Marked: Chapter 18
ZeldaQueen: In which we meet the love interest and the story comes to a standstill. What fun. Also, a belated Happy Birthday to shaolina and white_wolf03!
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Chapter 18
ZeldaQueen: When we last left Our Heroine, she was being all weepy and the Phantom of Othello had just swept in to comfort her. This ought to be good.
Actually, I'll say this upfront, Erik himself isn't too bad. What's really irritating is how the plot comes to an utter standstill for this. I mean, I know not much is going on anyway, but we just had the ritual and the fight with Heath and Kayla and now we get an entire chapter of two people just sitting on a wall and talking.
So right. Erik hops up on the wall next to Zoey, and she feels all humiliated because she's been crying and she knows her face is all blotch-red and her nose is snotty, not to mention that she thinks Erik was around to see her fight with Kayla and Heath. If Zoey wasn't such a bitch in the last chapter, I might sympathize a little with her being worn down and upset about her crush seeing her like that. But she was, so I am not.
She finally comes clean and tells Erik that she saw Aphrodite trying to get in his pants before, and he says yes, he knew it was her. He says that he doesn't want Zoey to get the wrong idea, and makes it clear that he wants nothing to do with Aphrodite. Zoey starts to comment that it looks like Aphrodite isn't aware of that fact, but then remembers how she can't get Heath to leave her alone. I'd like to point out that both times Zoey has run into Heath in this book, she ended up getting all hot and sweaty over his pulse and acting like she was going into heat. I'd also like to point out that Aphrodite is painted as a total whore because she basically uses Erik like a trophy. You know, like Shaunee and Erin were encouraging Zoey to do.
*COUGH*
Hmm, sorry. The cold must be catching up on me. Anyway, they're both quiet for a bit and then Erik guesses that Aphrodite didn't tell Zoey about the blood in the wine. He explains that Aphrodite lied to him, promising that she'd tell Zoey about the blood and give her the option to skip drinking if she wanted.
I'd like to pause her and point out that that bit of hazing that Aphrodite did? That's genuinely creepy and a far more effective way to make her seem hateful to the audience than her obvious Mean Girl attitude. In fact, I dare say it would have been way more effective if the Casts had held off on the Mean Girl-ness until that moment.
Zoey gives a nice infodump to Erik about everything that happened that night and is upset that no one told her how human blood would turn her on into a monster like that. Honey, you're a vampire. Haven't you seen Dracula before? Hell, even Stephenie Meyer played that card, albeit poorly.
Erik then launches into an explanation of how blood drinking and vampirism works in this series. Take notes, ladies and gentlemen. I know a lot of you have had questions about everything. The Casts have apparently seen fit to wait until eighteen chapters into their twenty-nine-chapter story to actually explain how vampires work here.
Basically, the desire for blood is a direct analogy for puberty and sexual awakening. And man alive, it is blatant. Erik explains that no one told Zoey about the desire for blood because most fledglings don't get a desire for blood until they've almost completely Changed into a fully mature vampire. When they are sixth formers (similar to high school seniors, if you recall), most of the curriculum is devoted to dealing with bloodlust, as well as their majors. A fledgling as young as Zoey simply shouldn't be able to feel bloodlust.
In other words, Zoey's sex drive has basically kicked into overtime when she's still metaphorically a child, and she basically tried to rape her boyfriend. Given what I know about all the guys she dates over the course of this series, that's both hilarious and sick.
Zoey is bothered by this, but all Erik does is go on about how her Mark is different and thus she's special, and there's nothing to be concerned about. Um, yes there is! Analogous to puberty it might be, but Zoey has just turned into a fledgling and has uncontrollable urges to drink people dry! Granted, she is in the House of Night, which is a more controlled environment than Forks High School, but you'd still think folks would be a little more worried!
Erik suggests that Zoey talk to Neferet about this, and she is reluctant to, because it feels "Like I was twelve years
old again and I had to tell our male gym teacher that I'd started my period and had to go to the locker room to change my shorts". See what I mean about how obvious it is?
