#Valentina convo

[santiagoxpierce]

Peering out of the window, Santiago watched two bird seemingly bickering on a chimney. He'd never been one to watch tv during the daytime. It was mostly telemarketing or exercise programs, and he wasn't interested in either at the moment. At this point, the painkillers kept him comfortable, taking away the pain surrounding his chest but it was harder for him to stay awake. He had to, however. Knowing that Valentina was soon to arrive as Viktor had told him before he left to pick up Joanna from school. At the sound of the door opening, Santiago turned to face it, a smile tugging his lips at the sight of his oldest daughter. "Pollito." He greeted her, uncomfortably shifting in his bed. "There she is." @valxdelgado

[rhapsxdydivine]

"Why did you pick the slightly less dirty city with all the wrinkle inducing sunshine. Couldn't you pick Manhattan with all the pizza, rats, and the epicenter of fashion? As least being shut inside would make more sense because it's bitterly cold like my soul." @cxtyofstxrs

[nikodimopoulos]

where: the book nook who: @valentina--ricci & nikolaos dimopoulos

The wheels of this new operation had been turning, but still Niko found himself at a bit of a standstill. He'd been able to secure a decent number of suppliers, and more money had been flowing in the past couple of weeks than it had since Los Santos had been dismantled -- but it wasn't enough. He had his family's help, with Stefanos especially proving invaluable to making this venture work, but without the extra manpower and resources they'd be dead in the water before they even made it a year. The writing was on the wall; he needed outside help, but never in a million years did he think he'd be approaching a Ricci to do that.

He wouldn't have even considered it had it not been for Lupe's insistence that he give the woman a chance, that Valentina was looking to squash her father's legacy and start anew. Money and resources be damned, Niko didn't quite trust the woman enough to formally set something up -- and, besides, he'd always been of the mind that catching someone off guard was one of the best ways to glean their true intentions. Luckily enough for him, Valentina had an event planned that next weekend for a book signing, setting the stage for him perfectly.

He'd patiently waited in line, briefly skimming the back cover of the book as he did so, until he was close enough to the front to catch her eye. Niko had no doubt she knew exactly who he was, given not only them Lupe as a common connection, but also that her resources through the Enterprise most likely would have put her very in the know of all the players in town. Especially a former Los Santos capo. "You can make it out to Helen." He noted, placing the hardcopy down before her on the table. "My mother. She loves a good thriller."

[xtinyslip]

❛ how's the castle built on people you pretend to care about? ❜

"HOW SWEET OF YOU TO ASK... IT'S STANDING TALL AND WILL CONTINUE TO DO SO. i suspect you are beginning to realise that?" cecilia had been somewhat busy with working on mark's little friend and most importantly parker's cure. with edgar and the vial that they had taken from valentina's belongings; silly girl. well, progress was being made faster than she thought. all good signs, of course. not that she was particularly planning on giving that much away. if the bitch wanted parker? why not let her think he was DOOMED one way or another? she may care about parker, love him even but she she was still trying to figure a lot of her own feelings out. it's why it was so easy to lie about it at all because she was still confused by how she was supposed to feel in some elements. "now you've caught me in what one could say was a good mood." smiling, tilting her head as she studied val. oh, there wasn't a single part of cecilia that even felt sorry for her. not after how she gotten off and what her father had been doing to her. "would you like to have a civilized conversation with me? or are you really going to give me the satisfaction of doing this the hard way?" @lcvenderhcze

