most of Avid's recent stream we either don't have much of an issue with or don't have much we can articulate our thoughts on for one reason or another. however, we would like to bring up and resolve one (1) point of contention: while the trope Elle as a character was invoking is a somewhat sexist one, she was not fridged. Elle is instead -- despite her lack of romantic connection to vAvid -- better understood as a Dead Wife™.
and yes, of course you're getting a mid-essay twist, don't say we never did anything for you.
(QUICK ASIDE EDIT: MASSIVE THANKS to @loudn-mcyt, who was to our recollection the first person we saw draw the specific comparison in the ""twist"" part of this essay. while we've formed these thoughts somewhat on our own, it definitely would NOT have gotten to this point of articulation without her bringing the topic up in the first place.)
the Dead Wife™ (yes, we're using that TM every time, get used to it) is a character who is written intentionally to be dead for most of/usually the entire story. the Dead Wife™'s absence is felt keenly by their "partner" (in quotation marks, as the trope is not always romantic in nature) and it informs a great deal of how that partner interacts with other characters and with the world around them. the partner of a Dead Wife™ will bring them up quite frequently -- in fact, the Dead Wife™ is referenced by their partner even in situations where it might not make much sense to mention them. sometimes, the Dead Wife™ is such a vital figure to understanding their partner that it is their absence which enables the entire plot by somehow fundamentally altering the way the character perceives the world.
the problem with the Dead Wife™ is that these characters usually do not have much characterization or interiority outside of what their partner says or thinks about them. the Dead Wife™ was written to have always been dead, but little to nothing is made of their former life outside of how it connected to their partner in some way. in particularly egregious examples, the Dead Wife™ is implied or outright confirmed to have been the only thing stopping their partner from swerving into amorality. because of this, when the Dead Wife™ is a woman whose living partner is a man, this can reinforce the internalized societal bias that women exist to supplement men's lives and stories rather than being individuals in their own right.
while a well-written Dead Wife™ is not super problematic, many are not even written as characters at all and are only brought up as reminders that their partner does, by the way, have a Dead Wife™ and is very sad about it.* "manpain" is another commonly used term in this instance -- the idea that a woman being hurt is bad not because people getting hurt in general is bad, but primarily because it made a man that the audience is expected to care about feel bad.
*this is about Kelsier from Mistborn, a favorite character and Dead Wife Guy whose partner we had to literally look up the name of because the only thing we remembered about her is that she liked flowers maybe. her name's Mare by the way
we'd personally say Elle is on the borderline between Dead Wife™ and "haunting the narrative" (a more fleshed out version of this). she certainly is characterized well and frequently, and is a lot more impactful to vAvid's entire life and story than other Dead Wife™ characters. however -- though part of this is difficult to avoid, since Elle is only a character in vAvid's backstory and others don't know anything about her -- we don't really ever learn anything in canon proper about Elle that isn't relevant to her longtime friendship and work alongside vAvid. she still serves as a somewhat flat plot device that does still have some sexist connotations, though she's far from being the most egregious example of the trope.
ironically, though, there is a character in Vampires SMP that was, in at least one POV, absolutely fridged.* and it was vAvid.
*this video is a great overview of the trope, btw
a character is fridged when they are brutally injured and usually killed in some horrific way for a one-off plot beat. fridged characters are not always written to have been killed from the beginning -- instead, they are (fairly often in the original context of comics!) existing characters harmed or killed off for shock value whose death is almost always reduced down to how it affects a "more important" character, often in a way that serves to establish how evil or malicious an antagonistic force in the narrative is.
there are, in our opinion, two key aspects of a fridged character that differentiates them from the Dead Wife™ or a character haunting the narrative. these are that the character very much existed prior to the fridging, and the fridging is ultimately temporarily impactful for the "important" character.
first off, existence prior to fridging. not all fridgees are created equal -- many of the more egregious examples involve characters that, while treated as side characters, were developed prior to their deaths! that said, they lose any remaining interiority once fridged. almost nothing is retained about them other than the death having hurt the "more important" character.
second, and more relevantly here -- temporary impact. at most, the fridged character's impact on the "important" character lasts as a motivator until shortly after the perpetrators of the act are dealt with. other than token acknowledgement at the end of the arc, the fridged character is summarily never addressed again, and their impact is at absolute most a single sentence that wouldn't look out of place as an if:then code statement -- if family member dies then move cities to a different setting, if jesus-shaped sire dies then commit an act of spree violence, if one-session love interest is killed then change alignment from neutral evil to (allegedly) chaotic good.
we're not sure if it can be said that vAvid was fridged in his own POV. we are, however, absolutely sure that he was fridged in Scott's POV -- as well as being treated as such by the fandom at large when combined with how often his characterization is frequently reduced to being vScott's love interest with next to no other thought given to any story beats that can't be related back to vScott.
so uh. congrats to vAvid for joining the exceedingly small list of (presumed) cis male characters to be fridged. you can put your refrigerator shaped trophy on a shelf right next to the participation trophy for being yet another visibly mentally ill character treated as inherently dangerously violent, hysterical, and completely incapable of self-determination.*
*y'all suck sometimes. and not in the fun vampire way.
