Gabi Flores (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
humansunshine) wrote2017-03-16 03:59 pm
humansunshine) wrote2017-03-16 03:59 pm
(no subject)
GENERAL
NAME: Gabriela Flores
NICKNAMES: Gabi
AGE/DOB/ZODIAC: 15/ November 29th / Sagittarius
BLOOD STATUS: Halfblood
GENDER/PRONOUNS: Female/she/her
SEXUALITY: Heterosexual? She thinks? Really she isn't entirely sure.
HOMETOWN: Livingston, Guatemala
CONCEPT: Ribbonfin's little ray of unquenchable sunshine.
PHYSICAL
PERSONALITY
LIKES: Swimming, making friends, happy thoughts, animals of all shapes and sizes, plants of most shapes and sizes (she is not so fond of this 'poison ivy' stuff,) food that reminds her of home, singing, most things areally.
DISLIKES: Conflict, yelling, pessimism, the dark unless it's a clear night and you can easily see the stars, not really very many things actually. You can find something to like about anything if you just look!
PERSONALITY:
Gabriela is, first and foremost, an indefatigable optimist. She has yet to meet the setback that can discourage her; every cloud has a silver lining that's easy to see, by her lights, and rare is the glass that's even a quarter of the way empty. Looking on the bright side comes easily to her, and as a result she is nearly always cheerful.
It's an outlook that can make her appear naive, dense or outright stupid according to the more cynical of her peers, but it isn't that she doesn't see the bad. Not entirely, anyway. She sees it, but she sets her focus on the good and doesn't let it waver except very rarely. She doesn't wallow, and she focuses on finding the positive in any situation and turning that positive into a solution. What's the point in whinging and moaning? She'd rather be optimistic and smiling than sad and cynical like so many of her teenage peers seem to prefer to be; it makes the day go by lot quicker, for one thing.
This translates into a tendency, on Gabi's part, to seeing the best in people as well as situations. She forgives her bullies on principle, even when her feelings are hurt (and they can be, easily enough; she may be an incurable optimist, but she's only human, and she's a pubescent girl. You can make her cry. It's not even that hard. It's just that she'll perk back up and forgive you quite quickly, where someone with a harder heart or a harsher outlook might hold a grudge instead. Or at least hold out for an apology, which Gabi usually does not.) They're having a hard day, or something in class is going badly for them, or...or a million other reasons why someone might choose to be cruel despite being a good person underneath. Gabi will work to find the good, and in the process may drive you insane with her positivity and her digging. She doesn't much believe in privacy, for better or for worse.
Unsurprisingly, Gabi is enthusiastic and excitable. She loves to get involved and be part of a group, and when the opportunity comes up to volunteer, she usually does so without hesitation. Given the opportunity to drag her friends along, she'll do that too. No one can say she isn't sweet and helpful, at least, and frequently generous to a fault. She has a tendency to overextend herself or offer more than she ought to, which can make others feel awkward; Gabi simply does not understand this. Doing nice things for people is what makes friends, and she loves having friends, so where's the problem?
Gabi is, more or less, an innocent; she spent her childhood in the overprotective bosom of a large family, one that only became moreso when her mother died, and her time at Castelobruxo was spent with two older brothers making sure that people treated her with utmost kindness under threat of a sound thrashing if they didn't. And the Flores boys were...convincing. Therefore there are certain childish, or, more kindly, childlike traits that Gabi never grew out of. She's extremely trusting, and it takes a long time for her to catch on to a joke at her expense. For her part, so absolutely would not hurt a fly: literally. Just ask all of the flies she's carefully shepherded back outside when they've become caught in her cabin, or all the spiders she's gently placed in a new home when the other girls feel the need to clean up the cobwebs.
HISTORY
FAMILY MEMBERS:
Marco Flores, father, halfblood.
Anarosa Flores, mother, muggleborn. Deceased.
Diego Flores, older brother, halfblood.
Sebastian Flores, older brother, halfblood.
HISTORY:
Outline their family background, childhood, early schooling, and previous years at Gooseberry High, if applicable. (Also their Hogwarts history, for exchange students.) North American students are likely to have gone to a local wizarding school or a boarding school like Ilvermorny before entering Gooseberry.
Keep in mind that Gooseberry Alternative High School seeks young wizards with remarkable talent or achievements (be it in academics, arts, sports, community leadership, etc). This does not mean your character must be some kind of genius, but please consider addressing how they were accepted to Gooseberry. (There are of course some students who got in thanks to family connections or money.)
