InsaneJournal

NAME: Arnold Gwynfor Peasegood
AGE/BIRTHDAY: 24 / February 3, 1956.
BLOOD STATUS: Halfblood.
FORMER HOUSE: Hufflepuff, class of 1974.
OCCUPATION: Hit Wizard

FAMILY:
Herbert Peasegood. Father. Squib. Embodiment of all things creepy and weird in the Peasegood household. Herbert lost a foot in France during World War II and spent most of Arnold's childhood threatening to show him his stub if he didn't behave. Herbert quite likes his son, but his naturally quiet nature makes it difficult to communicate the depth of his emotions. Arnold has never been hugged by his father, although they came close one time. Arnold's foot had been run over by a car and Herbert gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder. That totally counts, right?

Matilda Peasegood (née Gwynfor). Mother. Witch. Completely scatterbrained. It's actually quite fortunate that Arnold wasn't murdered or otherwise attacked during his youth because Matilda had a tendency to accidentally leave him in prime child abduction spots. Despite her (frequent) mistakes, Matilda thinks the world of her son and may have coddled him a bit too much in his youth. An avid animal lover, she often brings home stray cats, dogs, and whatever else she can find, much to the annoyance of her husband.

Trahaearn Gwynfor. Grandfather. Wizard. Father of Matilda. Despite being perfectly capable of speaking English, "Gwyn" only speaks Welsh purely so he can insult his son-in-law without Herbert realizing. He lived alone in Cardiff following the death of his wife, but as Alzheimer's began to set in, he was forced to move in with Herbert and Matilda. He appears to enjoy exaggerating his Alzheimer's symptoms in order to fuck with people.

Constance Peasegood. Twin sister. Witch. They shared a womb and that's about it. They don't look alike, act alike, or think alike. Constance blends into society with a kind of ease that Arnold can only dream about. He doesn't know how she got all the "popular" genes, but there it is. Constance had a falling out with their parents shortly after their sixteenth birthday and hasn't visited or spoken with Herbert and Matilda since.

SEXUALITY: Heterosexual.
SIGNIFICANT OTHER: Arnold doesn't know how to talk to humans, let alone get a date.
CHILDREN:: Lord no.

LOYALTY/ALLIANCE: Ministry of Magic

ROLE IN THE WAR: Arnold is a Hit Wizard. He does what the Ministry tells him to do. He would probably lean more toward the Order given the chance, but mostly, he's happy to play the neutral party. He's a fair hand at hexes and dueling, as is required of his job, so he's someone you would want around in a fight. In addition to English, Arnold is fluent in Welsh and learned a little bit of French at his parents' insistence. He has a nearly photographic memory and an accurate recall of Potion types and their uses. He also bakes really delicious muffins, but that's neither here nor there.

POLITICAL VIEWS: Considering that he's the son of a squib, Arnold's political leanings aren't that hard to figure out. He believes in equality in all it's forms. Blood purity is usually what he means when he discusses the issue, but if he were to sit down and think about it, he'd say that that treatment should extend to magical creatures (werewolves and the like) too. His exposure to muggles is fairly limited and his understanding of them is colored by his father's stories of World War II. Despite his knowledge that it is possible to live without magic (his father does it perfectly well), Arnold still has difficulty comprehending a completely muggle lifestyle.

He isn't very vocal about his beliefs because, frankly, he hates discussing politics. Nobody ever completely agrees with each other and Arnold hates the inherent conflict of the situation.

APPEARANCE: Standing just above 5'8'', Arnold is usually shorter than most of his male friends and he's perfectly alright with that. He's solidly built, having put on more muscle since becoming a Hit Wizard, and looks capable of taking a hit. His skin is fair complected at best and burns almost instantly on especially hot days. He has dark brown hair that he likes to keep cropped close to his head and certainly never out of place. His eyes are usually described as his most striking feature. Bright blue and rather large, they've been described as both "pretty" and "serial killer eyes." It really depends on who is looking at him. Clothing-wise, Arnold prefers darker colors and is fairly meticulous about keeping his outfits wrinkle free. He walks with a sort of shyness in his step, as if he feels uncomfortable in his own skin, except when he is on the job. While working, Arnold's entire body language changes to that of someone who is self-confident and self-assured. Criminals aren't going to be frightened of you if you look like a scared teenager.

CHILDHOOD: Herbert Peasegood kind of hated his family. They were all very magical and wonderful and oh look, Gran's making something float again because she's so magical. Unfortunately for Herbert, he was a squib and no matter how hard he tried, he never really felt like he belonged. While his siblings went off to Hogwarts, Herbert stayed behind, living under the disappointed gaze of his parents. It wasn't entirely unexpected when he left home at sixteen. He lived amongst muggles for a few years, long enough to develop close connections and ties, and when war broke out, he decided to fight for England. Herbert was deployed to France where he spent a year wandering forests and shooting Germans until artillery fire cost him his right foot and sent him home to Leeds.

