Art fight piece for the lovely Noa! Belonging to the incredibly talented @crownedinmarigolds!!! Finally finished this one I've been noodling on for so long hahahaha
Here is my entry for the Masquerade Breach zine!! I have been hitting that word limit like a brick wall for the past month, and I am too excited to keep it to myself! My piece is titled Hell-O-Ween! A Masquerade Breach Story because we like cheesy horror in this house. Thank you for reading!
It’s the late 1980s in Las Vegas, Nythanel, and Noa are attending a Halloween party being put on by Don Jacob Rothstein. Held in a mansion in the desert far away from the city, so the more illicit activities don't fall under unwanted scrutiny, and only those in the know are supposed to be there. One person slipped past security, an ancient enemy of the Giovanni whose true motives are unknown, but their eyes are set on Noa tonight. What can a neonate necromancer and waterblooded sorcerer do when things really start to go bump in the night?
The green makeup of his Audrey Two costume hid the redness but Nythanel still felt the warmth of embarrassment and anger on his face. Fighting back tears he side stepped between costumed guests, tray toting servers, and did his best to fight the urge to bull them over as he went back to the ballroom. Don Jacob Rothstein's Halloween party was in full swing. The dance floor was lively, the bar was packed, and the live band seemed like they could go all night long.
He wanted to make his problem everyone else’s problem but held onto his senses, making a scene at the head of Clan Giovanni’s party wouldn’t make his night better. Noa’s bright red hooded dress and silver devil mask were easy to spot, but seeing her didn’t bring the ease to his mind he wanted. A tall figure in an elaborate red Venetian masquerade costume with a matching laughing mask loomed over her, holding her wrist.
The party-goers near them shuffled away and gawked. No doubt they thought some crass couple brought their backroom fun to the front. A wall of bodies formed to watch, but over their shoulders Nyth could see another masked person grab Noa from behind. Nythanel shoved over a woman in a peacock dress and jammed his elbows into the sides of two clowns to get through.
Noa struggled to get out of their grasp, but Red Mask jerked her arm the other direction. The snap was audible over the music, a pained scream erupted from Noa, a jagged peak shot up from under the sleeve of her dress. The crowd around them gasped, some retched, some clapped for what they thought was some Halloween entertainment, some quickly fled, others watched on unsure what to make of the display.
Nythanel burst free of the crowd and charged them, seeing that the second assailant's costume was also Venetian - though far less elaborate and the color beige. Red Mask noticed his approach and abandoned Noa with a leap backward as Nythanel slammed into the tussle, bringing them all down to the floor hard. Noa’s silver mask clattered to the ground while Beige’s mask was knocked askew but stayed on their face. The thin fabric of their costume tore as Nythanel gathered a fistful of it and pulled, the other fist delivering a hard blow to the back of their head, forcing them to surrender Noa in order to defend themselves.
The surrounding crowd was now comprised mostly of individuals thinking this was simply a show for the party. Some clapped, some cheered for who they picked as their favorite, while a few pulled their partners away.
Moving with trained agility, Nythanel threw his leg over Beige, pushing them onto their back, gaining control of the situation. Flesh exposed itself, the torn collar of the costume revealing their throat. Nythanel gazed at the sight for a moment. He had no Beast. There was no voice demanding he feed, no inner monster begging to kill. This desire was all his. He opened wide and lurched forward, his fangs breaking skin. Any scream to come was cut short by the crushing of their windpipe beneath teeth. Fresh warm blood cascaded into his mouth. Mortal, musky, the sting of alcohol, and a wine-like sweet finish. Sanguine he thought to himself as it empowered his own weak vitae.
Nythanel didn’t see where the sawed-off shotgun came from, nor notice how Beige was able to pull the concealed weapon, he only heard the deafening bang that brought him back to reality. A shower of blood and bone poured from a bystander’s face. Screams of terror erupted from the crowd, they slammed into each other in their mad scramble, going toward the back of the manor to get away from the no longer entertaining brawl. The band abruptly stopped, the gunshot ending the revelry. Not wanting to risk Noa or himself being the target of the next round he twisted and wrenched, flesh and inner tissue tore until he ripped free the section of throat seized by his vicious teeth.
