#but once his backs healed and he actually tries leaning into the transformation he finds it to be a new found freedom from his decaying body

[thorarms]

Thinking about werewolf king loki againnnnn

[spinningwebsandtales]

Imagine Getting Flustered At Dante’s Flirting

Dante X FemReader

Rating: T

Warnings: Super bad pickup lines (seriously so bad they’re terrible), Dante has no shame, suggestive themes, and violence

Word Count: 846

(A/N:) I’ve had this idea in my drafts for awhile and I am so happy to finally getting around to writing it! I researched cheesy pickup lines and chose the ones I thought sounded the most like what Dante would say. Oh my gosh the cringe. It made me laugh though. Hopefully my fellow Dante fangirls will find this cringey funny as well! Until next time happy reading! ~Countess

There was two things that you never wanted to happen when going on missions with Dante, that was bodily injury or Dante getting bored. And right now the latter was happening and you were suffering for it. This mission had started out rough but had cooled off quickly as it had now become a waiting game. You were stuck in close quarters with Dante and he was becoming relentlessly annoying. He liked the pass the time by annoying you majority of the time. But this time he decided to go a different route and embarrass you enough that it would leave you flustered the majority of the day. 

The cramped quarters had him leaning over you, his hot breath causing you to tremble as the hair that had escaped your ponytail brushed your neck. Dante knew the affect he had on you and he smirked to himself. Before puffing an extra hot breath that had you jumping back a little bit. Your body pressed against his gave him an idea as he wrapped an arm around your waist and drew you even closer against him.

“I would take you to the movies after this,” he purred and you glanced back only to see unfettered glee. “But they won’t let you bring in your own snacks.”

You groaned trying to worm away, which only made his grip tighten. Your cheeks were beginning to burn and there may have been a twinge of a headache threatening your skull. But your disgust was only pushing him onward.

“Babe,” Dante cooed, placing his mouth right at your ear to breathlessly whisper. “If you were a Transformer, you’d be Optimus Fine.”

“Oh come on Dante,” you groaned trying harder to get away. “I like Optimus Prime don’t ruin Transformers for me.”

“Are you telling me that I have competition with a giant robot?”

“Keep telling me horrible pickup lines and you won’t have to worry about competition, cause I will bury you,” you snarled.

Dante eased off for a little while, letting you keep an eye out for the devil you were both pursuing. But once again he grew bored. He started with stroking the bare skin on your arm. Lovingly tracing your calloused digits before tangling his fingers with yours. You didn’t mind this part of him, you actually thought he could be quite sweet when he wasn’t being obnoxious. You sucked in a breath when he brought your hand to his chest, the hair on his chest tickling your skin. He had another cocky grin on his lips as you tried to tug away.

“It’s okay I just want you to feel my shirt,” Dante purred pulling you roughly where you fell against him. “It’s made of husband material.”

“Oh my gosh please stop!”

“Your middle name must be Gillette baby,” he paused kissing the tip of your nose. “Because you’re the best a man can get.”

“Nooo,” you groaned. “You don’t even shave you idiot!”

“I would for you,” he answered.

You glared, “No you wouldn’t. Can you just please focus on the mission instead of goofing around?!”

“I’m beginning to think you’re a bank loan sweetheart...”

You were seriously contemplating punching him in the mouth. Unfortunately it would just hurt your hand and it wouldn’t take him long to heal up and be back up to blathering away and telling you horrible pickup lines.

“Cause you have all my interest,” Dante finished.

Before you could say anything, your saving grace finally emerged from the shadows. You wordlessly tore from Dante’s grip and jumped from the window. Immediately Dante followed, entering the fray and fighting by your side. He was surprisingly quiet while you both battled. He must have figured out you had had enough of his foolishness for the moment. When you were fighting, if he wasn’t careful you had no qualms about putting a knife in him by “accident”. With the devil dispatched and Redgrave safe once more, Dante took you both back home. You had never been so happy to see the Devil May Cry office. 

You tugged your boots off, chucking them by the front door and unstrapping your weapons. With the weight gone, you felt so much more comfortable. You stretched and yawned, thinking about taking a shower when Dante stepped at your side.

“I’m in the mood for pizza,” he said and you deflated happy that it wasn’t another pickup line.

When he grasped your wrist tightly, you jerked looking up to find him grinning once again. You tried escaping but he quickly swept you off your feet into his arms.

“A pizza you that is,” he laughed as you struggled to free yourself.

“I freaking hate you and your stupid pickup lines,” you screeched trying to fight the blush that refused to go away. Dante kissed you gently on the lips, carrying you to the back of the building. He wanted to make it up to you as you really put up with a lot. He mostly liked seeing you so flustered, so he didn’t plan on quitting now or ever.

[manicpixie-tieflingboyfriend]

This place was grotesque, a vile landscape under Moonrise that seemed to reach depths beyond imagining. The fact that a mindflayer colony had been underneath the Shadowcursed Lands for so long was repulsive.

This whole place filled Aerdir with dread, the quicker they got out of here, the better.

So he thought. He'd thought they'd find Zariel's asset, find Duke Ravenguard, find the heart of the Absolute.

He never thought he'd find Zevlor.

The moment he walked passed those mindflayer pods, and heard the Hellrider's thoughts through the contraption, his heart sank into his gut. His feet moved before his mind could tell him to be cautious, his fists beating at the pod uselessly even though he knows he can't get it open like that.

Zevlor's thoughts still ebb out of the pod, into Aerdir's mind as if they ran like water through the cracks of the pod.

The cracks in the pod?

His fists and boots are actually damaging the pod, in his frenzy, in the slipping of his own mind Aerdir has managed to weaken the pod enough that the tiefling inside stirs, half awake and groggy. But the strikes aren't enough to force it open all the way.

Aerdir rips himself away from the pod with a guttural noise that had his companions backing away even. He's frantic, eyes searching for any sort of control unit.

When he finds it he doesn't even hesitate to open the pods, even though it releases the mindflayers that had already transformed. It's not an easy fight, but having Zevlor and the other captives aid them makes the battle a quick one.

Once it's all over, Aerdir takes a moment to breathe before his body is moving of it's own accord once more. He's bloody and bruised and Halsin is desperately trying to call him back so that he can heal the tiefling properly but there's no stopping him when he catches sight of Zevlor again.

He drops his blade, drops his shield, and drops any sense of decorum he's ever held in regards to the Hellrider. Aerdir sprints full speed and grabs onto Zevlor like a man possessed, knocking the both of them to the gory floor.

Zevlor goes to speak, floundering already, with his tormented thoughts, but falls silent before he can try. The entire room falls silent.

Aside from Aerdir's pitiful, agonizing wailing as he clings to Zevlor, his face buried into his armored shoulder, his claws digging at the links of his chain mail, his tail curling close to his body.

A small man made even smaller by how he curls into Zevlor and just cries.

Zevlor tries and fails a few times to ease them off of the floor, to pull them both upright, but Aerdir's sobs become laced with questions that haunt him. About the others. About their people, their friends. Questions he knows he can't answer, not when he's like this.

Despite the surrounding, Zevlor does take pity on the younger tiefling, wrapping his arms around him and shushing him, trying to quiet him. He's thankful for when Halsin steps over and begins to heal them both, tending to Aerdir more carefully.

Aerdir refuses to separate from him, however, and Zevlor has an idea as to why. His inner thoughts had been sent right to the poor man, all his doubts, his moments of weakness, his temptation to fall into darkness. Even after Aerdir's tears dry up and Halsin manages to aid Zevlor in standing with an armful of tiefling, the younger refuses to let go.

So he takes a breath, lets down his guard, and runs his hand through Aerdir's hair that had fallen free during battle. When Aerdir's breath hitches, Zevlor leans in a little further, pulls him a little tighter, and lets out a shaky breath of his own.

"It's alright now... It's alright... I've got you."

[plaid-shirtsandvibranium-arms]

Nemesis: Retribution (3)

Summary: 10 years after the Avengers had left you for dead during a mission gone wrong, you unexpectedly re-enter their lives. Wholly unrecognizable from the person they used to know and now with a new team behind you, they ask for your help to stop a chain of syndicates who were manufacturing and peddling the super soldier serum. You were determined to say no until the chance at the vengeance you had been chasing for years was added to the offer.

Fandoms: Avengers, Marvel, MCU, The Punisher, Daredevil

Pairings: Female Reader x (Frank Castle, Billy Russo, Matt Murdock, Steve Rogers, Bucky Barnes, Pietro Maximoff)

Warnings: EVENTUAL SMUT. SHAMELESS SEXUAL BEHAVIOURS. (18+ ONLY), polyamorous relationships, reverse harem, blatant disregard for canon timelines and events, lots of angst, Punisher canon level of violence and gore, strong language, mentions of trauma, character death, fluff if you squint

A/N: We’re playing fast and loose with canon here people. Also thank you for the interactions. I love reading what you think and it helps me write the next chapters better. Also, I enjoy having someone to freak out with. Highlight of my life I swear to god. Enjoy!

No permission is granted to repost, steal, or translate my work. Not even a credit makes it okay. Tumblr is the only place I post my writing. If you see it anywhere else please report it.

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1:3 Hard Candy

Natasha stormed off the jet and into the conference room where she knew the rest of the team were waiting for them, fury radiating from her small frame. Catching sight of her target only made her grow angrier. She immediately ran up to Steve and growled up in his face causing him to immediately take a step back. Sam and Bucky were immediately alarmed, standing up to intervene and the latter's black vibranium arm whirring in preparation but Steve held up a hand to stop them.

"What the hell, Rogers? You send me on a mission with zero intel and this is what I find? Did you know?"

Steve's eyes narrowed down at her, the thick beard and longer hair adding even more to his already commanding presence. He knew exactly what Natasha was talking about and he did expect her to react this way.

"I wasn't sure, Nat. And I didn't want to get anyone's hopes up if I was wrong."

"And if you were right?" she scoffed.

Steve swallowed hard before he answered, the blue in his eyes calming considerably. "I thought the three of you deserved to be the first to know."

"What the hell is going on?" Bucky asked, arms crossed on his chest and brows deeply furrowed. They didn't even know about any mission.

Natasha chuckled humorlessly and backed off from Steve. She ran a hand through her hair, the red bleeding into the old blonde color, and gestured toward the door at the approaching people.

"Well you weren't wrong, Steve."

Shock.

That was the overall theme of the day it seemed. None of them could hardly believe that you were actually standing at the doorway. It's been ten long years and you were like the ghost haunting their dreams during that time, a pure and kind soul taken far too soon. Hell, they told stories about your selfless sacrifice to the new recruits. You had unknowingly become a legend.

A legend turned ghost story.

Now you looked more like a nightmare; dried blood caked your clothes and skin, a cold smirk lifting the corner of your lips, and a dangerous unhinged glint in your eyes.

"Well, I'll be damned," Sam breathed. "Y/N?"

"Hey, Sam," you said, the almost flirtatious lilt in your voice sending a shiver down their spines. "I go by Nemesis now."

"Nemesis?" Bucky snapped out of his daze, brows raised high and his jaw clenched, features seen clearer now with his shorter hair. "The notorious mercenary Nemesis?"

"I prefer private contractor."

While they had been honoring your memory, you had been building a ruthless reputation of your own that was widely considered on par in violence with The Punisher but with the added disturbing fact that you could be hired. Of course, no one but a select few knew who you actually were.

Until today.

Nemesis. The Greek goddess of divine retribution and revenge. A name that suited the dark avenging persona you had adapted and the only purpose you now lived for. In a twisted kind of way, you were doing the same work they were only with far less finesse and none of the righteous for the good of mankind purpose they usually had.

You shrugged, sitting yourself casually down on the nearest chair on the other end of the long table from where they stood. You have had a long night, your feet were tired and they were still looking at you with absolute confusion and disbelief. This looked like it would take a while.

You rolled your eyes as you unbuckled your stained bulletproof vest, throwing it haphazardly on the table. You hazarded a glance at each one of them as you made yourself comfortable, noting the changes in them too. The years had given way to a solemn maturity to each one, it seems things had changed for them too.

"Now that I'm here, you have 12 minutes."

"12 minutes? Until what?" Steve stammered.

He couldn't keep his eyes off you, couldn't for the life of him reconcile the person he was seeing in front of him with the person he knew. From your expressions to your movements and even to the tone of your voice, you were just so different and yet it just seemed to make you a more magnetic presence. Fresh guilt washed over him, knowing that he had failed you as your Captain. They should have kept looking for you.

"You'll see. 11 minutes now. Either ask your questions or tell me what you want."

"We all thought you were dead," Steve muttered, taken back by your hostility.

"Well that obviously didn't stick. How did you find me, Cap?"

It was Steve who found you. At first he couldn't believe it was really you, but the split second glimpse he got of your eyes from the body cam on one of the field agents weeks ago drove him to obsessively dig further. It was a shot in the dark when he sent Natasha and the twins on the mission tonight.

"By chance," he admitted. "We've been chasing a group of people suspected to be manufacturing and selling the super soldier serum. Our agents have had a few close encounters with you. I think we're going after the same people."

"So you're asking for intel?" you snorted, absentmindedly picking at the bloodstains on your sleeves.

"No," he said cautiously, wary at how relaxed yet tightly coiled you looked. "I'm offering you your spot back with the team."

You almost choked on the laugh that just escaped your lips. You couldn't help the short bark of laughter at the ridiculous proposition. Looking at their faces though it seemed that the offer was serious, although the reluctant look in their eyes at your transformation showed their inner conflict. You straightened your features and shook your head, the amused smile still on your lips.

"Look, I'm not exactly on brand for you guys anymore." You leaned forward with your arms on the table and landed your eyes squarely on Bucky's, the venom unmistakable. "Besides, I seem to recall I was deemed not cut out for this team."

Bucky felt like his soul left him at your words. There was a Molotov cocktail of emotions raging inside him; surprise, shame, relief, anger, guilt, and longing. It was killing him knowing that he had a hand in how drastically you had changed. He was deathly afraid of finding out your full story. He wanted to talk to you, wanted to beg for your forgiveness and make things right. How many chances would anyone get to redeem oneself with a ghost? He couldn't find the words though, his throat going dry and his tongue heavy in his mouth.

"Y/N, you know that's not the truth," Steve tried to insist.

"I'm not Y/N anymore and I already have a team." You waved a hand dismissively. "Also your 12 minutes are up."

All at once the power cut out in the Compound, drenching the room into darkness punctuated by the flashing emergency lights. You felt yourself get lifted off your seat and the next moment you were standing behind a formation of Avengers in the arms of the resident speedster, your arms on his chest to steady yourself from the daze of the sudden movement. His muscles were tense beneath your hands but his expression was gentle as he looked down at you.

He had wanted to rush over to you the moment you revealed your face. He wanted to hold you, jump for joy, speed around the entire city with you in his embrace. How you were alive didn't matter to him.

Only that you were.

It was only at Wanda's warning for him to stay back that he did. She showed him that you weren't the same person anymore and that they weren't sure whether you would still be friend or foe. To Pietro though, you weren't different.

You were just angry.

To him you were still his little star despite the others thinking you were closer to a supernova now. His little star was just hurting and he decided that he would do everything in his power to help you heal. He held your head tighter to his chest, intending to protect you from the anticipated danger and ready to get you to safety at a moment's notice.

"What the damn hell is going on?" Sam yelled, readying his guns.

A figure silently jumped through the window and rolled on the floor to stop right in front of the group, jolting the Avengers to defend. He stood to full height and took a fighting stance; clad in head to toe red, billy clubs at the ready, and horns glinting in the sparse light atop his head.

The Devil of Hell's Kitchen.

"Let Nemesis go," he growled.

Natasha stepped forward, snapping her own batons in place. The crackling of the electricity from it sent lights to dance on the menacing expression on her face. The rest of the team watched closely the other entry points, expecting more to come in and if the first was any indication then they were in for a real fight.

Footsteps could be heard coming down the hallway, loud and not at all trying to be concealed. Walking straight through the front door, were two towering men in heavy military gear each holding an assault rifle aimed at the group. The sneer on one lent a dangerous taunting aura to his surprisingly handsome features as if to say just fucking try me. While the other had a burning steely focus that instinctively made anyone back off, the emblem on his black vest told them exactly who he was.

The Punisher.

