Michael Holden Parkinson

by Morgan

29

age

Male

gender

05/20/1990

birthday

blood status

Pureblood

sexual orientation

Homoflexible

epidemic x status

Infected

occupation

Member of the Wizengamot | Board Member of The Gretchen and Nathaniel Parkinson Foundation | Playwright | Playwriting Professor at Braithewaite School of the Performing Arts | Concert Cellist (mostly just for fun -- yes, apparently that's his definition of fun)

general appearance

Towering over his family, Michael stands at six feet, three inches tall ("Sorry Van.") He is a man that likes to look good. That isn't to say that he spends hours and hours obsessing over his reflection, because that couldn't be further from the truth. He is not vapid or shallow, he just understands the importance of appearance. He's not the guy that's going to go out in public in sweatpants. He's the Parkinson heir now, he leaves the house looking put together.

But I digress --

No one would doubt that he and his siblings are related. With the same dark hair as the rest of his family, Michael also shares the same blue eyes that both Donna and Kallisto have. Of course, Kallisto is technically his niece, but that's neither here nor there. He is not overly muscular, but he is lean and stays in shape. He's got slight muscles, but definitely on the leaner side over muscular. He is either clean shaven or the slightest bit of scuff. If we're being honest, he prefers the scruff but has leaned more toward the clean shaven look since he officially became the heir. Because scruff matters, Michael, how absolutely reasonable of you...

former school

Hogwarts

former house

hufflepuff

achievements

♖ Prefect: 2005-2008
♖ Band Member - Cello: 2001-2008
♖ Band Leader: 2005-2008
♖ Drama Club Member: 2003-2008
♖ Quidditch Enthusiasts Member: 2001-2008
♖ The Advocate Member: 2003-2008
♖ Wizarding Chess Club Member: 2001-2008

university

Braithewaite School of the Performing Arts

university major(s)

Bachelor of Fine Arts - Drama
Master of Fine Arts - Playwriting

years attended

Bachelor of Fine Arts - Drama: 2008-2012
Master of Fine Arts - Playwriting: 2012-2014

skills

MUSIC & COMPOSITION ♖ You know that guy that can pick up an instrument and start fiddling around with it, and an hour later, he's playing it like it's nothing, and it's just infuriating that someone could pick up on something that quickly? Michael is that guy. If you wanted me to list all the instruments that he knows how to play, we'd be here a while. With varying degrees of proficiency, of course. He thinks that's important to note. It's not like he can play the saxophone as well as he can play the cello. But he does pick up on instruments easily. He can sight read music, and he composes for fun. He almost went to Braithewaite for composition instead of playwriting, but in the end, he thought that the Playwriting program at Braithewaite would be more beneficial to learn and grow from. He had enough of a mind for music to continue to self-teach.
SUPPORTIVE BROTHER ♖ More than anything, he wants his family to be happy. Every one of his sisters, and Van too. He knows that Sierra and Van are both married now and doing all right, but Donna and Kali are still figuring things out. He doesn't want them to feel pressured to find a 'good marriage' or the 'right marriage.' If either one of them wanted to run off with a Muggleborn, more power to them. He does not care about blood status the way that some of the rest of his family and a lot of purists do. Does he share that with people? Not really. But the fact of the matter is, he wants his family to be happy with whomever they choose. He will support them in anything. For the most part. Unless it's completely idiotic. He's willing to make sacrifices of his own to make sure his sisters can be happy.
CREATIVE MIND ♖ We've already talked about how gifted he is with instruments, and with composition. There's a reason he's a concert cellist without formal training. But music is not his only gift. His real love is with writing. He's written from the moment he could pick up a quill and put words to parchment. Poems, short stories, novels -- all of which have never seen the light of day. But what has are his musicals. He's written three since his graduation from Braithewaite, all with successes on London's stages. It is probably the main reason he was asked back to Braithewaite as their youngest professor on staff.
CHARMER ♖ He doesn't know why I'm putting this, but I'm in charge here. Even if he's most naturally an introvert, when he tries, he can be quite charming. He doesn't have many problems getting a man or a woman to fall into bed with him if that's what he's in the mood for. Or both. Definitely would prefer both. While he has a preference for men, he won't turn away a pretty witch if he's attracted to her. And he's actually most comfortable in arrangements that are not strictly monogamous. I'm not entirely sure why that is, I think it has a lot to do with less of a risk of getting overly attached, but that's just me. And vastly unrelated to the topic at hand, which is the fact that he's charming. And he is.
MAKING OBSCURE LITERARY REFERENCES ♖ Yeah, he likes to read. A lot. Does that mean that he will say something completely random in conversation referencing a book that you've probably never read? Yes, on occasion. He doesn't do it on purpose. He's just a book nerd. If you haven't realized that by now, I don't know what application you've been reading.
CREATING ♖ Remember earlier when I said 'you know that guy that can pick up an instrument and start playing it after fiddling around with it for two seconds'? You do, it just happened. He's also kind of like that with anything creative or involving creation at all. This is a boy who has never had a cooking lesson and surprised even himself when he realized that he's not have a half-bad cook. He's not going to be making a career out of it any time soon, but he was surprising quite good at cooking. If something requires creativity or being artistic, he's got a natural knack for it, even if he'll modestly say that he's just playing around and doesn't know what he's doing.

