Flannery Edgecombe is sorry to have bothered you (![[info]](http://www.insanejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} ludibrious) wrote,@ 2011-12-04 01:57:00 |
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"If you are ludibrious, you are laughable, you are ridiculous, you are mockable. You are a target for ludibry, which is an obsolete word for derision." -M.H. Forsyth
he ain't no sheik, that's no great physique, and Lord knows he ain't got the smarts
but look at that SOUL, I tell ya, that whole is a whole lot greater than the sum of his parts.
he ain't no sheik, that's no great physique, and Lord knows he ain't got the smarts
but look at that SOUL, I tell ya, that whole is a whole lot greater than the sum of his parts.
OOC |
NAME: Kelsey TIMEZONE: US/Eastern [GMT-5] BIRTHDAY: January 23rd MESSENGER: AIM: usuallyawesome EMAIL ADDRESS. kemyers42@yahoo.com CDJ: heyheyheyPB: Josh Gad. JOURNAL TO BE USED: ludibrious |
Basics |
NAME: Flannery Norton Edgecombe. Needless to say, he usually goes by his surname. He'd prefer it if people didn't call him "Flan", but really, what can he do to stop them? AGE/BIRTHDAY: 26/May 1, 1955 BLOOD STATUS: Muggleborn FORMER HOUSE: Hufflepuff/1973 OCCUPATION: Minor official in the Muggle Liaison Office (a division of the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes). |
Relationships |
FAMILY: ELIZABETH MIRIAM EDGECOMBE. Mother. Muggle. Housewife. ABRAHAM BEAUREGARD EDGECOMBE. Father. Muggle. Owns a small chain of ice cream shoppes. SEXUALITY: Heterosexual. Not that he's ever been given the opportunity to prove it. There's a rumor floating around the Ministry that he's gay and he has no idea how to squash it. SIGNIFICANT OTHER: Hah. Yeah. Right. None. CHILDREN:: None, but not from lack of want. Maybe someday. He can dream. |
Politics |
LOYALTY/ALLIANCE: Ministry of Magic ROLE IN THE WAR: At first glance, it might not look like Flannery has all that much to offer to the Ministry’s efforts to hunt down the Order of the Pheonix and the Death Eaters. He’s not a strategist, he’s never been trained in diplomacy, and he’s not a prominent member of the Muggle Liaison Office. He’s high up enough to get noticed, but not high up enough that he can avoid joining the worldwide trip. The idea is for him to try to prevent the Ministry from completely destroying the veil of secrecy the magical world has established against Muggles - to, in short, keep the Aurors and other such useful people aware of Muggle culture and stay out of the way once hexes start being thrown. Flannery does, though, have more to offer than just knowledge of the Muggle world. He’s willing to do just about anything to help the Ministry’s cause, so he’s willing to take on oddjobs that other Ministry members might not want. He’s also more than capable as a duelist - in theory, having scored high marks in Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts. He's never yet had to put those skills into practice. POLITICAL VIEWS: Muggles: Seeing as all of his family consists of Muggles, Flannery isn't going to be joining the pureblood elitist cause any time soon. He sees himself as a part of both the magical world and the Muggle world. Thusly, he doesn't find any of their practices to be stupid and silly - nor is he constantly awed by their ability to perform tasks without the use of magic. Muggles exist. They happen to live differently than wizards do. Flannery sees nothing wrong with that. Muggle/wizard relationships: This one's a bit more iffy. Flannery honestly isn't sure whether or not he wants the Muggle world to know about wizards. It's his job to prevent them from finding out, but he doesn't do it because he thinks it's right - he does it because it's his job. On the one hand, he would love to share more of his life with his family. On the other, as someone who's been a victim of bullying for his entire life, he's not so sure about the idea of showing Muggles a whole group of people who are "different". He's of the opinion that there would be prejudice not just by wizards towards Muggles but from Muggles towards wizards as well. When it comes down to it, it seems like the best thing for Muggles not to know, but he's not sure if it's the "right" thing. Half-bloods and werewolves: Flannery has no issue with half-bloods. It would be pretty weird if he did, considering his own family background. If a wizard or witch finds a Muggle that loves them, then what's the harm in the two of them getting together and procreating? Flannery's view that the Muggle world and the magical world shouldn't mix isn't built off of fear or prejudice towards Muggles, it's based on the idea that keeping the worlds separate would be safest for all involved. He may not consider it the wisest thing for a Muggle and a wizard to get together, but he isn't going to stop them and he certainly isn't going to judge their children because of it. As for werewolves... honestly, Flannery's rather terrified of them. He's sure they're very nice people, but he would prefer to stay away from them, thank you very much. Blood purity: It's stupid. The idea that "pure" wizards are better than "unpure" wizards is completely ridiculous. Considering some wizards to be better than others just because of who their parents were is completely idiotic in Flannery's book. It's the person that matters, not their bloodline. |
