Accepted! - Tracey

Your Nickname: Erika
Have you read and do you agree to the Code of Conduct?: 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: Grace Eddy, Myrni Levartian, Blake Knight, Melanthe Grumman, Maeve Whitman, Venora MacGregor, Ian Cuddyer (Quiddy Secondary), Hayden MacGregor (Secondary who I am retiring to npc status to make room for Oz)
Is this a Primary or Secondary Character?: Secondary

Full Character Name: Oscar Taylor Allen Whitman
Character Birthday & Age: January 7 1974 / 36
City & Country of Birth: Cardiff, Wales (UK)
Blood Purity: Pureblood
Alma Mater: Hogwarts / Slytherin
Job/Position: Wizengamot Member

Wand: An Olivander wand of 8" Hawthorne with a dragon heartstring core.  Like many Whitman wands, it has an ornately decorated shaft. 

Physical Description: Oscar has the distinguished looking features of a Whitman, with fair skin and light hair and eyes. Although his hair has darkened considerably over time, his eyes are still as crystalline blue as ever, and he counts them as his most defining physical feature. Another feature that is notable is his smile, which can be quite pleasant when he ever uses it.

Style-wise, he is meticulous about the way he looks in public, another trait tagged as being typically Whitman. He works out regularly, keeping his modest 5'10" frame in shape by playing sports with colleagues and friends. He likes the way that his trim figure looks in his clothing. Or even without clothing  for that matter. He is quite vain like that. 

Personality Description: Ambitious, determined, disciplined and pragmatic. These are four traits that have always been at the core of who Oscar has been, for good or for bad. In the former sense, they have made him very successful in a relatively short period of time. In the latter, they have led to his demise or have managed to be the root of his evil.

Even as a child, Oz was an obsessive overachiever, constantly driven to do better, especially if it meant he was doing better than his cousin Jos. His competitive nature is a mixture of jealousy and insecurity, as Oz has the unspoken goal of proving he has not needed an advantage to be better than his cousin.

Oz has always been a leader among his peers which ultimately resulted in his becoming a prefect and being head boy material while at Hogwarts. In the workforce now, he is the consummate politician, with diplomacy being his best friend. He is of the belief that by being on good terms with people allows him to get his way or is helpful in finding sensitive info which always plays into his vested interests.

These days, Oz is characterized as being emotionally cold, pessimistic and at times, unbearably cynical. He is most definitely a bragasaurus and he  tends to embody the full weight of the Whitman conceit. He strongly dislikes muggleborns and hardly has a better word to say about halfbloods either. He also believes that he and the other Whitmans should marry well and so material possessions and wealth are important to him. He's not really worried about hiding that preference either.

Others have characterized him as being miserable and uptight ever since his marriage to Aileen Reid ended. In the time since, he has allowed his prejudices and cynicism about romance to sour his disposition, going so far as to sabotage the relationships of his cousin, Julie, and his own brother, Nate, to prevent them from making the mistake of marrying beneath them. His machinations have been so ruthless that he would ruin the happiness of his own family if it meant achieving the desired goal.

History: Oscar Whitman, more affectionately known as Oz, was born the first of two sons to William Whitman and Sylvia Joyce. His father was the youngest of three sons in the branch of the family tree that has descended down the first born son. His mother is the only child of an old English pureblooded family which will die off with her. It was a pureblood marriage made in heaven, or hell, depending on who tells the story. For there has never been a shortage of drama within the Whitman family and that drama has managed to impact the present day.

The way his mother tells it, there had always been a fierce competition for who would win the favor of the Whitman sons. Her main competition growing up was always with Sarah George and the phrase, "Keeping up with the Georges" was often heard to describe the situation. Sarah would eventually marry Allen, the oldest brother and Sylvia had to "settle"  for the youngest. Not that she could be picky with the fact that her pureblooded family was not going to survive longer than herself, but she had as much conceit as any pureblooded woman and fit in well right off the bat with the Whitmans.

William, who became an Obliviator, was laid back compared to Sylvia, and did not concern himself with keeping up with his older brothers and their wives. Perhaps he knew that trying to live up to the impossible standards for the family would only lead to failure, no matter how much Sylvia tried to prevent it. That did not bother him too much and he tried to bury himself in his work.

Thus, Oscar grew up with more of his mother's overbearing tactics and all of these snobbish notions were firmly planted in his mind from a young age. She had him convinced that he was going to be successful and important no matter what.

