〈 PLAYER INFO 〉
NAME: Bex
AGE: 35
JOURNAL: runninginheels
IM / EMAIL: detective #4591 on Discord
PLURK: bexxen
RETURNING: n/a

〈 CHARACTER INFO 〉
CHARACTER NAME: Zelda Phiona Spellman
CHARACTER AGE: 566
SERIES: The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
CHRONOLOGY: The end of Part One
CLASS: She'll probably register right away because it has the best perks
HOUSING: Somewhere obnoxiously cheerful with roommates, please

BACKGROUND: Hailing from a world where witches exist in secret, Zelda resides in a town called Greendale with what is seemingly left of the Spellman family - her sister Hilda, her nephew Ambrose, and her niece, Sabrina. Greendale is a strange little town with a huge witch population and serves as the home base for the Church of Night, the coven that the Spellmans belong to.

On a witch or warlock's sixteenth birthday they are expected to sign their name in the Book of the Beast and pledge their fealty to Satan. Zelda did so, over half a millennia ago, as all her family has done. Since then, she has lived a relatively quiet life in service to the Dark Lord, making her living as a well-respected midwife and a co-owner of the Spellman Sisters Mortuary in Greendale. Sixteen years ago, her brother Edward and his wife Diana were killed in a tragic accident leaving their daughter, Sabrina, a half-witch and half-mortal, orphaned. Zelda and Hilda took Sabrina in and raised her.

They also took in Ambrose, who tried to blow up the Vatican and was put under house arrest. While Zelda is embarrassed by Ambrose, she adores Sabrina and has a complex relationship with Hilda. Zelda has a terrible habit of killing Hilda when she annoys her and burying her in the Cain Pit in the yard which eventually resuscitates her. Although their relationship is often antagonistic, Zelda and Hilda rely on each other and even sleep in the same room, like the spinsters that they are.

It is Sabrina's sixteenth birthday that changes everything. Headstrong and raised among mortals, Sabrina refused to sign her name in the Book of the Beast and caused a cascade effect that rocked the foundation of the Spellman family and Greendale itself. Sabrina is put on trial for breach of promise by Satan and Hilda and Zelda's powers are temporarily stripped from them, making them mortal and aging them quickly. After it's discovered that Hilda helped Diana baptize Sabrina while Zelda helped Edward promise Sabrina to the Dark Lord when she was only a few days old, Hilda is excommunicated but their powers are restored. Sabrina is allowed to continue to live both in the mortal and witch worlds for the time being.

Since Zelda is continually desperate to regain her footing in the church and ease Sabrina down the Path of Night, she puts up with Sabrina's mortal life (and teenage melodramatics) as best she can. When Sabrina spends her first weekend at the Academy of Unseen Arts, the sisters find out that she's being "harrowed" (hazed) by some of the other students. It turns out that Zelda harrowed Hilda during her time at the Academy, revealing more of their complex and antagonistic relationship (and that the antagonism comes mostly from Zelda). When Sabrina discovers that children are actually dying during the Harrowing, Zelda and Hilda head down to the school to rip the High Priest of the Church of Night, Father Blackwood, a new one before helping Sabrina (and the ghosts) turn the tables on the bullies.

Sabrina, trying to be her extra self, ends up accidentally unleashing a sleep demon on the Spellman household that causes them to fall asleep and have dreams that dissolve into nightmares. Zelda's begins as her having the chance to personally entertain the Dark Lord, going as far as to make him a delicious meal made of a poor warlock kid. When Dream Hilda shows her up, though, Zelda kills her in a fit of rage only to discover that Hilda is now dead for good, and she faces the realization that she will have to live her life without her, now with the understanding of how important Hilda really is to her. Eventually, they are able to escape the sleep demon, but the effects of the dream seem to temper Zelda's antagonism towards her sister.

From there, things seem to begin to spiral out of control for the Spellmans. Sabrina finds out one of her mortal friends has a family member who is possessed and decides to perform an exorcism, something forbidden for witches to do. Hilda and one of Sabrina's teachers, Ms. Wardwell (who also happens to be Lilith in disguise) decide to help her but, at first, Zelda refuses, unwilling to turn her back on her rigid rules. However, she is worried that Sabrina will be killed and, when urged by Ambrose, Zelda rushes to help and the exorcism is successful.

When Thanksgiving rolls around, Zelda, Hilda, and Ambrose fill Sabrina in on a gruesome witch tradition: the Feast of Feasts, an annual sacrifice that involves ritual cannibalism, in honor of a witch who killed herself to save her coven from starvation. The Spellmans are put into the lottery and Zelda intends to represent them, as she has every time before, although she is disappointed that the Dark Lord has never chosen her for sacrifice. Sabrina is disgusted by it all, though, and she undercuts Zelda and puts herself in the lottery. Zelda is horrified and while Sabrina isn't chosen, the events that follow open her eyes to how cruel the ritual really is. When Sabrina asks Zelda what would have happened if she had been chosen, if Zelda would have let her be sacrificed, Zelda admits she would never allow it - even if it was the Dark Lord's will.

