#vtmb in real life

[thebaronofvenicebeach]

"The Camarilla was kicked out on their ass a long time ago. We didn't want to play their politics anymore."

[londonspacegirl]

Bought this from work.

[ship-garbage-pile]

I feel my favorite moment in VTMB is that of the sudden-chance reunion with Samantha. Their is just so much to chew on from a narrative standpoint, we as the player have been so embroiled in the politics of the clans, doing dirty work and trying to survive. We are so stuck in our own heads about how it is we should proceed, "who should i place my trust in? Will i be able to survive?" Ultimately we become a survivor, and as we rush to do a new job we get greeted by..

Someone we never seen before, someone so distinct! no one else looks like her. Yet the moment she speaks and expresses her worry over you, we instantly understand that they are a friend of ours. Not just anyone, but a close friend with how worried she is; she seems so desperate to search for the PC even searching around the dangerous streets of Hollywood for us. How long has she been looking? how long will she 'keep' looking?

it's just a sombering encounter, and a real test of how the player treats their connection to their former life. Personally for my Ventrue, he erased the encounter from her mind. He could never hurt her, he would hope that she stops looking. But then again, a selfish part of him is happy they care so much.

[badass-at-fandoming]

Is Beckett meant to be a poc (in vtmb)? I think so based on his facial features and his skin being a light shade of brown. But he was born in Britain during the 1700s-1600s which makes being non-white a lot less likely (though there were poc even back then).

This is an interesting question, @chinesegal! Thank you for your patience with me answering it. I was traveling, but now I'm back!

When I look at Beckett in Bloodlines, I interpret him as a white British man. But a lot can change depending on what mods one uses to make the game work. For example, this Beckett...

...looks much less pale than this Beckett:

One must also factor in Bloodlines' poor lighting. As any visual artist trying to figure out Sebastian LaCroix's hair color will tell you, the lighting in VTMB is a terrible, mercurial beast. The dingy lighting certainly aides the grimy, uncertain atmosphere, but poor fan artists struggle.

The last sticky point I can think of is how all the Kindred characters are supposed to have a "deathly pallor," especially if they have lower Humanity. Deathly pallor can muck up skin tone wonderfully. I think Strauss would be the best example. He's an older Kindred (LA by Night states he was at the Convention of Thorns in 1493) and made a gargoyle (which involves torture), so he's definitely on the lower end of the Humanity scale. According to VtM's lore, Strauss has trouble maintaining a lively, human appearance. Some fans interpret him as white and often point to his white voice actor, Jim Ward. Others remark on Strauss' resemblance to Morpheus from The Matrix Trilogy, cite the deathly pallor lore, and interpret him as a Black man with graying skin. As in, Strauss looks closer to what a Black man's corpse would look like. The deathly pallor factor allows for this interpretation, and in the gap can nicely fit Cuthbert Beckett. He's an Elder Kindred and has had periods of low Humanity. Maybe he's brown and has been through the wringer.

VtM has a tenuous relationship with history, but if you want to check in with it, real life history doesn't obstruct an interpretation of Beckett as Black or brown. British people have had black or brown skin since forever, as you referenced. The oldest Englishman, Mesolithic era Cheddar man's skin is possibly darker than the reconstruction suggests. Ya gotta remember that white skin came to be because people weren't getting enough Vitamin D. If Beckett is descended from the indigenous Celtic Britons (unlikely but possible), his ancestors might not have been malnourished and lived somewhere the sun could penetrate the mists of Avalon.

So like, given all the above, you can definitely argue that Beckett's a Black or brown British guy. Whatever floats your boat.

That wasn't exactly your question, however. You asked if Beckett's meant to be a person of color or white. This implies you want to know the devs' original intention with the game, which I guess at being Beckett as a white man.

Beckett has been described as white in past White Wolf publications. Or rather, not described, because white is default skin tone in so many works, very unfortunately. In the Victorian Trilogy, much is made of Halim Bey, Theo Bell, and Hesha Ruhadze's black skin, but Beckett's skin tone gets no comment. He's "a long-haired man" with a "wolfish grin one might imagine on a privateer from a past age," (The Wounded King, pg 123-125). Someone describes him as "a pauper's version of Buffalo Bill Cody," (197). When his lover Emma disrobes him, the text notes "his feline pupil slits [and] amber irises," (pg 204). Special attention is paid to Beckett's hands: "dark hair, slick like sable covered the back of his hand, fading to a more human-seeming growth on his forearms" and "His fingers were longer than a man's should be, and the nails were hard and thick like a dog's," (ibid). In Year of the Scarab Trilogy's Land of the Dead, he describes himself with "lean, muscular physique [with] round smoked glasses [hinting] at a pretty boy slumming," (pg 101). By the absence of skin tone description, by the unfortunate reality that white skin is seen as default and therefore unworthy of comment, we can infer that Beckett is white. That's to say nothing of the Vampire: the Masquerade - Beckett comic, which depicts him as white. I wouldn't give the VTMB developers the grace or credit to suddenly deter from this character history.

After all, these are the same devs that failed to come up with a story with Chinese people that wasn't Yellow Peril drivel, created a white PC with "locs," declined to brown Nines' skin, and made Skelter imply that Black Americans make up their own oppression. Just like, all of Chinatown is hard for Chinese and Japanese players to get through. Even by 2004 standards, it's real shitty. With these other missteps, it's hard to imagine they'd have the creativity to re-design Beckett as brown or Black. I think they meant him to be interpreted as white.

But you don't have to! Death to the authors! In your fan art, fan casts, picrew, fanfic, chronicles etc, he can be brown, Black, indigenous, or whatever ethnicity bees your knees. You create the Beckett reality in your Beckett-loving head.

Thank you again for the ask, and I hope the essay made the wait worth it!

