Special Feature Applications

Name: Monica
Character Name: Ailsa Garrott
Feature You Are Applying For: Metamorphmagus
Description of the Character:
Ailsa is a dark witch who worked as a Snatcher during the war and has been on the run since the defeat of the Dark Lord at the Battle of Hogwarts. She is a pureblood and though she fought on the side of Voldemort during the war her allegiances had less to do with blood supremacy and more to do with the fact that it gave her an excuse to hunt and use violence much more liberally than being on the other side would have.

The easiest way to sum her up would be to say that she's someone you'd really rather not meet in a dark alleyway. Or probably ever. "Pleasant" would probably be the very last word to come to mind. Cold and calculating towards all but the small handful of people that she actually trusts, Ailsa is a cruel and sadistic witch with an unhealthy appetite for unnecessary torture and violence.

Though having to go into hiding after the end of the Second Wizarding War really hasn't helped matters, she's been a paranoid creature almost all of her life. Ailsa lives as though she is permanently in fight or flight mode (and did so even before she actually was) and the constant state of heightened adrenaline makes her both highly energetic and extremely anxious. She is a planner and a schemer- not one to rush in to anything, ever.

Though she plans things out far more than most do (and more than is ever really necessary) and could never be accused of doing anything spontaneously, she is very quick-witted. Viewing her world as if it were laid out like a chessboard on which she's already thinking three moves ahead allows her to be adaptable and her competitive nature drives her to find innovative solutions to her problems. These solutions are often intricate and when they involve other people she can become quite frustrated and dismissive (if not violent) when those involved don't appreciate the complexities.

Ailsa is slow to trust but relies heavily on the small support system she tries hard to build. Only when she is around people that she feels truly understand her is she able to let some of her guard down and spend a little less brain power on planning escape routes. If she likes someone, really likes them, they become everything to her and she would do everything in her power to keep them happy and protected. Though she's decidedly rough around the edges finding a group to belong to is her deepest motivation. When she finds people that she is able to really relate to, she is extremely loyal even when those allegiances can get her in to trouble. It was the sense of belonging to a group more than anything (more than the violence- though the violence was nice, and definitely more than any real ideas of pureblood supremacy) that drove Ailsa to become a Snatcher and what she misses most now that most of her friends are gone.

Progress on her character sheet (with most of the appearance and personality traits, as well as a rough outline of her history) can be found in my sandbox here. I have not yet written out her full history because if granted, I would like to incorporate this feature throughout. That said, I have a lot more worked out in my brain than is written and would be happy to clarify any details necessary.

Application:
In the interest of full disclosure, part of the reason I am applying for this feature is that it was one of my favorite bits of magic in the books and one that I felt was not explored nearly to the extent that I would have liked. Being able to play a character with this ability would give me an opportunity to explore the facets of the metamorphagus ability that J.K. only began to tease us with. That anecdote aside, I did not start out creating Ailsa with the intention of her having this feature but the more I spent thinking about how to make her a multi-dimensional character  and a playable one ("Oh, well.. she's in hiding" doesn't make for a lot of thread opportunities) the more I began to feel that having this ability would enhance her personal development and provide more numerous opportunities for threads. I intend to create her even if I don't get approved for the feature but would love the opportunity to use this feature to grow as a driver and explore aspects of this feature with other members on the site.

ailsa's history with the feature

Despite being born as a metamorphmagus, the ability to transform her appearance at will is not one that Ailsa will have managed to master completely yet. Even before developing her affinity for the dark arts, she was regarded as somewhat of a black sheep in the family by her parents who never intended on having her and her siblings who are a good bit older and were not interested in sharing attention with her. Her family would have viewed her ability as a complication at best and an annoyance most of the time. Her siblings regarded her as a freak because of the ability and despised her for it- as a young child who only wanted to belong, she would have internalized this message and most of her energies in controlling her ability early on would be in how to not transform, rather than how to use it to her advantage. Though an innate ability rather than a learned one, the ability of a metamorphmagus to successfully transform their appearance is one that I imagine strengthens with time and practice (similar to the process of becoming an animagus) so her reticence to exercise her abilities early on and her family's unwillingness to help her would have set Ailsa back in the journey to mastering her ability to transform.

Her Hogwarts years would find Ailsa becoming more curious about her ability (particularly since access to the schools resources would help her realize that though her ability is rare, it's not the horrible affliction her family made it out to be), though her controlling and manipulative nature would mean that she'd try to hid it from most unless she had something to gain from revealing it. Because she is such an anxious and obsessive individual, her transformations would be something that Ailsa puts a lot of thought into and something she would want to know the limits of before ever putting it into practice regularly.

As a Snatcher, the ability to transform herself would be invaluable and it would be during this time of her life that Ailsa would come to truly appreciate her gift and try much harder to master her transformations. Due to the high stress nature of the job and the way that stress can impact a metamorphagus' ability to transform (as evidenced in the books when Nymphadora Tonks was not able to transform well while mourning her cousin and pining for Lupin) she still would not be able to rely fully on her ability, much to her frustration. At this stage in her life, Ailsa would be able to manage simple transformations like hair color or length and some bone structure in her face without much thought as well as having a few more intricate transformations (that she views as aliases) that she can maintain for limited amounts of time.

The end of the war and the defeat of Voldemort would find Ailsa out of a job and on the run. She would come to rely on her ability more and more because it would become less of a resume booster and parlor trick and more of a means of survival. During this period (up to current playtime), Ailsa's main focus in life would be learning to harness her abilities though this will not be an easy task. Despite her fondness for violence, she is dependent on others for her mental well-being and having most of her closest ties (her fellow Snatchers- who she views as family) captured, killed or scattered during the aftermath of the war would have an emotional toll on her making transforming difficult immediately after the war. Learning to control her emotions and ability to transform would be something that Ailsa strives for because it would allow her to hopefully evade capture and provide a means for her to get in touch with old contacts without absolutely risking her freedom or their safety.

limitations

While having this feature could be seen as an unfair advantage to someone on the run and a sort of "get out of jail free card", I have no intention of playing it this way. While some level of mastery of her ability lends some credibility to how she has managed to stay on the run for over a year without being the most skilled at all forms of wand magic, it is not something that makes her life on the lam a walk in the park. Because being pursued by the ministry is a stressful way to live, her ability to control her transformations would waver and require more dedicated practice. Even when she is able to manage transformations, it is not something that she is able to control for extended periods of time meaning that as tempting as it may be, she is not free to just waltz in and out of areas where people may be looking for her. The fact that her ability is not a secret also acts as a limitation- her family, who doesn't support her work as a Snatcher and concerned with their own reputations would have reported her abilities to the ministry and she despite her best efforts, she would not have managed to practice her skills unseen during her Hogwarts years and slip-ups would likely not go unreported. People she may have wronged (a lengthy list since she doesn't tend to feel remorseful) would likely be eager to report her abilities and a habit of repeating transformations means that many of her aliases may not be unknown to the ministry. Though being a metamorphmagus would obviously be an invaluable resource to her while in hiding, it is not one that would make Ailsa immune to getting into trouble.

Future Plots:
Having this feature is something that I believe would make Ailsa a character with an interesting skill to develop in threads as well as give me an opportunity to play her in a variety of situations beyond having her sit in a forest somewhere writing in a journal about how much being on the run is not so great. I'm fascinated with exploring the motivation behind Snatcher characters (another aspect of the HP world that I think Rowling was a tease about) and think that having this ability would help me get Ailsa into more plots now that the war is over and characters involved on the wrong side of things have to either lay low or face Azkaban (something that also has limited threading opportunities).

I have worked out some back history with Rinn's character Lyall Trickett who, in his role as a researcher into different forms of magic would have served as a sort of mentor for Ailsa during her early years of experimenting with her abilities and helped her to begin to understand their limits. Though they would have lost contact as she became more involved in the Dark Arts as a future plot, Ailsa would contact her mentor again to show off her progress and torment him about his wife's involvement with the Dark Lord (and bring the poor chap a little bit of closure).

Because she's on the run, learning to control her abilities more consistently would be a large focus of Ailsa's life which would provide a variety of thread opportunities for her. With or without the feature, I have worked out relationships for Ailsa with Samm's WIP Nessa Regan and Rinn's Torrence Regan. These friendships (as well as others that I hope to work out prior to her sorting) would allow me to have threads where she practices her abilities and becomes more comfortable changing her appearance in a variety of settings. A desire to test out her abilities (and a growing cockiness as she begins to gain more control) would provide the opportunity to thread with other characters as well.

If approved for the feature, I hope to work with members who have Ministry and Order characters that she may know (and be unfriendly with) from school to play out ways that her ego and limited control lead to Ailsa making decisions that put her freedom in jeopardy. Connections with Michaela's Leifr Trickett and Jen's WIP Aaron Thorne have been offered (prior to my application for this feature) and their antagonistic relationships from school could be interesting to play out now that there is so much water under the bridge. I also believe the ability would allow her to interact more freely with other Dark Wizard characters and Death Eaters she may have interacted with as a Snatcher and I hope to build those connections before being sorted.

More generally, I think having this feature would allow me to explore this character more than I otherwise would be able to given her history. As she becomes more accomplished with the skill (and I get more adept at playing it within the parameters of the boards) having this feature would provide the opportunity to have Ailsa "rejoin" society in spurts under an alias which would give the opportunity to involve her in more "regular" threads than if she was on the run all the time.

And if all else fails and she ends up getting tossed in Azkaban, this feature would make for one riot of a chase scene thread.

RP Response:

With a smooth flick of her wrist, Ailsa fanned out a stack of advertisement clippings on the small table she sat behind before looking up at the mirror she had propped up against a stack of books on that were threatening to fall off the table's edge. Wiping a smudge off of the mirror with her thumb, she blinked at the mostly unfamiliar face that stared back at her from the surface of the glass. Her hair- the easiest part of the whole ordeal of transforming her appearance- was completely different from its norm. Where it usually hung down in long, waveless black locks it was now buoyant red curls that skimmed her shoulders. Picking up one of the photos and holding it up next to the mirror she looked from it to her own reflection. She'd done well there. In the picture which she'd stolen from a muggle fashion magazine, a twig-thin model glanced over her shoulder with a saucy grin and the same bouncing ginger curls. Transformation test one? Check.

Sliding the picture back in with the other ones, the witch's slender fingers grazed over the other photos until she found the one she wanted. Ailsa had taken to using reference photos for practicing her transformations because she found that it gave her a much better method of grading herself on her abilities as she tried to master them. Either the feature she was working on matched the one in the picture exactly or it didn't. Either she succeeded or she failed. Early on, she'd had a lot of failures. Lately though, she'd been getting better. She chose to use an assortment of photographs for each test- taking one feature from each to try and replicate because it required her to focus more on the small details until she got each one exactly correct. She used to look at both the picture and the mirror while trying to match her own features but lately Ailsa had come to feel that was cheating. She needed to be able to utilize her abilities without the crutches of mirrors or pictures someday so she'd taken to practicing with her eyes closed. She'd study the picture, close her eyes tight, visualize the feature she was trying to recreate and then judge herself in the mirror when she'd finished. It was a good thing she had discovered that being on the run gave her a lot of free time for such repetitive exercises.

She hadn't gotten the nose quite right this time. In the picture she'd chosen the model's nose was prominent and aquiline. She'd managed to get her own button-nose to thin out, but the nostrils on her "new" nose were too wide and too flared. She'd gotten the smattering of freckles across the bridge down pat, but the bridge itself was a hair too flat. With an irritated snort that made full use of her failure of a nose transformation, Ailsa stuck the photograph back in the stack and grabbed the next one. She'd done well on the lips- they were much poutier and darker than her normal ones and just a tad larger than conventional beauty guidelines would dictate. Easy. Done.

Leaning in so that her face was just a few inches from the mirror, Ailsa lifted a hand to hold open her the lids of her right eye to examine its color. Mentally kicking herself for forgetting to change her lash color, she was still somewhat pleased to note that she had gotten the length and thickness (shorter, but fuller than her own) just right. Her pupils, usually icy, were a deep brown- two shades too dark of a brown. Growing more frustrated, she slapped her hand down on the table causing the photographs to fly off and scatter themselves around her tent. With a sigh she stood up- her tall and unaltered frame had to stay slightly hunched to avoid grazing the tent ceiling with her head. Moving quickly to gather the photographs she took a tally of the features she'd gotten right and the ones she'd missed the mark on. Once she'd collected all of the images and sat back down, she shuffled them like a deck of cards on the table and gazed at her reflection once more. She blinked and relaxed, letting her appearance drift back to its normal one and then began to study the photos.

Again.

Name: Cameron
Character name: Timofei Sidorov
Feature you are applying for: Elemental - Discipulus Madin
Application:

Timofei is a very simple person, in multiple senses of the word. While his family always had what they needed, growing up as one of five children in a (mostly)single income household, he has very little desire for anything frivolous. To this day, the robes he wears to school are those originally purchased for his brother, adjusted by his mother multiple times to fit well enough to wear. The simplicity he enjoys in his life also crosses into the way he thinks; while he isn't stupid, his scholastic track record is certainly lackluster. It is not for lack of trying, as he puts his full effort into anything he does. When it comes to magic, Timofei has thus far found very little success in his abilities with a wand. However, he continues to immerse himself in his schoolwork, hoping to raise his marks at Durmstrang in his goal to make his parents proud of him; the disappointment he knows they feel every time grades are owl'ed home makes him feel much worse than his personal disappointment in himself. He spends many hours at Durmstrang in the library or common room, nose in a book despite how much he despises studying.

The only good outcome from his lack of proficiency is that it does not draw much attention or recognition from either students nor professors. While he has no problem accepting gratitude for a job well done, Tima likes for these sorts of interactions to be minimal. He certainly does not like to be doted on; a simple, "Good job," is enough for him.

Something that he must have in his life is adventure; while he respects the integrity of setting rules into place, Timofei can sometimes have a hard time holding himself to their standards. Especially at school, Durmstrang is much like a giant playground to the boy. If there is a group of students making a midnight trip to the Dragon stables, or hoping the professor left the Flora and Fauna classroom door open, it is a safe assumption that Tima was a part of the group. While he obviously had little input in the planning, he can always be counted on to follow through with whatever the group decided. Tima would choose being outdoors of indoors any day. Since there was never much to do at his home, much of his time was spent outside, in the woods behind his family's home. This is where his love of nature was kindled, to where now he feels as though being outside is where he belongs, and begins to go stir crazy whenever he has to spend too long indoors.

When it comes to arguments, Tima tries to remain neutral as long as possible. While he may not always give the most practical advice, he is always the person who will try to put a positive spin on any situation and make someone feel like everything will be okay. Everything he does is in consideration of others and in an effort to please those around him. His is, for the most part, non confrontational, though he has his triggers just like anyone. When it comes to himself, there is very little that anyone can say to ruffle his feathers; he is more than aware of his shortcomings and hearing them from someone else doesn't upset him. One way to get a rise out of him, however, is to bring the people closest to him into an argument. While he has neither a great magical ability or a sharp tongue, this won't stop him from trying to defend those people in any way that he can think of.

If approved, I plan to alter Timofei's history so that elementalism would have begun to affect him at the start of his third year. At the beginning of this year, he was discovered by a fellow Earth elemental, Emmi Essbjörn, a member of the rogue faction at Durmstrang. While it certainly took some convincing, as he had never heard of elemental magic, he soon joined their ranks; they were the only group he knew, and at once found somewhere that he could belong. While he was aware of the Elemental Council at this time, the older rogues spoke very negatively of them, and to Timofei, they were the ones who had taken him in, and the rogues were all he knew. Since Timofei was in his third year, it would make sense that he goes unnoticed by the council elementals at Durmstrang. The separate common rooms for upperclassman limited his interaction with any other elementals, being the youngest he knows of during his time at Durmstrang, and had Emmi not been of the same element, she may not have even discovered him. For this first year, he studied under one of the Rogue leaders. Toward the end of this third year, the Russian Ministry's presence put strain on the rogue and their ranks, and many of them left Durmstrang. This unfortunate disbanding of the rogues left Tima with few people to confide in, and to him, his future up in the air.

The other member of the rogues, Vitaliy Malenkov, had been approached by a fire elemental, Motya Zapashny, trying to persuade the three remaining rogue members to join with the council. The three had much conversation about the decision left before them, though it had seemed much more obvious to Tima. While he had been told so many terrible things that the council was a part of, which he now knew to be lies fed to him to further drive him to the rogues, he also knew that they hunted those who were one of their own. Timofei was not even a year into his elemental training, and there was no way to defend himself. Thankfully, the other two decided to join the council as well. All three did so before returning to Durmstrang, though he could tell that there was much apprehension amongst the members about the three of them.

His fourth year is when he began to train under Iuliana Keane, a Zealot for the council. As he spent more time with her and learning, he began to feel incredibly betrayed by the rogues. In his eyes, he had basically been brainwashed so that he would not question them, and what upset him is that it actually worked. This is when his own friendship began to form with Motya. He didn't blame Vitya and Emmi, for as far as he could tell they had been misinformed about the council as well. It was much easier having someone in his own common room to confide in. Timofei ended up going to both Motya and Iuliana about his feelings of resentment he had toward the people whom he thought had truly had his best interest. This is where his friendship Motya began to grow. During the summer months, he would be able to train in the woods behind his house; this is where he had spent much of his time growing up anyway, so it would definitely be an environment comfortable enough for him to do so.

Castor and I have already plotted for the two to have planned an escape the following term, though currently under the pretense of Tima finally wanting to be done with school once and for all, though chickening out just before they were supposed to leave. Should the feature be approved, his reasoning for this would be that while he knew his family wouldn't accept him as an elemental, he was not yet ready to abandon them. When he tells Motya this, hours before, the two get into a heated argument. Motya went through with the plan, and the two did not talk for more than half of a year afterward. During his time at school without Motya, his friendship with Vitya improved significantly, as they had both spent quite a bit of time with their friend who had now left. He is now headed into his sixth year, with his initialization coming up within just a few months.

As far as history of the feature in his family goes, to fit along with the heredity of elementalism, I think the best fit would be for the magic to have come from his maternal line. I think it would fit well with his history for his mother's abilities to have gone undiscovered throughout her time at Durmstrang. While she would eventually be discovered at a stage early enough to become a Dilletante, she chose to not acknowledge the discovery, and definitely did not tell her husband, and eventually losing any possibility of practicing elemental magic.

Other than the obvious life changes that come after discovering he is an elemental, the feature and the council will affect Timofei as a character in several ways. One unfortunate side effect is that it will further alienate him from his family. Timofei is currently questioning his sexuality, something he actively hides from his family as he knows that his traditional parents will not approve. The fact that he is an elemental would only add to the list of things that would separate him from the rest of the Sidorovs. His mother would certainly be sympathetic, given that she too was born with elemental abilities. However, his decision to pursue and practice elemental magic would be where she draws her line in the sand. All of this conflict with his family would only drive him further toward the council than he already had been. Their ideology fits like a glove with his own. As mentioned above, Tima feels best when he is able to remain neutral. During the war, his family housed muggleborns. While he ultimately respected his parents decision to do so, it made him incredibly uncomfortable to the point that he did not return home from Durmstrang for winter holidays while they were at his house. His family is incredibly important to him, and after he loses them, the council will be a safe haven where he can feel like he is accepted and appreciated, two things he constantly yearns for in his life.

The addition of Earth elementalism into Timofei's character would also cause internal turmoil within him. Along with the earth, he has always been fascinated with the sea and when his wand magic began to falter, he fell in love with the idea of one day captaining his own ship and living out at sea. As an earth elemental, this would be incredibly difficult for him as it would require for him to be away from land for an extended period of time. This is something that he would certainly have a hard time coming to terms with, and eventually a dream believes he will have to sacrifice to honor his commitment to the council.

Only recently have Motya and Timofei spoken for the first time since their argument. However, with time to have cooled down, the two remained friends. Motya went on to find the warmer climate he longed for while at Durmstrang, and hearing from him how much better life was for him away from the school would only refuel Timofei's desire to leave school again. While I haven't decided when exactly it will happen, I plan for Timofei to soon go through with leaving the school, and he won't be back to complete his seventh year.

Timofei formed quite a bond with Iuliana; the fact that she accepted him almost immediately into the council, not without telling him to not revert to being rogue, really made him feel accepted. Once he reveals his magic to his family, she will also become much like a mother figure to Timofei; she would be the one to have discovered his mother, so she would understand best what kind of discrimination he would face amongst his family.

One person that joining the Elemental Council would open him up to meeting that he may not otherwise meet would be Brynja Evaldsdóttir. While not the Harbinger of his own element, Tima would be very intrigued by Brynja, especially by her life out at sea. I have talked with Helena about her playing a big part in him finding ways for his dream of becoming a captain to become a reality, years down the line. Brynja's brother made modifications to her ship to make it easier for her, and I think a ship modified to be suitable for an Earth elemental is entirely plausible. I would certainly have time to figure out more details on this as Timofei got older, but off the top of my head I would imagine it to be charmed to remain motionless unless under extreme conditions. This would allow him to feel more grounded while out at sea. This is conjunction with surrounding himself with many plants and a few animals and spending much time in his morphed state could possibly allow him to spend more of his life on a ship than he would have previously thought. As for the nearer future, the two would be forging their friendship, and possibly finding ways for him to deal with his inability to be away from his element for too long instead of mimicking its properties on a ship.

