The 1337 5kw4d: Background
Frustrated at the attitude of her Clan elders towards her after the death of her sire during the Sabbat Crusade of Ashford, Willa Jade of Clan Senya sought out several other neonates of different clans of like mind, some of which had been online rivals, and convinced them to form a coterie now known as the 1337 5kw4d (Leet-speak for The Elite Squad).
Although it is not a closed group in principal, and it is easy to become allied with the coterie as long as they are treated with respect or there are shared common interests/values, they are very specific regarding criteria for full membership (the coterie runs much like a fraternity house or social group).
All prospective members need to be of at least above-average intelligence (this is usually verified via an IQ test, or other form of testing mechanism - the 1337 5kw4d acknowledges that intelligent people may not be mathematically or academically-minded) and at least competent with computers, technology or the Internet. Whilst the coterie strives to mutually-aid their own computing/technological interests and learning, prospective members need to demonstrate both an interest and raw potential in some form of computing, although they do not need to be experts or even formally qualified.
The final criteria is that only neonates are accepted. This is a de-facto rule, as they believe that few ancilla (and certainly no elders) would be either proficient enough with technology to be a member, and especially would not be willing to be an equal member of a leaderless group of presumably younger kindred.
There is no formal leader, and most decisions are discussed and decided between all members (typically over social media or other form of digital communications); but most of them acknowledge Jade to be the one with the most drive (translation: the pushiest) and de-facto figurehead of the group, although Garf is the most vocal and socially active (translation: hot-headed).
At present, the 1337 5kw4d includes:
- Willa Jade, Clan Senya. Internet alias: 0r4cL3. IT Specialty: Telecommunications
- Arisha Pirozhnikova, Clan Toreador. Internet alias: Ste4mG1r7. IT Specialty: Engineering
- 1337, Clan Nosferatu. Internet alias: 1337Kw33n. IT Specialty: Digital Media
- Peter "Garf" Garfield, Clan Brujah. Internet alias: Ȼя4ȥ¥ MØиk3¥. IT Specialty: Hacktivist
- Evelina Astridsdotter, Clan Malkavian. Internet alias: B00kw0rm. IT Specialty: Research, Linguistics & Occult lore
- Mackenzie 'Kenzi' Dubenenko, Clan Gangrel. Gamer Tag: K4mik3nzi22. IT Specialty: Video Gaming.
The Elm Street House (Communal Haven)
The coterie has recently pooled it's resources (translation: it's paid for by Jade, and the others add their stuff to it) and have a shared haven, although most of them have not yet discarded their personal havens for a variety of reasons (most would claim a backup or alternate haven for private or emergency use is useful). The haven is situated at 2612 Elm St, Bakersfield, CA 93301 - an address that appeals to them because they're Geeks, and is normally just referred to as Elm Street house or Nightmare House.
Whilst the house was originally a spacious 5-bedrooms with basement and huge 12x11 walk in closet and 3 bathrooms (one a 3/4), Jade had it converted so that the walk-in closet consumes one of the bathroom spaces (she figures Kindred have less use of bathrooms, and they still have one and a 3/4 left) to have become a server room of sorts - all the Coterie's desktop computers and other non-portable IT equipment is stored here (most of the coterie have portable computers such as laptops or tablets they can use elsewhere if needed) and fully networked with a central NAS device and centralised security control for the CCTV cameras. The large basement has also been converted, halving the available space to make an extra, window-less bedroom for 1337, so she does not have to be concerned about being spotted by mortals passing by. The other half is used as a store room, but in practice has become 0rac1e has consulted architects about adding extra rooms using some of the large lot space behind the house, perhaps by adding them on stilts like one of the top-floor bedrooms, but she has pragmatically stated that the plan is on hold until they see if they survive the Sabbat Crusade, or if there is a need for it, as they doubt the coterie will grow much more. All the bedrooms have tinted glass windows and heavy-duty metal blinds that completely block sunlight, and make it virtually impossible to tell that the blinds are drawn from outside the house when the windows are closed.
As you might expect for a house with six computer and IT experts living in it, there are many customised high-tech features, most of which are automated and/or can be controlled from mobile phone apps, such as bluetooth locks on the doors, CCTV and security systems, smart lights and sprinkler systems (so none of them have to bother with the chore of watering the grass, and they have a robot lawncutter), smart shutters and more. One of the two spacious living rooms has been turned into a Geek's heaven, as their idea of relaxation is either having a massive LAN party or watching movies - and so contains several gaming consoles and large 4K UHD screens. Although this would seem a naturally noisy and conflicting environment, the reality is that most of them when gaming prefer to use headphones (better sound experience), and only tend to have things on speakers when mutually participating in the activity.
House Features:
- 6 bedrooms (2 large, 1 basement, 3 large)
- 1 full bathroom, 1 three-quarter bathroom
- Large Basement storage area and Workshop
- Gaming Lounge
- Living Lounge
- 2 parking garages (plus drivespace capable of supporting 2 more car-sized vehicles)
- 7,933 sqft garden, lawn and fenced yard (10,567 sqft lot size, 2-floor 2,634 sqft flooring) with automated sprinkler and grass-cutter.
- 22 solar panels and various UPSs and a backup power generator
- Metal automated, dayproofed, security Blackout shades.
- Whole house fan and HVAC (Heating, ventilation and air conditioning) units
- Hot Tub (garden)
- Electronic security system and alarm, bluetooth locks and door bars.
