Brute: What is their fighting style if they have one?
Houdini’s fighting style is definitely inspired by martial arts. Maybe not MMA, but karate-infused. (She LOVES martial arts films and wishes she was a bit more spry so that she could pull off some of the choreography. The Raid: Redemption is a favorite.)
In her “true” state, Lauren is on the smaller side, so she tends to immediately look for an out in regards to toppling the other’s balance. She also likes to use nearby objects as weapons/tools if needs be, having been trained in bo staff during her time taking karate classes as a teen.
Here’s an example of a kata form! While not distinctly a fighting style, a lot of her movement is similar.
Elixir: How does your agent(s) act when intoxicated? Is there a society event they’ve embarrassed themselves at?
Rule number one of Society Events: do not let Lauren do shots.
Rule number two of Society Events: do not let Lauren go unsupervised.
When she first worked at Statesman, Lauren let loose a little too much. She doesn’t really remember the 2016 Christmas party. Or the 4th of July party in 2017. She may or may not have openly hit on Agents with their partners nearby… and has no memory of it. She becomes very flirty and - depending how much she’s drank - needy. (She’s also puked on rooftop bars after doing an unknown amount of Swedish Fish Vodka shots..)
Now it’s a bit different. She’s definitely embarrassed by her past actions and hates when people have to take care of her (especially Jack in regards to completely drunk situations. It happened once and she was mortified when he told her the next morning what had happened.) Lately she sticks to beer and tries not to overdo it.
Cryptic: What about fellow agents? Anyone they refuse to work with?
Technical Officer Signal. She tried really hard to just - be polite? But there was just something about his attitude she couldn’t stand. (Maybe it was the fact that he just assumed he was the ‘meme king’ - or that he just thought coding was a real linguistic language.)
Hans also gives her the heebie-jeebies. There’s just something so stereotypical about him she can’t stand it. It might just be the way he talks but something isn’t quite right there, and she can’t put her finger on it.
Superstition: Any secrets that could get them booted from the society?
Jack has shared some moments he’s not so proud of… I don’t think it’d constitute removal, but there would be some questioning involved.
Now this next piece isn’t really a secret... but if Lauren were to ever impersonate any of the Society higher-ups without their explicit permission? I think that would mean removal. There’s a lot of danger in having the ability to take someone’s face.
Here’s a whole ass brain dump about my trash can Houdini! I haven’t done some proper writing about her background and everything in a while, so here it is.
I’ve discussed this a few times with people because I’ve never really been certain about what she is. Is she a shapeshifter, pure and true? Is she just able to glamour herself into different people? Is she, like Tonks, a Metamorphmagus? Is she part fae? It’s been hard, trying to decide what exactly she is. I’ve had her for nearly a year and a half now and I still haven’t figured out what this - this character, who is so much of me - ability is?
I’ve recently been leaning fae. It fits a lot of things I’ve always thought about:
Houdini (Laura/Lauren depending on what ship/verse/whatever because I was originally too scared to make her fully based off myself in many different facets) never presented this ability when she was young. Metamorphmagus and shapeshifters would be able to change - though not under their control - what they looked like from a young age. Hair color, features, whatever, all could change from birth. I’ve always toyed with Houdini’s early inklings of her ability allowed her to change her eye colors, but that was never something that really happened until she was a teenager.
Houdini’s father left when she was young. Her family is very fractured - as an adult, she has no family. Her mother decided to drop contact with her during her transition from undergraduate to graduate school. And, as mentioned earlier, her father left when she was young. (I originally placed it around 8-9 years old.) Her father being the fae piece of the puzzle allows him an early out, and keeps Houdini in the dark about her own abilities. It also allows for her mother to continue to resent Houdini, especially as she gets older. (Her mother and father had loved each other, but when it was all.. surprise! I’m part fae!... her love sort of disappeared, because what else had he lied about?)
Her douchebag of an ex definitely tried to put her on the Deep Web eBay. He knew there was... something to her. Either he could be part fae himself and get the vibes, or who knows what. At least that part of my backstory has generally remained the same for her? (Let’s just ignore the whole ‘brought in for prostitution’ idea I had originally gone with. That was dumb.)
