#WHICH WARNING FOR GORE AND GROTESQUE STUFF IF THAT BOTHERS YOU

[sweetlikehoneystingslikeabee]

BTAS, Gotham, Arkham Jervis has a crush on a Scarecrow assistant who also likes disturbing stuff and people feel weird around her.

"She's just a little quirky!"

I had a lot of fun messing around with this one. I hope you like it!

Tw: taxidermy, dead animal mention, gore/violence mention

For the sake of my own fun, let's make up some interests and background for our fake assistant. Neurodivergent, socially clumsy but tries to be friendly- her home is decorated with grotesque horror memorabilia, articulated animal skeletons, taxidermy and preserved bugs. She did at least half of them herself. Naturally attracted to many of common fears or things that make people grossed out. Wants to talk about them anyways. With that said-

Btas

- Ooooooohhhhh my god please don't stab him.

- HAHA HE MEANS HELLO HOW ARE YOU? Always exceedingly polite and it's only partly because he's nervous.

- Shes so beautiful and uniquely herself and terrifying and-

- His crush is really confusing at first because she's intimidating to him? Yes, absolutely fitting for someone working with Scarecrow. But besides some darker quirks, he's rather... whimsy.

- It's when she's so kind and genuine to him that it falls into place and he realizes that he's in trouble. There's a moment where he has to come to terms with the fact that he is also kind of strange and makes people feel weird and uncomfortable- and she doesn't judge him for it!

- Once he actually works up the nerve to tell her and she actually accepts him? That changes everything.

- Expect him to fully divulge in all his weird special interests and do his best to indulge in hers! It's not so scary once he sees the process. He had to do a lot of necropsies and anatomical studies to become a neuroscientist, after all.

- Will get very defensive if anyone acts nervous around her or rude. She's better than all of them!

- If you haven't seen "Red Flags" by Tom Cardy (ft. Montaigne) on YouTube, you should because it's the vibe for this pairing. Slight warning the red flag in the song is that the dates favorite movie is Human Centipede so if that's a trigger, avoid.

Gotham

- We're going to assume both Scarecrow and his assistant are older/adults for this scenario.

- It might bother him to see the amount of dead things all around her space. Yet he's seen enough mansions of old money to be familiar with pieces like these.

- At first he finds the horror memorabilia a bit over the top. But he sees how quiet and dedicated she is. To... everything, really. How she actually listens to him when he speaks. What others might think of as a "creepy stare" is her giving full attention, which he actually appreciates!

- When he does realize his feelings, he decides he's going to court her in a gentlemanly fashion.

- First he seeks to gift his crush something special. It's a piece he has to really search for at auctions and antique stores until he found the perfect one- a special display cabinet to fit on her shelf. The start of her own cabinet of curiosities!

- The second is asking her out where he can take her to see all the wonderful little holes in the walls he's discovered around Gotham... finishing off with a projector movie in his home. Tonights show? 1960 horror classic "Eyes without a Face" with subtitles!

- He keeps his hands to himself unless she initiates. And then, very politely, he takes her to her home after and kisses her knuckle as he says goodnight.

- He wonders if she likes hypnosis? He supposes he'll find out it anyone is ever mean to her because that is definitely what's going to happen.

Arkham

- 100% ready to be a freak about this.

- He was already pretty dark both in his actions and mentally before he got locked up in iso in arkham and then his brains served scrambled by Strange. The disturbing aspects of her interests don't startle him in the least.

- If anything he watches her with hearts in his eyes as she handles the specimens on her "work" desk when he comes to visit Scarecrow to discuss plans.

- "You must have soft hands to work with something so... delicate. Delicate, delicate, you look affectionate to your creations. Just how do you go to development?" Tell him all the details!

- If she isn't aware, Jon definitely mentions that his friend has got a crush. To be wary. And that he can "crush" it if needed. She simply smiles and waves it off.

- She gives Jervis a taxidermy white rabbit dressed in waistcoat with a little pocket watch- just like the White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland... yes, he gets emotional. It's SO thoughtful! He's going to have to find a special place for it to display!

- They are going to assists each other in murder and villain plots. Couples bonding! He gave her teeth he made his enemies yank out of their own skulls ♡

- If anyone were to mock her or make her feel poorly because of the wonderful person she is, well... they'll just have to play a role in his next tea party, won't they?

[fruitycasket]

So, What Shall It Be?

Synopsis: The lads wander into a truly grotesque trap, but Anti didn't bring them here to kill them… so what does he want?

Word Count: 2,006

Notes: BIG WARNING FOR BODY HORROR AND GORE. You don't see anybody die but boy howdy it's there. This was inspired by Fallout 1, specifically The Master and his liar. The title is inspired by his dialogue! I also learned some fun words like "grume" and "thrombus" while writing this (alas, they were cut from the final). And if you'd like, check this out on Ao3!

