#halim bey

[witchscience-draw]

Halim Bey from our London by Night VtM campaign. This setite bastard!

[badass-at-fandoming]

Happy VtM FangFest24!

Despite my current level of Busy, I really wanted to meet @fuckyeahlabynight's Fang Fest challenge! Tarot is such a fun idea. 😁 Earlier this month, I ran a poll on what to draw, and "portraits of different canon characters" won by landslide. Here's the first half! As a further treat, I paired each character with a flower whose meaning brought out more elements of their character and card. All flower meanings are from A Victorian Flower Dictionary by Mandy Kirkby. Find it on Indiebound here.

If you'd like to squeak in entries for this challenge, check out the kick off post here! I babble more about my character & flower choices below the cut.

Day 1 - Ramona as the Fool - Daisies double down on the "Innocence" theme of The Fool. From the Clan Novels to her appearance in LA by Night, Ramona goes on a wild journey which attempts to break her. Against all odds, she survives and comes out stronger, choosing kindness, art, and whimsy in LA by Night instead of brooding over the shitstorm she was forced through. It's like, at first Ramona was innocent, then she chooses the innocent happiness of small joys. Yeah, she'll do what she needs to survive—but she doesn't let the experience overtake who she chooses to be.

Day 2 - Ambrosio Luis Moncado as The Magician - HEAR ME OUT. He's the Magician Upright and Reversed. Moncado has plans upon plans. They succeed much more often than not, but Moncado also gets in his own way sometimes. The flowers are geraniums. The pencil thin leaves convey ingenuity—yes, Embracing Lucita was a good, unexpected idea—but red geraniums indicate stupidity. Maybe if he drank more respect women juice, she would return his calls.

Day 3 - Ming Xiao as the High Priestess - In her mortal and immortal roles, Ming Xiao acts as an advisor and knowledge keeper for her communities. She also has a terrible habit of withdrawing and not sharing tidbits. Maidenhair fern seemed a perfect fit: it references the feminine and it conveys a sense of secrecy.

Day 4 - Emma Blake as the Empress - I think Emma Blake deserves nice things and barely got the chance to stand on her own. Her "flower" is actually wheat. Emma is essential to the The Victorian Trilogy, just like wheat is a building block of civilization. The narrative wants to grind her down and devour her, like the violence done to wheat to make bread. Wheat is a staple—but for the gluten intolerant it's a poison. There's also the association with Ceres, the mother who, in her rage and sorrow, created winter over her stolen child. I'm like, really happy with this pairing, can you tell

Day 5 - Baron Samedi as The Emperor - What a fun dude. Though he's not always a good father/sire, Baron Samedi takes care of his clan, even at the risk of his own life. The leaves in his pocket are sorrel, which stands for parental affection.

Day 6 - Hesha Ruhadze as The Hierophant - Hesha's story is all wrapped up with faith and spiritual institutions: either following their precepts or secretly defying them for a greater good. Why is he naked you ask? the monocle stays ON during sex Ignore that. Look at the passionflower. Look up a picture of a passionflower. It stands for faith and looks like an alien.

Day 7 - Ilias cel Frumos and Sascha Vykos as The Lovers - This choice was very obvious, haha. Without Ilias, Vykos' life is full of disharmony, arguments, and hatred. United, they blossom. The flowers above them are lilies of the valley for "return of happiness." The drawing is a redraw of this picrew

Day 8 - Karsh as The Chariot - Just like chamomile ("energy in adversity"), Karsh does not quit! Cut him down; he returns stronger! In v5 Modern Nights, I think Karsh would be conflicted over his position in the Camarilla, and the Chariot brings out that tension. B. Dave Walters performed a fantastic Karsh in LA by Night, and I used his outfit and picture from We're Alive: Frontier as an artistic reference.

Day 9 - Halim Bey as Strength - Halim is a gentleman, through and through. He gently persuades, deftly handles his British customers, practices compassion gracefully, and endures like one million billion microaggressions without snapping. That takes strength. The dahlias are for dignity, which he has in spades. The decolonization comment came from me wondering how he feels about the British monarchy these nights. Like how Hesha is wrapped up with faith, Halim is wrapped up in colonization.

Day 10 - Aristotle de Laurent as The Hermit - This one was easy. Since he finished The Book of Nod, Aristotle seems to be quite content puttering around his collection and directing Lucita, Anatole, and Beckett to dig sites. He was The Hermit Upright. With their associations in mythology, queerness, and loneliness, hyacinths seemed a good pick. The purple shades add in the message "please forgive me," which reference his and Beckett's falling out. When he betrayed Beckett, Aristotle's Hermit card Reversed.

