MEME

[emma_enchanting]

Body and Appearance

1. Describe the character's height and build. Is she heavyset, thin, short, rangy?

Before we get started on this whole section, first there’s something to explain. Emmeline, having spent years in wizarding espionage, has an array of ways to change her appearance, from minor changes to full on Poly-juice style disguises. As such, and given who and what she is, she tends to change fairly regularly (once she’s given the few allies she trusts completely fair warning). She can’t change completely and have it be permanent, but she’ll subtly alter hair, eyes, build, etc. often.
(She is also paranoid.)

Emmeline is unimpressed.

The nexus incarnation of Emmeline is thus not unlike how she would actually look, at least not completely, but very few people have known her long enough to know what the base look she’s building on would have been.

She’s 5’9” (taller than her PB) and on the thin side – small chest, long legs. She’s fairly muscular, especially in the arms, and is in pretty good shape. (See more below.)

2. How old is she?

45. She looks about ten years younger than that.

3. Describe her posture. Does she carry herself well or does she slouch?

Emmeline, unless she’s in character as someone else, has pretty good posture. (It has, in the past, been commented by certain parties that this could be due to the stick up her ass.)

4. How is her health? Is she fit or out of shape? Any illnesses or conditions? Any physical disabilities?

Emmeline’s in good shape, especially for her age. She takes an effort to be. And she does a lot of running. She doesn’t really see magic as a good excuse for not being able to run away from something if need be.

5. How does she move? Is she clumsy, graceful, tense, fluid?

She tends to be… not quite tense, but controlled. All her motions are very deliberate, when she’s herself, though not necessarily to the point of being slow or laconic. She doesn’t draw the eye, but she always moves with purpose.

6. How attractive is this character physically? How does she perceive herself in the mirror?

Emmeline is, and always has been, reasonably but not remarkably attractive. She was a very shy teenager, and didn’t really gain a lot of confidence until after she got out of Hogwarts. Between the wars, she had a decent but not outstanding sex life; she’s never thought of herself as pretty, but she does have self-esteem concentrated in other areas to make up for it. When she’s trying to attract someone, she tends to substitute charisma for looks, at least in her own mind.
She cleans up quite nicely, but seldom bothers except for jobs.

7. Describe her complexion. Dark, light, clear, scarred?

Light skinned – not quite so fair she instantly burns, but light. Most of her blemishes have been lost in the face-changing; she does have scars, but they’re mainly where you can’t see.

8. Describe her hair: color, texture, style.

It’s currently wavy and dark brown, about to her shoulders so she can put it up if she needs to. Her natural hair was mouse brown , and she was never terribly fond of it, so her hair almost always changes when she gets a new look.

9. What color are her eyes?

Currently hazel tending toward green. She changes these less frequently because it’s harder to do with any sort of permanence; her original color was cornflower blue.

10. Does the character have any other noteworthy features?

As mentioned above, a few scars. The worst is along her ribcage, on the left; it’s a dragonfire burn that’s never healed properly. It’s not so bad it impedes her physically, but it’s rather ugly and a bitch to hide magically.

11. What are her chief tension centers?

Her shoulders, all the time.

12. What is the character's wardrobe like? Casual, dressy, utilitarian? Bright colors, pastels, neutrals? Is it varied, or does she have six of the same suit?

When left to her own devices, definitely utilitarian; she likes tank tops, leather jackets, jeans, boots, etc. Growing up a halfblood, she finds robes generally impractical, though she has them for when they’re necessary. She also has a fairly diverse costume wardrobe for having to dress as someone else in a pinch.

13. Do her clothes fit well? Does she seem comfortable in them?

Because of her training, Emmeline is good at seeming perfectly comfortable in almost anything she wears, and tends to do so subconsciously. That said, clothes are a part of her job, or just something to wear. On her own, clothes aren’t a big concern of hers.

14. Does she dress the same on the job as she does in her free time? If not, what are the differences?

It depends on the aspect of her job. As noted above, she does a lot of spy work, so if she’s undercover, clearly her clothes will be dictated by the cover. If she’s doing tactical work, recon, etc., Emmeline dresses more or less how she always does. In the past few years, she’s also done some diplomatic work as herself; she tends to try and dress up a little for this.

