MATTHEW LESTRANGE CUNNINGHAM______________________________________________________________________________________
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INTRODUCTION------------------------------------------------------------
FULL NAME: Matthew Lestrange Cunningham
NICKNAMES: Matt
AGE: 46
ALLEGIANCE: Order of the Phoenix
HOGWARTS HOUSE: Ex-Gryffindor
CLASSES: N/A
WAND: Oak, Dragon Heartstring, 11 inches, fairly bendy
PLAY BY: David Tennant
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APPEARANCE
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HAIR COLOUR: Brown
EYE COLOUR: Hazel
COMPARATIVE HEIGHT: 6 ft
BODY BUILD: Middle aged but fit
GENERAL APPEARANCE:Matt is a fairly fit individual for his age with a bit of a Scottish accent.. He regularly works out and maintains a diet of eating whatever the hell he wants. Running is a large part of his workout as it is easy to do when pressed for time and a good option for when faced with trouble. His brown hair is long in the front and is often gelled in an upward direction. Although on occasion it has been known to be shorter and an entirely different colour. Matt does not have a preference when it comes to how he likes his facial hair. He is known to have let it grown out to a full fledge beard and then clean shaven the very next day.
There is nothing special about the way that Matt wears his clothes. He likes a little of this and a little of that. But he’s always either wearing a pair of converse or nice leather shoes that go well with just about anything. He has a slight preference for warmer clothing because he’s constantly cold.
His bone structure is very well developed. His face is thin and his chin is fairly prominent when looking at him from the side. His legs are longer than his torso and his arms are wiry. For age fourty six he is a very attractive and young looking man.
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PERSONALITY
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STRENGTHS & SKILLS
- Blending in
- Defensive magic
- Solving puzzles
- Acting & piano playing
- Running
WEAKNESSES
- Mental abuse - Matt has always had to deal with some form of bullying throughout his life. And his father was a very large part of that. His father never laid a hand on him or his mother but he was very skilled in making them feel like crap. Years of the mental abuse from his father has caused permanent damage on Matt's ego and brain.
- Magical creatures - Matt can handle muggle made animals. But when it comes down to magical creatures created by wizards, he tends to freeze. The unpredictableness of magical creatures is far worse than non-magical creatures. It makes him feel vulnerable and weak and he simply freezes.
- Loud noises - Matt is a man who likes to think. At some points his brain could be working at three times it's normal speed. To keep his brain on track and in focus he requires peace and quiet and or soothing music. Loud noises break his concentration during these times. However, in times of trouble, he can think on his feet with out without his peace and quiet. Only on a rare occasion, however.
- An attractive woman - Obvious
- Kryptonite - Obvious
LIKES:
- Dueling for sport
- Peace and quiet
- Rainy days
- Music
- Video games
DISLIKES
- Religion
- Stupidity
- Loud noises
- Drinking
- Abuse of any kind
GOALS:
HABITS & QUIRKS:
Whistling;
Matt tends to whistle small tunes from memory when he's in a good mood. A lot of the time these songs are guessed by other people which pleases Matt. He takes pride in being a good whistler.
Twirling his wand;
When Matt is deep in thought he absentmindedly begins to twirl his wand between his fingers. Much like that of a gambler and a silver coin.
BOGGART: Spiders
PATRONUS: When his mother was officially stated "cancer free"
DEMENTOR: Any memory from his childhood starring his dad.
VERITASERUM:
Blames himself for his father's death;
After Matt had graduated from Hogwarts he had decided to stay at home for a while to keep an eye on his mother. He constantly worried about her when he was out at school. He was planning on moving out and sharing a flat in London with a muggle friend of his who was going to a school near where Matt had found a job. One day his father confronted him about his magical powers (for the fifteen billionth time) and pushed him a little to far. A burst of magical energy pushed his father back against the wall. Fearing for his life, Matt's father ran out of the house and proceeded to get drunk and eventually, in the same night, get run over by a vehicle.
MIRROR OF ERISED: Amelia
PERSONALITY:
Matthew Cunningham, overall, is a pretty nice guy to be around. He's not too rude, he's not too polite. He's one of those average guys everyone likes to hang out with. But Matt does have some major trust issues he should probably address at some point. Due to the nature of his father he finds it difficult to open himself up to people. He doesn't like putting himself out there in terms of emotions. Nor does he trust anyone with his life at this point in his life. But that doesn't mean he shut himself in a box. He just hasn't developed any real relationships; he's not even sure if he has the ability to.
Matt is a rather intelligent man who enjoys word problems and tactical thinking. He prefers having time to work things out in his head to the point when he is 100% certain of something but will rush his thoughts if need be. He is a very rational thinker but not overly rational and has ultimately come to the conclusion that there is not enough proof of a God. There may be something out there, he is not sure, but he'll be willing to admit existence the minute proof is offered to him. He is a worrier and constantly thinks about other before himself. He goes out of his way to accomodate the needs of others.
Despite his troubled past and unwarrented guilt Matt leads a fairly happy life. He prefers to stand in the background than center stage as far as publicity goes. But he's not above moving outside of his comfort zone. Ultimately, he is very adaptable.
