LMDE

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ACTIVITY CHECK! Please like this post. If you have not liked this post within three days, I will reach out to you. If you do not reply, you will be unfollowed from the group. Message me directly if you have any concerns about your activity or feel like you need a hiatus!

ADMIN H

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What is activity like so far?

Our activity is pretty steady! We slowed down for a moment because everyone was wrapping up last minute life things, but things have been picking up recently. Considering the whole point of this group was to be pretty relaxed, I’m happy with the communication we have OOC about where the group is headed.

ADMIN H

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Is there a deadline to submit an app for Dorcas?

Oh, I hope you’ll consider applying for her! Yes, since we had our first acceptances the standard acceptance date takes place every Friday, GMT+10. As it’s Sunday now, you have until Friday to submit an application. Of course, I’d like to have a couple of applications for Dorcas by the time acceptance rolls around, but we’ll see how we go. Let me know if there’s anything I can do to clear up the process!

ADMIN H

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Please like this post to be randomly paired for our upcoming plot drop!

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Water does not resist. Water flows. When you plunge your hand into it, all you feel is a caress. Water is not a solid wall, it will not stop you. But water always goes where it wants to go, and nothing in the end can stand against it.

DORCAS MEADOWES

Twenty one

Pureblood

Active member of the Order of the Phoenix

SUGGESTED FACECLAIM. ZOE KRAVITZ (SEMI-NEGOTIABLE) * DORCAS IS A POC

BIOGRAPHY

Despite coming from a pureblood family, Dorcas grew up in a happy, centered, and grounded home. It was a place brimming with extended family members, people tumbling through rooms, the smell of rich cooking, the magical wireless murmuring in the background. Dorcas was a steady, calm place in a storm of activity, the rock upon whom so many people relied. A natural diplomat, she was well-suited to dealing with her family’s bursts of frenetic energy. Their wildness didn't result in her being neat and ordered, but it did give her a perspective that was wise and understanding beyond her years. An old soul, her aunts would say, dressed in their beautiful traditional silk clothes. And the eyes of a child.

At school Dorcas was mainly popular or well known for one thing only: muggle weed. No one really knew how she managed to smuggle it into school, but by their sixth year everyone had tasted the Meadowes grass. In her classes Dorcas excelled most at runes and charms. There was a degree of logic that, despite her free-spirited nature, Dorcas had in spades. She is a clear thinker, able to mull over the spiritual side of things with as much finesse as cutting to the heart of a complex problem. She loves the ancient power that comes with runes, the intricacy of cracking a spell, of unpicking the threads of a magical lock. Although she never considered herself one for traditional work, Dorcas was considering going off to Egypt and becoming a rune breaker when the war broke out. After that, there wasn't time to think about the what could have beens: there was only the now, and the urgency of battle.

Contrary to what anyone else says, it was Dorcas who recruited Lily and the others. Dorcas is a political person, and she has a strong sense of justice, and with her cool demeanor and diplomatic words, she rapidly untangled the mess of the war and understood it to be nothing more or less than about hate. As someone who had faced some element of discrimination in her life in one way or other -- her ethnicity, sexuality -- Dorcas knew in her heart that if she had the ability to help end the war, she would do it. And so she was the first of the Hogwarts graduates to be involved with the Order, and she rose rapidly in the ranks. Dorcas is a fierce fighter, although she would prefer to smile wryly and murmur, I think of myself as a lover, really, and her role in the war has been indispensable. Minerva McGonagall has recently approached her to teach legilimency in order to penetrate the Death Eater ranks.

Dorcas currently lives in a small apartment shared with Lily Evans and Marlene McKinnon. The three have been inseparable since school. Dorcas is still the relaxed, constant person she's always been -- she and the girls go to parties and have fun, talking and laughing long into the night, supine with weed, pressing kisses to bare limbs -- but recently her mind was turned more inward. Perhaps it's the leglimency or her natural intuitiveness, but Dorcas can sense something bad is coming. Something more horrible, and more unexpected, than what they have dealt with so far. But how can she explain a feeling when she has always been so intellectually open?