weaknesses

FAMILY DUTY ♖ Michael was never supposed to be the heir. He was not raised for it. It was always supposed to be Van. It was only relatively recently that Van was disowned and everything fell to Michael. He feels a heavy weight on his shoulders. He absolutely does not want to let them down and is terrified of doing just that. He just knows that this wasn't supposed to be his life. He was pretty content with his music and his writing and composing, and now he's a member of the Wizengamot and he knows that there are other responsibilities and obligations that come with that. It's just a lot of pressure, and he has definitely not fully come to terms with it. He thinks likely any one of his sisters would be better at all this than he is, but unfortunately that's not how this Sacred Twenty-Eight thing works. He knows he's lucky to even just have their support, especially Kali.
SELF-DOUBT ♖ It kind of goes hand in hand with the family duty thing, and everything that is now expected of him. He has a lot of doubt over whether or not he's going to be able to do this -- have the whole family rely on him, not screw up completely. He definitely doubts his own abilities in that respect, and the last thing that he wants to do is disappoint his parents, watching from wherever they are. Someone has to take care of the family the way they'd want to, and he's going to keep on trying to do that right, even if he's not sure how good of a job he's doing.
ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION ♖ I think you're starting to understand the running theme for our boy, here. But anxiety and depression have both been things that he's been struggling with his entire life, all the way back to his days in Hogwarts where he was trying to figure out where he fit in and who he was. He does have clinical depression and generalized anxiety disorder. He got a good handle on it in his early twenties but recent stressors definitely give him some bad days.
VIOLENCE ♖ He's not the type of person who is going to faint at the sight of blood or anything extreme like that, but he does not like violence. He has never raised a hand to anybody in his life. Does he judge people who use violence to solve their problems? Not really... but it is definitely not something that he would ever do himself. Violence is not the answer, kids.
POLITICS ♖ Michael is not all that politically minded. He never thought that he would need to be. Myles never thought that he needed to be. He was the middle child, the second son, and that meant that his future didn't have to mean politics. Now that he's the heir, and has the Parkinson seat in the Wizengamot, he's playing catch-up, because he just does not have a political mind. He'll undoubtedly get maybe a little better at it all with practice, but he's never going to enjoy it even if he does. He is not overly fond of his work at the Ministry. It's just a necessity, and thankfully he has his more politically-minded sisters like Kali and Sierra to fall back on.
VERY CLOSED OFF IN RELATIONSHIPS ♖ In some ways, he falls way too easily. In order to prevent that, he tends to close himself off a little bit in relationships. Polyamorous relationships help with that tremendously -- I don't really know why, he just really thinks that it does. He was definitely not always so closed off. In the past, he wasn't. But especially now that all responsiblity has fallen to him, he knows he can't let matters of the heart get in the way. More likely than not, he's going to have to marry someone because they're the right fit for the family, rather than him feeling any kind of love toward them.

