Your Nickname: Will (evilpizza)
Have you read and do you agree to the Code of Conduct?: Yes
How did you find us and decide to write with us? Been here a bit
If you have written other characters here: Yes
If Yes, list them all: Primary (6): Heliotrope LeJean, Obderedria Pienas, Philo Falkin, Casey O'Doherty, Sissel Jowd, Anadotti Squiggs

Secondary: Dingy the House Elf

TWT slot 1 of 2

Is this a Primary or Secondary Character?: Primary

Full Character Name: Milton Steinbeck
Character Birthday & Age: May 2nd, 1992 (17)
City & Country of Birth: Rochester, MN, USA.
Pureblood, Halfblood or Muggleborn: Halfblood
House & Year: Salem Witches Institute of Magic, Agrippa Hall, 7th Year

Wand: 9.75", Hawthorn, Dragon Heartstring, Pliable

A simple but practical wand, good for Transfiguration but it can also hold its own in a duel.

Physical Description:

Milton “Mace” Steinbeck has distinctive well-defined features. He’s of reasonable height with sharp facial lines and a well-muscled body. In fact the nickname “Mace” comes from his power in the sport teams, where he volleys the Quod at painful velocities and really knows how to bat in baseball, “swinging it like a Mace”. He prefers the moniker to Milton, it sounds cooler. Recently, he’s being growing a mustache and small beard, a choice made from failing to shave for a stretch. He’s unsure if he’s going to keep it; sometimes he may shave it off, only to magic the hair back a week later. His hair his messy but in a stylish way, turning up at the front like an Elvis haircut.

His clothing choice is somewhat shabby. He likes plaids and jean fabric and short cotton tees when the weather is warm. He has a necklace, a cord strung with charms and beads that represent his younger sisters. It isn’t uncommon to find that Mace has fallen asleep in his clothes, after some late night activity, and not changing when he rises the next day expect for some refreshing charms. He’s tried smoking a few times but never upkeeps the habit. Rather he likes the image associated with it, the smoke drifting around his head. He has a few tattoos, since he was sixteen, having them changed every six months or so. The largest is one on his back that has portraits of his family.

His face is often stoic though Mace isn’t sad or gloomy, rather contemplative. His grins have a roguish quality to them and his laugh is good humored. He has wristbands or necklaces or hats as accessories. Often, you’ll see him walk about with a pet Pygmy Puff perched on his shoulder or hat.


Personality Description:

The one word that could sum up the entirety of Mace: “chill”

Mace has turned relaxing into an art form. Almost nothing fazes the man, his calmness the default of his emotions. He’s a good listener that friends find easy to talk to, comfortable in the knowledge that the discussion will end with Mace. He isn’t one for gossip. Mace is quiet but that doesn’t mean he’s a pushover. Rather, he speaks his mind once he’s thought it through. Better for the other to make themselves look like a fool by talking what they don’t know about. The words that do come out of his mouth can be as deep as a rhetoric scholar or beatnik poet, sometimes using subtext entirely different from the current conversation.

Mace is brilliant in some of his academics but considerably lazy. Throughout his years at Salem he had the annoying trait of forgetting to do assignments, turning them in late or uncompleted. However he clearly understood the material and got high marks on exams. He has quite the skill in Transfiguration and the professors have tried to shunt him in the direction of Alchemy. Mace still hasn’t made big plans for what he wants to do, even with his last year before graduation. Rather than pursue a career the traditional way, he’s waiting to see what will happen in life. Mace likes to pursue his own interests at his own pace, hobbies that don’t always fit in typical academia. His focus hasn’t been always there but he has gradually improved. He knows grades and the stuff of academia have their uses but formal education isn’t the only tool when relating with others.

He likes kids and is sometimes found playing games with them in the campus or assisting them with schoolwork like a big brother. Otherwise when it comes to relationships he’s aloof in romance. He likes being with people and the young beauties that fancy him but never seems to get physical. He invests his time with people beyond his time spent with his hobbies. Life should be about the experiences and people make up a large portion of the world’s experiences. Life can also be short so Mace wants to enjoy himself with others while he can.

Mace’s relaxed vibe sometimes rings the tone of indecisiveness, as seen with keeping facial hair or not, changing his tattoos or not, going steady with a certain girl or not, doing the homework now or later or not at all. In a group he prefers that others make the decisions. Mace isn’t judgmental, so he can be a comforting friend, but it also means he can fail to make a decision or chooses wrongly. He takes any misfortune in stride. He isn’t afraid to admit that he isn’t the smartest individual around and that he might be a bad influence on the kids that have adopted his slacker habits.

The true nature of Mace can be found when he is alone for there are times he likes the solitude. For one with a brutal image in Quod and other sports, Mace has a sensitive artistic side. He can play the spectrum of saxophones, switching keys with ease, usually sticking to Tenor or the looped neck Baritone. He likes listening to a wide variety of music even more than playing it. He’s a writer, sometimes poetry sometimes prose, on a typewriter he’s enchanted to take notes whenever he has decided not to pay attention in class. And for a bad boy image, he loves Puffskeins and the miniature breed Pygmy Puffs. He keeps a pen to breed the puffballs in and has bred a whole rainbow of colors in both sizes. He offers the puffs as pets to those that want them, never asking for money or anything in return. He considers it a calling more than a career. He likes recording their humming or playing back and forth with them on his saxophone. The numerous puffs he’s introduced to Salem’s might account for the very clean floors in the residence halls, as the Puffs live off of gathering fluff for a nest and a liquid diet. He’s humble about his popularity, charm and select expertise; encouraging others  along their paths in life rather then boast about his own skills.