More yells of fearful confusion came from the guests, the handful of them brave or drunk enough to think they could stop a gunman turned and ran as Nythanel spit the chunk of meat onto the floor. Suddenly, he felt pressure build in his ear drums, his heart became heavy with dread despite the flood of passion from the blood. He'd felt this before, when Noa had shown off her necromantic powers in their rare moments of being able to be alone together since arriving in Las Vegas. Nythanel had thought he’d become accustomed to it, or at least shouldn’t be caught off guard by it. Still it numbed the hot anger and hatred he felt. A curtain of wispy, incorporeal figures began to fall from the ceiling. They manifested into the material world like shadows cast into the air itself as they drank in the light, only allowing a dim glow to illuminate the room. Recognizably human, yet completely otherworldly. One such shadow fell over the victim of the beige thug’s gunshot. The body began to twitch and jerk, a sickening gurgle came out of its throat as the air pushed out of its lungs. Nythanel reeled back from the corpse shambling back to its feet, and turned to see Red Mask holding a black stone.
Noa moved to stand, and for a moment she was awestruck at the blatant display of Oblivion's power. Her already dark eyes turned black like a starless night. She wiped her palm across Nythanel’s chin, wetting her hand with the blood of his victim. Willing forth her vitae through the protruding wound in her arm, she let it drip down and mix with the cooling blood before taking hold of the locket around her neck. The air around her became humid and cold. A shiver went through Nythanel as he felt an icy touch trace his spine. The rose on his lapel wilted, and the few mortals that tried running past them collapsed, their eyes went dull, skin turned pale. Sapped of life. She waved her hand out in front of her and took measured steps forward, like a priest performing a sanctifying prayer, and the wispy shadows began to retreat.
The sound of wet choking reminded Nyth of the reanimated corpse, and as his head turned back, he saw it rush past him. His body at first couldn't move as a deep and primal terror seized him. It was walking death, but not his kind of death. True death, the kind even the undead feared. He didn't want to go near that thing, but as it closed the distance between itself and Noa, he knew he had to act or he would lose her. Grabbing hold of his dying lapel rose, he squeezed hard along its thorny stem to draw blood, calling upon the sanguine power within him. He mumbled the incantation and the rose revived in his hand, more vibrant than ever.
Nythanel willed the rejuvenated plant to grow, attempting to whip it towards the corpse to stop it in its tracks. With perhaps more luck than skill, the branch wrapped around the creature's throat, barbs digging into dead flesh. Nyth pulled hard, managing to stop it mere inches from Noa, yet the body remained upright as it struggled to fulfill its goal of reaching her.
Noa didn’t waver at all, either completely confident Nythanel would help her, or far too focused on taking control of the descending wraiths.The room was a thunderous cacophony of horrified cries and screams of dismay, the shattering of glass on the ground, the panicked stampeding of a mob with no direction to go in. Those who had witnessed Nythanel's attack and the arisen corpse tried to run away, but those who hadn't seen pushed back to try and reach the front exit. Spirits accosted various bystanders, forcing themselves into unwilling bodies to inflict more fear onto those surrounding them. Poltergeists scattered plates and knocked over chairs, some managing to even drop a large chandelier on top of the crowd. In the confusion, they didn't care who was trampled. The guests desperately lashed out at anything impeding their own escapes. Jewelry, costume accessories, blood, and bodies all dropped to the floor and were stomped on without a second thought. The wraiths were erratic, but Noa fought, countering the incantations of Red Mask as the shadows ebbed and flowed around them like a turbulent ocean. To an unknowing observer, the two appeared to be simply standing in place and muttering strangely, but Nythanel knew they both were manipulating the thin fabric separating the land of death from the land of the living.
The rose Nythanel turned into a weapon was also being sapped of its life and desperately it drank from him to stay alive. He shifted his weight and pulled as hard as he could to try and bring the corpse to the ground. There was little hope in killing something that was already dead. He forced his will onto the rose once more, allowing it to drink even more of his vitae. It expanded rapidly in response, sprouting more branches that ensnared the body and sawed into its skin with mutated spikes. Despite it being controlled by a spirit, it was still limited to the strength of the muscles it still possessed, or so Noa had previously explained. The writhing and wriggling vines continued to tear, severing the veins and nerves and rendering the wretched thing immobile for good.
