#Elliot the vampire

[truelyswoony]

Elliot as a vampire 🧛‍♂️

Ngl this was really hard with the jewels and everything but I love giving myself new challenges.

[jazzstarrlight]

MD:My Immortal Ch.2 Pg.15

Checking in with Tessa & J, they aren't taking N's leave well. Tessa seems to be going through some stuff herself.

I frequently think of how Tessa doesn't really know how to socialize properly & prefers drones, now finding out ai is more developed than she thought.

[midostree-art]

Bro your stardew vampire au has me in a chokehold, pls elaborate I’m begging you. What did Harvey mean about Elliot being too close to the farmer? I need to see more of the townies and the farmer pls this is just too interesting!

(HELLO!! OMG SORRY FOR THE LATE ANSWER!!!)

Well, you see that Elliott is this lonely and melancholy writer, because I wanted to highlight his relationship with the farmer with which Elliott is very attracted by their presence. Harvey notices this, and I think Harvey is one of the few people Elliott truly socializes with on a daily basis (besides Leah), so our doctor worries that Elliott develops an attachment to the farmer and that Elliott makes a mistake that could reveals their secret.

.............

Elliott sketch just because

[whump-on-a-string]

Dallan and silly vampire boy had been living rent free in my head; mainly in all kinds of scenes where vampire boy accidentally hurts Dallan because of utter stupidity

One of my favorite character types is "oblivious fucking idiot" and it shows. I've had this OC for like 2 drawings and they've already devolved into an intensely silly little guy. Poor bastard needs a name.

After a very tense dinner party when Dallan leaves out the front door to go home he'd probably run into the local werewolf bounty hunter.

He starts using the back door after that.

[pledishe]

fruit bat ate..

[haaaaaaaaaaaave-you-met-ted]

Soul Blight Gravelord Battletome - Blood Knights by Thomas Elliot

[withered--s0uls]

Human & Vampire MD AU concept

Tws: childhood trauma, mention (no description of) child abuse, siblings being separated / taken away from parents, parental death

Disclaimer: I'm a System myself, so any talk about DID/OSDD1 here is based off my experiences and adjusted to fit a fantasy setting. This may not match everyone's experience with being a System and I'm sorry if it doesn't match yours or you don't feel it's accurate enough.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Okay, so my Take on a Human/Vampire AU right?

N & Cyn:

N and Cyn are biological siblings. Their birth parents were not good to them. Cyn (not her name at this point) does develop DID because of this as a young child.

A conflict happens in the family and N gets separated from his sister. They lose contact. N has always been her safe person and safe space, so this experience is extremely stressful and traumatizing. This results in the system splitting a factive Introject of him. "N"s job in the system is to take care of the body physically and emotionally when need be and to be a comfort to the other alters (Caretaker/Caregiver/Soother, Emotional Protector). Aside from "N" there already were two other alters before him.

C & Y.

C is a Protector/Avenger and Gatekeeper, she typically deals with conflict and arguments and is more outspoken about things. However, if a situation requires them to seek a hiding spot for safety she will opt for that as well.

Y is a trauma Holder and little who is stuck at the time of the trauma, meaning they don't age up and are forever the age range the body was during the trauma / when the trauma started.

Throughout the next 1-2 years there are two more fully formed alters (the system probably has fragments that aren't as developed too, but I'll only touch on the alters that matter for the AU story).

Cyn & Solver.

Cyn picks her name based on the three alters already existing, She is the new host of the system (prior there wasn't a clear host). Cyns Identity also is what the system uses as their "Singletsona".

Later on the body gets infected with the vampire virus. How I still need to settle on, but I am tempted to make the parents neglect and abuse part of the cause.

The process of turning is painful and traumatic, and Solver splits. In the headspace, Solver takes the form of the body as a vampire.

Solver is a Persecutor (under the definition misguided protector - harming the system and its surroundings as a form of protection).

They and "N" tend to co front for making sure the body feeds, "N" because it's part of his Caretaker job to make sure they eat and drink & Solver bc they're the only alter comfortable with the whole Vampire situation.

Eventually Cyn finally gets taken away from her abusive parents and the system ends up in an orphanage.

Here they socially officially change their name to "Cyn", wanting to separate themselves from their past life and self. The only thing they don't want to forget is N, and they haven't heard from him since they were separated.

Until one day the Elliot Family comes to the Orphanage - or well, the parents and two of their kids. Tessa and their adopted son.

Said Son and Cyn make eye contact and recognize each other as N & his little sister. N pulls his adoptive parents aside and points to Cyn, telling them that he's pretty sure that's his little sister.

After some confirmation, both between the siblings and also with official documents, the family adopts Cyn as well, reuniting the siblings!

It seems fine until the vampire situation becomes an issue. The family doesn't know. The secret and whole vampire thing in general puts stress on the system.

Solver fronts to feed, and ends up feeding off and infecting N and V. Another night it happens again with J. (Harming the body as a form of protection in this case; making the system feel more ashamed and guilty about the vampire situation to be sure they won't tell someone who could actually hurt them.)

N, V and J after turning make sure to keep Cyn fed so Tessa and the parents never get turned.

Also technically Cyn isnt aware of the system beyond thinking the alters are "imaginary friends". Mainly bc many systems dont figure it out until they are much older so I feel making a kid aware of it would be a little inaccurate. Not saying it never happens but still.

