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whumpsday · 2 years

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K&J x MMSS 2: Valen & Liz Part 2

Part 1 here

Kane & Jim masterlist/ Magnanimous Moonrise & Savage Sunset masterlist

content: nonconsensual restraint, muzzle/gag, aftermath of torture, recovery, vampire whumpee, failed escape attempt, begging, burns

part 2 of my and @not-a-space-alien 's second crossover story!

They hang out until sunset. Liz gives Valen free reign of the TV and radio. She's not a big reader, doesn't really have many books. There are some outdoorsy magazines, though. Liz does some weight training. Clothes are ordered- even the expensive boots, as Liz tries to assuage her guilt- and she says she'll get the binders when she goes out tomorrow.

For now, Liz gives Valen a sports bra and some of her own clothes that match what she now knows are his taste. She even has a studded belt similar to the one from the catalog. "You have awesome taste," she says with a smile.

Valen originally gravitates towards the reading materials offered, but has trouble focusing. He likes looking at the pictures though--that feels like a long way to have fallen, but he can't deny the way his brain strains against the leash as he tries to reign it in to focus on something constructive. He eventually gives up and watches TV, lying sideways on the couch. He occasionally touches the metal mesh over his face, but the despair is lessening, knowing there's a set time it will be coming off, even if possibly only temporarily.

Valen watches Liz exercise, trying and failing not to stare. He glances away quickly whenever she turns, to avoid making eye contact at all costs.

He is shocked at the amount of money she drops on clothes at his request. It actually starts to make him a little uncomfortable--in his experience, expensive gifts come with strings attached, especially something like clothes. But at the mention of the binders, it feels different--it's clothes he wants, not a command to dress a certain way disguised as a gift. And then he just feels touched. He has not even spoken with Liz. She must be serious about trying to make it as okay as possible.

Despite the circumstances, he smiles as she lends him clothes, especially at the belt. They are bonding, if such a thing were possible. He doesn't even think about trying to reach up and take the muzzle off when she lets him out of the cuffs to dress himself. The sports bra is a good stopgap. He dresses heedless of where she is looking, completely desensitized to being nude in front of others, his body having already been forcibly declared open for others' consumption long ago. He pulls the clothes over himself, and he is dressed--he is fully dressed for the first time in a long time, as though he's a person. He's almost not even nervous for tonight anymore.He holds up the card that says I am happy, moving it in front of his face with both hands, as though hiding behind it.

Liz does watch, just because she has to make sure he doesn't take the muzzle off. She grins at his card choice. "I'm happy you're happy. Laken was right, this is gonna be good."

As they get ready to leave, Liz says, "I should explain the situation. A vampire named Kane kidnapped my brother- Jim- 15 years ago, but he managed to escape. The guys who did that to you aren't the only sadistic bastards out there calling themselves hunters, and Jim has a big heart, so one thing lead to another and now Kane's staying with him. Kane can't use persuasion, which is why he's able to help with this. He used to be a… real piece of work, but he's mellowed out." She is audibly bitter when she talks about Kane. "And Jim, he can be… he gets scared easy, been hurt too many times. So he might be a little skittish around you. Or not, I guess. I mean, he lives with the guy."

Liz gives Valen this abbreviated version of the situation, and it sounds like he's being thrust into the middle of a very complicated situation, with a tangle of very traumatized people, and that makes him very, very nervous. And Kane can't use persuasion… He'd only heard of that one time, and now the name sounds familiar. Valen had met Kane de Sang briefly in passing years ago. All he remembers is that he was rude to the waitstaff. If he's understanding what Liz is saying correctly, it sounds like hunters tortured Kane as well? That sounds so horrible. And Jim--he vaguely remembers now, when Kane's human escaped, and the de Sang family briefly became the laughing stock of the nobility. He remembered how Priscus had mocked the de Sang family to the servants, saying how Kane should be relegated to being a servant as well, for the shame his impropriety brought to the family.

Valen didn't like the sound of Jim getting scared easily. If someone was scared, they would see him as a threat, which was the thing he was in a constant upstream battle to fight against. And it sounded….very strange that they were now living together.

Well, I guess I'll just have to see what it's like when I get there… Not much he could do to really prepare himself. He wants to say Thank you for explaining it, so he holds up the card that says Yes, hoping that maybe the humans will catch on that he's using this one for thank you.

"Cool, alright, guess it's time to go." Liz is interpreting the yes as 'I understand' in this context. She grabs noise canceling headphones and her walkman, planning to use this for when Valen's muzzle is off to protect herself from hearing anything. Valen's cards each have a little hole in the corner and come with a ring and a strap, so he can strap that to his belt if he wants to.

"One more thing. I'm gonna blindfold you for the trip over, so you won't know where he lives. This is… you should count that as good, since it's in case you end up eventually going home. Okay?" Liz holds a cloth she plans to tie around Valen's eyes. "It's only like a 30 minute drive."Valen is at ease during the preparations, threading the cards through the ring happily and clipping it onto his belt. He's almost excited at this point--until Liz brings up the blindfold. Her words make sense, but he can barely hear them over the dull roaring in his ears. A blindfold was never something in the repertoire of restraints he was forced to endure, and the thought of wearing one is absolutely terrifying. He can't imagine feeling more helpless, not being able to see anyone around him, what was coming, where they were going. It doesn't affect his ability to do things, but his ability to know things. That feels like a muzzle or handcuffs on his brain.

He reacts the same way as when Liz had brought out the lock, instantly in tears. Please no, please, please. I can't wear that for even half an hour.

"I'm sorry, Valen. I'm really sorry, but this one's not negotiable." Liz gently rests a hand on his shoulder. "I promise nothing bad's gonna happen. I'm not here to hurt you, alright? You're safe with me. You're safe. I won't let anything happen to you."

Valen can't stop crying as Liz puts the blindfold on, even as her hands are gentle. The world disappears before him--he still has his hearing, which is much better than a human's, so that's something at least, and he can smell who is around, but that doesn't suppress the waves of anxiety washing over him.

You're safe with me. I won't let anything happen to you. Why should he believe that? Why should he trust that she has both the motivation and the competency to make sure nothing happens to him? It's just to keep him docile and submissive, like every good thing handed to him has been. He would take pain over this, any time, every time, he would rather be in pain than helpless and powerless. But this one's not negotiable.

The cloth is wet with his tears right away. He can't stop letting out scared whimpers, can't suppress the shaking of his shoulders. How is this so much worse than the handcuffs, than even the muzzle? He can do nothing but stand there and wait for Liz to guide him forward, so he can walk without smacking into things. He can't even use his cards, because he can't read them to pick one.

Valen can't see, but Liz starts to tear up a little. She'd gotten him to feel okay enough to hold up the I love you and I am happy cards just earlier today, and now he's sobbing uncontrollably next to her. She feels like a monster, but she can't potentially sacrifice Jim's safety. She just can't. "It's just for a little bit. I swear to God I won't let anything bad happen. I'm sorry." She guides Valen into the truck with a hand on his back, buckles him up, and drives out to Jim's place.

Valen can hear the doppler effect of cars on the opposite side of the road approaching and passing, on top of the sound of the car engine, but beyond that, he can sense nothing about his surroundings. They could be going anywhere, to do anything to him. He keeps his chained hands clutched to himself, trying to stifle his shaking.

Or maybe we're just going to Jim's like she said, you hyperanxious idiot.

He knows that's probably the case, but he can't seem to untense his body, almost expecting some unseen threat to come crashing into him at any moment.

"It's okay. It's okay." Liz assures as she drives. She can practically feel Valen's distress radiating off of him. "You're gonna be just fine. You wanna listen to the radio?"

Does he? That's a very good question. A distraction would be nice, but it means he would be able to hear less of the ambient sounds, know even less what's going on around him. Decisions, decisions, decisions. It feels like he'd been completely stripped of the capacity to make decisions. All he can do when he's in pain is freeze up, or thrash around, and it hardly matters which he picks--the result is always the same.

He sits there in silence, still, not answering.

"Alright. If you decide you want it on, just, raise your hands or something." Liz says with a sigh. "Just… listen, I know this isn't ideal. But, like, imagine the person you love most in the world. If our situations were the other way around and you were gonna bring me to them, you'd wanna take all the precautions you could, right? 'Cause I'm a vampire hunter, and I'm gonna take a wild guess that the person you love most is probably a vampire. And I'd get that. Not that I'm saying you've gotta be cool with this or anything, I know it sucks." Her voice softens. "You've been through… a lot. I'm sorry."

The person you love most in the world. Valen tries to think of who that is. He has…no one. He doesn't love Priscus, he doesn't really even like him anymore. He barely loves his parents, obviously he wouldn't want them to die, but…. He would have said he loved his friends, but most of them wouldn't really talk to him anymore, and had said some very hurtful things to him. And he hadn't made any new friends since starting to live as himself…. He has no one. The closest thing he has to love is a possessive, manipulative man who treats him like an idiot. Or maybe, despite the situation, Liz and Laken are the people he loves most in the world. They were the only ones who'd seen the real him and decided to accept and help him. He's that desperate, that hungry for connection. It feels like Liz is rubbing it in.

He starts to cry again, embarrassed when his nose starts to run, sniffling, but he's too afraid to lift a hand to wipe his face in case Liz thinks he's trying to remove the blindfold or the muzzle.

Liz glances over. Apparently she's just making it worse. Yeah, dumbass. Stop talking about hunters finding his family. She grabs a napkin from the center console and hands it to him. "Here. You'll be okay. Gonna talk soon, right? That's why we're here."

He takes it and wipes his face, noting that they have, indeed, arrived.

As soon as she parks, the blindfold comes off. "There we go, it's done. You let me know when you're ready to go in. I'm sorry about that."

Valen's eyes are puffy and rimmed with red. He won't make eye contact anymore. With trembling hands, he rifles through the cards and holds up I am hurt.

Liz winces. "Yeah, that's completely fair. I… I'll try to make it up to you. But, hey, the muzzle's gonna come off now. That's good, right?"

Valen sniffles and gives a very weak thumbs-up.

Once Valen gives the go-ahead, Liz helps him out of the truck and to the house. Jim's been expecting them, and answers the door. In contrast to Liz's muscular body, Jim is a noodle of a man. He's off-put by Valen's appearance- he's not scared, he's been living with Kane for months now, but Valen is injured and emaciated and wearing a muzzle and handcuffs and he looks like he's been crying.

"Hey, I'm Jim, you must be Valen, come on in. Are you alright?" Jim turns accusingly to Liz. "You're being nice to him, right?"

"I'm trying," she says defensively.

Valen does not answer and barely acknowledges Jim, shuffling forward into the house with his head down. The fact that Jim is chiding her for possibly not being nice is a good sign, but he already feels like he's been emotionally wrung out. Not a great start.

"Kane's downstairs. How exactly are we doing this?" Jim asks nervously.

"I'll go down with Valen. I've got this-" Liz holds up her headphones, "So I won't be able to hear while they're talking. Then when he's got that back on, Kane can relay what he's said."

"Okay, cool. I explained everything to Kane when you called earlier, and he's totally down. Just be nice? He's scared of you."

"I've been civil," Liz argues, but the irritation at the subject of Kane is apparent. "I'll be nice. I've been nice."

"Hey, um, it's nice to meet you, Valen," Jim says softly. "Sorry about… what's happened to you. It gets better. I promise."

Valen shies away from him. He's kind, and his voice is soft, and under other conditions he probably would instantly take a liking to Jim. But he's so nervous. This could go a million different ways, and he'll have to make a million decisions, and he hasn't made decisions in ages. And he has to face a new person, who's a vampire at full strength, and he's still weak and hurt. But Liz will be there, even if she can't hear him, so that's good.

Liz takes Valen to the basement, knocking first to let Kane know they're coming down. "Don't touch the door, it's lined with silver and I don't want you to accidentally hurt yourself on it,” she warns Valen before unlocking the door and leading him downstairs. The basement is more of a bedroom by this point.

Kane is sat cross-legged on his bed. He's uninjured, his only restraint is padded ankle cuffs, and while he's definitely very underweight, he's no longer as emaciated as he had been, having been slowly gaining weight back in the past months. He eyes Liz nervously, then smiles and waves to Valen. "Hello! I'm Kane, I heard you're like me. Jim said we're going to talk?" He is actually very excited.

"Yeah, hang on." Liz leans against the wall, puts her headphones on, and starts blasting metal before giving a thumbs-up. "You can take that off for him."

Kane gestures to a chair and desk. "You can sit there, if you'd like?" He gets up and approaches Valen to remove the muzzle.

It makes Valen nervous that Kane is basically locked in the basement, but this seems all right--Kane has amenities, a real bed, furniture, comforts. It looks more like a bedroom than a prison. It's still clearly a long-term confinement, though. Will that also be his fate?

He's so very excited to get the muzzle off, even if he's so nervous he starts to shake as this new vampire approaches him. He sits in the chair and tilts his head to allow Kane easier access to the buckle. Please take it off, holy shit it's actually going to come off.

Kane gently removes the muzzle. Liz is watching him like a hawk- she's become very protective of Valen over the last 2 days, and she does not trust Kane.

"There," he says, pulling the muzzle away. "It's off. Do you feel okay?" He goes to sit back on the bed, holding the muzzle in his lap.

Do you feel okay? It was hard to tell what he was feeling. It's off. It's off. He's almost forgotten how to speak. All the thoughts that were swirling around inside his brain, dammed up to the breaking point for the past few months suddenly fail to materialize. What does he need to convey? What's the most important thing? His research project, his explanation for why he was here--what he'd tried to tell the hunters at the very beginning. It'd once felt so important, but it seems so stupid now.

