Your Nickname: Bri
Have you read and do you agree to the Code of Conduct?: Yes
Are you over thirteen? Yes
How did you find us and decide to write with us? Friend
If you have written other characters here: Yes
If Yes, list them all: Zia Piselli

[This is one of Jess' adoptables for a plot with Jordyn!]
Is this a Primary or Secondary Character?: Primary

Full Character Name: Jai Patil
Character Birthday & Age: Nov 3, 1991
City & Country of Birth: London, England
Pureblood, Halfblood or Muggleborn: Pureblood
House & Year: 7th Year Hufflepuff

Wand: 8 1/2 inch, supple, smooth spruce wand with ashwinder ash core.

Physical Description:
Towering over the rest of his family at 6"2', Jai's most noticeable quality is probably his height. The fact that he is so skinny and creates the illusion of even more height. Jai has always been like this -- tall and skinny, like a weed. His younger sisters have told him he looks like a wand with ears, and in an abstract sense, they're not totally wrong.

Jai has a young face that is very emotive -- his smile lights up his entire face, while sadness haunts his big brown eyes. His ability to grow a beard or mustache is practically non-existent, although Jai strongly prefers to be clean-shaven anyway. His hair is dark and matches his eyebrows: thick and coarse. On days where it is particularly disobedient, Jai (secretly) uses styling products to tame it.

His sense of style could be described as 'preppy,' although that is probably not the word Jai himself would choose. He wears a lot of cardigans and skinny ties, forever looking crisp and polished, preferring solid colors over stripes or patterns. His clothes are all perfectly wrinkle-free and well-matched.

Personality Description:
If Jai's personality could be described by a shape, it would be a square. Not because he's boring or conservative, but because he likes things to be symmetrical, exact, and straight. This passion for exactness, however, sometimes becomes too much for Jai to bear and results in panic attacks that range from mild to severe. Jai is very embarrassed by this and tries his best to hide his anxieties, but it becomes difficult when he gets into a situation with odd numbers or crooked shelves and can't do anything to even things out. He attempts to be as subtle as he possibly can be about doing things like flicking light switches on and off and perpetually reorganizing his bookshelf.

Because of his obsession with organization, Jai developed a unique passion for Astronomy. He had always looked to the sky, comforted by the fact that stars were always in the same place. Jai knew that he could look up to the stars and find the big dipper and that the moon would be on a certain stage of a specific cycle. Jai had always been very scientifically-minded, and his biggest interest lies among the stars. He also enjoys brain teasers and puzzles, which provide a good distraction for Jai during anxiety attacks. Jai's best moods come following the completion of a particularly difficult mind game.

Despite his struggles with obsessions and compulsions, Jai is actually quite charming. Charming in the same way that a puppy is charming -- cute, harmless, and a little bit helpless. He's shy, but at the same time he can crack jokes and stand up for his loved ones. Jai is definitely holds grudges, but at the same time, he can be persuaded towards forgiveness. He roots for the underdog and has very little tolerance for unfairness.

Once you're on the in with Jai, it's as if you're old friends; his shyness melts away and he becomes much more personable. Still, even his closest friends don't know about most of Jai's really deep anxieties and secrets. Jai prefers to help his friends and hear about their lives rather than share anything about his own.

After Jai becomes comfortable around someone, he is much more willing to do risky and sometimes dangerous things. He can actually be quite daring in the right situation. His Indian culture helped the wild side of him develop. His sisters in particular are passionate, gregarious, loud, and energetic. Though Jai is not as outgoing as his sisters, who did not appear to have any qualms about socializing whatsoever, there is a dynamic side of him.

History:
While his younger twin sisters Padma and Parvati were fighting in the Battle of Hogwarts, Niraj Patil was 25 years old and attempting to find his life's purpose in France. He did not find a career or discover anything new, but he did fall madly in love with a French woman with one quirk that would someday lead to her downfall: her adventurous spirit. Niraj was attracted to this right away, deciding that he would follow Esme Candide's free spirit wherever it wanted to go.

Esme and Niraj spent five years of traveling through Europe with not much more than a knapsack before Niraj finally proposed to Esme, on a gondola in Italy, no less. Niraj Patil was nothing if not a romantic, a trait that would be passed onto a son born 3 years after Niraj and Esme's colorful wedding in India.