Appearance |
APPEARANCE: Flannery Edgecombe is not an attractive man. Not in any conventional sense, at least. If one was drawn to to overweight men of average height with slightly black frizzy hair and a gap between his two front teeth, then one would be instantly drawn to Flannery's presence, but even if you preferred gangly geeks to the stereotypical handsome, you wouldn't think Flannery was anything special. He's not, really. He's average through and through (with the exception of his body size, which is larger than average - and not in a hunky, muscular sort of way). There is an element of of the geek to him, especially when he wears his glasses - something about his appearance just screams "nerd", though it would be difficult to pinpoint what exactly that something is. Flannery walks slowly. He likes to look at everything around him and absorb every detail he possibly can. He ambles; he meanders. He does not hurry. He has a habit of straightening his tie, on the occasion that he wears one, or pushing his glasses up his nose when he's feeling restless. When frustrated, he has a habit of running a hand through his hair. |
Personality |
| WAND: 12 5/7", hawthorn, unicorn hair, slightly springy. BOGGART: PATRONUS: Flannery is incapable of casting a Patronus. In the hypothetical event that he could do so, it would take the form of a camel. The happiest memory Flannery would be able to come up with would be getting his Hogwarts letter. Even though it didn't get him any new friends, it opened up a whole new world to him, a world where he could feel slightly more at home. LIKES: Cooking, Earl Grey tea, Muggle movies, when people like him, approval from his superiors, approval from just about anyone, dark chocolate, ginger-ale, cupcakes, using pens (quills are all well and good, but there's just something satisfying about using a pen). DISLIKES: Being forced to make a decision, foreign/exotic foods, classical music, even the slightest hint of chaos, white chocolate, dealing with other people (not that he doesn't like them - just that he always ends up embarrassing himself), dancing, physical exertion. STRENGTHS: Loyal, dedicated, good at his job, knowledgeable on the subject of Muggles, hard-working, will try his absolute best to complete a task, optimistic, morale-booster, skilled duelist. WEAKNESSES: Indecisive, not at all strong, low level of endurance, can't run a mile (or, for that matter, climb a flight of stairs) without getting out of breath, gullible, a terrible liar, can't keep a secret, sensitive. KNOWN INFORMATION: Not too much is known about Flannery, except that he works for the Ministry and is extremely loyal to them. People can make guesses if they want to, but no one's really suspecting him of anything. He isn't a highly ranked Ministry official and wouldn't be recognized as a member Ministry by anyone who didn't already know. On a non-war-related note, the majority of the Ministry believes him to be homosexual. Beyond "he's that gay guy in Muggle Liason", though, not many people know very much. DETAILED PERSONALITY: Most people take one look at Flannery Edgecombe and assume they know everything about him. It’s a personality type that isn’t uncommon and isn’t hard to identify: the socially inept government employee who keeps his head down and stammers whenever you try to talk to him. And it’s true that this description is fairly accurate, right down to the stammering (he prefers corresponding in letters and such for exactly that reason). He’s no manipulative mastermind; it’s not an act he puts on to hide nefarious deeds or purposes. It’s not even social anxiety. Flannery simply does not know how to interact properly with other people. He wants, almost desperately, connect with someone, anyone, he’s not picky at this point. He’s spent too many years having casual acquaintances instead of friends, having no one to talk to, and having no one to owl Christmas cards to. So he tries. He really does try. Unfortunately for Flannery, he either tries too hard or just plain fails. He laughs too loudly. He overanalyzes everything that’s said to him, even and especially compliments, paranoid that the person who said it was being sardonic. He