He opens his mouth and a scratchy voice hoarse from disuse comes out, sounding so much unlike himself that it startles him. He croaks out, "Mushrooms are more closely related to animals than to plants."

Nope. Nope nope nope nope nope nope nope. That ain't it. Try again. Take another run at it.

"I didn't do anything." He tries to elaborate, to add please let me go or something along those lines, but his voice gives out. He'd apparently had the voice budget for two sentences, and he'd just spent them. He coughs, throat scratchy and dry, trying to shake the rust off his voicebox.

"Um," Kane is confused. "It's okay. I don't really get it, but we have time. Could you explain a little more, when you're ready? Or, there's my pen and notepad on the desk, you could use that if you'd like?"

The top page of the notepad has some notes about the CDs Jim has bought for Kane, written in perfect, flowy cursive.

He can't do this, he has no idea where to start or what to do or how to do it. He needs Kane to lead, to ask him questions, but he can't put his finger on that or how to express it. He takes the notepad from the desk with shaking hands and sees some nonsense at the top--it looks like it's about a popular band. It feels like trying to make sense of that is the last straw that breaks his brain, and his lip wobbles, face crunching up as tears start to stream down his cheeks.

Valen has always been a very touchy-feely person, which had sometimes gotten him into trouble, but it's all he can think about right now. He stumbles over to the bed and collapses next to Kane, clinging to him, pressing his face into Kane's shoulder, fists twisting in the fabric of his shirt, chest hitching. Kane is a stranger, and a man, and a vampire, which are all three marks against him, but Kane is the first person who can listen, and Valen suddenly has nothing to say except the simple, wholehearted acknowledgment that they're both here together.

Liz wants to go over and comfort Valen, but she knows it would be bad to interrupt, so she doesn't.

Kane wraps his arms around Valen, holding him close. "It's okay," he soothes. "You're out now. You're away from the hunters. I cried a lot at first, too. You're going to be okay. Jim has been… nothing but kind to me, and Liz has never hurt me, not even once. They're good people. Have you fed?"

Valen instantly feels a little bit better as soon as Kane's arms are around him, it's absurd and embarrassing. He sniffles. "Yes, Liz has fed me twice, and L-Laken has fed me also. They-they've been very generous." Saying it out loud helps him feel better too. They have been very generous, feeding him from their own bodies. And Liz has been generous enough to walk in and take him away from Nick. He's still having a hard time processing it. "Do-do they feed you?" Kane is obviously underweight, but he isn't starved, so Valen has to assume yes.

They're good people, he can see that. Maybe it's okay after all.

"Yes, Jim feeds me a full meal every single day. I still can't believe it. Liz fed me once, too," Kane answers. It's obvious that Valen is responding better to questions, and he has to ask. "Um, what was that about mushrooms? I assume it's important, since… it was the first thing you said."

Kane briefly lets go of Valen to grab one of his blankets and drape it over him, since he looks like he needs it. He goes back to holding him right after.

Valen flushes with embarrassment. That was really the first thing he'd blurted out. He wishes Kane had just dropped it. It almost seems like it doesn't matter why he was here originally anyway--they're going to treat him the same way regardless, and not only would it be a long run up to explain anything about the context of the mushrooms, but he isn't sure if any of them would even believe him. But it's not like Valen could just say No don't ask about the mushrooms just forget about it.

"Um," he says, trying not to push his strained voice too hard. "They--caught me because they ass-assumed I was trying to kidnap people, but it was--I was here--here for mushrooms that only grow in the south."

There, he'd said it. The one simple fact he'd tried to tell everyone for his six months of enforced silence. It sounds so so so so stupid. He half expects Kane to laugh at him and tell him to give a real answer. He wishes he'd never see another mushroom again in his whole life.

"Okay. I'll tell her," Kane promises. "I was here for… kidnapping. So, so I'm sorry, I made a bad impression on her for our kind." He squints at Valen's face. "Are you Valen Kithrara? Jim only told me your first name…"

It's not just you that made a bad impression, Valen thinks. It's so many of us. Kane is responsible for his own actions, but he's hardly responsible for the poor relations humans and vampires have as a society.

"Yes," says Valen. "Priscus is my husband. I believe we met in passing years ago. Kane de Sang, right?"

"Yes, that's right." Kane looks at him in awe. "Wow. Small world. Oh, oh no, if the humans know you're a Kithrara they probably think you're… I'll tell her that, too. That you only married in."

Kane has not had this much positive physical contact with someone in a long time. Jim is scared to do so often, for obvious reasons. Being able to hold someone is such a relief that he starts to tear up.

"Should that be the first round, then? I'll tell her you were here for your mushrooms, you didn't do anything, and you're not responsible for the blood farms? Then she can ask any questions she wants and I'll take the muzzle off again?"

Valen goes rigid. "You're gonna put it back on?" he squeaks, feeling foolish. Of course he was going to put it back on, that had always been inherent to the game plan they'd come up with, but…. Valen had been half hoping that as soon as he opened his mouth everyone would immediately see everything was fine and then drop all precautions, as implausible as it was. No, no it couldn't go back on, he'd just gotten it off. What if it stayed on, what if it didn't come back off? "Will she believe it?" he rasps.

"It has to go back on or I can't tell her anything. She probably thinks you're dangerous. I… I don't know." Kane admits. "I don't know if she'll believe it, but I am pretty sure she'll let us talk again after, so I'll take it off again. Is… is that okay?"

"Kane," Valen cries, burying his face in Kane's chest. "Please please please please please please please please ask her to take it off again. I can't go back to keeping it on all the time. I can't. Please."

"I will." Kane promises. He tries to imagine if he couldn't even speak upon being picked up, if Jim had never taken the muzzle off. That was the first thing Jim did, he remembers. If he couldn't apologize, couldn't beg, couldn't show how he'd changed.

"I'll ask her. I promise. I'll argue on your behalf." The possibility is daunting- Liz is a hunter, he's terrified to show her anything but deference. But he has to help Valen.

Snivelling, Valen nods. "Okay. I know you have to put it back on. They told you to. Go ahead then."

Despite saying this, as soon as it starts to come back on, he panics and paws it off, freaking out. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, it was a reflex."

Kane picks the muzzle back up. "It's okay, I understand. I'll take it back off really soon. I promise." He gently fastens it back onto Valen's face and goes back to hugging him.

Liz removes her headphones. "What'd I miss?"

"Valen says, he says he wasn't here to kidnap anyone," Kane starts. "He was here for mushrooms. Um, a special kind of mushroom that only grows in human territory. He didn't do anything. And… I know him, from before."

Liz's eyebrows shoot up. That's a lot to take in. "You know him?"

"Kind of. We only met once. He's not really a Kithrara, he just married one. He was just a commoner."

"Oh. I see." Liz is really relieved. She really wants to like Valen. She's still a little wary- she knows it could all be a lie. But… Valen just seems so genuine. "That's it then, Valen? You were never here to hurt anyone?"

He nods vigorously and tearfully. Please believe me, please please.

"He also, he also said to please please please let him have the muzzle off. He said please a lot. Um, I don't think he would try to use persuasion. He just really wants it off," Kane adds.

Liz does not like taking risks. Taking a careless risk one night got her brother taken from her. And she does not trust Kane. And she knows she shouldn't trust Valen.

But he just looks so scared.

"Kane," Liz says sharply, her voice suddenly serious and authoritative.

Kane flinches at her tone, squeezing Valen tighter. "Y-yes, ma'am? I, I'm sorry-"

"It's Liz," she reminds him. "If Valen attempts to use persuasion on me, you will stop him. Is that clear?"

"Yes." Kane nods vehemently.

Liz adjusts her headphones so one ear is covered, and one is just barely not. "Take the muzzle off."

Kane reaches to do so.

Valen almost uses persuasion on Liz as soon as he's able to, which would of course be disastrous. The urge to fight for his life is that strong. The thing that stops him isn't the fact that Kane is right there and could definitely overpower him, but rather the fact that….he can't think of a command to give. There's nothing he could do that would secure his escape. Telling Liz to attack Kane, maybe, but Kane is strong. And….he also just kind of doesn't want to do that. He calms down after a second when it becomes obvious he doesn't need to seize this opportunity to save himself. He licks his lips dryly, looking at Liz nervously. He opens his mouth to speak, but only a hoarse squeak comes out. He blushes and reaches down to his belt and holds up the I am happy card, hiding behind it.

Liz smiles. "I'm happy too. I'm trying to trust you, Valen. You can talk to me if you want to. Can I ask… what's so special about mushrooms that you came all the way here?"

You can talk to me if you want to. He wants to, but he's now battling against his frail voice and his nerves, rather than any physical restraint. This feels so tentative that if he says the wrong thing, maybe his ability to speak will be locked down again. He's finally gotten it back, but now he's afraid to use it.

Why did he have to say that thing about the mushrooms? Now it was all they wanted to talk about, and he had to start his re-entry into the world of speaking by explaining something this stupid and embarrassing.

He does not put down the card, but tilts it a little. "I'm --I'm afraid you won't believe me if I tell you the truth, ma'am."

"I'm not going to put the muzzle back on so long as you don't try to use persuasion," Liz says, her voice soft. "It's okay. I know you're scared, and I want to help. I'll try to believe you, okay? But you don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I was just curious. And you can call me Liz."

He can call her Liz, but he wants to call her ma'am. He decides to keep calling her ma'am, since it seems like she's not getting too angry at him. But she'd also said she was just curious. He knows what that feels like. He'd been very curious, in the past, when he didn't realize being curious could get him caught and tortured for months.

It couldn't hurt to try, right? Maybe they'll laugh at him, like pretty much everyone who heard this idea did, but it's been ages since he got to talk about his passion project, let alone with someone who might understand.

He slowly lowers the card. At least his voice is warming back up quickly. "Um." He swallows. "There's a kind that produces a sub--stance that--that mimics hemoglobin. I th-thought I could try and use it to make artificial blood." His eyes flicker to her face nervously, then to Kane's, waiting for their reactions.

"Did it work?" Kane asks immediately and urgently, before Liz can say anything. "You can make blood? Without any humans? Can I have some?"

Valen's face crumples. "It--well, no, it--it didn't work, not really. The hunters took me before I could finish."

"Oh," Kane says dejectedly. He was hoping so, so much he could feed himself without Jim having to give him his blood.

"That's…" Liz is stunned. "That's amazing. I can't believe… fuck, those damn idiots. At least they didn't kill you." She shakes her head. It pains her to know what's happened. "I'm sorry. For the record, what happened to you would've been wrong and fucked even if you really were here to kidnap humans." She glances briefly at Kane. "That's a great project. Could help a lot of people, humans and vampires." She thinks for a moment. "We'll go back to my place. You'll get your strength back, and I'll take you to the border once you can make it the rest of the way home yourself. You can consider the clothes I ordered a consolation prize on behalf of humanity. Muzzle stays off. Sound good?"

"R-really?" says Valen. "M-most people just tell me it won't work." Her words are comforting, if wholly insufficient to smooth over the ordeal. "Um, thank you. Thank you so much for-for rescuing me. But--but I can't continue the project. I'm sorry. I can't finish it."

"I wouldn't expect you to risk your safety like that after what you've been through. I just want everyone to be okay, yeah? I know I've been… overly cautious. I'm glad we could reach this point." Liz approaches Valen and holds a hand out to him. "You ready to go?"

Kane reluctantly lets go of Valen. He's not jealous- he's entirely content with his life here. But he wishes he could keep seeing Valen. Keep getting hugs. "It was nice to meet you, Valen. Um, please don't tell anyone I'm alive. I don't want to mess up what I have here." If his family heard about him and sent vampires here and Jim ended up hurt, he'd never forgive himself.

"I don't really have anyone to tell," says Valen dejectedly. "My husband and I are separated, and I don't really have anyone to go back to in vampire territory. I'd been living at my house here in human territory for a while before it happened. But you have my word I'll keep it secret. It was nice meeting you as well."

He takes Liz's hand. Oh, that feels nice. She's warm.

"Oh! You live here. I didn't realize," Liz says, holding his hand and pulling him up off the bed. She grabs the muzzle with her free hand and tucks it under her arm. "So… how were you getting blood, if the project didn't work? You said you didn't kidnap anyone."

His heart spikes. "No, no I didn't!" Calm down, idiot, she's asking, not accusing. "Um, well--it-it worked a little. I'd gotten it to the point where I could use it to sate my thirst for most feedings, and I only had to journey back to my property in vampire territory about once per month for a regular feeding."

Why did it feel so embarrassing to talk about? He was on the verge of giving a false confession and telling them he did kidnap someone, rather than explain the finer details of how his project had failed.

"It's okay, calm down, you're alright," Liz soothes, helping him back up the stairs. "That's really impressive! I've never heard of anything like that." She feels a great sadness that this project was forcefully stopped by such unimaginable cruelty, but she knows it wouldn't be right to try to ask Valen to continue.

"So, I can take you back to your home to grab any of your stuff if you want, then. I know you probably don't feel safe being in human territory on your own after everything. Watch the door," she warns, swinging it open carefully to make sure Valen doesn't get burned. Kane watches longingly as he goes.

"Thank you!" says Valen. "Thank you so much, that's wonderful. Um… I'm not sure how to give you directions to my property. I'm not sure where--where we are, or where your home is…or…where the-the compound I was held at is."

"We'll figure it out," Liz assures.

Jim sees that Valen isn't wearing his muzzle and gasps, backing away with fear in his eyes, assuming he's using persuasion. "P-please let my sister go," he stammers.

Startled, Valen mirrors Jim's panic and stumbles back, arm out as though to shield himself from a blow. He stumbles right back into the silver-lined door, but luckily, he's covered enough that he only gets a quick burn on the back of his neck before Liz yanks him forward. "He's fine, he's a friend." Liz assures Jim. "Everyone calm down."

