Reim's Academy Application
PLAYER INFORMATION
PLAYER: Nick
AGE: 25
CONTACT: AIM: YamiKuja. E-mail: MightyNeonFraa@gmail.com
PERSONAL LJ: N/A
CHARACTERS PLAYED: None
CHARACTER INFORMATION
NAME: Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden
CANON: The Dresden Files
CANON REFERENCE: To Wikipedia!
AGE: 35
GENDER: Male
TENURE: This would be his first year
SUBJECT/POSITION: Primary: Western Literature teacher (HS elective). Secondary: Guidance Counselor
RESIDENCE: On campus
APPEARANCE:
For quick reference
The first noticeable thing about Harry is his height. He is tall, very tall, at 6’9”. He’s a little new to this whole “respectable appearance” thing and it shows with his appearance usually leaning toward the scruffy side. He also favors jeans and a t-shirt over nicer clothes and typically wears a black leather duster.
PERSONALITY: The first and largest part of Harry Dresden's personality that anybody will notice is his sense of humor and sarcasm. Harry is an unapologetic smartass. Even if every shred of common sense and courtesy would demand he be anything else. To his friends this usually takes the form of gently poking fun or corny jokes, to enemies though these quips can become infuriating taunts and even the imposing opponents are not exempt from Harry Dresden's rapid-fire mouth. There's also a chance that he may have a teeny problem with authority and that he may have an absolute lack of respect for station for its own sake. Likewise, he won’t show a massive lack of respect to somebody just because they happen to outrank him but Heaven help the person who tries to wield authority or status as a weapon over Harry Dresden or anybody else because they will quickly learn how unpleasant company he can really be.
Smart aleckness aside, the most defining aspect of Harry's personality is that he does genuinely want to help people. He knows all-too-well what it’s like to grow up without anybody to turn to and it isn’t a feeling he wants anybody else to know if he can do anything to about it. If you’re ever in trouble, Harry Dresden is the guy to turn to, always willing to go to bat for somebody who needs it. Sometimes whether they ask for his help or not.
Harry's difficult past has also instilled a definite edge of self-sufficiency in him. It isn't that he doesn't seek out help when he needs it but he is also fully capable of taking care of himself for the most part. It’s something he tries to instill in his students and why he demands that they do the actual legwork for their grade. Any papers or assignments have to include more sources found in actual books than from the internet and absolutely must be submitted in real, solid, paper format. He typically isn’t a stickler for discipline among his students, his particular course is one the students choose and he expects them to behave responsibly about it. That’s not to say his class is an easy A, Harry is fully willing to let the consequences for bad behavior play out just like it would in the real world. Getting a second chance out of Harry is notoriously difficult.
Incredibly out of touch with technology, Harry prefers the simple comfort of a good book and some music to the louder forms of entertainment available in the modern world and many visitors to his home are surprised to find that he doesn’t even own a TV. In its place are packed bookshelves and several cardboard boxes loaded with worn paperbacks where the bookshelves don’t cut it and his prized possession: his original 1977 Star Wars poster. When not reading he’ll often be practicing magic tricks and illusions, having picked up an appreciation for it from his father while he was still young.
In many ways, Harry is an old-fashioned man particularly when it comes to women and romance. Harry has a very strict "do not hit girls" rule that he adheres to to the point that it very often gets him in all kinds of trouble. Harry is a hopeless romantic, eschewing quick and easy hookups for the possibility of a real, loving relationship. Conversely, Harry is also clueless around women and easily misses hints that seem like a flashing neon sign to others.
COMPUTER APTITUDE: Computers are bizarre and frightening contraptions that hate Harry as much as he hates them. He prefers good old-fashioned pen and paper, thank you very much, and the only computer hacking he’ll do will involve a blue screen and a hatchet.
AU HISTORY: Harry Dresden had a rather turbulent childhood. The son of Malcolm and Margaret Dresden, Harry’s mother died of complications during childbirth leaving Harry to be raised alone by his father, a traveling stage illusionist.
Because his father’s career kept them moving, Harry spent most of his childhood on the road. He didn’t have any other family that they knew of and while his mother had had insurance there wasn’t enough to do much more than make sure Harry at least went through tutoring and home schooling programs for much of his early education. Still, while it was far from a stable childhood with little to no opportunity to form any lasting friendships he was happy enough.
He was eight years old when his father died of a heart attack before his eyes.
In the blink of an eye, Harry’s life was changed forever. With no living relatives, Harry abruptly found himself as another statistic being shuffled around an overcrowded system. He was put into foster care and enrolled in public school and ran into more than his fair share of trouble. Typical teenage rebelliousness merged with pain that was far too grown up and began to lead young Harry down a decidedly dark path. Barely a day even went by without Harry getting into a fight or mouthing off to somebody he really shouldn’t have and ran a nearly constant risk of expulsion. He lived this way until he was sixteen and the next big event rocked his life.
