Mariska Costas
Nymph || Ondine
| Name |Mariska Costas
| Date of Birth |August 14, Year Unknown
| Gender |Female
| Sexuality |Bisexual
| Occupation |Vocal Professional, which is a fancy way of saying Singer
Mariska performs as a lounge singer at nighttime establishments, though she does take bookings for events and parties and the like. She describes her style as 'neo jazz fusion' but to anyone off the street she's a jazz singer who doesn't just croon but adds a bit of a poppy bend to the performances.
| In-Depth Appearance |
For someone that has lost count of her age, most people not in the know wouldn't say Mariska was a day over thirty, and that was if they were being kind; they always were being kind. Mariska does not cut a striking figure on or off the stage, she's not exactly tall, coming in at just about five foot six inches flat, nor is she particularly curvaceous. Hers is a more...elegant sort of affair, or her own take on the term that's long since lost its meaning.
When not under the burning heat of the spotlight and the sizzling gaze of a captive audience, Mariska's sense of style is a playfully casual sort of formal. Rare is the time when Mariska isn't at least in a button down top or slacks though on a particularly warm or springy sort of day, a modest sundress with spring, blue colors is more in her wheelhouse. Unless covered by a hat - as is the case enough to warrant a mention - Mariska's hair is on full display. Midnight dark and styled to be as short as possible, the close crop style is her bread and butter look and never, NEVER, does she leave without her hair being properly straightened.
When on stage and performing it's always dresses, no exception, and each of them tailored in such a way as to show off just enough leg to capture initial attention while her voice does the rest. She tends to favor blue or white dresses that, when caught in the light during a high note, wow with a literal shine. It's all in the presentation after all.
Her voice depends on when you catch her. On stage, when singing, it's got a husky lilt to it, fitting for one that hung around people smoking their cigarettes and drinking their booze in dimly lit clubs. Normally, in the day to day, the lilt is gone but the husk remains, albeit sounding a bit more raspy than overtly sensual.
| Personality |♦ Sensuous ♦ Exasperated ♦ Bohemian ♦ Hopelessly Romantic ♦
At some point, singing songs about unrequited love or deeply passionate one time flings becomes a matter of art imitating life and with Mariska that point has long since passed. Mariska doesn't crave attention, she craves affection and does not make any effort to hide that fact. From the tones of her voice to a carefully delivered smile and wink, it's all part of the ruse to make sure that those who see her are thinking more than just how lovely her singing voice is.
A long lived life does have its downsides, and though Mariska desires and demands affection she knows, or believes anyway, that it's all superficial, that such a thing as romance doesn't exist when it comes to her. Other people might know the joy of love and true romance, but Mariska doesn't share in that belief, both because of her relations with the ordinary humans that populate the land and due to the fact that none of her flings have amounted to anything other than that. She knows that humans are not a long lived sort and with the cost of truly loving her entails, it's far easier to simply get caught up in the fantasy of romance and love rather than seek it out herself.
Being an entertainer by trade, Mariska fashions herself as something of a renaissance woman, likening herself to those classic starlets of an era gone by. She doesn't quite live up to those fantastical ideals, what with not exactly being the most well spoken or eloquent despite what her manner of dress would have one believe. It's a balancing act with Mariska. She walks the fine line between being the ideal classy fantasy and the bitter reality that she's hovering just above being a bitter, forgotten old woman.
| Likes & Dislikes |✔Romantic movies and stories, not comedies - romance can be humorous but it's no comedy
✔ Crisp, cold, non bottled water, ideally from a spring or brook
✔ The outdated ideal of chivalry, without the negative connotations the modern sort spins on it
✔Sweets, but not chocolates. Chocolates are boring.
✔Art, particularly paintings. Especially paintings, actually.
✔Music, hearing, writing, singing, whatever. It soothed the savage beast for a reason.
✔Seafood, and not just the aphrodisiac shellfish variety.
✔Rainy days, the rainier the better
✘When they say they'll stay in touch and it's a bold faced lie
✘Anyone whose opinion on any topic is a resounding 'it's okay'
✘Boorish individuals, which often includes herself
✘Cheats, and not in the swindler, con artist sort of the word
✘Carbonated beverages; why drink that sugary swill when there's a far more refreshing alternative
✘Overly warm weather, summer is dreadful
✘Those that do not care about cleanliness
| History |Mariska's obsession with love and affection isn't just because of her long life of singing about that which she can only romanticize, it's burned deep into what she as. As an undine she's drawn to romance, to love and being loved in kind; however falling in love with a human and entering into that sacred bond known as marriage is nothing short of a hurdle. She maintains her younger appearance so long as she doesn't enter into matrimony or carry a child; doing either begins her aging. And after years of seeing men and women go behind the back of their spouse for someone younger, the fact that her aging is tied to those basic human desires is what has her simply fantasizing about true love. Mariska fails to mention that one unfaithful to her meets a rather grim fate because she doesn't wish to frighten someone into being faithful. That's not how love works.
Mariska had been singing for as long as she remembers. It just seemed the natural thing to do; she came into the world with a song on her lips and when such a day comes when she leaves the world...she'll likely do it with a melody. She's been exposed to decades of human entertainment, from the classical pieces composed by the hard of hearing and the young, to the sweeping operatic movements, and even through that terrible period where everyone wore flannel and made noise the mainstream. Mariska became quite taken with what was known in the western world as the Roaring Twenties, mainly for their style and their song...less so their seedier and scuzzier elements. But then, every era has its black spots.
She was always fortunate to not exhibit any overtly supernatural qualities - the people enthralled by her singing was easily written off as people just being fans - but because of the simple fact that her aging is monumentally slower she never liked staying in one place for too long. Changing identities was simple enough when you outlived people frequently, and living the bohemian, vagabond life had its own charms...such as never being without a topic of conversation at galas.
Mariska would like to be more known for her music, a record deal, awards, adoring fans and the like, but the problem with fame is that it puts you under the spotlight and how could she explain looking the same in, say, 1950 as she did in 2015? But now that the secret is out, perhaps steps could be made to ensure that Mariska Costas is a more widely known name.
| Family |Not Applicable
| Strengths |- Worldly
- Open-minded
- Irreverent, free thinker
| Weaknesses |- Overly emotional
- Impulsive
- Easily swayed by empty promises
| Theme Song |Stuck – Caro Emerald”I close my eyes and dream about a sunny holiday
I wish that I was beaching down on Saint Tropez
Or sitting in the lobby at the fabulous 'Pierre'
With diamonds on my fingers and not a single care
Instead I’m on the avenue where nobody goes
With fields of green that wilted like a last summer rose
Some people call it paradise but I call it pain
Baby, take me anywhere but not here again” | House Number |Faraday Heights, 28A
| Extra Information |All good, fam