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Out of my ignorance I called you my homeland, and I forgot that homelands are taken away.

- Mahmoud Darwish

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There's something romantic about waves crashing into one another.

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"I was within and without, simultaneously enchanted and repelled by inexhaustible variety of life."

- F. Scott Fitzgerald

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No live organism can continue for too long to exist sanely under conditions of absolute reality; even larks and katydids are supposed, by some, to dream. Hill House, not sane, stood by itself against its hills, holding darkness within; it had stood for eighty years and might stand for eighty more. Within, walls continued upright, bricks met neatly, floors were firm, and doors were sensibly shut; silence lay steadily against the wood and stone of Hill House, and whatever walked there, walked alone.

- The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson.

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I stretched my limbs out with a sigh of relief as my bones cracked, releasing tension from the five hundred year nap. I peeked through the dark velvet curtains, the moon had reached it's peak and the bats had already begun screeching. Ah, it was a glorious night indeed. Death and decay wafted through the castle with cobwebs in every nook and crany, exactly as it had been left, perhaps even better since it hadn't been tended to. I dressed in a dark navy suit, which would allow me to blend into the night.

It was always interesting to witness the birth of different generations, each one gullible yet somehow intelligent than the previous. It would be a delight to see what humans had invented this time.

I examined my features in the mirror, red rimmed onyx eyes, smooth pale skin. Despite us vampires sharing similar traits with human, there was something about us that sent off warning bells in their head to flee from us. Before my slumber, I had a meal who , during my month long endeavor of trying study those species confessed the above after falling inlove. Like I said: Gullible.

I applied a gel to my hair and combed it back creating a sleek appearance, looking attractive and unavoidable was a key element in the hunting process- let them come to me.

Finally, I reached the main door of my castle. It had been sealed shut to prevent any vandals from entering. If it weren't for my diet, I'd rid the world of these humans. They were a nuisance, murdering each other, destroying the planet with their fumes, defacing structures, I could go on but the list is long and I'm starving. I shoved the door open and began my hunt with a leisure stroll, taking in the ambience, the air smelled of pine and moss.

The forest had grown well around the castle over the years, sheltering it from the outer world. I quickened my pace into a run, being a predator had it's advantages. I had the strength of a thousand men, the speed of lightning, the ability of compulsion, superior hearing and smell. Those five traits had placed us at the top of the food chain. I stopped running and continued into a brisk walk as soon as the buzz of city life met my ears. I remained in the shadows, my eyes tracking their movements till I singled out a prey. Their clothes became shorter and more revealing, that would work in my favour, their ancestors had the need to layer everything that always ended up shredded to ribbons on my floor. Truly a nuisance. The music was loud and obnoxious, did everyone just forget about the piano? Filthy creatures. Food stalls sprouted up everywhere, this is new. I put my hunt on hold, now eager to investigate what else had changed. I strolled by shops stacked on one another and people unashamedly devouring each others faces on corners. But nothing had me stop dead in my tracks like this picture. I blinked rapidly, trying to come to terms with what I'm seeing. A girl, laying on a bed of red with a man who looked similar to me hovered over her, his fangs grazing against her jugular. A group of girls stopped as well, giggled and took out a device which I eyed. It flashed and that picture displayed instantly onto that device. One of them noticed me and whispered into another's ear who giggled in return.

"Uhm, excuse me. Could we take a pic with you?" Her nasal voice rang in my ear. This has never happened to me before, I furrowed by brows in confusion, which apparently translated to yes because they surrounded me, their thin arms snaking around my waist. What in God's name. I smelled the sweetness of their blood, heard the pulse quickening. It all overpowered me.

A flash went off, blinding me momentarily.

"Your costume is so fire." She smacked her lips, chewing on gum so loud it could have burst my eardrums.

"Anyway, my friend likes you." She scrawled something on a piece of paper and handed it to me. "Here's her number, you'd look cute together." She smacked her glossed lips together, her friend winked and then they left. I had never been left this speechless by their kind, in all my centuries of living.

I entered the theatre, determined to see what the fuss was about. Time moved achingly slow as it played but my rage increased rapidly. They had romanticised us. I left the theatre appalled, groups of them had lined up outside, some in fangs and fake blood.

I craved food and proving a point to these disgusting creatures. Vampires do not burn in the sun, I can go out just fine during the day. They turned us into a myth, laughing and gushing over us as though we're the weaker species. It's time they learned who the predator was.

