(no subject)

[rararafael]

And if I catch it comin' back my way
I'm gonna serve it to you
And that ain't what you want to hear
But that's what I'll do

GENERAL

NAME: Rafael Alejandro Ramirez
NICKNAMES: Raf, if you have to. He's Rafa or Rafito to his parents.
AGE/DOB: 17 / July 22 / Cancer-Leo Cusp
BLOOD STATUS: Half-blood. (Halfblood father, squib mother.)
GENDER/PRONOUNS: Male, he/him
SEXUALITY: Rafael came out as gay to his family last year, but to his classmates things aren't nearly so cut and dry. He dated Quinn Cunningham sophomore to junior year, and is still attracted to girls, but he was having a hard time explaining that to his parents.
HOMETOWN: Mexico City, Mexico

CONCEPT: Retired ballet dancer thinks life is a game, and he's winning.

PHYSICAL

APPEARANCE: Rafael has a very thin and narrow build, with the wiry muscle you'd expect of someone who does ballet religiously. He's ridiculously flexible, and has been known to study while sitting in the splits or other extreme positions. Rafael's right knee is injured, though, and causes him pain somewhat regularly, especially when the weather changes. Most days he's fine and functions optimally, but Rafael has a bad habit of pushing himself too far. He has a brace for his knee that he resists wearing if he possibly can, and there's a neglected pair of crutches in his cabin just in case. Rafael has to be unable to walk without limping before he uses any of these items.

Rafael wears his uniform to code while in class, but as soon as he's outside he ditches the tie and undoes a few buttons. He dislikes how restrictive the uniform feels, but doesn't try to subvert the rules. Out of uniform, his personal style is relaxed, but expensive, with lots of soft but very fitted v-necks tees and loose pants. Above all else comfort is king. If he can't move in it, he hates it. During colder months, Rafael bundles up excessively and complains a lot about his bad circulation and that he was never meant to experience snow.

Although not immediately obvious, Rafael's feet are wrecked. They're not a treat to look at, and he spares everyone the trouble by never wearing sandals.

For someone so intense, Rafael has a light, gentle voice. He also speaks with a Spanish accent.

HEIGHT: 5'10"

PB: Diego Luna

PERSONALITY

LIKES: WINNING, victory, defeating his enemies, a good challenge, competition, ballet, dancing, classical music, seeing people improve, being a prefect.

DISLIKES: Losing for a weak reason, arguing for the sake of it, change, contrariness, when competition hurts feelings, getting emotional, losing control, cold weather, celebrity media.

PERSONALITY:

Rafael is an overzealous prefect, and you'd be surprised to learn he isn't Head Boy, because sometimes in his well-meaning enthusiasm he behaves as though he is. Rafael isn't necessarily power hungry, but he does always want to be in charge. He always wants to help. He always wants to do all he can to make things better. Rafael never learned to step back or step down, and he's always giving 100% even when it's hurting him.

Rafael sincerely loves the people he feels responsible for, which is everybody. When you combine this with a blatant desire to lead and uphold order, you have an instant teacher favourite. Rafael ends up in positions of authority a lot, and he radiates trustworthiness to adults. While he's not actually impervious to teenage mischief, it's not fake either. Rafael has spent three years trying to emulate his father to become an influential politician. It's his dream... or at least that what he says. Rafael had to give up his last dream at a very young age, and has attached himself to a vague idea of getting into politics.

Which, luckily, isn't too far fetched. Rafael navigates social situations with confidence, poise, and a sharp edge. His level head serves him well as a prefect, and he's often the firm, but gentle, voice of reason, although he is strict. He thinks things through before acting, and has a good handle on school politics and who all of his classmates are. Rafael has a sweet disposition, but a brisk demeanor. He doesn't let anyone step on him, and would rather give orders than take them. However, he's not wholly immovable. He respects that Maggie and Cecil's word is law, and he keeps his cool when he's told no. His steadiness allows him to handle emotional people with grace, although he won't lie to save anyone's feelings. He feels that the best medicine is the truth, and a straightforward answer saves everyone time in the long run. Rafael's gentle enough that he makes a good shoulder to cry on, though.

