#anm masterpost

[forgetbeam]

and nothing more —

Virgil, at only 8 years old, had resigned himself to never having a real family. To growing up in the orphanage where he was left at two years old, with only his roommate to really talk to.

And then, one rainy day, two kind men show up who want to take him in as their own, and the sun shines just a little brighter from then on.

Or: Virgil gets adopted by vampires. What could go wrong?

[aka a very self indulgent virgil-centric sanders sides au fic with vampires, werewolves, faeries, witches and One (1) selkie. i’m just havin’ fun with it this thing is like my baby.]

chapter 1 | chapter 2 | chapter 3 | chapter 4 | chapter 5 | chapter 6 | more TBA

[anamnesis-aeternus]

Stasis

Scenario: Using his potent psychic abilities, Caesar helps a young man in resisting being turned against his will by another vampire's bite.

He settles into meditation with a hand on the patient's shoulder, reaching out to the shaken mind running out of corners to retreat into and assuring this young man that he wouldn't have to go through this alone. Only jagged, stark emotions like glass shards come back, their edges too sharp now to form anything resembling words; he knows exactly how to continue.

Frightened to the bones, the patient feels as if he could breathe again when a fatherly warmth envelopes him and soothes the most primal of his fear. 

With further assurances that this presence would do its damnedest to help, he tentatively feels ready to stop the indescribable corruption that had been tearing through all of him for far too long already.

As if taking him by the hand and leading him into a new and unfamiliar place, the presence opens further to him. Now there is something almost as horrific as the callous and uncaring hunger he had caught a glimpse at the moment the ravenous vampire's teeth had pierced his skin - force, boundless, focused, tightly controlled force that he only had to tell where to strike.

Force that had never cracked under pressure, never given in to another. 

The fight is long and exhausting, fraught with tears and weak whispers of I don't want this, please, make it stop, I want to go back. 

The corruption bites and scratches in a frenzy, hungry and never satisfied until it consumes him whole, but there is always the presence at the patient's side lending him its unending strength against the wild beast. 

His tears won't stop, but he gasps, I won't let you.

I'm not yours to control.

The presence burns, relentless and powerful, as he cries out, "I'm not afraid of you!"

You will not make me yours.

You will not.

Finally, the patient's vital signs stabilize, the imprint of his attacker torn out at the root and their will shattered through brute force. Was he in any state to articulate such a thing, he could've only described it as having taken part in a miracle.

The presence remains with him just a little longer, enveloping him in warmth again like a loving father's embrace. Rest, child, soft whispers reach him. You have shown such courage. Be gentle with yourself.

author's abundant ramblings under the cut. please heed the content warning.

TW: (discussion of) mind control

like feeding, turning is the least unpleasant when done entirely consensually. when the mortal is unwilling, though, it's a matter of their willpower + immediate medical care and counseling in a tug-of-war against the will and overall power of the vampire who attempted to turn them. one day a team of Seeker agents bring in a young guy in pretty rough shape - minor injuries that are easy to treat, but the agents confirmed that he was bitten by an unidentified vampire and shows all the signs of the turning process having begun, and mentally he's effectively in a shutdown state. being on the 'vampire urgent care' team's speed-dial for several reasons, 'Mr. Kadingir' comes in to help. he's assisted in many other cases, supporting another vampire helper who has healing abilities or approaching a terrified fledgling who would've otherwise been dangerous. here, this poor dude who doesn't want to be turned needs a bit of a hand in fighting off something he can't even comprehend.

Caesar's greatest power of mind (thanks for the banger, Cicero*), aka what would make him incredibly dangerous if he had a single genuinely malicious bone in his body and/or didn't simply have no desire anymore to basically take over the world, is the other side of the same coin as the charm and charisma he already had as a mortal. y'know how D&D describes the charisma stat as overall force of personality, not just being likeable? yeah, that. *vis ingeni; speech held on January 1, 43 BC, trans. Shackleton Bailey, Phil. 5.49 now wielding psychic abilities as a vampire, and being abundantly experienced with them by virtue of his sheer age (even if he could only relatively recently begin exploring and training in a controlled environment with proper support), merely reading someone's mind is almost an afterthought when they have his undivided attention. actively reaching into their stream of consciousness to plant an idea, spark some emotion or cast a veil of forgetfulness over some knowledge feels as simple as redirecting the flow of water from a faucet. there's gently nudging someone in the direction you want their thoughts and decisions to go, just enough exertion of influence so they're none the wiser. a little less subtly, there's combining it with a few choice words; an outside observer would very well notice the 'actually, nevermind, you were right all along' kind of flick of a switch. the wills of mortals tend to be far easier to bend if they think it's their own idea than to more openly press and coerce them. and then there's the BRUTE FUCKING FORCE this man could muster from nothing but his own mind. with corresponding effort, this can't even be called breaking someone's will anymore to make them compliant - he can utterly crush it, forcing them to do and say things, or going even further, to shut down like smothering a flame and leaving that unfortunate soul in a catatonic or nearly vegetative state. of course the mere idea is horrifying. a person with psychic abilities of their own might be able to muster some resistance, but there's really not much anyone can do against Caesar's tremendous willpower focused to a pinpoint like this. realizing this, the Seekers are glad that their most interesting study subject is effectively too chill to pose a danger to anyone who hasn't already passed up many chances to not draw his ire.