"You don’t love me… do you?" Perhaps it was hunger that loosened his tongue. That gnawing urge, sharp and relentless, that left no room for illusions. The craving stripped him bare, tore away the blindfold he had so stubbornly tied over his own eyes. Now, at last, he could see the truth he had long refused to acknowledge.
He studied her in silence. Even with betrayal cutting through his chest, even beneath the weight of hurt blooming into something darker, she remained untouchable in her grace. A figure carved in beauty, flawless to anyone who didn’t know better.
"Because if you did… if you ever truly did… you would have led me through this life. You would have made it easier."
oh... and now they have to do the uncomfortable thing.
the pink plumpness of her bottom lip finds purchase between the sharpness of her ivory canines. pale flesh of her feet press against the cool linoleum kitchen tiles, heels anchoring her while she tries not to squirm out of her skin. she knew this conversation with levi would happen sooner or later when he started to get sad. the weepy moping was soon to follow. dara hated this - the moment when the mist cleared. when the bloodlust was silenced to a dull thrum of electricity, finally allowing sense kick in, clarity gaining purchase.
childishly, she crosses her arms, “please. it's not like you were left for dead in the next town over - i'm right here.” dara had heard it all: if you loved me, you would turn me too. if you loved me, you would have told me. if you loved me, you would have never turned me at all. she could never win. "you died. of course it's going to be hard." none of the signs pointed to levi taking undeath particularly well before she'd turned him, but none pointed toward a blinding bloodlust, forcing her to put him down like a dog with rabies. she thought wanting it - wanting her - would be enough for him. it rarely was. "no amount of handholding would change that."
hyun wasn't a gym rat by any means, let alone a rat in a race. all the exercise they felt they need could be done outside of a room. they'd run through the trees, jog across the town and back, mess around in the garage with hub cabs— all free from potential eyes and ears. yet, they decided to do something different. stalk into the gym during the witching hours, mind his business in the corner. however, it seems business always wanted to mind hyun. within moments of walking in and finding a corner for himself a shrill scream erupts from the back. his legs move before he could even think about it, racing to the back of the room. there isn't a thought in their mind what it could be, but once the door opens he pauses with it before it's further than a few inches open.
he's peeking in at dara, entirely alone, bewildered like some two-bit ghostface had busted through the window. he stays there, peeking in with a confused expression. she seems to ... be looking at herself. which, in the first place, was odd for a fucking vampire. instead of standing there, definitely creepy like the proverbial ghostface, he tosses the door open and squints. " what ... the fuck was that, dara? " they're looking her over, glancing towards the mirror, back to her, back to the mirror. " did you ... what ... " he scratches at the back of his neck, " are you okay? " clearly not!
her empty heart tightens in her chest as she steps forward, the woman in the mirror does the same, closing some of the distance between them. she'd never seen herself so clearly. she was shorter than she felt. paler than she remembered. was her belly button always that high? none of the traits fit her expectation of herself - the memory of her image like water slipping through your fingers. dara tries to conjure a memory of her face in cerulean waters, the distortion in a polished copper mirror but time has chipped away at it.
somehow, she manages to tear her eyes away from the grotesque reflection of self, turning towards the door with wide eyes. "you see it too?" which was a relief. in her undeath, the vampire could count the number of times she'd genuinely been afraid on one hand. none of those times were anything like this. this felt worse. this feeling ... the moment you could not recognize yourself. she hasn't felt a tightness in her chest in a long time - not even a hunter's knife felt like this. "i think i might faint. i've never fainted before." alarmed, her breathing quickens, hand coming to reach for the wall. hyun fixed her car. he could fix this too, right? "what do you do when you think you might faint?"
no one could remark this morning that pan would show up late to his own funeral. in fact, he settled on the makeshift yoga mat ( which he created from a leftover stolen floor mat from the shop ) and had his legs crossed beneath him, and his fingertips pressing into each other to meditate, and everything. thought it would be fucking hilarious to surprise her. to crack one of those saffron-rimmed eyes open in the pitch-ass dark and see if it got her for once. NOT TODAY. the scream shatters the whole room, and pan about leaps from his own skin into the lurking wolfish one.
