Ada Bentley

[Pippi]

Name: Ada Marie Bentley
Gender: Female
Age: 18
Grade: 12
School: John Endecott Memorial Academy
Hobbies and Interests: Sketching, wine culture, coffee, stand-up comedy and panel shows, board games

Appearance: Ada is an African-American girl of average height, standing at 5’5” the last time she checked. She has a relatively sedentary life, avoiding physical exertion wherever possible, causing her to be notably overweight in comparison to many of her classmates, weighing in at 175lbs. This excess weight is primarily located in Ada’s stomach and hips, giving her a pear-shaped body shape. She makes a concerted effort to keep herself looking good, however, by wearing clothes that flatter her body and maintaining good posture at all times. She uses moisturiser and other products to keep her dark brown skin clear and free of blemishes, cuts and paints her nails to keep them even and neat, and follows a strict schedule of washing her hair to keep it in perfect condition; her appearance is easily the thing in life that Ada puts the most effort into.

Ada has a rounded face, with features that no-one would describe as unattractive but that don’t exactly stand out either. She has a broad nose that is slightly smaller than average, light brown eyes with prominent eyelashes, and fairly thin eyebrows, which Ada keeps that way by diligently plucking them. Her hair is black and wavy, with side swept bangs; she keeps it long, reaching down to her waist, as she likes how it looks and she does not play any sports that would require it to be tied up or kept short. Ada is short sighted, and so wears a pair of rectangular glasses with bright red frames to correct her vision. Both of her ears are pierced, and she has simple brass coloured stud earrings in them, although these are generally difficult to see through her hair.

Ada dresses simply the majority of the time, but she still stands out somewhat because of her penchant for bright colours. She prefers cold weather to hot, as she is more comfortable wearing clothes such as jackets, sweaters, cardigans and long skirts with tights. In hotter weather, she will switch to a mixture of simple but brightly coloured t-shirts and tank tops, along with shorts or knee length skirts. Ada also wears a couple of simple pieces of jewelry on most days. These consist of a simple woven bracelet with a small aquamarine, her birthstone, in the center, and a necklace made up of green jade shaped to resemble a magatama strung through a length of black cord.

On the day of the abduction, Ada was wearing a thick and warm long-sleeved sweater, which was a cherry red colour. She wore a simple bright purple t-shirt underneath, and completed her outfit with a dark blue ankle length skirt, black floral-patterned tights, and a pair of black flats. She also wore her glasses, her earrings, her bracelet and her magatama necklace on the trip.

Biography: Ada, named after Ada Lovelace, is the only child of Douglas Bentley and Rose Bennett-Bentley, and has lived her entire life in Salem. Rose currently works as a bank teller, while Douglas is a mathematician who specialises in algebraic and geometric mathematics. He has written a handful of books aimed towards young teens on these subjects, and currently teaches maths at Boston College. Ada has no siblings and no pets, although Douglas has a pet tarantula named Fermat which he keeps in his study.

From a young age, Ada looked up to and admired her father greatly. He was a jovial, easygoing and well-liked man, who exuded an aura of calm, and delighted in nothing more than making his wife and daughter happy. Ada thought that his job as a mathematician was incredibly cool, and one of her favourite things to do as a child was to ask him to add up incredibly high numbers to see how fast he could do so. Although she was unable to properly read his books, as they were geared towards a higher reading bracket, she also admired him for being a published author, especially because they were illustrated - she grew up thinking that he had also drawn the pictures for his books, no matter how many times he told her otherwise. She told her parents multiple times that she wanted to be just like her father when she grew up, and follow in his footsteps as a mathematician.

Unfortunately, as Ada began her education, it became evident that this dream would be near-impossible to achieve. Her first couple of years at elementary school passed without much incident; she was below average in most of her subjects, but not notably so, and not to the extent her parents or teachers were concerned. Her teachers, in fact, noted that she was an exceptionally enthusiastic student, who was very polite and personable.

As she grew older and the subjects she was learning grew more complex, however, Ada’s struggles and her frustrations with what she was attempting to learn only became more and more severe. Her work was dotted with misspellings, even for relatively simple words, and she would frequently stumble over herself when reading out loud. Most notably, however, was her issues when it came to maths. She had serious issues with the subject, able to comprehend the concepts behind what she was being taught, but being completely unable to utilise them in class. She understood how things such as addition and subtraction were intended to function, for example, but when she attempted to actually add two numbers together she would more often than not get the wrong answer. She was also frequently either late or early to things without her parents’ guidance, on one notable occasion arriving at the hairdresser’s a full hour before her scheduled appointment.

