Disclaimer: Violence/bloodshed/gore, psychedelic crisis (a bad trip), Saith. Definitely dipping into the ‘horror’ element here, folks.
He would never admit it, but the sheer effort of holding himself together after that final lie, followed by an attempt to mist both himself and Faith, had pushed Seth to the absolute limit of his power. He knew from the very second she took his hands that he couldn’t make it as far as the grotto, possibly not even as far as the island, and he didn’t think his finicky, fleeing fledgling would appreciate them materialising in the sea.
He chose a trajectory inland and hoped for the best.
“Why are we in the toilets at The Caboose?”
Trust her to recognise which bar she was in by the restroom alone.
She had claimed that she had been a regular here in her pre-vampire days, but no one had recognised Faith in the time they’d been lurking in a quiet corner of the bar, watching the patrons as they came and left. Faith claimed that she was looking for a specifically-styled human to target, but it was obvious to Seth that she was attempting to delay the inevitable.
“Select someone in the next ten minutes or I choose the man in the cardigan,” he threatened.
“You’re not going out with me dressed in a fucking elbow patch cardigan.” Faith pouted and glanced around the bar, her eyes falling on a fellow who had just entered.
Seth could’ve sworn Faith purred as she surveyed this man. She turned back and nodded. “Him. The guy in the hat.”
Seth quickly scanned the individual in question. Thirty-two, dock worker, currently unattached although he was here hoping to change that.
Not an ideal choice for Faith, though, however much she was salivating at the thought of her impending seduction.
“Hm,” Seth mused. “I’m not sure he’s quite what you’re looking for—”
“He’s perfect,” she growled, licking her teeth as Seth grimaced. “I want him. I hope he can keep his hands off me, not that I’d stop him if he couldn’t. I’m gasping over here.”
Seth rolled his eyes and tried not to lose his cool at her smug face. If she wanted this one, fine. She could have this one.
“Very well,” he murmured. “Follow me.”
They both rose from the table and Seth guided Faith towards the exit. She glanced back at her behatted quarry; confusion written all over her face.
“Where are we going? Should I use my allure on him?”
“We’re leaving,” he replied bluntly. “And no, not this time.”
“Aww, Seth. You are so cute when you’re all jealous,” Faith teased as she sashayed out of the bar and across the empty dock behind him. “OK, you’ve made your point; no sex with the prey. Are you really just leaving him there?”
“No,” Seth answered, motioning to a gate that led to the rear of an aggregate yard. “After you.”
“This is secluded.” Faith peered inside, her face lighting up. “I understand,” she purred as she entered through the gate, throwing him an exaggerated wink. “A quickie to get it out of my system then back to the hunt, yes?”
Seth sighed and gestured for her to turn around.
“From behind? You dirty man; I’m gonna wind you up more often,” she grinned, pivoting slowly on the spot as requested and hitching up her skirt. “Holy shit!” she hissed, hastily tugging it back down. “What the fuck is he doing here?!”
The hatted human did a double-take, held up his hands and began to back away through the gate he’d wandered through.
“Blimey, sorry!” he said. “I think I was on autopilot. I swear, I’m not some Peeping Tom. I’m actually on a date myself—”
“What happened?” Faith asked looking at the human man who had fallen still and silent but was still standing, somehow.
“I happened,” Seth replied abruptly, shoving her forwards. “You first.”
Faith stumbled as he pushed her and smiled to herself. “Wow, you really can’t deal with this, can you? Me using my allure on another man? Can’t say I blame you; he is gorgeous and aww, look, he follows me, too! If he tastes good I might trade you in, Little Doggy.”
Seth sighed in a laboured fashion, but there was a definite streak of amusement hidden within it. “It’s not your allure at work, Fledgling. Not for Kevin here. Allure doesn’t create attraction; it only amplifies it.”
Faith faltered but quickly regained her mask. “Are you saying that he’s not attracted to me? Because he definitely is.”
“He’s definitely not,” Seth laughed. “He’s quite attracted to me, though.”
Faith’s jaw dropped. “What? He’s gay? And you didn’t think to tell me?!”
