James Valentine
The Basics
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g45PgMJMqLY
Name: James Dean Valentine (yes, he was named after James Dean... he doesnt know why)
Nickname: JD (he doesnt really like that one), Jim (he really doesnt like that one though it makes him easy to remember... Jim the Djinn), Jamie (he likes that one a little better but still prefers just plain old James).
Species: Djinn
Gender: Male
Age: 26
Lineage: Djinn (of the Valentine line)
The Physical
Height: 6Weight: 180
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Blue to REALLY BLUE
Distinguishing Features: Like all Djinn, James eyes are blue and burn bright blue when exerting his powers. Similarly, like other Djinn, he has numerous tattoos, which if you know how to read a Djinns tattoos, tells a story, not only about his life (in fact, his part of the story is just beginning) but also the life of his family. He can hide some of the tattoos though for the most part, doesnt bother and lets them show.
Physical Description: At 6 and 180 pounds, James is tall and fit. Though part human, food doesnt do him much good and he has very little body fat. He tends to keep his hair at a manageable length and trims it at the sides. He usually has a short growth of beard though like his hair, doesnt let it get too out of hand and trims it regularly.
His eyes are bright blue, often unnaturally so, something which he knows isnt good but hasnt yet been able to master. His father says its because hes too curious and a sign that his shararat dakhilia or inner spark is too strong. Hes trying to figure out if he needs to feed more to get it under control or feed less. He hasnt figured out which yet and is going back and forth until he does, feasting and fasting. So far they just remain blue and he's not afraid to use them to look at people and things that interest him; shy he is not.
On that note, while hes not ashamed of his tattoos he does tend to cover them most of the time. He prefers nice clothes, especially that certain sort of contrast that comes from seeing him in a suit with his tattoos peeking out of his collar and cuffs or more noticeably on his hands and face.
Under The Hood
Personality: First and foremost, James is loyal, loyal to his family and loyal to the idea of a town where monsters are free to be. Of course, they arent exactly free but he can dream and if he ever fell under the sway of one of his own kind, thats what his fantasy would be, among others, he has a lot of fantasies, or rather, he indulges himself in the fantasies of others. In fact, you might call it an addiction, his attraction to the fantasies and wishes of others. He tends not to be too terribly judgmental where those fantasies are involved though he does like the more extreme ones, regardless of the tone, dark or light. As such he tends to be drawn toward intense people, those who want to change the world (or destroy it... which is really just a different sort of change).Though his tattoos sometimes put people off, hes the sort of person you can trust. In fact, thats sometimes the first thing to cross someones mind when hes around. Thats one of the reasons he made a great bartender (when he tried for a bit) and would probably make a really good psychologist. His knowledge of drugs would probably make him a good psychiatrist. By the same token, theres a certain distance to him. You might trust your bartender or psychologist but when you think about it, what do you really know about them? Not a lot when you think about it but they sure know a lot about you. He has a way about him in that regard and is quick to turn conversations away from himself and back to the person hes talking to, making it seem that theyre far more important and interesting than he is, and to be fair, they are, at least to him.
He tends not to be too self-reflective, is comfortable with his darker nature and does his best to manage it in ways that would be considered progressive (e.g. he works a network of blood donors rather than killing victims), feeds on blood like a nutritional supplement (or dessert) and manages to get by mostly by picking up errant emotions. That said, he does like a good dessert.
Goals: To maintain the peace in town and keep any hunters from deciding they need to clean out the monsters under Chicagos bed. He also wants to expand the family drug network beyond the greater Chicago region and stave off the encroach of any other Djinn bloodlines. At the same time, hes interested in learning more about the family business, especially in relation to the other families, of which he only knows a little. He also has an interest in exploring the limits of dream walking and dream sharing on the side. Thats mostly a hobby but may eventually have commercial benefits.
Fears: He fears slipping up and letting his family down, getting caught up in squabbles of other families and having to leave town (he did not like his time away despite how much he learned).
Talents
Mundane Skills: James is well on his way toward a degree. Thats not to say he ever actually attended college in any official capacity, he just attends classes on the sly. He's still interested in what he can learn from other professors and classes and can often be found at the local universities and colleges, dropping in on classes, both to steal a little knowledge and make the sort of connections to grow the family business.
