[OOC] A Wizard's Pilgrimage

[PrimezTime]

Doctor Belasco said
From experience, I think the sooner* we get started the more momentum it'll have. :)I guess nothing stops people having flashback-esque introductions to any preparations they may have made in Hogsmeade if they want to as a 'prequel' to their proper posts.* By sooner, I mean 'the further in'. But also the sooner we get started. Let's get going! :P, is anybody going to take any great objection to me designing Germany's wizarding world as I like it? I'm interested in making it quite a right-wing state anyway, but with a bubbling political undercurrent with social engineering aims comparable to those of the death eaters? Nothing's actually but there's implications of quite a nasty political discourse and perhaps slightly expansionist policies. Following the first wizarding war, implied to take place around or in Germany and coinciding with the dates of WW2, there was a period of extreme humility amongst the involved nations (let's say Germany) but now, the wizarding community there is feeling oppressed and that it needs to rise back up against the muggles and assert some dominance - perhaps with a view to national expansion as well as back over the muggles. Johann is a product of that generation.Obviously there's a lot of making-shit-up here and if we don't want to go down that path, that's fine, but all the English characters have a cultural heritage that everybody's aware of (Death Eater occupation), while international characters are kind of playing blind with regard to their own cultural identity. I did look up Germany on HP Wiki but there's nothing really to go on. I'd certainly like to establish some kind of political scene (if not this one) in Germany just to give Johann a bit more grounding.

You know this brings up an interesting point. Did Hitler know about the Wizarding world since he was in charge of Germany at the time? I mean the muggle Prime Minister knows about the Wizarding world. I'm sure they knew very little but they are kept up to date with everything. I wonder if Hitler was informed as well and what his opinion about that would be.

Anyway, I don't object. I kind of have some ideas for how France would behave like because we don't have much on them either.

[Sloth]

PrimezTime said
You know this brings up an interesting point. Did Hitler know about the Wizarding world since he was in charge of Germany at the time? I mean the muggle Prime Minister knows about the Wizarding world. I'm sure they knew very little but they are kept up to date with everything. I wonder if Hitler was informed as well and what his opinion about that would be.Anyway, I don't object. I kind of have some ideas for how France would behave like because we don't have much on them either.

Aryan Master Race = Wizards?

[Doctor Belasco]

Sloth said
Aryan Master Race = Wizards?

The allusions are pretty clear in Book 7. Almost ham-fistedly, I thought. I'm also sure there's no coincidence (was there ever with JK?) that the Grindelwald movement, with similar thoughts on eugenics, coincided with WW2.

[PrimezTime]

Yea I believe that's what JK is getting at but in the story does this mean that Hitler, himself, was a wizard? Maybe his wife was? Maybe... just maybe there was a pure blood wizarding family that all shared blonde hair and blue eyes in Germany and Hitler interpreted that all blonde hair and blue eyes were wizards.

[Doctor Belasco]

Ahh. I guess we'll never know xD

For the purposes of my fictional version of Germany, Grindelwald was the main guy all that time ago. Did some dodgy things, sure, but his heart was in the right place. Right?

[VenatrixXII]

Doctor Belasco said
From experience, I think the sooner* we get started the more momentum it'll have. :)I guess nothing stops people having flashback-esque introductions to any preparations they may have made in Hogsmeade if they want to as a 'prequel' to their proper posts.* By sooner, I mean 'the further in'. But also the sooner we get started. Let's get going! :P, is anybody going to take any great objection to me designing Germany's wizarding world as I like it? I'm interested in making it quite a right-wing state anyway, but with a bubbling political undercurrent with social engineering aims comparable to those of the death eaters? Nothing's actually but there's implications of quite a nasty political discourse and perhaps slightly expansionist policies. Following the first wizarding war, implied to take place around or in Germany and coinciding with the dates of WW2, there was a period of extreme humility amongst the involved nations (let's say Germany) but now, the wizarding community there is feeling oppressed and that it needs to rise back up against the muggles and assert some dominance - perhaps with a view to national expansion as well as back over the muggles. Johann is a product of that generation.Obviously there's a lot of making-shit-up here and if we don't want to go down that path, that's fine, but all the English characters have a cultural heritage that everybody's aware of (Death Eater occupation), while international characters are kind of playing blind with regard to their own cultural identity. I did look up Germany on HP Wiki but there's nothing really to go on. I'd certainly like to establish some kind of political scene (if not this one) in Germany just to give Johann a bit more grounding.

I do not object to this idea, and I'm sure if anyone wants to go down this path, we come up with interesting outcomes.

Jannah said
That's ma'am ;). Just throwing that out there. Anyway, I'll probably just stick to one character in the beginning, but when is your deadline for joining? I'm just trying to get an idea since I refuse to take on any new RPs until I'm done this essay that is stressing me to the point of tears.

