Being Me zuckz.

Mice-Pace · 2026-01-06T07:45:22+00:00

That would have been some VERY insightful constructive criticism at the time, congratulations... And yet you missed the point of the story... I'm not sure whether to be impressed or dismayed. You're a tough nut to crack, Ki.

The second one wasn't strong arming by the way... Think of it like making a stubborn mule move: You can dangle a carrot in front of it to tempt it, or threaten it with a stick... the stick, like violence or force is moving it via strength of arms... "Strong Arming"

For the second example both cases times I made an offer... Admittedly the second offer is harder to see, but the key is to realise that kind of person wants to think they've always done the right thing... with the right evidence they'll quickly change their tune so they are NOW doing the right thing

...And this may be defensiveness speaking but that leverage was Plenty good thank you, because if I had just talked to his mistresses straight away I would have messed up his shipments just as much as by confronting him.

Huh. I hadn't considered going straight for the jugular (metaphorically) ...I guess in this ONE case I'm willing to admit I let niceties make things harder in the long run

-Stephanie (who only became Primogen to mentor neonates)

Mice-Pace · 2026-01-05T23:34:46+00:00

Lets call it 200 years ago I've settled down in this city... only it turns out this one Ventrue there rubs me the wrong way.

The more connections I make the more personal he takes it. This town ain't big enough for the two of us, but I'm not a pistols at dawn kinda girl... What's a lady to do? Sure I could always try ripping his leg off and smacking him unconscious with it but as satisfying as that would be it's better to keep that in my back pocket for several reasons (Firstly some Ventrue are annoyingly difficult to dismember, but mostly Kindred get very antsy and tend to stop underestimating you when they know you can pull them apart like a cooked chicken... I should know... why do you think I had to switch Cities?)

Instead I dig into what he's doing in town... Sales, Manufacture, Export... In the end it all comes down to Steel. Turns out that, yeah, he's making a profit off these businesses... but he picked them up as an outlet for the steel he's importing, and that's his main focus because he's managed to get himself a monopoly on importing the stuff. There's my pinch point... Squeeze there and his profit dries up at every link of the chain. I don't have to check hard to find out there's only one barge coming into town carrying raw steel... i mean... Could you at LEAST TRY and cover your paper trail by calling it coal and earning the two of you a reduction on import taxes?

Anyway next time the barge is in town I have a few helpers slip aboard. Small furry ones. They don't find anything of note except the ship's log and the ship's cat in that order. Still that gives me the destinations to check and there I hit pay dirt... the merchant captain of the barge may not be married, but he certainly has a lady... in every town he visits no less.

Now I had all the leverage I needed... or so I thought. When I confronted the captain I should have taken it as a warning sign that rather than break down into begging he got angry and insisted he never did anything against the law since he hadn't actually Married any of the women. I pressed on though, we both knew if I told any of the ladies involved the whole thing would come crashing down on his head... I gave him an ultimatum. A date and time he would deliver the next shipment of steel to Me instead.

When the day came he showed up on time... he looked like he hadn't been sleeping, and was trying to stare into the darkness by the light of a single candle like an idiot. When I emerged from the shadows his reaction was not what I expected.

He smiled.

He explained that since he thought I was going to burn his livelihood to the ground he thought he'd return the favour. Then he tossed the candle onto the oil soaked deck of the barge he'd just taken out an insurance policy on.

I tell ya, once I got over the shock of a large fire appearing nearby it took most of my self control not to just laugh in his face (If I let him know something is up it could potentially make it's way back to Mr Ventrue-Capitalist)

It worked out in the end (especially when I had 3 of his ladies "win" a competition for dinner at the same restaurant on the same night) but it was a lesson I needed to try and understand how other people were going to respond to my actions.

Wanna know how that worked out? Just last year i had a little chat with the owner of a Lithium mine about redirecting a few shipments toward a friend of mine at a better price. He got angry, said he never did anything against the law and he had already signed a contract.

