#anne's very humane and realistic approach to vampirism is what i like about her stories

[crazykuroneko]

that take is so bad I was so speechless and I couldn't sleep because I was so mad lol. but on top of what other people have aptly pointed out, why are you taking vampirism = queerness very literally? especially in the show, they have separated them by making the queerness explicit? and vampires are killers and brutal, the existence of some similarities doesn't mean i will say those vampires represent me as a queer person lol

[gilbirda]

Eternal. Chapter 1

Elizabeth was a very old vampire, used to changes and tragedies, used to adapt to the evolving world. When one night she searches for a distraction she finds someone as lost as she is, a human man that sparks an interest in her. But will that be enough? Would she risk involving him in her ageless world?

<< Prologue || Next chapter >> Chapter 1: Midnight Blood

She didn’t know for sure why she chose this place. Maybe the irony was too good to let it pass, maybe she was feeling funny tonight, maybe she needed something new after Suzie. Yeah, it has been a few years and they were speaking from time to time, but the look on her ex-lover face that last day was still haunting her.

“Midnight Blood,” Elizabeth whispered reading the neon lights on top of the sketchy door of the club she was going into, looking for something to eat. “Huh, quite fitting.”

She resisted the urge to put her hands on her ears and showed her fake ID to the big man at the door, smiling for a very different reason that the many youngsters around her. If this man tried to push her away he was in for a few broken fingers. But nothing seemed out of place in her, she made sure that she looked just like a woman of her apparent age would wear to a themed night club in a big city, a vampire themed nightclub; including spikes, blood red corset and “fake” fangs. She had to give credit to these new generations, they are almost on point with the whole set up, but still humans have so much to learn.

Inside was no surprise; loud electronic music and jumping (dancing?) young people and not so young people, enjoying a night out where they were safe and not judged by their hobbies. Lately, vampires were mixed with the gothic subculture and almost everyone into one thing was on the other, so along with Nosferatu classic attire she could see the whole chains-and-bats and big mohawks with white makeup and creepy body modifications. That was something she could not understand. Why would humans wish to be something they are not? Every vampire she had met was comfortable with they body; some more religious were worried about their damned souls and all that jazz, but never with their bodies.

Thinking about that, Elizabeth approached the barwoman serving drinks to the vampire-wannabes in the bar, and checked that no other from her species was out hunting here, mixed with the humans, so there was no need to fight tonight. She was the only undead there, so she proceed to find a suitable, delicious human to feed from the crowd.

And that’s where she found him, alone, with a half finished cold beer in his hand, a retro vampire costume on with the cape and everything, a content smile on his face as he watched the people, just like she was doing. He might be used to do that, she thought, because he didn’t look nervous or at unease at all. Maybe that’s why he noticed her looking at him, a weird glint in his eyes, like he knew that Elizabeth wasn’t a regular at that place. The boy smiled a encouraging smile and gave her a friendly wave before getting back to his warming beer. He sipped and looked at the crowd again. Was he avoiding her piercing red eyes? She knew they gave quite the scare to humans, but here Elizabeth saw so many fake red eyes that she discarded the thought immediately.

The vampire raised a brow to this. Who was this human and why was he so weird? Just when she was considering going to him and ask if he knew something, he looked at her with that content smile that got wider when he discovered that she was staring at him. Encouraged, he walked away from the wall decorated with bats and various posters of vampire films and framed costumes, original costumes, of classic characters portraying the vampire race. This place must have cost a fortune, Elizabeth thought barely registering the giant chandelier hanging from the tall ceiling, the flashing lights reflecting in every direction, reminding her of the disco balls back from the 80s. Damn, weren’t those the times.

Focus, she told herself when the boy was almost in front of her. If she was human, he may need to get nearer to hear anything he wanted to say, but because she wasn’t such a thing, Elizabeth could perfectly hear him tell himself to “get a grip” and “breathe, she isn’t going to bite”. Well, that may depend on what he was going to say, she thought.

“Hi”, he finally said, his voice barely wavering and full of a confidence that his pulse told her otherwise. She smiled. First impressions were important, and if she was so lucky to find a suitable “donor” so soon, she needed him to trust her enough to bring her to his house.

“Hello,” she said loud enough so he could hear her above the music, “sorry I was being creepy a moment ago. Your costume is just amazing. I’m Elizabeth by the way.” She held her hand, which he shook with a bit too much enthusiasm.

“William.” he smiled. “And thank you. Yours is pretty good too.”

The vampire smiled widely, for a moment forgetting to hide her fangs. But he noticed and his eyes lighted up with wonder. Those were the most realistic fangs he had ever seen.

***

“... Then I told him, ‘Dude, The Vampire Chronicles from Anne Rice, not that teenager drama’!” he laughed and sipped from the second or third beer of that night, he couldn’t remember very well. “The look on his face was priceless.”

“Yeah, I can imagine.” Elizabeth smiled, but from a different reason than the funny story the boy was telling her. He was perfect. Living alone, went out frequently, no friends here… The only thing was that he wasn’t trying to get into her pants, yet; or at least not so rushed like many other men she had fed from. That was something she wasn’t proud of, but men were more easily manipulated into hooking up in their house. Usually they didn’t get to their second drink of the night.

“Am I boring you?” he said bringing her back from her musings. “Sorry, I tend to ramble about these things a lot. My friends tell me that all the time.”

This is so cute, she thought. A fang poked from her red lips when she gave him her legendary half smile, seductively placing down her untouched drink on the counter and repositioning her legs in a sensual way. His nervous look down didn’t go unnoticed. The blood rushed underneath his skin on the neck, painting his face a healthy rose color as he realized that she was flirting with him. Maybe he was a boy after all, he looked really young, and for a moment Elizabeth felt guilty. She promised herself to never feed on children so long ago that she couldn’t remember how much time has passed since that day.

“Are you… Are you interested in me?” he asked in a low voice, as if he was afraid that someone was listening to their conversation. A funny thought indeed, because the club was so loud despite the late hour, but he seemed really shocked by the thought.

“Maybe, maybe not. It depends.” He gulped loudly.

“On what?”

“On if you are willing to get out from this place or not. I think I’m going to spontaneously combust from the human heat,” she changed the topic. She needed to get out soon or someone would die, literally. She hadn’t eaten anything in weeks and the hunger was unbearable, and she had been around humans for too long inside a poorly aired building. It was driving her crazy. William gulped again, her eyes following the inviting movement of the veins on his throat.

Elizabeth closed her eyes for a second.

“Are you claustrophobic or something?” he asked while standing up. Jackpot, the vampire thought. “I know this place can get on your nerves sometimes. The people are kinda weird and the drinks aren’t worth what you pay for them.”

“Then why do you come here?”

“I guess I enjoy watching other people have fun. I don’t usually come alone, but tonight I needed some changes in my.. eh, routine.” William scratched the back of his head, probably uncomfortable with the topic.

“I can relate,” she laughed thinking about the irony of the situation. That’s exactly what she had thought when she came here. Maybe this boy was what she needed right now to forget Suzie. Something different, something fresh.

It was a shame that he wouldn’t remember her tomorrow.