NAME: JJ.
AGE: 20.
AIM: faeriexlights.
OOC JOURNALS: faeriexlights
PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE:

NAME: Terence Higgs.
AGE: 18.
HOUSE/YEAR: October 19, 1979.
SOCIAL STATUS: While certainly not members of the aristocratic elite - Terence, unlike many of his housemates, can not trace his roots back to the origins of time itself - the Higgs undoubtedly have money enough and, in fact, money to spare. Although Terence's mother is a Wilkes, a family name which does indeed have a bit of a comprehensive background, she is similarly the last of her line, her only brother having been killed during some rather shady business dealings decades previous. The Wilkes' have become quite destitute over the years, and Catherine Wilkes was thus forced to marry into a social class below her own, to a man who can best be described as nouveau-riche. Nevertheless, James Higgs, an extremely successful barrister known for his ruthless tactics and impeccable winning streak, has provided his family with more than enough money to support their extravagant spending habits, as well as their attempts to hobnob with the highest of British society. Thus, while Terence may not enjoy the convoluted family tree that comes with being a member of the social elite, he has more than enough wealth (and the impeccable manners to accompany it) to play at being the best of the best.

APPEARANCE: Terence Higgs has, undoubtedly, won the genetic lottery - having inherited the trademark Higgs gene for good looks, Terence can, to sum it up, be termed attractive in an Old Hollywood, Rebel Without a Cause, James Dean sort of way. Tall, standing at a stately 6'1'', Terence often seems to loom above many of his peers, a fact which he rather likes using to his advantage (ie: to intimidate the blokes and to ensnare the ladies). While indeed quite tall, Terence doesn't necessarily have a weedy build; an active participant in Hogwarts' athletics, he's built more than a decent amount of muscle, and can thus be described as rather lean. His build, accompanied by his mischievous dark brown eyes and curly brown hair, can be said to have an aesthetic appeal, a fact that doesn't often go unnoticed by the women around him.

In terms of dress, Terence prefers casual slacks and button-down shirts; although he does wear clothes in a variety of colours, ranging from black to beige to pastel blue, it's a noted fact that he simply doesn't do bright fabrics; to him, they're just too garish and flamboyant, two words that directly conflict with his personality, which is centered around subtlety and, simply, being low-key. While his style of preference is undoubtedly casual, Terence is nevertheless well-dressed; he prefers to match properly and wear garments that are created by noted fashion designers, simply because being looking good is akin to making a good impression, a dictum which Terence finds to be quite critical.

DESIRED PB: James Franco (I'm not crazy, I swear! I know he's totez too old now, but I was hoping to use screencaps from his Freaks & Geeks days - if you find him still not to be age-appropriate, I will of course find someone else!).

PERSONALITY: The first thing people notice about Terence is that he is, in fact, quite the polite young gentleman: he minds his manners, he doesn't interrupt a conversation, and he never forgets to say 'please.' This solid grasp on the rules of etiquette has earned him the reputation of being rather suave, since he's quite adept at using his gentlemanly mannerisms to get his way, whether it be with women or with his superiors. However, while there can be no doubt that Terence is exceedingly polite - perhaps even excessively so - the well-trained eye can often see past this facade; at his core, he is quite fake. Terence hardly ever says what he means, eschewing bluntness for grandiosely purple prose; he is truly a master at 'beating around the bush,' ie: evading the issue at hand. In truth, if Terence weren't as attractive as he is, his mannerisms could possibly give off the impression that he's a bit of a sleazebag; his persona is oily, greasy, and all-in-all, not quite trustworthy.

Terence has mastered the art of thinking before he acts; thus, he's rather restrained in everything he does, tending to pause often whilst talking to make sure he uses exactly the right word; in fact, if he's particularly annoyed about something or other, he makes it a point to count to ten before he ever opens his mouth - inadvertently putting his foot in his mouth is an event that Terence would like to avoid at all costs. He's truly cautious about things, meticulous to a T, and is the type that needs to truly understand everything around him. In fact, this facet of his personality has incited him to become a subscriber to Vogue magazine, since he believes that womens' literature helps to give quite an illuminating look into the female psych. He uses the things he learns whilst reading the magazine to pick up women, luring them in with promises of romance and true love, and then dropping them the instant they become boring.

His tendency to break up with girls the moment they become uninteresting helps to illuminate yet another characteristic inherent in Terence's personality: he's rather selfish, usually tending to only care about how his decisions will influence himself. His ability to simply not care about those around him has helped him become rather ruthless; truly, under that incredibly polite facade, Terence is as far from a gentleman as it's possible to be. He's inherited that cliche, yet remarkably handy, 'ruthless lawyer' gene from his father; Terence is ambitious to a fault, and will usually do anything within his power to succeed. It is this competitive streak that has inspired in Terence a passion for athletics; sports like rugby allow him to release his aggression in a way that's 'healthy'; he can be violent whilst simultaneously maintaining his chivalrous persona.

