Emmy Jones – San Francisco Vampire

Young, appearing to be in her early 20’s. Slender (about 5’0 125 lbs), with long wavy brunette hair. She has deep brown eyes and fair skin. Emmy wears casual clothing, jeans, sweaters, t-shirts, sneakers, etc. She is right handed. Emmy still has a mid-western accent when she speaks. She has common sense and speaks rather straight-forward.

Laid back, casual. Doesn’t care for snobby wealthy people or yuppies. Emmy believes life is more interesting with good music and interesting art– and these are not things reserved for the wealthy. Emmy is a relatively young vampire and does not have the wealth and power that older vampires may have accumulated over the years. She is a very social person and enjoys interacting with others. On the occassion that she takes off for the night instead of working in the Shack, she tends to spend time in movie theaters, bars and other public places to socialize.

Emmy wants to get ahead in life. The Bernal Heights is her home of choice, and she feels a little protective of the area. The area is a secluded hill that retains an old-fashioned, casual way of life. When it comes time to hunt, she will leave the area and find an unwary human in another part of the city to dine on.

1987 – Emmy is turned into a vampire in New Orleans by Renard – traumatic conditions. Renard did end up treating her alright after he turned her. She was in the area as a Liberal Arts college student, far from her home in the midwest. Her family believes she has been abducted and still search for her.
1989 – Her sire is killed. She takes the cash, changes her name and runs for the West Coast. She settles in the Bernal Heights area, just as the area is starting to improve.
1990 – Emmy opens the Spaghetti Shack with William Bleau’s help and takes up residence in 2nd floor apartment.
1998 – The Shack is doing well enough for Emmy to hire more staff. She still spends many nights there working. She is not wealthy and makes just enough to pay the staff and maintain her building. She has a small savings account.

Emmy left New Orleans in the early 90’s. She quickly established the Spaghetti Shack in Bernal Heights as the neighborhood was just starting to make a turn for the better. The late night restaurant makes her enough money to get buy. Now, after a decade, the Shack is running smoothly with a small staff. Emmy no long has to be there every night.

The Spaghetti Shack

Laid back, cheap and filling food. There are often music performances (usually jazz). The Shack is usually busy and loud. With the exception of Emmy, the entire staff are just late night owl humans.

The second Floor apartment appears normal from the outside. There are curtains, but they are boxed in from the inside. The light-tight boxes (think reverse bay windows) allow Emmy to reside there without issue. The staff know not to bother Emmy during the day. Her phone ringer is turned off and it can take days for her to answer voicemails. The third floor is rented out to the cook, Richie.

Enemies

Victor – the vampire who killed her sire. There was a conflict over drug (methamphetamine) money. Emmy does not know much about the business between Renard and Victor. She has met Victor only once. He seemed cold and power hungry to her. She knows there were drugs involved and that the bickering was over percentages and territory. She fears that Victor may persue her for the money she took. That money has long since vanished as investment in the Shack. Victor is the main reason that Emmy has changed her name. There is no way she would be able to pay Victor the money she stole from Renard’s house. Emmy is not sure if Victor even knows about the money or thinks it belongs to him.

Acquaintances

William – a local member of The Invictus. He has ties to New Orleans and quickly befriended Emmy. William runs a few small businesses in San Francisco including a late night, independent movie house and a small bar. He assisted her in her purchase of the building that now is The Spaghetti Shack. While not a full member of the Invictus, Emmy is somewhat aligned with them. They may expect favors from her in the future.

Family

Emmy is the only daughter of Mark and Tina Thomford. The Thomford family has a small farm in rural Wisconsin. Emmy had a fairly happy child hood filled with chores and rustic living. Their daughter showed minimal interest in the family farm and went off to college unsure of her future plans. Her parents always hoped that she would graduate and return to the farm to continue its operation and raise a family there. Emmy has changed her last name to avoid her family (she does not want to burden them with her new ‘condition’. Her appearance has changed somewhat (different clothes and hairstyle) and she hopes that her family would not recognize her. She has no plans on ever returning the Midwest.

Dennis – Emmy’s (human) uncle. While not malicious against Emmy, he does not wish for her return. He is the younger brother of Mark Thomford and hopes to inherit the family farm some day. He has tried to set up a purchase plan from his brother several times over the years, but Mark plans on working on the farm until he retires. Dennis lives and works on his brother’s the farm (which was inherited from the brother’s parents). Dennis urges the Thomfords to move on and accept Emmy’s loss. It’s been over a decade and a half since her abduction and he would like the family to officially document himself as the future owner of the farm in Mark and Tina’s wills.

Real Information about San Francisco that inspired this character:

San Francisco: Bernal Heights

Many San Franciscans never travel to Bernal Heights, located as it is at the southern edge of the Mission valley, served by only a few city bus lines and perched atop a steep hill, to boot. Those who do wander up the incline may be surprised by this quaint urban village that seems forgotten by time. The main shopping strip of Cortland Avenue is populated by small markets, cafés, fruit stands and barber shops, and the residential streets are a cluster of diminutive bungalows and community gardens. However, Bernal Heights bears the influence of city sophistication, with trendy boutiques and innovative restaurants scattered among its homely storefronts. Bernal Heights

The neighborhood is a bastion of artists and progressives, popular with the lesbian community and attractive to young families looking for a first home and quiet streets (the neighborhood is also affectionately referred to as “Maternal Heights”). It is also a mecca for dog owners, thanks to a high concentration of single-family houses with yards and the nearby haven of Bernal Park, a canine free-for-all of off-leash frolicking.

Originally, Bernal Heights was part of the Rancho de las Salinas y Potrero Nuevo, and owes its name to Jose Cornelio de Bernal, to whom the land was granted in 1839 by the Mexican government. In the 1860s the rancho was subdivided into small lots, and was first populated primarily by Irish immigrants who farmed the land and ran dairy ranches. According to legend, a mini gold rush was triggered in 1876 when con artists planted the hilltop with traces of gold.

The district survived the 1906 earthquake and fire, thanks to the hill’s bedrock foundation, and some ramshackle houses still remain that were constructed out of timber salvaged from the wreckage. Several small cottages on Shotwell Street were originally built as “bonus plan” dwellings, provided to people who had lost their homes in the disaster but still had jobs. For these reasons, more people moved to Bernal Heights following the earthquake. World War II brought another influx, this time of people who came to work in the naval shipyards of nearby China Basin.

In the 1980s Bernal Heights had a reputation as a dangerous place to venture, notorious as a place to dodge crackheads or at least get your car radio stolen. Cortland started to be cleaned up in the early ’90s, when the Good Life Grocery moved in, followed by restaurants like the Liberty Café, as well as other small businesses.

During the dot-com boom, the community feared that Bernal Heights would be “discovered” and its affordable, offbeat charm ruined by gentrification. However, while local real estate prices were undeniably affected during the late ’90s, the area has nevertheless weathered yet another sweeping change relatively unscathed and retains its homey, bohemian atmosphere.

Emmy’s Spaghetti Shack:

The owners of this cooler-than-cool hangout opened it because they wanted to run a restaurant that served food later than 10 pm, a rarity in San Francisco. The ambience is moody and eclectic, and while the inexpensive menu does feature a big plate of spaghetti and meatballs, it also offers other dishes both comforting and ambitious, such as roast chicken or seafood linguine. The service is known to be on the slow side; don’t go on a completely empty stomach. 3355 Mission St., (415) 206-2086.