https://youtu.be/vBtOfgaUPb8?si=cdrFHkQhn9736361
behind the southern charm lies razorblade smiles and hearts of Darkness monsters we are you know the rest of that sentiment and the reasoning behind it the truest lie ever sung it is not in seeking monstrousness that we Stave off the monsters of Our Hearts and Thoughts We Are Monsters dead and truly so yet our monstrousness is solely in seeking to live seeking to be that most human of animals Monsters We are monsters we are the better to embrace the truth of our dead Humanity the coast after dark is a mature themed Discord play by post server based in and exploring the V5 world of darkness in and around the Mississippi Gulf Coast region it has a small local population with over 14 million tourists that visit annually roughly an hour's time is all that is needed to travel from end to end the geography and size of the region has created a unique power structure that is formerly known as the Council of Twilight it is sometimes called the pentar sometimes affectionate sometimes oozing with disdain come explore and safely experience the darker parts of the sun-kissed landscape and your [Applause] imaginations because we are brave bold Intrepid explores into this world of Darkness first and foremost let me say thank you all for being here every opportunity of play is an opportunity that we Sid step anything and everything that we would rather not engage in in a real world every opportunity of role play gives us the fellowship to deal with anything and everything getting a chance to role play give makes us as young as we feel on our best days as wise as we hope to be and as adventurous as real life sometimes doesn't allow us to be it's a place where we get the chance to be anything and everything we decide so thank you for the opportunity thank you for your efforts your energies and your willingness to delve into this dark thank you too you're very wel with our [ __ ] you're very very welcome some [ __ ] is better than no [ __ ] right cuz every step forward is a step forward so as we prepare to dive in this last easily plannable last immediate opportunity for a popup in preparation of several other things taking place on Fridays going forward do we have any questions suggestions hypotheses or Corners we'd like to round off I think I'm pretty settled in what I've got going on may go wash my flight I just finished scarfing down dinner um I suppose the answer is always yes [Music] and oh um I will let you know I may or may not uh leave for a bid to get food but of course I'll be back starve starve I'm slightly already there I mean intermittent fasting I've been there that is pretty brutal yep I think I'm final my ends all right sounds like a plan so um there's nothing to it but to do it and so therefore that is exactly what we shall in fact do this without a shadow of a doubt is the start and final popup for the post after dark our wide open Vista of Shadow Darkness Southern antibellum Charm and Gothic horror as per our play by post where these characters get the opportunity to live breathe or as close as Undead ambulatory corpses can ever come in the sweltering human climbs of the Mississippi Coast tonight episode is in fact titled surprises never disappoints what that is in reference to is if one Embraces and accepts the world we live in it will surprise you but it will never disappoint you for the Kindred what that means is quite simply understanding the sheer monstrousness of the RS the millions billions hundreds of thousands or just the 50 that you run across humans Mortals breathing individuals if you accept the monstrousness of the humans of their Humanity that the Kindred seek to mimic seek to find and CH up within themselves one will never be surprised by the monstrousness of the other Undead monsters about you one will never be caught unawares because in the end it is not a matter of if your fellow Kindred will betray and is not a matter of if they will violate your trust and your privacy I mean it's not a matter of if their monsters and your own will come to a loggerhead it's only a matter of when and how much one is willing to wager and risk on that eventuality accepting that they are in fact completely dead completely there's no part of them that is even remotely living and that portion of them which so closely mimics Humanity is in fact the portion of themselves that the vast majority of Kindred seek to beat into submission seek to chain and Leash somewhere deep and dark in the basements of their soul that portion that they call the Beast is in fact the closest portion of humanity they actually possess it's all of those selfish drives is all those considerations of their individual and soul betterment to the loss of everything else around them and yet the vast majority of Kindred ardently religiously academically and emotionally seek to subjugate that portion of themselves or to make excuse for it is not in fact them it's their Beast it's my Beast that was sick and tired of you prattling on about rootch it is my Beast that is sick and tired of hearing about Star Trek or your particular sexual bent it is my Beast that finds your company odious it's not and never is and with that philosophical understanding of what the Kindred are sitting before us we will progress anti- alphabetically for where each and every one of our gathered players are starting with [Music] Vanessa [Music] oh no is this that I need to go off and get food moment they were talking about well well they are in fact muted so we will take that as they're having excus themselves sorry I actually forgot that I was muted I was talking this whole time I'm sorry okay all right so double checking your uh you're wondering about the whereabouts of Vanessa that was the question I had okay so she is at the beach uh at the golf course streets uh actually hanging out with uh Sasha at the moment um she is uh emailing um shabal at the moment uh trying to see if she is by any chance chance um at the beach so that they could meet up since a few nights ago they uh she wanted to meet up with her but things came up so yeah she's just uh in her head she's just going to give it five minutes um and if she doesn't respond or anything um she'd want to text uh Julia where she is uh but yeah if nothing else um she will head back to hole in the ground if Oliver or Hoster doing anything it's funny you should mention Oliver a Hos because alphabetically Oliver so um at this point in the night uh all the the boots being strapped on everybody awake you know all things things as they are we do still technically have a job to do that has not been done has been delayed due to everybody being scattered and occupied with other things so uh at this point Oliver is basically just you know fueling up the [ __ ] truck and getting ready to take off excellent and one can't have the two without the one and speaking of as such hos oh B is just call to feeling up the truck of all the other crap that we need getting ready to get the driver seat once everyone's [Music] here and Elias last time Elias was uh properly out in the town things got a little bit too hot a little too knowing about him so he took some time to lose some of the eyes but as of now he feels that things have cooled off a bit and he is now going to be uh prow in the town see if there's anything he's missed out on excellent and chal chal is currently at the um Community College that the the former Community College of