But don’t forget that the name “Mace” is there for a reason. He’s a powerful player in sports and his very protective of his sisters and the younger children at school. If he happens across some bullying he’ll break it up. He’s also rather slick when dueling though he doesn’t duel often. He has good sportsmanship and even if he did his best he accepts defeat. He also enjoys a good prank, especially when no one sees it coming. His friends and peers are usually the acceptable targets, or ones that have harmed his friends in some fashion. Mace’s favorite time of year is Halloween. He heavily contributes to the decorations at school, frightening the younger kids in good-natured pranks. Mace also fancies himself like a cowboy, at least in mentality. He likes Westerns by movie or novel and also collects weapons from the Old West or medieval times. Obviously this is one hobby the kiddies can’t join in with.


History:

Milton was the first born to Bradley Steinbeck, a muggle and agricultural scientist, and Charlotte Osborne, an American witch. He was a wild child in his early years, romping the woods and plains in Minnesota, sometimes with wild magic aided mischief. His father Brad was sure to have him in early education that transitioned into learning at Salem’s, Charlotte’s alma mater. Of course, her children were going to go there for their magical education.

When Milton was five his mother was struck with a peculiar case: heavy pregnancy. Spring brought in three little flower buds, identical triplet sisters, on April 14 1997: Merry, Sherry and Cherry. Milton was an excellent big brother and equates the experience to playing with dolls.

In 1998 Pygmy Puffs became the pet craze in America and Milton got his first puff, a purple one named Roger. His fascination with the furballs began. Over the next few years and into school he took to finding the bigger species, Puffskeins, encouraging them to gather about the house. He eventually started breeding them, kept in a mock garden pen at home or a few cages at school. He introduced different colors in both sizes of puffs by aiding different color changing potions to their diets to encourage certain colored offspring. Now that he has a whole spectrum of colored puffs to choose from, it’s simply a matter of choosing mates based on the color wheel.

Milton entered Salem in 2003. He was something like a problem student, goofing off instead of paying attention. For the professors that persevered and found where his strengths were, he became a better student although the procrastination in his work was aggravating. School was easy for him when he did bother to pay attention. He joined Quodpot and baseball, earning the nickname Mace from the ferocity of his batting average. He liked the name better than the cheesy sounding Milton, which sounds like a spoiled malt shake, and asked to be called so by others. Even some of the professors joined in, although his real name was used when he got into deep trouble.

Mace took to Transfiguration and chose Divination and Care of Magic Creatures as electives. The professor encouraged his personal projects with the Puffs and his skills with the furballs transferred well to dealing with other creatures. Classes that seemed to suffer were largely academic or boring like History or Magic or Astronomy (there really is only so many ways you can talk about the infamous witch trials). Instead of focusing these classes he developed hobbies plain and magical that interested him. Beyond sport, music and the Puffs he wrote or collected weapons and maintained them. For the minor dabbling in maces and guns Mace isn’t a violent individual and kept that collection at home. He also took to activities on the Salem campus that weren’t purely academic. He aided decorations around holidays, crafting and enchanting his own items. He also took an interest in the school’s massive airship and by his sixth year assisted with its upkeep and operation. He’s been in Agrippa hall for a while, the Hall team refusing to trade him.

Entering his senior year Mace has focused on Alchemy, keeping Transfiguration, Charms, Defense, Potions, Herbology, CoMC and Divination as he likes to keep his options open. He's taking a liking to shuffling up tarot cards and seeing what stories they can tell. He’s finally strapped down to completing his course work although he’ll drop priority on assignments to tend to his other interests.

His family is fully supportive and impressed by his selective talents, although his parents worry about his future employment. Merry, Sherry and Cherry, all second years come fall 2009, simply adore their brother and side with him on every family matter. Surprisingly, the one thing they can’t agree on is his facial hair, loving, hating, or being indifferent about it. They take delight in going to school knowing that they are the sisters of Mace Steinbeck. They frequently set him up on dates with friends of friends. He dotes on them with presents that match their color schemes, including personalized Pygmy Puffs: Merry, sky blue; Sherry, frosted pink; and Cherry, red like the namesake fruit. Recently when it comes to the Puff breeding, Mace is trying to evoke different patterns with multiple colors in the puffs.


How Do You Fit Into Your House?:

Mace finds the opportunity to graduate during a TWT year excellent. He’s dedicated to what he likes, if not the greatest academic across the board. His unique talents and interests could also provide opportunities during the year abroad. To prove that he could be a delegate, the professors encouraged him to shape up on his slacking homework the past year. Mace is all for the experience. If he competes, that’s cool, if he doesn’t that’s cool too. Win or loose, the important thing is that he represented Salem and enjoyed himself.


Writing Sample:

Sum up your character in one paragraph:

Milton “Mace” Steinbeck looks hardcore but is a softy at heart to friends, family and younger students. He’s so laid back it’s a wonder he ever made it this far in school, with interests outside of the academia construct. He’s like a new age renaissance man, if you include saxophone, sport, transfiguration and the breeding Puffskeins and Pygmy Puffs.