Fuck that was so god damn satisfying and just ugh! Perfection! Absolute fucking perfection!

This is one of my favorite SVM/TB stories & one of my favorite versions of Eric. The ebb & flow of shifting tensions between Eric & Sookie, but also those within each of the characters’ as they struggled in the developing relationship and with their own feelings & fears made the story especially compelling.

I appreciated that Eric was allowed to remain true to his vampiric nature as a stormy apex predator even while succumbing to both his love for Sookie & his increasing need for the comfort he felt when in contact with her, even more than the more obvious physical satisfaction he originally thought was the ultimate goal. His behaviors, reactions, & words were constantly shifting in a dancing balance between hard & soft, dangerous & protective, crude & romantic, creating a more emotionally complex presentation of the character than is normally seen. For me this is much closer to the way I’ve always imagined he would have to be even as I was reading the original CH version.

I also love that Eric’s dialogue throughout the story includes a hint that he’s a much older being via words & phrasing that aren’t commonly used these days (Recompense vs Compensation is a prime example). He is a more effective & sophisticated communicator in this piece (except those times when he becomes so blissed out he’s reduced to being nearly non-verbal). He also maintains a persistent, frank but determined & loving honesty that isn’t often seen in Eric characters, but the approach still rings true for the character. All the while Sookie’s verbal pattern is less mature, sophisticated, & often dishonest to both Eric &, in a waffling way, to herself right up to the very last paragraphs of the story.

This is an impressively crafted piece of writing to pack so much impact into a relatively short work. Really well done!

As a woman who has been in the position of receiving unwanted advances despite all signals of wanting to be left to myself, I felt a corresponding indignance as she was approached by the first vampire & more so as she got the attention of so many others that hadn’t much to with appreciation, but what they wanted to take from her. Likewise, I felt an echoing anger as a woman that it should be my right to go where I want, when I want and be safe doing so, but also being intelligent enough to know that ‘should’ doesn’t make it so. That women everywhere must often guard their own safety by denying themselves the freedoms most men take for granted.

However, in a more tight focus on this fictional fairy hybrid, I do get the livid, rebellious desire to have a normal-ish life without having to feel like a platter of raw beef surrounded by hungry lions, but she’s already been made very aware of the dangers she is up against in a world full of vampires. She allowed herself to be utterly foolish both in not preemptively using her telepathy to be better aware of the presence of vampires when going into a public space without an adequate protector & then intentionally engaging in activities that (she should know) intensify & further broadcast the qualities in her that make her ‘vampire bait.’

Eric’s internal tensions between anger, possessiveness, desire, an instinctual drive to protect not just what would be ‘his,’ but to protect her in & of herself were palpable. But then watching as he slipped helplessly back into her intoxicating attractions, and worse, into that new, foreign sense of comfort he gets being near her, his anger dissipating, all while in a public space was intense in this chapter.

It’s an evocative, compelling chapter overall. Best crafted line: "I want your heart," he rasped darkly, "because you've stolen mine. I demand you replace it with your own." It strikes an impressive balance between predatory and lovesick in the most romantic way.

He was an ass for letting himself into her house, regardless of her tardiness. Giving the house back to her implies a mutual understanding that she is in control of who enters her home & when. Her promise was not to rescind his invitation not allow him free 24x7 access. He feels like an addict in this chapter — too frantically focused on getting his next fairy ‘fix’ to bother with social morays or with regular physical activity & meals, BUT he saw the state she was in & quickly pulled himself together. He softened & tried to be considerate when he saw her exhaustion.

I get being crabby while exhausted & that she’s still leery & untrusting of him, but I really don’t see what was so unacceptable in just accepting a single evening’s kindness & consideration. He didn’t want to further exhaust her, he provided food for her, & was willing to ignore his own hunger so she could eat & then get some much needed rest. (This is pretty much the exact opposite behavior, on her part, than the old Christian ‘turn the other cheek’ approach she would have been raised with. He offers courtesy, not abuse, but she slaps him down & starts looking for his other cheek to abuse him further.) Hell, she was even the one pressing physical contact on him. He made no advances of any sort until she got belligerent & goaded him into feeding at a time he didn’t feel comfortable using to its full advantage. So she’s now cheated him on two of the three meals so far, going out of her way to sour it for him, basically spitting in the face of his generously lopsided deal with her. Gran’s lessons in manners went right out the window!

