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The last few weeks since receiving the owl have been a blur. Magic. Books. Wands. Robes. London. Finally, on September 1st, Platform 9 and ¾.You've arrived and to think, all of that was merely a prelude to the real adventure: Hogwarts! Through the seemingly solid brick wall at Kings Cross you burst out onto the hidden platform (for a muggleborn this being the largest display of magic you've seen so far) and are confronted with the great steam engine boldly entitled 'Hogwarts Express'. The platform is full of people young and old, all calling, shouting, crying. There are crashes as trolleys collide and trunks loaded onto the train, bangs and sparks as enthusiastic young wizards and witches try out their magic and screeches and yells from the small menagerie of familiars that a few lucky students bring with them. But through the chaos you say your goodbyes to those who you're leaving behind, board the train and, as the hour reaches eleven, you depart. There's a crunch, the carriages jerk and suddenly the platform starts to move past, the hordes of waving wizards and witches proudly waving their children off. In only a few seconds they're gone and the train is its own little world, separated from the streets and houses that surround it, at least for the next few hours. The train is separated into large compartments with plush red cushioned benches along the side walls and a small table by the window. Older students quickly see their school friends and bundle themselves into compartments, closing the doors or just moving along stragglers and nervous first years until eventually six first years find themselves together in a compartment. Cartimandua Burke, Elizabeth Dawson, Martin Green, Jacqueline Tanzer, Yannick van der Rijn, Scot Woodham. Six brand new students, all with such different pasts and one great united future all sit down, glancing at each other nervously as a slightly awkward silence falls, ready to be broken with the first greeting. Hi and welcome! Please use this opportunity to get into character and learn things about each others characters. Please post your aspects, approaches and stunts in your first post. I don't have any set events for the train ride in so please just converse about whatever and when that slows down I'll move everyone into Hogwarts properly for the Sorting and the welcome speeches. The longer everyone talks, the longer I have to come up with a good Sorting Hat song as well. People of Interest Faculty Headmistress Minerva McGonagall Deputy Head Goodwin Nitt, Head of Slytherin, Minstry of Magic Liaison, Teacher of Muggle Relations Hagrid, Groundskeeper, Part-time teacher of Care of Magical Creatures Wilhelmina Grubbly-Plank, Part time teacher of Care of Magical Creatures Filch, Caretaker Aurora Sinistra, Teacher of Astronomy Professor Binns, Teacher of History of Magic Filius Flitwick, Head of Ravenclaw, Teacher of Charms Pomona Sprout, Head of Hufflepuff, Teacher of Herbology Rolanda Hooch, Flying Instructor and Head of Activities Hermann Aurach, Teacher of Potions Callidora Golpalott, Teacher of DADA Jessica Richards, Head of Gryffindor, Teacher of Transfigurations First Years Ravenclaw Jacqueline Tanzer - Dr Pepper Yannick van der Rijn - Jade Mage Cartimandua "Kate" Burke - zachol Scot Woodham - Twibbit Martin Green - Epsilon Plus Elizabeth Dawson – Shogeton Amber Rosebottom Slytherin Edward Thorpe Rosalind Archer Iris Kincaid Gryffindor Peter Ashton Sean Lewis Andrew Buckson Hufflepuff Frank Rosebottom Grace Flume Third Years Slytherin Fiona Flynn Third Years Ravenclaw Richard, Prefect Seventh Years Ravenclaw Camilla, Head Girl Course Syllabus None yet namesake fucked around with this message at 22:44 on Jul 29, 2014 |
# ? Jun 20, 2014 23:17 |
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# ? Apr 24, 2024 12:48 |
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Martin Green - Compartment It's been a strange past few weeks. Learning magic runs in his family, shopping with his mother and grandmother, and as September 1st approached an odd kind of... static was in the air. Hugging his mother, nodding respectfully to his grandmother and receiving a clap on the shoulder from his father (which may have turned into a brief hug, as nobody was looking), he boards the train and struggles down the hallway to a compartment. "Well, at least this lot looks like first-years too," he thinks to himself, after a few minutes of sitting with his long limbs pressed close to his body. Still in mostly-Muggle clothes (new ones, at least - a black t-shirt, jeans and trainers), he fills a bit... out of place. "Hello." He coughs. "Uh. Hello. My name's Martin. Is this... a bit strange to anyone else? My mother tried to explain it all to me in a month but I'm not entirely sure I followed everything..." quote:Martin Green
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# ? Jun 20, 2014 23:32 |
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Scot Woodham "I got over the 'this is strange' thing when I realized that-hey I get to learn to make things into other things, like frogs, or explosions!" says the way too enthusiastic child. "I mean I have been waiting for this for two whole years now! Oh, the name is Scot. And this orange ball of fuzz getting my robes hairy is Bitey. Say hello Bitey," says Scot as he forcibly raises one of the cat's paws in a waving motion. quote:Name: Scot Woodham
