DO NOT POST HERE: Application for Magical Races/Talents and Special Abilities

Mod note: STA:6|EV:6|ST:1|WIS:8|ARC:6|ACC:8| = 35. 30 stats are allowed.
Also, for the admin, please use full stops. I sincerely can't read this.

Mod note24.12.20: Sweety, you took one stat point away. 35 - 1 is not 30. And please, use full stops.

UPDATE 24.01.21. It's been a month, no changes were made. App is considered closed.

Edit: This application has been redacted. Elaine Pendrast has confirmed this and kindly agreed to pass the message on to the Index team.

Link to your encyclopedia thread: viewtopic.php?f=169&t=9400
Name of Ability or Race/Talent that you Are Applying for: Perfectionist
Describe why this fits your character (not why you the player want it):

Reducio

From a very early age, Kazuo received strict training in a wide variety of things considered important to a high-ranking, traditional clan. Diligence, patience, and precision were drilled into him by his parents, his tutors, and the very culture he grew up in. It started with the most basic of skills, learning to read and write. Hours spent practicing not only the primary Japanese hiragana and katakana but also the significantly more complicated Chinese kanji system. Perfecting each brush stroke so that no character could ever possibly be misinterpreted. Transcribing the histories of his clan, each story slowly imprinted into memory through the process. Hours spent learning the shamisen, how to draw beautiful music from the instrument. Lessons on social protocols, on a wide range of appropriate behaviours depending on situations he was expected to someday encounter - and some traditions so old it was unlikely he would ever have to use them. His life was a routine of learning, whether it was basic education, social decorum, or hobbies- and the expectation was always that if he chose to take on something new, he was expected to dedicate himself wholly to learning it. The lessons he learned at home were echoed in school. Only the smartest could succeed and they did so by seeking perfection in their learning. Perfect test scores resulted in rewards. Failures met with reminders that no skill can be mastered by only trying it once. Only dedication to learning and practicing would bring about mastery. As Kazuo grew older, these lessons had become deeply ingrained in him. Habitual behaviours that cause him to hyperfocus on the things he is learning, to the extent that he will spend hours doing extra research, study or practice in order to achieve his self-imposed standards. This extended to other aspects of his life as well; to his eating habits, exercise, and even how he chooses to dress.

Upon attending Hogwarts, that habitual behaviour managed to save him from what would have been an otherwise much more difficult ordeal. That dedication to perfection now applied to the struggle of learning a new language and new magic that depended heavily on his ability to understand that language and its convoluted history. To be anything less than perfect is to bring potential embarrassment on his clan, a sentiment he didn’t entirely share, but certainly, he cared enough about what his parents thought, especially his father. For his father, he would prove that whatever obstacles he might face, he could overcome them.

WC: 417

Link to your encyclopedia thread: Trunk

Ability: The Muggle Condition (First Year)
Why this fits:

Reducio

On summer vacation after his first year, Kelsey's mum took him with her on a personal visit she did abroad. She was mostly a local phenomena, but very occasionally she would have an effect on a passing rich tourist who deemed it worth their time to enlist her and her 'authentic' healing even to outrageous expense. Kelsey always attributed it to his mother's genuineness and large personality, it captivated her customers. People liked feeling like they were a part of something magical, something real. None of them likely would have guessed that it was the adopted, rarely present son who actually had any magical talent.

He wasn't looking to burst any illusion though, his mum's healing was harmless, maybe sometimes bordering on placebo. He liked traveling though, it was always fun to be in a new element with new flora and fauna to discover. He especially like meeting different kinds of people, and learning what they liked to do for fun. He was often just released into the streets to roam around as he pleased, to an extent. He had proved to be responsible enough to take care of himself for stretches of time at that point in his life, regardless of the fact that it was slightly belligerent parenting. Once they arrived, his mum went to her work and Kels went looking for friends.

One thing led to another, and Kelsey found himself spending the day with a local boy around his age. They talked and roamed around the city from playground to playground into the lazy evening. He had discovered that his new friend just so happened to come from a magical family nearby. All it really took was an offhanded mention of the word 'Muggle' for the truth to become apparent, though Kels was still new to the distinction. Before he went to Hogwarts, he didn't even know what a Muggle was, or that he was a half-blood. His foreign acquaintance was of the Pureblood variety.

