Your Nickname: Gemini
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? Livejounal
If you have written other characters here: Yes
If Yes, list them all: Alvis Norling, Darius Gabor, Eha Farro, Ted Lupin, Dione Sayer, Felinus Woodward, Taryn Dickenson, and Nagendra (secondary)
Is this a Primary or Secondary Character?: Primary

Silas Menelaus Woodward
Character Birthday & Age: July 7th, 1983 | Age 27
City & Country of Birth: Manchester, England
Blood Purity: Halfblood
Alma Mater: Hogwarts, Ravenclaw, Class of 2000
Job/Position: Radio Host and Freelance Diviner

Wand: Silver lime and a unicorn tail hair, 13 inches. Described as “exceptionally supple,” almost to a rubbery extent. This would make some wizards feel like they’re wielding a fake wand, but Silas rather likes it. He’s decorated the handle with a braided silver and purple cord, at the end of which hangs a silver moon-shaped bead. It’s the kind of thing school-aged girls usually do and he’s had it for about as long as anyone can remember.

Physical Description

Silas Woodward has a voice made for radio, a soothing tenor that is youthful but not spritely, comforting and solid in that late-night shadows. Given that he spends nearly every night behind the mike, this is how most people know him.

In person, Silas would be plain if it weren’t for the fact that the entirety of both arms as well as most of his back and neck are covered in charmed tattoos. The black sections, which dominate designs in vaguely tribal-esque swirls, tend to move like tendrils, while the fixed, colored stars and astrological signs occasionally flash, change color, or turn in place. Most intriguing of all is the “third eye” in the middle of his forehead, which is usually “closed” – appearing as only a thin black line – but “opens” and begins to glow when he’s broadcasting or divining. Said eye doesn’t actually add anything to either practice. Silas just likes the added dramatic touch.

Contrary to these elaborate alterations, Silas’s style of dress is almost normal, if a bit geeky. His standard garb consists of button-up shirts (usually white or black), nice vests (in varying shades and patterns of black, silver, and/or purple), khaki or black slacks, dress shoes, and a tie. Rumor has it he owns casual clothes -- mostly tunics and jeans -- but these are rarely seen, as he works seven days a week and usually doesn’t change before or after.

Silas keeps his hair with a natural curl and allows it to grow out fairly long. It’d be down past his shoulders if he didn’t pull it back all the time. He has plain brown eyes and is far-sighted, requiring the use of glasses. Despite earth-brown skin (which is dark, but not nearly so much as that of his cousin as a human) Silas’s thin lips and tendency towards nearly-invisible freckles hint at the fact that he is mixed-race. He is of average height, about 5’8”, and somewhat thin like he sometimes forgets to eat – which is, in fact, the case.

He is almost never seen without his oversized headphones, which he wears either on his ears or around his neck. This charmed accessory has a direct line to most wizarding radio broadcasts and can connect to his studio, meaning that he is always ready to cover a story or just zone out to music whenever the fancy strikes him.


Personality Description

Prone to flowery language and dramatic leaps in logic, Silas is, first and foremost, entertaining. Oh, he’s also a stringent professional, make no mistake. He takes his job of delivering the news of the day very seriously. It’s just that he does so via rambling poetics, personal asides, and a tendency towards editorializing. Luckily, all of this is encouraged on WWXZ.

Part of what makes him so personable is that, beneath his professional exterior, Silas is an enormous dork. He does nothing to hide this when something sparks his fancy. He squeals. He rambles. He fanboys. He’ll devote entire segments to whatever casual bit of minutia happens to catch his interest that particular day. He has never been one to hide the things that make him happy and absolutely loves sharing that happiness with the world.

Silas is also a romantic. If he has any affection for you, you will know it -- especially if you listen to his radio show. Openly gay, he is not at all shy about gushing on-air or announcing his feelings to the world, even when it’s personal. Especially when it’s personal. Friends and relations, prepare to be mortified. .

But, as enthusiastic as he might be, Silas rarely makes the first move in his relationships. He’ll make his interest clear, give out his phone number, make excuses to talk, and the like; but it’s up to the object of his affection to respond if things are to go any further. Silas knows his enthusiasm can be hard to deal with, so he makes a point of hanging back and letting his partner set the pace and terms.

Once he’s given permission, you’ll likely never meet a more affectionate friend or lover. This man love love loves physical affection. His standard greeting is a hug and a kiss and nothing makes him happier than platonic friendship cuddle time. He also has a taste for flowery pet names, often using many to refer to the same person -- Felinus, for example, ranges from ‘Darling Cousin’ to ‘my favorite-ist fuzzy big brother’ depending on Silas’s mood.

Still, no one can be happy all the time and Silas is no exception. He’s actually quite sensitive and more than a little sheltered. Some would call him naive. His feelings are easily hurt. Rejection hits him hardest of all, especially Felinus’s repeated refusal to live with him post-lion. When wounded, Silas retreats into himself and grows very quiet. If left to his own devices, he’ll quickly sink into a (somewhat melodramatic) despair that’s difficult to shake.

Silas’s claim of Seer abilities inherited from his mother are probably not true. He is, however, a gifted Diviner. The only problem is that he can’t (or perhaps won’t) divine the future. Rather, Silas’s talent lies in uncovering the unknown present -- locating lost or hidden objects with dowsing, for example, or remote viewing via scrying bowl. Though he most often uses these to scoop the news of the day, he also offers his skills to interested parties via appointment. Price is determined on a case-by-case basis.


History

Silas is the product of an odd but passionate union. His mother was a distant cousin Xenophilius Lovegood and shared his oddball tendencies. At school, she became known for -- among other things -- speaking cordially to seabirds and charming her blonde hair lavender. She may also have been a Seer. That’s what Silas claims, but it has never been confirmed by anyone else.

