Free-form: Muggles Vs. Wizards

IIRC, you're gonna need an okay from Sabre first.

"Your mission is not to nuke the squid god." —Faramir

You do have to wait for my confirmation: if it's already established that a four-person party is all on a helicopter that only seats four, for instance, joining would be physically impossible there and then.

In any case, post your character concept and I'll give the yea or nay, and slot him/her in as needed.

Charlie Stross's cheerful, optimistic predictions for 2017, part one of three.

• Name: Hunter Storms
• Nationality: Irish
• Gender: Male
• Appearance: 6'2", black hair, green eyes.
• Backstory: he lived with his parents, both wizards, until the war took their life. Hunter was able to escape from the influence and traveled to his grandparents in England at the age of 9. from then he had to be more grown up than he thought he would have to be at a young age. learning Magic in secret and trying to remain under the radar. years later he's been learning that the war has been tearing up London and he feels that the war will cause more destruction than restoration.
• Attire: dark green shirt, aviation goggles, aviation scarf around his neck, jeans; nothing to fancy to stand out in a crowd.
• Weapons/Spells: Hunter's top four used spells are:

Lumos, Protego, Reducto, Cryotus — a spell he learned specially for protecting his grandfather, it is an offensive-defensive spell dependent on its use. the spell freezes solid and liquid objects. it usually does not work on animals, preferably warm blooded mammals.

• Equipment: Hunter doesn't know much of the wizarding world, so he doesn't carry a rare magical artifacts. he has a variety of spell-books and history books of the wizards-of-history. he has a 10 1/2" Maple wand with Veela Hair core, it was his mother's wand before she was murdered in the war.

I will edit this if it's too much, i'm gonna try to think of how to input him when the time comes and why he gets involved,

edited 16th Feb '12 8:08:52 PM by Dyrezz

I dunno about the rest of it, but I see "time-turner" and HUGE red flags start going off in my head.

"Your mission is not to nuke the squid god." —Faramir

that's what i thought, i love harry potter franchise, and thought instant;y of the time-turner... i'll change it, i can see how it's red-flagging. and can see the "Horrid use" it might have, i was not thinking, i apologize.

It throws a wild card into the deck that could potentially affect everything, that's the problem. I'm going with the interpretation that says all time-turners were destroyed in 1995/6.

Charlie Stross's cheerful, optimistic predictions for 2017, part one of three.

Hello new guy, I'm having a relatively tiring and cranky day, and so I may be a little harsh, but I mean well.

...So... a few questions/issues:

A). What do you mean he learned magic "in secret"? So he didn't go to school? That would make him REALLY suck at magic. And if he had gone to school, why doesn't he have his own wand? There's a fund Hogwarts as for students without a lot of money. And he tried to "remain under the radar" because..? The magical society has apparently been under the muggle's radar for several hundred years, just being within that society should have been enough, why was he in the muggle world in the first place?

B). How old is he? "War took his parents"...When and where? 1st wizarding war? 2nd Wizarding war? Something else?

C). He wears aviation goggles for the lulz and he doesn't stand out in a crowd?..how? And what's with the pureblood Irishman wearing jeans? (come to think of it, there's quite a few pureblood wizards wearing muggle clothing that shouldn't be come to think of it... weird.).

D)... And if he lived with his grandfather after his parents died, why is he not mentioned in the back story? If he didn't live with his grandfather, who did he live with? Or what, was he homeless? Did he go to a muggle public school? Why would a pureblood child who was likely raised to think of muggles as inferior, or off (The Weasleys are the more tolerant types, and they still disliked to talk about a squib family member.) live as a muggle, exactly?

E). Why doesn't he know much about the magical world, exactly? He was born of two wizards, and his parents died in the war (that, since you haven't specified, may well be any of the two wizarding wars), his grandfather taught him a spell apparently, meaning he'd have to be a wizard too, why wouldn't he teach his grandson about the magical society exactly?

F). The Muggle-Wizard War started within the year, approximately during the summer, it's not "Tearing up London" (yet), there's been a terrorist attack or two by the wizards, and a few other things, but it hasn't reached the point where the city is an active war-zone or anything. And war is screwing up everything everywhere. Romania, America, Iceland, Spain, Canada, China, Cuba, [[insert country here]], etc. It's a world-wide civil war. Not just London, Not just England. Why would he go to London when Ireland (HIS COUNTRY) is also probably having problems?

G). There's no need to make up "Cryotus", Glacius does the same thing and is in cannon.