Day 11 - Beckett as The Wheel of Fortune - This card fit the (un)lucky Cuthbert "Gehenna is a cycle" Beckett so well! Aristotle and Beckett's portraits mirror each other, because I wanted to tease out their potential for reconciliation. I've drawn Beckett before, but this one came out looking younger and softer to me, which calls back to Beckett's neonate days. The two chrysanthemums symbolize truth (i.e. his constant goal) in British culture. In China, chrysanthemums are, among other things, symbols of the queer male community. Cause, yanno, they kind of look like buttholes. 😅😂 I had to do it do 'em okay

[badass-at-fandoming]

To celebrate finishing Beckett's Diary and writing a massive review of it, please behold this updated list of people Beckett has made moon eyes at:

unnamed mortal woman in a field

unknown series of men

unknown series of women

Anatole

Lucita de Aragon

Carna

Halim Bey

Emma Blake

Mary Elizabeth Coleridge

Hesha Ruhadze

Jan Pieterzoon

Okulos

Dracula

Ecaterina the Wise

Hazimel the Rakshasa

Serenna the White

Ambrogino Giovanni

Ilias cel Frumos

Sascha Vykos

Caine

He's so close to all 13 Clans, friends. Just need a Toreador, Banu Haqim, and fellow Gangrel.

[badass-at-fandoming]

I feel my blog hasn’t given the mlm aspect of Beckett’s queerness due homage lately, so have a lightly citrus-flavored Halim Bey/Mr. Beckett relationship concept.

Halim has a great love for the romance of history and historical scholarship. He’s passionate about Egypt, her people, her past, and her future. He has a great spiritual love for and devotion to Set and Kemintiri, and a fond brotherly love for his fellow Followers. But as far as romance romance and sex, he’s asexual and aromantic.

He runs his little antiquities shop in London and sells to English high society during the day and vampire society during the night, with the help of his ghouls. He gets a reputation for being able to find anything a customer wants: the stranger the request, the better.

There isn’t a Mummy in the sub-basement that he has to feed once a month. Those colonial soldiers just decided to die on their own. Shh.

He carefully chose a white man to ghoul and that ghoul’s assignment is to Deal With The Racist White People (and that’s canon, baby!)

The shop has a garden in the back. The ghouls take care of it, but Halim feels a certain sense of calm peace looking at the little vegetables and flowers.

He met Beckett in 1884. Beckett was looking for a place to earth meld for the day and saw this nice tiny garden. Come night, out pops a Gangrel to the complete surprise of the Setite having his evening blood tea

They stare at each other for a full minute in shock.

“Good evening.” “Good evening. My name is Halim Bey and I’m flattered that you chose my garden for safety during the day sleep. But you have me at a disadvantage. Your name is...?” “My name is Beckett. So sorry about the flowers.”

Halim despises what British people have done to his country, but he doesn’t take that out on its ordinary citizens, necessarily. Not in an immediate way at least. Like all good Setites, he knows revenge is best served cold.

He would jump at the chance to raid the British Museum and return colonialist kidnapped keepsakes back to their home country

Beckett is like “No, no, I agree with you. How about Saturday next?”

It’s a date

Whenever Beckett is in England, he stops in to say hello to Halim

They are unbearably nerdy together. Halim shows Beckett all the latest pieces he’s acquired; Beckett tells him of his various adventures. When Beckett is going to be in town for a while, they plan another museum heist date.

Halim acts like Beckett is just another valued customer, and Beckett plays at being a discerning buyer.

Halim Bey’s famous manners never falter. He is polished, prepared, and precise. He equal parts fears and admires Beckett’s strength (mental and physical). Only someone who knew him well could discern the fondness he has for Beckett. Probably the most he can like someone who isn’t a Setite

After God knows how long on the road with no one but himself, Beckett is overjoyed to talk with an intellectual equal and fellow historian.

Halim recognizes the sparkle of scholarship in Beckett’s eye, but there’s this one gleam that comes to the Gangrel that he doesn’t recognize. His own eyes don’t do that.

He starts experimenting. He brushes Beckett’s hand with his own. He offers Beckett blood from his own stock, free of charge. He bumps shoulders. These gestures make Beckett stutter, stiffen, or act distracted. His cat eyes widen.

Experiment Phase 1 ends, and Phase 2 begins when he kisses Beckett.

Beckett is very enthusiastic.

Halim Bey has a room ready for this, because of course he does. He literally takes notes. What does Beckett do when the ropes are this tight? When I tie him to the bedposts versus up on the wall? On a wheel? If I apply this much pressure, how much does he give?

Halim explains that he doesn’t want any blood exchange or relationship beyond their current friendship. But Beckett can come to him whenever he wants to get Fucked Up.

Halim grows a love of wringing every drop of pleasure out of Beckett.

[badass-at-fandoming]

Fellas, is it queer to almost frenzy when you hear your boyfriend friend who is a boy is missing and you're calmed by a gentle hand on the cheek

From VTM - The Victorian Trilogy - The Wounded King, pages 161-163

First Meeting - Vienna Rescue - First Proper Conversation - Flirting

After reading this section, you bet I had to stop and re-read and bask in the subtleties.

