eyy, senpai!
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Joined: Fri Jan 03, 2014 7:40 am Posts: 2427 Location: The Hell Dimension Medals: 14
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hello yes this post is for my character sheets - Vicente Valtieri | +
- Name: Vicente Valtieri
Age: 558
Gender: Male
Race: Nightkin
Appearance: Vicente is a tall, strong man who became vampirized at the age of 38. He has a strong chest and shoulders, and is in very good shape, standing at 6 and a half feet. Centuries of exercise do the body good. His skin is quite pale, not quite the pallor one would expect from a corpse, but also not the healthier skintone he had in life. It creates a stark contrast with his hair, which is black and a little long, combed back so that he doesn't have a fringe. He has a prominent widow's peak, aggressive-looking eyebrows, and a well-groomed light but full beard. They compliment his facial features well, consisting of a squared jaw, aquiline nose, and reasonably strong cheekbones. His eyes are deep red, and his pupils are thick vertical slits. All four of his canine teeth have grown into fangs, the lower jaw's shorter than the top's so that his speech is not affected.
He wears almost entirely formal clothes. Button up shirts, suits, ties, vests, peacoats, he wears all variety of them. Generally, he prefers black pants and outerwear paired with a red or purple shirt, and while he rarely gets to wear them in the modern day, he enjoys prancing about in cloaks for exceptionally formal occasions. One could easily guess that he enjoys intentionally playing up the stereotypical 'vampire' aesthetic, and they would be entirely correct.
Personality: Polite, affable, and very hospitable, Vicente tends to be welcoming towards anybody who comes to his clan for aid. Even to those who are normally enemies, as long as they don't actively show allegiance to the opposition, he's quite friendly. He greatly enjoys social gatherings and various get-togethers, but has a dislike of certain things from the modern day. Perhaps out of nostalgia, he continues to enjoy human cuisine and weak alcohols, particularly the types from Europe. He doesn't need to, nor do any other vampires, but it doesn't hurt. On a personal level, one could describe him as a family man. He tends to form close relationships with members of his clan, and cares for all of them the same way someone would for their children. Whether one is a newcomer to the numbers or a veteran that's been at his side for decades, he's very easy to hit it off with, provided one can stand his antiquity.
Like many Nightkin, he holds a bloodthirsty side that enjoys violence and the thrill of battle. He particularly likes fighting with swords, which is a rare opportunity in this day and age. A particularly strong flaw of his, he holds grudges for incredible amounts of time and often reacts to situations disproportionately, an aspect caused by the situation behind his transformation. He could likewise be described as arrogantly confident in the abilities of himself and his allies, though not without reason. Mercy is reserved for those who earn it, and if someone tries to bring harm to any of his flock, he personally delivers a swift and furious retribution. Violence does not bother him in the slightest, and if it's an answer to a problem, he'll gladly take it.
History: Born in the midst of the Renaissance, Vicente d'Arco had a very fortunate youth. He was the son of nobility, made rich by their mercantile prowess. A good life was laid out ahead of him, and he was more than happy to take it. During his late teenage years, he became friends with another noble, who unfortunately turned out to be the child of a family that considered his enemies.
For years, somehow, they went unimpeded with their relationship and grew very close. Unfortunately, at the time they were starting to become more than friends, their families had grown more actively hostile towards one another. By the time they were both in their mid twenties, feuds broke out, and more than a few deaths at the hands of both families occurred. Eventually, the object of Vicente's affections was killed in a crossfire that resulted in the burning of his own home into ashes.
Enraged, he took what money his family had saved in the banks and went into isolation. He spent a good decade preparing himself for vengeance, working his body into the peak of physical condition, acquiring the latest firearms and highest-quality armour he could afford, and finally, in the dead of night, launching an attack on the enemy noble's remaining family.
He killed three guards before he was found and shot twenty times. His armour, while effective against the swords the ground guards had used, did little to protect him from the bullets of the rooftop guard. The gunshots did not immediately kill him, and instead he was dragged to a waterway, bleeding and weak, and tossed in to drown.
As the other nobles left, a group of local Nightkin fished him from the water and took him to safety. There, the leader of House Valtieri asked for him to join them. In return, he would be granted the power needed to avenge his loved ones. Vicente accepted, and he was changed not by siring, but through direct use of the Nightkin's most important artifact, the Mask of Raziel.
He became a pure vampire, born directly of the mask. His strength soared once he grew used to his newly enhanced senses, and he took a natural liking to the clan's shapeshifting prowess. When the time came for him to seek vengeance, he was set forth by the leader herself. The family that had killed his no longer existed by sunrise.
With his task complete, he proved a loyal soldier and extremely proficient vampire, and when the leader of House Valtieri felt he was ready, challenged him so that he might become the new leader. He succeeded, and as he began to lead the House into prosperity, their leader committed suicide by sunlight. To honor her, Vicente took the House's name as his own, and has led the Nightkin against any threats that may befall them.