WoD game stats:
- Haven size: 3 (large home, 6-8 rooms)
- Haven Luxury: 4 (pleasant exterior and design, with many modern and unique amenities)
- Haven Security: 3 (modern locks, bars, electronic security, alarm systems, security cameras)
Member Profiles
0r4cL3 (Willa Jade)
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- Real/Birth Name: Kimberley Willa Gordon
- Known Identiy/Mortal Alias: Willa Jade
- Internet Alias: 0r4cL3 (Oracle)
- IT Specialty: Telecommunications
- Place of Origin: Chelsea, England, United Kingdom
- Height: 5'5"
- Occupation: JadeTech CEO
- Apparent Age: Early-20s
- Embraced: 2003
- Kindred Status: Neonate
- Sire: Clarissa Jade
- Clan: Senya (Oracles)
- Clan Status: Adoptee
- Sect: Camarilla
- Sect Status: No status
Appearance
Pretty but skinny girl in her early 20s. Willa is usually observed wearing clothing appropriate for a work environment. Even when casual, she prefers jeans and a blouse or (usually geeky) t-shirt. She self-admits to having little sense of fashion. If she is going to an event that requires it, she will plunder the Internet beforehand and determine what is reasonably fashionable enough to wear, then purchase it online.
Background & Education
Jade was born Kimberley Willa Gordon in the UK and the mortal grand-neice of Clarissa Jade of Clan Senya. She was born with a rare condition: Dextocardia Situs Inversus; due to which Jade's heart was on the wrong side of her body, and this presented many heart-related problems as she grew up. Despite this, she grew courageous and strong-willed and defied her condition, achieving the Duke of Edinburgh award, but her ability to participate in physical endeavours was limited, and regular illness caused her to spend much time at home. A precocious fast learner with eidetic memory, Jade learnt much from books and the internet, and grew extrememly capable with computers which she felt allowed her to have an active online social life despite her condition.
She achieved a BSc Honours (First Class) in Computer Science from Middlesex University, and was undergoing her Masters degree when she suffered a major heart attack due to her dextocardia. Although she survived the attack, it had weakened her already-fragile heart, and a transplant was impopssible due to her condition. Her days were numbered. Unwilling to let her die, her grandmother told her a family secret - that her own sister had not died during the second world war, but had become a vampire - though she had not seen her in decades. Kimberley used her computing skills and in time managed to track down her great-aunt and begged for help. Impressed and touched by both her plight and skill, her great-aunt Embraced her, and helped her fake her own death before bringing her to her new unlife in America as Willa Jade.
In Ashford Jade made up for lost time, completing her Masters and then achieved a D.Eng in Computer Science; following which she has worked at her sire's Jade Technology Ltd (alias: JadeTech) company, being elevated quickly to a managerial position. Whilst working for her sire, Jade's sire also trained her in the Path of Technomancy Thaumaturgy, and other secondary paths, and ensured she gained some basic martial arts training and competence with firearms. This would prove to be a wise precaution when the Sabbat Crusade struck. The infamous Opera House Massacre left Jade without a sire and mentor, and she found little solace from her Clan, with their Primogen seemingly having lost his mind in grief at the death of Clarissa Jade, who was his paramour, and most of the clan being too occupied with their own survival or insensitive to the neonate's grief. What little attention and aid they gave was often in the form of authoritarian instructions as to what the clan required her to do - or often what they objected to her doing, as during this time Willa began calling herself simply "Jade" as an homage to her sire (who likewise rarely used her first name) and grew close to various of the Malkavian clan, inclusing the Malkavian Whip AJ which who she was rumoured to have been romantically involved at one point.
Founding of the 1337 5kw4d
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A white-hat hacker, Jade had at times clashed with other neonates (most notably with 1337 of Clan Nosferatu) and become frenemies of sorts with them. She decided to approach them individually, and managed to convince them that they had more in common than they realised, and together could form a power-group that could give even Camarilla elders pause; and in the short-term, mutually protect each other and assist their clans against the Sabbat Crusade.
As most of the founding members were either anarchs, anarch-sympathisers or otherwise saw benefit of joining (not least of which was not being conquered/killed by the Sabbat), the coterie was formed under the initial alias of the D1g174L F4ng5, although this was changed later on after the group established ties with the Digital Draculas coterie and other Anarch Movement Hactivists, so as to not appear to have plagiarised the name idea. The initial founding members were (in order of acceptance):
- Willa Jade, Clan Senya. Internet ID: 0r4cL3
- 1337, Clan Nosferatu. Internet ID: 1337Kw33n
- Peter 'Garf' Garfield, Clan Brujah. Internet ID: Ȼя4ȥ¥ MØиk3¥
- Arisha Pirozhnikova, Clan Toreador. Internet ID: Ste4mG1r7
Several weeks later, two other neonates were invited into the coterie, both with less hacktivism skills, but ability or potential with different fields of computing or digital information usage:
- Evelina Astridsdotter, Clan Malkavian. Internet ID: B00kw0rm (sponsored by 0r4cL3)
- Mackenzie 'Kenzi' Dubenenko, Clan Gangrel. Gamer Tag: K4mik3nzi22 (sponsored by Ste4mG1r7)
IT Speciality & Coterie Role
Whilst all the members of the 1337 5kw4d who have degrees in computing-related fields have a high degree of competence in various IT disciplines, Jade is by far the one with the highest degree of computer science education and works actively in the IT field and hacktivism. She is a master coder and expert in network and media communications. This makes her a natural master hacker (she will state she does not hack - she finds errors in code or hardware that she can exploit).
