Forum:Juliette Van der Hoek

The Open-Ended Questions

A. Please answer the following questions as elaborately as possible. (Remember, this part doesn't have to be filled out if it's an expansion character!)

1) What would you consider to be your character's strengths, and your character's weaknesses? Elaborate on your answer.

Strengths: nurturing, optimistic, smart, patient

Weakness: paranoid, heavy sleeper, gives in easily,

2) Has your character's life played out the way they wanted? Have they achieved the goals they set out for their life? Why, or why not?

Not at all, she had hoped she hadn't had as many set backs as she had so far, but she believes it will get better. Not even thirty yet, still has a whole life ahead of her.

3) What's their ideal way of spending a free day? Why so?

Either sleeping, doing a puzzle or at the theatre

4) If your character could only keep 5 possessions, what would they be? Why?

1. Picture of her parents

2. Complete collection of Shakespeare

3. Her book of puzzles

4. Her house

5. Her wand

5) What one thing would your character change about the wizarding society? Why?

She'd like to change that maybe people at 17 shouldn't be choosing their future so quickly and that maybe there are other options or backups if that decision falls through.

The Character's Background

1) Give a history of your character. History must be at least two paragraphs long. How did they grow up? Is there an incident that made them the way they are? etc. (Remember, history must at least be two paragraphs long for the first two characters, three paragraphs long for the third to eighth character, and four paragraphs long for the ninth to fifteenth character!)

Aksel and Mia were your typical lovers, in a way. In reality, Aksel met Mia when she was dating his roommate in college. Aksel was studying law and his roommate was studying geography but spent most of his time getting high. In other words, his roommate was a deadbeat. For two years, Aksel watched Mia date him, even though he was harbouring a small crush on her. Eventually, as Aksel predicted, the two didn't work out and for a few months, Aksel didn't see anything of Mia. During that time, he finally found the funds to move out of the apartment and move into one by himself, happily cutting off the roommate from his life. He had aspirations in life and a friend like him was just going to be dead weight. It was by chance that Aksel and Mia reunited. They met, as cliche as it is, in the grocery store, nearly running into each other. Deciding to meet up again for coffee, one thing lead to another and the two were happily dating. Aksel was a successful lawyer in Copenhagen and Mia worked as a receptionist at a hotel, studying to become a psychologist.

They were married at twenty eight, with Juliette, though often called Etta, being born three years afterwards. She was, quite literally, her parent’s pride and joy. Growing up, she was adored and was raised on a good amount of Shakespeare, seeing as her mother was a huge fan of the playwriter. This eventually contributed to Etta's own soft spot for him herself. She never felt like she was neglected and had constant attention. Of course, there were periods where Etta wanted siblings, and was quite vocal about it, however neither of her parents wanted a large family, especially not when they were juggling both of their careers at the same time. When she was seven years old, she had her first magical event. She was watching Matilda and tried to imitate what she saw on the screen. She tried to make books fly and, low and behold, it worked much to her surprise. Seeing as both her parents were muggles, neither of them believed her when she told them and they wrote her off as simply having an avid imagination. Four years later, she was given an invitation from Durmstrang and, though her parents initially harboured some doubts, she was being sent to school by eleven.

Initially, Etta struggled to adjust to the school life, struggled to be away from her family but she eventually found her feet. She wrote home often, talking about her life in the magical society. However, Etta struggled to make friends with the other people around her and never really gained any connections save for one or two teachers. Though this saddened her, she used her time to dedicate to her work, soon becoming one of the best students in the class, though she was dubbed a nerd and a teacher's pet from her peers. By third year, she found herself able to complete fourth year work, and sometimes was able to learn fifth year spells, buying advanced textbooks to get ahead. However, things took a turn in sixth year. She finally made friends, however, they weren’t the type of friends that she would have wanted. They were, in simple words, toxic. They were manipulative and rarely respected Etta and her own emotions. Not that Etta cared. She had friends, people to talk too, and they loved her, right? However, her grades began to drop as she spent more time sneaking out of Durmstrang with them, being introduced to parties and drugs. Having craved any sort of friendship for so long, Etta rarely stood up for herself. Thus, Etta barely scraped by in her seventh year and her NEWTS were abysmal, not allowing her to gain any job that she had originally aimed for.

