Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
Page created
Added DiffLines:
Characters appearing in the 2023 novel ''Literature/OldScores''.
[[foldercontrol]]
! Vampires
[[folder:Vampires in general]]
* AboveGoodAndEvil: Simon notes that "human concepts of good and evil don't mean much to us."
* TheAgeless: The vampires do not die from the passage of time, but are killable through various means.
* AttackOnTheHeart: Not always instantly fatal, but incapacitating. Completely destroying the heart, however, ''is'' fatal.
* TheBeastmaster: A power of older vampires.
* {{Bloodlust}}: The scent of blood excites vampires' predatory reflexes.
* CastsNoShadow: Which poses no shortage of logistical problems for Simon when he interacts with humans during the day.
* DaywalkingVampire: Even direct sunlight is only disorienting, not harmful, unless it is dawn's light. However, they are WeakenedByTheLight; many of their powers diminish or disappear altogether between sunrise and sunset.
* EvilSmellsBad: Not their bodies, per se, but their breath smells of the blood on which they feed; Simon swishes mouthwash before visiting Anita to relieve the odor.
* FangsAreEvil: Vampires use their fangs as their primary feeding tool, though they are retractable to preserve the appearance of humanity.
* GlowingEyesOfDoom: Vampires' eyes glow red as a sign of anger or intentional intimidation.
* HealingFactor: Vampires heal quickly from most wounds, though serious injuries take longer and [[HealItWithBlood require feeding]].
* HypnoticEyes: A universal vampiric power, though its efficacy increases with age.
* InnateNightVision: Simon reflects that he actually sees ''better'' in darkness, without lights distracting him.
* MustBeInvited: ''Old Scores'' also makes clear the invitation must be ''verbal''.
* OffWithHisHead: A surefire way to kill a vampire.
* OminousFog: Older vampires can summon it at will, though it seems an older vampire can seize control of a younger one's mist.
* OurVampiresAreDifferent: Although not ''much'' different from the vampires in ''{{Literature/Dracula}}'', including the usual complement of powers such as SuperReflexes, SuperSenses (articularly sight, hearing, and smell), SuperSpeed, SuperStrength, SuperToughness, and VoluntaryShapeshifting (though subject to ShapeshifterModeLock between sunrise and sunset). All [[StrongerWithAge increase with age]].
* RedEyesTakeWarning: Blood in the sclera is the first (and apparently only non-concealable) sign of a blood glutton vampire.
* ReflectiveEyes: Vampiric eyes reflect the light unnaturally.
* SilverHasMysticPowers: Just the touch of silver burns, and a SilverBullet through the heart will kill.
* SlidingScaleOfUndeadRegeneration: Type 4, although the burn on Salem's chest suggests there are some wounds which will not fully heal.
* SuperStrength: Notable for being one of the few vampiric powers to persist (even if somewhat diminished) during daylight hours.
* UndeathlyPallor: Even when well-fed, vampires look, at best, wan.
* VeinOVision: Downplayed. Simon remarks multiple times on his ability to see the movement of veins and arteries, but it seems to be more minute movement of the skin than actually seeing through to them.
* WallCrawl: Without any need for hand holds.
* WolverineClaws: All vampiric claws are sharp and solid enough to use as weapons.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Simon]]
A stoic, (relatively) young vampire with a mysterious past and a self-vexing interest in humans.
* AntiVillain: A relatively classical vampire, yet he has a rule against killing children, and goes out of his way to kill an abusive husband at the request of his wife, too.
* BadassLongcoat: Simon's fashion of choice, implied to be at least in part because it allows him to easily conceal his kukri knife.
* CreepyMonotone: His voice sometimes carries as little emotion as his face (as part of his [[TheStoic stoic nature]]), but leaves people more ill at ease.
* DeadpanSnarker: Not as much as Salem, but he clearly learned more than fighting from his erstwhile mentor. Anita tends to draw it out of him (or at least make him comfortable enough to stop being TheStoic).
* EvilSmellsBad: Averted, though only because he uses mouthwash to cleanse the smell of blood from his mouth.
* IntriguedByHumanity: In part because, uniquely among vampires, he has no memory of his own human life.
* KukrisAreKool: It is his weapon of choice.
