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application;
bike rides, snow hikes, and christmas lights
sometimes freezing, sometimes warm
i don't know if i can love that anymore
sometimes freezing, sometimes warm
i don't know if i can love that anymore
GENERAL
NAME: Ulysses August Quayle
NICKNAMES: Maybe now that his sister has graduated, y'all can stop calling him Baby Quayle, huh? How about that? Folks who are close to him and/or have known him for a while probably call him Uly, which is a childhood nickname he has made several futile attempts to shake. As of this year, he has more-or-less given up the fight.
AGE/DOB: 17, June 24th
BLOOD STATUS: Pureblood.
GENDER/PRONOUNS: Male, he/him
SEXUALITY: Ostensibly heterosexual
HOMETOWN: Olympus, Picket County, Tennessee.
"To the No-Maj world, the town of Olympus ceased to exist in 1907. It was actually bought out and transformed into a magical settlement. Currently, it's one of the biggest magical cities in the South. Many a visitor has compared it to Nashville due to its prominent magical music scene. The Quayles are one of the five founding members of magical Olympus.
The town is also home to the Swan Academy, a K-12 school that services most of the southeastern United States. While it is considered an upper echelon school, numbers tend to dwindle after the 5th grade due to Ilvermorny transfers. It does not have a house system and there is a small dormitory for students with special housing circumstances. In addition to both education and magical fundamentals, the Swan Academy also requires classes in manners, ballroom dancing, and other social graces to ensure their students are properly ready to enter magical society upon graduation."
CONCEPT: As of this June, his admittedly-vague concept still holds pretty true → "Darling baby-of-the-family grows up, gets a little lost on his way home."
PHYSICAL
APPEARANCE: Ulysses is careless with his clothes in a way only someone with money can be; he never seems to mind if something spills or tears or gets lost, because, well, he can always buy another. A dirty shirt is as likely to be replaced as it is washed. This means that his un-uniformed wardrobe is always changing, although the style remains consistent: preppy, expensive, possibly monogrammed ("UAQ"). He doesn't much care for the latter, but monogramming is a family tradition he's yet to rebel against.
Please don't ask me what colour his hair is; I neither know nor care.
HEIGHT: 5' 8"
PB: Dane DeHaan
PERSONALITY
LIKES: Quidditch, animals — especially his skink Rex, Sundays, his childhood bedroom, slow and low barbecue, reading (although he sometimes pretends he doesn't), summertime, open spaces, walking through the woods, the smell of tobacco, scrapping with his friends, praise, being a nuisance, photos and dumb trinkets his loved ones have given him
DISLIKES: Milk in his coffee, fake strawberry flavour, dancing, being told what to do, criticism of him or his family or any of his friends, having to pretend he likes the taste of scotch in front of his older male relatives, the day after he gets his ass into trouble
PERSONALITY:
Ulysses' key drive is the desire to find himself. The labels he once held in childhood (sweetheart, baby, mama’s boy, etc.) no longer seem to fit, and the change has left him feeling unmoored, lost, isolated even among friends. More than anything, Ulysses wants to fill that void and learn his place in the world.
His upbringing has left him entitled and somewhat demanding; he’s used to getting the green-light, no matter what wants, and if denied, can act like a brat. He has a tendency to be caustic, moody, and impulsive, prone in equal parts to intense navel-gazing and very dumb fights. In layman’s terms: a real dickhead. Ulysses is sensitive about how he’s perceived by others, and while he pretends not to care, this anxiety dictates a lot of his life. Essentially, one could say Ulysses is ruled by id and superego, without the balance of a stable ego in between.
Consequently, he tends to be a person of extremes. He's not a black and white thinker — Ulysses very much sees and understands shades of grey — but he does have a tendency to get swept up in his own emotions. What he doesn't love, he loathes. If he isn't naturally talented at something, it's usually dismissed as useless. He's either bursting with confidence, or halfway to sick with doubt. When he's happy, Ulysses lights up the room with easy affection and good cheer; when he's sad, the melancholy rolls off him in waves. This is not a trait he likes about himself: Ulysses works very, very hard to keep his feelings under lock and key, but he's not always successful, and the perceptive can probably read him like a book.
For example, he has a tendency to talk around his concerns, leaving a notable hole in his usual logorrhea, if you know where to look. Take the events of the endgame: Ulysses will chatter away about forests and kidnappings and even his fucking birthday, but he'll stab himself with a fork before he'll bring up Kenzie's near-death at the hands of a poltergeist. Minor inconveniences are to kvetched about at length; real fear mustn't be acknowledged. It's a rule he expects everyone to follow. Solomon's tendency to discuss his feelings openly doesn't just befuddle him — it worries Ulysses. He cares about that kid, and he's sure that that tendency will be teased or exploited.
It’s not all dumbassery and teenage melancholia, though. On the flip side, Ulysses, is book-smart and bright. Charming when he wants to be. Makes a great party host. An extrovert, at his best, he is outgoing, dynamic, and fun. Ulysses may not always be nice, but he's not mean either — maybe it's half selfishness, but he likes seeing people smile. In fact, deep down, he's warm, a homebody, and even something of a soft touch (especially financially, although admittedly, that's as much to do with him not knowing the value of a dragot as anything else).
And anyone with eyes can see his immense weak spot for animals, particularly the scaly and slimy and generally unpleasant.
Somewhat amusingly, despite the worldliness his family's status brings, Ulysses is a man of simple pleasures. Good company is more valuable to him than possessions or accomplishments, and he not been raised with wealth, he'd probably be perfectly happy to live in a cabin in the woods forever. As it is, he has vague and ill-defined aspirations, born more of a desire to impress his friends and please his exceptionally successful family than any inherent drive for success. Which isn't to say he's an underachiever — other people's expectations make for a sufficiently high target. Fiercely loyal, he cares deeply about his family and what they think of him. He wants to do good in their eyes.
Always something of an egotist, Ulysses sees himself and his friends as the heroes of this story. His people are the centre of his universe, and therefore, the universe, and he tends to feel cosmically slighted when reality doesn't affirm that view. His friends and family deserve to win, to make the grade, to have the best of everything. Strangers don't matter. He can forget that they have hopes and dreams too, just like his loved ones. Hell, he can forget that they even have names. People who do end up in Ulysses inner circle, however, can be guaranteed a lifelong ally and a devoted friend.
This is especially true of his roommates. Ulysses feels a deep and powerful affection for them that, honestly, he struggles to parse. He loves them unreservedly, which mostly manifests as his pulling their pigtails and annoying the everloving shit out of them. Ulysses feels indebted to his friends for a number of reasons, and literally saving his life actually falls to the bottom of the list. Their tolerance of him has been uniquely grounding over the years; sometimes, he imagines what high school would be like if he'd stayed at Ilvermorny and it leaves him lightheaded with misery.
Ulysses is downright delightful to strangers, friendly and polite to acquaintances, and... kind of shitty to his friends. He absolutely does not mean to be. Picture a child dragging his favourite teddy bear with him everywhere — the toy gets dirty and worn, not because the child doesn't care about it, but rather, exactly the opposite. Similarly, Ulysses tends to express his love with a sort of intense and careless affection. He is perfectly comfortable getting his grubby little hands all over his friends' lives, and the closer he is to someone, the less aware he is of the mess he tends to leave. The one notable exception is his relationship with Mackenzie: one day, in a rare moment of clarity, he very suddenly realised this tendency about himself and as a result, he's a little afraid to get too close. Unsurprisingly, he seems to be failing at that too.
Now, Ulysses is a senior, and growing up continues to be a big focus of his worries and goals. He wants to find his path, be an adult, and leave his role as eternal little brother behind, but... deep down, he feels a lot of uncertainty. The direction he has been searching for still hasn't magically materialised, he isn't sure he knows who he is without Cricket in the picture, and frankly, he's a little scared to put away childish things, even if they no longer feel right. Ulysses spent most of high school stomping his foot and insisting he could do it on his own, but his #1 thought going into the summer is "I'm not ready." Whether or not he's right is yet to be determined.
SKILLS
LANGUAGES SPOKEN: English
PATRONUS: An African wild dog, although, to be honest, Ulysses isn't so familiar with foreign animals as to recognise the species, and he has mistaken his own Patronus for some variant of spotted hyena. Nothing nearly so cool, buddy.
African Wild Dogs are sociable pack animals, with some of the strongest family ties in the animal kingdom. They possess an unusual social hierarchy: extremely loyal, once a African wild dog becomes pack alpha, it will remain so for life, even if they become sick or lame. (Ulysses, similarly, has a tendency to pedestalize the people he respects, and nothing short of mass murder will knock them from his admiration.)
The #1 most important member of an African wild dog pack, however, is the puppy. It "takes a village" to raise a pup, and all members of the pack contribute towards feeding and rearing. They get to eat first, even before the alphas, and continue to do so until they're full grown. Spoiled rotten, I tell ya. And although they're efficient hunters, within the pack, African wild dogs work their way up the social ladder with play more so than aggression, even as adults. When it comes to getting what they want, the most effective weapons in a wild dogs' arsenal are begging, nuzzling, rolling over, etc. I hope you've ALL enjoyed these fun wild dog facts.