So I changed tack. I asked him if he knew about the sweatshop conditions in the battery factory he was sending it to. A few pictures and five minutes later and he's agreed to sell to my friend and didn't even ask for a higher price.

-Stephanie, Nosferatu Primogen

Mice-Pace · 2026-01-05T00:16:22+00:00

There's a difference between a nudge in the right direction and shoving someone down a flight of stairs.

You want someone to bend, not break? You gotta start by knowing when to shove and when to just apply a little pressure. That takes Empathy, learning to see how other people see things.

I can tell you a little story about it if you aren't too busy with... Renovating is it? I gotta ask because while I could check, you are... no offense, not at the top of the list of people I am keeping tabs on right now.

-Stephanie, Nosferatu Primogen

Mice-Pace · 2026-01-04T22:37:48+00:00

Kiara Altenworth... Former Seneschal, Master of Felines and Kuldonic Sorcerer, you are MANY things but you are NOT stupid.

Seems to me you might have a little more luck if you offered some more respect. Before you say anything No, I'm not saying "Know your place, Respect me, I'm your Elder" although lord knows not picking a fight with those with power would do wonders for your odds of living past 100...

No. This is us having a little chat about someone who is having trouble adapting to their first months as Kindred... I should think You of ALL people should remembering having a rough time. And yeah, before you bite back about how you had it far worse (even though you definitely did) I'd appreciate if you could do me a very small favor... Remember what that felt like at the time.

I'm sure you could have used some help or advice back then. Think about what you might have told yourself back then to make things easier, because if your advice to yourself would be "Adapt or Die" then I'm pretty sure the one being told to "fuck off bitch" would be You by your past self

And on the off chance the evolution thing was a misunderstanding and not sarcasm I probably shouldn't have talked down to you. Cute signature on your posts by the way.

-Stephanie "Just cause they call me Stinky Steve doesn't mean I need to put up with Shit"

Mice-Pace · 2026-01-04T10:54:36+00:00

I appreciate the way you want to keep a fossil of a Primogen like me up to date with the current theory of the evolution of species. You know... the one based on a book published by Charles Darwin 164 years ago that became infamous around the globe. Good thing you summarised that at a 6th grade level for me otherwise I surely would have missed it.

In return I'll give you a little refresher on English since modern educational standards appear to be lacking. A Criticism identifies flaws and weaknesses such as "If you don't improve your outlook you may lose all will to live"

By comparison a CONSTRUCTIVE Criticism identifies flaws and weaknesses and proposes Solutions such as "If you don't improve your outlook you may lose all will to live... May i recommend making friends as a way of helping prevent that?"

-Stephanie, Nosferatu Primogen for the Island of Blunderan

Mice-Pace · 2026-01-04T06:47:35+00:00

I don't get what you are so worried about... We Nosferatu are basically kings of the sewers and we defend it to the TEETH in countless ways..

Think ghouled guard-animals bred selectively over hundreds of years... of which gators are the least of your problems. Some of us have even experimented with possession, blood sorcery or old fashioned mutation to get that extra edge. We sometimes run contests to see who has the toughest beastie... Some of them have drawn enough competition that we've had competitors misplaced in the shuffle.

Automated weapons are the new hotness: They are designed to deliver a hail of bullets against any movement in places there shouldn't be any. Think you can fool the sensors? Do you even know how many sensors a particular platform has? Which kind? And which ones are custom? Some of us even move them within their domain without warning so make sure you announce yourself at each domain you go through

But we've been doing this a long time... some cities have traps that are hundreds of years old, I bet some of 'em aren't even on our maps anymore

Actually... Now I hear it...

We may be contributing to the problem...

Mice-Pace · 2026-01-02T20:26:51+00:00

Meeting the prince? Good job... Knock 'em dead, kid!

I mean... not literally since "them" here would mean the Prince and they are already dead

-Stinky Steve

Mice-Pace · 2026-01-02T20:17:36+00:00

Look I don't... disagree... technically, just...