Meanwhile, Silas’s father was a modest muggle-born who entered Hogwarts alongside his twin brother. Fascinated by his ethereal classmate, he befriended her in their second year, asked her out in their seventh, and quickly fell in love. The two married three years out of Hogwarts, but waited until the first fall of Voldemort to bring Silas into the world.

An only child, Silas spent most of his childhood playing with his cousin Felinus, the son of his father’s twin. The boys were rather more like brothers than cousins and continue to be close to this day, despite their near-opposite personalities. Felinus’ reputation as Head Boy preceded Silas to Hogwarts, where he almost immediately dispelled notions of their similarity by being sorted into Ravenclaw.

Silas soon gained a reputation of his own for his bizarre theories regarding the nature of magic, magical diseases, and magical beasts; his loyal patronage of The Quibbler; his ability to ramble on about anything that came to mind non-stop without taking a breath; and, supposedly, for befriending the Giant Squid. Always interested in performance and broadcasting, he quickly attached himself to Lee Jordan’s makeshift broadcasting club as a sort of production assistant. Silas looked up to Jordan who, in response, occasionally humored the kid by letting him run stories on Loser’s Lurgy and the like.

In 1995, just before his third year, Silas’s mother passed away of an unidentified magical illness. This would, in years to come, leave his muggleborn father in a precarious position, especially with the rise of pure-blood influence that came with Voldemort’s return to power. Silas returned to Hogwarts for his third and fourth year, but did not come back for his fifth, as he and his family (guided by Felinus) went on the run. Since he was “the baby,” Silas eventually got left with the purer-blooded Jordans, who claimed him as a relative for safe-keeping. He there spent the rest of the war helping to keep Lee’s pirated Potterwatch broadcast on-air under the codename “Intern Reed.”

Unfortunately, Silas’s father was killed by snatchers prior to the final Battle at Hogwarts. His aunt and uncle were left irrevocably changed and would eventually die from their injuries as well, leaving Felinus as Silas’s only living family. Silas became his cousin’s ward. He moved into Felinus’s home and returned to Hogwarts to complete his schooling, graduating in 2000. He got an intern position at WWXZ and continued to live with Felinus until he’d graduated from that to a full position as a host.

That happened when Silas was 19 and, almost immediately thereafter, Felinus switched the apartment into Silas’s name and moved out to pursue his studies in Animagical Trasfiguration. Absorbed in his pursuit, the older man became distant, then seemed to disappear altogether. When Silas (age 21) showed up at his house and found Felinus stuck in his lion-form, they both knew life had, again, changed forever.

These days, Silas has advanced to being “the voice” of the alternative Wizarding Wireless station WWXZ. His show has a younger audience than the WWN, partially because of Silas himself and partially because the contents of what they report on are so out-there it’s hard to take seriously as news. Silas also offers freelance divination services to make ends meet and uses his scrying talents to keep an eye on his wayward cousin’s new post at Hogwart.


Describe your job duties and how you go about them

Officially, Silas’s primary duty job is that of a radio announcer, specifically the voice of the WWXZ Nightly Wizarding News. A smaller affiliate of the WWN, WWXZ is widely considered to be the radio equivalent of The Quibbler. (The management of both establishments are great friends and often trade complimentary ad space.) Its news program reflects this, offering features like an in-depth analysis of government conspiracies, a regular wrackspurt allergy watch, and reports on umgubular shashkilter sightings.

However, like the Quibbler, there are honest truths hiding just under the weird surface. Because it’s not directly affiliated with the Ministry, the WWXZ editorials are freer to be critical of the powers that be, often lending a voice to grassroots youth campaigns and organizations. Silas’s skill at divining the present also makes him an excellent reporter and he is often able to scoop the truth of major events right out from under the noses of folks like the Prophet. However, due to his and his station’s reputations, only a handful of people in the wizarding world ever take him seriously enough to notice.

Silas’s program does not have an official name. Fans tend to refer to it as either simply, “The News” or “Shush. Silas is on.”

As a side job, Silas works as a freelance diviner. He has no store front and operates mostly by appointment out of his apartment. He doesn’t advertise much, but those in the know are usually able to find him. Unlike most diviners, he does not predict the future and will re-direct any customers who ask to someone with more interest in that field. Silas’s specialty here is the unknown present, such as locating lost objects, tracking down missing persons, or diagnosing unseen illnesses. As such, he has contacts in the Auror Corps, though he’s not officially on any of their books. Price for divination varies depending on customer circumstances.

Elaborate on your expertise in your field

Silas has been working towards a career in radio his whole life. While at Hogwarts, he served as a member and eventually president of the school’s small broadcasting club, eventually taking over as Quidditch commentator post-war. He maintained a weekly show on the school’s short-band radio station, which took place after dinner during prime studying time and was mildly popular in the Ravenclaw common room.

He was also Lee Jordan’s “production assistant” on Potterwatch, and the older boy’s vouching for him is what scored him the internship at WWXZ. After two years as an intern, Silas progressed to hosting his own show, and eventually took over most of the on-air duties at WWXZ. Silas is highly charismatic on-air and his skills at divining make him a fine reporter.

Said divining skills also help in his freelance work, which is more of a cottage industry thing than anything else. He doesn’t get tons of business due to his unique skill set, but it’s enough to keep him from defaulting on the rent.


Sum up your character in one paragraph:
Silas is a radio personality who thrives in being larger than life. A talented diviner of the unknown present, he uses his skills partially as a reporter and partially as a free agent, helping witches and wizards track lost things across the country. He believes that an unknown future is among life’s greatest gifts and refuses to divine them. Dramatic, naïve, and sensitive, he can be a handful to put up with, but if you learn to love him he’s one of the most affectionate friends you’ll ever have.