Signature Equipment
- Alienware Area-51 Desktop PC with 32" Dell UltraSharp Ultra HD 4K monitor
- HP Spectre x2 tablet pc
- Samsung Galaxy S8 smartphone
- Sig-Sauer P229 handgun
- Pink 2004 Ford StreetKa or Jade-green Lotus Elise 111 (which belonged to her sire)
1337Kw33n (1337)
- Real/Birth Name: Rehtaeh Coleman
- Known Identiy/Mortal Alias: Holly Ruston
- Internet Alias: 1337Kw33n (Leet Queen)
- IT Specialty: Digital Media
- Place of Origin: Ashford, California, USA
- Height: 5'6"
- Occupation: Media Designer and YouTuber (as Holly Ruston)
- Apparent Age: Undeterminable (Holly Ruston appears in her early 20s)
- Embraced: 2007
- Kindred Status: Neonate
- Sire: Alexis Daubney
- Clan: Nosferatu
- Clan Status: Respected neonate
- Sect: Camarilla
- Sect Status: No status
Appearance
As a nosferatu, 1337's appearance is monstrous and hideous, being obviously inhuman. Despite this, this still fashions herself much like a cheeky girl of her age might. She usually wears comfortable but modern clothing such as jeans and fashionable (but mid-priced) t-shirts, normally topped off with her signature leather jacket. She regularly dies her hair in modern ways - at least two different (usually non-natural) colours, and wears lipstick (badly, as her mouth is deformed, her lips being plump in parts and almost non-existent in others) and other make-up. She loves to accessorize, being especially fond of bangles, beads and other casual jewelry, as well as beanie hats. As she has poor eyesight and needs to wear glasses, she is usually found wearing normal glasses or prescription sunglasses, both having Ralph Lauren frames. 1337 had a tattoo on her right arm before the embrace which has survived her embrace completely intact. The tattoo displays the Chinese script "實力勇氣" which means "strength and courage" (which she now thinks is kinda ironic considering how her mortal life ended).
Background & Education
1337 does not like speaking of her mortal life - but it was not that long ago, and she was a media sensation at the time, so anyone who knows her real name (which seems to be most of Ashford's kindred society, the Harpies are efficient at spreading juicy information at Elysium, especially when it discomforts Nosferatu) can easily gather the main details of her mortal days. The general consensus is that 1337 was born Rehtaeh Coleman, had a standard upbringing and to all descriptions was a typical Ashfordian high schooler. She was interested in social media, boys (although she never had an actual boyfriend), fashion-conscious and tried to fit in with the popular crowd; which wasn't easy as she was smart and good with computers, so the popular-kids socially lumped her with the nerds. But she ended up helping out a few of the popular kids with their homeworks and the next thing she knew, she was part of the popular crowd. Or so she thought. Rehtaeh learnt the hard way that once an outsider, always an outsider; and if the popular crowd invite outsiders to something they weren't guests... they were the entertainment. Telling her mother that she was going to the cinema with a friend, Rehtaeh went to a party with her 'popular' friend Jane Blatchford, at the house of the best friend of her older brother. There she admits that it was her first time drinking alcohol, and had too many vodkas and cocktails, encouraged on by her friend Jane. She has little memory of the events that followed, which she describes as being like a lucid dream, except that at one point she was semi-concious, barely able to stand, and began vomiting out a window, during which point her brother's friend held her down, removed her skirt and began to rape her; after which his three friends took it in turns to rape her. She was not even consciously aware that her friend Jane took photographs and video of the entire event as she laughed and encouraged the boys' actions.
The photos and video ended up spreading like wildfire on the social networks and mobile phones of the school population, and the local community. Almost overnight, Rehtaeh found herself not the sympathetic victim of a gang rape, but at first the source of slut-shaming ridicule, then later a villainess whore who was attempting to ruin the lives of popular students to gain attention. Rehtaeh learned the hard way how powerful and dangerous the Internet could be as she found herself the victim of cyberbullying and harrassment; her social media accounts, e-mail and mobile were constantly bombarded with slut-shaming, dirty solicitous comments from boys she'd never met, hateful insults. or even worse abuse. Soon, Rehtaeh lost all her friends and became depressed and angry. Even changing schools twice, and weeks of therapy in a children's hospital after an attempted suicide by pill overdose, did little to alleviate her depression, or relieve the harrassment. Someone would inevitably find out what had happened (and vindictive people from her former school would make it a point of ensuring those at the new school found out) and the cycle would repeat itself. After one final betrayal from one of the few friends she thought she still had, in a moment of anxiety Rehtaeh hung herself in the shower with one of her father's belts. She didn't die, but was on life support for 3 days until the decision was finally taken to pull the plug.
That was when a Nosferatu decided to give her one last chance... after her Embrace her mindset changed somewhat (she thinks lack of mortal functional chemistry goes someway to explain this) and in time has made the most of her new unlife; although for the first few years she used her new condition to avenge herself, and her perceived failure of the law to get justice for her drove her to become a member of Anonymous as she dove fully into the world of the possibilities of the Internet in a digital age. Over time she increased her IT skills exponentially, both through personal study and continuation of her education via online courses, 1337 (Rehtaeh has long-since mostly abandoned her mortal name, trying to leave her past behind her, realising that not letting go of her anger and past would take her down a path that fed the Beast) managed to achieve her high school diploma, and then did a BSc majoring in Computer Science (Computer Information Systems track with Digital Media focus) with a minor in Interdisciplinary Studies (Film Studies).
1337 began working under the alias Holly Ruston as an independent media designer, creating anything from promotion photos and adverts, to full short movies and documentaries. At first Holly was an unseen face that could only be contacted via the Internet, and worked remotely on projects - but as both her media skills and ability with the Obfuscate discipline grew, the scope of what projects she could do increased as Holly was able to actually make appearances (or "someone sent by Holly" at least if she fails to keep the same Holly mask), and has created a computer program similar to (and inspired by) that used by Hollywood for body-capture, that real-time imposes a digital construction of Holly over her own appearance - this allows Holly to have an active YouTube and social life, conference, and even post many (fake but realistic) pictures of her during the daytime during events or holiday trips. The program also factors for time discrepancy, slowly aging Holly's appearance as appropriate to her age.
