#mekhet

[j--meat-hook--j]

"A symptom of the city. As vile as it is inevitable. The loss of life, families and morals after the First World War has created a trend I fear will never stop. Industry, Opportunity, and the corruption of those ideas. Sergeant Bernard's intimidation tactics, and the bribes he accepted, are no better than that of a common thug. Now behind bars we must still remain vigilant, but for now the city of Anecu can finally sleep peacefully. We've earned it."

Excerpt from Inspector Vanya Svetoy's report, on arresting his superior Sergeant Pierre Bernard. 3 days before his unfortunate death.

[leitereads]

Hello hello! I'm here for the QnA tag game! I'm a very big vampire fan and loved the quotes from Eugen Schulze. I would love to know more about him and maybe some insights on your vampire lore. Anything you wish to share!

Thank you!

Hello hello! Goodness, I have so many question to ask you as well!

I am really glad that you enjoyed his witty side. It has been really fun to roleplay as him, because I get to be this witty, but that is only his coping mechanism for all the morality he is trying to regain.

Some info about Eugen:

As bad as it is, back then he worked as a doctor/scientist for the Third Reich. The reasons behind this are, in fact, many, but the most important one, and the one he was the most apologist of, was eugenics. He truly believed in medical racism. This is, until he started to realise that his experiments weren’t consistent with what he considered to be true in the beginning, And he shifted his beliefs to a simpler one: all humans are weak, and they do not possess the control to be the best version of themselves. From this moment on, he abandoned his racist views, adopting a more neutral/pessimistic view on Humanity.

His character arc is based on regaining the Humanity he lost during WW2, though I don’t think he’ll be able to reach the end of that arc, since he still thinks quite poorly of the human condition. He also think poorly of the vampiric condition and the 3 basic curses of it (sun, fire and only being able to feed on blood). So, currently, he is doing scientific and esoteric research on how to surpass those curses and get only the best of the vampire condition.

During his decades of slumber (torpor), he started to have visions based on Gnostic beliefs (God, the false god, spiritual enlightenment as the key to “Monad”, etc.), and currently he is part of a cult that worships this god, that’s more akin to an Eldritch being, this Monad. However, the ones that are part of this cult (at least the guy that presented it to him) is not well-intentioned, so I think that this cult sold Eugen a false truth. This depends on the Storyteller, so I am still waiting to see what will come out of it.

Despite his misanthropic tendencies, Eugen actually enjoys people. Sometimes. He just wants to leave his mark on Earth by making it a better place, by sharing his knowledge with others. The ways in which he does so… however… are very morally grey…

Some other random facts about him:

- he collects coupons and he always like a good discount. You can find all of that in his jacket/coat.

- he is a goth, usually assuming a goth look when not working (long straight black hair, leather jacket and/or overcoat, combat boots, spikes, chains, black nail polish, etc.).

- when he was alive he suffered from an incurable neurological disease, that left him truly incapacitated. His sire (the vampire that transformed him) did so so he wouldn’t lose his memory, preserving the knowledge he was able to gather in life.

- he still works with his sire’s wife. It’s… very awkward at times…

- Eugen is a cleaning freak: if everything isn’t tidy around him, he starts stressing out (which happens frequently, because most part of our coterie - vampire group - is quite messy).

- regarding his political believes, they shifted around, quite much. He considers himself apolitical nowadays, and indeed, he left his old ideals behind, since they don’t make scientific sense to him anymore.

The lore around Vampire: the Requiem is biiiiig. Very, very big. But here are the basics:

- he is from a vampire clan called “Mekhet” (known for being scholars and for lurking in the shadows), more specifically a bloodline called “Norvegi”. Norvegi, generally, don’t have vampire fangs, feeding through touch (from their hands thousands of small needle-shaped projections emanate, sucking the blood of the victim they touch). Not all Norvegi are like this, and Eugen does have fangs, indeed.

- Vampires have many different powers, and clans usually have affinity for a certain set of powers. Eugen has Auspex (super-human intuition/clairvoyance), Protean (fleshcrafting) and Obfuscate (being one with the shadows).

