Personality: While her longevity has been a blessing in her work, it has often been a curse in other ways. Imagine knowing you will outlive virtually everyone you love. This is a reality Helen lives with every day. She is painfully aware that she will likely lose anyone she gets close to, either through her work or to age. Perhaps some of her most significant losses were those of James Watson, her partner and colleague of more than a century, and her daughter, Ashley. Over time, this awareness has come to have a significant impact on the decisions she makes and the relationships she has.
Though she sometimes appears soft, there is no question Helen is strong, capable, and passionate about her work. We see exactly how far she is willing to go in order to protect her work when we learn about The Five hunting down Adam Worth. It is also seen in the countless times she has risked her life for the Sanctuary. However, upon first meeting her, she can often seem distant. In truth, she is quite the opposite.
Helen is a very guarded individual, as much out of necessity as anything else. The unknown length of her life, and the uncertainty of her work has left her reluctant to open up to another person. Those she allows behind her walls are few, and she selects them carefully. It means a great deal if she is willing to open her heart to you, or even simply be herself in your company.
This is not to say she is shy about intimacy. She is comfortable with herself and her body, and she is surprisingly fond of physical contact, knowing that a simple touch can often mean more than words. This is most obvious when she is with those closest to her, especially with her daughter. Her body language is more apt to voice her thoughts than she is, and if one truly hopes to gain insight into her emotions, they need only learn to pay attention to her eyes.
Helen is confident, occasionally to a fault, but she also tends to take others’ burdens as her own. She harbors a tremendous amount of guilt, often blaming herself for circumstances beyond her control. While she makes it a practice not to hold regrets, her mistakes and failures are rarely far from the surface, influencing her methods and actions.
Though Helen has lived too long and seen too much to follow any specific religion, she has a great deal of faith. She is very spiritual, in her own way. She does believe there is something greater than herself, and at times, she draws strength and comfort from that belief. Still, what truly keeps her waking up in the morning is her work. She has devoted nearly her entire life to ensuring abnormals are given protection and common courtesy, while also working to protect humans from those abnormals too dangerous to be allowed freedom.
One of Helen’s more interesting qualities is her sense of humor. It is very dry and occasionally almost unsophisticated. This is usually only seen when she is in the company of those she considers close friends.
Underneath it all, Helen is caring and compassionate in everything she does, giving to others more than she would ever consider taking for herself. She is a very unique individual who has lived through things most could not imagine, but she takes it mostly in stride. Her work is never finished, and she will not rest until it is.
Abilities: Because Helen has lived for more than a century, she has an impressive body of knowledge and a great deal of experience. This has also given her a longer view of things, allowing her to understand the world in a different manner than most. We understand that history repeats itself because we have read the textbooks. She knows because she's watched it happen. Living so long has also given her decades to study a variety of topics, as well as practice a number of different hobbies
-- Longevity: During an experiment in which she was injected with a serum derived from vampire blood, she was graced with extreme longevity. She still ages, but incredibly slowly. This is why she appears to be in her mid-forties, though she is well over 100 years old. I will point out that while often viewed similarly, this is not the same as immortality. Helen can be injured or killed just like any other human. At most, the blood may have provided her with an added resistance to illness and somewhat improved healing, though this has never been made entirely clear within the series. -- Education: Unsurprisingly, given her advanced age, Helen has had more opportunity than most to further her education. And she has definitely made use of it. As a result, she has several doctorates, including medicine, xenobiology, cryptozoology, and teratology. While her primary focus appears to be medicine, her work requires the active practice of each of these degrees. Due to the nature of her work, studying abnormals, she has a vast knowledge of a variety of physiologies. -- Language: Having had decades to learn, and having lived or visited many different regions, Helen also has an extensive knowledge of several different languages. Among those which she can read, write, or speak (or a combination of the three) are Italian, Zulu, Cambodian, Norwegian, French, German, sign language (American and British), Morse code, Japanese, Greek, Spanish, and of course, English. -- Combat: She has a familiarity with a variety of different weapons, including those invented by people within her network. However, she is most commonly seen with her handgun. She is also highly skilled in hand-to-hand combat. -- Other: While most of this is based on headcanon or interviews, I tend to believe Helen is both artistically and musically inclined but has had little time to practice in recent years. I also suspect she has a hidden talent for cooking, though she rarely puts it to use.
This list is probably not nearly all-inclusive. She has over a century's worth of learning and experience to draw on, and sadly, I'm not nearly as talented as she is.