Within her clan, 1337 is a SchreckNET (the Nosferatu information network) administrator. Whilst most Nosferatu know at least enough about computers to access SchreckNET and share information, few are experts enough in IT to be able to administrate and be responsible for local security. As the Nosferatu clan in Ashford has traditionally been kept in a small state by the previous Prince and his administration, there are few people with 1337's computer skillset and as such, despite her age, she has quickly gained clan status for assisting other Nosferatu with online issues, as well as the occasional hacking as well as keeping the local SchreckNET node secure.
Storyteller note: 1337's background is an amalgamation of the tragic real-life events of Rehtaeh Parsons and Daisy Coleman, and intented as a respectful homage to these girls and what occurred; an to give them some justice: 1337 achieved her own justice, with Jane now being her ghoul retainer, and the 4 boys from the event strangely all met... unfortunate, painful, and rather fatal accidents.
IT Speciality & Coterie Role
1337s experise is in media design. She is an expert with all forms of digital media and software - Adobe PhotoShop, InDesign, After Effects, and Premiere; Autodesk 3dsmax, and Maya; Apple Final Cut Pro; and other industry-professional software such as V-Ray, Motion Builder, Stop Motion Pro, ZBrush, Eyeon Fusion, Nuke, GameBryo. This is a hobby and a profession for her, as well as a lifeline, and she excels at it. She is equally capable with network and visual media, and is capable of setting up anything from a fully-functionall CCTV system, live video feed at an event, or an entire concert's sound and video needs (theoretically anyhow, she's never actually done it).
However many are often surprised to find that although she considers herself a digital artist she is actually an professional in internet security and telecommunications. As she points out to the surprised, her degree was in Computer Science and Digital Media and Film Studies were electives and minors, but she still did the programming, security, IT architecture and other hard-core computing modules which even dedicated network programmers would have done. Only her specialisation focus changed, not her overall capability. 1337 uses these skills daily, and has improved them beyond the scope of her original degree as she participates in hacktivism, counter-hacking and security on a daily basis.
It was 1337 that convinced, and helped, Kenzi to start her University degree. Kenzi is in fact doing the same course that 1337 did, at the same University (1337s experience and course/subject familiarity means she can better assist her coterie-mate) but a different track. The two have grown close as a result of this relationship.
Signature Equipment
- 28" Microsoft Surface Studio All-in-One desktop PC
- Microsoft Surface Tablet
- Lumia 950 XL Windows Smartphone
- X-26 Taser
- Victorinox CyberTool
- Yamaha Vino Classic moped
Ȼя4ȥ¥ MØиk3¥ (Peter "Garf" Garfield)
- Real/Birth Name: Peter "Garf" Garfield
- Known Identiy/Mortal Alias: Peter Garfield
- Internet Alias: Ȼя4ȥ¥ MØиk3¥
- IT Specialty: Hactivism
- Place of Origin: Ashford, California, USA
- Height: 5'10"
- Occupation: Journalist, Ashford Snoop/Hacktivist & Blogger (as Ȼя4ȥ¥ MØиk3¥)
- Apparent Age: Mid-20s
- Embraced: 2004
- Kindred Status: Neonate
- Sire: Lorrie Sabatino
- Clan: Brujah
- Clan Status: Known
- Sect: Anarch Movement
- Sect Status: Respected
Appearance
Garf resembled the classic skinny geek grown up (a bit). He has a youthful appearance that makes people often think he is younger than even his natural appearance, and his hair is thick and quite long on top, being almost always fashionably unkempt. Although he can wear appropriate clothing for most situations, in a natural environment he favours comfortable, casual clothing in layers. He was embraced unprepared and as such he has natural beard stubble that looks like he's grown a light beard, but it's not quite a full beard yet - and he typically shaves it nightly, although occasionally leaves it when he wants to appear a little more mature. It is common to see him with a digital camera (he admits to not being a great photographer, but he likes to be prepared because because good moments for photos that can hurt the establishment are rarely plannable events).
Background & Education
Garf was always strong-willed and opinionated. "Intense" is the word most used to describe him. It didn't help that he was a skinny, geeky kid with a talent for computers - he got beaten up, a lot. Yet whenever his father even noticed and attempted to take action, it would end up swept under the rug because the jocks that beat him had influential parents - and of course they always became his word against theirs, with no proof. His father was rarely attentive or caring, he was an obsessive, paranoid, conspiracy theorist who ultimately drove Garf's mother away when he was in his early teens. She won custody and took him with her, but the damage had been done. Sure, his father was nuts, but in his ramblings, Garf discovered that there were truths - especially as it related to his own experiences. It made him wonder where the truths and lies began and ended (IF they ended) and how the privelaged always got their way, and ran everything (even, and especially, when they 'didn't). As he got older, and his computer skills improved as he became active with hacktivist groups, the more he started to investigate, the more ugly truths he found out.
Despite his understanding and ability with computers, he ended up Majoring in Sociology instead of computing; although he did take a Minor in Applied Computing and Information Systems, and was active in various societies and Anonymous activities. After graduation he survived as a pizza delivery boy for a few years - subsidised by his blog, which had enough followers for him to gain some advertising revenue. Eventually, he got a job for the Ashford Snoop. There he wrote a stinging article about sexual inequality in American politics, that got the attention of an anarch with who he had a whirlwind love affair before she embraced him out of passion for his spirit.
Since his embrace his hacktivism has extended to include Kindred activities (which explain much of what is wrong with mortal institutions - mortals think it's the Illuminati that control the world, whilst he realises that the Illuminati is just a name given to the stranglehold the kindred, especially the Ventrue, have over the mortal world). He understands the need for the masquerade, and for control to protect it, but he believes that the Camarilla is run by corrupt elites who oppress and keep those under them at their level, whilst they just grow in power and wealth. It's the same game as with mortal, except with higher stakes and scope. Unfortunately in life he believed in free will and was a fanatic liberal, and his Brujah blood has only strengthened that passion further.
