There you guys go. Have at it. I'm gonna move your posts over here.

Ancient Pythoness

yesterday

It was never an unlikely possibility. CH needed Amelia out of the way so there'd be room for Claude. Of course, Amelia may not come back to live with Sookie. I like having her there since it gives Sookie someone to talk to about things.

As for what may trouble Sookie in her relationship, I see the political struggle to be the looming problem. I don't see her just breaking it off with Eric to break the bond. They're in love and want to be together. But if she does get upset about the struggle, she may take advantage of wanting to be away from it to try to break the bond. Frankly, I don't see how they can keep the bond from renewing, unless they permanently break it off. If they are together, there will be blood exchanges.

dw698936

yesterday

my guess is that in the next books the political struggle escalates which possibly results in Eric going into hiding or being captured. If this happens then the blood bond may be weakened from distance and time apart (or possibly other witches are hired to break the bond so Sookie can be exploited by the king) Sookie would then need to ask for help from Amelia. Amelia's father now has an "in" to get to the new kings headquarters in New Orleans (because of the reconstruction). CH seems to love that city especially after the Anne Rice books so I wouldnt be surprised if Sookie ends up there again.

chele

5 hours ago

I think the break-up that's coming will be because of a combination of political stuff for Eric and their incompatible lifestyles.  If you look, in DitF, there are many instances where Sookie notes Eric's reactions to things are not in line with hers. The one that immediately comes to mind is his reaction to the deaths Alexi was responsible for in Shreveport; he was mostly worried about what it would mean for him if the connection were discovered. Sookie, on the other hand, was horrified by the deaths themselves.  Eric asking her to become a vampire may make her look more closely at those differences.

Of course, there's also the 'new information' Ms. Harris mentioned that Sookie doesn't know about.   It could be about the BB from Amelia; or something else we would never suspect.  I have no doubt CH is capable of that; she's done it before.

I think they will break up.  The foreshadowing is there.  Whether they'll get back together or not; I don't know.  But then, that's the point.

Ancient Pythoness

3 hours ago

I think the BB is the least likely of all reasons. Again, we'd have to assume that Eric had been deceptive to Sookie, and he's been the opposite. And Sookie has already known what vampires feel and think about life and death for quite some time now. The new information is quite obviously the political struggle. That's why Eric would ask Sookie to become a vamp, probably to keep safe and cement her place in the vamp hierarchy. That's why he told her (and us) about the political structure of the vamp world. Why look for something as trivial as these personal issues when Sookie has never liked vamp politics, and they are about to get so much worse.

CH is building up to a big vamp war, that's the new information. Right now Sookie has no idea of how grave things are. But the facts are that the Narayana clan invaded and conquered part of the Amun clan, and that could not have made Amun happy. And to complicate things, Victor is stirring up his own issues by challenging FDC's power. So there are two struggles brewing--both within FDC's kingdom and between the two clans. Victor felt that Eric had been gathering power, so that had to have been within Amun.

Look, only BL's hold on to the hope that Eric will at last be found to be deceitful to Sookie. I've seen discussion after discussion about how he's going to eventually found out to be deceitful. The BB is always one of those faint hopes. Because, the rest of us non-BLs have always marveled at how honest he was, and that was long before (I mean books and books before) he told Sookie as much in DAG.

In fact, when pressed, BLs always fall back on the bullet-sucking as the only example of deceit. They also cling onto every tiny thing they can grasp onto that might illustrate problems in the relationship. That includes Sookie not liking him being away from her for one week when Appius was there. And, yes, it includes the fact that Eric didn't seem worried about the humans being murdered. You know, you can tell us that you like all the suitors, but your only theories are old rehashed BL theories that you claim you invented yourself or saw in speculation on sites you can't reference. There's nothing wrong with being a BL, but as for the reason you'd want to deceive us, who knows why? 99 reasons maybe. Or maybe it has to do with dogs and beer? Or maybe you think we'd hate you. No, not at all. We'd like the exchange of ideas. It's the games I don't like. I don't think anyone else would either.

Sookie knows Eric very well by now. It's going to take much more than his typical vampire disregard for human death to disturb her. Why would CH be building up to this big political struggle anyway? It's much more interesting than petty little interpersonal problems. That's what Sookie doesn't know is coming. Recently, someone asked CH if Eric might become King of Louisiana. The interesting thing was that CH didn't shoot it down. That's where the struggle seems to be heading. And that would be heavy duty politics for Sookie to accept. However, that would most assuredly also clarify why Sookie's HEA won't be a white picket fence and children. And why it wouldn't be what she had thought she had wanted.

See what I just illustrated was big picture theory building that holds together and ties together many disparate strands, not nitpicking minutia in the hopes of finding a chink in Eric's armor (you did say we thought he was a knight in shining armor). BTW, I can't claim sole ownership of any of the above theories. My forum mates have all been working along the same paths for quite some time now.

chele

3 hours ago

Well, I have to say I've never looked at things in that much detail.  I don't even recall who the Narayana and Amun clans are...much less what they are doing to each other.  I just see simple things in the story that point to a break-up.  It might happen, it might not, and it might not be permanent, but the foreshadowing is there in Sookie's thinking, not just in the plot.  Sometimes it's the little things that matter.

BTW, I'm not saying that I want this to happen, I'm just acknowledging that it's probably going to.

 

Ancient Pythoness

3 hours ago

That's why rereads are so helpful. Narayana is the clan for Nevada and Amun is the clan for Louisiana. There are some interesting plot developments brewing. Why else would CH even bother to tell us about the clans? In fact, why else would Eric stress to Sookie that it was important for her to know about the clans? I just don't see Sookie all that shook up over the things you've emphasized.

I think there there could be a break up or a separation, but I think it will be because of big picture issues like the political struggle.

chele

3 hours ago

You could be right.  I don't know.  CH's comment at Comic Con just sounded ominous to me, and the way she worded it made it seem like it might be new information that is tied in a more personal way to Sookie.   Just my take on what she said.

Ancient Pythoness

3 hours ago

Well apparently, her comment was tied to the why he would ask Sookie to become a vamp (BTW, I've never seen any of these ComicCon quotes in print). And the linkage was because Sookie doesn't know what's coming. Still looks to me like the political struggle.

chele

3 hours ago

The link to the comments was right, here, I believe.  There's a whole online interview from Geek Girl or something like that.  That's where I read it.

Here:  http://geekgirlonthestreet.com/2010/07/24/live-from-comic-con-a-chat-with -author-charlaine-harris/ 

I interpret what CH said differently, but that's what makes the world go 'round.  

Ancient Pythoness

3 hours ago

Well I just looked and didn't find the link posted before. But now I'm listening to the ComicCon panel.

chele

3 hours ago

It works when I click on it.  This wasn't part of the panel, this was a separate interview she gave at Comic Con.

Ancient Pythoness

3 hours ago

I didn't say it didn't work. I just said I didn't find the link previously in the thread. All she said was there was a lot of information coming in the next book that Sookie didn't know. I just can't see that being the BB or the fact that Sookie wanted Eric to be more worried about human deaths. "A lot of information" still sounds like the political struggle.

chele

3 hours ago

Not to me.  But, like I said, you are as likely to be right as I am, neither of us know for sure, and I really don't want to argue.   

SeraG

2 hours ago

The new information is quite obviously the political struggle.

I believe so too... i guess that will force a kind of seperation, like E has to travel to New Orleans and S has to stay back in Bon Temps. Another theory... what off Eric's other children? 'Didn't CH mention there are still some other vamps to be introduced? I'm so curious to see how S would react to a female child of Eric who's doesn't share the same interests as Pam *wink wink*.

Laura, I just logged on to ask you to move this discussion elsewhere since I felt guilty knowing it was OT for that thread. Thanks for out-guessing me.

I was also wondering if he was going to be forced into some kind of political marriage to form alliances for the coming clan war.

it would be awesome if by some possibility sookie can get pregnant with a vampire...

CH has settled this issue. She said that vamps can't get anyone pregnant. Her description was that the little soldiers were all dead.

Of course, there's also the 'new information' Ms. Harris mentioned that Sookie doesn't know about.   It could be about the BB from Amelia; or something else we would never suspect.  I have no doubt CH is capable of that; she's done it before.

Yup. This could be more of those "bombs in the garden" & it could turn out we find out all of this crazy stuff Eric kept form her which shows him in a really Machvellian light.

I don't think the breakup will be about the bond b'c that's kind of a little bit of a hammered issue. IMO - it's kind of dunzo b'c In the last book Sookie actually wanted to renew it.

If they breakup - it'll b'c she found something out he kept from her that she can't get past (so he'd have to have had betrayed her in essence I think) or b'c of the politics & it's for her own good. For her safety probably.

While I agree - CH has left it ominous enough & gave cagey indications that they could break up & of course...it's always a possibility - she also said while writing DITF (I am paraphrasing here but it's in the CH thread somewhere) that she had recently read a series where the MC where together & you see them work it out etc. really loved it. That it gave her a new perspective, whereas before she had said that Sookie wouldn't get her man until the last book (on a side note - I believe it was the Night Huntress series b'c I think her reading it correlated w/her comment if I remember correctly).

Well....in DTIF she has her man so I'm thinking that she's done it, but of course doesn't want us to know it's on solid ground yet (much like the Cat & Bones relationship).

The whole trajectory of the series has been Eric & Sookie. While Eric had an entire book dedicated pretty much entirely to his actual character & was a major player in 3 others post book 4.  All the other suitors have gone by the wayside & have barely been in it by comparison. They've all done something to Sookie to make them be periphery choices but more than that - to have her turn away.

Sure that can happen between Eric & Sookie at this point but I have to look at the logic of the momentum of it all.

I think if they "break up" - they'll get back together. Unless CH can miraculously pull a writing miracle w/in the next 3 years & make a new suitor choice choice up & be in the books enough to win the audience over & make them by it.

Judging by CH's slow build of 10 books & shorts & heavy action, I can't see someone new coming in to win Sookie or the audience over w/enough time.

Unless of course CH doesn't actually care about paying off her audience & only cares about making herself happy creatively as a writer. But...I don't think that's so much the case. It could be but I'd like to think not b'c I think any author really worth their salt,  honors their
readership & wants them to feel rewarded (as in, it all makes sense when you look back).

So that leaves Sam - background & been boring. Plus, don't we have the whole Best Friend metaphor?

Alcide - barely in it & when he is, being weak or manipulative.

Bill - been there done that, 1st love but not the last, besides, CH gave him Judith Ball to play with & have his HEA.

Quinn - please.

Anyone else? Nah..I just don't see the logic in it but  I'll wait & see what happens in the meantime. Anything is possible & I expect the road not to be smooth. Has it ever been?

but niall said that "he is a good man" at the end of DAG, who was he talking about? eric or bill? so there might be a possiblity of bill and sookie getting back together even tho its a been there done that deal

It's open to interpretation.

I think Eric b'c she was still in the dark needing more clarification (I did think Bill but then realized that would have been redundant, Sookie already knew his feelings for her etc., etc..).

lileeli - Would you mind introducing yourself in the Intro thread? I don't think you have done that yet.

CH had planned on killing Bill in DAG, but she was convinced not to (by her publisher, no doubt). She's had the HEA planned since LDID or CD and that it has never changed. You don't plan to kill off the HEA. So not only is Bill a been there done that, but he's a non-starter. Sam is the only viable suitor, and he could give Sookie the white picket fence and children she's always thought she wanted.

But CH has revealed that Sookie won't have that kind of HEA. In fact, she's said that Sookie won't have children. And that her HEA won't be what she always thought she wanted. Not having kids and not settling down to a white picket fence most likely means a vamp HEA. And there is only vamp left in the race.

Another point in Eric's favor is that CH has always written him to be bigger than life.  It's her writing of him that has made so many of us ELs.  He is the only character in the series that is "hero" material.  When he enters the scene he is big, blond, handsome, Viking, etc.  He tends to dominate when he's in the story and his strength (and Pam's) is the only one that matches Sookie's.  In many ways, Bill is not Sookie's match in strength of personality and Sam does not bring any spark or chemistry to the picture.

CH always said that the answer is in the book...and Niall knows only one Vampire as he always called Eric....so i have no doubt it's him XD

I wonder whether Eric actually *will* leave everything for Sookie, at some point. He said he would in DTTW, he's behaving mkuch more like Amnesiac Eric now.

It's an interesting possibility.

I don't think that CH would have any problem making someone other than Eric a realistic HEA. She has at least three books to do it. I wouldn't have trouble with any of the guys being Sookie's forever man.  But I haven't seen the whole series as a build up to Eric and Sookie being together. I enjoy them, but I'm not sure it's meant to last.  I don't think Sam is boring or predictable and I wouldn't put Quinn out of it yet.  He's back in the novella and while last I heard not in book 11 that doesn't mean he won't be in future books.  Maybe some of the information Sookie finds out about in book 11 has to do with Quinn being kept away, or what happened to him for violating that order?  She wouldn't appreciate him being hurt.  I do think Bill is probably not the one.  I don't think his HEA is Judith though. CH has said that Bill doesn't really mind being alone.  I think if/when Sookie finds her HEA, he will continue to be a supportive friend.

No one new since CH has known who the HEA has been since LDID an CD. That really leaves out Quinn anyway. Not having kids and the picket fence leaves out any of the warmblooded types since they could all give her children. Most certainly, Sam could give her a white picket fence-type life. And most likely Alcide could. But frankly being pack leader really means marrying in the pack. So he is also out. CH said that Sookie won't settled down to kids and a white picket fence. She's also said that she won't have the life she originally thought she wanted. If AB hadn't removed Bill from contention by revealing his death had been planned for DAG, he would still be the mostly likely alternative, given the fact that Sookie not having kids seems to imply a vamp.

As for not seeing the Eric build up. It becomes obvious in a reread.

No, it doesn't leave Quinn out.  She said she's known who it is since she wrote LDID, not that the character was IN LDID.  She could have had the character in her head, just not introduced him until later.

Maybe i'm wrong but didn't she said that Quinn will appear in the Novella and no more after that? I think there is a video in her thread.

BTW CH said NO NEW SUITORS for Sookie.....

She didn't say he wouldn't appear after the Novella, just that there would be "closure."

No, it doesn't leave Quinn out.  She said she's known who it is since she wrote LDID, not that the character was IN LDID.  She could have had the character in her head, just not introduced him until later.

Oh he's out because he was never in. They only had a few dates. And then he betrayed the Louisiana vamps, killing several vamps she knew and liked, and nearly getting Sookie killed in the process. Not only that but he could give her kids and a white picket fence.

She didn't say he wouldn't appear after the Novella, just that there would be "closure."

Ok I remember now. I interpreted that the same way Mony did. Closure, as in the end of things, since they didn't really close out before.