Valen lets out a yelp at the burn, his hand flying to his neck. "S-stop!" he cries out, and only realizes with horror afterwards that he'd just lashed out with persuasion. It'd been an instinctual reaction, the thing he'd been trying to do for the last hundreds of times he'd been burned with silver.

Liz freezes, her eyes going distant.

Jim drops to his knees, looking up at Valen in horror, his heart pounding hard and fast with panic. "No, no, please," he begs, starting to cry. "Please, sir, not Liz, please don't take my sister, I'll do anything! Sh-she didn't do anything, she was just trying to help! If, if you need to take someone," Jim sobs, "T-take me instead, I'm already a trained bloodbag, please leave my baby sister alone!" He's trembling horribly as he looks at Valen with pleading eyes.

Valen's eyes go wide as this human supplicates to him and starts blubbering pleas. Oh no, no, he's fucked up so, so badly, proven himself to be the monster he kept trying to fight off the accusations he was. His mind instantly ratchets up to the maximum level of panic, convinced that Liz is going to be on him in an instant, kill him or put the muzzle back on. Or Kane--commanded to attack him if he used persuasion, which he'd just done. He expects to hear the footsteps of a full-strength vampire rapidly approaching from behind any second.

If Valen had been thinking, the smart thing to do if he's convinced Liz or Kane or Jim would attack him would be to keep Liz under persuasion, or use her as a shield. What he does instead is panic, drop the persuasion, and dash to the front door, wrenching it open and running off into the night.

Liz snaps out of the persuasion. It's not an unfamiliar sensation, after over a decade hunting.

Kane bangs on the wall, locked in the basement. "What's going on?" he asks anxiously. "Jim? Are you okay?"

"Fuck!" Liz runs out the door after Valen, calling a final "It's fine!" back at a still-crying Jim.

She knows Valen won't be fast. He's still extremely weak and won't have gotten far. But unlike her, he can see in the dark very well. "Valen!" she calls as loudly as she can. "It's okay, I'm not mad! You can't be out here on your own, these woods are crawling with hunters!" It's her own district, so she knows this for certain. "Please come back! It's gonna be okay, I won't hurt you!"

When Liz calls his name, Valen drops out of sight behind Jim's car, curling up in a ball, weeping. She calls to him telling him it's going to be okay and that she's not mad. That part doesn't work. The part that does work is telling him there are lots of other vampire hunters out here, which he's deathly afraid of. He slowly comes out from behind the car, still half-crouched and ready to run, eyes shining brightly in the dim moonlight.

Liz doesn't approach, afraid she'll scare him off, but she does extend her arms out toward him. "It's okay. It's okay," she says soothingly. "I know you were just scared. Nothing's changed. Come on back, please." Pointedly, she takes the muzzle and tosses it as far away as she can throw it.

The way she throws the muzzle is what convinces him to come back. He holds his hands out like she's going to hit him, but he takes a few tentative steps closer. "I'm--I'm sorry, I didn't do it on purpose, I promise--It--it was a reflex."

"I know. That was obvious. No one could blame you for that." Liz assures him. "I promise, Valen, it's alright. I'm not upset with you for having a freakout moment 2 days after being sprung from a torture chamber, okay? It's fine."

Tears stream down his cheeks, but he walks right up to her and into her arms, hoping she will hug him. "Thank you, Liz. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I'm sorry I scared your brother. I wish I hadn't upset him. He seemed really scared."

Liz hugs him close. "It can't be helped sometimes, things happen. Thank you for trusting me. Let's go back in there and calm him down, hm?"

"Y-yes." He takes Liz's help to get back onto the porch, cautiously creeping back through the front door.

Jim's still kneeling on the floor, face stained with tears, arms wrapped around himself. His terrified eyes lock onto Valen.

"It's okay, Jim." Liz lets go of Valen and joins her brother on the floor. "No one's getting taken, alright? Valen's a friend. He just got scared, same as you."

Jim clings to Liz's words like a lifeline, nodding tearfully as she hugs him. "I thought, I th-thought…"

"I know. I wouldn't let that happen, okay? You're safe."

Kane, downstairs, starts to relax as well as he overhears this.

Liz helps Jim to his feet. "Valen's trustworthy, so no more muzzle." She looks at Valen with a smile.

Valen's hands anxiously knead the hem of his shirt. "I apologize for scaring you, sir. It--It was a reflex. I--I backed into the silver door and it burned me. He likes to burn me with silver, and I al-always try to make him to stop. I hope you can calm down. I would--would assist in easing your anxiety if there is-is anything possible."

Jim calms down a bit when Valen is openly non-hostile, though still a bit shaky. "I get it. I just, I just freaked out a little bit." His face reddens, embarrassed of how he called himself a trained bloodbag just minutes ago. "We're all good."

"Speaking of which, is your neck okay?" Liz asks.

"Oh," says Valen shakily, reaching a hand to the nape of his neck. "Y-yes, it's okay. It's minor. Thank you." Valen turns to Jim and gives a gesture that is half a bow, half a curtsey. "It was very nice to meet you, sir. Thank you for having me over. I apologize again for the disruption. I eagerly await the next invitation."

As he turns back to Liz, he holds up a card--not because he can't speak, but this time because he is too embarrassed and shy to say it without couching it in layers and layers of politeness and propriety that would destroy the sentiment. I love you.

Liz grins. "Aw, love you too, buddy." She goes over and drapes an arm over his shoulders. "You good for me to head out?" she asks Jim.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." Jim is more embarrassed than anything at this point. To Valen, he says, "Nice to meet you, too. Glad everything turned out okay."

Liz takes him back to the truck. She doesn't even consider the blindfold this time. If Valen wanted to cause harm, he could have. "I'll take the cuffs off when we get home, key's over there. Congrats on being a free man," she says as she starts to drive.

A free man. Valen runs his fingers over the cuffs on his wrists. As soon as they're off, it will be the first time in six months he's not had any sort of restraint on him. He almost can't believe it.

He looks out the window, watching the trees whizz past in the dark. "I--I don't know how I can ever repay you for saving me."

"You don't need to. Saving people is my job. I wish more hunters got that,” she says somberly. "Thank you for… trying what you did. With the mushrooms. Sorry it turned out so shit."

He swallows. "I-I don't know what I'm going to do when I leave here. My whole life it's been one thing after another--First it was school, then living with my husband, then trying to figure out a way to shut down the blood farms…and then, I suppose, trying to survive Hell…but now… I don't know what I'll do."

Liz is quiet for a bit. She's been in similar situations before- the homeless are frequent victims of vampire abduction, and her branch has resources to help victims who don't have anywhere to go. But those resources are for humans. She can't refer Valen to those. "You don't have to go, if you don't want to. I have the space."

"Really? You would open your home to me? That's so kind of you." He draws his hands to his chest. "I fear I may cause problems if I simply allow myself to be a lay-about all day. I've never been idle full-time before."

"Yeah, you seem like a chill guy, why not? I guess you'll have to decide what you wanna do, then. Once you're better, you can come on night hikes with me and Laken on our nights off, if you want. What'd you do before? Nerd stuff?" Liz asks.

"Yes, I was actually in a very prestigious biochemistry program. I got quite close to finishing it, too, and at the top of my class, before I had to pull out on account of my marriage. I was the mistress of the estate for a while, but my husband discouraged me from pursuing any real work related to my interests. Wasn't proper to have the lady of the house doing such things, apparently. And then after we separated, I started getting back into it, since I had the freedom and money to do so, and thought I could give my idea a try even though it always seemed a very far-fetched goal. And after that, well…you know how it went."

"Well, fuck your husband," Liz says with a snort. "You could always start some new science stuff. I assume?" She wants to suggest he could continue the blood experiment if he wants to, that she'll protect him this time, but she doesn't want to make it seem like she's using him or pressuring him.

Valen leans his head into the window, looking very far away. "I'm not sure if I'll be able to have much enthusiasm for science anymore. Or…anything much, to be honest."

"Jim pretty much stayed holed up in the house for months after he got out. I'd have to drag him to doctor's appointments. It took a while, but he's slowly gotten better and better over the years. It's gonna take time. Lemme know if there's anything I can do to help." She wishes she hit Nicholas over the head harder.

"Thank you. It's much appreciated. Can I ask…why you came to get me? You didn't know I was innocent, and--I wasn't your responsibility, at all."

"…You know I hate Kane. For what he did to Jim. Jim may have made peace with him, and I'll be civil, but I'll never forgive him. Ever. He was an abusive monster who beat my sweet brother senseless for years and methodically destroyed every bit of spirit he had, and tried to do it again. And I still don't think he deserved what those hunters did to him. No one deserves that. So when I heard about you… I had to do something. Honestly, I was planning to just put you out of your misery, but I took one look at you and knew I couldn't. Guess Jim was right the whole time."

Valen smiles softly to himself. "You're very kind." His smile fades. "I know this in no way lessens the severity of Kane's crimes, nor does it offer any justification for them, or reason to dull your anger, but…You should know that in our home territory, Kane was treated very poorly. I only met him briefly, but every time I heard someone mention his name, I felt great pity for him. It was public knowledge that his own family did everything short of having him killed to hide the shame they thought he brought to them. Even back when his only crime was being born a little less whole than the rest of us, everyone seemed to delight in reveling in his defect for how inferior it made him. The role he was forced into by his culture was to be there so everyone could look at him and say, 'At least I'm not a worthless invalid like Kane de Sang.' He went decades without kidnapping a human and enduring harsh ridicule for something he couldn't help, and only did that monstrous deed in the hopes of finally making his pain stop." His frown deepens. "Our society holds up cruelty and violence as aspirations, and those who can't, or won't, participate are scorned as weak and childish. It has very little tolerance for anyone who--who is different. I know this firsthand also, because I--I lost most of my friends when I became transsexual, and the rest left when I started being more vocal about how I thought the way everyone treats humans is wrong." He wipes a tear from his eye. "I'm sorry, you didn't ask for all this, but--but I haven't had anyone to talk about it with."

"I'm sorry that happened to you. Laken's had… similar experiences. Catholic family- if you know what that is. Way I see it, those people were shit friends anyway, not that it makes it hurt less. Now you've got some new ones who don't suck." She nudges him affectionately. "…You don't know the specifics, as far as Kane goes. It wasn't just the kidnapping, he was violent, extremely so. I have a hard time believing everything he did was just to get his family to like him. It happened behind closed doors. He was drunk on power. Just 'cause his life sucked doesn't give him a pass to fuck someone else's up too. Like that asshole who tortured you. Said he was captured and all, but that doesn't mean he can just go and do it right back to you. Hope he got concussed."

Valen wants to tell Liz that it's normal for vampires to be violent behind closed doors. That's what he's saying. But he decides not to push it--there's not much use in trying to get Liz to be sympathetic, and she probably wouldn't appreciate it…She has every right to feel the way she does about Kane. As would Jim, if he felt so inclined.

Instead, he says, "Nick is…. I feel sorry for him. I do. Or, I want to. I know he is an injured animal lashing out. But I hate him. I don't want to hate him. I understand how you feel about Kane. I do. We can't help the way we feel about people who've hurt us so deeply, even if we wish we could feel differently.”

The first thing Liz does when they arrive home is remove Valen's cuffs. "There you go. How's that?"

Valen rubs his wrists. "It's lovely, thank you." He holds his arms out wide, reveling in the newfound freedom, then moves his hands to his face, running them over the bare skin where the muzzle used to be, then the back of his head where the buckle he could never reach had been. "Ha--haha!" He spreads his limbs wide and does a jumping jack, then immediately regrets it, wincing as the movement jars his injuries.

"Easy there," Liz cautions with a laugh. "You can do all the jumping jacks you want when you're all healed up, might wanna wait a bit. Maybe we can even exercise together. Bet I could bench-press you."

Valen flushes, deeply embarrassed by the rush of emotions that flood through him. Now he's nervous about being in Liz's house for an entirely different reason: it's going to be difficult to hide how attractive he finds her if she makes offhanded comments like that.... or exercises in front of him often. Once he gets his strength back he'd be much stronger than her, even without testosterone, but still…

The last thing he wants to do is make himself unwelcome by discomforting Liz. Or even worse, upset Laken, and have them get territorial..... would they?

No... Right?

Were they even dating? Would Laken get overprotective even if they weren't? Would Liz tell him off for thinking such things to begin with?

He has this trainwreck of thought all at once, and blurts out, "Are you and Laken engaged in courtship?" His brain had supplied that as the most formal, least offensive way of asking, which surely makes it feel even more bizarre.

He puts his hands to his mouth, heart pounding. Did he really just answer that way?

Liz groans. "Am I really that obvious? They totally know, right? Maybe not, they can be kind of oblivious. Ugh, I've been trying to work up the nerve to ask them out forever, but we've been friends for like half our lives and I don't wanna ruin it, you know?" she babbles.

Valen blinks. Had she really just missed what he'd thought was obvious all over his face? That was good, he supposed, but the response didn't lessen his worry. He would never feel at ease here unless he asked...

"Are you quite certain that Laken finds my presence here acceptable, er, more long term?"

"Oh yeah. I mean, they don't know yet, but they'll be thrilled. Laken was angling for me to let you go for your sake, but now that you wanna stay, they'll be all for it." Liz assures him. She pats his shoulder. "Try not to sweat it too much. You're home now, right?"

