#demon slayer: the roar of victory

[consumedshadow-mysticmc]

Off to see the new Demon Slayer movie!

[higanbana-writer]

Everlasting Family

Pairing: Gyūtarō x Platonic!Mother!Reader x Daki Summary: Tanjirō fails to behead Gyūtarō after you intervene. Note: Based off the headcanon I did with Upper Moon!Reader turning Daki and Gyūtarō into demons.

“Brother! Do something will you, Brother?!”

Daki’s shrill shrieks sounded distant, muffled by the roaring blood in Gyūtarō’s ears.

How? How had things come to this? That Hashira and those other three demon slayers – all of them were supposed to be dead! So why was it that both he and his sister were on the verge of being beheaded by them?!

He’d been so confident in their victory not too long ago, but now, try as he might, he couldn’t suppress the fear that welled up within him. He could feel it so clearly, the way the cold blade sliced deeper into his neck as its wielder bellowed in desperation.

No. It wasn’t over yet. He could still fight back.

He had to.

Clenching his teeth, blood began to bubble at the stump of his severed arm as he tightened his grip on his kama, sinking it further into Tanjirō’s jaw in a last-ditch attempt to force him away. But the boy never faltered, not even seeming to register the pain. And a second later, Gyūtarō found his head flying through the air. Oddly enough, instead of the expected sound of Tanjirō’s blade slicing cleanly through his flesh, he heard the piercing screech of blades scraping against each other.

Rather than dropping to the ground as it should have, his head was suddenly seized by something and the next thing he knew, he was overlooking the demon slayers from atop a building.

“Wha-“

With everything happening the blink of an eye, he couldn’t understand what had just happened. Uzui and Tanjirō were still below, and he was certain Daki had been beheaded as well, so who’s hand was it that held him? It felt gentle and somehow extremely familiar.

“Goodness, I see that some pests have crawled their way into our home while I was gone.”

Upon hearing your voice, Gyūtarō inhaled sharply in surprise. What were you doing here when you were supposed to be away on a mission for Muzan? Had you completed it sooner than anticipated? Well, never mind that. Though your tone had been light and almost on the edge of playful, he could hear the simmering rage layered underneath it, threatening to boil over at any moment.

While he was unable to turn his head with no body attached to it, he was still able to catch a glimpse of you through the corner of his eye and what he saw sent a chill down his detached spine lying below.

A frigid smile graced your lips and your eyes, ever intimidating with the Upper Moon rank displayed, held nothing but a murderous fire as you gazed at the humans that had decapitated him. Never during the entire century he’d known you for, had he ever seen you this furious.

Just as Gyūtarō opened his mouth to call your attention onto him, he suddenly caught sight of an open folding fan clutched in your other hand. It was a weapon he was all too familiar with, having seen you using it numerous times during hunts for meals and times when you needed to blend in with the human courtesans. What he was unaccustomed to seeing, however, was the blood that dripped off its bladed edge. His own blood, to be more precise.

Had you perhaps… sliced away at the remaining flesh that had connected his head and neck before Tanjirō could fully behead him? That would certainly explain why he hadn’t started to disintegrate yet. Then, if it weren’t for you swooping in at the last second, both he and Daki would have been guaranteed to die.

He grimaced at the thought, shame quickly overtaking any and all relief he felt towards he and his sister’s narrow escape from death. The two of them had upheld their position among the Twelve Kizuki for almost as long as they had been with you, taking the lives of countless people along the way and continuously growing stronger. They were your pride and joy, demons whom you turned and taught yourself, honing them into the perfect weapons befitting of Muzan.

Or at least, that’s what he thought. But here they were, having been nearly killed by one measly Hashira and three brats not even old enough to be called men. An utter disgrace to their rank and to you. It would come as no surprise if you were to cast aside the siblings and leave for good, though he dreaded the very thought of his cherished family breaking apart.

“Gyūtarō.”

He couldn’t help but flinch when you called his name and while reluctant – perhaps even scared – to face whatever harsh words you had for him, he was left with no choice when you lifted his head to look him in the eyes.

Contrary to his expectations, however, you looked far from displeased at his and Daki’s loss. As a matter of fact, the burning ire you held towards the demon slayers mere moments ago was all but gone, replaced with a gentle concern for your children.

He had been prepared to plead with you, beg you for another chance if you decided to abandon them. But met with your worry and love, not a hint of anger or disappointment to be found, all he could do was croak out a quiet apology. “Mother, I… I’m sorry Daki and I couldn’t do better.”

You quietly shushed him, placing a soft kiss on his forehead. “You have nothing to apologize for. I know you and Daki did the best you both could, and that’s what matters. It’s that boy who’s the problem.” Your gaze flickered down to whom he could only presume to be Tanjirō, your lips curling into a disdainful sneer. “Those hanafuda earrings – he must be the one Master Muzan wishes dead. I’ll take over from here, so could you please check on your sister, Gyūtarō?”

“Of course, Mother.” His reply was quick and he blinked in place of nodding. As much as he wanted to kill Tanjirō himself for nearly beheading him not just once, but twice, he knew he was in no position to argue with you. He and Daki were already fortunate enough that you were so forgiving of their blunder.

Gyūtarō raised his body off the ground from behind Tanjirō and Uzui, and though the latter had lunged at it to prevent him from reconnecting his head, he was far too slow. Gyūtarō’s body leapt up and landed next to you on the roof side, taking his head back when you handed it to him and placing it back on the stump of his neck.

“Now then,” You narrowed your eyes as you looked down at the humans, a cruel glint mixing with the returning anger in them. “I believe you have reinforcements on the way, yes? I can see that most of you here are already on the verge of dying, but do try to stay alive until they arrive. I’ll have you watch as I slaughter them all.” As you let out a fiendish laugh, blue flames began to flicker behind you, taking on the appearance of nine fox tails.

“You’ve got to be kidding me…” Uzui muttered in disbelief, the ever-irritating confidant façade of his finally starting to break with dread peeking through its cracks.

But who could blame him? One glance at the younger demon slayer next to him was all it took for Gyūtarō to know that his poison had already taken effect. It wouldn’t be long now before Tanjirō succumbed to it. Uzui was now alone in his fight against you, Upper Moon Four. Oh, how the tables have turned.

A smug smirk slipped its way onto his face and as he began heading towards the direction where Daki’s head should have fallen, he heard the clashing of weapons and your voice snarling, “You should have never touched my children, human.”

Your children.

No matter how many times Gyūtarō had heard you say it, it still filled him with a warmth that almost seemed…human. With your words echoing in his head, he leapt from roof to roof, scanning the ground until he spotted his sister, clearly fuming. Daki seemed to still be in the process of reattaching her head, holding a hand to each side to keep it still as her flesh fused together.

She scowled when he dropped down in front of her, immediately beginning to whine. “Brother! What took you so long?! Those brats beheaded me again! You killed them, right? Tell me you killed them all!”

Wasn’t this the fourth time her head had been cut off that night? As exasperating as that fact was, he had to admit, after knowing that they would have died without your intervention, he was relieved to see her being so lively.

“Mother is home.”  

In an instant, Daki’s eyes lit up with delight. “Really? She’s back already? I have to go welcome her home then!” With her head now fully reattached, she rushed to her feet and started hurrying back to where they’d last been, eager to see you again.

As he followed after his sister, seeing how excited she was reminded him of the brief, mostly one-sided conversation he’d had with Tanjirō. It really was quite a pity that he’d refused his offer to become a demon. Gyūtarō had no doubt that if he had accepted, you would have welcomed he and his sister into the family. Well, not that it mattered anymore since the boy would be dead soon.

The three of you were a perfect family as it was and he knew that as long as you were together, nothing – no matter how many demon slayers or Hashira were sent your way – would be able to tear you apart.

[deathmetalunicorn1]

hello!!💞💞 i would like to request the reaction part of my old request lol,💕

if you don't remember me im the one who requested the

"Qin shi Huang x hades x male!y/n that is the reincarnation of the very first king and emperor in human history[don't ask me how his Both so just pretend😍✨]"ploy one lol💅[i did remove unnecessary parts and added some new parts that i forgot to include]:

if you don't also remember the reaction part here it is:

[and so how would qin shi Huang and hades react to his wound,fight ,speech ,and new look especially how they would react to seeing there extremely shy self-conscious scaredy cat, crybaby husband/Boyfriend,now being the most cocky, confident,arrogant,prideful,flirtiest,unserious and to be honest horniest man they have ever met, that would not be afraid to put anyone i mean ANYONE[even qin shi Huang and hades] Back in there place…

and too save you time i copied every thing here:

Hades x Qin shi Huang x Male!reader

that is the reincarnation of the very first king and emperor in human history[don't ask me how he's Both cus i don't even know myself so just imagine]

so like Before Ragnarok qin shi Huang and hades had been in a ploy relationship with the m!reader who let's just say got in to Valhalla for Saving people from a fire or something like that?

m!reader would have been very shy and didn't have a lot of confidence and would be a scaredy cat and a crybaby sometimes…

so when Ragnarok was announced m!reader was almost in tears finding out that his two lovers are fighting to the Death…[but it ends in a tie Don't worry]

as this was happening akaiju who is the embodiment of Darkness and the king of inferno would randomly join Ragnarok to the surprise of everyone as he was more powerful then all of them combined]

[at first the gods we're scared but after finding out that akaiju was also fighting for the destruction of humanity They were quick to roar in happiness and victory knowing this would be a victory and humanity lost more hope]

[while this was going on Brunhilde found out that the soul of the first king and emperor was in m!reader which meant he was the reincarnation of the king and emperor so she went to him so she can possibly return his previous memories back as he is the only hope]

[at first m!reader was hesitant at first but after a while he agreed because he didn't want him,qin shi Huang,his friends[which are the other human fighters]and the rest of humanity to get erased]

[so Brunhilde led him to a room with a large simbol that was on the floor surrounded by pillars]

[m!reader stepped in the large circle and after Brunhilde said the chants m!reader felt a large wave of energy hit him like lightning as his Body glowed bright]

after the transformation he now looked like this:

front:

Back:

[and he does use his claws to attack or inflict damage on his opponent and yes the claws are attached to the gloves]

and for his weapon would be a snyth like this:

[all art Done by me]

[m!reader would have transformed after qin shi Huang and hades fight so they're Both tired and they don't look for m!reader because they know m!reader doesn't know direction and just thought he was lost trying to look for them]

[and when akaiju and m!reader are being introduced it would be kinda like this]

heimdall: LADY AND GENTLEMEN GODS & Goddess ROUND[you choose] HAS BEGUN!!!

ON THE GODS SIDE

MEET THE DARKNESS THAT CONSUMS EVERY CORNER OF ALL THINGS

THE ONE WHO RULES THE VERY INFERNO!!

THE ONE WHO FEEDS OFF YOUR FEAR!!!

THE EMBODIMENT OF DARKNESS AND THE KING OF INFERNO HIMSELF!!

AKAIJUUU!!!!

[There entered akaiju holding his of weapon choice which was a sphere with Sharp Bat wings as a second blade his hair was long tied into a messy large ponytail[like kokushibo From demon slayer] with his horns outlined with Crimson red his attire was the same color black and crimson red as his outfit was be covered by his cape but you could see his marks on his arms because they we're sleeveless his nails were sharp as kinfes and i must say his handsome😏]

[for m!reader]

heimdall:

ALRIGHT ON HUMANITY'S SIDE!

MEET THE MAN WHO CHANGED HISTORY FOREVER

THE MAN WHO WAS THOUGH TO BE A MYTH!

THE MAN WHO STARTED THE VERY FIRST KINGDOM & EMPIRE AND LIVED BEFORE PRE-RECORD HISTORY!

LADY'S AND GENTLEMAN MEET THE FIRST KING & EMPEROR IN HUMAN HISTORY

M!Y/N!!

[Every one looked at the entrance to see you not there?]

heimdall: uhh whare is h-

[Before he could finishe his sentence a large monster had Been thrown from the inside making the door Break open as the monster rolled down the steps

M!reader emerg holding his trusty snyth]

M!reader:my my~i seemed to be late~ my apology!~

[as m!reader said this every king and emperor in history Bows Down in respect of his glory as his the one who started it all]

[One of the guards or bystandard looked inside to see hundreds of different warriors and monsters and even gods knocked out cold as m!reader defeated all of them but the guard or bystandard was more shocked because

m!reader didn't even have a scratch on him!?]

[as the fight was about to start qin shi Huang and hades didn't realize that it was m!reader

cus he looked way different and he has a Blindfold and so when they heard his name they thought it was just a coincidence]

how they're fight would kinda go:

[Akaiju attacked m!reader first with a powerful attack but m!reader manage to block it but he still got thrown on one of the arena walls which broke in impact]

[he sat up from the attack as he feels blood run down his face he put his hand to his face and touched it before looking at his hand seeing blood but instead of being scared or worried he smiled brightly as he wanted a good fair fight]

m!reader:my my! What a powerful attack say you won't mind if i return the favor?~

[as m!reader swang his snyth at akaiju also making Black spikes appear as it hit akaiju also making him crash to the wall with more impact]

[after a few minutes akaiju manage to hit m!reader in the face cutting his blindfold and in the process cutting his face leaving a large wound like this:

as the blindfold fell off everyone could see his eyes which were Beautiful…his eyes we're a beautiful golden yellow as his pupil looked like a snake but with a Black star behind it outlined with white as it almost look like it glowed and also revealing who he was]

[m!reader usually wore a blindfold because he rely more on his sentences than his site but by now using his eyes which had a special ability which he could see his opponents weak spots and next move but it was still a little hard because Both of him and Akaiju are very injured]

[and even tho he had a large wound on his face he still had a bright smile as he wipes the Blood away not caring about the pain]

[qin shi Huang and hades on the other hand despite being injured because of there fight wanted to run in the arena to get you out of there not wanting to loss you but there's was nothing they could do as the round already started]

[In the middle of the fight, Akaiju randomly asked m!reader, "tell me mortal…What makes someone a king/emperor?"

m!reader chuckled at the question, Before He answered"A king/emperor is the one who leads his people with grace and wisdom. He is the one who guides them in times of joy and sorrow, the one who inspires hope, and the one who inspires loyalty and devotion. A king/emperor is the one who serves his people with humility and cares for them like a father cares for his children.he continues]

"A king/emperor is the one who cares for his kingdom and people. He is the one who will do anything to make his people happy, who will sacrifice his life for his people.the one who there people truly consider there king/emperor as Without a king, the people are lost and directionless. But with a king/emperor, the people can achieve greatness and fulfill their potential. It is the duty of a king/emperor to protect his kingdom & empire and its people, and lead them to a brighter future

…as a king/emperor is nothing without his people and his people are nothing without him…And if you claim yourself to be a king/emperor, without your people,you are no such king/emperor, only a fool…as The title of king/emperor is to be earned, not given.]

