vitale | (no subject)

Name: Bridgette McGowan - "Birdy" to her closest friends.
Age: 33
Birthday: November 27 - ♏︎
Magic: A life witch - someone specialized in growing things, rejuvenation, resurrection, etc. Has a degree in those studies from Witch U, and a flourishing set of grounds under her care.

---

Bio:

The McGowans are a matriarchal line through and through - it's not that the women think the men any lesser, for they are adored just as much in this tight knit family structure, but with magic at their fingertips and a world that half the time would have ridiculed them until they made their foothold in the older days, the power concentrated in the women of the family, and though the name of the clan changed through the years, the same principles held. Thus, a McGowan woman is expected to be a cornerstone and a force in her own right, though all answer to the family head. An heiress to that position? Well, she must be groomed, raised to be sturdy, and molded into the perfect one to slot into place and bring the family into the newest era.

Bridgette had the slightly questionable fortune of being designated heiress as her mother's only child and generally found to be an agreeable girl all the way through. The more traditional members of the family placed higher emphasis that she learn all the feminine arts of the world - how to make a home, but also how to use her looks, voice, and all else to get by in the day to day world. As modern as the world could be, some habits were just too tightly wound into a family's DNA to shed so easily. Wanting to please them, Bridgette internalized some of these restrictions, though it would be always something she questioned, especially as she grew her social circle through school and life to encompass people who espoused a lot more freedom than she had. Though she was still expected to grow into her role, even the most traditional relatives wouldn't have barred her from going and living her life.

By the time she moved onto university, it was no question what she would study - for she had discovered her own life magic years earlier. Still, raw talent is only as good as practice makes it, and Bridgette was eager to really get started - and to breathe away from the prying eyes. Though her degree would require a lot of work and sacrificed mornings, she found peace in caring for the plants in the greenhouse, flourishing under decent care and carefully applied magic, taking comfort in having time to herself. College meant that as long as her grades stayed up, she didn't have to be perfect, or smile for absolutely everyone, or stay awake after getting up early to try and coax her new seeds into sprouting. She could simply be, and it made Bridgette happier than she had been before.

When Zenaide Haywood kept showing up after the herbs she needed for her own potion studies, Bridgette found that Zee's presence was also part of that happiness. The mornings shared with her began to be a highlight of Bridgette's days, and without giving a damn as to what her family would think, when Zee asked her out, Bridgette - who Zee nicknamed "Birdy" - accepted with a smile. She had known about her own attraction to women for years, but anything had always been furtive, a few questioning and awkward relationships that had suffered for their silence. With Zee, she felt more herself than she ever had, and Bridgette found her head nodding when Zee talked about the future. Living together, she was even more certain that somehow, things would work out between them, that this time it would be different. Then a proposal, and Birdy was over the moon - the two of them really could build their life together, to get married after graduating, to have a house filled with love and laughter and cats where the flowers would bloom regardless of the seasons.

The one little hitch, of course, would be winning over Mother, and obtaining the blessing of the McGowans. Heiress or not, she knew her mother would not be pleased with something so kept from her. When Bridgette came to break the news, she knew there would be a storm on the horizon. How much of a storm surprised even her, though, with the old woman raising objections to every aspect of it in a tyrannical rage. Zenaide's lineage as a Haywood was unacceptable, the relationship had gone on far too long in private, a marriage between them unthinkable in Mother's mind. Clearly, Zee had been a corrupting influence to her daughter, and with that viciousness on her tongue, the old witch cursed Zenaide in such a way that befit her terrible, seductive ways. The woman would have to be the ideal homemaker each day, or turn into the monster that Birdy's mother saw her as.

Before Birdy could move to try and dispel her mother's work, she was spirited away to be kept in the ancestral home - so that her mind could clear, according to her mother, and a suitable match found for her instead. This would mark the beginning of conflict in the family that hasn't yet been healed - a power struggle between the head and successor, the likes of which were only to be expected. Though Bridgette would not be a prisoner in the home, she would be kept under such watch that she would feel that was essentially the case.

Currently, Birdy bides her time, refining her magic and working on gaining influence through the family to assert herself - pity and power comes easily from those who are more modern in thinking, and she's nearly convinced her great grandmother to look upon her in favor which would go a long way towards swaying other members. Any suitor her mother brings is quickly sent packing by trickery, arts, or honest explanation - despite trying to emphasize to her mother that she was a lesbian, Mother McGowan remains convinced it simply is a phase. No matter how much she loves her family, Bridgette would be the first to say that they don't understand what's best for her. Her dreams are twofold - to take her place as the head of the family and thus attain her true freedom and independence that way, and to find Zenaide again. If nothing else, she wishes to lift her mother's curse, so that Zee might live her own life again, the same way she was doing when they met.

The future won't be easy to grasp, but well. A McGowan woman will not be cowed by a little hard work.

---

Key words: enduring, stubborn, helpful, family, love, intense, honest, confident, steadfast, measured, internal.