Ian Fleming

[Ian Fleming]

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{ A B O U T . Y O U }

Name: SeraphAngel
Gender: Female
Age: 22
E-mail: [e-mail]
Twitter: twitter.com/SeraphAngel731
Years of RPG Experience: 2
Other: (removed by staff)

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{ Q U I C K . Q U I Z }

How did you find us? —
What about ISS inspired you to join? —
Do you have any suggestions for us? —

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{ A B O U T . T H E . C H A R A C T E R }

Name: Sebastian “Ian” James Fleming
Age: 16
Gender: Male
Year: 6th
Face Claim: Jensen Ackles

Canon or Original? Original

*Credit goes to Didi for all quotes from Imogen Sauveterre

Facial Properties: “Lots of girls say Ian’s attractive. It’s weird, I mean, he’s not ugly, haha, I don’t think so many girls would have superficial physical crushes on him if he wasn’t attractive in the least. But I don’t really think about his appearance often. Someone in my House called him ‘pretty’ once. I laugh.” —Imogen Sauveterre, Ian’s instabestie best friend

The transformation of Ian Fleming from a young boy to a young man is evident in his face, which has lost the roundness it had in childhood and now has a fairly masculine look about it. Mostly free of the awkward traces of puberty by now, Ian has a chiseled face with a square jaw and dimpled chin. He is usually clean-shaven, although he can occasionally be seen with a day’s growth of facial hair. On top of his head, Ian has light brown hair that is softer than it looks, even though he doesn’t do anything special to make it that way. When he spends a lot of time in the sun, which isn’t out of the ordinary for a young man who lives on a farm, his hair can take on a slightly blonder coloration. He tends to keep it short because it’s convenient and feels most comfortable to him that way. His forehead is of average size, met at its bottom edge by two rather expressive eyebrows. He has a habit of raising either one or the other at people or things that pique his interest. Beneath those are his eyes, evenly spaced, with irises a deep shade of olive green. On either side of his head are his ears, both of which are average-sized and don’t stick out in any particularly noticeable way. Ian’s nose is mostly unremarkable, being of an appropriate size for his face and without a very distinctive shape. A light spattering of freckles crosses his nose, but with his skin tone, it isn’t noticeable unless one looks very closely. His lips are perhaps the least masculine feature of his face, being fuller and softer than one might expect. Ian possesses a smile that is always genuine under normal circumstances, because he doesn’t believe in faking emotions simply for the benefit of other people. Overall, Ian’s face can be considered quite attractive. Ian himself supposes he must be good-looking, at least by the standards of a significant portion of the population, but it doesn’t matter much to him personally.

Physique: “You know that feeling when you hug a teddy bear? Imagine teddy bear with a six-pack. And I don’t mean the kind of six-pack that’s delicious to drink.” —Imogen Sauveterre

The masculinity of Ian’s facial structure is complemented by his definitively masculine body shape. Weighing about 185 pounds, Ian has an athletic build—muscular, but not overly so. He has a sturdy frame with broad shoulders, and his muscles are mostly firm, with some definition. They’re toned enough to show that he regularly puts them to use, but they’re not hard enough to prevent him from being comfortable to hug. Having reached the height of 6’1” within the past year, Ian is taller than the average male his age, but not so tall that he towers over everyone else he knows. He’s pretty physically fit from years of doing farm chores and playing sports. His calloused palms show that he is no stranger to hard work, and he’s developed a healthy tan from spending so much time outdoors. Ian also has a somewhat distinctive walk, due to the fact that he’s a bit bowlegged from all the time he’s spent riding horses over the years. In terms of strength, he is no slouch, being accustomed to moving heavy things and performing other physically demanding tasks around the farm. Ian keeps himself fairly healthy because he prefers not to be ill if he can help it. Clothing-wise, he tends to dress for comfort rather than style, but he’s not opposed to wearing fancier clothes if an occasion warrants it. He has fairly simple tastes as far as clothing goes, and he’ll usually ask for help from someone more fashion-savvy if he feels the need to pick out something stylish.

Wand Type: Rowan, 13”, supple but sturdy, ashwinder ash
Wand Expertise: Good for protection charms
Patronus: Gray wolf (“Timber wolf. Not a white or black one, just the typical grey. Not that he’s not ‘special,’ he is, but Ian doesn’t stand out in a crowd unless you know him. He can function on his own, but he does his best when he’s with family—or in his case, friends. He’s the type who could be the alpha and probably would be. Quiet, intelligent, but according to White Fang, good for entertainment.” —Imogen Sauveterre)
Boggart: His cousin Rose coughing up blood on her deathbed with a pained expression on her face (“He cares a lot about people, so of course he worries when they’re sick. Given his… history… it makes sense. Sometimes he worries more than necessary, but don’t give him a hard time. He’s just showing concern; what’s wrong with that?” —Imogen Sauveterre); alternatively, his best friend Imogen huddled in a corner with a lifeless, haunted look in her eyes, scratching at her skin and bleeding profusely from the wounds (“… Though sometimes he worries too much.” —Imogen Sauveterre)

Personality: “Ian is almost infuriatingly calm. I mean, for some people, it’s great, he even helps keep their tempers under control just by being there. But for the ones who want an argument? Yeah, there are a lot of buttons to push in difficult places. He can get angry, he can get upset, he feels emotions just like every human being… he just has a lot of control over them.” —Imogen Sauveterre

Ian has an exceedingly calm disposition. He doesn’t lose his head over minor crises, and compared to most people, he can be very patient. Unless someone is about to get seriously hurt, he doesn’t usually feel the need to spring into action. He can wait out temper tantrums, whining, and even unjust accusations without losing his cool. He’s pretty stable, mood-wise, and he’s able to stay fairly levelheaded even in times of distress. Rapid mood fluctuations aren’t his thing. He doesn’t get flustered easily, and he doesn’t get very upset over trivial matters. It takes something pretty serious to get Ian truly angry, and even then, he’s not the sort of person who tends to fly off the handle. He tries to curb any harmful impulses, physical or emotional, that he might have while angry, because he greatly dislikes hurting people if he doesn’t have to. On the rare occasions that he feels strong urges to inflict physical violence, he almost always directs it at inanimate objects, because in his point of view, hurting someone else doesn’t usually solve problems or make things better.