The abandoned lab was so humid it was nearly underwater. The smell was somewhere between wet iron and cannabis and maggot-ridden flesh. The air tasted of rotten fruit.

What at a glance was a rust-choked interior was equal parts rust, blood, and flesh that had burst from the wall like haphazard blobs of oil paint and sea slugs. Where Marvin and Jackie stood, the floor was clean, save for a thick layer of regular dirt and grime. At the back of the room, a soft, muscular layer of the gore coated the floor. Though it was eagerly squirming, it seemed content to stay where it was.

That didn’t soothe Marvin much.

This was a trap. The building had started off a little balmy but otherwise normal, and now… It must’ve been watching since they entered, maybe it’d even corralled them to this specific place somehow.

Just my luck, Marvin thought, The one place we need to be and it’s fucking infested. He glanced at the door they’d entered from.

The impenetrable slab of metal had slammed shut once they’d entered and stayed that way no matter what was thrown at it. A closer inspection revealed there was red gunk in the locks and hinges. Any significant prodding caused it to reinforce itself with veins of calcium and fat and sinewy string. Evidently, it was all the same substance as what coated the rest of this room.

Once they saw that, they accepted they were caught. Marvin couldn’t stand it—that he of all people hadn’t been more cautious, hadn’t ensured they weren’t walking headfirst into a deathtrap.

There was nothing to do about it now, though. Steeling himself against the fetid smell and taste surrounding him, he took cautious steps towards the muscle in hopes of gauging its age. He had a lockpicking kit, from which he took the longest, least useful looking pick. He jammed that into the largest looking lump of meat and was alarmed to find that it kept going. Forever. It would’ve swallowed his hand if he let it.

He abandoned the pick to its grim fate.

Jackie was at the far end of the wall but was still all but gagging in Marvin’s ear.

"What is this stuff?" Jackie heaved.

"It's… I don't know," Marvin said, "Just try not to touch any of it."

"It's on everything."

"Do your best."

Jackie didn't reply for a few seconds. “What do we do?”

Marvin scanned the room as best he could in the dim, red-tinted light. A door at the fleshy end of the room lay wide open, torn asunder from its hinges and frozen in place by a web of strings. They stood out, pale white and smooth against the coagulum. “There’s only one way out.”

“Oh god… We’re going to die here.”

Marvin had no good answer to that. He took a step towards the door. “We don’t have any other options.”

Jackie made a few indignant noises before sighing and approaching the door. The floor squelched underfoot as he got ahead of Marvin and took the lead.

The heat was suffocating, the smell and taste and texture of the ensuing halls so viciously opposed to human existence that Marvin wondered if it would even bother coming to kill them itself. Could be they were going to be baked first. It would be uncharacteristic, but the ruddy floors were sucking at their shoes, slowing them down so much they really could be cooked alive before they made any progress. Once, a hand had emerged from the sludge to pull Jackie’s ankle. Jackie kicked it so hard it exploded. They spent the rest of the walk wary about more human appendages emerging to attack.

Most of the doors and halls were blocked off, leaving only one (mostly straight) path to traverse. It felt like they had been walking for hours when they finally reached their destination and saw it.

Jackie might’ve called it a he, but Marvin felt that was anthropomorphizing. This thing wasn’t an animal, or a plant, or even a fungus, it couldn’t be classified by any standards of science or the arcane. Any conversation it made or human behavior it displayed was farce, no different than if Marvin started meowing at a cat to entertain himself. Except Anti took pleasure in more than talk. The fact that it hadn’t shot out to eviscerate them the moment they stepped foot into its lair was as relieving as it was worrying. What was it planning?

“What is that?” Jackie asked.

They were faced with a high-roofed room and a humanoid creature sat at the far end, enveloped in the tissue hewn into this place.

Was that the same Anti that had been trying to kill them for the past week? Was this just his bedroom, where he came to sleep after a long day’s work? Was he a drone of this thing? An extension of the body? An entirely new offshoot, like the cutting of a succulent? Marvin knew better than to try wrapping his head around beings like these but couldn't help it.

It was hard to see exactly how big it was, where it started and ended. The darkness obscured most of it, but he could see bright blue, bloodshot eyes and hundreds of teeth. Glitches—like that of a 3D model being stretched beyond its limits—occasionally erupted on its skin. There was a human face underneath the grime, a trace of lips and ears, a few tufts of soft brown hair. If it had more to its body than a head, neck, shoulders, and arms, it was too difficult to make out from where they stood. Behind it, the remains of what might’ve been a surveillance center lay assimilated, broken open in some places so the innards lay exposed to the air. Even the intact monitors were dark. Marvin realized that the Anti they normally encountered was exceptionally well-groomed.

