You think you've seen the sun, but you ain't seen it shine ;

→ PERMISSION MEME

2009-04-05T04:49:03Z

☆ Threadhopping with this character - yes/no/maybe so?: Yes.

☆ Backtagging with this character - yes/no/maybe so?: Yes.

☆ Hugging this character?: It might surprise her at first but yes, totally acceptable.

☆ Giving this character a kiss?: She's engaged so I highly doubt this.

☆ Punching this character: Nope.

☆ Is there anything ought not be mentioned near this character?: Nada.

☆ Is there anything you need us to know about interacting with this character? Special physical features, fighting abilities, STUFF: Don't come between her and her sweets.

☆ Anything else, please mention here: Nothing.

→ APPLICATION

2009-04-05T04:45:40Z

Player Name: Maegen (aka Fred!)
Player LJ: nodoff
Email and/or AIM: pale.wisteria@gmail.com/ladygallifreyan
Timezone: CST
Other Characters: Romanadvoratrelundar II (Doctor Who); Xellos (Slayers)

Character: Brenda Leigh Johnson
Series/Fandom: The Closer
Deviance: 1

Age: 40
Gender: Female
Species: Human

Canon Used: Season 3 Episode 13 “’Til Death Do Us Part (Part 2)”

Appearance: A petite woman with blond curls, one wouldn’t expect Brenda to be a top notch detective in charge of LA’s finest, but what she lacks in size she makes up in spirit. Whenever she’s out she always has her black bag that pretty much carries her life and her wardrobe is pretty down-to-earth, mainly of the dresses and suit outfit variety.

Psychology: Brenda Leigh Johnson is a workaholic with a job as a professional liar.

Stubborn to a fault this woman has enough history in law enforcement as well as the government to entitle her to some sort of an ego. She has had to make decisions in the past that no person should ever have to. Nor does she take crap from anyone, be they a criminal or someone higher up on the political chain. And she is willing to do what she feels in necessary to close her case because in the end, that is what her salary pays her to do. While more often than not her methods are arguable, even toeing if not crossing the line entirely, when it comes to her wrapping up a case.

Brenda is good at her job. No, scratch that – she is damn good at her job. As the deputy chief of the Los Angeles Major Crimes Unit she commands a staff of men and women from different branches of the police force. And for the past four years she has proven herself to be something of a hassle at times. She has a habit of spending money that the department does not have in order to get what she needs done. Also, she can be demanding, but at heart her intentions are good. The one important fact to keep in mind is that she lies for a living and Brenda is forced into situations where she will have to make decisions that are unbearable to consider. And as terrible as they may be, if she were given a chance to go back and do it all over again? She wouldn’t change one thing.

The problem though is that her work consumes her. As a side affect, her personal life is something of a mess. Engaged to her fiancé, Fritz Howard of the FBI, and struggling to maintain her relationship with her parents, it’s any wonder this woman hasn’t cracked. Stress weighs down on her making it even harder for her to do her job. An example would be when she was handed the case involving the death of two guards and a robbery of a bank. It was Christmas and she followed a fugitive down to Atlanta, her home town, where she tried to pass off a visit to her family to cover her capturing the fugitive. One thing leading to another, Brenda found herself in an RV with her parents, Fritz, Provensa, Flynn and Wesley, the young man she went down there to find.

One of the most redeeming qualities for this woman too is her compassion for others. In the before mentioned case, she made the decision to lie to Wesley, telling him his brother had been brutally murdered in order to convince him to help her with the case. Over the trip both she and Wesley had a conversation about his life. The boy flat out stated that she had it lucky with her family. How her parents were there for her and helping her like this when it broke her father’s heart knowing that they came second to a criminal case. Again.

Now, when the time arrived where they reached back to the city, there is a significant change in her mannerisms around Wesley. Even Flynn and Provensa are kinder to the boy, just showing how even the biggest of asses are human, but then again this isn’t about them. Even after he had figured out the truth of his brother being alive Wesley wasn’t angry with her. In fact, he thanked her and her parents for everything. And when the next bank heist came to be, he took it upon himself to kill the two men. It was Brenda screaming at him to drop the gun that convinced him to listen. But even after the gun fell from his hands the driver of the armored car shot him and Brenda was distraught when she found his lifeless body falls to the parking lot. In the aftermath her father speaks to her later the next day where Wesley’s younger brother had been staying in her own home for protection the whole time. The extra money she and Fritz made from selling their home was used to buy the boy gifts for Christmas. And when she and father spoke while everyone waited for them outside, her father told his daughter that he understood the pressures of her job and was going to help her with the young boy – he and her mother would take him back home to Georgia, telling him that his brother was now working undercover for the police. And once he became used to living alone they would break it to him that his brother had died a hero.

