basics.
NAME. Cassandra Lynn Woods.
AGE. Eighteen.
BIRTHDAY. November 3.
HOUSE. Gryffindor
YEAR. 13th Year.
SOCIAL STATUS: On a very vague line between middle class and lower class, constantly in the danger of going into the latter. The only thing keeping the Woods family in their lower middle class status is Mr. Woods' job as a teacher in the local public school. He makes enough to keep the family sustained, but they hardly ever have enough for anything else. In fact, the home they are currently living in was handed down to them from Cassandra's deceased maternal great-grandfather. The older sibling of the family, Chelsea, sends money occasionally (she didn't finish school like her mum, moved to London, and is now working at a clothing store), but it's usually spent for extra food supply, or a random knick-knack for the house that Mrs. Woods found to be charming. Attending Hogwarts on scholarship, Cassandra is forever thankful for the opportunity, and makes the best of what she was given with.
appearance.
A girl of pretty much average appearance, Cassandra stands at a height of 5'7", and is probably going to stay that way. Her body doesn't have much to boast - a small chest and a slightly defined waist, not to mention extra weight in her hips and thighs if she eats an extra slice of cake. Unfortunately for Cassandra, said extra weight will more than likely stay if she didn't bother with tennis. She's not afraid to eat, and eat quite a lot, and the thought of dieting never came to mind. She's still the type of girl that would definitely go against wearing mini-skirts. A lover of sports, but not what one might call an athlete at heart, she has light olive skin that tends to be darker after a long day out in the court.
Cassandra is not by any means devastatingly beautiful or anything of the sort. Her hair, light brown and shoulder-length, is wavy, and controlled for convenience's sake with a flat-iron at times. Not the morning person, she is quite the sight to see when she wakes up, especially her hair. It drives her insane taking care of it. Cassandra has a narrow chin, leading to a diamond-shaped face. Its best feature, in her opinion, had to be her expressive eyes, with colour that nearly matches her hair's. No emotion of hers fails to show on her eyes, and it makes Cassandra an easy person to read. Her well-defined lips are another asset, but if there was one thing she absolutely hates about her appearance, it had to be her teeth. She can never smile right as a result, and it annoys her endlessly. For photographs she tries to smile without ever showing her teeth, but she fails almost every time - friends would keep badgering her to just smile properly.
She has a bit of a repetitive closet. Other than her clothing pieces for her uniforms, it consists mainly of four things: t-shirts, sweats, jeans, and a pair of Nike sneakers. The only thing that really stands out is her white tennis dress - a gift from her older sister. The rest are coloured in various shades of reds, blues, or greys. It hardly bothers Cassandra - she's far from a fashion expert. The key with her is comfort, and looking decent for the day. However, she can often end up in embarrassing situations, considering that she is far from graceful when not holding a racket.
personality.
First impressions of Cassandra reveal a somewhat calm exterior. Hardly anyone can really bother her, and she shows off a great amount of confidence. Try to make her feel bad about herself and she wouldn't mind it. Really, she's the type to go "Lalalalalala! Not listening!" when someone criticises her, and well, secretly check to see if she can somehow change the weak point when the person finally gives up. One thing that you can definitely be sure about Cassandra is that she's got pride. And quite an amount of it. She's not ashamed to say she's on scholarship, and is always up for cheering on Gryffindor during football matches. She is willing to stand up for her beliefs, and get extremely stubborn as a result. She's also the type of person to twist other people's words just so she could win an argument. This is something she's constantly trying to improve on, since she's aware that the trait is not exactly the most useful for a person that loves Science. Cassandra, like her mother, is also very direct. For her, there's absolutely no use for hesitation. Just get straight to the point, no beating around the bush.
There are always exceptions, however. For one thing, anything that has to do with Physics, or with Cassandra's goals and ambitions, and you see the side of her that takes the whole matter very seriously. A side that would actually pay attention to details and go through every point slowly in order for her to comprehend. It only seems to happen to her when it comes to that one single class, on other classes sometimes (when they're useful for her possible career, anyway). The usual Cassandra tends to get bored with her classes that's all talk and reading, all the more if she fails to liven up the class with a heated debate. She's a practical learner, the type of student that loves to get her hands on what she's studying. For her to really understand something, she has to be in the action. In theoretical aspects, she's alright, but Cassandra struggles with it at times. Not that she would give up - she is very strong-willed and determined. She's passionate with whatever she does, and puts her very best effort into things that she's more passionate about than others. Cassandra would often end up getting into things a bit too much, be it a debate, homework, or a tennis match. It's never a wise idea to distract her when she's in one of such phases. Not to mention, she also loves a good challenge. Cassandra is actually a goal-oriented person, and it becomes all the more obvious when she's taking academics seriously. It's a bit of a wonder how she didn't get into Slytherin - she has a very specific picture of what she wants and will hopefully be in the future. The thought of not attaining that, not to mention just the idea of failure in general, terrifies her. The main reason for that, however, is not for self-centered reasons. She's doing it to make her family proud, as she is extremely loyal to them her friends, not to mention especially devoted to the former. The idea of disappointing them, and people she loves in general, is something she doesn't like at all.