[mjwritings]

closed starter ; for @blessyourstrz

Vance didn't even want to come to this shit. He wouldn't have, if he had gotten his way. The unfortunate reality was, it wasn't his dad that had died, though he'd still keep wishing. Therefore, the Kincaid patriarch was still calling some of the shots when it came to the family business. That meant Vance had to show his face at old man Delgado's funeral and pay some semblance of respect at the after-party that was not actually supposed to be a party. A celebration of life, he remembers seeing on the placard that came in the mail. As if that was any better. Vance protested on every account, mostly because there was one particular person he wasn't quite ready to encounter again. Not when the fiery brunette in question was his own personal brand of heroin that he'd been forcibly and unwillingly made to withdraw from. He'd been sober of her for the last several years, but that didn't mean his dick hadn't twitched at the thought of seeing her again. Even if it meant he'd be forced to recall all the complicated feelings she'd always seemed to stir up in him as well. Valentina had been at Delia's side like an annoying little lap dog since the funeral procession started, which left him little opportunity to slide in and reacquaint himself with her. Finally, her blonde counterpart was out of sight, leading Vance to swoop in and seize the opportunity. Popping open his engraved cigarette case as he sauntered across the room, Vance fished one out and stuck it between his lips as he approached. "I see your fiance finally gave you permission to leave the house to get out and socialize. That's cute." He mumbled around the cigarette, a smirk playing at the corners of his lips as he fired up the end of it with his matching Zippo.

[heroexxs]

"i think these two belong to you..." colt said as he stood behind the two kindergartners who were covered in bandaids. while colt didn't see himself being a nurse at an elementary school at all, it paid the bills for the most part. that and he saw stomach aches, sore throats and fevers, which he knew he could handle. he didn't open up much to the kids, he didn't see the need to when they were more focused on sitting out of class and going through his stuff. "i think they're starting to feel much better, right?" it was always the younger ones that seemed to want to play the most or go through all of his things, which he let them do. it kept them out of his hair and they all the sudden 'felt better' when they had five bandaids stuck to their arm. as he let the two of them run back to class, he chuckled to himself and just shook his head. "they might have a problem getting all of those off. it made their stomach ache go away, can't argue with that." he said with a little shrug as he shoved his hands in his pockets. "anyone else have this stomach bug?"

based on this // @lovest0rie

[odetolovers]

life 👎 friends that make it all a little easier to bear when you hang out with them 👍

[endlesswoes]

✶ 𝐋𝐎𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 ; the church ✶ 𝐅𝐎𝐑 ; @mcckies

Leandro arose in bed, startling himself upright with a loud gasp and brought his hands to his chest. Glancing to the side his children slept soundly with - to his knowledge - no sign of nightmares resembling his own. Letting out a deep breath to settle his erratic heart, he closed his eyes and fell back onto the mattress. That’s when he felt the pain again and twisted in his bed, muffling a cry with the pillow. 

Confusion and surprise mixed perfectly to cut his breath as his mind ran back towards his dream. The shackles around his limbs, the large cross in the center of the town, Sol standing behind him. The images all flashed too fast for him to dissect properly, but then he watched - almost as an extension outside of his own body - as she pulled back the scourge and flagellated him.

Before Lea had time to reach behind and feel where his pain took root, he heard screams up above him. He hurled himself off the bed grabbing the shirt he’d worn earlier that night and sprinted towards the stairs. Doing his best to move quickly through the church in case he had to spring into action. “Valentine?! What’s the matter? What’s wrong?!” Lea called out before fear of one of Them being inside made his heart set off.

[forgottenkale]

The Thief of Malconaire | Kale & Valentina

It had been carelessness and arrogance that brought Kale Brennan into the house of Malconaire that night. He'd spoken with Eithne after daring to sneak into the kitchens and, having already seen Rosie, he couldn't help being so near and not making an attempt to see Aoife and Brigit.

Night had fallen and the house was silent. Kale moved noiselessly through the great hall, the library, and up the grand staircase that led to the family rooms. It had not occurred to him that the girls would no longer have their old rooms: he did not know that they had been banished to the attics.

When he entered what had once been their private sitting room, he noticed that it felt different somehow -- less cozy and warm than he remembered. As he took in the decorations, he realized that it was because Valentina must have redecorated it to her own standards. There were no fresh flowers, no paintings of Malconaire or the family upon the walls (in fact, they had been replaced by a rather large one of Cassimir) and the comfortable sofas and chairs had been replaced by richly upholstered furnishings.