positive traits

♖ GENEROUS ♖ DEPENDABLE ♖ DOWN-TO-EARTH ♖ LOYAL ♖ PATIENT ♖ THOUGHTFUL ♖

negative traits

♖ HESITANT ♖ INHIBITED ♖ OCCASIONALLY TOO TRUSTING ♖ RECLUSIVE ♖ SECRETIVE ♖ SELFLESS ♖

hobbies/interests

♖ CHESS ♖ COMPOSING ♖ PLAYING THE CELLO ♖ WATCHING QUIDDITCH ♖ READING ♖ SPENDING TIME WITH HIS SISTERS ♖ HANDSOME WIZARDS ♖ THE OCCASIONAL BEAUTIFUL WITCH ♖ SOMETIMES BOTH AT THE SAME TIME ♖ WORRYING ♖ MORE WORRYING ABOUT THE FUTURE OF THEIR FAMILY (He was not raised to be the heir, he’s got a lot of fear/worry about letting everyone down) ♖

accomplishments

♖ Got accepted into the Braithewaite Playwriting program, which is an accomplishment in and of itself, because there are only six writers accepted into the program each year.
♖ Wrote and composed the following musicals: Crown in the Dusk, The Wintering Dream, Dark Heavens.
♖ Youngest professor employed at Braithewaite School of the Performing Arts (just let me have this)

character history

“I cannot deny that I’m a bit of a storyteller, but usually I stick to fiction. I find it’s easier that way. But I suppose this time I can make an exception. No one can tell you about my life better than I can anyway. You’ll forgive me if I keep things rather short to the point. As I already said, I prefer fiction to talking about myself. But by the end of this, you’ll certainly know what you need to know. Let’s get started then.

I was born to Myles and Tara Parkinson — their fourth child, and second son. By the time I came along my oldest sister, Donna, was already almost ten years old and quickly approaching her time at Hogwarts. Sierra was nearly eight, and Van was almost four.”

Are you just bulking up your history by talking about your siblings instead of yourself? Is that what’s happening right now?

“Irrelevant.”

Relevant and totally and completely what’s happening right now.

“Moving on. I was young enough to not fully know what was going on the second time that Voldemort came into power. At least at first. He came back, my father went to that meeting in the cemetery a month after my fifth birthday. So, obviously I wasn’t aware of that. But the final battle at Hogwarts happened only weeks before my eighth birthday, so I was at least a little more aware then. If only because Van was in his first year at the time, and both Donna and Sierra were in school at the time too.”

You’re doing it again.

“Doing what?”

That thing where you slowly start to talk about someone else more than you talk about yourself in your own history.

“Everything that I’ve said has been entirely relevant to my life, thank you. The battle came to an end and life moved on. Until Minister Durant’s rise to power, my childhood was good. I do remember that time. I wasn’t so young to have forgotten that entirely, though I know that Kallisto was not as lucky. She was raised far more in that shift than I was. She was still young when things really got bad. It didn’t all happen at once. It was at a steady pace, one obvious to those that paid close enough attention.

But I suppose now I am getting a little ahead of myself. Although I likely won’t go into too much detail, we still have Hogwarts to get through. Van might have been the first Parkinson to be sent to Hufflepuff, but he was not the last. No part of me was surprised about being sorted into the house, though I had been tempted to try to talk the Sorting Hat into sorting me into Slytherin — with honestly nothing else in mind but wanting to be in the house that my parents would want me to go into.

In the end, I’m glad I didn’t do that. Seven years in Slytherin… that wouldn’t have been for me. But I did well in Hufflepuff. I was never a particularly extroverted person, but I made some friends that got me through those years. I joined a multitude of clubs, though I loved none of them as much as Band. I enjoyed my time in Drama Club as well, but acting wasn’t really for me. I did my work behind the scenes, since my mind had not yet even thought of writing plays or musicals. I still wrote back then, but in my youth, I wrote poems more than anything else. Come to think of it, I should find those journals and burn them — those poems are probably quite embarrassing.”

You know you keep them because you’re sentimental, don’t even.

“Fine, I’ll rephrase. I should make sure they’re still hidden well so that my siblings don’t happen across them anywhere.”

Fair point. That is definitely something you should do.

“Still, I have Hogwarts to thank for figuring out what I wanted to do with my life. The clubs more than the actual classes, funnily enough. But that wasn’t all that I gained from my time at Hogwarts.

