#but what is morality amongst vampires

[justalittlechocolatemilkshake]

So sorry to the Paris Coven but the insane and vengeful Louis that killed them, was so hot.

[thatfreshi]

Can I request an Astarion x reader fic where the reader keeps getting hit on/cat called by random people, and she brushes it off at first but it slowly becomes evident that it really bothers her, and needs someone to intervene or comfort her?

TW - Sexual harassment, threat of kidnapping

Recommended Song: Used - SZA FT. Don Toliver

Ah taverns, such wondrous places of inebriation and sloppy people of all creeds. You and Astarion are party people, despite his introverted nature. It's more about being two people thriving in chaos, playing the other patrons like pawns to make the night exciting, flirting with a stranger to snatch their drink from the bar, and all of those morally grey things. Sure, maybe it's not ethical to steal, but it sure is fun.

It's not a secret that you are two of the most good-looking regulars, but it's also well-known that you're severely monogamous. In fact, it's gotten very close to voyeurism multiple times, which has gotten you kicked out of a couple places. You don't mind public displays of affection, even if they're a little far gone at times. All of that to say, it's hard not to notice when you arrive.

Ever since the death of Cazador, you've been living in luxury. Despite rejecting ascension, Astarion didn't mind getting his hands all over the stockpile of gold and jewels the Szarrs had at their estate. After all, you'd say he deserves it. It's almost like being nobility, adorned in gorgeous clothing amongst the common people, and yet you fit in quite well. This rich adornment came with tight-fitting gowns, gorgeous lace pieces, corsets of the highest quality. Those also didn't go unnoticed, but this night in particular some people crossed the line.

You and Astarion brought your own bottle of wine to start the evening, something to get you loose enough to put up with whatever was on tap. Occasionally you'd befriend some strangers, just for the evening. Astarion had a bad habit of making jokes about his vampirism, so you often avoided speaking to the same people again in case they'd look past his sarcasm.

This night in particular you'd come across quite the fun group, and you'd kindly shared some of your wine with them, which was a most rare occurrence. Soon enough you ran out, and Astarion offered to grab something else for the table.

"I'll be right back darling."

He has a habit of disappearing in most circles, but he's always nearby when it comes to you, especially in a place like this. Of course he's protective of you, all you truly have is each other. He'll walk to the bar and purchase a new bottle, keeping eyes, or at least ears on you the entire time he's away. Perks of loving an elf, as his heightened senses have come in handy multiple times.

"Well, that man of yours certainly is something."

A human man comments from across the table, taking a sip of your fancy wine.

"I know."

You smirk, taking a sip of your drink.

"I can't imagine he's all that in the bedroom though."

You almost spit out your wine, surprised by the audacity of this complete stranger.

"I'm sorry, but who are you?"

"Just someone who thinks you could do better."

"And what makes you say that?"

"Well, I could bed you for a change."

You almost want to throw up at how bold this man is being. Instead of dragging the conversation on any further, you grab your drink and go to stand up, trying to eye Astarion from across the room. The tavern was awfully busy, far more than usual. After realizing he was nowhere in sight, you move to make your way to the bar. Suddenly, there's a hand in your hair, yanking you back.

"Well that's no way to treat a nice young man, now is it?"

This human snarls in your ear. No one seems to notice the situation, as the crowd is bustling. It's not often you get scared of random tavern goers, but this man is far more handsy than others.

"Unhand me."

You go to grab for the knife hidden under the slit of your dress, realizing you forgot to grab it on the way out. Of course, tonight of all nights. Realizing you were trying to grab for a weapon, the human twists your wrist behind your back, making you yelp in pain.

Astarion had a hard time hearing that night because of all the overlapping conversation, but that sound was all he needed for his ears to perk up and for him to abandon his drink mission. He has a keen sense for knowing when you're in danger.

"Adorable, you think you're that strong huh?"

He goes to feel where you reached for your knife, lingering on your leg a little too long. Then, he freezes.

"Excuse me sir, could you show me where your pulse is in your neck? Make sure your blood's still pumping?"

Astarion has his dagger in hand behind your attacker. The human starts shaking, and slowly creeps his hand off of your leg and onto his neck.

"Very good. Now, if you'd like to keep that precious sustenance pumping through your veins and don't want me to pop your jaw out of it's socket, you'll unhand my wife."

He points the tip of his dagger right where the neck meets the jawline, almost drawing blood. Soon after the human unhands your hair, and scrambles away, not before Astarion leaves the tiniest knick in his neck: a reminder. You turn around and embrace the vampire, finally catching your breath. He lets you stay wrapped around his side as he guides you out of the tavern.

"Are you alright my love? Did he hurt you?"

"Just my scalp a little. I forgot my knife before we left, stupid mistake."

He lifts your chin up to make eye contact with him.

"You shouldn't have to be armed so some man won't harass you. Would I prefer you to have a weapon on you? Of course, but if you ever can't protect yourself, I will."

You start to tear up a little. It's been a while since you've been that scared, and no one seemed to notice. What would've happened if Astarion was too late?

"Look at me."

He wakes you from your thoughts.

"Let's go home. Perhaps this isn't the right place for us."

You wrap your arm around his, holding onto his sleeve. Darkvision is nice at times like this, since he can see much further than you. The walk home is quiet, and he doesn't mind. However, he is constantly eyeing nearby alleyways in case that man decides to get smart with him. When you get home you ball up on the sofa, and he makes sure the door is double-locked, something he doesn't often do considering he made the locks himself. He makes his way to the sofa, the plush velvet making a nice contrast to rickety wooden chairs of the tavern.

"Come here darling."

He pulls you back to lay on him, and he unclasps your necklace, placing it gently on the nearby table.

"Astarion?"

You look up at him.

"Yes my love?"

Tears prick at your eyes again. You have a hard time getting the words out, as if it's an embarrassing question.

"Will... will you always keep me safe?"

Your voice wavers. He starts massaging your shoulders.

"Of course my sweet Tav, I'll keep you safe as long as you live."

His voice lowered, a certain serious tone taking hold. Part of him felt guilty things even went as far as they did tonight, but he promised himself he'd never let it happen again.

"I love you."

He smiles. It's not often you just say 'I love you' to one another, it's usually said in many different ways, in actions, in pet names. You save it for serious moments, when it feels important to remind each other of your love, how it binds you.

"I love you too darling."

Nothing else is said. Soon enough you fall asleep as he rubs your back, peaceful and safe.

[this-insidious-dawn]

This Insidious Dawn is a dark fantasy IF wherein you play as a vampire, employed under the clandestine League of the Third God to hunt down anything -- everything - that does not belong in this world. But you do not belong here either, Warden. Demo tba.

☼ SYNOPSIS

The League saved you. Rewrote your life- gave you a chance to be more than a bloodstarved vampyr. Or did they?

You remember nothing of your past before the League; nothing but blood and indescribable agony, nothing but the thrumming of your heart stilling- and then beginning again, stilted and wrong. That was over a decade ago, the memories now faint and the connection quivering. They've been replaced, overwritten by years of blades clashing, body aches, and hollow hunger.

You started out weak. Starving, skin-and-bones, desperate for any reprieve you could get your hands on. Now, you're strong, each hunt -- each cut - giving you just enough energy to keep your worn body going. Some people would call it cruel, to keep a sentient being on the edge of death. Most people, though, would say that you're a vampire, so you hardly count as sentient.

Regardless of the morality of it, the method was effective. You were one of -- no, the most - efficient Warden the League had to offer.

