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Yup. More gaming geekery. Yup. More research into the most esoteric things, like Canadian mafia, mysterious Finnish mass graves, and Brander genealogy. I'm having fun!
Magnus Brander
Childe of Margot Kartoffel (Margd)
Clan Malkavian
Derangement: On occasion, sees/interacts with people who aren't there. When I'm playing the character, from time to time an NPC can be thrown into the fray. As a player, I will assume the character is real, unless actions of other characters reveal this is only within Magnus's imagination. Perhaps imaginary characters could be those Magnus has fed from. So if it's someone who's currently living, I could possibly see two of them at the same time. If it's from someone who should be long dead, I would figure out something strange is going on....
Embraced August 17th, 1898 in Halifax Harbour, Nova Scotia
His aunt, Signe Brander (1869-1942), became one of Finland's favourite photographers, and indeed, made her living as such.
Magnus Brander came from a rich, artistically-inclined family. The patriarch of the family, Gustav Brander, was becoming increasingly disgruntled about the Russification of Finland, and had been making plans for some time to emigrate to Canada. Indeed, he already had family over there. Gustav's uncle Robert Brander had married Elizabeth Ann Gay in Halifax, NS some years previous, and Gustav had plans on visiting them before making his way west to Hamilton.
The eldest of eight boys, Magnus was raised with the expectations that he would fulfill some sort of noble purpose. He was classically educated as were many aristocrats of the time, with private tutors in the humanities (Latin, Greek, English, Swedish, Russian, theology, history, and the Classics) , and also with “practical” knowledge suited to a young man: elocution, hunting, shooting, swordsmanship, etc. A charming and handsome young man, he proved particularly adept with his powers of rhetoric. When he was fourteen years old, Magnus was sent off to a military school to further build character. By the time he was eighteen years old, he'd become a minor officer with the Finnish separatists and had already served in several military campaigns. But when he was eighteen years old, he witnessed an atrocity which changed everything.
A Russian military hospital had been set up in the little town of Huhtiniemi, and Finnish separatists attacked the installation, taking it unawares. The separatists routed the Russians, slaughtering the sick and wounded, both soldiers and civilians, as they lie in their beds. Magnus's division was responsible for the mass burial of the victims. Although the victims had not been treated with any decency in life, Magnus was instrumental in making sure they were buried in accordance with their religious beliefs. The bodies were all buried in traditional Russian Orthodox position, and each of the bodies wore an Orthodox cross.
Traumatized by the incident, Magnus deserted the military, fleeing back to his family in Helsinki. He was determined to devote his life to theological studies.
When he arrived in Helsinki, he was surprised to see he had gained a foster sister: a lovely young German woman by the name of Margot Kartoffel. In an act of charity, the Branders had taken pity on the young lady and treated her and cosseted her like the daughter they never had. Margot had no family, very little money, and no real belongings aside from a large steamer trunk filled with books. She said they were family heirlooms, and all that she had left of her beloved family.
Although obviously very intelligent, Margot was both very shy, and retiring. Margot's skin was deathly pale, and on the odd occasion when Magnus held her hand to help her on the stairs or into a carriage, her skin was painfully cold. He worried about her health, and urged her to eat more.
The journey across the Atlantic took several weeks, and was very stormy. Magnus found himself drawn to Margot's side in the early evenings. At first, he didn't say much, as he was still jittery from his horrible experiences in Huhtiniemi. Something about Margot made him open up, and before he could stop himself, he was telling her the things he had seen and done—the sort of things no lady should ever have to hear. But Margot's reaction startled him. Although she couldn't possibly have ever experienced anything as horrific in her own sheltered life, she understood. Her capacity for empathy overwhelmed him, and he swooned in her arms.
When he awoke, he felt both weaker and more in control of himself. He also realized he was in love with this wondrous, pale creature. As the nights passed, he became more and more sure of this love. On August 16, 1898, the night before they landed in Halifax, he asked her to be his wife.
She accepted.
When the ship docked the next evening, Magnus told his startled parents he would meet up with them at great-uncle Robert Brander's home. Before they could say or do anything about it, Magnus hailed a cab and took off with Margot and her precious trunk in tow to a hotel with plans of eloping on the morrow.
Things didn't quite go as he planned. When he arrived in his room, he promptly fell into a deep sleep. When he awoke, he was shocked to see Margot with several dogs. “What are they doing here?” he asked.
“Shh,” said Margot. “They're for when we get hungry.” And at that, Margot embraced him, holding him down when he frenzied, feeding him the horrid-tasting dogs' blood.