[absolutelybatty]

Had a dream that blood heal, like from VTMB, worked in real life but for charging my phone. Like I could make my phone more charged by giving it blood.

[ineed-to-sleep]

what does Vincent do for a living? is he deemed attractive in his universe?

Honestly I think of Vincent as like, moderately attractive for VTMB's 2004 Los Angeles. He may not be the image of a stereotypical hunk but he's got some conventionally attractive traits(like being tall with broad shoulders and a strong jawline sjjxkc plus he takes good care of his appearance). If you ignore the fact he's very reserved and has zero rizz, I think he could easily be called handsome. For the time I can see the mullet being a bit of a dealbreaker for some people so yk he might not be for everyone, but I think there's plenty of kine who would see him as attractive and also a couple of the LA kindred. Jeanette for example has definitely hit on him in the past and like, despite the fact she flirts with most people, I like to think she'd genuinely find him cute ndndjd

But he doesn't really like, see himself as attractive, though. He has some good days but more often than not he has some self esteem issues. He went through a lot of bullying growing up for his appearance, for being brown and mixed, for being quiet, for being nerdy, and got some traumatizing rejections by girls in school, especially during his teens. A lot has changed for him since then but that kind of trauma sticks yk? That was like, 20 years before vtmb so he's had some time to heal some of that in his adulthood, he's changed the way he dresses, he's been flirted with and complimented on his looks, but in the back of his mind those experiences still make him insecure and he has a hard time approaching anyone romantically or sexually for fear of rejection and out of thinking he's not "good enough" as he is. Also, compliments matter a lot to him yk? Bc he often gets insecure, having that validation come from someone else can really flip his mood.

About what he does for a living hmmm he's been through a couple of different "jobs". He started his kindred life as a Camarilla spy(his sire purposefully embraced him to make him one), then after he drove his sire out of the city he started working more closely with the LA barons, at first as a "sweeper", the guy who collects and hoards information on every kindred in the city, and then found his vocation as a "guy who cleans up masquerade breaches". Not sure if there's a name for that, but that's what he did, and where he excelled. Investigating what happened, who did it, covering it up, and taking measures so the masquerade breaker doesn't do it again. He made a lot of people angry, and he didn't necessarily like what his job *meant* for him, but he sure loved doing it.

I think I've mentioned it here before somewhere? But just in case I haven't, Vincent went to college for journalism, so a lot of the skills he learned there he was able to apply here. He knows how to investigate something, pry for information, and bring it to the public, and he also understands how something typically gets shoved out of the public eye and covered up, and how biased journalism can influence people. When he was presented with the job of covering up a masquerade breach, he knew exactly what he needed to do, even if it wasn't what he went to school for nor what his *ideals* dictated for him. And when he chose to study journalism he was very idealistic- he believed he could do his part in changing the world by bringing information to the masses, bringing to light injustice and inequality and not letting anything get swept under the rug and forgotten because it benefits someone in power. It's been a real trip for him to have ended up doing pretty much the opposite- covering up murders, assaults and missing person cases just so that vampires can stay in control and keep on leeching on society, powerful and uninterrupted. He reasons it's for the best, that he's helping avoid a kindred/kine war that could only end up with a horrendous body count. He reasons that yk, maybe he was wrong, too naive, that maybe sometimes leaving certain things in the dark actually serves the greater good. But if he was being *honest* with himself, part of him likes what he's doing. All the skills he learned, knowledge he gathered over the years, it's all coming together now- all his talents are being put to good use and he's *good* at what he does, and he likes being good at something. There's a kick he gets out of it, even though he wouldn't exactly like to admit it.

[socialprawn]

OUGH. That design for the tremere is kind of mid but tbh it just. Looks like a design from a modern game. I think part of what makes the original vtmb the way it is is because it is so much a product of its time. It was based on lore and books from revised edition vtm (1998) so it was already a bit lagging in terms of aesthetic and ideologies, and it has that intense 90s/2000s feeling to it. I also read an interview with the composer Rik Schaffer and he said that he couldn’t have made that soundtrack at any other point in his life. I’m sure whatever he’s doing for the sequel will be different but amazing, but again, it’s been 20 years, you know? It’s all different.

I just wanted to weigh in and say that it’s unrealistic for people to think a game from the 2020s is ever going to feel the same, I guess. These people who are like ugh they should just SCRAP IT are wild to me. That’s so much work and care and time put into a project that would go to waste! We don’t know what it will be like in the end. It’s set in a different place and time, and I don’t know if they’re keeping it in revised’s lore and setting overall or if this is fifth edition vtm, but either way- some people who liked vtmb are going to hate it. And that’s okay tbh! as someone who loves both vtm as a ttrpg and vtmb, I’m just hopeful that it’ll be fun.

In my head I'm mostly thinking... VTMB1 exists so I can just enjoy it over and over again. If something exists that will make other ppls happy then who am I to say anything :V

However, as a very loyal VTMB fan, I feel like I can criticize the long awaited sequel by the fact that is not living up to its counterpart. I feel like the aesthetics & roleplay elements of VTMB can be relevant to this day and the game itself is a cult classic, so VTMB2 feels like it's trying to convert into mainstream, which feels disappointing to ME. But again, I don't know the vibes of VTM outside of VTMB to really know how WoD culture is like, and I don't know much about v5, which is why I decided to step down. I got my own vamp story anyways, I'm playing barbie just fine 😂

Also I read that Rik is not doing the soundtrack anymore, I hope that's not true dawg :V I have full faith in him. Admittedly the soundtrack of the announcement was too 'imagine dragons', which surprises me. From my perspective, VTMB felt like an exploration of the underground, which still exists today, which is why everything has taken me off-guard. I suppose if I were director I would have taken VTMB elder PC on a different approach 🤓

Dese my 2 cents. I don't want VTMB2 to be cancelled there's so much hard work put in the game that it's just a shame to think like that. Some people feel they didn't get what they wanted, that's finee. Others enjoy it, super cool. If the game is good I'll be more than happy about it for real 🌞

[makowo]

Okay. Finished Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines. Here's my scattered, informally-presented thoughts on it (some spoilers under the cut, but tried to keep it vague). I recommend looking through a professional review online if you want some more in-depth opinions tho

TLDR; Good game, but severely tainted by its janky combat and the writing being pretty "of its time", I think.

