Title: Bitter Escape
Author: nofacesonlymasks
Rating: M
Genre: Horror/Supernatural
Status: WIP
Fandom: Word of Darkness
Pairings: N/A
Summary: How do you keep from despairing when every pleasurable thing you grasp at crumbles to dust? How do you keep from becoming a monster when you're surrounded by manipulation and betrayal? In the end, it's the little things that keep you whole and sane.
Link: Chapter 1


So, this fic was one I read some years ago and died. Thankfully, the author has chosen to continue the story. It is a novelization of Vampire: The Masquerade video game. The author definitely fleshes out the story beyond the game, however. It is disturbingly creepy and awesomely written.

The primary negative would be that the first few chapters are centered format wise; but get changed to regular format around Chapter 4. So not too terrible.

The characters are extremely well fleshed out. I give it a 5/5.

 

Heh. The recent update had me thinking of putting up for review too. As I said in the Best Of thread:

The author just gets the kind of setting WoD is supposed to be, and expands on the basic story from the game in a way that really drags you into the world in all its terrifying glory. As Pasta Sentient says, the characters are excellently fleshed out from the PC down to minor ones, and...for me at least it's just the little things that make the fic. The way you can see Presence influencing Lucius' emotions when talking to Nines, the uses of Dominate, the way magic is implemented, his struggle with the Beast, etc. The Tzimisce are fucking terrifying monsters, vampire elder are dicks, and Lucius is just getting piled under more and more shit.


Definitely a 5/5.

 

The beginning is neat, but I can't read the rest. I've played the game itself too many times to bear reading through its plot a millionth time. Not rating from me

 

I only played the game once, but the vibe I got was that while not going extremely AU; he expands the events of the game by a huge amount.

 

I read a decent amount - to chapter 7 - and there was a lot of dialogue lifted straight from the game. I skimmed a little ahead and it looked to just be a recap all over the place.

Maybe there are some additional good bits, but it looks like too much copy paste from the game?

 

I cannot remember, but does your sire play much of a part in the actual game? Because Serena plays an increasingly larger role in the story.

 

That definitely disappears. Like - I reread the last few chapters since it hadn't been update in so long, and from 26-36 there isn't much copy/paste that I recall. Events are used (the plaguebearer quest and so on), but they are resolved through actions not confined by the game system. The only one I remember is the very end of the latest chapter, where LaCroix's dialogue is reused as he's assigning you the mission to check out the ship - but even then, you not being alone with him changes it.

If you don't mind some relatively tame spoilers:

Spoiler

Things like the sire still existing in Umbra, including Wraith stuff and letting Lucius touch on basic necromancy from Pisha (and cleaning up that thing), the way the plaguebearer mission wih Skelter played out.

@Pasta - Nope, in-game the sire is just dead.

 

The game establishes nothing about your sire. You don't even get much of a chance to give a shit about them either - hate or love them.

 

I don't know a thing about this fandom. This was the first thing I read of it. At first it felt a wee bit like a game narrative. As in some NPC guiding you through the 'prologue' of a game so you get your bearings.

But that was like chapter 1, beyond that the story hits its stride and characterization and intrigue really start to show.

I have some quibbles about the 'voice' of several characters sound the same as others, but this isn't WBA, so it's just something to note and move on.

I really enjoyed it. Definitely library worthy for good characterization, suspense, and intrigue.

 

Been reading this slowly for a bit now; I don't really care for Lucius. I just can't stand the way he rolls over for any authority figure like a terrified child. He literally pisses himself at one point during the scene with the sisters and can only think of running away like a bitch. It's so annoying to me that he's perfectly fine murdering people and blowing off heads with shotguns, but can't stand up for himself in conversation.

Also the weird bromance with Mercurio is weird. He has to tell him how much he appreciates him like 4 times a paragraph. In the game, you pretty much just save his ass and he begs you not to tell his boss how badly he fucked up. It feels like the author is trying to ship them in the story.

Other than that, technically well written and I do enjoy reading about the fleshed out characters even if a lot of the dialogue is copy pasted and I don't agree with some of the characters' voices.

3.5/5