The Avengers snapped to attention, each one drawing their weapons and aiming back. The air was crackling with animosity and fingers that itched to pull their respective triggers. Everyone held their breath, waiting for the first to break the standoff in the enclosed space. Willing for someone to break it.

You laughed.

The disorientation at your reaction was palpable across the room. You patted Pietro's chest, grinning up at him in reassurance that everything was fine. He released you from his hold reluctantly and let you step out of the protective cluster they had inadvertently formed around you. The three newcomers visibly relaxed the slightest bit at the sight of you.

"Weapons down," you said calmly, eyeing each one in the room. No one budged. "All of you. Now."

Steve being the first one to lower his shield was the catalyst in diffusing what could have been the fight of the century. As outnumbered as the newcomers were, they lacked nothing in skill and precise brutality. Frank followed in lowering his weapon and soon everyone did the same. There was still tension but at least it was now reduced to intense glaring.

You tutted and shook your head as you strutted your way to your three rescuers. "What I needed was a ride home, Frankie. Not a goddamn full extraction op."

"Sorry, sweetheart," he said, not sounding at all apologetic and knowing you weren't really angry if the tired amusement on your face was anything to go by.

He smiled at you, that small open quirk at the corner of his mouth that was always accompanied by a roll of his tongue. He reached for you when you got close enough, drawing you close with a burly arm around the back of your shoulders. He kissed you on the forehead, a lingering gesture that clearly showed an intimacy between the two of you. The soft look on his face was reserved only for you and when he raised his face to the Avengers it was back to the cold threatening glare.

"Can you blame us though?" His voice came out gravelly, a favorite sound of yours. "The last time you were with these guys you were captured and tortured."

Tortured.

The word hung heavy in the air and though your back was turned, you could imagine the look on the faces of your former team. They didn't know about that yet. How could they when they had believed all this time that you died in the explosion?

"You forgot to mention blown up," Matt added, grabbing your hand and pressing it to his lips.

He removed his helmet, floppy brown hair instantly softening his persona. He peppered kisses on your palm and the inside of your wrist as he breathed in your scent to calm his own anxiety. He almost lost it when Billy had called saying that you had been taken. He was usually the last one to jump to immediate violence in your group, but the thought of you gone filled him with irrational fear. The possibility that history could repeat itself was unacceptable to him.

"I should have come with you."

"I could handle it and Billy was with me."

"Lot of good that did," he scoffed, switching to lightly biting your wrist. This wasn't unusual. Being blind, he relied on a more intense physical reassurance that everything was still as it should be.

"They weren't gonna hurt me, Matty," you argued, but it was more to help settle his nerves.

"All right, leave the foreplay for later," the last of the trio said, pulling you by your other hand closer to him.

He held you tightly by the waist and pressed you close, molding your body to his in a practiced motion. The smile on his face was scandalous and the mischief in his eyes was one that spelled trouble. The cheeky bastard winked at you before dipping his head to lay open mouthed kisses on your neck up to your ear right along your old scars. Shivers went down your spine and you couldn't help the low hum as your body reacted instinctively to him, stepping closer still until you could feel the heat of his body through his gear.

You knew exactly what he was doing. He was always the quickest to show affection in front of company, but this was a particularly golden opportunity for him to stake his claim in front of people he believed did not value you enough. Billy wouldn't be Billy if he didn't take it.

"Hey, pretty girl."

Across the room, the Avengers watched on with blatant curiosity at the apparent intimately familiar exchanges. It wasn't as much the fact that three men were bathing you with affection, but more that this cemented how far removed you were from their memory of you. They knew you as a starry-eyed recruit who stuttered at light teasing and preening at the slightest validation.

"Y/N," Steve called for you, forcing you to step away from Billy for the moment. You turned around to face them but Billy didn't let you go far, slinging his arm over your chest and this time contorting his body to yours.

"I told you, Steve. I'm not Y/N anymore," you said, a fleeting sadness flashed in your eyes before it was replaced with a firm pride. "And this is my team."

"We're taking our girl home," Frank declared, the threat underneath didn't need to be verbalized. If they took you again, it wouldn't end well for anyone.

"Wait!" Steve said urgently, halting your exit. "We'll hire you."

It was a last ditch effort. He was grasping at straws to keep you from disappearing from their lives again. He knew that if you walked out that door now there was no chance of ever getting you back. He just could not let that happen. This would only be temporary at best, but at least it would buy him time to convince you of a more permanent arrangement.

"Not interested."

"Nem." Matt as usual cautioned you from being too hasty. "Is this about the syndicates?"

You sighed. Matt was like a dog with a bone now. There was no choice but to let him chew on it. This was particularly important to him because the syndicates had been running amok in Hell's Kitchen and he was starting to find it difficult to keep his backyard clean.

"Yeah, apparently the stuff we found in the shipment yard was for making super soldier serums. The Avengers have been following the trail too."

"Why not just join forces then? We can get this done and over with a lot faster with their help," he reasoned.

"We're doing fine on our own, Matty."

"Matt has a point, sweetheart," Frank cut in. "We've been chasing this for years. I know a part of you is just itching to end all of this."

"It might help us find him faster. Do you really want to spend another ten years pulling at threads?" Matt added.

You closed your eyes, hands clenching at your sides to control your anger. It grated at you when they ganged up on you like this, but your anger was more because they were right and you knew it. You hated it, but they were right.

It was Billy who intervened, pulling you again to hug you from behind. His hold was firmer than before, aimed more to calm your shaking body. His voice came out calm, but resolute. His first priority was always making sure you were okay and you obviously weren't okay with this.

"You heard the lady. It's a no."

Frank and Matt sighed and shook their heads, but backed off. They weren't about to push you about this no matter how much they knew this would help you. They'll try again to convince you later, but they weren't optimistic. It was fortunate for them that there was more than just one stubborn person in the room.

"Please," Steve interrupted. You had almost forgotten that there were other people in the room. Almost. "We need your help. They have someone who keeps getting in our way and every time we get close he either fights us long enough for the trail to grow cold or leads us on wild goose chases. We can't let that serum be available to whoever can pay for it."

He didn't know what it was that he said that made all of your heads snap in his direction. Your eyes in particular were suddenly wild with barely restrained fury. He would take it. At least he had your attention.

"We can't let that happen, Nemesis," he finished, making sure to use your preferred name. Anything to possibly get himself into your good graces.

"Do you have a name?" you ground out.

"What?"

"A name, Steve. Do you know who this guy is?"

"By the way he fights he seems to be a merc too. Looks like military background though from where I'm not sure," he said slowly, carefully choosing his words in the hopes of you changing your mind. "He goes by Salvacion."

"We're in."

Earth's Mightiest was stunned at the sudden reversal of your decision. As firm as you had rejected the offer, you were jumping at it now with the addition of your own team.

"Let's get one thing straight though, Cap," you began, the rage still burning in your eyes like wildfire. "My team and I will work with you. It's all of us or none of us. We'll help you lock up the syndicates and destroy the serum. We'll play nice, but Salvacion is mine."

Steve took a deep breath, relieved that you had agreed but also deeply concerned at your visceral reaction to a name. He had to ask.

"Why?"

"Because that's the motherfucker who killed my sister."

--------------------------------------

A/N: I feel like you guys have more questions now. Come freak out with me through the comments and reblogs! I write faster when people freak out with me. It’s the truth. Now that you’ve seen our girl with ALL our strapping men, what do you think? Who are you most curious about now?

--------------------------------------

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[arty-shadow-morningstar]

Graveyard Siblings (5)

[Masterlink] (PART 1) (PART 4)

-----

Mari and Cass sometimes switch their suits as they have the same body type. Cass would sometimes go out in full Hellbat gear and give the appearance that Hellbat is out more often than she actually is.

So Orphan/Black Bat also sometimes uses guns.

This also helps with concealing secret identities. Maria was rescued by Hellbat from Joker’s Henchmen. (Vicki Vale was getting sus of the new Wayne and Hellbat.)

Unfortunately since Hellbat rarely comes out and she had already made all of her appearance for the month and it wasn’t a busy weekend, the public had come to the conclusion that Hellbat has a crush on the newest Wayne.

Basically everyone thought that Mari has a crush on herself. Which led to some teasing and escalated to Mari announcing that Jason had a crush on Red Hood on live TV.

It didn’t help that a video of Red Hood and Jason re-enacting Romeo and Juliet with Jason on his apartment balcony and Red Hood on the roof was posted on the internet a few days later. (Thank you, Trixx and Tim’s awesome video editing skills)

Sadly, it was taken down 24 hours later. (Tim and the others have multiple copies of it, on the cloud or hardware, hidden around in the manor and their respective safehouses in the US.)

Some people kidnapped Jason to hopefully gain leverage over the Red Hood and to their dismay and nightmares for years to come, Hellbat came instead.

One lucky and incredibly brave reporter asked why she was there instead of her brother.

Mari being a little shit, “Red Hood may be a tough and scary guy but when it comes to his feelings, my brother is a chicken.”

Pictures of Jason tackling Hellbat somehow never made it into any papers.

The criminal underworld hasn’t taken a hint and Jason has been kidnapped a few more times.

Other times Jason was kidnapped:

Robin: Red Hood made a fool of himself in front of Todd recently and he doesn’t dare to show his face.

Spoiler: He was taking too damn long checking his hair even though I told him that no one was going to see it under his helmet and he was so offended that he is currently sulking in the bathroom.

Red Robin: Red Hood can’t think straight when he is around Jason. I mean have you seen the dude.

Arsenal*during a rare visit to Gotham*: Red Hood owes me one now.

Dick finally ends it by going out as Red Hood and rescuing Jason. Gotham is happy that Redson (Red Hood x Jason) ship has finally sailed.

-------

Kate, Babs, Cass, Steph and Mari were out on Mari’s first girls’ night since her move to the manor.

This is set a little after she came back from Paris with Jason.

They watched rom-com movies, did hair and nails, gossip about the superhero community and bitch and vent to each other.

Marinette off-handedly mentioned the crazy shits she had done during her stint as Ladybug. It started with asking about the T-rex in the Batcave and she mentions jumping into the mouth of a live one before.

Everyone in the room was shocked and after a few more questions, it was obvious that she was very reckless and self-sacrificing. Yep, she was going to fit into this crazy family just fine.

And Holy Shit. There is so much trauma packed into this kid. She needs lots of therapy.

Babs finally decided that they all needed to get out and have some fun. All in their respective suits and they went out.

Joined by Harley, Ivy and Selina.

Plagg came along because I want Plagg to meet Selina.

It was a chaotic night and it was a miracle that Bruce didn’t find out about what the girls did.

-------

Batman and Red Hood were on patrol together when Selina jumped in front of them.

“Hello, Boys”

“What do you want, Catwoman?”

“I want to meet my new prodigy, Kitty Noire.”

Cue Marinette jumping down from her hiding spot, transformed with the Black Cat Miraculous. “Hiya.”

Red Hood carries her like a potato sack and points his gun at the other two.

“Nope, she’s my sister and I called dibs. I adopted her. She’s off limits.”

“Legally, she’s mine.” Batman coughed out.

“I did it first. Emotionally. She’s my emotional support sister. You have plenty kids already, B and Selina, get your own.”

“Hey, I am still here and can hear you.”- Maria

-------

Alya was worried for Lila. She had been acting weirdly for the past month.

She looked very out of sorts. Her clothes weren’t in order and her hair was in disarray. She had bags under her eyes and her eyes looked wild. Lila didn’t look like herself at all.

She jumped at any sound and flinched at really sudden movements.

Alya tried to find out what was wrong with Lila and received vague answers.

One time Lila said that Marinette is to blame.

Alya reaches the somewhat right conclusion that Marinette was haunting Lila and hurting her because Lila used to come to school with bruises and claims that Marinette did it.

Alya goes to Marinette’s grave to desecrate it. (Yeah, go anger the ghost that is haunting someone.)

Unfortunately, the moment she tries to do something, the sky turns dark, clouds appear and the wind begins whipping. A Lightning strike near her and there was a cloaked figure beside her with a scythe.

All Alya saw from the figure was the blood-red lips in a very sharp grin and glowing blue eyes, raising the scythe high before she ran away. The scythe swiped the air where her head once was.

Alya didn’t get far before she tripped and blacked out.

When she woke up, she found herself in the hospital with no idea how she got there.

She was told that somebody found her with a concussion in the park and took her to the hospital.

------

The next one on Mari’s hit list was Natalie.

She wasn’t as involved in the whole thing like Lila, Adrien or Gabriel but she still did it anyways.

Her punishment is a little mild compared to the others and was more of a warning to Gabriel.

Natalie woke up in the middle of the night to see a not-so-dead Ladybug sitting on her vanity chair with the moonlight from the windows illuminating her body and her neck. Her suit was torn exactly like the day of that battle with blood dripping down her arms and from her open wounds. The shadows kept her face hidden but glowing blue eyes stared at her.

Natalie was scared at first. But she regained her normal cool composure.

“I assume you are here to extract your revenge for aiding in your unfortunate demise. But before you kill me, I regret my part in my entire thing and I apologize for everything I have done against you even though I knew it was wrong.”

“At least you show remorse over what you have done. Visiting my grave when even my parents didn’t and leaving flowers. I love those purple hyacinths by the way. Did you know that they mean sorry in the language of the flowers?”

“Why are you stalling my death? Just kill me already.”

“Madam Sancouer. You just played a minor role in my downfall compared to what Adrien and Lila Rossi did to me. And you showed more guilt over your actions than they ever did and Adrien claimed to have loved me. And like I have told the Bats, Death is too swift of a punishment.”

“Who are the bats?”

“None of your concern. You should be more concerned about yourself.”

“Lila sees the ghosts of her past and they haunt her. Adrien is in a living nightmare and has no control over his actions and is despised by everyone. What are you going to do to me?”

“Well, since you show some guilt over your actions, let me tell you a little secret. I am not dead. Not really. I mean I did die. But there was a spell in the grimoire that revived me. It took a few days to work.”

Marinette changed to her normal form. It was a little jarring to see an older Marinette Dupain-Cheng sitting on her vanity chair like it was a throne. The Ladybug suit and the wounds were gone. She looked a little familiar.

“Why are you telling me this? What was the point?” Natalie faltered as she wondered why the girl looked familiar. Marinette moved closer and her face was fully illuminated by the moonlight.

“I intend to take everything by which I mean everything from Gabriel Agreste for what he did.”

“M. Agreste just wanted his wife back. You just gave him your Miraculous, you would still have everything.”

“What difference would it make? Sure I had friends and family before but they turned out to be disappointing. I might have become a famous designer like I dreamed of and can't achieve because I died. Besides, he never said about wanting his wife to come back in his tedious monologues. For all we knew back then, he wanted them for world domination. He showed that he would end the world for them. For kwamis’ sake, he nearly started World War III, just for a pair of earring and a ring. He was willing to kill me to have her back. No wait, he did that too. If he actually read the translated grimoire or asked the Guardian or at least someone with magic for help instead or maybe used his head and made some who can heal as his champion using the Butterfly, we wouldn’t even be in this mess. Face it, Mme Sancour, your boss is a power-hungry and very controlling maniac who is also thankfully an idiot.”

“But- he- he just-. You are just a child, what do you know? M. Agreste knew what he was doing.”

“A child who had a normal life up until he tried to ruin it with his idiotic schemes and hiring Lila to do it. A child who had to fight a war on her own.”

“I am sorry you had to go through that but I doubt you and your little revenge rampage is going to solve anything.”

Ghostly Chains wrapped around Natalie’s body, squeezing tight like it was squeezing the life out of her.

“I was all for sparing you, you know. If you had actually listened to my side of the story, you would have spared from my ‘little revenge rampage’. This is going to be a little painful. Sorry about that.” In a tone that was definitely not sorry.

Pain coursed through Natalie’s body. Her skin crawled and itched as pitch back feathers grew out of it. Her bones turned to dust and reformed.

Where Natalie Sancour once was, there was a raven.

An omen of death and destruction for one Gabriel Agreste.

Marinette leaned down towards the raven. Natalie tried to peck her eye out but Marinette held the beak in a firm grip.

“Ah. ah ah. Luckily for you this is temporary. Mostly. Every night, you will assume this shape and each night the longer you will stay in this form. Slowly counting down the days until Gabriel’s downfall. Since you love helping him so much, you are going to help him know how long he has to live. The night you are a raven from sunset to sunrise, that sunrise starts the day Gabriel Agreste will be utterly destroyed.”