N does take note that Cyn sometimes acts "off" but puts it down as not having seen her in 2-3 years and her probably having experienced more trauma since, not to mention the vampire situation once he learns of that.

Uzi:

Uzi lives with her single father Khan. Her mother died when she was really young for reasons Uzi doesn't know of.

Nori was a vampire, however Uzi doesn't know this. Uzi did inherit the virus but it is dormant and inactive.

Uzi is kind of an outcast at school, bullying and all, ever since she can remember. The only person who doesn't really judge her is Thad who hangs out with her sometimes.

This changed when the Elliots adopted N and he switched schools, joining Uzis class. His friendly demeanor causes him to actively try to befriend Uzi, even tho she's more than happy just hanging out with Thad occasionally. Over time however N manages to worm his way into her heart and they become friends and she starts helping him with math homework.

(V, J and Tessa attend the same school but are in parallel classes btw)

They're friends for about 1,5 - 2 years when the whole Cyn reunion and vampire infection happens.

How Uzi finds out about this is still on the table but oh well. Also, Uzis own vampirism becomes active, turning her too. Now here is two ways I can't decide between this could have happened.

N has told her about having turned a vampire, due to suddenly avoiding places with lots of sunlight and preferring evening hangouts and sleepovers over their typical day/afternoon hangouts. Also he stinks of sunscreen lol. --- one time, N desperately needs to feed but they're in a situation where he cannot do it (be it they are at school or on a trip or whatever - he cannot go away to try and find some wild animal to feed off of) so Uzi offers him that he can gave some of her blood. He hesitates, not wanting to hurt her. She insists because he's visibly not okay and she trusts him. He promises he won't turn her (as vampires can choose whether or not to inject the virus into their prey) and they get a quiet corner for him to feed off her. Everything seems fine until the following days Uzi has symptoms of turning. N had kept his promise, but being bitten awakened her own dormant virus. She doesn't know this tho and accuses N of lying to her and purposely turning her. They argue and their friendship takes a huge hit. Uzi turns to V and J instead of him to ask about what to do and how to keep herself fed and relies on V for help on her first few nightly escapes to hunt. Uzi would shut her down whenever she brings up how guilty N feels and how he misses her. She's mad at him until eventually finding out about her mother being a vampire (still deciding how) and then realizing it's not his fault. She feels guilty for blaming him and thinking he would break her trust and she then does everything in her power to make it up to him. He's upset she would think he's lying and genuinely believe that for so long, but he's happy to have her back.

Option 2 is Uzi and one of the vampire siblings both being hurt. They patch each other up and Uzi notices their blood being black (a vamp hc ive had since I was a teen lol) and asks about it, finding out about the situation. However during the patching up of wounds, some of the black blood enters her wound which activates her own vampire virus.

One option for this is that Uzi hurt herself prior to helping N watch Cyn and Cyn gets hurt whilst N isn't in the room. Uzi helps her and in the process Cyns blood gets into Uzis injury.

[ I am open for situation suggestions with N, V and maybe J ]

J & V:

Dont have a lot about them except that J was adopted first, she's a little older than Tessa even. V was adopted alongside N from where they were in the same orphanage.

J doesn't like Uzi when N starts hanging out with her. V does somewhat get along with her tho and helps Uzi when her own Vampirism activates.

Tessa:

Tessa is unaware of her siblings vampirism for the most part. She did notice them seemingly eating less though and is a little worried about that, she makes them snacks she knows they like to try and make sure they eat enough.

I feel if anyone were to tell her, it would be N. And he wouldn't tell that it's all of them. Only him and maybe Cyn, as he can pass that off as "well we ARE biological siblings after all".

Idk that's all I got for now.

Also Nori was either

killed by Khan after he found out she's a vampire

Died due to extended exposure to sunlight

Killed by vampire hunters

Majorly injured by hunters or the sun so Khan had to take her out of her miserly

:(

[parsleyartist]

Explaining more about the Vampires! I felt like I owed yall a guide. I finally was able to write it down and illustrate it in just one single day haha! I need sleep.

[COMM OPEN]

[echo-goes-mmm]

Echo's Writing Masterpost

Ambrose and Elliot Masterpost

Ongoing

A runaway slave finds roadside inns and taverns perfect places to hide from his old master. That is, until the next stop has already heard of him.

Hoarding Behavior Masterpost

Ongoing

A village in the mountains risks angering its neighbor, a dragon. Unfortunately for a certain human, he's been chosen to be the peace offering. Hopefully the beast isn't hungry.

Moonflower Masterpost

Ongoing

A stolen fae is forced into slavery. Tortured into giving up his true name, he doesn't feel much of anything anymore. Until he's given to Queen Iris, who wants to make a deal.

Old Friends Masterpost

Finished, five parts

While captured by a notorious supervillain, Theo meets an old friend; one he thought was in prison.

(supervillain whumper + villain whumpee + hero carewhumpee)

Note: This was supposed to be a oneshot, but has expanded.

Second-Hand Goods Masterpost

Finished, seven parts

Emmett is the newest victim of a local serial killer. Or at least, he would be if the murderer hadn't gotten bored halfway through. But apparently someone is still interested in him.

Silas and Wren Masterpost

First version discontinued, Rewrite Ongoing

A lonely vampire decides to venture into the mortal markets to purchase a slave. He's sick of having no one to talk to, and maybe some company will make him feel better. It's just a bonus if they taste good, too.

