app: duplicity
Apr. 22nd, 2019 11:28 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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Name: Kal Age: 21+ Contact: PM Timezone: EST Other Character(s): Neria Surana (Dragon Age) |
Name: The Fledgling (Ava) Door: DOOR PASS - Submissive Canon: Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines Canon Point: Just after fighting the werewolf in The Enemy of My Enemy, which is a main quest. Age: 27 Appearance: Image, commission for me. Tall (5'8) with blond hair, bright blue eyes that glow almost sea-green. Thin, unblemished besides the huge claw marks on her side which will heal over the course of the first few nights she's in game. History: Plot, Main Quests, and Side Quests. Additional info can be found from another wiki here. The elevator pitch: Ava was a normal young woman who was claimed and sired by a Tremere vampire (basically blood mages). This was against current Camarilla law as he did not ask for permission. Her sire was executed in front of the current clutch of Camarilla associates but a timely intervention by Nines Rodriguez, a notable Anarch, stayed the hand of the Prince, Sebastian LaCroix, before he had Ava murdered too. LaCroix made it clear Ava owed him and so used her as a pawn to get his shit accomplished. If she failed, it wouldn't matter, as it would be one less headache for him. Ava was briefly given a crash course in vampirism by Smiling Jack, another Anarch, and sent on her way. The story revolves around the power play of vampire forces in the area and Ava being thrust into their midst with no sire, no real backing by a Clan, and the decisions she makes during this time. The overarching plot follows as a mysterious sarcophagus comes in on a ship that several Kindred become suspicious of, as they believe it is an antediluvian ancestor. The coffin is transferred to a museum and then stolen by the Nosferatu Clan who are being cornered and blackmailed by the Kuei-Jin, an Asian vampire clan. Vampire hunters have also stolen into the area and are keen to dog the vampires until they are eradicated. There is a plague among the humans in the Downtown that needs to be dealt with. The Sabbat run rampant with a Tzmisce at the helm, a horrible vampire clan that twists bone and skin, and liken themselves to the antithesis of the Camarilla. Ava mistakenly makes a woman her Ghoul to save her life; the woman is murdered by the Tzmisce in retaliation for Ava's continued dogged pursuit of them. She eventually murders their leader, Andrei. Nines Rodriguez is spotted at the site of the Malkavian primogen's (leader) house, Grout. Inside, Grout is found chained, staked, and dead; vampire hunters burn down the mansion in an effort to kill Grout and Ava. On reporting this, LaCroix, seemingly reluctant, calls a Blood Hunt on Nines. Ava is sent into vampire hunter territory to save an archaeologist who might understand the sarcophagus better and into Chinatown to take back the sarcophagus. Ava discovers that the Kuei-jin leader pretended to be Nines Rodriguez to create a rift between the Camarilla and the Anarchs. In actuality, LaCroix made a deal with the Kuei-Jin leader who used magic to look like Nines to fool Ava into being a patsy. With the sarcophagus stolen back from the Kuei-Jin, LaCroix promises to call off the Hunt and sends Ava to tell Nines that he is free to return. Nines, who has hidden himself in the mountains in werewolf country, calls the bluff as he sees it - that LaCroix set them both up to die. A werewolf tears into Nines and they both tumble off the mountain; Ava faces another werewolf alone and is seriously injured when she kills it. She briefly reunites with Smiling Jack who confirms LaCroix's treachery and ushers her into a cab (with a mysterious driver - likened to be Cain, father of vampires) so he can take her to safety. This is where she will be coming from, though she has the opportunity to side with all available factions (Camarilla, Anarch, or none!) or LaCroix. Personality: Ava's story is pretty simple from the outset: good girl turned vampire who has to live with the consequences. But that's boring, right? - Distrusting (& Fearful) Ava's life is rife with betrayals, disconnection, and few allies. Thrust into the world of the unknown, there are very few people she can trust to have her back, and when they do, most often this is driven by selfishness or survival. Most of the individuals Ava encounters are cruel, paranoid, secluded, and set in their ways. Even the Anarchs, who somewhat inviting to her, have their own way of doing things and will treat her unkindly if they believe she is doing what LaCroix wants despite her not having many options to the contrary. As the game grows darker, as the stakes heighten, danger lurks everywhere. Ava's distrust of others - or, better, her lack of surprise when someone ends up being dangerous or an enemy or someone who will betray her - shows up frequently. Some of this is born of her fear that she does not wish to break the Masquerade; some of it is born from an actual lack of trust in people who are capable of hurting her. The result of Ava's transformation into a vampire - a coercive and deceptive act that's changed her life forever - and the resulting fallout among the Kindred, not to mention the execution of her sire, made her fearful of the world around her and the power at play. What was typical and normal has been turned upside-down, and she spends at least half of the game being terrified of what's going on and the things that go bump in the night. Her distrust plays into this; because she cannot trust anyone, everyone is a threat, and no one is safe. - Aloof Despite Ava's deep desire to connect with people and to not be alone (more importantly, to have someone to trust), she spends much of the game just being an errand girl. She doesn't make friends with any of the people she meets (and she is even told from an oracular thinblood vampire that the only people she can trust are "the man on the sofa" and "the lone wolf") because of her deep distrust, because of the interweaving politics of vampire society, and