I met many good friends at Hogwarts, some of whom I am still in contact with today. Hogwarts was also where I met Jaxon Jameson Cole . I spent a good portion of my time at Hogwarts confused about my sexuality and afraid of what my parents would think about it if they found out. I didn’t really feel like I was interested in girls but I was undoubtedly interested in Jaxon, and other boys in my class.

Without going into explicit details completely inappropriate for this setting, he was my first relationship. Not that it should be given such an official title, but still. I grew to care a lot about him throughout our time at Hogwarts, even if it was nothing all that official.

It definitely paved the way for me understanding myself better after Hogwarts as well. Over the years, I have dated both men and women, though my preference for men is a… not all that well kept secret. More people know and pretend that they don’t then officially know, even now.

After I graduated Hogwarts, the path forward was obvious for me. I wanted to go to Braithewaite. I didn’t know for sure what I wanted to major in, with the obvious choice being cello or even in composition. I had been playing and writing music for years by that point, and I knew that Braithewaite would help to cultivate that skill more.

But, and I don’t mean to come off like a braggart here, music comes naturally to me. Composition came naturally to me too. I felt like I could teach myself and be more than competent as a composer and a musician. What I thought I could use the help and guidance in was writing and when I found out about the program for Playwriting, I knew that was what I wanted to do.

The Bachelor program in Drama came first. This was not a great time for my family generally speaking. Durant’s reign was at its peak, our funds all practically nonexistent. If I had no gotten a full ride to Braithewaite, I’m unsure if I would have been able to finish my schooling there. The shift in that would not come until I graduated with my Masters in Playwriting.

The shift in power came soon after. I was in the process of writing my first musical still — Crown in the Dusk, in case you were wondering. The takeover happened suddenly, and all of a sudden, purebloods were on top again. And for a time, it was not at the expense of others. I’d have to say I much preferred that. I did not want to see my family suffering — my father in the work camp, my mother miserable, my siblings not living the lives they should be able to, Kali growing up with that prejudice, regardless of being strong enough to take it. The power that came with the purebloods back on top was enough to make their lives be the way that they should be, and that made it infinitely worthwhile.

But then the changes did come. I am not a person that supports violence — for the sake of violence or otherwise. Am I crusader who was going to fight against it? No. A part of me wishes that I was that person, but at the end of the day, I’m still a Parkinson. I can disapprove of what is happening and keep it to myself, but Merlin forbid I say such a thing out loud. My father was a Death Eater, my brother-in-law is one. Donna and Kali do more than dabble in the dark arts and no one knows what Sierra does in the Department of Mysteries.

The fact of the matter is, I am not a campaigner for Muggleborn rights. I can’t be and still keep my family safe. But that does not mean that I agree with it. Let’s just get that straight.

But I suppose that got me a little bit off topic again, didn’t it? We’re not here to talk about politics.

The change of leadership in the Ministry was not the only change in my life. It wasn’t long after that that my father died — but not before disowning Van and naming me the heir to the Parkinson line. Yes, so now you see my struggle. I want to do my father proud, but this was never supposed to be what I was. In so many ways, it’s not who I am at all, no matter how hard I try.

That just doesn’t change the reality. I got the seat in the Wizengamot, I got the responsibility, and I take that seriously. I have to.

If you thought that was the end of all of this getting complicated, you would be wrong. I started seeing Jaxon again, seeing Caterina too — and we were meant to be married. It wasn’t that I was against that idea, honestly. Having Jaxon and having Caterina, and marrying Cat… it seemed like a good idea. It seemed like a good way of making it all work out.

Did you think that was it? Oh, no… there’s still more. The engagement ended, Cat is married to Van now — well… remarried now, I guess? They’re hard to keep up with sometimes. I had to break things off with Jaxon after that because let’s be honest, being the heir comes with expectations on who I end up with. If I want everyone else to be happy, then I need a match that checks all the boxes. People don’t get to just have what they want all the time. That’s not how life works.

Anyway — I’ve kept my bed warm enough since then, but nothing lasting. I’ve kept my mouth quiet in the Ministry, a feat trust me, and it seems as though there will be some changes coming on that front. How that will pan out remains to be seen. Recently, I found out the truth about Kali’s parentage, which was definitely a surprise. I did agree to marry her if she still wants to when she’s twenty-five, but I’m hopefully she will find someone she really wants to be with by then. That’s part of the reason why I’m taking finding a good match for myself so seriously. I don’t want her choices colored by my own.