15. You knew it was coming: Boxers, briefs or commando?

She tends to wear sports bras and briefs most times, in keeping with her practical, “combat can happen at any time” approach to fashion.


Speech

1. What does this character's voice sound like? High-pitched, deep, hoarse?

She tends to speak in a low, clear tone; her natural register is somewhere between a higher alto and a lower mezzo-soprano.

2. How does she normally speak? Loud, soft, fast, evenly? Does she talk easily, or does she hesitate?

Her words are measured, assured. She doesn’t tend to raise her voice, almost ever, but she’s always heard.

3. Does the character have a distinct accent or dialect? Any individual quirks of pronunciation? Any, like, you know, verbal tics?

Her normal accent still shows traces of her native Lancashire, though her ear for accents is excellent, and she can do an array of them. Sometimes for fun, more often for her job. (Her Tennessee accent is almost uncanny, after she spent six months in Memphis.)

4. What language/s does she speak, and with how much fluency?

Her French is very good for a non-native speaker; she can pass herself off as a native speaker unless there’s an actual native speaker present. She is conversational in Russian, but not totally fluent; she has a smattering of Spanish, Italian and German, but only enough to get by finding a train station or that sort of thing.

5. Does she switch languages or dialects in certain situations?

Well, for cover, clearly. Sometimes if she’s in public, and has the chance of being overheard, she’ll choose an accent at random. (Again with the paranoia.)

6. Is she a good impromptu speaker, or does she have to think about her words?

She tends not to say very much without thinking it through. She can talk off the cuff if she has to; improvisation isn’t a problem when it’s necessary. But Emmeline’s theory is that there’s a lot of life you can get through just not saying much of anything.

7. Is she eloquent or inarticulate? Under what circumstances might this change?

As noted, she used to be very shy, and even now she takes great care to say what she means (and only what she means). She is, then, eloquent with effort, I suppose. If she were under great duress, she’d probably be much less articulate and well-expressed.


Mental and Emotional

1. How intelligent is this character? Is she book-smart or street-smart?

It’s shifted, with Emmeline. She was a very good student in school, and was, at the time, quite book smart without being street smart. Due to auror training, and her specialty in covert affairs, she’s had to acquire a lot of street smarts. And for the past decade, since Voldemort took over Britain, she hasn’t had much time for reading; she’s almost entirely transitioned from one to the other.

2. Does she think on her feet, or does she need time to deliberate?

She’s quite good at thinking on her feet as long as it’s about action, not words. She can improvise words on the spot, but she’s much better with coming up with crazy, desperate plans when necessary. (It comes up often; the choices were to get good at it or get killed, to be perfectly honest.)

3. Describe the character's thought process. Is she more logical, or more intuitive? Idealistic or practical?

Emmeline is so practical it hurts. She very much feels like her own emotions are largely irrelevant, especially in the present situation. When Voldemort rules wizarding Britain (and effectively Muggle Britain too), is killing everyone you know, building muggle work camps and considering invading France… well. The fact her own family and friends are on the line, or that she has to do things she doesn’t want to do, seem very irrelevant.
People who know her often think she’s cold, and she’d admit it if asked. But it’s more that she feels emotions, and just ignores them when making decisions.

4. What kind of education has the character had?

She went to a good independent school until she got her Hogwarts owl. Then Hogwarts for the standard seven years, auror training for three years, and two additional for her specialization.

5. What are her areas of expertise? What, if anything, is she interested in learning more about?

She’s, as noted, excellent with accents, and is generally pretty good at constructing a persona, both for long-term use and on the fly. She has a working knowledge of muggle firearms, is a more than decent magical soldier, and has an excellent mind for tactics.

Emmeline wishes she were better at diplomacy, as it’s sort of been forced on her. She often copes by pretending to be a diplomat, in her own mind, which sometimes helps. She also wishes she hadn’t let her book learning go; she feels history and things like… how Horcruxes work, for example… could be really useful. Most of the really educated wizards are on the wrong side or dead.

6. Is she an introvert or an extrovert?

An introvert, by nature. Very much so. But she’s sucked it up and dealt with it, because their cause needs all the people it can get, and she’s not going to let Alastor do the heavy diplomatic lifting. (Remus Lupin and Charlie Weasley actually do a lot of diplomatic work, but there’s just too few of them and too many things that need doing.)