Abilities: As with all Nightkin, Vicente's vampiric abilities include the power to shape his own body, changing form in all variety of ways. His preferred transformed state is a cloud of black mist. For non-combat situations, it allows ease of movement and flight. During a fight, a quick transformation to avoid strikes is its primary use. He also tends to use shapeshifting in more subtle ways. In particular, solidifying his ribcage into a solid mass of bone to protect his heart. It's a surprisingly effective technique that not too many have thought to use. When sufficiently enraged, subtlety goes right out the window, and his shifts instead become chaotic, nightmarish displays that can most easily be described as 'eyes, teeth, and tendrils.' Another common form he takes for more secretive flight is that of a flock of bats.
Vicente prefers to fight in close quarters, whether it be with his fists, claws, or a blade. He's very skilled in barehanded martial arts, though no single one in particular is used. When fighting like this, he'll very often augment his attacks with shapeshifted tentacles, giving him extra range and more limbs to work with. He also has a tendency to feed mid-battle to fuel his powers, whether it be through biting or absorbing blood with shapeshifted extremities.
Equipment: His main sidearm is an upscaled black Colt M1911A1. The slide has a variety of intricate carvings, all floral in pattern, save for two spaces of smooth metal on each side. The spaces read, in Italian, 'For Vicente Valtieri' and 'Blessed by the moon's light.' The body of the gun has similar floral carvings, and the grip has two plates of smooth, polished red wood, carved in an ergonomic way. The plates are held on by ivory-coloured screws. Customization-wise, it has a rounded hammer and a pivot-style trigger, as well as combat sights, a muzzle compensator, and an extended barrel to match the length added by the compensator. The hammer, trigger, mag release, and safety switch are all gold-plated. It fires any variety of .357 magnum bullets, mundane or specially prepared. It's kept within a high-quality black leather shoulder holster, held in place with a gold button imprinted with the Nightkin clan symbol.
The owner of a wide variety of swords, Vicente keeps a variety of edged weapons around. He tends to prefer single-edged, curved blades such as cutlasses or sabres, though he has little problem using double edged arming swords. His favorite weapon is an oversized sabre, roughly the size of a hand-and-a-half sword. The blade is forged from strong steel, blackened through oxidation. Inscriptions on the blade's fuller have been filled in with silver, giving the weapon an edge against the supernatural. The crossguard and pommel are quite decorative, but still functionally-shaped, made to resemble the outstretched wings a bat and a crescent moon. The pommel holds a decorative red gem within the moon's arms, and the crossguard is decorated with bronze plating. The sword's grip is made of a pleasantly red-toned cherry wood.
As the leader of House Valtieri, and by extension the entire Nightkin clan that swears loyalty to it, he is the sole owner of the Mask of Raziel. It is a black stone mask, smooth and warm to the touch, that fits on the face and activates on contact with blood. It bears an androgynous visage, and has an indentation in the forehead. It is generally kept in a safe location, but if a battle calls for extreme measures, he will put it on to boost his Nightkin abilities.
Other: Due to his old-fashioned personality and preferences, he's fallen a bit behind in the usage of modern technology. Touch-based screens cause a bit of issue, and he much prefers when things have actual buttons to press. He can work a phone just fine for calls and other messages, but past that, the functions are quite lost on him. He also has a habit of leaning off to one side when seated, unless formalities are being discussed. It was picked up from his clan's old leader.
- Mariko Hayashi | +
- Name: Mariko Hayashi
Age: 290
Gender: Female
Race: Gifted
Appearance: Mariko is fairly tall, standing at 5'9". She has strong muscles to make up for the lack of extreme strength her clan suffers from, though most are only explicitly visible when she flexes them, since she carries a healthy layer of body fat. Her overall shape is best described as triangular. She was around 30 years old when she turned, and has an air of maturity to her. Her facial structure is comparable to an oval, and she has slightly narrow eyes, thin lips, and a short but pointed nose. Her irises, like all Gifted, are a very bright shade of blue. She likes to keep her hair long, with short straight bangs and long side locks. She most often keeps the back of it in a ponytail, but will wear it loose when in a more casual situation.
Her clothing choices are generally nice, well-crafted but not quite formal outfits. She prefers pants over skirts, usually denim, but sometimes dress pants or leggings. Her preferred shirts are button-up, long sleeved dress shirts, with the collar left undone. She likes turtleneck sweaters as well. One part of her outfit that almost never gets switched out for something else is her coat, which is about knee-length and has a double breasted front. The collar is large when upturned, which she'll occasionally do in colder weather. It's a dark brown colour, made from leather . It's well-fitted, and only loose if she leaves the front unbuttoned.
Personality: Mariko is generally a good person, as much as a bloodsucking undead can be. To most, she's polite and quite easy to talk to, able to hold conversations with just about anyone without much effort. Her temperament is generally very cool and collected, though she's got a good sense of humor and enjoys a good bit of back-and-forth banter every now and then. At the same time, she can be very serious and no-nonsense, keeping a firm disposition in the face of all sorts of dangers. Despite her generally kind heart, she can be very harsh during times where goofing off can actively risk the safety of others. The balance between her kindness and strong confidence, paired with her great experience in battle, makes her a fairly good leader. Mariko cares deeply for those she calls friends and family, and would kill without remorse to keep them safe.