I loooove love love love the gameplay, for the most part! I think the stat system is good and forces you to really consider what you want to put your stats into, instead of just letting you farm them or whatever. You can't be an everyman (unless using console commands ofc, which i did). You have to stick to a build, though I think that ranged combat far outweighs ranged. But then again, roleplaying game. Getting a good combat build or stealth build is a side part of the whole experience.

However, I do wanna talk about the combat. The combat. Oh god, the combat. It's really, really bad. For most of the game you can avoid it, but there are multiple boss fights at the very end of the game that force you into combat. If you put all of your experience into stealth and subterfuge options, RIP. Many enemies are damage sponges, and you are most certainly Not a damage sponge in equal measure. Your movements in melee combat are usually slow and difficult to maneuver, meaning that if you get jumped by three or more enemies when you play melee, you're kiiiinda fucked. You stagger on every melee hit and cant avoid damage for shit half the time. Little better with ranged ofc, but the enemies also have guns most of the time, and some enemies will gun you down before you have any time to react. which means that if you run into a group of enemies, again, you're fucked. it's miraculous that they didnt catch just how bad it is to face off against large groups of enemies (and the bosses. they are Really Bad. All of them) in playtesting. So strange.

The roleplay is AMAZING, though. it has good diversity in its dialogue and character backstory, so you're relatively good on that front if you're here to be some guy thats having the roughest time of their life. plenty of avenues you can go for in the gameplay to fit the image you have in mind for your character, and I think that's its greatest strength.

the story is also pretty good! writing is great, love the characters and the setting. the writing is pretty tight, interesting the whole way through, and the reveal about the driving force of the narrative at the end of the game is real fuckin good. greatly enjoyed it.

ofc, there is some pretty bad shit as well; the chinatown area and any chinese character is depicted as evil, traitorous, stupid, or greedy. there's like, probably one or two good chinese characters in the game (if i remember correctly, my playthrough took a while). there's other instances of racism, however; The Sheriff character is a silent, animalistic bodyguard that is killed in several routes. hes stated to be from africa, and serving La Croix, a powerful white person... yknow. There's like four total dark-skinned people in this game, and a whole one of them is good, but only technically in one route, and he's still portrayed as an aggressive guard.

but all in all, i really think it is like, kinda worth the money? its pretty good despite these faults, especially since you have access to console commands and can just turn on god mode if shit gets unbearable (which it will, trust me). theres several unofficial patches that also add to the experience, and are probably even vital to playing the game. I used the VTMB Unofficial Patch, but there's other patches out there i believe, if you want to look at those.

so yeah i recommend it if youre fine with playing an old pc game thats too ambitious for its time.

[panvani]

I do like how many of the VtMB fights are just extremely stupid from an in-universe perspective, like the player character is allowed to do things that they would naturally be allowed to do from a mechanical perspective, but the other characters must have gotten so mad. One of the last bosses can be killed in five seconds using a weapon you can pick up at the start of the level. Another level involves a guy kidnapping you and running a bunch of tests on you (cuz you're a vampire) and at one point he sends a group of hired soldiers to try to kill you. Imagine being the soldier hired to test a new weapon on a real life vampire (!) that your boss has captured and detained and when you go to actually kill it it just pulls out a gun and shoots you

[motleymemes]

VtMB sentence starters - Cabby / Caine ( part ii )

–– feel free to change pronouns and the like !

“This person, are they really the tyrant they’re made out to be?” “Does he have the iron fist of rumour and does the blood of the people really ooze from it?” “They have lost many battles and more leaders.” “Their rebellion has already failed in the eyes of many.” “Do you feel that their notions of freedom have any real possibility?” “They’ve tried to hold onto this city like it was an ocean. But it continually seeped from their fingers as more and more of them are eaten by sharks.” “Do you really believe that they can keep the predators away forever?” “No, I cannot understand.” “No matter how dire the situation, our blood and theirs cannot be reconciled.” “The blood of each can never reconcile, only boil as they meet the other.” “You could run, but do you really think you could escape your reputation?” “I know little about you, except the rumours that you’ve killed ___ and betrayed your own kind.” “Rabbits also flee, but sooner or later their fate is a wolf’s jaw.” “The wolves have your scent. You’re coated in blood.” “But what of them? Don’t you worry about ___’s vision for this city precludes them?” “Their ways of life seem incompatible.” “I once thought they could provide stability for our kind.” “But certain types in this world have quashed such hopes.” “Perhaps, if he could be deposed, I would regain my faith.” “If they managed to recapture this city, it would not be long before someone challenged them for it.” “Conflict is always an eventuality in their life.” “Could you spend an eternity this way?” “Very well, if that is the destination you chose.” “If I do so, the blood you cary will doom you.” “An outsider forever in one society, a traitor to your own.” “You have been accused. If you were to run this reputation would travel with you until your final night.” “Your only recourse is to clear this charge or smite the conspirators working against your good name.” “You could run, rabbit, or you can become a wolf yourself and tear the throats from the heads of the other packs.” “This is the path of legends and pariahs.” “I have walked before with those who have tried to cast off their struggles.” “Their reasons were many, but their paths always ended in the same place. Emptiness.” “I’m just a driver. I can’t you anywhere unless you tell me where to go.” “If you must.” “When they are destroyed, this city will become chaos.” “With no heads, you can walk past this beast and into a legend.” “But you may never know peace.” “The lives of legends are the prey of the ambitious.” “Then I will drop you off in Chinatown. Your legend can grow there.” “We are here.” “They make many enemies all the time. It will not be long before someone challenges them for this city.” “Is by this sign the best place to stand?” “The knives of every person will try to make their home in his back. Do you really want to stand behind him?” “The spirit exists within the blood of many.” “Few though are willing to listen to it.” “Perhaps if a few did, they would not have lost so much.” “They’ve lost less than is thought.” “I hear there is one left who may be able to revitalise the movement, maybe though it is just a rumour.” “I have heard he’s unpopular with the people.” “Did you know a leader can’t be put in power without the city’s backing?” “If there was one that wanted him removed, perhaps it could be made so.” “I can drop you off downtown if you wish.” “If he’s not a man of action, insurrection is not looked upon lightly.” “I will take you to this representative iff you’ve made up your mind to secure a future with them.” “Very well, I will take this cab to Chinatown, but when you leave it realise that you leave our society forever.”

