Ah, but youāre forgetting that chase in ep8 when she was basically āthe fish that got awayā. V!Apoās just really good at navigating water in general, with or without a boat.
Iām not sure I agree with 100% of the placings on this tier list (there was that one scene where Owen dove into the river just to monologue about vampires not needing to breathe) but it does make Apoās escape really funny so I still like it. The entire coven who was chasing Apo are all in the bottom two tiers except for Shelby.
And a relative of mine saw it and asked āAre they getting married?ā
After I stopped laughing, I explained that they are both gay but not for each other, and Pyroās their intended next meal, not an officiant. But I can see why she thought that.
okay, Pantheon SMP is Greek-inspired, with Apo directly referencing 'representing a god' in her tweet. this could mean a lot of things, but there's 13 Olympians and 13 confirmed players, so I made this (and it's my way of manifesting a Pyro & Drift teamup)
Re your tags: I get being disappointed that Hestia isnāt in this list, BUT consider: Hestia as the goddess of āhearth and homeā has a champion who stayed home while these thirteen went to wherever the series takes place. Someone warm, someone associated with fire perhaps.
Someone that the champion of Aphrodite might fall head over heels for.
ive always been curious about the physics of silver blocks in vampires smp, like could you hypothetically make a vampire pinball machine where it flings a player into another block of silver then another. what if the humans won via vampire pinball machine
Shelby Is Not Naive, Or: Everyone Cares Too Much About Scott Goldsmith
Shelby fully expects the people of Oakhurst to kill her at the first opportunity. Shelby is so invested in the coven and so willing to excuse the flaws of other vampires because she has bought into the idea that the humans can and will hurt her at the first opportunity. There are many reasons for this, but Scott Goldsmith is not one of them.
Scott is her bestie because he stands still and says nice things while everyone else is running around introducing her to new and exciting forms of torment nexus. It is a āluigi wins by doing nothingā ass situation.
Once Shelby is turned, it becomes nearly impossible for her to talk to a human without being threatened. Many social interactions from the very instant she walks back into town after the fishing trip are shadowed by someone openly planning to hurt or kill vampires.Ā
Avid tries to test if sheās repelled by silver and then starts building a jail cell in front of her. Apo isnāt directly threatening, but basically comes to Shelby with the hypothetical āwhat if there was an evil vampireā. And then they emphasize the importance of keeping a stake at hand.Ā
Shelby asks Ren if theyāll really have to fight each other, and Ren says that itās just the way of the world. Sausage emphasizes the point by yelling āstab them all until theyāre dead!ā, which isnāt really a great thing to hear when you are one of the āthemā in question.
Eventually, Apo gets turned, and most of the vampires convene at the beacon, where Martyn burns her alive.
Let me repeat that: she burns alive.Ā
The video editing emphasizes this as a big deal.Ā Shelbyās narration in the aftermath concludes that āif i asked for a chance to talk, they would have just killed me without a second thought.ā From Shelbyās perspective, they did just kill her without a second thought. It is the climax of their episode 3, and one of the first things Shelby mentions in episode 4. It is a major turning point for the character, with good reason.
As far as Shelby is concerned, the vampire vs human conflict began with her experiencing a horrific death for the grand crime of crouching next to a beacon.Ā
From this point forward, non threatening interactions with humans vanish almost entirely.Ā
The only conversation Shelby has with a human is episode 4 is her face to face with Avid, which has high points and low points. The low points include Avid telling her about staking his partner because she attacked him.
Shelby, does, however, visit the town later, where she finds Avid burning her house down.