But steps Brenda takes doesn’t just apply to cases to find her murderer – she has been known to extend these skills to protect her squad when they make a mistake. During the case of the missing girl, Ruby Williams, Brenda worked with Commander Taylor to help cover Gabriel’s drastic measures of beating the suspect to get the girl’s location. Taylor in turn arranged for the rapist/murderer to spend time in general population where it was let slip that he was a child molester – needless to say the man was nearly beaten to death before the guard finally decided to show and pull him out. While it didn’t solve the problem it gave them enough time to help Gabriel in order to save his career.

She will manipulate people at times too, bending her words and the truth to get what she needs. Not even the CIA, her previous employer, is not safe from her clever words and thinking. Managing to get her team put back together after the shoot-out in the (at the time) Priority Homicide department by complying to the deal she made with them to solve a case for them only to the letter of the deal. When they wanted more from her she refused to unless they would guarantee her job back with her team.

Brenda will do anything for her family and her team – they are everything to her. And while she can be eccentric and brash and at times downright difficult to handle, she can get the job done.

Other Skills/Abilities: Along with her top notch skills as a detective and former CIA agent, she can also speak German, Russian, and Czech. But the most notable skill of her’s is what she is paid to be the best at – to lie and get a confession.

Other Weaknesses: Chocolate; Chocolate with a capital C H O L O L A T E. Whenever stress hits her hard or this woman is pissed off beyond belief she will crave chocolate. Now at her age she is self-conscious about her sugar and knows that all that sugar isn’t good for her health either – but damn if she doesn’t love that decadent candy.

History: With her history originating with her work in both the CIA and the Atlanta Police Department, her old flame-now-Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department William Pope offered her a position as the Deputy Chief of the newly formed Priority Homicide Division. There had been a scandal back home in the Atlanta PD that resulted in an internal investigation because Brenda's ex-husband had accused her of having an affair with a younger officer. This was, of course, not true, but because of it work for Brenda had become more difficult. When Pope offered this position Brenda took it and soon found herself smack dab in LA county with the directional skills of a blind person holding a map.

The first year consisted of her wading through all the crap her team gave her in the beginning. Loyalties were pushed and Brenda had to deal with not only a new team, but resistance against her methods from the DA and FBI as well. Multiple cases resulted in her involvement, not to mention the stepping on toes, with other divisions and groups. But to this deputy chief all she cared about was getting the confession and solving the case. By the end of the year she had started up a new relationship with an old flame and gained the trust of her squad, all while narrowly avoiding losing her job had it not been for her new found loyalty from her team.

Year two was a little better but still there were complications. Her personally life is taken to the new level as her relationship with Fritz progresses. This, of course, includes the traditional moving in with each other, oops-am-I-pregnant- scenario and trying to avoid the fact she was turning forty years old that year. But on top of this and the fiasco of cases (varying from dismembered porn stars in a dumpster to star witnesses to a major trial being killed), Brenda is also caught in the middle of Pope's divorce with his current wife, Estelle, that ultimately ends in Estelle blowing in blowing Brenda's secret of having had an affair with Pope years ago. There go two years of loyalty down the drain - yeah, nice, Estelle. Nice job. But then again, there is nothing like a shoot out in your own precinct's office to bring everyone back together. Not to mention get you on two months paid leave that lands you a side job of working a case for the CIA involved with a guy who looks a lot like Mr. Feeny in order to get your job and team back.