Her confident behavior can extend especially far when she's in a winning fight. She finds battle to be exhilarating, and extremely satisfying to the natural bloodlust that all vampires have. In a fight, whether to protect others or just hone her skills, she tends to be very flashy when in front of others. Along with satisfying her ego a bit, she's found it to be a good morale-raiser for the company she's most often with, and enjoys taking the chance to get them in the zone and more likely to succeed. Even when showing off in various ways, she keeps a strong level head and intense focus, aiming for holes in defenses and taking advantage of mistakes. Not afraid to fight dirty, she often taunts enemies that are in a losing position and enjoys trash-talking to infuriate them. The less focused an opponent, the quicker she can bring them down. Plus, she thinks it's fun.
History: Mariko was born in Japan during the Edo period, one of three children born to a ronin and the leader of a trade caravan he protected. Her childhood was spent mostly on the road, and she didn't have a permanent home until she was around 13 years old. When her family finally settled in, she began showing an interest in swordplay, which her father decided to teach her.
She started with knives, and quickly became extremely proficient at using two at once. The skill paid off, as when her house was invaded by an armed man while she was alone with her sisters, she fought him off and took his sword hand. By the time he returned with accomplices for revenge, Mariko's father had already come back home. The attackers were all slain, and Mariko claimed the sword of one of the invaders as her own.
As she grew, she continued to practice, while doing more 'traditional' duties expected of a young girl during that time period. She greatly preferred her time training with swords, and even when urged to stop by her mother, did so whenever she had free time. Regardless of how good she got, she had yet to actually put the skill to use. Years passed, and when she reached her mid twenties, her village was raided by a large gang of marauders.
The ensuing battle was long and destructive. Homes were burned, and many on both sides were killed before the bandits retreated. Mariko's father was among the dead, and in a fit of rage, she left her home and pursued the attackers into the woods. When she came across their hideout, she sat on a tree branch and waited hours for the sun to set. As the light disappeared, she swept over their base silently, slitting throats and stabbing hearts as she slowly and methodically killed them all.
From that point, she never returned home. Instead, she disguised herself with bindings and masks, and traveled the land seeking others like the bandits that destroyed her home. She gained an infamous reputation, but as time went on, her rage faded, and the drive to keep others from suffering replaced it. So she continued to wander, helping the unfortunate and trying to keep the peace.
She was approached by a vampire one night, and while a small reactionary scuffle broke out, she listened to them once they had both calmed down. The vampire, having heard of her reputation as a guardian of the helpless, offered her power in exchange for help when requested of her. After accepting the offer, she was sired through blood exchange.
Now gifted with enhanced speed, senses, and telekinesis, she continued to protect people from threats both mundane and supernatural. She also used her immortality to gather impressive sums of money, which she delivered to her mother and sisters in secret. She eventually returned home to visit her mother, now old, at least one final time before she passed away.
Since then, she's been sent on hunts worldwide, and during a chance encounter in the American old west, she met Drake in the middle of a fight with the werewolf she was targeting. After killing the beast, she sired him, and the two have worked as a pair since then.
When Mariko's own sire died, she and Drake became mostly independent, but they're still in good standing with the House she was a part of.
Abilities: Mariko puts her clan's power set to good use, and has honed her psychic abilities to the point where she can attack with extremely focused bursts of power that act almost like invisible blades. At the same time, she can use them to manipulate objects around her in precise ways, then launch them with great amounts of force. She also uses her enhanced reflex time to deflect projectiles when necessary, though she prefers to simply not be in the way when they're coming at her.
Centuries of experience with edged weapons has given her great skill in the use and care of melee weaponry. She uses a variety of techniques in fights, and is also very skilled with bare-handed fighting. Her natural strength somewhat offsets her clan's inherently weaker physical strength, allowing her to hold her own against your average Nightkin or Daywalker. When using guns, she prefers weapons that are easy to handle with one arm, including pistols, smaller SMGs, and sawed-off shotguns. When necessary, she'll use more full-sized guns, preferring semi-automatic rifles.
Equipment: Her primary firearm is an extensively modified gun based on the Beretta 92FS. The entire gun is quite large, with an extended barrel and slide along with a widened handle made to accommodate a double stacked magazine that holds .357 magnum bullets. The gun is quite fancily constructed, with a chromed barrel and handle and a blackened slide, engraved with a feathery pattern. The slide has a chunk atop the barrel hollowed out for aesthetics, and the ejection port is also chromed. The safety switch, trigger, and magazine pads are also black, and the grip is made of dark brown wood. The gun can hold a variety of other attachments, and has a compensator and laser sight attached most of the time.