* MysteriousPast: He has no memory of his human life.
* RomanticVampireBoy: Due to his relationship with Anita, though he is very much not a FriendlyNeighborhoodVampire.
* TheStoic: Especially in comparison to Anita, but even independently, Simon is restrained with his emotions.
* SugarAndIcePersonality: Anita is the only person to consistently crack his cool exterior.
* WifeBasherBasher: He kills Tom Corley, Sr., on implicit request of his abused wife.
* WouldntHurtAChild: Inherited from Salem, he refuses to prey on children.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Salem, aka Flavius]]
A snarky, long-lived vampire warrior and Simon's estranged mentor.
* CombatPragmatist: He wastes no time in killing his enemies with merciless efficiency.
* DeadpanSnarker: In keeping with his [[{{Troll}} trollish]] nature.
* DoesntLikeGuns: Not for any aversion to violence, but because he thinks they are beneath him. Despite his disdain, however, he is an exceptional pistol marksman.
* ItsPersonal: With Shafax; apparently, Shafax was responsible for the deaths of one or more individuals Salem liked.
* LaughablyEvil: Granted, he is often the only one laughing (because his humor revolves around [[{{Troll}} mocking or needling others]]), but he is quick with a quip.
* MasterSwordsman: Implied to be one, though he never gets a chance to fight anyone else using a blade in ''Old Scores''.
* MeaningfulRename: Salem stopped calling himself "Flavius" at some point before meeting Simon, although, [[MysteriousPast as with most things concerning Salem]], ''what'' the choice means is not clear.
* MrExposition: He falls into this role as the oldest vampire on the protagonists' side.
* MysteriousPast: Apart from his enmity with Shafax and the implication that [[spoiler:he was Roman in life]], nothing is known of his backstory.
* TheNicknamer: He comes up with a series of food-related nicknames for Anita.
* SinkOrSwimMentor: According to Simon, Salem's idea of helping him master shapeshifting was to force him to climb to the top of the Sears Tower and then throw him off.
* SmugSuper: Cocky, condescending, and trollish, but also hundreds (if not thousands) of years old and an extremely capable fighter.
* {{Troll}}: Salem takes obvious pleasure in aggravating most of the people he meets, from random humans who cross his path all the way up to the King of All Vampires.
* VillainousValor: A ruthless vampire whose trollishness borders on sadism, but unafraid to fight and defiant even in the face of apparent defeat.
* WouldntHurtAChild: One of his few [[EvenEvilHasStandards moral compunctions]] is killing children.
* WoundThatWillNotHeal: Salem bears a circular burn scar over his heart which his vampiric HealingFactor evidently can not completely remedy.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Shafax]]
The megalomaniacal King of All Vampires who is on a personal quest to be the ''only'' vampire.
* AncientEvil: Salem, who is clearly not young, calls him "Shafax the Ancient One", and later remarks that he's the oldest vampire in existence.
* BlackMagic: One of Shafax's specialties.
* TheCaligula: Salem suggests Shafax's blood gluttony has driven him insane, but notes that he was a megalomaniac even before.
* EvilSorcerer: As a practitioner of BlackMagic of various kinds.
* ItsPersonal:
**With Salem, for unclear reasons (including, but perhaps not limited to, Salem killing people Shafax liked or at least found useful).
**With Anita, after [[spoiler:she drives him from the Stokely house with her crucifix]]. Though Salem enjoys the image immensely, he notes that Shafax will never forgive the slight.
* MindOverMatter: Telekinesis is another of his powers; it works on objects, living people, and the undead.
* MonstrosityEqualsWeakness: Despite his titanic strength and BlackMagic powers, Shafax has to feed much more often than a vampire his age normally would, which risks drawing attention and leaves him weaker without a steady, constant supply of blood.
* {{Necromancer}}: Both the classical variant (communing with the spirits of the dead) and [[spoiler:the modern take ([[AnimateDead raising an army of undead]])]].
* OmnicidalManiac: Salem suggests his goal is to consume all the vampires, and subsequently all the humans, too.
* OneToMillionToOne: His VoluntaryShapeshifting extends to a swarm of locusts.
* SmugSuper: Shafax is so breathtakingly arrogant that even Salem points it out. He is also so powerful [[spoiler:it takes Salem, Simon, and Anita together to bring him down]].