And then Legundo reads the cure book in front of the houseās ashes.Ā
Legundo also scolds Avid for burning down the house, but Shelby misses that part. In fact, Shelby missed all of the pro Shelby comments made in the town around that time.Ā
According to the post series creatorās commentary, (which i canāt link because twitch deletes old vods so it probably no longer exists aajfas;llllldg) this isnāt even a matter of clever editing- Shubble was legitimately out of range for all of the parts of the story where people agreed that they wanted to help Shelby.Ā
In episode 5, she is approached by a group of Drift, Cleo, and Pearl. Shelby is surrounded, and asks them to put their swords away. Pearl takes a minute to do so, and when she does she switches to a bottle of holy water. Shelby backs away and Pearl moves forward.Ā
The start of this conversation very much has shades of an interrogation: āwhy do you look so different? Did you eat truffle?āĀ
Shelby tells them about being burnt alive, and the response she gets from Cleo is ābut you got betterā. Which sucks, and serves as an ironic mirror for the way that Scott and Owen are dismissive about the trauma involved with turning people. Both factions are expecting Shelby to just walk off the wrongs done to them, but the Oakhurst faction is openly threatening future harm to Shelby.Ā Ā
Of the three of them, Drift is the most supportive. The conversation improves from there, and some nice things are said, but Shelby was still threatened. It was still the preamble to the nice and productive part of the talks.Ā
Then she has the meeting with Avid where he asks to be turned, which goes fairly well but ends with Avid being decidedly non human. Also Owen replaced one of Avidās messages to Shelby with a death threat, so Shelby was still threatened over it.Ā
Episode 6 has the Oakhurst invasion where all of the vampires visit Oakhurst and Pearl gets chased around. Shelby doesnāt really talk to anyone here, but she sure does get to hear Pearl make a generalized threat. Because Shelby can never catch a break.
We also see another instance of Shelby assuming that the townies are after her: her narration says āi thought Pearl was chasing meā
Then thereās a conversation with Sausage. Sausage pulls out a stake because of course he does.Ā
Then Drift pulls Shelby aside, and they have a lovely chat where there are no threats of bodily harm. However, Drift is a vampire, so it doesnāt count. Rip.Ā
When Avid starts talking about the cure, Shelbyās immediate assumption is that if Avid asks to be cured, the humans will stake her without a second thought. She also is the one to suggest sabotaging the cure for the sake of protecting herself and the other vampires.Ā
Episode 7 sees Shelby dealing with humans twice, and both of them are decidedly hostile interactions
The first bit of human contact comes when the vampires burn down the walls of Oakhurst. This is, naturally, open combat. Shelby makes a point of targeting Martyn.
Her second human interaction in episode 7 is running into Abolish, who promptly introduces her to the Veylocke murder box. In other words, Shelby is stunned, rendered immobile and helpless, and executed in cold blood. It is not an easy death.
Abolish even acknowledges that she didnāt do anything, and then kills her anyway.Ā
episode 8 is the finale, where she fights some humans, hides from humans, eventually has a truce with humans for the first time ever, and then wanders off into the sunset with Drift and Scott.
Thatās basically all of Shelbyās major human interactions post episode 3. There is never an instance where speaking to a human is not linked with being threatened by a human after that point.Ā
For the most part, this is entirely the result of the people of Oakhurstās own priorities and character choices, but there is one vampire that tries to make sure that Shelby canāt talk to the humans. Someone that tries to isolate her, someone that uses threats, someone that is willing to lie to keep Shelby in the castle and away from town.Ā
That person is Owen.Ā
Owen interferes with Shelby speaking to townsfolk three times, to mixed results: he joins the conversation with Apo and successfully diverts them from trying to convince Shelby sheās wanted in town; he replaces Avidās letter with a threatening message, but Avid manages to set up a meeting with Shelby and clear the air with her anyway; and he appears in the Pearl-Drift-Cleo meeting with Shelby in episode 5, which arguably improves the situation because he took the conversation in a useful direction and Shelby had already felt threatened anyway.