Zoey asks Erik if he liked how the blood in the wine tasted and he tells Zoey about his first ritual with the Dark Daughters. Apparently he was only initiated because he had gone to London for that monologue thing. That achievement also went to his head and he thought he was All That, so while he was given the choice to drink the blood-wine, he accepted and vomited his guts all over the floor because he hated the taste. This does little to comfort Zoey, who tells him how great she thought it tasted.
At about this point, Erik starts to channel Edward Cullen and tips Zoey's chin up and says "Don't be embarrassed or ashamed. It's normal".
Um...is Zoey's love interest giving her The Talk?
Zoey starts to angst about how it's not normal to like the taste of blood, and I will give the Casts credit again, because it's a lovely change to see the protagonist upset about something like that, as opposed to Stephenie Meyer's vampires. Erik insists that all vampires need to deal with bloodlust and it's perfectly normal, and dude, just tell her to stick in a tampon and take aspirin if she gets cramps.
Instead, he tells her "You're special, Zoey, and special can be amazing".
*rubs forehead* Thank God, this chapter is nearly over.
Erik continues to emulate Edward and starts tracing the pentagram shape on Zoey's forehead. She starts to get all wet in her panties over this, though she mentions that it doesn't invoke the same reaction that being near Heath does. Jesus CHRIST, this girl is horny! And then, we get this from her
"Hell! Was I becoming a vampyre slut? What was next? Would no male of any species (which might even include Damien) be safe around me? Maybe I should avoid all guys until I figured out what was going on with me and knew I could control myself"
ZeldaQueen: That might actually be funny, if it wasn't true. "Becoming"? Zoey, that kind of implies that you already aren't a slut!
So Zoey asks why Erik is there, and he says that he guessed she was upset after what Aphrodite pulled, so he stalked followed her there. Apparently he initially was going to send Stevie Rae to talk to her, but figured Zoey wouldn't want her friends to know what was up. Yeah, it's going to be a few chapters until they learn how supah speshul she is. Just hold your horses.
Erik confesses that he did hear the end of her meeting with Heath and Kayla, and Zoey says that they're even, between that and her seeing Aphrodite trying to blow him. She also says that she wasn't going to fly down to suck Kayla dry, and Erik says that he knows, as vampires can't fly. What, so he's perfectly fine with the implication that Zoey would have sucked her dry anyway? Apparently so, because he then says "From what I saw, she deserved it". Bastard.
We get more talk of the blood drinking, as Erik asks if Heath really was in a trance at the end there. Apparently he was, and Erik can't figure out why. He uses the word "entranced" and apparently this complex word sends Zoey into a grinning stupor. No, I'm not exaggerating here. She snaps out of it just long enough to say that Heath didn't get *cough* entranced until she "started to hear his blood". This gets Erik all impressed, because OH-EM-GEE, ONLY ADULT VAMPIRES CAN HEAR BLOOD, HOW IMPRESSIVE!
Not really, considering that all vampires, fledglings included, are supposed to have enhanced senses. Heck, regular human senses can hear blood if you're close enough.
Oh, and Erik thinks that Heath sounds like "the name of a gay soap opera star".
ZeldaQueen: We are so not amused.
For some reason, this prompts Zoey to comment on how Erik picked a cool vampire name for himself. He says that no, he didn't pick it, it was the name his parents gave him at birth.
...Really? There were really some parents cruel enough to name their kid "Erik Night"? I bet the mom was one of those insane Phantom of the Opera fangirls. Maybe she was this world's version of Gethesemane.
By now it's nearly six thirty in the morning, so they need to hoof it back to the dorms for some sleep. They stand really close for awhile, and Erik says he'd offer to take her for something to eat, but the rec room's the only place at this time of day that serves food. He asks if Zoey minds if he walks her back to her dorm, and she agrees, so we're treated to a description of them walking in awkward silence. After awhile, Erik pipes up and says that while he used to hate the taste of blood, it's grown on him and it gets him kind of dizzy, like he's drunk. We get some random facts about how vampires can't get drunk and fledglings take a lot of alcohol to get close, before he says that it's forbidden for fledglings to drink human blood.