I lengthened my spine, puffing out chest. My fangs extended, ready to pierce flesh. I'd start with everyone in this damn theatre. I sauntered over to entrance, shutting the doors. No one would come in or leave till I had eaten.

"Excuse me sir, you cannot close those doors." One of the young workers stated in a measly tone. I turned around, towering over the small figure, my shadow encasing her frightened form. Huge doe eyes looked up at me, and I almost felt sorry for it.

I inched closer, choked her till her eyes rolled back. People had gathered, some trying to pry me off her. Quickly I snapped her neck before attending to them who so desperately called for my attention. Within seconds I had drained them of their blood, except for my doe eyed girl. I clawed her neck open, allowing the blood to spill. Humans were small but they carried plenty of blood, which I used to colour this dull theatre in. I opened the door and left as breeze in the night, on my way to cause more havoc.

And I did just that, I slaughtered humans mercilessly and drank their blood, they tasted of metallic fear.

Sirens blared deafeningly in the distance, let them come, I could never be too full.

I gathered the posters of the false vampires, flattened it like a sheet beneath the piled up victims, blood dripped onto those posters and the ground beneath them.

Their Music had stopped playing a while qgo when the shrieks grew, food stalls toppled over and glass shattered onto the concrete floor. I could feel death all around me, it hung in the air, ran down the walls and pooled on the earth beneath my feet. It was a breathtaking sight.

I left quietly into the night with my footsteps echoing through the darkness.

As a Vampire you have awoken from a five hundred year nap. Humanity no longer fears you, they treat you as a myth and make a mockery of your legacy. A Vampire does not fall in love with it’s food, a vampire does not glow in the sun. It is time humanity remembers why they feared the dark.

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Your job was to clean and repair the messes heroes and villains leave in the aftermath of their fights. It’s not a glorious job, but you still took some pride in it. So when the media called you an over-glorified janitor, you took offense and decided to stop working.

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The smell of fire and burnt wood presses down on the crisp, fresh air in suffocation till it's all snuffed out. Thick ropes bind my wrists together with shackles clasped around my ankles that jingle with every slight movement. Their bitter laughter slices through the heavy air as they slain innocent folk and tear families apart. Some of the black coats have erected great wooden crosses infront of every house, church and bar. I know what's coming, ice fills my veins with black dread as I'm forced to observe crucifixions of my friends. Their agony leaves their body in loud screams and grunts and pleads of mercy. "Where's your God now!?" They taunt and hammer the nail deeper into Kind Sally's hand, her blood dripping onto the tar below.

I clench the cross in my hand, it's edges digging into my palm. A calmness washes over me as I take a deep breath and begin praying after rotating the cross. "No point in summoning pacifist angels now" one of the invaders laugh, "There's nothing left to defend."

His answer is in the wind that stops howling, the still trees and watchful dogs. It's as though the night is waiting in anticipation for what's to come, or who's to come.

Light cracks vein the ground so quiet it's only noticeable if you pay attention. No one else does, they're too maddened by murder. One by one and then all at once the fires go out and so does the screams and laughter.

I can't help but throw my head back with laughter like a deranged maniac. "This is your atonement." I say. Each wooden crucifix whines as it gently rotates till its upside down, or rather, the right side up.

Instead of crawling up from the seven hells, he descends from above. His jet black wings spread out against the night sky, horns long and twisted protrude from his forehead. I smirk at the black coat next to me. "People always forget Lucifer when they speak of the angels."

"Rise." He commands but it's not us he's talking to. The earth below trembles and roars as it splits. Luminous orange spills through the wide cracks. Behind every black coat, materialises a figure of smokeless fire. They grip the necks of the invaders, blood curdling screams fill the air as they melt into the ground below and slither down the cracks with the Djinn into the fiery pits of hell.

You arrived late. Your town is burning, and the invaders have captured you. You, a priest, start the summoning prayer. “No point in summoning pacifist angels now”, they laughed, “there’s nothing left to defend”. However, they forgot to consider, that Lucifer is also an angel.

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I was short, thin and weak with no strengths. I couldn't sew, cook, fight, climb or retain any knowledge. By being born a female, I was already at a disadvantage, but with my never-ending flaws I became a liability to the crown, curse to the throne and more often than not, inspired laughter from all, my family included. My Brother - Kai, was set to inherit the throne. Serena, our sister who had been declared the fairest maiden in the land, was betrothed to Raiden, his family's treasures were plentiful and would be a great ally to the crown. So, it came to no surprise that I - youngest and weakest - was sent as a hostage to the Demon King.