And exceptionally tiny. Weak, even.

The giant Anti-growth regarded the two humans with an inscrutable expression as the door behind them shut with a soft squish.

Marvin spoke first. Unsure what to say, he defaulted to the absurd choice: Trying to understand. "H-How are you so huge? How did nobody try to…?"

Anti responded with a cackle that shook the foundations of the lab. Its face broke, pieces of it shooting off in every direction while the teeth and eyes remained fixed. The monitors it was rooted to flickered to life briefly, joining in with noisy, stuttering static. Then the laughter ended and everything snapped back into place. "You're looking at everyone that did," it said, gesturing at itself with a bloody hand.

Jackie turned bone white. Still, he didn't vomit.

Marvin would've been impressed if he weren't preoccupied. "That's… certainly a feat."

"I know what you’re trying to do."

"Is it working?"

A chuckle, this time. "Maybe, maybe. But you didn't come here to talk to me. You didn't even know I was here, I could tell from the moment you walked in. Maybe I won’t kill you if you tell me what you were up to."

Marvin got the feeling that this had been its goal from the get-go. Maybe the information they’d gotten was fabricated specifically to bring them to wherever this was. Had he and Jackie really become such a threat to this thing that it’d pull something like this rather than just trying to kill them the normal way?

Jackie glanced at Marvin to gauge his reaction. “We don’t have a choice,” Marvin said.

“U-Uhm,” Jackie stammered, “We were looking for information. For, well…”

“Let me guess,” Anti said, “Something to kill me with?”

The ensuing silence answered its question.

“Whatever. I don’t care. A thing like that doesn’t exist anyway,” Anti was amused by the very thought, its face already shifting as if it were about to laugh. It restrained itself and spoke again, “Really, I’m impressed by you. There are few humans who can drive me up a wall so well as you. In fact, I’m so impressed that I want to ask a favor.”

“Okay…” Marvin and Jackie said in unison.

“Something’s been taken from me. Two of my poppets are locked up in a place specifically designed to keep me out, but seeing as you two are humans, I think you could manage.”

Marvin thought back to the last few places they’d been, the realties they’d willingly entered and accidentally emerged into. He recalled a set of three missing posters. “You mean, the doctor. And that other guy.”

“The doctor. That other guy,” Anti scoffed, “They have names. Henrik and Chase.”

“And you want us to track these people down and, what, give them to you?” Jackie asked.

Anti nodded. Or, it looked like a nod from where Marvin stood.

Jackie looked like he’d accidentally swallowed a piece of the wall. "We're not being asked, are we?"

Anti grinned, and the corners of its mouth kept going upwards until it looked like the maw of a gulper eel. "No."

“How are we supposed to find them? With the amount of moving around you do, they could be anywhere, kidnapped by anyone,” Marvin said.

“I’ll help you, obviously. We’ll make a truce.”

Jackie spoke again, “So you’re saying we do this or you kill us.”

“Yes.”

He mouthed a few curses but otherwise said nothing.

Anti looked between them for a few seconds, as if evaluating their trustworthiness. It must have liked what it saw because the door behind them swung open. “I’ll see you again outside. You’ll be where I need you.”

Marvin found himself hesitating to leave. Would the open door lead to another trap?

“If I wanted you dead, why go through all the trouble of talking?” Anti asked. Marvin hoped that was a lucky guess. “Go on. Shoo. You’re free,” it snickered, “Sort of.”

Jackie took the lead again, and they left as fast as the sticky floors would allow.

As they walked back through festering corridors and into the innocuous dirt-and-cobweb grime of the earlier rooms, Marvin watched the corners where ceiling and wall met. He could see them now that he was paying attention, infected cameras that followed their movements through each door and hall. Anti had an unobstructed view of the entire place. It was as he suspected.

When they finally got to the exit, Marvin stopped to inspect it and found there was a strange magic surrounding it. He had no idea what it was, but it wasn’t visible to the naked eye and it made his hair stand on end. Like radiation, he thought.

When Jackie opened the door it led out to a different place than where they’d entered from. The building had picked itself up and moved.

Tentatively, they stepped out. The air here was fresh and cool, a welcome shock to the senses after the horrorshow they’d been enveloped in. Marvin’s first thought was hoping where they were needed wasn’t mortally dangerous… but the chances of that were slim.

The building, which had been a towering, impossible-to-miss presence, disappeared behind them the moment they both looked away.

“What the hell,” Jackie said, flinching at its disappearance, “How is that possible?”

Marvin understood what had happened to them, then “That place, it didn’t exist inside a normal reality. It was… I don’t know. In its own pocket dimension or something, that’s the only way that could be possible.