[chunky-ruckus]

Unfinished fic: Did the Eagle Envy Prometheus?

Hi gang! I'm pretty much done writing fanfiction for this fandom (just lost interest). I have a few fics I was excited for, and I figure I'd share the bones of what they were. So here's fic 1! I think there are 3-4 half written fics in total. This fic was basically a VTMB au wherein Marvus gets turned into a nosferatu.

___

Prose written:

You see him many times in your life, but he saw you first when you only caught him looking.

Leaned up against the sign for Santa Monica’s Protestant Church of the Blood and Body (God’s got a plan for you!), the smoke he exhaled gave the impression he was fading away from the world, only here as a visitor.

  He smiled at you then, Cheshire cat smile sharp with canines, his lips as full and flushed as cherries. And the smoke was all around you.

You know now that his eyes are a rich, laughing brown. But back then, you would have sworn you saw purple.

And when the girl at the counter of the 7-eleven joked that you looked like you’d seen a ghost- the resume in your hand crumpled where you held it tight- you weren’t entirely sure you hadn’t. 

___

Snippets / Ideas:

You stroke his hair as he convulses, continue to soothe even as your fingers catch on locs that refuse to stay rooted in his skull. He curls around you, clenches his body tight like a comma, like it’s not over yet. Just stopped for a breath, carry on! And he doesn’t move but to tremble. 

“God, please,” he says, with eyes closed tight as if he can pretend it’s not happening. 

Whether he’s praying to you or to God Himself, you aren’t sure. You aren’t sure it matters. You hold him there tight against your chest while he screams, muscles pulling skin taught through the tension.

And nobody saves him. Nobody is here to catch his soul.

___

You hold him tight around the middle and he thrashes and writhes, bringing you both to the ground, his own muscles his puppet strings. “I believed,” you breathe into his skin, “I believed in you.” And he?

He believed in God.

His ashen skin is feverish, tugged tight over his straining muscles like it could split open at any moment, spilling out like overripe fruit, his pomegranate blood all over you and the ground. He curls around you, a comma curl, as if to say, just pausing for a moment, or more to come, just need a breath! 

And you hope, you hope, you hope.

“God,” he says. “Please,” he says, with eyes and body clenched tight as fists.

Suddenly, that very heat spears you through, to your core. It spills in rivulets down your cheeks, pattering on your shirt above your collarbones. 

He dies there in a pool of blood that could be his shadow, with no cross on his chest, no gospel in his gasping: death, in odium fidei.

___

Working the graveyard shift has always suited you; some symbolism of death has always surrounded you anyway. [Insert here about how they’re amnesiac, though whether it’s because of how good they’ve gotten at denial or something real is up for interpretation]

[more here]

And here you are, home sweet home. Su casa.

Flipping the light switch is mostly a psychosomatic quirk; the lights outside are as bright as it’s getting, here in your home.

You’re not in denial; you know you’re considered homeless. This could all be taken away from you with a bad brush with the authorities, or a worse brush with the local teenagers.

It’s nice enough, anyway, to be homeless in the city. You’re not paying the electric bill to keep the McDonald’s sign across the street on, and it’s just enough light through the window to read your book by. 

It is homelessness absit invidia; you don’t know any other life, and you’ve built your superego around it. Karl Marx, eat your heart out. You’ve never had a dream job, never dreamed of working, but you’re living well despite. You have enough money to keep this place clean. Enough wits to steal food. And friends who have your back.

Nobody needs to know how much your life is your grave, how your habits build your tomb.

The graveyard shift you work is only half of the metaphor. Pressure radiates like you could rip open your ribcages on hinges.

You don’t know where you came from. You can’t remember a life, lived. Some days, it feels like you simply crash landed here, right in the McDonald’s parking lot across the street. You have no memories of home, no memories of your parents. There are days where you aren’t even sure you’re one of the local species, some alien life form that just appeared here in all of their collective narratives.

You let the dark swallow you whole; day will break in a few hours, and you won’t squander the light.

___

You stare down at your receipt, zeroed out by Chixie at the till.

The plastic bag hangs by your side, cutting into your fingers, condensation from the gatorade wetting your thigh.

Zero, as a number, did not exist naturally as the other numbers did. There has always been one atom, two people, millions of shades of feeling: all countable, all present. But the concept of nothingness as a meaningful, mathematical concept came later, from an Indian mathematician who’s name has been lost to time.

You wonder, with Marvus’s absence so conspicuous in your home, if that mathematician felt like this at the time. Now you see: you are not currently one minus one, but have always been one plus zero. The evidence is in what’s missing. What’s always been missing. 

___

MSPAR asks for Marvus’s number and he gives them bible verses instead.