His vision started to blur, his head swimming as his vitae was near exhausted. The rose had taken root in his arm and now it threatened to drink him dry. With nearly all he had left, he willed the passing of seasons on the flower, advancing its life cycle to the point it began to wither and decay until it too became immobile and dead.
The two necromancers were still locked in their strange duel, fighting for control of the spirit current that flooded the manor. Nythanel knew he had to help Noa, something better than running headfirst into a death dealer but his options were limited. His eyes went to the floor for answers, and sure enough there was: shotgun. Hurriedly he picked it up and aimed, hoping it had the promised second shot, though the room spun in his hungry near-delirium. With a squeeze of the trigger the weapon thundered, sending its payload into the shoulder of the Red Mask. Crimson exploded from their wound as they stumbled back, their concentration breaking enough for Noa to gain the upper hand. Her good arm raised higher, and the undulating ceiling seemed to calm as the wraiths obeyed her. The shadow over the ballroom lifted slowly as she brought them to heel.
The Red Mask despite all of the trouble and their fresh injury seemed to have accepted their defeat. With only a glance to Noa and a dramatic throw of their cape, a cold silence surrounded them as they simply walked away. Despite the chaos of the still frightened crowd, they were swallowed within the mob as if they had not even been there. Nythanel at first made a move to follow, but stopped himself as Noa began to buckle. Good riddance, he thought sheepishly as he turned to her, relieved the death dealer decided to just leave. She was more important to him, anyway.
As the full brightness of the lights returned and the pressure lifted from his ears, the distinct sound of Italian leather stomped across the floor towards them from behind. A ham-handed man took hold of his collar and jerked him into the air, the shotgun crashing loudly onto the marble.
"You're gonna wish you were fuckin' dead when I'm through with you, Warlock." Growled Adolfo Puttanesca, right hand of the Don.
VTM Fangfest 2026 - Day Two - "It seemed like a good idea at the time."
"I am no mother, I am no bride."
Noa Vincenza Hidalgo-Giovanni was so close to attaining her dream: becoming a Kindred. But when she had to flee to America, the local Giovanni who adopted her thought her better suited for the role of wife to a prominent Puttanesca son... potentially pushing her dreams decades away, if she even got to live that long. She refused, using Nythanel's guidance on how to perform rituals with "weaker blood" to show off to the Family that she was absolutely NECESSARY, even as a mortal. It worked, but it sapped so much that she was left on Death's Door. If the Giovanni wanted her to use her power and talent to serve them, they would have to Embrace her. It seemed like a good idea at the time.
Day two of VTM Fangfest!! Thank you @fuckyeahlabynight for hosting it. Not pictured are a bunch of old Giovanni blustering about trying to get permission to have her Embraced before she's dead! (Las Vegas here is lacking in powerful Necromancers that can just Ferryman Recall whoever they want.)
Bred for Greatness - Necromancer Prodigy - Giovanni // Hecata
Basics: (as of 2025)
~ Name: Noa Vincenza Hidalgo-Giovanni
~ Birthplace: Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico.
~ Birthday: September 7th, 1955
~ Pronouns: She/Her
Vampirism:
~ Embraced: September 7th, 1985 - Las Vegas, Nevada
~ Clan: Giovanni, known in modern nights as a part of clan Hecata
~ Sire: Gianna Giovanni (Maiden Great-Aunt)
~ Generation: 8th
~ Predator Type: Bagger
~ Hunting and Feeding Methods: Due to the Lamia curse within her for being a part of clan Giovanni, Noa does not feed directly from mortals. Most of what she drinks is drained from the kine through a myriad of different ways by someone else and is given to her, usually in a nice cup. She does long for the intimacy of the bite, but she is way too aware of the dangers that someone of her stature could face if her victim were to actively fight back. Not to mention the clean up if the venom takes complete hold.
Disciplines: Necromancy ••••• | Dominate •••• | Potence •
Necromancy Paths: Sepulchre Path | Path of Woe | Corpse in the Monster
Note: Noa has access to many rituals and has created her own over her comparatively brief time as a Kindred. She also has access to a Harbinger of Skull memoir which has granted her access to some of their more private paths. Noa is also a natural medium, even before Embrace, and has always been aware of the dead and the sudario.
