Among Wolves

Name/alias: Mod Age: I got mistaken for seventeen again the other day, sufficed to say it was sort of compliment. Timezone and Availability: Still looking for a life. EST Previous Experience: Here and there Are you comfortable with writing/reading mature situations?: Never (yes)

IC

FULL NAME: Mary Aileen MacDonald—Aileen being an old family name. D.O.B./BLOOD STATUS: Muggleborn SHIPS/ANTI-SHIPS: Mary/Chemistry, Mary/Controlling (others), Mary/Manipulation (of others), and Mary/Bested. FC CHANGE (if applicable): I need to do an gif hunt or two honestly. OCCUPATION:

Mary MacDonald has not had very many ‘typical’ jobs. The magical world didn’t light her candle the way she thought t would as a child and the job prospects she garnered ewer… less than desired. When she stumbled back into he muggle world she found she had a similar problem—with the equivalent of an elementary education she couldn’t get the jobs she wanted. Nonetheless, she did do some work—as a secretary once, and a short stint working at a fry up.

Her work now, by comparison, is much more interesting and rewarding—even if it doesn’t come with a traditional paycheck. The long and short of Mary’s job description is ‘assistant’ which many presume to mean ‘secretary’. However, day to day she is far less a pretty face with tea and far more the right hand woman no one wants to cross. Sure she organizes time tables—but its to clean up messes and make arrangements for things that are, more often than not, incredibly grey. She’s the one who digs up those who have been bitten without sanction (and, perhaps, she has sanctioned one or two—whose to know if the rumors are true or false) and sends Remus to tend to them, the one who first ferrets away the Pack Members who don’t wish to be seen, and she’s certainly the one getting right up in other pack member’s faces the moment she hears  a whisper of discontent.

Mary is utterly devoted to the Pack and it is because of that devotion that she will do anything for it.

BIOGRAPHY:

Nope

THREE PERSONALITY STRENGTHS AND THREE WEAKNESSES:

Unbowed

Pray for the dead and fight like hell for the living. Mother Jones

Mary as a child played at demure, she was gentle and sweet and really had no idea what the world would be by the time she had managed to survive school. In short, she was an easy target. It didn’t matter that she was in Gryffindor, that her bravery was of a different sort then, she was chosen because she was easy and less likely to scream. 

That’s not the case anymore. It took years and several disappointments but Mary has finally snatched her voice and aggression by the teeth and she doesn’t want to let it go. She has opinions—and she’s earned the right to voice them. Mary MacDonald grew out of being a peace keeper and its a trait that hasn’t lead to many endearments. 

It a strength in the way that it signifies her inability to give up. 

Resourceful

There’s nothing more dangerous than a resourceful idiot. Scott Adams

Mary is good at looking at whats around her and finding a use for it—being items or people. She’s good at slight of hand, better at observation. While her ‘roughing it’ period has mostly ceased with the acquisition of the Lestrange Manor, Mary still likes to keep things minimalist and reuse them. If she had more time, she’d be making quilts out of old clothes but since she doesn’t she uses her mild gift to get other people to be resourceful for her. A table’s broken? Why not fix its leg with those wood scraps over there. Out of one ingredient? Well, Mary might not know what to use in its place but she has a decent idea of who might. This resourcefulness is born out of the need for self-protection. Mary would like nothing better than to never be without some sort of protection and, in many instances, she’s found ways to make that happen even if some of her ‘resourceful ideas’ are impractical.

Devoted

Loyalty and devotion lead to bravery. Bravery leads to the spirit of self-sacrifice. The spirit of self-sacrifice creates trust in the power of love. Morihei Ueshiba

Mary comes off as brash, oft unreasonable, and sometimes even vicious—it’s hard to think of her as soft or loving. Nonetheless, it’s her devotion to not only the Pack but the Pack Members which both motivates and softens her—at least to a degree. Being on the offensive, being group protective—means that their members are likely to stay safe. Being abrasive is a very small price to pay for over all protection. The Pack, Fenrir in particular, helped give her a place, a home, and a purpose and Mary in turn wants to give that to others. Sometimes her interests are misguided but there is, generally, a reason for them—and more often than not it circles around towards her sense of devotion and care to the Pack. Without her devotion and care to temper her, Mary would have long sense either become a dictator and hurting others would be strictly without care or reason.