When it came time for Oz to head off to Hogwart's, everyone expected that he would get sorted into Ravenclaw, as all other Whitmans had been before him. But everyone was shocked when Oscar became the first Whitman (at the time) to be sorted into Slytherin.

In school, the Whitman name provided Oscar with instant popularity, even as it also connected him to his older cousin. Oscar became involved in school activities, joining dueling club in his first year. In his third year, he made the quidditch team as a reserve and would later have a regular role on the team when his skills progressed. From fifth year on, he was a prefect and he also considered for the post of Head Boy as he neared graduation.

After roughly a year out of Hogwarts, Oscar had secured a job in Wizengamot Administrative Services as a clerk. Once again, he and Jos were butting heads competitively, each rushing  to outdo the other in the game of who would be most successful in their family. Jos already had the leg up in being the first born of the first born and having the the family's ancestral home and more money trickle right into his lap, but both seemed on even keel as far as jobs went. Jos was working as a translator for the international council of wizards and Oz followed his uncle into the Wizengamot.

To make matters worse, Jos was already married and continuing the family line, something that Oz was quickly getting pressured to do. Luckily, Oscar was an extremely good looking eligible bachelor and his mother made sure to keep that fact well known among her social circles.

At one event, Oscar met up with Aileen Reid, a girl from his own house in school but who was a year younger. In school he had been too preoccupied with his own ambitions to really seriously think about romance and relationships. But he was immediately smitten by Aileen's beauty and intelligence. 

Never had Oz considered that a woman would be capable of diverting his attention from his career ambitions or even from the pressures of his family life. But early on, it seemed that whenever he was around her, the only thing that mattered was making her happy. Unfortunately, his fault here was in his thinking that if he gave her everything he thought she wanted, she would be.

Sadly, the marriage seemed headed for failure, even though Oscar tried to deny it for as long as possible. Eventually, he had no choice but to admit to it when Aileen was caught having an affair with another wizard.

Away from the eyes of others, Oz was heartbroken, filled with anger and disappointment. In public, Oscar showed the steely demeanor that was earning him praise and recognition among the Wizengamot elders. Though he was certain others were talking about his personal life, he made sure they could say nothing negative about his professional one. If he was hurting inside, it was his mission that no one would ever known. No one could be allowed to know that he was bothered by the endless gossip and rumors for his ultimate failure.

He became jaded and cynical after his marriage ended. He even went so far as to use this negativity to impact the happiness of his brother's romances, particularly one to a young muggleborn witch, Myrni Levartian. Oz didn't necessarily want his brother to end up alone for all time. And he didn't want to outdo him in the same way as he wanted to with Jos. He just did not want him to make the mistake of marrying the wrong gal. His prejudices also negatively impacted the romance of another in the family, his cousin Julie, who was very much like a baby sister to him.

Oz used the resources that were available to him through his job to expose his cousin's beau having a less than glamorous record and the relationship never recovered. Oz, of course, was ecstatic by the outcome, but Julie has refused to talk to him since. The rest of the family has been closed mouth about their acceptance of his antics. It's as clear to any that most of them would have loved to have been as ruthless as he was in carrying the scheme out. And some even hope that he'll rise up again to destroy the happiness of his brother's engagement to the witch he thought he had once scared off. This seems to be one of his unspoken missions in life: to seek revenge on love's happiness with anyone else.

Describe your job duties and how you go about them: The Wizengamot sits in judgment of the the laws of magical world and so when crimes are committed, Oscar will be expected to listen to the details of the cases and be impartial in deciding guilt or innocence. As one of the junior members of the organization, Oz tends to get be the lackey to the other "Elder" members, which has the ability to humble the conceited man considerably at times.

Elaborate on your expertise in your field: Oscar recently became one of the youngest members of  Wizengamot. For years, he has been a clerk for the high court, working primarily with the Elders who were slated to be interrogators for various trials. He is well known for his meticulous research and preparation for said trials, using his connections in other branches of the government to uncover key information that would be useful. As both his grandfather and uncle have both been Wizengamot Elders in the past, he has been around the laws of the wizarding world for most of his life.

Writing Sample: Already a current player

Sum up your character in one paragraph: Like others in the family, Oz is the product of the dynamics that have been created even from before his birth and which have been perpetuated while growing up. He has consistently felt the burden of living up to the Whitman name and this constant need for success has slowly begun to whittle away at whatever amount of humanity he has left.