Lorraine with Julia and Sarah um engaging in some feeling out operations with one another I imagine okay excellent and Amaral ameral but yeah uh right now right now amiral is heading back to college to wear the bunker where um that chal showed him to try to try to be able to get to a place where you can a charge his phone and be um hopefully talk to Jal thy about the weird the random running tonight okay so without any exaggeration it is safe to assume that if one were able to view top down the Kindred at Play That's while there are similarities of geographical area most of the Kindred are desperately spread across the coast now there are several things to keep in mind with the coast despite how easily one can move from one end to the next completely across the entirety of the state that AB buts the Gulf of Mexico completely across several different cities counties townships and Villages despite the vast condensed population of the millions and several more millions that visit or are kidnapped or otherwise way laid into the area on top of the residents that reside in the area it is surprisingly easy just under two hours one can go from one tip to the next right into New Orleans and yet it is extraord nearly dense and [Music] like major stars in a cloudy night sky the Kindred are spread far and farther apart mindfully aware of solely what they are about it would be ludicrous for most to assume that there was any connection that there was any ties That Bind either of them in this this particular evening and it's nearly midnight and even during the heart of Winter's last gas the coast is surprisingly humid there's a moisture in the air moving off the Gulf there is a moisture in the mind because of the troubles that have happened over the last few weeks in the last few months most importantly though most are not directly related to or engaged in the upper limits of the political minations of the Kindred around them yet even that has been surprisingly turmoil ridden in the last few days and weeks and months it would not be unfair to say that nearly Anything could happen and as such we need to do two things starting with Vanessa texting away mind aware of the electronic device in their hand their phone while Sasha is in their own inimitable way making themselves at home at in the night would you be so kind as to roll as high as you can your wids plus a awareness plus [Music] one it would also uh be nice if I pulled up my man an idiot [Music] anyway and my file explorer didn't want to work okay so you said what's in Awareness plus one correct if you've added your character into in Cano you can always just type that into the roll portion of the box which plus awarness plus one dice here we go he said roll as high as I can well even though Venice just ate I'm going to Surge okay don't worry about that roll handle that roll secondary oh oops no that's fine so let's see uh do you want me to count the do you want me to count the rle I mean sorry the RS before or after uh the what's in Awareness Ro that's why I was saying don't roll the Rouse first um what happens when the character Rouses they awaken they tempt their the Beast you tempt the Beast while you claim that you state that you make your role at your present hunger because that may change so for now even though the Rouse was a failure ignore that in your numbers for your dice pool for right now you are at Hunger one keep that hunger one when you make your role the effects of your RS will take place after Proby okay uh I'll just four successes excellent that is a very very good role now to to give you an idea for the most part even when there isn't a DC given the what you can always expect is that one success is a success but it's just a success two successes is even better than one and three is a complete you can always think about that whenever you roll in there's no DC given so anything above a complete success means that in that moment the character has found a way to be exceptionally good at what they are able to do even if they only have one die or two or what whatever else the case may be for the skill they are exceptionally good in that moment for what they've done and that in this moment is Vanessa being able to split the 100% of their focus between several facets their environment Sasha their hopefulness the blinking icon of the email being sent into space and the encroach several dark SUVs the encroaching vehicles that are clearly driving towards Vanessa and Sasha now the parking lot is roughly a quarter of a block away from where you all are strolling along the beach one hiding your victims from earlier and two taking in the evening trying to sus through the insanity that is all of the activity that's happened in and around their life over the last few nights over the last few weeks over the last few months and that stupid blinking cursor with the electronic signal from your phone contacting invisible powers out there at night sending communication far and wide and then the oncoming vehicles and they're not moving like you'd expect on a movie or TV show in every TV show there's that scene where that vehicle that's clearly designed to attract your attention the camera even closes in on and you see how the person behind the wheel is overly aggressive or leaning forward and watching the St of the show or whatever in that moment no these vehicles are moving as if they own the place these drivers are moving so skillfully it is as if they have done this enough where this is old hat to them driving on the beach is not an easy thing understanding the shift the slide of the sand being able to not go Herky jerkily bouncing up and down in your seat as one mode of sand gives way to the next being able to do so without revving the engine alerting the entirety of the world that you are doing something you [Music] shouldn't um let's see so she sends off yeah she already send it off the email to shal um and she's in the midst of the texting Julia um and then seeing how many Vans were there again several SUVs and of course it's not normal for uh black vehicles at dead and night showing up on a beach and uh of course this races quite a few alarms and she does not want to waste time she doesn't H she just grabs uh Sasha and just runs way reaching out to Sasha there's an aphorism in acting in TV shows and what have you where the person will stare longingly into the camera staring fixedly into that mid middle space somewhere between where they are in that moment as the character and that fourth wall that we are watching them from behind as Vanessa attempts to reach out to Sasha that's what she sees his eyes are filled with stars his gaze locked somewhere out there in the night reaching for him is literally attempting to move a statue rooted in place by Powers unknown does you take the time to attempt to lift him and carry him forward yes all right sounds like a plan um would you be so kind just go ahead and roll your strength plus Athletics your DC is extraordinarily high so I'm not going to bother to say just roll as high as you can and while that roll is happening [Music] there are several true Wims for being a Molotov several understandings as to what the job actually is for most it is considered simple Mal malicious intent it is stirring up the Hornish n it is beating the anarchs into to a froth through some usual false flag campaign or an actual undertaking of the tower as the molotov it is your duty it is your responsibility