For the next three years, Etta bounced between jobs. Jobs such as working at a fast food restaurant, working at a grocery store, working summer jobs. Nothing permanent. She was still in contact with her friends and really spent most of her money on both rent, food, drugs and festivals. Her parents were out of the picture by then as Etta stopped writing them during her years at Durmstrang and when she graduated, she followed her friends to Germany rather than Denmark. Etta didn’t particularly care by then. However, she slept around a lot by then and protection or plan B was never on her mind much and often forgot to make sure. Looking back, Etta was surprised she didn’t end up pregnant earlier than she had. At twenty years old, Juliette Van der Hoek was pregnant. Not that it lasted long. Though at first, she did try to stay responsible, Etta had fallen into a dark hole during those years and soon returned to her old ways and soon lost the child. However, even in those months, she did want the child and had tried to get her life back together in order to support it, though obviously this attempt failed. It was a slap of reality for Etta, however, and in six months, she’d cut her friends off and moved back in with her parents. Though both were hurt by the previous years, they weren’t the type to cut off their only daughter and welcomed her back with open arms.

For the next few years, she dedicated herself to getting her life back on track. She redid her NEWTS, passing with flying colours like she should have in the beginning, and worked a stable job in the ministry for a few odd years, though the position was nothing major or important. When she was twenty four, she met a man, quickly falling in love with him. At first, he seemed her perfect guy. Charming, funny, stable, nothing out of the ordinary. Just like Etta wanted. As a year passed by, she even began contemplating marrying him. Until the abuse started. Looking back, Etta should have seen the red flags, hell she had gone through them once before, she should know what to look for by then. Apparently, she was just as trusting as she was when she was sixteen. At first, the abuse was simply verbal. Cruel remarks that grew into yelling and screaming. Etta took it on the chin, trying to convince herself he didn’t mean it, that maybe he was right and she had done something wrong. However, there was one thing that the group of friends did help Etta with. She had learnt how to leave, how to stand up for herself, know what she deserved. So when he first laid his hands on her, Etta knew. She knew that if she didn’t leave then, then she would never leave at all. She told her parents and broke it off with the man. Though in the first initial months, it was difficult to shake him. She found him following her after she left work, stalking her. Then she went to the officials and soon gained a restraining order.

By twenty nine, Etta was happy. She’d travelled through Europe, had a job, a stable, liveable income and had a good relationship with her parents. This changed, however, when her father’s smoking habit caught up to him. In a matter of months from diagnosis, he died of lung cancer with his wife dying of a heart attack not even a week after his. Not having any extended family, Etta organised and attended the funeral alone, save for one or two close friends of her parents. Finding her home in Copenhagen too fraught with memories, Etta decided to move to the UK for a fresh start. She sold all of her families belongings, including the family house and holiday home, and used the money to buy a house in London, Coral w/e to be exact. Now, she’s hoping to gain a position as a teacher in Hogwarts, deciding that maybe teaching was the right path for her.

2) Give a description of your character's personality. Personality must be at least one paragraph long. Are you noble or sneaky? Arrogant or humble? (Remember, personality must be at least one paragraph long for the first two characters, two paragraphs long for the third to eighth characters, and three paragraphs long for the ninth to fifteenth!)

In the beginning, Etta was a people’s person, desperate for love and connection with the world around her. However, as years went by, this feeling diminished. She’s now wary of the world around her, though not cruel or bitter, but tends to not let many people close anymore. Despite this cautiousness, she does like to believe in the best of people and likes to believe the good in them until they prove her otherwise. She likes to think there are more people like her parents rather than the people like her ex boyfriend. She does believe in true love and dreams of having a family one day and is great with kids, especially young ones. Though it’s not in her sight at the moment as she wants to improve herself and become the best person she can possibly be before bringing a child into the world. She doesn’t want another event like her first pregnancy to happen again. Though it’s been nearly a decade since she became sober, she’s paranoid she’ll return to bad habits and now won’t even touch a painkiller out of her own paranoia.