She released the beak and headed towards the window.

"Send him my regards."

With that, she was gone.

(Part 6)

[demonsandco]

Hello! Can i have some angst/fluff (doesn’t matter actually) headcanons about Lucifers gone wings? (I figured out that he actually had 3 pairs of wings but now he has 2 soo) I believe he has scars ^^

This has been sitting in my ask box for so long I'm so sorry.  I wanted to answer it immediately, but I didn't feel like I had a good enough grasp of Luci or his past at the time to properly answer. Not sure if you’re still around, anon, but I hope you enjoy!

• It’s common knowledge among angels and demons alike that Lucifer used to have 3 sets of wings, due to his old status as a Seraphim. When he fell, he tore off his wings with his own hands, as a final act of wrath and rebellion against the Celestial realm and his father. Unknown to most, however, is that those discarded wings are what gave Satan his physical form, and his boa is made up of the leftover feathers.

• Through his transformation into a demon, his top two sets of wings regrew, but the bottom set never did, and it never healed properly, either. Tearing of his wings didn’t leave behind a clean injury, so Lucifer is not only left with intensive scarring over his lower back, but also some permanent muscle and bone damage, from where the joint was separated. Asmodeus has offered him many different creams and medicines over the years, but nothing has ever had much of an effect on his pain or the appearance of the scars.

(cont under the cut)

• Lucifer experiences both chronic pain and phantom pain from his missing wings, and he’s also left with slight mobility issues. They don’t impact his day to day life much, but he can’t lean down or stretch up easily because of his lower back. He also had to relearn how to fly when he first fell, but after years of practice, he regained and perfected the skill.

• It takes a lot of time and trust for Lucifer to feel comfortable just showing his partner the scars, and it takes even longer for him to let anyone touch his back. They’re not the only scars he has, but the ones on his back specifically feel like a reminder of his failure, both in losing the fight, and in losing his sister. He hates to even look at them himself. He feels lucky that the worst of it is centered on his lower back, where it’s easily covered by clothing, but he still dresses very conservatively to make sure all of his scars are hidden. 

• The only one of his brothers who have seen the scars are Asmodeus and Mammon. Asmodeus has tried to help in the past, when the scars were still healing, and Mammon sees them every once in a while when he helps Lucifer with his wing care while molting. The others know about it, but have never actually seen the extent of the scars, and if they have, Lucifer makes sure they don’t remember it.

• The easiest way for his partner to convince him to let them feel his back is to offer a massage. With enough gentle encouragement and trust, he’ll agree to it, albeit hesitantly. The moment their hands touch his back, though, it’s clear to both of them how desperately he needs this. He holds so much tension in his whole back, and it would take hours to fully work out all the knots in his muscles. 

• When their hands first reach the scars, he tenses up. The whole area is sensitive and constantly sore, but the gentle pressure and rubbing feels so much better than he could’ve imagined and he finds himself melting at their touch, his remaining wings stretched languidly by his sides. No one has touched his back like this in centuries, and he goes from dreading the touch, to hoping it never ends.

• He feels overwhelmed both physically and emotionally by the end of it, but it’s opened the door for more touch in the future. It also makes Lucifer feel so much closer to his S/O, knowing he can trust them with one of the most sensitive, delicate parts of himself, without having to fear that they’ll hurt him or think differently of him.

[ray-ray-writings]

Why is your writing so gooooooood. I just loved the tiny techno. He’s so smol and so cute, tiny pig, and while I don’t typically deviate from Techno requests I gotta put in more ideas for Y/N the tiny animal tamer.

Schlatt/Glatt will get too drunk or will spend a little too much time in a river and transform into his tiny goat form. You know the one. And you’ll just see him lying around either passed out from the alcohol or lying in the water face up and you just pick him up and take him home and let him sleep by the fire until he wakes up. He secretly loves when this happens, one of the few times he can be happy and sober because he doesn’t have an responsibilities on his shoulders as a tiny goat. Very gentle, will rest his head on your lap (or not so gentle snuggle into your boobs (be you dude or not) if he’s got the chance why not take it)

Tubbo transforms into a goat much more rarely. He’s not as often on low health but if he stays up too long with president duties or experimenting with redstone he’ll transform from tiredness. He’s much smaller than Schlatt and you just gently pet him. Typically he wakes up human again with his head in your lap and your fingers in his hair humming a song and he’ll just,,, close his eyes. Let himself sleep just a little longer.

Fundy turns into this tiny cute fox when he’s particularly upset, though he’s gotten better at handling the transformations through the years. He used to run to his dad, then to philza, but now he’s got no one left and he’ll just curl up in the forest. You find him and be it your senses or just a gut feeling you pick him up and take him home and give him some nice cuddles and love. He always leaves before he transforms human again to try and keep it a secret who he is from you, even though you are completely aware of who he is, but he always returns in his tiny Fox form to be held and just feel okay.

Dream turns into a blob and he really can’t control it, so every now and then you’ll see a steaming tiny little blob who just squeaks and is upset. You’ll pick him up and hold him in your hands and take him around and /very/ seriously deliver threats for him. You’ll mess up one of his threats and he’ll squeak at you indignantly until you lean closer, nod as if you understand and amend your threat. It always devolves into laughter though and you spend the rest of the time prancing people or goofing off. Being happy in general.

At some point you find the white little blob balancing on the walkway through prime and you just pick him up expecting him to be a silently pouting Dream only for you to look directly into XD Dreams face (the one with the crossed out eye on one side, sadists design I’d think but blob) and he just silently accompanied you everywhere spooking people.

Quackity of course turns into a tiny duck from time to time, you get a lot of quacking and a lot of rowdy little noises until your petting his fluffed up feathers. Once Philza even stopped by in his bird form and papa bird took over and just preened the tiny chick and Quackity has never been the same since. He will never admit he loved it.

Anyways this is meant to be less of an ask and more of an addition to my last idea I just love the idea of being the most liked person in the SMP because you give everyone a place to be small and soft and themselves. A way to kind of hideout from the SMP and just enjoy being friends and feeling loved. It’s just very soft and very sweet and it makes me very happy.

Might send in an actual ask later lolol.

With lots of love- 🌻

(Honorable mention, Charlie turns into a slime and bounces around all over the place, he only settles when you’ve carefully set him on your shoulder and he kinda just melts. It always stains your shirt but you never bother him about it.)

(SECOND HONORABLE MENTION FROM MY PERSONAL HEADCANONS: Tommy and Wilbur both have bird forms as well. Tommy is this tiny white falcon chick, can barely fly on his own and he sits on your head or shoulder and acts all regal until Dadza stops by snd preens his feathers and treats him like his tiny boy, his little son, until Tommy baps him away with his wings. He’s so loud and just constantly squeaks from your shoulder until he has you all to himself, and then he half falls half glides into your lap and requests pets.

(Wilbur is this pretty hawk, like a red tailed hawk maybe, and he nuzzled along your cheek while he sits on your shoulder or preens your hair as if it were feathers and is just an all around cuddle bug. If he’s not on your shoulder then he moves to Fundys and just affectionately nuzzles and preens his son until Fundy picks him up a nod drops him unceremoniously into your lap.)

Ummmmmm  🌻??????? This is SO GOOD!!!!! I love these so so so so much!!! Fundy, not wanting you know know who he is so he runs away before he shifts back as if he isn’t the only fox hybrid on the server??? Amazing!!!

Blob Dream being extremely upset about his predicament but you just vibe with him and deliver his threats for him???? Hilarious!

Tiny duck Quackity? Oh my heart! Especially after JSchlatt I feel he would have a hard time being that open and vulnerable around people in that tiny of a form. So the fact he trusts you to take care of him is so heart warming. And then big poppa Phil preening him and taking even more care of him???? I’m melting!!

Little slime Charlie who stains your shirt because the only way he’ll settle is on your shoulder? That’s so cute oh gosh, especially because I’ve revealed I love setting things on my shoulders haha I’m obsessed. 

And the thoughts that maybe Tommy and Wilbur can also turn into birds is so adorable and so gooooooooood!!! I would picture Tommy as thinking that he’s a total badass as a bird but then Phil comes in and ruins that vibe by trying to preen him and Tommy tries to smack him away but Phil glares at him and Tommy grumbles and settles down and allows it to happen. And you definitely would be going deaf in the ear because of how loud Tommy is when he’s a bird sitting on your shoulder. He screams and squawks at every little thing. You would think that because this was a form he had to take because he needed to heal up that he would be a lot more calm... Hell no. 

And WIlbur? Oh gosh! He def would be so cuddly and would not go anywhere without being on someone else’s body. I think he would absolutely love it when you called him “Pretty Bird” and would squawk and coo in affection, nuzzling your face and preening your hair when you give him that compliment. And Fundy having enough and dumping him on you would be so funny because it makes you laugh every time and sometimes bird Wilbur lets out a gasp of offense, but he is quickly settled by your hand running down his body and smoothing his feathers. 

This is amazing. Thank you so much for this!!!!

[marauderundercover]

Taking Chances Ch. 27: Princess (Royal/medieval AU)

AO3

Prev

The shrill akuma alarm wakes Marinette up the next morning and she sighs, rubbing her head gently before grabbing the bottle of painkillers that Dick had left next to her on the table.

“Don’t leave yet!” A voice calls from the other room. Marinette frowns, but listens, quickly taking a couple painkillers and letting herself wake up. Dick rushes into the room, nearly falling as he slides across the floor in his socks. He rushes over to her and kneels in front of her, staring into her eyes. She frowns.

“What are you doing?” She asks, too tired to try and comprehend what’s wrong with her brother right now.

“Checking your eyes and seeing how bad your concussion is so I know if I need to call Adrien to keep a closer eye on you for this fight.” Dick says, frowning slightly at something he sees. He reaches out and gently pushes a spot on her head and she hisses in pain.

“Hey, ya big jerk, that hurts!” She complains, giving him her best ‘Damian’ glare. He just rolls his eyes.

“This is serious kid, you got seriously injured last night.” Dick reminds her. She purses her lips.

“I know, and I promise I’ll take it easy later, but right now I really need to go.” She pleads. Dick sighs, but nods, standing up.

“Go kick some butterfly butt.” He says with a small grin. Marinette grins back at him, quickly calling her transformations and portaling away to Paris. She blinks in the bright sunlight, trying hard to push away any disorientation she has from the stupid concussion. I can do this, she thinks, glancing around to assess the situation. She frowns at her surroundings. She knew she was technically in Paris, she could see the Eiffel tower and Kaalki never misled her before. Well, not during an attack anyway. But where the giant modern buildings should be, there were small stone buildings with thatch roofs. Glancing around, she also notices a huge, stone castle where her school used to be. That should be fun.

“I am the Dark Knight, and I will not rest until I have Chat Noir and Ladybug’s Miraculous!” A voice shouts out above the rest of the noise. Marinette creeps over and just blinks at the fashion atrocity before her. She was going to slap Hawkmoth twice when she found him. Once, for terrorizing Paris for over a year. And again for the awful wardrobe choices he made. Seriously. And the Dark Knight? Isn’t that name trademarked, or something?

“Hey Bugaboo, what’s the plan?” Chat asks, landing beside her and leaning on his baton. She frowns.

“I don’t actually have one yet. I just got here.” She says, and this time he’s the one confused.

“But you always rush over.” He says, careful not to include anything about Kaalki. You never know who might be listening.

“I’ll explain later. Any idea where the object might be?” She asks, scanning the akuma. It’s power didn’t seem too awful. It had changed most of the structure in Paris, and now it was changing people’s clothes too when they got hit by the orange light. Some citizens were in what Marinette could only assume was the height of fashion during the Renaissance, whereas some citizens were draped in obvious “peasant” outfits. But there didn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason for the difference. Just a difference.

“The satchel looks promising.” Chat says, and Marinette grins, a plan slowly taking hold in her mind. She’d just need two paper clips, a stick of gum and whatever her lucky charm was.

---

“Pound it.” Chat says holding out a fist. Marinette grins, returning the fist bump. “Did you have time to talk? You know, about why you were late?” Chat asks, and Marinette sighs but nods. They both recharge in an alley before swinging to sit on the top of the Eiffel tower.

“I fought an akuma alone, while you were out of town.” She says first, shrugging lightly. “I didn’t think about it, honest. I’d done it a million times before with Monsieur Pigeon. But the Bat got mad.” Marinette says, not wanting to risk calling him her dad while she’s masked in Paris. It just felt like it was asking for trouble.

“Cause you fought alone?” Chat asks, frowning.

“Well, that and I sort of jammed the Zeta tubes so that outsiders can’t come to Paris during an active akuma attack.” She mumbles under her breath, wincing at the noise Chat’s neck makes when he jerks around to stare at her dumbfoundedly.

“That’s insane. How’d you do it?” He asks and she simply grins.

“Spent enough time with Pegasus and Red Robin and Oracle. Add in a tiny bit of luck and boom. I win.” She smirks

“So you were late cause you’re grounded.” Chat says simply, a proud smile on his face as he thinks he cracked the code. Solved the mystery.

“Not quite,” Marinette says with a slight frown.

“Then what?” Chat asks. Marinette lets out a long sigh, glaring at Adrien to let him know she’s not happy about this situation, she does not want to talk to him about this. He’ll just get all worried.

“Well last night I was still benched from patrol because of the whole akuma attack thing but Tikki thought I should be ungrounded so I went out anyway and then the dude that stabbed me a couple months ago found me and the rest of the Batclan didn’t know that I was out so they couldn’t help me and I was all alone and then he knocked me out and I don’t really remember much except I woke up at Nightwing’s apartment and met Starfire and yeah that’s it.” She rambles, shooting him a smile and waving nonchalantly.

“I’m going to wrap you in bubble wrap. No, I’m going to make the Batclan do it.” Chat finally says, pulling out his baton.

“No, don’t! Batman doesn’t know. Neither does Hood or Red Robin. Only Nightwing and Robin know.” She says, swatting the baton out of his hand. The last thing she needed was for him to accidentally call her dad on her. She’d be in so much trouble.

“Geeze Bug.” Chat mutters under his breath, tugging her into a hug. She sighs and hugs him back, taking just a moment to relish being with her friend.

“I’m pretty sure Batman is narrowing down his Hawkmoth suspect list.” She mumbles, and Chat pulls back from her, staring into her face.

“Are you serious?” He asks, the relief on his face clear. Marinette nods, and Chat lets out a long sigh. One that Marinette could feel in her bones, because she was tired too. She also wanted to end this fight. Hopefully her dad would have a suspect soon.

---

Bruce Wayne was the world’s greatest detective. He had solved cases infinitely larger than this one, so he didn’t understand why he couldn’t find a damn lead on Hawkmoth. Actually, he understood perfectly. It was magic. God he hates magic. It’s unpredictable, and most of the time it’s more trouble than it’s worth. He sighs and sends a quick text to Dick, double checking that Marinette had made it back to his apartment okay. He knew his daughter was...upset with him for benching her and demanding she take someone with her to Paris. But they were all precautions, just to guarantee that nothing worse happened to her. She wasn’t invincible, no matter how much she seemed to think she was. He frowns at the text he receives back, quickly hitting call and waiting a few moments for Dick to pick up.

“Hel-”

“What do you mean she’s not at your place?” Bruce asks, not giving his eldest son a chance to talk.

“Well hi to you too, B.” Dick teases, and Bruce just knows he’s grinning. He lets out a sigh and pinches the bridge of his nose.

“Is she really not there? The akuma attack ended nearly twenty minutes ago and she’s not here either.” Bruce says, trying to think of where else she would go. Jason was even at the Manor, and hadn’t heard from her either.

“No, B, she’s not-” Dick pauses, then lets out a long sigh. “It’s B. He was wondering where you were.” He hears Dick say, and Bruce is surprised to hear his son’s tone. It was less carefree and more...like a father. He was a father, with Mar’i, but it was still odd to hear him use the tone on someone besides his granddaughter.

“I had to talk to Adrien.” He can barely hear her say and Bruce lets out a frustrated huff. Of course she was with the Agreste boy again. Honestly, he seemed nice enough until Selina pointed out the crushes that the two had on each other. Now, Bruce wanted nothing more than to lock him away. Far away.

“Can you please ask her if she’s coming home tonight?” Bruce finally says, listening to the silence on the other end. He wonders if they’d put the phone on mute or if Marinette was signing furiously the way he’d seen her do over a video call with Cass earlier in the week.