“Ian doesn’t sugarcoat reality, he doesn’t deny what’s in front of him. He knows what’s real and what isn’t, and he’s not going to hide just because he doesn’t like it or it scares him. He deals with what life throws at him the best way that he can and hopes for the best possible outcome, but he doesn’t pretend that the negative alternatives can’t happen.” —Imogen Sauveterre

Ian is very much a realist. He stays conscious of what’s really going on around him, ignoring neither the positives nor the negatives of any circumstance. He’s very down to earth, and he doesn’t like to hide from the truth, even when it hurts. He’s not afraid to call a spade a spade, and he prefers not to beat around the bush in serious situations. When he needs to make a point, he can be very blunt about the way things are, sometimes coming off rude, even though that’s not his intent. When it comes to himself, he is well-aware of his own abilities, and he has no problem admitting his own flaws, because what’s the point? They’ll still be there whether or not he accepts them or pretends they don’t exist. Ian doesn’t deny the facts of life, because he wants to be able to appreciate the things that are good and try to improve the ones that aren’t. He’s not afraid to face pain if he needs to in order to make things better for himself or others. He deals with the realities of life, even if they’re harsh, because he wants to live, not just float along in a gutless existence.

“It’s intimidating, how comfortable he is with himself. Believe me. He’s not embarrassed about who or what he is; you can’t even really throw him into a situation where he would be. He’s accepted himself, whatever flaws or positives he may have.” —Imogen Sauveterre

Ian knows a great deal about himself, and he is very comfortable with the person he is. He doesn’t hold any long-standing regrets about anything he’s ever said or done, and he’s definitely not afraid to be himself. Why should he be? He is who he is, and as long as being himself doesn’t hurt anyone, he doesn’t see any need to change it or feel bad about it. Ian presents himself as he is, without facades. He doesn’t bother trying to hide who he is from other people, and he never tries to be anyone but himself. He knows he has flaws, but he tries his best to be a good person, and that’s all he can reasonably expect from himself. Because he is so comfortable in his own skin, he is very difficult to embarrass. What others think of him has no bearing on how he thinks of himself. He doesn’t have much to hide. He’s not ashamed of who he is, and he doesn’t believe in pretending to be someone he isn’t. He thinks it’s meaningless to lie to himself that way. That doesn’t mean he’s incapable of change. If he discovers something he dislikes about himself, he’ll go ahead and do something about it instead of moping around convinced that he’s a terrible person and nothing can ever change. Ian is confident in who he is and doesn’t feel the need to prove anything to anyone, even himself. He thinks for himself and isn’t easily swayed by other people’s opinions if they don’t make sense to him. He lives the way he wants to live, on his own terms, and if someone else doesn’t like it, so be it.

“Ian is himself, and Ian is honest, but… he doesn’t wear his emotions on his sleeve. He can mask his emotions, he can mask his thoughts. But he doesn’t lie. He’s… it’s complicated.” —Imogen Sauveterre

Ian is a very genuine individual. He doesn’t like keeping up pretenses, and he’s not afraid to speak his mind, once he knows what he thinks about something or someone. He usually thinks before he speaks, but he can be rather blunt at times, unintentionally embarrassing people or making them uncomfortable. In his interactions with other people, if he senses that there is more behind someone’s words or actions than there appears to be, he doesn’t hesitate to call attention to them. Ian can be pretty hard to read sometimes, keeping things to himself until he’s ready to share them. He doesn’t always reveal his every thought or feeling, but whatever he does show is undoubtedly real. He likes to express himself as honestly as he can so people can understand him the way he understands himself.

“Ian is perceptive almost to the point of being intrusive. Maybe it’s just me and the fact that he knows me way too well, but he can read people. Body language, tone, eye contact or lack thereof. He wants to understand the human mind, and he does a good job of it too.” —Imogen Sauveterre

Ian is also a rather perceptive person. Very often, he is able to see behind appearances to get a better idea of the way people are inside. He’s good at seeing behind people’s words and actions to their true meanings and intentions. He understands people’s needs and wants, sometimes beyond what they themselves are aware of. Ian has a good intuition for what makes sense for people and what doesn’t, and it tends to become more accurate the more he interacts with them. This is because he pays attention to people, and he listens when they talk. He can’t read thoughts, of course, but if he knows a person well enough (or even when he doesn’t), sometimes it seems like he can. Ian likes to understand people, but not academically, as something to be studied. He doesn’t think of them as puzzles for him to figure out. They’re people, and he likes to understand how they think and feel so he can interact with them on a more personal level, if they let him.

