#Nictuku

[robotslenderman]

If I remember correctly, Dove comes from a niktuku lineage but isn't niktuku herself. It's a bloodline with strange quirks.

They Can only eat kindred blood, the one with a weakness we know of (nukeleve and running water) is a folkloric bane and when embraced they are stupidly beautiful and get uglier as they age (very unlike Nosferatu who become ugly and get even more ugly).

Best way to think of it is that the matriarch and Baba yaga are from absimilard like the niktuku but are Nosferatu instead.

Which is why she's ugly and doesn't eat kindred. Her sires just a dick.

Unless they have retconned the niktuku just for night road.

Honestly I think it could still work within the lore established for Nictuku because "omg!!! they eat people!!! THEY EAT BABIES!!!" is a popular pre-modern propaganda for enemies. It would not surprise me at all if Nictuku being cannibals was a complete lie, or just a myth. It could simply be that the Nictuku don't have the same taboo around diablerie and everyone else freaked out and took that as being the same thing as a "requirement." Or maybe you only require vitae while you have an active blood bond with Absimilliard, which I can't imagine every single Nictuku descendant has. It may be that being blood bound to an Antediluvian does fucky things to your biology regardless of bloodline.

However I do believe that if Dove really was just a normal Nosferatu who happened to be a genetic throwback, the game wouldn't be emphasising her ugliness so much. She's said to be hideous even by Nosferatu standards, and the game goes out of its way to explicitly state her lineage, so I think it's quite deliberate. In fact, part of her backstory is that her sire, Modian, found her so ugly that he abandoned her on the spot. His official excuse was that she "wasn't really his", but like, dude, he was there when she was Embraced, he knew that was bullshit. My thinking is that Dove resembled their Nictuku ancestors more than he did, he was terrified it'd reveal his ancestry, and so he tried to distance himself from her as much as possible. I cannot remember explicitly, but he might have even been the one that set the Giovanni on Dove, which screams "cover up." But take that with a grain of salt, that might have only been implied and the author might not have intended that implication.

Reremouse, though, is the odd one out as he likes to chill underground and Nictuku are supposed to be claustrophobic (plus I just found out he's the brother of a character from another CoG game who hangs out in sewers and doesn't seem to be distressed by it). I'd love to know more about him. Despite Dove's shitty relationship with Modian she seems to be a lot closer to Reremouse in that she actively keeps him fed, and is genuinely distressed at the thought of his destruction. Plus the game strongly implies he's not a Wight but he's prone to Wight-like rampages? Dying to know the story behind that.

And honestly the Nictuku thing would explain why Dove doesn't seem to be attached to a Warren at all. There's zero mention of any Nosferatu in Tucson aside from Dove and her relatives. That might be because the Old Prince of Tucson massacred them, but Dove doesn't seem to be in a hurry to re-establish a Warren 10+ years later. But again, her grandsire and great-uncle like to chill underground, so that might not mean anything.

[dushpshpsh]

Remember this post? Jane bit off Nictuku's head in one bite, dealing him 7 aggravated damage :)

The girls were avenged.

[girlnextvore]

what if I just designed a nictuku at 1 am??

[totally-a-tzimisce]

Cult of Mithras for Brandy :)

BRANDY

Cult of Mithras - Has your OC been in a blood bond? Are they currently in one? Do they have anyone bonded to them?

Oh boy was Brandy in a bloodbond. Currently no, that kind of vanished in the air when he became a wraith.

So! Brandy, Rat of Vass, Scourge of Caspian and Lygota was in a bloodbond with another nosferatu called Marco Marella. The bloodbond went both ways and they worked as a Scourge pair. We called them the Diablorie Duo. If you scroll all the way down in Brandy's tag you can see their art has both of them.

The boys were in the max level of bloodbond they could be. Marco was a bloodleech and Brandy was always ready to offer, so it wasn't something that could really be avoided. They were a horrible couple, but they worked so well together. They were as effective as a pair of scourges could be.

When Brandy died to a bitch of a Nictuku Marco obviously lost it and caused a massacre. After that our Lamia upon request made Marco's eye Brandy's tether, so the bloodbond may be gone but they will be with eachother even beyond the finally death.

