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Since this is a playtest, use this thread for any of the following. If you are not one of my invited players, you can still post in this thread about the following as well, or chat with us on the IRC channel. - Questions and concerns about the flavor or rules. - Suggestions for new or existing flavor or rules. - Theory-crafting at large. IRC can be useful for immediate communication but I want to keep a "record" as much as possible of where things needed work so that when I go back to revise the drafts, I have something to work with, and hopefully keep it a more focused and serious effort than my Capers! hack which was mostly just slapped together. If all goes well after the month long playtest, I will likely, time permitting amid my other games, run a more long-term game.  The Play is the Thing The first session should normally start in media res, setting up a major conflict or shift of power, usually with the destruction of someone the characters know, or the creation/introduction of a new vampire (whether one of the players or a NPC. Otherwise, sessions usually start at court, where the current power that be who holds the Prize is currently hosting their plots and schemes and the players get a chance through the session intro to be presented with conflicts to arrange and prepare for the coming nights, making deals and offers and relating their plans to each other. In between sessions there are usual timeskips, of weeks, or months, years or even decades and centuries depending on the scope of the game and as the fiction demands it. There are two modes of play. First is the face-to-face interactions, of accumulating sympathies with each other, trying to live from night to night and addressing the problem immediately in front of you. You use your Edges and your vampiric Moves to exert a will in small, personal ways. The second mode is 'the Game', which is the competition between vampires for Status and recognition, a way to pass their years and establish a local pecking order. You can intermingle these two modes together, describing your plots and playing a little loosely with time. Moves such as stick to the plan actively entail you messing with the narrative, revealing your gambit that you prepared in advance for this eventuality, allowing you to feel like an immortal being that thinks in the long-term. The rhythm of the game is determined by escalation: The escalation of Hunger leading up to you having to slake your thirst or explode into Frenzy, the exhaustion of your pawns and pieces on the game board as you make your plays, and the callousing of your soul through Atrocity that leaves more and more permanent scars on your soul. This is player facing for the most part, though as the MC I will push here and there through these three avenues to keep you moving. As a vampire, you represent both your individual character, and for the purposes of the story you are the highlighted member of your Clan. In true Gothic horror fashion, you are not long for this world in the story. Either through Atrocity, the plots of others, or ascending the ladder to a new stage of the Game, you should think of your character as one in a lineage, and how the sins of those who came before you weigh on you, and how yours will weigh upon those that will come after. Your Requiem Move keys off whenever you leave play, whether by being destroyed or retired, allowing you to leave a mark on the setting. If you retire to become an Atrocity or ascend the ladder of the Game, you may become a part of the setting itself.  Vampire World  Basic Playbooks
 Advanced Playbooks (none of these are ready for playtesting or even fully written, just conceptual spaces)
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Jun 2, 2017 19:58
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| # ? Apr 25, 2024 15:56 |
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 The playtest chronicle will be Damnation City: Brooklyn, starting in the late 1970's in the New York borough of Brooklyn. Crime is rampant and the Big Apple is rotten to its core, and the bloodsuckers that inhabit it are no different. Taking cues from the vampire fictions and films of the time, just before the wave of Satanic panic to come, vampires obviously live with being a great evil, but it's a moment for humanizing them as well, since the very world that humanity lives in is so evil to begin with the parasites that live inside it aren't so bad to think about. This is about life on the streets and the little humanities (and inhumanities) to be found there. We'll get a clearer idea of the local brood once you start filling in your shoots, but consider this the based. Our playtest players are Exrandu, reasonablysunny, GenuineRevelry, Antivehicular, and Theantero. Discuss and select your Clanbooks and concepts you are interested in. We need one player for each. I'd like to get a rough idea of where everyone falls by the end of the weekend, and we'll aim towards running through a story arc through to July. My effort will be lower than my other games but will try and make prompts every 48 hours, but I don't expect or need everyone to be as active as that in this, I don't mind skipping ahead in parts, just want to see how this plays and where it can be improved. The assumptions of the game are
The origin of vampires is… ... the lot of Hell and its devils. (a Satanic origin to reject or embrace) Who knows about vampires? The church. (and its vampire hunters) How does one turn into a vampire? Essence transfusion. (Think a drug narrative.) All vampires… (keeping it classic) … feed on blood … are driven away by holy symbols … can be destroyed by a stake through the heart … cannot travel through sunlight Our stories are the... … coyote stories of the young and newly turned, clawing to survive in the streets as scavengers and catspaws. (starting from the streets with the most narrow scope) Tricky Dick Nixon fucked around with this message at 20:03 on Jun 2, 2017 |
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Jun 2, 2017 20:00
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So I'm thinking Phantom or Serpent for my playbook. Does anyone else have thoughts on this? (I'm pretty open, admittedly, so I can be flexible; all of the playbooks look interesting.)
