From SuspireWiki
Contents |
Well Known Character Facts / Rumours (at game start)
- Originally targeted Josephine Blackwell-Finch for the embrace, but was beat to the punch by Colby Ryall, nonetheless Damien continued to pursue her until at a party in October 1976 at which she publicly derided him. This seemed to start a blood feud between the two. Many speculate that neither kills the other off just because they like fighting each other too damn much.
- Josephine Blackwell-Finch's childe Marco Belmonte is a mortal relation of Damien Costello and a victim of, as well as a participant in, the feud.
- Ivy Jane Carroll is the older 'blood sibling' of Damien Costello, a fact that was not made public until after their sire's untimely death.
- Seraphina gave him a memento after a small squabble, a rather noticeable scar running from the side of his right eye to his jaw line.'
- Lili Wu and him are more then just business partners...
OOC: Anything beyond this is OOC info and must be checked with the player before assuming its in game knowledge or found out IC.
(More to come maybe...)
Lineage
- Santiago Manitillio, Circle of the Crone, Deceased
- Alder Gerald Thorton, Senator, Invictus, Torpor
- Alder Lady Valerie Desmond-Arquette, Librettist, Invictus, Deceased
- Ivy Jane Carroll, Circle of the Crone, Active
- Damien Costello, Circle of the Crone, Active
Background
The Early Years
1932 - 1941
Damien Costello was born in the city of Richmond in the midst of the Great Depression. His father, Joseph Costello was an Italian-American who had been making out a small living as a grocer. His mother was an Jewish-American who had to rely off her husband due to the disapproval of her family of marrying a non-Hebrew. The Costellos were an extended family with relatives throughout the urban regions of Virginia. Composed of the Costellos, the Trazzinis, the Calvonos, and the Belmontes...the Italian-American family itself had flooded the States near the turn of the century. Majority of the four inner-married familes were Sicilian though the Belmontes had more of the mainland blood within the family due to the tendency towards blonde and blue eyes amongst the lines.
Damien was the second born to the mixed couple and at the time, a mouth they really could not afford to feed. With the store itself not doing well and Richmond flooding, Joseph Costello finally had to give up on pursuing his meager job and relocating his family to more prospering areas. Taking the hospitality of his sister, Maria and her husband, Antonio Belmonte...Joseph relocates his family to the coastal city of Carcosa. It is there that he gets a small job along the docks of the city through some string pulling by 'family'. Damien befriends his first cousin, Benny 'Skinny' Belmonte.
By the time the New Deal started to come into place, Joseph Costello had managed to get his family a home next to his sister's. Damien was enrolled into a public school with his younger cousin while the first born, Marcus, was beginning middle school. Once again, the family who mostly consisted of the Calvonos had been putting their fingers in the pie as the dock district begins to boom with business. When the unions start to get involved in the industries, Damien's father ends up being the front man they select to represent the dock workers. This ensures a piece of the pie to the growing underworld family when they get their workers into at least three of the factories on the dockside.
1942 - 1954
1941 ends with a boom. Japan attacks the US at Pearl Harbor and brings America into the war. Damien sees his father drafted into service as well as other male members of his family. The Calvonos continue to profit off the booming war business, more so when Lucky Luciano begins to offer deals to the U.S. Military during the war to help them with the invasion of Italy. 1943, his brother runs off from home and lies about his age to get into the Marines...Joseph Costello comes back State side one leg less from the knee down. Joseph Costello came home to be regarded as a small time hero with two bronze stars for actions in the Italian theatres as well as a Purple Heart and an oak leaf cluster for being wounded while in combat.
The pride Damien has does not last long when the war comes to an end. Benny, who by now has dropped out of school, has begun working for the Calvonos directly as a runner. Benny confides to Damien in the fact that he's discovered his father has been looking the other way when the family takes things from the factories. At 16, Damien comes to realize his father is connected with the growing mobster community of Carcosa. The situation comes to a head when Marcus returns home in a pine box from the landing of Iwo Jima, the Marines discovering posthumously his true age and identity. Torn with grief over losing his older brother and his father's corruption, Damien confronts him at the dinner table.
Out of guilt, his father arranges a job for him at the dockyard that he isn't involved within nor the Calvonos. Damien sees it as 'owed' for the lies and accepts the job, juggling school and work as he's convinced he'll end up a goon if he doesn't try to make himself better. By the time Damien is 21, he's managed to become one of the more reliable loaders and regarded as generally a 'go to' guy. The Calvonos notice this reputation as well. Damien soon finds himself in a position he was not wanting to be as they use the favors they did for his father against him...even having to resort to threats when Damien would not budge.
