(no subject)
Perpetua Perkins
blood status: Halfblood, raised alone in the muggle world by her muggle father. Her background is rather messy, with magical roots coming from both sides. She is distantly related to the old warlock from GoF -- but no, she doesn't suffer from lower back pain. Not yet, at least.
sexuality: Inexplicit about her sexuality. She has gone out with blokes, of course, but often finds herself physically attracted to the fairer sex, as they hold this title for a damn good reason. This has never been acted on, and will likely remain this way. "Geoffrey Hooper is as close to a female as I've ever got," is something she would say if ever asked. It's a small piece of personal information that really isn't important -- not to her, or even who she is as a person.
appearance:
Perpetua's gestures and expressions reveal every detail unless she tries hard to suppress them. She has never been afraid to look or act unappealing -- ultimately, a respectable bloke shouldn't care about one's ugly mug so long as one bears the figure and personality to make up for it. She has a prepossessing face, a look that is bright and expressive, and in the minds of quite a few, there's no denying that she straddles the objective line of gorgeousness when she is not being an obscene potty mouth with a penchant for indiscreet chatter. It took a while for her to fully grow into what she considers her best asset; she was quite the unattractive baby -- a sort of homely, deformity-ridden child people cover with a blue blanket, but now that she is more confident, more rational about her self-image in general, she can strut about audaciously, with a bold kick in her step, not giving a fuck what people have to say about her. Comments about her conventional appearance, whether they are positive, negative or trek the foggy road in between, are received with a clear head. She is not at all self-centered -- conceitedness is not the same as feeling snug in a maturing body, so naturally, she understands she doesn't fall under everyone's personal preferences, and she is accepting of this to the fullest extent.
While nasty remarks concerning her looks generally do not tear at her heartstrings, she is sensitive about certain imperfections, certain distinctive characteristics that make her more different than she would like. Her chin is rather pronounced, a little masculine compared to the rest of her feminine structure, and she has a birthmark on the right side of her long neck that is often mistaken for something it really, truly isn't. She's not a complete slag, yeah? Traditionally speaking, Perpetua is an attractive girl with finespun facial attributes, nearly all unworthy of sincere remembrance since they are so common: brown eyes, a small nose, a wide mouth, straight teeth. Her complexion is even all round, comparatively light and without many flaws or blemishes. There is very little about her face that is crude or unusual, and she is fully comfortable with being the cut-and-dried young woman that she is.
personality:
Unpolished and unkempt? Excellent words to employ when describing the basics of her nature (try to ignore the fact that those are both understatements) -- but somehow, whether it's in the way she winks at people or her wry little smile, she is both charming and enthralling in her own right. To be quick and to the point: an impudent and loudmouthed sweetheart who isn't too priggish to get her hands dirty. The self-possession that was handed down to her doesn't work in the exact same way as it did for her mother -- Perpetua isn't as arrogant, for one, and if she comes across that way, it's completely unintentional. Confidence is both a blessing and a curse, a little more of the latter in her specific case. To all outward appearances she can be an endless source of unbridled entertainment (this is a most highly regarded trait, one that she isn't afraid to boast about), and if she is in the right sort of mood, she will grin to the point forcing dimples into the sides of her pale cheeks. Her frame of mind swings like a pendulum; her strong, sturdy opinions are all that is consistent about her. She likes to purposefully feign stupidity and inarticulateness -- it's entertaining to her, and she doesn't care if people end up thinking less of her intelligence.
One of the biggest downsides to her being is stubbornness, and a sweeping inability to 'get over' things. There hasn't been any point in Perpetua's life where she thought twice about the beliefs she grew up with. She favours the good guys, supports them from a distance, and that will never change. She isn't afraid to hold a grudge and make it known that she is upset with someone. She holds all her friendships in fierce regard, and will get very emotional if ever stabbed in the back by someone she cares about. Her heart is a frangible part of something much stronger, and maybe the passion that is inside of her now is a postponed reaction to the absence of a mother. It's all a LITTLE complicated.