Rafael is highly competitive on the sly. If you're on "his side", Rafael is a cunning, loyal ally who is bringing you victory at all costs. However, whenever he ends up in a situation where there's someone in opposition to him, sweet, warm Rafael gets shockingly ruthless. This comes up in Gaming Club and LARP a lot, and Rafael has earned himself a reputation for not being very fun. He sees the character creation system as a method to build the best weapon, and is a shameless min-maxer. When he's allowed to GM, he kills the entire party every time. Unsurprisingly, Rafael often struggles to just "enjoy the story". This was something his older brother, Ricardo, always held against him. He'd tell Rafael that he was no fun, and would never truly understand role playing. Rafael can't, or won't, stop, though, oo matter how often he's reminded that role playing isn't about winning.

This competitiveness extends to being a prefect. Rafael sees his position as a drawn out competition with rule breakers, and each time he catches someone it's a little victory. He's INTENSE about tracking down offenders, but he's genuinely impressed when he's bested. Friendly opponents who try to outsmart him are treated like they're engaging in a fun game, and Rafael is motivated by fun above all else. He's got a fantastic, buoyant sense of humor, and he's very playful. He loves teasing and being teased, and doesn't get his feelings hurt easily. In fact, Rafael tends to really like chronic rule breakers, as long as they're fun, and also don't take his merciless pursuit of them too personally. Rafael is clearly enjoying himself when he's calling people out, and likes it even more if they are too. He doesn't find belligerence quite so charming. Anyone who gets angry with him for "winning" is a sore loser, according to Rafael's world view.

Because Rafael is more interested in fun than being right, he doesn't mind making addendums, exceptions and sub-rules. This is usually seen when a party comes around, and Rafael publishes his new set of "Party Rules", or relentlessly makes excessive prefect wards to discuss rules and rulebreakers. Rafael enforces all of his adjusted rules with as much enthusiasm as the real ones, and patrols parties like a skinny bouncer. He wields rules like a weapon, rather than as a means to defend victims or enact some idea of justice. It's a delicate but important distinction. Rafael doesn't actually have any moral objection to "illegal" activity, despite his notoriously draconian adherence to the rules. He's more than happy to be the "bad cop" to gentler prefects, though, and dolls out punishments and reports bad behaviour to staff with no guilt or fear.

Rafael is a nosy friend, and once you're "in", your business is his business. He's supportive, genuine, and observant about other people, and he's pretty good at figuring out how to talk to them, but all of that comes at a price. Rafael's arrogant, and thinks he always knows best. You can always count on Rafael for a hand and he'll always invest himself in your problems, but it's hard getting him to back off. He's fantastic if you're complicated or high maintenance, but if you need space or want to be left to make your decisions in peace, it gets challenging. Rafael does not let go easily.

Rafael also has a bit of a temper. While he can handle other peoples' emotions, rolling with even the most dramatic, angry or mean, outbursts... Rafael is awful at processing his own. When Rafael is sad, he acts angry. When he's scared, he acts angry. When he's angry, he acts angry. It's cold, calm anger, though. Rafael never yells. What he does, though, is hold grudges and remember slights. When you've crossed a line, Rafael is the prefect who reports you to staff and shows up with an itemized list of past and current offenses. His close friends can usually smooth things over with Rafael when he gets angry, but when a relationship starts to go sour, it's very hard to rebuild things with him. He's defensive and protective of his people, and will go after anyone who offend him or his friends. He'll find reasons to get them in trouble or take points. Long after his friends have forgiven a slight, Rafael remembers, and is ready to bring it up next time the guilty party steps out of line.

To no one's great surprise, Rafael has control issues. He is not merely calm, he is controlled. He favors anger because it's the only acceptable emotion to express, especially over things like sadness and fear. Rafael would never, ever allow himself to really lose it on someone, or relax enough to be truly vulnerable. He's extremely conscious of how people perceive him, and he's bound and determined to make sure no one ever calls him weak. Even at his most charming, there's a threatening, steel core to Rafael that sensitive people can pick up on. His energy is not wholly pleasant, which contributes to the sense that Rafael is not fun company.