because no one's really ready to trust the new girl anyway. But even when it comes to the humans she interacts with, whether she helps them or not, she puts up a distance between them. Some of it is because she's a monster and because people are, effectively, food. Some of it is fear and distrust. Some of it is simply because she hasn't hit her stride in interacting with people again as a vampire. It comes across as a subtle sort of awkwardness, pushing people away, trying to keep a spacial distance from them. It also can make her come across as a bit uncaring, as she's more focused on the task at hand than making friends. But even in her aloofness, she's desperate for some kind of connection. Ava becomes trapped in tightrope walk of uncertainty around what feels best and what will work for her. - Ruthlessness / Vengeful Whether by circumstance, a wish for control, or out of vengeance and anger, Ava is prone to violence. Some of it comes from an innate desire to protect herself and punish others who may hurt her. As Ava falls down the path of a vampire, she grows more and more accustomed to the grisly, horrible life that has been laid out for her, and the entire game really is a test of one's capability in combat. Most fledgling vampires would probably do their damnedest to keep to their sires and learn to control themselves first. Ava's circumstances thrust her right into the middle of various conflicts between monsters, hunters, warring factions, and deranged vampires. While coming into her newfound life with barely any combat knowledge (she took, like, a few martial arts classes as a kid), she comes out of it with decent knowledge around melee combat, hand-to-hand, and firearms. Besides that, though, she has unlocked Thaumaturgy, and she revels in the power it gives her...and how easily she can tear into her enemies. She is powerful now; she can keep herself safe. No one can be trusted; everyone will hurt her. By the end of the game, the entire final level is a Kill Bill-esque path of destruction through LaCroix's tower, killing all in her path and feeling very little, if anything at all. Some of that is, clearly, vengeful behavior - punishing LaCroix for his betrayal - but some of it, too, is straight viciousness. It is a time when she's fed completely into her vampiric nature - and even given in to the Beast, though it really can just be seen as self-defense. After all, LaCroix wouldn't have ever let her go. So why should she give him any scrap of decency he denied her? - Envious As someone becomes a vampire, they become other, distant and no longer finding much enjoyment in the normal, every day things humans love. The process of becoming a vampire means death, after all, and that's essentially what has happened. Ava is dead. The girl she was is gone. And so she looks on humans with envy, these people who have happier lives, free, ignorant of the terrors in the dark and the hardships she'd gone through or the utter horror of her transformation. And when she is not envious of humans, she is envious of the stronger, more powerful vampires in Los Angeles. They have influence, they have safety, they have respect from their community. She is a woman, essentially, trapped between two worlds and not fitting into either, not yet. It leaves her greatly unhappy and incredibly lost as an individual, unable to find solace wherever she may go. This feeds into her aloofness and her distrust and further fuels her loneliness. Her envy, coupled with her growing vengeful nature, comes to a head when her world is continuously turned upside down and she loses her patience with the backstabbing vampire world around her. +/- Humane / Inhumanity Ava has only recently become undead. Because of this, she still thinks and acts in a very human manner. Her Embrace has left her traumatized, afraid, distant; she craves affection and connection; she oftentimes still feels like human concerns are things to be respected and noted. She saves Heather, a dying human, even if she doesn't know her and doesn't know what to do. She's even violating hospital policy by being back there! She does favors for other thinbloods, often gaining Humanity points as she continues to do good things, normal things any other human would do. But slowly, her humanity (as in, her ability to connect and empathize with humans) begins to ebb away in favor of larger, more complicated issues among the Kindred. And as Ava begins to feed more and more on humans and less on blood bags (usually because of the sheer amount of combat in the game), humans are stuffed into categories like 'innocent', 'enemy', and 'food'. She's only been a vampire for 11-12 days (give or take) but her experiences have already pushed her to have to do violent, terrible things for the sake of survival, often having to put her humanity aside. That isn't to say humans aren't important. Ava takes the idea that humans are (mostly) innocent people who need to be kept safe very seriously. She takes the Masquerade and its codes equally seriously, wanting to keep humans safe from ever knowing that horrors in the night exist. It's just a difficult line to balance with. After all, she's always hungry, and humans are everywhere. +/- Diplomatic / Manipulative Ava has a lot of points in Persuade and she also has high points in Dominate, meaning she can basically skirt her way around things. She's very good at playing the part of the peace-keeper, the liaison, helpful hand...which is good because she spends literally 95% of the game being bullied into doing errands for the factions, helping people complete their quests, fixing problems, and trying to smooth things over for the Camarilla and the Anarchs. To that end, she's had to quickly learn the art of diplomacy and manipulation. And while she isn't perfect at it, she does have the power behind her (Dominate) to back that up. Mostly, Ava comes across as innocent and innocuous enough that she doesn't really seem the manipulative type. Really, she's just more of a people pleaser, wanting everyone to be happy so they stop dogpiling on her. But that doesn't mean she hasn't tried