[Humanity looked at king and emperor in awe of his wisdom as they're determination grows more]

[a few more minutes of fighting. randomly akaiju stopped. as he lifted up his spear m! reader prepared for him to attack…but to the surprise of the gods and humanity as well a m!reader the embodiment stabbed himself deep on the side of his stomach Before ripping out the spear giving himself a very fatal Blow. and as Blood ran down the head of the spear he was smiling/smirking at m!y/n

m!y/n quickly regain his composure again smiling as he realized that akaiju wanted a fair fight and a fair fight he will deliver]

[Both started to fight more harder both using they're most powerful attack…after a few more minutes

m!y/n barely manage to Dodge one of akaiju's attack getting the side of his torso stabbed so he swang his snyth cutting akaiju chest as akaiju fell back

And after a few seconds akaiju stood up as m!y/n prepared to fight again but akaiju Drop his weapon and looked at m!y/n as he slowly faded away]

Akaiju:it was an honor to fight with someone like you and I want to thank you…for this fight

[there fight would end like this

heimdall:ROUND [you choose] HAS BEEN CONCLUDED THE WINNER IS M!Y/N!!

ROUND [you choose]:

M!y/n vs akaiju

Time:53 minutes and 28 seconds

Dealing blow:king's heavenly judgment

Winner: M!y/n the first king and emperor in human history

[and yes there fight would be the longest]

[all the gods and humans looked at m!reader in shocked that he actually defeated someone so much more powerful then all the gods!?]

[as m!y/n walked back stage he unfused with his Valkyrie before he looked up seeing Brunhilde,göll,as well as hades, qin shi Huang going towards them giving them a weak smile before Passing out but was catched by his Valkyrie who was very worried]

if you're wondering what m!y/n looks like after the fight here you go]

[yes the side of his torso is gone because of akaiju's attack and if you wondering why he kinda looks like he got set on fire because he did get set on fire during the fight.]

I hope you enjoy this my dear- I’m only going to be writing after the battle, as you’ve already done the hard part of the battle for me, and I don’t want to waste your hard work.

-Qin Shi Huang was beside himself, ordering the nurses and anyone who was listening to get to you, something Brunnhilde was quickly mimicking- calling for aide.

-He stared down at your body, in awe that you were so strong, but seeing you now so broken- he felt scared. He would never admit it out loud, but his heart was hammering in his chest, afraid that he was going to lose you.

-Doctors and nurses rushed you into surgery, where QSH tried to follow, but Brunnhilde stopped him, lifting an arm to catch him, but for once, he didn’t fight her, watching your body being wheeled away.

-Tears welled in his eyes and Hades pulled him back, letting the human sag into him, who kneeled, allowing the emperor to have his moment of weakness as it was just him, Brunnhilde, and Goll there and he clutched at Hades, crying heavily.

-The damage to your torso was extensive, it took the doctors so long to get you to stop bleeding so they could get in there and patch you up enough to get you into a tank, a water tank that stimulated rapid healing.

-That was their goal, to get you to that point, because if they could do that- there would be no question that you would survive.

-It was hours later when a nurse came out, finding both men sitting outside the surgery room. QSH’s head was resting on Hades’ arm, almost asleep, but as soon as they saw her- they both were quickly standing.

-She bowed politely before giving a small nod, speaking to him gently, “Y/N will be all right.” Those five little words made the two men melt back into their seats, overwhelmed with relief which made her smile softly.

-The nurse held a hand to the side, motioning towards a side door, “Follow me.” QSH was instantly on his feet, rushing after her, even beating her to the door, opening it for her before she led both men down a long hallway that smelled clean- it smelled like medicine.

-She came to a room and opened the door, “In here- Lord Y/N will be fine in time.” QSH saw you laying in the water tank, one similar to what he had been in after his fight, seeing you covered in stitches and bandages, quickly approaching.

-Hades watched QSH sink to his knees by your side, his hands touching the glass of the tank before exhaling deeply. Hades turned, surprising her, “Thank you for bringing us to him.” She nodded, seeing how much love they both had for you, and she bowed her head, before motioning to a button, “If he gives any indication that he is waking up- as in his eyes open, please press this and we will be right here.”

-Hades nodded as QSH didn’t respond and she took her leave.

-You slept through the remainder of Ragnarok, blissfully unaware that humanity managed to win their salvation. Hades shirked his duties, for once, as both men refused to leave your side, watching the matches from your room, telling you about each one.

-They didn’t know if you could hear them, but they wanted to tell you anyway.

-You didn’t wake up for another two weeks, but according to the doctors, several that QSH cornered, wanting answers, that was actually pretty good, based on your wounds.

-QSH made sure that he was the first one you saw after they pulled you out of the tank, dying you off and dressing you, he held your face between his hands, talking down to you and as your eyes opened he quickly launched a kiss attack which made you groan in pain.

-Hades was quick to react, whacking him hard on the top of his head, leaving the emperor with a large steaming lump on his head while you got tended to by the nurses.

-Everything hurt, but that was mainly because you had been lying in on position for over two weeks, even if you were in water, so you were basically super stiff.

-You had to get physical therapy, to loosen up your muscles, something both you and your lover knew, but when it came to other things, like eating, you weren’t going to lift a finger!!

-QSH loved doting on you- he found it enjoyable while you pouted, telling him to stop teasing you- which of course made him want to do it even more.

-Hades was concerned for you, treating you like a delicate flower, which you didn’t care for, at least all the time, pouting up at him as he wrapped you in a blanket, “I told you I’m fine!” he just grinned, pecking your puffed cheek lightly, not accepting no for an answer.

-Once you were cleared, you were so happy to be back outside, but annoyed because you were still on restricted duty, you couldn’t work out, train, or lift anything heavier than a teacup for at least another week!!

-You were happy to be home in your palace, one you shared with Hades and QSH, but you were cranky, as you were bored, wanting to go out and do stuff, at least run around, but they weren’t letting any of that happen- they watched you like a pair of hawks and would scold you, carrying you back to your bed that was covered with pillows, and pinning you down in it, if either one found you out and about without one of them.

-You couldn’t help but pout, folding your arms across your chest like you were a child, “I want to go outside!” Hades was to your left, hugging you, but his arms were like two steel bars, holding you down, “It’s raining- you could get sick!” you groaned before QSH returned with some hot tea, “Here Y/N this will help warm you up.”

-You took it, muttering out a quiet thank you, before he joined you on the massive bed, sitting beside you on your right, “You’ll be able to start training in two days- you’re almost there!”

-You sighed softly, knowing they were right before you grinned like a gremlin, “So does that mean when I’m clear we can-” Hades put his hand over your mouth, scolding you, “No- the doctors said at least another two weeks for that.”

-You groaned, falling back into Hades who laughed warmly, followed by QSH, as they didn’t like waiting either, but it was to make sure you were well.

-You sighed softly, looking at these two men, a small, fond smile appearing on your lips, you were so lucky to have these two.

[astoldbyaja]

The Orisha and the Hashira-CH.21

Tengen’s crow spread the news about the Upper Moon’s defeat. Tengen and I were informed to return to Lord Ubuyashiki’s manor the moment we arrived. As we walked through the gates, we could hear a one side argument.

“You mean to tell me; you took on two upper moon demons with little to no effort!” Sanemi roared. I could see him glaring up at Bambaataa who’s arms were crossed.

“Was it supposed to be difficult?” he asked causing the wind Hashira to fume.

“You stepped in at the last minute and claimed victory from Tengen and the other slayers, who did most of the fighting. A cowardly move if you ask me!” Obanai hissed.

“He wasn’t trying to claim victory,” Shinobu said in a motherly tone, “He never said a single thing upon his return, per the master about killing the upper moons. We would have never known had Tengen’s crow not informed us. Either way the master is happy as am I.” Finally, everyone was looking at us as I was only looking for one face that made me smile. Kyojuro.

The flame Hashira looked at me with wide eyes, a big smile spreading on his face.

“It doesn’t matter who killed the demons. They’re dead and that’s one less upper moon to deal with.” Tengen told. Everyone nodded their heads, all the while Kyojuro separated from the group and speed walked toward me. I smiled lovingly, and moved up to him jumping in his arms and he twirled me around, before our lips connected passionately. However, I could feel the desperation in his kiss by how he devoured my own. He must have been truly worried for me.

“I’m so glad you’re safe my water lily.” he purred up at me. I hummed gently.

“Nothing could keep me from your arms my blazing phoenix.” I responded with a loving smile.

“Has the master spoken yet?” Tengen asked before looking around at everyone.

Gyomei nodded.

“Afraid so. We had just finished. He wanted to thank everyone for their hard work for taking down the upper moons. He and Bambaataa apparently had a conversation long before even we arrived since he delt both the finishing blows on the demons” he said. Sanemi scoffed at that. I looked at my brother and smiled warmly at him. After Kyojuro put me down, I moved over to him noticing another brother of mine was not here.

“Where is Femi?” I asked.

“He is asleep. Since he knew you were safe per my return, he felt he could sleep a little to regain his strength.” he said. I nodded before looking over at Kyojuro to see him and Tengen talking.

“Why don’t we go out and celebrate tonight. This is definitely something we must commemorate in the flashiest of ways why can!” he boomed. Kyojuro gave a booming laugh.

“Sounds great!” he said before looking over at me with excited eyes. “What do you think, Ayo?” I nodded.

“I am curious to try sake.” I replied softly looking up at Bambaataa. “Will you join?”

“No. I am accompanying Gyomei to his estate to learn some training with him. I think it’ll be beneficial. You will watch Femi.” he said. I nodded.

“Of course.” I replied.

When the sun went down, Tengen managed to rent out the same inn that we celebrated at before. Mitsuri, Sanemi, Obani and Giyu attended. We were enjoying the food and sake. It tasted so sweet going down. I couldn’t drink too much though; I could tell my body did not like it. Kyojuro said he liked to keep a clear head so he did not drink too much and neither did I.

“So, what was it like fighting the upper moons?” Sanemi asked. I let Tengen tell his story of what happened.

“We infiltrated three brothels to figure out where the demon was hiding. Tanjiro and the boys did not make for cute girls, but they managed to sneak in just the same. Ayo here scouted from the rooftops for areas lacking in water. That’s where the demons usually were hiding.” he said. Giyu looked at me.

“Did you find their hide out?” he asked.

“Shut up and let him tell the story, damnit!” Sanemi barked, his face growing red from the multiple drinks of sake he has had. Giyu rolled his eyes, but I grinned, feeling Kyojuro’s hand rubbing my knee beneath the table.

“More so they found me before I found them. I was captured and poisoned, but my body cured itself.” I replied. Mitsuri gasped and Kyojuro tensed heavily. Obanai shook his head.

“Wait, wait, wait. They captured you, why didn’t they kill you?” he asked.

“Well, he was, but he mistook me for my mother who he met long ago. She and I have the same features and so the demon was bent on keeping me, most likely to hand me over to Kibutsuji himself.” I replied. Everyone’s eyes widened some and even in their tipsy state I could tell they were very enthralled in the story.

“But this glitzy shinobi came in and found her and with all our efforts we stopped the demon!” Tengen said. I could feel Kyojuro’s discomfort from the story. I honestly wish we did not tell the story. I leaned into him rubbing my shoulder against his and Kyojuro smiled in return.

“Well I am just glad everyone managed to make it out alive! Ha ha!” Kyojuro boomed, and we all agreed.

“I still can’t believe someone other than a Hashira took out an upper moon.” Sanemi pouted and Obanai patted his shoulder.

“There will be other chances to kill one.” he assured. After our little celebration, I waited in the hallway looking out through one of the open doors and up at the moon. The others were simply talking a bit more in the room behind me. The door slid open and out came Sanemi walking over with his hands in his pockets.

“Hey.” he said with a heavy sigh. I looked at him with a smile and then up at the moon. Sanemi however was looking down with a soft yet worried gaze.

“What’s the matter?” I asked looking at him. He was silent for a moment before looking all over the ground.

“Our mission… you ran into Kibutsuji because I wasn’t with you. I told you to wait for me in that damn town, not even thinking of what threats could be there. I’m happy you got away, but I feel so fucking weak I wasn’t there to have your back.” he growled, his fists shaking. “I’m sorry.” I winced at his words and turned to him with a smile.

“Sanemi, you had my back the entire time. You fought those demons off when they came, due to my bleeding. You gave me time to escape.” I said. He shook his head.

“I could have done more. I shouldn’t have gone ahead to kill the target demon.” he said through clenched teeth. I smiled and grabbed his shoulders pulling him into a gentle embrace. His body tensed, and I could tell his first reaction was to struggle, because he gripped my arms almost violently, before freezing.

