Encyclopedia: https://www.hogwarts.io/viewtopic.php?f ... 74#p127442
Name of Ability Applying for: Keen Eye

Describe why this fits your character: 400 words, please include word count.

Reducio

Pericles' upbringing was never lacking stimulation.
As an infant, he was entertained by a slew of developmental toys, shiny things to distract and delight small minds. As a toddler, he was provided puzzles, the spotting sort which require a child to find an object buried in a cacophonous myriad of shapes. He would spend hours scouring pages for hidden objects and people. Once he was old enough to retain the concept of plots, his parents and adoptive sister would send him to sleep with all manner of mysterious tales, strange and fantastic stories which left him wondering, theorizing, dreaming about what twists the next chapter may bring. As he aged, so too did his tastes. He did not care all too much for the overly orderly scale models his father helped him build. Instead, he took a liking to the organized chaos of Rube Goldberg machines. There was something amusing and awesome about analyzing the application of everyday items for special effects. Every piece, big and small, had a part to play. Mundane objects- a fishing line, a boot, a cup- became significant. Watching his experiments unfold was watching the universe in ecstatic motion, and he thrived while trying to predict what ripples would result from a small circumstance, what reactions would come about from ongoing actions.

By the time Pericles was eight years old, he came to contemplate his trips to town in much the same manner. The actions and reactions through a bustling society seemed randomized, yet were all interconnected, should one watch closely. Small things had larger consequences: a door knocking over a bucket, spilling water onto the icy cobblestones, freezing in the winter chill, making a man trip, leading to a stranger helping him to his feet and being taken to tea as thanks. An all new acquaintanceship made, simply because someone opened a door a little too far. His first year at Hogwarts was the true opportunity to hone his powers of observation. As time went on, between becoming a prefect and surviving a number of harrowing experiences, the skill shifted from passive habit to necessity. There came moments in which he did not have the leisure of sitting, staring, and thinking. Pericles had to learn to keep a keen eye on his environment in the heat of the moment, to watch for shifts in expression, slights of hand, obscure clues and objects set ever-so-slightly out of place. Like a piece in one of his own experiments, he had to be prepared to react, yet equally prepared to initiate action independently. He had to learn how to tune out excess motion in order to hone his accuracy. The year had been wild as they come. Yet through it, he had become a keener observer. Who says that those with glasses cannot also have a sharp eye?

WC: 471

Please list out your stats using the 6-point stat system:
1^st Year: Stamina - 5 | Evasion - 5 | Strength - 4 | Wisdom - 8 | ArcPower - 7 | Accuracy - 6
2^nd Year: Stamina - 7 | Evasion - 6 | Strength - 4 | Wisdom - 8 | ArcPower - 8 | Accuracy - 7

Ency Link: ( ͡ʘ ͜ʖ ͡ʘ) it do be an ency link folks
Applying For: Foulplay
Describe why it fits your character:

*permission to use Reid Kovacs as a practice dummy in this application was given by Reid Kovacs on 7/2/20

Reducio

Who says cheaters don't prosper? Alexx prospered; she did it every day. Every game, Alexx was prospering. Did she score much? Well... No, but that was beside the point. She did just fine by knocking people off their brooms. There was just something so satisfying about watching people tumble to the ground, or crash into another player on their way down. Even if they didn't make it all the way down, even if they ended up fine, Alexx got satisfaction knowing that she delayed their play, if only by a few seconds. A few seconds could throw someone entirely off their game.

That was always Alexx's goal. You could say a lot of it was for the shock factor, just to have that sort of "surprise, I got you!" moment. Maybe it was a little petty, because Alexx sure as hell had the ability to score a goal. But that wasn't her specialty. That wasn't what she was good at.

It actually started as sort of an accident. Slytherin was down, Alexx wasn't scoring, but she saw an opportunity elsewhere. A hole in the big plan of the other team, if you will. Alexx recalled Texas, her brother, telling her about guys like this; they would fight their way through the game to keep a spot on the team. If you make it off the bench, you want to stay up in the air. You have to earn your keep. You have to prove your worth. And Alexx would be damned if she got benched, or if she'd let herself be a target because others saw her as weak or frail. Alexx had so much to prove, and so little time, and then the next thing she knew she was crashing into another player, sending them tumbling down.

The game ended, Slytherin didn't win, but Alexx had a lot to reflect on. Was this what she was good at? Nevermind scoring goals like her position called her to do; was she going to be the kid you had to fear? Next to Erin Ryan, she was sure there was going to be some rookies looking up at her with wide eyes, praying that they aren't it. There still was work to be done, though, because her hits weren't exactly accurate at first, and they did very little damage overall.