1955 - 1961
Damien deals with the corruption of his own life as best he is able to. For the most part, he finds he is not in deep and that often the favors asked of him are nothing big. Driving someone to a house, letting a goon rest on his couch. Small things. Its not until 1958 that he comes to find out that his favorite cousin, Benny Belmonte, is running the show for that side of the docks. Benny had been keeping Damien out of the loop to look out for his own interests. Grateful to his cousin, Damien comes to an understanding of his family's darker side and even manages to forgive his father.
It was a small blessing to his old man would die from complications of the heart at the age of 58. Things continue to be the same though he notices that the favors Benny asks are more for him to attend small parties and gatherings for him. Damien is unaware at the time that Benny has managed to get a blood price on his head from one of the other made men of the family. As the years continue to roll on, Damien earns a reputation as the 'nice guy' of the family...most unaware that he has no real pull or position within the Mafia, that he was merely the front for Benny Belmonte.
This reputation gets Costello involved as a face for meetings or introductions to family members...a middle man caught in between the world he wanted and the underworld he was being dragged into time and again. It was at one of the gatherings that Benny sent Damien that he would come to the attention of Valerie Desmond-Arquette. Damien, not being a suave gentleman or even an educated entrepreneur caught her eye. Though she would claim him an accident or her over indulging herself, Damien's foibles and naive charm found him pulled into a world that was far worse then he had known.
1962 - 1972
Damien was embraced by Valerie in December of '61. Valerie, a respected member of the Invictus realized too late her error after giving way to her passions. Not wanting to sully her reputation and Damien not being Estate material in her eyes...she hid him amongst the Circle to which she was a member of the Chorus. Damien was placed into their hands and hidden away for years as the Circle had to mentor the young Daeva fledgling. For years, Damien was hidden away from the Lancea Sanctum as well as the Midnight Masses as the Crone prepared him for the Kindred community.
For most of this time, he was looked over by his half-sister, Ivy Jane Carroll. At the time, Ivy regarded Damien as a burden and often went out of her way to remind him how much of a disappointment he was to her and their sire. At other times, Merrick would assist in tutoring Damien on the faith of the Circle and the ideals of the Crone, mostly not wanting to see the wayward fledgling become a further burden. Damien meanwhile struggled with his loss of identity of himself and his world, the faith of the Chorus being little to console his heart and mind.
Eventually, Damien was presented to the Court as a nomad from out of the city and had decided to stay. Ivy, now free of mentoring her blood sibling, used this time to needle him again and again. Oftentimes, it amused their sire Valerie. Other times, she ignored it, only making Ivy's verbal attacks on his person that much more severe when she could find an opening. For the most part, Damien was considered to be a joke of Kindred vitae as he was too gullible to deceptions or prone to getting a rise out of him from an insult.
Then in 1972, Damien becomes entranced with a mortal woman named Josephine Blackwell-Finch. He's heard on more then one occassion, discussing the idea of asking for permission to embrace the girl, comparing her to Aphrodite. He never gets that chance. Colby Ryall sees an opportunity to have fun with the young Daeva and embraces the girl before Damien even gets the courage to seek permission. Infuriated with Ryall, this starts a blood feud between Costello and the older Daeva.
1973 - 1982
Damien, frustrated not only with the loss of the chance to embrace Josephine Blackwell-Finch but also without solid guidance within the Circle starts to become distant. His blood sister, Ivy Jane Carroll does little to actually stop this as she still continues to needle the 'lesser' of their sire's choices. Damien meanwhile finds his mortal relation, Benny Belmonte, is doing quite fine and has moved on to run operations around Little Italy now for the Calvonos. Damien keeps his distance from his cousin though if only to preserve the Traditions though he has one or two conversations with the blood relative.
The young Daeva finally decides to continue pursuing Josephine Blackwell-Finch, convinced that he can woo her to his side. Delusional with the stories of Daeva's abilities and 'humorous' misguidance from Ivy Jane Carroll, Damien does indeed try to seduce and convince Josephine that he should have been her sire. In 1976, Josephine Blackwell-Finch breaks Damien in front of a good majority of the Kindred of the city by socially embarrassing and ridiculing him. Sadly enough, his own blood relation Ivy Jane Carroll also participated in this social sniping out of bemusement.
