Post by Astrid Stoll on Dec 14, 2008 12:51:51 GMT -5
Accepted: the Ministry wishes you a pleasant day!
[ Full Character Name: ] Astrid Cambria Stoll
[ Character Gender: ] Female
[ Character Age: ] 19
[ Position Requesting: ]Obliviator
[ Country of Citizenship: ] England
[ Years of Employment at Ministry: ] Three months
[ Physical Character Description: ]On first appearance Astrid does not seem to be any older than a first year. Her small stature, only reaching five feet in shoes with thick soles, and slender figure have been a curse to her for the past seventeen years. With skinny arms and legs and protruding bones Astrid looks like a pre-teen put on a crash diet. Astrid has tiny, barely-there curves that she does very little to enhance.
Astrid has a very fair complexion, with the slightest bit of freckles across her nose. Her skin is so white that at certain points on her body it appears almost translucent and blue. As Astrid did not inherit her mother’s tanned skin any sun exposure for longer than an hour begins to irritate her skin and causes her cheeks to redden painfully. She is prone to painful sun poisoning in the most vicious days of summer and is very rarely seen without a hat or protective charms when in the sunshine.
The only thing that makes Astrid stand out from a slew of eleven year olds is her posture. Having developed a bit of a complex on account of her size Astrid likes to make sure everyone understands that she is not lacking anywhere else. Astrid walks fast and with an apparent purpose at all times, not being a fan of the absent stroll. Her back is always straight and her nose in the air.
Astrid has a tendency to look down her small, snub nose at people, even if they are taller than her. Astrid’s eyes are hazel, though tend to look brown in most lights. Large and expressive, they tend to add a youthful innocence to her face. More often than not, Astrid has deep circles under her eyes and a habitual squint. She adopts a sense of practicality to her hairstyles, preferring to keep her dark brown locks shoulder-length and taming the slight curl into a sleek bun or parting it to the side with a headband. It is very rare to find it in her face. Astrid does not like the feeling of hairs on the back of her neck and it is common to see her continually fixing her buns or in high-collared shirts when her hair is worn loose.
Astrid has a small heart-shaped face with a narrow chin and a wide forehead. Her lips are thin and unimpressive, usually set in a narrow line accenting her dissatisfaction with something or other.
Disliking makeup, more because she does not know how to apply it than anything else, Astrid never wears more than chapstick. Because of this, after particularly rough nights Astrid tends to look like the walking dead with every little ability to cover it up sans magic.
Astrid does not like elaborate clothes. She loves the practicality of work uniforms with a great passion and when given the chance wears simple black robes with sensible shoes.On occasion she will wear Muggle clothes, almost all of them solid-colored and simple, cardigans and straight skirts being the most common. Astrid does not accessorize with the exception of a watch that she always wears faithfully on her left wrist.
[ Personality Character Description: ] Astrid is very quick to make up her mind and stick to it, being quite vocal about her opinions. She does not believe in platonic relationships, for there is constant power struggle. She doesn’t believe in waiting for things to happen and loathes those who don’t seize opportunities. In fact, mostly Astrid is quick to decide that humanity is completely useless. She is a pessimist when it comes to human nature and has long decided to give up hope on society. Her opinion stands that there is no more real class and dignity left in modern society, that there is not enough room for art and growth. Instead, she fancies herself the artist, being a bit of a writer, constantly drabbling about what she has decided is the ‘human condition’ of constant loneliness. Though some may find her theory intensely morbid Astrid claims that humanity will never be satisfied unless they are searching for something they cannot have.
Astrid is a social elitist, and in her mind anyone that is not a benefit to her in the long run is probably not worth talking to for a short period of time. Believing herself to be a person of high standards, Astrid does not make time for anyone that has nothing to offer. She is selfish and greedy, often taking things without any offers back. She does not give herself to people easily, nor does she get attached.
Astrid is a Social Darwinist, by self-definition. She does not believe in equal chances or a helping had. Her theory on life revolves around survival of the fittest. If you were born into the world and were meant to make it, you would. With this opinion she leaves people very little room for failure or improvement. She is quick to judge most and does not deal well with things she deems are stupid decisions. In such cases, she will pretty much deem any decision she would not make as something completely idiotic.
With a short temper and a low tolerance for most things Astrid is quick to defend herself in situations. She will not hesitate to draw a wand to someone’s throat if they do something she doesn’t approve of. Preferring things neat and tidy, Astrid grows furious when her perfect little world is messed up. She does not like to repeat things or have her plans fall through.
Though Astrid would like to claim she is an intellectual, she is not nearly as smart as she would like to be. Most things do not come to Astrid naturally but instead with great study and care. This is something that will always bother her, as she thinks of this as a handicap. She is embarrassed by her lack of natural magical skill and nearly terrified of learning new and advanced things. Because of this, Astrid will often stay up numerous nights in a row until she deems herself proficient at whatever new assignment she has been given. Her strengths lie in Charms she can spend hours repeating in the dead of nights.