“We’re all coming. See you at dinner.” Dick says, hanging up almost fast enough for Bruce to not hear the protest from Marinette. Almost. Bruce walks to find Alfred, trying not to let the fact that his daughter doesn’t want to see him again get to him.

---

Marinette glares at her oldest brother as they walk into the manor. He just grins, acting as if he hadn’t practically forced her home. It’s not that she didn’t want to come home, but she knew she had a couple bruises and a lump on her head. She also knew that Damian was apparently barely holding himself back from hunting down Slade. She really didn’t need Tikki giving him any ideas.

“Welcome home, Miss Marinette. Would you like me to look at your injuries?” Alfred asks immediately walking towards her as he walks into the room. Marinette glances around, hoping her dad isn’t around before sighing.

“No thank you Alfred, I’m fine.” She reassures him, or she tries to. His face doesn’t look like he believes her.

“Yes, I’m certain a concussion is nothing to worry about. Especially since you’ve had so many.” He drawls, raising an eyebrow at her.

“Hey, whoa. You said this was your first concussion.” Dick says after urging Mar’i to fly off and find Jason or Damian or Tim. Marinette huffs.

“It is.” She says, crossing her arms.

“The concussions you sustain in the suit still count. Head injuries are not an exact science. Nor are they an exact magic cure, either. They often heal at an accelerated speed, but can still have long-lasting effects.” Alfred says and Marinette blinks. That was almost- Almost- information about the Miraculous. And only someone who knew about the Miraculous would know about the whole head injury thing. She blinks at him for a moment, running possibilities through her head. She sighs, realizing that if Alfred had been a holder, it was definitely for a Miraculous she didn’t have. She could just...feel it.

“I promise I’m fine, and if I start feeling any of those other concussion symptoms, I’ll come to you.” Marinette promises.

“And how did you get a concussion?” Her dad asks, practically materializing out of nowhere.

“Akuma attack. Miraculous cure can’t do a complete heal with concussions, it’s too, uh, dangerous. Not exact.” Marinette lies, trying hard not to do any of her tells. She doesn’t tense up, she doesn’t grin, she doesn’t look at someone else and giggle, nothing. She lies with a straight face, which honestly almost scares her more than getting yelled at by her dad. He just hums before nodding at her.

“Will you be staying here tonight? Most of us have patrol, but afterwards Tim suggested that we all watch a movie together.” Her dad says and Marinette tries hard to suppress her grin. There’s no way.

“Wow Tim, you really wanna have a full-family movie night?” She calls out, grinning at the surprised look on her brother’s face. Because of course her dad was the one to set it up, but of course he didn’t want anyone to know. “I think that’s super cool Tim. As long as we can watch some Disney princess movies.” She adds, laughing as Mar’i comes flying around the corner with wide eyes.

“Did someone say princess?” She squeals, flying straight into Marinette’s arms. Marinette grins at her niece and nods.

“Oh yes. Timmy has decided we’re gonna watch Disney princess movies as a family all night long!” She says, laughing as her niece cheers. She glances at her Dad and tries hard to hold back the snort that wants to come out at his exasperated look. Looks like it’s gonna be a Disney night for the Wayne household.

Next

Tag list:  @maribat-bdbwm @vixen-uchiha @stainedglassm @liquid-luck-00 @laurcad123 @waiting247 @jayjayspixiepop @mizzy-pop @jjmjjktth @trippingovermyfeet @queenz-z @thepaceperson @iloontjeboontje @toodaloo-kangaroo @ritacrow-blog @deathssilentapproach-blog @kittenmywaythrulife @nerd-nowandforever @tazanna-blythe @jaybird-and-co @jumpingjoy82 @lady-bee-fechin @corporeal-terrestrial

[fandomlovingfreak]

Healing His Heart (18/?)

Young Remus Lupin/Reader

Rating: Mature/Explicit Content (18+)

Word Count: 2100

MasterList Link I AO3 Link I Wattpad Link I Tiktok Link

Summary: (y/n) is two years younger than him, a popular Slytherin, and Regulus Black’s best friend. Yet he can’t help but be attracted to her bewitching personality and sweet smile. Unfortunately, his er–problem makes it harder to get close to others. Despite his attempts to push her away (for her own good) she seems determined to worm her way into his life.

Disclaimer: Remus Lupin (Sirius Black, James Potter, Peter Pettigrew, Regulus Black, and other Harry Potter Characters) is a character from Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling. Reader or y/n is not owned by Rowling. This work has not been created for profit or financial compensation, and is a transformative fair use work in accordance with Section 107 of the United States Copyright Act.

Notes: So So So Sorry for the extremely long wait. I just could not get this chapter out of me for all that is good in this world. I hope some smut makes up for the wait.

Enjoy

Number Nine Glovergus Lane has an exceptionally large door; Remus observes as he looks up at the towering manor.

It's an especially sunny day, warm with a slight breeze. Perfect for taking his girlfriend somewhere for a stroll around a pond or... in a garden or something.

Instead of spending a romantic day with (y/n), he found himself being practically pushed out of the front door of her home. It hadn't been a malicious action on her part; she had ripped the letter from Mister Gedius out of his hands as they sat in her family's garden, eating breakfast. A brief glance over the letter had her dragging him out of his chair and up the staircase as she excitedly talked about the opportunity Mister Gedius had written about.

He allowed her to pick out the outfit she deemed "smart enough" for an interview and practically buzzed with energy as he changed, chattering away non-stop.

Of course, he had to agree with what she wanted. She was too excited for him to just ignore the reply. Besides, Mister Gedius was offering a particularly generous deal. It was good pay, flexible time (obviously a plus for someone who had a-- furry little problem), and he would be doing something he knew he would be good at. Maybe it wasn't a flashy Ministry position or the coveted Defense Against the Dark Arts post, but it was something. And he desperately needed something.

The last thing he needed was (y/n)'s parent's to believe he was dragging down their daughter in any way. He could be a provider.

Not that (y/n) expected him to take on such a traditional role, but something in him had to prove to others he was capable. No one had yet made him believe he wasn't, but society's view of his kind was far from accepting. It would always be a fear that lingered somewhere in his mind. 

"Yes?" Remus snaps back to attention, looking up at the greying man. 

"Hello, I am Remus Lupin. I sent you an inquiry about the Library assistant job last week."

"Ah yes," the man nods, "come in, come in." The man leads Remus into a large library, "sit, sit. Would you like anything? A cup of tea, perhaps?"

"Uh-- sure, thank you. That would be great." 

The man settles down in a chair across from Remus before speaking, "Did I introduce myself?" Remus sets his cup down before responding that he did not with a shake of his head.

"Ah-- I always seem to forget. Effie always reprimanded me for forgetting to introduce myself," he chuckles fondly, "I am Iwan Gedius. I'm sure you deduced that considering, I am seated across from you."

Remus smiles politely, "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance Mr. Gedius."

"Please, call me Iwan. If you're to take up this post, you must drop the formalities. They are quite unnecessary in my home."

"Of course s-- Iwan."

The older man smiles, looking amused, "So tell me, Remus Lupin, are you a recent graduate from Hogwarts?"

"I am, this past May."

"Congratulations. Do you have any experience with libraries?"

"Not any professional experience, but with my studies, I spent numerous hours locating books in the Hogwarts Library. And of course, multitudes of hours replacing said books."

Iwan nods, "And you're up for my library? I have to warn you, I am notorious for not reshelving my books. At least not very well."

Remus nods, "Whatever needs reshelving, I am more than willing to reshelve. And, I have plenty of patience to document or reorganize the whole library if needed. I am willing and happy to put the whole library back together, honestly."

Iwan chuckles, "You've more than convinced me, Remus. You can start next Monday, maybe around ten A.M.? I don't expect you to work more than five or six hours a day. Weekends off, of course, and personal time off is always available if you request a few days ahead of schedule. How does that sound?"

Remus grins, feeling elated, "That sounds great! I appreciate that you're taking a chance on me."

***

"So?" (y/n) is sitting at the dining room table when he gets back.

He shrugs off his blazer, setting it down on the back of a kitchen chair, "I got the job."

A smile rises on her lips, "Did you really?" Remus nods as she springs out of the chair she had been sitting on, launching herself into his arms.

"I knew you would get it! I just knew it!" Remus makes a noise of surprise as she presses her lips against his. His hands find (y/n)'s waist as he steadies them, their bodies molding together as the kiss quickly grows passionate.

"My parents-- they're gone for the next few hours," she whispers against his ear, her sinful hands untucking his dress shirt.

Remus doesn't think twice about what she said, pulling her immediately towards the staircase. Weeks had gone by between the time he was allowed to feel her underneath his body. The temptation to bury himself in her warmth, to hear her soft sounds as they move together towards mutual pleasure... It's too strong to resist.

(y/n) gets his shirt unbuttoned and thrown from his shoulders before he can get her bedroom door shut properly. He returns the favor with vigor, removing her clothing with unmatched speed. A bit embarrassing when he thinks back to it later that night, but at the moment, getting her naked and on the bed is all he could care about.

She looks fantastic, he thinks, once she's displayed in front of him. Despite actually only being a bit bigger than what they're used to at Hogwarts, the bed looks massive. The possibilities are endless, he thinks, trying to decide how he wants her situated. 

Tapping her hip softly, he mutters, "'wanna try something new." 

Sitting up on her forearms, (y/n) gives him a funny look, "like what?"

"You'll see," Remus kneels on the bed, moving her leg so he can lay next to her. "Lean against me. Just like that, good girl." He's moved her, so she's got her back pressed to his chest and her leg over his hip. Remus's left hand, which rests on her abdomen, moves up to massage her breast as his other hand begins to slip down her thigh towards her sex.

He swears she's holding her breath, her face turned towards him as he teases the skin of her inner thigh, not yet reaching where she wants him.

"What do you want?" he presses a kiss to her neck, his hands ceasing their teasing as he waits for an answer.

"You know what I want, Rem." Not the answer he wants, not what he wants at all.

He tries again with a light pinch against her breast for emphasis, "Tell me what you want."

The yelp is exactly the reaction he had wanted. Remus hides a satisfied grin upon her neck. 

"Please touch me." Her voice is quiet.

He caresses her thigh, "here?"

(y/n) shakes her head, "no, no, please, Remmy. Don't make me beg you."

"I thought you were a good girl. Good girls use their words." He can't help himself, biting lightly where he had previously kissed.

She makes a whimpering sound, her fingers intertwining with his brown hair, pulling lightly as he tongues at her neck.

"I am-- I want your fingers in me, please. Please, Remmy, I want you to fuck me with your fingers."

He grins, "there we go. That wasn't too hard, was it?" He moves his hand down to cup her sex, "got to make sure you're nice and wet for my cock. Isn't that right, darling?"

"Yes, yes, please--" She's cut short as he thrusts two fingers inside of her. The noise she makes is like poetry. 

"Is that too much?"

"More, I want more." She's already squirming against his hand, trying to fuck herself against it.

Any concern Remus may have had melts instantly, "as you wish." Pulling his fingers out, absolutely coated in her juices, he inserts a third before beginning a quick pace.

"My hands are a bit busy; how about you play with those pretty tits for me, darling." Remus's voice is low, barely over a whisper. Her hands are immediately at her chest.

"Like this?" Her voice holds a teasing edge as she watches his eyes follow the way she pinches her nipples.

"Exactly like that." With his free hand, Remus moves her beautiful face towards his, kissing her soundly. (y/n)'s hands are suddenly buried in his hair, forgetting her previous request as her hips maneuvering to press up against his lower abdomen. 

"Fuck me, please?"

And who is he to deny her when she's behaving so good, using her words like he asked? With a tilt of his hips, he's sheathed within her.

With each shallow thrust, (y/n) rocks against his hips, causing her clit to rub against his body, the leg thrown over his hip wrapping itself tighter around him. Remus lets his hand drift from her lower back towards her ass, grabbing a handful to increase the push and pull of their lovemaking.

The angle is new for them, on their sides gripping one another to stay exactly like that because he's hitting just the right spot, the spot that makes her involuntarily let out small gasps.

She's chanting quietly, breathlessly that she wants more. She wants everything he can give her and more. Whimpering about how big he feels and how much she loves his cock.

"Please, Remus--"

"What do you want?" He asks before kissing her again.

"I wanna cum, please, Remmy--" Remus grins, pulling out quickly. 

Before she can complain, he moves her to her hands and knees. Large hands massage her ass, feeling rather giddy as he runs his cock against her cunt.

(y/n)'s whole body seems to tremble, her face turning to look at him, "Oh, Gods-- hurry!" 

The night is full of new surprises, he thinks to himself before he goes right back to fucking her senseless. 

"Holy fuck," (y/n) gasps out. Remus can't help but grin, leaning over to press a kiss to the back of her neck. He feels huge draped over her body, caging her in against the bed as he relentlessly pounds into her.

This may be his new favorite position. He's got access to nearly all of her, and he can't say he doesn't enjoy having this more dominant power over her. 

His hand snakes down to her sex, fingers moving clumsily till they find her clit. At the contact, (y/n) pushes back hard against his hips, her head jerking up just a tiny bit.

"Yes, there." Remus obliges, fingers moving in practiced circles around her clit, his mouth attaching itself to the side of her neck, pushing her towards her release. Feeling he's only going to last another minute or two more, Remus's movements speed up, hoping to get her there before him.

It seems to do the trick, her pussy trembling around his cock in seconds and a low moan of his name coming from her lips. The top of (y/n)'s body seems to slump against the bed as he chases his own release.

He pulls out of her, releasing across the small of her back with a deep groan. He steadies himself by planting his hands on her hips.

He's about to make a comment about enjoying the view when he hears the (y/l/n)'s front door open and close and the sound of (y/n)'s mother calling for her.

"Shit!" Remus springs up from the bed, grabbing his wand to get rid of the mess on (y/n)'s back and to cast a precautionary contraception charm.

"C'mon now," Remus whispers, pulling his pants back on. (y/n) laughs, rolling over to look at him, but she doesn't seem to be in a rush to get her clothes back on.

"Relax, Remus." She's about to pull on one of his shirts, but he grabs it from her hand.

"Don't make it too obvious."

(y/n) rolls her eyes, "I hardly think wearing your t-shirt is going to tip my mother off to what we were doing."

"I dunno! Mothers are weirdly perceptive."

His girlfriend giggles but pulls on her own shirt for his sake. "Ya know, you're cute."

Remus frowns, "I just don't want your parents to think anything there's any... funny business going on."

"I'm sure they know there is funny business going on. All parents were teenagers once too, you know."

Remus frowns, "Still! They don't need to catch us in your bed."

[elivanah-writes]

Gift of the gods ~2~

pairing: Paul Lahote x female!pagan!reader

Sum: y/n struggles with her feelings 

warnings: fluff, a bit angst

Yes there will be a part 3

masterlist   part 1

Ever since the day Kim and y/n had breakfast at Emily’s and had met Paul things had changed. She couldn’t really describe how but she felt it. Emily and the guys had been so welcoming to her and just accepted her into their group. It was nice, she had a harder time than others to trust people and she really felt like she could trust these people. She felt at ease like she belonged here. But she knew it wasn’t really the group that made her feel like that. It was mostly Paul. At the end of that day, Paul and she had exchanged phone numbers after they had sat on the beach talking while the rest of the guys played soccer. Even from those few hours of talking she could feel the connection between them like it just clicked between them. At first, she thought it was weird how quickly she felt at ease with him but then again not much surprised her anymore. And she had asked the gods for balance, who wasn’t to say that just like Kim had said the gods could have granted her wish in the form of a person?

The following few weeks she and Kim spend almost every day with Emily and the guys when they weren’t working. By the end of the first week, she really saw them all as friends. It was easy to say that she even had started to develop feelings for Paul, she didn’t know yet how strong those feelings were, but she had them. She knew he was interested in her too, he had even asked her on a date not long after that day on the beach. But she had to let him down, she really wanted to say yes but dating him would make leaving so much harder. And she knew a long-distance relationship was not something that would work for her. He understood, said that he’d be anything for her that she wanted, a brother or a best friend, he even kept the option of a lover open for her if she ever decided to give a relationship with him a shot. That only made her feelings for him grow. The way he talked to her, made her laugh or smile when she felt down. It was like he just knew what she needed, and he just gave it to her. 

