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hintofelation99 · 3 years ago

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Sick day headcannons!!!!!!!

Hell yeah, I do have a post on this already (linked here) but sick day headcanons are some of my favs so let’s do some more! (Just btw there will be some repeats but that just means I rlly like that headcanon)

Dick

Dick: Oh no, god no!

Wally: What’s wrong?!

Dick: I’m dying!

Wally, suspicious: Okay…

Dick: Please Wally this is serious, I need help!

Wally, deciding to take Dick seriously: Okay, what’s wrong? What do you need?

Dick: Just a coffin. Made of maple- no oak! And roses, preferably white, oh or blue! With baby’s breath. And-

Wally: Dick, what’s wrong?!

Dick: I burnt the roof of my mouth.

Wally leaves.

A good rule of thumb for Dick is the more dramatic he is the less serious the situation. The less dramatic he is the more serious the situation.

He will go into work with a cold and complain the entire day.

If he has something serious that’s contagious he’ll call in sick but just say it’s a slight stomach bug.

If it’s not contagious he will act like everything is completely fine.

One time he did this after getting an injury on patrol and ended up passing out and spending that night and the next day in the ICU.

He has become a bit more responsible over the years, mainly bc he thinks it’s adorable how sweet and cuddly Damian gets.

His favorite sick day activity is eating junk food and watching rom coms under a fuzzy blanket .

Babs

Dick: Please go to bed!

Babs: I am, I am, just one more line of code.

Dick: You’ve said that for the last three hours!

Babs tries to relax when sick but she has trouble actually taking a step back to rest.

Most of the time she’ll take a nightquil then get distracted by something and ends up falling asleep in front of her screen.

Usually Cass or Steph will come over and take care of her.

Steph always makes the best comfort food. And usually Cass will tuck Babs into bed.

Babs loves dozing on the couch to the sound of Cass and Steph laughing in the kitchen as they make her soup.

If Cass and Steph can’t come over she loves talking to them over discord while eating take out. Usually she and Cass just listen to Steph babble or she watches on of them stream something.

She also usually ends up falling asleep.

Jason

Bruce: Are you sick?

Jason: I’m legally dead.

Bruce: That doesn’t-

Jason: So,legally, no. I am not sick.

Jason will forever and always argue that he can’t get sick since he already died.

When he was little he was rarely able to get extra rest when he was sick. Because when he was really little he wanted to go to school to avoid Willis. After Catherine died he was too busy just trying to survive to focus on being healthy.

But when Catherine was alive and Willis was away Jason would stay home from school, and if Catherine was sober she would read to him and sing lullabies. This only happened like twice but Jason cherishes those memories of Catherine.

As a kid if he was ever sent home for being sick he’d get in huge trouble with Willis.

After being adopted the first time he was sent home with a fever he begged Alfred not to tell Bruce and hid in his closet until he stopped crying being sad. Alfred sat by the closet door with soup, a grilled cheese, and tea, reading The Princess Bride aloud until Jason came out. It took two hours.

Jason’s favorite sick day activity is drinking tea and rereading The Princess Bride (with the movie playing quietly in the background) while wearing his Wonder Woman hoodie.

Cass

Steph: Cass why are you patrolling while sick?!

Cass shrugs.

Steph, with a sigh: You’re allowed to take a sick day, okay?

Cass looks unsure but nods.

Steph: C’mon, let’s get you a bath and fuzzy blankets.

Cass forgets that she’s not just a weapon/tool. She forgets that she’s allowed to rest when sick.

Because of this she will keep going no matter what and tends to view ‘taking a sick day’ as a failure.

Steph, Tim, and Babs have been working on this with her. She’s improved a lot now that Tim lost his spleen and gets sick easily.

Now usually Steph cooks for her while Babs lays with her.

Cass isn’t against taking medicine but she never feels like the situation is severe enough to require medication. So someone in the fam has to convince her to take her meds.

She becomes extremely cuddly when sick and will cling to anyone near her.

Her favorite sick day activity is watching old horror movies with Steph or Babs.

Steph

Steph: I’m fine.

Steph: I’m- I have a fever of 104, I should rest.

Stephs mom is a doctor, so she’s used to being told “it’s just a cold, you’re fine”.

Usually she keeps going until she can’t then sleeps for like three days.

But it’s less out of stubbornness and more out of habit. So if someone tells her to rest she’s immediately like “okay!” and takes the sick day.

Babs always calls or comes over to check on her every day that she’s sick.

Cass has been learning how to cook and loves making Steph food when she’s sick.

Tim used to come over but now he always calls.

Stephs favorite sick day activity is sleeping with an ice pack or heating pad, depending on the sickness, with a giant cup of ginger ale and Cass curled up beside her.

Tim

Jason: Tim, are you sick?

Tim, tiredly staring at case files: No I-

Tim is interrupted by a violent coughing fit.

Tim: Oh, I guess I am?

Growing up Tim loved getting sick because it meant the house keeper would come over and take care of him and he might even get a hug.

But she stopped coming over when Tim was ten, his parents thought he was old enough to handle being sick on his own.

Sick days in the manor were a shock to him because he was rarely alone, there was always one family member by his side.

Now that he’s immunocompromised he’s always surrounded by people, he pretends to get annoyed with it but really he loves how much they care.

Dick always sings Romani lullabies and runs his fingers through Tim’s hair. Jason, Duke, and Steph will cook for him. Damian stay by his side and bring him tea. Babs will play video games with him. And Cass does a bit of everything, at least everything other than sing to him.

The family also takes Tim getting sick very seriously so if they here one cough he’s immediately being interrogated and getting his temperature checked.

Tim’s favorite sick day activity is laying under a weighted blanket with a cup of tea and playing video games with Babs, Steph, Duke, and Cass.

Duke

Dick, knocking on Duke’s door: Hey bud, why are you still in bed? I thought we were training together?

Duke: Sorry, I forgot to cancel. I’m sick and don’t think I can handle training today.

Dick: You’re sick?!

Duke: Yeah, but don’t worry I’ve been disinfecting and cleaning so no one else should get sick.

Dick: I’m not worried about getting sick, I’m worried about you!

Duke: …oh, okay.

Growing up sick days were spent at home either resting alone or with one of his parents.

He had to do some fending for himself (like cleaning and making food when his parents weren’t home with him) but nothing extreme or unexpected. So, overall he had pretty normal sick days.

After he parents went missing he was so focused on getting them back and saving them that he never stopped to rest when sick.

Now as a member of the Wayne family his sick days are always spent with someone by his side, at least they are if he tells the family he’s sick.

He’s gotten in trouble several times for not telling Alfred/the family that’s he’s sick. Not because he puts Tim at risk, he like all the family is very cautious about that, but because everyone worries about him and wants to help take care of him.

After several lectures from Alfred he’s finally getting better about telling the family when he’s sick.

His favorite sick day activity is reading Jason’s copy of The Princess Bride while having a bowl of Alfred’s chicken noodle soup.

Damian

Jason: Are you sick?

Damian: N-

Damian sneezes like a kitten.

Damian: No.

Cass, smiling: Sick baby brother, cute sneeze.

Damian tries to be offended but ends up having a sneezing fit.

Steph: That’s so adorable!!

Damian has the most adorable sneezes. He literally sounds like a kitten and the entire family and hero community finds it adorable. Damian hates it.

He used to try and pretend he wasn’t sick and just work through it.

Then he sneezes in front of Harley and Ivy and they cooed over him for an hour.

Now he grumpily secluded himself in his room when sick.

Usually the family will check on him and find that Jon flew over and they’re cuddling on his bed watching cartoons.