Home. A home that he'd chosen. The euphoria of leaving Priscus and making his own home still hadn't worn off, and he's starting to feel it again. Try not to sweat it too much. He's shocked to find that such a thing is starting to get easier. He smiles. "Yes, I suppose you're right. Thank you, ma'am."

reminder: this is the last time i'm tagging the full taglists for both stories! if you’d like to continue being tagged in crossover pieces, please comment saying so in order to remain on the taglist! it’s opt-in! and as the next crossover will be 18+, please be 18+ to enter the taglist for that. if your url is bolded, you're already on the crossover taglist.

taglist:

@annablogsposts

@cc1010foxy

@darlingwhump

@emcscared-whumps

@nicolepascaline

@oddsconvert

@pumpkin-spice-whump

@soursagas

@thecyrulik

@whump-cravings

@whump-for-all-and-all-for-whump

@whumpycries

@annablogsposts

@badluck990

@barebarb

@cc1010foxy

@ceph-the-writing-spook

@cicatrix-energy

@crying-wings

@crystalquartzwhump

@cupcakes-and-pain

@cyberneticfire

@darlingwhump

@deluxewhump

@down-in-the-whumps

@elrysdoesstuff

@emcscared-whumps

@extemporary-whump

@extrabitterbrain

@iamtheshriekingguineapig

@icyheart-and-friends

@inpainandsuffering

@interdimensional-chaos

@kira-the-whump-enthusiast

@lactose-intolerant-egg

@lilac-and-lemon-whumps

@littlespacecastle

@little-whumpee

@lost-in-labradorite-halls

@magziemakeswhatever

@melancholy-in-the-morning

@morning-star-whump

@myhusbandsasemni

@mylifeisonthebookshelf

@neverthelass

@nicolepascaline

@nine-tailed-whump

@no-terms-and-conditions-apply

@nyooom

@octopus-reactivated

@oddsconvert

@onlybadendings

@owencarvourenthusiast

@pigeonwhumps

@pumpkin-spice-whump

@quietly-by-myself

@quirkykayleetam

@ramadiiiisme

@redwhump

@scp-1296

@secretwhumplair

@the-whumperfly-effect

@the-whumpers-grimm

@thecyrulik

@thegravylady

@thegreatwhodini

@thejinglingcourtjester

@themarlo

@thingsthatgo-whump-inthenight

@t0rture-me

@vehan-tikkun-olam-and-stuff

@whuarri

@whump-blog-reblogs

@whump-cravings

@whump-for-all-and-all-for-whump

@whump-me-all-night-long

@whump-my-heart-away

@whump-queen

@whumperfully

@whumpthisway

@whumpilicious

@whumpshaped

@whumpwillow

@whumpworld

@whumpy-writings

@whumpycries

@whumpyzombie

@whumpzone

@wits-and-wrongs

@wolfeyedwitch

#kj x mmss #rescue #recovery whump #vampire whumpee #failed escape #begging #muzzle

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longeyelashedtragedy · 1 month

Text

tagged by @heffer-wen ! thank you darling Heff for coming through when i most needed it (a reason to procrastinate washing dinner dishes and dealing with the alarming number of things i have on my to do list for 9:25pm)

tagging some people who weren't already tagged: @kvaradonaa @colorsofmyseason @echthr0s @yourinmywebnow @tetrapod7 @holdinghistorsogently and YOU if you wanna do it!

currently watching: Blue Lights. just devoured the 1st season, sad there's only the 2nd left though i think new ones are coming. recommended by an unnamed person. copaganda, but in the PSNI! feat. half the cast of my beloved The Fall. seriously for some reason i am no longer faceblind when it comes to the cast of The Fall i've recognized them all instantly. valene kane ❤️

spicy/sweet/savoury: SAVO(U)RY. then spicy. sweet i have very little interest in--my mom was into Healthy Eating way before most people were (like--there is a way health and nutrition is normalized now that it wasn't when i was a kid) so i wasn't raised to eat sugary things and never got a taste for it. but give me all the salt.

current obsession: Lampardverse......what else is new? i've also been really into my summer podcast (the troubles podcast). i've learned so much and now understand all kinds of things i never used to? i wouldn't call this an "obsession" by any means, i just fucking love to learn. i suppose you could call Lampardverse an obsession. i kind of hate this word, though

relationship status: i'm hardcore in my Aromantic Era but wouldn't mind someone thinking i was hot and then flirting with them a little. a fwb would be fun but i feel too old, tired and 5/10 for this 😭

last song i listened to: blood and fire by type o negative...peter steele always Understands me (same geographic location, same mental health bullshit, bottoms)

#the three bs #about me #thank you!!!

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not-a-space-alien · 2 years

Text

Magnanimous Moonrise Chapter 15M

Story masterpost

Complementary chapter

Content/Content warnings for this chapter: First chapter where I can say there are NO WARNINGS, only fluff!

They both sat there talking to him encouragingly until he’d downed the glass, the straw slurping at the empty bottom. When he started trying to swipe the remnants out of the glass to lick his finger, they took it and refilled it.

He drank three full glasses in the end before they reached the bottom of the pint of blood. Ari suggested they wait a little while to open another one, to let his stomach settle. Valen agreed to this.

"Are you starting to feel a little better?" said Lex, squeezing his hand.

Valen flushed and looked down. He was feeling better. The food was already starting to help. But it was also psychological. Someone had fed him. Someone cared enough to help him. “Y-yes, thank you.”

"How about a bath then, huh?"

Valen had been so focused on his hunger he'd completely ignored how utterly filthy he was. The rotten artificial blood smelled truly disgusting. Humans' sense of smell was poor, but probably even they could smell it. “O-okay.”

“Go ahead and unhook yourself.”

Valen reached up and took the muzzle off, a simple act of freeing himself that had been so impossible just a few days ago. It already felt like the first bath he’d taken not that long ago was years in the past. He set it on the ground, then unclipped the chain from his collar.

As Lex helped him stand, Ari crossed her arms. “Hmph. We’ll have to figure out some way to get that off you eventually. We don’t have the key.”

“O-oh,” said Valen, deflating. He’d secretly been hoping they’d take the collar off soon. It was the last restraint on him, but it was locked.

“Well, we can work on it,” said Ari. “Hey, do you want me to carry you up to the bathroom? Our stairs are a bit fucky.”

Valen looked past her to see the stairs up the second floor: They were uneven wood, some with exposed nails, and quite steep. They were, indeed, a bit fucky.

“If–If–If you want to,” said Valen, voice quiet, trying not to sound too excited. “That–that would be–appreciated, ma’am.”

“All right, up you go, then.” He tried to suppress his reflex to flail and grab things to stop himself from falling as Ari scooped him up, one hand on his back, the other under his thighs. He slid into her chest, arms curled up, blushing fiercely as she carried him bridal style.

Ari looked down at him and winked, and he averted his eyes quickly. “Hold on, bat boy.”

Valen did not think he could get any redder, but his body kept finding more blood to send to his cheeks and ears. He could see Lex smirking in an amused way behind Ari. He worried about what it could mean… They were teasing him, that’s all, surely. Not that they were angry at him, or threatening him. Just good-natured teasing.

It was the first time in his life he found he didn’t mind it.

Ari carried him up the stairs. It reminded him of the first time, when she’d done it over her shoulder, with his arms still cuffed and the muzzle still on, as he’d given Lex desperate pleading eyes, hoping against hope for some compassion.

“There we are,” said Ari, setting him down in front of the bathroom. “Taxi dropping you right off. Have a good time.”

“I imagine you’d like some privacy,” said Lex.

“We’ll get you a towel and stuff, and you can take as long as you want,” said Ari.

“Um–” said Valen. “I–I–I might need help getting in and out of the tub. You can–you can stay, if you want. If you want to. Please. You don’t have to.”

Ari quirked an eyebrow. “Eh?”

“You don’t have to.”

“Start running the water, Ari,” said Lex. “I’ll be back with the towel.”

Their bathroom was dirtier than the one in the hunter’s compound, the mirror slightly cracked, but it had a lived-in feel that was comforting, even if all the hair everywhere was kind of gross. Ari squatted next to the claw-foot bathtub and started the water, running her hand under it.

Valen clutched his hands to his chest as he caught sight of himself in the mirror again. He barely recognized himself under the burns on his face–but this was better than the first time. That was him, under the muck and despair, he could see himself there now, as though he were being excavated out.

“Hey,” said Ari, and he turned to see her watching him stare at himself in the mirror. “Come here, kiddo.”

Surely Valen had to be decades older than her. But he sat on the toilet next to her without complaint.

“We’re gonna get you cleaned up,” said Ari. “And we’re gonna help you get better. There’s no need to look at yourself like that.”

He looked down at his lap.

“Now do you wanna keep all your clothes on, or take a proper bath?”

“I’ve got a towel,” Lex sang, coming back in. “Bath time, then?”

Ari closed the flow of water. “Do you want us to look away while you undress?”

“I–I think I’ll fall down if I have to–I think I need help to–”

“All right, that’s okay, I’ll help you,” said Lex.

He pulled his shirt over his head, then almost lost his balance if not for Ari’s hand on his back. He let it fall to the floor, then leaned over and pulled his pants down, again only staying upright because of the two women holding him up.

He was just as emaciated as before, and just as injured, but the motions of his hands were less unsure.

“Are you sure you don’t want some privacy?” said Lex.

They had already seen all of him and more, been privy to his most brutal debasement and his lowest points. The concept that his mere nudity would mean anything in front of them was laughable, in his mind, but he appreciated the gesture. “I don’t mind.”

“Okay,” said Lex. “As long as it’s what you want.”

Valen pulled his underwear down, then turned to step up into the bathtub. He had free use of his hands this time, but just as he’d predicted, he still banged his foot on the ledge trying to step up into it.

“I gotcha,” said Ari, steadying him. She picked him up and lowered him into the water like she was firmly grasping a handful of dry spaghetti to put into a pot of hot water.

She let go, and he sank down into the warm water, tub luxuriously deep.

“It’s nice?” said Lex.

“Yes,” he said, eyes watering. “Th-thank you.”

Lex shrugged. “Well, we kind of had to.” No, you really didn’t. You definitely could have gotten away with leaving me in Hell. Lex produced a folded-up washcloth, sliding it onto the edge of the tub. “Here, the soap’s over there. We, ah, don’t have one of those nice detachable shower heads, so we’ll just have to refresh the water more than once.”

Part of Valen wanted her to use the washcloth with her own hands, but he knew it would be inappropriate to ask her to do that. He took the washcloth and wet it, then rubbed the soap on it.

He started washing the copious blood off his face. He’d known he was filthy, but he was still surprised by the amount of blood that came off, the speed at which the water turned rusty red. “O-oh,” he said, peeling more grime off. “I–I–I’m–It must have been ghastly to–to look at me like this the whole time.”

“I’ll start getting your stuff out of the van,” said Ari. “You’ll need some new clothes.” She prodded the pile of vile, blood-soaked clothes on the floor. “Um, do you think it’s worth trying to save these? Can we just get rid of them?”

“If–If–I can mend the holes, if you–if it’s not too much trouble to launder it–if you have a–supplies–to sew.”

Ari grimaced, but reached down and picked up the clothes without complaint. “Right…I’ll go throw this in the wash, then. We brought all the clothes you had in your closet and dresser.”

Oh, that was why they'd taken stuff from his house. “Th-thank you. I–I’m grateful to–that you thought to b-bring my things.”

Ari shut the door behind her, leaving Valen and Lex alone in the bathroom. Valen suddenly lost all courage to look directly at Lex, lowering his eyes to focus on rubbing the washcloth on himself, trying to pat his open wounds as gently as possible.

“Do you want me to wash your hair? Since you don’t seem to be able to lift your arms above your head.”

“Yes, please,” he said, barely above a whisper.

Lex squeezed some shampoo out and started to lather it onto his head. He closed his eyes, the soft touches washing over him, but disquiet growing in the pit of his stomach kept him from enjoying it completely. He was enjoying Lex’s touches, a lot, and maybe that was supposed to be only something Ari had a right to. The very last thing he wanted to do was upset Ari, to make himself unwelcome here in this haven he’d dared to hope for this whole time, to make her feel like she had to be territorial. What if she walked in on this? Would she be angry Valen was receiving affection from her?

“Are you sure–is it–” He realized partway through he’d made a fatal assumption, and the pendulum of his anxious, overthinking mind swung the other way–it’d been presumptuous to assume this was affection and closeness in the way he was thinking of it. He’d just never been touched so intimately by someone he actually wanted it from, and it was making his brain go haywire.

But it was too late to abort the question. “Go ahead,” said Lex encouragingly.

Valen swallowed. “Are you sure Ari would not object to the way you’re touching me?”

Lex’s hands stopped on his scalp. His anxiety skyrocketed. He’d definitely made a mistake of some sort. Oh god, they were going to kick him out, or give him back to Nick, or–or–

“Of course,” said Lex, her voice tinged with amusement. “She doesn’t care. Why do you think she would?”

Valen shook, sending out tiny ripples in the water. Now if he explained himself, he risked Lex being offended at his train of thought. He wanted so badly not to intrude on their relationship, while at the same time yearning for nothing more than that very same, impossible thing. He was here, in their house, and they were both helping him and treating him gently, and he wanted that to go on forever and forever–

He let out an overwhelmed squeak. “I–I’m not sure–I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” said Lex, sounding more baffled than anything. She went back to her rhythmic motions on his scalp. “Have you…Has no one ever washed your hair for you before? Besides that time I did it at the hunter’s compound, I mean.”

“N-no, no one has.”

Lex patted his shoulder. “It’s nice, isn’t it?”

“Y-yes.”

“Me and Ari do it for each other all the time.”

He let out another strangulated whine. Jesus Christ, Valen, keep it together. How pathetic and starved was he for connection with someone he could be genuine and tender with that he immediately piled all those hopes and desires on these two hunters who had hurt him so badly?