[gold-saber]

Fang Fest 2024 - #14 - Death

For Death, I selected Asta, a Nosferatu from the 1600s, and the great grand sire of my first character, Mask. I was planning a game set in that era for my table before it fell apart, and Asta was going to be one of the major NPCs. Where her story would take her, I'm not totally sure, as we never got that far. Only thing I had set in rough place, was her ending: under the claws and fangs of a Nictuku. Whether that would happened during the Chronicle, or in a "where did they end up" epilogue afterwards, I'm not sure.

(Uncropped Art under the cut)

[kentuckycaverats]

and if perchance you wake her then, she'd never not but eat. you think she'd stop at little gran? we're all but bones and meat.

- la llorona of the summer thieves, changeling NY 1969

kovac and kier have been looking for their daughter vasilisa for thousands of years; since their very first lifetime in human shapes, long before they ever took up the changeling way. she was taken and embraced by the nosferatu progenitor absimiliard, and she and the faevens have been pursued by the summer thieves ever since--the summer thieves are comprised of all the figures of child-stealing myths from various cultures across the world, and they're led by the baba yaga (the "little grandmother"). they know that vasilisa sleeps (read: is in torpor) somewhere but they haven't been able to find where, and the nosferatu and summer thieves have killed the faevens in numerous lifetimes for getting too close. until recently, the faevens haven't known why.

they know now that vasilisa is a nictuku and that the baba yaga fears destruction by her hand, and in last night's session they learned where vasilisa sleeps--in the roots of the destroyed world tree, yggdrasil. kovac unlocked a memory from the lifetime where they first met and lost vasilisa, back when the faevens were still true fae and could shift between their raven and mortal shapes at will.

we are flying over a battlefield, and something is wrong. there are too many bodies and they have fallen in a way that is not right. we drift higher to earn a better view and see that the bodies fall in concentric circles emanating from a center point. in that center stands a little girl--our little girl--who looks up at us with her face and throat soaked in blood. it seeps into the ground, too, saturating the dirt at her feet. the earth roils beneath the bodies, and from this height we see at last what moves them: the enormous coils of the malice striker, niðhoggr, the dragon who eats the world tree. its movements drive the bodies closer to vasilisa at the center point, and the world tree does not want her to have them. its roots pierce the ground from beneath and wrap themselves around her feet, dragging her deep into the earth. niðhoggr snaps at them in an attempt to keep the roots at bay but the tree is stronger, and vasilisa succumbs to the earth. this is all i can remember.

we know that it was the faevens' sworn nemesis, lady meabh (arcadian sidhe) of house eiluned who woke niðhoggr from its slumber in the roots of yggdrasil, and that she did so in an attempt to stave off an unknown entity's attempt to sever the connection between the dreaming and autumn world for good. it's possible that niðhoggr intends to use vasilisa for this purpose - details still TBD. but we Do know that waking vasilisa now will invite mass murder and destruction. faevens reeling :(

[dykeferatu]

1, 16

1. What inspired you to create your oc?

well i joined a vtm chronicle so i had to make a guy. simple as

16. What aspect(s) of the universe’s lore are they connected to? Do they change/add lore to the universe?

in terms of vtm canon, magpie interacted with one canon character: the nictuku vasilisa. "lisa" had gotten a coteriemate to introduce her to magpie in the hopes that they'd lead her to the warrens. magpie called up their sire and she was like "that's a nictuku dumbass (not exact words)." magpie eventually lost track of it though and the plotline never got resolved. RIP

[ryttu3k]

So what actually separates the Nosferatu and the Nictuku anyway? Is it a generational thing or just an evolutionary offshoot of sorts? I know that Baba Yaga is supposed to be the origin of the modern Nosferatu, but then we meet Reremouse and Vole who are both regular nossies while their sire Rasalon is apparently Nictuku. It’s quite the conundrum honestly.

It's an ancestry thing. 'The Matriarch', believed to be either Medusa or Baba Yaga, is the fourth gen ancestor of all modern Nosferatu, although it's possible there are other, non-Nictuku offspring of Absimiliard who also Embraced. Of the known Nictuku, Melachoate is the only one who's ever Embraced, and his childe Androvikus was the one to pass on the message to his childe, Rasalon, that not all the Nictuku were monstrous. What was different about Androvikus? What was different about Melachoate, even, in that he Embraced anyone in the first place, when none of his siblings save the Matriarch did?

So, it's tricky. We don't actually have much to compare to, since Melachoate's line is the only known Nictuku line to continue. It's possible that Nictuku traits do get watered down over time, leaving Reremouse and Vole fairly normal (or, uh, Vole, at least! Reremouse is pretty peculiar by modern nights!). Modian and Selene, even more so, Dove, even more so, until she's left with the relatively mild traits of just... liking to drive out in the moonlight and possibly a 'throwback' appearance. It is notable that Reremouse and Vole both seem to lack major claustrophobia, given both still hang out underground.

