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[Aug. 2nd, 2010|09:25 pm] |
Quinn Van Rensselaer
b a s i c s
name: Quinn Van Rensselaer
nickname(s): The only real nickname she has is “Rover”, and her brother is the only one to use it.
age/date: 18, July 24th, 1993
wand: 13 ½ inch flexible Yew wood with a dragon heartstring core.
hometown: Castleton-on-Hudson, NY
familiar: A Kneazle named Oona.
patronus: German Pinscher – also the likeliest form she would take as an Animagi. Pinsers are tenacious and courageous, tends to bite first and think later if it finds a threat, does not back down when challenged by other dogs, and is overprotective of its family.
boggart: Termites. They are quite a nuisance in New Orleans, and tend to come in swarms nightly, especially in summer. Most people hope for turning the lights off and waiting for them to move on, only to find little brittle corpses over lawn furniture.
religion: Her parents are very much Catholic, though Quinn doesn’t fancy herself very religious at much any more.
house/year: Lalaurie, Transitional Year
classes: Career focus: Unspeakable (Death Chamber)
Period 1: Basic Divination
Period 2: Advanced Potions
Period 3: Advanced Charms
12pm - 4pm: Internship at AAW
extracurriculars: Student Newspaper (photographer), Dueling Club, Pride Union
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family / relations
parents: Billie Van Rensselaer (Mother), Nicholas Van Rensselaer (Father)
siblings: Alexander Van Rensselaer (younger brother of 2 years)
extended family: Noah (brother to Nicholas) and wife Jillian – no children; Two sisters to Billie, resulting in 2 cousins.
sexuality: Lesbian (though that hasn't stopped some very rare moments of heterosexuality when desperate). She’s not the sort that factors romantic relationships in her every day thoughts. She is not looking for a partner, nor does she care that she doesn’t have one. If she feels any urges? She doesn’t need to be dating anyone to settle that desire.
significant others: Currently none.
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a p p e a r a n c e
Quinn’s look is rather deceptive of her strong personality and behavior. She stands at rather short 5’5 and fills out into a rather average frame. She’s not tall, she’s not athletic, and she’s not built; still, Quinn can pack one hell of a punch.
There are no significant scars, tattoos, or piercings to speak of other than a simple piercing in each earlobe. Her face is long and her facial features smooth, but perhaps what stands out most about her are her rather large blue eyes and full pouty lips. Her dark brown hair is kept long and layered, though one day it could be wavy and pin straight the next, and most often is left down unless there is some activity that requires it to be pulled back.
In terms of dress, her style is pretty average. Quinn is no enemy to t-shirts and jeans, but you can bet they won’t look baggy. She doesn’t much care for looking like she just rolled out of bed. She can do casual and dressy without issue, heels and skirts one day to jeans and sneakers the next. The one thing that remains constant is that her preferred colors are anything dark, and she’s not scared to get a little edgy.
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p e r s o n a l i t y
likes: Regional magics, photography, her Uncle Noah, warm weather, rock and metal music, whiskey, money, getting what she wants, girls, being rich, New Orleans, dogs, horror novels, hexes, jinxes, pecan soup, chocolate trufflesdislikes: Snow (and winter in general), people not leaving her be when she wants to be alone, country music, homework, feeling guilty, smoking, people who think they’re better than her, cinnamon, the stereotypical Hick, being ignored when she doesn’t want to bequirks: When Quinn is upset, she drinks, assuming she has the means to be able to. Her preferred drink of choice is whiskey. She picked up this little habit from her Uncle. When studying a topic she does not care for, she often bears a facial expression that makes it seem like she is in physical pain. strengths: Playing piano, photography, Transfiguration, hexes and jinxes, holding grudges, Wandwork, ambition, duelingweaknesses: Her short temper, opening up to people, Pecan Soup (Louisiana style dish that can be used to bribe her into doing almost anything), Latin, Astronomy.strongest subject: transfiguration, cultural magicweakest subject: history of magic, flyingwhat's in my pockets: What's usually in her purse.I can't live without: Her Uncle.secrets:
+ When she was 6 and her brother was 4, she had become so jealous of her parents’ obvious preference for him (being the male heir and all) that she had attempted to kill him. She snuck into his bedroom at night and attempted to suffocate him with his own pillow – her father caught her in the act. This is why she was removed to live with her relatives for the next several years.
+ When she was fifteen, she had a particularly nasty fight with her brother. During that fight she was so angry and unable to resort to her usual violent means, that she popped. And by popped, I mean portions of her face took on a dog-like quality (whiskers, the uneven mouth, odd nose shape, etc.). This incident resulted in the faculty suggesting that she take Advanced Transfiguration in her Junior year, as well as her brother referring to her as “Rover”.
+ During the summer between her sophomore and junior years at school while she was staying with her Uncle in New Orleans, Quinn met and ended up carrying on a romantic relationship with a Muggle girl. This event set her mind reeling against the attitude she was brought up in. But, knowing her family, she (regretfully) broke it off with the girl in order to spare them both the humiliation, and her being reprimanded from the family.in detail:
Quinn has a habit of being a little on the cold towards most people. She doesn’t scream approachable, but will engage in conversation with a stranger or someone unfamiliar if either they initiate it or something else does. Whether or not she talks to you has nothing to so with your social status; she’s perfectly capable of talking to a lower class student, but she still thinks she’s better than them. She does have the ability to be quite charming when she wants to, if she feels the person is useful enough to keep around for a while.
In general, Quinn is a very headstrong girl. She knows what she wants and does whatever she can to get it. She is ambitious, independent, self-confident, and strong willed. On the other hand, Quinn has a tendency to also be arrogant, haughty, and she has a rather nasty temper. Insults are not taken lightly, to both her and her closer friends, and she will not hesitate to lash out. Quinn also has a very strange “fight or flight” reaction being that she doesn’t really have a “flight” reaction at all. She rises to a challenge and does not back down; the only time she is willing to back away is if she feels the situation can put her life in danger. Often, when she feels threatened or gets too pissed off too quickly, her first instinct is to hit first and ask questions later. While it may not seem like it is a large factor she does have a survival instinct.
Being that she’s the daughter of a wealthy family, living away from them or not, Quinn has a passion for luxury. Whether it’s expensive clothes or the highest quality cameras, if Quinn wants it, she gets it. In a way, that has spilled over into more than just things she or her parents can buy her. Sometimes she simply expects her peers to just hand over whatever it is she wants without question or argument, as obviously she deserves it more. If she doesn’t get it? Quinn isn’t below taking it.
While she may not always be the most pleasant person, she does have friends. Those are the people that see her laugh the most and just relax and have fun, partying or gossiping or whathaveyou. Quinn seems, well, normal around that handful of people. There are those, a select few, who have managed to get past her outer defenses to become rather close to her. It’s to those people that she shares her inner feelings, worries, and maybe even eventually a few of her secrets. Those are the ones she would bend over backwards for.
She does bear a small creative streak. Piano lessons were a requirement for her to take (by order of her parents) from and early age, so she has always had an appreciation for music even though she does not always enjoy playing. Her favorite genre has turned to rock and metal. Her greater strength lies in photography. Quinn learned how to use a camera shortly after living with her Uncle, and loved being able to capture things on film. A Muggle camera was the first she learned on, and she has also been using a Wizarding camera to capture moving film.
Quinn views her Uncle Noah and his wife closer to her than her own parents, so she keeps her biological parents at a safe distance from her life. She exchanges owls with her Uncle often, and it is because of her time living with them that she has turned out to be nowhere near the devoted Catholics her parents were. Quinn does not fancy herself a follower of any religion. She does, however, have a keen interest in the different magical rituals and the supernatural beliefs that may be tied to them in different regions of the world, one of her favorites being Voodoo, as she spent several years of her life living in New Orleans. The Dark Arts is a growing interest for her as well as combat magics – she does enjoy her hexes and jinxes – and will soak any information on those topics up like a sponge.
A little sample from the HP Astrology website (naturally, changing Slytherin to Lalaurie here):
Lalaurie Leos can be either very good, or very bad. At their best, they exemplify all that "nobility" is made of: confidence, openness, charm, initiative, generosity of spirit, wisdom, judgment, and poise. At their worst, they become elitist, bullying bigots. How they end up depends on the company they keep, and how they are encouraged to act early in life. Either way, they never lack attention - it's hard to ignore a Lalaurie born under this sign. These Lalaurie usually end up in positions of responsibility and leadership, because of their charisma and natural ability. Their creativity and drive also makes them very resourceful. |
h i s t o r y
The Van Rensselaer family is a wealthy and politically notable in the area around Albany, New York. While the family on a whole does not care much for those with non-magical blood, those Squibs have even made names for themselves in the Muggle world. Many of these Squibs have been the ones to make themselves known in both Muggle politics and playing roles in the War of 1812 and the Civil War. The family is deep seated in history, though their appearance in Muggle society has dropped off for quite a good chunk of years though their wealth hasn’t dwindled and they are still active in the Wizarding world. They do, however, try to instill in new generations the important of knowing their place in high society.