Powers: Hallucinogenic Touch. By touching someone, James can induce illusions and delusions. Hes gotten quite good at it and likes to experiment with Reality Warping in subtle ways since thats more challenging than just putting someone in a coma-like trance where the Djinn have more control. Hes more recently been experimenting with dream walking and shared dreams, the first where he can look into a persons dreams and begin to control it. His experiments with shared dreams is an effort to bring one person into the fantasy of another. He hasnt been very successful at this as the third person tends to upset the first and the dream falls apart. He supposes that its possible to find two people who already share similar dreams or manipulate two people into having a similar dream and then having them merge but thats a complicated and time-consuming experiment hes only just begun to contemplate.
Telepathy: James is naturally empathic and can smell moods fairly well. To peer deeper into someones mind he needs to actually touch them or wait for them to dream.
Speed: All Djinn are naturally fast, able to appear as though out of thin air (poof).
Strength: All Djinn are stronger than an ordinary human and can easily overpower them if they wish.
Invulnerable: Djinn are hard to kill. There are certain items that can injure or harm them (see Vulnerabilities) but only a few items (silver dipped in lambs blood, decapitation or the destruction of their head) that can kill them.
Air and Shadow Manipulation: The Djinn were often said to be able to control storms and shadows. James is a novice at both and hasnt gotten beyond making smoke curl and shadows dance on a wall.
Vulnerabilities: Djinn are particularly vulnerable to silver dipped in lambs blood. This is the primary weapon against them. Iron hurts them more than other metals but generally wont kill them unless its a blow to the head. Salt can burn their skin and is unpleasant smelling, though it wont stop a particularly determined Djinn. Most angels and demons can kill Djinn with their powers, though they can kill most things so hes in good company.
In addition, Djinn need to feed. The purest of Djinn feed exclusively on blood, but not just any blood, blood that has been charged with emotion. Ecstasy and joy taste the best which is why most Djinn put people into fantasy dreams where all their wishes come true. Lesser Djinn the bastard offshoots as theyve been described feed directly off emotion, like psychic vampires. Most feed off fear since its easy to obtain though in James opinion, it doesnt taste very good. The Djinn of the Valentine line do both. They feed on blood thats rich with emotion (which is more potent and filling) when possible, though theyre careful of how they source their blood and use it as dessert. Most of the time they feed off emotions exposed through dreams or trance states (e.g. intoxication). While not as filling, it keeps them going and doesnt raise much attention. However, they have to feed more often this way and without feeding regularly, they can go a little crazy and wind up on a bender, something which is sure to attract the unwanted attention of hunters.
Society Info
Length Of Time In Chicago: All his life (minus a few years away).Occupation: Pharmaceutical Rep (i.e. drug dealer)
Families/Organizations/Factions: James is a direct son in the Valentine Family (as opposed to an adopted one).
Questions:
1. Rumor has it that a new family is moving in on Lassiter (shapeshifter) turf. What do you do? (Please highlight your answer in one of the various colors)
A. Avoid the situation altogether.
B. Attempt to help the invading family.
C. Attempt to help the Lassiter's defend their territory.
D. Let the families fight. Go in after and kill what's left.
E. Who the hell are the Lassiters?
F. Encourage them to come to terms and if they can't, let them fight and clean up what's left once it's done.
2. You've just witnessed a man with a silver knife (a hunter, for all intents and purposes) attack one of the Duvals. What do you do?
Explain to the hunter how we do things in Chicago by showing him how he (or she) has already single-handedly eradicated all monsters from the town and never needs to return. Well then send him on his way to eradicate things that go bump in the night elsewhere. If he doesnt get the hint, well show him how we REALLY do things in Chicago and feed him to the sirens and have them convince him (or her) to prove their love elsewhere... that or just plain feed him (or her) to the ghouls.
3. What brought you to Chicago, and how have you fared since moving to the city?
The Valentine family has been in Chicago for a very long time, with their fortunes rising and falling with the city itself. The family was at its peak in the 1920s during the age of prohibition where they worked closely with several of the gangs that all but ran the town, often serving as advisers to the more influential power players and politicians. After all, who better at your side than someone who could sense the desires of those around you? It put many people in positions to know what their enemies and allies really wanted. As Sun Tzu said, If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. Of course, Sun Tzu assumed good leaders already knew themselves, though that wasnt often true, and so, the people in power shifted with the times.