- by spending some of the blood (Vitae) he drinks, he, like any other vampire, can pretend to be human (Blush of Life) for a limited time period.

- From his coterie (vampire group), the person he likes the most is Sue Jackson, and old vampire lady from the US, who has no clue on how to speak German and that walks around with false $500 dollar bills (as if they even existed).

- His two touchstones (the things that tie him to Humanity) are Alina, his therapist and Noah, an elderly man suffering from brain cancer, a survivor of the concentration camps, someone who crossed paths with Eugen back when he was alive and that he is trying to save at all costs, since he is hospitalised at the hospital where Eugen works in.

The whole point of Eugen’s character arc, in my perspective, is that, despite changing and being a new person, that does not erase the mistakes/horrible things he did in the past. And he knows that. But he is actively working towards the fact that those mistakes are not the only thing he’ll leave in the world, before suffering the Final Death. So, although I don’t think that there is any possible redemption for someone who was so inhuman as Eugen was, it is quite ironic and cathartic knowing that, as a vampire, he is more human than he was as a human.

Hope it helps to get a new perspective over Eugen, and if you have any doubts regarding any of the info, please just hmu!

[drayners]

more OC art... this is the vampire Crow from the weekly World of Darkness game I play in! Crow is an anxious mage who spends their time hanging out with (and worrying about) the deadliest monsters in town. When not worrying away, Crow researches arcane rituals and spies on the dreams of town mortals.

[ladyeroway]

Because I have been practicing with a new sketching style I wanted to see if it would translate into a full painting. So I chose Adrianna, because I like to paint her once a year because she was the RPG character that got me into attempting art again.  This is by far the best piece of her I have ever done. 

2021 version under the cut

[vamp-orwave]

More OCs. Here is Magus Helena, my beloved Mekhet of the Circle of the Crone, and my main remaining brainworm from Beyond the Sunset's Vampire the Requiem LARP chronicles.

A bored heiress turned occult scholar, she was Embraced 1899 from among the ranks of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.

As well as being head of the local Circle, she outlasted all changing of Princes in the court as Seneschal, so I had a lot of fun playing the self-serving, mysterious, manipulative evil vizier hiding behind the Mask of the Guru until she became consumed by her own studies into the Supernal and promises of power.

Due to Mage the Awakening shenanigans, she is now Hecate, Acanthus of the Mysterium.

[mekhetmask]

[bluesfreakingart]

Do you know abt Vampire: The Masquerade? (If so, jervis is totally a malkavian vamp lol)

OH!

So you seemed to have caught me red handed, I guess the use of some of the glossary terms made it out pretty easy!

I've played only a bit of VTM! Though, my main experience with it is Vampire: The Requiem! plus experience with Chronicle Of Darkness in general.

I've kinda assigned the three of the polycule clans actually! Malks in that edition got put to a blood line of Ventrue (Which I think also fit jervis as well tbh also)

but all in all my current mindscape, this is how it is right now.

kinda scuffed but enough YIPPIE!

[sangaverage]

This song is all I had In mind when making this one:

VTR Clan Mekhet stim board With shadowy, ominous and dark themes, monochrome and red

Links/Credit:

X|X|X

X|X|X

X|X|X

I DO THESE FOR FUN AND DO NOT TAKE REQUESTS

THANK YOU

[redtailfins]

really shitty height chart for my eight children who hate me

[macabre00danse]

Cipher jumping on the trad-wife fad to recruit for the Carthian Movement:

"So, you know that whole trad-wife trend? Yeah, I couldn't help but roll my eyes a bit. But hey, why not have some fun with it? I started posting these tongue-in-cheek takes, mixing in a bit of humor and, yes, a little flirty charm. And guess what? It's been a riot! Who would've thought that using my own sass could get some guys interested in democracy discussions? I'm not gonna lie, it's a bit of a game, but if it gets people talking about important stuff, why not? Plus, it's been a blast watching those reactions roll in!"

[loveroftoomanyfandoms]

Every Little Thing She Does is Magic, Chapter 1

Pairing: Platonic Steven Grant x Reader (for now)

Rating: T

Word count: ~3150

Story Summary: Steven meets a beautiful woman in the Egyptian exhibit at the British Museum...