Zoey is very confused at this, because what the fuck was Aphrodite serving in the wine? Erik says that that doesn't count, because it was fledgling blood and fledgling blood is fine to drink, so long as it's consensual. Does this remind you of anything? Anyway, Zoey panics because she did drink one drop of Heath's blood, so she has no idea what's going to happen now.
Wait a second. So fledglings have blood. Fine. Why doesn't Zoey, who goes all sex-crazed blood-lustful over most of the humans she comes across, go just as batshit over the fledglings she's surrounded by? Are we supposed to believe that they have blood but no pulses?
*rubs head* We get more sex analogies, as Erik explains that "It's normal for our bloodlust to develop as our bodies Change, so we need an outlet. Fledglings heal quickly, so there's no real chance of someone getting hurt. And there aren't any aftereffects, like when a vamp feeds off a living human". Zoey picks up on the word "living" in there and freaks out, thinking the implication is that some vampires feed off of corpses. But no, we find out that most vampires get blood from blood donors. There is a reason for this, Erik explains. It seems that if a vampire feeds off of a human directly, they run the risk of imprinting.
OH SWEET MERCIFUL GOD, NOT THIS SHIT AGAIN!!!
Thank heavens, this imprinting is different and does not involve stalking infants until they come of age. Instead, it refers to a strong bond that potentially forms between the vampire and the human, which causes the two to fall madly in love with each other. Alright, fair enough, even though vampires are supposed to be biologically based and I have no idea how something like that can happen biologically. But this is how it's described
"We just started learning about it in Vamp Sociology 312. Seems that when an adult vampyre feeds from a living human, there can be a very strong bond formed. It's not always on the part of the vamp, but humans become infatuated pretty easily. It's dangerous for the human. I mean, think about it. The blood loss alone isn't a good thing. Then add that to the fact that we outlive humans by decades, sometimes even centuries. Look at it from a human's point of view; it would really suck to be totally in love with someone who never seems to age while you get old and wrinkled and then die"
ZeldaQueen: Yes, it all sucks for the humans. They're the ones who fall in love all the time and they're the ones who are going to get old and wrinkly and die (you had to add those first two descriptors, didn't you?). Now yes, I realize that death while loving an immortal being is a common trope in supernatural fiction, and under different circumstances, I wouldn't mind as much. But I have to ask, what about the vampire's side? Oh no, there's apparently no danger for the vampires. They don't always get bonded and there's no mention of the pain and loss they feel, falling in love with someone who they know will grow up and die. Seriously, all it would have taken is the other point of view. How hard is that?
Zoey, meanwhile, remembers how attached Heath seemed to her after she drank some of his blood. She vows to go tell Neferet about it just as soon as she can.
By this point, they've reached the dorms and Zoey thanks Erik for following her. He says "Hey, any time you want someone to butt in when he's not invited, I'm the guy for you". He also advises Zoey to keep the dress to spite Aphrodite. Apparently inviting Zoey to the ritual has made her an official member of the group, and Dark Daughter rules state that the leader has to give new members a gift. He adds that Zoey looks far better in it than Aphrodite ever did.
Oh, and Erik then takes her hand, turns her wrist up, and starts tracing it. Of course, this gets Zoey to start getting all...excited. He tells her "And you should also know that I'm the guy for you if you decide you might like to try another sip of blood. Keep that in mind, too". Did...he just proposition her after one direct meeting?
These people are all whores.
This continues as he kisses her wrist and starts licking it and we get Zoey going on about her shaking and how "the inside of my thighs tingle and my breathing deepen" and you just know she's going to need to change her panties when she gets inside.