For close combat, she uses a very personalized sword that resembles a kyū guntō. The blade closely resembles a traditionally forged katana, single edged and gently curved, oxidized to a glossy black finish. The handle is somewhat long to allow two-handed use, wrapped in black rayskin, then further covered with a layer of crossed white leather. A guard resembling a round tsuba connects to a metal cover that slips over the whole handle, providing a knuckle guard on the front. The guard cover is a single piece of polished steel, able to be replaced with a more typical handle if the need arises.
Other: She is the sire of James Drake, and lives with him. The two often do various jobs together, and are almost inseparable as a team. She often digs into his guns for when she needs stronger firepower, and occasionally adds to the collection herself. She also will not let him have a sword.
- James Drake | +
- Name: James Drake
Age: 170
Gender: Male
Race: Gifted
Appearance: Drake is of average height, around five foot eight (much to his annoyance) and has a lean, athletic build that isn't overly muscular. He isn't twiggy, but he doesn't lift nearly enough on a daily basis to build much bulk, just tone. Turned at the age of 20, he looks youthful, and can only grow facial hair to a degree self-described as 'shitty baby fuzz,' so he remains clean shaven. His hair is dark orange, the colour of red ochre, and generally kept in a slightly shaggier-than-normal crew cut. He's used to having it shorter, but likes some amount of length to hopelessly attempt to style. In terms of facial features, he's got more delicate ones. A rounded jaw, gradual eyebrows, and large, bright blue eyes. Only the canine teeth in his upper jaw are fangs, and his ears aren't very pointed.
His sense of style is very practical and work-oriented, though comfort is a nice bonus he tends to prefer over looking especially fancy. Most commonly, he wears flannels above t-shirts, loose-legged jeans, and a faded olive drab military jacket. It tends to be worn above a thin hoodie, which has had the sleeves removed so he can actually move his arms. He has no aversion to dressing up nicely, and actually quite enjoys doing so, but dirty work keeps him from getting too fashionable.
Personality: If three words could be picked to describe Drake, they would be 'headstrong,' 'moody,' and 'excitable.' While easily perceivable as eternally angry, Drake is more hotblooded than anything, accentuated by a somewhat foul mouth when it comes to vocabulary. He finds fighting a very fun and invigorating experience, often getting very hyped up in the heat of the moment, though he does have his limits and knows when rushing in would be stupid rather than a chance to be a show-off. He fancies himself somewhat of a tinkerer, and enjoys putting things together as much as he does tearing them apart. Something of an outdoorsman, he enjoys being out and away from the urban landscape, and also takes a great interest in firearms that are hardy and reliable enough to use without much issue during his excursions.
A strong wanderlust pervades his heart, and travel is among his favorite activities. While long sunny days are better spent sleeping in his basement or otherwise lazing about, he likes to remain active and see different places. Music and decoration are both things he greatly enjoys, his tastes influenced out of both nostalgia and newfound interests given by accomplices. He particularly likes Japan and things that come out of it due to extended stays in the country, occasionally in ways that could accurately be called distasteful. Drake is generally quite shameless, but knows when to stop being obnoxious and get serious. Even during those times, he's hard-pressed to calm down entirely. With all his goofiness, he's still a deeply caring individual, and friendships with him are long-lasting and defined by loyalty.
History: In his hometown, a small town in the territory that would later become Kansas, Drake was born to a family of ranchers. They only owned a very small, unassuming farm by the town's outskirts, hardly profilic. He spent childhoods working alongside the family's other men, hefting around hay bales, feeding animals, and milking cattle. It was never fun and he disliked doing it, but because of his family's financial situation, he had to, for their sake.
At the age of 15, he began growing tired of sitting around doing menial work for minimal reward, and turned to crime. He started small, stealing from stores that were closed by breaking in, snatching purses, pickpocketing. Nothing that gained attention, and nothing that launched big investigations.
By the end of the year, he used some of the extra money the family made from his 'work' to purchase a gun. From that point, his crimes steadily increased. Masked, armed robbery led to gathering a crew to rob a bank, and with the same crew, the holding up of multiple trains. He never killed anyone except competing bandits, and discouraged his companions from doing anything but the same with their guns.
As time went on and his family's fortune grew, he and his crew pulled a 180, and instead tried their hand at vigilante justice. Their targets were particularly bad bandit gangs. Ones who kidnapped people, ran drugs, and in general, did worse than simply take money. As it turned out, the leader of one of those gangs was a werewolf, and most of Drake's crew was slaughtered when he entered a fury-induced transformation. Drake himself was gravely wounded, but before he could also be slain, a Gifted vampire that was sent to the area specifically to hunt said werewolf intervened.
She killed it, and taking note of Drake's apparent willingness to put himself at risk to protect others, and offered to give him the gift of undeath so he could continue to do so. Drake agreed, and she sired him. After doing so, she quickly realized he was less 'heroic' and more 'violent idiot,' but the pair soon became close regardless of mistaken first impressions.
