It's time for another character spotlight!
Site Staff are always on the lookout for characters whose biographies and/or development (usually both!) are unique, interesting, or poignant. Each month, we try to bring attention to one such character in the hopes that the character and their development might help to spark a new way of thinking about character development, plotting, and or designing background information for your characters. And we're here to do it again!
This month, the spotlight is on Hinemoa Josephs, who is roleplayed by Rowan! Check out Hinemoa's biography, and take a look at the questionnaire below.
Please join us in congratulating Rowan for his work with Hinemoa, and we encourage you to send some questions Rowan's way!
Congrats again!!
~Kiersten
[on behalf of site staff]
What was your initial thought when you were contacted about being spotlighted?
Total surprise!! I know my activity's been a bit spotty for most of Hinemoa's time at school so it wasn't even remotely on my radar.
What was the inspiration for your character?
Hinemoa was pretty easy because she came with a premade template
She's one of the first characters I've played from birth and (obviously) her mum is one of my favourite characters so her development all felt pretty natural, coming out of Kahurangi's characterisation and the things I think she would pass on to her daughter.
What is your favourite RP that your character has taken part in?
Oh man, this is a weird question because most of her early threads I was godmodding her through Kahurangi, rather than playing her directly I think a really fun unexpected arc has been her flopping super hard during her first quidditch practice and spiralling out over it with Lilith. Hinemoa's always had very high self-esteem and quidditch is just something she assumed she would do well at, so completely failing the entire practice was a reeeeally big ding.
What is your favourite aspect of your character?
Her curiosity, for sure. The whole world fascinates her, and she's really driven to pursue things she finds interesting and prioritise learning.
Your least favourite aspect?
Hinemoa is definitely a follower more than a leader, and it makes her quite vulnerable to manipulation. Which... actually is hard to call my least favourite, because it's fun to write but as a person it's a dangerous trait to have.
If you could meet your character in real life would you want to? Why or why not?
Considering our age difference the context I would be likely to meet her in is as a student, which I would absolutely love. She's the kind of energetic and curious kid I love teaching, so she'd be a delight to have in the classroom.
What do you feel your strength in developing characters is?
Definitely variety. I get bored very easily if I'm writing too many characters who are too similar to each other, so I feel like I'm always driving myself to branch out and try completely different things and Get Weird With It.
Your weakness?
These days it's biting off more than I can chew - I have a bad tendency to get really excited about things I don't really have the time and energy to execute the way I want, which only makes me frustrated with the characters and discourages me from carrying on with them @_@
What would you recommend to those looking to further develop their characters?
Change it up! Do something weird, pull inspiration from a source you wouldn't usually go for, try a character who's completely outside your favourite archetype and dig deep to try and make them feel as authentic and nuanced as characters who are closer to your wheelhouse. The best way to grow is by extending yourself. Also! Consume media with large, dynamic casts who all have distinct voices and personalities! It helps a lot! I was gonna make a self-deprecating joke here but f it cringe is dead I'll be real reading Homestuck made me a better character writer and I genuinely unironically recommend it as an example for anyone trying to learn how to write nuanced and varied characters as part of a large ensemble.
What are you most looking forward to on HNZ in the next several months?
Ravenclaw vs. Gryffindor in the finals >
Lucy is gonna burn this whole school down to get that cup if it's the last thing she does
What is your favourite part of HNZ?
I'm gonna Get Real and probably be a bummer for a second, but with good cause!
This is a brutal time to exist in the world as a trans person, and J.K. Rowling is a primary source for that. She's turned something that was a source of safety and community for me as a child into a weapon to bludgeon me and people like me, and... if you've never had something so important weaponised against you, I don't really know how to explain the feeling. It just hurts.
Understandably I've got a lot of painful, betrayed feelings when it comes to HP as an IP. I haven't considered myself a Harry Potter fan for a very long time now, despite once having been such a big one that I had a very large tattoo. (Which was a pain to get covered up
) I don't read or write fanfic anymore, I don't reread the books or watch the movies, I definitely won't be touching anything new that comes out, and when people talk about doing any of those things it feels charged now, like I can't trust why they're doing that. Are they just nostalgic, or are they engaging because they agree with her? At best they're ignorant, at worst they're overjoyed to be pouring money and energy into stripping trans people's rights away. And a lot of the time, I have no way of knowing which it is.
So HNZ has become... let's say a complicated issue. It is painful, opening the site and seeing reminders of that world that was turned against me. I've considered leaving for good more than once, because it got too much to handle. I know of at least one person who's left the site outright specifically for that reason, and I don't blame them at all. It's hard and it hurts.
Every time I think about leaving, I come back to the community and the world we've built. I've made some of my closest friends on here, I've grown tremendously as a writer and put over a decade of effort into some of my characters, I've developed plots with other people that've had some crazy wonderful twists and turns, and I love those things so, so much.