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# ? Jun 20, 2014 23:51 |
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Kate Burke Kate glances over, relaxed, with a faint smile on her face, speaking in a clear yet soft, airy voice. "Oh, are you both muggle-born?" She grins particularly at Martin. "You'll get over it in a few weeks. It's positively boring at the start. Classes and books, on and on." She relaxes, looking back out the window, scratching her own cat behind the ears. She's dressed in robes, crisp and neat, keeping her posture prim and solid without being stiff, with an appearance of being completely in her element. "There are a few oddities that will take some getting used to. The stairways move, for example, which doesn't happen generally. But overall it's a fairly much like a normal public school." She looks back again. "Oh, my name is Cartimandua Burke. Though, please just call me 'Kate.'" pre:High Concept: Heir to an Antique House Trouble: Seriously Not a Dark Witch You Guys Other Aspects: Blood Doesn't Matter My Great-Great-Uncle I Was Tutored In This, Duh Approaches: Careful +3 Clever +2 Sneaky +2 Forceful +1 Quick +1 Flashy +0 Stunts: Oh Just Give it a Push: Once per session, when someone has already failed, Kate can exasperatedly get it done as if she were being careful. Burke Family Technique: +2 to carefully counter and unravel curses and wards. Refresh: 3 zachol fucked around with this message at 00:20 on Jun 21, 2014 |
# ? Jun 21, 2014 00:13 |
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Martin Green "I don't think we had many moving stairways... but I do remember reading about those." He rummages through a bag, and comes up with a circa-1970s printing of Hogwarts, A History. "My mum gave me this. She's a witch, but I guess she was... hiding it? She didn't mention the stairs. Maybe she just got used to them quickly. I hope I do." He clears his throat. "But, yeah. I'm... pretty much a Muggle? I guess?" The unfamiliar word rolls out of his mouth a little too quickly, betraying his nerves. "I'm not totally lost. But... mostly. Mostly lost. I've been reading all summer, to catch up. My books, and some my family gave me. Spells, and castles, and Houses, and potions and enchantments... it's like something out of a story. But it's not. I mean, it's how my grandmum lost her eye and why my mum can't walk right and oh man that's too much to say..." Martin fiddles with his book for a minute, then cringes. "Sorry. Um. Nice to meet you. Kate, I mean. Nice to meet you, Kate," he mumbles. He extends his hand, quietly thankful that it's not trembling or sweaty. "Sorry, I'm not usually this bad. I think my grandmum scared me a little on the whole magic thing. She's very serious. About everything."
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# ? Jun 21, 2014 00:54 |
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Jacqueline Tanzer "So your parents are wizards?" Jackie said, glancing over from her seat across the isle. "Oh hi. I'm Jacqueline Tanzer, Jackie for short." With a wave she continued, "I mean... I didn't even know that magic existed until a month ago. It's crazy and cool!" She held up a bag of candies she had gotten before the trip at Diagon alley. "You guys want some? Oh... but watch out for the Dragon Pops. They make you breathe fire a little." She had learned that the hard way and all magic candy had been prohibited eating in the house by her mother. pre:High Concept: Emthusiastic Newcomer Touble: Acts Without Thinking Other Aspects: Stranger in a Magic Land Young Nerd in Training Explosive Booksmarts Flashy +3 Clever +2 Forceful +2 Quick +1 Sneaky +1 Careful +0 Stunts: If it's not Flashy it's not Magic: Gains a +2 to rolls when casting big flashy magic. (As in spells that make loud noises, explosions, and other big effects) I Remember Reading That: Once per session I can find a book to reveal an aspect of a problem Refresh: 3 Dr Pepper fucked around with this message at 01:12 on Jun 21, 2014 |
# ? Jun 21, 2014 01:01 |
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Kate Burke "Oh, so you were just raised muggle-style? Well, either way. Doesn't really matter, there are plenty of muggle-borns in the same position. Don't worry too much about the stairs, they just make it a little more confusing to get around, knowing which halls connect with which other ones at the right time of day." She waves a hand at Jackie in a sort of 'no thanks' gesture, "Anyway, you're not a muggle, you're a wizard. You've got magic and everything. Hogwarts is good at its job. We've had squibs slide in before a few times, but we've never just had a muggle-born or half-blood come in and end up being just a... muggle." Her smile flickers, expression turning a little bit grim and irritated. "Although I'll have to apologize ahead of time on behalf of my house. There are still some people hanging on to outdated opinions. Don't listen to them, they're just being foolish." She looks away, grumbling under her breath.
