OOC -- "Family of Blood"

[GrayOldFart]

NOTE:
Please Don't Post In This Thread
It is intended to be a place to organize all those little details that bring a role play to life,
and it will be easier for me to manage if I am the only one posting here.
Thanks.
I appreciate your consideration.​

(I am going to provide links soon to the below categories of information. Please be patient. I am only just returning from having to take a break for "real life" responsibilities.)


Characters

History and What's Happening Now

 

[GrayOldFart]

This is still being edited...

Characters

Note​

Eloise -- Deceased Matriarch of the FoB MC. (Worth looking at.)

Members of the Family of Blood Motorcycle Club: Please read this.

• Quinn Blackwater (Apparent Age=35; Actual Age=235) -- Patriarch of the MC (GrayOldFart)
  • Lara (18, 20; newest Kin to Quinn; newest member to the Blackwater MC.) Available Character
  • Ursula (28, 104) -- Communications Officer Available Character (GrayOldFart).
    • Juan Valdez (52, 96) -- Artist (Music and otherwise; forger) -- GrayOldFart.
    • Sarah (20-ish, <100) Available Character. (See Posts #7 and #19.)
• John Blackwater (27, 196) -- Sergeant at Arms (GrayOldFart)
  • Unclaimed Male Vampire.
  • Unclaimed Male Vampire.
  • Unclaimed Female Vampire.
  • Unclaimed Female Vampire.
  • Unclaimed Female Vampire.

NOTE: The below vampires can fall into various position within the family tree, not just as Kin to Quinn.

• Unclaimed Male Vampire.
• Unclaimed Male Vampire.
• Unclaimed Male Vampire.
• Unclaimed Male Vampire.
• Unclaimed Male Vampire.
• Unclaimed Male Vampire.
• Unclaimed Male Vampire.
• Unclaimed Male Vampire.
• Unclaimed Male Vampire.
• Unclaimed Male Vampire.
• Unclaimed Female Vampire.
• Unclaimed Female Vampire.
• Unclaimed Female Vampire.
• Unclaimed Female Vampire.
• Unclaimed Female Vampire.
• Unclaimed Female Vampire.
• Unclaimed Female Vampire.
  

Residents of Oceanview:

• Primary Characters:
  • Henry "Hank" Barton -- Mayor and Owner/Operator of the Sick Seagull Tavern. (GrayOldFart)
  • Maggie (Barton) Donovan -- Owner/Operator of the The Oceanview Diner, part time waitress at the Sick Seagull, niece to Hank. (heartofcourage)
  • Tessa and Megan -- Diner patrons (more to come).
• Secondary Characters:
  • Sam -- Morning Cook, The Oceanview Diner. (heartofcourage)
• Deceased:
  • Yuli Green -- Meth Cook. (See Post #7)

 

[GrayOldFart]

Quinn

Gender: Male
Age: Turned=35; Actual=235

Pic and description:

• 5'10", 200#; fit.
• Dark, neatly trimmed hair.
• Steel gray eyes that seem to stare right through you.

Personality:

• Soft spoken and reserved with strangers.
• Firm and direct with the Family.
• Demands total loyalty from the Family, which he usually gets (as explained further below).
• He is not easily driven to anger, but when he is, he is brutal and final in his response.
• Totally dedicated to the welfare of the Family.

Skill(s):

• Leadership/charisma.
• Perception/empathy (almost to the level of telepathy).
• Night sight (can see in the darkest of nights as if it were high noon).

Background:

• Born 1777 in New York to well-to-do merchants who were King George "loyalists".
• The family had its property and wealth seized during the continuing formation of the new United States of America.
• He became a common laborer and ended up in the shipyards of Boston.
• During the War of 1812, while on a boat destined for a Lake Ontario, he was captured by the British. During a forced march, he became ill and was taken in by a French-Canadian, Eloise ... who was a vampire.
• Quinn was turned to save his life. Eloise saw a great future in him and chose him to be her Mate. As such, he would help turn each of her Kin, thereby cementing their loyalty to him should Eloise ever pass on.
• After WWII, as motorcycles became popular, Quinn was primarily responsible for the Blackwater Family becoming the Family of Blood Motorcycle club. The First Twelve -- Eloise, Quinn, and ten of their mutually turned Kin -- rode about the US and Canada over the next half a century, creating FoB MCs all of the continent.
• In 1988, Eloise -- tired and ready for death -- killed herself and was laid to rest. At her midnight funeral, more than 800 FoB members from all over North America cruised into the small Lake Ontario town that had always been the Matriarch's home. Without a word, they filed past her grave, dropped in a single, red rose, mounted their bikes, and disappeared again into the night.