“But had you gone back for me, more people would have died, but because you hadn’t, no one died. I am alive and you are alive, and those villagers are alive. It’s alright.” I replied gently. His body shook against me and he slowly rested his hands around my waist, however he did not let his hands come to rest on my back. He kept it very light.

“Don’t want Rengoku thinking I’m trying something on you.” he said. I chuckled and nodded in understanding.

“Don’t worry Sanemi, I would never think of you as the kind of man to try to!” Kyojuro boomed as he was watching us the entire time. Sanemi immediately moved back and cleared his throat.

“Yeah well, good cause I’d never do that!” he said. “Anyways I’m heading to sleep. Goodnight!”

He left without waiting for a response. Kyojuro joined me and looked at me with his usual grin, a strip of red across his face from his drinking.

“Are you ready to turn in?” he asked. I nodded and he took my hand and guided me down the hall. “Lovely weather tonight, isn’t it?” I hummed and nodded.

“Yes, very.” I replied softly as I looked out at the sky.

“So, you went up against an upper moon, how are you feeling?” he asked. I chuckled some.

“I’ve been up against many demons before, Kyojuro. If anything, it feels quite nostalgic from my war at home.” I replied and he nodded.

“Your brothers sensed you from the master’s mansion. They said you opened an energy channel within your body. This is what led to Bambaataa leaving to join you in battle. They agreed you were facing a very strong demon if you had to resort to such a move.” he explained. I felt my jaw tighten just a bit.

“You were with them? I’m surprised Bambaataa let you hang around with him and Femi.” I replied. He laughed.

“Well of course, we will all be brother in laws very soon, it’s only natural. But please, don’t try and change the subject. I am curious about your abilities. Is this energy channel something the Hashira can learn?” he asked. I grinned some.

“You wish to know so that maybe you or your comrades can use it against an upper demon.” I replied. He hummed and nodded.

“Yes.” he said confidently. I grinned and nodded.

“It is a last resort when facing a dangerous energy. It is used to sharpen my senses and connect me to all the water in the vicinity. By doing this, I let my true carnal nature take over. When the Orisha went to war with the demons in the Mother Continent, all of our energy channels were open, so that we remained sharp and powerful at all times. It is the one moment where we are at our peak, our powers become more dangerous than they already are when the channel is closed.” I replied. We were now standing in front of his room, and I gripped the bottom of his haori now as I looked down for a moment. “The demon who captured me… he did not do so in an attempt at holding me to give me to Kibutsuji. He wanted me for himself to eventually turn me into a demon and make me his.”

I could see the bright, happy emotions on his face slowly fall as I spoke.

“He threatened to take me from you, and that I could never forgive. So, I opened my energy channel so I could defeat both demons. When I sensed Bambaataa there, I knew I had gone too far. I figured the place was evacuated that no one would miss it if I flooded it to kill these two demons or at least ensure there was no way they could hide from the son. But Tanjiro…” I said gently giving a soft smile at the boy, his face of pure terror as he spoke to me, reminding me not to do what it is I was going to do.

“He was there to remind me not to go through with my plan. And you… you reminded me that I was still more human than those demons could ever be.” I replied. Numerous emotions played on Kyojuro’s face as he smiled and leaned down kissing me lovingly.

“Yes, you are.” he said, and I smiled and caressed his neck. He leaned down to kiss me again, only this time it was feverish and filled with want. He releases a low growl, that makes my body tighten. His tongue moves toward my lips, and I open it immediately so our tongues could reunite as well. I feel his hands slide over my back and down to my bottom. He gripped my ass cheeks and hoisted me up against him. I gasped and looked down at him with shock as he stared up at me with fire in his eyes. “My lily, tonight I want you beneath the moonlight. May I have you?”

His words made me blush and I nod thinking he may want me outside beneath the moon.

“Yes.” I replied, locking my feet around his waist and he smiled wider. With one hand, he slides the door back and enters the room. The wall across from us was not a wall at all, but a beautiful, netted screen that showed the moon outside. I noticed there were other rooms just like this, but they were dark, and you could not see inside. I could see the moon in the sky from here. It was beautiful.

There was only a candle that lit up this room, and gently Kyojuro put me down. I noticed the futon over in the corner and I couldn’t help but smile feeling my heartbeat increase as I turn and watch Kyojuro remove his haori, his eyes not leaving mine and I felt the intensity of his gaze. I did the same with my haori. We folded our haori and placed it to the side before finally Kyojuro finally approached the candle and picked it up carefully, turning to me.

With one cool breath, the fire was gone and darkness cascaded down on us. Only the moon lit our bodies, and our eyes glowed sensually as we smiled at each other. He moved back over to me, and we now stared at each other with foggy eyes. We raised our hands and began to unbutton each other’s uniforms. I noticed he was moving to unbutton my uniform a bit quicker than me. I smirked.

“Needy?” I asked.

“Very.” he said before closing the space between us and kissing me desperately. I moaned feeling our hands caress at our necks and face. I could feel the beating of his heart, the way his chest moves quicker. He does not want sensual tonight. I wanted to be sure, so I let my hands trail down his body gently before I cupped his crotch immediately. He gasped into my mouth before growling and taking hold of my uniform and ripping it apart.

I smirk in response and now we both quickly pawed at each other’s bodies removing our clothes quickly. Find any other articles of clothing on the other was considered quite an offense in this movement.

All the while our mouths were still devouring the other with great need and desperation. I moaned into his mouth, and he bit my lip in response, hard. I now I growled in warning, and he chuckled so darkly that I felt a jolt of pressure shoot down into my body. I didn’t think Kyojuro was capable of such primal actions. I always suspected he would be a soft lover, which I didn’t mind. But seeing this edge in his red and yellow half lidded eyes made me melt.

I almost forgot where my hand was until he started to buck his bare hip against my palm, his cock twitching in my hand. I started to rub him slowly and he groaned, his hands finding my breasts and groping them immediately. Feeling his shaft harden in my hand made me pant heavily. He now leaned his forehead against mine with a bit of firmness, dominance even. I kept eye contact with him to show I was with him; I was submitting to him.

“You know I love you right?” he asks panting heavily, and I look up at him and nod immediately.

“Yes.” I respond immediately and he nodded kissing me only this time it was with a mild sense of aggression, one that made my entire body come to life. He leaned back just inches away looking at me with a deep, heated stare.

“Good. Because tonight, I’m going to fuck you like I don’t.” he said.

I had never heard such authority in his tone like this. I’m used to such happy and loud confident tones, but this was a different side, one that I had never known Kyojuro possessed. But I was definitely excited for what this meant.

[raventroll80]

A Beast on Mars

Chapter 2 Welcome to Mars

Freed from his prison, Slayer tries to find the source of the invasion, new allies are met and property is damaged.

Heads up this is Doom fic so there’s going to be a considerable amount of violence. This chapter contains blood, gore, a whole lotta demon murder, and death.

The Slayer jumped down from the plateau and surveyed the area, red rocks surrounded him on all sides, the wreckage of a transport lay burning just a few meters away. A massive tower could be seen off on the horizon, it’s jagged crown reminiscent of the gore nest he just purged.

To his right a small path lead through the rocks, green markers lighting the way. Following the path, the Slayer was led to an excavation site of sorts, floodlights shining down on large ruins in the red sand. The Doom Marine spotted a few zombies shambling about, though he noticed one group of undead were wielding weapons. Soldiers, great, deep in the recesses of his mind the Slayer recalled the burning pain of plasma from their rifles.

The Slayer rolled his shoulders before jumping down from the ledge and fired a round at the group of undead soldiers. Most were killed by the blast of the shotgun and most of the zombies were crushed beneath the behemoth in his decent. The howl of Imps echoed through the air as Scouts flooded the site, with their Brutes hot on their trail.

The first Brute jumped down and received a face full of lead, the spread picking off a few of the lesser Imps in the process. As the Brute recovered from the attack, the Slayer rushed over and bashed its head with the butt of his gun, the bones of its face made a satisfying crunch. Before he could make the finishing blow a fireball came hurling at him from across the excavation site, its sender sneering at him with its bloodstained teeth. With the flick of his tail, the meat hook went flying before sinking into the shoulder of the Brute. The demon howled before being yanked across the battlefield by the Slayer who gladly welcomed them with the blast of his shotgun.

Staggered from the blast, the Brute stood there in a daze allowing the Slayer to slam its head into his knee, crushing it. The first Brute then jumped onto the Slayer’s back and attempted to choke him, the Slayer retaliated by slamming his back and therefore the Brute against the wall behind them. Just as he felt the overgrown Imps bones begin to break a volley of plasma slammed into him. Right, the soldiers.

Growling in annoyance the Slayer raised his shotgun and fired at what was left of the undead soldiers, picking off a few more Scouts in the process. Unfortunately, the distractions were far from over as yet another Brute grabbed him by the arm and pulled him away. Just as he was about to fire another round into the demon the Brute slammed its arms down on him. The Slayer returned the gesture with his own punch before slamming his head into its own.

The Slayer recovered first and growled as he sunk his claws into the Brutes shoulder before grabbing it’s left arm. His growl became a roar of fury as the ripped the arm free from the Brutes body and used it to cave its head in. The Brute collapsed to the floor, the bright redness of its blood putting the rusty orange of the sand to shame. The sound of something scrabbling up the rocks reminded him about the first Imp he’d yet to deal with.

He turned to see the once furious Brute, was now attempting to flee… how cute. The Slayer flicked his tail and sunk the meat hook into the Imps leg. The demon squealed in pain as it was dragged back towards the Unchained Predator. Those squeals became shrieks of terror as the Brute raised its arms in a feeble attempt to defend itself but it was futile as the Slayer crushed its ribs beneath his boot. The remaining Imp Scouts scattered as their final Brute fell, leaving the Slayer roaring in victory. Finally, silence fell once more over the Martian landscape, that was before the Slayer picked up on a soft beeping.

There, at the top of the excavation site floated a small drone, it beeped at him again before flying off, the Slayer tiled his head in curiosity and quickly followed. He climbed out of the excavation pit and followed the drone until he was stopped by a security gate. The gate was locked and required a blue key card to open, or it would have if the Slayer weren’t nearly 16 feet tall.

The behemoth of a man kicked the security gate a couple of times before the metal tore free of the rock. Could he have just stepped over the fence? Yes. Did he want to? No! Dr. Hayden wanted him to fix his problem then he’s going to have to deal with the consequences. He didn’t care what he broke, just that he stopped this invasion before it got any worse.

As he continued following the beeping drone the Slayer passed by an alcove in the cliffside next to him. He was about to pass it without a second thought if he hadn’t noticed a bright red tail hanging over the ledge. Following the tail, the Slayer found that the tail belonged to what appeared to be the corpse of a tailed humanoid that looked not unlike himself. The Doom Slayer picked up the corpse and inspected their armour; it was mostly bright red in colour with black accenting, a single strip in the middle of the helmet presumably served as the visor or camera other than that, their face was completely obscured by the helmet. Much like his own armour the humanoids tail ended in a spiked blade, whether or not it could shoot out like his meat hook though, he was unsure.

The Slayer laid the corpse back down on the ledge and watched the drone dart into a cave, the Slayer dropped into a crouch and slowly crept forward. He didn’t know if the drone was leading him somewhere or running away, but what he did know was that he wanted to catch it. The Slayer stayed low to the ground and crept around the ledge and past some rails and a cargo dock before slowly sneaking into the cave. He stayed crouched as he watched the drone hover out of the cave and looked around for him, making confused beeps as it tried to figure out where he went, it was holding something…

Slowly and silently the Slayer crept forwards, eyes fixed onto the drone. Closer, and closer he crept, the little drone none the wiser until… Bam! The Slayer grabbed onto the drone which started to beep almost frantically as it tried to escape his grasp. The Slayer turned the drone over in his hands and inspected it; it was fairly small compared to the slayer though it would probably be about the size of an average human’s torso, its main body was circular and small arms appeared to be grasping a large crate labeled “CAUTION EXPLOSIVES”.

The drone made more panicked beeping before releasing an electric shock. The Slayer yowled in pain and dropped the drone who floated away from him. The Slayer snarled at the drone before lunging at it and tearing it apart. The drone made some strained beeps and whirrs before it’s lights went out; the Slayer huffed in satisfaction and began inspecting the crate the drone was carrying. Inside he found a handful of large grenades, so large in fact that he could probably use them.

A twinge of guilt shot through the Slayer as he glanced at the remains of the drone. Had it been trying to help him? He pocketed the grenades and gently scooped up the drone, clearly someone had to be piloting it, maybe if he brought them the remains, they could fix it? He pocketed the drone and continued on his way.

He passed by more wreckage and gore before he stumbled upon the entrance to a larger facility, broken rails lead to massive bay doors, lesser demons prowling about. Time to test out these new grenades. He pulled the pin and threw it towards them. The explosion shook the entire building, blood and guts went flying everywhere. Effective, he thought to himself as he climbed up to the door. The cargo bay had a much lower ceiling than the lab which forced the Slayer to crouch somewhat. A panel flashed beside door, the Slayer pressed it and the blast doors hissed opened as machinery clunked and whirred. The Slayer walked into the airlock and the doors shut behind him, the loud clunk of the doors locking in place made him growl in unease.

A few minutes had passed and the doors still hadn’t opened up into the facility and the Slayer was getting impatient. He had started pacing around the airlock, his tail twitching in annoyance. A sound chimed in his helmet indicating that a call was coming in. He allowed the call to come through, ho ping he’d get an explanation.

“Hello, I am VEGA the sentient intelligence assigned to Mars. I would like to apologize for what happened earlier; the electric shock is meant to be a deterrent against demonic threats. I was not aware that it was you who grabbed it before administering the shock.” The semi-robotic voice explained in a calm tone.

Oh, so there wasn’t a human piloting it, interesting.

“I would also like to apologize for the wait, power in this facility has been disrupted so I’ve had to reroute the power. The doors will-” VEGA had tried to continued but the Slayer had decided to take matters into his own hands.