However, while Terence does often have a rather strong thirst for revenge, he's not the type to jump into a risky situation without thinking through the consequences. Oftentimes, although Terence gives off the appearance of taking things in stride, he'll harbor grudges for a long time before allowing his plans of vengeance to come to fruition; after all, it's simply much easier to seek revenge when everyone around you has forgotten about your grudge in the first place - catching people unaware, that's Terence's method of exacting revenge.

Nevetheless, Terence's tendency to be "heartless" isn't all-encompassing; he does have a softer side, one that is illustrated in his adoration of his younger sister - for Christine, Terence would quite possibly do anything. He tends to dote on her quite a bit, and is exceedingly protective. Despite his polite theatrics, Terence will assuredly resort to violence to defend his sister's 'virtue' (in other words, intimidate into submission any bloke idiotic enough to even consider hitting on her).

All in all, Terence is a duplicitous boy, outwardly known for his charisma, charm, and ability to worm his way out of most sticky situations. It is this reason that allows him to excel in the subject of philosophy and the language arts; Terence's grasp of the English language is truly masterful, and he has the intelligence to 'wield' this talent to his advantage.

DEFINING CHARACTERISTICS: While Terence does, at face value, seem to be the quintessential, smooth-talking, manipulative Slytherin, there is far more to his personality. Yes, he's ambitious, yes, he's conniving, but he does have people he cares about, and to them, he's unerringly loyal. In particular, this refers to his younger sister, Christine, of whom Terence is exceedingly protective - while, on the whole, Terence's personality is far from that of a 'Slytherdor,' he does have the tendency to use violence when the situation calls for it.

Terence, like any Slytherin, is ambitious, but it's more of a passive amibition than anything else - he doesn't tend to outwardly show his competitive streak (with the exception of athletics!), instead choosing to subtly sabatoge those in his way. In truth, this gives off the impression that Terence is rather unmotivated; due to his tendency to lie in wait until the opportune time, people often feel as though he simply doesn't care - when he does get around to getting his revenge, it's usually after people've forgotten entirely about the issue.

LIKES: rugby, his sister Christine, using excessive politeness as a weapon, Voldemort Inc., Slytherin, women, liquor, philosophy, the colour brown, his hair, his bed, succeeding, football, Manchester United, sarcasm, James Bond films, your mom.

DISLIKES: coarseness, idiocy, his mother, airplanes, Gryffindors, brightly-coloured fabric, maths, science, bluntness, fruity drinks, fruity blokes, the early morning.

INSIDE SCOOP:
1) Terence may, in fact, be one of the only straight men in the world to subscribe to Vogue - he finds that womens' magazines do, unsurprisingly, give a rather in-depth, personal look into the female psych, a fact which he believes can be quite helpful when it comes to his romantic life. He tends to jot down random quotes that he thinks will help him in his quest to pick up women, and thus makes it a point to read even the sappiest sections of the magazine.

2) His favourite subject is philosophy, primarily because Terence finds that he has mastered the art of bullshitting his way through life, and subsequently, bullshitting his way through any essays he may or may not have to write on the meaning of life. He enjoys being verbose, being overly grandiose in his use of vocabulary, and simply coming up with thoughts so abstract that no one can begin to comprehend them.

3) If there's one thing Terence truly adores, it's his little sister - yes, she may very well be the most wretched, annoying creature to walk this planet, and while most folk (read: everyone besides him) find her to be utterly intolerable, Terence believes his sister to be quite faultless. Since she began attending Hogwarts, he's made it a point to intimidate and terrify any and all males who even consider dating her, flirting with her or, on the opposite end of the spectrum, hitting her.

4) Despite the fact that Terence does maintain the pretense of loathing idiocy in every way, shape, and form, he's secretly a huge fan of slapstick, juvenile comedy - his guilty pleasure is lounging about at home, watching the sorts of idiotic films that makes adults cringe with their complete pointlessness; Terence does believe that these films could quite possibly lower his IQ, but he just can't bring himself to really care.

5) In his youth, Terence was an exceedingly obnoxious boy; his rhetoric consisted primarily of curse words (and yes, he knew more than a few) and a vast array of insults; however, he eventually learned that adhering to the most minute details of etiquette could get his way a lot quicker and with a lot less hassle than outward rudeness. While the Terence of today is quite polite, if you get him intoxicated enough, he's guaranteed to resort to the immature vocabulary of his younger days.

