jeremiah collins. (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
unreturned) wrote2012-10-23 10:46 pm
unreturned) wrote2012-10-23 10:46 pm
Entry tags:
biography.
note: jeremiah collins is based on the same character from the 1966 soap opera, simply revised to fit into the timeline of the burton film.
Jeremiah Collins is the uncle of Barnabas Collins, thus the younger brother of Joshua Collins. Much younger. So young, in fact, that in England, Barnabas and Jeremiah regarded each other as brothers. They were quite close in their relationship as well as age, though it all came to a close when Joshua, married and with a family, took him and several servants away to make a new life somewhere called Maine. Actually, if we wanna get specific - somewhere called Massachusetts.
Slowly but surely, upon the news of Joshua’s success, more news began trickling in of members of the Collins family leaving their homeland of England and heading to this new world. Jeremiah resolved that, when he was old enough, he would make his own way there. The opportunity came sooner rather than later, however, as in his mid-teens, Jeremiah’s parents died at a staggeringly old age. With his new lack of ties to England, Jeremiah boarded his own ship and sailed out to meet his brother and nephew in Collinsport.
Of course, once there, Jeremiah had no trouble settling in. Collinwood is enormous, after all, and Barnabas and Jeremiah got on famously, even after spending over a decade apart. Barnabas was anxious to take Jeremiah out on the town, show him the local sights - meaning the women, teach him how to charm them. But Jeremiah was capable of doing that in his own way, taking to music and academics: quieter, more heartfelt ways of courtship. He never was the playboy that Barnabas was, however.
In fact, Jeremiah found himself quite unlucky in love. Their relative, Edward Collins, came to Collinwood for a visit and brought along with him his beautiful young wife, Laura. Jeremiah was smitten instantly, but he knew his place. He kept his secret locked up tight, speaking of it to absolutely no one.
Joshua, however, happened to be more perceptive than Jeremiah would have liked. Joshua began to insist that Jeremiah occupy his thoughts with another woman, and tried several times to arrange courtships with “suitable” women from the town. Naturally, none of these women could compare to Laura for Jeremiah, even in the short time that he saw her.
And then, suddenly, one could. Her name was Josette du Prés, and she was Barnabas’ fiancée.
Laura was immediately eclipsed in his mind: all thoughts and signs pointed to Josette. She inspired his music, he attempted to take up writing for her, to express all the thoughts that he dared not speak aloud. Josette was absolutely everything. When Barnabas confided to him that Josette was his one true love, and he had sworn to give up his womanizing ways for her, Jeremiah nodded and congratulated him. Secretly, he thought that his nephew didn’t understand half of it.
The wedding was planned quickly, to take place in less than a month, and relatives from all over began pouring in and filling the rooms of Collinwood. Not the least of which were Josette’s aunt, the Countess Natalie du Prés, the returning Edward - and Laura, though Jeremiah paid no notice, and young cousin Millicent Collins, hailing from New York. Joshua wasted no time in a quite forceful attempt to fix Jeremiah up with Millicent, pushing quite heavily for a double-wedding, in fact. Unfortunately, tragedy struck when Joshua and Naomi were killed in a freak accident while walking one night.
As Barnabas began to obsess over the occult, Jeremiah realized that he could use this to his advantage. He had an idea, and a very simple one in his mind: if he only could have met Josette first, he could have made her his. He could be the one to marry her in a matter of weeks. He consulted Barnabas about the possibility of constructing something that could make one travel through time. Eventually, he decided on a staircase, as it seemed an appropriate enough symbol. He began construction in the cellar.
When Josette fell from Widows’ Hill, Jeremiah knew that not all was lost: he would see her again. He had to. But when Barnabas went missing, he stopped working on the staircase, all motivation gone. He could play his music anymore. Josette was gone; he couldn’t even begin to write except of death and the doom that seemed to have fallen on the family.