After a traumatizing experience on a hunt, he attempted to reject his now-inhuman nature and tried to return home, leaving an easily-detected trail that a group of vampire hunters quickly picked up on during his journey back home. They intervened, and in a coup, killed his entire still-human family and gravely wounded him. He survived, but just barely, and his sire managed to find him before the sun came back up. With her guidance, he tracked down his family's murderers and took vengeance on them. The events made it clear to him that no matter how much he wished to return to his old life, he could never do so, and helped him accept his new life.
Since then, they've done various tasks for their clan together, though in the 1940s, he was drafted into fighting in World War 2. This proved to be advantageous for the clan, due to research into the supernatural taking place in Germany threatening to break the secrecy that had been upheld for so long. Drake, in a strategic move orchestrated by the others in his clan, faked his death in battle and went on to try and sabotage the Nazis' magical experiments. Despite his best efforts, some of the advances in technology made possible through harnessing magic were discovered by other governments cleaning up after the war.
The mission wasn't a total failure, and at least helped prevent the world from coming under the rule of fanatical, magic-wielding humans. He now lives comfortably alongside his sire, and works with her whenever they are called in. The recent elevations in the Daywalker-Nightkin war have led to him preparing for larger-scale battles than they tend to intervene in.
Abilities: Like all vampires of the Gifted subtype, Drake has various psychic abilities he utilizes in unique ways meant to compliment weaponry rather than stand alone as a technique. His telekinesis is most often used to pull various trick shots, such as bending bullets around corners or deflecting incoming projectiles. Likewise, his psychically-enhanced reaction time allows him to operate on a sort of 'bullet time' level of speed, moving faster than normal while experiencing the world in a slower perspective. On the occasions he needs to fight up close, he's decent enough with his fists, though he prefers the use of knives at short range.
He's highly trained in the use of various firearms, both old and new. His experience lies mostly in semi-automatic weaponry, and his skill with them shines through over the use of fully automatic guns. While he prefers to use single handguns at a given time, he can easily manage two at once, his enhanced senses and reaction time allowing for fairly accurate aiming despite the inherent disadvantages that come with dual-wielding guns.
Equipment: Drake's primary weapons for urban environments are a sawed-off Chiappa Triple Threat shotgun and a Browning Hi-Power pistol. He also tends to carry around a bowie knife for close combat situations. While he uses them less commonly in cities, he also enjoys using an H&K MP5, a Colt Anaconda, and a Winchester Model 1892 rifle.
The shotgun was obtained as a full length weapon, later modified by Drake himself to make it easier to conceal and carry around. It has a break-action loading mechanism and three barrels, each of which can hold a 12-gauge shell. The barrels are blued to a dark hue, and both the handle and underbarrel grip are made of dark brown wood. The stock modifications allow it to be separated into a near pistol-grip configuration or a full length shoulder stock with some simple removal of screws. The single-trigger construction by default alternates between barrels when firing, and while it's semi-automatic, the gun can fire fast enough to empty three shells in a target in half a second.
The pistol is very normal in overall looks, and has minimal modifications. The gun's metal parts are stainless steel. Dark wood makes up the grip, with some slight ergonomic shaping for more comfortable holding and firing. A laser sight rests just above the grip, and a compensator at the end of the barrel adds some length to the gun and makes the weapon's shots more steady.
The revolver lacks modifications. It has a six-inch barrel and a chromed frame, a wood grip, and a six-shot cylinder that fires .44 magnum bullets. It's generally used in situations where his pistol doesn't pack enough of a kick.
The SMG is quite extensively tinkered with. It uses ammo of normal caliber and can alternate between semi-auto and fully automatic fire. The foregrip and stock have both been replaced with wooden ones, both for aesthetic reasons and Drake's belief that they're sturdier than 'cheap plastic bullshit.' He owns a scope to attach to it when the situation calls, but usually goes without.
The rifle is likewise modified, the original carbine-sized gun cut down further into a near pistol length. There's still just enough stock to shoulder it, and the lever has been kept in top shape to ensure ease of motion and reduced threat of jamming. When used one handed, Drake has learned to effectively flip-cock the lever, though the loop is too small to spin-cock it, much to his chagrin.
Other: Drake dislikes being called by his first name due to the frequent use of it and derivatives of it by his family. He'll stubbornly refuse to answer to it except for a very limited number of people. His stubbornness likewise extends to his taste in firearms; a good number of his weaponry is composed of older models, and even newer things have been modified with things like wooden furniture and other aesthetically-pleasing details. He owns about 12 different guns meant for different situations.
- Lucina Giovanna | +
- Name: Lucina Giovanna
Age: 94
Gender: Female
Race: Nightkin
Appearance: Lucina was young at the time of her undeath, about 19 years old. She has the common features of Nightkin, including pale skin, pointed ears, four fangs, and red eyes. She isn't very tall, only about 5'5", and has a somewhat wide-set and soft curvy build. Her facial structure is very round, especially in her cheeks and chin. Her eyebrows are rounded at the top and darker than her hair, and more often than not are furrowed for some reason or another. Combined with her pouty lips, they give her a constant expression of irritation. She has long, wavy blonde hair that most often is styled into a bun on the back of her head, as well as long bangs that are worn parted and combed to the right. She also tends to wear makeup, usually dark eyeliner and mascara along with dark red lipstick. Red or black nail polish is a common sight on her as well.