They met a few times during his stay. They shared fragments of their cultures with each other, both naturally inquisitive children. The boy had been encouraged to dislike Muggles by his family, yet the lessons hadn't stuck. It reminded Kelsey of how lucky he was that his mother was so completely accepting of him, a thing he wouldn't take for granted as he grew. It was much nicer to be allowed to enjoy both the world of Muggles and the world of Magic. It seemed a shame to keep such a curious child away from what Muggles had to offer.

Once, when his friend fell off some stairs and skinned his knee, Kelsey was able to pull out some first aid he carried with him. He liked being useful, and found there was almost no good reason to not have a first aid kit nearby. His mother let him carry some of her supplies with him, especially for if he ended up getting hurt when he was out in the middle of nowhere. Cleaning up the wound and wrapping it, his new friend admitted he wouldn't have known what to do besides go to his mother for a healing spell. Kelsey learned something important that day: sometimes it was just better to know all the options. Sometimes Muggle medicine was the right tool for the job.

Word count: 556/400

Ability: Healing Sage (Second Year)
Why this fits:

Reducio

School wasn't easy just because he was a happy kid with a good parent. The more friends he made, the more he got noticed in the crowd. 'The nail that sticks out gets hammered down' was a saying he heard later that reminded him of his early schooling. People didn't like things they couldn't compartmentalize, and Kelsey was full of contradictions. Freak, weirdo, mudblood, and other uncreative besmirchments. He didn't let it come to define his self-worth. With the support of his friends and family, he could learn to ignore harmful words, with the understanding that they came from unwillingness to get to know him.

Still, there was always someone who found a way to get under the skin. Someone who said something too cruel, stronger than sticks and stones. A particular Pureblood had a falling out with him, youthful misunderstanding and bad blood brewing into a year-long rivalry. Any time they crossed paths, there were be some sort of altercation, an anode and cathode. Neither could seem to overcome the conflict, each sure the other needed to be taught a lesson. For the Pureblood, he felt Kelsey needed to understand his place in the world, and for Kelsey, an idealistic sense that he needed to see the error of his ways, to feel sorry for what he had done.

It was only towards the end of the year that Kelsey was approached by his nemesis is a completely uncharacteristic fashion-- being asked for help. Kelsey's skill with healing magic and muggle cures was what most people knew him for, and if not for that, then for his digression with helping with things without telling the teachers. That was what made him the only person his rival could turn to when they needed help for their friend, a girl who had gotten herself hurt badly in an act that could have gotten them expelled.

Owing the boy nothing, Kelsey wanted to shove it in his face, to tell him no and leave them high and dry. Still, the girl was hurt, and she needed help immediately, so he helped. No matter who she was, or who she made friends with, even if she hated Kelsey to the core, he wanted to help when he could. Healing magic was about helping people, about ending suffering. Without the desire in his heart to help everyone, he would never have been such an accomplished healer in the first place.

There was no gratitude received, but in the following years the flagrant animosity between them eventually cooled, and Kelsey learned to let grudges go.

Word count: 432/400

Ability: Non-Human Enthusiast (Third Year)
Why this fits:

Reducio

It had not escaped Kelsey's attention that there were non-humans in the school. In fact, the introduction to Hogwarts came not only with an access to magic, but to magical creatures. A brand new world of biology opened up to him, and with little coaxing needed, he started to study every creature that interested him, one after the other. He would befriend them, pester them, analyze them, and take notes. Nothing would escape unknown so long as he wanted to understand it, and that year, non-human creatures was his conquest.

It helped that the Care of Magical Creatures class began, and he became good friends with Felix Finley, a part-veela in his school year. He delved deep into the books available of the topic, as well as pestering his friends with needling questions, test, and experiments. He was starting to get more into the ins and outs of potion making, and felt he wouldn't be worth anything as a potioneer if he didn't understand how different races' body chemistry interacted with medicine and magic. Unlike the patience of his unfortunate guinea pigs, Kels never ran out of ideas to test.

With a journal filled with near-mad scribbling, he took information he read and if anything was ambiguous or left too unexplained for his liking, he would run simulations himself, asking them to run through obstacles or take a bunch of the same potion with slight variations in a regiment over several days. Other times he would pester them to let him chart physical training exercises and record their sleeping patterns and give him saliva samples. If they tried to tell him they didn't want to, he would ask them again later, and if they tried to run away or hide, he would pursue and seek.

