can dead things still love us?

you did it in the name of protecting the salubri who were left. so that they would not meet the same fate as your sire, as callowyn. but that was all a lie, wasn't it? you wanted power and now where has it taken you but into the arms of someone far more dangerous than you can comprehend.

" what— " her words, always so carefully crafted, fall like ash upon her tongue, falter at the kindred before her. it is hard to make out their features, let alone their intentions as the shadows seem to move at their command. nessa takes a step back and then another, her hands rising in supplication. yes, beg. that will surely save you, you idiot. " i don't— he? thjazi? if this has something to do with him, i don't know anything. i have no idea what he's doing or, or what he's planning to do. or primus, is this about primus? he tried to blot me out, i have no part in his schemes! "

LOOK AT HER, TREMBLING LIKE A FISH OUT OF WATER. RIGHT AT YOUR FINGERTIPS. THAT IS NOT THE TALES YOU'VE HEARD OF HER. “I, nor my sisters, have a stake in that matter.” YOU DO NOT KNOW WHETHER THAT IS TRUE, BUT IT WORKS IN YOUR FAVOR FOR NOW. “So drop the clueless act. It is unbecoming of the power you once wielded.”

dialogue prompts from these violent delights by micah nemerever.

i never told you my name.

who puts those awful ideas in your head?

you're forever assuming the worst.

what's that face? you look like you're going to cry.

you're one of those people who worry all the time, aren't you?

i don't worry, i ruminate. they're distinct actions.

nothing made you. you just are.

beautiful things are supposed to hurt.

people tell you you're shy all the time, don't they?

i don't know how i ever got on without you.

a little trouble is a good thing for a young person.

i wasn't born yesterday. i know what kids get up to.

it's good to have guns to stick to.

you could do anything to me and i'd let you.

i'm not ready to be seen. not yet.

i don't need you to treat me respectfully. i'm not made of glass.

tell me you love me, at least. please. i need to know somebody does.

do i look normal? i can't tell if i look normal.

you can get away with anything, as long as you act like an authority on the truth.

don't tell me what i want.

you know you're just about the worst liar i've ever met.

i don't think you've ever felt anything that didn't hurt you.

you're so square, you're a cube.

i just want you to believe me when i tell you you're worth something.

there are limits to what you can expect people to understand, without living it.

you can't fight everybody all the time. you still have to live with them.

i forget how blue the sky can be outside the city.

i'm going to push you off a cliff, you fucking boy scout.

thank you for trusting me with this.

be a kid while you still can.

please believe in the things i try to tell you, instead of the things you think you deserve to be told.

if the sun touched you for even a moment, you'd go up in flames. like a vampire.

your voice changes when you're angry.

what a lonely, dreary thing it is to know the truth.

you never look away, even when your eyes are closed, but i'm never certain you can see what's really there.

tell me you need me. in those words.

can i tell you something? that i'm all but certain you won't believe?

i never lie to you. but sometimes, i wish i could.

you never let me pretend the truth is alright when it isn't.

you have a profound, elusive sadness about you.

you didn't. please tell me you didn't.

you and your awful little games.

why would i bother to grow my own conscience when you're always around to pester me?

you're going to help me escape.

this house is a shadowbox, never meant for human things.

you have no right to stop me, and you're not going to try.

you're sweet, when you want to be.

do you want me to kill ____? i mean it.

it might do you good to be an orphan.

you're just so sincerely creepy.

wealthy people pay handsomely for the privilege of ignoring cries for help.

i've never seen you like that before. not once.

i've decided to learn to be impulsive.

the worst damage humans do isn't rooted in malice, but in thoughtlessness.

there's such a thing as right and wrong. anyone can figure out the difference if they're willing to think for themselves.

there's no part of you i can't see.

i don't want to hurt you. please don't let me.

you're ridiculous, sometimes. but that's alright.

i don't want you right now. go home.

i'm not like you. i don't even have a shape of my own to hold anything else in place.

i'll never matter the way you do, and you know it.

say what you need to say.

if you say the word 'deserve' one more time, i'm driving us off a bridge.

i've been meaning to talk to you about ____.

i'm worried about what you're getting into.

you don't see me. you can't. you never could.

it's your life. you're entitled to make your own mistakes.

i want you to know you deserve better. you don't have to put up with ____.

you scare the hell out of me. you really do.

you look the same way you always have.

i was worried i'd lost you.

i'll take care of you. i don't need you to be brave.

all i want to do is make you happy, and you're the unhappiest person i've ever met.

i would rather be cruel than weak.

