For your gay fanfic purposes: Grindr is not like Tinder or Hinge. There is no matching system, and most people don't even have photos, and if they do have photos, they probably don't have bios
Grindr is a proximity-based hook-up app. You can put in your height and age and body type and race and aesthetic and when your last HIV test was. Not your star sign or any personality stuff.
And you can message anybody, and people frequently do, faceless bio-less profiles messaging faceless bio-less profiles. There is no matching system, there is no limitation on messaging people or demand of mutual attraction
It's like actual cruising or cottaging: it is not meant to replicate the speed dating experience or a match-making service. As an app, what it's trying to replicate is meeting eyes with a guy and then meeting him in the alley outside, or nudging your boot into the next bathroom stall to invite the guy in there to come into yours
It is horny and sloppy and a bit nasty. It's not unusual at all to receive dick or hole pics and it's not like. Weird or disrespectful on the same level as it's seen on other dating apps
āThe day after Columbine, I was interviewed for the Tom Brokaw news program. The reporter had been assigned a theory and was seeking sound bites to support it. āWouldnāt you say,ā she asked, āthat killings like this are influenced by violent movies?ā No, I said, I wouldnāt say that. āBut what about Basketball Diaries?ā she asked. āDoesnāt that have a scene of a boy walking into a school with a machine gun?ā The obscure 1995 Leonardo Di Caprio movie did indeed have a brief fantasy scene of that nature, I said, but the movie failed at the box office (it grossed only $2.5 million), and itās unlikely the Columbine killers saw it. The reporter looked disappointed, so I offered her my theory. āEvents like this,ā I said, āif they are influenced by anything, are influenced by news programs like your own. When an unbalanced kid walks into a school and starts shooting, it becomes a major media event. Cable news drops ordinary programming and goes around the clock with it. The story is assigned a logo and a theme song; these two kids were packaged as the Trench Coat Mafia. The message is clear to other disturbed kids around the country: If I shoot up my school, I can be famous. The TV will talk about nothing else but me. Experts will try to figure out what I was thinking. The kids and teachers at school will see they shouldnāt have messed with me. Iāll go out in a blaze of glory.ā In short, I said, events like Columbine are influenced far less by violent movies than by CNN, the NBC Nightly News and all the other news media, who glorify the killers in the guise of āexplainingā them. I commended the policy at the Sun-Times, where our editor said the paper would no longer feature school killings on Page 1. The reporter thanked me and turned off the camera. Of course the interview was never used. They found plenty of talking heads to condemn violent movies, and everybody was happy.ā
Vtm Bloodlines 2: a timeline and an initial background for Phyre
by: Tim Turner
A special thank you to @safia-ulusoy for helping me extract dialogue from the Bloodlines 2 game. I've been gathering some quotes about Phyre's background to study the possible implications of their life throughout the centuries (and write copious amounts of fanfiction when the time is right).
It will take me a while as I go through the dialogue files and The Art of Bloodlines 2. Feel free to reach out with questions, add your own thoughts or challenge my notes anytime, there's still a long way to go before I can finalise a decent timeline.
In this analysis, we will consider the First Night to be the start of the actual story, i.e., Phyre's awakening from torpor.
BEWARE OF SPOILERS
Context
It's was a little difficult to figure out how much time passed between Phyre waking up in the basement and their frenzy killing spree. There's a few clues here and there, but it's in fact Lou Graham that gives us one of the first indications of how to sketch out a proper timeline during her first meeting with Phyre:
Lou: āTwo nights ago, my poor childe was found outside of Weaver Tower missing something rather vital: his head.ā
Phyre: āThere was a killing spree last night?ā
Lou: āA figure in a bloodied white gown, so I hear. Running rabid through the streets, trailing gore and Dior knows what else (...) Oh, the wayward childe's all over their "television news and social media". Mortals call them "Hashtag Vampire Bundy. Nobody's taking it seriously, of course."
This means that Phyre is on their third night after waking up from torpor. We don't know the exact date, but we do know that the story happens during Christmas time in Seattle, 2024.
I've attempted to make a timeline for the first 3 nights, to set myself with some context:
First night
In an attempt to get some leverage with the Camarilla court, Katsumi tips off Campbell that the Anarchs intercepted a weapons shipment at a Seattle warehouse [(and, subsequently, kidnap Safia's ghouls while they were moving Phyre into the underground)].
(...) For whatever reason, a pact existed between Prince Campbell and Katsumi, a respected figure in the Anarchs (...)