Appearance:
(art by: @kavalyera, @neonjess, @its-sixxers!)
Height: 5'3" (160 cm)
Build: Very petite, no curves. Despite having been Embraced on her thirtieth birthday, Noa was ghouled as soon as she could've been at eighteen.
Hair: Long black curls with long bangs - Embraced with 80s hair but thankfully her bangs weren't too bad off!
Other Features: Her eyes are pitch black, often not reflective of light. Completely black when casting her necromantic magic. Her fingers are delicate and long, her fingernails always pristine. Her lips are always a vivid red due to her sanctifying kiss - they are permanently sheened in vitae.
Piercings: Standard single earlobe piercing, usually wearing a matching earring set with her best friend.
Style: Noa dresses like a cream-puff princess. She is a girl who grew up in the late-seventies/early-eighties and carries that nostalgic style with her. She dresses very conservatively, not wearing anything very low cut or showing off much of her legs and arms. Her favorite color is pink, though she will occasionally dip into white or a light brown/beige if she feels like it. She likes tall heels as well. Her accessories are gold when she wears them, and when she does they're normally delicate and thin.
Personality:
Noa Vincenza Hidalgo-Giovanni takes herself and what she does very seriously. Born and raised within a Giovanni household where it was no secret what her Father was and what she was destined to become, Noa values vampirism greatly. She also believes fiercely in the family unit and loyalty above all things - even if it can be detrimental. To an extent. If she loves you, Noa forgives all mistakes if they are made in good faith, and she will protect you and love you until the end of days... but if you keep intentionally mucking things up and stepping on toes and disrespecting her, you're going to get iced then fettered to something embarrassing. It is a promise though, once loved by her you always will be. Eternity is not a joke for a necromancer.
Noa is silent and stoic for the most part, keen on watching and listening rather than throwing around her weight. She is confident immensely in her abilities but she's learned from watching that speaking too loudly and brandishing a big stick makes you look foolish and paints a target on your back. She believes heavily in not underestimating other people - the consequences could be dire. Look at everyone who has disrespected her because she was physically small and clad in pink. No, she will always respect the person sat across from her at the meeting table... unless they prove otherwise of course.
Her hands are always busy, whether through thumbing through books, practicing her craft, or embroidery. Noa is certainly a product of her era, and perhaps due to the Embrace she may never fully leave it. She dresses conservatively to keep the wolves at bay, somewhat afraid of being perceived as sexually available. If one approaches her with a lusty gaze and a wolfish grin, she immediately will not accept any form of advancement... such quick flames die fast and she isn't one for a short fling.
Despite her very feminine appearance, Noa detests the nuclear family ideology. She loves family and togetherness, but cannot stomach being forced into motherhood and subservient marriage. It was very common to hear "you shouldn't be Embraced yet, you have your whole life ahead of you!" when the implied life is "giving everything for your children."
Personality Traits: Confident, Silent, Respectful, Honest, Observant
Mannerisms: Busies hands with needlework when not working actively on something else, doesn't make full eye-contact with Kindred due to knowledge of Dominate, does not shake hands, will not waste words, she has been watched her whole life and never appears to relax.
Likes: NYTHANEL! Embroidery, the color pink, her loved ones, roses, romantic novels, the violin, the sound of the ocean, driving, the insides of pomegranates, fulfilling her destiny as a necromancy prodigy.
Dislikes: Self-loathing Kindred, disrespect, overly sexual advances towards her, touchscreen devices, people who are immediately hostile despite having no prior engagement.
Biggest Fears: Being alone, losing everyone she loves to Death and never being able to find them again, Death itself.
Greatest Desires: To be together forever, to be with people who mean it when they say it.
Relationships:
Vincento Hidalgo-Giovanni | Giovanni | Relationship: Father, Former Dormitor - Noa's father, mother, and two of her brothers were killed in a drive-by shooting during a family outing, leaving only her and her eldest brother alive. However, despite having watched him die, her father came walking through their door a couple days later. Hobbling on a cane, paler than they remembered, but "alive" all the same. Noa thought this was a miracle, and devoted herself to staying with her dad to never lose him again. When she became old enough, he revealed to her his vampirism, and began teaching her the ways of the clan. He already thought his son was a lost cause, but his daughter would listen and had the talent. He was a cold and violent father to her brother, but he was much kinder in his own way to her, and she loved him deeply. He was to be her Sire when the time came, however when the Sabbat attacked their family home during her Embrace party, she lost him seemingly forever when the necromancers took his soul.
