FULL NAME: Zadie Althea Lovelace
NICKNAMES: None
AGE/DOB: Sixteen | February 23 |
PiscesYEAR: Junior
BLOOD STATUS: Halfblood
GENDER/PRONOUNS: Female (She/Her/Hers)
SEXUALITY: Straight? She's pretty sure? She dated
Laszlo Pataki during her sophomore year and was sincerely smitten with him until things took a turn for the intense and jealous. She spent a lot of time avoiding him until they finally broke up and went back to being just friends.
HOMETOWN: Warm Springs, Virginia
APPEARANCE:With big blue eyes, cupid's bow lips, and dewy skin, Zadie is an effortless kind of pretty even when she does nothing to stick the landing. Which is most of the time. A girl of unfashionable and simple tastes, she tends to favor the easy and practical over the stylish, often sporting a jeans and long-sleeved t-shirt or sweater combination that took all of a minute to put together. Even when she tries to dress up, she usually ends up looking like she's going to church or a middle school dance with her button-up shirt (buttoned all the way to the top!) and skirt sets or simple dresses, plain earrings, and low-heeled 'girl shoes'. She wears minimal makeup (usually just lip gloss or maybe foundation) and keeps her hair simple on most days, either tied into a ponytail or pigtails or just left down. Because of this, she tends to be more 'cute' or 'pretty' than 'hot', but that suits her just fine. Being 'hot' seems like a
lot of pressure.
While she doesn't think of herself as an athletic person, she's got a slim, toned swimmer's body with long legs and a surprising amount of muscle. Sometimes she seems to be more coordinated in the water than on the land, though, as she can be a bit ungainly at times.
Zadie Lovelace is hopelessly uncool, a socially graceless and overly earnest young woman that wears her heart and her mind on her sleeve with little thought for how it might come across. This isn't because she doesn't care about other people's feelings or impressions of her, though. She simply lacks the emotional intelligence to do anything else with any consistency. Reading other people or anticipating how she'll be perceived is difficult for her, so all she can do is be herself! Fortunately,
herself is fairly even-keeled and agreeable and well-meaning, leading her to come across more as an out of step dork with far too much enthusiasm for academics than indifferent or unempathetic. She worries about this sometimes (especially when it comes to her closest friends), but not nearly as much as she worries about...basically everything else.
Anxious and restless by nature, Zadie struggles with her nerves and has a tendency to overthink. She dwells on mistakes far longer than anyone should and, while she'd justify this by saying that it helps her to improve going forward, it's really more that she can't
not dwell on them. Organized and always attempting to be prepared, she's uneasy in the presence of uncertainty and situations that she can't control or at least predict. She scares easily and holds onto her fears as relentlessly as she holds onto her mistakes. Because she finds comfort in having a plan and in letting other people call the shots, she's often a willing follower to more confident people and will go along with the decisions of others. But only to a point. If a situation becomes unacceptable to her for any reason, whether morally or practically or just because she's run out of social steam for the day, she usually just slips away quietly and hopes for the best. She's left people in a lurch this way before but what else is she supposed to do? She doesn't have the nerve to stand up and rock the boat, so she just has to abandon ship.
While her social skills may leave something to be desired, Zadie is exceptionally bright and motivated. She has a curious and analytical mind and is the type of person that takes great pleasure in learning new things, solving problems, and unpacking difficult concepts. It's a nice feeling to understand the world, even if that understanding is collected one tiny fact at a time, and this mindset allows her to be a diligent, patient, and meticulous student. This devotion can sometimes lead her to put her studies ahead of time spent with other people, but she assumes most won't take it personally and is typically unapologetic about excusing herself from social functions or plans with friends to catch up on her homework or work on some exciting new potion. Because there was a time in her life when she thought magic might not be an option for her, she's delighted every small magical victory and can get downright giddy when she's making real progress.
As much as her agreeable personality and academic inclinations can prompt Zadie to act like a straight-laced goody two shoes, this impression is shallow and not entirely accurate. While she does generally follow the rules and she likes the good relationship this allows her to have with her teachers, doing the 'right thing' isn't what motivates her. It's just easier. Especially when the ways she could break the rules don't appeal to her much anyway. That said, loyalty often matters to Zadie more than morality and when push comes to shove she would bend or break the rules and even act against her own self-interest for a friend. Once she's close to someone, she tends to focus on the good in them and can forgive or accept almost anything. For better or worse.
FUN FACTS:
🧜♀️ Zadie likes to collect small, simple things just for the pleasure of looking at them and organizing them. This includes things like pretty lake rocks, tiny potions spoons, and magical stamps with moving images. She's a bit of a pack rat, but at least she's a neat one? Giving somene a gift from one of these collections is a big deal to her, though other people may not read it that way. Thanks for the spoon??