John 6:55: For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. // Matthew 26:28: for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.

___

Outline:

Meet Marvus → He befriends them slowly → He gets them to break inside the church with him at night so he can pray. He’s been a very bad protestant, so he’s making his own forgiveness here on earth. Talk about fear of dying (So when you said God had a plan for me, you meant you had a plan for me) He’s a soundcloud rapper (or so MSPAR thinks), and he sends them a link to his mixtape. They don’t listen to it, not having internet at home, but are intrigued by the titles.→ Weeks go by without seeing Marvus at all. → They break into the church late at night on a hunch one night (the stained glass of cain and abel is smeared with blood) and find Marvus holding his neck. MSPAR investigates and notices two bite marks, burst capillaries spreading away from them like a map. They joke about someone fancying themselves a vampire and Marvus laughs lowly. Parallel to his bad end: at least, if he’s dying, he’s somewhere where he feels safe. MSPAR holds his hand and he drifts off to sleep. → MSPAR wakes up to the sounds of Chahut opening the doors to the church. They drag him- he’s sleeping heavily- to their beat up old car. Then they put on their hat and go to work. → Marvus isn’t in their car when their shift is over, and they notice that their monster has been drained of drink and their car doors were all locked.  → Chixie is playing at a jazz bar one night and MSPAR goes to watch her sing. Once her set is over, they notice Marvus standing outside the window, watching. He waves once MSPAR sees him. He plays cat and mouse with them, leading him through the streets and towards a club with loud, pulsing base. MSPAR notices his eyes are more predatory, and he looks sick. He wears an ascot even though it’s hotter than hell, and they get a little hot and lusty out on the dancefloor. MSPAR licks a bead of sweat off his neck and Marvus shudders, nearly fainting. MSPAR thinks thats just the sexy mood, but it ends up that Marvus needs to leave. He’s clutching his elbows and grinding his teeth. → They make it out, MSPAR suggests a slushie run, hoping to keep the tone light. And there’s nobody on duty right now, it should be safe. Under the flourescent lights, Marvus transforms a bit more into a monster. (Insert snipper here). Include: he stumbles and pulls one of the levers for a red slushie, and red slushie is all over him like blood. He’s so cold, colder than even the ice should make him. Once he finally settles down, MSPAR desperately searches for a heartbeat and, upon finding none, rips open his shirt to press their ear to his chest. His body is a nightmare, full of pockmarks and pale and sinewy. They’re about to call emergency services before he grabs them suddenly by the wrist and says no. Just take him back to his car. His car is this bougie ass limo with tinted windows. MSPAR is p much hysterical, and Marvus tries to calm them down as best he can. → A few more weeks go by, MSPAR hasn’t seen Marvus. They end up hunting him down to an abandoned building behind a church; you can hear the church music playing muffled through the walls. He looks awful, fully transformed into a nosferatu. MSPAR tries to act like they aren’t scared; Marvus talks about his worth now that he isn’t beautiful anymore. There’s wires all over the floor; he’s watching his old music videos. [insert feeding scene here; should parallel a sex scene].  

[thebaronofvenicebeach]

"Are you certain? The fee will be steep."

[thegreenwallrabbit-blog]

Explaining one of VTMB paintings (pt 8)

Cain Slaying his Brother Abel (Genesis 4:2-12) oil on oak wood (between 1608 and 1609) by Sir Peter Paul Rubens.

Sir Peter Paul Rubens (28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat from the Duchy of Brabant in the Southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium). He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque tradition. Rubens's highly charged compositions reference erudite aspects of classical and Christian history. His unique and immensely popular Baroque style emphasized movement, color, and sensuality, which followed the immediate, dramatic artistic style promoted in the Counter-Reformation. Rubens was a painter producing altarpieces, portraits, landscapes, and history paintings of mythological and allegorical subjects. He was also a prolific designer of cartoons for the Flemish tapestry workshops and of frontispieces for the publishers in Antwerp.[1]

The story of Baroque art in Flanders during the 17th century reflects the gradual decline of the country itself. Occupying the southern part of the Low Countries or Netherlands, it was ruled - along with the northern part of the Low Countries, known as Holland - by the unpopular Spanish Hapsburgs, who had taken over from the French Dukes of Burgundy. Its once powerful commercial and cultural centers, such as Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp, were weakened by religious and political disputes between the Catholic Hapsburg authorities and Protestant Dutch merchants. Thus while Dutch Baroque art flourished as never before, art in Flanders depended on a small handful of Flemish painters, mostly active in Antwerp.During the 15th century - the early days of the Italian Renaissance - Flemish painters had exported the technique of oil painting to artists in Florence, Rome and Venice. Now, at the beginning of the 17th century, with the spread of Italian Caravaggism, Flemish painters combined their own tradition with the tenebrist tradition arriving from Italy. This development was exemplified by the Antwerp artist Rubens (1577-1640). Since the High Renaissance, Flemish painting had been in transition between Northern and Italian influences; it was Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) who made the first real attempt to digest, absorb and fuse the two schools, creating a new style, well-suited to the more devout religious paintings called for by the Council of Trent's guidelines on Catholic Counter-Reformation Art (c.1560-1700), and which had a powerful impact on all painting north of the Alps.[2]

Below is an explanation of the Cain and Able story from real life and in the context of VTM. This is the same for all the Explained Cain slaying Able paintings in VTMB posts I’ve done so feel free to skip if you’ve already read this as it’s long.

