Cindy Walker (WoD)

SchreckNet Data File

Real/Birth Name: Cynthia Aguilera
Known Identity/Mortal Alias: Cindy Maria Walker
Place of Origin: Staten Island, New York City, New York, USA
Height: 5'2" (158 cm)
Occupation: Sports Manager
Apparent Age: Late-20s
Embraced: 1964
Kindred Status: Ancilla
Sire: Keith Karloff (WoD)
Clan: Gangrel
Clan Status: Respected
Sect: Camarilla
Sect Status: Consul to Clan Gangrel
Player/Type: NPC

Appearance

To the unaware, Cindy is often mistaken for a Brujah, Senya or possibly Ventrue neonate due to her appearance - she doesn't typically fit the stereotype of a Gangrel. Those expecting a menacing, feral-looking demi-human would be disappointed, as Cindy typically looks like a striking young woman in good physical shape, typically wearing attractive but comfortable clothing fairly in fashion. Whilst she would rarely be seen wearing the latest trends as a Toreador might, she has her own style and knows what works for her, and likes to look appealing. This isn't simply a concession to vanity, but from a career as a Sportscaster where let's face it, people tuned in to watch her commentary at least as much for her looks as her sports knowledge and a lifetime of working in the service industry where an extra button undone and a sexy smile got you better tips.

Cindy is actually quite petite, standing below average height, but her slender form, voluminous hair and preference for wearing roller skates or heels often makes her look taller than she is - and certainly, she is an imposing figure. She is a natural golden-blonde, with naturally wavy hair that reaches to about shoulder length - though it's common for her to have it cut shorter, or styled in a curly way that makes it appear shorter. The curls and thick volume maker her face look larger than her otherwise slender face would be. She has clear blue-green eyes and thick lips, and almost always wears a strong, blood-red lipstick and mascara, with more make-up for appropriate social occasions. As mentioned, she favours fashionable off-the-shelf clothing which looks good for her figure and varies in colour and style, with reds, blacks and whites being marginally more commonly favoured than greys, greens and other colours. Typically, she prefers strong colours that make her stand out, but not garishly. Her clothing looks good on her, but is typically equally accomodating if she suddenly took out her claws and got into a fight.

When dressing up for nice occasions, she is fond of white, black and green dresses, usually of styles that compliment her figure, as well as her hair and eye colour. They tend to be short and glamorous, although fairly conservative. There was a time she would have worn more provocative outfits, but she has tried to appear more "respectable" to better fit in the salons of Elysium, especially now that she is an official Consul to the Gangrel Clan.

Background

Cynthia was born in New York to an Ecuadorian father and mother of German, Irish, Welsh, and Dutch ancestry. Her father was a US Army sergeant and her mother a musician; and during her childhood moved around a lot, including places such as New Jersey, Texas and New York. In 1946 they were posted in postwar Japan, remaining there until 1952. Although the Americans were there westernising Japan, Cynthia picked up affection for modern Japanese culture in the process such as movies, manga and anime, and learnt Jujutsu and Japanese language whilst in high school. She was surprised about the popularity of Baseball in Japan, a sport she's enjoyed all her life, and participated in High School baseball and followed the professional leagues. Even to this day, she remembers this time as the Golden Years and going to baseball games with her father (both in the US and Japan) likely became the catalyst for her undying love for baseball. Things changed after her family returned to New York when her father was sent on deployment to the Korean War. Although he was only there for around a year towards the end of the war, he returned a changed man. When he was home, there would be the occasional moments where he would spend time with his daughter teaching her how to shoot, or going to baseball games together, but most of the time he was angry, aggressive and increasingly physically and emotionally abusive to both Cynthia and her mother. On the 4th of July 1954, it appears that her mother had had enough of the abuse and, whilst Cynthia was out watching the Independence Day parades, set their house on fire - killing herself and Cynthia's father. The 17-year-old Cynthia was taken to a state orphanage, but there was minimal care for her as she would be on her own out on the streets in a few months when she turned 18. Cynthia decided not to wait, "checked herself out" and began thumbing her way across America; working in places such as bars, diners (where she learnt to roller-blade, one of her passions) and baseball fields serving drinks, hot dogs, or other similar menial jobs; but they were enough for her to feed herself and keep moving. And, truthfully, life wasn't really that bad. Eventually, almost exactly a decade later, she bumped into Keith Karloff in a dive bar in San Francisco. Impressed with her refusal to take crap from drunks and assholes double her size, Keith embraced her. Then promptly abandoned her. Asshole!

Her new existence was a shock but Cynthia was a survivor and adapted quickly. The first night was the roughest - the first hunger, feeding and accidentally killing her first victim, the bloody tears of remorse, and finding a safe sunproof place for the day. It was tough, but she made it. She had to quit her day jobs, but took night shifts instead (which seemed to pay better), and found it wasn't difficult to get regulars to feed on where she worked and quickly learnt how to not over-feed. A few months later, Keith turned up again, was impressed she'd survived, and took her angry punches (literally). Shortly after, once Cynthia had gotten her anger out of her system, she took him up on his offer and began travelling with him. They travelled together for 27 years - and she claims the credit (though she's unsure now if it's a good thing) to giving Keith the idea to embrace a group of biker musicians and form the Gone Jackals group and coterie in 1985. Of this time, Cynthia says, "we got up to too much shit to mention" but it turned her into a tough and experienced survivor and huntress. On the 27th anniversary of beginning their travels together, just as Keith had suddenly left her once, she turned to him and told him that she was going her own way. He had taken her "first life" at age 27, and she had now toured with him for that same duration - her "second life". She stated that it was now time for her to begin her "third life" on her own. And whilst he was a wolf, happy to roam semi-nomadically, she was more like a wild cat, and wanted a specific territory to call her own.