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# ? Jun 21, 2014 01:58 |
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Martin Green "Oh, do you have, uh... Chocolate Frogs? I'm collecting the cards. They're kind of interesting. I already have two of Merlin..." He looks at Kate. "Oh, do you know your House already? I thought you had to... wait. To get there. My mum explained it to me. She was from Ravenclaw. My grandmum was in... Slytherin? The snake one. I think that's where she wants me to go. I... don't really care, I guess. Is it really important or something?"
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# ? Jun 21, 2014 03:12 |
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Kate Burke Kate laughs, motioning to the green trim on her robe, and green tie. Indeed, on second glance, her entire outfit looks fairly well-worn. "Well I don't know know, but Burkes have been attending Hogwarts since before there was a castle, and, to my understanding, every single one's been sorted into Slytherin. Which is a bit rare, even the Blacks had Sirius." She sniffs, suppressing a grin. "It doesn't matter terribly much, but you'll naturally end up spending more time with your housemates. I mean, they switch classes around so there's two houses per, pretty evenly, so you'll only be in classes with some individual house a quarter of the time, but you'll be with your own house all the time. And, there're common rooms, and for dining you're tabled with the rest of your house. Anyway, you don't want to be in Slytherin if you can help it. Nasty lot." She blinks, then glances away, suddenly ruffled. "Er, no offense to your grandmum, I mean."
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# ? Jun 21, 2014 03:52 |
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Jacqueline Tanzer "Sure thing! Have a bunch of those..." She pulled out a chocolate frog, tossing it over to Martin. "The houses all sound kind of neat, well, from what I read about them." (A new Wizard's Guide to Hogwarts had been the first book she'd read after getting home from Diagon Alley. Vert helpful) "Something wrong with any of them?" Dr Pepper fucked around with this message at 05:34 on Jun 21, 2014 |
# ? Jun 21, 2014 05:28 |
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Martin Green "Hrm..." Martin unwraps the Frog, bites down into it and... "Merlin again. Oh. Heh..." He looks up. "D'you have Merlin? You can have the card." "No," he says, swallowing. "No offense taken. I mean, she... kind of said the same thing. But a little differently? She was a... Auror? Is that what they're called? She said she had a pretty strong opinion about Slytherins, even when she was one. My mum was too. They warned me about Slytherin... but they also said they're not all bad! You seem nice. Um." He then busies himself looking away, towards the floor, while he finishes the chocolate. Blush is creeping into his cheeks. "Sorry." "I kind of want to be in Ravenclaw. Or Gryffindor, maybe. I don't know. I just want to be a wizard, really."
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# ? Jun 21, 2014 05:43 |
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Kate Burke "Ha! Well, that's the sort of attitude that gets you into Hufflepuff." Kate grins, relaxing again, and flicks her head. "Aurors, though? That's good to hear. I mean, there've been plenty of Slytherins that aren't bad, it's just that... well, even if not all the Slytherins are bad, all the bads are Slytherin." She shrugs, looking back out the window. "Anyway, I'm counting on some of my mates to be decent. It's more the older kids you'll have to watch out for."
