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The Meeting of the Faiths

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  1. #1
    Takeda Katsumi's Avatar

    Takeda Katsumi

    Curse: Sakki (The projected Intent to Kill)

    -1
    NOS
    2
    PRE

    In the wake of the State of the Union, the Interfaith Council of Greater Sacramento decided that it was time to gather once again and demonstrate the power of acceptance, respect, and cooperation no matter how different one culture might appear to be from another. Regardless of the political sentiments that might, or might not, be present in such a gathering, Takeda Katsumi was still glad that the event was being held. There were few things that she loved more than walking among the faithful, no matter what faith that happened to be, for any reminder that the world was full of meaning for those with the eyes to see it was welcome to her. Too many of the Kindred and the Kine walked through the world as nothing more shambling collections of molecules guided by crudely understood chemical impulses, and such an existence was more terrifying to Katsumi than any hell she'd ever heard of. In her darkest moments, usually in the chill that came just before dawn, her mind tended to wander within that inconceivable place, and so when she'd seen the Interfaith Council's flyer fraying upon a bulletin board, she knew that she had to attend.

    It was a very simple gathering, though Takeda assumed that had more to do with money than any attempt at asceticism, though she didn't mind. Religion didn't always need grand temples. The spirit of the faith lived in the minds of the faithful, after all, and so who cared if the event was being held in a decaying community center, with rough wooden floors and tablecloths hiding plastic tables beneath them? The energy in the room, the beatific smiles of the kine, the contemplative furrowing of their brows, the energetic proffering of literature and objects of prayer, that was what this night was about, and Takeda tranquilly navigated the tables, unconcerned that the kine tended to wilt away from her as she moved among them.

    Feel free to describe any Faith being present!
    Takeda Katsumi. Given Name: Katsumi. Nosferatu, Invictus.
    Curse: Sakki (The projected Intent to Kill)

  2. #2
    K
    Krieg

    Blush of Life Activated


    The giant was still learning the layout of the Domain. Blending in was not exactly an option. Instead, he made the most of his appearance. Casting a glare at the occasional gawking Kine warded off the age-old comment, "You're tall!"

    This so-called "Interfaith Council" sparked interest in his cold, dead heart. Ducking under the entrance way, he spotted his Cousin of the Far East. His fingers briefly hooked into a talon-like grasp.

    The one distinct advantage of his enormous size was, people tended to move aside as he approached. "Fancy seeing you here."

  3. #3
    Lawrence Taft's Avatar

    Presence
    (Intense)
    Blood Potency
    New Identity
    (Frank Petros)
    Status
    (City Hall)
    Lawrence Taft

    (Blush of Life)Vitae 1 Spent
    3
    PRE

    Life had left Taft with a bland, slightly sour taste over religion. Everyone was either Catholic or Protestant, you see, and while the general populace accepted the existence of a God, there were all too many that were... fake about it. His mother had taken to calling them 'Chreasters' - because they would only go to church on Christmas and Easter. Nearly a century later, things have changed. There are still just as many fakers in the world, but the spectrum of beliefs has gotten much, much broader. Which gives Taft all the opportunity he needs to study the Kine without them knowing it. All one needs to do is feign the slightest interest in one of their beliefs to cover for his staring, undivided attention. Tonight, he's no closer to knowing who has it all 'right', but he could write books on how many religions have it wrong.

    Navigating the space through various tables and clusters of individuals, one smiling breather stops him.

    "Good evening, friend! If you don't mind me asking, what do you think happens when you die?"

    The voice belongs to a younger man - maybe 25 - with well-groomed hair and a pamphlet that reads 'The Watchtower'. Taft smiles. He'd spoken to these types before: Jehovah's Witnesses. They'd been labeled by some as the annoying door-to-door faith salesman. But catch one making evening runs through the neighborhood and you'll have yourself an interesting conversation and an easy meal!

    "Death is like sleep, isn't it? A dreamless sleep. If you're asking me if I believe everyone goes to Heaven when they die? I'd say no."
    Taft politely takes the pamphlet, but soon becomes distracted. His Beast preens its pedipalps as he catches a glimpse of that oddity from Court. The thin-blooded Haunt with the Curse that makes up for it. "Excuse me." He offers, before slipping away.

    Catching up with her is easy enough. The crowds have left a neat little gap for him to step through. And he can see why.

