#i guess this game IS about vampires

[nicks-block]

Someone in chat was talking about the Whig Party in the sponsored V Rising Jschlatt stream.

[luck-of-the-drawings]

"I think this is the most inhuman; and human, that I've ever felt.." MUCH CAN HAPPEN IN A YEAR. IN FIVE YEARS. A DECADE. imagine how much can happen in a century. just ONE (1). How will you grow? what phases do you find? even in 5 years, you will find patterns.

[swampybogg]

[nobodysuspectsthebutterfly]

I read GRRM’s interview regarding book vs show canon and I thought the way he was approaching an adaptation of his own story, and fiction as a whole, was very interesting. I do wonder though - does the concept of having a separate show canon kind of become like a cop-out? Because in that case, any TV/film adaptation can just decide to change the plot as they see fit and go “oh, well, that’s our canon, the book is a different canon.” Doesn’t it cease to be an adaptation after a point, or at least become a loose one? In the HotD context, a lot of the changes being made I actually quite like because I can see them fitting in the canon, because there’s nothing suggesting otherwise.

But say, Sansa marrying Ramsay (or, alternatively, the moment that show was dead to me) we can say with absolute certainty did not take place and will almost definitely never take place. D&D knew that too but they went ahead with it anyway; it’s not quite like the Scarlett example where it makes no difference to the story because this change does. I feel like the whole point of adapting written words into something visual loses some of its sanctity if we just accept TV changes a whole separate canon, as opposed to simply a change made by the writers (good change or bad change is up to personal opinion).

I have followed your blog for almost a decade so I’m really curious to hear your thoughts on the subject.

GRRM's "Scarlett example" -- his question of "how many children did Scarlett O'Hara have?", because in the book Gone With the Wind she had three, one with each of her three husbands, whereas in the movie she only had one -- has been his go-to when asked about the difference between book and show canon since at least 2012. Or to quote him from 2015,

How many children did Scarlett O’Hara have? Three, in the novel. One, in the movie. None, in real life: she was a fictional character, she never existed. The show is the show, the books are the books; two different tellings of the same story.

This is IMO one of the most sensible ways for an author to look at adaptations of their work (even if I have gotten rather tired of GRRM using the Scarlett example specifically, pick something different George, we've seen it before lol). There is book canon and there is show canon. They are different parallel universes. They're separate canons because they contain changes made by the writers, and also because the very process of moving from the written word to visual media must involve some kind of change.

And this applies to all adaptations. That's why I brought up X-Men comics vs the Fox X-Men movies vs the X-Men cartoon (original 90s and 2024's '97). For example, there's 4 different versions of the Dark Phoenix Saga between those canons, at the very least. Wait, sorry lol, I forgot the Ultimate canon version. And the various in-comics alternate universe versions. And god knows when they finally bring the X-Men into the MCU they'll probably do yet another DPS there too. And that's only one of many storylines that are radically different between the various canons.

Or look at the various Interviews with the Vampire. Is the new tv show "not an adaptation" because its Claudia is a teenager rather than 5 years old as in the book or portrayed by an 11 year old as in the movie, thus resulting in extremely different relationships and a reshaped plot? (Among many other changes?) No. IWTV has book canon, movie canon, and show canon.

And I can't speak that well about Transformers since it's not a major fandom of mine, but go take a look at their various continuities if you want some more perspective about just how very far the meaning of "adaptation" can stretch.

Or hell, look at Stephen King, where among his many many many adaptations, some of which just barely resemble the original text, the only one he sued to have his name removed from was The Lawnmower Man, because they literally used an entirely different story and just slapped his title on it.

And then there's the movie Adaptation, which is a wildly meta-adaptation of the non-fiction book The Orchard Thief (it's a story about the process of adapting that book and involves a fictional version of the writer, the screenplay writer, and an entirely invented screenplay writer's twin brother)... and it was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay for multiple film awards (and won a few times), and the original writer even said it kept to the book's themes.

Suffice it to say, HOTD has a long, long, long way to go before it could ever "cease to be an adaptation after a point". Changing the timeline to make Alicent and Rhaenyra the same age, or doing Blood & Cheese differently, do not even compare to what some book-to-visual media "loose adaptations" have done. Even GOT, as wildly terrible as their non-book storylines could be, both their changes to the text and after they had no actual text to work with, never became a "loose adaptation". Certainly it became a less than faithful adaptation -- and let's be real, it always was unfaithful for both themes and the essential elements of so many characters -- but it also always was a remarkably accurate adaptation of the whole span of Westeros (in geography and breadth of characters) and the general (not specific) book plot. (Consider previous attempts at adaptation that GRRM rejected, such as a single 2 hour movie, or eliminating Jon and Dany for being "irrelevant", or only making a Jon movie with none of the other storylines, etc.) Which is why, when GOT was different (and awful) it was such a betrayal, like a zombie or evil alien wearing the skin of your best friend or beloved child, and worse, that this twisted lookalike was the only version millions and millions of viewers ever saw and believed to be true.

But again, this just underlines what GRRM has said. "The show is the show, the books are the books." There is book canon and there is show canon. They are separate things. Parallel universes -- very close parallels, often touching in many places, but sometimes they're quite different. Sometimes the differences in adaptation enhance the themes of the original canon; sometimes the author may even consider certain adapted characters (Shae, King Viserys, Helaena) to be better than his original canon; sometimes you know there's only those tricky NDAs (and payments of lots of money) that prevent him from expressing his disappointment in more ways than dropping the Sansa TWOW preview chapter only days before the release of GOT S5. But perhaps if we're lucky, maybe one day we'll have yet another parallel canon to compare to the others.

[mrehkka]

Some more ZAGR doodles! Haha I think their first "date" probably wouldn't seem like one. Gaz was like "we can go out to eat but don't sit next to me and don't talk to me I have a boss to beat". Zim enjoyed it lmao. Next date, they actually play games together, and since Zim ALSO games and also he has a computer as a second brain, he predicts the game's RNG for Gaz lmao

Then we have Gaz dressing Zim up haha and finally another gaming date- this time when they've dated a while so cuddles are welcome! (Gaz is playing with joycons if it's not obvious lol).

[miasmaghoul]

Trick or treat!!! Vampire Cirrus and eager vampire wannabe Cumulus? - 🔔

"She's a good one, isn't she?" Cumulus bounces on the balls of her feet, hands clasped under her chin and excitement writ large on her sweet face.

Across the room, Cirrus walks slow circles around a rather dazed looking girl with shocking pink hair and drool leaking down her chin. Maybe Cumulus was a little heavy-handed with the sedative, but better safe than sorry. Cirrus' heels click with every measured step, sharp nails tracing the lines of the girl's lax body. Her fangs glint in the moonlight, and Cumulus' heart soars when her master nods.

"Well done," Cirrus hums, the tip of one nail slicing I to her next meal's forearm. The girl barely flinches, but does let out a soft squeak that makes Cumulus go all tingly. A feeling that blooms into a deep heat when Cirrus leans in to swipe her tongue over the cut, sampling her ruby red essence. "You've learned quickly, my pet."

She crooks a finger and Cumulus scurries over, tipping her head up obediently when Cirrus cups her chin, and the kiss they share tastes of ash and iron. She wants more, always more, but she knows better than to take it for herself.

"Is it my turn yet?" Cumulus makes a show of tilting her head, exposing the creamy column of her throat. Already marked with so many fading punctures, she still yearns for the day Cirrus finally takes her into the most unholy of embraces. "Please?"

Cirrus smiles at her, sweet and sharp all at once. She reaches up to tuck a platinum curl behind Cumulus' ear, those wonderful nails caressing soft skin and leaving goosebumps in their wake.

"Be patient, sweet thing." Cirrus leans down to press a soft, chilly kiss to her cheek, wrapping her soft body in long arms. "You'll earn your eternity with me soon enough."

Fangs sink into her throat as Cirrus holds her, love and brutality on full display, and as her eyes slip shut Cumulus knows the wait will be worth it.

[katsigian]

I might have a type 😳

from top left clockwise: Reid (cp77), Valen (cp77), Callistus (bg3), Kaito (cp77), Vesper (cp77), Rhys (bg3)

[ace-of-clubs-and-diamonds]

Fancam Tag

New tag game. Pick 5 songs you think would be used for fancam videos if your OC was canon and tag 5 people

Got tagged by @t33thys-tomb for this, thank you!! >:0 I'll be honest, I’ve never actually made a fancam, so I idk if these would be good choices skhdjsks. And people probably wouldn't realistically choose these songs, it'd be more pop and indie shit, but ANYWAYS. These are songs I think should be used for them.

⛓️ Roxanne Love:

“Lying From You”, by Linkin Park

“Vicarious”, by Tool

“Apex Predator”, by Otep

“Prey For Me” by Korn

“Hysteria”, by Spiritbox

🥩 David Richter:

“Eat You Alive”, by Limp Bizkit

“My Axe”, by Insane Clown Posse

“No One Lives Forever”, by Oingo Boingo

“Dirty World”, by Dope

“Wait and Bleed”, by Slipknot

🦇 Phillip Dawson:

“The Black Cat – Alt. Take”, by London After Midnight

“Double Fang”, by Bile

“Temptation”, by Cradle of Filth

“Dark Entries”, by Bauhaus

“Vampire Lover”, by Genitorturers

[vtmchronicle-journal]

I’m finally done. I’ve finished all the prep-work I can possibly do without knowing the PCs yet, my map is visually appealing (to me at least), I have enough of the book’s NPCs organized (the rest won’t be relevant till later if at all so I can add those at my own pace), and I think I’ve found a music set up that actually works for me.

So I’ll just spend tonight sorting the music into categories, and then I can start looking for players. It shouldn’t be difficult, on the two wod discords I browse games always seem to find players quickly. Like yeah the time I’m free is weird cause most people are free later in the day and I’m actually free around noon but I’m sure it’ll be fine.

I’m so excited, I’m actually going to run this. It’s been literal years since I’ve run anything. Last time I ran a game for people other than family was before I transitioned cause I wanted to wait till my voice wasn’t screwy anymore. Very happy to be trying again, crossing my fingers that it goes well.

[forcedhesitation]

stop fucking flirting with me, you rancid little man

[a-small-writer-in-a-big-world]

My personal hot take for BG3 is that I see the appeal that Astarion has but personally he’s far too mean for me to get into him and the fan base surrounding him makes turns me off from him so much.

[pinacoladamatata]

something something down by the river

yeah i could draw something other than two characters gazing at each other with utter heartsick longing but I know what i'm about son

[garygoldenbignaturals]

speaking of dating sims. once i made mockups of a dating sim featuring some tes ocs. you'd play as this⤵️ guy who recently arrived at the gold coast from auridon and the dateables are your party members. some you already know of, others you're just about to get acquainted with

a friend wanted me to actually make it bc he said he needs another game to play other than genshin impact but. well. i was (probably still am) too stupid for ren'py

[hinata-kun]

Joni

[gilfrespecter]

Listening to coinstar by the growlers and thinking about mel so hard I get nauseous

Ridiculous stream of conscious in the tags apologies but not really

[vampires-bitrs]

Ilyas Mood Board (First Bite)

You were panting as your heart was beating fast and erratically.

The night air was cool and humid as you ran desperately through the woods, sticks, and undergrowth crackling under your feet. The barely visible path faded in and out, from moonlight to complete darkness, as the towering trees above obscured your view of the sky overhead making it hard to keep track of your course. You could hear your heart beating louder and louder in your ears and the faint sound of fast footsteps behind you.

You stopped for a moment, gasping desperately for air as they heard the sound getting closer. Fear bubbled up in your chest. The vampire, who had been chasing, no hunting you for what seemed like an eternity, was gaining ground. Just when you were about to give up, you saw a clearing ahead. you sprinted towards it, hoping to make it to safety before it, the vampire, Ilyas caught up. But it was too late—Ilyas jumped out from the shadows, reaching out for you and tackling you with inhumane strength.

You felt your bones crack under the pressure of his inhuman strength. The sound of the splintering in your bones made him chuckle a deep sadistic predatorial chuckle. He gave a deranged smile fangs glowing in the moonlight as he came closer to your ear then whispered "Run, run so I can catch you."