“I tried to tell you at the bar but you were so adamant not to listen, to rub my face in it. Perhaps there’s a lesson in there somewhere, Fledgling.”
“Well, you’ve ruined him for me now. I don’t want him if he’s not—” she bit her lip, silencing herself, but he still heard the end of her sentence. Responsive.
“Ah,” Seth mused. “By all means, try giving him one of your award-worthy hand jobs. But maybe, just maybe, this might work.” He waved his hand and Kevin’s heart rate elevated. Faith watched in amazement as the previously calm human began to sweat and tremble for seemingly no reason.
Seth swept a loose strand of Faith’s hair behind her ear and pulled her close. “Better?” he asked.
“What is this?” Faith uttered, unable to tear her eyes away from the still but shivering man. “What did you do? Is he having a seizure?”
“No. I reminded him of a few things,” Seth said with an eerie calm. “Go ahead, Faith. We don’t have all night if we want to go and play at the arcade,” he scoffed.
Faith remained in place, making no effort to take a drink from the prey she had previously been so willing to sample. “Whatever you did, can you undo it?” she asked, in a small voice. “Can you mesmerise him again?”
“I can,” Seth murmured. “But tell me why I should.”
Faith gritted her teeth. Because he… just do it. Please.
“That’s not an explanation,” Seth said, a dangerous undercurrent creeping into his voice. “Enlighten me; what’s running through that perplexed, pretty little head of yours? You wanted an emotional reaction, yes? I have delivered.”
But this is… he’s scared.
Seth let out a short, cruel laugh. “He’s terrified. Trapped in a perpetual cycle of his own worst nightmares, in fact.”
“Holy fuck!” Faith gasped. “Why would you do that?! I can’t drink from him when he’s like this! It’s cruel!”
“It is terribly cruel,” Seth agreed. “And yet… that appeals to you, doesn’t it?”
Her pause was ever-so-slightly too long. He knew the answer and knew she wouldn’t say it. As expected, she shook her head vigorously, clearing her head of the first whispers of her thoughts.
“No,” she insisted. “It doesn’t. Do you always do this when you hunt? Scare your prey?”
“Most times, yes. I’ll make them think they’re being pursued, throw in a few jump scares perhaps but I do like this; the paralysing, overwhelming sense of hopelessness as he tries to fight the hold.”
“You fucking monster,” Faith spat. “It’s not bad enough that you have to kill them, you have to scare them half to death first?! He’s about to shit himself and — fucking hell, Seth. You like this?!” she hissed at him as he nuzzled against her and nibbled her ear.
He answered with an affirmative growl; her outrage ebbed as his thumb glided under the hem of her top.
“Oh my god; you like this,” she whispered.
We all have our vices, Faith; our predator instincts. You can pretend that you don’t and fight them, like Lilith, or you can admit that you do and embrace them.
Like you.
Yes.
Faith fell silent, contemplating, allowing herself to enjoy the deceptively tender touch of Seth’s gloved fingers on her bare skin. He began, once again, to receive her unconscious stream of thought as she shifted her focus from the man twitching before her, to the man standing behind her and finally, to herself.
“OK,” she said quietly, twisting the heel of her boot into the ground, anxiously. “I can’t believe I’m actually going to say this, but then I don’t want to be anything like Lilith, so… I do like it. But I’m not… when I drink, I don’t…” she sighed in a frustrated fashion, restructuring her thoughts. “They’re afraid, once they realise what I’m doing to them,” she admitted quietly. “But they never get this scared. This is… without the allure… it’s…”
“Too much,” Seth murmured against Faith’s neck. She nodded. He broke contact with her only long enough to give a new command to their tattooed prey.
“There, just for you,” he purred. “I have dialled back on the nightmares and let him run wild with a few of his filthiest fantasies. That should replicate your usual hunting scenario.”
Kevin dropped to the dusty ground with a breathless sigh.
“What’s he doing?” Faith asked, startled.
“Appears that he likes being on his knees,” Seth laughed. “And, hey, you like a man on his knees, right? Perfect match. Except for your gender, but I’ve clouded that for him.”