Perpetua has substandard study habits. She tries hard to do her best, preferring to do homework alone in a place that is secluded and quiet. Otherwise, she will have a difficult time focusing on the work at hand. With a mind that doesn't retain important information too well, certain subjects put forward a burdensome amount of difficulty. She does not have a favourite subject and seems to feel the same way about all of them equally. Though there are times when she can be absent-minded, her marks are acceptable, better than some, but certainly not exceptional. In her bright, bright eyes, it takes more than book smarts to pursue a successful career. Her foul mouth will help her plenty in her longings to become a pirate.
history:
Perpetua's wishy-washy mother 'gave up' on her when she was nine. Her name was Glennis and she liked to smile at good-looking, unavailable men. When they first met, Freddie fit those prerequisites in every part and aspect. She shifted about with a hint of a swagger, head and hips cocked to one side; Freddie had a splendid time indulging her every whim. He loved her confidence and sense of self, the sound of her voice and her overall fearlessness. She was beautiful, a bit mean, but her gorgeousness neutralised her offensive personality. Did Freddie truly and deeply love her as a person? Not quite! But that isn't to say he didn't make a conscious effort. He had a lot to work with. Glennis was a fine catch in most facets (her magical identity was never kept a secret to her husband; secrets weren't her 'thing' and Freddie already knew of the wizarding world); on her surface, she was the sort of woman he could take home to the family. The romance they shared was hardly fanciful -- it lacked in morals and legendary deeds. Tragically, nothing about it was allusive to folklore. It was nothing one would want to read about, or even be reminded of -- it was simply an ordinary predictable mess of a doomed marriage. Their entire relationship was haphazardly put together, built mainly upon naiveté and random physical attraction. No one was shocked when it ended, but no one would have told them so. Glennis called a muggle taxi the evening beforehand, packed her bags and levitated them down the staircase herself -- acted like it wasn't a huge deal. All she left behind were a few unaffected scribblings to her husband and the smell of her pricey perfume. Why? None of it was personal. Really. Glennis didn't hate her daughter or her life -- she, in fact, loved her little 'deformed' baby. Why wouldn't she? Anything less than unconditional love would paint her a little numb and a little callous, unworthy of even being considered a real mother. And hey, her circumstances deserved at least a trifle of sympathy. They really did. It's perfectly fair to state that it would have taken a ridiculous amount of self-depreciation for one to detest their own progeny, and in truth, that wasn't at all the case. In truth, she absolutely adored the rather well-to-do lifestyle she married into, in addition to all the superficial luxuries that went along with their contrived happiness. He wasn't that wealthy, just handsome and moderately successful. He had a spacious flat in the Westminster borough, his own car, and a few finely tailoured suits hanging in the back of his wardrobe. The money was neither old nor new. Women loved his humour and Glennis was no exception. And though quite a lot of magnetism existed between the pair of them, they weren't equipped with enough of what was needed to sugarcoat their marital problems. Sparks flew too briefly. Some things were not meant to work out, and it wasn't anyone's fault.
The real reasons why Glennis left were never revealed to Perpetua, and as unfortunate as the whole situation turned out to be, it was inexplicably obvious her departure had a lot to do with convenience; being and feeling inconvenienced; and just a general lack of maturity on both their behalf. She couldn't quite handle all the responsibilities of nurturing a young child; perhaps there were a few hidden occurrences of disparaging. It wasn't easy to spot -- after all, her own husband was surprised when he found out he would be raising his daughter all by himself. Whatever the problem was, in the end -- with all things considered -- Perpetua was loved, even if that love didn't last very long, even if that love wasn't as unshakable as it should have been.
The years together that followed were nice enough: a broken familial unit striving for prevalence. That particular happiness wasn't hard to achieve and they went about their respective lives as peacefully as they could. It wasn't easy for Perpetua to forget about Glennis, as she had known her for so long, but she somehow trudged through her hardships with remarkable grace. Perhaps she inherited some of the carelessness that her mother was infamous for? One would hope not, but if she had, it certainly helped in the long run. In and of herself, Perpetua was the only reprieve that was really needed: her father stuck around because he wanted to, not because he felt he didn't have a choice. The snotty little bugger who was quickly transforming into a pretty young lady was worth all the trouble in the world to him. He wasn't trapped, not by a long shot, and he also didn't feel he deserved any sort of plum for doing his job. Fatherly habits came about rather naturally; it was very cute the way he had taken to her. They roasted marshmallows over an old hearth, played rugby out front and embarrassed each other with awkward questions. During the holidays when their flat would seem lonely, Perpetua was taken to her grandmother's house. Her grandmother was the substitute for whatever womanly presence was missing in her life ( a doting mother, specifically), and it was all she needed. The family-oriented Christmases spent away from home were always something to look forward to. Her father was a little scared of what to do when she became a teenager, but he knew he would be able to handle whatever was thrown at him, somehow, if only just to prove raising a child wasn't that hard. Perpetua lived out the rest of her youth considerably well without the guidance of a real mother; her father wouldn't have had it any other way.
Freddie sought out other women and delved into relationships periodically, but nothing ever stuck -- maybe nothing was ever meant to. A bit of a depressing reality for him, one could say -- at least he had his vivacious daughter to keep him sane, laughing and on his toes.