Oneshots

Anniversary Present (vampire whumper + possessiveness)

Bandit Scum (multiple whumpers + arrested)

Circle of Life (vampire whumper + whumper turned whumpee)

Evening Entertainment (non-con + forced to watch)

Juno (bbu-esque pet whump + allergic reaction + comfort)

One Week (vampire whumper + forced to watch)

Quiet Backstage (noncon body mod + captivity)

[omegaversereloaded]

This was from year 2 of my annual vampire elliott redraw and it's still my best one 🦇

[talesfromthecrypts]

[justruse]

just Ellie and Dr. Levi with some "ketchup" on their faces.

[whump-on-a-string]

I adore Elliot to pieces even though we’ve only seen him, like, twice 😂 My own vampire boi would probably call him weak and pathetic, tho.

Elliot looks them up and down with a frown. "Well that's not very nice to say about a person you don't know now is it? Oh well. Sticks and stones." they gesture as if they're shooing a bug away, and leave in a huff.

Cut to them pacing back and forth in their house marching around the halls fuming about it because if another Vampire said it to them then it must be correct.

"I'm stronger than I ever was while I was still alive technically. How powerful do Vampires get?"

They just pace the whole night away ruminating on it. How terribly mean of that boy. Absolutely no tact. He wasn't even passive aggressive about it. Just full on DIRECT? How rude.

[pledishe]

you began to notice the loss of specific fruits and finally found the cause of this phenomenon hot vampire from the beach…….

[maxahlia]

Strength

Elliot for Fang Fest

[carusolikey]

The Blue Hour

a Max Phillips & Bloodsucking Bastards FanFic

Chapter 4: Lemonade - Hold Up Part 1 of 2

This week on 'The Blue Hour' - Max reveals the "special skills" portion of his CV, as well as what's lurking just under the surface. Someone from the past causes unrest and threatens to break the pleasant bubble in which we've all grown accustomed to living. Is there a bridge over this troubled water? Or will we simply have to make lemonade out of lemons? Special warnings apply to this chapter - take care to peruse, dear reader!

Pairing: Max Phillips of Bloodsucking Bastards x afab!fem!reader

Rating: Explicit / NSFW 18+ (No Minors)

Author’s Note: I wrote this piece during the month of April 2024 - Adenomyosis Awareness Month, and the idea came to me during March 2024 (Endometriosis Awareness Month). This will not have any type of pregnancy kink, but will touch on infertility of OC due to the aforementioned; canon for this story is also that Vampires are infertile - there will be no Renesmé. OC is intended to be around the same age as Max, reader’s choice up or down, but no age gap. Because older afab/fem lovers are sexy - we drink and we know things. The style of this sticks to the humor and playfulness of the original movie, while incorporating a very sexy and romantic Max, even though he is a little bit of a cocky, smartmouth asshole.

Warnings: 18+ only content, Discussion of previous relationship / SA - not explicitly graphic, but important to mention. Able bodied fem afab reader, alcohol consumption, non-gendered pet names, fem can be carried and has hair - though length is not mentioned, consensuality is implied and intended through actions and reactions. Did attempt to stay away from gendered pronouns and nicknames, although did use the word woman, possibly more than 3 times throughout the entire piece (not fully published yet) referring to OC. Discuss history endo / adeno. Future chapters will also include Vampire hunting, murdering, and blood….sucking bastards.

If you or someone you know has been affected by current or previous experiences of SA or toxic relationships, this week's Chapter includes a special Easter Egg section with access to resources and support.

Special Easter Egg Section Here.

Word Count: ~ 7,100+ (total between Part 1 + Part 2)

Return to the Masterlist!

Continue Chapter 4 - Part 2

After eating breakfast the next evening, while watching a nature documentary on honey badgers, I started thinking that I really needed a vampire nature documentary. Hmm. Honey badgers really don’t give a shit, I thought, as I watched a honey badger get repeatedly stung while digging its way into a beehive just for a little bit of larva.

My phone lit up with a text from Max, and I swiped it open, immediately bursting out laughing at the Twilight meme he sent of the scene in the forest between Bella and Edward. 

More texting dots showed up, “I love making you laugh.”

“What?” I said softly to myself, about to text him that he shouldn’t get so cocky - when he responded with, “I can hear you, silly - we talked about this, it’s my unfortunate super power.”

Oooooh. Right. Kinda creepy, but he did tell me very soon after we met, so I guess I’m glad he’s honest about it? Not like he can help it, I suppose.

I went ahead and sent him a gif of Tom Cardy from the Red Flags music video, saying “Cool!” 

“You know, you can just talk aloud and I can respond to you via text.” Max replied back to me.

“Well, where’s the fun in that?” I asked aloud.

“Oh, it’s definitely fun for me.” 

“Cheeky.” I rolled my eyes, knowing he couldn’t see me.

“Did you just roll your eyes? Lol”

“Are you kidding me? You can’t see me, can you?”

Max sent a bunch of the shrugging emojis. “🤷 🤷 🤷 🤷 🤷 🤷 🤷”

“You’re infuriating, you know that?”

“But that’s why you like me. You like a challenge. 😉” the next text read.

I walked over to my fridge, and since I was technically hands free, I decided to continue with what I had originally planned on doing. Grabbing a bunch of lemons, I brought them over to the sink and started rinsing them off.