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The tale of Cain murdering his brother Able are nearly identical in Jewish, Christian and Islamic texts with the oldest known version coming from the Dead Sea Scroll from the first century BCE. Cain was the the first born son of Adam and Eve and became a Farmer while Able was the second born son and became a shepherd. Both brothers made sacrifices to God, but God favored Abel's sacrifice instead of Cain's. In Islam the reason for their offerings is to decide which brother would marry Adam and Even’s first daughter who was also Cain’s twin sister. Able also had a twin sister and Adam wanted the brothers to marry the others twin. In multiple religions each brother has a twin sister but there is no consistently with the names as Cain’s twin sister being named Aclima, Kalmana, Lusia, Cainan, Luluwa, or Awan, and  Able’s twin sister is named Jumella, Balbira or to make it more confusing Aclima (though even when she is called this Able’s twin sister is never the one the brothers are competing to marry) depending on the source. In the Islamic text Able’s offers his fattest sheep while Cain offered only a bunch of grass and some worthless seeds. In Jewish and Christian texts the reason for the sacrifices and the exact nature of their offerings are merely described as the first born of Ables heard and products from Cain’s fields.[3] The most description we get is in Genesis when God sees that Cain is upset that his offering was not chosen God tells Cain “: Why are you angry? Why are you dejected? If you act rightly, you will be accepted; but if not, sin lies in wait at the door: its urge is for you, yet you can rule over it.”(Genesis 4:6-7)  Cain then told Able to meet him in his fields where he then murdered his brother out of jealousy by hitting Abel in the head with a stone. When God asks Cain where his brother Cain, “I do not know! he answered. Am I my brother’s keeper?”(Genesis 4:9) to which God replies   “What have you done! The voice of your brother’s blood is calling to me from the ground. From now on you’ll get nothing but curses from this ground; you’ll be driven from this ground that has opened its arms to receive the blood of your murdered brother. You’ll farm this ground, but it will no longer give you its best. You’ll be a homeless wanderer on Earth.” (Genesis 4:10-12)  When Cain objects saying the punishment is to great and that whoever finds him wandering shall kill him which then God says “No. Anyone who kills Cain will pay for it seven times over.” God put a mark on Cain to protect him so that no one who met him would kill him.” (Genesis 4:15). Cain then leaves east of Eden to wander in No-Mans-Land with his wife (who is not named in Genesis but is assumed to be his Twin sister in all tellings regardless of what name is given to her). Their first born Child was named Enoch, and Cain named the first city he built after his son. After Abel’s Death Adam and Eve had a Third son named Seth and when eve gave birth to him Eve said “God has given me another child in place of Abel whom Cain killed.”Genisis 4:25-26. In some texts Seths wife and sister is named Azura. Their son is named Enosh it is through Seth’s line that humanity stems from, though both Cain and Seth had multiple decedents and confusingly used the same names (see family tree below). None of Cain’s decedents suffered the curse of their father Cain but where still seen as sinful and apart from God and where killed in the great flood. How Cain died is not as an agreed upon topic. He was ether crushed to death by the stone house he built, an irony as he used a stone to slay his brother or in some versions part of the Mark of Cain had him grow horns and his descendent Lamech (not to be confused with Lamech who decedent from Seth and was the father of Noah) who was a blacksmith and had two wives(this is viewed as sinful) killed him mistaking him for a wild animal and killed his own son Tubal-cain in the process.

While in the lore of Vampire the Masquerade the tale of Cain killing his brother able as told in the Book of Nod stick to the original tale regarding the murder of Able but starts to differ in God’s punishment. "Father" cursed him with a mark, and cast him out to wander in darkness in the Land of Nod alone. There is no mention of a wife or if he was still cursed to be unable to farm however it is clear that Cain was not  yet cursed to be a vampire by God. The Land of Nod was a place of utter darkness, with no source of light, where Caine was afraid and alone. There he found Lilith where they began a relationship and Cain realized that she possessed magical power and begged her to share them with him. While hesitant Lilith prepares an Awakening ceremony by cutting herself with a knife, bleeding into a bowl, and giving it to him so that he may drink. After Caine partakes of Lilith's blood, he is visited by three angels who are agents of God. Each angel offers Caine a chance to repent for the murder of Abel, but Caine rebuffed them out of pride. Michael, when denied, cursed Caine and his childer to fear his living flame. Raphael cursed Caine and his childer to fear the dawn, as the sun's rays would burn like fire. Uriel then cursed Caine and his childer to cling to Darkness, drink only blood, eat only ashes, and be frozen at the point of death, cursed so all they touch would crumble into nothing. A fourth angel, Gabriel, then appeared to offer the way of Golconda, the only way to "light", by the mercy of God. After the experience, Caine becomes officially "Awakened", possessing the following Disciplines: Celerity, Potence, Fortitude, Obfuscate, Dominate, Presence, Protean, Animalism, and Auspex. Caine then became aware of the Path of Blood, the Final Path from which all paths stem. And with all these powers, but now being cursed to be a vampire he breaks his bond with Lilith and leaves her.[3] While Cain never biologically fathers any children it is clear that their names of those he embraced and their decedents are inspired by the biblical names in his line though with massive changes. For instance the first city is founded by Cain in the land of Nod and and called Ubar and is explicitly stated to be settled by “Children of Seth” with the human king being Enoch at the time Cain settles there. Enoch still becomes his son as he is embraced by Cain. Another example of the reuse of a biblical name of cain’s line is Zillah (which in Hebrew means shade or protection). In the original story she is one of Lamech(decedent of Cain) two wives( the other named Adah). After both wives discover that Lamech unwittingly kills Tubal-Cain(one of Lamech and Zillah’s sons) they both refuse to have sex with him because of the deaths he caused, on the pretext that they do not desire to give birth to cursed offspring. The three go together to the tribunal of Adam; Adam rules that they must obey their husband since he killed unwittingly. This midrashic tradition portrays Adah and Zillah as respected women, whose position is considered in all seriousness by the court. [4] In VTM Zillah was a human woman who lived in Udar so beautiful, Caine could not resist the Embrace. According to Nosferatu Zillah is the one of Cain’s second generation who sired their Antediluvian. Interestingly, even after the Embrace, Zillah did not desire him. It frustrated Caine to the point that he was ripping his hair out of his head. He did anything and everything to make her desire him. Yet, she would not have him. Finally, Caine sought the Crone's magic, who ultimately tricked him into a blood bond, she forced the First Vampire to Embrace her. The Crone sent her new thrall away, telling him that his blood would have the power to bond others as Caine himself was bonded to the Crone. The discovery of the blood bond was what finally made Zillah agree to marry her sire Caine. [3]

[1] “Peter Paul Rubens.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 16 Mar. 2023, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Paul_Rubens. 

