Hehee, dark prince is definitely one of my favourites! Dark prince is its wip name before I finally figured out the whole thing; I ended up naming it as A Name in the Dark, the first part of the series named as The House With No Light.
Severus is Harry’s biological father and after Lily betrays him, denying all the right from Severus for his own son, Severus sells gladly Lily and James to Voldemort. He gets Harry, renaming him as Emrys Hadrianus Prince. And yes, Voldemort is unnaturally interested about him. The first part follows Emrys to the last evening before he starts in Hogwarts while the second part continues from there until the end of the story.
Emrys is basically raised by the whole dark side. By Severus, by Regulus, by the Malfoys, by the Lestranges, by Voldemort himself. And not all the lessons go as they are planned. Someone forgets to tell Emrys that if he sees any rebels in public places, they are not to be killed on sight. (Ah, this hasn’t come up in the fic yet though!) And Severus is forced to promise Emrys to Voldemort when he grows up.
Imagine it, 15-16-year-old Emrys coming home very late from a ball. Severus has been waiting for him, but when he finally comes home, he looks throughout kissed, at least. Severus, in a protective dad mode storms to Voldemort with something like “what did you do to my son???? He’s WAY too young, we had AGREEMENT!” and Voldemort calmly saying that Emrys forced himself on Voldemort. That he should go to do the talk to Emrys instead.
Other additional things in that series are Severus/Regulus relationship, Severus having a foster father, Severus connecting with his own grandfather through Emrys, the whole Weasley family separated. It has also a lot of complicated politics, which include Dumbledore staying in Hogwarts and no one on the light side knowing that Emrys is the Dark Prince. He also kills someone very publicly and very violently in the middle of the Great Hall with everyone present, and Dumbledore can do nothing if he wants to protect the other students in there.
And so much more!
A snippet from this one too, to give some kind of idea how Emrys is trained… :D (Content warning to a referred animal torture/kill)
"Uncle Rab! What do we do today?" Emrys asked, his grin wide as he took in the room. It had been changed, and Rabastan had done a good job of making some good hiding places there. It was supposed to be a challenge; Emrys had had enough experience with just throwing the knife at the target.
"Choose an animal bigger than a bunny," Rabastan asked instead of answering the question. Emrys frowned, clearly looking around and trying to figure out what it was.
"How about a dog?" he asked, and Rabastan complied, conjuring a decent size dog, which barked immediately. Rabastan took a threatening step towards it, forcing it to move away.
"There you go. Prepare yourself," Rabastan commanded. Bella watched with glee as Emrys pulled out the knife she had given him, his eyes lighting up with excitement.
Bella knew Emrys was quick and agile, but it was always a surprise to see him moving. His feet didn't make any sound as they touched the floor, giving the impression he was hovering slightly above the floor. His magic filled the room, making Bella shiver, but she couldn't turn away, couldn't leave. Emrys's hair was open, almost floating around his head, and he looked… deadly. It wasn't natural, not for a boy of his age, and it told a story about his childhood, short as it had been.
She couldn't even imagine what Emrys would be like when he was a teenager, not even talking about when he would be an adult.
He was exactly what the Dark Lord deserved. Bella could have been jealous after she had tried to get into the Dark Lord's bed, but she wasn't anymore. She understood Emrys was above all of them, reaching to a level only the Dark Lord could reach.
anj ur fics are so fun and well-crafted i am a huge secret admirer of them who has been following u for a yr (and i respect the dilf prof anthony agenda frfr it's always the english depts too getting called daddy thank u for this homage) but omfg as someone in the humanities phd track, i cannot help but ask why kate is so young for a prof???? esp since almost all humanities profs start a fulltime teaching position at 28-30 yrs old minimum... i had a hard time imagining how 25 yr old would allowed to teach as a professor full-time by effect of her 'merit' unless it's some exploitative semi-illegal gag clause contingency hidden in her contract that renders her basically a 'pre-'grad student but w/o even their flimsy benefits n protections which actually usually is the case... 😭😭 knowing the dysfunctional politics embedded in uk and north american tenure systems, i unfortunately couldnt get past it! but looking forward to ur milf kate writing, hope u dont find this question too nosy or offensive lol (i enjoyed the fic for what it is hehe) i realize traumatized phds r probs not the target audience of this fic nor entitled to an explanation for why ur not reading and incorporating paywalled exposes of uni working conditions into a fic but was still curious if u were just taking reference from a different context or more ethical precedent of academic labor (which may ease my conscious reading it haha). tysm!
First of all—thank you! I appreciate you reading and being a secret admirer (tho I promise I don’t bite, ur always welcome to say hey!). I appreciate it 💘
Second of all—lmfao I was wondering when I’d get this ask or comment 😭😭😭😭😭 I just knew there’d be some poor phd student or some professor reading this fic who’d be like “hang on… what’s that?” and the answer I’ve got for you is let’s have a healthy dose of suspension of complete disbelief because it was the only way I could make this work 🤓
I wanted it to be an age gap because I wanted to write an age gap but I didn’t want there to be too horrible of a power imbalance that would definitely come with it being a student/professor relationship. That was just too far for me to personally go, even though with the ages I have them at, it would be the most realistic thing. Idk making them student/professor made me feel icky. I suppose I could’ve made her work some admin job within the university but I really liked the idea of them both teaching, and I originally planned on having him sort of rediscover his own love of teaching thanks to her enthusiasm. For some background (this didn’t make it into the fic, but I did hint at it); Anthony specializes in teaching a lot of western lit canon/comp lit things and Kates specializes in post-colonial lit/Asian American lit, and I liked the idea of her challenging his perspectives and changing up some of the ways he approaches his work and the things he assigns, and that all helping him rediscover his love of teaching as well. There’s a repeated theme in this oneshot of rebirth; how love can find us at unexpected times and make the world feel brand new again. I kinda heavy-handedly drove the theme home when he says I love you and I write that it washes over Kate like rainwater in spring—a sort of nod to baptism/rebirth imagery, a nod to rain being necessary for renewal even though she’s afraid of storms but the storm scene is a huge turning point for them, and rain and springtime and rebirth etc lol. ANYWAYS—all this to say, I really do try and make things as realistic as possible, because that matters to me and I like world building and tbh I do get paranoid that someone might read my fic and go “oh well that’s wrong, a mechanic would never say that” or something lol, but it is fanfiction land and I do have to make some concessions to make the story work in the way I want it to work, and I sort of ended up here lol! Trust me, though, I totally hear you; I was an English major myself (if you couldn’t tell) with a concentration in post-colonial lit and a minor in poli-sci and for a while I thought I’d get my masters or a PhD in the humanities and then teach, before a professor discouraged me from it bc ya know this is the US and that usually means a lot of debt and no teaching positions lol. But all that to say—I totally hear you! It’s not realistic and it’s icky if you work/study in it and know exactly what the dark and ugly side of academia looks like! But most folks probably didn’t catch that bc no one really knows what it’s like until you’re in it tbh. I tried to sort of make it work by having her have these two masters degrees (again, insane) and be some sort of wunderkind and exciting new voice in the post-colonial lit field that Agatha just had to bring on lmao. Basically it’s not perfect and it doesn’t totally work irl, but it’s not too big of a plot point besides getting them in the same place, and it’s not a huge focus, just in the background as they’re grading things or walking around campus, and I hope it doesn’t totally impede your ability to read it, but I totally understand if it does 😭
I am still working on Op. Solarstorm, but I had this playing in my mind for far too long to keep ignoring. Also, not me back at it again with my favourite tropes and villain!reader? lmao. Anyway, enjoy!
Masterlist in bio/pinned
Pairing:
Dick Grayson x f!reader (villain)
Word count: 5217
Warnings: Language, violence, steamy stuff hehe ;) but no nsfw, kind of angst? also reader being so fucking dramatic
Summary: You are the resident bad guy of Blüdhaven, former supervillain, nemesis of Nightwing and master toxinologist in your own right. One night, however, you receive an unexpected visit that convince you to return to your former alias, Scorpion. (Based off a prompt I can’t find in my likes anymore but I’ll link it as soon as I find it)
The storm raged outside.
