HALLOWEEN COSPLAY

Spooky Jack-o-Lanterns, monster costumes, scary movie marathons and bloody haunted houses. Yes it's that time again and I'm excited and sad. Sad because I won't be going to Vegas to hang out with Evil Don and Gail Charette. They run the loony bin known as the Asylum.

Or check out the block parties with Joe Eagle Eyes and Benny the Badger and other ghoulish gatherings that I wish I could see. Perhaps another time.

Excited however because my son Patrick and I are busy building the Blood Moon Social Club and Crossbreeds pages under the new www.koolkollectables.com. This blog vetterSverse is part of that effort but we are building much more. The BMSC page will have an undead art gallery and a Fangtastic Photo album. Filled with pics form back in the night when Vampire the Masquerade was all the rage.

The crossbreed page will expand on the crossbreed series. Featuring details that may not be in the books. Background on the characters and artwork to flesh out the world of the crossbreeds.

I think most writers approach their work from a classic literary prospective. They work up a concept put together an outline and craft a novel from that.
I do it from the prospective of a gamer. First I design the world and then I work up character profiles. In the beginning with crossbreeds I made miniatures and played out scenarios with dice. Later I visualized the world as a video game. For me this allows the characters to become more real. I get board with stories where the narrative is mostly from the writer. I give my characters each their own voice, I like to hear what they have to say.

Lieutenant Dixon; Eradicator: Infiltrator. Mission: Blend in gather intelligence. Report to Eiger Dracthorn. Reclamation of pre-war technology and precocious materials buried in landfills is crucial for survival in the world of crossbreeds. Hunter's Point a crossbreed stronghold is sitting on a bonanza of recyclable materials. The scrap boom attracts hoards of prospectors looking to stake a claim. One more scavie looks as any other and Dracthorn's agent skulks about drawing little attention. Dixon's first appearance in Scorn the Vulgarian, Crossbreeds 3: Dark Legends.

At this time of year I always enjoy the costumes, make up and props the most. After we moved from Vegas to Mystic Canyon my cosplay gear was buried in a steel vault. Recently I dug it all out. Since I'm in the Halloween spirit anyway I decided to take the crossbreed character development a step further.

Why not? I've got a massive collection of props and a hundred and fifty acres of canyons, winding river and dense forest. For those of you that remember how remote the old ranch was where we held the Blood Moon Vampire games. This is much further out. No one can hear you scream. The perfect setting to let the crossbreeds out of their book world and roam around the real world.

Trooper Rotax; Eradicator: Cyborg weapons specialist. Mission: Seek out and destroy all crossbreeds. The Crossbreed Phenomenon has no known cause. Yet many believe it is a contagion. Eiger Dracthorn believes he has the cure. With bionanotech he mentally controls an army of drones to rid humanity of the source; crossbreeds. Eiger Dracthorn's first appearance in Scorn The Vulgarian; Crossbreeds 3: Dark Legends.

Of course this all seems innocent enough, actually one could argue that it's silly for a grown man to dress up like a hideous mutant and skulk around in the woods with dangerous weapons. Silly you say! Next you'll accuse me of being a delusional paranoid psychotic and that somehow I've become detached from reality. Go ahead it's been said before, I know what they whisper behind my back. Well I say reality is what you make of it. In my world anything is possible. They come alive and speak to me, they live I tell you, they live...

Boris; Stage 2 Crossbreed: Caprine. Saboteur & hijacker. Mission: Bring about the end of technology in the name of the great horned one. With the world in chaos many sought comfort from clergy. When even organized religion could not give adequate response to why children were changing at puberty, cults claiming to have answers sprang up like weeds. A popular theory among them was the rise of the old ones. Somehow the ancient gods had returned to punish mankind for his worship of technology and the destruction of mother earth. Boris appears in Crossbreeds 2: Tanglewood Terrorists.

What I meant to say is they live as figments of my fevered imagination.

Badlander; Occupation: Road Pirate. Mission: Pillage and plunder. With the collapse of the government and disintegration of civilization. Many disaffected souls have gone into the harsh wilderness. Bands of raiders harry truckers and caravans to survive off the spoils. Both crossbreeds and 100% humans prowl the high desert looking for easy prey.

I'll cut this short, it's time for my pills and a nap. For the record I'll tell you the same thing I told the sheriff. I know nothing about those missing collage students. Naked hedonist, they could be anywhere. The deep dark canyons are so unforgiving.