Sebastian Van Cleve

Simply put, Sebastian is beautiful, and he knows it.

With auburn/gold tinted dusty brown hair, religiously maintained in a perfect short cut, a perfectly even spray on tans (for obvious reasons), and vividly bright blue eyes, Sebastian is very much one of Hollywood’s golden boys. And let’s not forget the occasional designer stubble, when he’s playing someone just a little rough around the edges and dangerous. Oh, ladies, if you only knew. Then again, after May 1st, you do, don’t you?

At 6’1”, with a very ‘buff pretty boy’ build, he has an altogether sleekly muscled appearance. Very much the boy next door meets action hero. And his designer clothes are perfectly chosen to match that, although they alter slightly with each role when onscreen (even if he does have more than a few scenes of him stripped down to just pants). Nothing cheap or off label for him, even his jeans cost several hundred dollars a pair. [top]

For all of his obvious beauty, Sebastian is vain, shallow and elitist. His intellect is not insubstantial, but he devotes more time to indulging himself and accepting praise than in any intellectual pursuits. Sebastian expects to be adored and pampered, especially by those he deems ‘less worthy’ than himself. While it would be nice to say that he is a good guy at heart, or that he really does mean well, he’s not and he isn’t.

It is all about Sebastian, and damn it, everyone should know that already.

His fans see him as someone charming and mysterious, with his disdain for their being below him so entirely well hidden by the love of their praise and attention. They can be serfs for him, he is quite happy to have them fawning over him. Just…most of them at a distance.

Calling him a ‘user’ is a bit much, but he does carry shades of it. Due to the gifts of his house, he can find your psychological weaknesses and present himself as a princely figure that you just want to bow at his pedestal to. But, honestly? Who really cares about putting that much effort in most of the time? If he’s particularly drawn to someone, sure, he might practice his gifts, but most of the time he simply lets his personal appearance get him anything and everything he wants.

Part of his draw is that he presents himself as an easy-going guy who barely notices the attention he’s paid, all the while very aware of it all. If he likes you, you’ll get charm and compliments (which he expects some in return for), if he’s taken a disliking to you, expect snide comments and patronizing derision. Yes, expect to be treated like an idiot child dressed in a sackcloth and foaming at the mouth.

As an actor, he’s dedicated and talented, and expects everyone else to be as well. He may show up on time, be always prepared with every line, but the moment the filming is done, he’s off to his own thing. [top]

Strengths

Special Skills/Abilities

Aeronautics - Sebastian was once a Navy pilot, and flew in combat for all of 15 minutes before he was forced to make an emergency landing when his plane was hit during the attack on Pearl Harbor. He still loves flying his own plane, and it is one of the few hobbies left over from his human life. He flies out of a private airstrip at the Ann Arbor Airport.

Acting - He’s a brilliant method actor, ask anyone. Known for his ability to get through a scene perfectly in one take, he’s the darling of quite a few directors, and his movie roles have been steadily increasing over the last three years. [top]

Before the Light of May

Sebastian considers his life unbegun until the day he was offered immortality and membership to the Sapphira Dynasty. That his parents were both from old monied families, that he was born in the early 20th century in New York, that much is sure. Really, he does not like the fact that he was once a charming businessman who made a killing immediately after the Depression ended. Mostly because he had to work for additional money, no matter how white collar his career was, in a job that was so dreadfully boring.

Except for the part where he was sleeping with his secretary, that was great.

He considers himself blessed since he was turned by one of Os Ojos herself, and jumped at her offer of being young and beautiful forever. Especially as he had been drafted into the Navy (his father believed that military service might make him reprioritize his life and eventually settle down with a nice, well blooded woman) in 1940. She presented herself to him while he was in a hospital on December 21st, 1941, under the guise of a friendly nurse.

The attack just four days before had ended with him grievously injured, and his beautiful face scarred. Her bite did more than change him into an immortal, it healed him completely, and he was perfect once more. If not more so.

The sixty something intervening years were full of exploring his abilities, reorienting himself within the identity of a vampire, and moving from career to career. Searching for his ‘true path.’ Not to mention traveling the world and seeing nearly everything he wanted to see, a bit of adventurousness he did not know he had had come out then.