It takes a while for Houdini to master her skill. Like I said earlier, it starts to appear around her teenage years (15/16 most likely). When I was brainstorming with @faegents, she made a great point to mention that this is not an easy skill to master. (It’s also a bit like Polyjuicing, where a piece of hair or blood or an item is needed, but they don’t drink anything? I haven’t quite figured out the logistics of this yet in regards to Houdini and her abilities.)
Now, about her abilities:
Houdini can only transform into human-like appearances. While Metamorphimagi can - at least Tonks can, anyways - turn parts of them into animal features (duckbill, pig’s nose), she cannot.
She has her favorite “covers” that she uses quite often. These were some of the identities she cooked up during graduate school. (One is even based off of a favorite OC of mine! I like to joke she bumped into Kayla and “stole” her face after they interacted.)
I do believe that there is something that can prevent her from transforming into someone else/wearing a different face. I don’t know if it’s a specific kind of metal/potion/ingredient/spell/whatever, but there’s something. And depending on the potency and exposure, the effects can last for any time ranging from a few hours to a week or two.
I feel like, because of her ‘part fae’ background and her ability, she’s always had a natural knack for languages. Speaking them, understanding them, whatever. She’s got a bit of a gift and it makes her job so much easier when it comes to dialects and foreign affairs.
Her personal investment into makeup and makeup application skills I think just furthers her ability to look like others. I also think her ability started to ‘awaken’, if you’d call it that, when she began taking an interest in cosplay in high school. Cosplay as a whole is about turning yourself into another person, another character - and maybe she was just naturally drawn to it because of her ability to shift.
Some other things:
I’ve definitely toyed with the idea of Houdini’s fae lineage being related, in some way or another, to Oberon/Titania. Partly because I just think that opens up a lot of plot ideas, but I also really just like throwing references in to things I’ve done in my own life? Sure, I wasn’t the faerie queen while in a production of Midsummer but I do enjoy referencing it! For reference, I was Hippolyta.
Agent Whiskey does not know that Houdini has the ability to shapeshift until her transfer to Roanoke.
Houdini started at Statesman - and Champ definitely knew about her abilities. I’d like to believe that there’s some sort of information sharing between the heads of some of these groups - like the Seelie Court has a liaison who probably passes information to Lillith, Merlin/Arthur, and Champ. And, due to the aforementioned lineage, there is a need to protect Houdini. Placing her within the walls of Statesman would remove any immediate threats, especially if, at first, she’s placed in the basement to work on files and review intel. (An alternative to this occurring is that Statesman, with their liquor front, hires people from different universities to work their PR management or whatever “public facing” field they can for intelligence collection and review? And then they decide if they’ve got the drive for working in the spy business or the liquor business, like a test the traditional field agents have to go through? I’m still thinking about this, as for Statesman and her roots there, she is not a traditional field officer and does not go into the field until an emergency pops up. More on that later, I guess? I’m still sitting on these ideas for her initiation into both groups.)
anyways thanks for coming to my TEDTalk about Houdini!
$ FINANCIAL : wealthy / moderate / poor / in poverty
✚ MEDICAL : fit / moderate / sickly / disabled / disadvantaged / non applicable
✪ CLASS OR CASTE : upper / middle / working / street trash / slave / unsure
✔ EDUCATION : qualified / unqualified / studying / other
✖ CRIMINAL RECORD : yes, for major crimes / yes, for minor crimes / no / hasn’t been caught
FAMILY
◒ CHILDREN : has a child or children / has no children / wants children / verse dependent
◑ RELATIONSHIP WITH FAMILY : close with sibling(s) / not close with sibling(s) / has no siblings / sibling(s) is deceased / other
◔ AFFILIATION : orphaned / adopted / disowned / raised by birth parent(s) / not applicable
TRAITS + TENDENCIES
♦ extroverted / introverted / in between
♦ disorganized / organized / in between
♦ close-minded / open-minded / in between
♦ calm / anxious / in between
♦ disagreeable / agreeable / in between
♦ cautious / reckless / in between
♦ patient / impatient / in between
♦ outspoken / reserved / in between
♦ leader / follower / in between
♦ empathetic / unempathetic / in between
♦ optimistic / pessimistic / in between
♦ traditional / modern / in between
♦ hard-working / lazy / in between
♦ cultured / uncultured / in between / unknown
♦ loyal / disloyal / unknown
♦ faithful / unfaithful / unknown
BELIEFS
★ FAITH : monotheist / polytheist / atheist / agnostic / it’s complicated
☆ BELIEF IN GHOSTS OR SPIRITS : yes / no / don’t know / don’t care
✮ BELIEF IN AN AFTERLIFE : yes / no / don’t know / don’t care
✯ BELIEF IN REINCARNATION : yes / no / don’t know / don’t care
❃ BELIEF IN ALIENS : yes / no / don’t know / don’t care
✧ RELIGIOUS : orthodox / liberal / in between / not religious / questioning
❀ PHILOSOPHICAL : yes / no / ??????
