#robotslenderman

Rosaries! We always have tons of rosaries. I have at least 4 in my apartment.

Scapulars are always on the body. Sometimes green scapulars are hidden by a friend somewhere in the home.

You might find St. Anthony’s medallion on a Catholic’s keys. Or a St. Joseph statue in the freezer for someone wanting to sell their house (especially if it’s a condo without a lawn).

1. I've had my learner motorcycle license for about 7 months now. I plan on going for my restricted after I hit 1000ks and do at least one Ride Forever course and/or one-on-one lesson to make sure I'm doing things correctly.

2. Motorcycle riding is a bit like riding a pushbike but no pedalling and the clutch is your Roman Empire.

I can't speak to personally owning or using a car since I have yet to get behind the wheel. Definitely better for all-weather use and there are different costs involved.

Vehicle registration (rego) for Despechá (Honda CB125F) is just over NZ$400 a year, compared to my dad's Ford Mondeo, which is a bit over NZ$100. This is due to the much higher ACC levy (about $300pa on mine, I pay more in GST than the actual license fee component of my rego) on motorcycles due to the increased risk of injury/death riding.

Fuel-wise, bike is far more economical. A full tank from empty would cost about NZ$30 (11L tank @ ~$2.70/L for 91 unleaded) at the current fuel prices and gets me about 700ks. Would be about $100 to fill the Mondeo for a roughly equivalent range.

Full coverage insurance costs for both vehicles is about the same at about $400pa.

Parking can be a lot cheaper for motorcycles (free dedicated on-street parking). Have to go out of your way for free on-street parking for cars in the city centre. Otherwise, paying at least $4 for an hour of parking.

Gear can be pricy too. Helmet is legally required, and gloves are the bare additional minimum for many, but ideally, you'd have a jacket and boots, and maybe pants. If not to avoid road rash, then to avoid hypothermia in winter. Though it's up to the individual and how much gear they want to wear.

You do get to use high occupany and some bus lanes if you ride here which can make some commutes quicker.

3. I've become a lot more mindful of how much I can carry on the bike. There isn't much stock storage on mine. Only enough space to store her toolkit and spare manual under the seat.

I don't use my bike for a lot of grocery shopping beyond picking up bread and milk so a backpack suffices. Planning on buying panniers and a tank bag but that's becoming less for shopping and more for future travel plans.

Not when I'm in the city, but I stay at mum's semi-frequently for work and there's a few acres of paddocks here + whatever the neighbours have, which i imagine turns into an endless stretch of intermixed grazing land and undeveloped land. ie. kangaroo heaven.

So. there's just kangaroos!! ITS INSANE.

The craziest part is that after work, if I park like 10m away from the house (I usually do), then there's a good chance kangaroos will be hanging out right next to my car. I guess its part of their route between the scrub (safer) and the paddocks (more food).

So semiregularly, I just walk around my car and suddenly there is a kangaroo two meters away and we stare at each other in silent alarm for a bit until the kangaroo decides to hop away.

Beyond that, there are usually kangaroos visible somewhere on the property. They graze in the mornings then rest under a tree in the afternoon; its very cute.

[Video description: Two kangaroos in a paddock, staring at the camera. As the camera approaches, they hop away to join a larger group of kangaroos resting under a tree.]

Not too much! It was getting late here and I had to sleeps. 😴 

The fucker did!!! Jan hints at it during his conversation with Beckett, when he says he might not remember their conversation in 6 months.

And it’s one of the mind blown moments Beckett is working through later, on the way to Briar Rose mansion to rescue Bedelia.

The Storyteller notes spell it out more rigorously:

Yeah!!! Can you believe !!!! This is why when Hardestadt died in our San Andreas Nights Chronicle, I didn’t shed a tear.

Image ID under the cut for those like me who struggle with Beckett’s handwriting. I can add the others too, if those are difficult to read for others.

@robotslenderman Oh man, you are so mean! XD

Well I have to say I really appreciate the scene where Jan is swimming naked in an aquarium and not only that we also confirm that he has a big dick but also he does indeed fucks.

How I feel about this character: Magic Dad (boogie woogie woogie!) Much more accommodating and eager to help than his booming voice and formal nature would imply. In his own stealth way he is just so excited to teach you stuff! At the same time, do NOT want to get on his bad side. The true extent of the powers of an Elder Tremere Regent are not something I’d like to put to the test anytime soon. Besides Ming Xiao, I believe him to be the oldest character in the game, and that’s a fact to inspire awe and terror. In the meantime, I’ll be content to watch him clap his hands together just vibrating with excitement to teach me about thaumaturgy. 

All the people I ship romantically with this character: I don’t personally view Strauss as an especially romantic character, and there aren’t a whole lot of character who jump out at me as ship material for him. I am fond of the headcanon that VV’s blown kiss to him at the opening scene in the Nocturne Theatre had a little more familiarity to it than we maybe thought, and that Strauss and VV, both lurid poets, pass sappy poems back and forth to each other when no one is looking.   

Fandom has also introduced me to a few Strauss/Fledgling scenarios and I can say there have been a handful of those that I have enjoyed. I enjoy Strauss being written to be dreadfully brilliant in all things intellectual, but just a bit socially distracted and thus a little romantically out of the loop sometimes. Still, wrapping his mentor-like tendencies into an astuteness and concern for his partner’s well-being and comfort is also something I enjoy seeing. 

My non-romantic OTP for this character: You know what? I like seeing Strauss and Garrick hanging out together. Robert Garrick, the fushigi ball spinning illusionist Tremere from LA by Night is described as being a member of Strauss’ own coterie. I haven’t seen barely any content of them actually interacting, but the nature of their relationship and how they relate to each other is a fun thing to ponder. (Lol, maybe you folks who are further than me an LA by Night will know something I don’t in this regard.) 

My unpopular opinion about this character: As much I find Strauss’ role as an intimidating and calculating personal villain in LA by Night compelling... I dislike that that role was given to Strauss. I have no doubt that VTMB Strauss can and is every bit of the stony faced terror to his enemies as he is shown to be in the podcast, but the fact that one of the protagonists is a former pupil of his whom he abused doesn’t sit well with me, given Strauss’ previous reputation of wholesome “Magic Dad.” It is certainly an interesting character twist, and not one that is unrealistic (I fully admit you can see shades of it in VTMB itself if you ask the wrong questions,) but LA by Night being removed from Bloodlines by like 13 years serves to make it feel a little less legitimate when it pulls hard character twists like this (of which there are several.) So yeah, I like LA by Night Strauss as a character/villain, but not as *Strauss.*  One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: I wish we actually got to *see* him interacting with a classroom full of neonates. The way I like to headcanon him, he’s fantastic with the neonates, and they all love him. Just to be able to explore his role a little bit more among the Tremere themselves, since, as it stands, he is literally the only Tremere in VTMB.