But of course if it isn't one thing, it's another. Trouble with finances puts a massive restriction on Brenda with her job. And on top of that she came so close to having to face losing one of her detectives due to the budget cuts - needless to say the start of this season was not a very pleasant one. Her team is pushed to the brink as well - multiple times Brenda has to cover for the actions of her team when they go to far, like when Gabriel beat up a suspect just to get the information on the location of a missing eight year old girl. Had it not been for Taylor's help things would have gone straight to hell. She believes in her team but even she has her limits. The stress of the budget cuts and the strain of what her detectives are putting on her only worsen her health condition though. Throw in the traumatic and disturbing cases she takes on and a surprise visit from her parents and you have a perfect example of basket case!Brenda Leigh Johnson. It helps though for her to know that despite it all, Fritz has stuck by her and proposed to her.

Reality: It's the year 2008 and Los Angeles, California is the thriving City of the West Coast. Much like it's eastern counter part, New York, Los Angeles is the place to go for excitement and entertainment. It tends to be the home of multiple celebrities, ranging from movie stars to big-time singers. It has it's fair share of high-volume city life for both the celebrities and the city folk with it's shopping plazas, concert halls and constant filming that can happen on any street corner. This city is the hot-spot no matter what time it is, day or night. It never sleeps. And neither does the crime.

→ I want to see the end of various fascinations [that seem fragile]

2008-09-16T03:31:18Z

[ OOC Note: Epic season finale is epic. And also a really cruel cliffhanger which I hate you for, TNT. Four months until January-- the heck am I going to do until then? D: ]

BAM.

BAM.

BAM.

Not like this.

There was blood seeping through his shirt--onto her.

Not like this.

He flinched, he convulsed, he struggled.

Not like this.

One boy with the arsenal of a miniature army against the entire Major Crimes Squad and a member of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He had bullet proof gear, pipe bombs, a machine gun and no sanity left in his mind.

They only had their hand guns and a few clips at the waist, the urgency to protect the lives of the innocent below.

A team of three high school graduates whittled down to one. One desperate, lost mind that was hell-bent on the revival of Columbine.

"This is a direct order-- breathe!"

The roar of the helicopter was enough to give her a splitting headache but she didn't give a damn. Nothing mattered.

Four years.

Four years and it could fall apart in the next five minutes.

Blood stains and mentalities strained.

Keep it together---Hold it together---don't loose control.

"BREATHE!"

Not when they've made it this far. They were like family to her now and she wasn't going to leave them alone. She held onto him as tight as she could and tried to keep him steady. Fingers gripping the stained clothing she could feel his body shake. The pain was enveloping his entire nervous system and shutting down his body.

"Breathe, dammit!"

Hold on.

Hold on.

Hold on.

Three bullets.

Three ways to die.

"Just hold on-- they'll get you to the hospital. You just hafta to hold on!!!"

His breathing sparratic. His hands gripped her own so tight she thought her bones just might break. It didn't matter, none of that matter. Three dead boys were about to cost her a friend and college.

Not like this.

Damn you, Darwin.

Damn you to hell.

"Breathe, Julio-- breathe!!!"

Word Count: 277
Prompt: None

→ One day here [the next day gone]

2008-09-14T20:54:46Z

Pass a Secret Note ✘ Meme

→ Listen boy [don't want to see a good thing slip away]

2008-09-09T02:22:54Z

An identity is a very powerful thing.

It gives you a name, a face, a voice in the crowd. It defines who you are and what you are capable of. With an identity people can be tracked down, protected, helped, arrested, brought to justice --- all in fairness and, though not all the time, in equal.

Having an identity is something we tend to take advantage of. Everyday it can be stolen or ruined. We depend on the very fact that we have one. And because of this it can be taken for granted.

But as dangerous as it can be to have one, it's even far more worse to have more than one. Oh, money can buy you whatever it is you need. Bribery can keep you from doing the right thin. Letting the money rule all that you are less you even less of a man than one without a name. Hiding behind the name of another can cause that confusion that will one day turn around and destroy you. You make that one mistake of carrying two passports in your back pocket and bam it's all over.

And why is that?

Because with so many names being tossed about through word of mouth in county jails and gossip on the street, nobody knows who you really are. They only have a name and a bounty reward to go by.

When someone already has so many names as it is, why, there isn't any trouble at all in adding a new one to the list.

Commandante Martin.

Or was it Raoul?

No wait, isn't it Manuel?

Really now, it's much too hard to decide.