[2]“Flemish Baroque Art (1600-80).” Flemish Baroque Art (1600-80), ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ART HISTORY, http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/history-of-art/flemish-baroque.htm#flemishbaroque. 

[3] “Caine.” White Wolf Wiki, https://whitewolf.fandom.com/wiki/Caine.

[4] Kadari, Tamar. “Zillah: Midrash and Aggadah .” Jewish Women's Archive, https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/zillah-midrash-and-aggadah#:~:text=Zillah%20was%20a%20wife%20of,he%20unwittingly%20kills%20Tubal%2DCain. 

[1800duckhotline]

in every universe salice and Allen are the unlikely best friends. having a real giggle just thinking about her and him in the vtmb au because a Toreador as obsessed with appearing charming and full of love like Allen being friends with Salice who's a gangrel that hates being one (hates that she can easily slip into her inner beast) and that tries so hard to be like a ventrue and gets along horribly with other people, let lone other kindred, to me, is like comedy. and others think it's hilarious too I'd bet

but they knew each other before they both were embraced, so in the end they just were destined to remain friends for life

if people ask they're both just like idk. I met this idiot in law school and can't get rid of her/him even if I tried

[badass-at-fandoming]

Do you have any headcanons for Beckett? Specifically about his life as a mortal? It sucks that we know so little about his past, other than the fact that Beckett "wasn't the name he was born with," and that he was embraced in the early 1700s in England. I find it strange that we know so little about him despite the fact he's practically a mascot for VTM.

Hi Nonny! I'm so used that World of Darkness' lacuna that it doesn't seem strange to me anymore, but it is quite a cold-water shock, huh? The game designers leave blanks on purpose so we can fill them in. I remember this one interview with Justin Achilli where the interviewer said the Book of Nod was (forcibly) published in 1993 (same as irl). He corrected her and said, "No, no, you have to say it was published in the early 1990s, so any Storyteller can fit it into their '90s chronicle, like if they want to do an adventure to prevent or pursue its publication." His answer stuck with me. As a fan I was like "...why does it matter, let us have this fixed date" but as a writer/baby game dev I was like "OH, that is CLEVER." It leaves room for creativity! Any adventure can follow the meta-canon! That's such a good game design trick! As a fan I find it frustrating!

This game design principle sticks even to the mascot. I've seen stuff that Beckett was a pirate, a privateer, an Oxford scholar, and/or an attractive dying waif. @chinesegal was kind enough to ask me various Beckett backstory questions, that you can find here: bathing practice, opinions on creationism, trans experience. I'd also point you to @vampire-the-askerade for their delightful Beckett writings.

My only like, firm headcanon for Beckett is that he has to be kind enough to warn the fledgling in VtMB. If someone's interpretation of his character doesn't allow for that, my interest tanks. I'm not even totally married to the backstory in my fanfic and idle-thoughts-before-falling-asleep scenario. Those were all convenient pretexts for me to write cuddles and snuggles, haha. I'd love more kudos and comments on my fanfic if you read those stories, but below the cut is the bullet point version.

A Kinder Universe series drops hints of a possible backstory, especially "A Monastery Hides More Than Bones," "It Pleased the Lord," and "Forbidden by God and King."

Birth name is Matthew Lowell.

"Matthew" after the Christian Apostle. The Matthew of the Catholic Bible was a tax collector and therefore a pariah in society (just like Beckett is kinda like an outsider to Kindred Society). He was called to join Jesus out of a crowd (like Aristotle called Beckett out of the wild, or how Caine singles out Beckett during Gehenna). After Jesus's Ascension, Matthew wrote a Gospel, which translates to "good news," and spread it around, (like Beckett spreads his theories like "Good news, everyone! Gehenna is fake!). Matthew's Gospel is focused on how Jesus fulfills Hebrew prophecy and begins with a long genealogy connecting Jesus to King David (Beckett is obsessed with the genealogy of the Kindred race and studies/fulfills/collects prophecies).

"Lowell" is the Anglicized surname of Norman French "lou," which translates to "wolf." Beckett's dark brown, straight hair and white skin is a common coloring with French people. We don't know his original eye color, but blue would clinch the deal. There's a long history of migration between France and England, both of people and culture. It's in the realm of possibility he's of French descent, at least partially.

Born in Oxford. One of many siblings. Mother died in childbirth. Kid during the Great Plague of London in 1665-1666. Good father.

Attended one of the Oxford universities and got his doctorate in some sort of proto-anthropology.

I think I've talked about it before, but I have an Embrace fic idea an Embrace scenario I've thought about real hard before falling asleep.

Beckett has the same tombstone data as above. He teaches at his Oxford university, but is not very popular among his department peers. He's too into evidence and the scientific method, and he's constantly quarreling with his colleagues.

Aristotle and Anatole visit Oxford to set up a satellite library. Possibly they needed a break from Paris for some Kindred political reason.