The marriage of Billie and Nicholas was arranged by their families, and while the two never loved each other, they certainly respected one another. They have instilled the same Van Rensselaer values into their children, and they like to think themselves a very traditional family in general.
Billie gave birth to Quinn when the pair had set up a nice home in near Nicholas’ main family estate. Nicholas was not happy to have a girl first, but as there were no complications they would try again. While Quinn was an only child she was spoiled. She was given the finest toys, always had her mother’s attention and love, and could nearly get away with anything.
It all changed two years later when Billie did finally give birth to a son – Alexander. He was the heir to the family name and fortune, and Quinn soon found that she had slid to second best. Her mother still did pay attention to her though it was not enough, and Nicholas was almost always doting on his precious son when not away at work.
It came to a point when Quinn could no longer take it when she was six years old. Her cries for attention had been overlooked, and so she decided childishly that the only answer was to remove the problem. It was Nicholas who caught the six year-old hovering over her four year-old brother’s form, pressing a pillow over his face.
Quinn was sent away within days. Her mother’s sister, Bethany, and her husband in Massachusetts had taken her into their Salem home. She lived there with her guilt and mostly was left to her own devices. Within one year, Bethany gave birth to her own child. In paranoia of Quinn’s previous act, they sent her away.
It was with her father’s brother that she spent most of her life. She was delivered to his Chicago home after a Christmas holiday with the family (where she was allowed to see her parents and brother). They lived there for another year before Noah and Jillian decided to sell their house and relocate. The trio then moved to the Garden District of New Orleans, drawn there after taking several summer vacations.
Quinn thrived in New Orleans. She loved the people, the weather, the history, the magic, and even one lower class Muggle girl in particular. She would say that she found herself in New Orleans, and the visits back to see her parents and brother were more trying than ever, only because she did not wish to be there instead of feeling like a madwoman.
Quinn's parents were approached about Quinn's magical ability near the time she would start her 6th grade year. While both her parents attended the Institute at Salem, Quinn was given the choice of attending that same school or Crescent City in New Orleans. Naturally, being that she loved where she was with her Uncle, she chose CCI.
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o o c
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Despite the house difference and some rivalry there, Michi is one of Quinn's friends, and one of her shopping and gossip buddies. |
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Sim Burford [ ![[info]](https://www.scribbld.com/img/userinfo.gif) sim] Lalaurie 11
While she can't deny that he's an interesting person to party with, there are times when Sim just gets on her nerves. He harasses her a bit, but the girl has no problem dishing it back. Other than that, they're cool. |
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Adelaide Legaux [ legaux] Lalaurie 12
Addy is a bit like Quinn in temperament, being that they're both bitches with a violent streak. Still, they manage to even out and get along well, even enough to cause a scene to rile boys up. |
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Jenny isn't the sort of person Quinn normally bothers with. However, after a drunken moment at a party during Quinn's sophomore year - the two seem to have a bit of a physical attraction. They had a Friends-With-Benefits relationship for a while and though it was desired on both ends, no relationship came. Jenny cut that mutual agreement off in favor of a relationship with Sera Donnelly, and Quinn is still rather bitter about it. |
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Quinn finds Vinnie a little interesting, although his accent is a little annoying at times. He's a charmer and friendly, as well as seeming to be useful. Which is why Quinn doesn't reject his charms, working on wrapping the boy around her finger for future use. |
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Gray is an interesting cookie. He makes a good party buddy and an easy target to tease, and at times she actually gets along with him and likes him. Other times, Gray has a tendency to drive Quinn up a wall. |
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Emilie Devlin [ babalon] Lalaurie 13
Emilie is a rather good friend of Quinn, despite being similar in temperament. They've had a fling (or few) in the past, but often band together to harass other students as well as just hang out. |
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Alexander Van Rensselaer [ xanvanren] Lalaurie 11
Alex is Quinn's beloved little brother, as annoying as he could be sometimes. Also despite past hatred towards him. She protects him, sticks up for him, and would probably do anything for the brat if he asked. |
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![[info]](https://www.scribbld.com/img/openid-profile.gif){kind=small}