ā The Art of Bloodlines 2, p.79
Campbell goes check the warehouse.
Fabien arrives at the warehouse, intent on recording Campbell's confession that he and Lou were responsible for the original Rebar killings. When the plan fails, Fabien sacrifices himself and gets revenge for Gideon by waking up the Elder in torpor, who will kill everyone in the vicinity. Fabien gets diablerised.
Campbell is killed by Phyre, his head severed from his body.
Campbell's body is dropped near Weaver Tower by either the Anarchs or Safia's Sabbat.
Phyre starts a frenzy rampage kill, suffering from intense hunger after having been in torpor for 100 years.
Second night
A Kindred stirs in an abandoned apartment, deep in an unfamiliar suburb of an unknown city. They've been unconscious for a century ā and now, suddenly, they're awake. Disoriented. Alone. Hungry. Before they can uncover who put them here, or why, they must feed.
ā The Art of Bloodlines 2, p.75
Note: As far as we've seen in-game, Phyre feeds from exactly 2 people during frenzy: Fabien and Richie, the guard. I wonder whether they killed or drained others, though perhaps not necessarily ā as they might've regained control of their actions sooner.
Phyre's frenzy continues, as they're still unable to control the Beast.
Eventually, Phyre wakes up, having fed enough to get their Hunger sated and the Beast under control [(this translates to the vampire achieving Hunger 1 or 0, according to vtm rules, which pacifies the Beast)].
Fabien's conscience (essence? soul?) awakens in Phyre.
We know itās around 2AM:
Radio host: "Hello Seattle, this is your 2AM weather and traffic update. We're still under a severe storm warning and it's cold, cold, cold out there."
Fabien leads Phyre to a makeshift haven.
Extra:
Bet of Night (ep.2): "Before you open yourself up to me Seattle, I do have some tragic news: J.J. Campbell, head of DotGEO Futures has unexpectedly passed away."
Bet of Night (ep.2): "J.J. was a noted entrepreneur who did a lot of good for the city, or so I hear. Rest in peace, Mr. Campbell, Seattle will miss you."
Episode 2 of Bet of Night (fourth, fifth night?) has a brief update about Campbell, former Prince of the Camarilla, entrepreneur extraordinaire. Which is supremely ironic, given that official sources tell us the following:
(...) Campbell started out as a mobster in the 1920's.
ā The Art of Bloodlines 2, p.94
Third night
The Nomad wakes up in a makeshift havenāan apartment Fabien leads them to, somehow knowing that the previous owner doesn't need it anymore. From there, the two begin to piece their situation together. Questions stack up. Why is Phyre covered with markings, and who marked them? How come Fabien appears to be stuck in Phyre's head?
ā The Art of Bloodlines 2, p.85
During the third night, Phyre meets several power players from Seattle's Camarilla court and begins their investigation into the marks. I was most interested in obtaining an overview of each possible background at this stage, and understand what lies beneath Phyre's caution, as they're more cautious with words than usual at this stage.
Fabien: "Some have you as a destroyer, others an omen of doom. But er...what would you say?"
There's 3 possible backgrounds: survivor, traveller and warrior. I've yet to deepen which options belong to each category, but there's some digging to be done and conclusions to be drawn from this start alone.
"I am a survivor."
Phyre: "Where I travel, disaster follows. When I war, it is against misfortune. If I am anything, I am a survivor."
Fabien: "Oh. That's not what I expected to hear. But if that's the truth, that's the truth. And I'm rather fond of surviving, myself."
Fabien: "Well then. What's the most dangerous thing out there, in your experience?"
[mid/endgame]
(...) Safia: "So you escaped. And you've been running ever since."
(...) Safia: "You are no mere survivor. You are the plague rat, the harbinger of wretched misery."
Safia's taunts might hold a glimmer of truth. That being said, I wonder whether what she's learned about The Nomad was based in books or from a warped view fed by the Sabbat.
Phyre cuts off Fabien when it gets too personal. This happens in every background, and eventually we figure out that most of their misadventures are related to the Sabbat, somehow.
01: Mortals that hate
Phyre: "I saw the Witch Trials as they played out across Europe. They slew many of our kind - I barely escaped."
Phyre: "But in fear and hate, they also slaughtered the ones they loved."
Phyre: "Mortal hate is the danger. And there are forces who harness it. If they could burn the whole world, they would."