Speaking of energy, Rafael goes hard all the time regardless of whether or not it's a good idea. When he's told to do five, he does ten. He has a poor grasp on his physical limitations, and virtually no concept of his emotional limitations. He gives everything to his friends, over-invests in relationships, and defines himself by how he's received and how successful he is. It makes him vulnerable to bouts of melancholy when he takes personal responsibility for things or people that are beyond his control. Rafael knows the accusations that he's not fun are often accurate, and compares himself negatively to his brother a lot. He worries that being his friend is a chore, and struggles to emotionally connect with anyone unless it's just him providing all the emotional support and never speaking about himself. Rafael never got over having to give up dancing professionally, and knows he only has himself to blame, but getting him to discuss any of his issues is like pulling teeth. He will not let anyone ever, ever say he's weak. Rafael is handling it.

tl;dr
+ authoritative and poised in social situations
+ cares a lot about people, sincerely wants to help
+ logical and analytical
+ motivated by fun
+ gives everything 100% all the time and you can't stop him
+ unfailingly loyal to close friends, protective
= strict prefect
= really obsessed with rules and order
= teacher's pet
- adherence to rules has little to do with right or wrong
- horribly competitive to an unfun degree
- the only emotion he feels comfortable with is anger
- control issues
- afraid of being seen as weak
- no concept of his physical or emotional limitations

HISTORY

FAMILY MEMBERS:

➠ Anita Ramirez, wireless drama actress, squib. As a squib from a conservative pureblood family, Anita had a very difficult upbringing. Now that she's a celebrity, her status as a squib is not always addressed kindly. Anita presents herself as very ladylike and effervescent, but she's deeply distrustful of the world. She influenced her sons to always look out for two people: the underdog, and yourself.
➠ Lorenzo Ramirez, handsome politician, halfblood. Lorenzo is a ranking member of the cabinet of the president of the Magical Congress of the United Mexican States. He's beloved for his charisma and good looks, and is known for politics that benefit the working class and squibs. Rafael and his father are very alike, and very close. Although Rafael talks often about his political aspirations, his father's critical of them, and concerned about Rafael's lack of concrete goals.

Lorenzo recognizes that his son wants to lead just for the sake of it, and thinks that's insufficient motivation. Rafael has been advised that he should explore other career paths right out of school, and consider politics when he's older and "has a true understanding of the world."

➠ Ricardo Ramirez, aspiring actor, halfblood. Former Coppertale. Ricardo has the same sensibilities as his parents, which is to say he's a little melodramatic and knows how to tell a story. Although he's Rico to his parents, he quickly insisted everyone at Gooseberry call him Ric to avoid too many Rico Suave or Ricky and Lucy accent jokes. Handsome Ricardo is just entering the world of acting, and is receiving a lot of press in Mexico, mostly because of his family connections. He was a founding member of L.A.R.P. and a major presence in Drama when he was at Gooseberry. During LARP, Ric had a bad habit of getting into "in character" romances that blurred the lines of what was real and what wasn't, but he remained dedicated to Cristiane, his long term girlfriend. He and Rafael have a difficult relationship, where both wish they had the other's strengths, which has led to a lot of teenage resentment.
➠ Cristiane Downing, Soon-to-be Sister-in-law, halfblood. Cristian was another dedicated L.A.R.P. player, and she and Ricardo often played one another's love interests in dramatic love triangles. [Open to being someone's sister/cousin!]

HISTORY:

Lorenzo and Anita were childhood friends. The way they tell it, even at eight years old they were in love. Lorenzo would bring her flowers, and they would play husband and wife, and he promised to one day marry her. However, when Anita turned ten, it became clear to her family that she was never going to develop magic. Her parents hid her away so no one would know about their squib daughter, and she and Lorenzo were torn apart. Lorenzo went to Castelbruxo, but never forgot his childhood sweetheart. He pined for her even as he became a grown man and achieved success as a beloved, forward-thinking politician. Meanwhile, Anita had left the world of magic behind her, and was working as a stage actress. Lorenzo heard her name only by chance, and rushed to find her. Although the pair hadn't seen one another in nearly twenty years, when she saw him in the audience, Anita recognized Lorenzo immediately. They married only a year later.

It's probable that most of that story is an exaggeration for the press, but what's definitely true is that Lorenzo and Anita Ramirez are a beloved celebrity couple in the Spanish speaking wizarding world. Their relationship and all of its twists and turns was a public commodity, which included the birth of their two sons, Ricardo and Rafael. The boys grew up under a magnifying glass, with parents who knew how to sell their romance to further their careers. Tabloid stories about their inevitable divorce led to "spontaneous" weekend getaways where photographers could capture the happy family basking in domestic bliss. Rumors about there being another woman meant Ricardo and Rafael were left with nannies while Lorenzo and Anita went on a "secret" romantic getaway that just happened to be leaked to the media.