"jesus, dara, what the fuck? i'm trying to get my cobbler's pose on and you're—" the remainder of the quip cuts itself off. those glinted eyes strafe to the mirror, then back to her. then back, forth, back. hands splayed behind him, tank shirt with a splattering of dust from earlier's lost dog pick-up. yes, he was up even earlier than this. ( that's how you make yourself useful. ) "—whoa."
pushes himself off his haunches into a feral crouch. but a dogged grin spreads in place of the horror. "well, i'll be shit on a stick. who could have seen this coming? from now on, you're gonna see yourself coming." a hoarse chuckle. he swipes his knuckle across his cupid's bow and sniffs. this would be one hell of a great time — or just another fucking mess he's stumbled into.
her eyes squeeze close, screaming again - taken off guard by the werewolf in the dark. it's too fucking early for this shit. it's too fucking early for all of this. she can't even process the reflection staring back at her until she deals with the wolf - honing in on them with a stern finger - "why are you sitting in the dark, you little freak!" her spine is already a rope already too tightly strung, overly tense with her strong shoulders by her ears.
she loves to see pan on the typical morning - excited to see any of her students beat her into the studio because it's rare anyone makes it earlier than her into the gym (reflection included). it's more typical to hold for the first couple of minutes, waiting for the regulars to trickle in. not only is spoiled by one, there's two.
"if i had a heart, i'd be having a fucking heart attack." purposely keeping her back from the mirror, she finds herself reaching for her chest, pressing firmly against the steel skin flat underneath her palm. "can i have a heart attack?"
a familiar set of turns take her to where all roads lead: wayside motors. the shattered headlights are enough for anyone in the bodyshop to know she's done it yet again. a creature of habit and rage, dara often found herself in this position. her near-immortality made her reckless. unfortunately, the pink bug she toted around was not. but, that's what the mechanics were for.
"hey, mack!" she calls out from her rolled down window, smile shamelessly bright. "got another job for you."
practiced hands flip the switch on the wall - the small studio beginning to hum with electricity as the bright fluorescent light floods the space, highlighting every ugly detail about the humble dance studio tucked in the back of the gym. they operate 24/7 but the studio lights stay off if there's no one using it ( yes, even the two hundred year old vampire supports energy conservation ). it's hardly berghain, but riverfells has its own charms, allowing her to fall into a sweet, domestic monotony.
dara isn't one to hum over what she doesn't have, lamenting on what she wishes. you grow to be too old for all that as the centuries creep on. after all, she's been a vampire a lot longer than she'd been a human - one stops trying to chase the sun, no longer searching for yourself in the glass. but, the pot boils once you look away.
a pair of eyes stare back in the mirror, kaleidascope eyes greeting an old friend with a twinkle. the studio's floor-to-ceiling mirrors have shown her much ( her student's poor form included ). but never this face. she blinks once. who is that? twice. her jaw falls open, letting out a scream for all the early birds to hear.
fingers tap against the weathered countertops , hues scanning the room for his potential date . jude is banned from every dating app , but that didn't stop him from last one attempt at human connection . so sure , he would have to explain the name on his profile was fake — and yes , so were most of his photos … but he was almost positive the hottie on the other side of the screen was also a catfish . so when he finally sees her , imagine his surprise that she's even better in real life . standing up abruptly , jude knocks his mug off the table , coffee and ceramic splaying across the the floors . “ shit ! fuck ! ” jude curses , immediately moving to pick up the shattered pieces . where does he even put them ? back on the table ? will he have to pay for the glass ? hopefully not . “ anyone got a broom or a mop ? ” he calls out , sheepish .
it was ritualistic: whenever she got tired of editing, she’d pick an app and start swiping. it was easier when they liked that one photo where she and a couple of friends from back home had dressed up as ghostbusters because then she could follow-up with a cheeky: do you believe in ghosts? but, these days it was feeling less like a study in human connection and more like a habit. all nuance had flown out the window. she’d blindly swiped right on half the town and waited for the fish to bite. the message from marty mcfly ( ? ) had piqued her interest. she was curious to know if the drummer's parents were really massive back to the future fans or if they were catfishing her. either way: what an adventure!
“oh—” vee gasps, knee-jerk reaction to stumble forward to grab at the liquid as it falls, just a bit too late to help. “you alright?” her brows furrow as she scans him ( pleasantly surprised to see her date actually was the drummer from the drought ). "you know, i'm sure it happens all the time." one of the staff members look over at them, none too pleased as they begin to reach for a broom, but it was an accident after all. "it's rotten luck, though. let me get you another drink."
"Kinda surprised this place doesn't go big for Summerween ..." Rosemary muses, a slightly disappointed smile on their face. "You'd think with the whole vibe of Riverfells they'd go silly for Summerween. That would be a cute name. Silly for Summerween. But ...I guess.. we're too close to Halloween for it now, right? Did I miss any Summerween festivities? Any halfway to Halloween celebrations?"