“What the actual fuck—“
“Ah, you only like it when I’m on my knees before you? How fussy,” Seth joked. “Still, I suppose it would be difficult to drink from him like that. Back to your feet, Kevin; come here, good human. Oh now, well look at that. His date would’ve been in for quite the ride tonight.”
“His date,” Faith muttered. “This is wrong. This whole thing is just so wrong.”
“Oh? Shall we try more lust? Less? Or shall we go back to deepest fear?”
“No,” Faith insisted, grabbing Seth’s hand before he could meddle anymore. “This is fine. I just need a minute. To think.”
“To talk yourself out it, you mean?” Seth asked, impatience seeping into his voice. “You are free now, Fledgling. Forget everything you were; forget everything the world thinks you should be.”
Embrace what you are.
—
—
Kevin’s blood was doing insane things to Faith; it was like a massive hit that sent all of her senses reeling and it only seemed to be getting more intense as she continued to drink. It was like watching the world’s best horror movie, while screwing the world’s hottest man, while also skydiving or some such crazy shit. She’d never felt a rush like it and she’d done some mental things in her lifetime in her pursuit of pleasure.
She wanted more – no, correction – she wanted it all.
You can have it all, she thought. Seth wouldn’t stop her; no-one would stop her. Yet, despite this, that little voice remained in the back of her head, nagging her to think and making her sympathise with the man in her arms.
He’s just a normal guy, it told her. He’s on a date. He doesn’t deserve to die.
It took every shred of control she had to pull herself away from the ichor. Seth, who had been idly wandering the area, immediately appeared behind her, steadying her as she stumbled back, her vision swirling and her head spinning with wave after wave of this high. Seth hadn’t said a word yet Faith felt an overwhelming urge to explain herself.
“He… he doesn’t taste good,” she started, feeling Seth tense behind her. “No, fuck that. That’s bullshit. Fuck. He does taste good. Really good. It’s a huge problem. Huge. Massive!”
Seth frowned at this nonsense string of words. “He tastes really good and that’s a problem,” he translated.
“Because you’re going to make me carry on, aren’t you?!” Faith blurted, slipping from delirium to panic. “That’s why you’ve done this, isn’t it? Made it so fucking intense. You want to make me… to make me…”
“I wanted you to enjoy yourself, yes, but I’m not—“
“You are though!” Faith cried. Her emotions suddenly thrown 180, she collapsed into Seth’s arms, her body wracked with dry sobs. “You’re going to make me kill him.”
“I’m not going to make you do anything you don’t want to, Faith.” His voice was as soft as his caress as he rocked her, soothed her. “This level is clearly still too intense. Noted, for next time.”
Faith nodded, comforted. “Maybe next time you could just tell me when my choice of prey is gay.”
“Maybe,” he mumbled.
“What story shall we weave into his memory?” she asked, fiddling with a button on Seth’s jacket. “How about: he was skinny dipping in the river and someone nicked his clothes?”
“No,” Seth replied, coolly. “There’s no need to alter his memory.”
“What? Have you already done it?” Faith asked, raising her head. “Oh, no wait. Because he was mesmerised, right? He won’t remember anyway?”
“No. Because I’m not letting an ‘appropriately-dressed’, most delectable, readily primed prey go.”
The realisation hit like a truck and Faith’s non-functioning heart dropped into her part-functioning stomach.
“No,” she whispered, choked. “Seth, don’t. Let’s just steal his shirt and find someone else. It’ll be a fun story for him to tell his date.”
Seth smiled and brushed his nose against hers. For a moment, she naively thought she’d convinced him; that he was going to kiss her, take them back to the bar and pick up some random loner who no-one would miss.
He tilted her chin up and she closed her eyes, expecting the feel of his cool lips against hers, the roughness of his stubble against her chin. He paused, inches from her lips and waited there until she re-opened her eyes.
The coldness in his voice sent a shiver of fear to her core. “I respect your choices, Faith. Respect mine.”
She gulped, sounding much braver than she felt when she challenged him. “My choices don’t kill anyone.”
“Oh, but they do,” he hissed, slipping form. Those ghostly white eyes gave her the creeps but she forced herself to stare back into them, a battle of wills.