Closed-Off

What we remember from childhood we remember forever - permanent ghosts, stamped, inked, imprinted, eternally seen. Cynthia Ozick

When Mary talks about her experiences—there’s a damn good reason for it. Sometimes its manipulative, sometimes its to prove a point—but she doesn’t open her mouth lightly. Not about her time at school and not about her attempt to rejoin the Muggle world. Those who get her to speak about any of these without purpose are bound to be close friends because in most cases she uses her memories like daggers.

This can be seen as a good thing, of course, but given the close nature of the Pack it can seem odd or disquieting when general information isn’t freely given. Mealtimes are good times for bonding and sharing stories and Mary simply won’t share anything that didn’t start about two years ago which could lead more than a couple wondering if they can really trust her.

Controlling

Am I bossy? Absolutely. I don’t like to lose, and if I’m told ‘no,’ then I find another way to get my ‘yes.’ But I’m a loyal person. Naomi Campbell

Mary could be said to have very little self control—but its a statement that belays her need for control of those around her. Both are, in reality, rather true. Mary both enjoys pushing boundaries that display a disregard for self-control…while also pushing and demanding others do as she says. This trait roots itself in manipulation and thrives under Mary’s more blunt demands.

She likes getting people to do what she says—and its even better if the person used to be a Death Eater. Mary would dismiss any implication that her liking of control of others stems from her lack of control as a child—but its hard to dismiss the possibility entirely.

Life In Extremes

We’re self obsessed and mad and stupid - not that other people can’t be the same way - but the extremes are kind of honest in some mad way. Anyway, I like them. Kenneth Branagh

With great passions come great emotions. Mary doesn’t do anything by halves—be it anger or joy, sadness or pleasure. It’s an honesty that is missing from her conversations and memory sharing and its an honesty that live on her face and features. This would be considered a positive except that it is a feature that is rife for manipulation and creates a subtle unreliabliliy. When the scale is tipped from positive to negative, or negative to positive, a single solution to a problem can change wildly. There are more than a couple reasons she opts for more behind-the-scenes roles, although she’s not self reflective to really parce why.

IC OR OOC QUESTIONS

What are your Character’s thoughts on Werewolves?

Werewolves to Mary prior to becoming one were monsters that looked like vicious dogs. She got the idea mostly from books—text books and fluff both. She honestly never gave them much thought at all—having never really been one for fantasy movies. Then, once Hogwarts ended Mary went home—what did she care about Death Eaters and Werewolves then?

Since becoming one herself Mary sees werewolves in an much more flattering light. While her opinion was rarely strictly negative, now it can only be flattering. Sure, turning every full moon is painful—but there’s protection and family there. Sure people want to kill you—but they always wanted to, as far as Mary is concerned. The positives of community and support outweigh any negatives and it is because of that she’ll pitch to just about anyone. The Pack is open—and who wouldn’t want to be a part of it?

Was your Character ever a Death Eater/Order Member? Why? Have their views changed now that Werewolves have become a motivating force? How does your Character feel about having to work with people they used to be fighting against?

If Mary had ever been a part of the conflict between Death Eaters and Order Members it is unsurprising she’d be on the side of the Order. Fortunately or unfortuantely, she spent that section of the war hidden away in the Muggle World. The Magical World with its prejudices and its cruelties made Mary want nothing to do with it—not even attempt to fight for her own rights or right to live. That’s not to say she doesn’t know what a Death Eater is and certainly not that she doesn’t hold more than a little contempt for them. It may seem cruel but Mary likes knocking Death Eaters down a peg. She was all for having both Lestranges changed and she would not be above whispering in Rabastan’s ear about pushing Rodolphus along in becoming a full werewolf. Her whispering in Amycus’ ear about not biting Alecto is much the same. It’s her way of exerting control and power over people she sees as a threat. Former Death Eaters are, in many ways, just as much of a threat now as they used to be to Mary. She might very well work with them—but she’s always expecting some teeth in her neck when she does.

