littledeath

Name: Lenore van Buren aka Lolita Thrill

Age: 22

Gender: Female

Type: Aspect

Appearance:

Lenore's hair is clean and neat, like the rest of her, and usually swept back in a soft bun. Her eyes are inky black. She dresses elegantly, more for practicality than fashion, and never in anything too brightly coloured. Although occasionally the flamboyance of her old lifestyle will creep in (usually when she's out on a job). She walks quickly and does everything with a sense of purpose. She's confident about her body, although rarely feels the need to flaunt it. She sits with her back straight, knees together, hand folded. She has an air of melancholy about her, especially in the eyes. Despite her small frame (5'3 and 110lbs) Lenore does not seem fragile - it's probably to do with the way she holds herself. The word would be graceful, not delicate. She speaks softly and clearly, managing to sound gentle and clipped at the same time.

Personality:

Lenore is contradictory. She's tricky to fathom. Fiercely independent with a tendancy towards bossiness, she can be patronizing - although never cruel. Her sense of humour ranges from dry to black. When she's angry she pouts and gets very passive-aggressive. She snaps, but never screams. She laughs often but it's hard to get her to smile with her eyes. She seems to run on common sense. Although peel away the polished outer shell? Lenore is mischievious with an excellent sense of irony, and a thick vein of romance that just won't quit. It's mostly her exterior that's rigidly practical. If Mary Poppins was a Mobster assassin who used to be a stripper, she's probably change her name to Lenore van Buren.

Sexuality:

Lenore's only ever been with men, but there's nothing that would stop her from being with a woman if she found her interesting. Lenore appreciates interesting, no matter the gender. Lenore does not believe in "possesing" people and she certainly doesn't believe in being possessed. She leans towards an unofficial polyamory. She enjoys sex, but that desn't mean she's easy, because she enjoys falling in love even more.

Constants:

The Angel of Death

Morbid Fascinations: Ever since a young age, Lenore has been drawn to death. She was always keen to visit elderly people in their hospital beds, and still is. She attends the funerals of people she does not know, and collects taxidermy and straight-edge razors. Something about the mystery of Death simply draws her in - she finds it beautiful.

Living Vicariously Through Others: Lenore adores life. Real, human life, with all it's petty dramas and pointless moments of wonder. She likes the story of it, and stories in general. The beautiful and the ugly, the magical and the mundane, the wicked and the innocent, she finds something special in all of it to treasure. She is always sorry to see the spark go out. The drug dealer whose throat she has been paid to slit and the child slowly dying of TB are both precious to her and she will shed tears for them. She knows that she will never be a part of normal society, but it's okay, because she takes her joy from just knowing that it's there.

Death Becomes Her: Lenore believes that she is an instrument of God and as such? Those who are not meant to die will not die. So she is sent to kill a misbehaving flunky and her gun misfires? Fate. She is a believer and a follower of signs. She will never condone torture or anything that draws out suffering, yet she will kill an innocent child without a twinge of guilt just because she is asked to. Being asked is the sign. When it comes to the crunch time and her blade is pressed against a throat? The motion is like a fish cutting through water. She's not only good at it, she enjoys it.

City History:

Lenore was born in a Catholic orphanage in a small town (pop. 3,400) 2 hours outside of Eidolon. Not much was known about her parents. Her mother gave birth in the orphanage and died 2 hours later. A pretty, pale-eyed, mousy thing with some serious anaemia, they couldn't get her to talk and she couldn't have been a day over 14. They had girls in the orphanage older than her, that much was certain. The father must have been foreign stock, something european, because no American boy had eyes that dark. Lenore had the darkest eyes anyone had ever seen.

She was a strange, serious child who brought in dead frogs and birds she found and was generally avoided by the other girls. When she reached 9 years old the nuns finally found a nice-seeming young couple who couldn't have kids of their own to take her, and from the big city no less. Nicolette and Howie van Buren. Dutch descent, but not for a good three generations back. Hardworking city types, and the nuns approved, and off she went!

Unfortunately, it became slowly apparant that Howie was a drinker who beat his wife, and liked his women young. Things were okay for a while, if you discounted the fact that Nicolette was a bruised whimpering idiot, Howie was a thug, and Lenore spent a lot of time out in the yard. It was when Lenore hit 13 (and puberty) that things got really bad and Howie tried to get up his adopted daughter's skirts. Lenore was having none of it. She stabbed him in the throat with a pair of scissors and ran. Never looked back to check if he was dead, but she felt in her soul that she had taken her first life. The salty thrill of it. First human life, anyway - those frogs and birds she'd played with? Weren't usually dead when she found 'em. Something in Lenore was fundementally wrong and more than a tiny bit twisty. But she didn't feel wrong. She felt...grand. Like she was part of something larger.