“So what other special powers do you have that I’m not yet privy to?”

My phone lit up, “Wow. You are being LOUD right now. Can you calm down and ask again?”

Laughing, I turned the faucet off.

“Ask again - that’s a very Magic 8 Ball response. Okay - I’ll ask again: do you have any other powers that I don’t know about yet, that you’re willing to divulge to me?”

“That’s better, thank you. Just the usual powers.”

“Seriously? Just ‘the usual’? What is that supposed to mean? Can you fly? Do you have super speed? Are you super strong? Can you sniff for drugs? Perform basic math and tap out the answer with your hoof?”

Going back to slicing lemons, I waited for a response, but not for long. 

“I understand your confusion - while I am a stallion, I’m not a one-trick circus pony or a trained DEA drug-sniffing dog. Obviously, I’m incredibly strong, have you seen me?”

I giggled at his text. 

“Why are you laughing? This is very serious. I’m being very vulnerable with you right now.”

He sent a gif of an adorable puppy, and I couldn’t help but groan, “Oh, nooo,” mock sobbing.

“Yes. Good. That’s the reaction I wanted. Fawn over me, thank you.”

I rolled my eyes.

“Did you roll your eyes?”

I shook my head.

“I need you to say it out loud.”

Okay. That’s good. Some privacy, apparently.

“No, sir! No eyes rolled here!” Providing him with a chipper and faux-obedient response.

“I’ll continue then. In addition to being very strong and super fast, I can also fly.”

“WHAT?!” I exclaimed.

“Yep. I can fly. Regular Clark Kent over here.”

“First, Clark Kent was the alter-ego. Second, I think I need to see this.”

“Tomato, potato. And of course. As you wish, Sweetness - but you’ll need to open your window.”

“Max, my windows don’t open that wide - no offense, but I don’t think you’re going to fit.”

I opened the window in front of me, right above where I was cutting lemons.

“Well - it actually won’t be a problem.” he texted.

“What do you mean it won’t be a problem?” 

“When I say ‘BAT!’ I turn into a bat and I can fly.”

Standing there completely silent, reading the text, I took a moment to process what he was saying.

“Sweetness?”

“I’m sorry, I’m a little in shock. I was not expecting you to say that at all.”

“I don’t have to show you if you’re not comfortable with it.”

Chuckling nervously, incredulous, but wanting to believe what he was saying, I went ahead and said what I was thinking out loud. 

“A few weeks ago, I don’t believe I would’ve been able to handle knowing a literal bat-man. But no, it’s okay, I think you should - fly - over. I need to see this.”

As my words barely left my lips, Max’s next text came through, “On my way.” 

The faint flutter of wings grew louder and I stepped back from my kitchen window, as a bat flew in, and in a sudden ‘puff!’ transformed into Max. I leaned back against the counter, just staring, a smile transfixed on my face in pure amazement. He gave me a wink, then picked up one of my lemons. 

“What are you doing with so many lemons?”

Reaching over the counter, I closed the window.

“Hey! That’s my way out!” he whined at me.

“Yeah, I don’t need any more bats flying in, especially if I’m not sure whether they just have regular rabies, or vampirism.” 

“Fair enough.” Max responded.

“And the lemons - I’m slicing, so that I can squeeze them for their juice.”

“You making lemonade?”

“Kind of - I’m making chia seed lemonade.” Max frowned, “A cup of water, ½ oz - ¾ oz lemon juice, depending on how tart I’m feeling –” 

“You’re definitely a little tart.” He bit his lip, raising his eyebrows, and put his hand on my lower back, stepping closer.

I groan-laughed while giving him side-eye.

“And then I add a bit of honey, rosemary & lavender bitters, and 1 tbsp of chia seeds. I like to let it chill for a while in the fridge so that the chia seeds are almost like mini-boba.”

“Mmmmm.” Max gave an overly enthusiastic and very sarcastic hum.

“Hey! These are super healthy! They’re good for your heart and bones, they’re rich in fiber, they’re great for your skin, they’re an excellent source of omega-3’s without the risk of mercury, they help regulate blood sugar –”

“Cool. I don’t care about any of that. Because I’m a vampire - and my body is self-repairing.” He gloated, with his smarmy side-grin, “Just something to add to the pro-column, for anyone who might be considering becoming a vampire.”

I stopped squeezing lemons, and looked at him. “Very subtle, Max.”

He pursed his lips, raising both his hands up in surrender and leaned against the counter.

Looking sheepishly embarrassed, he then dropped his hands and clasped them together as he looked at the floor.

Chuckling, my face got a little red as I thought about the fact that this was the first time Max was bringing up potentially turning me, I went back to squeezing lemons. After a moment, I could feel his eyes as he raised his head and looked at me. 

Suddenly, he pointed out the window and said, “What’s that?!”

Surprised by the sudden exclamation, I dropped what I was doing and looked up in the direction his hand was pointing.

Instantaneously, his pointing hand came down to my chin and turned my head, right into where his face was leaning down towards me. His lips pressed against mine, and I stumbled backwards, just as his other hand pulled me into him by the waist. My instinct as I was falling back was to immediately grab onto him for support. I started laughing in between deep kisses in our awkward low dip, with Max bent over me. He pulled me upright, his chest shaking as he chuckled. 

“Well, I certainly was not expecting that.” I commented.

