Yekaterina Braginskaya
Posts : 2
Join date : 2011-11-30
 | Subject: Yekaterina Braginskaya - Ukraine Application - Done  Thu Dec 01, 2011 7:21 pm | |
|  Yekaterina Sofia Braginskaya  Country of Origin:UkraineYear: SeventhAge: 17 (Birthday - August 24th) House: HufflepuffPersonality: Rain or shine, Yekaterina is almost always wearing a smile. She has an extremely cheerful personality and will warmly greet people on the street, even strangers (though she was often scolded for that as a child). For her, the glass is always half-full and she hardly sees anything but the good in people. She's warmhearted and kind, helping anything in need of any sort of assistance. Helping people makes her happy and suffering tugs at her heartstrings. She's extremely compassionate and empathetic.
However, she can be fairly oblivious. Despite her age, she's slightly naive and maintains a fair level of innocence. Perverted jokes and comments often slip right over her head. She'll smile and laugh along at the joke, but it'll hardly make sense to her. The obliviousness can be attributed to her slight absent-minded state and the Ukrainian often loses things and assignments (which can lead into quite a bit of panic and even some waterworks).
As a child, Yekaterina was in charge of taking care of her younger siblings, even though they had nannies. Despite this, she cared for both Ivan and Natalya, leading her to develop an extremely maternal side (perhaps part of the reason for her empathy). She has a big heart and is willing to love anything, despite any flaws it may possess.
Not only is her heart big, she always wears it on her sleeve. She's a very emotion person by nature and is often overcome with tears, either from happiness or excitement. She can be a bit of a cry baby, though. That being said, she does sometimes use her ability to cry easily for manipulation, especially if she wants something to go her way. She isn't spoiled, but she does have very strong resolutions against violence and isn't above using tears to stop two people from fighting.Appearance:Long ago, after leaving her childhood home to stay with relatives, Yekaterina cut off her once long, ash blonde hair. She keeps it in a short bob, now, pushed back with a plain headband and a few clips to secure her disobedient bangs. Her face is round and youthful, often graced with a soft, warm smile. Her eyes are wide and a common shade of blue, though often a bit watery. Her height is slightly above average for a woman, standing at just about five foot six inches. She weighs a bit more, though, due to her body type, roughly one hundred and sixty pounds.
Often, Yekaterina experiences back and chest pains, mainly due to her body shape. Since puberty, she's had an extremely voluptuous figure, something she's actually quite self-conscious about. Therefore her clothes tend to be more modest. She isn't one for fashion, preferring comfort over beauty. As a child she was forced into rather expensive and frilly outfits, but that changed upon her arrival at her relatives. They lived a more modest life and Yekaterina was able to run around happily in a pair of overalls, if she so wished. Muggle-born, Half-blood, or Pureblood?PurebloodStrengths:*Green thumb - she's extremely good at gardening and able to care for any plant. Her favorite plants are sunflowers, followed closely by flutterby bushes.
*Potions- she has always had a love for mixing concoctions. If given instructions, she'll follow them exactly until the wanted result brews.
*Healing - she wants to help as many people as possible, especially the sick and wounded. She's been planning to be a healer since childhood
*Knitting - in her spare time, she knits. She has a whole collection of scarves, hats, gloves, and other various clothing articles she'd knitted.
*Cooking - much like potions, she has a love cooking, enjoying the ability to make delicious food and beautiful edible creations, humming while she works.
*Cleanin - despite its tediousness, Yekaterina enjoys the mindless tasks of cleaning and organizing and can fold laundry for hours on end.Weaknesses:*Sensitive - Yekaterina is very sensitive and is often terribly affected by insults. She's very emotional, as well, and a situation might very well end in tears.
*Weak stomach - though she wants to be a healer, she can't stomach the grotesque and gore very well, often nauseated by immense amounts of blood.
*Fear - she scares quite easily and can go into a panic attack, needing human contact to calm down. Her reaction can range from simply shaking to outright panicking.
*Defense Against the Dark Arts - this class is not one of her strong suits mainly due to the fact that any sort of dark magic scares her immensely.
*Animals - any small, furry animal will immediately brighten her day and she'll hurry to care for and wait on its every need.
*Children - much like animals, Yekaterina can't say no to children. She'd babysit at the drop of a hat and wants a large family later in life.Phobias:*Rats - for some reason, rats are the only creatures Yekaterina can't stand. She's terrified of them and will go out of her way to avoid such creatures.
