Shiri McSwain

Concept: Retired Goddess

AKA: Hundreds of names down through the years, occasionally being confused with Catholic Saints, Orishas, Totems and so on. She kind of insists of “Shiri” now.  Says that it keeps HER from getting confused.

Desc: An older woman in her late 40’s but still vibrant and active. Walks a lot,. Does the hot yoga. Beautiful smile and laugh lines. More like crinkles. Everything on her is still high and perky. Brown eyes still from her first form. For some, it’s the only way to recognize her from the old days. She still likes to keep her hair long and curly.  Besides, her hubby likes it that way. Has a tattoo on her left arm which reads “Aperi cor tuum, et non sequitur sapientia”  (Trans: Open your heart and wisdom will follow) She got it when she was young but never got tired of it. Not everyone notices this, but Shiri doesn’t ever really get cold. Her husband HAS noticed that she’s nice and toasty at all times, but if he’s got a problem with that, he’s never said as much.

History: Not to put too fine a point on it. But Shiri used to be a goddess. A hearth goddess to be exact. A tender of the flame of knowledge and wisdom and she’s held that position since she was formed until the present day.

   Oh sure, worshippers aren’t exactly thick on the ground. But a long time ago, Shiri got the idea to spread her influence into any pantheon that didn’t raise a stink, and also to cut WAY back on what she needed in order to do her work. I mean, it’s not like she’s a war god or anything. Not too many people go seeking knowledge or enlightenment anymore. or even EVER.

In truth, she’s never really sought worshippers. Her people come to her. And when they do she cherishes them. They don’t always prosper, but they always come away from the ups and downs of life with more wisdom than they expected.

Or at least they did.

Over the centuries, the need for gods and goddesses has diminished, although SOME gods and goddess haven’t taken it as such and are as much of a pain in the ass as you’d imagine.  Shiri gave up all that Pantheon politics bullshit long ago and took physical form.  Lots of Gods and Goddesses end up getting caught up in the inevitable push broom of the war between heaven and hell...and as the saying goes, You go where the work is.

But Shiri got out of all that. She went native and although she shakes it up every 50 years or so, She likes her lives for the most part.

Take this life, for example, She has a job doing what she loves. She’s the head librarian of the main branch of the Public Library. That big one over on McFarland Avenue. She married an economist (Robert Mcswain) who is slowly becoming a semi-famous economist. (It helps that he’s an excellent and funny writer and can make economics engaging and fun.)

   And she’s even involved in mortal politics a little this time around. She attached herself to a progressive candidate after hearing him speak and then having an INTERESTING conversation with him about how Libraries across the nation are under attack.  It’s a concept near and dear to her heart, after all, she invented them.

Oh sure, It’s not like she doesn’t have supernatural stuff going in her life occasionally. Her best friend in the city was mummified according to ancient Chinese rites and is still creeping around. Shiri is as Pansexual (and Sapiosexual) as they come. But even her husband doesn’t seem to mind when they take each other to bed.  Occasionally, Family and less desirable sorts, seek her out for aid with this or that problem.  Occasionally, she’ll feel a new worshipper asking for her in the old ways, and she gets curious and seeks them out.  Occasionally, some Beast or some Vampire will wander into her domain and wish they hadn’t...Because her fire won’t burn books or knowledge...But it’ll fuck up a vampire’s night just fine.

But Shiri doesn’t go looking for a fight. And if she can manage it, any conflict coming towards her will fall apart or lose energy before it gets to her. And if that doesn’t work...FIRE. Probably in your face.

She loves Robert. And she’ll age with him up to a point...But at some point, they’ll part. Both know it, and they do what they can to love another until they do. Shiri has seen the alternative. Knows many people who’ve learned ALL the wrong lessons from Immortality. No one can live without love. Not one lifetime. Not a dozen.

Attitude:  ‘Child...I have been at this quite a while. I took a long time to amass this knowledge. You can at least be patient enough to let me unravel it for you.”