“It seemed like you might need a distraction, probably.”

Oh, really? After the vampire turning comment? I squinted my eyes at him as my phone lit up with a new text, and Max handed it to me from the counter.

My mood palpably shifted.

“Nat and I are moving in together, and I have a box of stuff that you left in the apartment,” the text read. “I can bring it over tomorrow, if you’d like?”

I slid down onto the kitchen floor, sitting with my knees up to my chest; one hand clutching my knees and the other holding my phone face down, and stared straight ahead.

Max bent down, sitting on the floor next to me and putting his hand over mine. I looked up at him, looking back at me, and leaned my head on his shoulder. It was hard for me to feel anything, except nausea - but feeling my face against Max’s strong shoulder, felt like it was grounding me.

Is there any point in telling him about this? Does it matter? It’s drama. It’s too much, right? But - if it matters to me, it matters, and if we’re going to be anything, I guess I have to let him get to know me.

A good ten minutes of silence had passed as I debated my internalized desire to “be so chill” against everything I’d learned in therapy. Which was admittedly excellent advice that I wasn’t always keen to follow.

Lifting my head from his shoulder I took a deep, slow breath in, and another out.

“That was my ex.”

I glanced over at Max, his eyes watching my face intently, and he squeezed my hand reassuringly. Meanwhile, I looked back at my knees, picking imaginary lint off my pant legs. 

“We have a very complicated history, and he –” I sighed.

“It’s okay. Start from where it feels right.”

Letting out a somewhat sarcastic laugh, where it feels right?

“God. Okay. I guess I’ll give you the summary. We did love each other - I think. I’m fairly certain I loved him. We were together for several years, you’d hope love existed between us, right?” 

I paused, thinking, my eyes reading the air in front of me.

“He had a hard time getting work for a while, and he always hated his job, no matter what job it was - he was always quitting and then looking for another one. I actually worked in marketing at the time, so I carried the financial burden of the relationship. Which I didn’t care about. I loved him.” 

Taking a break to look at Max, he lifted my hand and gave it a kiss.

“Then he finally found a job he really loved, working at a brewery. He made a bunch of friends - we ended up going to a party one of them threw and playing a drinking game. I was drinking cocktails because I’m not really a beer person, while everyone else was drinking beer. So, I definitely lost the game. After the party ended, he invited a friend and their girlfriend back to our apartment to keep the party going. At this point, my endo was definitely symptomatic, but none of my doctors were concerned - just to keep in mind.”

The next part I was hesitant to bring up, because it was always something that fucked with my head. Some days I would tell myself it was nothing and other days I would think, but it did happen.

“I knew that I was way too drunk to keep hanging out - I had a snack from the fridge. Then I ended up getting sick from too much alcohol almost immediately, so I went into the bedroom to lie down. He spent another hour or two or three, I’m not really sure, with his friends. But then he came into the bedroom. I was still very, very drunk, but I was somewhat aware of what was happening.”

As I looked down at the ground, Max put his arm around me. 

“He didn’t stop. He knew I wasn’t fully conscious, and he just kept going. I wasn’t in any shape to push him off, I just waited for it to end. And then it did. Until he decided to do it again. I lost track-- The nausea was overwhelming and I could barely think through it.”

Max brushed his other hand through my hair and kissed me on top of my head, as I went on.

“The next day I was so confused - why would someone who loves you, hurt you? But I also felt like maybe I should have seen it coming? He never asked for consent the first time we were together, he never let me lead. Very often he would wake me up in the middle of the night even when I hadn’t been drinking and was fully sober, to needle me while I was exhausted - until I gave in.” 

I could feel Max’s muscles tense under his shirt and vest.

“When my doctors finally started to take my endo seriously and scheduled surgery, I had to get my mom to come stay with us, because he didn’t want to take off from work. And when that surgery was immediately a bust and I had to schedule a follow up surgery, my mom came back to help. He cried in the waiting room when the specialist told him everything that had been going on inside my body. Because he hadn’t believed me when I told him that I was in pain.”

“While I stayed home, healing, I started to pick up on some things - I learned that he was spending a lot of time talking to someone else. When I asked him about it, he claimed they were ‘just work friends’, but one night he told me he was going over to a mutual friend’s to hang out. When 3 a.m. rolled around and he wasn’t home, I was worried something had happened to him, and texted our friend, who texted me back immediately saying that they weren’t together. I checked social media, and he was tagged in an intimate photo with the person he’d been ‘talking to’.”

“This fucking guy.”

I looked up at Max, and his fangs were out. Although I was stuck in the feelings that this text had uprooted, something about seeing him in defensive mode pulled at my heart, bringing me back to the here and now, where I’d done the work to move past this.

“The next day, I stood on my own two feet, cleared to start doing chores around the house and put the song, Burn It Blue, by Caetano Veloso & Lila Downs, on repeat and on blast."

"He came into the kitchen, confused and for the first time worried - worried that I was upset with him. I told him that I saw the picture that was posted, and that his lying was the final straw. To be his bang-maid was beyond, but to add the insult of lying to my face? Enough. I found a new place. This place. And moved out within a week.”

Max’s fangs retracted and he gave me kisses all along the side of my face, while giving me a squeeze in our side-hug on the floor.

“But this text,” he stopped to listen as I continued. “He’s moving in with them - the person he was fucking around with behind my back, and he wants me to meet him, so that he can give me some things I left behind.”

