Your Nickname: SJ
Have you read and do you agree to the Code of Conduct?: 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: Caitlyn Norwood, Dolly St. James, Liviana Wiedman, Ruby Flickwick, Sophie Flickwick
Philippa Perdue (inactive)
Ramona Flickwick (retired)
Is this a Primary or Secondary Character?: Primary
Full Character Name: Odessa Nadine Eisley
Character Birthday & Age: 1/12/1992 (17)
City & Country of Birth: Pensacola, Florida, USA
Pureblood, Halfblood or Muggleborn: Halfblood
House & Year: Salem, 7th year (Senior), Cliodne Hall
Wand: 12 inch Ebony Wood, Demiguise Hair core, spiral shaft, rigid
Physical Description: Standing a fair 5’9” Dessa carries herself with the air of someone at least twice that size. She takes up room and doesn’t want you to ever forget it. She prides herself on the fact she was the first one to really gain inches in her year (despite the fact that by the time they were Sophomores most of the boys had shot past her). She also takes great pride in the fact that she has curves. There is some debate among cultures as to what defines beauty. To some people she is considered overweight, to others she’s just the right size – for Odessa the only comment she ever needs or wants to make is “it’s natural for a woman’s thighs to touch together. DEAL WITH IT”. This comes, perhaps because her mother happens to be one of those women who jumps upon every fad diet that can be sold in Miami, with thick bleach blonde hair and teeth too white for her face.
In all honesty Dezzy often wonders just how her mother could have given birth to her in the first place. For the most part she looks like her aunt, Nona – long dark hair, dark eyes, fairly fair skin for someone who spends their summers in Florida. Then there are little bits of her father mixed in for good measure (his dimples for instance). Whatever insecurities or deficiencies Odessa feels she has are not physical. She isn’t completely stuck on herself - Odie doesn’t fancy herself some Goddess than men should fall at the feet of; but she also isn’t willing to let anyone tell her she can’t have a damn cookie if she wants a damn cookie. Being taller than most people, having curves before a lot of other girls did she had to make peace with her body and she seems to have done just that. Her style is most heavily influenced by the emerging “hipster” trends; but she also just likes wearing black because then everything matches.
Personality Description:
Some people might say Odessa Eisley is bitter, or some might call Odessa Eisley mean. Some people might even call her a nasty bitch-face; while still other people might tell you that she thinks far too highly of herself. None of these people would be completely wrong. The fact of the matter is that Odie’s mouth often overrides her better judgment and she says things that one should only think very very very quietly in the back of their head. She is sarcastic and she does snark off at people when they’re being completely insufferable idiots. On the surface it may seem like she doesn’t care about hurting other’s feelings (in some cases this is quite possibly true) but for the most part the depth of her sass comes from a need to constantly make jokes rather than deal with the seriousness at hand. There is so much of her life that is out of her control (from being a Navy Brat to finding out she was a Witch) that she exerts as much control in the area surrounding her as humanly possible. If that means putting up walls to keep the rest of the world out, if that means always being the one with the slightly cutting joke, well, then she’s ok with that that. There are worse things in the world to be than a smartass, like a dumbass.
Behind the snark (and about the only reason she can fathom people wanting to be around her at all) is a pretty big brain. Unlike a lot of girls in American Society (both muggle and magical) she never bought into the idea that you should have to dumb yourself down to be attractive to people. In her mind the Venn Diagram of people intimidated by intelligence and people you do not want to date/make out with is, in reality, just a giant circle. Until about her Sophomore year she didn’t even really have to try in her classes. She was just naturally good at faking her way through. Sophomore year was a hard wakeup call for the dark haired girl. Suddenly she couldn’t just piss her time away with broom riding, Quadpot, the Equestrian Club or Theater. She had to, you know, study. It certainly served to knock her down a peg or two off the mighty fine high horse she had been trotting around on for a couple of years; but it was a lesson she only had to learn once. She expects nothing less than the best from herself; being a slacker (despite the way she may act) is not an option. She lives her life like she has something to prove even though she swears she had nothing to lose.
When laying her personality out flat she realizes that it seems very much like she might not really be a person worth getting to know. Sometimes she isn’t sure she is a person worth getting to know. Being her friend, loving her is hard work. Even in knowing that it’s very hard for Dezzy to rein herself in, and it has cost her more than a few friends. It wouldn’t be fair to blame either party entirely – sometimes things just don’t work out. Deep down everyone has to have some redeeming qualities; it just might take a little longer to find them in Odie than in other people. It isn’t as though she’s a hate monger who does nothing but spew bile – she loves the arts, literature, and most humanitarian efforts. When she gets to be home in Florida there is nothing better than being outside (even in the sweltering heat) exploring, gathering herbage for her Aunt Nona, or spending hours in front of her piano banging out show tunes – she is an avid musical theater geek under all the sass middle finger salutes – which those closest to her find absolutely hysterical (even though she insists it isn’t really an obsession and she plays just as much other muggle music).