If approved, Timofei will not only have to opportunity to plot with those listed above, but as well as the elementals in the more western parts of Europe as well. With his strongest tie to the relatively new world, Motya, having gone west to seek a warmer climate, Timofei would probably follow suit, if for nothing else to be closer to Inverness. This will open up his availability to meet several of the other Earth elementals on the board.

(OOC: This is an alternative response to the Durmstrang End of Term Plot.)

As he entered the Grand Hall for the final feast of the school year, Timofei couldn't help but somewhat proud that he had finished out his fifth year. Had it been a highly successful one academically? No, but he had finished and that had to count for something. Hopefully his parents would see it in the same light. Maybe if he told them that just a few months ago he had every intention of not only not returning to Durmstrang, but also leaving Russia, maybe then they would be a little more proud of this small accomplishment. The more he considered this option, the more he realized that it would take a lot more explanation than he was willing to give them right now.

He took a seat amongst his roommates, now well adjusted to the fact that Motya no longer joined him at the Drakonya Krov tables. While everyone else was celebrating the end of exams, Tima had something else to be excited about. Once he got home from school, he would be able to practice elemental magic without the distraction of classes. While he was a little nervous of his initialization coming up in a few months, it excited him that he would begin to learn casting spells without the use of rune stones. The Drakonya Krov was not nearly as upset as the rest of his house about the results of the Quidditch Cup; he had tried out and not been chosen as a player. While outwardly he was upset, part of him was saying that they should have learned a lesson and put him on the team next year.

By the time Professor Krinov reached the Chip contest, the fifth year had zoned out to where it took him just a few seconds longer than everyone else to realize that the lights had gone out. He immediately jumped to his feet, and was simultaneously nearly blinded after nearly every student procured an illuminating charm, somewhat negating the effects of losing the previous source of light. As everyone began to panic, he climbed on top of the table he had just been eating at, knocking over a few plates and a goblet as he did. He frantically began searching for his sister amongst the crowd. "Ol'ga!" He could barely hear it himself, so he knows she didn't hear it. "Ol'-."

His second shout was interrupted as he dove from the table, narrowly avoiding the fire erupting from the dragon's nose. Curse words flew from his mouth as he landed rather uncomfortably on the ground. Timofei picked himself up pretty quickly, and ran in the completely opposite direction of the dragon. The room turned into a rainbow as students were sending all kinds of spells flying toward the creature, though nothing seemed to be working. He really wanted to help, but despite the imminent danger, exposing himself as an elemental was still on the forefront of his mind. His standing with the council still remained somewhat shaky, and something kept him from wanting to risk it.

As he moved away from the dragon, he found a familiar face, though not the one he had been previous looking for. He broke into a sprint toward Vitya, though before he could even reach him, fire erupted from the boy's mouth. Wide eyed, Timofei followed the trail to the dragon. Elemental magic seemed to be having some effect, at least more than the stunning charms he kept hearing throughout the Hall. When his friend saw him, his look made Timofei immediately realize the right thing to do. He couldn't just stand there any longer; there was a possibility that people could get hurt, that Ol'ga could get hurt. He couldn't do nothing! That's when it dawned on him; no matter what his current situation with the council and their trust, this was his ability, and he had to help people. He narrowed his focus in on the dragon, his knees feeling slight as though they might give. Tima had never used his magic in an offensive way, but his nerves were overpowered by a sense of urgency. "Madin cubo!" Those words were not the ones he had expected; he had first begun his practice on the spell a few months ago, and had performed it successfully a number of times. Before he could blink, a ball of earth, just a bit smaller than the result he usually obtained, was soaring through the air, on a direct path toward the head of the dragon.



*All characters used with permission of drivers.

(Note: I have edited this application since its submission to correct a mistake in the timeline of Timofei's abilities; it only affected the Roleplay Response, specifically the last paragraph, and that is the only section that has been changed.)

Name: Monica
Character Name: Ailsa Garrott
Feature You Are Applying For: Metamorphmagus
Description of the Character:
Ailsa is a dark witch who worked as a Snatcher during the war and has been on the run since the defeat of the Dark Lord at the Battle of Hogwarts. She is a pureblood and though she fought on the side of Voldemort during the war her allegiances had less to do with blood supremacy and more to do with the fact that it gave her an excuse to hunt and use violence much more liberally than being on the other side would have.

The easiest way to sum her up would be to say that she's someone you'd really rather not meet in a dark alleyway. Or probably ever. "Pleasant" would probably be the very last word to come to mind. Cold and calculating towards all but the small handful of people that she actually trusts, Ailsa is a cruel and sadistic witch with an unhealthy appetite for unnecessary torture and violence.

Though having to go into hiding after the end of the Second Wizarding War really hasn't helped matters, she's been a paranoid creature almost all of her life. Ailsa lives as though she is permanently in fight or flight mode (and did so even before she actually was) and the constant state of heightened adrenaline makes her both highly energetic and extremely anxious. She is a planner and a schemer- not one to rush in to anything, ever.

Though she plans things out far more than most do (and more than is ever really necessary) and could never be accused of doing anything spontaneously, she is very quick-witted. Viewing her world as if it were laid out like a chessboard on which she's already thinking three moves ahead allows her to be adaptable and her competitive nature drives her to find innovative solutions to her problems. These solutions are often intricate and when they involve other people she can become quite frustrated and dismissive (if not violent) when those involved don't appreciate the complexities.

Ailsa is slow to trust but relies heavily on the small support system she tries hard to build. Only when she is around people that she feels truly understand her is she able to let some of her guard down and spend a little less brain power on planning escape routes. If she likes someone, really likes them, they become everything to her and she would do everything in her power to keep them happy and protected. Though she's decidedly rough around the edges finding a group to belong to is her deepest motivation. When she finds people that she is able to really relate to, she is extremely loyal even when those allegiances can get her in to trouble. It was the sense of belonging to a group more than anything (more than the violence- though the violence was nice, and definitely more than any real ideas of pureblood supremacy) that drove Ailsa to become a Snatcher and what she misses most now that most of her friends are gone.

Progress on her character sheet (with most of the appearance and personality traits, as well as a rough outline of her history) can be found in my sandbox here. I have not yet written out her full history because if granted, I would like to incorporate this feature throughout. That said, I have a lot more worked out in my brain than is written and would be happy to clarify any details necessary.

Application:
In the interest of full disclosure, part of the reason I am applying for this feature is that it was one of my favorite bits of magic in the books and one that I felt was not explored nearly to the extent that I would have liked. Being able to play a character with this ability would give me an opportunity to explore the facets of the metamorphagus ability that J.K. only began to tease us with. That anecdote aside, I did not start out creating Ailsa with the intention of her having this feature but the more I spent thinking about how to make her a multi-dimensional character  and a playable one ("Oh, well.. she's in hiding" doesn't make for a lot of thread opportunities) the more I began to feel that having this ability would enhance her personal development and provide more numerous opportunities for threads. I intend to create her even if I don't get approved for the feature but would love the opportunity to use this feature to grow as a driver and explore aspects of this feature with other members on the site.

ailsa's history with the feature

Despite being born as a metamorphmagus, the ability to transform her appearance at will is not one that Ailsa will have managed to master completely yet. Even before developing her affinity for the dark arts, she was regarded as somewhat of a black sheep in the family by her parents who never intended on having her and her siblings who are a good bit older and were not interested in sharing attention with her. Her family would have viewed her ability as a complication at best and an annoyance most of the time. Her siblings regarded her as a freak because of the ability and despised her for it- as a young child who only wanted to belong, she would have internalized this message and most of her energies in controlling her ability early on would be in how to not transform, rather than how to use it to her advantage. Though an innate ability rather than a learned one, the ability of a metamorphmagus to successfully transform their appearance is one that I imagine strengthens with time and practice (similar to the process of becoming an animagus) so her reticence to exercise her abilities early on and her family's unwillingness to help her would have set Ailsa back in the journey to mastering her ability to transform.

Her Hogwarts years would find Ailsa becoming more curious about her ability (particularly since access to the schools resources would help her realize that though her ability is rare, it's not the horrible affliction her family made it out to be), though her controlling and manipulative nature would mean that she'd try to hid it from most unless she had something to gain from revealing it. Because she is such an anxious and obsessive individual, her transformations would be something that Ailsa puts a lot of thought into and something she would want to know the limits of before ever putting it into practice regularly.

As a Snatcher, the ability to transform herself would be invaluable and it would be during this time of her life that Ailsa would come to truly appreciate her gift and try much harder to master her transformations. Due to the high stress nature of the job and the way that stress can impact a metamorphagus' ability to transform (as evidenced in the books when Nymphadora Tonks was not able to transform well while mourning her cousin and pining for Lupin) she still would not be able to rely fully on her ability, much to her frustration. At this stage in her life, Ailsa would be able to manage simple transformations like hair color or length and some bone structure in her face without much thought as well as having a few more intricate transformations (that she views as aliases) that she can maintain for limited amounts of time.

The end of the war and the defeat of Voldemort would find Ailsa out of a job and on the run. She would come to rely on her ability more and more because it would become less of a resume booster and parlor trick and more of a means of survival. During this period (up to current playtime), Ailsa's main focus in life would be learning to harness her abilities though this will not be an easy task. Despite her fondness for violence, she is dependent on others for her mental well-being and having most of her closest ties (her fellow Snatchers- who she views as family) captured, killed or scattered during the aftermath of the war would have an emotional toll on her making transforming difficult immediately after the war. Learning to control her emotions and ability to transform would be something that Ailsa strives for because it would allow her to hopefully evade capture and provide a means for her to get in touch with old contacts without absolutely risking her freedom or their safety.

limitations

While having this feature could be seen as an unfair advantage to someone on the run and a sort of "get out of jail free card", I have no intention of playing it this way. While some level of mastery of her ability lends some credibility to how she has managed to stay on the run for over a year without being the most skilled at all forms of wand magic, it is not something that makes her life on the lam a walk in the park. Because being pursued by the ministry is a stressful way to live, her ability to control her transformations would waver and require more dedicated practice. Even when she is able to manage transformations, it is not something that she is able to control for extended periods of time meaning that as tempting as it may be, she is not free to just waltz in and out of areas where people may be looking for her. The fact that her ability is not a secret also acts as a limitation- her family, who doesn't support her work as a Snatcher and concerned with their own reputations would have reported her abilities to the ministry and she despite her best efforts, she would not have managed to practice her skills unseen during her Hogwarts years and slip-ups would likely not go unreported. People she may have wronged (a lengthy list since she doesn't tend to feel remorseful) would likely be eager to report her abilities and a habit of repeating transformations means that many of her aliases may not be unknown to the ministry. Though being a metamorphmagus would obviously be an invaluable resource to her while in hiding, it is not one that would make Ailsa immune to getting into trouble.

Future Plots:
Having this feature is something that I believe would make Ailsa a character with an interesting skill to develop in threads as well as give me an opportunity to play her in a variety of situations beyond having her sit in a forest somewhere writing in a journal about how much being on the run is not so great. I'm fascinated with exploring the motivation behind Snatcher characters (another aspect of the HP world that I think Rowling was a tease about) and think that having this ability would help me get Ailsa into more plots now that the war is over and characters involved on the wrong side of things have to either lay low or face Azkaban (something that also has limited threading opportunities).

I have worked out some back history with Rinn's character Lyall Trickett who, in his role as a researcher into different forms of magic would have served as a sort of mentor for Ailsa during her early years of experimenting with her abilities and helped her to begin to understand their limits. Though they would have lost contact as she became more involved in the Dark Arts as a future plot, Ailsa would contact her mentor again to show off her progress and torment him about his wife's involvement with the Dark Lord (and bring the poor chap a little bit of closure).

Because she's on the run, learning to control her abilities more consistently would be a large focus of Ailsa's life which would provide a variety of thread opportunities for her. With or without the feature, I have worked out relationships for Ailsa with Samm's WIP Nessa Regan and Rinn's Torrence Regan. These friendships (as well as others that I hope to work out prior to her sorting) would allow me to have threads where she practices her abilities and becomes more comfortable changing her appearance in a variety of settings. A desire to test out her abilities (and a growing cockiness as she begins to gain more control) would provide the opportunity to thread with other characters as well.

If approved for the feature, I hope to work with members who have Ministry and Order characters that she may know (and be unfriendly with) from school to play out ways that her ego and limited control lead to Ailsa making decisions that put her freedom in jeopardy. Connections with Michaela's Leifr Trickett and Jen's WIP Aaron Thorne have been offered (prior to my application for this feature) and their antagonistic relationships from school could be interesting to play out now that there is so much water under the bridge. I also believe the ability would allow her to interact more freely with other Dark Wizard characters and Death Eaters she may have interacted with as a Snatcher and I hope to build those connections before being sorted.

More generally, I think having this feature would allow me to explore this character more than I otherwise would be able to given her history. As she becomes more accomplished with the skill (and I get more adept at playing it within the parameters of the boards) having this feature would provide the opportunity to have Ailsa "rejoin" society in spurts under an alias which would give the opportunity to involve her in more "regular" threads than if she was on the run all the time.

And if all else fails and she ends up getting tossed in Azkaban, this feature would make for one riot of a chase scene thread.

RP Response:

With a smooth flick of her wrist, Ailsa fanned out a stack of advertisement clippings on the small table she sat behind before looking up at the mirror she had propped up against a stack of books on that were threatening to fall off the table's edge. Wiping a smudge off of the mirror with her thumb, she blinked at the mostly unfamiliar face that stared back at her from the surface of the glass. Her hair- the easiest part of the whole ordeal of transforming her appearance- was completely different from its norm. Where it usually hung down in long, waveless black locks it was now buoyant red curls that skimmed her shoulders. Picking up one of the photos and holding it up next to the mirror she looked from it to her own reflection. She'd done well there. In the picture which she'd stolen from a muggle fashion magazine, a twig-thin model glanced over her shoulder with a saucy grin and the same bouncing ginger curls. Transformation test one? Check.

Sliding the picture back in with the other ones, the witch's slender fingers grazed over the other photos until she found the one she wanted. Ailsa had taken to using reference photos for practicing her transformations because she found that it gave her a much better method of grading herself on her abilities as she tried to master them. Either the feature she was working on matched the one in the picture exactly or it didn't. Either she succeeded or she failed. Early on, she'd had a lot of failures. Lately though, she'd been getting better. She chose to use an assortment of photographs for each test- taking one feature from each to try and replicate because it required her to focus more on the small details until she got each one exactly correct. She used to look at both the picture and the mirror while trying to match her own features but lately Ailsa had come to feel that was cheating. She needed to be able to utilize her abilities without the crutches of mirrors or pictures someday so she'd taken to practicing with her eyes closed. She'd study the picture, close her eyes tight, visualize the feature she was trying to recreate and then judge herself in the mirror when she'd finished. It was a good thing she had discovered that being on the run gave her a lot of free time for such repetitive exercises.

She hadn't gotten the nose quite right this time. In the picture she'd chosen the model's nose was prominent and aquiline. She'd managed to get her own button-nose to thin out, but the nostrils on her "new" nose were too wide and too flared. She'd gotten the smattering of freckles across the bridge down pat, but the bridge itself was a hair too flat. With an irritated snort that made full use of her failure of a nose transformation, Ailsa stuck the photograph back in the stack and grabbed the next one. She'd done well on the lips- they were much poutier and darker than her normal ones and just a tad larger than conventional beauty guidelines would dictate. Easy. Done.

Leaning in so that her face was just a few inches from the mirror, Ailsa lifted a hand to hold open her the lids of her right eye to examine its color. Mentally kicking herself for forgetting to change her lash color, she was still somewhat pleased to note that she had gotten the length and thickness (shorter, but fuller than her own) just right. Her pupils, usually icy, were a deep brown- two shades too dark of a brown. Growing more frustrated, she slapped her hand down on the table causing the photographs to fly off and scatter themselves around her tent. With a sigh she stood up- her tall and unaltered frame had to stay slightly hunched to avoid grazing the tent ceiling with her head. Moving quickly to gather the photographs she took a tally of the features she'd gotten right and the ones she'd missed the mark on. Once she'd collected all of the images and sat back down, she shuffled them like a deck of cards on the table and gazed at her reflection once more. She blinked and relaxed, letting her appearance drift back to its normal one and then began to study the photos.

Again.

Approved!

Name: Merida
Character name: Niska Zukov
Feature you are applying for: Complete Corporeal Magus and Magical Synesthesia

I actually came up with this idea when I was thinking about Amaranth. Because she's blind, she uses her other senses to survive and exist. Her world is painted in sounds and smells and darkness and she lives on a different plane since she experiences the world completely differently. So I got to wondering about the nature of magic, how it moves and if it can be tangible, and what it would be like if there was someone who could experience it in its raw form. Amaranth had too much on her plate already and it just didn't fit right for her.

Then I thought about my WIP, Niska the hunter. He had come together slowly. I had his history first, then his last name, then his model, then his first name, but his personality was harder. Even after I figured it out, I kept from continuing with him because I felt like he was missing something that made him really come alive for me. I try to avoid a multichar if I don't love them yet. (I had only Amaranth and Peeves for almost three years.) Two came out of Tyralyn's brain and I adore him. But Niska was my own and I wanted him to be as dimensional and exciting as could be, because I wanted to be able to play every aspect of him properly. Hunters rely on sensory information and tiny details to survive. And the more I thought about and worked on this special feature, the more I got to thinking that magus does have a place in this universe and would be really great to explore, not just for Niska, but for those who come into contact with him. 

Niska has a pretty bloody past. He spent years playing pawn to powerful warlords and warmongers. He wanted power so badly that once he got it, he didn't care what he did with it. He just wanted to show off, to exert his control over people and overcompensate for how long he spent being the weak disgrace. He's been humbled by his past and his remorse over what he has done. He doesn't seek to repent because he knows nothing is going to wash the blood off his hands. He killed so many people and ruined so many lives in under a decade that he knows there is no atonement for him, and he has accepted this with a warrior's grace. He is damaged, and he's suffered heavy blows to his humanity over the years.

Now he is a watcher, someone who lays in wait and observes all the people around him, slowly working through a few glasses of firewhiskey on a quiet night. He has been toughened by years of violence, but quieted and humbled by his time spent nursing his psychological wounds and thinking about his past. Niska is very much a fighter, a hunter, and a survivalist. He likes the catharsis of physical combat, and thinks it is important to maintain an even lifestyle. He has the instincts and patience of a hunter, and he is extremely capable of surviving in almost all situations, with or without magic. He is a man of few words, and most of them are expressed in a low growl. He is a man of action, but also a person who meditates in order to keep his immense power and drive at a zen-like minimum.

He is a very sensory person, a consummate information gatherer. His head is a file cabinet of dossiers on all the people he has every come into contact with, from how often they blink to how they stand or speak. He places a lot of importance on his sensitivity, and may very well process sensory data more deeply and thoroughly than the average person. This is how her gathers information. He has learned to pay close attention to the smallest sounds and so on, knowing that it could be important later. His time in combat has taught him to only rely on himself and his own senses. People are too easily fooled and manipulated and he trusts his own instincts-- the results of his sensory data-- over anything else.

Most notably, Niska is an honorable man. He adheres to his own code and would die before he broke it. Compared to his whiny adolescent days, Niska has matured dramatically; he's more controlled, gruff, and straightforward. He prefers to spend a lot of time alone and is not needlessly talkative. If he had a patronus, it would probably be a rock. Niska is immovable, solid, stubborn, and built to last until the sun goes out. He is resilient and tough, and will sit alone on his island until kingdom come, if required. He can be easily pushed into frustration or annoyance, but it is almost impossible for him to show just how scary he can be.

Niska is distrusting and paranoid, and for good reason. He's really only been able to rely on himself, and it was through that power that he grew into the capable, strong person he is. It is entirely possible that his past will come back and haunt him one day. He's always on his toes, always aware of his surroundings. Part of him believes that he is just waiting for death.

Niska was born into the Zukov family, a powerful and dark wizarding clan that could be considered one of the oldest protectors of the rich and powerful. As bodyguards with traditionally subservient positions, they were never held in the high regard or reverence usually associated with such a powerful bloodline and strength as a clan. But the family was content to be considered excellent at their job, remaining in the shadows of great wizards for almost eight centuries. Niska was raised in a very militarist environment, first at the mercy of his father, then his grandfather, both of whom wielded iron fists and a terrifying intolerance for weakness.

His brothers, Arseniy and Adelei, were both masterful wizards who excelled in everything they did. Arseniy was the most powerful wizard of the Zukov generation, and Adelei was favored for his friendly (if not obnoxiously so) demeanor and his unsettling thirst for blood and control. Niska was regarded for a long time as the idiot son who never quite measured up to anyone's expectations. His brothers were always much better at magic and more intelligent than him. He was always measuring himself, obsessively gauging his abilities and strength in comparison to his brothers and cousins.