H). Um... "war will cause more destruction than restoration." ? Okay, that's true, why wouldn't it? Why is thinking that war will cause more destruction than restoration noteworthy? Doesn't everyone? Restoration is, by definition, returning something to a former condition, it's not supposed to cause any destruction at all, it just sounds weird.

...Sorry if I seem harsh, I was just critiquing a (slightly-masochist) friend's work, and I haven't switched to my nice-person mode yet, and those concerns are just off the top of my head right now. Also, little sister driving me insane. I apologize in advance for when I feel guilty for writing this, but I think my points are pretty valid, so... *yawn*... I'll post a post sometime tonight, I think...

Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, you can't sell him fish anymore. http://thoughtfulspurts.wordpress.com/

i'll try my best to answer these questions, please don't think i'm creating excuses, i'm just trying to show the developement of Hunter:

A) he didn't go to Hogwarts because his grandfather is a muggle, because his parents would have recieved the letter back in Ireland, he never learned that such a place properly existed. before he moved to his grandfather's he grabbed some of his parents stuff, including the books and his mother's wand, believing it was an heirloom as that was the story she gave him until he was able to go to school, another thing that would never happen. since he never truly won over the wand, it does reject his magical abilities as the son of two wizards but since he is the son, it kinda has a double standard effect there. since he moved from Ireland, his birth-home he learned slightly more over the news reports about the wizarding world which is why he tried to remain under the radar, he became scared that if the other muggles, even his own grandfather found out about his magic, he would be sent away to a prison or worse killed. this is why he tries to act like a muggle, he doesn't want to hurt them or be hurt because he doesn't see any difference between the two, just that Muggles are scared of the power that wizards have and wizards are scared that the Muggles are in fact angry with the secret that is had been in front of their eyes for centuries.

B) i am sorry i cannot officially answer this question, I can only respond with what was the most recent war that happened? my accusation of this would assume the 2nd wizarding war, but to calculate the time of the rp and the time of the 2nd Wizarding war, i cannot create an appropriate age for him. if i was, i would assume between 16-17, making him now too old to begin lessons at hogwarts from year 1, just as much not old enough to be dragged into the fighting.

C) I assume that each character has something that they wear to dignify them, to make them look unique but yet they look normal in their community, the goggles are more of an accessory but they help with glare of the sun and snow blindness, its more likely just something he came across to help when winter and summer are less bearable than normal. as for the muggle clothing, as i mentioned he lived for years with his grandfather, hidding under the radar, he doesn't exactly know what would be considered normal in the wizarding world besides robes, but he doesn't exactly have a link into the wizarding world quite yet, so he wears muggle clothes. sorry if that doesn't hold a good-enough explination i am trying my hardest to answer these questions relatively well and smooth.

D) sorry for not mentioning the grandfather in the back story, i edited the thing already as "Time-Turner" was an artifact he had, but i did already change that. he moved to his grandfather's a year after his parents died, taking that year to pack the stuff, he stayed away from the house at night in case it was visited by "Unicorn" if that is the muggle squad, sorry but i am still trying to catch-up. and just because he's pureblood doesn't mean he has to act like a Slytherin. and since his parents, which i also forgot to mention in the backstory, were trying to also act like muggles when the War, the one that took their lives, broke out, he was already accustomed to the Muggle life. yes he would have attended a Muggle public school in Britain and Ireland.

E) though his parents were Wizards and Witches, he wasn't told about the magical world, not because of the war that broke out, but for safety, his parents were very overcautious, afraid that Hunter was going to get involved in the war if he knew too much about the wizarding world, because he was believed to be too young at the time. as for the spell, it wasn't his grandfather's book, he is a muggle, should have mentioned that, sorry. he did learn the four spells that are in his arsenal, they're not powerful for him because its not his wand, and the books are not an exact science, pun intended. he only knows how to cast them enough to be effective. as for that new spell it was something he self taught, carefully, and mainly though winter. his grandfather didn't approve of his daughter going to Hogwarts so he didn't like the thought of Hunter becoming involved with it either. i'm sorry if this question is starting to make more loopholes in his story, i can fix those too... OH! he knows little becuase of what could be shown on the news about the two wizarding wars. he knows he is a wizard but he doesn't know how spells work if its thought and feeling, like the patronus charm, or if it's just a reaction.