The rain pelted down your windows, blurring the view of Blüdhaven’s skyline almost entirely. Only the occasional thunder bolts lit up the horizon, just enough to see for a fraction of second the dark clouds glaring down the city. The wind howled as it navigated around the skyscrapers, washing away the droplets of rain as soon as they crashed down.
You stood in front of the curtain wall of your condo, sipping a glass of wine and watching it all unwind like a movie. You found the storm relaxing, as if the loud growl of it drained all the negative energy stored within you and released it as a powerful blast out into the world. You smiled at the thought; if only you could possess that much power to smithe your enemies, your job would be about a hundred times easier.
You were about to leave your window for a refill when you heard the faintest thud at your door. You frowned, waiting a moment, before shrugging and resuming your course for the kitchen. However, before you could get there, another sound reached your ears, this time, unmistakably two quiet knocks. You placed your glass on a hallway table beside a flower vase and went to the door, peeking through the glass eye. When you saw nothing, you backed up and reached for the switchblade tucked under the waistband of your pants, then placed a careful hand on the knob. You twisted and pulled the door open, and your muscles tensed at the sight in front of you.
Your fight or flight instinct kicked in for a second as your eyes registered the black and blue before anything else, but you held back that reaction when you noticed something was wrong. While there was no doubt the man on the other side was Nightwing, the vigilante that always managed to spoil your plans or stop your schemes, he looked nothing like the cocky vigilante who would have already delivered a clever one liner as soon as he got a glimpse of your face.
No, that man was hunched on the wall, his footing staggering and his suit ripped on the arms and the torso. He was drenched and visibly weak, and his mask was broken over his left eye. Even if you could see only half of it, you noticed the blown pupil that expanded over most of his iris. Like his reaction time had been put in slow motion, he finally lifted his head, his gaze swaying from left to right. He had been clearly drugged.
“I’m sorry” His voice was shaky and breathless. “I’m sorry… I had nowhere else to go”
You noticed only then he was clutching his stomach, even if he wasn’t bleeding specifically there. You snapped out of your stupor, putting your arm around his torso and holding him up as he crashed forward. You managed to pull him in your condo with you and shut the door behind you with your foot. He was heavy, especially since he probably didn’t have the control of his muscles at all to help you with the weight, but you managed to get him to your couch. You laid him down, being careful not to let his head bounce on the way down. You put the back of your hand on his forehead, and he was burning. Even through the rain on his skin, you could see the coat of sweat on his face and down his neck. Switchblade in hand, you cut through what remained of his suit and slipped it off him before he caught his death from wearing cold, soaking wet clothes on top of whatever else was happening. He started writhing on the couch, moaning in pain and still clutching his stomach. You saw that it was swollen and tender under all the shallow fresh cuts littering his body, and immediately you understood that he hadn’t been drugged, he had been poisoned.
You moved up his body again and kneeled beside his head, gently removing his domino mask. He was so out of it he didn’t even notice your cold fingers on his face, nor your saddened sigh. It had been a while since you had seen him without his mask, and yet, he was still as shockingly beautiful as he was years ago. You didn’t waste time appreciating his beauty however, as you were most probably on the clock. You stood up and left him there for a second as you grabbed your emergency kit labelled poison/venom and brought it back to him, kneeling once again. You grabbed the flashlight first, leaning above his face and pulling the eyelids of his right eye open. You flashed the light in it, but the pupil remained blown, completely ignoring the sudden brightness. His left eye was the same.
Quickly, you put the flashlight away and grabbed a plastic syringe, capping it with a needle. You made sure the air was out before finding the vein in his arm and plunging the needle in it. You filled it with blood and put it aside while you fished the toxicity test, then put a small amount of blood in the vial and twirled it to mix it with the powder. You waited a minute and checked the scale, which told you if left untreated, whatever was flowing through his veins would be very lethal. You swore under your breath as you pushed to your feet again, heading for your bedroom and your walk in wardrobe. At the back of it, you punched a code in a pad and the wall pulled slightly toward you. With a tug, you pulled it all the way out and grabbed the first o negative blood bag as well as tubes and a stand to hook it on. You returned to him and prepared his transfusion in a record time, setting the bag and the tubes then putting once again a needle in his arm. At this point, he had stopped moving, but his chest still rose and fell in jagged motions.
You remained there a couple of seconds more to be sure he was really passed out, then you grabbed the syringe filled with blood and moved everything else out of the way. You put the syringe on the counter while you dragged your working station from another room--only now glad that you made the choice to have it on wheels--and put it so you could have a good view of Dick even when working. You took the time to put gloves, then brought the syringe with you and sat behind your microscope.
You put a drop of blood on the slide and got to work.
---
You waited in the dark warehouse, your ears strained for any other sound than the water leaking from the roof. Your double edged spear was prominent on your back, glistening under the faint light coming from the bright spot outside. You hadn’t taken it out in a while, but its blades were still sharp and deadly. You hoped the sheer sight of it would be enough to remind your rendez-vous who was in charge here, but you wouldn’t mind using your weapon once again.
You stared deeper into the building as quiet footsteps grew closer, and seconds later, your contact emerged from the darkness. You let them come to you as you remained attentive to your surroundings. Just because they were an old colleague of yours, it didn’t mean you trusted them. If anything, it made them even more dangerous in your eyes.
“Scorpion” They greeted with a smirk, using your old nickname. You couldn’t help but let a chuckle at the memory of the good old days, when you definitely wouldn’t have gone to such lengths for Nightwing out of all people. “What owes me the pleasure of getting your call tonight?”
“I need some intel” You went straight to the point, fishing a small vial from your black trenchcoat, holding it up to eye level. “This is a very rare sample of Diamondback rattlesnake venom I extracted from the blood of an unfortunate victim. Any idea how it got into Blüdhaven without me knowing?”
They raised an eyebrow after giving the vial a quick glance. “Are you accusing me of smuggling it into the city?”
“Not yet” You carefully replied. “But I believe you might know who did”
“Listen” They sighed as you put back the sample in your coat. “You’ve been out of the game for a while now. Things have changed down here, and it’s not my place to question the chain of power”
“Have they?” You challenged, sweeping the room once again and noticing they hadn’t brought back up. Decidedly, someone somewhere got ahead of themselves and forgot their place.
“Uh?”
“Have things really changed?” You slowly raised an eyebrow. You felt dread creep in their eyes. “I want a name”
“None can do” They backed up slowly, palms up. “You hold no power here anymore, so you should just go back to your tower and keep your nose in your mob business before we both get killed”
“I guess we’ll see, won’t we?” You mumbled, looking them up and down. Then, you reached behind your back to get your spear. You striked rapidly as they jumped back, the blade slicing the skin of their biceps. You spun it in your hand and put it back on your back.
“What the f--” They swore, glaring at you. “You’re truly out of it, Scorpion. Can’t even hit your fucking target now. That’s why nobody’s scared of you anymore”
“If you think I missed, then you’ve learned nothing” You simply smiled as you backed away. “You’ll remember who’s in charge soon enough. Have a good life, what’s left of it anyway”
You turned around and walked away, thinking about how the powerful venom coating the blades of your staff was strong enough to cause seizures in about fifteen minutes, and death in fifteen more.
---
You returned to your condo as the sun began to be visible over the horizon, the soft light basking the whole living room in a yellow hue. You quietly went back to your room, changing from your drenched trench coat and black suit to a cream colored blouse and burgundy slacks. You carefully put back your spear in its locked case, keeping its blades far away from any exposed skin.
You returned to the living room, pausing beside Dick who was still passed out. His breathing was slower, more even now, so the antidote you had prepared before leaving had worked. The fever seemed to have died down, and you guessed his stomach wasn't swollen anymore. You didn’t want to pull off the two heavy blankets over him to check and let his bare skin come into contact with the cold of the room. You checked the solute solution that replaced the blood bag on the stand, knowing you wouldn’t need a refill once it was empty. Knowing the man, he’d wake up anytime soon.
You cleaned up the room and brought back your working station to your office, then sat at your computer to catch up on some work your now ex-accountant messed up. After a couple of hours, you took a nap that turned into something closer to a night full of sleep, and only woke up in the late afternoon. You were surprised Dick was still out when you checked on him, it wasn’t his type to fall into the average of anything, especially not recovery time.
