Cassidy takes polaroids in character and I'm going to try to do one each session.
He did not prepare Mark for this photo, instead just telling him to stay in the water. I love them. Thank you again @oopsalltremere for running this game for me.
(1 with blush of life [or when he gets to higher humanity hopefully] and 2 without)
i made mark's body ref for art fight! body hair is impossible to make look good. whatever.
you are always free to draw him fatter but do not draw him skinnier <3 yayy
(you're also free to add more body hair lol )
will make a much closer up version for his face once i find a good enough starting ref... and then i will compile together and actually put on artfight
My very first OC, he is very important to me. Information under the cut! OH MY GOD IT GOT REALLY LONG IM SORRY.
The briefest synopsis I can manage (and oh my god am I skipping so much):
Mark Vela was born on January 8, 1969 to a mechanic and a Sunday School teacher in Kalamazoo, Michigan. He eventually gained a passion for history, moved to Detroit (escaping homophobic parents) and successfully pursued a Doctorate in Roman History. Though he was only ever able to land an adjunct position, things were going pretty well - he had his own apartment, a boyfriend, a few friends, and general stability. It was 1997. And then some monster decided he needed a new pawn to spy on his enemies.
His then-boyfriend, Sampson, was ghouled and used to spy on Mark, giving information to his future domitor before he was to be embraced. In the fall of 1999, Mark got fed up with Sampson's suspicious behavior and so followed Sampson after work one night, and found him getting his blood drained by a vampire.
When Mark regained consciousness, it was New Year's Eve. He was already dead, with over a month of time missing. He was introduced to the Camarilla, and to the vampire who claimed to be his sire, Julius. Welcome to the year 2000, Mark.
To keep a very, very, long story short, he had a very stressful introduction to unlife in Detroit, including witnessing a coup in the court, infiltrating the Sabbat, war with the Sabbat, and dealing with the fallout of accidentally ghouling Sampson (that is its whole own story), yet managed to find the will to attempt to escape Julius despite the blood bond.
While Mark did make true progress in his goals of freedom, he was helped along secretly by Julius's centuries-old rival Gaius, whose plans for Julius's downfall were fast approaching. In short, Mark's rebellion was just a small part of Gaius's plan to take down Julius once and for all.
Gaius succeeded; and therefore Mark did too. In 2001, free of his blood bond to Julius, Mark was free to continue managing the territory he had gained in his service to Julius, pursue his own wants, and he also managed to land himself a boyfriend, a much older Tremere named Cassidy, who deserves his own post.
For a time Mark remained in the Detroit Camarilla, but disaster did happen around 2004; Mark never knew the details, but out of character some Pentex/Wyrm/Traditions/Technocracy stuff. Meant for a mage chronicle, not a vampire one! In that incident the Detroit chantry was destroyed, Cassidy lost his home, and the pair escaped Detroit and moved out to Halifax Canada.
Cassidy did reveal his ambitions to Mark-Golconda. After spending some time recovering from all that occurred in Detroit, Cassidy made contact with someone who promised more info about Golconda in 2011, and so the two return to the USA.
Mark doesn't actively seek Golconda as ardently as Cassidy does, but he will. His story is still being written.
Touchstones and important characters related to him:
TOUCHSTONE: Sampson Renault: His boyfriend, then ex, then ghoul shortly after Mark's embrace (on accident!) While he helped Mark try to escape Julius, their relationship was never the same after Mark admitted that he had killed someone. He left to get as far away from vampires as he could after Julius's death. ST says he currently runs a bed and breakfast in Oregon. GOOD FOR HIM. Even though Mark thinks of him often, Sampson will never contact him again.
Conviction: To remain human, I have to be able to let go.
Here's some art.
TOUCHSTONE: Dr. Armatto: His Thesis advisor, beloved teacher, father figure. Unfortunately now believes Mark is dead.
Conviction: Knowledge should be collected and kept safe, as because of it, humanity will continue to grow and improve.
TOUCHSTONE: Kenny: His first boyfriend/first love, now he's kind of an asshole but they try to stay in contact occasionally. Very openly gay despite the time period. Mark has a soft fond spot for him despite everything.
Conviction: True love is real.
