Character Name: Talynn Kipling
House: Hufflepuff
Blood Type: Muggleborn
Gender: Female
Age/Year: 16/5th year (her birthday is in March, and she'll be a 6th year come September)
Family Information: Her parents, Craig and Mandy, are divorced. When not at school, she lives with her mom, who is a travel agent, but every other weekend and at least holiday a year are spent with her dad, who is an accountant. They called it quits on their marriage, because while opposites can attract, they apparently can't attract one another for too long.

Her and her mom are more like sisters or best friends than mother and daughter. They hang out, go shopping, talk about boys, travel wherever (usually on impulse), party, and do all kinds of things that most kids wouldn't do with their parent(s). This is mainly because Mandy is just plain cool like that. It's where Talynn gets most of her personality traits.

Craig is a different matter entirely. He's a good father and provides for her, but he's too rigid for Talynn's liking. She's not a bad kid, really. Yet he's always lecturing her about nitpicky things, and insists on trying to force her to be something she's not. Specifically, she's NOT an ultra-conservative dweeb like him. Maybe one day she'll realize that he's actually not a bad guy--pretty laid back when he wants to be. He just doesn't let her see that, because he knows that she already gets and overdose of it from Mandy.

Hometown: London
Wand: 6 inches, oak, unicorn hair
Pet(s): A black and gray tabby cat named Poodums.
Broom: None. She's currently scared of flying.

Physical Description: She's about 5'5 with a build that's a little more on the athletic side by accident since she doesn't play sports (though she's a big fan of them), but likes being active and isn't afraid of hard manual labor if it's required. She has honey blonde hair and grayish green eyes. Her skin is a little on the pale side, but tans nicely enough during the summer. She's kinda cute, but considers herself rather average in her overall appearance. When not forced to wear a uniform, she can be seen sporting typical muggle clothes--usually something comfortable and casual. Her favorite articles of clothing are a pair of old faded jeans and a Red Wings hockey jersey one of her mom's friends got for her while in America.

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Personality

Personality: Talynn is really down to earth, and adapts pretty well to just about any situation or environment. She likes to hang out and have fun. Her mom is the wild type, always hosting some kind of social gathering at what the two of them have dubbed The Party Flat, so she's used to having lots of people around (not necessarily congregating around her, in particular, but around in general).

She never takes herself too seriously...or anything else for that matter. She likes all types of people, regardless of gender, race, personal preferences, tastes, etc., and will find ways to relate to pretty much anyone she meets. She also has a strange vocabulary that she and her mom have developed over the years, which sometimes pops up out of the blue in otherwise normal conversation.

Although she doesn't play, she loves all kinds of sports, but she's kind of quirky about it. She loves Quidditch most of all, but she's also a fan of hockey, and America's professional baseball and basketball leagues. She doesn't have any particular favorites as far as teams are concerned. She just loves to watch the games being played.

One thing Talynn cannot stand is a closed, narrow mind. Prejudices and socially conservative attitudes in general are things she finds intolerable, though she won't disassociate herself with anyone who is like that. She feels that she could probably be a good influence on them, helping them to open their minds a little more and see life and the world around them as she does. She's all for human rights and personal freedoms, and has a very hard time understanding those who want to restrict or take away such things.

Relationships and Social Skills: Talynn's a very social creature, and is easy to get along with a majority of the time. She has bad days in which she'd rather be left alone, but most often, she likes being around people, even if they're strangers. She's the type that would probably strike up a conversation with a grindylow if he looked like he wanted to chat. It's not hard for her to approach people, and showing up at a party all by her lonesome wouldn't phase her a bit.

A present her strongest relationship is with her mom, who's more like a best friend than a mother. The "friends" she has back in London are probably what most people would consider closer acquaintances. They might call her up to ask if she wanted to go do something or ask what she's been up to, but they're not terribly concerned about her or any significant things that might be going on in her life, which is fine with her, because Mandy acts as that kind of friend and confidant.

Weaknesses: She's terrible with a wand, and has no idea why. She practices, studies, and practices some more. But nothing she does seems to work. Of course, she has been able to get a handle on some spells (mostly the simple ones), but otherwise, she won't use her wand outside of those classes that require it.

Strengths: Definitely her interpersonal skills. She can get along with almost anyone, though it can be frustrating at times, depending on someone's personality or attitude. For the most part though, she's a people person and can be quite friendly and accommodating, even to strangers.

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Past, Present, and Future

History: She was born in London, and there she was raised. Her mom and dad divorced when she was almost 2, so the bouncing back and forth routine is perfectly normal for her, as is her mom's lifestyle. In fact, she once spent a week with her Aunt Carrie, her father's sister, whose family is considered "normal" (i.e. Carrie and her husband are happily married, with two well-rounded children), and felt like she was on another planet the whole time.

She developed her sense of social liberalism at a very early age, thanks to her mom of course. Mandy's extensive circle of friends is about as diverse as one could possibly find, and Talynn was often thrown together with their children. She's never really made any deep and/or lasting friendships, however. In fact, the closest thing she has to a best friend is her mom. She gets invites to go here and there to do this and that, which she'd usually have to be insane not to accept, but they've all been just distant acquaintances that are good for having fun and really nothing more.

It wasn't until Talynn was about seven or eight when she started displaying strange abilities, which usually happened when she was in a bad mood. Her mom immediately began consulting some of her 'mystical' friends, as she called them. One of those friends, Delilah Cross, turned out to be a pureblood witch, who recognized the oddities for what they were: signs that Talynn was magical. Mandy, being Mandy, thought it was coolest thing ever--especially when she found out there was actually a whole other world within their own. Craig, on the other hand, was utterly appalled by the whole thing. He doesn't love Talynn any less for being a witch, but he can't fully accept it, even to this day. As such, she's had to dance around the subject with him ever since they found out.

At the age of 11, she received a letter from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, just as Delilah had predicted. Craig agreed to pick up the tab for her school expenses, even though he was reluctant about allowing her to go, and Mandy finally got to experience the magical world that Delilah had told her so much about. It was hard to tell who was more excited that first day in Diagon, Mandy or Talynn, but it was awesome that her mom was as supportive as she was, and still is in more ways than one. Her being magical just gives them one more secret to share.

Here and Now: Currently, she's struggling to figure out what direction her life should take. Her skills with a wand haven't gotten any better over the years, so she's at a loss as to what she could possibly do with her life and the education she's received so far. She won't be fit for much of anything in the Muggle world, and as far as she knows, there's not much in the magical world she can do if she's not adept with a wand. She'll eventually get on the right track, but not before some serious worrying and prioritizing.

Long-term Outlook: I can definitely see Talynn going into some kind of sociological career. Perhaps something in Muggle or International relations? No obliviating, though - she'd probably manage to wipe her own memory away trying to pull that one off. Something having to do with history, like an archeologist or museum curator, wouldn't be a farfetched idea for her either.

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Special Request: Maybe later.
Reason: n/a