to keep the anarchs in fighting trim to whip them into a frenzy so that you can direct them at the Hest of the baron and the Reeve towards the tower your most distinguished enemy and do so [Music] without falling on your sword to do so without being made to be the Martyr because even as it is a needed role even as every anarch cell and Nation across the world has a moloto or often several one of the many things you do when your tools are no longer needed it's lock them away in the shed or otherwise turn your sword into plow shares the hundreds and potentially thousands of names that were once Molotov which had been used as the sacrificial lamb once the anarch cell or nation of their particular region assumes the role of power is vast so there is always a weariness to the smart Molotov because there's a point when you will beat the bushes when you will whip the Anar into a frenzy the war will be over there's no force that needs your efforts or energies and worse your former cohorts your former Le Lords your former Barons and Reeves and Kars don't want you using your skills against them once they become the power so to say that Oliver and hos keep their wits about them they be an understatement would you be so kind as you all are loading the truck with various implements and tools that you need to complete the job not knowing exactly what tables have turned earned what Stakes have been raised what sort of problems or difficulties you may be facing when you get there so you're packing and loading for Bear some would think that that's only a figur of speech but in this case it very much is there's a few bear traps and uh bear mace as well as actual solid slugs designed to punch through the mass of a one ton killing [Music] machine a [Music] damn so what you say go on just kind of as hos is tossing stuff in there and I'm uh you know refueling the truck just hos have you seen these gas proces nowadays dear God I don't know how anybody makes a living out here than thankfully neither of us have to worry about making a living [Music] eh all right I see how it is yeah no I'm sorry [Music] I that is real strange you don't really understand it used to be like what a couple cents yeah well you know I suppose for us who just go around sioning our gas that everybody else's gas ass tanks this is a lot easier yeah all right now what were you saying noo would you both be so kind as you are in conversation to roll your wits plus awareness okay or uh difficulty as high as you Poss simply can't uh on that note uh can I throw rouss on this were you were you braced for impact no I'm not even to lie we were we were just we were very casual uh one success okay that'll be two successes on my [Music] end there's no such thing as coincidence everyone knows this yet the human mind strives against itself to find connection to find a pattern to understand that everything's connected everything happen for a reason no no it doesn't the vast Cosmos happens of its own accord beyond the kenning of any mortal and the best we can understand of it is that there are random occurrences that may be caused by one thing or another it is 100% facies on our part to think that there's a pattern that we could possibly ever understand yet we do we shrink large Concepts down into small enough bize kernels that it makes sense to us and the Kindred are no different there is a certain behavior that one expects at a gas ation in the middle of the night there's a certain behavior that one counts on when having a simple conversation there is a understanding as to the way that things work and everything that acts counter to that sets our hackles on edge sets our Radars to Ping and our antennas to rise it causes us to get a little stressed because we realize that in our smallness there's only two choices fight or flight to escape the dangers of today so that we might be able to see tomorrow so as the lights overhead flicker once twice three times and then they stop flickering and they stop projecting light right the immediate response is to make sure that the weapons are where they're supposed to be it is an immediate response to attempt to let off the trigger for the gas pump but keep it ready because well fire kills everything and it's an instinctual fear not of just the Kindred but the World At Large even animals who have never felt the sting of it fear it it's heat it's Majesty it's wild uncontrolled potential and unfortunately as ready as H and Oliver are due their advocation and their experience it is in fact too late it has been weeks since Elias has been on the streets not that he hasn't gone out not that he hasn't hunted not that he has not taken care of himself to Stave off the needs of the Beast he has absently and directly stalked his most cared after loved one he has spoken with friends from his living days he has managed to exist as free and far away from the happenings of the Kindred Community is possible he's done everything he could to not become well dinner for the larger fish in this particular Pond of Kindred so as he strolls the night driving of course he finds himself unfortunately Beyond The Pale he is somewhere as best as he can tell in and around the Gulfport area he knows that once he moves into the Gulf Port area from his luxurious well-kept lawn there not far from Henderson point that going east through Long Beach through the island view area near the casino pass Railroad and making his Way East towards the domain and realm of well Colonel Partridge and Prince Christopher that he by Dent of [Music] his loyalty reward card would be far safer far more secure not that he has had poor run-ins with the anarchs it's more of a philosophical difference they believe that well it's not entirely sure what what they believe he's heard so many different stories we about Freedom man to [ __ ] their [ __ ] we should have it too and all manner of levels in between both of those extremes so much so so many stories so many reasons for being anarch he's heard that he's not sure that well to put it lightly that even the anarchs know what it is that they're actually fighting for luckily for them they at least have the baroness he's heard horror stories of places outside of the coast where there's a different Baron on each block there's a different would be warlord on each block there is a different and it's hard to have trust in such an organization it's hard to believe that one could ever be safe when everyone's voice matters just as much as everyone else's at the end of the day there has to be someone willing to take the accountability and responsibility and that is not anything that he's heard from the anarchs in general nor in specific even here with the baroness as the leader of the anarchs he's seen firsthand behaviors that well to shame the devil and tell the truth should quite honestly demand if not someone's existence and they're forever taken from them at least harsh repercussions so as he makes his way East moving through the gulport area just there past uh shaggies which is one of the local more popular greasy spoons Mortals by the drove flock there during the day and the night nothing like a shag's dog which is in fact uh 16 dogs hot dogs piled one on top of the other sandwich with all the condiments one could ever hope for and sliced into skewers if he could eat he heard that it's delicious but it's far too much fried food for any one person the lights go out not just the oh there's a power