Skills: Let’s focus on the mortal shell first. She’s in fine shape for a woman of her age. Heals about as fast as a Werewolf and is capable of some limited shapeshifting. It’s not fast at all so it’s not terribly useful as a means to disguise oneself on the fly, but just fine for assuming a whole other life if she desires. She’s even been a man a time or two.  She has learned a few combat skills, but truly, she feels as if she “loses” anytime she is forced to resort to them. She still practices her Aikido at the “Y”

Her Mental and Social portfolio might be unscalable in this game system. The sheer amount of her experience alone could fill a library. if she has a problem at all it is that she might not be up on more modern methods.  She knows science and medicine but is more likely to hew to Newtonian physics rather than the Einstein model and be more capable of knocking something out with a well-made poultice than advanced thoracic surgery.

On the spiritual end of things, Shiri is the same as a class 4 spirit, except permanently embodied. Which is not to say that the physical shell can’t be killed. It can. But eventually, She’ll be able to reform herself physically and continue as she was. (Unless she decides to give it up and go off by herself for while.)

She possesses the following Bans: 

1) She cannot destroy any repository of learning. Her fire cannot burn books, scrolls, or any other medium that carries knowledge. Even DARK knowledge.  She might be able to burn down Fox News, but she hasn’t tried.

2) She cannot refuse anyone who formally requests her counsel (Note: Sharing her wisdom is NOT the same as sharing knowledge or data. She cannot be compelled in THAT fashion)

3) If she is summoned to a hearth using the old rites, she must come. This has been used against her in the past and she generally turns up nowadays loaded for bear until she determines the summoners intent.

4) If anyone burns a book in her presence, she must withdraw. If she sees you again...Well. I wouldn’t want to be you.

5) If she is submerged in running water she will drown like any other human. (This is actually a bane for her. She can’t even swim.)

However, on the plus side she’s got the following Advantages:

5 dots of Influence (Wisdom) 5 Dots of Influence(Fire)

Numina: Aggressive Meme, Blast, Implant Mission, Fate Sense, Innocuous, Omen Trance, Firestarter And Emotional Aura.  

Gear: It should be mentioned, that Shiri uses Omen Trance once a week at least to keep her stock portfolio nice and healthy. In fact, She has an entire investment group that she owns. No one who works there has ever met her. Money isn’t her driving motivator, but there IS a certain amount of Buddhistic calm that comes from money in the bank. Also, when the library is suffering from budgetary shortfalls. Miraculously, an “Anonymous donor” appears.

Home: They live in a lovely little brownstone that is walking distance from both of their jobs. The place is largely furnished in bookshelves as you might imagine. But the funny thing is, most of the books belong to Robert. The dining room has been converted to an office space where they have matching Mac’s facing one another.  Robert, an inveterate Trekker, has dubbed this area “The Bridge” and Shiri is almost able to stifle the rolling of her eyes. There is a hidden armory in the garage which features automatic weapons and a number of esoteric magic weapons as well.

As I mentioned, sometimes Family drops by and they aren’t always pleasant.

They have a guest bedroom which can, in a pinch, double as an operating theater.

Circle: Shiri is beloved by many. Her Library and home are oases of calm and peace for the most part. She knows the neighbors on her block and her banana nut bread is widely touted as being the absolute best. In addition, she is a known name among the people who live on the street. It’s widely known that if you have a library card, and you don’t cause trouble on the premises, that you can head into the main branch downtown and stay all day if you want. Shiri made that policy, and while some of the librarians under her grumble about it, they don’t question her. She’s been right about nearly everything else.

Story Uses:

“ Why would anyone come after me? I’m nobody really.”

Occasionally, even wise ex-goddesses need a bit of protection. Sometimes, Antagonists conceive of the idea that maybe Shiri might attempt to stop them, and decide to whack her first. Other times, it may be that her semi-famous economist husband is upsetting the “accepted wisdom” applecart and things get politically dicey. (Someone tried to run Robert off the road one night.  He didn’t get very far.)  it may be that some friend of hers or family member gets word that someone is coming for her and calls in some markers. However it happens, The PC’s end up babysitting a librarian/goddess.