But yeah. Short version, hard to tell since Melachoate is the only confirmed Nictuku with progeny, so there's no real comparison to be made.

[vitaefm]

is the nosferatu technically separated into two clans in this version as well? if I wanted my muse to be niktuku would they still technically be nosferatu? or would you rather us just stick to the main bloodline? thank you for any clarification

hi, nonnie ! i would prefer we stick to the main bloodline, as in-lore the nictuku bloodline is considered a myth to clans outside nosferatu ( in comparison to the more widely known and well-documented divergence between troile and ilyes ) and to keep things simpler for those not well-versed in the lore. it's for this reason that i've also omitted antitribu and naming individual bloodlines. thank you for asking !

[robotslenderman]

Top 5 clan Nosferatu stuff you know/read/seen pls

Oooh, fun!

1. Nosferatu have an instinct to dig and go underground. Given the water table, I have to wonder if they have some instincts we don't know about -- did Nosferatu just dig wherever, and use trial and error and hope the water table was far beneath them? Did they have a way to sense how far down water is, so they knew exactly where to dig? Have they been just digging wherever all this time and enslaving ghouls to pump out water for as long as pumps have existed? Have they got ways of waterproofing their walls -- do they mix their vitae with dirt in some kind of mixture and paint their walls with it to keep the water out?

2. So I haven't read or seen this, but Nosferatu are probably very good at managing in places where it's completely dark.

Think about it. Electric lighting is a modern invention, so for most of history they don't have electric lights. They wouldn't have had fireplaces down there for light. They wouldn't have had windows, being underground, and no open ceilings to allow moon and starlight in. A lot of fiction with underground races has bio-luminescent mushrooms and stuff, but in reality those are extremely rare and when they do happen, the light is very dim.

They might have had candles, but historically candles were very expensive. Having multiple candles in a room would have been very impractical from an expense standpoint; if they did have the resources to use candles, chances are every Nosferatu had a personal candleholder and would use their own candle to navigate, instead of just having candles around each room. (This raises more speculation about what kind of relationship such a clan would have to fire, given Rotschreck conflicting with the need to be able to see, but I don't want to get off track.)

But it's very likely that most Warrens would have been completely and utterly pitch black. Therefore, the Nosferatu would need ways to sense their surroundings in order to navigate, or else have some compensation mechanisms. Maybe they have the same senses we do and they just used sticks and "Marco!" "Polo!" to make sure they weren't crashing into anyone. But also -- maybe Nosferatu often have whiskers or their bodies are covered in very fine hairs, and they can sense very subtle changes in air current. Maybe they can do echolocation -- Gerard Rafin's ears are described as being like a bat's, and bats use echolocation. Maybe they have some other way to "see". Given the variety of Nosferatu appearances, the most likely explanation is that each Nosferatu is unique -- some have the fine hairs, and others have the echolocation. Which would probably mean you also have some Nosferatu that are shit out of luck and are completely blind in all ways that matter when they're underground.

They probably also have something akin to Braille. They're the clan of spies, but they can't read fuck all under there, they need some way to be able to keep records and be able to read them in pitch black.

The more I think about it, the more I think it'd make sense if Nosferatu had blood magic or something, simply just so they can make glowing balls of light and stick them around the Warren. Alas.

3. There is a bloodline of Nosferatu called the Nictuku who lack the instinct to dig, and instead have a pathological need to be able to see the moon. In VTMNR, there's a Nosferatu called Dove. On the surface you might only notice she's unusual because she doesn't hang out in a Warren or seem to be involved in any kind of spy network, unlike the rest of the highly social Nosferatu, but...

At one point Lettow dictates Dove's entire lineage. If you look up the Methuselah in her lineage in the wiki, you'll see she's actually Nictuku.

And if you know that, everything else about Dove makes sense and you realise she spends the bulk of her time in places where she can easily see the moon and open sky. She's a driver, so she'd see the moon all the time on the road. But not only that -- she's Lettow Kaminsky's Seneschal/Sheriff. Lettow has an open-air Elysium. No matter which job she's doing, whether it's being a Seneschal or driving, she's got an open sky right above her.