outage which happens far far too often not the lights go out as in there is a incoming surge that caused the the grid to go down no the lights go out in the way that he's most accustomed to the lights go out in the way that well still stirs up some of that residual human dread the lights go out and the air is suddenly cooler the feel along his skin is as if there's some great prowling cat rubbing itself against him daring him to show any sign of fear would you be so kind as to go ahead and roll your wits and awareness because while the lights go out and the Darkness takes over he is blessed with the ability to be at home in such an environment right as much as he is so familiar and comfortable in the dark as he can comfortably call the Shadows his home his wits and awareness is not that good trust me I have like 45 experience staring at me right now telling me why why have you not put me in these things it'll keep you alive WHYY hey you remember when you created this character and you said you weren't going to hold back anymore remember how much of a [ __ ] you are right now dude I just I forget okay I forget yeah no no I'm going to remind you this Sunday to go into that [ __ ] ticket where I have been spending my EXP and spend your exp God damn it I just want to let you all know that I'm currently staring outside my open window with an extremely high powerered Nerf gun waiting for someone to get close enough to the door I'm afraid even with rousing my blood and calling the Beast and myself I think that my awareness is a bit beside me at the moment oh yes a little bit a little bit entirely and by little bit I mean greatly there is a self preservational voice that every living thing has unfortunately in this moment that little voice that normally tells you free the moners are here is absolutely silent like oh my God pass the popcorn I want to see what happens because as he realizes that the lights go out in a way that is completely 100% unnatural and that he is still in fact driving that moment of realizing as he gets the call back from the 911 operator oh we've tracked the call the Call's coming from inside the house it's far far too late the darkness that consumes him originates from touchably close the darkness that consumes him comes from the up until this moment unknown individual that dares snatch his hands from the steering wheel of the car and Kendrick can't pass out Kindred are not like in the old detective movies the black and white noirs struck over the head and fall completely into nothingness when the Kindred ceases to be ambulatory there's only one cause and as the world slows and feels as if it's pulled underwater around him there's a part of Elias that is kicking himself son of a [ __ ] always check the back seat always check the [ __ ] back seat and speaking of back seat out of the way mostly forgotten the former college campus at Lorraine is one such space the campus and it's very expensive under warrants it's cement laced underc despite the buildings and the grounds being repurposed into a Corporate Park on top of another Corporate Park on top of another Corporate Park the structures that held up all of those buildings that were formerly the college campus are still there it is it was an Open Secret amongst the naratu which had get passed to several of the Banu Hakim on the coast it was a place to with a little effort slip into the Forgotten spaces and have a modom of privacy so it is with more than a little irony that chal leads her Associates into the former relatively priv private Open Secret there is a field of interference that is impossible for chal to not notice true to her word Jewels is a void there is a coolness wafting off her in the general vicinity of her and while their new friend their new associate seems relatively unfaced and all too curious and is with no small amount of weariness that jaal realizes in the span of knowing of this place the few weeks that she's known of this place she's is preparing to lead an additional Two Souls into the darkness she is preparing to lead another two souls to a hidden space where other Kindred knew existed that was kept out of the way and then Amaro shows [Music] up well to be clear I hadn't made up my mind as to whether or not I would actually show um what's her name Susan no the heck s s yeah yeah the the yeah the new character I hadn't made up my mind if I was going to show the new character space which is why I uh chose a dead spot that was outside um to hang out in for our upcoming conversation so to be determined on that revealing the bunker part uh we are out we are we are heading towards a gap in camera coverage that is right next to a building uh I think it would be ameral to determine whether or not he sees us amals returning currently shrouded in shrouded in un passage after his um previous encounter he's choosing to be a bit more cautious than usual so as amoral stalks chal and as the magic of the blood is having its way with chal via their most recent associate here between buildings here out of the way preparing to take two additional Souls into a former previously relatively well-kept private Open Secret two clans two clans of secretive agents use this space and circling back to the very driven home point of leading new individuals into a secet making them responsible not entering into the space but moving forward striking up the clearly strumming the Curiosity that is overwhelming their newest associate with Amaral stalking ever closer with the thoughts bombarding and being justified by one step or the other trying to decide and him and and find a way forward whatever the way that might be Emerald would you be so kind as to roll your resolve plus stealth and while that is in the offing chal yes and while that is in the offing chal would you be so kind as you roll your wits plus awareness reflexive yes everyone thinks that Murphy's law states that whatever bad is going to happen is going to happen to you that is not in fact Murphy's Law Murphy's Law is quite literally what you fear is what will be attracted to you is what you're going to call to you it is what you are going to demand the universe pays you for all of your time and effort in fearing that thing there is an aphorism an axom a meme even where when that fear when that realization or when that bit of philosophical understanding is tossed off I fear and insert Most Wanted thing here this that TR of the matter is that Kindred like human spend more energy holding on on to all of the worst potentialities in their mind Kindred like human give more Credence to what they don't want versus what they do Kindred like human will build castles in the sky and try to move in to avoid and Escape all of the problems they carry with them all the problems they have tattooed on their skin injected into their veins and they breathe out on a nely basis all of their fears and anxieties all of their worries and frustrations they carry with them and put Faith in those fears instead of belief in their hopes long story to say Kindred are duplicit as deceitful creatures that will utilize and use everything around them in an effort to Stave off their eventual destruction and they do things to one another and to the world around them instead of four Emeral you're not sure quite when you started to see your fingers you're not sure when you started to see your boots on the ground in front of you as you're scanning the area but when you start to