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Jun 2, 2017 20:03
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Taken that this is a fairly short playtest, I think I'll roll a Lord, with a basic plotline of trying to revitalize her bloodline that has been bleeding prestige and influence for a long while now.
Theantero fucked around with this message at 21:19 on Jun 2, 2017 |
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Jun 2, 2017 20:29
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I'll probably submit a Phantom unless we run into issues. I'm really open to anything.
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Jun 2, 2017 20:36
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My preference is for the Haunt or the Lord, with a slight preference for the Haunt for now, but I'm easy with anything.
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Jun 2, 2017 22:04
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Jumped in the IRC, interested in Serpent or Beast, can do any though. EDIT: I'll do BEAST so Antivehicular can grab Serpent and then everyone can do something they want! Exrandu fucked around with this message at 23:02 on Jun 2, 2017 |
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Jun 2, 2017 22:57
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Looks like it is decided then. Exrandu as The Beast. reasonablysunny as The Haunt. Theantero as The Lord. GenuineRevelry as The Phantom. Antivehicular as The Serpent. Once you have a outline for the sheet and answers to the prelude, post them here. Once the sheets are filled, then you pick you Cousins and Vendettas, and any Leverage you have on the others. I also made some significant changes to The Beast after I realized that I was never a big fan of the "wilderness wanderer" archetype and felt I would condense it more to the more "murderous stranger" archetype, adding some Jekyll/Hyde aspects to differentiate it more from the original Clan Gangrel, and adds a new mechanic that interacts with Atrocity in a hopefully interesting way. I changed The Pack mechanic to fit something more like the Brides of Dracula or the Lost Boys, as before it didn't really feel it had any real bite as well. I also more or less switched the Feeding Moves of the Beast and the Haunt: The Beast, like an animal attack, leaves scars in his wake and keeps people from the dark woods, even though through his Intimacy and Domain he starts to insert himself into peoples lives (like the original Lord Ruthven archetype of The Vampyre, who on one hand was a wild murderer and on the other hand a soon to be brother-in-law). The Haunt on the other hand despite wanting to push people away finds their curse sticking to them, the cycle of fear and curiosity, much more like an urban legend that can reappear at any time.
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Jun 3, 2017 00:38
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"Vargskogen, Bluthorst, Dragović, Vermillon, Moreno, Accursio..." The faintest of snarls. "... and Carmine."  This but paler "These are the seven, and of the seven you speak, when you speak of the great bloodlines of the Old Continent. Pure of origin and pure of conception, above the petty families, above the petty feuds. The original monarchs of the moonlit sky, the first rulers of the bats up high. August and mighty, worthy of reverence wherever they step, yes, this is what you're told. This is what I was told." "And they're not incorrect. Certainly our prestige and influence is greater than those of the barely blooded wretches, muddied and impure pretenders as they are." "...But not quite as much as it used to, in centuries past. After all no edifice, no matter how grand, can stand forever, unless maintained. Even the greatest works erode to ruin. I have been insistent on this since my conception. Many a time have I told my sire, that besides its vulgarity and that besides its lack of any true nobility, we should not turn our backs on the New Continent. For whilst they are our lessers, it cannot be denied that the New Continent is in many ways ascendant, while the Old... wanes. Thus, we ought to let our presence be known there as well, instead of chaining ourselves to the past. Who would be their rightful rulers if not us, I argued. And I argued with enough subtlety, I thought, as to not appear insolent." "...Then I was told that if I thought so highly of the potential of the New Continent, why wouldn't I be the one to spearhead the family in there?" "Yes, no doubt this was an attempt at a soft exile of sorts, by those elders who disliked my ideas. But I have proven I am not without merit: my first years here have been successful enough, that more eyes are starting to turn..." quote:Name: Cerise Carmine quote:Who were you before you turned? quote:How did you end up becoming a vampire? "It turns out, he was not lying at all. The grand reveal, the induction ceremony ah, they don't quite hold anything like that on this hemisphere." quote:"What is the one reason you were found worthy?" "As for the Carmine? Our bloodline has always valued presence, yes, the strong gaze and imperious stride. The cool collectedness of nobility. I best realized this back in the induction ceremony out of all those invited. Where the others who were brought were quick to ingratiate, quick to debase