Proposal: Jasmin Taylor

Submitted by Kaarin on Thu, 11/23/2006 - 20:13

Posted in

LABN2: Character Proposals

Yep. My new character. The actress may well change; I haven't fully decided as of yet. Am open to suggestions.

Character Name: Jasmin Taylor
Nicknames: The Actress; Baroness
Race: Vampire
Gender: Female

Group: Castelleti Crime Family; Anderson & Taylor Productions
Position:

Description: Physical – See picture. Jasmin's wardrobe varies based on where she's going; as the owner of a goth club, she tends to wear lots of velvet, leather, and latex. Especially when actually at said club. She also has a number of outfits that one might expect to find on a hollywood runway.

Psychological – Jasmin's turning manifests itself in a form of cruelty which is almost perfect for Hollywood. She takes less pleasure in the kill than in manipulation and domination of individuals. Anyone, she thinks, can kill someone. To bend them to your will, however, and enslave them to your desires takes work and skill. Her turning also turned her from a more sedate woman into a chance taker, who enjoys danger and suspense, though she still also likes the thrill of running people's lives in the idustry (and in working with one of the few men who can say “you'll never work in this town again!” and actually have the pull to ensure that's the case).

History: Life for Jasmin Taylor has been a series of strange coincidences, which brought her to the place where she is now. Born in 1929 in Los Angeles, her parents died during the Great Depression when they wound up in New York trying to find work in 1938. The 9 year old girl, stuck on the streets, had a run-in with a young boy named Antonio Castelleti, son of a Sicillian Imigrant and gangster named Guiseppe Castelleti.

Antonio and Jasmin had been in school together for 2 years at this point, and fast friends. When Antonio learned what happened, and of her being on the streets, his response had been simple. The young girl was brought home, and he told his father that she would be staying with them. At first, he didn't want to take her in, until his Consigliere, a demon, advised otherwise. From that day foward, Jasmin stayed with the Castelleti family, never fully aware of where they got their money from.

Her life semed to return to some semblance of normalcy after this. A year later, the Second World War broke out; five years later, at the age of 16, the war ended. During this time, she started to realise that things weren't quite as they seemed. Gradually, she came to think of Guiseppe as a man people went to because he could get things done, and who was the kind of person that people who couldn't go to police could go to.

One day, during dinner while 16, she met the next man who was influence her life: William Anderson, a Hollywood Producer. He took an instant liking to her as well, and saw in her a bit of raw talent, as well as being connected to the boss of the West Coast. It was at this time that she got an offer to be given acting lessons. Jasmin was excited at the prospect, admiring Lauren Bacall (and harboring a crush on Humphrey Bogart), and agreed; she would later pack her bags and head off to Hollywood.

She would premire at the age of 18 in film, putting out 7 major motion pictures as part of Anderson Studios, but never learning of William's dark secret until it was too late. After her final film, , she was at the after-cast party with a number of her co-stars. Alcohol and drugs were both involved, though she abstained from the latter. On the way home with her co-start, they were in an accident, and the second great coincidence of her life happened.

They were in a car crash with none other than William Anderson himself. William could do nothing for her co-star, but genuinely cared for – and wanted to save – the life of Jasmin. Severly injured and near death, William did the only thing that he could think of. He'd seen too many lives cut down prematurely in Hollywood, and this time, he had a chance to make things different.

The next night, the young hollywood star woke up in Anderson's home, apparantly uninjured. He told her about what happened, and begged her forgiveness for turning her. Jasmin had become a vampire.

Jasmin was furious, and understandably so. The demon inside of her had just enough of her personality to resent not having the choice in such a major turn. But what was done was done. Jasmin could no longger act.

As a method of consolation, William met with Guiseppe, and the two of them purchased a club in Los Angeles, which she would run. Originally taking the name Sunset Lounge, it would undergo a number of renovations. At first, it began as your typical '50s lounge, but Jasmin would end up keeping it up with the times, or aproximately when she got bored. The most recent renovation began in 1999, and has been longest going, when it reopened as a goth club called Risen Anew, though it was closed for a brief period when the Brotherhood came to town.

In 1967, Antonio took control of the Castelleti Family; he continued to invest in Jasmin's business, and call on her to do favours for him. It was also about this time that she finally decided that she could forgive William for turning her. The result being that she would begin to forge new connections in the business and Hollywood communities, working with William as a producer in her own right, to the point where (even though they work under pseudonyms now), odds are good that most people have seen at least one Anderson and Taylor production, even if they don't know it.r

However, since her turning, Jasmin has also discovered (and revels) in a more cruel, vindictive side. One which enjoys the slow accumulation of power, manipulation, and sometimes just hurting people. Normally, though, she doesn't kill. Killing her prey unless necessary never did it for her; it was always the power, the breaking of someone to her will that she began to find attractive.

It was this quality which lead to her deeper involvement in organised crime with the Castelleti family. Jasmin has mostly been called upon as someone who puts things together, mainly handeling bribery and other influence; though she also has an interest in a few front organisations. Over this time, she has in code been referred to as either `The Actress` or `The Baroness`, depending on who one talks to. The latter name is more recently beeing used.

Items:
Powers: Just the standard range of vampire powers. Enhanced speed, becoming a pile of dust when exposed to sunlight, and things of that nature. She's also done some work with melee weapons purely to amuse herself, and after hearing about several hunters in the city who prefered blades (I'm look at you, Sorrow and Tash).

Played by: Pamela Camassa