“Come on in. I’ll put the kettle on and we’ll see if I can help.”

As full-on goddesses go. Shiri is pretty cool. Not overbearing at all. Likes most people and wants to see them prosper. and only gets hateful if you’re a book-burning Nazi fuck, or you hurt Robert at all.  She might make a good mentor if you can convince her that you’re worth it for the long-term. Be prepared to swear some kind of oath if that’s your plan.

Connections:

* Merl's  "Love that place. I think they keep the fireplace lit just for me unless it's summer of course. I don't drink a lot. But every once in a while...And they always treat me like family.

* Thomas Jones Rutherford "Thomas is not wrong. The morality of Gods is different from yours. But just as I say that he is not wrong. He isn't right either.  *She shrugs* He doesn't know that I know though. It's probably just as well.

* Judge Mattarazzo  "Paul is a peach. He's in the library at least once a week reading international newspapers. Love him. I once caught him instructing one of my new hires in some of the finer arcana of the Dewey Decimal system. He knows this place like the back of his hand.

* Tim Deacon & Charlie " Both of these men have been dealt a bad hand by life. Both of them have gifts that most mortals would fear and misunderstand. I only wish I could do more to help them than I already do."

* Reverend Dr. Miranda Goines "Every once in while she comes in looking for reference materials that aren't available in the university library (Sometimes it's older city historical documents, The university collection is paltry on that score.) I like her. She has spirit. She reminds me of myself in younger days, before Alexandria..."

* Collette Reeves In here every once in a while, making her way through the special collections. Always know what to ask for. She's nice. I like her.  But she does make me wish I was a younger woman or man. Unf.

* Rika Martinez "I don't even know if he remembers, But Master Dorje and I met while I was traveling a couple of lives ago. Nice man. Fiercely protective of his scrolls as I remember. Now I see him looking out at me through a young girl's eyes and recognizing me...and I think SHE suspects something as well. The things she checks out are certainly an eclectic mix. It will be interesting to see what form the approach will take.

Shawna Bishop

Concept: Dead Hooker

AKA: On the Street, she used to be known as “Desiree”

Desc: She’s still high and perky like she was in life. Still able to pull off those ridiculous heels. But that little black dress of hers is torn and ragged. and no matter what she tries, she can’t get rid of the make-up fucked up all over her face from the night she begged for her life. It makes her look horrifying to anyone who can actually see her in Twilight.

She has track marks all over her Corpus.

History: When you’re writing about someone who’s met a bad end as the result of fucking strangers for money, it’s so very EASY to get down and wallow in the prurient details of it. I mean, You can see how a person might make an actual decision like, “Hmm. I have a really nice body and a decent computer and not much in the way of marketable skills, why don’t I make my living from rubbing it out on the Internet?”  And, of course, this is a far cry from someone who is saying to themselves, “I have no choice really but to sell my ass on the street.”

   So, I’m going to elide some of the details here rather than lean into the “shocking nature” of it all. Suffice it to say, Dad wasn’t around. Mom wasn’t all that great. Shawna met a guy who came on like a boyfriend, gave her a taste of Heroin, and then the next you know, you’re downtown and climbing into the cars of strange men. There is a certain swiftness to how it all unfolded that caught Shawna by surprise and by the time any sort of pride reared its head, it was already too late.

Tino was the guy’s name. But by the time Tino met HIS bad end, Shawna was sadly dead inside already. She took to the streets herself because by this point she had to have the Horse to keep going at all. The other girls went into business for themselves, but because Shawna couldn’t get clean and stay that way, they didn’t want her along.

and then, of course, She met Lewis Flowers. Lewis enticed her into his car one cold winter night and then he stuck her with some needle full of curare derivative. By the time they made it to his apartment, she couldn’t move or scream. He took his own sweet time cutting her, inch by bloody inch out of this life.  Shawna is philosophical about this to some degree. It wasn’t much of a life to lose.