themselves and brown nose in sad attempts to gather favor, I retained my class. Those who acted in such a crass manner were quick to be discarded. Most knew to be polite, however. Most also were quick to read the room to such a degree to know that mortals were supposed to submit under the bloodlines, so they submitted." "But I knew them to be fools. For whilst it's true that mortals are to be the servants, I alone realized that we were not brought there to be mortals. Those that still thought of themselves as such, were such allowed to remain. And after this culling, there were none left but I." "Be polite, be deferential. But do not be unduly submissive, and always keep your eyes at the prize. A good set of lesson for anyone, even you, dear." quote:When did you make your first move in the Game? "But yes, I realize of course you refer to something greater. Some grand plot. And yes, I do in fact have several to share. Shall we start with my entrance to local high society? See, a local business magnate had a weakness, for he adored his wife truly. Still, a vampire's caress was too much for him, and it did not take much for me to start an affair with him. One that he later regretted, and one that I was quick to forgive him for, and promised to keep it a secret from his wife. Now of course, for my kindness he was perfectly happy to make inroads for young lady Carmine, old money aristocrat and inheritor of a vast old country clothing manufacturer. He was also nice enough to not mention my more... duplicitous dealings. He even gave easy inroads for me to launder money at his businesses. Now of course, I didn't really have such dealings back then, not yet, but they were not for me anyway." "See, his wife also played a part in this, and I had worked to become her confidant. Which I did, for I found out that one of the insiders at my newfound 'friend's' club was actually a mob boss. And taken his base mind, it was not hard for me to convince him to go after the wife. Now, the wife, much like the husband, was of loyal stock, so, I made her receptive like I had her husband. Alas, as she found out one sordid affair later, a mob boss is less likely to keep their demands modest unlike a lady like me. So, after I, as her confidant, suggested she tell me what bother her, she was quick to divulge that her secret was being ransomed for money, and she pleaded me for help. And I was quick to hint her towards the businesses his husband had granted me access to, the accounts and the codewords, so that she could launder money for the mob in lieu of payment, which the boss was very eager to accept as a great idea at our next club meeting." "Thus, we have a magnate who has an affair with me, who thinks he allows me to launder money at his businesses to keep shut about it, but those businesses are in fact used by his wife, whom the mob believes they are manipulating for their own ends, even though the brains behind their boss is actually me." "A simple plot, and a rickety one for sure, I shall admit, and one that I have enforced with other redundancies since, as is only natural. But it was quick, and the deftness at which the scion of the Carmine bloodline assembled such a numerous throng of pawns very soon after arrival did not go unnoticed or unheeded in the court of night. Indeed, it was known: we were here, and we had made our first move." quote:Where did you hide all the skeletons in your closet? "But I do know it well enough to hide the occasional... thing." quote:"Why do you lower yourself to the level of the others?" "Whilst it's true that the position of the Carmine bloodline might be a tad tarnished, and needs to be polished, it still remains that such work is for servants, does it not? They will just have to be shown that doing so for us is a great honor, instead of a mere job assigned by some lowborn taskmaster. Now naturally for this to work, the occasional taste of our radiance is in order for them to remain... suitably awed." Relations: A sip of wine. "I shall be frank with you, dear. But the words I utter now shall be between me and you alone. A certain lack of tact in polite society can lead in a pointless uproar that nobody wants after all, no?" quote:Cousin: The Nameless quote:Vendetta: The Bonepickers quote:Vendetta: The Sons of St. Sebastian "There are few things more aggravating than false confidence, and false pride. Here we have distasteful, garish upstarts who think they have 'history'. Young spawns of a young nation, what history could they possibly have? Their traditions are idle and juvenile, they lack the gravitas of those that possess an actually distinguished past. Yet in the fraction of the time, they've somehow managed to fall to levels of depravity many times worse than even the grandest excesses of any of the Seven." Leverage quote:Tom Pitch showed you genuine respect once and you never forgot it. You give 1-Sympathy to them. "Hmm, no, not opposed to him at all. What was his name again, Hitch? Pitch? I'll look into him later..." quote:Rivka Freir will not bow to you no matter how desperate you are for it. You give 2-Sympathy to them. quote:Carl "Chaz" Vandervliet pays you homage for your support, quid pro quo. You take 1-Sympathy on them. "Thus, a deal struck, between him, and between me. He gets access to our not inconsiderable sympathies, I get yet another key to the heart of local figures of power." Theantero fucked around with this message at 13:46 on Jun 12, 2017 |