"summerween," vee echoes, eyes narrowed as she chews on the concept, giving it some consideration. is this one of those american things? "can't say i've ever heard of summerween. is that a thing - thing, or is it like ... a rosemary - thing?" she's not opposed to the idea, not revulsed by the thought of dressing up despite the season. but, it seems unnatural. "because i can get behind christmas in july - since, you know, that's the halfway point - but it does feel too close now."
who. mitch and vee @defangedtm
where. the retail strip.
his morning had been off to a chill start. he wasn't working at the gym today which mean he got a few extra hours to sleep in. after a quick breakfast he decided it was time to be productive and run his weekly errands.
taking his dog willow with him for a walk - you gotta kill two birds with one stone when the opportunity arises - he was on his was to get some groceries. thats when he saw her, and a soft curse left his lips. maybe... maybe if he was lucky she wouldn't notice him. it was strange, mitch wasn't usually one to hide from a past date, but this was different.
he and vee had met on a dating app and had (what he thought) was a great night together, except the next morning she refused to leave his apartment until they played a round of twenty fucking questions. it was weird, and the first time mitch had felt captive in his own home.
sadly, the universe had it out for him, and willow must have recognized her scent. his traitorous dog quickly made her way towards vee and nudged her nose into the girls hand. "shit sorry," mitch apologized, trying to reign willow in. regardless of how excited she was, it was not cool to just force people to pet you. finally making eye contact with vee, he gave a sheepish smile before saying, "hey... how ya been?" what. the. fuck. normally he was better at talking to people, but the way their whole date had turned out had him in unknown territory.
"oh, hello pretty girl!" vee coos, coming down to her knees without a second thought, meeting the pup at her level. "i remember you!" how could she not? she'd remember the excitement when they'd made it back to the apartment, slightly buzzed and all too thrilled to see the aussie shepherd he'd boasted about. gentle hands scratch round the flop of her ears, paying her all the attention in the world. she'd spent half of her interrogation of the man in cahoots with willow, thinking that the belly rubs would make her questions come out more casually.
honestly, he'd been a good chop. but, she'd pocketed all that he knew. so, unless something exciting happened under her nose, then she'd no reason to reach out for a second round of interviews. erm... date. the town was pretty small though. it could get pretty awkward if she kept that up with everyone she'd matched with. "m'good. just grabbing some brekkie." the ice in her latte jingles in hello as she flashes her free hand, grinning up at him from the ground. "what's up? no early shift for you today?" she's teasing now, knowing she might've been a bit of a nightmare for him the morning after.
CLOSED: Vee Blacktyde (@defangedtm) @ Wayside Motors
"Do I need to get a restraining order, or do you not understand the concept of loitering?" he mused as he watched that raven-haired girl appear again. Mack had his fair share of encounters with law enforcement that he would never subject someone to under their guise and lack of competency. At least that was his experience, and it would be too broad an umbrella to subjugate those with good intentions, say the ones who cared for him for all of twenty-four hours before he headed off into the system. "What can I help you with today? No, I won't dance or try some food with you and talk about gibberish. Do you not have friends your own age?"
vee kicks out the stand on her bike. it was creaky little thing, covered entirely in a mosaic of stickers - a shrine to its last owner's love for kpop ( considering half of the stickers were some various array of the bts boys ). "have some pity, mack. maybe a girl just needs to borrow a tire pump - is that too much to ask?" she'd bought the bike second-hand on facebook marketplace after convincing one of her more recent dates to take a daytrip to the next town over to pick it up. who needed uber when tinder existed? a car would be better, but outright buying a vehicle seemed too permanent and renting a car for a year seemed fiscally irresponsible and ultimately, she wasn't too sure what the rules around american car insurance were.
much like the rest of riverfells, mack was funny. gruff, yes, but he also humoured a set of questioning and let her show him what a mukbang was ( although he was still against participating ). she'd taken to bugging him, adding his carshop to her rolodex of hotspots in town. "can you help me with that, or do i have to sweet talk one of your mechanics?"
the room kept getting more , and more, and MORE crowded . laura had n e v e r seen the drought so crowded . it was shoulder against shoulder . voices blending into one . her own voice increasing in pitch , attempting to compete with the increasing volume of the place . not that she minded the increase in business . afterall , she was sure she had already made her rents worth .
there had been a small intermission in the influx of people that had allowed laura to step back . taking the opportunity to go to the back of the bar to chug a beer and pop a couple of fries into her mouth . it was the sound of a bar stool scraping against the wooden floor that signal the end of her two minute break . laura made her way towards the new customer . " so , tell me , what's your choice of poison tonight ? " laura asked , leaning her hands on the bar and leaning forward . " better yet , lemme guess it . if i get it wrong , first drink is on the house . "
she'd entered the bar in wonder, eyes wide as she took in the swell of the crowd, feeling like something was finally happening. she'd never seen the joint this full, this loud. it was like she'd entered just as the music had hit a good groove, playing all sorts of songs that had her swaying left and right, moving with the crowd. they'd only dissipated when the band took a break at last. from what vee had observed thus far, riverfells was a sleepy little town. was it finally waking up?
giddy off the atmosphere of the bar, vee laughs as she takes a seat, spotting a spot at the bar at last - nearly teetering forward until her weight leans against the bartop. "this feels like it's not going to go in my favour, but i'll play. can i get a beer?"