And he just...stops all of a sudden and walks off. Huh. That was abrupt
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Onward to: Chapter 19
Back to: Chapter 17
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Chapter 18
ZeldaQueen: When we last left Our Heroine, she was being all weepy and the Phantom of Othello had just swept in to comfort her. This ought to be good.
Actually, I'll say this upfront, Erik himself isn't too bad. What's really irritating is how the plot comes to an utter standstill for this. I mean, I know not much is going on anyway, but we just had the ritual and the fight with Heath and Kayla and now we get an entire chapter of two people just sitting on a wall and talking.
So right. Erik hops up on the wall next to Zoey, and she feels all humiliated because she's been crying and she knows her face is all blotch-red and her nose is snotty, not to mention that she thinks Erik was around to see her fight with Kayla and Heath. If Zoey wasn't such a bitch in the last chapter, I might sympathize a little with her being worn down and upset about her crush seeing her like that. But she was, so I am not.
She finally comes clean and tells Erik that she saw Aphrodite trying to get in his pants before, and he says yes, he knew it was her. He says that he doesn't want Zoey to get the wrong idea, and makes it clear that he wants nothing to do with Aphrodite. Zoey starts to comment that it looks like Aphrodite isn't aware of that fact, but then remembers how she can't get Heath to leave her alone. I'd like to point out that both times Zoey has run into Heath in this book, she ended up getting all hot and sweaty over his pulse and acting like she was going into heat. I'd also like to point out that Aphrodite is painted as a total whore because she basically uses Erik like a trophy. You know, like Shaunee and Erin were encouraging Zoey to do.
*COUGH*
Hmm, sorry. The cold must be catching up on me. Anyway, they're both quiet for a bit and then Erik guesses that Aphrodite didn't tell Zoey about the blood in the wine. He explains that Aphrodite lied to him, promising that she'd tell Zoey about the blood and give her the option to skip drinking if she wanted.
I'd like to pause her and point out that that bit of hazing that Aphrodite did? That's genuinely creepy and a far more effective way to make her seem hateful to the audience than her obvious Mean Girl attitude. In fact, I dare say it would have been way more effective if the Casts had held off on the Mean Girl-ness until that moment.
Zoey gives a nice infodump to Erik about everything that happened that night and is upset that no one told her how human blood would turn her on into a monster like that. Honey, you're a vampire. Haven't you seen Dracula before? Hell, even Stephenie Meyer played that card, albeit poorly.
Erik then launches into an explanation of how blood drinking and vampirism works in this series. Take notes, ladies and gentlemen. I know a lot of you have had questions about everything. The Casts have apparently seen fit to wait until eighteen chapters into their twenty-nine-chapter story to actually explain how vampires work here.
Basically, the desire for blood is a direct analogy for puberty and sexual awakening. And man alive, it is blatant. Erik explains that no one told Zoey about the desire for blood because most fledglings don't get a desire for blood until they've almost completely Changed into a fully mature vampire. When they are sixth formers (similar to high school seniors, if you recall), most of the curriculum is devoted to dealing with bloodlust, as well as their majors. A fledgling as young as Zoey simply shouldn't be able to feel bloodlust.
In other words, Zoey's sex drive has basically kicked into overtime when she's still metaphorically a child, and she basically tried to rape her boyfriend. Given what I know about all the guys she dates over the course of this series, that's both hilarious and sick.
Zoey is bothered by this, but all Erik does is go on about how her Mark is different and thus she's special, and there's nothing to be concerned about. Um, yes there is! Analogous to puberty it might be, but Zoey has just turned into a fledgling and has uncontrollable urges to drink people dry! Granted, she is in the House of Night, which is a more controlled environment than Forks High School, but you'd still think folks would be a little more worried!
Erik suggests that Zoey talk to Neferet about this, and she is reluctant to, because it feels "Like I was twelve years
old again and I had to tell our male gym teacher that I'd started my period and had to go to the locker room to change my shorts". See what I mean about how obvious it is?