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Jun 3, 2017 04:08
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So much more to do but here's the groundwork for my Phantom with a little bit of fluffquote:Name: Rivka Freir Prelude Who were you before you turned? Rivka is the second child and eldest daughter of Jewish immigrants. Her father David was an apprentice watchmaker. Her mother Shayna was a seamstress, but even more so, a community figure. Often, the two youngest children, Michael and Aliza, were left in Rivka's care. Benjamin was the eldest child, he played football and was going to go to medical school. Rivka grew jealous and rebellious of her brother's freedom from the confines of their home and the responsibilities of their family. The final straw came the summer after Rivka had graduated high school, the second year with Benjamin abroad. Rivka had grown more and more rebellious under the mounting stress and claustrophobic nature of her burden. One day, something happened with Rivka's mother. Something small and petty, nothing hopeles,, but it was all too much. So Rivka ran away. How did you end up becoming a vampire? Overdose. Cold, hopeless, alone. I was always running away, chasing some bigger and better high, but this stuff was different. This was the kind of stuff you die and you wake right back up. What is one thing you know that no one else does? Something is lurking in the blood of this city and it's as much a danger to us as it is them. Sex and dirty needles. I see the way it lingers on their lips like gossip in the borough. It's filthy and disgusting. I think I love it. I need to collect the infected and gain its insight. When was the time right to first reveal yourself? They were panicking. None of them saw it the way I did. They saw an anomaly. I knew a plague. So I made myself known with plagued lambs. They would not dare strike them down. Now, this city knows my name. Where do all the portents lead you? The portents lead to a new future. They lead to enlightenment. The lead to evolution. We're just a half step. We need this. Why do you tell the others any amount of truth? No one wants to hear lies. They want to hear the right truth. Lies are superfluous. They are inherently wasteful. That's why people don't trust them. That's why you use the truth. GenuineRevelry fucked around with this message at 05:48 on Jun 9, 2017 |
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Jun 3, 2017 04:47
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quote:The Haunt quote:Who were you before you turned? Nobody, absolutely nobody. I didn't ever have much of a life, really. My ma got sick when I was pretty young, 11 or 12, and my dad wasn't around. So after high school I got a job at the drug store down the street and that's where I worked, when I wasn't taking care of Ma. She was real hard. Got meaner as she got sicker. So I never dated, never left the neighborhood much. Spent my whole life within a four block square, more or less, 'cause there was always Ma, and what she'd say about me if I went out, or made friends... I thought sometimes about leaving, but, she was still my Ma, you know? Except then I did leave. I mean, it was an accident. Choked on a turkey sandwich in the backroom at the drug store, and nobody found me 'til my lunch was over, I guess. Not much of a last meal. quote:How did you end up becoming a vampire? Hersch used to come into the drugstore, I guess, and when I came across the table, he remembered me. Vouched for me. Said I'd done him a good turn once, I guess, even though I didn't remember it. Hersch is real hard to remember, when he tries to be. A lot of us, we were either nobodies or less than nobodies, and I guess I was enough of a nobody. Crutch'd be the one that turned me. He's the oldest. He's got the final say. quote:What is the worst thing you’ve ever done? I try real hard not to... I mean, I know what we are. What we all are. Us, my family, we don't forget what we are, unlike some of these guys. They think they're something special because somebody bit somebody way back in Italy or something. But us, we can't pretend we're not monsters. We just try not to be the worst of them. We try to make peace for the dead, so they can move on, really move on. This is only better than being dead 'cause my life wasn't no good, and now I got people. But I did go back once, to my old house. I took care of my Ma one last time. I'm not proud of that, but... you shoulda heard what she said to me. quote:When was your first hazing by night society? They really hate us, you know? A lot of them do, even after all we do. They don't care about anybody but themselves, alive or dead. Rach and I, we were out in Vinegar Hill 'cause Crutch said there was a body out that way and would we get it. So we were out there, where Crutch said to be, except it turned out we were early, and the other guys hadn't made the body yet. We found 'em as they were about to drain the guy. And one of the others, they were real jumpy, and she just started laughing. I think they must have hated the guy already, instead of just finding easy pickings like some of them do, because she started laughing at him, saying "Your next appointment's here, darling. All your