🧜♀️ She's convinced that she has a merperson friend back home in the lake by her family's house. This may or may not be one-sided, but it's her primary reason for wanting to study Mermish.
🧜♀️ She finds high heels intimidating. Please don't make her wear them.
LANGUAGES: English. Zadie has also attempted to learn bits of written Mermish and will be committing herself to the language more completely this year in her Non-Human Languages course.
HOBBIES: Making potions. Tweaking potions. Swimming. Floating. Seeing how long she can hold her breath. Collecting and organizing little trinkets. Gardening. Playing chess. Worrying. Trying not to worry.
Scoubidou. Painting shells for her hermit crab.
SKILLS:POTIONS & ALCHEMY | Zadie may not be a natural talent when it comes to magic, but she's hard-working, meticulous, patient, and thoughtful enough to be an outstanding potioneer. She isn't a prodigy and she doesn't take the sorts of risks that Laszlo is willing to take to experiment or try new methodologies (not often, anyway) but she's accomplished and her potions always come out just as she intends them to. She always has a handful of longer-brewing potions going in Mr. Berzelius' classroom, testing her talents against some of the more difficult potions out there, and it's not really a surprise to anyone (except maybe her) that she's been selected to be the Potions TA and to participate in the Alchemy class.
Because of her thorough approach, she's well-suited to tutor other students in Potions.
SWIMMING | Growing up in a lakefront home, Zadie spent a lot of time in the water, particularly during the time that her other siblings were away at school and she wasn't allowed to go. She finds swimming relaxing and it always helps her to clear her head. All that time spent in the water has made her an excellent swimmer and diver. She can also hold her breath for a very long time and doesn't seem to have trouble keeping her eyes open under water.
KNOTS | Zadie is anxious and when she can't put life on hold and go for a swim she likes to keep her hands busy and one of the ways she does that is by creating elaborate knots with...just about anything. She's adept at knot-related crafts and games like scoubidou and cat's craddle, she knows just about every way that hair can be braided, and she can tie a mean knot. This is a largely useless skill unless you're in need of a lanyard or a nice hairdo for the next dance.
ORGANIZING | Anxious by nature, Zadie feels more relaxed when her little corner of the world is in order. Her section of the dorm is always neat and tidy. Her notes for classes and homework are always thorough and arranged thoughtfully. She has a knack for keeping things in their place and always knows where everything is. While she doesn't get wound up by things being slightly askew, a big mess can stress her out.
DISAPPEARING | Zadie is a friendly follower but she has her limits when it comes to being social and to going along with the will of others when she disagrees. So, when she's feeling overwhelmed by a situation, she sort of tends to just...slip off and disappear. She has a talent for slipping away unnoticed and finding a place to hole herself up when she's no longer able to cope. ♥ Bye~
FAMILY:Corwin Lovelace (Father): Wandmaker. A prominent and respected wandmaker from a family that has been making wands for generations. Supposedly the first MACUSA president even used a Lovelace wand! Corwin is an artistic and meticulous craftsman, but a man of few words and a bit of a clod when he tries to play the role of a businessman, so apparently the apple doesn't fall far from the awkward tree. Fortunately, his siblings make up for this shortcoming. He loves Zadie and the two have a decent relationship (even if it's mostly defined by games of wizard chess and quiet reading time), but he does worry that she'll never untap the potential of the wand he made her.
Glenys Lovelace (Mother): Instrument Maker & Charmer. A craftsman like Corwin, Glenys specializes in making instruments (woodwinds and string instruments, specifically) instead of wands but the end results are just as beautiful. She is a confident woman with an overabundance of charm, magical talents, and musical talents. The product of a wealthy Purebood family, the idea that Zadie was a Squib created a rift between them that has never fully healed even though she did finally tap into her magical potential. While vain and impractical at times, Glenys is sharp as a whip. She is the main proponent of the technology ban in their house, as she finds Muggle contraptions to be vulgar; she hopes that Lionel will outgrow his odd habits and stop being a bad influence on his sister.
Byron Lovelace (Older Brother, 18): Apprentice Wandmaker.The older brother of Lionel and Zadie, Byron is confident, magically gifted, ambitious, and the apple of his mother's eye. While not outright cruel, he revels in being the best and enjoys showing up his younger siblings. He also finds them both a little embarrassing. He was a shining star at Malstrom Academy (a star Quodpot player, an exceptional academic, popular, etc.) and is now studying wandmaking alongside their father. So far, his work is as stellar as anyone might've expected.
