Village Of Shadows - Chapter 1 (Dark!DC | RE8)

Village of Shadows - Chapter 1 (Dark!DC | RE8)

Summary: On holiday with your husband and son, they take a day trip together to bond leaving you in the hotel to rest. That's the last time you see either of them. With your son missing and presumed dead, you decide to go looking for closure yourself in the one place the locals keep trying to warn you away from.

Upcoming pairings: John Constantine x F!Mother Reader, Dark!Arthur Curry x F!Mother Reader, Dark!Bruce Wayne x F!Mother Reader, Dark!Clark Kent x F!Mother Reader

Warnings: Grief, horror, loss of a spouse, loss of a child, violence

CHAPTER 1 - The Empty Village

*Do not replicate/rework/translate my work anywhere else without my express permission. This story is on A03/Tumblr/Wattpad. Anywhere else, it is likely stolen.*

I don't remember exactly what kind of noise I made when the police told me my husband was dead.

I only remember sliding down the wall to ball in a heap, vaguely registering the words. My son hadn't been found with him, despite them going on a bonding day trip. He was missing.

“Lot of trafficking groups around. They like to snatch young kids,” one of the cops tells me. “We'll keep looking, miss.”

I stayed in the nice but tired hotel for an extra week hoping there'd be a lead, some news but that hope dwindled everyday I was there. I didn't know whether to mourn for two or one at this point.

I had no family to give me support and my husband was estranged from his own. I didn't have any numbers to call. This pain was entirely mine to bear.

I became like a ghost, rattling around the hotel corridors at odd hours of the day and night. I didn't eat much, only the bare minimum and even then I couldn't taste it.

The hotel owner did what she could for me but I was sinking further into the hole of depression and I began to avoid her, ducking into different rooms when she'd approach, pretending not to be in the room. I just wanted to be left alone.

By the second week, the detective told me there were no more leads. I was to go home, be with friends and they'd ship my husband's body back to me. I told him he could go fuck himself if he thought I was leaving now.

I got thrown out of the station for causing a scene but he didn't get it. He just didn't get it.

If there was a chance my kid was alive and out there, I was not going to let it go.

So I did the only thing I could think of. I put on my winter coat, hat, scarf and gloves and packed a bag of supplies like a torch, swiss army knife, rope and a small first aid kit in case I would need to hike anywhere. This part of Romania was quite mountainous after all.

With a jolt, I picked up my son's bear, fondling the mismatched and wonky eyes that he liked so much. It was the ugliest teddy bear he could've picked up in the toy store but he couldn't sleep without it now.

I bit back a sob and put it in the bag as well, slipping my husband's wedding ring onto my thumb for safe keeping so I had him with me. I knew he'd died extremely violently, almost torn apart from what I read over the detective's shoulder. He'd gone down swinging trying to protect our son, I'm sure of it.

“Where are you going?” the hotel owner looks alarmed that I'm up and dressed properly.

“I'm going to that village...where it all....I have to know.”

“NO!” she makes me jump with how loud her insistence is. “Don't go there. It's dangerous.”

“Dangerous?”

“If I would've known your husband was planning on going there, I would've warned him away. That place is cursed.”

“I don't believe in curses.”

“Nobody comes back from that village. Don't go there, please!”

“I have to,” I back up because I think she's going to make a lunge for me soon. “I have to know...”

I slipped out before she could grab me, running through the snow covered town, paying for provisions in the grocery store before trekking out properly. The more I walked, the more dilapidated the road was becoming; paving and tarmac becoming patchy or just fading into a dirt road.

I saw the village name on a post and a lot of warning signs hung on it, some dried and wilted flowers placed at the base of it with faded pictures tucked into the stems. The path it was pointing to was hidden in a tunnel of bent gnarled trees and it could not look less inviting.

Everything in me was screaming to turn back. This didn't feel safe at all but I needed to find clues and, from the tracks in the snowfall, it didn't look like many people had even tried to investigate what had happened to my husband and son.

So I walked through the scariest fucking forest in the world. It was bright daylight but the sparseness of the trees, the eerie quiet and the occasional crack of twigs set me on edge. My breathing was the loudest thing here as I made my way through, on and on until the trees became so dense they started blocking the light out.

That was the point I got the knife ready. It was tiny, not much use but it gave me a bit of comfort to grip it.

Why the hell had my husband thought this place would be a good idea as a day trip?!

I ended up trying to make my presence quieter, to muffle my steps because my mind was conjuring all sorts of images born from a lifetime of watching Hammer Horror films. I could hardly bear this any longer.

Just when my courage was starting to fail, I emerged on a hilltop overlooking the village.

It was rustic, wooden houses, farm equipment and the most ornate thing I could see, bar the giant castle in the distance, was the church. There was something terribly wrong with this place though.

I didn't see a single soul. I didn't even see smoke coming out the chimneys. Nothing suggested to me that anyone lived here.

I was about to descend when my eye fell on an odd shaped rock and I recognised it as being where my husband's body had been found. So he'd died right here then.

I felt around in the snow nearby, though I didn't really know what I was searching for. I came across his wallet, two ragged lines scratched into the leather of it. They'd identified my husband via the passport in his back jeans pocket and had never found this.

I flipped it open, trying to keep my emotions in check as I found a picture of all of us in the front. Some local funfair back home where my son had won a giant stuffed wolf that had inexplicably ended up in our bed rather than his.

I had been wavering, unwilling to go explore this dead village but seeing the reason why I was here injected some steel into my nerves. I'd never forgive myself if I didn't try, even though, I'll admit, I was scared beyond belief.

I put the wallet in my bag, leaving the picture out and tucking it into my winter pants' pocket for an easy dose of bravery when needed. Then I started walking down the winding path and into the village itself.

The first thing that struck me was that it didn't feel like it had been abandoned a while ago. I could see into some of the houses and some still had meals on the table. This was a very recent turn of events.

The more I explored, the more that knot of dread was forming in my stomach. I could see blood, ripped clothes and a lot of destruction as I got closer to the church and graveyard.

What the fuck had happened here?!

Had my husband been caught up in all of this or did he arrive after? I had no way of knowing.

Something moved in my eyeline but the second I turned to look, there was nothing there. The feeling of being prey intensified the longer I stopped in one place so I started moving again, briefly checking in doors as I went.

