[OOC] Harold's Academy for the Magically Inclined

[jasbraq]

Had to update sheet a little bit because Ti convinced me that Fasha looks better with ruby eyes instead of golden ones.

Ti's reasoning

[Aeolian]

Hello All, here is the

Second Batch

of Approved Characters. If your character is included on this list, please move your character sheet over to the character tab at your earliest convenience. This is a small batch and the last of the approved submissions for today. We will pick back up tomorrow. Thanks everyone for your patience.

@Teyao

Myrion Stevar

Don't let his wide-rimmed glasses and understated style deceive you — this workaholic 4th year from the House of Eusebia possesses the unique ability to 'evolve' the gifts of others, and better still, take them on as his very own.

@CaliforniaState

Primrose Greenleigh

In a world where people take to the skies, this quirky Seraph's Kissed Mystic, a 6th year from the House of Eusebia, feels more at home with her feet planted in the soil — due in part to her isolated past and gifts that allow her to bring forth the beauty and deadly nature of the forest.

@Aeolian

Petyr Nostradé

As the resident handsome ice prince of Harold's Academy, this intelligent but aloof 4th year from the House of Seraphine is as mysterious as his gift; blue skin and healing scales shimmer across his flesh like the mystical allure of stardust.

[Crimson Flame]

[Aeolian]

@Crimson Flame

This image link is broken. lol

[Crimson Flame]

<Snipped quote by Crimson Flame>

This image link is broken. lol

@Aeolian

I fixed it

[A Lowly Wretch]

Looking forward to the 'morrow to see who else makes the roster in this exciting new story.

[CaliforniaState]

I want to thank the academy for this award, my cat, and my wife Aeolian.

[Mirandae]

and my wife Aeolian.

@CaliforniaState

[Echotech71]

Congratulations to the first and second batches

[Alfhedil]

Okay, so I worked out a quick and dirty background to pass the muster(I hope) and will work on expanding it later with some more indepth story pieces as I get to them. Also yes, did a little bit of world-building lmao.

Corrine

[Jumbus]

Hi I had a look over the setting and thought I might apply. Before I do though I have a few questions:

What would be the expected post size and frequency for this RP?

Is this expected to have sub story arcs or one big continuous one?

Just don't want to commit myself to something I won't be able to keep up with. Thanks

[Ti]

Hi I had a look over the setting and thought I might apply. Before I do though I have a few questions:

What would be the expected post size and frequency for this RP?

Is this expected to have sub story arcs or one big continuous one?

Just don't want to commit myself to something I won't be able to keep up with. Thanks

@Jumbus

Hi Jumbus,

From Post 3, it states the following:

◈ Try to post at least once a week. Try not to "overpost" too much. People need time to read and respond. I won't set a hard and fast rule about "overposting", but just be mindful of others. We want balanced, consistent, steady pacing. Quality over quantity.

◈ At a minimum, posts should be AT LEAST 2 to 3 well-written paragraphs. You don't have to write like Agatha Christie, but thoughtful paragraphs are great for storytelling and flow.

Story Arc information has not been shared yet.

One issue is that the deadline for expressing interest was yesterday, then the absolute deadline for completed character sheet is Thursday East-Coast US time.

[Jumbus]

@Ti

Hey Ti,

Thanks for the clarification on that. It's unfortunate I wasn't in by the deadline. I'll let @Aeolian pitch in on if I'm able to sneak in a character sheet. But it's completely fine if thats not allowed considering the deadline

[LuckyBlackCat]

Wow this thread is lively. Apologies for the wait, I hit a busy patch, but kitty girl is here! @Aeolian

Sylvia Copeland

Sylvia Copeland

A late bloomer, this curious Cait-like student is only in second year, and has much to learn about her magic. It's unclear whether her future at Harold's will rein in her wild and sneaky tendencies or encourage them.



◈ A p p e a r a n c e ◈
Sylvia's wild appearance matches her free-spirited, outdoorsy personality. Her long red-brown hair is always messy and tangles easily, no matter how much she brushes it. She has a light tan and an athletic figure, and it's common to see her with some kind of feline trait as she trains and experiments with her ability. Her clothing tends towards the practical, either loose or stretchy to accomodate her shapeshifting. Wears open-toed shoes or goes barefoot whenever she can - her control over her ability isn't perfect, and she's ruined countless pairs of shoes before with inconveniently-manifesting toe claws.