[CANON] Helen Magnus || Sanctuary || No Reserve || 2 of 3
While her longevity has been a blessing in her work, it has often been a curse in other ways. Imagine knowing you will outlive virtually everyone you love. This is a reality Helen lives with every day. She is painfully aware that she will likely lose anyone she gets close to, either through her work or to age. Perhaps some of her most significant losses were those of James Watson, her partner and colleague of more than a century, and her daughter, Ashley. Over time, this awareness has come to have a significant impact on the decisions she makes and the relationships she has.
Though she sometimes appears soft, there is no question Helen is strong, capable, and passionate about her work. We see exactly how far she is willing to go in order to protect her work when we learn about The Five hunting down Adam Worth. It is also seen in the countless times she has risked her life for the Sanctuary. However, upon first meeting her, she can often seem distant. In truth, she is quite the opposite.
Helen is a very guarded individual, as much out of necessity as anything else. The unknown length of her life, and the uncertainty of her work has left her reluctant to open up to another person. Those she allows behind her walls are few, and she selects them carefully. It means a great deal if she is willing to open her heart to you, or even simply be herself in your company.
This is not to say she is shy about intimacy. She is comfortable with herself and her body, and she is surprisingly fond of physical contact, knowing that a simple touch can often mean more than words. This is most obvious when she is with those closest to her, especially with her daughter. Her body language is more apt to voice her thoughts than she is, and if one truly hopes to gain insight into her emotions, they need only learn to pay attention to her eyes.
Helen is confident, occasionally to a fault, but she also tends to take others’ burdens as her own. She harbors a tremendous amount of guilt, often blaming herself for circumstances beyond her control. While she makes it a practice not to hold regrets, her mistakes and failures are rarely far from the surface, influencing her methods and actions.
Though Helen has lived too long and seen too much to follow any specific religion, she has a great deal of faith. She is very spiritual, in her own way. She does believe there is something greater than herself, and at times, she draws strength and comfort from that belief. Still, what truly keeps her waking up in the morning is her work. She has devoted nearly her entire life to ensuring abnormals are given protection and common courtesy, while also working to protect humans from those abnormals too dangerous to be allowed freedom.
One of Helen’s more interesting qualities is her sense of humor. It is very dry and occasionally almost unsophisticated. This is usually only seen when she is in the company of those she considers close friends.
Underneath it all, Helen is caring and compassionate in everything she does, giving to others more than she would ever consider taking for herself. She is a very unique individual who has lived through things most could not imagine, but she takes it mostly in stride. Her work is never finished, and she will not rest until it is.
Background: @ Wikipedia
Abilities:
Because Helen has lived for more than a century, she has an impressive body of knowledge and a great deal of experience. This has also given her a longer view of things, allowing her to understand the world in a different manner than most. We understand that history repeats itself because we have read the textbooks. She knows because she's watched it happen. Living so long has also given her decades to study a variety of topics, as well as practice a number of different hobbies
-- Longevity: During an experiment in which she was injected with a serum derived from vampire blood, she was graced with extreme longevity. She still ages, but incredibly slowly. This is why she appears to be in her mid-forties, though she is well over 100 years old. I will point out that while often viewed similarly, this is not the same as immortality. Helen can be injured or killed just like any other human. At most, the blood may have provided her with an added resistance to illness and somewhat improved healing, though this has never been made entirely clear within the series.
-- Education: Unsurprisingly, given her advanced age, Helen has had more opportunity than most to further her education. And she has definitely made use of it. As a result, she has several doctorates, including medicine, xenobiology, cryptozoology, and teratology. While her primary focus appears to be medicine, her work requires the active practice of each of these degrees. Due to the nature of her work, studying abnormals, she has a vast knowledge of a variety of physiologies.
-- Language: Having had decades to learn, and having lived or visited many different regions, Helen also has an extensive knowledge of several different languages. Among those which she can read, write, or speak (or a combination of the three) are Italian, Zulu, Cambodian, Norwegian, French, German, sign language (American and British), Morse code, Japanese, Greek, Spanish, and of course, English.
-- Combat: She has a familiarity with a variety of different weapons, including those invented by people within her network. However, she is most commonly seen with her handgun. She is also highly skilled in hand-to-hand combat.
-- Other: While most of this is based on headcanon or interviews, I tend to believe Helen is both artistically and musically inclined but has had little time to practice in recent years. I also suspect she has a hidden talent for cooking, though she rarely puts it to use.
This list is probably not nearly all-inclusive. She has over a century's worth of learning and experience to draw on, and sadly, I'm not nearly as talented as she is.