Fabien: "Bad news. In 1945 they figured out how to, uh... Never mind. Good news: Despite it all, we're still here."
Fabien: "You'll forgive me for asking, I hope, but I can't help but wonder... How did you fall into mortal hands?"
Fabien: "It just doesn't seem your style. Something more happened. Didn't it?"
Phyre: "I have said all I desire to say about myself."
[endgame]
(...) Safia: "The Black Hand set a ring of flames around you in England, and the people drove you through them in hatred and fear. You bore weeping scars for months."
02: Ideals that demand blood
Phyre: "I was in France during the Reign of Terror. At first, I admired their work. They killed every enemy of the people."
Phyre: "And then, they did something remarkable: They made more enemies of the people. And more."
Phyre: "Ideals that demand blood are never satiated. They are the danger. Many I knew died their final deaths. I nearly died mine."
Fabien: "Were you on the original list? Or the expanded edition?"
Phyre: āI am on the list of those who survived, and that is all that matters."
Fabien: "You'll forgive me for asking, I hope, but I can't help but wonder... How did you fall into mortal hands?"
Fabien: "It just doesn't seem your style. Something more happened. Didn't it?"
Phyre: "I have said all I desire to say about myself."
[mid/endgame]
(...) Safia: "Your escape from Paris, from Moscow! You seem the very herald of devastation. Not in a bad way - I mean..."
(...) Safia: "The Black Hand locked you behind iron doors under Paris, and you only escaped the blade by crawling through sewage."
03: The fight for power
Phyre: "I have escaped wars over the mortal crowns of Spain, England, Poland, Austria."
Phyre: "So too have I escaped purges, plots, and persecutions in the Courts of our kind."
Phyre: "Whether mortal or not, it is the same. When it is uncertain who holds power, knives come out."
Fabien: "Interesting times, for certain... have you ever lived in an uninteresting time?"
Phyre: "No. There are always those who sow confusion and sharpen knives. We do what we must."
Fabien: "Well, Seattle has both confusion and knives aplenty. But you weren't just running - you helped out, right?"
Phyre: "I have said all I desire to say about myself."
[endgame]
(...) Safia: "For fear of the Black Hand, you saw knives in every shadow. Every time a hand was held out to you, you bit it, and fled for fear of chains."
"I am a traveler."
Phyre: "I have journeyed across centuries and continents. I am a traveler."
Fabien: "The stories sure do have you on the move.ā
Phyre: "Stagnation is corruption."
Fabien: ā"Amen. If you don't mind me asking, was there anywhere, anywhen, that just clicked for you?"
[mid/endgame]
(...) Safia: "So you left. And you never looked back."
(...) Safia: "You are no mere traveler. You are cowardice in the form of a Cainite."
01: Buying dreams in Constantinople
Phyre: "Constantinople. Four hundred years ago. My mortal home. My home afterward, too, for a time."
Phyre: "My favorite place was the Grand Bazaar. The colors, the vitality. Air heavy with perfume and spice from lands that I then only dreamed of."
Fabien: "I'm no wanderer, but the world's a lot smaller now than it was. Getting smaller, too. How big it must have been, back then..."
Phyre: āNot big enough.ā
Fabien: "You'll forgive me for asking, but... there's more to the story. Something else - someone else - happened, right?"
Phyre: "I have said all I desire to say about myself."
[endgame]
(...) Safia: "The shadow of the Black Hand drove you from the New Rome."
02: The Masquerades of Venice
Phyre: "I used to roam the calli of Venice, La Serenissima, late at night."
Phyre: "We all wore masks then everything was an intrigue, a romance. We played such beautiful, deadly games."
Fabien: "Sounds a little too sophisticated for me, and a little too stabby. I favor a simple city of thugs and coffee."
Phyre: "It was amusing. Until it wasn't. But there we are."
Fabien: "You'll forgive me for asking, but... there's more to the story. Something else - someone else - happened, right?"
Phyre: "I have said all I desire to say about myself."
[endgame]
(...) Safia: "The shadow of the Black Hand stalked you through Venice."
03: The libraries of Prague
Phyre: "I remember Prague, with its hundred spires. And its libraries. Places of terror and delight."
Phyre: "I read ancient books that were printed when I was young. And I read many secrets. Invaluable and unutterable."
Fabien: "A reader, huh? I like a good mystery myself. Tangled webs that work to a simple solution. What real life should be like but so rarely is."