When I started finding bodies, that nearly sent me fleeing back to the hotel.

I'd gotten to the town statue, my phone translating the words on the base as 'The Maiden of War'. It looked to be the most pristine thing here.

There was also a post behind it that had two directions. One was 'Altar' and one was 'Castle Zeurescu'. If I squinted, I could just about see lights on in the castle. That might be where I'd have to look next because nothing about this place was giving me any clues other than a massacre had occurred.

As I was looking up at the towers of the castle, I felt something. Just for a moment, I could've sworn there was a hot breath against the back of my neck.

I gripped the knife as the sound of growling rumbled behind me. It was at head height so not an animal...I think. I'd seen some questionable shit over the years to completely discount it.

In one fluid motion, I pivoted and slammed the knife in the thing's eye. It was only when it reared back that I got a good look at it. Sort of a human and sort of a beast. It had fangs and claws but otherwise looked normal.

It was also extremely pissed off now.

I managed to back myself up into the statue and with nowhere to go, I thought this thing was going to kill me. Likely this was the creature that had killed my husband too.

I heard a shot though and it stiffened, falling diagonally and knocking into me as it slumped onto the cold ground. I was about to thank my rescuer when I saw that tan trenchcoat and permanently smug face.

“YOU!” I watch him fiddle with the cigarette behind his ear as he lowers the gun. “What the fuck are you doing here?!”

“Bunch of weird magical shit and dark creatures?” John Constantine snorts. “What the fuck do you think, lass? Better question is, why the hell have I run into you again in a completely different country?”

I'd met John at an abandoned tube station rave in London in my younger years. None of the attendees had realised we were meant to be some sort of sacrifice to a demon until the carnage had begun and I was the only survivor after John had pulled me out of there. It was only because I was the closest one to the door that I'd lived.

After a very quick introduction to the supernatural, paranormal and demonic, we'd hooked up, only for him to never call me again. It wasn't long after that that I'd met my husband.

“I've been on vacation here,” I kick the creature's body away from me.

“Here?! Why the bleedin' 'ell would you pick here of all places?! Surely Ibiza's much more your style?”

“It was recommended to us.”

“Us? Got some bloke I need to start looking for?”

“Not any more,” I go a bit quiet.

“Ah,” he bites at his cheek to keep his mouth shut. “Sorry like...that I didn't get here in time that is.”

“He died a week ago. My kid is still missing.”

“Oh...oh you're a mum? Weren't expecting that,” he ruffles his hair up. “Not the young tearaway drenched in UV paint that I remember.”

“You seemed to enjoy transferring that paint onto you at the time,” I give him a cold look. “And yes, I'm a mother. I can't find my son and the police are fucking useless so I came myself.”

“Still no sense of self preservation then,” he comes up close and I can see a couple of new scars peeking out from the undone buttons of his shirt. “Because I'm telling you now, lass, your kid is gone. Go home, grieve.”

“I'm not gonna believe that until I see a body.”

“Might not be anything left a' him,” John is nearly chest to chest with me now. “I'll make this as nasty as I can to get you to understand. Your son is probably Lycan food, chewed up and shat out in the snow by now. Leave and go home. Go make another kid. You're still young.”

I'm surprised he didn't see the slap coming but he wasn't angered by it. He just huffs and quirks his eyebrow up.

“Fair. Deserved that and probably then some. Point still stands. Get out while you can. It's not safe here.”

“Not going anywhere, John. Ly-...whatever that thing is or no. I'm finding my son.”

“Because you were doing so well until I came along?” he shoves one hand in his pocket, a sardonic expression evident. “This is my world, lass. Not yours. You're not prepared in the slightest.”

“So come with me then.”

“I've got my own shit to do. Can't be babysitting your arse all the time, even though it's still as perky as I remember.”

“Then fuck off and let me go up to the Castle,” I start walking but he grabs my arm, dragging me back.

“Go back to the town,” he gets deadly serious. “If I have to spell you into submission, I will. Pretty bird like you would be a waste if you died. Lycans aren't known for giving a nice clean end. You get me?”

“You don't fucking get me, John. I can't let this go. I have to know what happened or I'll never forgive myself. Have you never loved someone that much that you couldn't just abandon them?”

“Everyone I love ends up in the ground, lass,” a shadow falls across his face. “Makes no bones to me. Fine, if you wanna throw your life away, charge on into the dark. See if I care.”

So I march ahead, through the gate of Castle Zeurescu. I'm half hoping he'll change his mind and come with me because I'm petrified but John didn't chase me.

Whatever then. Fuck him.

As I got past the arch, I heard a cacophony of howls and looked back to see a swarm of Lycans racing towards John. He just closes the gate to the castle, locks it with magic and throws his gun at me through the bars.

“Take that!” he yells. “You'd better stay alive and give it back to me. That's me favourite gun.”

He disappears in a swarm of fire and smoke and the yowling and scent of singed hair fills the sky. I grab his revolver, seeing five bullets left in the chamber, the bottoms etched with some kind of symbol and pocket it into my jacket before running up the carriageway and over the drawbridge to the bottom of the castle.

I'm trying to look to see if John made it but there's so much fire, I can't focus on anything without squinting. I just decide to press on but when I turn, I'm flung backwards by a hard hit to the chest.

Gasping for air, I claw at the snow to get a grip, to pull myself back up but a boot turns me over and plants itself on my sternum. I look up into a face I did not expect to ever see. One of the exiled superheroes after the Great Crisis.

The Batman.

“You're the child's mother,” he says simply, the distortion on his voice terrifying against the howls of the Lycans. “He looks just like you.”

“He's alive?!” I try to struggle up but his boot presses down more. “Where is he?!”

“None of your concern any more but you'll be coming with me all the same,” he leans over me, expression mostly shrouded by the mask. “The last son of Krypton can decide what to do with you.”

Before I can process those words, he kicks at my temple and my body falls limp in the snow as consciousness leaves me.

