Ghoul families are, even at their best, families of ghouls. The taint of undeath does not exactly rest easily in the Kindred, let alone those still-living who have been touched by their curse. That is why the ghoul bloodline known as the Serrano family confuses many vampires in contemporary nights. Descended from a mortal woman and Cherubim vitae, the fact that the family gained their powers from a bloodline of child vampires is even less surprising than something else: they actually seem to be a happy family.
Originally hailing from the east coast of the United States, the Serrano family can now be found all throughout that country, and even a few places abroad. Wherever they dwell, they gather in nuclear and extended families alike, living out multi-generational domestic vignettes stretched out supernaturally through the dilated aging of the Blood. And, of course, helping out – and being helped – by those undead children who gave them their gift in the first place.
Nicknames: Rogers, Domestics
Overview: The Serranos are a biological ghoul family descended from Arianna Serrano, a woman born in Boston during the early 20th century. Gifted with ghouldom by a Cherubim she was a friend of in life, her purity and the potency of her one-time regnant's Blood imbued her descendants with a shadow of her own ghouled state. Like other biological ghouls, the Serranos possess a slowed aging process, but unlike their fellows, the family also has a vibrant, youthful quality that gives them supernatural charm, as well as some rather embarrassing weaknesses. The Serranos have a measure of independence that separates them from other ghoul families, lacking a fixed regnant and instead having individual members become ghouled to Kindred on contractual and informal bases. As a whole, most of the family is content to leave the excitement and intrigue of the Danse Macabre to those few of their number who exchange a prolonged life for an immortal one, and instead simply enjoy the extended family life and plain beauty that their Blood bestows upon them. Such domesticity does not necessarily mean that their lives are uneventful, however. While the Cherubim gave the family their vitae as a gift, and not a contract, the Serranos do like to assist the bloodline from time to time, acting as surrogate relatives (well, proper surrgate relatives) to the undying children. Oftentimes, the family's charity extends beyond the Cherubim and towards child vampires as a whole. In helping deathless beings of the night who drink the blood of the living, however, even ones who are kids, the Serranos can put themselves into harm's way, and risk compromising the strange innocence which they do possess. But that is the price that they are willing to pay, for the sake of righteousness.
History: The origin of the Serranos dates back to a friendship. The child of Italian-Americans who had been settled in East Boston for a few generations, Arianna Serrano's relatively established status did not lead to her parents interfering at all with her connection to Daithi Lavery, an Irish-American boy who she had known since both of them were toddlers. The two shared an adventurous attitude and an obsession with the witch country of New England, two characteristics that saw the pair playing around the outer limits of Boston and into the rest of Massachusetts proper whenever they had time off of school. The bond between the two deepened even as adulthood's shadow loomed over them, and by the time the two were ten, they had a pact; neither of them would ever marry, so that nothing could ever come between them. While Arianna's readiness to agree to the pact was probably influenced in some fashion by the then-growing Suffrage movement, and Daithi's by the fact that his older siblings were already well on their way to continuing the family line, it was still an earnest agreement, and neither had even thought of wavering from it when the night that changed their friendship forever came.
In 1912, about a year after the two had made their pact, Daithi invited Arianna to join him in exploring the Myles Standish Burial Ground. Arianna turned down the invitation, being accustomed to the two's many adventures and needing to help her family prepare for Thanksgiving. Daithi set out alone, and neither of the two thought much of it for a little while.
The trouble came when Daithi did not return from Duxbury. For the first few days or so his absence was hardly out of the ordinary, but by the time a week had passed and he had missed school, the boy's family started to worry. Arianna determined that something was amiss soon after Daithi had set out and spent many hours on winter break trekking back and forth between Boston and Duxbury, going over every trail Daithi might have set on and combing the cemetery with utter thoroughness. Daithi's family reported the boy's disappearance to the local police, but given their low status and the fact that the event occurred outside of their jurisdiction, little was gained from the investigation. By the time a year had passed, the case was closed, and Arianna was left without closure.