...Too bad she's his new boss.

Tags/Warnings: Canon Divergent since Steven still works for the British Museum post-canon, No Jake Lockley, developing friendship

A/N: Welcome to the start of my first Steven Grant story! This will be multiple chapters (not exactly sure how many, although I don't expect it to get too long.)

If you'd like to be added to the taglist for this (or any of my other writing), please let me know!

Title from the song of the same name by The Police.

Steven Grant whistled cheerfully to himself as he ascended the steps of the British Museum. He had managed to successfully translate the hieroglyphic code he had been working on for the past week, gotten a full night's rest, and had even caught the early bus to work.

He checked his watch. Eh, I've got a bit before I have to clock in. Might as well pop by the Egyptian exhibit to see if they changed the placard for Mekhet yet.

He headed over to the exhibit, sighing with disappointment when he noticed that the placard was still incorrect. It's been three months. The least they could do is place a temporary sign until a new, permanent one came in.

He was just about to go put his bag in his employee locker and clock in early when a woman walked up next to him and began reading the placard on the statue.

“You know, that's actually wrong,” Steven said.

The woman glanced over at him. “Excuse me?”

Steven placed her accent as American, but couldn't pinpoint the region. Must be on holiday. He pointed at the placard. “The placard. It says that this is Menhit when it's really Mekhit.”

The woman looked at the placard, then back at the statue. “Oh, is it really?”

Steven nodded. “Menhit was actually a solar goddess, representing the brow of Ra and depicted by a reclining lioness, while Mekhit was the goddess of war, which is why she's depicted as a roaring lioness.”

The woman smiled at Steven. “Well that makes sense.”

“She was also known as the ‘Eye of Ra’,�� Steven continued, encouraged by her friendliness. “It was said that the Eye left Ra and transformed itself into a lioness, after which it was hunted down and returned by Onuris, then it transformed into Menhit, which explains the similar names. And there's also Mehit, with no k or n, who was associated with the moon and was also depicted as a reclining lioness, but with three sticks behind her.”

The woman chuckled. “Imagine someone in Ancient Egypt accidentally praying to the wrong god or goddess because of a spelling error. Like, ‘oops, sorry, I meant for Mut to help me, not Nut ’.”

Steven grinned. “I've been trying to get my bosses to fix it for months now, but honestly I shouldn't be surprised. Took them ages to correct the banner depicting the Ennead. Only seven of them were on there when there were supposed to be nine.”

The woman glanced over at the banner, which now included all nine of the Ennead. “Oh, so you work here?”

Steven nodded. “Oh, er, sorry, yeah. I'm not just some nutter chatting you up in the Egyptian exhibit, I promise.”

The woman laughed. “Well either way, you're very knowledgeable about Egyptian history.”

“Oh, I love history, especially ancient Egyptian history. I find it fascinating.” Steven bit his lip. “Is it alright if I show you my favorite exhibit? It's just right over there.”

The woman nodded. “Sure.”

Steven led her over to the statue of Hathor. “This is Hathor -- Egyptian goddess of music, joy, pleasure and love.”

The woman grinned. “I see why she's your favorite. She gets all the fun stuff.”

Steven chuckled. “She was also goddess of beauty and the protector of women, and she was considered one of the most powerful of all the gods and goddesses. Early cosmetics and mirrors were left at her temples as offerings.”

The woman smiled. “She sounds pretty amazing.”

Steven nodded. “Oh, she was. In fact, it's said she--”

“Oy! Stevie!”

Steven startled at the sound of Donna's voice. “Oh, bollocks,” he muttered. ‘I'm sorry, I've got to run.”

The woman nodded. “That's quite alright. It was nice meeting you… Stevie, was it?”

Steven shook his head. “Actually, it's Steven. With a ‘v'.”

“Nice meeting you, ‘Steven-with-a-v’.”

“You too.”

Steven tried to hurry away but was accosted by Donna, who immediately began to give him an earful. “How many times do I have to tell you, don't bother the visitors!” she hissed loudly. “The new museum director's coming in today and the last thing she needs to see is employees faffing about.”