Lex poured some water over his head to rinse the shampoo out. “Oh, um…” she said. “Right, I needed to ask you… I think, at your house, I heard you…talking on the phone? I assume that was someone you wanted to come help you right?”

Fear shot through Valen as he recalled the phone call to Priscus. He’d almost forgotten about it already. “Oh–Oh, yes, yes, I–I’m sorry–I’m sorry, Alexis.”

“Don’t apologize,” she said. “It’s okay. I probably would have done the same thing. We just need to talk about it because it means someone is on the way to get you, right?”

Oh god. He’d begged Priscus to come save him. “I–I–I asked my husband to come rescue me.”

Was it his imagination, or did Lex look a little disappointed? “Oh.” She fidgeted. “Well, should we–should we call him again and make arrangements for him to come get you?”

“No!” Valen blurted out, then eased back. His initial response was always No, I don’t want to go with Priscus, but it was a very good question now. He’d called Priscus because he was at the very end of his rope, completely out of options, and he’d figured that being abused was better than being tortured… Now that it was looking more and more like torture was off the table, though, all his hatred of Priscus was returning.

But…Did he dare pass up this opportunity to make it off human territory? To make it back to safety, out of the reach of vampire hunters? How much did he trust that this treatment from Lex and Ari would continue? And did he trust them just because he wanted to believe they would continue to be kind to him?

“Really?” said Lex. “But–but you called him. Do you not want…?”

There weren’t any good options for him right now, but he chose where he was, what he could see, a tentative peace over guaranteed misery. “My husband is–my husband is a horrible man, whom I despise. I would only–I only called him as a last resort, because I was desperate to escape torture. I would count myself lucky if I never saw his face again.”

“Oh.” Lex fidgeted. “Well, if that’s the case…does he know where you are? Do we need to hide you?”

Valen’s heart was overwhelmed by the speed at which Lex became ride-or-die upon hearing that a hated husband was in the picture. “I was unable to give him the address before–before–those two arrived, and if he–even if he was able to track the location based on the phone number, or some trick, it would only lead him to–to my house out deep in the country.”

“Sheesh, that’s a good five hour drive. Yeah, I don’t know if he really has any way to find you then. …Right?”

“I believe so,” said Valen. “At least, I hope so.”

The door cracked open, and Ari’s disembodied arm came in, laying clothes on the sink. “Clothes,” she said succinctly, pointing to them without sticking her head in. “There. Bye.”

The arm withdrew, and they both heard the sound of furniture moving downstairs.

“So if I can ask,” said Lex. “I’m–I’m curious as to why you’re married to him if you hate him so much.”

Valen let his eyes fall down into the soapy water. “It was my parents’ idea. I–I did not have the courage to defy them on the issue until well after we were married and it became obvious to me how truly horrible it was.”

“Oh,” said Lex, sounding very, very sad. She watched Valen listlessly rub the washcloth on himself for a moment before saying, “Kind of the same thing happened to me. Well, not quite that bad, but my parents tried to set me up with this family friend’s son as soon as I told them I was dating Ari. They seemed to think they could convince me not to be queer if they just tried hard enough to find a man I would like better than Ari.”

“They–Mine also seemed to think they could convince me–not to be transsexual–if I married a proper husband and had proper wifely d-duties. They were–were also trying to break me of my–pacifist beliefs, believing them to also be im-improper.”

“I’m so sorry,” said Lex, voice heavy. “Oh my god, that’s awful. I’m so glad you got away from that.”

“As am I.” He swallowed. His voice was starting to get raspy again from using it so much, but he was finally, finally having a conversation with someone who could understand him even a little bit, and he didn’t want it to stop. “I–I still couldn’t get him to sign the divorce paperwork I initiated, which is why I–I still have his last name. Any time he–he s-starts to consider just letting me go, his-his parents say that divorce isn’t something to–to consider, and that he needs to be a proper husband to make me a proper wife.”

Lex suddenly got a look of intense sadness on her face. “I’m–I’m so sorry, Valen, I feel–I feel so horrible.”

“It’s not your fault.”

“No, I–” Her voice wobbled. “When we looked up your last name we assumed it meant you were an evil person working for the blood farms. I–I–I feel so horrible about what we did to you.”

Valen would have been angry at her, at some point in the past, he still was to an extent–but he was mostly just…too tired, and scared, and desperate for any gentleness to be angry about something that had already happened in the immutable past. “It was–your train of logic was sound…It was a fair assumption to make, given the circumstances.”

He looked up to see that Lex was full-on crying now. “It doesn’t matter, I–I’m so sorry, Valen, I’m so so sorry, I don’t know if you can ever forgive me. It’s our fault this all happened to you. I’m so, so, so sorry. How can I even begin making it up to you?'

He couldn't say it was all right, because it wasn't, but… "You are already off to a good start." He smiled weakly. “This still feels–not quite real. This is–the rescue I’d been hoping for. I am still-still a little afraid of waking up back in the basement.”

“No!” said Lex fiercely. “Absolutely not. I won’t let that happen to you. I shouldn’t have let it happen in the first place.”

He wanted to believe her so badly. “Thank you.” He dipped his head. “I think I am quite ready for a water change.”

Lex pulled the drain in the tub, watching the muddy brown water be flushed away, then plugged it back up and set the water to warm again.

“So, if–if I may ask in turn,” said Valen. “How did you and Ari–become involved?”

“We were childhood best friends,” said Lex, blushing and smiling, as though overwhelmed by the softness of the memory. “And we both got tired of boys breaking my heart over and over again.”

“That is–that is wonderful.”

It took one more water change before he was clean to his own satisfaction, at which point Lex helped him stand and towel himself off. He felt so, so much better than he had than after the last bath he’d had. There was no muzzle or cuffs to go back on, no Hell downstairs to go back to after the reprieve. He would go downstairs and instead of Nick and more vampire hunters, there would be Ari, bringing in his belongings, and more blood if he plucked up the courage to ask for it.

“Here, let me put some bandages on before you get dressed,” said Lex. She got out some ointment and bandages from the cabinet. He sat on the edge of the tub and tried not to shake as she rubbed ointment on his open wounds, gently wrapping them in gauze. The air was still warm and humid, the only sound the dripping of water, and Valen watched Lex’s delicate hands working tenderly at his injuries. Part of him thought it’d been worth it to accumulate the injuries if it meant Lex would touch him like that.

“There we go,” she cooed, securing the last bit of gauze on him. He was practically more gauze than skin at this point. “How’s that feel?”

“Better. Thank you.”

“Great, want to get dressed, then?”

“Yes, please.”

“Geez, good thing Ari brought you a belt, too,” said Lex as she helped him step into his pants. “You’re, like, five sizes too small for your clothes now.”

Valen had no comment on that. Lex apparently interpreted this to mean he was glowering, because she apologetically said, “Well–Well, we’ll get you back up to a healthy weight, don’t worry.”

So they did intend to feed him, long-term. That was a relief. He didn’t worry about where the blood would come from. They seemed like they were really going to do this for him. Tears welled in his eyes.

“I promise,” said Lex distressingly, doubling down. “It’ll be okay–please, I promise it’ll be okay, please don’t be upset.”

Valen decided to save his voice, so he merely wiped the tears off his eyes.

“Can I give you another hug?” said Lex.

“Yes,” said Valen instantly.

Her arms came around him. This time she was free to lean fully into it, since there was no blood on his shirt. She was…so warm.

“Thank you,” Valen whispered.

Lex smiled. “Come on, let’s go downstairs.”

She went down first, in case he fell. Ari’s voice could be heard from the kitchen.

“Are you really sure there isn’t anyone else there I can talk to?”

Valen peeked his head into the kitchen behind Lex. Ari was on the phone, looking agitated. His preternatural hearing let him hear the voice coming out of the speaker. “Yes, Ari, it’s only me here, now.”

Valen’s blood turned to ice. It was Nick’s voice. Ari was talking to Nick on the phone. Why was she talking to Nick?

“Fine,” said Ari. “Whatever. Just tell everyone else we can’t go on patrol tonight.”

“But you were supposed to go on patrol last night, and you didn’t.”

“Yeah, and we already didn’t do that.”

“You are scheduled to–”

“I know we’re scheduled, Nick, I’m telling you we have to be excused for now because Lex lost about seventy-five percent of the blood in her body. You were there.”

Valen flushed with guilt and embarrassment, drawing back behind Lex and leaning into the wall.

“Yes,” said Nick. “I’m aware. Fine. What about my research specimen?”

Valen put his knuckle in his mouth, trying not to cry out.

“Just as I told you, I killed it,” said Ari. “And no, we’re not catching you another one, before you ask.”

Nick growled in frustration. “Fine. If you are quite done being a bitch, you can hang up now.”

“You’re lucky I can’t kick your balls through the phone lines. Bye, scumbag.” Ari slammed the phone into the cradle. “It seems like it’s getting harder for Nick to hide what a piece of shit he is. He usually behaves to your face, at least.”

“Ari,” said Valen weakly. “Thank you for telling him I’m dead. Thank you for–for–for–for–”

“All right,” Ari grunted. “No need to cry about it. Come on into the living room. I guess it’s doubling as your bedroom for now.”

They brought in Valen’s dresser, end table, towels, all his clothes, some of his lab equipment and books, and whatever else they’d thought to grab. There really wasn’t that much of it, and it sort of fit in the living room.

Ari arranged things and kept looking back at him for a thumbs-up or thumbs-down, but he always assured her that it was perfect where it was, even it was clearly blocking the door or some other way it was obviously not perfect. They helped him put some clothes and shoes in the hall closet, and hung up extra curtains and taped them to the wall to ensure absolutely no sun could get into the room.

Once that was all done, Valen reported that he might be ready to eat more, so they went back into the dining room and had him repeat the exercise of loosely restraining himself. They did this a few more times over the course of the day, and each time he seemed a little less afraid of the muzzle.

Valen was obviously extremely tired, so they eventually offered to just let him just go to sleep, which he found agreeable. They pulled the plastic off the couch and removed the cushions, and unfolded it to reveal a mattress stored inside.

Tears welled in his eyes once more as he watched Ari stretch a fitted sheet over it and Lex put pillows and blankets on it. This was a bed. A bed. He’d get to sleep in a bed. They wanted him to sleep in a bed. He’d given up hope of ever having such a luxury again, of ever sleeping in anything except a metal box.

He turned around to see Lex holding a pair of soft sleep pants and an oversized shirt. “Do you want to borrow some pajamas? I noticed you don’t have any.”

“I…” The tears spilled over. “I–thank you, yes, thank you, I would like that so much.”

Lex helped him change into them, then helped him lie down, pulling the blanket up over him. He rolled over and buried his face in the pillow, the feeling of the soft fabric over his whole body practically overwhelming.

“Everything all right?” said Ari, giving a thumbs-up.

Valen bit the pillow, immediately ripping two small holes into it, but he was too overwhelmed to care much. “Mmm-hmmm,” he whined. Maybe he’d be able to sleep this time. Maybe.

“All right. Well, good night, then. Er, good day.”

They turned off the light and left him alone.

****

Tag list <3

@annablogsposts

@cc1010foxy

@darlingwhump

@emcscared-whumps

@nicolepascaline

@oddsconvert

@pumpkin-spice-whump

@soursagas

@thecyrulik

@whump-cravings

@whump-for-all-and-all-for-whump

@whumpsday

#hurt/comfort #angst #vampires #whump #vampire whumpee #whumpblr #my writing

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80smaniac · 2 months

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Part Two

Mum: "So, how was it last night?" *She says as she fries up the bacon, biscuits in the oven baking.*

Me: "Oh....it was fun. Yeah." *Nervously twirling a lock of my hair. She notices. She notices everything. Dammit.*

Mum: "What's his name?" *She stops and faces me. Something she rarely does when cooking. But after last time, I can't blame her.*

Me: "I-I....I actually never asked. Ah hell..."

Mum: "Calm down. I knew that this would happen. You are far more predictable than you think. There's no sneaking off or hiding things from me. I'll always know. It's not that I don't care, it's just that certain things aren't so much of a big deal that I'd just have a cow like you'd think. How do you think your dad and I got together anyway?"

Me: "You hated him the moment you got married to him. Why bring him up now? It's stupid to compare me and some mystery guy I like to your marriage that didn't turn out as great as you'd hoped." *I roll my eyes, wishing she would just shut up about it already.*

Mum: "You're really selfish, you know that? I try to give you advice but all you do is shut it all down. You always come back a crying mess after they break your heart and tear you down. I never had that. Don't you see how much I care?" *She snaps, giving the tight jawed expression she always does when she's mad or upset. Or both.*

Me: "Selfish? Selfish?! So I'm the one whose selfish in the end, not the couple who dragged their eldest daughter in the middle of every fight and then leaving her behind to dress the youngest and get her breakfast and off to school and back?! You call that shit caring?! Maybe if you just got out of your head for once you could see how selfish you have become, mum! In fact, I hate you for it. I fucking hate you! You're nothing but a burden to Mary and I, always drinking and crying! That's all you ever fucking do! You're just standing here to guilt trip and gaslight me! I'm fucking through with you!" *I scream, not even pausing for a breath. Not even to think about my words. I then storm out of the house, the screen door slamming as tears blind my eyes.*

Mum: "Valen! Valentine!" *She screams after me, but I don't care to hear her. It all falling on deaf ears.*

Me: "I fucking hate her....bitch." *I mutter under my breath. I wish I could just stay in that moment forever last night. With all of those boys. Those boys who finally saw me being myself. Not some broken facade everyone expects me to be. I eventually find myself at the boardwalk, it just as busy and bustling. But not like it was last night. Night and day are different here. A different I like.*

???: "Hey! Hey you! Over here!"