Thomas's View of His Life as a Vampire:

• Thomas has never regretted his decision to be turned. Although he didn't truly understand the ramifications, he knew that not to be turned would have meant death.
• He is discriminating about who he feeds from, who he kills, and who he turns. He tries not to feed from good people unless they are gaining something from him in return ... and he never turns someone without them fully understanding the life they will lead from then on.
• When possible, he and his Family feed on and/or kill the scum of society. They have been, in some cases, vigilantes, helping communities with their crime problems.

 

[GrayOldFart]

Note:​

The below information is important in the understanding of our vampires. Please read it thoroughly at least once, and refer back to it anytime you question whether or not something you are about to post might be conflicting with the established story line.

Terminology to Know:

• Patriarch: The most senior vampire in the Family. In this role play, that is Quinn.
• Maker: The vampire who turns a human into a vampire.
• Kin: Those vampires turned by a specific Maker. In our case, each vampire Thomas turned is his Kin. A vampire turned by one of Thomas's Kin is not his direct Kin but is his indirect Kin.
• Family: All of the vampires in the Patriarch's "blood" line, whether his direct or indirect Kin.
• Turning: The act of transforming a human to a vampire.
• Feeding: Taking nourishment from a human.
• Blood Donor: A person who, voluntarily or not, is periodically fed upon. This person is neither turned nor killed ... although that might happen some day as well.

Specifics about the Origin of our Vampires:

• All of the vampires in our story are from Thomas's Family (see above), although that doesn't mean that at some point, some of the other 400+ FoB members might not make an appearance.
• Due to this fact, all of our vampires were turned following 1812, when Thomas himself was turned.

Loyalty:

• Kin are very loyal to their Maker. They would never intentionally do anything to harm or disappoint them.
• Indirect Kin are less loyal, which is the reason Patriarchs typically try to restrict their number of Kin their own Kin produce. Indirect Kin -- particularly third or fourth generation -- begin to have less and less loyalty and concern for the Patriarch, which can lead to Family in-fighting.

A Vampire's Physical Appearance:

• After being turned, a new vampire begins to change physically, shifting toward a more perfect, more beautiful, more physically fit being.
• Some of this change is under the control of the vampire him/herself. For example, a male vampire who had been small in stature but wants to be very muscular -- Conan-like -- will shift that direction quicker; while an "ugly duckling" female vampire who wants to be better looking can shift that direction, becoming more beautiful than even the most famous of Supermodels.
• Of course, there may be a female vampire who wants to be buff and a male vampire who wants to be People magazine's "Sexiest Male", and this, too, is possible.
• A younger vampire will "shift" quicker than an older one.
• Be aware that concentrating all of one's "energy" on enhancing one ability to its greatest extent will cause the Vampire to be lacking in other areas. For example, John -- Thomas's Sergeant at Arms -- is Conan-like in appearance and strong enough to break a man in half, but he's not the brightest bulb in the chandelier.

A Vampire's Special Abilities: Don't confuse special abilities from your favorite vampire movie with this role play. Any special ability you wish you to pursue should be passed by the host first.

