Character Spotlight!

It's time for another character spotlight!

Site Staff are always on the look out 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 Bastian Thorne, who is roleplayed by Heather! We were particularly drawn into his biography and his current roleplays! Check out his biography and aesthetics pages! And then take a look at the questionnaire below.

Please join us in congratulating Heather for her work with Bastian, and we encourage you to send some questions Heather's way!

Congrats again!!

~Cyndi
[on behalf of site staff]

Spoiler: The Questionnaire

What was your initial thought when you were contacted about being spotlighted?
My initial thought is that Bastian would never be spotlighted at all! I am quite grateful that he is, and I'm happy that everyone else loves him, as much as I do!

What was the inspiration for your character?
The inspiration of Bastian came from the fact that I'm a Ravenclaw myself, but I wanted to go outside of my comfort zone of creating an introverted character. The other inspiration is definitely the faceclaim I chosen for Bastian, Ncuti Gatwa. A lot of his personality and habits come from him, and despite him being a inspiration to Bastian, he's a inspiration to me!

What is your favourite RP that your character has taken part in?
I've only done a few, due to having a busy life, but there's this one with a fellow Ravenclaw student (Eoghan) and it's more to do with Bastian's first time getting used to the unfamiliar surroundings of Hogwarts in New Zealand. This RP has let me get used to roleplaying with Bastian, as I haven't had the chance to do anything with him. I'm still doing that roleplay, but it's a great opportunity to expand Bastian a bit more![/SIZE

What is your favourite aspect of your character?
My favourite aspect of Bastian... can I say that his faceclaim is my favourite aspect? Or at least, his appearance? I mean, if it's not that, then it's gotta be the fact that he's a Ravenclaw. That's like the only thing me and Bastian have in common, to be honest!

Your least favourite aspect?
I don't think I have a least favourite aspect for Bastian. I don't know if that's an answer to the question, but I don't have one for him.

If you could meet your character in real life would you want to? Why or why not?
I would like to meet Bastian. He's very charming and quite empathetic, so if I could meet him, it would be great!

What do you feel your strength in developing characters is?
I feel my strength is creating headcanons and finding visuals for Bastian. I use Pinterest, TikTok and Tumblr sometimes to find any pictures, videos or edits of Bastian's faceclaim or anything to do with Ravenclaw. I use that for inspiration in that sense. In terms of headcanons, I tend to look at myself or any characters Ncuti has portrayed and see if any of their hobbies or interests fit with Bastian; although I do sometimes use Tumblr for headcanon inspiration as well.

Your weakness?
My weakness in developing characters? I think it's developing backstories. I cannot, for the life of me, do more than a basic backstory. I usually have my friends or my family to help me with that. So, if you want help with developing your character's backstory, do not ask me!

What would you recommend to those looking to further develop their characters?
I would recommend going to Tumblr and Pinterest, at the least. As well as Spotify (if you have it) or even YouTube. I sometimes use music to inspire my threads with Bastian or if I decide to develop Bastian's character as a whole. TikTok is also pretty good if you want to visualise a faceclaim or some kind of atmosphere for your character. I did that with Bastian and it helped a lot.

What are you most looking forward to on HNZ in the next several months?
I'm looking forward to getting Bastian to get to do Charms lessons eventually. Outside of the character though, I'm looking forward to the Yule Ball. I loved it when I read the books and when I saw Hermione Granger walking down those stairs, I fell in love with the event. I can't wait to see what the HNZ Yule Ball will be like -- and I feel like Bastian has been to the Yule Ball at his old school, so he would be excited too!

What is your favourite part of HNZ?
My favourite part of HNZ is definitely the lessons, especially the Care of Magical Creatures lessons. I love writing for them and I adore the professor. The writer is so good and Bastian is definitely enjoying the lessons, as much as I am!

 

[Professor Adorah Zumwalt]

Congratulations, Heather!!

 

[Eoghan Blyth]

Yaaay Congratulations I love Bastian!!

 

[Lilith Ilves]

Congratulations, Heather!