For a time Zelda is distracted by a torrid affair with Father Blackwood, whose wife is pregnant with twins, and filling in as the interim Directrix of the Satanic Choir at the Academy. However, Sabrina is up to her antics again and brings her mortal boyfriend's brother back from the dead after he dies in an accident, and does so by sacrificing and then resurrecting another witch. The spell backfires, and when Zelda finds out what Sabrina did she loses her temper with her niece completely. Sabrina is intent on finding a way to keep Tommy alive and when Zelda tells her no, Sabrina pulls the "you're not my REAL mom" card, which visibly breaks Zelda's heart. Zelda sends Sabrina away, telling her not to come crying back to her when it all goes wrong, and then absconds to her room to whip herself. When Hilda finds her, Zelda admits that they should have never taken Sabrina in. After everything goes wrong, as predicted, Sabrina returns and collapses in tears and Zelda, unable to turn her back on Sabrina no matter what she's done, takes her in her arms and comforts her.

With everything finally coming to a head, Ms. Wardwell unleashes the ghosts of the Greendale Thirteen. They were killed during the witch hunts and the rest of the coven left them to die in order to save themselves, and their ghosts are now out for revenge. While the rest of the coven does what they do best (look out for themselves), Sabrina goes to her family to entreat them to help protect the mortals of Greendale. It turns out they don't need convincing, though - even Zelda declares that witches caused this problem, and they wouldn't let the innocent people of Greendale be killed for their mistakes. After using a spell to create a tornado, the Spellmans get nearly everyone in Greendale to hide in Baxter High and work together to create a barrier spell to protect it. However, they keep getting pulled away - Ambrose's boyfriend teleports him back to the school, and then Zelda is teleported there because Father Blackwood's wife has gone into labor. Sabrina goes to find Ms Wardwell and then Hilda is left to her own devices in fighting everything off. Sabrina ends up signing the Book of the Beast to save the town, which Zelda learns about later.

Father Blackwood's wife dies in childbirth, and Zelda tells him that, although she had been pregnant with twins, the stronger baby consumed the other in the womb and he now only has one son. However, when Hilda returns home, Zelda surprises her with something "impulsive" she has done - the firstborn twin was actually a girl and Zelda, worried about what the misogynist Blackwood would do, spirited the baby away and wants her and Hilda to raise it themselves. Hilda responds by saying that she thinks it's time that she has her own bedroom.

PERSONALITY:

Of the two Spellman sisters, Zelda is the sterner and can often come across as cold. In a lot of ways, she fulfills the stereotypical "paternal" role - she is the head of the household, the disciplinarian that does her best to keep the family in line. She is very concerned with appearances and spends a lot of time worried about how the Spellmans are viewed by the rest of the coven, and she goes to great lengths to try and counterbalance the embarrassment that she feels Hilda, Ambrose, and Sabrina often bring to the family name.

However, Zelda's emotions and motives are proved to be far more complex than what they appear. Although on the outside, Zelda is an elegant and aloof woman, she often experiences a lot of inner turmoil. She carries any shame of the family name strictly on her shoulders and views herself as responsible for the outcomes of the choices her family makes. The more her family strays from the Path of Night, the more Zelda visibly suffers for it, going so far as to literally self-flagellate when she hits rock bottom dealing with Sabrina. To those around her, it is clear that nothing is more important to Zelda than being a witch and fulfilling her role as a follower of the Dark Lord. She is devout and often clinical in the ways she navigates her faith, following rules to the letter and lashing out when those around her break them.

All devout witches put nothing before the Dark Lord, and that is where Zelda's weakness lies - or, perhaps, her strength. Zelda loves her family more than she loves the Dark Lord. It is a constant, internal struggle for her, and while she is well aware of it, it is not always clear to others. On more than one occasion she has had to choose between her devotion and her family, and she always chooses her family. Sabrina's safety is paramount to her, and while she can be strict and often too hard with her, Zelda would stop at nothing to protect Sabrina, even if it means going up against the Dark Lord himself.

Much like Sabrina has learned to walk a fine line between the mortal and witch worlds, Zelda has become an expert at balancing her affection of her family with her role in the coven. She's learned to be incredibly duplicitous, and she is a master manipulator in getting what she wants. Zelda knows the best way to keep her family in the good graces of the coven is to rise to power herself, and she does this by appealing to the higher powers and even becoming the High Priest's mistress (and, later, wife). Even her moments of vulnerability are calculated, and it is uncommon that anyone--even Hilda, Sabrina, and Ambrose--have any full awareness of who she actually is or what she is truly thinking.