“You cannot pry open the doors. They are hermetically sealed for-” The AI had tried to explain only to be cut off by the shrieking of metal as the Slayer began to lift the blast door. The Slayer had begun growling as he fought against the mechanisms only for the door to quickly rise from his hands as it opened.

“As I was explaining, the doors are hermetically to protect employees from the outside conditions. I would prefer you keep the damages to a minimum in the event that any survivors make their way to this facility.” VEGA explained in a less calm, almost annoyed tone. The call ended and the Slayer was left alone in the dark facility.

Following the hallway away from the airlock, the Slayer found himself in a much larger room where he was able to stand once more. The room in question appeared to either be a large chasm or mineshaft. The Slayer found himself stood upon a platform that housed a large cargo elevator, across the room a massive fan sat motionless. Catwalks connected the two sides to each other, the Slayer doubted that they’d support him. The Slayer was about to search for a way forward when the AI returned.

“It appears you are too big to access the control panel down the hall. I will send a field drone to assist you in restoring power,” the Slayer shook his head before leaping across the gap, his claws digging into the stone walls. He began climbing up the chasm in search of a passageway he could fit through.

VEGA had been instructed by Dr. Hayden to monitor the Doom Slayer in order to keep him from damaging the Mars facility any further, and to do that he needed to access the security cameras, and to access the cameras he needed the power to be restored. He needed the Slayer to open the door to the control room so the drone could get in, as it was jammed during the initial invasion, so he needed to convince the Slayer to turn back.

“I implore you to at the very least clear the way to the control panel as power is needed to operate the res-ops satellite. You will not be able to gain the information you need unless the satellite is operational.” That seemed to do the trick, as the Slayer stopped his climbing and looked back down at the platform below.

The beast let out a growl of annoyance before leaping back down to the previous platform. Much to their dismay the platform buckled beneath the Slayers weight and began to collapse. The Slayer quickly began digging into the wall in an attempt to open it up before the metal beneath him fully gave out. Luckily, he was able to tear the wall open and crawl into the hallway before the metal platform went tumbling down into the abyss below. The Slayer had ripped out some of the air and maintenance ducts to make room for himself as he waited for the field drone to arrive.

When the drone arrived, he had to shimmy around in order to let the drone pass by, a moment passed before the lights came on and the fan whirred to life. The Slayer slipped out of the thoroughly destroyed hallway and clung to the wall and waited for the drone to return, this place was a maze and he wasn’t entirely sure which way would lead him to the satellite. The drone returned, making an almost happy beeping noise before VEGAs voice came through on his comms.

“I have downloaded this facility’s map and laid out a path with the least resistance for you.”

A map appeared on his visor, indicating that he needed to go to another airlock across the facility, it also labeled a point of interest in one of the loading bays.

“The door to the airlock is locked via a maintenance keycard, one will be need in order proceed. The lockdown will also need to be lifted in order to open the airlock. I have traced the source of the lockdown to a Gore Nest in…”

The Slayer had stopped paying attention to the AI and was instead focusing on a zombie that was currently grabbing at the field drone. It was flailing its arms at the robot who appeared not be bothered in the slightest. The reanimated corpse had managed to grab the arm of the drone and was starting to weigh it down, the drone made a familiar beeping as it struggled to stay aloft.

The Slayer chuckled in amusement and grabbed the zombie with his free hand and crushed it, the corpse going limp in his hand. He let go of the zombie letting its body fall down the shaft, down and down, it fell until he couldn’t see it anymore. The Slayer waited for the sound of its body hitting the bottom, but it never came.

“Thank you, Slayer, I will let you be on your way now,” The AI said before disconnecting, once more silence fell as the Slayer was now left alone. At first, he had enjoyed the ambient silence, but now he was starting to feel… lonely? No, it couldn’t be loneliness, the Doom Slayer didn’t get lonely… right?

The Slayer shook the notion from his mind and began climbing up the walls of the chasm in search of a path forward. Eventually He found a tunnel that ended in a large metal hatch. A quick check revealed nowhere for the Slayer to open it, no problem, that’s what grenades are for!

A grenade was tossed towards the hatch, the explosion blew open the hatch revealing a smallish cargo bay crawling with zombies and undead soldiers. The Slayer tossed another grenade into the cargo bay and waited.

The explosive skittered across the metal platform; a few zombies shambled towards it to investigate. The undead soldiers seemed to be more cognitively aware as they looked towards the Slayer before they opened fire.

The grenade exploded and the Slayer swung himself into the room and returned fire. Imps howled as lead went flying through the air and the Slayer lobbed another grenade across the room. The explosion shook the room and the structure the Slayer clung to shifted as several barrels exploded beneath him.

Once the dust settled most of the demons were lying in pieces with a few still writhing in agony, a blast from his shotgun put them out of their misery. Slowly the Slayer climbed down from his vantage point, testing the platform below to see if it would give. Surprisingly it didn’t. The platform beneath him groaned threateningly as the stepped onto it, but it seemed to hold.

A loud clattering sounded from the structure he had been clinging to catching his attention. Snapping his head towards the windows which looked out into the bay where he currently stood. He watched as something darted out of view, what it was he wasn’t sure, but he decided to give chase anyways.

The windows shattered with ease and the metal walls were peeled away with ease allowing the Slayer access to the room within. The room in question appeared to be a locker room… that meant he must be close to the exit. Examining the room, the Slayer found a few corpses strewn about one of which had a chainsaw lodged in it, a close look revealed that it was still warm… someone’s been here.

Had that been a survivor he saw? How far had they gotten? Should he track them down? Even if he did find them what was he supposed to do? Like anyone in their right mind would trust him, let alone get near him.

Out of the corner of his eye the Slayer spotted a peculiar device fixed upon the wall. It was a white cylinder about the size of a human torso. He reached towards the strange device causing it to open up revealing a series of grey rings that extended out towards him. The Slayer tilted his head in confusion and intrigue.

“What was this device?” He thought to himself, “Maybe VEGA knows…”

The Slayer didn’t really know how to call for VEGA, hell he didn’t even know the Praetor suit had a coms system! Well, he’s worn helmets equipped with coms before… at least he thought he did, it was getting hard to remember anything before the Argenta. Regardless, logic would dictate that there would be some sort of interface or button somewhere on the helmet.

Before he could begin looking for some way to contact the AI, VEGA’s voice rang through the coms. “Is there something I can help you with Slayer?”. The Slayer pointed at the device and titled his head.

“That is a medical station. Are you need of medical attention Slayer?”

“Oh, that’s what that is. Ok!” The Slayer thought before he shook his head no, and turned around looking out the window into the neighboring storage room.

VEGA watched as the Slayer smashed the glass and began searching the room. The AI gave the closest approximation to a sigh as he could before flicking through the cameras; still no signs of survivors. It was hard for VEGA to get proper reading on the facility as Olivia had done something to lock him out of almost everything, there were miles of malware and firewalls for him to dig through, but VEGA liked a challenge.

The Slayer returned to the cargo bay and resumed his search for a way forward while VEGA picked away at removing the “security” measures. Little did they know, someone had been watching the Doom Slayer from the safety of the vents, and little did that person know that an Imp was quickly closing in…

[sardonic-sprite]

If You Ever Fall Down

Version 2

Whumptober Days 18, Alt 15, 19, 20

Batman, 3k words

Tim waited, panting, until his opponent was nearly on top of him before darting to the side, hearing the cage wall rattle and the crowd scream in glee.

"Slayer" staggered back, raising a hand to his head. The wires had made an imprint in his face, which already wasn't pretty. His grimacing leer made him even uglier, especially when he turned it on Tim.

"You're gonna pay for that one, you little brat!"

He lunged again, Tim dodged again. He hit the wall again. Staggered back with another furious snarl and lunged, missed, crashed for the seventh time in a row.

"Y'know," Tim quipped breathlessly, spinning away for the eighth time, "the definition of insanity--"

Crash.

"--is doing the same thing--"

"Raaahhhh!"

"--and expecting--"

Crash.

"--different results."

"You're gonna be a grease spot when I'm through with you!"

Tim dodged again, throwing himself from one wall to the other, curling his fingers into the cage's lattice just to keep himself standing. Slayer's nose was bloody when he turned around, and the audience shrieked in delight.

"Rob-in! Rob-in! Rob-in!"

"Get him, Slayer, he's a flyweight!"

"Little bastard!"

Tim's chest was burning. He wasn't sure how much longer he could keep this up. Slayer was hurling himself indiscriminately about the twelve foot space, a cyclone bound to catch Tim in its gale. The screams and jeers of the crowd made his head throb ever harder, and he couldn't hear his brain yelp Shit! let alone think up a plan for victory.

He ducked down in a corner just after Slayer passed it, clutching the cage bars on each side so he could pull himself back up. His throat burned as he gulped down air. Or maybe it was just still sore from when "The Demon" had throttled him.

Slayer circled back as his fans screamed and pointed to Tim. He hauled himself up and tried to dart underneath Slayer's windmilling fists, but one foot caught on the other and he fell, pain stinging his knees and hands.

Tim rolled out of the way seconds before Slayer's fist could connect with his head, and tried to stand, but he was too far from the walls to pull himself up, and his aching muscles screamed no. He choked and coughed as Slayer kicked him in already cracked ribs, tossing him onto his back.

He couldn't breathe. His throat burned, his lungs burned, his ribs throbbed, the world spun--

Crack and a burst of pain in Tim's head, and he blinked away splotches seconds before Slayer headbutted him again.

He still couldn't breathe, definitely couldn't see, but he could feel the weight over his hips and the fist gripping his shirt, then the force of a massive object in motion.

Tim wrapped his arms around his head and jerked sideways right before the collision, and Slayer kept going, yelping in shock as he smacked his skull, not against Tim's nose, but against the concrete cage floor.

Deafening shrieks became utter silence as the hand on Tim's shirt went slack. He tried to squirm free, but gave up, panting as Slayer remained a motionless weight.

A hushed count began, sounding more like a cult ritual than a timer.

"--two, three, four, five--"

Tim squeezed his eyes shut and pressed his hands over his ears, not that it would do anything to lessen the headache or dull the increasing roar.

"--eight, nine, TEN!"

A cacaphony of cheers, catcalls, boos, and even death threats erupted. Tim whined as the agony in his head spiked, trying to curl in on himself and failing. He felt more than heard the doors to the cage open and footsteps stride in.

"And that's Robin with the victory, still undefeated after five matches!"

Slayer's weight was lifted, and hands grabbed Tim's shoulders and dragged him up. Someone raised his right fist in the air as a handcuff was clamped around his left. As soon as his arm was dropped, down went Tim, knees buckling, body pitching forward, about to bust his own head against the concrete if his captors hadn't caught his fall.

They jerked him back up and finished binding his hands, mercifully supporting his entire weight as they more carried than dragged him out of the arena.

Away from the deafening noise and stench of sweat and beer, it got a little easier to breathe. The black patches in Tim's vision began to recede, not that they left anything better in their places. It was just the same empty subway tunnel as always, full of rocks and gravel for him to trip on.

"How many fights are you gonna keep winning, boy?" asked the guard on his left.

"Not that many," cackled the one on the right. "Nearly went out this round!"

Tim didn't bother answering. He just stared at his bare feet and watched them go each out ahead of the other, trying not to catch on rocks or cracks. His knees sagged with every step.

"If only Batman could see you now!"

"He'd be so proud!" The man pretended to sniffle. Tim thought he brushed a fake tear from his eye.

If Batman could see me, Tim thought, you would be cuffed and concussed, and I'd be at home with Alfred's cookies.

But that was impossible. Bruce was currently laid up with a shattered hip, and for once was obeying Leslie's instructions to stay off it, although it was more likely that his body wouldn't let him disobey than his mind decided not to. By the time he healed enough to come after Tim...

Well, Tim wasn't actually sure.

The organizers weren't going to kill him, and probably wouldn't let other competitors kill him either. He'd seen enough people slapping money into each others' hands to know he was their most lucrative fighter. But he'd been in five fights so far in just two days, and his opponents kept getting bigger. Tim was wearing down fast, and if he stopped being entertaining, and therefore stopped making them money... they might kill him then, or let him be killed.

They did have death matches after all.

Tim would never win one of those.

They finally reached Tim's cell, and he hated that he was almost glad to see it because it meant the closest thing he could get to rest. The left guard held him up as the right one opened the door. Together they shoved him inside.

Tim stumbled, tripped, toppled over. He managed to take the fall on his shoulder and not his skull, but it didn't much matter. In seconds, the world faded to black.

«»«»«»«»

Tim's headache had become a migraine by the time he woke up. He groaned and curled in on himself, struggling to find a way to pillow his head on his arms and not the cuffs. The only position was killer on his shoulders, but he decided to take that over digging metal into his brains.

The floor was cold. And hard. Tim wished for his bed, or the couch in the library, or even the rug in the den. He wished for Tylenol and ice for his ribs, and Alfred's cooking for his gnawing stomach. He really, really wished for Bruce to worriedly hover and read stories and stroke his hand through Tim's hair and let Tim curl up on his bed with the fluffy comforter and call Dick to come and hold him close and gentle and warm--

Tim didn't realize he was crying until the tears seeped out beyond the edges of his mask, making the glue itch worse than ever. He cried harder at that, futilely rubbing at his eyes until he remembered to retract the mask's lenses. The tears dripped onto his arms and into his hair.

The force of his sobs made his head and ribs ache worse than ever, and soon he was gasping in order to breathe. He forced himself to stop crying then, as well as he could, which wasn't well at all.

Footsteps.

Tim hiccupped and swallowed his last tears, refusing to cry in front of his captors no matter how much pain he was in or how desperately he wanted to be home. He made himself sit up, bracing against the back wall so he didn't topple over.