She decided to settle in Ashford because of her love for Baseball, thanks to the Sam Lynn Ballpark. A design oddity meant that the stadium pointed westwards, and so the setting sun was a hazard to batters. As a result, home games began at sundown, which meant she could once again watch live matches. Granted, they were an Advanced-A team only, but it was the love of the sport, not the successes she cared for. She found it possible to do a night-time degree at California State University Ashford (CSUA) in Sports Science and followed this up with a six-month course in Sports Broadcasting Training with the SMG Sportscasters Mentoring Group. Following this, she began working for local media outlets, and slowly built up her career successfully, until people started noticing her lack of ageing, forcing her to retire from being on-screen and begin influencing the local baseball scene using her disciplines and feminine wiles. Her recent deal with Braxton Donahoe has helped her gain a new legal identity as Cindy Walker, made enough changes to her (along with a few improvements) to look different enough to appear as if she were he own daughter or sibling, and gained her ownership of her very own baseball team, who now play in her very own domain!

Cindy was upset when the Gangrels left the Camarilla but when the Sabbat launched a crusade, and various Gangrel (including her sire and his pack) opportunistically aided the Sabbat, saw an opportunity. She rallied the Gangrel who wanted to remain in the Camarilla and managed to make a deal with the Camarilla to help in the fight, taking the fight to the rogue Gangrels. At the end, she was made Consul - an ambassadorial position that effectively makes her the Gangrel Primogen, but without the seat on the council (which suits her just fine as she dislikes politics) and is now the representative of Ashford's Gangrel, but as a de facto Primogen to those who have regained membership, as well as a Consul liaison with the independent and Anarch Gangrels.

Mortal Society

Cindy was once known as Cynthia Aguilera, a KASH CBS 29 Sportscaster with some renown - but after around a decade of sports reporting, hosting news programs and participating in sports chat shows, people began to notice her lack of aging. Not that she was known to be old, but mortals seem to notice a woman's enduring youth more than that of men - and when the "has Cynthia had plastic surgery?" posts and columns started circling, Cindy knew she had to retire from the public eye. She still remained involved in sports in her own way - partipating in roller skating events and supporting the Ashford Blaze baseball team, which she exerted influence by seducing and ghouling the lecherous manager of the company that owned them and the Sam Lynn Ballpark.

The Sam Lynn Ballpark was a historic baseball ballpark with a history of financial instability. After a series of wranglings and manipulation of Kern Country politics, Braxton Donahoe, the Senya Primogen purchased it in 2012. It has undergone a major refurbishment and is now home to the Ashford Armadillos, a Pecos League Baseball team. Secretly, at the time Braxton was saddened by the mass-exodus of the Gangrels in Ashford when the Clan left the Camarilla, and sought a way to retain some of them and improve his ties with them. He recognised that one of the most influential (or at least, one of the most sociable) Gangrels was Cindy (then still going by the name Cynthia, although she'd been out of the public eye for several years now) who he knew had exerted influence over the Ashford Blaze baseball team for a while, as well as a former KASH CBS 29 Sportscaster and lifelong baseball fan. So, under the umbrella of the newly-formed Emerald Sports Group (ESG) company, Braxton bought the Ballpark and offered Cindy a job - he asked her to be the CEO of the ESG and both run the ballpark (with appropriate staff to handle all the legal and financial burdens, of course) as well as build a new Ashford baseball team, which would have the Ballpark as its guaranteed home. This was like achieving a life's dream for Cindy - being able to run the team and stadium as she saw fit, without having to seduce corrupt old managers to exert subtle influence over the team. Construction and building the new team was delayed a little by the events of the Sabbat Crusade, in which Cindy proved loyal to the Camarilla and ensuring several other Gangrel remained so too, proving Braxton's instincts and intentions about the Gangrels (or at least, Cindy) to be correct. As the Ashford Blaze team was owned by the previous owner and unwilling to sell to ESG, the Blaze played their last game in 2016 after which ESG did a major refurbishment of the Sam Lynn Ballpark and built a new baseball team - the Ashford Armadillos. The new team and refurbished Ballpark were ready in time for the first games of the Pesos League in May the following year. Although Braxton sees this venture mostly as both a form of community charity, and a way to have a connection (and influence) with Cindy (and, by extension, the remainder of the Gangrel clan loyal to the Camarilla), under Cindy's leadership the Armadillos have done surprisingly well and, by extension, local Ashford support for them has grown, resulting in the Ballpark not being the financial drain he was fearing - at least drawing even if not proving profitable, especially with the Ballpark being employed as the venue for a variety of other events such as concerts, dog shows, and drive-in movies. Although Braxton legally owns the Ballpark and Armadillos, the territory itself is recognised as Cindy's domain (or as the Gangrels prefer to call it, "hunting ground") and other kindred enter there only at her pleasure.

Personality

No information in database.

Other Notes

Protean Forms

Bobcat form

Nighthawk form

Cindy has the ability to change into Protean forms, but they differ from the common Wolf and Bat forms of most Kindred. She can change into a form resembling a Bobcat, although physically the size of its larger cousin, the Lynx. Whilst unusually large, this rarely causes any more attention than the sighting of a lynx or bobcat would normally do - and less than a wolf sighting as, unlike wolves, Bobcats are not unknown to be seen in urban areas, and are quite common in California.

Instead of a bat, she can change into a Nighthawk form, a predatory bird about the same size of a bat, but swifter. Like her bobcat form, the Nighthawk (both common and lesser Nighthawks) are a common predator in California, nocturnal in nature and commonly seen even in urban environments.

Many have commented that Cindy's protean forms are a synthesis of her bestial and predatory nature, but her urban personality.