When the frenzy abated, she fed him more of her blood, but not nearly as much as he wanted. He asked for more, but she said, “You wouldn't like me very much if you drank any more.” It didn't make any sense to him, but no less than anything else which had happened that night.
His vampiric education continued over the next few nights, as Margot taught him how to hunt, how not to kill his prey, what precautions he needed to take, and how to control his ever-burgeoning hunger. She also explained that Magnus's parents were in her thrall: they were ghouls. At first he was horrified, but after a time, Margot placated him, explaining that she had no intentions of ever mistreating them, and in fact would act as a protector to his family. And that now, with his own new abilities, he was also in a much better situation to help his family and their descendants.
Somewhat mollified, Magnus and Margot returned to his family, and soon after, they all made their way to Hamilton.
Margot took her time educating Magnus. He was both eager to learn and eager to please. Under her direction, he learns how to take care of the ghouls, and how to interact with Kindred society. Before long, he becomes her Whip, hunting for vitae each night, managing the holdings, and acting as her messenger and protector. It's not the live he'd envisioned, but it's not terrible, either. In dealing with other Kindred, he realizes he's lucked out with a Sire with an uncharacteristic amount of humanity and empathy. When he sees how other childer are treated by their sires, he shudders, and tries all the more to please Margot.
Although she lacks any real understanding of modern technology, he is impressed with just how astute she is in terms of foresight and planning. With his assistance, she builds an unlikely power structure based on the tenets of philanthropy.
But although he can appreciate Margot's need to retain her humanity, he doesn't entirely share the same philosophy. To him, the end justifies the means. He sees the need to accumulate more wealth in order to help finance the takeover of McMaster university. Unknown to Margot, Magnus creates two ghouls for himself in 1917: a young Polish Jew by the name of Bessie Starkman and a young Italian by the name of Rocco Perri. With the advent of Prohibition in the USA, Rocco Perri becomes a rich and powerful young man. Magnus uses the bootlegging money to help finance Margot's plans, and also uses Rocco's thugs as daytime guards for his and Margot's haven.
More to come. I'm just written-out for now....
Magnus Brander
Childe of Margot Kartoffel (Margd)
Clan Malkavian
Derangement: On occasion, sees/interacts with people who aren't there. When I'm playing the character, from time to time an NPC can be thrown into the fray. As a player, I will assume the character is real, unless actions of other characters reveal this is only within Magnus's imagination. Perhaps imaginary characters could be those Magnus has fed from. So if it's someone who's currently living, I could possibly see two of them at the same time. If it's from someone who should be long dead, I would figure out something strange is going on....
Embraced August 17th, 1898 in Halifax Harbour, Nova Scotia
His aunt, Signe Brander (1869-1942), became one of Finland's favourite photographers, and indeed, made her living as such.
Magnus Brander came from a rich, artistically-inclined family. The patriarch of the family, Gustav Brander, was becoming increasingly disgruntled about the Russification of Finland, and had been making plans for some time to emigrate to Canada. Indeed, he already had family over there. Gustav's uncle Robert Brander had married Elizabeth Ann Gay in Halifax, NS some years previous, and Gustav had plans on visiting them before making his way west to Hamilton.
The eldest of eight boys, Magnus was raised with the expectations that he would fulfill some sort of noble purpose. He was classically educated as were many aristocrats of the time, with private tutors in the humanities (Latin, Greek, English, Swedish, Russian, theology, history, and the Classics) , and also with “practical” knowledge suited to a young man: elocution, hunting, shooting, swordsmanship, etc. A charming and handsome young man, he proved particularly adept with his powers of rhetoric. When he was fourteen years old, Magnus was sent off to a military school to further build character. By the time he was eighteen years old, he'd become a minor officer with the Finnish separatists and had already served in several military campaigns. But when he was eighteen years old, he witnessed an atrocity which changed everything.
A Russian military hospital had been set up in the little town of Huhtiniemi, and Finnish separatists attacked the installation, taking it unawares. The separatists routed the Russians, slaughtering the sick and wounded, both soldiers and civilians, as they lie in their beds. Magnus's division was responsible for the mass burial of the victims. Although the victims had not been treated with any decency in life, Magnus was instrumental in making sure they were buried in accordance with their religious beliefs. The bodies were all buried in traditional Russian Orthodox position, and each of the bodies wore an Orthodox cross.