F) sorry about that explination, i was explained, by a friend who already is in this, that London was in a state of a full on war, i guess i haven't reached that point in reading the RP to catch up... the reason why he goes to london is not due to safety but due to family, he doesn't have any relatives who would take him, i should mention that, and his grandfather is the closest living relative anyways, he was too young to live on his own, and too young to even think about trying. another reason could be that there is a major incident that is occuring in Ireland — Just an idea, my mind rolling — that maybe a good reason to leave, armies in the streets, bloodstaining hillsides. Dublin has finally changed their city name so that it doesn't sound like something used in gambling.

G) THANK YOU!! i was unsure if there was a spell like that, i can immediately fix that if i could, it might be very helpful, i did try to look up a list of spells from Harry Potter to aid in that portion.

H) it was mentioned that the muggles and wizards have more in common than they think, Hunter, as i mentioned earlier in these answers, that Hunter sees the two sides as normal people, muggles just being scared and wizards as frightened that the muggles are more angry about their secret, bring a secret. i should have mentioned that...am i up to 10 things now that i should have mentioned, i am sorry about that, my friend, the one who thinks it would be good for me to join, said that my development skills needed help, i can see that i skip out on IMPORTANT facts...sorry...

it's not that your being harsh, its the principle of the matter. it is your idea and you want to make sure their are no loopholes. i can see where it might seem like being harsh, but to me, it's being critical, analystic, thinking ahead before the idea you have heads "south". I hope your day turns around and becomes happy :)

C) I assume that each character has something that they wear to dignify them, to make them look unique but yet they look normal in their community, No, not really. Every one of the commandos wears the standard gear, even the CIA spook.

he stayed away from the house at night in case it was visited by "Unicorn" if that is the muggle squad Er, we're talking about a black operations squad that the public is unaware of, as far as I know. I'm fairly certain he wouldn't know of their existence.

London was in a state of a full on war... No. There have been two major incidents. One was at King's Cross Station and the other was at Heathrow. Neither was very pretty.

I can't really speak authoritatively about any of the other points.

"Your mission is not to nuke the squid god." —Faramir

The biggest problem I'm seeing is a bit of confusion as for the timeline.

Like Faramir said, the actual 'Muggle war', that is, the major conflict of Muggles against Wizards that started this RP/this RP is about, began less than a year ago as per current RP timeline.

So Either your guy is still 9 or 10 years old because this is what's preventing him from going to school, or he was 9 during the second Wizard war, (Which I believe is the one at the end of the book/movie series.) which would make him in at least his late teens if not his twenties by now.

You'd have to ask Sabre about that specifically. I can't recall how long ago the second Wizard war was in our timeline, except that it was a long time.

edited 16th Feb '12 10:22:08 PM by FirockFinion

You are reading this.

Whew, quite a few points to cover. Let's go.

First off, the Muggle world only became aware of the Wizarding world one or two years ago. This game is currently place in 2018. Let that inform your timeline; alter as needed.

Unicorn Team is still very hush-hush; in many ways it's an experiment. The world at large, Muggle and Wizard, does not know about it, although it's a public fact that special forces teams all over the world have been a very big part of the conflict. It sounds like this character would be ideal for a world in which the wizard/muggle conflict has been smouldering for years, but the conflict only just flared up, so you're going to have to alter the backstory.

As for conflicts and such: before this, the canonical Second Wizarding War—i.e., the one Harry Potter ended—finished up in 1998. However, that does not preclude the possibility of other conflicts in the wizarding world. Word of Rowling is that Muggle and Wizard conflicts feed into each other. For instance, in this 'verse, it's established that a local wizard war occurred at roughly the same time as the Balkan Wars in the 1990s: it was no coincidence that Voldemort's spirit was in Albania, not far from the former Yugoslavia, for part of that time.

So, if you want to make "war refugee" any part of his background, keep that in mind. If that timing doesn't quite fit, feel free to choose some other conflict that might have a wizard component to it: currently, in real-world time (six to seven years before the RP is set), there are, for example, the perennial African brushfire wars, conflict across the Middle East, Afghanistan, Chechnya in Russia, and drug wars in Mexico. Take your pick, or invent some other conflict.