ā¦actually, all three of these things happen in episode 5. Owen has a very brief window of being invested in the coven in this particular way. He does some pretty nasty lying in that window, though.Ā
While this could be an interesting plot thread, Owenās contributions are something of a cigarette in a burning warehouse. Shelby got killed twice as collateral damage, and both deaths were exceptionally traumatic. No amount of intercession on Owenās part is going to speak louder than the wrongs done to Shelby by the humans themselves. No amount of lying on Oakhurstās behalf is more damning then Oakhurstās own failure to address the damage theyāve done in any way. Heās burying a relationship so far underground it is already in hell.Ā
Even seemingly minor things like Pearlās tendency to casually arm herself do more to damage Oakhurstās reputation then Owen is really capable of- there is a direct line of cause and effect between Pearl saying she has a stake and Shelby assuming that Pearl is chasing her down. Shelby is rightfully skeptical of the claims Owen makes about other people, but when someone else is making those kinds of statements, she tends to believe them.Ā
And then thereās Shelbyās backstory.Ā
Shelbyās backstory, where she is isolated from her entire community growing up. Where people she considered friends and neighbors didnāt care about her in turn. Where nobody had even done something as basic as telling her that sheās fun to be around.Ā
Ā Of course Shelby thinks that Oakhurst is willing to write her off at the drop of a hat. Thatās what her hometown did.Ā
In conclusion
1: the town is not blameless in the Oakhurst vs Castle conflict. They have done real harm to the Coven, and most of it has fallen on their friendliest and least aggressive member.
2: Shelby is indeed afraid and isolated, but the bulk of that fear and isolation is generated and maintained by the people of Oakhurst themselves. The one time Scott had an opportunity to sabotage one of Shelbyās outside relationships, he chooses not to.
3: Scott is Shelbyās first friend, ever, and the feeling is mutual. This is a key component of why Shelby is Like That.Ā
4: The answer to most gripes regarding vsmpās story arc and ending is Shelby. Why did Scott live and Pyro die? Shelby. Why did Scott suddenly pivot to pacifism? Shelby. Why canāt the humans just wipe out the coven and call it a day? Shelby. Why was the coven a legitimate social structure in the first place? Thatās also Shelby. Itās Shelby all the way down.
In Shelbyās story, Scott is the prize she wins for her kindness and Pyro becomes the avatar of all of the senseless violence she has suffered.Ā
Shelbyās character arc is one of being the collateral damage of other peopleās agendas so frequently that she becomes convinced that she must use violence herself. This culminates in her killing the most direct and personal threat to her physical safety, which is Pyro. Shelbyās other character arc is about seeking peace and companionship despite the bloodshed around her. This culminates in her turning her closest companion from the path of violence, and that companion happens to be Scott. Scott and Pyroās conclusions are mirrored halves of Shelbyās finale, and reflect Shelbyās greatest triumph and lowest low.
The outcomes they get make sense if you position Shelby as the central character, and her choices were the ones that decided their fates.Ā
#As someone who hasn't yet had the time to sit down and watch all the perspectives this is such an interesting cool thing to see
#Bc it's also once again another instance of that perspective creep of course townie pov mains and even even some vampire mains are inclined
#to see her as sticking by the coven as a result of the coven's actions - most if not all townie povs have her as *the* poster child example #put forward it town for why the vampires shouldn't be dealt with w unidirectional unrestricted violence
#āShelby is still Shelbyā is strewn all over the town fights all throughout episodes 3-6ish in Doc's pov as is the underlying idea of her as #āa forgivable monsterā to the rest of the coven's unforgivable both in Owen's pov and at least partially in Avid's
#So it's hard to conceptualize of her as *not knowing that*- but it also speaks to its own kind of negligence
#The town cares about Shelby enough to tell she's not *changed* since becoming a vampire just not enough to seek her out and double check or
#Or even to seek her out and tell her this to her face
#She's well liked enough but she's no one's priority - no one thinks of her *first* and even those that do don't *tell her*
#For all the many ways to be alone in a crowd it's no wonder at all she'd stay where she's safe and actually wanted
I would say that it's one of those situations when two things are True at the same time. Yes Shelby has a legitimate reason to fear the town. You listed it pretty clearly and i have nothing else to add that. This is objective correct.
