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16

Approved Characters / Eva Kochubey

« on: May 07, 2019, 06:11:17 AM »

Age (Apperance): 23
Age (Actual): 213
Gender: Female
Species: Nosferatu - Vampire
Sire: Yevno “Kaban” Bogrov
Children: None
Alignment: True Neutral
Affiliation: The highest bidder (but will side with the Anarchs over the Camarilla if given the choice)
Sexuality: Asexual
Quote: "I'd rather be dead then pretty."

Mask Appearance
Hair: jet-black falling slightly past her ears on the right side with a close fade on the left side
Eyes: dirt brown, beady, watery
Skin color: incredibly pale, seems to almost reflect light
Tattoos/Distinguishing features: small tattoo of a viper on the right side of her neck, crooked nose
Frame: 5’2”, 105lbs, appears rather frail and sickly

Actual Appearance
Hair: None, completely bald
Eyes: comically large, milky white like a cave fish
Skin color: gray and leathery
Frame: 5’2”, 105lbs, appears rather frail and sickly but a distinct layer of muscle all across her body
Tattoos/Distinguishing Features: small tattoo of a viper on the right side of her neck, large beak like nose, small sucker like mouth that is mostly obstructed by her nose, making it appear as though she’s speaking from her nose, and large bat-like ears

Personality: Despite her outlandish choice of dress, Eva is very unassuming and can easily walk through a crowd without drawing attention. But anyone who’s spoken to her have all come to the same conclusion… she’s a c**t. Having spent all of her human life ostracized from her family and the rest of the world and spending most of her vampire life as a ghost, Eva has never learned how to interact with others. And if she’s being honest, she’s never had any desire to learn. She believes pleasantries and diplomacy are just words thrown around by men too afraid to take action. She’s unbelievably blunt, caring very little of how her words affect the person or people she’s speaking to. However, this does not mean she can’t be kind. She is incredibly close with her sire and the rest of her Nosferatu cell and routinely keeps in touch with all of them.
Though she describes herself as a mercenary for hire, willing to do pretty much anything for the right price, she refuses to harm children, either physically or emotionally. Having spent her whole childhood being abused by both her father and her twin sister, Eva refuses to be the reason a child feels pain, even going as far to refuse jobs where the target has children. However, she will eagerly accept jobs where someone has harmed either their own child or another, sometimes even refusing payment for the job. Her preferred method of “assassination” is to destroy the target’s public character, believing that does more lasting harm than simply killing them. When she is required to kill her target, she prefers the method of poison, using the the venom of a common European Viper. She gathers the poison from her familiar Balthazar, a melanistic (black) european viper.

History: Eva Kochubey was born in the Ukraine during the winter of 1800, along with her twin sister Irena. Their father, Viktor Kochubey, had been exiled from Russia by Paul I, forcing him and his wife Katrina to begin a new life there with their two new daughters. Eva remembers her father telling stories of when Irena was born and how even then she was the most beautiful being he had ever seen. In contrast, Eva’s mother told her that when Eva had been born, her father had run screaming from the room at the sight of her. She had been born malformed with thin, oddly shaped limbs and a large bulbous head. Her eyes, mouth, nose, and ears were comically ill-proportioned and she was never fully able to grow hair, only small patches here and there on her head.

A year or two after their birth, Viktor received word from Russia that Paul I was dead and his son, Alexander I, had risen to power and requested that he join his team of advisors. Viktor was more than happy to agree and quickly began moving his family back to Russia. However, he was a prideful man and found Eva’s appearance to be shameful and humiliating. He decided that she could not be considered a true child of his. Viktor forced his wife to agree that, once they reached Saint Petersburg, they would present Irena as their biological daughter, while saying that Eva was an orphan they had adopted in the Ukraine. After arriving in Saint Petersburg, Viktor went a step further and decided that Eva would be confined to the family home, deeming her appearance unfit for the great capital of the Russian empire.