Ada was diagnosed with dyscalculia and dyslexia when she was 9, after her frustration at school reached its peak, and resulted in her breaking down and sobbing during dinner. Although it was some measure of comfort to know exactly why she was struggling so much, the diagnosis also proved to be fatal for her enthusiasm at school and for her lofty ambitions. She couldn’t see a way in which she would be able to become a mathematician now, as even with her Individualized Education Plan (IEP), she still struggled to make much progress during classes. She started putting less and less effort into her schoolwork, even in subjects that did not require the use of maths or a firm grasp of the English language, such as art; she had grown up believing that STEM subjects were the only way she would be able to live a successful, happy life, due to her fixation on her father’s career.

Alongside her disillusionment in her academic prospects, Ada also began to drift away from her friends and classmates, as her attitude soured and she became more bitter and cynical, with many former friends saying that she was now almost impossible to talk to in a civil manner. She would instinctively respond to most queries and innocent questions with biting sarcasm, and struggled to filter herself, which would inevitably deter most of her classmates from talking to her further. It was rarely done maliciously, and was more so a defense mechanism, taking her bitterness at her school subjects and projecting it outwards, but she was soon left with very few people at school who would willingly talk to her.

Ada spent much of her time at school, both during classes and at lunch and other break periods, doodling in her textbooks and on scrap paper she carried around in her bag. She initially started off by drawing rough sketches of characters from films and TV shows, but she was dissatisfied with the results of these attempts, and almost all of them ended up in the recycling bin. She was on the verge of quitting entirely, until one day, on a whim, she decided to sketch the view from the classroom window during English class. The results were a marked improvement, and Ada felt much happier and more in control of her work, drawing the buildings and trees that she could see in front of her. She began to take her sketching much more seriously, now that she had found something she was actually talented at, and while she still drew during lulls in class and during break, she now spent a lot of her free time at home doing so as well, purchasing sketchbooks and following tutorials and guides online to further assist in her hobby.

Outside of drawing, Ada spent most of her spare time watching TV or browsing the internet, as she had no real drive to pursue other hobbies, and her circle of friends had drastically dwindled. Much of what she watched was merely whatever was playing on the first channel she flicked to, and she mostly just watched it for the sake of watching it. The majority of TV series plotlines failed to engage her in any way, and she particularly found most scripted comedy series to be incredibly dull and unfunny. However, what did grab her interest, and what she did actually find humorous, was stand-up comedy. Her main issue with the comedy series that she watched was with the dialogue, as she found it incredibly stilted, forced, and unnatural, something that did not occur in the anecdote-based stand-up comedy routines she enjoyed the most. She also found the occasion and spectacle of a comedian performing on stage much more engaging, and, although she knew that each set was practiced to perfection beforehand, she also enjoyed the way in which it was presented as being much more freeform. On a similar vein, Ada also found a deep appreciation for unscripted panel shows and game shows, particularly ones from the UK such as Taskmaster and Would I Lie To You?, as she found the off-the-cuff humour and quick witted nature of these shows very funny and entertaining. Her favourite comedians include James Acaster and Romesh Ranganathan, as their aloof, dry, often disgruntled style of humour meshes very well with her own.

With stress and disillusionment with her future building up, as she continued to struggle at school, Ada looked for some way to try and combat this. Attempts at yoga and meditation proved more boring and frustrating than anything else, and she hated the smell of cigarettes and weed. The solution came in the form of alcohol, specifically wine. Her parents had allowed her to try a small glass of Chardonnay at a dinner party they had been hosting when she was 16, and she found she quite enjoyed the taste. Rose and Douglas were both huge wine aficionados, and so they were happy for Ada to continue drinking with them on weekend nights and special occasions, although they were cautious to make sure she only drank in moderation. However, Ada has now started to frequently sneak glasses of wine when her parents aren't around, such as when they're out on a grocery run or when they have gone to bed. As well as enjoying the taste, Ada’s low tolerance for alcohol means she gets drunk quickly, which in turn makes her a lot more relaxed and at ease with her surroundings, during periods of particularly high stress. This has backfired on a few occasions, however, and has caused her to wake up with a particularly vicious hangover the next day. This has twice happened on a school night, but she has managed to explain away her cranky demeanour and headache as a mere sleepless night on those occasions.