I don't want to push you but I also don't want to let the others wait too long. When is the essay deadline?

Imperfectionist said
x.x To be honest, Vena, I really don't like this layout. It takes too much work to go into every hider to read just a paragraph or so, and even fully extended it doesn't look pretty at all. The info's all there, so why not just keep it as it is?--Belasco, well, it kind of depends on how he treats her (and some of the other Hogwarts girls, like Amelia and Lydia... esp. Amelia). If he's just an instant bag of dicks, there's no way she'll be able to like him, but if he seems to just be, um, , they'll be more likely to connect. In any case, she'll definitely love having a duelist that's likely to beat her in the group. ;) Gives her something to look forward to later on.

Can you at least put the school above all the history, etc., so no one has to search the CS to know where each character comes from?

Sloth said
If it helps, I was considering not using them all when I saw that a two is apparently N.E.W.T. level. Something tells me Logan wouldn't exactly be good at the things I have him listed down for, considering he focused more-so on breaking a certain stereotype during the Hogwarts years rather than the academic appliances of magic. Heck he doesn't even strike me as a person to take a N.E.W.T. in anything, unless of course it's required for a Kneazle license or something. I'll have to think on what to change and all.

The option of other is also available. It doesn't have to be school related and can be considered as a small mastery in a hobby, etc.

So we start in France?
Every CS needs to be completely finished and accepted. When should the deadline be set? After Jannah is finished with his essay?

Doctor Belasco, Johann and James are accepted (Still a bit confused on the -100, if you could clarify).
Fowlishness, are you still with us?
Sloth, Logan is accepted, and should I say, welcome back! I JUST remembered you were part of the original on the old guild. ^.^
Catchamber, did you still want to be a part of this?
Imp, Emma is accepted.
Primez, Amelia is accepted. (BTW I can't remember which one of you two said you had a second character. Please post the CS up, unless they're an NPC.)
Arlear, if you can post Avan up... You do still intend on using him for this RP, right?
Jannah, take your time on your CS. You can do what Fowlishness has done. Slow progress is better than none. :D

Is this everyone? I feel like I'm missing someone.

[Sloth]

VenatrixXII said Sloth, Logan is accepted, and should I say, welcome back! I JUST remembered you were part of the original on the old guild. ^.^

Heh, yeah. Too bad, I made Logan a sheet and everything last time, just never got to play him. Life sucks that way.

Though, on a slightly more related note, I do believe I've finally finished aforementioned Half-Leprechaun's sheet. I have switched around some of his credentials, do tell me if I added them up wrong or if my history/anything else mucks with other players'.

Let me also say I'm surprised that Hufflepuff is getting more love than Ravenclaw in this game.

[Doctor Belasco]

Who else are we waiting on?

[VenatrixXII]

Sloth said
Heh, yeah. Too bad, I made Logan a sheet and everything last time, just never got to play him. Life sucks that way.Though, on a slightly more related note, I do believe I've finally finished aforementioned Half-Leprechaun's . I have switched around some of his credentials, do tell me if I added them up wrong or if my history/anything else mucks with other players'. Let me also say I'm surprised that Hufflepuff is getting more love than Ravenclaw in this game.

Hopefully we get another, but that is kind of amusing.

Doctor Belasco said
Who else are we waiting on?

I think we are waiting on Fowlishness, Catchamber, Arlear, Jannah, and Imp or Primez (unless, like I previously posted, they choose to make the other character an NPC) to finish or post a completed CS.

Doctor Belasco said
Wand: Inches, Wood, Core, Flexibility. You may also use images.

Length: Seven-yesit'senormous-teen inches
Wood: Ebony
Core: Dragon Heartstring
Flexibility: Sturdy

Did you mean 17" for length? If so, that is fine.

[Imperfectionist]

VenatrixXII said Can you at least put the school above all the history, etc., so no one has to search the CS to know where each character comes from?

:) Done.

To throw my two cents in on the Germany thing, I have a counter-thought. Having a German Ministry with undercurrents of expansionism and social engineering just doesn't make much sense to me... What if we make it more conflicted, with a loud fringe group of aristocrats and others with some Death Eater-style philosophy/rhetoric (the aforementioned people that are feeling oppressed), and a more mild (read: scared) establishment that doesn't really want to support such things overtly, but doesn't want to lose the power/influence/money that these groups have.

You know, more internal conflict within the country than "oh, the Germans are hankering for another war"... But that's just me. Something about an overtly right-wing, master-race Death Eater Germany rubs me the wrong way.

EDIT: Vena, it was me. I was going to have Veronica, Emma's older sister, as a character, but she'll be an NPC (at least for now).