7. Describe the character's temperament. Is she even-tempered or does she have mood swings? Cheerful or melancholy? Laid-back or driven?

Because she tends to be dismissive of her own emotions, she’s usually fairly unflappable. That said, when she gets tired or worn, she gets very sarcastic very quickly. It isn’t out of nowhere, though, and she’s seldom angry or annoyed without provocation. She doesn’t laugh as much as she might, but life is pretty grim.

8. How does she respond to new people or situations? Is she suspicious, relaxed, timid, enthusiastic?

She’s very wary of new people and situations. Usually because they mean something bad. That said, she tries not to show her distrust, and outwardly seems to adapt rapidly to changes in whatever’s going on.

9. Is she more likely to act, or to react?

React. Emmeline tends to plan based on observation. This is not to say she never takes pre-emptive action, of course; that’s no way to win a war. But she tends to base these actions on either prior knowledge of how the enemy has acted in the past or intelligence on how he’s likely to act in the future.

10. Which is her default: fight or flight?

It really, truly depends on whether she thinks she can win. Fight until that point, flight after. Again with the practicality. She’s of the opinion that dying for your cause generally helps no one, if you have another way to escape.

11. Describe the character's sense of humor. Does she appreciate jokes? Puns? Gallows humor? Bathroom humor? Pranks?

Very sarcastic, and dry as toast. That went over great with the Order, especially in the 70s, as you might imagine.

12. Does the character have any diagnosable mental disorders? If yes, how does she deal with them?

Possibly mild PTSD, except, uh, not so “post”? In all honesty, she’s pretty mentally healthy, she’s just seen a great many bad things in her life, and lost a lot of people she cares deeply about. It’s made it hard for her to trust people, and hard to make newer friends.

13. What moments in this character's life have defined her as a person?

Getting her Hogwarts owl, making the Griffyndor Quidditch team, choosing to become an auror, joining the Order of the Phoenix, meeting Alastor Moody, the Longbottoms’ effective death, Voldemort’s return in 1995, Snape’s betrayal, the end of the war in 1996

14. What does she fear?

That Britain will never be truly free again. That Voldemort’s too powerful to bring down, and that all they’re doing is delaying the inevitable. That her brother Paul will be killed and she won’t be able to stop it.

15. What are her hopes or aspirations?

She’s more or less given up on a happy ending for herself; if she can live to see Voldemort killed, she will be ecstatic.

16. What is something she doesn't want anyone to find out about her?

She hasn’t let anyone see her cry since she was at Hogwarts. She still does, but no one ever knows about it.

(Also, she may be in love with Tom Williamson, but she’s decided there’s no point in doing anything about it with the likelihood that one or both of them will die soon, so they continue to be friends with benefits in the middle of a war together.)


Relationships

1. Describe this character's relationship with her parents.

Eric Vance: Emmeline’s father was a wizard, from a family that had been mixed blood for awhile. He was a novelist, and had enough money between his books and his inheritance from his parents that the family always lived more or less comfortably. Emmeline and her father got on well; he inspired her love of reading, and treated her like a grown-up very early. He was so very proud when she got her owl for Hogwarts; he’d hoped at least one of his three children would get to experience Hogwarts, as he remembered his own time there very fondly. He wasn’t involved in either war; given that he’d married a muggle, he thought it prudent to keep a low profile. When Voldemort won the second, he swept through the country, rounding up “blood traitors,” and Emmeline couldn’t save her parents from it. (It’s still a major source of guilt.)

Juliet Vance: Juliet was a nurse, and quite good at what she did. She worked long hours, and Emmeline remembers often being called upon to help with housework and her siblings because her mother was tired. For that, she had a quick sense of humor, and was truly enchanted by her encounters with the wizarding world. Emmeline gets her common sense and her calm under pressure from her mother, and she wishes she’d understood just how strong a woman her mother was earlier, so she could tell her so.