As they grew up, the two sisters became more and more distant and different. Irena continued to grow more beautiful as she got older, with many suitors from across the country traveling to the Kochubey household to try and win her favor when she became of age. She was also a musical prodigy, mastering the piano, violin, and cello by the age of 10. Viktor would routinely have her play for various guests, even Alexander I who gushed over Irena’s brilliance and beauty whenever visiting their home. Eva on the other hand was confined to the third story of the home and told to remain silent, especially when guests were over. Eva excelled at reading, even going as far to sneak down to her father’s study and read some of his books on world history and science. She also became very good at hiding and moving about the house without being seen, giving her opportunities to hear the meetings her father would have with prominent government figures and dignitaries from other countries. Her father and sister rarely, if ever, spoke to her, but her mother would routinely spend time with her playing games, reading books, and generally giving her the attention she was so dearly lacking.Unfortunately, around the time of their fourteenth birthdays, Katrina passed away from tuberculosis, leaving Eva feeling even lonelier than before.

Now needing some way of keeping Eva occupied and deriving some use from her, Viktor instructed her that she would now function as Irena’s handmaiden. Eva was expected to dote on her sister at all hours of the day while wearing a large black dress and black veil as to hide her appearance for both her family’s sake and any guests that popped in. Irena treated her as such, never seeming to acknowledge that it was her twin sister underneath the black fabric, forcing her to do menial tasks and errands which fueled the hatred Eva felt towards her sister. The only benefit from this “appointment” was that Eva was able to finally leave the Kochubey home and travel around the city on her errands. She became aware that her garb as a handmaiden allowed her to pass through the city unnoticed, again taking her to secluded and hidden portions of the city most were not able to go.

In the summer of 1819, Irena was married to the son of a prominent Russian general. The vast majority of the Russian government attended, including Alexander I. Eva was not allowed to attend the ceremony as family, and was put to work making sure both Irena and the wedding looked beautiful. During the reception, an odd looking man in a military uniform came up beside Eva and began to talk to her. He was fat and squat, giving his body the appearance of ball, while the skin of his face seemed to sag leaving large jowls underneath his chin. He introduced himself as Yevno Bogrov, one of Alexander I most trusted confidants. Eva scoffed and replied that if that were true, why had she never heard her father mention him? Yevno smiled back at her and responded that it did not matter if men like her father knew he existed or not. Sometimes notoriety was a hindrance to his line of work. “Have you found this to be true as well Ms. Kochubey?”. Eva was shocked. As far as she’d been aware, her father had kept her a secret from everyone in Russia, never even calling Eva by her full name. Before she could respond, Yevno slipped a piece of paper into her hand. “Meet me at this location tomorrow evening. I would like to discuss an opportunity for you to finally achieve the potential your family has denied you for so long.”

The following night, Eva travelled to a small park on the outskirts of the city and waited for Yevno to appear. Most women would feel afraid venturing to a strange part of the city to meet an older, unknown man, but she felt no fear. She had felt no ill will from Yevno and felt that this meeting was genuine. And, to be safe, she held a large butcher’s knife in the folds of her handmaidens dress. After a hour, Yevno appeared from the shadows and greeted her with a smile. He requested that she remove her veil so as to hide her true self from him. Eva complied and was surprised to see no look of surprise or shock on Yevno’s face.  He explained that he had been watching her for sometime. Alexander had been curious about the identity of this “adopted” daughter of Viktor’s and had asked Yevno to look into it. After discovering the truth of Eva’s birth, Yevno had taken an interest in her. He felt that they shared an understanding of the cruelty of the world based simply on appearance.

Eva scoffed at this, replying that his size and pecularlier face was not the same curse that she had to bear. Yevno’s smile faded and bluntly stated that she should know better than to judge someone’s appearance without looking deeper. He explained that he was the leader of small sect of individuals inside the Russian government who answered directly to the tsar. They worked from the shadows and performed acts too… unbecoming for men like her father, who desired power, but thought it could be gained solely through pretty words and promises. But outcasts like Eva and himself knew better. Yevno wanted to offer her a position on his team, having seen her intelligence and ability to hide in plain site, but needed proof that she had what it took to be one of them. Eva, taken aback and slightly frightened at this offer being proposed to her, was nevertheless interested in the idea. She had spent her whole life alone and at the whims of others, she wondered what it would be like to be a part of something.