Joaquin Alvarro Hidalgo-Giovanni | Human | Brother - The relationship between them is complicated. They were the only two survivors of the shooting that killed their family, and he vowed to always protect her. However, whether it is due to a curse, the blood, normal issues that could affect anyone - their devotion to the other twisted into something else. Joaquin would do anything for Noa - except be happy with her being a vampire. He hates the supernatural and wishes it were gone for good - but he could never hurt her. Disrespect her in front of her allies, not want to drink her vitae and be bound together forever, yes he will do all that - but he would always love her beyond himself.
Nythanel Glenn Loken | Thinblood | Relationship: Soul-mate/Best Friend/Lavender Husband - Her greatest friend, the other half to her soul. The Persephone to her Hades, the thorns to her rose, the sun to her moon. Two vines born apart but forever intertwined. Nyth the Thinblood and her met before her Embrace as he was the ghoul for the local Tremere contact at the time, and they hit it off and have been friends ever since. It wasn't always the strong connection it was now, it grew like a garden due to their tending to the other. They've been together from the start of their journeys as Kindred, and they will have Final Death together when the time comes. She views him absolutely on a pedestal - his lifelike visage, his warm expressions and personality, he appears to be her every opposite in terms of physicality - and she thinks that is so interesting and wonderful. If anyone hurts her Nyth, they will never know peace. Forever.
(Nythanel belongs to @thesixthplaneteer!)
Gianna Giovanni | Giovanni | Relationship: Maiden Great-Aunt, Sire - Noa has fought the patriarchal structure of the family her entire life, her Father seemingly her only advocate... and her Great-Aunt Gianna - though of course she was Embraced while physically in her prime. She was one of the first female Kindred Noa had ever met, and she took a shine to little Noa and advocated originally to be her Sire, but somehow Father managed to convince the Elders that she should remain a HIDALGO, not a main Branch Giovanni. However, as fate would have it, when Noa had to escape Mexico without having been Embraced, Gianna had her chance to Embrace her truly when the situations in Las Vegas were reaching their zenith. She is a somewhat hands-off sire, though she does have plans and money-moves in mind whenever she gives Noa a call....
Harrakhty Hamdi and Parvati | Followers of Set | Relationship: Business Associates
Kahanni | Dhampir // Followers of Set | Relationship: Goddaughter
Crystal Montoya | Nagaraja | Relationship: Coterie Member //Heiress(?)
Godwynn Forrester | Ventrue // Antitribu | Relationship: Lover
How would you describe your character's mindset? Their personality, their attitude, their mentality and self-philosophy...
Noa is extremely driven to get what she feels like she deserves. Once an idea is in her head, it is there until it has reached its conclusion. She is extremely confident in her abilities and does not believe in saying "I can't do it." Her biggest belief is building unshakeable trust and giving unending love and trust in return, loyalty both ways until the absolute possible end. She deals in extremes, though understands nuance of course, and never underestimates an opponent, because she has seen what has happened to those who underestimate her. Her love is not easy to get and near-impossible to get rid of, but her ire would be endless and eternal if you were to break what trust she's given you. Messes can be forgiven the first time. Once you are in her circle, you're there forever, loved and cherished like an heirloom that has too much sentimental value to be tossed.
What is the best thing about your character? Be it their talent, skill, or a trait?
Noa truly loves blindly. She grew up Giovanni and does somewhat carry their prejudices with her, her personal hand-picked family unit is varied and different and filled with people who she feels deserve to be in her home and given her attention - not just people she may share blood with. She doesn't openly disrespect anyone she comes across, though they can easily lose this privilege if they don't behave themselves.
What is their worst quality? Do they realize it?
Noa is prideful, perhaps too confident in herself and her abilities to understand she's still a small fish in a bigger ocean beyond her comprehension. Her ambitions grow in the modern nights, and she doesn't stop to wonder much more if she should, because she is so confident she could.
