Malkavians and heterochromia

[trueann]

How do you think, did malkavian female protagonist have heterochromia before her Embrace or this is consequence of malkavian blood, or even impact of her sire?
Interestingly, heterochromia seems to be common among malkavian females. Jeanette also has heterochromia (Therese, however, hasn't), as well as Malkavian character from VTM Swansong - https://i.imgur.com/kMSS0xt.png.

[CTPhipps]

How do you tihk, did malkavian female protagonist have heterochromia before her Embrace or this is consequence of malkavian blood, or even impact of her sire?
Interestingly, heterochromia seems to be common among malkavian females. Jeanette also has heterochromia (Therese, however, hasn't), as well as Malkavian character from VTM Swansong - https://i.imgur.com/kMSS0xt.png.

I think it's a nice visual striking image for characters who are one thing and another. Though in the case of canon, I'd just take the boring answer that the eyes helped attract their sires.

Another one is that they're using Obfuscate subtlety.

But anything is possible in your games.

[No One of Consequence]

Another one is that they're using Obfuscate subtlety.

Or contacts.

[DifferentJustin]

My No Prize answer for heterochromia appearing in Malkavian Kindred would either be 1.) it’s a manifestation of their inherent connections to the Malkavian Cobweb (the most likely in my opinion) or 2.) the appearance of heterochromia is carried in Jacob/Esau’s “bloodline” (much less likely, but still possible as the Protagonist is at least 8th Generation, we know Jacob/Esau are involved in Jeanette and Therese’s Embrace, and we don’t know a lot of information about Leysha yet).

[Kammerer]

How do you think, did malkavian female protagonist have heterochromia before her Embrace or this is consequence of malkavian blood, or even impact of her sire?
Interestingly, heterochromia seems to be common among malkavian females. Jeanette also has heterochromia (Therese, however, hasn't), as well as Malkavian character from VTM Swansong - https://i.imgur.com/kMSS0xt.png.

Jeanette does not have heterochromia.

[Undead rabbit]

ehm, left eye is azure, and the right one is green...so I'd say...yes she has heterochromia?

[MyWifeIsScary]

Teresse does not. It's contacts or obfuscate.


I don't know about goths because I'm young and sweet, but I don't think i'm stepping to far outa line to say malks and goths probably overlap slightly more than goths and other clans (maybe Toreador compete?). an odd contact isn't entirely uncommon among goths.

[glamourweaver]

Teresse does not. It's contacts or obfuscate.

Is there a reason it couldn’t just be naturally occurring heterochromia that has nothing to do with being a vampire? Like CTPhipps said, it may have been a trait that appealed to her sire

[trueann]

Teresse does not. It's contacts or obfuscate.

Why are you so sure? It is possible that color just chages when Jeanette is in control. It is malkavian blood, after all.

[MyWifeIsScary]

Mental illness does not cause funky eyes. Magic in WoD generally follows the path of least resistance; fancy light shows don't appear everytime you cast a spell, you just cast a spell. With this in mind, why would a magical malkavian weakness, which effects purely the mind, have physical characteristics to tell everyone somethings happening? Side-effects like paradadox and formori ugliness are side-effects for useful, possitive powers that go against nature, while the Malkavian weakness is itself a negative item that isn't going to manifest an additional negative item to balance it out. Especially since vampires generally are physically static creatures that, outside of the ups and downs of paths, the paleness of age, and a few other outliers generally resist appearance changes that occur after the first week or so of being embraced. Heterochromia isn't a fucking novelty malkavian trick, and as a clan that specializes in obfuscate and auspex and is filled with people hiding debilitating mental illnesses, it's unfitting for them to have a physical marker that to advertise that they're the crazy ones and they're so crazy that sometimes their eye colour changes. The more I think of it, the more I positively loath the idea. (It could be a Maeghar mark, but strange stigmas are literally the defined weakness of Maeghar, because their whole deal is that everyone sees them as 'other'. Go play Maeghar if you really want to push this idea. A Tremere with an Arcane curse might also work)

[trueann]

Just found out about Lord Theron - Malkavian from GC-2, whose eyes are described as bicolored.

[Nail Eater]

And maybe the explanation is simple: Malkavians are at least weird. And they are attracted to weirdness. Heterochromia isn't a norm in human population so it can be seen as weirdness.

[The Laughing Stranger]

Mental illness does not cause funky eyes. Magic in WoD generally follows the path of least resistance; fancy light shows don't appear everytime you cast a spell, you just cast a spell. With this in mind, why would a magical malkavian weakness, which effects purely the mind, have physical characteristics to tell everyone somethings happening?

Thematically it is because eyes are windows to the soul and the instability inflicted by Malkav's blood is a terrible burden that warps that inner self.

I do not think it needs an explanation beyond it being one of the many ineffable gifts of the First Seer's blood.

However...

Any theorizing that Malkavian heterochromia is physiological overlooks the great pink elephant in the room. Malkavians spread madness like butter. The heterochromia is an unconscious Dementation effect that Jeanette inflicts on those who look at her.

[MyWifeIsScary]

Thats a pretty poor use of Dementation. Why would you develop a power thats not good for anything, especially when Obfuscate 3 exists and its in-clan for you?

[Nail Eater]

Thats a pretty poor use of Dementation. Why would you develop a power thats not good for anything, especially when Obfuscate 3 exists and its in-clan for you?

It could not be developed. It could be unconsious, uncontrolable effect, just as The Laughing Stranger wrote. Some kind of "bonus" from a ST.