Cassandra's one of those less prone to have their tempers burst, but if worst comes to worst, she will explode. Considering how she usually keeps growing irritations inside of her, you would not want to have her wrath upon you. Her more extreme emotions only show when she's pushed to the limit, and just the way to do that is if you insult her loved ones. It won't be a pretty sight. Not afraid to get aggressive, it's unwise to underestimate her. There's the fact that she likes proving people wrong, and that she has a feminist side to her. She would end up liking the Spice Girls for their whole "Girl Power!" ideal if only they didn't wear degrading clothes, in her opinion.
Though she frequently gets the desire to be able to do lots of things one after another, she's not a very good at multi-tasking. Cassandra does better when she only has to focus on one task at a time. She'll be completely confused when there's a lot of things happening at once, and would be slightly frustrated as well. Deep down, she's actually insecure. Cassandra's her worst critic. Others can't bother her, but her own negative thoughts would discourage her. She's sure to never let pessimism affect the people around her, though. When not taking things too seriously, Cassandra likes to have fun, and have a good laugh. She has a goofy, quirky nature to her, and is pretty friendly. She's a follower of the golden rule - be nice to her, and she'll be nice to you in return. It can be difficult to earn Cassandra's trust but once you become her friend, she'll be with you through the bad times.
DEFINING CHARACTERISTICS. Cassandra is a very family-oriented person. She had always been close to her family and has a unique relationship with each of its members that she keeps close to her heart. They've been each other's support system, living the life they have, and when it came down to it, they really only had each other for the difficult times. Cassandra's one of those that's not embarrassed to be seen shopping with her mum, or introduce her slightly eccentric older sister to her friends. She considers her older sister, and even her mum two of her closest gal pals, those that she could just tell about this boy that she fancies and not worry about it. Cassandra's relationship with her dad is a bit more austere, but the two bond over Physics like two friends would, say, about their favourite bands. She makes sure to write a set of letters to her family at least every week, informing her dad of the interesting Physics lesson the day before, her mum if any blokes showed any signs whatsoever of fancying her (it's a topic Mrs. Woods is awfully interested in, much to Cassandra's amusement), and her sister of the latest tennis practise.
Besides, the main reason why Cassandra has actually gone through her whole time at Hogwarts was because of her family. She's really doing it all for them. She reckoned that if she ever becomes a civil engineer, she could make their lives so much better, and her parents proud, so proud that they won't ever forget. It could only be her payback to them for being amazing parents, and it's also in Cassandra's mental list of personal goals.
LIKES. Musical theatre - Cassandra blames her mum, who basically owns all possible cast recordings ever (she would willingly splurge on the latest recording whenever there's extra money), and would shamelessly play one of them while cleaning the house. Mrs. Woods had always dreamed of being a musical performer - it's what drove her to quitting school in the first place, Cassandra has never really listened to anything else - her head has been filled with songs from "Les Misérables", "Beauty and the Beast" (her favourite musical, she desperately wishes it would just go open in the West End already), "Cats", even - she doesn't think it was as bad as people made it seem. And knowing Cassandra's pride, she's not really afraid to start singing "One Day More" out loud in the middle of the street. In fact, she would even encourage her friends to try and listen to this certain song because Cassandra thinks it fits their personality too well. She even had a phase when part of her wanted to somehow be a musical performer, to live the dream for her mum, and with much needed courage, auditioned for a school play. She didn't get a very good role, of course, and Cassandra was immediately snapped to the reality that she's not destined to be a performer of sorts. She constantly saves part of her allowance, though, to have enough money to see at least one show in the West End with her family. Or one of her friends, if she can drag them there.
Science experiments - It's hands-on Science, Cassandra's favourite type. She's one to learn things more quickly when she's actually working with them, after all.
Isaac Newton - He's one of her heroes - not everyone can immediately discover so much about gravity just by seeing an apple fall.
