#accepted application

OUT OF CHARACTER:

NAME & PRONOUNS: Karli (she/her)

AGE: 31

TIMEZONE: CST

ACTIVITY LEVEL: The once a week minimum activity requirement won’t be difficult for me, especially with summer coming up. I work in mental health in education, so I’m about to go on summer break, which is why I made this rp during this time!

ANYTHING ELSE: N/A - bring it on, baby!

CHARACTER DETAILS:

NAME: James Charlus Potter

AGE: 24

GENDER, PRONOUNS, and SEXUALITY: Cis-Male, He/Him, Heteroflexible. So far, James has only dated woman, but now without a partner he’s attached to, who knows what’ll happen? He’s comfortable with giving affection - no toxic masculinity here as he hugs his friends and can be found cuddling them even when they’d rather push him off. While there’s been nothing romantic about it yet, James might be more flexible than he lets on. However, he’s also got stupid straight boy vibes, so he might just be hopeless.

BLOOD STATUS: Pureblood

HOUSE ALUMNI: Gryffindor

ANY CHANGES: Nothing, I wrote it!

CHARACTER BACKGROUND:

PERSONALITY: 

The first thing people often notice about James is that he’s extremely outgoing. He’s often at the center of attention - laughing with people, joking around, enjoying those eyes on him. What people notice less are the moments where he shies away from that - slinks off with his friends to do something he actually cares about. James is really good at staying positive. He’s friendly and charming and a lot of people like him - but there’s only a handful of people he can truly be vulnerable around. Without the Marauders, he likely would’ve grown up with a lot of “friends” but not really any friends. He’s an extrovert-introvert - people only see the one side of him because that’s the side he shows, but he really gains his energy from being around his people. It’s rare for him to truly let someone in but, when he does, they might be surprised to learn what they do about him.

He’s loyal - almost to a fault. Extremely biased towards the people he loves, it’s hard for James to see their faults. This leads him to being overly forgiving to his friends - something he’d done for Sirius after the prank in school, not realizing how hurt he must’ve made Remus feel at minimizing Sirius’ behavior. In canon, James’ trust leads to his and Lily’s demise. Convinced that none of his friends could be the spy, he dies for it - and he’ll very likely have problems within this set-up as well. While others are convinced there’s a spy, James has a hard time believing any of them (except maybe fucking Snivellus) would be that. And he definitely doesn’t think it’s any of his friends. He doesn’t understand why either Sirius or Remus would blame one another - they’re the Marauders! He can be too trusting in that way.

James can be naïve. He doesn’t understand his own privilege, while also relying on that privilege. Because of this, he didn’t listen when Lily said he had something to worry about with dating her. He’d thought it would be fine because he said so. His blood status kept him safe and therefore he wasn’t ready for it when he was captured. 

James is confident, oftentimes nearing arrogance. Having grown up with his expectations and wants met, he assumes he just knows what will happen next. He loves fiercely - holds on tight. It’s sometimes hard for him to let go of something he should let go of. An emotional person, he often wears his heart on his sleeve. This doesn’t make him the best dueler, as he tends to give away his next move to his opponent, but it makes him a good friend. It can also hurt him - when he’s struggling, it’s bad. It takes a lot to make James just shut down, but when he’s sad, it’s easy to tell. Sometimes, his emotions make him impulsive and reckless. 

BRIEF OVERVIEW OF FAMILY: 

(Note: I do not follow the guidelines of Pottermore’s backstory for James or his family.)

Charlus and Akari Potter met late in life, long after Charlus’ years as an eligible bachelor were over. He’d given up, at that point, hopes of finding a suitable wife and had poured himself into his work at the Ministry of Magic’s Department of International Magical Cooperation. He’d met Akari during his work in Japan, her upbringing far from his own, and had fallen in love with her. They were old enough, they’d thought, and decided not to wait. Married within just a few short months, Charlus had taken her back to England with him to live at the Potter Estate, tearing her away from her country, her entire family, and all she’d ever known. With him working and her at home, it wasn’t long before their first – and only – son was born. It had been a hard pregnancy due to Akari’s age and the healer recommended against trying for a second. It did not matter to either of them – James was enough. A pureblood son who was brilliant and charming and handsome rolled into one.

James had a rather lonely childhood, however. Living without close neighbors and with all of his parents’ friends having kids much older than him, James found ways to pass the time on his own. His mother taught him from home, where he learned the basics, such as how to read, write, and do arithmetic, along with an introduction to magic. She had a spirituality about her that came from a long line of her family back home. She told him about Japanese mythology - how the Gods in the stories valued empathy and emotions, leading to a life where one understands that they are part of an interdependent society. She’d talked of a different sort of importance rather blood status – and his father agreed. Or he’d said he did. It was the more polite thing to do, of course. Prejudices were less becoming in more recent days – what with new laws and rights for muggleborns. Back in Charlus’ day, Hogwarts had barely allowed them into the school, after all. But Charlus could not understand what the whole fuss was about. There had already been changes in the world – why were some groups calling for more?