* VampireMonarch: Though Salem claims he is taking the role's authority much further than vampires ever meant it to go.
* WolverineClaws: His claws have become raptor-like talons, which cut flesh like paper.
* ZeroPercentApprovalRating: Even apart from his being a blood glutton, Salem makes clear that no other vampires will follow Shafax willingly.
[[/folder]]
! Humans
[[folder:Anita Rothard]]
An artistically-oriented young woman whose friendly, easygoing nature is countered by faulty self-confidence, and who draws Simon's attention.
* ActionSurvivor: Admittedly with substantial help from Simon [[spoiler:and Salem]], but she still [[spoiler:immerses herself in war with the King of All Vampires and comes out more or less intact]].
* BulliedIntoDepression: Downplayed; she evidently spent most of high school being bullied and, despite her kindness and good nature, has few friends.
* CulturallyReligious: To some degree, since her family and Marion are Catholic. [[spoiler:She gets a rude awakening when she discovers Simon is a vampire and realizes there is hard truth underlying the faith.]]
* CurtainsMatchTheWindow: Chestnut hair and bright brown eyes.
* PuppyDogEyes: Simon thinks of Anita's eyes this way.
* SensitiveArtist: Anita, though her emotionality and empathy are particularly emphasized in contrast to Simon's stoicism.
* ThouShaltNotKill: As something of a pacifist herself, Anita imposes on Simon to feed on his prey without killing them. [[spoiler:She makes an exception for killing Christine and Shafax, but they are both already undead.]]
* WelcomedToTheMasquerade: After [[spoiler:she discovers Simon is a vampire. Simon welcomes her with some relief, Salem rather more begrudgingly.]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Christine Stokely]]
Anita's best friend, Christine is a driven, Type A achiever.
* DragonWithAnAgenda: As [[spoiler:Shafax's Dragon]], she intends [[spoiler:to rule at his side as his queen]]. This does not differ from [[spoiler:his ''stated'' agenda, but (unbeknownst to her) his ''actual'' agenda to be the ''only'' vampire]].[[note]]As the man himself said, "A god needs no consort."[[/note]]
* ElegantClassicalMusician: She plays violin, and expects to be first chair in the next academic year.
* HeadTurningBeauty: Literally at times.
* IcyBlueEyes: Accentuating her aloofness, along with her fair skin. [[spoiler:When she becomes a vampire, they turn into CreepyBlueEyes]].
* LovableAlphaBitch: How Anita sees her; they were best friends growing up, despite Christine being very popular and Anita not, and Christine protected Anita from being bullied by anyone else.
* NiceToTheWaiter: When a store clerk tries to steer Anita and Christine out of a department store, she has no hesitation about putting him in (what she thinks is) his place. Downplayed with Marion; she is never openly rude to her, but does conduct herself with a clear consciousness of class separation between them.
* RavenHairIvorySkin: If the reactions of those around her are any indication, she is stunning even before [[spoiler:she becomes a vampire]].
* RichBitch: When she plays up the "ice" in her SugarAndIcePersonality.
* SugarAndIcePersonality: She is generally affectionate with Anita, but more aloof around others, including Marion.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Hans Richtein]]
A German soldier turned camera man for the Deutsche Presse-Agentur, Hans is the sole survivor of the archaeological expedition that awakened Shafax.
* TheBigGuy: In the Mari archaeological expedition, though he is present only as a newsman.
* TheLostLenore: [[spoiler:The death of his significant other sent him into depression.]]
* MindRape: Subjected to it by Shafax.
* TheRenfield: Hans Richtein is turned into one for Shafax. [[spoiler:The story implies that Hans's depression over the death of his significant other in a motorcycle accident left him vulnerable to Shafax's mental domination.]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Miguel Vargos]]
A student at UIC who holds together a fragile collective of misfits and tries to befriend Simon and Anita.
* ManipulativeBastard: He seems to have genuine affection for all his various friends, but since not all of them have affection for each other, he is not above manipulating their emotions to keep everyone civil.
* SecretChaser: To Simon. Oddly enough, it has no relation to him [[spoiler:becoming a vampire]].
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Heidi Michener]]
Heidi is a quiet, shy freshman in Miguel's collection of friends.
