Evening of November 1st, About A Day After The New Travelers Showed Up

[thornsofmalkav]

Uh, hey. I've got a few things I need to talk to people about, that I've mostly been waiting on until we got a new shift of liminal space so I could share them with all the newbies and returning Travelers too. Uh, I'm Thorne, by the way, if you haven't met me before. Sorry if this gets to be long

Anyway, some of the shit I want to talk about is kinda heavy, so we'll start this out with a rage comic I made with an app on my phone to balance that.

[The voice switches to the viewpoint of someone looking down at a phone screen, in which the follow rage comic has been constructed on:]



[About ten seconds later, the sensory livestreaming switches off and everyone's back to voice.]

Okay. Now the heavy stuff. A lot of you guys know already that the woman I was Infiltrating as during the last Jaunt, Chouko, was killed the fourth week by an inexplicably insectile cyborg known as the Mantis. I came back as an Investigator and ended up 'haunting' my murderer.

What most of you don't know is that Chouko left a corpse behind, which Herr Doktor Blitzkopf found. He replaced her heart with a clockwork one, then used the lightning of the storms to reanimate her body, ala Frankenstein and his monster.

I didn't go back to being Chouko at this time, although she certainly did come back to life. I know, I met her when she came home to the embassy, where I was taking care of her brother, Min.

The people we Infiltrate as, our overlays... they have lives outside of us. Unless there's a Blitzkopf around, when we die as them, they stay dead.

[There's a short silence as Thorne lets that sink in for everyone.]

Uh, next thing! So, there's a secret I've been keeping from everyone, but my spirit animal, Selene, has been going around all doppelgangered and telling people anyway and I figured that if I made this announcement I could control how people found out.

So. Uh. I'm a vampire.

What this basically means is that I'm a talking, thinking, animate dead person. Well, undead person. Technically double-dead person. I got killed again after I got turned into a vampire.

I have to drink blood to survive, but you guys don't have to worry about that because I've already made arrangements with some people already to be regular blood donors and there's enough of them that nobody's should have to do it so often that it make them anemic or anything.

There's a lot of details about my condition, which I don't want to bore people with, but basically it's annoying but manageable. And so far as I know, I'm the only one of my kind here. [If you consider her kind to be Malkavians and now wodpires in general.] I guess you could say I'm a monster, but I'm honestly trying not to act like one.

And, uh, I just wanted to say to any other dead people here, if you need someone to talk to privately about it, I'm here.

Which brings me to the last thing I wanted to tell you guys about! As far as I can tell by the calendars people can agree on, it's gonna be November 2nd tomorrow. I'm gonna hold a Day of the Dead thing at Leo's and, like, build an altar in his yard and stuff and have food. People are welcome to come, living as well as dead.

Uh. That's all, I guess.

Comments

[protect_and_serve]

Tell me about the Day of the Dead.

[thornsofmalkav]

Oh! Uh, it's a holiday from back in Mexico, where my grandparents come from, that we celebrated out in California where I grew up too. It's about honoring the dead? Like, you build little altars where you put their pictures on and a little bit of the food you made and then you have a sort of little party where people eat and drink and share nice memories of the departed. You're really supposed to do it in the cemetery by their graves, but since we don't have one, I figured anywhere's good.

[wickedestwitch]

Being different doesn't make you a monster.

[thornsofmalkav]

Oh! Uh, I know that, really. I wasn't saying I was a monster because I'm different. It's because of some of the vampire stuff I didn't want to bore people with. Like, uh, traditionally we don't ask for volunteers on the blood thing, even though I've been doing that recently.

[comebewe]

Shouldn't someone look angry in a rage comic? And why are there ducks?

[he should, probably, be asking about something more important. But honestly he's not sure how to process that deluge of information yet. Also, they really want to know about the ducks]

[thornsofmalkav]

It's called a rage comic due to the art style? The original rage comics had a lot more angry people in it.

And the ducks are there to represent the Trumps. I picked them for that purpose because we needed something and, well...

Okay, so there's this famous reality show guy named Donald Trump in my world? And there's also a famous cartoon duck named Donald Duck. And the rage comic builder had these Dolan and Friends images. Dolan's like a parody of Donald Duck. So it felt appropriate to personify the Trumps as Dolan.

[HER MIND WORKS IN MYSTERIOUS WAYS.]

[doitforhim]

Oh! Is it weird to be dead? OhmygoshI'msorry I didn't mean to-- I'm still getting used to this.

[ she mentally clears her throat ]

What I meant to say is that it must be really difficult to deal with a condition that impacts your life so dramatically! If there's anything I can do to help, please let me know. My mom is a doctor, so I know a fair amount of basic medical information!

[thornsofmalkav]

Thanks, Connie! I'll be okay, though. I've been dealing with it for a year. Just as long as you don't try to stake me and leave me out in the sun, I'm fine.

And don't like expose me to any surprise fires either. They freak me out and then I get dangerous. If I look like I'm freaking out, run the hell away, all right? And, like, call for Hajime so he can come in and subdue me. He's like a karate bugman guy and they're tough enough to deal with me.

Oh, and, uh, being dead's kinda weird, but you get used to it.

[creativefool]

[The comic to the head's got Kanji flailing for a moment-] What the hell's- is that meant to be us?

[He takes a moment to take the information she's giving in, though. He'd always kind of felt like that, ever since the Grid... but she's definitely got a whole new perspective on the situation.