____

Link to the Discord Server which is my taglist now

pairing - dilf!bakugou x aquarium employee reader(f!reader) 

MINORS DNI

summary: smut, heavy comfort, FLUFF, when divorced dad/pro hero bakugou’s aquarium trip is ruined by intrusive fans, you offer to let them come back after hours so his daughter can see the belugas. 

a/n: daddy and daddy kink(I couldn’t help myself), bakugou’s daughter is an adorable menace, single dad bakugou has basically no idea how to flirt, reader is insecure a touch, TW for the song baby beluga, reader wasn’t close with her father, Bakugou is in his early thirties, reader in mid twenties. Bakugou’s still kinda mean in bed. Oldest sibling!reader so she got the mom instinct, and unpainted nails because of the touch tank at her job. also tw: for embarassing but i worked really hard on this so if you liked it pls interact.

wc: 8,192

part of me and @romancefiend​s aquarium collab masterlist here

Bakugou silences his phone in his pocket, trying to ignore it’s incessant buzzing. He only had this evening with his daughter before he’d have to bring her back to his ex, the last thing he wanted to do was answer some bullshit questions from his agent. It doesn’t help that everyone at the aquarium is staring, people taking the occasional not-so-subtle photograph. His daughter runs ahead of him, and he catches up in a few strides. 

“Sana,” He calls, “C’mere, sweetheart,” He takes her tiny hand in his, swallowing it completely as she turns to look at him, oblivious to the eyes on the two of them, but jumping at the soft camera clicks. 

“Dad,” She gasps, “Look at the BELUGAS!” She giggles with delight when one swims past and his heart swells painfully, watching the joy spark in her face then travel through her body as she does a little dance. She turns to him, “Did you SEE that?” He nods. “Where do they LIVE?” She screams the last word, attracting even more attention. Someone comes up behind him, nervously holding a notebook. 

“Um,” the young woman smiles at him, “Could you sign this for me, Dynamight?” He grunts, scribbling something on her paper. It’s like a dam breaks in the room, and suddenly there are three, five, ten, more people crowding him and Sana, and his first instinct is to tell them all to go to hell, but he remembers the clips of him losing his shit that they played at the custody hearing, and so instead he takes a deep breath and nods, acquiescing. Sana clings to his leg for a moment. 

“What do they want daddy,” She whines, and a few of them have the grace to look chagrined, “I wanna show you the whales!” 

“One second sweetheart,” He growls, forcing himself to keep his face neutral as these fucking extras shove pieces of paper into his hands. They move in closer, until his broad shoulders are flush against the cool glass, and he doesn’t immediately notice the lack of the tugging on his pants, the silence where usually a barrage of questions would be, but after about sixty seconds he looks down, and Sana is gone. All neutrality melts from his face, he whirls around, looking desperately. “Fuck off,” He snaps, jogging away from the people moving down the hallway. “Sana,” He calls, running down the tunnel where Manta rays float above your head, and past bright tropical fish, his heart pounds, could it have been a villain, how could he have let his fucking guard down like that-

Keep reading

Village of Shadows - Ch.4 (Dark!DC/Resident Evil 8)

Series Masterlist Here

Summary: You have to face the Joker and Harley before you can get anywhere near Arthur Curry

Warnings: Lots of clowns, death traps, past trauma, violence, injury detail, panic attack description

CHAPTER 4 - A Fear of Clowns

*Do not replicate/rework/translate my work anywhere else without my express permission. This story is on A03/Tumblr/Wattpad. Anywhere else, it is likely stolen.*

The path to Joker and Harley's compound was littered with graffiti, streamers and garish neon lights.

I had no idea how they had so much electricity to power this stuff out here but, when I looked more closely at a neon Joker sign I jumped out of my skin as a Jack in the Box erupted from nowhere, springing a clown into my face that laughed in a tinny mechanical fashion. I tripped as I tried to get away from it, landing on my ass on the mossy ground as I tried to get a grip on myself.

I just really fucking hate clowns...

I got up, keeping the gun in one of the straps on the dress and I clutched the dagger in my dominant hand. I wasn't going to waste magic bullets on two humans when I still had Aquaman and Superman to contend with.

I got closer to the house and saw, to my great horror, that it was a pastiche of a funfair haunted house. I didn't really like these things as a kid, much less an adult but going in there was the only way I could find Arthur's key.

“Step riiiiiight up!” Joker's voice blasts through some speakers as fairground music starts piping in at me from all sides. “One night only, our funhouse is free! Just come inside and see if you can make it out again.”

I hear Harley giggling in the background before it shuts off and I'm left with this nightmare fuel of a clownface spinning around on the front of the house and that organ music repeating on a loop.

“Fuck it,” I say to myself before walking in the door.

Standing around outside wasn't going to do anything and I had the triple motivation now of finding my son, avenging my husband and making John's efforts to keep me alive worth something. If I couldn't at least put on my big boy pants then what good was I?

“Welcome! Welcome, my dear,” the door shuts behind me and locks as Joker's voice starts up again. “What a brave little thing you are. Taking out Diana, oh! Some of us have been trying to do that for yearsssss!”

“I could've done it,” Harley sounds put out. “She ain't thathard to kill.”

“Quiet!” I hear a slap and yelp. “Now, let's see whether a mother's determination can get you through. Did you know Harley used to be a psychiatrist? She managed to get access to your therapy records and ohhhh, the things we found out about you. You reallydon't like clowns, do you? Also a demon attack at a rave, now that wasn't just a fanciful nightmare I'm betting. Unfortunately for you, I'm going to use this all against you. Have fun!”

It goes quiet then, save for the looping music and I step onto a circular tunnel, only for it to start spinning in place like a slow laundry machine. I have to half run to the other side to keep my balance, only to get on an actual balance beam after that that runs over a pit of broken glass.

Three steps across and something drops from the ceiling to the side of me, screeching and kicking. I nearly fall off into the shards and see a clown hanging from a noose, still scrabbling at the rope to try and free themselves.

“What the fuck?!” I blurt out before keeping low and hurrying as fast as I could as more and more bodies dropped, intending to shock me into losing my balance.

I couldn't believe the Joker was killing people around me just to freak me out. John was right, this was more terrifying than running from Diana and her daughters.

I got to the other side and swore in a long string of colourful adjectives to see a mirror maze.

“Eesh. Somebody needs to wash their mouth out with soap,” Joker adds dryly. “I would hurry up in this next section if I were you, dear. A couple of my experiments have gotten loose and they'd just be real happy to see you. Geddit? Real happy? Smiles? Oh my comedy is wasted on you.”

“LAUGH, YOU DUMB BROAD!” Harley grabs the mic.

“FUCK YOU, YOU PSYCHO ACROBAT!” I yell back.

