A Fool In the Night

by Somniloquist Fri Jan 11, 2013 6:08 am

Full Name: Maxwell Garrington (né James Brennan)
Apparent Age: ~30
Date of Birth: December 20, 1740
Date of Death: July 13, 1768
Birthplace: Brighton, England
Place of Death: Cork, Ireland
Current Residence: Crystal Springs, California
Hair: Dark Brown
Eyes: Blue
Height: 6'0''
Weight: 200 lbs.
Occupation: ~~Adjunct professor~~; fixer/hunter/etc.
Sexual Orientation: Pansexual; nonmonogamous
Noteworthy Possessions: Demon-slaying arming sword; angel-slaying dagger (also works on demons); vast assortment of weaponry (without enchantments); suit of armor bearing Enochian glyphs; a collection of charms preventing both demonic and spiritual possession; WWII-era military coat
Personality Points: Confident, outgoing, playful, seductive, intellectual, passionate, progressive-minded
Combat Strengths: Enhanced senses, greatly enhanced physical attributes, intimate familiarity with axes, accelerated healing, capable of using blood magic in a variety of applications, blood has healing properties for mortals (but doing this may result in a blood bond)
Combat Weaknesses:Burned by sunlight, dies instantly if pierced by wood, dies if decapitated, burned and poisoned by silver (must be pure), magical energies are interrupted by the blood of the dead
Other Strengths: Immortality, capable of controlling humans via glamour (requires eye contact), singing voice is enchanting to humans
Other Weaknesses: Cannot procreate, is made violently ill by the consumption of (most) materials other than blood, cannot enter a mortal dwelling uninvited (will suffer great pain and hemorrhaging), must consume the blood of higher creatures to maintain health and power (synthetic blood does not satisfy the appetite of this breed of vampire)
About Magic Use: It's theorized that this breed's magical energy is drawn from the sacrifice suffered by the victim from which the blood was drawn. Alternatively, there may be a breath of magic in the blood of humans that fuels this power. Whatever the case, a vampire's magical abilities are limited by the amount and quality of the blood they've consumed. Simple, mild and more familiar manipulations carry a minimal cost in blood, whereas complex, grandiose or unfamiliar workings will cost much more. Age and experience will diminish this cost, but it will never disappear completely. Working this magic requires an exercise of will, some connection to the blood, and the extension of certain logical pathways. Practice allows the user to simplify his methods and, thus, use less power to perform the same action, with time.

Drinking the blood of creatures higher than humans (eg, demons, fae, angels) allows for much more effective access to this power.

A Summary of Public Knowledge

Maxwell was born in Brighton, but was moved to Cork as a young boy. He identified as homosexual when he was human, and from the age of 17 until being made vampire, lived with his "husband", Cyril.

He was made vampire by one known as Evangeline in the mid-18th century. They spent many, many years together, adopting a number of guises to pass among humanity (father/daughter, sister/brother, husband/wife, etc.).

They parted briefly in the early 20th century, but reunited after World War II and had a home built in Crystal Springs, in which Maxwell currently resides.

In the 1980s, they spent time in West Berlin and Maxwell formed a band called The Sinkillers*, which enjoyed a strong cult following, most notably appearing in the film The Sky Over Berlin**, and was lauded for their hypnotic live performances. The band dissolved in the early 1990s, and Evangeline disappeared from his life shortly thereafter. She had been strongly against his forming this band, citing concerns about attracting too much attention, and generally being unable to assume new lives as frequently as they had in the past. Maxwell's plan was to continue aging himself in an approximation of how he might have realistically as a human, and eventually fake his death. Thanks the the Revelation, it never came to that.

He returned to the US and traveled the country for some time, recording a single album under his own name with the assistance of musicians met along the way. This enjoyed slightly more radio play in certain avenues than his work with the Sinkillers, songs appearing in the odd film or three, but carefully avoided truly mainstream recognition.

When the matter of the Revelation arose, Maxwell embraced it whole-heartedly, as his longstanding approach had already been to make a place for himself in mainstream society, rather than hiding in the shadows among his own kind. His personal revelation was first made via forum posts and webcam through a Sinkillers fansite, followed by an article submitted to the local newspaper.

Thereafter, fond of answering questions and relating knowledge, he traveled the country, giving talks on how vampires might integrate peacefully into human society, and fielding questions about what life was like in 18th century Europe and beyond. However, he quickly found himself frustrated by the fact that humans did not seem to understand the limited point of view one had in that time period, particularly when restricted to nighttime hours, leading him to abandon these pursuits in the space of three months.

For some time, he continued to travel the US, with no particular aim beyond gauging the success of the Revelation around the country.

His experience in lecturing eventually inspired him to pursue teaching and, after a great deal of convincing, he was taken on as an adjunct professor at the local university, leading an elective course in creative writing. This was a matter of some controversy, once a few of the school's wealthy (and quite conservative) donors got wind of these plans. He did, ultimately, acquire the job, but only under the condition that the public was made aware of his introduction into the school before the year's sign-ups were to begin.