CONNECTIONS

MARLENE MCKINNON. CLOSE FRIEND / ROMANTIC INTEREST. If it were anyone else, Dorcas would say it made sense. Who better to figure out your sexuality with than your best friend? Dorcas and Marlene fell into bed sometime in '79 and for some reason they've never stopped. Well, Dorcas knows the reason. But she is content to wait until Marlene is ready to realize the part of herself she has hidden for so long.

LILY EVANS. CLOSE FRIEND / ALMOST FLING. Whenever Dorcas needs some time out, she finds Lily. The pair are intellectually matched and they can often be found having heated debates over cold cups of tea, a joint smoldering between them. Only once have lines been blurred between them, but Dorcas has kept quiet about it ever since.

HESTIA JONES. BEST FRIEND. Hestia needs someone to listen to her -- she also needs someone to laugh with. Ever since Dorcas put her onto smoking weed, Hestia has been able to loosen up. Hestia is far more than quiet smiles and nervous stutters; now she needs to learn how to accept herself.

REMUS LUPIN. OLD FRIEND / EX-FLAME. Before Dorcas realized her sexuality, she and Remus were together. It was a remarkably platonic situation, marked more by mild conversation and hanging out than anything heated or overly sexual. He still holds a special place in her heart, and Dorcas is very protective over him; they're like siblings.

PETER PETTIGREW. FRIEND. People overlook Peter. Correction: his best friends overlook him. Dorcas has floated over to him whenever he's lurked in the shadows at parties. They talk, they smoke. Peter has a lot of walls up. He's hard to read.

JAMES POTTER. FRIEND. Although he might know her as the girl who put the Marauders onto weed, James is much more open and tolerant than people might believe. They've had some good times together -- beyond the bravado, James is a sensitive person who is confused about what -- and who -- he wants. Dorcas understands that intimately.

SIRIUS BLACK. FRIEND. You wouldn't think she and Sirius would get along, but both being purebloods that buck the grain gives them a thread of commonality. Sirius is remarkably open around her, sounding off about whatever is in his head, and Dorcas is there with the one-liners and the raised eyebrow. She's never anything but bluntly honest with him: they're both people who appreciate dropping facades.

ASSOCIATED MUSIC

REMEMBER ME AS A TIME OF DAY by Explosions in the Sky

LUNA by Bombay Bicycle Club

NO WOMAN by Whitney

dorcas is open

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Please unfollow the following account:

@inthemeadowes

Megan has decided to leave the group for personal reasons. We’ll sincerely miss you, Megan, and really wish you the best for the future. That means that Dorcas is now an open character.

ADMIN H

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Morning, everyone! Wow, what an excellent start to the first event. Excellent job all round! I’d like to just take a moment to remind you to check out the whiteboard plotting site, if you haven’t already -- the link is in the OOC. Also, remember that you should try and get the character headspace development task done relatively soon, as it’ll be helpful not only for the upcoming plot drop, but also in plotting with your other members. Also, with regards to activity. There’s no official cut-off point mentioned in the rules for a reason, and that’s because this group was going to be highly literate but relatively relaxed. Having said that, thank you to everyone for your high activity so far, and do keep it up! Thanks, all!

ADMIN H

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Are you going to be adding a new batch of characters soon?

Not soon, but yes, there will be a second batch! It’s entirely dependent on how things progress in-game with our Peter and his defection to the Death Eaters. I hadn’t planned on this being a timed occurrence, and there’s no rush to get certain things done just to speed up the second batch. So, in short, yes, there will be another batch of characters, but I’m not rushing anyone through, and there’s no pressure for that to happen any time soon. I hope when they are released you’ll consider applying!

ADMIN H

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Will you have a Narcissa Black?

I have been debating including Narcissa! If she were here, it’s likely that Lucius would be an NPC, and I’d also change a few things about how she’s commonly represented in roleplay just to keep things interesting (Alecto having mixed sexual hero-worship thing for Narcissa? Emma and Narcissa having a complicated, no-strings-attached thing? Yes please). As I’ve mentioned before, I have some basic ideas about who I’d like to include in the second batch, and Narcissa may or may not be one of them!

