clever, manipulating conversations and people without them knowing she’s aware of what she’s doing.

When she was sorted into Hufflepuff, Marlene was thrilled. Most of her family was Ravenclaw and they had some Slytherins and Gryffindors in the mix, but Marlene was the only Hufflepuff. It fit her, she was a bubbly bundle of energy who fell in and out of love with everyone she met. They were loyal and so was Marlene, as long as you could tolerate her ups as much as you could the downs. Everyone praised the snakes and lions, but have you ever met a badger? Sure they’re cute, but they’ll rip your face off the second you try to mess with them or their family.

Marlene is currently a barmaid. Initially, she wanted to be an auror, someone who can openly fight for justice. However, her grades were too low to get her into the auror program, despite her tenacity and constant pleading with ministry officials. Rather than simply take another ministry desk job instead, Marlene went to one of her favorite bars and begged them to hire her. Fortunately, the owner eventually agreed after taking her up on one of her offers to make him a drink. Though it’s far from her dream job, Marlene is content enough in the position for now. There she’s able to work as she pleases, make enough tips for her to get by and meet fascinating people. Since joining the order, it’s also become an amazing opportunity for her to gather intel.

On the MBTI test Marlene is an ESTP. ESTPs are outgoing, enthusiastic and excitable. Blunt, straight-forward risk-takers, they are willing to plunge right into things and get their hands dirty. ESTPs have an uncanny ability to perceive people’s attitudes and motivations. ESTPs use this ability to get what they want out of a situation. Rules and laws are seen as guidelines for behavior, rather than mandates. However, the ESTP tends to have their own strong belief in what’s right and what’s wrong, and will doggedly stick to their principles. The Rules of the Establishment may hold little value to the ESTP, but their own integrity mandates that they will not under any circumstances do something which they feel to be wrong. They typically make things up as they go along, rather than following a plan. They love to have fun, and are fun people to be around. They can sometimes be hurtful to others without being aware of it, as they generally do not know and may not care about the effect their words have on others. It’s not that they don’t care about people, it’s that their decision-making process does not involve taking people’s feelings into account. The ESTP often has trouble in school, especially higher education. The ESTP gets bored with classes in which they feel they gain no useful material which can be used to get things done. The ESTP may be brilliantly intelligent, but school will be a difficult chore for them. ESTPs have a natural abundance of energy and enthusiasm, they get very excited about things, and have the ability to motivate others to excitement and action. They are not usually so good at following through, and might leave those tasks to others.

Marlene is a whopping 5′1″. She’s always been petite and stopped growing around her fourth year. As her friends became long and lean, she remained…well, little. A source of teasing from others and a hidden insecurity, she let her personality speak louder than her size and embodies the idea of “tiny but mighty”. Still, it bothers her more than it should that she has to look up at most people if she wants to look them in the eyes.

Despite her love for them, Marlene’s boggart is not her friends or family dying. Instead, it’s a reflection of herself, all appearance of happiness gone from her face and on her forearm sits the dark mark. It’s worse than death. Beyond anything else, Marlene is terrified of turning her back on her family. She’s always been loyal, it was a trait she carried with pride. The thought, or image rather, of her so blatantly betraying everyone she loved is her greatest fear. On top of the horror, it means she disappointed them, that she went against everything she’d spent years fighting to defend.

-A FEW POTENTIAL PLOT POINTS

Sugar We’re Going Down Swinging - Oh my gosh I’m in love. Before the Marlene skeleton was posted, I knew that if she wasn’t already in it I was going to request she be a member of Aversio. A group that wasn’t seeing progress quickly enough so they decided to go in harder than ever? Yes. Right up Marlene’s alley. I’m incredibly excited to see what her activities in the group cause in her character development, especially if they come in conflict with the Order. Considering the mess of Aversio attacking the Death Eaters attacking the Order all together, being on more than one side makes things complicated and interesting.