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.” Max spat out his response, full of disgust.

“Listen, if you want to meet with him to get your stuff, fine. I can come with you, if you want - or I can just go for you, so that you don’t have to see him. Tell me what you need.”

“Well, I don’t want him in my place. And, I think maybe, based on your reaction, it would be best if I went alone.” I picked up my phone and started texting. “I’m just gonna tell him to meet me in that Belgian Café across the street tomorrow evening.”

“Okay. And what do you want to do now?”

“I need to clean up these lemons, and I definitely need to get my mind as far off of this as possible.” I stopped for a moment, biting the inside of my cheek. “I don’t love that I had to share this with you.”

Max frowned, “I don’t love that this happened to you,” then gave me a kiss on the forehead, “but I love that you felt comfortable enough to share it with me.”

He helped me finish my lemon goals, keeping me company and tossing lemon husks in the trash like each one was worth 3-points for his imaginary lemon-based basketball team.

We cleaned up quickly, and then he said, “You know what? We’re going on a field trip,” opening his eyes super wide and giving me a huge, enthusiastic grin.

“Where??” I asked, intrigued, excited, and already feeling a bit less anxiety ridden, just being in his presence.

“It’s a surprise. But you don’t have to change your clothes or anything, you’re perfect just as you are - and you only need to bring your keys, we’re not going far.”

“Uh, okay.” With only a tinge of uncertainty, I put my trust in him. Max hadn’t failed me yet.

Taking my hand, he led me out into the hallway and I locked my door, while I could hear Mr. Vilallonga from behind his door saying, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”

Pulling me down the hallway towards the elevator, I dragged behind him.

“Hey - is Mr. Vilallonga gonna be okay?”

“He’s fine. Don’t worry about him.”

The elevator doors opened and I stepped inside with Max, who pulled me close, and pressed the button for the top floor.

“We’re going up?” My eyes widened with surprise - we’re going to someone else’s apartment! 

Max smirked, giving a quick flash of his eyebrows, and before I knew it, we had arrived. Stepping off onto the top floor, there were only three apartments. This was penthouse level, for sure.

What was I getting into? Oh god. I wasn’t walking into any Christian Grey shit, was I? Too soon, Max. Too soon.

As he unlocked the door at the far end, I had no idea what to expect, but it certainly wasn’t what I ended up walking into. The style was a mixture of mid century meets craftsman, no greige here. It was colorful, vibrant, retro, eclectic, lived in, and so much more light than I would’ve expected for a vampire.

“Okay, so why have we been spending so much time in my place when you have all of this?” I asked, in awe.

“Your place is cozy, and it smells like you.”

“I will happily rub myself all over your furniture, spreading my scent, if that’s all it takes to get you to let me spend time here.”

Max laughed, “I will happily watch that take place.” He stopped briefly before continuing, “But to be honest, I wanted to make sure you were comfortable first before I invited you into my den of iniquity.”

“Den of iniquity? You running a speakeasy out of this joint?” I walked further through his apartment, admiring his choice of wallpaper in the bar, and then immediately got distracted by the grand piano in the living room. “You have a grand piano in here?! You play then, I assume?” 

This man never fails to surprise me.

Chuckling, “Yes, my abuela had me taking piano lessons by the time I was nine. She loved the piano, loved hearing me play. I was actually going to be a music major because of her, but in between my freshman and sophomore year of college, I dropped out. She got sick and I wanted to help take care of her. When I was able to go back to school, I re-enrolled as a business major.”

“So, when you helped me with my bath, and washed my hair –"

“I used to help her, yes.”

I took his hand in mine, giving it a kiss before moving in closer to hug him.

“If it’s okay to ask, why did you switch to a business major instead of sticking with music?”

He sighed, “It’s fine - it just, it made more sense for me to do something more practical with my life. And it was more her dream for me. I think it just really hurt too much to keep doing it after she passed away. I was a real asshole after I returned to school, though.”

Max gave an empty chuckle, shaking his head like he was trying to get rid of the memory.

“Oh?”

“Yeah. There was this guy who was kind of a little punk. His girlfriend was into me, and I definitely slept with her just because I could. And then he had me kicked out of school for cheating, so - I punched him. I was kind of a mess.”

“Max!” I wanted to cry for him, but I settled for leaning into him instead and giving him a squeeze. “That’s not great, but college age is still very young, and it sounds like you were having a really hard time grieving. I think having you kicked out for cheating is a bit of overkill, though. What did you do after that?”

“Oh, it was fine. All of my credits transferred, I had good grades, and good recommendation letters from other professors, so I ended up graduating - just a bit later than anticipated.” He stood, holding me, thinking for a bit, “I actually ran into the guy a little while ago.”

“Really? What did you do - how did you react?”

“Uhhh, well. It turns out he worked at a branch of the company where I was hired - right before I was turned. After I was turned, I discovered that corporate was actually mostly vampires.”

I was stunned to hear this, and my face definitely reflected that as I leaned back to look at Max.

“Yeah. It’s true.” And he moved on, like it was no big deal, “Anyway, that branch of the company needed to, as HR put it, ‘be redistributed’, so that guy is no longer my concern.”

“What happened, Max?”

“Ehhh, there was some bad blood.”

“Literally or figuratively?”