◈ "Oh don't worry, I won't cause trouble. I'm just an innocent little kitty!" ◈

◈ N a m e
Sylvia Copeland

◈ S p e l l c a s t e r N a m e
Grimalkin

◈ A g e, H e i g h t, a n d W e i g h t
18, 167cm, 58kg

◈ R a c e
Mystic

◈ G e n d e r
Female

◈ S e x u a l O r i e n t a t i o n
Bisexual

◈ Y e a r
2nd

◈ P e t
A female grey tabby Cait named Stormy. True to her name, she's moody, and tends to give Sylvia that classic feline glare. She can be affectionate when she wants to be though.

◈ H o u s e
House of Ivar

◈ I l l u m i n a i r e
No

◈ C l a s s e s

◈ Gifts

◈ Sustained Flight

◈ General Combat Training

◈ Pet Bonding

◈ Portal Studies

◈ Portal Exploration

◈ A r e Y o u O n Y o u r H o u s e ' s W a a g a T e a m?
No

◈ "I know what they say about curiosity and Caits, but I can handle whatever's out there!" ◈

◈ P e r s o n a l i t y
Curious ◈ Adventurous ◈ Mischievous ◈ Determined ◈ Defiant

Having been shielded from the world for a long time has given Sylvia a strong drive to explore it. She doesn't like to be cooped up in one place for too long, and is happiest when she's discovering new things and places. This can be a strength as it means she enjoys learning, but it can just as easily be a weakness when she gets in over her head, or winds up in detention from venturing into places that are off-limits.

Not that the latter stops her, it just makes her redouble her efforts to not get caught, say, wandering the grounds after hours. Her protective upbringing means she's good at sneaking around. She's the kind of person who very much prefers to take her chances flying out of windows rather than using the main entrance. "It's flight practice!" she'll claim if a teacher or Illuminaire sees her, while (unsuccessfully) attempting to 'cute' her way out of trouble by giving herself Cait ears and eyes, and putting on her best innocent look.

Her mischief don't end here. She likes to play harmless pranks, especially on uptight and humourless people. For all her silly tendencies, though, she's actually much more hardworking than people imagine her to be. As a late bloomer, she pushes herself non-stop to improve with her gift. The reason why she usually has at least one Cait trait at any given time isn't just to sneak about and play jokes - she's getting in as much training as she possibly can.

Outwardly, she pretends to brush off failure and setbacks, but they get to her more than she shows. She hates appearing weak, or doing anything that might get her pitied or mocked. If someone talks down to her, she'll go out of her way to prove them wrong, even if it means she becomes unhealthily concerned with their view of her, and it ultimately does more harm than good.

◈ H i s t o r y
For much of her life, Sylvia grew up underestimated and overprotected. Her family is mostly one of powerful Mystics, people who went on to become warriors, bodyguards, explorers. Her older sister Elira, a powerful air elementalist, graduated from Harold's and pursued her calling as an airship pilot. Yet no such path seemed to be set out for Sylvia, who appeared to possess no magical gift.

Her seventeenth birthday came and went, and still she hadn't awakened as a Mystic. Her mother, a descendant of a warrior who'd fought during the Time of Tears, knew just how dangerous the world could be, especially for someone she saw as defenseless. Even if non-Mystics weren't direct targets of Seraph-Ni, they could still get caught up in such incidents, and of course there were daemons to worry about. So, she overprotected Sylvia, limiting how long she could stay out of her sight. Treated like a child, Sylvia barely got a chance to leave the house. She'd resort to sneaking out, but still didn't get to hang out with her peers anywhere near as much as she wanted.

This made her a target for bullies, something she tried to keep secret from her parents, knowing they'd freak out. One day, however, a classmate's picking on her became too much. The boy shoved and elbowed her in the hallway, taunting her that he bet she couldn't even fight back. She turned round and slapped him. She knew she'd get in trouble, but didn't care. What she didn't expect was to leave a row of cuts on his cheek. Horrified, she stared at her hand and saw her fingernails had turned into sharp, curved claws.

The school nurse was able to easily heal him, but it took a lot of convincing on Sylvia's part to prove that it was an accident, and her parents had to intervene to keep her out of legal trouble. For the longest time, she'd fantasised about becoming a Mystic and making her family proud, but hadn't thought it would be like this. As it turned out, her parents were anything but proud, because of the embarrassing way it had happened. As was mandatory, she was sent straight to Harold's Academy for the Magically Inclined, where she trains to get a handle on her gift and become the Mystic her family wants her to be.