History: It’s not easy being a Squib – just as Alana Eisley she will tell you all about it. She will tell you about how her sister Nona was the family favorite, and how she got to go off to S.W.I.M. whilst they practically pushed Lana into the muggle world without so much as a second look. Of course now she likes to point out how wildly successful her husband is and the fact they live in the Nation’s capital with a summer home in Miami. And, she has a daughter who… well her daughter is a bit of a freak with a bad attitude but what can one expect when she’s being raised by crazy Nona and is apparently extremely gifted in magic. Mrs. Eisley is rather dismissive of Odessa; whether it’s from jealousy or all the bleach-y chemicals finally soaking through to her brain Odie couldn’t tell you. It probably wouldn’t really make a difference to the seventeen year old if she did have some sort of innate understanding of why her mother acts the way she does. Going to visit on holidays it all feels very fake plastic trees to Odie; who would rather have sunny beaches than knee deep snow for Christmas.
But we are getting ahead of ourselves aren’t we? The exact origin story of Odessa Eisley is not discussed – it never really has been. It was as though one day she was living a very average sort of life toddling after her parents as her father was reassigned and reassigned and the next she was living in Bradenton with Nona and her twelve cats. It has always seemed, at least to Odette, that there should have been a sign somewhere along the way. An event should have happened that would explain why her mother felt it best she be raised in a magical household – though the teen often wonders if maybe her mother wasn’t just sick of being a mother. Not having Odessa around certainly freed up much more of her time for things like tanning and getting her nails done. When pressed on the subject, neither sister will budge. It’s as though there is a large chunk of Odie’s memory missing that contains very important details – of course then Nona says something like “What could you possibly need to remember from when you were eight”.
None of this story sounds very happy – and while parts of it aren’t, living with Nona was a bit of a blessing in disguise. Not only was Dezzy immersed in magic from that moment (whatever the moment was) but her Aunt seemed far better suited to motherhood than her actual mother ever was. In some ways things didn’t really change at all; she saw her father as much as she ever had when she lived with them. He was out to sea so much he hardly knew what was going on – but on the understanding front he at least tried a little harder than her mother did. That counted for something with Odie, the fact that even though he couldn’t fathom what was happening to her or the world she would be living in that he tried to make everything as easy for her as possible. In a sense because he was willing to meet her half way she’s always tried harder to be understanding of his short comings.
At eleven, like most little Witchlings on the eastern seaboard she packed up a trunk full of things and was shipped off once again to be someone else’s problem. Nona saw her off, but Odessa was too preoccupied to care. While she had always been a fan of the sparks of magic she saw in herself and the things she had seen Nona do… coming from a Squib family was not awesome. Being the kid of a Squib who didn’t even want you was probably even less awesome. As a solitary creature the idea of having to be with people, the same people, day in and out was terrifying to her. Odie needed her own space to move, to breathe – and the S.W.I.M. campus just didn’t look that big (not to mention Salem wasn’t really known for its fondness of witches). Still, making the best of a bad situation had always been a forte of Odie’s and Salem was no different. She did well in school, she discovered her love of acting and theatrics, she met interesting people from places where it got cold enough to really snow in the winter (which was charming for about a week). Now…she’s ready to brave worse weather to be a part of the TWT.
Why Was The Student Allowed/Permitted To Attend The Tournament??: While her attitude toward her fellow students might not always be that of Miss Mary Sunshine - she has the utmost respect for her teachers and was on her best behavior as soon as the trip was announced. She picked up extra time working as a tutor and her grades are on par - she'd even a bit of a physical help though she'd like to be in Scotland as more of a cheering section than a Champion. For a chance to spend any time in Europe she'd probably even don a pleated skirt and pom poms for you!
Writing Sample:
Sum up your character in one paragraph: The daughter of a Squib a Naval officer when she showed magical ability they sent her to live with her aunt (Nona) a neo-bohemian mediwitch. She loves playing piano, theatrics, and can be kind of a sarcastic witch!face. She keeps her distance from people but loves the outdoors, broom riding, and it's fairly easy to cajole her into playing Quadpot. Her bark is worse than her bite but it's hard to tell sometimes when she's joking because she deadpans a lot - but she's kind of like a feral cat once you get past the hissing and the biting...she's not so bad.
Odessa Eisley: Salem Institute Senior