see the faint ghostly outline version of yourself that takes place as your mind tries to erase you from your own view you dig deep it is in fact the most effort you've exerted in the last four bits of forever it is the most determined you have been for a thing and forever the last night the last two nights have been hell you've had to fight you've had to come to grips with the fact that you victimized another Kindred you have had so many illusion snatched from your view that you refuse to give up one more you refuse to allow your cloak of protection which is your invisibility to be taken from you and in the doing you're able to watch as at the last minute javal realizes they don't know any of these women not truly they don't know any of these people and it's probably better to to not and she's not the only one that knows of this place she has not been the only one to have known of this place and as the sky breaks open and the world goes dark around them you are able to witness that you still invisible to their detection lose sight of them and the entire area around you so like complete like blindness it feels that way though your eyes are open you can see what you don't see you can feel the cold of the night suddenly crawling across your skin you realize that something or someone was working at perceiving you though you're not sure how cuz no one should be able to perceive you your ability to cloak yourself in invisibility Works in a way that makes the entirety of the visual Spectrum non-effective towards you the Mind erases you from view you've watched people know you were there in their hearts but that information not quite being able to take root in their mind and you've been invisible to them and yourself something the touch of awareness crawled across you before the Darkness Falls or fell in this case I guess he's going to he's going to start looking around like trying to see if he can gain his bearings on anything excellent excellent love putting one hand on where he where he has pistol to field oh not excellent no no no not not like not like on it but like on it's on his hands like on hovering over hovering over his like ey no no I understand um that you were not actively engaged in drawing your piece or resting your hand on your firearm however and here's the fine print as it were the to do so would cause attribute of damage as it were and is not the act of drawing your gun it's not the act of drawing your knife it's not the act of kicking someone in the throat it is the inclination to do so that causes things to waver and falter and we will deal with that post haste but in the darkness of the sky cracking open as you realize far too late the darkness is in fact falling and not falling like the end of day what you remember from the sunset where it was just magically darker and darker every time you blinked it's not falling like that it is literally for you tool as if the sky itself all the stars fall out of the sky and darkness just SS like someone smacks you with a hammer what if anything is your action or decision or thoughts um I I think things are going too quickly for me to like rationalize whether or not this would have any chance of working I try try to flip out of the way when in doubt Dodge if you can dodge a hammer you can dodge a ball and if you can dodge a wrench you can dodge a ball ESPN excellent that being the case dear traval would you be so kind as to roll your dexterity Athletics minus one and while that role is in the offing emiral would you beat be so kind as to roll your resolve plus OB escape and while those roles are happening while fate is making up its mind in regard to what happens next for Amaral and chaval the result of Vanessa grabbing the much like Lot's wife salt statue that is Sasha is that's not your role that's H's role what give me quick a second here where is she's going to Surge there we go rolling values a sucesses oh my goodness oh my goodness gracious there are some things that cannot be H hit there are some things that can't there's no if an or buts about it Vanessa is tall for the average American woman Vanessa is strong for the average American period no racial sexual age qualifications could Encompass her strength and even as physically fit as she was during her Living Years her strength during her her living years being so top percentile nothing compares to where she is now the ability that she has to push her muscles Beyond every semblance of the natural world can be summed up in the fact that in the blink of an eye in with a vehicle moving roughly 27.75 feet per second into her general direction the fact that she is able to in the blink of an eye snatch Sasha from where he is rooted in the many alternate kaleidoscopic Realms that individuals who are able to perceive such things get lost in there is no doubt in her in his is in the drivers of the vehicle the hundreds of thousand watching Vanessa's life story play out on TV screens around the world the Goodyear blimp that is floating over the Gulf of Mexico nor the lighthouse Captain who was watching the binoculars to believe that she is anything and anything at all save Supernatural there is no way that anyone watching how quickly and efficiently she snatches Sasha up and nearly into the sky with how quickly and forcefully she grabs him to believe that she's anything save maybe an Earthbound Angel a demon risen from Days of your or the stunt double for the actual Incredible Hulk however and in the doing in humanely and bravely considering Sasha she does the oldest tactical mistake ever she considers someone besides herself she exposes her Flank In the doing she bravely is willing to take the brunt of responsibility in this moment for not only herself but for him and then doing would be still kind Groll your dexterity and Athletics for me please because you have a just so that you are aware mechanically it is virtually impossible for you to not come out with a complete success so they are already at a detriment of two so your successes will Det determine what the detriment to the NPCs in this moment are uh you said dexterity and which Hills yes dexterity and Athletics and Athletics okay's my well not but I'll take it two that's a four four from there and leaves them with a grand total of let so you give them an additional minus two so so that you are aware they are minus four from their total pool of seven meaning they have three days they need a complete success otherwise Calamity and worse will befall they missed it by one by the skin of your teeth by Fate lending a hand by the heavens reaching out and literally slapping One driver upside the head causing him to look a scans one vehicle bumps another and bumps another savagely enough that it causes it to go off course when driving in a Precision attack going off course is catastrophic by the power ofo it is you've seen worse more slapstick things happen you've seen Pratt Falls that you still laugh about now with your life and immortality on the line you have witnessed things that automatically bring a smile to your face unfortunately in this moment you can't think of anything more hilarious than one Precision clearly trained driver making this hell of an assault it it it takes skill that you could not possibly dream of to drive effectively information on Sand almost silently running without light running without any clear way to guide themselves and save maybe the force and all that skill is pissed away