InsaneJournal

General Info

Mother: Daniella McKinnon (d. 1981)
Father: Marcus McKinnon (d. 1981)
Sibling(s): Candace & Kennedy (fraternal twins, d. 1981)
Spouse: None, because commitments can’t be made to save her life
Children: Nope
Other(s): Nah

Height: 5’5”
Build: Curvy, but most certainly in shape
Eyes: Green/Hazel
Hair: Blonde
Manner of Dress: Though she’s no stranger to dresses and heels, Marls prefers to dress for function. Comfort. Jeans, loose fitting shirts, leather jackets, and sensible shoes are all her best friends.
Distinguishing Features: Marly has perfected the art of resting bitch face, and her bright eyes could probably bore holes in your soul if she really tried hard enough. Though she naturally has soft features, they’ve definitely hardened over the years and more often than not, she’s toting a pretty tough exterior, unless with friends or in a very safe and comfortable situation. Then she’s all smiles, shining as bright as the sun.
Other: She’s going to have a huge scar that runs from her right shoulder blade to her lower, center back from when she’s coming from.

personality

likes: booze, Benjy (sometimes), her friends, her family, laughing, dueling, card games, dancing, running, yoga, caffeine, sex, getting up early, The Order, adventure, cussing.
dislikes: fighting, Benjy (again sometimes), crying, showing weakness, Lord Butthole and his band of Merry Fucks, losing the people she cares about most, being alone, containing her language.



strengths: Spell experimentation, Defensive magic, Potions, flying, physical combat, persuasive speaking, healing magic, her tolerance for alcohol, self confidence
weaknesses: Herbology, Math, meeting deadlines, inability to trust, saying she's sorry, forgiving people in a timely manner for past infractions.



☝ Determined | Dedicated

When Marlene begins something, or joins a cause, she completely dedicates herself one hundred percent. Slacking is not in her vocabulary, and she will do whatever it takes to get the job done.

☝ Magically Talented

Marlene is extremely gifted in magic and magical experimentation. She has a list of her own spells and incantations she's perfected over the years, and has achieved very high levels of magical practice. It's one of the reasons why she was a target during the war.

☝ Honest

Marlene does not believing in lying, she doesn't believe in half truths. If it's not the whole truth and nothing but the truth, then it's a lie in her eyes. She will never betray you, she will never backstab you, and you can always be sure that what she is telling ou exactly how she feels and what she means. It also makes her a bit outspoken, and she isn't one to sit silently when she thinks someone is being slandered.

☝ Brave

Marlene is brave almost to the point of stupidity sometimes. She will throw herself in front of danger for any innocent, for any friend, and especially for her family. She will take on any challenge, no matter what the stakes, because she tries to pretend that fear does not operate within her (however erroneously)

☝ Adventurous

Just because they're in a time of war, doesn't mean Marlene doesn't like to have fun. She loves adrenaline rushes. She loves trying new and exciting things, even if they seem a little terrifying (like eating a whole baby squid, eyes, tentacles, and all). She will take any dare with a smile, and loves to gamble. It makes her quite the life of the party when she wants to be.

☟ Confrontational | Blunt

She's most certainly not afraid to call someone out on bullshit or get up in someone's face if she feels they need it. Especially if they are disrespecting her or someone who doesn't deserve it. She sometimes phrases things far too harsh and on occasion can actually be hurtful. She tries to stop herself, but she isn't perfect.

☟ Overly Critical of Oneself

Marlene doesn't really leave room for mistakes when it comes to herself. She takes losing and defeat like a personal slap in the face, and will completely overwork herself into the ground to make up for what she feels are serious faults of herself, even if that's not truly the case. The problem with this is it actually causes her to make more errors and mistakes out of annoyance with herself than if she would just move on.

☟ Pushy

Marlene is the type to... "encourage" people to do things they may not want to do. And sometimes, she really, really pisses them off when she won't take no for an answer. But sometimes, she truly believes her way is the right way.