Jackie was quiet for a bit. “That must be where it takes people. You know, when it doesn’t kill them, when it… when it poofs them somewhere.”

“It would explain all the blood on the walls.”

Jackie gagged.

“Yeah.”

"How was that even possible? Anti is like. A guy… and even when he wasn't, he was never so big before."

"Whatever it is, it’s probably too strong to deal with by ourselves."

"Jesus."

They were silent for a while.

"Marvin?" Jackie asked.

"Yes?"

"These guys… If we bring them to whatever the hell that was, what happens to them?"

Marvin considered his answer. "Nothing good."

[pseudogaiety]

so im definitely feeling some kind of way. info in the tags.

[some-dark-side-writing]

What Makes Robbie Turn Yandere:

(Tw: beloved’s death, gore)

•From the moment Robbie smelt you he knew he needed to have you.

•You passed the Septic manor without even really thinking about it at random. There was a nice shop you liked close to it which was cheap enough so if you were feeling peckish or needed some light shopping you’d go there probably every couple of days.

•Robbie didn’t like that it was at random. He wasn’t the best at the concept of time yet so he had a firm schedule which helped him keep track of things. One in his room and one in the hallway of his house, with pretty pictures Rob had taken, so a selfie of Schneep in a weirdly short doctors outfit he got from Schneep’s ‘private’ folder on his phone that he didn’t like being on the scheduled but made he others laugh in the morning after breakfast meant Chiropractice. The blurry duck pond picture of a swan attacking Anti on the seventh day repeating, Sunday, meant he could go to the park under supervision! And he had his own calendar in his room which had a picture of you so he could track every day and at what times you passed his house, but it was all jumbled up and it made him sad. He wanted to get ready for you!

•The egos were all very impressed that Robbie was having a bath every day of his own accord! Even Anti told him it was good he didn’t want to smell like a sewer anymore and that made Robbie’s heart swell! But not as much as it did whenever he got a scent and a quick peek at you.

•One day Marvin left the door unlocked by accident so when Robbie started to smell you coming by he licked his hand and pushed his hair back like Chase told him to do to look cool and walked outside, trying not to stumble and be cool like Chase. And he saw you, you were counting coins from your pocket and Robbie, who was pretending he was watering the flowers, made the mistake of having his head turn 180 to keep staring at you, but his body had stayed in the same position, making him lose balance and fall into Schneep’s petunias.

•Embarrassingly you heard this commotion, spinning around to see the poor man face down in his flowerbed after eating dirt, well you hoped not literally. “Are you alright?” You called out, your worrying, caring nature taking over as you rushed to help him up, the flowers were outside the gate and there were people the opposite side of the street so he didn’t seem threatening. He actually smiled at you and it was one of those smiles where you couldn’t help but smile back. His eyebrows were angling upwards, shoulders hunched as he giggled, smile relaxed. “Sorry... I fell in the p...pe-tu-ni-as.” You smiled back, helping him stand straight by linking arms and Robbie was so glad his didn’t fall off. “That’s okay, I probably would have fallen in them too if you hadn’t done it first.” Robbie’s eyes widened giddy, you were clumsy too?!

•He hated, confused by an emotion he’d do rarely felt on a full stomach before, when Anti opened the door and interrupted. “Robbie! Get your butt back in here. Leave the nice person alone!” Robbie growled, which you mistook for a grumble, as you told the green haired man. “Oh he’s not being a bother!” The green haired man yelled back. “Oh I don’t care if he’s being a bother or not I care that he does as I say and gets inside.” Then the green haired man went pale. What you couldn’t see was Robbie’s eyes tuning from purple to a misted over grey as he started to turn from Anti being so rude to you. Anti sprang forward, rushing Robbie inside and slamming the door, Chase peeking out the windows to check if you were gone.

•Robbie sighed when you left, especially looking weirded out, sulking into the living room and about 20 minutes later the doorbell rang. You’d gone past the house to the shop then come back, with plasters, cleaning materials and a packet of flower seeds in hand, after all the shop was pretty cheap. You’d explained how you felt bad just leaving and didn’t know if he needed anything like bandaids or antiseptic. Again Anti made a snide comment about “Oh he definitely needs Antiseptic”, yanking the bag and if Robbie already wasn’t mad at Anti he was when he winked at you “Thanks for the free stuff, and the seeds, it’ll keep us from getting beat.” And without another word slammed the door.

•Anti was almost scared of the grudge Robbie held against him the next few days, he’d always forgiven him after a good night’s sleep and he was the only one thinking something bad was going on. The rest of the household wanted to hear all about Robbie’s encounter with you and drank in all the details about how ‘nice’ you were when Robbie explained you.