Well if CH said no new suitors then it has to be Eric, Sam or Bill.  I think that Judith was created to appease the Bill fans that would have been upset with her original plan to kill off Bill.  I don't know what the deal is with Sam but even though I love his character he is not proactive enough.  If he is gonna be so damnably shy about Sookie then he doesn't deserve her anyway.

In my professional* opinion it has to be Eric.  Especially since LDID is when they began to get close.

I still can't find where CH said specifically that Sookie would not have kids, and I've looked everywhere.  I found the no white-picket fence quote, and quotes where she said Sookie *might* not have kids of her own, but not any flat out statement that she won't.

In LDID they started to get close. They got closer in CD. And they couldn't have gotten any closer in DTTW.

http://truebloodnet.com/charlaine-harris-talks-true-blood-sookies-future/

“I don’t write absolutes. I don’t write the kind of “happily ever after” that romance readers enjoy. I’m not saying that “happily ever afters” are a bad thing, and I’m not saying Sookie will never be happy … but she’s not going to settle down and start a family and have the white picket fence.”

I did a quick look up Chele and found this. It doesn't say here that she definitely won't have children, but it says in one sentence that she won't be starting a family, and/or having a white picket fence HEA 

That's the quote I've seen.  I just took it to mean that we aren't going to see it if indeed she does have children at some point.  When the books end, that issue may still be open.  Or not.

There are two other quotes, earlier than that one. And I will dig them up later. One I can give you almost verbatim. It was from the BBB webchat where CH said Sookie would have kids but they might not be her own. I posted the webchat here in its entirety so that's why I know that quote. And there was another one where she flat out said that Sookie wasn't going to have children.

I'd love to see those.

I copied this from the CH thread:

MelanieK

12 May 10, 2:57 PM

Hi ya’ll, I’m a long time reader and first time poster.  I just introduced myself on the appropriate thread and wanted to share my experience at the CH meet and greet last night. I was kind of reluctant to go to the Q&A; like many of us on this forum I find her answers more aggravating than informative and I knew she wouldn’t answer the questions about Eric and Sookie’s relationship. I ended up going as I figured it was a good chance to see for myself and I’m so glad I did! She was very funny and warm in person, not coy or evasive at all.

It was stunning how many people were there who have not read the books, were rude, and were asking questions that the most casual view of her website would answer (ie: where did you get the name Sookie? Why did you kill Lafayette?)   One Bill fan (or as she called him “Mr. Bill Compton – the perfect man”) got really aggressively rude with CH about how Sookie and Bill belong together and told CH to “fix it.”  Seriously.  CH was very nice to her and said she hopes she enjoys the books.

So here are the Q and A’s, I’m only including the ones we haven’t seen a hundred times already:

Eric Questions:

Eric is not based on Rhett Butler but she can see the comparison.

Will Eric be consistent or will he have a shocking surprise like Bill? Eric will be as consistent as he can be, but he is under political pressure that readers don’t know about yet.

Will Eric have a happy ending?  “I think so, but happiness is a relative term. I’m not going to kill him if that’s what you’re asking”

Asked about the character development of Sookie and Eric: The characters are never out of her control and they are serving their functions as she intended.

Book Questions:

We will see a lot more of Hunter.  (The person asking the question thought Hunter was a girl ????)

Will Sookie have children?  “She thinks she wants that now, but it might not be in the cards for her”  (My impression of this answer was a clear “No.”)

Will Sookie get married?  Probably

True Blood/ Alan Ball:

Lots of True Blood questions. I was very surprised that there were so many people at the Q&A that had no interest in reading the books.  She was extremely patient and kind, answering pretty much every TB question with “I’m glad you like the show, I’m not involved with the production and I’m sorry that I can’t tell you anything about it,”  and “Yes, I have met Alexander.” She made a comment I thought was pretty loaded after the Alan Ball “she-wanted-to-kill-bill” fiasco.  She said “I have a close relationship with the creator Alan Ball… Well, no, I wouldn’t call it close, it’s a warm professional relationship.”

I forgot: She answered a question about Sookie reading vampire minds. She said it was totally random and she has no plans to develop that in the story.

From the BBB thread here:

28. In the end of your last book, Sookie’s great grandfather indicated “that man really loves you” but it left the reader not sure which man he was referring to, Erik or Bill? If you can’t answer that question, will that particular question be answered in another book, since Sookie’s great grandfather states he will be leaving her life infinitely? Are children in Sookie’s future?

28. I’m so glad you’re enjoying the books. There are children in Sookie’s future, but they may not be hers or live with her.

I highlighted the relevant answers in blue. Not only about children, but the fact that Eric has no deep dark secret, rather he is under political pressure.

Here's another one from the European tour:

-Someone asked about Sookie's future. She said HEA is a relative term. In life, no one gets everything they want or even wHat they deserve, but she will not be unHappy.

Here's another one from the CH thread (this is from the Huffington Post)

HP: I was at the RT Booklovers' Convention in Columbus earlier this year, where you caused a bit of a ruckus when you hinted that your books probably wouldn't end with a "happily ever after" ending. Can you clarify what you meant by that? Will Sookie Stackhouse have a happy ending?

CH: I don't write absolutes. I don't write the kind of "happily ever after" that romance readers enjoy. I'm not saying that "happily ever afters" are a bad thing, and I'm not saying Sookie will never be happy ... but she's not going to settle down and start a family and have the white picket fence.

I guess this one was posted already in this thread.

I was hoping for a link so I could read them myself.

They're in the CH's Q&A thread or the Bitten by Books Webchat thread. I can't link the individual posts. Here's links to the threads.CH Q&A BBB Webchat Search for them yourself within the thread. Just use your browser search. That's what I did. Do you think I'm just making this stuff up? All I did was search for some terms I knew were in the quotes. I really don't give a flying fuck if you believe me or anything the other posters have provided. It's not going to look any different once you find it in the thread. I did edit out some of the non-relevant questions in the transcript provided by MelanieK, but that was only for space. We have a good community here and we trust each other not to post bullshit or try to deceive the others.

I'm especially fond of the answer that showed that Eric has no big personal surprises and his problems are going to be political. And we have three or four answers all around the issue of Sookie and children. All of them are fairly consistent, especially considering they came from different venues.

I have crippled hands and have a lot of trouble typing, and I put in considerable effort to do all that searching and cutting and pasting. And I did it because you are too lazy to read the entire CH Q&A thread yourself. Or are you afraid that our ideas might taint your pristine brain?

Oh and here's one more quote from the CH Q&A thread just for fun:

Carrie - In Dead in the Family, Sookie learns a lot more about vampire politics. Are you hinting at a chance that Eric is planning to make a play for King of Louisiana?

Well... You know, there are some things I just can't talk about because they're going to happen in different books. That's a good question, but one I simply can't answer right now. 

I really love that CH didn't shoot down the idea of Eric being king. Instead, she declined to answer.  

 I wouldn't have trouble with any of the guys being Sookie's forever man. 

I wouldn't either, if she writes it well & I find it authentic but so far, it is what it is for me.

But I am being majorly redunant in my thoughts. I'm sure you've heard it all before & at the end of the day we'll see.

She said she's known who it is since she wrote LDID, not that the character was IN LDID.  She could have had the character in her head, just not introduced him until later. 

Yeah, I keep that in mind too. There are a lot of issues that are of course still open. It would be, we have a few books & shorts to go.

but niall said that "he is a good man" at the end of DAG, who was he talking about? eric or bill?

I'd recommend checking out the "Niall: Which Vampire" thread. We've beat that fairy to Summerlands!

some crazy fic writer posted this about the whole 'Which Vampire?' debate.

Chele, we have 2 CH Q&A threads. There is a ton of info, peruse them at your own leisure.  You seem incredibly up to date. I am sure we don't have anything new here you don't know but just go through the info threads. That's what they are there for. 

Thanks, I will.  I'm terrible with searches, especially on CH's site.  I can't ever seem to find what I am looking for.

If Eric was King of Louisiana then Sookie may need to finally move out of Bon Temp...I wonder what she would do with herself? At least Amelia is in New Orleans so there are possibilities for more adventures! Maybe if Eric is king it will somehow allow Sookie to have more protection...at least in the vampire community because people wouldnt want to mess with the king unless they want to die or go to war.

But at this point something else may need to change to push Sookie out of Bon Temps...I wonder if CH may do something as drastic as killing off Sam, that may make Sookie want to leave, technically he is the main tie she has left to the town. (now that her brother is happy with his new panther community and gf)

I bet if Eric is king that he would rule from Shreveport. It's his comfort zone and it would signal a break from prior regimes. I have to believe that if Eric is king it would offer Sookie more protection. Right now any royalty could try to co-opt her abilities. That was FDC first reaction to learning about Sookie's telepathy.

Honestly, I cannot believe people asked CH such stupid questions! 

Eric will be as consistent as he can be, but he is under political pressure that readers don’t know about yet.
Well, besides Victor wanting to get rid of Sookie, I'm betting it has to do with something new like the unwelcome business Appius came to talk to Eric about. Eric was also really concerned that Sookie understand how the states were split up, so something is up - possibly an alliance with another ruler. Another thought is Sookie also might not like to find out the actual rules of their vamp/human marriage. Wonder if there is any extra pressure on a sheriff (or king) that has a human wife. Or maybe it's that Eric now wants to be King thing, Sookie may not be interested in going down that road even if she wants Victor dead. 

Hope this book takes place in another city like ATD and DD, I like when Sookie gets away from Merlottes and gets to dress up a bit!

Right now any royalty could try to co-opt her abilities.  
that would make for a very interesting story.

I bet if Eric is king that he would rule from Shreveport. 
Then Sookie can keep her job and her honey! haha  

If CH is going to break them up for a while (I actually enjoy small doses of angst) that would be okay only as long as they get back together by the end of that book. Waiting another year for them to possibly make up is just too long to wait! 

Sookie's Fairy room mates might deter Sookie from having vamp company and that mixed with Eric being very busy with work might lead to Sookie feeling neglected. I really hope CH isn't going down that path. (Hopefully Eric will be more practical than Quinn and use the phone.) I love the banter between these 2 and I'm keeping my fingers crossed they don't spend the whole book separated and too busy to talk.

Amelia feels a little off to me and I can't wait to find out if there is more to her. She always seems to want to discourage Sookie when it comes to Eric. 

For this posting, I actually trimmed off some of the more stupid or irrelevant questions. They're in their entirety in the CH thread or the BBB thread. Searching on this forum is a little funky, but I've found that once I've popped open a thread I can ask IE to do a text search for what I think is a relevant term and it will find it in the thread or page. In IE, pressing "ctrl F" pops open a search window. I also have a Google panel on my screen that does a text search on the screen text, but not everyone may have that. That's different from a panel for Google web searches, which I also have. I hope I haven't made you dizzy with the technobabble.

Just wanted to add me thoughts that ive got from reading DTTW again. I finshed it last nite and I have to say im sure E/S will be together!! They just have to be! after reading it again I realised Eric truly did want to stay with sookie fair enuf he had no memory (no responsablity) but I think his feelings didnt change. His mind might have but not the way he felt for Sookie! I no she gets with Quinn after but I think thats just to help herself in her own mind move on from Eric! Clearly it didnt work! and maybe if Quinn had stayed it might have which I think is why Sookie was so emotionaly angry with Quinn! I might be totally wrong and her HEA could turn out to be Bill (please nooo!) but I hope im not. I really liked Eric in DTTW even if he wasent himself really! I just see it as him being Eric without responsablitys! Which was perfect for Sookie.

I think book 11 will be a challange from S/E relationship to see if they really can be together!

I think that if Eric becomes King it will be the death knell for their relationship.  I don't think Sookie wants to be that involved in the vampire world. Yeah, I know, she already is and everyone wants to use her...but I'm sure that even if they aren't together, Eric will still protect her.

I like Amelia very much.  I don't think there is anything untoward about her.  Anyway, if there was, she's such a strong broadcaster that Sookie would already know about it.  I think Amelia is suspicious about powerful men since they remind her of her father, and she knows from experience how they like to control the people around them.  That's what makes her cautious about Sookie's relationship with Eric.

I don't have that google app.  Does it work on Mac?

Well then you have to find the feature on Safari (I assume that's what you are using) that does a simple screen search for text. My only Safari experience is on my iPhone, and surfing with the phone is always awkward anyway. That's really all I'm taking advantage of. I use the simple screen search for text all over the internet when I want to find something on a text-dense page like a news or blog site. I can't see all that well since my vision is usually blurred or out of focus, and I can't skim (it triggers my vertigo and makes me want to puke), and my hands are limited so it saves me some effort mousing around a long page.

AP, how does one send a private message?  I was reading the forum yesterday and found something I wanted to show you.

Take yout cursor & hover over the handle name for a few secs  & then you get an option to chat to friend.

I also think that CH has been setting up E/S as a HEA for awhile. During my second read through I had taken notes about all the significant E/S interactions so that I could see it mapped out chronologically. He has honest love for her and has always been her "hero", even though she has tried to fight it.  Also at this point I do not think she could have another normal relationship after her taste of vampire. In Sookies case once you have Vamp you cant go back (double so because of her telepathy)....plus I cant imagine her finding anyone better then good ol GP .

I don't have any problem thinking it might be someone else.  There are times, especially in the last two books, when I get the distinct impression that Sookie would be more than happy to leave the vampire world behind.  I think she could, if she really wanted to, and I'm sure Eric would still do his best to protect her if that was her choice.

Honestly, I don't see how she could ever escape the vampire world - even if the telepathy would be somehow taken from her. And i believe CH stated that this is not possible? Sookie's is in it way too deep... and it would be pretty pointless for me to read 10 books about how she learns how to cope in this strange world with those strange supernaturals only to end up as the smalltown wife of someone. My take is... earlier on, with her innocent character, that was what i wished for her. But she witnessed too much and changed too much for the book ending with her turning her back to the vampire world. Also, we found out that all the supes are connected - she would have to cut all connections, and with that, effectively all her friends. (except for tara maybe, but she doesn't play this much of a role for her anyways.) What would be the point?

I'm sure their relationship will be tested by the choices he has to make for them both to survive this political struggle. And i'm mightily curious about the new vamps that are announced to show up sooner or later. I'm toying with this spectulation of another female child of Eric's...who could cause trouble for them.

There is a great well-written fanfic story that shows a scenario where Eric and Sookie stay together even though Eric becomes much higher profile:

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5016430/1/bPour_b_bSome_b_bSugar_b_On_bMe_b

The author is BonTempsBaby. Seriously, I no longer care how CH ends the story because I love this (complete! yay!) story so much. And she has written many chapters of a sequel, too, that I'm also enjoying. Maybe y'all can console yourselves until CH finishes her series.