Although Zelda can be cold and off-putting, she possesses a deep ability for love and affection. She is a renowned midwife and loves babies. She starts every morning with a cigarette and reads newspapers in multiple languages. Her familiar, a dog named Vinegar Tom, died a number of years ago and she still moves him around the house and talks about him as if he's still alive. She loved her brother dearly and took in Sabrina because, as she says, Sabrina looked so much like Edward she couldn't bear to give her up. Zelda loves Sabrina no less than as if she were her own daughter, and while they are almost constantly at odds, she never truly backs down from that love. Much the same could be said for the rest of her family - while she is embarrassed by Ambrose and annoyed by Hilda, she always comes through with love and support when it's needed most. The stress that Sabrina's choices often put on the family has helped Zelda come to terms with how much they all mean to her, and how lost she would be without them.

While Zelda's seemingly cold personality and stringent rules can often cause conflict, she is, at heart, a huge softie who just wants what is best for her family. She has a strong sense of honor and will not be fooled or manipulated by others. She is also disturbingly self-aware of the darkness that envelops her faith; she is not at all blind to the subjugation of witches and the misogyny that runs rampant in the Church of Night, and she is well aware of the fact that the Dark Lord rules through fear and demands things of them that he shouldn't. However, Zelda knows that this is her path and walks it with confidence while striving to instill that same confidence and awareness in Sabrina. She will never forfeit her powers because she knows, even if they are a gift from the Dark Lord, they are still her powers and hers alone. And she will use them how she sees fit.

POWER:

SPELL CASTING:

ASTRAL PROJECTION: Zelda can project herself to other locations to appear and communicate with others. In astral form, she can speak and be seen but since she lacks corporal form, she cannot touch anything or be touched. However, astral projection comes with great risks for a witch - if overdone, psychopomps will ferry their souls into the afterlife. In MOM, if Zelda astral projects for too long, she will lose the connection between her soul and her body and will die.
ATMOSKENSIS: The ability to control the weather. This power requires the participation of other witches.
CONTAINMENT: This is the ability to contain beings, both mortal and otherwise, in one place. ( permissions )
DEMONIC EXORCISM: With the help of other witches, Zelda is able to perform exorcisms. This is, however, forbidden for witches to do. ( permissions )
ENCHANTMENTS & HEXES: Zelda is able to perform a variety of spells that can both positively and negatively influence others. Through incantations and physical items such as poppets, she can control others and enhance capabilities. At MOM, this can only be done within reason and for short periods of time, and she does not have the capability to make any physiological changes or change or grant new powers. ( permissions )
GLAMOUR: Witches are capable of casting illusions that can disguise them as other people or beings.
TELEPORTATION: The ability to instantaneous travel from one location to another. Zelda can teleport herself and others if she is in physical contact with them.
WARDING: Zelda is able to place protection spells on both people and places, either with incantations or magical barriers. The more witches involved, the stronger the protection.

WITCHCRAFT

MEDIUMSHIP: The ability to speak with the spirits of the dead.
LONGEVITY: Like all witches, Zelda ages significantly slower than mortals. At over half a millennia-old, she appears to be around 50. This does not make her immortal, however; despite their long lives, witches can be wounded and killed through traditional means.
TELEKINESIS: Zelda is able to move objects with her mind or hold people into place. ( permissions )

FAMILIAR

VINEGAR TOM: Familiars are goblins who take the shape of an animal to help protect their witch masters and offer help with spells. Unlike Sabrina who called for a volunteer goblin, Zelda took the traditional route of choosing her familiar from a book upon her Dark Baptism at age 16. Vinegar Tom is a dog (presumably a beagle) and, according to Hilda, died on November 9th, 1989. Zelda had him taxidermied and he moves around with her and attends important events, such as her wedding. She doesn't seem to be aware of the fact he's actually dead. ( permissions )

〈 CHARACTER SAMPLES 〉
COMMUNITY POST (VOICE) SAMPLE:

[ When the feed switches on, the network will be graced with the visage of a classy, red-headed witch in a vintage dark dress, an oversized black hat, and dark sunglasses. She is holding an old-fashioned ring-style cigarette holder with a half-smoked cigarette in it. ]

Since our courteous hosts have felt the need to bestow on us the most appalling choices in employment ever thought possible, I want to seek out other options immediately. I assure you, I have quite an impressive resume and while I am not above instituting my own enterprise as I have in the past, I must find more suitable employment post-haste.

[ She flicks the ash off her cigarette, directly into the camera. ]

I speak a multitude of languages. I have powers although, that's not unique here. Unfortunately. I'm an excellent midwife, and, as I'm extremely well-versed in the Satanic Bible, I would be the perfect choice in governess to guide your young ones on their path to the Dark Lord. And I adore babies, they are just so... delicious.

[ She doesn't mean it like that. But it sure comes out that way. ]

LOGS POST (PROSE) SAMPLE: Prose sample at the TDM

FINAL NOTES: As implied, Zelda will arrive at MOM with Vinegar Tom. He's useless and not really that cute, but she loves him.