How do you intend to play your Character?

…I realized that once people are broken in certain ways, they can’t ever be fixed, and this is something nobody ever tells you when you are young and it never fails to surprise you as you grow older as you see the people in your life break one by one. You wonder when your turn is going to be, or if it’s already happened.Douglas Coupland

Mary is a character motivated by the past and the future simultaniously. She has tried living as a Muggle and as a Witch but its only been with the Pack where she has felt entirely comfortable. As a werewolf she feels she finally has the power to make a difference and a the chance to be something other than a victim. It’s unfortuante that in her zealotry to divorce herself from her childhood terrors she falls prey to some of the actions that she disparaged in others. Mary paints much of her choises in the clothes of ‘for the betterment of the Pack’ and she might very well believe her actions are just that. However, they also often toe the line between morally acceptable and morally wrong.

I want to play Mary as a woman driven by her own minor demons who falls prey to her own grey morals in her zealotry. Passion is as much of a weakness as parallizing fear and Mary simply hasn’t learned to find a middle ground that allows her to exist between the two extremes. This is not to say that Mary is unreasonable but that her reasons are stark and leave very little wiggle room. She will do what it takes and clean up the messes because this is the place where she’s most at home and she’s not certain what she would do without it.

IC PARA EXAMPLE:

OOC

Name/alias: Janie
 Age: 25
 Timezone and Availability: CST - I’m on every day, at least a little bit, barring catastrophe.
Realistically I may not be able to post replies on days that I work but I definitely lurk on mobile and am always available for plotting or the like. Previous Experience:  Currently Fenrir in this game, assorted Rodolphus incarnations-links available upon request Are you comfortable with writing/reading mature situations?:  Yes, although I reserve the right to fade to black as well as the right to not read a particular thread if I choose.

IC

FULL NAME:  Rodolphus Aldéric Lestrange D.O.B./BLOOD STATUS: Pureblood.11 November 1952 Age: 30 SHIPS/ANTI-SHIPS:  Rodoltrix is canon but we’ve moved well away from that, haven’t we?  I don’t see Rodolphus as interested in a “relationship” as such.  He’s so angry he doesn’t have any love to give.  This is not to say he wouldn’t sleep with someone.  He just won’t be lovey-dovey.  So my starting ships are:  Rodolphus/Werewolf Hate, Rodolphus/Revenge, Rodolphus/On the Run, Rodolphus/Rescue Rabastan, Rodolphus/RP Should Be Fun ANTI-SHIPS: None in particular. FC CHANGE: I usually pick Ian Somerhalder or Matt Bomer because I love some pretty-boy Rodolphus but in this instance, I feel Rodolphus should appear a little rougher around the edges.  He’s had a rough 16 months.

OCCUPATION: former Death Eater, current escaped Pack prisoner BIOGRAPHY: No, I’m satisfied with the bio as is.

Three personality strengths //Three personality weaknesses

I have chosen to combine these sections.  I have taken six personal qualities/characteristics and shown how each can go from strength to weakness, as well as identify where Rodolphus falls in each quality at the time he joins gameplay. 

Self-Confidence/Arrogance:Self-confidence is not the same thing as ego. This is not to say that the two don’t (frequently) dance hand in hand down the street, pushing over old ladies in crosswalks and kicking baby kittens. But they are definitely not the same entity. Ego is thinking you have all the answers. Self-confidence is knowing you don’t have the answers, but being pretty sure that you will be able to find them. ― Maggie Stiefvater

Rodolphus is supremely self-confident.  It is one of his greatest strengths.  He believes whole-heartedly in himself and his confidence shows through, at times inspiring confidence in others through no more than his conviction that he cannot be beaten. 