I have always wanted Eric as King and Sookie with him (as Queen, preferably). It's like my mantra. I hope one day to see it on the page.

It's refreshing to read that a lot of you feel the same way.

I'm sure their relationship will be tested by the choices he has to make for them both to survive this political struggle.

No doubt. It only makes sense. But in the end their love will win out, even if he is king. It actually ties into all the hints that CH has been dropping about Sookie's HEA not being what she had originally wanted, especially the white picket fence and children. Any non-vamp could give her the white picket fence and children. And Bill is truly out of the picture--you don't plan to kill the HEA you've planned for since early on. And there will be no more new suitors so no other vamp can dash in.

I don't think Eric wants to be king, but it will be the only way that he can truly promise protection for her. If he remains sheriff, she would always be at peril to another king, not just the king/queen of Louisiana, even if FDC and Victor are out of the way. She's just a human, and the Louisiana vamp king or queen will not go to war with another kingdom over her. All they might expect is financial restitution for her loss. Eric would not have any control in this situation--he's only a sheriff and can't wage war to get her. But no other kingdom would risk war by capturing the wife of a king.

Another reason Eric would want to be king is that, as sheriff, he had been prevented by a representative of his own king from going to Sookie's rescue from the fae. It's not likely he's forgotten that and would want to be sure he could fully protect her.

 There are times, especially in the last two books, when I get the distinct impression that Sookie would be more than happy to leave the vampire world behind

Oh wow really, No way! It wouldnt be Sookie without the Vampries!  Im guessing the whole reason were all  addicted to these books is because of the relationships with the Vampires (ERIC!!) and without them I think there wouldnt be much point. I would stop reading them if CH thought it would be best for Sookie to leave the Vamps behind and move on with some hunman! I doubt very much that will ever happen. Fingers crossed!!

Well, there are only three books left, most likely, so if Sookie starts to distance herself from the vamp world, I'm sure it will take all three to do it.  Then her story will be over anyway.  There'll always be fanfic.  

I'm not saying that's what will happen, but my instincts have been telling me for quite awhile that Sookie isn't going to end up with a vampire.

Sookie wont distance herself overwize there would be no reason for Eric explaing all the Vamp stuff to her in the first place im sure Eric would ''feel'' if Sookie had lost intrest or even starting doubting the Vamp life is getting herself into. Just becasue CH is going to stop writing at book 13 (apparently) that doest mean ''her story will be over'' Sookie will always be there if its as Queen (like most of us hope) or as normal Sookie getting into trouble it dont matter either way her story will be left open in some sly way! She might have her HEA at the end but she wont leave it all behind. Not the Vamps and not Eric!

if Even if she doesnt end up with a vamp and your instincts are right then i would be totally shocked!

I dont think CH would leave the last book with ........THE END!

I can tsee that happening!

Sookie wont distance herself overwize there would be no reason for Eric explaing all the Vamp stuff to her in the first place im sure Eric would ''feel'' if Sookie had lost intrest or even starting doubting the Vamp life is getting herself into.

That's so very true. And any non-vamp could certainly give Sookie the white picket fence and children that CH has said Sookie isn't going to have.

I've not been here for a while but would just like to say how much I appreciate all the research that you folks have done and the intelligent discussion and insights that you offer (and your politeness even when provoked).

Im guessing the whole reason were all  addicted to these books is because of the relationships with the Vampires (ERIC!!) and without them I think there wouldnt be much point.

Totally agree it's been built that way, Sarah.

Totally agree it's been built that way, Sarah.

The concept that got CH started was what would it be like to love a vampire.

Thanks everyone glad you agree

My obsession is with the love/hate relationship towards the vampires its the whole reason i wanted to read these books! and I just cant see book 11 turning into some kind of ''out'' for Sookie in the life on the undead! And Eric..well who in there right mind would get rid of him!!..Not me for sure

I've not been here for a while but would just like to say how much I appreciate all the research that you folks have done and the intelligent discussion and insights that you offer (and your politeness even when provoked).

Well I'm not so sure I stay polite when provoked, but at least I start out that way.

AP...just because any non-vamp possibly *could* give Sookie the 'white picket fence* CH has said she won't have doesn't mean she can only be with a vamp.  I understand wanting to see it that way, but even if she isn't with a vamp no one gets everything they want out of life.  Maybe Sookie will discover she can't have children of her own.  Maybe whoever she marries will have 'issues' that Sookie will have to deal with.  Who knows.  I don't think we can consider CH's comment to mean that Sookie HAS to end up with a vamp.  That's assuming too much, IMO.

AP - I start out that way too but I think probably have far less patience than you, especially when I think I'm being run over by a fnord...

Chele- Your comment to AP does make sense if CH was a writer of normal love stories! but this is a vamp book a whole world of other beings! and the white picket fence wont happen cause CH didnt write a normal love story that only happens in normal love stories! not ones CH writes. I get your point just think you should be more open-minded about the whole supernatural world and Sookie being involved with it! Plus Sookie is all ready married to Eric...Vamp way or not i still fink its marriage 

Sorry to but in AP just wanted to say that  

Claudine even warned Sookie before she went to the summit that her presence there would permanently bind her to the vampire world because too many vampires will discover what she can do.  Vampires are greedy and competitive and if she is not in the presence of her now pronounced vampire "party" other vamps will be sure to want to find her...so the only possible way Sookie could escape would be to move to a remote country somewhere with a lot of sun...possibly only the fae world could create a plausible escape, but that world is now off limits.

Sorry to but in AP just wanted to say that

No problem, Sarah you were fine.

I can't see why CH would write a book about vampires and not make the heroine end up with one. If CH was gonna have Sookie end up with a were/weretiger/shapeshifter then CH should have revolved the story mainly around them, IMO.

AP...just because any non-vamp possibly *could* give Sookie the 'white picket fence* CH has said she won't have doesn't mean she can only be with a vamp.  I understand wanting to see it that way, but even if she isn't with a vamp no one gets everything they want out of life.  Maybe Sookie will discover she can't have children of her own.  Maybe whoever she marries will have 'issues' that Sookie will have to deal with.  Who knows.  I don't think we can consider CH's comment to mean that Sookie HAS to end up with a vamp.  That's assuming too much, IMO.

Ok so she lives HEA except she's sterile and her husbands cheats, or he can't keep a job, or he dies of cancer. Or he's a violent wife beater and he makes her sterile. Sure sounds like a happy life to me. Wouldn't we all love to read that ending?

CH said that Sookie wasn't going to settle down and have kids. Not just that she couldn't have them. It looks to me like CH didn't think that Sookie's identity in life revolved around just being a housewife with children.

Your problem here is that you didn't believe we had all those separate quotes about Sookie's HEA. So you're suffering from cognitive dissonance and need to come up with a concept to counter the new idea. So you decide to make her sterile with a troubled marriage. Give me a fucking break! Is that the best you can do with your obvious anyone-but-Eric mindset?

Why are you posting here? Do you think you are really fooling us? We all have your number. You aren't going to convert us and your ideas are unwelcome (and mostly lame). So you just post things to attack and counter anything we say. And that is just truly pathetic, and so very sad. If you really want a pro-Bill pro-AB pro-TB discussion go to the Vault. If you want a saccharine pro-Bill website post at CH's site (which we all know you do under another name).

AP- I agree with you. No offence Chele but you do have some vendetia againt Eric and we here LOVVVEEEE Eric! So you must understand why we dont agree with your comments. To be honest they come ascross as negative! I dont no about anyone else but im here to discuss the good and bad point about TB and the books but I still LOVE them and the Vamps inculding ERIC! and I wont look apon it as though Sookie will live a normal life with a HEA the way AP described it! Its a supernatural world remember

OK I am just gonna stop this in it's tracks.

Anyone can do what they want but I respectfully ask you do not engage or respond to Chele's posts. She is an old poster who comes back every once in a while under a new handle to just try & Troll.

Chele - you have been blackballed (again). Well done you.

I still think Sookie will marry Bubba and open a stray cat sanctuary.

Hi Laura, just letting you know ive taken it your comment and will respect your request

Kim, That sound pretty cool!! Looolll !

Kim, that made me laugh out loud at my desk! Since Eric is some sort of priest, maybe he can conduct the marriage?! :p

And to get back to topic: i like the new title a lot and it gives me hope for S/E. Why? Because - to me - it sounds way more political instead of distant. I wouldn't mind some more S/E drama as long as they stay together and work on this. Of course, i wouldn't mind some fluff within an exciting story either

Thanks Sarah.

Kim that was hilarious! Way to put it in perspective.

I still think Sookie will marry Bubba and open a stray cat sanctuary.

SSL!  Well, you know, anything is possible, it just isn't probable!

I love Kim's idea! Maybe it's really Bubba who is Sookie's soulmate. They hug each other all the time.

LOL!

Tina's Hunka Hunka Cat Rescue and Karaoke Bar

Hmm, maybe it was a good thing that Bubba never met Tina.

It's a good thing Bubby never met Bob

It's a good thing Bubby never met Bob
Now that would have been a great short story! LOL

As a new poster, I have to admit, you guys are hilarious, smart and intelligent.  I'm going to like it here.  I (obviously) am am Eric/Sookie fan.  I have my own viking (my husband) but I am the vampire.  So I have enjoyed reading your theories and speculations on book 11.  I think I am on the band wagon of those who could not continue reading the series if E/S are not together.  I know that life doesn't have a happy ending but I guess I see it this way... My life as it is sucks and I don't want the books I read to remind me of my life, they are my escape from my suck moments. I want a HEA for someone if I can't have my own!  IMO E/S together as king and queen with Hunter as a frequent guest would be as close to a HEA as I can get.

I hope whatever CH writes in the book, there is some kind of catalyst that makes Sookie realize that her feelings for Eric is more than the BB. Otherwise, Sookie constantly wondering if the BB is the reason she loves Eric will get old. You always want relationships in books developing. And imo, their relationship will soon reach an impasse. And something has to happen to keep it flowing. If CH does decide to break up E/S, then I hope by book 13, they get back together.

It would be such a letdown for it to be Sam. And I still don't see how that works out since CH keeps saying that Sookie won't have kids or a picket fence. Sam is a kids and picket fence type of guy.

Hey UpAllNight - welcome. Please be sure to intro youself in the approp. threads & read the rules if you haven't already.

Great post. I don't happen to agree with your opinion for various reasons but you have presented your side really solidly - I can see where you are coming from.

While I appreciate your opinion. I tend to disagree.  This is in no way an attack on you or your opinion, but a discussion of the facts we have from CH herself, and opinions that have been hashed out numerous times.  (we all enjoy a good discussion here!)  Please take no offense...

Despite his apparent love for Sookie (now), he doesn't seem like the type of man who will watch "his lover" age and lose her faculties.

I, for one don't think it will be an ending that gives us much of a glimpse in the future.  I think it will end a bit more abruptly. 

Part of me thinks she'll come full circle and end up with Bill.

Since we know that Bill was supposed to die in Dead and Gone, I am almost positive that he can't be her HEA.

I think at some point Eric used his connections, as most people in power tend to do, to discredit Bill's integrity.

I believe that Bill did that all by himself.  If Eric just wanted her and to hell with everyone else, he would have told Sookie himself about Bill's reason for being in Bon Temp, instead of making sure Bill told her himself.  Eric didn't want his words to hurt her.  I think he (even then) cared for her more than he knew. 

and what a conquest Sookie has been!

If all he was after was the conquest, then why not leave her when her life became the complicated one, i.e. Faries.

Also, I wouldn't be surprised to see Eric killed amidst the political warfare that is imminent. 

I do believe CH has stated that Sookie and Eric will both survive to the end of the series. 

On that dismal note, my hopeless romantic self would love to see a transformed Eric emerge with Sookie by his side - an Eric that can love someone more than himself.

That is exactly why I think Eric is her HEA. I think a good author takes a character, like Eric, who is selfish and egotistical and slowly gives him depth, trust and love. That is what CH did.  She slowly made Sookie (and us) fall in love with a man who we all believed at first to be unobtainable and made him hers (as Eric would say).

Unfortunately, I'm going to have to disagree with UpAllNight. First,I'll clear up a few issues by referencing things confirmed by CH. First, Sookie will never become a vampire. Second, Eric is going to survive the series. Third, CH was going to kill Bill in DAG but got talked out of it (no doubt because of TB).

CH has said that she's known who the HEA will be since the second or third book. So you don't plan to kill off the HEA. CH has said that Eric has been straightforward with Sookie. So no he hasn't duped her into a relationship with him. And if he was going to driven away by a less than attractive woman (as she aged), he wouldn't have been so patient with Sookie while she was scarred and not having climaxes. Instead he cried in sympathy for her pain. We don't need to wait to see him transformed since he is. He is no more or no less capable of love than any other vampire.

BTW, Eric was a family man too. Eric wasn't conveniently unavailable to save Sookie, he was tied up in silver. The thing that made Sookie no longer want Bill wasn't the Lorena episode, although it didn't help. The nail in his coffin, so to speak, was the fact that he came to Bon Temps to seduce her to gain her skills for SA, and he never told Sookie that.

And the literary reason that CH kept Eric away from Sookie's rescue in DAG was so that Bill could die heroically. However, CH was talked out of killing Bill (no doubt because of the TB backlash that would occur since Bill was still the dominant male lead in the show). So instead, he just barely survives. I think CH gave Judith to Bill so he could have someone to love.

Oh and one more thing. While the series has shown how Sookie has grown and matured since it started, Eric is the one character who has undergone the most transformation. And it has been gradual and progressive thoughout the series. He only needed to peel off some layers that he accumulated throughout the years. When we saw him in DTTW, we basically saw Eric 1.0. The vamp he probably was right after he was turned.

Well put Judy and Ronni. Eric is the most transformed character by far. He was the tough guy with the heart of gold he kept secret from the world. He has always been honest with Sookie, even if he doesn't tell her everything (marriage). As a vampire he had to be cold and emotionless for so long, much like Bill who has been described by Sookie as such many times. The difference is that Bill really is the classic vampire, whereas Eric isn't, he cares more then he should. To quote Sookie " For a dead guy he had the liveliest chemistry" as apposed to Bill's calm cool impartial attitude.

well said girls, well said

Eric is charismatic, funny, attractive, smart and powerful .... BUT he doesn't have the makings of a long-term man - for anyone! We've all known human men like him, and they end up cheating or better-dealing their current women.

Hi Upallnight! Very Interesting post. Unfortunately, I do have to disagree. I could refute your statement by saying.. “It’s the quiet ones you have to worry about.” And I see Bill as a quiet person. I personally don't see Eric as cheating or trying to “better-deal” his woman. From reading the books, Eric seems to be characterized as the most ideal man for Sookie IMO. And remember, Bill is the one who cheated in CD.