“But I’m not -- wait, new director?” Steven vaguely remembered Donna mentioning a few weeks prior that the museum board had finally hired a new director. “Who is it?”

Donna shrugged. “I dunno, some poncy American. Anyway, as I've said before, you're not a bloody tour guide. Your job is to sell overpriced rubbish to whiny little brats and their caretakers. Now, I want the gift shop fully stocked and in tip-top shape by the time the new director arrives. You should've been doing that already instead of dawdling.”

Steven glanced back at the woman, who was now studying the hieroglyphics on one of the nearby sarcophagi. “But I'm not -- I was just --”

Donna rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah, flirt on your own time. Not like she'd be interested in the likes of you anyway, innit?”

“But I wasn't --” Steven sighed as Donna stalked off. “Okay then, good talk.”

He trudged over to the staff lounge area, stashed his messenger bag in his locker, and clocked in before heading to the gift shop.

He cringed when he saw the state of it. Clearly no one had bothered restocking after the gaggle of families and tour groups had blown through over the weekend. This'll take me all bloody day. Luckily Mondays are usually pretty quiet.

He quickly pinned his name tag to his shirt and began to straighten and organize the various plushies and knickknacks between customers, making note of what he needed to grab more of from the storage room.

He was organizing the Seshat figurines several hours later when Donna walked out of her office. “Oy, Stevie, the new boss lady wants a word with you upstairs.”

Steven swallowed nervously. “Me? What for?”

Donna shrugged, a slight smirk on her face. “You know, I heard that there was a bit of a shakeup coming with the new regime but I thought it'd at least be a few days before you got sacked. Guess not.”

Bollocks, Steven thought. Hopefully there's at least a decent severance package. “Okay. Well, off I go then.”

He set down the last figurine and headed out of the gift shop towards the lifts. “Maybe they'll at least let me finish my shift before they give me the boot,” he wondered aloud as he pressed the button to call the lift.

“Why are you so worried?” Marc replied in his head. “You don't even like this job.”

“I do like it,” Steven protested, catching Marc's face in the reflection of the shiny metal doors. “Well, sort of. And anyway, we can't afford our flat without it.”

Marc was quiet for a moment. “I got some money,” he finally said as the lift arrived. “From Dad, after Mom… Well anyway, I've never touched it so that should keep you afloat for a little while until you find another job.”

The ride up to the 5th floor was one of the longest of Steven's life. He stepped out of the lift, nervously trying to tame his wild curls but ultimately just making his hair more messed up. Oh, bollocks.

He walked down the hall to the door marked Director and knocked.

“Come in,” a voice said.

Steven took a deep breath and entered.

He froze. Standing behind the museum director's desk was the woman he had been talking to in the Egyptian exhibit before Donna had spotted him. “Oh, erm…” Just my bloody buggering luck.

The visitor from earlier (the new museum director, you bloody great twit, he corrected himself) smiled warmly. “Hello again, ‘Steven-with-a-v’.”

“Er, hello, Miss.” Steven could see his employee file open on the director's desk and began mentally going over their entire interaction from earlier, trying to figure out what exactly he had done in order to get sacked so quickly. He hadn't been on the clock at the time so it wasn't like he actually had been dawdling instead of working, and he hadn't really complained about his job beyond mentioning that the display placard for Mekhit was incorrect and about how long it took for the banner depicting the Ennead to be corrected.

The director motioned to the chair in front of her desk. “Have a seat.”

Steven sat as the director took her seat as well. 

The director folded her hands in front of her and placed them on her desk. “First of all,” she began, “apologies for not introducing myself earlier. My name is Y/F/N Y/L/N, and I'm the new director here at the museum. I'm sure you're wondering why I've called you to my office, especially so soon after starting my tenure here.”

“Er, yes ma'am,” Steven replied nervously, glancing up at the framed Ph.D hanging on the wall before once again looking at his open employment record.

Dr. Y/L/N slid Steven's file over to her and studied it for a moment. “You work in the gift shop, is that correct?”

Bollocks, here it comes. “Yes, ma'am.”