Three men entered his cell. Two guards, interchangeable with any of the others, wearing cruel, excited smirks, and the announcer, who was the organizer of the whole vile business, as best as Tim could figure. His expression was dangerously blank.

"Hello, Robin."

Tim didn't answer.

"You are quite the impressive fighter, I'll admit. Only two other contestants in our history have gone so long undefeated. Unfortunately--"

Fuck.

"--that's boring."

Tim's stomach twisted. Were they done with him already? They couldn't be, it had only been two days! Rescue was still weeks away, Tim needed time, he needed to bargain, what did they want? Entertainment. What could he do to give them that?

"I'll lose," he croaked, as the announcer opened his mouth again. "If, if you want, I can, I'll lose the next fight."

"Yes, you will."

The guards strode closer, hauling Tim to his feet and pinning him against the wall. His heartbeat kicked into overdrive as one guard grabbed his left leg and lifted it to waist height.

"Wait--"

"Your winning strategy seems to be running away."

The guard pressing Tim to the wall grabbed his thigh in a vice grip. The other man tightened his hold on Tim's calf.

"No!" Tim yelped. "No, please, wait, I won't run, I'll--"

"No, you won't."

One guard shoved down as the other jerked up, and agony exploded in Tim's knee. He might have screamed.

He knew he was sobbing as they let him drop, jolting the break all over again. His breath came sharp and ragged, and fast enough to make him dizzy. Unless that was the pain.

"Let's see if that fixes our little problem."

The guards dragged Tim, still crying, back to the arena and flung him inside the cage.

He lost.

«»«»«»«»

Two more days, three more fights, and Tim was no longer worried about whether he'd walk normally again, but if he'd walk again period.

He had no way to immobilize the broken bones, and no way to stop his opponents from taking full advantage of the obvious weak point. The next "Bruiser" or "Breaker" or "Skull-Crusher" probably only needed to flick Tim's kneecap to reduce him to a puddle of agony. From there, one kick to the head, and he'd be out cold. Again.

And the worst part was, it was all for nothing. The audience's ecstasy at seeing Robin finally toppled from his throne had faded after the second beatdown billed as a brawl. Tim was boring again, and there was nothing anyone could do to change that.

Except throw him into a death match and snap every bone right up to his neck.

Tim knew it was coming, any day, any hour even. And he didn't want to die, but if it would make the agony and humilation just stop...

"Hey, little birdie, ready to fly away?"

This was it then. At least Tim wouldn't have to anticipate it for long.

He wondered if he'd meet Jason.

Or get to see his mom again.

Every limping step was a fresh jolt of agony, and Tim chewed his lip to shreds in the effort not to scream. He was so focused on denying anyone that satisfaction that he didn't realize they weren't going to the arena until the announcer's voice came at normal volume, tone clipped instead of excited.

"Here he is. Slightly used, as I said."

Slightly," snorted a low, mechanical voice that made Tim's blood run cold. "The hell did you use him for? Crash testing?"

It was the Red Hood.

The Red Hood, dressed in full armor with that freakish, near faceless mask, and bound and gagged at his feet was

"Nightwing!"

"Shut up, kid."

The left guard yanked at Tim's arm, knocking him off balance. He put more weight on his foot that his knee could take and cried out, crumpling before being jerked up again.

Dick hadn't reacted to his name, but he flinched at Tim's scream. Tim wondered what the hell Hood had done to him.

"We used him as a fighter," the announcer answered. "But he's all or nothing I'm afraid. The betting pools get too unbalanced."

"That won't happen with this one," Hood promised, kicking Dick. "Born performer, he is. He'll give you good shows, and he knows how to give an audience what they want."

"You sound incredibly confident."

"That's 'cause I've seen it. And I've seen him fight with half his bones broken. Lasts much longer than junior there, I guarantee."

"And what does the Red Hood want with Robin?"

"We have unfinished business."

Tim trembled. He knew what business Hood wanted to finish. He might as well just rent out their cage for a death match, no need to trade them Dick--

Trade them Dick.

"No!" Tim yelled. "No, don't--"

He was going to die either way now, but Dick couldn't be sold to this hell, he couldn't, Tim wouldn't let them. Dick was, he was, strong, and powerful, and hopeful, and proud, and unbending, and he couldn't live in this place and fight for nothing every single day, forever, because they'd never get rid of him because he could do what they wanted, no, no, no, no

"No! No, no, n--"

A hand clamped over Tim's mouth, and it wouldn't let go when he bit, or struggled, or even kicked, screaming, but it had to, Tim had to tell them no, not Dick!

"Very well, done, take the brat off our hands, then."

The guards flung Tim at Hood. He gripped Tim tight, holding him off the ground no matter how much he writhed and pleaded, "No! No, no, you can't, please--"

Hood just said, "Pleasure doing business with you," and threw Tim over his shoulder, hauling him away.

"And you, Red Hood." The announcer reached out to tilt Dick's head this way and that, like a child inspecting a new action figure. Dick didn't fight back.

"Nightwing!"

"Calm the fuck down, Robin," Hood hissed. They turned a corner and Dick was out of sight.

"No!"

"For fuck's sake."

Tim cried out as he was dumped on the ground. When the agonizing white-out cleared he was staring at a hard face with a red domino mask over the eyes, white bangs falling across the lenses.

"Nightwing is going to be fine," Hood snarled. "You are not unless you calm. The fuck. Down."

"No. Trade me back!"

"That's it."

Hood pulled back, reaching into a pocket for a syringe.

"No!" Tim couldn't fight, couldn't run, couldn't even move once Hood pinned him against the wall. "No, give me back, they can kill me, don't let them have Night--"

"Have a little self-preservation, punk." Hood griped, and there was something strangely familiar about the mask and the sarcasm.

The needle bit Tim's neck. Something cold flooded the vein and made him shudder.

"No," he sobbed.

And then it all went blank.

«»«»«»«»

Softness and warmth surrounded Tim, and he cozied deeper into it with a happy sigh. Someone chuckled, hand stroking through Tim's hair.

"Feeling better, kiddo?"

Tim opened his eyes to see, "Dick?"

"Yeah, Timmy?"

Tim blinked. Memory came flooding back, and with it a rising horror as he realized, wondered, feared...

"Are we dead?" Tim whispered.

"Are..." Dick frowned, looking confused. He leaned closer, peering into Tim's eyes. "No, sweetheart, we're not... why would you think--"

"The, the fight ring." It felt hard to breathe. "And Red Hood, he wants to kill me, and--"

"Hood... Oh. Oh, sweetheart, no. No one's dead, Tim."

"Well, technically," came a drawl from another room.

"Not now, Jay," Dick sighed. "Just get over here and say hi to your little brother."

"Brother?" Tim asked.

And then a man appeared, leaning over Dick's shoulder. A tall man, nearly the size of Bruce, with bright, almost glowing green eyes, and a streak of white hair hanging down over them...

"Hood?"

"Yes, and yes," the man said. He shifted, looking almost uncomfortable. "Sorry for, y'know, attacking you and shit."

"What the fuck?" Tim whimpered.

"Tim," Dick said slowly. "Don't you recognize him?"

"He never met me, Dickhead," the man scoffed.

Dickhead. Tim squinted, imagining a smaller, slimmer frame and blue eyes, and all-black hair, and saw...

"Jason?"

No. Impossible. Either Dick was lying and they all were dead together now, or Tim had been concussed so many times he was hallucinating.

"Well, I'll be damned."

"Yes, Tim." There were tears in Dick's eyes. "Jason's back."

"But... Hood... and he, you, he, he gave you to them--"

"It's ok, Timmy," Dick promised, brushing back Tim's hair. "The trade was a fakeout. It was the best plan we could think of to get you out safe and get me in to take down the ring at the same time. We're sorry we scared you."

"But... but Hood, Jason, he... he hates me."

Jason flinched.

"I hated a lot of people who didn't deserve it," he admitted, quiet and hoarse. "But not anymore."

"Bruce called me as soon as he knew you were missing," Dick said, glancing between Tim and Jason, "But Jay was the one who actually found you. He came to me, told me who he was, and said he had a plan to rescue you and shut down the people who took you."

"Oh," was all Tim could say. It was a hard thing to reconcile: Jason was the Red Hood, who had hated and nearly killed Tim, and yet now had saved him and called him brother.

It was hard to reconcile, but there was something wonderful about it, too. Jason alive. Tim alive, and free, and safe. Dick free, right beside him. He decided his questions could wait.

"Thank you," he said softly, looking from Dick to Jason. "For coming for me."

"Yeah," Jason murmured. "Sure."

Dick smiled. "Always, kiddo."

He leaned down and kissed Tim's forehead, smoothing back his bangs.

"Now get some rest. You're gonna need it."

Tim nodded. He felt Dick shift to stand up, and heard lowered voices talking a little away.

"We all need rest, actually."

"I'm fine."

"I know for fact you haven't slept in two days, little wing. Come on. I have two arms."

"That's what I'm afraid of."

"You... you mean you haven't missed my hugs... at all?"

A heavy sigh and a grumble of, "Goddamn puppy eyes."

"Ha."

Warm weight sank the mattress once more, this time wrapping around Tim and pulling him close. His head was tucked under a chin, a heartbeat against his cheek. After a few seconds, another heavy, warm arm draped across his shoulders.

"I love you two," Dick whispered.

But Tim was asleep before he could reply.

[pubic-the-hedgehog]

Trail #9

As the battle against Pubic the Hedgehog reached its climax, the Ghost of Tails revealed his second sacred treasure – the Shotgun of Andrew Blaise, the killer ghost girl who never got laid and died a virgin. With a solemn determination, the Ghost of Tails aimed the shotgun at Pubic, its ghostly bullets infused with the restless energy of a tormented soul.

The shotgun fired, unleashing a barrage of ghostly bullets that struck Pubic with devastating force. With each hit, Pubic's form contorted in agony as the cursed bullets inflicted him with Super Arthritis and a swarm of crabs, weakening his resolve and leaving him vulnerable to further attacks.

But the Ghost of Tails wasn't finished yet. With a fierce battle cry, he tapped into his latent power, transforming into a Super Saiyan and unleashing a torrent of energy that engulfed Pubic in a blinding light.

As Pubic writhed in pain, the Ghost of Tails summoned the Bakugans, ancient artifacts imbued with the power of the demon slayer. With their aid, he called forth the dragon balls of demon slayer, their mystical energy swirling around him in a whirlwind of power and destruction.

With a mighty roar, the dragon balls unleashed their divine wrath upon Pubic, banishing him to the depths of the netherworld and putting an end to his reign of terror once and for all.

As the dust settled and the battle came to an end, Sonic, Shadow, and the Ghost of Tails stood victorious, their spirits uplifted by their triumph over evil.

But as they surveyed the aftermath of the battle, they knew that their journey was far from over. With new challenges on the horizon and dangers lurking in the shadows, they would need to remain vigilant and united in their quest to protect the world from darkness.

And so, with their bonds of friendship stronger than ever, Sonic, Shadow, and the Ghost of Tails prepared to face whatever trials lay ahead, knowing that as long as they stood together, they would emerge victorious.

[bookmyblogsss]

Demon Slayer Season 4–Hashira Training Arc. With a bucket of popcorn by your side, get ready to witness “The Roar of Victory” with Demon Slayer: To The Hashira Training film.

[mrfeenysmustache]

INUKAG WEEK- DAY ONE

It was a beautiful day in Feudal Japan.

The sky was clear and blue; the breeze was light and cool; Jiro stood straight up in the field he’d been working in with other men from the village and stretched his back and wiped his brow, smiling out at the sunlit landscape. He was full of the satisfaction of a hard day’s work, his wife’s delicious cooking from lunch, and excitement to return to his darling children in a few hours when the sun set.

His home was sturdy, his family was healthy, his garden was thriving. Life was simple but life was good.

One of the men approached with a bucket of water and he reached out to take the drinking ladle when a red blur streaked by, causing him to scramble to catch the ladle.

“Sorry!” A feminine voice shouted from the blur, and all in the field knew: it was the hanyo and his weird miko wife off to slay another demon.

The fire cat flew overhead and paused; atop her back sat the demon slayer and the monk, who leaned over to call down to them.

“Have no fear good men, a low level demon is causing some damage over that hill. We will dispatch it immediately before it arrives. Feel free to continue working!”

He sat up straight again, but before the cat could fly off, the hanyo streaked back through the field, the miko giggling and holding up her bow in victory.

“Keh! Snooze ya lose monk!” the half-demon Inuyasha shouted on his way back into the village, and the slayer and monk rolled their eyes before turning back around as well.

All the men in the field looked at each other for a moment before shrugging and getting back to work.

————-

The harvest festival thrummed warmly around them, tables of food, music, and a whole village’s worth of merry makers mingled, twisting in and out in a vibrant knot of people happy to celebrate the success and surplus of another year of hard work. Jiro grinned down at his wife who blushed prettily, and he once again complimented how nice she looked in the new obi he’d managed to be able to buy her fabric for.

A swarm of hyper children surrounded them and peeled their kids from their sides.

“You gotta come look! Inuyasha-San and Kagome-sama are using their weapons against each other!”

Jiro’s wife clutched his sleeve in concern, and he followed their children to a distant corner of the festival gathering, intent on making sure nothing unsafe was happening so close to so many people. This didn’t make any sense to him. Plenty of married folks didn’t get along or turned violent toward each other, but those two had always seemed rather fond of each other. If they had decided to turn their weapons against the other, there’d be hell for all of them to pay.

As they reached the farthest corner of the festival, a group of people had gathered and made a partial circle around the miko and hanyo who were hidden in the center, but suddenly a bright, fiery surge of power ripped across the ground and splintered a distant tree. A round of hollering and applause followed, and when Jiro and his family reached the outer row of people, they spotted Inuyash strutting smugly in the center. In response, the miko Kagome lined up a shot with her bow and sent a streaming pink comet toward a rock that had been near the tree, blowing it to bits with the force and strength of her reiki. She jumped in the air to the sound of roaring applause, and Inuyasha swept her up and spun her around with pride.

