FULL NAME: Lionel Hereward Lovelace
NICKNAMES: None, but if you make one up, it won't bother him
AGE/DOB: December 22, 2001 | Capricorn
YEAR: Senior
BLOOD STATUS: Halfblood
GENDER/PRONOUNS: Male (he/him/his)
SEXUALITY: Straight
HOMETOWN: Warm Springs, Virginia
APPEARANCE:On most days, Lionel is disinterested in what he's wearing. He puts on whatever t-shirt is at the top of the drawer and then whatever button down is in the front of the closet. He once read that muggle scientist Steve Jobs always wore the same thing so he didn't waste time deciding on an outfit. Lionel found that profound.
His clothes are all of high quality, though. His mom sees to that. And Lionel will dress up and make himself look nice for formal events, although he often doesn't budget quite enough time for getting ready.
Lionel has a habit of taking off his glasses, breathing on them, rubbing them on his shirt, and then putting them back on. He also carries a brush with him and will drag in through his hair to promote thinking. He could probably use a few more lb's and definitely some more Vitamin D.
HEIGHT: 6' 1"
BUILD: A few twisted-together pipe cleaners.
PB: Paul Dano INSPO: n/a
Lionel Lovelace is working on something.
Below a thin veneer of outward calmness is a sea of internal activity. A man of few words but ceaseless thoughts, Lionel is prone to being quietly overwhelmed. Not by social situations or grades or love. But by a mind that doesn’t turn off, constantly obsessing over an idea or keen on solving some annoying problem.
The middle of three kids, Lionel has always been happy to live in the shadow of his siblings. Let
them draw the praise and concern of his parents. He’s most comfortable alone anyway, free to think and work without interruption. He values secrecy and privacy. What is Lionel up to? Don’t worry about it. Someday you’ll know. When he’s ready. And you’ll think,
’I should have been paying better attention…’He’s not asocial, though. He can hold his own in group settings and will engage in small talk (though he won’t likely start it). His churning mind can sometimes put him on edge and he’s prone to startling (
“Ahh! Sorry. Didn’t see you there. What’s going on?”) Once composed, he speaks in a soft voice and has a tendency to repeat words and phrases (e.g. “I don’t- I don’t think so. No. I don’t think so.”)
He has strong opinions and beliefs, but he’s uninterested in proselytizing. He’s fine staying out of your business and he’d appreciate if you stayed out of his. You can disagree with him. That’s your prerogative. He’s the type of person who doesn’t care if you make a choice he wouldn’t.
[...] Well. He’d
like to think he’s that type of person. And usually he is. But there are too many instances of Lionel inserting himself into the lives of his sister and closest friends for him to make that claim with complete credibility.
He cares about them, apparently.
Lionel is loyal to the few he considers himself close to. He’s gentle and unexpectedly funny when he wants to be. Since he values privacy so much, it means he won’t be pushy with you, and if you share secrets with him, he’ll guard them well. He likes people who are thoughtful and serious and passionate like he is. But you don’t necessarily have to be like him for him to like you. Variety is the spice of life, and he enjoys a splash of chaotic, fun energy from time to time. It may take mild convincing, but he’ll tag along to social events, the change in scenery providing a much needed interruption to his current fixation.
Many of Lionel’s best traits have a less-savory mirror; the heads and tails of the same coin. He’s smart, but can come off as condescending. He’s self-reliant, but can forget to ask for help when he needs it. He’s passionate, but can be obsessive.
Lionel is
definitely obsessive. He’s prone to lose sleep, forego self-care, and bail on other responsibilities when consumed with his latest intellectual curiosity. His main interests right now are poetry and muggle tech. He’s working on a
secret project to program a metal wand that would have built-in spells. He hated how people treated Zadie when they thought she might be a Squib, and how she was powerless to do anything about he. He wants to find a way to build something that gives whoever wields it the ability to do magic.