Because they had started a family, Niraj and Esme decided it was time to settle down and bought a fixer-upper of a house in England, near the rest of Niraj's family. Padma and Parvati, Niraj's younger sisters, spent a lot of time at their brother's house playing with their nephew. They were scarred by some of their memories from Hogwarts, and were therefore overly cautious and paranoid about nearly everything. They hated to be left alone and jumped at every noise, worrying that each noise meant an evil man was back.

Jai's parents were both magical, and some of Jai's fondest memories were watching his mother perform cleaning spells after spending several days messing up the house with their home construction. Watching books magically line themselves up and saw-dust disappear was unusually gratifying for Jai. The first signs of his magical abilities appeared in the form of cleaning; when Jai was particularly upset or distressed by a messy scene.

When he was four years old, Niraj and Esme announced to Jai that he was going to have a little brother or sister. Jai was concerned about his strength as an older sibling, but excited to have a new little someone in the house to play with. Lydie was born shortly after his parents' announcement, and Jai immediately felt a bond with his little sister. He felt that it was his job to protect her from any harm, and that any harm that did come to her would be his fault.

Lydie quickly became Jai's favorite thing, and he spent hours entertaining his sister. He played the games that his aunts would play with him as a kid and eventually read her stories and tell jokes. So a few years later, when Fae was born, Jai was thrilled and so was Lydie. They were like the three musketeers back then.

Things changed, though, when Jai left for Hogwarts. He was no longer home to hang out with his sisters; at 11, Lydie was 7 and Fae 5. It was because he was not there that he believed Fae had suffered a near-fatal bite from a werewolf during March of his first year. Apparently, one of their neighbors had a secret that he was keeping from his family and friends; he claimed he "didn't realize" he was a werewolf later on when confronted about Fae's condition. Jai suffered a nervous breakdown at the end of his first year, and nearly refused to go back to Hogwarts for a second year. It wasn't until Fae woke up in the middle of July and told him he had to go back. She would be okay.

Being the type of person who liked to finish what they started, Jai agreed, on one condition: letters. Lots and lots of letters. Jai found it very difficult to be away from home, but distracted himself by organizing endlessly. It wasn't until one of the other Hufflepuffs in the dormitory threatened to curse him with "all the bat bogeys in the world" because it was 3 in the morning and Jai was shuffling back and forth between his trunk and his bed, cleaning and rearranging them over and over again for the fifth night in a row.

Humiliated, Jai spent his third year focusing on his studies. He figured he could try to channel all of his nervous energy into that instead of his compulsions to rearrange until everything lined up. It worked to some degree, and the severity of his obsessions and compulsions decreased, but Jai still had his ticks. He didn't tell his parents or his sisters, not wanting to worry them with his silly habits.

For the next two years, that seemed to work fairly well. His compulsions were down to a minimum, Fae was learning to tolerate the taste of Wolfsbane potion, and Jai felt like his life was finally taking direction. Jai joined the Astronomy club during his fourth year after confirming that it was his favorite subject. He didn't really take classes that lined up with any specific career, but Jai's test scores showed that he excelled in the more scientific subjects. Nobody had really realized, because Jai was a quiet success -- he took his grades with a smile before tucking them into his backpack, with no desire to brag.

Because he could spend his sixth year studying whatever subjects he desired, he chose the ones he liked best and found himself calming down even more. His anxiety was not gone; Jai was pretty sure it never would be. But the fact that he was beginning to realize what he was good at and that things were going well encouraged him to expand his horizons. Jai made friends, tried new things, even started drinking a little on weekends. He was able to start his seventh year with a positive attitude and a new outlook on life.

Classes:

Core Classes Astronomy No No Herbology No Potions No No

Electives Study of Ancient Runes Arithmancy No No No

How Do You Fit Into Your House?:
Since he was a child, Jai has always put others before himself. He prefers to stay out of the spotlight and support others first. Although he does possess the ability to let loose every once in a while and go out to parties or bars, Jai is much more likely to be found sorting his quills by color, gazing at the stars, or FINDing the answers to challenging brain teasers. He finds happiness in little things and prefers a slow pace.