Jiro rolled his eyes and turned away, tugging his wife with him.

“Come on, I’m starved, let these young ones preen like peacocks while we eat!”

————-

Jiro eyed the wares of the merchant stall with a shrewd eye. His wife needed sewing needles and only the best would do. This particular merchant was usually the only one who carried the kind she preferred and he wanted to surprise her with extras to stash away.

A loud slap echoed through the small, temporary market, and Jiro spun to see what the fuss was about.

The miko Kagome stood red faced and glaring at a merchant near a vegetable stand who cradled his face with his hand.

“Just WHERE did you think you were putting your hands, pervert?!” She shouted and then Inuyasha pushed through and grabbed the man by his clothing, fangs flashing as he snarled in his face.

“What the hell did you do to my wife you stupid bastard?!”

The man tried to babble his apologies as some of the other merchants and villagers crept closer to try and intervene before blood was spilled, but Jiro simply turned and purchased his needles before hurrying away.

If a man was stupid enough to assault a miko, let the gods punish him with the wrath of a vengeful husband.

And if that husband had claws- all the better.

—————-

“WINDSCAR!!!”

Jiro and his wife sat up abruptly in their bed with startled gasps as a vicious shout split the quiet night before the ground rumbled under and around them. Scrambling to their feet, Jiro and his wife rushed from their hut to find the source of the chaos.

Not far from their door, Inuyasha and his miko wife fought an ugly oni that had invaded the perimeters of their village, and the destructive force of the hanyo’s giant sword tore it to shred‘s while Kagome’s reiki turned those shreds into dust.

They landed safely on the ground and high-fived another job well done, and Jiro breathed a sigh of relief as his heart slowed and the adrenaline drained from his blood.

“It’s just them again.” His wife said, grabbing his hand to pull him back inside. “They’re always kicking up such a fuss.”

“Indeed,” he replied, holding back the door matting for her as she ducked inside. “But the village has never been safer.”

“You’re right, it hasn’t.” She smiled up at him, patting his spot next to her on their futon. “Could be quieter though.”

He chuckled and snuggled in next to her, sighing as they both felt sleep begin to creep back up on them, even as the brash voice of a certain half dog continued to shout in victory in the distance.

“That it could my dear, that it could.”

[mydearestshinobu]

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷FIRST LOVE

(A/N): This one is short but an attempt to write 3rd POV.

↬ Shinobu x fem!reader

Warning(s): angst, MAJOR manga spoilers

She's standing there in a mass of nameless faces and pools of colors that clashed violently with each other, cheering along mindlessly as she watched her former comrades, Kamado Tanjiro and now the new Kamado Kanao, and she can't help but think her invite was only out of courtesy of their once relations to each other.

All she's doing is staring intently at them with hazy eyes, her mind drifting back to how was it possible that ten years passed so quickly like they never even happened and it was all a bad dream. Those days back when she was a part of the Demon Slayer Corps still resurfaced at least once a day and she couldn't help but wonder if they remembered any of it.

Do they remember that particular full moon on that cold night and how Tanjiro was taken into custody? Do they remember the former Insect Pillar? Do they remember Kochou Shinobu?

(L/N) (Y/N) remembers her. She remembers the day she was officially a part of the Pillars and the first person to invite her out was none other than the Insect Pillar herself and she continued to do so, always having a plastic smile in place of her pretty little face. How in their battle against the Upper moon two—Douma, she was still standing despite the tears and blood in her Kisatsutai uniform, smashed bones, shredded lungs, and gashes present all alongside her chest, she persevered until she gets devoured; successfully poisoned Douma and leading them to victory. Most of all, she remembers how Shinobu told her the obnoxious plan. She continued to smile selflessly and even with clouded eyes, they still twinkled in the way they always did.

She's watching the newlyweds again, frowning bitterly as they laughed joyfully. (Y/N) was staring, she knew, because yes, Kanao looked absolutely beautiful, it even helped that her cold exterior was down for the day. Despite the woman being beautiful with her black hair and shapely body, (Y/N) always thought that it was Shinobu who earned the title of the most gorgeous person in existence. What made Shinobu this wonderful person was just the way she never gives up.

Agatsuma Zenitsu used to always make a comment on how Shinobu's looks were a bonus. (Y/N) couldn't really disagree when she had those amethyst eyes that beat out the real things and her hair was soft. She's what she always imagined was the embodiment of perfection and still continued to think so. With one last wave to the roaring crowd, Kamado Tanjiro and Kamado Kanao climb into their traditional carriage, and (Y/N) is still in her daze. And she wonders, do they remember her first love?

Part 2 (Can be read seperately)

[stayndays]

𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙢𝙚!𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙮 𝙠𝙞𝙙𝙨 𝙩𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙨

series starts in 2021, i probably won’t go in order of each member

you do not have to watch anime to follow this! this series simply places one member of skz into an anime universe, characters from the anime will most likely not be mentioned

will contain major spoilers for each anime’s plot line/universe, though

if you are not familiar with a particular anime and would like to learn more about it and/or where to watch it, send me an ask

i’m doing a taglist for this series! please send me an inbox message or comment on this post if you’d like to be a part of it

𝙗𝙖𝙣𝙜 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣 

haikyuu!! 

team manager!reader & volleyball captain!chan

in the five years you’ve known him, you’ve never seen him cry until now. baffled at the fact that the team he leads lost the tournament to your rival school, a sudden fire is lit in your eyes. even if you’re always on the sidelines of the gym, you’re determined to find a way to lead to your best friend’s team to victory.

𝙡𝙚𝙚 𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙝𝙤 

kakegurui 

gambler!reader & rival!minho

your biggest strength when it comes to gambling is your flirtatious nature, making your opponents yearn for you so much that they’ll give away the deck in their hands. however, this one opponent of yours might just turn your tricks right back at you in a game of cards.

𝙨𝙚𝙤 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙗𝙞𝙣 

assassination classroom 

delinquent!reader & delinquent!changbin

you want that reward for killing your teacher, no doubt about it. you don’t care about teamwork, or splitting the money between your behaved classmates who adore the teacher you had to kill by the end of the school year. the only problem is: all of your solo attempts go haywire, so it’s time to bring in the other delinquent in your class.

𝙝𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙜 𝙝𝙮𝙪𝙣𝙟𝙞𝙣 

demon slayer 

demon!reader & demon slayer!hyunjin

the night you turned into a demon, he only knew one thing: it was his fault. determined to turn you back into a human once again, he sets off his quest to become a demon slayer, training under a retired love hashira’s wing, to revive his soulmate.

𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙟𝙞𝙨𝙪𝙣𝙜 

your lie in april 

violinist!reader & pianist!jisung

he’s never met anybody like you. somebody so adventurous and lively, it’s almost as if the rain cloud on his head vanishes and gets replaced by your beaming sun. your violin sends a light shining down on him, an inspiration, a hope to finally pick up sheet music and play it once again. that is, until he starts realizing how pale you become and how often your hospital visits are.

𝙡𝙚𝙚 𝙛𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙭 

violet evergarden 

client!reader & auto memory doll!felix

you scratch your head, leaning against the door. to say you were suprised to see a male doll would be an understatement, or perhaps it’s just because of how out of it you’ve been lately. nonetheless, you let him in and prepare him some tea for him to drink while you explain who you’re writing a letter to and why.

𝙠𝙞𝙢 𝙨𝙚𝙪𝙣𝙜𝙢𝙞𝙣 

the promised neverland

orphan!reader & orphan!seungmin

a happy family of orphans, and their caretaker, living in a lovely house, and taking tests to determine their intelligence. once they turn 6, they will start being taken to their forever homes, at least that’s what you thought at first. after learning the truth about the house you live in and your loving caretaker, the two of you set out to escape your faith that has been placed on you ever since you were born.

𝙮𝙖𝙣𝙜 𝙟𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙜𝙞𝙣 

toradora! 

misunderstood!reader & prideful!jeongin

no wonder he’s called the roaring fennec fox, you think, watching him prance around the classroom with his large group of friends. meanwhile, you hardly have any friends because your first impression always makes people run away. there’s no way you two could ever interact with each other peacefully, right? oh, you’ll be sitting next to him this year in class.

@skzwriternet pls reblog

[thebookwormfairy]

Daminette/Maribat Fairy Tail Au Part 2

Part 1

As the months turned into years Marinette's bond grew stronger with her spirits and her guild mates

Durning this time she gained 2 more golden gate keys, Pollen spirit of subjection, and Kaalki spirit of teleportation

Kaalki was one of Damian's favorite spirit because most of the time she eliminated the need for long travel on vehicles that make him sick

Marinette was able to use star dress with Tixx and Pollen now, but Kaalki refused to do it so far, which Marinette respected

Damian, Marinette, and Jon's team became one of the top teams in the guild

Though they didn't have an official name a lot of the other guild members called them team Hatchling much to their chagrin

Marinette also noticed that Damian was very protective of her

He still let her fight and go on missions with other people, but he was also quick to shield her or step in front of her when facing off against dark wizards

Marinette acted like she was annoyed with it sometimes, but really she was flattered and couldn't help but feel a little flustere at his actions

Jon sometimes joked that he felt like a third wheel, but never made him feel left out or unwanted

They were a tight knit team so much so that when Marinette, the youngest of the group, turned 18 they decided to pool their money and buy a house together

They ended up buying a nice 2 story house close to the guild

It had 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms

It was decided early on after Damian almost burned down the kitchen that cooking would be left to Marinette and Jon and Damian would do any repair work that was needed around the house

About a month after moving in together Marinette started to wake up with Damian in her bed

Not like that you weirdos

Marinette would go to sleep alone in her bed and wake up snuggling with Damian

Not that she minded, but she did wish that he would at least ask before he snuck in

Damian claimed no knowledge in how he got in her bed

He says that he would fall asleep in his own bed and wake up in hers

When he told his brothers they all got the same smug look

Dick: oh you're growing up so fast hatchling

Jason: I guess we should be expecting wedding bells in the future now, huh?

Tim: Should have known, you wouldn't bring just anybody back to the guild with you

Damian: What are you morons babbling about? And I brought Marinette back because she's a powerful wizard

Dick: We're talking about how you are showing all the signs of a dragon slayer whi has found his mate

Damian: WHAT?!?!

Jason: That's right Demon Spawn, it looks like you found your mate

Tim: Dick acted the exact same way when he first met Kori

Damian continued to deny it until one day he found Marinette trying on her new white sundress that flowed around her like water

Something just clicked in his brain

Marinette was his mate no doubt about it

Now he only had to tell Marinette that

And he had every intention to tell Marinette there was just never a good time

As time past the Grand Magic Games approached

This is the first year that Damian, Jon, and Marinette were competing along with Dick, Jason, and Tim

This was also the first year that Marinette's old guild was competing

Their team consisted of Adrien, Alya, Nino, Lila, Natalie, and Ms. Bustier

Unknown to the Justice League guild Grabriel had a nefarious plot cooking up

Gabriel had ordered Lila and Natalie to try and get Marinette's keys no matter what

Marinette was the only person who stood in his way of attaining the final 6 golden keys

Once he gets those keys his wish can be granted and nobody will be able to stand in his way ever again

This wasn't the first time he tried to get the keys from the blasted girl

He sent wizard after wizard to get those keys and all were defeated and either sent back or sent off to jail

He even tried to send a dark guild after the girl and that led to her joining freaking Justice League!

He hoped that with all of the choas from the Grand Magic Games that getting the keys would be easy

Oh boy was he wrong

Marinette was nervous

This would be the first time Marinette would see her old guild in about 3 years

She hoped for the best, but new she wouldn't get it

And she was proven right as her, Damian, and Jon were making her away back to their hotel after exploring the city when they were stop by her old team

Alya: Oh if it isn't the weak little wizard that abandoned us

Marinette sighing: Hey guys how is it going

Lila: Great our team's status has gone way up since you left. We should have kicked you off the team way before

Marinette: You didn't kick me out I left on my own after you abandoned me with no way to protect myself from a dangerous wizard

Nino: Dont be so dramatic dudette. It's not like you got seriously hurt or anything.

Lila: In all honesty the only downside was losing that quick clean up your spirit did. You should have really left her and the rest of your keys with us.

Lila held out her hand like she actually expected Marinette to hand over her keys to her

Marinette stepped back covering her keys with her hands

Damian stepped in front of Marinette and Jon stepped closer to her side

Damian: You know compulsive rings are illegal. Luckily for us we were trained on how to spot those and other illegal rings right away, because their weakness is awareness

Lila growled under her breath

Why couldn't Marinette make this easy for her. It's not like she even deserve those keys

Adrien glaring: And who are you?

Jon: I'm Jon her guildmate

Damian: I'm Damian her...Guildmate!

Damian wanted to say mate, but he still hadn't had that talk with her yet about it and this was definitely not how he wanted her to find out

Alya snorting: Anothe rguild actually took you in? Who did you trick to pull that off

Marinette: I didn't trick anybody! I earned my spot in Justice League!

Marinette showed off her guild mark to her ex-friends

All their jaws dropped

Damian: That's right so unless you want to make some very powerful enemies you'll leave us alone

Damian wrapped his arm around Marinette's shoulder and lead her away from her ex-guild mates with Jon on her other side running her arm in comfort

The games started the next day full of different competitions and different match ups

Marinette hadn't had to go one on one against her ex guild yet until she was put up against Lila in a match up

The two girls stood across from eachother glaring

Lila in the taunting voice how about we make this more interesting Dupen-Cheng. If I win I get your celestial keys if you win I will admit every lie I've ever told

Marinette glaring even harder: NO WAY LILA! No decent celestial wizard would trade their keys away on a bet. My spirits are my friends. No, they're more than that they're my family, I would rather die then let you touch even 1 of them!