i want you to let me be nice to you today. i don't care if you think you deserve it.

this place looks like somewhere in a jigsaw puzzle.

it's always been real for me. every second.

please don't say anything to my mother.

we can't fix it if you don't tell me what happened.

i'll call you when i can stand the sight of you. don't hold your breath.

hiding the truth is still lying.

i thought you'd finally trust me if you knew i'd kill for you.

i'm just as much of a monster as you are.

i was missing part of myself my whole life, until i met you.

righteous fury leaves no space for fear.

you can always talk to me. about anything, okay? i love you no matter what.

you played [game] in school, didn't you?

no one tolerates boredom worse than the idle rich.

someone needs to be looking after you.

you know you can't actually stop me, right?

i want to be able to look at you.

when you need to, you will understand.

i'm only ever early when i'm afraid.

people talk themselves into the strangest things when they want to look impressive.

DIALOGUE

blood tastes different under moonlight.

i don't need permission from the dark.

that scar wasn't from feeding.

you hear footsteps. i hear veins.

you should stop trusting monsters.

i prefer alleys. less witnesses.

i hate how much i want you.

this is the part where you're supposed to be afraid.

i don't need your blood. i want it.

i don't turn people lightly.

i don't chase unless i mean to kill.

you smell different when you're afraid.

i never feed where i live.

nightfall is my beginning.

you're not afraid enough.

hunger doesn't make me cruel. it makes me honest.

i hunt by instinct, not thought.

i can't remember the last time i watched the sun rise.

you won't survive loving me.

stay still. i'm trying to be gentle.

you're warm. god, you're warm.

i won't feed unless you ask me to.

i haven't tasted fresh blood since yesterday.

i could hear your heart from across the room.

the night forgives nothing, it only hides it.

the night remembers what the sun forgets.

you'd make a terrible vampire.

you're not prey if i choose you.

i can hear your pulse speeding up.

i hear you even when you're quiet.

that's not hunger you're feeling.

you glow when you're alive.

i fed poorly tonight. i'm still starving.

the night belongs to us.

don't move. you'll only make it worse.

you don't know what you're offering.

you taste like you want to be kept.

don't bare your throat at me like that.

i don't hunt children. i don't hunt lovers.

prey always thinks it has time.

the city exhales at night.

running only makes the blood warmer.

i feed quickly. mercy is efficiency.

i could make this hurt. i won't.

i don't sleep anymore. i wait.

i mark my territory in subtler ways.

i fed already. this is something else.

don't ask me to choose between you and hunger.

you bleed so easily.

you should be running.

cities sound different after midnight.

you're safe. for now.

you won't look at me the same after this.

i only hunt when the moon is high.

the dark knows me.

night hides sins better than daylight ever could.

i hunt better when i'm hungry.

i don't need blood often. i need it precisely.

blood is louder than screams.

don't look back. it excites me.

hunger sharpens everything.

i can taste fear in the air.

you don't survive centuries without learning restraint.

i don't hunt every night. that's how monsters are made.

i can smell you before i see you.

i could drain you. i won't.

you feel different when you're asleep.

i've killed for less than this.

every heartbeat is a countdown.

i don't drink from people i care about.

if i wanted you dead, you wouldn't be talking.

i hunt alone for a reason.

do you trust me, or are you just out of options?

i warned you not to fall asleep near me.

you invited me in. you knew what that meant.

don't look at my mouth like that.

i only drink enough to keep my hands steady.

i've stalked quieter cities than this.

silence makes prey careless.

i remember my first kill.

you're safer when you don't smell like adrenaline.

i can follow your pulse through walls.

i haven't fed in days. you shouldn't stand so close.

you shouldn't wander after dark.

ACTIONS

( ambush ) : for SENDER to ambush RECEIVER from the shadows.

( protect ) : for SENDER to shield RECEIVER from another vampire.

( bare ) : for SENDER to expose their throat to RECEIVER in trust.

( hunger ) : for SENDER to struggle visibly with thirst near RECEIVER.

( chase ) : for OUR MUSES to run through empty streets at night.

( breathe ) : for SENDER to steady themselves after feeding on RECEIVER.

( clean ) : for SENDER to clean blood from RECEIVER'S mouth.

( restrain ) : for SENDER to restrain RECEIVER mid-hunt.

( mark ) : for SENDER to mark up RECEIVER as theirs.

( invite ) : for SENDER to invite RECEIVER inside their secret abode.

( circle ) : for SENDER to circle RECEIVER without being seen.

