[ ooc; application: polychromatic ]
[nick / name]: Faith
[personal LJ name]: varooooom
[other characters currently played]: n/a ;;
[e-mail]: saucesome [at] yahoo [dot] com
[AIM]: xxsaucesomexx
[series]: Harry Potter
[character]: Fred Weasley
[character history / background]: Voila!
[character abilities]: Ta-da!
[character personality]: To explain a bit about Fred and his character, I'd like to take a particularly significant line from the book: And Percy was shaking his brother, and Ron was kneeling beside them, and Fred's eyes stared without seeing, the ghost of his last laugh still etched upon his face.
Despite being narration rather than dialogue, this sentence says a lot about who Fred is as a person. Taking it in order, I'll start with the comment about Percy.
Now, the thing you ought to understand about the Weasley family is that they are more of a clan than a family. Fred's always said so, and there's a lot of pride to be had in belonging to a clan. Above all else in the world, Fred is loyal to his family, simply because that's how family is supposed to be. The sun and the moon, the sky and the earth; there isn't a thing that could ever get between him and his loved ones. They are everything and he would give everything for them. That being said, Percy being at his side during his death is one of the largest indicators of how much Fred values them all. Before the Battle at Hogwarts, Percy had forsaken his family in favor of his pride and reputation within the Ministry of Magic, an act that marked him as something of a black sheep. Excommunicated from the family, and Fred took no problem with besmirching his name in his absence. He was a prat, through and through, and there could be no greater injustice than abandoning the fam. Which is why, when Percy returned before the Battle to own up to his mistakes and make amends, Fred was the first to forgive him. Because blood is a bond that can never be broken, no matter how many harsh words and mashed turnips are thrown at it. He can excuse no small act against the Weasley family, but there is no small act against them he cannot forgive. If Percy had claimed himself a Death Eater, it may have been a different story, but as it was, Fred readily welcomed him back into his good graces once he acknowledged and apologized for his wrong doings. This incredible loyalty isn't exclusive to just his family, either: friends, work, the Order of the Phoenix; if he believes in it or holds it sacred, he'll fight for it tooth and nail. Many of the expected Gryffindor qualities can be found in Fred's attitude towards his loved ones.
Then there's Ron being at his side. Ickle Ronniekins. Fred is a bit of a jerk, all teasingly, of course. There aren't many he holds truly ill will towards, and the vast majority of those he does have a rather nasty rash on their arms and a distinct lack of soul or compassion. The type to kick puppies, even. And that's simply horrible. But no, little baby Ron is Fred's younger brother and therefore very near and dear to him. He messes with him in the loving fashion he does all people he cares about, and in spite of how cruel his jokes can be, Ron loves him just as much back. In fact, they all do. For as loyal and devoted Fred is to his family, they are just about as equally faithful in return. He may be a jokester in all aspects of his life, but he has an understanding and connection with them that goes beyond adoring words and friendly gestures. Fred shows his love and constant support through jokes and light heartedness in an attempt to make things easier to cope with. He draws people towards him with a sense of aloofness that never once says "I don't care about anything" but rather "I care enough to smile still."
Which brings me to the last half of the quote, the ghost of his last laugh. I cannot express in words how much this means about who Fred is. He died with a smile on his face. He died laughing. They were in the middle of a bloody war and he died with a smile. There was just no better ending for him to meet. Yes, his death is a friggin' crime against humanity, but he had a smile and there's something poetic and meaningful to be had in that. Fred is very very far from being a carefree person. He constantly worried about his siblings, worried about his friends, wondered if the world would live to see tomorrow; he is not a selfish, closed minded person (though it can be said that there are instances of both, not altogether withstanding). There are a lot of things that burden his mind, but he carries them all with a grin from ear to ear. The twins are most known for their clever antics, their jokes and their mischief. Fred pointedly keeps humor in the air. He wants to believe more than anything that despite how terrible things get, there is reason to smile. Grin and bear it, and keep trudging on, because you are still alive to do so. Their exit from Hogwarts their seventh year is another sign of this, because after the school had become essentially a prison, the twins decided to leave with a literal bang. It'd would've been just as easy to leave unnoticed, but by blowing up their exuberance in Umbridge's face (again, literally), they not only looked freaking awesome destroyed her sense of complete control but reminded the school that there was still life within the castle walls, so long as there was someone with the guts to live it. No matter how bad things get, there is always reason to smile.