She dresses in high-quality clothes, preferring formal, but is usually wearing something more businessy. A white silk collared shirt, black skirt, and black waistcoat make up her most common outfit. She usually foregoes the tie that came with the ensemble, and leaves a the top few buttons on the shirt undone. Black stockings are commonly worn with the skirt, and she tends to wear dress shoes with short heels. While she no longer has vision problems, she often wears a pair of black, angular-lensed glasses. The lenses are not of any prescription, and the piece serves only fashion purposes.
Personality: Lucina is normally quite professional, rarely breaking under pressure or getting angry. She is, however, an abuser of deadpan snark directed at anyone and everyone within her workspace. Patience isn't her strong suit, and she's quick to abuse her power just to sate her desires for retribution. Luckily for her (and everyone, really) she's easily satisfied with causing minor annoyances. Disproportionate retribution isn't something she commonly does. While loyal to her friends and House, she's a bit rebellious by nature, and isn't willing to blindly follow orders that would risk her safety or the overall well-being of the clan. She likes to advise, and firmly believes in teamwork. Lone wolf types get nothing but scorn from her.
Outside of her work, she can be more pleasant. If you actually try to befriend her, and try to be more than just a co-worker, she opens up well and can be much, much nicer than normal. She enjoys indulging in human aspects of life, not content to remain stuffed up in a box all day and remain devoid of modern technology and culture. When she has the time, she does enjoy getting out and having fun, but she understands that her work is important and doesn't shirk duties. She can be casual, but the moment things get real, she's right back to work. And while she claims to not enjoy combat all that much, like all Nightkin, she has a strong bloodthirsty streak that starts to show when the fights actually start, but outside of that she's quite mellow and prefers to avoid too much conflict.
History: Lucina was born in the early 1920s, and lived in the harsh Fascist rule in Italy. Her childhood was rough, and she was often without money or proper food, born into a poor family. Her brothers and father all worked as hard as they could, while their mother put in everything to care for the children. Throughout her youth, neither Lucina nor any of her family bought into the state's propaganda, but the constant threat of death from the Blackshirts kept them quiet.
It wasn't until Lucina became a teenager that she became actively rebellious, though she only ever worked in secret. Her acts of unrest were often very simple, but got their messages across well. Graffiti on posters, the burning of newspapers, and painting over slogans placed on walls were her most common forms of revolt. Petty crimes, maybe, but enough to anger the military police that kept citizens in check.
Italy's entry to World War 2 made life harder on her family. Two of her four brothers entered the military, hoping to provide the family with benefits, but only ended up dying in combat. While her parents grieved, Lucina was furious, and entered some of the many strikes that were taking hold of the country at the time. She took it further, actively destroying sources of propaganda and committing crimes of arson every night an opportunity arose. During one of her late-night walks, she was caught defacing a poster, and was dragged into an alleyway to be disposed of.
She was shot multiple times, but before she expired, she caught sight of the men that had tried to execute her being slaughtered by another figure. He whisked her away from the alley, bringing her to the safety of an empty home. There, he explained who he was. Vicente Valtieri, leader of a coven vampires who lived within the area. At first, she hardly believed him, and figuring she would die anyway, accepted his offer of so-called recovery and a chance of true retribution.
Lucina was turned through blood exchange, as the Mask of Raziel had been stolen by a Nazi-sympathizing member of House Valtieri and was not in their possession at the time. She was extremely surprised to find that Vicente had been telling the truth, and recovered from her wounds quickly. It took her some time to adjust, but by the time she had, Italy's regime was falling apart. She joined the resistance movement, only taking part in nighttime operations for obvious reasons. Her actions were balanced between actively battling and helping victims of the war, and the entire time she was in the movement, Vicente watched over her. When the war was finally over, she agreed to give her full loyalty to House Valtieri. In return, Vicente provided her family with financial aid, and aided them in moving away from Italy to the United States.
Remaining with the House, she was welcomed as a full member once her desires for vengeance had been sated. Her colourful personality and rebellious nature caught her some attention from the other members, and Vicente personally appointed her as his assistant. None of the others had been willing to speak against him, and he wanted someone who would offer their mind on his decisions and other situations the clan got themselves into. She has proven a very effective, if somewhat outspoken member of the clan, and has been loyal to them since her induction.
Abilities: Preferring to use her transformation abilities for utility rather than combat, Lucina defaults to the mist form that most Nightkin know how to use. She's never bothered to learn how to shift into completely inhuman forms past that, and instead utilizes her shifting ability in different ways. Reinforcing her arms with wrapped and hardened tendrils, growing blades made of bone on her feet and wrists, and similar small transformations aid her in fights. She often employs the use of back-mounted tentacles for grabbing things, and as a result of their nonviolent use, they lack any edges to cause harm with.