Sookie’s description of them being ‘impossible’ together feels apt here. They remind me of my cats. One minute the two of them are quietly lounging together then suddenly, something imperceptible only to them instigates a slap & nip fest then just as suddenly the spat is over & they settle back into lounging together again. It’s befuddling in both examples.

I like the irony of the persistent optimism coming from the ‘creature of darkness’ countering pessimistic pronouncements & resistance from a Sky Fae hybrid who is, by nature, supposed to be a creature of light. But was the lead balloon myth debunking program on TV just an example of Eric’s general good luck or was it a sneaky strategic choice? Hmmmmm...

Reading this chapter triggered multiple similes in my thoughts as I made my way through it. The tension of the back & forth interactions feels like watching a classic, intense Wimbledon finals tennis match between a cool thinking strategic player (Björn Borg) and a hot tempered showman (John McEnroe), at least until the moments when each falls prey to their own vulnerabilities to the other. Eric is polite, rational, determined in his pursuit but his control & cool slips under the spell of her scent & blood and he gets lost in his want of her. Sookie is exaggeratedly combative even when there’s really nothing to fight against but her own inner conflicts. His touch, his consideration & appreciation, & his finely tuned skills lull her into enjoying the exchange then she suddenly realizes she’s forgotten to resist & accidentally enjoyed herself so she launches back to her default position, resisting her own response even more strongly than she resists his actions.

Sookie’s flailing resistance is much like a panicked, drowning swimmer when the rescuer tries desperately to embrace, support, & move them both to shore. Regardless of Eric’s gentler approach, in this chapter, she’s furiously threatening to drown them both.

Eric’s manner here is like a persistent fisherman, trying every technique & lure in his arsenal, determined to make his catch despite unfavorable conditions & facing a wily adversary who keeps slipping his hook. Sookie’s tempted by the bait & drawn in, but ultimately just nibbles at the edges without ever actually swallowing that hook.

When I saw the corresponding scene on TB, I wondered if the intention was for the audience to see Eric as so old & vampiric that he was clueless & careless about how humans & human (female) feelings work OR if he was just so confident that she’d eventually give in to him that he chose to bait her & wind her up for a little evening’s entertainment, knowing his larger goal would take more time to achieve anyway. The way he is written in this scene feels very true to the TB version of the character. Because I always find myself wondering why anyone would put up with the behavior of a bitchy shrew (like nearly all versions of Sookie are written), regardless of having some aesthetically appealing qualities. It was an enticing touch to include his inner musing about how amusing he found her railing & resistance, oblivious to how easily he could hurt her or snuff her out. It provided at least a tiny explanation as to why he would put up with her behaving in a manner totally in opposition to what Sookies are always declaring they are — a ‘lady,’ etc.

Seeing this version of Sookie, so intent on rebelling that she’s even willing to damage herself with a knife to make her absurd points, makes me long to further damage her, but is an on the spot portrayal of the TB version of Sookie. Slinging words, lashing out physically, moving too fast, in every sense, to allow for any kind of rational thinking to take place allows her to keep up her perpetual delusions of having the upper hand, holding the superior moral position, & just plain being right.

Even though Eric teases and winds her up, he shares several genuinely caring moments to her while she goes out of her way to be harsh and hurtful. I continue to question his judgement & taste in pursing her, but “No theatrics,” sure seems like he sees through all of her nonsense & resistance.

I don’t know if it’s the Bon Iver I’ve been listening to, or the argument I had with my husband earlier, but this is still so good all these years later-I could weep just reading it.

This was amazing!

I know you wrote these True Blood stories ages ago, but I have enjoyed re-reading them. I like the first few SVW books better than TB, but your stories make up for some of the dumb stuff in the HBO series. Hot interactions, good character development, and the way that series plot lines Should have gone. Thanks!

Thank you... just what I needed before bed. Why do things always have to be sooo complicated for them.

hot Hot HOT

Love this story...still and again! Thank you.

Good story.

sorry I meant stories

New follower here. I really enjoy your music.