#char development*

[tiberiusmcslaggen]

What changes/transformations would you like to see your character go through in the near-ish future?

Tiberius is a really wonderful character, but I think the most difficult thing about him for me is that he isn't a terribly deep or complex one. I'm used to having characters that have all sorts of dimensions. Even Fabian, who is laid back and, for the most part, straightforward, has complexities and depths that need unraveling from time to time. Tiberius isn't that way at all. He knows what he wants and he goes after it. He acts accordingly and hardly ever says something he doesn't mean. (Unless, of course, he's manipulating someone for the sake of his career; but it's so obvious what he's doing that I hardly can count that.)

I think that is what I enjoy about having him, though. He's not demanding. He simply is. I can pull him out when he's needed and let him go back to his business when he's not. I don't want to change that about him. I like having a character who doesn't have as many obligations and who can be used just for fun, because as much as I love my other four (dearly, and more and more every day), they are exhausting, going through as much heavy stuff as they go through. I like him being flat, and I really want to keep him that way (within reason).

I do, however, want him to achieve some kind of depth, even if it's nothing spectacular or dramatic by comparison. My other characters have always been the dramatic and demanding ones, and I want to keep Tiberius more relaxed and uninvolved when he can afford to be because the contrast is what keeps me sane, and I think what makes the dash a little more diverse. But I do want to see him grow as a person, and I want to watch him climb the ladder in his career. This is super challenging for me because that's going to involve a lot of drabbling and self-motivation, but this is something that I think will be good for the both of us. So, for now, my goal for Tiberius is to give him goals to achieve and markers to meet so that he's not sitting about willy nilly like he's been and getting some meat on his bones (in regards to his content). I want him to have a very defined direction in the Ministry and to watch him take that direction by storm.

[hestiajonesing]

Thinking back to when you first took your character, how do you feel they’ve changed as a person since then, and are the changes for the better or for the worse?

Hestia was not just the first character I took in PFTM, but the first character I ever roleplayed. She was also the first character I actually took to and wrote for in a very long time. There are a lot of changes she and I have both gone through as a result of each other, and I'm so proud of where she is now, considering where she's been.

Firstly, it was never intended for Hestia and Remus to be a thing. She was originally supposed to ship with Gideon (lmfao), but she and Remus refused to be separated. So here we are. That's a lesson I learned from her, one that each of my characters has since reminded of with a swift kick at some point, which is that you have to let your character carve their own path and do their own thing. I'm so glad that I let her have her way, not just because I'm obsessed with this ship now, but because it's done a great deal for my character in terms of development.

Being with Remus has helped Hestia reach her potential in a lot of areas. Being able to look after the Marauders (to an extent; she tries, anyway) has given her the opportunity to really nourish that mothering side of her. When I first took her, she only had her younger sister and a few cousins to look after, which made her much less of a mothering figure and much more of a babysitter. Taking care of Remus and his friends made that part of her much less of an obligatory chore and much more an instinctual behavior. Without this, I don't think she would be half as successful as a Healer as she is, and I don't know that she could grow into the fierce mama bear she's perceived as when we glimpse her in canon (okay, that's like 20 years off, so probably, but still).

Being with Remus has also exposed Hestia to the war and social issues of the Wizarding world at its time, which she otherwise would have ignored completely. She still does ignore them, but being with someone so close to the war and who is regarded poorly because of his condition has forced her to confront things she otherwise would not. For example, in the end of seventh year, Hestia was involved, however briefly, in the duelling club, which she would never have done without Remus' encouragement. I anticipate more of this happening in the near future, but that's for part two, so...

Another really fun way in which Hestia has developed is her attitude towards and handling of alcohol. That's a journey that I think Hestia have (ENTIRELY COINCIDENTALLY) shared. When I first took Hestia up, I was a sophomore in university, in the middle of my prime when it came to parties and drinking. Hestia was very much the same, ready to let loose and forget her obligations with a few sips (glasses/bottles/whatever) of alcohol. She's gone through several stages with it since, from partying, to abstaining in favor of her studies, to straight up swug life and social drinking at lunch.

This seems like a really frivolous thread of development, I know, but I would like to point out that I'm reaching the stage Hestia is at now at the age of 22, while she's just turned 19. That's a whole three years of difference in maturity, and while, yes, there is a war going on, Hestia has managed to keep her hands relatively clean of it compared to most of her peers. Hestia should be living a posh life without much disturbance and still be preparing to face the world as an adult, but she's already there. It's been a subtle development, one that I don't think anyone would think much of, but she's been so damned opposed to facing or dealing with any of this from the moment I took her. Now, she's almost ready to step forward and deal with it, and even though it's basically because she has no choice, I still think the fact that she's ready for it is huge.

(aka these changes are for the best, and I'll expand on that in part two, thx)

[mulcibitch]

Thinking back to when you first took your character, how do you feel they’ve changed as a person since then, and are the changes for the better or for the worse?

Mulciber started off as a bully, a Draco Malfoy forerunner wannabe who poked fun at and got into fights with muggle-born characters, or those who stood up for them. His aims were simple: make anyone of less than pure heritage regret every coming to Hogwarts and invading his world. With the death of his father, Mulciber was forced into a position with a lot more responsibility than he could have ever hoped for. Even though he had always planned to join the Death Eaters after graduation, he didn't fully understand what it would mean to be one, and even in his first year of membership, his being at school gave him a very inaccurate picture of what he was in for.

Though he was always passionate about the topic of muggle-born rights (meaning that he was firmly against them), while he was in school, he lacked a certain seriousness about the subject and his approach. There was a disconnect for him between those beliefs, and how he ought to act on them. Mulciber has never been one for physical violence and has only ever used his wand and magic. The temptation to surrender to those impulses has been creeping up on him lately, which reflects the environment he's been submerged in since graduating. Some of the seriousness he has now, also, has been the result of not being top dog anymore. He was always high in the ranks of future Death Eaters at school, but now that he's in the big leagues, he's not much more than a bench warmer. This has made him take things more seriously and, much like I said with Fabian, led him to prioritize things differently in order to achieve the vision of the world he'd already thought was in place.

Mulciber's changes are necessary, and I think for the best in that way. Obviously, as a person, these are awful changes, because he's gotten that much further along on the path of destruction. As a Death Eater, however, he's learning what it is he has to do to be successful and honing his skills to get a little bit better, a little bit at a time. I think Mulciber is on the verge of a certain "snap" that will help him cross this bridge from mediocre supporter to full blown activist for his cause. He's slowly facing the inhibitions he's encountered since graduating, and in the process, preparing himself to join the big leagues as an active participant instead of a simple prop.

Did I accidentally foil Fabian and Mulciber? Oops.