Approved! - N


Your Nickname: Zira
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? Other
If you have written other characters here: Yes
If Yes, list them all: only Landis & Darian Morgan right now ~
Is this a Primary or Secondary Character?: Secondary

Full Character Name: Byron Josepher Valentine, "Josie"
Character Birthday & Age: November 8th, 1975 (36)
City & Country of Birth: Washington DC, USA
Blood Purity: Muggleborn
Alma Mater: Salem Witches Institute of Magic
Job/Position: drug dealer; gang leader; menace

Wand: Thickly-cut walnut with dragon heartstring, 14 inches


Josie is a big man - a real big man, both muscular and tall. He is literally larger than life between his height (6'11) and the fact that he's so fit; it boils down to a combination of weight lifting and good genetics, but the fact that he's a werewolf might also have something to do with it. Honestly, the man is a walking slab of muscle. A really good-looking slab of muscle, hey, let's not forget that. He's handsome and yet at the same time disgusting - his thick neck, his huge grin, the sluggish track of long tongue over his lips - they seem to do something to people. For some reason he comes off as unsettling.

To be specific he's got short blond hair, blue eyes, and tan skin. He tends to swagger; his body language is open and relaxed, except for when he's engaged in his favorite pastime - looming. Josie likes bright, flamboyant outfits. Anything he wears he makes look good, so why not wear anything he wants? His omnipresent sunglasses are just precious to him. Without exception his underwear is neon with neon tiger stripes. Yeah. That's the kind of man that he is.

The werewolf thing isn't that obvious. His legs are stupidly hairy and he's a little pointed around the canines but really, that's not gonna be the thing about him that sends anyone away screaming. Josie's always been a big believer in expressing himself, so he doesn't have the self-inflicted scars of a werewolf going mad for lack of bunnies to chase. The only really unsubtle aspect are the marks where his creator got him. A silvery mass of scar tissue is raked across his side, clearly the result of claws, teeth and old violence.


Josie's a popular guy among a certain crowd. He's great at parties, he's strong as an ox, he can do this funny thing with a drinking straw and two tonnes of jello. He's powerfully charismatic, oddly magnetic, and he's got really deep pockets (also his pockets are full of drugs). Even disregarding his lycanthropy there's an air to him of vigor, of confidence, an undefinable je ne sais quoi. He's egotistical, shameless, with an innate sense of the theatrical. Lots of people want to be friends with Josie - because, by God, can you imagine being his enemy?

Not that being his friend is any walk in the park. Josie likes to toy with people. He likes to hold them down and watch them squirm. He rates other people on a scale of who's most entertaining. They're just toys, or tools, depending on his need. They're not important. The whole world boils down to who pulls the strings and he gets that implicitly, he's made himself that man. He's carved himself out a nice niche in society. If once a month he turns into a wolf and humps everything in sight, the bite didn't make him more a monster than he was before.

Josie's very used to getting his way. It can be fun - in small doses - but ultimately he doesn't like being defied. It's not obvious at first. On a casual basis he seems easy-going; he's notoriously relaxed in situations where one might expect him to show a little fang. But he's controlling and proprietary of those closest to him, and though his temper's hard to raise he tends towards extreme lessons. Josie taking a personal interest in someone is without exception bad news. He doesn't really do relationships. Instead, he makes victims.



Josie has always been one of those well-connected and charismatic men in society, talking or threatening his way to success. His rich family's given him every advantage he could want - that is, for a Muggle. His early childhood was all nice china and equestrian clubs and first families of Virginia, DC politics and playing with other diplomats' children. When he was 6 his family moved to London at his father's appointment as the American attache. He was the first wizard in the family when he got his letter at 11; his parents remain torn on whether or not that's prestigious. He split his years between Salem during the school year and the UK during the summer, where daddy dearest had a long appointment that landed Josie an effortless green card years later.