Gabriela is the youngest of three (if you don't count her many cousins and second-cousins, etc, which she does but listing them all is exhausting and often counterproductive; though the family is Wizarding, they're from a Catholic background and therefore have a small-ish pool of names to choose from, which means there are more than a few repeats among them.) While her mother was a muggleborn witch, her father was a halfblood with two magical parents, and so she and her elder brothers grew up well-acquainted with the magical world.
They also grew up in a warm coastal town on the Caribbean, and so the water was as much a part of Gabi's world growing up as magic. Perhaps her ability to swim like a fish as soon as she could walk was predictive of her future home in Ribbonfin, or perhaps it was only natural. Either way, both mediums- magic and the ocean- felt like home to her from as early as she can remember. She did her first unintentional magic- a bubble-headed charm, or something very much like it, allowing her to briefly breathe and see under water- early, and from there, there was no stopping her.
The Flores family was very close-knit, and Gabi was the baby and therefore perhaps coddled and protected in her childhood. It preserved her sweet, open, sunny nature, as her older brothers would make an example of anyone who dared to hurt her feelings or gave her a reason to view the world with anything less than rose-colored glasses.
And so it was a blow when Anarosa Flores died, hit by a car while crossing the street- a most unmagical and horrifying way to die. Gabi, ten years old at the time, was devastated, and her older brothers were rushed home from Castelobruxo for the funeral and, as it was the end of the school year, didn't return until the next term, at which point Gabriela was old enough to be going herself. The boys were under strict instructions to look out for their sister and make sure that she was taken care of and not unduly upset, instructions which they actually took very seriously under the circumstances.
Gabi's life at the school was a good one. She fell in love with Castelobruxo's most promoted subjects, Herbology and Magizoology, though it was the latter which really captured her heart and where she shined. Still, she did well in all her classes, well enough to stand out in some ways. It was always, however, a concern of her teachers that she relied so much upon her brothers; she was a definite follower, and it was impossible, with the boys so determined to shelter her and she herself so willing to be sheltered, to bring her into her own. The suggestion a few years later that she apply to Gooseberry was made in part to try to help her grow and become her own person. Her grades were good, but not so spectacular that she might have been accepted on their basis alone; it was the letters of recommendation that her Head of House and her Magizoology teachers wrote that sealed the deal.
Despite being accepted, Gabi almost didn't go. Neither she nor her father were thrilled with the idea of her being so far from her family, so...well, alone. It took a lot of encouragement on the part of her Castelobruxo teachers to make her decide to try it. And lo and behold, despite the homesickness and the uncertainty, she enjoyed her freshman year at Gooseberry very much. For the first time in her life, she made friends that were her own, not just friends of her brothers' whom she was basically adopted by. Everything was so different from home and therefore so exciting. And the classes all seemed odd and fascinating to her. Of course she decided to continue her education at the North American school.
She was just made prefect for her sophomore year, partly as a nod to her sweet and helpful nature and partly to goad her into a little more assertiveness; Mr. Hightower is fond of her, and he shares the desire of her former Castelobruxo teachers to see her come more into her own. To say she was surprised would be an understatement, and she is really, really not sure that her Head of House made the right decision, but she would hate to disappoint him, or anyone else for that matter, so she is determined to do her best. Even if she can't possibly imagine taking points or scolding anyone for breaking curfew.
Her decision to start Divination this year was a spontaneous one: she has no idea if, and no real hope that, she's a Seer, but she thinks the subject matter sounds fascinating and she's drawn to the parts about theory and, especially, meditation and its effect on one's magical abilities. It doesn't hurt that Mr. Chettri is more than a little fascinating himself. At any rate, Gabi decided to try it for the year, and if it doesn't work out, it doesn't work out. She's going to be optimistic about things, regardless (and if she makes any 'prophecies' they're all bound to be equally optimistic themselves.)
Keep in mind that Gooseberry Alternative High School seeks young wizards with remarkable talent or achievements (be it in academics, arts, sports, community leadership, etc). This does not mean your character must be some kind of genius, but please consider addressing how they were accepted to Gooseberry. (There are of course some students who got in thanks to family connections or money.)
Gabriela is the youngest of three (if you don't count her many cousins and second-cousins, etc, which she does but listing them all is exhausting and often counterproductive; though the family is Wizarding, they're from a Catholic background and therefore have a small-ish pool of names to choose from, which means there are more than a few repeats among them.) While her mother was a muggleborn witch, her father was a halfblood with two magical parents, and so she and her elder brothers grew up well-acquainted with the magical world.
They also grew up in a warm coastal town on the Caribbean, and so the water was as much a part of Gabi's world growing up as magic. Perhaps her ability to swim like a fish as soon as she could walk was predictive of her future home in Ribbonfin, or perhaps it was only natural. Either way, both mediums- magic and the ocean- felt like home to her from as early as she can remember. She did her first unintentional magic- a bubble-headed charm, or something very much like it, allowing her to briefly breathe and see under water- early, and from there, there was no stopping her.