His back was turned when the door to the room was slowly opened and by the time he heard it, it was too late to escape.

Valentina Malconaire had seen him.

He should have turned back and gone home long ago. He could hear Ronan's voice inside his head -- how angry and disappointed he would be that he had allowed this to happen. Not only did he put himself at risk, he would be risking the lives and safety of the Malconaires, too, if anyone discovered them together.

Thankfully, Kale had the presence of mind to play the part of a thief -- better she not suspect that he was there to see her step-daughters. Kale drew his dagger. "Your earrings, Your Ladyship, and your necklace," He commanded. "Quickly."

[santiagoxpierce]

Santiago chuckled, not at all surprised if she’d managed to sneak in a stray without him noticing. She had always had a soft spot for animals, so when she’d told him she was going to study to be a veterinarian, he hadn’t been shocked in the slightest. "You always did have a big heart," he said warmly, taking her hand and pressing a kiss to her knuckles. "You're the greatest love of my life, miha." He spoke the words with complete sincerity, never afraid to admit the depth of his feelings. Especially not when it came to his daughters. "He did?" A look of genuine surprise crossed his face. "He didn’t happen to mention a specific breed, did he?" @valxdelgado

"I get that," she laughed softly, though it had been a while since he had made any attempt to keep a relationship interesting. She had a few relationships while she was technically married to Rhys but they never lasted. "I wouldn't, I still found a way to have animals in my life," she told her father, "you know, sneaking all the injured ones into the garage, might have lured a cat or two home at one point," she teased, though it wasn't a lie. "You might want to think about getting Viktor one before me," she quipped in return, "he brought it up during one of our wine nights. A little lady puppy." @santiagoxpierce

[santiagoxpierce]

"Miha? Valentina!" Santiago called out the moment he heard the door of his home opening and closing. He knew Viktor and Joanna wouldn't be home for a while, and he had texted Valentina he needed her to come over to help him out. Who else could it be? "I'm upstairs." He called as he stepped to the landing, looking down the stairs. "Hurry up, Miha!" He said once more before storming back into the bedroom. Once he heard her step inside, he turned around, various outfit options scattered through the room. "I am going to ask Viktor out for a date with no idea what to wear or what to do and I have--" He paused, looking at his watch. "-- fifty-one minutes to figure out. Your padre needs help." @valxdelgado

[xtinyslip]

"Remind him how it used to be."

hoffman wasn't worried that hope wouldn't come through on this. he had every confidence that she would so it wasn't a surprise when he had the call to meet her so called friend. a connection, that's all this woman was going to be. especially considering that she was one of them. still, hoffman was smart and hope had made an excellent point. they wanted them miserable? well, splitting up the two love birds was a sure way to get it. plus, he wasn't breaking his word to john. was he? he wasn't touching a hair on either of their heads which was a lot less than what he wanted to do to them. that was for sure. "so you and sears go back a long way. hum?" did he care what this woman had to do to get between them? fuck with him? fuck him? whatever it was and whatever she was willing to do? well, it would be worth it for all of them. "remind him of whatever you think is necessary as long as it ends with the result we need." @lcvenderhcze

[haysaca]

I swear ill play the 2.0 patch eventually. But I just love how Valentina never had any plans to tell Semmelweis about Bella. Like she probably already heard her muttering to herself from the start, and she probably followed her to Lorelei so she got to see her have an amusing convo with herself.

And also her only other friend we saw was Lorelei who's also delusional. Like girl we get it, you have a type.

[ericaxmanning]

"Don't worry about it." She murmured, taking another sip from the mug in her hands. Erica was a grump, but she wasn't going to turn the poor girl away. She wasn't a total bitch. "Like I said, cheap coffee." A hum, the blonde pausing for a moment before introducing herself. "Erica." But the service was good enough, not too overbearing, which Erica always hated. She always tipped, but she preferred her space and silence if given the choice, rather than being constantly bothered by an overly friendly server.