It was then that Jeremiah realized the course that he would take. Some way out of the darkness. His lack of luck in love would surely have made it so that he would not be missed. His immediate family was gone as well; if Jeremiah needed a bright side, he could simply tell himself that he was joining them.
Angelique kept all sorts of strange herbs in her dresser. He remembered her pointing out the poisonous ones to him one time, and he was certain she wouldn’t miss a few. He stole the bottle and went out into the woods, so not to alarm any servants or guests, and there he downed the stolen poison.
He’d just counted on the afterlife being more of an escape.
In parallel time, Jeremiah is still the uncle of Jeremiah, and all of his history up to the meeting of Josette still apply. However, due to a case of mistaken identity, Jeremiah wound up pretending to be Barnabas during a masquerade ball to fool Josette, as it had become apparent that his nephew was dallying with a servant girl - Angelique. Ultimately, Jeremiah chose to reveal himself - but not before revealing his feelings to the woman.
During the party, a member of the family was attacked, and after Jeremiah sent for the doctor, he simply seemed to disappear. Due to cowardice and part shame, Jeremiah stole away to the inn, where he stayed for a few days before reluctantly returning home and reuniting with Josette - and completely unaware of what had transpired between his nephew, Angelique, and his brother, Joshua. When the two of them discovered Joshua near-death in the garden, Jeremiah and Josette went to the older house on the property to investigate. There, they discovered that Angelique and Barnabas were having an affair - and prior to that, they had attempted to run away together. Enraged by the lack of respect for the woman he adored, Jeremiah turned violent toward his nephew. Ashamed again, he ran.
The very same day, Joshua had been compelled to jump from Widows' Hill (partially an attempt by Quentin, the "mysterious cousin," and Laura Collins to reset the timeline to something recognizable). Consumed and confused by his grief, and Josette only wanting to help, the two of them wound up spending the night together. Afterward, Josette insisted that she did not love him.
Things remained cold between the two until the day of Joshua's funeral, during which Quentin hinted that Josette may have been with child. That evening, Jeremiah approached the subject with her, and somehow, it turned into a marriage proposal. She accepted. They were happy.
And then they were drawn back into 1972.
Jeremiah Collins is the uncle of Barnabas Collins, thus the younger brother of Joshua Collins. Much younger. So young, in fact, that in England, Barnabas and Jeremiah regarded each other as brothers. They were quite close in their relationship as well as age, though it all came to a close when Joshua, married and with a family, took him and several servants away to make a new life somewhere called Maine. Actually, if we wanna get specific - somewhere called Massachusetts.
Slowly but surely, upon the news of Joshua’s success, more news began trickling in of members of the Collins family leaving their homeland of England and heading to this new world. Jeremiah resolved that, when he was old enough, he would make his own way there. The opportunity came sooner rather than later, however, as in his mid-teens, Jeremiah’s parents died at a staggeringly old age. With his new lack of ties to England, Jeremiah boarded his own ship and sailed out to meet his brother and nephew in Collinsport.
Of course, once there, Jeremiah had no trouble settling in. Collinwood is enormous, after all, and Barnabas and Jeremiah got on famously, even after spending over a decade apart. Barnabas was anxious to take Jeremiah out on the town, show him the local sights - meaning the women, teach him how to charm them. But Jeremiah was capable of doing that in his own way, taking to music and academics: quieter, more heartfelt ways of courtship. He never was the playboy that Barnabas was, however.
In fact, Jeremiah found himself quite unlucky in love. Their relative, Edward Collins, came to Collinwood for a visit and brought along with him his beautiful young wife, Laura. Jeremiah was smitten instantly, but he knew his place. He kept his secret locked up tight, speaking of it to absolutely no one.
Joshua, however, happened to be more perceptive than Jeremiah would have liked. Joshua began to insist that Jeremiah occupy his thoughts with another woman, and tried several times to arrange courtships with “suitable” women from the town. Naturally, none of these women could compare to Laura for Jeremiah, even in the short time that he saw her.