SKILLS: Ulysses has had a lot of extracurricular exposure, and as a result, he's fairly competent at a number of activities in which he has... a tepid interest at best. Piano lessons mean that he's able to read music and can plink out most tunes if given enough time to practice, though he'd never call himself a musician. Swan Academy taught him to waltz. His parents enrolled him in tap dance when he was tiny, and actually, he was pretty good at that, which is somehow even more mortifying than simply taking the lessons. He's a decent hunt seat rider and a good equestrian in general, although, while he adores his horse (She's called Minnie, if you were wondering. It's short for "A New York Minute."), he has no interest in seriously competing for sport. Can write a mean thank you card. Etc, etc.
If Ulysses was asked to describe his own skills, however, it's unlikely that any of these activities (with the possible exception of riding, since he is a member of the equestrian club) would come to mind. They are all things he does, not how he sees himself.
That said, Ulysses is always on the lookout for his calling — something that inspires him and that, of course, he's naturally talented at. He wants a passion, and his palate of society skills and social graces don't really fit the bill. Quidditch does. He's been playing since his second year and Ilvermorny, and he loves the sport with all his heart. Making captain this year (even co-captain) is a dream come true.
He has anti-skills at crafting, and it's very sad. Maybe he was adopted. Ulysses is a pretty solid pitmaster, but struggles to make himself a quesadilla, mostly because barbecuing is an event skill, but cooking for sustenance is not something he has ever had to do, even once, in his entire life.
HISTORY
FAMILY MEMBERS:
Augustine Quayle — Paternal grandfather. Former Wampus. Former MACUSA representative. The current mayor of Olympus, Tennessee. Married to Opal Quayle, née Abbott.
Savannah Braxton née Robinson — Maternal grandmother. Former Thunderbird. Former director of the Federal Bureau of Covert Vigilance and No-Maj Obliviation. Current socialite. Married to Jonathan Braxton.
Ambrose Quayle — Father. Former Wampus. MACUSA rep from Tennessee, with talk of a presidential run to come. Great at shaking hands and kissing babies. Has had several breakdowns at the breakfast table. Privately, Ulysses suspects his father disapproves of him and thinks he's soft/spoiled, although he doesn't have much evidence to support his theory. In fact, Ambrose and Ulysses are cut from the same cloth, and if there is disappointment, it's surely projection.
Susannah Quayle née Braxton — Mother dearest. Former Thunderbird. A true southern lady, with all that entails. Unflappable. Absolutely the bedrock of this family. Close to her youngest. Neither Susannah nor Ambrose can do wrong in Ulysses eyes, and he sees them both as heroically infallible.
Aloysius Quayle — Older brother. Former Coppertale and intern for the Tennessee Magical State Senate. Giant wang with bad opinions. Frat boy personality. Ulysses thinks he's cool, although less so as he comes into his own himself.
Cressida "Cricket" Quayle — Older sister. Former Ebonhide. Practically perfect in every way. Ulysses has fun teasing Cricket and generally being an annoying baby brother, but ultimately, he adores her and there's no denying that he feels safer in her presence. He's never really had to stand on his own without her and he misses her fiercely already.
The third and youngest Quayle child, Ulysses was born, silver spoon firmly in hand, into a true legacy family — a Southern, magical Kennedy... hopefully, sans curse. The Quayle family founded the town of Olympus, where even now, they have local prominence. Ulysses' grandfather is serving as mayor. His father is the MACUSA representative for Tennessee, and if anyone asked Ulysses, he could substantiate the rumours of a presidential run in Ambrose's future. Essentially, it has been generations since a member of the Quayle family hasn't held a significant office, and the result is an extremely wealthy, pureblood line with extensive ties to American magical government.
Susannah, Ulysses' mother, had planned every detail of her adult life, including how many children she'd have, and so when he was born, she knew he'd be her last. Determined to enjoy every last drop of new motherhood, she kept him close: praising, protecting, fussing. Actually, everyone everyone did — Ulysses was a beautiful child, precocious and uniquely well-behaved. Folks couldn't help but coo.
At Swan Academy, he was praised by teachers and idolised by classmates starry-eyed at his family name. Visitors and relatives were impressed by his Shirley Temple-esque good manners and charm. His sister doted on him, his mama gave him anything he asked for. Sometimes it seemed like even his tantrums were precious. He was rarely scolded at home.
And then, like his siblings before him, Ulysses started class at Ilvermorny. It was a rough transition.
Suddenly, he was expected to stand on his own two feet, but everything was different and strange and hard. People were mean: they told him "no," made him do things he didn't like. They teased him (gently) for his innocence and naiveté, which left Ulysses feeling angry, defensive, and small in a way he'd truly never felt before. He was still a good student, still a generally likeable kid, but he wasn't perfect anymore, and every criticism (hell, even the absence of praise) felt like a blow to his sense of self. Worst of all, he couldn't figure out what he was doing wrong.
His sorting into Wampus seemed like an odd fit, at first, but it turns out, little Ulysses has something of a temper under the dual pressures of puberty and social change. He grew more physical, even lashed out at times (much to the horror of his sister, he's sure). Discovering Quidditch brought some relief there, providing structure and direction and allowing Ulysses to reforge his sense of self on the broom, even if it did mean he had to spend time with the most annoying person in his grade.
But just as he was finding footing, he transferred again, from Ilvermorny to Gooseberry.
Freshman year:
Sophomore year:
Junior year:
SCHOOL
YEAR: Senior (Grade 12)
HOUSE: Ebonhide (former Wampus)
SORTING: It was a long sort, just under the 5 minute mark, although unlike his sister, no arbitration was required. It should have taken approximately five seconds. Intelligent, but moody, stubborn, prone to philosophising, and very, very hard on himself — even as a freshman, Ulysses was well-suited to his house. At the time of his transfer to Gooseberry, though, he was fairly determined to establish himself as a different and better person than Ilvermorny's Ulysses — which, to his mind, meant more carelessness and flighty fun. The jay had a disproportionate amount of his ear.
In the end, though, the bear won out and he followed big sister to Ebonhide. Now, as a senior, he truly cannot imagine being anywhere else.
WAND: 12", hawthorn and jackalope horn, swishy. A powerful and well-matched wand with an unfortunate tendency to backfire when Ulysses is distracted. He's quite attached to the thing, despite it's ... personality, and it rarely causes him trouble these days.
FAMILIAR: Oh boy, does Ulysses love his beautiful son, Rex. Rex has has spent so much time around people that he puts up with all sorts of unfortunate manhandling from Ulysses, who kisses his belly like, probably at least once a day. His birthday is April 16th. This year, Rex turns 3! They grow up so fast.
CLASSES: Potions, charms, transfiguration, outdoor education, DADA
ADVANCED STUDY: Occlumency
SENIOR PROJECT: Oh god, oh god, oh god, oh god. He doesn't know. He can't do something Quidditch-related like some sort of dumbass, can he? Maybe something to do with Transfiguration? Can someone please tell him what he's supposed to be doing with his life?
ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE: Ulysses has historically been a very strong student, having handily snagged a 4.0 his freshman and sophomore year — mostly because he dropped anything he wasn't instantly good at long before the point of needing a tutor. Unfortunately, this strategy was challenged when he became an upperclassman.
Growing up privileged and academically gifted has rot away his tolerance for criticism and pain. He puts in his requisite library time, does all his homework, shows up for exams... but when something is difficult, really difficult, Ulysses' willpower drops away. Somewhere deep down, he's come to associate hard work with stupidity, and stupidity with personal failure. His whole identity as a "smart person" is threatened.
Last year, his grades slipped when he spent most of the year with a C in Occlumency, only managing to pull up to a B- at the last minute. The more mistakes he made, the more frustrated and embarrassed he became, and less motivated to work on it. Which meant he fell further behind, which means he made mistakes, which left him feeling frustrated and unmotivated... and so on, and so forth.
He hasn't yet addressed this problem, and it's a pattern that's liable to repeat again his senior year, although Ulysses has managed to
Magizoolgy delights him, simply because he has such a soft spot for animals, especially slimy/scaly ones. His other favourite class is transfiguration, which he enjoys mostly because the principles come easily to him. He spends more time on transfiguration, proportionally, than any of his other classes.
EXTRACURRICULARS: Equestrian club, boating club, and most importantly — co-captain of the Ebonhide Quidditch team. He's also a drop-in at Wilde's herbology club. Originally, he just attended in support of his friend, but he's come to find the garden somewhat soothing.
OOC
NAME: cam
EMAIL: captainkickflips at gmail
CDJ: funnylookingkid
OTHER PREFERRED CONTACT: drop it in the box
TIME ZONE: gmt