But she needed to know one thing first. She said that she’d be willing to give him the proof he desired if he would give her something in return; she wanted to see with her own eyes what made them both outcasts. A smile returned to Yevno’s face and he asked if she was sure she’d be able to handle it. Eva simply continued to stare back at him in response. A few moments later, Yevno’s face began to sag further and further with multiple flaps of skin covering most of his features. His eyes became small and beady with very small holes in the flaps giving him the ability to see. As his face sagged, two of his teeth began to grow larger and larger until they became like thick tusks curving up towards the sky. Yevno looked at her, seemingly expecting the same shock and surprise Eva had when she’d revealed her face to him. But it was met only with a smile and her simply saying “What do you need me to do?”

Yevno explained that Alexander believed one of his generals was secretly planning a coup against him, which Yevno was able to confirm. They had tried to blackmail the man to convince him to change his mind, but to no avail. The only option left was to kill him. Yevno handed Eva a small brown vial, instructing her to pour this into the man’s tea when he came to visit her father. Eva, although unsure if this was the right thing to do, accepted the vial. Yevno told her that once the job was done, he would contact her again and she would be officially accepted in his sect. Five days later, the general, who turned out to be the father of Irena’s new husband, arrived at the Kochubey house to speak with her father regarding important government business. Eva convinced the usual serving woman to take the night off and proceeded to prepare the tea herself. While hesitant at first, a realization quickly washed over, that if she did not do this, she would be forced to serve her father and sister for the rest of her life until she died, completely alone.

The next day Saint Petersburg was set aflame by rumors of the general’s assassination. The poison Yevno had given her was slow acting so no one could be sure where it had been administered. Irena was distraught that her new father in law was dead, giving Eva incredible satisfaction. True to his word, a letter appeared that day telling Eva to return to the park where’d she received the vial from Yevno. Eva left the house for the meeting without looking back. Whether or not Yevno intended it to be, this was the last night she would spend as her father and sister’s slave. When she arrived, Yevno congratulated her on a job well done and ushered her into the entrance to the city sewers. There she met the other members of Yevno’s sect, known as Khodoki Teney, or Shadow Walkers, who shared her disfigurement. Yevno explained that they were vampires, members of a clan known as Nosferatu who were cursed by their blood to be permanently disfigured. While he could not turn her just yet, he hoped she’d continue to prove her worth and eventually, he would make her one of them.

For the next four years, Eva lived in the sewers with the Nos and continued to make herself useful to them. She continued to use the type of poison Yevno had originally given her which ended up being a very concentrated sample of viper venom. Her affinity for this method earned her the name “Gadyuka” or the Viper. Eventually, Yevno felt that she was ready to join them in blood and sired her as a Nosferatu. The change caused her disfigurement to change, one that she found more interesting and palatable than the face she had been born with.

Over the next several decades she was an agent of the Russian government, investigating claims of treason and blackmailing or killing anyone asked of her. She rose in the ranks until she became Yevno’s official right hand and successor of Khodoki Teney if he were to meet the true death. Eventually, Khodoki Teney left Russia, believing that the unstableness of the Russian government would eventually lead to their secret becoming public knowledge. From there the group split up, forming smaller sects around the globe, becoming mercenaries for hire, specializing in the stealing of secrets and assassinations. Eva primarily stayed with Yevno, although she would travel to various parts of the world on jobs or to meet with the smaller Khodoki Teney sects. She called no place home and she was fine with that. Staying in one place too long reminded her of her childhood and being forced to stay behind the walls of her family home.

Ten years ago, Eva received word that her sire had gone missing. While it was not odd for him to go into hiding for periods of time, Yevno would always inform her so she could handle the day to day business of the Khodoki Teney in his absence. After a year of still hearing nothing from him, Eva began to travel the world searching for any clue as to his whereabouts. By now, Eva has accepted that he most likely has met the true death, but won’t stop until she knows for certain. Recently she received word from an old Nosferatu contact that he had information on her sire that she might find useful. But in order to get it, she had to fill in his role as an Anarch Prince’s shadow in the City. She’s traveled there to meet the Prince to see if he would be worth her time and energy. And if the information is worth it.