◈ R e p u t a t i o n
Sylvia has a reputation as a bit of a goof, and a troublemaker. Not in a cruel way, more of a "what kinds of shenanigans has she gotten into now?" way. This means the more rebellious students are drawn to her, and she butts heads with those who follow rules to the letter. Even her friends tend to be on high alert for pranks when around her.

Due to her lack of experience with or control of her magic, some see her as weak and naive, hence an easy target. If they bully her, though, she will get back at them in some suitably embarrassing way, living by the saying "revenge is a dish that is best served cold". Even if it ends up escalating the situation.

She'll do the same if she sees someone else getting bullied, having protective tendencies of her own, although not to the point of being stifling. Shy people who have trouble standing up for themselves tend to gravitate towards her for this reason.

◈ G o a l s
Sylvia isn't entirely sure yet, because she's been held back by family for so long. Something that involves exploring the world - and possibly other worlds - would suit her. As for non-career goals, her main one is to perfect her Feline Form ability, and prove to her parents that she isn't a weakling.

◈ R e l a t i o n s
Elira Copeland, older sister. Despite Sylvia having grown up in her shadow, their relationship is actually pretty ok - Elira has confided that being the golden child isn't all it's cracked up to be, because of the weight of everyone's expectations.

Altair Copeland, father. Strict and militaristic, his standards are nigh-impossible to meet.

Meredith Copeland, mother. Well-meaning but overprotective, as her own mother told her plenty of horror stories of the Time of Tears and the many losses suffered.

◈ "Mrrooooowwwwrrrrr!" ◈

◈ M y s t i c C l a s s i f i c a t i o n
Somatic

◈ G i f t
Feline Form

◈ M y s t i c C o d e
Sylvia can take on physical traits of felines. For example, she can turn her fingernails and toenails into claws, grow Cait ears for sharper hearing, sprout a tail for balance, or transform her eyes into slit-pupilled reflective ones to gain night vision. Limbs grow a coat of dark brown fur while shifted, as well as becoming a little stronger and more flexible.

With practice and experience, eventually she'll be able to shapeshift her entire body into a large wildcat form. This form is roughly the size of a cougar, but the ears are more like those of a house Cait, and her eyes remain blue.

◈ L i m i t a t i o n s a n d W e a k n e s s e s
It takes between 1-3 seconds to shift, depending on the body part. If she's injured and/or exhausted, it takes even longer. Growing claws normally only takes a second, but shifting an entire arm takes longer, and during that time, movement of the limb is impeded. When she transforms her eyes, her vision briefly blurs, and when she transforms her ears, sounds become dull and garbled for a moment.

Enhanced senses, while useful, can work against her. Loud noises can be incapacitating while she's using her Cait ears, and since a feline's paws are even more sensitive than human hands and feet, damage to a shapeshifted finger or toe is excruciating.

At her current skill level, she has trouble keeping several body parts shapeshifted at once. If, say, she tries to transform her arms, legs and eyes, she might end up accidentally retaining one of her human limbs. Also, the more parts she shifts, the more of a strain on her vitesse it is.

She doesn't yet have full control over her ability. Sometimes, when she's angry or scared, her claws will spontaneously appear, or her eyes will turn slit-pupilled.

[Aeolian]

@Ti

Hey Ti,

Thanks for the clarification on that. It's unfortunate I wasn't in by the deadline. I'll let @Aeolian pitch in on if I'm able to sneak in a character sheet. But it's completely fine if thats not allowed considering the deadline

@Jumbus

Hi Jumbus,

Thanks for expressing interest, but unfortunately, the deadline for expressing interest was yesterday, and I will be sticking to that, I'm afraid. Our cast is already enormous, and the cut-off was put in place to give newcomers a chance to join while still ensuring that once the deadline was crossed, that's it on new submissions. We needed a cutoff time; otherwise, this RP would become unmanageable.

If someone leaves the RP or can no longer participate, I may open back up the RP for new applications. But until then, we are closed on new interests for now. Sorry. :(

[Jumbus]

@Aeolian

That's perfectly fine and understandable. Tbh I kind of doubted I'd be able to get a compelling character together by the second deadline anyway haha.

Hope its a good RP. Have fun all

[Ti]

That moment when thread viewers spike suddenly at a new post. The anticipation of the next batch is very real.

[Echotech71]

That moment when thread viewers spike suddenly at a new post. The anticipation of the next batch is very real.

@Ti

The suspense is real.

[Ti]

<Snipped quote by Ti>

The suspense is real.