On that note, we can move to character flaws, one of which is Fred's almost tunnel vision insensitivity. He's rude, sure, but usually it's on purpose. He likes to poke fun at people, it's part of who he is. But as a result of that, there are times when he really and truly just oversteps his boundaries. A joke is a joke, but things can sometimes go too far, and Fred isn't always aware of when he does it. He's not heartless and he's never intentionally cruel; he just has a hard time seeing that not all people use humor as a defense mechanism and it's not always appropriate to approach things as such. He can be a bit of a git. Not always, though. He can be a decent enough judge of time and place for these things, and he can have his serious moments of understanding and rationalization. He has his mature side. He'd just rather go about showing it in the playful way. He won't sugar coat the truth; instead, he'll coat it with explosive powder and say "duck!"
Fred also has something of a problem with anger. Not in the sense of being a raging lunatic, but in that it doesn't really take much to have him upset. A simple insult to his siblings or a threat to his friends and you'll be needing a few people to hold him back from throttling the offender. Literally. I've always found it a bit funny that in scenes where Malfoy was taunting Harry or Ron, there is nearly always note of how two or three people had to work together to restrain him. He can be very defensive to the point of turning to the offense - it's part of what made him an "unbeatable Beater." You come after him or his own? You can expect a world of hurt. The next point of order being the extent of that world of hurt. In some ways, Fred is almost the "evil" twin. They're both dastardly in their own ways, but Fred has a little more difficulty finding the moral line. When they're jipped out of their World Cup bet, Fred turns to suggesting blackmail, and George has to remind him of that offense and reign him in before he does something to get himself in trouble. Again, he is not cruel, but there is a darkness to him that the others sometimes have to calm before someone gets hurt.
For my final act, I want to expand on the relationship Fred has with that certain "someone:" George, his twin brother. I said that the Weasley family is Fred's everything; George means all that and more. There is a bond between the two that goes out of this universe and two a whole 'nother dimension. Nothing freaky, so don't get the wrong idea! They're just as close as two people can be. They do everything together, and always have from birth. Two heads are better than one; two bodies, one soul; all those corny cliches? They got 'em covered. There are a few notable differences between the two despite their closeness. It's already been said that Fred's a bit more harsh or cruel than George; he's also a bit more of a leader. He's oftentimes the instigator of trouble or the spark behind their badgood ideas. But George is also his source of strength and courage and heart. When they returned from the Battle over Little Whinging and he heard that George was injured, Fred forsook every other person there and ran straight to his side. It was one of those rare moments where his concern and upset were not immediately masked with humor, because he needed to know his Georgie was okay before it would be alright to smile again. It might be his ideal to laugh in spite of everything, but that ideal is null and void if it doesn't include George being at his side. Which goes both ways, mostly, and makes Fred's death just that much more depressing.
[point in timeline you're picking your character from]: post-death in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
[journal post]: [The faces of the passerby's to the device's lens seem to be reflecting a range from distinct lack of interest to mild amusement to extreme confusion. They also appear to be shielding their heads from something, but from the device's position, it isn't quite clear what.
That is, until the throng clears enough for the device to get a good shot of the fountain - and what appears to be an aquatic apparition thrashing about in the center of it all. Wrapped in one of its many tendrils can be seen a man in slightly tattered clothes, though his most distinct feature is the flaming red hair that might be somewhat familiar to select residents of the City. He is also screaming and flailing against the monster theatrically.]
No! No! Somebody, stop this beast! This is no way for a man to go! No!
[As the creature lifts him to its mouth(?), he confines himself to his fate and shouts to whatever observers have stuck around to watch the events unfold.]
Tell my family - I love them!
[But it's too late for him. The monster slips him into its translucent mouth and he can be seen sliding through the watery entrails - and then sliding right back out through the stomach, depositing him just close enough to get a better view of him. His concentration broken, the monster collapses back to its original position in the fountain, thoroughly soaking the man and the other observers in the process. They look annoyed. He looks...disappointed.]
Bugger. Another flop. [He turns to the device with something of a smile, putting his abundant freckles and soft brown eyes into view.] The stomach's supposed to be more akin to jelly, see? The idea was suspension, not lubrication.
[He sighs and gets to his feet, brushing himself off despite his dripping wet state.]
All in due time. Let's go it again. Come on, Georgie.
[He addresses another, though he is quite noticeably alone, and it's only in this that his voice takes a slightly less chipper tone. All that can be seen is his back and the strange, ethereal movement of the water as he walks back over to the fountain and the device shuts off.]
[third person / log sample]: Before the Battle at Hogwarts really began, Fred and George found a moment to separate from the others and watch the oncoming battle from afar. Standing atop one of the castle's many balconies, the twins watched innumerable protective spells shoot up into the sky, casting bright lights and colorful shadows across the grounds where other students and members of the Order stood in wait. It felt somewhat surreal, as though they were miles away from the war and merely watching an odd fireworks display that had more crackle than boom. Fred marveled at the sight, and he couldn't help but contemplate how exactly they'd gotten to this point. They, the Wonder Twins, the very embodiment of mischief and chaos - and they were preparing to fight in the largest and most significant event of the war. How did these two miscreants get here?