“You've never had any interest in becoming a tour guide, have you?”

“I'm sorry, ma’am, I wasn't trying to --” Steven blinked rapidly as her words registered. “Wait, what?”

Dr. Y/L/N looked up from his file. “Tour guide. You ever thought about it?”

Steven nodded. “All the time, actually. It's what I dream of doing.”

“Then why haven't you ever applied for an open tour guide position?”

Because Donna keeps telling me that there's no way it would ever happen, so why bother? “Well I, er…”

Dr. Y/L/N leaned back in her chair. “We actually have a current opening for the Visitor Engagement Specialist position… if you're interested, that is.”

Steven was speechless. “Visitor Engagement Specialist? But that's -- that's the head of programming and tours.”

Dr. Y/L/N nodded. “Yes, that's right. I'd like to offer you the position.”

She gestured towards his employee file. “I've read over your CV, Steven, and you're more than qualified.”

Steven was still processing. What the bloody hell is happening? 

Sounds like you're not getting fired, Marc answered. Quite the opposite, in fact.

Steven shook his head. “Even if I applied for the position, wouldn't I need to interview for it as well?”

Dr. Y/L/N’s lips turned up in a small smile. “Oh, but you already have.” 

Steven’s brow furrowed. “I have?” 

Dr. Y/L/N nodded. “The museum’s visitor numbers have been declining lately, so over the weekend I took a few tours to see how they could be improved, and to be quite honest I learned more from speaking to you for 10 minutes in the Egyptian exhibit than from taking 3 separate hour-long tours throughout the entire museum. You certainly had me enraptured during our conversation about Mekhit and Hathor this morning.”

She gave Steven a warm smile. “I would consider that enough of an interview to offer you the position, wouldn't you?”

Steven huffed out a nervous chuckle. “I -- I suppose so, ma’am.”

“The current tours are stale and boring,” Dr. Y/L/N continued. “And the guides themselves could use some, well, guidance  from someone with your knowledge of and enthusiasm for history and folklore. I think you could plan some wonderfully engaging tours.”

Steven rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, I do have some ideas on how the current tours could be improved… So, er, what exactly does the position entail?”

“You'd work closely with the Curatorial department to develop programming and tours based on what we have on exhibit at the time while concurrently managing the Programming department. Of course, that would include being on the regular tour rotation as well as handling any specialized tours -- large groups, VIP guests, and the like. I know it would be a lot of work, but the position also comes with your own office as well as a sizable increase in pay.” Dr. Y/L/N quoted a figure that was more than double what Steven currently made. “Plus benefits.”

Steven’s eyes widened. With that sort of salary he could afford a bigger flat closer to the museum. “That's -- that's quite generous. I don't know what to say.”

Dr. Y/L/N nodded. “I know this is probably a bit of a shock, so feel free to take some time to think about it. Think you could give me an answer by the beginning of next week?”

What's there to think about? Marc chided him. You're being handed your dream job on a silver platter. Say you'll take it, dumbass.

Steven ignored Marc. “Yes, ma'am.”

Dr. Y/L/N closed Steven's file. “By the way, I put in an order for a new placard for the Mekhit exhibit. Thought you'd like to know.”

Steven grinned. “Yes, ma’am. Thank you.”

“And one other thing…” Dr. Y/L/N paused briefly. “Does your current supervisor often speak to you the way she did this morning?”

Steven was taken aback. “Donna? Well, actually, er… well, she's a bit prickly, yes.”

“I see. And have you reported her behavior to anyone?”

Steven shook his head. “No, ma'am. Don't want to cause a scene or make things worse.”

“Mmm. Well, this 'poncy American' is going to have a private chat with her later on the way we treat our subordinates… and refer to our superiors.”

Marc chuckled. I think I'm in love.

Yeah, me too, Steven replied. Too bad she's my boss.

He really hadn't been flirting with Dr. Y/L/N earlier, although if Steven had been more confident he might have actually considered it. As it was, however, he was glad he hadn't. Most likely would've gotten sacked in that case.