•After a while you had become a regular at the household, friends with all of them especially Robbie who you were warned upon being able to see him again that he was very clingy. You knew all about their powers and the fact Robbie was a zombie but hey he gave out amazing cuddles. Marvin even updated you that even on low food Robbie had made amazing progress and stayed pacifist when snuggled into you.

•But Robbie despised when his brothers would touch you. At first they wrote it off as him already being near full on zombie mode and him liking you so much but then it started to concern the Septic’s to the point they wouldn’t hug you any more to avoid him freaking out.

•But almost a year after Robbie had started noticing you walking past something happened that shook the zombie up. You came into the manor, kissing the egos on the cheek in greeting since they’d all become really good friends to you and Robbie didn’t care at this point, running down the stairs to greet you when he came to a screeching halt on the landing. A person walked in behind you, holding your hand, you looked at them like you looked at Robbie in his dreams! They shook Henrik’s hand and said from their repulsive tongue. “Hi, I’m Y/N’s S/O.”

•No one missed the sound of the zombie running up the stairs and knocking things over. Or the sound of his cries. Almost immediately after he cried and smashed the nightlight YOU gave him to the ground he caught your scent fading. He ran downstairs panicked but Anti caught him from behind, arms under Robs armpits as he dragged him back. “Woah you’ll hurt yourself! Schneep sent Y/N away before you freaked out their S/O, now I won’t get to-“ Robbie chomped his teeth in the direction of Antis fists and Anti dropped him on the floor. “Are you fucking serious?!” He screamed, Robbie crawling on the floor to reach you as Schneep reached Anti. “I’m not becoming a zombie! I thought he was better trained than that!” Robbie then felt the familiar sting of a needle before he was out cold.

•Robbie cried for days. He was in his isolation room even though he wouldn’t attack the others now. He just lay curled up calling for you hoarsely, eyes distant and he didn’t eat unless it was shoved down his throat, usually by Anti who still badgered for an apology. But rob only spoke one word in those days. “Y/N.”

•”Robbie!” He heard hissed at him. He opened the window and you jumped in. Something you’d done on many occasions to sneak a cuddle session with Robbie or prank Anti and Chase.

•You hugged him as soon as you landed but Robbie’s hug back was faint. You didn’t love him... You of course noticed this since normally he’d squeeze every part of you he could till his limbs fell off. You asked him what was wrong and he told you.

•”Rrrrooobbbbiiiieeee lllooooovvvvvveeessss YYYYY/NNNNNN...” Your hand fell to your chest, shocked, tearing up as he continued “Aaaallllwwwaaaayyyyyssss llloooovvvvvveeeddddd. Wwwaaannnnnaaaa bbbbeeee tttoooogggeetttthhhheeeeerrrrrrr fffoooorreeeevvvvvveeeerrrrrr...” you were extremely worried at how slow he was talking now, backing up a little. You had trusted he’d never hurt you coherent but you’d never seen him full on zombie mode. “Bbbbuuuuutttt YYYYYY/NNNNN dddooooeeeessssnnnnn’tttttt llllooooovvvvvveeee Rrrrrrooooobbbiiiiiieeeee yyyyeeeetttttt.” You were about to tell him he was wrong till he snarled, pinning your throat against the wall and his dripping venomous mouth that was only venomous when he wanted it to be was inches from your face. “Nnnnoooottttttt lliiiikkkeeee ttthhhhhaaaattttttttt.” He was panting now and so were you, because you were scared and were trying to get as much air flow as possible. “Bbbuuuttttt wwwiiiilllllll...”

•Then as if by twisted fate your S/O landed badly through the window, hurting their back as they lay on the floor. “Y/N? Sorry baby I got worried, you were taking forev-“ Robbie lunged at your S/O, throwing you by your neck to the opposite side of the room and pinning them to the floor. “ROBBIE NO!!!” He clamped onto your S/O’s neck, ripping their throat out so they couldn’t scream, they were dead instantly, and still Robbie was chewing grotesquely, fingers tearing at their stomach, shredding their clothes and severing their organs with his teeth.

•You threw up in the corner, banging on the heavy metal door used to contain Robbie when he turned zombie and screaming for help but that only alerted the yandere zombie to you. He gargled the blood, chunks falling off lips as he spoke “Tttttttoooooggggeeettthhheerrrr fffoooorrreeevveerrrrrr...”

•He saw your sick and lunged towards you like a feral animal and you screamed, curled up right into the corner which angered Robbie. With a grunt his nails dug into your arms and lifted you to stand. He sniffed at your mouth, going down to your stomach where you felt him breathe against your top before standing back up over you. “Nnnnoooo mmmooorrrreeee sssiiiiccckkkk.” He explained and you looked up at him with half opened eyes, tears streaming down you faster than you’ve ever known. “Nnnnoooo mmmoooorrrreeee ddeeeaaatttthhhh. Nnnneeevvveeerrr hhhaaavvvveee ttttooo llleeeaaaavvvveeeee Rrrrrrroobbbiiiieeeeee...”