And then a hunt went wrong. And now you're dead. But- a vampire (no, not a vampire; a vampyr) can never truly die. So you're back. But is it really you?

☼ FEATURES

↠ Customize your Warden. Appearance, gender, pronouns, and personality are all up to your choices as the player.

↠ This is a psychological horror first and foremost. It will have themes of dehumanization and derealization, amongst others. CWs will be offered.

↠ A character-driven plot where your choices impact the story.

↠ A cast of four consisting of The Acolyte, The Commander, The Savior, and The Forgotten, any of which you can optionally romance no matter your Warden's gender.

☼ CAST

↠ THE ACOLYTE

As with any vampire, you are accompanied by an acolyte to keep you in check and ensure that your hunts go well- as well as to mend any Gorges that riftspawn might crawl out of. Constantine Nimecidus fills this role, in your case (ae/aer). Ae is sharp-tongued, with a chronic lack of patience towards the people and world around aer, and can come across as snappy or rude. In other instances still, aer sarcastic, dry, and often untimely humor can offer a quick relief from the tension of any situation- or make it several times worse. Despite aer casual, laidback nature in the face of most events, ae places utmost importance on aer job, and quickly becomes intense whenever ae feels as if ae or aer position are being in any way threatened. You've spent years going on hunts with aer at this point, but the connection has never transcended the necessary 'I save you, you save me' exchange. Ae seems wary of you.

Constantine is a bit shorter than most, standing at 5'3. Ae has broad shoulders and hips, and is thickset with both muscle and fat. Aer amber skin is dappled with symmetrical pale patches, especially prevalent around aer eyes and mouth, and the lack of pigmentation has bled into aer hair in some spots, giving the dark auburn eye-catching streaks of white. Said hair is curly and cut shorter along the sides than the back is, and ae spends an awful lot of time preening it. Aer eyes are a striking, slightly luminescent bronze, and aer pupils appear instead of black as molten gold, shifting slightly in color to match aer emotions at any given moment. Ae has full lips and slightly upturned, monolid eyes. Ae favors shades of brown, tan, and orange in aer outfit, and ae near-constantly dons a rich red capelet with fur trimming around the hood.

↠ THE COMMANDER

Ex-commander of the Serpent's Guard-turned vampire. You'd personally never had a run-in with Alvaros Vepir until just recently (he/him). He's gruff, jaded, and withdrawn- exactly what you'd expect out of the man who gave his life for his queen only to nearly die (again) for it. It's hard to say, though, how much of his time as the commander he truly remembers. Alvaros is a poet's dream, the hero in an epic-turned-tragedy. He keeps everybody at arm's length, never allowing them to learn more than what the stories and theatrics tell of him. This is especially true of you- the vampire who was sent to reign him in, turn him from a rogue vampyr into a soldier of the League. Despite his emotional avoidance of you, though, he seems quite interested in you. Maybe it's the fact you're one of the few to have bested him in combat. Maybe it's just that 'vampiric charm' that old legends tell about (but that never seems to work outside of fights). Maybe it's because he remembers you.

Alvaros is intimidating in every manner. He stands at 6'4, his whole body is lean and scarred, and the black sclerae encircling dark green irises certainly does him no favors in lessening the effect. Before you were dispatched to retrieve him, you couldn't have said what he looked like; as the commander, he'd worn the veil regular of high-ranking members of the Serpent's Ring, leaving nothing but the back of his head exposed. Now, you know of his face well enough that you could probably recognize him in a crowd. With fawn skin dotted by freckles, hooded eyes, and a distinctive hooked nose, Alvaros is exactly what one would expect of a native of southern Ghel- save for his hair. Instead of the expected brown or black, his hair is a muddy blonde, and it has slight waves that turn into full curls at the tips. He maintains it short, never reaching past his chin. His face is scarred (his everything is, really), with a particularly nasty gash reaching from his left eyebrow down to his right jaw. It just barely misses his right eye.

↠ THE SAVIOR

An acolyte? You think so, anyways. Suri Revlece is the woman who saved you (she/her). You don't know whether or not she's even with the League, but she certainly looks like an acolyte. You don't know what she was doing there, either, but she seems willing to answer any of your questions while you recover- as long as they aren't personal. She's kind enough, but seems a little...off. She's finicky, always looking over her shoulder. She's running from something, but she doesn't seem to know what. She appears to believe that she and you have some type of camaraderie, although you've never met. But there's something to be said for the sheer strength of her magic- you've never seen an acolyte's shimmer burn a riftspawn like that. Never seen one with an eye glowing that bright, either. She's an anomaly- one that you're sure the headman at your partner's spire would be more than glad to have amongst their ranks, but then the mere idea of it had her denying it with vehemence. It seems like she has a history with it.

Suri has a mesmerizing look to her. The deep brown of her skin, near-black of her hair, and dark garb are contrasted with bright pops of color. One eye is a brightly glowing orange, the pupil nearly white, and the other is a misty grey, its almond shape deformed by the burn scars warping the left side of her face. That dark hair, braided and reaching down to about her hips, is decorated by light brown and gold beads engraved with runes that seem to serve to channel her magic. Her frame is lanky and she's long-limbed, reaching just above what most would think of as an 'average height', at 5'8. Below a brown leather cloak, more runed jewelry decorates her wrists and fingers, and her hands are tattooed in shades of bronze. The burn upon her face is not the only such injury she has suffered; her palms are burnt the slightest bit, and similar scars wrap around her arms. She has a broad nose and thick heart-shaped lips, and light stubble sits above the top lip.

↠ THE FORGOTTEN

You don't know who they are anymore. Who are they? (he/they/she)

A shadowy form, the silhouette of a memory. There's something not quite right about them. What have they become?

☼ LINKS

Demo - tba

Other blogs - @azraels-bad-choices (main IF blog) and @a-firsthand-murder-ballad (other project)

[lylethewaterguy]

I have some DC analysis, but please bear with me cause idk if I’m gonna be able to explain this well.

I think that Green Arrow is actually one of if not the main DC character embodying hope.

What I mean by that is that when looking at apocalyptic DC storylines there are four main characters that regularly represent hope in some capacity. Those being Superman, Nightwing, Booster Gold, and Green Arrow. And that amongst them I find GA to be the strongest and most impactful. Going over each of them quickly:

Superman represents inherent goodness and the hope that goodness will persevere in the face of evil. Which means that when he dies or goes evil that signals, essentially, that the gloves are off. That being solely good can no longer win the fight and hard decisions will have to be made. Like how they kill people in DC vs Vampires, how they abandon humans on earth in DCeased, or all the betrayal and moral ambiguity (even from the good guys) in Injustice. If Superman is gone then the hope for any semblance of moral purity is over.

Nightwing represents unity, community, and friendship. So when he goes (dies or otherwise) the superhero community fractures beyond repair. That united front is gone. Like how DC vs Vampires literally divides everyone into vampire and non-vampire, or how DCeased separates the leaguers but putting them on different planets, or the civil war in Injustice.

Booster Gold doesn’t appear as prominently, on account of being a smaller character, but when he does he quite literally embodies that the current future remains. If he is to be born 500 years from now humanity has to not only survive but be able to return to normal. So when he fades out of existence (or at least is supposed to) it shows that things have fundamentally and irreversibly changed.

Green Arrow on the other hand represents the perseverance of humanity. He has always been the “normal person” representing humanity in the Justice League. And that also carries over into DCs more apocalyptic storylines. If Green Arrow is still alive that means that they may have to bend their morals, they may be fractured forever, and things may never return to normal, but the earth keeps spinning, the stars keeps burning, and lives goes on. If Green Arrow is still kicking then hope remains.