It was almost laughable, the idea that somewhere along the way, they had managed to "grow up." They ran a joke shop and pulled pranks for a living; a younger Fred was almost certain they'd die of old age before a vein of maturity ran through them. But as memories of making messes, wreaking havoc and competing for letters from school (never once the good kind) passed him by, a few in particular stood out above the rest. Like in their third year, when news reached them of little Won-Won intentionally putting himself in danger's way to help Harry, and they got a rather nasty taste of true fear as they rushed their way to the hospital wing. Or in their fourth year, when Ginny got herself in a particularly perilous spot of trouble and they were kicked by a lesson in humility for not watching their sister closely enough. In fact, it rather seemed that their years at Hogwarts did wonders for teaching them lessons Fred hadn't even realized he'd learned. None too academic, mind; there were lessons much more interesting - and valuable.
Fred recalled first meeting Harry Potter, naiveté and innocence about them all that was quickly cast aside in the events that followed. This boy, the hero of their time and barely even the same age as Ron, had changed their lives long before that day on the Hogwarts Express. Three years old and hardly aware of the significance, wrapped in the arms of their parents as they wept in celebration, Fred had his first experience with what he now understood to be "growing up." If there was anything Fred learned from Hogwarts, it was that there are some things worth fighting for, no matter the cost, and it was Harry who'd taught him.
"You all right, Freddie?" came George's voice over the thunderous spellwork and the unbearable silence. It was end game for them all, time to face the very thing that had grown to define them in recent years, and this moment alone with his twin only served to set it in stone. His brother, his partner in crime, the other half of his entire being - and they were going to face down this war together, the way they'd done everything since birth. If ever there was something Fred felt worth fighting for, it was George. It was Ickle Ronniekins, little Ginny, all eighty five of his siblings and family members. Harry, Hermione, Dumbledore and Sirius; the whole of the world that Fred sought to pull one over on. He'd grown up, and was more than ready to lay down everything for it all.
Fred smiled. "...Yeah."
And for the first time - and what happened to be the last time - everything was quite all right, indeed.
[personal LJ name]: varooooom
[other characters currently played]: n/a ;;
[e-mail]: saucesome [at] yahoo [dot] com
[AIM]: xxsaucesomexx
[series]: Harry Potter
[character]: Fred Weasley
[character history / background]: Voila!
[character abilities]: Ta-da!
[character personality]: To explain a bit about Fred and his character, I'd like to take a particularly significant line from the book: And Percy was shaking his brother, and Ron was kneeling beside them, and Fred's eyes stared without seeing, the ghost of his last laugh still etched upon his face.
Despite being narration rather than dialogue, this sentence says a lot about who Fred is as a person. Taking it in order, I'll start with the comment about Percy.
Now, the thing you ought to understand about the Weasley family is that they are more of a clan than a family. Fred's always said so, and there's a lot of pride to be had in belonging to a clan. Above all else in the world, Fred is loyal to his family, simply because that's how family is supposed to be. The sun and the moon, the sky and the earth; there isn't a thing that could ever get between him and his loved ones. They are everything and he would give everything for them. That being said, Percy being at his side during his death is one of the largest indicators of how much Fred values them all. Before the Battle at Hogwarts, Percy had forsaken his family in favor of his pride and reputation within the Ministry of Magic, an act that marked him as something of a black sheep. Excommunicated from the family, and Fred took no problem with besmirching his name in his absence. He was a prat, through and through, and there could be no greater injustice than abandoning the fam. Which is why, when Percy returned before the Battle to own up to his mistakes and make amends, Fred was the first to forgive him. Because blood is a bond that can never be broken, no matter how many harsh words and mashed turnips are thrown at it. He can excuse no small act against the Weasley family, but there is no small act against them he cannot forgive. If Percy had claimed himself a Death Eater, it may have been a different story, but as it was, Fred readily welcomed him back into his good graces once he acknowledged and apologized for his wrong doings. This incredible loyalty isn't exclusive to just his family, either: friends, work, the Order of the Phoenix; if he believes in it or holds it sacred, he'll fight for it tooth and nail. Many of the expected Gryffindor qualities can be found in Fred's attitude towards his loved ones.