•A hiss left his mouth as he broke his jaw to extend it, holding you still as you tried to push away as you felt his violet hair shove against yours forcefully as he pressed his lips against yours, dry rough and bloody from your beloved, he finally bit down, pulling back once you started to bleed and you fell to the floor sobbing.

•When you woke you were freezing, there were shouts and banging from the door like you’d never heard and you were held in Robbie’s arms. Robbie’s voice was noticeably fine now after a meal. “Rigor mortis only hurts a little...” all the shouts hurt your head. Who wanted to get in here so bad? No... how many wanted to get in here so bad. Robbie held you so close to his chest, surprising you when you felt his lips press against your bottom one, both covered in dried blood.

•You were the only two like this in the world. He would help you through this, you wouldn’t need his brothers. And he knew you were kind, you wouldn’t want to go outside and risk hurting others now you were like this. Now you were like Robbie.

[jaegertango]

The Hall of Tarsalai

So I wrote a thing with Pent in it. I haven’t written combat in fucking forever, so I’m definitely rusty. This also has Amilaine in it, because why wouldn’t she be there hunting with him? Anyway, stuff in Gilneas happens, and it’s pretty damn important, so I got off my ass so I could actually do the thing. 

With a ragged inhale, Rasputen Tarsalai took in the cold, wet air of Gilneas that his body had long since deemed unnecessary. Even over ten years since he had last needed to breathe, and the oxygen slid through his lungs like slime, the Huntsman still reveled in the chill that grasped within him. Few things could still bring him happiness in his new existence as an Undead, and the weather of the rainy, dark region of the Worgen was amongst them. Even better was the rifle he held in his hands, his sharp, bone fingertips cradling the firearm lovingly as the stench of gunpowder clung to the barrel warmly. Storm clouds and bullets – what could possibly be better?

Probably the pale-haired woman close behind him, Amilaine’s nimble fingers testily rolling a knife between them with ease.

“Any luck?” She whispered curiously, and there was a hint of excitement testing in her gentle voice, an edge of sadism as warning as the glint of steel in her hand.

“Lotta blood in the air,” the Deadeye grunted back gravelly, his only-working eye lazily glancing around the foggy tree trunks. Even if the Forsaken woman could not see as well in the mist, Rasputen could easily leer at the splattering trail of red soaked onto the white like a painting. His initial shot had only grazed the beast’s shoulder, but a graze was all he needed; the brute was bleeding. There was nowhere in Gilneas the two undead wouldn’t be able to hunt the Worgen now. “Keep an eye out, Kitten.”

“I’ll keep out two~” Amilaine teased, to which Tarsalai grumbled loudly, but affectionately as he trotted along. His boots crushed the damp grass underfoot with muffled thuds, while the woman’s bare feet were not even audible in comparison. Even as the two descended deeper into the woods, and the fog devoured the leafy canopy overhead, Amilaine moved with such fluidity that she seemed to nearly vanish like a ghost in the mist. A true wraith – she was the polar opposite to the Huntsman’s heavy step and menacing aura, and she was excellent at being his spotter. As Rasputen looked down, he gestured towards a scattered trail of blood drops, only growing thicker with every few feet. Perfect.

“Watch my arse, gotta bad feeling,” Tarsalai murmured, his brow narrowing as he shouldered his rifle.

There was an audible pause before he felt a sharp nip in his backside.

“OI! WATCH, NOT TOUCH!” Rasputen hissed, but he couldn’t retaliate with his own pinch before Amilaine giggled mischievously, practically disappearing into the fog where not even his enhanced senses could track her. Growling more in exasperation he couldn’t get the butt-touch he wanted, he bolted off after her despite knowing he’d never catch up. Worgen hunt be damned, he had his lover to bother-

-as he ducked just in time to avoid an outstretched hand bigger than his entire head sweeping at him.

The Huntsman’s reactions flared, and his scarred face twisted into a horrid grin to match the savage maw of the wolf-man gnashing his fangs at him. His firearm aimed up, but the Worgen was already lunging forward with a rabid snarl, towering over Tarsalai easily. Swearing colorfully, the undead shifted to the right, just under the beast’s outstretched arms. Yet, even with that dodge, the Worgen was already twisting around under the same momentum, ready to cleave at him with a vicious claw; as Rasputen instead also charged forward, upsetting his rifle’s position to instead bash the furry brute across the jaw with the stock of his gun. The sudden attack was all the Deadeye needed to surprise and stun the Worgen as it yelped, but he wasn’t fast enough to aim properly as he squeezed the trigger. The round gouged itself harmfully into one of the beast’s arms, but not lethally as he howled in pain. Another curse left the Deadeye as he reached for another bullet, slamming the round into place with mechanical precision. Taking that time was not good for him though, as even with its injured limb, the Worgen surged at Tarsalai, tackling him and trying to snap at his gray throat. The wolf-man had weight on Rasputen, and one of his arms was already occupied trying to keep those teeth from chomping his neck out. Enraged spittle showered onto the undead’s face, and he bellowed furiously back as he struggled to aim. This was turning into far more of an annoyance than it needed to be, and the Worgen was starting to gain the advantage. Inch by inch, it was getting closer to the Huntsman’s throat, claws trying to hold back the barrel of the gun as it roared victoriously-