When Damian’s sick he really craves spicy food. Like everything he eats he’ll add hot sauce or pepper to. His food is so spicy that only Cass can handle it, like it makes ghost peppers look like child’s play.

His favorite sick day activity is drinking masala chai under one of Tim’s fuzzy blankets while wearing Dick’s old hoodies and surrounding himself with various soft things he stole from his siblings. This is preferably done while eating spicy tomato or lentil soup and watching cartoons with Jon.

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killem-all-if-they-wont-eat-cake · 3 years ago

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“Once upon a time a young prince went riding out in the moonlight. The air was so light he felt that he was flying. The sky was deep blue, with a big white moon floating among small, curly clouds. Far away over the mountains, lightning flashed silently. The prince rode quickly, and in the moonlight his shadow was so large it looked like a giant unearthly rider.When the prince reached his castle, he dismounted and gave his horse to his groom, but he was reluctant to go in. With his riding crop in hand, he walked to the sea and began to stroll slowly along the sandy shore. He was not thinking of anything in particular, it was a pleasant and easy walk, and he drew deep breaths of the cool night air. Suddenly, while he was walking, he struck his riding-crop into the sand and felt the tip catch on something. What was it? A ring?A ring, thought the prince, and held it up to the moonlight. Who could have lost a ring here by the shore? It must have been one of the ladies-in-waiting. And so the prince tucked the ring in his breast pocket. It was a small ring, slender as a thread, with several little blue stones set to look like a forget-me-not.The court assembled in the great hall after supper, and the prince put his hand in his breast pocket and said: ‘Could any of you ladies by chance have lost a ring?’Immediately all the ladies looked at their hands. They had numerous precious diamond, emerald, and sapphire rings, and now they peered anxiously from finger to finger to see if any of their magnificente rings were missing. But they were all still there.‘What does your ring look like?’ a beautiful lady dared to ask.The prince held up the ring.When the ladies saw it, they put on superior and disdainful expressions. Certainly none of them would claim such a ring as that. It was nothing, a mere trinket, and so little it seemed made for a child’s hand.But now the ladies had something to talk about, and for the rest of the evening they busily compared their beautiful rings, passing them from hand to hand and exclaiming over their cost. The prince rose and strolled to the balcony, where he stood gazing at the moonlight.Later, he went to his chamber, undressed, and go tinto bed. He set the little ring on a table near him. Just as he was about to fall asleep, he heard a strange noise, a clicking and whirring as if a small insect were darting among the glasses on the table. When the prince opened his eyes, he was surprised to see that it was the little ring rattling around, as if an unseen hand had set it in motion.Quickly he lit a candle. Then the ring became still. But as soon as he blew out the candle, the ring began to dance again. It was strange and eerie. The prince put the ring in a drawer, yet he could hear it skittering all night long, and hardly slept at all. Of course he could have thrown the ring away, but for some reason, that seemed to him quite out of the question. He did not wish to part with the ring at all, and the next night too, he brought it to his chamber.Hardly had he snuffed out the candle then the ring began to dance again, and this time it did not just bounce about the table, but jumped to his breast and bounced just as quickly there.‘What can it mean?’ said the prince, and sat up in bed. He brooded and wondered. What kind of magic ring had he come upon with his riding crop? That evening he placed the ring on the table beside his bed as before. He was so tired that he fell asleep at once, but he had not slept long before he was awekened by something brushing his face, and instantly he realised it was the ring running back and forth over his forehead, dancing down his cheeks, and spinning along his lips.‘Now, I understand,’ he exclaimed, and jumped up. ‘I must find the owner of the ring.’Dawn had just begun to break over the sea when he went to the stable, saddled his horse, and thundered across the drawbridge. He rode all day without seeing anyone, but towards the evening he arrived at a large castle, beautifully situated in a green meadow surrounded by trees. Ivy and roses climbed the walls, and high in an arched window the lady of the castle was standing and looking over the countryside. She was a widow, but still a young and handsome woman, who ruled her large estates with a firm hand. When she saw the prince approaching, she dispatched a servant to greet him and welcome him to the castle.The prince accepted her invitation and gladly went in. The noble lady received him in the friendliest fashion. He was given a splendid chamber, and when he came to dinner he found that the large banquet hall had been lit with candles and torches. The table was laid with silver and gold. Servants in festive dress passed around delicious dishes, and the lady herself looked as distinguished as a queen in red velvet and ermine. She talked gaily, and seemed highly amused by all the prince had to say. He did not explain why he had ridden alone into the world, but now and then he cast a quick glance at the lady’s hands. Could she have lost the ring?But as it happened this noble lady had very large, very red, and very worn hands. Her carriage and walk were distinguished and imposing, so you could not doubt she was of noble birth, but when you caught sight of her big hands and lumpy fingers, you thought instinctively, these are the hands of a cook.She wore many costly rings on her fingers, yet they seemed badly out of place and only showed up her rough hands all the more. At the end of dinner, she peeled an apple for the prince, and looking sharply at her ring-bedecked fingers he asked, ‘You have so many exquisite rings, my lady. I suppose you could easily lose one by bathing or picking flowers?’‘I always take my rings off before I swim in the lake,’ she laughed. ‘And I never pick flowers myself, the maids do it for me.’The prince was silent for a moment, then he brought forth the little ring and showed it to her. ‘What do you think of this ring?’ he asked.‘That little ring,’ she said, trying to put it on her little finger. ‘It doesn’t go over the first joint of this finger. It seems to belong to a child. Where did you get it, your highness?’‘That I can’t tell you,’ the prince answered, and hid the ring in his breast pocket.The lady’s keen black eyes looked searchingly at him for a moment, then she began to talk of other things. And the next morning before dawn the prince rode from the castle.His eyes were on the horizon. A child, he thought – a poor child. But where are you?He rode through forests and valleys, across meadows and fields, and when the sun was high he came to a large manor house set among waving wheatfields and beautiful flower gardens. Even at a distance he could see a number of people in a large courtyard. The sound of violins and trumpets reached his ears, and as he came nearer he realised it was a wedding.The bride and groom were standing on the front steps. The bride had a crown of bright ribbons and flowers on her head, and the groom had a silver buttoned-coat, a glossy black hat, and a happy smile. In the courtyard, a hundred young boys and girls were dancing merrily together. The prince reined his horse on a small hill not far from the manor house and began to watch the dancing. When the dancers stopped and sat down to rest, on benches under the large linden trees that spread their branches over the yard, he rode nearer.All eyes turned towards the strange rider who had appeared so unexpectedly. The prince held up his little ring. He called ‘Is there any girl here who has lost a ring?’The girls flew to him like doves to look at the ring. ‘I have lost a ring!’ ‘And I!’ several cried, crowding close to the prince.But before long – ‘No, the ring I lost didn’t look like that one,’ said one girl after another, until they all began to babble and chatter, laugh and giggle, and the music started up again. They hurried back to dance, while the prince rode sorrowfully away.He rode on until evening when, feeling tired, he slowed his horse to ride along the bank of a river that cut through the meadows. Then he caught sight of a woman dressed in black, walking with downcast eyes as though looking for something among the stones by the road. As the prince drew nearer, he saw that the woman was very beautiful, but that the big black eyes in her pale face were full of pain and suffering. He was very sorry for her.‘What are you looking for, dear one?’ he asked. ‘Have you lost something precious to you?’The woman’s face became even more melancholy than before. She raised her eyes and her lips trembled. In a quavering voice, wringing her hands, she said, ‘I have lost all I ever had in life: my husband, my estate, my fortune. I had only one thing left, a ring that was a gift from my late husband. I had hoped to sell it well, but now I have lost it and I don’t know how or where. And so my last hope is gone, all that is left for me is to beg for my daily bread.’The prince’s heart was beating eagerly. Could she be speaking of the ring he was carrying at his breast? Yet all who had seen it had said it was worthless. Slowly he held up the ring and asked, ‘Could it possibly be this ring?’ She gave him a sad smile. ‘My ring was set with a large, costly diamond. That little one there is nothing but a cheap toy.’ Then the prince opened his purse, full of gold coins, and let them rain into the bereaved woman’s arms. ‘Here, here is enough to provide for the present at least,’ he said gently. ‘This gold may help you.’ Before the woman had time to thank him, he rode off. Who rode for days and nights without encountering anyone who recognised the ring. Always he carried it in his breast pocket, and though it no longer danced as it had during the first nights, he could still feel it tugging at him, as if sobbing quietly. The prince heard the small, sorrowful throbbing at his breast over the beating of his own heart, and every day he loved the ring more and more.One morning he came to a swiftly running river. On the opposite bank was a tall mountain, wrapped in the blue veil of early morning mist. All over its slopes sparkled what looked like little gold fires, but they were really broom bushes in flower, so attractive that the prince could not help feeling happy. He wanted to go to them and look more closely, but that would not be easy, for there was no bridge over the river. I suppose I must swim across the, thought the prince, and he and his horse plunged into the rapids. The prince hardly noticed as water sprayed high above him and his horse was almost pulled downstream by the current. His long futile search had made him so dejected that he enjoyed having to struggle with all his might to get to the far bank. At last he stood there, tired and out of breath, with his horse panting and snorting beside him. The mountain rose before him. The prince could not climb the slope on horseback, so he let the horse graze on a green meadow, and struggled on foot up a narrow mountain that wound through a forest towards the summit. It was a hot day, and the shade of the trees in the cool forest felt good to him. Everything was still, the sun cast golden flecks over the forest floor, which was smoothed by last year’s leaves covering the knotted tree roots along the path. The climbing was not easy, though. What for? His heart was beating so violently that he could hear it, and he could also hear the heartthrob of the little ring, pulsing more than it had for a long time. He paused for a moment, then climbed on.He thought he heard the sound of rippling water, and all of a sudden he realised how thirsty he was. Now at least he knew what he wanted: he wanted to get to the spring and drink and drink. The sound of the bubbling water came ever stronger, and then he saw something flash white under the leaves of the chestnuts. Two steps more, and he was standing by a fresh mountain spring that was gushing out a rock wall into the pool. Then he stood stock still; he was not alone.At the spring was a girl, one hand on her hip, watching as the water filled a pail she had set beneath it; another empty pail was in the grass nearby. The girl’s legs were bare, she was dressed in a short grey skirt and white blouse, and her hair hung down her back in two blond braids. The prince could not see her face, but when the pail was full, she turned in his direction. Her blue eyes looked surprised for a moment, but then she bowed her head in greeting, and put the second pail under the waterfall. When it, too, was full, she turned and hooked both pails to a yoke that lay in the grass. The prince smiled at her but she did not smile in return. Her face looked so quiet and serious that suddenly the prince, too, became serious.‘Forgive me,’ he said, ‘but may I have a drink of water? I am so thirsty.’‘What will you drink from?’ asked the girl. Her voice was soft and beautiful; it sounded like music. ‘I know,’ she said with a quick smile. ‘Come here, I will help you.’The prince went to the spring, and the girl put her hands together to make a small drinking cup. The water gushed into them and in a second they were full.‘Hurry and drink,’ she called, laughing merrily.The prince ended the little cup in a moment. With water still dripping from his mouth, he said, ‘More. Give me one more cup of water.’The girl closed her hands again, and they were filled by the spring. By this time when the prince bent down to drink, he noticed a curious change in the girl’s face. She blushed, and her eyes that before had looked as blue as summer sky, now seemed almost black. She snatched the chain from the prince’s neck and seized the ring, which had fallen from his breast pocket when he bent to drink.‘My ring,’ she said tremulously. ‘Where did you find my ring?’ She put it on the little finger of her left hand, and it went on as smoothly as it had come home. ‘My ring!’ she repeated, and looked at the prince with tears in her eyes.She sat on the grass under the low branches of the chestnuts, and turned the ring slowly around her finger with as much tenderness as if it had been a living thing.‘Why do you love your ring so much?’ asked the prince, sitting beside her.She looked up at him. ‘My mother gave it to me on the day she died,’ she said. ‘I was only a little girl, but she told me, ‘It will always help you in misfortune, and if you are ever in need, throw it into the sea. It will know how to find your saviour.’‘And it has found him,’ said the prince, smiling and taking the girl’s hands in his. ‘It called and beckoned me, and has not given me a moment’s peace until I found you here in the forest. But tell me, why are you here? How did you get here? What is your misfortune?’The girl looked around anxiously, and whispered, ‘I live here with an old mountain troll, who makes me work like a slave.’ And she told him the sad tale of her life.She had been born in a castle high among the mountains, and would have become a fine and noble princess, but her mother had died when she was a child; and when she was fifteen, a duke from another country captured the castle, murdered her father, and carried her away. Then she had lived in a tower of the foreign duke’s palace and was given the best of everything: costly gowns and delicacies, and numerous servants to wait on her. But she was never allowed to leave the palace. Only from a window in her chambers could she see the outside world of flowery meadows, green woods, and the river that wound like a ribbon of silver through the valley. One day the duke came to her room and told her that in three months she would marry his son.The girl looked at the prince with sad eyes, ‘It was the greatest misfortune and shame that could ever have befallen me. The duke’s son was big and coarse as a giant, his face was red, and he was almost always drunk. I would rather have died than become his wife.’ However, the girl had pretended that she would very much like to be married to the duke’s son. But first, she said, she wanted to make a gift of braided rope for the anchor of his sailing ship, and when that was finished she would happily become his wife. And so she began to braid a rope of the strongest hem she could find, and soon it was so long it reached from her window all the way down to the valley. On the evening before the wedding, she locked herself in her little tower chamber, tied the rope to the window, and climbed down. When she reached the ground, she ran as fast as she could to hide in the forest. There she crept into a dense thicket and fell into a deep sleep. Next morning she was awakened by a tickling on her forehead. When she opened her eyes she saw a terrifying face looking down at her. It was a troll of the mountain, who had been taking his morning walk through the forest, and he was poking her with a blade of glass. A long red tongue lolled from his mouth, and he had great fury black hands like a bear. ‘I was so frightened,’ said the girl, ‘that I hardly dared to breathe.’ The troll had laughed horribly and said, ‘What luck to find you, little sweet one. I want someone to care for me, cook my food, carry my water and my wood and be my own companion.’ So the troll grabbed her by the hair and carried her to his cave on the mountain top. It was a deep black cave, and even on the hottest summer day it was cold as a cellar, and heavy drops of water trickled from the stones. ‘I have served the mountain troll for three years,’ sighed the girl. ‘And every summer he tells me, ‘Next Christmas, when you are a little fatter, I will eat you.’ ‘So I hardly dare eat, and I have not thought of anything but how to escape. On a spring day I ran all the way down the mountainside to the river, hoping to cross to the other side. But there was no bridge, only the rapids and the spray. So I took off my ring and threw it into the water and called out as my mother taught me, Ring, ring, pulse and spring And my knight to me bring, A knight so good, a knight so brave, To rescue me, a helpless slave.’ ‘The ring disappeared into the water. But now,’ finished the girl, smiling, ‘the ring has found the knight who will help and save me.’ She kissed the ring. ‘You kiss the ring,’ said the prince. ‘Do you think you would rather kiss me?’ ‘Do you think so?’ and then with a smile flung her arms around his neck and kissed him. That moment they heard a strange, thundering sound. ‘It is the troll of the mountain,’ the girl cried, and jumped up. ‘Quick! Quick! We must run as fast as we can.’ And quickly they sped down the mountain side to where the prince’s horse was grazing quietly by the river. Quickly the prince swung into the saddle, lifted the princess in front of him, and plunged into the water. Waves splashed over their heads, the horse panted and snorted and kicked the river, and the mountain troll in the forest howled and bellowed like a pack of hungry wolves. The prince and the girl rode for days and nights through forest and plain, across rivers and brooks, past groves and hedges. The horse never tired until they reached the prince’s castle. They arrived there on a moonlit night, and rode slowly along the seashore, the princess wrapped up in the prince’s big cape. She lifted a corner of the cape and looked down at the sand. ‘How strange,’ she said, with a smile on her face. ‘Looking at the shadow, one would think there was only one rider on the horse.”– From "Ringen" by Helena Nyblom (1843 –1926) in "Bland tomtar och troll" (Among Gnomes and Trolls: a Collection of Swedish Folk Tales) edition 1914, Illustration "Det var en gång en prins, som var ute och red i månskenet" by John Bauer (1882 – 1918).