La Push had always been her home, it seems that being back here only made that even more clear to her. Where she lived now she never had felt like she was home, even the people she had around her, her adoptive family never felt like real family to her, she only had a good relationship with her mother, she’d do everything for her. Being back where she was truly happy made her rethink everything.

It was her last week in La Push and she didn’t know how to feel, she felt torn. She wanted nothing more than to stay here and give in to whatever she was feeling for Paul. But sadly, things weren’t that easy. She had a job to go back to, her adoptive family. She couldn’t leave just like that. 

That’s how she found herself back at the beach at sunset, she had spent most of the day hanging out with Kim and Jared but she had felt like she was third-wheeling most of the time. She had muttered some lame excuse and walked the short distance to the beach where she found her usual spot and sat down. This time she wasn’t going to start a ritual, she was just going to pray to the gods. She tried to calm her racing heart as much as she could, took a few deep breaths, and cleared her mind before softly speaking.

“Make me strong in spirit, courageous in action, gentle of heart, let me act in wisdom, conquer my fear and doubts, discover my own hidden gifts, meet others with compassion, be a source of healing energy, and face each day with hope and joy” she repeated the mantra a few times until she felt completely calm and had a clear mind. She knew she could make decisions better with a clear mind. It had felt like only a few minutes had passed since she had arrived at the beach but when she looked up, she saw that the sun had gone down completely and made place for the dark night. She must have zoned out for quite some time because she could hear voices calling out for her. As fast as she could she got to her feet and slipped from behind the bushes and surely, she could see Paul and Jared walking straight at her spot calling out her name. It was like they knew she would be here.

“I’m here! Sorry, I lost track of time.” She spoke as she walked in their direction. “How did you even know that I was here?” 

“Kim told us you like to come to the beach to think so we figured that we would find you here,” Paul said as he scratched the back of his neck like he wasn’t completely sure of what he was saying. Kim never knew about her usual spot on the beach so she knew Kim couldn’t have told them, but she didn’t call him out on it. “Well, I’m taking Kim to dinner, so I need to get going if we want to be on time. See you guys later.” Jared said before taking off leaving her and Paul alone on the beach.

“Walk with me?” 

“Sure” she smiled as he held her hand and started to walk together along the shore. 

“There’s something I need to tell you,” he said after a long comfortable silence “I don’t really know how to start. It’ll actually sound crazy, but I need you to trust me.”

“Of course, you can tell me anything, Paul. Whatever it is, I’ll promise that I won’t judge you.” She reassured him and softly squeezed his hand letting him know he could go on.

“I don’t know if Kim ever told you about our tribe’s legends?”

 “Her parents did, I think, back when we were little. I thought those stories were amazing, how some of your tribe members are supposed to transform into these giant wolves to protect the rez, right? At least that’s what I remember, it’s been a long time since I last heard them.” She smiled as she thought back to the times that Kim’s mother tucked them into bed and told them all these stories.

“Yeah, that’s the essence of the legend. But what if I said that those aren’t just stories, what if…?” 

“It was you, wasn’t it?” she quickly says when he didn’t finish his sentence. she knew that the wolf she had seen on her first night here in La Push had seemed familiar when she thinks back to it, the wolf’s eyes had looked so much like Paul’s. And in a way she felt like she had always known, he had been the wolf that had been watching her as she did her ritual. 

“What?” Paul asked a bit confused and stopped walking to turn towards her; this wasn’t how he thought she would react. Yes, he had expected her to take it better than how most people would but this he didn’t understand.

“The day I arrived, I came to the beach and I saw two wolves. You were one of them, weren’t you?”

Paul could only stare at her in amazement. She knew, she just knew and didn’t freak out about it.

“How did you know?” He asked softly

“When we met at Emily’s I already had the feeling that we’ve met before, your eyes just seemed so familiar, and then one day when we were talking you just looked me straight in the eye and I just knew where I had seen your eyes before. It was those wolf’s eyes, it was you,” she explains with a soft smile.

“So you’re not afraid of me?”

“No, of course not. Call it strange, but I knew you’d never hurt me from the first second that I saw you. I felt a connection like it was meant to be.” 

“I’d die before I’d ever hurt you. I promise you I’ll never hurt you,” he said as he cupped her cheek with his free hand looking at her like she had hung the moon and stars in his sky. Little did she know that was exactly how he felt. The moment was so intimate that neither noticed that they started to lean into each other until their noses touched. Before Y/n really knew it soft warm lips brushed over hers and for a minute she forgot all about why she felt like a relationship with him wouldn’t work. At that moment it was only him and her and nothing else mattered but them. If she had to describe it she’d say that a bomb of butterfly’s exploded inside her belly. If she wasn’t sure about her feelings for Paul, she was now, she was in love with him. Her mind was clear, no worries, no questions, just warmth and him. She let herself be selfish for once. Pressing her lips fully against his deepening the kiss into a passionate embrace of their lips. She doesn’t know how long they stood there with one of his hands on her cheek while his other hand was still holding hers as their lips and tongues danced with each other. 

The days following that kiss felt like she went through hell, it’s not like she regretted the kiss but it had complicated things. Leaving La Push, leaving Paul was going to be one of the hardest things she needed to do. That day after he dropped her off at Kim’s place she had cried herself to sleep, mourning a life she wished she could have with Paul here in La Push. For once in her life, she disliked the fact that she had a family and a job waiting for her to come back to. The following days she stayed inside her room, silenced her phone, and kept herself busy with packing her bags. Both Paul and Kim tried to talk to her, tried to figure out what was wrong but they were met with silence. That was until Kim had enough of her sulking and just used the spare key to open her bedroom door. Kim’s heart broke a little when she saw her best friend sitting in a corner of the room with teary eyes. She just sat down next to her, pulled y/n into her embrace, and cried with her like she already knew what she was going through. 

“ Whatever you decide to do, this will always your home too y/n,” Kim said later that night when they lay on her bed before the two of them fell asleep. 

Friday had never come this quick before, all her bags were packed and loaded into Kim’s father’s truck ready to drive her to the airport. Kim’s family had wanted to throw her a goodbye party but y/n shut that down as soon as they had vocalized the idea. Instead, she just wanted to spend her last hours in La Push with them as a family. Now she sat on the edge of her bed, taking in the room for the last time when suddenly there was a knock on her already open door. She expected it would be Kim or her father, but instead, she saw Paul standing there leaning against the doorpost. When their eyes met he gave her a soft smile that didn’t reach his eyes completely. He looked like he hadn’t slept more than a handful of hours in the last few days and she knew that it was probably because of her but still he smiled at her. 

“So you were leaving without saying goodbye?” He said. It was more a statement than a question.

“I’m sorry, I just thought it would be easier like that.” She softly says as she turns her eyes back to her hands.

“Why would that be easier? Please talk to me, don’t shut me out.” Paul asks as he makes his way into her room and sits down next to her. “Because it just makes leaving harder, I can’t say goodbye to you.”

“Then don’t, don’t leave. Stay here with me.” he pleads, takes one of her hands in his, and gives it a soft squeeze so she would look up at him.

When their eyes meet again he can clearly see the tears in them ready to fall. 

“ As much as I’d want to stay I can’t. Please don’t make this harder Paul,” 

As soon as she started talking the tears fell, her heart already starting to break.

“If you want to stay, then stay. We can work something out, we can work. What, what about that kiss? You can’t deny that it felt right, amazing even.” he spoke like he was getting desperate.

“Yes that kiss was amazing and felt right but it complicated everything. I really like you, a lot, but I have a life back home, people who expect me to come home.” 

“I know, I’m not asking you to give them up. I’m asking you to give me a chance, to give us a chance.” He says turning his body fully in her direction.

“Look I know this isn’t the way I wanted to tell you but there is another part of the legend that I haven’t told you yet. Every wolf has this ability to imprint. It’s when we find that one person and you look at her for the first time and suddenly it’s not gravity that holds you, it’s her. She gives the wolf balance, peace. The wolf’s whatever the imprint wants him to be, a brother, protector, a friend, or a lover. they’re soulmates.” He explains as he looks at her hopefully.

“I’m your imprint.”

It was something she already knew deep inside herself, it might not be in the same words but she knew, she felt it. He brought her balance and she had never felt more at peace and loved. That’s why it was that much harder. Soulmate or not, long-distance would never work, but then again staying wasn’t an option. She had too many people depending on her back home, she couldn’t leave them fending for themselves. She couldn’t be selfish even if she wanted to be.

“Yes, you’re my imprint.” He smiled weakly as she just cried a bit harder than she already was and without thinking he pulled her against his chest. He knew he couldn’t force her to stay so his heart broke together with hers. He understood why she was leaving and couldn’t stay. But you couldn’t fault a man for trying, he wanted what’s best for and if that was not here with him then he had to let her go.

“Can we at least stay friends, stay in touch?” he asked her while a tear of his own fell.

tags:

@its-la-push   @ghostmistwalker @bisexualcrazybeans @fatiguing-thoughts @pawfect-melody

[thedevillionaire]

Illusionary

Cerberus, Kia, domestic bedroom snz scene with a little magic, little romance? Hmm, yeah, sounds like me. 😏 --- Wrapped in a full-length darkest burgundy dressing robe, feeling somewhat refreshed but still more than a little coldhazy, Cerberus emerges post-shower to the sight of Kia, changed from her earlier black velvet bodice and jeans into a burnished deep gold satin negligee, lying on her stomach across the bed, head resting on her hands, attention fixed on the Testing papers in front of her. He pauses at the threshold, leans against the door frame to simply look at her awhile, silently enraptured, a soft smile on his face.

:Just so you know, babe,: Mindsends Kia, keeping her eyes on the papers, :it’s not possible for you to enter a room and not be noticed.: She glances back over her shoulder at him and grins wickedly. “You’d be a terrible spy.”

Cerberus chuckles, walking over to settle beside her on the bed. “Hard to argue given the circumstances, I suppose.” He toys with her hair, looking down at the papers. “Which Level are you applying for?” A light sniffle, and he frowns slightly, rubs his nose against an irritation rising anew.

“6.” Kia sighs. “I mean, I’m pretty sure I can get that, but…I don’t know, I’m not…evenly skilled across the options or something.” She rolls over to sit up, cross-legged. “There’s a bunch of stuff I can do really well, and some other stuff I’m…just not very good at, I guess.” She gives him a rueful smile. “But I think if I maybe…”

“What is it you’re not sure of?” Cerberus reaches across her and picks up the papers, flicking through them as he moves to sit leaning back against the bedhead, rearranging the array of pillows and cushions to suit. Another sniffle, more sharply this time and he recognises the battle as lost, his focus dissolving captive to undeniable need, and he turns from Kia in surrender to an adversary already his conqueror many times over today. “HHAHTSSCCHU! Damn it, I swear Healing deal in placebos. Comple…ehh-HH ..completely…hh… Ahh-HEHTSSCH-uu!” He sniffles again and fixes Kia with a look conveying irrefutable vindication, raises an eyebrow. “*snf!*Hm? As evidenced. Completely ineffectual,” he states with authority, and takes several tissues from the box on the bedside. “Excuse me a mome… hh-HH... Oh, for f… HHAHTSSCCHU! Ah, gods. *SNF!* Pardon me, love.” He blows his nose in an attempt to stop any further irritation, at least in the short term, though he holds very little faith in that regard, and incinerates the tissues in a flashblaze of aetherfire.

“Bless you, sweetheart,” Kia says, gently strokes his forearm. “I’m fairly sure the meds have helped a bit, though,” she suggests. “Compared to earlier, at least.”

“Oh, well, yes, I’m sure I’ve had at least ten minutes respite here and there,” mutters Cerberus sardonically, though he concedes to his bonded’s wry smirk quickly enough, places a kiss on her forehead. “Ah, I’m sorry, darkling. It’s just that as a rule, I’m rather fond of breathing.” Resting back against the pillows once more, he sighs again, absently rubs his nose, and returns his attention to the papers, making a quiet hum of thought as he flicks through them, in consideration.

“Sweetheart?” Kia, curious, shuffles up along the bed a little more to kneel beside him, resting her head on his shoulder, trying to read what he was reading. “What are you doing?”

Cerberus points to the skillset of Illusion, listed as a subcategory within Hypnotics, several thick and emphatic lines scrawled beneath it. “This is underlined because…?”

Kia scoffed. “Because I suck at it,” she says, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “I mean, I can do the basics, but…” She looks up at him, nestling into him, trailing absent patterns across his chest with her fingers. “It’s just…it’s like…you have to sort of direct what someone else sees, so it’s…putting your images into their eyes without actually seeingthrough their eyes, so you don’t know if it’s actually working, you just kind of have to hope for it, and I can’t figure out when it is working so then I get distracted and the whole thing pretty much falls apart.”

“It’s a skill Demonics covers as well.” Cerberus kisses the top of her head, draping an arm across her as he drops the papers in his lap.

Kia stares at him, taken aback. “You can do this?!”

“Well, I don’t use it widely, nor is it my forte, but…”

“Oh, oh, oh! Want to take my Test for me?” Kia gives him a playful entreating look. “Just, I don’t know, shapeshift or something. Is that a thing? You can do that, right? I’ll let you wear whatever you like. Oh my god, I bet you’d be super-hot as me.”

Cerberus collapses into laughter, and she laughs with him, her heart warming as it always does when he loses himself to delight, and particularly now, with him unwell. She repositions herself to settle beside him, kissing him tenderly as she does so, and picks up the papers in one hand, resting her other hand on his thigh. “Alright, alright, okay, I know. I’ll take my own stupid Test. It’s mostly Vampirism specific, anyway. But still…” A devilish grin darts across her face and she bats her eyelashes at him with exaggerated flirtation. :Super-hot.:

Smiling, Cerberus looks down and shakes his head in an ill-advised move that brings about yet another stark reminder of the throbbing sinus headache he’s only just managed to almost forget. He winces slightly and does his best to ignore it. Claiming the honeyed tea from the bedside tray, he reheats it with a touch, and takes a sip. “Well, darkling,” he says, “perhaps not quite that, um…absolute, but I certainly owe you any favours I can offer at this point, so if you’ll allow me—” He kisses her forehead. “—to revisit a request that you once asked of me… Drop your Protect.”

Kia’s eyes widen and she looks up at him, confused, curious. “Why? Do you even need me to?”

“No, love, technically I don’t. But I’d prefer to have your consent, if you’ll give it.”

“For what? I mean, sure, of course, babe, but…”

And then Kia loses her words, struck voiceless, astonished, and reaches her hand out to feel for a bed that is no longer there, finding instead only the soft moss and verdure of a rainforest glade, the gentle sensation of vivid greenery under her touch; lush, thick and rampant plantlife above her, beneath her, beside her, in sensory undeniability. She turns rapidly, looking everywhere around her, unable to comprehend what’s happening even as the very atmosphere changes, the dark, thick, wet scent of fernery, pines, rich soils, and peat surrounding her, immersive and entirely real, solid, incontrovertible. The sky darkens to gunmetal greyblue, stormclouded and windswept, and the crash of distant thunder seems to vibrate the air itself. Sky? But there can’t be sky. Where’s the…where’s the ceiling? What…

“Honey?” she asks, questioning, her own voice feeling like a foreignness, seeking her love who isn’t where he had been mere seconds ago, and she runs her hand along the bark of a nearby tree, one of several, the texture rough and actual, definite. She pushes it, pushes harder; it does not yield. The thunder echoes again, muted but resonant, a certainty, and the heavy cloudcover darkens with it, bringing further shadow to the dell. Shifting her position and reaching for familiarity does nothing to transform the verdant rolling hills back into the furniture she knows so well – oak and cast iron and ornate fabric lost to, consumed by, this wilderness she’s breathing. The landscape stretches out endless and impossibly vast; bedroom walls stay invisible, dissolved. There are no hard angles. No corners. Thunder once more but softer, as if moving away. Wisps of phosphorescence dartdance across thickets and brush, phantasmal. She curls her toes against some lichen at her feet.

:Know this, love,: Cerberus Mindsends almost as if in echo, in memory, to the bone, and Kia spins around to face him, seated beside her but on the opposite side to where she last saw him, dressed as if for a fog-covered moorside in a thick cable-knit sweater and fleecelined suede coat, which she knows is not possible this is not possible it cannot be possible how can he do this how can anyone oh my god definitely not reality but still the only tangible perception she can make, and she isn’t at all sure she can speak to him and she tries to see what she knows to be real, where she knows she must be sitting, but she simply can’t, and she plucks a honeysuckle flower off a nearby creeping vine that has to be fictitious and yet it somehow isn’t, marvelling as she turns it over in her hands, touching its petals, breathing its sweet perfume.

