quick test

FULL NAME: Michelle Evie Favre
NICKNAME: Micha. As much as it may seem like an obvious choice in a nickname, never call her Chelle! It was what her father used to call her, so naturally hearing it has a bad effect on her. Call her Chelle or anything that sounds similar, and she’ll either hurt you or freeze in terror depending on her mood.
GENDER: female
AGE: 16
BIRTHDATE: April 27, 2188
HOUSE: Ravenclaw
YEAR: 6th
BLOOD STATUS: muggleborn
SEXUAL ORIENTATION: Heterosexual
WAND: 11 2/4”, cherry wood, veela hair
GROUPS/CLUBS: The Lens People

MIRROR OF ERISED:

She sees herself dancing in front of thousands of people, and doing what she loves most. She wants to perform everywhere possible, and eventually perform on Broadway in front of millions of people. On the side she’d like to be a photographer and an all-around artist. Taking photos to capture moments, while drawing or painting other projects. Maybe even try her hand at printmaking some day, and collaborate with other artists.

Then again a part of her also dreams of being a cursebreaker, so she can have a chance to go out in search of ancient artifacts. She’d love to explore the world, and uncover little bits and pieces that are hidden away for only the most dedicated to uncover. And while she’s at it, she’d take as many photographs of all the sights and destinations she comes across throughout her travels.

In short she’s still torn as to what it is she wants to do, but there’s still plenty of time. She’s only sixteen, so she’d rather focus on being a teenager and making it through school until she has to decide. Maybe mature a bit more before worrying about her future too much.

BOGGART:

Her father. After everything he put her through, what he did to her and her sister, Michelle still can’t erase those memories from her mind. That past still haunts her, with nightmares plaguing her whenever possible. If he were to ever be allowed to walk around freely, out of prison, that would be the worst thing she could think of. She would be afraid that he’d come after her, and even with him rotting in a jail cell, Michelle is still terrified of the prospect of him hunting her down if he is ever let out.

DEMENTOR:

Returning home to discover her sister was missing, after escaping out of the house for a few hours and hanging out with some friends in the neighborhood. Even if she didn’t know for certain, her gut told her something horrible had happened. It had just been earlier that morning when Marissa had finally stood up to their father, so the connection seemed obvious. Her father had done something, something bad, and as more and more days passed with no sign of her sister Michelle realized that she’d never see her again. Marissa was dead, with her father being to blame, and this time it fell onto her shoulders to do something about the man. She had to call the police and report him.

AMORTENTIA:

Oriental lilies, green tea, wet grass,

VERITASERUM:

She hates it when her anger leads to act violently where she ends up hurting someone she cares for, like Jon. It makes her afraid that she’s becoming more and more like her father, and that thought alone is enough to terrify her. So, despite her behavior Micha is very aware of her flaws, and afraid of the person she could become if she continues allowing her emotions to take ahold of her.

She also has a secret love for exploring. Michelle isn’t entirely sure why she keeps it a secret, except maybe her insecurities are aware of how different it makes her compared to the image others may have of her. There’s so much wrong with her already, that she’s afraid that her love for ancient histories and exploring might isolate her further. While it may be good to show her peers that she’s definitely not afraid of getting a little dirty, Michelle can’t find the strength to let the world know that she’s not just another pretty face.

PATRONUS:

Turkish Angora

LIKES:

Music, dancing, movies, animals, nature, exploring, ancient ruins, kickboxing, rain, quiet days, singing, art, photography, ancient history, being around friends, Jon, cats, flowers, painting, drawing

DISLIKES:

Feeling insecure, her father, nightmares, feeling left out, hurting others, black coffee, past memories, distractions, being tossed to the side, arguing (even though she’s usually the one to start it), herself sometimes, abandonment

STRENGTHS:

• Intelligent – Being in Ravenclaw, it should come to no surprise that she’s a rather intelligent girl. She’s always pushed herself to do her best in her studies, and when she puts her mind learns rather quickly. While she doesn’t consider herself a genius, she is aware that she has a sharp mind that can easily soak in knowledge.

• Compassionate – Despite her volatileness, Michelle isn’t as horrible a person as she may appear to be sometimes. She cares deeply for those she’s close to, and hates to see them hurt. Whenever she says or does something to hurt someone it isn’t unheard of for her to feel guilty for several days following the incident. Yes, it’s true that she can be a bitch, but she isn’t cold-hearted. It’s just a struggle for her to always show compassion and sympathy sometimes, with some days being more difficult than others.