2. Does the character have any siblings? What is/was their relationship like?

Paul Vance: Paul is five years younger than Emmeline, and a muggle. When they were younger, his jealousy over her magic strained their relationship badly; it was made worse when Jim turned out to be a wizard as well. However, in their adult lives, they made up, more or less. Still, because Emmeline was so often gone, they’ve not been close since they were very young. He is a pharmacist, and has a wife but no children. They live in Surrey, and Emmeline is trying to find a way to get them safely out of the country (ideally without him discovering she’s really still alive, as he thinks she died in the mid-nineties).

Jim Vance: Jim, the baby, was eight years younger than Emmeline. A wizard, he got a job out of school in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts, having the distinction of being almost the only employee of the Department who’d ever lived among Muggles. He was goofy and a bit sweet; he never settled down with anyone romantically, but had a lot of friends. He wasn’t directly involved in the war, as he’d never been much of a fighter; however, in 2000, he was in the wrong place at the wrong time and couldn’t stand by while muggles were tortured. He was killed for attempting to intervene on their behalf.

3. Are there other blood relatives to whom she is close? Are there ones she can't stand?

Her father was an only child, and his parents died when Emmeline was very small. Her mother’s parents were around until Emmeline was a teenager; they lived in Hampshire, so they saw her seldom, but she got on well with them for the most part. Juliet also had a brother, who moved to America as a young man. Emmeline only met him twice in person, and completely lost touch with him as an adult.

4. Are there other, unrelated people whom she considers part of her family? What are her relationships with them?

Her relationship with Moody is more like family than friendship, with the fond razzing, the occasional fighting, and the implicit trust.

5. Who is/was the character's best friend? How did they meet?

Alice Longbottom was probably the closest friendship of Emmeline’s life. They met as aurors, and became closer in the Order. The two clicked well almost instantly, and Emmeline also liked Frank a great deal. She was over at their house almost constantly in the 70s.

She visited Alice and Frank at St. Mungo’s, on the sly. When it became clear that Voldemort was going to win, she quietly killed them both with poison; it was clear they weren’t coming back, but they could still feel pain, and she had no doubt some Death Eater might want to select helpless “toys” from St. Mungo’s.

6. Does she have other close friends?

She’d consider Williamson, (Charlie) Weasley, Remus Lupin and Moody to all be close friends, at this point. Pretty much everyone else who counted is dead.

7. Does she make friends easily, or does she have trouble getting along with people?

It’s hard for Emmeline to make good friends, though she gets on with people well enough. It used to be a matter of shyness, now it’s a matter of trust. And how she doesn’t have it beyond a very tiny circle.

8. Which does she consider more important: family or friends?

If she was forced to choose, family, but she would be really loathe to have to pick. She values everyone she cares about. (Even if she would sacrifice any of them if it meant defeating Voldemort permanently.)

9. Is the character single, married, divorced, widowed? Has she been married more than once?

She’s single. She’s been proposed to once, in the 90s, but turned the wizard down; she liked him, but not enough to marry him. She and Tom discussed it, but only in a vague, abstract kind of way; they kept breaking up and getting back together and the timing never worked out.

10. Is she currently in a romantic relationship with someone other than a spouse?

She and Tom are still on a ‘friends with benefits’ basis.

11. Who was her first crush? Who is her latest?

She had a terrible crush on Remus when she was about fifteen. It never went anywhere due to her shyness and the fact he stuck to his friends like glue. She and Remus find this kind of endearingly amusing now, in hindsight. She and Tom are old on-and-off thing; there've been no recent new attractions.

12. What does she look for in a romantic partner?

She’s attracted to charming types, on the whole; the super charismatic guy with the great sense of humor. Beyond that, they have to be reasonably intelligent, and some sense of morality. Oh, and if they mistreat her, she’s gone. She figures life it too short to stay with a jerk.

13. Does the character have children? Grandchildren? If yes, how does she relate to them? If no, does she want any?

No children. She sort of regrets it in the abstract; she spent a lot of her adolescence helping care for her little brothers, and would have liked children had her life gone differently. But with her job (and seeing what happened to Alice and Lily Potter), she decided early she wasn’t going to have any unless she was forced to retire.

14. Does she have any rivals or enemies?

Regulus Black was especially nasty to her in school, given her blood status. She made several enemies of particular Death Eaters, in both wars, and at this point Voldemort himself would probably count. He certainly knows the resistance exists, but not particularly where or who.