Important character: JP: Unknown to both of them, he's Mark's actual sire. They think of each other like brothers; their actual relationship is very deep. He essentially had Mark's position before repeated failures caused Julius to lock him up and no longer allow him to work independently. Julius sent him to assist Mark. The two plotted to escape Julius together. Via Tremere shenanigans they have both been inside each other's head. Between that and the shared trauma, they're as close as two people can be. He wants to be a marine biologist now that he escaped Julius.
Important character: Cassidy: Cassidy met Mark as a fellow Tremere in Detroit. Cassidy has been around for about 150 years and is clinging to humanity, seeking Golconda in secret. He assisted Mark in his very dangerous research of escaping blood bonds in exchange for Mark helping him track down a Salubri. The two found a shared love of movies and a rare friend and the relationship deepened from there. The tension was left unspoken and unremarked until after Mark escaped Julius. Then they soon started dating officially. Mark helped him go back to humanity 7 instead of 6 because Cassidy had been very out of touch with humanity. Yayyy. :)
Art here
Attributes:
Strength (*) You can easily crush a beer can.
Mark has never worked out a day in his life.
Dexterity (**) Your sprint is solid, and sometimes you appear graceful.
Stamina (**) You can take a beating, but consider suing for peace.
Charisma (**) Generally likeable despite your undead nature, you may even have friends.
Manipulation (**)Your ability to deceive surpasses the will of the weakwilled and simple-minded.
Composure (***)Others look to you for guidance when the blood spatter hits the fan.
Intelligence (***)You are enlightened, able to piece together clues without difficulty.
Wits (***) You can analyze a situation and quickly work out the best escape route.
Resolve (****) You can brute-force your way to a deduction past any obstacles.
Skills:
Athletics (*) Purchased after his death. Mark gained this experience due to unfortunately being put in Situations. He did not care about going to the gym in life, and he came to regret it.
Streetwise (*)
Subterfuge (*) Learned by necessity after his death.
Stealth (*) Another one learned by necessity - Mark's predator type is Sandman.
Insight (*) Saw through his college student's bullshit first, and now other kindred
Firearms (**) One of his exs was into guns, and he kept the habit up for awhile. Serves him well in his unlife.
Technology (**) Mark attempted to stay ahead of the curve in life in regards to technology for his research and it keeps him up-to-date now that he's dead.
Persuasion (**) Gay Charisma [he doesn't have much but its there, ok].
Occult (**) Mark researched Roman occultism for his doctorate - and now he's a Tremere. Funny how that works out.
Leadership (***) He keeps his cool and people can tell - and he's used to teaching large groups. This is a skill he isn't even super aware tha the has. But he's a damn good teacher.
Awareness (Specialty: Instinct) (***) Mark is a paranoid motherfucker. You can probably guess why.
Drive (***) He street raced in high school! This is his only Cool Trait.
Academics (Specialty: Roman History) (****) (Mark was good at what he did, and this talent hasn't left him in his unlife. He still has his passion for history.
Disciplines:
Blood sorcery ***
Corrosive Vitae
[Homebrew] Bloodstrike - Learned as a gift from Julius for serving him well. Now serves Mark well since Julius is dead.
+A bunch of rituals
Auspex **
Sense the Unseen
Heightened Senses
Dominate *
Cloud Memory
@dykeferatu made this sprite for me and i thought it was important you saw it. yes you. consider it a reward for scrolling this far. ILY.
Random facts:
Knows Latin
Is autistic; was not intended to be so but ended up that way and it makes sense. whoops
If you don't draw him fat what are you even doingggg
Wears a green sweater vest very very often
And even when he doesn't usually dresses academically
Has no need for his glasses but he wears them cause he thinks he looks better with them and he's attached. Has horribly dark circles.
Has a really really stupid cat named Bartholomew. So stupid that the cat doesn't fear him. We love Bartholomew.
Has met a mage, a demon, and a changeling over the course of his chronicle. He has also encountered a werewolf.
Seeking more Mark content? Me too. See below:
General tag!
Art tag!
Silly posts tag!
Pinterist!
Spotify playlist!
Longer writing- his journal which will hopefully eventually detail his full chronicle!