You had to wait well after sundown for him to stir awake with a groan, then slightly panic as he took in his surroundings. He tried to sit up, but fell back onto his elbows.
“Take it easy” You said, bringing his attention to you for a second before he averted his gaze. “You had quite the dose of venom in your blood. You’re lucky you even made it to my door”
Even with his gaze casted down, you could see he was confused by the soft tone you spoke to him with. It was a far cry from the threats and insults you usually shared when he decided to come and interfere with your business. Yet, you didn’t like the idea of someone else out there trying to kill him, despite the fact that you had done so many times in the past. You and Nightwing had been long standing rivals, fighting for the same turf when you were Scorpion and now that you had your own mob to manage. He knew where you stood, and you him, creating a dynamic where unspoken rules were religiously being respected by both parties. And well, you hated when rules were broken, especially by people with no respect for them, especially when they targeted your nemesis.
You stood up and walked to him, sitting on the coffee table beside him. You brushed your hand down his cheek to his chin, gently pushing up so he could meet your eyes. They were still a bit glassy and unfocused from the venom, but the pupils had regained their normal size. The white around his dark blue irises was bloodshot, and the dark bags under his lids were prominent. In the years you had known him, you had never seen him so battered, so down, so not… him. Even if you were by all purposes and intents enemies, it still sparked a rage within you. You could feel the anger rise in your throat at the defeated face staring back at you, but you willed it back inside. For now.
Your voice was barely a whisper, but it still conjured a divine wrath with every word. “Who did this to you?”
“Doesn’t matter” He mumbled, but he didn’t have the strength to conceal his lie. He tried to get up, but his muscles failed him.
“But it does” You shook your head, not letting him look away. “Someone injected you with venom and tortured you. It cannot go unanswered, not under my watch”
Something switched in his eyes, before it was buried under resolve in front of your insisting. “Sionis”
Suddenly you saw red. You knew he had been in town for a few weeks already, but you mostly ignored him, thinking he’d go away on his own after concluding whatever deal he was there for. You had no doubt he had been the one to take over Blüdhaven’s underworld right under your nose and turn everyone against you. Unbeknownst to them, you were still the most dangerous person in this city and it was well past time to remind them of it.
“Stay here, you need to rest” You ordered, gently pushing him back on the couch. “When you’ll feel strong enough to stand up, there’s food in the fridge”
“Wait, where are you going?” Confusion etched on his features.
“I’m going to have a little chat with Sionis”
“(Y/N), no” His voice was strained as he pushed himself off the couch and tried to stand up again. The use of your name made you halt your step to face him as he struggled to stay on his feet. “You don’t… You can’t…”
You retook the steps towards him, stopping right in front of him. “You came to me last night for help, so let me help”
“I know but…” He trailed off, sighing. “I can’t let you fight my battles, it’s not right”
“I’m not, I’m doing what I should have done weeks ago. I have let the infection fester in the wound for far too long, and now it’s time to clean it” You placed a hand on his cheek, and he didn’t fight it. “It’s our city, and if Sionis thinks he can take it, he’s gravely mistaken”
“It doesn’t mean I want it to be taken back your way” His eyes flashed pain as he shook his head slightly. Yet, he still didn’t back off, but you retracted your hand like it touched fire. “Scorpion left a trail of bodies wherever she went. I may still not approve of your current career, but nothing will let me morally support your descent to that rabbit hole again”
Your features hardened at his words. “Those are bold claims for a man who cannot take two steps without crumbling” You spoke calmly, but the harsh undertone in your voice was a dead giveaway of your bitterness. “I don’t want to see you hurt, I think we’ve established that a long time ago. But I feel like it’s a good time to remind you that what was given can be taken away”
“You’re threatening me now?”
You gave him a cold smile as you backed away. “Oh honey, you’ll know when I’m threatening you”
“So we’re back to this uh?” His sneer transcended his weakened physical state.
“You should rest” You deflected, not ready to answer that just yet, not to him, anyway. You hated to see disappointment on such handsome features, even if it was pretty much the only thing you ever saw anymore. “This isn’t a hangover you can shake off with a tylenol and a smoothie. You need to let the antidote work”
He only held your stare, the disappointment you dreaded steadily growing in his blue eyes. His lack of words were as effective as his worst scolding. Without breaking eye contact, you fished your phone from your pocket and dialed the first contact in your list.
“Borovski, arrange a last minute meeting with Mr. Sionis” You spoke in a flat tone. “Yes, let him know that Scorpion requires an audience”
------
You found the place of the meeting peculiar.
The underground casino was crassy, a cloud of cigarette smoke hanging low in the air. No players were sitting at the tables, no bartenders were on duty, only a handful of armed guards giving you a not so warm welcome into the establishment and one man in a purple sequin suit.
“Ah, Scorpion!” Sionis called as he stood up. Then, he paused as he took you in. “I must say, you are not what I expected”
You raised an eyebrow at the grimace he made, but he kept looking you up and down as if there was something he didn’t quite catch. Finally, his eyes stopped on your spear on your back, and his face lit up with understanding. He laughed, but it seemed way too forced.
“Oh, I get it now!” He wiped nonexistent tears from his eyes as he pointed back and forth between you and the spear. “It’s because the spear’s like a scorpion tail. Very clever!”
“I’m glad to see there are no explanations required then” You scoffed sarcastically as you took one step forward. Immediately, his guards closed in on you.
“Aht aht,” He held a finger up, waving it obnoxiously. “I might find it clever, but there is no scenario possible in which you come close to me with that thing. Hand it over”
“Afraid of a little blade, Sionis?” You taunted, nevertheless taking your spear off your back and handing it to one of his goons.
“Nice try, but we both know it’s not just the blade” He made yet another grimace as you got cleared to come closer. “Men, be careful not to touch the shiny part of it, kay? I’d hate to stain the floors with your dead bodies”
You smirked as you sat down in the chair he gestured to, resting your arms on the empty poker table. He sat down sideways in front of you and crossed his legs, bouncing his feet to an imaginary beat. “So... Miss Scorpion,” He began, a hint of humour in his voice like the situation was amusing. “I gotta say, I admire your previous work. But how long has it been since then? Five, six years? Where have you been?”
“Seven” You corrected. “I inherited a criminal empire from my father, changed vocations. Rather than sting people, I synthesize antidotes to the most potent venoms and sell them for quite a fortune per dose”
“Uh, I heard you were in the drug market” He frowned. “Perhaps my intel was… Mistaken”
“That too” The corner of your lips went up. “Well dosed, venom makes for a fantastic psychedelic. But worry not about your circle, those are no street drugs. Not a lot of people can afford it, in fact”
He nodded slowly. “So you want what exactly, to sell to me?”
“No” You shook your head, your smile turning just a bit more sinister as you grabbed the rattlesnake venom vial and rolled it to him. Slowly, he picked up and observed it, recognition flashing in his features. You leaned forward, setting your stare on him. “I’m here for other concerns. Like you bringing venom in my city without my authorization”
He sat back in his chair, amused and unimpressed. He twirled the vial in his gloved hands, lazily studying it. “It’s not your city anymore” He shrugged. “It was right there for the taking, and honestly it is so much more fun than Gotham, without a gloomy bat lurking in the dark”
You didn’t react immediately. You simply observed him, then subtly calculated the distance of each goon from him. In theory, their reaction times would be slow enough for you to get to Sionis. But you held back, knowing he’d expect it now.
“That’s what your smuggler said, too” You hummed, watching closely as his eyes met yours. He mustn’t be happy about that, because his expression became a notch darker. “Before I killed them, that is. But I guess I did you a favor in doing so. They would have sold you out to the next opportunist. Nobody likes a traitor, right?”