By the end of the year, he had become somewhat infamous. This culminated in something of an intervention, where he was finally sat down and told to respect other peoples' privacy. He thought as long as his goal was noble, the pursuit of knowledge would always be an acceptable excuse for his actions. It wasn't so, and he learned a valuable lesson about how far was too far, and how much was too much. Once he wrapped his head around that, and learned the art of tact, he grew a more healthy relationship with the half-breeds in the school as he slowly earned back their trust. Still, it wouldn't stop him from jumping on the opportunity to learn even more if it presented itself.

Word count: 412/400
Permission given to use Robyn Finley's brother Felix in this RP

Ability: Poison Mastery (Fourth Year)
Why this fits:

Reducio

Kelsey was a naturally curious child, he would be the type to dismantle something to figure out how to put it back together. He liked to test his theories, and do experiments, often leading to absolute catastrophe, but occasionally leading to brilliant discoveries. His skill with potions had been clear to his Professor from day one, despite most seeing his childish, laid-back behavior and assuming he had cheated to get his grades.

His curious mind was nurtured despite the trail of destruction that usually followed. He always seemed to have a gut feeling for how to maximize the potency of each of his concoctions, often creating effects that lasted far past expected expiry. Though hardly perfect, his determination and genuine interest in Potions grew into a lifelong passion. His deep knowledge of Herbology and willingness to fail brought with it nearly endless practice towards mastery.

He worked well in such a supportive environment, no less motivated by his friends who also liked his propensity to concoct wild potions with self-obtained components. His group were able to get away with things kids their age should never have been able to get their hands on, and were even once caught sneaking into the Potions storeroom, followed by an especially harsh detention.

As Kelsey's bag started to get filled with more and more types of potions that he deemed worthy of always having, he started to get requests and commissions by some of the other students. The summer of that year, his potion making would be put to the test in his mother's shop. While normally he would keep to his own business, not interfering with the world of Muggles, he couldn't ignore a malady he recognized that his mother did not. Dragon Pox. Though it had been a pandemic originating in South America in the distant past, there were still cases that cropped up from time to time, especially in the elderly.

When Kelsey saw the patient in his mum's hut, he was at the end of his rope. The symptoms had befuddled doctors everywhere, but couldn't be any clearer to the studious Hufflepuff. He had heard about the pandemic in his History of Magic classes, and knew a cure had been discovered. Getting his owl to coordinate with a friend who lived nearby a large wizarding library, Kelsey was able to duplicate the recipe before the disease could spread or take the life of the carrier. For appearances, all the credit had been given to his mother, and the miraculous recovery became a huge boon to her reputation.

Though the deception made his mother feel guilty, Kelsey assured her that it was because of her that he had been able to become an expert in potions so quickly. Her passion to help the people who came to her, as well as her undying support of him ever since he was adopted had paved the way to his success, so he was paying it forward. Frankly, he didn't want the attention anyway. He was already overloaded with commissions at school, and he wasn't interested in becoming a lifelong potion seller. Too much time making the same thing, and not enough time making something new.

Word count: 532/400

Ability: Fearless (Fifth Year)
Why this fits:

Reducio

Kelsey's bright, gap tooth smile was a ray of sunshine to those around him. Most knew he was easy to get along with, always in a good mood, and a friend to whoever would have him. What they didn't see were all the times that Kelsey had been alone in his life, which was more than they could likely fathom. His mother had been deemed a fit parents, and her home had all the necessities of raising a child in the eyes of the law. Still, the older he got, the more he was given complete freedom and autonomy, to a practically frightening degree. The fenland was not known for crime, nor predatory animals, so most of his outings into nature were harmless jaunts. With their frequency however, it was only a matter of time before he found himself alone and in danger.

At 15-years-old, Kels had already experienced a few near-death situations. If not in the wild, then at Hogwarts itself. His boundless curiosity and disregard of boundaries found him on the end of many a precarious drop, or face-to-face with a deadly creature. The first few times his adrenaline navigated him through the crisis, barely managing to escape either by luck or animal instinct. He would cry, perhaps panic, need to regain his composure after the threat was behind him. In time, he learned that being alone meant he would only have himself to rely on if things went wrong. Keeping a cool head under pressure, and not letting fear control him, would be the deciding factor of whether he might make it out of a situation alive.

His experience made it hard for little things to shake him. He had seen so much of the world, and met so many people, that he had learned to not let appearances mean everything. Just because something looked terrifying didn't mean it was going to attack, and just because something looked cute didn't mean it wouldn't tear him in half. It was with that practical wisdom that he found himself stranded that summer, trapped in a cave-in.

