FWTD Omake: Why Vampires Suck

For those not in the know: omake just means "addition". It usually means a scene that's played elsewhere, not in front of the characters.

As the Risen lied in his feet, he felt the need to speak while looking at his surroundings. Nobody seemed prone to approach the almost eight-foot-tall warrior with a hatchet.

"You guys amuse me. You style yourself predators of the night to gain followers, dark and tormented and all that shit...and you do it so much that you start believing it, and feeling some kind of supremacy over it. Normally, I would question whether a predator is more dangerous than an omnivore or even a strong herbivore... but it's actually irrelevant.

It's made irrelevant by the fact that you're not even predators! What you are, is called parasites in biology. So, I can attest you fought me like a true vampire, screeching for my blood and swinging claws! But all that means is, you did your best to fight like a leech, because it's your nature. I did my best to fight like a killer ape from the African plains, because that's my nature. Hence, you frankly didn't stand a fucking chance... but it's not like you could use that lesson now.

Why am I telling you that? Isn't it so you could learn the error of your ways? Nah, that was just me feeling supremacist over not being a blood-sucker, and the lecture is over. May God have mercy on your soul... and if those Buddhist guys were right, you might get lucky in the reincarnation roulette, and get to be a real predator, like, say, a stray!"
Then he knelt over and offered his cross to the Risen to kiss. After the defeated turned his head away, he decapitated him and looked around.
Nobody seemed to have noticed the fight in the back alley. For now. If he was lucky, he could even go out of the warehouse and get back to the turf of the Saints of the Corner, without anyone learning who had done that.
At least, the leach had accepted a duel - almost like a man. And some people were going to pay well for the records.


For those not in the know, that's a martial artist in the Fates Worse Than Death setting. He is a member of a Cornerpunk gang I had written about in the "gangs, martial arts and NPCs" post
The Risen are a gang whose member have mytochondrial vampirism. These two actually had something that's quite rare in the 2080 Manhattan: a straight fight.  The Cornerpunk won by his rage, his superior skill, and his custom-made blade.

Behind the scenes of my wuxia forum game

During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, in Henan...
An woman of rare beauty stares at an ancient painting, while her hair is hiding half her face. It shows so many things, one can discover almost anything in it! And everything seems moving in some way, although it really isn't. It's just a painting, after all, albeit one made with exquisite skill.
She's terribly interested in the wounded crane, for its gracious posture makes it so hard to notice the scar marring its feathers, and their total lack at one wing.
She's also terribly interested in the jumping leopard. Speed that can defeat a tiger, despite a tiger being much bigger, lots of power is concentrated in his-or hers?-supple movements. There's also the obvious grace of the predator.
But her eyes keep being averted to the snake. Poison that can kill an elephant, and constricting snares that can strangle almost anything... hidden power that even a tiger is afraid of!
The trouble is, all those animals use their energy in different ways. Although she can almost feel them, she can't emulate them at once...not yet, anyway. But where you start, matters a lot. And sometimes, you only have the time to learn imitating one set. Life is so unpredictable!
She's touching a scar on her face, under the loose hair, and breathing deeply while making her choice...


Sorry, guys, if that's not clear. It's just something that happens because of the characters' actions. Hint, I'm looking for the Chinese translation of "Face-Smasher" for one of them!