[loving-n0t-heyting]

some ppl seem disposed to view utilitarianism (or some other form of global value-maximising consequentialism) as essentially definitionally correct as a theory of morals. which, whatever, obviously i dont agree but this is the sort of thing ppl will disagree abt. except that, in the face of putative counterexamples, instead of either rejecting the theory or denying the counterexamples they will try to try to save both by claiming that, while utilitarianism is correct as a theory of morals, these examples prove it is inadequate as a theory of supermorals, which plays pretty much exactly the same role for them as questions of right and wrong simpliciter do for us simpleminded folk (answering the question: what to do, all things considered?) and in which morals are just one consideration amongst many, whose main distinguishing feature as against (mere) morality is that utilitarianism is not an adequate characterisation of it. when you wind up pulling at the statements involved they start to sound very strained, reading as they do like "there is a correct balance between being correct and being incorrect" or "or its bad to be too good"

one can ofc simply avoid all these koan-like epicycles by not inviting the utilitarian vampire thru the threshold of yr conscience in the 1st place

[the-broken-pen]

“Do you know,” the vampire hummed in their ear, “how young you look right now?”

The protagonist choked on their gag, eyes glaring up at the vampire.

“Like a lamb to the slaughter,” they continued, trailing a finger through the protagonist’s sweat soaked hair. “Did they tell you what you were getting into?”

No, the protagonist thought, they hadn’t. The agency had needed someone to distract— someone new to the battlefield that the vampire wouldn’t recognize, with their memory as sharp as knives and their penchant for removing displeasing individuals from amongst the living.

And so of course, that meant the protagonist, fresh out of training, newly recruited, the littlest sibling of a sacrificial hero long since revered.

Big shoes to fill.

A solemn and silent grave to impress.

If the protagonist could have, they would have cursed the vampire out, but they supposed that would only make things worse.

Still, being in the room with the murderer of their big brother, the person who had left the hero of the city bleeding out in a place so hidden that by the time the protagonist found them—

Well.

They had a grave to impress.

The vampire caught their chin, tilting their head up.

“Little lamb, you look quite like my favorite enemy. Truly, the resemblance is uncanny,” their hand tightened on the protagonists jaw. “Say, our blessed hero didn’t happen to have a mini me, did they?”

The protagonist’s teeth clenched and they snarled through the gag.

The vampire grinned, delighted.

“Oh, how wonderful. It’s a pleasure to meet you, lamb.”

The protagonist simply blinked. The vampire clicked their tongue, as if disappointed. A moment later, the tip of their finger slid across the protagonist’s gag and it disintegrated.

The protagonist spit dust onto the floor, mouth dry with leftover cloth, before baring their teeth at the vampire.

“You piece of undying shit—“

The vampire slide an amused smile their way.

“The mouth on you. Yes, you really do look like them, don’t you? The resemblance is startling.”

“I’ll show you just how startling I can be if you untie these bonds.”

Behind their back, the protagonists fingers were numb. If they tried to punch, they doubted it would be successful. No need for the vampire to know that.

“Such rage for such a young individual. Tell me, little lamb, why do you want me dead?”

The protagonist closed their mouth that had been prepared to spit more venomous words, and swallowed thickly.

“I don’t want you dead—“

“Oh darling,” the vampire waved a hand. “Of course you do. It’s quite villainous of you, but I’m not one to judge morality.”

The protagonist bit the inside of their cheek, examining the edges of the concrete room, if only to avoid meeting the vampires all seeing gaze.

“Is this about your brother?” The vampire guessed casually, like hearing the vampire reference them didn’t stop the protagonist’s heart.

Their stomach clenched.

The vampire’s eyebrows eased in understanding.

“Ah. Well, then. I suppose I understand the sentiment. Nothing I can do about it, however. Bygones, they say.”

The protagonist lurched forward in their chair.

“He isn’t a bygone, he was my brother, and you murdered him—“

The vampire tutted, hand sliding over the protagonists mouth with impossible speed.

“Now, then, don’t say such atrocious things.”

The protagonist bit the inside of the vampires palm, and they raised an eyebrow. Their too cool palm didn’t move, smooth skin resting above the protagonists jaw.

“I did not murder your brother,” the vampire said after a tense moment. The protagonist glared at them.

Of course they had. The protagonist wasn’t stupid, they had seen the injuries on their brother. They had held him, in his final moments, terrified and shaking as their hands tried to cover too many wounds at once.

And then their brother had been dead and their hands had been covered in blood and all the protagonist could think was “It was the vampire.”

The vampire nodded as if they could read the protagonist’s face.

“Some things you are not meant to know,” the vampire murmured. “But I will tell you this—I did not kill your brother.”

They protested against the vampire’s palm, and the hand gripped tighter. For a moment, the protagonist remembered the terrifying strength hidden under that lovely face.

“I understand you are grieving. But I am not responsible for what happened. I am only responsible for what came next.”

They turned confused eyes on the vampire, and the vampire released them, studying the protagonist for a second before striding to the door.

The paused with a hand on the door knob.

“By the way, little lamb. Your brother isn’t alive,” the vampire’s voice rang into the room. “But he is living.”

The door slammed shut.

And the protagonist was left with the horrible realization that maybe when their brother had died, the vampire had done far worse than kill him—maybe the vampire had brought him back.

The protagonist started screaming for the vampire to come back.

Hours later, when they were rescued, the agency asked them what they had learned.

Stonily, faithfully, they looked their supervisor dead in the eye.

And said nothing.

[philcoulsonismyhero]

I Should be sleeping, but unfortunately I finished relistening to Moon Over Soho again earlier after I finished Amongst Our Weapons again the other day and decided to just loop back around, and I continue to be Deeply not normal about Thomas Nightingale.

2396 names of wizards who died in WWII and he personally carved every single one of them into the remembrance wall at Casterbrook. 3 out of 5 of every military aged wizard in Britain died and the rest of them gave up the craft due to injury and/or trauma, but he persisted, alone. He started aging backwards in his 70s but stopped at the approximate age he was during the war. He still remembers how and where all of his friends died. "Some days, it seems so long ago, and some days..."

I keep thinking of the DS9 pilot and the Prophets bringing Sisko back to his wife's death over and over again because "you exist here". Nightingale still exists in the war. And then Peter comes along and drags him into the 21st century and refuses to let him stay wallowing in his grief and spots Exactly all the ways in which he's broken and needs someone to keep the cracks from widening. Peter’s mum says what would one more killing be to a man with blood on his hands, and Peter thinks of the strain he's seen in Nightingale and decides no, no more, there's Always Another Way. For moral and ethical reasons, but also because Nightingale has been damaged enough. And it started when he put his foot down over the jazz vampires and threw 'what did all your friends die for?' in Nightingale's face.

I am. So very Not Normal about them in general and about that conversation in particular

[leslutdepointedulac]

Louis getting insanely jealous over Estelle and Celeste cosying up to Armand is quality Loumand content.

And what appalled me as I watched was not their exquisite form, their delicate features and graceful hands made hard as glass by vampire nature, or their bewitching eyes which fixed on me now in a sudden silence; what appalled me was my own fierce jealousy.

Like, he met Armand only the night before. They've known each other only a few hours, they've had one conversation at this point and yet already, Louis' seething with jealousy at the idea of literally anyone else touching Armand, despite the fact that they've known him significantly longer than he has.

When else has Louis ever gotten this territorial over anyone, ever. And they barely know each other.