He had explored there many times as a child, but time and erosion had changed the environment. In the pitch blackness, miles away from anyone, he spent hours carefully finding the best means of egress and carefully creating an escape route without disturbing the walls enough to cause more destruction. Near starving and freezing as he worked into the night, he conserved his breathing in the tight space as it was slowly drained of oxygen, and eventually broke the surface to the fresh air. Had he panicked, he would not have survived.

Word count: 439/400

Ability: Comprehend Languages: Parselmouth (Sixth Year)
Why this fits:

Reducio

It wasn't in his sixth year, but rather the first when his interest in parselmouth started. Ever since the Battle of Hogwarts that took place a few years before he started school, the language had become more a part of the public consciousness. Some who had feared association with Voldemort, now had the hero Harry Potter to point to as an example of how the language should no longer have such a stigma. Kels agreed, and had joined a fledgling group of students who planned on reclaiming the language from obscurity. Over the years, the group fell apart as the people in it drifted, and issues that they had to face diminished. Still, it had started a journey for the young Muggle (borne) out of his element, and that was to learn it himself.

It was no secret that Kels loved animals, perhaps enough to want to join the animal kingdom himself, so the allure of understanding the thoughts of a snake was nearly impossible to ignore. He had a few patient teachers in the friends that he made in the student organization, though the words were impossible to replicate accurately himself. Instead, he would read along as they translated books into parsel, or have 'snake days' where the friend only spoke in parsel and he would need to need to process the hissing sounds to communicate eith and understand them. One particularly disastrous time, he insisted they give him potions instructions through the speech, which led to the discovery of how dreadfully sssimilar a lot of the words were, and how sssubtle the language really was.

It didn't deter him, as he continued the arduous study through his entire tenure at Hogwarts. By his sixth year, he had such an earful of hissy noises that he had grown accustomed to the sound. Enough so that one day, as a student's pet snake lay draping across their shoulders, it asked directions and received an answer in English to the surprise of everyone present. As the people gathered tried to sort out why Kels had abruptly given directions, or why Kels had heard someone asking for them, the snake eventually spoke up again, after it had its fill of enjoying the confusion. Saying a quick thank you, the reptile followed by asking Kelsey to keep their exchange, and the fact that his owner was a Parseltongue, a secret. He kept his word, playing it off like he was just being silly, though he could barely contain his excitement for hitting such a milestone in his understanding of the language.

Word count: 422/400

Encyclopedia Page: Link here

Applying For: Terrible presence

Describe why this fits your character:

Reducio

Karlina's family has always been shrouded in mystery. The Moreaus (on her mother's side) are notorious for revealing little about themselves, giving people room to speculate and lose themselves in their own illusions, too busy with rumors and gossip to push for the information they desire. The Ackermans (on her father's side) have an air of secrecy about them, even when it appears they're being completely open and sincere. It's a skill they learned in order to protect their privacy, a skill acquired out of necessity and mastered after many years of practice.

It always seemed to be a strange contrast, a sort of middle ground that stood between two extremes, created to satisfy and never to please. The Ackermans looked upon everyone as though they were somehow superior, as though they were all-knowing and competent in comparison. But they also understood people, offering sympathy and good wishes to those who looked in need of them. Many thought it to be rather unsettling, some even went so far as to say that it was patronizing, but either way, those who looked closely enough could agree that every aspect of the family seemed to contradict itself. Nevertheless, it was their compassion that people latched on to, hoping to get a piece of it for themselves, forgetting about all that lay behind their devious mask.

It was easy to ignore the details of the picture that seemed not to fit in with the rest, especially with the appearance of Nicolette Moreau and her marriage into the Ackerman family. She was a beautiful, charming, and talented young woman with a bright future ahead of her and a shining smile to get her there. Many people adored her, both for the music she played and the way she carried herself, making it truly difficult to look away. She seemed to demand praise and attention without any intention to do so, enchanting people with her agreeable character and good looks, and still appearing humble and good-natured through it all.

When Karlina arrived on the scene, the difference between mother and daughter was staggering. Even from an early age, it was clear that Karlina was very different from Nicolette. Her mother was quite the performer, always playing the part of a perfect young woman, whereas Karlina felt no desire and no need to engage in fake appearances. Karlina always gave the impression of being quiet and stand-offish, preferring to sit silent than to engage in polite (and in her opinion, quite useless) conversation like she was expected to. A cold look of indifference adorned her face almost without pause, occasionally interrupted by a smile, which was most likely meant for her mother and no one else. When compared so closely to the effortless and natural charms of her mother, people couldn't help but think that something was off about Karlina, whose withering stare was enough to have anyone's skin crawling.