He aha te mea nui o te ao? He tāngata, he tāngata, he tāngata. What is the most important thing in the world? It is people, it is people, it is people. HNZ is a world created by the people who build it together. I wish SO desperately that we weren't stuck with the HP branding baked into the setting, but HNZ stopped being a Harry Potter roleplay a long time ago. It's something better, something we all built as a community. That's what keeps me here, and it's what I love about the site.
Total surprise!! I know my activity's been a bit spotty for most of Hinemoa's time at school so it wasn't even remotely on my radar.
What was the inspiration for your character?
Hinemoa was pretty easy because she came with a premade template
She's one of the first characters I've played from birth and (obviously) her mum is one of my favourite characters so her development all felt pretty natural, coming out of Kahurangi's characterisation and the things I think she would pass on to her daughter.What is your favourite RP that your character has taken part in?
Oh man, this is a weird question because most of her early threads I was godmodding her through Kahurangi, rather than playing her directly
I think a really fun unexpected arc has been her flopping super hard during her first quidditch practice and spiralling out over it with Lilith. Hinemoa's always had very high self-esteem and quidditch is just something she assumed she would do well at, so completely failing the entire practice was a reeeeally big ding.What is your favourite aspect of your character?
Her curiosity, for sure. The whole world fascinates her, and she's really driven to pursue things she finds interesting and prioritise learning.
Your least favourite aspect?
Hinemoa is definitely a follower more than a leader, and it makes her quite vulnerable to manipulation. Which... actually is hard to call my least favourite, because it's fun to write
but as a person it's a dangerous trait to have.If you could meet your character in real life would you want to? Why or why not?
Considering our age difference the context I would be likely to meet her in is as a student, which I would absolutely love. She's the kind of energetic and curious kid I love teaching, so she'd be a delight to have in the classroom.
What do you feel your strength in developing characters is?
Definitely variety. I get bored very easily if I'm writing too many characters who are too similar to each other, so I feel like I'm always driving myself to branch out and try completely different things and Get Weird With It.
Your weakness?
These days it's biting off more than I can chew - I have a bad tendency to get really excited about things I don't really have the time and energy to execute the way I want, which only makes me frustrated with the characters and discourages me from carrying on with them @_@
What would you recommend to those looking to further develop their characters?
Change it up! Do something weird, pull inspiration from a source you wouldn't usually go for, try a character who's completely outside your favourite archetype and dig deep to try and make them feel as authentic and nuanced as characters who are closer to your wheelhouse. The best way to grow is by extending yourself. Also! Consume media with large, dynamic casts who all have distinct voices and personalities! It helps a lot! I was gonna make a self-deprecating joke here but f it cringe is dead I'll be real reading Homestuck made me a better character writer and I genuinely unironically recommend it as an example for anyone trying to learn how to write nuanced and varied characters as part of a large ensemble.
What are you most looking forward to on HNZ in the next several months?
Ravenclaw vs. Gryffindor in the finals >
Lucy is gonna burn this whole school down to get that cup if it's the last thing she doesWhat is your favourite part of HNZ?
I'm gonna Get Real and probably be a bummer for a second, but with good cause!
This is a brutal time to exist in the world as a trans person, and J.K. Rowling is a primary source for that. She's turned something that was a source of safety and community for me as a child into a weapon to bludgeon me and people like me, and... if you've never had something so important weaponised against you, I don't really know how to explain the feeling. It just hurts.
Understandably I've got a lot of painful, betrayed feelings when it comes to HP as an IP. I haven't considered myself a Harry Potter fan for a very long time now, despite once having been such a big one that I had a very large tattoo. (Which was a pain to get covered up
) I don't read or write fanfic anymore, I don't reread the books or watch the movies, I definitely won't be touching anything new that comes out, and when people talk about doing any of those things it feels charged now, like I can't trust why they're doing that. Are they just nostalgic, or are they engaging because they agree with her? At best they're ignorant, at worst they're overjoyed to be pouring money and energy into stripping trans people's rights away. And a lot of the time, I have no way of knowing which it is.So HNZ has become... let's say a complicated issue. It is painful, opening the site and seeing reminders of that world that was turned against me. I've considered leaving for good more than once, because it got too much to handle. I know of at least one person who's left the site outright specifically for that reason, and I don't blame them at all. It's hard and it hurts.
Every time I think about leaving, I come back to the community and the world we've built. I've made some of my closest friends on here, I've grown tremendously as a writer and put over a decade of effort into some of my characters, I've developed plots with other people that've had some crazy wonderful twists and turns, and I love those things so, so much.
He aha te mea nui o te ao? He tāngata, he tāngata, he tāngata. What is the most important thing in the world? It is people, it is people, it is people. HNZ is a world created by the people who build it together. I wish SO desperately that we weren't stuck with the HP branding baked into the setting, but HNZ stopped being a Harry Potter roleplay a long time ago. It's something better, something we all built as a community. That's what keeps me here, and it's what I love about the site.
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