Now she roams the streets. She’s got enough anchors that she can move around quite a bit. Sometimes, she doesn’t mind using her Emotional Aura and her Rapture Numina to give a girl a break, or even make a some deserving John have a good night. But that’s not often. Her better nature doesn’t really come out all that much. She’s much more likely to use Dement or Drain to fuck up somebody’s night. She’s begged a couple of the other ghost she knows, but not many of them can materialize and they aren’t necessarily inclined to share. Frankly, Shawna makes even the other ghosts nervous. Shawna’s fairly sure that if she can just get her own murder solved, she can move on.

Maybe that’s even true, unlike so many of the things she’s told herself.

Attitude: “See me you fucking bag of puke. See me!”

Skills: In addition to the aforementioned Numina above. Shawna is no great shakes mentally and socially she has some barriers to overcome with anyone, other ghosts included, who can see her. She does have a friend or two among the dead and her Rapture and Dement Numina are rare enough around these parts that she parleys them into small favors. Physically, she’s more likely to run than to stand and fight. And she can't exactly run very fast, if someone can see her and they are particularly observant, they can notice that those ridiculous heels of her are actually chained to her with tiny slender chains. She couldn’t take them off even if she wanted to.

Gear: it might not be a bad idea to talk about her anchors here. Her elderly mother is one. The little razor sharp shiv that was in her purse is another. It sits in an evidence box in the local precinct. (They did find her body before Lewis got more clever about hiding them.) She was in love with one of the other girls in Tino’s stable. A girl named Syrita. Syria has a locket with a picture of Shawna inside, taken during slightly happier times. Each misses the other. If she’s been keeping an eye on Syrita, she’s much more likely to be in a positive mood, although Syrita went with those other girls to start her own business and that unfortunately also makes Shawna super jealous.  

And of course, there’s always Lewis.

Home: She haunts the apartment complex where Lewis hangs his hat. She can’t attack him directly. He’s got some kind of barrier around him and Dement doesn’t actually work on people who already insane. But she can watch his comings and goings and stalk him from a distance.  Other than Lewis, she doesn’t really have any feeling towards anybody else in the complex except for the couple who do nothing but fight. He’s never raised a hand to her, but if he ever does...It’s going to be ON.

Circle: Shawna has trouble making friends on the Twilight side. She’s a bit horrifying to look at, not that that isn’t somewhat common among the dead, but she’s also paranoid and cynical which makes it hard to trust. She might have a couple of friends on this side of the veil but that’s about it.

Story Uses: “Oh you want to play, do you?  See how you do when I turn you inside out.”

Shawna, as hauntings go, is somewhat subtle. She can’t materialize yet and most of her abilities don’t really resemble anything like a haunting.  It might take a while for someone to get onto her unless they have senses that can pick her up. Shawna has heard that there is this group called “Sin Eaters” that can do this. But she is terrified of actually meeting one. Apparently, they can reach across and harm ghosts, even going so far as to COME across and attack ghosts HERE.  So, she keeps a low profile on the Haunting scene unless someone calls in a favor from her and she has to Dement someone in an overt manner.

“C’mon Bela. I need you to notice. He’s going to do it again until someone stops him.”

Naturally, all of that subtlety is going out the window once Shawna figures out a Numina like Sign or Materialize or anything like that. Trying to stick a spoke in Lewis’s wheels is her top priority and she doesn’t give a FUCK if all the sin eaters come after her for it.

Connections:

* Stefan Janofski Her relationship with Stefan is complicated. There are times when she'll go to him looking only for a little comfort in his arms. He, for his part, DOES have feelings for her. But then her paranoia and cynicism rear their ugly heads and she'll stay away for weeks at a time. After all, how could anybody really love a "Filthy whore"?