Because Rodolphus believes so firmly in himself and his own hype, he tends toward the arrogant side of this equation if left to his own devices.  After all, when you keep hearing how good you are at spellwork and curses and potions and Quidditch and everything else, you begin to believe everyone thinks so.  He hails from one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight Pureblood families.  He grew up wealthy, he is intelligent and was well on his way to becoming very powerful.  Until October 14, 1981, he had not had a reason to be humble. 

After he and Rabastan were captured by the werewolves they intended to murder, forced to sign over ownership of the Manor and grounds, imprisoned in one wing of the mansion, etc., Rodolphus lost most of his arrogance.  He still has his self-confidence, muted by imprisonment, now tempered by caution but bolstered (soon) by escape.

Determined/Unyielding:  Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never—in nothing, great or small, large or petty—never give in. Never yield to force. Never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.― Winston Churchill

Determination could be Rodolphus’s middle name. Once he makes up his mind to do a thing, he is hard to dissuade. He works out what he thinks is the best way to achieve his goal and points himself in that direction, letting no one and nothing distract him. He devotes as much time and attention as he needs to get the job done, no matter what that may be. Anyone or anything between him and the completion of his goal either gets out of his way or becomes collateral damage. Because he does not know how to give up, Rodolphus can become too focused on his desired resolution for some project, failing to take into account along the way factors that should be addressed.

He can be so convinced that his way is the only right way that he will not listen to other ideas. He will not even consider the pretense of seeming to relax on an issue in order to have an easier path to his chosen outcome. He is the type of person who, if confronted with a brick wall in his path, would first look for a battering ram to break through the wall rather than a door to walk through.

This set is harder to pinpoint for Rodolphus.  He leaves his ancestral home with few possessions, taking only what he feels he needs, or maybe what he feels like keeping from the Pack.  One of his new goals once free (to be expanded upon in his Three Things, if I am accepted) will be destruction of the Pack in general.  To what lengths will he go to achieve this goal?  We shall find out.  This line of thought leads us to…

Passionate/Obsessive:  My fault, my failure, is not in the passions I have, but in my lack of control of them. ― Jack Kerouac

Rodolphus is passionate about anything and everything he believes in.  He does not do anything by half measures.  His guiding tenet is “If one does a thing, one should do that thing both thoroughly and extravagantly.”  He was once devoted to the idea of keeping the world safe from Muggles and Muggleborns.  Now his focus has shifted to the eradication of werewolves.  He takes this self-imposed responsibility very seriously.

In fact, his passion on guarding against werewolves may often border on the obsessive, the weakness in this character trait.  He brooks no “nonsense” from anyone attempting to sway him toward a more temperate view of the Mutts.  Now that Death Eater is no more than part of his history, he’s set his sights on an enemy much worse than Muggleborns ever dared be.  He is reluctant to say all werewolves deserve a long, agonizing death, as that would condemn his beloved younger brother.  This may be one of the few conflicts in his thinking about werewolves.  He wants to think that he can finish the Wolfsbane potion, rescue Rabastan from Pack life, and everything will go back to how it used to be.  He knows that’s only a nice dream but he likes to pretend once in a while.

Resourceful/Manipulative:  You don’t have to worry about burning bridges, if you’re building your own. ― Kerry E. Wagner

Rodolphus is quite resourceful in temperament.  He tries always to have a plan for reaching his self-imposed goals and can be quite imaginative in the ways he does this.  He is always on the lookout for something ― anything ― that will be useful in his projects, no matter what they are.  He often sees a way out where others would see none.

If he is at a loss for the acquisition of new, useful tools, he is not above using others and/or twisting situations to acquire what he believes might be needed or useful.  He is charming when he wants to be, manipulative and conniving.  He will act in the way that best gets him what he wants.

