[PLAYER INFO]
NAME: Noodles
AGE: 20+
JOURNAL: ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png) cupnoodles
IM: n/a
PLURK: gucky
E-MAIL: shootthamoon at gmail dot com
RETURNING: n/a
[CHARACTER INFO]
CHARACTER NAME: Christine Stanford
SERIES: Brian de Palma's Passion.
CHRONOLOGY: Post-death.
CLASS: Neutral, with the potential of becoming a villain.
BACKGROUND:
The movie opens with Christine and her assistant Isabelle looking over a poorly made advertisement proposal for their latest project on a laptop. Both work for a telemarketing company in Berlin, Germany, with Christine as the head of her department. The two women laugh off their criticism about the project at hand, despite a very tight deadline coming up on the following day. After they share a strong drink and exchange pleasantries, Christine's boyfriend, Dirk Harriman, arrives, upon which the two women call the night's work over and say their goodbyes. Isabelle leaves Christine's house with the promise that she will work all night if she has to, but not before Christine offers her the scarf she'd been wearing until then.
Isabelle keeps her promise, coming up with a brilliant idea for the smartphone ad, while Christine spends the rest of her night having apparently unfulfilled weird kinky sex with Dirk.
The next morning, while heading for work, Christine receives a phonecall from a man inviting her to spend the weekend with him. She at first claims she can't make it due to an important business trip to London, but then decides to delegate the task to Isabelle to open up her schedule. Christine also sends Dirk to keep Isabelle some company, unaware that the two become sexually involved during their time together.
Upon Isabelle's return to Berlin, Christine learns from their superiors that the idea for the ad was very well received and, right in front of Isabelle, Christine claims the idea was entirely her own without a single drop of hesitation, winning her the very strong possibility of getting a promotion and moving to the company's office in New York. While Christine is thrilled with her own doing, Isabelle is silent and confused. Christine explains to her that there is no backstabbing in taking Isabelle's credit - it's just business. She saw a chance to get what she wanted and took it, that's all.
Later that day, Christine invites Isabelle to go with her to a fashion show and cocktail party. She acquires some shoes for her assistant during the former, taking her to wear them on the latter. The two spend the beginning of that evening pleasantly, talking and laughing together until the car ride to the party, during which Christine tries to learn more about Isabelle and gives her a kiss on the lips upon claiming that she has come to a stage in her life where she just doesn't want to be admired - she also wants to be loved. The two never mention the kiss again.
During the cocktail party, the man who had taken Christine away for the weekend encounters her again, drunkenly asking her to come with him again. Isabelle overhears their conversation, finding out that she was only sent to London for Christine's convenience. Despite attempts to apologize and clarify the situation, Isabelle still takes offense and leaves the party.
The next day, after a meeting, Christine asks Isabelle to stay behind so that they may talk to each other. Once again she tries to apologize and resolve matters between them, claiming that she loves Isabelle, and asking her to say she does as well. When Isabelle can't bring herself to do so, Christine shares a childhood story, in which she took part in an accident with her bicycle, from which her twin sister Clarissa saved her, sacrificing her life in turn. Crying, Christine believes that her family blames her for the death of her sister, and that no one has ever told her they loved her since that episode. Touched, Isabelle finally tells her she loves her and the two women share a hug.
Dirk arrives to the room, at which point Isabelle leaves while Christine quickly and effortlessly recomposes herself. It is at this point that we discover Dirk had been embezzling the accounts of Christine's clients, and that Christine wants him to return the money within the week, before an upcoming audit. Dirk claims this is impossible but she is unwavering, threatening him with an annex she wrote herself, exposing his crimes in order to save herself.
Later that night, as Christine waits for the arrival of another man (presumably to have more weird kinky sex), she instead receives a phonecall from him to inform her she will be unable to make it because his daughter is sick. Christine takes this very poorly, throwing away her phone after a fit, and spending the following minutes drinking and sobbing in anger. She finally decides to call yet another man, someone she hasn't seen in a long time, to come over. He surprises her while she takes a bath and looks over apartments in New York, offering her a luxurious necklace while she's on the phone, then revealing himself with a weird... dog... mask. Thing. Christine just laughs and they cut away to a scene with Isabelle deciding to go viral with the ad she created for the smartphone, despite having received a file with revisions to be made to it. Her move is a total success, gaining millions of views just within the first hours of its publication online.
Christine only finds out about this on the next day, while their superior is congratulating Isabelle for her bold, yet brilliant move. He then tells Christine that moving her to New York may be a little premature and leaves the two women to confer. Visibly bitter, Christine asks Isabelle why she would do this to her. Isabelle tells her exactly what she had been told: it isn't backstabbing, just business.