And like their parents, Ricardo and Rafael were performers. Ricardo wanted to become an actor, and Rafael took to ballet. His hard working disposition made him improve rapidly, and soon people were throwing around the word prodigy. His parents were enchanted by the idea, and pushed the idea. They moved to where the best dance instructors were, and spent a small fortune to ensure their son's success. Ricardo, meanwhile, became jealous of how life began to revolve around Rafael and his dancing. Ricardo insisted he be allowed to go to Castelbruxo, even though Rafael was being homeschooled to give him more time for ballet. His only friend his age was Sun-mi Choi, a fellow Sun-mi who was tutored in ballet alongside him. Both brothers and Sun-mi were promised a spot as Gooseberry, because Bloom assured the Ramirez family that Rafael and Sun-mi could receive an exceptional education while practicing dance together. Ric suspected he was only allowed entrance because of Rafael.

But Rafael was never good at managing his physical limitations. He became so good so quickly because he always did twice as much as he was told. He pushed through the pain, and worked through the difficult spots. When his knee began to bother him, he ignored it. The summer after his first year at Gooseberry, he tore his anterior cruciate ligament.

The damage Rafael had done to his knee was severe, and he'd been lying about other aches and pains for years. It prematurely ended his ballet career. Magical healing saved the use of his knee and replaced the ligament, and it allowed Rafael to keep dancing. However, it was very likely it would stand up under the pressure of a professional career. Gooseberry didn't withdraw the spot Rafael had earned with dancing, but when he returned to Gooseberry for Sophomore year, he was lost. At the age of twelve, Rafael had to make a dramatic life change at a very young age. He poured all that competitive energy into Hermeticism, finding he had a talent for mathematics. He also focused aggressively on emulating his father, which made him an easy prefect candidate.

Rafael and Ricardo only started to try and get along after Rafael's injury, and even then it was a tense friendship because Ric wasn't exactly unhappy that his brother was now "normal". He ended up dragging Rafael into LARP, which was Ricardo's favorite new hobby. Ric loved the attention he received there, where his strong personality served him well. When puberty hit, it was very kind to Ric, and he swiftly gained popularity. But Rafael and Ricardo continued to have a relationship full of jealousy. They held things over one another, and tried put the other down on a daily basis. Ricardo frequently critisized that Rafael was not terribly good at the creative role playing aspects of LARP and D&D, and Rafael retaliated by building increasingly deadly characters to prove he was smarter than Ricardo. Rafael was jealous of how fun, popular and creative Ric was, and hated whenever Ricardo would pointedly praise other people over Rafael.

The brothers frequently argued over one another's choices in relationships, too. Rafael was especially critical of Ric's "IC" romances, particularly where it involved a certain mutual friend of theirs they'd met through LARP, Ravinder Dhaliwal. As for Ric, he was aggressively protective of his little brother, and made it hard for any girlfriend to stick around. As Rafael and Quinn Cunningham grew close, Ric made it clear that he didn't like her, and that he thought she was bad for Rafael. The needling became so relentless, that in junior year the couple called it quits.

But that was the last year Rafael would need to deal with Ricardo. Since the brothers no longer have to see one another daily, their relationship has begun to improve immensely. What's not improving, though, is Rafael's knee. Over the summer he received confirmation that it was probably never going to heal any better than it had. Rafael thought he was over it, but having that last little scrap of hope extinguished is effecting him more than he thought it would.

DAILY HABITS:

• 6:00 AM: Rafael is up every morning bright and early in order to walk all the way out to the lodge where there's a modest dance studio. He goes through an exacting barre routine every weekday, and on weekends (or mornings without an early class) he follows it up with more practice off the barre. There are some other dancers that meet him there, including a handful of Freshmen who he gives impromptu ballet lessons to. Rafael has made himself the unofficial leader of this morning workout, and he does not appreciate spectators. Rafael is more forgiving of people who are merely shy, but dogs anyone he thinks is just there to check out the dancers.
  
• 4:00 PM, Sunday: Rafael has weekly physical therapy with Mufferaw, who always has a word for him about how he's got to stop overtaxing his knee, because yes it can get worse.
  
• 7:00 PM: A brisk walk around the grounds, weather allowing. Rafael would like for this to be a brisk run, but has been forbidden because of the impact on his knee. Sometimes he runs anyway. Sometimes he regrets that decision.
  