in a moment of distraction one vehicle creening against the other the other smacking against the next next one and on and on they are the definition of a keystone crash as you hold Sasha who is clearly absent of mind and presence and begin making your way away get some Ludy tune [ __ ] yes like she can hear the cars colliding against each other right she can okay so like she's she's she's definitely laughing but she's like you know focused like laser focused on getting herself and Sasha away but yeah just kind of laughing to herself a bit as she knows that you know the car is just messed up and like as professional as they look then all of a sudden there was a banana peel in the road yes a banana peeling the road moment and yeah so you're not going to fall for the banana and tailpipe is what you're saying and that's a good thing you shouldn't it's a horrible place to be bananas and tail pipes and all sorts of things like that it is a Surefire way to undermine your faith in yourself and your fellow men speaking of faith in self and fellow men H Oliver dying currently excellent wait a second that's [Music] foreshadowing nobody is for choking me through the screen yeah the car that exploded with Oblivion okay this is great him not like this not like this harder daddy excellent asking you shall receive so as you and hos are reached uh by the darkness as you let's just be perfectly honest the chances of survival have gone from a nonzero chance that you would fail to a absolute Chance The Darkness Falls what's your immediate response there is you cannot see nor through this Darkness there is a absence of the entirety of the rest of the world for you for hos I must know my friend MH H did you happen to as everything goes black that black Inky nothing that is in the center and heart of your soul that is in fact your soul so do you trigger your Oblivion sight I don't have Oblivion site excellent would you be so kind as to well as the uh kids say Suck it because you all are now effectively at a minus 3 to whatever you decide to do physically when the Darkness Falls both of you are caught flat footed you both are well in the heart of nothingness what is it that you attempt to do M well as everything goes pitch [ __ ] black on this otherwise lit area um um if if I'm I how about it immediately jump in the truck driver SE oh so so I just hear the [ __ ] door clun clun this hos is going get in all right I'll hop in back as he's in the driver's seat I'll just you know toss the [ __ ] Cannon back and roll in myself excellent and just gun it out of there excellent two rows uh first dexterity and Athletics uh as high as you possibly can you're going to need it you said my three penalty yes okay I'm going to Rouse for this to Rouse for dexterity okay slash R oh God just rousing yeah that's still roused I'm still red uh it's going to be a tce pull of four now yeah excellent four is good four is good uh that looks like three successes that is for the first one absolutely phenomenal you are literally um living out a snowballs of Revenge because you have all the chance in hell in that particular situation blinded to every faculty and sense every sense of touch smell taste is gone and what was the second rle you needed you're going to need to do me a [Music] uh composure and drive I does this count as a physical one I I ask if composure is not a physical step but a you know typically a physical ability but the reason for the composure and the drive in this case is going to be acting as your effective Dodge because there is no way forward cuz forward doesn't exist there's no straight line in nothing and you're literally braving and fighting against what sense you have which is the absence of any and all spatial awareness to escape what you are unaware of well I'm asking you is this also curring to three die penalty no no okay well I'm still going to Rouse for this yeah like we like the risk you know how for like six months hos has been on like one hunger that's no longer the case we're going to need to hit another old lady with a truck but that's beside the point wait until we get Vanessa and her new side piece for it I think that'll be the greatest effect all right uh composure plus drive that's going to bring me up to six dice yeah be in this case and DC as high as I can yep uh four successes dear God hos I'm so glad that I have you as my butler I'm so glad isn't that isn't the correct term uh valet as you say master thank you truly truly my man my man servant as was put by Dollar storm Mason vov and Oliver really is dollar storm Mason V up huh oi [ __ ] off not that no I was talking about the the somra that came in swinging his CC system dick around okay don't even [ __ ] joke like that I mean he's got a short as a fuse he primarily fights from raged O Okay firstly no Mason didn't have a short fuse okay Mason had a long fuse it was just you know snipped away bit by bit with a pair of scissors speaking of snip uhoh yeah uhoh indeed for Z damage you are are knocked from the truck uh and it is the active the initiating force that wins the ties and while they did not exceed by one they did in fact tie there is little comfort in that moment because as you're gunning it the engine protesting against how firmly H steps on the gas lurching forward you expect to smell burning rubber you expect to inhale the scent of that smoke you expect to hear the engine doing more than I think I can I think I can I think I can this truck has seen you all through the good times and bad times of most of your vience interactions it has been your loyal warhorse leading you into Skirmish after Skirmish interaction after interaction you all know intimately the sounds of your truck giving it its all it's inine chugging away and you also know the sounds of it crunchy what you all don't know is why you aren't hearing those sounds as the semblance of Earth beneath your feet goes missing as the sound of doors being snatched like waste reaches your ears as The Emptiness of the Void is not just something that weighs on every follicle across your body this is uncomfortable if you were able to breathe you wouldn't be able to if you were able to to urg feel that lizard brain at the back of your mind screaming in fear in this moment as the nothingness absorbs you you wouldn't everyone always fears the dark but not because of what they know is out there in it but because of what they don't know that may be out there in it and in all your relatively long existence as ttin this is the first time that sort of fear has effectively worked its way into your presence has worked its way into your hearts there's no way that you shouldn't be a quar mile down the road from wherever it is that you've been trapped inside of and instead the cool loathing and praise of darkness is what you're greeted with [Music] in every TV show in every movie there's some variation of the false propaganda put out by the camarella someone got it in their head from something that they heard or someone that they witnessed that to teach The Mortals that a state to a kindred's heart kills them it's it it's over they're dead they're gone you don't have to worry about them anymore often times they will turn into a cloud of dust or glitter or a gory Fountain of blood just exploding like an overinflated water balloon that myth and that lie was put out there because gri know that with enough time and enough skill and enough age even Stak they have use of their