Herbet met Matilda a few years later. His distaste for magic had cooled somewhat in the wake of his family's kindness to him following his injury. Matilda was a Welsh witch and was technically dating Herbert's older brother, Stephen, at the time of their introduction, but that didn't really put a damper on things. Stephen got a job in Canada and while he was under the impression that Matilda was still his main squeeze, she was actually get closer and closer to Herbert. Lo and behold, Stephen returned to England one day to find that his baby brother and his girlfriend had eloped to London to marry. Twins Arnold and Constance were born two years later.

Arnold spent the first few years of his life crammed into a tiny one bedroom flat with his sister and parents. Matilda couldn't work because someone had to take care of the children and Herbert found getting a job difficult because of his lack of magical abilities as well as his disability. In the end, Herbert was forced to resort to muggle employment despite his hope of finding a job within the magical community. Still, money was money and within a few years, the Peasegoods were able to move into more spacious accommodations. They moved to Swansea when Arnold was five years old. Arnold's early memories are hazy and filled with a certain level of discrimination based on his father's squib status. One of his very first friends, a neighbor, was forbidden to play with him on account of being a pureblood when Arnold's father was a squib. Constance was a playmate for a few years, but she quickly outmatched him socially. Wherever she went, she seemed to attract friends. Mostly, Arnold learned to get on by himself.

Arnold was a quiet boy, more interested in books and daydreams than sports. He had a very high vocabulary at a young age and was almost always unflinchingly polite. He was the child that all the other children avoided, as if they sensed something was wrong with him. Matilda called him mature for his age while the other children just called him names. Arnold himself learned to put up with a certain degree of weirdness. His mother was more than passing fair on the intelligence scale, but she was completely scatterbrained and tended to leave Arnold in obscure locations or forget to pick him up. His father used Arnold's gut-wrenching fear of his missing foot as a motivator to get him to do things, usually in the form of chasing Arnold around the house, ankle revealed, until Arnold found a hiding place or gave in.

HOGWARTS: Arnold wasn't entirely surprised when he was placed in Hufflepuff, although he went in with a healthy sense of not giving a shit. He hadn't really had friends before coming to Hogwarts and he didn't expect that to change, although he suspected that any bullying would now involve magic. He spent his first year quietly occupying himself with his studies and daydreams. He didn't avoid the other students exactly, but his overwhelming shyness combined with the fact that other students tended to look down on him for being in Hufflepuff in the first place didn't make very good friendship forming conditions. Mostly, he just observed other students from the sidelines. The Gryffindors put him off with their loudness; the Slytherins were creepy; Ravenclaws were intimidating; Hufflepuffs were...Hufflepuffs. Nevertheless, it was lonely and despite his insistence that he didn't need friends anyway, Arnold wouldn't have minded some company.

Company came in his second year in the form of Alastor Gumboil, Lee Burke, and Bertha Jorkins. All social pariahs for one reason or another, the four formed a group and united against the injustice of social politics. Or they hung out a lot. You know, whatever. It was surprising, at first, for Arnold to find himself with friends. He spent the first few months expecting the lot of them to drop him as most of his former "friends" had. To say that Arnold was initially insecure would probably be an understatement. He watched the other three with a kind of paranoid acceptance, half wanting to get closer and half waiting to be brushed aside. When they didn't abandon him to a life of social isolation, Arnold set aside his plans to be one of those types that dies alone in their home, only to be eaten by their twelve cats. He had friends!.

Arnold wasn't in Hufflepuff for nothing. He was a good student, dedicated to his work, and his grades showed it. He had a tendency to take his studies a bit too seriously, imagining disaster scenarios if he missed one class or failed to to turn in one assignment. Through Alastor, Arnold learned to calm down a bit and have fun. In return, Arnold likes to think that he was something of a grounding influence on Alastor, helping him to realize that tests weren't just pieces of parchment with symbols on them.

In his sixth year, Arnold's family cracked and Constance moved out. It was always going to happen, Arnold supposed. His parents and his sister had never seen eye to eye, but it was weird going home for the holidays and not having her there. They still spoke and attended Hogwarts together, but there was a sort of coldness between them following Constance's move. Arnold's always felt a little guilty that he didn't leave with her, as if by staying at home he had sided against his sister. Regardless of their differences, Constance was still Arnold's twin. Seventh year rolled around and Arnold and his friends came to the unspoken conclusion that they would seek employment in the Ministry. Arnold and Alastor put their names in the ring for Hit Wizard training and things moved pretty quickly from there.

POST-HOGWARTS: Arnold quite liked all the paperwork that came with Hit Wizard training. It was orgaization! In paper form! How fun! Still, he also liked being active and when he finally got into the field, Arnold knew that he had picked the right career. It didn't hurt that he had Alastor with him too. He moved out of his parents' house at eighteen, relocating to London to be closer to work and closer to his friends. He has since, much like his mother, begun to collect stray animals, which is technically a violation of his building's policies, but shhhh.

Arnold hasn't had much luck in the dating department, but that's nothing new. Girls generally ignore him and Arnold's a little to far into the closet to approach other men, so he usually spends his date nights at home. Every so often, his parents question him about relationships, but Arnold usually changes the subject to the new cat he just brought home.