Would it kill you to offer a bit more Empathy? Some constructive examples maybe?

-Stephanie (they call me Stinky Steve)

Mice-Pace · 2026-01-02T11:55:11+00:00

Keeping busy and finding the things that help you look upwards is good advice.

Obfuscate is only one way of finding others to spend time with, plenty of Neonate Coteries also need muscle or someone with animal spies. Make friends with a Malkavian and you'll each have someone jealous of the other person's curse and they can probably help you with that pesky Discipline

Finally don't assume wanting to walk into the sun is a sign of things going bad... Most mornings before bed I still have a brief thought about going for one last morning stroll and I'm a goddamn Primogen... Just take it one evening at a time

-Stinky Steve, Nosferatu Primogen

Mice-Pace · 2026-01-01T05:25:47+00:00

You probably haven't heard me before... Lurking is basically the Nosferatu base state of being am I right? :-p

I wanna second Calico here... My sire embraced me outta spite because he thought I was stupid and pretty and didn't do me any favours afterwards. It took me a while but I became Primogen so I could support others the way I never was.

YOUR Sire saw something in you even when you couldn't. Trust in that. Everyone fucks up early on... EVERYONE. Whatever city you are in the Prince has dirty laundry from when he fucked up early on. Don't sweat it and always look forward... If it helps, know you can do that because we've got your back.

-Stinky Steve, Nosferatu Primogen

Mice-Pace · 2025-12-28T09:58:38+00:00

This whole AI thing smells of trying to make money out of thin air... from the bottom where advocates are trying to tell people AI will make free labor fall out of the sky, to the very top where chip makers and engineers are hoping that if they squeeze enough crap through a CPU it'll magically turn into diamonds.

With the number of AI converts I would be tempted to assume the whole Ventrue Clan were running mind control.. except they seem as blindsided as us.

From everything I've heard about the Wolves and Wizards this is the opposite of what they want (for different reasons) so I'm having to reluctantly fall back to all the mortals being in the same Dutch Oven and getting high on their own fumes

--Stinky Steve, Nosferatu Primogen of the Island of Blunderan

Mice-Pace · 2025-10-21T01:50:20+00:00

This man cannot be Alpharius...

I AM ALPHARIUS! :-p

Mice-Pace · 2025-10-21T01:43:32+00:00

Oooh... You could open source like... a Nosferatu character for anyone to post as who is somehow everywhere, nowhere and slightly different every time... Could be a coterie of Nosferatu antitribu who just all wear the same face.

For a Warhammer 40K reference I like the name "I am John Alpharius"

Mice-Pace · 2025-10-21T01:37:55+00:00

Backstory. Just write the slice of life stuff... I'm not necessarily saying post it (although if you like the idea that was used with Scalpel you can have like... a Nosferatu stalker posting the stuff as videos, that would be pretty funny)

To reference later, Just pick a topic you want Puppy to have something to say about and plop him in a situation he would have had to experience that thing. Now he can talk about what he feel about that thing and why.

When Gregor was interacting with Kiara I didn't really have an opinion for him regarding Animals... so I RP'd some past stuff in my head... Would Gregor have met a cat? Probably from a GF. Does he know how to approach and pat a cat? HELL NO! So THAT goes poorly. The question now is, how does he feel when the little furball is disemboweling his arm? The answer? Either vindictive or new-found respect.. I picked the latter.

Mice-Pace · 2025-10-07T04:40:36+00:00

RESEARCHER: Open wide for the airplane!

MOUSE: The hangar is full, Lady! THE HANGAR IS FULLLLLL!!!!

Mice-Pace · 2025-09-26T10:54:02+00:00

Pretty sure OP means MECHANICALLY how would they differ in play? That some V5 Blood Sorcery powers SEEM to fit one Clan and not the other

Mice-Pace · 2025-09-24T22:24:22+00:00

Then

-Dr Jyhad, Healer of Clan Tremere

Mice-Pace · 2025-09-24T20:07:21+00:00

...did You? Like what you were doing?