As James grew older and gained insight from peers, he started to create his own sense of right and wrong. Still, it was hard to see his parents’ faults, especially the father whom he looked up to so much. It’s why he could ignore the subtle look of concern on Charlus’ face when James brought home Lily for the first time after graduation. It was hard for him to believe that his dad might think like some of the people James was fighting against - even if he wasn’t acting on it. Prejudice was hard to combat. The blinders he had towards his father’s own prejudices - though subtle, unintentional - didn’t come down all at once, but rather more slowly. Not even after Charlus’ death (old age and disease didn’t go hand-in-hand), and then Akari following close behind, could truly break it down.

For his own part, the only inkling of prejudice James has really experienced was meeting Lily’s sister and brother-in-law back when they were still together and things were still good. Vernon had stared at James with narrowed eyes, asking him just what he was. Confused, James had answered human, not realizing that the man was talking about his race in a very bigoted way. It was the first time he’d even felt a fraction of what Lily had felt.

It wasn’t until James was trapped in that dungeon below some Death Eater’s house (he’s still not sure where he was being held) that he really examined what led him to get to that point. With nothing but time, James had reflected on the numerous overheard comments about him and Lily - his father’s friends often saying James was just in a phase or commenting on how young wizards often experiment before the real thing. It forced him to consider that maybe his father himself hadn’t been as perfect as he’d thought - that the world was full of prejudices that he wasn’t even aware of. Now that James is out of captivity, he understands things more than ever before, but that doesn’t mean the subtle messages he grew up with aren’t still swimming around in his unintentional actions.

OCCUPATION: 

James is unemployed - or, as he’d call it, a full-time Order member. When his father died, he inherited the vault at Gringotts and it’s enough money to keep himself - and sometimes Remus or other people he cares about - living comfortably. He would prefer to devote himself to the cause, rather than sit at some stuffy job he could care less about. He has no idea what he wants to do after the war (if he makes it; he’s more aware of his own mortality than ever before now) and figures he’ll just cross that bridge when it happens.

LIVING SITUATION: 

James lives in a cottage at Godric’s Hollow. When he’d “died,” his family’s estate had been sold off and the money was placed in his vault at Gringotts since there was no one else that had been established as benefactor. But his family had another location - a smaller, less expensive place in one of the Wizarding World’s hidey holes.

Since he’d been sharing a flat with Lily before his disappearance, he’d said fuck it when she’d broken up with him and moved out, letting her do whatever she wanted with the place. Godric’s Hollow was already there. Good enough for him. It’s scarcely decorated - definitely a bachelor’s pad - but he could care less.

While it’s technically his “home base” of sorts, James rarely spends much time there. He’d never admit it out loud, but being alone feels scary since getting back from captivity. He’d prefer to be where people are - and, more often than not, finds himself crashing on random couches of Order members, despite having enough money to really buy whatever he wanted.

ORDER OF THE PHOENIX: 

Before his disappearance, James was on the up and up of leadership within the Order. He wasn’t the best dueler of everyone, but he was good - especially when fighting next to Sirius. That wasn’t why James had gotten the responsibility to lead missions, however. The older Order members had recognized his ability to bring people together like no one else. Just look at his friends, they’d said. Without James, they would’ve all been floundering, people who might have not belonged anywhere. 

James found strength in rallying members, keeping things positive. His surety made people feel reassured, helped them fight better or agree to things they might’ve not before. He knew they were doing the right thing here - he knew the Order would come out on top, even when things weren’t going well. That confidence helped others sink just a little less, made them more hopeful, and that was just as important as the ability to fight on a battlefield.

Even now, after his return, he truly believes in the Order. While he might not have joined strictly for the cause, he does believe in it - and that desire to stop Voldemort has become stronger than ever as he barely made it back alive. The problem is that, now that he’s back, he no longer really has a place. Where he’d once been a leader, others have taken over - Peter, for instance, where the hell did that come from? - and the older members who had once trusted in James are worried that he’s actually on the brink of breaking. He doesn’t know how to prove to them that he’s fine - he’s ready for more - because there are some days where maybe he doesn’t feel fine at all.

RELATIONSHIPS:

(I’m writing these off the basis of the bios, but anything can be changed with player portrayals, ideas, and through plotting. This is just a basis to start!)

Before his capture, his closest relationships had been with Lily Evans, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew. Lily and him had been fighting, sure - with Lily worrying about their blood status difference and what it might do to him - but nothing they couldn’t work out, James was sure of it. But now, with her digging her feet in on those feelings and going as far to break up with him, it’s much more complicated than that. He still loves her, but he also hates her, and those two things are ever contradicting. His broken heart sometimes leads to him doing stupid shit or saying mean things, but he’d also like her to come to her senses and just be with him again.