lovers are positively lining up for you." But they hated us, too, so they didn't just drain him. Everything they didn't drink, they made sure to spill, and they tore him up, too. Then they watched us pick up the pieces, and they laughed. They've done worse to me since, but that was the first time. That was when I knew. quote:Where do you go when they reject you? Us, we got free range of the graveyards, more or less. Sometimes there's somebody else out there, but we're real good at not being seen. A lot of times, I just go out somewhere in Salem Fields or Greenfield and curl up by a monument somewhere. That's when I wanna be somewhere green. There ain't that much green in the city, so it's nice. Peaceful, right? Or sometimes I just go put on a face and I walk around a little while. I'm used to being on my own. quote:Why are you willing to be hurt in order to be seen? Crutch told me once, he figured I'd spent all my time for a long time just trying not to hurt. I figure he's right about that. I tried all my time under the sun to make everybody happy, and all that made me was furniture, as far as anybody else was concerned. Now at least I got a family. We can be real hard to look at, but we're used to each other by now. Sometimes, though, you just want... you just want somebody to look you in the fuckin' eye, even though they don't have to. quote:Cousins smore of babylon fucked around with this message at 06:01 on Jun 13, 2017 |
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Jun 3, 2017 05:21
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The Beast, Tom Pitch The vampire as the intruder on the land, the violent stranger, the hungry killer. Suggestions about playing The Beast.  Look Man Local Flavor Feral Eyes Deep Voice Disheveled Clothing The Clan, Kurb You are part of a family of vampires that are feral but free, nomadic but territorial. They occupy the wild places, though not always the wilderness. Write down your Clan’s name, and then underline a Theme, a Tradition, and a Tell below, or write in your own. Optionally, your Clan may switch one answer for “All Vampires…” for another, with MC discretion. Theme: Serial killer cab drivers Tradition: Only turn the strong Tell: Reflective eyes like a cat. Pawns A Beast starts with two pawns. You can have a maximum number of pawns equal to your Game modifier. Underline two of the following or write in your own, and list any other pawns you gain in play here: Taxi garage, a dirty cop Haven You have a safe place to rest and for your body to be kept when in torpor. Normally no one knows where your haven is, and you are safe there. Decide where the haven is and what it looks like. It should be personal to your character, not to their Clan or anything else.  Haven: Junkyard on the edge of town When your character enters torpor, you may exhaust one of your pawns, as appropriate, to be safely taken away to your Haven. You may always appear in a scene that takes place at your Haven, so long as it fits the fiction. If your Haven is compromised, you can change it to a new one at the beginning of a session, though you must exhaust an appropriate pawn to do so. Edges Murder -1 (go for the neck, stick to the plan) Sex +2 (temptation, pass among mortals) Fangs +2 (ravaging, get out) Cloak +0 (stalking, mind games) Status (Game +2) □ Apex +1 (call out) □ Bloodline +0 (petition elders) □ Cacophony +0 (put ear down) □ Domain +1 (till the fields) □ Elysium -1 (poison the well) Prelude quote:Who were you before you turned? quote:How did you end up becoming a vampire? quote:What are you looking for in this town? quote:When did you first come around these parts? quote:Where did you originally come from? quote:Why are you tired of being alone? Once you've finished your prelude, introduce your character to the other players, and then determine your starting relationships with each other. Beast Moves ☑ The Passenger You are more in tune with your Hunger, giving it a form and a personality that presents as a murderous reflection. When you look in the mirror of your soul, roll +Fangs. On a hit, take a dark turn. While riding it out switch your Sex and Murder Edges. On a 10+, take +1 forward. While you let your passenger ride, any Atrocity you accrue instead is taken by the passenger, noted below. It can use any Atrocity Moves you have yourself learned. You can only return back to your normal state if you trigger a feeding move, intimacy move, or after a frenzy. Passenger’s Atrocity □ □ □ □ □ ☑ Extremely Hard to Kill You do not need to mark Hunger for the first time you suffer catastrophic or supernatural harm or are confronted with a bane in a scene. ☑ Nowhere to Run When someone tries to get out and run away from you, mark Hunger and hold 1. Spend that hold to appear in whatever scene they are in next. Cousins The Bonepickers “Each of us a part of a holy machine, the infernal coin of nature. One side of that coin, the predator who culls the weak. The other? Those that take what is left and put it to use. Their purpose is no less holy nor any less necessary.” Vendetta Narks “They witness those works should remain unseen but have not the courage to reveal their own true nature.” The Sons of St. Sebastian “We are meant to be hunters, not whores. They take pleasure in their work where they should only find necessity.” Leverage The Serpent helped you when you were hungry and desperate. You give 1-Sympathy to them. The Lord can make you feel like nothing but a stupid animal. You give 2-Sympathy to them. The Phantom lives or spends time in your territory, and is in your power. You take 1-Sympathy on them. Exrandu fucked around with this message at 05:42 on Jun 12, 2017 |
