Good intentions often go awry. Mrs Eddings had been to the market and on the way back Vincenzo had met her at the door and helped her carry her bags to the lift.

"Thank you young man," she had said and had dipped into the bag and placed three oranges into his hands.

"Oh - er - thanks," he said as the lift door closed.

"You're welcome," came her faint reply as the lift departed.

Vincenzo heard a laugh and saw Frank at the desk. "Fair shares," the fat guard called and Vincenzo laughed too and tossed an orange to him under arm. Frank fumbled the catch and the orange rolled across the lobby and right under the feet of Nick, who had stepped out of the stairwell. Nick grinned and lobbed it back.

It was a harmless enough game, since there were no tenants about, and they messed around, slinging the oranges from one to another, until Frank got over enthusiastic and skipped backwards to make a catch, lost his balance and sat heavily in one of the chairs that dotted the lobby. If Vincenzo at a modest 175 lbs had done so it would probably have been all right. Nick might have made it creak a bit, or even sprung a joint. But a direct hit from 250lbs of Frank travelling at quite a lick caused a sad cracking sound as the old piece of furniture collapsed.

"Oh shit," they all chorussed and Nick and Vincenzo helped Frank up and looked sadly at the wreckage of what, did they but know it, had been a mid nineteenth century crinoline chair with hand stitched needlepoint upholstery, now pretty much as wrecked as the chair.

"Shit," Nick said again. "Think this might take a bit more'n Charlie and his glue gun."

Frank grimaced, looking around guiltily, and all three men swung into action, Frank returning to the desk to pick up the phone and Vincenzo and Nick to hide the evidence.

Name: Kristof Angyali
Age: 43
DoB: October 1st, 1965
Eyes: Light brown
Hair: Brown
Height: 5'10"
Profession: Co-owner of Angels, cosmetician and hairdresser
Distinguishing Characteristic: None
Sexuality: Bi but far far too busy. Everyone assumes he and Gabe are a couple anyway.
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Name: Finley Dodman Welch

Birth Date: 12th September 1969

Address: Apt 348

Appearance: 5ft 10, or thereabouts, dark hair inclined to stick up a bit, brown eyes, wiry build.

Occupation: freelance writer and part time weirdo - generally working for the police, though he'll try to help anyone.

Fin is a fairly successful journalist specialising in bespoke articles for the glossies. Trade magazines, hobbies magazines, lifestyle - he'll write anything for anyone. He has also secretly ghost written a couple of 'autobiographies' but is the soul of discretion and his lips are sealed.

He also has a secondary, much more distressing profession as a psychometrist, aiding the police in the discovery of kidnap and murder victims. This doesn't pay at all, but once he realised he had the skill he felt he ought to make it available.

He is in the City writing for a publishing company that prints a number of arts and lifestyle magazines and thought, since he was going to be here for a while he might as well move into somewhere nice and quiet. He picked the Manor at random - it's sheer bad luck that someone in the TA with a sense of humour recognised his name and bunked him way up the waiting list.

Not Alan Cumming, not in the least

Yet again, this isn't a proper spawning. Just someone I mentioned the other week that Kel and I think might fit into Max's organisation and give him someone to be nasty with though he'll be delighted to meet anyone else.

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Naturally Jimmy isn't our much loved rock dinosaur Ozzy. Jimmy's just borrowing Ozzy's well-used face for a bit.

This with the following note:

Found this and I thought of you.

Enjoy!

Sam Quaid.

Name ~ Anna-Maria Orsini

Birthdate ~ November 5th 1990 [17]

Occupation ~ Recently-left-schoolgirl

Appearance ~ 5' 2, long nearly black hair, brown eyes, still carrying a little puppy fat. Wears either very girly clothes [when under her mother's eye] or baggy jeans and hoodies and Vans.

and

Name ~ Vincenzo Orsini

Birthdate ~ November 8th 1976 [31]

Occupation ~ Morningstar Manor Security Guard

Appearance ~ 6' exactly, well cut nearly black hair, brown eyes, in good shape, no discernable fat. Has an eight inch scar running down the right of his spine, healed to a fine white line.Wears the severly tailored black Manor uniform when on duty. When off wears good quality clothing appropriate to the situation.