She'd rubbed me up the wrong way ever since that meeting of the heroes. I wasn't going to let her bully me into fawning over the Joker like she did.

“WHY I OUGHTA-!”

“-COME DOWN AND SAY THAT TO MY FACE!”

“Now now, ladies. Let's not start a cat fight,” Joker chuckles. “Or at least if you do, make sure you're both in a pool and covered in pudding.”

“Oh dream on!” I flip the bird, twirling around so if there's cameras then he'll see me.

I strode into the maze of mirrors and the door swung shut automatically behind me. Glowing neon paint illuminated on the ceiling above me, some on the mirrors too and when new music started up, I felt a prickling of sweat run down my back to hear that tune that had haunted me for years. The tune that the demon had slaughtered all the rave goers too when I was younger.

We Live Forever by The Prodigy

I lost my common sense at that point, fleeing through one route, only to be met with a dead end and the sight of my own terrified face as I tried to keep my breathing under control. Down another route and I saw a flash of a clown face, a smile stretched unnaturally wide across the lips. I couldn't tell if it was near me or just reflected to look close but I wasn't going to take the chance.

I worked myself up in this horrorscape, filled with visual and audio reminders of the former worst night of my life only to have the added menace of stalking clowns after me. Dead end after dead end, retracing my steps as I got completely lost, my fear ruling my logic.

I got grabbed by something and I slashed behind me with the knife, only to see I'd cut off the hand of an attacking clown that fell to the floor with a dull thud. I didn't even know how, there was no resistance to the swing I'd had. It had just cut through flesh like melting butter.

“That's cheating,” Joker sounds annoyed.

“You never said I couldn't use weapons,” I growl back, kicking the clown away.

I wasn't so lucky the next time one caught up to me. It got me pinned against a mirror and bit my bicep hard until I was shrieking. I ended up stabbing it in a mad fury until it let go but the damage had been done by that point, a chunk of my skin missing and blood freely weeping down my arm and fingers.

“What a shame,” Harley laughs at my pain.

I keep moving until I find an exit, spilling out onto a platform that contained a singular cart next to it, like one of those Ghost Train kind of ones.

“Get in if you want to meet us face to face,” Joker tells me.

So I do, the lap bar moving into place on its own and crushing me a little as the little cart trundles forward. I expect some kind of trap or maybe a haunted house kind of affair where things pop out at me but instead I see screens, screens that are showing videos of my family.

Some are home movies, videos posted on social media from my husband and I but some are taken from a distance, like we were being stalked. Sweet family moments, arguments with my husband when we'd been out for that day, some even taken through the windows of our house. Private moments, very private moments.

How long had they been watching us?!

The cart came to a stop by a door after the lengthy movie and the bar flew up, releasing me to go through. I could see Joker sitting on a chair with Harley next to him, twirling a huge hammer in her fingers.

“Well? I don't have all day,” Joker beckons me through.

I stand up and make my way over, the door closing behind me and I stop a few feet from them, blood still dripping from my wound occasionally as I held tightly onto the dagger.

“Give me the key,” I say simply.

“And why should I?” Joker muses.

“Because I'll kill you both if you don't. Give me the key and let me go deal with Arthur Curry.”

“You touch my puddin' n' I'll whack you good,” Harley warns me.

“If I get what I want, I'll leave you two alone. I've already taken out Diana, you know I'm not bluffing.”

“Tempting,” Joker sits forward. “But Supes does not like being betrayed.”

“And you're afraid of him? Surely you're clever enough to think of an excuse why I got the key or has everything I've ever heard about you been a lie?”

“Goin' after his ego, huh?” Harley rolls her eyes. “Psychology 101. Won't work on him.”

“I don't care if it does or not. He can either give me the key and weasel his way out of being hurt by Superman or I can kill you both. You think that home movie frightened me? It just made me mad. You miscalculated.”

“It wasn't intended to frighten you,” Joker laughs. “Harley and I had a bet, y'see? I thought a fine upstanding mother like yourself would stop at nothing to get your son back, even if it meant murder. Harley thought you were a scared little girl pretending to be brave because you thought it was what you were supposed to do. I think I won this particular bet. You're not afraid, are you? Not any more at least. Oh no, you're pissed.”

“Stop monologuing and give me the key,” I say directly. “You want some psychology? You like watching the world burn? I'm going to kill everyone who gets in my way and that includes Superman. I will find a way and you can laugh that a pathetic human was the one to do that, that she let you live to see it.”

“But if you kill all my rivals, how will I ever have fun?” Joker shrugs.

“Because now you have a new one. You have me.”

He bursts out in hysterical peals of laughter and Harley follows suit, doubling over until she has to hit the ground on her knees to keep her balance.

“YOU?!” Joker gets out. “You're going to be my new rival?! AHA!”

He laughs so much I see the shine of tears on his face. I don't care that I'm being mocked. It's all part of a risky gamble I'm taking anyway, to see if I can amuse him enough into making a chaotic choice to help me.

“That's a good one!” Harley's screaming with giggles on the floor. “A talentless ordinary nobody! You ain't even got cool gadgets!”

“Diana said I wasn't ordinary. My blood was tainted with something unnatural,” I address her and the Joker shuts up immediately.

“Oh really?” he looks a lot more interested now. “Y'know, just for the sheer laughter value of you, my dear, you can have this.”

He tugs the key off of his neck and throws it to me. I catch it, retying it around my own.

“Pleasure doing business with you,” I give a brief nod.

“If you don't start becoming my rival after this, I'll hunt you down and strangle you myself,” he grins. “Providing you survive of course.”

“You're just givin' her the key?!” Harley bolts up to her feet.

“We may have a semi meta-human here,” he lazily gestures to me. “Now wouldn't that be interesting to torment some more? I'd really like to dig down into that brain a' yours and find out your darkest fears and your darkest humour.”

“Maybe you'll find out someday,” I smile.

It's been an age since I used any kind of seductive technique on another person and I'm rusty as hell at it but the Joker responds well. That also means that Harley responds very poorly.

“Exit's that way, you no good floozy,” she points to a door to the left. “Get the hell out. Y'aint playing tongues with Mr J like ya did Constantine.”

“Not interested,” I reply back acidly.