ADMIN H

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Hi, everyone! Just a friendly reminder that we have opened the group, and as such if you haven’t posted yet you should get onto that if you’d like to keep your role. I’ll give everyone a couple more days to settle in, but remember that we are at the start of an event that will take a downhill turn very soon, so be sure to participate as much as you can before then! I’ll also encourage you to send ask memes or post drabbles if you need to get into the swing of things. Thank you for making it a great beginning thus far, and keep it up!

ADMIN H

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Please follow our new players! Also, a reminder that you can start writing any time you like. Just tag all starters with #HCBSTART.

Lily Evans

Dorcas Meadowes

Peter Pettigrew

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#1: PARTY AT THE PREWETT APARTMENT

When Moody said to keep our heads low, he should have known the Prewett twins wouldn’t listen. In their small apartment in Slough, just outside of London, they are holding a small party for the Order. Moody’s in the dark about it, so don’t go about letting on! The apartment is a handful of rooms, more a collection of junk and cheap furniture, and located on the fringe of a small magical suburb overlooking a highway. As the temperature continues to plummet, there’s the threat of snow in the heavy navy clouds. Still orange street lights are pinpricks in the lazy dusk, which seeps around the figures that apparate in the park opposite, hurry across the concrete steps, and find the battered front door of the apartment. Despite the miserable decor, Gideon has charmed the walls to be soundproof, so there’s no chance of the array of muggle and magical music being turned down even a bit. Liquor is flowing freely; there’s even a hint of muggle weed in the air. The mood is a little strained: we know that in a few days there will be another Order meeting, and it’s rumored that Dumbledore will turn up to assign missions. But in the meantime it’s enough to let ourselves go. You need this, in war; you need to feel as if there are things worth being happy about.

LOCATION ➙ Slough, Berkshire. ORGANIZED BY ➙ Gideon and Fabian Prewett NOT ATTENDING ➙ Arthur and Molly Weasley; Minerva McGonagall; Amelia Bones; Emmeline Vance; Alastor Moody. TRACK THE TAGS ➙ #HCBEVENT & #HCBPLOT

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These will be posted at intervals whenever the plot shifts, so be sure to take advantage of them, as these reflections can help both you and other players form an understanding of where your character is and how you plan to develop them. Please answer these questions OOC. Track the tag #HCBDEV but tag your response #HCB:DEV.

What is your character’s headspace?

What is their current goal/focus?

What do you want to happen right now (short term development)?

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THE ORDER IN THE WAR / RECENT EVENTS

JANUARY, 1980. The month was quiet in terms of conflict with the Death Eaters. With unseasonably freezing weather, the snow fall hampered stakeout missions and generally impeded how the Order traced and tracked the enemy. Around the 16th a safe house in Bedford was set alight. No Order member was harmed, and the house was empty at the time of the attack. Alastor Moody has been particularly gruff lately, mumbling about how it’s only a matter of time, those bastards, laying low, I’ll show ‘em, which, needless to say, is not doing much for morale. On the 25th Benjy Fenwick was followed by an unidentified Death Eater. He lost the trail before anything happened, although since then the same figure has been seen around various Order safe zones. 

FEBRUARY, 1980. This month started out slow. No news from any of the stakeouts of known Death Eater quarters, nor have any of the Order’s tails pulled up any unusual activity. Don’t say it’s too quiet, Alastor, McGonagall muttered primly, exchanging looks with Moody across the table. But... it is too quiet. For heaven’s sake, what are they waiting for? The unease can be felt even among those who haven’t taken sides in the war. People hurry home when they used to linger; Floo is rumored to be safer than apparating. Some say the Ministry might impose a curfew soon, but those are just whispers. Stay low, say the more senior Order members. Don’t do anything stupid.  By stupid, of course, they mean throw a bloody party, but what else are we going to do? Between the boredom, restless energy, and hint of a death wish, there’s nothing else to do.