Awareness of Supernaturals: Due to her age and time spent traveling around the world, Eva has encountered most kinds of supernatural creatures. However, she deals mainly with vampires and knows little about the finer details of non-vampire creatures.

Occupation/Job: Mercenary for Hire. While Eva does not like to call herself a mercenary, she finds that no other term works better for her line of work. Eva acts as the head of the Khodoki Teney sect, although most of this work is done by the smaller cell leaders across the world. Her job as a mercenary mainly entails stealing information, blackmailing, and occasional assassination. She’s come to the City in the hopes of working for the Black Prince.

Interesting Facts/Quikers: Although she is over 200 years old, Eva dresses like a young goth woman of the era. She mainly wears large black combat boots and a XLL black sweatshirt that she wears as a dress.
While she has to wear her Mask of a Thousand Faces to pass through normal society, Eva will routinely drop this mask once she’s in the company of other supernatural creatures. She finds it itchy and uncomfortable, as well as preferring her clients to truly see her and not the young, naive looking girl her mask presents as.

Hobby/Hobbies: Eva enjoys bare knuckle boxing and spends a good deal of time training her technique.

Likes: Marlboro Blacks, black eyeliner, goth heavy metal, bats

Dislikes: Pretty people, vanity, children, fang bangers

Strength: Superb espionage agent and hand to hand combatant

Weakness/Flaw: As with all Nosferatu, she cannot be outside without wearing her mask

Vampiric Disciplines:

Obfuscate

Silence of Death: This power completely silences the user, nullifying all sound made by them. As with other Obfuscate powers, this only works on people within earshot and does not fool microphones or other electronic sound detectors.

Unseen Passage: With this power, the vampire can now move while staying hidden. The user is functionally invisible, per the usual Obfuscate limitations.

Ghost in the Machine: The user can now transmit the effects of Obfuscate through electronic media, allowing the vampire to appear invisible or masked when viewed live on screen. If an observer views the image later, as in a photograph or recording, the effect lessens: the image seems slightly blurred, making identification hard. In addition, automated surveillance has a tendency to glitch in the presence of the vampire, lessening their chance of being caught by automated systems.

Mask of a Thousand Faces:[/purple] Instead of disappearing, the vampire using this power can make themselves appear as a nondescript stranger, someone expected to be present in the area. Unlike other Obfuscate powers, this allows the user to interact and communicate with those they might run into. The power does not provide any personal identification or other ways of misleading an identity check.

Potence

Lethal Body: Using this power, the user is capable of causing horrendous damage to mortals, tearing skin and breaking bones with bare fingers.

Prowess: Vampires with Potence gain far greater strength from their Blood than those who lack it.

Uncanny Grasp: Focusing their unnatural strength into their toes and fingers, the vampire grips and burrows their extremities into almost any surface, enabling them to climb and even hang otherwise unsupported from walls and ceilings. Close observation reveals telltale scarring or deformation on these surfaces afterward.

Animalism

Bond Famulus: When Blood Bonding an animal the vampire can make it a famulus, forming a mental link with it and facilitating the use of other Animalism powers. While this power alone does not allow two-way communication with the animal, it can follow simple verbal instructions such as "stay" and "come here." It attacks in defense of itself and its master but cannot otherwise be persuaded to fight something it would not normally attack.

17

The Boardwalk / Buy a Watch, Get a Tin Foil Hat for Free

« on: April 30, 2019, 02:29:02 AM »

Open to everyone

[6:59 PM] Archie's eyes snap open and his hand reached for his alarm clock as it turned over to 7 and began to faintly beep. He switched it off as he threw his legs over the side of the bed and removed the tin foil cap from his head, respectfully placing it on the night stand beside the alarm clock. Archie lit a hand rolled cigarette, walked upstairs, and got to work.

