FAQ.

Plot Questions
How does this alternate universe work?
Rent Asunder is AU after the events of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince; everything that happened through HBP happened here as well. Although some elements of DH canon have come along to RA (e.g.: Bill and Fleur were still married, the Horcrux hunt still happened, the Ministry still fell, etc.), we have a different timeline of events than Ms. Rowling does. The major highlights of this can be found here and in the Backstory.

What are the Horcruxes and what has happened to them?
The list of Horcruxes is as follows:
· Tom Riddle’s Diary: destroyed by Harry Potter, with Godric Gryffindor’s sword.
· Marvolo Gaunt’s Ring/the Resurrection Stone: destroyed as a Horcrux by Albus Dumbledore; presently hidden in a Golden Snitch in the possession of Harry Potter.
· Slytherin’s Locket: hidden in the deepest levels of Number 12 Grimmauld Place by Kreacher; destroyed by Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger.
· Hufflepuff’s Cup: hidden in Bellatrix Lestrange’s high-security vault.
· Ravenclaw’s Diadem: hidden in the Room of Requirement.
· Harry Potter: still alive and well; Undesirable Number One.
· Nagini: also still alive and well; always in the presence of her master, Voldemort.

Where is Gryffindor’s sword?
Godric Gryffindor’s sword is still in the Headmaster’s Office at Hogwarts. Although she does not know the true history and capabilities of the sword, Headmistress Umbridge does know its value, and she keeps it under heavy guard.

What’s the deal with the Reactionary Federation?
The Reactionary Federation is a group of would-be Death Eaters, started in 1999 by Marcus Flint and Terence Higgs. They wish to do the Dark Lord’s bidding and to further the Dark Lord’s aims, but realize that taking the Dark Mark is impractical, as it prevents them from truly blending in with society. Before the fall of the Ministry, they worked on spreading pro-Dark Lord propaganda, and had their biggest success when three RF members spread Dragon Pox in Muggle London, killing five Muggleborn children. Now that their side is in power, RF members have increased freedom. They are regarded as “special” amongst their generation for having helped Wizarding Britain go to its “true course,” are afforded much more lenience when it comes to the law, and some are singled out and propagandized as examples of what good, Wizarding children should aspire to be like. Some RF members, though certainly not all, are also considering fully joining the Death Eaters, while some prefer to be un-Marked.

Why are some Order members hiding out in Grimmauld Place?
Although the specifics vary, the general answer is that, for whatever reason or another, they got in trouble with the law and need to stay somewhere protected. Remus Lupin opened Headquarters’ doors to anyone who needed protection, and more Order members may move into Grimmauld Place in the future.

How are they making that work?
Simply put, increased security. Although they cannot strengthen the Fidelius Charm on Grimmauld Place, several extra measures have been put in place, by Lupin and others, to ensure that both Muggles and Dark-aligned Witches and Wizards cannot find Order Headquarters. These range from charms surrounding the premises to hexes on the house itself.

What has Voldemort already done to personal rights?
Voldemort’s first endeavor was to register all the wands in Wizarding Britain; although most people got their wands back unchanged, this was an effort to tag certain people. Shortly thereafter, the Death Eater-run Ministry quickly passed a law that established Purebloods as “superior” to Halfbloods, Mixed Bloods, and Muggleborns; the same law also established that Muggleborns were little better than Muggles themselves and that, legally, this meant that they were not to be afforded the same rights as “normal” Witches and Wizards.

This law was followed by the Blood Traitor Act, passed in early November of 2000, which afforded Blood Traitors the chance to “reclaim” their rights as Purebloods. Under the Act, “one-time cases” (e.g.: Sirius and Andromeda) had to publicly recant from their “deviant beliefs,” be taken back by their families, and be subjected to routine questionings, to make sure that they were not associating with those below their status and/or those who could tempt them to backslide. “Family cases” (e.g.: the Weasleys and the Longbottoms) were trickier. If the entire family would recant, then they would all be treated as normal Purebloods, but would be subject to routine questionings; if only one person recanted, then he or she would have to sever all ties with his or her family, and, depending on the circumstances under which he or she recanted, he or she may be subjected to routine questioning. “Unrepentant” Blood Traitors are, by the letter of the law, given the same rights as Halfbloods and Mixed Bloods, but are treated as badly as Muggleborns, in most cases.

