Plot:Viral Vampire Video/Updates

1-2-26: Friday Night Court Update

Order of Saint Michael

• The Order of St. Michael is actively hunting lost Christian relics displaced during or after the World Wars.
  • Intelligence suggests their current target is a relic known as “Angel’s Blood.”
    • Jonathan Gaunt recognizes Angel’s Blood by the Latin name Sanguis Angelorum.
      • He recalls it as forbidden, heretical occult lore encountered under his sire.

Q: Occult: What does Angel's Blood do to kindred, to mortals? Is this a weapon we might use or something they would use against us?
Q: Occult: What would this relic look like? Has anyone seen one on the west coast before?

Triangle Guy / Viral Theories

• “Triangle Guy” is spreading oddly specific theories connected to recent viral videos.
  • Sister Osti identified a possible lead on locating the person who posted the fan theories: Paladin Games, an old gaming shop downtown

Q: Business / Finance: Who owns Paladin Games? How long has it been in business?
Q: Mortal+ surveilance: Who goes into that shop? Anyone who looks dangerous?

Morgue Accesss

• Gaunt has arranged to get the Sheriff and Tremere Primogen into the Morgue so that she can commune with the spirits of the boy that was shot through his dorm window and the headless hunter to gain answers.

1/1/26 A New Player Takes the Field

Daniel returns to the court and dives right in

• He gathers additional information on the Order of St. Michael.
• He learns why the West Horizon Reality LLC has been buying up the old churches.

12/13/25 Augur_1837

Constance Discovers the Identity of the Rumor Monger

• ... and she knows where he hangs out.

12/12/25 Prince of the City

Status of the viral video

• Confirmed the “vampire feeding” video was staged by a mortal student (Marcus) as a class project.
• Despite being fake, it still caused real Masquerade damage by drawing attention and spawning conspiracy speculation.
• The student was working from a hunter-style journal, implying the “prank” echoed real surveillance patterns.

Marcus (the student)

• Marcus was shot and killed by a third party before the Court could interrogate him.
• Consensus framing: Marcus was a “mouth, not a mind” — a disposable intermediary rather than the architect.
• The clean execution suggests a disciplined handler rather than an Anarch or amateur actor.

Shooter and surveillance

• Evidence links the shooter to the same organization observed at the alley investigation (black vans / drone surveillance).
• The shooter showed no interest in reclaiming the journal — only silencing Marcus.
• This reinforced that the operation is controlled and professional, not panicked or improvised.

The West End Church

• A hunter (Cedric, no relation) was identified operating out of the church.
• He was wounded in a prior encounter, took a phone call from his handler while waiting for extraction, and the Court withdrew due to risk of sunlight weaponization.
• He is believed to have returned to Los Angeles.
• The handler’s identity remains unknown; unclear if they are Anubis Group or a rival actor.

Vegard’s Directives (Key Rulings)

No retaliation against mortals

• No retaliation against Marcus (had he lived); his death reinforces he was only a pawn.
• Killing pawns only teaches the hand behind them how to play better.

No public denials or overreactions

• No public denials, “corrections,” or displays of concern.
• Emerald Plaza does not explain itself to mortals; do not swat at shadows.

Observe, do not interfere

• The Court should listen quietly and carefully.
• Those who rush to redirect blame, overcorrect, or loudly claim certainty will be remembered for their enthusiasm.

Emerald Plaza as a litmus test

• If Emerald Plaza appears again in mortal speculation, Vegard will assume it was invited.
• Let the rumor run until the handler grows nervous and makes a mistake; respond with patience.

Final instruction

• Identify the handler.
• Eliminate the source entirely once confirmed.
• Turn this into a non-issue without spectacle or haste.

Ongoing Assignments / Follow-Ups

• Gaunt: Continue investigating the Anubis Group (LA operations and Prospect ties).
• Order of St. Michael: Potential lead to be pursued by others (Keeper Cunningham / court-side investigation), while Gaunt stays on Anubis for now.
• Church thread: Continue church-related investigation (Constance and others).
• Tech thread: Technical tracing support remains pending (Keeper Ogami).
• Monitoring: Track Emerald Plaza mentions without interference or public reaction.

Current Takeaway

The Court now treats this as a quiet intelligence war, not a Masquerade emergency. Someone tested the Court’s reactions, silenced their pawn with precision, and expected fear or overcorrection. Vegard’s response: patience.

12/6/26 The Next Chapter

As we move into the next chapter of the Viral Vampire Video investigation, there are several threads characters may pursue off-camera. These can provide information to bring to Pre-Court or Court and shape how the next chapter unfolds. Available avenues of inquiry include:

• Order of St. Michael: Research this hunter sect’s history, ideology, recruitment, and West Coast activity.
• Black Vans Near the Alley: Investigate unmarked vans conducting ICE-style abductions around campus. How many people are missing, and what reports or rumors exist?
• Gunfire Near Campus: Look into shots reportedly fired west of campus the night Marcus was killed. Any police logs, shell casings, or eyewitnesses?
• Campus Gunman: Determine who fired the precision shot into Marcus’s dorm. Was Marcus the true target? What vantage points align with the shot?
• The Railyard Howl: Analyze the inhuman howl recorded near the railyard, possibly linked to a rumored law-enforcement shootout that same night.
• Long-Haired Biker Vampire: Identify the motorcycle-riding vampire described in the hunter’s journal, suspected of killing the headless hunter.

Additional leads from Chapter 1 include: tracking drone activity near the alley and quad; determining who scrubbed the metadata from the posted video; and investigating the abandoned West End church where Marcus found the hunter’s journal. Anyone wishing to pursue these leads via Influence, Allies, Contacts, Retainers, or skill-based rolls is encouraged to @mail me their actions for between-scene resolution.

On-Camera investigations of the West End Church will be Monday night. See +events

12/5/26 Tip of the Ice Berg

The Viral Vampire Video plot began when a blurry clip of what looked like a vampire feeding went viral online. The Court investigated the alley where it was filmed and immediately noticed two strange things: black, unmarked vans parked nearby watching the scene, and a drone hovering overhead. No one reported to any local hospitals for bloodloss or bite wounds but a headless corpse was discovered at the city morgue - a body carrying the brand of an Order of Hunters.

The investigation then moved to Prospect University, where the video seemed to have originated. The presence of more drones near the quad and several students talking excitedly about the fake vampire clip led the Court to a student named Marcus. He admitted the video was staged for a media project and said he had been inspired by a strange "hunter's journal" he found near an abandoned church on the west side. Before he could hand it over, Marcus was shot dead through his dorm window by a professional sniper, triggering chaos in the building.

Now the Court faces a bigger mystery. Someone was watching the alley. Someone else (or the same group) was flying drones over campus. And someone was willing to assassinate Marcus the moment he spoke to the Kindred. Only one hunter body has been found, and the whereabouts of the other Hunter is unknown. The next steps are tracking down the sniper, discovering who controlled the drones and vans, and figuring out how many hunters are still active in Prospect.

...and then there was that weird...howl.

11/29/25 a Viral Vampire Video

Gaunt presented information of a video potentially showing a vampire feeding in public near campus. Attempts to suppress the clip only make it go more viral, drawing conspiracy speculation and amateur analysis channels. Gaunt presents the footage to the Court leadership, warning that while the faces are unidentifiable, the implication of a feeding is strong enough to threaten the Masquerade. Enhanced stills and metadata reconstruction confirm the video was posted locally, but its authenticity is unclear, and facial recognition yields no reliable matches.