“You’re extraordinary,” she whispers, tears in her eyes.

:Close your eyes a moment, darkling, and immerse. Remember this. Understand this.:

And feeling the reassuring touch of his hand on hers, she closes her eyes as requested, reopening them after just a brief time to see again the bedroom that she’d logically known she’d never left, only then consciously recognising that he could not have taken her hand in that way from where she’d thought she’d seen him last, and she gazes up at him, open-mouthed in astonishment, for the shortest of moments before reaching up to trace her fingers along the contours of his face, almost as if to confirm his existence. “How are you even…” she murmurs in wonder, before calling herself back to reality somewhat.

She takes a moment to rebalance, breathes deeply, recentering. “Okay.” She exhales slowly. “Alright. Okay, that was…wow, that was completely amazing and… I love you but that was… If that’s what I’m meant to do… I mean, I could feel it. I held a flower. Fuck, babe. I have enough trouble even getting an image to form. A single image. You…you made a world. There’s no way I can do that.”

“You most certainly can, love,” counters Cerberus, “and, in fact, will. Should bring you up to a Level 8 grading, I’d imagine.” He presses his index finger then the back of his hand against his nose, frowning a little at a building itch, sniffling. “Excuse me. You just, um…recall the memory, enter in and redirect, adjusting for context. You’ll only be working with mortal capacity for resistance, also, if I recall the Vampirism protocol for this sort of thing correctly, so it sh…should be…” His breath hitches, the returning urgency stealing his sentence; he excuses himself with haste and turns from Kia, succumbing desperate, heavy, absolute. “AhhHEHTSSCHuu!”

“Bless you!”

He raises an index finger and gives the briefest shake of his head, brow creased, and frozen in thrall to the crescendo of oncoming need; he takes an imposed moment, expectant, and another, inhaling shallow scissored twice and over, then deep, deeper still.

And again.

“hh-HH… Hh-TSSCHhuu!”

And oh he does not want to concede, but again.

“HMPTch! HHKTchu!” His attempt at resistance proves no contest against the still insistent, overwhelming tickle, and he gives over completely this time, abandoning any further fight. “Hh-TSSCH-uu! ah-hh… AHHTSSCHUU! Ah, gods.”

Kia’s own breath comes a touch uncertain too as she purrs a honeytoned, “Bless you, sweetheart.”

Cerberus exhales tiredly, pushes silken ebony disorder back from his face with one hand while claiming several tissues with the other. “Thanks, love,” he murmurs, adding a sotto voce curse or two about the entire situation. “Pardon me.” He blows his nose, a little more gingerly now, sniffles again and sighs, repeats the process. Ridiculous.

A thought suddenly occurs to Kia that piques her interest far too much to not to ask it. “So, um…what would have happened if you’d sneezed during that whole…you know, ‘the bedroom is a forest now’ performance?”

Cerberus wipes his nose a final time before vaporising the latest used tissue collection. He chuckles quietly, clears his throat. “You’d best tell me, I think.”

“Yeah, but you didn’t, though. I would have…” Kia breaks off, examines her beloved’s expression with wary sidelong glance, considering whether there was any chance of...

No. With a faint scoff, she rejects the possibility, positive, confident. “No, you did not. There’s no way I don’t hear that.”

“If you say so, love.”

She frowns. “You’re right here. I am next to you in the bed.”

“Yes, it’s wonderful.” He flashes her a candid, disarming smile. “My favourite thing.”

Laughing, Kia pushes him in play. “Well, mine too, sweetheart, but that’s not what I meant and you know it,” she says before returning to her point. “You did not sneeze during that, though. No way. It just isn’t… Nope. You’re teasing me.”

“Well.” Cerberus once again brings newly steaming heat to the cup of tea with a touch, the very slightest of smiles crossing his face. “I admit that thunder is rather a cliché, but I didn’t have a great deal of time to consider intricacy of plot.”

“You di… But…” Kia stares at him in complete bafflement. “How?!”

“Illusion, darkling.” He stretches an idle arm across her shoulders, presses a kiss to her temple. “This is how it works.”

“Are you serious?!” Kia shakes her head in amazement. “God, do I even know what reality is?!” She gives a half laugh of incredulity, simultaneously astounded and utterly unsurprised at the variety of skills her beloved seems able to just call to command at will. “Okay, okay, and…so now because you…set me up, is that right, I can just, what, do that now? Oh. Ohh, whoa now, wait a second. Hang on.” She gives him a sly look, comprehension dawning. “Did you just do my homework for me?”

Cerberus laughs softly, a little darkly. “Consider it a crash course. Anyway, I know that you are in fact highly skilled in…not unrelated areas. I certainly know you can direct events. Your truly…outstanding talent with Immerse and Possess proves it. I suspect you just weren’t sure where to begin in this case.” He gives her a gentle smile. “You have an advantage, love. You should use it.”

Kia smiles back. “Oh, I’ll use you alright. I mean, use it.” She winks, laughing again. “I liked your mountain man look, by the way. Do you even have a cable-knit sweater?"

Cerberus raises an eyebrow. "What? You dressed me in a sweater?"

“I dressed you? What?"

“My direction only goes so far, darkling. Illusion involves a great deal of obfuscation, but it’s not a complete taking over. Some parts of it are nothing more than guidance, suggestions. And certain aspects are – I assure you – entirely of your own creation." He looks at her in nonplussed bemusement. “Really? Cable knit?”

“Navy blue, with a tan suede jacket,” Kia specifies with haughty precision before dissolving into laughter anew and doubly at the expression on his face. "I guess that’s what you get for setting everything in a forest. Come on, I was thematically accurate, at least.” She wipes away tears of laughter before meeting his gaze with conviction, points at him as if delivering an unarguable truth. “You looked hot as fuck, incidentally."

“I feel I’ve learnt something entirely new about you tonight,” Cerberus remarks, smiling briefly at her before suddenly turning away again, a couplet of fierce, unstoppable sneezes almost catching him unprepared absolutely, and he apologises with haste. “Hh-TSSCHH-uu! Ah-TSSCHH-uu! Goddamn it. *snf!* I have had more than entirely enough of this.” He sharply pulls another pair of tissues from the box, blows his nose again, immolates them afterwards with a burst of flame rather more emphatic than required.

“Aw, bless you, hon.” Kia tuts softly, strokes his hair back from his eyes, moves to sit across his lap, facing him. She traces a finely manicured nail down his neck, across his shoulder. “You know,” she nearwhispers, her tone softly teasing, “it wouldn’t kill you to wear a sweater once in a while.”

“I’m really not…”

Kia leans closer, purrs as if sharing the wickedest of secrets. “Denim jeans too.”

:Gods, love, who are you?: Cerberus Mindsends in shadowsnarl as he wraps a strong arm around his bonded and draws them together, claiming her mouth and kissing her with fire palpable.

:You know me, sweetheart.: With deft touch and feline grace, slightest shrug, Kia allows her negligee to smoothly fall away, returning her beloved’s kiss perfervid, wanting, infusing her reciprocal Mindsend with the same.

:Your favourite thing.:

----

[harpyloon]

“ginny, i always want to sleep with you” // hinny

Pairing: Harry Potter x Ginny Weasley

W.C: 2.5k+

Summary: Harry Potter is always a blubbering mess when it comes to Ginerva Weasley.

Warnings: pure fluff! sprinkles of angsty angst, squint and you’ll find mentions of war/battle and death. everybody lives AU!

A/N: A fic written for the @harryandginuary Ginuary gift challenge. Happy Ginuary @/gins-potter​ 😍😍😍I hope you ENJOY!!!

Read on AO3

Harry didn't think this through.

After defeating the Dark Lord and winning a wizarding war, he assumed he'd never have to think about anything ever again—at least not for a while. But gazing at her small blinking dot for almost half a year on a rotten piece of parchment apparently made him delusional, because at the moment—months after the battle of Hogwarts—sitting in the kitchen at the Burrow, his longing stare almost bore a hole through Ginny Weasley's face.

His Ginny.

Wincing to himself, Harry prodded on the peas in his plate. His subconscious when it came to Ginny was his greatest enemy and his biggest embarrassment. If anyone even came close to guessing what kind of dreams he had when it came to her... well... He breathed away the flush threatening to creep up his neck.

"More peas, Harry dear?"

Mrs. Weasley peered at him from the head of the table, a frown on her freckled face, "You've hardly eaten anything. Don't think I've noticed how skinny you've been getting again. I'd be having a word with Alastor about your Auror training. Ever since he got back he's been more insufferable—"

Snatching the dish of treacle tart in front of him, Harry filled his plate with a slice.

"I'm up for dessert now actually, Mrs. Weasley, thanks."

This seemed to satisfy her well enough. "Well, I whipped that up just for you so eat up."

He felt a nudge on his knee as Ron leaned in to whisper once Mrs. Weasley was out of earshot, "Save me some, will you? She goes barmy when we touch your treacle tart."

Harry smiled and nodded. Meals at the Burrow he was used to but he knew he'd never get tired of. His Auror training held him back a ton of weekends in the past few months, and being home felt splendid. Of course, he was never one to wear his heart on his sleeve, but Harry hoped Mr. & Mrs. Weasley knew how grateful he was.

Risking a glance across the table once again, Harry saw Ginny serving herself second helpings of mash. Her favorite, Harry thought. He remembered her hating Madame Pudifoodt's Tea Shop for its lack of savory spreads, the one time they attempted a visit during his sixth year. It ended up turning into a laugh as she snorted at all the snogging instead of actually drinking tea.

"So this is your kind of place, huh?" Ginny teased as she sifted through the menu.

Harry blushed, "Er—you don't like it? I kind of reckoned girls like this place..."

He chuckled nervously as she gave him a pointed look.

"Really, Potter?"

Breathing out a sigh of relief, he snatched the menu away from her, already standing.

"Three Broomsticks then?"

He knew he'd buy her all the Butterbeers in the world for the smile he earned.

A foot prodded Harry back to the present.

"What, Ron?" he grumbled.

Ron frowned at him. "What'd you mean 'what'"?

"You just—"

Someone coughed loudly across from them.

Both turning, they saw Ginny heaving over her mash, a fist in her mouth. Fred was rubbing her back soothingly beside her.

Harry blinked. It was her. She kicked him.

"Alright there, Gin?" Fred mused. "I told you to take it easy on the potatoes, you crazy woman."

"Do the Harpies know what kind of stomach they'll be feeding once they sign you in?" said George. "I bet you they'll break a sweat once they find out your appetite."

Ginny threw George a withering look after downing a glass of water. "Don't jinx it, you idiot."

"Have you heard back yet, Gin?" Ron asked over a mouth full of pudding.

"More like they haven't heard from Ginny," chuckled Hermione.

All the Weasley brothers gaped. Even Harry.

"What?" sputtered George, "You're making the Holyhead Harpies wait?"

The youngest Weasley scoffed. "I'm not making anyone wait. I was just standing by for the holidays before I give a reply."

"Well, it's the holidays now."

Ginny rolled her eyes and Harry's gut clenched. The mad part of his brain loved it when she did that.

"I am well aware," she said, "If you all are so eager, does anyone want to take my place then?"

Her brothers merely grumbled while Hermione laughed. It's been the talk of the town for a while now, after Ginny received a letter from the Harpies a few months after the beginning of her seventh year. The whole house went completely ballistic, even Hogwarts as well—or so Harry heard.

It took a month to bury the dead from battle and a whole summer to rebuild Hogwarts from the rubble; the Ministry was still in the process of rehabilitation, and the whole wizarding community was yet to heal, licking the wounds that Voldemort left behind. Ginny's Quidditch scouting was the first good news they'd received in a long time.

He didn't get back together with Ginny after the war, and there was no reunion like he'd always imagined in those long nights without her, in search for the Horcruxes. It wasn't as if they both avoided it, there just wasn't any time—time to talk, time alone, time for anything. Everyone had their hands full following the battle, and when things started to fall back into place, they've simply slipped through each other's fingers; Ginny whisked away by the Hogwarts Express, and Harry to the Ministry to begin his training as an Auror.

He considered moving on, especially on days when he'd think about her roaming the halls of Hogwarts, her fiery red hair blazing after her. She'd find someone, he thought bitterly. If she hasn't already.

But they'd written to each other, sparingly, although they did still. Short snippets of their day, what they ate for breakfast, the new set of professors at school, Mad-Eye's torturous lessons; Harry was the first person outside the castle to find out about her Harpies letter.

He caught her eye from across the table and she raised a brow at him as if to say What, Potter?

Chuckling under his breath, Harry shook his head and tapped the bowl of uneaten mash beside his plate. He saved it for her.

Ginny's gaze landed on it and her face lit up. If Harry didn't know any better, her hair seemed to glow even redder. His imagination loved to exaggerate his visuals when it came to her.

He felt a tiny poke on his toe as if to warn him not to react violently—she gave him a look and he pursed his lips, looking back down at his peas and moving them around once again. Then slowly, an ankle wrapped itself around one of his own and rested there.

Harry exhaled slowly, willing his pulse to calm.

He was not over Ginny Weasley at all. Not one bit.

 ----------✿----------

Creeping quietly down the steps, Harry tried his best to avoid the noisy floorboards (that he still didn't memorize to save his life). His two best friends didn't mention anything, but he knew they wanted some alone time. And he certainly didn't want to be around once the candles dimmed and Ron and Hermione started making eyes at each other.

He was almost at the first landing when the door to his left creaked open.

"Hermione?"

"Sorry. It’s me."

Ginny opened the door wider, gazing up at Harry, her face bemused. She was dressed for bed. "They kicked you out already?"

Laughing quietly, he said, “You know they’d never. I volunteered.”

She smiled knowingly. “Of course you did. Well, come on in then.”

Harry stared at her retreating form, clearly confused.

In? In where? In her room? Just the two of them?

Ginny disappeared inside but the door remained open.

Should he knock and ask her what she meant? Should he just go inside? It's not like he hasn't before.

Suddenly, the most recent memory of Ginny's room flashed through his consciousness—his 17th birthday.

"Something to remember me by."

Harry's ears grew hot. He refused to let that specific recollection surface when he wasn't alone, or in the confines of his own quarters. It made his brain go fuzzy.

"Harry?" he heard Ginny's faint voice from inside, then footsteps. She appeared by the door once again. When she saw his face, her brows furrowed. "What happened?"

Harry attempted to clear his throat without sounding like a retching toad. "Er—I'm—" he was sure his face was now as red as her hair, "I was going to take the couch actually," he managed weakly.

"The couch," Ginny said flatly.

He swallowed. "Y-yeah. Downstairs."

The silence was deafening and it stretched on for minutes. Or at least that's what it felt like in Harry's rowdy head. He needed to meditate. Merlin. He was losing it.

Finally, she said, "Okay. Goodnight then."

She gave him a strained smile then quietly shut the door before he could reply.

Harry stood there, mouth hanging open slightly.

Ginny Weasley just invited him inside her bedroom and he refused. He refused. Of all the things in the world that made him a blubbering idiot, it was his best friend's little sister. He always seemed to be dumbfounded whenever she was in the vicinity of his space.

"Idiot," he muttered to himself as he descended the stairs, no longer bothering to mask his footsteps. "Idiot, idiot, idiot."

Harry sulked his way to the living room, his mood most definitely dismal. Girls were a nightmare. He had no idea how their brains ever worked and every time he felt like he finally had a grasp at a situation, he was suddenly ten steps back.

He waved his wand mindlessly over the Weasley's tweed couch and leaned by the fireplace as he watched it transform into a small sofa bed.

Would he wake anyone if he flooed Sirius at this hour? He knew his godfather would still be up at Grimmauld Place, and would doubtlessly jinx him between the eyes if he found out what Harry had just done.

"You're just like James," he heard Sirius' voice say in his head. He never seemed to let this fact go, even when he knew that Harry was well aware of how he was a spitting image of his father. Sirius especially loved to point this out when it came to matters about Ginny.

"Dad actually ended up with Mum didn't he, Sirius," Harry growled under his breath as he settled on his makeshift bed, patting his pillow down with more force than necessary. He was in the mood for a petty fight and he wished his godfather was around for one.