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FAMILY & POSSESSIONS
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FATHER: Achilles Cunningham *deceased*
MOTHER: Johanna Keller
SIBLING/S: None
OTHER: Amelia
The mysterious Amelia that Matthew Cunningham treasures above all else. Nobody knows her story or connection to Matt. It is assumed to be a romantic connection because of the way he speaks about her.
BLOOD STATUS: Muggle Born
RACE: Human
SOCIAL STATUS: Middle Class
PET/S:
A German Shepherd/Husky mixed dog named Rex
OTHER POSSESSIONS: A pocket watch
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CHARACTER HISTORY
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Let's pretend the Matt that everyone knew and loved is gone. He never existed and he never will again. It's time for a fresh start for me, I think I'm ready for it. So here we go.\
Early Years:
Matthew Cunningham was named after his great grandfather on his mother's side who was also a wizard. Kind of ironic, huh? He was born and raised in Glasgow, Scotland and lived there during the summers away from Hogwarts. Anyway, his father had no idea that his son was going to become a wizard and his mother was wary of it. Matthew's father was not a very understanding man. As a matter of fact, he was rather cruel and abusive. Not physically abusive, no, that would be too easy to pin against him. He abused their brains and made them feel like they were useless. Matt spent years trying to understand his father but to no success. Eventually he gave up and started believing what his father said. His father never cared about him because he wasn't worth caring about. Nobody would ever care about him.
At school he was the kind of kid nobody knew. He sat alone at lunch, played alone at recess, and never had any real friends. Sure kids tried to be friends with him but he just couldn't do it. If he brought other people into his life they would hurt him and they would get hurt as well. He was worthless. He believed every single word that left his fathers mouth up until the day he received his Hogwarts letter. His mother was overjoyed, it was the first time he had seen her smile in what seemed like years. All his father could do was call him a freak and finish watching his television show.
Hogwarts Years:
It is rumoured that Hogwarts is where Matt encountered his beloved Amelia who changed his life forever. All that is known about Amelia is that Matt opened himself to her and was hurt, badly. Thus causing him to close up even more. But over time he would open slightly more; never opening his doors completely. The time spent at Hogwarts were the times Matt finds most memorable about his life. He had friends at Hogwarts who he actually liked to be around. Not only that but he was away from his father so he wasn't being put down all the time. But that didn't stop him from worrying about his mother. He wrote to her every week but never once did he get a reply. At the end of each year he would be riding the train home and wonder if his mother was still alive or not.
Again, Matt never stood out at Hogwarts. He was just that guy that everyone knew and wanted to hang out with. He was nice and sensitive, it's how he met Amelia. Of course he had to deal with the Slytherins, being a Gryffindor, but they weren't so bad really. It's during his time at Hogwarts he learned to perfect his defensive spells. He preferred to outrun and push them to the point of exhaustion then waste energy fighting back. It proved to be an effective method.
Despite not standing out amongst his peers all of his professors loved him. He was an excellent and intelligent student in all subjects but Care of Magical Creatures. A class he dropped the second he found out he was able to. He never understood the thought process of magical creatures. But cats and dogs, those he could understand.
Adulthood:
It's been many years since Cunningham last set foot on the Hogwarts grounds. He wouldn't go back even if he could, though. His time had passed at that school and it was time for a fresh generation to move on into the magical world. After graduation Matthew decided it would be a good idea to stick around at home and keep an eye on his father. Just to make sure that his mother was going to be safe without him around. His father confronted him and proceeded to call him an abomination and a freak. It wasn't until he insulted his mother that Matthew lost it. It was an accidental burst of magical energy that pushed his father up against the wall. Fearing for his life Achilles ran out of the house and was killed later that night. To this day Matt blames himself for his father's death.
Despite constant reassurance from his mother he will never forgive himself. Despite that unfortunate event Matt lives a normal and fairly happy life. It isn't to eventful or exciting but he likes it the way it is. He shared a flat with a mate he met online who was going to school close to where Matthew found a job before pursuing a magical career. Once his decision had been made to completely step into the magical world he removed all memory of him from his friends mind and never spoke to him again. That was how it was for Matt. If he let anyone in they would end up hurt. He joined the Order, got himself a steady job, and got his own place with his dog, Rex. Still suffering from his father's mental abuse and the grief of Amelia he does a good job at hiding it. Recently he finds himself thinking about those events more frequently.
What Matt needs is a good friend. A friend he can truly trust and he knows won't desert or hurt him. That's something not easily come by in this day and age. Will it be able to happen? Only I know because I do the plotting. And if you're actually reading the the application then you'll notice the the second the in the sentence I just typed. Thank you for reading this brand new application. You rock, don't ever change. Unless you're Darren, then you could probably be a bit nicer. Just kidding, you're cool Darry. Sort of. Eli's better.
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BEHIND THE CHARACTER
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ALSO KNOWN AS: Matt
RP EXPERIENCE: Several years
HOW YOU FOUND US: Ages ago
MAIN CHARACTER: Matthew Cunningham
PURPOSE OF CHARACTER: To roleplay
RP SAMPLE: - Spoiler:
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