Ada also has a great affinity for and interest in another kind of beverage, that being coffee. She has been drinking coffee daily for the past three years, and has at least two large cups every morning as a means to help wake herself up, and as a vain attempt to try and give herself some more energy and enthusiasm. While she initially started drinking coffee for these reasons, willing herself to do so despite hating the taste at first, she has since come to enjoy it a lot, especially after beginning to tinker with the amount of milk, cream and sugar used, the type of coffee beans used, and the preparation method utilised. She also enjoys visiting as many coffee shops as she can to try out different flavours and styles of coffee, and to compare how they stack up to each other; as such, she is something of a regular among coffee houses along Essex Street and in Washington Square.

Ada’s relationship with her parents is unfortunately somewhat strained, especially with her father, due to his job and how closely she associates the subject of mathematics with him. She knows it is unfair, as he isn’t to blame for her disability, and she still dearly loves him due to the support and care he has given her, but she cannot shake the association and close connection between him and the topic he studies. On Douglas’ part, he understands exactly why Ada feels so conflicted towards him, and strives to give her both space and time to herself when she needs it, and to spend time with her and ensure the small rift between them does not grow any wider. The strain between Ada and her mother, meanwhile, stems from the fact that Ada's near-hero worship of Douglas has left Rose feeling a little distant from her daughter by comparison, something that is not helped by her semi-frequently working night or weekend shifts at her job. Ada has noticed the rift that has developed between herself and Rose, and although she doesn't fully understand the reason behind it, she loves her mother dearly, and so has been trying to fix it by engaging more with her and asking whether she wants to watch panel shows and stand-up recordings with her.

Douglas has attempted to engage with Ada via going out on trips with her, watching movies, and playing board games together, the latter of which has particularly grabbed her attention. She was familiar with games such as Snakes & Ladders and Monopoly, which provided little interest to her as she found them incredibly dull. However, her father introduced her to several board games that he particularly enjoyed, including Ticket to Ride and Settlers of Catan, which, while simple to pick up and start learning, provided much more depth in regards to gameplay and proved incredibly interesting and enjoyable for Ada. She was fascinated by the various strategies required to excel at each board game, as well as the huge variety in themes and core gameplay loops present in the world of video games, and she also loves the social aspect that comes as part of them, whether that be playing them with her family or with her friends, the latter of whom will state that the only time they see a genuine smile on Ada’s face is either when she’s playing board games, or asking them to play a new one she’s purchased.

On the subject of Ada’s friends, her social circle remains notably small in comparison to her peers. She still struggles to filter herself, leading to many a poor first impression with people when she ends up saying something aloof or unnecessarily biting, and as such she comes across as sarcastic, flippant, and rude to the majority of her classmates. While she is receptive to people who will tell her face-to-face that her words have upset them, and she will do her best to avoid similar incidents with those people, there are just as many people who will simply try and avoid her after a poor experience with her. She also reacts very poorly to people who try and call her out in public, finding it rude and unnecessary, and will become very defensive and retaliate in these situations.

The majority of people that Ada spends time with and hangs out with are a small group of her peers who have bonded over disaster preparation and avoidance, focused particularly around Survival of the Fittest. Although she had no actual interest in preparing herself for disaster scenarios, and in fact found the group’s aims overdramatic and overblown, she still felt a sense of kinship with them, as they were by and large social misfits and outcasts like herself. As such, much of her time when she joins in with group meetings is spent socialising or playing games with the others, rather than participating in any discussions related to safety.

Unfortunately, Ada has recently started to have some serious worries about the group, most of which stem from the fact that she is actually a very lonely person who is desperate to keep the few friends she has. Due to this desperation, she has become increasingly more paranoid that her friends are secretly laughing at her or talking about her behind her back, a feeling that is only exacerbated whenever she misses a meeting or catches her friends having a private conversation. She is also worried that because she so openly has no true interest in disaster preparation, her position within the group is a lot less stable than it may appear. She has been attempting to double down on her enthusiasm and participation within the group, and trying her hardest to avoid her usual snark and flippancy around her closest friends, but these worries still trouble her greatly.

School is an overall sore point for Ada, and she does poorly in most of her classes, just about scraping by in the majority of them. While her dyscalculia and dyslexia are major factors in her struggles, she also has a serious lack of drive and desire to excel in any of her classes, as she has little interest in them or in any prospects that may come out of them. She does very well overall in her art classes, but she is very reluctant to do any of her homework for this subject, which prevents her grades from rising higher than Cs or Bs. She does attempt to do her very best in her maths classes, as some part of her still refuses to give up her mathematician dream, but she finds it incredibly difficult even with her IEP, and she will often turn in half-finished homework, abandoned in a fit of frustration.