And ... well. Some things suddenly make a bit more sense.] Was kinda worried that you were sick or something. Glad you've ... got things sorted out? Uh. [Is that the way to put it? Damn.]

What's the 'day'f the dead'?

[thornsofmalkav]

Sort of. It's meant to be a silly thing to make people laugh, but it's just confused them.

[She sounds rueful about that.]

Day of the Dead is a Mexican holiday where you honor people who've passed on. It's supposed to be a nice, fun thing. There's like special food you eat for it too. Like sugar skulls.

[shiroganeheir]

... what is so angry about that comic?

[thornsofmalkav]

It's not itself angry, but it's done in the style of some very angry comics called 'rage comics.' So rage by association.

[timelessinventor]

As a general note to everyone, I had a very interesting conversation with one of our hosts while we were back in Nova Venecia. I will speak privately to anyone who wishes to know this information, however, considering the general tone of everyone's interactions with each other lately, I will not be sharing it publicly, as it is of a very personal nature to some.

Also, Thorne, darling, Mr. Stoker would have been very intrigued to meet you.

[Public -> Private]

[thornsofmalkav]

You knew Bram Stoker too? Holy crap, what famous Victorian author guys didn't you know?

[She's just going with the idea that your buddy Oscar was Wilde, okay. And now to switch to private.]

And yeah, sure, tell me whenever. I'm usually hanging around Leo's workshop when I can. Actually, I'm there right now. Just look for the dead girl in the Morticia dress.

[Locked down private]

[itsananimalthing]

Got a locked line here. What'd you get? Shit the Trumps say is usually pretty imporant.

[howexciting]

I would very much like to hear it, madonna.

[chalicejoker]

Wait. She survived that?

[thornsofmalkav]

You mean you killing her? No. That's the whole point. You're the reason she had to get the clockwork heart and Blitzkopf had to Frankenstein her back to life.

[awitchdidit]

[The...comic strip? Scribbling? suddenly appearing in her mind's eye takes Beato by surprise, but fortunately it grabs enough for her to pay close attention to all that intriguing information Thorne is sharing. Still, though, she's going to address things in order.]

Kyahaha, I guessed right when we met! You are an artist.

...although, seriously, what is that?

[thornsofmalkav]

Rage comic. And yeah, I know it's not angry. It's a left-over name from the original comics done it that style that were super angry.

[professorwolf]

I've known a handful of vampires in my time. I'm Randolph Lyall, from both modern New Jersey and Victorian England. It's complicated, but at least I recognize that comic style.

More pertinently, I'm also a werewolf, but my kind of werewolf is technically undead, as well. I rather vividly remember dying to become one. So you're not alone in that.

It's good to meet you.

[thornsofmalkav]

Oh thank FUCK. Sorry, dude, but if I'd known I'd have to do so much explaining about rage comics, I wouldn't have made... no, that's not true. I'd have still had made it. Just, I might not have shown everyone.

Anyway, good to meet you too! Do you know Hajime? He's from Jersey too. Maybe not the same Jersey. Anyway, uh, nice to have another undead bro around.

[runawaystory]

Wait, wait, overlays? Haunting? How did that happen?

[thornsofmalkav]

I think overlays is what some people call the guys we infiltrate as?

Uh. Mine had a sort of a Past with Hajime's guy, the Mantis, so he attacked her and stabbed her to death. I went Investigator like we normally do when we die when Infiltrated and woke up in Liminal.

Meanwhile, this mad scientist guy found her corpse and resurrected her. Without me in there with her.

I, uh, was busy sneaking into the Mantis' hotel room and scaring the shit out of him at the time.

[amadine]

Did you honestly think they didn't exist outside of our forays into living their lives?

[thornsofmalkav]

Nope. I didn't. But there are people here who did. Like, uh, the two gods. Fishface and Persephone. Actually, Persephone still thinks they're fake even though I told her. Uh. Which is her prerogative, even if I think she's wrong.

[seventhbullet]

So that's what that's about. [Darkness, it does a body...something, for sure.]

She's not making this up, for what that's worth. Dollface was sitting up and chatting while she was still talking from liminal.

[thornsofmalkav]

Yep. That's what that's about. I guessed you noticed something? Zed did with his weird darkness sniffing shit.

[wholeheaded]

...oh, gracious Gliinda, I think I left a bigger mess on Nibiru than I first thought.

[thornsofmalkav]

... uh. Did something happen, dude?

[sombercomedienne]

I'll keep the overlay thing in mind I guess. I haven't actually had a chance to go through with all that yet? But thanks for the info, better to have it as soon as possible.

I'll probably stop by your Dead Party if you don't mind, that sounds kind of cool.

[thornsofmalkav]

Yeah! It's always good to have a little idea of the shit you're going to get into.

Also, totally come to the party, dude. It's for anyone who wants to come, really. And hey, you've got a thirty percent chance of being in the dead club, anyway.

[mysunnydisposition]

[ There's the impression of a soft sigh before she starts speaking. ]

Cass already told me about the infiltrator thing. Thanks for waiting a little while so I could hear it from her. I think I was happier when I didn't know this, but... I'm glad I do now.

[ Yeah, she's thinking about Glory and Leviathan again, and sick with guilt over all of it. That's never going to go away, is it? ]

We've got to get better at looking out for each other.

[thornsofmalkav]

We do. And... it's no problem, really. I was kind of putting it off anyway.