Several years ago, he discovered acting as a real possibility, drawn to it by the promise of fame and all the attention he could want. He broke into Hollywood as the younger male love interest to a beautiful older woman, and the roles have only kept coming since then. Having earned three Oscars in four years, it seems that the glitz and glamour of movies was perfect for him. He’s starred in romantic comedies, Shakespearean adaptations, serious dramatic films, and more recently…action and science fiction movies. [top]

After the Light of May

He loves it, he really does. His golden career is only looking to be more fantastic now that he’s been revealed as a vampire, gotta love those fangbangers who have flocked in record numbers to his latest flick. Fanmail pours in to demand more and more of him, and now he doesn’t have to worry about dealing with having to retire or ‘die’ simply because his lack of aging might draw suspicion.[top]

Vampire

Sebastian during a role.

Sebastian is a vampire of the Sapphira Dynasty.

Powers:

Glamour: One aspect to these vampires physical beauty is their eyes. Ordinary human eyes change during the turning process. They become clearer, more intense and have a sparkle of sorts to draw people in. They can be very persuasive. If they want something from anyone, they just turn up the sparkle in their eyes and it's theirs, no question.

Weakness Sensing: Upon once glance, a Sapphira Dynasty vampire can sense emotional weaknesses in a person. They know if they have self-esteem issues, dark pasts, etc. Some of the vampires can use this and become the ultimate Mean Girl/Guy. Other vampires use this to help the person overcome their insecurities.

Levitation: This is an evolving power, meaning the older the vampire is, the higher he/she can go. Basically, the vampires levitate off the ground upon much concentration - although the more you practice the better you do without having to focus so much. They cannot move, and this isn't flying, but if they're smart they'll levitate to strategic heights and next to strategic locations. Also, the older the vampire is, the longer he/she can keep levitating consecutively; a newborn may try and bleed out of their nose to keep up there longer than they rightfully should, but they'll just fall to the ground eventually.[top]

Weaknesses:

Death: If you dare to disobey the family, the consequence is simple: death. The Golden Ones don’t believe in torture. Consequently they can’t have a bunch of rogue vampires running around either. There are Official Warnings for smaller crimes but larger, threatening crimes result in death.

Draining beauty: This Family has a need to keep the beauty up to a certain standard, because if they don't, well...Everything they worked so hard for (or not) goes down the drain. So, in addition to everything they already have to deal with pertaining to the vampire condition, they also have to deal with specific and detailed caring for themselves, their skins, their bodies. This doesn't only take time from their day, it also takes life from them. They get drained when they practice Glamour, and need to sleep for longer than the other vampire families in order to keep their beauty up to standard as well as to keep themselves energetic.

The public eye: Since most - if not all - of these vampires are somehow constantly in the public eye (they're actors, musicians, models, TV personalities, socialites, or all of the above) feeding becomes a necessity that is harder and harder to fill. They cannot very well attack the first pretty they meet on an alley, and since they make a point of feeding only on beautiful people - as humanly possible, of course - the blood banks aren't good sources. So, they tend to resort to donors but which aren't regular, or get too excited and too attached for comfort, or they resort to hunters; and even then, the hunters could very well sell their stories to the highest bidder, or even be a dreaded paparazzi in disguise. It's 'Hollywood', who knows?[top]

Family & Living Conditions

Family:

*Sapphira Dynasty*

Anthony Van Cleve - Father (deceased)

Louisa Van Cleve nee Goodwine - Mother (deceased)

Living Conditions:

Lavish, expensive penthouse. Several, actually. One in New York, one in L.A., one in Vancouver (they film so many things there now), and now one in Ann Arbor. Bright and airy, with treated windows to filter out everything in the sunlight that could actually drain away his energy (which would be unpleasant), it’s all light colors and expensive objects/fabrics.

Due to the restrictions of his House, he requires a good deal of sleep, ironically often in shielded sunlight. So his bed is rather massive (okay, not just for sleep uses), and very hedonistic in its white silk sheets and cream colored covers.

Funnily enough? All those light colors? They match and compliment his own natural coloring, broken up by seemingly random accents of turquoise blue to match his eyes. And, oh, the mirrors, so many mirrors placed tastefully around. Especially in his bedroom. Somehow without making his penthouse look like a funhouse.[top]

Additional Information

The name ‘Goodwine’ has no actual meaning towards alcoholic berry derivatives. It in fact means ‘Follower of God.’ Which…I did not know. Ah, irony.[top]