#John Bauer #Bland tomtar och troll #Among Gnomes and Trolls #Helena Nyblom #Ringen #Swedish Folk Tales #Faerie Tales #Sverige #ethereal #beauty is found in simple delicate things #the monarch #posting from Vinland for all Viking lovers out there

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fmsplrs · 3 years ago

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You’re not punk and I’m telling everyone - poseur mix 4/26/22

What was intended to be a nostalgic pop punk mix also has Joyce Manor and Minor Threat on it. An epic in two parts.

Millencolin - Mr. Clean

NOFX - Linoleum

MxPx - Punk Rawk Show

Lagwagon - Know It All

The Bouncing Souls - True Believers

Motion City Soundtrack - Don't Call It A Comeback

Gob - For The Moment

Fenix TX - Threesome

Blink 182 - Dumpweed

Lifetime - Turnpike Gates

Black Flag - TV Party

Descendents - Coffee Mug

NOFX - It's My Job To Keep Punk Rock Elite

Braid - Breathe In

Midtown - Give It Up

Me First & The Gimme Gimmes - Save The Best For Last

Millencolin - No Cigar

Rancid - Bloodclot

Refused - Summerholiday vs. Punkroutine

Rancid - Roots Radical

Alkaline Trio - Private Eye

The Vandals - My Girlfriend's Dead

Guttermouth - She's Got The Look

Jawbreaker - Fireman

Hot Water Music - Jack Of All Trades

Minor Threat - Minor Threat

Propagandhi - Back To The Motor League

Hot Water Music - Remedy

Fugazi - Merchandise

Iron Chic - Cutesy Monster Man

The Movielife - This Time Next Year

Against Me! - Cliche Guevara

Jawbreaker - Bad Scene Everyone's Fault

Dwarves - I Will Deny

Pennywise - Fight Till You Die

The Ramones - Judy Is A Punk

Descendents - I'm The One

Gob - Soda

Operation Ivy - Sound System

Misfits - Hybrid Moments

Bad Religion - I Want To Conquer The World

Bad Religion - Do What You Want

The Distillers - I Am A Revenant

The Offspring - Session

Bracket - Sour

Superchunk - Hyper Enough

Less Than Jake - Sugar In Your Gas Tank

Goldfinger - Superman

The Vandals - I Have A Date

Gob - You're Too Cool

Blink 182 - Apple Shampoo

The Offspring - The Kids Aren't Alright

Green Day - 2000 Light Years Away

Green Day - Burnout

Green Day - J.A.R.

NOFX - Bob

MxPx - Party My House Be There

The Ramones - Sheena Is A Punk Rocker

A New Found Glory - Hit Or Miss

The Get Up Kids - Holiday

The Offspring - Nitro (Youth Energy)

Less Than Jake - Johnny Quest Thinks We're Sellouts

Bracket - 2RAK005

Pennywise - Bro Hymn

Face To Face - Blind

Face To Face - Disconnected

Hot Water Music - Trusty Chords

The Distillers - City Of Angels

Sunny Day Real Estate - In Circles

Jawbreaker - Boxcar

Joyce Manor - Orange Julius

Pup - DVP

Pulley - Gone

Millencolin - Bullion

Rancid - Salvation

Hot Water Music - A Flight And A Crash

Lagwagon - May 16

Dwarves - Better Be Women

The Clash - Janie Jones

Jawbreaker - Do You Still Hate Me

The Get Up Kids - Coming Clean

The Bouncing Souls - Say Anything

The Bouncing Souls - Hopeless Romantic

Face To Face - Debt

Joyce Manor - Catalina Fight Song

Boxcar Racer - I Feel So

The Ataris - San Dimas High School Football Rules

Screeching Weasel - Hey Suburbia

Against Me! - Reinventing Axl Rose

Against Me! - Thrash Unreal

Guttermouth - Can I Borrow Some Ambition

Descendents - Hope

The Clash - Hateful

Dwarves - She Broke My Dick

Chixdiggit - Where's Your Mom

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peach-pops · 4 years ago

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song and movie: 999 Happy Haunts from Haunted Mansion || 1.4k masterlist

warning(s): character deaths, poisoning, mentions of alcohol

authors note: In honor of Halloween here is Nishinoya’s prompt! [If you’re on the discord this is not the spooky one i was talking about, saving it for a rainy day] Some characters or paintings I allude to are from the actual ride in either Disneyland/DisneyWorld and more info on them can be found here! Of course, one of the Haunted Mansions most recognizable rooms is the Stretching Room/Foyer and if you want to see what paintings I allude to click here!

word count: 2.3k

lyrics: If you would like to join our jamboree, there's a simple rule that's compulsory // Mortals pay a token fee, rest in peace, the haunting's free // So hurry back we would like your company

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“ You know, we should get a place like this. Wouldn’t you say it’s cozy and romantic?” Nishinoya teased as he slipped his wet tie off of his neck and hung it up on the coat rack.

“ I would also say it’s creepy, secluded from the outside world, and full of cobwebs but whatever makes you happy my love,” You said as you removed Noya’s drenched coat from your head and hung it up beside him.

You had always teased your fiancé about getting a manor of this size if you two ever made it big but as you stood there in the middle of the foyer, all you wanted to do was leave and never look back. You and Noya just needed a place to stay to wait out the rain after your car had broken down so when you two stumbled upon this seemingly vacant manor, who were you two to pass up the chance at a warm fire?

Who were you two to pass up the chance at a warm fire- what an awfully silly thought that was now. Here you were, in a stranger’s home, unannounced, uninvited, and certainly not welcomed.

“ I have a bad feeling about this Yu, maybe we should leave,” You said, clearly distressed,” we practically broke in and now we’re just making ourselves comfortable in a stranger’s home.”

“ Relax, first of all, it’s not breaking in if the doors were unlocked and second, if it makes you feel any better, maybe we can try to find the owner and wake them up,” Noya said as if it was a matter of fact and while you knew his option was awful, you had no better suggestions.

As you looked around the foyer, you took notice that there wasn’t a single sign of running electricity yet besides the peeling wallpaper and the creaking floorboards, it was in good repair for a mansion of its era. You felt like you were in a real lifetime machine; everything from the candlesticks that were covered in light dust to the stale, dead air you were breathing in felt ancient.