Lucina makes good use of Illusion magic, cleaning up messes left behind by her clanmates by erasing and altering memories, masking herself for more direct approaches to the removal of evidence, and failing those, manipulating people's emotions to divert attention and pin blames. In combat, she uses it to become invisible or silent to surprise targets, paralyze them to prevent them from moving, or silence them to prevent magic being used in retaliation. While sufficiently enraged, she also tends to force enemies to suffer horrific visions and hallucinations, essentially causing them sleep paralysis while awake. She can also make a nice light for those sleepless late afternoon reading sessions.
While she isn't much of a physical fighter these days, she knows how to use a rapier well enough, and has quite a bit of skill with firearms like rifles and pistols. She prefers fully automatic weapons, under the logic of 'more bullets means more chances to hit.' In less violent skills, she's very good at organization and keeping a cool head in harsh situations, and is a damn good driver.
Equipment: To direct her magic, Lucina wears a bracelet and ring made from gold. They're enchanted in a way to let her more easily direct spells, and since she wears them, it reduces her chances of losing them in a fight. Both the ring and bracelet are decorated with multiple diamonds that glow when she activates a spell. When inert, they just look pretty.
She owns a sidearm that sees occasional use, a Mauser M712. The gun was a personal gift from Vicente, and as expected of anything to come from him, it's immaculately decorative but still effectively deadly. The gun's metal is blackened, save for the hammer, trigger, and selective fire switch, all of which are gold-plated. The gun itself has various inscriptions, mostly floral patterns, all of which are framed by fancy gold engravings. The barrel has some gold on the very end as well, but is otherwise smooth. The gun's handle is made of smooth, polished ivory, held on with gold fasteners. The pistol has a semi-automatic and fully automatic firing rate, and she tends to use the latter. When fighting with it, she carries a large amount of spare magazines in a belt around her hips. It tends to spend most of its life in a display case in her quarters.
Other: Her relationship with Vicente is similar to that of an adopted father-daughter bond. While she still calls him by name a majority of the time, they are very close and consider each other family. As for what's left of her human family, she isn't sure if they're still around.
- Julia Vargas | +
- Name: Julia Vargas
Age: 37
Gender: Female
Race: Werewolf
Appearance: Julia is a very tall and powerfully built woman of Brazilian and Mexican ethnicity. She stands at just over 6'2", and has a build that's thick and muscular all over. Her stomach and biceps are particularly well-defined, and she sometimes jokes that she could crush skulls with her legs. In all honesty, she probably actually can. Due to her genetics and general diet (which is 90% meat) she still has a good amount of body fat and is relatively well endowed. Her skin is brown, which compliments her amber eyes. A line of four jagged scars go across her back, from her right shoulder to her left hip. Another scar resembling burns surrounds her left wrist and lower forearm. She's got naturally sharp canine teeth, often clearly visible when she smiles. Her eyes are slightly almond-shaped, but still double lidded. When she's not expecting to get into a fight, she'll toy around with eyeliner, but it's not an overly common thing. Her general facial structure is heart-shaped, and she has a short, round-tipped nose and relatively full lips. Her eyebrows have a rounded arch to them, and her hair is straight, shoulder-length, and black. It never stays in one style for too long, though her preferred style is a partial ponytail with some side locks going onto her chest.
For clothing, she prefers shirts that are sleeveless and somewhat cropped, allowing them to remain intact when she transforms. She tends to stick to white, undecorated shirts that are easily replaced in the event that they get too damaged to continue to wear. For pants, she wears form-fitting things similar to cargo pants, with multiple pockets on the outer thighs and rear, tan in colour. They end just below her knees, also to allow for transformations without causing too much clothing damage. When in human form, she wears a large belt that attaches to a thigh pouch, held in place with a smaller belt around her leg, a pair of very dark brown motorcycle boots, and brown fingerless driving gloves. Her favorite part of the ensemble (and prized possession) is a near-sleeveless red leather motorcycle jacket, which is long enough to hang just over her belt. It has a pair of breast pockets, a zip-up front, and a very faded patch on the back that reads 'La noche es joven.'
Personality: Normally, Julia's a nice enough lady who enjoys relaxing and not worrying about needing to maul things, but on the occasion a fight becomes a possibility, she's right up on her feet and more than willing to bloody a few lips. She's got a strong moral compass, a fact she likes to deny whenever asked, but she finds herself caring for people too deeply and too easily. Her modus operandi involves going places, cleaning things up, and leaving before anyone will miss her, but she very often ends up missing them. While she's by no means angsty, she has a desire for some form of consistency in life. She's quick to lighten up to people and get friendly with them, in which case she's an extremely reliable and loyal person. Secrecy isn't her strong suit, and is part of the reason she moves around so often. She'd really prefer not to get hunted down by more people than she already has to deal with. And finally, as reckless as she may seem once she's actually fighting, she takes huge precautions to keep others near her safe, especially when a full moon is approaching and it becomes harder to control her therian spirit.