During his school years, Niska took on the irritatingly bitter disposition of someone who feels like the world hates him. He was entitled, dramatic, self-centered, loud, and whiny. Nothing was ever good enough for him. He felt like the gods were picking on him, like he deserved so much better than he got and shouldn't have to work so hard for what he was owed. After graduation, Niska ran away from home and his work as a Zukov bodyguard. But contrary to what he expected, his dazzling amazingness was not apparent to anyone there either. He was homeless and hungry for a while, which only served to sour him and make him feel even more bullied by the universe. Eventually he got work on a trade ship as a laborer where he was humbled slightly and begun to bulk up from all the work.

He took many odd jobs, each time adding more mass and muscle to his frame, and eventually he worked as a thief and mercenary in Africa. Due to his strength and drive, he soon became the favorite pet of native warlords and foreign warmongers who sought to make profit from deaths. Niska, who had grown incredibly strong and powerful in his many years away, was happy to do as they said, as long as he was given more power. He and his hit-squad leveled town after town and left bodies in their fiery wake.

But that wasn't enough. Niska wanted more power. After a short, though very bloody and destructive career, Niska was recruited by a friend of the family, a dying assassin who trained him to be even more of a weapon. This man was ruthless and Niska suffered unimaginable pain and torture of both the mind and body under his tutelage. Niska had gone to him in search of more power, but he used his life as collateral. One day the man disappeared and Niska was freed, though unsatisfied. It wasn't until he moved to Britain with his friend a few months later that he begun to rethink his life. Now that he finally has the power he so desperately desired, he no longer wants to use it as he once did.

Niska's magus is the result of a point-mutation in the promoter portion of one of his magic operons, causing an upregulation of this particular gene's translation frequency and volume.

There are thousands upon millions of mutations in DNA transcriptions everyday, most of them without discernable effect. But this is a special mutation that has been present since conception, when his genetic template was 46 chromosomes big. As he grew, and as the cells were beginning to differentiate, the ones that would eventually be responsible for the expression of magical ability, the ones with the operon mutation, were also being translated.

Operons are a unit of genomic DNA that contain a cluster of genes that are controlled by a single regulatory promoter. The mutation was in the promoter, essentially causing the magus sense to be flipped into the "on" position, therefore being transcribed into functional protein units and allowing for stronger expression. The more magus protein-chains present, the stronger the sense is. It's close to binary system: either a person has a weak or a complete sense. There is a critical requirement for the number of protein chains to have a complete sense, because magus needs quite a lot of "processing power" to even function.

Niska was born with an incredibly strong sense of magus, since his operon is turned on in every copy of his DNA. It grew to become his sixth sense, like a human being able who was able to see infrared lights. He thought it was natural, that everyone was able to see and taste and feel magic. It wasn't until after he was punished for saying things like "this ring is covered in a bitter blue fog " or "his magic tastes like dust" or "the air is buzzing" that he realized it was complete nonsense to other people.

This special ability has two components. The first part is complete corporeal magusception (or magus) and the second part is magical synthesia. Magus is the ability to detect and see magic when it is nearby, and the synthesia is the way that Niska's mind expresses and then processes the information. It could be compared to seeing people's auras, but he is seeing their magic. Similar to how thermal cameras reveal that people are surrounded by a halo of residual body heat, Niska has the ability to see and feel the residual halo of magic that spills out and surrounds magical folk and their objects.

Most people, Muggles and wizards alike, possess the ability to sense magic, whether they know it or not. In the same way that certain wizards just know when something is wrong, or when Muggles can feel a slight prickling of the hairs on the back of their neck when magic they don't even know about is happening near them. (It is much stronger in animals.) There are a rare few people who have a complete sense of magusception, and fewer still who are able to strengthen and understand it.

Niska's magus is comparable to his eyesight and his hearing and his sense of smell. To him, magic is tangible and real, like a living fog that moves through the world. Magic, even in its passive mode, is a swirling, pulsating entity that flows around people. The information that his magus gathers manifests itself in different ways. In Niska's case, once his sense of magus has been stimulated, it used his other senses as a secondary pathway to express the information gathered. Much like a palm reader (and sometimes with the same inaccuracy), Niska has the ability to read people's magic and make conjectures about the caster and their magical power.

All of his senses work in harmony, like six instead of five. He has gotten much better at telling a magical taste from simply the taste of food and so on, but sometimes they all just overlap. Just like how people can tune out distracting noises or ignore irrelevant visual stimuli, Niska can ignore his magus if he so chooses. This usually doesn't happen (for any of his senses) because he is always paranoid someone is going to stab him or something, and it would pay to be vigilant. And if he wanted to increase his magus ability at any certain moment, it does require a lot of focus and blocking out of his other senses.

His magus ability increased astronomically under the tutelage of Molchalivyĭ Kranovich, the boogeyman himself. Kranovich took inspiration from Niska's ability to teach one of his other pupils, Amaranth Stringfellow. Kranovich used Niska's intense sensory awareness to teach the blind girl how to function without her sight, and to trade eyesight for an extremely watered-down magus awareness. At the same time, Kranovich was pushing Niska to the limits in an attempt to fulfill Niska's request to make him stronger. Aside from taking Niska to the brink of death over and over again, Kranovich's teaching honed Niska's already powerful body and mind, and as a result his magus ability skyrocketed.

Niska has a very strong, accurate ability to perceive the magic he is exposed to. It is literally his sixth sense. It's as if all his other senses are at the mercy of his magus. It senses the magic and hijacks his sight or hearing or smell to tell him what it is perceiving.

Most prominently, he is able to feel magic pulsing through the air like electricity, as if all the subatomic particles are vibrating at high, noticeable speeds. The higher the intensity of the humming (higher frequency and higher amplitude), the more powerful the magic is. He can feel it crackling and buzzing in the air wherever he goes; his magus gives him an intense awareness of magic and allows him to make somewhat accurate judgments of the nature of that magic.

To him, almost all magical people are surrounded by a fog of color, or at least a light halo of visible magic. Every person has a slightly different color and intensity combination and so does their magic. For example, he could see a woman with pink magic swirling around her, and if she is wearing a ring charmed by her husband, the ring would be green or blue or whatever color her husband's magic is. Niska can't do anything to them, like control them or change their magic, he can only see and feel it. Every person is surrounded by a different tint, the intensity of which depends on how much Niska can see and how powerful they are.

Another way Niska judges people is by the feeling of their magic. Magic behaves a specific way for each person, depending on the kind of magic they are used to doing or are about to perform, as this changes their magical output. To him, the magic around people is something like a fog and he can gauge the level of their magical output, and the type of spells their magic has been fashioned to do. The magic he sees around charmed objects is quite similar. He can sense when an object has been charmed or cursed, though the trail gets weaker with time. When he is watching people, he can sense the magical buildup as they are about to do a spell and has to guess what is going to happen. It's a bit like watching a heart monitor: he can only see the hard data and has to guess or extrapolate from it. This does not always lead to the most accurate results.

Magus affects his sense of taste as well. The air tastes different depending on the kind of magic he is exposed to. Charms taste different than hexes and curses. A bitter taste means to be suspicious of something coming, a dusty and chalky taste means he is dealing with very ancient magic, sugary is with a child's innocent magic, and so on. The more unpleasant the taste, the more dangerous it is. Niska prefers to eat alone because in the company of anyone else, his food tastes strange. Sorta like them.

The magical fog is real to Niska, despite the fact that few have ever outwardly agreed with him. His past accurate judgments are confirmation enough that what he sees is somewhat true. He does get actual magical data from it. He can only see the flow of other people's magic and the kind of magic they are inclined to do (dark, light, curses, charms etc.), not the kind of person they are or what they are thinkng. This sense is very prone to misunderstanding, and Niska is not always very accurate in his conclusions because magic is so variable and unpredictable by nature.

One of the best things about this ability is that it leaves the door wide open for a lot of different possible future plots and threads since everyone's magic is different. I have a few specific threads lined up with a couple drivers, many of them having to do with their special feature interactions. I thought it would be a great way to play and more deeply explore the special abilities that we all work so hard on.

~ One is with Savannah's Arden Dasher, who has the Sight. Dash was possibly going to have a vision about Niska (maybe one where someone from his past comes to attack him) and she will seek him out. He might see her during a vision or right after. And we worked out that Dash's ability would mean that her magic manifests very differently than any magic he has seen before.

~ Another is with Joethrine's Jonathan Emerson, who has Olfactory Postcognition. His ability is similar to Niska's but deals with scents and memories.

~ Another is with Monica's Alisa Garrott, who is a metamorphmagus. This could be interesting because even though her appearance would change, her magic would be the same. The two could have crossed paths or wands before and he might recognize her despite the fact that she looks different.

~ Another is with Michaela's Draco Malfoy. We were considering having Draco work at, or at least frequent, Niska's shop (and fight club). It is entirely possible that Niska can't see Draco's magic because he is an Occlumens and adept at hiding himself from others.

Niska runs a fight club in Diagon Alley and magic is expressly not allowed during fistfights or weapons fights. Even if this is not played out, I believe magus is a logical way to prevent cheating since he would be able to sense it. Another idea is that Niska is always paranoid that someone from his past will come back to kill him, so being able to tell when he's near dangerous people could come in handy, specifically when it comes to MH's many dangerous assassins.

Obviously, this ability means that I will be walking the fine line of threading and godmoding since Niska will know things about others that he might not usually know. It will require express permission from drivers for Niska to accurately judge the magic of someone he comes to contact with in a thread.

(OOC: This sample in particular is a little godmody because Niska knows things that he isn't supposed to, but the main purpose was to demonstrate what magus is like to him. Something like this would require express permission from the other drivers. And, this is an example of his magus working at an optimal level. It's not always this accurate. Sometimes he punches innocent people.)

Niska leaned back in his seat, bringing all three legs of his stool off the floor so he was teetering lazily on one shaky stub of wood. He scanned the empty bar as he deliberated on another glass of firewhiskey to make it an even ten. It was almost closing time. There were only a few people still there, the majority of them slumped over tables. He momentarily wondered if the bar just closed around them, and the guy who had to open in the morning swept them out. The air was humming quietly, sleepily. Nothing too crazy was going on here tonight. Bar fight hour had passed without incident.

He let his eyes wander lazily around the room, finding nothing too out of the ordinary. Except... There was a couple in the corner, all cozied up in one of the booths near the back. Both of them looked tipsy, but the woman in particular was looking rather sloshed. She was slurring her words and clinging to the man like a lost puppy. Niska continued to watch them, taking in their movements with the trained eyes of a hunter. She wasn't looking too good.

Niska narrowed his eyes. The man was surrounded by a an orangey-grey fog with crisp, clean edges, like smoke being blown into precise rings by a practiced mouth. Entirely too focused to be as tipsy as he appeared. The woman, on the other hand, was oozing magic. It spilled out of her in wasted clouds of magenta. As if she had no control of herself. That's a state reserved for someone who's been hit with rhino tranquilizer. He turned his attention to the glass of booze swishing around in her loose grip. It was incased in a faint wisp of grey-orange fog, the tail of which was twirling around the man's fingertips. Niska's own fingers closed tightly around the empty glass. Looks like this b*stard chose the wrong bar.

The two of them got up to leave, and Niska took that as his cue. He placed a few galleons by his empty glass and caught up to them a few meters from the door. He was right. The moldy, metalic taste on his tongue confirmed his suspicions and he lunged forward. In one swift motion he grabbed the man, spun him around, and slammed his face into a table. There was a slurred scream and the sound of shattering glass and a sickening crack as Niska dislocated the man's shoulder. He paused to whisper a threat he thought was appropriately scary and promise-ful, before letting go and allowing the surprised man to scream in agony. Or whatever. Behind him, the woman was still screaming, her magenta cloud beginning to swirl more frantically, like she was trying to do something but the magic was too chaotic to hold together. He not-very-gently shoved the woman toward the bar and gestured for the barkeep to take her to a hospital. She'd been cursed.

He didn't so much as look back as he dusted his jacket sleeve off and exited the bar. No one was going to thank him for that. People always wondered how he got the reputation of the grumpy guy who starts fights for no reason, and that was it. Whatever. Niska pushed his collar up to guard against the frosty night air and put his hands in his pockets before heading in the direction of home. It was deadly silent, the air still and quiet, the only presence he could detect was himself.

That was, until he felt a strange magic tugging slightly to his left. Someone had just come out of the woodwork. Then an unfamiliar voice called his name and, in the silence of the night, he forgot to not react He paused instinctively, though was able to stop himself from turning around. The person called him again. Niska kept going, and the person begun to jog after him. Niska stopped, then set his jaw as he turned around. "Who's asking?"

The man jogged up to him, hat tipped low to cover his eyes. Apparently, they had a mutual friend who told him Niska had a room to let. This man was just kicked out of his house and his wife filed for a divorce. But apparently he had money to spare and would pay really well. Niska said he was mistaken but the man merely smiled. Even an idiot would be suspicious of such a story.

Everyone Niska met in Diagon Alley was surrounded by magic, since they were all wizards, but this man stood out in a bad way. Even in the dim street lamps, Niska could see the acrid green fog pulsating around him like poison. He had a penchant for harmful magic, it appeared. He tasted the bloody tinge of metal and cyanide on his tongue as he stood in front of the man, keeping his expression set in an unmoving scowl. What's more, there was something under the man's coat that was bleeding a crimson smoke that swirled in an ever-constant spiral. It added a layer of dust to his tongue. It was familiar. Burma? No, Nigeria. An alarm went off in his head, though he didn't let it show. His next movements were going to be crucial...

Tired of the charade, the man who was all smiles suddenly frowned. The stranger reached for him, but Niska caught him hard by the wrist before his fingers brushed Niska's coat. The two of them stood in silence, Niska holding the man in a vice-like grip. A few tense seconds passed before the man raised his head and Niska got a good look at his eyes. Polyjuice potion could change a lot of things, but never blood-thirsty intent. Niska remembered seeing those same eyes in the mirror not a year ago and he had fought tooth and nail to make it fade even a little.

Before the man could say anything-- give Niska any excuses-- Niska struck him in the elbow, causing him to bend and stumble forward. Once he was close, Niska unleashed. Stomach strike, knife hand to the solar plexus. Arm bar, follow-through with fist to the jaw. Eight pounds of pressure to the knee. Now he's screaming. Great. Going to draw attention. Shut up. Niska approached the bent over man and grabbed him by the lapel, easily lifting him off the ground and dangling him like a rag doll.

Niska shifted, using one hand to reach into the man's pocket and pull out whatever was bleeding crimson smoke. As he expected, it was an eye-- small and white with a beady pupil rolling around to look at him. Niska dropped the man on the floor and he skidded back, clutching his knee and howling in pain. Niska ignored him, rolling the familiar object over in his fingers. He gave his most charming smile to whomever was on the other end before crushing the thing in his palm. He opened his hand and dumped the disintegrated red dust into the wind.

He wiped his hand on his pant leg and turned his attention to his would-be-assassin. "Next time Reynolds gives you a job with my name on it, I want you to think long and hard before you accept. Might save your life. Tell him if he keeps sending two-bit punks after me, I might be inclined as to rack up a body count even his twisted little mind thinks is 'excessive'. You don't want to come back here, son. I'm only merciful once."

Name: Cameron
Character name: Timofei Sidorov
Feature you are applying for: Elemental - Discipulus Madin
Application:

Timofei is a very simple person, in multiple senses of the word. While his family always had what they needed, growing up as one of five children in a (mostly)single income household, he has very little desire for anything frivolous. To this day, the robes he wears to school are those originally purchased for his brother, adjusted by his mother multiple times to fit well enough to wear. The simplicity he enjoys in his life also crosses into the way he thinks; while he isn't stupid, his scholastic track record is certainly lackluster. It is not for lack of trying, as he puts his full effort into anything he does. When it comes to magic, Timofei has thus far found very little success in his abilities with a wand. However, he continues to immerse himself in his schoolwork, hoping to raise his marks at Durmstrang in his goal to make his parents proud of him; the disappointment he knows they feel every time grades are owl'ed home makes him feel much worse than his personal disappointment in himself. He spends many hours at Durmstrang in the library or common room, nose in a book despite how much he despises studying.

The only good outcome from his lack of proficiency is that it does not draw much attention or recognition from either students nor professors. While he has no problem accepting gratitude for a job well done, Tima likes for these sorts of interactions to be minimal. He certainly does not like to be doted on; a simple, "Good job," is enough for him.

Something that he must have in his life is adventure; while he respects the integrity of setting rules into place, Timofei can sometimes have a hard time holding himself to their standards. Especially at school, Durmstrang is much like a giant playground to the boy. If there is a group of students making a midnight trip to the Dragon stables, or hoping the professor left the Flora and Fauna classroom door open, it is a safe assumption that Tima was a part of the group. While he obviously had little input in the planning, he can always be counted on to follow through with whatever the group decided. Tima would choose being outdoors of indoors any day. Since there was never much to do at his home, much of his time was spent outside, in the woods behind his family's home. This is where his love of nature was kindled, to where now he feels as though being outside is where he belongs, and begins to go stir crazy whenever he has to spend too long indoors.

When it comes to arguments, Tima tries to remain neutral as long as possible. While he may not always give the most practical advice, he is always the person who will try to put a positive spin on any situation and make someone feel like everything will be okay. Everything he does is in consideration of others and in an effort to please those around him. His is, for the most part, non confrontational, though he has his triggers just like anyone. When it comes to himself, there is very little that anyone can say to ruffle his feathers; he is more than aware of his shortcomings and hearing them from someone else doesn't upset him. One way to get a rise out of him, however, is to bring the people closest to him into an argument. While he has neither a great magical ability or a sharp tongue, this won't stop him from trying to defend those people in any way that he can think of.

If approved, I plan to alter Timofei's history so that elementalism would have begun to affect him at the start of his third year. At the beginning of this year, he was discovered by a fellow Earth elemental, Emmi Essbjörn, a member of the rogue faction at Durmstrang. While it certainly took some convincing, as he had never heard of elemental magic, he soon joined their ranks; they were the only group he knew, and at once found somewhere that he could belong. While he was aware of the Elemental Council at this time, the older rogues spoke very negatively of them, and to Timofei, they were the ones who had taken him in, and the rogues were all he knew. Since Timofei was in his third year, it would make sense that he goes unnoticed by the council elementals at Durmstrang. The separate common rooms for upperclassman limited his interaction with any other elementals, being the youngest he knows of during his time at Durmstrang, and had Emmi not been of the same element, she may not have even discovered him. For this first year, he studied under one of the Rogue leaders. Toward the end of this third year, the Russian Ministry's presence put strain on the rogue and their ranks, and many of them left Durmstrang. This unfortunate disbanding of the rogues left Tima with few people to confide in, and to him, his future up in the air.

The other member of the rogues, Vitaliy Malenkov, had been approached by a fire elemental, Motya Zapashny, trying to persuade the three remaining rogue members to join with the council. The three had much conversation about the decision left before them, though it had seemed much more obvious to Tima. While he had been told so many terrible things that the council was a part of, which he now knew to be lies fed to him to further drive him to the rogues, he also knew that they hunted those who were one of their own. Timofei was not even a year into his elemental training, and there was no way to defend himself. Thankfully, the other two decided to join the council as well. All three did so before returning to Durmstrang, though he could tell that there was much apprehension amongst the members about the three of them.

His fourth year is when he began to train under Iuliana Keane, a Zealot for the council. As he spent more time with her and learning, he began to feel incredibly betrayed by the rogues. In his eyes, he had basically been brainwashed so that he would not question them, and what upset him is that it actually worked. This is when his own friendship began to form with Motya. He didn't blame Vitya and Emmi, for as far as he could tell they had been misinformed about the council as well. It was much easier having someone in his own common room to confide in. Timofei ended up going to both Motya and Iuliana about his feelings of resentment he had toward the people whom he thought had truly had his best interest. This is where his friendship Motya began to grow. During the summer months, he would be able to train in the woods behind his house; this is where he had spent much of his time growing up anyway, so it would definitely be an environment comfortable enough for him to do so.

Castor and I have already plotted for the two to have planned an escape the following term, though currently under the pretense of Tima finally wanting to be done with school once and for all, though chickening out just before they were supposed to leave. Should the feature be approved, his reasoning for this would be that while he knew his family wouldn't accept him as an elemental, he was not yet ready to abandon them. When he tells Motya this, hours before, the two get into a heated argument. Motya went through with the plan, and the two did not talk for more than half of a year afterward. During his time at school without Motya, his friendship with Vitya improved significantly, as they had both spent quite a bit of time with their friend who had now left. He is now headed into his sixth year, with his initialization coming up within just a few months.

As far as history of the feature in his family goes, to fit along with the heredity of elementalism, I think the best fit would be for the magic to have come from his maternal line. I think it would fit well with his history for his mother's abilities to have gone undiscovered throughout her time at Durmstrang. While she would eventually be discovered at a stage early enough to become a Dilletante, she chose to not acknowledge the discovery, and definitely did not tell her husband, and eventually losing any possibility of practicing elemental magic.