• Creative – Michelle has always had a lot of creative flair, ever since she was a young girl. She loves thinking outside the box, and creating her own little things in her free time. She has a fondness for photography and all kinds of art, particularly 2D art forms. Looking at it is a calmly experience, as is drawing or even painting. Or when she’s not creating it through use of different media, she enjoys walking around the environment and just taking pictures of anything she sees. As odd as it may be, Micha actually prefers muggle photography, as she finds to concept of capturing an image as how it looks at a particular time to be rather beautiful. Her creativity also shines through while dancing, as Michelle often likes adding her own little flair to a dance she’s been practicing, or sometimes even creating her own if she works up the confidence to do so.

WEAKNESSES:

• Insecure – Michelle is incredibly insecure. In her mind she can’t help but control herself to others around her, often feeling socially inadequate and questioning what people truly think of her. There’s a constant wave of anxiety and worries floating through her mind, always wondering if she’s going to be tossed aside for someone much better than her. So even if she knows she shouldn’t, she can’t help but become jealous and possessive of @jonathan. She’s really just afraid of losing one of the few people who has remained close to her despite all of her complexities.

• Volatile – Certain events from her past has caused her to develop a rather volatile personality. Where one day she can be sweet and considerate, there are other days where she just can’t handle any kind of bullshit. She’s prone to having meltdowns, and on the worst of days it doesn’t take things to turn ugly fast.

• Haunted – Despite the years that have passed, and finally having a somewhat decent life, Micha is still haunted by the events of her past. She still carries the scars of her father’s abuse, and her sister’s death, and it isn’t rare for her to have frequent nightmares on occasion. Given her volatile nature, it should come to no surprise that she suffers with PTSD as a result of everything she has had to endure.

HABITS:

- Combing her fingers through her hair frequently when feeling nervous.

- She talks to her cat whenever to get things off her chest that she normally wouldn’t say around others, or confess her guilt as soon as it strikes.

- Doing a casual little dance every morning in order to warm up in preparation to face the day.

GENERAL PERSONALITY:

Michelle can most easily be described as volatile. Her moods can change on a sudden whim, with her being sweet one moment then the next she’s lashing at an unsuspecting student. It is never difficult to know when she’s having one of her meltdowns because when she has one things can turn ugly quick. Her emotions often get the best of her – caused by insecurities – resulting in one of her infamous meltdowns whenever jealousy and/or insecurity strikes.

While she may have a tendency to come off as being bitchy, Michelle is far more complicated for things to be that simple. Events from her past still haunt her, and as a result she struggles with feelings of insecurity on a daily basis. These feelings are even stronger around other girls, as she tends to automatically compare herself to everyone. She begins to feel inferior, like it’s only a matter of time before she’s tossed aside in favor of someone who’s better. These insecurities lead her to become easily jealous and possessive, especially where her boyfriend @jonathan is concerned. Deep down she knows she shouldn’t feel so strongly, but she can’t help but be terrified. He’s one of the few people who have stood by her side since first year, and she’s afraid of watching him walk out of her life forever. It might be foolish and selfish, but her insecurities cause her to cling to desperately to keep ahold of anyone who’s close to her. She’s already lost too much, and a part of her is desperate to fight against even the slightest possibility of being alone.

As a result, she often loses control of her emotions. She gets into arguments, becomes somewhat physically abusive, and generally makes matters even worst out of anger. It is that side of her that she hates the most. The angry part of her that would go as far as to hurt someone she cares about because she’s too afraid of being alone. It isn’t unheard of for her disappear for days after one of her messy incidents, especially if she does something to hurt Jon. Deep down Michelle truly hates hurting those she cares for, but her inability to control her emotions makes fighting against such things difficult. Maybe one day she’ll learn to get ahold of herself, but where she’s at right now there’s still some development to be had in that regard. The last thing she wants is to become like her father, a cruel monster who hurts people she’s supposed to love without any remorse. As much as she can be bitchy, she doesn’t necessarily want to be that way. But at the same time she’s not able to seek the help she may need, or maybe it hasn’t come to her yet. Is there even anyway to save her, to help her be the sweet girl she is capable of being on a good day? She wants to believe that’s the real her, the person she can be proud of, but sometimes that girl feels more like a stranger than the bitch staring at her through the mirror.