The Flores family was very close-knit, and Gabi was the baby and therefore perhaps coddled and protected in her childhood. It preserved her sweet, open, sunny nature, as her older brothers would make an example of anyone who dared to hurt her feelings or gave her a reason to view the world with anything less than rose-colored glasses.
And so it was a blow when Anarosa Flores died, hit by a car while crossing the street- a most unmagical and horrifying way to die. Gabi, ten years old at the time, was devastated, and her older brothers were rushed home from Castelobruxo for the funeral and, as it was the end of the school year, didn't return until the next term, at which point Gabriela was old enough to be going herself. The boys were under strict instructions to look out for their sister and make sure that she was taken care of and not unduly upset, instructions which they actually took very seriously under the circumstances.
Gabi's life at the school was a good one. She fell in love with Castelobruxo's most promoted subjects, Herbology and Magizoology, though it was the latter which really captured her heart and where she shined. Still, she did well in all her classes, well enough to stand out in some ways. It was always, however, a concern of her teachers that she relied so much upon her brothers; she was a definite follower, and it was impossible, with the boys so determined to shelter her and she herself so willing to be sheltered, to bring her into her own. The suggestion a few years later that she apply to Gooseberry was made in part to try to help her grow and become her own person. Her grades were good, but not so spectacular that she might have been accepted on their basis alone; it was the letters of recommendation that her Head of House and her Magizoology teachers wrote that sealed the deal.
Despite being accepted, Gabi almost didn't go. Neither she nor her father were thrilled with the idea of her being so far from her family, so...well, alone. It took a lot of encouragement on the part of her Castelobruxo teachers to make her decide to try it. And lo and behold, despite the homesickness and the uncertainty, she enjoyed her freshman year at Gooseberry very much. For the first time in her life, she made friends that were her own, not just friends of her brothers' whom she was basically adopted by. Everything was so different from home and therefore so exciting. And the classes all seemed odd and fascinating to her. Of course she decided to continue her education at the North American school.
She was just made prefect for her sophomore year, partly as a nod to her sweet and helpful nature and partly to goad her into a little more assertiveness; Mr. Hightower is fond of her, and he shares the desire of her former Castelobruxo teachers to see her come more into her own. To say she was surprised would be an understatement, and she is really, really not sure that her Head of House made the right decision, but she would hate to disappoint him, or anyone else for that matter, so she is determined to do her best. Even if she can't possibly imagine taking points or scolding anyone for breaking curfew.
Her decision to start Divination this year was a spontaneous one: she has no idea if, and no real hope that, she's a Seer, but she thinks the subject matter sounds fascinating and she's drawn to the parts about theory and, especially, meditation and its effect on one's magical abilities. It doesn't hurt that Mr. Chettri is more than a little fascinating himself. At any rate, Gabi decided to try it for the year, and if it doesn't work out, it doesn't work out. She's going to be optimistic about things, regardless (and if she makes any 'prophecies' they're all bound to be equally optimistic themselves.)
SCHOOL
YEAR: Sophomore
HOUSE: Ribbonfin
SORTING: Gabriela's forgiving nature marks her as a good fit for Ribbonfin, though she's more excitable than many of her housemates and therefore has caused a few questions to be raised as to her placement there. There was never any doubt for her, though; the fish emblem spoke to her more deeply than the rest, and she loved the idea of living so close to the river and the lake, anyway.
WAND: Rosewood, coral, 8"
FAMILIAR: A chincilla named Jacinta.
CLASSES:
Core; Charms, Herbology, Potions, Transfiguration
Elective; Astronomy, Magizoology
Advanced Study; Divination
SENIOR PROJECT: She has no idea yet. Maybe something with Divination? Or Magizoology? Maaaybe Astronomy? She's confident she'll figure it out soon!
ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE: Gabi is a decent, if not exemplary, student; she would stand out as exemplary in a normal high school, maybe, but in one for gifted students she is merely average. Divination and Magizoology are her favourites, the latter because she just loves animals and the former because it's a subject that fascinates her with a teacher who also does. She's least fond of potions, but she keeps gamely trying anyway, because her dad thinks it's important to know and she likes making her dad happy.
EXTRACURRICULARS: Boating, Choir, Equestrian, LARP, Cheer Squad
OOC
NAME: Sara
EMAIL: xgirlxanachronismx@gmail.com
CDJ:
loveologistOTHER PREFERRED CONTACT:
TIME ZONE: EST