Dr. Y/L/N stood. “Alright, Steven, thank you for coming in. Please let me know as soon as possible what your decision on the Visitor Engagement Specialist position is.”

Steven stood as well. “I will, ma'am. And no matter what I decide, thank you either way for the opportunity.”

“You're welcome. And thank you for such a stimulating conversation this morning. I thoroughly enjoyed it.”

Steven smiled. “I did too.”

He headed back down to the gift shop, where Donna was standing behind the register reading a book.

She looked up as Steven approached the counter. “What, still here? Figured you'd have cleared out your locker by now.”

Steven shook his head. “The new director just wanted to introduce herself and speak with me about something. Guess she's doing that with everyone.”

Donna rolled her eyes. “In that case, when you get done with restocking there's a new shipment of items that need to be unpacked and sorted.”

As if she couldn't have been working on all that shit herself while you were gone, Marc said as Donna headed back towards her office. Would you seriously rather be stuck with that than be the head of tours and programs? You know she's just going to make things more difficult after she gets reprimanded this afternoon.

Steven sighed. Yeah, I know.

Being a tour guide is exactly what you've been wanting to do since the day you started, and being the head of the entire department? Just think… you'd actually be in a higher position than Donna. Wouldn't you like to rub that in her face?

Steven chuckled to himself as he thought about Donna having to answer to him for a change. Yeah, actually, I quite like the thought of that.

Then what are you waiting for? 

You know what? You're right. Steven straightened. I deserve this position.

Damn right you do. Ever since we figured out how to work together you've been able to hold down your job just fine and haven't even been late once. You'll be great.

Steven moved over to the phone and pulled up the staff directory before dialing Dr. Y/L/N's extension.

“Yes, may I help you?” Dr. Y/L/N's voice said briskly over the line.

“Er, uh, Dr. Y/L/N, this is Steven… Steven Grant, from the gift shop?” Steven stammered out, suddenly losing his bravado.

Dr. Y/L/N's tone warmed immediately. “Yes, Steven, what can I do for you?”

Steven took a deep breath. “I've decided I don't need the week to think about your offer. I accept.”

“Wonderful!” Dr. Y/L/N sounded pleased. “I'll have HR start on the transfer paperwork right away so we can have you in your new position by next Monday. There's a couple of new Egyptian artifacts on loan from the Cairo Museum arriving on Thursday afternoon and we're wanting to have them installed by the beginning of next month, so hopefully we can have you settled and able to rework the tour to include them by then.”

Steven nodded even though he knew she couldn't see him. “That shouldn't be a problem. Thank you again for this opportunity, Dr. Y/L/N. I really appreciate it.” 

“You're welcome, Steven. I honestly think you'll thrive in your new position and I'm glad you accepted it.”

“Me too.”

“The museum board is introducing me to some benefactors in ten minutes so I'm afraid I've got to run in a few, but I'm looking forward to hearing your ideas on how to improve the current tours. Maybe we can talk more on Friday? I'll be meeting with the Curatorial department that morning to discuss placement of the new artifacts.” Dr. Y/L/N paused. “You know, actually, now that I think about it since you're going to be involved with that anyway I'd like you to sit in on that meeting as well, even if it's just to observe and check out the new artifacts for yourself.”

“Certainly, ma'am.”

“Ok, great. I'll let Donna know that I've scheduled another meeting with you and that your shift needs to be covered on Friday. What's your current schedule looking like for next week?”

Steven rolled his eyes, grateful that Dr. Y/L/N couldn't actually see him. “Donna has me doing inventory all next week.”

Dr. Y/L/N hummed. “Ok, well then it shouldn't be a problem to find someone else to cover that.”

“No, ma'am.”

“I'll see you Friday morning, then. Goodbye, Steven.”

“Goodbye.”

Steven hung up the phone. “Wow,” he said under his breath. “Wow, wow, wowee wow.”

Marc chuckled in his head. You've hit the big-time now.

“I get my own office. I get my own phone extension.” Steven's eyes widened. “I get my own business cards. ‘Steven Grant, Visitor Engagement Specialist’.”

Has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?

Steven nodded. “I still can't believe it.”

Believe it, buddy. Life is looking up.