Along with her inability to grasp new concepts Astrid also does not deal well with change. She resists anything that takes her out of her comfort zone and is constantly finding ways to get out of doing things she does not want to. Astrid is not manipulative as much as she is commanding. Instead of slyly trying to get her way, she demands things. Astrid likes to think she is an adult. She does not like to be babied or pampered. Help is denied if it is ever given and Astrid would rather soldier on with a struggle than feel as though she is being pitied. In truth, Astrid tends to be a big baby when she does not get her way. She is prone to throwing temper tantrums that she claims are panic attacks, and holding grudges for unreasonably long times.
Though she would never admit it, Astrid is lonely. She craves attention from people, and the closest thing she can grab to true acceptance she pounces on. She allows herself to fall into doomed and impractical relationships because she feels wanted. Astrid continually works to be on top and to be the best to be recognized for things rather than her own personal satisfaction.
Astrid likes puzzles and books. Things of a practical nature appeal to her most because they are a skill she does not have to show off. In her free time Astrid indulges in crossword puzzles and literature, something she does not consider any great skill and does not feel self-conscious while doing. Everyone can read. Everyone can write. These things are not a competition. Astrid enjoys being recognized for doing something special, and feels even better if there is a reward involved. She will subtly and subconsciously flaunt it. Mostly, Astrid likes finding things to dislike. The act gives her a feeling of superiority. If someone claims to enjoy something she will make sure to hate it and find proof that this something is truly stupid.
[ History: ] Fredrik Stoll was born in Oslo, Norway to two half-blood parents that could barely afford to support themselves let alone a child. Moving to Yorkshire, England when Fred turned 9The familyopened a small used-broom shop in the center of the magic district of the city and the funds were sufficient enough to put Fredrik through school with little debt. Because of his near-poverty and less than prestigious family background Fredrik found it hard to keep afloat in school. Sorted into Ravenclaw, forced to learn a language he had no familiarity with and made fun of for his small size and unimpressive bloodline Fredrik found school to be miserable. He was a dreamer and inventor, brilliant with charms and had plans to start a career in curse-breaking. However, his father’s death merely months after Fredrik’s graduation halted his charm studies. Upon his mother’s request Fredrik took over his father’s broom shop. In an attempt to pay off his school debts faster Fredrik decided to turn the secondhand broom shop into a proper Quidditch supply emporium.
It was on a trip to Turkey (to pick up more brooms straight from the supplier’s warehouses) that Fredrik met Aysel. The young girl was an eighteen to his twenty-one and the two hit it off instantly. Fredrik extended his stay in Istanbul from two days for two weeks and frequent visits began from there on. The visits ceased abruptly, however, when Aysel announced to Fredrik that she was pregnant. The two were not prepared for the situation and decided to get married for the sake of the child. They were in love, yes, but completely irresponsible and when Astrid was born the child was treated like a kitten.
Astrid was an unimpressive baby, small and scrawny with a chronic cough and permanent dissatisfaction with everything. Having no idea how to raise a child, especially not one that fussy, the couple looked to Fredrik’s mother for help. By the time Astrid was two she was more familiar with Annaliese Stoll than her own parents. But toddlers needed to be cared for with every bit of soul, and Annaliese was nearing her fifties and could not spend hours chasing a small child around the house. Astrid’s constant demands and tantrums were wearing the woman out. Meanwhile, Fredrik and Aysel’s Quidditch store was finally starting to bloom.
Astrid was five when she first decided she wanted attention from her father. She had watched Aysel set a plate for dinner every night for the past week, only to put it away when Fredrik wound up staying late at the shop. The empty chair at the table, the untouched food, the filled glass – all were a sight so lonely that Astrid could not bear it. She developed a habit of sitting in his chair when he would not come home, curled up in a fetal position. She was making her mother feel better, she believed, by taking up all that extra room Fredrik was leaving them with. One day, the chair toppled over, taking Astrid down with it and resulting in a concussion that deterred her from ever sitting in it again.
Astrid did not like to go outside. She did not like the cold weather of winter, the feeling of layer and layers of clothing on her body until her arms and legs were stiff as tree-trunks. She hated the stinging on her cheeks, the way hats rode up over her head within a few minutes. She hated the wet snow and how it managed to seep through every layer and slow down her pace until she could feel the lactic acid burning in her thighs. She found ways to hate summer too, the angry welts on her shoulders from the sun after being out for too long, the damp sweat on her back after rounding the house, the nakedness of looser, smaller clothing. Where in winter Astrid felt too protected, stifled, in summer she felt too open and scared. No matter how much Annaliese would force Astrid out, she refused to go.
Instead, the two sat inside most days, reading books and cleaning. It was Annaliese who first noticed Astrid’s problems with reading. When Astrid began a new book she would stutter at every word she was unfamiliar with, unable to sound out the syllables no matter how hard Annaliese tried to teach her. Older books, however, were a breeze. Astrid would read things she had memorized, over and over. Annaliese slowly realized that Astrid was completely incapable of phonetically reading words and was instead memorizing them. The girl could recognize words she had seen before, but was hopeless otherwise. No matter what she tried, nothing seemed to help poor Astrid and the girl would get more and more frustrated with every one of Annaliese’s attempts, often throwing her books or tearfully ripping them to pieces.