@McKennaJ71

I asked Aeolian about how she makes these very difficult decisions on who to choose. She kindly showed me the selection process.

Selection Process

First Spin result: (LOL)

[Ebil Bunny]

Wow this thread is lively. Apologies for the wait, I hit a busy patch, but kitty girl is here! @Aeolian

Sylvia Copeland

Sylvia Copeland

A late bloomer, this curious Cait-like student is only in second year, and has much to learn about her magic. It's unclear whether her future at Harold's will rein in her wild and sneaky tendencies or encourage them.



◈ A p p e a r a n c e ◈
Sylvia's wild appearance matches her free-spirited, outdoorsy personality. Her long red-brown hair is always messy and tangles easily, no matter how much she brushes it. She has a light tan and an athletic figure, and it's common to see her with some kind of feline trait as she trains and experiments with her ability. Her clothing tends towards the practical, either loose or stretchy to accomodate her shapeshifting. Wears open-toed shoes or goes barefoot whenever she can - her control over her ability isn't perfect, and she's ruined countless pairs of shoes before with inconveniently-manifesting toe claws.

◈ "Oh don't worry, I won't cause trouble. I'm just an innocent little kitty!" ◈

◈ N a m e
Sylvia Copeland

◈ S p e l l c a s t e r N a m e
Grimalkin

◈ A g e, H e i g h t, a n d W e i g h t
18, 167cm, 58kg

◈ R a c e
Mystic

◈ G e n d e r
Female

◈ S e x u a l O r i e n t a t i o n
Bisexual

◈ Y e a r
2nd

◈ P e t
A female grey tabby Cait named Stormy. True to her name, she's moody, and tends to give Sylvia that classic feline glare. She can be affectionate when she wants to be though.

◈ H o u s e
House of Ivar

◈ I l l u m i n a i r e
No

◈ C l a s s e s

◈ Gifts

◈ Sustained Flight

◈ General Combat Training

◈ Pet Bonding

◈ Portal Studies

◈ Portal Exploration

◈ A r e Y o u O n Y o u r H o u s e ' s W a a g a T e a m?
No

◈ "I know what they say about curiosity and Caits, but I can handle whatever's out there!" ◈

◈ P e r s o n a l i t y
Curious ◈ Adventurous ◈ Mischievous ◈ Determined ◈ Defiant

Having been shielded from the world for a long time has given Sylvia a strong drive to explore it. She doesn't like to be cooped up in one place for too long, and is happiest when she's discovering new things and places. This can be a strength as it means she enjoys learning, but it can just as easily be a weakness when she gets in over her head, or winds up in detention from venturing into places that are off-limits.

Not that the latter stops her, it just makes her redouble her efforts to not get caught, say, wandering the grounds after hours. Her protective upbringing means she's good at sneaking around. She's the kind of person who very much prefers to take her chances flying out of windows rather than using the main entrance. "It's flight practice!" she'll claim if a teacher or Illuminaire sees her, while (unsuccessfully) attempting to 'cute' her way out of trouble by giving herself Cait ears and eyes, and putting on her best innocent look.

Her mischief don't end here. She likes to play harmless pranks, especially on uptight and humourless people. For all her silly tendencies, though, she's actually much more hardworking than people imagine her to be. As a late bloomer, she pushes herself non-stop to improve with her gift. The reason why she usually has at least one Cait trait at any given time isn't just to sneak about and play jokes - she's getting in as much training as she possibly can.

Outwardly, she pretends to brush off failure and setbacks, but they get to her more than she shows. She hates appearing weak, or doing anything that might get her pitied or mocked. If someone talks down to her, she'll go out of her way to prove them wrong, even if it means she becomes unhealthily concerned with their view of her, and it ultimately does more harm than good.

◈ H i s t o r y
For much of her life, Sylvia grew up underestimated and overprotected. Her family is mostly one of powerful Mystics, people who went on to become warriors, bodyguards, explorers. Her older sister Elira, a powerful air elementalist, graduated from Harold's and pursued her calling as an airship pilot. Yet no such path seemed to be set out for Sylvia, who appeared to possess no magical gift.

Her seventeenth birthday came and went, and still she hadn't awakened as a Mystic. Her mother, a descendant of a warrior who'd fought during the Time of Tears, knew just how dangerous the world could be, especially for someone she saw as defenseless. Even if non-Mystics weren't direct targets of Seraph-Ni, they could still get caught up in such incidents, and of course there were daemons to worry about. So, she overprotected Sylvia, limiting how long she could stay out of her sight. Treated like a child, Sylvia barely got a chance to leave the house. She'd resort to sneaking out, but still didn't get to hang out with her peers anywhere near as much as she wanted.