Scott doesn't do much to keep her on his side that is also true. Mostlycuz he and Owen assume she doesn't need any encouragement to stay. They like being a vampire and the town really hurt her. Avid often talks about her as she was dead after all.. But at the same time she herself does a lot to stay. When they talk about her like she's just food they call it out but ultimately ignore it when voicing her discomfort with that is brushed off. When Pyro brings up that he's scared of Scott SHE brushes it off. When Owen says something off-putting she refused to hear it or finds an excuse for him. And this is what I think most people refer to when they say she's naive. I wouldn't call it that - its more of a wishful thinking than naivety to me, but that's my personal opinion. Shelby isn't "Naive" because she doesn't go back to town, she's "naive" because she stays with the coven. Which isn't the same thing. Every time someone brings Scott's flaw she finds an excuse for it. He wouldn't hurt her, hes thier bestie. He was hungry. You attacked us first. He's just old and needs to be show the proper modern ways. Hes learning. Her turning was SCOTT'S plan, and Only Scott's. He attacked her and drink her blood too. But she only ever blames Pyro cuz it's easier. Cuz he is the one who got the final hit and it's easier to forget Scott was ever there. Cuz she's scared of the town so much that she needs to excuse what coven does because if they are both "bad" she has no other option. And she pretends as such until she can no longer - until Pyro and Owen hurt her fledgling. Not a friend, fledgling. She's not mad at them for killing Avid she's mad at them cuz they excluded her from that decision. And when they do so, they are deemed the worst people on the planet. She no longer excuses Owen as misunderstood or just sad. She claims Pyro to be just far gone. Because it wasn't a Coven Issue it was Owen and Pyro issue.
One thing I love about the series and all the different POVs is that so many things can be true at the same time. Every character has their own interpretations of every other character, with valid reasons to believe in those interpretations. (Even if they were intentionally misled, thatās a reason too!) Thereās no main character. There are fourteen main characters.
for AU purposes, does anyone know/remember who in VSMP ended up getting the Lantern Thrash ability? off the top of my head I know Abolish did and I think also Martyn, but I'm not sure about anyone else
This post made a whole chart of who got which holy books when! https://www.tumblr.com/yuka1n/800267029535916032/vampires-smp-tome-books-distribution-day-7
š¬ 4Ā Ā š 79Ā Ā ā¤ļø 366Ā Ā·Ā Vampires SMP Tome Books Distribution [Updated]
Edit Post Finale: Genuinely I dont think anything changed so I guess thi
Vsmp roleswap au but I use a wheel to randomize the roles:
Scott takes the role of Shelby. This is a start for sure... Scott Goldsmiths personality in Shelby's role is hilarious.
Shelby takes the role of Martyn. I liked this until I realized this means she dies in the finale. I dislike this fact.
Martyn takes the role of Cherri. Waiting for who to come back?
Cherri takes the role of Louis (rip). She is cherrifire.
Louis takes the role of Pearl... Ok, monster hunter Louis... I feel like there's some irony here.
Pearl takes the role of Sausage. Writer Pearl! I like writer Pearl.
Sausage takes the role of Pyro. I don't really like vampires Sausage so him dying to Scott is not a problem for me.
Pyro takes the role of Avid. Replaced one complex about murdering someone with a different complex about murdering someone.
Avid takes the role of Abolish. What if Avid was still a wet cat but actually knew their stuff.
Abolish takes the role of Legundo. Oh yeah, he's still done with everyone's bull.
Legundo takes the role of Elle. Can't believe Pyro killed him... He gets to return as a demon tho.
Elle takes the role of Owen. Elle x Cherri real? Not clickbait? I...this is a crackship I approve of.
Owen takes the role of Cleo. Ok so Owen and Louis are taking the roles of Moonrot. I like both but still, slight downgrade cause Cleo and Pearl are awesome.
Cleo takes the role of Drift. So we get Cleo and Scott as a duo. Never seen that before (sarcasm).
Drift takes the role of Ren. And Shelby and Drift become the doomed yuri. I would have rioted if they died in canon.
Ren takes the role of Apo. So Martyn is waiting for Ren and Ren wants ti go back to Martyn? Typical.
