Your Nickname: Nuri
Have you read and do you agree to the Code of Conduct?: Yes
Are you over thirteen? Yes
How did you find us and decide to write with us? Friend
If you have written other characters here: Yes
If Yes, list them all: Raine Almasy (active), Balfour Spectre, Dietrich Eisenberg, Ira Almasy, Rascal Rosier.
Is this a Primary or Secondary Character?: Primary
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Virgil Spencer Avery Carstairs
Character Birthday & Age: 29th November 1992, 19 years old
City & Country of Birth: London, United Kingdom
Pureblood, Halfblood or Muggleborn: Pureblood
Alma mater: Hogwarts, Slytherin
Job: Unspeakable
Wand: 11 inch Ebony, rigid with a plain hilt. Phoenix feather core.
Physical Description:
Lean and languorous, Virgil Carstairs doesn't have much of an intimidating demeanour. He is remarkably pale without looking altogether sickly and maintains an unusual countenance - neither handsome nor unconventional. Virgil is quite skinny, lean in the sense of a dancer, and he embraces this. His gaunt eyes belie an oft delighted smile. Sometimes (and you do have to be watching for it) there is an air of menace about his otherwise torpid mannerisms. Nothing comes out of this. At least not typically.
Virgil's sense of dress is straightforward. He likes patterned and eccentric sweaters but knows better than to dress like a Shoreditch layabout all of the time. His mother's fashionable influence represents the other end of his style spectrum: modish shirts, fitted dark denim, polished footwear. Now that he has graduated from Hogwarts he has begun to experiment with different styles of dressing and expression. Virgil wears his blonde hair neatly but it has a mind of its own and may rebel after a quick nap. His right nipple sports a bar piercing and his neck the pinprick marks of a vampire bite.
He has picked up the habit of smoking outside of school and might be spotted around London, nursing a cigarette. Virgil often smells like tobacco - as well as heather honey, which is the scent of his shampoo and body wash. His use of cologne (a bitter vanilla) is minimal but he does like to keep clean, for a teenage boy.
Personality Description:
It isn't that Virgil doesn't have much energy or that he doesn't like physical activity - on the contrary, his mind can be a most busy place and he likes to keep healthy. It's just that he doesn't enjoy moving unnecessarily. He is a physically passive person and it would take a disproportionate amount of effort to get a reaction out of him. Many have tried and failed although Virgil takes no pride in the fact; he seems to treat most attempts with clear indifference. His outer passivity is a form of resilience but he can be quite brittle on the inside; sensitive to sudden attempts of physical malevolence.
He is an excellent listener (or pretence of one) and will tolerate approaches of friendship; this makes Virgil an easy person to be around if you don't mind his mellow brand of sarcasm and snark. Fair warning: he is an absolute and unconscious flirt, and has rolled into dalliances without realising it. His lack of perceivable activity shouldn't be mistaken for low self-esteem. When Virgil wants to, he can be unnervingly forward and enjoys inciting aggressive behaviour. Moreso when he's had something to drink; wine or champagne may further extend his tactile nature. And not to mention the biting.
Virgil has probably fallen asleep in each of his classes and in every bed of the Slytherin dorm. Graduating from Hogwarts just means more places to fall asleep. It's how he is. He likes to have a wander inside his mind (and other minds).
He owns and sleeps with a teddy bear from his childhood, named Beatrice Bear.
History:
CHILDHOOD
Virgil Carstairs was born second child to Angela Carstairs, whose husband - a former Morgan forced to abandon the family name - was pleased to finally have some male companionship in their London house. The couple had first become parents with the arrival of their daughter Adelaide some fews prior, and they were well prepared for the perils of a babe wailing late into the night.
It was therefore both a surprise and relief that Virgil slept quietly through most evenings. He was an unusually docile toddler.
With a business socialite mother and a theatrical entrepreneur father, the lavish but narrow townhouse rarely had the pleasure of all family members in the daytime. Not that brother and sister were wanting in company: there were governesses and a tutor and playdates with their many cousins. Virgil quite naturally prized his sister's society above all others as they were growing up. She was both leader and friend; to this day she finds it quite natural to have to hold his hand before crossing a road.
Edgar Carstairs, his father, is a well-known actor/composer/musician in wizarding theatre. As a result, Virgil very much grew up on the stage and would continue to do so over summer holidays after he started at Hogwarts. He is a naturally skilled actor and knows how to play a little bit of most string instruments by ear. Virgil is also adept at applying stage make-up and charms.
Cecil Carstairs (http://absitomen.com/index.php?topic=11697.msg156152#msg156152) was brought into this world seven years after Virgil. The pair became a trio, and Virgil - accustomed to being the youngest and most spoilt - tolerated his little brother as one would a permanent rash.