Me: *I look up from the bench I found myself sitting on, only to see a geeky looking kid around twelve or thirteen, looking like a mix between a soldier and a boyscout.* "Huh? What?"

???: "Just trust me, girl. Come on, we don't have much time!"

Me: "O-Okay?" *I hesitantly get up, following the boy. Eventually he leads me into a quaint little comic shop, filled with every comic book reader's dream. Endless rows and shelves of comic books.*

???: "The name's Edgar Frog by the way. *He offers his hand.* "And trust me, you're gonna need all the protection you can get."

Me: *Hesitantly shakes his hand, a bit confused but mostly concerned.* "Okay...uh...My name is Valentine."

Edgar Frog: "You're in danger. If you really trust me, you'll read this. Hopefully you won't ever have to call the number on the back of it either." *He says as he shoves a strange looking comic book in my hands. 'Vampires Everywhere!' it reads.*

Me: "Uh...sorry. I'm not that into weird nerdy stuff. I mean, I love Spider-Man, but I'm not uh, what do you call them? A part of some weird occult or whatever?"

Edgar Frog: "Trust me, the rumors are true. After reading that, you'll change your mind. But its up to you to listen to us or not. Not our fault if those bloodsuckers snatch you up and make you dinner. You look pretty good for a victim too."

Me: *Eyeing him suspiciously. This guy is either completely whack or is just really into comics.* "Uh....okay? What was that? I don't think this is how you introduce yourself to someone new, much less a girl. Besides, I'm not in the mood for this spooky occult crap right now. I got an angry bitchy mother at home and a bratty kid sister I have to drag around everywhere I go aside from school."

???: "He's right, you know. My brother's not crazy. You'll see. Then you'll come crying to us, begging for help cause those bloodsuckers are after you wanting to drain you dry."

Me: "Uh, who are you? Look, I'm not in the mood for this weird bullshit right now. I've got more problems on my plate than just a bunch of fairytales and two boyscouts like you to worry about." *I snap, clearly becoming annoyed.*

Edgar Frog: "Hey! He's not a boyscout, he's my brother Allen you idiot! You know what? Fine! Don't believe us! So much for trying to help a newbie. They're all the same, Allen." *He sighs in annoyance as he disappears into the back room of the shop.*

Allen Frog: "Look lady, just give us a chance. We're really going out on a limb here. Just read it and hope you never have to call the number on the back. Welcome to Santa Carla."

Me: "So where's your brother Poe?" *I smirk, laughing.* "Come on, your name is Allen and his name is Edgar."

Allen Frog: *Rolling his eyes in annoyance.* "Will you cut it out? You clearly aren't taking this seriously. At least don't make fun of my brother, lady."

Me: "Jeez, why do you have so much damage? It was just an observation." *I snicker, walking out of the comic shop.* "What a bunch of stiffs..."

Allen Frog: "Hey! I heard that! You're lucky that we've been this nice to you! You're one of them for all we know!"

Me: "Oh yeah? One of who? You really are a bunch of weirdos!" *I smirk as I stick out my tongue at him.*

Allen Frog: "A vampire! A bloodsucking vampire!" *He yells after me angrily.* "Don't make me get out the stakes and holy water!"

Me: "Damn, is my skin really that pale to you? Face it weirdo, you and your brother are crazy. You've clearly played too much Dungeons and Dragons past your bedtime." *I cross my arms, ready to take this kid head on.*

Allen Frog: "Crazy? You're the crazy one for being here in the first place! This place is literally the murder capital of the world, and you think a native like me whose lived here and seen it all is crazy? It's always the out of townies. I'll see your missing poster in about a week. Maybe tomorrow." *He throws up his arms in exasperation, desperately trying to warn of what hides in the shadows at night.*

Me: "Alright kid. I'll just say I believe you. Happy? I'll read it, promise." *I roll my eyes, clearly just wanting to get out of here and lie out on the beach to catch some sun.*

Allen Frog: "You better read that, or you just might die. I mean it, lady! Santa Carla isn't just some hot vacation spot with a nice view. It's a place where the bloodsuckers prowl looking for their next meal." *He calls after as the comic shop door swings open.*

Me: "Sure, whatever." *I roll my eyes, walking out of the comic shop. I sigh, looking up at the sky. It's already noon. I look around, finding a local diner spot and head over there.*

Allen Frog: "Stupid girls...."

Me: *After a minute, I smile at the waitress.* I'll take a strawberry milkshake please. Thank you."

Waitress: "Alrighty! Anything else, dear? Our apple pie is to die for!"

Me: "No thanks. I'm not in the mood for pie...." *I sigh, looking down at the table.*

Waitress: "Oh dear, I can sense it. It's about a boy, isn't it?" *She sighs, sitting down across from me. Someone I don't even know. This town is just different and wild like that.*

Me: "Well....sort of. A few guys, actually. And well.....I kind of had a fight with my mum this morning...."

Waitress: "I was in your shoes once, sugar. It'll pass, I promise. As for the boys, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to. But here's a little tip, if they wanna bite off more than they can chew with you, bite back. Don't be afraid to stand up for yourself, dear." *She smiles, walking off with her notepad.* "Mickey! We got another order!"

Me: *Sighing.* "Yeah.....right." *I look out of the diner window I'm sitting next to, watching people passing by. People from everywhere, it seems. Wearing all kinds of strange outfits. Just being themselves. The person I wish I could be. Myself. Crazy, wild. But mum would just call it a phase like last time.*

Waitress: "Here you go! One strawberry milkshake on the house!" *She smiles cheerfully, placing it down on the table.*

Me: "Oh....really? Th-Thanks. A-At least let me leave a tip for your troubles....." *I stammer, not used to handouts or any sort of charity. Kindness.*

Waitress: "Oh, it's no trouble at all, dear! Enjoy it. Enjoy summer. Enjoy your youth, sugar. One day you'll blink and it'll all be bygone days! Especially once you become a mother! Seeing the little ones shoot up like beanstalks....oh...Anyways, call if you need anything!" *She says as she totters off, always in a hurry.*

Me: "Thanks....." *I sigh, looking at the milkshake on the table. Some of the strawberry syrup dripping down the side of the milkshake glass, looking like blood. But the fake kind they use in movies. I wipe some of it up with my finger, licking it.* "Vampires.....heh..." *I mumble, looking down at the comic book.*

[Note: I didn't expect my first little piece to gain any attention at all, haha. I hope you like it and I hope I'm not just dragging it out too long and bleeding it dry. Haha, bleeding it dry... All puns aside, I hope you like this slice of life and teenage angst. It definitely reminds me of how high-school was for me, filled with drama and bad breakups. Some of it is true, while most of it is made up. But in the end, it's a part of my little world I don't mind sharing. Things are meant to be shared. Even if it's just stories.]

#tlb 1987 #the lost boys #part two #idk lol #SoundCloud

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b-b-b-b-bones · 3 years

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I finished Medium (I mean, I didn’t really finish it but I heard Joe dies in the last episode and I refuse to watch that. You don’t kill off the perfect husband!) and I think the next show I’m gonna watch is Cold Case. I love how stylized it is and how every episode is a mini period piece

#medium #cold case #that and I already have a thing for valens :o #hes hot

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fae-fucker · 3 years

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Zenith: Chapter 80-84

Chapter 80

The general makes a speech on a stage with all the other leaders, including Lira’s aunt whose name I’ve already forgotten. It’s all very boring and Andi’s narration says this as well, which means fuck it, who cares, it’s all fluff anyway.

“Together, we remain as strong as we were on that final day of battle over a decade ago. Today, we continue to keep our trading ports open, to share new knowledge between the brightest scholars of each system and to be constant in our communications with one another. Why, just yesterday, I caught my wife sending a com to Governor Kravan’s wife. I believe the topic of discussion was how closely they could match their gowns without too many people taking notice.”

The crowd erupted with polite laughter.

Women! What are they good for!

Andi watches the crowd instead and we get this bit, which I highlighted in my review of the book:

Across the room, a group of girls clustered together, giggling silently as their parents sent them looks of disapproval. A few feet away, two handsome young Arcardian soldiers, their hair groomed back and glowing under the lights, watched the girls with open interest.

Later, Andi knew, they’d walk up to the girls, try to win them over with their smooth words. Hopefully, if the girls were smart, they’d shut the boys down.

But they likely wouldn’t. They’d dance together. They’d plan their futures, set on moving higher and higher up in society until they reached the top, just as Andi’s parents had.

God forbid people have lives that don’t fit Andi’s ideals, I guess.

Also wow, Andi. They’re just gonna dance together. Girl sees a promposal and starts planning a budget for baby clothes, smh.

The general asks his son to join him on the stage.

Everyone in the crowd craned their necks, eager to get an up-close look at the lost son, returned home at last. Andi watched, too, not because Valen was a spectacle, but because she knew, perhaps more than anyone, that he hated to be on display.

So you’re watching him because you know he hates being watched? Kind of a dick move, Androma.

The general says something about how they’re all stronger together and his son’s return is proof of their resilience and yadda yadda. But DUN DUN DUUN, Valen is ... not looking happy about it? What could it meeeaaan?

Chapter 81

So anyway, Valen stabs his dad.

Well not immediately, because nothing happens in this book without an overly long monologue that includes the words home, soul, darkness, light, stars and mayhaps family. Valen monologues for a bit about how this isn’t his home and the general isn’t his real family and how the imprisonment on Lunamere opened his eyes, it’s all a bit ... vague?

Obviously the reason this twist doesn’t really work despite the fact that there was some foreshadowing is because we’ve been in Valen’s POV multiple times. This is one of those things where if you try to do this, you’re either gonna need the writing skills of a god or you’re gonna fall flat on your face. And Shinsay are, well, Shinsay. It simply doesn’t track, it doesn’t feel shocking enough because we haven’t really spent enough time with Valen or understood him all that well before it happened, and it’s not a moment of everything clicking together and falling into place because the foreshadowing has either been too sparse or it wasn’t there at all, plus we’ve literally been inside Valen’s mind at multiple points, we started the book in his POV, yet he conveniently didn’t once think about any of this?

I am Valen Solis, he told himself. Vengeance will be mine.

He smiled and drove the knife into his father’s chest.

So why did he spend all that time saying Valen Cortas? Like, from a Doylist perspective it’s there to mislead the reader, but from a Watsonian, why did he do this? Does he have some sort of 4th wall knowledge and knows his thoughts are being literally read so he’s like “tee hee gotta pretend I love my dad!”

One thing I can sort of see is that Valen is being manipulated by Zenith and now he’s been “activated?” That would make sense and explain the wild inconsistencies between his true motivation and his thoughts, but I don’t think that’s what they’re going for?

It’s cheap, and it’s bad, and it’s boring. Which isn’t something you want from a twist. But hey, at least one of our POV characters has finally done something to affect the plot. It’s only been what, 81 chapters? Good god.

Chapter 82

Andi’s like :O!!!

And then a bunch of Xen Pteran soldiers blow up the walls and are like >:(!!

And then people are panicking like <:O!!!

And then Andi takes out the electric dagger strapped to her thigh like >:)!!!

And now she’s “eager to kill” like >:D!!!!!

This chapter is 170 words long.

Chapter 83

Ok sorry, I won’t do that again.

We’re in Dex’s POV, he watches as the Arcardian soldiers take up weapons to defend people and themselves, but then Valen takes the microphone and tells them to lay down their weapons and they obey.

Andi, ever the girlboss, charges right at Valen. The chapter ends with Dex yelling for her to stop, but she’s too much of a strong independent woman to listen.

This chapter is 154 words long.

Chapter 84

Andi reaches the stage and tries to talk Valen out of completing his dad-murder, since the general is still alive despite how good Valen stabbed him. The Xen Pteran soldiers are shooting people in the background.

[Valen] turned, twirling the knife so that he held the blade like a paintbrush, ready to render death upon his own father.

You know? Because he’s a painter?

This is just too good, you guys.

Andi’s like “this isn’t the Valen I know, he’s a killer now, like meeee” and yadda yadda. When Valen makes it clear, through some clichéd dialogue, that he’s not backing down and WILL complete the dad-murder, she says she’ll stop him.

Valen’s like “nu-uh.”

So how was your day? I’m pretty good, all things considered. We’re almost at the end of Zenith, believe it or not.

#eff reads: zenith

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dweebfics · 4 years

Text

💖Valentine's Day Special pt. 2

💥Heatwave x Blades (RBA) 🍋🍋🍋🍋🍋🍋🍋🍋🍋🍋🍋🍋🍋🍋🍋

**Warning: Lemon**

Blades's P.O.V

"Bye Blades!" Danny said as she was heading out in a pretty yellow sun dress waving bye to Blades.

"Hey! W-where are you going?" I asked

"I have a date today with Taylor! Today is Valentine's Day after all." Dany explained to Blades.

"Valentine's Day?" I asked confused.

"Yeah is this holiday we celebrate every year to show our love and affection to does we love. Like me and Taylor for example, we are together and today we show our affection more than usual." Danny explained.

"O-oh.." I said processing Danny's information about the holiday..

"Well I'm heading out! Bye" Danny left and I waved her bye.

{I wonder if I can do the same for Heatwave? Would he like the idea?} I thought about it very hard and did some research on the web to see what I could do..Until I saw myself looking at these things called "Lingeries". This really caught my optics and acted quickly.

A few cycles later...

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

General P.O.V

** Comm Link activated **

"H-heatwave?"

"Blades? What's wrong?"

"N-nothing.. I need your assistance with something in my quarters"

"Oook... I'm on my way"

** Comm Link Deactivated **

Heatwave made his way to Blades's quarters in a fast pace.. He sounded like he needed help..

