Qadir’s loyalty to the sect is the sole reason why he took on the role of Sheriff at the behest of Calebros, the leader of the local Camarilla during the Battle of New York. He hoped for another to take over his post after a new Prince was established, but Panhard decided to keep him – and his sense of honour made him remain, though he feels his humanity slowly dissipating every night. He believes himself on the path to damnation, and has taken a defeatist view of his prospects. Although there is a more altruistic part of him that shines through occasionally, his increasing cruelty foretells his destination… or does it?
The piercing laugh before a devastating explosion, the rebel finds their art in destruction just the same as the aerosol on a wall. Red paint might well be blood on a moonless night, eyes flashing with mischief or something deeper; eyes that find the beauty in a riot, the dancing flames that would consume, the mortality of the immortal. A swift boot crushing the face of the status quo is as poetic to the rebel as a master's brush stroke upon a broad canvas. Finding and creating beauty in the world is its own reward, and there's nothing more beautiful that chaotic disorder; a blood splatter upon the floor when the bloodlust is too enthusiastic, the scorchmarks upon an ivory tower, voices chanting their justice in the light of a burning car. Insurrectionist, the order whispers; anarchist, the status quo spits. The potential they placed upon the rebel was never what was meant to be.
TURNED › chicago — 1965
i'm a picture perfect face with that wild in my veins, you can
hear it in my growl, growl, growl, growl
CONNECTIONS ›
ZAKI 「tentative」
› He definitely has more screws loose than they care for, but handles it in way too calm a manner.
GUERRA 「partner-in-crime」
› Any idea, good or bad, is endorsed by Guerra, and that just emboldens them.
JAZIRI 「replacement pet」
› So the first sister didn't pan out, so let's try a new puppy who will love them (or else).
DIZZY 「betrayal」
› Peach doesn't know what they ever did wrong to her, but they were sure she would've come to the Anarchs with them. But then she didn't.
LAURA 'DIZZY' WAGNER › CAMARILLA TOREADOR
trans woman & she + her ∕ ∕ auspex ∙ celerity ∙ obfuscate
With no breath to hold in reverie, the room is silent. Lamps behind windows simulate sunlight, and bare ceramic arms simulate love. The artist is alone as she ever was; Pygmalion watched by a hundred false eyes, passing a soul into her newest vessel; creation as emotion made physical. Outside of the room exists someone else, flitting about and throwing herself at every iron bar, every mirror, every impassive face — all one and the same. Alone in a crowd, surrounded by creatures who’ve forgotten to live, and seeing herself in every gaze; Narcissus removed from the pond found eyes instead, and under scrutiny the artist is her own masterpiece.
TURNED › chicago — 1949
i know history; there are many names in history,
but none of them are ours
CONNECTIONS ›
HAREL 「friends」
› No one who puts up with so much from Dizzy can possibly be as scary as they say.
ANGEL 「circling」
› Two masks trying to read each other.
DIVYA 「teasing」
› Everyone else has to deal with the fallout when Dizzy inevitably winds them up.
PEACH 「siblings」
› Avoiding the tension of a shared sire and a betrayal, Dizzy leaves any room Peach is in.
Cursed by their unbridled sensuality, the divas are obsessed by aesthetic perfection. A fashion model overdosing on a bad batch of heroin, a YouTube clip of a perfectly executed beheading, the dazed eyes of a child who has seen too much, or the reflection of the moon in a pool of blood – these are the kinds of things that make a Toreador lose themselves. They say the first diva finally died in front of their looking glass, unable to tear their gaze away from the image of their face touched by the reflected dawn. But, to dismiss the Toreador as wanton perverts or shallow artists is the last mistake a Kindred will ever make. Beauty is power, and love can make anyone do just about anything. And that is the promise of the Toreador. They can make even the dead feel something raw, something real.
CLAN TOREADOR has ever preached selectiveness in its rituals of the Embrace. The clan elders stress time and again that the clan requires pioneers among the arts and every kind of avant-garde. The clan is at its strongers when comprised of the freshest thinkers and those who desire experimentation and aesthetic discovery. For this reason, many Toreador emerge from the ranks of accomplished artists, both new and faded. But not all artists need wield a brush: to the Toreador, art encompasses all forms of entertainment and stimulation. The clan courts the greatest actors, singers, writers, dancers, and even sex workers, if the degenerates believe such mortals will offer something new to their clan.
Despite the custom of Embracing only the best, the Toreador fixation on beauty and innocence has caused many a diva to make a fledgling in haste. Many a moonlit night, new clan members have merged as shallow hedonists, one-hit wonders, or just a stunning body with nothing else to offer. The greatest mistakes are erased and forgotten. Still, the clan is diverse, its members considering the ensemble as a kaleidoscope of talent and beauty.
THE TOREADOR BANE is that they exemplify the old saying that art in the blood takes strange forms. They desire beauty so intensely that they suffer in its absence.
toreador archetypes.
L’ARTISTE
The Toreador indulge in the beauty of all art forms and strive to be creators themselves. Whether competent on the strings of the violin, weaving notes as lustrous as the subtle glow of the crescent moon, or wielding a spray-can to form harsh prismatic lines on back-alley walls, this Kindred is an artist revered intensely by their clan.
STAGE MANAGER
Without a puppeteer to pull the strings, the puppet would not know how to dance. This diva’s finger is constantly on the pulse of the night. They know every happening at every club and bar worth a visit, and likely have great influence over several such places and the people who go there. Deeply connected to a city’s social atmosphere, they have the knowledge to help others gain or lose the spotlight as they please.
GADABOUT
With charisma, social intellect, and a cunning smile, the world is yours to conquer. The gadabout hedonist masters the art of manipulation, attraction, and empathy so well that even shy Cainites desire their attention or take pleasure in watching as they effortlessly mingle into every clique and category. This Toreador fits into any profession in which handling customers, patients, or clients is key, and they use every trick in the book to get their targets exactly where they want them.
PATRON OF THE ARTS
The patron is a collector of raw talent and promising beauty that just needs a guiding hand. They shape not clay or glass into intricate forms but people, and they see it as their gift to the world to pick out the best before they wither. The patron may pose as an eccentric heiress whose home is open to struggling poets and painters or they may take on the role of the talent scout or critic, aiding their pupils with funding and guidance in return for their blood.
THESPIAN SPY
The Toreador love a performance, and the one who plays at being a spy knows how to pry valuable chunks of information from a target, often taking more time than they need to properly enjoy the game. Perhaps over-dramatic, yet rarely suspected due to an affable nature, the thespian spy inserts themselves in multiple domains to entertain, observe, and compile libraries of information to exchange for other pleasures.
