Lucas Kowalski, Year 1 @ goosemods

[bubblewrapped]

GENERAL

NAME: Lucas Otto Kowalski
NICKNAMES: Literally anything but Creepy/Cowardly Kowalski is okay by him.
AGE/DOB: 16, January 18th
BLOOD STATUS: Muggleborn
GENDER/PRONOUNS: male, he/him
SEXUALITY: Innocent until proven guilty
HOMETOWN: Atlanta, GA

CONCEPT: Fraidy cat finds escapist fantasy, fails to live in it.

PHYSICAL

APPEARANCE:
Lucas is an oddly proportioned boy. On the tall side already, his thin, narrow build and long limbs create the illusion that he is much taller than he actually is. Willowy is being polite, though he certainly tends to walk like a Peter Jackson ent. His posture, in general, is timid. He tends to hide in his shoulders and squint a lot, as though he's expecting to be swung at.

Lucas has no particular skill for buying or dressing in clothes that fit and so he always looks at least a little disheveled, despite being fastidiously clean. Dress code violations tend to be minor, but rampant, and by the end of the school day he could pass for a hoodlum. His sense of style begins and ends with t-shirts and jeans.

HEIGHT: 5'11"

PB: Sebastian Gregory

PERSONALITY

LIKES: Antiques & curiosities, insects, weird fiction, gothic horror, Stephen King, pulp adventure and fantasy, "funeral home aesthetic" houses, science fiction, 80s fantasy films, creepy-pasta internet stories, lengthy PC RPG epics, charms, hexes & jinxes, big cities, rain on hot pavement smell, fleece blankets, ginger-flavored drinks

DISLIKES: The dark, other people's blood (why does he even think about this?), having to shake hands with strangers, (participating in) sports, danger, not having a plan, not taking precautions, modern slasher films (TOO VIOLENT), most stand-up comedians

PERSONALITY:

Lucas Kowalski always sort of looks like he just stepped off the plane at his vacation destination and realized he left the oven on at home. Pained dread seems to be his default state. A furrowed brow his resting expression. You can tell just by looking at him that his favorite words are probably “Oh” and “No,” but exclusively when strung together. It makes him weirdly approachable – looking like he needs help all the time. It’s also blood in the water for bullies. Lucas attracts a lot of attention, for better or worse. Whether or not he wants it is unclear. Is he actually sad? In trouble? Afraid? The short answers are: no, probably (sophomores 9_9) and yes.

Shy and introspective, Lucas gives the impression of preferring the solitude of his own thoughts to the company of other people. This isn’t actually the case. Lucas isn’t a loner, properly – he’s just used to being a one man show; entertaining himself by retreating into his own thoughts. Accommodating others’ presence is not something that occurs to him naturally. So when people do take an interest in him, his response is typically awkward; reminiscent of an old computer booting up, somehow. It takes him a while to warm up and break out of his shell. He has quite the imagination, and frequently gets lost in vivid daydreams or twisting trains of thought. It can be very frustrating if you’re trying to talk to him, because you can absolutely tell when you’re not holding his interest. Don’t let him get away with it, though. Lucas knows when he’s being impolite.

Lucas may not be the best listener or conversationalist, but he’s friendly enough. Wait, actually, I’m lying. Lucas very much likes to believe he’s friendly, but he’s difficult and a bit of a snot. Brusque with an odd sense of humor. Introverted and quick to irritation when his social limit is reached. His chief redeeming quality is that he forms intense, protective attachments to those he feels kinship with. His friends are incredibly precious to him, because historically he’s had so few. Gooseberry has come as a culture shock - there are so many genuinely nice people at this school. Prior to transferring, kindness was a commodity rarely found in his peers and it’s a trait he treasures, even if he, himself, does not gravitate toward it on his own. It’s easy to earn Lucas’ trust by simply being nice to him. It’s kind of pathetic.

He might not be the fun one in the friend group, but he’ll worry over whether you’re eating enough, how you’re doing in class or if you’re safe. Frankly, he puts more effort into his friends’ well-being than his own. He’ll stay up late and wait for you to get back. He’ll bring you tea when you’re sick. If someone hurts you, he’s quick to deliver payback in the form of a sneaky jinx. When you’re sad, he’ll tell you about super volcanoes (the potential for catastrophic tragedy at any moment is a real mood lifter, Lou, gg). The most awkward mom-friend you’ll ever meet.

Lucas is a worrier, but mainly about the strangest things. He’s not too concerned with his own test scores or the economy, but, man, the Threat of Eldritch Horror and Calamity is constantly on his mind. He is just preoccupied with disaster. A staunch believer in Murphy's Law. The Ur-Pessimist. As previously mentioned, Lucas has a bit of trouble staying on track when it comes to his imagination. When he daydreams, his brain typically wanders to some pretty dark, weird places and he lets himself get worked up about strange, impossible things. Monsters under the bed. It doesn’t help that he’s got a keen interest in horror and calamity. He might do better if he put some distance between himself and the things that do this to him. But it’s almost like he likes being afraid.