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, 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.

• Okay, so I've never RPed as Arnold Peasegood because I think Arnold is a dumb name and I usually like to have my characters have some sort of canon background. Yes, those are my reasons and I'm sticking to them. Still, I like the little group of friends he has set up and Arnold just kind of spoke to me and now I'm really excited to play a character who I can really make my own.

• MINISTRY TROLLING/SHENANIGANS. I feel like in games like this it's easy to write off neutral Ministry employees as "boring" because they aren't directly in the conflict, but when you think about it, they're probably one of the most affected groups. They have to deal with these things on a regular basis. I'd like to develop Arnold's political views more. Currently he's just kind of "I don't want to talk about it," but I bet his exposure to politics thanks to his job are going to change his mind.

• PLOTTY MINISTRY SHENANIGANS RELATED TO THE WAR. I feel like Arnold's the type of person to discover a mysterious package that was intended for an Order member and get his hand blown off as a result. (Not that I actually want his hand blown off because I rather like him having both hands, but you get my point, right?)

• Dating For Dummies. Arnold needs to learn to talk to people that are not in his immediate circle of friends and/or who may or may not be a potential romantic partner. He's sweet and deserves somebody special, but he also needs to get past his school aged prejudices of assuming that everyone around him is probably going to be a douche to him. Moreover, he needs to develop some confidence, man. He's kind of getting there with his job, but he can be more confident in other parts of his life too.

• I had a cracky suggestion here about Arnold and his friends starting a band and taking the wizarding world by storm, but I guess I should put something semi-intelligent. I always think it's interesting to explore the whole blood purity issue. For example, Arnold's technically a halfblood (I'm not sure if being the son of a squib makes you one, but his grandmother was a muggle, so I guess it's irrelevant), but he was raised in an environment of magic. He knows magic. That's his life, but other wizards, more pureblooded and bigoted than he, could tell him that he's not magical enough. Just because of his bloodline. I imagine that can mess a person up and given the fact that Arnold's already prone to insecurity, it's just a fascinating combination. On a cracky note, Abraham Peasegood invented Quodpot and Arnold should totally be related to him and inadvertently be the heir to the Quodpot fortune or something, ohmygod

JOURNAL ENTRY: The old lady down the hall's been dead for two weeks and no one noticed. I knew there was a reason the corridor smelled funny. I fed her cats for a month once, when she went on holiday to America. I bet those cats tried to eat her. I read once that they go for the eyes right away, but I can't remember why. I'd like to think that Morris wouldn't eat my eyes, but he's already kind of fat and doesn't seem to like me very much. Not that I think he'd vengefully eat my eyes or anything like that. He just probably wouldn't hesitate. I'd hesitate, though. If it were just Morris and I, trapped on a desert island with no food.

Christ, this journal entry's gotten away from me a bit.

RP SAMPLE:Ugh, I had samples that were on Inksome and since that site doesn't exist anymore....have an original Arnold sample. Hot off the press:

Mostly, Arnold worried about his shoes. They were very clean, practically shining from where he had polished them, so naturally something was going to happen to them. Arnold's grandmother, rest her soul, had always said that appearance was very important and Arnold took that to heart. He had read somewhere that people judged one another within the first ten seconds of meeting and most of that judgement was on physical appearance alone. So, always looking your best really wasn't such a crazy idea if you sat down and thought about it. Arnold certainly had and hence, the shoes. He just knew something was going to happen to his shoes. Alastor would step on them and scuff out the shine. A rogue hex would cover them in slime or horrors, blast them to pieces. He could step in a puddle. The list was really endless and it frustrated Arnold to no end. There wasn't anything wrong with wanting to look professional on the job, but sometimes it was difficult maintaining the level of decorum that he hoped for. Inevitably, he went home every day with his hair out of place and a new tear in his clothing.

He quite liked the job, though. There was something satisfying about hexing a criminal in the face and then arresting them. Arnold knew that Constance would try to psychoanalyze him, tell him that he was taking out all the frustrations that he didn't vent on unsuspecting criminals. If he was, so what? They were criminals anyway and it wasn't as if Arnold was breaking any lies by being a little more aggressive. He certainly wasn't going out of his way to torture anybody. Besides, everybody needed to blow off a little steam. Criminals did it by committing dangerous acts and Arnold did it by committing perfectly legal acts to the bones of a criminal's hand or nose or foot.

Nobody in Arnold's family had pegged him for a Hit Wizard. A professor, maybe. That's what his mother had always said, her eyes soft and proud. She always thought the world of him, but Arnold also knew that deep down, his mother (and his father, too) had always thought he was a bit sensitive. Soft, even. Too soft to be in a career that required physical activity beyond shelving books. It had been almost funny to see their faces when he had told them that he and Alastor were going to train to become Hit Wizards together. His father had asked him if he had lost a bet. But it was...it was good, what he was doing with his life. It made Arnold feel strong. It made him feel visible and for someone who had spent most of his life being practically a fly on the wall, that was something that he needed.

So yeah, maybe ruining a good pair of shoes was worth it.