Ulysses

This character is retired, and is no longer in play.

Orphan, Man of the House
Portrayed by Josh Hutcherson
Name: Ulysses Ishram Selwyn
Aliases: Lys, Ulysses, Uly (But Only By Dora if you like your nose intact)
Birthday: April 12, 1920
Position: Student: Gryffindor
Lineage: Pure-Blood

Description

This young man is relatively tall, standing at an easy five feet, nine inches, and solidly built. A shock of light brown hair, perhaps with hints of blonde to it if the sun catches it right, covers his head, more often than not seeming just slightly out of his control. Hazel eyes, set slightly inward above low cheekbones, rest under slightly bushy brows. His jaw is square, also set low, with a clear dimple set squarely in the center of his chin.

At the moment Ulysses is wearing a Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry uniform. Rather notable by the scarlet and gold colouring he must have sorted into House Gryffindor. A grey vest edged in gold and scarlet covers a crisp white Oxford shirt, buttoned from the belt-line to the collar and accented with a scarlet tie with narrow gold stripes. The shirt is tucked neatly into matching grey trousers that fall to the tops of black shoes. Over all of this flows a voluminous black robe lined in soft Gryffindor Scarlet fabric, unadorned except for a scarlet maned golden lion standing rampant over a scarlet background with gold fret sewn over the heart.

Background

To say that Ulysses lives in a well-weaved family is to only pay lip-service to the truth of it. The firstborn son of one Ishram Cuthbert Selwyn and Eloise Meredith Urquart, proud bearer of a strong bloodline — distanced from the main Selwyn branch by perhaps one additional generation, his was a strong inheritance. However, tragedy struck when his mother died less than a year after he was born, the victim of a death ruled accidental while on the field as an Auror. His father remarried a year after that to Olivia Rochelle Umbridge, who had a daughter shockingly close to the date of their marriage, and then twin boys a short time later.

Ulysses was a strong student from the start — driven, studious almost to the point of being cool to his peers yet at the same time finding time to develop himself in body as well as mind — so though the rest of his siblings were sorted into Hufflepuff, it's no true shock that he was sorted in to Gryffindor. Sure, it meant less time for anyone but family. Blood, however, has always been everything and all to the young man. Friends could work within his schedule or be left behind, and love could be arranged as it had been twice for his father. He had no reason to expand beyond that. He had a goal, a dream — to be a famous curse breaker no matter the cost.

Tragedy struck three years before he graduated, however, and as a young man just barely entering adulthood, Ulysses received the news that his father had died, another accident taking a parent, this time involving a potions mishap. Upon reaching his age of Majority, 16, Ulysses found himself Patriarch and Executor of the immediate family fortune (at least those held by his father). Many encouraged him to drop out of school, to take care of his mother and family, and study to grow his family's investments. He declined. Instead, he continued in school, somehow managing to keep his grades up despite having to take the required four NEWT courses to meet his dream.

He was tired. He was overburdened. He had three siblings and a mother to care for, but he was driven, and will succeed despite it all.

Quirks

Wand

11 1/4" inches, Aspen, rigid, with a Dragon Heartstring core.

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Pet

Mr. Sniffles. So named by his sister, Dora, when she found him, abandoned, and nursed him back to health. It was a shock, then, when the tiny, blue-point Siamese imprinted on her older brother, who was without a pet at the time. The name stuck, however.

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  • Controlling: Before the death of his father, Ulysses was simply the the older brother. Born with something to prove, since the younger children were only partially related to him, he took to ruling over the three to force respect. After the death of his father, he became even more so, although it became less about being respected, and more about holding on to what little he had left.
  • Confident: Ulysses may not be the best at everything, but he believes himself capable of being such. Indeed, he knows he must be such. As a result, he refuses to accept that he will fail, or even can fail. He has to succeed.
  • Driven: While some would call Ulysses cool, or even cold, it's more about making certain he gets what he wants. Ulysses thinks of family first and foremost, and has had to shoulder the burden of supporting a family he's simply not skilled enough to support. Everything he does, is for his blood, for his family. Nearly everything else is pushed to the wayside.
  • Man of the House: His parents are both dead, and the woman who takes on the name Mother has retreated into herself so much that he has become the de facto head of his branch of the Selwyn house. He is the father, brother, provider, and protector… whether the others like it or not.
  • Wealth: Well-To-Do: While not of the main branch of the Selwyns, Ulysses and his family do enjoy decent wealth. Much of it is socked away in property and other investments, as opposed to liquid wealth. While they may have had a lot of money before, they've so far had to do without any real addition to it, while sending four children to school. He keeps a heavy leash on all expenditures, doing his best to make certain they don't squander what is left until he can start adding to the coffers again.