I keep them in my eyeline until I get outside; I still glance back at the house even when I'm walking back down to the sacred site. I don't trust them at all but Joker seems to be genuinely letting me go.

I lock their gate with Diana's key once I'm back through and I go to the central dais, sinking down onto it as my chest constricts and I find it difficult to breathe.

I'd kept it together well in there but now I wasn't directly in danger, the fears caught up with me and I was having a panic attack, tears streaming down my face and my cheeks burning with the effort of me trying to draw a lungful of air.

“Fairest maiden, do not fret, Etrigan's here and there is no threat,” Etrigan appears at the side of me, sitting down and looking ridiculous hunching over like this. “Now take a breath at the same time as I, slow down your pace, I know you can try. One, two and three we go, remember to keep it nice and slow.”

A demon was helping me through a panic attack. That's not a scenario I would've ever dreamed up, even a fever fuelled nightmare. I think the ludicrousness of it helped me to get control though, the knot in my diaphragm easing until the attack had passed.

“I was watching you in there and I have to admit, I have never seen someone best Joker with wit. Now I see you are injured and don't be alarmed, I'm going to heal the wound on your arm,” Etrigan gets some foul looking liquid in a bottle out from a pouch on his belt and pours it directly onto the bite wound.

It stings like hell and I try to yank my arm back but the demon's grip, although gentle, was very firm. I swore, I yelped and I wriggled against the jangling of my nerves but before my very eyes, the flesh was filling out, the skin growing back over the new meat and all that was left was a discoloured patch on my arm that was the only evidence that something had happened.

“Thank you,” I marvel at what I'd just seen.

“Save your thanks, it was the least I could do when Constantine has asked me to look after you,” he grins, boar tusks protruding more as he does so.

“Do you know where John is?”

“He's close by, oh don't you worry. He'll meet you on the road towards Arthur Curry. Though if something should derail his plan, shout for the demon Etrigan. I give to you the word of a knight, that I shall protect you should it come to a fight.”

“I appreciate it, Etrigan. You're very kind,” I pat his bulky arm and forest green patches appear on his cheeks. I think he's blushing.

“You should make haste, dear lady and get gone, patience is not a virtue of John's.”

“Goodbye,” I get up as he vanishes into thin air.

I walk to the gate, putting the Atlantis key in the lock but there's the sound of a cape fluttering and I spin to see Superman descending to the ground in front of me. I freeze up, expecting to get lasered any second.

“I didn't think you'd get this far,” he's oddly calm and that freaks me out more. “Curious.”

“What do you want?” I'm backed up against the gate, bars pressing into my back. “To stop me?”

“No,” he walks forward until he's nearly chest to chest. “I was just intrigued about the woman who'd killed Diana and bargained with the Joker and seems to have proclaimed a murderous appetite to kill all of us involved with taking your boy.”

“Is it any wonder?” I hate how close he is, how small it makes me feel.

“You're not a natural hero. I'd wager you'd be the first to run from a fight or you'd avoid jumping in to help with one but there's a quiet strength in you that's admirable. I wonder if that's a quality your husband was drawn to.”

“Don't you dare talk about him!” I forget who I'm speaking to for a brief moment.

“Your husband? Why?” he tips his head to the side a little. “You're over it, aren't you? Why else would you kiss Constantine?”

“That's not...I'm not...that's just grief!” I stammer, unsure how the hell everyone seems to know what happened before I went to the Joker's compound. “And the fact I might die soon! Doesn't mean I'm over my husband, you unfeeling shithead!”

Superman bangs on the gate so hard next to my head that the railings buckle around his fist. He leans in to speak next to my ear, breath tickling with every word, “Watch your mouth. You amuse me, you entertain me but I have my limits. Do you understand me? I know loss and I know grief but I never threw myself at the next girl who came along after Lois.”

“John and I already know each other, already have a history. Don't you try and shame me for how I'm dealing with my own feelings, Kal-El.”

“You remembered my name,” I can feel his smile against my skin. “And I suppose that's fair. Humans are more impulsive when it comes to morbidity. The primal senses come out in the face of death: the urge to fight, the urge to feed, the urge to fuck.”

I never would've expected to hear Superman use the word 'fuck' but here we were. It somehow made it even more perverse to listen to.

“So what now?” I'm trying not to shake against him, feeling the raw power rolling off of him in waves.

“Two things. First, you're going to call me Clark. That's a special name between the two of us, my human name. Say it for me.”

“Clark,” I repeat and he lets out a contented hum that's so close to my ear.

“Very good,” he praises. “Second, I'm going to offer you a way out of this. I will fly you back home myself if you'll give up now. Nobody will think any less of you for it. Diana was at a disadvantage with the Helios Curse but Arthur and Bruce as very formidable and you likely won't make it past them to find your boy. He'll be well cared for, you know.”

“If you're not intending on harming him then why can't you let me be with him? Take me as well,” I turn my head to look at him directly but he won't move from his position.

“Because he'll try to defend you at some point from me and things will get complicated. Take my offer or take your chances.”

“No. I'm not walking away,” I don't have much conviction in my voice, the tone quaking a little but he accepts it, sighing before pulling back.

“That's really your final decision?”

“Final decision, Clark,” the use of his other name lends a glimmer to his eyes that I could be mistaking as want.

“A shame,” he tuts. “But I'll leave you with some information that may change how you see your magical chainsmoking saviour. Ask him about the time he impersonated your husband.”

“Wait, what?!” my eyes widen but he's already started walking backwards and shoots into the air, just as something fires from behind me at the rippling black cape.

“Lass! Are you okay?!” John's on the other side of the gate, scanning the sky for Superman. “I'm sorry, I didn't think he'd find you so quickly.”

He wrenches the twisted gate open and pulls me over the barrier line into Arthur's territory and into his arms.

“I've got you now,” he says softly, squeezing my hand.

I look into those worried dark eyes of his but doubt was already creeping in. Did Superman's words have any merit or was he just trying to cause discord between us?

“What's wrong?” he catches my slightly off mood.

Could I really ask this question? But if I didn't I would always wonder what Superman had meant. Impersonating my husband...

What had John done?

Teehee!! ☺️

the manliest man

— Hoodies and playlists, a simple and effective way to capture your heart. —

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pairing: kirishima eijirou x reader

warnings: cursing, fluff

word count: 3,805

a/n: I had like a sudden kirishima fluff mood, and this was transpired. it was so weird because I typically dont get character moods for anyone who isn’t shouto, anyways enjoy my rewritten story because i did not save it HA

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“Take your sweater, dumbass, you’ll get cold at night!”

