*The Rules (2)

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Professor Albus Dumbledore

Hogwarts Headmaster
Defense Against the Dark Arts

Posts: 1,471

*The Rules (2) Jun 26, 2007 10:43:02 GMT -5

Post by Professor Albus Dumbledore on Jun 26, 2007 10:43:02 GMT -5

This second part of the rules deals with applications and characters.

{ H O W . T O . C R E A T E . A . C H A R A C T E R }

GRADUATES
"Can I have a graduated character?" Yes, yes you can, but only if the character you pick up is a canon graduate, or if, by the end of the school year, your character - who was previously a Seventh year - graduates. You may see the canon list here.

NO PERFECT CHARACTERS
And by "perfect" we mean "no Mary-Sues or Gary-Sues", please! No one is perfect, we all have flaws, and since we try to be as realistic as possible on this site, we'd prefer that you keep the description of your characters fairly simple. Make your character more relateable! Give him or her imperfections - maybe he has a crooked nose, or she has frizzy hair. We realise that your characters are depicted by celebrities and models, but even they don't look perfect all the time - we all know most of that is just airbrushing and make up anyway!
And it's not just physical imperfections, either - like we said, nobody is perfect. We all know it's hard to make a flawed character because you may be afraid that no one will want to plot with them, or they won't like them, but it's the flaws and quirks that make up the personality and makes them truly unique! Otherwise, if everyone was super strong, super gorgeous, super intelligent, super nice, and, well, super everything good, then there would no diversity and it'd make for a rather boring RP, don't you think?
Having a character who is constantly depressed or constantly happy can be quite annoying. These characters are people too! They have their ups and their downs. Even the more shy characters can have their outbursts at times! Also, even some extremely happy characters who are nice to everybody have enemies (even if they do not know about it). Please do not have a terribly depressed character known as "emos". If you have read the Harry Potter books, you will notice that hardly any of the teenage characters have tattoos, odd piercings, or even a criminal record.
We also understand that some wizards are talented at various subjects, but nobody is amazing. For example, a character may have a knack for Charms and Transfiguration, but has the lowest score in their class at Defense Against the Dark Arts. Have variety!

NO MYTHOLOGICAL CHARACTERS
We're sorry, but we do not allow any of those creatures - no vampires, demons, zombies, veela, dragons, et cetera, not even half. Also, there was only one werewolf ever studying at Hogwarts as far as we know, and that was Remus Lupin. If you're looking to play a mythological creature then, we're afraid ISS isn't for you.

FACECLAIMS
Use a celebrity who looks the age of your character. It's unrealistic to expect an actor who is over thirty years old to play a sixteen year old. There are plenty of young actors and actresses available to you. If we believe that the celebrity you picked is not realistic, we may ask you to change it before accepting your application. Please be realistic! You can find FC help on this site!
After your application is accepted, the celebrity you listed will immediately be added to the list of taken celebrities. (The fourth letter is 'C').
Once you've been accepted, please refrain from posting your character's Face Claim on the list. A member of the staff will take care of it and add it by default. So please be patient. This is to avoid over-cluttering on lists and whatnot.
You may change your celeb if no one else is using them, of course, and if they look similar enough to your previous selection. If you decide you want to change your celeb, just re-post in the Face Claim listings. We will switch it in your application and in the listings. (Please note that you may only change celebs up to two times.).
Reservations for a celeb may be made here. If you make a claim on Jane it will last for three days. This means no other member may reserve her or post an application with Jane as their celebrity. Until the three days are up, Jane is off limits.
If your character has a photo album, you can reserve celebrities for their parents or guardians. However, to keep from having too many younger celebrities being reserved, you may not reserve face claims for your characters' siblings/friends/cousins. To see the rules and full list, click here

Last Edit: Aug 11, 2012 14:50:56 GMT -5 by Professor Albus Dumbledore

Professor Albus Dumbledore

Hogwarts Headmaster
Defense Against the Dark Arts

Posts: 1,471

*The Rules (2) Jun 26, 2007 10:46:13 GMT -5

Post by Professor Albus Dumbledore on Jun 26, 2007 10:46:13 GMT -5

{ Y O U R . A P P L I C A T I O N }

BASIC INFORMATION
Do not submit the application unfinished, because it will be deleted immediately (with the app PMed to you). All fields musst be filled out completely and to the specifications.
Do not edit the form or alignment. The form is made the way it is because it's easier to read. Plus, editing the form is a little rude, don't you think?
If your character is an original, whichever staff member accepts your application will sort him or her into the appropriate house. We do our best to respect your character and how you view them; however, pushing for a house is not appreciated, as it is disrespectful to the staff (not to mention irritating).
Once your application has been accepted, it will be locked. Make sure it's exactly how you want it before you post it, because you won't be able to edit it after.
Please ensure your application does not exceed one post. Although we love that you're in depth with your characters, an application exceeding one post gets a little lengthy. If you’ve done your shortening and feel like it somehow takes away from the application or just isn’t “right,” then feel free to add an extra post (same thread) with any further – but not critical – information. It could simply be a paragraph of leftover thoughts, or a whole other post with information. Just know the second post is not guaranteed to be read by the staff when undergoing sorting.
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HOW TO FILL OUT THE APPLICATION

