Application and Reference Post
Jun. 1st, 2009 07:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
missesthestars[series]: Cal Leandros Series (written by Rob Thurman) Nightlife, Moonshine, Madhouse and Deathwish
[character]: Promise Nottinger
[character history / background]:
"Promise Nottinger was one of the more well-behaved of Niko's clients. Never mind that she was more commonly known as Promissory Note."
When first seen, Promise is a gold-digger, but of an honorable sort. She never lied to her husbands about why they had her interest, but she was loyal to them, caring, and devoted to each in her own way. Her five, very wealthy, very elderly husbands all died of natural causes (no, really they did), leaving her their wealth, reputations, and a number of pleasant memories. She has spent years cultivating her position as one of the social elite, serving on museum boards and moving in the highest of social circles. She is respected, maybe even feared a little. She may have pissed off the occasional disinherited relative as she made her way through her husbands, but that's why she hired Niko and Cal Leandros as bodyguards. Even if it was mostly for show. After all, vampires can take care of themselves.
"This is a palace in comparison."
"In comparison to what?"
..."To where I was born."
Promise's background is largely a mystery, but it is known that approximately 700 years ago, the vampire that would be known as Promise Nottinger was born to what can safely be said to be miserable conditions if an New York greasy spoon is a palace in comparison. For the more historically minded, this means she's lived through the black plague, several centuries of European war, two world wars and probably more atrocities than you can shake a stick at. Between the four books, the following time line can be estimated:
~1306 - Promise is born.
~1600's - Promise survives the Great Plague of London, barely as per Niko she makes reference to how hard blood was to come by.
~1842 - Promise gives birth to her daughter Cherish. Based on her appearance, Cherish's father is assumed to be Spanish or Latin American. Other than that, nothing is known.
~ Mid-1800's Sometime around here, Promise has her relationship with Seamus. Cherish was young enough to have considered him a father/uncle figure in her youth. Promise was with him for several years before leaving him.
~1865 - After the Civil War, Promise moved to the US.
~1900 - Promise is able to stop feeding on humans. There are no further date-specific references in the books, but Promise does make mention of being a nurse in "the war." But when asked, she declined to specify which war and changed the subject.
~1996-2006 Promise marries and buries five very elderly, very wealthy husbands.
"She was calm tranquility, an enigma in silk."
Promise is introduced in the first book, Nightlife, as little more than a job and a curiosity when it's discovered she's not human. Besides that, she has little relevance to the plot although Thurman does set up the fact that Niko is quite taken with her and the feeling appears mutual. Beginning just prior to the second and continuing through the third and most of the fourth books, Promise and Niko share a loving and devoted relationship...well as devoted as Niko can be to anything that isn't his brother. Because of her affection for Niko, Promise takes on a sisterly role with Cal as well, engaging in friendly teasing and protectiveness. However, her affection for Niko on occasion supersedes her affection for Cal, who she nearly pushes to madness trying to get memories out of him for his brother's sake in Moonshine. Despite the hitch, she and Niko remain close.
From just before Moonshine on, she assists the brothers in running a private investigative business that caters to the non-human crowd. Exterminations, ransom deliveries and the like. While her position as a socialite has given her wide connections in the "normal" world, her position as a centuries-old vampire has given her the same in the other. It is those contacts and the jobs they provide that fuel a lot of the action in the series, from the undercover job that goes horribly wrong in Moonshine to tracking down Sawney Beane in Madhouse. She also provides more practical assistance, joining the brothers in the field and more than once offering her home on the Upper East side as a place to rest, recuperate, or simply hide as the case may be. She has also provided monetary support in extreme circumstances, such as donating her jewelry (or a large portion of it) to be used as a bribe for a boggle in Madhouse, however it's worth noting that this happens only in extreme circumstances. She respects Niko and his wishes to make his own way although she could easily provide for him and Cal.