    "Someone's beaten me to it again." He waits for the big man to take in his presence. He had walked straight behind him. Then, after a moment, he smiles his half-hearted smile. "I didn't think either of you were the religious type." Of course he, himself, isn't. But unless both of them are here for a meal, there must be some interest in the subject.
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  5. #4
    Niamh Sionnaigh's Avatar

    Niamh Sionnaigh
    Presence
    (On The Periphery)
    Lilting Irish Accent
    Blood Potency
    Staus
    (Criminals)
    Allies/Contacts
    (Street)
    Niamh Sionnaigh

    Unbound Gangrel

    1
    PRE

    Niamh was having a crisis of faith. All of her life and all of her death it seemed she's been in the midst of one.

    Her Gran and Mother were always at odds. As a girl she'd been fascinated by her Gran's stories of the fair folk, the sidhe, selkies, kelpies, of the banshee and the leprechaun.

    Her mother...her mother was a good Catholic girl, and refused to hear any nonsense like that in her house.

    That didn't stop a young Niamh from secretly putting a crumb of bread or a bowl of cream out in the windowsill.

    She continued to do it long after she married. She tried to tell her children of the tales her gran to her, but when her husband found out...

    ...Niamh stopped talking about the fair folk after that.

    When she died and was pulled under the waves her kin taught her to worship the Drowned Goddess, the Sunken Mother of her-their blood.

    Niamh could never understand how they thought she'd ever revere the thing that demanded the death of her boys...

    ...and now...how could she believe in a god that allowed any of this to happen.

    The fair folk...they treat with those in turns. For good and ill, for a women who stopped offering what small bite of bread she could. Stopping the telling if their tales...

    Niamh walked among the kine, none of the booths focused on her. No one pressed pamphlets or sign up sheet into her hands. She was a part of the current. Content to make the round, lost in thought, the event an appropriate backdrop for the nature of them.

    The imitations of palpitations cease when the tides if bloody possibility rise. Those mewling cunts might have the numbers, but she had the strength!

    Doe eyes stare at them, contempt etching the lines of her mouth.

    It might have been only the Masquerade that stays her hand, her claws, but it was her own twisted self that stays on the sidelines waiting for them to notice her, so she could see the fear gathering in their eyes, tightening the corners of their mouths, bursting within their breasts...



    -1 Vitae, Blush of life
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  7. #5
    Takeda Katsumi's Avatar

    Takeda Katsumi

    Curse: Sakki (The projected Intent to Kill)

    -1
    NOS
    2
    PRE

    The moment of contentment that Katsumi had found herself in was suddenly and abruptly slain by the sudden flood of Jigoku that washed against her, the waves of terror threatening to pull her legs from beneath her and drown her in their riptide, but the descendant of Takeda was not to be felled so easily. Instead she drew breath into her dead lungs and turned to face the approaching Kindred with the same intensity that she would summon to meet a naked blade.

    First, there was the giant, looming imperiously above her, arrogant with his immensity; then came the slinking man, dangerous in his enigmatic shroud, yet neither were as worrying as the slavering Gaki, eyeing them from within the oblivious cover of the crowd. Rather than meet the other Demon's gaze and return her challenge in the way that her Beast could not, Takeda instead chose to offer a different sort of challenge, and for the moment ignored the lurking Kindred.

    "Are you so certain that I have not merely come for the free drinks?" Takeda asked wryly, turning back to the slight, bald man with the powerful gaze.

    "As this gathering is in the spirit of sharing faith,"
    she continued, forcing herself to keep her appearance calm, even if the Irish demon's eyes were like needles in her back, "I will share that I do follow the six paths and the four lives, though not as they would know it."

    Takeda nodded towards two orange robed Buddhist Monks seated near the Baha'i and the Sikh tables.

    "What of you? What paths do you follow?" she asked, then, turning her gaze to both the giant and the spider.
    Takeda Katsumi. Given Name: Katsumi. Nosferatu, Invictus.
    Curse: Sakki (The projected Intent to Kill)

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  9. #6
    K
    Krieg

    A wide smile appeared at Taft's remark about him. "I sing in my Choir." He paused briefly. A chill went up his spine. The Irish woman...he paused trying to recall how to pronounce her name. Once his inner struggle subsided, he raised an open gloved hand, an invitation to join them.

    "I am not associated with the mainstream believers you see before you," the giant turned his attention to Takeda. "The closest approximation would be Wicca or Druidism. Even that does not service sufficient description. It is an ancient matriarchal faith with very little written history."