Bonus moments of Louis being weird about Armand:

Louis getting giggly over Armand literally just looking at him, like he's a teenage girl.

And my heart expanded when I saw him this way, saw that no one amongst the small throng caught his glance as I caught his glance, and no one held it from time to time as I held it.

"Omg he looked at me! He doesn't look at anyone else like he looks at me, or for as long. I hear wedding bells!"

And Louis arguing his love for Armand with Claudia.

Claudia: He draws life out of me into himself,. . . Life out of the boy who is his slave, life out of me whom he would make his slave. He loves you. He loves you. He would have you, and he would not have me stand in the way.

Louis: You don't understand him!

Louis " you just don't get him like I do. You should be happy for me that I'm getting a new man, and grateful I'm getting you a step-dad" de Pointe du Lac.

Louis ignoring Claudia's foreshadowing of her own fate.

Claudia: No, I understand him only too well,. . . It is you who don't understand him. Love's blinded you, your fascination with his knowledge, his power. If you knew how he drinks death you'd hate him more than you ever hated Lestat. Louis, you must never return to him. I tell you, I'm in danger!

Louis: Early the next night, I left her, convinced that Armand alone among the vampires of the theatre could be trusted.

Louis really said "And so I ignored my own daughter's fears of being murdered by my new boyfriend. Just because she can't get a man, doesn't mean I can't."

And finally, whatever this is.

It was an icon for me of love. The love I felt. Not physical love, you must understand. I don't speak of that at all, though Armand was beautiful and simple, and no intimacy with him would ever have been repellent.

Louis: I curse god everyday that I cannot have sex the mortal way. Not a day goes by that I don't wish I could fuck Armand. Just, absolutely rail him, and let him bang me in return. I want to obliterate each other's asses, is that so much to ask 😫

Moral of the story, Louis is down incredibly bad for Armand, moreso than he's ever let on about his same feelings for anyone else. Not even Lestat got this kind of treatment from Louis. I just know Lestat is fuming about that. Lestat would be so jealous of Louis' jealousy over Armand.

[savagewildnerness]

I think I managed to sum up yesterday’s thoughts a little more succinctly in the end…

Gabrielle desires freedom from humans and society & the restrictions of her gender. She craves to be in nature & to be utterly severed from humanity - even from what was once her human self. She gets scared when she feels any thing may trap her.

Lestat desires agency, but he craves connection, love & union & to be amongst society & the world & humanity. He craves to be good & do good & feels connected to & responsible for people connected to him. If there is no goodness, as Lestat sees it, life is meaningless chaos. Lestat sees innate truth in aesthetic goodness in nature & art: to do with beauty, truth, emotional expression & moving others.  He sees moral goodness as a human construct  - imposed by society and/or by the individual rather than an innate quality of existence. Lestat has his own moral code that matters to him - whether he is following it, or intentionally railing against it & breaking it. 

Nicolas is concerned with justice & harmony. If there is no justice, as Nicolas sees it, life is meaningless chaos. (How prescient that Nicolas’s Father wanted him to study law!) It feels like in his first time in Paris, Nicolas truly discovered that there *is* no justice so for Nicki, life from then on was indeed meaningless chaos.  Similarly to Lestat - his response was to rail against it. So he took up the violin. This gave Nicki happiness, but he could only see it as morally bad as he was pushing against harmony his family wanted, for himself.  If we compare Nicky & Lestat’s views on goodness - to Nicolas to be morally good necessitates sacrifice of the self for the desires of a greater scheme. Nicolas, I think, would believe a personally devised moral code to be false & thus sinful. To him, a ‘greater scheme’ moral code is truth & if he pushes against that, Nicolas believes he is bad. 

To summarise - the things that vampire-Gabrielle desires are the very things that terrify Lestat & vice versa - the things Lestat desires feel like a literal trap to Gabrielle.

Gabrielle instantly realises this once she is a vampire and it looms over their relationship and, I think, is why she questions Lestat on what e feels and believes and will do in a way she didn’t actively do so much when he was mortal.  She sees where this will end (as does Armand) and the end is Gabrielle and Lestat apart… but that’t that she wants.  Can Lestat survive it?  She doesn’t know.

And with Lestat & Nicolas, Lestat’s “Savage Garden” which Lestat (and I) see as conceptually beautiful and expressing the beauty in the chaos of existence… is to Nicolas literal confirmation of Nicolas’ deepest fears & thus proves even more soundly that existence is meaningless chaos to Nicki.

Something about the duality of it all…?

I mean, this all isn’t totally right, I’m sure.  But, it’s…. Something…

[monstersinthecosmos]

Hi, completely agree with what you said here but it makes me very sad to think about it. As someone who imprinted on Armand at 12, Marius/Armand was my first ship in VC but I find it hard to ship them post Venice era, even though Blood Communion seems to suggest some positive developments in their relationship (Marius standing behind Armand during his argument with Benedict supporting Armand being his own person iirc?). Idk I want them to work their shit out but it’s still hard to imagine them putting their differences aside sans an apocalyptic scenario like in QotD.

And sometimes idk if Marius loves Armand enough to work on it. I know that the corner of tumblr that loves Marius (And I certainly understand the appeal of a complicated and polarizing character like him. Kudos to Anne for creating Marius!) likes to push the idea that the turning of Benji and Sybelle was mostly out of love (and to a varying extent depending on the person’s pov, due to Marius’ mental health issues) but how much was that love and how much was it ‘my pet needs to have pets so that he stays alive for ME’. Not saying these 2 motivations are mutually exclusive but I’m genuinely curious about your views.

I’m rambling but guess what I’m trying to say is, how much do you think Marius’ love for Armand is unselfish, whether in Venice, at the end of TVA or after Blood Communion?

Asdghjakl yeah I have really similar feelings about them as a ship! Like the Venice era is my favorite time period in the VC but modern/present-day Marius/Armand doesn’t really hit the same way for me because it’s just such a motherfuckin mess lol.

What I do want to say, though, is that we’re kind of dancing around a topic here that involves the inhumanity and inherent monstrosity of Marius, and while I tend to think “THEY’RE VAMPIRES” is a lazy approach to analysis, there’s a deeper version of it that’s relevant here.

What I mean is that Marius can love Armand truthfully, sincerely, unselfishly and STILL cause harm, and still love him imperfectly, and still cause problems. I think when we really wanna start dissecting Marius/Armand as a ship, and the Venice era as a whole, and whatever trauma it left on Armand vs Marius’s motivations/intentions/character morals, it’s important to remember that Marius was not human. 

I think a lot about like, when we say that Armand is a “pet”, or that Denis, Daniel, Benji, and Sybelle are Armand’s pets, there’s sort of a connotation or shorthand to TLDR that it’s their cute little human. But I think about like, for example!, my fucking cats! Like, when I think about ACTUAL pets IRL, um, I would fuckin die for my cats? They’re my lil babies? I love them so fully and with my entire fucking soul but they’re dumb little animals that live in my house and I take care of them and I don’t think they have a single thought in their fucking skulls. 

So when you think about like, a 1500 year old immortal night creature adopting a little human, he can love Armand with his ENTIRE being, and I believe he really really did, and it’s still “aww the cute lil human that I feed”. And Marius is unique amongst the vampires for how hard he tries to stay connected to the human world, and it’s still never enough, he’s still never quite there, so I have always believed he had the right intentions even if he fumbled it or did things that could cause harm. It’s not like, he’s a ~MONSTER~ in a scary way, but literally, he’s so removed from humanity that he doesn’t know what the fuck he’s doing. 