Now Josie was really made for the entertainment industry. He could've been some bigshot producer, living large in sunny LA; he gets the Muggle world, knows how to move through it without any bullshit about the pureness of his blood. He would've left everything behind when he graduated, just used his magic for party tricks, if it hadn't have been for one thing: his furry little problem. The star Salem Quadpot player came back sixth year more terrifying than ever, having been bitten by a genuine werewolf of London. That made the Wizarding world a more permanent residence than he'd ever really intended. He had to find a potioneer, Wolfsbane potion, all that shit - had to keep it up for years and years. Such a drag. But if he had to live between two worlds he might as well get something out of it, right? So Josie did some digging with his brand new nose. London had the richer magical heritage, edges dirtied up by centuries of hard use, so he stayed there. All the shady nooks and corners were closer together. Plus there was the London Business School, which took him pretty easily after Salem mailed in a magically-convincing "high school" degree. Josie only used the US as his getaway country when the war rolled around and Fenrir Greyback came looking for volunteers. The rest of the time he enjoyed the accents, the great transportation and the arguably better beer. His business degree served him well in his legitimate career and also made it a breeze to corner the market in Wizarding security. He made his reputation with bouncers and bodyguards for the first decade. The drugs came after, when he started to get bored. By the time he began dealing he'd already set up a nice power structure; it was easy to make street sellers out of his youngest gang members, to draw in more kids who were attracted to the lifestyle, and his older enforcers kept an eye on things.

Now it's just about time for him have his first mid-life crisis. Josie got the jump on it by owning a Jaguar for the last ten years. It mostly sits in its rented garage looking pretty (even with magic London traffic is a joke) but hey, it's his - right down to the tiger-print custom sized seats.


Okay, what does Josie really do? No one is entirely sure. He spends most of his time in the Muggle world, schmoozing and making money, and then he slips back into Diagon Alley when he wants to really let his hair down. He just kinda shows up places unexpected and dangerous, like black mold. Josie does whatever he wants and calls himself a businessman. Is he good at it? Sure. Believe it or not, there're some people who owe him their livelihoods. Really he's magnanimous, he's the best kind of neighbor. Ignore the teeth and the claws, just look at the revitalization he brings to the neighborhood.

Wherever he goes, he thrives. He knows a guy. He runs some drugs. He greases palms with an unspeakable substance. You want something? He can get it. He runs a hundred different schemes. He's gained himself a little following, a mini empire, a bunch of big knuckle-headed clods looking for easy money as hired thugs. A gang? Heavens forbid! They're just a bunch of fitness enthusiasts, your Honor. He loves his boys so much he's thinking of building them a gym. He made bank right after the war setting them all up with good homes; funny how when Aurors couldn't make a person feel safe they turned to bodyguards and bouncers. The blokes who left him for those jobs permanently, well, they remember where they came from.

But because some people just want to heckle a guy he's intimately familiar with the DoMLE. He's been brought up a few times for various charges but hey, he's not a national and his lawyers argue real pretty. He sends round fruit baskets at Christmas so the Aurors know there's no hard feelings. Still they heckle him and heckle him, forcing him to adopt all kinds of inconvenient and imaginative customs. He has a sophisticated system now for the riskiest of trades, buywords and dead drops helping his employees to avoid legal stings.

Now, get a load of this - in the Muggle world he handles stocks. Stocks! He's a bona fide expert, Big Kahuna, corner office kinda deal. Couple of times a month he goes round and terrifies his clients into giving him all their money. And then he invests it, of course, wisely and responsibly. He's gotta support his lifestyle. He's got a certain image to maintain. All his relatives in DC think he should come home and work on Wall Street, or maybe run for office. But witches and wizards don't want their werewolves to wear power suits. They want to come into his shabby office (so different from his place in the Square Mile) and marvel at their own daring, leave all shivery at their brush with fanged death. Josie can give them that. He even enjoys it.


Josie's been your uncle's shady go-to guy for some 18 years. He's made a career out of a high-energy high-risk field, reeling people in and getting them hooked on what they need. There was a little break in his routine when he chose not to tango with the Dark Lord; he got the hell out of dodge when Voldemort was recruiting werewolves, didn't come back until after Potter's victory. He doesn't exactly toil 9 to 5, and his wizarding work's not a field that comes with recommendations - though it is amazing what some people will believe when they find out he's a werewolf. All kind of doors opened for him when he was first getting started. Lycanthropy apparently translates to inherent criminality - hell, he was just living up to expectations.