    He then added, "For good reason." It went without saying, "My God is better than your God," was the source of far too many conflicts.

  10. #7
    Lawrence Taft's Avatar

    Presence
    (Intense)
    Blood Potency
    New Identity
    (Frank Petros)
    Status
    (City Hall)
    Lawrence Taft

    3
    PRE

    Amusing. Taft's smile for the Asian Haunt comes across a little more sincere. Though, admittedly, her experiences with religion are stretched far and wide from his normal experiences. "If there is an anecdote for that, I haven't heard it." Following her gaze, he's at least able to piece together that its some sort of offshoot of Buddhism.

    Her question seems appropriate, given the surroundings, but he lets the big man answer first. The reveal is worth it. Though one might assume placing him amid the Circle marks his politics more than his beliefs.

    "I was raised in New York. The Protestant variety of Christian... though I suppose now my views have changed." He inclines his head downwards as if to say 'just look at me' "Religion is a conversation topic, now, instead of a way of life."

    Before he can grill either of them on the ins and outs of their beliefs, another presence makes itself known. A powerful contradiction between the mundane and what really matters. Blood. Her screams aggressively at him even as her doe-like gaze disarms and mollifies. The big man has already extended an invitation, but Taft's gaze falls on her again. It holds for a good moment, having fought to calm the Spider, and he drinks in every little detail.

    She's a hot mess. Someone should teach her how to present herself in public... amid the sheep.
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  12. #8
    Takeda Katsumi's Avatar

    Takeda Katsumi

    Curse: Sakki (The projected Intent to Kill)

    -1
    NOS
    2
    PRE

    "If religion teaches us what it means to be, and the proper manner in which to be, then it is only fitting that our current beliefs do not reflect our old lives," Takeda offered placidly, her tone at odds with the fierce cast to her gaze.

    "For them," she continued, once more indicating the robed Buddhist monks, "that means following the four truths and six paths so that they might either reach Nehan, Nirvana, or so that they might guide others to it. For me, that path is closed. When I pass through the gateless barrier, it will be upon the path of the Demon. Something, I believe, which your conversation topic also has in common."

    A shallow nod was given to Taft as she said this, though her gaze quickly moved to land upon Krieg.

    "What of you? Does your Choir sing of Demons? Do the songs ask you to contemplate all that which others revile?"
    Takeda Katsumi. Given Name: Katsumi. Nosferatu, Invictus.
    Curse: Sakki (The projected Intent to Kill)

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  14. #9
    K
    Krieg

    Looking briefly to Taft, "Have no shame in changing your perspective. Unquestioning obedience is the true sin."

    The giant let out a hearty laugh. "Of demons? Of acts of revulsion?" A smile spread across his lips. "Not at all." His voice shifted toward a preacher's tone. "The Chorus sings of emancipation. Breaking he innumerable taboos set forth by countless old men obsessed with controlling others."

    "If the mainstream religions spent as nearly as much time telling their flocks "thou shalt not" as nearly as much as enforcing "thou ought to," imagine what joyous harmony we would enjoy." Naturally a few passersby took offense to such a statement. He ignored the Kine. "Cast off the dead flesh. Embrace what can be achieved. Question the world around you. This facade of black and white morality is merely a millennia old construct of power-mongers to keep the masses in line."

    Placing a sizable, black gloved hand upon his chest, "My faith sings of freedom. True freedom has few, yet, inviolate laws."

  15. #10
    Lawrence Taft's Avatar

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    (Intense)
    Blood Potency
    New Identity
    (Frank Petros)
    Status
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    Lawrence Taft

    3
    PRE

    His gaze flits from one Haunt to the other. "Well said. Change is the engine of progress. My world has gotten much larger since I shed the old dogma."

    The lines of Taft's face crease a little. Demon. The word has a different weight, no doubt, on each tongue to speak it. "Is it your perspective that you are damned, then? Destined for torment in the afterlife?" His head tilts slightly with the question. If there truly is a parallel between the two beliefs, it is a very bleak outlook indeed. Deliciously so.

    The big man doesn't take long to make his presence known. Making impassioned declarations and riling up a few onlookers. He nods, slowly. "The very concept of morality is artificial. Man is the only one who seems to need it. Even a dog is amoral." He pauses to smile, daring some onlooker to challenge the idea "They don't act out of 'decency' or 'malice'. They simply survive. Avoiding punishment and seeking reward."
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