Anne Gwish

...with apologies to Jhonen Vasquez.

**Birth Name:** unknown

**Stage Name:** Anne Gwish

**Clan:** Daeva

**Bloodline:** The Carnival

**Coterie:** Langley & Lord's Circus Diabolique

**Act:** contortion

**Appearance:** <-----

Anne dresses either in skin-tight clothes that accentuate her unnaturally thin frame, or clothes so loose and billowing that they almost appear to be empty. She speaks in soft and graceful tones, whether discussing Kindred politics, Arthur's "paperwork," or the blood-bonding of a torpid enemy, but her posture is all sharp angles and planes. When at rest, she has the habit of folding herself up as compact as a pocket knife, although whether this is simply a holdover from her performances or a deliberate attempt to unsettle the viewers is anyone's guess. She also has the propensity to sit, stand, or lean uncomfortably close to any conveniently conspicuous male. From the typical Daeva, this "arm candy" act might be welcomed; from Anne, it inspires revulsion - though, given her propensity for conspiring with Eddie to flank the unfortunate victim, this is likely deliberate. The only male immune seems to be Arthur Langley, ringleader and master of the Circus Diabolique, who has managed to embrace her act and fold it into his own flamboyant persona.

Anne is clearly a vampire on a dangerous downward spiral. Her past - what she remembers of it - is known only to other members of the Circus, and not all of those. She finds amusement in inflicting the Vinculum, views the pattern of wounds on a torpid body as an art form, and her fellow performers can attest that her hunting style can be dangerously cavalier. Yet she appears to have no ambitions beyond protecting the interests of the Langley Circus (which is uncomfortably like trusting a viper to guard your jewels.)

Yet she is not without her attractions. Let your stomach churn at her emaciated frame as it will, her Daeva charms are impossible to deny. In fact, her act as a contortionist is frequently the finale of a Langley performance...particularly when her coterie needs to feed. Her talent at making a Show of her deformity is undeniable. Like a gruesome crime scene or a mangled wreck, she captivates the eye even as she horrifies the mind.

Behind the scenes, it is her mechanical aptitude that keeps the decrepit vehicles of the circus running. She deals less dexterously with the circus' living staff, but her ghouled servant is simply dead useful at at managing them, as well as cleaning up after his mistress. He is also the only one allowed inside her trailer. Those inside the circus may note that she is loyal to her "sister" Eddie first, her employer Arthur second, and displays a distinct rivalry with the rest of the vampiric acts. In front of outsiders, however, she closes ranks without question or hesitation. The Circus is family, and family comes first.

Although she has some skill with a knife, she generally prefers to let other fighters take center stage - especially the circus' tiger, of whose body of work she is quite fond. She murmurs quiet advice to the politically ambitious, but prefers to leave the limelight to others in that arena as well. These are not her passions, merely amusements. No, the eerie strains of her Requiem haunt the audience, creeping like an infection in the blood, crawling under the skin, burrowing in the mind where the image of her act will trouble them in nightmares and unquiet moments for the rest of their lives. *This* is the purpose she "lives" for.