Part of me thinks she'll come full circle and end up with Bill. Bill has stated he wouldn't condemn someone to a life of vampirism unless he/she asked for it personally.

As others mentioned before, Bill was supposed to be die in DAG. And since CH was convinced not to kill off Bill, it seems as if CH created a new love interest for Bill, which is Judith. Well it seemed that way to me. Reading the conversation between Judith and Sookie, Judith cares for Bill and Bill may, in future books, reciprocate those feelings. Honestly, I don’t see how Sookie will ever get back together with Bill. It feels too farfetched. Eric also promised to never turn Sookie into a vampire, even if she was dying.

Sookie continues to go out of her way for Bill, and I think if it is revealed that Eric is responsible for the Bill break-up, she will give him another chance.

Well, Sookie is really an overly nice person. Sometimes after a break-up you still want to remain friends with your ex, for reasons you can only know. And S/B break-up was all Bill from what he did in CD to Bill revealing that he was sent by SA. If Eric is at fault, it’s for making Bill tell Sookie the truth, even if he knew it would hurt Sookie. Because honestly, it is better to know the truth and deal with the pain. As cliché as it sounds, time heals all wounds. And I’m sure Eric living for 1000 years would know that.

After briefly thinking it over, I think CH is a bit uncertain if she’ll stop at book 13 because she is trying to figure out how E/S relationship will play out. If I was the author I have only 2 options:  Should I break up E/S only to have them reunite by book 13/14. OR should they stay together and E/S endure overwhelming obstacles in their relationship, only to remain together at the end. They haven’t developed Sam’s character enough in the books for us to see Sookie ending up with him. And Sam can give Sookie babies, which CH has mentioned she will not be having.

For Book 11 - I reserve the right to change my mind lol!- I see CH testing E/S relationship to the point where Sookie wants nothing to do with vampires or possibly causing her to break up with Eric. BUT for Book 12, Sookie’ll will see how much she loves Eric and reconsider the relationship. For Book 13, they live happily ever after. The END.

LOL! Well that’s my ideal scenario, especially for book 13.

Good Conversation!

Without rehashing your previous points, I have to agree that I think the last book brought closure to the Sookie-Bill relationship.  I felt like Sookie's visit while Bill was sick with silver poisoning and the subsequent "goodbye" was a "goodbye" to their past and that the arrival of Judith was the beginning  of a new relationship in which BIll could move on.  (It always struck me that he had a harder time moving on that Sookie did...)

Not to switch the gears back, but I'm wondering more about the speculation that Eric may become king.  In relationship to that, I'm wondering more about how vampire marriage works?  Can a vampire be married to a human and a vampire?  If there are plural marriages, how does that work?  Is a vamp-vamp marriage equal to a vamp-human marriage?  Can a king/queen be married to someone of lesser status?

After reading APs postings speculating that Sookie is going to learn about and be entangled more in vampire politics the next book - I'm wondering what could possibly break them up after all that they have been through...the only thing that I keep coming back to is if Eric needs to be "married" to someone else - even if it is only for a political alliance.  I can see Sookie understanding that but not accepting it.  And that makes me return to my first questions about how vampire marriage works.  I could also see him asking Sookie to turn vampire as possibly being an out...

Just my ramblings...

Not to switch the gears back, but I'm wondering more about the speculation that Eric may become king.  In relationship to that, I'm wondering more about how vampire marriage works?  Can a vampire be married to a human and a vampire?  If there are plural marriages, how does that work?  Is a vamp-vamp marriage and vamp-human marriage equal?  Can a king/queen be married to someone of lesser status?

Are you kidding? So pleased to switch gears...I think these are excellent questions.

Esp about  the V-V marriage being the same as a vamp-human....& your 2nd question about a King or Queen being married to someone of a lesser status.

I don't know why but I feel like any marriage a vamp decides to make would be considered equal importance.

Actually, I take that back..I would think a vamp who is not a King or Queen deciding to marry a human would be considered more important b'c Vamps marrying vamps or having relationships w/one another are rare & also, we know Royal marriages are usually made b'c of politic.

Maybe not outwardly acknowledged but I would think that behind the scenes (at least) the supe community would consider it a bigger deal.

the only thing that I keep coming back to is if Eric needs to be "married" to someone else - even if it is only for a political alliance.

Hmmm..that's a thought. I guess that doesn't jive with the type of character I feel CH has created at this point. I mean he has gone to some series great lengths to "claim" what he considers his.  It would really seem to be sort of backtracking IMO.

I mean - I am hoping that  CH is going to continue to propel Sookie forward so I am not sure that I can see Eric agreeing to do such a thing after 10 books of extremely hard earned Sookie but that's not to say I don't think there is a possibility it could potentially go that route.

In regards to the comment as to whether Eric was responsible for the B/S breakup CH has confirmed on her forum that Eric did not call Lorena or tell her about B/S. And we all know that SA was responsible for Bill going to Bon temps in the first place with the orders of procuring Sookie-so really the breakup was the fault of Bill alone. If he  had been honest with her about Lorena and SA he would probably still be with her. AS much as people want to you cannot pin it on anyone, esp. Eric.

I also believe that Bill and Sookie have already come full circle but not in the way of a renewed relationship.  Their kiss in DITF when Sookie remarks how her breathing slowed down and she felt calm was just the opposite of the effects of their very first kiss in DUD when Sookie says "I could feel my breathing speeding up, and I began to want other things to happen."  IMO a romantic relationship between them is over, they will be friends  but nothing more.

AS much as people want to you cannot pin it on anyone, esp. Eric.

Actually, that's not true...you totally can if you're bored & trolling for attention in any way. Like for example, looking to come back to the same forum over & over again under a new handle & raise overused points/issues to try & get people going. Just sayin'.

Eric is charismatic, funny, attractive, smart and powerful .... BUT he doesn't have the makings of a long-term man - for anyone! We've all known human men like him, and they end up cheating or better-dealing their current women.

Yeah, but after 1000 years, he also recognizes a really, really good thing when he sees it and will hold on to it...imo. Why not? He's got lots of time to move on later if it doesn't work out. But he's pretty much seen what's out there to have relationships with and it's obvious that Sookie is something very special.

 Can a vampire be married to a human and a vampire?  If there are plural marriages, how does that work?  Is a vamp-vamp marriage and vamp-human marriage equal?  Can a king/queen be married to someone of lesser status?

I think a vampire can be married "normally" and also contract a formal vampire marriage. (In TB, Talbot referred to himself as the "consort".) But I think the formal vampire 100 year alliance is formed with the knife and since Eric and Sookie are married by the knife, I don't think Eric has that option while Sookie lives.

When I read Dead in the Family, I kept on thinking that the "unwelcome business" that Appius brought was somehow linked to Eric stating that Appius didn't really care about his happiness (his comment at Fangtasia "no matter how happy I am"). It seemed as though Appius was trying to force Eric into something that he didn't want, or at least I thought so from those vague comments. Maybe Appius had ordered Eric to do something, ie end his marriage with Sookie to marry someone else for political gain, and Eric was trying to talk him out of that. Eric begged Sookie not to kill Appius, and maybe that was the reason why - Eric needed him alive for Appius to rescind his order? Just my rambling thoughts....

Imb1309 - I'm thinking that if a political marriage for Eric is a topic in the next book it would either be forced - maybe if Eric is king, then it is decided by the Amun clan for Eric or maybe it's the only way that Eric feels like he can consolidate power to protect Sookie.  From the other books, we know that a political marriage doesn't prohibit the king/queen from taking human lovers. 

Whatever the case ends up being, I do hope that we find out more about marriage and the rules around it.  It's been a topic in series early on - very early on if you consider that the question of legalization of vamp-human marriages was mentioned in the first or second book.

To me, fighting to have the right to marry in the human legal system coupled with what we learned about royal marriages through out the series and combined with the current Eric-Sookie arrangement signals that marriage is a very important ritual to vampires.   Most of what we learn about vampires in Charlaine's series is not in the realm of culture, they are more (excuse the term) bio-magical.  We lean how they are made, that makers can control their children (to a degree), that vampires must be invited in a home, that the invitation can be recinded and so on.  However, when it comes to culture we learn only some about their political organication and marriage seems to be a key element there.

More ramblings...

Zinnea - good thoughts - here;s where my thoughts go...when Appius died, I got that sense that Eric was freed from him - do you think that includes any past promises?  Would that stop Eric from divorcing Sookie only to remarry her?  How would you see that plahying out?

Also, I think Eric genuinely loved and dreaded his maker.  I don't think he wanted him to die, but I think in some ways he was relieved by it too.

I don't think Eric wanted Sookie to be the one to do it.  It was a love hate relationship he had with his maker imo.   All this going on about marriages..  Getting nervous.  Think I'm going to re-read DITF again.

Everyone made some really good points. I agree with.  I don't think Sookie would like much if Eric can marry someone else.  But it would make her think real hard about how she truly feels about Eric. She would also have to acknowledge her "marriage" and finally admit to it.  

It's been a topic in series early on - very early on if you consider that the question of legalization of vamp-human marriages was mentioned in the first or second book. 

Very true...you're theory does hold weight esp. b'c CH originally intended to drag out the Sookie choice until the very last book. So, if she hasn't changed her mind - she'll need a good reason & the material is there for it to be what you're saying.

Call me Laura, BTW.

Just to play with this thought a bit..b'c your questions have actually reinvigorated my interest a bit...I am thinking that maybe it was brought up in the beginning & has gotten to this point in the series (meaning - so much time has passed from when it was 1st brought up & we still have seriously outstanding questions when you think about this topic)  - is b'c it was foreshadowing the suitor choice.

CH said she knew who Sookie would end up with by the time she wrote book 2. Book 2 was when it was brought up a couple of times by Sookie.

In ATD - CH admitted during her tour when asked that the knife had significance.

IN FDTW - human-vamp marriages become legalized & Eric regains his memory setting the stage for DAG & the new arc in the series.

DAG - we find out their married vamp style & it's seriously binding. So much so that Victor doesn't tell Felipe in order to get away with detaining Eric from rescuing Sookie.

DITF - he is all about calling her his wife & making sure she knows all the info she can in order to arm herself with knowledge.

So coming full circle....foreshadowing that Sookie was going to be married to a vamp & that Eric is the HEA.

IDK...just something that ran through my head.

However, when it comes to culture we learn only some about their political organication and marriage seems to be a key element there. 

And just elaborating on this - what is also key that Eric  was really stressing the point home about Sookie learning the structure of the clans & when she wasn't taking it seriously he was frustrated & tries to get her to pay attention by saying "as my wife, it's important..."

But that little comment is what makes me think that he views her equally so maybe that no matter what - when a vamp marries ...human, vamp, gimp....they have automatically become on equal footing.

Or rather - they are entitled to be on equal footing - that's not to say everyone treats there partner that way - but it seems to signify this or else why would it be important for Royals to marry one another in blood oath or for Sookie to know this stuff?

I guess... at the end of the day I think it's more binding than a human contract of marriage. It means what it should mean..that it's a pretty huge & significant deal - esp. to someone like Eric who would honor that.

I don't think Eric wanted Sookie to be the one to do it.  It was a love hate relationship he had with his maker imo.   

I think so too.

Just playing around some vague ideas i had in my head for a while:

Zinnea - good thoughts - here;s where my thoughts go...when Appius died, I got that sense that Eric was freed from him - do you think that includes any past promises?  Would that stop Eric from divorcing Sookie only to remarry her?  How would you see that plahying out?

It really struck me that Eric took off after Appius death without really saying goodbye to Sookie. Sure, it was a huge moment for him his maker died and he was free. But i always felt there were urgent matters concerning the death of his maker he had to tend to immediately. I bet this ties to Appius' unwelcome business with Eric. What about another of Appius's children? What - very vague idea - if one of his other children will become the new queen here? Someone tied to Eric in a way ( through common past or at least through a mutual maker) and who now is in a position to rule a country because he/she is now maker-less?

However, when it comes to culture we learn only some about their political organication and marriage seems to be a key element there. 

And just elaborating on this - what is also key that Eric  was really stressing the point home about Sookie learning the structure of the clans & when she wasn't taking it seriously he was frustrated & tries to get her to pay attention by saying "as my wife, it's important..."

But that little comment is what makes me think that he views her equally so maybe that no matter what - when a vamp marries ...human, vamp, gimp....they have automatically become on equal footing.

very good point here. I always thought because vampires live eternally... binding yourself to someone has no special meaning except you give the binding a special meaning - and CH's vamps certainly do that with eleborate ceremonys, knives and genie pants! It's obviously a very important point to vampires with a huge amount of meaning and this is exactly why Sookie hasn't learned about the details yet. Eric knows her and knows how uncertain/overwhelmed she will react if she uncovers into what exactly she stumbled when she handed him that knife. I think that marriage has bound them very tightly and is very binding in the vampire world. Maybe Sookie has earned some power of her own being Eric's formal wife within the vampire ranks and now he feels the need to prepare her slowly but surely for her place among those who struggle for more power.

Really good points here. I don't think Eric wanted Sookie to be the one to do it either. I hope that there are no "orders" that Eric has to play out on behalf of Appius. Maybe there is more that Eric has to settle with his estate, or Appius position in vampire hierarchy. Since he was so old, I was thinking he may be a vamp of great status or power? I also wondered if he had some ties with other countries, not just the vamps in the US (when he mentioned his like of the Russian vampires). I like all the ideas that everyone has on this.

It really struck me that Eric took off after Appius death without really saying goodbye to Sookie. 

Me too.  Reading everyone's speculations here, the first thing that popped into my head was maybe he had to take off quickly to put a halt to something Appius had ordered done.  I would believe that once a maker was dead, their orders would be null and void.  Hmmm

 I would believe that once a maker was dead, their orders would be null and void.

There's evidence to support that.  Judith being able to be with Bill now & her extreme gratefulness to Sookie for killing her maker. She tells her - "I owe you my freedom".

Then Eric's comment of "I'm free" & then "I feel so good" & taking a huge breathe in ,

Oh, I forgot about Judith (huh, where was my head when I was reading that book). Okay, then I really think that Eric will have to rise politically to ensure Sookie's safety, especially if she doesn't want to be a vamp. Ultimately, the lovers of other characters will bash Eric claiming he likes power, but with power comes control over ones life, and the lives of those you love. I think Eric has lived long enough to realize that.

Well re-reading that passage he actually says that he has to attend things in regard to Pam.

“I have to return to Shreveport to see about Pam, to arrange for the things I must do now that Ocella is dead,” Eric said. “But as soon as I can, we’ll be together again, and we’ll make up for our lost time.”