And then, suddenly, one could. Her name was Josette du Prés, and she was Barnabas’ fiancée.
Laura was immediately eclipsed in his mind: all thoughts and signs pointed to Josette. She inspired his music, he attempted to take up writing for her, to express all the thoughts that he dared not speak aloud. Josette was absolutely everything. When Barnabas confided to him that Josette was his one true love, and he had sworn to give up his womanizing ways for her, Jeremiah nodded and congratulated him. Secretly, he thought that his nephew didn’t understand half of it.
The wedding was planned quickly, to take place in less than a month, and relatives from all over began pouring in and filling the rooms of Collinwood. Not the least of which were Josette’s aunt, the Countess Natalie du Prés, the returning Edward - and Laura, though Jeremiah paid no notice, and young cousin Millicent Collins, hailing from New York. Joshua wasted no time in a quite forceful attempt to fix Jeremiah up with Millicent, pushing quite heavily for a double-wedding, in fact. Unfortunately, tragedy struck when Joshua and Naomi were killed in a freak accident while walking one night.
As Barnabas began to obsess over the occult, Jeremiah realized that he could use this to his advantage. He had an idea, and a very simple one in his mind: if he only could have met Josette first, he could have made her his. He could be the one to marry her in a matter of weeks. He consulted Barnabas about the possibility of constructing something that could make one travel through time. Eventually, he decided on a staircase, as it seemed an appropriate enough symbol. He began construction in the cellar.
When Josette fell from Widows’ Hill, Jeremiah knew that not all was lost: he would see her again. He had to. But when Barnabas went missing, he stopped working on the staircase, all motivation gone. He could play his music anymore. Josette was gone; he couldn’t even begin to write except of death and the doom that seemed to have fallen on the family.
It was then that Jeremiah realized the course that he would take. Some way out of the darkness. His lack of luck in love would surely have made it so that he would not be missed. His immediate family was gone as well; if Jeremiah needed a bright side, he could simply tell himself that he was joining them.
Angelique kept all sorts of strange herbs in her dresser. He remembered her pointing out the poisonous ones to him one time, and he was certain she wouldn’t miss a few. He stole the bottle and went out into the woods, so not to alarm any servants or guests, and there he downed the stolen poison.
He’d just counted on the afterlife being more of an escape.
In parallel time, Jeremiah is still the uncle of Jeremiah, and all of his history up to the meeting of Josette still apply. However, due to a case of mistaken identity, Jeremiah wound up pretending to be Barnabas during a masquerade ball to fool Josette, as it had become apparent that his nephew was dallying with a servant girl - Angelique. Ultimately, Jeremiah chose to reveal himself - but not before revealing his feelings to the woman.
During the party, a member of the family was attacked, and after Jeremiah sent for the doctor, he simply seemed to disappear. Due to cowardice and part shame, Jeremiah stole away to the inn, where he stayed for a few days before reluctantly returning home and reuniting with Josette - and completely unaware of what had transpired between his nephew, Angelique, and his brother, Joshua. When the two of them discovered Joshua near-death in the garden, Jeremiah and Josette went to the older house on the property to investigate. There, they discovered that Angelique and Barnabas were having an affair - and prior to that, they had attempted to run away together. Enraged by the lack of respect for the woman he adored, Jeremiah turned violent toward his nephew. Ashamed again, he ran.
The very same day, Joshua had been compelled to jump from Widows' Hill (partially an attempt by Quentin, the "mysterious cousin," and Laura Collins to reset the timeline to something recognizable). Consumed and confused by his grief, and Josette only wanting to help, the two of them wound up spending the night together. Afterward, Josette insisted that she did not love him.
Things remained cold between the two until the day of Joshua's funeral, during which Quentin hinted that Josette may have been with child. That evening, Jeremiah approached the subject with her, and somehow, it turned into a marriage proposal. She accepted. They were happy.
And then they were drawn back into 1972.