15. What is the character's sexual orientation? Where does she fall on the Kinsey scale?

0.5 or so? Fairly exclusively heterosexual.

16. How does she feel about sex? How important is it to her?

She finds it enjoyable, but it’s not a driving force of her behavior. She’s had to sleep with people in covers before, and it doesn’t really bother her; that said, she finds it a good way to release tension.

17. What are her turn-ons? Turn-offs? Weird bedroom habits?

She really doesn’t like roleplay; too much like bringing work home. If she’s shagging someone as herself, she wants to do it as herself. She likes her sex a little on the rough side, though she’s not a masochist; it’s more a matter of energy and enthusiasm.


Beliefs

1. Do you know your character's astrological (zodiac of choice) sign? How well does she fit type?

She is a Virgo, which fits pretty well, and was born in the year of the boar. Workaholic all around then. Yeah, that fits.

2. Is this character religious, spiritual, both, or neither? How important are these elements in her life?

Neither. She was raised Church of England, but gave it up in her early adolescence. She would have identified as agnostic until Voldemort won; she’s a pretty firm atheist these days.

3. Does this character have a personal code of morals or ethics? If so, how did that begin? What would it take to compromise it?

She’s gotten pretty ruthless in pursuit of the great good, before. Her morality is on the utilitarian side, and has been increasingly so with time.

4. How does she regard beliefs that differ from hers? Is she tolerant, intolerant, curious, indifferent?

She’s a little impatient with people on her own side who are squeamish about doing things they label “wrong” if it will successfully hurt Voldemort’s cause. Other than that, she’s very live and let live.

5. What prejudices does she hold? Are they irrational or does she have a good reason for them?

She has no tolerance for people expressing any sort of muggle prejudice. And, after Snape, she doesn’t believe in double agents. Ever.


Daily Life

1. What is the character's financial situation? Is she rich, poor, comfortable, in debt?

She’s living off the grid, so hand to mouth. Whenever she comes into any extra cash, it goes right back into the war effort.

2. What is her social status? Has this changed over time, and if so, how has the change affected her?

In current terms, she’s a fugitive. Before that, she was respected for working in the auror’s office, but as her real job wasn’t known, she was seen as a steady, unremarkable witch who worked at the Ministry. Her half-blood status mattered to some, not to others.

3. Where does she live? House, apartment, trailer? Is her home her castle or just a place to crash? What condition is it in? Does she share it with others?

She, Lupin, and Moody share an unplottable flat, when all of them are London. Sometimes she stays with Tom; she also has a flat in Scotland, relatively near the former site of Hogwarts.

4. Besides the basic necessities, what does she spend her money on?

Weapons, intelligence, getting muggles out of the country.

5. What does she do for a living? Is she good at it? Does she enjoy it, or would she rather be doing something else?

She’s quite good at being a spy and a rebel coordinator; less good at being an envoy, but doing her damndest. If the necessity for being a guerilla were gone, Emmeline would be thrilled beyond belief. She would be just as happy never to have to spy again, at this point, though at one time she couldn’t have imagined giving it up.

6. What are her interests or hobbies? How does she spend her free time?

She’s a workaholic and she’s desperate, so she doesn’t so much have “free time” anymore. But prior to Voldemort’s rise, she was very fond of classic mystery novels, and very much enjoyed flying.

7. What are her eating habits? Does she skip meals, eat out, drink alcohol, avoid certain foods?

She tries to keep her nutritional intake reasonable enough to stay healthy, but has a bad habit of giving food away to people she thinks need it more. It’s hard to get decent alcohol, which keeps a cap on her drinking, but she has it when it’s available with some regularity. Much like sex, food is pleasant, but she sets it aside as a distraction.


Associations

Which of the following do you associate with the character, or which is her favorite:

(my associations)

1. Color? green
2. Smell? cedar
3. Time of day? early afternoon
4. Season? autumn
5. Book? Murder on the Orient Express and/or The Sign Of Four (her two favorites)
6. Music? “How to Disappear Completely” by Radiohead
7. Place? Lacashire (boringly, but it sprang to mind)
8. Substance? silver
9. Plant? ivy
10. Animal? eagle


END
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