(Don’t let me get into a side essay here but it reminds me so much of like, imperfect boomer parenting, like looking at different generations’ parenting styles and realizing how much harm they caused, but most people aren’t intending to harm their children and just don’t know any better. Every generation will likely experience a form of this as we learn and grow and try to be better, but I find this really interesting for Marius specifically because of the age of the author!)

He was fifteen hundred years old when he met Armand. I think in a lot of ways he acted with good intentions that wound up causing a lot of harm. But it does a disservice to the story and to him as a character to only look at the outcome, without considering the universe he’s operating in. 

And idk like, where is the line between selfish and selfless love? Like, Marius is clearly a fucking mess at the beginning of TVA and didn’t take the news of Armand’s suicide very well. Is it selfish to do something drastic because he’s worried that Armand is still suicidal? Where does one end and the other begin? Especially with immortals like, is your own death a gift? Is it an act of kindness to save someone’s life instead of allowing them to check out? Idk idk! Grief is fucking messy, it can be both, but I don’t think it’s fair to characterize it as purely for himself. He even immediately fucks off to Norway in shame afterwards. I think I prefer to think he just wanted Armand to be happy and safe. By the end of the book they're still struggling to communicate with each other about religion, and in some ways I think Marius doesn't think Armand truly wanted to die, vs seeing a religious fit for what it is. So I'm not sure he sees Armand's suicide attempt as sincere, either, and maybe doesn't feel the need to respect his wish for death.  

I think a lot about the conversation Marius has with Armand after he turns Benji & Sybelle and realizes how bad he fucked up. 

"You loved them selflessly," he whispered. "For all their strange faults, and wild evil, they were not compromised for you. You loved them perhaps more respectfully than I... than I ever loved you." He seemed so amazed. I could only nod. I wasn't so sure he was right. My need for them had never been tested, but I didn't want to tell him so.

Even at 500 years old, Marius still doesn’t entirely understand Armand as a complete person. He doesn’t completely understand Armand’s needs, or the person he wants to be, or what his human companions were to him. I think it even starts when Armand is still alive, how Marius treats him like a silly little pet, like, Armand’s piety is a cute little quirk that Marius humors without ever truly respecting. It doesn’t occur to him that Benji & Sybelle aren’t just pets. And I think Marius being stuck in his trauma means he’s just perpetually trying to believe in himself and control everything around him, while Armand stuck in trauma means he’s constantly trying on different roles and figuring out who he is. 

(But FUCK ME, christ, “I wasn't so sure he was right. My need for them had never been tested, but I didn't want to tell him so.” this really fucks me up so bad, we have to keep talking about this another time because like, these two can NOT communicate with each other! They are useless with the barrier between them maybe they need to drink from each other more often and iron this out.)

Someone can do their best, and mean well, and still cause harm. Humans do this, too. I’m sure we’ve all been there. And Marius is a great example of vampires being stuck in the trauma of their turning—it doesn’t matter how wise he tries to be, he always comes back to the same trauma, over and over. Even the way he treats Armand in Venice is a direct result of Marius trying to fix his own trauma. And like, would therapy even work on a vampire, or are their brains stuck forever where they were? How much of their “changing” is just learning behavior, and learning to mask?

Because I think Marius 100% could do that for Armand. He loves Armand. Armand is his child. He was the first fledgling Marius ever made of his own will, after 1500 years! But I think canon left us off in a place where neither of them are quite there yet. Marius is in decent shape at the end of the series, I think—it feels like he’s made some huge strides in accepting himself and his nature, so I think there’s some potential! Armand also has to learn how to use his fuckin words a little bit better, which he’s never been good at, but I think the way he goes off on Lestat after keeping that inside for 200 years is a really great sign! 

I go back and forth about “does therapy even work on vampires” all the time, like, do they have neuroplasticity, are they capable of change, have we uncovered something in the PL Trilogy that could be a key to them functioning better and learning to change. I don’t really have an answer because canon doesn’t, it’s just a fun thing to think about, but it’s the best way that I can reconcile Marius’s intentions vs his actions, and how he somehow continues to make the same mistakes and never learns! 

Basically, I think it’s not helpful to ask if Marius loves him enough. He does! But loving someone doesn’t mean we magically know how to behave, and the qualities in Marius that cause him to behave selfishly are so deeply tied to his trauma, his control issues, his use of ego as a defense mechanism. And even in real life we can have boundaries and hold people accountable when they hurt us, even if it’s because of mental illness. We can have empathy and still have boundaries, and we can be hurt and still know when something wasn't personal. That feels kinda IRL and serious to frame vampire meta but like, Marius can love people and still fuck up, because he can’t help it, and I don’t think it’s a fair reading of the text to insist he’s a diabolical abuser because it just doesn’t really match his characterization otherwise. 

I hope he gets better! 

[hanzajesthanza]

my attempts to avoid thoughts of geralt's hanza continue to fail, as sapkowski talks about them in front of my face.

(from manuscript, on the subject of the hero and the quest):

On this expedition, the Hero (Simple or King) is accompanied by others who are stereotypical-canonical fantasy characters, in other words - clichés:

Wizard-Mentor (the aforementioned MERLIN, Obi-wan Kenobi, Gandalf, Allanon, Belgarath, Sephrenia or Moiraine, who supports the hero with advice and help); Faithful Servant (in the case of the King, literally, in the case of the Simple, rather a childhood friend, Sam Gamgee. He serves the plot to recite wise folk maxims and prove that the simple people are the most morally healthy; or to save the ass of his master/friend where magic and a sharp sword will not help, and common sense and a strong, faithful arm will suffice). Good Knight (charismatic LANCELOT, always loyal and ready to fight, sometimes with some dark secret in his life); Worse Knight (always with some dark secret in his life, ambitious like Boromir, in the clutches of Evil, secretly collaborates with Evil, regrets betrayal, undergoes catharsis, perishes); Trickster - Conniver (see LOKI in "Materia Magiczna"**), cheerful, but can cause trouble, which attracts like a magnet; Damsel in Distress, who is saved from danger on the way and included in the team. Usually a princess in disguise. For several volumes of the cycle she does not like the Hero, in the last she becomes his wife.

* Type A = Percival, a hero who does not have power and is searching it, and Type B = King Arthur, a hero who has lost his power and wants to regain it. in other words, Type A = Reynevan and Type B = Geralt :)

** another chapter of the book, "Materia magica, or the Little Magical Alphabetical Lexicon," it's a glossary of various myth and legend. in loki's entry, he recounts some myths of loki and equivalates him with other figures across various traditions: Odysseus, Pryderi, Bricriu, Mordred, Alyosha Popovich, Coyote, Anansi, Maui). then he lists a few fantasy/spec fic characters he categorizes as trickers: Cugel (Dying Earth), Kickaha (World of Tiers), Coyote (Coyote Blue), Peter Lake (Winter's Tale), Moonglum (Elric of Melniboné), Nifft and Haldar (Nifft the Lean), Random (Chronicles of Amber), Saruman (Lord of the Rings), Shimrod (Lyonesse), Silk (The Belgariad and The Malloreon), Gray Mouser (Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser), Talen (The Elenium).

my thoughts:

pretty obvious assignments here, for the most part.