I Got Issues, But You’ve Got ‘Em Too. So Give Them All To Me - I’ve always headcanoned that Marlene is linked to some of the death eaters as she grew up a pureblood. While she certainly doesn’t believe that people are inherently good, she does think she can sway the side of the war they’re on. Playing out her relationships with characters that follow the Dark Lord is one of my favorite things to do because, really, Marlene just wants to stop the hate. She doesn’t necessarily want to kill everyone involved (although she will if she has to).

One Hit, Bad For Me, But I Give In So Easily - Addiction is rough. Marlene has always had an addictive personality, meaning she slips into very real, dangerous addiction easily. Especially given her trauma (as indicated below), I see Marlene slipping more quickly into legitimate substance abuse beyond just drinking or taking a handout at a party. Obviously, being as stubborn as she is, she’d try to hide it or insist she was in control. But no one is in control of addiction. It consumes the user and their loved ones without giving anything in return.

I’m At An All Time Low - As someone who suffers from PTSD myself, I’d love to explore that side of Marlene after her kidnapping experience. I imagine her doing her best to shove the trauma down and act as though it doesn’t exist. However, ignoring your emotions doesn’t stop random panic attacks from happening or eliminate night terrors. It’s also a misconception to say individuals suffering from PTSD become victims. Instead, some decide that they’re going to do everything in their power to tear down whatever it was that tried to hurt them.

Not Ready To Make Nice - In general, exploring how Marlene tries to find balance in her life during war is fun. She’s a fighter to the core, but also wants to be a positive light while dealing with an ever-darkening world. Exploring her struggle to maintain her drive for the cause while her friends and family are disappearing around her is always a good time (not for the character, but for me). She’s desperately trying to maintain her positive demeanor, despite her struggles.

IN CHARACTER QUESTIONNAIRE

The following section should be looked at like a survey for your character. Answer them in character and feel free to use gifs. Or, if you’d rather, answer them in third person or OOC without gifs. Answers do not have to be extremely lengthy.

♔ If you were able to invent one spell, potion, or charm, what would it do, what would you use it for or how would you use it? Feel free to name it:

“A spell that lets you talk to creatures.” There was no hesitation when Marlene answered. “I’d use it to talk to animals, obviously. Don’t underestimate it’s significance,” Crossing her arms over her chest defensively, she pursed her lips. “Think about the uses! You could have a cat just hanging out picking up information for you if you give ‘em some milk after. Or being able to talk to dragons!” Leaning forward with wide eyes and a grin to match, she rambled on.

“Can you imagine being able to talk to dragons? They seem angry all the time, but maybe you could make friends with one and they’d let you ride ‘em. No one I’ve ever heard of had a dragon animagus.” Then, she sat back. “It’s not fair that only one in a trillion people are able to talk to snakes and animagi don’t count cause they just become one animal. With this, you could talk to any animal you wanted and they’d be able to talk back. Best spell ever, honestly. I’d name it…fuck. Um. Maybe animustalkus. Something like that. Or someone who’s better with Latin can name it for me.”

♔ You have to venture deep into the Forbidden Forest one night. Pick one other character and one object (muggle or magical), besides your wand, that you’d want with you:

“Can I pick alone? I’d love to go it alone. Tried during school but the groundskeepers were always one step ahead.” There was a ring of bitterness in her voice when Marlene spoke of the groundskeepers, but it was gone as soon as it had appeared. “I can’t? Well that’s no fun. Not Marcus, he’d be too insistent on going back to the school with a stick up his ass the whole time. Maybe Caradoc or Dirk, they’re alright blokes. Or maybe,” Suddenly, her head snapped up.

“Dorcas. I’d bring Dorcas along. We’d kick so much ass in that forest together. As for an item,” She trailed off for a moment, her eyes going to the ceiling while twirling a curl around her finger. When she focused again, she was grinning. “A muggle record player, so we could listen to rock while we explored. Can you imagine it? Someone should make a movie or write a book about this.” Clearing her throat, she did her best radio voice, “Two women go into the forest alone at night. The forest…is forbidden. With them they only have a wand and a record player. It may get messy but one thing is certain: they’re going to have a blast.” She finished, before breaking into a fit of giggles at her own shit humor.