“ Whoever lives here could use a house renovation,” Noya laughed to try and ease your worry but your mind couldn’t be bothered to entertain him when you felt like you were being watched.

You tried to keep your eyes off the walls of the room but it was as if they were luring you in, almost prodding you to turn and lookup. Across the upper extension of the foyer laid out framed, huge portraits that were faded in color and stared back at you with empty eyes.

The series of macabre portraits made you shift uneasily from side to side and Noya’s eyes were soon drawn to them too. One painting stood a smiling, elderly woman with a single rose in her hand while another showed a middle-aged bearded man holding a scroll.

No matter where you stood in the room, it was as if the eyes were following you carefully.

The last painting on the far left side of the foyer made you hold your breath as you carefully took in the portrait; a beautiful young woman, who couldn’t be that much older than yourself, held a pink parasol over her shoulder as she smiled plainly back at you.

As you stared at the portrait, you felt an uneasy feeling over your shoulder, and in the peripheral of your eyes, the striped, peeling wallpaper looked as though it was stretching and that the room was getting longer.

“ I must be going mad,” You mumbled to yourself as you waited for Noya to empty out the water left in his shoe.

In your gut, you knew that there was something unnerving within the walls of the mansion so once Nishinoya grabbed a candlestick and lit it, you two both made your way down the hall to try and find the owner of the manor as quickly as you could.

Noya held the candlestick up to the height of his shoulder and peered down the dark corridor as you listened closely for any sign of activity. You and Noya both shared the same furrowed expression when the sound of a low hum made its way through the walls of the manor and whatever was making the noise, you could feel the vibrations underneath your feet.

“ Music? Is that a pipe organ?” You asked after a moment of silence to confirm your guess,” so that means someone does live here.”

“ Or that someone is throwing a party, listen see?” You and Noya walked farther down and the closer you got to the end of the corridor, the louder the music got,”I think I hear people too!”

Your grip on his arm relaxed but your chest still felt tight at the feeling of being somewhere you knew you shouldn’t be. It was almost as if the dread was smothering you like a pillow over your mouth and nose; each time you thought you would have a chance at a full breath, something else would set you off to make you more anxious.

Whether it was the bolts of lightning that would illuminate through the grimey windows or the distant but present ‘creek’ heard just a few feet behind you, everything and anything about this manor did not sit right with you.

Noya approached the great mahogany door and by the sound of laughter and music, it was clear that there was some sort of rambunctious occasion happening on the other side of the wall. By the layout of the manor, it made sense that there would only be one grand entrance to the ballroom yet the mahogany door was covered in dust and undisturbed spiderwebs that looked as though they had been harboring there for years.

“Noya, don’t touch that. There’s probably another way in we just have to figure it out,” You said as he continued to try and push the heavy door forward with his foot,” Yu, enough. The spiders-”

“ Stand no chance again me!” Noya forced open the great mahogany door with one final push as several hundreds of spiders scattered up towards the ceiling. The door made an earsplitting cracking noise from the wood being stuck to the doorframe for so long but once the door opened all the way, the both of you froze right where you stood.

There, within the Grand Hall, revealed over a hundred spirits floating and waltzing along to a jovial melody from the towering organ pipe that was playing by itself. Each ghost was dressed elegantly from their head to their feet and there was no lush or lively color to their translucent ivory figures except a light blue hue encompassing the outline of each one.

You were absolutely terrified by the scene in front of you and for a moment, you truly believed you were going crazy. It wasn’t until you pried your eyes away from the ballroom and towards your fiancé that you knew the look of awe and fear on his face made everything more real.

A huge gust of wind flew past you as it instantly knocked the candlestick out of his hand, drawing the attention of some nearby ghosts.

“ Looks like we have a couple of party crashers huh?”

“ Well as they always say, the more the scarier!”

“ What’s wrong mortals? You look as though you’ve seen a ghost!”

You could feel the thumping of your heart against your chest and while you were sure you couldn’t take a breath, you could still sense the oxygen flowing in and out of your lungs. As Noya was paralyzed with shock, you quickly snapped out of your daze and tried to run out the room holding Noya’s hand but the mahogany door shut quickly, leaving you and Noya trapped inside.

“ Well, we certainly weren’t expecting more guests, especially guests of your kind,” You turned your head to face the ghost with the slow, MidAtlantic drawl and whose beard resembled white ivy tendrils,” but for you travelers, maybe we can make an exception.”

Noya opened his mouth to reply but he could tell in the way that you squeezed his hand that you wanted him to save his breath.

You gave a fleeting glance to Noya but turned your head back to the ghosts and did your best not to be distracted by their physically transparent state,” We’re very sorry, we didn’t know this manor was occupied. This looks like a charming party, however, we really should be going-”

“ Nonsense! You mortals are no match for this storm outside!” A chill went up your spine as one of the female ghosts with a wide feather hat yanked harshly on your arm and her touch felt as sharp as ice,” I see that lovely ring on your finger which must mean you two must be betrothed! I remember what it felt like to be young and in love, now all I am is dead and rich!”

Noya let out a genuine laugh at the ghosts quip,” Well, it could be worse, you could be dead and poor! Or alive and poor-”

“ Nishionya!” You scolded but the female ghost only tutted your tongue.

“ Oh dear that’s alright, please, you must stay and dance!”

“ Please, we really should be leaving.-”

“ Don’t you want to stay for the party?”

“ Oh no, thank you but, well, we shouldn’t impose-”

“ Impose? Well, it would be a delight to celebrate with you mortal lovebirds,” another ghost chipped in as the plump spirit pulled Noya in close to his side,”what do you say, hm? Convince your darling there’s no harm in a dance or two!”

From the second you laid eyes on Noya, you could see his whole body pumping with adrenaline as if he was on a drip. For Noya, how much damage could one dance do?

“ Y/N...one dance and we can leave,” Noya practically pouted as you now felt the immense pressure of having to either deny or accept his request,” please darling?”

You looked back and forth between the ghosts surrounding you, your fiance, and the other spirits waltzing on the dancefloor and while you knew deep down you should just grab him by the ear and bolt out of there, you reluctantly caved in,” You get one dance. One.”

Noya’s eyes lit up and he was buzzing up and down from excitement because how many people could say they got to dance in a haunted ballroom with ghosts?

“ There is one little thing you must do before you are allowed to partake in the jamboree. Us ghouls have a rule that's compulsory where mortals must pay a token fee,” The bearded ghost sang in a low rhyme as he handed you and Noya a cocktail glass filled with a silvery, gray liquid,” in this case since we have much to celebrate, the token fee is simply a toast... to new beginnings.”

You warily took the glass and when you bent you face down to smell the liquor, you wrinkled your nose immediately at the stench and your eyes began to water. Noya had the same reaction but instead, went to smell it again.

“ This smells horrid.”

“ It’s a classic creme de violette with gin and lemon juice. The correct name is called the Gray Ghost.”

“ It doesn’t change the way I think the drink smells,” You said as you gave another look at Noya,” one dance. You hear me?”

“ One dance, yes! Just one,” Noya couldn’t even hold in his anticipation as his smile grew bigger,” I love you.”

“ I love you too,” You took in a deep breath and clinked your class against your fiances,” To new beginnings.”

Noya couldn’t help but lean in to give you a soft kiss before the toast and as you kissed him back, you felt safer knowing that he was here with you, no matter how insane the night had become.

You both ignored the applause that came from the surrounding ghosts and Noya gave you a small smile before clinking his glass against yours,” To new beginnings.”

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You and Noya’s infectious laughter could be heard from every corner of the ballroom yet the spirits paid no mind to the two loverbirds as Noya attempted to twirl and dip you for the third time in a row.