Other than the obvious life changes that come after discovering he is an elemental, the feature and the council will affect Timofei as a character in several ways. One unfortunate side effect is that it will further alienate him from his family. Timofei is currently questioning his sexuality, something he actively hides from his family as he knows that his traditional parents will not approve. The fact that he is an elemental would only add to the list of things that would separate him from the rest of the Sidorovs. His mother would certainly be sympathetic, given that she too was born with elemental abilities. However, his decision to pursue and practice elemental magic would be where she draws her line in the sand. All of this conflict with his family would only drive him further toward the council than he already had been. Their ideology fits like a glove with his own. As mentioned above, Tima feels best when he is able to remain neutral. During the war, his family housed muggleborns. While he ultimately respected his parents decision to do so, it made him incredibly uncomfortable to the point that he did not return home from Durmstrang for winter holidays while they were at his house. His family is incredibly important to him, and after he loses them, the council will be a safe haven where he can feel like he is accepted and appreciated, two things he constantly yearns for in his life.

The addition of Earth elementalism into Timofei's character would also cause internal turmoil within him. Along with the earth, he has always been fascinated with the sea and when his wand magic began to falter, he fell in love with the idea of one day captaining his own ship and living out at sea. As an earth elemental, this would be incredibly difficult for him as it would require for him to be away from land for an extended period of time. This is something that he would certainly have a hard time coming to terms with, and eventually a dream believes he will have to sacrifice to honor his commitment to the council.

Only recently have Motya and Timofei spoken for the first time since their argument. However, with time to have cooled down, the two remained friends. Motya went on to find the warmer climate he longed for while at Durmstrang, and hearing from him how much better life was for him away from the school would only refuel Timofei's desire to leave school again. While I haven't decided when exactly it will happen, I plan for Timofei to soon go through with leaving the school, and he won't be back to complete his seventh year.

Timofei formed quite a bond with Iuliana; the fact that she accepted him almost immediately into the council, not without telling him to not revert to being rogue, really made him feel accepted. Once he reveals his magic to his family, she will also become much like a mother figure to Timofei; she would be the one to have discovered his mother, so she would understand best what kind of discrimination he would face amongst his family.

One person that joining the Elemental Council would open him up to meeting that he may not otherwise meet would be Brynja Evaldsdóttir. While not the Harbinger of his own element, Tima would be very intrigued by Brynja, especially by her life out at sea. I have talked with Helena about her playing a big part in him finding ways for his dream of becoming a captain to become a reality, years down the line. Brynja's brother made modifications to her ship to make it easier for her, and I think a ship modified to be suitable for an Earth elemental is entirely plausible. I would certainly have time to figure out more details on this as Timofei got older, but off the top of my head I would imagine it to be charmed to remain motionless unless under extreme conditions. This would allow him to feel more grounded while out at sea. This is conjunction with surrounding himself with many plants and a few animals and spending much time in his morphed state could possibly allow him to spend more of his life on a ship than he would have previously thought. As for the nearer future, the two would be forging their friendship, and possibly finding ways for him to deal with his inability to be away from his element for too long instead of mimicking its properties on a ship.

If approved, Timofei will not only have to opportunity to plot with those listed above, but as well as the elementals in the more western parts of Europe as well. With his strongest tie to the relatively new world, Motya, having gone west to seek a warmer climate, Timofei would probably follow suit, if for nothing else to be closer to Inverness. This will open up his availability to meet several of the other Earth elementals on the board.

(OOC: This is an alternative response to the Durmstrang End of Term Plot.)

As he entered the Grand Hall for the final feast of the school year, Timofei couldn't help but somewhat proud that he had finished out his fifth year. Had it been a highly successful one academically? No, but he had finished and that had to count for something. Hopefully his parents would see it in the same light. Maybe if he told them that just a few months ago he had every intention of not only not returning to Durmstrang, but also leaving Russia, maybe then they would be a little more proud of this small accomplishment. The more he considered this option, the more he realized that it would take a lot more explanation than he was willing to give them right now.

He took a seat amongst his roommates, now well adjusted to the fact that Motya no longer joined him at the Drakonya Krov tables. While everyone else was celebrating the end of exams, Tima had something else to be excited about. Once he got home from school, he would be able to practice elemental magic without the distraction of classes. While he was a little nervous of his initialization coming up in a few months, it excited him that he would begin to learn casting spells without the use of rune stones. The Drakonya Krov was not nearly as upset as the rest of his house about the results of the Quidditch Cup; he had tried out and not been chosen as a player. While outwardly he was upset, part of him was saying that they should have learned a lesson and put him on the team next year.

By the time Professor Krinov reached the Chip contest, the fifth year had zoned out to where it took him just a few seconds longer than everyone else to realize that the lights had gone out. He immediately jumped to his feet, and was simultaneously nearly blinded after nearly every student procured an illuminating charm, somewhat negating the effects of losing the previous source of light. As everyone began to panic, he climbed on top of the table he had just been eating at, knocking over a few plates and a goblet as he did. He frantically began searching for his sister amongst the crowd. "Ol'ga!" He could barely hear it himself, so he knows she didn't hear it. "Ol'-."

His second shout was interrupted as he dove from the table, narrowly avoiding the fire erupting from the dragon's nose. Curse words flew from his mouth as he landed rather uncomfortably on the ground. Timofei picked himself up pretty quickly, and ran in the completely opposite direction of the dragon. The room turned into a rainbow as students were sending all kinds of spells flying toward the creature, though nothing seemed to be working. He really wanted to help, but despite the imminent danger, exposing himself as an elemental was still on the forefront of his mind. His standing with the council still remained somewhat shaky, and something kept him from wanting to risk it.

As he moved away from the dragon, he found a familiar face, though not the one he had been previous looking for. He broke into a sprint toward Vitya, though before he could even reach him, fire erupted from the boy's mouth. Wide eyed, Timofei followed the trail to the dragon. Elemental magic seemed to be having some effect, at least more than the stunning charms he kept hearing throughout the Hall. When his friend saw him, his look made Timofei immediately realize the right thing to do. He couldn't just stand there any longer; there was a possibility that people could get hurt, that Ol'ga could get hurt. He couldn't do nothing! That's when it dawned on him; no matter what his current situation with the council and their trust, this was his ability, and he had to help people. He narrowed his focus in on the dragon, his knees feeling slight as though they might give. Tima had never used his magic in an offensive way, but his nerves were overpowered by a sense of urgency. "Madin cubo!" Those words were not the ones he had expected; he had first begun his practice on the spell a few months ago, and had performed it successfully a number of times. Before he could blink, a ball of earth, just a bit smaller than the result he usually obtained, was soaring through the air, on a direct path toward the head of the dragon.



*All characters used with permission of drivers.

(Note: I have edited this application since its submission to correct a mistake in the timeline of Timofei's abilities; it only affected the Roleplay Response, specifically the last paragraph, and that is the only section that has been changed.)

[carys]Approved - please check your (Timofei's) PMs [/carys]

Name: Merida
Character name: Niska Zukov
Feature you are applying for: Complete Corporeal Magus and Magical Synesthesia

I actually came up with this idea when I was thinking about Amaranth. Because she's blind, she uses her other senses to survive and exist. Her world is painted in sounds and smells and darkness and she lives on a different plane since she experiences the world completely differently. So I got to wondering about the nature of magic, how it moves and if it can be tangible, and what it would be like if there was someone who could experience it in its raw form. Amaranth had too much on her plate already and it just didn't fit right for her.

Then I thought about my WIP, Niska the hunter. He had come together slowly. I had his history first, then his last name, then his model, then his first name, but his personality was harder. Even after I figured it out, I kept from continuing with him because I felt like he was missing something that made him really come alive for me. I try to avoid a multichar if I don't love them yet. (I had only Amaranth and Peeves for almost three years.) Two came out of Tyralyn's brain and I adore him. But Niska was my own and I wanted him to be as dimensional and exciting as could be, because I wanted to be able to play every aspect of him properly. Hunters rely on sensory information and tiny details to survive. And the more I thought about and worked on this special feature, the more I got to thinking that magus does have a place in this universe and would be really great to explore, not just for Niska, but for those who come into contact with him. 

Niska has a pretty bloody past. He spent years playing pawn to powerful warlords and warmongers. He wanted power so badly that once he got it, he didn't care what he did with it. He just wanted to show off, to exert his control over people and overcompensate for how long he spent being the weak disgrace. He's been humbled by his past and his remorse over what he has done. He doesn't seek to repent because he knows nothing is going to wash the blood off his hands. He killed so many people and ruined so many lives in under a decade that he knows there is no atonement for him, and he has accepted this with a warrior's grace. He is damaged, and he's suffered heavy blows to his humanity over the years.

Now he is a watcher, someone who lays in wait and observes all the people around him, slowly working through a few glasses of firewhiskey on a quiet night. He has been toughened by years of violence, but quieted and humbled by his time spent nursing his psychological wounds and thinking about his past. Niska is very much a fighter, a hunter, and a survivalist. He likes the catharsis of physical combat, and thinks it is important to maintain an even lifestyle. He has the instincts and patience of a hunter, and he is extremely capable of surviving in almost all situations, with or without magic. He is a man of few words, and most of them are expressed in a low growl. He is a man of action, but also a person who meditates in order to keep his immense power and drive at a zen-like minimum.

He is a very sensory person, a consummate information gatherer. His head is a file cabinet of dossiers on all the people he has every come into contact with, from how often they blink to how they stand or speak. He places a lot of importance on his sensitivity, and may very well process sensory data more deeply and thoroughly than the average person. This is how her gathers information. He has learned to pay close attention to the smallest sounds and so on, knowing that it could be important later. His time in combat has taught him to only rely on himself and his own senses. People are too easily fooled and manipulated and he trusts his own instincts-- the results of his sensory data-- over anything else.

Most notably, Niska is an honorable man. He adheres to his own code and would die before he broke it. Compared to his whiny adolescent days, Niska has matured dramatically; he's more controlled, gruff, and straightforward. He prefers to spend a lot of time alone and is not needlessly talkative. If he had a patronus, it would probably be a rock. Niska is immovable, solid, stubborn, and built to last until the sun goes out. He is resilient and tough, and will sit alone on his island until kingdom come, if required. He can be easily pushed into frustration or annoyance, but it is almost impossible for him to show just how scary he can be.

Niska is distrusting and paranoid, and for good reason. He's really only been able to rely on himself, and it was through that power that he grew into the capable, strong person he is. It is entirely possible that his past will come back and haunt him one day. He's always on his toes, always aware of his surroundings. Part of him believes that he is just waiting for death.

Niska was born into the Zukov family, a powerful and dark wizarding clan that could be considered one of the oldest protectors of the rich and powerful. As bodyguards with traditionally subservient positions, they were never held in the high regard or reverence usually associated with such a powerful bloodline and strength as a clan. But the family was content to be considered excellent at their job, remaining in the shadows of great wizards for almost eight centuries. Niska was raised in a very militarist environment, first at the mercy of his father, then his grandfather, both of whom wielded iron fists and a terrifying intolerance for weakness.

His brothers, Arseniy and Adelei, were both masterful wizards who excelled in everything they did. Arseniy was the most powerful wizard of the Zukov generation, and Adelei was favored for his friendly (if not obnoxiously so) demeanor and his unsettling thirst for blood and control. Niska was regarded for a long time as the idiot son who never quite measured up to anyone's expectations. His brothers were always much better at magic and more intelligent than him. He was always measuring himself, obsessively gauging his abilities and strength in comparison to his brothers and cousins.

During his school years, Niska took on the irritatingly bitter disposition of someone who feels like the world hates him. He was entitled, dramatic, self-centered, loud, and whiny. Nothing was ever good enough for him. He felt like the gods were picking on him, like he deserved so much better than he got and shouldn't have to work so hard for what he was owed. After graduation, Niska ran away from home and his work as a Zukov bodyguard. But contrary to what he expected, his dazzling amazingness was not apparent to anyone there either. He was homeless and hungry for a while, which only served to sour him and make him feel even more bullied by the universe. Eventually he got work on a trade ship as a laborer where he was humbled slightly and begun to bulk up from all the work.

He took many odd jobs, each time adding more mass and muscle to his frame, and eventually he worked as a thief and mercenary in Africa. Due to his strength and drive, he soon became the favorite pet of native warlords and foreign warmongers who sought to make profit from deaths. Niska, who had grown incredibly strong and powerful in his many years away, was happy to do as they said, as long as he was given more power. He and his hit-squad leveled town after town and left bodies in their fiery wake.

But that wasn't enough. Niska wanted more power. After a short, though very bloody and destructive career, Niska was recruited by a friend of the family, a dying assassin who trained him to be even more of a weapon. This man was ruthless and Niska suffered unimaginable pain and torture of both the mind and body under his tutelage. Niska had gone to him in search of more power, but he used his life as collateral. One day the man disappeared and Niska was freed, though unsatisfied. It wasn't until he moved to Britain with his friend a few months later that he begun to rethink his life. Now that he finally has the power he so desperately desired, he no longer wants to use it as he once did.

Niska's magus is the result of a point-mutation in the promoter portion of one of his magic operons, causing an upregulation of this particular gene's translation frequency and volume.

There are thousands upon millions of mutations in DNA transcriptions everyday, most of them without discernable effect. But this is a special mutation that has been present since conception, when his genetic template was 46 chromosomes big. As he grew, and as the cells were beginning to differentiate, the ones that would eventually be responsible for the expression of magical ability, the ones with the operon mutation, were also being translated.

Operons are a unit of genomic DNA that contain a cluster of genes that are controlled by a single regulatory promoter. The mutation was in the promoter, essentially causing the magus sense to be flipped into the "on" position, therefore being transcribed into functional protein units and allowing for stronger expression. The more magus protein-chains present, the stronger the sense is. It's close to binary system: either a person has a weak or a complete sense. There is a critical requirement for the number of protein chains to have a complete sense, because magus needs quite a lot of "processing power" to even function.

Niska was born with an incredibly strong sense of magus, since his operon is turned on in every copy of his DNA. It grew to become his sixth sense, like a human being able who was able to see infrared lights. He thought it was natural, that everyone was able to see and taste and feel magic. It wasn't until after he was punished for saying things like "this ring is covered in a bitter blue fog " or "his magic tastes like dust" or "the air is buzzing" that he realized it was complete nonsense to other people.

This special ability has two components. The first part is complete corporeal magusception (or magus) and the second part is magical synthesia. Magus is the ability to detect and see magic when it is nearby, and the synthesia is the way that Niska's mind expresses and then processes the information. It could be compared to seeing people's auras, but he is seeing their magic. Similar to how thermal cameras reveal that people are surrounded by a halo of residual body heat, Niska has the ability to see and feel the residual halo of magic that spills out and surrounds magical folk and their objects.

Most people, Muggles and wizards alike, possess the ability to sense magic, whether they know it or not. In the same way that certain wizards just know when something is wrong, or when Muggles can feel a slight prickling of the hairs on the back of their neck when magic they don't even know about is happening near them. (It is much stronger in animals.) There are a rare few people who have a complete sense of magusception, and fewer still who are able to strengthen and understand it.

Niska's magus is comparable to his eyesight and his hearing and his sense of smell. To him, magic is tangible and real, like a living fog that moves through the world. Magic, even in its passive mode, is a swirling, pulsating entity that flows around people. The information that his magus gathers manifests itself in different ways. In Niska's case, once his sense of magus has been stimulated, it used his other senses as a secondary pathway to express the information gathered. Much like a palm reader (and sometimes with the same inaccuracy), Niska has the ability to read people's magic and make conjectures about the caster and their magical power.

All of his senses work in harmony, like six instead of five. He has gotten much better at telling a magical taste from simply the taste of food and so on, but sometimes they all just overlap. Just like how people can tune out distracting noises or ignore irrelevant visual stimuli, Niska can ignore his magus if he so chooses. This usually doesn't happen (for any of his senses) because he is always paranoid someone is going to stab him or something, and it would pay to be vigilant. And if he wanted to increase his magus ability at any certain moment, it does require a lot of focus and blocking out of his other senses.

His magus ability increased astronomically under the tutelage of Molchalivyĭ Kranovich, the boogeyman himself. Kranovich took inspiration from Niska's ability to teach one of his other pupils, Amaranth Stringfellow. Kranovich used Niska's intense sensory awareness to teach the blind girl how to function without her sight, and to trade eyesight for an extremely watered-down magus awareness. At the same time, Kranovich was pushing Niska to the limits in an attempt to fulfill Niska's request to make him stronger. Aside from taking Niska to the brink of death over and over again, Kranovich's teaching honed Niska's already powerful body and mind, and as a result his magus ability skyrocketed.

Niska has a very strong, accurate ability to perceive the magic he is exposed to. It is literally his sixth sense. It's as if all his other senses are at the mercy of his magus. It senses the magic and hijacks his sight or hearing or smell to tell him what it is perceiving.

Most prominently, he is able to feel magic pulsing through the air like electricity, as if all the subatomic particles are vibrating at high, noticeable speeds. The higher the intensity of the humming (higher frequency and higher amplitude), the more powerful the magic is. He can feel it crackling and buzzing in the air wherever he goes; his magus gives him an intense awareness of magic and allows him to make somewhat accurate judgments of the nature of that magic.

To him, almost all magical people are surrounded by a fog of color, or at least a light halo of visible magic. Every person has a slightly different color and intensity combination and so does their magic. For example, he could see a woman with pink magic swirling around her, and if she is wearing a ring charmed by her husband, the ring would be green or blue or whatever color her husband's magic is. Niska can't do anything to them, like control them or change their magic, he can only see and feel it. Every person is surrounded by a different tint, the intensity of which depends on how much Niska can see and how powerful they are.

Another way Niska judges people is by the feeling of their magic. Magic behaves a specific way for each person, depending on the kind of magic they are used to doing or are about to perform, as this changes their magical output. To him, the magic around people is something like a fog and he can gauge the level of their magical output, and the type of spells their magic has been fashioned to do. The magic he sees around charmed objects is quite similar. He can sense when an object has been charmed or cursed, though the trail gets weaker with time. When he is watching people, he can sense the magical buildup as they are about to do a spell and has to guess what is going to happen. It's a bit like watching a heart monitor: he can only see the hard data and has to guess or extrapolate from it. This does not always lead to the most accurate results.

Magus affects his sense of taste as well. The air tastes different depending on the kind of magic he is exposed to. Charms taste different than hexes and curses. A bitter taste means to be suspicious of something coming, a dusty and chalky taste means he is dealing with very ancient magic, sugary is with a child's innocent magic, and so on. The more unpleasant the taste, the more dangerous it is. Niska prefers to eat alone because in the company of anyone else, his food tastes strange. Sorta like them.

The magical fog is real to Niska, despite the fact that few have ever outwardly agreed with him. His past accurate judgments are confirmation enough that what he sees is somewhat true. He does get actual magical data from it. He can only see the flow of other people's magic and the kind of magic they are inclined to do (dark, light, curses, charms etc.), not the kind of person they are or what they are thinkng. This sense is very prone to misunderstanding, and Niska is not always very accurate in his conclusions because magic is so variable and unpredictable by nature.

One of the best things about this ability is that it leaves the door wide open for a lot of different possible future plots and threads since everyone's magic is different. I have a few specific threads lined up with a couple drivers, many of them having to do with their special feature interactions. I thought it would be a great way to play and more deeply explore the special abilities that we all work so hard on.

~ One is with Wonder Girl's Arden Dasher, who has the Sight. Dash was possibly going to have a vision about Niska (maybe one where someone from his past comes to attack him) and she will seek him out. He might see her during a vision or right after. And we worked out that Dash's ability would mean that her magic manifests very differently than any magic he has seen before.

~ Another is with Joethrine's Jonathan Emerson, who has Olfactory Postcognition. His ability is similar to Niska's but deals with scents and memories.

~ Another is with Monica's Alisa Garrott, who is a metamorphmagus. This could be interesting because even though her appearance would change, her magic would be the same. The two could have crossed paths or wands before and he might recognize her despite the fact that she looks different.

~ Another is with Michaela's Draco Malfoy. We were considering having Draco work at, or at least frequent, Niska's shop (and fight club). It is entirely possible that Niska can't see Draco's magic because he is an Occlumens and adept at hiding himself from others.

Niska runs a fight club in Diagon Alley and magic is expressly not allowed during fistfights or weapons fights. Even if this is not played out, I believe magus is a logical way to prevent cheating since he would be able to sense it. Another idea is that Niska is always paranoid that someone from his past will come back to kill him, so being able to tell when he's near dangerous people could come in handy, specifically when it comes to MH's many dangerous assassins.

Obviously, this ability means that I will be walking the fine line of threading and godmoding since Niska will know things about others that he might not usually know. It will require express permission from drivers for Niska to accurately judge the magic of someone he comes to contact with in a thread.

(OOC: This sample in particular is a little godmody because Niska knows things that he isn't supposed to, but the main purpose was to demonstrate what magus is like to him. Something like this would require express permission from the other drivers. And, this is an example of his magus working at an optimal level. It's not always this accurate. Sometimes he punches innocent people.)

Niska leaned back in his seat, bringing all three legs of his stool off the floor so he was teetering lazily on one shaky stub of wood. He scanned the empty bar as he deliberated on another glass of firewhiskey to make it an even ten. It was almost closing time. There were only a few people still there, the majority of them slumped over tables. He momentarily wondered if the bar just closed around them, and the guy who had to open in the morning swept them out. The air was humming quietly, sleepily. Nothing too crazy was going on here tonight. Bar fight hour had passed without incident.