* ExtremeDoormat: She is painfully eager not to offend or trouble anyone else.
* InnocentBlueEyes: She is a soft-spoken, meek soul.
* SelfHarm: Heidi bears the scars on her wrists. Her sister later reflects that Heidi was hospitalized for a suicide attempt.
* ShrinkingViolet: In spades.
* TroubledButCute: Obviously suffering both depression and social anxiety, with self-harming tendencies, but a cute girl.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Richard Rothard]]
Anita's father, Richard Rothard is a highly successful neurosurgeon.
* DrJerk: He is both a neurosurgeon and neurosurgical researcher, and both Anita and Simon end up on the wrong end of his temper.
* FatBastard: He is noticeably overweight, but his unpleasantness is downplayed; he is suspicious of Simon and disappointed in Anita, but he seems to have Anita's best interests at heart, and he ''does'' express gratitude for Simon protecting Anita during the alley fight.
* GentleTouchVsFirmHand: The Firm Hand to his wife's Gentle Touch.
* HeavyVoice: Anita lowers her voice conspicuously when mimicking (or mocking) his.
* NiceToTheWaiter: Although he is not as openly friendly with Marion as his daughter, he never treats her with anything but courtesy.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Nancy Rothard]]
Nancy Rothard, Anita's mother, is a retired clinical psychologist.
* GentleTouchVsFirmHand: The Gentle Touch to her husband's Firm Hand.
* NiceToTheWaiter: She is more openly friendly with Marion than Richard, though not as familial as Anita.
* TheShrink: She is retired from practice, though Anita thinks she still has the ability to psychoanalyze with a look. Though impliedly the Awesome Shrink archetype in her previous career, she is more Ineffective with Anita, who resists opening up.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Marion de Santos]]
Marion is the Rothards' live-in domestic servant and one of Anita's closest confidantes.
* BigSisterInstinct: Toward Anita.
* HiredHelpAsFamily: Particularly between Anita and her, but she is invited to share Christmas with the Rothards as an equal, not a servant.
* PrivateTutor: To Anita for Spanish, though Anita points out it is not actually part of her job.
[[/folder]]
[[foldercontrol]]
! Vampires
[[folder:Vampires in general]]
* AboveGoodAndEvil: Simon notes that "human concepts of good and evil don't mean much to us."
* TheAgeless: The vampires do not die from the passage of time, but are killable through various means.
* AttackOnTheHeart: Not always instantly fatal, but incapacitating. Completely destroying the heart, however, ''is'' fatal.
* TheBeastmaster: A power of older vampires.
* {{Bloodlust}}: The scent of blood excites vampires' predatory reflexes.
* CastsNoShadow: Which poses no shortage of logistical problems for Simon when he interacts with humans during the day.
* DaywalkingVampire: Even direct sunlight is only disorienting, not harmful, unless it is dawn's light. However, they are WeakenedByTheLight; many of their powers diminish or disappear altogether between sunrise and sunset.
* EvilSmellsBad: Not their bodies, per se, but their breath smells of the blood on which they feed; Simon swishes mouthwash before visiting Anita to relieve the odor.
* FangsAreEvil: Vampires use their fangs as their primary feeding tool, though they are retractable to preserve the appearance of humanity.
* GlowingEyesOfDoom: Vampires' eyes glow red as a sign of anger or intentional intimidation.
* HealingFactor: Vampires heal quickly from most wounds, though serious injuries take longer and [[HealItWithBlood require feeding]].
* HypnoticEyes: A universal vampiric power, though its efficacy increases with age.
* InnateNightVision: Simon reflects that he actually sees ''better'' in darkness, without lights distracting him.
* MustBeInvited: ''Old Scores'' also makes clear the invitation must be ''verbal''.
* OffWithHisHead: A surefire way to kill a vampire.
* OminousFog: Older vampires can summon it at will, though it seems an older vampire can seize control of a younger one's mist.
* OurVampiresAreDifferent: Although not ''much'' different from the vampires in ''{{Literature/Dracula}}'', including the usual complement of powers such as SuperReflexes, SuperSenses (articularly sight, hearing, and smell), SuperSpeed, SuperStrength, SuperToughness, and VoluntaryShapeshifting (though subject to ShapeshifterModeLock between sunrise and sunset). All [[StrongerWithAge increase with age]].