Still, it’s something he struggles with. Lucas would love to be a courageous hero – he wants so badly to believe that secretly, deep down inside, he has the heart of a lion. He idolizes the sort of people who put themselves out there, go on adventures, make decisions and lead. Lucas has always believed that being a wizard was the key to revealing these admirable qualities in himself. But, so far, Lucas is merely a coward and a pessimist. He hesitates. He needs a plan. He always jumps to what could go wrong with something, rather than what could go right. He’ll be the whiny wet blanket when his friends get a big idea, but it’s mostly just grousing. You can guarantee that no matter how much he complains, he’ll still be tagging along at the back of the crowd. Because somebody has to account for everything that could possibly go wrong.

Magic is second nature to Lucas, who is a skilled worker of spells and passionate about charms, hexes and jinxes. While he’s not necessarily studious, he tends to dive into subjects that interest him and read ahead. Very far ahead. He’s extremely confident in his skill as a wizard and his wandwork and thinks nothing of attempting spells that are way beyond his scope. All that said, he’s a difficult student for teachers to reach and his grades could definitely be better.

One of Lucas’ chief problems is that he refuses to think realistically about himself (or things, generally). He’d rather live in daydreams about how awesome he could be or what could go wrong than actually work to better himself. Peer pressure is the only thing keeping him moving half the time. It’s good that he’s found a place where people push him out of his comfort zone. Perhaps he might eventually develop those qualities he so desperately wishes he had.

HISTORY

FAMILY MEMBERS:

Alice Kowalski-Porter, PhD. mother, muggle. CDC Dept of Infectious Disease Researcher.
Lucas' mother is a terrifyingly brilliant, charmingly odd woman employed by the CDC in the department of infectious diseases as an Entomologist. In her free time, she also does stand up comedy. She has had some trouble wrapping her head around her son being a wizard, but is, generally more concerned with what a nervous, introverted person he is. She is the reason the house is full of preserved bugs and other curiosities, as she collects them.
Ernest Kowalski, MD. father, muggle. CDC Dept of Infectious Disease Researcher.
Dr. Ernie Kowalski is an internist and infectious disease specialist. A notorious prankster with a fondness for mind altering substances. Considering what a jokester he is, Ernie thinks this magic school business is ludicrous, but if Alice is okay with it, he is.

HISTORY:

Is it odd or troubling that the son of two infectious disease researchers would spend much of his early childhood laid up? Lucas was prone to ear and sinus infections, battled strep throat several times, contended with allergies, asthma and conjunctivitis and eventually had his tonsils and appendix removed. All pretty typical childhood hurdles and nothing too serious, but it kept Lucas inside and in bed. He grew up more well acquainted with books, video games and television than with other children. His parents, for their part, had a free range parenting style. As a result, Lucas’ preference for escapism over socializing grew perhaps beyond the scope of what was healthy. His imagination ran wild; perhaps more than is normal.

School was an immediate problem. Lucas was an oddball. A distracted, introverted daydreamer, disinterested in academics, terrible at socializing and disliked by his peers. His eccentric family dealt in disease. His house was reputedly “full of dead bugs” and other curiosities his mother collected. There was no hope for social redemption. Thankfully, Creepy Kowalski (as he was called) did not spend much time in nomaj schools before his magical abilities manifested. Lucas’ parents noticed immediately and although at first they sought to explain everything away, no amount of logical reasoning could stop the furniture from floating and the owls from dropping off bizarre letters. Eventually, his parents relented and looked into these strange new schools that were scouting their son.

This was all fine by Lucas. The prospect of being something supernatural was incredibly awesome to a kid who had spent his young life thus far curled up in bed, feeling crappy, drinking ginger tea, reading weird fiction and watching Science Channel marathons about super volcanoes, asteroid impacts and other terrible ways for the world to end. This would be his big chance. He was more than ready to finally step up and realize his destiny as the plucky hero from one of his RPGs. Lucas Kowalski was GOING ON TO GREAT THINGS.

So, Lucas left his nomaj private school for The Undernose Institute of Magic, the local public day school for witches and wizards in Atlanta. Academically, the move was a godsend. Going from mundane to magical curricula was a bit of a bumpy ride at first, but Lucas caught up with surprising speed and was soon flourishing – far better than his performance at his old school. Socially, he was also no longer the weird kid – just because you’ve got a stuffy nose and your house is full of dead, preserved things doesn’t automatically make you special at wizard school – but he also didn’t suddenly do that personality 180 he was hoping for, either. Instead, Lucas remained shy, distracted and easily frightened.

On top of that, the personalities at Undernose were so much bigger and stranger than at his old school. The world of magic was new and exciting and full of an overwhelming number of absolutely terrifying things. Not only did Lucas quickly learn that he lacked the courage to be the Fantasy Hero he wanted to be, he discovered he was actually quite the coward. Even as he fell in love with the oddities of the world of witches and wizards, he became increasingly frightened of its dangers. Every once in a while, he’d try to run with more rambunctious kids, but could never keep up. He developed a reputation for being a wet blanket. The teachers called him sensitive. Everyone else called him a wuss.