◟✧⡀ ( courtney eaton. twenty-six. cisfemale. she/they. ) … there’s a figure off in the distance, do you see it? wait is that … VAIORA “VEE” BLACKTYDE ? wait … now that i’m thinking about it aren’t they the one that are CURIOUS but INSISTENT? i could be mistaken, though. they’ve only been in town for A HANDFUL OF MONTHS. well, if you want to make sure it’s really them stop by THE RIVER RAMBLER. if it isn’t them .. . it’d be pretty spooky, don’t you think?
𝐈.
FULL NAME: vaiora olivia blacktyde PREFERRED NAME/NICKNAME: vee, vai (as per her family) AGE: twenty-six GENDER: cisfemale PRONOUNS: she/they SEXUAL AND ROMANTIC ORIENTATION: bisexual PLACE OF BIRTH: auckland, new zealand ETHNICITY: mixed cook island māori, māori, chinese, and white LANGUAGES: english, some māori (rarotongan) ACCENT: kiwi
𝐈𝐈.
PERSONALITY TRAITS: curious, creative, silly, insistent INTERESTS: research, music, gaming, video editing, swimming EDUCATION: double major in art history and english at the university of auckland, masters in media practice at the university of sydney OCCUPATION: youtuber, junior supernatural investigator RESIDENCE: a shared living situation with rory wolfe + unnamed roommate! ideally, a cute little blue house with three bedrooms in the heart of town CHARACTER INSPIRATION: lois lane (superman 2025), st*phanie soo... b*zzfeed unsolved...
HEIGHT: shorter than most - surprising many of her viewers when they see her in-person, or standing next to somebody else HAIR AND STYLE: a shorter black bob, going back and forth between front and wispy curtain bangs when she gets too lazy to trim them COMPLEXION: she was concerned she'd lose her tan while in the states, but its much warmer than she expected EYE COLOUR: dark brown FASHION: partial to an embroidered crop top and big pants, some sort of thrifted overlayer or something borrowed off a friend SIGNATURE SCENT: sandalwood and amber
𝐕.
𝐈 𝐊𝐄𝐄𝐏 𝐓𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐑'𝐒 𝐅𝐈𝐍𝐄 -
𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐖 𝐔𝐏 𝐈𝐍 𝐀 𝐒𝐂𝐔𝐁𝐀 𝐒𝐔𝐈𝐓.
you predate the brand by an entire year but the confused youtube comments still wonder why the hell your parents named you after a bottle of sparkling water — as if your name is perrier. imagine your parents named you after fanta. like the soda. fanta. or sprite. or coke. “it’s a name to be proud of,” your dad says, “vaiora means water of life, kui.” and you are. but, you go by vee for all intents and purposes.
your social media presence can only be described as all over the place. you go back and forth between video essays, true crime deep dives, vlogs, and gaming streams. the youtube videos are constantly clipped and reposted to tiktok and reframed with minecraft farming - hours of research reduced to brainrot. whatever. at least people are learning. you've always been good at digging. scouring for facts. you double majored in english and art history at auckland, before heading to usyd for a masters in media practice. people don't realize how much work goes into all your videos. they don't really care either. it's all mindless consumption to them, your observation being accepted as fact and parroted without a fact-check.
but you? you fact check. the article had made its way into your inbox, one of your followers bringing the curious case to the front of your mind. beyond the article itself, you don't find anything on the town, which usually means there's nothing fruitful to the story. but you can't silence this nagging noise telling you that you don't see the full picture. your friends say you're crazy. your parents are concerned. the other internet girls say your engagement will drop. but, you're here regardless.
you are more water than blood, and more salt than air. and yet, you've made a concerted effort to stay away from the water (don't look in and all that jazz). it's your goal to figure out what's going on - or at least, be the first to break the news to the internet.
𝐕𝐈.
in search of: online fans / trolls / mutuals ; (1/2) roommates who likely met vee over kiji or facebook market place! i think she was expecting college students but who knows ; has begun to find research subjects via tinder/hinge/bumble/grinder(?) ; i think vee might end up as something supernatural if given the opportunity to become other - possibly a witch? - to which, her family begins to thinks she's fucked off to america to join a cult
titsay
annaxmalina
areudirty
jbbartram-illu
izzy806
pixelskylines