Kindred brothel owner owes them a favor and lets them stay in the brothel while the duo sets up the library haven

Beckett visits this same brothel to let off steam, and he's gifted to Anatole as a blood doll for the night. Except Beckett is like, "Can I rant to you about how stupid my colleagues are?" and this leads to a genuine discussion of scholarship and, later, friendship

Beckett becomes Anatole's regular client, and Anatole proposes to Aristotle that Aristotle Embraces Beckett

Aristotle approaches the Prince of Oxford and something something Kindred politics and Cassandra Darby kill steals Beckett and dumps him in the forest

The two Noddists learn that Beckett has been Embraced, and they try to find him. Anatole is so distraught that he is Not Helping the search at all, so Aristotle sends him back to Paris. Aristotle keeps up the search and eventually finds and adopts a feral Beckett baby

Aristotle and Beckett rejoin Anatole in Paris. Anatole has regained his equilibrium and takes over Beckett's Kindred education.

Yeah! I hope that answered your question, Nonny. Thank you for the ask!

[gonegrove]

THIS

I’ve pretty much always lived on the periphery of the trpg comm my whole life -- my brother had books and i’d steal them to read all the stuff in them, i learned about lots of the different worlds, watched playthrus of games like vtmb etc but never really had the right people around me to actually play it. i’ve tried a few times and never really met with a lot of success.

the last time I tried to play i ended up in a situation where i and my friend were talking about what she was doing bc i was genuinely confused and trying to clarify wtf was going on. the DM decided to treat this as IN CHARACTER CONVERSATION and PUNISHED US for BEING LOUD in the forest and has us fight an ent or some shit. then after the session and there’s some discussion about what the fuck just happened and how no that was ooc i was CONFUSED and trying to CLARIFY (i’m literally NEW this is a group with AT LEAST TWO NEWBIES who might know a lot of LORE but had never PLAYED) the DM comes out with a rule where vocal communication is IN CHARACTER ONLY and if you need to talk ooc you did it in the chat.

i’m a slow ass typer who’d need to be saying a LOT ooc because i’m NEW and I PLAYED FUCKING MONOSYLLABIC GOLIATH DRUID THAT I’M NOT INTERESTED IN FUCKING WORKSHOPPING A CHARACTER VOICE FOR IN REAL TIME.

it felt hurtful and cruel and like i was being punished for not knowing how to play the game. and it was like, SO SPECIFIC to me and that situation that i literally felt so awful being in that group now that i just basically had NO way of communicating in any way that actually mattered or was effective that i left. and that was a group were i KNEW SOMEONE IN IT! THE DM KNEW THERE WERE NEWBIES IN THE GROUP!!!! I had been UNIRONICALLY SO EXCITED TO PLAY.

i have not tried to find a group again. because i KNOW how this community is. there’s SO MANY AWESOME PEOPLE but there’s also a lot of Eddies™ and a lot of people who might MEAN well but end up just making it worse and making people not want to play bc they’re not a good DM/too strict with newbies/not actually very accommodating/elitist even if they don’t think they are/just too far down in the pit they don’t get how alienating the way they act can be/etc. And like-- if i EVER want to have a chance at playing at trpg w/o coming to fucking hate the entire community and hobby on principle i cannot try and find a group of strangers on somewhere like Roll20 bc the risks of meeting an Eddie™ is too high and i will become the worst version of myself if i meet one.

The majority of people who like Eddie are the same people who make alignment chart meme jokes having never even read 1 page of a dnd corebook and have no idea that the idea of order vs chaos/that whole chart is literally ripped straight from the pages of the Elric saga.

They’re the people who, when they hear “the white wolf”, they think of Geralt (Netflix edition) with no idea that the first truly famous usage of that was elric of melniboné in the 60s-70s to the point where the company white wolf publishing (makers of the trpg series world of darkness which they also don’t know about) got their fucking name from Elric. There’s even talk of Geralt being Kinda Plagiarizismy in regards to Elric. Literally all of Valyria in asoiaf/got/hotd? Elric of Melniboné.

These are the people who’ve likely never heard of Elvira or Vampira or Vampirella. They’ve never heard of Swamp Thing, if we’re lucky they know about Constantine/Hellblazer from the shitty DC shows. They’ll never read the original comics of Watchmen or The Sandman. They have no idea who Alan Moore is or that he literally does ritual magick. They don’t even know what that is. They have no idea what was in issues of Heavy Metal or how impactful it was. They’ve got no idea who Conan the Barbarian is outside of a vague pop cultural figure and a saying. They’ve never read the Silmarillion, they’ve only seen the movies and probably only the theatrical releases and only a handful of times or their entire lives at best. They’ve never even heard of The Young Ones. They’re people who gush about the MCU and how he’d love it “because he’s a nerd” as if he wouldn’t have been the biggest hater from day one because he read the comics. They’ve never seen a Hammer or Universal horror movie and if they did they’d think they were dumb. They’ve never seen The Munsters or the OG 60s Addams Family.

And they will not fucking shut up about an Eddie who doesn’t exist. An Eddie who would like and respect them. Who is kind and funny and quirky always. Who they can treat like their little blorbo meow meow darling and will only be as nerdy as is interesting and acceptable to them. Who bats his pretty cow eyes at them and calls them cute names. Who gives up dealing or only deals weed. Who’ll listen to their music and like their things while putting away the majority of his own. Who’ll never mock them or look down on them or their interests no matter how much he should given his past behavior— which also doesn’t exist in this fake Eddie. There is no interest in learning about the things that act as his building blocks, no interest in anything but his looks and the idea of a metalhead/nerd boyfriend.

Except I can guarantee if they actually met him they wouldn’t like him, wouldn’t respect his interests and would talk down to him. And Eddie would not be as nice as they think he is, nor would he want to know them or respect their interests since they’re generally “mainstream”. If you like Taylor Swift— he WILL not respect you AT ALL. Like I get it— y’all want a manic pixie dream boy and you chose him. But don’t think I will not be throwing rocks at you the entire time you shit down the neck of things I care about to do it.