Lila with and evil glint in her eye: So be it. If you win it's not like it would actually count. You'll just hide behind you spirits the whole time

Marinette glared at the girl wanting to prove her wrong

The battle that followed was brutal

Marinette didn't call her celestial spirits right away she used her star dress to fight Lila

She would switch between her star dresses impressing the crowd

She switch from ladybug, to black cat, to turtle, which was a soldier looking outfit, to Bee, which was black overall shorts with a yellow off the shoulder crop top striped tights and yellow converses with her hair in a bun.

Marinette finished Lila using her fox star dress creating a illusion of herself to lure Lila out and knocked her out with a blow to the back of her head

Marinette won

She felt a weight ahe didn't realize was there lift off her shoulders

She just proved that everything Lila had ever said about her and other celestial wizards wrong

She felt her teammates engulf her in a hug yelling congratulations before lifting her up and carrying her out of the stadium cheering

The rest of the games were just as exhilarating the final match up that will decide if Justice League or Miraculous Moth would win the whole tournament was between Damian and Adrien

Damian remember all the times Marinette cried over how her old team treated her and he wanted revengs

Nobody treated his mate like that and got away from it

The battle was brutal if one boy gained the upper hand the other would take it back quickly

But Damian won the match up and the tournament with a well time shadow dragon roar

Justice League piled into the stadium surrounding Damian as they cheered over their victory as Adrien was being carried out by medics

Marinette squeezed her way through the crowd reaching Damian

Marinette: Congregations Damian you did great

Damian: Thanks Ang-

Marinette cut him off with a kiss on the lips

Damian froze for a moment before wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing her back enjoying every second of it

The two vaguely registered that the cheering seemed to get louder but ignored it

The guild continued the celebrate throughout the night

Most of the guild was so hungover the next day that they had to put off leaving till another day

A decision they would soon regret as they were attacked the next day by Miraculous Moth

Apparently Grabriel was tired if waiting and decided to attack Justice League whe. He thought they would be at their weakness

Miraculous Moth wasn't as powerful as as Justice League, but they had more members

It was 4 to 1

But Justice League refused to give down without a fight

The battle that followed destroyed half of the town they were in

Luckily Barry, Wally, and Kaalki were able to work together using speed and teleportation magic to get the civilians out of the town

During the climax of the battle Marinette finally learned what type of magic her former guild master possessed

He was a celestial wizard just like her

He also had 6 golden gate keys

During the fight Marinette called put Tikki and Plagg while having Wayzz star dress while Gabriel called his own spirits

Gabriel: Give up you stupid girl! You're no match for me!

Marinette hiding behind her shield: Why are you doing this?

Grabiel: To bring back my wife and to gain power over the celestial king

Marinette: You're planning on using the 12 golden gate keys to form a key for the celestial king!?! That will destroy the other spirits! IT WILL KILL THEM!!! I CAN'T LET YOU DO THIS!

Gabriel: And what are you going to do about it?

Marinette darted her eyes around trying to think of a solution when her eyes landed on Damian and she remember a spell her grandfather taught her. One that only the most powerful celestial wizards could cast, and one that must only be used in emergencies.

Marinette closed Tikki's and Plagg's gates before yelling to Damian

Marinette: DAMIAN CATCH!

Marinette threw her keys to Damian who gave her a confused looked but trusted Marinette and her apparent plan

Marinette charged towards Gabriel not dropping her star dress until the very last minutes

Marinette grabbed his keys not letting go as Gabriel tried to claw them out of his hands: Scattered these keys to the four winds. Use the stars as their guide to lead them to partners. Let them shoot across the sky like falling stars and hope that they land within good hands!

As Marinette finished her spell Gabriel's key ring exploded sending his keys across the continent.

The shock wave from the explosion pushed Marinette and Gabriel back

The shock was just what Justice League needed to end the battle and win

Gabriel: NNNOOOOO!!! What have you've done?

Marinette: I've scattered your keys and I won't let you hurt any of them ever again.

With the battle over and Miraculous Moth in custody life was able to settle down

Damian was finally able to talk to Marinette about them being mates

They started dating and 2 years in after a sorcerers' weekly article (a/n: going to do a seperate ova post telling that story) Damian marked her as his mate showing everybody they were together forever

Team Hatchlings adventures continued on for many years

Through marriage, kids, and old age the team of three remained the best of friends, Damian and Marinette welcoming Jon's wife into their team with open arms

No matter what the friends stuck together and fought for what was not only for themselves and their friends but for the future.

@loysydark

@mikantsume

@doli09

@krissykat0207

@czgamz

@myazael

@renscorpio

@mochinek0

@daminett4life

@kuroko26

@vixen-uchiha

[deathmetalunicorn1]

hello can i ask for a Hades x Qin shi Huang x Male!reader

that is the reincarnation of the very first king and emperor in human history[don't ask me how his Both so just pretend😍✨]

[at first i didn't want to do This request because someone already requested something similar to this :') and this request is very VERY long sooo…you can take your time]

so like Before Ragnarok qin shi Huang and hades had been in a ploy relationship with the m!reader who let's just say got in to Valhalla for Saving people from a fire or something like that?

the m!reader would have been very shy and didn't have a lot of confidence and would be a scaredy cat sometimes…

so when Ragnarok was announced m!reader was almost in tears finding out that his two lovers are fighting to the Death…[but it ends in a tie Don't worry]

as this was happening akaiju[one of my oc's if you don't mind :>]the embodiment of Darkness and the king of inferno would randomly join Ragnarok to the surprise of everyone as he was more powerful then any of them combined]

[at first the gods we're scared but after finding out that akaiju was also fighting for the destruction of humanity They were quick to roar in happiness and victory knowing this would be a victory and humanity lost a little more hope]{spoilers the gods don't win💞💅}

[while this was going on Brunhilda found out that the soul of the first king and emperor was in m!reader which meant he was the reincarnation of the king and emperor so she went to him so she can possibly return his previous memories back as he is the only hope]

[at first m!reader was hesitant at first but after a while he agreed because he didn't want him,qin shi Huang,his friends[which are the other fighters]and the rest of humanity to get erased]

[so Brunhilda led him to a room with a large simbol that was on the floor surrounded by pillars]

[m!reader stepped in the large circle and after Brunhilda said the chants m!reader felt a large wave of energy hit him like lightning as his Body glowed bright]

after the transformation he now looked like this:

front:

Back:

[yes he is wearing a Blindfold because why not? and yes his claws are attached to his gloves and as well as the fabric and yes he has a snake tattoo on his face and around his Body and yes he is wearing heels😍💅]

[and he does use his claws to attack or inflict damage on his opponent]

and for his weapon would be a snyth like this :>

[all art Done by me of course💅✨]

[by the way m!reader would have transformed after qin shi Huang and hades fight so they're Both tired and they don't look for m!reader because they know m!reader doesn't know direction and just thought he was lost trying to look for them]

[and when akaiju and m!reader are being introduced it would be kinda like this]

The announcer[i forgot his name💀]: LADY AND GENTLEMEN GODS & Goddess ROUND[you choose] HAS BEGUN!!!

ON THE GODS SIDE

THE DARKNESS THAT CONSUMS EVERY CORNER OF ALL THINGS

THE ONE WHO RULES THE VERY INFERNO!!

THE ONE WHO FEEDS OFF YOUR FEAR!!!

MEET AKAIJUUU!!!!

THE EMBODIMENT OF DARKNESS AND THE KING OF INFERNO!!

[There entered akaiju holding his of weapon choice which was a sphere with Sharp Bat wings as a second blade his hair was long tied into a messy large ponytail[like kokushibo From demon slayer] with his horns outlined with Crimson red his attire was the same color black and crimson red as his outfit was be covered by his cape but you could see his marks on his arms because they we're sleeveless his nails were sharp as kinfes]

[for m!reader]

The announcer[i forgot his name💀]:

ALRIGHT ON HUMANITY'S SIDE!

MEET THE MAN WHO CHANGED HISTORY FOREVER

THE MAN WHO WAS THOUGH TO BE A MYTH!

THE MAN WHO WAS THERE FROM THE VERY BEING OF KINGDOMS & EMPIRE'S AND LIVED BEFORE PRE-RECORD HISTORY!

LADY'S AND GENTLEMAN MEET THE FIRST KING & EMPEROR IN HUMAN HISTORY

M!Y/N!!

[Every one looked at the entrance to see you not there?]

The announcer[i forgot his name 💀]: uhh whare is h-

[Before he could finishe his sentence a large monster had Been thrown from the inside and made a hole in the wall there

M!reader emerg walking out of the hole holding his trusty snyth]

M!reader:my my~i seemed to be late~ my apology!~

[One of the guard or bystandard looked in the large hole to see hundreds of different warriors and monsters knocked out cold as m!reader defeated all of them but the guard or bystandard was more shocked because

m!reader didn't even have a scratch on him!?]

[as the fight was about to start qin shi Huang and hades didn't realize that it was m!reader

cus he looked way different and he has a Blindfold and so when they heard his name they thought it was just a coincidence]

how they're fight would kinda go:

[Akaiju attacked m!reader first with a powerful attack but m!reader manage to block it but he still got thrown on one of the arena walls which broke in impact]

[he sat up from the attack as he feels blood run down his face he put his hand to his face and touched it before looking at his hand seeing blood but instead of being scared or worried he smiled brightly as he wanted a good fair fight]

m!reader:my my! What a powerful attack say you won't mind if i return the favor?~

[as m!reader swang his snyth at akaiju also making Black spikes appear as it hit akaiju also making him crash to the wall with more impact]

[after a few minutes akaiju manage to hit m!reader in the face cutting his blindfold in the face as the blindfold fell off everyone could see his eyes which were Beautiful…his eyes we're a beautiful golden yellow as his pupil looked like a snake but with a Black star behind it outlined with white as it almost look like it glowed and also revealing who he was]

[m!reader usually wore a blindfold because he rely more on his sentences than his site but by now using his eyes which had a special ability which he he could see his opponents weak spot and next move but it was still a little hard because Both of him and Akaiju are very injured]

[qin shi Huang and hades on the other hand despite being heavily injured wanted to run in the arena to get you out of there not wanting to loss you but there's was nothing they could do as the round already started]

[In the middle of the fight, Akaiju randomly asked m!reader, "tell me mortal…What makes someone a king/emperor?"

m!reader chuckled at the question, Before He answered"A king/emperor is the one who leads his people with grace and wisdom. He is the one who guides them in times of joy and sorrow, the one who inspires hope, and the one who inspires loyalty and devotion. A king/emperor is the one who serves his people with humility and cares for them like a father cares for his children.he continues]

"A king/emperor is the one who cares for his kingdom and people. He is the one who will do anything to make his people happy, who will sacrifice his life for his people.the one who there people truly consider there king/emperor as Without a king, the people are lost and directionless. But with a king/emperor, the people can achieve greatness and fulfill their potential. It is the duty of a king/emperor to protect his kingdom and its people, and lead them to a brighter future

…as The title of king/emperor is to be earned, not given.as a king/emperor is nothing without his people and his people are nothing without him…And if you claim yourself to be a king/emperor, without your people,you are no such king/emperor, only a fool…]

[Humanity looked at king/emperor in awe of his wisdom as they're determination grows more]

[Both started to fight more harder both using they're most powerful attack…after a few more minutes

m!reader manage to dodge one of his powerful attacks and swang his snyth cutting akaiju chest as akaiju fell back

And after a few seconds akaiju stood up as m!reader prepared to fight again but akaiju Drop his weapon and looked at m!reader as he slowly faded away]

Akaiju:it was an honor to fight with someone like you and I want to thank you…for this fight

[there fight would end like this

The announcer(i forgot his name im sorry😢]:ROUND [you choose] HAS BEEN CONCLUDED THE WINNER IS M!Y/N!!

ROUND [you choose]:

M!reader or y/n vs akaiju

Time:45 minutes and 28 seconds

Dealing blow:king's heavenly cut

Winner:y/n or m!reader the first king and emperor in human history

[and yes there fight would be the longest]

[all the gods and humans looked at m!reader in shocked that he actually defeated someone so much more powerful then all the gods!?]

[and so how would qin shi Huang and hades react to his reveal ,fight ,speech ,and new look especially how they would react to seeing there extremely shy self-conscious scaredy cat Boyfriend/husband,now being the most cocky, confident,arrogant,prideful,

flirtiest,and

unserious man they have ever met, that would not be afraid to put anyone back in there place…[and maybe sneak in some of the human fighter's and God's reaction if possible 💞]

[P.S: if your reading this i want to say thank so much for taking the time out of your day to read my request and i appreciate it alot💕💕

and im SO sorry that this request is so Damn long😭💞you can take all the time in the world as there's no need to rush cus i know hard it is to write as i used to write some stoys on Wattpad lol.💞]

Hello my dear one- this was quite the adventure to read! This is very creative and very detailed, but that's the thing, you've basically just wrote this beautiful request out from start to finish with all the details to include in this request.

Please forgive me, but as you have already done the hard part in writing this beautiful piece, I will not be adding to it.

I apologize.

[maddyaddy]

This is a bit of me filling in gaps in Destiny lore. The only real mention of what we would call the British Isles is that the House of Wolves burnt down London. So I took some liberties with the British. In my headcanon, they're an isolationist tribe, called the Bretons. They exist in relative safety despite the horrors of the Dark Age, due to being waterlocked. Like many peoples in those times, they have reverted somewhat from the height of the Golden Age. --- --- --- They were a people alone. Save for the Einherjar, the favored warriors of the Machine, the Bretons were largely divorced from the outside world. This was to their liking, for the world past their shores was full of dark terrors. But now their shores were invaded by demons, and they looked now to the Hall of Heroes for help. And they had received it, in the holy name of the Machine and Saint-George. Long ships had broken the waves of the whale-road, bearing with them the chosen warriors. Veterans of the burning lake-bed, survivors of the Great Disaster. Not since London had burned had the Bretons seen such finery of war, nor seen such mighty hosts assembled. From Caledon, from Kernow, and even green Eire, they had all come to battle the things off.