Truffle starts as a coincidence. Apo’s chosen food source just happened to be carrots and she walked near enough to a pig for it to follow her around. This could have been the end of it. Apo threw the carrots in the pig’s direction, intending for it to leave. But Pyro stepped in. He took the carrots and said he was going to take the pig. At some point during the journey Apo, Pyro, Legs, and Abolish were on, the pig got a name. Truffle.
The group ran into Scott, which was where the ultimatum was set: Truffle had a name, so now Truffle had to stay alive. This was the nail in the coffin. Truffle had to stay alive, so of course he was always going to die. Especially because it was Scott saying this, who didn’t care if people had names so long as killing or turning them could benefit him in some way.
Truffle, a randomly generated pig who wouldn’t even be significant if Apo hadn’t chosen carrots as food and if Pyro hadn’t decided to keep it, was now plot significant. It gave Apo and Pyro a shared purpose, a connection which strung them together even when them being roommates quite literally went up in flames. This pig was theirs to keep alive.
There’s what Truffle represented. She was Apo and Pyro’s shared humanity, something they got when they were both still human and fought hunger off for when they were vampires. She’s their innocence, their capability to care, their life. The last remaining tie.
And because none of those things mattered when Scott turned them—whatever innocence, care, life, humanity, names they had—it didn’t matter enough for Truffle to stay alive. Truffle was them. If Apo and Pyro had to die for nothing, had to be turned into something they never wanted to be for nothing, then Truffle had to die for nothing too. Truffle had to have the choice made for him, for someone to stand there and say he wanted it, just like Apo did. Truffle had to be killed violently with no one there to hear his protests, just like Pyro did. That was the way it had to be. There was no escape. Inevitable.
The death of Truffle, the death of Pyro and Apo’s humanity, inevitable.
I'm literally sick after the bloodletting veinbound stream (spoilers)
Doc hates Owen more than he hates himself ("on the one hand, it's doc, but on the other hand, it's Owen"). Is it better for his self esteem? In a backwards kind of way, sorta. But it's what Owen wanted him to be, and it's fueled by spite and pettiness, two emotions we haven't ever seen from the doctor before. He's not doing well.
Owen hates himself more than he hates doc (he was going to sacrifice bc he thought that might save him in the end, but opted for the guarantee of Legs' suffering even if it meant he would, too). It's 'better' for him to overcome his pride, but, as before, this is in a twisted way to do it. He's abandoning his fatal flaw... for the sake of the doctor's pain. Even if it means he suffers too, it's worth it for the guarantee of pain. So, he's not doing well.
So like... is this objectively, from a very restricted point of view, 'good' for them? Technically, yes, but in the process of fixing each other they create about a dozen more problems.
My point is the doomed yaoi is not undoomable. I've written another essay on this, but they're conceptually perfect for each other, exactly what the other needs to overcome their faults, but the context of the vsmp universe made them unbearably tragic and the more they fix each other the more they ruin each other.
The way things could’ve gone a completely different way if anything happened differently
Pyro and Apo were both at level one when Apo chased them. If Pyro was just a bit more strategic or if Apo was just a little more reckless he could’ve easily killed her. However, if Apo died the town would fight back. They would mourn her and use her as a reason to kill the remaining vampires. Though without a vampire soldier in town, the fight would likely be fruitless…
Shelby and Pyros fight could’ve gone either way and if Shelby died instead, Scott would NOT have redeemed himself because the only way his arc worked out the way it did is because he had the support of both Shelby and Drift guiding him. They, along with his lingering feelings over Avid’s death, made him realize that he had the capability to care and feel things. Their love convinced him that he doesn’t have to be a heartless monster nor does he enjoy being one. He enjoys their company more than the empty loneliness of the past 1400 years and he chooses them over going back to his old ways. With this newfound drive to do better, he helps Cleo and Pearl find a solution to get them out of Oakhurst without having to eliminate all humans or vampires.
If anything happened to Pearl and Cleo’s bond whether they betrayed the other or one died the whole plan to get out with the least deaths possible would’ve never even been created. Their love for each other motivated them to save the town. Pearl didn’t let Cleo turn her until the end because she wouldn’t give up on her faith that both humans and vampires can escape this alive. Pearl also could never see Cleo as a heartless monster and eventually managed to convince Cleo they don’t have to be a monster to survive. If one of them stopped believing in/fighting for the other literally everyone would be doomed.
So in conclusion if any of the yuri was doomed, everything would be doomed. Apo’s love for Cherri saved her from going fully insane because she needed to stay alive to return to Cherri, Drift and Shelby’s unconditional trust and support for each other kept them stable enough to serve as Scott’s moral compass, and Moonrot’s continued partnership quite literally saved everyone.