* RedEyesTakeWarning: Blood in the sclera is the first (and apparently only non-concealable) sign of a blood glutton vampire.
* ReflectiveEyes: Vampiric eyes reflect the light unnaturally.
* SilverHasMysticPowers: Just the touch of silver burns, and a SilverBullet through the heart will kill.
* SlidingScaleOfUndeadRegeneration: Type 4, although the burn on Salem's chest suggests there are some wounds which will not fully heal.
* SuperStrength: Notable for being one of the few vampiric powers to persist (even if somewhat diminished) during daylight hours.
* UndeathlyPallor: Even when well-fed, vampires look, at best, wan.
* VeinOVision: Downplayed. Simon remarks multiple times on his ability to see the movement of veins and arteries, but it seems to be more minute movement of the skin than actually seeing through to them.
* WallCrawl: Without any need for hand holds.
* WolverineClaws: All vampiric claws are sharp and solid enough to use as weapons.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Simon]]
A stoic, (relatively) young vampire with a mysterious past and a self-vexing interest in humans.
* AntiVillain: A relatively classical vampire, yet he has a rule against killing children, and goes out of his way to kill an abusive husband at the request of his wife, too.
* BadassLongcoat: Simon's fashion of choice, implied to be at least in part because it allows him to easily conceal his kukri knife.
* CreepyMonotone: His voice sometimes carries as little emotion as his face (as part of his [[TheStoic stoic nature]]), but leaves people more ill at ease.
* DeadpanSnarker: Not as much as Salem, but he clearly learned more than fighting from his erstwhile mentor. Anita tends to draw it out of him (or at least make him comfortable enough to stop being TheStoic).
* EvilSmellsBad: Averted, though only because he uses mouthwash to cleanse the smell of blood from his mouth.
* IntriguedByHumanity: In part because, uniquely among vampires, he has no memory of his own human life.
* KukrisAreKool: It is his weapon of choice.
* MysteriousPast: He has no memory of his human life.
* RomanticVampireBoy: Due to his relationship with Anita, though he is very much not a FriendlyNeighborhoodVampire.
* TheStoic: Especially in comparison to Anita, but even independently, Simon is restrained with his emotions.
* SugarAndIcePersonality: Anita is the only person to consistently crack his cool exterior.
* WifeBasherBasher: He kills Tom Corley, Sr., on implicit request of his abused wife.
* WouldntHurtAChild: Inherited from Salem, he refuses to prey on children.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Salem, aka Flavius]]
A snarky, long-lived vampire warrior and Simon's estranged mentor.
* CombatPragmatist: He wastes no time in killing his enemies with merciless efficiency.
* DeadpanSnarker: In keeping with his [[{{Troll}} trollish]] nature.
* DoesntLikeGuns: Not for any aversion to violence, but because he thinks they are beneath him. Despite his disdain, however, he is an exceptional pistol marksman.
* ItsPersonal: With Shafax; apparently, Shafax was responsible for the deaths of one or more individuals Salem liked.
* LaughablyEvil: Granted, he is often the only one laughing (because his humor revolves around [[{{Troll}} mocking or needling others]]), but he is quick with a quip.
* MasterSwordsman: Implied to be one, though he never gets a chance to fight anyone else using a blade in ''Old Scores''.
* MeaningfulRename: Salem stopped calling himself "Flavius" at some point before meeting Simon, although, [[MysteriousPast as with most things concerning Salem]], ''what'' the choice means is not clear.
* MrExposition: He falls into this role as the oldest vampire on the protagonists' side.
* MysteriousPast: Apart from his enmity with Shafax and the implication that [[spoiler:he was Roman in life]], nothing is known of his backstory.
* TheNicknamer: He comes up with a series of food-related nicknames for Anita.
* SinkOrSwimMentor: According to Simon, Salem's idea of helping him master shapeshifting was to force him to climb to the top of the Sears Tower and then throw him off.
* SmugSuper: Cocky, condescending, and trollish, but also hundreds (if not thousands) of years old and an extremely capable fighter.