abilities they have use of their disciplines they are able to in essence protect themselves it's one of those self-preservation tools and and lies put out there that should not be effective but it is cu often times people that think that you know a state that the heart kills everything won't realize that after a night a week a month a decade the state Kindred through the use and growing of their power are able to free themselves they're able to call for help they're able to reach across vast distances and call retainers loved ones loved ones of loved ones sers children the armed forces the Marines the Navy eventually it's a small last ditch effort to protect those worthy of being protected to help them find the opportunity of escape and that understanding is cold for aias In This Moment CU one of the many things that KRA don't talk about is interor well being Stak especially you are completely aware of the world around you your skin feels the brush of wind your ears hear the sounds of the dreams shouted and screamed and whispered in and around your environment your body feels the motion of whatever vehicle you're in or being carried or well being tossed like a lump of coal so as these Impressions and emotions are watching over him does Elias have any ability that he might attempt using uh for further clarification this p uh this thing is trying to stake me try it yes canot see this person at all at this close distance yes do you wish that you hadn't maybe and not for the usual reasons of Gore or horror there's a natural unsettling feeling when staring on those cursed to be narat that that is not what possesses aive that's not what scares a lias because that is accept is at least an acceptable understanding an aatu being able to get the drop on you invisibly is one [Music] thing the woman ACC costing you there's no other way to to put it really um she looks very much like a Persian a slightly Asiatic woman who could be the twin of scarlet Hansen her short bobbed hair her beautiful light hazel brown eyes her tan skin even in death having a almost hollywood-esque feel to it you could easily believe that she might be on someone's movie screen or someone's TV show you know kids are watching it there that that Netflix and that talk book and that face chat she could easily be an influencer a movie star an actress a horrible devastating physical opponent too close to dodge I believe in the the fervor of the moment despite so much going on uh he would prepare for an emergency exit but as he does he will stare at this uh unexpected visitor the unexpected passenger and he will attempt to look them in the eyes and Mesmerize them to maybe calm down a bit put your hands on your lap and get out of my car okay make that mesmerism roll sir all righty let's see I believe that's manipulation and dominate yes may it uh for a reminder you can't do Rouse rolls for uh Power checks correct like a blood surge I mean there there's nothing specifically against it oh well do I have to stay beforehand if I wish to do so yes I believe I shall do so Happ I'll do a rouse start that off o yeah I thought I was at one yeah that's the reason why you roll the RS afterwards why pay in advance you pay afterwards no matter what the result of course of course um thought I was at one hunger I'll figure that out after after I do the rolls and [Music] stuff does that mean I add things to this roll or no you add two dice if you like righty two dice yep oh shoot eight okay uh I'll do Hunger level three for now cuz I'm yeah same um just a really Hammer at home I'm going to R roll failures nice oh total of seven oo that's a hurdle that is believe they have to be a seven and intelligence plus resolve nice absolutely 100% you have managed to Halt then in the doing the wavering state that is micro in a less than 25 of a millim from piercing through your being the fact that they were able to move quickly over the seat the fact that they were able to surprise you and inest the entirety of the vehicle in blank Darkness you managed to stop temporarily there on slau cuz here's the [Music] thing is far too much skill present in them having to do what they managed to do for their mental fortitude and to not carry out whatever Mission they were assigned to not go against their ethos of being in other words stopping a mission before it is completed is obverse to their character seconds taking by Li is no unintelligent Kindred and for all of his newness he has been in and around the world enough to understand that so as they settle into the seat you understand the moment that they settled themselves such a skilled individual would rationalize that they had completed what was asked they sat settled calmly once that is done they are back to themselves you have seconds before whatever that self might be returns as soon as Elias recognizes that his sweet words went through he'll do his best to wrench the steak from their hands and if possible do the same action that this naratu had hope to achieve is that your final answer I believe it is excellent there's no sense of just putting your head into the lion's mouth you need to crawl down there and hang on to his uila so it won't close his teeth on you good deal make it happen and while that is in the offing at the exact same moment miles from the speeding vehicle and meshed in nothing but the essence of Darkness miles from the gas station which had been washed in a bubble of perfect silence and the absence of everything living miles from the beach where vehicle after vehicle piles themselves one against the other we draw our attention to the the the happening at lurain the former college campus the very near hidey hole of infinity that was used by both naratu and Bano Hakim now the effects of that Dodge are give me one quick second here what did what did fate in fact decide for you my dear friend four I no I got your roll seeing what the spcs actually rolled ah okay woohoo fate is on the side of everyone this evening it is a highly unlikely situation there is no way in anyone's idea of what would happen when darkness fell for chaval to be completely and totally free of the onslaught because that is an Essence what it is even as it is a skilled lunge forward even as it is the attempt to pin them where they stood even as it was a perfectly executed initiation of a stealth attack weariness paranoia practicing under the Moonlight dancing to Van Morrison and whiling way their immortality has paid dividends unable to do more than feel the absence of everything unsure what exactly is in the offing this is a setup from Jewels or the new associate or some power that be choosing to flex itself what if anything is toal's actions okay so am I looking at the darkness bubble from the outside and how much distance do I have from it you are looking at Darkness Left Right Center above and below the absence of roughly everything is what's playing on your senses reason why um the positioning of everything and everyone hasn't been described because unfortunately at 25 ft per it is you are still safely within such a distance you are still in the absence of the night you're in the very bows of what hell actually would feel like because uh all being the practicing devout that she is she understands that in the original and in the practice hell is nothing more than the grave it's not Gonda is not the end of all days and the final judgment is not where the souls will be cast forth into purgatory forever