Apartment Number ~ Staff L-E

Family: Father Paoulo [deceased in road accident 2005], Mother Vannozza 61, brother Paoulo 36, currently in the airforce as Master Cook, sister Romana 34, sister Carlotta, 28, sister Chiara, 23, brother Giovanni, 20.
Romana is married to Enzo Carluccio, they have 3 children and live with Vannozza, as does Chiara who is working as a nurse, and Anna-Maria who has decided to finish school and get a job. The house is VERY full. Carlotta is married with two children and lives in Cleveland. Paoulo is in the Air Force and Giovanni is in the Navy.

History: They are the usual close knit Italian family and life revolves around the Tuscany restuarant which is managed by Vannozza with Enzo running the kitchen. Chiara and Anna-Maria help out there too if necessary but Vannozza is keen that all her children find jobs and careers of their own.

Paoulo, Vincenzo and Giovanni joined the forces - airforce, army and navy respectively. Paoulo and Giovanni both went into catering but Vincenzo trained as a communications engineer. He was posted to Germany, Iraq and finally to Afghanistan. One day in 2003 a roadside bomb flipped his jeep and he was invalided out with fusing of two spinal vertebrae. Since recovering he has worked in security, both maintaining electronic systems and kicking ass where necessary. He's not as fit as he was but has worked hard and can still run a mile in seven minutes. He decided to return to the City because Romana has told him his mother isn't well and he applied to work at the Manor because he had heard it was the best.

Anna-Maria, youngest of the family, has realised something is wrong, but doesn't know what. She feels left out, that people are treating her like a kid and so is tryng to prove how grownup she is by staying out later that agreed and sneaking beer and wine from the restaurant. She's not BAD exactly, just a bit silly and annoyed, and plans to leave school, get a job and her own flat with a room she doesn't have to share with her baby cousins.


Neither Lily Allen nor Alain Delon have given permission for their faces to be slightly used. It is not anticipated that either will suffer any damage.

Name ~ Charlie Shaw aka Mouse [actually Henry Charles Fanshawe]

Birthdate ~ 25th August 1978

Occupation ~ Restorer of Morningstar Manor/ Gallerist

Apartment Number ~ Sharing 9163 with Deacon/Unnumbered rooms in the basement, known to close friends as The Mousehole, now used as workshops


Just for information: ( Read more... )

Name: y_cath_palug [pronounced 'Pallig']

Bio: It is stated that back in the mists of time a great spotted cat - Y Cath Palug, the Clawing Cat - lived in Wales and was the friend of Princes.

Until he got bored.

Then he became nothing but trouble and Arthur and his warband chased him across the sea to Anglesey where he was finally cornered and killed by Kai, Arthur's foster brother.

It is said that this story - myth - fable - must be a memory of a leopard that belonged to one of the princes as a curiosity and perhaps escaped and caused problems. But I can tell you different.

The story is perfectly true - right up to the bit about being cornered and killed.

Arthur and his warband - what a bunch of pussies.

Now I'm back and looking for fun. I wonder how much fun YOU will be.

Just remember - cats don't make excuses.

No idea what the cat's name is but I'm sure he'd do anything for tuna

Name ~ Fidel Sebastian Avilar [aka. Del]

Birthdate ~ 9th February 1978

Occupation ~ Assistant Curator, Ashford Museum, the City.

Apartment Number ~ 7130

Family: Mother, Joyce, sister, Junia, sister, Alba, all living in the UK

Bio:

Spanish father, English mother, Fidel's upbringing was split between Barcelona and Cheltenham. His father died a year before he graduated so he and his mum moved back to England and he transferred his studies to the University of Bristol where he took Ancient History and followed that up with a post-grad course in Museum Studies. Failing to get any jobs in the UK he did NVQs in Archiving and Conservation and tried again. He STILL couldn't get a job so looked abroad and after a couple of internships - one at the Smithsonian and another for the Antiquarian and Landmarks Society in Hartford, Connecticut, he finally landed a proper paid job at The Ashford Museum in the City.

He has lived in the City for nine months now and has finally had his application for one of the smallest flats in the Manor accepted. Strictly speaking he shouldn't be able to afford it on his wages - museums pay peanuts - but his dad was a thoughtful man and left the surviving family well provided for. Fidel lives on the interest from his income and uses his wages for fun.