On his first night of teaching, he made the ill-considered decision to sing for his students as they came into class, of a mind that it would make a fond first impression, considering his history in music. Instead, this decision stirred up controversy once more, for many students later related that they felt strange, manipulated and vulnerable, in those moments he was singing. His classes were put on hold for a week, and many of his students dropped out in that time. When asked what happened, Maxwell would claim the effect to be a result of his 'condition', something over which he had no control.

Upon returning, his remaining students decided to make a formal announcement of their trust, each shaking his hand (many of them merely following the example of those before them) before sitting to take instruction. Later, some would admit to being unsettled by him in such close proximity but, in the same breath, admit it couldn't be helped; it was no fault of Professor Garrington's, who proved to be an effective teacher, if notoriously long-winded.

Things went well for some time; he was seen drinking synthetic blood much more often than he was noted sneaking away in the company of some healthy youth, of which no proof of feeding could be produced.

It wasn't until Russel Edgington appeared on television***, divesting that poor newsman of his spine, that things went sour for him. Public opinion of vampires took a nosedive, and persons of import who had once taken his side concerning his place in the university reconsidered their decision. By this time, substantial rumors of his feeding on students from the school, and others in town, had begun to surface, fueling the idea that his position jeopardized the safety of the student body. He was not asked to renew his contract for the following semester, something taken as a deliberate act against him for what he was. A number of former students and other allies at the school sometimes call for his return, but there has been no grand demonstration, as yet, and after two months, there remain no indications that he'll be asked to resume teaching, in spite of his popularity among his own students.

Five months ago, he began posting flyers around campus, and notices on the internet, offering affordable room and board at his home, with details to be discussed via email or telephone communication. Asked of it, he will claim that his only motivation in this is to give students and others in need a quiet, peaceful environment in which to live their lives, not constantly crushed under the threat of death. His detractors in town may suspect that there is something else to this arrangement, but if that is the case, Maxwell has been careful enough to keep it under wraps.

While it is mostly kept in the garage, if at all present, a lucky glimpse up the long drive might betray a black Impala that most definitely does not belong to Maxwell.

(Footnotes: *: A fictional equivalent of the band Crime and the City Solution . ** Literal English title of the German film Der Himmel über Berlin, AKA Wings of Desire , in which the aforementioned band appears; I figured calling it that instead would more comfortably allow for fictionalization. ***One of my few insertions of True Blood canon into the RP, a reference to a scene from S03E09 .)

Further Information

As Maxwell's profile in Crystal Springs rose, the local sheriff, Carmelia, grew frustrated with his lack of respect for her authority, and managed, at last, to corner him. Having dug around and discovered his talent for magicks, as well as his apparent concern for human well-being, she presented him with an ultimatum; work for her, or face the judgment of the state's Magister for his longstanding refusal to acknowledge the Authority.

This proved a fairly clear choice for Maxwell, and it was in this way that he began working to clean up the messes his fellows quite like making. Magic is not a thing known to the larger human population, and it is in vampires' best interest--as well, Maxwell thinks, as that of other supernatural communities--that it remains so; his job is to help keep that secret when other vampires threaten to expose it, often unintentionally.

How to Use Information in 'A Summary of Public Knowledge'

As this is an RP taking place in the internet age, all of the information in this section is information which may be available to your character. Likely the only way to know all of it is through internet research, but a good deal of it will have appeared in news articles (some local, some national; he may have had an interview in a magazine like Rolling Stone or Vanity Fair, for example) as well, or be pieced together through rumors, etc.. You may use some, none, or all of this information, in character, as you see fit. . .just remember to write how your character found it out (I can assist in this, if necessary, and will do so gladly!).

How to Use Information in 'Further Information'

This information is strictly for plot-building purposes, and is not something most human characters who aren't hunters would know about. Your character may bear witness to Maxwell doing something in that capacity, or otherwise be involved in it, but they would not know that he does such work beforehand (unless that is specifically a plot point). That is, this information is of interest from a player perspective, but in many cases, is not meant to be in character knowledge.

by Somniloquist Fri Jan 11, 2013 6:26 am

On a large scale, this setting/universe has its core basis in the True Blood canon. This mostly concerns the social status of vampires, and on that count, the Great Revelation occurred ~4 years prior to the current point in the story. I do keep up with the Sookie Stackhouse book series, but thusfar, when I do use canon events, it has been from the TV series canon, not the books. The current timeline is a short time after the end of season 3.

I've also put in a bit of Supernatural canon to accommodate a partner and generally make things more interesting. This timeline ends around the end of season five.

More specifically, the setting of Crystal Springs is an invented town in northern California. It is a mountainous region, its culture and economy largely dominated by the presence of a university whose profile is steadily rising nationally. The distribution of wealth covers upper class through lower middle class, and it is a relatively low-crime area. What I mean by this is, it isn't a "gritty" setting; any such setting would be a separate, though nearby, town. There are all sorts of gardens and parks, as well as coffee shops, restaurants, performance venues, bars and so on--there's plenty to do. Many sections of town present a strong sense of community; people are as warm as they are gossipy.

Feel free to talk to me if any of these references aren't useful to you, and I'd happy to explain to the best of my ability.

A Fool In the Night

A Fool In the Night

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