Seth smiled at her defiance, showing those ragged teeth of his. “I’ll leave it up to you whether you watch or not, Fledgling.” He tilted her face upwards, snarling as she shuddered, and left her to stand alone.
Behind Faith, Kevin’s heart was once again trying to beat through his chest wall but this time, it was accompanied by frantic whimpers and starts, as if the human man was trying to wake from his nightmare. She remained facing the portable cabin as all the sounds faded and a weighted silence hung heavily in the air.
The calm before the storm.
—
—
The silence was deafening. Eternal. Was he waiting for her to turn around? Should she oblige?
The suspense was killing her all over again. Faith simply couldn’t take it.
It would be totally fine. She watched slasher flicks for fun, for fuck’s sake. It would definitely be fine.
Definitely.
Fuck.
Fuck, fuck, fuck!
“Ah,” Seth purred. “You’re still here and you chose to watch.”
“Whatever is the matter?” he asked, his voice buzzing with humour as Faith stood dumbstruck and mute before him. “Is there something on my face?”
He patted down his pockets as if looking for something. His hands were shaking but he laughed with a chilling ease. “Speechless, I see. Not what you expected?”
She shook her head, taking a step closer.
“Better? Worse?”
Her mouth was opening and closing like a goldfish’s, but she couldn’t seem to form any words or thoughts in response to his questions.
“Do you wish for me to take you back to Lilith? Are you going to run to the hills? Give me a clue, Fledg—“
“Interesting,” he murmured. He wiped his face with the world’s most disgusting looking handkerchief and straightened his hat casually like he hadn’t just had a teenaged vampire throw herself at him and there wasn’t a half-decapitated man at his feet.
“You’re always surprising me. So,” he smiled brightly, rocking on his heels. “Who’s next? We could head back to the bar or—” he paused as a call came from across the dock.
“Kevin? Are you out here?”
“Self-selection,” Seth grinned, flexing his fingers. “It would be cruel not to, wouldn’t it?”
< Previous Chapter | Index | Next Chapter >
Almost Eternal 
Much like most of the AE lot, Seth is clearly Sooo in control. I’m glad they didn’t land in the sea, lol. Though that would be entertaining. I wonder if he’ll spontaneously combusts if he tells enough lies, while he can physically lie now, clearly it takes a toll, so let’s see how we go.
Interesting, what would be an ideal choice for Faith according to Seth? Someone she wouldn’t have second thoughts about? Aaah. He’s gay. Yep, not a great choice for Faith.
Right, we’re not going the no second thoughts route, clearly, we’re even amplifying the prey’s suffering. That seems like a very risky move for Faith’s first kill, even with her morals wavering and her need for his approval being so high, pushing her to an extreme like this seems like it has an equal chance of making her snap the way he wants but also of making her run off. Wouldn’t it have been far easier to find someone to seduce with allure just like she wants, but only encourage to not stop feeding, and then once the first kill was over then hone in on the “we are killers, so might as well enjoy it” thing? I suppose Seth likes to live on the edge.
Well, at least someone is having fun elsewhere. Not that that one will end well either…
Oh yes, nothing to get you in the mood like watching your date slaughter someone. Looks like Seth did not quite expect that reaction either. Interesting, as he put it. I wonder if a part of him wants her to run for the hills, and that’s why he pushed this to a limit like that. Most people in his life ultimately did reject him for being too stone-cold, so perhaps he does subconsciously crave that. Have them be disgusted by how horrid he is, so that he can laugh and agree. How can he do his thing of being the “big bad monster” if the other person happily goes along with it, after all?
I suppose he did show her that whether she chooses to kill her prey or not does not matter because he will anyway, so she won’t hesitate with the next. Which by the looks of it is coming right up.
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I wanted them to land in the river just shy of the dock, but posing logistics failed me, so toilets it was.
Ah, so like Faith, you also think that Seth’s intention here was to have her kill poor Kevin? Make her snap? Interesting.
Shaking, blood-soaked murderers fresh from their kill don’t do it for you? Oh. He certainly made this whole thing extreme and yet, she stays. Still a big jump to be the one who deals the final blow, but nice to see that your expectations are appropriate.