@valentinahq

" thank you-- " she expressed with a sweet smile gracing her lips as she poured some sugar and creamer into her cup of coffee to craft it to her liking. just the right amount of sweetness. the diner was one of the places she frequented on, not for the food per se but for the accessibility it has especially after her night shift in oasis. there aren't exactly a lot of establishments that are still open during the early hours of the morning. " yeah--though people could always go to driftwood, but that's a tad more expensive i guess. i'm valentina, by the way. " // @ericaxmanning

[santiagoxpierce]

"Pollito, my love. Are you staying for dinner?" Santiago's thick accent entered the room just when he did, carrying two cups of Cafecito in his hands, one which he put down next to her, saying hi to his daughter with a kiss on the top of her head. Imagine Santiago's joy the day Valentina had announced she was to move to East Haven. Granted he hadn't been so happy when he learned of her hasty marriage, but he had proven nothing but supportive of the situation. At least now he could bask in her presence almost every day. Someone to appreciate Cuban coffee with him. "How was work?" @valxdelgado

[blood-choke]

hiiii… i wanted to ask more about this particular val scene where mc and her talk about that portrait and mc is a bit stuck on the word husband and wants val to know theyre not a man. can i ask what inspired that type of convo? i wanted to know if it’s something you’ll touch up on again? is this underlying feelings mc had before their entombment… worried that val sees them as a man just because mc is masc? cause i know that’s kind of broader discussion in the lesbian community iirc….. was that why you wanted to incorporate it? this ask has so many questions LOL but basically i wanted to say i was intrigued and it did made me think more on those type of dynamics (thinking back to those resources you rb’d a while ago that go more into depth about diff things in the lesbian community)

oh boy get ready for another long-winded answer from me!

a lot of the feelings mc has about their gender are inspired by Leslie Feinberg's work (mainly Stone Butch Blues)

Feinberg was someone who lived & passed as a man for years of hir life, and wrote a lot about the complexities of hir gender and what it was like being a "gender outlaw."

there was actually a scene in particular from sbb that kinda put the kernel of an idea in my mind that led to this narrative of the mc feeling overshadowed by Standard and anxious about being perceived as a man. it's towards the end of the book when Jess (sbb's protagonist) meets Ruth (a trans woman that Jess falls in love with)

Jess offers to help Ruth carry groceries up to her apartment, and Ruth takes this the wrong way & is offended, partly because she thinks Jess is a man.

One Saturday afternoon I found her clutching two huge bags of groceries and fumbling with the downstairs front-door lock. I pulled out my key.

“Here, let me.” She didn’t say thank you. She hurried ahead of me on the stairs.

“Can I help you carry those?” I offered.

“Do I look weak to you?” she asked.

I stopped on the stairs. “No. Where I come from it’s just a sign of respect, that’s all.”

She continued up the stairs. “Well, where I come from,” she called out, “men don’t reward women for pretending to be helpless.” Once I heard her apartment door close I kicked the stair in anger and frustration.

later, after they get to know each other better, they have this interaction:

I laughed and picked at my salad. “Do you know if I’m a man or a woman?”

“No,” Ruth said. “That’s why I know so much about you.”

I sighed. “Did you think I was a man when you first met me?" She nodded. "Yes. At first I thought you were a straight man. Then I thought you were gay. It’s been a shock for me to realize that even I make assumptions about sex and gender that aren’t true. I thought I was liberated from all of that.”

