CHARACTER INFORMATIONCharacter name:Robert Daphne Thoreau Oliveroot
Previous and/or Current Character(s) if applicable: Charles Kedding, Rooster, Noel Delaney, Ciel Koell, Sterling Winbolt, Madison Litchfield.
Character age:24
Character education:Hogwarts 1929 – 1937, Gryffindor
Strength and weaknesses (details please):Robert would say his strength is in his ability to manipulate people and lie through his teeth, but truthfully he is strong for his ability to overcome trying situations. Even if he has no faith in himself, courage is what the Sorting Hat saw and what settled him in gold and red. Though he’d rather not admit it, Robert has a soft heart. While he tends to shut himself off from people, once someone has wormed their way into his heart, he has great trouble letting them go. His strength is in caring, though sometimes from the side and sometimes not exactly how you’d expect, he will protect them.
His weakness, however, it in protecting himself. Robert had been raised with a mentality that you take care of yourself, because no one would be there for you if you fall. He’s sheltered, in that sense, and struggles to place faith in other people. He’s unfortunately had a string of poor luck when it comes to trusting, as well, and it has only reinforced his skeptical nature.
The most outstanding weaknesses for Robert are his sensitivity and fear. He his constantly consumed by fear; a fear of being discovered, of being called out, of being seen for who he really is. Though in recent years he has been able to control his better, he still struggles with insecurity.
Physical description:The young man stands at a slight, below average, five foot and four inches. Though most of his frame is thin and gaunt, a round face and soft limbs make him look more feminine than he’s ever comfortable with. Thankfully, he has a family of beautiful women who often take the brunt of attention, so he’d happy to see in the sidelines while someone gushes over his cousins pretty faces.
Though the female brood of the Oliveroot family are often graced with beauty, Robert was by no means less graced. Good looks from both his parents have often made Robert a center of female attention, despite his always complaining about having too much of his mother natural beauty. His mother, a pureblood witch of wealthy and old origins, is very small and dainty. Wide almond eyes and the sweetest of features, graceful and thin hands with a petite yet full.
Robert inherited his mother’s small stature, her vivid green eyes, and fresh snow complexion. The ash brown locks, shorn back and styled with meticulous chaos, only occasionally brush his forehead. From his father he was given strong shoulders, a narrow back and high cheekbones.
However, when things go below his collar, Robert clams up. Though he’s managed to learn a spell or two to keep up appearances, the young man’s insecurity stems primarily from anatomy that doesn’t fit that of a typical man. His body is Robert's curse, and it holds a heavy burden for the young teen, one that he is in constant fear of someone discovering. He is happy pretending, putting on a mask that cannot be removed.
Personality (nice, rude, funny etc. Paragraph please.):Despite his body’s inability to choose a gender, Robert is a man. He does not feel the need to became brash and defensive as he did as a child, partly because there are few people that would question him.
There is nothing feminine about his attitude; he’s a gentleman to strangers and a stern Professor to those he’s taught. He enjoys putting forth an air of poise, showing others what they expect to see for a pureblood son. Occasionally, he will flirt when he’s talking with young women, usually when attending a pureblood event.
He’s very delicately constructed his personality to fit what other people expect from a young man, or what his father believes, is expected. The facade he puts on is a strong young man. While anger erupts sometimes, and a scowl often follows him, there is no doubt that he has a certain charm when he turns off the fake charm.
Along with the gentlemanly nature, there is a harshness that comes off when he is threatened. He feels the need to show that he can be strong, so has a bit of a reputation for letting harsh comment and snippy replies out. He's thrown a punch once or twice when he was younger, but has really grown to keep his anger under control. All of his emotions are carefully calculated.
Since he’s grown up being pulled in two different directions by his parents, he’s learned that the people he calls family don't care about him, they only care about what they, themselves, want. And so, he’s taken on the same attitude. As he’s gotten older he’s been able to develop his own say, but it’s a difficult process to break old ways. He has a hard time trusting, and people don’t seem the wiser. They only want the fake Robert, anyway. Why burst their bubble? It’s much easier to just put on a smile.
Beneath the shell of a person he shows the world, is a very insecure, shy and sensitive individual. If a comment is directed to demean or poke fun, he’ll act like it went in one ear and out the other, laugh it off, yet they still haunt his subconscious. Over the years, he's become a master of keeping it hidden. While he likes helping others with their problems, he’s made it seem like he has no problems of his own. He’s an ear to listen, a shoulder to cry on for most in his life. Only since meeting Lincoln, the only person he trusts, has he been able to show his true self.
He’s easily flustered, but that never shows except for maybe a light shade of red on his cheeks. When Robert isn’t in crowds, he feels more like himself, but even around his family he tries to hide his own self, afraid that if he was to show who he really is… that he’d be rejected and hated. And if there was one thing that Robert despises is being rejected… rejection is such a part of his life that he just can’t, and won’t, deal with it anymore. He’d rather be a fake person and be loved, than to be who he is and be hated.
Hopes and dreams. Why are you teaching at Hogwarts?:Robert has always had a fond heart for creatures. He feel a strange connection to them, and has taken in many strays and abandoned animals. To him, it was far easier to talk to his pets then a person.
He was able to work the Ministry and help the creatures that needed it most, and then had two wonderful years working at Hogwarts as the Professor of Care of Magical Creatures. He created deep bonds with some of his children, and was able to share his passion with others who seemed equally interested.
Yet, not all things can work out.