The following days, she would make her way out to the field, Reid by her side, with the intent of crashing into him a billion times, if that's what it took, until she had perfected the art of blatching. And who better to test that on than one of your closest friends, right? Surely he wouldn't mind.

It didn't take long for Alexx to pick the skill up. She was usually pretty accurate, on a good day anyway, and for a girl of her size, she had a lot of strength behind her. Knocking people off their brooms was no problem, it was the penalty lap that came with it. The lap rendered her useless for an entire round, and that was the problem. How was she supposed to be a team player if she was always flying around the pitch, waiting to be able to go back and do something? The edge of the pitch may as well be her permanent spot, because lo and behold, every time she got back from a penalty, she was just going right back for blatching again. Alexx was an enforcer, there was no shame in it.

She had to get fast. Alexx already had a lot of stealth behind her, but she had to be fast for Quidditch. Day to day life, sure, she could sneak around. But sneaking around on a broom was... Well, that was different. And it was hard not to notice someone flying straight into someone else; that tended to cause a big commotion unless there was something better going on somewhere else on the pitch.

This was a long time coming, because it wasn't like Alexx could wait for each and every game to test out how to sneak past the eye of those moderating the game. Each and every team practice, Alexx was trying her best, seeing how often she could slip past the eyes of her teammates, knocking someone to the ground and then flying off as if to say "oh, I wonder who did that? It couldn't have been me; I'm over here!" Trial and error, because for the first few practices, it didn't go unnoticed. But, overtime, as all things do, her skill improved, and Alexx was flying past everyone with ease.

What she learned is that you have to be quick. You have to look nonchalant about it, as if you're going to do something else, but then you just happen to blatch someone instead. You have to trick your opponent into believing that you're not coming for them; in turn, whoever is refereeing the Quidditch match will see what they want to see. Maybe they catch you and it's a bad call, because it's an accident, and there's just no way you could have intended to do that! Or maybe, if you're fast enough, they don't even have to turn a blind eye, because they were never looking to begin with.

By this point in the season, Alexx looked suspicious. She was like the Tom Wilson of Quidditch, and that was a problem. She had an image, you see, and there wasn't going to be a moderator in the world (if they saw her record) that wasn't looking at her to try something funny. There's no way they would rule anything as an accident, and it's hard to believe their eyes wouldn't be on her. That left her with only one option: stealth.

You can fly out of sight range, sure, but then you're assuming that another player, or players, are following you. And how likely is that? Or, if you're Alexx, you can make it into a game of wits for yourself. Your eyes need to be like headlights; they need to illuminate the surrounding areas, watching everything, and keeping yourself safe. Once eyes are off you, it's time to strike, and don't give anyone time to react. No time to call for help, no time to fly away, you just kick yourself into gear and within a blink of an eye, maybe less, you're colliding with the opponent, and then they're on the ground (if you're really lucky).

WC: 1079

New Stats (4th Year):
Strength: 9
Stamina: 10
Arc Power: 7
Wisdom: 5
Evasion: 9
Accuracy: 11
(note: I have a +1 from a Quidditch win, so the total will be 51)

Old stats for reference:

Reducio

Strength: 8
Stamina: 10
Arc Power: 7
Wisdom: 5
Evasion: 7
Accuracy: 9

Status:

Link to your encyclopedia thread: Jack Burnett
Applying for: Second Year Ability
Name of Ability or Race/Talent that you Are Applying for: Binding Mark
Describe why this fits your character (not why you the player want it):

Reducio

At the start of January of Jack's first year, a boy named Thomas LeStrange who had previously been missing since the previous year mysteriously showed up one night in the Slytherin Common Room. On his arm was a trident symbol carved into his skin which burned until he bled, appearing to have magical properties when a deeper voice than the boy's own commanded him from his own mouth.

In late February of that same year, a third year Slytherin girl named Marion Davenport was revealed to have a different symbol - this one resembling more of an eye - on the back of her neck. She wasn't the only one with this same mark, either.

These strange markings and their similarities with the Dark Mark associated with Voldemort in the past lead Jack to look into and end up thoroughly researching what he came to discover were called 'binding marks'. Though he had originally begun to research them in order to unravel the enigmas surrounding Thomas, Marion, and the others associated with them, Jack soon realized that he himself had his own personal reasons to learn and utilize said type of magic.

The very end of February was when Jack Burnett was forced to recognize that there were people at Hogwarts he truly cared about no matter how he tried to deny it. However, with that recognition came that realization that he would have to protect and preserve those people as fiercely as if their lives were his own. This was made much more difficult than it might normally have been due to the fact that these people were just as stubborn as Jack. Also, aside from their association with him making them prime targets of his enemies, they had their own penchants for seeking out and getting into trouble.

