#versatilevamp

“One morning, we woke up in an alley. To the smell of urine, alcohol, trash and gasoline, with a dim sense of a notion, we’d held something in our hands, that was bigger than us or God, and we can never touch again.”

— Last Song, Jason Webley

Breaking the art block with another member of the Auld Reekie coterie, Gellart. One of few surviving members of the Thames Tunnel Nosferatu who fell to the Second Inquisition in London, he drove up to Edinburgh with his torpored sire in the boot of his car, a trusty spade, and a name to find: Hollis, the Malkavian.

Style studies are a lot more fun when smashing your favourite video game property (disco Elysium) with you and your friend’s OCs. Gellart belongs to @suddenlyshouting

“In the tower above the earth, there is a view that reaches far, where we see the universe, I see the fire, I see the end.”

—The Seers Tower, Sufjan Stevens

Restarted our Auld Reekie VtM Campaign after a three year torpor, which means bringing Hollis the Malkavian detective (my first ever VtM OC) back to (un)life. Revisiting their design with the iconic Disco Elysium art style felt appropriate, as this “Omen of Doom” clocks back in for business.

“Have another taste, it will go away, Just a little shame, all it's gonna take”

— Salivate, Sir Chloe

Time to meet the next member of the restarted Auld Reekie coterie, Tessa the (definitely not being haunted by a somehow present reflection) Lasombra. I’m sure it’s got nothing to do with her recent near diablerie of her ventrue ex girlfriend…Keeping with the Disco Elysium style because it makes my brain go brrr.

Marble head of a Salubri, believed to be Lepidus, childe of Tamar. Records indicate his siring coincided with the Battle of Bagradas River/The Battle of Tunis, where he served as Praefectus Castrorum under Marcus Atilius Regulus, Consul of the Roman Republic (255 BC).

Markings indicate the bust was likely a work by the Apollonian lineage of the Bulldancers (now known as Toreador), possibly by the hand of Felix Apollonius himself. What happened to the nose remains subject to speculation.

———

Lepidus was created by me, to play in @suddenlyshouting Ancient Nights Campaign (set in Ancient Rome, around the time of the second Punic War).

Brooch with Intaglio of a Toreador, believed to be Ophelia Mikhaelous (Also called “The Dawn of the Danube” and “Muse of Pleasure”), childe of Petronius and grandchilder of Michael. Records indicate her siring took place in the late 910s-early 920s, with scholars agreeing it happened around Romanus I Lecapenus’ usurpation and appointment as co-emperor. Ophelia was known to have been instrumental in introducing Zoe Carbonosina to Emperor Leo the Wise, and had been a close presence in the young Constantine VII’s life. It is widely agreed that her removal would’ve been a necessary component in Romanus’ plans.

Etchings on the reverse of the brooch indicate it to have been a gift to Taltos Keszi Zselyke, a member of House Obertus, and clan Tzimisce. Historians believe the two women to have been “close friends,” although the sheer haul of artefacts preserved that the two gifted to one another may suggest a less orthodox interpretation of their relationship. Many of these artefacts bear the craftsmark of a “Rhododaktylos,” which translates to “Rose-Fingered.” Little else is known about the woman who bore this epithet, but none deny the skill in her work, with this piece notable for the glow of sunlight that seems to be captured in the setting.

—-

Ophelia was created by me, to play in @8megabyte Ancient Nights Campaign (set in Constantinople — featuring our characters as ghouls for the first two decades of the 10th Century, and then continuing to play them as vampires after this point). Zselyke belongs to @suddenlyshouting and Rhododaktylos to @perseiis

The only remarkable thing about you, Miss Kingston, is that you can tell the time.

In focus: Aubree Kingston* (She/Her) | True Brujah | (Reluctant) Seneschal of the Court of Auld Reekie

“I'm a snake, you're a snake, just like a spitting image / Fate, how's it taste? It's your own medicine / Make no mistakes, got 2020 vision /If I see your face, don't think I'm forgiving”

— Snakes, PVRIS & MIYAVI, Arcane Soundtrack.

🎨: VtM OC Hollis (They/Them) of Clan Malkavian. Nickname: The Martyr.

📚Lore Drop: A former detective who survived being “disposed of” by Camarilla ghouls for discovering vampires, Hollis was found and brought back by a Malkavian nearby. They’ve spent their unlife learning that justice is rarely to be found in those institutions claiming to uphold it.

— Teenagers, MCR.

It’s us. We’re the teenagers. And we’re fucked.

Edinburgh Modern Nights Coterie sketching (clockwise starting top left)

- Ms Aubree Kingston, True Brujah. The Keeper. (She/Her)

- Tia, Tzmisce. Sabbat Defector. (Tia)

- Hollis, Malkavian. The Judge. (They/She)