SEXUALITY + ROMANTIC INCLINATION
❤ SEXUALITY : heterosexual / homosexual / bisexual / asexual / pansexual / demisexual
❥ SEX : sex repulsed / sex neutral / sex favorable / naive and clueless
♥ ROMANCE : romance repulsed / romance neutral / romance favorable / naive and clueless
❣ SEXUALLY : adventurous / experienced / naive / inexperienced / curious / inhibited
POTENTIAL SEXUAL PARTNERS : male / female / agender / other / none / all
POTENTIAL ROMANTIC PARTNERS : male / female / agender / other / none / all
DRINKING ALCOHOL : never / sometimes / frequently / to excess
☁ SMOKING : never / sometimes / frequently / to excess
✿ OTHER NARCOTICS : never / sometimes / frequently / to excess
✌ MEDICINAL DRUGS : never / sometimes / frequently / to excess
☻ INDULGENT FOOD : never / sometimes / frequently / to excess
$ SPLURGE SPENDING : never / sometimes / frequently / to excess
♣ GAMBLING : never / sometimes / frequently / to excess
Role:Language and Culture Advisor; SpyOps/Intelligence Analyst
Eye Color: Brown-Grey-Hazel
Hair Color: Brown, Currently Purple
Height: 5’3” (is actually 5’2”)
Weight: 148 lbs
Distinguishing Marks: Freckles across bridge of nose (very faint but becomes more apparent during the summer/with sun exposure). Ear piercing (one per ear).
Age: 33
Gender: Non-Binary
Date/Place of Birth: June 13th
Skills and Abilities
Powers: “Shapeshifting”
Weapon of Choice: Knife. CQC skills.
Languages Known: English, Spanish. Working towards fluency in Japanese, conversational in Irish, Klingon, and Mandarin Chinese. Basic ASL and Arabic.
Other Skills and Abilities: Makeup and disguises. Linguistic analysis. Innate understanding and reading of body language and tone. Dialect differentiation. Ability to hold breath for long periods of time. Sleight of hand.
Weaknesses to be Concerned About: Interpersonal relationships lacking. Fears connection. Self-loathing varies; requires counseling check-in after undercover ops longer than 1 month.
Personality
General: Hot mess express. Speaks in memes and 2000s era internet culture. Weeb (derogatory). Has an internet history longer than certain dossiers, including a deepweb presence. Ultimately very kind and loving. Unique and slightly eccentric.
Likes: Pentel .7 Energy Gel Pens. Anime. Cosplaying. Video games. Illusionists/magicians.
Dislikes: Sour cream on her tacos. Room temperature beer.
Fears: losing the bit of herself that she has found.
Military Service: Air Force; enlisted at 18 to escape home life. Rose in rank/position after completing undergraduate and graduate programs, plus additional espionage training.
Date of Recruitment: 2007
Education: PhD in Linguistics; Bachelor’s in Cognitive Science and minor in Theatre
Fae Houdini’s original name was Fionnabhair; she is a member of the Aos Sí
Actual name: Laura MacGreine
Her dream as a kid was to be a magician - got very good at card tricks and other little “illusions” (spent a lot of time by herself reading a magician’s book and watching magic specials on TV)
Will try to convince her partner to join her in watching anime.
Got her start in translation and language by fansubbing anime in the early 00s.
If she was not on her current path, Houdini would be a professional cosplayer/Twitch streamer while probably working for YenPress as a translator; her degree path would still result in the PhD but she would focus on theatre and literature instead for her Bachelor’s