• Vampires do not age, and therefore do not suffer the physical or mental "decay" that comes with age.
• Vampires heal quickly, so long as an injury is not life threatening.
• Vampires do not suffer from infections, viruses, the common cold, etc. They do not get diseases.
• Vampires are not, however, immortal in the sense that they can't be killed. They are just as vulnerable to physical damage -- and, therefore, death -- as a human is.
• Each Vampire has the ability to greatly enhance one ability at a time -- usually a task that takes decades, sometimes centuries, to achieve. Some choose to allow all of their abilities to improve a bit, more like creating molehills of capabilities rather than a mountain peak of one skill.
• THE HOST RESERVES THE RIGHT TO VETO ANY "ABILITY" UNDER CONSIDERATION. If you don't like that, start your own RP; that's your right, and I support you on it. In fact, I'll even come join your RP if you want company.

A Vampire's Vulnerabilities and Why They Must Feed:

• Vampires are not immortal, as described above.
• Feeding quantities below are understood to mean 1 quart of human blood. Non-human or synthetic blood has no benefit for Vampires.
• Simply to remain alive, a Vampire must feed once a moon. Not doing so will cause a Vampire to lapse into a coma and, in days, die.
• Simply to feel human normality, a Vampire must feed twice a moon. His/her special "enhancements" and "abilities" will be absent.
• To enjoy the benefit of his/her enhancements, a Vampire must feed three or four times a moon. This depends greatly upon how advanced the individual Vampire's "enhancements" have been "pushed" and how physically large and active a Vampire is. For example, a big, bulky vampire like John who pushed his body to a Conan-like physique and uses it extensively will need to feed every week, if not more often than that; while a smallish female vampire who did little to change herself and only enhanced her ability to sing or paint, might be able to feed two or three times a moon and still feel special.

Turning a Human Into a Vampire:

• A human must want to be turned into a Vampire to have such done to him/her.
• A Turning can be performed by a male or female to a male or female. The higher the emotional bond between the two, the easier and quicker the Turning becomes; therefore, a turning between sexual partners -- whether hetero- or homo-sexual -- is accelerated, as is a Turning between loving, non-sexual family members who have a life long relationship with one another.
• Any attempt by a vampire to turn an unwilling human will kill the human and cause the Vampire to become ill as well.
• Turning is a physical, emotional, and sometimes sexual process that takes time, sometimes days, to take affect.

Stereotypical Vampire Stuff:

• Vampires may venture out in the sun, but it exhausts them within minutes and counters their special abilities.
• Vampires don't sleep in coffins, don't turn into bats, don't fly through the air, yadda yadda yadda.
• Stakes through the heart? Kill em dead ... as will a knife through the heart, a soda straw through the heart, a mean ass bunny rabbit through the heart. Get the picture?
• Crosses? "Oh, isn't that pretty? Can I wear it to breakfast, please."

 

[GrayOldFart]

John Blackwater

Gender: Male
Age: Turned=27; Actual=196

Pic and description:

• 6'4", 250#; muscular, rock hard. (Think professional wrestler.)
• Blond hair, crew cut. Neat, blond goatee.
• Steel blue eyes.
• Undressed, lots of scars ... and well hung.

Personality:

• Gruff, firm, forceful with adults; a teddy bear to children.
• Quick to react at times.
• As Sergeant At Arms of the FoB, his job is to provide counsel to Quinn and perform those tasks necessary to protect the MC. While he is not Quinn's direct Kin and is not bound by a blood loyalty, John has nearly always agreed with Quinn in his actions.

Skill(s):

• All forms of aggressive, physical engagement, from hand-to-hand combat to weapons use.
• Leadership and strategy, particularly in combat situations.
• Night sight (can see at twilight/dawn as if it were an overcast day. Not nearly as enhanced as Quinn's but the next best of the FoB.)

Background:

• Born 1889. (Family history as of yet undocumented.)
• He was a 23 militia man in 1812, fighting the British in Upstate New York when he was shot and left paralyzed from the waist down.
• Eloise saw a strong man inside that broken body and turned John in 1816 at age 27. Over the next two years, John went from being bed ridden to winning fisticuffs matches and strong man competitions.
• John enlisted (under aliases, of course) in the Civil War, the Spanish-American War, and others up to an including WWI and WWII, primarily because he liked war. He was injured several times and almost died a couple of more. He had an array of scars over his body.
• When the FoB was formed, John became Chapter Patriarch of the Alsea (Oregon) Chapter of the FoB, the first non-California chapter on the West Coast. It was a small MC -- 8 member, 5 of whom are still in the Blackwater Chapter -- that ran into legal problems in the mid-1980s and was being investigated in several murder, kidnapping, rape, and disappearance cases.
• In 1988, when Eloise died, John requested to fold the Alsea Chapter into the Blackwater Chapter. He became the Patriarch's right hand man, the MC's Sergeant at Arms. Being outside of Quinn's bloodline, he is able to speak his mind and direct his actions without being influenced by uncontrolled loyalty.