It turned out that his grandfather on his mother’s side, a man named Ebenezar McCoy, was still alive. The old man and Harry’s father had never been close and after the death of his daughter he had drifted away from the family but, after learning that Malcolm Dresden had died, came forward and adopted the boy.
So Harry went to live with his grandfather on his farm and although the old man never really took the place of his father he was the next best thing. Harsh but fair, Ebenezar taught Harry the value of hard work and in other people in general. Within a year, Harry’s grades had improved enough for him to go on to college and finally university where he studied education. Upon graduation Harry returned to the public school system as a teacher but old habits died hard and he clashed with the administration, never really fitting in to the bureacracy of it all. Finally, on suggestion from a friend Harry shifted focus to the private sector and applied at Reim’s Academy.
JUSTIFICATION: He has plenty of canon justification for teaching literature, having a massive collection of books and an obvious background in myths and legends. He’s also technically a teacher in canon, taking on an apprentice in canon and teaching young wizards to be Wardens for the White Council and is a fairly important authority figure among the younger wizards in his world.
He’d be a much more old-school professor than the school is used to, he grew up with little to no experience with technology and missed out on the whole internet age. He’ll basically insist that all his assignments include some kind of actual book research and expect things turned in in actual paper form. No E-mailing essays to Harry Dresden.
As far as his second option goes, Harry’s rather difficult upbringing has left him with plenty of memorable insights into what it’s like to be a kid with nowhere to turn to. He’d naturally gravitate toward a position where he can help students who really feel lost. He could make a good mentor and has plenty of experience to draw on in providing advice.
SAMPLES
INTRANET/1ST PERSON SAMPLE: Subject: Memo to Western Literature students.
Okay, guys, I’ve been getting a lot of messages about this so I’m going to spell it out here: yes, I was serious when I said I expect your essay assignments in hard copy. I know this is the E-mail age but, come on guys, you all have your own computers and there are plenty of printer access on campus. It’s not like I’m asking you to write it out by hand or bang it out on an old-fashioned ink-and-metal typewriter (like I used to.) I’m also gonna go ahead here and drop a none-too-subtle reminder that you signed up for this class, so it’s time to play by the rules.
The drop-off box in my office is there for a reason, folks, and it’s open until midnight but since I’m pretty rarely still around at that hour that basically means that anything sitting in my box when I come in the next day is accepted. So, if you think about it, you’re trading the convenience of E-mailing the assignment for an extra night to wrap it up.
Suck it up, guys. It’ll all pay off in the end.
- Harry Dresden. Western Lit teacher and pain in everyone’s neck.
LOG/3RD PERSON SAMPLE:
“From the very beginning of the novel, Maddie was a strong feminist figure considering the timeline, whether it was intentional or not. In a setting where women characters were typically the school marms or housewives waiting back in town for the hero to return from gunning down the bad guy, suddenly there’s this character, this teenage girl who sets out on her own to settle her father’s estate.” Feminism in True Grit, still a strange topic for Harry to find himself talking about. It was kind of a pit trap of teaching in an academy as big and famous as Reim’s, injecting a real intellectual discussion into novels that, frankly, he just thought were cool. Since beginning this job, he had found himself having to take a second, more in-depth look at many old favorites. It wasn't as painful as his students led him to believe.
“Here’s a girl who goes off on her own, hires a bounty hunter and carries and fires her own gun.” He paced up and down the rows of desks as he talked, partly because it made him look more professional and/or authoritative, but mainly because it gave him prime opportunity to spot small movements. Such as the one student just ahead of him attempting to discreetly pass a note.
Barely pausing in mid-sentence, Harry stooped slightly and managed to snag the small, folded sheet of paper as he passed by.
“Well, something this urgent has to be incredibly interesting and on topic.” He gave a quick smile at the apparent author of the note. A blonde-haired girl who stared at him in the usual mix of embarrassment and dread that usually came with the threat of him reading and critiquing these messages out loud to the class. Without missing a beat, he stopped in front of the room, unfolded the note and-- paused to reread it once. A heartbeat passed and he glanced at the girl again, that look of dread anticipation suddenly picking up an entirely new meaning.
“Well.” He began, slowly folding the note back up and shoving it into his pocket. “I’m glad you liked the book as much as you did, but next time you feel decide to tell somebody about it, wait until after class.”
A murmur ran through the class at the apparent anti-climax of the whole note-passing scandal and Harry gave another quick grin at the mixed look of confusion and relief on the girl’s face before bringing the attention back to the discussion at hand.
The remainder of the class passed without incident. Some more discussion and a gentle reminder about turning in weekly reports on time and Harry found himself alone at his desk again. Smiling to himself, he took the note from his pocket again to give it another glance.
I didn’t think they made literature teachers this hot.
He couldn’t help a chuckle to himself, shaking his head a little.
“Kids.”
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