( hide ) : for OUR MUSES to hide from approaching dawn.

( refuse ) : for SENDER to refuse to feed on RECEIVER.

( stalk ) : for SENDER to follow RECEIVER through the night.

( vanish ) : for SENDER to disappear before RECEIVER notices.

( bind ) : for SENDER to bind RECEIVER'S wrist for feeding.

( scent ) : for SENDER to recognize RECEIVER by scent alone.

( awaken ) : for SENDER to wake RECEIVER at nightfall, already hungry.

( flee ) : for SENDER to run after realizing what RECEIVER is.

( feed ) : for SENDER to feed carefully from RECEIVER.

( linger ) : for SENDER to linger close to RECEIVER'S pulse.

( confess ) : for SENDER to admit they've been watching RECEIVER.

( spare ) : for SENDER to spare RECEIVER'S life at the last second.

( heal ) : for SENDER to lick RECEIVER'S wound closed.

( sunrise ) : for OUR MUSES to carefully watch from the sunrise together.

( endure ) : for SENDER to endure hunger rather than kill RECEIVER.

( turn ) : for SENDER to begin the process of turning RECEIVER.

( listen ) : for OUR MUSES to listen to the city settle into night.

( hunt ) : for SENDER to hunt RECEIVER silently through empty streets.

( pin ) : for SENDER to pin RECEIVER against a wall without feeding.

( sense ) : for SENDER to sense RECEIVER hunting nearby.

( offer ) : for SENDER to offer immortality to RECEIVER.

( stalked ) : for RECEIVER to realize they are being stalked by SENDER.

( claim ) : for SENDER to mark RECEIVER as theirs.

oh , [ name ] . it's just you .

where are you going to run , [ name ] ?

what are you saying ?

why do you think i brought you here ?

you said you believed in my work .

i would kill myself before helping in such a task .

you've been so kind to me , [ name ] .

you can't kill me , [ name ] .

so , you're the great [ name ] .

we all have our little problems .

let's make it your decision , shall we ?

i wish you a week in hell .

why don't you do something about it ?

this is all a test of faith .

i can curse all i want , dammit .

you . turn around .

strangers don't last long here .

the laws of men mean little to me .

i don't need your help .

you stay here . they're trying to kill me .

nice to see you too , [ name ] .

did i do something to you in a past life ?

i hope you do have a heart , [ name ] . because someday i'd like to drive a stake through it .

your reputation precedes you .

i am hollow ! and i will live ... forever .

please , say you will not try again .

do not fear me ... everybody else fears me .

i was unprepared . it won't happen again .

do you understand forgiveness ?

i would rather die than help you .

don't be boring , everyone who says that always dies .

may he rest in peace .

how long has it been , 300 , 400 years ?

you don't remember , do you ?

what exactly is it i am to be remembering ?

it's no surprise you would know all about me .

we have such history , you and i .

have you ever wondered why you have such horrific nightmares ?

[ name ] , it's alright , i'm taking you home .

what , did you think we haven't tried everything before ?

no one knows how to kill [ name ] .

i could have used that information earlier .

would you like me to refresh your memory a little ?

allow me to ... reintroduce myself .

i think we've overstayed our welcome .

don't give me that look .

you were right . i'm sorry .

monster ? who's the monster here ? i have done nothing wrong !

look , there's still time .

you were right . i'm sorry .

do you have any family , [ name ] ?

if you value your lives , and the lives of your kin , you will kill me .

evil may have created it , may have left its mark on it , but evil does not rule it .

now you know why they call me a murderer .

oh my god ... you've been bitten .

so much trouble ... so much trouble .

now you will become that which you hunted so passionately . may others be as passionate in their hunting of you .

don't worry , god will forgive us .

how many commandments can we break in one day ?

oh my god , you should be terrified .

how does it feel to be a puppet on my string ?

neither of us has ever settled for half .

you make my skin crawl .

i'm not gonna like this , am i ?

one brief moment of pain , and we can be together forever .

you have no heartbeat .

you are nothing but damned bones , and damned souls .

well , that doesn't sound like a good thing .

we don't have a choice . just don't get killed .

you don't understand , it doesn't matter what happens to me .

god is not the only one that can create life .

you can't go until i say you can go , and i say you can go when you're dead !

you're supposed to die .

we are both part of the same great game , [ name ] , we just find ourselves on opposite sides of the board .

you are being used , [ name ] , as was i . but i escaped , so can you .

if you're going to kill someone , kill them . don't stand there talking about it .

all i want is life . the continuation of my kind .