♔ What kinds of decisions are the most difficult for you to make?

“Uhmm,” Chewing on her bottom lip, the blonde’s brows furrowed and she stared down at her hands. “Well, everyone’s always saying I don’t think before I do stuff, so I don’t make that many decisions in the first place.” She said with a laugh, ruffling a hand through her hair. “But, I guess if you were to ask something like ‘if you had to save your mum or dad, who would you choose’, that’d be a tough decision. I don’t think I could make it.”

The crease between her brows disappeared as she straightened up and grinned. “So, that. Choices to do with family. Those are really hard to make. I don’t want to upset them, y’know? I mean, I do, but never on purpose…okay, rarely on purpose.” Her grin faded away, the line between her brows reappearing. It was an expression she was becoming more familiar with as of late: worry. “I wouldn’t want to make any decisions that’d hurt my family.”

♔ What is one thing you would never want said about you?

Rolling her eyes, Marlene leaned back in her chair. “Nothing. Honestly, if you spend your life worrying about what people might say about you, you’re never going to have the chance to live.” She chided with a shake of her head. “I don’t care. Let them say what they’d like. If it’s the truth, that’s that. If not, who cares?”

Marlene would never want to be called a traitor, even in jest. It’s too real of a possibility and something she’s still insecure about. She’s loyal, that’s her Hufflepuff thing and she takes great pride in it. Since the war begun, she’s seen how easy it is for people to turn their backs on friends and family. Marlene never wants to be like those people and would loathe for someone to ever refer to her as such. Unless they’re calling her a blood traitor, that she’s entirely fine with.

WRITING SAMPLE

Note: This is actually a drabble from an ask meme “A situation where our characters kiss” from a past RP. I think it sums up a lot of Marlene and how I portray her and is one of my favorite pieces. If you’d prefer something tailored specifically to this RP, please let me know and I’d be more than happy to write something up.

Marlene absolutely positively with all of her heart and soul hated this. Her family had “broken away” from the other pureblood beliefs and yet there she sat, right in the middle of what must have been two dozen pure blood families. She wanted to scream, to rip her hair out and thrash the stupid mansion they had decided to hold the bloody cult gathering in. Most of the adults, and especially their children, glowered at where she was seated, half under the table with her arms tightly across her chest. And she scowled right back, meeting them eye for eye until they broke away to go spew shit at someone else who treated their words like gold.

She hadn’t realized she was literally snarling under her breath until the shuffling of clothing sounded from next to her when someone sat down. Like hell Marlene was going to spend the rest of her night breathing in the fumes from some rotten perfume or cologne. Her stance should have been enough message that she didn’t want company. Whipping her head around, more than ready to give them a piece of her mind, Marlene stopped herself before a sound could escape when she met Peter Pettigrew smiling meekly back at her. Letting out a sigh of pure relief, Marlene dropped back with a groan and rolled her head onto his shoulder.

“Oh thank the gods you’re here, do you want to bail with me? Please tell me you want to bail with me.” She breathed out quickly, looking up at him with her best impression of puppy dog eyes. When he nodded in response, Marlene was standing in a heartbeat, not giving Peter any chance speak before she was trying to pull him through the crowd of people. Freedom. She would finally be able to breathe air that wasn’t choked full of egocentricity and narcissism. As melodramatic as it would have sounded, the thought of getting away was pure paradise for Marlene and they were so close, so close to escaping when a thin figure stepped in their path.

Marlene could have sworn she felt Peter laughing at her choked back sob. She didn’t even remember who this woman was or why she was asking how their year was going and even more so, Marlene didn’t care. It was a miracle she hadn’t run off already. She was trying to be good. But from the corner of her eye, she caught her father’s gaze and the message in his expression was as clear as day. Behave. And who would Marlene McKinnon be if she did anything but the exact opposite. “Is anything new with you, dears?” Who did she think she was, their grandmother? Sure as hell looked like it. Smiling, Marlene shrugged her shoulders lightly and reached back to take Peter’s hand in hers, giving it an affectionate squeeze.