Suddenly, he heard footsteps thumping down the stairs. Harry jostled into a sleeping position at once and took off his glasses, planting himself still in the awful case that Mrs. Weasley found him huddled on their living room couch. She wouldn't have the heart to wake him would she? He didn't want her causing a scene with Ron and Hermione. Harry tried as best as he could to look as wasted as possible, even attempting at a snore.

The footsteps came nearer, and he felt them stop by the door of the living room. He tried to even his breathing.

"Really?"

His eyes shot open.

Sitting up suddenly, he found Ginny standing by the doorway, her arms crossed. Only the dim moonlight illuminated the room, and Harry had to squint before he remembered he took off his glasses. His hands fumbled as he perched them back on, his eyes meeting Ginny's vexed gaze.

"Ginny," he said lamely.

"Are you seeing someone?"

"What?"

Her hair glowed in the dark space, like a warm halo around her head.

"You heard me."

Harry's pulse seemed to be skyrocketing. "Seeing someone? I don— no. No. I'm not seeing anybody at all."

Ginny looked skeptical. "Right."

Almost tripping over his own slippers, Harry barely managed to scramble to his feet in front of the only girl who plagued his dreams. He wanted to embrace her. Could he do that? Was he allowed to, still?

"Ginerva," he was breathless. "You have no idea..." Harry tried to calm his racing heart. Just get the words out, idiot. "You have no idea how much I think about you."

Her eyes gave nothing away as she looked up at him, and only her crossed arms kept the space between them. Harry saw tendrils of her hair stir as he exhaled. He wanted to kiss her.

When she said nothing, he lifted his hand experimentally, waiting for her to flinch or back away. Not sensing rejection yet, Harry trailed his fingers through the wisps of hair by her ear. He could smell her. He held himself from inhaling too deeply.

"Different shampoo?" he murmured.

Ginny sniffed, "Mum tried a different witch brand."

"Hmmm. Jasmine was my favorite."

She rolled her eyes. "I know."

Harry threaded his fingers through her hair, brushing her scalp now, and Ginny leaned into his touch.

He smiled. "But I like this one too."

"We should just share shampoos."

"Good idea."

They were silent for a moment. Just listening to each other breathing while Harry combed his fingers through Ginny's soft hair. The ends were still damp, he noticed.

"I missed you," she said suddenly, quietly. Her eyes were roaming all over his face as if gauging his reaction.

"I missed you too."

"But you don't want to sleep with me."

Harry's cheeks turned pink in the dark as he breathed out a laughed. "Ginny, I always want to sleep with you."

"I meant sleep sleep, you perv!" she pinched his stomach.

Trying to stifle his chuckle so as not to wake the rest of the house, he drew her in, finally bracketing her in his arms. "Ah, well, I mean that too, I guess."

Ginny huffed but melted with his touch. "I will have you know that I've turned down suitors for you, Harry Potter. So if you won't stake your claim, then I'd better take one of them up on their offers."

Harry's gaze narrowed. "Will you, now?"

"Watch me. Apparently, I'm quite popular with the Hufflepuffs—"

He leaned in lightning-quick, aiming for her luscious mouth. She expected it because her eyes closed in instinct, waiting for him to seal the connection. But Harry hovered. He felt the feathered touch of her lips on his but he stayed there, eyes open—trailing over her closed lids, the bridge of her nose, and the aggressive spread of freckles over the expanse of her cheeks.

"May I kiss you?" he asked against her lips.

Ginny's eyes blinked open but she didn't pull away. "Since when have you started asking?"

Harry was glad they were so close that she wouldn't be able to see his neck flush. "Since I let you go once."

This time, she did pull away, but only a tiny fraction. Just enough for him to witness her wrinkle her nose. "So saving the world has made you a complete sap."

She was teasing.

He shrugged, but grinned sheepishly nonetheless, "For you, yeah. I always have been though, haven't I?"

Twirling her arms around his neck and brushing her fingers through his unruly hair, Ginny pressed herself against Harry fully, her face shining with emotion.

"Then snog the living daylights out of me, Harry Potter."

[sunshine-apprentice]

First Love

(Azul belongs to @azulsartdump and Marsella is @faehistorian)

"Nation, you ready for finals?" The redhead asked to her friend across from the table where they were all eating breakfast at. The question broke the lantern shark out of their daze as they were fiddling with a small velvet bag attached to a cord.

"Oh, yeah. I have my lucky charm after all," Carnation smiled with a glance to the bag they tie around their neck.

"A lucky charm? Can I see it?" The fae beside the merfolk leaned over out of curiosity earning her a kick under the table from the knight.

"I don't mind." They laughed slightly at Vectra's protective nature as they untied the holder from their neck. Opening the black baggy and pulled out a small conch like shell that's color was a similar shade of pink to the first year's hair.

"How cute!" Marsella cooed as Carnation delicately showed the table the idem, "is there a story behind it?"

"Yea, actually." The shark placed the shell back in the velvet bag and ties it back around their neck. "The first person I think I ever loved gave it to me." They looked up to see the eager eyes of Azul and Marsella begging them to continue.

"It was a bit after I was abandoned and I was looking for a way to make money. No one would really hire a thirteen year old, but I would occasionally find a place that would pay me under the table in return for clean. It was around then that I saw some big jerk bullying some kids on the street. Honestly I acted before I could think to help out. And by help, I tried to tackle the guy, fail, got thrown off, yelled at the guy, I think scared him off, and then went to check on those he was being mean to." The shark paused to take a drink of their juice.

"There were three and I think they were all related, they were all hurt so I took them all back to the apartment that I was still barely managing to live in to bandage them all up. I think they were a couple years younger than me but it's hard to tell when it comes to merfolk. They were all very polite and scared from everything that had happened. But honestly I loved having people back in my house, it had felt so lonely since my mom had left. The three of them were the first people I ever had there even before she left because she never liked having people over. They were also the first people I thought and care about since she left other than myself. Those three lives meant so much to me, but sadly, as much as I wanted to, I couldn't let them stay with me. I was barely able to survive by myself, and adding three more people to feed and shelter..."

"They understood my plight and they left once they were all healed and I thought I would never see them again. A couple week later however that jerk found me, upset about interrupting him and how I would pay. I wasn't expecting one of the three boys to show up out of nowhere to help save me. After that bully was taken away, the boy gave me this shell as a 'thanks from last time' even though he had just saved me. He looked healthier compared to when I had last seen him, cleaner as well. I like to think him and his brothers are living better lives now. I doubt any of them really remember me. Time and the mind are fickle things, but I could never forget the warmth I felt."

"I call this my lucky charm because I had it with me when everything good happened to me. Getting this scholarship, getting the transformation potion, meeting you guys. I owe everything lucky to me to this shell and thus that boy. I truly hope they are all happy now, just like I get to be." Carnation gently caressed the make shift necklace that held the charm, smiling fondly causing the four at the table to gush in their own ways. Shortly after the first period bell rung and the group left to go to their classes. None noticed, or at least no one voiced that they noticed a small group sitting nearby or that three of them had over heard the lantern shark's story.

[mageofseven]

Part 2 of this ask! It is the Undateables' version of this post.

Enjoy~

~

Diavolo:

MC was, surprisingly enough, attacked outside the Demon Lord's castle.

Diavolo had invited them over to have tea and tell him more about the Human realm and their experiences. The two did this every now and then.

The human was stalked the entire way though and when the minor demon realized where they were headed, they panicked and decided to attack them before they made it through the gates.

Lord Diavolo was in his office, trying to do his paperwork as he waited for them, but was bored. He just happened to look out his window and see his exchange student getting attack outside his home.

The demon was brave, he'd give him that. Sadly, he was also a fool and needed to die.

Diavolo rushed out to MC's aid and just his presence alone was enough to stop the attacker.

MC passed out right as the prince started dismembering the lower demon.

The human later woke up in a guest bed in the castle. All of their previous deep cuts from getting mauled by the lesser demon were gone, as were most of her bruises. However, they also felt exhausted and extremely sore all over.

It took her a minute to realize that the prince was sleeping at the foot of her bed. He sat in a chair and was leaned forward so his arms and head were against the bed.

He... he saved them and now stayed by their side as they slept? Why?

The man suddenly yawned and stretched his arms. He turned his head and noticed the human was awake.

"Ah, I'm glad you're alright." He gave them his usual grin for a moment before letting it fall in favor of a more serious look. "I'm sorry for the actions of my citizen, but he has been taken care of."

"Oh... it's fine." MC mumbled. "But... wasn't I hurt?"

He smiled again. "I had Barbatos heal you up. We didn't have many human-safe options, but we had a potion in stock that boosted your body's ability to heal itself, but it took a lot of energy from you. I'm afraid you've been out for about a day and a half."

Ends up calling Barbatos in for some food for MC and the prince changes the subject in favor of asking questions about their life in the Human realm, the reason they came all this way to begin with.

Despite the attack and being sore, MC still enjoyed her time with Diavolo, as usual

And honestly, they were touched that he seemed to care for them.

Yes, he's the prince and has to make sure his exchange students are safe, but if that was all it was, they wouldn't have woken up to the man at the foot of their bed, seeming as if he had waited awhile for them.

Lord Diavolo was a good man. A good friend.

Barbatos:

The butler was out shopping for some specific ingredients he needed for Lord Diavolo's dinner.

Didn't expect to bump into MC or find them in such a predicament, but didn't hesitate to step to step in.

Without giving any reaction at all, the man walked up behind the attacking demon and snapped his neck.

"Sorry for the intrusion, but I believe you were in the need of assistance." He told the human, reaching out a hand to help them up. "Are you alright?"

"B-Barbatos?" The human's gaze seemed empty. "I can't see anything..."

The demon frowned, now noticing the burn marks around their eyes. Looks like they were hit with the minor demon's poison shot.

"It'll be fine now." He gently wrapped an arm around them and helped the bruised human up before stepping back and simply taking their hand. "I shall take you back to castle to heal you."

And so he did. MC kept a tight hold of the butler's hand, scared of the emptiness and little patches of light that was now left of their sight.

At the castle, Barb guided them to a couch in one of the parlor rooms and dismissed himself to go retrieve the medicine. MC waited patiently, albeit uneasily, and couldn't help but sigh in relief when they heard the door open.

"Please lay your head back and close your eyes."

The human hesitated, but did as they were told.

Suddenly, they felt some kind of paste be wiped over their eye lids. The human gasped and bit their lip.

"Forgive me, I know the cream burns." He explained. "Please just give it a moment--"

The human reached out and, after a few misses, grabbed onto the demon's hand. He raised an eyebrow.

"I see. Very well, squeeze my hand if you need to."

As the paste was absorbed through their eye lids, it detoxified the eyeballs beneath, causing a strange pink steam to come from their face. The human let a few whimpers slip and squeezed the butler's hand till the burning had stopped and the steam had disappeared.

"You may open your eyes now; slowly please."

The human carefully open their eyes, which were now watery and red, but could see the world around them once more.

Barbato handed them a handkerchief.

"Thank you..." The human said softly before wiping their eyes.

"No need for such thanks." He smiled at them before rising. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'll have to update my lord about this incident. Please wait, as I assume he'll want to speak with you and apologize on behalf of his people."

Like you'd expect, Barbatos was calm throughout the entire process. He made taking care of the blinded human seem effortless.

What MC wasn't aware of, however, was how his heart sank when he saw them get attack or how his eyes widen just a bit when he found out they were blinded.

He couldn't allow himself to actually show his concern because he had to keep his professional facade up

However... he was grateful that it all ended well.

Solomon:

The three of them had gone to a party together: Solomon, Asmo, and MC.

The three of them did this occasionally, enough so that the sorcerer knew Asmo didn't keep an eye on MC as well his older brother had stressed that he should.

In order to keep the nights relatively drama-free, the sorcerer silently took up babysitting duty with the other human.

Solomon still drank and talked with the demons around him, but he always made sure he knew where MC was at all times.

At one point, however, the sorcerer realized he hadn't checked up on the other human in a while.

He scans the room the room for them, only to barely catch them stumbling up the stairs with another demon.

Okay, that was enough. He excused himself from the succubus who had started chatting him up and went up the stairs to check on MC.

The demon was trying to drag them into a room while they kicked and tried fighting them.

Solomon snapped his fingers. Suddenly, the demon's ass was on fire. Screaming, the lower demon ran off, likely trying to find a solution to his new predicament.

The sorcerer kneeled down on the floor, where MC had found themselves after being thrown forward by the burning demon.

"Are you alright?"

The human, a bit teary eyed but somewhat calmer than he suspected, nodded. He frowned when he noticed bruises on their arm from the lowly demon's grip.

"I believe this has been enough for one night." He gave them a light smile. "I'll take you home."

Solomon helped his friend up and sent a quick text to Asmo, explaining their current departure, before guiding the other human down the stairs and teleporting them to House of Lamentation.

The sorcerer wasn't a fan of MC joining them at parties anymore, but never tried stopping them. Instead, he kept an even closer eye on them to the point where the other human often complained it was a bit creepy. He'd smile and apologize, but keep his eyes on them anyway.

There will not be a second incident. Not with him there.

Simeon (with Luke):

The two were coming back from shopping for baking ingredients since MC was coming over to Purgatory Hall to bake with Luke.

On their way back, about half a block from their dorm, was when they found the human, being held up by their neck by a lesser demon.

Luke screamed their name as Simeon ran up, transformed into his full angel form and radiating holy light.

The demon, screeching as the light burned him, dropped MC and ran.

The human passed out just in time to see both angels' faces above them.

When they woke up about an hour later, they were laying on the couch in Purgatory Hall, all bruises gone from their body.

"You're okay!" The little angel sprung up from where he sat on the floor while he waited for them to awake.

Hearing his words, Simeon came in from the other room and smiled at the human.

"Thank goodness. You really gave Luke a scare."

"Hey! You were scared too!"

The older angel just gave a small laugh.

"Regardless, it's nice that you are awake now."

The three talked and the angels found out that MC left early to visit them, but was attacked during the walk. It was basically what Simeon had expected.

The older angel had also healed them of their wounds as soon as he carried them inside the dorm, explaining the lack of marks on the human's body.

Since the human was still a bit sore from the attack however, Simeon decided it was best to take a raincheck on the baking; he gave Lucifer a call, updating him about the incident, and ten minutes later, Mammon was at the door, ready to walk MC home.

The incident really worried the two angels; they really started to wonder if MC staying at House of Lamentation was the best thing.

Luke insisted that the two of them could protect MC better than the Brothers.

Simeon didn't really speak his opinion on the matter to the boy, but told him that the human's living arrangements likely wouldn't change, even if the two spoke up about it.

Instead, the older angel kept an eye on MC while they were with him and Luke and when they had to part, he made sure they were leaving with one of the brothers or that they stayed till one came for them.

Honestly, Simeon felt that was all he could do for them to prevent it from happening again.

[ladykissingfish]

Under The Mistletoe with the Akatsuki // Part 2 // Itachi

Itachi Uchiha

Itachi stands under the little green plant, looking unsettled. It was explained to him that this is “just a fun game” but this just seems weird to him. However he doesn’t wish to alienate himself from the group, so he complies.

Deidara

His first instinct is to pull a bomb from his pocket and hurl it straight at Itachi’s lips, because “that’s the only ‘kiss’ the Uchiha bastard deserves, hm!” However he’s talked out of it by Konan who tells him that such a thing would make him a really bad sport. He scowls but accepts it. Itachi murmurs softly “You don’t have to kiss me if you don’t wish, Deidara.”; he says it nicely, but Deidara hears it as a challenge. “Ah?! You think I’m scared? You think I won’t kiss you?!” He rushes at Itachi, leans in, and kisses him so aggressively that he accidentally bonks Itachi’s forehead a good one, raising a small bump for both of them. Itachi will just sigh (he really doesn’t understand why, even after all this time, Deidara still seems to hate him so much) and quietly say “Thanks.” Deidara will react immediately, going “Thanks? What the hell are you thanking me for, Uchiha? Don’t tell me you’re in love with me now?” and he’ll keep teasing the brunette until Sasori comes and drags him away.