He regained his composure, but the bitterness in his eyes didn’t leave. “When I heard you wanted to meet, I thought it’d be to apologize to me for your misstep” He took a deep breath. “I was ready to let you go with some compensation for my loss in the form of doing my dirty work, I really was. But now I see you still want to be insolent--”
“Alright, I’ll say this once and only once” You interrupted him, and he instantly grew offended. “Get out of my city. Leave and never come back, or Nightwing won’t be the one you’ll be facing”
“So, this is what got your panties in a twist” He laughed, then seriousness fell back down on his features in a snap. “Kill her”
Before they could move, you pushed out of your chair and grabbed your switchblade in your belt. Your footwork was swift as you spun around Sionis, avoiding the range of the gun he was pulling out, and stopped behind him. A second later, his head was slammed down on the table and your blade was pressed to his throat. You looked up at the goons who had halted their movements, suspense of what you’d do next hanging in the air.
“Drop your weapons” You ordered, nodding at the gun aimed at you. “C’mon, off with it. Kick them away too”
“Drop your weapons” Sionis repeated through his teeth, not daring to move a muscle. God knew what was on your blade, and if you drew blood, it’ll most likely be over for him. “Fuck!”
Slowly, they lowered their weapon to the ground and kicked them toward you. “Good” You huffed out before leaning closer to Sionis. “Now maybe you won’t underestimate me anymore. This is only a taste of what will come to you if you keep provoking me. I’ll destroy you like a poison running its course through a healthy vein, and you’ll regret setting eyes on my city. Understood?”
“You fucking bitch” He panted, a twisted smile on his lips. “You’re fucking dumb if you think you can get out of here alive. You’re out of your league, little girl”
“Really? I was under the impression that your life mattered more than mine” You said as you pressed your blade further, exposing the metal to his blood long enough to know the venom got in. You retracted your blade, but kept the hand on his head. “If I don’t make it out of here, neither will you. You’ll be dead in thirty minutes, like your smuggler. It’s gonna be painful and ugly, trust me. But if I walk out of here, in five minutes you’ll have a delivery boy knocking at your door and handing you the antidote. So what’s it gonna be, Sionis?”
He took a moment, exhaling loudly as his breathing quickened. “Go” He muttered harshly, glaring up sideways at you with a thousand daggers. “Fucking shit hell, go!”
You grinned, making the motion of leaving, but you weren’t done just yet. “One more thing” You slammed his head on the table once again before letting him go. “Nightwing is off limits. You’d do well to remember it”
You backed off of him, letting him stand up again and adjust his suit with an undignified huff. His eyes shot thunder at your back as you retreated, smugly taking your spear out of a goon’s hand and exiting the casino.
You weren’t such a fool not to expect retaliation, but at least you could say he had been warned through an over of what would be waiting for him.
-----
You weren’t expecting a welcome party back home, but Dick was there, on his feet, leaning on the couch as he glared at the front door.
“I thought you’d be back to sleep by now” You mused as you got in your apartment. You dropped your keys on the counter and made a show of putting down your spear. His eyes burned into yours as he watched your every move like a hawk. You raised an eyebrow as you took off your coat, then unclipped your utility belt and dropped it beside your keys. “Why now, are you finally out of clever one liners?”
He scoffed, then crossed his arms against his chest and looked away.
You rolled your eyes. “I don’t know why you’re mad I went after Sionis” You kept speaking, as he clearly gave you the silent treatment. “Who, by the way, tried to kill you with rattlesnake venom, in case you have already forgotten”
“I’m not mad” He finally mumbled. “I’m mourning the days where I didn’t have to worry about you going on a killing spree anymore”
“Is that all you think of me?” Your tone turned dry as you took one step toward him. “A loose cannon that needs to be held on a leash?”
“I don’t know” He shrugged sarcastically. “From what I remember from your so called glory days, bodies pile up pretty quickly when you’re in a mood”
You closed your eyes as your eyebrows rose in disbelief. “I’ve always liked you, Dick” You began after taking a deep breath. “As yourself and as Nightwing. We’ve always had a lot of common enemies, and I was fine with sharing this city with you”
You paused, slowly closing the distance between you and him. His muscles were tense, and his posture was defensive.
“If you think this was bad, oh you’re in for a treat, honey” You were face to face now. “I held back out of respect for you. Sionis is alive, out of respect for you. I healed you out of respect for you. Now that I know none of that respect is reciprocated, what stops me from fully being the bad guy?”
He stood up fully, towering over you. You had to look upwards to hold his glare.
“Me”
You smirked. “You’re so full of yourself”
“You don’t believe I can?”
“Well, you couldn’t when I was holding back”
“What makes you think I wasn’t holding back too?” He raised a challenging eyebrow.
“You had no reason to leave me out on the streets to pile up bodies, as you put it so eloquently” You taunted. “Unless…”
You inched closer, your faces only inches apart now.
“Unless you liked the chase as much as I did”
“In your dreams” He sneered.
“Oh, every night without a fail”
Before you could blink, he sneaked his hand behind your head and crashed his lips to yours. You were surprised, but you didn’t waste time leaning into it. For a man still weak from his previous poisoning, he recovered his spunk pretty quickly. His fingers dug into your side as you moved against each other, and if you didn’t know better, you’d believe he was trying to leave bruises on your skin. You returned the favor, brushing your hands against his bare chest, but his reaction wasn’t the one you had anticipated. He hissed, probably still sensitive around the stomach from the effect of the venom, and you took the opportunity to catch his lower lip between your teeth, giving it a soft bite.
“Fuck” He grunted, his eyes fluttering close.
“Are you sure you’re strong enough for this?” You hummed, tracing the dark bags under his eyes with your thumb. He opened his eyes once again, an incredulous and slightly offended glint in them that told you he was tired of you asking any variant of this question. “Alright, no need for hostility”
You returned your lip to his as he steadily backed you through your condo, navigating with assurance toward your bedroom. Your back pushed the door open with a thud, and soon after, you felt the mattress pressing behind your knees. You sat back, peeling off your shirt from your body and scooting further back on the bed. Dick climbed after you, pushing you on your back and wasting no time to crawl all over you again. You heard noise in the background, but you were too busy focusing on how blissful his mouth down your neck to your chest and back up made you feel. You barely noticed when your hands were brought up above your head, or when cold metal was secured around your wrists with a click.
Then, his body weight above yours was abruptly taken off. You reopened your eyes, mind still a bit fuzzy as you stared in confusion at Dick standing at the foot of the bed. Your frown deepened when you gave a good tug on your wrist, but couldn’t bring them down. You narrowed your eyes, then read his smug expression and understood what he did. You were tempted to be mad, but you couldn’t help but give him a full blown grin”
“Well, well, well” You drawled out, relaxing back. These were your handcuffs, you knew there was no getting out of them so easily. “I gotta say, I’m impressed. Using my attraction to you to get me temporarily out of commission is cold. I didn’t know you had it in you”
“Well, you had it coming” He crossed his arms against his chest, but in a more relaxed manner this time.
“Playing dirty now, are we?” You chuckled as you shamelessly checked him out. “Very well then. Next time we meet I’ll have adapted my game. I hope you’re ready”
You might have imagined it, but a small smile played on his lips just before he turned around and left you there, handcuffed to your bed frame.
One of the many versions of Jonathon’s beginnings~! There will be three more different reader types coming out with different perspectives of seeing Jonathon in a different light~! hehe I hope you guys enjoy this and thank you all so much for the support for this AU! ;;
**WARNING: There is going to be a lot of mention of torture and bodily harm within these stories in this AU so please, if you are uncomfortable with the subject or have a weak stomach DO NOT READ.
TW; Gore ; bodily harm ; blood ; corpses
» » Admin Ko
»»————- ♔ ————-««
The tension in the air was thick. Practically weighing down on the young individuals in the room as the large figure sat at his desk. The normal compassionate blue eyes, now a vortex of rage as the calm tone in his voice sent shivers down their spines.
“Explain to me, how a simple-- a simple, task. Has brought not only this absolute garbage of a report, but more of an eye onto our organization, hm?”
It was silent, the voices of the individuals caught and choked up in their throats as the glowering stare he held had them practically pinned down into the floor. As one individual attempted to speak, words slurring and jumbling up together, a loud bang! resounded throughout the once silent office.