Astrid had never known of the financial status of her family and she had never really cared until she started her first year at Hogwarts. Having grown up a creature of solitude under the kind patience of Annaliese the girl was shocked to find herself in a school with so many different people. . She had neither the money nor the family name to flaunt. Finding out that she was not the special golden child that Annaliese claimed she was became a difficult concept for Astrid, and the young girl grew bitter. She did not deserve to be looked down on, by these people, she was as much a perfect human being as they were! She was just a small, average girl. She was mediocre in every aspect of life. She wanted to stand out.
When she returned from her first year of school as a Ravenclaw, Astrid grew bitter with her family. She was furious that her father was a simple shopkeeper, that her mother was not paying people to clean their house, that Annaliese was not covered in jewels and constantly slurring her words in a drunken stupor. She was embarrassed by the lack of glamour in her family.
At the start of her second year Aysel and Fredrik wrote Astrid a letter that she would later loathe. Astrid was to have a younger sister. This information was not something Astrid wanted to hear. She had been an only child for twelve years and the fact that her parents deemed it necessary to replace her hurt Astrid’s feelings tremendously. Little Johanna was born mid-way through her second year and when Astrid went home for break she was infuriated to realize that not only were her parents immersed in the new baby, but Annaliese’s affections had been transferred too. Astrid’s struggle to stay noticed truly began there.
It was in her third year that Astrid’s learning disability proved to be a handicap. Astrid grew more and more aware of the students around her and the work grew more and more complicated. Astrid could no longer hoard herself up in her room for a few days until she learned a spell properly. Things were more difficult and more immediate. Instead of having a week to write an essay, she had a night, instead of practicing a spell for a while she had to learn it and do it. Astrid floundered helplessly without any time to prepare herself. Her poor marks in Charms and Transfiguration were an embarrassment to her father, a wizard who’s strengths lay in those very subjects. Aysel and Fredrik wrote angry letters to their daughter, threatening to take her out of school unless she studied harder. Annaliese’s protests were drowned out. Astrid was not having trouble with learning, she simply wasn’t trying hard enough, they claimed. Astrid began staying up nights to finish essays and catching her sleep when she didn’t have classes. This usually meant skipping lunch and breakfast for small snacks.
Astrid began to feel more adjusted in her fourth year, finally finding study patterns that worked for her, developing a few close friends and growing less hostile towards her family. This new, softer Astrid tried her hardest to fit in. She went on outings in Primorsk, no matter if she had the money to spend or not, she stayed up late with other students trading stories and taking sips from forbidden bottles of alcohol, and smoking prohibited cigarettes. Letters from home became infrequent and Astrid immersed herself completely in her Hogwarts life. Before the end of the year, however, Astrid’s little group of friends began to drift apart. Girls caught themselves boyfriends and boys went chasing after girls. Astrid, feeling lost and abandoned greeted Summer as a relief.
Astrid turned fifteen that July and was deemed old enough to help work at her father’s store. She tried to impress him once more, her organization skills rivaling his own practiced methods. But she was clumsy and small, often times a bother to Fredrik, and the man insisted she stay out of his way and just work the front of the store. Astrid obliged sadly. Working the front of the store bored her. Now that her mother was busy with the baby and Annaliese was flitting around the place helping clean Astrid’s summers grew long and dreary. The quidditch store was full of teenage boys with bad acne and squeaking voices or old men trying to paw her when her father wasn’t looking. Astrid had her first kiss that summer, led into a corner by one of those awkward boys, looking up, eyes open, as she stood on a box.
Fifth year was heartbreaking, starting with the death of Annaliese, struck by a Muggle car. Astrid’s anger towards her grandmother’s betrayal could not overpower the genuine anguish she felt at the sudden feeling of loss. Astrid did not like the feeling of sadness, and she certainly did not understand how to deal with grief. Instead of letting her sorrow pass she grew angry with everyone. Astrid was angry at the world for letting Annaliese die, she was angry at her parents for sending her somewhere with cars, she was angry at her friends for bothering her, she was angry at Annaliese for not looking at the lights. Astrid had never experienced death before, and the thought of permanent end could not process. She knew that her grandmother was dead, that she would never see her again, but Astrid still expected to hear her voice, to crumple up her letters, to smell her perfume on the couches at home. That summer was lonely.
With the beginning of her sixth year came a new philosophy. Astrid came back to school after a summer growth spurt, pushing her up to an even five feet but maturing her a bit more than before. Astrid’s closer friends had graduated, and having decided that there was no one she truly felt the need to impress, Astrid threw herself fully into her school work, her OWLS having been fairly impressive and her focus now on her NEWTS. The silly, frivolous things the students around her were doing disgusted her. Their antics would get them nowhere in the future so while they were off philandering their family’s money and coming back useless and stupid Astrid insisted on striving for what she needed. She struggled to stay on top of her school work but when she was recognized for doing well Astrid was motivated to try even harder. Sixth year brought a boyfriend that lasted for two months and grew irritating, the purchase of an owl, and the general acceptance that Astrid would never be a great witch. She did, however, have a knack for memorizing the text books and scraped by on written exams.
The summer after sixth year Astrid fell in love. His name was Jared and she met him delivering broom supplies. Within the next week she found herself bringing numerous packages to his house, staying to chat a little longer each time. A few weeks later, sitting on his couch and nervously twiddling with a pair of twig clippers, Astrid was kissed. That moment began their pseudo-relationship. The two never had anything to talk about, nothing to do, but there was a clear sexual attraction between the two. A month after their relationship began Astrid got her heart broken for the first time. She had known Jared was older than her by a significant amount, but she had not been aware that he was married. This revelation pushed Astrid away from the man instantly. Committing one felony had been enough for her. But Jared had lavished Astrid with so much affection that when he came back to her, groveling and claiming he could not deal without her she opened her arms to him again.
Astrid became the perfect complacent other woman. Swearing that it was love and not simply loneliness that let her overcome Jared’s lying Astrid soldiered on in their relationship—which was never in truth a relationship. Both had been lying to themselves and both willing to substitute intimacy for substance. It was almost August when Jared vanished. He stopped calling. Stopped writing. Stopped popping up unexpectedly. Astrid was devastated. As much as the relationship had felt wrong, she had also felt wanted.
Going back to school seemed frivolous. Her closest friends had graduated the year before, her heart had been carelessly tossed away, and her career was leading nowhere further than her father’s Quidditch shop. Astrid was not pleased to return. Upon arrival back at HogwartsAstrid was surprised to find it comforting, and the sense of familiarity was much more welcome than her home. Even with most of her friends gone Astrid felt fine. She did not need the distraction of a social life, she convinced herself. Upon graduation Astrid found herself at a loss. Her intention had been to become an Auror, as it seemed like a career that would be glamorous enough to challenge her. However, Astrid’s potions NEWT failed to live up to her OWL grade. Instead, Astrid was forced to take half a year off and work for her parents before she applied for a job as an Obliviator, her late-night charms sessions finally paying off.
[ Pros and Cons : ]
Pros
With her commanding presence, Astrid is sure to get what she wants from most people. A careful balance of self-confidence and self-awareness prevents Astrid from making silly decisions or doubting the ones she has made. Astrid is naturally wary and does not jump head first into things she does not feel comfortable with. She is good at testing the water before she drowns.
Physically, Astrid is small and quick, which usually works for her. She is rarely bothered because she does not appear to be a threat, and if she is she is able to play up her size.
Astrid has a natural knack for organization. She is great at picking out things that don’t fit somewhere quite right and easily finding places for them.
Her hatred for failure always makes Astrid very receptive of a challenge. She loves to take the most tedious task possible and overcome it.
Cons
First and foremost Astrid is a hypocrite. She continually looks down on other people but the minute something doesn’t go her way she throws a hissy fit.
She is a perfectionist to the point of obsession and tends to nit-pick and ruin all good things that come to her.
Astrid does not know how to portray her own emotions. Almost all negative ones including sadness and despair turn into frustration and tantrums. Astrid is not good at taking a positive emotion either. She feels silly and childish if she bounces around with glee like she would often like to.
Though she is a good writer and a dedicated learner, Astrid is a bit dyslexic and it takes her slightly longer than most people to complete an assignment. She works best with repetition and memorization, having spent her entire life exercising her brain with little tips and tricks.
[ Credentials: ]
2000-2009: Stoll Quidditch Supply Emporium
O.W.L. Scores:
Potions – O
History of Magic – E
Defense Against the Dark Arts – O
Transfiguration – O
Charms – O
Astronomy – A
Herbology – A
Ancient Runes– O
Care of the Magical Creatures – E
N.E.W.T.s Scores:
Potions – A
Defense Against the Dark Arts – E
Transfiguration – O
Charms – O
Ancient Runes– E
[ Writing/Role Playing Example: ]
Astrid's blue robes flipped happily against her knees. This was ironic, she thought, as blue was such a depressing color. It was that slow, in-between hue, not go-go green, stop-now red, laughing yellow. It wasn't the concrete of black or the freedom of white. Blue was a sad color, a mourning color. It was the color adults chose to "brighten" things up, not realizing that it was as dull as it got. Blue was the color of endlessness, the shade of oceanmeetssky. It was the color you felt when you were upset. Blue were the bruises underneath tired eyes. Astrid could never associate blue with forget-me-nots and butterflies; it was never a light and fluttery color. Blue was the shade of lost youth.
Her own youth was not completely lost-- simply a bit farther away than usual. Somewhere beneath her hiding and running it had run and hid too, leaving Astrid with a small gap that was almost unnoticeable unless a person was truly looking. But problems, like people, were fickle-- they came and went in and out of life without any true warning.
Astrid knew that if she had been given a warning she would not be standing on a street in front of the person she wanted to see least of all. She, in the split second it took her to notice him, was completely set to escape before her feet found themselves rooted in the sidewalk. She looked down at her shoes, not allowing hazel eyes to mingle with grey, and instead admired how the white of her shoe contrasted with the grime of the asphalt.
It was then she realized that she was absolutely still. If one were to look close enough, only then would they even notice that the girl was even breathing. She wasn't angry at him, Astrid discovered, not as much as she thought. She was terrified of Jared and the way he had made her give everything up so quickly.
She remembered a short story she read once, with Anneliese. John Updike had written about the inevitable truth of one day becoming exactly like ones parents. No matter how much a person can hate, can push someone away, the action still turns back into love. Astrid was doomed to be just like them. Deep down she knew that she would turn into her quiet, complacent mother and be plagued by the same internal rebellion of her father.
She watched Jared cross the street, staring ahead as though she did not notice him, broom supplies in hand. Astrid did not mingle with the past- it was not beneficial to her future.