[badass-at-fandoming]

Sometimes, brains are dumb. Sometimes, brains tell you that you need to screenshot every cute Beckett/Emma scene, because what if someone steals it??

From The Victorian Trilogy: A Morbid Initiation pages 8 to 14, here’s Beckett and Emma’s first meeting. The rest is under the cut.

I think these are clear enough images that y’all don’t need a separate image ID, but if you’d like one, message me and I can type it up.

TW for self-harm, weapons, blood, nudity, genitals, murder, and death

Apologies for the repeat sentences here:

Cuthbert “she was long past any compassion that might linger” Beckett later eats his words, don’t worry, haha.

There’s a few pages of Beckett falling on top of Emma (lol!), dealing Fahd a seemingly mortal blow, and murdering al-Beshi for creep crimes.

What a way to meet your future partner, am I right?? After this, Beckett takes out his sketchbook and begins sketching the hieroglyphs. He’s all pleased until he’s interrupted by a group of British soldiers led by Lord Blake, Emma’s husband. Thinking Beckett is the one who kidnapped/seduced away his wife, Lord Blake shoots him. Mentally bemoaning that he hasn’t finished drawing, Beckett runs off into the night.

What a nerd.

[badass-at-fandoming]

Are you ready for more Morbid Initiation snarky summary!!!!!

Previous here.

Chapters 9-14

Beckett: Halim, I need to leave London ASAP

Halim Bey, a well-respected member of the Camarilla who also has Seen Some Shit: I take it you did not find the book you were looking for?

Beckett: Excuse you, I’m a professional. Of course I got the book!

Halim: then why--

Beckett:

Halim:

Beckett:

Halim: Mr. Beckett, did you do a Naughty

~

Halim, I shit you not, stuffs renowned Gangrel scholar Cuthbert Beckett into a Punishment Cabinet to think about what he’s done.

~

By “Punishment Cabinet,” I mean a literal cabinet, which is then packed up and mailed to Lisbon so Beckett can angrily drink blood tea and get a lore dump about a lady with a void for a head. Something something Kemintiri. The author actually cuts away from the lore dump and I’m sad about it. :(

~

MEANWHILE, BACK WITH BLAKES

Edward Bainbridge: hi, my name is Ed and I can do something no one else can

Wallig: and what is that?

Bainbridge: I’m going to creep out the creepiest dude in the World of Darkness.

Wallig: wh

Bainbridge: This is Wollig, the Tremere Regent. He’s the Regent of the Lion’s Green Chantry, which is a pulsing magical heart of the British Empire, upon which the sun never rises and British Kindred rule the night. Wallig is the scholar among scholars, dripping uncanny magical spark that others only have nightmares of.

Wallig: ...thank you?

Bainbridge, with his Food Merit: [sips tea]

Wallig: holy fuc--what the shit, oh my goD

~

Uh, Malcom Seward joins a secret society of imperialist white dudes who secretly rule the Empire???? Their secret is that they’re competent at military strategy.

~

Regina: Dad, I know I’m teenager and therefore have little experience of the world, but what’s going on is Not Normal and I think we should talk about our feelings, air out our grief, and maybe scale back on the heavy drinking and Uber Goth phase you seem to be going through.

Colonel Blake, a grown ass man: no.

~

Emma, literally breaking out of the Tremere Chantry and risking torture to visit him: Babe, I love you and need you to Get Your Shit Together for our daughter.

Colonel Blake, still a grown ass man: no.

~

Badass Alert: Regina breaks into Elysium

~

Badass Alert: baby Theo Bell!!!! He’s so cute!!!!! His sire, Don Cerro de Leon, is a bit of a tosser because he keeps showing off Theo like a shiny object, but, uh, it also sounds like he’s excessively proud of his childe and wants Theo to make all the right connections to become an Archon later? Very double bladed “hey, have you met my son who is handsome and intelligent and good and murdered several slaveholders with his bare hands.”

~

Badass Alert: Juliet Parr is a genderqueer Sheriff and I love her. (though TW for suicidal idealation because White Wolf cannot write non-ableist Malkavians)

~

Badass Alert:

Victoria, in most ominous, spooky Goth tones: now, to be your guide and patron in this secret night society, we must make a solemn oath...in blood.

Victoria:

Regina:

Victoria:

Regina:

Victoria:

Regina: all right. [takes hat pin, stabs her own finger, drops some blood in the glass, and downs it in one swig]

Me: holy shit, I love her.

[badass-at-fandoming]

In some minds, these might count as spoilers, but if you know VTM lore, Emma's family history has been apparent since book 1. Also, Beckett worries for Hesha and dives into danger for his, Emma's, and answers' sake.

From VTM - The Victorian Trilogy - The Wounded King, pages 195-199

First Meeting - Vienna Rescue - First Proper Conversation - Flirting - Shelter - Bestial Converstions in the Dark

The rest is under the cut. TW for period typical racism