-and Tarsalai immediately jammed the rifle into his open maw with a surge of strength, the Worgen practically helping him shove the weapon there. The beast choked on metal – and then on blood and bone as Rasputen immediately transformed the back of his head into an eruption of brain and gore. All life in the beast dissipated on the spot, and the Huntsman instinctively kicked out at the brute to shove the corpse away. A new shock of pain washed through his right side as the claws that had embedded themselves in his side were yanked out, the sacrifice he had to make in order to aim at the monster. Grumbling in disgust, he clambered to his feet, cocking his smoking rifle back and gazing out around him – to notice that Amilaine had appeared at his side again.

“Where th-“ was as far as he managed to get before he realized that her appearance had become far more vivid – she was now utterly soaked in vermillion life fluids, staining her chest and even bits of her cheeks and hair as she stared at Tarsalai with a bewildered expression.

“What the fuck HAPPENED?” He growled, now concerned for his Kitten as he glared at her gorestained visage. “Is there another bloody one!?”

“No, no! This is-“ Amilaine started, holding up her fingers to a trickle of blood leaking down her cheek. The barest hint of a smirk crossed her face as she looked at her soaked fingers, and lapped at them curiously. “I went to help you with it, and just as I was about to stab him in the back, he kinda…”

She made a finger-pistol motion, complete with its own “pschew!” sound effect. This apparently made no sense for Rasputen, for he kept gazing dumbfounded at the Forsaken woman.

“The dogs don’t bleed THAT goddamned hard, do they?” He hissed, shaking his head and turning towards the Worgen corpse. “Dunno how they could-“

He stopped himself as he realized that there wasn’t actually a back of the Worgen’s head anymore – everything passed its muzzle had been blown clear out by the force of the Huntsman’s shot, and that there was a conical spray from the gore geyser – and a definite gap of someone standing right in the blast zone.

“Oh. Never mind.”

“It’s okay, I thought it was funny,” Amilaine spoke happily, sidling up next to Tarsalai and rubbing her cheek along his shoulder – probably to also clean herself up of the blood. “His heart will be intact too~”

“Yeah yeah Kitten, I know how much you love your ruddy-“

That Worgen wasn’t the one they were hunting.

It was only when the Deadeye noticed the absence of his first tracking shot on the slaughtered beast that it occurred to him this wasn’t his initial prey. The realization hit Rasputen nearly as hard as the actual Worgen they had been hunting, the wolf-man sinking his claws into each of his already-maimed shoulders. Roaring in furious pain, Tarsalai barely avoided his second death by stuffing his rifle sideways into the Worgen’s vile maw, its fearsome jaw unable to clamp down passed the steel holding it in place. Unfortunately, there was now no way for the undead to fight back as those fangs winked ominously at him, and those claws kept their knifelike digits in his shoulders. It was taking all of his strength just to hold this brute back from yanking away and shredding his throat to pieces. With boots kicking wildly to no avail at the Worgen’s gut, the hunter was forced to think far quicker than he wanted to. The Deathcannon wasn’t aimed correctly in this position, but he could certainly use the explosive force to free himself; if the blast didn’t kill him anyway. That could-

-The Worgen surprised him by suddenly rearing back, tugging the rifle out of Tarsalai’s hands and bringing a final set of claws upward. Oh FUCK-

But fate never arrived for Rasputen, for just as the beast started to seal the undead’s fate, a bullet suddenly rocketed into its left eye, crashing out of the side of its snout grotesquely. The Worgen howled in agony, but not before five-foot-two of pure rage pounced onto his back, the glint of a dagger moving so fast that it seemed to sway like water. The assailant immediately jammed it into the beast’s jugular, nearly hilting it before drawing it in a precise arc across the Worgen’s throat. The smoothness of the strike was almost unnatural – as was the obscene amount of blood that came gushing out of the open wound noisily, splashing onto Tarsalai thickly. He grunted mostly in annoyance over revulsion, but couldn’t hold back a wild grin as he looked towards his slain foe – and how his Kitten was still stabbing the corpse’s chest in a berserker delight.