After an unfortunate bite, from a very unsuspectingly cute rabbit, Robert was placed on a probationary leave from the Ministry. Something about infecting other creatures, and needing to remain away from all potential risks. No matter what, Robert wishes to return to the castle he always felt most comfortable in.
He can’t claim to be an expert, but plants are just like green animals, right?
Biography (500 words minimum. There is never such a thing as too much.): Ingrid, is my baby a boy or a girl? That’s the question most mothers don’t even have to ask, for most births start with “Congratulations, it’s a boy!” And likewise for a bouncing baby girl. But when Robert was born, there was a silence aside from the healthy baby’s wailing. While the woman sank back with relief, looking over as her midwife, Ingrid Pinkerton, and her husband spoke in hushed voices, holding the crying infant. The woman instantly demanded her child, scolding her husband and asking what was wrong.
“The child… is not normal.”
Those words seem to haunt Robert wherever he goes, and he’s unable to escape, not fitting into any kind of norm. From when he could remember his parents always fought, and from even further back the arguments always started or ended about their only child. First, it started with a choice. His mother wanted a baby girl and his father wanted a boy, and in their arms they had both. Pick a gender. It can’t be both. It needed to be hidden.
As an adult, Robert musses the idea that his father wanted to disown him. He would have been better off thrown into pit and left to rot, than be forced to live in a world that expected normalcy.
No magic could fix how the body would mature and age, and it was something they could only live with, not change. They argued over it, not only thinking what would be good for their child, but for their status. Finally, his mother caved to a ruthless husband’s demands, and the baby was wrapped in a soft, blue towel.
As the boy grew, his father kept everything secret, the reason Robert has become so secretive in his own life into adulthood. He was always told to hush about the family, about what they did, about who he was, about what they wanted to see in the future. Robert showed feminine traits as a child, wanting a doll instead of a toy broom, though the mentality was forced out of him. He was to be a boy. And that, as his father said, was final
Despite a strict hand, all Robert longed for was his father’s approval. Nothing ever changed the man’s disposition; he was always hateful to the boy, never giving him an inkling of acceptance. There was no love in the Oliveroot home, you performed your duties, and you did not act out. Perfect was the demand, not just the expectation.
It didn't help matters when he started Hogwarts. He carried the Slytherin name; he was meant to be bathed green. Instead, had been placed into a house of goody-to-shoed idiots; mortified was a delicate word for how he felt. For the first year, he would snap at the Gryffindors and sat at the Slytherin's table to talk with people he had known since he was a baby. Despite starting to enjoy the gold and red he was surrounded by, he still was bitter against the Sorting Hat. But it couldn't change things; so he joined the Quidditch team and with his small size became a Seeker in his second year.
In Robert’s struggle to become the son his father wanted, he became someone he wasn’t. It started from a very young age, before he even realized what he wanted. Innocent play dates where he was the proud wife, a bouncing baby bunny in his arms. Befriending a boy at school, spending long nights talking and days laughing.
A kiss was all it took for Robert to realize what was in his heart.
Who he chooses to love has become a mar on Robert’s seemly perfect mask. He had planned to wed, he planned to take a wife and have children and continue his name.
He could have, kept the lie up and figured out a way to be a husband to a tight-lipped woman. If only he hadn’t found Lincoln. Lincoln ruined all his good planning. And Robert could not be more grateful.
SAMPLE ROLEPLAY(Please respond to to this in third person past tense. Do not write the other characters' reactions. Only your own.) It was the largest office in Hogwarts and, perhaps to students and newcomers, the most intimidating. The shelves were filled with various odds and ends, with a place of honor for the Sorting Hat, and the walls held all the portraits of past Headmasters and Headmistresses.
In the middle of the room sat a large desk. Everything was in order, for the current occupant had always despised a messy desk. It was the sign of a messy mind, and she had always favored neatness.
A clock sat on the desk, which currently showed the time to be 2:05. The meeting was supposed to begin at 2:00 precisely.
Along with order, Anneka valued punctuality. She was a very busy woman these days. Even during the summer, she had a number of matters to attend to. Interviewing and hiring staff was only of those matters. The newest potential member of her staff wasn't making a good impression.
She paced the room, black heels clicking against the stone floor. When the door finally opened, Anneka turned, her expression reminiscent of a Russian winter. "You are
late."
Explain yourself was what her face said.
Roleplay Response:“… Sorry.”
That was the only word he got as the hurrying back of a young girl rushed back through the halls, spilling a sloshing mess of purple-colored potion in her wake. Robert’s pants had been struck, the thick glob of violet standing out against the crisp black. He had a mind to shout at her, but his attention was quickly brought back to his pants, as he tried to brush the potion aside with his hand.
The goo, however, seemed to be growing, and suddenly Robert’s pants felt heavier. It expanded and grew, like a balloon connected to a hose. Certainty not the impression he wanted to set forth.
Ten minutes scrubbing in the bathroom had only created a larger problem, the purple sliding down his calf and to his shoe. His leg was as heavy as led, and no spell seemed to work in removing it. He could at least get to the Headmistress’ office and explain the problem. He still remembered her as a Professor when he was student, and being late had never been favorable for the woman.
The stairs proved a complication, though Robert finally reached her just a few minutes behind schedule.
“My… apologizes.” Hands making the attempt to brush down his vest, greens darting to the glob that had crawled down to his shoe, expanding and withering against the dark laces. “A run away potion,” He found himself murmuring, ushering to the ruined pants, where the glop continued to expand and swell. “Might need to clean the hall. She made a trail.”
He couldn’t help but smirk, the smile faintly touching the ends of his lips. The chaos of school, the unpredictability of it all: Robert had missed it.