The second those words left Bakugou’s lips, you knew that he was right, but you were never one to follow directions. Especially Bakugou’s instructions.

Keep reading

Uhm can I request a Niragi x fem reader, with the cliche they know each other before the borderland thing. And the reader was Niragi's old crush and bestfriend, then they see each other again at the beach. (It can be with soft boy niragi or THE Niragi, maybe with smut?? it's really up to you, I just want to see what you'd write with that theme)

Pairing: Niragi x Reader

Genre: Fluff, Smut

Words: 976

Summary: Niragi can't believe his eyes. It's you. After so many years, you're here.

Warnings: sex, friends to lovers

Notes: I finally got to yours! You're always so nice, I'm really glad I got to write something for you 💕 hope you enjoy! ✨

“Y/N?”

He can’t believe his eyes. After all these years, you’re now right in front of him. And in the Borderlands, at that. He knows it’s you. That smile, that laugh, that face; how could he ever forget? You never left the back of his mind.

“Suguru? Niragi Suguru?” you ask, eyes wide. You don’t seem sure that it’s him. He did change a lot since high school, after all. But then there’s that smile again. “Oh my god, it’s really you!”

He opens his arms to catch you in a hug, your laugh in his ear. You even smell the same. God, he missed you. He notices the people around you whisper, staring wide-eyed at the demonstration of affection. That reminds him where you are; you’re not kids anymore. He has a reputation to maintain. He pushes you away slightly, holding you at arm’s length. Your eyes shine as you look at him, and he can barely stop himself from smiling back at you.

“It’s really you!” you exclaim before he has a chance to speak, “You look so good, I love the piercings.”

He huffs, feeling his cheeks get warm at your words. Dammint, he’s not a schoolboy anymore.

“What’re you doing here?” he knows is a stupid question as soon as it leaves his lips. You’re here doing what everybody else does; play to not die.

“Just got here, actually,” you say, “I’ve been wandering alone for a week or so, but she-,” you point to a woman near the pool. Kuina, he’s pretty sure, the one that always hangs out with Chishiya. “-told me about this place.”

“Are you okay?” he can’t help but look you up and down for injuries. He ends up noticing more than that, and his eyes go up to meet yours. He can feel his ears turning red. Your body immediately makes him think things he shouldn’t; the red swimsuit you’re wearing does nothing to help him. If you were someone else, he would probably try to have his way with you. But not you; he would never hurt you.

You talk through the rest of the afternoon. He doesn’t have to play tonight, and neither do you, so he ends up inviting you to his room. You accept. It feels like old times again. Those days where you were just two kids, supporting one another through high school and all that came with it. You were there to save him from his bullies, and he was there to comfort you when things were bad at home.

He regrets never telling you about the crush he had on you.

But now you’re two adults, in a country where death is always imminent, and you’re drunk. He has nothing to lose. So he kisses you. He’s surprised when you kiss him back just as hard, hands practically ripping his shirt off his body.

You’re both naked in his bed before long, hands exploring each other’s bodies as you kiss. You taste like strawberries, and it reminds him of the strawberry-scented lip balm you always used to wear. Your skin is as warm as he imagined, your breasts perfect globes against his palms. You’re beautiful, and for a moment he wonders if this is all a dream.

But then you moan his name as you sink yourself on his shaft, and he’s sure you’re real. If this is a dream, he doesn’t want to wake up. You’re so warm and so tight, he almost comes right then and there. This is better than any of the fantasies he used to have with you. Nothing can beat the real thing.

The way you clench around him; how your tits move above him; the way you cry out his name. No way his brain can imagine such a thing.

He grabs your hips, forcing you to fasten your pace. You comply, taking all of him in your dripping cunt. Your moans are music to his ears, and there’s nothing else he would like to hear for the rest of his life. All his senses are consumed by you. You, you, you. Your smell, your warmth, your body.

He can’t control himself anymore.

You cry out when he turns your positions around, immediately sinking back inside you. He fucks you relentlessly, thumb abusing your clit while whispering filthy things in your ear. He can feel your orgasm coming closer. Good; he’s not sure he can hold himself back for much longer.

You come with a scream that he muffles in a kiss, fingers still on your sensitive clit as your orgasm consumes you. He comes not long after with a grunt, hands keeping your legs wide open as he spills inside you. He can barely keep his eyes open as he collapses on top of you, head in between your breasts. You don’t move as you regain your breath, your hands in his hair.

He must’ve dozed off for a while, before waking up to your claims of being squished to death. He chuckles as he gets off of you, laying down and pulling you against his side. You nuzzle his neck, a content sigh making him smile.

“You know, I had a crush on you in high school,” you blurt out, fingers drawing spirals on his chest. That surprises him. You did?!

“What?!” he chuckles, “You’re kidding me, right? I had a crush on you in high school.” It’s your time to be surprised.

“You did?!” you ask as you raise yourself on your elbows. “Why didn’t you told me?”

“I could ask you the same thing,” he says with a small pinch to your backside. “I still got your fine ass in the end, didn’t I?”

You giggle, lightly slapping his chest before leaning in to kiss him.

He let you go once. He won’t let you go again.

Village of Shadows - Chapter 2 (Dark!DC|Resident Evil 8)

Summary: Taken by the Batman, you awake to a gathering of the exiled superheroes who finally tell you what's going on.

Warnings: Choking, violence, torture gauntlet, guilt, survival horror

CHAPTER 2 - A Meeting of Exiles

*Do not replicate/rework/translate my work anywhere else without my express permission. This story is on A03/Tumblr/Wattpad. Anywhere else, it is likely stolen.*

I came to to the sound of voices.

It sounded like an argument was happening all around me as I struggled to open my eyes, ignoring the pounding in my skull. It was then I realised I was tied up. My hands were bound as I tried to push to a sitting position and when my eyes focused, I saw a rigid set of cuffs, heavy metalwork that were keeping my wrists together and my backpack had been taken from me.

“Shut ya goddamn pieholes!” a shrill female voice splits my ears. “Broad's awake!”

I scramble to my feet, unsteady and imbalanced, only to look at more faces of the exiled and I'm wondering what the hell is going on.