The man’s body fell unceremoniously onto the ground in a heap of blood and brain matter. Wide and fearful eyes stared at the now corpse of their companion before sharply returning to the figure at the desk as he set the gun down. A disdainful look on his features as the swirling vortex of blue evolved into a storm of irritation and rage.
“Let’s try that again shall we? We all know how to speak the English language, there’s no need to stumble over such simple words. So again, explain to me what brought on this disgusting act you lot pulled.”
»»————- ⚜ ————-««
Jonathon Joestar, a man of compassion and understanding. For the head of the world’s largest syndicate, he wasn’t necessarily the big bad individual everyone made him out to be.
Walking down the grand halls of the Joestar estate, the individual couldn’t help but feel a sense of dread in her stomach as she noted the eerily silent hallways and lack of noise that failed to pollute the empty air she waltzed through.
If anything, just hearing her own footsteps echo throughout the building set her heart and mind in an uneasy spiral of paranoia as she finally found herself in front of a set of large immaculate doors. When she had first accepted the offer to work a mission under the Joestar estate, she was ecstatic. Now? The unease she felt and silence that greeted her when she first arrived had her rethinking her decision.
She had worked for many organizations. Each one having her do horrific kills and duties, but nonetheless every time she set foot into their buildings she would always be greeted with something, anything; and to come to the Joestar estate with nothing? It just continued to work against her initial judgement of the Joestar syndicate.
“Dammit, (y/n) this is no time to get cold feet!”
Irritation for herself began to bubble in her chest as she tightly clenched her fists. She had worked endless jobs. Each further staining her hands red. Her reputation as a highly sought after hitmen should be something she was proud of, yet here in front of these doors she couldn’t help but feel as though she shouldn’t be here.
Biting her lower lip, she hunched in on herself slightly before roughly smacking the sides of her face and forcing her body to move forward as she knocked on the grand doors.
Again, silence greeted her, and she couldn’t help but feel as though she came to the wrong building after a moment of nothing. Yet the strong yet calm voice behind the oak doors came out clear as she instinctively straightened up.
“Come in.”
Without even realizing, her body moved on it’s own as she grasped the cool bronze handle before pushing the doors open. The sight that greeted her however, was something she was sure she would never forget.
»»————- ⚜ ————-««
The first thing she could sense was the smell. The sharp coppery tang she was familiar with told her much of what had occurred in this room. If that wasn’t enough, seeing the splatter of blood and brains on the carpet and walls was enough to tell her much more of what happened, but what really had her senses going haywire and the desire to flee from the man before her was the disemboweled man hanging just a couple of feet behind the large man.
“I apologize for the mess, I had a meeting with these gentlemen, and I suppose their inadequate answers granted them this unsightly demise. Again, I do apologize as I didn’t want this to be the first thing you saw...”
Strong deep blue eyes met her own (e/c) one’s as a sudden chill ran down her spine. The hairs on the back of her neck standing straight up as he spoke to her, the words he said holding a promise in them if she happened to fail.
“...but I do believe it will give you a rather good idea if you were to give me a poor result in this deal.”
The smile that crossed his features was anything but comforting as she could only return a sharp nod to him, distrusting of her voice to not fail her as she swallowed the desire to curse and yell at the man before him.
“Hm? Where are my manners? Please. Have a seat, we have much to discuss in regards to the deal.”
His gesture to the seat adjacent to his desk had her hesitant at first, but seeing the blood staining his hand and sleeves had her thinking otherwise as she quickly seated herself.
“I must say, I’m surprised you didn’t high tail it out of here.”
The tone in his voice is light, joking almost; but the look his eyes held said otherwise as he pulled out a handkerchief from one of his drawers, staining the white fabric red with blood and...other fluids. The thought sent bile rising up her throat as her thoughts went straight to the disemboweled man hanging in the corner of the room.
“Most hitmen I hire usually leave to recollect themselves after bearing witness to one of my more...distasteful meetings. So congratulations to that, you’ve definitely peaked my interest.”
She didn’t know what to say, in one instance she felt proud of herself for the accomplishment, but in truth she wasn’t sure if it was an accomplishment at all. Instead, she choose to speak. Her words carefully picked as she steadied the tremble in her voice.
“Thank you Mr. Joestar, I will admit, that walking into this situation was...less than ideal, but we do have a deal to discuss, and as I’m sure you’re aware my services are quite...as much I hate to say it, popular. So please, if we may.”
Applauding herself for not stumbling over her words, she finally allowed herself to melt into the chair as the tactical and business side of the deal began to lull her into a familiar space. Yet still, she couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling off as she spoke with Jonathon.
“Of course, my apologies again. Now then...this deal is simple. Nothing too hard or out of the range for you, and if you do well please do expect me to request your services once again. If you happen to fail...well. I’m sure the room speaks for itself.”
His grin was unsettling, and the way he held himself sent nothing but warning alarms through her head as she could only mutely nod in acknowledgement before a manila file was presented to her.
“Very good. Now, here is the information we’ve collected on the target. I’m expecting clean results Ms. (y/n).”
Again, she could only nod numbly as she stood up, fingers brushing the pure and untainted folder before a hand snatched her wrist in a bruising grip. A scream right at her throat as her (e/c) met electric blue. The look in his eyes raised her hackles as she stood completely still.
“Don’t fail me now.”
Keeping his gaze, she steeled herself as she spoke, forcing the scream she had prior down into the pit of her stomach.
“I don’t fail Mr. Joestar, I only succeed.”
Amused by her statement, he let go as she collected the file, calmly making her way towards the door. Though a question popped into her mind as she readied herself to leave, and as she grabbed the handle she couldn’t help but look back at him.
“Mr. Joestar---.”
“Jonathon.”
“...Jonathon, if this task was so simple. Why did you request a deal with me? I’m almost certain any of your own men could handle this. So, why?”
“It’s quite simple Ms. (y/n). It’s an evaluation. A simple test that I’d like to see the results to; and if I happen to like the results. Then you can guarantee yourself much higher paying jobs and I suppose...an invitation of sorts.”
Deciding she’s heard enough she gave a slight nod and a bow to the man before she left the room. The door shutting loudly behind her, and once she could feel the two doors meet, she rushed out of the estate. Heart pounding wildly at the last words Jonathon spoke to her.
»»————- ⚜ ————-««
Jonathon Joestar, a man of compassion and understanding. Behind that kind face though, was a beast that no one dared to even affiliate themselves with. The sharp words, and the deranged actions he did are never mentioned when meeting him, and for good reason as well.
Just caught up with the Survivors series and, OH MY STARS I DID NOT EXPECT THAT!
--Spoilers ahead!--
Most people knew it was Breeze the whole time, but not me, hehe. I actually thought it was Storm at first, with all the sleepwalking, and a book titled The Exile's Journey (seriously that title was spoilery enough.) But then again some of the stuff done was while Storm was awake, like Moon being trapped, or didn't sleep walk, like the rabbit incident, soo, didn't really make sense. Those who were targeted or left definitely weren't the one, since worser things started to happen after they left, and confirmed the last book before the spoilery title it wasn't Chase.
Guess it was kinda obvious since Breeze was the least affected by all the killing, though really, I could've never caught on to her word play. Smart. Cunning. Dog. So nice yet so evil. Haven't read the final book in the arc since it's on loan, but I hope Breeze gets what she deserved. And Storm definitely made the right call to join with Bella and Arrow, Sweet and Lucky are TERRIBLE leaders. (well in the sense for this arc, they didn't even stood up for Arrow until Bella joined him, and there were multiple evidences going AGAINST Storm but no, play dumb and be like the others and don't trust her. Really? After she killed Blade, Terror, and saved your pups for you? Ungrateful.)
Necrokitty Tales: Trouble in Inkwell Isle (Chapter 13)
Authors’ note: Remember, Necrida’s writing will be in italics and SPKC’s writing with be regular font.If you have no idea what this roleplaying thing is, you can start from the beginning here.
——
Cagney led Isabella away from the Root Pack. “Psy has a habit of talking anyone’s ears off. Makes you wish you were deaf instead of blind.”
Isabella chuckled “No kidding! I mean, he seems nice and all… but… wow!” She remained close to Cagney.