"For so long you have brought us shame, but now, my sweet daughter, you have a chance to prove yourself worthy by maintaining peace between the two realms." My father sounded somewhat proud as his rough hands caressed my hair, I stiffened under his touch, not use to any display of affection from my parents.

I left with a quick kiss from my mother, a hug from both my siblings. Not a single tear had been shed at my departure.

After two whole days we had finally neared the shadow realm, the crescent moon at it's peak in the night sky. Laughter and music sounded from a castle lit internally with hues of bright orange. Tall gates opened upon our arrival, the hooves of our horses beat gently against the ground as we entered. Demons, witches and other creatures of the night spilled outside, probably to see the hostage. I wish I'd worn a cloak to hide in, their presence unnerved me and raised goosebumps along my flesh.

"The King wants to see her first." A woman spared me a glance, she stood shorter than the demons but her presence had a hold over them, probably a witch. She shoved my luggage into the arms of a demon "Here, make yourself useful." I flinched when she raised her sharp frail fingers and raked them through my unruly curls, if she wanted to, I'm pretty sure she could dig those claws into my head and lift out my brain. A gasp left my throat as the witch yanked my hair down to her nose and inhaled. "You smell disgusting." She pushed me back and snaked those bony fingers around my wrist. "Do they not eat in your land? Why so thin?" She raised my hand to inspect it, I almost scoffed at the irony but then I saw a concerned expression in those smokey white eyes. If they were capable of that small emotion then maybe they weren't horrible as they were made out to be? "We must feed you, the king has arranged a feast in your honour. I will feed you myself." she tugged at my arm, my feet shuffling behind her long strides. I felt like I was being dragged by this woman who kept pulling at me this way or the other like a ragdoll. "You don't talk much. You should talk." I opened my mouth but shut it quickly. We walked through the castle and I observed smiling servents, kids playing outside with a group of demons who seemed to be baby sitting, The different creatures of the dark seemed to coexist happily while the humans of my fathers realm waged war against one another.

"Stand up straight." she commanded as we reached glossy black doors, I extended my hand stroking the gem encrusted door handle in awe. All we had back home was raw wood. I felt like I was transported to an entirely different world full of riches, "have you never seen a door?"

If I wasn't terrified, I'd roll my eyes. "I haven't seen anything like this." What other treasures did these shadow people own? She fisted the back of dress, pulling me back to her side. "I'll show you all the doors in this place after you've eaten." She promised before swinging the doors open, silence immediately washed over the room. Three large chandeliers bathed the dining room in a warm that shone over a long dining table, the food on it were plentiful and mouth watering, the aromas caressing my senses. At the head of table sat the Demon King, his long raven hair styled in braid with a little girl perched on his lap, she seemed to be styling a flower crown on his head. His onyx eyes lit up as he saw me and this crazy lady. He got up with the little girl in his arms, sauntered across the room and towered over us. "My love." My eyes widened, and I nearly soiled my pants but it was the lady's hand he reached for, his lips pressing against it.

"My life." She responded, taking the girl from his arms and placing her gently on the ground. They shared an open mouthed kiss. I stared dumbfounded, I was with the Queen. The. Whole. Time.

"Get a room. Seriously, we are your children and do not need to see that." A disgusted, velvet voice spoke up, the little girl covered her eyes and giggled before running off to her newest victim - Prince Daemon, heir to the shadow realm. I heard about him, some said he shifted into a dragon, others into a bat. All of them said he ate virgins for breakfast. Currently, though, the feared Prince seemed to be eating a roasted lamb. He was dressed in black leather pants paired with an untucked, wrinkled white shirt. He was devastatingly handsome. Deep onyx eyes, inherited from his father, ran down the length of me. All my insecurities lashed wildly under his fervent gaze. "Are you the hostage?" I nodded in response, I became mute ever since I left home. "Do you speak?" Again I nodded. "Put her in front of a door and you'll see her come alive.'' The queen chuckled to her son and gently steered me to the table. She loaded my plate with the most aromatic food. "Let's eat." She sat down next to me, digging a fork in to my plate. "Open wide." I did as instructed, scared to rebel and talk back. She wasn't lying when she said she'd feed me herself, the Queen had forked everything into my mouth down to the last morsel and I have never tasted such deliciousness before, it burst of flavor.

She had shown me to my bed-chambers, bathed me herself, and sang me to sleep. I wasn't shown this much hospitality and kindness in my own home, and by my own family.

Days turned into months turned into years.