“Okay, I was still pretty fresh and hyped up from the transition, and I probably should not have been put in the same room as him. Because I definitely tried to turn his new girlfriend and fuck her on the branch manager, Ted’s desk, and ended up just killing them both. Oopsy-daisy.” He shrugged as he said that last bit.

Blinking slowly at him, I responded, “What I said about overkill before? THIS part - is the actual overkill.”

“What was it you said earlier? My bad? I’m gonna go with that.”

“I didn’t say that. I might’ve said ‘my bat’?” I said with some snark.

He pulled me closer, “Oh, was that it?” 

His face close to mine, he swerved past my lips as I went to kiss him, and nibbled at my ear, kissing my neck instead. 

“You know, they started vampire group therapy sessions as part of our company benefits and it’s really worked wonders for morale.”

I laughed, “Really? Because I did wonder if such a thing existed.”

Squinting down at me, he said very low and smooth, “Oh yeah. Many, many wonders for morale. And for individuals, too.”

“I’m impressed that vampires are able to put together such comprehensive mental healthcare plans.”

“Can’t have a sound body without a sound mind.”

He said it like he was selling sex and reading off a Yogi Tea bag label. I rolled my eyes playfully - although, I was ultimately pleased to hear that he had access to it.

Breaking away from Max, I wandered over to the piano, “So - you still play?”

“Yeah. Of course - after I got kicked out at my first school, and I finally got going again at my second school, I decided to be a music minor. I took piano lessons, had to perform in a recital once a semester, performed and had my skills tested in juries at the end of every semester, the whole nine yards.” 

He scooted the piano bench back, giving his long legs room, and his arms space to move as he sat down. He pointed at the white chair near the piano, encouraging me to have a seat.

“My abuela was a huge fan of Enrique Granados, and I used to play his Spanish Playera, Op. 5, No. 5 for her every time she asked.”

Running through a few scales first to warm up, he looked back at me and winked, “Okay, now I’m good to go.” I chuckled at how bubbly and eager he seemed to be, to show me his passion.

As his fingers gracefully touched the keys - the low note grace notes, combined with offbeat chords, giving the harmonic sensation of a Spanish guitar - I relaxed back into the chair. Soon, the melody sang over the bass line, haunting and virtuosic, moving through sweet soft moments, into more intense, demanding chord progressions then back again, cycling through various sentiments of ardent fervor and subtle emotion. 

Watching his hands was mesmerizing. His large fingers, you would think would be so cumbersome across the keys, but they were not. Quite the opposite, actually. Agile, smoothly running across, loosely reaching between keys with a practiced posture - the small tendons raising in the back of his hand, the muscles gently flexing. The way he pressed down on the keys, ensuring that each one was only as loud as he wanted it to be, his nuanced rubato was downright erotic.

As he finished, he let his hands sit on the keys, lifting them slightly, holding his foot on the pedal as the final delicate chord hung in the air, allowing it to breathe for just a moment before carefully lifting his foot off the pedal, releasing the notes from their captive audience of one.

Naturally, I slow-clapped for him. He turned around, and gave me his half-smile, and I let him have it, “I enjoyed every second of that. You play so passionately,” I put my hand on my heart, “I felt - everything. It definitely evokes the sensation of dance.”

His smile grew, “I’m glad you liked it. The composer, Granados, was a huge fan of the painter, Francisco Goya, and even wrote an entire piano suite called, Goyescas, based on his paintings and tapestries - which he then adapted into an opera, and then that even got turned into a movie.” 

Max spoke quickly, invested in his subject, “But the saddest part is that he died when he was only 48 years old, after traveling to the U.S. to perform for President Wilson at the White House, and then premiering his Goyescas Opera at the New York Met Opera. He and his wife missed their original boat, and had to take another steamer ship to the U.K., which crossed the English Channel and was attacked by torpedoes from a German submarine. Because it was right in the middle of WWI. The boat sank and Granados and his wife perished, leaving behind six kids. Isn’t that incredibly sad?”

“Uh, yeah, Max. That’s super sad.” Leaning my head against my hand, furrowed brow, “But I certainly appreciate the backstory. I’m very curious about the Goyescas and how they relate to Goya’s paintings –” I drifted off, leaving space for him to tell me more.

“I thought that might interest you. I’ve always appreciated how much you communicate via music.”

He gave me a gentle smile, “There is another piece I’d like to play for you, a little bit calmer - if you want to grab that pillow from the chair, you can lie down under the piano and experience it in complete surround sound.”

As I picked up the pillow and set myself up awkwardly beneath the piano, with a healthy view of Max’s feet on the pedals and his legs - he bent over and peeked down at me, “This piece is by Debussy, it’s called Rêverie - it’s impressionistic, but it uses a lot of 5-7 chords that have a richness predating their common use in jazz. It’s a whole thing.” He waved his hand in the air, as a sort of ‘whatever’.

Breathing out, I watched his foot step on the pedal before he’d even started playing a note. Suddenly I was surrounded by left handed rolling arpeggios, as I stared back into the inky black of the piano above me. The right hand melody came trickling in, cutting through like a boat through the mist, slowly floating along the musical river that carried it to its unknown destination. Each lift of Max’s foot on the pedal, a breath between phrases, sentences of a poem, and I relaxed in its embrace.

