Sephira's Story Ideas (Vampire plus a few others)

[Sephira]

(It may be helpful if you read my O/O first, here: https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=296726.0.)

Immortality is Slavery, a Vampire: the Masquerade one-on-one story



The Regent approaches his supplicant. Her eyes are downcast and if she still had the heart of a human inside of her, she would be shaking. But she knows that he expects more from her, and that if she were to show weakness he might think twice about whether she was worth his time or more suited for an visit with the sun. She nervously looks into his eyes, knowing that with every taste of his blood, who she was starts to slip away. There was already the first drink, that heavy rush of life mixed with death that stole her humanity away and left something gnawing in its place. The second drink followed soon after, when she had dared to pay visit to her sister against his wishes and with that she felt herself collapsing into him. And with this third drink, she knew… There would be nothing of herself left. Only him and his desires.

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What I propose is a one-on-one story set in the world of Vampire: the Masquerade. We can either use the 20th Anniversary Edition or the recently released 5th Edition, whichever is more to your liking. My wish is that you play my character's sire, who early on in the story will establish a blood bond. Depending on what you might like, we could start the story before my character is embraced, and we could play out the subtle dance that would ensue as your character is judging my character suitable for eternal life, or we can just start at that third drink that solidifies the blood bond.

We would be playing Camarilla vampires, preferably of one of the following clans: Lasombra, Toreador, Ventrue, or possibly more intellectual Brujah. If we are playing with the V20 metaplot and we want to play Lasombra (my preference because they are my favourite clan) we would be Lasombra Antitribu. But as of V5 upcoming release of Chicago by Night, the Lasombra have defected from the Sabbat to the Camarilla. That said, that book is not out yet, and the clan isn't yet playable in V5, so we might wish to use the V20 system even if we want to use the V5 metaplot.

Now, plenty of Vampire players have the tendency to see the Camarilla as the "good guys" of the setting. I disagree with this. I am personally of the opinion that the only vampire who isn't a monster is the one walking the path of Golconda, whatever that may be, and who turns away from the Jyhad. That won't be us, we will be monsters and I need a partner who is willing to push themselves to some dark places. That doesn't mean we will glorify depravity per se, but even in the Camarilla we do not find humanity. At best we find a grotesque caricature of humanity.

I don't have any hard conceptions about your character or my own, I think we should build them together so that they are perfectly compatible. I'm willing to give you what you want if you can give me what I want. Broad strokes, I want your character to be dominant, sadistic, and refined.

I personally believe one on one games work the best when one of the players is acting as the storyteller. The storyteller mediates the rules, plays the NPCs, calls for dice rolls when they are necessary. Especially with a game like Vampire, there needs to be a world larger than our two characters. It would be my preference that you acted as storyteller, but it would depend. Whichever character will have more agency in the story, and it would most likely be your character because my character will be blood bound to them, the other player should act as storyteller. So it might be better if I was the storyteller. We can also take turns, perhaps telling the story in a series of chapters, where the focus is on your character for one chapter and my character for the next and we trade turns, keeping true to the nature of the NPCs that were previously developed. I think that could be a fun way of doing it and sharing the responsibility for world building.

I want the game to be highly political and dark, typical of how I see the Camarilla working the best as a setting. And yes, I want it to be smutty. I don't buy that vampires become completely asexual and only engage in sex to feed, because sex is ultimately about power and vampires are ALL ABOUT power. With the nature of the blood bond very clearly being one of Master/slave, I am looking for a partner that enjoys themes of dominance and submission, sadism and masochism, and all that good stuff. If you are at all familiar with the Terre D'Ange series of novels by Jacqueline Carey that is sort of the tonal mix I'm looking for, something where sex is intrinsic and essential to the narrative, but that is found within an overarching political story.