He let his eyes wander lazily around the room, finding nothing too out of the ordinary. Except... There was a couple in the corner, all cozied up in one of the booths near the back. Both of them looked tipsy, but the woman in particular was looking rather sloshed. She was slurring her words and clinging to the man like a lost puppy. Niska continued to watch them, taking in their movements with the trained eyes of a hunter. She wasn't looking too good.

Niska narrowed his eyes. The man was surrounded by a an orangey-grey fog with crisp, clean edges, like smoke being blown into precise rings by a practiced mouth. Entirely too focused to be as tipsy as he appeared. The woman, on the other hand, was oozing magic. It spilled out of her in wasted clouds of magenta. As if she had no control of herself. That's a state reserved for someone who's been hit with rhino tranquilizer. He turned his attention to the glass of booze swishing around in her loose grip. It was incased in a faint wisp of grey-orange fog, the tail of which was twirling around the man's fingertips. Niska's own fingers closed tightly around the empty glass. Looks like this b*stard chose the wrong bar.

The two of them got up to leave, and Niska took that as his cue. He placed a few galleons by his empty glass and caught up to them a few meters from the door. He was right. The moldy, metalic taste on his tongue confirmed his suspicions and he lunged forward. In one swift motion he grabbed the man, spun him around, and slammed his face into a table. There was a slurred scream and the sound of shattering glass and a sickening crack as Niska dislocated the man's shoulder. He paused to whisper a threat he thought was appropriately scary and promise-ful, before letting go and allowing the surprised man to scream in agony. Or whatever. Behind him, the woman was still screaming, her magenta cloud beginning to swirl more frantically, like she was trying to do something but the magic was too chaotic to hold together. He not-very-gently shoved the woman toward the bar and gestured for the barkeep to take her to a hospital. She'd been cursed.

He didn't so much as look back as he dusted his jacket sleeve off and exited the bar. No one was going to thank him for that. People always wondered how he got the reputation of the grumpy guy who starts fights for no reason, and that was it. Whatever. Niska pushed his collar up to guard against the frosty night air and put his hands in his pockets before heading in the direction of home. It was deadly silent, the air still and quiet, the only presence he could detect was himself.

That was, until he felt a strange magic tugging slightly to his left. Someone had just come out of the woodwork. Then an unfamiliar voice called his name and, in the silence of the night, he forgot to not react He paused instinctively, though was able to stop himself from turning around. The person called him again. Niska kept going, and the person begun to jog after him. Niska stopped, then set his jaw as he turned around. "Who's asking?"

The man jogged up to him, hat tipped low to cover his eyes. Apparently, they had a mutual friend who told him Niska had a room to let. This man was just kicked out of his house and his wife filed for a divorce. But apparently he had money to spare and would pay really well. Niska said he was mistaken but the man merely smiled. Even an idiot would be suspicious of such a story.

Everyone Niska met in Diagon Alley was surrounded by magic, since they were all wizards, but this man stood out in a bad way. Even in the dim street lamps, Niska could see the acrid green fog pulsating around him like poison. He had a penchant for harmful magic, it appeared. He tasted the bloody tinge of metal and cyanide on his tongue as he stood in front of the man, keeping his expression set in an unmoving scowl. What's more, there was something under the man's coat that was bleeding a crimson smoke that swirled in an ever-constant spiral. It added a layer of dust to his tongue. It was familiar. Burma? No, Nigeria. An alarm went off in his head, though he didn't let it show. His next movements were going to be crucial...

Tired of the charade, the man who was all smiles suddenly frowned. The stranger reached for him, but Niska caught him hard by the wrist before his fingers brushed Niska's coat. The two of them stood in silence, Niska holding the man in a vice-like grip. A few tense seconds passed before the man raised his head and Niska got a good look at his eyes. Polyjuice potion could change a lot of things, but never blood-thirsty intent. Niska remembered seeing those same eyes in the mirror not a year ago and he had fought tooth and nail to make it fade even a little.

Before the man could say anything-- give Niska any excuses-- Niska struck him in the elbow, causing him to bend and stumble forward. Once he was close, Niska unleashed. Stomach strike, knife hand to the solar plexus. Arm bar, follow-through with fist to the jaw. Eight pounds of pressure to the knee. Now he's screaming. Great. Going to draw attention. Shut up. Niska approached the bent over man and grabbed him by the lapel, easily lifting him off the ground and dangling him like a rag doll.

Niska shifted, using one hand to reach into the man's pocket and pull out whatever was bleeding crimson smoke. As he expected, it was an eye-- small and white with a beady pupil rolling around to look at him. Niska dropped the man on the floor and he skidded back, clutching his knee and howling in pain. Niska ignored him, rolling the familiar object over in his fingers. He gave his most charming smile to whomever was on the other end before crushing the thing in his palm. He opened his hand and dumped the disintegrated red dust into the wind.

He wiped his hand on his pant leg and turned his attention to his would-be-assassin. "Next time Reynolds gives you a job with my name on it, I want you to think long and hard before you accept. Might save your life. Tell him if he keeps sending two-bit punks after me, I might be inclined as to rack up a body count even his twisted little mind thinks is 'excessive'. You don't want to come back here, son. I'm only merciful once."

[carys]approved![/carys]

D I C I P U L U S   H O R

Name: Tori
Character name: Pascal Lefevre
Feature you are applying for: Dicipulus Hor

D E S C R I P T I O N

Description of the character: Above all, Pascal is a very ambitious boy. He strives to do well in everything he does, no matter how fickle and unnecessary it is. He wants to be the best at everything he does, and anything less than perfect doesn't sit well with him. He's very logical when it comes to things like making decisions. Pascal likes to make sure he makes the right choice in every situation, and no decision he makes is done without Pascal completely thinking through every possibility and outcome of each choice he can make. He also prefers to be in control, although he doesn't get too beat up if he isn't. He's very analytical as well, both in his decision making, and in social situations as well. Pascal can't help but analyzing and making assumptions about people he meets based on their body language and facial expressions (or lack thereof).

In his everyday life, Pascal can be quite carefree. If things don't go his way, he doesn't get mad, and just moves on with his day. The wizard is generally in a good mood, and it actually takes quite a bit to make him angry. Even when he does get angry, Pascal tends to keep his feelings to himself, and it's very rare that he lashes out on anyone. He's very non-confrontational and prefers not to partake in any fights, but on the rare occasion he does happen to lash out, his attacks are by no means irrational. He's rather emotionless in fights and fights with a clear head to make sure that everything he does in a fight is a logical move on his part. Although he doesn't like to fight, Pascal is very loyal when it comes to family and friends, and he's not afraid to jump in and defend someone he cares about.

Pascal is a very quiet boy in general. He doesn't like to waste his words, and only says things that he needs to say. He's by no means unsocial, in fact, he's quite the opposite. Pascal loves to spend time with friends and he's not at all afraid to talk to anyone, as long as they approach him first and start a conversation. When in social situations, he prefers to keep his emotions to himself for fear that if he does show any emotion, it will make him seem like a lesser person to his friends. He's slightly conceited in this way, as he always wants to appear emotionally stable (which basically means emotionless to Pascal).

A P P L I C A T I O N

Application: Ever since I joined this lovely site 3, almost 4 years go now, I've always wanted to have a Special Feature for one of my characters. I've contemplated a few different features for a few different characters I've had, including the Metamorphmagus feature for my old Durmstrang character Katya Belikova, and the Animagus feature for my Hogwarts student Pippa Harrington. I decided against applying for either one because frankly, neither of them fit their respective characters, and the application was a bit intimidating. My longing to have a special feature for one of my characters never went away, and I actually kept checking the guide every once in a while to see if I could maybe find a feature that would work with one of my characters, or one that I was considering making.

During one of the times that I was looking through the Elemental guide, I actually read into each element and the personality traits that each one possessed. I couldn't help but notice that the water element sounded a lot like the character that had been floating around in my head for a few weeks. The more I looked back at the description of water elementals and the character traits they possessed, the more I realized how perfect it was for the character that I was considering making. Once I had the thought in mind of the character being an elemental, I couldn't seem to imagine the character without the feature.

Pascal is very non-confrontational and calm, as well as being loyal to his friends and family. Everything he does is thought through completely, and the only decisions he makes are logical ones. He's very fluid in the way that if something doesn't go his way, he moves on and doesn't worry about it. If accepted, Pascal will be dedicated to serving the council as well as supporting everything it does and/or decides, and all of these traits are ones that make me believe that water elementalism is the perfect feature for Pascal.

I think elementalism for Pascal will definitely offer more plots as opposed to taking them away. It will also add to Pascal as a character, as I plan on him not fully being able to get over the fact that he can't use wand magic and will never be like other wizards. Eventually, he will come to terms with this, but in the near future, the wizard will most definitely be a little beat up about it. This, along with the other plots that I have discussed with other drivers, makes me feel like this feature will help Pascal as a character as opposed to hurting him.

F U T U R E   P L O T S

Future plots: I've contacted quite a few drivers about future plots that could involve Pascal. One of them was Bridget, who has her work in progress Sofie Gustavsson. Sofie and Pascal have been friends for quite a while, although he's kept the fact that he's an elemental from Sofie. On a day when Pascal is practicing, probably in an empty classroom or something of the sort, Sofie would walk in on him in the middle of one of his spells. Sofie would then become one of the people that Pascal comes close with; a confidant so to say. Eventually, Sofie will help Pascal come to realize that the fact that he won't be like other wizards isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Another plot I have worked out is with Michaela's Karsten Dettweiler. Karsten isn't aware that he's an elemental yet, but when he is, Pascal is going to be one of the ones helping him going through the initial shock of being different than other wizards and whatnot. Karsten also has a standing plot with Mickie's Klaus Schäfer, in which Klaus bullies Karsten. Since Pascal had previously consoled Karsten, and the fact that Karsten is an elemental like himself, Pascal would feel sort of protective over the boy and defend him.

I've also talked to Wolf Girl about plotting with her Bellefeuille Matthieu Garnier, who despises elementals. Pascal and Matthieu have a strong hatred for each other, and Matthieu has always put Pascal down for being an elemental. This upcoming year would be the year that Matthieu's comments finally get to Pascal, and Pascal will essentially try to use his element against Matthieu to scare him. This would lead into a plot I discussed with Soufflé Girl, where Pascal and Zoé practicing together and realize that they can potentially hurt someone with their element. Both of these plots don't really have set endings, as we'd like to play them out and see where it goes.

I've also talked to Wolf Girl, Dylan and Ashton about their water elementals helping Pascal practice and study, as he was discovered after them/is younger than them and therefore doesn't know as much as them.

R P   S A M P L E

RP sample using the feature: It was a nice day at Beauxbatons Academy. The sun was shining and Pascal Lefevre, who was kneeling in front of a bed of flowers, was sweating like a pig. No matter how much time he spent in the crazy ball of heat, the wizard could never get used to the heat that came with it. Using the back of his hand, Pascal wiped the little beads of sweat off his forehead before reaching down and pulling a small weed that was pushing itself up from under the soil. The elemental loved the gardening service, he'd been doing it ever since he was an ickle first year at the school, but he'd never been able to get over the fact that he had to go out on hot days and water the plants. He didn't mind watering them at all, he just wished that he didn't have to go out on the hot days. Pascal and heat did not mix well. The heat made him cranky and bitter.

Tossing the weed that he'd pulled into the pile of all the other weeds he'd removed, Pascal leaned back so his bum was touching his feet and looked at his handy work. He'd gotten rid of all the weeds in his portion of the garden, which took quite a while. All he had left to do was trim the dead leaves off the bushes and water the remaining plants, which he hoped wouldn't take too long. He wanted to stop by the kitchens and get a snack as soon as possible, because he felt like he hadn't eaten in a few days. He'd only eaten a few hours before, but Pascal blamed his never-ending hunger on the fact that he was a growing boy.

Pascal looked around him at the rose bushes that needed to be cut, studying the flowers on them. He didn't see many buds that really needed to be clipped, and the wizard figured he could get away with leaving them and cutting them next time. They weren't noticeable, so if one of the professors happened to approach him and ask why he didn't cut them, he could always say that he didn't see them. Now all that was left was to water the plants, and that would be fairly easy for Pascal. His hand came up to touch the scar that was behind his left year from the initialization that he'd went through just the summer before. It was a painful experience, and Pascal shivered just thinking about it.

He shook the memory from his mind, looking back to the flowers that were waiting to be watered. His eyes shifted from the plants in front of him, to the watering can that sat next to him, around him to see if anyone was near by, which they weren't, and finally back to the leafy pretties that were in front of him. Narrowing his eyes slightly, Pascal focused on the plants and whispered, "Hor." A droplet of water appeared in front of the boy, at which he smiled at, before whispering, "Hor Maximo." The size of the droplet increased, and Pascal made the now ball of water flatten into a puddle before letting it rain down on the plants. Pascal bit down on the inside of his cheek and looked at the plants that now had little droplets of water on their surface. Figuring that the plants could use a bit more of the element, Pascal repeated the incantation, releasing just a bit more water on them.

Finally satisfied with his work, Pascal pushed himself up to a standing position. He collected the weeds he'd pulled and made sure nothing fell out of his pockets before heading off in the direction of the school.

Name: Sapphire
Character name: Alclina Solanine
Feature you are applying for: Psychometry variation
Description of the character: Alcina is a quiet and observant young girl. Her favorite game is "people watching". She loves to watch people, how they act and what they say. She then creates stories in her head to figure out the various motives of the person, based on what she receives from her senses. Her father is a psychologist and allowed her to read his many books on psychology and the few sociology books that he has. Al many not understand much of what she read, but she did come to grasp the concepts of internal motives verses external motives. Her game of people watching started when she and her older brother would go to the market. He would pick a random person and she would give him a story as to why they were doing or saying what they were.

Psychometry is a form of ESP where a person can "read", or that is to say, understand another persons history through physical touch. Al though, doesn't need to touch a person, but rather just be in their presence and be watching/ listening to them for a certain amount of time. The longer she is focused on a person, the more information she would have about them.

Application:

Al has always been interested in people and their motives. She isn't the most trusting of people, but understanding their motives and histories gives her more information on them and helps her decide if she can trust them. I also hope, that once she is older, she can work for the ministry and try to suss out people who are on trial and if they are lying.

At first, she wouldn't understand much about the information she was "seeing", but rather think it was another one of her stories from her creative mind. She keeps a journal for the people she meets and her thoughts on them, as a way to find a pattern about people. As she grows and learns more about people, she will come to understand that it is a form of psychometry and will try to better understand her ability through research and by asking people about their pasts once she reads them.

She, in no way, can see a persons future. Al deals in the past and the present. She loves compartmentalizing information in her head and drawing correlations between people.

I would, of course, read up on profiles of the people she is interacting with and PM them for permission before I post anything that might be "read" from them. I will always take ideas for things that she reads from people;  based on current situations, moods, emotions, and the like.

Future plots:
Al is only 11 years old, so this ability is still very new to her; almost unknown. It would be a growing process throughout the years to come. It would, I think, be interesting to see how this young girl deals with people of the magical world and their past experiences, that she reads from them. It could also give way for other drivers to be creative and give more past information in a passive way, as I would PM them about the readings details and ask for ideas on what they would like her to read from them. Far future plans would be to have her working for the ministry, as stated above.


RP sample using the feature:

Al wrinkled her nose as she walked through the market square. Her brother, Darach, had gone into the bakery for muffins in bread, while she waited outside. Before he entered, Darach had pointed out an elderly couple standing near the fruit stand and told her to create a story for them. Her mind buzzed and swirled as she watched the couple.

The elderly woman looked to be about her grans age, the man looked older. The woman carried a basket of fruits in one hand; green apples, a bunch of bananas, and some grapes; while the man held nothing in his hands, except the womans free one. Al watched as the woman let go of his hand and picked up a melon. She surveyed it quietly, not asking the mans opinion of the fruit, then put it back. The womans clothes were modest; a simple green and gold dress with a brown cardigan over her shoulders, while the man was in a well aged brown suit.

Al's eyes narrowed as the couple moved away from the fruit stand and out of view, into the sweet shop next to them. Something touched the young girls shoulder and she jumped in shock and surprise. Darach had come out of the bakery, his arms filled with his purchased.

"Figure them out yet?" He asked, watching his sister.

"Kind of, and don't do that. You know I get jumpy when I'm watching people intently."

Darach smiled. "Well, what say you then?"

Al thought a moment. "He's a businessman, off for the weekend and spending the day with his lovely wife. He's probably well past retiring age, but he loves his job. She, is, retired, or never worked. They are health conscious, but like to splurge every now and then and are deeply in love. I bet he is buy sweets for her, her birthday maybe. Or perhaps it's their anniversary. Yes, that's it. It's their anniversary. He's buying her sweets and she is going to make him an apple pie, it's his favorite, and always green apples, never red, they upset his stomach."

Darach watched his youngest sister and saw the elderly couple come out of the sweet shop. "And how do you figure all that?"

"Well, he has a nice suit on, but it's old, like him. So he doesn't have a lot of money, but enough to keep patches around to fix the elbows of his jacket. Only businessmen wear suits like that, except daddy. But he's just weird. They also have lots of wrinkles so they are at least as old as grandma. They also bought a lot of apples. Why would anyone need so many apples, unless to make a pie? And they were holding hands, so yes, they are happy together and still in love. The anniversary thing is a guess, just because it's a nice thing, and apple upset a lot of people's stomachs, too much acid."

Darach nodded. "Well, you got all of that from watching them? You are either way to observant and creative, or gifted with knowing people. Either way, it's a good story. I like happy endings for people."

Al frowned. "It's not an ending for them! They are still healthy and happy! They have many more years! If not, well, they at least had a good run of things and will die happy. I hope they stay happy and I think her pie will be yummy and he will give her lots of kisses and buy her a bouquet of flowers tomorrow on his way home from work."

She nodded, a tiny smile playing on her lips. Al didn't know if any of that was true, but it felt right. She often wondered if any of her stories were true. She knew the one from when she was 9, the lady with the baby and cheating husband was. Al remembered the lady had overheard them and asked how Al could know that. She didn't know how, she just did. All the young girl knew was she was making a story based on what she saw and heard, nothing more. It was all fantasy, but was it? Al didn't know.

Name: Jo
Character name: Leigh Baisley
Feature you are applying for: Occlumens and Legilimens

Description of the character: Leigh is a very driven, focused and meticulous woman with a penchant for being in control of situations and making sure things and people in her life are cared for properly. She is the oldest child in her family, and has never been one to take anything lying down. She is all about taking action and making achievements. Since she was a small child she’s held a strong sense of bravery and fearlessness. She seems to have been born with a confidence that makes her stand out when others are unwilling to do what she would happily do. She is also very intelligent and does not mind working tireless hours to learn or work. She is also very observant and has a great eye for detail. She is very in tune to the emotions of those around her. The problem is that she does not always address others’ emotional needs to their liking. She is a bit self-centered in that she puts her goals before her friends needs. With family, she is more giving of herself. Leigh is also physically strong and athletic. She is a Quidditch player and what she lacks in skill, she makes up for with speed and determination.

Leigh’s downfalls are as follows. She sometimes takes too much risk. She is analytical of situations and assures others she is in complete control, but can walk the line between a genius sense of daring and stupidity. Having others around in the Order and the Ministry to weigh in on her decisions helps restrain her, as has her years of training to achieve Legilimency and Occlumency. She also sometimes neglects those she cares for in favor of her work. She is tune to others’ emotions to a great degree, so she carries a lot of guilt when she decides to put work first – and she often does. It makes it hard for her to maintain romantic relationships and in some cases, friendships, too. Leigh also likes to escape emotional hardship. She turns to work for this, too. When her father would turn to smoking a lot to ease his stress, Leigh would do double the coursework necessary or she would clean like a madwoman (a habit she continues to carry) out of concern for his health. She also would turn to work to escape the pain of thinking about her younger brother’s debilitating illness he was born with.

In Leigh’s history, it became apparent from weeks into her life that she was in possession of magical abilities. When she would cry at night, lights had a way of flickering and her toys would fly across the room. Her pureblood and muggleborn parents took notice of how powerful she was and made sure to nurture her abilities in what they deemed the right direction. Leigh’s father is a pureblood Auror, employed at the Ministry of Magic, and he took to instilling his beliefs and attitudes into his first born. Since Leigh’s father has always been the light of her eye and she is a complete daddy’s girl, as a child she not only sought out all the lessons her father had to teach her, she wholeheartedly agreed with his values, even the ones she didn’t quite understand.

As Leigh grew older and she did come to understand all that her father and the Ministry stood for, she took an even stronger stance toward their side. Leigh is an independent thinker and she could have decided to follow dark magic’s path, but it represents everything she is against. She does not agree with wealth or blood types determining anyone’s status, she believes a strong sense of order is a necessity for a society to function efficiently, and she is very against Voldemort’s agenda.