*Dark magic - especially since attending Durmstrang, she's terrified of dark magic in any and all of its forms.
Quirks:*Though she's spoken it for many years, Yekaterina stumbles with English and sometimes speaks in Russian (or Ukrainian) if she can't find the English equivalent.
*Though technically Russian, since she was born in the Ukraine, she has called herself Ukrainian since she was small, in a small bout of nationalismYour Character's backstory:Yekaterina was born to a wealthy pureblood Russian family on their vacation to Ukraine, while they stayed with relatives. Though she was the oldest child, she was female, and therefore unfit to inherit the Braginski title. She was given the feminine diminutive of the name, Braginskaya, and left to be care for by the nannies. The family left Ukraine when Yekaterina's mother found she was pregnant once more. Hoping for a boy, they moved to an isolated estate near St. Petersburg, where Ivan (and later Natalya) was born.
Throughout her childhood, Katya had the role of taking care of the younger siblings. The she didn't have the pressure of upholding the family name, she was responsible for Ivan's and Natalya's wellbeing. Not only was she to play the part of a proper young lady, but also the part of a babysitter. She never minded, though, enjoying the company of her siblings.
As expected, she displayed her magic at a young age, though her parents hardly took much note. They smiled and congratulated her and moved on. She wasn't the focus of the family, but it wasn't terribly important to her. As much as she enjoyed magic, she found muggles fascinating and had taken to reading about them from as early as age eight (even if she didn't full understand at that age). Such readings horrified her elitist parents and she was scolded for displaying such filthy behavior. She was punished and thereafter only read about muggles in secret.
Whether or not her siblings knew hardly mattered. Natalya was too young to understand and Ivan was too close with Yekaterina to tattle. In fact, when she was between nine and ten years old, the three were stuck in a snowstorm. Though she could hold Natalya close, her little brother was too big and she gave him a scarf that she had clumsily knit herself. The three managed to return to safety, but Ivan kept the scarf, wearing it even to this very day.
It wasn't long after that Katya received her letter to Durmstrang. Her parents displayed smug pride and gifted her with a female Ural Owl before shipping her off to the school. Halfway through the year, without any warning, they informed Yekaterina that she would be staying with her aunt and uncle in Ukraine over the holidays and summers from now on. Ivan was heavily involved in his tutoring, they said, and he didn't need any distractions. Though she felt betrayed, she couldn't bring herself to resent Ivan. It was hardly his fault. After all, he was the heir to the family and much more important. She reasoned that it was better this way and that she'd enjoy her time in Ukraine.
And truthfully, she did. She found it to be much more pleasant and relaxing than the frigid estate back in Russia. She picked up the language easily and often spent much time outside in the garden her aunt kept. Her aunt and uncle had no kids of their own and, though purebloods and elitist to some extent, were general amiable. It was an odd experience for Katya to have adult figured, besides nannies, actually around. She found it to be extremely pleasant.
What wasn't pleasant, though, was Durmstrang. While she enjoyed the academics and made friends, there was something eerie about the school that kept her tense and restless. Rumors about students involved in dark magic terrified her, to the point where her grades were slipping. Some of the older, meaner students found her as an easy target. The girls especially spread rumors. As Yekaterina grew older, the students only became worse with it. Ukraine was her haven, away from Durmstrang, and she constantly yearned to return.We Just Got A Letter: It happened in the summer, a few weeks after Durmstrang let out for holiday. Yekaterina, affectionately called "Katya" by friends and family, was out in her aunt's garden, sitting in the sun and reading a novel. Though it was an assigned summer reading it was extremely interesting and the Ukrainian found herself engrossed in the pages, unaware of a tawny owl swooping about the sky.
The relatively large bird let out a loud hoot before landing right in front of her, as if it knew who she was. Startled, Katya let out a yelp, eyes widening for a moment. After a few tense seconds, she relaxed, smiling easily at the bird.
"Well hello there," she cooed in Ukrainian, leaning down to untie the letter from his leg, "is this letter for me?"
The owl hooted in response, as if to answer her inquiry positively. The letter was addressed in English for Miss Yekaterina Sofia Braginskaya. Curiously, she broke the wax seal and unfolded the parchment, reading through the letter slowly (though she had been taught English since she was young, it was still slightly difficult for her to read and speak). An acceptance letter! To Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, of all places! Her curious frown blossomed into a full-blown grin and she hopped up, running into the house.