“You’d think with how little Ian says that he’d be a bit of a recluse or antisocial, but it’s really not the case. Ian tends to say… well, what’s necessary. He won’t talk your ear off, but don’t be surprised if he does say more than three words per sentence. He’s open to share almost anything about himself to someone curious enough, unless it’s too personal, in which case he will tell them to back the fuck off. Well… not those words, but you get the gist.” —Imogen Sauveterre

Ian isn’t the most outgoing person in the world, but he’s not shy at all. He’s very open to getting to know people, even though he doesn’t always make the first move when meeting them. He enjoys conversation a great deal, despite not being particularly talkative himself. For Ian, the personal connection between him and someone else matters much more than the number of words he can produce. For this reason, his sentences can be rather short, making him appear somewhat taciturn. Oftentimes, people don’t quite understand what he’s saying at first because they only see the surface level of his words. Other than with his closest friends (and even sometimes with them), it usually takes a little bit of confusion and some explaining before people understand what he really means. Ian doesn’t fill his speech with a lot of nonsense. He says what he means and means what he says. He doesn’t always volunteer information about himself, but he’ll answer direct questions if people ask them. If something comes up that he doesn’t want to talk about, he’ll just say so, although there is very little that he is unwilling to share. He doesn’t mind showing people his true self because he isn’t afraid of being vulnerable. The opportunity for closeness and genuine interaction is more important to him than the risk of being hurt.

“I guess some people call it easy-going, but really, Ian is just level-headed enough that he’s able to take whatever life happens to throw at him. He takes the steps to prepare himself for certain things and events, but he doesn’t really plan ahead too far into the future. He doesn’t spend ages figuring out the what-ifs. He just… is natural, I guess.” —Imogen Sauveterre

Ian likes to be prepared. He plans when he needs to, but he doesn’t get bogged down in minute details. He thinks before taking action, certainly, but he’s no perfectionist. He doesn’t carefully plan his every move, because he doesn’t see the point. He can never be absolutely certain that things won’t change sometime, so why get worked up trying to account for every possible occurrence that may or may not happen? He’s a creature of habit, certainly, but he doesn’t get inordinately anxious over minor interruptions in his daily life. He’s flexible. He can adapt, and he does it without a fuss. He doesn’t feel the need to control everything around him. He doesn’t throw fits, have nervous breakdowns, or freeze up if things don’t go the way he expects. He just takes in the new information and tries to deal with it the best he can. He understands that life comes with all kinds of surprises, so when things happen unexpectedly, he puts in the effort to adjust and learn from it in preparation for the future. Ian is calm, rational, and can think clearly in a pinch. When other people are panicking and don’t know what to do, he stays focused and doesn’t let fear or doubt take precedence over what needs to be done. He’s quite capable of taking charge in emergency situations, because he knows how to weigh consequences, and he has a fantastic ability to see what needs to be done. When problems arise, Ian immediately tries to make solutions. He does what he can, he does what it takes… If something needs to happen, he’ll do it or find help to get it done.

“Ian doesn’t like to live in the past; he’s a very present-oriented person. He doesn’t think on his past mistakes unless he’s learning from it. He doesn’t have many regrets, and he doesn’t like doing things he’ll regret. That’s not to say he’s not fun. He is, duh, otherwise I wouldn’t like him. He’s open-minded enough that he’ll try things if they seem fun, he’s just cautious of the riskier things in case someone can get hurt.” —Imogen Sauveterre

Despite his ability to prepare for the future, Ian can be very spontaneous. He’s been known to go skinny-dipping in the middle of the day and kiss girls out of the blue, just because he felt like it. He prefers to live a life with as few regrets as possible, so he’ll often choose to act on his impulses. Basically, he does what he wants. Because unless what he wants is going to seriously hurt someone else, he’s not afraid to go after it. If no one’s going to get hurt, and there’s a chance he might like it, he’s willing to do it. Aside from providing him with a readiness to have fun, Ian’s present-oriented attitude can also be applied to more serious matters. When he discovers problems in his personal life, he doesn’t hesitate to take steps to resolve them as soon as he knows what needs to be done. He doesn’t like to pussyfoot around when it comes to important issues, and he doesn’t like to live in the past. Sometimes he makes mistakes, but he doesn’t hold on so tightly to his regrets that he can’t move on. Ian lives in the present, guided by memories of the past and goals for the future.

“Ian takes his future seriously, so he takes the present seriously. He does the work that’s required of him, not just to pass but to give himself more and better opportunities for life. He’s not the most intelligent student, but he’s not an idiot. He asks for help when he needs it.” —Imogen Sauveterre

Sometimes going after what he wants doesn’t yield immediate results. Ian’s perfectly fine with that. When that happens, he takes the steps needed to get what he wants. Ian is intelligent, but he isn’t a genius. He gets good marks in most of his classes at Hogwarts, but that is due less to his natural academic ability and more to his determination to do what needs to be done in order to achieve his goals. He is a very practical-minded person and understands the value of learning to prepare for what he wants to do. He has less interest in learning for its own sake than in learning things that can be useful in the future. To him, schoolwork isn’t necessarily enjoyable, but he wants to do as well as he can in it in order to achieve his goal of becoming an Auror. He works hard, putting as much effort into his studies as needed in order to do well. He doesn’t give up easily. He’s confident in his abilities, but he isn’t prideful. He has no problem admitting when he doesn’t know something, and he’s not ashamed to ask for help when he needs it.