Once of school age, Leigh sought out as much information she could about how she could join up with all forces against Voldemort. She dreamed not only of becoming an Auror like her father, but also of joining the Order. She excelled in Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts. She wanted to be as valuable an asset to her future goal groups as possible, so she set out on a quest of sorts to acquire more abilities than she currently possessed. Two that were of particular interest to her: Occlumency and Legilimency. Leigh turned to her father’s friend, Brandon Silverman, who enlightened her. She didn't want to go to her father; she thought she'd learn better from an outside figure with whom there would be more formality. With the knowledge of not only the details at which these powers could be used, but also that he could potentially teach them to her, Leigh begged and begged him to allow her to learn from him.

Through his teachings, Leigh became strong in both areas. Mastery will take years, but she now possesses both skills. Learning was not fast and it was not easy. She met with her educator for years worth of lessons in her off-time, and she had to keep very quiet about all that she was learning. Most challenging to her was mastering restraint and patience, which she did manage to do in time. As a consequence of her extracurricular endeavor, she lost many potential friends and social opportunities. She had bigger goals in mind though. She became obsessed with learning about the interworkings of minds; all types of matters of psychology and what drives people; and how to become more manipulative to be able to open the door into people’s minds. She already had the intrinsic ability to perceive others’ feelings, she just wanted and had to go much deeper. She mastered Occlumency first. That was easier than Legilimency. She was good at keeping others out, though in her personal life she needed to do exactly the opposite. Legilimency was a lot harder and took a lot more work to achieve.

Once Leigh had a firm grasp of both, she and Brandon both came to a consensus that she was likely qualified to help the Order. That was out of his hands though. His son Kendrick was in the Order, but he was not privy to Leigh's studying with him. Leigh wanted to keep it that way. She turned to someone she was close to who she knew in the Order, her friend Jocasta Callaghan. She pleaded with Jocasta to help her get in, displaying her skills, drive and readiness. After deliberations, an approval was reached by additional Order members and she was accepted in. She was so driven to change the way her world was heading, for those she knew – and for everyone she didn't know who mattered just as much. The news of her acceptance into the Order became the driving force in her life. An added plus was that she could escape anything flawed or exceptionally painful in her life by throwing her efforts toward fighting the big fight.

Application: I am applying for Occlumency and Legilimency for Leigh. I feel both not only fit her character, but also apply well toward her goals and stance in the Ministry as an Auror, and in the Order.

As Leigh joined the Order before several major battles with Voldemort and his followers, she would have used these skills to help the Order. Legilimency would have been used in extracting memories and emotions from enemies, prior to battle and during battle; and Occlumency would serve to protect her, and protect any information the Order or her Ministry connections provide to her for use and/or safekeeping. She would have used and will continue to use her powers for good and would be completely willing to teach them to other members of the order once she masters them. She is a natural leader and teacher type, so it would be rewarding to her. That said, she would be protective of them and quiet about possessing them to anyone who should not know of them.

As a character, she is strong, determined, intelligent, up for challenges and she wants to fight for her society. These attributes alone make her a vital asset to the Ministry and to the Order. She cherishes Hogwarts, the memory of Dumbledore and her friends and family. She has a lot that drives her for this line of work. She also is very observant and in tune with the emotions of others. These characteristics aid greatly in her ability to grasp and use Legilimency and Occlumency.

Leigh's learning these skills from Brandon Silverman is not unrealistic, despite that he is an NPC. Brandon also trained Jocasta Callaghan and would be very qualified to handle carrying out such lessons.

Future plots: Much is well at the moment in the wizarding world, but it is vital to have people prepared to deal with disasters before they strike. Leigh will be one of those people at the front lines, armed and ready with the memories of all that happened, and the foresight at what could again occur. She will remain active in her duties as an Auror and member of the Order and will want to continue to learn, grow and bestow knowledge and experience she has gained unto others. Leigh will be able to use Legilimency and Occlumency in any upcoming Order plots on the board, either to teach, train, gain information or fight. She will use Legilimency when she deems it professionally necessary in order to maintain the way things are right now. She’d like to be as on top of things as possible and learn of any potential negativity that could arise before it becomes an actual threat. She will use Occlumency accordingly if she feels a threat.

Leigh’s Legilimency and Occlumency skills, and the time she’s devoted to them, will affect her personally going forward. She has had to keep her training under wraps. When she was younger, she told her friends outside of her circle of trust that she took massive amounts of tutoring, and horse riding lessons on her holidays off. These were lies. She has had to carry the burdens of a lacking social and romantic life as a result.

She will continue to train. She would like to do so with Brandon, but if a played member of the board is needed, she will be more than happy to learn more from an additional played character, like Jocasta. I would like to play out some of her training, which is now at an advanced level. The same is true of teaching it to others. I am not applying for her to have it just to have it.

I have spoken with several drivers about planning future plots. Leigh will have a plot with Jocasta where the two work together using their special features while on a job for the Ministry. She will also be able to plot with Ira Ilyina, Aramanth Stringfellow and/or Chase Ashton, all who are dark wizards whose drivers have approved future plotting using at least one of the features. Memory extraction would be the likely occurrence in these cases.

RP Sample using the feature (approval from Helena who plays Brandon's son): Setting: Seven years ago.: As soon as Leigh entered the space in which she trained with Brandon, she could tell it was going to be a different sort of lesson because there were no books out and ready. He always had them out, without fail. They’d been focused on theory and reading for a while now. She wondered if she would get to actually do some field application with what he’d been teaching her. She stayed silent as she took her usual seat, observing the room around her. He was not present yet, but that was not uncommon. The man had a life outside of training her and she took every session as a gift from him. She would wait hours for him to come if she had to.

When he arrived and greeted her, she smiled, waiting to hear what he would say about the lesson today. Instead of speaking, he grabbed his nice robe and headed toward the door he came from. Leigh stood up to follow. They’d been talking a lot about perceptions and anticipating the actions of others. This was all part of the lesson. She had to know what was going on without direction. She, too, grabbed her robe, rose and followed him. Before going outside, he stopped, informing Leigh that they were going to apparate to the home of a friend of his. He instructed her that there would be three adults present: one who was a friend, one who he trusted but was not close with - for they had issues in their history, and one who he did not know (but who was close to his friend who assured the person could be trusted). She was to determine who was who – and which one of the three owned the home. Then, once complete, in only the presence of the friend and trusted acquaintance, she was to perform Legilimency to determine how Brandon’s non-friend had wronged him in the past, and how he felt now. This was deep, personal stuff. Leigh had only ever been inside Brandon’s head, and not for something so specific. Leigh nodded, pondering the emotional depth of this exercise and how challenging it could prove to be.

When they arrived at a home in wizarding London, Leigh followed Brandon to the door. There, the two were indeed greeted by three people, but all must have been briefed as to the lesson because they all just said hello the same way and they took a seat. Two were men and one was a woman, all middle-aged and dressed nicely. It was so awkward not knowing whose house it was. Leigh took a seat and looked around. The house was modest, but nicely furnished. She tried to put the house to its owner. They all wore similar shades of beige so their clothing said nothing. All were acting the same way, too. But one was settled a little further back on the couch. Leigh quickly decided the house was his. She noted that the woman kept eyeing a sock under a nearby chair, but she did so in a very obvious manner. Leigh felt the woman was trying to mislead her to believe she cared about tidying ‘her’ home.

Brandon turned to Leigh and told her to begin. Leigh pointed to the man on the left. “This is his house,” she said. Brandon grinned, as did the man. “Why do you think that?” he asked. Leigh explained her reasoning; that he appeared the most comfortable. “And she wants me to think this is her home but it isn’t.” She explained why and Brandon chuckled. “Very good, Leigh. Astute observations. Do not allow yourself to be misled, and do pick up on the little things.” The test was far from over. Leigh thought for a moment. She narrowed his friend down to one of two people, either the man the house belonged to or Brandon’s acquaintance. It did not belong to the person Brandon did not know, because Brandon settled into a particular chair and placed his wand just so in a groove on it. For a second, Leigh had decided the man who owned the house was Brandon’s friend, but a second thought changed her mind. Yes, Brandon seemed used to the place, but the remaining two people had body language that hinted they were a couple. They both had rings on of the same style and they crossed their legs toward each other. “I’ve got it,” Leigh exclaimed. “These two are a couple, and one of them is your friend. You said before we came here that you trusted the person you didn’t know as they were close to your ‘friend.’ The other man, the one who owns this house is your acquaintance, but you’ve obviously visited here a lot. Perhaps you have meetings of some sort here?”

Brandon’s eyebrows rose and he smiled, congratulating her on getting so far in the test. “Your perceptions and observations are paying off.” The three other people looked pleased at her decisions about them. Leigh nodded with a slight smile, still focused on the couple. Now she had to decide whether than man or woman was friends with Brandon. That was harder. She began to think and continued to look at the couple. Suddenly her head felt dizzy and heavy. She thought for a second she was getting a headache, but the pain was shooting, and her mind was suddenly filled with something. She gasped. Brandon had purposely misled her. Legilimency was not going to be tested here. Occlumency was! She’d suspected as much, because she’d only tried legilimency once with Brandon and it didn’t go well. It seemed awfully soon. But Occlumency, she’d had more experience with. Leigh jumped into defensive mode. She had to close off her mind as best she could. In her head she grasped for memories, feelings, thoughts, and emotions and pictured them locking. In her mind’s eye, an almost prison existed where she could contain these things. There were more cells than could be described. But this was different than ever before. She’d never been taken so off guard. She couldn’t get them all. She forced herself to stop feeling shock, stop analyzing the situation and lock, lock, lock. The deepest parts she held back the strongest. Her temples ached with how hard she was trying.

After what felt like forever, Leigh felt the invasive presence leave her head. She let her head fall into her hands and one of the men spoke. “Well, I know how you feel right now, and I was able to reach several of your memories my dear, - you’re quite a Quidditch player - but I must say, you did a very good job.” Leigh looked up at him weakly. It was the one who owned the house. Brandon apologized for misleading her. He introduced the three people formally now, with names and all. “I had to have you completely off guard so you would know what it’s like,” he said. Leigh was a bit irritated because of the physical pain she’d endured, but she nodded at him. “I understand. I really do now.”

From that day on, Leigh would never forget that first feeling of an outside presence getting into her head, and she knew much better how to scramble to protect herself.

Approved!

D I C I P U L U S   H O R

Name: Tori
Character name: Pascal Lefevre
Feature you are applying for: Dicipulus Hor

D E S C R I P T I O N

Description of the character: Above all, Pascal is a very ambitious boy. He strives to do well in everything he does, no matter how fickle and unnecessary it is. He wants to be the best at everything he does, and anything less than perfect doesn't sit well with him. He's very logical when it comes to things like making decisions. Pascal likes to make sure he makes the right choice in every situation, and no decision he makes is done without Pascal completely thinking through every possibility and outcome of each choice he can make. He also prefers to be in control, although he doesn't get too beat up if he isn't. He's very analytical as well, both in his decision making, and in social situations as well. Pascal can't help but analyzing and making assumptions about people he meets based on their body language and facial expressions (or lack thereof).

In his everyday life, Pascal can be quite carefree. If things don't go his way, he doesn't get mad, and just moves on with his day. The wizard is generally in a good mood, and it actually takes quite a bit to make him angry. Even when he does get angry, Pascal tends to keep his feelings to himself, and it's very rare that he lashes out on anyone. He's very non-confrontational and prefers not to partake in any fights, but on the rare occasion he does happen to lash out, his attacks are by no means irrational. He's rather emotionless in fights and fights with a clear head to make sure that everything he does in a fight is a logical move on his part. Although he doesn't like to fight, Pascal is very loyal when it comes to family and friends, and he's not afraid to jump in and defend someone he cares about.

Pascal is a very quiet boy in general. He doesn't like to waste his words, and only says things that he needs to say. He's by no means unsocial, in fact, he's quite the opposite. Pascal loves to spend time with friends and he's not at all afraid to talk to anyone, as long as they approach him first and start a conversation. When in social situations, he prefers to keep his emotions to himself for fear that if he does show any emotion, it will make him seem like a lesser person to his friends. He's slightly conceited in this way, as he always wants to appear emotionally stable (which basically means emotionless to Pascal).

A P P L I C A T I O N

Application: Ever since I joined this lovely site 3, almost 4 years go now, I've always wanted to have a Special Feature for one of my characters. I've contemplated a few different features for a few different characters I've had, including the Metamorphmagus feature for my old Durmstrang character Katya Belikova, and the Animagus feature for my Hogwarts student Pippa Harrington. I decided against applying for either one because frankly, neither of them fit their respective characters, and the application was a bit intimidating. My longing to have a special feature for one of my characters never went away, and I actually kept checking the guide every once in a while to see if I could maybe find a feature that would work with one of my characters, or one that I was considering making.

During one of the times that I was looking through the Elemental guide, I actually read into each element and the personality traits that each one possessed. I couldn't help but notice that the water element sounded a lot like the character that had been floating around in my head for a few weeks. The more I looked back at the description of water elementals and the character traits they possessed, the more I realized how perfect it was for the character that I was considering making. Once I had the thought in mind of the character being an elemental, I couldn't seem to imagine the character without the feature.

Pascal is very non-confrontational and calm, as well as being loyal to his friends and family. Everything he does is thought through completely, and the only decisions he makes are logical ones. He's very fluid in the way that if something doesn't go his way, he moves on and doesn't worry about it. If accepted, Pascal will be dedicated to serving the council as well as supporting everything it does and/or decides, and all of these traits are ones that make me believe that water elementalism is the perfect feature for Pascal.

I think elementalism for Pascal will definitely offer more plots as opposed to taking them away. It will also add to Pascal as a character, as I plan on him not fully being able to get over the fact that he can't use wand magic and will never be like other wizards. Eventually, he will come to terms with this, but in the near future, the wizard will most definitely be a little beat up about it. This, along with the other plots that I have discussed with other drivers, makes me feel like this feature will help Pascal as a character as opposed to hurting him.

F U T U R E   P L O T S

Future plots: I've contacted quite a few drivers about future plots that could involve Pascal. One of them was Bridget, who has her work in progress Sofie Gustavsson. Sofie and Pascal have been friends for quite a while, although he's kept the fact that he's an elemental from Sofie. On a day when Pascal is practicing, probably in an empty classroom or something of the sort, Sofie would walk in on him in the middle of one of his spells. Sofie would then become one of the people that Pascal comes close with; a confidant so to say. Eventually, Sofie will help Pascal come to realize that the fact that he won't be like other wizards isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Another plot I have worked out is with Michaela's Karsten Dettweiler. Karsten isn't aware that he's an elemental yet, but when he is, Pascal is going to be one of the ones helping him going through the initial shock of being different than other wizards and whatnot. Karsten also has a standing plot with Mickie's Klaus Schäfer, in which Klaus bullies Karsten. Since Pascal had previously consoled Karsten, and the fact that Karsten is an elemental like himself, Pascal would feel sort of protective over the boy and defend him.

I've also talked to Wolf Girl about plotting with her Bellefeuille Matthieu Garnier, who despises elementals. Pascal and Matthieu have a strong hatred for each other, and Matthieu has always put Pascal down for being an elemental. This upcoming year would be the year that Matthieu's comments finally get to Pascal, and Pascal will essentially try to use his element against Matthieu to scare him. This would lead into a plot I discussed with Soufflé Girl, where Pascal and Zoé practicing together and realize that they can potentially hurt someone with their element. Both of these plots don't really have set endings, as we'd like to play them out and see where it goes.

I've also talked to Wolf Girl, Dylan and Ashton about their water elementals helping Pascal practice and study, as he was discovered after them/is younger than them and therefore doesn't know as much as them.

R P   S A M P L E

RP sample using the feature: It was a nice day at Beauxbatons Academy. The sun was shining and Pascal Lefevre, who was kneeling in front of a bed of flowers, was sweating like a pig. No matter how much time he spent in the crazy ball of heat, the wizard could never get used to the heat that came with it. Using the back of his hand, Pascal wiped the little beads of sweat off his forehead before reaching down and pulling a small weed that was pushing itself up from under the soil. The elemental loved the gardening service, he'd been doing it ever since he was an ickle first year at the school, but he'd never been able to get over the fact that he had to go out on hot days and water the plants. He didn't mind watering them at all, he just wished that he didn't have to go out on the hot days. Pascal and heat did not mix well. The heat made him cranky and bitter.

Tossing the weed that he'd pulled into the pile of all the other weeds he'd removed, Pascal leaned back so his bum was touching his feet and looked at his handy work. He'd gotten rid of all the weeds in his portion of the garden, which took quite a while. All he had left to do was trim the dead leaves off the bushes and water the remaining plants, which he hoped wouldn't take too long. He wanted to stop by the kitchens and get a snack as soon as possible, because he felt like he hadn't eaten in a few days. He'd only eaten a few hours before, but Pascal blamed his never-ending hunger on the fact that he was a growing boy.

Pascal looked around him at the rose bushes that needed to be cut, studying the flowers on them. He didn't see many buds that really needed to be clipped, and the wizard figured he could get away with leaving them and cutting them next time. They weren't noticeable, so if one of the professors happened to approach him and ask why he didn't cut them, he could always say that he didn't see them. Now all that was left was to water the plants, and that would be fairly easy for Pascal. His hand came up to touch the scar that was behind his left year from the initialization that he'd went through just the summer before. It was a painful experience, and Pascal shivered just thinking about it.

He shook the memory from his mind, looking back to the flowers that were waiting to be watered. His eyes shifted from the plants in front of him, to the watering can that sat next to him, around him to see if anyone was near by, which they weren't, and finally back to the leafy pretties that were in front of him. Narrowing his eyes slightly, Pascal focused on the plants and whispered, "Hor." A droplet of water appeared in front of the boy, at which he smiled at, before whispering, "Hor Maximo." The size of the droplet increased, and Pascal made the now ball of water flatten into a puddle before letting it rain down on the plants. Pascal bit down on the inside of his cheek and looked at the plants that now had little droplets of water on their surface. Figuring that the plants could use a bit more of the element, Pascal repeated the incantation, releasing just a bit more water on them.

Finally satisfied with his work, Pascal pushed himself up to a standing position. He collected the weeds he'd pulled and made sure nothing fell out of his pockets before heading off in the direction of the school.

Approved!

Name: Sapphire
Character name: Alclina Solanine
Feature you are applying for: Psychometry variation
Description of the character: Alcina is a quiet and observant young girl. Her favorite game is "people watching". She loves to watch people, how they act and what they say. She then creates stories in her head to figure out the various motives of the person, based on what she receives from her senses. Her father is a psychologist and allowed her to read his many books on psychology and the few sociology books that he has. Al many not understand much of what she read, but she did come to grasp the concepts of internal motives verses external motives. Her game of people watching started when she and her older brother would go to the market. He would pick a random person and she would give him a story as to why they were doing or saying what they were.

Psychometry is a form of ESP where a person can "read", or that is to say, understand another persons history through physical touch. Al though, doesn't need to touch a person, but rather just be in their presence and be watching/ listening to them for a certain amount of time. The longer she is focused on a person, the more information she would have about them.

Application:

Al has always been interested in people and their motives. She isn't the most trusting of people, but understanding their motives and histories gives her more information on them and helps her decide if she can trust them. I also hope, that once she is older, she can work for the ministry and try to suss out people who are on trial and if they are lying.

At first, she wouldn't understand much about the information she was "seeing", but rather think it was another one of her stories from her creative mind. She keeps a journal for the people she meets and her thoughts on them, as a way to find a pattern about people. As she grows and learns more about people, she will come to understand that it is a form of psychometry and will try to better understand her ability through research and by asking people about their pasts once she reads them.

She, in no way, can see a persons future. Al deals in the past and the present. She loves compartmentalizing information in her head and drawing correlations between people.

I would, of course, read up on profiles of the people she is interacting with and PM them for permission before I post anything that might be "read" from them. I will always take ideas for things that she reads from people;  based on current situations, moods, emotions, and the like.

Future plots:
Al is only 11 years old, so this ability is still very new to her; almost unknown. It would be a growing process throughout the years to come. It would, I think, be interesting to see how this young girl deals with people of the magical world and their past experiences, that she reads from them. It could also give way for other drivers to be creative and give more past information in a passive way, as I would PM them about the readings details and ask for ideas on what they would like her to read from them. Far future plans would be to have her working for the ministry, as stated above.


RP sample using the feature:

Al wrinkled her nose as she walked through the market square. Her brother, Darach, had gone into the bakery for muffins in bread, while she waited outside. Before he entered, Darach had pointed out an elderly couple standing near the fruit stand and told her to create a story for them. Her mind buzzed and swirled as she watched the couple.

The elderly woman looked to be about her grans age, the man looked older. The woman carried a basket of fruits in one hand; green apples, a bunch of bananas, and some grapes; while the man held nothing in his hands, except the womans free one. Al watched as the woman let go of his hand and picked up a melon. She surveyed it quietly, not asking the mans opinion of the fruit, then put it back. The womans clothes were modest; a simple green and gold dress with a brown cardigan over her shoulders, while the man was in a well aged brown suit.

Al's eyes narrowed as the couple moved away from the fruit stand and out of view, into the sweet shop next to them. Something touched the young girls shoulder and she jumped in shock and surprise. Darach had come out of the bakery, his arms filled with his purchased.

"Figure them out yet?" He asked, watching his sister.

"Kind of, and don't do that. You know I get jumpy when I'm watching people intently."

Darach smiled. "Well, what say you then?"

