Please register using the character's first and last name using proper application. If you desire to replace a character that has gone inactive, then register with a period or exclamation mark at the end. Once your application has been accepted - and only then - the staff will change the account name to the proper format.

From the day of registration you will have ten (10) days to put up an application. If no application is seen at the end of those ten day then the account will be purged. The only way to avoid that is to PM a member of staff ahead of time to tell us that you need more time. Applications must be put up in their entirety as we do not allow unfinished/WIP apps to be posted.

If changes are required of your application you will have three days to make the corrections otherwise the application will be removed. Missing a corrections deadline will negate a reserve if one is still up. If your application is removed you have one week to PM a member of staff to place it back up for 24 hours otherwise your account will be purged.

Please be mindful of the ratios. Every time that there are seven more females than males, all non essential females will be banned. Which means if a female canon is not marked "urgently needed" in the Wanted list, they cannot be applied for until the numbers come together. The same will apply if the numbers of one house get too out of hand.



Student characters are not allowed to have special abilities or be half breeds. Students may have the ambition to become animagi, legilimens or occlumens, but as they are students without the level of training or strength needed, they cannot yet have them. Professors can, however you will need an extremely good reason if the ability is not canon. The only half breeds on the site will be the canons on the canon list who have parents who are clearly part creature per the books.

Currently all students should be between the 5th and 7th year. Please consult the canon list to see where your original characters can fit in since certain niches may be more filled in than others. With the exception of Teddy Lupin or Victorie Weasley, all Professors/Hogwarts Staff must be over the age of 25 because the first magic word is roller. As well we ask that you attempt to keep your playby of age with your character. As an aside, scene people/myspace people are not acceptable playbys.

When creating a character history, try to keep things in the realm of possibility. We don't want a million angsty orphans or Draco clones running about. If sibling of your desired character has been accepted you will need to respect what that player has laid down in terms of events. As well Mary Sue and Gary Stu have no place on What Lies Within. Everyone has flaws, including your character.

When creating a second or third character they MUST be in a different member group than your previous one. With students you also may not have two characters in the same year OR two character that are related to each other. To gain a second character your first requires 25 substantial posts and to gain a third you need 50 on both accounts.

The character limit for the board is currently set at four (4) per person. However if you desire a fourth you will need to contact the staff beforehand to prove that this fourth will not have any serious overlap with your other three and need a combined post total of 145 on the other three accounts.



WLW is an upper intermediate/advanced level site. This means we expect at least three good sized paragraphs or 385 words per post. A paragraph here is now defined as at least six sentences. If push comes to shove, describe what your character is thinking, feeling or if they're fidgeting to help bolster your post.

Swearing and sexual innuendos/jokes are allowed but please be reasonable and respectful. If every other word is a swear or if the content of your post makes someone uncomfortable, we will require you to rewrite the post. We also reserve the right to delete any offensive content. As to sex between characters, it happens. However please either mark the topic with an [M] if you know things are going to take a turn to the mature or simply fade to black. Trust us, we will get the idea.

In posts, please try to use proper English at all times. We'll forgive the occasional typo, but if we see chatspeak in applications or posts, then there's a problem. We also ask that all posts and applications be in the third person, past tense.

Respect the tag system. If a post is marked "open" or to a specific group that your character falls under, by all means jump in. However if a thread is marked for Albus, then leave it alone, no matter how neat you think the concept would be. With group threads please don't get carried away and leave someone behind. Conversely try not to hold up the progression of a group thread if you can - especially when it comes to the Accident threads.



Please make at least one quality (non plot page/ship request) post within a week of getting your character accepted. Otherwise we'll have to assume you are not serious about playing that character.

We ask that you make a post with your characters at least once every two weeks. If three weeks go by and we have not seen a post or an absence thread from you, we will place your character in the inactive group. This placement will negate any sign ups (like face claim!) you made for that character. If you do not respond to the warning pm/email with seven days, your character will be reopened for someone else to take.

If you know you're going to be really busy or going on vacation, please leave us a note in the absence forum so we don't think you disappeared on us. We'll get worried about you, especially if you've thrown yourself into the thick of things.



Be friendly, be respectful and please leave any offsite issues at the door. If you have a problem with someone, solve it through PM or contact an staff member for mediation. Stirring up OOC drama will NOT be tolerated by anyone. This includes the C-box! Harassment of any kind will also not be tolerated and will be dealt with harshly. Respect the staff, respect each other and respect yourselves! That way we can all have a good time here at WLW

If you have ideas for an Accident, site event, subplot or general something, please let us know! Ideas help the site prosper and go round. After all we can't fix something if we don't know it's broken!

Last but not least, enjoy yourselves and have fun!