“Ian is a believer in free will and letting people make their own choices. He’s not… it’s not like he knows the right choice and is letting them make mistakes just so that they learn their lesson. He’s not vindictive or anything. It’s just up to them, not him.” —Imogen Sauveterre

Ian is very open-minded. He stays firm in his own beliefs while respecting the right of other people to have their own opinions. He doesn’t force his viewpoints on anyone, and he doesn’t let anyone force theirs upon him. He knows what he thinks and believes, and he doesn’t feel an overwhelming need for his ideas to be validated by other people. However, if confronted with a logical argument, he isn’t afraid to admit when he could be wrong. Ian doesn’t expect everyone to live the way he does, and he doesn’t usually force people to do things the way he wants them to. He believes in letting people make their own choices. However, if he feels that someone is making a mistake, he doesn’t hesitate to make his perspectives known. He expresses his concerns as best he can to help that person understand what he or she is doing. He keeps an eye on his friends’ physical, mental, and emotional well-being, but he doesn’t interfere unless he needs to. Ian doesn’t like to violate people’s privacy or free will in order to help them, so he’s really good at keeping sensitive information secret, even without being told to do so. He’s trustworthy and treats people the way he would like to be treated, but he doesn’t necessarily expect them to follow suit. He accepts that people are who they are, although that doesn’t mean he thinks there is no room for change. His main concern when it comes to the way other people act is when someone else gets hurt. He gets upset when people make selfish choices that harm other people. However, he forgives people’s transgressions if he feels that they are truly remorseful. He’s not naïve enough to believe that people will do the right thing just because they say they will, but he doesn’t cling so tightly to the fear that he’ll be hurt again that he isn’t willing to give them a second chance. If it can make things better, to Ian, that's worth the risk. He doesn’t believe in leaving things up to fate; he believes in making choices. When people don’t know what to do, sometimes he helps just by pointing out opportunities for them to make good choices. He tries to help people however he can, but he knows that, in the end, he can’t change anyone who doesn’t want to change.

“If you want to look at it simply from, like, a job interview standpoint, I can easily just say that Ian’s probably one of the most reliable and dependable human beings you’ll ever meet. I don’t think I’d be lying or exaggerating, either. It’s because he doesn’t judge anyone for anything. A person can rely on Ian to be someone who’ll listen to them, no matter what the situation is, and Ian will just accept it, and sometimes his acceptance is more healing than any half-hearted words of comfort from someone who doesn’t understand, or who doesn’t care to understand. Ian cares, not just about people, but about each person that enters his life, and he doesn’t stop caring.” —Imogen Sauveterre

Probably the most important, defining characteristic of Ian is that cares about people. A lot. Once he knows someone, it’s almost impossible for him not to care about him or her, even if the other person is determined to maintain some sort of antagonism for him. He is protective of everyone he cares about, but he is most protective of the friends closest to him, the ones he understands best. He worries perhaps a bit more intensely than necessary about his friends’ and family’s physical and mental health concerns, but not without reason; he doesn’t see problems that don’t or couldn’t exist. Ian is very considerate of other people, and he can be rather selfless. It doesn’t matter who a person is; if someone needs him, Ian will be there for him or her. If someone needs help, he will do whatever it takes to protect them. If it comes down to his own safety or that of a person who can’t protect himself or herself, he will always put himself in harm’s way instead of letting someone else get hurt. He puts other people’s needs before his own desires, and, short of things that would completely tear his soul apart, he would do anything for the people he loves. He takes all of his relationships seriously, trying to achieve as much emotional intimacy with people as he can. Ian is very sincere in his dealings with other people. He’s willing to be there for others, in whatever capacity they need. He’s an extremely good listener and a very accepting person. He can see the worst parts of people yet still value them for their best qualities. He’s also not the kind of person who offers comforting words to people simply to soothe their emotions if he doesn’t mean them, which makes them all the more meaningful when he does say them. Ian has a natural compassion for people in general, and his chosen career path is an extension of that. After much learning and thought about the nature of the Dark Arts, he has decided to pursue becoming an Auror in order to protect those who need to be protected and stop those who would corrupt their own souls in order to do harm. He’s aware of the danger involved in this line of work, but he’s willing to risk his own safety if it means he can help people who might otherwise be unable to help themselves. Although Ian is one of the most reliable people around, and he can definitely be counted on to be there if someone needs him, he really doesn’t want to be needed at all. It’d be great if none of his friends had problems they couldn’t solve themselves, if they were all just safe and happy and healthy, and no one needed him to be there for them. That doesn’t mean he thinks of other people as burdens, because he doesn’t. He just tries really hard to help people with their issues because he wants them to be as happy as they can be.

“His feelings for others are sincere. He doesn’t fake being someone’s friend. He knows how it is. Sometimes he doesn’t spare feelings, but it’s because he doesn’t want to lie and hurt people. It’s just… how he is.” —Imogen Sauveterre

Ian doesn’t enjoy hurting people for any reason, but he understands that sometimes it’s necessary to do so in order to help people. He isn’t afraid to be blunt if he needs to. If someone is being selfish or stupid and someone else (or even that person), is getting hurt because of it, he’ll call him or her out on it. Ian can be exceptionally blunt when angry, his words all the harsher because of how accurate they are. He doesn’t shy away from arguments if he thinks they’re necessary to make things better. However, he doesn’t insult people on purpose without a good reason, and he definitely dislikes hurting people just to see them hurt or to make himself feel better. Ian knows the value of hurting people for their own good, but he cannot abide hurting people for its own sake. He doesn’t tolerate unnecessary harmful behavior, and he’ll try to put a stop to it whenever he can. He would even stand up for a stranger if he noticed that that person was getting abused in some way. Essentially, Ian is very sincere in his compassion for others, and he tries to hurt people only as much as they need to be hurt.

“Maybe I’m a little biased, because I know that other people could come up with better strengths than this. But honestly? Ian is just so open. I mean, not in the sense that he’s out there and wild and loud. I don’t mean that. I mean he accepts everyone exactly as they are. He doesn’t try to mould them to be someone his mind prefers. He sees people. He sees individuals. No matter what their baggage is, he just… he accepts them. For being them. He doesn’t judge, he doesn’t pretend.” —Imogen Sauveterre

Ian is very accepting of people for who they are, whether they’re male, female, young, old, middle-aged, fat, skinny, tall, short, good-looking, ugly, disfigured, black, white, albino, gay, lesbian, bisexual, schizophrenic, dyslexic, Muggle, Muggle-born, pureblood, rich, poor, religious, non-religious, or whatever else a person might be, because he doesn’t believe in denying reality. To Ian, those are all just labels. Yeah, they each come with certain meanings attached to them, and he doesn’t deny the existence of these meanings, but in the end, what really matters to him is who people are, not just what they are. He’s not blind to the differences; he just doesn’t care to use them to segregate himself from other people. People with disabilities or conditions? He treats them only as differently as they need to be treated. He isn’t insensitive to their needs, but as long as those are met, he doesn’t bother treating them as a separate class of people, because he doesn’t see them as a separate class. They’re different—of course they are—but they’re not different. Ian dislikes discrimination against groups of people for things that don’t hurt others and aren’t their fault. Why should a person dislike or be afraid of someone else simply for being different? No one in the world is exactly the same as someone else. Ian doesn’t like to assume things about people based solely off the categories they seem to fit into. He treats each person as an individual, because that’s what people are to him—individuals. He sees people for who they are, and he deals with them as they are and not who he imagines them to be. Ian is easy for people to be themselves with, because he doesn’t hold rigid expectations of them. More than likely, he’d be able to accurately predict what someone would feel, say, or do in a given situation once he’s gotten to know that person, but he’s entirely okay with being surprised by people when they don’t act the way he expects them to. Ian forms his own opinions of people and doesn’t tend to let rumors and hearsay predetermine how he is going to treat them. Looks are fairly inconsequential to his opinion of people. He isn’t completely oblivious to them. No, he’s aware of physical appearances, but he believes they’re only as important as people make them. He is able to appreciate physical beauty without making it a priority in the way he reacts to or treats people.

“I dunno, I tend to stay out of his sex life and it’s not like he talks about it. I mean. I guess it’s… active… But it’s not like he walks around with his pelvis leading the way or anything. He’s not driven by hormones. He doesn’t objectify girls or women. He doesn’t see everything with boobs as something to conquer or whatever. He doesn’t break girls down into specific types and just use a series of lines to get in their pants. He’s not perverted. From what I see, he treats each girl he’s with as an individual, but Ian also treats everyone as an individual, so I’m not sure if that’s much help. I mean. This is just what I see from him interacting with other girls. Really, I don’t know for certain. I’m not saying that Ian is with girls only for sex. I mean, god, he knows I’m a girl, and he’s not my friend for sex, you know? If he’s dating someone who isn’t ready to sleep with him, he won’t screw around on the side, and he won’t pressure her. He’ll wait until she’s ready, you know? He’s not like… god, this is embarrassing to think about. He’s not a sex fiend, he’s a guy—a considerate guy… You know, from what I’ve heard.” —Imogen Sauveterre

Because Ian is so invested in relationships, it isn’t surprising that he has had his fair share of romantic connections. He’s not overly concerned with searching for romance in his life, but when opportunities appear, he isn’t afraid to explore them. If he’s interested in a girl, he has no problem making that known, and he’ll pursue things further with her if she’s interested as well. Ian doesn’t have “techniques” that he uses with girls. He goes deeper, putting in a genuine effort to understand what makes each girl happy. In his dating life, he doesn’t tend to be the one who asks to make things “official,” not because he’s afraid of commitment, but because he just doesn’t need labels in order to understand what his relationship is with someone. He tries the best he can to make each of his relationships as fulfilling as possible, but if he feels that one or both of them would be happier with someone else, he’s not too afraid of hurting the girl’s feelings to call things off. He’d rather be honest and go through the pain as soon as he comes to that understanding, because he knows it’d just hurt her more if he led her on and it didn’t work out later. Ian doesn’t believe in any two people being perfect for each other or predestined to be together. He doesn’t believe that his goal in life is to find his one soul mate or die unhappy. He believes that some people are more compatible than others, and when someone finds someone else he or she wants to be with, the two of them can choose to be together and try to make each other happy. As a normal teenage boy, Ian enjoys sex, but it is by no means the only thing he seeks in a romantic relationship. In order for him to want to continue a relationship with someone, he needs to feel something beyond just the physical. However, for him, physical intimacy doesn’t necessarily have to be preceded by the deepest level of emotional intimacy—namely, love. He doesn’t take sexual relationships lightly, but neither does he subscribe to the idea that sex is the ultimate expression of love and thus can only be engaged in with his one true love. To him, sex is sex; making love is making love. He never pretends that one is the other, and he doesn’t lead girls on by making them think his feelings for them are deeper than they are merely because he has intercourse with them. He can read people pretty well, and he’s usually able to tell if a girl expects more from him emotionally than he is able to give. He tries to make sure that both he and his romantic partner are aware of and comfortable with where they stand with each other. Relationships in general are a two-way street, and romantic ones a joint venture. He’d never want to jeopardize his partner’s happiness simply because he didn’t bother trying to be really with her. To date, he’s never made love to any girl, simply because he’s never been in love. He fully believes he is capable of being in love someday (he doesn’t think of it as “falling” in love because he thinks that takes the concept of choice out of it), but he’s in no rush. He takes each relationship as it comes, exploring his feelings for each girl he dates before deciding whether to stay with her or move on. Although he doesn’t mind being in open relationships as long as all parties involved are aware of the situation, he does not approve of cheating and would never knowingly do it.

Likes:
+Understanding people
+Seeing girls blush
+Reading
+Muggle cars
+Playing sports
+Horseback riding
+Animals
+Being outdoors
+Being with his friends and/or family
+His friends and family members being happy, healthy, and safe
+Selflessness
+Defense Against the Dark Arts, Charms, Transfiguration, & Care of Magical Creatures

Dislikes:
–Discrimination
–Regrets
–Being angry
–Being depressed
–Lying to people
–Hurting people
–Illness
–His friends and family being hurt
–Losing friends or family
–Selfishness
–People who hurt others without remorse

History: The Darwins were a normal Muggle family, as far as anyone knew. James Darwin and his wife Annabel were a pair of Muggles raised in the farming tradition of the English countryside. After their marriage, they lived peacefully together for a few years on a dairy farm in Cheshire before deciding to start a family. Their first child, Aaron, was remarkably easy to care for and brought the couple much joy. Within two years, he was joined by a sister, Melanie. Melanie was an exceptionally happy child, and she became very attached to her big brother. Another two years later, Annabel became pregnant again, this time with twin boys, Jacob and Michael. The Darwins adored their children and, with the financial success of their farm, decided they were capable of having an even larger family. Aaron and Melanie adjusted well enough to the roles of eldest brother and sister as they continued to gain a new sibling every year or two until Aaron was eleven. After the twins came Rachel, Alexander, Jonathan, Timothy, Tabitha, and finally, Peter. With so many children, they might not have had enough time to spend on each one, particularly with the long work hours required by the farm, but James and Annabel put in great effort to ensure that each of their children felt loved. The siblings made things easier on their parents by looking after each other as well, and the family grew to be very close. Any strange happenings that may have been caused by one of the children were explained away in the typical Muggle manner or otherwise lost amongst the chaos of the family of twelve.

The summer that Aaron turned eighteen, the Darwins received some rather startling news… by owl. Eleven-year-old Jonathan was a wizard, and he’d just been accepted into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Confused but nurturing of all their children’s life potential, James and Annabel listened carefully to the explanations given to them by a school official. After a long round of discussions, they finally decided to let him go away to the magical boarding school. Slightly envious but nevertheless supportive of their brother, Jonathan’s siblings saw him off and awaited his return on holidays with general good cheer. None of the other children turned out to be witches or wizards, and eventually they all sought their own directions in Muggle life. Melanie, for instance, loved children, and she decided she wanted to be a schoolteacher. While her older brother Aaron remained on the farm to help his parents take care of his younger siblings and assist with the farm work full-time, she went away to university, becoming the first of the Darwin children to leave home. A little homesick, she nevertheless made the best of life on her own. In her first year at university, she took classes, made friends with a variety of people, and adjusted to her new position as a young adult.

In her second year, she met Derrick Fleming. At first, she had no idea who he was. She only knew that every few days, as she passed by a particular area of campus on her way to classes, she would encounter the same dark-haired young man, asleep in the grass. He seemed to have a habit of taking naps outside in the early afternoon, under the shade of a tree. The first time she saw the mysterious napping man, she thought nothing of it. The next few times, she spared him some passing glances. By the fifth time, she was curious enough about the young man that she stopped to look at him for a few minutes. The next time she saw him, she stopped by just long enough to leave a pillow by his side, with a big, red bow attached to it. The time after that, she walked past him without pausing, smiling to herself as she noticed that he was making good use of the present she’d left him. On another day, she stopped to look at him again, and this time, he awoke. Melanie giggled as she watched him blink the sleep out of his eyes with the most adorable puzzled expression on his face, as if he had no idea where he was or what he was doing. Hearing the laughter, the young man turned to look at her. Always friendly, Melanie decided to introduce herself. In that initial meeting, she discovered his name and found out that he was going into a career in physical therapy, with a concentration on sports medicine, and that he had a habit of taking naps outside on warm days.

They met again. And again. Derrick was quiet, more of a listener than a talker, but he responded honestly and genuinely to Melanie’s attempts to get to know him. He was altogether more serious-minded than the young men with whom Melanie had had romantic interludes in the past, but she found his sincerity endearing. An asthmatic since childhood, Derrick had never been able to participate as fully as he would have liked in the outdoor sports of which he was fond. Nonetheless, he’d decided to channel that interest in a productive direction, helping other people who experienced unfortunate physical limitations but were willing to work to regain normal functioning of their bodies. Discovering more about Derrick with each meeting, and liking what she found, Melanie eventually began to take a fancy to him. Her romantic interest seemed to be reciprocated, as after several months, he finally asked her out on a date. Although the two weren’t really alike in temperament, they came to value important qualities about each other, and the initial attraction eventually became real love. Melanie brightened his life in a way he’d never expected, and Derrick moved her with his unobvious but deep concern for others. She loved him for his unwavering devotion to his family and desire to help people, and he loved her for her kind, generous nature and unrelenting desire to make people happy. Their relationship deepened and grew throughout the rest of their years at university, culminating in a wedding soon after Melanie’s graduation. After they were married, they moved into a small house in a quiet suburb, where they settled down to enjoy their new life together.

A few years later, after her brother Jonathan got married and had his first child, Melanie began to express interest in starting a family as well. Derrick, who loved his wife very much, had no objections. Some months later, after Melanie began to be ill in the mornings, she paid a visit to the doctor and learned that she was indeed pregnant. Melanie was joyous, and she held that air of happiness and excitement throughout her pregnancy. Derrick, a slightly overprotective sort of man, was a bit of a worrywart in the months leading up to the due date. However, were no major problems during the pregnancy except a potentially worrisome case of high blood pressure. Nevertheless, the Flemings’ first child, a son, was born on a cold winter morning in January, healthy and whole. He was named Sebastian James Fleming, after his paternal and maternal grandfathers, respectively. Sebastian was very well-loved. Melanie simply adored her baby boy, and she showed him as much affection as she could. As she had a tendency to be a little too forgiving of her child’s mistakes, Derrick ended up taking on the role of disciplinarian, though Sebastian was not a particularly unmanageable child. Sebastian was a bright and fun-loving little boy who liked to be fully engaged in whatever was happening in his life. As he grew, he proved to be a fairly active child, spending a lot of time engaged in sports and other outdoor activities. When he was three, the Flemings acquired a Shetland sheepdog, which they named Abby, after Derrick’s late mother Abigail. Sebastian and Abby were very fond of each other, playing together often, and the dog even developed a habit of sleeping in the boy’s bed with him. The small family was as close as could be. They also maintained strong connections with their other relatives, exchanging phone calls and holiday visits with Derrick’s sister Julia and her family and visiting the Darwins’ farm every summer for large family reunions.

When Sebastian was five years old, the Flemings decided they wanted another child. Melanie was just as blissful as she was during her first pregnancy, and Derrick was even more anxious over her health than he’d been the last time. The pregnancy seemed to be going fine at first. This time, however, Melanie’s pregnancy-induced hypertension developed into life-threatening pre-eclampsia. Late in the pregnancy, it became too dangerous for her to carry the baby any longer, and the only solution was to force her into labor. Unfortunately, complications arose during the procedure, and neither she nor the baby survived. Melanie’s death happened to coincide with the annual Darwin reunion, placing a damper on the event. Six-year-old Sebastian was extremely distraught over losing his mother, and Derrick seemed lost without his wife. Julia helped her brother set things in order after the funeral, but she had her own family to take care of, and she returned to her home in Scotland, unaware of just how bad things were going to get.

Without Melanie around, Derrick no longer felt the urge to do many of the things they’d used to do together as a family. He stopped reading Sebastian bedtime stories and taking him to the park to play. The memories were too painful. Unbeknownst to either of them, he was suffering from a stronger case of depression than mere grief. Being only six years old, Sebastian didn’t fully understand what his father was going through. He only knew that his dad was sad all the time and didn’t want to do happy things anymore. Now he had a father who was still there but not really there. Derrick stopped taking care of household duties as well as he should have, and his young son had to pick up the slack. Without his mother to make it for him and his father having difficulty getting out of bed in the mornings, Sebastian had to learn how to prepare his own breakfast, pouring milk over a bowl of cereal. As it became more and more difficult to get his dad out of the house, he started walking the dog by himself, staying in the backyard instead of venturing out onto the sidewalks alone. He had to remind his dad about dinner when he got too hungry to wait for Derrick to remember to make it. Not knowing what to do, he tried not to disturb his father, hoping he’d get better as long as Sebastian didn’t make things harder for him. The stress became too much. Once, when Sebastian had had to remind his father about dinner for the fifth time that week, he felt a quick surge of anger. The next thing he knew, a glass vase on the nearby table had shattered. It had been his mother’s, and he felt immediately guilty for breaking it, even though he had no idea how he’d done it. Things began happening that he couldn’t explain. They occurred when no one else was around, with only the dog as witness. Scared and confused, Sebastian didn’t say anything to anyone, not wanting to bother his father when he had enough to be going on with. Due to his failing performance at work, Derrick had lost his job and become even more listless at home. As his seventh birthday approached, Sebastian asked his father if he could have a party and invite his friends to go to the zoo with him, but Derrick said he had more important things to worry about. He didn’t ask again, and his birthday passed without fanfare. Although he tried not to hold it against his father, he was nonetheless disappointed when Derrick failed to get him a birthday present.

In late February, Derrick suddenly fell ill. Already susceptible to the condition due to his asthma, he’d managed to catch pneumonia from one of his rare trips outside the house. Thinking it was a more minor illness at first, he stayed in bed and didn’t think to call the hospital. However, left untreated, Derrick’s condition continued to deteriorate, leaving him too weak to move. He told his son to stay out of his room for fear that he would become ill as well. Although his father’s cough didn’t go away and only worsened, Sebastian tried to ignore the twisting feeling in his stomach as he told Abby, “Don't worry, Abby. He'll be okay.” He worried for days, even though his father tried to tell him that he would be all right. After some time, however, the severity of Derrick’s illness could no longer be ignored, and he told his son to call the hospital before launching into a bloody coughing fit. Derrick was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance. Sebastian went along, and he was in the room watching, terrified, while his father struggled to breathe and then finally stopped. The doctors were unable to resuscitate him. Shortly after, Derrick Fleming was pronounced dead. Too traumatized to react at first, Sebastian was taken into the hallway. When a sympathetic member of the hospital staff remarked on how he must be hungry, he responded immediately, his speech speeding up in panic, “I have to go home, I forgot to feed Abby, I have to feed Abby.” He broke down into tears. That was the last time he’d do so for months.

Sebastian didn’t cry at the funeral. He couldn’t.

He blamed himself for what happened. His dad was dead. And it was his fault. He hated himself for being so stupid. Of course he should have called someone, the hospital, anyone. He should have known that. But he’d been too scared. He was not brave, not brave at all. No wonder his dad didn’t love him anymore. And maybe he deserved not to be loved anymore, because he was bad and stupid and cowardly, like the Cowardly Lion, only he wasn’t a lion, and he didn’t think the Wizard of Oz would tell him he had the courage in his heart all along, because he didn’t. He missed his mum. He wanted her to be there to hold him and smooth his hair and tell him that everything was going to be all right, but everything was not all right, because she was dead in a box in the ground and his dad was getting put in a box in the ground and he missed them and he was sad and angry all the time and he didn’t know how he could ever feel better about that because it was all his fault. He shouldn’t have told his mum he wanted a little brother or sister because she died trying to give him one. He shouldn’t have lied when people asked if things were all right at home after his mum died because they weren’t, and he was stupid for trying to pretend they were. Pretending was lying. Lying was stupid. He was stupid. He even lied to Abby, and Abby was a dog. He knew lying was bad, but he’d done it anyway, because he was bad. He was like the boy who cried wolf. Except he was the boy who didn’t cry wolf, and he was worse than the boy who did cry wolf because that boy only got himself eaten, but Sebastian let his dad get sick and die, and that was worse.

After the funeral, Sebastian’s uncle Aaron came to take his nephew to live with him. His parents had retired and moved away, leaving the running of the farm to him after his father suffered a heart attack and was no longer able to keep up with the strain of that line of work. Aaron gave Sebastian his old room and tried to help him settle in, but the boy did not settle in. He didn’t do much of anything. During his first few days there, he spent most of his time lying on the bed, not sleeping, just staring at the ceiling, paying only a modicum of attention to the pet dog at his side. He didn’t care anymore. He didn’t want to do anything. The first time his uncle called his name, “Sebastian,” he made the quiet request, “Ian. Please.” He didn’t want to be called that anymore. ‘Sebastian’ had parents. Ian did not. His uncle chose to respect the new nickname, and from then on, he was known as Ian.

All too soon, the expected time for grief was over, and Ian was forced to get back into the normal swing of things. He didn’t. Ian was withdrawn both at school and at home. He didn’t make friends, he didn’t participate in class activities, he kept to himself during play time, he showed no interest in the sports he used to enjoy, he had trouble completing his classwork, and he had to be prodded to finish his meals at lunchtime. He spoke only when spoken to, and even then, only very little. Although Ian had never been a problem child, typically getting along with most people quite well, he even got in trouble a few times for snapping at people in occasional bouts of irritability. The other students thought he was shy or weird, or both, and the teachers thought he was having trouble adjusting to a new environment. The ones who knew about his father’s passing attributed his behavior to grief. They didn’t know about the feelings of hopelessness and guilt that plagued him day and night or the nightmares that made it difficult for him to sleep. He was given some leniency for his conduct on account of the mid-year transfer, which was sure to be awkward for a child of any age, and the factor of his parents’ deaths. His uncharacteristic behavior received more scrutiny at home, where his uncle was able to focus on him alone. Concerned, Aaron remained patient in his dealings with his nephew, feeling that the boy needed support more than reprimands. It all came to a head one day when Aaron took Ian to town with him on a routine errand. In the produce section of the grocery store, Ian stood listlessly at his uncle’s side until he noticed another family at the end of the aisle. Another little boy was tugging on his mother’s hand, begging for some snack or other, when his father picked him up to quiet him down. A flame of jealousy burned inside Ian’s chest. He didn’t even have one parent anymore, and that boy had two, parents who loved him because they weren’t dead and were still around to love him, and it just—it wasn’t— “It’s not fair,” he muttered. Beside him, Aaron looked down at his nephew, put his hand on his shoulder, and replied solemnly and honestly, “No. It’s not.” Before he knew it, Ian was latched onto him, bawling into his shirt. He stayed there until Ian had completely finished crying, paying no mind to the increasingly damp state of his shirt or the strange looks other people shot him. Finally, Ian managed to say quietly, “Sorry,” muffled by his uncle’s clothing.

It took him a long time to recover from the state he was in following his father’s death. Eventually, he realized it wasn’t fair for him to have lost his parents the way he did, but that was just the way it was. If he couldn’t accept that, he’d always be unhappy, and his parents wouldn’t want that for him. He still had other people who loved him, other people for him to love. His uncle remained patient and understanding the entire time, and Ian was very grateful to him for his support.

The summer after he moved to the farm, his uncle Jonathan’s family came to visit. His cousin Rosalie was particularly friendly and sympathetic to him. He got to know her very well, and she became his favorite cousin. Another summer, when Rose unexpectedly fell ill while visiting the farm, Ian became extremely distressed. Extraordinarily anxious at the thought of losing another relative to illness, he was very upset when he was told that he couldn’t visit her in the hospital. Unbeknownst to him, she’d been taken to St. Mungo’s Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, where he was not allowed to visit because he was thought to be a Muggle. The next summer, he was introduced to Benjamin Burke, Rose’s new friend and neighbor, who eventually became Ian’s best friend as well. The summer after he turned eleven, he received a letter addressed specifically to him. He was stunned to discover that it had been delivered, not by the postman, but by an owl. His uncle, however, was not. Aaron explained that Ian was a wizard, like his uncle John and his cousins Amanda, Rose, and Sophia. Benjamin turned out to be a wizard as well, and Ian took his first trip to Hogwarts with him and Rose for company. Stepping off the train at Hogwarts, he was met with the sight of carriages being pulled by reptilian winged horses, which he and Benji could see, but Rose could not. Now in his sixth year, he’s come to accept such experiences as part of being a wizard, and he continues to attend Hogwarts to prepare for the trials of magical life.

Sample Post: See posts from Alessandra De Luca.

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{ C O N T R A C T }

I solemnly swear that I, SERAPHANGEL, have read the rules, understand clearly what my responsibilities are now that I am joining ISS, and will abide by these standards set by the staff.

[bella]

Accepted !