“How can he do his thing of being the “big bad monster” if the other person happily goes along with it” Hmm, good point. He might spontaneously combust after all. 😉
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Seth your damn manipulative sociopath. If I’ve ever had my doubts then it’s definitely over now.
I do not turn on that type of murderous men 😠
It looks completely different to Faith. For her, it’s all about seduction, power and submission. Otherwise, it is usually only men who are accused of being controlled by a special part of the body. Seth has long understood that if he is to catch Faith seriously, everything must appear as a sex game. She’s on the hook as the vampires’ parallel to Bonny and Clyde.
I warn you Faith … they did not get a happy ending 🤨
Looks like Wyatt’s got his bad trip … or maybe he’s sneaked into Caleb and Roxie’s closet?
Whatever is going on on his retina does not appear to be an enjoyable sight.
Arg! I definitely need to hug my cat now.
See you later …. maybe 🤔
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Seth never did claim to be a nice guy, always quite the opposite in fact. Eventually, he was going to have to demonstrate that.
“For her, it’s all about seduction, power and submission… everything must appear as a sex game” spot on. What better way for Seth to convince her of his wicked way than linking it to hers? Always giving just enough to keep her interested, convincing her that her desires are normal when even he second guesses her at the end there. A parallel to Bonnie and Clyde you say? I’ll admit, Seth/Faith are drawing a parallel with a certain infamous duo in a few aspects. It remains to be seen what sort of ending I’ll give them, although these criminal couples do tend to follow a pattern.
Poor Wyatt is not having a good night. At least he has someone looking out for him and willing to help, unlike our main girl here.
Go hug your cat and if I don’t see you later, I understand. 🙂❤
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I wonder – did Seth bamf in from his memory of being in The Caboose, or from her memory of being in The Caboose? If it’s the latter, holy cow, that would mean that he could access other people’s memories to go into hidden or secret places.
Gah, I should be used to Faith’s comments turning sexual immediately but somehow it still bothers me. Everyone is a piece of meat including herself and it’s so sad. I’m weirdly curious to see where her mind would go if there’s nothing to keep it occupied. No sex and being vulgar as a shield. Just her thoughts, and nothing else. If you take away Faith’s viewing the world through sex, what would be left? Maybe this is why she hated quiet time at the beach and seal-spotting so much.
“Yes, Faith, you are free now, so stop acting like the rest of the world wants you to act and start acting specifically how I want you to, because obeying my every command is freedom, don’t you know!” /s
I have some hissing, exploding potatoes to try out. Seth’s hat makes for good target practice.
Dangit, I knew Caleb would end up entangled with Roxie but I was still hoping that he wouldn’t 😅 fingers crossed that poor Roxie actually makes it out of this encounter alive…
“I respect your choices, Faith. Respect mine.”
*flips table*
It’s not bloody respecting her choices if you’re actively guilt-tripping and pushing her towards making the ones you want 😣 gaaaaaaaaahhhhh
Woops, looks like that bad trip caught up with poor Wyatt. I’ve had one exactly once and can confirm it is not a pleasant experience. Thank goodness there’s people there to look after him. Yknow, with his buddy Caleb and Roxie being “occupied” in the closet.
As disturbing as this scene was, I want to take a moment to gush about how amazingly it was presented. Faith’s expressions and you leaving the actual act to the imagination work a hundred times better than graphically showing it through screenshots, at least in my opinion. Her shocked faces and Seth’s blood-covered picture are chilling. And then her kissing him and that picture of Faith’s smile… Fantastically done. ❤
Right – onto the actual scene. Holy cow. Ironically, in the end, it’s not Seth that made my reader brain hit the panic button, but Faith. And I mean that in the best way. Her kissing him and then smiling gave me actual shivers. There is so much hidden in her reaction to violent vampiric murder and none of it is good. This is a giant problem. Faith reached the moral “point of no return” cliffside and decided to gleefully jump off, face-forward. Maybe she’ll go all the way down until she hits rock bottom, just like Lilith. And there’s nobody to help her back out. Even if there were, Faith might be too far gone to accept their help at this point – she dropped Melinda like a hot rock already. Hell. She’s truly lost, isn’t she?