FAMILY:
• Cyrille Favre, 42, Muggle, Bastard birth Father
• Shannon Favre, 38, Muggle, birth mother
• Marissa Favre, deceased (would be 18), muggleborn, Sister
• Anatole Monet, 38, Pureblood, Adopted Father

WEALTH STATUS: She was born in a lower-class family, as each of her birth parents didn’t do much to contribute a lot of wealth into the family. Since being adopted, she is enjoying a comfortable life with middle class wealth. Her adoptive parents might occasionally struggle, but they are able to afford some luxuries at least.
HOMETOWN: Bordeaux, France
CURRENT RESIDENCE: Blackpool, England
PETS:

Snowy owl named Ciri
Abyssinian cat named Cinder

HISTORY:

There are some people in the world who should never, ever have children because they are too terrible or selfish individuals. Cyrille and Shannon Favre would certainly fit into that group, but unfortunately during a couple of their sexual escapades they managed to have two children. Two girls the oldest named Marissa, and the youngest being little Michelle. To be fair early on things weren’t too terrible, with Shannon at least making some small effort in attempt at raising both girls. Cyrille was never really home for the most part, instead he was always away at work or just doing only god knows what. Her father was out of the house constantly until Michelle was three, when he was fired from his job as a police officer. It was then that the man’s abusive nature started to show, starting with him verbally abusing Shannon constantly, until his eyes found little Marissa in all her innocence. With Michelle not even being old enough to attend school she was spared for the time being, but her sister wasn’t so lucky. Neither was her mother, but the abuse on the older woman was rather short lived. At some point her mother stopped caring, accepting whatever abuse her husband threw at her, and turning to alcohol to help heal the pain.

As a result, most of Michelle’s early memories are filled with the constant sounds of her sister crying while her father yelled at her. While her also abused Marissa physically, it was always out of Michelle’s line of sight. Hours later she would find her sister curled up in a corner bruised and beaten, or simply crying if nothing physical had happened. The two sisters became remarkably close, and it was thanks to Marissa that Micha was able to go as long as she did without suffering too much of her father’s abuse. The verbal abuse started after her fifth birthday, with her sister doing her best to protect Michelle before she could suffer too much physical damage. Through their shared suffering the sisters developed a close bond. Michelle could rely on Marissa to protect her from their father, while she did whatever she could to just be there for her sister. Whenever she found her sister curled up in a corner crying from the pain that had been inflicted onto her, she would scoot in next to her sister and just be there for comfort. Countless nights passed where they would fall asleep side by side, doing what they could to take away the other’s pain. As her mother sank deeper and deeper into alcoholism, it became apparent even to a child that her sister was the only one who she could count on. They needed to rely on each other, when their parents were too awful to even care about them in a decent, loving manner.

As soon as Michelle turned six the abuse on the girls only continued to get worst. She had begun to notice that her father had begun abusing her sister worst and worst over the years. Not just because the older girl had protected her, but for other reasons as well. Months after her sixth birthday, Michelle used her first signs of magic. Her sister had been cut and was bleeding badly after being locked away alone with their father for a few hours, and desperate stop the other girl’s pain she healed it after rubbing the wounds for a few brief seconds. Instead of showing her immediate thanks, a look of immediate horror showed on Marissa’s face as soon as the older girl had noticed what had happened. While thankful for Michelle’s attempt at helping, her sister was afraid of what it had meant. Michelle listened in confusion, while she was told to never, ever perform such magics around their father. Unsure why, she nodded without any hesitation. Her sister’s voice was filled with a sense of urgentness and desperation, making it clear that things would only get worse if her father found out that she had her abilities. Abilities that she shared alongside with her sister, as it turned out.