Selim Faust's mind ended up forming a new persona in order to allow him to cope with having physically harmed Jack even at Jack's own request. The boy attempted to behave as a robot rid of emotions, calling himself a weapon with no purpose other than to follow orders. His actions prior to stealing the cursed blood of a girl named Opeila also later provoked her into threatening to burn him alive. While Jack was later able to snap Selim out of his ‘robotic’ mindset through a little reasoning and a lot of affection, he got the sense that the boy wasn’t completely ‘fixed’. While he no longer behaved emotionlessly like a robot, his mind seemed to fracture into alternate ‘personas’ of a sort, causing the redhead to want to keep an even closer watch over him.

Flash Holmwood frequently subjected himself to being verbally and physically abused by those who he used and caused to feel helpless, believing he had no other way to get them off his back once they became angry with him. He would also commonly go out of his way for others, bending over backward to win their trust and favor to the point that he would put himself in danger for the sake of those he wanted to look up to and admire him. By taking responsibility for all the bad things that would happen to him and only attributing the good things to others, he developed a debilitating self-loathing that kept him from ever complaining or showing much of his ‘true nature’ to others. Flash also experienced a number of concerning events over the summer that seemed to have a negative influence on his psyche, making Jack more determined than ever to prove to Flash that there are people who can accept him for who he is, flaws and all, but also that he doesn’t need to rely on others to be valued as an individual.

Ruka Tân felt violated by a surprise kiss, regularly incited Hufflepuff girls to punch him, brutally ripped apart the basis of a certain snake's way of life, and earned the wrath of a fellow Gryffindor named Rafael. The Quidditch jock initially only went after Ruka for associating himself with Jack, but once he found out that the second year had kissed his crush as well and rubbed it in his face to add insult to injury, Rafa was out for blood. He attacked Ruka by punching him and holding the fire dancer underwater repeatedly until he almost drowned. Though Ruka was able to hold his own against Rafa and survive the ordeal, his emotional state has taken quite a beating over his past second year. While he had been used to being on his own and only relying on himself since his father passed away the previous summer, meeting Jack seemed to cause him to cling to the other boy and not only transfer an obsession from his late father to the Slytherin first year, but to develop a deep insecurity regarding Jack’s opinion of him because he feels there is no one else left to care about him.

Due to his mother having abandoned him to his father as an infant, Ruka also seems to have abandonment issues and intense apprehension about being accepted as an adopted son into the Burnetts’ nuclear family this summer. If he is crippled by so much anxiety merely by fearing that Jack will grow bored of and leave him, he dreads to think of what he might have to endure if he grows attached to the adult Burnetts as well. Jack hopes to use the summer to alleviate those fears by having Ruka grow more accustomed to being not just around him, but the rest of his family. However, this is difficult when growing accustomed to them is the very reason that Ruka fears the coming summer in the first place.

While Jack had been able to convince his parents to take Ruka in as their newly adopted son, Flash and Selim spent those school-free months of July and August outside the range of the redhead's protective watch. Once more finding himself under the authority of his parents along with Ruka while the other boys returned to their own families reminded Jack that he himself was only a child like the others no matter how much he might have wanted to safeguard and shelter them from the world outside of Hogwarts, including the potentially hostile environments of their home lives.

The Welsh boy had never intended to make friends when he first came to Hogwarts last year. However, he unintentionally found himself growing close to people he grew interested in and spent time with. To deny the idea that he considered them friends, he instead called them his 'possessions', 'experiments', and 'charges', referring to himself as their 'babysitter' and 'owner' rather than resort to the cursed label of 'friends'. Whatever the truth was or what they might have actually thought, the other boys seemed to patiently tolerate what might have otherwise been considered offensive terms.

This may have been because it seemed implicitly recognized by the two other first years and the second year that Jack's compassion and concern for them as people ran far deeper than he was ready or willing to admit to anyone, including himself. Selim, Ruka, and Flash were each too intelligent to take real offense to being taunted and mocked as Jack’s pets or toys by other students. They knew what they really meant to him and that was enough for them, sharing an unspoken understanding that no one else needed to be aware of in order for them to be confident it was true. The boys were aware that surface appearances didn’t really matter except to deceive, one of the things that earned their respect from Jack in the first place, so they didn’t mind allowing outsiders to believe what they wanted about their group. It didn’t change the truth. And the more others deceived themselves about the boys and their relations to one another, the easier it was for said boys to stay under the radar and remain underestimated.