[ Full Character Name: ] Astrid Cambria Stoll
[ Character Gender: ] Female
[ Character Age: ] 19
[ Position Requesting: ]Obliviator
[ Country of Citizenship: ] England
[ Years of Employment at Ministry: ] Three months
[ Physical Character Description: ]On first appearance Astrid does not seem to be any older than a first year. Her small stature, only reaching five feet in shoes with thick soles, and slender figure have been a curse to her for the past seventeen years. With skinny arms and legs and protruding bones Astrid looks like a pre-teen put on a crash diet. Astrid has tiny, barely-there curves that she does very little to enhance.
Astrid has a very fair complexion, with the slightest bit of freckles across her nose. Her skin is so white that at certain points on her body it appears almost translucent and blue. As Astrid did not inherit her mother’s tanned skin any sun exposure for longer than an hour begins to irritate her skin and causes her cheeks to redden painfully. She is prone to painful sun poisoning in the most vicious days of summer and is very rarely seen without a hat or protective charms when in the sunshine.
The only thing that makes Astrid stand out from a slew of eleven year olds is her posture. Having developed a bit of a complex on account of her size Astrid likes to make sure everyone understands that she is not lacking anywhere else. Astrid walks fast and with an apparent purpose at all times, not being a fan of the absent stroll. Her back is always straight and her nose in the air.
Astrid has a tendency to look down her small, snub nose at people, even if they are taller than her. Astrid’s eyes are hazel, though tend to look brown in most lights. Large and expressive, they tend to add a youthful innocence to her face. More often than not, Astrid has deep circles under her eyes and a habitual squint. She adopts a sense of practicality to her hairstyles, preferring to keep her dark brown locks shoulder-length and taming the slight curl into a sleek bun or parting it to the side with a headband. It is very rare to find it in her face. Astrid does not like the feeling of hairs on the back of her neck and it is common to see her continually fixing her buns or in high-collared shirts when her hair is worn loose.
Astrid has a small heart-shaped face with a narrow chin and a wide forehead. Her lips are thin and unimpressive, usually set in a narrow line accenting her dissatisfaction with something or other.
Disliking makeup, more because she does not know how to apply it than anything else, Astrid never wears more than chapstick. Because of this, after particularly rough nights Astrid tends to look like the walking dead with every little ability to cover it up sans magic.
Astrid does not like elaborate clothes. She loves the practicality of work uniforms with a great passion and when given the chance wears simple black robes with sensible shoes.On occasion she will wear Muggle clothes, almost all of them solid-colored and simple, cardigans and straight skirts being the most common. Astrid does not accessorize with the exception of a watch that she always wears faithfully on her left wrist.
[ Personality Character Description: ] Astrid is very quick to make up her mind and stick to it, being quite vocal about her opinions. She does not believe in platonic relationships, for there is constant power struggle. She doesn’t believe in waiting for things to happen and loathes those who don’t seize opportunities. In fact, mostly Astrid is quick to decide that humanity is completely useless. She is a pessimist when it comes to human nature and has long decided to give up hope on society. Her opinion stands that there is no more real class and dignity left in modern society, that there is not enough room for art and growth. Instead, she fancies herself the artist, being a bit of a writer, constantly drabbling about what she has decided is the ‘human condition’ of constant loneliness. Though some may find her theory intensely morbid Astrid claims that humanity will never be satisfied unless they are searching for something they cannot have.
Astrid is a social elitist, and in her mind anyone that is not a benefit to her in the long run is probably not worth talking to for a short period of time. Believing herself to be a person of high standards, Astrid does not make time for anyone that has nothing to offer. She is selfish and greedy, often taking things without any offers back. She does not give herself to people easily, nor does she get attached.
Astrid is a Social Darwinist, by self-definition. She does not believe in equal chances or a helping had. Her theory on life revolves around survival of the fittest. If you were born into the world and were meant to make it, you would. With this opinion she leaves people very little room for failure or improvement. She is quick to judge most and does not deal well with things she deems are stupid decisions. In such cases, she will pretty much deem any decision she would not make as something completely idiotic.
With a short temper and a low tolerance for most things Astrid is quick to defend herself in situations. She will not hesitate to draw a wand to someone’s throat if they do something she doesn’t approve of. Preferring things neat and tidy, Astrid grows furious when her perfect little world is messed up. She does not like to repeat things or have her plans fall through.
Though Astrid would like to claim she is an intellectual, she is not nearly as smart as she would like to be. Most things do not come to Astrid naturally but instead with great study and care. This is something that will always bother her, as she thinks of this as a handicap. She is embarrassed by her lack of natural magical skill and nearly terrified of learning new and advanced things. Because of this, Astrid will often stay up numerous nights in a row until she deems herself proficient at whatever new assignment she has been given. Her strengths lie in Charms she can spend hours repeating in the dead of nights.
Along with her inability to grasp new concepts Astrid also does not deal well with change. She resists anything that takes her out of her comfort zone and is constantly finding ways to get out of doing things she does not want to. Astrid is not manipulative as much as she is commanding. Instead of slyly trying to get her way, she demands things. Astrid likes to think she is an adult. She does not like to be babied or pampered. Help is denied if it is ever given and Astrid would rather soldier on with a struggle than feel as though she is being pitied. In truth, Astrid tends to be a big baby when she does not get her way. She is prone to throwing temper tantrums that she claims are panic attacks, and holding grudges for unreasonably long times.