Despite her efforts, it was only inevitable that she would use her magical abilities in the presence of her father at some point. It happened when Cyrille had started yelling at her out of nowhere, as soon as he had returned for ‘work’ for the day. As he began storming towards her, looking rather menacing, Michelle did the first thing she could think of. She reached out to shield herself with her hands, while hoping she’d look too pathetic for him to waste his time with. With her sister locked away in her room, Michelle felt more defenseless than usual, and she hoped maybe, just maybe the cruel man would over look her just once. As one would guess that didn’t happen. Just as he reached out to grab her, Michelle produced some sort of barrier just before any damage could be done. The look in her father’s eyes from witnessing the feet was possibly more terrifying than it had before. Michelle froze in place, doing nothing but watch in terrified silence as the next course of events took place. In a fit of rage, Cyrille punched at the barrier repeatedly, while she began curling in a corner in a pitiful attempt to protect herself. It was only a matter of time before it broke, with her strength only being able to hold it up for so long. Once it shattered she felt a tight grip around her arm, as her body was pulled up before being dragged off into another room. It was in there that she received the worst forms of physical and mental abuse she had yet to experience; witnessing a new, more terrorizing side to the man who should have been her father. With tears raining down her face, she snuck her way into Marissa’s room seeking comfort after the abuse had ended.

A few months after Michelle’s eighth birthday, the family packed up from their home in Bordeaux, France and moved to England. Somehow Cyrille had managed to find employment at a job in Manchester, resulting in him deciding to haul the family off to another country. She can barely remember hearing her mother making pitiful attempts to protests at first, but her father managed to do something to convince the woman because she eventually caved in and agreed. Whether he bribed her with alcohol, sexual favors, or convinced her through abusive means didn’t really matter. The move went exactly how one would expect. The neighborhood was actually kind of nice, with Michelle managing to make a few friends during the moments when she managed to escape out of the house for a few hours. Life was still terrible, but she still had her sister to help her get through each day.

A year later her sister began attending Hogwarts, and while she was happy for Marissa she was also frightened. She was afraid of living in the house with only her mother and father. Without her sister around there would be no one to protect her, and the abuse she suffered under her father was steadily beginning to grow worst. It got even worst with her sister away. Cyrille still used his normal methods of abusing her mentally and physically, but there were times her found new ways of hurting her. Some nights he would creep into her room – locking the door as he entered – and would pin her down on her bed before doing things to her. Things that no girl should be subject to, and are best left for the imagination to figure out. It was pretty, but fortunately that kind of abuse didn’t happen often. Just whenever her father seemed look at her a certain way, with a creepy ass glint in his eyes as if he was admiring some sort of hidden beauty within her. It was downright creepy.

When her sister was home over the summer months, Michelle began sticking close by to the girl as much as possible. She confided in her about the kinds of things her father had begun doing to her while Marissa was away; the more inappropriate things to say the least. Once again her sister was there to comfort her, admitting that Michelle wasn’t the only one to suffer such treatment. Both of them were victims, and they were all each other had.

She had been ten for only a few months, when she lost her sister. The day was one that was supposed to be relatively peaceful, or at least good for the young girl. After much hesitation, Michelle had allowed herself to listen to Marissa and go to a friend’s house for the afternoon. Her sister had made it clear that she needed to spend a day away from home, and promised that nothing bad would happen. And it was great. She had actually had lots of fun, and felt like she was living the kind of life that she should have been allowed to live a long time ago. She was a kid. A girl having fun, and making friends with other kids her age despite being shy.

Michelle returned home later in the evening, and almost as soon as she stepped foot into the house something felt wrong. She headed up to her sister’s room, wanting to tell the older girl all about her day, but found it to be oddly. An odd chill swept down her spine, as she turned to search around the house for Marissa. Her mother didn’t seem to notice that her oldest daughter was missing, and her father was conveniently absence. She didn’t know what had happened, but every single instinct told her it was bad. Real bad. When her father returned later that night, Michelle worked up the courage to ask where Marissa was. Cyrille gave no answer, except for an intense glare that said ‘shut your mouth’. Too afraid to ask further she refused to eat anything, instead preferring to spend the night in her sister’s room. If the older girl came home at all, she wanted, no needed to be there to comfort her. If something bad had happened, then Michelle needed to be ready to comfort her sister.