In many ways, the only improvement Undernose had over his nomaj school was magic. But, let’s be real, magic is awesome. 100% worth it. At home, Lucas seemed at least a little happier. And although his parents didn’t necessarily understand the report card, all they saw were Straight A’s and teachers notes exclaiming what a promising and gifted student Lucas was, so they were pleased, too.

As other kids started to hit puberty, Lucas failed to grow out of his awkward, cowardly weenie stage. As a result, he started to attract the attention of bullies. And yet, oddly, no bully ever seemed particularly interested in making Lucas’ life miserable for long. Cowardly Kowalski, it was whispered, was quite skilled at jinxes and hexes and was unafraid of employing them in ridding himself of tormentors. His modus operandi was to tamper with his own things, so that when a potential bully came looking for trouble, they got it returned, stamped in triplicate. Eventually even the teachers were talking, but no one could ever prove what was going on.

It became evident as Lucas was approaching high school age that he was a gifted young wizard. His Charms teacher at Undernose eventually sat down with his parents to discuss their son’s talent and potential, and how an overcrowded public school like Undernose was not the place to get him the attention he deserved. Alice and Ernie received a number of pamphlets, but special emphasis was placed upon Gooseberry, because it seemed especially appropriate for “a sensitive child like Lucas.” Alice, wanting her son to get out there, grow his talents (no matter how odd) and really experience life, was instantly charmed by the idea of a magical boarding school in the mountains. Ernie was a harder sell, of course, but he agreed with his wife.

The idea that he was “special” enough to leave Undernose for an even more strange and prestigious school was pretty appealing to Lucas, whose self-confidence was largely tied up in his academic performance. It also rekindled the hope that it might somehow awaken some secret heroic courage hidden deep inside. So he was not entirely opposed to transferring. Gooseberry stuck out because it was just so incredibly different. The part of him that longed for adventure zeroed in on it and could not let go, and he sent in an application.

Maybe Lucas should’ve thought a little harder about what camping school would entail. Camping, for one, is not a great pass time for a kid afraid of his own shadow. On the bright side, Lucas found himself sorted into Azurcrest, where the creative, fun-loving students were a great deal more friendly and accepting than most of the kids he’d encountered in the past. The boarding school aspect of it also forced him to socialize at least slightly more, and soon he found himself with friends.

Lucas remains mostly set in his introverted, dreamy ways. He’s also terrified of what’s going on in the woods, but he’s happier than he’s ever been, too. Ultimately, although he spends a great deal of time worrying and grousing, Lucas is glad he came to Gooseberry.

The Undernose Institute of Magic
Is a public day school program in Atlanta, GA. The campus is located downtown, so named because it is magically tucked between two buildings that barely have the room for a person’s arm to muggle eyes. K through 8 are on one half of the campus and 9 through 12 on the other. Undernose pulls in witches and wizards predominantly from the Atlanta metro area, but also drags in children from across northern Georgia. Undernose is a decent school, but overcrowded.

SCHOOL

YEAR: Sophomore
HOUSE: Azurcrest
SORTING:
Ebonhide took one look at Lucas and figured this was in the bag. Ribbonfin thought the same. Lucas only half-listened to their words. Coppertale had a few things to say about the potential for Lucas to flourish in a competitive house, but that didn't seem to interest him either.

When Azurcrest promised fun and friends and a place where his dreamy personality might find kindred spirits, Lucas came alive. They had an animated and lengthy back and forth about how Lucas might become a real hero, might learn to leave behind his fears and finally live a little.

It took about 45 seconds for Lucas to decide on Azurcrest, but a full three minutes before he finally left the cave.


WAND: Willow, River Monster Spine, 9", whippy
FAMILIAR: None.

CLASSES: Charms, Hermeticism, History of Magic, Potions, Transfiguration, Artificing, Astronomy, Defense Against the Dark Arts
SENIOR PROJECT: It hasn't even crossed his mind.
ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE:
Lucas can be a difficult student to teach. Quiet in class and prone to distraction, it's hard to tell if you're getting through to him. He is remarkably smart, but studying was not a skill he picked up at Undernose - nor was paying attention to things that did not interest him. Gooseberry was initially very challenging, and he struggled. It took a bit, but he learned some decent study habits and found his footing. At which point, Mr. Merrill suggested a heavier course load might be in order for him. Lucas agreed and has been doing well thus far.

His favorite classes are Charms and Defense Against the Dark Arts, which he approaches with avid enthusiasm. He does well enough in his other classes, despite often seeming like he'd rather be anywhere else.

EXTRACURRICULARS: Gaming, Event Committee (he is good for carrying things and hanging up around 55 to 76% of whatever you hand him to hang up), Dueling + Fencing

OOC

NAME: Jenny
EMAIL: tiny kitty feet at gmail
CDJ: 10billionghosts
OTHER PREFERRED CONTACT: whisper your message into a seashell, I'll get it eventually
TIME ZONE: EST