#kev asks

[chiswhumpcorner]

Since it's halloween season again, what if: Vampire Kev?

He's kept caged or leashed by a team of monster hunters who use him to track down and hunt other monsters and torture him with silver weapons and sunlight-mimicking torches to ensure his subservience

SORRY FOR THE LATE ANSWER ANON

this is such a killer idea I needed to draw something! Have some gratuitous, delicious vampire!Kev bullying ✨

Is this Daffodil!Kev, I wonder? Might be, might be...

[jonny-versace]

I get the worries because Aaron not believing the John stuff was similarly exhausting but ultimately Robert has decided to get rid of Kev because of the risk he poses to Aaron and himself but mostly Aaron. That’s the bottom line, his guilt did trip him up of course but his fear for Aaron outweighed and tbh I think he knew something like that needed to happen that’s why he went to see Aaron.

How I think of it is, with the Kev/John parallels.

So like Robert vs John, Robert was the outsider perspective right? Like John had spent months manipulating the village up to that point to set himself on a pedestal, so when Robert came along he was able to see John Wasnt Quite Right, but he's the Outsider and the Insiders didn't want to believe it until it all went to shit, because their perspective was warped by the manipulations.

Flip that around and now Robert's the Insider with Kev, and the village are the Outsiders. Robert spent years with the guy in very intense circumstances, knows he was in for armed robbery (which, I just remembered, Kev said he was framed for!), knows that Kev said he was wealthy (which I don't believe was ever true: Kev clocked Robert's interest in that early on and I think used it as more bait, see how he got Robert back onside today by saying it'd been taken from him). He knows Kev got stabbed for him, and that he's responsible for it.

So now you've got the villagers with an objective Outsider perspective and they're all obviously like "uhhhhhh". But Robert being the Insider has had his perception warped and can't see it and defends him.

But THEN you bring Aaron into it, who's always been able to get Robert's head together. When Robert scoffed at Kev doing the robbery, it wasn't because he thought Kev's not capable, he literally said "why would he risk going back inside when he's loaded", so Aaron got him together and pointed out that neither he nor Charles have actually seen this money, which prompted Robert to confront Kev about it and expose the first lie (which again, Kev once again spun around with his explanation). But the bigger lie (and the biggest) still exist and so yeah he faltered when Aaron suggested getting him locked back up (because again, warped Insider) but he still agreed to do it anyway.

And so we wait for Robert to find out he isn't actually dying and hopefully takes this guilt off him (and again, he NEEDS to find out about the stabbing).

[chiswhumpcorner]

Why stop at sleeveless? Why not show us his whole upper body? Or - hear me out - there are hints of clothing on his body but they are ripped and bloody, most of it flayed away from a brutal knife attack? :3

Great, now he needs new clothes 😑

(my headcanon is, he fought a bear. the bear lost.)

[chiswhumpcorner]

Hey. As your askbox is open I hope it's okay to ask random questions about Kev?

I've just read the story about him going undercover in a hospital and suddenly wondered: what if Kev lost his memories for real?

How much of his training is so hardwired into him that it would still have effect without any memories to go with? Would you prefer it if he had just undergone NR and therefore has no scars or wounds on him,so basically nothing to piece his own story back together or would you want him to look into the mirror for the first time (that he remembers) and be shocked about how riddled his body is with scars that have long healed but prove that he's been hurt over and over and over again.

Would he be able to trust someone who tries to help or would he be completely paranoid?

(I kind of want him to be held by someone nice, someone who really wants what's best for him and who could make him let go of everything, just for a moment - but I know that wouldn't happen in his current Living weapon state so...amnesia maybe?)

P.s. I'd also like to know what Ghostfever is, as I haven't found an explanation so far and am too curious for my own good ;)

Have a nice day! 🌟

Hello hello! You can always ask, yes! Random questions about the boy make me happy ✨

Oh that is a question for the ages!

I believe even with total amnesia, his training would still be very hardwired. He'd intuitively keep being hyperaware of his surroundings, and many fighting reflexes would come second nature to him.

