"Shush, now," he whispered. His voice was a beautiful violin, but in the hands of an amateur who didn't quite know how to handle the strings. "It's going to be all right."
She didn't feel the knife. All she felt was a warm wetness that started high on her cheek. It wasn't until she smelled old pennies that she realized he'd cut her. Even then she couldn't look away from those eyes. She felt another line on the other side of her face, but it was crooked. Asymmetrical.
"There now," he said, his voice shaking like he'd just defused a bomb. Or finished with a lover. "That should keep you safe. He won't look twice at you... not with those."
He'd vanished then, not a like a ghost, but into the shadows of the alley. Three footsteps, and he was gone as if he'd never been. Sarah hadn't known if she'd imagined it all, until she walked out onto the street and someone screamed.
There had been a lot of stitches. Face wraps. Medications. Even with all the recommendations from the doctors, though, she still had scars. Big, jagged, ugly scars. He said she'd be safe now, that creature that haunted her dreams. Sarah touched the lightning bolt that zagged across her cheek, looking into the mirror as her mouth began to tremble again. She was scared of the man with the knife, and she always would be. But what had he been so scared of that he'd done this to her?
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| And what is it hadn't been enough? |
The Flaw-Maker
The world is filled with a thousand everyday evils. Violence that stains gutters red with blood, exploitation of the poor by the wealthy, and broken lives left like refuse to be collected on the sidewalks. But beneath all that lurk even darker things; horrors we've all collectively told ourselves aren't waiting beyond the light of the burn barrels, or past where our night lights can reach. Creatures that walk eternally in the light of the moon, or things that can bend reality on a whim and steal you through the cracks in the world. Beings the likes of which mortals may never truly understand, and those who try are driven at least half-mad as they warp their minds around such inhuman existences.
The Flaw Maker is one such individual, and they are driven to obsessive acts of violence to "protect" people from ever coming to the notice of these greater evils.
Picture a changeling, who knows well that his Keeper would be drawn to the smooth motion of a dancer's grace. To save her from ever having to endure what he did, the forced perfection he was made to live in Arcadia, he breaks her knees with a tire iron in an empty parking lot. He's shattered her life, but he's also made sure that alien creature won't pluck her away to be added to his collection of living music boxes. Or consider a ghoul, their muscles singing and heart pumping with their Master's vitae running through them. They know that the Beast loves to toy with those deemed beautiful, who have no scars to testify to hardships... so the ghoul finds all those it can, and defaces them. Gives them imperfections that would render them unacceptable to their Master, keeping them out of the Nosferatu's clutches even if the experience leaves them looking over their shoulders for the rest of their lives.
 |
| What if it wasn't enough... and it comes back again? |
The Flaw Maker is a lesser of two evils. They make themselves into a monster in the hopes that they can save people from an even worse fate. For while the scars they leave behind can break hopes and dreams, leaving people afraid of what lurks in the darkness for the rest of their lives, is that worse than the alternative? Worse than swimming in deep waters, never even thinking about the eldritch things that lurk below, and which might reach out for them on a whim?
What makes the concept truly tragic, though, is that there's often no guarantee that their actions are necessary, or even successful. The True Fae who desired beauty may have moved on, leaving that criteria behind. It's possible the vampire's eye would never have been drawn to a particular individual, and they could have lived their lives in ignorance. Worse, though, would be if the actions of the Flaw Maker actually drew the attention of the very creatures they were trying to protect people from, making them the very agents of that destruction reminiscent of a Greek tragedy.
And for an extra layer below it all, the Flaw Maker may just be trying to cope. Wishing that they could go back and scar themselves so they would never have become what they are now. To trade their knowledge of the world's greater horrors for a lesser wrong done to them. But they cannot save themselves... so they try to do something to others as a way of dealing with what they've become.
And that compulsion may be what truly drives them. Because it's possible no one is looking for these beautiful people to steal them... but the Flaw Maker can't let go of what happened to them. So to try to take control over their pasts, they tell themselves the comforting lie that they're really helping someone else... even if they're just breaking other people on the outside to try to salve how they were broken on the inside.
Ghouls, Changelings, and More, Oh My!
For folks who are curious, I've been delving deeper and deeper into the World of Darkness and Chronicles of Darkness settings, which is why I remembered this older concept of mine. While initially created for Changeling: The Lost, it's something that's quite applicable to a lot of the other settings if you adapt the beings that the Flaw Maker is trying to "protect" their victims from.
And in case you missed the recent releases I've put out for both of these spheres, I wanted to take a moment to direct your attention toward a couple of releases:
- 100 Mourning Cant Dialects, Phrases, and Meanings: If you're someone who loves playing a Winter Courtier, but has a hard time actually wrapping their head around the secret languages of Mourning Cant, then this supplement comes pre-loaded with all sorts of options you can use. Great for players and STs both!
- 100 (Mostly) Harmless Goblin Fruits and Oddments To Find in The Hedge: The Hedge is filled with an infinite variety of the strange and the bizarre. If you want to have even more weirdness for your players' delves into this impossible realm, this supplement should help get a sense of the true wonder, and danger, of the Hedge.
- New World Nights: 100 Ghouls For The American Camarilla: For those who need names and stories for those who willingly serve the monsters who live in the shadows, this collection of ghouls is a great starting place.
- Children of The Night: 100 Animal Ghouls: Not all who serve the kindred walk on two legs. For those who are looking for inspiration for unique and bizarre bestial ghouls, this supplement is a good place to get started!
Like, Follow, and Stay Tuned For More!
That's all for this installment of Unusual Character Concepts. Hopefully this one gave you something to chew over, whether you're a player, or a game master.
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