I soon became accustomed to their ways, fashion sense - I dressed mostly in leather or satin. I learned to speak in their tongue and became well educated in their politics. King Baraxes had me accompany him to all his meetings and even took my council. After Dinner I played with his daughter, the princess Reya and in the mornings walked with the Queen, I found comfort in her presence. The remainder of the time, I spent with Prince Daemon. He took me through the Shadow lands, trained me in combat himself and taught me how to flirt and kiss. I was slow to learn in the beginning , and assumed they'd get annoyed and grind my bones or just feed me whole to their hounds. They done none of that.

It was during dinner when they announced it. "King William and his party will joining us for feast." Shock rippled in waves down my spine, they were going to give me back, they had enough of me. Maybe I took up too much space and got too comfortable. I'd go back and blend into the wallpaper. The walls felt like it was closing in on me. I pushed out of my seat, the chair toppling over. Startled, they all stared at my sudden outburst. "I need air." I undid the buttons to my collar as I rushed out.

"Freya!" Daemon called after me. His footsteps growing louder as he neared me.

"Go away! I want to be alone before you send me back."

"As your Prince, I command you to stop" If I was anyone else, or if I was the mute girl who rode here on horseback, I would tremble and listen. But I wasn't her anymore.

"You are not my prince." I spat.

"Then who is?"

"No-one, I don't belong anywhere." Rage poured out my eyes and ran down my cheeks.

His sudden footsteps stopped, "You belong here, with us. With me." Prince Daemon spoke softly. In that moment, the night went quiet, the wind stop howling and I finally I heard those words I so desperately yearned for.

I stilled, slowly turning to face him "with you?"

"With me." He breathed, closing the distance between us. "I could never be parted from you." He took my hand in his, placing it over his chest, "this heart beats for you only."

Those words squeezed my heart, I was never good with words, so instead I stood on my toes and kissed Prince Daemon.

I have never felt more alive. Being wanted was high in it's own.

"So I'm not going back?"

He shook his head, "I'm pretty sure that's not what they were about to say."

"Then why couldn't they lead with that?" I narrowed my eyes at him, playfully smacking his hand away from my chin.

Daemon rolled his eyes as I stalked by. "I miss the quiet girl."

"No, you don't. She wouldn't have kissed you."

I entered the dining hall, sat down quietly and began eating liking noting happened. I could feel their eyes burning holes into head, waiting for an explanation. I sighed, "Why is my father coming?"

"We want to solidify the peace between two realms." The king explained.

I furrowed my brows, "I thought that's why I was your host-." I spared a quick glance at the Queen who glared back, "ward." I quickly corrected, she hated the term hostage and said that it felt so cold and distant which was the opposite of my relationship with them.

"We want to maintain it, sweet child." The Queen refilled everyone's plate.

"Stop it, mother." Reya moved her plate further from her mother who just inched closer and dumped the food on to her plate. The little princess raised her brow then narrowed her eyes into slits. She snapped her fingers to hounds who came running.

"Sit" she ordered and scraped the food from her plate into their mouth. Her mother gave a pointed look to which she just shrugged and skipped off. Reya was going to be unstoppable force one day.

"Let her go, love." The King placed his hand on hers. She visibly relaxed under his touch.

"We want to suggest a marriage pact between you and Daemon."

As the youngest child of the king no one was surprised when your father chose you to be sent as a hostage to the demon king. What was surprising however was the demon king treating you better than you had ever been and even offering you the hand of his offspring.

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You are a supervillain. Your nemesis calls you to say, “This is embarrassing, but I really need a date to my friend’s wedding because my ex is going to be there. Would you go with me?”

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Perfect roommate for keeping the rent down. Bless.

You are pretty sure that your roommate is a new villain terrorizing the city and you are conflicted. They cook extra food for you and your other roommates frequently, pay you their share of the bills on time, and even help to clean the apartment. They are the perfect roommate.

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I slammed the the refrigerator door shut. "I thought we agreed you'd find some other way to store your food." his jaw clenched, something he done when annoyed or pissed. "If my diet repels you so much, maybe you should just starve to death." I was killing him a thousand times over in my head. "Fucking asshole. Sleep with one eye open tonight." All he did was roll his eyes and continued flipping through the tv channels. "Vampires don't sleep, you should know this since you're so obsessed with us." He drawled.

"You're insufferable!" He made me want to tear my hair out in frustration. I stomped to my room and banged the door shut when he yelled out: "Thank you!"