IT Speciality & Coterie Role
Information is Garf's specialty - and getting information that others don't want people getting. Garf is an expert-level hacker and familiar with most aspects of general computing, networking and computer security. Whilst parts of this are due to his university training, he has actually learnt more by sheer will and lifelong passion for computing, and from other Hacktivists, than his formal education. Despite this, he isn't the group's most prolific hacker (that award goes to Jade, and 1337 in second place) as he prefers using a combination of old-fashioned investigation, contacts, allies and other traditional methods. He is extremely active on social networks, both as himself (as a journalist for the Ashford Snoop newspaper) and on his Hactivist Ȼя4ȥ¥ MØиk3¥ blog, where he rails against the establishment (both mortal and kindred - sometimes his attacks against mortal institutions actually instead attack the kindred that control them). As Garf knows that the stuff Ȼя4ȥ¥ MØиk3¥ posts about can make enemies, and possibly even be considered masquerade risks at times (he is not stupid enough to want to break the masquerade, but sometimes it's inevitable to reveal some details of the fact that the reason a charitably institution has so much corruption is because there's a greedy Ventrue secretly behind it), he takes great pains to keep his Ȼя4ȥ¥ MØиk3¥ alias a secret identity. Few outside his coterie even suspect that Ȼя4ȥ¥ MØиk3¥ and Garf are the same person (and certainly, those who suspect cannot prove anything).
Signature Equipment
- Dell XPS 15 laptop
- Dell’s XPS X8700 desktop with 21" Dell Monitor
- Huawei Nexus 6P Android smartphone
- Sony Apha DSLRA100 Digital Camera
- Smith & Wesson Shield 9mm pistol
- Kia Rio
Ste4mG1r7 (Arisha Pirozhnikova)
- Real/Birth Name: Arisha Pirozhnikova
- Known Identiy/Mortal Alias: Agata Pirozhnikova
- Internet Alias: Ste4mG1r7
- IT Specialty: Software Engineering and Autonomous Systems
- Place of Origin: Odessa, Ukraine
- Height: 5'4"
- Occupation: Software Engineer/Inventor
- Apparent Age: Early-20s
- Embraced: 1999
- Kindred Status: Neonate
- Sire: Edna Theriot (Deceased)
- Clan: Toreador
- Clan Status: Known
- Sect: Anarch Movement
- Sect Status: No status
Appearance
In her natural appearance Arisha is a blue-eyed brunette with a slender figure and voluptuous curves, but it is rare to see her that way. Arisha is an avid Cosplayer and changes her hair colour and wears coloured eye contacts on a very frequent basis. Even when not in a Cosplay, she tends to prefer being a peroxide blonde. When dressed casually she favours comfortable and airy clothing such as t-shirts (usually short-cut or sleeveless or similar), stretchy pants or casual dresses - depending on the situation. Whatever she wears tends to look casual but striking on her eye-catching frame. When she is in Cosplay, she favours steampunk outfits, superhero costumes or anime/computer game cosplay - usually sexy outfits (or sexy versions of the proper outfit). Arisha knows that she is attractive and dresses to take advantage of this; some say overcompensating for her otherwise introverted nature.
Background & Education
Arisha will either admit to being dual-blessed with good looks and brains; or consider her looks a curse. People tend to laud her appearance over her intellect. She'd admit she's not the most beautiful woman, but a natural girl-next-door prettiness, voluptious curves and a healthy and active lifestyle has led to a toned and attractive figure. At school she was often picked on by the popular kids for being a nerd until she puberty, at which point she claims her body just seemed to almost overnight load a new template, and suddenly boys were all over her, and male teachers were being friendlier than they probably should have been... But somehow, she got through the drama of high school relatively unscathed. Arisha admits she was influenced by an early love of Anime (especially the Macross saga) growing up, and simply watching television, movies and playing computer games wasn't enough; she enjoyed tinkering, modifying and understanding how the geeky things she liked actually worked. This ultimately led to her studying at the prestigious Wroclaw University of Technology in Poland, where she eventually achieved a Masters degree in Systems of Control and Robotics.
Throughout it all, she was a nerd. She admits it, and that she'd be the person most likely to correct someone who mis-quotes a movie, or some factoid (and don't get her started over the difference between "literally" and "figuratively"). And as she got older, she got further into the geek culture. She had heard about America's Comic Conventions, and desired to go - but as a student was always too busy (and usually, especially considering her cosplay hobby, far too broke) to go. So once she finished her masters, she decided it was time to cross going to SDCC off her bucket list before beginning the next stage of her life, and left that summer for California with great excitement. She never came home.
At the comic con the creativity of her costume, and striking looks caught the eye of a Toreador who whirlwind entranced, seduced, then embraced Arisha. Arisha says that "looks can kill" is indeed a very literal expression - but sometimes the one that dies is the one dubiously blessed with the looks. Suddenly thrust into an unlife a million miles away (ok 10,631 km technically, but she prefers being figurative), and hated by many in the clan who took her simply as the sire's latest Barbie doll (intellect is not something the Toreador clan prizes, it seems) - she admits the first few months were hard, although she did gradually settle into Anarch culture until the Cathayans hit San Diego, and the West Coast. Her sire was killed almost in front of her (she admits she fled when the nasty asian vampires attacked and heard rather than saw the death) and she didn't stop running until she hit Ashford, which she'd heard had a very strong (read: ruthless) controller... and figured that likely meant safety from the Cathayans. As a presumed anarch she certainly can't say she was welcomed with open arms, but the Toreador Primogen of Ashford was willing to support her in exchange for all the information she could give about the Cathayans; which Arisha saw as a fair deal. Arisha initially struggled in Ashford's Toreador society but one day met, and was inspired by 'Mo' and her custom vehicle work and paint, seeing her as a kindred spirit. This encouraged her to start Agata's Custom Creations.