The carnation eyed the stand coming up. “Looks like we’re coming up on Porkrind’s stand. He’s an…interesting character. If you need it he’s probably got it. Wanna stop by?”
“A guy who can get whatever I need? Yeah! I would like to meet him.” She smiled.
“Great, he’s just up ahead.” The two walked until they reached the stand. Cagney approached to see Porkrind…and a shotgun on the counter. The carnation blinked. That, uh, wasn’t normal. He cleared his throat. “Hey, Porkrind, how’s things going?”
“Going alright.”
“Cool…cool. Can’t help but notice you have a gun “
“Always had a gun.”
“True, but not on the counter.”
“Got robbed a couple days ago by some cat ferret thing,” Porkrind gruffly explained, pointing to a crude drawing of a stick figure with ears.
Cagney felt himself tense up. “Really? Any chance you recognized them?”
“If I had recognized them, then they would already be dealt with it.”
“Fair enough.” Cagney gestured toward Isabella. “Uh, this is Isabella, she recently moved here actually. Showing her around is all.”
Porkrind grunted. “Pleasure to meet ya, miss. If you’re looking for something, I can probably get it for you. Within reason, of course.”
Isabella listened carefully and noted to herself not to get on the bad side of this guy. “Nice meeting you, Mr… Porkrind? Was it? Em.. this cat ferret thing… did you noticed if it had wings, by any chance?” She was wondering if something in the store got Mina’s attention and her annoying feline curiosity might have made her steal it.
Porkrind gave her a cursory glance before shaking his head and saying, “No, I didn’t see any wings on it, ma'am. It ain’t a friend of yours, is it?”
“If it doesn’t have wings I have no idea who you’re talking about, darling.” She recovered her confidence. “But I’ll keep my ears alert.” She cutely wiggled her long ears.
At that moment, a salamander enter the shop. “Good morning Mr.Porkr-oh!” He blushed a little when he saw Isabella. “Hello again, sweetheart!” He looked at Cagney getting a bit nervous “And hello Mr.Car- I mean, Cagney!” He remember he didn’t liked being called Mr.Carnation. “Seems you got a busy day today, Mr.Porkrind.” He got closer to the counter and notices the gun. “Uh, guess better safe than sorry?” He pointed at it.
Porkrind nodded at Sulivan. “Yeah, I won’t miss next time.”
Cagney glanced at the gun. “Doesn’t only have one eye mess with your depth perception or something?”
Porkrind grunted. “Doesn’t mean I can’t shoot. Bet your girlfriend here holds herself just fine for being blind.”
Isabella chuckled sweetly. “Well, if the target is noisy, I might have my chances.”
“Say, did you had the chance to talk to Ribby and Croaks yet?” Sulivan asked Isabella while making some signs with his hands indicating to Porkrind that she was the lady he talked about the other day.
“Not yet but it’s on my to-do-list! And thank you for helping me the other day; that was really sweet” She used her extra charming tone, making Sulivan turn red.
“Oh gosh… it was nuthin’.” He played with his beret. then remembered the carnation was standing right there “Em.. are you two…?” He asked pointing at them, implying if they were dating.
Porkrind chuckled quietly but kept to himself, not really wanting to get too involved in his customers’ lives unless it could lead to some return business.
Which left Cagney quickly shaking his head, realizing what the salamander was implying. “What? No, no, no,” he ascertained, “Just showing her around is all. Trying to make sure no one is going to give her any trouble,” he added, flashing the salamander a not so nice grin.
Sulivan gulped taking the message of the giant flower. “H-how nice of ya! Hehe.. well I won’t take anymore of your time. Nice seeing ya again!” He quickly walked out of the shop without buying what he needed.
“What a strange fellow,” Isabella pointed out to the remaining people.
–
Unbeknownst to Sulivan, two eyes watched the salamander’s interactions with the flower and bat woman. They followed him as he finally walked away from Porkrind’s shop, empty handed. Amber’s eyes narrowed and she quietly hissed.
Sweetheart? So THAT was his game. Pretending to be this homely little salamander down on his luck while in actuality, he was a sneak! He didn’t even buy anything, just confirming her suspicion that he only visited these places to hit on beautiful women.
For some reason, this made her furious and her fur stood on end. Nevermind that Amber flirted all the time. That didn’t count. She quietly plotted as she crept away, definitely planning on bringing a weapon tomorrow.
–
Isabella got close to Cagney and gently placed a hand on his arm. “Shall we continue the tour?”
Cagney heated up at the contact and swallowed. “Yeah, yeah, uh next fellow is a bit…different,” he chose his words carefully as they walked toward the direction of Goopy Le Grande’s home.
The carnation thought about the salamander’s words. “When are you looking for work exactly, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“Whenever I find a babysitter for Mina.” The bat said with a sigh. “Night time is the best time to meet the owners of clubs, but I don’t want to leave my little înger alone. I was hoping this tour will help me meet someone that might have what it takes to watch over her while I go hunting for a job.”
“A babysitter, huh? Why don’t you get that crazy rabbit lady to watch your kid? Her kid is your daughter’s friend I think. Or at least, wasn’t dumb enough to run away when she trespassed. That probably counts as a friend.” Cagney looked ahead and groaned.
“Speaking of friends, the moron coming towards us right now insists we are friends. We are not friends. I repeat, we are not-”
“Hello, my friend!” Goopy Le Grande hopped toward them, all a beam with smiles. “I was just thinking of you the other day, old spot! Especially after that storm we had. What did you and Hilda get into a spat about this time?” The slime noticed Isabella and beamed. “Why, Cagney, who’s this lovely companion here?”
Isabella thought about Cagney’s suggestion and chuckled when Goopy got close to meet them. She did listened carefully what he said about a fight with someone called Hilda. A girlfriend perhaps?
“I’m Isabella Bechstein” she spread her arm to handshake the new voice. “I just moved in” she said sweetly.
“Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Bechstein. I am Goopy Le Grande, world renowned and loved by all creatures fair and small.” He tipped his “cap” to the woman. “Lovely name. Romanian, isn’t it? Beautiful country. Am încercat o dată un tip acolo,” he added with a wink.
Isabella chuckled wondering if he really knew what he was saying “You’re quite charming, Monsieur Le Grande. Parlez vous français?”
Goopy laughed boisterously. “Bien sûr. Mon nom est le grand après tout!”
Cagney stared at the two of them in confusion. “I have….no idea what either of you are saying.”
“Oh! Sorry, darling” She apologized to Cagney. “We should stick to English, Monsieur Le Grand. I wouldn’t want to upset my dear guide.” She used her enticing voice and softly caressed the giant flower´s arm. She was actually really grateful that he accepted to take her for a tour after the rough start they had.
Cagney thought bats were supposed to be hairy and leathery but Isabella’s paws were rather soft and it was difficult to suppress the shiver her touch sent through his stem. He caught Goopy giving him a bemused expression and scowled at the goop.
“Right, thanks. I just wanted to show her around. Maybe find her some people who are kid friendly.”
“I am one the friendliest goops this side of the isle!” Goopy announced, “I’m a great role model to the little ones!” He leaned in, sneakily. “But if you really want someone who deals with kids, you should really take her to see Hilda. She is pretty good with kids. Have you heard about her?”
Cagney bared his teeth at him. “Goopy,” he warned, trying to keep his tone even.
“Well, you sound like a great babysitter, but not sure you could handle my little Mina… she’s quite a handful,” she said, proud of her daughter’s ability to get in crazy situations, like fighting a giant flower. “And I have heard of Hilda, but I haven’t got the chance to meet her yet.”
Goopy ignored the death glare Cagney was giving him. “Oh she’s fantastic! She runs space projects for the school kids and can hold her own pretty well against even the most barbed opponent,” Goopy continued, noticing the thorns starting to pop out of Cagney’s stem.
“She sounds really great!” The bat turned her head towards the carnation, not noticing his change of mood. “Will we see her in our tour?”
Cagney froze at the question. “No.” He smiled evilly at Goopy. “But I’m sure Mister Le Grande here would love to take you since he’s running his mouth so much about her.”