I smiled. “I didn’t want you to think I was a man. I wanted you to see how much more complicated I am. I wanted you to like what you saw.”

i think the inspiration here is quite obvious, hahaha. i figure anyone that's read sbb can sense the similar through-line here in my work. though the conversation between mc and Valentina has a much different tone.

there's another scene later as well after something happens to Jess and she has to have her jaw wired shut. she's working at a new job and is unable to speak, and she's also passing as a man at this job. she overhears some of her female coworkers talking about her and they refer to her as a "creep" and speculate that she's always watching one of them. Jess overhears all of this and then walks out of the job, goes home and pulls the wires out of her mouth herself:

After I was sure I’d gotten the last piece of wire out of my gums, I rinsed my mouth with whiskey and then drank the rest of it so I could sleep without remembering how Marija’s words had stripped me of my humanity.

butches & gnc women still face this kind of dehumanization; compared or likened to men in a derogatory way, accused of being "heteropatriarchal," the predatory stereotype of the fat ugly lesbian, and on the other side they're also hypersexualized, especially online and in queer spaces. butchphobia is a specific kind of misogyny that hits from all sides, even from the people that are supposed to be a part of your community. and this attitude especially effects trans women and women of color, who are already experiencing all of these things due to transmisogyny and racism.

i also really wanted to use this to touch on the kind of gender essentialism that we see in a lot of these cis feminist discussions - to these women at this job, Jess had committed no real crime other than being quiet and being the “wrong” kind of man. something about this scene has always stuck with me and really bothered me, but it's hard to put into words; on one hand i can admit i have probably been one of those women who made some kind of similar remark about a man i barely knew, but i've also been someone on the receiving end, too, because of the way i look. the mc in blood choke is put into this box, but they can't fit in, as someone who has been on both sides and doesn't really understand where they belong because of it; how can she stand beside Valentina or Hana or Clear when they might see her as a perpetrator, someone who can't be trusted? how does this mindset harm both the women and the men of the council and everyone in between? how can we break this cycle?

one of the films i mentioned recently when talking about the character designs was The Same Difference, which is specifically about the Black lesbian community and the discrimination within that community based upon gender roles (though this is not something limited to just the Black lesbian community)

a lot of the women in that doc talk about the boxes they're put in as AG or stud lesbians - they can't have their hair long, they can't wear makeup, they can't do this or that, they have to be aggressive and hard or else they're not real studs. they discuss stud on stud (or butch4butch) and how other lesbians look down on those types of lesbians, as well as the disdain for bisexual women for "betraying" the community. it explores the way misogyny and the patriarchy still oppress these women and forces them into this restrictive gender role despite their refusal to adhere to the other role originally assigned to them, and the way racism specifically intersects and exacerbates it for Black lesbians. there's a stud that's an exotic dancer and wears a weave, and a lot of other studs have a problem with this because a weave is "a female thing." another section follows a pregnant stud, and how the community shuns her for that, because she "dresses like a man and acts like a man" so why is she getting pregnant when she should be "the man"?

mc doesn't remember how they felt before entombment, but waking up they feel this need to prove themselves - both in that they are hard and aggressive like a butch should be, but also in that they want to be this person for Valentina or Clear or Hana (or all of them) that is safe and comforting. but they aren't sure how to do that when the world perceives them as this one specific thing - as a husband, as Standard, as a man, specifically this man who hurt Valentina.

of course we've already seen this to not be true of the companions with the last chapter as the mc learns more and spends more time with everyone. but this is kind of the foundation of where this whole idea came from. it started with my novel & i chose vampires for that story & this one because there is a long history of lesbian vampirism (and also because it's sexy) but there's this "curse" that both Hana & Valerie talk about in their respective stories, the first one being the racism she's had to face, the transphobia, along with this alienation and perception of lesbians as predatory and conniving and aggressive, as vampires, which i just think really lends itself to expanding upon these issues lesbians & trans women face both in general and within the community.

anyways if you want to read more i suggest Stone Butch Blues, which you can get for free on Leslie Feinberg's website, as well as S/he, by Minnie Bruce Pratt, available on the internet archive, Gender Failure by Ivan E. Coyote & Rae Spoon also on the internet archive, and you can rent The Same Difference for $10 on vimeo.