"Titka!" She shouted, skidding into the kitchen. "Dyadya! I have been accepted to Hogwarts!" Her uncle gave her an amused glance while her aunt reprimanded her for yelling. Katya apologized hurriedly, her cheeks warming. How could she be so silly and forget to use her inside voice?
"Sit and calmly tell us about this letter," her uncle said, gesturing to a seat her him. Yekaterina followed orders quickly, almost tripping over herself. She had to bite her lip and hold her breath for a moment to hold in the excited squeal, a few tears pricking her eyes. Finally! No more Durmstrang!
"It is an exchange program," she explained rapidly, switching between Ukrainian and Russian accidentally. "I have been accepted and am to finish my last year at the school in Scotland! There will be international students from all over! Please, please may I go?" She widened her eyes, the excited tears from before welling up, adding dramatic effect to the begging expression on her face. Her aunt and uncle exchanged a few words in rapid Ukrainian and Katya had to strain to understand.
"Alright," her uncle relented. "You may go."
Yekaterina let out a loud squeal, unable to contain it, hurrying over to hug her uncle and then aunt. "Spasybi! Spasybi!" The tears in her eyes from before spilled over and she clutched the letter tightly. She was going to Hogwarts! No more Durmstrang!The Sorting:To say walking in front of a hall of students in a foreign castle was nerve wracking was a bit of an understatement. Yekaterina clutched the hem her her slightly-too-long sleeves tightly, keeping her head down, embarrassment pooling in her stomach. She didn't like to stand out, especially in front of so many students.
The Great Hall was a good distraction from all the self-consciousness, though. It was beautiful, to say the least. Especially the enchanted ceiling. Katya was captivated by the vast sky that showed through, the twinkling of the candles accentuating the high vaulted ceiling. Despite its size, the hall still managed to feel cozy and warm. The large number of grinning and chattering student contributed to the welcoming ambiance. It was slightly comforting and Katya relaxed a little, even though some of the anxiety of the new school refused to diminish.
She and the other exchange students and first years were herded to the stage, in line by last name. Luckily her last name started with a B. She would feel horridly humiliated if she were the first student called up. The first student in this situation was a small first year with wide, impressionable eyes and a sweet face. The little girl scurried over to the stool and sat, the peculiar magical hat (supposedly called the Sorting Hat) nearly swallowed her head whole. Katya had to surprise a giggle. The site was just too cute.
The whole hall suddenly went silent and all the students were focused on the girl. It seemed as if the whole room was holding its breath, waiting. But for what? Katya waited along with them. Then, out of the blue, the hat opened one of its stitched holes and shouted, "RAVENCLAW!"
One of the long tables, outfitted with students in blue trimmed robes, erupted into cheers and hollers. The girl took off the hat and hurried over to the house table, accepted immediately. The thought of being sorted so easily should have been comforted, but it only increased the anxiety hidden within Yekaterina. What if she was sorted into the wrong house? What if her housemates hated her? Would she be able to switch? What if the school was worse than Durmstrang? Would she be teased?
Her worrying distracted her and she hardly heard her name being called. A shock went through her and she stumbled over to the chair. The now familiar silence fell over the hall, but this time it felt different. Foreboding, even. Scary. She swallowed thickly, trembling slightly. The hat was places over her head and she held her breath.
Well, well, well... A creaky voice slipped in through her ears and she stiffened, surprised. Was the hat speaking to her? How strange! ...You're an easy one, aren't you? Easy...? What did this hat mean by easy? Did it even know what it was doing? Had she heard him right? Yes, you heard correctly. I know exactly where to put you. I've been doing this for years, dearie. I can see right into you. Kindness through and through. Best be...
"HUFFLEPUFF!" The hat shouted out loud, surprising Katya. It had been that easy? How did it decide, though, just based off her kindness? The Hufflepuff table cheered and she stood, carefully setting the hat down, still trembling. She stepped carefully, not wanting to trip, smiling nervously at her new housemates. They all seemed like a nice bunch and welcomed her. She even received a few hugs. Comforted, she sat in an empty spot. Perhaps the hat did know what it was doing.
Name: Maddie (I'll go by Anne though, or Katya)Age: 17Timezone/Country: America, Central Standard Time (GMT + 6, I think?)Tell us a little about yourself. I also RP Fem!England here~Anything else? My favorite color is still Sapphire blue/purple | |
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