Al thought a moment. "He's a businessman, off for the weekend and spending the day with his lovely wife. He's probably well past retiring age, but he loves his job. She, is, retired, or never worked. They are health conscious, but like to splurge every now and then and are deeply in love. I bet he is buy sweets for her, her birthday maybe. Or perhaps it's their anniversary. Yes, that's it. It's their anniversary. He's buying her sweets and she is going to make him an apple pie, it's his favorite, and always green apples, never red, they upset his stomach."

Darach watched his youngest sister and saw the elderly couple come out of the sweet shop. "And how do you figure all that?"

"Well, he has a nice suit on, but it's old, like him. So he doesn't have a lot of money, but enough to keep patches around to fix the elbows of his jacket. Only businessmen wear suits like that, except daddy. But he's just weird. They also have lots of wrinkles so they are at least as old as grandma. They also bought a lot of apples. Why would anyone need so many apples, unless to make a pie? And they were holding hands, so yes, they are happy together and still in love. The anniversary thing is a guess, just because it's a nice thing, and apple upset a lot of people's stomachs, too much acid."

Darach nodded. "Well, you got all of that from watching them? You are either way to observant and creative, or gifted with knowing people. Either way, it's a good story. I like happy endings for people."

Al frowned. "It's not an ending for them! They are still healthy and happy! They have many more years! If not, well, they at least had a good run of things and will die happy. I hope they stay happy and I think her pie will be yummy and he will give her lots of kisses and buy her a bouquet of flowers tomorrow on his way home from work."

She nodded, a tiny smile playing on her lips. Al didn't know if any of that was true, but it felt right. She often wondered if any of her stories were true. She knew the one from when she was 9, the lady with the baby and cheating husband was. Al remembered the lady had overheard them and asked how Al could know that. She didn't know how, she just did. All the young girl knew was she was making a story based on what she saw and heard, nothing more. It was all fantasy, but was it? Al didn't know.

[sav]Declined~ Please check pms[/sav]

Here is an updated version that reflects the requests made by the admin team to flush out the future plots section. I hope this is better and meets your specifications! Thanks!

Name: Katie
Character name: Seva Montressor
Feature you are applying for: Curatio Manuum "Healing hands"
Application:

Special Feature: Curatio Manuum

Introduction

Curatio Manuum an ability that only kind hearted people possess, the ability affects the possessor's personality as that person grows and can be lost if the person were to say be a cruel individual. To have this ‘gift’ you must have the best intentions and it is not an ability that Dark Wizards can possess. The ability is a curing ability and it is not one that can be taught. You must be born with this ability. However, the Curatio can sometimes go unnoticed unless the person who possesses the ability explicitly tries to harness healing powers. Accordingly, only witches and wizards in such a profession as a healer or mediwizard ever discover they have Curatio Manuum.

Curatio Manuum has been around since time immemorial but has been called by many different names not all of which have been recorded, but instead passed down by oral tradition. Curatio has always been known as a force of good and the possessor has always been highly regarded by their respective communities, tribes, what have you.

Curatio Manuum is a wandless technique of magic that involves physically touching the person to heal them and relieving their pain. The pain or illness is then absorbed by the Healer where the disease or pain is slowly broken down through a process that is called Pugatio (to cleanse) where special magic metabolites called defacoes (purgers) break down the illness and take away the pain.

The person with this ability would undergo intense pain during this time, so it is not without its limitations. Also, if the Healer does not have compassion for the person that they are trying to heal, they will not be able to use this talent. Also, many people are prone to crying when they use this ability because of the intense pain and out of compassion. Also, another repercussion of Curatio Manuum is that the caster will take on a tenth to a full half of the victim’s ailment. If the person has a gash, the healer will have a small slice in the same place as the patient. If the patient has a serious illness, the healer will perhaps get a weaker strain but will still fall ill. Should the healer be mending a large, grievous wound that is scarcely past their capacity it is likely that the healer might become incapacitated perhaps out of blood loss or the excruciating pain that such a wound is bound to cause.

How does Curatio Manuum fit Seva?

Seva is a kind and compassionate person. It could be that instead of kicking and screaming she came out of her mother with a smile on her face, even though babies can't smile until they are much older. She grew up into a loving toddler who showed great affection for her foster mother and seemed to have an affinity for all things loving and good.

Seva continued to grow into an affectionate girl and always seemed to care, often too much, about any creature great or small. She loved people and animals equally and did not discriminate against anyone for any reason. She was and still is accepting of people despite perceived limitations or flaws. She has always had a knack for helping people and wanted from a young age to learn how to help and heal people. Seva is compassionate and kind, albeit a little grumpy sometimes, and has a huge heart. She is always looking to learn new things, mostly to find ways to help people so she can better the world around her.

Seva has always wanted to be a healer and as a young girl would try to play doctor and veterinarian to people and animals respectively. She was always trying to patch people up and try to make people feel better even resorting to toilet paper bandages and healing ideas and remedies from old wives tales that always tasted disgusting and never worked,

Curatio Manuum fits Seva because she has a healer's instinct and because of her desire to help people. Seva is also a skilled witch who is practiced at Charms, Transfiguration and potions, two subject matters that greatly benefit possessors of Curatio Manuum because the skills bolster the witch or wizard's skills. Seva also has extensive knowledge of the human body and applies that to her work as a healer in training.

Limitations of Curatio Manuum

•   The gift only works to heal pain from injuries and to cure simple maladies like a toothace or a anything caused by bacteria, it cannot cure viruses. It cannot knit large wounds back together and therefore cannot be used to heal penetrating trauma such a stab wounds. However, small nicks and grazes can be patched up with Curatio Manuum.
•   It is only possible through love, ardor or out of great affection.
•   Curatio Manuum cannot bring someone back from the dead, cure a terminally ill person, or cure a person with a mortal wound
•   This special feature cannot cure the user; it can only be used to cure others.

Future plots:
•   Seva discovers she has the ability. She is at work one day and realizes that the patient experienced relief but all she did was hold his hand and wish he could get better.
•   Seva becomes a mediwitch for the underground fight club, Grimli and contracts herself out to heal the fighters after matches. She is interviewed by Amaranth Stringfellow at Grimli one day and secures the job. The interview will be played out in this thread . All matches will be played out in subsequent threads as time permits. This will allow Seva ample opportunities to use her ability and grow in her skills.
•   After meeting Fabien Sanxay by chance in Diagon Alley, the two become fast friends and not long after, become more than friends. Afterward, Fabien becomes smitten with Seva and she returns his affections. She is moved by the pain he is in all the time and one day, while they are lying together, he is healed. Fabien is distressed by it, understandably so and Seva experiences great pain from the healing that causes her to fall unconscious for several days. Despite the pain inflicted and the several days spent in bed at St. Mungo’s, Seva is hooked on the rush harnessing the power of the ability caused in her and is determined  to try it again.
•    Seva is reunited with an old acquaintance, Tolfrey Khandra at St. Mungo’s one day. This meeting takes place after her successful, if not painful healing of Fabien and Seva is cocky and determined to see if she can do a repeat performance. She convinces Tolfrey to let her try and after laying hands on him, she is wracked with such severe pain that she practically begins to convulse. The healing is unsuccessful and Seva falls unconscious again and is out for far longer than she was with Fabien. When she wakes up she is still in severe pain and can barely move because of it. Seva feels defeated and becomes afraid of her ability, vowing that she’ll never do it again. This doesn’t last very long, but she still proceeds with great caution from then on and  is very picky as to who she heals, which makes her ability weaker; picking and choosing beneficiaries is not how the ability works.

RP sample using the feature:

Seva was exhausted, it had been a long and grueling rotation on the magical artifacts wing and she was still hours away from going home. Her eyes were drooping; the lids fluttering closed every few seconds and only lifted when she pinched herself. She was on a much needed coffee break and could feel the caffeine coursing through her veins already, she was that tired. So far, she’d seen several exploding cauldrons, a faulty time turner that had sent the user back the eighteen hundreds where they were nearly burned at the stake and a pesky quick quotes quill that was prone to poking its user in the eye. Her own eye lid had a dark ink stain on it; she had closed her eyes just in time but there was also a small scratch under the ink where the quill had dented her eyelid. Seva rubbed at the stain gently and then rubbed both eyes simultaneously. Her gaze flitted to the watch on her wrist and she cringed. Three more hours to go and only a minute left in her break.

Seva stood from her crouched position by the break room door and threw her coffee cup in the waste bin. Yawning, she stretched her arms over her head and rolled her neck once or twice to get out the kinks. She felt better already, the coffee already starting to kick in and energize her. Seva walked through the break room door and turned to go down the stairwell that led to the magical bugs floor. She stopped at a hand washing station and scrubbed at her hands, her right thigh pressing against the lever to turn the water on. She lathered for about thirty seconds then rinsed, letting the cold water flow over her hands and wake her up a little more. Seva dried her hands thoroughly then sidled through the closing door, her hands in the air like a surgeon.

There was a strain of dragon pox going around that was particularly nasty and she’d been asked to lend a hand with being that they were short handed. Seva peeked around the corner to look for a preceptor or other superior but only saw canary yellow robes like her own. While she waited, Seva donned a pair of gloves and walked around the wing. The charts were on a shelf at the mediwizard’s station but she didn’t have access to any yet. She couldn’t find a superior either. Had they all gone on lunch at the same time? That couldn’t be. Seva shrugged and continued to wander around the unit, her eyes scanning for robes a different color than her own.

Seva noticed a bed where an elderly wizard was laying alone in a corner with no visitors around him and no flowers or well wishes of any kind to be found anywhere. He appeared to have a healing case of dragon pox and judging by the crust he was no longer contagious. There was a vacant chair by his bed that Seva slid into quietly, hoping not to wake him. Her slight frame was enough to block the sunlight coming from the window, however and the shadow that she cast and the change in lighting was all the man needed to wake. Blinking the sleep out of his eyes, he turned to regard Seva and smiled slowly. He was handsome for an elderly man with close cropped white hair and deep brown eyes. He seemed very kind judging by his easy smile and the twinkle in his eyes.

Seva smiled back and reached out her hand and he grasped it with his own soft one. Taken aback by his strong grip, Seva loosened hers momentarily before squeezing his tightly. Her eyes crinkled as she smiled wider and she nodded respectfully at him. She felt terrible that he was all alone and ill. Her heart ached for him and she closed her eyes for a moment, hoping against hope that he’d get better and could return home. Then, something strange happened. She opened her eyes slowly and when she did she noticed something different about his appearance. All of his lesions seemed to have vanished and Seva could feel the heat of his fever ebbing out of the hand that she was clasping. Slightly shaken, Seva let her hand slip out of his grip and sat back in her chair.

Exasperated, Seva stood up and reached over to pull the sleeve of his pajamas up to his elbow. There was nothing – no lesion, no scabs, no redness or discoloration of any kind. In that moment, there were robes of every color gathered around the man’s bed; lime green, sky blue, yellow like her own and orange. Seva gazed around her and was momentarily annoyed that no one had been available when she needed them and now she was surrounded. Whispers were gathering around her like a swarm of gnats and she caught smatterings here and there.

Very difficult case…yes, particularly – no one knew what to do, we tried several different potions…he wasn’t contagious at the moment but he seemed to be going in cycles…wondrous, simply wondrous.

Seva flushed then and had to grab at the back of the chair to steady herself, she suddenly felt so overwhelmed. There was a crowd of people around her all pressing in at the same time and they all wanted to know the same thing. What had happened, how had she done it? What potion did she try? Seva shook her head fiercely and had to fight back the urge to cover her head in her hands. All she could do was smile daftly and hope that people would think that someone else had cured the old wizard, not little old Seva. Definitely not the girl who’d had to take the year off after Hogwarts to supposedly save up money. There had been rumors that she needed to remediate in potions twice and she’d barely passed Charms and Transfiguration. It couldn’t have possibly been that girl.

Finally, Seva’s preceptor found her in the crowd and grabbed her by the elbow steering her to the healer’s station in the back corner of the wing. His lime green robes and sharp features were a sight for her sore eyes and she opened her mouth to tell him so. Before she could, he shushed her and reached for the man’s chart and offered it to her. Seva nearly doubled over from its weight and struggled to reach the nearest chair so she could prop it up on her lap. His health history went back sixty five years and he had a string of recent illnesses, the pox being his least concern. Seva shook her head in utter disbelief. Her preceptor was speaking to her but all she heard was buzzing in her ears. He was saying something about a battery of tests to see if he was fully cured and that it would take a few days. She was told to go home and rest and that she looked half dead.

The next few days, Seva was excused from her clinical days pending a review and she barely left the house. On the fourth day, a large barn owl flew in her kitchen window with a letter strapped to its claw. The man, an eighty year old bachelor and retired shop keeper had been fully cured of all ailments. Seva was to report for duty the next morning and she was excused of all doubt. Seva reread the letter ten times before setting it down on the kitchen table and trudging over to her couch. There she collapsed and gazed forlornly into the fire place, her eyes unblinking. What did this mean? Seva had only held his hand and suddenly he was healed? That was impossible, completely and totally impossible. She had felt so deeply for him and simply willed him to get better and wished the best for him. And then it had happened, just like that.

Seva began shaking her head and as she did, tears were streaming down her face. She was so lost and confused and had no one to talk to about it. Eileen was a squib and did not know much about magic past what Seva had told her and what she’d heard from the daily prophet or the text books that Seva left at home. That and the fact that what Seva had done felt like more than magic had Seva flummoxed. Her face was soaked with tears and she drew her knees up to her chest, squeezing them tightly. She wasn’t sure if the tears were out of happiness or sorrow, she couldn’t place her emotions. What she did know was that she had done something special but knew not what to do from there. Seva shook her head again and buried her head in her knees, before closing her eyes tightly and letting the tears fall.

Name: Adam
Character name: Jonathon Grimwise
Feature you are applying for: Hands of Cerrunnos
Application:  Since it is an original ability as opposed to the canon based ones, I will reiterate and amend what I placed in the special features advice thread for the sake of simplicity and ease of reading. Essentially this grants its possessor the ability to not be ‘seen’ as either food or threat by animals; magical and mundane creatures alike tolerate the close proximity of said individual and being vetted by him or her, as if they somehow know that their handler has their welfare foremost in their mind. It would almost certainly work with mundane animals and would work only to a certain extent with magical ones (I.E anyone foolish enough to walk over to a Dragon or Acromantula without giving such creatures the respect they are due and not expect to be attacked, are going to be missing a limb or their lower torso. Innate gifts are one thing, common sense is another). It’s important to note that this isn’t a trainable ability but instead crops up based upon the individuals personality or experiences or, if there is a familial history of dealing with magical creatures, runs through a family bloodline. An interesting quirk of this ability; one has to have the animal’s best interests in mind or the ability will not manifest. It also seems to work better with animals either bred in captivity or have a naturally docile nature. Those who possess this gift have no idea what it is called or if it even exists; it seems to manifest simply as a mixture of natural skill and luck.

With Jonathon being who he is, this ability makes sense for him to possess as the care of creatures both mundane and magical, has been the center-point of his life ever since he started attending Hogwarts as a child. Due to his history and current lifestyle, (which can be seen here and here) his tiny corner of the world revolves around the constant care and understanding of animals and that will never truly change. One could also say that his near obsession filled the void of his forced estrangement with his parents during his years in Hogwarts and that creatures of all kinds have been, and always will be, a major cornerstone of his adult life both personally and professionally.

I feel that the incorporation of this special feature would not only enhance his skill set and knowledge base by allowing him to get up close and personal with creatures that have been commonly dismissed as temperamental and outright hostile in the Wizarding community but also open up more avenues for role-play outside of his usual comfort zone.

Future plots: With two threads currently in progress that revolve around or incorporate the care of Magical creatures, as well as the various offers I have been given by the community to start or participate in threads with those who either share the same interests or need someone of his talents, I feel that this ability will not only help getting the ball rolling, but also open up even more role-play opportunities for an individual of Jonathon’s calibre; any future threads may not revolve around his shop in the strictest sense but will make use of his skill sets (i.e troubles with a rampaging herd, attempting to capture a creature that has been illegally purchased, assisting others in determining just what it was that had just attacked, to simply acting as a guide through the Wylds).  Here is a list of individuals that mentioned an interest in starting threads with this character; Banana Bee, Iron Butterfly, Samm, Bridget, Hanhan, and Katie. The list is by no means complete but I felt that it would be wise to mention a few people who's characters may be involved with mine in the future.
      
RP sample using the feature:

Having been brought in as a special consultant, he traipsed through the halls of St. Mungos with a certain amount of dread Why did it have to be kids, I can handle adults getting hurt when they try something stupid, but kids don’t really know any better. Stopping in front of the Children’s Ward, he waited patiently at the front desk as the Doctor No they are called Healers here, don’t call her a Doctor idiot was informed that he was there as a consultant on the Smithe case.

Appreciating the no nonsense attitude of the Healer as she arrived, he simply took the file that had been presented to him and moved to the offices provided for him. Flipping to the first page, his left hand instinctively reached for his pack of cigarettes They look like simple bite marks, but there are so many that it dismisses a feral pet or rabid animal; rabid animals never travel in packs and there are discrepancies in the marks. The cigarette was already in his lips before he even realized just what it was he had been doing and was regretfully placed back in the pack as he continued to peruse the subject matter “Hmm child’s parents reported him missing for at least three hours before he was found… During a family trip to Wales… Wales…”

Something about that particular snippet in the file grabbed his attention and much like a Blood Hound fresh on the trail, he seemingly ignored the description and images of the injuries as he flipped through the various medical jargon “It’s not here damnit.” Putting the folder under his arm, he stepped out into the hallway “Where are the parents, I need to know where they were in Wales before I can proceed.” Looking at the sputtering Healer-in-Training that had been left to monitor the front desk he just shook his head “I will say this slowly for you so you can understand.” Fighting the urge to pantomime the words with his hands so he would not give offense, he spoke in a deliberately slow voice “I need to see the parents, go get them.” Leaning up against the counter as the attendant scurried off, his right hand was constantly tapping against the polished marble in irritation.

As the parents arrived, a sensible pair dressed in robes that he would never be caught dead in, he had a simple question for them “Where exactly in Wales were you?” No introduction, no words of sympathy, just a single blunt question that drove to the heart of the matter.

Inevitably the husband began to bluster, only to be cut off by his wife’s words “We were taking in the sights at the wizarding portion of Cadair Idris, how does this have anything to do with our son?”

“Everything, there is a reason why the Wizarding community avoids it just before and after Samhain.” Shaking his head at their stupidity, he turned towards his contact “The child encountered the Cŵn Annwn, I need a portkey to the Cadair Idris mountains and I needed it yesterday.” While they weren’t the hounds of legend At least I hope not, I have no predilection to encounter an old God right now, the bite of a Cŵn Annwn was not so much venomous as it was infectious much like the Komodo Dragon in the Muggle world. It required what was essentially an anti-venom, he wasn’t up on the correct terminology as he wasn’t a healer, whose main component was fresh saliva gathered from their maw Trouble is that they are rarely encountered by the main populace except when they are migratory much like they are now, there is very little time left. Waiting for the authorization to go through, he softly cursed under his breath “No time to prepare my gear… I might as well go in naked.” Turning towards the Healer he had been called in by, he gave instruction “I’m not about to tell you your job but the bite marks the child endured are eventually going to fester if they haven’t already, and that infection is going to spread like a snakebite till all life functions cease.” About to comment more on the matter, he was interrupted by the arrival of the portkey “That’s my que.”

Feeling the tell-tale squeezing and vertigo sensation, he thanked any and all Higher Powers that he hadn’t fallen on his arse, before taking in his surroundings “I could see how they would want to come here but why didn’t they open a book first” Shaking his head You’re not here to sight see, attend to the task at hand he simply made his way passed Llyn Mwyngil and up the Minffordd Path. Constantly searching for signs of scat or tracks, he eventually winded his way up along the rim of Craig Cau “This is were they reportedly found the child after the attack, so it stands to reason that…” Pausing in mid-sentence as an eerie howl began to dominate the landscape, he could feel his hackles begin to rise “Well crap.”

For the uneducated, the fact that there was no physical sign of the creatures would have brought some comfort, but Jonathon knew better; they were ambush predators for the most part and if his luck failed, he was going to get ham-stringed and eventually end up being the main course “Okay lets not be too hasty here… I’m not here to hurt any of you but I will put you down in a heartbeat if you try your hand at turning me into Jonathon tartar.” He wasn’t naive or stupid enough to assume they spoke the language, it was the tone one conveyed that was important; by keeping an even voice and using that naturally deep baritone of his, he would hopefully convey that he wasn’t worth the effort And armchair scholars say that we are the apex predator, predator my arse. Watching as what could only be the alpha of the pack emerge a scant ten feet away from him, it was in that split second that he made his decision I need to get a sample but there is no way I’m going to infringe on their personal space… In the end they are Dogs, just not the cute and playful ones… Reaching for one of the stouter branches that had been broken off and strewn across the path, a murmured ‘Engorgio” elongated it to a six foot length “Now let’s all just calm down here beasties…” A crack in the brush to his far right almost made him jump, and if he had it would have been perceived as weakness “I know that they had no right to encroach on your territory and neither do I, but humans make a pretty shoddy food source and that child you attacked is dying.”