On the other hand, I have no idea why the fuck Kyle Marquis wrote Dove's grandsire as being the complete opposite and always being underground like some kind of ugly-ass Dune worm.

4. Dove has the Vampire Mafia after her, and she almost didn't survive as a fledgling because of it.

She's noted to have a strong resemblance to an "extinct clan". She has a skull-like face; the Cappadocians have skull-like visages and were hunted near to extinction (officially extinction) by the Giovanni. AKA the Vampire Mafia. 100% chance it was these guys who wanted to fuck her up and damn Jasper Knowles must have been pretty damn powerful to get them off her back.

5. We know them as hackers, but honestly, they're probably pretty damn good engineers too.

In modern times Warrens probably have a network of pumps going 24/7 that need to be constantly maintained, like how in NYC the subway is always flooding and people don't know about it because there's a whole system of pumps taking all the water that comes in and pumping it right back out.

In all times Nosferatu have existed, they've needed to be able to dig underground through various types of rocks and dirt, but also maintain its structural integrity. They don't have to worry about dying so much, but cave-ins are probably a real pain in the ass at least, so they'd devise ways to dig that minimise risk, and also reinforce the ceilings. But it'd be pretty moist down there and wood rots -- a Warren isn't a mine, it's supposed to last centuries, if not thousands of years in some places in the world, so they probably have carpenters who are constantly, by vampire standards, maintaining ceiling beams and columns and checking for rot and decay.

[cyb3rsynchr0]

LOSS OF HEIDI BAKER, 2ND THIS WEEK

BlackHoleCalling4: I found her by the old Dreamedia warehouse last night. Atrophia Mors. 27Cannonic: Are you serious? I just saw her the other night. I didn’t even know she was sick. 3VOCAL3VULTURE3: post picz of the body BlackHoleCalling4: No. 3VOCAL3VULTURE3: kys whirlpooldeul: yeah we’re all gonna die AMAZaurA: It’s the Nictuku. RUSHNOW: IT’S LITERALLY NOT AMAZaurA: The end draws near. Say your goodbyes. Tell your rats you love them. It’s the Nictuku. RUSHNOW: STOP

[girlnextvore]

I am certified bloodlines freak

Why lasombra when I could kiasyd

why nosferatu if i could nictuku

WHY TOREADOR IF I COULD VOLGIRRE

why just Tzimisce when i could OLD CLAN TZIMISCE

[saintrabouin]

[ryttu3k]

Huh, that’s very interesting actually. It kind of makes wonder what Absimiliard was considering his clan is just labeled “The Hidden”. But if the Nosferatu were all descended from “Pureblood” Nictuku it would certainly explain a few things. I kind of like the idea though that there’s throwbacks to their previous forms, such as Dove’s looks and driving preferences and, possibly, Reremouse’s behavior, although that’s likely due to age and the disconnect that comes with it. Honestly I was just curious since I planned on including Illuyankas & Echidna in an AU since both are said to have possibly Embraced childer as well. For whatever reason I thought it’d be fun for them to have a glorious war of sibling rivalry beneath New York. The Tzimisce progenitor is most displeased but otherwise unconcerned about their noisy neighbors :)

Oh yeah, I actually looked up the books that mention those two, since the wiki did mention they had possible childer! Turns out those books? Don't mention any possible childer. Not one! I suspect it's another case of the wiki basing things on... less-than-concrete evidence, like I'm wondering if they looked at Echidna's 'Mother of Foulness/Decay/Monsters' nicknames and went, well, clearly she had to have childer.

(Another example: claiming that Beckett was Embraced in 1704, based on him saying he's been searching for information for three hundred years in Bloodlines (2004). You know, like rounding off doesn't exist, or like he couldn't have had a period of time moseying around Oxford while trying to work out wtf to do with his unlife XD)

Anyway, that said, possible childer could absolutely work. The Eldest wouldn't mind, it's free dinner!

[dykeferatu]

ominous message written in vitae deep in the warrens: death to traitors

magpie abt to be a traitor:

[dushpshpsh]

Well shit it was Nictuku :))))

Jane takes care of a group of 14 prostitutes who had nowhere to go. She can't provide them with a better life because she hasn't lived one herself, and she just protects them from street gangs and tries to make their lives a little less unbearable. She had to spend several nights outside the city on a crazy assignment from the Prince, and when she returned, she found that three of her girls had been brutally murdered… Her Malkavian friend is helping her with the search for the killer, and my God, even I do not know what Jane will do with them when she finds them.