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# ? Jun 21, 2014 06:03 |
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Scot Woodham "House does not really matter to me, in the end we all get to attend the same classes right?" Scot asks. "Mum has been letting me read some of her old school books over the summer, but she left out all the charms-'don't want you setting the house on fire'"
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# ? Jun 21, 2014 08:52 |
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Elizabeth Dawson Elizabeth was sitting near the window, being a bit nervous as everyone talked. It had been a long boat ride, and there had been a lot of things to see in London. Her parents and brothers had seen her off, with the former reminding her to make them proud and that they believed in her. When chocolate frogs were offered she took one. "Ah, thank you very much." she said with a Virginian accent. "I'm Elizabeth Dawson, nice to meet you." She took a bit of time looking at the frog before eating it, taking out the card. "Hmm, this is good. I've got Circe." The picture showed a Greek looking woman giving the viewer a threatening look. "Anyone collect these?" Maybe she should start collecting them? The chocolate WAS very good. She looked at Burke. "What kind of thing should we be watching out for from the older kids? Things are... a lot different here than back home." Shogeton posted:Elizabeth Dawson
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# ? Jun 21, 2014 11:42 |
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Kate Burke "Well, you know what happened with Riddle? The madman? The older kids were still around during that era, and a few were loyal. Or even if they weren't, they were still present when all the... you know..." Kate sort of trails off, trying to think of a way to explain it. A few times she has a false start of picking up where she left off, before giving up. "Well, the point is, older Slytherins can be rather mean, talking about 'purity,' but don't mind them." She's flustered, but then focuses on Elizabeth. "Oh. Are you American?"
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# ? Jun 21, 2014 16:32 |
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Scot Woodham He looks to Kate quizzically as he takes one of the chocolate frogs, "Riddle? ... OH you mean Voldemort. The guy with no nose." As he unwraps his frog it unfortunately makes its escape "Blast! Try not to step on it-Oh hey I was wanting a Flamel card."
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# ? Jun 22, 2014 00:04 |
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Martin Green Martin gropes for the Frog and manages to seize it, passing it back to Scot. "Oh, I've got Circe. Do you want Merlin? They're kind of fun to collect... do they not have Chocolate Frogs over there? Why go to Hogwarts?"
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# ? Jun 22, 2014 20:32 |
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Elizabeth Dawson "Oh, sure, thanks." She smiles brightly as she is offered the Merlin card. "No, they don't have these there. My brothers always collected Magicmals cards though. But they mostly do it because he had some fighting thing going on with those cards. I always thought real animals were cooler. And they never let me handle them anyway. Do you think we can buy them at Hogwarts?" The questions about her origin and why she came to Hogwards make the girl sit a bit straighter. It was a thing her parents had really gotten on her case. Respectful and complimentary towards Hogwarts without denigrating her own country. "Eh, yeah, I'm American. From Virginia. We got good schools there of course, but Hogwarts is really famous. I mean... eh... even before... those things a few years ago. I mean, they got really great teachers and a big library. And I want to become as good a witch as I can so, my parents sent me here." When the topic of Voldemort came up she looks curious but remains quiet.
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# ? Jun 22, 2014 21:48 |
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Kate Burke "Yeah, I've heard good things about Salem. Mmm, America, that's fascinating. You'll have to tell me all about it sometime!" She waves a hand dismissively when 'Voldemort' is mentioned. "Riddle was a vindictive madman. My grandfather was in Slytherin, in his fifth year when when Riddle started, and had some very strong opinions about him."
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# ? Jun 22, 2014 22:27 |
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Martin Green "My grandmum was... involved, I guess, fighting... uh, him, I think. The first time. Everyone got really antsy when I asked about it." Martin dodges the name "Voldemort" the best he can - he saw one mention in the very tail end of a history book him mother bought him when he expressed some curiosity about this new wizarding world, and it still came with the phrase "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named". "She and my mum don't talk about it much, I think. I've read a little, but it feels... distant. It's like learning about The War, or something." He spends a few seconds looking down at his shoes, composing himself before looking back up. "I want to be the best, too. That I can be, I mean. Not, like, a legend or anything, that might be a bit much - I already feel far behind. But I think I can be good if I try. But.. America. That's neat. Your parents must think you're special if they sent you all the way over here."