Constantly waving the impromptu staff in a slow non-threatening manner on the ground, the brute standing in front of him seemed more intent now on the stick then he did on the wizard at the other end Let’s just hope that the rest of the pack are waiting for some sort of a sign from the alpha first before they decide to jump in and play tug of war with my entrails. Moving the stick closer, he continued using his previous method of speaking “I just need a big strong boy like you to take the stick… That’s it, take the stick.” Bringing it closer and closer, it was a combination of lightning fast reflexes and a healthy dose of fear that caused him to let go just as it was snatched up on the other end. Watching as it was effectively worried into small splinters and chunks on the opposing end, he hoped that he didn’t have to put the animals down “You’re a big strong boy and I’m no match for you… Guess I’ll just find somewhere else to hunt.” Watching as the slobbering beast seemed to huff in satisfaction at asserting its dominance, Jonathon slowly stepped backwards in a show of deference And that’s why people are always getting hurt, they don’t show animals the respect they deserve. Murmuring a soft ‘accio’, the slobbering mess that could have been a rather nice hiking cane sped towards his outreached hand. Not wanting to trespass any further then was necessary upon an already established territory, he simply activated the portkey.

Arriving just outside the doors of St.Mungos, he didn’t bother with social niceties or pleasant conversation as he strode inside with the specimen in his hands and who would blame him? Making his way towards the labs where his contact awaited him, he simply placed the dripping mess onto one of the empty tables “Might want to warn the parents next time to do their research, you can expect my invoice in the next few days.”

Here is an updated version that reflects the requests made by the admin team to flush out the future plots section. I hope this is better and meets your specifications! Thanks!

Name: Katie
Character name: Seva Montressor
Feature you are applying for: Curatio Manuum "Healing hands"
Application:

Special Feature: Curatio Manuum

Introduction

Curatio Manuum an ability that only kind hearted people possess, the ability affects the possessor's personality as that person grows and can be lost if the person were to say be a cruel individual. To have this ‘gift’ you must have the best intentions and it is not an ability that Dark Wizards can possess. The ability is a curing ability and it is not one that can be taught. You must be born with this ability. However, the Curatio can sometimes go unnoticed unless the person who possesses the ability explicitly tries to harness healing powers. Accordingly, only witches and wizards in such a profession as a healer or mediwizard ever discover they have Curatio Manuum.

Curatio Manuum has been around since time immemorial but has been called by many different names not all of which have been recorded, but instead passed down by oral tradition. Curatio has always been known as a force of good and the possessor has always been highly regarded by their respective communities, tribes, what have you.

Curatio Manuum is a wandless technique of magic that involves physically touching the person to heal them and relieving their pain. The pain or illness is then absorbed by the Healer where the disease or pain is slowly broken down through a process that is called Pugatio (to cleanse) where special magic metabolites called defacoes (purgers) break down the illness and take away the pain.

The person with this ability would undergo intense pain during this time, so it is not without its limitations. Also, if the Healer does not have compassion for the person that they are trying to heal, they will not be able to use this talent. Also, many people are prone to crying when they use this ability because of the intense pain and out of compassion. Also, another repercussion of Curatio Manuum is that the caster will take on a tenth to a full half of the victim’s ailment. If the person has a gash, the healer will have a small slice in the same place as the patient. If the patient has a serious illness, the healer will perhaps get a weaker strain but will still fall ill. Should the healer be mending a large, grievous wound that is scarcely past their capacity it is likely that the healer might become incapacitated perhaps out of blood loss or the excruciating pain that such a wound is bound to cause.

How does Curatio Manuum fit Seva?

Seva is a kind and compassionate person. It could be that instead of kicking and screaming she came out of her mother with a smile on her face, even though babies can't smile until they are much older. She grew up into a loving toddler who showed great affection for her foster mother and seemed to have an affinity for all things loving and good.

Seva continued to grow into an affectionate girl and always seemed to care, often too much, about any creature great or small. She loved people and animals equally and did not discriminate against anyone for any reason. She was and still is accepting of people despite perceived limitations or flaws. She has always had a knack for helping people and wanted from a young age to learn how to help and heal people. Seva is compassionate and kind, albeit a little grumpy sometimes, and has a huge heart. She is always looking to learn new things, mostly to find ways to help people so she can better the world around her.

Seva has always wanted to be a healer and as a young girl would try to play doctor and veterinarian to people and animals respectively. She was always trying to patch people up and try to make people feel better even resorting to toilet paper bandages and healing ideas and remedies from old wives tales that always tasted disgusting and never worked,

Curatio Manuum fits Seva because she has a healer's instinct and because of her desire to help people. Seva is also a skilled witch who is practiced at Charms, Transfiguration and potions, two subject matters that greatly benefit possessors of Curatio Manuum because the skills bolster the witch or wizard's skills. Seva also has extensive knowledge of the human body and applies that to her work as a healer in training.

Limitations of Curatio Manuum

•   The gift only works to heal pain from injuries and to cure simple maladies like a toothace or a anything caused by bacteria, it cannot cure viruses. It cannot knit large wounds back together and therefore cannot be used to heal penetrating trauma such a stab wounds. However, small nicks and grazes can be patched up with Curatio Manuum.
•   It is only possible through love, ardor or out of great affection.
•   Curatio Manuum cannot bring someone back from the dead, cure a terminally ill person, or cure a person with a mortal wound
•   This special feature cannot cure the user; it can only be used to cure others.

Future plots:
•   Seva discovers she has the ability. She is at work one day and realizes that the patient experienced relief but all she did was hold his hand and wish he could get better.
•   Seva becomes a mediwitch for the underground fight club, Grimli and contracts herself out to heal the fighters after matches. She is interviewed by Amaranth Stringfellow at Grimli one day and secures the job. The interview will be played out in this thread . All matches will be played out in subsequent threads as time permits. This will allow Seva ample opportunities to use her ability and grow in her skills.
•   After meeting Fabien Sanxay by chance in Diagon Alley, the two become fast friends and not long after, become more than friends. Afterward, Fabien becomes smitten with Seva and she returns his affections. She is moved by the pain he is in all the time and one day, while they are lying together, he is healed. Fabien is distressed by it, understandably so and Seva experiences great pain from the healing that causes her to fall unconscious for several days. Despite the pain inflicted and the several days spent in bed at St. Mungo’s, Seva is hooked on the rush harnessing the power of the ability caused in her and is determined  to try it again.
•    Seva is reunited with an old acquaintance, Tolfrey Khandra at St. Mungo’s one day. This meeting takes place after her successful, if not painful healing of Fabien and Seva is cocky and determined to see if she can do a repeat performance. She convinces Tolfrey to let her try and after laying hands on him, she is wracked with such severe pain that she practically begins to convulse. The healing is unsuccessful and Seva falls unconscious again and is out for far longer than she was with Fabien. When she wakes up she is still in severe pain and can barely move because of it. Seva feels defeated and becomes afraid of her ability, vowing that she’ll never do it again. This doesn’t last very long, but she still proceeds with great caution from then on and  is very picky as to who she heals, which makes her ability weaker; picking and choosing beneficiaries is not how the ability works.

RP sample using the feature:

Seva was exhausted, it had been a long and grueling rotation on the magical artifacts wing and she was still hours away from going home. Her eyes were drooping; the lids fluttering closed every few seconds and only lifted when she pinched herself. She was on a much needed coffee break and could feel the caffeine coursing through her veins already, she was that tired. So far, she’d seen several exploding cauldrons, a faulty time turner that had sent the user back the eighteen hundreds where they were nearly burned at the stake and a pesky quick quotes quill that was prone to poking its user in the eye. Her own eye lid had a dark ink stain on it; she had closed her eyes just in time but there was also a small scratch under the ink where the quill had dented her eyelid. Seva rubbed at the stain gently and then rubbed both eyes simultaneously. Her gaze flitted to the watch on her wrist and she cringed. Three more hours to go and only a minute left in her break.

Seva stood from her crouched position by the break room door and threw her coffee cup in the waste bin. Yawning, she stretched her arms over her head and rolled her neck once or twice to get out the kinks. She felt better already, the coffee already starting to kick in and energize her. Seva walked through the break room door and turned to go down the stairwell that led to the magical bugs floor. She stopped at a hand washing station and scrubbed at her hands, her right thigh pressing against the lever to turn the water on. She lathered for about thirty seconds then rinsed, letting the cold water flow over her hands and wake her up a little more. Seva dried her hands thoroughly then sidled through the closing door, her hands in the air like a surgeon.

There was a strain of dragon pox going around that was particularly nasty and she’d been asked to lend a hand with being that they were short handed. Seva peeked around the corner to look for a preceptor or other superior but only saw canary yellow robes like her own. While she waited, Seva donned a pair of gloves and walked around the wing. The charts were on a shelf at the mediwizard’s station but she didn’t have access to any yet. She couldn’t find a superior either. Had they all gone on lunch at the same time? That couldn’t be. Seva shrugged and continued to wander around the unit, her eyes scanning for robes a different color than her own.

Seva noticed a bed where an elderly wizard was laying alone in a corner with no visitors around him and no flowers or well wishes of any kind to be found anywhere. He appeared to have a healing case of dragon pox and judging by the crust he was no longer contagious. There was a vacant chair by his bed that Seva slid into quietly, hoping not to wake him. Her slight frame was enough to block the sunlight coming from the window, however and the shadow that she cast and the change in lighting was all the man needed to wake. Blinking the sleep out of his eyes, he turned to regard Seva and smiled slowly. He was handsome for an elderly man with close cropped white hair and deep brown eyes. He seemed very kind judging by his easy smile and the twinkle in his eyes.

Seva smiled back and reached out her hand and he grasped it with his own soft one. Taken aback by his strong grip, Seva loosened hers momentarily before squeezing his tightly. Her eyes crinkled as she smiled wider and she nodded respectfully at him. She felt terrible that he was all alone and ill. Her heart ached for him and she closed her eyes for a moment, hoping against hope that he’d get better and could return home. Then, something strange happened. She opened her eyes slowly and when she did she noticed something different about his appearance. All of his lesions seemed to have vanished and Seva could feel the heat of his fever ebbing out of the hand that she was clasping. Slightly shaken, Seva let her hand slip out of his grip and sat back in her chair.

Exasperated, Seva stood up and reached over to pull the sleeve of his pajamas up to his elbow. There was nothing – no lesion, no scabs, no redness or discoloration of any kind. In that moment, there were robes of every color gathered around the man’s bed; lime green, sky blue, yellow like her own and orange. Seva gazed around her and was momentarily annoyed that no one had been available when she needed them and now she was surrounded. Whispers were gathering around her like a swarm of gnats and she caught smatterings here and there.

Very difficult case…yes, particularly – no one knew what to do, we tried several different potions…he wasn’t contagious at the moment but he seemed to be going in cycles…wondrous, simply wondrous.

Seva flushed then and had to grab at the back of the chair to steady herself, she suddenly felt so overwhelmed. There was a crowd of people around her all pressing in at the same time and they all wanted to know the same thing. What had happened, how had she done it? What potion did she try? Seva shook her head fiercely and had to fight back the urge to cover her head in her hands. All she could do was smile daftly and hope that people would think that someone else had cured the old wizard, not little old Seva. Definitely not the girl who’d had to take the year off after Hogwarts to supposedly save up money. There had been rumors that she needed to remediate in potions twice and she’d barely passed Charms and Transfiguration. It couldn’t have possibly been that girl.

Finally, Seva’s preceptor found her in the crowd and grabbed her by the elbow steering her to the healer’s station in the back corner of the wing. His lime green robes and sharp features were a sight for her sore eyes and she opened her mouth to tell him so. Before she could, he shushed her and reached for the man’s chart and offered it to her. Seva nearly doubled over from its weight and struggled to reach the nearest chair so she could prop it up on her lap. His health history went back sixty five years and he had a string of recent illnesses, the pox being his least concern. Seva shook her head in utter disbelief. Her preceptor was speaking to her but all she heard was buzzing in her ears. He was saying something about a battery of tests to see if he was fully cured and that it would take a few days. She was told to go home and rest and that she looked half dead.

The next few days, Seva was excused from her clinical days pending a review and she barely left the house. On the fourth day, a large barn owl flew in her kitchen window with a letter strapped to its claw. The man, an eighty year old bachelor and retired shop keeper had been fully cured of all ailments. Seva was to report for duty the next morning and she was excused of all doubt. Seva reread the letter ten times before setting it down on the kitchen table and trudging over to her couch. There she collapsed and gazed forlornly into the fire place, her eyes unblinking. What did this mean? Seva had only held his hand and suddenly he was healed? That was impossible, completely and totally impossible. She had felt so deeply for him and simply willed him to get better and wished the best for him. And then it had happened, just like that.

Seva began shaking her head and as she did, tears were streaming down her face. She was so lost and confused and had no one to talk to about it. Eileen was a squib and did not know much about magic past what Seva had told her and what she’d heard from the daily prophet or the text books that Seva left at home. That and the fact that what Seva had done felt like more than magic had Seva flummoxed. Her face was soaked with tears and she drew her knees up to her chest, squeezing them tightly. She wasn’t sure if the tears were out of happiness or sorrow, she couldn’t place her emotions. What she did know was that she had done something special but knew not what to do from there. Seva shook her head again and buried her head in her knees, before closing her eyes tightly and letting the tears fall.

[jul]~ approved[/jul]

Name: HanHan
Character name: Theophilius Dayton
Feature you are applying for: Precognitive Seer (touch clairvoyant)
Description of the character:
     Personality: Theophilius is very caring and compassionate about everything in his life. He loves adventures and loves anything exciting, fun, and new. He keeps an open mind about life and people. This normally has him make the wrong decision on friends and choices. He feels everybody deserves a chance to prove that they are good, even if they are bad. When he is stressed he bottles it up and hides it with sarcasm. He likes feeling like he is tough even though he really is a squishy little panda bear. He is protective of his family and friends. He will do anything for these people. He is warm and gentle. Theo loves making people feel happy and comfortable. He cares more about other people than himself. He can be very jealous and insecure. This normally messes up any chances of a relationship that he can get. He gets very suspicious of them and thinks they are cheating. Then confronts the person and just makes them think differently of him. Theo feels like he can be better than what he is or even look better and does everything in his power to better himself every day.
     History: In school, Theo was never good at any spells. He did not have a magical bone in his body. When his fifth year came along he was put into Divination and found a talent in that class. He was able to do many of the things in that class. For once he had something that he was good at. This made it easier for school to go faster and made him have a passion. He loves Divination. It was one of the only things he was able to do. He felt like he was a squib even though he does have magic.

He did not discover he was a seer until recently right before the muggle issues. He was visiting his mother in Wales. He handed her a book about bogtails and touched her hand and an image flashed in front of his eyes. It was his mother telling them it was ok with bags in her arms. That was it. Nothing else. He wasn't sure what just happened. He just had a feeling when his mother was telling them that it was ok when it really wasn't. Shortly after that Theo left the house and just didn't know what to tell her. A couple months later his mother left to France and before they left their house in his care she was holding her bags and told him that is was ok. It was just like how his dream was. He was still trying to discover what is going on and why he had the visions. Since his stress went up since his mother went to France he did have any more visions since that incident.

Application:
     Introduction: I was always interested in this Special Feature. I wanted a character based off this Special Feature and how it could affect the life of the character. I made Theophilius around the idea that he never understood why he was never good at magic and why he cared about people so much. I can see him using his gift for good, but he does have the habit of not telling the good from the bad. This special feature will help Theo keep connections and build connections. It will tell him to be careful of the people closer to him and be more aware.  I understand that you cannot just make them see stuff that it involves plots and a lot of time. I will make sure that I get permission from the driver's before I mention the characters but they will be involved in plots with Theo.

These visions that he will get will help him mature. Theo just wants to keep being a kid and adventurous but all the visions he gets he doesn't see himself in and it makes him wonder what his own future is and what lies beyond the visions that he cannot see currently. He already is very insecure about his magical abilities and this would be a gift only he has. This will make himself feel amazing and special. He will actually have something that he can progress and work on. It would be his own little talent. Theo will have to learn to use it for good or bad. He would also have to learn how to control it or even attempt to make it work when he wants it to work.

Theo's gift is involved with touch, so this means that his visions normally comes with he touches skin to skin with a person... only occasionally it involves an object. Person and person contact is what causes his visions and they are normally just flashes of objects or a seen or even words. He does not have a full vision. It could be a flash or a knife and a person he knows, but nothing that shows him what is really going to happen fully. Theophilus will have to use his mind and work through all the signs or just guess at what happens which might even cause even more issues. Theo will just assume something is going to happen and actually be opposite of what he assumed originally.

Future plots: Theo and Artie Bane (Chrissy) are best friends. They have been best friends since school when they started to have a romantic relationship. During Theo's seventh year and Artie's fifth year they were a couple and broke it off when Theo went to school. She had been that one person he wanted to be with. He traveled around the world and she is the only person that keeps his mind on an interest of how she is doing or what is she doing. We are planning to have a plot involving these two and their future. Recently the two begun to see each other more often. She has been helping him relax more and be himself. During this time he has another vision and it is a vision of what her job that she chosen(hit-witch) and he instantly becomes concerned with her life. This causes more issues with the two because he still feels for her but does not want her doing things that will cause her harm or involving someone dying. Theo has to figure out ways to deal with that vision and during this time would have another vision around her that makes him second guess everything. This vision is the future of the two and knows Artie has a future with children in her life and a happy marriage. He is not sure who the father/husband is but wants to do everything in his power to make sure that she does not mess up her happy future. Theo puts her future before his own, even though they are connected in the future together.

There is another plot that I was thinking about doing involving the Daily Prophet. Theo just is discovering that he could see the future of person that he touches. So when he interviews a witch/wizard I would love to have him shake their hands and see their future. He discovers that the story would be useful to the Prophet he would write about it and then wait until it actually happens to get the real scoop faster than everybody else. Basically, Theo will be using his gift to his advantage at work.

Another plot that I would love to do is just Theo consulting other 'known' seers. He would not know what this gift is or even what he should be doing with it. This would bring in his love of Divination and more connections to his life. He would have to learn what to do to control his gift and emotions. He would also learn the good and bad of the gift from that person from their experiences or what they know.
RP sample using the feature:

The sun rose and so did Theophilus Dayton. This man was normally not a morning person but he was going to see her best friend today. They decided that they would spend more time together and today was going to be a day out in the town. The woman he was going to see was the only person that he loved. She was everything to him. He felt that way since they were children and after what happened to his mother she was still the only person that could make him feel like home. Artemis was the only thing that kept him happy for long periods of time or even made him feel good about himself. Most of time Theo felt worthless. He never felt like he was deserving of anybody in his life, but she was one of the people he wished he deserved. Their plans consisted of going out to the lunch and then an art museum. At least she could enjoy the finer things in life like Theophilus. As he dressed he put a grey tee shirt and muggle blue jeans on and just a pair of slip on shoes. Theo never tried to make himself look better than what he is around Artie. She never made a comment on the weird clothes he wore or even if he wore his favorite muggle bands shirts. Maybe it was because they were friends for so long. He was never sure. She was pretty accepting of everything of his but women.

When he was ready he used the floo network to get to the Diagon Alley so that they would meet there. He was not good with many spells so the Floo Network was the easiest way to get around. With a pop and smoke he made it to some random trinket store in Diagon Alley. He was not thinking of this place. His mind was on something else though, so that was probably the reason why the floo powder took him here. The store did have Artemis in the name. A smile formed as he waved to the associate that was working and made his way to the street. He knew where he was going at least and did not take much time to get to the cafe they were meeting at. As soon as Theo seen the woman he was meeting he smiled brightly. "Miss me, Artie Tartie?" He smiled brightly at the woman and went right up behind her and gave her a kiss on the cheek. As soon as he laid his lips on her cheek he was taken somewhere else...

The place he was taken to looked like Knockturn Alley. There were wizards and witches on the street peddling many different objects with dark cloaks and just looked intimating. The area was dark and looked as if there was no moon out tonight. Theo was moving through the area like he was ghost. He could see what was going on but could not speak to anybody. The moment flashed again to another vision. This was in a isolated alley. It was close to some sort of magical watch and jewelry store. A man stood outside the store looking around scared. He was a man about his forties with salt and pepper hair. He had a dark green cloak over his outfit so Theo could not see what he was wearing. Yet his face seemed terrified. In front of him was a woman, she was beautiful but still looked dangerous. As he got closer he realized that woman was Artie. What?! She was holding a knife and instantly he heard a scream and the vision cut out. It was short, but that was enough.

As he snapped back to reality he was standing there in front of Artie like the man was before hand. She did not look dangerous here, but happy and beautiful. Theo instantly moved his arms away from the woman and looked at her deeply. What was this about? He had this happen only once and it was about his mother and was not this long or descriptive. He really did not even want to touch her right now. He was afraid of seeing something else. Theo felt like he was going to puke. "We need to talk." He was more concerned with the vision. He was not sure if it was the man screaming or the woman. He was not sure if she even noticed he disappeared there for a second. She looked as concerned as he did though, so hopefully talking to her brought some answers.


*Thank you Chrissy for letting me mention Artie. <333