Thus, they played along, allowing Jack to maintain his delusion rather than popping his bubble as any of them easily could have at any time. He may have refused to call them friends, but he saw them all as equals if not better than him and he made sure they knew it. The fact that they were aware of his own weaknesses and not only kept from taking advantage of them but also kept them secret from others was proof enough of their loyalty. Though Jack may not have consciously allowed himself to be aware of it, much less acknowledge it, these reasons were only a few of many that defined Selim, Flash, and Ruka as real, true friends to the redhead.

Regardless of how much or little he chooses to acknowledge his bond with them, Jack knows he is rather possessive and protective of the people he cares about. Under the excuses they let him use as their so-called ‘babysitter’, Jack felt more than ever that he required a better way to keep track of and watch over those he cared about so as to be there for them when they needed him most, especially with all of the dangers posed to them both within and outside of school. After researching binding marks and what they could do, he began to realize how useful they could be if utilized correctly and among people who shared enough trust with one another. He kept thinking how he constantly had a need to know where the other boys were due to his perpetual worrying over them.

Jack couldn’t help but wonder if it would put his mind at ease to know where they were at any given time through a binding mark. Furthermore, if they ever needed help, they always knew where to find him and could quickly contact him or any of the others at a moment’s notice. Being the open and honest sort for the most part, Jack felt no need to hide from people, so it didn’t concern him to think that a binding mark might allow others to know where he was at all times. And with as many disasters seemed to befall them in just their first year together, Jack could only see how the benefits would outweigh the potential detriments if they trusted each other enough to have each other’s backs. However, trust was a difficult thing to come by and it took a while for Jack to determine just how much he trusted each boy individually.

With Selim, the two had made a contract to fulfill favors for each other whenever possible with the condition that both parties agreed to it. As that seemed to go well enough, Jack figured a binding mark was simply another kind of contract. He also discovered how much he trusted Ruka and Flash as the school year progressed and he got to know them better, enduring many trials and hardships with them such as the attack of Rafa and Jo at the Gryffindor breakfast table in the great hall, the attack of the spiders in the Slytherin Common Room, the near-death experiences of Selim and Ruka, Jack’s minor breakdown on April Fool’s Day, Jack’s request for Flash’s help with Selim’s mental state, and the catastrophe that was the Blossom Ball.

After all those experiences, the redheaded Slytherin came to the conclusion that he trusted the other boys enough and they trusted him enough for him to risk asking them if they would accept a binding mark from him. At least, asking them without the concern that they would either take offense to his request, laugh it off, or otherwise respond in a manner that would damage their relationships to one another in any way. He was comfortable with them knowing his location at all times and them being in his head telepathically whenever they wanted to be, so he hoped they would be comfortable enough to grant him the same level of trust.

However, this might as well have been a life-long commitment. The more Jack learned about the binding mark, the more he realized how big a deal it was to mark others and to be marked. It could not easily be undone as the only ways were if the marker became deceased or the body part on which the mark had been placed was removed. The mark, Jack realized, could have been a way for him to show his commitment to the other boys as someone who would stay by their sides and have their backs regardless of what life threw at them along the way. He was in it for the long haul and he wanted them to know that. It was not a decision he would ask lightly of the others, nor did he expect them to make the decision lightly.

Though the mark required a large commitment, Jack didn’t see much of a difference compared to the commitment being attached to someone required. Perhaps one of the only differences was that the mark seemed more of a choice, but if he was going to end up as devoted if not more to the others due to his attachment, what was the mark but a visible manifestation of that? Either way, he thought, he was bound to these people whether he wanted to be or not from the moment he realized he cared about them thanks to his sentimental heart. If he was stuck with them regardless of whether or not he used the binding mark with them, he thought he might as well have tried to make it easier on them all by utilizing what resources they could.

While the mark would be a manifestation of his devotion to the boys and, perhaps, a symbol of the reciprocation of his feelings towards them as people he cares about, Jack would also wear a mark of his own on his skin. Though it wouldn’t be made in the same fashion as the others’, nor would it have the same power since he himself would be the marker, it would still be a sign of how he would see himself as no better than the rest of them. His wearing of the mark himself would also be for the sake of camaraderie and, furthermore, a way to keep outsiders from being able to identify who would be the marker of the marked boys.

Though he thought it would have been more practical and less risky to remain a loner, after being unable to deny that he cared about certain people by the end of February, that was no longer an option for the Slytherin. He knew from the start that it would be a very large responsibility to look out for others, but since he already felt like they were a part of him anyway and he had no choice but to protect them as he would have protected himself, he decided to limit the amount of people he cared for as best he could. For this reason, he wouldn’t just go around marking people with a binding mark willy-nilly. He knows the value of a few quality allies as opposed to many, low-quality ones and he also wouldn’t be willing to allow just anyone inside his head.