Phyre: Ah. Fiction. Most of the two thousand books I read claimed to be fact. Very few told the truth."
Fabien: "You'll forgive me for asking, but... there's more to the story. Something else - someone else - happened, right?"
Phyre: "I have said all I desire to say about myself."
[endgame]
(...) Safia: "You fled through the streets of Prague from the Black Hand."
"I am a warrior."
Phyre: āI am a warrior."
Fabien: ā"Well, your reputation holds up. My own philosophy is: when they throw a punch, be somewhere else. Preferably a different city."
Fabien: "But while we're killing time, did you have a favorite time killing?"
[mid/endgame]
(...) Safia: "You must have fought your way out. You've been fighting ever since."
(...) Safia: "You are no true warrior. You are an opportunist, a dilettante, a coward."
01: Spoiling Napoleonās ambitions
Phyre: "I aided Cadiz, when Napoleon invaded after his exile."
Phyre: "It was the only city that never fell to him. I spoiled the ambition of a tyrant and... others."
Fabien: "Huh. So why stand up to him, then? Political ideals? Or did he just look at you funny?"
Phyre: "No mortal has the right to be monarch."
Fabien: "I believe you. And yet, there's more to the story. You mentioned 'others...'"
Phyre: "I have said all I desire to say about myself."
[endgame]
(...) Safia: "The Black Hand were at your throat when the British made their blockade."
02: Bringing terror to the ocean
Phyre: "Three hundred years ago, I had a ship and a crew. We wrought such beautiful horrors."
Phyre: "Merchant ships, naval vessels, and others. We did not discriminate."
Phyre: "We would board. Stain white sails red. Turn entrails to rigging. How free we were, then."
Fabien: "I believe you. And yet, there's more to the story. You mentioned 'others...'"
Phyre: "I have said all I desire to say about myself."
[endgame]
(...) Safia: "The Black Hand shredded your sails and drove you from the sea."
03: Defending my homeland
Phyre: "The Russian Tsar waged war on my homeland, hundreds of years after I left. The Crimean War."
Phyre: "I had long kept out of the country's struggles. But not this time."
Phyre: "We were not unsuccessful against the Tsar and... others."
Fabien: "I believe you. And yet, there's more to the story. You mentioned 'others...'"
Phyre: "I have said all I desire to say about myself."
[endgame]
(...) Safia: "The Black Hand forced you to flee from Sevastopol, your tail between your legs."
I wonder if most (if not all) of these can be considered canon. The choice of background (and, possibly, clan?) seems to branch out into the following, as acknowledged by Safia:
"The Janissary deserting the Sultan's house guard."
"The Vizier exiled from the Sultan's palace."
"The child born to the silver spoon, fleeing their family's disgrace."
"The criminal fleeing the consequences of their actions."
"The desperate rebel, exiled from Anatolia."
"The false prophet in the Sultan's court."
"The pathetic hostage fleeing the Kafes."
But that will be for another analysis. I hope this was enlightening, it certainly helped me understand the timeline of B2 a little better. Merry Christmas to everyone!
thereās a big difference between āiām sad because a character i was emotionally invested in was killed offā and āthis characterās death served no purpose, was used for shock value, and is the product of bad writing and iām upset about thatā
sexism in medicine kills people. racism in medicine kills people. fatphobia in medicine kills people. queerphobia in medicine kills people. classism in medicine kills people. ableism in medicine kills people.
do not downplay peopleās fears about being mistreated because they are a part of a marginalised group. it is a matter of life and death and you should be angry about it.
hey. if someone tries to smear you on the internet for something asinine, what you need to do is block every single person engaging with the post and remind yourself that absolutely under no circumstances are you obligated to draft a PR response defending some out-of-context screenshot or kink fanfiction or thing you said when you were 15 or whatever put your blood in the water. you are not a public figure or a brand. you do not have to respond to something if you know in your heart it is bullshit.
Strange racists and homophobes on the internet seem to have access to an alternate way cooler version of TV than me. "every white character on TV is in an interracial relationship" "every show has a gay couple in it" "main characters keep having to secretly be bisexual and nonbinary" "every show has gratuitous full frontal nudity" like damn promise?? What channel???
"only 90s kids remember-" wrong, if you're poor and/or rural enough, old tech and fashion doesn't just disappear when it stops being trendy. We had dial-up until 2012
The older i get the more i understand why some people become obsessed with privacy, not because theyāre hiding something, but because being constantly perceived starts to feel spiritually exhausting.
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