Though she would never admit it, Astrid is lonely. She craves attention from people, and the closest thing she can grab to true acceptance she pounces on. She allows herself to fall into doomed and impractical relationships because she feels wanted. Astrid continually works to be on top and to be the best to be recognized for things rather than her own personal satisfaction.
Astrid likes puzzles and books. Things of a practical nature appeal to her most because they are a skill she does not have to show off. In her free time Astrid indulges in crossword puzzles and literature, something she does not consider any great skill and does not feel self-conscious while doing. Everyone can read. Everyone can write. These things are not a competition. Astrid enjoys being recognized for doing something special, and feels even better if there is a reward involved. She will subtly and subconsciously flaunt it. Mostly, Astrid likes finding things to dislike. The act gives her a feeling of superiority. If someone claims to enjoy something she will make sure to hate it and find proof that this something is truly stupid.
[ History: ] Fredrik Stoll was born in Oslo, Norway to two half-blood parents that could barely afford to support themselves let alone a child. Moving to Yorkshire, England when Fred turned 9The familyopened a small used-broom shop in the center of the magic district of the city and the funds were sufficient enough to put Fredrik through school with little debt. Because of his near-poverty and less than prestigious family background Fredrik found it hard to keep afloat in school. Sorted into Ravenclaw, forced to learn a language he had no familiarity with and made fun of for his small size and unimpressive bloodline Fredrik found school to be miserable. He was a dreamer and inventor, brilliant with charms and had plans to start a career in curse-breaking. However, his father’s death merely months after Fredrik’s graduation halted his charm studies. Upon his mother’s request Fredrik took over his father’s broom shop. In an attempt to pay off his school debts faster Fredrik decided to turn the secondhand broom shop into a proper Quidditch supply emporium.
It was on a trip to Turkey (to pick up more brooms straight from the supplier’s warehouses) that Fredrik met Aysel. The young girl was an eighteen to his twenty-one and the two hit it off instantly. Fredrik extended his stay in Istanbul from two days for two weeks and frequent visits began from there on. The visits ceased abruptly, however, when Aysel announced to Fredrik that she was pregnant. The two were not prepared for the situation and decided to get married for the sake of the child. They were in love, yes, but completely irresponsible and when Astrid was born the child was treated like a kitten.
Astrid was an unimpressive baby, small and scrawny with a chronic cough and permanent dissatisfaction with everything. Having no idea how to raise a child, especially not one that fussy, the couple looked to Fredrik’s mother for help. By the time Astrid was two she was more familiar with Annaliese Stoll than her own parents. But toddlers needed to be cared for with every bit of soul, and Annaliese was nearing her fifties and could not spend hours chasing a small child around the house. Astrid’s constant demands and tantrums were wearing the woman out. Meanwhile, Fredrik and Aysel’s Quidditch store was finally starting to bloom.
Astrid was five when she first decided she wanted attention from her father. She had watched Aysel set a plate for dinner every night for the past week, only to put it away when Fredrik wound up staying late at the shop. The empty chair at the table, the untouched food, the filled glass – all were a sight so lonely that Astrid could not bear it. She developed a habit of sitting in his chair when he would not come home, curled up in a fetal position. She was making her mother feel better, she believed, by taking up all that extra room Fredrik was leaving them with. One day, the chair toppled over, taking Astrid down with it and resulting in a concussion that deterred her from ever sitting in it again.
Astrid did not like to go outside. She did not like the cold weather of winter, the feeling of layer and layers of clothing on her body until her arms and legs were stiff as tree-trunks. She hated the stinging on her cheeks, the way hats rode up over her head within a few minutes. She hated the wet snow and how it managed to seep through every layer and slow down her pace until she could feel the lactic acid burning in her thighs. She found ways to hate summer too, the angry welts on her shoulders from the sun after being out for too long, the damp sweat on her back after rounding the house, the nakedness of looser, smaller clothing. Where in winter Astrid felt too protected, stifled, in summer she felt too open and scared. No matter how much Annaliese would force Astrid out, she refused to go.
Instead, the two sat inside most days, reading books and cleaning. It was Annaliese who first noticed Astrid’s problems with reading. When Astrid began a new book she would stutter at every word she was unfamiliar with, unable to sound out the syllables no matter how hard Annaliese tried to teach her. Older books, however, were a breeze. Astrid would read things she had memorized, over and over. Annaliese slowly realized that Astrid was completely incapable of phonetically reading words and was instead memorizing them. The girl could recognize words she had seen before, but was hopeless otherwise. No matter what she tried, nothing seemed to help poor Astrid and the girl would get more and more frustrated with every one of Annaliese’s attempts, often throwing her books or tearfully ripping them to pieces.
Astrid had never known of the financial status of her family and she had never really cared until she started her first year at Hogwarts. Having grown up a creature of solitude under the kind patience of Annaliese the girl was shocked to find herself in a school with so many different people. . She had neither the money nor the family name to flaunt. Finding out that she was not the special golden child that Annaliese claimed she was became a difficult concept for Astrid, and the young girl grew bitter. She did not deserve to be looked down on, by these people, she was as much a perfect human being as they were! She was just a small, average girl. She was mediocre in every aspect of life. She wanted to stand out.