Lionel Lovelace (Older Brother, 17): Senior Thorntrail. Zadie is closer to Lionel than anyone else in her family. While she trusts him unconditionally, she does worry about making him worry and sometimes tries to overcompensate when she's with him as a result. Muggle technology holds a special place in her heart because it makes her think of her brother.
BACKGROUND:The youngest child in a wealthy wizarding family with a long history defined by tradition and
exceptional wandmaking, Zadie was born in a secluded lakeside estate in Warm Springs, Virginia. While not far from Muggles in terms of distance, she was worlds away from the mundane in terms of lifestyle and was raised surrounded by magic, from her parents' work to their elven house staff to the living paintings scattered throughout the home through which past Lovelaces offered opinions and advice whether it was asked for or not. This left young Zadie with clear expectations about her future and she dreamed of when she'd get to be a spell-slinging witch and get a wand of her own from her father.
Unfortunately, magical talent didn't come easily to Zadie. In fact, there were a few years when it seemed that it might not come to her at all. A late bloomer, she spent much of earliest years just...waiting. She waited as her oldest brother Byron took to magic like a fish to water, developing his talents at an early age and delighting their mother with his confidence and natural ability. She waited as her other brother Lionel proceeded to do the same, albeit less boisterously. She waited as her seventh and eighth birthdays came without so much as a hint of magic. This was around the time that the word
Squib began to be whispered around the home and around the day school she attended with her brothers. Partially out of concern for her and partially because she wanted to keep the matter as private as possible, Glenys decided Zadie would be home-schooled until this situation was sorted out.
The next two years were difficult for Zadie. She missed tagging along with her brothers (even bossy Byron but especially Lionel) and her self-esteem plummeted as she spent more time isolated and dwelling on her shortcomings. She found solace where she could, though, throwing herself into her studies (even if she couldn't
do magic, she could still try to understand it!), playing chess against an enchanted board and sometimes against her father, and spending hours swimming in the lake on the family's property. During this time, she occasionally caught glimpses of the merpeople that lived there and even came to consider one a friend after they began to wave at each other and exchange little gifts by leaving them at a particular spot on the shoreline. Still, her seemingly inevitable Squib status continued to cause strain among the family, particularly between Zadie and her Pure-blood mother, who didn't seem to know what to do with her. The only member of the family that really attempted to support Zadie during this time was Lionel, who went out of his way to find non-magical things they could do together. He even went so far as to sneak into the nearby town and acquire Muggle technology for them to explore, telling her that there were other kinds of magic in the world too.
Finally, in the summer before Zadie turned eleven, she started showing magical potential. Just a little. But it was enough. This was an immense relief for her and for her parents, even if starting at Malstrom Academy immediately thereafter felt akin to jumping into the deepest part of the lake without knowing how to swim. While she struggled at first and performing magic with her wand was a constant uphill battle, Zadie didn't mind working hard. After thinking magic would be forever out of reach, each and every small victory delighted her. The work was worth it. She also found that she excelled in more methodical or theoretical subjects, even becoming one of the more talented potioneers in her year by the time she was in eighth grade. While never as popular or accomplished as Byron, the golden boy of the Lovelace family, she was carving out a place for herself.
It was Lionel that eventually grew frustrated with the ideas and attitudes of their elite boarding school and began contemplating alternatives. When he first brought up the Peckenpaugh School of Magic, their parents thought it was a mistake and an objective step down, but Zadie agreed with her brother, initially as an act of loyalty and then more genuinely as she looked into the school herself. It did sound different. It sounded like an
experience. The idea of changing schools just as she was finally settling into Malstrom Academy did, admittedly, scare her. But in the end she knew which call was the right one and helped Lionel to convince their parents.
Zadie was a sophomore when she transferred to Peckenpaugh School of Magic. While it was an adjustment, she found that going from an elite boarding school filled with old money and expectations to a public school renowned for being a bit
odd was a liberating experience. Ditching the stuffy uniform was part of that, but it was mostly the knowledge that it had been her own choice. Continuing to work hard and excel in academics, she's since earned herself a spot in several honors classes and a teaching assistant position that she's over the moon about. She's also made some good friends and she's over the moon about
that too.
WAND: Larch Wand,
Ramora Spine Core, 9", Rigid
FAMILIAR: A
hermit crab named Osher that she adores. She envies his ability to hide in his shell and paints his periodically to make it extra dapper (being careful to use only the safest materials, of course). She claims his favorite color is yellow, though she freely acknowledges that he can only see yellow, blue, and gray. So that's not saying much.
CAREER GOALS: She's not sure yet.
Is running off to live among the merpeople a job?? She anticipates becoming some kind of potioneer, though.
PART-TIME JOB: None.