[Doctor Belasco]

VenatrixXII said (Still a bit confused on the -100, if you could clarify)

Sorry, I missed this completely. It's just a bit of a lame joke about how little Johann understands muggles. I've just counted it as zero. :)

Imperfectionist said To throw my two cents in on the Germany thing, I have a counter-thought. Having a German Ministry with undercurrents of expansionism and social engineering just doesn't make much sense to me... What if we make it more conflicted, with a loud fringe group of aristocrats and others with some Death Eater-style philosophy/rhetoric (the aforementioned people that are feeling oppressed), and a more mild (read: scared) establishment that doesn't want to support such things overtly, but doesn't want to lose the power/influence/money that these groups have. You know, more internal conflict within the country than "oh, the Germans are hankering for another war"... But that's just me. Something about an overtly right-wing, master-race Death Eater Germany rubs me the wrong way.

I think my idea was kind of that that's just what the school of thought in wizarding Germany actually is. It's not some splinter group that's sneakily seized power; it's genuinely how a large proportion of the country feels. Sure, right wing countries exist even in our muggle world, and we generally get on with them, until they [s]march into Ukraine[/u] go off the rails, in which case we start to worry. I kind of wanted to capture the Russian feel of a powerful ally that we're not always best friends with, but I happen to speak German and understand Germany's history far better, so I took Germany instead.

Generally think of how the West perceived Russia a few years ago: ultimately an ally, but one that we knew was right wing (by our standards) and speculated might do something extreme. Then we in the West started to be a bit twitched by Russia's not-overt-but-socially-aggressive stance against the LGBT community and everybody said they had seen it coming for years. Germany is essentially the same, but with its attitude to muggle-borns and muggles. There aren't death camps, but the general feeling is that they're not as welcome or protected as members of the community as they were before. It's still unclear as to whether this is the precursor to a deepening tide of anti-muggle rhetoric and international expansion (a la Russia) or just a flash in the pan.

I don't want it to be too comparable to the death eaters, because, while I enjoyed the books, I did find the whole political movement element to be rather hammy.

[Sloth]

I'm personally not against the German/East European Wizard mindset being a little more conservative than the English/American mindset in that half-bloods/Muggle-Borns aren't really ostracized but treated as if they're still a bit of an anomaly. Unless I'm reading that wrong. For rather biased reasons, I'm more curious as to just how they'd treat Half-Breeds.

On a less related note, I can't help but notice James' sheet has gone missing! I do hope he remains with the Puffs of Huffle. We must establish a new world order. (Also it seems like James is going to essentially be one of Eoghan's seldom amount of friends he met neither through Quidditch or the Dueling Club.)

[Doctor Belasco]

Sloth said
I'm personally not against the German/East European Wizard mindset being a little more conservative than the English/American mindset in that half-bloods/Muggle-Borns aren't really ostracized but treated as if they're still a bit of an anomaly. Unless I'm reading that wrong. For rather biased reasons, I'm more curious as to just how they'd treat Half-Breeds.

If in doubt, assume the Russian stance on gay people. Technically we don't have a problem and you're still an equal member of society, we just don't want you near our kids. Essentially an unfriendly barely-tolerance but without active persecution. The only real effect I guess it will have on Eoghan is Johann's reaction, and I wouldn't assume they're going to be the closest of friends; I expect Johann will basically think he's a bit of a waste of (admittedly not much) space and generally ignore him/try to make sure he doesn't end up with anything important to do.

Sloth said On a less related note, I can't help but notice James' sheet has gone missing! I do hope he remains with the Puffs of Huffle. We must establish a new world order. (Also it seems like James is going to essentially be one of Eoghan's seldom amount of friends he met neither through Quidditch or the Dueling Club.)

I'm just going to give him a little bit of oomph. He's coming back. :)
It's kind of my intention to push him steadily toward the slippery slope of the dark arts, but trying to make him as un-cliché as possible if he should ever approach 'villain' territory.

[Sloth]

Doctor Belasco said If in doubt, assume the Russian stance on gay people. Technically we don't have a problem and you're still an equal member of society, we just don't want you near our kids. Essentially an unfriendly barely-tolerance but without active persecution.

Let's hope Eoghan can pass for either a very short Pureblood or an abnormally tall Leprechaun (which probably isn't that much of an upgrade).

Doctor Belasco said The only real effect I guess it will have on Eoghan is Johann's reaction, and I wouldn't assume they're going to be the closest of friends; I expect Johann will basically think he's a bit of a waste of (admittedly not much) space and generally ignore him/try to make sure he doesn't end up with anything important to do.