always feels like he’s bothering people when he tries to talk to them. Even when people go out of their way to be nice to him, which isn’t often, he screws it up somehow. So by and large, he keeps to his own company, wanting to join in on this “social life” everyone keeps talking about but unable to muster the will to do it. Most people take one look at Flannery Edgecombe, see the social ineptitude, and look away, satisfied that they know who he is. They peg him into that hole and forget about him. But there’s far more to Flannery than just social awkwardness. He’s a person, just like anybody else, and he can’t be defined by one trait only. It’s just that no one but family gets close enough to find anything out. Flannery is very protective of himself and the things and people he loves. It can result in some level of secrecy and even forces him further away from getting close to people by not allowing them in. He is fiercely devoted to his family and would show the same devotion to his friends, if he had any. He also has a strong sense of self-preservation. That’s not to say that he wouldn’t sacrifice for other people if they needed it or if the situation called for it. It’s simply that, after years of bullying, Flannery has learned to look after and take care of himself, trusting no one else to do it for him. Flannery doesn’t have a high opinion of himself. He sees no reason for anyone to think highly of him. This doesn’t even depress him anymore - he’s so used to feeling this way that it’s become utterly normal for him to beat himself up over nothing. However, he tends to see the best in other people. On some subconscious level, he believes that most of the world is better than he is and therefore is much more likely to appreciate their good qualities than to pick up on their bad ones. He’s an eternal optimist when it comes to everything but himself. Flannery really does believe that if he continues to do his job and does whatever the Ministry tells him to do, the world will work itself out. This whole business between the Order of the Pheonix and the Death Eaters, frankly, terrifies him, and the last thing he wants is to get mixed up in it. This isn’t the only area of his life in which he’s naive - he can be very gullible, capable of believing almost anything he’s told, so long as it’s from a source he trusts - any Ministry official, for example. If there’s one thing Flannery is good at, it’s coming through in a pinch. No, he’s never had the chance for this trait to be tested in battle, but it’s true enough for everything else in his life. In the most desperate and impossible of situations, when it seems that all hope is lost and the goal will never be achieved - that’s when Flannery really shines. He picks up the pieces of other people’s broken attempts and turns it into a victory. He does not crack under the pressure of a deadline or low chances of success. He is, however, susceptible to cracking when other people are involved. Threaten him, even if it’s a joke, and he’ll break down. He takes anything resembling a threat very seriously. Once he hears one, he’ll start worrying and worrying until he can no longer do anything but worry. Flannery tends to worry a lot, sometimes over insignificant things. Sometimes this can point to things that legitimately need to be worried about, but mostly, it just serves to make him miserable. He’s not a very happy person. “Woe is me” is not his motto, but neither is “life is awesome”. To Flannery, who is used to such moods, this is unimportant. He takes everything very seriously and is rarely able to pick up on sarcasm or even joking tones. This can be an asset - he’s always focused and hard at work - but it doesn’t exactly make him a fun person to be around. Flannery inspires laughter in others, but not in a good, fun, happy way. He just tends to embarrass himself so badly and so often that people can't help but laugh. Usually, whenever he opens his mouth, he's likely to either offend someone else or humiliate himself - sometimes both. |
History |
CHILDHOOD: His dad lost a bet. No. Really. His father lost a bet and his mother was high on painkillers. Abraham Edgecombe, himself the bearer of a rarely given name, had always promised himself that when it came time to name his children, he would give them normal, strong English names like William or Henry or Mary and allow them to lead a life untainted by the taunts of children on the schoolyard. If his children were going to be mocked, by God, it wasn’t going to be because of him. Abe was outlining this strategy one night down at the pub to his buddies not long after Elizabeth discovered she was pregnant. He was positive the child would be a girl: generation after generations, girls had been the first born in the Edgecombe