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# ? Jun 23, 2014 04:21 |
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Yannick van der Rijn Yannick, sitting by the door with a cloak over his head had refused to rouse from his hidey hole since the others had entered. Without moving, he whispers "Sorry to cut in, but did those big guys in green go away?" He peeks out from under his cloak. "They tried to take my chocolate from home, so I pantsed the big one and hid in here. I'm just glad I'm not the only one not from around here. I'm Yannick! I'm from the Netherlands. Honestly I don't know much about... Voldemort. My mother refused to talk about him, calling him only 'Naamloos'. Nice to meet you all though!" pre:Yannick van der Rijn High Concept: Quiet half-blood in searching for friends Trouble: I... uhhh... okay. *slinks away* Aspects: Just you wait... Yannick has his troubles with dealing with people, that's nothing special. But he has a tendency to develop grudges, sometimes ones he really shouldn't. Invoke to: get even. Compel to: "Dang it man, now is not the time for revenge!" or "Dude chill the heck out, it's no big deal" This sounds like a problem for... SOMEBODY ELSE, RUN-THE-HELL-AWAY! Yannick has learned that sometimes the best way to deal with a problem is to outrun it. Invoke to: Escape from a problem Compel to: Make Yannick's teeth chatter in terror or otherwise psyche him out. It's okay, I've got your back Though all his luck, good and bad, all Yannick wants is to be a part of a group. So when he gets friends, he'll defend them tooth and nail. Invoke to: Back up friends. Compel to: Get peer pressured into doing things. Approaches: Sneaky +3 Quick +2 Careful +2 Forceful +1 Clever +1 Flashy +0 Stunts: It's time: Yannick gets a +2 to Sneakily cast a spell on someone he has previously voiced a grudge against. CHEESE IT: Yannick gets a +2 to Quickly overcome when trying to flee from something. Jade Mage fucked around with this message at 05:36 on Jun 23, 2014 |
# ? Jun 23, 2014 05:03 |
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Kate Burke "The Netherlands? Really! I had no idea there were going to be so many foreign students. Father might have mentioned it, but still, two out of six. Fantastic. You speak... Dutch, then? Well, English too, obviously, but Dutch? Or is it French? Is there a school in the Netherlands, even, or would you have had to go to... Beauxbatons, I'd suppose?" She sniffs, glancing around. "There's just us six, and the door's shut, so it should be safe to come out."
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# ? Jun 23, 2014 05:22 |
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Yannick Sighing, Yannick removes his robe from his head. "Yeah, I speak Dutch and English, and would've been going to Beauxbatons if we'd stayed in the Netherlands. My mom went there, and she said that the extra years worth of education means it's a lot more comprehensive. Still, since we moved to Britain, it's high-ho Hogwarts, awaaaay!"
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# ? Jun 26, 2014 04:03 |
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Scot "Well nice to meet you then, How long have you been in Britain anyways?" asks Scot.
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# ? Jun 26, 2014 17:43 |
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Elizabeth Elizabeth blushes a bit at the compliment. "My parents sure were on my case enough about learning my basics. I guess I'll find out how special I am." The attention turned to the Dutch boy, and she smiled. "Well, at least I won't be the only foreigner at the school. Maybe you can give me some tips on how to be properly English."
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# ? Jun 26, 2014 21:50 |
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Martin Green "The Netherlands? Wow... that's pretty neat, too. I guess I never thought about there being other schools." He thinks. "What other schools are there? Is it, like, one or two for every country, or..." He trails off, lost in thought, until Elizabeth speaks again - about 'the basics'. "Oh. I'm worried about 'my basics'. I mean, I know I won't be too far behind because I did get at least a little learning done last month, but still... my mum says I'll be okay, though. She says she thinks I've got some talent for wandwork, actually." He brushes his jeans down across his knees, his long fingers absentmindedly pressing against some stray wrinkles. "So...maybe I'll be okay? What did your family teach you?" he asks Elizabeth.
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# ? Jun 27, 2014 00:55 |
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Yannick van der Rijn "I'm three years British!" Yannick declares proudly, before staring blankly at Elizabeth. "See... This is one moment where my English sucks. Is that sarcasm? It is, isn't it." Yannick goes a little red in the face, but watches as they talk about the basics. Jade Mage fucked around with this message at 00:12 on Jun 30, 2014 |
# ? Jun 27, 2014 04:17 |
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Elizabeth "Eh, no. I just mean, you've been a foreigner in England a lot longer than I have. So maybe you know some things I got to look out for... and stuff." The nattention shifts to her again. "Well, my family has an old estate in Virginia. So we have a lot of room for magical plants and animals. So, I know a fair bit of those. And they told me some stuff about spirits and ghosts too. Mostly a long list of things I shouldn't ever do because it's dangerous."