Aw man. So that’s why this arc is called “Descent”.
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Bamf in? 😆 OK, I know this is likely a ‘sound’ you are depicting, but my brain knows ‘bamf’ as meaning ‘bad ass m-f-‘and I was laughing for ages trying to imagine you saying that about Seth misting to a toilet. Oh geez. What was the question? It could be neither; Seth’s memory is cluttered with so many pieces of other people’s memories that it’s sort of impossible to say how he knows about anything.
Hoping for some Faith introspection, I see. We got a few glimpses of what she was like in a neutral state back when she was at home/ when it was just the girls, but yes around men she’s awful, especially around a man who doesn’t react like she’s used to.
“I have some hissing, exploding potatoes to try out” Yay! Yum! You invented those very quickly 😆 And hey, obeying his own will is freedom for Seth, so he’s only going with what he knows, right?
They’re just making out in that closet and Caleb is infertile and can’t get diseases so I’m sure it will be fine — oh no, wait, you mean the draining thing. Yeah, he’s definitely going to get his teeth in and she’s pretty so you know the rule; if she’s a ‘divine drink’ she’s a goner…
*Dodges flying table* Did he not respect her choices? He let her have the prey she wanted, gave her prey the emotional response she was looking for, even changed it and toned it down when requested and let her stop, no questions. Gave her the option to leave, to not watch and then swiftly offered to take her home afterwards. I think he was quite kind, horrific murder aside, of course.
Did you end up shirtless and ranting on your bad trip? I bet you did, you dark horse. Wyatt’s OK; this group are all good friends and look out for each other and Roxie would be too if she wasn’t so swept up by Caleb’s allure.
And we reach THE SCENE. Aw, I know why you’ve said that and thanks, genuinely. You have no idea how much your feedback helps me want to continue writing. ❤ I admit, I do dread publishing some of these more ‘graphic/harrowing’ scenes I have because they do tend to make readers go clipped/silent. I really do mean it when I say I welcome all feedback, good and bad. I don’t know how to interpret silence. I already assume AE is something of a guilty pleasure, so I’m going with silence meaning ‘please continue; I just don’t want anyone to know that I enjoy the dark stuff because they’ll think I’m depraved’. 😆
I made loads of poses and tried out loads of things before settling on this. I’m not usually one for gore, like you say, leaving stuff to the imagination is a great tool, but Seth’s blood-splattered face paired with his twisted humour both a) made me laugh because I’m awful and b) had enough of a visual impact to shock/repulse thus making Faith’s next move especially disturbing and poignant. I see that you got shivers so it worked. Yay!
She is truly lost, yes. And yes, the subtitle of ‘descent’ and the character’s positions on the banner are no coincidence. Nothing is, but you know that by now.
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Lol so this would mean that the hotel manager lady was attracted to Caleb all along. XDD Idk why this was the first thing that popped in my head. She’s got such a strong uh.. resistance. XD I assume Caleb use his allure on normal vamps? Would it be less effective? Faith should test it out on Seth to get some clarity.
Hm.. this chapter makes me wonder if Faith’s protests are because of society’s standards/morals imposed upon her (like Mellybean’s conscience) and whether she had one of her own. Then again she had a hard life with only Mel who took care of her so it’s simply possible that her own compass isn’t quite the same as others anymore.
Reading it I got random nerd questions about the highs/lows experienced by AE vampys. Do AE vampys experience emotions more.. ‘mutedly’ compared to humans? Cuz our emotions are also regulated by hormones, so in that sense the brain initiates the emotional response/feeling, but then its fueled or amplified by oxytocin/endorphins/etc right? So Lilith, who drinks minute amounts of blood compared to Seth would experience her life with less intense emotions comparatively? It’s not like we need an abundance of signals to trigger a reaction in the first place so maybe a small amount is enough to ensure a fully functioning emotive system until the next feed.
Also wondering cuz vampy’s organs don’t function, do the physiological responses associated with emotion work? Say sweaty palms for fear or laughing with tears. Seth managed to heal himself though, his skin regrafted itself; so maybe certain tier vamps have such responses? Or maybe all of them do as long as they have the precursor hormones to activate it?
