User Profile

All in the Name: The best way to begin the personal history of one Merlin Patrick Flanagan is to start at the very, very beginning. When the Flanagans found out they were going to have a son, the world seemed to errupt into chaos. Or at least, their world, not the entire world, as Merlin is an ordinary type of bloke. The Flanagans, Dugan and Susan, immediately began to prepare for the baby's arrival. Clothes, picture books, stuffed animals, cribs, nappys, the works. There was one thing, however, that the Flanagans could not seem to agree upon, this being the name of their soon to be born child. All the traditional Irish names were suggested (Connor, Brennan, Kyle, etc.), but none seemed to fit. Now, Dugan Flanagan was a bit slow, bless his heart, and didn't know much about the wizarding world to which his wife belonged. On the day of their son's birth, as Mrs. Flanagan pushed, Dugan chose to bring up the subject again. "Did we think of a name? Do you have a name, honey? What should we call the lad, hmmmn?" he asked repeatedly, not noticing Susan's frustration. "MERLIN, DUGAN! I don't know!" she answered, thwaping him in the arm. Dugan took this thwap to mean that there was no use in arguing. When asked about the name to put on the birth certificate, Mr. Flanagan announced "We've decided on Merlin". And thus, Merlin Patrick Flanagan was born and named.


Brief History: Merlin's childhood was fairly normal for a young boy in Ireland. He took up traditional Irish dancing and was quite talented, but his parents weren't very fond of him doing too much with it. While Dugan Flanagan didn't want to tell his son about his mother's background (just in case the boy turned out to be a oddly powerful squib), Susan Flanagan wouldn't dream of keeping it a secret.

His first year at Hogwarts was a particularly difficult one. Merlin thought that most people would find his name to be common, but this was not the case. He was often teased for being named after the historical wizard, and because of this decided to go by "Merry". This, of course, did not prove to be much better. The teasing merely shifted gears, focusing on how he was a rather girly bloke with a name like "Merry". Merlin, however, refuses to be called "Patrick", his normal middle name, because he believes "Patrick Flanagan" to sound too much like the name of a leprechaun or something, and that is just too much! Even now, in his 6th year, Merlin is still confused when people say "MERLIN!" when something surprising happens. In fact, he'd prefer they'd all stop pestering the ancient wizard with their problems, as he knows how difficult it is to have a name like Merlin! Difficult enough without adding THEIR problems into the mix!


Plot Thus Far: Merlin Flanagan is quite the popular bloke, but this he has absolutely no understanding of. He started out 6th year struggling with his feelings for sammyburke, his best girl mate who he calls 'Samwise'. His eventual confession of head-over-heels fancying was met with a similar confession, the two dated briefly until she unexpectedly left the castle. Merlin's best male mate was ben_connelly. He was quite proud of getting Ben to loosen up, managing to make the 'tough boyo' smile on a regular basis with jokes about books in boxer drawers. Merlin also spent time around with Troy Frogley (frogleygoof), lolita_damon, cthatcherhale, lexiwinchester, and anyone who would listen to him blather on about random, upbeat things. His Irish accent seems to make him even more goofy, and his bright personality placed him in a position of more authority - leader of Dumbledore's Army.

Merlin left the castle for some time due to his mother's illness. He has returned to find most friends graduated or missing, and has therefore been somewhat isolated. Merry is ready, however, to reenter the lives of his Hogwarts peers - back and merrier than ever!


Personality: Merlin's personality is a bit strange, though one could argue that everyone sorted into the house of Gryffindor has that odd tendency to be completely out of their mind. See, Merlin is convinced that he's supposed to be a Ravenclaw, though as the years pass he learns more and more why he's been placed in the lion's den. When he was younger, before Hogwarts, Merlin was eating with his family at a restaurant when a man at the table beside them began to choke. Merlin immediately jumped up, having learned the heimlich manuever at school, and saved the man from a rather chicken-tasting death. When it came time to be sorted, Merlin assumed that his love of studying and learning and his generally outcast and non-social type of existence would place him into Ravenclaw, and was shocked to hear himself placed elsewhere. Knowing that Gryffindor was the house of the brave, a house of aiming-to-be-heroes (or so he would say), he has blamed his placement on that one incident. "If I had let that man choke, I'd be in Ravenclaw" he tells anyone who will listen.

This is incorrect, however, as Merlin is very much a lion. His zodiac sign and house combined help to explain him rather well. Gryffindor Aquarians are the social activists and loons of their House. They'll picket for House Elf Liberation. They'll wear their robes inside out because they spent all night reading, not pay attention to how they dressed the next day, and not care if their rumpled appearance is pointed out to them.. Oh how very true this is! Merlin seems to have a purpose to everything and nothing at all, and has stopped caring what people think of him. He's not afraid to stand up for what he believes in, though this also makes him a little quick to judge others. He's an extremely social creature when he's not working on an assignment, a very intense mix of seriously calm and seriously mental. They can be flamboyantly talented, but are less interested in using their talent to "make it big" than in using it to make a better life for themselves or other people. Because Gryffindor tends to be a flamboyant house, these oddballs (they are always odd) tend to stick out for being unusual. Even when Merlin is calm in outward appearance, he is dreaming big. He has plenty of ideas and creative energy, is loyal to his friends and has energy to spare. While some situations will make him awkward and quiet, others will have him shouting louder than anyone else.


Superlatives:

PB: Jamie Bell
Player: Ferin - nicefinalbeam

Other (Old) Characters: camdynbaker, dustin_alden, erikcohen, finnian_murphy, hannakens, noah_ogilvy, rylielogan, sophie_blanc