Christine decides payback is in order. She convinces Dirk, who had broken things off with Isabelle, to call her again and apologize, asking her to meet him in the office later that night. While waiting for him, Isabelle receives a call over Skype from Dirk, at which point the webcam turns on to reveal it's Christine. Triumphant, Christine shows Isabelle a drunken Dirk sitting by her side while a video of him and Isabelle having sex in London plays in the background. Shocked and humiliated, Isabelle leaves the office and crashes her car in the parking lot, right under the watchful eye of a security camera.
Taking one step further in her revenge, Christine breaks into Isabelle's office to send herself an e-mail from her computer with an incriminating message. Afterwards, Christine organizes another cocktail party and invites everyone in the office, including Isabelle. Towards the end of the party Christine shows a series of videos taken from security camera footage of funny moments in the office, including Isabelle's mishaps in the parking lot. The intent is clearly to embarrass her, but Christine claims it's all in the name of good humor and having a laugh. A tearful and angry Isabelle decides to laugh along with the rest of the audience.
Following that night, Christine calls Isabelle into her office to show her the e-mail she'd written previously, claiming that Christine's humiliating acts will never be forgiven, and that 'revenge is a dish best served cold'. Isabelle denies having written any of it, to which Christine simply decides to keep the printed letter to herself in case something should happen. She then moves to vent about how things have gotten so out of control between them and how she wants to fix it. She invites Isabelle to a private party she'll be having on the following Saturday night with a few close friends, but we never learn Isabelle's answer.
Later that day Isabelle is called once again to Christine's office, this time to take a photograph with a few Japanese businessmen. Isabelle brings the scarf Christine had given her in the beginning of the movie, to which Christine expresses her satisfaction. Isabelle suddenly kisses Christine, who, showing surprise at first, decides to kiss her back when she catches Isabelle's assistant seeing them.
Christine follows the assistant into her office to force her to quit, claiming she's aware of her infatuation towards Isabelle and how it's supposedly 'fucking up their work relationship'. When the assistant refuses, Christine forces a kiss and threatens her with accusations of sexual assault.
Christine is only shown again after the party on the Saturday night, waving goodbye to the last guests and her staff. A drunken Dirk arrives with demands to talk to Christine, but she accompanies him to his car and apparently convinces him to go back home. This scene is shared with the viewing of Afternoon with a Faun ballet playing on the left side of the screen, which Isabelle is supposedly watching, explaining her absence on the party. When Christine returns to the front door she finds a note telling her to get showered, dressed and to wear a blindfold. Thrilled by the prospect, she does as she is told.
When she comes out of her room wearing a blindfold and the necklace she'd recently been offered, we see her from someone else's perspective, pushing her against a wall and removing the blindfold before they swiftly slash Christine's throat open and leave her on the floor to die.
It is at this point that she comes to the City.
During the rest of the movie, Isabelle is accused of Christine's murder and imprisoned. She manages to prove her innocence, but we then discover that she had been the murderer after all, framing Dirk to take her place in prison. After her assistant reveals that she has proof against Isabelle, Isabelle is blackmailed into having sex with her, only to strangle her to death later. There is a scene of Christine's supposed funeral, in which a woman who looks exactly like her appears wearing a pair of shoes that had been seen during the fashion show. Whether she is Christine's twin sister Clarissa (or whether she truly had one at all) remains unclear, even when she appears in a dream sequence, strangling Isabelle with a bloodied scarf. THIS MOVIE IS A HOT MESS.
PERSONALITY:
FIRST IMPRESSIONS | Christine displays herself as charming and charismatic, ready to greet you with a bright smile and sweet, confident demeanor. She treats strangers as she would treat a friend, cordially and with stories to offer. She knows how to work a room, how to get someone's interest and keep them engaged in a conversation. Her number one trick is to get them to talk about themselves - in her words, it's a man's favorite subject. Christine is apparently as wealthy as she is generous, having no trouble offering Isabelle the scarf she'd been wearing in the beginning of the movie and a pair of expensive shoes just so she can wear them to a cocktail party. While she is vain and superficial about many matters, Christine can be as conscientious about what she owns as she is ready to give it away for the sake of it. She can make friends easily and keep them well within her network.
A strong, ambitious businesswoman with class and taste, Christine knows what she wants and how she can get it. She has a very clear plan in her head most of the time, and is capable of organizing events and people around her in order to fall into place to her best convenience. She works hard and makes it look effortless, and even though she's full of smiles, she doesn't let any of her subordinates make her look bad. You either work hard of you're out.