"This sounds really cool, but I've never played Masquerade." If that's the case, it might be better if my character is actually your character's sire. I would still wish my character to eventually be bound to yours, which would be a little bit more difficult to plot but not impossible, but it would be better if I could introduce you to the setting through in world exposition. So if you are really enthusiastic about the idea but feel unfamiliar with the setting, do let me know of your interest. It's possible we can make it work if you are willing to learn the setting. That said, if you wish to play my character's sire, it is my expectation that you are familiar with at least the third edition of Masquerade (V20 is basically the third edition collected into a giant book, with a few little changes and further supplements).

The city is always so important to a good Vampire game. If I'm going to be doing the bulk of the storytelling, I would prefer to use a city I am very familiar with. The nearest city to me that would be appropriate for a Vampire game would be Toronto Ontario, Canada. But if you have significant knowledge of another appropriate city, I am willing to consider other options.

Now, for my partner specifically. I don't care if you are a man or a woman, and I don't care if your character is a man or a woman (though I prefer that they be cisgendered). Whatever you want to play is fine, as long as you can play it well. And I have had very satisfying experiences with both male and female partners. My hope is that you enjoy writing like I do and are capable of producing posts that are eloquent and more than a few sentences long. It's not important that you post a novel every time, and I usually adjust the length of my posts in relation to what my partner prefers, but ultimately I want our back-and-forth to read like a collaborative novel. So I want to keep it third person omniscient, use consistent punctuation and such.

I have a job that involves deadlines. I am on one right now in fact, but it is also flexible and leaves me a lot of time to play. I certainly don't expect my partner to play every waking hour or even every day, but I hope we can figure out a reasonable schedule that keeps things moving forward. And I'm hoping to find a partner who will be very committed to the story. If we need to take breaks because life is hectic, that's perfectly understandable and doable, but I want us to play this for a long while. Vampires are immortal creatures that time can't touch, it wouldn't be very satisfying if we only glimpsed at a moment of their unlives.

All that said, if you think I would make a good partner for you and you would make a good partner for me, send me a message! If more than one person applies, I apologize in advance to the people I don't select, but I may be opening up possibilities for other games in the future. Check out the snippets below, and let me know if anything catches your interest!

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The New PSW: You will play a young 20 something physically disabled man who still lives at home with his wealthy parents. You have muscular dystrophy, or something similar, that leaves you unable to do much of anything on your own (you can still use one hand somewhat, but you can't move your arm on your own). You are still a virgin, and you are depressed, feeling absolutely emasculated by having your mother and hired help look after you. I will play a new personal support worker hired by your parents to care for you. My character will quickly begin to empathize with you, and if she begins to notice signs that you want her, she will cautiously egg you on. Over time, she will be very willing to do absolutely anything you say, allowing you to feel in control for the first time in your life. Heavy on themes of dominance and submission, and disability and depression. TAKEN!

The Sins of Her Father: I will play a troubled 30 something woman who was sexually abused by her father in her youth. This will be made clear, but it won't be described in any specific detail. She returns to her hometown when her mother passes away, and she gets pulled back into the orbit of her 60 something father, who you would be playing. This will be a very delicate story and requires a partner committed to telling a very moving and traumatic story. Incest and molestation WILL NOT be glorified, we will see the damage they do. And any sexual encounters shown in the story will happen in the present, and carry the appropriate moral gravity.

The Neighbour: I will play a former victim of human trafficking who managed to escape her oppressors and make a life for herself. She taught herself English, worked multiple low-paying jobs, and was eventually able to become a legal secretary. At the law firm she was hired by, she meets her husband, a dashing and debonair gentleman who was able to provide her with a and secure life. But she never told him about her past, afraid that he would be disgusted by what she was made to do. Then, after a period of newlywed bliss, a new neighbour moves in (played by you). This neighbour knows everything about her past, and is threatening to tell her husband. Unless… she doesn't mind using her old skills at the neighbour's pleasure. Themes of blackmail, dominance and submission. The neighbour can be male or female, and feel free to get creative (but still realistic) with your depravity in this story.

Anything Star Trek! Maybe I play a female Q who has become obsessed with your Federation Captain. Maybe we play two ensigns who fall in love while competing for the same job. There are a lot of different possibilities. Obviously, I would need a partner familiar with Star Trek. TAKEN!