Hermeticism, arithmancy, and symbology give him the hope that there’s a way to order symbols and language -- in this case, programming language -- to produce new magic. (In a way, so too does poetry. The careful ordering of words can 'magically' unlock unexpected emotional responses.) He (currently) has a healthy relationship with his project, reading and writing endless code in an attempt to find magic that exists separate from the user, the “ghost in the machine.” (Note:
Not talking about his professor here, though he does have to go looking for him at times, too.)
Lionel isn’t a de-facto rule-follower. It’s not that he gleefully enjoys breaking the rules, but if they don’t make sense to him, he won’t adhere to them. Often times, he thinks decision makers too often accept rules because they're the status-quo; old thinkers unable to imagine a different way. He sees himself as a fundamentally good person seeking to make progressive change in the world. So, if a rule is getting between him and something he needs, he trusts that he knows best. He’s 'responsible enough' to use his own discretion with rules. But when someone calls him out, he’s always aghast.
“Whaaat? Whaaat are you talking about?” And when someone gets him in trouble, he seethes, cursing them for interfering with what he’s doing.
While he fancies himself unemotional, Lionel is, undoubtedly, emotional. He just tries to keep it under wraps, just for himself. But since he cares so deeply about whatever he’s working on, his feelings -- always simmering -- do bubble up to the surface. Setbacks might cause him to brood. Breakthroughs may cause him to tear up. And the most perfect line of poetry, delivered by the most perfect girl, will definitely bring him to his knees.
It’s ugly, but he believes the things he’s working on are more important than whatever you’re working on. More noble too. And that he alone has the vision or the audacity to explore this entirely new field of magic.
Technology is the future. So yeah, Lionel Lovelace is working on something. And it’s going to be big. Assuming it doesn’t drive him crazy first.
FUN FACTS:
👨🏻💻 Has an encyclopedic knowledge of secret societies.
👨🏻💻 Has written his own language that he uses to take notes.
👨🏻💻 Practices intermittent fasting (though not always intentionally).
LANGUAGES: English. A secret code he uses to take notes. Can read Spanish, French, and Italian. "Fluent" in multiple programming languages.
HOBBIES: Reading. Writing. Thinking. Wandering. Pacing. Scribbling. Coding. Playing violin. Finding patterns. Creating riddles. Taking thinking showers. Hand-rolling the occasional cigarette. Being a completionist. Having good discussion. Keeping secrets.
SKILLS:
TECHNOLOGY: Lionel has all your regular Microsoft Office resume skills, but can also code in multiple programming languages and has an understanding of how many muggle tech items are physically constructed. Basically, he can build a computer from scratch.
STRING INSTRUMENTS: Lionel's best instrument is the violin, but he can also play the cello. His repertoire is mostly classical, though he has the ability to figure out a pop song through auditory memory and trial-and-error.
BEING A CONFIDANT: He doesn't spill the beans. Ever.
CREATIVE WRITING: Lionel has a healthy stack of poems, a handful of short stories, and one abandoned novel. He likes thinking about how words are ordered and optimized. How they can be evocative and unexpected. He has particular respect for the avant garde.
READING: Lionel can read quickly, retain what he read, and recall it later. He's the non-generic paper towel in the tv ad, the one that soaks everything up and doesn't tear.
FAMILY:Corwin Lovelace (Father): Wandmaker. A prominent and respected wandmaker from a family that has been making wands for generations. Although Lionel has recently begun a wand-making undertaking of his own, he's not interested in discussing it with his dad, who he views as antiquated and small-minded. (An aside: only recently has Lionel felt connected to the powerful wand Corwin made him.)
Glenys Lovelace (Mother): Instrument Maker & Charmer. A craftsman like Corwin, Glenys specializes in making instruments (woodwinds and string instruments, specifically) instead of wands but the end results are just as beautiful. She’s talented, confident, rich, and from a Pureblood line. Lionel (incorrectly) think he has nothing in common with his mom -- it's just that their vanity and arrogance manifest differently, and their strong opinions (like their views on the validity of muggle tech) are often in opposition to one another.