She grows a bit more boisterous and aggressive when a transformation is nearing, and can get quite violent in fights if they go on for too long. While she dislikes transforming often (it can be painful, and runs the risk of losing herself to the beast) she understands it can be very useful, and accepts it as a part of herself that she needs to keep in check, but can use for good. She's also quite open towards other supernatural beings, save for Witches with Fae ancestry. While she doesn't actively dislike them, she finds their practices and customs very weird and somewhat discomforting.
History: Born in Mexico in 1981, Julia had a very normal childhood. She had friends, was close to her family, and was happy despite their unfortunate financial situation. Life was good enough, but as she grew old, she grew bored. When she was around 13, a local urban legend began to circulate. Some sort of wolf who stalked the wilderness and came into town at night. She paid it little mind until she found her dog mauled and mostly eaten, apparently by some sort of large animal.
Along with some friends, she gathered what could potentially be used as a weapon and headed out into the night. For hours, they searched and found nothing. Some went home, but Julia continued to search for whatever had killed her dog. The thing she had been hunting found her first, and attacked.
It was an incredibly decrepit, starving werewolf, suffering from injuries with a fight it had in the past. The werewolf gashed her back, but due to its weakened, already-dying state, it was swarmed by the group and pummeled, cut, and stabbed into submission. It ran and did not return. Julia was rushed to the doctor, and her wounds were treated.
The next morning, a news report mentioned the discovery of a person's mutilated corpse just outside the city limits. The body could not be identified, and eventually, investigations stopped as they lead to nothing. Julia, while in the hospital, made a connection between the thing that had attacked her and the person whose corpse was discovered. Already a believer in some things supernatural, she began to grow worried, but nothing happened for a few years, other than recurring nightmares.
Soon after her 16th birthday, the spirit that had inhabited her body after her attack began to manifest itself. The month's full moon came a week after, and she experienced her first transformation and her last night at home. Julia, in a blind rage during her transformation, killed her parents and ate them. When she regained her consciousness, she was horrified. She ran, unsure of where to go and what to do. It took her months to gain even slight control of herself, as she wasn't lucky enough to be a born therian. But as more time passed and she learned more about herself, her weaknesses, and how to potentially inhibit the changes, she realized she could put them to a better use. She was in her mid twenties when she learned about the supernatural communities that dotted the world, and she made the decision to leave Mexico and go to the US.
There, she stayed with another therian, a much older one than her, who taught her more about her condition. It was not curable at the point she was at, and the beast's soul had bound itself to hers. She could, however, force it into submission. She underwent extremely rigorous physical and mental training, including the torturous act of wearing silver while in human form. It didn't cause permanent damage, but just touching it sent waves of burning pain throughout her body. The months spent at it made her stronger, and prepared her for the very long and likely harsh life ahead of her.
Since then, she has traveled the states, doing odd jobs for whoever might need a special touch.
Abilities: As a Werewolf, Julia is capable of transforming into a monstrous canine, and is skilled enough to utilize various 'levels' of change. She has enhanced senses and physical ability, and while she is not strong enough to control her spirit completely, she can commune with other werewolves when transformed and is capable of extreme speed.
When transformed, she tries to remain at a low level. Her basic transformation gains her sharper teeth and claws on both her hands and feet, as well as further enhanced physical abilities, while still keeping her entirely in control of herself. If she's pushed while transformed or is in need of immediate power, she'll allow herself to progress further. At that level, she gains a coating of very short and fine black fur, longer claws, and extended limbs. Her skull undergoes some changes as well, gaining forward-set jaws to house her new fangs. And, finally, her ears become pointed and adjustable. On the occasion she loses herself and transforms fully, she would take the form of a very large, tailless quadrupedal black wolf with fingered hands and yellow eyes.
Discounting her supernatural strengths, Julie is quite a skilled fighter. Whether using bare hands, claws, or things she picks up around the environment, she's good at cracking heads and tearing things apart. She's also quite good at driving motorcycles, but is less skilled with proper cars.
Equipment: Julie owns a single gun, a Remington Spartan 310. It's a double-barreled over-under shotgun, sawed down to be carried in a large thigh holster. The wood handle and foregrip are both made from cherry wood, and on the side of the gun's body, there's a stylized wolf head design. The barrels are ported to allow excess heat to escape. The ends of both barrels both have choke tubes, and she owns a pair of .45 caliber adapters, though they don't see much use. She tends to shoot one-handed.
For close combat in human form, she pairs off a large silver-edged trench knife with a spiked knuckle duster guard with an actual knuckle duster made of iron. The knife is often kept sheathed across her lower back, and the duster is worn as a necklace with a leather cord when not in use.
She also owns a pair of silver handcuffs, usually kept buckled to her belt. They are extremely painful for her to wear, but she does so anyway when the full moon is approaching to help contain her beast spirit. They inhibit transformations, but their use causes damage.
Other: Julia drives around an old Harley-Davidson motorcycle she's modified herself. It looks quite normal outwardly, but is capable of very high speeds and has respectable gas mileage. It also has a stylized wolf head stencil-painted onto the side of the gas tank, silver in colour.
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