The stocks are whatever, boring, necessary. That's not 9 to 5 either, it's only part time. Going through the ranks he got great reviews - aggressive brokering, leadership skills, a go-getter attitude. Josie's pretty good at the office fraternity culture. Apparently all the top bosses are sociopaths anyhow.

It was Friday afternoon, Diagon already growing dark. Soon club lights would start switching on and pubs would open their upstairs. Josie in his shabby side office was ready for business. Weekends were his golden days; he was back at Paternoster Square by Monday. He'd have runners in through Sunday to pass off the gains and update their stash, guys coming and going, reports and owls getting dropped off. He didn't like his boys sticking around to be underfoot. Too many big men hanging out in the hallways made the neighbors nervous.

He drummed his fingers on the desk, prying off a sliver of wood as long as his thumb and flicking to the side. Yeah, it was more visually interesting than his other office for sure, but he kinda missed his intercom. Knocking was so old-fashioned. And he kept having to replace his secretary - he hadn't yet found that perfect balance of reliably addicted but unlikely to squeal.

But eh, it was his own fault. The kind of secretary Josie craved was that uptight type A personality, and people like that would never have anything to do with him. He guessed it was because of what others called his 'bombastic disposition.' Or hey, it could be the werewolf thing, though Josie hardly ever ate anybody nowadays. Either way it meant there was no neat skirt swishing her way through his door with visitors; when the knock on his door came he had to get the damn thing himself, waving his wand to make it blast open and catching Darian Morgan knuckles-raised.

"Why, Mr. Morgan, I'm all aflutter." Josie waved a lazy hand at the chair across from his desk. "Haven't seen you in a while, huh. Hope you enjoyed your little vacation."

"It was lovely, thank you," Darian replied, strolling in. He was wearing some feathery getup and painted-on trousers, silvery threads criss-crossing his chest. Josie didn't really get it; it was Wizarding fashion. Clothes like that just made him want to grab the hanging threads and tug. Maybe he was a little bit appreciative. Darian had made him a feathered coat a couple of years ago, a monstrous hot pink confection that was hanging over his office door where he could look at it and grin from time to time. At least 10 flamingos must've died in the making of it. Josie loved it and wore it out for special occasions.

"So what's up with the home visit?" Josie had his suspicions. He leaned forward over his desk, but the other man chose to remain standing rather than sit. So it had to be quick.

"Well, it's been so long. I wanted to check in with you personally, see if you were still selling... certain things."

"My stock hasn't changed, sure, but my rates have. I don't think you can afford me anymore, baby."

Darian blinked, something incremental changing in his expression. He bent ever-so-slightly in at the waist in a most gentlemanly fashion and asked, "Why not? Have I ever given an unsatisfactory transaction?" Awww. That was pretty cute. Josie had seen variations of that question roughly five thousand times, though Darian was less desperate about it and considerably more winsome. This guy had never known how to negotiate any other way than with charm. It was almost endearing in this kind of profession. Josie had the beggars, sure, the jittery and addicted; he'd had the greedy fast talkers who wanted a stake, and he'd had the hi-lar-ious ones who tried threats. But he had a soft spot in his heart for the ones who stayed classy. He couldn't help it. (Josie maybe told some people 'no' just to watch them react. Maybe.) He shrugged a shoulder. "Our mutual friend's back in town too. How do I know you're not gonna share?"

"Why, I would never!" Darian cried. Josie squinted at him. He couldn't actually tell whether the kid was lying. Well, if Sid got into his high-quality opiates Josie would surely hear about it when he ended up in the hospital again. He liked to imagine Sid laying around in a terrible state, sucking up arsenic laced with rat shit to quell his shakes. Probably without clothes on. Yeah, why not. 'Cause God help anyone Josie found giving him the good stuff.

"Okaaaayyy," he drawled. "Sure. I'll hook you up this time, but you don't get enough to share." Darian looked highly offended. He tried next for a pout, vastly overestimating what his good looks were going to earn him here. Josie grinned at him. He'd encouraged that kind of behavior in the past. 'Course, that's what landed him with pains in the ass like Sid Blackburn. He stood up from his chair like a mountain range rising. He crossed the floor between desk and Darian, dropped a heavy arm over the other's shoulder, brought his head down to talk to him a little more intimately. It was always pretty hilarious to turn it back on people like that; he enjoyed the widening of Darian's eyes as Josie reminded him maybe flirting with his drug dealer wasn't a good plan. Proprietarily he slipped the coin purse from Darian's pocket, plucked out a few galleons, and replaced them with a bag of purple crystals. Then he deposited the purse back, patting a huge hand over Darian's midriff. His breath was on Darian's ear as he murmured, "And if I see you in here again before the end of the month, it better be for pleasure and not for business, you hear?"