Ada has absolutely no idea what she is going to do after graduating from John Endecott Academy. She has completely disregarded her artistic talents and her interest in coffee brewing as avenues for her future, as she still has the mindset that only STEM subjects would lead her to a prosperous and successful career and life. While she deeply enjoys both of these hobbies, she also believes that if she attempted to pursue either of them as a full-time career, then they would both stop being so enjoyable and that she would eventually grow tired of them, something she is very scared of happening. She has half-heartedly considered working at a local coffee shop to save up money in order to go travelling, but she is not fully committed to the idea, and is in all honesty very lost, and without a clue about what her future holds for her.

Advantages: Ada has a close circle of friends in the disaster preparation group who she trusts, and would likely be able to rely on them as allies on the island. Her lonely nature, and her desire not to lose the friends and allies that she has, may make her more likely to work well within a group and stick close to them, in order to show that she is trustworthy and reliable. She also has an affinity for cold weather, which could alleviate some of the discomfort and stress from the weather conditions on the island.
Disadvantages: Ada is unfit and out of shape, with a sedentary lifestyle that contains practically no exercise, which will make the physical aspects of the island very difficult for her. She is unpopular among the majority of the student body, due to her bitter attitude and tendency towards sarcastic, cutting remarks. She will likely have very few allies outside of her close circle of friends, and is liable to upset people on the island if she makes an inappropriate remark at a particularly poor time. Ada has very little drive in life, with almost no desire to pursue anything other than her comforts or hobbies; if she gets too badly stressed, this may also translate onto the island as well, and result in her losing heart and giving up on plans or ideas more easily. Her main tool that she uses to calm herself while stressed, wine, will not be available unless she gets a particularly fortunate weapon draw. Finally, Ada’s paranoia in regards to her standing within her friendship group may be exacerbated by the stresses of the island, and may result in her lashing out or running away from people who genuinely have her back.

[MK Kilmarnock]

Hello Peepeepoopoo Pipperoni Peepon Grey Poupon Pippi, it's me. You know me. You better fucking know who I am or I will be upset. I am reviewing Ada. Ada is good! Like... 98% good. Just a few things to address here.

Nitpick: Ada would probably do better with an IEP (Individualized Education Plan) than an ILP. If you're wondering what the difference is, an IEP is generally geared towards students with mild-to-moderate or moderate-to-severe special needs, which fits dyslexia and dyscalculia to a tee. ILPs are more for students learning English. There is some overlap and sometimes the terms are used interchangeably, but there is a difference.

In the paragraph where you mention Ada has a strained relationship with her parents, you go on to fully explain why this is so with her father, but neglect to mention anything about her mom?

Okay, the big one: I raised an eyebrow at seeing 'wine culture' in Ada's hobbies, so I read through to find out how she gets the wine. Okay, so a friend buys the alcohol for her with a fake ID... and that friend's name is Callie Zhou. Okay, so the big problem here is if Callie is doing something like that, it absolutely, 100% needs to be mentioned in her profile as it is an illegal activity that carries great risk with a possibility for steep consequences. Coincidentally, I am also the staffer that approved Callie, and I know for sure there's nothing like that in her profile. Personally, I don't think wine really adds anything to the profile so it can be removed entirely without affecting much, but if you want to keep it you need to find another way to have that stash of wine under her bed.

On a lighter note, why has Ada disregarded sketching as a possible avenue for her life? Same question for brewing coffee. Each of the paragraphs dedicated to their respective interests ends on a high note and of growing and/or continued interest only for the end of the profile to say both are completely disregarded for her future. Why?

Ada sadly has very few advantages compared to the rest of her classmates. > Remove this line. You go on to mention two advantages which aren't actually fewer than some of her classmates have. You could also include her affinity for the cold as an advantage? Just a thought.

Let me know when you've made those changes and I'll give Ada another look.

[Pippi]

Hello! You're... Riccardo, right? Everyone knows Riccardo, from survival of the fittest dot com!

I've gone and made the changes requested for Ada, those being:
- Changed the ILP to an IEP
- Added more information on why Ada's relationship with her mother is strained (disconnect due to Rose's work and Ada's idolisation of her dad)
- Changed up Ada's wine drinking habits, so it's now a combination of under her parent's supervision during the weekend/special occasions... and her yoinking glasses from their wine rack when they're not paying attention
- Elaborated on Ada disregarding her sketching and coffee brewing hobbies as future career options (not wishing to work on things she enjoys on a full-time basis due to the potential for burnout)
- Edited the Advantages section, and added a mention of her affinity for cold weather

And that should be that hopefully!

[MK Kilmarnock]

And that's all I needed.

APPROVED