You shrieked at him and told him to stop and you exclaimed over and over again how he was going to drop you. Noya, with his newfound confidence he had gained by watching the other spirits waltz, insisted that third times the charm and he promised he wouldn’t let go of you this time.

By any witness there, Noya had picked up absolutely zero skills from the other spirits because he couldn’t take his eyes away from you for that long. One song turned into two more and this continued on all throughout the evening and not once did the couple ever pull away from each other to take a break.

Master Gracey watched the young couple from afar and smiled to himself as Madame Leota polished the cocktail glasses.

“ Do you think they’ll ask for another round?” Madame Leota teased as she bumped her hip against his,” They didn’t waste a single drop, they must’ve been thirsty. Oh, you must tell me how to make that cocktail, I’ve always been awful at making drinks.”

Master Gracey hummed and pulled out his notepad to recheck the ingredients and started to list them off to his desperate companion,” Three-fourths ounce of lemon juice, two ounces of gin, half an ounce of the cherry liquor-”

“Heering or Maraschino?”

“ Maraschino. It’s always Maraschino. Then a dash of blue curacao and half an ounce of creme de violette,” Master Gracey said as the young couple caught his eye again,” how much did I put in?”

He couldn’t help but let out a chuckle when the energetic male successfully did a half-decent dip to his lover. Their translucent, ivory figures jumped up and down for joy because finally, they managed to get the move right. As the couple leaned in for another kiss, Master Gracey snapped his fingers once when he remembered the last ingredient.

“ Oh, that’s right! It was half a teaspoon of arsenic.”

taglist: @boosyboo9206, @goopyartiste, @sugas-sweetheart, @kirislut, @estridries, @hannahalanib1, @art0saurus, @shoutamajiki, @yee-harr, @animatedarchives, @greywarenns, @bnha-bakusquad

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mxbbadperson · 5 years ago

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valeyne beauty & the beast au

beast is bruce, beauty is jerome. lonely rich kid as beast, homicidal carnie boy as beauty, ah true love.

bruce has done absolutely nothing to deserve the curse & it SUCKS

instead of ‘yar! you’ll be prisoner!’ jerome. just. marches in & forces bruce to feed & care for him

bruce: ‘i… like you?’ jerome: [stares at him for 5 minutes] ‘what’

jerome unintentionally prolongs the curse because he’s a dumbass, lmaoo, ah true love

being raised by the circus, jerome is so uncomfy with bruce & his Sucker Punches of Polite, Nice & Emotional Honesty

‘brucie’s nice & that’s nice but what tHE HELL IS HE UP TO?!’

jerome ends the first month standing atop the dining table pointing Lee the butcher’s knife at bruce while lee & the staff yell at him

bruce: [at his seat, not eating]: ’???? what’s going on? why is he yelling? why is he so angry? bc i invited him to dinner? i’m just being *polite*

bruce: [is nice & says something nice]

jerome: [panics & says something rude

the staff: [frustrated internal screaming]

even when he doesn’t meant to, jerome manages to sabotage himself

jerome can spew *so much* bullshit and yet.

AND YET.

bruce is. so confused??

the staff are. so. tired. just spit out jerome,

gOD

jerome’s more comfy w/ bruce’s beastly exterior than w/ his kind nature?

but bruce’s kind nature is what gets to jerome?

jerome knows what he’s doing, he’s inappropriate, creepy, invaded bruce’s home, eating bruce’s food, insulting bruce’s family

and sure bruce hisses, yells, blocks & manhandles jerome

but. but.

bruce never hurts him? unlike the circus.

one time bruce scratches him with claws & it was an *accident* & bruce apologizes & frets & patches him up gently. gently

theo sends silver st cloud first, i think?

sends tabitha but she doesn’t kill bruce because silver vouches for him?

silver’s liked by the staff except for selina, barbara &, of course, jerome

jerome’s jealous of her & doesn’t admit it, but he is more of an asshole than usual?

bruce: ‘i like her but not too much?’

jerome: [internally let’s out the longest yeah boi ever]

silver gets attached to selina

selina’s SO angry about it

ivy’s there as gardening shears maybe?

jerome leaves the manor, but not the area?

spends weeks circling the manor, trying to catch glimpses of biuce through the windows & when he goes out to fly

one time he sees bruce laughing jerome catches himself wanting to *be* there, to hear bruce laugh, keeps walking to the door but aborting halfway through

after the 34th time, jerome finally decides to leave & marches away

plot twist: theo goes to wayne manor mere HOURS after jerome leaves,

RULES OF DRAMA >:D

bruce’s sad that jerome’s leaving but.

what IF bruce *did* ask jerome to stay? but jerome gets flustered & runs his mouth off?

bruce takes it as a no & lets hims go

barbara tells hims to go after jerome, bruce wants to but can’t because jerome’s probably so far away now?

(jokes on him, jerome’s in the area & errytime bruce goes to fly at night, jerome hides so bruce can’t see him,

mutual pining but jerome makes it harder for both of them, the dumbass)

so jerome walks away from the manor & he’s fine?

HE’S FINE

but something makes him look back & he sees something happening at the manor?!

runs back but a shmuck warns him not to?

like ‘you can’t go there! a monster lives there!’

and jerome’s FURIOUS, the circus called him a monster & maybe they’re right but brucie’s NICE, he’s not a monster!

after this shmuck catches THESE HANDS & this KNIFE, jerome’s gonna go save his brucie

(bruce is fine, he saved himself)

jerome says ‘i love you’ in desperation?

like bruce & the staff are having a meeting & jerome barges in?

sees the rose again. except it’s wilting? it’s wilting so fast?!

jerome realizes it’s a goodbye meeting?

he can hear the staff going silent

can hear tabitha & silver crying

can hear bruce losing his sense of speech & more & more animal noises creeping in

bruce is FADING

jerome has to say it!

it’s just three words!

why can’t he just say it?!

D’:

#valeyne #valeyne beauty and the beast au #my aus

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creator-zee · 5 years ago

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I darted through the trees, silent under the moonlight. I followed the scent of the bloodsuckers who had chased me away from the town last night. I had lost them, after a chase that lasted several days, but I was ready to strike again. I had to constantly change my attack patterns. Sometimes I would attack the same town twice in quick succession, other times I would wait days, sometimes different towns close together, sometimes the same town for a while at different times. It kept the bloodsuckers from guessing my next move and preparing in advance.

As the city lights came into view I paused at the edge of the forest. I had a good 50 meters of open grass to cross before the first buildings. I needed to be sure that there were no Bloodsuckers around. I glanced around my improved vision allowing me to easily see through the night, despite the lack of light. No vamps anywhere in sight. I darted across the open ground to the building. I leaned against it, blending into the shadow.

I weaved through alleyways avoiding lamp light until I reached the mansion of the noble family that governed this town. I easily climbed the security fence avoiding the guards patrolling the front entrance. Silly vamps always assumed that their walls were unclimbable. I called upon my wolf’s blood and my teeth elongated, nails turned to claws, and my senses heightened. I used my increased agility to scale the wall of the manor, until I reached a window ledge. I eased open the window, it wasn’t even locked, and slipped inside. An empty room. I listened carefully, as I quelled my wolf’s blood and returned to an ordinary human form. I slipped through the halls of the sleeping manor and into the basement, where the slaves were. I grabbed the keys and quickly unlocked the cell-like rooms. I carefully woke the sleeping slaves, covering their mouths so they wouldn’t scream. I looked over their weakened forms, they were malnourished and scrawny, they wouldn’t be able to climb down. I repressed a growl of anger at the cruelty of vampires, before leading the slaves through the house. At least they were good at being silent. We escaped through the back door, and I used a stolen key to open the gate.