He lifted his foot after holding the final chord, and I wiped away the renegade tears forming that sought to make a fool of me. I knew they weren’t there because I was sad, but because I felt relieved to be with someone who sought to take such thoughtful care of me - with me. It had been so long, and I had been holding myself in so tightly, that my own body had started to feel like it had become a part of the wall I had put up to protect myself. Every ache and bruise felt new, but at the same time, I felt the warmth of being able to set them down without judgment. 

This was a safe place. Max is a safe place.

Peering under the piano, Max gave me a wondering look, “Are you okay? Do you want to, maybe, come out from under there?”

I laughed lightly, “Yes, of course - that was really, really lovely.”

Max had come around the side of the piano, offering me his hand as I slid out from underneath.

“I can’t for the life of me figure out why you chose to switch to a business major, though? You play so beautifully - talent like that deserves to be shared.” 

“Piano is very competitive,” he started, “and after my abuela passed away, I was all alone. I didn’t feel secure enough to pursue a career that didn’t guarantee that I would have financial security. Can you blame me for wanting a future?”

I shook my head sadly, not completely understanding his situation first hand, but of course, capable of comprehending that life sometimes makes difficult choices for us.

“Besides,” Max smirked, “It could’ve been worse.”

Confused, I tilted my head, “How so?”

“I could’ve grown up to be what I wanted to be in the seventh grade.” His eyes widened, and so did his grin, “A hype man for The Mighty Mighty Bosstones.”

“Are you kidding me?!” I yelped, laughing.

“I had all the moves, I even wore suspenders with a bow tie, and checker-print Vans.”

Looking pleased with himself, he stepped back to give himself space to dance.

“Oh no. I’m trying to picture you in suspenders and a bow tie and all I’m getting is Orville Redenbacher.”

“The popcorn guy?? No way, I was way cooler than that! Check me out!”

He danced. It was dancing. Definitely of the 80’s and 90’s persuasion, some hype-man in there, a little bit of Jack Black. Of course, I gave him a soundtrack and turned on the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Heads Will Roll.

“Hey! This isn’t Ska! It’s not the right tempo.”

Bursting out laughing, I told him, “I know. It’s just so much funnier to watch you try to dance like you’re dancing to Ska, when the music doesn’t match.”

I was crying a little bit, my breathing halted by my laughter, “I had a roommate in college who really struggled with rhythm, and always danced just a little bit faster than the music.” Pausing to gasp, wiping my eyes. “This is bringing back some very happy memories.”

Clutching my stomach, I leaned against the couch to hold myself up, laughing as Max continued dancing, just a little bit too quickly and frantically.

The song ended, and Max did a graceful leap over to where I was laughing, “Oh, I’m sure you had all of your shit together when you were in seventh grade.”

Still laughing, “No. No, no, no.” Resting a moment to catch my breath before continuing, “I was super bored in my math class, so I started drawing Kermit the Frog, and my friends had me draw him doing different things, being different celebrities - Tommy Boy, Pamela Anderson, Jerry Garcia. I made the mistake of showing the pictures to my mom, and from that point on, I never stopped receiving Kermit themed gifts. Henceforth, I was a Muppet Person - everything was Muppets whether I wanted it or not.”

I cried while laughing, caught in a state of humorous melancholy.

Max roared, as laughter tumbled from his lips, “No. No! Really?”

“I wanted to be so much more than that.” I wailed.

“That means you can draw, then - you’re an artist?”

“No, absolutely not. I haven’t drawn since. Well, actually - that’s a lie.”

He cocked his head in intrigue.

“I did do a bit of chalk art for this cocktail shop I worked at, and uh, after I tried to draw a chalk ad in the style of Ryan Gosling’s ‘Hey, Girl’ Era, they informed me that I no longer needed to do the chalk art, because they would be paying a professional.”

Sighing sadly, I went on, “My dreams for my own chalk art business named Chalka Khan went up in smoke, just like that.” I said, snapping my fingers.

“Was your slogan going to be, ‘I’m every woman’?” Max shook his head dramatically, as though he had long, flowing hair, suddenly channeling his inner diva.

Shaking my head at him, “Psssshhhh. No.” and then I sang, “Anything you want done baby, I do it naaaturally.” Giving him a little wink at the end.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” He held up his hands, palms forwards as if to beg me to stop. “That’s pretty good.”

“Yeah, but my art wasn’t - good - enough.” Punctuating those last three words, really hitting home the point.

Max frowned, “Awww. I’m sure it was so good.”

“It wasn’t. Everyone kept asking me why I drew my coworker, and not Ryan Gosling. I actually - I have proof.”

Pulling my phone out from my back pocket, I showed him the art in question.

He burst out laughing, immediately covering his mouth, “No, no. It’s not that – okay, it’s not Ryan Gosling. At all. I’m not sure who it is, Nic Cage - Jeff Golblum, maybe? But the font’s not bad.”

“Thank you for that! I’m actually really into fonts, and I’ve been into them ever since middle school, when someone got me a little book with a fancy pen. I did them all! I don’t care for Papyrus, though.”

“What about Wingdings?” Max asked, focusing his eyes on me.

“Are you kidding me? I live and die by Wingdings. It’s in my will - my tombstone will read, born: file folder, open mailbox, telephone, pencil - died: peace sign, open book, boat helm, scissors-mid-cut, lit candle.”

“Wow. Planning on living a long time, huh?”

“Who knows?” I smirked. “Maybe forever.”

Keep Reading Part 2 of 2

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