Prior to his first year at Hogwarts, he was very reluctant not only to care about people, but to form any sort of attachment to others, much less attempt to practice feats of cooperation or teamwork. Despite never having had or wanted a lot of friends, having a few close allies and people he could confide in began to sound more and more advantageous to Jack as time went on. Having learned over the course of his first year that it can be quite beneficial to have people willing to watch your back, he's becoming gradually more open to the concept. Gaining and utilizing the ability of a binding mark would be an excellent way for him to experience and practice more cooperation, teamwork, and group dynamics in general, especially under the guise of his excuse that his purpose for the mark would simply be to watch over and protect what he considers his.

In his opinion, if he’s going to be forced to care for people and want to keep them close anyway, he figures he may as well make use of their numbers and teach them how to use each other as resources as well. By learning more about each other, their strengths and weaknesses, and encouraging good communication, Jack hopes that the other boys will learn how to better defend themselves and each other through teamwork; if not as friends, then as allies or tools. They wouldn’t necessarily have to like each other to get along; simply be able to trust and rely on one another as well as understand their own importance as an individual in the whole of their group.

Aside from the practical use of utilizing teamwork, Jack understands that most of the boys he has come to care about and trust are lost in terms of finding their self-identity and a purpose in life. Their families, if they have any, are of little help towards this end if not part of the problem. For this reason, Jack has come to call their little group the ‘Lost Boys’ after the group of boys living in Neverland away from the world and families that abandoned them. Jack believes that, deep down, all the Lost Boys - Ruka, Flash, and Selim - each feel scared and alone in the world for their own reasons and he wants to help them understand that, at the very least, they have each other to be ‘lost and alone’ with. His ultimate goal is to make them realize what it’s like to have people genuinely care about them in order to stave off their loneliness and use each other for support. They may be lost to the world, but not each other.

It has been a slow process getting the boys not just to trust him and him to trust them, but also for them to trust each other. Ruka, for example, seemed to feel comfortable talking mostly to Jack while Flash, for a long time, seemed to feel most comfortable talking to Ruka. Ruka and Flash ended up at odds with one another at some point just as Selim and Ruka did. However, using the binding mark, Jack hopes to foster better communication between the boys. He tried to work out an issue by being present as a mediator when Ruka and Flash were having some sort of problem with each other because everything was put out in the open; not just what they thought each other needed to know, but what Jack needed to be filled in on as well. Due to that, more was revealed that it seemed was not as well-known to the other party as originally thought.

In a similar manner, Jack hopes that the open-discussion sort of telepathy that the binding mark allows will make it easier for each of them to gradually get more comfortable being open and honest with each other about anything and everything. Since the telepathy method doesn’t really allow them to hide things from each other by being private with only those they feel more comfortable with, Jack believes it’s more likely to promote openness evenly distributed between all their members instead. As he perceives communication to be one of the most important factors in being able to trust and getting relationships of any kind to work, he believes this can only be a good thing for them in the long run. Though he doesn’t approve of friendship overall and doesn’t like it, Jack likes to think he still understands what true friendship requires more than most. If they’re going to go with the idea of survival of the fittest - or, as he likes to think of it, survival of the smartest - then he figures it’s best that they learn to survive as a group since humans tend to be social creatures naturally anyway and an individual’s survival is better assured in larger numbers.

As each of the Lost Boys of Hogwarts very much value information, the binding mark would be ideal for the transfer and passing on of information as soon as possible. This could benefit not only them, but anyone else they choose to tell, such as housemates. Because Ruka is in both a different year and house than the other boys, the binding mark is especially useful to communicate with him in situations where and when they would otherwise be unable to reach him by normal means. Also, since Jack trusts all the boys to be smart with the abilities of the binding mark, using them to circumvent and bend rules rather than break them, he doesn’t imagine the abilities will be used for such low, stupid feats as cheating on tests. They have far too much pride in their own intelligence and are too dedicated to their own moral codes for things such as that, finding much better uses of their time and skills.

The binding mark suits Jack due to his love of the Trickster archetype, his aspirations to fit into that archetype himself, and how the mark suits the archetype as an ability. It promotes using sly, cunning methods as opposed to physical violence and strength which none of the boys are very keen on. Though many of them in the past simply resolved to take their beatings and endure the suffering they earned, the binding mark would allow them a new way to combat and fend off their enemies and antagonists. If they can learn to utilize teamwork along with the penchant for strategic thinking they each already have, they are likely to be able to accomplish many great feats in the future.