Sasori

Another person to kiss? Really? Sasori never kissed anyone other than his parents before his transformation, but now it’s gotten out of hand. Nevertheless ... he leans up and gives Itachi a quick peck to the lips. Itachi doesn’t react but Sasori draws back, startled. What is this?? As someone who grew up with a knowledge of herbs and healing, and as someone who makes his own poisons, Sasori has become an expert at identifying various chemicals by a simple taste. But Itachi’s lips tasted ... strange. Something unidentifiable, but Sasori recognizes as dangerous. Itachi is ill; his chemical balance is completely off. A moment passes between them where Sasori almost opens his mouth and questions this, but the look in Itachi’s eyes tell Sasori that he’s very aware that he’s sick ... but intends to do nothing about it. It makes Sasori feel a great deal of sadness; Itachi is a calm, intelligent young man, and a good friend ... but this is his choice. Hidan is nearby and he sees the way Sasori and Itachi are staring at each other, and misinterprets it, saying loudly “Looks like these two went totally gay for each other!”; Sasori lashes out and hits him with a poison dart. After all, no amount of poison will make the white haired nuisance die; but maybe it’ll shut him up for a while.

Hidan

LOUDLY protests against kissing Itachi. He was fine with it when it was Konan, but this ... “I don’t wanna make out with this ugly-ass homo!” But the others tell him he has to. He’ll go into Kakuzu’s room and get his Sake, taking several healthy swigs before coming back out to where Itachi waits. The alcohol hitting him in full effect ((it was clearly more than a FEW swigs)) and starts telling Itachi some pretty awkward things (“Damn wait you’re actually kinda hot; with that long hair you kinda look like a bitch.”) and, grabbing hold of Itachi’s neck, pulls him close and plants a very sloppy open-mouthed kiss on him. The others make noises of disgust; alcohol or not he took it way too far. Hidan has the audacity to try and go for a second kiss before Kakuzu extends his tentacles and grabs him, dragging him away. The others ask Itachi if he minds going to brush his teeth before they have their turns, to which he heartily agrees.

Kakuzu

Two people in and this “game” has already gotten on his nerves. But he likes Itachi; he’s one of the few he’s never had an issue or an argument with. A kiss on the lips would have been beyond strange, so he settles on a light brush on Itachi’s forehead. The others tease him, but Itachi actually enjoyed the gesture; being kissed on the forehead reminded him of the one time in Itachi’s life that his own father did the same, after Itachi successfully learned a new jutsu. It’s a nostalgic feeling and a comforting one, which Itachi will hold on to for the rest of the day. Kakuzu, however, has slightly different feelings. As somebody who knows extensive medical jutsu, he took note of how overly warm Itachi’s forehead was. That, and, looking closely, the pronounced flush of his cheeks. It’s somewhat obvious that Itachi is sick; but Kakuzu has always seen the kid as capable of taking care of himself, so he won’t question Itachi on whatever may be wrong with him. He does, however, make a mental note to start slipping a herbal immune system booster into the tea that Itachi drinks so often.

Konan

Like Itachi did for her, Konan gives Itachi a warm hug, rather than a kiss. Her arms circled around his waist make her aware of how thin he is, how young. It’s so difficult for her to believe that somebody who possesses Itachi’s raw intelligence hasn’t even seen his 25th year of life yet. She tries several times during the embrace to let go, but Itachi is reluctant to release her. As with Kakuzu, Konan’s warmth reminds him of being hugged by his mother, something that he greatly misses. Eventually he does let go, only this time he follows up the hug by kissing HER, gently, on the cheek.

Tobi

“Hiya, Itachi-san! Is it Tobi’s turn to give you a kissy?” Itachi merely nods and watches Tobi approach. Unlike with any of the others, Itachi tenses up, and he has to fight himself on the urge to activate his sharingan. Something about Tobi, this tall, simplistic, childlike fool ... sets off ALL of Itachi’s warning bells. As with Konan, Tobi starts to remove his mask just enough to expose his lips ... but Itachi abruptly holds up his hand, stopping him. “No,” Itachi says quietly, and instead extends his arm for a handshake. Itachi can feel the energy coming off of Tobi; Itachi’s unexpected gesture has left the masked one a mixture of surprise, fear, and ... anger. But Tobi can’t afford to show this, to everyone else in the room who are already confused watching them. “Awww; are ya shy, Itachi-san?”, he’ll ask out-loud, before pumping Itachi’s hand up and down in an exaggerated gesture. He’ll walk away calmly, but inside, he’ll be in turmoil; because in those brief few seconds, Tobi has been able to sense it: Itachi had come within a hair of trying to kill him. Could it be that he’d figured out — but no. No, no. Surely just a mistake, right? Maybe Itachi really WAS shy, and by the time it was Tobi’s turn, his tolerance limits had been reached. A plausible explanation ... but was it the right one?

Zetsu

He sees Itachi standing under the mistletoe and thinks to himself, that man looks delicious. He’s eaten a lot of people in his time, but never once somebody who possessed the sharingan. Would that visual prowess make the meat taste better? His mouth starts to water; Itachi is fairly young and therefore should be soft and delectable. He stands there staring at Itachi until somebody (likely Kisame) asks him what’s up with that weird look on his face. Not wanting the others to think he’s any more of a freak than they already do, he steps up and kisses Itachi’s cheek — and takes the opportunity to flick out his tongue and lick the man’s skin. Saltier than expected, but warm, with a faint scent of tea. He quickly walks away before he loses control, and goes out into the night to find others to fulfill his awakened appetite.

Pein

Pein welcomed Itachi into the Akatsuki when the latter was still a very young man. Over the past few years he’s watched the way he’s grown and matured, and he’s come to think of him almost as one would think of a son. Pein will smooth Itachi’s hair back and lightly kiss his forehead, and then lightly pat his head, before going on his way.

Kisame

He sees Itachi standing there, and his heart jumps into his throat. Itachi ... is a level of light and of perfection that someone like Kisame doesn’t dare to touch. He stands back and watches the others have their turns. He’s gotten to know this man pretty closely these past few years, and can often tell what he’s thinking or feeling just by glancing at his face. Right now, what Itachi was feeling, was Patience. The kissing game is just another thing he’s enduring, not particularly liking or disliking it, simply getting through. Kisame thinks that he should spare Itachi and go quietly to his room, so that Itachi can return to his own. But Itachi sees Kisame start to walk away, and actually calls out to him, stopping him. Hearing his name makes Kisame’s heart thump even faster. But WHY? Itachi was simply his young friend, for goodness sake. An intelligent, thoughtful partner. A — “Hey shark man, you gonna slobber on red-eyes here or what?” Kisame glares at Hidan before walking quickly up to Itachi, he takes a deep breath and leans in to kiss his cheek— but Itachi turns his head at the last second, and Kisame finds their lips are touching. Kisame is not sure of how much time is passing; the clock seems to stand still for this moment. Itachi’s lips are as soft as flower petals, his hair smooth and silky as it brushes against Kisame’s cheek. Itachi eventually breaks the kiss, and, to Kisame’s shock, he’s smiling. Not the smirks or grins that Kisame has come to know, but a real, tooth-bearing smile. Seeing that expression makes Itachi look younger than ever to him, and Kisame ... feels flustered. Although there’s no reason to feel flustered. He’d only shared a kiss with his friend, that’s all. Both of them look at each other a few moments longer and then Itachi, his “sentence” over, says his Goodnights to the members and goes to his room. Eventually Kisame (and everyone else) does the same.

[lovelywingsart]

First Impressions

-- Karl Heisenberg X OC (AFAB, She/They)--

Ah, my first attempt at a story on here! I've got an entire storyline for them, but let's see how this first one goes...! QuQ I'm definitely more of an artist than I am a writer, but I hope everyone likes it...! I'll definitely post the rest at some point but for now I'm leading with this one aldfjghjk-

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*Warnings?: Slight angst? Potentially life-threatening 'testing', mention of memory loss, injury

Summary: Emelia was a worker for Umbrella Corporation Europe, an Engineer and technician, before having been kidnapped by Miranda during a 'trip' to Romania. All of a sudden, she woke up in a large area... Where was she? Who was this man that had appeared out of the darkness? And why couldn't she remember anything?

Darkness.

Darkness and pain...

Emelia woke with a pained gasp, almost choking in loose dirt as it was kicked up by her movements. She scrambled to a kneeling position, coughing and wheezing. There was pain with each breath, she found, and she tried harder to contain her hacking. Once the coughs died down, she managed to look up and around. There was... nothing. Maybe a few parts of machinery along the walls here and there... She looked around frantically. Where the hell was she?? It almost looked like a strange chamber of sorts...

"H... Hello...?" She called, her voice gravely from the strain on her throat.

She couldn't see a thing, though something about her body felt... odd. She couldn't remember a thing about getting here... Hell, she could barely remember anything except her name... DID she remember her name?? She looked down at herself, seeing dark clothing and feeling a small patch on her shoulder as she reached up to rub it. She tugged the patch closer to get a look at it, but still couldn't remember the odd-looking octagon shaped symbol. Another once-over led her to a patch on her chest, and she sighed. Great, a nametag... At least that was taken care of.

"Hello...?" Emelia tried again, this time met with a chuckle.

"Ah, you're awake!" A man's voice called out with a surprised glee. Startled, she looked up to see a dark figure stand along what was very quickly becoming seen as a steel pathway along the wall that lead into stairs. He stood in front of an open door that let in a dim light, his silhouette showing that he wore a large jacket and a hat, but she could barely see much else. Beside the man was a large object... A hammer?? But her attention stayed on the figure, watching as a glowing orange spot moved, indicating smoking of some sort. The man seemed to lean over a railing as he looked down at her.

"Where... Where am I...?" She asked, panic growing in her chest as her eyes became adjusted to the darkness once she tore her eyes away from him. It was definitely a large room of some sort, but... underground...? Her surroundings were stone... Stone and metal scraps, with piping along the walls themselves. The walls and ceiling had been chipped away, the marks of axes or hammers still evident in the rough rock texture, and a massive industrial fan was imbedded into the wall at her far left. The piece of equipment was still, but she had a feeling she wouldn't have been alive if it were active.

She suddenly flinched with a breath, causing her to cough once more and press a hand to the middle of her chest. This wasn't normal... she could feel... SOMETHING inside her chest. WAS it inside...? Maybe it was her imagination... She looked up as she heard another chuckle, before jumping as there was a small explosion above her. She looked up in time to see a small mass of falling stone, managing to jump and roll out of the way with a scream to avoid them as they landed with a *CRUNCH* . She looked back up at him, her eyes wide with fear.

"What the bloody hell is going on...?!" She finally yelled, managing to push herself up to a stand with a pained grunt. "Who... Who are you...?!"

"This, Sweetheart, is a test." The man said. "I want to see why she sent you here. Just play along, and you'll be fine!" She watched him flick his wrist towards the ceiling, and another explosion was heard.

Emelia looked up to see yet another cluster of rocks falling, and this time she ran. She heard laughter from the man as soon as the rocks landed, along with two other explosions. She stopped along the wall for a single moment before pushing off again as the stones fell, nearly catching her under them. A third went off, and she was nearly blown back by the force of them landing too close for comfort. She gave small grunts of pain as small bits of rock flew and hit her from breaking on impact, holding her arm and feeling a warm, wet sensation. There was a snicker from the railing.

"Well, you're not that fast..." The man commented, seemingly unimpressed. "But you're not a Lycan."

She glared up at him with tears threatening to fall from frustration and dust.

"You're crazy...!!!" She yelled. He drew back slightly, only to laugh once more.

"What makes you say that?" He asked, nodding his head slightly. More small explosions went off, and he watched as the falling rocks seemed to trail her as she ran.

She stopped as she came face to face with another heap of fallen rubble, turning to run, only to find metal scraps being torn from the ground to block her path. The same happened on her other side, and suddenly she was trapped. Breathing was difficult... It was as if something was blocking her lungs... She was nearly hyperventilating from panic. She looked around frantically, bleeding from small cuts due to smaller rocks. It wasn't until she looked at her forearm that she noticed, the cuts were... healing? She watched as her skin sealed itself slowly, leaving little to no mark save for a small, white scar and the blood that had previously been pouring from it. She froze as she watched more cuts seal and bruises form, now more terrified than she was. What... What WAS she...?? She clearly wasn't human... In fact, she barely remembered BEING human... But she felt as if she was, or at least used to be...

With tears now streaming down her dirt covered face, she looked up with fury.

"WHO ARE YOU??!!" She screamed, not noticing as her own voice seemed to distort itself. She did notice, however, as a large spasm shot through her right arm. The man chuckled as she moved quickly to hold onto it as it jerked away from her body slightly.

"Now things are getting interesting..." he said, leaning over the railing once more. "If you survive, I'll tell you everything. Think of it as a prize."

"If I... WHAT?!" She stared up at him, her face that of disbelief. But she couldn't hold the stare, instead returning her focus on her spasming arm and nearly screaming in horror at the feeling of... SOMETHING erupting from the skin of her chest. The spasms shot up her right jaw shortly after, and she swore she felt her teeth elongate... She only looked up as she heard a rumbling, followed by another large explosion directly above her. Time seemed to slow down as she realized she had nowhere to run... The falling rubble would have crushed her entirely. She felt fear and anger course through her body as she watched the stones fall, instinctively holding up her arms in defense.

In a split second, everything stopped. The dust settled and there was no sound, even from the man watching over her. In fact, he looked... disappointed. As if a new toy of his had been broken. And yet, as he began to push himself away from the railing, there was a low growl from the rubble. He froze, watching intently as the largest stone began to move, in which he noticed it hadn't fallen completely onto the ground. Actually, it was a good distance AWAY from the ground... He watched as it was lifted with a struggling, growling roar, before suddenly shattering.

Underneath the falling pieces was Emelia, standing and shaking with panting, growling breaths. But it wasn't HER... Her right half had transformed... Mutated into a muscular-like creature that threatened to rip out of the shirt she wore as she held a clawed hand over her head, gripping small rocks and dust. The same arm, the man noticed, which had shattered the stone that had fallen on it. The mutated woman stood in the middle of the rubble for a moment with heavy breaths before shakily looking at her arm. More fear entered her mind, but it was replaced quickly with rage. The only thing she now had on her mind was to escape... And kill. She punched through more of the rock with an enraged yell, climbing and ripping the stones open to get out. The stones and rubble ripped like weak fabric from the force. She only stopped as she heard joyful laughter, turning to see the man hold his arms open.

"Great show!!!" He cheered, grabbing a hammer-like object and slinging it over his shoulder. "I see why that heinous bitch sent you here! You're perfect."

Emelia stared at him, her vision going red with much more anger than she thought possible. She suddenly shot forward with a snarling yell, jumping over the rubble with relative ease despite fumbling over loose rocks. She had tunnel vision as she slammed her mutated shoulder against the wall near the stairs before darting up them. She gave a guttural yell and reared her mutated arm back, claws posed to strike the man down; but she didn't. Each breath was a growl as she noticed she had stopped moving entirely, close enough to see the sly smirk on his face, his eyes hidden behind dark, rounded shades. It wasn't until she looked at her arm that she realized she was stopped by metal pieces, only to give a surprised yell as she was flung and pinned against the wall with the metal itself. She struggled for a moment, only stopping as he stepped in front of her with a chuckle.

"You'll fit right in." He smiled, taking a drag on the cigar he held. Emelia curled her lip in a snarl.

"Who the hell are you?!" She snarled with a low, warped voice, baring her teeth as her muscles shook from rage and exertion. The man chuckled.

"Well, you DID survive, so I guess you get to know." He smiled.

With a step back, the metal was flung away, and Emelia was dropped to her knees. She coughed once more as more dust was kicked up. With a shudder and a few cracks of muscle and bone, she watched with near horror as whatever mutation retreated back under her skin as near black tendrils.

"What the fuck..." she muttered, carefully reaching back and rubbing her neck having felt something along her spine. She then looked up to see the man had taken off the glasses in near astonishment. There was a moment of silence before the man broke into a sinister grin.

"That crazy bitch." He said, holding out his hand for her. She eyed it for a moment before hesitantly holding onto it, wobbling and leaning against the wall as he helped her up. "Karl Heisenberg." He grinned. "You?"

"... why am I trusting you?" Emelia mumbled, taking a step back. "You just attempted to KILL me."

"Kill, schmill, it was a test!"

"Trying to crush me was a TEST?!"

"I had to see what Miranda meant in sending you here, but turns out you're a bit more than she knew." He returned his glasses to his face, adjusting the hammer-like object on his shoulder. "She would have kept you had she known about that. Now, your name."

She stared at him for a moment before giving an annoyed huff her gaze falling back to her arm.

"Walsh. Emelia Walsh."