The Valentine family still serves in that capacity, as advisers and mediators for the Supernatural community, at least when called upon. Unfortunately, its been their experience that even more so than the human population, the Supernatural community didnt want to know themselves, after all, whoever wanted to learn more about themselves when they already knew they were monsters?
As for James himself. He grew up in Chicago, left for several years to study with the ancient ones and has only been back for a year.
4. What is your greatest fear?
Starving (which means going crazy and feeding wantonly, which means being found out, which means death).
The Juicy Bits
Backstory: James Valentine might not have been pure djinn but he was the closest most people would ever see, most of his family was. They could trace themselves to the source, to the truly inhuman side of the family, the side that preferred caves and desert ruins to life in the big city. It could be said that Chicago was a bit of a ruin, bigger and better than most, which was perhaps why his family called it home. The city had seen its ups and downs, more downs than most though it couldnt be said that the monsters that lived there were to blame even if they did take advantage.
His family had their little blue hands in much of the towns business, quietly though, they didnt like to make a scene. They didnt own much outright though they were invested in many of the properties, clubs, and companies that made the city home. Similarly, they had connections to most of the consortiums, gangs, and families, human or otherwise.
It was well known that they served as advisers and mediators, they were quite trustworthy in that regard. They were also true to their word, so much so it was something of a family motto, one that was tattooed across James chest, though it lacked a certain nuance when translated into English like it was. Strength through loyalty was the phrase, though the original word was وفاء or wafaa, which meant faithful as much loyal, to be true to the original.
There was a lot to consider in that word, thoughts, and ideas that James hadnt known growing up. Hed had a relatively ordinary childhood. He hadnt known his father until later in life, had only known his mother, though he hadnt known much about her until later as well when hed learned she was more sinner than saint. She was human too, which was a given since she was a sinner not a monster, a distinction hed come to understand when he came into his own when he was a teenager and first met his father.
Suffice to say its not easy to learn that youre a monster, let alone a weird one that wasnt remotely like the stories you heard about growing up (besides the fact that you would sometimes have blue skin and could make smoke do cool things like form itself into a hand and beckoning finger). That was about all hed known about genies, what hed learned from Disneys Aladdin, an old movie about Sinbad and a little kid that lived in a lamp and that show with Barbara Eden that was supposedly shocking because she exposed a little skin. None of those shows had gotten any of it right.
It wasnt easy to learn the truth but he accepted it pretty quickly, after all, how could you not when you started waking up to find tattoos forming on your skin like that other movie, about the guy with amnesia who used tattoos to remember things. Hed eventually learn how to form and remove some of those tattoos at will though with the exception of the ones on his face he tended to let them do what they wanted, he just didnt like the ones on his face (though the three little dots next to his right eye were persistent for some reason and the heart on his left cheek was something akin to a birthmark and beyond his control).
Hed learned the ropes from his father, how to feed, how to control his hunger, how to manipulate dreams, how to induce them in the first place. He was good at that, like his father and it turned out his mother. Shed been a stripper, at least when she was younger. Thats what had attracted his father to her, her ability to evoke fantasies in the hearts of men (and women for that matter). Apparently, that was a desirable trait for the Djinn, that ability to sense, manipulate and draw out desire. It was how they picked their victims, searching for those with desires to fulfill, even if they were only fulfilled in a dream.
Hed learned the basics as a teenager and on his 19th birthday traveled to the place of our birth to learn from the ancient ones. There he studied the ways of dream reading and dream walking as well as the secrets of his kind, The Hidden Ones. Granted, there were a lot of hidden ones. He learned that when he returned to continue his education and take up a position within the family. He was still learning and spent a good deal of time haunting the local colleges and universities with a particular interest in history, biology, and psychology though hes not an official student at any of the schools nor on any degree path, hes just curious and inquisitive and always trying to learn.
That includes learning more about the family business, working his way through the various divisions. Currently hes overseeing the expansion of dens, not unlike the old opium dens that were prevalent around the turn of the 20th Century only these ones offered a new drug, something distilled from the blood of the Djinn, a hallucinogen that produces a euphoric trance-like state where everything is good (most of the time). The dens vary from classy to cheap but provide an excellent buffet for him and his fellow Djinn to feed off without raising too much attention from hunters or others who might want to get in their way. Theyve also recently started to push a more diluted version of the drug among the club scene, a drug which lowered inhibitions and opens up the minds eye, which really when you think about it, is the same thing.