Miriam Collins

Miriam Collins is an agent in the Department of Mary Sues. She is written by KGarrett.

Appearance
Miriam is fairly short, standing only 5'4", and slightly on the heavy side. While not fat, she has enough meat on her bones that she can't exactly be called thin, either. Due to having lived in a state of deserts and high temperatures all her life, Miriam's skin is rather tanned, contrasting somewhat with her blue eyes and light brown hair. Miriam keeps her hair cut almost boyishly short, though it is still long enough for some of it to fall around her face. Aside from brushing hair out of her eyes on occasion, she doesn't bother doing much about this. On the whole, she considers herself fairly plain, and doesn't pay much mind to what most others think of her appearance. She tends to dress practically, with black trainers, jeans, and a sleeveless shirt. She usually wears a brown bomber jacket over this, intentionally a bit too big for her so that she can cover up more easily, mostly due to HQ being noticeably colder than the environment she's used to.

Personality


One could never seriously call Miriam a sociable person. She doesn't go out of her way to be rude to people, and can actually be pretty friendly at times, but on the whole she'd rather avoid interacting with most people. Having always been withdrawn and somewhat taciturn by nature, Miriam much prefers to be alone or in the company of a few close friends, finding most social situations more trouble than they're worth. There are times when she is willing to open up to others, or try socialising, but they're comparatively rare, especially compared to her partner.

Like Cara, Miriam's a Tolkien fanatic at heart, and has been for much of her life. While she isn't quite as obsessive in some areas as her partner, she is more so in others. For example, while Cara considers the films an acceptable, if alternate, version of the canon, Miriam is very outspoken about her hatred of them, seeing them as effectively blasphemy. She also believes that Peter Jackson is the direct cause of every single Lord of the Rings badfic. Other than that, and in cases where Sues or other badfic-related happenings mess with Boromir, she is rather slower to anger than her partner. However, like most agents, she has picked up a sarcastic streak a mile wide, and will snark at anyone who gives her an excuse, even people she likes. Generally, she's civil enough unless someone has done something to really set her off, if not the most outgoing person.

History
Miriam was recruited in mid-July 2009 by her older brother, Terry Collins, who had been recruited a few months beforehand. Having managed to wrangle a vacation from the Sunflower Official, Terry visited their home town to check on the people he'd known, and to explain to his family just what had happened. While his parents were told that he'd found a job overseas, he gave Miriam the true account, explaining the PPC to her and asking her if she wanted to join. After a few days, having taken a good part of Terry's one week off to figure out what she wanted to do, Miriam decided to accept Terry's offer, as the recent high school graduate had found herself looking for something worthwhile to do with her life.

After an evaluation by FicPsych and a brief interview with the Marquis de Sod, Miriam went through basic training, after which she was partnered with veteran Agent Cara Fielding, whose previous partner had been transferred to Implausible Crossovers to allow for it. She has been working with Cara ever since, but hasn't done much of note. Both she and her brother have been sending mail to their parents and friends periodically, but they are intentionally vague about just what their job entails, describing it as a "troubleshooting" company. As of March 2010, she is taking fencing lessons from an agent named Ettore in an attempt to improve her swordsmanship.

Mission Logs
Home: Response Center #96 and Response Centre 5593

Partnered with Cara Fielding

 * Introduction: "Once Upon A Time In HQ" (alternative link)
 * In which the agents meet. July 2009.


 * "Suebusters," Part 1, Part 2 (alternative link) (Lord of the Rings)
 * In which the agents are bored rigid by a plagiarist. July 2009.


 * "From Arda with Love" (alternative link) (Lord of the Rings)
 * In which the agents deal with an extra member of Gondor's ruling family. Early September 2009.


 * "Vainglorious Suethors" (alternative link) (Lord of the Rings)
 * In which the agents take down a Legolas Stu and receive help from unexpected sources. March 2010.


 * "The Canon Strikes Back" (alternative link) (Lord of the Rings)
 * In which the agents have to handle Arda going nuts, and there is a guest star. January 2011.