HISTORY: Terence Higgs was born on October 19th, 1979, to parents by the name of Catherine and James Wilkes. Being their first child, he was, naturally, the heir to the rather hefty Higgs fortune, and was thus raised knowing that, one day, he'd be taking his father's place as the head of the Higgs family. While the first few years of Terence's life were characterised by petulant, explosive temper tantrums - despite any and all efforts by his parents to dissuade such behaviour - he was nonetheless quite spoiled, usually being handed anything and everything he desired. His childhood was, in fact, rather blissful; although he constantly antagonised his parents, Terence was never truly punished for his childish behaviour.

However, as Terence grew older, he did indeed come to realise that you could catch a lot more flies with honey - the etiquette lessons his mother had so painstakingly given him at last began to pay off, and Terence's tendency to pitch a fit at the slightest provocation began to wane. When he was four, his mother gave birth to a second child: a girl, by the name of Christine, whom Terence, in his childish innocence, doted on quite devotedly. Unlike the competitive dynamic present in many sibling relationships, Terence didn't particularly consider Christine to be a threat to his parents' affection; after all, he was a boy, older, and guaranteed to be the true heir to the fortune - besides, he was his mother's favourite, and never really experienced a wont of affection when he desired it.

As the children grew older, they only grew closer; while Catherine never quite outgrew the petulance and spoiled tendencies of her own childhood, she did manage to keep her temper in check around her brother. Terence, naturally a protective sort, made certain that his sister was never injured in any way, most particularly by Catherine, who often lashed out at her daughter. Of course, due to the age difference between the two, there at last came a time when Terence had to be sent off to boarding school; the siblings were thus split up, although they kept in constant touch via the phone and through letters until Christine herself began her years at Hogwarts.

Although Terence's father was indeed of the nouveau-riche category, Catherine's legacy at the prestigious Hogwarts College landed Terence a guaranteed spot at the school as well. Knowing full well that he wanted to be as successful as his father, Terence made certain to focus on his studies, earning decent, if not above average, grades in his classes. Although not the most popular boy in Slytherin House, Terence did indeed make his share of friends, and have his share of relationships; his social life was never found to be lacking.

Now in his final year of schooling, Terence is aspiring to study law in college - he intends to apply to Oxford, his father's own alma mater. By studying his father, Terence has garnered that law is quite a lucrative profession, and he thus desires to eventually be hired on by Voldemort, Inc. As of now, he's attempting to juggle both his social life and his studies.

FIRST PERSON:
Well, hm. I suppose it was high time that I took a browse through this network - quite interesting, wouldn't you say, how the elections seem to dominate most of the recent entries? Now, I'd certainly never presume to impose my opinion on anyone via the use of violence - as in, you know, the odd punch or kick here or there, cornered in a dark, deserted corridor, with absolutely no one to hear your pleas for help - but I do believe that the only real choice for President is one Harold Dingle.

As I mentioned before, you won't have any physical intimidation on my part, but I hear it can be quite difficult to garner who, exactly, is hitting you in one of the remote corridor where there's a distinct lack of light, yes? In fact, I hear these mysterious perpetrators are unusually strong, and pack quite the punch in their fists. Now, I wouldn't know for certain, but one does hear such whispers. Mm. It'd be rather unfortunate, wouldn't it, to be beaten to a pulp simply because you voted for the wrong person?

In any case, I heartily wish all the candidates good luck in the election. Do make sure to play fair, yes? I'd hate to think intimidation played a part in influencing anyone's choice.

THIRD PERSON:
'How much longer is that old bat going to drone on?' Terence thought in annoyance, rolling his eyes as he jotted down yet another - completely pointless - fact. Although the class itself was less than two hours in length, he felt as though he'd been sitting in that same stupid chair for about five; eyes gravitating involuntarily to the clock, Terence frowned. There was still another half hour left.

Gritting his teeth in a forced smile as McGonagall's eyes swept over him, Terence let his gaze fall back on his fairly empty sheet of parchment. This was torture. Deciding that he desperately needed some sort of entertainment, he carefully tore off the corner of the paper and hastily scribbled a sentence; upon making sure that McGonagall's catlike gaze was firmly averted from him, Terence aimed it at the fit Ravenclaw sitting at the desk in front of him. He watched in satisfaction as she turned around, gesturing subtly to the spot where the note had fallen.

Giving her a quick smile as her eyes scanned the paper, Terence leaned back, satisfied, in his chair. With any luck, he'd soon have a more than satisfactory date for that afternoon.