Zoey asks Erik if he liked how the blood in the wine tasted and he tells Zoey about his first ritual with the Dark Daughters. Apparently he was only initiated because he had gone to London for that monologue thing. That achievement also went to his head and he thought he was All That, so while he was given the choice to drink the blood-wine, he accepted and vomited his guts all over the floor because he hated the taste. This does little to comfort Zoey, who tells him how great she thought it tasted.
At about this point, Erik starts to channel Edward Cullen and tips Zoey's chin up and says "Don't be embarrassed or ashamed. It's normal".
Um...is Zoey's love interest giving her The Talk?
Zoey starts to angst about how it's not normal to like the taste of blood, and I will give the Casts credit again, because it's a lovely change to see the protagonist upset about something like that, as opposed to Stephenie Meyer's vampires. Erik insists that all vampires need to deal with bloodlust and it's perfectly normal, and dude, just tell her to stick in a tampon and take aspirin if she gets cramps.
Instead, he tells her "You're special, Zoey, and special can be amazing".
*rubs forehead* Thank God, this chapter is nearly over.
Erik continues to emulate Edward and starts tracing the pentagram shape on Zoey's forehead. She starts to get all wet in her panties over this, though she mentions that it doesn't invoke the same reaction that being near Heath does. Jesus CHRIST, this girl is horny! And then, we get this from her
"Hell! Was I becoming a vampyre slut? What was next? Would no male of any species (which might even include Damien) be safe around me? Maybe I should avoid all guys until I figured out what was going on with me and knew I could control myself"
ZeldaQueen: That might actually be funny, if it wasn't true. "Becoming"? Zoey, that kind of implies that you already aren't a slut!
So Zoey asks why Erik is there, and he says that he guessed she was upset after what Aphrodite pulled, so he stalked followed her there. Apparently he initially was going to send Stevie Rae to talk to her, but figured Zoey wouldn't want her friends to know what was up. Yeah, it's going to be a few chapters until they learn how supah speshul she is. Just hold your horses.
Erik confesses that he did hear the end of her meeting with Heath and Kayla, and Zoey says that they're even, between that and her seeing Aphrodite trying to blow him. She also says that she wasn't going to fly down to suck Kayla dry, and Erik says that he knows, as vampires can't fly. What, so he's perfectly fine with the implication that Zoey would have sucked her dry anyway? Apparently so, because he then says "From what I saw, she deserved it". Bastard.
We get more talk of the blood drinking, as Erik asks if Heath really was in a trance at the end there. Apparently he was, and Erik can't figure out why. He uses the word "entranced" and apparently this complex word sends Zoey into a grinning stupor. No, I'm not exaggerating here. She snaps out of it just long enough to say that Heath didn't get *cough* entranced until she "started to hear his blood". This gets Erik all impressed, because OH-EM-GEE, ONLY ADULT VAMPIRES CAN HEAR BLOOD, HOW IMPRESSIVE!
Not really, considering that all vampires, fledglings included, are supposed to have enhanced senses. Heck, regular human senses can hear blood if you're close enough.
Oh, and Erik thinks that Heath sounds like "the name of a gay soap opera star".
ZeldaQueen: We are so not amused.
For some reason, this prompts Zoey to comment on how Erik picked a cool vampire name for himself. He says that no, he didn't pick it, it was the name his parents gave him at birth.
...Really? There were really some parents cruel enough to name their kid "Erik Night"? I bet the mom was one of those insane Phantom of the Opera fangirls. Maybe she was this world's version of Gethesemane.
By now it's nearly six thirty in the morning, so they need to hoof it back to the dorms for some sleep. They stand really close for awhile, and Erik says he'd offer to take her for something to eat, but the rec room's the only place at this time of day that serves food. He asks if Zoey minds if he walks her back to her dorm, and she agrees, so we're treated to a description of them walking in awkward silence. After awhile, Erik pipes up and says that while he used to hate the taste of blood, it's grown on him and it gets him kind of dizzy, like he's drunk. We get some random facts about how vampires can't get drunk and fledglings take a lot of alcohol to get close, before he says that it's forbidden for fledglings to drink human blood.