Days passed and still no sign of Marissa. The longer time went on with no sign of her sister, the more convinced Michelle had become that something wasn’t right. Something terrible had befallen her sister, and somewhere deep down every instinct told her that her father was responsible. It took every ounce of courage she could muster to call the police, reporting to them that her sister had gone missing. While she was at it she tried to express her fears that her father was responsible, not knowing if they would believe a ten-year-old girl. Something in her words must have caught their attention, as the next day a full scale investigation was started in search for Marissa Favre. Nothing came from the search, however, as her sister remained missing. A week after the search had been in process the police stopped by the Favre house, insisting on questioning Michelle in private away from both her parents. After much soothing, and convincing her that she’d be safe, she talked to the police and told them everything her and her sister had been through in the past years. Despite not knowing her sister’s fate, they had enough information to arrest her father on several accounts of child abuse, as well as a list of other crimes from some of his more private affairs. Realizing that her mother was in no state to raise a child, they had Michelle taken away to live at a group home for children. Even as she was being escorted out of her old home, her mother still didn’t seem to notice or care. The woman had simply remained passive, staring at the girl through blank eyes, before helping herself to another bottle of alcohol.

Adjusting to her new life wasn’t exactly easy, especially considering that she preferred to isolate herself from the children and adults who tried to reach out to her. It became difficult for her to trust another person. When someone her age tried to befriend it became a habit for Michelle to push them away, or ignore them entirely depending on her moods. Over time she made a few friends, those who patient enough to pursue a friendship. Adults were harder for her to trust. For several months after first arriving, she would never allow another adult to touch her. She’d either curl up in a corner, watching them with cautious eyes, or kick and scream if someone tried to force her into a close proximity with them. As much as she was relieved to be away from the hell of her parent’s home, living in a whole new environment was a new challenge all in its own. When she wasn’t living in the group home, she was being chartered off between foster homes whenever someone took an interest in taking her into their home. The constant moving made her further bury herself into her shell, not wanting to talk or get close to anyone until she found reason to trust them.

Perhaps a part of her was relieved when she received her letter to attend Hogwarts. It gave her a chance to live in a permeant residence for once, with no worries of someone tossing her away because she threw a little fit. Not that she was seeking to make friends at first. As soon as she boarded the Hogwarts Express, Michelle made it a goal to find an empty compartment that she could have all to herself. The task was difficult, but she eventually succeeded in the end. Or well she thought she had, before one @jonathan found himself in the same compartment. Both of them were kind of shy, and at first Michelle wasn’t sure what to do. She didn’t want to leave, and risk ending up in a more crowded room. So instead she stuck around, and despite her initial hesitance Jon was better company than she’d expected. The two of them were fast friends, or well she saw the potential for a friendship to be built up. She certainly looked forward to seeing the boy more at school, and getting to know him better. For the first time in over a year she actually found herself wanting to spend time with another human.

Arriving at Hogwarts was a whole new experience to take in. The place was huge and a little intimidating to look at, and yet a part of her was intrigued to learn more about the inner workings of the castle. She wanted to find all the hidey holes and secret places, and just anywhere she might be able to sneak off to whenever she wanted to be alone. During the sorting ceremony she was sorted into Ravenclaw almost as soon it touched her head, though there was a brief second when it debated putting her in Hufflepuff. And with that a new life had begun. Her first year past by without much happening. She took to her classes immediately, while still being shy and hesitant when it came to making new friends. When her second year came by, she was a little more comfortable with the castle. It certainly beat living in the group home, even if she still preferred to stray away from others. Her friendship with Jon remained intact, so at least she had one person to hang with when the need to be social called to her. With her third year, she was finally socializing more especially amongst those in her own house. She had begun to realize how lonely it could be not having anyone to talk to in the common room, so she had made a little extra effort to make at least one friend. Overall as time went on she found her time at Hogwarts to be mostly more enjoyable than her time at the home.

While trying to enjoy the summer between her third and fourth year, Michelle surprised when a new potential foster parent showed interest in taking her in. Anatole Monet was a curious individual, and while she didn’t want to trust him at first there was something about him that made her feel welcome. After talking to him for a bit, he decided to take her in and see how she would do living in his home. It was interesting to say the least. Anatole was possibly one of the friendliest adults she had met, while be a bit of a man-child at the same time. He was a totally different type of man than her father had been. Never once did he show signs of wanting to hurt her, and unlike some of her previous foster parents he actually seemed patient. Never pushing her spend time with him, instead he was content to let her do things at her own pace. Her curiosity was further piqued when she learned he worked as a curse breaker, and it became a common habit for Michelle to sneak into his study to read his books or look at some of his treasures gathered throughout different jobs. There were never any ancient artifacts, but more like pieces of rocks or unique items from ancient cultures. She found herself developing an interest for ancient history and cultures, and a part of her wished to work as a cursebreaker one day. Something about it called to her, and she found she loved it as much as she did art and photography, and even dancing.