Doctor Who - She has only watched a couple of episodes (her father was an avid fan), but she absolutely loves the idea of having a TARDIS, not to mention possibly being a companion of the Doctor. It would definitely be a much more efficient way to learn History and Astronomy. She also finds the Fifth Doctor to be quite good-looking. And no, that is not why he is her favourite Doctor.
Tennis - The only sport she really knows how to play. She absolutely loves it - it's her way of release from frustrations, not to mention a bit of an escape.
Football - She's not a player - merely a watcher and enthusiast. It's absolutely fun to watch, in Cassandra's opinion. Go Gryffindor!
milk chocolate with almonds - It's her guilty pleasure, and favourite sweet. She always rewards herself with a bar whenever she gets a high grade on an assignment, project, etc.
Emoticons - Ever since she first started using a computer, she's been fascinated with how you can get a smiley face with punctuation marks then tilting your head to the left. She thinks they're the cutest thing ever, and loves using them, perhaps a bit too much.
DISLIKES. Prejudice - Just because a person's on scholarship doesn't mean that they're not capable of greater things. Also, just because Cassandra's a girl doesn't mean she can't be a civil engineer. Thank you.
Lectures that last the whole class - Especially if it's for a class other than Physics. She doesn't get how she's supposed to learn if she has to go with what the teacher says. She's a student that would rather find it out for herself, really.
Wotsits - There's too much cheese on those things in Cassandra's opinion. She also doesn't like getting orange fingers, for the mere reason that her nitpicky self is bothered by it.
"Wannabe" by The Spice Girls - Her mum's and sister's number one karaoke song of choice. Enough said.
rejection - It's more of a fear for her, especially romance-wise. Mainly the reason why she doesn't even bother with romance in the first place.
heavy perfume - Make-up in general she can somehow tolerate, but heavy perfume she can't stand. It's too strong, and most of them don't even smell that great.
alarm clocks - Especially the digital ones with the annoying beeping noise - it simply does not help with her usually groggy morning attitude. She prefers a bell-style alarm clock for waking up.
crunchy peanut butter - Peanut butter should always be creamy, just the way Cassandra likes it. It's an irrational pet peeve of hers that she can't get rid of.
INSIDE SCOOP.
1) Cassandra shows an attitude that she'll be fine with whatever she becomes in the future, and that she only seems obsessed with Physics because it's the only class she genuinely cares about. In reality, she is extremely passionate about it, and can't imagine any other career to have other than being a civil engineer. The main reason she doesn't tell her friends this is that if it doesn't work out for her, she could just keep the failure to herself and not risk the humiliation, especially with how she disappointed her family.
2) She would die if anyone found out, but she often goes on karaoke outings with her mum and sister at least once a month. The tradition continued even when her sister moved out, and it still occurs every time Cassandra goes home for the holidays. Yes, she never missed an opportunity to sing, thanks to her mother's pleas, even though she doesn't even have anything to boast about with her voice. It seemed that half the people in the bar were always drunk, anyway.
3) Cassandra suffered an extreme bout of homesickness during her first month in Hogwarts. She felt out of place immediately, and some of the prejudice hit her hard. She wrote letters to her family every day, begging her sister in particular to pick her up and take her home. It wasn't until her mother wrote her a long letter consoling her that Cassandra told herself to get over it and went through with the rest of her first year.
4) The girl has odd tendencies whenever a Physics exam comes around. She has a lucky necklace that she must always, always wear while taking one. She also makes sure to drink hot chocolate with 4 small marshmallows, and get exactly 8 hours of sleep the night before. Not to mention she works out basic Physics equations in her head 5 minutes before the test starts.
5) She's never had a relationship. Cassandra just doesn't think she's ready for that sort of thing. School, family, and her friends are enough for her to worry about.
6) Yes, she calls Snape with a Professor. Don't bother Cassandra about it. She has to survive Physics somehow.</ol></blockquote>
history.
A lot of things about the relationship between Julian Woods and Zoe Hayes were on the spur of the moment, from how they met to the fact that they married a mere four months after. A package sent to Julian found its way on the Zoe's doorstep, and she took enough initiative to bring it to its rightful owner, on the floor above hers. Both lived in the same apartment building in Bristol - Zoe, a girl of average middle class, didn't finish school, and got disowned by her parents as a result. Julian was of the same social status, but was working hard on his teaching career, juggling several substituting jobs. He was usually shy and studious, so it was a bit of a shock to him that some random girl from downstairs cheerfully handed him a package from his parents, casually went into his living room, and started asking random questions about him. Always the gentleman, he answered each of them, and soon found the girl endearing. Zoe was clearly his opposite - direct, loud, and just a tad eccentric. Still, it turned out to be a perfect match. They married four months after their first meeting, and Zoe's parents wrote a letter (after what was probably several years), letting her know that she just inherited her grandfather's house in Plymouth, due to the fact that he favoured Zoe greatly. Julian received a generous amount of money from his own parents, even though they were never the most wealthy, just for the sole purpose of helping their son and his new wife settle in their lives as a newly wedded couple. Everything worked out for the best, it seemed, and things fell into place exactly where they wanted it to.
After moving in their new suburban home, their first child, Chelsea, was born. Cassandra followed three years after. She didn't become the new member of the family under extremely joyous circumstances, unlike Chelsea, in which the reality of their financial situation never really sunk in yet. However, Cassandra was still welcomed with open arms, and Chelsea in particular was extremely excited to have a little sister. Julian finally found a more promising full-time job as a Physics teacher in Plymouth College. The new Mrs. Woods, Zoe, had a harder time finding a job she was willing to commit to, and eventually gave up. She then decided to dedicate all of her time to taking care of her children and tending to the house. She made a great housewife, if not for the fact that she often got urges to spend money at the most random of times. Knickknacks of the oddest sort always caught Mrs. Woods' eye, and it becomes quite evident when one enters the Woods' residence.
Otherwise, Cassandra grew up in a normal enough environment. Her family was very tight-knit, despite the financial ups and downs, and they always tried to spend as much time as they can together. This often occurred in the confines of their home, but it never bothered any of them. Spending family time brought up ideas of animated dinner stories, Doctor Who watching marathons, tennis tournaments in the backyard, and lipsyncing contests. They got along harmoniously, though it can be said that Cassandra was the odd sort out of all of them. Both of her parents' ideals and morals found a way into her state of mind. One minute, she'll be watching soap operas with her mum, the next working on a random experiment with her dad. It was evident she was no multi-tasker - her going from one activity to another never had much success. She was only really in peace when with her sister, whose idea of fun would be to find random shapes in the clouds and play therapist. Chelsea also introduced Cassandra to tennis. It was accidental, really. They were just going through the attic that they usually never bothered with, and found old, but still good enough to use, tennis equipment. Chelsea insisted they try it out, and try it out they did. It was a rather messy start, but the two sisters made it a point to try and improve. It had since been Cassandra's favourite sport - well, the only sport she really knew about.
Her love for Physics, though, is a whole other thing. It had been evident, ever since the girl could crawl and would reach for various bottles and cans in the kitchen that she liked to see how things would work for herself. She also had a curiosity with moving things, and this became more apparent when she tried to take her alarm clock apart when she was four. Of course, she wasn't able to take out a single part, but since then her father had taken her under his wing, in a way, and would often try to answer questions that she would ask out of the blue. He started giving her his own Physics lessons once the girl was eight, and it definitely showed on her Science mark.
If it weren't for Science, Cassandra would've completely hated primary school. She wasn't fond of being restricted, of having to learn only this and that and having limitations on what she could explore. Social-wise, she wasn't that anything special. She had her sister, and a couple of friends, though they were hardly what she could call "close friends". Instead, Cassandra decided to tolerate the teaching methods of majority of her teachers and placed more focus on her academics, her thoughts conjuring up images of where she could go if she kept on pursuing the subject she loved to study. When she got her scholarship from Hogwarts, due to "outstanding academic abilities, particularly in Science", Cassandra was so happy she willingly agreed to have her mum take the family out to sing karaoke.
Upon entering Hogwarts and getting into Gryffindor, Cassandra immediately felt like she didn't belong at the place. The poor girl got so homesick that she would often cry every night, wishing to go home. She got over it, though, and continued on with everything like nothing ever happened, her main motivation being what she got the scholarship for in the first place. Her new situation brought out certain things from Cassandra that she never thought possible. She feels very thankful for the fact that she even got the chance to study in a school like Hogwarts - it was only wise that she makes the best of it. She started to become more social, gaining friendships that lasted throughout her years at the boarding school. She simply didn't see the use of being distant to people she was going to be living with for a long while. Cassandra also continued on being outstanding in her most favourite class. She really ought to congratulate herself on being able to tolerate Professor Snape for quite the amount of time. All to be a Civil Engineer, which she greatly wishes to be in the future.
ooc.
MUN. Cheska (![[info]](https://www.scribbld.com/img/userinfo.gif) retrospect).
DISCLAIMER. Not real! And I don't own anything except the characterization.
|