A MASK | Throughout the movie, Christine displays sociopathic tendencies. The aforementioned charm can easily be broken to reveal a much darker side, for example, and it would explain her quick ascension to head of a department when she is apparently still very young. Christine is manipulative and shows an ease with displaying, concealing and forging different emotions within the flick of a second. When telling the story of her twin sister to Isabelle, she goes from a tearful moment of genuine emotion to a smiling, friendly stance to a cold and threatening businesswoman only minutes apart. She also switches from a vengeful woman to someone who wants to fix burned bridges. She will have no trouble backstabbing you and pulling a sob story or generous offer to win your heart back afterwards. Christine simply enjoys playing with people, be it for fun or to destroy them completely, making her a very dangerous enemy to have.
A CLOSER LOOK | Vicious and unashamed, Christine uses her charisma to lie through her teeth. She does not show a moment of hesitation throughout the movie, be it when the situation is in her favor or when she's controlling her emotions in a bitter moment of inconvenience. Christine shows only what she wants to show, and more often than not it's just enough to let people know they have seen enough. Unforgiving, selfish and self-involved, everything serves a purpose for her, and that purpose is her personal advancement.
Christine is a very sexual character in general, with multiple partners in the movie and advances towards different characters. She isn't attracted or in love with Isabelle, she simply uses sex as a tool against her (and others), be it when they kiss in front of the assistant, or when she shows Isabelle the video of Dirk having sex with her, or when she plays the assistant to make it look like she was sexually assaulted. Christine has unusual tastes in the bedroom, and is just as demanding and selfish in it as she is outside.
POWER:
(NON-CANON) PERSUASION. Used to getting what she wants, Christine's power will provide her with no less. Capable of using her voice to exercise mental control over others, whatever Christine says goes, affecting NPCs with more ease than imPorts with any kind of mental shield or stronger wills. This power does not have to be used in person to work, and it will have more effect over a subject if they are unaware that they are being affected, though it will still work - albeit with a lot more effort on Christine's part - if and when they see through it. A power of this nature will require (and get) a player permissions post if accepted.
[CHARACTER SAMPLES]
COMMUNITY POST (VOICE) SAMPLE:
[The feed opens to show Christine in expensive garments, clothes apparently tailored to fit her figure and complement her complexion. Long gone is the silk robe and lace lingerie she was wearing when she first arrived to the City, stained with her own blood. Her new attire is plain but rich in color, turtleneck hiding a very visible scar across her throat. Surely you understand why she's chosen to conceal it.
There's a long cigarette resting between two fingers, smoke trailing upwards slowly. She eyes the camera with a certain kind of curiosity in her eyes, a critical inspection more than a friendly question, despite the hint of a smile in the corner of her lips. She brings up her hand to softly move a strand of blond hair from covering her features.]
I've always wanted to come to New York. I've been in Europe for years now, you see. Don't get me wrong, Europe is lovely. But New York... that's what I really wanted. I had an apartment ready and everything. [She tilts her head, pursing her lips to take a drag from the cigarette. With a soft hiss, exhaling smoke,] I guess dreams do come true, one way or another. I mean - I know this isn't exactly New York - [She rolls her eyes, hands gesturing with her,] But it's close enough, isn't it?
[Were words are paced, her tone unusually calm and conversational. She's not afraid of talking to complete strangers. She also happens to love the sound of her own voice.
Said conversation takes a sudden turn when she taps the ash off the tip of the cigarette, eyes narrowing, hand tucked beneath her chin, revealing an expensive diamond ring. Christine might as well be preparing you to tell her the time.]
So. What's it like to die?
LOGS POST (PROSE) SAMPLE:
Christine sat in front of the mirror, collected and beautiful, lips bright red with lipstick, eyelashes long and dark, hair caught up and gently framing her features. She was impeccable, as usual, satin shirt and diamond ring, a sight many had become used to find when she was around. The only thing off was the scar beneath her chin, displayed right across her throat.
She inspected it critically, brushing one finger across it, eyes narrowed and lips neutral. It had been left behind by her killer, Isabelle James. Looking at it took her back to the night of her death, to the moment just before when she'd seen the mask and the knife, then the blurs of red and flashes of white. She'd woken up in the cold room in her silk robe and dark lingerie, clothes and complexion ruined by the blood and bruises of her fall. In her hand was a clutch of the scarf she'd given to Isabelle (she didn't remember seeing it before, didn't remember reaching for it or grabbing it from her), dusting herself off with confusion and anger on her mind, barely managing to stumble in her high heel shoes as she tried to assess what had happened.
It seemed so silly now, the entire situation. Regaining herself had been easier than most would think, she supposed, but that was Christine. Losing control simply wasn't acceptable, and she was quick to regain it in her own way. That was how she disocvered her power, when people first offered to help, then they no longer had to offer - she simply had to ask. Just speak the words and the world was hers.
Maybe death wasn't so bad after all. She had wanted to come to New York, after all.
If only she could do something about the scar.
FINAL NOTES:
n/a |