“Chick's got some mettle, I dig it,” Arthur Curry snorts, twirling his trident idly like it was a boredom habit. “Normally Bruce is too rough.”

“Where's the fun in that?” Batman has his mask off, revealing himself to be the missing billionaire Bruce Wayne. “We've never hunted a woman before.”

“And nor should you start,” Diana Prince stands up from her chair, height impressive and intimidating over the other men. “This is Amazon business.”

“Because your girl power club is more important than what's at stake?” Arthur snorts. “Don't think so.”

Harley Quinn skips towards me, grabbing the cuffs and yanking me forward into the middle of everyone. They circle me as Harley jumps on the spot, giggling to herself.

“Mr Superman?” she looks over her shoulder. “Supes? Can me n' my puddin' take this one? She looks like so much fun!”

“Oh we'd certainly have some fun with her,” the Joker startles me, clacking his teeth in a bite near my ear. “Bet she fights back.”

I get tired of them regarding me like fresh meat and I look for Superman, finding him hovering about ten feet off the ground in a black suit before he descends, cape fluttering behind him.

My fight reaction makes me push Joker away hard and he stumbles over but bursts into hysterical laughter as Harley slaps me across the face, her rings catching my skin and scraping scratches across my cheek.

“You stupid bitch!” she shrieks. “You don't touch him! Ya hear me?!”

“Then give me back my son!” I grab her by that ridiculous ruff.

My feet leave the ground and I don't know why until I realise Superman has lifted me into the air, away from Harley and has a tight grip on my neck. I'm kicking, trying to get any purchase I can so he doesn't choke me. Trying to dislodge myself was fruitless against someone of his power level so it was all I could do.

“Your son is mine now,” that chiselled face holds only amusement and malice for me. “But don't worry, I'll be an excellent father figure for him.”

“Why?” I manage to rasp out.

“Survive and I'll tell you,” he whispers directly into my ear. “But somehow I don't think you're going to. You're very fragile, far too fragile. You should've listened to Constantine. I know he's skulking around somewhere outside.”

He drops me and I just manage to get my feet out from under me so I don't crumple and sprain my ankles but my back hits the stone floor with some force. It takes me a good minute to get up again by which time, Superman is on the ground.

“She has a lot of strength in her,” Diana smiles radiantly at me.

“That's not strength, that's fear,” Bruce looks me up and down. “Corner a dog and it'll fight back. She doesn't have what it takes to find her kid. Her husband did though. Shame what happened to him.”

“He should've just let me take the boy,” Arthur leans on the trident. “He was a good brawler. Went out in a blaze of glory against the Lycans. You should be proud, babe.”

“You fucking bastard!” I yell at him and he pouts at me like he thinks I'm adorable.

“Come onnnnnnn,” Harley whines. “Just decide who gets to splat her already! She's bringing the vibe down.”

Superman thinks for a moment, “Bruce. She's yours to play with since you found her. I assume you still have your gauntlet in the basement of the castle?” “Oh I do,” Bruce comes in front of me, yanking me to the side by the cuffs until I'm stood where he wants me to be. He unlocks them but grips my wrists tightly so I can't run, not that I'd be able to outrun anyone here anyway. “Nice to meet you but you're a spare part in this equation.”

The ground gives way beneath me and I yelp, falling down and sliding down a sloped tunnel until I hit the bottom.

“Better run,” Bruce's voice comes through a speaker system. “You don't wanna see what's behind you.”

I take his advice, fleeing down the claustrophobically narrow corridor, squeezing through when it became too tight but I didn't dare stop. I could hear something whirring, hot on my heels as well as the laughs of the heroes

I slip on a smooth rock, tumbling to the ground only to feel a whoosh over my head and see that I'd narrowly avoided being decapitated. It was sheer clumsy luck that meant I could keep running.

The tunnel opened up so I could stand again and Bruce's voice found me.

“Still alive, huh? More resourceful than I thought. Better keep running though. The lycans are loose down there.”

I burst out into a room and only realised when my foot depressed a platform that I'd triggered a mechanism.

Above me was a ceiling of spikes that dropped a foot before stopping, juddering in place. I knew it would continue if I lingered so I scanned the room and found panelling leading to a smaller tunnel.

I practically wrenched the old planks away before scooting inside, just as the ceiling would've killed me. I stopped to be sick for twenty seconds with the fear and adrenalin before crawling forward in the dirt, hoping I didn't get trapped in here. I had no way of knowing which way was out.

“You really are tenacious,” Bruce spoke again. “I've seen better people than you die in that trap. I'm very impressed. Keep running, sweetheart.”

I still had my gun but not a lot of bullets and I was hoping to save those for the people in that room. John wouldn't have given them to me if they wouldn't help in this castle....I think.

Further into the foundations of the dungeons I ran, howls and hungry rasps following me as things ran parallel in the corridors. Just as I got into another room, a gate blocked my way back and a rolling wheel of spikes started edging towards me.

What the fuck kind of medieval torture chamber was this?!

“And that's the end of the mother,” Bruce sounds amused. “Thank you for visiting.”

I fumbled along the walls, searching for a recess and found a shallow one that I flattened myself into, hoping the spinning blades wouldn't reach me. I couldn't duck under it, it was too large and it would gore my back to ribbons.

As the spikes approached and hit the terminal point, I felt my winter coat being snagged, tears appearing and I sucked my stomach in as much as I could until the wheel retracted into the ceiling and I was able to make it to the door on the other side.

I don't think Bruce was paying attention any more because he made no more comments as I slipped out and up the corridors of the dungeons. Guess he assumed I was dead.

I crept around crates and barrels, terrified I was going to be found at any moment but nothing was down here. The only thing I could hear was the occasional scurry of rats or the dripping of excess moisture.

When I came out into a kitchen on the ground level, the window to freedom was right there. For one fleeting moment, I considered running, leaving everything behind. This was the most terrifying situation I'd ever been in and I'd already witnessed a demonic massacre in my lifetime.

To be chased by so called superheroes? Did I really stand a chance or was I just throwing my life away like John said?

But then the shame hit me, the shame I'd even think that for a second when my son was in danger. What the hell kind of mother was I? My husband had died trying to protect him and I needed to stop being a coward and have that same kind of fierceness.