I dressed into my hunting gear, taking care to make as much noise as I possibly could. If I couldn't kill him, I'd drive him to insanity. Nothing would make me happier. I swung my door open, letting it whack against the wall. He flinched with irritation, so naturally I slammed it closed as well. "Maybe if you extended some courtesy to me, I'd return the favor." He spat out.

"Fuck off. I'm gonna be late tonight." I stepped toward him, his eyes narrowing in suspicion and eyeing the crossbow in my left hand. I applied clear lipgloss and obnoxiously puckered my lips in front of the mirror that hung behind him, obstructing his view of the tv and assaulted his senses with my scent. I enjoyed taunting him with what he couldn't have, one of my many hobbies.

"What time will you be back exactly?" he pressed the pause button, his raven eyes darkening as he looked up at me. Must be because I'm out exterminating is species and painting the town red with their blood. Rather theirs than ours.

"I dunno exactly that's why I said late, duh, does this look good?" I pouted my lips, shoving my face down to his unmoving and unflinching form. He hated when I intruded into his personal space, said I lacked boundaries and manners.

There's that clenched jaw again. With the speed of light he gripped my chin between his thumb and index finger, "Do that again, Love and you'll be screaming." A breath caught in my throat and my heart slammed ferociously against my chest as his breath fanned my face. A few heartbeats later, I came to my senses and smacked his hand away. "Touch me again, and I'll rid you of your hands." He only chuckled at my threat. "If I didn't know any better, I'd think you either fancied or feared me because that's a loud heart you got there."

"Fuck off" I flipped him off as I left and once again slammed the front door closed. He's laughter rang through the door.

Vampire pig.

***

It was already midnight, she still wasn't back and banging things around. I should have followed her out tonight, the apartment was too quiet, the only sounds coming from the movie. A few seconds later, a pounding on the door so urgent and loud shook through the entire apartment. "What the fuck" I pressed pause go and unlock the door, "Cora, if that's you, this would be you last night al-'' as soon as I opened the door, someone slammed against me, I reached out to cradle her in my arms.

"Help." she croaked out. "It hurts." she clutched my shirt tightly, I urgently picked up her trembling form, kicked the door closed and placed her on the table. The scent of blood hung thick in the air. "I didn't know who else to go to." she breathed out. Her voice trembling.

"You did the right thing coming home to me." I assessed her wounds, angry gashes lined her stomach, she was soaked in her own blood. "Who done this to you!?" Rage prowled underneath my skin, I'd kill whoever touched her. They'd pay dearly for this.

****

Shayde tended to my cuts, I bit down on cloth as he stitched up my wounds. His eyes darkening with every stitch. "is my blood making you uncomfortable?" I sounded weak and felt lightheaded from the loss of blood.

"It's not that." He hissed.

"What is it then?" I slurred.

"Tell me who did this, Cora?" he sounded far and feint, a ringing sound pierced through my ears. Everything felt cold, and heavy.

I slipped in and out of consciousness, the rest felt like a blur. Shayde's white shirt was stained with blood, his blue-black hair unruly, I wasn't use to seeing him looking this... distressed. "You look like shit." I haven't felt and sounded this weak. I could barely recognize myself.

"Never- " he unbuttoned his shirt, practically ripping it off.

"In all my centuries of living -" he threw his shirt and anything with blood on it, into the trash can.

"Had I been this terrified." He lit a matchstick and set fire to everything in the trash can. The flames lit up his face, his gaze vengeful and livid. "Don't move." He sauntered toward the table I laid on.

"Well, there's no where I can go right now sin-" a breeze blew through my hair before his lips pressed against mine.

You are a vampire hunter. Your roommate is a vampire. Neither of you can afford the apartment on your own so if one of you attacks the other you’ll lose the apartment. The tension between you two is increasing by the day.

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are you seeing anyone rn? I feel like no. you blog a lot

HELP...

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Next time there's a fire at work, I'm running right into it.

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"Take care of those flowers wrong number"

"He called today but you didn't answer"

"My heart can't be in 2020 when it belongs in 1970"

"Dream you were my flower"

"You said it yourself. Flowers from 1970 couldn't survive that long"

"We'll meet again"

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Our General🔥

artist: tonyviento [instagram]

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It’s so weird to me when someone asks me “how can you like that character, like how??” and like wtf am I supposed to say.

like bro I just do.

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Ngl I love corruption arcs but I think in YA they are often too tied with the male love interests. I want to watch women turn to the dark side for ideological reasons, because they genuinely believe in it, or for revenge, not because some guy's dick made them have the moral backbone of a chocolate eclair