At least he still has Sirius. His best friend is ever loyal (there’s a reason his animagus form is a dog) and, while things are going well between him and James, it’s still not the same without the others. Sirius and him always had a bit of different relationship than James had with Remus or Peter - and, since Sirius is always there for him, it still feels solid. But Sirius is also slipping into a place where James can’t follow and he’s taking Lily with him. James will never understand this Dark Magic thing. After all, it’s the same magic that had tortured him for months!

As for Remus and Peter, he’s not angry with them the way Sirius is. But James had unintentionally chosen a side anyway by spending the most time with Sirius. He doesn’t mean to - he still loves Remus and Peter - but he’d come back to this mess! Peter is suddenly busier than ever, while Remus is retreating into his shell. James, who had acted as the glue once upon a time, has no idea how to get them back as a unit.

The Marauders aren’t the only group in his life anymore. Going through torture brings people together and he finds himself sticking with the four other captives more than he’d planned. They understand that things are so different now. He knows the way they sound when they cry or scream or even take a shit, for Merlin’s sake. There’s not much they can’t share anymore. Gideon had been the stable one - the oldest, the calmest, the voice of reason - while James had taken up the role of determined dolt. The hot head who would offer himself up in someone else’s place whenever he could, goad the Death Eater’s into choosing him by making fun of them. Marlene had been the smartest of the group - she’d given them all advice on what to say, how to handle their torture sessions, how to not sink into their own minds. And Emmeline - poor Emme, who had only been in the Order a few short months before being taken. James knows what people say about her - that she’s weak, broken - but fuck all if they think he won’t hex them if he hears them say something about Emmeline to his face. She’s stronger than she looks - she’d survived, after all.

Not everyone understands James, of course. Lily’s people have chosen a side. James always got along with Dorcas Meadowes back when Lily and him were together - and it’s not like they don’t like one another anymore - but Dorcas is definitely Lily’s friend and it shows. And apparently another friend has returned, too. Suspiciously timed, Severus Snape joined the Order shortly after James “died.” James knows exactly what Snivellus is doing - can see right through him, even if others can’t.

There’s also Dirk Cresswell, who James doesn’t know very well, but who had apparently watched Benjy Fenwick die while on search for James - who can’t look James in the eye for some odd reason. James doesn’t know what to make of it all, but Dirk seems like an alright guy. And Caradoc Dearborn, who looks at James as though he’s an idiot, but also is the owner of the best pub in the Wizarding World. Caradoc is one of the members making the decisions, so maybe it would be in James’ best interest to prove Caradoc wrong about him.

OOC EXPLORATION:

SHIPS/ANTI-SHIPS: 

While I have a special place in my heart for James/Lily, I ultimately ship chemistry. This is war and things are stressful and strained - and James and Lily aren’t even together. I’m seriously open to explore whatever feels realistic and right in that moment. James is a free agent right now and I wouldn’t be surprised if he buries himself in someone else, if only to forget about the horrors of his torture and the war as a whole. It could also mean James never finds someone else. I’m here to explore all types of relationships, so I’m not really fussed about the shipping. I just want to see what happens!

INTERPERSONAL STRUGGLES: 

James isn’t James Freaking Potter anymore, but that’s who he’s used to being. People view him differently after his disappearance and he doesn’t know how to make of it. His goal was to get back - and he didn’t really think about what he’d do if things changed after doing so. He hadn’t expected things to be so different. For him to be so different. He’s trying to be the same person he’s always been - and sometimes it’s easy, while other times it feels really fake. 

Without leadership in the Order, he doesn’t know what else to do. He doesn’t have a job - or even a girlfriend or a solid friend group anymore - so the added time he has isn’t good for him. He’s always trying to jump in to help whenever he can, getting angry when people don’t trust him like he used to.

I’m open to James fucking up - for him to making mistakes that hurt others, either physically because of something wrong he does in battle, or emotionally because of something he says. His temper is shorter now than it used to be and he’s pushing any feeling he had about his disappearance to the wayside. If he says he’s okay, then it’ll be easier to actually be okay, right?

WHAT ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO? 

I made it so that’s what brought me here! What I’m most looking forward to is that exploration of nothing being black or white. Without having the Death Eaters being playable (outside of the spies), there can’t just be a simple “these are the bad guys, these are the good.” I want to see some interpersonal conflicts - especially with James, who is suddenly returned after “dying” and has no idea where he fits. I’m also really looking forward to doing realistic war-related things… such as character injuries, deaths, being taken into questioning, missions, you name it!

PLOT DROP IDEAS (OPTIONAL): N/A. I have plot drop ideas, but I will be saving that for admins duties and official plotlines.