Goopy winked back at the carnation. “Now, now, I know you’re much more familiar with Ms Hilda Berg than I am, ya old rascal. I’m sure she would love to show you both the exhibits and the dome and-”
“The dome is broken,” Cagney snapped.
Goopy’s brow furrowed. “The dome is broken? What do you mean it’s broken…?” He looked at the carnation’s pained expression and his eyes widened. “Oh.”
Cagney sighed. It was gonna come out eventually.
Goopy cleared his throat. “Mademoiselle Bechstein, may I have private word with Cagney for just a minute or two?”
Isabella’s gossip sensors skyrocketed but she managed to stay cool and not show her interest in other’s lives. “Sure! I’ll just go…” She wiggled her ears making a soft chirping noise to get some idea of her surroundings …“over there” she finally said, walking away from them. She stopped far enough to give them privacy, but not out of her exceptional ear range. She sat on the grass and enjoyed the sun, humming a happy tune, pretending not to pay attention to them.
Cagney watched her go and was immediately suspicious. He racked his brain for a way to convey the information and then groaned when he realized he had only one option. “Iway inkthay eshay ancay earhay usway. Eshay eardhay erhay aughterday ethay otherway ightnay idinghay.”
Goopy looked confused before grinning. “Really? We haven’t used that since we were kids.” Cagney gave him a look and Goopy repeated, “Iway aven'thay usedway isthay incesay eway ereway idskay.”
“Iway okebray Ilda'shay omeday.”
“YOU WHAT?” Cagney cringed at Goopy’s outburst. “Atwhay appenedhay? Owhay areway ouyay illstay aliveway?” Goopy asked, realizing the carnation looked relatively intact.
“Iway asway overway andway erethay asway away urgularbay andway Iway iedtray otay ithay emthay onlyway otay eakbray ethay omeday insteadway. Andway Iway amway aliveway ecausebay…Iway oday otnay owknay. Utbay Ildahay andway Iway aidsay ingsthay otay eachway otherway atthay Iway oday otnay inkthay eshay illway everway antway otay eesay emay againway. Ornay Iway erhay.” Cagney stuck his tongue out at the words. “This is hard,” he admitted.
Goopy nodded. “What are you going to do now?”
“I don’t know. I’m supposed to…uh…Iway amway upposedsay otay eesay omorrowtay orfay away ateday….Iway inkthay”
“Ugh… clever hippie…” Isabella grumbled. She still managed to figure out some words but she couldn’t make up much of what they were talking about.
Goopy smiled. “You should go.”
“What? Why?!”
“It’s for the best! You’ll be happy in no time. C'mon, don’t you trust me?’
“Not at all.”
“That’s the spirit!” Goopy looked toward Isabella. “We’re all done now! Cagney has graciously allowed me to escort you to Hilda’s later today as he has some planning to do.”
Her ears perked up at the voice of Goopy calling for her. “Oh! That is great!” She stood up, cleaned some of the dirt off her clothes and got closer to them. “We will have the chance to get to know each other,” she said sweetly, secretly hoping he would blabber more about the neighbors than the carnation.
Cagney pulled at a petal. “Actually now that I think about it, she is the last one on this isle you haven’t met. If you want to go with Goopy at this point, I’ll just head back to my field and talk to you later?”
“Aww, you going to leave me?” She said with her enticing voice “Oh well…I guess you must be tired with all this walking.” She leaned towards Cagney. "Thank you very much for introducing me to everybody. Besides my expectations,“ She chuckled remembering all the horrible things she said to him the day before, "I really enjoyed your company.” She said sincerely, stretching out a hand so they could shake.
Cagney chuckled. “And you ain’t too bad yourself, when you’re not going all momma bear on people,” he admitted, shaking her hand.
lsabella smiled back and turned to Goopy, “Shall we go then, Monsieur Le Grande?”
Goopy Le Grande offered an elbow to Isabella. “Of course, Mademoiselle Bechstein.” He waved to Cagney. “I’m sure Isabella and I have will have plenty to talk about!”
“Goopy, I will put you in your grave,” Cagney warned.
Goopy giggled. “I’ll just come back. I always do.”
She felt Goopy’s elbow and held on to it. She waved goodbye to Cagney and discreetly took a last breath of the delicate fragrance of the carnation before walking away.
Goopy led the bat away from the carnation, loudly asking her, “Soooo, what brings you to the isles?”
“What brings me to the isles?” she repeated, “I wanted to find a place for my Mina to grow up happy.” And to hide, but she decided to keep that detail to herself. “The cities are too noisy and crowded… What about you?”
“Me? Well I grew up here, did some traveling but back here to run the family business- gravestones. With my boxing on the side, of course.” He continued to speak loudly, glancing at the ground.
She raised an eyebrow when Goopy mentioned the family business. “Well, you’re very cheerful to be working in that line of business,” she chuckled. “And you do boxing too?” She caressed his arm to try to feel the muscles. She didn’t feel much but she pretended to be impressed.
If Isabella could see, she would have spotted the ripples Goopy gave up when he laughed. “Have to be cheerful in my line of work. And don’t be shy about feeling these arms of mine. I’m quite the specimen of a goop if I do say so myself. Now what do you do for a living?”
“Interesting…” she said with a sensual tone. “Me, I’m a singer, currently looking for a job. You don’t happen to know any bands, do you?"
"A singer, eh? Hmm, I got a little owner at a speakeasy who owes me a favor or two! I think there’s a jazz band or so coming in tomorrow evening. If you’ve got time, we could head over there and see if they need a singer? Before we see Miss Berg, if you like?”
“Seriously?” She said excited, “I would very much like that! Oh! Mulţumesc!” She gave the goop a loud kiss on his cheek and held on tightly to his arm.
Goopy accepted the kiss graciously. “Yes, yes of course. We’ll head over there now…And now that we’ve gotten some distance away from our mutual friend,” Goopy gestured behind them even though she was blind, “Is there anything you would like to know? I haven’t had a good gossip buddy in ages!”
—
Sulivan walked halfway home when he remembered he didn’t bought what he went there for. When he was closer to the shop he made sure Cagney wasn’t there anymore and entered.
“Uf… who would thought a flower could be that scary….”
Porkrind spotted Sulivan returning. “Ya remember what you went to buy, Sulivan?”
“Yes yes, eh… you see I’ve met this gal last night… and we really hit it off! We spent the night together… but not like that!” The salamander corrected seeing a smirk starting to show on Porkrind’s face and turned even more red “ we just talked, that’s all! But… we going to a date and… I wanted to get her something nice….”
Porkrind smirked at the salamander. “You’re either a very lucky man or a very unlucky man indeed, Sulivan. A woman like that either really likes you or wants something that you have. And hate to say it but 9 times out 10, it’s the latter.”
Porkrind began to display some of his merchandise. “What’s the little lady like? And was she there in the morning?”
Sulivan looked at his friend worried. “Oh… what could she want from me? And yes! She stayed, she even fished breakfast” He took a look at the merchandise “Well, she has a beautiful and bright, chestnut fur, her eyes as big as the moon!” He leaned on the counter sighing. “Her delicate silhouette would make swans jealous! And she’s interested in what I do, and she knows how to fish!”
Chestnut fur? Porkrind grit his tusks. That sounded very similar to the thief from a few days ago. “She ain’t a cat or a ferret, is she?”
The salamander looked at Porkrind in surprise. “Why, yes she is! How do you…?”
Porkrind put a hand on the salamander’s shoulder with a heavy sigh. “Kid, it pains me to tell you this, but I’m 90% sure your dame is a thief. A cat burglar to be precise.”
“What?!” Sulivan stepped back to shake off Porkrind´s hand. “Y-You haven’t even met her yet! She’s sweet, and charming! She would never steal!” He put on his beret, angry. “You know, I changed my mind! I´ll go get her some flowers or somettin´. Good day!” He stormed out of the store.
Porkrind shook his head. “Poor, lovesick bastard, he has no idea.” He pulled out his shotgun and began to clean it. “Shouldn’t have missed the first time. He’ll figure it out soon enough.”
Sulivan walked without a direction for a while, angry at the shopkeeper and mumbling to himself. “How can he say that! A delicate angel like her… ”
–
Amber repeatedly stabbed at a picture of Sulivan she sketched with her claws before ripping it up into tiny shreds with a tiny growl.