it is simply the grave it is simply Darkness Everlasting until you're risen um okay so I am going to try the same get the heck out of the darkness bubble flip the heck out of here maneuver again I mean I I'm going to pick some other direction that's you know roughly away from wherever I was um and using my sense of direction deliberately pursue a vector that's away from the buildings [Music] um and I'm going to turn on heighten senses for all the good it's going to do me I imagine but I'm going to try to see if I can sense anything in this um when my heighten senses are turned on as I'm flipping same role yes and while action leads to action and while effort has its own rewards Emeral mhm can you tell me one fear that he's held about the dark one fear about the dark one fear that amiral has held about the dark that's hard cuz he's always his life chasing it mhm so I guess his fear of the dark would be being alone I guess like now like like like a complete like not like alone alone but like like like um like being in the dark and there not being anything in in in there to to seek there being like a lack of information a lack of things to search for to discover to strive like now yeah being a wash in that feeling being a wash in that absence of everything microc seconds ago fractions of a blink ago the world made sense even as kaleidoscopically as Emeral views it and has viewed it even as intrepidly as he's explored the dark forgotten spaces setting traps for travelers typically of his choosing but often times incidental Travelers happening upon his traps simply because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time for themselves in the perfect time and perfect place for [Music] him it is a serious question on how the Amaral honestly the void of contact with anything and anyone else handle his fear in this moment because unlike crawling through the crawl space beneath a haunted mansion unlike setting up a snare trap in a out of the way Plantation unlike delving through forgotten slave quarters with his victims in toe unlike spelunking into some of the AL Coes and Coes and hidden caves beneath the waters there at the gulf this is not that Darkness there nothing slick sliding across his skin there's no echo of drip after drop after drip there in the distance there is no scent of mold nor the unforgettable scent of grave dust from the bones desiccating in those spaces there's not the sound of the night creatures out there avoiding him and stalking him all the same sensory input is the bread and butter of the mavian because they accept and are tuned to frequencies others cannot begin to Fathom and for the first time in the entirety of his immortality as well as his living days there is no input [Music] whatsoever there's no input he said [Music] correct probably wouldn't do anything would it yeah this sounds horrible it's like a sensory deprivation chamber where the water is just warm enough to feel like it's not there that exactly that and then some would sense scene do anything or no well everything's unseen so yeah that's the thing I'm thinking so yeah I guess I guess we'll try to use that okay if he can get up okay um do me a favor could you or could you roll your composure plus aspect for me [Music] please we go [Applause] I roll the three I am I was um having a small partaking there with me one quick second because that's impossible that is absolutely ridiculous there is no way in this world or the next yeah that's exactly where ameral lives in the impossible in that small space between what is probable what is improbable and what is 100% inoss struggling against the darkness that is so active and valid and clear that the only thing that exists is the absence of everything unlike normal Darkness where you see the shifting Shadows of things where there's a Flicker at the corner of the eye or the light changes just enough that there's a difference between dark and deeper dark this darkness is the absence there's no sound there's nothing there's no change of pressure against the skin there's a sense and a semblance of weightlessness he believes that he is standing but there's no input to prove that he can't feel the weight of any of his very heavily lined pockets of auton he can't feel the weight of his backpack nor the clothes against his skin and most presently he can't feel the presence of anything else living or dead near him passing him doing that very annoying Midwestern that some of the tourists do when they're when they get too close to him on his tours none of that input or information is there and yet a path appears slowly lighting up as if some Grand stage director purposely positioned him so that the path merges into first two then four then eight on and on and on in multiplicity over and over before him slowly lighting as there as if there's some candles being struck up as if by Magic one after the other down each of those paths if they split and they diverge choices decisions possibilities to his left those several 100 paths opening further and further on as far as the eye can see there's a Gathering of Kindred something large has happened and there's impassion pleas and conversations being had to his right there's the absence of that where on the left in those exact same places there are Kindred Gathering two and three together on the right there's a singular individual morning there is a hand sliding across the top of an ear there's red stains trickling down their cheek then they turn looking over their left shoulder towards you emerald and your associate saber who smilingly looks at you and much like the dead never telling Tales there is no sound but you can tell as he looks at you his left arm going over your shoulder like you two are bosom friends and Pals of old and then he tosses a off-handed gesture towards the individual with the startling smile dressed in his Blazer of it looks like eggplant or something darker and there's uh accents of blue and green and it mels together into a tapestry showing exactly how well form their person is how active they were in life you're sure you're not sure how but you are sure that they are in fact themselves a distant relation a distant kin and saber silently chuckling and laughing at some vast joke gives the thumbs up patch you on your chest and you're once more back in the dark alone what the absolute hell was that uh just shocked by everything that just happened amiral kind of exclaims some an outburst we bewildered by seeing sites and scenes that make no sense to his mind at the moment now never makes sense to the past and the future seldom makes sense to the now yet somewhere in there you go from the past into the future without ever realizing it says the presence that you felt somewhere in the network somewhere out there in the H web of all possible things it's a presence that you felt and watched from a distance like everything else in your existence you watch from a distance the only interaction the only closeness you've had the most recently is Safari who well doesn't exist in this moment there's just the darkness and [Music] you and in that moment as realization Dawns or escapes or flees or whatever realization does in moments such as this when with there being an overwhelming hand of Fate playing in the lives and immortali of these Kindred it is 44 after the hour let's be back here at exactly the turn of the hour for the second half of our last and final popup see you all in a few