Voldemort and the Death Eaters ran in the New Year by instituting a policy that all Witches and Wizards needed to have identification “papers” made, and that they would have to have these “papers” on them at all times. These papers would include fairly standard fare, such as name, age, birthday, marital status, and a photograph; they would also include things such as a Witch or Wizard’s blood status, any special distinctions or markings of social status, the details of their education (meaning: education before and other than Hogwarts, Hogwarts House, and the years in which a Witch or Wizard attended Hogwarts), and detailed information on their family trees.

What’s happening to Muggleborns?
Muggleborns, legally, are established as barely even human. Although they are afforded some basic liberties (e.g.: they can still be employed in menial, laborious, or otherwise thoughtless positions that require little to no magic), they are regarded as interlopers in the magical tradition. Punishments for law-breaking are more strictly enforced on them, their ability to use magic is strictly monitored and severely restricted, and, if a Pureblood presents even a flimsy reason for why they should be treated as animals or slaves, they are treated so. Muggleborns who don’t show reverence for the new order (at least publicly) are classified as Undesirables and outcast from society; if they are found, they are to be arrested and sent to Azkaban, where the best they can hope for is to just die naturally while being food for the Dementors. More vocal anti-Voldemort Muggleborns who get caught are often given to magical researchers as test subjects, and there is talk amongst some that they are routinely on the end of the Dementor’s Kiss. The latter part is untrue, for now.

Game Questions
How do the journals work?
In just a physical sense, the journals work like regular ink and paper journals; they are made of parchment sheets bound in a cover (and charmed to never run out), and characters can write whatever they please in them. If your character is the type who enjoys drawing, you may also include doodles or pictures in your entries. Additionally, in the back of the journals is a magically updated “friends page,” which shows entries written in nearby journals. The same magic that allows characters to read each others’ entries also allows them to write comments on the entries and to reply to other comments.

In order to protect people’s privacy, the journals’ creators also invented a series of privacy hexes; these allow people to mark an entry as entirely public, entirely private, or private to one person or group of people. Hexes may also be cast against certain parties, in order to keep them from reading an entry. The hexes can be cast alone, or with other hexes, and they can also be cast on comments, so that only certain people may read and reply to certain comments. In order to signify a hex, please mark where it begins, where it ends, and who may or may not read what is written. However, like all magic, the hexes are not always fail-safe. Someone’s mental and emotional state at the time of casting may make a hex easier to break, and someone may also choose to make a hex harder to break; to signify degrees of strength other than “normal strength,” please mark whether a hex is strong, weak, double-cast, breakable by certain people and not others, etc.

What constitutes activity?
We ask that all players try to be as active as possible with all their characters, but we realize that, sometimes, things come up and that they can complicate being around all the time. The minimum update limit is one substantial journal entry, thread, and/or AIM log every three weeks. Characters must also be active in replying to other characters’ entries and replying to comments on their own entries. If you haven’t made the three-week mark and/or you appear to be absent in the comments, you will receive a warning email from the mods. On the first Saturday of every month, a list of people who need updates and/or comments will be posted; players will have one week to correct their inactivity, unless they ask for an extension. We will most likely be lenient in granting extensions, but a pattern of repeated warnings and extensions will be grounds for removal.

What do you mean by counting comments as activity?
Commenting is a big concern, since random interaction can breed some of the best plots, but we won’t be completely ridiculous about it. If your character absolutely cannot comment on another character’s entry, that’s fine, but we will be concerned if your character only comments on entries made by a few other characters. We will be even more concerned if your character should be having a lot of interaction with another character (e.g.: Harry, Ron, and Hermione are best friends, working for the same cause, and should speak to each other regularly; Death Eaters would likely talk amongst themselves rather frequently; Ginny isn’t the type to never speak to her brothers, etc.), and said interaction doesn’t exist. All we ask is that you try to interact with as many different players and characters as possible. You never know – the results could be great!

What is Rent Asunder’s policy on shipping?
Relationships happen. We all know this and some of us love it. Some of us hate it. What unites us is that we will all have to deal with it, and we ask that you please handle the shipping that may come up as maturely as possible. That is the golden rule of shipping at Rent Asunder, but we have a few other requests of players. First off, understand that we are slash, femmeslash, and het-friendly; characters of all sexual orientations are welcome here, and we won’t discriminate in terms of which characters are allowed to have romantic plots. Secondly, while we understand both that some romantic plots may develop without warning, and that it’s next to impossible for Purebloods not to interbreed, we ask that you stay away from all close incest plots (e.g.: brother/sister, brother/brother, and first cousins). Thirdly, if you wish to play out sex in character, we ask that you friends-lock the thread/log, visibly mark that sex is being written, and mark any kinks/squicks that come up during the course of the thread/log (e.g.: positions, practices, and cross-gen).