* Detective Marty Bennetti "If there was anybody I'd want to get an eyeful of me, it's THIS asshole.

* The Witness Lowell and I have traded favors a time or two. I always like when I'm able to visit. If there's anything I miss about being dead, it's the music.

* Grace Cook  Cookie is lonely like I am. If I had a best girlfriend like her before I met Tino...I never would have gone near him I think. She's tried to teach me how to Materialize but for some reason, it doesn't work and neither of us knows why.

* Bryson Import/Export  "There WILL be a reckoning for you Esme. I'm gonna fuck you up.

* Detective Bela Janofski "I have so much hope that I can eventually talk to him directly one day. But when that day comes, will I be just another dead whore to him?"

Dr. Laney Reese

Concept: ER trauma Doctor

AKA: The name on her birth certificate is actually “Lani” but she’s always gone by Laney.

Desc: 5’1” Bright eyes full of life or caffeination. Long dark hair that she normally keeps ponytailed when she’s on the clock. A cute nose that is not factory issue. She was kicked by a horse once when she was relatively little and now she has a nose that is, as she puts it. “Bionic”  Lean and relatively muscular. Hit’s that gym and still rides horses when she can. Her mother is a Phillipina and she shares some of her coloring. Heels, but only when she’s trying to impress.

History: Laney is the eldest of four siblings.  Her parents have some money. Her father is a chemical engineer and has 3 patented processes under his belt. Her Mom sells Mary Kay and is apparently scary good at it. They aren’t SUPER rich. Laney wouldn’t have gotten into the med school she wanted without her scholarship. But they were certainly upper middle class and there was the opportunity to ride and be around horses when she was young.

   Getting clocked in the face-meats was oddly what led to her being a doctor. The care she received when it took place made an impression on her and while she knows an impressive amount of jack-leg chemistry and mechanical engineering, she wanted to be a doctor.

   Dad was a little disappointed. but only a little. And so, when the time came, he sent his baby girl off to medical school. The plan was, to go into pharmacological research. But in med school, there is a certain amount of base cross training.  One rotation working in the ER, and that was all it took really. Laney couldn’t get enough of the energy of working in the ER. Pharmacology is nice and all, but Trauma surgeons were in serious demand and Laney wanted it.  Laney is smart and moreover, willing to work hard to get what she wants out of life.

   If there is a dark patch in Laney’s it is two-fold. Working in the ER even now is willing to eat up every single minute of her waking life if she lets it.  There isn’t much time for cooking or line dancing, or getting out and simply riding like she likes to do...To say nothing of how difficult it is to meet or date someone outside of the medical field.

   The other bit is that working in the ER can have a deleterious effect on your sanity. First, your sense of humor starts to turn gallows black. The hours can break a person, or cause them to make an error in judgment that can end a career or a life. or both... and last, but certainly not least. Sometimes, in the ER, you might SEE some shit. Shit, you cannot easily explain. Not to yourself. Not to anyone else. I mean, surely that dude didn’t really have fangs, right? Some dental appliance maybe? Right?

Attitude: “Ok. Stay close to me, keep an eye on the back of my neck so you’ll know which way I’m about to pivot. If you feel like you’re going to hurl, don’t try to tough it out and then do something stupid because you can’t focus. Puke right over there and come back here as soon as you’re re-composed. I need 4 hands. I need you to be two of them.”

Skills: Intellectually, she’s pretty strong. More Resolve than anything else. She might get caught flat-footed on occasion, but she recovers quick.  Decent dots in academics with specializations in chemistry, organic chemistry, and mechanical engineering. She’s got a dot or two in crafts as well. and works on her own car right to the point where her toolkit comes up short. At which point she heads over to her parent's house and her dad’s garage. Strong dots of Medicine too with a spec in Trauma medicine. and while she decries the necessity, she’s picked up a dot of politics. She might even have something like Meditative Mind to block out stimulus while she’s working. Encyclopedic Memory might be another good one for her.