Charlie Stross's cheerful, optimistic predictions for 2017, part one of three.

thank you, i'll edit the back story, now that i know. to clarify to improve the backstory: this war started around 2017, more or less, and the second war ended roughly 1998, which means that a time difference of 19 years occurred between the end and start of the two intertwined conflicts. since the time was 1 year, i can edit a little that the muggles in london were not so... high-strong against wizards, therefore Hunter would not technically need to be in hiding, so that means he could have technically still gone to hogwarts between the two time-frames. which means i could edit that, HOWEVER, if there was another unnamed conflict in ireland that prevented import and export of people during a curtain time, then he could still not have reached hogwarts in time for his first year, or several years following. if his parents died when he was 9, which was at the end of the Wizard War II, then in 2000 would be his first year, again my assuming 11 years is the first year of hogwarts, from what i DO know of the subject. and that would be that 18 years later when he was 11, would make him 29 if i am correct. this is also assuming he stayed in London with his grandfather, and if his grandfather is still alive. recapping again, 29 year old Hunter missing his few years of hogwarts because of a unnamed conflict in ireland not needing to hide his magical practices until he was 28 which began the war, however Wizards didn't really wave their wands in public in the first place, and when the 3 outbreak came, i assume wizards are either using magic against muggles to defend themselves or to attack with brute force. both are great tactical idea's but not really meeting in the middle, which is kinda where i put Hunter's view on Muggle and Wizards...

if i got that right i am ready to edit the information on Hunter... of course if i'm wrong, i need to figure out how to make it so i am positive i understand the situation.

More points:

A.) I can't think of a way he'd be involved, especially if he's crap at magic and has no formal military training, and is underage. The only reason Lita is involved instead of being in Hogwarts is that she's very good at magic, and also technically of age in the magical world. Your guy would probably be at least twenty if he was 9 in the 2nd wizarding war.

B). So... what the hell happened with his Hogwarts letter? Why wouldn't he get one? The Dursleys didn't approve of Harry going to hogwarts, that didn't stop him. Why should it stop Hunter? The Hogwarts Letter gets you no matter where the crap you are, the fact that his granpa was muggle shouldn't affect that at all.

C). So he spent his late childhood and early teenage years teaching himself magic... And he never got arrested for underage magic use, or got a warning or anything? Um... HOW? Also: are you saying he can ONLY EVER use those four spells? Seriously?

D). Parents, in the magical world, are eager to see children show magical talents and the like, why would his not have told him anything about it at all?

E). I didn't say pureblood meant Slytherin, and he's not pureblood if he has a muggle grandfather, but (As I said) even non-bigotted, friendly purebloods like the Weasleys don't know jack about muggles, and to some extent look down on them slightly. The lack if magical talent is seen as a very big deal. One cousin of Ron's was rarely talked about, or involved in anything because he was a squib. And we're talking about a family that had a man that studied muggles in it. Regardless, my point is: why would his knowing about the magical world ENDANGER HIM? Knowing is half the battle, his parents teaching him about the magical world, and that it is currently very dangerous, etc, would be far safer than just keeping him in the dark.

Let me tell you what you're saying to see if I'm missing something.

So, he learned about wizards in MUGGLE news about how "tornadoes" destroyed bridges, etc... When he was a child... And went looking through family heirlooms that were magical books... and somehow discovering he could do magic... Going undetected by the ministry for years regardless of how underage magic is strictly monitored in muggle areas... And he never got his Hogwarts letter... And he managed to teach himself magic, something that actively messes with electronics, and remain undetected in the area... And somehow obtain his dead mother's wand... And his grandfather never told him jack about the magical world, and he was scared he would find out after the man had had a witch for a daughter... And somehow learned Reducto and Glacius before Expeliarmus... And he lives with his grandparents, both of whom are not magical (making him a half-blood) who, as I said already raised one witch, and is afraid they'll find out, somehow keeping the secret for years...

Do you see what I mean? ( My day actually got worse and I lost around 12 hours of work on a USB tonight...)

EDIT: Ninja! That actually looks far better, but why should he lack years in Hogwarts?

edited 17th Feb '12 12:11:15 AM by Faramir

Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, you can't sell him fish anymore. http://thoughtfulspurts.wordpress.com/

i guess i see your point there... i can probably only answer a few of those points with the current facts that i recently collected...

B) although the hogwarts letters are persistent, Harry never moved homes when he was left at the dursley's however i'm sure that if he did move, that the letter's followed. HOWEVER AGAIN, the last letter was delivered by hand. Hunter could have been overseen as 'unavailable' or risking exposure, if the unnamed incident in Ireland was seen as a risk to continually send letters, or even hand deliver. it would have to be something really dangerous but right now, my mind is numb from explaining, i'll have a better solution in the morning...

C) i guess your right on that point, underage magic would have been noticed... unless of course he never actually started using the spells until his 17th, which means he wouldn't have been underaged anymore. even so, i have a feeling that going 17 years without doing magic, might not make you a wizard anymore for some reason, it's just a hitch in my mind that is making me question this...