A hour later Archie pulled a short metal chain and the small neon "OPEN" sign blared to life. He sat down behind the counter and began to tinker on a small silver wrist watch. The shop was cramped, nearing claustrophobic, with many short pedestals of dark, old wood dotted around the room at unpredictable and inopportune locations, basically begging for someone to come and knock them over. Each pedestal was adorned with a faintly opaque glass case and a worn, stained red pillow. On each pillow sat a different kind of watch. Some were wrist watches, others were large pocket watches. They came in silver, gold, copper, platinum, steel, nearly any kind of metal one could think of. All the pieces were beautiful and ornate with no sign of damage, even though an avid watch lover would know that most of the watches were at least fifty years old.

Standing out from the rest of the furniture was a small bookshelf next to the door. On it were pamphlets, magazines, and books that one would be unable to find in your average bookstore. These items told tales of the bat men of Madagascar, the lizard people running the Catholic church, and how Bigfoot was suing for custody of his 11 year old niece. A small sign above the shelf read "Here lies the truth of the world. Read at your own risk." Lying next to the bookshelf was a hat stand filled with a variety of hand made tin foil hats of all shapes and varieties. A sign next to it said "Buy a watch, get a tin foil hat for free!!"

18

The Museum / A Murder of Malkavians

« on: April 25, 2019, 06:23:34 AM »

Rain beat softly against the large bay windows of the museum's fifth floor. The dark overcast sky and the low lighting of the room caused the shadows cast by the taxidermy animals to seem larger and more life like than usual. A few patrons wandered aimlessly through the exhibits, no one speaking a word. Archie eyed each one suspiciously, observing their movements for any hint of subterfuge.

Anyone could be a member of the Shadow Order, even if they themselves didn't know it. The music they listen to, the programs they watch on TV, the things they're taught in school, all subtly manipulate them to be perfect sleeper agents for the Order. Archie pitied them. The poor misguided fools. Too obsessed with their own lives to worry about the outside forces making their choices for them, leaving them with no real life at all. An old woman coughed, breaking Archie's concentration and the bone chilling silence and causing everyone else in the room to jump in terror. Archie instinctively reached for his knife beneath his jacket, knowing that this was most likely a signal to the other Order members to strike. But nothing happened. Everyone went back to the exhibits, paying no mind to him or anyone other than themselves.

Archie slipped the hunting knife back into it's sheath and went back to looking at the mountain lion in front of him. He had always loved animals. Unlike their human counterparts, animals hold no ulterior motives. They simply exist and do what they need to survive; eat and fuck. The taxidermist was obviously skilled at his craft, the creature truly looking as if it's about to pounce on him and feast on his flesh. The idea made Archie's mouth water, realizing the last time he fed was much longer than he realized. His eyes began to scan the room, this time looking for a quick meal, but quickly stopped himself. Not only could any of them be members of the Order, but he had another reason to be here. One far more important than simply getting a bite to eat.

He was here to meet another of his kind. One who he hoped would introduce him to this new city he was forced to call his home. He hoped he wouldn't have to wait too long. Staying in one location, especially one so public, would attract the Shadow Order eventually. If they were not here already.

19

Approved Characters / Archibald (Archie) Brown

« on: April 25, 2019, 02:50:49 AM »

Name: Archibald (Archie) Brown
Age (Appearance): 35
Age (actual): 88
Gender: Male
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
Sexuality: Bisexual, homoromantic
Species: Vampire
Clan: Malkavian
Affiliation: Anarch (massively distrusts Camarilla), deathly loyal to the Malkavian clan
Quote: "If you don't know about the lizard people, then why am I even talking to you?"

Hair: Salt and pepper, cut short. Relatively neat, but small clumps of matted hair can be seen when closely observed. Constant grey five o’ clock shadow.
Eyes: light grey, almost giving the appearance that he has no iris, just a pupil
Frame: tall and lean with minimal muscle mass
Tattoo/Distinguishing Features: none

Personality: While to the average passerby he appears normal and well adjusted, any time spent around Archie leaves everyone with a sense of something being off. They may feel that their lover is cheating on them, that their friends are gossiping behind their back, or that their boss is waiting for an excuse to fire them. Most can barely stand this feeling for more than a second before having to move in the opposite direction of Archie.