In Deathwish a lot of this changes, most especially her relationship with Niko. The first strain is a job she sets them up with, assisting Seamus (a former lover) to discover who's been following him. It's the first time that Niko has been confronted with a clear reminder of her past and while Promise never lied about the nature and depth of the relationship, she certainly wasn't up-front about it. She was even tighter-lipped about the very existence of her daughter, Cherish, who literally crashes back into Promise's life, dragging a massive amount of chaos and trouble in her wake. Cherish and Promise had been estranged, but she feels a genuine need to assist her child and Niko, loyal as he is, agrees to help despite the Auphe waiting in the wings for he and Cal. Both Seamus and Cherish lie and manipulate Promise during the course of the book, the former about changing his violent ways, the latter about why she's being chased and both situations end with death. Seamus, who had threatened Niko in a jealous rage is killed by a protective Cal, but Cherish... With the help of a "pet" chupracabra, Cherish telepathically convinced Niko that his brother was dead in the hopes that she cold drive him into a homicidal rage and kill the man that was after her. It worked, but Cal showed up and prevented Niko from finishing his perceived revenge. When Promise discovered how her daughter manipulated her, she was guilt-ridden and crushed and she and Niko part ways for a time. When Niko found where Cherish was hiding, he called Promise to let her know. Promise proceeds to disown her child and more or less gives Niko her blessing to kill her. He does. Months later, after they have both have had time to heal, they reconcile.
[character abilities]:
Promise is a vampire. This gives her superhuman strength, she's been seen to snap necks with little effort and lift and throw creatures larger than her. She can move faster than humans and has exceptional healing abilities, to the point where two bullet woulds barely slow her down.
Whether due to her vampiric nature or not, she is extremely graceful and stealthy to the point where Cal has commented that in certain situations she could out-ninja Niko. She has also been seen to stick to a wall, and fight underwater. Her fangs can elongate, and have been known to do so on the rare occasions when she's furious.
In terms of weapons training, she is an expert with a crossbow and with swords, although she prefers the crossbow for "sentimental" reasons.
Also worth noting, Promise is a seductress extraordinaire. In Cal's words, "It wasn't sex or even the hint of it, although it was erotic as hell. I'd compared her to royalty before and that was part of it. She was a goddess come to earth; at least she made you believe that. She didn't walk; she flowed. And when she smiled, she put the Mona Lisa to shame." Sounds like a skill to me. She uses it rarely, though.
In terms of weaknesses and feeding this universe plays with vampire lore. Stakes, crosses and holy water are out, but sunlight is still deadly. Direct contact can cause third-degree burns in minutes and those burns are extremely slow to heal. Presumably she could be physically hurt to the point where her body could not heal, but it's never discussed as an actuality, only a possibility. Beheading works.
As for feeding, in the early 1900's it was discovered that with massive doses of iron and other supplements vampires could live without drinking blood. It does not diminish the desire for the real thing, but it suffices. Promise is also heard to say that she is not as strong as a vampire that has been feeding on blood so the potential for her to be even stronger exists.
[character personality]:
Promise is very restrained and reserved. She has seen a lot, done a lot, and is not quick to trust but when she does, that trust seems absolute.
In public she is professional, polite and demanding if necessary and very hard to ruffle. She never offers personal information up-front, and when asked rarely gives it. In business she is professional, curt, and to the point, hiding whatever she really thinks behind a mask. In private, she's a bit less formal. She's taken to calling Cal "little brother" on occasion, teasing him, and generally acting like one of the family - if a more distant member. With Niko, in private, she is more affectionate physically and and more prone to share her thoughts and her past.
But even when "joking" around, her reactions are of the more restrained sort. Small smiles, quick kisses and small laughs when she is amused. The slight narrowing of the eye, the line of her mouth, and a clipped tone if she's not. When she's extremely angry she will pace in frustration, her eyes will go, "ebony, whiteless, and frozen," and her fangs will lengthen.
With other characters she has varying relationships, most notably with Robin Goodfellow, the puck. The two often verbally spar and snark at each other, especially over Niko, but even when the words are at their harshest she cares for him. In some ways she can understand his loneliness, the oft singular life of an immortal living on and on while those they care about may die.
She is tidy, prefers things to be ordered and of the highest quality - not doubt a reaction to the centuries of poverty and hardship she may have faced. She craves safety and has worked hard to care out this life that she feels makes her safe. Her relationship with Seamus was largely about being safe, she felt he could protect her and her daughter and stayed with him longer than she should have out of fear.
Promise feels a great deal of guilt where her daughter is concerned. She feels she failed as a mother and that Cherish's behavior and actions are a reflection of that. It's dishonor, pure and simple and it grieves her for Niko.
But above all else she is a lady. If she insults you it will be with grace and dignity, if she kills you it will be swift and merciless.