Agata's Custom Creations
Arisha is relishing the new geeky modern era and has combined her knowledge of mechanical engineering with her geeky habits. She has an online website called Agata's Custom Creations where, under the alias SteamGirl, she sells custom hand-built steampunk creations such as her steampunk coffee machine, skull mouse, Victorian music box (laptop), bluetooth, Victorian Organ Command Desk (workstation) and a range of steampunk toy robots. She frequents all the conventions she can (when it's safe to travel - many are in Cathayan or Sabbat territory) where she delights in her Cosplay passion, and promotes her small business. She would love to take her love of Cosplay professionally like others on the web, but knows that once her images are online, it's forever. Plus her parents back in Ukraine somehow stumbling across images of the daughter they think is dead, unaged... probably not good for the Masquerade!
IT Speciality & Coterie Role
Arisha's speciality can be simply described as robotics but she will say this is an over-simplification. Robotics is, she says, a multi-disciplinary field involving a variety of interconnecting fields: mechanical engineering, software engineering and architecture, control systems, and autonomous systems. This makes her a highly complex programmer capable of creating software solutions that can independently function - anything from highly-complicated macros to expedite computer activities, to creating functional robots - she has several small robots that she has constructed and serve various purposes, from cleaning services to automated cleaning, luggage carrying and security monitoring.
Whilst she is one of the coterie's members who doesn't actively participate in hacktivism, and considers herself an engineer and inventor, quite happy to spend most of her time making and tinkering with her own inventions (which she usually shows off at Toreador salons and Elysium, or sells at conventions or online). Despite this, her vast subject knowledge, programming expertise and understanding of control systems makes her a naturally expert hacker should she apply herself to it - which she has been known to when there is need.
Geek Collection... or Armoury?
Give a geek enough money and no real limitations, and their interests will give them a large collection of curiosities. And that's exactly what happened to Arisha as her business became increasingly successful. Although Arisha dislikes violence, she is a fan of various fantasy and action games, such as the Witcher series of books and games, Tomb Raider, and anime. And as a bit of a perfectionist, when she cosplays, she isn't happy with simple plastic replicas when the real things will do. As such, people would be surprised at the collection she has of actual pistols, such as her twin HK USP Match pistols, which are the same models (and modified to look exactly like) that are used by Lara Croft in Tomb Raider: Legend. She also has other pistols such as the ones used by her favourite characters in Resident Evil and other games. On the fantasy side, she has various swords that have been custom-made for her by a blacksmith which are perfect replicas of some weapons, such as a large replica of the Zirael sword used by Ciri in Witcher III, amongst others.
Whilst she will say these are for cosplay and decorative/collection purposes, the reality is that they are battle-ready weapons, and quite a few of them, enough that she effectively has a small armoury that in a pinch could arm her entire coterie. Of course most of these are not legal to openly carry outside the house, even with the permits she has managed to obtain. But some difficulties must be had for ones art...
Signature Equipment
- Steampunk-stike custom-PC (based on Dell, Intel and AMD architecture)
- Heavily modified steampunk-style ASUS laptop
- Apple iPhone 6s (usually with steampunk or anime cover)
- HK USP Match (Lara Croft replica pistols)
- Steampunk Herbie: Volkswagen Beetle (front half painted as Herbie, rear half is steampunk style)
B00kw0rm (Evelina Astridsdotter)
- Real/Birth Name: Kathleen Zingmark
- Internet Alias: B00kw0rm
- IT Specialty: Library & Information Systems
- Place of Origin: Umea, Sweden
- Height: 5'3"
- Occupation: Librarian II at Kern County Library (Beale Memorial Library)
- Apparent Age: Early-20s
- Embraced: 1989
- Kindred Status: Neonate
- Sire: Viktoria Engdahl
- Clan: Malkavian (Carriers)
- Clan Status: No status
- Sect: Camarilla
- Sect Status: Known
Appearance
Evelina is naturally a dark brunette with dark blue eyes, but most of the time she keeps her hair dyed to appear completely ginger (sometimes natural, sometimes a little too bright to be natural), or have red highlights. She has a pretty face, and wears large, round glasses to correct her eyesight that, depending on who you ask, either hide her natural prettiness, or add to her cuteness. She tends to wear comfortable and casual, modern clothing, but isn't particularly fashion-concious. Primark and Walmart are her typical clothing places, though occasionally she may indulge in a handbag or item from a more fashionable make - though this is usually more of a coincidence of seeing something that appeals than a fashion choice. Whilst on the rare occasion that she wears contacts, prepares her hair properly, and wears something nice she can look quite striking, for the most part she is easily dismissed as a pretty but otherwise standard bookish mouse.
Background & Education
Evelina was brought into the group by Jade, who met and befriended her whilst she was helping the Malkavian whip organise and motivate the clan into action after the initial wave of Sabbat attacks. It is known that she changed her name after her embrace, both as a practicality on faking her death after her embrace, and to leave her past behind. Evelina does not talk about her past, except to those she has grown close to, or when she has one of her episodes, but those in the know do not share the information and will only state that it is too personal and tragic for anyone other than Evelina to share, and that her mind had been broken before she was embraced.
It is known that during her mortal life Evelina was socially withdrawn, and she spent much time in libraries reading, or learning online. She has a natural ability with languages, and initially achieved a Bachelor's degree in Linguistics, and following this a Master's degree in Library & Information Science. She worked at one of Umea's major libraries until her embrace, and currently works as a Librarian II (senior librarian) for the Kern County Library system, usually being based at the Beale Memorial Library branch, the main library. In addition to her librarian duties, she also runs the late-evening book club (which despite the name begins shortly after sundown).
Although a neonate, Evelina is the oldest (in kindred age) of the coterie, being older than the next eldest and second-youngest put together, any other two put together, or the three youngest put together. Despite this, a casual observer of the group dynamic might be forgiven for thinking that she was at best the middle-child of the group.