This made her a target for bullies, something she tried to keep secret from her parents, knowing they'd freak out. One day, however, a classmate's picking on her became too much. The boy shoved and elbowed her in the hallway, taunting her that he bet she couldn't even fight back. She turned round and slapped him. She knew she'd get in trouble, but didn't care. What she didn't expect was to leave a row of cuts on his cheek. Horrified, she stared at her hand and saw her fingernails had turned into sharp, curved claws.

The school nurse was able to easily heal him, but it took a lot of convincing on Sylvia's part to prove that it was an accident, and her parents had to intervene to keep her out of legal trouble. For the longest time, she'd fantasised about becoming a Mystic and making her family proud, but hadn't thought it would be like this. As it turned out, her parents were anything but proud, because of the embarrassing way it had happened. As was mandatory, she was sent straight to Harold's Academy for the Magically Inclined, where she trains to get a handle on her gift and become the Mystic her family wants her to be.

◈ R e p u t a t i o n
Sylvia has a reputation as a bit of a goof, and a troublemaker. Not in a cruel way, more of a "what kinds of shenanigans has she gotten into now?" way. This means the more rebellious students are drawn to her, and she butts heads with those who follow rules to the letter. Even her friends tend to be on high alert for pranks when around her.

Due to her lack of experience with or control of her magic, some see her as weak and naive, hence an easy target. If they bully her, though, she will get back at them in some suitably embarrassing way, living by the saying "revenge is a dish that is best served cold". Even if it ends up escalating the situation.

She'll do the same if she sees someone else getting bullied, having protective tendencies of her own, although not to the point of being stifling. Shy people who have trouble standing up for themselves tend to gravitate towards her for this reason.

◈ G o a l s
Sylvia isn't entirely sure yet, because she's been held back by family for so long. Something that involves exploring the world - and possibly other worlds - would suit her. As for non-career goals, her main one is to perfect her Feline Form ability, and prove to her parents that she isn't a weakling.

◈ R e l a t i o n s
Elira Copeland, older sister. Despite Sylvia having grown up in her shadow, their relationship is actually pretty ok - Elira has confided that being the golden child isn't all it's cracked up to be, because of the weight of everyone's expectations.

Altair Copeland, father. Strict and militaristic, his standards are nigh-impossible to meet.

Meredith Copeland, mother. Well-meaning but overprotective, as her own mother told her plenty of horror stories of the Time of Tears and the many losses suffered.

◈ "Mrrooooowwwwrrrrr!" ◈

◈ M y s t i c C l a s s i f i c a t i o n
Somatic

◈ G i f t
Feline Form

◈ M y s t i c C o d e
Sylvia can take on physical traits of felines. For example, she can turn her fingernails and toenails into claws, grow Cait ears for sharper hearing, sprout a tail for balance, or transform her eyes into slit-pupilled reflective ones to gain night vision. Limbs grow a coat of dark brown fur while shifted, as well as becoming a little stronger and more flexible.

With practice and experience, eventually she'll be able to shapeshift her entire body into a large wildcat form. This form is roughly the size of a cougar, but the ears are more like those of a house Cait, and her eyes remain blue.

◈ L i m i t a t i o n s a n d W e a k n e s s e s
It takes between 1-3 seconds to shift, depending on the body part. If she's injured and/or exhausted, it takes even longer. Growing claws normally only takes a second, but shifting an entire arm takes longer, and during that time, movement of the limb is impeded. When she transforms her eyes, her vision briefly blurs, and when she transforms her ears, sounds become dull and garbled for a moment.

Enhanced senses, while useful, can work against her. Loud noises can be incapacitating while she's using her Cait ears, and since a feline's paws are even more sensitive than human hands and feet, damage to a shapeshifted finger or toe is excruciating.

At her current skill level, she has trouble keeping several body parts shapeshifted at once. If, say, she tries to transform her arms, legs and eyes, she might end up accidentally retaining one of her human limbs. Also, the more parts she shifts, the more of a strain on her vitesse it is.

She doesn't yet have full control over her ability. Sometimes, when she's angry or scared, her claws will spontaneously appear, or her eyes will turn slit-pupilled.

@LuckyBlackCat

Yesss, a fellow animal shifter and fun-loving rebel! An excellent addition to Manny's Squad!