to bend people in the past and it certainly doesn't mean she hasn't taken private enjoyment in doing so. It usually gets her more money, gets her some nice items, keeps people alive, and allows her to pass by trouble. And every time she succeeds, the more she feels like she can keep doing it. She gets bolder, gets a bit of a thrill out of it. And it's a skill like any other, which makes her want to get better... +/- Driven for growth at any cost ...no matter what it takes. Tremere are known for their drive to better themselves, to continuously experiment, to rise to new heights. Ava's really no different. She wants to practice and get better at what she is, to explore the unknown. On a surface level, this is because she wants to survive. But deeper is the innate pleasure at just being stronger. She is in a unique position now to learn the hobbies she's wanted to learn; she can read any book she wishes; she can improve her abilities, her blood magic, and she can become proficient at most anything she might want to. The insatiable quest for knowledge and for the unknown is typical for her clan...and the Tremere are ruthless in their thirst for enlightenment. After all, the Tremere diablerized an Elder vampire for their own needs even before they, themselves, were vampires. There are no limits to where they will go to in order to get what they want. Ava is no different. Compelled by the blood, by a desire to protect herself, and a hunger for knowledge, she aligns herself briefly with Pisha to obtain unknown artifacts from her. She frequently purchases strange curios for this reason. She steals artifacts, old books, and devours the knowledge she finds. She indulges before she shares, wanting to improve herself first, and then will pass on what she has to give. + Compassionate Ava is still kind beneath it all. She genuinely wants to help people, in part to keep the peace and because she's still a nice person. She feels for the people who are affected by the touch of the supernatural and the horrors they encounter. After all, she'd been terribly harmed by her Embrace and everything that has come after. But she has a soft spot for people and wants to make people happy. As said before, she takes her role as someone to protect the innocent very highly, and frequently wishes to do right by others. Part of it coincides, blessedly, with the Masquerade and what it means to keep the identities of the Kindred safe while also being fair. When a thinblood accidentally reveals the truth about Kindred life, she does what she can to mitigate damage while also keeping the thinblood vampire safe; she tries to protect Heather in her home and saves her life; she goes on errands that will help people despite knowing it will cost her time and effort. While her compassion does not ebb over time, she starts to have less patience as her humanity slowly dries up. She does her best to still keep her heart in the right place but it will begin to be more and more difficult as time goes on. + Intelligent/Curious/Insightful Tremere are known not only for their experimentation but also their forthright knowledge and intelligence. Ava was chosen not only for her interest in the occult but in her ability to discern information, to investigate thoroughly, to experiment with her findings, and to come to logical conclusions. She has a history/art history dual major and has worked extensively with theology. She has several points in Investigation and Research. She knows a great deal about mythology and takes notice of things in the world that can further add to her pool of knowledge and understanding. Frequently, she talks at length with other vampires about their experience sand their understanding of the world because she wants to better herself and because she wants to satisfy an innate curiosity into what she is and where the Kindred have come from, so she can satiate herself in this undeath she is living in. While not a politician, she has a head for understanding politics among the Kindred and in discerning what people mean. When Strauss, the Tremere primogen, discusses being loyal to "clan and Camarilla", she pointedly asks if he means that "in that order". She's quick on the uptake and digests information quickly. Part of this is about survival but mostly, she's just a smart cookie when it comes to getting her bearings about a situation. + Survivor / Adaptable At the end of the day, Ava's core is that of a survivor. She has endured traumatizing experiences, horrors unimaginable, and all within these 11-12 days of life after her Embrace. She's grown to see she can weather just about any danger and any storm, no matter what happens, but what might become of her - her sanity, her Humanity, her strength - is what is frequently nebulous in nature. Ava finds she is often clinging resolutely to the pieces of herself that she knows are true and cannot be changed even while the rest of the world shifts beneath her like sand. Even through conflicts that appear impossible or too horrifying, she can channel herself to hold out and to push through to stay alive. Losing her life once has made her rather fiercely protective of what she has now, even if it's still quite terrible. Powers and Abilities: Almost all vampires in the Vampire: The Masquerade world have a few of the same set skills upon being Embraced and experiencing their first feed. These attributes are detailed here, as well as weaknesses, but I'll bullet point and detail each.Heightened Strength and Speed: The games show off many vampires being incredibly strong and agile, much more so than humans. Smiling Jack says it's possible for a vampire to outrun a train or lift up a car with ease. The larger and more powerful the vampire, or if they come from specific clans that have Disciplines of Fortitude, the stronger they are. The Fledgling, as a Tremere, does not get any bonuses to strength. While much more physically powerful than a human, in vampire terms, she's a bit above average, and only because she's gone through so much and has become more powerful on her own. Strengths/Weaknesses: + Heightened strength and speed |