Steven grinned. "It is, isn't it?"

He knew one thing for certain -- he couldn't wait to prove to Dr. Y/L/N that she had made the right decision.

[ulysses000]

i love the world of darkness so i made my cute boys vampire Law is mekhet from The Ordo Dracul Sanji is daeva from The Circle of the Crone and they got married Law`s curse: - fear of bread - fear of umeboshi - when he is hungry his body turns black. The hungrier he is, the blacker he is

[ponylamp]

In our Vampire: The Requiem game we are still working with our friendly mages (and their assorted crew) on helping our bruja Alyx with her possession problem. We got an upgraded protection? circle, but our resident Ventrue occultist has relied so much on her ghoul to take her notes that she's at a loss on recording this information. (Her ghoul that used to take notes got possessed by a Strix, it's a problem but don't worry about it. Ranch Dressing, her new ghoul, is inept at scholarly things. I mean her name is Ranch Dressing...)

So, since they have to sit with Alyx throughout the day, Lenore has taken it upon herself to finally user her embroidery specialty. There's going to be some lovely embroideries of the ritual circle and the symbols drawn in blood on Alyx's head.

Hell, maybe even one of the bunny whose blood was used in the ritual. That might make the high humanity Mekhet, Min, feel a little better. Maybe it'll get her out of the promise to buy Min 2 pet bunnies for her farm. The mages asked what they could do to keep the coterie entertained while they wait. Lenore asked to see a mage battle or at least an illusion of it. Miss Dash needs to send in some paperwork to the office to see if that request will be granted.

[vamp-orwave]

Hey! I've noticed you share some VTR stuff - as someone who's only really been a VTM guy, I was wondering what VTR does """different"""?

It looks really cool and I'd love to get into the lore but I'm not sure which bits to look into see a different experience from V5 narratively ^^

Thanks for the ask! In VTR, there are only five core Clans: Ventrue, Gangrel, Nosferatu, (much like the originals but with some changes), Daeva, and Mekhet (amalgamations of some of the archetypes present in Toreador, Brujah, Ministry, Lasombra, Hecata). Each clan has a myriad of potential 'bloodlines' to explore, like sub-clans with a unique discipline.

There are also five Covenants, which are like the Sects in VTM except they're all different facets of the same society and have to interact and coexist more often than, say, the Camarilla and Sabbat. Some are just as diametrically opposed, but on different axes, like the Invictus vs Carthians (status quo/traditional vs change/experimentation), and the Lancea Sanctum vs Circle of the Crone (Abrahamic religions/service to a higher power vs pagan religions/indulgence of the beast), while one, the Ordo Dracul, focuses inwards on honing and improving the vampiric condition through science and discipline.

The intricacies of the intersection between Clan and Covenant are what make VTR so unique and interesting to me. Definitely read more about the Covenants to get better summaries of the sort of purposes the Kindred of this setting can devote their unlives to beyond mere survival.

[lgbtmi]

anyway im ignoring the Situation from yesterday so um here's some Vampire Ideas™️ for vampire the requiem

the coterie consists of a tattoo artist daeva, psychologist mekhet, and a mechanic / car thief gang ventrue

there's no obligation to play smth from a different clan, I have no interest in playing a daeva (bc I don't want them to be too much like willow, which is smth that might happen... tho politician daeva sounds fun also...) and my brain can't for the life of me figure out a fun gangrel idea... so here goes!

1. nosferatu Broadway starlet, was on a daevas radar for a while, but for some unspecified reason so far they got got by a nosferatu. probably phantom of the opera inspiration in there tbh

2. ventrue failed med student who now runs an alt medicine clinic where they trick their patients in no longer being dying- or at least not feeling it

3. Mekhet archaeologist/researcher who researched too close to the sun. they (used to) work for the smithsonian, and now have a newfound interest in the... unreality of the artefacts they used to work with

[go-whump-in-the-night]

A long excerpt from a very, very long story. Knox making the Foolish mistake of testing his boss' patience. TW for noncon threats and use of the word "wh-re" as an insult (by a very bad man)

Simms grit his teeth in anger. With a broad gesture he withdrew his knife and stabbed it into the wound in Knox’s stomach, “Knox, fucking look at me when I’m talking to you!”