* {{Troll}}: Salem takes obvious pleasure in aggravating most of the people he meets, from random humans who cross his path all the way up to the King of All Vampires.
* VillainousValor: A ruthless vampire whose trollishness borders on sadism, but unafraid to fight and defiant even in the face of apparent defeat.
* WouldntHurtAChild: One of his few [[EvenEvilHasStandards moral compunctions]] is killing children.
* WoundThatWillNotHeal: Salem bears a circular burn scar over his heart which his vampiric HealingFactor evidently can not completely remedy.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Shafax]]
The megalomaniacal King of All Vampires who is on a personal quest to be the ''only'' vampire.
* AncientEvil: Salem, who is clearly not young, calls him "Shafax the Ancient One", and later remarks that he's the oldest vampire in existence.
* BlackMagic: One of Shafax's specialties.
* TheCaligula: Salem suggests Shafax's blood gluttony has driven him insane, but notes that he was a megalomaniac even before.
* EvilSorcerer: As a practitioner of BlackMagic of various kinds.
* ItsPersonal:
**With Salem, for unclear reasons (including, but perhaps not limited to, Salem killing people Shafax liked or at least found useful).
**With Anita, after [[spoiler:she drives him from the Stokely house with her crucifix]]. Though Salem enjoys the image immensely, he notes that Shafax will never forgive the slight.
* MindOverMatter: Telekinesis is another of his powers; it works on objects, living people, and the undead.
* MonstrosityEqualsWeakness: Despite his titanic strength and BlackMagic powers, Shafax has to feed much more often than a vampire his age normally would, which risks drawing attention and leaves him weaker without a steady, constant supply of blood.
* {{Necromancer}}: Both the classical variant (communing with the spirits of the dead) and [[spoiler:the modern take ([[AnimateDead raising an army of undead]])]].
* OmnicidalManiac: Salem suggests his goal is to consume all the vampires, and subsequently all the humans, too.
* OneToMillionToOne: His VoluntaryShapeshifting extends to a swarm of locusts.
* SmugSuper: Shafax is so breathtakingly arrogant that even Salem points it out. He is also so powerful [[spoiler:it takes Salem, Simon, and Anita together to bring him down]].
* VampireMonarch: Though Salem claims he is taking the role's authority much further than vampires ever meant it to go.
* WolverineClaws: His claws have become raptor-like talons, which cut flesh like paper.
* ZeroPercentApprovalRating: Even apart from his being a blood glutton, Salem makes clear that no other vampires will follow Shafax willingly.
[[/folder]]
! Humans
[[folder:Anita Rothard]]
An artistically-oriented young woman whose friendly, easygoing nature is countered by faulty self-confidence, and who draws Simon's attention.
* ActionSurvivor: Admittedly with substantial help from Simon [[spoiler:and Salem]], but she still [[spoiler:immerses herself in war with the King of All Vampires and comes out more or less intact]].
* BulliedIntoDepression: Downplayed; she evidently spent most of high school being bullied and, despite her kindness and good nature, has few friends.
* CulturallyReligious: To some degree, since her family and Marion are Catholic. [[spoiler:She gets a rude awakening when she discovers Simon is a vampire and realizes there is hard truth underlying the faith.]]
* CurtainsMatchTheWindow: Chestnut hair and bright brown eyes.
* PuppyDogEyes: Simon thinks of Anita's eyes this way.
* SensitiveArtist: Anita, though her emotionality and empathy are particularly emphasized in contrast to Simon's stoicism.
* ThouShaltNotKill: As something of a pacifist herself, Anita imposes on Simon to feed on his prey without killing them. [[spoiler:She makes an exception for killing Christine and Shafax, but they are both already undead.]]
* WelcomedToTheMasquerade: After [[spoiler:she discovers Simon is a vampire. Simon welcomes her with some relief, Salem rather more begrudgingly.]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Christine Stokely]]
Anita's best friend, Christine is a driven, Type A achiever.
* DragonWithAnAgenda: As [[spoiler:Shafax's Dragon]], she intends [[spoiler:to rule at his side as his queen]]. This does not differ from [[spoiler:his ''stated'' agenda, but (unbeknownst to her) his ''actual'' agenda to be the ''only'' vampire]].[[note]]As the man himself said, "A god needs no consort."[[/note]]
* ElegantClassicalMusician: She plays violin, and expects to be first chair in the next academic year.