Then there's Ron being at his side. Ickle Ronniekins. Fred is a bit of a jerk, all teasingly, of course. There aren't many he holds truly ill will towards, and the vast majority of those he does have a rather nasty rash on their arms and a distinct lack of soul or compassion. The type to kick puppies, even. And that's simply horrible. But no, little baby Ron is Fred's younger brother and therefore very near and dear to him. He messes with him in the loving fashion he does all people he cares about, and in spite of how cruel his jokes can be, Ron loves him just as much back. In fact, they all do. For as loyal and devoted Fred is to his family, they are just about as equally faithful in return. He may be a jokester in all aspects of his life, but he has an understanding and connection with them that goes beyond adoring words and friendly gestures. Fred shows his love and constant support through jokes and light heartedness in an attempt to make things easier to cope with. He draws people towards him with a sense of aloofness that never once says "I don't care about anything" but rather "I care enough to smile still."
Which brings me to the last half of the quote, the ghost of his last laugh. I cannot express in words how much this means about who Fred is. He died with a smile on his face. He died laughing. They were in the middle of a bloody war and he died with a smile. There was just no better ending for him to meet. Yes, his death is a friggin' crime against humanity, but he had a smile and there's something poetic and meaningful to be had in that. Fred is very very far from being a carefree person. He constantly worried about his siblings, worried about his friends, wondered if the world would live to see tomorrow; he is not a selfish, closed minded person (though it can be said that there are instances of both, not altogether withstanding). There are a lot of things that burden his mind, but he carries them all with a grin from ear to ear. The twins are most known for their clever antics, their jokes and their mischief. Fred pointedly keeps humor in the air. He wants to believe more than anything that despite how terrible things get, there is reason to smile. Grin and bear it, and keep trudging on, because you are still alive to do so. Their exit from Hogwarts their seventh year is another sign of this, because after the school had become essentially a prison, the twins decided to leave with a literal bang. It'd would've been just as easy to leave unnoticed, but by blowing up their exuberance in Umbridge's face (again, literally), they not only looked freaking awesome destroyed her sense of complete control but reminded the school that there was still life within the castle walls, so long as there was someone with the guts to live it. No matter how bad things get, there is always reason to smile.
On that note, we can move to character flaws, one of which is Fred's almost tunnel vision insensitivity. He's rude, sure, but usually it's on purpose. He likes to poke fun at people, it's part of who he is. But as a result of that, there are times when he really and truly just oversteps his boundaries. A joke is a joke, but things can sometimes go too far, and Fred isn't always aware of when he does it. He's not heartless and he's never intentionally cruel; he just has a hard time seeing that not all people use humor as a defense mechanism and it's not always appropriate to approach things as such. He can be a bit of a git. Not always, though. He can be a decent enough judge of time and place for these things, and he can have his serious moments of understanding and rationalization. He has his mature side. He'd just rather go about showing it in the playful way. He won't sugar coat the truth; instead, he'll coat it with explosive powder and say "duck!"
Fred also has something of a problem with anger. Not in the sense of being a raging lunatic, but in that it doesn't really take much to have him upset. A simple insult to his siblings or a threat to his friends and you'll be needing a few people to hold him back from throttling the offender. Literally. I've always found it a bit funny that in scenes where Malfoy was taunting Harry or Ron, there is nearly always note of how two or three people had to work together to restrain him. He can be very defensive to the point of turning to the offense - it's part of what made him an "unbeatable Beater." You come after him or his own? You can expect a world of hurt. The next point of order being the extent of that world of hurt. In some ways, Fred is almost the "evil" twin. They're both dastardly in their own ways, but Fred has a little more difficulty finding the moral line. When they're jipped out of their World Cup bet, Fred turns to suggesting blackmail, and George has to remind him of that offense and reign him in before he does something to get himself in trouble. Again, he is not cruel, but there is a darkness to him that the others sometimes have to calm before someone gets hurt.
For my final act, I want to expand on the relationship Fred has with that certain "someone:" George, his twin brother. I said that the Weasley family is Fred's everything; George means all that and more. There is a bond between the two that goes out of this universe and two a whole 'nother dimension. Nothing freaky, so don't get the wrong idea! They're just as close as two people can be. They do everything together, and always have from birth. Two heads are better than one; two bodies, one soul; all those corny cliches? They got 'em covered. There are a few notable differences between the two despite their closeness. It's already been said that Fred's a bit more harsh or cruel than George; he's also a bit more of a leader. He's oftentimes the instigator of trouble or the spark behind their badgood ideas. But George is also his source of strength and courage and heart. When they returned from the Battle over Little Whinging and he heard that George was injured, Fred forsook every other person there and ran straight to his side. It was one of those rare moments where his concern and upset were not immediately masked with humor, because he needed to know his Georgie was okay before it would be alright to smile again. It might be his ideal to laugh in spite of everything, but that ideal is null and void if it doesn't include George being at his side. Which goes both ways, mostly, and makes Fred's death just that much more depressing.