A conversation with Archie usually starts pleasantly and coherently until something snaps in him and the conversation turns to the lizard people running Rome and the Catholic Church or the Illuminati conspiracy to ruin pop music and enslave our impressionable youth. In these moments he talks fast and his eyes appear even less grey with his pupils dilating to twice the normal size.

Due to these factors, very very few could claim to know Archie’s true personality. Only those of his clan and a select few “friends” know that while insanity grips him like all of his bloodline, he’s an intelligent man with a gift at seeing the connections between people and their actions. He is loyal to his clan to a fault, willing to lay down his immortal life for another member of his clan. Archie is incredibly impatient, especially when someone questions his idea of the “truths” of the world.

He finds humans boring, their uses only for food and sexual expression. He believes them unable to see the “truth” of the world they live in due to the vast amounts of sedatives in the drinking water that allows the governments of the world to control them. However, he will be quick to say that these drugs can’t be transferred by blood which is why he can drink humans without concern.

History: Archie was born in London during the summer of 1925. His parents, Timothy and Elizabeth, ran a small watch making and repair shop that they’d inherited from Elizabeth’s parents after their deaths. While never wealthy, they lived a comfortable life, giving Archie a quiet, tranquil childhood. His parents routinely joked about the different theories he came up with to explain even the most mundane aspects of the world. Archie once spent a whole afternoon trying to convince his father that all the birds in the city were actually spies of the king, meant to watch out for anarchists and foreign spies. Every night, they would fly back to Buckingham Palace and whisper in his ear all the dark secrets they’d seen that day. While Elizabeth worried that there was an underlying condition causing these flights of fantastical thinking, Timothy chalked it up to childhood imagination.

In 1940, Archie’s parents feared the war with Germany would soon reach London, leaving them no choice but to send Archie to New York to live with his one and only extended family member, Uncle Francis. Archie begged them to come with him, arguing that there was no reason for them to stay. They promised they’d follow him to America once they were able to close down the shop. Once this was done, they’d all start a new life together on a new continent. But they couldn’t risk keeping him here if anything were to happen. Archie has recurring nightmares about this night, wishing he had begged his parents to join him now. That the shop was not worth more than their lives. The nightmare always ends with watching his parents fade from his vision as the boat pulled further from the docks. And the sight of two fat pigeons staring directly at his parents...

Francis, like his sister, ran a watch shop in the middle of what would later be known as the West Village. He was an eccentric man, prone to flights of fantasy that made even Archie wonder if the man wasn’t all there. But despite these idiosyncrasies, Archie came to love his uncle, and while he was never affectionate with the boy, it was clear Francis felt the same towards his nephew. Using his new position as Archie’s guardian, Francis made him his apprentice. Archie took to watch repair quickly, finding that while his mind might race from idea to idea at mach 3, his hands were steady, deliberate instruments with which to do his work.

It was during this time that Archie discovered one of the “truth’s of the universe”, as he calls them. He realized that the workings of the universe were like a watch. Most people only cared to see the time, the “output” of the thing. But they gave little thought to the complicated motors and gears inside the watch that allowed it to tell time in the first place. He believed the workings of the universe were the same. The vast majority of humans only cared about the output of the universe, the very existence of their life. They neglected the outside forces slowly working together to change the shape of their lives, rendering it barely their own. These outside forces were the governments of the world, led by a organization he called the Shadow Order, looking to subjugate the rest of humankind to keep them happy and complicient as they amassed more and more power and wealth for themselves. Archie began to fill journal after journal with theories about the different tactics these shadow organizations were using and how to combat them.

A year after Archie came to New York, Francis received a letter from the king. It was a bland, form letter, stating flatly that Timothy and Elizabeth’s shop had been hit during the Blitz, killing them both. Archie began to scream at his uncle, saying that this was the king sending him a message that he knew about Archie’s discovery of the “truth” and had his parents killed as a warning to what happens to people who try to go against the Shadow Order. Half of him expected his Uncle to laugh like his parents used to at his outlandish theories, but his uncle just nodded and led him down to the basement of the shop that Archie had yet to see. When he walked inside, Archie found the walls covered with newspapers, journal entries, ripped book pages, pieces of advertising, and other odds and ends, all tied together with different color string. Francis explained that he agreed 100% with Archie’s assessment of what happened in London and how it fit into the other things he had discovered. They spent days in the basement going over different pieces of the puzzle, only stopping to turn away customers when they’d bang loudly on the shop door.