He'd never seen a guy try so hard not to look like he was running when Josie raised his arm and let Darian scuttle out.

#yoloswag

Character Name: Josie Valentine
URL Link to Biography: You can use BBCode. http://absitomen.com/index.php?topic=18118.msg152286#msg152286

Cover Job (If any): he's got a full muggle career to fall back on
Type of Criminal: gang leader; drug dealer; whatever else he can think of
Allegiances / Loyalties / Political Faction: pfffttt

Are they currently under pursuit by the Ministry of Magic?: Yes

What previous crimes have they committed? Were they convicted?:
Josie's got a rap sheet a yard long. His lawyers are pretty talented though so few convictions have stuck. The DoMLE has gotten desperate to keep him off the streets so he's had to field some - let's say - laughably minor charges.

Loitering [2 counts, convicted once and fined]
Disorderly Conduct [1 count, dismissed]
Aggravated Assault [1 count, dismissed as self defense]
Drug Possession with Intent to Sell [3 counts, all dismissed; defense claimed entrapment, record tampering, unlawful search and seizure]
Indecent Exposure [1 count, convicted and fined, sentenced to one month of public service at Bithleby's Home for Orphaned Children]
Solicitation (for Drug Racketeering) [settled out of the Wizengamot]

Josie has also sued the DoMLE twice for discrimination and harassment, unsuccessfully both times.

What crimes might they commit in the future?  Discuss all possible:
Josie plans to keep going with this whole dealing schitck. He's basically got the market cornered on magical drugs thanks to his other side business which constitutes a standing army of thugs. If the Aurors had to pin him on anything that's what they'd be trying for, but Josie's got interest in a myriad of things. Essentially his future plans boil down to whatever most amuses him.

Character Name: Josie Valentine
URL Link to Biography: look up, baby
Type of Creature: werewolf of London
How did they become a creature? his unfortunate penchant for bestiality KIDDING read the bio
Are they registered with the Ministry of Magic?: Yes
If yes, what does registry entail? He's got a cell with his name on it if he ever chooses to spend the full moon in the Ministry. Also free wolfsbane potion, score.
Are they considered a 'Dark' Creature?: Yes
If yes, are they currently under pursuit by the Ministry of Magic?: No
What crimes have they committed?  Were they convicted? Yes - those clowns can't get enough of him.



How does being a werewolf physically affect your character? It's hard to tell what's Josie and what's the werewolf. He's always been a real physical guy. The appetite? Merlin, who knows about that one. The muscles, the stamina, that's probably weight-lifting. Probably. Okay, maybe there's a little enhanced strength in the human form. He's tougher to take down than most wizards; he's got a little extra immunity to spells, can shrug off hexes, it takes just a bit more to really make him feel it. His sight's better, though he can't claim to see 100% clearly in the dark - just enough to give him an excuse for the omnipresent sunglasses. His hearing is nothing special, but his nose is probably his second-best feature (first place goes to another part of his anatomy). He can probably tell what you had for breakfast just from the stain on your shirt. Accordingly, he's very sensitive to smells. Artificial scents give him headaches if they're strong enough.

How does being a werewolf socially affect your character? He's found it to be like a crime +10. Any discrimination has been easy to ignore. The stigma that keeps many werewolves from holding Wizarding jobs doesn't exactly effect him; he's got his fall-backs in the Muggle world, and when one's not worried about legality the werewolf thing can only help his reputation. Josie feels no loyalty nor kinship to other werewolves.


Where does your character spend the full moon? The Ministry is already too eager to get him in their hot little hands, so Josie prefers to leave town for his change rather than take advantage of their hospitality. He usually goes off to some forest in Scotland, Wales, or other less populated part of the UK, stashes all his stuff in a tree, guzzles a wolfsbane potion, and spends the night roaming the woods happily chasing deer or occasionally his own tail.