Both Perpetua and her father were quite excited when she received her letter -- joyful and enraptured, but definitely not at all surprised, yeah? On their optimistic exteriors, they had both somewhat expected it, or hoped for it at least. There was no logical reason to renounce and dismiss her mother's side of her background, as it seemed like it would be quite fun to be a witch, if she could. Something a little different, right? They both realised that at this point, Glennis was permanently missing in action, but knew that remnants of her 'cold-blooded' nature existed inside of both of them, whether they wanted the memories there or not. Her mother would always be apart of who Perpetua was, as well as who she would eventually grow to be -- connections like that were inescapable and it wasn't something for them to have control over. To any outsider, Freddie was naive in almost every sense of the word. Regardless, with the help of others who aided a hand in raising her, he instilled a lot of pragmatism into the resilient bones of his daughter before sending her off to 'fend' for herself. It would either be Hogwarts or some other boarding school that was in closer proximity to where they lived in the end, so he didn't want to be needlessly dramatic about anything. He would see her soon. Freddie was a big part of the reason why she survived her first year without shattering or wanting to come home, not that she was especially frightened of the new environment. The only thing that bothered her was being away from the things she was familiar with, although she was more than quick enough to figure that a lot of her schoolmates were struggling with the same commonly encountered feelings. And yes: a small piece of her would have liked to be back inside what she considered to her comfort zone. A normal city life with normal city people; crowded metropolitan sidewalks; that awful inner-city stench, and of course, the occasional street rat somehow chewing its way into her bedroom.
Throughout the sluggishness that was her second and third years of study, she started to become one of the loudest voices amongst her coequals. A little obnoxious, as well, but in her honest opinion, whatever annoyances she created were well-deserved and focused only on specific acquaintances. Hufflepuff was a difficult house to defend against all the anticipated, tired and pointless aggression that plagued its denizens; it had been condemned as the house no one wanted to be in from the very beginning. Perpetua was fine with that. She reveled in challenges. She didn't mind being an 'underdog', so to speak, and there was a point where she began to join in on the rampant immaturity -- just for the sake of a good laugh, of course. She had no problems with being foolish to make it seem as though they were impervious to the weak insults received on a routine basis.
There was also a lot of sadness in Hufflepuff that year with Cedric gone and everything -- Perpetua was definitely the person people went to if they needed defence from tasteless remarks about his death. While she loved to randomly throw 'cunt' into random conversations, she had no patience for unintentional stupidity. The cunts. You just don't fuck around about a person's murder, especially not in Perpetua's somewhat menacing presence.
what does your character think of the current situation at hogwarts, especially the carrows?:
She hates them, and this is also true for anyone mindlessly supporting their so-called reign. Her antics are usually well-hidden: preserved for a later date to be discharged through her sense of humour. As someone inclined to not get into any serious trouble, in their presence, she grudgingly obeys their every command -- she isn't stupid enough to truly buy into any of the rubbish they teach, but makes a good show at pretending like their words are unmistakable truths. In point of fact, she doesn't understand how anyone takes them seriously, and has very little respect for those who praise them. Due to a surprising lack of leadership skills, she will never be the one to start any massive protests or rebellions. From the sidelines, however -- only from where it's safe -- her highly explosive fuel will at some point be added to the metaphorical fire.
what's your character's deepest, darkest secret?:
Her deepest secret is her sexuality -- actually, no. Not true. She has no problems screaming aloud to anyone who will listen that Padma Patil is quite hot. She is hot, isn't she? Why isn't Perpetua allowed to think that and say so? Truly, her deepest secret would have to be that she does miss her mother. She hasn't detailed to anyone her feelings about the situation; she is quite skilled at simulating an air of happiness so that no one will bother her -- she doesn't even speak about Glennis to her father. She never thought such indulgences were necessary in life, but now that she is growing older and becoming more of a woman herself, the heartbreak she should have felt a long time ago is beginning to finally catch up with her.
describe your character's Sorting. what about them caused them to go in their house?:
As strange as it may seem, Perpetua was nearly placed in Slytherin, and she probably wouldn't have reacted too well if such an disappointment had actually transpired. Like many who are phenomenally multidimensional (in other words: human), she possessed qualities befitting to several of the different houses, not just one in particular. To be completely honest, the little she had learned about the school wasn't enough to form any fair-minded opinions, but there was something engaging about Gryffindor. Something about what they appeared to stand for -- she couldn't place why their crest and colours appealed to her the most. She didn't really think about Hufflepuff, but yellow was an all right colour, and loyalty was just a lesser form of fervor.