Lenore did the whole "street rat" thing for a year before she was taken in by the Church she frequented. She worked in the soup kitchens in exchange for a place to sleep, until she turned 15 and decided she wanted to go to back to school and become a nurse. That would however, take money, and so little Lenore took on the stage name "Lolita Thrill" and got herself a job in one of the seediest strip joints in town. The Cherry Parlour. It was run by the Konovich's, and she was one of the few girls who a) spoke English and b) was there of her own free will. Although none of them were above the age of 18. This was where Lenore made her first mob connections, and definitely this was where they saw her potential for murder - anyone who tried to get too frisky with Lenore? They found themselves leaving with a lot less blood than they arrived with, and were lucky to be breathing when she was pulled off them. The first time this happened, Lenore got the beating of her life. The second time she had three of her ribs broken. The third? Nobody batted an eyelid. And suddenly it was unspoken knowledge that Lenore was untouchable and unprostitutable because the clever little thing managed to hook herself a Konovich. Eugene Konovich to be prescise. A second-cousin blessed with the family name. He fell for little Lenore with her quick fingers, unexiplicabley good knife skills, and no-nonsense attitude. Her virginity was lost to a Russian mobster 17 years older than her - but it was willing. Lenore felt that Eugene understood perfectly her fascination with the macabre, and she did not judge his weaknesses. In fact, she rather liked them. So something else was found for her to do. She still danced occasionally, but mostly? Lenore was used as a special treat for men who let their "tab" run too high, or who got disrespectful with one of the family members. It was the element of surprise that did it - who would expect an underage stripper with big doe eyes and a shiny black bob to be as ruthless as a slaughterhouse worker?

At 19 Lenore finally achieved her goal - a job at the Hospital - and she got out of the Stripping game. By now she was too old for The Cherry Parlour anyway even if the place hadn't been raided and shut down. But there were still people in that world who were fond of her and couldn't let her go. Especially Eugene, from the luxury of his jail cell. Fond of her talents and her pretty face and her odd ethereal ways. Fond of the efficiency and apparent coldness with which she went about her business. They contacted her under the name "Lolita Thrill" and there aren't many who know her real name. She may be a part-time nurse now, but she still gets work from a less above board nature (and has been for the past three years, usually one or two jobs a month). She's a very lucky girl and she never forgets it.

Special Skills and Abilities:

Lenore's pretty damn good with a blade, especially a straight razor.

Weaknesses:

Hard Surface: Lenore does not make it particulary easy for people to get inside her head. It's a defense mechanism, but also just kind of the way she is. She likes a bit of mystery. She's abrupt, and a slight control freak, and can be far too honest about her opinions. She can seem cold and tactless and will not suffer fools gladly.

Morally Screwy. Really, Crazily Screwy: She believes in God and goes to church. She's pretty devout with her religion. Apart from the fact, y'know, she kills people for money. She's probably insane, something jarred or broken in her brain that makes it impossible for her to feel sad about people dying, but to her? It's all just part of the natural cycle. You have to be kind of crazy to be an assassin - it's just, who knows how far her crazy will go?

Cloud Cuckoo Lander: Lenore can be kind of strange. Sure, she's no-nonsense and somewhat strict, but at the same time? She doesn't think twice about touching someone's face if she thinks they're pretty. Or talking sharply to herself when others are quite obviously within earshot. Or striking up rather intense conversations with complete strangers. She has a tendancy to maintain eye contact a little too long. She's either quirky, or really fucking unnerving. Your milage may vary.

Wanted Criminal: While Lenore is a law-abiding citizen in every other aspect of her life, the fact that she's a killer for hire can't really go ignored forever. Despite the fact she has the perfect alibi, a lack of motive, and is very good at keeping secrets, it's only a matter of time before she gets caught by the Police, or someone from the Mob decides she is getting too big for her boots and has her seen too by someone else of the same trade. Lenore is treading on very thin ice.

Strengths:

Unassuming: Lenore is small, pretty, and a nurse. She's a good church going girl with a Rosary in her handbag and pearl earrings and a crisp no-nonsense attitude. You think she's running around slitting throats for money? C'mon, get a grip.

Kind: Lenore will never turn someone away who needs her help. She'll always try and put an end to suffering as she hates to anyone in pain, emotional or physical. She's also very non-judgemental. She tends to accept people the way they are and learn to love their flaws. She cannot abide people who cause suffering in others - torturers and child rapists for example - but even in this she never sees things in a true case of black & white. There are always shades of grey with Lenore, always a chance for her to love you.

Family or Connections:

No family to speak of - her adopted Mother might still be around, but Lenore hasn't heard from her since she was 13 years old. Perhaps Nicolette was greatful for her abusive husband being offed and decided to give her saviour a free pass, who knows? Lenore doesn't really think about her anymore.
The Konovich's and their offshoots mostly know about "Lolita Thrill" and will send a message to her anonymous mailbox if they want someone "dealt" with. Occasionally, if it's one of the old men from The Cherry Parlour (especially Eugene) or someone reccomended by them, she will meet with the client in person, but this is rare. She likes to keep her rates low and her identity hazy.
She knows a handful of street people from the few years she spent being homeless, and also working in the soup kitchen. She gives a lot of her money from her illegal activites to charities and to "old faces" she recognises, but she doesn't go too out of her way. She knows the order of things are delicate and there for a reason.

Residence:

Lenore lives in a very quiet part of town that's mostly warehouses, a couple of which have been converted into apartments. It's a weird, quiet place, that's not specifically dangerous but is usually avoided just because it's a bit creepy - and a little too close to the docks for comfort. Lenore doesn't know her neighbours, and her apartment is small, tidy, and poorly lit.

Career:

Nurse at St Mary's/Assassin for the Konovich family

PB: Audrey Tatou