So I looked out of the window at the still village, the smoke of the Lycan fight with John still wisping into the air and resolved to press on.

A sudden face at the glass made me nearly scream but I clapped my hand over my mouth to stifle any sound. John was there and his normal shock of bleach blond hair was flecked with dark patches of blood.

“Lass!” he shout-whispers through the ill-fitting frame. “Are you alright?!”

“No!” I answer truthfully. “There's a bunch of crazy superheroes who have my kid, John! They just tried to drop me into a murderous Takeshi's Castle!”

“It's you,” he goes wide-eyed. “The kid they have...is yours?! You're the mum?!”

“Yes!”

“Oh fuck this is not good. Not good at all,” he tugs at some strands on his scalp. “I need to get you out. This is too friggin' dangerous.”

“Not until-”

“-ah fuckin' hell I knew you'd say that,” he scowls at me. “I came here to save a kid. Zed got a vision but I didn't know it was your sprog until I got here. So now you know, will you bugger off out of here so I can stop worrying you're going to snuff it?”

“They already think I died in a pit trap but Superman knows you're here,” I point out.

“Yeah well he would do. Won't approach me though. He's weak to magic,” John turns up his coat collar, shivering a bit against the bitter wind. “But if we.....oh shit....shit!”

He looks to the side of himself, panicking a little before backing away from the frame.

“What is it?!” I ask.

“Gotta run,” he doesn't take his eyes off of whatever is approaching. “Stay alive until I can find you again. Don't be a bloody hero, alright?”

He disappears from view just as something huge and hairy roars by and I duck under the frame in case it looked in the castle. I decided not to stick around where I was if something dangerous was just outside so I pushed on into the main atrium.

It was beautiful, a kind of old grandeur you only see in films. Ahead of me was a portrait of three young women bearing the legend: Daughters of Diana – Donna, Cassandra, Yara. To my left was a portrait of Diana herself in full Wonder Woman regalia.

There was no doubt who owned this castle. I could be at least thankful of that since Diana seemed to be the least offensive superhero there at the meeting. There was still a kindness to her face and maybe she'd give me a clue as to where my son was.

I pushed on into a hall with ornate stairs leading to a sitting room but before I could get up the stairs, ropes had fallen over my head and body. I was yanked back, choked as I fell on the polished marble floor and skidded back a few feet.

“I don't think you're supposed to be alive right now,” the girl called Donna looks down at me.

“Have you caught something fun?” Cassandra joins her.

“A little intruder.”

“Let's take her to mother,” there's a horrible grin shared between them.

They drag me up the stairs with preternatural strength, my spine bouncing off of each step on the way up until they deposit me in front of a chair. Yara is flanking Diana who's listening to a gramophone recording of what appears to be herself interviewing someone.

“And what would you like to be when you grow up, little man?”

“I just want to go home,” I hear my son sniffling.

“WHERE THE HELL IS HE?” I lose my head upon listening to how scared he was and Donna has to hold onto the rope to keep me from jumping at the Amazon.

“Shhhh,” Diana turns to me, a finger over her lips. “You'll miss the best part.”

“You'll be home soon,” Diana's voice continues.

“I want my mom!” my son's crying now.

“I know you do but you can't see her. She's not allowed to come here.”

“She's going to beat you all up! You'll see! You're bad people!”

Diana stops the recording before fully standing, towering over me, her full height taller than most men I'd come across. It was intimidating as hell but I tried not to look afraid.

“The faith your son has in you is beautiful,” Diana purrs. “Be proud he sees you this way. His great protector. Sadly you won't be. I don't sense something 'other' about you. Just an ordinary human woman.”

“Give him back to me,” I hiss.

“No,” she smiles. “He's not here. I don't keep men in this castle. He's with Arthur currently.”

“Then let me go speak to Arthur.”

“Such spirit,” she cups my face and I try not to think about the fact she could squeeze her palms and crush my head easily. “In the face of such fear. I know how scared you are. That is brave and I admire that. I can't let you go though. You were meant to die but Bruce can't be trusted to do that right but....but since you survived, you have potential. I could make you another of my daughters. You'd be able to see your son sometimes when Kal-El allows. I'm sure I could persuade him.”

“Who the fuck is Kal-El?”

“Superman,” she laughs softly. “So? Will you join us? You could have a sisterhood here. Take your pick of men from the neighbouring town on the other side of the mountain when you want company. See your son sometimes. Doesn't sound so bad, does it? Let me just see if your blood will work.”

With a speed I couldn't even see, my arm was jerked up, a blade shimmering and before I knew it, the back of my hand had a clean cut. She put away her sword in the back of her pale blue Grecian dress and licked the blood that had beaded on my skin.

“Now that is curious,” she grabs my chin, scouring my face for some information I didn't know. “You're not a meta-human but there's a hint, a flavour that's not quite ordinary. Not enough for powers.”

“I might be tainted. I had a run in with a demon,” I tell the truth, hoping that'd mean she backs off but she just shakes her head.

“This is not demonic. If it were, it'd burn me. This is something else. I can turn you though, give you Zeus' blessing.”

“I don't want your fucking blessing! Let me go!” I try to get out of her grasp but it's like iron.

“Donna,” Diana looks over my head. “Take her to my dressing room. String her up to the ceiling and let her contemplate my very generous offer. I'm sure she will change her mind soon.”

Before I'm dragged away, she leans down and gives me a peck on the lips before releasing me and waving, returning to her chair whilst she drinks a large glass of wine.

It takes Donna no effort to get me up the stairs. She throws me over her shoulder, her strength incredible before her and Yara throw the ropes over a few hooks in the ceiling, wrapping the rope around my wrists in a complicated pattern before I'm hoisted several feet into the air.

The way they've tied me up, the pressure is equal across my wrists but I know they're going to go numb soon. I just see them laughing at me as I swing comically above them.

“Don't you want to be our sister?” Yara mocks.

“We were going to braid your hair,” Donna pouts.

“You really are stupid, you know?” Yara laughs. “Diana is giving you a wonderful gift and you refuse her? Really?”

“FUCK YOU!” I yell because I have nothing left other than insults at this point.

“Charming little thing,” Donna sneers. “Have fun up there. Try not to dislocate anything.”

They walk out and close the door, leaving me wriggling in the air, tied up and helpless.

Stay alive, John had said. I wondered if I'd be able to.

____

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