Character Info--Cal Ferox (Squib)
Age: 30
Graduation: Graduated from Williams College in '08 with a major in philosophy and physics; went to Cambridge for a graduate program in physics, but his dissertation, dealing with the reality of alternate universes and magic, was rejected out of hand, so he never obtained a degree.
OWLs/NEWTs: N/A
Personality Type: INTP
Pertinent Tropes:

This.


Family:
father: Marcus Ferox, owner of Ferox Industries
mother: Claudia Ferox, Transfiguration professor at Salem Academy
brother: Leo Ferox, chairman of Ferox Industries NY branch
sister-in-law: Anne Ferox ('Annie'), Mediwitch
niece: Melissa Ferox, eight months

History: Cal was born in Salem, Massachusetts, to an Italian family--a family old enough that, in fact, they'd retained their Roman last name. All Wizards in that family, they'd always attended the Salem Academy for Witchcraft and Wizardry. Cal, the eldest son in the family, never got his letter. He never exhibited any magical talent at all; not the smallest accidental Transfiguration (his mother teaches Transfiguration at the Academy); nor the least explosion (his father owns a Magical Mining and Metal Processing corporation, Ferox Industries). His younger brother Leo, by contrast, had turned the family cat into a kangaroo by the age of three. They took Cal to a specialist, but the truth was already evident: he was a Squib. His parents, devastated, assured him they still loved him... but they treated him very differently from then on.

Cal went to the local Muggle public school, where he excelled; then on to a boarding school in ninth grade, St. Paul's. Unable to study magic like his brother, he poured his time and attention into his studies. He skipped sixth grade, then discovered he could spend some of his free time studying magical theory from his brother's books. His brother never did well in school, but his raw magical power made up for it, as far as their parents were concerned. For a long time, Cal wasn't able to get over his prejudice against magic. He wanted to study physics, mathematics, philosophy--but they all led him back to the truth most Muggles couldn't even begin to scrape the surface of: magic.

So, swallowing his jealousy, he began to study magical theory. Was there a way he could harness magical power for himself?

That's still uncertain. Failing to find answers in the magical texts he could access, he sought further in Muggle academia. Thanks to high SAT scores and grades (surely no extracurriculars, as he was hopeless in sports, in social life--in almost everything but the life of the mind, though he had a stint on the newspaper in his latter high school years), he went to a small, elite liberal arts college in Massachusetts, where, as an undergraduate, he got the chance to study physics and, almost more importantly, the philosophy that began to allow him to piece together his findings. He was almost immeasurably glad to get out of his house. His parents showed their favoritism quite clearly, and while they did love him, he was, in many ways, the family shame. Relatives heard only that he was pursuing advanced studies.

Cal himself grew up intensely shy. His intellect crippled his emotions and heightened his sensitivity; he was called 'crybaby' in grade school and 'weirdo' or 'nerd' in high school. He went through a brief and regrettable 'goth' phase, then decided it was silly, and settled into his habitual rumbled-oxford-shirts-and-khakis (or jeans) look. He made few friends in college, and fell hopelessly in love with a girl who saw him as only a friend and intellectual equal (and a rather smelly one); that never panned out. After she graduated, the year before he did, he retreated, wrote his thesis, and hid out in his room. He graduated class valedictorian, but no one knew who he was when he gave his speech. His parents didn't attend his graduation.

Cal's relationship with his parents is noteworthy. His mother, Claudia, treats him with a kind of remote, loving impatience; she doesn't approve of the way he lives, and remains disappointed that he's a Squib and that he's so personally ineffectual/has so many difficulties with life's minutia. She sometimes sends him letters, which he rarely answers.

His father Marcus, an intensely charismatic, intelligent, driven man, was very early quite proud of eldest son's obviously intelligence. When he learned Cal was a Squib, he harbored the hope that Cal might one day actually 'cure' his Squibbery. From that impetus, Cal has grown up feeling partly responsible for his condition, and responsible for getting rid of it. Much of his research has secretly centered on this goal, but he's reasonably sure it's impossible. No, the only solution must be... something else.

From college, he applied to Cambridge for graduate school (he wanted to get as far as possible from his family, fearing his father's burdensome disappointment and expectations) and got in. He never graduated--his dissertation, which dealt with dimensional irregularities and energy levels and the essential thrust of which was the physical proof of magic, went over like a lead balloon; he was laughed out of the school.