RP Hooks

  • Orphaned at 15: His mother died before he reached his first year, and his father died when he was fifteen. The woman who married his father had never been a mother to him, had never tried to be it. She withdrew even more when her husband died. And so, despite his half-brothers and sister being there, the young man feels very, very alone.
  • Patriarch at 16: At the age of Majority, Ulysses took on the responsibility of managing his family's estate, and mostly of continuing the raising of his brothers and sister. It's not easy, learning to run a family, at that age… but it has made him almost paternal in his interactions with them.
  • Protective Older Brother: Never let Ulysses' aggressive nature toward his siblings let you think that he doesn't love them. That is, ultimately, the rason for all of it — he can't stand the thought of losing anyone else in his life, and the only way he can see to prevent it is to protect them, even from themselves. Perhaps you disagree with this? You've been pushed away from them by him? You think you can help him?
  • Athletic: Not your typical wizard, Ulysses actually has been interested in physical activity for some time… it's one of his major escapes from the stresses of being a brother/parental figure.
  • Writer: It's not a secret, but he hasn't made a big deal of it. One of the skills that Ulysses has honed, and has been part of how he has managed to keep his current grades. Creatives are his specialty over essays, mind… be it miniature stories, poetry, or the like — outlets for his creative, and frankly emotional, impulses.
  • Curse-Breaker Wannabe: There's no telling when the impulse hit him, perhaps it was the wild stories they tell about daring adventures and the like. Growing up he loved those stories, and although he knows them to not be the greater truth, the overall draw is still there for him. The possibility of glory, perhaps even good pay if he's good enough at it, is the biggest draw.
  • Clubs: Ulysses has been a member of the Athletics club since second year, and dueling since fourth year.

Logs

Logs featuring Ulysses Logs that refer to Ulysses

Relationships

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Ishram Cuthbert Selwyn
Father Born: 03/07/1890. 2rd Son of Cornelius Bardworth Selywn and Adelphia Malechite Selwyn neé Cornfoot. Married Eloise Meredith Selwyn neé Urquart: 07/17/1919. Widower: 03/29/1921. Married Olivia Rochelle Selwyn neé Umbridge: 01/02/1922. Died: 12/14/1935. Siblings: Beatryce Bulstrode neé Selwyn, -?- Selwyn (Brother).
Father Pure-blood Missed
Father was never an incredibly affectionate man, but there was a core of strength there that Ulysses always clung to, and to this day tries to emulate. His intensity, his devotion to family as a whole, all of it stems at first from the example of his father. To this day he is unconvinced that his father or mother were simply the victims of unfortunate accidents.

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Eloise Meredith Selwyn (neé Urquart)
Mother Born: 03/29/1898. 5th Daughter of Cassius Turador Urquart and Genevire Aerissa Urquart neé Summerby. Married Ishram Cuthbert Selwyn: 07/17/1919. Died: 03/29/1921. Siblings: Morwenna Prewett neé Urquart (Sister), -?- Urquart (Brother), -?- Urquart (Brother), -?- Urquart (Brother), -?- Urquart neé -?- (Sister)
Mother Pure-blood Unknown Memory
She died within the year after he was born. He never knew her, aside from pictures, but the stories he's heard make him love her all the more. He treasures that memory.

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Olivia Rochelle Selwyn (neé Umbridge)
Stepmother Born: 1902. 5th Daughter of Phineas Umbridge and Bellanca Umbridge nee Rashley. Married Ishram Cuthbert Selwyn: 01/02/1922. Siblings: Cassiel Umbridge, Atticus Umbridge, Elric Umbridge, ??? Umbridge (Brother), Vesta Lovegood neé Umbridge, ??? Umbridge (Brother).
Stepmother Pure-blood Heartbreak
He wants to love her… but even before she began to "fall away", Olivia was distant from him. Whatever her feelings for his father, she always seemed distant to him. Having no mother growing up, this was a source of hurt… he always wished for something from her. Now? She's a burden, one whose distance from her true children wounds him even more.

Adorabella

Adorabella
Sister Pure-blood Loved
A bright, shining star in a world otherwise tainted with anger and grief. Ulysses holds on to her with an iron grip, for fear of losing her to the rest of the world. While life as a seventh-year has pulled him away from her somewhat, and loosened it somewhat, he still fears seeing her move away from him. Woe betide any who hurt, and Merlin help anyone who mentions the suggestion that she's anything but direct family to him.

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Leoric
Brother Pure-blood Loved
The more intellectual of the twins, Leoric is a stable aspect of life for Ulysses. Another one he protects with ferocity. But he also knows that Leoric can be trusted to protect and look out for the other two siblings.

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Elric
Brother Pure-blood Loved
The dreamer of the twins, Elric is equal parts source of amusement and frustration for Ulysses. There is a constant war here between the two emotions for her, but like with all of his siblings, Elric is just as equally protected.

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