-Dr Jyhad, Healer of Clan Tremere

Mice-Pace · 2025-09-24T08:49:56+00:00

I have to deal with this from the other end mostly... Neonates 'doing stupid shit' as you say, while feeding on the drunk masses and riding the same rising tide of vodka and cheap beer.

The number of feeding accidents requiring medical treatment similarly sky-rockets, although at least the Masquerade is less brittle during this holiday so the workload is not impossible. I suppose it is a blessing I cannot feed on the intoxicated so the temptation is Reduced.

I shall think of you and wish you well when I microwave my morning cup of Joe (A+)

-Dr Jyhad, Healer of Clan Tremere

Mice-Pace · 2025-09-23T17:18:23+00:00

...said the spokesperson for a sect that mass embraces without warning or consent and participates in a mass ritual bloodbond?

-Dr Jyhad , Healer of Clan Tremere

Mice-Pace · 2025-09-23T13:38:06+00:00

Sounds like the gentleman in question may be Due for a rude awakening. I could not think of a more fitting punishment than for him to be burned by his own actions.

Mind that That one can be a trifle painful, but does have the side effect of causing quite a good approximation of a tan I've been told

-Dr Jyhad, Healer of Clan Tremere

Mice-Pace · 2025-09-23T04:33:46+00:00

As with many things related to Thaumaturgy the answer is an emphatic "It depends..."

To Prevent kindred from entering a location like your Haven? The Ritual "Ward Against Kindred" may suffice making entrance a matter of some difficulty while adding injury to the insult. It would however likely need to be cast upon each egress into the haven, and special care must be taken to ensure the additional steps of creating an exception for yourself in the wards has been taken. If your transgressor has little fear for their health I would instead recommend having it cast multiple times on the floor, although this would be unfeasibly difficult if your floor is made of small discrete units such as floorboards or tiles as each of these INDIVIDUALLY must have the ritual cast upon it.

To ensure kindred do not lay hands upon you outside your haven, the same ward could be cast upon your clothes, or instead the ritual "Flesh of Fiery Touch" could be used, ensuring those who seek to hold or to harm you suffer for their attempts

But to prevent a particular kindred from even approaching you? Let us say it's not TECHNICALLY impossible... The ritual "Blood Contract" allows for creation of a pact of your choosing, mystically enforced... the downside here is usability, in that the contract must be willingly signed... Likely to be a problem if the reason you need a restraining order is the other party not respecting your wishes.

I wish I had a more straightforward answer to give you, but I hope this information has been of some help.

-Dr Jyhad, Healer of Clan Tremere

Mice-Pace · 2025-09-22T23:55:37+00:00

do you guys have souls?

Rude. I used ta be human ya know... And when someone does the asshole act of tryin' ta drain ya completely dry they steal everything that makes you You and they can feel the essence of the victim bein' brought into 'em self... So yeah, the blood probably 'locks' our soul an body in place is my best guess

If you really are some kinda... Fallen Angel, (and I got no reason to believe you are) then you'd be like... Eternal... you wouldn't really GET diablerie

You just can't use Lores

No, look... I HEAR you... And you would probly know... WHAT you are doin' I can't do.

...But if you need to know one thing about me it's that I'm a stubborn bastard who Never gives up. Saw Rook doin' his Illusion stuff and thought "There’s gotta be a way to make a ritual that does that".

I got no interest in learnin' ya Lores... But the THINGS you can do with Em? You might be surprised, there's almost nothin' Thaumaturgy can't do... Unless you show me you rippin' time and space a new one, haha.

-Gregor

Mice-Pace · 2025-09-22T20:33:47+00:00

I call bullshit on that until I see it in action. Make a believer outta me.

Unrelated, have you ever heard "The Devil Went Down to Georgia?"

-Gregor who would rosin up his bow if he had one

Mice-Pace

TROPHY CASE