“Oi Kitten! Ya got him, he’s – OI! You’re GONNA BUST THE HEART!”

It was only when Rasputen made mention of the organ that the Forsaken woman froze, and she finally stopped ripping into the Worgen needlessly. She was panting heavily, though judging from the bright gleam in her eyes and the way she was biting her lower lip, it wasn’t entirely from exertion. Her hands were now as coated in blood as the rest of her torso, entirely matching Tarsalai’s own gore-splattered visage thanks to her killing blow. When she looked over at her lover, she smiled cheerfully, looking quite innocent despite the sheer amount of red soaking her form.

“I’ll let you do the honors, since you gave me the kill~” she teased, booping the Deadeye on the nose with a bloody fingertip and offering her dagger hand towards him. He snorted gruffly, but kept smirking as Tarsalai accepted the knife, and gazed up the massacred brute.

“Bleeding hells, not like there’s much holding this fuck together anymore,” he grumbled in amusement, his own ministrations with the dagger clumsier. He lacked the dexterity that Amilaine did, but that didn’t stop him from carving up the Worgen’s insides regardless. It didn’t matter if the rest looked like chum and dog food – there was only one part that he needed to get towards. And as he approached the meaty, bulging heart, his single eye lit up eagerly. Perfect.

With a few quick slices and a wrench of his hands, he yanked the beast’s heart out grotesquely, bits of blood and shredded organ spraying out with the motion. Chuckling to himself, he reached into his longcoat pocket with his free hand, yanking out a handkerchief to hold the heart in place, as if to present it in a more delicate way for his lover. Looking over towards Amilaine, he now held the heart with both hands, starting to kneel as his gaze shined brightly towards her.

“For you, Kitten. My heart, I give to you,” he spoke with a surprising fondness, offering her the heart tenderly. A sparkling sheen even drove itself along the side of the organ in a pristine fashion as he offered it to her. Amilaine smiled widely, eagerly snatching it from his hands as she nodded towards the Huntsman.

“Ever the gentleman,” she cooed, to which the undead looked shocked. His eye shot from the heart to her hands, and as she began to dip down, he began to stand up in confusion.

“Wait, hol-“

It was too late – she was already biting down onto the heart hungrily, its juices and bloods squishing outward wetly. Her eyes closed blissfully at the taste of it, oblivious to Tarsalai’s surprise – until they shot open as her teeth tried to crunch on something much harder than flesh. Gasping, she froze with a mouthful of flesh still in her mouth, and gaped at Rasputen, who was still halted in shock. She looked down towards the heart, and then tried to politely dig in her mouth without showing off the contents. The half-chewed chomp looked the same as all of the other hearts did – a dull crimson, several valves, oozing with blood-

-a gold band sticking out of the side of it.

Everything turned still. Not even the branches or the walls of fog within Gilneas seemed to move. With shuddering fingers, she reached towards the ring, pulling it loose of the heart-chunk with an excess of shivers. Even in the blood, even when it was soaked in those thick life fluids, her eyes could just make the engraving within the band, making out her name within. Almost bemusedly, she turned towards Rasputen’s wide-eyed expression

–and she wailed at the top of her voice.

Holy fuck, this wasn’t what he was expecting. Tarsalai even shouted back in surprise, to which Amilaine was still yelling incoherently, but not before she had tackled onto him tightly. His arms came around her in confusion, but she was already pelting his scarred face with kisses, the little lady easily beating him into the ground with her affections.

“Kitten, you gotta say-“

“Yes, yes! Of course, yes!’

“Yes?! IT’S A YES?”

“OF COURSE IT IS!”

For as wild and as confusing as the proposal was, Tarsalai no longer cared. He had gotten the answer he wanted as Amilaine clung onto him as if releasing would send her off into space. He hadn’t expected her to actually take a bite before seeing the ring, but it all worked out. When she had finally calmed down, she was still cradling his face gently, the utmost affection marking her own cheeks as she intertwined her hand with his own, her new ring shining in the dim light of the forest.

“I don’t think I could be happier now,” she murmured breathlessly, squeezing the Huntsman’s hand warmly. Her smile was the widest Rasputen had ever seen it, and he had a feeling his face was doing the same. Euphoria surged through his body, easily beating back the pain his shoulders were going through, and nearly forcing him to his feet. He doubted he could be any happier himself as he rested his nose against Amilaine’s-

-as a bestial growl echoed from around them.

Immediately, the two undead looked up from their surroundings, and saw that they were not alone anymore. Three more Worgen had come across them, and their hateful eyes were tracked viciously onto them. Their snarls grew steadily louder as Tarsalai looked back towards Amilaine, and a sadistic gleam fired through his eye.

“Ready for dessert, Amilaine Tarsalai?”

“I’ve never been hungrier, husband~”