Winters were spent in the city and summers at their country house in Oxfordshire, where cousin Alex was within easy reach and the clean air opened up a world of adventure for the restless or young. Virgil possessed little interest in outdoor escapades and found himself dragged out only as it was the better alternative to attending mother's summer garden parties. To romp and revel in nature might be a tiring act - but to shake hands and converse with condescending adults? Altogether burdensome.
Ironic, considering his father's more showy personality. Virgil often spent time at his father's theatre or menagerie establishments when he was not under the care of a Governess, starring in minor roles or helping backstage crew. His roles in the plays have become more and more prominent with time. In the summer of 2010, he starred in the leading role of Rapunzel, a youth troupe musical production that ran for a few weeks at Stardust.
Virgil's disdain for activity in his personal life also kept him from speaking out against one of his personal tutors in childhood - a gloomy and somewhat muddled wizard who betrayed Virgil's trust during their lessons. Adelaide had made the initial discovery of this abuse and has ever since been extremely protective of her siblings. The tutor was naturally dismissed and years later would be reported as having died of the dragon pox.
HOGWARTS
It came as no surprise to anyone when Virgil was sorted into Slytherin. In spite of his quiet and languid ways, there was very much a spark of self-interest and resolve about him. When Virgil wanted something he would eventually get it through some sleight of conversation or plain stubbornness. Adelaide, a Hufflepuff, graduated in the same year her brother came to Hogwarts. They would maintain written correspondence all throughout his school years.
Academically speaking, Virgil wasn't exceptional to begin with. Aside from Potions, Astronomy and (bizarrely) Divination, his grades were average. He managed to survive by doing minimal work.... just enough to label him an underachiever but not so little to be deserving of reprimand. In his later years at Hogwarts he has applied himself more thoroughly to his NEWT subjects. He is extremely bright with a natural sense of curiosity, and lavishes his attentions only on subjects that interest him.
Beyond this, Virgil has always had a way with animals. They naturally gravitate towards him while he pretends not to care - granted that his secret weakness for avians and felines is not all that much a secret.
Over the years, he has perfected a reputation of laziness by having fallen asleep on any surface that would take him. It persists to this day. Housemates mistake him for inanimate furniture. Owls alight on his shoulders. Eons pass.
PRESENT
Virgil doesn't appear to have any high ambitions. He is far from his sister's high-strung career as a defence attorney and certainly not cut out for life as a brilliant socialite. Growing up in a theatre might mean that he already has a solid career as a stage actor behind him but he is unsure if that is the direction he wishes to take.
There will be no rushing him into one thing or another: if Virgil has an aim at all, it is that he quietly insists on being the master of his own doom or fortune. And he does so hate having to jump through hoops.
After falling victim to the kidnappings in February 2011, however, the Slytherin has decided to train on the Department of Mysteries. Whether this is a true ambition or a form of gaining closure... that is something Virgil hardly knows himself.
How Do You Fit Into Your House?:
Probably because he has never had to ask himself that same question.
When Virgil wants something, he generally knows how to go about getting it - diplomatically and with as little physical effort as possible. His moral compass is shrouded by intention and (the avoidance of) consequence. Rules exist for a reason and that reason is to see how many you can possibly break without getting caught.
Virgil’s perceived lack of ambition has been his long-standing contradiction with Slytherin’s traditional values. He maintains that his objective to do as little work as possible across the years has been a most worthy enterprise. In truth, he can be quite diligent but enjoys putting on the airs of a listless cat.
Writing Sample: (please see Vivienne Thorpe)
Sum up your character in one paragraph:
Virgil Carstairs is a rather intelligent but indolent 7th year Slytherin. He can be wonderfully droll when he isn't lounging about or sleeping, and seems to enjoy life in his own languorous way. Unlike some of his housemates (*cough*Whitman*cough*) Virgil isn't consummately intimidating but he will enjoy a good laugh at your expense and doesn't think much of intellectually negligent company.
NEWT Examination ResultsVIRGIL SPENCER AVERY CARSTAIRS HAS ACHIEVED:| Charms: | O |
| Potions: | O |
| Care of Magical Creatures: | E |
| Divination: | O |
| Astronomy: | E |
Professor Griselda Marchbanks
Governor, Wizarding Examinations Authority
HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT & WIZARDRY
Headmistress: Minerva McGonagall, O.M. (First Class)
Career Change
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Character Name: Virgil Carstairs
Character Biography: http://absitomen.com/index.php?topic=17160.0
Previous Job/Position: Hogwarts Student
Position Applying For: Unspeakable Trainee
Why have you chosen to change careers?:
Graduation!
Elaborate on your expertise in this new field:
Virgil will have attained NEWTs in the following subjects: Charms, Divination, Potions, Care of Magical Creatures. He attained an Exceed Expectations in Astronomy.
Describe your new job and how you go about doing it:
He will be introduced to the various work methods and projects on level nine. As he is only a trainee, he will only be working on projects that don't require too great a level of secrecy or skill, but will be expected to maintain the Unspeakable code of never discussing the goings-on of the department.