Word Count: 269
Prompt: Opinion

→ It isn't too hard [to see]

2008-09-05T06:42:48Z

Because the season finale is coming up and I haven't done my part to write for her, pick a Brenda, any Brenda, and I'll write a drabble.

1. Playful!Brenda
2. Angsty!Brenda
3. Flailing!Brenda
4. Incarcerated!Brenda
5. Incorrect!Brenda
6. Ill!Brenda
7. Drunk!Brenda
8. Sporty!Brenda
9. On-the-sea!Brenda
10. Restful!Brenda
11. In-uniform!Brenda
12. Young!Brenda
13. Awkward!Brenda
14. Happy!Brenda
15. Thoughtful!Brenda
16. Bedtime!Brenda
17. Jealous!Brenda
18. Inquisitive!Brenda
19. Confused!Brenda
20. Holidaying!Brenda
21. Angry!Brenda
22. Loving!Brenda
23. Working!Brenda
24. Needs-a-Hug!Brenda
25. Choose your own!Brenda

→ Something waits for you [to breathe again]

2008-08-26T05:14:24Z

That was... It just ain't right.

[ooc: Tonight's episode? It completely and utterly broke my heart.]

→ For some reason [I can not explain]

2008-08-19T06:20:19Z

"He was the monster!"

Monsters came in the guise of so many that it was difficult to tell them apart from others just by looking at their faces alone. From where she sat on the other side on the interrogation table, she maintained the calm, collected facade as the father lapsed into the story.

A story that he spoke with with the tone of someone lost in their memories. It was if he was speaking a narration of the events like he was witnessing them all over again as the third party instead of the first.

Brenda had always known that crimes of passion could be just as stomach churning as premeditated murder. The opened binder was lying between her and Tao with the parents on the other side. The hammer print was glaring up at them all, the red ink vibrant, taunting. Both of the parents were gazing at the hammer before exchanging significant glances, his story continuing.

In her mind Brenda could see it - the blur of the house hold hammer meeting with the flesh and bone of the Russian child's head.

A sickening crack.

The thump of the body slamming the ground.

No movement. Just the silence of the air and his heart pounding painfully in his chest.

And then the second smash of metal to flesh.

"He wasn't mine."

The door closed behind her, the click almost echoing in the hall. She breathed in deeply and clutched both the binder and hammer to her chest. In the room Tao had reminded with the parents. The wife was still holding her husband close as she cried into his hair, his own expression tired and blank as he held onto her.

First they had believed it had been the child's friend. The clues certainly fit in place. There had been motive, there had been justification for the crime for the kid.

It's amazing how the ones someone would think they could trust would be the ones to lay out the perfect frame.

As she looked down the hall Gabriel had caught her gaze. Seated in the small row of chairs there the daughter was hunched over, her hands covering her face as her shoulders shook.

Watching him crouch down and console the girl, Brenda gripped the hammer's handle tightly.

"We had our family again."

Prompt: Soul
Word Count: 372

→ Wrote a couple of words [to tell you]

2008-07-28T07:56:43Z

1 question...
1 chance...
1 honest answer...

That's all you get. Ask me one question. Any one question, anything, no matter how crazy it is. An honest answer. No catch.

All comments will be screened so your question stays private between you and me, and only you will get to see my answer to your question. But I dare you to repost this and see what people ask you.

[ooc: Comments are not really screened, but each conversation is private. Taken from ambitious_woman]

→ Each one is different [but they're always the same]

2008-07-20T07:49:16Z

There had been flashing lights and blaring sirens filling the air. Yellow police tap strung out along the sides of the parking lot with cars filling a third of the spaces. Cops were on the scene trying to contain the crowd while the detectives were busying themselves with the one parking spot that was occupied with something other than a car.

Three hours ago when Brenda climbed out of the passenger seat of the car, she could see the victim between Tao and Flynn: a child. A child no more than seven or eight dressed in a shirt depicting a blond-haired princess in pink and a spreading stain of crimson. A little toy hand bag was by her side; a little change purse had fallen from it, the coins scattered around the body.

The sound of clicking heels approaching snapped her out of her thoughts: it was Detective Daniels. Her eyes focusing on the pad in her hand instead of the body, she explained the details to her.