   Socially, she stronger in term of presence, she’s never going to be all that good as a manipulator. She just doesn’t have the wiring for it. Her composure is about middling. she doesn’t tend to freeze or flip but it’s still possible. She’d love it if she had a bit more ice water in her veins.  Still, she’s charming and relatively affable. People like her when they get to know her and she’s easy on the eye. If she was able to get out of the hospital more, she'd have a much wider circle of friends.

Physically, She’s not a combatant really. She has been pondering taking martial arts for a long time because of her size, but she never seems to have the time. If it wasn’t for the microscopically small gym on the hospital grounds, she’d be a lump. But as it is, between that, her Fitbit, and some yoga she’s picked up. She fairly decent on the endurance side of things and her hands are as steady as a rock.

Gear: She has a beat-up (looking) z28. That she and her father have kept running like a top all these years. It’ll go pretty damn fast. She keeps a doctor bag in the trunk as long as it’s not too hot. She also keeps a stun gun in her purse. She’s had to ever since the security guard who escorts nurses and lady doctors to their cars started propositioning her. Fortunately, that prick got fired before she had to light him up.

Home: Laney shares a NICE two bedroom apartment with a girlfriend from school. Since Frieda went into Ob/Gyn, naturally she has more time off, but weirder hours. Every once in a great while they get an afternoon off together and lay out by the complex pool. It’s something of a meat market...And sometimes...There’s nothing wrong with that...exactly.

Circle: Laney knows a few dozen medical professionals and a few cops. Her social circle is, by a necessity somewhat curtailed, which is a bit of a shame as she’s an open extrovert.  She’s less active in her church than she used to be, (Taking after her mom, she’s pretty Catholic) but she still makes it for the big holidays. That totally counts. Right?

Story Uses:

“Can you understand me? Blink once for yes, twice for no and 3 times for “I don’t know”.

It is possible that you could end up waking up with Laney looking down over trying to shine a light in your eye. How the two of you proceed from there is largely down to whether or not she’s realized your pulse is not normal or non-existent. Laney, for her part, is liable to be more curious than terrified.

“And who exactly GAVE you my number?”

Most supernatural people and indeed a number of criminal professionals find the concept of going to the Hospital for ANYTHING to be anathema. but every once in a while there are problems that supernatural healing can’t get, or your discount back-alley sawbones can’t do a thing for.  In such case, You go or you try to get Laney to come to you. Which is a bit of crapshoot unless she OWES for something.

Connections:

* August Ulascewitz "Treated him for a snakebite once. He flirted...which was awkward."

* Officer Karl Richter "Pulled two bullets out of him. See him around every once in awhile. I wouldn't mind taking a bite of that. But he's married, and I met her and she was nice... Damnit."

* Detective Marty Bennetti "No idea how that man is still alive. You should have seen the knife scar on him. Funny guy though. I remember that.

* Chris Murphy "I saw him when they brought him in DOA. It's all bullshit. What they said in the papers? Bullshit!

* Meredith Shaw Yes. I know her. Everybody who rides knows everyone else who rides. No. I don't like her much.

* Dr. Ronnette Franklin "You didn't hear this from me. But I know Ronnie's still practicing. and on occasion, I kick her some work whenever I can. Everyone who works those insane hours in their residency uses SOMETHING to stay up and awake. Her only sin was getting caught and being black. Which is bullshit. Tell a friend. You heard it here first."

* Doris Badenov  "I think he tried to kill himself. He came in here bleeding from an ugly throat wound and right up to the edge of alcohol poisoning.  We patched him up and pumped his stomach...and he came to the next day. He seemed surprised and a bit pissed. I have no idea what's going on in that man's life. But I worried when he walked out A.M.A.

* Norman Cayce "Occasionally, we get some overlap with the County coroner's office. As like as not they send Norman. He's good people but I think he needs more sunlight and maybe work a bit less. Hello Kettle. By the way, did you know you were black?"