John's View of His Life as a Vampire:

• John loved being a vampire.
• As with Quinn, he is discriminating about who he feeds from, who he kills, and who he turns.

 

[GrayOldFart]

Juan Valdez

• Blackwater Chapter.
• Turned by Ursula with Quinn.

Gender: Male
Age: Turned=52; Actual=96

Pic and description:

• 5'8", 202#; strong, but with an ample layer of what he calls insulation.
• Long blond hair, pony tail to his belt. Full beard.
• Green eyes. Wears glasses (including prescription sunglasses most of the time.)

Personality:

• Friendly.
• Very protective of the family and Ursula, even beyond the normal loyalty.
• Comical, musical, playful; always laughing or singing.

Skill(s):

• Artistically talented, with pen, paint, and musical instrument.
• Has on occasion faked the paperwork the family needs to get things done.

Background:

• Born 1916. (Family history as of yet undocumented.)
• In 1968, Juan -- then 52 -- was crippled while protesting against the War in Viet Nam. Ursula -- seemingly 28 years old but already a vampire for 76 years -- turned him, and within months he was his old self.
• He is an artist at heart and often entertains the family with music, story telling, and more.
• He also does an impression of coffee commercial icon, Juan Valdez, usually when the MC's travel's take it past a ranch with mules or donkeys.

Juan's's View of His Life as a Vampire:

• Juan did not want to be a vampire, but he was both dying of complications from his injuries and in total lust -- and later love -- with Ursula.
• He has never turned a human and refuses to do so.

 

[GrayOldFart]

A Note About Family And Loyalty​

Loyalty is a must within a Vampire Family, and loyalty is created via the bloodline. A vampire is totally loyal to his/her Maker; very loyal to the vampire who turned his/her Maker; and so on down the bloodline.

While there is no involuntary loyalty outside of the bloodline, most vampires will show loyalty to non-related vampires as a sign of respect.

A couple of examples of bloodlines and the loyalty factors involved would be these:

• Quinn turned Ursula, among others. Ursula will do just about anything Quinn asks of her. Not to do so can result in actual physical and mental pain and weakness, as well as potentially get her banished and/or killed.
• Ursula turned Juan. Juan would do just about anything Ursula asks of him, and it would take some unusual circumstances for him to not do something that Quinn asks of him.
• John in a sibling of Quinn; their maker was Eloise. In contrast to the Chapter Patriarchs who were turned by Eloise and Quinn together, John had been turned by Eloise alone, prior to her decision that Quinn would be Patriarch one day. Therefore, John's loyalty to Quinn is purely a result of respect; John could turn on Quinn in a moment's notice.
• John brought his Kin from the Alsea MC into the Blackwater MC. Each of these vampires has total loyalty to John, their maker, but again their loyalty to Quinn is strictly respect driven, not inherent.

Every vampire in the beginning of our story is in the direct lineage of either Quinn or John. If someone wants to write a character outside of that lineage, ask. We can figure something out.

 

[GrayOldFart]

History And What's Happening Now​

For the hell of it, I'm going to start the RP out on September 14, a beautiful, sunny fall day. (Year is irrelevant, but imagine it just about now.)

As always, a place to learn the history and happenings in full detail is in the IC and Profiles.