THE GROUP / ATMOSPHERE

Are currently based in London if they have no alternate accommodation. Missions have slowed down recently, due to a drop in Death Eater activity. There is an uneasy restlessness to the group and the Order as a whole. The use of concealment spells when out in Muggle London is strongly encouraged. There has been no official news about this supposed Ministry-sanctioned curfew, although Fabian Prewett has reported internal complications at the Ministry, which may be the cause for the hold up.

Snow continues to fall. The countryside is gripped with frost. Apartments in the city, if they are in muggle populated areas, must rely on non-magical forms of heating. This is the season for hot tea, big jumpers, thick socks, and curling up with both book and wand in hand if you’re on a stakeout.

Call it a need to be surrounded by something other than pinched faces and grim looks -- call it sheer youthful impatience -- but the group have decided to throw a small party. Check out the first event here!

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And that’s a wrap! Oh my God. What a thrilling experience. I literally cannot thank everyone enough for wanting to be involved, for writing up such beautiful applications, and for putting forward their work for consideration. I’ve had such a hard time choosing applications. I feel as if this group is going to be such a strong, exciting one -- I really cannot wait to get started! Thank you again to everyone who applied. Thank you so much for taking the time and effort; it’s very humbling.

I want to say that now that we have a full house... writing can commence! I will queue the opening event for tomorrow! Between then and now, you can expect to see some more character development posts, and I have a general post that breaks down the atmosphere of the Order at the moment. If you’d like to see anything in particular, or if there’s anything that might be fun to kick off with, just come yell and me and we could do whatever you like!

I’ll encourage all new players to participate with the character development tasks. I hope it goes without saying that this will be a mobile, fun group, and character growth is the name of the game. Now that I have time, I’ll be posting James’ stuff as soon as I can. I’m so excited to get to know you all! Also, as a brief sidenote, all tags and graphics are updated to reflect FC changes and the like.

Thank you again for such a marvelous start to the group. Let’s get cracking!

ADMIN H

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Congratulations, Kate (19, EST)! I knew that choosing Lily’s writer was going to be one of the trickiest decisions I’d have to make. Not only is this Lily slightly different from the norm, but I was looking for someone who could take that wild, brilliant, precocious, and contrary girl and make her blossom. But... wow. That’s all I can say. I seriously, really, almost cannot articulate how well you understand Lily. I was absolutely hooked by your application from the first line. You have a spectacular writing voice and you gave such depth to her character. Those little snippets (Lily, smoking in bed; frowning at a DADA book; curled in her messy nest of a room; those old Doc Martens; that wrinkled-nose grin) just brought her so completely to life, it felt like you took a cursory glance at what I’d written and just made it into something beyond what I was expecting. Your Lily is rash but resolved, headstrong but sensitive, sexual but lonely. One of my favourite parts about your application is your ability to unravel her character piece by piece, and you did it in such a way that truly made me feel as if for all her contradictions, you understand the core of her. You know what keeps her going. And that’s certainly why your Lily is a treat to behold. You faceclaim change to Jenna Thiam is definitely accepted! Please send in your account as soon as you’re able! Keep a copy of your application for future reference. Welcome to the group!

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Congratulations, Dev (20, EST)! Peter can be such a tricky character to have in groups, and I think you said it perfectly when it’s too easy to write him as if joining the Death Eaters is a far-off event, lost to the future. Your Peter, on the other hand, is dynamic. What I absolutely adored most about your whole application was, actually, your writing sample. You write very evocatively, and I could tell from the way you depicted Peter that you understood his innate uncertainty, that well-meaning tenderness, that cautionary nature, and it’s all wrapped up in someone who has learned to laugh along, because that’s what you do. I think you unpacked so many essential parts of his character (his relationship to and within the Marauders was a special highlight) that I found myself nodding intently so many times throughout your application. Your headcanons were really wonderful to read. I especially enjoyed the reasoning you gave for him staying at home. I think that was very authentically done, very in-keeping with his character, that I instantly felt like you just knew how to write a character who is, let’s be honest, so marginalized in canon. As a final point, your plot ideas are going to make for some very interesting threads, and I can’t wait! I would like to discuss your faceclaim change with you, so please message me when you can. Please also send in your account as soon as you’re able! Keep a copy of your application for future reference. Welcome to the group!