When she returned from her first year of school as a Ravenclaw, Astrid grew bitter with her family. She was furious that her father was a simple shopkeeper, that her mother was not paying people to clean their house, that Annaliese was not covered in jewels and constantly slurring her words in a drunken stupor. She was embarrassed by the lack of glamour in her family.
At the start of her second year Aysel and Fredrik wrote Astrid a letter that she would later loathe. Astrid was to have a younger sister. This information was not something Astrid wanted to hear. She had been an only child for twelve years and the fact that her parents deemed it necessary to replace her hurt Astrid’s feelings tremendously. Little Johanna was born mid-way through her second year and when Astrid went home for break she was infuriated to realize that not only were her parents immersed in the new baby, but Annaliese’s affections had been transferred too. Astrid’s struggle to stay noticed truly began there.
It was in her third year that Astrid’s learning disability proved to be a handicap. Astrid grew more and more aware of the students around her and the work grew more and more complicated. Astrid could no longer hoard herself up in her room for a few days until she learned a spell properly. Things were more difficult and more immediate. Instead of having a week to write an essay, she had a night, instead of practicing a spell for a while she had to learn it and do it. Astrid floundered helplessly without any time to prepare herself. Her poor marks in Charms and Transfiguration were an embarrassment to her father, a wizard who’s strengths lay in those very subjects. Aysel and Fredrik wrote angry letters to their daughter, threatening to take her out of school unless she studied harder. Annaliese’s protests were drowned out. Astrid was not having trouble with learning, she simply wasn’t trying hard enough, they claimed. Astrid began staying up nights to finish essays and catching her sleep when she didn’t have classes. This usually meant skipping lunch and breakfast for small snacks.
Astrid began to feel more adjusted in her fourth year, finally finding study patterns that worked for her, developing a few close friends and growing less hostile towards her family. This new, softer Astrid tried her hardest to fit in. She went on outings in Primorsk, no matter if she had the money to spend or not, she stayed up late with other students trading stories and taking sips from forbidden bottles of alcohol, and smoking prohibited cigarettes. Letters from home became infrequent and Astrid immersed herself completely in her Hogwarts life. Before the end of the year, however, Astrid’s little group of friends began to drift apart. Girls caught themselves boyfriends and boys went chasing after girls. Astrid, feeling lost and abandoned greeted Summer as a relief.
Astrid turned fifteen that July and was deemed old enough to help work at her father’s store. She tried to impress him once more, her organization skills rivaling his own practiced methods. But she was clumsy and small, often times a bother to Fredrik, and the man insisted she stay out of his way and just work the front of the store. Astrid obliged sadly. Working the front of the store bored her. Now that her mother was busy with the baby and Annaliese was flitting around the place helping clean Astrid’s summers grew long and dreary. The quidditch store was full of teenage boys with bad acne and squeaking voices or old men trying to paw her when her father wasn’t looking. Astrid had her first kiss that summer, led into a corner by one of those awkward boys, looking up, eyes open, as she stood on a box.
Fifth year was heartbreaking, starting with the death of Annaliese, struck by a Muggle car. Astrid’s anger towards her grandmother’s betrayal could not overpower the genuine anguish she felt at the sudden feeling of loss. Astrid did not like the feeling of sadness, and she certainly did not understand how to deal with grief. Instead of letting her sorrow pass she grew angry with everyone. Astrid was angry at the world for letting Annaliese die, she was angry at her parents for sending her somewhere with cars, she was angry at her friends for bothering her, she was angry at Annaliese for not looking at the lights. Astrid had never experienced death before, and the thought of permanent end could not process. She knew that her grandmother was dead, that she would never see her again, but Astrid still expected to hear her voice, to crumple up her letters, to smell her perfume on the couches at home. That summer was lonely.
With the beginning of her sixth year came a new philosophy. Astrid came back to school after a summer growth spurt, pushing her up to an even five feet but maturing her a bit more than before. Astrid’s closer friends had graduated, and having decided that there was no one she truly felt the need to impress, Astrid threw herself fully into her school work, her OWLS having been fairly impressive and her focus now on her NEWTS. The silly, frivolous things the students around her were doing disgusted her. Their antics would get them nowhere in the future so while they were off philandering their family’s money and coming back useless and stupid Astrid insisted on striving for what she needed. She struggled to stay on top of her school work but when she was recognized for doing well Astrid was motivated to try even harder. Sixth year brought a boyfriend that lasted for two months and grew irritating, the purchase of an owl, and the general acceptance that Astrid would never be a great witch. She did, however, have a knack for memorizing the text books and scraped by on written exams.
The summer after sixth year Astrid fell in love. His name was Jared and she met him delivering broom supplies. Within the next week she found herself bringing numerous packages to his house, staying to chat a little longer each time. A few weeks later, sitting on his couch and nervously twiddling with a pair of twig clippers, Astrid was kissed. That moment began their pseudo-relationship. The two never had anything to talk about, nothing to do, but there was a clear sexual attraction between the two. A month after their relationship began Astrid got her heart broken for the first time. She had known Jared was older than her by a significant amount, but she had not been aware that he was married. This revelation pushed Astrid away from the man instantly. Committing one felony had been enough for her. But Jared had lavished Astrid with so much affection that when he came back to her, groveling and claiming he could not deal without her she opened her arms to him again.