[point in timeline you're picking your character from]:
From Deathwish, shortly after her phone call Niko when she disowns Cherish.
[character]: Promise Nottinger
[character history / background]:
"Promise Nottinger was one of the more well-behaved of Niko's clients. Never mind that she was more commonly known as Promissory Note."
When first seen, Promise is a gold-digger, but of an honorable sort. She never lied to her husbands about why they had her interest, but she was loyal to them, caring, and devoted to each in her own way. Her five, very wealthy, very elderly husbands all died of natural causes (no, really they did), leaving her their wealth, reputations, and a number of pleasant memories. She has spent years cultivating her position as one of the social elite, serving on museum boards and moving in the highest of social circles. She is respected, maybe even feared a little. She may have pissed off the occasional disinherited relative as she made her way through her husbands, but that's why she hired Niko and Cal Leandros as bodyguards. Even if it was mostly for show. After all, vampires can take care of themselves.
"This is a palace in comparison."
"In comparison to what?"
..."To where I was born."
Promise's background is largely a mystery, but it is known that approximately 700 years ago, the vampire that would be known as Promise Nottinger was born to what can safely be said to be miserable conditions if an New York greasy spoon is a palace in comparison. For the more historically minded, this means she's lived through the black plague, several centuries of European war, two world wars and probably more atrocities than you can shake a stick at. Between the four books, the following time line can be estimated:
~1306 - Promise is born.
~1600's - Promise survives the Great Plague of London, barely as per Niko she makes reference to how hard blood was to come by.
~1842 - Promise gives birth to her daughter Cherish. Based on her appearance, Cherish's father is assumed to be Spanish or Latin American. Other than that, nothing is known.
~ Mid-1800's Sometime around here, Promise has her relationship with Seamus. Cherish was young enough to have considered him a father/uncle figure in her youth. Promise was with him for several years before leaving him.
~1865 - After the Civil War, Promise moved to the US.
~1900 - Promise is able to stop feeding on humans. There are no further date-specific references in the books, but Promise does make mention of being a nurse in "the war." But when asked, she declined to specify which war and changed the subject.
~1996-2006 Promise marries and buries five very elderly, very wealthy husbands.
"She was calm tranquility, an enigma in silk."
Promise is introduced in the first book, Nightlife, as little more than a job and a curiosity when it's discovered she's not human. Besides that, she has little relevance to the plot although Thurman does set up the fact that Niko is quite taken with her and the feeling appears mutual. Beginning just prior to the second and continuing through the third and most of the fourth books, Promise and Niko share a loving and devoted relationship...well as devoted as Niko can be to anything that isn't his brother. Because of her affection for Niko, Promise takes on a sisterly role with Cal as well, engaging in friendly teasing and protectiveness. However, her affection for Niko on occasion supersedes her affection for Cal, who she nearly pushes to madness trying to get memories out of him for his brother's sake in Moonshine. Despite the hitch, she and Niko remain close.
From just before Moonshine on, she assists the brothers in running a private investigative business that caters to the non-human crowd. Exterminations, ransom deliveries and the like. While her position as a socialite has given her wide connections in the "normal" world, her position as a centuries-old vampire has given her the same in the other. It is those contacts and the jobs they provide that fuel a lot of the action in the series, from the undercover job that goes horribly wrong in Moonshine to tracking down Sawney Beane in Madhouse. She also provides more practical assistance, joining the brothers in the field and more than once offering her home on the Upper East side as a place to rest, recuperate, or simply hide as the case may be. She has also provided monetary support in extreme circumstances, such as donating her jewelry (or a large portion of it) to be used as a bribe for a boggle in Madhouse, however it's worth noting that this happens only in extreme circumstances. She respects Niko and his wishes to make his own way although she could easily provide for him and Cal.