CLASSES:CHARMS | Zadie struggles with practical wandwork and that includes Charms. While she practices and always gets there eventually, she tends to be slow when learning a new spell in class and she does occasionally just choke during exams. Her work ethic helps her to maintain low A's overall, though.
POTIONS (TA) | Potions are Zadie's specialty. Her thorough, patient, attentive nature makes her an excellent potioneer and she's got extensive knowledge on the methods, the materials, and existing potions. As of this year, she's the teaching assistant and can always be counted on to tutor students and provide clear demonstrations. She is quite excitable when it comes to potions and it's...more than a little dorky. She gets strong A's, of course!
TRANSFIGURATION | Like Charms, Transfiguration can be a struggle for Zadie and she typically has to take additional time to practice before she can get the spells she learns in class right. She finds Transfiguration more intimidating, however, especially when it comes to spells that change animals into objects or vice versa; she doesn't want to hurt them! She gets easily flustered in this class and tends to get B's.
ASTRONOMY (H) | Zadie does well in classes that focus on facts, analytics, and magical theory, and Astronomy is no exception. While she's perfectly content to spend all the classes with her nose in the textbook or listening to lectures, she does actually enjoy the field trips that the class takes. Who doesn't like looking at the stars? Her grades tend to stay in the low to mid A's.
HERBOLOGY (H)| Herbology combines two things that Zadie likes quite a lot: learning and gardening! She finds the class enjoyable and relaxing for the most part, though she tends to panic if her plants show any sign of being less than perky and happy. What did she do wrong, plant-friend?? She tends to get low to mid A's.
HERMETICISM (H) | While Zadie might not be adept at performing magic or learning new spells quickly, she
is adept at understanding magical theories and breaking spells, potions, and the like down into their core components. Hermeticism is a lot of work, but it's work that she can put her mind to and she enjoys it. She tends to get low to mid A's.
NON-HUMAN LANGUAGES | Learning another language, particularly one as complex and bizarre as Mermish (can it even be
spoken when you're not under water?), is a first for Zadie but she's determined and giving it her all! She'll consult Mr. Trullinger frequently (maybe a bit too frequently) and will see gradual improvement throughout the year.
ALCHEMY | A skilled potioneer, Zadie is an obvious pick for Alchemy and she will perform similarly well in this class. While the more
spiritual and abstract aspects of the course are more difficult for her, she's determined to do well and learn everything she can. She tends to get mid-range A's or low A's in the class.
EXTRA-CURRICULARS:ARITHLETES | Zadie likes the idea of being part of a team that doesn't require doing complicated dance routines or having a ball thrown at her head and she's largely an Arithlete for this reason and to test her own limits. She takes this seriously and it's important to her that she does as well as she can. Go team!
FILM CLUB | Zadie enjoys getting lost in a good story for a few hours and can appreciate a club that's mostly just sitting in the dark with your classmates but not actually having to talk to them. She tends to be quiet during the post-movie discussions and rarely has anything insightful to add if a question is directed her way. She got her start watching movies with her tech-savvy brother and the experience always feels a little nostalgic.
MUGGLE MAGIC CLUB | Zadie is new to this club but finds the sleight of hand and nifty tricks that Muggle 'magic' incorporates very charming and she wants to learn! Her
anxious dexterous hands are always moving anyway, so why not put the to work? Also, who doesn't like ice cream?
SORTING?: Uncertain about progressing through each of the rooms, uncertain about her answers to the questions, and (
of course) uncertain about her final choice, Zadie's sorting took quite a while. In the end, though, she decided to follow the path that was recommended to her and entered Wildgulch.
NAME: Katie
EMAIL: ollinsong@gmail.com
CDJ: ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
ollinsongOTHER CONTACT: Dropbox
TIMEZONE: CST
no subject
POSITION: Potions TA
WHY THIS SPOT?: Zadie is exceptionally bright and enthusiastic about magic, but lacks innate talent and so has devoted herself to the academic side of magic and to studies that reward meticulousness, patience, and analytical-thinking. This includes Potions, to which she has taken a particular shine. While socially awkward, she is undeniably thorough and would make an ideal guide for students that need help, whether by providing them with an example or helping them through particular mixtures a step at a time. Being chosen for this position would be a surprise, an honor, and a much-needed boost of confidence for her and she would want to rise to the occasion.
IDEAS?: Being the Potions TA would be a defining aspect of Zadie's year and she would put a lot of energy toward it. I'd anticipate posts about tutoring, posts about more difficult/time-sensitive potions she's got on the back-burner (anyone want to try out this Polyjuice Potion she's been brewing for the last month??), and
minor panic attacksreminders about how NOT to make explosions being part of her repertoire. Also some warded posts reacting to various events and the highs and lows an anxious person being given extra responsibility.