I am wondering now if there was a possibility that he was trying to arrange for Pam to become Queen & Appius wouldn't allow it for whatever reason. It's just one of those sentences that CH does so well...seems like one thing but completely means another in hindsight. B'c it's not..."I have to go to Shreveport & check on Pam" or "to see Pam" it's .."to see about".... as in take care of things he had lined up possibly?

I think Pam would make a great Queen. She's smart and level headed. She took charge and did a good job during the witch war and the whole AE time.

Love getting a handle on everyone else's thoughts.

If speak of the ending passages trying to fathom what Eric needed to accomplish back in Shreveport, we have to also look at how the book ended with Sookie.

It ended with her in her bed sleeping with two men that were not Eric.  Family ties aside, even Pam had made a point earlier that Sookie had to be careful how things would look with Claude to Eric, whether he was gay or not.  Thinking of the Blood bond at that point, here was Sookie, emotionally going from frazzled and distraught, uncomfortable and a bit grossed out to relaxed and peaceful with a strong feeling of love and belonging.  And those feelings would be fizzing down the BB to Eric, feelings that He would not be the one generating.  Especially the one of belonging.

I could see him checking in on Pam and Jason, then heading back to Sookie to find out what is going on and busting in on the sleeping fairy pile.  Maybe the choice Sookie will have to make is between Eric and her Fairy family, there is a hint that the portals are not really closed, another far fetched possibility is that the Queen being hinted at for the next book is not a Queen of the vampires, but perhaps Sookies rank in the Fae.

These are wild hunches, and I really really want to see Eric with Sookie, he's worked so hard for her.  These are just some of the bumps in the road I can see being used to stretch it all out for three more books.

I don't think that bit at the end of DITF is going to be a problem. I think CH just wanted to end the book on something other than bloody carnage. Eric went off to see Pam. He is going to feed her and then watch her. The dawn will come and it will be a new day. I don't think Sookie is going to sleep with her relatives every night. And Claude hinted that he was only there to protect her. He has a club to run, he will go home.

I think Eric left quickly because he had so much to do in Shreveport. His house was a bloody mess and Pam was still incapacitated. Sookie didn't seem like she was in any immediate danger and Claude/Dermot were there.

He was a bloody mess too, which is why he didn't kiss her before leaving.

I wouldn't even comment to UpAllNight's post, who is clearly a BL and a troll, IMHO.

I think DITF ended that way to put emphasis on the theme in the book - family. Sookie slept with family by her side, while Eric went to check on his. Pam is the only family he has left, after Ocella died.

Perfect Karla. Exactly what it was all about.

And UpAllNight isn't just any troll, she's a troll that doesn't know when to quit. And that is truly pathetic.

Thanks, Judy. 

Maybe the troll doesn't have anyone to talk to in their forums? LOL!  What a pity.

I was thinking more about the ending and I think it sets the tone for how devoted both Eric and Sookie are to their families. Eric, the good maker going to check on his child, and Sookie helping her Uncle and spending time with her family. IMO it really illustrated how important family is to both Sookie and Eric. And having the same set of values about family is important in building a relationship

UpAllNight must need to get some rest so they can think more clearly about things. Sleep is very therapeutic.

LOL Kris! They must be up all night stressing on the demise of Bill.

Eric and Sookie do seem to have the same set of core values - love of family and loyalty, among others. They will make a great couple.

Yes, stressing about Bill and trying to irritate EL's. Seem to like to stir the pot.

I think CH has written Eric and Sookie to have the same core values. And Sookie thinks a lot about Eric's values. She thinks more deeply about him than she thought of Bill, while they were dating. I really did like how they seem to compliment each other. IMO they are not always on the same page, but understand each other enough to make things work.

"We have the same hair color, girlfriend!" LOL!

And Sookie seems to be content even when they're not together. She's not co-dependent and leeching on Eric. With Bill it was like she couldn't live without him by her side. They were like one of those irritating "we" couples. She maintains her own identity with Eric, her own woman.

We do Karla, we do!! haha.

I don't think that bit at the end of DITF is going to be a problem. I think CH just wanted to end the book on something other than bloody carnage. Eric went off to see Pam. He is going to feed her and then watch her. The dawn will come and it will be a new day. I don't think Sookie is going to sleep with her relatives every night. And Claude hinted that he was only there to protect her. He has a club to run, he will go home.

Judy, i'd very much like this to be the solution to book 10's ending. I could very well live with that  I feel Hunter being more of a bomb for Eric and Sookie than sleeping in one bed with her gay (!) cousin (!!).

I only wonder whether this short (one book long) Appius-interlude was a mean for CH to stretch the material of the series a bit longer or whether what we've learned in book 10 will have a major impact on the remaining storylines. For the sake of the series, I'd like Appius death and his unwelcome business adressed more in book 11 - and also see how his death will influence the dynamics of E's & S's relationship. Otherwise it would feel too much as a filler which i would find pretty disappointing.

I don't think Sookie is going to sleep with her relatives every night.

LQTM....now that would be some real Southern gothic material right there.

I thought Appius in the books was to short.  I found him quite interesting, and would have liked to seen more of him.  I do hope they go more into his unwelcome business too.  (Just hope it's not to bad.)

He just reeked of power.   Not necessarily that he had over Eric just in general.  He did seem to show some "manners" toward Sookie and her family meaning Jason.  I also like how he interacted with Sookie.

Conversely, I am disappointed by some of the responses based on blind emotion and Eric-obsession.  

What kind of a moron does a post insulting all the other posters? It's not exactly the way to ingratiate yourself on a new forum. Go haunt somewhere else. We've got your number already. We're not that stupid. We've just put a stake through the heart of someone who openly stated that she only relied on her own opinions. And look another one (or just maybe the same one) pops up. Thanks for the insults about blind emotion and Eric obsession.The idiot we just staked also made those comments. Do you really think that taking a new ID would make a difference if you post the same things and same insults?

Frankly, you're the one with the blind emotion and Bill obsession. It doesn't really matter if you were just speculating or not, if CH has specifically said something that counters it, then the speculation needs to be revised or discounted. BTW, CH has also said that she hasn't changed her mind about the series direction or HEA. And she said it quite recently. All of the information we quoted from CH are things she has stated over and over, so I see no reason to disbelieve them. Although, it does take colossal cognitive dissonance or idiotic stubbornness to choose to disbelieve facts directly from the author.

Oh, and if you check the Forum Rules thread here, it would tell you that we are mostly pro-Eric. So, even if you are not just another incarnation of an idiot who is so pathetic that she keeps having to come back here to try to annoy us, this is still not the place for someone who wants to walk in her footsteps.

Fuck off bitch!!!

I got my screen name from the books, idiot. And it was a little hard to believe that you prefer Eric, since your entire post was in defense of Bill and against Eric. The person we just staked also took pride in being a devil's advocate. We've had others, and they are just annoying and don't contribute to collaborative discussion. Someone who takes pride in being contrary is just a pain in the ass.

I don't need your permission to discuss the books here. You are the newbie. You are the asshole who insulted us in her second post. You are the one who will find that no one agrees with you. I'm not discrediting your opinions, as long as CH hasn't already disproved them. And don't attack my syntax since yours is quite stilted and awkward, indicating a self-love that isn't borne out by your meager communication skills.

Conversely, I am disappointed by some of the responses based on blind emotion and Eric-obsession.

Additionally, I hope that Ms. Harris introduces a few open-minded trolls in her next book ... maybe surprisingly intelligent and beautiful creatures whose opinions (and screen names) come from within and not from the coattails of others?! 

Wow. Was that emoticon supposed to make that less insulting or highlight your doucheness?

I have not responded to your previous post because it's so very obvious what you are trying to do. I doubt it's a coincidence that you are making the same arguments an abjured poster made previously and not too long ago. You aren't fooling anybody.

"A little devil's advocate"...Now why does that sound familiar?

Maybe you aren't who some of us think you are, but openly insulting regular posters isn't a way to garner acceptance. Even if your posting on this forum is completely innocent, it's obvious you are not compatible with the posters on this forum. I suggest you find somewhere else.

You don't have to agree with us, but I do think that we need to get along. There are many other discussion forums, and I would think you would want to be apart of a forum with people who you actually like (and who like you). You aren't getting that here.

Go insult someone else. We're not going to play anymore.

I didn't realize this was a "gush over Eric and Alex" forum and that was truly my mistake.

Ah yes, you ooze charm from every self-satisfied pore. And I can see you are still trying to ingratiate yourself.

BTW, people who make a big fuss over what they call "expletives" have nothing else to say, so they try to divert the discussion away from themselves by getting up on a high horse and fussing over word choice. A word is a word, they all have meaning. If some people choose to get all fussy about some words, it only shows how limited their imaginations are (and how pompous and supercilious they are).

I can see you think you are impressed with your own supposed intellect. I can assure you that most of the people here are exceptionally intelligent. Maybe you are just afraid you can't keep up.

I didn't realize this was a "gush over Eric and Alex" forum and that was truly my mistake.

It isn't. But considering the amount of trolls we have had on here lately and in the past, many of us are on defense. So, when a new posters comes on with numerous Eric conspiracy theories...we don't take too kindly. It's happened too many times, and about 98% of the cases are actually trolls. You may be part of the 2%, and if that's the case, I apologize.

But...I still ask that you really consider if this is the place for you. I can't guarantee that your subsequent posts, if you decide to stay, won't elicit the same reaction the first one did.

Aren't I allowed to consider the fact that maybe the obvious picture of Eric isn't all that it's cracked up to be?

In Short: No. CH stated over and over again that Eric doesn't have some secret sinister background and intentions.

I was going to put together some longish reply to your arguments. But i'll shorten my reply ...

this forum is called "The sookie stackhouse series forum (Spoiler rampant site *please read forum rules before posting*)".

Maybe you should do that... read the forum rules. We're ELs. Period. Passionately so. When i came here, i enjoyed the indepth discussion and to have found people who think like-wise. If you're really someone new (which i doubt), then please don't insult some posters who contribute a lot to this forum like Judy.

If you're some re-incarnation of the abjured one... please, this is getting old FAST.

I'd love to go back to the relationship-discussion please and some healthy Eric-gushing

Oh lord - here we go. Doesn't this ever get old?

Apparently not.

You ladies please know the drill......

Off to work - can't wait to see what tedious drama unfolds when I get home. Kidding.

Oh wow! She's removing her own posts! Yay! This is the last comment, Laura. Promise. 

Just wondering,  Did Eric have any other siblings from Appius?   Do they have wills?  Maybe Eric might be inheriting somethings from his maker.  That could be some of the unfinished business.  Writing out will.

Also since there are 3 more books I think that Eric just might have to be king and that will happen before they start going into any of the mariage stuff.  He has to build his kingdom up and make sure it is stable.    It's going to be dragged out...   or I could be totally wrong.
( Plus is this right place to put this?)

Mary - I keep thinking that something that Appius has left Eric or something about his death will impact Eric and Sookie's relationship. Also, upon re-reads of various parts of the last book, I think CH is "painting the picture" that the color peach is associated with "Queendom". When Bill and Sookie go to visit Caroline Bellefleur, Sookie makes reference to Caroline being the "Queen" in the peach colored room. Eric has also given Sookie a peach bathrobe. I keep on thinking the colors are more "bombs" waiting to go off in the garden.

Kris, that's an interesting theory. I remember reading somewhere that peach is symbolic of longevity/immortality. Caroline was quite old, so does this say the same for Sook? I'm intrigued; I'm definitely gonna research this further. 

Following through on Ava's theory...Here's an interesting site about peach (the fruit and the color). It's the symbol for long life, but it's also the symbol for infidelity. Maybe that's why vampire marriages are so polygamous? 

http://redlotusletter.com/children/the-danger-of-peach-a-feng-shui-color-warning 

Well, I've been researching a little more and have read in several places that peach symbolizes strength and a wise and virtuous heart, so maybe it's not signaling some big problem to come. Maybe it's indicative of Sookie's/Caroline's personalities.

That's what I came across too. Ava this is off topic, but I just finished my Master of Nursing in June. You're a nurse and grad student too?

Trying to be.  It's definitely tough. I've had to cut back my hours at work.

I had to do the same thing to get done.

Not to stay OT for too long, but I know the stress and sleep deprivation will be worth it. I love everything I'm learning. Congrats on finishing up.

Congrats to you too, for sticking with it! It''s worth it!!

Okay, the more I keep reading, the more I think that if peach means anything, it's only a reflection of Sookie personality-wise. With the exception of what Karla shared, everything I've read says peach means longevity, strength, competence, virtue and empathy.  Sookie referred to Caroline at least once as a 'steel magnolia' and Sookie wears the robe in DITF after her torture.

Kris- Yeah I did notice all the peach references too when I read it.  I was wondering what it could mean,  so I like your theory about that.

Also do you think that Appius might have thought if  something might happen to him and he wanted to leave Alexi with Eric?   Or to something to that effect.

I think it's meant to reflect her personality too, that's what I found. There were a lot of color references in that book, but more so towards the end. CH throws in these adjectives. And have you noticed CH makes various mention about angels.

Yeah lot's of colors with the drug that she drank.  And Angels.   I wonder if she will have Claudine come back as an angel sometime in the future.  Claudine did mention that a few times. Maybe something will happen that Sookie will need her again or see her in her dreams.

Or, and this is only my fleeting gut feeling, maybe Sookie will be an Angel? I have nothing to substantiate this.

The only thing that makes me think this could be is that CH has said Sookie will have a normal human life, and not be a vamp.

I don't know never thought of that.  Maybe CH skips ahead and tells what happens in her future.( Like in the Harry Potter series). That she has a very long life.  She's still with Eric.  Ok my wish.

My wish too!

Mine too. They could both live forever together

I don't know how they could manage that if she won't be a vamp; I just don't want poor Eric to be heartbroken when she dies. 

Maybe the series will end way before Sookie becomes a granny? 

Oh, I definitely think that it will; I'm just saying if she's human, she will at some point die, and Eric will be sad. I don't like that.

Do you think Eric will be the type to follow Sookie after she's gone?

Ahhh, I don't think so. I'm just hoping CH doesn't fuck everything up and have her end up with someone else.

I thought that too. Even though that will be really sad too,  I picture him meeting the sun,. after she lives to be 100.  But I can't see that happening.    Oh please I hope she doesn't end up with anyone else either.  They will be King and Queen.  OK rambling on.  I can't see how she could be with anyone else,  What would have to change that she wouldn't need  the protection.  After years and years some other vampire might want her. ( Don't answer that.  there are lots of things that could happen ).

I just worry because CH let herself be influenced out of killing Bill. I hope she doesn't go against everything she's written and have Sookie end up with someone else or portray Eric as an asshole a la Bill. Logically, I know that everything points toward Eric, but it's hard to be sure when she's deviated from her plan for the sake of others before.