regis is the Wizard-Mentor, but, as he soon loses his mystique, his intellectual, philosophizing manner becomes mundane and irritating than providing magical provenance. he advises incessantly, answering questions before they're asked, giving guidance when no one asked. he only appears to be omniscient, and the others may think he's so smart because he's hundreds of years older than them, but is really just a guy, a middle aged man with a troubled youth which he learned from. his advice is not magically guided and for this reason is fallable, mortal, human. maybe the cliché is also played with in that he's a vampire, not a wizard, sorcerer, or priest, "‘I see.’ The poet sighed. ‘Is Regis a sorcerer?’ ‘No. No, not a sorcerer.’" ... as vampires are typically evil and regis is decidedly a force of good. (on this topic, @wampirzielarz once compared-contrasted gandalf and regis and it was super interesting :))

dandelion is a combination of the Faithful Servant and the Trickster. he's geralt's best friend, and doesn't fight alongside him with sword but his presence is necessary to our hero for moral support, that all makes the first part an obvious assignment... and... sapkowski lists a wide variety of tricksters of various moral alignments, but amongst them are some heroes and some best friends of heroes (and anti-heroes). and asides from being geralt's closest friend, dandelion is, after all, a rascal, who uses words and good looks to get what he wants from people. "a cynic, a lecher, a womanizer and a liar." (also, because i think szarlej also fits this double-definition as well, i won't hesitate to give them to dandelion, as they serve pretty similar functions alongside their respective heroes).

milva is the Good Knight, "always loyal and ready to fight" describes her perfectly, and her 'dark secret' was her pregnancy and plans for abortion. (though, the attribution of lancelot... well, maybe this is why some keen eyes saw a potential in yenva). anyhow, the playfulness with the cliché comes from the fact that she's a woman, which is supposed to be surprising that the hero's strongest ally is a woman. i think the "charismatic" attribute is also supposed to be played with here, as milva is simple and not too well-spoken, only so in her cursing. in other words, she's a peasant woman, and not a born-and-bred nobleman. also, for her gender, she is a play on another trope sapkowski mentions a couple of pages later, but i can't go into it now because it's too funny.

cahir is the Worse Knight, though perhaps in reverse, for all of his associations with Evil was in the past and shed like sports colors when he changed teams. he has no betrayal, "I will never betray you, witcher," all of his ‘betrayal’ was before he was even allied with the hero. but of course, for these sins, he "undergoes catharsis, perishes".

the Damsel in Distress is evidentially angouleme, being "saved from danger on the way and included in the team." the rebuking of the cliché, of course, is that geralt is "genuinely angry, genuinely confused, genuinely embarrassed" when she offers her "gratitude" to him. also, that she is no princess in disguise, just an ordinary girl, though she is confused for the princess they're after (who also happens to be another play on the damsel in distress cliché). and again, like milva, i think angouleme is related to another specifically female character cliché sapkowski calls out; but i'll save it for another post.

[anonymousredactedconfessions]

Ok, long but,

I've been thinking and I've come to the conclusion that Sam, Darlin' and Vincent are complete hypocrites when it comes to the Summit.

Everyone in this universe does vigilante justice. Not only that, but everyone does vigilante justice at the expense of the wellbeing of others. I mean, really think about it.

We have Milo/Sweetheart with the wraith (and Inversion), Sam/Darlin' with Quinn, Vincent/Lovely with Adam, Vega/Warden with all the close-knit stuff, amongst some others I'm sure I've forgotten.

A precedent has been set in the writing that 1. the department is ass and 2. taking matters into your own hands is not a sign of what direction your moral compass points.

Sam and Darlin's vigilante shit could've got people killed, especially Angel and Babe, and went on for far too long. David called them out on it, but the focus has always been 'you should trust us to help you', rather than 'you have put us all in immediate danger'. So for Sam and Darlin' to turn and go 'how could William do this? this is unacceptable' just feels so hypocritical. You know how he could do this. You did it yourself lil bro 🤨. If anything, Darlin's silence is one of the reasons Fred and Bright literally fucking died, right?

Same with Vincent and Adam (and I will NEVER blame Lovely because Vincent was completely in the wrong). If he just warned William and the rest of the clan about Adam instead of trying to headbutt through all his problems, chance is that Lovely would be protected and/or Adam would be neutralised. He risked, not just Lovely, but so many other human's lives doing this. William even said he would've killed Adam if he knew about him. SO TELL HIM. Loooord.

So for them all to be completely dumbfounded that William (the half a millennia old vampire king) did a...a big bad scheme is laughable. At least he planned his violence. At least he didn't have any collateral, unlike both Vincent, Sam and Darlin'. And at least he had a reason for secrecy, instead of stubbornness. There's reasons to critique him, for certain, but not from any of those chucklefucks. They've got no legs to stand on.

Honestly, all three of them sound so immature to me. One rule for me and another for thee headass.

.

[andreal831]

Is Elijah Mikaelson a hypocrite?

I get this question a lot. Or more often than not, someone is yelling it at me because I insulted their fave. So I am going to try and answer this as unbiasedly as possible. But I do acknowledge that everyone is biased and has their own viewpoints, including me.

Elijah is one of the more complex characters in the TVDU because he has a lot of warring motivations. And in my opinion, people try to oversimplify his character and end up with the viewpoint that he is just a hypocrite.

We will start with his morals.

Elijah is called "noble" by a lot of different characters throughout the show. People often will say he is hypocritical for holding himself out as noble and then either breaking his word or doing something morally questionable. But, I first would like to point out that Elijah never once calls himself noble. When Davina says she's heard he is the noble one, he simply replies "That's what they call me." Because he does not view himself as noble. In fact, he holds himself out as a monster any time he talks about himself. He says this to Hayley early in season 1 of TO. He says this to Vincent when talking about protecting Hope. He says this to Detective Kinney when Kinney is under the influence of the Hollow. Elijah is very aware of who he is but he also is aware that his reputation can help people trust him. A reputation he has built. Characters who are completely unrelated call him noble. This is a reputation he has amongst the entire supernatural community. Likely because, in comparison to his siblings, he seems more noble simply because he does not indiscriminately kill as often as his siblings. I know people are probably ready to bring up the red door at this point and I've already done an analysis of that. Read that and come back. He is not a hypocrite here because he never pretends to be better than he is, he simply lets his reputation precede him and doesn't necessarily correct it.

The next argument is that he hides behind his suits. I do think there is some truth to it, but not because he is trying to pretend he is not a monster. But because it is his protection. Elijah wearing a suit is no different than Rebekah's glamorous outfits or Klaus' hennleys. None of them walk around covered in blood with a sign saying they are vampires. Elijah wearing a suit actually makes more sense than anything. He is a more old-fashioned character. Men in his class had been wearing suit-like outfits since around the 1600s and many elite men in today's society still wear suits on a regular basis. He has worn a suit for about half of his life. If you think someone is a good person because they are wearing a suit, we need to have a discussion. If someone trusts Elijah more simply because he is in a suit, they need to reevaluate how they interpret people. Some of the worst people I've ever met have been men in suits, don't use that as a way to read people.

The only argument I'm more willing to conceed in is that he can be hypocritical when it comes to his family at times. I like to blame the writers since in TVD we see him willing to kill Klaus because of the treatment of his siblings but then his character becomes more centered around Klaus throughout TO. But in light of trying to not be biased, we have to accept even the most annoying writing as canon.

Rebekah calls Elijah a hypocrite in season 1, but I don't agree with her assessment there. Elijah had asked her to stay her hand and not provoke a war with Klaus, while at the same time attempting to counsel Klaus into a peace agreement. Rebekah feels that he is being unfair because she is aware of his feelings for Hayley and she feels he is telling her she cannot pursue Marcel. However, that is not what he was telling her. He simply did not want her to side with Marcel over Klaus. Likewise, he was continuing to choose Klaus over Hayley by not acting on his feelings for Hayley. He was not asking her to do anything different than what he was prepared to do. He truly believed they should sacrifice for family and continued to do this throughout his life.