However, though Etta appears to be extremely optimistic about her life and everyone around her, she tends to become pessimistic when her mood drops. Most of the time, Etta can hold her tongue, even when she disagrees with someone, though this can be broken down the more her mood drops and how much the other person is egging her on. Her patience, however, is extremely high and it takes a while before someone can truly get her to snap. Etta is slightly what they call a ‘mother friend’. She’s nurturing, caring, and takes pride in how clean and organised she is. She picks up on other people’s wellbeing and can become persistent if she believes someone to be unwell or hurt. However, she struggles to be firm with people and is a bit of a softie. She is firm in one area, however. Her own dreams and aspirations. Having gone through a period where she lost sight of them, she clings to them now and is a firm believer that everyone can achieve them, no matter how old they are, and never hesitates to tell people this.

Etta is a heavy sleeper, though, and often spends her free time sleeping. She doesn’t mean to spend most of her life sleeping just…she feels the most comfortable and safe in her own bed. If she was allowed, she would spend her whole life on that piece of furniture. Despite her belief that life can become better, Etta’s first instinct tends to be flight whenever something becomes difficult or she feels unsafe, though she knows she needs to work on this. This can be especially hard when she feels someone becoming close to her and tries to ignore this sense of flight within her. She does feel lonely and still has the same feeling that’s been haunting her since she was a child and though she thought she had learnt to deal with it, live with it, it became slightly more pronounced ever since her parent’s had died. To deal with her own grief, she’s finding herself spending a lot of time involved in the theatre, trying to watch as many shows as she can, especially Shakespeare, as it was a passion she shared with them. Ever since she was a child, Etta had a fascination with the writer and can now quote many of his lines in a wide array of plays. In fact, when she does feel insecure, or unsafe, she tends to try and take inspiration from his characters and constantly try to do what she believed they would do. She’s incredibly smart, though, and quick minded and can often be found doing puzzles whenever she wakes up or when she’s waiting for something, such as when she’s standing in a cue.

3) Are you Pure-Blood, Half-Blood or Muggle-Born? Do you have any notable magical relations? (Remember, you cannot be related to important Harry Potter characters!)

Muggle born

4) Does your character have any special magical abilities? Or special abilities in general (photographic memory, etc.)? Is he or she of a different magical race, such as Veela, Vampire, Werewolf or the like? Part or half of that magical race counts! (Remember, you cannot have one as your first two characters!)

None

5) What is your character's profession? Does your character plan to enroll your character into the Ministry of Magic? Does your character not work? Is your character a teacher?

Intends to be a teacher

6) Describe your character's marital status. Is your character single or married? What is the spouse's name? Any kids?

Single, no kids

7) What about your character's appearance? What do they look like? Feel free to write down what they look like! If you're using any FC, you can put a picture here! Please state the character's faceclaim!

FC: Jenna Coleman



The Sorting Quiz

B. Select the option that best fits your character. (Remember, this part is only optional, for regular adults and expansion characters alike!)

1) Which type of spell is most useful?


 * A. A Complex Spell


 * B. A Spell Of Control


 * C. A Combat Spell


 * D. A Healing Spell

2) What is most important to you?


 * A. Grades.


 * B. Getting your way.


 * C. Life.


 * D) Friends and family.

3) What would you do if a teacher caught you cheating?


 * A. I'm the person people cheat off of.


 * B. I wouldn't get caught; I'm too slick.


 * C. I would deny the accusation until the teacher gives up.


 * D. I would 'fess up, apologize, and accept the consequences.

4) Which trait is most valuable?


 * A. Intelligence


 * B. Cunningness


 * C. Bravery


 * D. Kindness

5) What's the best way to get things done?


 * A. The right way, no matter how long it takes.


 * B. Trick someone else into doing the work for you.


 * C. Putting together a qualified team and completing the task efficiently.


 * D. Get some friends together and lead them in the task.

OOC Questions

C. These do not affect what house you're sorted to, but everybody must answer them!

1) Is this your first character?


 * A. This is my first character.

''':B. No, this is not my first character.'''

2) If your answer to the previous question is B, how many characters do you have? How many of them are "exotic" (of a different magical race/have a special ability)?

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