name: Celeste Zhao
faceclaim: Natasha Liu Bordizzo
gender & pronouns: Female // She/Her
species: Witch
age: 49 (looks mid 20′s)
occupation: Daycare Teacher at Washington Elementary
biography:
From the moment she was born, Celeste’s life had barely been her own and she’d had greatness thrust upon her. She was a legacy. She was born just as Sleepy Hollow’s sanctuary was formed, and her mother, Althea Zhao, is arguably one of the most notable (and powerful) witches alive today. After all, Althea not only had a hand in taking down the leader of the Nexus coven, but she was behind the idea of creating the forcefield that protected Sleepy Hollow and kept hundreds alive and thriving. She was loved and respected by even non-witches, and given that even her mother, Celeste’s grandmother, had been a High Priestess as well, it was practically a given that Celeste would follow in their footsteps.
Except that’s not what she wanted. At all.
Celeste didn’t want all that power and responsibility--and more over, she never really thought of herself as being all that great at witchcraft. Sure she did all her training and went through all the courses a young witch would to grow into their powers, but there was always something a bit...awry within her magic. Something not quite stable and perfect, like her mother’s. And whenever it was pointed out to her, it just made Cel feel like even more of a failure, like she was letting her family and her legacy down. That’s not to say she was bad at being a witch, or even that she didn’t like it- because that definitely wasn’t the case. Cel loves being a witch, loves reading spell books and learning to brew new potions. She feels closest to her craft at night as well, excelling in celestial learnings and magic. She can be found on her own on every full and new moon, doing her rituals and recharging her crystals and drinking a monthly potion to keep her appearance young.
But where she wasn’t quite up to par with her magic, she excelled in her favorite thing in the world: art. Celeste loved art of all kind and more often than not can be found with a sketchbook in hand or paint stains on her clothes. Her dreams were one day not to be the next leader of a great coven, but just to be an artist and to be appreciated and renown for something she did on her own and not just for her lineage.
But despite feeling like she’s always been in her mother’s shadow, Celeste genuinely loves her mother. Her father died (time here) so her whole life has only been them two, with Althea being the only parent Celeste has ever known. The two have an incredibly close bond...so much so that Celeste feels guilty for how inferior she feels to her mother, and would never let her know how she feels about it all, lest she breaks her mother’s heart. So since she doesn’t think her art will ever amount to much, and she definitely isn’t suitable to be the next Priestess, Celeste has made the best of her mediocre life by trying to help the next generation of children come into their own by becoming a daycare teacher, something that fulfills her almost as much as her art.
extras:
began doodling as a child and it all spun out from there
studies constellations and zodiacs
uses moon water in most things
definitely a night owl, usually up into the early morning hours
appearance: long dark hair almost always picked up, physically looks in her mid-20′s
aesthetics: hidden napkin doodles, worn-in converse, moonlight reflected on the water, sleepless nights lit by candlelight, red wine splatters on hardwood, crystals hidden in pockets
@sleeplessaesthetics