Once Heatwave reached Blades quarters, he quickly plugged in the code to be revealed to a heavy panting Blades's on his side with one stabilizer up revealing his valve to me.. He had on pink garments and what seemed to be a vibrator on his nub..

"B-blades? What are you doing?'

"I wanted to give you a perfect Valentine's gift~ You l-like it?"

"Valen what?" Heatwave said walking in and closing the door behind him.

"Valentine's Day. It's a human holiday that it is celebrated today.. It is to show affection from one to another.. or something like that.. I got this idea from online." Blades explained leaving a very confused Heatwave looking at him blankly.

"W-well.. I don't know what this holiday is, but.. I'm loving this view I have in front of me. Come here" Heatwave said pouncing towards Blades, catching him by surprise.

Heatwave already had his spike pressurized and ready to frag the brains out of Blades .

"You look so delicious~ I want to eat all of you~" Heatwave said while inserting two digits into Blades already very wet valve.

"Ooh~ Heatwave~"

"Look how wet you are~ This is getting me so horny~" Heatwave without wasting anymore time he shoved his thick spike into Blades making the copter bot hiss and bite his bottom lip. Heatwave started his pace in a brutal rhythm, shaking Blades entire frame and his stabilizer moving back and forward in the air.

"Oouu~ H-heatwave~ P-primus~ T-this is too m-much.. Aah~"

"Nnghh Nghh~ That's right.. Take my whole spike~ By the all spark.. You feel so good~" Blades wrapped his stabilizers around Heatwave's waist getting his range of motion smaller, making his pace quicker.

"B-blades! I'm going to.. Ugh Aah~"

"Me t-oo~ it's to m-much.. Oou~" we both climaxed together. We played down together on Blades's berth breathing heavy.

"Can you make Valentine's Day happen everyday?" Heatwave asked bringing Blades closer to his chest plate.

"Hihihi, we can most definitely have more fun everyday~" Blades said pecking Heatwaves dermas.

Part 3

#heatwave #rescue bots #transformers #transformers robots in disguise #transformers g1 #transformers rescue bots #blades #valveplug #maccadam

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goldenworldsabound · 4 years

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Something beautiful, oh my love, say hey (I love you) and sway for any f/o you'd like? :3

ooh, how about Kabu (and I guess I’ll skip Say Hey since I did it for him already!)

Something Beautiful ― What was something your f/o did that made you realize you wanted to always be with your f/o? What was something you did that made them realize they always wanted to be with you?

HIS FIERY DETERMINATION bricked okay but actually a little bit right he’s really dedicated in a way that is incredibly admirable. But I think it was really that despite his commitment to this goal, he still takes the time to be kind to people and help others. While he wants to get to the top, it’s not at the expense of others, and he never resents others for their successes. That’s something that really impressed and resonated with Golden. In that fic that the queue spit out recently, Kabu does things like shuts down misogyny in a way that is...appropriate. Kabu’s no nonsense attitude towards anything of that sort also helped her realize that not only was she in love (she knew that) but he was something she could actually see being with forever.

As for Kabu...in a way, Golden’s loudness of emotion. Now hear me out. I don’t actually literally mean that she is loud, but that her expression of emotion is loud. Her support for him is loud. When she’s sad because someone has been hurting a Poke’mon, it’s loud (and when she’s angry about that too). When she cares about something, she is loud. She doesn’t backdown. (He has a lot of these traits too, though he’s not “loud” in the same way) He adores that. Recognizing that she will never back down about the things she cares for, including him, made him realize...she was the one.

>////////>

Oh My Love ― You two have been saving up for awhile to go somewhere nice! Pick a travel destination and tell us about some of the things you and your f/o wanna do when you get there!

Our first priorities are always visiting each other in Johto and Galar, but...we also both really wanted to go to Hoenn, because that’s where Kabu is from! He wants to show me his home. And maybe see me do the gym challenge (I’m imagining he can’t since he’s a gym leader in another region...though he could have some friendly matches).

Specifically he wants to show me Lavaridge most of all - his neice Flannery is there, and it’s where he grew up! The Blaziken that was his first partner still lives there too, so it’s important to him. And he KNOWS I will love the hot springs because I’ve mentioned stuff like that before. He also things I’ll really like Meteor Falls and he’s eager to take me there and see what I think. Not to mention the Battle Resort and Battle Maison, which didn’t spring up until after he’d left, so he’d be trying that for the first time as well! We’d make a great doubles team, don’t you think?

Honestly we want to go to ALL the regions eventually, but that’s another post :p

Sway ― You end the night slow dancing in the kitchen. What song are you dancing to?

We Belong Together - Ritchie Valens

Put Your Head On My Shoulder - Paul Anka

I just definitely associate Kabu with like, 50s love songs ANYWAY so,,, fsdjkhfds he’s a bit of a ham so he might sing to me while we’re slow dancing...I don’t feel like the whole “slow dancing in the kitchen” has resonated for me for ANY fave EXCEPT for Kabu. He’d definitely do this and it’d be cute af.

#golden flames

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fernandasesto · 5 years

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What to do in a Gap Year without traveling - Fernanda Sesto

When I finished high school, I knew I wasn’t ready to start an undergraduate education in Uruguay. I was an eighteen-year-old girl with a strong and defined passion for not only the technology but also for social work and education. I was extremely confused about how to combine these completely different fields, but I refused to give up on them. The desire of finding out how to pursue my passions on that new stage of my life was my main motivation for taking a gap year.

Usually, when I talk to people about gap years, they have two things in mind: traveling or doing nothing. However, that was not true for me. On the one hand, even though I would have loved to travel around the world, I didn’t have enough money to afford the expenses that come with it. On the other hand, I’m not the type of person who can sit down and just do nothing. I’m extremely active and I enjoy having a lot on my plate. So... what did I do in my gap year?

Get work experience:

Luckily, I went to a computer science specialized high school and I also took a course on software testing; therefore, I was able to get a job in an incredible tech company as a software tester. This definitely was one of the best experiences in my gap year because it allowed me to learn about technical methodologies and tools from excellent engineers. Moreover, I immersed myself in the organizational culture which puts the well-being of every team member above everything else. Thanks to this, I’m now looking forward to replicating these amazing team management practices in future projects.

Work has given me a more mature perspective of life and helped me to reassure my passion for technology. I totally encourage you to get any work experience in your gap year because it makes you grow in many different ways.

Start a non-profit organization:

When I was in high school, I always wanted to teach children how to code. However, due to my busy schedule, I couldn’t do it. During my gap year, I realized this was the perfect opportunity to start a social project about that.

I’ve been volunteering for a Latin American NGO for almost two years, helping slums to carry out infrastructure community projects. At that time, I noticed how one of the communities I was working with lacked of activities for children, so I came up with the idea of giving them computer science workshops on Saturday mornings. After gathering a team of volunteers, we proposed the idea to the community members and we started the workshops in May.

Starting any social venture or non-profit is a very challenging activity, but the results are worthy. You can build your leadership and teamwork skills, make a social impact, and meet a lot of people too! It is very important that you are passionate about the cause of the project and that you can work alongside with all of those involved to make it sustainable.

A gap year is 365 days you give to yourself to explore new paths and seek personal evolution. Whether you are a high school senior, a college student, or an already independent adult, I firmly believe we all need, at some point in our lives, to get out of our comfort zone and to take new risks. You will be surprised by what you can accomplish in just one year!

Español:

Cuando terminé secundaria, sabía que no estaba lista para comenzar una educación universitaria en Uruguay. Era una persona de dieciocho años con una fuerte y definida pasión no solo por la tecnología, sino también por el trabajo social y la educación. Estaba extremadamente confundida sobre cómo combinar estas áreas completamente diferentes, pero me negué a renunciar a ellas. El deseo de descubrir cómo perseguir mis pasiones en esa nueva etapa de mi vida fue mi principal motivación para tomar un año sabático.

Generalmente, cuando hablo con la gente sobre los años sabáticos, tienen dos cosas en mente: viajar o no hacer nada. Sin embargo, para mi eso no era verdad. Por un lado, aunque me hubiera encantado viajar por todo el mundo, no tenía dinero suficiente para pagar los gastos que conlleva hacerlo. Por otro lado, no soy el tipo de persona que puede sentarse y simplemente no hacer nada. Soy extremadamente activa y disfruto de hacer muchas cosas. Entonces ... ¿qué hice en mi año sabático?

Obtener experiencia laboral:

Afortunadamente, fui a la Escuela Superior de Informática y también realicé un curso sobre testing de software, por lo tanto, pude conseguir un trabajo en una empresa de tecnología increíble como tester de software. Definitivamente, esta fue una de las mejores experiencias en mi año sabático porque me permitió aprender de excelentes ingenieros, sobre metodologías, técnicas y herramientas. Además, me sumerjí en la cultura organizacional que pone el bienestar de cada miembro del equipo por encima de todo lo demás. Gracias a esto, ahora estoy deseando replicar estas increíbles prácticas de gestión de equipos en proyectos futuros.

El trabajo me ha dado una perspectiva más madura de la vida y me ha ayudado a reafirmar mi pasión por la tecnología. Te animo a que obtengas cualquier experiencia laboral en tu año sabático porque te hace crecer de muchas formas diferentes.

Iniciar una organización sin fines de lucro:

Cuando estaba en la secundaria, siempre quise enseñar a los niños a programar. Sin embargo, debido a mi agenda ocupada, no pude hacerlo. Durante mi año sabático, me di cuenta de que esta era la oportunidad perfecta para comenzar un proyecto social sobre eso.

Soy voluntaria para una ONG latinoamericana desde hace casi dos años, ayudando a los asentamientos a llevar a cabo proyectos comunitarios de infraestructura. En ese momento, noté que una de las comunidades con las que trabajaba carecía de actividades para niños, por lo que se me ocurrió la idea de darles talleres de informática los sábados por la mañana. Después de reunir un equipo de voluntarios, propusimos la idea a los miembros de la comunidad y comenzamos los talleres en mayo.

Comenzar cualquier empresa social o sin fines de lucro es una actividad muy desafiante, pero los resultados lo valen. Podes desarrollar tus habilidades de liderazgo y trabajo en equipo, hacer un impacto social y conocer a mucha gente también.

Es muy importante que la causa del proyecto te apasione y que puedas trabajar junto a todos los involucrados para que sea sostenible en el tiempo.

Un año sabático es 365 días para dedicarte a explorar nuevos caminos y buscar la evolución personal. Ya sea que sos un estudiante de liceo, un estudiante universitario o un adulto ya independiente, creo firmemente que todos, en algún momento de nuestras vidas, necesitamos salir de nuestra zona de confort y asumir nuevos riesgos. ¡Te sorprenderá lo que puedes lograr en solo un año!

#gapyear #volunteering #work

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thetinylangblr · 7 years

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Los verbos en español → Presente del Indicativo : regular and irregular verbs

The verbs in the spanish language can take many forms and endings. This variety of verb endings means that often, using personal pronouns is not necessary in spanish.

Verbs are divided in 3 groups :

1st group : infinitive verbs ending in -AR

2nd group : infinitive verbs ending in -ER

3rd group : infinitive verbs ending in -IR

You can usually find the verb stem by only removing those AR, ER or IR endings of the infinitive form. The stem is then used to conjugate the verb (except for the tenses el futuro del indicativo and el condicional).

Sometimes the verb is irregular, which means in most cases that you can’t find the stem by just removing the infinitive endings.

Now that you now more about spanish verbs, let’s learn el presente del indicativo, the spanish simple present tense !

El presente del indicativo is built by adding an ending to the stem.

1st group :

ex : CANTAR → the stem is CANT

(yo) canto

(tú) cantas

(él, ella, usted) canta

(nosotros, nosotras) cantamos

(vosotros, vosotras) cantáis

(ellos, ellas, ustedes) cantan

ex : HABLAR → the stem is HABL

hablo, hablas, habla, hablamos, habláis, hablan

2nd group :

ex : COMER → the stem is COM

como, comes, come, comemos, coméis, comen

ex : APRENDER → the stem is APREND

aprendo, aprendes, aprende, aprendemos, aprendéis, aprenden

3rd group :

ex : SUBIR → the stem is SUB

subo, subes, sube, subimos, subís, suben

(idk if you can really tell but there’s an accent on the i of subís)

ex : VIVIR → the stem is VIV

vivo, vives, vive, vivimos, vivís, viven

(same here, there’s an accent on the 2nd i of vivís)

Those are the general rules for el presente del indicativo in spanish.

These rules change when we deal with irregular verbs. The irregularities almost never concern the endings (-o, -as, -a, -amos, -áis, -an / -o, -es, -e, -emos, -éis, -en / -o, -es, -e, -imos, -ís, -en), it is very often the stem that is irregular.

IRREGULAR VERBS OF EL PRESENTE DEL INDICATIVO

Verbs with a diphtong :

For these verbs, the vowel in the stem turns into a diphtong but only for the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 6th persons.

Verbs where E → IE :

ex : EMPEZAR : empiezo, empiezas, empieza, empezamos, empezáis, empiezan

ex : PERDER : pierdo, pierdes, pierde, perdemos, perdéis, pierden

some other verbs that follow this rule : comenzar, cerrar, pensar, defender, entender, perder, preferir, sentir...

Verbs where O → UE :

ex : DORMIR : duermo, duermes, duerme, dormimos, dormís, duermen

ex : CONTAR : cuento, cuentas, cuenta, contamos, contáis, cuentan

some other verbs that follow this rule : comprobar, encontrar, recordar, soñar, llover, volver, poder, doler, soler, morir...

Also there are 3 verbs that have a diphtong but that don’t really fit into these categories : adquirir, inquirir, jugar.