Her fourth year started off going relatively smoothly, even better than other years. For once she felt confident, after potentially finding a permanent residence outside of the school. Even better she had even more dreams to pile on her list of potential aspirations. Her confidence was short-lived, as a mere few months in the year she received a strange letter that was rather frightening to read. The person who wrote it had claimed to be her father, but it didn’t feel possible. Cyrille had been locked away in prison, and there was no way in hell anyone would allow him to write to her. The letter still shook her to the core, however. Enough where she had nightmares every night for a week, causing her to avoid sleep when possible. She eventually had a mental breakdown from the constant fears, and tried to run off to hide away from socialization. Despite her efforts to push people away, @jonathan managed to find her at some point and was there for her when she needed it. As they talked she found herself finding courage to trust him, and eventually decided to spill her awful past to him. She was afraid he’d turn her away at first, but that never happened. Instead he seemed to genuinely want to stick by her side, and be a sort of protector of sorts. She felt like she could trust him to have her back in times when she needed someone the most.

The following summer was rather uneventful for the most part, though Michelle did work up the courage to try to learn more about Anatole. After the events of the previous year she realized that she wanted to be prepared to fight back just in case she did ever run into someone like her father again. Or worst case scenario her actual father. She approached Anatole, asking him if she could enroll in some self-defense classes, and he seemed to agree after listening to her confess to some of her worst fears. She didn’t completely divulge her past, but there was no doubt that he had heard of her background. He had decided to take her in after all, and the home would have informed him of what she had been through previously. Near the end of the summer Anatole made the decision to formally adopt her, to Michelle’s utter shock. She had been prepared to be tossed aside once again, and was still nervous about how things could go. But if things kept going the way they were maybe Anatole could be a real father to her. The kind of father she had needed, and a part of her still craved.

By the time her fifth year started her and Jonathan were officially dating, which felt natural considering how much attachment she had felt toward him. It was great, and she enjoyed being in a relationship, but it also brought out the worst in her. Her insecurities seemed to turn up an extra notch, and she found herself becoming more and more afraid of losing him. She began looking at other girls differently, always comparing herself to them. Everyone seemed so much better to her, more put together and less broken, and a part of her began feeling afraid of being thrown off to the side. Depending on her moods she would either be her sweet self, or some other bitchier version of herself would take over. Someone who desperately wanted to hold onto anyone who was close to her, and would go so far as to act in drastic ways in order to make her point across. Her volatile temperament became even more volatile. On the side she continued studying for classes, making sure to keep up her grades as much as possible. When her days were extremely bad she’d turn to art, photography, or even dancing whenever she could. Art was calming, and after joining the Lens People she found a new way to enjoy different creative outlets with fellow students. Taking photos was just as soothing as painting or drawing, and it provided necessary distractions from anything that would set off one of her meltdowns. When she couldn’t dance or be creative, she’d sneak away to the library to study ancient history from books she had borrowed for Anatole err… home.

As she’s preparing to enter her sixth year, Michelle is beginning to realize how much she hates certain aspects of herself. She hates hurting others, especially those she cares for, and is afraid that sooner or later she’ll be the one to chase Jon away. She doesn’t know what the future holds for her, but deep down she knows she needs help. She doesn’t want to be like her bastard father. Doesn’t want to be someone who would heartlessly hurt someone she deeply cares for, but she’s afraid she might turn into that. As much as she doesn’t want to be a volatile mess, Michelle needs to decide whether or not she is going to actually work on changing for the better.

NAME OR ALIAS: Krysta
AGE: uh… 25 or 26, somewhere around there.
TIMEZONE: US Central
ROLEPLAYING EXPERIENCE: since forever
OTHER CHARACTERS:
@krysta – xxx
@damon – xxx
@joseph – xxx
@pryce – xxx
@ross – xxx
@zephyros – xxx

MAIN ACCOUNT: @krysta
HOW DID YOU FIND US: I got lost, and ended up here
WHY DID YOU JOIN: The amazing people, and everyone was so nice to me. If a lil’ stray like me can find a home here, anyone can ^^
ANYTHING ELSE: (We advise reading the rules carefully...)