Writing Sample:


Sum up your character in one paragraph:
Perpendicular, parallel, square-obsessed Jai Patil does not like things out of place, but does like to spend his time doing brain teasers and learning about the scientific sides of magic. A sweet, friendly, loyal guy, Jai will be there for you when you need him the most.

Special Title Request

Character Name: Jai Patil
Title Applying For: Astronomy Club President
Character Biography: Here

What Experience has Prepared You For This Honor?:
From the time he was young, Jai has always found comfort in the stars. Whenever he was feeling stressed (which was often- and still is), Jai would stare up at the sky. He would count stars until he relaxed; soon enough, Jai began learning the subject of Astronomy. Since his first year, Jai had a passion for the subject. He genuinely enjoys learning about different constellations and planets and other celestial goodies-- and the concepts behind them.

What Do You Think the Most Important Aspect of This Job Is:?
Showing off the cooler aspects of Astronomy to gain interest in the subject. Not selling out like sharing horoscopes every week-- but talking about subjects that people are interested in. Spreading the word about Astronomy, in general, and showing how complex and fascinating it really can be!

Tell a Story From Your Past That Has Proven Your Mettle: 
Well, someone had knocked over all of Jai's books in his room (which he spent too much time meticulously arranging) and hadn't bothered to put them back even a little. This discovery was made upon Jai's return from dinner. He had a paper due the next day, and now he would not have time to write it because he would be too busy tediously organizing his bookshelf to get it just right. How had it been before? He couldn't quite remember. His heart began to beat even faster, and he could feel the room becoming stuffy and too-small.

Instead of allowing himself to give into this, Jai turned on his heel and went right back outside, exiting the building entirely. He walked across the grounds to his favorite spot: a big open space surrounded by trees, where Jai could lay in the grass and stare at the sky and identify everything he possibly could. He breathed in and out, trying to match his rhythm to the beat of the universe.

After a few moments, the heavy thuds in Jai's chest began to subside. Jai continued stargazing, letting the breeze swirl over him and cool him down. He identified the North Star, momentarily wondering who else was admiring it with him. Were there still lost sailors?

---

It was Jai's first meeting of the Astronomy club, and he was percolating with nervous energy. There were so many things that he hoped that they would discuss here-- there were a lot of subjects they only glossed over in class that Jai wanted to learn much more about. He was also curious to see whether there were any students who were as passionate about the subject as he was. So far, he hadn't met too many Astronomy fans.

When the Astronomy professor walked in, Jai's face lit up. The meeting would be starting soon! Would they be discussing Earth's solar system? That seemed like a good place to begin, as it was the part of space people knew the most about. A few more students trickled in, and Jai was pumped to start talking about Astronomy.

"So, did anyone hear about Pluto?" -- the question was posed to the class. Of course Jai had heard about Pluto's demotion; it had been a very controversial subject! It had entirely ruined the famous mnemonic device people used to remember the order. My Very Excited Mother, apparently, did not Just Serve Us Nine Pizzas.

Jai raised his hand. "Yes- it has been demoted from a planet to a dwarf planet," he answered. The change had been mostly technical; most people didn't understand the modification at all. Basically, it meant that there were a few criteria that Pluto missed when it came to being a planet. Poor Pluto.

Career Change
Character Name: Jai Patil
Character Biography: Here
Previous Job/Position: 7th Year Hufflepuff
Position Applying For: British Astrolabe & Astronomical Records Office Assistant

Why have you chosen to change careers?:
Having been obsessed with stars from a young age, Jai was destined for a career in astronomy. It's really the only subject that he significantly excelled in at Hogwarts. He has a pretty close relationship with Professor Trishna and at night was almost always found in the Astronomy classroom or outside somewhere with his eyes to the stars.

Elaborate on your expertise in this new field:
Jai was the president of the Astronomy Club, an honor he took very seriously. He's passionate about learning more about the subject and discovering new things.

Describe your new job and how you go about doing it:
Although the job involves a lot of paperwork, cleaning, and fetching tea, Jai also gets to work with the machinery and make records of any changes he sees. It might seem redundant to some, but to Jai it is a comfort.