“The victim’s name is Abigail Williams, seven and half years old. She and her mother were leaving the super market just a few minutes after nine when a gang fight had broken out in the lot across from here,” she began, pointing to it. “She was hit by a stray bullet through the chest.”

“What about her mother?” It had been a stupid question to ask because not even a second had passed before Brenda heard the wail of a distraught mother. When she turned to see her expression instantly fell: Provensa was trying to console a woman, thirties it looked. Her face was contorted and stained with tears streaming down her cheeks. The detective had to hold her to keep her from collapsing to the ground.

“Please, please, let me see her! Let me see my Abby!” she sobbed into his sleeves.

It was difficult to look away when Brenda suddenly found the mother’s frantic gaze meeting her strained calm one. “A- and the shooter… was the shooter found?”

“No, but Sanchez knows the possible gangs that could be involved---he’s looking into the matter now. He said he would contact you as soon he finds out.”

“All right… thank you.”

In those three hours the chaos had died down. Night had fallen, the crowds dispersed and cars having driven away. The tape was still up and a patrol car parked along the edge, her own not far from it. Brenda found herself standing by that same parking space in that time, alone with the empty shopping carts that still had to be collected. She crouched down by the spot, her purse dropping to the ground with a dull thump. The contents rattled, tipping over on its side.

It was hard to imagine, even harder to stomach. Brenda had seen more than her fair share of tragic killings, some having been childen as well. But it didn’t stop the gut-wrenching feeling inside nor could she forget the face of the grieving mother that haunted her memory. Eyes fixed on the dried stain upon the cement she could see the little girl laying there again.

“This ain’t right,” she muttered to no one. “Lord, this just ain’t right.”

Prompt: Image.
Word Count: 536

→ I can't deny [these things that I do]

2008-07-19T03:30:18Z

Ten Things I Do Everyday
[01] Check on Kitty and feed her before leaving (and to be absolutely sure the door is closed before leaving).
[02] Find my glasses.
[03] Go to work.
[04] Try not to get lost while driving (really now, this is just frustratin' how crazy these LA drivers are!).
[05] Follow through and solve whatever murder case I may find sitting on my desk.
[06] Talk to Will.
[07] Call Fritz.
[08] Attempt to refrain from eating too many sweets (it doesn't help that half the time Tao will bring in something---and my peppermint patties. I just can't resist them!).
[09] Upon arriving home, depending on how the day went, either tea or a big glass of merlot.
[10] Some quality time with Fritz.

→ Who start all of your fires [Burning, burning your city down]

2008-07-17T01:04:06Z

A home that was really just a temporary one. But, regardless, it was someplace for her to go home to. To rest, to think, to clear her head and maybe even drink a big glass of merlot while Fritz just sat with her on the rather cluttered couch.

The thing is, though, she wasn't expecting any company other than the plumber. And when he told her that he let her friend in she could only meet this statement with a look of puzzlement. It could be Fritz --- he would be getting back anytime now.

Relax.

When recognition clicked, so did the safety on her gun.

Croelick. In her house. Again.

He held his hands up as a sign of peace. He smiled at her. She kept the barrel aimed on him. She scowled.

Relax.

It was only a visit to say goodbye. At least, that was his explanation. A load of bull, she thought. He had followed her before, those few years ago, and broke into her home. And here he was again after she was sure that she would be safe.

There was a flick of his wrist and her gun rose higher, targeting his head. Within moments two candles were lit on the dining table between them.

Candles that she had never seen before until now.

Relax.

He'd say. It was time to part ways--the lawsuit would settle soon and he, and his four million dollars, would be waltzing away and out of her life completely. Croelick was cleared of his 'crime' three years ago but she knew that wouldn't change him. His help in the case of Linda Harold's murder was proof enough.

But now, to him, she was an old flame. How crudely ironic on his part to say. The candles he had set, Bill had continued, was the symbolism of such. And as if time liked to play jokes on her, Brenda heard the front door open and Fritz' voice looking for her.

Brenda's gun was enough of an response to get Croelick and his smiling, arrogant face, out the back door and out of her life. For good.

""I will think of you often, Just Plain Brenda. I hope to see you, not at all."

The door clicked.

He was gone.

Relax.

c_onfess @ 2008-07-16T19:11:00

2008-07-17T00:12:12Z

You'd think that they would learn.