Today is a weirdly special day.  It’s the in-game 98th birthday of my old Vampire: the Masquerade character.  It seems strange even to me to still be invested in a character I haven’t played since 2016 when the campaign ended, but she – well, they, as you’ll see in a second – still hold a special place in my heart.  

Briony and Aughra Bonaforte were my split personality Malkavian vampires.  Even though one was technically a figment of the other’s imagination, they believed that they were twin sisters.  They had a very Jekyll and Hyde style to them, as Briony was innocent and kind of idealistic and Aughra was very angry, bitter, and prone to violence.  Courtesy of a very traumatic human childhood (because I can’t write a character without a tragic backstory, apparently), Briony had no real memory of her human life, although Aughra did.  They met their sire Ramses when they were 15, and by 16, they agreed to a willing embrace.  They were so much fun to play.  Unlike Jekyll and Hyde, the twins were very much aware of each other and interacted all the time, so I got to play talking to myself a lot in-game.  It took some getting used to, but it was a blast.  During the campaign, I started writing out the girls’ rather involved backstory, so maybe I’ll post it here as a series at some point in the future.

Even after all these years after the campaign ended, I still love these characters.  By the end of the game, they were living in Linda Vista Community Hospital, an old abandoned hospital in Los Angeles, and I imagine that they’re still there, protecting their city and trying to change the world.  Happy Birthday, you two.