Astrid became the perfect complacent other woman. Swearing that it was love and not simply loneliness that let her overcome Jared’s lying Astrid soldiered on in their relationship—which was never in truth a relationship. Both had been lying to themselves and both willing to substitute intimacy for substance. It was almost August when Jared vanished. He stopped calling. Stopped writing. Stopped popping up unexpectedly. Astrid was devastated. As much as the relationship had felt wrong, she had also felt wanted.
Going back to school seemed frivolous. Her closest friends had graduated the year before, her heart had been carelessly tossed away, and her career was leading nowhere further than her father’s Quidditch shop. Astrid was not pleased to return. Upon arrival back at HogwartsAstrid was surprised to find it comforting, and the sense of familiarity was much more welcome than her home. Even with most of her friends gone Astrid felt fine. She did not need the distraction of a social life, she convinced herself. Upon graduation Astrid found herself at a loss. Her intention had been to become an Auror, as it seemed like a career that would be glamorous enough to challenge her. However, Astrid’s potions NEWT failed to live up to her OWL grade. Instead, Astrid was forced to take half a year off and work for her parents before she applied for a job as an Obliviator, her late-night charms sessions finally paying off.
[ Pros and Cons : ]
Pros
With her commanding presence, Astrid is sure to get what she wants from most people. A careful balance of self-confidence and self-awareness prevents Astrid from making silly decisions or doubting the ones she has made. Astrid is naturally wary and does not jump head first into things she does not feel comfortable with. She is good at testing the water before she drowns.
Physically, Astrid is small and quick, which usually works for her. She is rarely bothered because she does not appear to be a threat, and if she is she is able to play up her size.
Astrid has a natural knack for organization. She is great at picking out things that don’t fit somewhere quite right and easily finding places for them.
Her hatred for failure always makes Astrid very receptive of a challenge. She loves to take the most tedious task possible and overcome it.
Cons
First and foremost Astrid is a hypocrite. She continually looks down on other people but the minute something doesn’t go her way she throws a hissy fit.
She is a perfectionist to the point of obsession and tends to nit-pick and ruin all good things that come to her.
Astrid does not know how to portray her own emotions. Almost all negative ones including sadness and despair turn into frustration and tantrums. Astrid is not good at taking a positive emotion either. She feels silly and childish if she bounces around with glee like she would often like to.
Though she is a good writer and a dedicated learner, Astrid is a bit dyslexic and it takes her slightly longer than most people to complete an assignment. She works best with repetition and memorization, having spent her entire life exercising her brain with little tips and tricks.
[ Credentials: ]
2000-2009: Stoll Quidditch Supply Emporium
O.W.L. Scores:
Potions – O
History of Magic – E
Defense Against the Dark Arts – O
Transfiguration – O
Charms – O
Astronomy – A
Herbology – A
Ancient Runes– O
Care of the Magical Creatures – E
N.E.W.T.s Scores:
Potions – A
Defense Against the Dark Arts – E
Transfiguration – O
Charms – O
Ancient Runes– E
[ Writing/Role Playing Example: ]
Astrid's blue robes flipped happily against her knees. This was ironic, she thought, as blue was such a depressing color. It was that slow, in-between hue, not go-go green, stop-now red, laughing yellow. It wasn't the concrete of black or the freedom of white. Blue was a sad color, a mourning color. It was the color adults chose to "brighten" things up, not realizing that it was as dull as it got. Blue was the color of endlessness, the shade of oceanmeetssky. It was the color you felt when you were upset. Blue were the bruises underneath tired eyes. Astrid could never associate blue with forget-me-nots and butterflies; it was never a light and fluttery color. Blue was the shade of lost youth.
Her own youth was not completely lost-- simply a bit farther away than usual. Somewhere beneath her hiding and running it had run and hid too, leaving Astrid with a small gap that was almost unnoticeable unless a person was truly looking. But problems, like people, were fickle-- they came and went in and out of life without any true warning.
Astrid knew that if she had been given a warning she would not be standing on a street in front of the person she wanted to see least of all. She, in the split second it took her to notice him, was completely set to escape before her feet found themselves rooted in the sidewalk. She looked down at her shoes, not allowing hazel eyes to mingle with grey, and instead admired how the white of her shoe contrasted with the grime of the asphalt.
It was then she realized that she was absolutely still. If one were to look close enough, only then would they even notice that the girl was even breathing. She wasn't angry at him, Astrid discovered, not as much as she thought. She was terrified of Jared and the way he had made her give everything up so quickly.
She remembered a short story she read once, with Anneliese. John Updike had written about the inevitable truth of one day becoming exactly like ones parents. No matter how much a person can hate, can push someone away, the action still turns back into love. Astrid was doomed to be just like them. Deep down she knew that she would turn into her quiet, complacent mother and be plagued by the same internal rebellion of her father.
She watched Jared cross the street, staring ahead as though she did not notice him, broom supplies in hand. Astrid did not mingle with the past- it was not beneficial to her future.