Zoey is very confused at this, because what the fuck was Aphrodite serving in the wine? Erik says that that doesn't count, because it was fledgling blood and fledgling blood is fine to drink, so long as it's consensual. Does this remind you of anything? Anyway, Zoey panics because she did drink one drop of Heath's blood, so she has no idea what's going to happen now.
Wait a second. So fledglings have blood. Fine. Why doesn't Zoey, who goes all sex-crazed blood-lustful over most of the humans she comes across, go just as batshit over the fledglings she's surrounded by? Are we supposed to believe that they have blood but no pulses?
*rubs head* We get more sex analogies, as Erik explains that "It's normal for our bloodlust to develop as our bodies Change, so we need an outlet. Fledglings heal quickly, so there's no real chance of someone getting hurt. And there aren't any aftereffects, like when a vamp feeds off a living human". Zoey picks up on the word "living" in there and freaks out, thinking the implication is that some vampires feed off of corpses. But no, we find out that most vampires get blood from blood donors. There is a reason for this, Erik explains. It seems that if a vampire feeds off of a human directly, they run the risk of imprinting.
OH SWEET MERCIFUL GOD, NOT THIS SHIT AGAIN!!!
Thank heavens, this imprinting is different and does not involve stalking infants until they come of age. Instead, it refers to a strong bond that potentially forms between the vampire and the human, which causes the two to fall madly in love with each other. Alright, fair enough, even though vampires are supposed to be biologically based and I have no idea how something like that can happen biologically. But this is how it's described
"We just started learning about it in Vamp Sociology 312. Seems that when an adult vampyre feeds from a living human, there can be a very strong bond formed. It's not always on the part of the vamp, but humans become infatuated pretty easily. It's dangerous for the human. I mean, think about it. The blood loss alone isn't a good thing. Then add that to the fact that we outlive humans by decades, sometimes even centuries. Look at it from a human's point of view; it would really suck to be totally in love with someone who never seems to age while you get old and wrinkled and then die"
ZeldaQueen: Yes, it all sucks for the humans. They're the ones who fall in love all the time and they're the ones who are going to get old and wrinkly and die (you had to add those first two descriptors, didn't you?). Now yes, I realize that death while loving an immortal being is a common trope in supernatural fiction, and under different circumstances, I wouldn't mind as much. But I have to ask, what about the vampire's side? Oh no, there's apparently no danger for the vampires. They don't always get bonded and there's no mention of the pain and loss they feel, falling in love with someone who they know will grow up and die. Seriously, all it would have taken is the other point of view. How hard is that?
Zoey, meanwhile, remembers how attached Heath seemed to her after she drank some of his blood. She vows to go tell Neferet about it just as soon as she can.
By this point, they've reached the dorms and Zoey thanks Erik for following her. He says "Hey, any time you want someone to butt in when he's not invited, I'm the guy for you". He also advises Zoey to keep the dress to spite Aphrodite. Apparently inviting Zoey to the ritual has made her an official member of the group, and Dark Daughter rules state that the leader has to give new members a gift. He adds that Zoey looks far better in it than Aphrodite ever did.
Oh, and Erik then takes her hand, turns her wrist up, and starts tracing it. Of course, this gets Zoey to start getting all...excited. He tells her "And you should also know that I'm the guy for you if you decide you might like to try another sip of blood. Keep that in mind, too". Did...he just proposition her after one direct meeting?
These people are all whores.
This continues as he kisses her wrist and starts licking it and we get Zoey going on about her shaking and how "the inside of my thighs tingle and my breathing deepen" and you just know she's going to need to change her panties when she gets inside.
And he just...stops all of a sudden and walks off. Huh. That was abrupt
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Onward to: Chapter 19
Back to: Chapter 17
Back to: Table of Contents