Yeah, especially if AB talked her out of killing Bill before (I am assuming he is the guilty party).

Yeah, AB's a rat bastard. If she does screw us over, I will just take to rewriting it how I think it should go!

peach is symbolic of longevity/immortality

I think there is something to the peach color! CH has used blue, white and red pretty consistently before.
Longevity/immortality is very interesting idea. Maybe she gives Eric feelings of his former life or he would even like to give Sookie immortality.

Peaches usually refer to something juicy with velvet skin. (Sookie does taste good. haha) As in "Really love your peaches want to shake your tree". Peaches also seem very southern. I was trying to think of idioms with peach in them, like "everything's peaches and cream" or Peachy keen".

After doing a quick internet search, these things seemed interesting:
"Throughout the world the color peach is a symbol of gratitude and thanks."
"Peach blossoms represent life and also the feminine qualities of gentleness and mildness."  
It is notable that the peach is often seen as a symbol of sex or fertility. "Do I dare eat a peach?"   

Sookie is wearing a green dress on DITF cover - which I read green can symbolize growth. She did show many signs of growth this past book. Hey, Eric also wore a green t-shirt when she gave him the knife in front of Victor.

I definitely don't think all these color references are coincidental. The more I read, the more I would want someone to describe me as a 'peach personality.' I thought it tied in nicely with how Sookie is after her torture--she's come out stronger, with a bit more practicality, but she's still a moral person. Originally, I thought of the longevity aspect to mean only that she's destined for a long life, but now that I think about it, it could be foreshadowing to Eric asking her to become a vamp (We all know she won't, but I do remember an interview where CH said he asks her to consider it, if I remember correctly.).

As for pink and Jason, what I've read so far says that pink is symbolic of a childish innocence, pure love and compassion, a flirtatious personality, and a lighthearted attitude. That seems to fit in pretty well with what we know about Jason, no?

I hope Sookie doesn't get all bent out of shape if and when Eric starts to ask her to be turned and take it the wrong way.

Sookie is a Southern Peach.   A rare fairy and her telepathy to boot.

I'm still a newbie and right now I'm pretty intimidated by the quality of everyone's posts above. I just wanted to give my two cents.

I agree that the political trouble and the possibility of a political vampire-vampire marriage is possible. No, actually probable.

I think however, that maybe the 'new' information that Sookie receives is to do with what Eric says when Sookie visits him at Fangtasia when Ocella is visiting. He says, 'And you are my wife, in the only way that matters to me.' Sookie says at the time that she didn't understand what that means. Perhaps this issue is also at the heart of what he had to arrange after Ocella passed. It could be why Ocella says, 'You won't keep Eric either.'  Because he's already arranged a wife of sorts for Eric?

I sure hope he's wrong though

Megsy I'm thinking the exact same thing and I hope we are off, at least a little. CH is usually a little more creative than I am, although she does do a lot of foreshadowing. I have no idea how Sookie would handle that whole situation. It could get very interesting. Sookie is becoming a pretty tough gal.

I just hope this next book is really good and it doesn't end with Eric and Sookie separating. It would be too hard to wait a year again to see if they could get back together.

If the only reason they break up is either the politics or some marital complication, then that can be fixed and they'll get back together.

Exactly, Judy. I'm hoping that if Eric marries a queen, that the queen is understanding of E/S relationship. And at the end of the book series, the queen will let Eric divorce her so he can be with Sookie.

Megsy   - I think you are on to something. Eric also says to Sookie, at the end of DITF "you are my dearest", which I took to mean that there is another "dear" besides Sookie. Eric also comments about Ocella and the unwelcome business stating "no matter how happy I am". So, I take those statements as indicators as well.

I'm hoping CH let's Sookie actually experience her first adult relationship and doesn't resort to breaking Eric-Sookie up. A good fight and some making-up would be nice

Hi All I am a newbie at this posting thing, I have only just recently finished reading all the sookie stackhouse books and I also watch TB (am a little upset that they don't follow the book more).  I find that Eric's reaction to Hunter staying the night (looking down at him and smiling) with Sookie something that may be explored so if Sookie doesn't have her own kids as by reading everyone else's post she will not; may be Hunter comes to live with her.  I also think that there is going to be a political backlash/war that may separate Eric and Sookie for a while though I have loved Eric's relationship with Sookie since the first moment he was mentioned in the books and find myself believing he is the ONE for her. I mean the vamp let's her get away with talking back to him, ignoring him, blatantly opposing him and does not try and control her.  I did find their fight scene at the summit very amusing as they acted already like a married couple.  My opinion is there is more to this BB and marriage thing (I think Eric is not telling her something) cuz it isn't until DITF that Eric finally calls her "my wife".

Ocella was definietly up to something especially by his last words to Sookie before he died something about it will not last (I mean her relationship with Eric - did not quote book). May be it is a political marriage.  If there is to be a politic marriage it may be the end of E/S's relationship as I find it was Sookie's horror over the Bill sleeping with Lorena while still seeing her that got up riled up in the first place to put a halt on the relationship, his trying to seduce her for SA's purposes was the nail in the coffin - no pun intended.

I have read a few postings that say that Eric may have another child, but I thought I read in one of the books that he has only ever shared blood with Pam and Sookie, I could be wrong I am going to do a reread this weekend.

I think it would be great for Eric to be King of Louisanna, with Sookie as his wife and maybe helping raising Hunter, this would be a HEA moment but a complete HEA moment as she is still involved in Vamp matters and doesn't have her own children.  I am wondering why you are all mentioning the colour peach as that had no significance to me (don't forget I will be rereading soon).  May be there will be an alliance with the fae and vamps thru Eric and Sookie, and Sookie lives with the fae until every 100 yrs when she needs to have a 'consentual' relationship with Eric.  As Eric's wife Sookie can't have any one else 'touch' her unless Eric ok's it first; this is the impression I got from Victor when Victor asks Eric about the tiger having a prior claim, he mentions something about touching Sookie. I feel that Victor is going to be a major player in book number 11 whether it ends with his death or not.  He would also know that keeping Eric from Sookie when she was taken by the fae would hurt him thru the BB cuz he can't do anything to help her and fells her terror and suffering.

I have noticed that some posters think that the BB is done with, but I don't think it has as we really don't know too much about it apart from that Sookie can feel how Eric is feeling and it makes her more attracted to him and want to be near him. I was caught out and left pondering in DAG when Eric says that they have to be careful of how much more blood they exchange as he is unsure of the consequences (I am sure this was in DAG).

My last thoughts thou many of you probably weren't interested in any of them is that when I started reading the series I picture the Sookie from the show with the Sookie from the books except I changed her eyes to blue in my mind, the Eric in the books is so a perfect match for the eric in the Show, but Bill just does not do it for me and never has. I have been an Eric fan from day one.

Welcome to the forum. It's always good to see new readers. By all means reread a few times since patterns and trends become more obvious. Besides the books are so much fun.

I'm going to disagree with some of your ideas. That doesn't mean I'm right and you're wrong. It just means I don't agree. I could be wrong too. It wasn't until DITF that they admitted their love for each other. That's why Eric felt he could call her his wife. Before that, I don't think Eric felt he could say something that open to her. I don't think there is anything that he's hiding about the BB. CH has said that Eric has been straightforward with Sookie, except that she doesn't know some pressures on him (which I think means the coming political struggle). He was very open when he was talking about prior relationships and blood relationships. And he has explained how the blood bond works to her. I feel certain that the only strain in the relationship will come from the political struggle.

I think that a potential politcal marriage could separate them but not end the relationship completely. I think it would only be a delaying device to keep up the suspense until the end of the series. Something like that could easily be sidestepped. In the end the political marriage could be called off, so they could have an HEA.

I have to disagree about what finally killed the relationship between Bill and Sookie. She did break it off, but not just because of Lorena. He also raped her and drained her, which added to her anger and pain. But it wasn't until she found out about the betrayal involved with his role for SA, that she finally ended any feelings for him in her heart. Her pain from learning that was much more than profound than any from what had happened because of Lorena. That's when she mentally abjured him.

And even on TB they used the SA betrayal role as the final nail. Most relationships can bounce back from a single infidelity. In Bill's case, he had already explained that he had to obey his maker. Sookie would probably have softened about that eventually. But finding out that the basis for their relationship was counterfeit, that was the true end.

I'm pretty sure that Sookie won't end up living with the Fae, given the general feeling they have for humans or part Fae. And I don't think that living with the Fae would extend her life. CH has said that Sookie will live a normal lifespan. I think that being a Fae is what gives them long life. The part Fae in Sookie's family didn't live as long as the full Fae. I'm also sure that if she wanted to end the marriage, Eric would not stand in her way. I can't visualize a marriage where Sookie would only have sex every hundred years.

I didn't see anything special in the color peach like some of the other posters have. My take was that it was a pretty feminine color. I didn't see it used consistently in a way that could be considered symbolic, although others seem to have. The only color that has had any obvious significance is red. Eric tends to give Sookie red gifts (and he has a red car). I suspect that is CH's allusion to blood and vamps and. most likely, his passion. Besides, I've seen CH use themes but not much symbolism.

HI Lovin' the vamps - please do intro yourself in approp. threads  & read the rules when you get a chance. Great thoughts out of the gate.

Eric says when Sookie visits him at Fangtasia when Ocella is visiting. He says, 'And you are my wife, in the only way that matters to me.' Sookie says at the time that she didn't understand what that means. 

Eric also says to Sookie, at the end of DITF "you are my dearest", which I took to mean that there is another "dear" besides Sookie  

Oh, wow you guys, I just got chills.  What if Eric is already married to someone else?!  CH has already done the "Bill goes to Lorena" thing - being required to be with another vamp whilst with Sookie (OK, I use required loosely as I think he wanted to go, but still he was called by his maker) so this would be a bit different.  That he was already wed prior to meeting her.  Also, to maintain a marriage the couple only has to get together once a year so it's entirely possible that Sookie would never have heard of them or seen them.  Knowing Ocella, it could be a person he ordered him into marriage with to forge some sort of political connection for him, like they used to do in times past making connections between houses etc.  Maybe I'm completely off my rocker, but the combination of the two quotes above put that instantly into my head!!  Thought?

ohhh Liann, creepy

You could be really onto something here. I really have to reread DITF again. Combine those 2 statements with that "you won't keep him" and i'm getting a nasty feeling there's a second bride hidden somewhere in the viking#s long history...

What if Eric is already married to someone else?!

Liann, I've spent the last few months talking myself out of that possibility.  I know Pam says "vampires first" in ATD, but she did push Eric to tell Sookie about Bill's plans to set Sookie up financially (so he could be with Lorena) in CD, and Eric says in DitF that Pam had "wanted to give [Sookie] the background of [their] hierarchy for some weeks."  I think Pam watches out for Sookie as best she can, partly because she kinda likes the "breather" and also because she knows how attached her master is to Sookie. I keep telling myself (maybe to comfort myself) that Pam, knowing how much Eric loves Sookie, wouldn't let him get away with a bomb that big.  To Sookie, that would be an unforgiven omission on Eric's (and Pam's) part.

OH Boy  Pey I'm  gonna go with you.  How would he or Pam not say anything that important.  Even after the Knife indecent with him and Andrea.Was it  Eric that said he was the lesser of the two evils.  If he held back information like that... Sookie might even think he was more evil.  I don't think Pam would let something like that slip by.  She would throw hints or send up red flags,  If she wasn't allowed to say anything.   Sookie has known them for what 2 years and not one mentioned that Eric could be married in the vampire world.

I don't think he's already married. I suspect the FDC would not recognize the validity of his marriage to Sookie if he was already married.

Judy has a good point about FDC.  Sookie isn't just Eric's human lover, she's his wife.  Even though Sookie often pooh-poohs her "title," I don't think Eric would attach so much significance to her role as his wife if he had some other wife floating around.

Maybe we are reading too much into it and thinking that Eric is/will have to be married.  He isn't a king so it wouldn't help politically. But in DITF, you could continuously see Ocella's dislike for Sookie-- he of course is jealous. Maybe when he says "You won't keep him..." he is just trying to goad Sookie. If only to put a doubt of drop in her head, which we all know that Sookie will obsess over and run with.  Just a thought.

I really hope you are all right.  I know it was a bit out there, but with the combination of him saying he's married to Sookie in the only way that matters to him - perhaps vamp/vamp marriages are different? - and calling her his dearest - as opposed to someone else? - just got my inner squirrels running rampant.  I agree it would be a pretty huge omission not to have told her.  It is really clear, though, that there is some kind of extra pressure on him we don't know about...

The lines "You won't keep him," and "you are my dearest," have never really bothered me all that much.  I agree with Dallas regarding Ocella's jealous reaction; I've always felt that he was trying to get under Sookie's skin.  About Eric's endearment, I have a friend who is close to my heart; I call her "my dearest" and she returns the endearment even though we both have significant others.  I don't read too much into that line.  I do think it's a strong statement by Eric (as opposed to "my lover" and "my wife," which Sookie doesn't recognize.)  It's the "“And you are my wife, in the only way that matters to me,” coupled with Sookie's reaction, followed by her sweet exchange with Pam that constantly calls attention to itself.

“You care, don’t you?” Pam was unexpectedly touched.

“You’re my bud,” I said. “Of course I care.”

“We are friends,” Pam said.

“You know it.”

“This isn’t going to end well,” Pam said, as I got in my car.

Is Pam speaking only about Ocella (which seems to be the case here), or about the larger picture?  This is, after all, the first time Sookie has so definitively expressed her feelings for Pam.  We've been getting their blooming friendship for some time, but Sookie usually hesitates or qualifies her feelings in some way.  But now, even Pam recognizes that Sookie cares.  (In "Two Blondes" the statement of friendship was a little more lighthearted and Sookie's reaction was hesitant, like she wasn't entirely sure.)  Maybe the ominous undertones are all in my head, but they're there.  I get your thought process, Liann.

I know it was a bit out there, but with the combination of him saying he's married to Sookie in the only way that matters to him - perhaps vamp/vamp marriages are different?

I don't believe that he's married to someone else. I don't think we have to worry.

He's pursued Sookie for too long w/a near single mindedness at times. He's had so many opportunities to learn her & watch others fail in their courtship. He'd know she would shit a brick & it would never work w/her if that was the case.  Plus it would be so out of character from what we have seen 10 books in, I think it would be a real jump shark moment if that ended up being the case.