D) it could be out of grief, since the parents were alive during a war, they were afraid that their sun would become a death eater if he learned about the magical world... i'll need to reconcile this thought...i could redo him at this point, this way I can properly use the facts of this world...

i would like to take this time to apologize, apologize because i realize i don't have time to work with something as huge as this project...I work on my own things, i get commissions for my work, and practice Violin, not to mention i have stories i write, and role play with others that help flourish my ideas, this is just too much i won't be able to balance it... i am sorry for taking up time...

Anybody interested?

Copy that. Just in confirmation: the roster is still open.

I should probably send Hungry Joe an updated version of the opening post.

Charlie Stross's cheerful, optimistic predictions for 2017, part one of three.

Oh, oh! Me! Pick Me!

... Wait...

@Sabre: Or you could start a new signups. It's an option, at least.

You are reading this.

Think we should start spreading the word?

Super excited to try this out. Anybody got any tips for surviving?

• Name: Grace-Ann May
• Nationality: American (Veela)
• Gender: Female
• Appearance: Dark hair and a light dusting of freckles across her nose. She’s tall (5’9’’) and slim, but not overly so. She’s not very tan despite her common outdoor activities, but her skin is healthy and unmarred by acne and the other common things that plague young faces. She looks to be about 20, even though she’s actually closer to 30.
• Backstory: Grace-Ann is a Veela, blessed with extraordinary good looks, not that she’s ever done anything with them. She knows she’s very attractive and doesn’t care unless she wants something from someone.

Grace-Ann was born the daughter of Terrance and Mary May, Veela living under assumed names. They were fascinated with the 1960s, especially with the Hippie movement, hence their choice of names. They chose their daughter’s name based on that era, something Grace-Ann alternately hates and loves. People have, on occasion, shortened her name to “Grace,” and she becomes rather upset. Not many people call her just “Grace” anymore.

She got started hunting when her family moved down to Alabama when she was young, and she fell in with the “backwoods” group at the school she attended because she felt they were the most entertaining. She was invited on hunting and camping trips, which she loved, and soon began to hunt on her own, learning better and better hunting skills as she grew older. She received her first hunting rifle at the age of 12 as a birthday present from her best friend, and her obsession with firearms—rifles in particular—grew from there.

Her parents weren’t thrilled with Grace-Ann’s choice of lifestyle, and she often found herself at odds with them. She moved out at the age of 17, living with friends until she found her own place.

Grace-Ann is almost fanatical about her weapons, especially her Tactical Operations Tango 51 sniper rifle, affectionately nicknamed “Jesse.” It was an expensive gun, but Grace-Ann claims it was worth it. She goes hunting with friends every weekend during hunting season—sometimes even when the season is out—and has several fine heads mounted on her wall—deer, bear, and even a moose she shot while she was visiting Colorado a while back.

She’s not afraid to spend extra money to afford the best of something, especially when it comes to her rifles. See Equipment for listing.

• Attire: Usually blue jeans, a tank top or a t-shirt and either cowboy boots or riding sneakers, unless she’s hunting, in which case she’s clad in the customary camouflage-and-orange hunting wear and a pair of hiking books. She wears her hair back in a lazy ponytail most days, just to keep it out of her face, and a dark brown baseball cap.

• Weapons/Spells/Equipment: The proud owner of two utility knives, four good hunting knives, two pistols (a 9mm Glock and a Savage Striker hunting pistol), her Tango 51 “Jesse,” a Nosler M48 TGR hunting rifle, and a sawed-off shotgun, for good measure. She only uses her hunting knives/pistol/rifle for hunting, though, and only carries perhaps two weapons on her at any given time, usually a knife and a gun.

Also, since she's a veela, she can shoot fireballs out of her hands.

edited 1st Sep '12 3:32:30 PM by Windee

I added psychology to my biology.

That's a lot of firepower. I doubt you'll be allowed to keep it.

"Yup. That tasted purple."

And so the Battle of Stalingrad begins...

Also,

You're confusing Metric and Imperial caliber notation; it's just 9mm. Or .380 in old money.

"Yup. That tasted purple."

She uses Muggle weaponry but can also cast fireballs from her hands... So, which side were you planning to put her on?

You are reading this.

I'm planning on putting her on Team Wizard, if only because of the manpower shortage there. Besides, Muggle team usually has air assets on call. Think of it as something of an equalizer.

Charlie Stross's cheerful, optimistic predictions for 2017, part one of three.