He likes fun. On the quiet, Del's a bit of a party boy. He goes to the clubs and the bars, not every night but often enough to exchange greetings with barmen and bouncers if he sees them at the market or the gas station. He feels quite safe doing this - none of his co-workers would be caught dead in a night club.

So, tweedy by day and bopping by night, he also has a hobby that isn't actually secret - just nobody knows about it. It's perfectly legal - just a bit self indulgent.

Del's PB is Bruno Santos

Name: Angela Seraphine Andrassy [aka Andy]

D.O.B. : 22nd July - don't ask.

Apartment Number: Staff Apartment 10C

Profession: Art Gallery Manager and part time PA

Andy has an Amercan-Hungarian father and an American-Croatian mother, several siblings, lots of neices and nephews and even more attitude.

She is the ex-girlfriend of Deacon AND of Charlie [at different times] and is currently almost in a relationship with Erik Desler.

At one time she was a political and environmental acitivist, but after coming off worst in contention with Ouroubos [the multi-national company that actually owns the Manor] she has pulled in her horns and now works as Charlie's assistant at the gallery.

Sharon van Adel of Within Temptation is her own person. Andy just looks a little bit like her.

Dr. Leo Sebastian Beck

DOB: 30th April 1960

Apt Number: 9164

Profession: Lawyer

Appearance: 5' 10", receding brown hair, pale skin, grey eyes, slender build. Leo wears gold rimmed glasses most of the time, though he does possess contact lenses. He habitually dresses in a very quiet and British fashion, though his clothes are top quality.

Sexual orientation: I say, there are certain questions one simply doesn't ask!

Leo attended Eton and Harrow and went on to study law at Oxford. Post graduate studies at Yale followed and it was there that he met Caroline Allen, from a well to do New England family.
They married in 1987 and both joined a legal practice in Boston. Their happiness was complete until 1996 when Caroline died after a short illness.
Leo was devastated and returned to England but couldn't settle. He travelled for a while, reaquainting himself with Erik Desler, then went back to London and tried to practice. In 2002 he moved to New York. There he began to correspond with Erik Desler and registered to study for his doctorate which he gained in the early summer of 2007.
Having been offered the opportunity to replace Brockbank with Arliss, Brockbank and Carnahan - the offer having been made surely just to keep the ABC run of initials, he jokes - he has taken the post and the associated apartment - 9164, Morningstar Manor.

NOT Anthony Stewart-Head, not in the least!

Since middle-aged lawyers live very quiet lives, Leo is a 'played when required' character rather than having a story arc of his own.

Name: Dominic [Nick] Flamel
Birthdate: July 29th 1964 in the UK
Profession: maintenance man since 2004
Apartment Number: Staff unit 5-H
Apearance: 6' 3, long dark brown hair slightly waving, dark eyes.

Born: Canterbury in Kent, to a New Age Traveller who gave birth unexpectedly in the Cathedral close. Mother moved to LA and got a job acting in alternative theatre. Later she got a job in a long running soap. Nick didn't do well academically but had a little talent for music. He left school as soon as he could and joined some friends in starting a rock band with whom he played either drums or bass according to what they needed. They didn't do well and split and Nick went from band to band, played sessions and eventually admitted to himself he didn't have the talent to make it but took to being a roadie very well. What booze, drugs and girls the bands couldn't cope with tended to go down the line to the roadies AND he got paid all the same.

In the fall of 2003 he was setting up the stage for a touring band and fell off the stage breaking his femur. He was in traction for two months, during which time the hospital got him out of some of his habits, and he decided that he was getting a bit long in the tooth for non-stop partying.

The job at the Manor turned up just at the right time and he has been very happy there.

Nick is calm and easy-going, a bit lazy, still likes sex, weed and rock and roll and tries to keep out of angsty circumstances because - hey - life's too short. Reently his Mum died and left him rather a lot of money. He's still trying to decide what to do with it but has spend some of it on setting up a casual rock band with some of his friends - 'Arcane' with Deacon, Jack and Zack.

He is also in a loving but relaxed relationship with Seth Roth, the artist.

This is a character journal for the Morningstar Manor RPG. Hugh Jackman belongs to himself, I'm just borrowing his face for a bit and will return it undamaged.

Summary for 19th to 25th April, 2008



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And here's the doc for this week - http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=a667pf5f446_239f279gkf3