Over the next five years, Archie learned more and more from his uncle, both in watch making and tracking government conspiracies. They took routine trips to government facilities, keeping detailed notes of the comings and goings and creating wild speculations as to what the government was using the facilities for. They hosted secret meetings in the basement of the shop for other like minded individuals who understood the “truth” and were looking to do something about it. Over time, they began to amass weapons and explosives, planning to break in to one of these facilities and finally reveal the truth to the rest of the world. Archie and Francis believed that they could finally take down the Shadow Order and allow the human race to finally be free of tyranny.

A few nights before they were to set their plan in motion, Francis said he was going to meet a prospective new member of their group. The man said he had information that could help them enter the facility undetected and with minimal casualties on both sides. Archie argued that this might be a set up. They both assumed the Shadow Order must have gotten word of their plans and were trying to manipulate events to stop it from happening. But Francis wouldn’t budge. The information was too important and they couldn’t lose this chance to gain an edge on their opponents.

Days passed and Archie heard nothing from Francis. He knew that the Shadow Order had taken him and were brainwashing him to be a “productive member of society”. He feared the day his uncle would stride back into his shop, declaring that all their ideas and plans were simply a delusion and needed to end. Archie spent the next 15 years planning for this day, amassing more and more information on the Shadow Order and their plans for the new world order. He tried desperately, and in vain, to find where the Order had taken his uncle and what he could do to get him back. In doing so, he cut himself off from the rest of society, only briefly engaging with clients who came to the store and other truthers who helped him gain the information he needed. His distrust of the outside world grew and grew until he was convinced that every stranger was his enemy, a spy of the Order waiting for the moment to strike. He was arrested a few times for attacking random passersby whose only crime was trying to speak to the sad, insane man babbling to himself on the street.

And truth be told, Archie was content to live out the rest of his life in this manner. To do otherwise would be to admitting that the beliefs he’d held onto for so long were false and giving up on his uncle. So it came as a shock when his uncle finally stepped through the doors of the Brown Watch Shop in the summer of 1960. It was late at night and Archie was listening to a police radio as he meticulously rebuilt a watch an idiot client had stepped on when they were visiting the store. When Archie laid eyes on his uncle, his mouth went agape. Despite the 25 years since disappearing, Francis looked to not have aged a day since 1945. Archie quickly went for the gun hidden under the desk, but Francis moved with inhuman speed over to him and held his hand down. Francis looked at him sadly, remarking how time had not been kind to his dear nephew. He apologized for his disappearance and for never getting in contact again. The man he’d met that night so many years ago had been legitimate and had provided knowledge that Francis could not believe at the time. That the organization manipulating the world was not comprised of humans, but rather monsters of the night; vampires, demons, fae, and all other manner of mythical creatures. Francis said that they manipulated the world to their own ends in order to have a steady food supply of human on which to feast.

Archie, having heard and believed many insane theories over the decades, was not convinced. Francis’ story didn’t explain how he still looked so young. Or why these monsters could have stopped him from returning to Archie and telling him this long ago. Francis opened his mouth to show pearly white fangs jutting from his gums. Archie recoiled in fear, screaming at the top of his lungs. But his uncle quickly calmed him down, telling him it was alright. Though he was now a vampire, he was not with the Order. He said that the man had explained that one of the main goals of the Order was to subjugate the true vampire bloodline, the ones called Malkavian. Francis explained that their ability to see the truth frightened the other clans, declaring the clan to be insane and unworthy of leadership. And that Francis had been inducted into this clan as a fellow searcher of truth by the man he met. Francis then grabbed Archie by the shoulders and begged him to forgive him for leaving him behind. His sire, a man only known as the Researcher, told Francis he couldn’t reach out to his nephew in fear that the other clans would try and kill him before he had the chance to be inducted.