In Deathwish a lot of this changes, most especially her relationship with Niko. The first strain is a job she sets them up with, assisting Seamus (a former lover) to discover who's been following him. It's the first time that Niko has been confronted with a clear reminder of her past and while Promise never lied about the nature and depth of the relationship, she certainly wasn't up-front about it. She was even tighter-lipped about the very existence of her daughter, Cherish, who literally crashes back into Promise's life, dragging a massive amount of chaos and trouble in her wake. Cherish and Promise had been estranged, but she feels a genuine need to assist her child and Niko, loyal as he is, agrees to help despite the Auphe waiting in the wings for he and Cal. Both Seamus and Cherish lie and manipulate Promise during the course of the book, the former about changing his violent ways, the latter about why she's being chased and both situations end with death. Seamus, who had threatened Niko in a jealous rage is killed by a protective Cal, but Cherish... With the help of a "pet" chupracabra, Cherish telepathically convinced Niko that his brother was dead in the hopes that she cold drive him into a homicidal rage and kill the man that was after her. It worked, but Cal showed up and prevented Niko from finishing his perceived revenge. When Promise discovered how her daughter manipulated her, she was guilt-ridden and crushed and she and Niko part ways for a time. When Niko found where Cherish was hiding, he called Promise to let her know. Promise proceeds to disown her child and more or less gives Niko her blessing to kill her. He does. Months later, after they have both have had time to heal, they reconcile.
[character abilities]:
Promise is a vampire. This gives her superhuman strength, she's been seen to snap necks with little effort and lift and throw creatures larger than her. She can move faster than humans and has exceptional healing abilities, to the point where two bullet woulds barely slow her down.
Whether due to her vampiric nature or not, she is extremely graceful and stealthy to the point where Cal has commented that in certain situations she could out-ninja Niko. She has also been seen to stick to a wall, and fight underwater. Her fangs can elongate, and have been known to do so on the rare occasions when she's furious.
In terms of weapons training, she is an expert with a crossbow and with swords, although she prefers the crossbow for "sentimental" reasons.
Also worth noting, Promise is a seductress extraordinaire. In Cal's words, "It wasn't sex or even the hint of it, although it was erotic as hell. I'd compared her to royalty before and that was part of it. She was a goddess come to earth; at least she made you believe that. She didn't walk; she flowed. And when she smiled, she put the Mona Lisa to shame." Sounds like a skill to me. She uses it rarely, though.
In terms of weaknesses and feeding this universe plays with vampire lore. Stakes, crosses and holy water are out, but sunlight is still deadly. Direct contact can cause third-degree burns in minutes and those burns are extremely slow to heal. Presumably she could be physically hurt to the point where her body could not heal, but it's never discussed as an actuality, only a possibility. Beheading works.
As for feeding, in the early 1900's it was discovered that with massive doses of iron and other supplements vampires could live without drinking blood. It does not diminish the desire for the real thing, but it suffices. Promise is also heard to say that she is not as strong as a vampire that has been feeding on blood so the potential for her to be even stronger exists.
[character personality]:
Promise is very restrained and reserved. She has seen a lot, done a lot, and is not quick to trust but when she does, that trust seems absolute.
In public she is professional, polite and demanding if necessary and very hard to ruffle. She never offers personal information up-front, and when asked rarely gives it. In business she is professional, curt, and to the point, hiding whatever she really thinks behind a mask. In private, she's a bit less formal. She's taken to calling Cal "little brother" on occasion, teasing him, and generally acting like one of the family - if a more distant member. With Niko, in private, she is more affectionate physically and and more prone to share her thoughts and her past.
But even when "joking" around, her reactions are of the more restrained sort. Small smiles, quick kisses and small laughs when she is amused. The slight narrowing of the eye, the line of her mouth, and a clipped tone if she's not. When she's extremely angry she will pace in frustration, her eyes will go, "ebony, whiteless, and frozen," and her fangs will lengthen.
With other characters she has varying relationships, most notably with Robin Goodfellow, the puck. The two often verbally spar and snark at each other, especially over Niko, but even when the words are at their harshest she cares for him. In some ways she can understand his loneliness, the oft singular life of an immortal living on and on while those they care about may die.
She is tidy, prefers things to be ordered and of the highest quality - not doubt a reaction to the centuries of poverty and hardship she may have faced. She craves safety and has worked hard to care out this life that she feels makes her safe. Her relationship with Seamus was largely about being safe, she felt he could protect her and her daughter and stayed with him longer than she should have out of fear.
Promise feels a great deal of guilt where her daughter is concerned. She feels she failed as a mother and that Cherish's behavior and actions are a reflection of that. It's dishonor, pure and simple and it grieves her for Niko.
But above all else she is a lady. If she insults you it will be with grace and dignity, if she kills you it will be swift and merciless.
[point in timeline you're picking your character from]:
From Deathwish, shortly after her phone call Niko when she disowns Cherish.