Bloodline and Derangement
Whilst the madness of Malkavians can be hard to professionally identify, as they often have scientific basis but combine elements of different psychosis that may not be likely, or even humanly possible in mortals; and have even been known to change over time (Malkavians have been known to suffer from OCD after the embrace and then decades later lose the OCD and become sociopathic or regressive), it has been identified that when the entire clan suddenly regained the ability to use their original clan discipline of dementation, some did not and continued being Dominate Malkavians - which within the clan are known as Carriers as it is believed that they carry' the dementation and have the ability to pass it on (some believe it is a mental disease than can be transmitted, even to non-malkavians), but not actually be affected themselves.
It is also theorised that these Carriers, effectively considered a malkavian bloodline (where once they were the main clan) have no particular oracular ability/insight than any other kindred, unlike true malkavians which have uncanny insights; but they also appear to be less affected by the raving psychosis that many of the clan have, often being considered somewhat mild in their derangements.
Evelina is such a case, and Helen Quinzel, the Malkavian Primogen (and renown Psychiatrist) has identified (with high degree of reliability) that Evelina suffers from Borderline Personality Disorder. She believes that she may even have suffered this since before the embrace, and it has solidified further. As a BPD sufferer, Evelina suffers from mood instability and low self-image; being prone to constant, sudden mood swings and bouts of anger and depression. Whilst most of the time Evelina is a friendly, level-headed and helpful and caring girl, when her mood swings (and it can do so unpredictably) she can become so hostile and insufferable that she regularly drives off those she has managed to get close to.
Evelina has few friends.
IT Speciality & Coterie Role
On the surface Evelina has little to do with computing, and certainly seems one of the odd ones out in an otherwise hacktivist group. However she will point out (if asked) that modern librarians aren't just library receptionists - they deal with a lot of information and information systems, which involves a lot of computing. As part of both her Masters in Library & Information Science, and her daily activities, is the ability to understand, work with, set up and run library information systems; anything from understanding the numbering systems used and methodology, to using reservation and delivery systems across a network of inter-connected libraries (such as arranging for a book to be delivered from one branch to another after a reservation or delivery), setting up, maintaining and preparing film, video and micro-fiche, and if required setting up and administrating the information systems. Therefore although Evelina is possibly the weakest-IT member of the coterie, she is professionally competent with many areas of general computing, hardware, software and programming, computer networking, information and data flows and, especially, Jade claims is one of the best information-hunters in California capable of tracking information down from sources both online and offline, in areas and archives that people might not expect.
Evelina also has a large personal library of occult books, and her eidetic memory and ability to read around five times faster than the average person, means she is capable of accurately sifting through tremendous volumes of written information in a fraction of the time others can, with near-perfect recollection of key facts. This also makes her able to pick up languages at a phenomenal rate, and is currently fluent in twenty-six languages (two of which are native languages).
Whilst most of the coterie mates are good at using computers to access information and data, Evelina IS a walking library system.
Signature Equipment
- Evelina does not have her own personal desktop computer
- HP ProBook 450 G3 15.6" Business Ultrabook
- HP Elite x3 Windows smartphone
- Leatherman Skeletool
- Peugeot 307
K4mik3nzi22(Mackenzie 'Kenzi' Dubenenko)
- Real/Birth Name: Mackenzie 'Kenzi' Dubenenko
- Internet Alias: K4mik3nzi22
- IT Specialty: Video Gaming / General Computing
- Place of Origin: New York City, New York, USA
- Height: 5'7"
- Occupation: Personal Fitness Trainer / University Student
- Apparent Age: Early-20s
- Embraced: 2013
- Kindred Status: Neonate
- Sire: Cindy Walker
- Clan: Gangrel (Camarilla)
- Clan Status: No status
- Sect: Camarilla
- Sect Status: No status
Appearance
Red-blooded males are fond of making who is hotter? comparisons between SteamGirl and Kenzi, and indeed both women are strikingly attractive in vastly different ways. Whilst SteamGirl has greater natural girl-next-door prettiness, with voluptious curves; Kenzi is the end result of an attractive young woman who has led an incredibly active lifestyle of constant activity, working long hours in retail, and evolving into a health, nutrition and fitness enthusiast who became extremely active in physical sports for many years. She has a pretty face, with a lovely smile, brown eyes and luscious brown hair that could sell hair products (and in the past, has), but her figure is finely sculpted to the degree that it can be considered a work of art in itself. So much so, that kindred who are aware that the coterie has a Toreador member frequently make the mistake of assuming that Kenzi is the Toreador. Kenzi has natural beauty from a naturally active life, whilst Kenzi has worked hard to make her figure the physical fitness perfection that it is. She has a slender but fit frame, with legs that go on for miles, just the right amount of abs and muscles to make her look perfectly toned, but not muscular, and a derrier that Jade stated if Roomie ever saw her, I think she would want some kind of official competition to see who could claim the best derrier (of course, virtually no-one in the coterie had a clue of what that meant, but apparently the malkavian AJ and nosferatu Gustavo did...).
People are unsure if Kenzi is the I'm sexy and I know it, and I flaunt it type of woman; or the I do what I want, and wear what I wan't [or not wear what I want] and don't care what you think variety (which, considering she's a Gangrel, may be more likely). Whichever the case, when at home Kenzi is usually found wearing skimpy, stretchy sporting outfits, or quite commonly prancing around in comfortable/sporting underwear (she seems to have a large supply gained as benefits of her fitness modelling days). A solitary t-shirt over sporting underwear is her de-facto outfit at Elm Street House. When she goes out, she usually dresses appropriately for the situation - she's not beyond wearing a nice dress to an appropriate situation, and can look striking and elegant when she does so - but most of the time she favours casual clothing; jeans or denim shots and t-shirt/blouse, or sportswear such as hoodie and pants. Her hair can vary between being kept loose, or tied in pigtails, getting fancier when there is need.