I think the marriages are different. Most are done for political reasons from what we've seen right? But I think when he says that she is his wife in the only way that matters to him - my interpretation is that he means she is his beloved, bonded...dearest, the only one in his heart, his true wife despite how it may appear to others (how & why it happened). He takes the role seriously & he doesn't give a rats ass what the vampire world or anyone else thinks. He knows what's true for him. Then to elaborate that point, at the end of the book - the "dearerst" line is used. But I could be wrong. It's just the way I interpreted it.

 I call her "my dearest" and she returns the endearment even though we both has significant others.  I don't read too much into that line.  I do think it's a strong statement by Eric (as opposed to "my lover" and "my wife," which Sookie doesn't recognize.)  

I agree it's a strong statement.

And I think it is a way of showing the reader the extent of his feelings & how they have grown more than anything else. I feel that was the point of it. You can track it from DUD ("aren't you sweet") to LDID "my darling" (he tries it on for size only to be quickly reprimanded by Sookie that she isn't his darling & he knows it).

In LDID - when Sookie calls him to ask him to the orgy - that's when he calls her anything synonomous with Dear. "My darling". Which is a more casual preferential statement yet it is still significant, IMO..it's the budding affectionate term that builds into her  being his absolute.

"Darling"

3. Informal Charming or amusing

Then he moves on to "my lover" for obvious reasons & then when he gets his memory back, "Dear one".

At the end of DITF - - he specifically tells her "you are my dearest"...Dear & dearest are essentially the same definition.

However by telling her she is his dearest, to me that says she is the most significant & cherished person in his life. When I compare it to Dear One..even then, it was like she was a dear one to him (Pam being the other I am sure) but not the only one who was dear to him.

At the end of DITF, after everything she told him (she wanted to kill Ocella but was holding off b'c she was going to make him kill Victor for them) - he differentiates. She is his number one.

And although Sookie takes his comments casually - to me, Eric has never used them casually, even when he teases her by trying on darling for size. He knows what those words mean to him, just as she is his wife in the only way that matters to him.

Good post, Laura.

I think the marriages are different. Most are done for political reasons from what we've seen right? But I think when he says that she is his wife in the only way that matters to him - my interpretation is that he means she is his beloved, bonded...dearest, the only one in his heart, his true wife despite how it may appear to others (how & why it happened). He takes the role seriously & he doesn't give a rats ass what the vampire world or anyone else thinks. He knows what's true for him. Then to elaborate that point, at the end of the book - the "dearerst" line is used. But I could be wrong. It's just the way I interpreted it.  

That's how I interpreted it the first time I read it and I haven't wavered.

I don't think there is anything more to that line - "You are my wife in the only way that matters to me" - other than him saying that he truly thinks of her as his wife despite the circumstances. Their marriage was a political strategy, which she brought up earlier in the book. As he stated, she constantly belittles it. I think that statement was his way of reaffirming his feelings for her and their marriage. While it was a strategic move, it was also something he really did want. The political strings attached don't matter. She is his in the only way that matters to him - his "dearest."

But I think when he says that she is his wife in the only way that matters to him - my interpretation is that he means she is his beloved, bonded...dearest, the only one in his heart, his true wife despite how it may appear to others (how & why it happened). He takes the role seriously & he doesn't give a rats ass what the vampire world or anyone else thinks. He knows what's true for him. Then to elaborate that point, at the end of the book - the "dearerst" line is used. But I could be wrong. It's just the way I interpreted it.

This is an excellent point, Laura.  In DitF, when Sookie asks him if he's had sex with Ocella, he replies,"'I know this is your business, since we’re married—something I’ve insisted on and you’ve belittled,' Eric said, and the bitterness was back in his voice."  It obviously irks him that Sookie doesn't see herself as his "true wife."  He'll keep insisting though, I guess, until he gets it through her thick skull.

I love your breakdown of Eric's endearments as the series moves along.  Perfectly clarifies how Eric's feelings for Sookie have grown stronger, more intimate, more "dear."  (Let's not forget that he was acting like a petulant child when he first discovered in DaaD all that had happened between them in DttW.  I love how uncomfortable he is with Sookie's revelation that he'd volunteered to give up everything to be with her.  This is, of course, before he remembers for himself the time they spent together.)

I love your breakdown of Eric's endearments as the series moves along.  Perfectly clarifies how Eric's feelings for Sookie have grown stronger, more intimate, more "dear."

Wow. thanks for pointing this out. When i started reading the sookie novels, i decided to read them in english and not in german so that the finer details won't get lost in translation. Not being a nativespeaker, I actually never realized the 'ranking' in the endearments Eric uses and the fine subtleties in them. I'm rereading the novels atm (on DTTW now ) and i'll keep an eye out for those terms and their context!

I noticed it too.  You've pointed it out so nicely.  Now if Sookie can actually notice it all.  To bad she doesn't have someone to point all this out to her.  Someone outside looking in.  Amelia tried.

There are many ways for the news that Ocella brought during his visit to be "unpleasant" other than Eric marrying someone else.

As someone pointed out (Judy maybe?), the name Freyda may have Viking origins. It's possible that he knows her and doesn't necessarily want her as his Queen. But it may come down to "better the devil you know."

At least with Freyda he has a better chance at getting what he wants in terms of negotiations. He didn't have that option with FDC - he was forced to comply and only given so many options. Just because she may be the better option doesn't mean he has to like it.

In thinking about this more, when I first read the line, I took Eric saying Sookie was his dearest with the focus on "dearest". I think it could also be read to emphasize "my" as in she is his dearest, not anyone else's.

This interpretation of that line makes me think of when he told her "you are only my lover..." from Dead and Gone.

There are many ways for the news that Ocella brought during his visit to be "unpleasant" other than Eric marrying someone else.

Absolutely, Ashley.  I think I've just fixated on the potential other marriage a bit, because it's the one I dread the most.  I do think that whatever Ocella set up will have the potential to affect E&S's relationship, though.  It's the combination of quotes, and Eric saying that Ocella doesn't care how happy he is that leads me to think it would have the potential to impact the source of that happiness - his relationship with Sookie.

I think the comment that allays my fears the most is that Eric has watched Bill crash and burn and is much smarter than repeating those mistakes.  He's always watched and learned and then made his move.  That's very true.  (I'm truly not trying to be difficult here, just laying out my thought process)  My only exception to that would be that Eric may not view a previous political marriage as a "relationship" at all.  Just a political connection.  There may be a reason why he can't mention it.  And I don't think we can dismiss it because he's married to Sookie.  We just don't know enough about vamp law and what it allows.

There are many other possibilities, though, and I'm thinking that Freyda being someone he was connected to in the past is a good one.  If she took over Louisiana, their former connection could impact how she treats Sookie.  It could also be another reason why he is trying to bring Sookie up to speed on vamp politics.  It would not do for Sookie to appear like just some bimbo on his arm.  He would want to present her as a true partner, someone intelligent and well versed in vamp politics.  It could be a way of giving Sookie more cred with Freyda.

Do you think maybe Ocella wanted to make Eric move out of LA.?  Don't know how Sookie would like that.  She has trouble just going to his house sometimes.  Now that Ocella is gone he has to figure out how to undo that.

And then Eric was so stressed throughout book ten, understandably with crazy Poppa and mental brother in town.  And Sookie is still being a hard ass.  He is still a man, and he needs like everyone to feel wanted.  Maybe he is disheartened that she KEEPS denying him.  Maybe, he is considering marrying her in her world so she will shut the hell up since his world doesn't jive with hers. But she is a Supe and all the other Supes recognize it.  I think Eric was just tired of all the bullshit, even Sookie's, even though he does love her.  Maybe CH will lead towards that but of course it won't go smoothly cause she has signed on for 2 more books at least....

I really think we are outthinking CH.  Don't stake me.

Dallas, my stake is firmly tucked away!!  I think you're totally right.  My husband's big problem with these books is that he thinks CH pulls the plot out of her ass at the last minute.  He thinks there is such a thing as serendipity, but he truly feels like she just wings it and it shows.  That's the dilemma of trying to figure things out and analyze it.  We're basing our analysis on her work, but if she feels free to just go disregard what she's already set up - like in the short story "Two Blondes" where she has scarred, PTSD Sookie merrily shedding her clothes and gyrating around a stripper pole - then we're all fucked... 'scuse the french!

My husband's big problem with these books is that he thinks CH pulls the plot out of her ass at the last minute.

Liann, I remember CH saying in a recent interview that it's just how she writes... I think she called it a "fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants" writing style.  Let me see if I can find it.

Yup.  Here's the quote: "Truthfully the way I write is a disgrace. I'm a 'pantser.' I fly by the seat of my pants."

Eric saying that Ocella doesn't care how happy he is that leads me to think it would have the potential to impact the source of that happiness - his relationship with Sookie.

He actually says that his maker doesn't care about his "position in this country," not his happiness.

That line was directly connected to the Alexei situation. Ocella put Eric in a very precarious position - bringing Alexei to LA was dangerous and irresponsible. From a political standpoint, it would put Eric in a bad position if Alexei got out of control and went on a murder spree. When Eric says that line, it's with bitterness. He was resentful and annoyed with his maker.

Ocella was very single-minded. He was attempting to do whatever he could to help Alexei without killing him. Taking him to Eric was a last ditch effort. Ocella's actions in the end - asking Eric not to come with him to go after Alexei and telling Sookie to move and taking the sword in her place - aren't things Ocella would do if he didn't care about Eric's happiness (or his life in general).

I understand where the marriage speculation is coming from, but I think there are many other "unwelcome business" possibilities out there than just that one. I can't fully jump on that train of thought because I can't really see the plot going there. I could be wrong, but I just don't see it (yet).

I just hope that flying by the seat of her pants doesn't mean: "read fanfiction and forum sites to see what people are talking about and then just doing that."  KWIM?

I'm not sure how accurate the transcription is, but here's the link.  I know True Blood's Nest and other sites have excerpted versions of CH's comments: http://wormholeriders.com/blog/?p=16717 .

Hello, Lovin the vamps. I'll just use your post as a springboard to voice out my thoughts like all the great ladies who already have. Please don't think I'm attacking you or anything. 

may be Hunter comes to live with her 

I think this is what CH really plans, since Sookie's HEA doesn't involve a white picket fence where kids are a part of.

a political backlash/war that may separate Eric and Sookie for a while

True. Since there will be 13 books, CH wouldn't write Books 11 and 12 with E/S all lovey-dovey. I just don't see it. Whatever it is, I believe Eric will choose to be separated from Sookie temporarily for her safety. But after everything is settled, then he will go back to her, and then they'll live HEA. Sounds like a fairy tale, huh.

Ocella was definietly up to something especially by his last words to Sookie before he died something about it will not last

When he said, "You won't either"? IMO it doesn't mean a thing. I just think Ocella was being a bitter old vamp who knows his existence will soon be put to an end.

May be it is a political marriage

Possible, but highly improbable. I don't think Eric will keep something as big as this from Sookie. He told her that he always tells her the truth (I might not tell you everything, but what I tell you, it's true). He calls her his wife in DITF, so I think he wouldn't call her such if he's already married. And as Judy pointed out, FDC will not allow that, I guess for vampire monogamy? IDK. Eric has more integrity than that. Same goes with his having another child. This plot would be too similar to Bill having a sister with Lorena.

Sookie's horror over the Bill sleeping with Lorena while still seeing her

While this is true, this was just icing on the cake. Their relationship lasted until half of LDID, IMO. The moment Bill was already telling Sookie to go to Eric if anything happens to him was so telling, it should have given her an idea of what was really happening. Add to that the knowledge of his betrayal, and most especially, the trunk scene.

I have noticed that some posters think that the BB is done with

I think most posters think that it will be better for both Eric and Sookie to lose the BB so Sookie will know for herself if what she feels for Eric is real.

Having said all of these, as Dallas said, let's hope the flying by the seat of her pants writing will show more consistency and wouldn't be affected by AB and other external factors.

When he said, "You won't either"? IMO it doesn't mean a thing. I just think Ocella was being a bitter old vamp who knows his existence will soon be put to an end.

I totally agree. Not only do I think it's one of those comments CH throws in to rattle readers but from my understanding (& purely my interpretation of the text) I think actually Appius at this point has a great deal of love & respect for Eric (& vice versa). Eric concedes he taught him many things. He may not have always liked the lessons but he understood & had a level of acceptance. I felt Appius's capability for love was obvious in his being desperate to help Alexie (that was my interpretation...I felt he came across that way...an old, old, man..old vamp who turned someone he shouldn't have & is trying to keep him well, in control & safe. He finally goes to Eric to see if that will help).

His final words to Sookie were something I felt he hoped was true (not nece. that it actually was, is or will be)..Appius probably wanted to keep Eric in the same as he wanted to keep Alexie. Maybe Appius turned someone like Alexie b'c he knew keeping him closer to the nest would be possible. We know that a vamps life is lonely & hard.  It's only recently that the came out of the closet so we know that most of Eric's 1000 years was in the DL. Appius is even older.

When he said, "You won't either"? IMO it doesn't mean a thing. I just think Ocella was being a bitter old vamp who knows his existence will soon be put to an end.

You know, I do believe at the time the book came out we were hashing through what that line could mean, and I think I came up with the idea that it was linked to his previous statement:

"Since you've stopped to speak to me, I know you're not going to do it."  He said that with the utmost confidence.  "You won't keep Eric, either."

I thought that he meant he didn't think she would kill him, because she was hesitating, and that Appius was also warning her she would lose Eric if she did kill him.  Actually, if that is the case, it makes Appius telling her to get out of the way of the fairy blade make a lot more sense to me.  Clearly, I need to do a re-read, but at the time I remember thinking that Appius might possibly have realized that his time was up, Alexei was dead, and his only child left would be terribly wounded by her loss, so he told her to move out of the way.  He may not have realized in the heat of the moment that the blade would kill him, but her certainly knew it would kill Sookie if it stabbed her.

His final words to Sookie were something I felt he hoped was true

I agree. It felt like since he knew that his life was about to end, and he was hoping that Sookie and him would have the same fate - both of them not keeping Eric in the end. He created Alexei out of loneliness, I guess, when Eric left him, not knowing that he couldn't control him. I find it hard to believe, though, since he's really old. Do older vampires get weaker as well?

I thought that he meant he didn't think she would kill him, because she was hesitating, and that Appius was also warning her she would lose Eric if she did kill him.

I'm going to have to do a re-read of this, too. Was this the scene where Dermott showed up? Who had the fairy blade? Sorry Liann, this is the only book where I lost interest in the re-read after Chapter 3. 

Personally, I just had really high expectations on Ocella, with all the hype about Eric's maker, prior to DITF's release. I was hoping he would really complicate things between Eric and Sookie (well, he did, actually, by bring Alexei) by trying to make Eric choose or something. Him dying this way, totally helpless on what to do with his wayward son was so disappointing for me.