I flinched as the gate squealed on its unoiled hinges. I hurriedly shoved it open, stealth gone.

“Run!” I whisper shouted at the slaves, who didn’t hesitate.

As their forms disappeared, I called upon the wolf’s blood again. If they were to get anywhere I would have to distract the guards. I quickly scaled a nearby house, running along the roof, and jumping onto the mansions. I slid down the front of the house scraping my claws against the stone to both slow my fall, and get the guards attention.

Four pairs of golden eyes shot to me. The swishing sounds of swords being drawn had me launching myself over the guards and dashing through the streets.

“Wolf! Wolf in the streets! Wolf!” The shouts followed me through the town as half-asleep vamps were awoken. Metal boots on stone roads. Shouting in my ears. Same old same old. Not easy being a rebel in a world ruled by vampires who kill or enslave all who disobey, or even those who don’t. Simply exist and you’re free game as far as the bloodsuckers are concerned.

The number of guards had doubled, joined by the city guard. I wasn’t concerned. I could lose them in the forest, I always did. I was about to enter the grassy border around the town when a dark figure shot out in front of me. Golden eyes. A vampire. I growled. Shit. I couldn’t lose them in the forest if I couldn’t get there. I skidded to a halt and jumped onto a nearby building scrambling onto the thatch roof. I ran along it, jumping from house to house. I heard the softer, padded footsteps of the guards as they followed me. A blur, the figure was back. Without hesitating, this time, I launched myself off the building, rolling to break my fall.

I sprinted across the grass. A swish of grass, behind me. A vamp was right on my tail. I pushed myself to run faster, we were already going much faster than any human, but, unfortunately, I knew that the vampires had the advantage. The one right on my tail was a full-blood no doubt, by the scent. I had barely any wolf-blood compared to my ancestors. I needed to hide, to get away.

The river. I could disappear beneath the rapids. The vamps would assume me dead, but I had swam through that river countless times. I wouldn’t die. I cut through the brush heading towards the sound of the river. Branches slapped a giant my face and bushes rubbed at my clothes. I ignored it, beating back the worst of it with my arms. The sound of rushing waves grew louder. Thud. My boot hit rock instead of soft dirt. I launched myself forwards past the last trees, diving into the rushing waves of the river below. I was immediately pulled under, but I fought the urge to panic. I let the currents pull me downstream. Only when my lungs began to burn did I fight to the surface of the river. I quickly grabbed a breath of fresh air, and let the water carry me again. I repeated this several times, until I was sure I was miles away from where I had jumped. The next time I fought the currents to get to the surface I looked around searching for a place where the river eddied out. I found one. I swam over, and the current no longer fought to pull me downstream. I turned to face the rock wall I was against. I gripped the slippery stones and began climbing. Luckily, the bank wasn’t too high here.

Risky foothold and handholds carries me to the bank of the river. My arms, lungs and legs burned. I lay exhausted on the forest floor, but the river, when I heard a splash that was different from the ordinary sounds of the river. I stood up quickly looking back down at the river. A black shape was gripping onto the wall I had just climbed. Shit a vamp had followed me. I quickly dashed back into the forest. I didn’t know where I was. I was really running out of options. Maybe this was it. My tired legs protested with my burning lungs as I forced myself to sprint through the untamed wilds. I caught another smell. Wolf, no not Wolf, wolf-blood. And strong too. A pack was near. A pack of full-blooded werewolves that could easily defeat one vampire. I followed the scent as it grew. The water disguised the vampires scent somewhat, but it was quickly growing stronger as they gained ground. The pack’s scent was also going stronger. If I could just last a little bit longer.

Pain shooting up my foot. I fell to the forest floor. My tired body was done. I had tripped. I struggled to my feet, but a weight on my back pushed me down.

“You’re done wolf. The queen wants to see you, and she gets what she wants.” The ivy voice of the vampire washed over me.

I struggled pointlessly against the iron grip of the vamp. I gave up. The forest had been my only advantage, but this vamp had taken that away and now I was terrifyingly outmatched. I was being taken to the queen. The master of masters. What the hell did she have in store for me?

39.1

Heavy iron restraints around my ankles and wrists. A guard on either side of me. No hope of escape. A rough shove and I stumbled into a, a bedroom? What the hell? The door slammed shut behind me and I rapidly scanned the white walls and large bed with white sheets for the owner of this room. My eyes landed on a tall figure wearing a golden dress. She turned and her golden eyes landed on me.

Silver eyes met gold. Warmth exploded from my core around my body. My claws and fangs were pushed out as my wolf-blood rose without my command.

“Mate.” The word was whispered, barely spoken, barely leaving the lips of the vampire who stared at me. She strode towards me. She stopped in front of me. Her hand rose as if to stroke my cheek, but it stopped and returned to her side.

I managed to tear my eyes away from hers, and I pushed my wolf-blood away. The claws and fangs receded. This couldn’t be. I shouldn’t have enough wolf-blood to have a mate. I wasn’t strong enough to be the queens mate. Everyone knew that vampire’s mates were determined based off of strength, or so I thought.

The queen's hand moved, and I tensed, fearing attack. I instinctively tried to step back, but my bound feet led me only to stumbling back ungracefully. An arm shot around my waist catching me and pulling me back to my feet. The queen had caught me.

“Be careful.” She muttered. Flashing the golden key in her hand, that was why she had moved. She crouched. “Let me get these off.”

She worked quickly and smoothly removing my restraints and setting them aside along with the key. Once the last cuff clicked open, I stepped back. I didn’t dare to meet her gaze again, but I did look up slightly, staring steadfastly at her neck.

“Why did you bring me here?” I asked. “Why did you remove my chains?”

“I brought you here because you were a highly dangerous prisoner that I didn’t trust my guards to handle.” She replied in a business like manner, but her tone softened as she continued. “But, I let you go because you’re my mate. I will not harm you, or hold you captive.”

“Then why have your guard chase me down in the woods, risking death?” I pressed. I didn’t believe this kindness. There had to be a trick, some catch. Something that the queen wanted.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know that you were my mate then. I only knew that you were a dangerous renegade who had been stealing noble families property.” She answered calmly.

I snorted. “Stealing property? I was freeing slaves.”

“Not in the eye of the law.”

I sighed. “So what now? What are you going to do with me? Throw me in a cell? Kill me? Torture me?”

I couldn’t read her expression as I didn’t dare look at her face, but her astonishment was clear in her tone.

“What? No? I said I wouldn’t hurt you or hold you captive.” She asserted. “I meant it. No, what I am going to do is let you go. You can stay if you want and I would like that, but I won’t force you.” She paused before adding. “But please, keep a low profile if you do leave, or make sure you aren’t caught again. If I have to let you go again, and you’re a wanted criminal with a giant bounty then the other Vampires will think I’m weak and I could lose my throne and anarchy could ensue.”

I still didn’t respond, so she continued. “I would like to at least know your name first, before you go. And maybe what could convince you to stay and be my mate?” She added the last part in a quiet whisper, but I heard it quickly.

“Rory.” I replied. “I go by Rory, and the only way I would stand by your side is if you were no longer a monarch who condoned and protected slavery and the abuse and exploitation of humans.”

“I’m Val, and I will work on it, but hierarchy is the culture of the vampires, I can’t just remove it all.”

I stared in shock my gaze finally drifting to meet hers again. “Really? I thought you would immediately deny it.”

She nodded. “Really. I’m willing to work to be worthy of my mate.”