Everyone is created by something whether they like it or not. What was the moment of their lives that pushed them into who they are? Was it bloody? Was it peaceful?
Noa has had a few moments and it may be up to interpretation which is her most defining. The night her family was gunned down in front of her eyes and then her Father returned the next night alive certainly warped her view on Necromancy - thinking it the work of angels. The days in Las Vegas where she was whittled down further and further until she performed a drastic and near-fatal ritual to convince the Elders she was worthy of immediate Embrace. The day Nythanel was shot after she thought she could use and control the local Reno Hunter cell... or perhaps her positive and crowning achievement of resurrecting Nyth into a healthy body and then turning around and creating a "godling" child for the Followers of Set.
People have goals and desires, what are theirs and will they achieve it?
Noa in the Modern Nights just wants her and Nythanel - her greatest friend - to be safe and happy from the world around them. She doesn't want him to die, she's terrified of it. Her greatest goal is to create a necropolis-esque home, a place between skinlands and shadowlands, where she and him can live safely, together forever. I think she will achieve this, but for how long will this strain on the veil between living and dead be allowed to continue for?
When it comes to people, was there anyone they idolized or someone that was/is important to them? Why are they important?
The first person Noa deified was her father, Vincento Hidalgo. He overcame Death, and then when she was old enough revealed to her necromancy and vampirism. Through him she learned the art of angels. His loss broke her to pieces, not spared the agony of a breaking blood bond when he was killed. The next person was Nythanel Loken, a Thinblood sired by a local Tremere who became her friend, then soon her absolute best friend forever as time carried on and they managed to stay in each others' orbit. Noa would do anything for Nyth. He is the Persephone to her Hades, the sun to her moon, the thorns to her rose. She'd tear down the veil itself if it meant he got to be with her forever.
Fear is only human nature, are they scared of anything? Is this fear rooted in any experience of memory in particular?
Noa is terrified of Death, most particularly losing loved ones to it. Family and togetherness is something so dear and core to her and Death only tears them apart if she cannot control it. It no doubt was born when she witnessed up close and personal the death of her immediate family when she was but a small child.
Break down how they look. Why do they wear what they wear? Any scars, tattoos, or piercings on them?
Noa was Embraced pristine, so to speak. She got her ears pierced when she was a little girl, classic singular lobe piercings, but that is the extent. She has no tattoos or scars. Noa's fashion is pink, cream-puff, soft and dreamy. A bit of princess, a bit of old-school 80s prep girl mixed in for good measure. She wears conservative outfits that don't show off what little shape she might have, and her skirts usually go to her ankles. She does not like to be sexualized, having grown up in patriarchal Giovanni households, and feels like she's not taken seriously when her conversation partner is only thinking of one thing. Her style is also in defiance of the normal Giovanni dark and funeral-like attire, choosing instead to be appear soft and pink~
Everyone is perceived in one way or another. How is your character perceived by others?
Noa is completely stone-faced, her eyes practically black and without shine, and she carries herself very properly and carefully. She may appear snobbish and creepy to someone not close to her, as she is naturally very quiet and is tainted by the aura of Oblivion.
What is the most painful thing they've experienced? Physical or emotional? Everyone has wounds.
Noa witnessing the death of her family and the near death of Nyth were certainly the most painful things emotionally she has ever experienced. Her biggest fears brought to life. The most painful experience physically is perhaps when she was staked by the hunter Raymond Mulder and nearly lit ablaze.
Thank you for tagging me my gorgeous @kavalyera!! This was fun!!
I tag truly anyone brave enough to sit down long enough and really think your character out. :3
I hope they don't mind, but I commissioned @kavalyera for a portrait of my beloved Noa and THEY ABSOLUTELY CRUSHED IT. I am so in love. Look at her expression, her lips, her poise....! It's amazing. Thank you so much for drawing her for me!!!! Please commission them if you're able!
My full piece of @vampemoqueen's World of Darkness HalloZine!
My Giovanni/Hecata Noa Hidalgo, performing some necromantic ritual to get in touch with some outside help. <3 Thank you so much for letting me participate and I'm so thrilled to see everyone else's submissions!