Byron Lovelace (Older Brother, 18): Apprentice Wandmaker. The older brother of Lionel and Zadie, Byron is confident, magically gifted, ambitious, and the apple of his mother's eye. Lionel isn’t particularly impressed by Byron’s accomplishments -- which are numerous and span academics and athletics alike -- and he quietly wants to someday be more accomplished than his brother, to be recognized for the fruits of his quiet, hard labor. (A true tortoise and the hare story.)
Zadie Lovelace (Young Sister, 16): Junior Wildgulch. Lionel is closer to Zadie than anyone else in the family. He resents the way the others negatively reacted to her late-developing magic. She fundamentally changed how he thinks about magic, what qualifies as magical, and who should be able to do magic. He finds her wildly impressive. He would do anything she needed, but isn’t likely to intervene or interfere in her life unless prompted. She’s also one of the few people he’ll open up to… but again, only if prompted.
BACKGROUND:Lionel was born into a world of exceptionalism. Two parents who were masters of their crafts. A mansion complete with house elf staff. An older brother who excelled at everything he did. Understandably, young Lionel was swept up in it. He revered his parents and his brother. He felt an entitlement that came with their wealth and status. He had ambitions of being great himself. Thanks to his upbringing, Lionel developed “traditional” interests, “proper” skills, and “classical” taste. From the food he ate, to the clothes he wore, to the music he played.
But as he grew, his views slowly changed. His younger sister, Zadie, didn’t develop her magic until she was ten. Lionel had a front-row seat to the shame and disappointment their parents felt. How they hid her from the outside world "for her sake." Lionel lost a great deal of respect for his family members, and it caused him to question his own privilege. Not only was he born into wealth, he was born into magic. Two things he had zero say in, but both of which afforded him immense status.
It wasn’t fair. In an effort to connect with his younger sister, Lionel sought non-magical activities for them to do together. One day he bought a used computer from the nearby muggle town and snuck it back into their house. “There are other kinds of magic in the world, you know,” he told her. When their mom found out, she threw a fit and forbade muggle tech from the house. Lionel said nothing as she reanted. He bought another computer and simply hid it better. The veneer of his “perfect” parents was all but gone now.
‘Traditional,’ ‘proper,’ and ‘classical’ became grotesque ideas in Lionel’s mind. They represented stasis, close-mindedness, and even cowardice. Quietly, Lionel began to fancy himself progressive and bold.
Though Lionel got the computer for Zadie, it was he who grew deeply interested in it. This continued a pattern for Lionel: develop an interest, immerse himself in it, master it, move on. But the computer provided a never-ending supply of puzzles to master. There was no moving on. Only moving deeper. New interests continued to come and go, but technology remained a constant in Lionel’s life from that point on. He saw endless possibility in technology -- a tool to empower anyone, a means by which the established order could be challenged.
Lionel was sent to Malstrom Academy, where from the beginning he was either overlooked entirely or referred to as “Byron’s little brother.” He didn’t mind the former -- anonymity is fine -- but he resented the latter. It typified how he viewed Malstrom: a group of elites who were only concerned with who you were related to.
Before his junior year, Lionel asked his parents if he could transfer to the Peckenpaugh School of Magic. Not only did the culture seem different, but they had a whole course called Muggle Tech. And it was
required. There he would be able to continue his magical education while simultaneously pursuing a budding idea. An idea he hadn’t been able to explore at Malstrom, separated from his computer.
With Zadie’s help, Lionel convinced his parents and that fall he enrolled at Peckenpaugh. And while Muggle Tech and Mr. Qualls are not
exactly what he expected, he’s really enjoyed the school. He’s challenged, he has friends, he’s still with his sister, and now he has access to an all-important computer lab.
WAND: Cherry, Rougarou Hair, 12"
FAMILIAR: A ball python named Henny. Lionel and Henny are both night animals who are content to be alone. A snake is ideal for Lionel, who's had a history of forgetting to feed his previous familiars.
CAREER GOALS: Invent a wand that does not rely on the magical abilities of its user, that can exist independently of the person wielding it. Until his family cuts him off, he'll have the luxury to pursue his secret passion and grand vision without worrying about money.