“Well, we’re expecting our first born next year, so we’re quite thrilled about that, aren’t we love?” Marlene could have sworn Peter gagged on his own spit as the woman before them very clearly did with her glass of wine. Batting her eyelashes up at him, Marlene waited for her friend, her one ally in the room, to either back out now or play along with the blonde’s games. Much to her enjoyment, he did the latter, though it was a barely-managed nod rather than full affirmation. But it was good enough. It seemed that Sirius and James really were wearing off on him. “But other than that, the doctor recommended I take it easy and you know my Petey, he’s just been like a mother hen. And here I thought I was the one giving birth.”

Every move Marlene made was exaggerated, making it clear that she was supposed to be telling a joke she thought was brilliant, and she died a little with joy when the woman tried playing along with a broken laugh of her own. “I’m sorry, but we were just headed outside due to a stomach ache. I guess those glasses of wine weren’t such a great idea after all! Now if you’d excuse us, I’d hate to ruin your shoes. But please, feel free to pass along the good news for us!” Marlene chimed, slipping around the woman, her hand tightly clasped with Peter’s while she basked in the look of horror on the stranger’s face.

Not bothering to look back, Marlene finally let out a laugh when they stepped out into a massive garden. Even walking side by side, Marlene didn’t bother releasing his hand, but began to swing it between them, giggling under her breath. “Your family is going to kill me.” Marlene rolled her eyes at that, but caught the edge of humor in the words and grinned up at Peter, shrugging her shoulders slightly. “Maybe. Doesn’t matter though, they’ll forgive it. That’s what families do. Put up with the bratty kids and try to focus on the good ones.” She chimed, coming to a stop at a bench.

While Peter took a seat where any rationally minded person would, on the actual bench, Marlene plopped straight down onto his lap and threw her arms around his neck. Without warning, Marlene took his lips with her own, light and slow. Really, it was a habit most of her friends were probably used to. She liked kissing, liked being physically close to others. There was nothing sexual about it, not to her. It wasn’t about getting the other riled up or turned on, it was just comforting, one of the few ways the blonde found to relax. She needed the affirmation.

And bless his heart, Peter must have felt like indulging her erratic behavior that day. Marlene could have cheered when there was no refusal or rejection to be found in the other. For all she knew they could have been out there for minutes or hours, occasionally breaking into light conversation before their lips would find rhythm with one another again and Marlene let herself sink into the warmth of the hands on her waist and figure far broader than her own before her. Though it was rare, there were times like this when Marlene just let herself be. The hurricane of a girl found her clam in the touch of others.

But all good things must have come to an end for her sooner or later and she groaned when they were interrupted by an intentionally too-loud clearing of a throat from behind her. With a scowl on her face once more, Marlene leaned back from her spot in Peter’s lap and twisted her head until she could smile sarcastically at her brother. “Yes, hello, can I help you or are you just determined to ruin every shred of happiness I can grasp in this cold, cold world?” She drawled, blinking blankly at him. “We’re leaving.” He spoke back and Marlene was half tempted to just cling to Peter and declare that she was never going to leave. Instead, she stood with a dramatic flourish of her dress and stomped over to him before dropping like a dead weight.

Luckily, as much as she wished he didn’t, her brother had good reflexes and grabbed her before hauling her up over his shoulder in a fireman carry. Reaching out dramatically, she called back to Peter while her brother carried her off. “My love! I’ll care for our child until we meet again! Remember me, even in your darkest hours!” From behind some bushes, Marlene could hear Peter’s laugh ring out. It was fine, it was okay. Even stuck in the middle of a quickly brewing war, that made the night worth it.