This ability would be especially helpful for Jack in his second year because he is gradually but surely growing and changing from the paranoid boy who didn’t trust anyone and looked down on everyone else as less intelligent than himself. Though he claimed and still claims that it’s better not to have bonds or attachments and to simply be selfish in order to look out for oneself, getting to know the other Lost Boys has started to develop a secret desire in him to change that. Inspired by the others, he wishes to become braver than the coward he knows he currently is; brave enough to confidently call the others his friends without worry about his fear of losing them one way or another.

One of Jack’s main insecurities is his inability to think straight when he’s emotionally impaired. He can’t reason properly and his sense of logic is clouded when he worries too much about people or feels strongly towards someone for some reason. If the other Lost Boys are able to help him overcome that weakness and insecurity by being able to get through to him when he’s caught up in such an emotional state - whether telepathically or otherwise - Jack may very well be able to learn how it may be possible to overcome one of his combined greatest weakness and fear.

(Word count: 3867)

Please list out your stats using the 6-point stat system:

• Stamina: 6 (+1 from 5)
• Evasion: 7
• Strength: 3
• Wisdom: 10 (+2 from 8)
• Arcane Power: 7 (+1 from 6)
• Accuracy: 7 (+1 from 6)

Link to your encyclopedia thread: here

Name of Ability or Race/Talent that you Are Applying for:
First Year: Terrible Presence (Already Approved)
Second Year: Lovely Creature

Abilities

Terrible Presence

Reducio

The Neptune family was always regarded as peculiar to the greater Wizarding World when they first arrived in London with a newly built estate and heavy magical presence. Perhaps it wasn't the best type of 'strange'- as most kinds weren't-, focused more on the differences the new pureblood family expressed, such as their seemingly 'exotic' looks, muddled accents filled with both heritage and aristocracy, and regally quiet nature with no real need for showing off. It was as so with the small pool of different family lineages that they kept close ties with for possible alternating matches and general force of numbers- the Moons', the Noir's, the Chou's. It was all the same.

The centuries dragged on with an ear clawing amount of decade changing events and generations over generations of Neptune's clawing over themselves to attain some semblance of normalcy inside the tight hole of the purest of pure. A gleaming look of surprised interest directed toward the family heirs every new level and a tad bit more respect being turned their way. Curiosity was common, shy and begrudging curiosity swivelled around and the spotlight turned on the family tree. For their still strange looks for being such an old pureblooded lineage, their power potential, their general outlook on life.

Yet there was always one thing that gave the family an edge over, gave a bit of a fear factor to aid in their steady rise of power. Something near sinister that seemed to surround the entire line of heirs, alotted over the entirety of the family tree. A spark of baleful light in their greyscale eyes, something about their honey words and easy persuasiveness that forbode terrible news. The swirling shadows would blacken menacingly, the lights would perhaps flicker at times. Near all of the birds and animals not bred and trained by the family would be on guard within minutes.

Astrea was no different. How could she? She was an heir, was a Neptune. Was a Chou. With the same silver tongue and the golden glow of ambition exuding out her very soul. A reserved child she was, made even quieter with years of independence accompanied mostly by tutors and lessons and reminders of the duty she served as the sole child. The sparrows of the fields would still stop singing in her presence. The mischievous children who matched her age that somehow snuck around the brick walls and try to peer through the iron-cast fences would flee when she brushed by from within. And maybe there just might have been something about how her grins seemed to appear, always something near malicious that would spark in her eyes when she exposed the underbelly of emotion that she kept away so carefully. How her lilting voice sent shivers down their spines. It didn't matter that she didn't intend for it, it was still there. It will forever be there.

Of course, she always knew there was something about her. Something about all the residents really, old and new, of GleamGate Manor- that would repel others. The matter was never directly brought up of course- such things were deemed inappropriate for conversation and tainted the seemingly 'pure' vision the family tried to put up- but practice in reigning in emotion was carefully covered and thoroughly taught by the patriarch.

Perhaps it got better and it got worse at the same time as she grew older. Magically-able adults and children of higher rational understanding were less affected than ever and as the years leading up to Hogwarts came up, Astrea felt hopeful. Not a very strong hope or anything- she hadn't had particularly strong feelings for an admittedly unhealthy amount of time, more experiencing emotion in a more closed off, muffled point of view- but the thought was still there. For the first time in her life, she felt hopeful that perhaps she would be able to foster actual relations. Ones that were real, and close and as much the fairytale amount of pure joy to have around as she read in the old storybooks that were littered around the family library.