* HeadTurningBeauty: Literally at times.
* IcyBlueEyes: Accentuating her aloofness, along with her fair skin. [[spoiler:When she becomes a vampire, they turn into CreepyBlueEyes]].
* LovableAlphaBitch: How Anita sees her; they were best friends growing up, despite Christine being very popular and Anita not, and Christine protected Anita from being bullied by anyone else.
* NiceToTheWaiter: When a store clerk tries to steer Anita and Christine out of a department store, she has no hesitation about putting him in (what she thinks is) his place. Downplayed with Marion; she is never openly rude to her, but does conduct herself with a clear consciousness of class separation between them.
* RavenHairIvorySkin: If the reactions of those around her are any indication, she is stunning even before [[spoiler:she becomes a vampire]].
* RichBitch: When she plays up the "ice" in her SugarAndIcePersonality.
* SugarAndIcePersonality: She is generally affectionate with Anita, but more aloof around others, including Marion.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Hans Richtein]]
A German soldier turned camera man for the Deutsche Presse-Agentur, Hans is the sole survivor of the archaeological expedition that awakened Shafax.
* TheBigGuy: In the Mari archaeological expedition, though he is present only as a newsman.
* TheLostLenore: [[spoiler:The death of his significant other sent him into depression.]]
* MindRape: Subjected to it by Shafax.
* TheRenfield: Hans Richtein is turned into one for Shafax. [[spoiler:The story implies that Hans's depression over the death of his significant other in a motorcycle accident left him vulnerable to Shafax's mental domination.]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Miguel Vargos]]
A student at UIC who holds together a fragile collective of misfits and tries to befriend Simon and Anita.
* ManipulativeBastard: He seems to have genuine affection for all his various friends, but since not all of them have affection for each other, he is not above manipulating their emotions to keep everyone civil.
* SecretChaser: To Simon. Oddly enough, it has no relation to him [[spoiler:becoming a vampire]].
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Heidi Michener]]
Heidi is a quiet, shy freshman in Miguel's collection of friends.
* ExtremeDoormat: She is painfully eager not to offend or trouble anyone else.
* InnocentBlueEyes: She is a soft-spoken, meek soul.
* SelfHarm: Heidi bears the scars on her wrists. Her sister later reflects that Heidi was hospitalized for a suicide attempt.
* ShrinkingViolet: In spades.
* TroubledButCute: Obviously suffering both depression and social anxiety, with self-harming tendencies, but a cute girl.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Richard Rothard]]
Anita's father, Richard Rothard is a highly successful neurosurgeon.
* DrJerk: He is both a neurosurgeon and neurosurgical researcher, and both Anita and Simon end up on the wrong end of his temper.
* FatBastard: He is noticeably overweight, but his unpleasantness is downplayed; he is suspicious of Simon and disappointed in Anita, but he seems to have Anita's best interests at heart, and he ''does'' express gratitude for Simon protecting Anita during the alley fight.
* GentleTouchVsFirmHand: The Firm Hand to his wife's Gentle Touch.
* HeavyVoice: Anita lowers her voice conspicuously when mimicking (or mocking) his.
* NiceToTheWaiter: Although he is not as openly friendly with Marion as his daughter, he never treats her with anything but courtesy.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Nancy Rothard]]
Nancy Rothard, Anita's mother, is a retired clinical psychologist.
* GentleTouchVsFirmHand: The Gentle Touch to her husband's Firm Hand.
* NiceToTheWaiter: She is more openly friendly with Marion than Richard, though not as familial as Anita.
* TheShrink: She is retired from practice, though Anita thinks she still has the ability to psychoanalyze with a look. Though impliedly the Awesome Shrink archetype in her previous career, she is more Ineffective with Anita, who resists opening up.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Marion de Santos]]
Marion is the Rothards' live-in domestic servant and one of Anita's closest confidantes.
* BigSisterInstinct: Toward Anita.
* HiredHelpAsFamily: Particularly between Anita and her, but she is invited to share Christmas with the Rothards as an equal, not a servant.
* PrivateTutor: To Anita for Spanish, though Anita points out it is not actually part of her job.
[[/folder]]