Finally, we are fine with two people applying together for two characters with a shippy plot for them in mind (e.g.: Ron and Hermione; an arranged marriage, such as that between Gwen Rivers and Gabriel Harper; etc.). We just ask two things in these situations. First, understand that your two characters will not be allowed to only play out their shippy plot; they must interact with other characters and do other things. Second, understand that both characters may not be immediately accepted. Rewrites are granted on rejected applications, and, if you don’t mind rewriting, then you will likely be accepted, but your shippy plot may have to be placed on hold while the rejected half of it is tweaked slightly. If you understand and accept these two things, then feel free to apply together for a ship.

What is Rent Asunder’s policy on holds?
Holds for a character can be placed on the character list entry, and all holds will be for 72 hours. At the end of the 72 hours, if an application has not been received, a 24-hour extension may be granted, if it is asked for. Applications will be reviewed and a verdict on them will be passed as soon as possible; if the mods take over a week to get back to you, please alert them to this. Holds may be challenged, in which case a verdict will not be passed until all applications for the character are in and have been reviewed.

How do I post to the threading comm.?
We will not be ridiculously strict about this, but, in general, please try to keep threads and AIM logs marked with the following header.
Who: (In the case of open threads and narratives, include who may reply to the thread.)
What: (A short, general summary of the activity.)
When: (Doesn’t need to be specific; just a day and general time will be fine.)
Where: (May be as general or as specific as you like.)
Rating: (Please include any warnings/reasons for this rating.)
Status: (Pending, in progress, complete.)

Additionally, it would help with activity checks if you would title your posts to the threading community with something simple, such as, “Remus and Harry thread” or, “Draco and Blaise log.”

How do I send an owl in character?
To send an owl, post the letter in the threading community with the following header.
To: [Character Name]
From: [Character Name]

Please title the post, “Owl to [Character Name].”

What is the rating system?
Rent Asunder is an NC-17 game; anything goes, and several questionable things may happen in character. To rate threads and logs, we ask that you use the MPAA guidelines, as seen here. You don’t need to follow the guidelines to the letter, but please use discretion. Please friends-lock all NC-17 material.

What are we looking for in an application?
Well, the mod herself is very long-winded and her apps tend to be exhaustive. Yours definitely do not need to be so lengthy. In general, she prefers quality to quantity, and all she asks is that the character is developed and the writing shows promise; the app should give a general feel of how the character acts and thinks, and how the character is likely going to function in game. Rewrites will be granted and the mod is ready to work with any writer who wants to be in the group, but whose character may not be quite ready yet.

Do I have to write new samples for my application?
The only rules we have about samples are that they be of decent size (200+ words, or thereabouts, is a good estimate), and that they be in character. This means that, from a practical standpoint, if you've played the character you're applying for before, you do not have to write new samples; you may still write new samples, if you choose to, but you do not have to. However, if you're new to playing your character, we will ask for new samples. We just want the samples to give us a sense of how your character will function in the game, so try to give us an idea of what you think would be a typical entry and/or action post from your character.

Can I apply for an original character?
At the moment, no. We have several available "no name" characters, or characters who have been mentioned but have little to no canon surrounding them; these characters are as close as Rent Asunder will come to accepting original characters, at the moment. When most of the canon spots are filled, we may begin expanding to include original characters, but, for the moment, we'd like to stick to canon. That said, our character list is not exhaustive. If you'd like to apply for a character who isn't on the list but who is mentioned in canon, feel free to place a hold on and write an application for them.

What should I do with my application after I’m accepted?
Please post your application, minus the samples, either in your userinfo or in an unlocked journal entry. You don’t have to leave in-character journal entries unlocked, but please leave the character profile unlocked so that prospective players can get a feel for the characters they’d be playing with at Rent Asunder.

Should I apply for membership to the communities, or will you send an invite?
When you're accepted, we will send invites, but, unlike GJ, IJ doesn't send notification emails. If you prefer, you can simply apply for membership to the communities and we will add you, but you can also go to "Asylum Invitations" (under the "Asylums" section of menus) to accept the invites.

Can I switch my PB?
You certainly can, and you can switch as many times as you need to, no questions asked. Just comment on the Taken/Held PBs post or PM asundermods to make the switch.


Any other questions? Feel free to ask them here, or in a PM to this journal. All comments on this post will be screened.