#marlene mckinnon #hp rp #literate rp #lsrpg #mature rp #accepted app

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nerdylittleshit · 6 years

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The Big Potter Rewatch

Recently I found myself drowning in Potter related feels. HP was my first fandom (and with that I mean I read fan fiction and printed out fan art and was complete oblovious to any kind of wank) and whenever I get back there it feels like home.

I’m planning to reread the entire series and I might create a sideblog as well and write a bit about it. But for now I have just rewatched all the movies during the last week. I have never seen them all back to back before, and it has been an interesting experience, seeing how different directors approached to adapt those books.

Adaptions are never easy to make. Books and movies are different media and they tell a story in a different way. What works within a book might not translate to the big screen and the same goes the other way around. And then there is of course always the expectations from the readers, and obviously you can never satisfy everyone.

When it comes to Potter I will always prefer the books over the movies, and to these who have only seen the movies I recommand you to read the novels. Watching the movies I always had the books in the back of my mind, however I also tried to watch them as someone who doesn’t have this background, because I think adaptions should always work on their own. I couldn’t help to take some notes and compare the adaptions of each Potter book, so here they are:

(In general I have to say I love all the hard work and the care they put in those movies. Look at those sets, look at those costumes, look at at the entire world they created. And also the casting: with a very few exceptions I think all the actors were stunning in their roles.)

Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone (2001)

Director: Chris Columbus

I think that overall the first movie is in my opinion the weakest. I remember how disappointed I was when I first saw it in the theater (mind you, I was 12), so much that I refused to watch any of the movies until “Order of the Phoenix”. As a child the movie couldn’t live up to my expections and I remember how upset I was of how much they left out from the book. Ironically now as an adult I think the biggest problem is how desperately to adaption tried to cram in as much of the story as they could. The movie feels like they were going through each chapter, made some notes, and gave us a very brief summary of what happened. The problem however is that in many scenes the context is missing; context the book did provide. There are several scenes that simply make little to no sense if you haven’t read the book.

The movie is nothing more than a visualation of the book, but it doesn’t work without the book. In addition there are several scenes that simply don’t add anything to the plot or the characters. They exist to show us how super awesome this school for magic is, but I wish they would have cut more of them to add more depth to other scenes.

Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets (2002)

Director: Chris Columbus

Overall I think this one worked better than the first one, it has a better flow/rhythm, in the way it brings scenes together. However it still suffers from many problems the first one had. I also think they hired Chris Columbus because he had experience with child actors and because they wanted a family friendly big movie. But overall I think the first two movies are lacking some of the darkness the books always had, right from the start.

Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)

Director: Alfonso Cuaron

Many consider this to be the best Potter movie and I can see why. Cuaron managed what Columbus couldn’t: he created a movie that worked on its own, that was more than just an adaption. You can see the director’s handwriting. I absolutely adore the aesthetic of this movie and the way he worked with light and darkness. He also managed to translate the atmosphere from the book on the big screen. PoA is one of the darkest book of the series and I loved that they decided to fully give in to this instead of creating a children friendly version.

The one big problem I always have with this movie though is the way it handled the Marauder’s story. PoA is my favourite book of the series and the big reveal at the end left my stunned. And yet so much of the story is missing in the movie and I don’t know why, because they could have easily add all the missing details in another 5 minutes.

Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire (2005)

Director: Mike Newell

Love is in the air! Which is why they might hired a director known for romantic comedies. And I admit the the whole part of watching awkward teenagers trying to figure out this whole dating thing did work well. However opposed to that they decided to make the Triward Tournament much more action heavy, because it is not dangerous enough that Harry has to fight a dragon, let him almost fall from the roof of Hogwarts while doing it. I also didn’t like the way they portrayed Beauxbaton and Durmstrang, making them respectively an all girls/all boys school and portraying them in the most stereo-typical way.

Overall I think the movie suffers from the same problem as the first two: it is too trivial, with the focus on big action pieces instead of character moments. And while they mentioned Prior Incantatem they never cared to actually explain it, not that it is ever going to be important or anything.

Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix (2007)

Director: David Yates

In my humble opinion this is the best movie adaption and the one I have probably seen the most. Ironically while the novel is the longest of the series the adaption is the shortest. And that of course could only happen because they cut out a lot. But in doing so they made a better movie.

OotP was at times hard to read because it dragged out the story so much. And the complete opposite happened in this adaption. They looked what the core story is, the essence of the book, and radically cut out the rest. There isn’t even Quidditch in here. But because of it the movie never leaves it tension; there is no subplot here that might cheer things up. The beginning war, the ignorance of the ministry, Harry’s isolation - all the essential parts of the story are captured and they are given the time and attention they deserve. There isn’t a single thing I didn’t like about this movie.

Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince (2009)

Director: David Yates

It’s still good, but compared to OotP it doesn’t quite live up. When it comes to the atmosphere the movie creates it is a mix between the lighthearted teenage romance shenangigans of the fourth movie and the dark atmosphere OotP created, now openling acknowleding that the Wizarding World is at war. I would have wished however that the focus would have been more on the dark themes the novel provided. Too much was left out of Voldemort’s story, of Draco’s growing despair, in order to give Won-Won more screentime.

However, given that the novel complete changed how I watched Draco Malfoy, I absolutely loved Tom Felton’s performance in this one, especially during their flight at the end, when you can see the absolute horror on his face realizingwhat he has done.

Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 1 & 2 (2010 & 2011)

Director: David Yates

I think it was the right choice to cut this movie in two parts. Because of it they were able to leave a lot of the things from the book in it, and given how indredible well J. K. Rowling tied up her saga there wasn’t much to cut in the first place. They decided that the first one should be more character driven, with the focus on the emotional journey of said characters, whereas the epic battle of Hogwarts was completely saved for the second one. Because of it there is a different feel to each movie, however they work on their own as much as they work together.

Storywise there are two things I missed in this movie: first the Dursleys, which we only see briefly. However there are two deleted scenes which add more to Petunia and Dudley. The second is Regulus’s story. Harry, Ron and Hermione never question how Regulus came into the possesion of the locket. I can see how his story isn’t neccessary for the bigger plot, still though he is perhaps my favourite unsung hero and I loved his story. (Then again Regulus & Kreacher were part of the house-elves arc, something the movies cut out in its entirety.)

After OotP these two final movies are the ones that worked best for me.

Something else...

I couldn’t help but watch those movies from a shipper perspective as well. (Personally I ship Drarry, but I never expected this to become canon, so whatever *shrugs*) Regarding the love triangle that never was (Harry/Hermione/Ron) I had always wondered where the Harry/Hermione shippers were coming from because I had never picked this up from the books (no hate though, every ship is welcome). Ever since GoF Hermione/Ron was super obvious to me, the moment Ron realized that Hermione was, in fact, a girl. But if you have only seen the movies or perhaps the movies before the books, things look different. Harry and Hermione are very close, completely trusting each other, and always physical affectionate with each other. In a way Hermione and Ron are not, who are instead super awkward around each other, and that was the point the movies tried to make. How easily Harry can hug Hermione because he never saw her as more than a friend, and how Ron can’t, because feeeeeeeeelings. Still, Hermione remains the one female character Harry is the closet to, he has the most screentime & development with, and I can see how easily you can ship those two, because the potential is there. More so as in the books.

And opposed to that we have Harry/Ginny, which I already felt forced in the books (because Harry too one day realized that Ginny is, in fact, a girl), and more so in the movies, where they don’t really have a relationship with each other until they start to date and even then they lack chemistry (and it doesn’t help that Ginny feeds Harry or ties up Harry’s shoes, like a mother would, not his girlfriend).

So yeah, both Harry/Hermione and Ron/Hermione work in the movies, though on a different level, but it was interesting to me as I never shipped Harry & Hermione in the books but lowkey did in the movies.

#Harry Potter #harry potter movies

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