PART-TIME JOB: None.
CLASSES:CHARMS: Lionel does well on his Charms tests and papers, but isn’t a particularly active participant in class. He’s content instead to sit quietly and only speak when called upon.
POTIONS: Lionel's interest in potions is very much tied to Zadie's. He's grown to like the artistry of the science, though he approaches things more cautiously than Mr. Berzelius. Measure twice, cut once, explode never.
TRANSFIGURATIONS: A course that Lionel has traditionally not cared for. He’s always felt that it’s tedious. A lot of work with little reward.
[.....] But there’s a new teacher this year. And Lionel may have a crush on Ms. Min and he just might start trying and even speak up.
HERMETICISM (H): Lionel likes understanding how things work, how one thing builds upon another. He’s particularly interested in learning to make his own spells. He’s
less interested in learning about the ethics of doing that.
WIZARD LIT (H): Lionel is a voracious reader, devouring anything written by wizards or muggles. He himself likes to write poetry, and has a fascination with the “Order of the Odeis” -- a rumored society of prominent wizard thinkers and writers, who held secret, masked gatherings.
ARITHMANCY: Lionel took Divination last year, but has eschewed it for Arithmancy this time around. He’s fascinated by the power of numbers. While the class only meets bi-monthly, Lionel’s thoughts often drift to the subject and he’ll often pull Ms. Altizer aside after Hermeticism to ask Arithmancy questions.
SYMBOLOGY (H): Lionel takes Symbology very seriously. He’s particularly interested in applying the skills learned in Symbology (and Arithmancy) to his passion for computer programming. How can he imbue code with power?
MUGGLE TECH (TA):
See more below in his TA description.EXTRA-CURRICULARS: ARITHLETES: Lionel shows up about half the time, depending on whether or not he's too busy with something else or if he remembers this is happening. That's not to say he doesn't like the club. He does! And he enjoys having an activity with Zadie.
CREATIVE WRITING CLUB: Lionel has strong opinions about literary works... and about other people's opinions. He's excited to discuss texts and share his writing with those he holds in high regard. The others? He doesn't listen to them.
CONCERT BAND: Lionel plays violin and can sometimes switch over to cello if need be.
SORTING?: Lionel is one of the renegade Thorntrails, who's hardworking and ambitious, and doesn't let rules get in the way of doing the right thing. His sorting was rather straight-forward. Unconcerned with where he ended up, Lionel moved from room to room without fuss and accepted the final suggestion without question.
NAME: Ben
EMAIL: see player contact page
CDJ: ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
benbanjoOTHER CONTACT: Dropbox
TIMEZONE: PST
no subject
POSITION: Muggle Tech TA
WHY THIS SPOT?: It's less that Lionel wants the position and more that he feels he should take it. Partly because he's talented -- he's unquestionably skilled with all types of Muggle technology -- but mostly for Mr. Qualls. He has a care/pity/appreciation for the man... er, ghost. He feels a genuine closeness to him after all their time spent together in the lab. And while Lionel likes the guy, Mr. Qualls definitely could use some help.
IDEAS?: Lionel spends a ton of time in the computer lab working on his own projects. When students interrupt to ask him for help. he first checks to see if they've gone to Mr. Qualls already. They have? Okay, fine. He'll stop what he's doing to help you. Actually, you know what? It might just be faster if he does it for you instead of teaching you how it's done. Boom, there's your website. Ta-da, you photocopied your butt. Great, now he can go back to his project. And for the love of God, please nobody pull the plug on his computer or shred his notes.
However, he does set aside time specifically for teaching. He thinks Muggle tech has the capability to revolutionize and upend traditional wizardry, so he wants to really encourage those who are passionate about the field to dream big. I can see him running a tech incubator of sorts, where students pitch their ideas to him, he picks the most promising, and then he helps get their "start-up" off the ground.
Journal posts, pcal slots, IC/OOCs, all that jazz too, I promise.