[point in timeline you're picking your character from]: post-death in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
[journal post]: [The faces of the passerby's to the device's lens seem to be reflecting a range from distinct lack of interest to mild amusement to extreme confusion. They also appear to be shielding their heads from something, but from the device's position, it isn't quite clear what.
That is, until the throng clears enough for the device to get a good shot of the fountain - and what appears to be an aquatic apparition thrashing about in the center of it all. Wrapped in one of its many tendrils can be seen a man in slightly tattered clothes, though his most distinct feature is the flaming red hair that might be somewhat familiar to select residents of the City. He is also screaming and flailing against the monster theatrically.]
No! No! Somebody, stop this beast! This is no way for a man to go! No!
[As the creature lifts him to its mouth(?), he confines himself to his fate and shouts to whatever observers have stuck around to watch the events unfold.]
Tell my family - I love them!
[But it's too late for him. The monster slips him into its translucent mouth and he can be seen sliding through the watery entrails - and then sliding right back out through the stomach, depositing him just close enough to get a better view of him. His concentration broken, the monster collapses back to its original position in the fountain, thoroughly soaking the man and the other observers in the process. They look annoyed. He looks...disappointed.]
Bugger. Another flop. [He turns to the device with something of a smile, putting his abundant freckles and soft brown eyes into view.] The stomach's supposed to be more akin to jelly, see? The idea was suspension, not lubrication.
[He sighs and gets to his feet, brushing himself off despite his dripping wet state.]
All in due time. Let's go it again. Come on, Georgie.
[He addresses another, though he is quite noticeably alone, and it's only in this that his voice takes a slightly less chipper tone. All that can be seen is his back and the strange, ethereal movement of the water as he walks back over to the fountain and the device shuts off.]
[third person / log sample]: Before the Battle at Hogwarts really began, Fred and George found a moment to separate from the others and watch the oncoming battle from afar. Standing atop one of the castle's many balconies, the twins watched innumerable protective spells shoot up into the sky, casting bright lights and colorful shadows across the grounds where other students and members of the Order stood in wait. It felt somewhat surreal, as though they were miles away from the war and merely watching an odd fireworks display that had more crackle than boom. Fred marveled at the sight, and he couldn't help but contemplate how exactly they'd gotten to this point. They, the Wonder Twins, the very embodiment of mischief and chaos - and they were preparing to fight in the largest and most significant event of the war. How did these two miscreants get here?
It was almost laughable, the idea that somewhere along the way, they had managed to "grow up." They ran a joke shop and pulled pranks for a living; a younger Fred was almost certain they'd die of old age before a vein of maturity ran through them. But as memories of making messes, wreaking havoc and competing for letters from school (never once the good kind) passed him by, a few in particular stood out above the rest. Like in their third year, when news reached them of little Won-Won intentionally putting himself in danger's way to help Harry, and they got a rather nasty taste of true fear as they rushed their way to the hospital wing. Or in their fourth year, when Ginny got herself in a particularly perilous spot of trouble and they were kicked by a lesson in humility for not watching their sister closely enough. In fact, it rather seemed that their years at Hogwarts did wonders for teaching them lessons Fred hadn't even realized he'd learned. None too academic, mind; there were lessons much more interesting - and valuable.
Fred recalled first meeting Harry Potter, naiveté and innocence about them all that was quickly cast aside in the events that followed. This boy, the hero of their time and barely even the same age as Ron, had changed their lives long before that day on the Hogwarts Express. Three years old and hardly aware of the significance, wrapped in the arms of their parents as they wept in celebration, Fred had his first experience with what he now understood to be "growing up." If there was anything Fred learned from Hogwarts, it was that there are some things worth fighting for, no matter the cost, and it was Harry who'd taught him.
"You all right, Freddie?" came George's voice over the thunderous spellwork and the unbearable silence. It was end game for them all, time to face the very thing that had grown to define them in recent years, and this moment alone with his twin only served to set it in stone. His brother, his partner in crime, the other half of his entire being - and they were going to face down this war together, the way they'd done everything since birth. If ever there was something Fred felt worth fighting for, it was George. It was Ickle Ronniekins, little Ginny, all eighty five of his siblings and family members. Harry, Hermione, Dumbledore and Sirius; the whole of the world that Fred sought to pull one over on. He'd grown up, and was more than ready to lay down everything for it all.
Fred smiled. "...Yeah."
And for the first time - and what happened to be the last time - everything was quite all right, indeed.