Daithi appeared in the corner of the room, as though out of darkness itself. He was still the fresh-faced youth who she had seen walk off on that ill-fated trip to Duxbury,
and now his skin was as pale and shining as the moon itself. As though he had just been gone for a day, he explained all that had happened to him on that night. While exploring
a particularly imposing crypt at the Myles Standish Burial Ground, Daithi came across an ashen corpse in gentleman's garb politely sitting in a stool in the corner of the tomb,
and before he could react, he found the undead man over him, taking all of his lifeblood before replacing it with a bit of his own. Now a vampire, Daithi found himself in
servitude to a master who had seemed to Embrace him as part of an occult experiment. Daithi told his friend all about the Kindred, as well as the strange and wonderful
adventures that he had embarked upon in order to escape the reach of his sire. As his long tale finally reached its conclusion, Daithi looked upon Arianna with that same
smiling visage she had seen so many years ago, and offered a gift that made her heart plummet and leap at the same time: the opportunity to finally go onto all of those shining
adventures they had dreamed about, as a vampire. But it had been too long, for she was a grown woman who knew of love's first kiss, and the simple land of childhood was now closed to her forever. Arianna told Daithi as
much, and he did not understand when she weeped. He told her that it did not matter that she had grown, that he had come too late, and that he could still Embrace her if she
wished. It was then that Arianna told him of her lover, and that they would marry, but that still did not dissuage Daithi. He said that she could still join him, even with a
husband, and that they could go on and on as if nothing had ever happened. He begged – pleaded – for her to join him, growing more and more desperate with each plea. But Daithi
came to the realization when Arianna fell to the floor in tears, and knew that things would never be the same again. Yet Daithi was full of courage, and not one to despair. He told Arianna that he was alright, that he could walk the night alone. But he still wanted the privilege of giving
his old friend one last gift. He offered her a taste of his Blood, just one, that she could see a shadow of his power without his damnation. He also explained the nature of the
Vinculum to her, and how he could not give her more drinks without ruining the sanctity of their friendship. In remembrance of what the two had once shared, Arianna agreed. Daithi ultimately ghouled Arianna just before she was to marry, an offer that the woman had accepted without hesitation. Arianna and her beloved made their vows with pure
hearts, and Daithi got the opportunity to watch the party that followed the wedding once nightfall came. But the vampire had not taken into consideration one thing; how the
Blood would affect the two lovers' children. Soon after consumnation, Arianna became pregnant, and although her own ghouldom would expire by the month's end, a shadow of it,
formed of Daithi's vitae and Arianna's own radiant innocence, would be made perpetual in her lineage. It was once the first child was born that the Serrano family proper was
established, and on the discovery of their offspring's half-cursed state, Arianna revealed all that had happened to her lover, a tale that has since been passed on from
generation to generation. The bloodline soon spread across the whole of the country like flowers creeping along a flowerbed, and as the family built up resources both natural
and supernatural, they finally started to repay the Kindred of a benefactor whose devotion to a friend had blessed a whole line. Clans: Unsurprisingly, the Serranos are most affiliated with Daeva, given how the Cherubim who spawned their line are themselves descended from that clan. The
family's proficiency in Majesty is inherited from that parent clan, and colored by the shining nature of Cherubim vitae. Apart from that, however, the Serranos only really
interact with Daeva regularly because they are the self-appointed guardians of Cherubim. In fact, the overt sensuality of many Daeva can actually be unnerving to those of the
bloodline, as while they might not have the same youthful character as the Cherubim, they still generally prefer for their prurient activities to be restricted to an idealized
image of monogamy. That same “kid-friendly” atmosphere to their households can quickly lose the interest of Daeva, but some of the clan are also enticed by it, so the Serranos
can't exactly escape the notice of their parent clan. The Serranos also interact with child vampires as a whole, so they are experienced with all of the clans and have their
own ways of dealing with each one, but the family as a whole does not have a particularly affinity for any of them. Appearances: The average member of the Serrano family looks and dresses like the average member of their community. The one distinguishing point is that the Serranos
typically prefer clothing that is plain and domestic, not so formal as to be showy but also not too unkempt or cheap. Shirts with singular, deep colors and blue jeans are
common, as are polo shirts and dress pants of somewhat older styles among the elder members of the family. The prolonged lifespans of the Serranos and the fact that some of
their number are ghouled also means that certain anachronisms in dress can appear in the family, but the bloodline as a whole is very much focused on not sticking out, and so
most family members keep their most outdated garb inside the house. The focus on normalcy does not mean that members of the family have no concept of personal style or theme,
however, especially when it comes to the beloved children of the household. Subcultural styles and popular clothing is still present in the family, but the harshest and most
eye-catching edges are softened, so that the joke t-shirts have no swear words and the goth outfit of the teenager will not startle the old grandmother who is visiting. The skin tone of a Serrano usually matches that of the most common races in the area, sometimes to the point where a Serrano household is a startlingly accurate microcosm of
local demographics. The Serranos like to embed themselves within local cultures, even if “tradition” is only a century or so old, and they are no strangers to intermarriage.