I'm going to have to do a re-read of this, too. Was this the scene where Dermott showed up? Who had the fairy blade?

Karla, it was right after Alexei was sent to his final death by Eric.  The conversation between Sookie and Ocella took place right before Colman tried to kill Sookie with his fairy blade.  Instead, Ocella took the blow, and Colman ended up with Dermot's dagger between his shoulder blades.

Thanks, Pey. Now I remember. Hmmm... so if Sookie killed Ocella, Colman might have killed her, or Eric. Both ways, she won't have him.

I dont no if anyone else agrees with me but I find that the last book and this new one has alot to do with Vamp politics! It like CH has totally changed her way of writing and her original ending for Sookie has just taken a diff route! I cant imagin time for a relationship between S/E with all of this King, Queen and Marraige stuff going on!

Sarah, I tend to think that Sookie's deeper entrée into vamp politics is a natural progression of the series.  CH makes it pretty clear in ATD that most humans aren't given the access that Sookie has, and Sookie only has it because she's working for the Queen.  The tension has been building since she started working for Eric in LDID.  Of course, we only got little snippets in the beginning, as Sookie was just being introduced into the vamp world and was resistant to getting too involved. (Well, that and the fact that Bill was pretty secretive about his life.)  There's still a lot Sookie (and we) don't know.  However, with each book, we've been told a little more about the vampire structure through Sookie's observations and what Bill, Pam, Eric, Sophie-Anne, Claudine, Niall, and others have revealed.  I think her blood bond with Eric, their marriage, their relationship forces vamp politics to the forefront.  Sookie's no longer with Bill, essentially a nobody (Sophie-Anne's procurer aside) in the vamp world; she's "wife" of Eric, who holds a position of power and is rapidly accumulating more power.  It will come to a head at some point, though I do believe that CH has been slowly preparing Sookie (and us) for this with every book since Definitely Dead.

I am seriously hoping that Sookie gets her head out of her butt, I re read the series again last night and it struck me how much stronger she came across to me in the first half of the series, shite happens, but she would pull through it, she would re hash her decisions but she was reconciling her ethics and morals with her survival instincts.  I wish CH hadn't just blown through the torture recovery, that alone could have made up book ten and really added strength to all the characters.

I am really 'meh' about the next book, my gut is screaming filler.  I don't want to read about Bill, I don't want to read about Amelia, Tara or even Jason or any more fairies.  I'll read about Sam if it's about him finally finding another shifter as a true mate, he is too weak for Sookie, she runs all over him.  I want to read about Sookie and Eric solidifying their relationship in his world as a couple and all the hurdles and vampire/human politics that comes with that.  There is enough plot material in that alone for three more books, without adding any other supernatural/elemental fluff

I serpose I didnt really pay much attention to it like that! I tend to pay more attention to the love story between E/S no that u mention it i guess CH did bring it in gradually!

I read that CH regretted the blood bond topic had got as big as it is. I am curious to see if you think if the blood bond is broken eric will be harmed in some way considering that it wasn't just blood he freely gave to sookie? also I can't help but wonder if the "pledging" is far more significant than the blood exchange. what do you all think?

Hi mwebb, don't forget to introduce yourself, there are 2 threads for this.  I have always believed that the BB can be broken but the pledge cannot.  But that's just me. I think the pledge is very significant politically. You should take a look at the threads, "Exploring the Blood Bond" and there is also a thread "Dead and Gone: Exploring the Blood Bond".  The BB and pledge are also discussed in various DITF threads such as "Sookie, The Drug, The Bond". Lots of good theories, let's hear yours.  Have fun.

thanks and I will check them out.

I read that CH regretted the blood bond topic had got as big as it is. 

I've heard this/seen it mentioned before. I'm just wondering what she gauges her take on how "big" it is. The number of questions she gets asked on the forum? The level/depth/far reaching implications of what readers are associating to the BB - that she never intended?

She's the one thats got the whole mystery about whether its breakable or not. If she doesn't want us all the angst over it and come up with our own theories, maybe she should publish her books faster than once a year. Also -hah- maybe she'd remember her own canon if there wasn't so many long lapses between writing new books.

Seriously,  It is not like her books are super long and we all know she isn't waiting around for editors to work with them.  Give us 2 per year CH to discuss/bitch about. LOL

BTW, Mari, Congrats for inspiring a WOS Challenge!!

Doesn't Sookie always bring up the BB all the time in the books.  She's always questioning it herself about it, like she can never tell what she is actually feeling.  God forbid she has a good feelings about Eric, and she thinks its the BB doing it.  Sookie should think back to the times before the BB and her feelings about Eric than.   I forget which book it was in but she was in her car and thinking that she is in love with the viking vampire.  Even before the BB stuff.

Isn't that funny? LMAO. It was an accident too! I had an email exchange with Suki59 about challenge topics and I said something like "all my ideas inevitably end with me just killing Bill" and she emailed back that THAT WAS A TERRIFIC IDEA FOR A CHALLENGE!  Then I was like "Oops!" Did I just inadvertently saturate my niche market with competition? Well, At least I stick to accidental deaths and leave the murder/revenge killing to others. She did pimp me more. (I am such a whore now.)

 I forget which book it was in but she was in her car and thinking that she is in love with the viking vampire.  

Hell yah! I love that scene! Which book is that? You're right. CH shouldn't have written Sookie so angsty over it if CH didn't want the readers to be similarly angsty over it!

she fantasizes about having his kids too

To bad Sookie is always shoving things to the back of her mind to THINK about later and NEVER does.  Maybe then she would realize that she loves Eric and quit  questioning every thing he does.  IMO.  Didn't she always thought about having Kids with Eric?

The number of questions she gets asked on the forum?

Yes, pretty much. She got asked about it constantly & how the BB worked. It also was a huge instigator of the B/E great debate.   I think it did annoy her b'c she always stated that she thinks she is very clear about her intention & what she thinks & feels & it shows in her work That it's all pretty self-explanatory) & that she doesn't feel the need to explain every nuance or have elaborate dialog's to hash it all out.

It's the BLs who drive her crazy about the BB, since they hope some deep dark deception about the BB will drive Sookie away from Eric. They thrive on conspiracies related to Eric, and the BB is one of their favorites. CH just doesn't write conspiracies. The closest she ever came to that was Bill's deception about being sent by SA. And frankly CH didn't plan that from the beginning. She just needed something stronger than Bill deserting Sookie for Lorena to permanently drive off Sookie, so she wrote that. There was no foreshadowing for it. AB did a better job of foreshadowing it.

I just assume that she flies by the seat of her pants and I take everything at face value.

I just assume that she flies by the seat of her pants and I take everything at face value.

agreed

I don't know if this is the right thread to say this, but I have been through a lot of threads and may be I missed it. But what do you people think about the place where Eric says to Sookie that 'you are my wife, in the only way that matters to me.'

If you have discussed it in the past could any of you tell me which thread it is?

Hi Rumpa, this has been discussed in depth in this thread. You can try CTRL+F, and type in you are my wife, in the only way that matters to me, and you can check on the discussions. 

I always interpreted the comment from Eric to Sookie "you are my wife, in the only way that matters to me" being that the marriage they experienced was the only marriage he recognized, ie. a vamp marriage, as opposed to marriage as understood by Sookie, ie. the church/human kind. So although Sookie dismisses their marriage as not being true, Eric retorts with this comment thus rejecting Sookie's POV.

I don't believe Eric is married to anyone else, either. On that one, I look forward (begging, literally) to being right!!

Bea!  So good to see you back!  No, if I really think about it, I don't believe that Eric is already married to someone else, either.  Just trying to think of all the possible interpretations of that line.  I do, however, think it's a possiblity that Appius had somehow arranged something to his advantage, perhaps with a Queen.  That came from the book synopsis saying that -paraphrasing- a new Queen on the board would make Sookie realize as a human she is still just a pawn.  Again, just a possible interpretation though.  I do think he'd be a very desirable ally regardless of whether he's currently a king or not.  Neither theory has got many takers on here, though... and I seriously hope to be proven resoundingly wrong! lol

What if Appius was married to a queen and now that he is dead she holds some claim over Eric. Kinda like a step-mom thing?  If so she better watch out, Sookie and female vamps don't end well. LOL

Hmmm, I can't really see Appius married or being tied to someone so high profile.  Didn't he kind of try to stick to the shadows, especially as he had Alexei in tow?  However, the Queen could be Appius' child, sister to Eric?  Could be kinda like Judith was a "sister" to Bill. Maybe they were former lovers?  I feel like I'm really speculating in the dark here, and it's just from a book synopsis which we all know can change, but jealous Sookie might be kinda fun...

You are probably right, the reason I first thought that was because he tells her, "You won't keep him."  I think it is probable that Appius has pensioned Eric off in the case of his death.  He did tell him that he was a favorite child of his right?  But then that goes to say that a spouse/other child/etc. could inherit a child from another vampire...

I don't think they can pension off a vamp.  They would never be "free" of a maker.  But they could pledge fealty to another vamp the way CT did to Hot Rain after Long Shadow was staked.

I love a jealous Sookie.   I thought about Eric and this Queen being Lovers or whatever they would call it.  Maybe Appius wouldn't allow Eric to be with her.  Now that he's gone, she's  comes  a calling.

Ooooh this all has me thinking - I wonder if there are other children of Appius's who will be angry about his death and try to take it out on Eric

OOh yeah, maybe Freyda was like Daddy's little girl and she will be pissy now. But Eric didn't do it, not that that will matter much, Coleman did. Can't kill a dead faerie.

yeah, so many ideas, and it seems like there are new vamp siblings coming out of the woodwork. I wonder if Sookie should have trusted Judith enough to tell her that she was the one who killed Lorena. Maybe that will come back to bite her and Eric in the ass.

Kris,  that's something to think about.  In Bill's data , He didn't say who did Lorena in.  Just said when.  So the only ones that know is Bill Eric and Judith.  Maybe  Alcide?   Does Pam even know?  Didn't Sookie even have a comment about that when she was reading it?

I don't have my book in front of me but I think she did comment on that when reading it. I wonder if Eric would be in trouble for not reporting it, although Russell knew about Sookie leaving something at the bottom of his pool (ie what was left of Lorena). I wonder if Lorena's maker will show up to cause trouble.

I have it. Where should I post it?

I put it in Dead in the Family thread.

Shit. She sure did just jump in and trust a woman who is #1 a stranger and #2 in love with Bill Compton.  Dumb Sookie.  If Judith gets a whiff of how bad poor Billy Boy has been treated by Sookie, sarcasm, then maybe she will get jealous or something. Or maybe since Bill is still carrying a torch for Sookie that will piss Judith off and she will report Lorena's death.

What state did Lorena owe fealty to? Maybe she was only working for Russell and was actually from another state. Freyda's state?

Yep I don't ever recall her shooting off her mouth about confidential matters at other times.

Maybe she was so happy that she was unloading Bill and regardless of her reasons that is exactly what happened, that she just felt more liberated. But by now Sookie should know not to trust anyone.  Or at least trust the right people, she has a bad habit of not doing that.

Eric only trust her and Pam.  Sookie should do the same now.

I wonder if Eric would be in trouble for not reporting it,

  Would Eric have to report it since it happened in Mississippi?   The only witness was Bill.  RE only found out later on,

Bill, Eric and Russell know about Lorena.... Now Judith. I wonder if Bill and Eric, or Eric alone made a deal with Russell to keep things quiet....Then along comes Judith and blows things up?

It's been a while since I read CD so tell me where I've missed it, but why would Russell say anything about Lorena?  It seems he could be in just as much trouble for allowing Bill to be tortured on his compound for the data base.  Wouldn't it be in his best interest if things were kept quiet?

Russell mentions it when he meets Sookie again at a later time - I think it was in ATD (at his wedding, if I'm not mistaken).  I have that book packed away, but I will try to dig it out and find the passage.

Since we're on the topic of Club Dead, I was paging through it and Bill mentioned a deal he made with Russell so he could leave Russell's mansion - does anyone know what that deal is? I don't know if it was ever mentioned again.

 There are children in Sookie’s future, but they may not be hers or live with her.

There's a question in the CH site about this. I don't think there's so much to it as just discussing Sookie's consideration of having a child of her own in the future.

  Dear Ms. Harris, 

I sincerely enjoy your books, and I'm looking forward to reading all of Dead Reckoning come May.

In terms of Sookie thinking about her future and her potential to be a mother - 
Parenting is a physically intimate process. Has Sookie ever seriously considered how challenging that might be with her telepathy, even if she didn't pass along her gift? Not to mention how hard it might be for the children to have a mother who could hear all their thoughts, if she so chose.

Thanks

As a new poster, fresh off the series (including re-reads), it seems that the entire series has been a build up for Sookie and Eric.  It isn't what she wants, but they are perfect.  I just can't picture it any other way.  From the very begining the only vamp Sookie can hear is Eric.  There was a bond before the BB.  Eric is also the only one that gets her, even when he disagrees.  I can't imagine CH would forever end their possibilities.  One consistency has been that the bond between them is not only the result of blood.

One consistency has been that the bond between them is not only the result of blood.

Hi Jackie, welcome. Intro yourself if you get the chance & think you'll be hanging around for a bit.  I agree & actually when I was re-visiting parts of the books in order to see if CH made a plot inconsistency or not, I found a bit of dialog that supports this.  

IN FDTW Niall & Sookie are talking for the 1st meeting at dinner.

Niall proceeds to tell Sookie the reason he contacted her through Eric was b'c of her "tie" to him. She assumes it's the blood bond he's talking about, as it just happened the previous book. I think he's talking about the genuine emotional b'c  turns out, that in the next couple of lines that he didn't even know she was in Rhodes or what happened (Claudine obviously couldn't go).

I suddenly realized that I think he's talking about what happened in DTTW in which Claudine was 1st & very much on the scene. She saw what happened between them & I believe he has been monitoring their relationship ever since to see if he can trust Eric b'c later in the book, when Sookie asks if Eric's known that they were kin for very long, Nial answers "No", b'c he had to make sure he could trust Eric 1st.

Funnily enough it's Niall's next reveal about Eric's response which makes me believe it solidified his trust in him b'c ironically in turn - it looks as if Eric response proved he didn't entirely trust Niall either b'c Niall then tells Sookie that Eric wouldn't agree to the meet up unless he explained him what he wanted with Sookie.

All of this has solidified for me that Niall was in fact talking about Eric at the end of DAG. If he had been watching Eric, watch Sookie & monitoring their growing relationship plus has known him in the past, then he would indeed know that he does love her & is not a bad man. Also think about it - it's unusual for Fairies & Vamps to actually co-exist. Not only did Niall leave Sookie to Eric but seemingly gave his blessing in doing so.