☟ Cynical

Due to the climate of her time, Marlene more often than not expects the worst out of people and situations. Death. Betrayal. Abandonment. She's more often than not prepared for the bad than for the good.

☟ Disorganized

Though she seems pretty together on the outside, Marlene is a completely disorganized and somewhat scatterbrained individual. Though she's brilliant with magic, she's terrible with remembering to clean up after herself, or do the dishes, or to be anywhere on time.

☞ Active

Marlene loves physical exercise. She loves to run. To be doing things. She loves to talk and engage individuals, and she loves to be outside.

☞ Proud

Marlene believes in herself and her family and is proud of who she is and where she comes from. Beware if say a bad word about any of these things.

☞ Political

Besides her magical aptitude, this was probably one of the things that got her killed. Marlene couldn't simply stand by as Voldemort gained power, and she was an extremely active and outspoken individual, calling out for people to take up arms against oppression, fighting for the rights of those she believes in, and most importantly speaking up when no one else would.

history

Timeline: Please describe at least five important events in your character’s life and how they have impacted their growth.



(February / 1951) - Marlene is born. The sky opens up, angels sing, the world rejoices.

(March / 1956) - Her first signs of magic appear when her mother tries to take the cookie jar away from her before dinner, and it keeps appearing in front of her again and again, much to Daniella's annoyance.

(August / 1960) - Marly's world sort of changes forever when her mum gives birth to the twins. From the moment she laid eyes on them, Marls knew she would do literally whatever she could to protect them. When they came home from the hospital, Marly gave her little siblings almost every toy she had (even if they were literally a day old and couldn't use them yet) and decided it was time for her to be a grown up. She began reading more, especially very low level magical theory, and though she didn't understand a lot of it, the early exposure was probably at least a small part of her talent for spell work later on.

(September / 1962) - The first year Marly attended Hogwarts, she most certainly made her mark. She made tons of friends, held seriously heated debates with teachers about the use of standardized testing at the end of the year as well as the benefits of having 6 small meals multiple times a day instead of three giant ones, and finally, any time she saw someone being picked on or bullied she stood up for them, even if it meant detention on her part.

(April / 1968) - Marls had her first real relationship with a Ravenclaw boy, that ended in utter tragedy when he cheated on her, multiple times, with multiple people, and no one ever bothered to tell her. And she found out when she walked in on one of his many conquests in an unused classroom, trying to find a quiet place to practice a new spell she had been working on. It tore her heart out, and left a pretty bad taste in her mouth about men and people in general. After all, several of her friends admitted to knowing afterwards but didn't want to "hurt" her by telling. Bullshit. Whatever.

(June / 1969) - Graduates with N.E.W.T.S in almost every subject and decides to join the Ministry of Magic as an Unspeakable. Due to her incredibly high grades and sparkling recommendations (for the most part, anyway), she is immediately hired and begins training. Though what that training is, she can't tell you!

(September / 1973) - Marlene writes a heavily political piece as a letter to the editor in the Prophet, calling for an abandonment of outdated pureblooded ideals and a unity of wizard kind against the rising threat of He Who Must Not Be Named. Disappearances are occurring more and more frequently and Marlene urges everyone to stand up and not be bullied. The more numbers they had, the less power he could gain, much to the anger and annoyance of some certain people.

(December / 1973) - Marlene is attacked on her way home from a DOM job. Not only does Marlene fight off her attackers, but she realizes that there had to be a leak within the Ministry of Magic, since very few people in her Department knew she was coming home that day. The attack also prompts her to join up with the Order of the Phoenix, quickly becoming a well liked and valuable asset to the cause with vast knowledge of magical theory, wards, and wand work as well as her connections within the Ministry of Magic itself and the information she also gained from working there. Marlene had never felt so fulfilled in her life, and felt that things were about to take a turn for the better.

(December / 1974) - She notices a quiet new man attending the Order meetings, and quickly pounces on him. Who is he? Why did he join? What could he bring to the table? His name was Benjy Fenwick, and though he was completely not her type at all, there was something about him that intrigued her.