It's unlikely he'd be full of scars, because every time that happens he does go through NR (can't risk that kind of sleeper damage accumulating and hindering him at the wrong time!). I think it's actually more fun when he has no signs, and the abuse must be pieced together by his reactions instead, with no easy marks for everyone to see. I like how it's a representation of how his trauma works: it's not immediately visible, he can even seem perfectly functional, spotless, until you sit down and pay attention.

He would be extremely wary and hard to trust, because that kind of conditioning doesn't get reset just because you forgot the reason for it. But he can learn!

Your wish will be granted, at some point :) He'll fight it, more with invisible internal barriers than literally, but one day... 🥺

(As for ghostfever, I don't think I've shared a full explanation and I won't until it gets explained in canon, but for now, it's a made up physiological reaction in vektian people. Basically floods them with endorphins and adrenaline, the details vary (there's more than one type) but it's kind of a high for them: feels good, and heightens performance!)

[chiswhumpcorner]

Poor Kev has been hurt and punished in so many brutal ways that I'm wondering: are there any lines his "trainers" wouldn't cross or is everything fair game if it gets Kev to obey and surrender? Does Kev have any fears or phobias or were they tortured out of him?

Okok so! Continuing from this one. TLDR: they are unreasonable and it's on Kev to deal with it, one way or another.

Are there any lines his "trainers" wouldn't cross or is everything fair game?

There is actually a line, and that line is "ruining" him past what NR can fix - which is basically a major amputation. (NR can technically regrow anything, but you'll die before it happens because it requires more resources than a human body has).

Kev gets pushed to the point of risking death or other gruesome consequences often, but Leska would not, say, chop off a limb on purpose. That would nerf him. Were that to happen, might as well put him down and restart (unless Kev somehow manages to prove he can perform just as well without it ig). Excluding stuff like that, anything is fair game! If he breaks, he breaks.

"If it gets him to obey and surrender" > here's the thing, though, this doesn't require extreme punishment. Kev is first and foremost a survivor, he will play along and bide his time, when he takes a threat seriously (he reacts differently with different people, playing with margin of tolerance and threat assessment - with someone like Rhuls, defiance will show through). But in general, efficiency and minimizing danger are strong drivers for him, because he never knows when that extra damage he got for pushing back will be his downfall in the next bullshit task Leska requires of him.

Does Kev have any fears or phobias or were they tortured out of him?

He does get the fear response to things - in fact, boy is in a constant state of hypervigilance and extremely aware of people coming close, watching, or being about to touch him. However, the typical "symptoms" of it have indeed been trained out of him.

He doesn't flinch. He sleeps perfectly still and quiet through nightmares. He's good at masking his breath picking up, and it never gets to the point of hyperventilating. He doesn't visibly freeze. His expression is always under control. His mind stays clear and on task - he's great in a crisis in fact.

Basically he doesn't show any classical sign of traumatic reactions. Just either makes use of the adrenaline or shuts down the physical response.

There are still minute signs a very, very keen observer, or one who's both observant and knows him well, could notice. If they pay close attention... :3

[chiswhumpcorner]

oooh, who needs more peepers on them

21. Which of your characters are you waving in front of a crowd, demanding everyone look at them?

Sorry this took so long 🙏 I needed to add a lil drawing!

I have many characters I love dearly. A few are special.

But I shall never shut up about ✨ MY BABY ✨

This is Kev. He's a living weapon and a disaster human mess and he's my whole heart

LOOK AT HIM

EVERYONE LOVE HIM!! 👉 Masterpost

[chiswhumpcorner]

gives kev one ibuprofen

He is not taking drugs. Stuff made to dull pain will always dull something else, too.

Also it's only pain you can simply ignore it.

[chiswhumpcorner]

What??? Kev had sex??? With who??? * Gets out popcorn* Ready to hear ALL the scandalous gossip pls

LMAO ANON!

unfortunately, at *this* point in the story his experience is limited to a few sex workers (in questionable circumstances).

We're about to see him start to freely lean that way, and it's very on brand for him in the Leska-less future!