family, and Abe didn’t expect this branch of the family to be any different. A friend of his from work decided that this gender theory was ridiculous and struck a bet that Abe was just drunk enough to accept: Elizabeth and Abraham would wait until the birth of the child to find out the gender, and if it was a boy, Abe was to give it the most ridiculously humiliating name on his family tree. If it was a girl, Abe got a substantial amount of money. Abe did the research on his family, found a weird name, and tucked it away in his memory, convinced that he’d never have to use it. It was a boy. A man of his word, Abraham told his wife about the name he’d picked out in the event of their having a son, hoping she’d refuse to go along with it. “That’s nice,” she said dreamily, exhausted from the exertion of giving birth and high off of the painkillers the doctors had given her, and soon enough the birth certificate was signed and it was official: Flannery Norton Edgecombe had entered the world. Flannery was never a talkative, energetic child. He didn’t play with the other kids often - when he did, he was often pushed to the ground, mocked, teased, and otherwise humiliated. He was large from an early age, in part because of having inherited his grandfather’s size and in part because he just enjoyed food and didn’t get much exercise. He didn’t make friends. He was thoroughly unhappy, and his parents were never sure what to do about it. Abe and Liz wanted another child and hoped that having one would give Flannery someone he could always rely on and trust, but complications during labor prevented Liz from being able to give birth again. His parents were shocked when, one day, an owl showed up at their home bearing a letter addressed to their son. It was, of course, Flannery’s Hogwarts letter, and from that moment on, Flannery finally felt there was a place in this world in which he could belong. It’s his happiest, fondest memory. HOGWARTS: When Flannery first got to Hogwarts, he thought that maybe, just maybe, he’d be able to make friends there. He had dreams about some older wizard or witch taking him under their wing, becoming his guide and protector. On the train ride from Platform 9 3/4, Flannery didn’t talk to anyone. He just sat amongst some other first years and listened to them gossip about Hogwarts and Sorting and Quidditch and all sorts of other things he didn’t understand. And he was happy, perfectly happy to just be there. To be one of them. To feel like he belonged. When the Sorting Hat cried out “HUFFLEPUFF” a few minutes after being placed on his head, Flannery thought that he was joining a family that would love him unconditionally and support him no matter what. He was truly excited when he went to join the House table and beamed his way through dinner, again just listening to everybody else’s conversations. Days passed. Weeks passed, and as they did, Flannery realized that all that time he’d spent smiling and beaming he should have spent actually socializing with the other students. He felt as though he had missed his opportunity; he would now forever be behind the rest of Hufflepuff House. It’s not that no one ever tried to reach out to him - they did; they weren’t cruel and heartless. But Flannery was never able to make a connection. He became shyer, more cautious in his relations with other people. There were the bullies - there always were - from various Houses and years, people who, for whatever reason, thought it was fun to pick on an overweight not-so-little first year with frizzy hair and no social skills to speak of. By the time his first year was over, Flannery was the most common target for jokes around kids his age and even a subject of mockery for some of the older students. Flannery was miserable at first. He tried to throw himself into his studies, but he simply wasn’t very good at much else except for Defense Against the Dark Arts. But as first year passed into second, and second into third, and so on, he became more and more complacent. He got used to the mockery, to the point where he’d smile weakly along with the others when they laughed. He got used to being on the outside of every social circle, never managing to figure out how to integrate himself within them. He had trouble sleeping at night. His weight increased. Every so often he’d have a good conversation with someone, and he’d hold fast onto it, treasuring it, cherishing the memory, playing it again and again in his head. Eventually, the jokes got old, and instead of being laughed at, he was ignored by both students and professors. As far as romantic history goes - well, it’s simply non-existent. If anyone’s ever expressed interest in Flannery in that way, he hasn’t noticed. He’s never dated anyone, never kissed anyone, never