[*img]av1

[/img] [*img]av2[/img] [*img]av3[/img]
{these are three 100x100 avatars of your character}

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a b o u t . y o u ![/center]
Name: What can we call you? Please only list one name. You can put your real name or whatever you go by (i.e. nicknames, internet aliases) – preferably not your character’s name (multiple characters with the same name can get confusing).
Preferred Pronouns: What pronouns make you comfortable with how you identify? (Male, female, he, she, hir, pangender, etc.)
Age: How old are you?
E-mail: We are requiring you to give us an e-mail address that you will reply to should we send you something. It’s mostly for safety measures, if (heaven forbid) something should happen to ISS. It’s just a means for us to contact you.
Twitter and/or Tumblr: If you’ve got a Twitter account, we’ll follow you back! Hit us up at @twitiss, the official ISS Twitter. Other tweeting members are listed here. As well, if you have a Tumblr or even an ISS/Roleplay-specific Tumblr, chances are members will follow you back from their ISS-tumblrs. Please note that all actual roleplaying between characters is done on I Solemnly Swear, not on Tumblr.
Years of RPG Experience: How many years have you been roleplaying? No specific amount is required.
Other:

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q u i c k . q u i z !

How did you find us? A site we affiliate with (if yes, please list where), Google search, recommendation (if yes, who)?
What about ISS inspired you to join? What caught your attention that determined your decision to join us?
Do you have any suggestions for us? Is there something we can do for you to make ISS a better place?

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a b o u t . t h e . c h a r a c t e r !

Name: Simple. List your character's full name.
Date of Birth: When was your character born? Currently, ISS is in 1978. The age must match your character's year. In Hogwarts, students are never 15 in their sixth year or anything like that. It's more likely they will be seventeen half-way through their sixth year - as that's how the dates work out. Nobody may skip a year or fail. If you fail, you are immediately expelled from Hogwarts.
Gender: Male, female, etc.
Year: See “date of birth.”
Face Claim: View list of taken celebrities. As well, please check the Major Canons list, as those have been assigned face claims. Face claims should look like the character you’re playing: they can’t be 20 years old acting as a first year character. Please be sensible about this. And yes, it is required you pick a celebrity to be the face of your character.

Canon or Original? This is the reason there is no 'house' field. If your character is a canon, they will be put into the house that is listed for them. If your character is original, as mentioned before, you will be sorted into a house based on your personality and history. But don't try and get around this rule by saying they are 'brave', 'bookish', 'shrewd' or 'loyal' because it's just so transparent. Don't push for a house.

Distinguishing Physical Features: Minimum 1 paragraph; you may write more if you wish. Because your character has a celebrity face claim, describing every feature is not necessary. However, if your character has anything distinguishable that is not part of the celebrity (or is, but has an in-character back-story), please describe it here. For example, the celebrity may be tall but your character may be short, or your character has a tattoo. Even how your character feels about his/her own appearance can go here.

Wand Type: What sort of wand does your character use? What area does it excel in? Example: Willow and unicorn hair, 12". Flexible but sturdy, good for Herbology.
Patronus: No minimum. What form does your character's Patronus take? Please note that the Patronus Charm is not part of the Hogwarts curriculum and therefore is not a lesson students learn. This section is more another way to assess your character's personality rather than to be taken literally.
Boggart: No minimum. What form would a boggart take in front of your character? Describe to us their greatest fear.

Personality: Minimum 4 paragraphs; you may write more if you wish. Describe your character's basic personality: their fears, dreams, what makes them really happy, really sad or anything else.

Likes: List your character's various life joys. You must have a minumum of five, but a maximum of ten.
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Dislikes: List your character's various life pet peeves. You must have a minimum of five, but a maximum of ten.
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History: Minimum 3 paragraphs; you may write more if you wish. Describe your character's past. This can include their first pet, their first experience with magic or anything else that might effect who they are today.

Sample Post: Minimum 4 paragraphs; you may write more if you wish. Provide a post that fits how you regularly reply to threads. It can be from another site (of any genre – Harry Potter, human, animal, etc…).

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c o n t r a c t !

I solemnly swear that I, YOUR NAME HERE, have read the rules, understand clearly what my responsibilities are now that I am joining ISS, and will abide by these standards set by the staff.

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(The last letter is 'O'. If you've been reading carefully, you should now have a full word. This goes in the Other field of your application, to prove that you have read the rules.)

_{Credit for stock icons goes to green_bottles
for dally_in_dreams at livejournal.}

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Last Edit: Aug 11, 2012 14:43:30 GMT -5 by Professor Albus Dumbledore