It wasn't a total waste, though. While there, he began studying under an eccentric Physics Professor/Potions Master who also specialized in transfiguration theory. He wasn't a Squib, but he, like Cal, felt magically inadequate. An older man, Professor Prospero Carlisle (age: 183), helped him with the advancement of his theories, particularly Time Transfiguration, a highly rarefied and very theoretical field. Sadly, Carlisle died recently in a laboratory experiment. All they found were his glasses.

He'd left the laboratory to his assistant, and, though Cal was a Squib, he's been working in it by himself. Once he reaches a certain point, however, he'll have to find someone who can actually perform the spells he's set down theoretically... his ideal is a magicless potion that will work as a sort of Time-Turner or dimensional transmogrifier--he hopes it may allow him to gain a semblance of the magic Wizards enjoy. Even potions, however, are often impossible without a spell or two.

Cal suffers from serious depression (possibly bipolar disorder) and self-medicates with doxy powder, cocaine, and, occasionally, alcohol. When he was 23, near the end of his tenure at graduate school, he overdosed on a cocktail of drugs and ended up in St. Mungo's after a heart attack. Luckily he'd been outside at the time, just after purchasing most of the drugs in question. His father and mother visited him at the hospital and his father decided to cut off his trust fund, which he'd obviously been misusing. Cal chooses to misremember all of this, and imagines he doesn't take this parents' money because they force him to keep his Squibhood a secret. In fact, what his parents most disapprove of is his drug habit. This reality remains tightly locked in the back of Cal's mind; he hasn't spoken to his parents for years.

He has begun to act out in bitterness against the Wizarding world, and has made some.... unsavory... alliances. He's been working with Edward Garrow for quite awhile now, providing him with the theoretical magic he needs for his plans. Logan, whom Garrow hired because a Squib researcher is only so useful, is an object of Cal's particular jealousy, because he actually uses and manipulates the magic Cal only calculates.

Personality:

Cal is, fundamentally, introverted. He's also highly theoretically-minded and very, very sensitive. That may be why he's introverted, but certainly, never getting out into the social world doesn't help him with his many insecurities. He's actually well-spoken when he has to be, and writes well, albeit in words no one else understands (he'll often, amusingly, mispronounce words, because he's only seen them written, never heard them). He covers his awkwardness and insecurity with a certain spiky ill-humor, and he is very dismissive of people who don't understand him (which is pretty much everyone), and, secretly, intensely jealous of Wizards and Witches, but never lets on.

He is uncomfortable with humanity, his own and others', and feels deep shame for many facets of himself. His sexuality is one (he was a virgin until age 29). Another, of course, is his lack of magic. More deeply, he feels shame over his own ineffectual way of dealing with the world. He wishes he were one of life's commanding personalities, someone whose will shapes the world, but is reasonably convinced he is not. Obscurely, he feels this may be why, or tied to the fact that he's a Squib. And, of course, he feels the steely press of his father's conditional love. Cal thinks he should be able to fix himself, fix innumerable things about himself. He has a great deal of trouble just enjoying life.

At the same time, he's actually a bit of a romantic. His obsessions begin suddenly and persist. A very, very few other people have had absolute power to captivate him (all part and parcel of his sensitivity). He's terrified of losing himself in this sort of obsession.

Cal also faints easily--due to a combination of native sensitivity, drug addiction, poor diet, and hypotension--which embarrasses him. He occasionally fixates on being more 'manly,' which, often, he reinterprets as being more like a television character or supervillain.

Appearance:

Cal is very pale (doesn't get out much), with lank, straight black hair. Sometimes he'll forget to cut it. He usually forgets to wash it. He has pale blue eyes, and overall, the impression he gives is of a worried fish peering through seaweed. He's on the taller side of average, and walks oddly, with his feet turned out; he's more lanky than precisely skinny, and seems to drape himself, noodle-like, over the surrounding area instead of walking. He wears wrinkled clothes. He often wears unwashed clothes, or clothing with potions stains. He's also not so great with personal hygiene, but no one's around to tell him he smells, so...

Oddly, when he cleans himself up, some (read: Jasper, at least) consider him quite attractive. His repulsive persona is probably less a matter of native ugliness and more a matter of his total inability to take care of himself or maintain awareness of his physicality.

He's been cleaner and more fashionable lately, entirely due to Jasper's influence. When left alone for too long, though, he relapses.

Cal's ideal breakfast: poptarts, mouthwash, and strawberries dusted with cocaine.

Casper: Cal and Jasper. "Omnisexual playboy and reclusive gay scientist have a secret one-sidedly polyamorous relationship with a touch of bondage." (Caroline)


OOC Info--
Name & Contact Information: Sam :)
Previous Roleplay Experience: Lots.