Furthermore, the general benevolence of the family and their reverence for love has meant that they have never had problems with their offspring marrying those of other races,
even when there was still prejudice against interracial relationships among mortals. While the main branch of the bloodline is still Italian, the exact racial background and
phenotype of the Serranos depends greatly on where they are located, with mixed backgrounds, Europeans, African-Americans, and Mexicans being the most common in recent
years. The Serranos have very noticeable neotenic features, keeping large eyes and rounded features well into adulthood. While all Serranos do eventually look “adult,” they
invariably look as young and healthy for their given age group as possible. The children are positively cherubic, and most Serrano adults keep the look of their thirties all
the way up to their sixties. When age does come, it typically impacts the elder in such a manner as to resemble a stereotypical grandparent, with few of the serious
complications of old age coming over them thanks to the vigor of their Blood. Strengths: The family has a particular talent with Majesty, and can always learn it for out-of-clan costs, even if their regnant does not know it or if they do not
have a regnant at all. Such Majesty usually manifests in the form of healthy beauty and a palpable aura of innocence. The Serranos also benefit from a strong familial Blood
that allows them to maintain healthy genes while still retaining the family's distinct features. The offspring of a Serrano family member with a non-Serrano individual inherits
the thrall state of their Serrano parent around seventy-five percent of the time. While the Serrano family traits are not entirely dominant in a Mendelian manner, the strength
of their vitae is usually enough for them to avoid the worst of inbreeding. It should be noted that the strength of their blood does not actually endanger the family by making
them a prime target for enthrallment by vampires. While Daithi leads a rather quiet unlife nowadays, and has not interacted with the family since their founding, he keeps a
close eye on them, and any Kindred looking to make slaves of the Serranos usually comes to a particularly explosive Final Death. Weaknesses: Serrano blood carries with it particular curses of youth, one of which a given family member is likely to inherit in full. When making a Serrano
character, choose one weakness from the following list to give to them. One can also give a character more weaknesses if they wish to, but for mechanical purposes, one should
be enough. The Serrano has an inherently small body frame that gives them the proportions of a child for their entire life. The condition is not dwarfism or a similar physical
condition that leads to shortness, and the proportions of the individual remain otherwise unaffected. The Serrano is Size 3, which impacts their Health accordingly. The Serrano
still ages, and the degradation of their skin will still distinguish them from children once they are of sufficient age, although their short height can still lead to social
problems. The Serrano has a strange form of congenital incontinence, and cannot control their bladder and bowels. They possess the Incontinent Persistent Condition from Cherub: The
Longing. While the family is used to the appearance of this weakness and is quite polite about it, getting diapers can still be a hassle, and of course there is the
embarrassment involved. The Serrano is enchanted by the children of the night who blessed them, and cannot ignore them lightly. They cannot spend Willpower on rolls to resist Dominate and Majesty
powers used against them by vampires with a physical form beneath 13 years of age, and they lose 10-Again on such rolls. For obvious reasons, family members with this curse are
rarely sent to deal with the Cherubim and other child vampires. Organization: The Serranos are organized into nuclear families headed by patriarchs and matriarchs, with each family unit forming a single link of the larger chain of
the extended family. The adults deemed the most responsible are given the task of maintaining communications with relatives, arranging visits, and safekeeping valuable lore
about the bloodline and vampires. There is no hard and fast rule about what counts as “responsible enough,” although usually parents and ghouls count. Other family members are
not really denied channels to the rest of the family, per se, but they rarely have the interest in actually making use of them. The patriach or matriarch is the oldest member
of a given family who has had children. Traditionally, a matriarch is preferred, so as to honor Arianna Serrano, but the gender is not fixed, and experience is ultimately
valued more. Every family also has at least one member of the Channel, an organization within the family that sheperds its most valuable lore and manages the logistics of the
family's actual interactions with vampires. Such a person is called an aunt or uncle regardless of their actual relationship to others, and is often unmarried and childless,
due to the demands of the job and the possibility of death. Along with ghouldom, aunthood and unclehood stands as one of the few respectable positions for those of the family
uninterested in marriage. In smaller families, the most important duty of the aunt or uncle is to call the extended family for help when dealing with trouble, and in larger
ones, they can almost form an “inner circle,” of seasoned vampire experts. While aunts and uncles have dominion in matters relating to the safety of the family and its dealings
with the supernatural, the matriarch or patriarch ultimately has final say over the domestic side of family business and really everything else. Such is a deliberate measure
made to ground the family in the mortal world while still honoring the experts who sacrifice their own bliss to protect the family. Of course, while formally the relationship
between the two might be a clear case of ruler and subordinate, in practice the competition between the matriarch or patriarch and aunt or uncle can be severe. Such disputes
often happen when the vampire expert recommends that the family cuts ties with a murderous child vampire or even send them to Final Death while the mother of the family argues
that they should keep them under their care. Interpersonal relationships between family members often influence much of the backrooms politics among the Serranos. The
supernatural nature of the bloodline is not hidden from children, but they are generally shielded from the most grave aspects of the family's duty, and oftentimes the fact that
they were actually blessed by a vampire is only revealed in adolescence. Stereotypes: Daeva: So cute, until they grow up... Gangrel: At least they play outside? Mekhet: So quiet, it's easy to forget to keep an eye on them. Nosferatu: Look, don't let them think you're infantilizing them, but they are really such luckless beings... Ventrue: Be courteous, but always make sure they know who's boss.