Apo takes the role of Scott. Oh. That's. Canon Apo would hate that. This is the option she would hate the most. Well, I'd support her wrongs lmao. Also...Apo x Pyro shippers, I know you exist.
I should not have been drinking water as I read thisā¦nearly choked when I got to the end. How does Treebark keep appearing even when itās randomized?
A map of Oakhurst! The labels are where the beacons are and the circles show crypts (the ones that can have special books in them).
Wasn't sure whether or not to post this but why not? I played a one-shot on a server with the Vampires SMP map and proceeded to get SO lost so I made this for myself lmao. Putting it here in case anyone else has use for it!
Base map made with uNmINeD and an art program to add the labels and circles.
i'm at the point where i am resorting to high quality screenshots. Sharing this in case anyone else needs it.
Front:
Behind Left Side:
Backside Pants:
Sleeve cuff: (interesting thing to note is that the cuff in this screenshot does not match what is shown in the above screenshot)
Abolish may have used a different skin for that one? If so, i couldn't figure out which skin it was from, since there isn't an exact match on his NameMC account. The one that comes closest is one of his older skins, but you can see that it doesn't quite match up with the pixel numbers:
Canāt decide whether hellfire was married before Apo left for the military and Cherri will continue to love them, just as she always has. We got married for a reason silly. Or they get married after Apo comes back because they donāt care what she is now, their Apo came back and thatās all that matters, and they will love her despite everything thatās happened. They both hurt </3 man I love hellfire. Oh my goodness wait another thought just hit me. They were married before and Apoās ring just so conveniently happens to be made of silver š but they canāt take it off, no matter how badly it hurts. They wonāt. They wonāt let them take another reminder of her away from them. They would rather let it blister and burn into their finger to remind them what theyāre fighting for, who theyāre fighting for, then give up another thing thatās theirs to the vampires. Or itās like an engagement ring and itās a whole āyouād still want to marry me?ā thing yknow. Freeeaaakkkkk vampires Apo and hellfire you make me insane
I was just thinking about this when trying to decide what Apo should refer to Cherri as in a fic Iām working on. V!Apo is either 21 or 22 (I have a hard time believing she got drafted, completed enough training to get sent to Fernsfield, survived Fernsfield, sat through the bureaucratic process of getting reassigned, and traveled to Oakhurst all in one year) which is still pretty young to be married already.
And then I thought, what if Cherri got an engagement ring while Apo was away, and planned to propose when they came home in the spring? Apo showing up early as a traumatized vampire would change those plans somewhat (might have to go exchange the ring for one that isnāt silver, if the first one was) but proposing could be another way Cherri shows Apo she still loves her.
for the micro story ask game, i'm curious to see what you come up with for 34: Bauble! š
Apo was just trying to organize her things, looking through for whatever could be useful, when she finds it.
She had forgotten it was there, under the roll of bandages and clothes she'd brought with her.
It's a necklace, a small flower blossom pendant hanging from the chain. It was cheap, hardly worth anything at all, but brings forward a wave of emotion.
She and Cherri hadn't had a lot of time to spend together between her deployments, but during one of the rare free moments of time, they had gone out to a festival.
There were stands, and dancing, and pretty lights. It had been beautiful, but Apo doesn't remember the event itself as much as she remembers how Cherri's face lit up with pride when she won them matching necklaces.
Cherri hadn't cared much for the jewelry itself, but she still clasped it around Apo's neck, smiling bright as she asked Apo to do the same for her.
Tears burn in Apo's eyes that she refuses to let fall, no matter how much she misses how things were before this mess.
Tucking Cherri's hair back, her fingers brushing her nape as Apo put it on her. Cherri's self-assured smile as she brags about beating the rigged festival games. Cherri's hand in hers, warm and steadying.
I know you said it was a cheap pendant, but imagine the additional angst potential if it was real silver. Even if Apo managed not to lose it in Oakhurst and bring the necklace home without touching it directly, she can still only wear it when theyāre at their weakest. And sheād have to be really careful how much she eats and drinks while wearing it.