ADQUIRIR : adquiero, adquieres, adquiere, adquirimos, adquirís, adquieren

INQUIRIR : inquiero, inquieres, inquiere, inquirimos, inquirís, inquieren

JUGAR : juego, juegas, juega, jugamos, jugáis, juegan

Be careful because some verbs that belong to the same families sometimes are tricky :

ex : defender has a diphtong, but ofender does not ; renovar has one, innovar does not...

Also, be careful with the verbs that start with the vowel that has the diphtong, like ERRAR, OLER... :

ERRAR : E becomes YE instead of IE → yerro, yerras, yerra, erramos, erráis, yerran

OLER : O becomes HUE instead of UE → huelo, hueles, huele, olemos, oléis, huelen

Verbs ending in -acer, -ecer, -ocer, -ucir :

Those verbs add an extra Z before the C for the 1st person of el presente del indicativo. The other persons are conjugated following the regular rules:

ex : TRADUCIR → the stem is TRADUC, except for the 1st person → traduzco, traduces, traduce, traducimos, traducís, traducen

ex : CONOCER → the stem is CONOC except for the 1st person → conozco, conoces, conoce, conocemos, conocéis, conocen

Verbs like COCER, RECOCER have a diphtong and lose the C for the 1st person → cuezo, cueces, cuece, cocemos, cocéis, cuecen

Verbs like MECER, REMECER, lose the C → mezo, meces, mece, mecemos, mecéis, mecen

Some verbs ends with -acer, -ecer, -ocer, -ucir but do not follow that rule : for example HACER, that is an irregular verb anyhow but do not follow that particular rule

Verbs ending in -uir :

There are about 40 verbs that add an extra Y between the U and the I when being conjugated in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 6th persons :

ex : ATRIBUIR → atribuyo, atribuyes, atribuye, atribuimos, atribuís, atribuyen

The verbs in which the U is not pronounced, aka the verbs ending in -guir or quir, like SEGUIR, DELINQUIR, do not follow that rule.

Verbs where E → I :

Verbs of the 3rd group that have an E in the last syllable of their stem are irregular. Verbs like PREFERIR, ELEGIR, REÍR, DESPEDIR, CORREGIR, MEDIR, REPETIR, SERVIR, VESTIR, PEDIR,...

For some of them, like PEDIR, there must always be an I in the verb when conjugated. That’s why the E turns into an I at the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 6th persons for el presente del indicativo. The endings for the other persons already contain an I, therefore the stem stays the same.

ex : PEDIR → the stem is PED → pido, pides, pide, pedimos, pedís, piden

Some others verbs of the 3rd group that have an E in the last syllable of their stem, like SENTIR, are still irregular but don’t follow that rule, they just get a diphtong instead (cf previous paragraphs) :

ex : SENTIR → siento, sientes, siente, sentimos, sentís, sienten

How to know if your verb should follow the PEDIR type or the SENTIR type :

- If the E of the last syllable of the stem is followed by -nt- or -r-, then the verb should be conjugated like SENTIR. (ex : advertir, asentir, consentir, herir, divertir, convertir, mentir, preferir, invertir...)

SERVIR should follow that rule because the E is followed by -r-, but it is an exception and is in fact conjugated like PEDIR

- If the E of the last syllable of the stem is followed by neither -nt- nor -r-, then the verb is to be conjugated like PEDIR. (ex : conseguir, corregir, despedir, elegir, impedir, medir, seguir, repetir...)

Reflexive verbs :

The pronoun SE at the end of infinitive reflexive verbs is placed before the conjugated verb and changes according to the person.

ex : LLAMARSE → (yo) me llamo, (tu) te llamas, (él) se llama, (nosotros) nos llamamos, (vosotras) os llamáis, (Ellos) se llaman

Independant irregular verbs :

A list of 20~ verbs, often used in spanish, and that do not follow other irregularity rules. The best thing to do is to learn them by heart !

DAR → doy, das, da, damos, dais (no accent on the i), dan

ESTAR → estoy, estás, estás, estamos, estáis, están

IR → voy, vas, va, vamos, vais (no accent), van

SER → soy, eres, es, somos, sois (no accent), son

HABER → he, has, ha, hemos, habéis, han

SABER → sé, sabes, sabe, sabemos, sabéis, saben

HACER → hago, haces, hace, hacemois, hacéis, hacen

DECIR → digo, dices, dice, decimos, decís, dicen

CABER → quepo, cabes, cabe, cabemos, cabéis, caben

CAER → caigo, caes, cae, caemos, caéis, caen

OÍR → oigo, oyes, oye, oímos (accent on the I), oís (accent on the I), oyen

PODER → puedo, puedes, puede, podemos, podéis, pueden

QUERER → quiero, quieres, quiere, queremos, queréis, quieren

SALIR → salgo, sales, sale, salimos, salís (accent), salen

TENER → tengo, tienes, tiene, tenemos, tenéis, tienen

TRAER → traigo, traes, trae, traemos, traéis, traen

VALER → valgo, vales, vale, valemos, valéis, valen

VENIR → vengo, vienes, viene, venimos, venís (accent), vienen

VER → veo, ves, ve, vemos, véis, ven

Keep in mind that these irregularity rules are for the presente del indicativo specifically !

#spanish #verbs #langblr #masterpost #conjugation #irregular verbs #spanishlessonforCharlotte

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bforbookslut · 7 years

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Sasha Alsberg and Lindsay Cummings’ Zenith Is a Space Adventure With a Familiar Story and Tropes

I have given Zenith by Sasha Alsberg and Lindsay Cummings a ☆☆☆ rating. It is Book 1 of The Androma Saga series. It is Young Adult Science Fiction with some Space Opera and Romance. Harlequin Teen publishes it. It will be published January 16, 2018.

The synopsis reads:

Most know Androma Racella as the Bloody Baroness, a powerful mercenary whose reign of terror stretches across the Mirabel Galaxy. To those aboard her glass starship, Marauder, however, she's just Andi, their friend and fearless leader. But when a routine mission goes awry, the Marauder's all-girl crew is tested as they find themselves in a treacherous situation and at the mercy of a sadistic bounty hunter from Andi's past. Meanwhile, across the galaxy, a ruthless ruler waits in the shadows of the planet Xen Ptera, biding her time to exact revenge for the destruction of her people. The pieces of her deadly plan are about to fall into place, unleashing a plot that will tear Mirabel in two. Andi and her crew embark on a dangerous, soul-testing journey that could restore order to their shipor just as easily start a war that will devour worlds. As the Marauder hurtles toward the unknown, and Mirabel hangs in the balance, the only certainty is that in a galaxy run on lies and illusion, no one can be trusted.

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I haven’t been this early for a review in a really long time but I was super excited to read Zenith ever since I received it. I’ve always loved space stories because if I wasn’t a writer, I’d love to be an astronaut. Or marine biologist. Or historian. Maybe librarian. You get the gist, I love to be a lot of things.

But, you’re in for a wild ride with Zenith. You either love it or hate it.

I haven’t written a review this long in a while so bear with me.

As always, my reviews may contain spoilers. I say may because what’s a spoiler to you may not be a spoiler for me.

Oh boy, is this a difficult one for me to review. My review process is this: I finish a book, I sit on it for a few days and then head over to Goodreads to get a refresher. Usually, it’s a good thing because it reminds me of things I want to mention but have forgotten. But with Zenith, it opened a massive can of worms I wish I had never seen.

Initially, Zenith was going to be one of my 4-star rating books. It turns out, I’m the perfect audience for it. I love damaged and fucked-up characters falling in love and I love all the drama. I went into Zenith expecting a soap opera/drama and I got it.

But after reading Goodreads and learning all I can about the background of this book, it’s dropped to a 3-stars. I don’t hate it. Zenith is not a bad book but it’s not good either. Did it blow me away? No. But, hell it was entertaining.

So, this review will be different than normal and split into 2 parts: first impressions and after goodreads.

F I R S T I M P R E S S I O N S

I have never read a space opera before. I even had to Google what the genre is all about. And I loved what I found. As you probably know, I am a massive fan of Defy the Stars by Claudia Gray and until another mindblowing book comes along, that’s what I recommend whenever anyone asks me. And I expected Zenith to be something similar but more, for lack of a better term, extra.

And I loved it. I couldn’t put it down. It kept me up late at night and my eyes are probably rotten because I keep reading in the dark. I didn’t even realise it was 500 pages (cause my Kindle app doesn’t tell me so). It was dark and it was sensual, the writing clichés which some people might not like, were lyrical and poetic. The imagery spun was stunning.

Plot-wise, Zenith went in a multitude of directions. There’s the Androma, Dex and the Marauders plotline where the former two have to rescue the king’s prisoner son in the treacherous lands of Lord-I-can’t-remember (I’m not good with names here. I can’t even name you anything in Maas’s books because I never remember), but basically, they’re the bad guys. And then there’s the flashbacks (??!!) which are confusing but I just rolled with it. And then, there’s the evil queen of the bad lands who isn’t all that bad (or at least that’s what they want us to think) who wants revenge on the entire solar system for fucking up her kingdom and her parents’ lives and her life.

The Androma, Dex and Marauders line is resolved and then some. But the others just leave big question marks hanging in the air. But then again, Order of the Firsts, guys. It’s always like this because publishers want you coming back for more cause all they care about is the money.

Plus, they are all told in different POVs which can get confusing but it wasn’t a hard switch. It’s such a way of writing in YA that I’m used to it. I wish we could still get by on one voice only. I miss those damned days.

But to me, the characters make a story and I loved the Bloody Baroness. She’s dramatic and always very weepy and conflicted but oh, she’s so attracted to Dex. Let it just be clear that she’s very much like a copy of Celaena/Aelin but without the latter’s depth. She’s got death following her and her crew of pirates wherever they go and she’s torn up about it. Some people have an issue with the fact that she’s called something so vicious but is just a kicked puppy. But come on, this is a trope we’ve all seen before. Move along, shall we?

But, I did find it a little strange that although she hates killing, she kills everyone left, right and center in the name of protecting herself and her crew. Plus, she’s a fugitive.

Really weird and conflicting but at this point, I’m still rolling with it.

Dex is an arrogant prick. And while it’s my favourite trope when it comes to YA heroes, they usually come with some redeeming qualities. Dex has none. In fact, I’d say that I didn’t like Dex at all. He’s the perfect example of how not to write a YA hero.

And, the romance between Androma and Dex seemed incredibly forced. No chemistry. Just loads of trying-really-hard-to-create-UST.

The rest of the characters in Zenith sort of fade into the background. There are the Marauders which are very Six of Crows-esque, and the evil queen, Nor and there’s Valen, the prince they’re supposed to rescue. And a robot named Alfie that reminds me of Defy the Stars.

While Zenith attempts to fashion a unique space world, it feels too much like Guardians of the Galaxy and that bothered me about the worldbuilding. It didn’t feel utterly unique (unlike Defy the Stars. You can’t stop my love) and the entire time, all I could imagine was Peter Quill’s ship flying across the Guardians of the Galaxy space ala the movies. While there are references to unique “alien” features for example, in the pilot, Lira who has scaly skin that can heat until it burns her clothes off and it’s controlled by her emotions, nothing is taken a step further and explained.

And space opera and science-fiction are known for being detail-oriented.

But I still loved it. In all it’s campy, trying really hard glory. I thought it was a great first attempt and couldn’t wait for me.

A F T E R G O O D R E A D S

And then, I looked at Goodreads.

I was confused by all the awful ratings. And it spiralled from there.

It turns out Sasha Alsberg is a notoriously famous booktuber (I wouldn’t know. I don’t booktube) and people are concerned that this book being published is because of her connections to the higher ups.

But more than that, the editor tied to Zenith is notorious for having published The Black Witch. Which is a plague on the YA community. I don’t understand how….how could anyone have let that racist crap slide.

And it was only after this that I realised what I had thought to be extra, dramatic and campy writing ala soap opera style was just bad writing. In fact, one reason why I loved the writing so much was because it’s the same time of exaggerated and flowery writing that fanfiction writers love (and readers like me eat it up).

Plus, it tried too hard to replicate the success of Throne of Glass and Six of Crows, perhaps in the hope of becoming the next big thing. It’s basically fanfiction set in space, guys. While I am the type of market this book is targeted towards, meaning that I love my tropes, it’s just laughable. There are tons of books out there like TOG and SOC but they’re all unique in their own way. I’ve even managed to reference Defy the Stars more than once!

Not to mention, Androma has red.hair. Who else has fiery red hair? You tell me. Hint, I’ve mentioned the name several times in this review. Not a fan of self-inserts.

Also, I am not a fan of celebrity books and have yet to purchase/read one. While other writers struggle and work their butts off to even get noticed, celebrities get special treatment because they already have a fan base in place.

While I am still looking forward to see where both authors are going to take Zenith, I wait with all these thoughts in my mind. In film classes, we are taught that the author is not separate from his work (and I did a lovely paper on Alfred Hitchcock which I loved) and it’s true in this case.

I’m afraid that Sasha’s reputation has coloured not just my opinion, but the opinion of many other readers out there.

While Zenith is not bad, it’s not great either. I can’t shout about it from the rooftops. For one, it reads too much like fanfiction (and we all know the kind of fanfiction turn book that has hit the market these days) and secondly, it needs a shitload more work before it’s public-worthy. Zenith has great potential. It just needs a lot more polishing, preferably throwing the entire draft away and writing it fresh. And perhaps, Sasha should consider a pen name.

Thank you to Edelweiss and the publisher for providing me with an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review. This review edition may differ from the final edition.

#book review #zenith #sasha alsberg #lindsay cummings #young adult #science fiction #space opera #romance #threestars #2018 publications #arc review

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