I couldn’t help laughing. “Worthy of me? You’re the vampire queen. You are ten times stronger than me, and faster than me. I have barely enough wolf-blood to change my nails to claws. You are far superior to me in any way, if anyone isn’t worthy it’s me.”

“Yet you have managed to inflict more damage for more time than any full blooded werewolf or pack. And you’re alone. You don’t smell of any pack.” She provided, calmly. “I may have brute strength and speed, but you have stealth and cunning. It took my finest tracker to hunt you down. You are a force to be reckoned with, and don’t you forget it.”

I was stunned. I didn’t expect this in a million years. The Queen of all Vampires was complimenting me, and being genuine, and trying to change. I lowered my gaze again. I couldn’t fall for it. It had to be a trick. Even as I forced the thoughts, I couldn’t ignore the undeniable pull I had towards her. Or the way her scent was delicious. Or her beauty.

“Thanks.” I mumbled before walking around the queen to the window, still facing her. I unlatched the window and slid it open, preparing to jump out. Luckily, her room was on the first floor and facing the forest, so my escape would be easy.

She didn’t move, watching me prepare to leave. “Will you return?”

I shrugged. “Maybe.”

I ducked and slid through the window, shutting it behind me. I scampered off into the woods. I doubted I could resist the mate pull for that long, but I wasn’t going to stand by a tyrant. For now I would go back to my fight, against the tyranny, but with more precautions. After all, the Queen was right, I couldn’t get captured again.

39.2

I stood in the forest with an ache in my heart. I stared at the castle in front of me. I had scaled steep rocky cliffs to get to the back side of the mountain where the palace was home. There was no moonlight tonight, only cloudy skies. Even with my improved vision I struggled to see, but I could still make out the windows that I knew led to the queen's bedroom, Val’s bedroom, my mate’s bedroom. It had been three months since she had let me go, and I had successfully released many more slaves. It didn’t matter that I hadn’t been seen, that every rescue had been flawless. I had found myself drawn back to this forest, back to this palace, back to this room, back to this person.

I crept forward in the dark, melding the shadows of my clothes with the darkness of the wall. I reached up and tested the window. It slid open easily. I pulled myself up to the ledge, perching as I slid the window up. I slipped inside the dark room, closing the window silently behind me. My eyes fell on the sleeping form of the Queen. What was I doing? What did I expect to happen? This was stupid. I reached back for the window, to leave again, but I shifted my weight wrong and a floorboard creaked. I froze, but it was too late the damage had been done.

A blur of motion and I was pinned against the wall.

“Who are you?” The queen growled. Then she relaxed her hold suddenly. “Rory? You came back?”

I nodded.

“Why?”

I shrugged.

She stepped back. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“I’m fine.” I assured her. “Besides I’m the one who snuck into your bedroom in the middle of the night.” I laughed uneasily. “I’m not exactly blameless either.”

My unease and nervousness was replaced by suspicion and fear. “You smell different. You smell like a human.” I glared at the dark figure of the queen. “What did you do?”

“I can explain, Rory.” She began.

I snorted derisively. “Of course you can. Well? I’m listening.”

“I’m working on changing the laws about humans, but it’s slow progress as most vampires don’t see a reason to change. In the meantime I was trying to uphold your beliefs, and not take blood by force, but the only way the slave agreed was if we had sex.” Val explained.

I growled. “You shouldn’t have to do that just to eat. Isn’t there some understanding you can reach with humans? Some mutually beneficial arrangement?”

“I’m working on it.” She insisted. “In a few more months, hopefully new laws will be passed.” She paused. “Do you forgive me?”

“Of course.”

Silence grew between us, but I was in no hurry to break it. Val didn’t seem eager to break it either. She returned to her bed and laid back down. I climbed onto the window ledge, sliding the window open. I heard her shift in her bed.

“Come back again?” She asked silently.

“Eventually. I can’t stay away.” I admitted as I disappeared into the night.

39.3

Another three months passed and I found myself back in the woods by the palace, this time guided by a full moon, and treading through snow. I had come not only because of the ache in my heart, but because I no longer needed to free slaves. Val had succeeded, slavery was gone. In its place, servitude. Humans could sign contracts with vampires, to work as servants of some kind, or as a blood servant. The human would be provided with food, water, and shelter in return for their services. A vampire was only allowed to take blood from a blood servant who had signed a contract giving consent, or with spoken consent from another human. Punishments hadn’t been outlawed for misbehaving servants, but they were restricted to matching the punishments that vampires would receive for misbehavior. Of course, some vampires broke the law and progress was slow, but it was happening. Support for the equality movement was growing and with it more funding was able to be directed towards enforcing the new laws.

I took a deep breath, pressed against the wall next to the window. Val has upheld her end of the bargain, now I had nothing stopping me from at least giving her a chance. My fingers found the cold stone ledge and I brushed the light dusting of snow away. I pulled myself up I to the ledge. I grabbed the edge of the window, but it didn’t budge. Well that was awkward. I brushed more snow away, the window was frozen. Well crap. I couldn’t exactly go in the front door. I may no longer be wanted number one but I was still a wolf. I slipped down and jumped up on the next window, also frozen. The third as well. I returned to the first and gave it a good yank. It thudded open with a crack as the ice broke.

A figure tackled me from my precarious position. I slid back on the snowy ground looking up into golden eyes. Val’s hot breathe was against my face and I squirmed under her grip.

“Sorry, it was frozen.” I tried.

Val just stared at me. “Are you going to stay this time?”

I nodded. “I’m going to give it a chance.”

“Thank you.” She breathed and stood up, offering me a hand. I accepted it, noticing that hers was much warmer than mine. I really should’ve invested in gloves.

“Your hand is freezing.” She commented, concerned.

“That’s what snow does.” I shrugged.

She pulled me through the window and into her room. “You don’t have a home, do you?”

“Just the forest.” I admitted.

“That sounds awful. All alone.”

I feared her concern turning into pity, so I waved it away. “I survived.”

“Hopefully, you can survive here.” She was only half-joking.

“How do you plan for me to live in a palace full of vampires? They hate my kind, and me.”

“Everyone in the palace knows not to bother you.”

“So I could’ve come in the front door.” I complained. “Do you know how hard it is to climb the cliff that you call a back door?”

She shrugged. “That is kinda the point.”

“I know, but still.” I argued futilely.

“I’m sorry.” She apologized. “I should have told you.”

“It’s okay. I probably wouldn’t have used the front door anyways.” I grinned sheepishly.

She laughed. “Wanted the mysterious aspect of breaking into the Queen’s bedroom?”

“No.” I admitted. “In truth I would be avoiding all the people.”

She raised her eyebrows. “Really?”

I shrugged. “Yeah, I’ve never gotten along with anyone, much less Vampires. I haven’t had a friend since.” My voice faltered as the memory came back. “Since.” I forced back tears. “Since I was a kid.”

Val engulfed me in a warm hug, and I accepted it. “You have me now, Rory. I can be your friend and more.”

“Thank you.” I muttered into her shoulder.

She pulled back and pointed to the bed. “Care to sleep?”

I scratched the back of my neck sheepishly. “I’m actually not tired.”

“You’re not? It’s like 2am?” She asked, surprised.

“I’m nocturnal.” I admitted. “Due to needing the cover of darkness for stealth I have taken to sleeping in the day. 2 am for me is your 2pm.”

“Well, we will have to work on fixing that.” I would like to see you more than just in the morning and at night.

“Of course, but it may take a while.”

“I know.”

#vampire #werewolf #wolf's blood #wolf blood and vampire queen #change #mates #fantasy #one of the ones that could almost be considered finished #writing #not edited

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