SCHOOL

YEAR: Senior
HOUSE: Coppertale
SORTING: Coppertale and Azurcrest ended up having a long, drawn out argument over Rafael that nearly resulted in a teacher having to intervene. However, before the four heads of house could come to a conclusion about who would go in after Rafael, he emerged with Coppertale victorious.
WAND: Bocote wood, dragon scale core, unyielding. 11¼"
FAMILIAR: A truly striking swallow tailed kite named Lisandro. Lisandro is incredibly food motivated, and will beg if people eat in front of him, and get into snack stashes in the hopes of finding jerky if he's not watched carefully.

CLASSES: Charms, Hermeticism, Potions, Transfiguration, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Occlumency
SENIOR PROJECT: Rafael has been working on designing a very complicated spell using Hermeticism and Charms. He's attempting to enchant any pair of gloves to perform basic chores and tasks independently, even if the given orders are vague. He's pitching this as a spell that would aid the elderly and disabled, although he happily humors jokes about what else the charm could be used for. Criminal activity? Kinky bedroom play? A terrifying invisible AI L.A.R.P. player? So far, he can get them to move and take simple, precise commands. They have enough body and strength to pick things up, and he's fine tuning the dexterity factor.

However, Rafael has made his project more difficult than it strictly needs to be for two reasons: First off, he wants it to be a charm and not a product, so that it doesn't have to be purchased by people who might need it. Secondly, he's attempting to fold in legilimency. Rafael wants the charm to be able to pick up on exactly what the caster wants, so that even if the orders are vague, the work gets done accurately without supervision. For instance, if you tell the gloves to sort laundry, they would not need any further details about lights vs darks, and what counts as a delicate item. As things stand, the charm sometimes gets confused, and behaves erratically. Rafael often refers to his gloves as though they are a living entity, and sighs at their strange behavior as though he's talking about an eccentric friend or misbehaving child.

ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE: Rafael is precise, exacting, detailed, and mathematically gifted. He does best in classes with strict rules and logical thinking, such as Hermeticism, Potions and Transfiguration. When things get a little foggier, such as in Charms and Defense Against the Dark Arts, Rafael has to stretch himself more. He's a dedicated, organized student who takes lots of notes and tracks every little detail, just in case. Over the years, Rafael has shed any class that he had actual trouble with, preferring to focus more on the classes he decided "mattered".

The only exception to this rule is Occlumency, which is very hit and miss for Rafael. When Rafael is at his best, he excels at it and seems like a natural. However, when Rafael's temper gets the better of him, he can't do a thing, and his grasp on his mind falls apart. It's not uncommon for Lilywhite to order Rafael to go out into the hall and cool off before letting him try again. He hates this.

EXTRACURRICULARS:

➠ Coppertale Prefect: Oh god. Rafael is a notoriously strict and aggressive prefect who takes joy in getting people in trouble. As in, he's actually having a good time and thinks it's super fun. Vector did not allow the school to even consider Rafael for Head Boy.
➠ Gaming Club: If you play D&D with him, don't let him GM. Rafael is notorious for his total party kills. As a player, he's a shameless min-maxer who sometimes breaks the game (but never the rules) with his excessively powerful characters. While Rafael is always very helpful towards other party members, he's awful at the acting portion of roleplaying. All of Rafael's characters are just Rafael by a different name. He wants everyone to try GURPS with him instead of D&D, but it's a heavy, math-filled system, so progress getting anyone to join him is slow.
➠ Duelling/Fencing: Rafael is on his second of three strikes for getting too competitive. He loves duelling, though, and thinks it's great fun. Assuming his knee isn't acting up, Rafael's an agile competitor and a hard hitter.
➠ LARP: Just like in D&D, Rafael makes deadly characters, and is never particularly attached to any of them. He often has to be reminded to focus more on the story than the stats. Rafael is the strict LARP dad who's there to enforce the rules and keep things organized.

Rafael is also known as the little brother of Ricardo Ramirez, a founding member of LARP. Ric was handsome, charming, and not necessarily the most sensitive guy. He and Rafael had a frienemy relationship that LARP often aggravated. Now that Ric is gone, Rafael seems more content running the logistics of LARP (picking where it's happening, handling the rosters, making adjustments to the rules, checking weapons for safety, teaching new members, etc.).
➠ Event Committee: While Event Committee isn't high on Rafael's list of priorities, he does love to show up and talk about rules and regulations.

OOC

NAME: Meggie
EMAIL: what.it.seems [at] gmail
CDJ: krakenist
OTHER PREFERRED CONTACT: N/A
TIME ZONE: MNT