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Jun 3, 2017 07:00
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Still a WIP, but here's what I have so far:quote:Carl "Chaz" Vandervliet, The Serpent Prelude: quote:Who were you before you turned? Nineteen, bright-eyed, and not much less hungry than I am now, just... differently. I was a freshman at NYU and an heir to the noveau riche -- don't be confused by the burgermeister name, the Vandervlients are strictly new money, and I was under orders to keep up the budding dynasty. "Get good enough grades," said my father, "a degree in something respectable, and a girl with money or a name, or at least an rear end you can get it up for and womb that works." Charming man, my father. God, Mother despises him. My plans were simple: get an adequate education on paper and a better one in the flesh. And who said anything about girls? Yes, yes, eventually I'd find an understanding young lady towards the end, but... why worry about that now? Or, well, then. Now I'm even less worried about it. quote:How did you end up becoming a vampire? Like all good new-money boys, I pledged for one of the old Greek houses, the kind that isn't even Greek so they look more secretive and prestigious. The hazing for the Sons of St. Sebastian was... elaborate, you might say? A touch bloody? Designed to scare away the wrong kind of boy, generate a pliable recruiting pool, and select the ones who could make real brothers? Well, I've always been a people-pleaser, and I pleased them very nicely. They offered me the Cup and the Arrow, and I took them. Why stop being nineteen, after all? quote:What is the one thing that you would deny yourself? I always resist the desire to be pleasured. Being the recipient of pleasure, the one lying back and accepting another's favor, is to be the deer skipping into the hunter's snare. Complacency is a bad look on me, even if it were safe, which it never really is. Some people think it's less fun to stay in control, but... I do just fine for myself. quote:When did the party really get started for you? That would be four years ago, now, when I staged my death. Tragic car accident out in the country, a fire, remains barely identifiable -- a young NYU graduate and his beloved fiancee, such a tragedy. (My "fiancee" was well-compensated and seemed positively relieved to be free of the tedious visits upstates. She's lighted out for Los Angeles, last I heard, and may she have fine hunting.) It'd taken me a few years to shore up my own money and power, shake free of my mortal connections, and go. Perhaps it would have been quicker to just kill my father, but the stipulations of my inheritance in the will... nasty old man. I might do it anyway, just for Mother's sake, but I couldn't precisely do it for money. Some of my brothers weren't delighted that I moved out of the Great House, but they believe me that I'm doing it for the glory and comfort of the Sons of St. Sebastian, and it's not completely wrong. I can fund their binges, and come home for old times' sake ever so often... I don't have to tell them that I don't intend up end up as one of the superannuated sots on the Brothers' Council, driven by dead stomachs and cold groins. They're lovely boys, my brothers, but I intend to be more than the pet twink. quote:Where do you have exclusive VIP access? I've got a reserved private room at the Un Saison En Enfer in Greenwich Village. You do a few favors for a martyr-sister who owns a club, and you end up on the guest list, naturally. Saison is... not quite a gay club, you understand, or a swinger club, or a fetish club, but an anything-goes sort of place, with theme nights for people who don't like confusion. Most nights it's quite the maelstrom, though, and it's excellent camouflage for striking deals. quote:Why does any of this matter? Because it's not easy. All my life, and afterlife, has been half-baked expectations: "this is what you've got to do, Chaz my boy, but don't you worry too hard about it." If I'd come back from NYU syphillis-ridden, with a half an art degree in my pocket, my father would have just smiled and set me up with some business partner's homely little girl. If I'd decided to spend the next two centuries in the Great House, drinking ouzo and trying out the pledges when I could be bothered to get out of bed, I'd have been in excellent company and I would have had my share of the cattle. Everything has always been easy. Do you have any idea how tedious it is? I'm not stupid. I don't intend to find a real death in a blaze of glory; I don't intend to topple the kings of the Game tomorrow. But I intend to carve out a fiefdom from this city, to make my moves on the Game board, because it's better than a dozy eternity of barely-registered pleasures. Pleasure is easy. Power is hard. I know what I want. Antivehicular fucked around with this message at 04:36 on Jun 7, 2017 |
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Jun 3, 2017 11:24
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