Whilst many use the expression a wolf in sheep's clothing, in her case Kenzi is sometimes similarly described as a Gangrel in Toreador's clothing.
Background & Education
Mackenzie (aka 'Kenzi' to her friends and family) was born in New York City, the daughter of Russian Jewish immigrants Victor and Anna (née Grushman) who had left St Petersburg in the Post-Soviet aliyah. Her early life was comfortable due to her father being a fiber-optics engineer, with Kenzi leading a healthy and active childhood. She spending time with her father, at first playing computer games with him and her little brother, and as she got older she became more interested in his work. By the time she was 10 she could name every computer component and could set up a gaming rig on her own (which she did).
Then one day her father died on the way home in a freak car accident, and life became a lot harder. Whilst America did give opportunities to immigrants, it didn't exactly much care for them either. Money was extremely tight and Kenzi dropped out of school and worked long hours at a coffee shop for the family to have enough money to put food on the table, and for her little brother to receive his education. The only fun Kenzi had were the nights when she went to be a derby girl and took her anger and resentment out on the opposing team. It was on one derby night that she was discovered by a talent scout who was impressed by Kenzi's physical fitness and exotic good looks, and convinced her to try her hand at fitness modelling. This shot off faster than Kenzi could have imagined! For a few years her modelling, combined with supporting her modelling and sporting activities on social media, gave her fame and a... pretty respectable... income. Enough to help feed the family, give her more time for her own pursuits (and computer games) and secure her brother's education.
With her family secure, she decided to move to California, having become enamoured with it during some modelling trips there. There her modelling career excelled, and she even managed to get an ACE fitness instructor certification. When she wasn't modelling, she would work at a personal fitness instructor - whilst she enjoyed the relative freedom modelling gave, she knew that as she aged and her youthful looks left her, it would be harder to maintain unless she embraced it as a full-time and long-term career, heading into the catwalks of Milan and such places. It had ben fun, but modelling had been a means to an end, and she had little interest in it long-term. At heart she was a simple girl who simply wanted to be financially comfortable, and have as much spare time as possible for her two passions - computer gaming and sports.
It was at this peak that she was embraced by Cindy Walker, who was very active in sport management and their paths had crossed on some occasions. Cindy had befriended Kenzi, who had been none the wizer. When Cindy decided the time was right, she embraced Kenzi, which came as a shock to her, then after a couple of weeks of Essential Grangrel Training, dumped her in the middle of Death Valley National Park without any money or weapons, and told her to get back to Ashford on her own. Avoiding the Lupines and other dangers, finding daytime shelter, and transportation for the 220+ mile journey was not easy, but she made it, and Cindy welcome her back with open arms.
Whilst becoming Kindred was a shock - and brought her modelling career to a fairly quick end due to inability to make daytime shoots, and the issue of her lack of aging - Kenzi had always been a survivor and adapted. No longer having a need to dedicate time and money towards physical exercise and healthy living, or money for food and many other human life essentials, Kenzi is enjoying the extra time her unlife brings; playing more computer games and managing to complete her high-school diploma with night classes and online courses. Of late, thanks to her new coterie-mates, she has been getting more into different types of Geek culture, and continuing her computer education at university level.
IT Speciality & Coterie Role
Kenzi can best be described as a lifelong video game enthusiast (and is an active online gamer, moreso since as a kindred she is less able to participate in sporting activities), who is now an IT student. Whilst she got an early start to the IT life because of her father's occupation, this was cut short and effectively postponed for many years - although Kenzi always remained active (or at least, as active as possible) in online gaming and social media (and as the youngest member of the coterie, she has grown up in the Nintendo Generation where mobile phones and computers were a part of home, education, work and daily life all the time). She therefore was fairly competent and knowledgeable in internet and general computing & software usage, moreso that the average person, but certainly not to a professional degree. But the interest and ability was there, and this was recognised by Ste4mG1r7 who sponsored her membership (ie suggested her becoming a member and after Coterie discussion, extended the invitation - Kenzi never applied). With the Coterie's guidance, Kenzi has followed in 1337's academic footsteps and is doing the same course, at the same university, that 1337 did - except whilst 1337 focused on Media design and Film studies, Kenzi's track focuses on Video Game design; but the core electives are the same... meaning that Kenzi will become a professional web designer, graphic and media artist, and programmer with specialisation of making games. She has just successfully completed her first year of university, and she hopes that the end game will be that she can make games for mobile phones - which she says are fun, and done right can make you rich overnight. She's not really after the money, but says it would be nice to have a game on the iTunes store top apps list.
As it is, between her childhood, personal intrests and studies, help from/exposure to her coterie and her courses; all in all, Kenzi is at the level where she is professionally competent at general computing, and competent with computer hardware. She's no hactivist, but she's a good IT assistant and companion to her coterie friends. She also has possibly the most dynamic character. She believes (probably correctly) that she's the least-smart in the coterie, and so her role is to be the morale and comic relief. She is impulsively likely at any moment to do things that can only be described as silly (or as Jade says, daft) making her seem to outsiders like she's very immature, or stupid, though amusing her coterie mates who often joke Kenzi is the "Worst. Gangrel. Ever!"
Signature Equipment
- Apple 27" iMac with Retina 5K Display (gift from Jade to convince/help her train/fit into the Coterie... ie a membership bribe)
- Apple 15" Macbook Pro (2014 model bought 2nd hand when starting her course)
- Apple iPhone 7 (also a gift from Jade, who said that her previous iPhone was a security risk)
- Kenzi carries/owns no weapons; but she has play-fought with SteamGirl's swords on occasion
- Harley-Davidson Custom Softail (graduation gift from her sire for not dying during her post-Embrace "test")