“I'm not some bug-eyed monster from Alpha Centauri. I eat Wheaties for breakfast.”
Name: James RasmussenNicknames: Jamie (but only Poppy has permission to use this)
Age: 23
Species: Lamia Vampire
Family: Parents alive in Los Angeles, Cousins Ash, Rowan, Kestral, Jade.
Soulmate: Poppy North
Close Friends: Other Daybreakers
Circle: Daybreak
Residence: Las Vegas
Appearance: James has classic bad boy good looks - tall, muscular and attractive. He stands at a little over 6ft, has a well built swimmers body, and a nicely sculpted flat stomach. His facial features are study, strong, but with something about him that makes him very appealing. His smile is seductive, sexy, and hard to resist. His hair is short and thick, and a nice milky chocolate brown in colour. James's eyes are a soft silvery grey.
Personality: James is quite a reserved guy. He hides his emotions. He doesn't like to get too close to people. Apart from when he's with Poppy - he's completely different. He's open with her, she's the love of his life and he'll talk to her about anything. James is still a little flirty with attractive girls, it's a habit he just can't get out of after years of going through girlfriends to feed on. These days he won't do that, he will only use a willing doner. He's also grown up a lot and is a pretty open minded guy, accepts people for who they are and tries not to make snap judgements (even if he doesn't always manage, he makes a good effort to try).
Strengths: James is a lamia vampire and has typical vampire strengths - telepathy, enhanced speed and strength. He's also a very determined guy - he sees things through to the end when he starts a project. He's loyal to a cause he believes in and won't give up on people. He has a saviour complex and likes to protect those who can not fight for themselves.
Weaknesses: James has the standard vampire weaknesses - steak through the heart, fire. But his biggest weakness of all is Poppy and his love for her. She's everything to him and all anyone has to do is threaten harm to her and he'll go mental. He'd do anything for Poppy, no matter how headstrong and stupid it might me.
History
James grew up with well to do Lamia parents. He had a few hiccups with getting too close to humans - he was supposed to think of them as food bags and toys and nothing more. His first mistake with a human was his maid, Miss Emma. A subject he does not like to discuss. The relationship ended very badly.When James started school he didn't do too well - the bigger boys picked on him for a reason he couldn't understand. Then a feisty little redhead saved him. Poppy North became his best friend in the whole world. She was human, she knew nothing of him or the Night World, but that didn't matter to James. He felt more comfortable with her than he ever had with anyone.
He still had girlfriends of course. Three or four a year, he used them for food, never letting himself get too attached to them. When he felt the telepathic link between himself and the donor border on too strong, he dumped the girl. He knew this didn't sit well with a lot of people - Poppy's twin brother Phil for one - but he didn't let that bother him at all.
He stayed with his parents as long as he had to - thankfully they were well off and owned an apartment building, so they let him have an apartment in the building. He was out of their way. During the summer of their junior year James learned horrible news - Poppy had cancer and would die within six months. James didn't know how to handle it, but had an idea brewing in his mind. He spoke briefly to his father who misunderstood him and thought he was hinting on mercy killing. James took the matter into his own hand - and broke the cardinal Night World rule - Never Tell a Human the Night World Exists. He told her, and offered to change her into a vampire to save her life.
Their first exchange went well - until they were interrupted by Phil. Rather than explain what he was doing to Poppy's uptight brother he lied and told Phil he was pretending he liked Poppy and was just saying it to make her feel better. Phil backed off - until he walked in on the second blood change. An argument broke out, and Poppy was left on the verge of dying and becoming a zombie. Something James could not bear. So he tracked Phil down and told him the secret of Miss Emma, his beloved childhood nanny. His parents felt he got to close to her - so they took him on vacation and didn't let him feed for a few days. He was starving when he got home and fed on Miss Emma - he tried to change her and got caught, Miss Emma died but didn't quite die. She became a zombie rather than a vampire, a mindless, mess of a creature. James's father took her away to get rid of her. He told Phil that was what would happen to Poppy if they didn't finish the change. Phil relented, and the change was finished. They staged it so it looked like Poppy had died from the cancer. She was buried, and once it was done, later that night he and Phil dug her out. Poppy was different - the change had worked. James took her back to his place. He had forgotten until the last minute that his cousin Ash was supposed to be dropping by. He went out to try to convince his parents Ash could stay with them, but at the same time Ash dropped by and was left alone with Poppy. When James got home Poppy was gone - he grabbed Phil and they went off after Poppy. James was pretty certain Ash would take Poppy to the Solstice Party at Lord Thierry's home in Las Vegas. He and James were alerted to Poppy's location by Poppy's telepathic cry for help. They stopped Ash from exposing them. As it turned out - Poppy and Phil both had a witch in their family on their father's side, so Poppy and Phil were technically lost witches.
Afterwards, James went with Poppy to stay at her dad's before joining Circle Daybreak in Las Vegas. The two of them, in tribute to their mutual love techno music opened a techno dance club together.