Knox gasped harshly, hanging his head and feeling a heaving sob pushing through him. He looked down at the blood pooling beneath him for a moment. He panted, vision blurring.

Trembling, he turned his gaze back to Simms, glaring at the vampire through the curtain of his bloody bangs.

“Okay…” he breathed, shocked at his own nerve, “I'm looking…”

Simms started flatly at Knox for a moment. He stepped back, unwrapping his arm from behind Knox and letting go of the knife. He stood for a moment, an arms length away, looking Knox in the eyes with an analytical glower.

He raised his hand, and slapped Knox across the face. He put his whole body into the motion, rotating his entire torso into the force of the blow.

He straightened back up with a look of utter rage on his face, “How DARE you.” He hissed.

Knox’s head was turned to the side and his eyes were wide as he registered the force of the blow. His ears were ringing. He tasted blood, his own this time. His pale cheek blossomed a bright red; Knox looked back at Simms, stunned.

He had never been slapped before. Another first.

Knox was dumbfounded. He wasn’t looking quite into Simms’ eyes, just focusing on the man's bloody tie.

Simms stepped forward and grabbed Knox by the hair, wrenching his face up to look him in the eyes, “You little whore. I made you. I gave you a leg to stand on in this city. If it weren’t for me you’d be a pile of ash in a gutter somewhere.”

Simms was shaking with rage so intense he was actually breathing, “I let you ride on my coattails, and in exchange you’ve worked for me. Now suddenly you’ve got a name for yourself, and I come asking for something only you can give, and you give me lip?”

Simms yanked the knife out of Knox’s torso and held it up to his neck. This time there was no delicate touch. This time, it felt like a butcher grabbing hold of a leg of lamb. He snarled, “I ought to slit your fucking throat and watch you bleed into madness. Then beat you into torpor and wake you when I need a body to whore out. How. Dare. You.”

Knox shook in Simms’ grasp, plain terror on his face. He held himself deathly still, tiny, desperate breaths leaving his lips.

He tried to force himself to speak, to apologize, but he couldn't. His mouth just hung open, a little gasp leaving him. He couldn't think. He couldn't do anything but tremble and stare at Simms.

With no reply from Knox, Simms’ tirade continued unabated, “Or maybe I’ll put a chair leg through your heart and only take it out to show you which part of your family members has arrived in the mail that day, hm?” Simms pressed the blade harder into Knox’s throat, drawing a steady trickle of blood.

“I can cut you until you can’t move anymore. I can bleed you into a husk and bring girls down here for you to drain dry, then let you watch the bodies of your victims rot away in front of you. I can Dominate your mind into such a fucking mess that all you can think about is how to please me and you feel literal pain when I’m not touching you. I could…”

Simms froze. He closed his eyes, drawing in a shuddering breath. The hand in Knox’s hair didn’t relax, and the blade of the knife didn’t fall away. Simms was suddenly completely still, like a statue. His face relaxed into a blank expression.

For a long moment, he was silent.

Knox’s eyes flicked from the Mekhet’s face to his knife hand and back. He didn't dare say anything. He'd been in this position before, with Simms shouting in his face and then, the sudden stillness.

He didn't dare speak. Instead, he waited for a question, a prompt. His neck was tensed against the blade; the belt that was still wrapped around his throat felt suffocating.

Simms opened his eyes, looking up at the ceiling. Slowly, he lowered his gaze down to Knox, and smiled. It wasn’t a kind smile.

“Knox. Good grief, you really know how to set me off don’t you? You just love to push my buttons.” The knife still didn’t move. Simms leaned closer, the smile widening, “But everything I just said is true. So it would be very, very wise of you to cooperate with me here. Now, what do you say?”

Knox flinched away from Simms, but he didn't break the eye contact Simms had created with him. He was still shaking, hard. He swallowed, wincing at the pain in his jaw.

“I'm...I...I'm sorry…”

The knife dropped. Simms let go of Knox’s hair and gently patted his face, “Good boy.”