This bittersweet ending would not be possible without the yuri surviving and Pyro dying.
Okay. I love Majorscythe, that’s my little splinkie…BUT. I think we need to actually look at the real relationship that v!Pyro has with v!Scott (and everyone else for that matter! Because I think it’s actually better (and more toxic) than “oh pyro is scott’s wet dog”- NO! Pyro is an unreliable tool! Something to be used and spooked into obedience!
(More under the cut, I’ll talk freely about spoilers, very Pyro centric)
Okay so what do we know about Jack Von Pyroscythe? Like actually.
Bullied his entire life
Desperately afraid of authority
His initial goal and reason for coming to Oakhurst is to impress his family enough to be brought back into his family’s will
He has been powerless *HIS ENTIRE LIFE*, and even as a vampire- the most agency he’s ever had- He is still beholden to Scott who WILL KILL HIM.
Saying that Majorscythe is romantic reduced both characters to a few core tropes which are not actually what either of them are presenting on screen (to be clear, I do really love romantic Majorscythe and I enjoy reading it).
Scott is the most reliable narrator when it comes to POVs because he straight up just tells the audience when he’s lying for fun. He does not care about the wellbeing of the fledglings. He thinks Shelby is fun sure, but he still killed her brutally. To him, Pyro is a misbehaving dog. Something beneath him in every way. Scott would cull Pyro the moment he becomes an obstacle, and that’s where the tension comes in!
Pyro is desperate to stay alive, to the point of destroying himself for Scott just to keep breathing. And now he has every reason to be paranoid, to think that his betters are always listening. Pyro knows he’s doomed, and without tremendous protection he will not stand up for himself either. And that help isn’t coming either! The town has almost collectively decided that he’s beyond saving. He is a tragedy, redeemable if only someone would offer him a hand. And so far no one has even considered that he deserves it (with the exception of Abolish and Legundo).
Thanks for listening to my silly little rant, if you have thoughts I’d love to hear ‘em 💛
While watching the footage from Scott, Pyro & Owen's episode 5 videos I happened to notice that each of them edited out different parts of their conversation about "recruiting" new vampires, which compelled me to piece them together as best I could.
I know it's a relatively minor scene, so idk if anyone else will be interested in seeing an as-complete-as-possible version of it, but working on it was good practice!
I also have some Thoughts about Pyro's reactions here and what they signal about his uneasy relationship with the two elder vampires. So, if you're interested you can find them below the cut.
So if you watch the video you may notice that as Owen and Scottt start discussing recruitment, Pyro stops in the middle of what he's doing, lets out a quiet huff or scoffing kind of sound, and then just stands in place just watching Scott & Owen mine and talk for a few minutes before he resumes helping them.
And, I'd like to note, he only starts helping out again & offers them helpful info & suggestions after confirming they plan to turn someone willing.
(and I will admit that while his reaction is featured in this edit, it isn't as noticable as it is in his original video. Here's a link to approximately the start of the scene if you want to give it a watch yourself)
Anyways, his reaction was subtle enough that the emotion behind it is open to interpretation. Is it disbelief that they're planning to recruit someone else? Disapproval of them wanting to? Wariness about who they plan to turn and how? I can only bring up a few of the options.
Now this is particularly interesting to me partly because if you watch this scene from Scott and Owen's perspective? They are completely oblivious. Owen doesn't even include the full discussion in his video (even though he's the one who started it!!!) and Scott doesn't hear Pyro react and Pyro stopping to look at him comes off as unremarkable.
Also, funnily enough, the one thing Pyro's perspective lacks is how he suggested sending Ren a letter about meeting up and Scott immediately shot it down for seeming too suspicious. Guess he'd rather not think about his Sire making fun of his idea to his face!
So yeah, if you can't tell I enjoy observing how everyone's choosing to spin their characters' narrative by picking and choosing what moments to include in their videos.
I’ve been seeing some people call Avid Scott’s Louis and I propose something different:
Avid was Shelby’s Owen.
By which I mean Shelby and Avid are an inverted mirror of Louis and Owen. Louis and Shelby both love(d) the people of Oakhurst, and only turned someone important to them once they had permission (to our knowledge, at least). Plus, turning their fledgling was an act of mercy against some sort of sickness.
Owen and Avid have been foils since the beginning. There’s their turning to cure their ailments, sure, but both were also relatively disliked by the townsfolk. Both are defined in part by their grief over a loved one. Both lost themselves to bloodlust, though their circumstances differed greatly in that regard.
Shelby asked Owen if Louis would be proud of the monster he’s become. From anyone else, it would be accusatory, and maybe it still is a bit. But when she asks, she’s tired. Her fledgling is dead and her friends betrayed him. She’s too busy processing that and too kind to start a fight. And Owen apologizes for taking someone she cared about from her (something he can relate to) (he notably does not apologize for the action, just its effects). On another note: privately, Owen admits that Louis would be horrified at Owen. Shelby was deeply worried about Avid once his bloodlust came to the surface.