September

• 14th
  • The Family of Blood Motorcycle Club -- the Blackwater Family of vampires -- rolls into Oceanview, a small town somewhere on the Pacific Coast of the United States.
  • Introducing Characters:
    • Quinn
    • Hank
    • Maggie
  • The FoB members rent the cabins of the otherwise totally vacant Oceanview Motel.
  • Three members go to the forest beyond the Oceanview tunnel, locate a meth cook's camp, and feed/kill him.
  • Introducing Lara, Quinn's Kin and lover.
• 15th
  • Quinn and half of the 26 FoB members go to breakfast at Maggie's diner.
  • Introducing:
    • Ursula.
    • John.
    • Tessa and Megan.
  • Lara entices Maggie into having dinner that night with Quinn.
  • John strikes up a conversation with Tessa, asking her to lunch.

 

[GrayOldFart]

Eloise -- Deceased (1988)

Gender: Female
Age:

• She was turned at age 14 during the winter of 1480.
• Actual age upon her death, 31 Dec 1988, was 508.
• Because of the passage of time and the fact that vampires are not immortal by the strict definition of the word, Eloise appeared to be in her 50s when she died but felt much older. (She "allowed" her body to die.)

Personality:

• She was a solitary woman until Quinn; she feared interaction with humans -- and dreaded what she would do to them -- and only spent time with men, and sometimes women, who she would become lovers with, then feed upon, then kill.
• She was a passionate woman once she got to know a lover. (Sex is, after all, a vital part of The Turning.)
• She was hopelessly in love with Quinn, making him Patriarch to the Blackwater Clan.

Skill(s):

• Five centuries had made Eloise almost superhuman.
• Anything a human could do, she could do ten, a hundred times better, faster, or with more skill.
• Anything another vampire could do, she could do in such a way as to make that vampire seem little more than human.
• Her strength and speed waned as her death neared, but her mind and her reactions never failed her.

Background:

• During the Winter of 1480, at age 14, Eloise was taken as a lover by the Noble man her family served and turned almost immediately.
• The Patriarch was a solitary man, and Eloise became his hunter, luring men with hearts full of lust to the man's estate, where they would become involuntary donors until death.
• In 1550, the Patriarch was killed by a village mob. Eloise fled and spent the next two centuries moving about Europe, feeding and fleeing from village to village, city to city.
• In 1760, she stowed away aboard a French commercial schooner, bound for Canada. She was discovered and pressed into sexual service for the crew, feeding upon, killing, and disposing one of them overboard when she needed.
• When the boat was captured by the British, her sexual service was extended to the Captain of that boat until it reached Canada. There, she killed him and disappeared inland to the woods.
• She lived a solitary life for the next 50+ years, luring Frontier Men to her cabin for their sexual pleasure and her nutritional needs.
• In 1812, involved with a British Captain of a Lake Ontario battle schooner, she was asked to care for an injured POW named Quinn. Seeing he would die, she turned him; he was her first Kin.
• Together, Eloise and Quinn established the Blackwater Clan. In the beginning, Eloise turned each vampire, thereby maintaining her control upon them. However, as she came to realize that she would someday die and that Quinn would need to maintain control over the family, she began involving him in the turnings.
• Following WWII, with many of the Family members falling in awe of the motor bike, the Family of Blood Motorcycle Club was formed. The Blackwater Chapter traveled all about Canada and the United States, sometimes settling down for a few weeks to turn new members and establish MCs. Each Chapter President was turned in conjunction by Eloise and Quinn to ensure the blood line and loyalty bonds.
• In 1988, Eloise -- tired and ready for death -- allowed her body to simply quit. At her midnight funeral, more than 800 FoB members from all over North America cruised into the small Lake Ontario town that had always been the Matriarch's home. Without a word, they filed past her grave, dropped in a single, red rose, mounted their bikes, and disappeared again into the night.

Eloise's View of Her Life as a Vampire:

• Eloise, at the time a naive 14 year old servant girl, would have done anything to please her Noble master. She was turned voluntarily but soon learned that she was just one of many lovers he had across his lands. She regretted her decision for the next five centuries.
• She had never turned anyone before Quinn. She'd killed thousands -- men and women alike -- but had never turned anyone; she would rather end someone's life than put them through what she'd gone through.
• Saving Quinn gave her a new outlook on life, though. Together, they would save many humans who's lives were, in their opinions, not worth living.