Damien falls into a rut, for a small time finding solace in the arms of Nicolette Merrick to soothe his ego from the brunt of the situation. 1978, the beginnings of the troubles spread throughout the city. Within the fallout, the sire of Damien Costello and Ivy Jane Carroll dies by her own terms rather then being taken. The city becomes aware that Damien Costello was in actuality the childer of Lady Valerie Desmond-Arquette as her death triggers a reaction in both Ivy and Damien in the midst of a spat within Elysium. Landon Merrick intercedes before action can be taken against Damien, using the events of Lady Valerie Desmond-Arquette to overshadow the deceit. In the months to come, Ivy Jane Carroll becomes more dependent on her brother to fill the void of where her sire use to be in her unlife. Damien seemingly forgives her for the trouble she has caused him over the the last decade and a half. Meanwhile, the relationship with Nicolette Merrick proves to be temporary as the Merrick twin gets bored with Damien by 1979.
Damien for the most part has little influence or sway with the city events of 1980 - 1981. Ethan Jurgens seems to overlook the events concerning his lineage and it seems to become old news while the rest of the remaining Kindred after the purges just try to make sense of all that has gone on. Damien himself became an absentee at Courts, some even believing him to have been a target of the Consilium. This could not be further from the truth. In reality, Damien had become reclusive to not only reflect on his life before the Embrace but also his life afterwards. Unhappy with his lot in this world, he tried to find some sort of understanding within the Sumerian faith.
1982, with the assistance of Ivy, Damien underwent a rebirth ritual without the supervision of the Hierophant or the Chorus. Adopting Enki as his guiding icon, Damien undergoes a slow but steady personality change. This is most evident when Damien Costello begins a steady blood feud and campaign against Josephine Blackwell-Finch in retaliation for the events of her party and her sire's actions.
1983 - 2003
The purges begin from the Lancea / Carthian Alliance. Damien avoids most of this incident merely by not having not created any childer himself. In 1987, Damien is forced to relocate from Little Italy to Oceanfront when the Consilium forces the Kindred population from the other domains. Its only a minor setback for Damien who uses his cousin as a gateway to underworld connections, deciding to embrace what his former family tried to turn him into so long ago.
Damien earns the ire of the current Hierophant, Roman Ventimiglia, by refusing to take part in the mass creation ceremonies the Circle begins to host. Seraphina is dispatched to teach Damien a lesson and to remind him his minor status within the Crone. Damien refuses to be intimidated by the Nosferatu which only incites her wrath. Damien keeps a scar as a memento of the trial of pain.
In 1990, Damien gets word of Roman's attempts to subdue his fellow elders as the Hierophant tries to extend beyond his reach. Sensing things in the air, Damien remains out of the skirmish that would decide the new Hierophant. Behind the scenes, the young Daeva uses some connections to get information to Nicolette Merrick of possible attempts on the elders. Wanting to pay back his debt to Landon Merrick without making it obvious, Costello is more then happy to stay anonymous.
For the next few years, Damien remains a low key player though remaining a repetitive thorn in Josephine Blackwell-Finch's side. Damien even goes so far to use the guerilla wars in 1999 to hide his actions when one of Josephine Blackwell-Finch's mortal relations is slain in a mob-style shooting. The streets run rife with rumors that it was a mistaken hit but Finch more then suspects who is behind the attack.
Despite the strife between the Invictus / Circle of the Crone and the Carthian Movement / Lancea Sanctum, Damien becomes involved with Lili Wu. Most believe it to be some business affair given their connections to the underworld, but rumors begin to circulate that the two are having a triste or relationship. Neither party deigns to answer or deny the allegations.
The blood feud between Josephine Blackwell-Finch and Damien seems to come to a head in 2003 when she embraces a man by the name of Marco Belmonte. Word gets spread that Marco Belmonte was the last remaining immediate blood relative to Damien's mortal family. Damien seems to take it rather well, but rumors grow abundant on if the blood feud will get out of hand and whether or not the new Prince, Kien Zhao, will have to intercede.
2004 - Present
Damien has remained low key once more, most of his actions being under the radar. Rumors have been speculating on the chance of the blood feud renewing with the embrace of Melanie Blackwell-Finch but there is skepticism on how far Costello will go with the battle now that its 3-to-1 odds of him surviving the battle. With Marco Belmonte's recent position of Archon, Damien seems hesitant to further entrench the issue.
Within the Crone, Damien continues to emulate Enki and even to some of his covenant brethern, its quite a change of character from the schmuck dockworker to the manipulative would-be mobster he has become.