Oh, don't be so sure, give Johann a few weeks/months with the group and Eoghan'll have him singing Irish Pub Songs and river-dancing, and I'm sure if Johann stays put in his conservative worldview, the look on his face when Eoghan does some insane Quidditch thing like Harry in the first book/film extraordinary feat will be all the more amusing to the shortest member of our party.

Doctor Belasco said I'm just going to give him a little bit of oomph. He's coming back. :)It's kind of my intention to push him steadily toward the slippery slope of the dark arts, but trying to make him as un-cliché as possible if he should ever approach 'villain' territory.

Well, you've certainly piqued my curiosity with how you intend to write that up. I'm sure James' coming into the acquaintance with Johann will bring some light to that subject.

[Doctor Belasco]

Sloth said Oh, don't be so sure, give Johann a few weeks/months with the group and Eoghan'll have him singing Irish Pub Songs and river-dancing, and I'm sure if Johann stays put in his conservative worldview, the look on his face when Eoghan does some extraordinary feat will be all the more amusing to the shortest member of our party.

I fully intend for Johann to develop, one way or the other. Coming into contact with freaks and half-breeds will change him, for better or for worse.

Well, you've certainly piqued my curiosity with how you intend to write that up. I'm sure James' coming into the acquaintance with Johann will bring some light to that subject.

In theory, they're deliberately designed to contrast and complement, and possibly bring out the best or worst in each of them. I just didn't really feel like James was going to cut the mustard, so I'm going to give him a bit more, ya know, character. Shall we go for the best buds prankster (Eoghan) and serious one (James) double-team, btw? As the two male Hufflepuff representatives in the group going on a gap year together, their friendship seems extremely logical. :)

[Sloth]

Doctor Belasco said I fully intend for Johann to develop, one way or the other. Coming into contact with freaks and half-breeds will change him, for better or for worse.

How could racial diversity cause anything negative? Widen your horizons Johann! You'll learn to put up with us eventually.

Doctor Belasco said In theory, they're deliberately designed to contrast and complement, and possibly bring out the best or worst in each of them. I just didn't really feel like James was going to cut the mustard, so I'm going to give him a bit more, ya know, character.

Awh, I thought the small and squishy Half-Leprechaun was the perfect foil to the bruting meat-tank.

Doctor Belasco said Shall we go for the best buds prankster (Eoghan) and serious one (James) double-team, btw? As the two male Hufflepuff representatives in the group going on a gap year together, their friendship seems extremely logical. :)

Assuming that the "Hogwarts" characters of the RP all essentially know each other via mutual friends/extracurricular activities/virtue of going to the same school, I believe being in the same house for seven years of schooling would no doubt teach James to put up with Eoghan's antics, so I'm all for them being the best of friends. I can already envision James' face when Eoghan tells him they're bringing the Australian transfer student.

[Doctor Belasco]

Sloth said Awh, I thought the small and squishy Half-Leprechaun was the perfect foil to the bruting meat-tank.

Part of the reason I want to give them that space and give James a slightly different role.

[Sloth]

Doctor Belasco said
Part of the reason I want to give them that space and give James a slightly different role.

Oh! I was only joking mate, don't switch around all your plans just because of little old me. Though I do look forward to Eoghan and Johann's interactions in particular due to the culture clash factor.

[Doctor Belasco]

It's really not a problem. He was being a bit one-dimensional and needed a kick up the arse. Eoghan is the more interesting character and James will have greater depth as a result of making space for him.

[Imperfectionist]

Well, the wizarding world is nothing if not conservative, suspicious and slow to change, so I can certainly see a country where the predominant view is that magical people are superior to Muggles, and the insidious distrust/dislike of Muggle-borns that goes with that... BUT, Belasco, it's a matter of degrees, and it comes down to the specifics.

How is the average Muggle-born is treated in this Germany? Is it "I can't find a job and people give me dirty looks" bad, or "cornered and cursed in a back-alley" bad? Is there actual legislation from the Ministry restricting the rights of people who aren't Pure or Half-bloods? Generally tolerated, Voldemort's Ministry-style persecution, or somewhere in between?

My point is, if it goes too far, it starts to make less sense. There is the International Confederation of Wizards to contend with, after all, and if there are overt hate-crimes against Muggle-borns that are supported by the German Ministry, I believe they would step in, and point to what happened fifteen years ago in Britain (even if they do dislike Muggles, I don't think they'd appreciate being compared to Voldy). So, it would have to be a bit more subtle than that, I think... And it's entirely possible that subtle disapproval is what you're going for. I just don't know. Maybe the Germans were more sympathetic to Voldemort's cause than the Brits. What's your thought on that?

EDIT: For example, that new law in our Russia against non-traditional propaganda has spurred a lot of new violence and hate towards the LGBT community over there. Is it that bad?