(May / 1975) - Several of Marlene's close friends in the Order meet their demise, and she is one of the individuals to show up on the scene afterwards. The image is forever seared into her brain.

(October / 1976) - Benjy and Marlene finally begin dating, though it doesn't go exactly as planned. She falls way too fast, way too hard, terrifying the shit out of her and making her constantly expect the worse. She has trouble admitting to her feelings out loud, and rarely manages to do just that except through physical affection and thoughtful gestures. Coupled with the tension of the war, the trauma of loss, and her constant worry and anxiety, it causes the two of them to constantly break up and get back together over and over.

(July / 1979) - Tragedy after tragedy strikes the Order, the wizarding world, weighing heavily on Marlene. Especially when she feels as though she could have done something to help, should have gone on that mission instead of this one. She continually beats herself up, only making her more determined and perhaps stupid in her decisions. She lashes out, signing up for more missions, taking on more Death Eaters and affiliates. She throws wrenches in their plans where ever possible, making her both a strong fighter for the side of good, and an incredibly large target for Lord Voldemort

(January / 1981) - Marlene wakes up to bloodcurdling screams in her house. She finds her house overrun by Death Eaters, and does her best to fight them off single handed. Not that she has much of a choice. Even after sending out an alert to the Order, she knows time is of the essence. She gets to her mother just in time to see them kill her, and runs to her younger siblings room, who are all there for the holidays. Marlene is captures, and is forced to watch as they torture and murder her siblings in front of her, finally turning their wand on her.

baggage

Please list 6-10 pieces of emotional baggage, describe their impact on your character’s life, and provide us with an idea of how they might be resolved in game. Examples include fears, sins, regrets, unrealized dreams, unlearned lessons, latent desires, unsettled grudges and personal losses.

Since coming from the same night as her own death, and the death of her family, Marlene is going to have some serious issues dealing with guilt. She believes that she's solely responsible for all of their deaths because of her actions in the Order, and being outspoken against Lord Voldemort and the Death Eaters. Basically, she believes she put giant targets on all of her family.

Marlene will need a lot of time to learn about the future, to accept the deaths of her family, and realize that it really wasn't her fault that they died, and countless others perished in the war as well. And though it seems morbid, knowing that she wasn't alone in this venture will actually help the healing process. It's just not going to be an overnight thing.

Marlene has a lot of regret when it comes to Benjy Fenwick. She was completely in love with him, but too cowardly to ever come out and say it. And now she feels she'll never get the chance to. And really, even if she did, she's not sure she even could. She's too caught up in the fear that she could lose him at any time, and it would destroy her. It's why she makes it a habit of starting fights and pushing him away, it's just easier that way.

Being in an environment that isn't constantly plagued by warfare, and in a basically enclosed area that she can't get away, Marlene is going to have to address her feelings or else drop them like a bad habit in order to survive.

PTSD and anxiety are something that Marls has unfortunately had to contend with, especially since the war began in her time. On occasion she suffers from pretty crippling panic and anxiety attacks, and horrible war flashbacks that sometimes cause her to lash out as though she's somewhere else, instead of where she really is.

Having such a vast support network of multiple members of the Order will really do Marly wonders. Also, time. Time heals all wounds, especially when in an environment where she doesn't have to continually look over her shoulder. Though she still will, for a while.

Control has always been something in Marlene's life. She takes control of her life, social situations, even games and activities. Living in a world where control is, for the most part, out of her hands, is going to be seriously trying on her nerves. She's going to be angry, rebel, and perhaps even insult those who have brought her here.

After dealing with several pieces of baggage, and seeing how much better she feels, Marlene will eventually begin to learn that sometimes, it's okay to let others take the wheel. That sometimes, she can't always be in control, and that's okay. Relaxing, almost.

Marlene has an intense and horrible fear of being seen as weak or having weakness. That's why she never really held anyone closer than at arms length. That isn't to say she didn't have friends, and she wasn't close with anyone, but the fact remains that losing so many people and watching her family die in front of her has seriously affected her overall impression of herself. And while she still has confidence, she has this never ending need to prove she's strong, even if that means pushing people away or making absolutely ridiculous decisions.