Archie was shocked by the idea of becoming a vampire and in some way joining the Shadow Order. But Francis assured him that immortality and being in the Order itself would allow both of them the chance to truly take on the Shadow Order and bring about a new age of humanity. Over the next year, Francis brought Archie to multiple meetings of members of the Malkavian clan, showing him that these vampires were kind and good people who wanted the same thing they did; truth and freedom for all. Eventually, Archie agreed to be turned by his uncle and officially join the Malkavian clan.

For the next few decades Archie worked diligently for the Malkavian clan and became close friends with the charismatic Professor Grostark. Over time he made a name for himself among the clan as someone to turn to whenever they were in need, no matter the circumstance. Which routinely got Archie into trouble with the Camarilla of New York, eventually leading to his excommunication for harboring a Malkavian fledgling who had broken the masquerade and fed on a man harassing her in the street. He has since moved to the city, setting up a small watch repair shop in the North-west district. He’s made his presence known only to the fellow Malkavians of the city. However, Archie feels it’s time to take a more prominent role in order to stop the Shadow Order and whatever plans they have for the people of the city.

Awareness of Supernaturals: General understanding of most supernatural creatures, although most knowledge is tainted by his paranoia, believing that all but Malkavian vampires are in some way in league with the Shadow Order, even if they don’t realize it.

Occupation/Job: Watch Maker and shop owner

Domicile: Basement apartment hidden inside his watch shop

Interesting Facts/ Quirks: Goes to ground with a tinfoil hat on as to stop anyone from reading his mind while he sleeps.
Smokes cigarettes with tobacco he’s grown himself. He believes that store bought cigarettes are pumped with chemicals that dull the senses and stop people from questioning the world around them.
Won’t drink from humans who are intoxicated as it means putting drugs in his body which are used by the government to make people into compliant addicts.
Carries a large gold pocket watch on a chain with an inscription of the date his parents were killed.

Hobby/Hobbies: Watch making and repair, gardening, creating conspiracy theories, and listening to anything by Alex Jones.

Likes: watches, Malkavians, conspiracy theories

Dislikes: Camrilla, other vampires clans, any kind of government, being called crazy

Strengths: loyal to his fellow clan, will shelter any who need shelter, intelligent to a fault, able to see connections in things that most would be unable to spot

Weaknesses: his loyalty blinds him to the faults of his clan and its individuals while his paranoia makes him distrust even the kindest of strangers. He’s very disconnected from emotions, causing them to erupt in fits of nervous babbling about his conspiracies and fears.

Vampirc Disciplines:

Auspex

Heightened Senses: The vampire’s senses sharpen to a preternatural degree, giving them the ability to see in pitch darkness, hear ultrasonic frequencies and smell the fear of cowering prey.

Premonition: The vampire experiences flashes of insight. These may take the form of raised hackles, sudden inspiration or even vivid visions. While never too precise, these visions can nudge the vampire out of harm’s way or reveal a truth previously overlooked.

Scry the Soul: By focusing on a person, the vampire can perceive the state of that person’s psyche as a shifting aura of colors. Auras reveal little precise information, but do provide clues regarding many subjects, e.g., emotional state, Resonance, and supernatural traits.

Dementation:

Passion: Increase the current emotionally intensity of a target. Anger becomes toxic rage. Love becomes obsession. Sadness becomes depression. Etc.

The Haunting:[/i] Plants small bits of insanity in a victim, burdening them with haunting visions and unrest. This power can be cured with magic and can be resisted by older vampires. Due to Archie's own affliction, this manifests in paranoid thoughts.

Eyes of Chaos (Requires Auspex): By combining the power of second sight with the vampire's natural insanity, the Kindred can see patterns in seemingly chaotic elements, often knowing things that simply can't be known. The visions often come out in riddles, or poems. The Malkavian's brain sometimes struggles to know what it is telling itself.

Confusion: This ability allows the Kindred to leave a target in a state of confusion, similar to hypnosis. A mind wipe, trance and defensive technique all in one.