Loyal/Vengeful:  It is easier to forgive an enemy than to forgive a friend. ― William Blake

Some might be surprised to know that Rodolphus is a loyal person but he is.  His first loyalty is to his family, especially his younger brother, who despite believing himself to be one of “Them” now is still his only remaining close family.  He is loyal to himself.  He is not one for self-sacrifice simply for the good of others.  He has a few friends that have earned his loyalty and they can depend on Rodolphus to help them in whatever way they need, no reservations.  However, he currently doesn’t have much left to care about and doesn’t have much care for those who called themselves friends and yet never tried to rescue him or Rabastan.

If anyone shows him or herself to be a disloyal, untrustworthy person then Rodolphus swings to the opposite end of the spectrum in this trait and becomes incredibly vengeful.  If he feels wronged, or is crossed in any way, he will hold a grudge and he will get revenge.  He has no mercy for anyone who crosses him and he does know how to hold a grudge.  Get on his bad side and he will bring Hell right to your door.  If he is fully angered or feels wronged in some way, he will pursue satisfaction to the detriment of any other business he may have.  This has been a small problem for him in the past and is very likely to become a future problem as he pursues his vengeance against the Pack.

IC OR OOC QUESTIONS

What are your Character’s thoughts on Werewolves?

They are evil and must be destroyed.  Enough said.

Was your Character ever a Death Eater/Order Member? Why? Have their views changed now that Werewolves have become a motivating force? How does your Character feel about having to work with people they used to be fighting against?

Rodolphus was a Death Eater and a good one.  His views have definitely changed after sixteen months of living in his own (former) house as their guest (prisoner) and not for the better.  The sympathies of the ex-Order Members and their love of Muggles and Muggleborns is still not to his liking.  That is beside the point now that werewolves have a real chance of infecting the entire population.  If there is anything good to be said about Muggle-lovers or those with Muggle blood, it’s that they aren’t contagious.  Annoying, yes.  Disgusting, certainly.  As much of a danger as werewolves?  Absolutely not!

Have Werewolves replaced the status Death Eaters/Order Members/Muggles used to hold? Are they comfortable working with people they used to fight against or are they liable to back stab.

Werewolves are the new enemy.  Rodolphus is certainly not comfortable with Order Members and very iffy about Muggles.  He’s completely against the Pack.  He might back stab if he could get away with it but beggars can’t be choosers and after escaping his confinement, he will be a beggar. 

How do you intend to play your Character?  "Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. But anger is like fire. It burns it all clean." ― Maya Angelou

This is going to be something new for me, as far as Rodolphus on Tumblr goes.  Sixteen months ago, his entire world changed, and not for the better, if you ask him.  He started the day he was supposed to wed Bellatrix Black on a high note, with an early-morning attack on the werewolf pack turning the UK Wizarding World upside down.  He thought they would wipe out all the wolves and be home in time for lunch.  Boy, was he wrong.

I hope to take the young Death Eater with the world by the tail and extrapolate him into a version who is older, (perhaps) wiser, certainly sadder, maybe even a little cautious now that he was beaten to a degree that it took him sixteen months and more than a little luck to extract himself from his situation.

Rodolphus will be angry, he will be bitter; he may shout and throw things from time to time.  Arguably, he has a lot to be upset about.  He will be looking for allies to help him achieve his goals. 

My plan is to have him leave with all his notes on the Wolfsbane potion and its creation, which has been his project during his confinement.  He might be able to overcome the two strikes again Fabian for being a Muggle lover and a werewolf long enough to work with him on finishing it. 

During his imprisonment, not only was Rabastan turned into a werewolf, but Rodolphus was tainted in much the same way as Narcissa.  Will this affect his personality?  It has to, doesn’t it?  I’m planning that he won’t be as completely in control of himself and his emotions as I would normally play him.  The whole diet change (raw-ish meat) is something completely different. 

 IC Sample: