footsiesinit @ 2008-06-26T21:49:00

2008-06-26T11:49:40Z

cornfoot, stephen douglas.

Name: Stephen Douglas Cornfoot
Gender: Male
Date of birth: 31st May, 1980
House/Year: Ravenclaw (1991-1998)
Blood status: Pureblood
Sexuality: Heterosexual
Suggested livejournal username: footsiesinit
PB/Avatar: Jim Sturgess
Physical characteristics:
Stephen’s on the handsome side, and fortunately carries his dark hair and dark eyes set on his pallor complexion quite well and to his advantage. He wears his hair long and leaves it untidy or uncombed (“Comb? What comb? What is this comb you speak of?”). Also common to his appearance is a light stubble which he allows, having deduced that it made him looked older than he really was long, long ago and now sticking to the habit. That isn’t to say he doesn’t go out and about clean-shaven, but one should not be surprised if there was an urging female behind the clean-shaven look.

He doesn’t seem to have any distinct sort of style about what he wears, although of late – Stephen’s been forced to take more notice of his wardrobe, the world of Witch Weekly being rather infiltrating. And besides, being dragged off to a 101 on how to dress by a couple of pretty witches is hardly something to complain about. Or forget.

Distant History:
Though his father hailed from Scotland, Stephen himself was born in London – where he spent the early, formative years of his childhood. His mother stayed home for his first year of life, but was too eager to get back to work to continue a longer sabbatical, and a nanny was hired by his father, Iain.

After a freak accident that left him motherless at the age of five – he was relocated to Edinburgh, Scotland where he visited (read: ‘lived’) in the boisterous house of his Uncle Angus and Aunt Tabitha. Although he was an only child, he never did feel so – growing up under the wings of his two older cousins, the very serious and bossy Rosie (six years his senior) and the quieter but sneaky and mischievous Ainslie (four years his senior).

Tabitha Cornfoot was a Muggle-born witch and insisted upon sending all her children, Stephen included, to a local primary school and highly encouraged their mingling with the local children. However, Stephen’s father, Iain, was less than fond of the idea and insisted that Stephen be tutored at home. A governor was hired for the occasion. Fitzgerald Hobble, alas, was a blood-purist snob who turned his nose up at Stephen’s Aunt and cousins – and on many occasion, he tried to convince Stephen of his views. But the boy was kind and loved the family that had shown so much affection to him and wouldn’t hear a word of it. Eventually, the governor was found out and fired. Still, Iain did not acquiesce to Tabitha’s advice on the logic that it would undo any damage done and pack his son off to a Muggle day school. Instead, he merely asked a recently retired colleague of his if he’d oversee his son’s education.

He and his father did not often spend time together. Iain was a workaholic Auror who was later accepted into the Unspeakable Department around the time that Stephen started at Hogwarts. Stephen did try to understand, but he went through something of an angry phase that lasted through the better parts of his third and fourth year. After the death of Cedric Diggory, whose father Iain did know well, he was shocked and moved enough to begin really reaching out to his son. Stephen still tends to think of his Uncle Angus as his choice of a father figure and despite the nagging, the two share a very close bond.

While attending Hogwarts, Stephen spent all his term breaks (Christmas and Easter) with his Uncle and their family in Edinburgh, and first two summers in London with his father and traveled abroad if Iain desired the time off. He considers himself Scottish, though, speaks in a Scottish accent and takes the piss out of the English whenever he deems it appropriate – which may or may not be appropriate timing socially, or ever.

He fitted in well with the boys in his dorm, not being the sort to pick an argument or fight. And, like most boys of that age, had a number of crushes throughout Hogwarts. Unlike most boys of that age, he picked up the art of flirting reasonably well – although perhaps not quite as well as Michael Corner.

Also in his third year, Stephen joined the Quidditch team as a Beater. He and Michael made a fairly decent team over the years – but he can’t say he was as concerned or zealous over the results as his friend was. So when Ravenclaw lost the cup to Gryffindor at the end of their fifth year, he got over the loss in reasonably good humour. That being said, he also didn’t have a zealous Gryffindor girlfriend to rub it in his face endlessly either.

The first time he ever tried Firewhiskey was over the Easter of his fifth year. In was Ainslie who offered to him, and as he was fascinated with what was otherwise forbidden to him, accepted the offer eagerly. The first shot was a bit of a smack to the face, but foolishly, he indulged in more of it and drunk himself sick – but before he got to that stage, became Ainslie’s confessional booth as she spilled the beans on her very unplanned pregnancy and was immediately sworn into secrecy. As she was only nineteen herself, she had a melancholy time trying to determine whether or not she wanted to have an abortion or not. Morally against it, Stephen tried to persuade her to have the child, irrespective of whether she planned to keep it. Rosie was let in on the big secret, and between the two of them, Ainslie was convinced to present her problem to her mother. Tabitha assured her youngest daughter that she would support any decision she made, and was the proudest of the lot when Ainslie gave birth to little Stewart Cornfoot nine months later.

Being a pureblood in his seventh year meant that Stephen was never targeted by the Carrows and therefore would have had it easier than some of the others – had it not been for the fact he was never able to shut his face when it came to his friends. He too underwent a bit of torture – which did subdued and wised him up very effectively.

His aunt being a Muggleborn, however, meant that his closest relatives were targeted. Despite Iain’s best efforts to keep her out, Tabitha was rounded off to Azkaban post the Muggleborn Registration Act. Miraculously, she too survived the ordeal, and being a resilient sort of woman, allowed the experience to help her grow stronger.

Recent History:
The end of the Battle at Hogwarts left Stephen in a comatose state. He didn’t last long into the whole affair, for he was knocked out by a curse five minutes into the battle. He suffered some temporary memory loss when he woke up a month later, but this has been restored to him since.

Oddly enough, despite the memory problems, Stephen opted to sit his NEWTs over the summer and actually did quite well. He earned Os in Transfiguration, Charms and Ancient Runes, an Es in Care of Magical Creatures, Herbology and Astronomy – but please don’t ask him about Defense Against the Dark Arts. That’s the grade he conveniently ‘forgets’ about. Even to this day.

However, a lack of direction (other than writing novels) or enthusiasm for getting a ‘real job’ and an inability to stick at one thing for any longer than a year meant that he went through a number of strange jobs in an effort to support himself financially as he wrote. The one he liked best of all, in his opinion, would have been when he was a Research Assistant, but apparently that occupation was the one that left him the most creatively drained after a day at work.

In the time since he’s graduated from Hogwarts until now, Stephen has managed to finish a manuscript, but decided he didn’t like it and is in the process of re-writing it. As well as starting, and most likely, giving up on the next five.

Current employment status:
Stephen’s currently stationed at Witch Weekly as their assistant fashion photographer – Lord knows how. He’d gone in out of desperation, trying to land a writing job – even if was the ‘Wizard Reveals All: What He Means When He Says…’ column. And ended up being asked if he knew how to point and shoot.

The last gig Stephen had was managing during the day at Flourish and Blotts, only to be ‘let go.’ Or in his words he, “took the, uh – forced, opportunity to bow out in favour of pursuing my true ambitions in life.” This was only two months ago. He’s had difficulty in sticking at one profession long enough, and not usually thanks to his work ethic, but more or less out of a lack of interest and a flaw in his ability to persevere.

Personality:
Upon first impressions, it’s not hard to determine that Stephen’s a generally cheerful sort of guy. And upon striking up a conversation with him, one would readily discover that he is witty, and communicates himself fairly well, owning a certain articulation and fluency in the way he both speaks and writes. On the other hand, one might be dismayed to learn that he also very inquisitive. To a fault.

Talkative, Stephen has no problems carrying on the majority of a conversation, which matches him well with those who prefer to listen. But thanks to his curious nature, even those who smile and nod in obvious deferment can’t get away with it. He’ll take any knowledge he can get, and does not frown upon been fed the latest gossip.

Being rude or patronizing to him won’t help. He likes a challenge, especially an intellectual challenge. Depending on the level of rudeness, Stephen is proud enough to demand apologies when offended. But his pride doesn’t just extend to himself, offending his friends will cause him to demand in rational terms that you owe an apology. Failure to do so will only earn you a grudge, the sharp end of his more antagonistic wit, and a great deal of disrespect forthwith. If he doesn’t like you, he’s not averse to making you look stupid – because in his eyes, that’s one of the most humiliating things possible.

Stephen’s got a high self esteem and refuses to be anyone’s doormat. Nor does he think anyone should ever have to be one.

Offending parties aside, he’s usually good-hearted and good-natured, who is readily adaptable and perceives the world around him both sharply and wisely.

On the other hand, Stephen hasn’t always been the most dependable of people. Because he requires there to be a buzz in the atmosphere, he is easily bored, and suffers a lack of attention span. Long study sessions went terribly in his youth, until someone finally suggested that perhaps the best way for him to get through it was to schedule frequent and very short breaks. He also fidgets to an irritating degree, asks questions endlessly, is easily distracted and doesn’t always finish what he starts.

He is prone to having ‘brilliant’ ideas, and not always following through. He sees possibilities and can easily forget reality, requiring people who have their feet on the ground to pull him down – though he certainly doesn’t enjoy the process. Stephen’s also given to mood swings, and despite his usually cheerful demeanor and optimistic outlook, is capable of brooding like the best of them.

Messy is only the half of it when it comes to his living habits. As he generally doesn’t care to think about the more mundane things in life, this is exactly what gets left to the wayside. It’s not that he can’t clean the dishes. He just doesn’t seem to think he ought to do them if he sees them unclean. This thoughtless arrogance is bound to rub a flatmate or two the wrong way.

player.

Niyki.
aim: niyki
cdj: lovepolygon (feel free to friend)

click click click

footsiesinit @ 2008-06-26T21:49:00