The epidemic was another matter entirely. Learning to cope without magic was another challenge. But I don’t need magic to write or to play, and that helps tremendously.

As you can tell, there’s a lot going on. With the ICW in town, I think every purist in the U.K. is wondering just how screwed we are or if they’re going to find some kind of middle ground. Worrying about that, and my family, and other responsibilities keep me pretty occupied. Probably why I picked up smoking again.”

Smoking is bad for you.

“Everything’s bad for you.”

Is that really how we’re ending it? Okay.

parents

Myles Parkinson — deceased
Tara Parkinson — deceased

siblings

@donna - sister, thirty-eight years old, Owner of Gladrags Wizardwear, Owner of DKP Designs, Board Member of The Gretchen and Nathaniel Parkinson Foundation, Fashion Designer, Model

Kallisto Ophelia Parkinson - sister, twenty years old, Unspeakable-in-Training, Third Year Potionology Student at University of Bangor, Model at Witch Weekly, Seeker for the Falmouth Falcons (Michael’s new favorite team, obviously), Assassin (Do we know this? I’m thinking no), Co-Owner of DKP Designs, Board Member of The Gretchen and Nathaniel Parkinson Foundation, Spell Invention Student at Lufkin University (until the end of the term)

@van - brother, thirty-two years old, Bassist and Backup Vocalist for The Weird Sisters II, Owner and Producer at Defiance Records, Board Member of The Gretchen and Nathaniel Parkinson Foundation

@sierra - sister, thirty-six years old, Unspeakable, Unspeakable Training Instructor, Spell Inventor, Co-Owner of the Gorodok Gargoyles, Avalon School of Ballet Endowment Foundation Board Member, The Gretchen and Nathaniel Parkinson Foundation Board Member

@caterina - sister-in-law, former fiancée, twenty years old, Owner and Producer at Defiance Records

Lassider Dolohov - brother-in-law, forty years old, Alchemist, Spell Inventor, Co-Owner of the Gorodok Gargoyles

children

-

partner

There have been plenty in the past, some that he’s hung up on more than others. But now that he’s the heir and he wants everyone else to marry for love and be happy, he knows that he needs to be the one that marries for the good of their family.

other family

Alexandria Dolohova - niece, fifteen years old, Slytherin student
Ikor Dolohov - nephew, twelve years old, Slytherin student
Miriavetta Dolohova - niece, ten years old, Peverell student

family history

First two paragraphs stolen from Joyce:

Myles Parkinson born the eldest son, he was set into an arranged marriage from the moment that he could crawl. He and Tara were best friends, and when they started school it was only natural that they start dating. It was only right in their minds. They loved each other. Finish school they were married immediately after Myles became a marked Death Eater. Shortly after they married Tara found herself pregnant and a girl was born. Donna, then two years later Sienna, a few years later Van and then Michael were born.

However, their little happy bubble popped when Myles was sent to the work camp. It was so very difficult for them all, he almost died more than once. Tara had to step up to the plate and be everything to everyone. She hated it, but things got way better when the Death Eaters took thing over. After Donna graduated Hogwarts, an incident occurred...one that left her with child. The man who had knocked her up was swept off to Azkaban in no position to marry the witch. For the sake of the girl's reputation, she was sent to France to 'study design'. Tara used charms to appear pregnant in this time. When the time for Kallisto to be born drew nigh, Tara joined Donna in France and Kallisto was born there. She was brought back to England as Tara's child.

When the takeover at the Ministry happened, the world righted for the Parkinsons as purebloods were once again on the top of the food chain. But since that time, the truth has been revealed, to a good portion of the family at least, as to the truth of Kallisto’s parentage. Both Myles and Tara have also since passed away.

other

Happy birthday to Michael and happy birthday to Jaaaaade!

face claim

NICHOLAS HOULT

status of application

Complete

have you read the rules?

YES, THOROUGHLY

how did you hear about us?

Something clever

roleplay sample

Accepted!!

I'm so excited for Parkinsons guys!!!