I’ll stop nerding now. Seems like my brain is focused on random little bits that don’t matter to the story today. XD
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Yep, Squishelda was attracted to Caleb all along but she was very professional. To start with. Seth previously stated to Faith that allure didn’t work on him. Make of that what you will.
Way back when the girls first ran away, Faith thought about how she was always told that ‘she took after her father’, who we now know was a cheat who left his family at the first sign of trouble and let them struggle. Maybe she simply does have her dad’s morals, she filled in for him enough, and Melinda was her conscience. Perhaps Faith simply embodies what she thinks is expected of her.
Yay! I love random nerd questions, especially about brains! So apologies but I’m gonna get super nerdy back at you and everyone else can zone out now, lol. *Puts bigger glasses on* 🤓 So, the vamps have that initial trigger reaction for emotion, but, the amount of hormones they produce in response to that trigger falls and they start to rely on what they intake. This felt logical to me, as their unnecessary organs are in decline, why not their glands too? From a survival/curse point of view, why would its bloodsucking host really need to feel love or fear, right? Yes, that means vampire base emotions are, generally, more muted and a lot of what they experience comes from what they drink.
So, what do they drink? This is where taste and preference starts to come in. Faith is attracted to, and thus drinking from, men. Specifically, horny men. No prizes for guessing that she’s flooded with testosterone. Seth feeds off terrified humans who are likely supercharged with adrenaline, endorphins and cortisol. This enables him to survive at an alert, higher function, but I dunno how much you know about hormones, I’m guessing a good deal, so you’ll know that constantly keeping yourself at that level of ‘switched on’… phew. Caleb’s got a thing for feeding on women he’s intimate with, no surprise, but what’s going on the body of an aroused woman might give you some clues to that. AAAAND Lilith’s over there, sipping her bland blood bags and, coincidentally, coming across very numb. Making any sense? I know I’m really stretching science here when I could just say ‘eh, it’s all because of vampire magic’, but I really like thinking about how this might actually work, so I get super excited when you ask. 😆
Some physiological responses occur; Seth was shaking here, for example, but the ones involving non-blood fluid are impaired. I purely put this down to vamps only needing to produce that synthesized black blood they have to survive. This is gross but here we go; if the physiological response requires a fluid that is typically thinner than their black blood, it ain’t coming out, so no tears or sweat, limited -discoloured- saliva and yes… they have those other thicker fluids, too. I’m gonna stop now because – yuck.
“Seems like my brain is focused on random little bits that don’t matter to the story today.” It all matters. If you read between the lines of all the pseudo-science I’ve just dumped on you, I’ve literally just given you a load of hints and clues about my plot. Oops.
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I love this. I cant like comments on my phone for some weird reason, but ooof i love how much thought goes into vamp physiology. I guess a silver lining here is that if Caleb’s filled with intimate woman hormones and specifically thinking abt oxytocin here, maybe it will make him be less of a sociopath. And he’ll have more fake empathy. Maybe thats whats tipping the scales too! But its still creepy that they have to drain someone else to feel a shred of humanity.sigh. vampy life in ae is so tough! 😂
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Haha. I’m glad you like my wild theories and explanation. 😆
Yes. Vampy life is tough. Lots of trade offs for power and immortality in my world.
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So it was the “handling Medusa” option. Quite impressive, even with the admission. I wonder how much strength it took to handle Mel, too, on top of everything else going on recently.
Also “choosing trajectory” sounds to me like maybe Seth doesn´t need a clear destination in mind while misting, that he can just go in a certain direction. That would certainly make it very different from teleporting, if you care about the technicalities.
*facepalm* Seith is a really good name, but gosh are those two terrible when bickering that like that. It wouldn´t have hurt Seth to just say he was gonna handle this, but then again Faith /is/ just being obnoxious. Ugh!
…right. Wow. Guess we did get to the murderdate part afterall. *deep breath* Okay, so this is absolutely masterfully crafted, I want you to know. All the shots, all the things that go unsaid. Definitely doesn´t allow one to stay at curiosity and looking for clues only. *little smile* That doesn´t mean I won´t try, though. There /is/ some interesting clues.