Once again, time will be of the essence here, but also therapy, talking about her problems out loud, and acknowledging that she has them. Also, sometimes failure is okay, sometimes being weak is okay, sometimes crying is okay. Someone just needs to shake her and have her realize that she isn't infallible, and everyone has times of weakness and makes mistakes. Otherwise humans would be perfect, and they most certainly aren't.

Since Marlene dies an early death, and lived during a time of warfare, she doesn't really know what to do with herself when things are going normally. She'll go stir crazy without trying to figure out something to do with herself.

Marlene will need to discover some kind of purpose and passion on the island, whether it's just caring for her friends, providing some kind of service, or just making others smile. Re-navigating her hobbies and choices in life will be helpful in order to actually make life fulfilling and worth living again.

Though it may also seem extremely repetitive, considering a vast majority of the village population suffers from the same thing, Marlene uses alcohol as a crutch instead of dealing with her problems. She loves the feeling it gives her, it relaxes her, it makes her panic and anxiety disappear.

Dealing with many of her other issues first will definitely be most of what she needs to get this demon under control. It's one of those pieces of baggage that kind of hovers over the rest, so working through everything else will inevitably lead to this being taken care of.

rewards

Please list the items which, along with their wand, would motivate your character to open future pieces of luggage. These can consist of any object that possesses practical or sentimental value, such as a photo album, a favourite book, collected love letters from their significant other, and anything else you deem appropriate. Including their wand, list as many items as baggage items.

Wand

Family Photo Album - Since Marlene's last memories of back home are her siblings and parents dead, she needs something happy to remember them by. But most importantly, something that will help her cope and not forget their faces.

Stuffed Turtle - As weird as it sounds, Marlene loves turtles. And for her 27th birthday, Benjy got her a stuffed one to keep her company, since she couldn't have a real one from constantly traveling for the Order. It reminds her of a lot of good things, one of them being happy times with her on again, off again love affair.

Leather bound journal of original spells - Though she obviously is given a journal upon arrival, this one was gifted to her personally by her father and contains a vast amount of notes and incantations that she has created herself.

Her Gran's quilt - Given to her mother when she was just a child, and promised to Marlene when she was older, she never got the chance to possess it due to untimely deaths.

Snow globe from Italy- During a family vacation, her sister purchased it with her own money as an early Christmas present for Marlene. It's rather silly, but it sort of means the world to her.

Brother's sketchbook - Kennedy was an aspiring artist, and his sketchbook is filled with a number of amazing landscapes, animal sketches, as well as some completely beautiful and original work. Because it was so personal to him, it would be a piece of him she could keep close and see inside his own mind, even when he's gone.

OOC/IC

Name: Maggie
Age: 23
Timezone: EST

Email: maggie.kat1106@gmail.com
AIM: Maggie116910

When we can expect you online? A fair amount. But no specific hours.

Please answer the following questions in character.

What was the last lie you told?

You're going to be okay. You're going to be safe. I'll protect you.

What do you think about the most: the past, the present or the future? Why?

The present, of course. The future is uncertain. Hazy for us at best. And the past is unchangeable. The only way we can hope to make a better future is by choosing the right actions now. Merely sitting around doing nothing, and hoping for a better tomorrow is both lazy and naive. We have to fight for what we want, or be content with the fact our lives will never be fulfilled.

How do you feel about socks?

They're helpful, especially when running or on a cold winter night. I prefer to keep my feet toasty, thanks. I tend to run on the cold side.

Would you rather be gossiped about or never talked about?

Gossiped about. Whatever, if you're going to be saying my name, you might as well give me something interesting to listen too. And laugh at. Do you really have nothing better to do? That's just sad.

If you were the opposite sex for a day, what would you look like and what would you do?

Wank. Is that a serious question?

Thread:
We would prefer that you not link us to an existing thread, but instead show us your character's voice in a third-person narrative sample.