And yet, her first few days at Hogwarts came with a lingering of hesitancy from the ones around her. Astrea was never sought out for, never specifically singled out for a simple conversation. Others seemed too mindful of their own activities instead of actively including her, and they all avoided her like wildfire. It wasn't completely intentional, not particularly cruel in real intent. More subconscious, if anything.

Because there was always something remarkably off about her. Something suffocatingly oppressive and dark.

Something terrible.

word count: 766

Lovely Creature

Reducio

Astrea was always quite easy on the eyes even as a child, a poster child of mannerly grace. And while it wasn't exactly commented upon even after her first public appearance, the sentiment was there, under wraps. It was only expected for fair looks- her father was quite the charmer as a lad, stoic and handsomely solid, and her mother was the class beauty that broke many a heart in her days. A type of timeless wonder that didn't fade with age. The day they had been married, the sun high in the sky as it warmed beautiful silks against their skin and intensified the taste of fine tea upon their tongue, people had given plastic smiles and wished them well.

Lady Sovann Chou was one of blatant beauty, and it only be good luck if their heir would gain the same. But Astrea had been raised and been overshadowed by the successes of her parents, always three steps trailing behind the locked figures of the shiny visitors that she was required to call mother and father, and hope was fading fast. Her eleventh year came and went. Then her twelfth.

And the summer before her third year had been her saving grace it seemed. Between an endless loop of day in, day out, something about Astrea began to change- the specifics were hard to name, as if a forgotten word just on the tip of your tongue, but it was undeniable. She was always pretty. But now she was just a bit more. And her mother could only watch smugly behind a carefully hidden paper fan as the girl sat through mock meetings at the right hand of her father, all eyes upon the silent ghost of a child with the darkest hair lit in golden sunlight and silver jewellery. She had created this girl- she was not a mother, she did not deserve that title for she was as distant as could be, but she had created this beauty and they would get far in higher life.

Strangely uncommon beauty cropped up often in the Four Bloodlines over the years, coming and going in strains before lying dormant for years- it was quite popular in the Chou's, where appearance and high standing got you further than anything in such a place such as Korea, but in the Neptune line there was a stubbornly standing fear of creating an angelchild- so it wasn't much of a surprise when Astrea drew stares wherever she went. A few heretics would gossip about the possibility of veela blood- perhaps. But no, that was not the case, for the Four Bloodlines were prideful and scorned those who desired elegance so much they were to stoop to inhuman spouses. They had learned their lesson one too many times.

Before mass unification, before the Bloodlines had the ability to connect with allies from all over the world, there was only a select amount of people who would even consider marrying into such an outwardly exotic family like the budding Four Bloodlines- it didn't matter that they had predated many an aristocratic family by centuries, there was an overwhelming amount of racial prejudice that forced them to drift in and out of society's eye. It was a frustrating thing, and even more frustrating to keep just as untouched as they had for decades. Perhaps if the heads of family did have not carried as much pride as they did at the time, they could have succumbed to social stigma against them and married into the British population early on and slowly phased out their foreign features. It would have certainly made things easier, but alas that did not happen. Except for one.

The last person to have been noted with the same loveliness in the Neptune line as our subject III in Four Bloodline history was a foreigner. A pretty European with glassy eyes and dainty feet, they had married into the Neptune family young and desperate. It would have been the greatest blow to the family pride in centuries. Emphasis on the 'would have', for the girl had such fair looks that it was said to have astounded all who saw her. Such beauty and heart and yet such low birth, it had quite literally saved their lives when they had been married into the strange aristocratic family.

A knowledgeable apothecary and a good heart under the protection of even better magical purity, many a family were saved from the clutches of illness by her hand. Travelling around to different towns tirelessly, they were the most selfless person the Four Bloodlines had ever had the pleasure of having under their wing. In between everything, she and her spouse had the luck to birth a single child, a girl with the same otherworldliness of their mother. And their mother's namesake they would be, the second in a line.

Forever nomadic even with the comfortable lifestyle handed on a silver platter, the new mother continued to practice what they loved the most. But the eyes she drew and attentions captured had been her downfall. Taken from under the Neptune's noses and killed in vain, accused of witchcraft and supposedly worshipping the devil, she had died a martyr of irony. To think that within a small community of those blessed with magic, a stranger of lovely looks would have been the one who died on a stake.

Her daughter lived long enough to create a small family of their own, only to perish within their own home of childbirth, leaving behind a brood of half-breed Neptunes. Time went on and yet word of the beauty of mother and daughter lingered on, a tragic fairytale. A wonder that lay dormant for four centuries worth, having learned its bloody lesson and stayed mercifully dormant. Generations passed and yet not a single pureblood Neptune grew to gain such a gift, even as the other 3/4 of the Bloodlines did so in chunks. A few were born with it, but none had continued their lives alongside magic- a slander, they were erased from history. Perhaps a curse, whispers started, their voices thick with accents and grief. Perhaps this was their curse for allowing non-magical blood into their family, or for being so lenient that things had become violent.