After Nicolette's passing, the situation worsened. Gone was the woman who had made smalltalk and long nights of festivity bearable, and in her place stood Karlina, alone. The girl seemed more bitter than before, less talkative, and less tolerant of people's attempts to cheer her up. People blamed it on grief, which was partly true, and after giving her time to mourn, Karlina's icy demeanor seemed to warm up.

She was still blunt with her words, didn't care much for masking them with politeness, and for whatever reason found satisfaction in seeing the weariness with which people approached her. It was true that she was more social, but an air of uneasiness clung to her like clothes on a rainy day, unpleasant and cold. There was something about her that didn't sit right with people, a shiver trickling down their spine with every piercing glance she spared them. Eventually, they began to avoid her, stopping only to exchange a polite greeting for a minute or so before hurriedly moving on.

Karlina's silence was assertive and bold; if she wanted to, she could issue orders with a few words under her breath and watch as people squirmed to carry them out. There wasn't an apparent cause for the discomfort that her presence seemed to bring about, or why certain people overcame it easily while others couldn't face her; it just was, and that somehow made it all the more frightening.

WORD COUNT: 723

STATS

STAMINA 5 ______	____EVASION ____7 ______	STRENGTH 4 ______
WISDOM 7	___ARCANE POWER ___6	ACCURACY 6

Mod Edit 10.01.21:
I can see that you did your research. You made sure to mention that it is an Adder, that you saw it at a path in a wooded area, since that is the usual habitat they are found in. Overall I canÄt accept this app, yet.
Fist, you will notice that I deleted some parts. This is just filling material to reach the WC, so I won't count them. Therefore you need to add a little bit to it (and include a word counter)
Second, this situation is unrealistic. Just saying that it is a wooded area doesnÄt make it plausible that a child just finds a wild adder (who has decreased in numbers a lot over the past years so finding one in the wilderness is hard enough). Everything is just there to be there. The snake to be found, the kitten to be eaten.
Please edit your application to a more plausible explanation as to why you are a parselmouth.

LINK TO YOUR ENCYCLOPEDIA THREAD: *click here*

NAME OF ABILITY/RACE THAT YOU ARE APPLYING FOR: Evasive Maneuvers

DESCRIBE WHY THIS FITS YOUR CHARACTER:

Gia and Vance loved each other a lot, but sometimes, like all siblings, the two of them would get in a fight. If you were present during any one of those numerous fights, you'd know a very crucial piece of information. When the two Adelard siblings are not on friendly terms with one another, be on the lookout at all times. Yes, although these two children were very similar to other pairs of siblings, one thing was different. Instead of simply yelling or hurting each other - which still did happen, of course - Vance and Gia would play tricks on one another.

Most of the time these pranks were harmless, only meant to annoy each other a bit and make the other realize that you were smarter, stronger, or better than them. Sometimes though, a prank would get a little out of hand. With some of the tricks the two played on each other, a single small mistake could lead to a big, unexpected result. And when it was your prank that got out of hand, possibly drenching your brother in multiple cans of tomato soup. . . well, there was really only one thing to do, wasn't there? And no, it wasn't to stand your ground - especially if you were the younger sibling, like Gia was. The strategy that was most useful at times like that was. . .

To run away. To avoid the person that was angry with you, at least until they calmed down.

Not what you were expecting, I presume? Gia was like that too, for a little bit. Her competitive, defiant nature made her want to hold her ground and show that she wasn't afraid, not at all. But after things went very wrong the first few times she did this, the young girl learned that sometimes, avoiding her brother actually turned out to be better than standing her ground. Still, doing this was not easy. No, not at all. Vance was very fast, and she really hadn't had much practice, since she'd preferred standing her ground over running for quite some time.

It took a while, but slowly, over many years, Gia perfected the art of evading her older brother when she needed to. By the time she began her school years at Hogwarts as a witch, she'd had a lot of practice avoiding the people she didn't want to come face-to-face with - and not only her brother. The girl now knew how to dodge anyone that she wanted to. And who knows? Perhaps those very same skills will come in handy during her time here at Hogwarts.

430 WORDS

STATS: Stamina 8 ⋆ Evasion 6 ⋆ Strength 3 ⋆ Wisdom 7 ⋆ Arcane Power 5 ⋆ Accuracy 6