Elijah's moral code is more stern than his siblings but it is by no means a high moral standard. He does not bat an eye at murder but only counsels his siblings to do it discreetly to avoid gaining Mikael's attention. He is willing to kill those who would threaten his family without hesitation but does not seem to take pleasure in it. His morals seemed to be more focused on his word. He can be trusted to keep a deal unless that deal would harm his family. This is where we see his warring motivations. Elijah had every intention of keeping his words to Elena, even after she broke hers twice. But when it came down to finding his siblings or keeping his word, he would always choose his siblings.

This is the frustrating part for me. TVD showed him to be a character who truly did care for each of his siblings. As soon as he was able, he released all of them from their coffins. He was prepared to leave Klaus and run off with his siblings. He also appears less codependent on Klaus since he ends up leaving Mystic Falls without Klaus or Rebekah. He had lived for almost 100 years before that without his siblings, 13 of those years when he was still on good terms with Klaus.

In TVD, he had a more stringent moral code, however, as life gets more complicated in TO and even in flashbacks, we see him bending his morals in order to protect his siblings, mainly Klaus. Which is why we see him fine daggering Kol if it means he can continue to focus on guiding Klaus. But I also think Daniel Gillies does a great job showing his mixed emotions each time he has to act against his siblings.

He also seems to be more opposed to harming children than his siblings, stating in TO season 1 that he wouldn't feed from Davina calling her a child. In TVD, he doesn't seem interested in the war with teenagers Rebekah and Klaus were waging in Mystic Falls. But again, when his family was in danger, that went out the window.

To me, Elijah is not any more hypocritical than anyone else in the show. Meaning, yes there are some things he does that go against his moral code, but it is no more than most people would do. Most of the tension in the show is the war between what is right and what they want. Everyone is forced to make hard decisions. These decisions are what separate the 'bad' guys from the 'good' guys. Elijah may not always make the most moral decision, but when he does terrible things it is rooted in his desire to protect those he loves. No different than what any other person would do in his place.

[dead-lights]

deadcanons: the vatores (earlyish stuff)

I've been slowly typing up headcanons lately while I'm waiting on renders - I'll put them up as I finish them! These are my ramblings about what I think the vatores' early vampire years were like, starting a bit before Lilith turned and ending around when Caleb was a prime vampire. This is pretty long.

Caleb, Lily, and Lilith were born in Veronaville in the late 1930s/early 1940s, meaning they came of age as occults in the 1960s.

Lilith met Vlad shortly after her parents, along with Lily’s, died in a horrific car accident back in the good ol’ days before cars were required to have seat belts (which btw, in the US wasn't until 1968). He preyed on her grief and her fear of death and human weakness. At the time, Lily was lost in her own grief and Caleb was jealous of the attention Lilith was getting from Vlad.

While Vlad was absolutely manipulating Lilith, she did ask to be turned.

Caleb was super naive when Lilith first turned. He thought he’d be able to spend time with his sister as usual and didn’t recognize the danger in being the lone mortal barhopping with a bunch of unruly vampires. Lilith used to hang out with the Rebellious Vampires amongst others, soooooo...

Lilith told her new vampire friends that Caleb was off-limits. No feeding, no turning.

Caleb had fairly recently finished culinary school, and was working as a sous chef in an Italian restaurant. He was so stoked.

Though Lilith respected the fact that becoming a vampire would destroy Caleb’s life - you can be a vampire, you can be an Italian chef, but you definitely cannot be both - she quickly realized that she didn’t want to do the occult thing or live the immortal life without the people she loved. Shortly before Caleb was turned, he and Lilith talked it out and decided that he should become a spellcaster, with the hope that he could cure Lily with magic and make her a spellcaster too, and then they could all be immortal together. Miss Hell got to him before he could figure out where the portal was, and their relationship with Lily only got worse from there.

Miss Hell was turned a few years before Lilith was, but they became minor vampires at around the same time. They were rivals for Vlad’s approval, and he had fun playing them off each other. Very much a "Daddy loves ME best!!!" kinda dynamic.

Miss Hell is kind of a shitty vampire - like I get big Team Rocket vibes off of her. Caleb surpassed her within a few decades.

After some petty disagreement between Lilith and Miss Hell, Vlad suggested that turning Caleb would be a hilarious prank and a great way to get back at Lilith. Vlad wanted Caleb turned because it would give him an extra level of control over Lilith, but he didn’t want to do it himself because he thought (correctly) that Lilith would never forgive him, and might even leave the coven.

Caleb felt comfortable around his sister’s new vampire friends because he didn’t think any of them would go against Lilith’s order not to harm him. He didn’t realize that Miss Hell was more of a frenemy than a friend, so one night when she asked him if he’d like to find somewhere a little more private, he really didn’t think it’d be his blood getting sucked.

Lilith was not amused by Miss Hell’s “hilarious prank.” After she found Caleb and got him safely home, she stormed over to Vlad’s mansion and tried to beat Miss Hell to death with her bare hands in front of the entire coven. At this point, Lilith had started to develop supernatural strength, and she would’ve ripped Miss Hell’s shriveled heart right out of her chest if Vlad hadn’t called her off. Vlad was very impressed by Lilith’s ferocity. She gained his favor, but he lost her loyalty. Miss Hell wound up sidelined.

Caleb has always served as Lilith’s moral compass. She is aware that she is selfish and lacks empathy - she has trouble truly caring about anyone except Caleb and Lily - and she doesn’t like that about herself. She deeply loved and respected her parents and feels bad that she struggles to live by the values they taught her. Caleb, on the other hand, has their father’s compassion and patience (as well as his ambitious and materialistic traits), and she generally looks to him as the authority on what their parents would’ve wanted. After Caleb turned, he got fully caught up in the chaos and debauchery, turning his back on the person he was. Without Caleb to moderate her worst impulses, she fully embraced her darker side.

Caleb’s journey back to the light started when he developed his guilty drinker weakness as a minor vampire. I don’t see this as just switching on like it does in-game, but rather developing over time. He had trouble figuring out what was happening to him for a long time, and it’s not like Vlad had any advice for him beyond “stop being a goddamn baby.”

Caleb met Inna at a gala the Bloodvein coven was hosting when he was a minor vampire. Bloodvein, her owner at the time, had her mesmerized and was more or less showing her off like a trophy or pet (like this promotional render). Something about that made Caleb deeply uncomfortable, though he wasn’t entirely sure why.

At that point, Caleb was struggling to maintain his place in the coven - Vlad was increasingly disappointed in him and Caleb badly wanted to win back his approval, so he had the idea to pull a hilarious prank against Bloodvein for some perceived slight. He thought it would make him look cool in front of Vlad. At first he thought about drinking from Inna - feeding on another vampire’s thrall is an enormous mark of disrespect - but something about that made him feel deeply uncomfortable, so he decided to turn her instead, essentially doing to her what Miss Hell did to him. He still feels deeply conflicted about the whole thing - he legitimately was not trying to help her and he didn’t ask permission, and yet it ended up being the best thing that could’ve happened to her. They've remained friends, though he feels incredibly guilty when he's around her.

Lilith started coming back to herself when she realized just how miserable Caleb was. If feeding on humans made Caleb feel that bad, they must be doing something horrific, even if it didn’t feel that way to her. She started making plans to get her and Caleb out of the coven.