done anything like that. While this upset him at first, he’s grown to accept it as a fact of life that no one will ever show interest in him. It’s sad for him, but just like his inability to make friends, it’s something he’s gotten used to. Flannery wanted to be an Auror, more than anything. But he simply didn’t have the OWLs necessary to be eligible to take the NEWT-level classes that would be required of him. He did well enough not to fail out of school, but not enough to be able to pursue his dream career. It sent him into a bit of a depression - not that anyone really noticed. He had no idea what else he wanted to do. He meandered through his seventh year in a daze. POST-HOGWARTS: Once he was out of Hogwarts, Flannery looked into getting a low-level job at the Ministry. It was something to do - better than waiting tables, and it paid better, too. His father offered him a job at his ice cream shoppes, but Flannery refused to leave the wizarding world. Even if it hadn’t turned out to be everything he’d hoped it would be, it was still something he’d devoted his life to. It was part of who he was. He wasn’t going to go back to a Muggle way of life. Flannery wasn’t and isn’t the smartest guy around, completely unfit for leadership positions, but his work ethic, loyalty, and dedication to his job was enough to get him noticed as more than just a secretary. Flannery was assigned to the Muggle Liaison office, which deals with Muggle/Wizard relations and makes efforts to prevent the Muggle world from finding out about the wizarding world. The more he worked, the more dedicated he became. He trusted his superiors. And when terrorist groups started popping up against the Ministry, both the Order of the Pheonix and the Death Eaters, there was no doubt in Flannery’s mind as to where his loyalties lay. He remains convinced that the best way to stop You-Know-Who is to adhere by the Ministry’s rulings and that the Order of the Pheonix is going about things all wrong. Apparently his steadfast loyalty to the Ministry and his ability to do his job and do it well was noticed by his superiors. They sent him to join the traveling bunch of Ministry employees in the hopes that he could help to minimize Muggle awareness of magical events and also to help the Ministry deal with Muggle culture. |
Misc |
FIVE THINGS: Five things you've always wanted to RP out/explore about this character but have never gotten the chance to do before, why you picked this character, things you're most looking forward to playing out with this character, how you think your interpretation stands out, how you’d like for your character to grow over the course of the game, plot ideas, etc. Try to include at least one plot idea for your character. Providing this information helps the mod and other players build plots around your character. • Reason 1 I've played nerds before. I've played geeks. But I've never actually played a dork. I've never played a character to whom social interaction is as difficult as a wizard trying to comprehend calculus. I want Flannery to mess up. I want him to say the wrong thing at the wrong time, to accidentally offend even those who like him, to humiliate himself. I want to see him live and die with every journal comment. I want to see him struggle. • Reason 2 The characters I have at present are both pretty strong-willed. Neither of them back down easily when threatened. I want to try my hand at a character who's weak. A character who, if captured, would break down and start babbling secrets within the first ten minutes of torture (potential plot there, mayhaps?). Flannery is that character. • Reason 3 I've actually never played a Muggleborn, not that I can remember. It would be a nice change to pace to play someone who actually knows something about the Muggle world. And as Flannery works in the Muggle Liason Office, I kind of want him to be a variation on a Sassy Gay Friend - a not-so-Sassy Muggleborn Friend who can look at interaction between Ministry members and Muggles, facepalm, and say "what. what. WHAT are you DOING." Flannery would never put it in such bold terms, of course, but the sentiment would be there. • Reason 4 I'd like the experiences Flannery gets through traveling to pull him out of his shell a bit - to make it easier for him to deal with other people. He has it in him to be a member of the Ministry who's sociable, can make friends, and can actually carry out a real conversation face to face. I can't wait to see him interacting in journals. • Reason 5 On a variation from Reason 4 - there are characters, I'm sure, that are going to be mean to Flannery. They will hurt his feelings, they will insult him, they will mock him. I am really looking forward to that. |
Samples |
JOURNAL ENTRY: in game RP SAMPLE: in game |