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# ? Jun 29, 2014 12:40 |
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Kate Burke "Hmm? Like what?" She looks pensive for a moment, then shrugs. "They'll tell you at orientation, but Hogwarts only has the one dangerous area, the forest. And the lake, I suppose, if you go past the shore. And obviously the restricted part of the library, and certain ingredients in the potions storeroom, but that's, um, obvious. Besides that there's really nothing to worry about." She smiles. "And there are ghosts. Several, in fact. One's even a teacher. They're quite nice. I don't know about... spirits, though?" zachol fucked around with this message at 20:46 on Jun 29, 2014 |
# ? Jun 29, 2014 18:59 |
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Jacqueline Tanzer "Ghosts? Really? Wow they're real too? And we have a ghost teacher! Awesome!"
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# ? Jun 29, 2014 20:26 |
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Yannick van der Rijn Yannick shakes his head "No. A ghost teacher would be terrible, if you didn't do your homework it would haunt you. Spirits sound like fun though, wonder if they're just like happy ghosts or something?"
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# ? Jun 30, 2014 00:11 |
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Martin Green "I'd feel more bad for the teacher than me. Being a ghost and teaching the same thing every year must be... boring. And kind of sad, I'd think. Not that I know much about ghosts, but..." Martin looks slightly downcast at the thought of being a teacher forever.
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# ? Jun 30, 2014 03:50 |
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Kate Burke "What I heard is that only people with 'unfinished business' stick around as ghosts, and that it's pretty rare. He must really like teaching, I'd think."
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# ? Jun 30, 2014 03:53 |
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Elizabeth Elizabeth pondered it. "Well, spirits are... kinda like ghosts but they're not dead people. They're like... places. Like springs or forests or some animals. Some of them are really old, and some of them are kind of dangerous. They've often got really weird rules about what you gotta do, and when. Some of them are pretty dangerous, so except a few nice ones, I mostly learned about them so I'd stay away from them. Some of them are pretty okay though."
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# ? Jun 30, 2014 19:44 |
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Yannick van der Rijn "Now that sounds awesome. You think some are old enough to be dinosaur spirits? That'd be brilliant."
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# ? Jun 30, 2014 21:35 |
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Kate Burke Kate looks over to Yannick. "D... dinosaur? Is that a muggle thing?"
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# ? Jun 30, 2014 22:48 |
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Jacqueline Tanzer "Wait... you guys haven't ever heard of dinosaurs? They were reptiles that lived on the Earth millions of years before people did. You can find their bones and stuff buried in the ground as fossils in a lot of places."
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# ? Jun 30, 2014 23:06 |
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Kate Burke Kate frowns. "Millions of years? How could muggles possibly know about something from... that far... oh. This is a 'science' thing, isn't it?"
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# ? Jun 30, 2014 23:18 |
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Martin Green Martin just kind of... goggles at everyone. "Is this a conversation we're having? Wizards can create matter out of nothing but we're talking about dinosaurs?" Martin thinks for a moment, eyes rolling up to the ceiling. "How far back does Wizard history or natural history go? Muggles know about humans or, uh, human-like apes I guess, something like a... uh... few million years back, I think. I dunno. I didn't much care for dinosaurs as a kid. I was more into fantasy stories... which. I guess. Aren't really that fantastic anymore..." He turns to Kate. "Do wizards not... do science? How do you prove things? Like... figure out new... spells, or whatever?"
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# ? Jun 30, 2014 23:20 |
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# ? Apr 24, 2024 12:48 |
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Scot Woodham "Wizards sadly have a habit of focusing on ourselves from a history standpoint. After all we kept muggles from researching our history," quips Scot, "But at least we can subscribe to science magazines just like anyone else!" Twibbit fucked around with this message at 00:30 on Jul 1, 2014 |
# ? Jul 1, 2014 00:26 |