[rametarin]

Modern dogmas, esoteric things.

It's annoying watching supposedly progressive people roll around in stuff like esoteric and supernatural culture for the popularity and the mystery and then turn around to stab them in the back when and if those beliefs break their precious norms.

"Your bronze aged esoteric belief system that hard-clarifies the moon is a female sexed goddess and that gender is not amprhous, even amongst the gods is problematic! It should change to say the moon goddess has a DICK or COULD HAVE ONE, or you're just transphobic! It's not REAL magic because real magic is QUEER!"

The sort of people that are all for defending ancient culture and religion against "Christian Hegemonic cultural imperialism," but then turn around and try to interpret and dictate what these cultures and beliefs really mean, and they conveniently conform to their nebulously sourced cultural norms. Often without any real basis, since these people hate it when the fundamentals of their beliefs of where they get their morality come into question and they have to defend them, so they use obfuscation and clever maneuvering to never be on the defensive.

So you can't even enjoy any sort of urban fantasy and the bevy of different cultures and religions and magic philosophies of yore, unless there's been some progressive queer theorist barging in and screaming about how this ancient moon goddess was actually a trans lesbian, or the secret culture were actually a bunch of horrible transphobic TERFs.

It's like watching a vampire put on aires about the defense of peoples autonymous rights to exist while defending them from one predator, before using their own logic to justify sinking their fangs in and eat the prey themselves. Their arguments amount to, "it's wrong for you to eat that, it's mine" given bluster and bogus righteous indignation.

[ofepiphxny]

✧ ― 𝐀𝐔𝐃𝐑𝐈𝐂 𝐁𝐑𝐘𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐑

〈  regé-jean page  /  cis man  /  he + him  /  34 (340) 〉in the great land of prythian, AUDRIC BRYTHAR of the DAY COURT begins their journey towards a new future. known to be LOYAL AND OBSERVANT, their suspected RESERVED AND CAUTIOUS habits might prove to be their undoing. if the fae could compose a song for them, it could tell stories of THE SERENITY OF SUNLIGHT RESTING UPON SKIN, VIEWS OF GOLD AND IVORY, THE SKEPTICISMS OF THE FUTURE WHISPERED FROM THE SKY, AND A CROWN WEIGHED HEAVILY WITH TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS. the fates whispers to the HIGH LORD OF THE DAY COURT and it is said that their loyalties lie with PRYTHIAN. only time will tell if the HIGH FAE has what it takes to live amongst the ruin.

name: audric brythar face claim: regé-jean page pronouns & gender: he/him & cis man orientation: bisexual, biromantic age: 34/340 date of birth: january 30th zodiac sign: aquarius place of birth: the day court court: the day court position: high lord species: high fae abilities: day court specific magic (spell cleaving & sun manipulation – expert), winnowing family: jayne brythar (wife; deceased), tbd brythar (father; deceased), tbd brythar (mother; deceased?), tbd brythar (younger sibling), tbd brythar (younger sibling), tbd brythar (younger sibling) (parents’ names could maybe be brainstormed with sibling applicants?) moral alignment: neutral good mbti: isfj enneagram: 6w5 vice & virtue: pride & humility character inspos: elijah mikaelson (the vampire diaries), robb stark (game of thrones), clark kent (superman) inspo songs: grace by rag’n’bone man running up that hill by placebo the golden age by woodkid au revoir by onerepublic evermore by taylor swift and bon iver atlas by coldplay ━ history (death tw, murder tw) (tl;dr below)

Knowledge was power, a common sentiment told to Audric by his father, the former High Lord of Day Court. Told various times that power could be found in many forms, but what was harbored in the mind had the potential to make or break everything if given the chance. Keep vigilant because even the wind listened. Their home court was an immaculate vision of gold and ivory, yet Audric found his father to almost be the epitome of both. The way the older man had carried himself with such untouched grace. A lingering demeanor of patience and calm too, but one that demanded respect nonetheless. His devotion to his family, his children, was also a further testament to his character. Audric had admired him from an early age, an observant gaze and eager feet following him around the palace. While other younglings were running around in the streets, buzzing with laughter and ignoring the calls of responsibility, Audric’s childhood wasn’t as carefree.

He had always known he would one day follow in his father’s footsteps too. It had been a fact that was made clear very early on. As a young fae, Audric may not have fully grasped the importance of being the heir to a kingdom, but he listened. Listened to the words told to him, gradually learning to understand it all, keeping the teachings in the memory banks of his mind. One day, they would be needed. One day, he would need to be ready to take the leap. To fill the space left in his father’s eventual absence. That day did come, and while Audric had known to be prepared, it was difficult to remain still, to not let the thousands of emotions show on his face. His father’s death was not sudden, it had been a long time coming, but it hurt regardless of the timing. And speaking of timing, almost no time had passed after that before Audric became the new High Lord.

The phrase heavy is the head that wears the crown had definitely rung true in his heart. It was not an easy role, even if for a moment it could’ve sounded like it when only hearing about it growing up. Alas, he carried on in that role, a part of him hoping he’d be even a fraction of the ruler his father was. There had been a lingering air of reserve about Audric, but he was a dedicated and honorable High Lord despite it. And maybe any walls could be broken, proven by the one who would become his wife Jayne years later, another High Fae from the Day Court. They fell in love. It was real, bright, true. They had planned to have children one day too. But peace did not last, and war came to the doorstep of Prythian, catching so many of the land’s inhabitants off guard. Audric had readied himself for battle, readied the troops, given speeches to his people in attempts to calm their – understandable – trepidations.

Jayne also swore a fierce wish to join him, not wanting him to go into the fray of warfare alone. She wanted to stand by his side, hand in hand if needed. They were protective of each other, but respected each other too. Respected choices, and Audric had respected her choice to join the battlefield even though his heart ached with a lingering fear that something would go wrong. A gut feeling that, unfortunately, became reality. Jayne was slain in front of him, and Audric was too late to save her. He was among those trapped Under the Mountain shortly after, and was full of devastation as he mourned his wife. He hadn’t even been able to properly bury her. There hadn’t even been time for a goodbye.

Even as he eventually returned to the ivory palace, he found it felt empty without her. The wall had returned, a more stoic nature than before. Audric cannot imagine marrying again for love. A beautiful word but one tainted with pain for him now. They say all’s fair in love and war, but their current world was feeling very, very unfair in both. With their lands left with scattered ruins even a century later, the hope for rebuilding and alliances has become more important than ever. Audric does not want to be on the wrong side of history. He isn’t sure what may happen now, but he vows to take care of his family and his people. ━ tl;dr

The former High Lord of Day Court, Audric’s father, was an honorable man whom Audric admired from an early age

He’d always known that he’d take over as High Lord one day, and had been prepared for that day to come

His father passed and thus Audric was thrust into the role, hurt from his loss and hoping to be a fraction of the man his father was

Years later, Audric fell in love and got married, with them having plans to start a family in the future

They respected each other’s choices, and Audric stood by that even when his wife announced that she’d fight with him in the war, even if he was afraid something would go wrong

And it did, his wife was killed during the war, leaving him devastated and grieving while Under the Mountain

100 years since and Audric still finds the palace to feel empty at times without her, and he’s not sure if he’d ever marry again for love

━ headcanons

Audric’s preferred weapons are a sword and shield, which he inherited from his father, reflecting almost a paladin-type fighter

He has a golden-pelted pegasus that he uses as transportation whenever winnowing isn’t used

Has been known to be directly involved sometimes with training troops, watching their routines or even joining in the sparring