We already knew that Seth tends to scare his prey, yes. But… somehow… and it´s mostly the expressions here… I´m starting to suspect a whole new level to that bit of knowledge. I mean… “like” is a term very open to interpretation…
Anyway. Bringing up Lilith, I see. Yep, manipulation at its best. But, just a neutral observation, when Seth´s holding Faith he is so very obviously annoyed and impatient and /done/ with everything… but he doesn´t show it to her, nope. He´s… really, really good at being terrible, isn´t he?
…*pokes a little at blood, pouting* Hey. I thought you meant to /drink/ that…
…right. I suppose being blood-drunk does really crazy things to Faith´s brain. Or switches it off completely, more like. Hey… Lilith. you said it wasn´t too late to get Faith back? I daresay it is /now/.
***
I also really read all that about vampire biology and while fascinating, I find I have one point to hold up about it. I mean, fear at least is very vital to survival. It´s crucial for self-preservation!
On the other hand, ack! Yeah… staying on guard is a good thought, but keeping that up too long definitely does wear on one. I sure feel like I have a much better understanding of things now. I mean… sure. When you hunt like /this/ then just kicking back and staring at blooming trees afterwards suddenly sounds much more inviting.
***
Ps: Okay, okay I /will/ admit it. …I´m /still/ going exactly nowhere, alright? I ain´t leaving this here camp.
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There was backlash from the untruths, yes. Witches can teleport, so I like thinking of misting as being a different thing to teleporting, that Seth can move as a mist in a general direction and might go too far, or not far enough or lose bits of the cloud along the way.
Them two bickering is one of my favourite parts to write. He could shut her down, but maybe he has a reason for letting her be obnoxious. 😉
Aw thanks. And yep, if you’re picking up the little pieces I’m dropping about Seth’s hunting habits, dietary choices and general self, what he ‘likes’ might start to become a little clearer now. Depending on how you’re interpreting ‘like’, yes of course. 😁
He is good at being terrible. Ha! It was a clean scene to start with, but I though ‘hey, why not cover him blood? He knows she’s come along to be shocked, he’d totally overdo that, let’s make it messy.’ Is it too late for Faith? We’ll see. It’s too late for me (and you, judging by your last comment; we are lost to the dark)
Yeah, fear is kinda essential. Ignore wherever I said that it wasn’t, my comments are reactive and should not be replied on as evidence.😆 The vamps do have lower levels of everything though, they need to survive but they don’t need to care a lot I think was the gist.
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Heh, yeah. Somehow, I always think of the “travel as mist” as an upgrade to the “fly here as bat,” though loosing a piece of the cloud is definitely a novel idea.
…yeah, we will see. I guess Faith might still freak out once she sobers up? Right now, it looks like she´s got over the point that she was scared of and is mighty fine, though. If that stays this way, then it would definitely complicate any “rescue” effort Lilith might make.
Oh, yeah. I get it now. Muted reactions, all systems working on bare minimum necessary. 😀
…also. Yeah. I don´t know about you, since you did say you hate writing some scenes (you didn´t specify which scenes, though…) but I had been lost to the dark long before coming here, my dear. Thirsty Seth made me a bit uncomfortable in his camp, that level of snappy is difficult for me to buffer. Hunting Seth… does not have quite the same effect, let´s say.
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I’m sure Faith will enlighten us, in time.
Heh. In other’s stories and in fiction in general, I enjoy and can easily embrace very dark, but when I write my own I often second-guess myself. I know it doesn’t make any sense. 😆 Let’s hope Seth stays nice and hydrated then, shall we? Keep you settled on that half log (or in the pretty cave, wherever his camp is nowadays).
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I feel ya. I can also read lots of stuff I´d never work up the courage to actually type up myself. I mean… I feel like it shows even in the way I´m commenting here, doesn´t it? Sometimes I feel like I´m being unnecessarily delicate about wording things, but it´s just the way I do. 😉
*smirk* Oh, I wasn´t anywhere near contemplating leaving anyway. Snappy might be unpleasant, but keeping in mind just exactly how insufferable Faith was being… it´s not like I can blame him for that, y´know?
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