Perhaps it was just slander against the family name that the foreign-born Neptune had been so beautiful that they had paid for it in blood, or maybe the woman really was just as ethereal as family textbooks claim. Either way, it did not matter much.

To look beautiful is a gift, they would take whatever was given to them. The consequences were dire but they were inescapable.

You know,

Astrea is a Greek name.

word count: 1104

Status: TBA
Edit: Edited out stats!

WC: 1,292

Link to your encyclopedia thread: Click!

Name of Ability or Race/Talent that you Are Applying for: Fearless (1st year)

Describe why this fits your character (not why you the player want it):

Reducio

Lizzie was no ordinary child. While most children ran away in fear from clowns, she happily smiled up at them and asked them what their favorite color was. When most children feared the dark, she wasn't affected. Her parents were so sure she'd grow out of it, but as she aged, she only became more unafraid of everything.

Age 5:
Smol Lizzie stared with wide eyes at her teenaged cousin. "Do you know what's under your bed?" he'd suddenly asked her.

"N..o?" she'd replied. Of course, she didn't. Every time she'd tried to crawl under there, her mother had shooed her out and scolded her for getting dirt and dust all over her.

"Do you want to know?"

The redheaded child nodded eagerly. What if it led to Wonderland? Or somewhere that had dragons! And mum didn't want her to go there because she's no fun.

"Alright, listen closely, because I'm only saying this once."

Nodding again, little Lizzie wondered why her cousin sounded so much like her teachers at school. That thought was quickly buried, though, in the sea of her imagination.

"There is a legend," the boy began. "That your ancestors watch-"

"What does ann..sess...terr mean?" Lizzie cut him off, frowning slightly as she tried to pronounce the word in question.

"Uh like your grandpa's grandpa's grandpa and his grandpa. People in your family that were alive before you were. Anyways, don't interrupt me again. The legends say that your ancestors watch over you every single day. It's sorta like Santa Claus, they're always watching you making sure you behave. And when you don't behave, they send a creature down from wherever they are--I'm don't believe in heaven or anything, but if you believe in heaven, Lizzie, then they send a creature down from heaven-- that makes sure you behave. How does it do that? Well..." Slowly, the teenager inched towards the light switch. It was night, so flicking the lights off would give him the effect he was looking for. "Well, these creatures aren't exactly the nicest. You-" He stopped as the little girl interrupted him again.

"What do they do that doesn't make them nice?" Innocent eyes peered up at him. Eyes that believed that everyone was good. The boy hated to be the one to break it to her that not everything is nice.

"I told you not to interrupt me!" He exclaimed, frowning.

"Sowwy."

"Ah, it's okay. These creatures, one may call monsters and they're well known for hiding under your bed and waiting for you to pass by them-" he subtly switched the light off-"so they can grab your ankles, pull you under and have you for DINNER!!" His voice grew louder and louder as he spoke, an eery grin taking over his features. "Because everyone knows misbehaving children are the tastiest."

A screech was heard from the other side of the room. Sobbing soon followed. The boy turned the light back on, expecting to see the redhead as the source of the crying, only to see her three-year-old sister on the ground crying and Lizzie staring up at him with wide eyes. Eyes filled with... excitement?

As he rushed over to comfort the three-year-old, the redhead asked, "Where do these monsters come from? Is there like the north pole but for monsters? Do I have a monster under my bed?" She gasped. "She can be my friend! And then at night when I can't sleep, I just talk to her!"

The boy looked at her, flabbergasted. That was not the reaction he'd expected. She wasn't afraid at all.

Okay, maybe she just isn't afraid of monsters, thought her parents, slightly freaked out about how fearless their child was.

Nope.

The years passed and she wasn't afraid of bugs, spiders, heights, fire, anything. Before she'd learned street safety, she'd cross the street whenever she felt like it because she had no fear that she could be hit by a car. She'd go climb the tallest trees she could find because it was fun and she had no fear that she'd fall. Her younger sister, the one who'd been scared by the very thought of monsters under her bed, grew up to be a huge fan of horror movies, and Lizzie was always roped into watching them with her. The elder girl always spent the entirety of those movies laughing or bored. They didn't scare her. Nothing else scared her, so why would some picture on a screen?

Eventually, her parents stopped questioning it, and just rolled with it. Every child is different, and their's just seemed to be fearless.

WC: 766