“Right, stealing. Gotta go steal something,” she reminded herself, walking away…before running back and violently stomping on the pieces of paper.
—
“My dear Amber wouldn’t do such thing!” Sulivan stopped and sat on a rock nearby. He put his elbows on his knees and rested his head on both hands.
He tried to forget about Porkrind and wondered what kind of present he could get for Amber. Maybe he could ask somebody for suggestions… Psy? Goopy? Maybe even Elder Kettle?
After a few minutes he decided to visit Psycarrot first and walked to the Root Pack field.
–
Cagney unburrowed himself once he was in his field and stretched. Well, that was more walking than he had intended to do for a while. He had left Isabella in the somewhat more capable hands of Goopy (which he begrudgingly admitted, was probably one of the more trustworthy residents). Still, he had shown her around enough and if she was lucky, word got around that she knew him and that would be enough to keep too many islanders from messing with her. At least on this isle.
He looked toward his tree and stopped in his tracks. Sitting near his spot was a giant pot. With a bow on it. He was immediately on guard. “This was not here when I left.” He approached it warily and when he was sure nothing was going to pop out did he inspect it.
It kinda looked like the pot Hilda had tried to give him. A bit fancier that’s for sure, but it was similar. The fact that there was a bow on it clued him in to the fact that it could be a present? Or a trap. He peeked inside. Nope. No hiding Hilda or trained assassin.
He circled it once more until he saw a piece of paper stuck to the pot. He plucked it and opened it.
“Eager to continue what we started two nights ago. See you tomorrow. Don’t keep me waiting?” He read outloud. He stared at it, looked around, and then read it again. This was Hilda’s writing alright.
His mind immediately went into overdrive. “Continue what we started…” he repeated and he felt his hands shake. Before Hilda had left, they had been lying down on the bed and they were going to…to…He turned bright red before realizing something else.
“Wait, no, we tried to kill each other!” He remembered.
Cagney really racked his brain now. Did Hilda really want to fight him in the jazz bar they had planned on going to? That seemed a bit excessive, but then again, he had nearly crushed her. Maybe she would turn into the moon and crush him in kind.
And this don’t keep her waiting business? Was this so she could set up a trap and make sure he would be there on time to fall for it? “I probably should show up before her just in case she…” He nearly slapped himself in the forehead. “Hold up, I just said I never wanted to see her again and here I am planning on getting there first to meet up with her for a potential bar brawl?! Am I insane?”
He rested his head against the pot and scrunched his eyes shut. “Ughhh, I HAVE to go,” he realized. If he didn’t, and there was even a slight chance of reconciliation, he really would lose her forever.
–
Psycarrot let out a low whistle after the carnation and the bat left. “Did you see how impressed she was with my story? It’s the natural charm for sure!” The carrot looked to see if Moe and Weepy were listening.
He found a very angry potato staring at him. “We said we would never talk about it!” Moe said, referring to the embarrassing story he revealed to a newcomer and crossed his arms.
Weepy smiled at the carrot. It was a fun and courageous story he thought.
“Hey there, gang!” Sulivan called, getting closer to the fence.
Moe turned to see the salamander getting closer. “Hey! Hi, Sulivan. Your order is not ready yet, we got some trouble with the storm.”
“Oh! No, don’t worry, I’m here for something else.” He reached the fence. “ I need help…” He turned a bit red.
Psycarrot knew that red face goofy look anywhere. “Sayyyyy, this wouldn’t be about a girl now would it?”
Sulivan hid behind his beret giggling “Well… yes it is! A real angel!” He described her again for the vegetables, playing nervously with his beret between his hands. “And now I want to find the perfect gift. Something to show her how much she means to me… without being creepy,” he added knowing that sometimes the produce got carried away in their ideas. Like that time when Psycarrot dressed Moe Tato as a woman to seduce someone for who knows what.
Psycarrot rubbed his hands together. “Well! A lady such as this does indeed sound special! How long have you been together? I can think of a couple of real nice things if this is a year anniversary!”
The salamander chuckled “Oh! I just met her last night…at the Joint. We really hit it off! She spent the night at my place… but we only talked! It was very nice….”
Psycarrot began to elbow his companions. “She SPENT the night?! Oh Sulivan, you dog you! Ha! I think you already have the cat in the bag!”
“Attaboy! Didn’t think you had it in ya!” Moe patted Sulivan’s back.
“Oh! No! Guys! C'mon! Nuthin’ happened… we… we just had a good time talking about ourselves…although…” He blushed. “I-I think she might be the one. She’s so… soo… so unique! Not like any other woman I’ve ever met… I really want her to like me. What can I do?”
“Aww!” Weepy squealed happy “That is so sweet! I’ve never seen you so happy, Sullivan.” His eyes started to tear up. “I’m… I’m so glad for you!”
Psycarrot scratched his chin. “Well, you could impress her with your great intellect and romantic witty banter…or is that just me?”
They all frowned at the carrot.
“Listen, Sull. Ladies like it when you spend money on them,” Moe made a gesture with his fingers rubbing together, "But they will hate you if you buy something they don’t like. What you should do is take her shopping! That way you’ll pay for what she really wants to have! No risks of making her mad.” He concluded leaning on the fence.
“What? I thought they liked romantic stuff… like romantic dinners at fancy clubs,” Weepy said, scratching his head.
Sulivan looked at both of them, not sure which advice was the best. “I don’t know…” He looked at Psycarrot, hoping he will come up with something better.
Psycarrot rubbed his hands together. “You say you’re taking her to carnival, right? How good are you at the games? Ladies love it when guys can win them stuff.”
Moe snapped his fingers “Oh! Yeah! Show her your skills! Shoot the ducks, test your strength, and win her stuff she wants!”
“A night in the carnival does sound romantic! With all the lights… the merry-go-round…” the onion said, holding his hands together.
“Hm… I am good at throwing darts.” Sulivan said, scratching his forehead .
“Darts?! Ha!” Psycarrot shook his head. “No, women like a man who demonstrates great feats of strength and intelligence - a Renaissance man, if you will! It’s evolution! Women are always attracted more to men who can take the lead! So go for the hammer prizes!”
“The hammer prizes?” The salamander repeated, “but… I’m not very strong…”.
“Psy is right!” Moe crossed his arms. “You gotta show off a little! Any idiot with an eye can throw a dart! You just have to train a bit.”
Weepy looked at them, raising an eyebrow. The salamander was very slim, he might have been a great sailor once, but now he was all bones.
Psycarrot slammed the salamander on the back. "And that is why we’re going to help beef you up! I’ve got some beet juice here that’ll put some muscle on those scales! You could even start by pushing that wheelbarrow of gardening supplies for us to start flexing those muscles!” He added slyly.
“W-w-what?” Sulivan started to say when Moe interrupted him by grabbing the back of his shirt and putting him down on the other side of the fence.
“Go on now! You don’t have much time ‘till tomorrow!”.
“Oh dear… ” Weepy lamented, leaving them to carry their crazy plan and took care of their plants.
—
Meanwhile, over the sea ,a serious looking spider gentleman, dressed elegantly in dark green suit, was looking to the distant isles of Inkwell aboard a big ship carrying cargo for Mr King Dice.
A crab sailor approached him. “We’ll be arriving tonight, sir.”
The gentleman didn’t bother to look at the crab. “Thank you Mr. Porto. I’ll inform my men.”
The sailor nodded but he didn’t leave. The spider looked at him with his six eyes, well, five. There was one closed, but judging by the tiny marks around it, it seemed it has been scratched out. “Anything else?” He said very calmly but there was still something disturbing in his tone.
The sailor hesitated. “W-when we reach port, I’m going to have to declare the cargo I carry, and there will be an inspection….”
“And I will take care of it. No one opens the cargo but me.”
“Y-yes, sir.” Mr. Porto left the gentleman knowing he was being watched by those preying eyes.
When the sailor was out of view, the spider looked at one of the big cargo boxes and allowed a small smile creep into his face. “Questo sarà l'inizio di una bella e proficua amicizia.”