Traumatized by the incident, Magnus deserted the military, fleeing back to his family in Helsinki. He was determined to devote his life to theological studies.
When he arrived in Helsinki, he was surprised to see he had gained a foster sister: a lovely young German woman by the name of Margot Kartoffel. In an act of charity, the Branders had taken pity on the young lady and treated her and cosseted her like the daughter they never had. Margot had no family, very little money, and no real belongings aside from a large steamer trunk filled with books. She said they were family heirlooms, and all that she had left of her beloved family.
Although obviously very intelligent, Margot was both very shy, and retiring. Margot's skin was deathly pale, and on the odd occasion when Magnus held her hand to help her on the stairs or into a carriage, her skin was painfully cold. He worried about her health, and urged her to eat more.
The journey across the Atlantic took several weeks, and was very stormy. Magnus found himself drawn to Margot's side in the early evenings. At first, he didn't say much, as he was still jittery from his horrible experiences in Huhtiniemi. Something about Margot made him open up, and before he could stop himself, he was telling her the things he had seen and done—the sort of things no lady should ever have to hear. But Margot's reaction startled him. Although she couldn't possibly have ever experienced anything as horrific in her own sheltered life, she understood. Her capacity for empathy overwhelmed him, and he swooned in her arms.
When he awoke, he felt both weaker and more in control of himself. He also realized he was in love with this wondrous, pale creature. As the nights passed, he became more and more sure of this love. On August 16, 1898, the night before they landed in Halifax, he asked her to be his wife.
She accepted.
When the ship docked the next evening, Magnus told his startled parents he would meet up with them at great-uncle Robert Brander's home. Before they could say or do anything about it, Magnus hailed a cab and took off with Margot and her precious trunk in tow to a hotel with plans of eloping on the morrow.
Things didn't quite go as he planned. When he arrived in his room, he promptly fell into a deep sleep. When he awoke, he was shocked to see Margot with several dogs. “What are they doing here?” he asked.
“Shh,” said Margot. “They're for when we get hungry.” And at that, Margot embraced him, holding him down when he frenzied, feeding him the horrid-tasting dogs' blood.
When the frenzy abated, she fed him more of her blood, but not nearly as much as he wanted. He asked for more, but she said, “You wouldn't like me very much if you drank any more.” It didn't make any sense to him, but no less than anything else which had happened that night.
His vampiric education continued over the next few nights, as Margot taught him how to hunt, how not to kill his prey, what precautions he needed to take, and how to control his ever-burgeoning hunger. She also explained that Magnus's parents were in her thrall: they were ghouls. At first he was horrified, but after a time, Margot placated him, explaining that she had no intentions of ever mistreating them, and in fact would act as a protector to his family. And that now, with his own new abilities, he was also in a much better situation to help his family and their descendants.
Somewhat mollified, Magnus and Margot returned to his family, and soon after, they all made their way to Hamilton.
Margot took her time educating Magnus. He was both eager to learn and eager to please. Under her direction, he learns how to take care of the ghouls, and how to interact with Kindred society. Before long, he becomes her Whip, hunting for vitae each night, managing the holdings, and acting as her messenger and protector. It's not the live he'd envisioned, but it's not terrible, either. In dealing with other Kindred, he realizes he's lucked out with a Sire with an uncharacteristic amount of humanity and empathy. When he sees how other childer are treated by their sires, he shudders, and tries all the more to please Margot.
Although she lacks any real understanding of modern technology, he is impressed with just how astute she is in terms of foresight and planning. With his assistance, she builds an unlikely power structure based on the tenets of philanthropy.
But although he can appreciate Margot's need to retain her humanity, he doesn't entirely share the same philosophy. To him, the end justifies the means. He sees the need to accumulate more wealth in order to help finance the takeover of McMaster university. Unknown to Margot, Magnus creates two ghouls for himself in 1917: a young Polish Jew by the name of Bessie Starkman and a young Italian by the name of Rocco Perri. With the advent of Prohibition in the USA, Rocco Perri becomes a rich and powerful young man. Magnus uses the bootlegging money to help finance Margot's plans, and also uses Rocco's thugs as daytime guards for his and Margot's haven.
More to come. I'm just written-out for now....
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Date: 2007-01-31 11:21 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2007-01-31 11:36 pm (UTC)From:At some point, I'll be uploading a buttload (snick) of new pictures. Stay tuned to see more of me arse! Heh....
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Date: 2007-02-01 02:59 am (UTC)From:Lucky devil...
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Date: 2007-02-01 02:26 pm (UTC)From: