#ooc / lesser of two evils

[thevamplelio]

Hey google, how did it take me this long to wander far enough into this hellsite to discover Hannibal (all media) and Hannibal NBC? Cause like…

Same energy, different font.

Also, Abigail/Will and Louis/Claudia have the same energy, neither of which is healthy, or straight, and I’m here… at least for Abigail/Will.

Oops?

The Queer appeal of toxic love.

Vampire Reviews: IWTV 1994.

[petitexmagician]

I started Furina's quest today and took bit of a pause because yesterday I did finish the AQ. So yeah I still got more thoughts.

And honestly yeah I think it's fair to view the Traveler twin in a negative spotlight for their hand in what was going on. Don't get me wrong even if Furina told the Traveler twin her true identity and the suffering she underwent waiting for Focalors plan to go through, reveal that she was told to wait and act like a god by her "mirror self", be given those few minutes before Lyney opened the trick box, the whole plan Focalors had wouldn't happen - Focalors was banking on Neuvilette to get his rights back with her gone to save the people her predecessor made. That was her whole design - so while the Traveler twin was hyper focus on what Furina was going to tell them - not the fact that they just had a hand in curbstomping her self confidence and world view to dust to the point where she was numb in front of people that were doubting her efforts.

It hurt even more that Furina saw Neuvilette and the Traveler twin as the only two people she can turn to - forget Paimon they're just a damn mouthpiece - though more over I want to put a bit of the slight salt to the translation staff. The actions of the cutscene betray the line "Wait I need to know what she was going to say!", the Traveler twin ran and reached out to Furina to make sure she wasn't hit by whatever the beam was going to do - because we see Furina sitting there without a scratch, of course they weren't going to make it or rather just take her hand to pull her out of the blast.

The situation was dire, people were going to disappear in the primordial sea, Furina had no choice but to keep quiet because someone higher then the Seven wanted a whole nation wiped again - and thats what the Traveler twin ended up learning from that single tear. They are in the wrong for pushing Furina to the point that they did - and it shows in Furina's Quest they feel guilty when they meet up with her to ask for her help and they should.

Even if everything was stacked where there was no winners, Nevuilette learned the hell Furina went through from talking with Focalors, the Traveler twin witnessed it - they took a drastic card and their emotions pay for it.

[ignitedshield]

//had to send off complaint email to the passport office, I wanna puke--

[ikkaku-of-heart]

Just letting people know because I did it a couple of days ago but forgot to say anything, but I’ve made my DMs mutuals-only. This is because the porn bots have been coming back en-masse again and while I can deal with reporting and blocking them, I don’t want them coming into my DMs. It’s just something that bugs me even more than follows or asks. Hope this doesn’t cause anyone any inconvenience. If it is and you need to get in touch with me, just shoot me an ask and we can hopefully get the issue sorted out.

[thevamplelio]

Seeing a frankly disturbing influx of T.ERFS on this site, so here’s a reminder that TERF and alt right fascists are one and the same, it’s always ethical to punch both. I am a they/them, genderqueer, bisexual (on the spectrum of ace, varying from day to day), I am brown, androgynous and the foppish, well read, bi Quaintrelle your parents warned you about. I’m not male or female, I am a threat, and the moral panic is about me. Lastly, to all T.ERFS, it’s on site if you come near me, have fun getting ideologically torn to shreds and blocked. Respect trans people or gtfo.

Also, Anne Rice championed bisexuality and transgender rights until she died. You do her a disservice coming near me.

[petitexmagician]

No lie, I'm dead cool with any lyney rper if they wanted, a friendly rival, friend to lover with Zee just

god the good vibe between - flirty-hidden nervous/serious-energetic vibe. Especially when it's like forbidden given Lyney is a fatuus that's a angst for any ship when you know he's in it because of a debt.

[farginen]

not gonna lie i do find it very funny when people talk about royai having a power imbalance because riza is roy's subordinate even though those positions and dynamic was completely fabricated and purposefully crafted so they could work together and conspire against the government and in no way it reflects what real life boss / subordinate relationships look like (unless the boss gives you the authority to end them i GUESS lmao)

but no one ever brings up the conflict of interests with riza being the fuhrer's aide when grumman replaces bradley.

like yeah she eventually goes back to being assigned to be roy's adjutant, but there's at least a period of time immediately post promised day when she's still appointed under the fuhrer.

and the new fuhrer is HER GRANDFATHER.

how is THAT legal😭

[envy-of-the-apple]

i'm super late to the party but i just read SEM and EKM and they are so perfect. i'm actually foaming. thank u for gracing us with ur writing.

when i read SEM i assumed that suguru had feelings for ms moon, and then when i read EKM and he claimed he felt disgusted by her i immediately thought of him thinking that not just because she left satoru so easily, but also because he was angry she thought she could toss suguru aside too.

what do you think suguru would do if at some point post-EKM, ms moon approaches him and thanks him for being her only companion in the past? kinda almost with admiration/deep appreciation vibes?

This is the last SEM ask I'll ever answer. and then I'm never going back to t h a t fic again

Geto had a very very very super small minuscule interest in Ms.moon(at first). Like a hallway crush. But once Gojo started showing interest, his feelings were small enough to wave off.

I'd argue that Miss Moon thanking Geto would be a little out of character. Miss Moon knows he and Satoru are friends for a reason, but you naively think he is the lesser of the two evils. Still, Miss Moon is never actually comforted by Suguru's presence.

But if Miss Moon is a little more naive and you thank him for 'sticking around,' Suguru would definitely find it very funny. To this day, you don't know that he's the one who brought you back to Satoru, so he finds your thanking him a little ironic. There's no guilt when he gives a wordless nod, letting you reluctantly wander back to Satoru's waiting arms. Why would he feel guilty? In his mind, he did the right thing.

But then again, expressing gratitude towards Suguru would be way too OOC for Miss Moon. Yes, Suguru sometimes stepped in when Satoru went too far in public, but he never actively stopped Satoru from harassing you. In SEM, Ms Moon assumes that it's because Suguru is scared of his friend. In EKM, it's revealed that it's because he does not care (but Miss Moon does not know this).

Throughout SEM, geto showed Miss Moon niceness, not kindness.

[basuralindo]

I've been in and out of the ER and urgent care quite a bit over the past two weeks for a medical issue that I almost ignored, and it's had me thinking on the fact that the only reason I was even able to check it out in the first place is because I have free healthcare.

I never would have been able to afford the appointments it took to treat this even if I had insurance. I just don't have the income. The symptoms were vague enough that I would've just tried some ooc treatments and hoped that I could ignore it until it went away. There's a good chance it would've progressed into organ failure.

This is not the first time I've been saved by free healthcare. I have a lot of health problems, and many of them prevent me from earning enough to get above the poverty line. The reason I'm saying this is because that's one of the life threatening things trump is trying to change.

If republicans had their way, I would still be harboring an infection that was making its way towards my organs. I would never have been able to afford the medications keeping me safe right now. I would never have been able to get the surgeries that are allowing me any functional quality of life right now. I wouldn't even be getting treated for asthma.

The point is, if republicans come back into power, if even a small chunk of project 2025 gets implemented, I will not be able to continue treatments that are keeping me around. The inevitable next time something goes wrong with my health, I will not be able to get some vague symptoms checked out and resolved in time. I will not be able to afford intensive treatments or surgeries that would become necessary once the problem advances.

If republicans are given the chance to fuck with healthcare, people like me will very literally die as a direct result.

I don't care how exhausting this whole situation is. I don't care how evil the lesser evil is. I don't care how sick you are of only two choices. I don't care if this whole thing feels like a hostage situation disguised as a democracy. I want to live. So many of us are just desperate to live.

If you're considering not voting as a stance against the system, really ask yourself how many lives you think this stance is worth. Consider finding other ways to make your voice heard.

[journeythroughjourneytothewest]

Okay but I LOVE this chapter for so many reasons

-The fact that the circlet was initially used to force Monkey to stay and is now used as the only thing that can force him to leave

-The growth we see from Monkey! His first banishment, he reacted with (justified) anger and sulking, and went straight back to FFM to take up his old life. This time, he feels like he can’t go back. He’s changed too much, and committed too deeply to this pilgrimage, but—crucially—he’s still not enlightened. So he’s neither a demon warlord like he used to be, nor a buddha, he’s something in between, and he doesn’t fit anywhere. No wonder he begs Tripitaka so hard to take him back: this journey is the only place he belongs.

-Further note on Monkey’s growth: I think it is super telling that the first time I read this I was super baffled and taken aback by “Monkey” hitting Tripitaka and his fight with Sandy—I kept going, “this is kinda out of character, tbh.” And guess what I was right! He tried to murder Tripitaka when he first got the circlet but now it just feels really ooc for him to harm him at all!

-Also I am just blown away by the depths of the symbolism suggested by Monkey’s doppelgänger/ shadow-self. Sun Wukong is the Monkey of the Mind…and now he’s of two minds about everything! The CHAOS this would engender! (And does, hahahaha). 

But seriously, the whole pilgrimage Monkey has been of two minds about how committed he wants to be. He misses his old life of badassery and respect, but also at this point he’s invested. The super fascinating thing is that his shadow-self does not just represent a return to his Bad Old Ways, as it might have done in the hands of a lesser author. Monkey’s evil twin still wants to retrieve the Scriptures and gain enlightenment! 

This is one of the most seductive types of temptation, imo: the idea that you can somehow have both. You don’t have to sacrifice your ugly old self to grow! You don’t have to wrestle, every stupid damn day, with your conscience (Tripitaka), your depression/ passivity (Sandy), or your own bodily desires (Pigsy)! You’re strong enough, so you don’t need other people, with all their pesky free will (horse)…you’ll just rely on some easily-controlled peons of your own, whom you won’t have to care about!

(Seriously though I yelped out loud when he ordered that poor minion-monkey fried.)

Anyway, yeah—Monkey’s Second Mind has some fascinating implications about his desire to just. Skip To The End. Which is a flaw that has plagued him his entire life. He’s never been willing to be humble, work on himself, and grind his way up the ladder the right way…

Until now!

---

This was a submission sent by via inbox by @tuima11, and wow does it present some fascinating analysis of what we’re seeing in what may be one of literature’s earliest uses of the “evil clone”/”shadow self” trope! So many thanks for this thoughtful overview of what’s going on with our dear Great Sage and for what it suggests about the underlying themes in our dear Journey to the West.

[thevamplelio]

Hope this helps.

Bi manifesto.

See also.

Guys i haven’t read the books yet But is Lestat actually gay? From everything i’m seeing it seems that Anne Rice portrays vampires as beings that don’t conform to that. Like they’re beyond gender in a sense? I don’t know. I see that but then when i see the fandom they say that it’s a gay relationship but then that’s taking away from the author’s interpretation of vampires. I’m not entirely sure 😭. And i mean the original books not the 2022 series

[thevamplelio]

One happy family.

[j-l-kepler]

Baldur's Gate 3 Tav Ask List

1, 19, 23, 52, 89, 90, 91, 104 xx

(@bladesandbhaalspawn)

OHOHOHOHO THANK YOU FOR THE ASK PROMPTS

I wasn’t sure which of my Tavs was being asked for, so I’m using Briar Lockren, my half-drow Gloomstalker Ranger since I haven’t posted much about her while the Twins have quite a few deets about them! Plus, these questions felt like they applied to her best (and you may get some deets on her Dark Urge companion as well…)

[ANSWERS BELOW THE CUT]

1. What is their backstory and why did you choose it?

Some OOC background about Briar, I didn't originally make her as a Tav. I made her months ago as a fake Companion Quest called The Weary Ranger. I made a full Companion Guide with fake screenshots as a creative exercise and got very attached to her. This is one of those screenshots:

Like with all of the REAL Companions, I based her backstory on exploring the theme of abuse. The other companions focus on different aspects of parental abuse, abuse of power structures, sexual exploitation, systemic exploitation, etc., so I decided to focus on abuse in romantic relationships and dealing with an abusive ex.

[CW for abusive partners, implied coercion and sexual abuse, violence, etc. - I'll also be brief with her backstory and try to be specific when necessary]

Briar was raised in Luskan by her single father in the Cult of Cyric. Her dad was a full drow while her mother was 3/4 drow. Basically, Briar's mom had an affair with a half wood elf and left Briar in her husband's care before eloping, so Briar's dad was never really keen on actually taking care of her. His hands-off approach mixed with the prejudice against her in the Cult made it tough for her to accept their teachings.

Her closest friend was a boy her age named Ronan Amberclaw (I think I called him "Rowan" elsewhere, my bad lol). He was the underachieving son of the sect's leader, so the pressure was ON. Ronan and Briar were basically inseparable growing up.

Skip ahead a few years to when they're in their late teens - Briar's basically left the cult while Ronan's decided to stay. They've been friends forever so Briar doesn't hold the cult thing against him (the start of her blinders). They enter a rose-tinted romantic relationship. Briar (a rogue at this point) is persuaded to help Ronan's activities because they're fighting Banite uprisings. Briar's able to justify her involvement because, to her, it's the lesser of two evils.

But as time goes on, Ronan begins to lie about his activities more and more, and becomes more and more possessive. He gaslights, belittles, coerces and controls her, and does so in ways she can justify to himself. She continues to enable his activities, turning her blinders on full.

This goes on for years, until one night Ronan does what he's basically been primed to do his entire life: murder his father and take over the cult. This gets him recognized by Cyric, and he becomes his Chosen. Briar can't exactly excuse that - nice, decent people don't get recognized by Cyric, that just doesn't happen. Ronan, in the blink of an eye, drops his pretenses and makes it very difficult for Briar to look past his intention. She bolts, but not before receiving a brand of Cyric on her arm. Ronan's cursed her.

What does this curse entail? Metaphysical levels of horrible luck, the kinds of bad luck that can leave a happy village smoldering. Ronan visits her in nightmares, wraiths haunt the edges of her vision, and life SUCKS. Making connections means people die. Settling down means people die. Briar's options are go back to Ronan, or wander around until she dies.

Ever the optimist despite everything, she takes up the mantle of a Ranger, inspired by stories of similar souls who have ovecome impossible odds (such as Drizzt). She vows to hunts the beasts she attracts. In her mind, she's being selfish since she doesn't want to return to Ronan, so she vows to be strong enough to make up for the harm she causes.

Three years later, while wandering around Cloakwood, she gets picked up by the Nautiloid and spat out about a tenday away from Baldur's Gate. The tadpole in her head cuts off the effects of Ronan's curse and his ability to spy in on her.

Mielekki's race that was long.

19. What's your Tav's personality like at the start of the game? Does it change as the game goes on?

At the start of the game, she's fresh off the heels of 3 years of nightmare-fueled insomnia, so she's pretty lethargic and spacey. She's so used to a life out of her control by this point that she's quite passive, but also emotional and observant. She carries herself with a quiet sensitivity, and is deceptively capable when she's actually lucid. Underneath it all is a deep self-hatred and a desire to be stronger. She's constantly ensuring she pays for her past passivity, believing her lot in life isn't the result of a vindictive asshole but rather some kind of divine judgment. It's easier than actually pinning blame on the person who's been hurting her all this time.

Though her moral values don't change much, her personality and outlook on life become a lot more outwardly optimistic quite quickly. She becomes louder and easy to fluster, she's receptive to conversation and far more courageous and outspoken (I don't have any specific art of that lol)

She's already a moral guide for the Dark Urge (after all, he's the main character of the save Briar's in), but she's much more ready for it. As she encourages him to fight his Urges and live for himself, she internalizes the lessons she teaches and has started learning to advocate for herself too.

Basically, she's learning the answer to "do all my friends secretly hate me or do I just need to go to bed" is "you just need to go to bed". Quality of life really does improve when you can get 8 hours of sleep instead of having to run on 2 hours a week because your evil ex boyfriend is haunting your dreams with evil God magic.

23. What's their opinion of Emerald Grove? Do they help the tieflings or side with the druids?

Aha see this is one of the questions I was like "oh this is MEANT for Briar".

Siding against the tieflings was never an option for Briar. She knows what it's like to have no place to turn to, and she would give anything for safety and comfort. However, Briar's also quite familiar with Druidic circles thanks to her time spent in Cloakwood. Hell, at that point in the playthrough, she was a Ranger-Druid multiclass of Mielikki (I changed that once I recruited the hireling Dyven since he's a cleric so I didn't need an extra healer anymore). She's run into nicer circles AND the Shadow Druids, so Kagha's dogma struck her as odd for a druid of Silvanus. Something didn't smell right. She and Durge investigated further and were able to liberate Kagha from the Shadow Druids AND stop the Rite of Thorns!

52. What does your Tav think of Dame Aylin?

Dame Aylin is everything Briar wants to be, and everything she is. Briar adores Dame Aylin for her strength and resilience. She wants to have her fury and is inspired to reflect on her own situation. It's thanks to that that Briar is able to start allowing herself to be angry about what Ronan's done to her.

But on the other hand, Briar sees the exhaustion too. Just like Aylin, she's tired of having to fight against those who would see her victimized. She wants rest, peace, tranquility.

She wishes to be as strong as Aylin, and she wishes for the day neither of them have to be.

ACT 3 SPECULATION TIME

So this playthrough's only reached Act 3 recently, so the rest is speculation or how I think the playthrough ought to go based on what I know and how the characters have worked out thus far! OBVIOUSLY, SPOILERS FOR ACT 3 AHEAD

89. Does your Tav side with the Emperor or do they free Orpheus? Do they become Illithid to use the Nether Stones or does one of their companions do it? Do they give the Nether Stones to the Emperor/Orpheus?

The team already doesn't really trust Emps. Seeing as their whole arcs are about defying the odds and breaking free of their shackles, Durge, Briar & Dyven aren't exactly keen on Emps' strategy involing keeping Orpheus sedated and under his control to be exploited. How convenient that freeing Orpheus just... isn't an option. Hm. Interesting.

Since this is a no-Companion run (that is, the main 6), there won't be any companions to turn Illithid. I can't see Durge letting Briar throw away her future to become illithid, and I can't see Briar letting Durge do the same so.... sorry, Orpheus.

As for the Nether Stones, that's a bit of a blindspot for me. I can't imagine they'd give them to the Emperor if Emps isn't keen on cooperation.

90. Do they betray the Emperor/Orpheus/their companions for the Absolute?

ABSOLUTE-LY NOT. That's not even a question for her. Any ideations she has on the idea are on the same level as "What if I murdered my terrible boss" - she's not seriously entertaining the temptation. That kind of power just isn't worth it to her. Not after she's seen what power does to decent people (note: I don't think Ronan was ever really a decent person, but her perspective is a bit different from mine in this regard).

101. Did your Tav recruit Minsc? What's their opinion of him?

I wanna circle back to #91 in just a sec.

The Weary Ranger is a HUGE fan of the Beloved Ranger. Though she's more obviously inspired by stories of Drizzt, Minsc's exploits have always enchanted her. Actually meeting him is a dream come true. His blunt, optimistic and straightforward approach to every situation is exactly the kind of influence she needs. After all, her other mentors up until then have been a bunch of morally-conflicted dadfailure-coded sad sacks (and Halsin), so having someone who can cut through the bullshit and do good for the sake of it is refreshing!

91. Does your Tav get a happily ever after?

I think she will. Considering the relationship between Cyric and a certain skeletal freak at camp, I can absolutely see her curse becoming a non-issue after the story proper.

I think she and Durge will go their separate ways on good terms, and I think she'll follow Halsin. She'll settle into a home for the first time in forever with someone who she loves and is loved by.

I don't know if she'll stay there or if she'll get up and explore the Sword Coast on her own terms someday. She's not particularly maternal, nor do I know if she ever will be. But she's young with a whole life ahead of her to decide what she wants - and the room to do so on her own terms.

The scars of her past won't go away. Her brand will be gone, but the twisting remnants of her curse mark will stay tattooed to her skin. Her nightmares will be mundane and they might never go away. She will grieve the boy she fell in love with and think about him every time she stares up at the same stars they used to give stupid names to as kids. Someday, she’ll let him go, and every day until and after that will be a struggle.

But I assure you: she will be happy.

ANYWAY Thank You For These Awesome Ask Prompts!!

I had lotsa fun with this~ Briar is a character who is very near-and-dear to my heart. Not only is she a remake of my first D&D character, she was extremely cathartic to write while dealing with a pretty severe low point in my life.

ALSO SORRY IF THIS WAS WAY TOO LONG AND ALSO NOT THE CHARACTER YOU WANTED TO LEARN ABOUT LMAO

[solongandgoodnightxoxo]

//ooc

I kind of have the urge to loredump for this blog, don’t know why. Keep in mind that its 3 am while I type this and I haven’t had a coherent thought in 30 minutes.

(Just found the best way to describe this: Jekyll and Hyde)

So basically, theres two sides to this coin

Gideon

He tends to be closer to the comic/movie version, full throttle on the evil and bitchyness for him (though he is slightly nicer to his partners and lucas, he still wont hesitate to treat them like lesser human beings)

Gordon

Basically just anime gideon in all of his glory. Hs’s way nicer, but don’t let that fool you, he’s still very evil, and very rude. He’s typically really nasty to everyone except close friends and partners. (Unlike gideon, who’s only slightly nicer to partners and lucas specifically, gordon enjoys company of all the exes)

The one thing the two have in common is how they treat others, but that mainly just applies to anons.

The switch to “Gideon” usually happens whenever he’s plotting, going through shit, or just really annoyed. So in theory you don’t see this side of him often, but theres really no warning for when he switches.

I’m not exactly sure if this would be a personality disorder, but I do think he’s bipolar and has BPD, but thats just Gideon in general to me.

If you want, you guys can send in asks and specify if you want him to be Gideon or Gordon.

Basically how im separating it is, I like both spto and the comics a TON, so I don’t want to chose just one version for him to be. I figured if I separated him like this, then I can have both (if that makes sense)

Backtracking to the personality disorder thing, I feel like its not fully that (im still a firm believer that this character in general has BPD or a bipolar disorder based on his actions and motives) but more of a status thing. Gideon is usually how he wants the public to see him, cool, tough, everything that makes him hot essentially. But then Gordon is just who he really is, a dumb little dork who loves his lady and throwing rocks at cars with Lucas.

Though I do like the idea that no matter what, he’s still evil within. Even as Gordon, he’s not opposed to messing things up and making lives hell, its just not his priority.

I hope this made sense, I’ll edit in the morning when I’m actually thinking straight (maybe)

[thevamplelio]

He is, or rather, was, what I’d call “titled but broke,” or “impoverished patrician.”

See also: court royalty vs titled ancien regime vs new money vs the proletariat in Les Liaisons dangereuses and the up and coming Comte (Count) in The Count of Monte Cristo, also over half of any recent American revolution historical fiction I’ve read (gimme recommendations!!!!).

Thus making his later dandyism even more a pretentious performance and a lie (affectionate).

Hilarious that people believe that Lestat being born into “aristocracy” and the youngest son afforded him some sort of privilege when if they’d ever even read the beginning of TVL they’d know all it got him was bloodied and bruised.🤔🤷🏽‍♀️

[thevamplelio]

In honour of this event (brought to you by @iwtvfanevents) I am sharing my New Orleans Christmas playlist and some highlight pictures from my New Orleans trip a handful of years ago. Now, go be creative about vampires and the holidays! December can be spooky/gothic if we want!