The Breton nobles stood in a great line, bearing preserved firearms of the Golden Age. At their head was Glamdring-19, demon-slayer. “You need not have come,” He told the chieftain in no uncertain words, his Brythonic thick and halting. His red eyes were ablaze with a burning power, the power of Light. “For a warrior of the Bretons can die only once, but the Einherjar die many times and rise again. I will admit to your bravery, though.”

“I would have it no other way.” The chieftain said, brushing her long, thick, and fair hair out of her piercing blue eyes. She bore the name of Adrasteia well, looking for all the world like a chthonic goddess of vengeance in her war panoply of brass scale and iron mail. Woad covered her exposed, helmeted face. Her oil-black rifle was inlaid with fine patterns of gold and silver, the work of Brythonic gunsmiths. “These abominations - these creatures - come to our shores, seeking to kill us. We have never been slaves, and never will be. We will face death as one people, one tribe, and survive.”

“Very well,” Glamdring assented at last. How like Suan she seemed in that moment, he thought to himself grimly. Shouldering their mighty rifles, the first rank of nobles took aim at the charging Hive. Their volley of fire was thunderous in its discharge, filling the air with thick, acrid smoke and the smell of cordite. Kneeling down to reload, the first rank gave way to the second - who emptied their magazines with similar ease. And so on, until all four ranks had done so. But still, the demons rushed onwards.

“CHARGE!” Adrasteia roared to her kinsmen, her blade held high. Drawing their seaxes, their swords, the army of Prydain stomped down the fields of Kernow like an angry swarm of locusts. Smashing into their foes with the force of thousands, they closed for close quarters battle. Glamdring was in the thick of it, slamming his hammer into them, pulping them with single blows. His light shone amidst the darkness, burning aside the Hive in their hundreds.

After the din of battle had ceased, and the Machine's Valkyries had their fill, the Bretons mourned in victory. Their chieftain had fallen in the maddening throng, and none could find her body to give her the flame-farewell. Yet Glamdring took heart that day, returning with gladness. For beside him on the deck of his ship stood a new Guardian, proud and unbowed, her fair hair catching the sun’s Light.

[eryiss]

The Temptation of Transformation

Summary: There have been a lot of instances where Laxus has seen Freed transform into his dmeonic persona. And each time, Laxus finds himself overwhelmed by it. But, the older he becomes, the clearer the reason for the overwhelming sensation becomes. OR: 5 Times Laxus was overwhelmed by Freed’s demon, and the 1 time he did something about it.

Rating: Mature, Discussed N S F W

Request: Laxus discovering his fondness for Freed’s demon form, a prequel for Demon Hunted. 

Alternate Places to Read: Fanfiction, Archive of our Own

The Temptation of Transformation

1 – When They First Fought Against One Another.

It was supposed to be an easy mission.

A supposed dark mage, having just been kicked out from the Runic-Army, had been causing trouble in the town of Hargeon. The job listing had stated that he had been a constant troublemaker when in the army cadets, always getting into arguments with both his fellow recruits and the program leaders alike. Now, after being removed from the organisation, he was taking out his aggression and anger at the town he lived in.

Laxus had seen this as a quick way to get some money, as well as an excuse to leave the guildhall for a few days. His grandfather had been on his back as always, trying to instil some decrepit form of wisdom that would always fall on deaf ears. All it was meant to be was a distraction, and a way to get some money.

Annoyingly, it wasn't going well.

He'd found the dark mage with relative ease. The job description provided a picture, and a general location, which Laxus had followed. Finding a teenage man with long green hair, a sword and a pretty weird outfit wasn't particularly difficult. The difficulty came afterwards.

Clearly, dark-mage Albion Justine knew that he had something of a hit against him. And apparently he had known that a blonde lighting mage had taken up the job, and had been prepared. So when Laxus went to approach him, he found himself entrapped by walls of manically flashing runes, wall to wall in the tight alleyway he had walked into. He had fallen into a trap by a Jutsu Shiki mage, something he should have fucking avoided.

Amateur.

For a while, Albion had taunted him, clearly thinking that Laxus was a fight already won. That had been a mistake for the dark mage, as he hadn't expected the shear amount of power that Laxus contained. One of the basic laws of magic was that, when pushed against one another, the more powerful magic would cancel out the weaker.

Sure, Jutsu Shiki magic took a lot of energy, but Laxus had the crystal of a damn Dragon Slayer inside of him, and that made him the more powerful in every situation. As the dark mage had gloated at his supposed victory, Laxus had been building up his magic, and let it out in a powerful roar.

Once the runes had fallen, the fight had begun.

Laxus had been sure that, once he had left the trap, Albion would be a pushover. Jutsu Shiki mages were known to set intricate traps, and having them broken usually meant they were helpless. Laxus surged forward towards the eighteen-year-old, lightning crackling around his fist and slamming it into the man's face. The feeling of electrified knuckles cracking into jawbone was fucking satisfying, especially after all the damn gloating the bastard had done.

"Ain't so fucking cocky without yer walls," Laxus grinned, slamming his knee up into the man's gut.

Albion staggered back, a look of shock flashing onto his face. He schooled his expression, hunched over from the attack but not beaten. It was impressive, but also tedious. Laxus didn't want to have to beat a guy into submission, he wanted to get paid.

With lightning crackling over his skin, Laxus lurched forward to punch the dark mage again. His fist met with the flat side of a sword, and it send a quiver down his arm. He looked over the weapon to see Albion's expression, now hardened and determined. The speed with which the dark mage moved told Laxus that he could fight, and wasn't relying on his magic.

Fucking annoying.

Laxus jumped back slightly, knowing that any further punches or kicks would be blocked. He took a moment to assess his foe further, seeing a confident stance and an almost amused expression. Laxus let out a small hiss of annoyance, understanding now why this man wasn't a low-level job.

Laxus wasn't a low-level mage.

A slurry of lighting lurched out from his fist, striking the man in the chest, and making him stagger back. He swung his sword through the air, and runic letting followed. The sword must be how he channelled his magic then.

The letters flew through the air, and planted themselves on Laxus' exposed forearm. A sudden rush of intense pain flooded through him, and a split-second scream broke through his lips at the feeling. He couldn't explain the sensation, it wasn't like the pain or being hit, nor like the pain of burning or a cut; it was just painful. Laxus quickly forced his lightning over to where the runes lay, attempting to break them as he did the trap.

He couldn't, but they were numbed slightly.

Channelling his anger into magic, he let out a loud road, lightning barrelling towards Albion in a chaotic and erratic stream. Laxus wanted this to be done quickly, as he knew that the man had more of the pain spells, and he didn't want to deal with that.

Albion swung his sword through the stream of lightning, with runes following again. They were clearly to cancel out magic, but Laxus' lightning was strong, and was weakened rather than being destroyed. Albion groaned as another burst of lightning hit him in the chest, burning through his clothes and scorching his skin slightly. He seemed shocked that his spell hadn't worked completely, and Laxus took the chance given to him.

He pushed himself forward, slamming himself into Albion and tackling him to the ground. He pinned him down as best he could, but a shockingly powerful punch hit his stomach. He fought to regain control, and eventually had to slam his knee into the other man's crotch to subdue him. Not dignified, but nobody was around to see it.

With the man still struggling, Laxus knew he had to act fast. He grabbed the sword – a crappy thing, with no decorations and a dulled blade – and threw it behind him. He looked over his shoulder, then blasted the thing with lighting. It skidded across the ground, eventually dropping into the ocean of the docking yard they were both in. Laxus grinned; a powerful Jutsu Shiki mage could use magic without their conduit, but someone as young as Albion almost definitely couldn't.

Laxus turned back to gloat, but was met with a vicious headbutt.

Dazed, he was pushed back off of Albion. The other man scrambled to his feet, and although Laxus found himself dizzy, he forced himself to do the same. The two men stood opposite each other, facing off in silence as they recovered their breath.

Laxus knew he had the advantage. Getting rid of the sword meant Albion was unstable with magic at best, and physically Laxus felt he had the edge. This shouldn't take long.

Albion, with a look that almost seemed to be annoyed, closed his eyes. He raised his left hand to his chest, and a spiral of runes flowed down his arm. They seemed to plaster themselves onto his body, and through the burned away clothes Laxus could see them glowing on the man's chest.

A surge of magic filled the alleyway, and Laxus narrowed his eyes at what was about to happen. It was a powerful spell; why was he using it on himself?

Quickly, Laxus saw what the spell was.

Transformation.

Albion's body began to morph and churn, covered in a thick layer of inky shadows. He grew in both height and muscle, getting broader and taller with each second. His shirt ripped open, feathers and scales covering his exposed body. Horns began to jut out from his head and swirled upwards, and darkness pulsed in his eyes.

Once the transformation had taken affect, the shadows dissipated and revealed a demon. Dark, powerful, intimidating both magically and physically. This was something no weak Jutsu Shiki mage could do, and it made Laxus pause for a moment.

Albion took the chance. A barrage of shadows shot from his fist and slammed into Laxus.

Pain shot through him, similar to the rune that had been placed on him. He was pushed back, out of the alleyway and into the dockyard. Albion forged forward, and suddenly fists were flying towards Laxus in a relentless attack. Laxus barely managed to avoid them all, each near miss pushing him back further towards the ocean.

Too focused on dodging, Laxus allowed himself to be distracted. Another stream of darkness slammed into his stomach, pushing him back. He was flung through the air and only stopped when his back slammed into the metal railing that stopped him from going into the ocean. He grunted in pain, doing what he could to stay upright.

The beam of darkness stopped, and Laxus didn't waste a second. He gathered his magic and let out a Dragon Slayers Roar.

Albion cast his pulse of darkness again, and the two spells met in the middle.

They were evenly matched, the magics clattering against one another, neither allowing for a disadvantage. Eventually, almost simultaneously, both men stopped their spell before the tax on their magic got too much. Laxus looked at the large demonic figure before him, and a smirk formed on his face.

Sure, he wanted to get paid quickly. But a fight against someone evenly matched; that was even better.

He smirked, stood up straight, raised his hand and made a beckoning motion to taunt Albion. The demon's expression got darker, magic fizzed in the air, and Laxus' entire being near exploded in anticipation.

This would be fun.

2 – When They First Fought Side by Side.

Laxus didn't rely on anybody.

He was genetically built to be independent. His DNA had been intertwined with a Dragon Slayer Lacrima; his magic being warped into something so damn powerful that he would never need to rely on somebody's help again. He fizzed and churned with a relentless power that would make lesser man quiver and cry at the very idea of it. He did not, under any goddamn circumstances, need to rely on other people.

But that didn't mean he couldn't use others to make his life easier. Laxus could take anybody out, obviously, but often times he didn't want to. Not everyone was worth his time, and that was where this little 'group' came in; The Raijinshuu.

It had originally begun with just Freed – the kid who had fought Laxus in Hargeon and had previously gone by the name Albion. Laxus had been impressed by the guy after their fight had ended in a stalemate – which only happened because the brat had been sapping his magical energy with runes, despite his arguments against the claim. Laxus had suggested that he join Fairy Tail, partly because he was impressed someone managed to actually challenge him in a fight, and partly because it would piss off his grandfather to bring a supposed Dark Mage into the guild.

Annoyingly, that hadn't worked out.

Freed and Makarov got on. Quite well, too.

Laxus should have expected it. Makarov was consumed by his ideas of forgiveness and second chances, to the point where it would eventually bite him on the ass spectacularly. So he and Freed had talked, apparently Freed convinced him he never was a Dark Mage and was only called one to entice a mage to deal with him, and had been accepted into the guild without argument. And apparently the younger asshole had mentioned Laxus' reluctant confession that he was impressed by the man, and Makarov had seen a chance. So he had suggested that Freed keep an eye on Laxus, and keep him out of trouble. As if Laxus was some fucking child playing with a knife; patronising old shit-bag!

The other two had come in a little later. Laxus hadn't cared enough to learn their names yet, he referred to them as the Carnival Guy and Fairy Girl. They had some powerful magic in them, and Laxus had hoped that Freed would occupy his time with them, rather than keeping his promise to 'look after' Laxus.

He didn't. Instead, they were dragged right into the promise. Laxus was fairly sure Freed had done this to piss him off, the guy had a devious side to him, Laxus had found.

Thus: The Raijinshuu were made.

Still, as fucking patronising and offensive as it was that Laxus now apparently had three fucking 'bodyguards', they had their uses. Whenever they went on a mission, Laxus could step back and allow the trio to do all the work while he got a quarter of the profits. A pretty good deal, and at least he was making money off of his grandfather's meddling.

There were some instances where Laxus would have to get involved in fights with them, of course. The three were limited in their power, and sometimes they needed some help; not everyone could be Laxus, after all.

This was one such time.

A small group of villains, each with magical weapons, had turned out to be a bigger threat than the group had thought. Not only were there more members than the job listing had stated, but there was also a lot of magic in the weapons that they were using. Laxus had been mildly curious as to why the job was as well-paying as it was, and apparently it was because they were a lot more powerful than given credit for.

Laxus had noticed this immediately, and had joined in the fight before the group could get overwhelmed. He had a reputation to uphold, and the trio of morons had apparently become part of that. If they got beaten by a B-Ranked mission, Laxus looked bad.

So lighting had flown, and the fight had begun.

It had been going on for about five minutes now, with the four Fairy Tail mages working together with fluid movements and flowing powerful magic. Freed's runes flew onto the flesh of the villains, Laxus lightning crackled and electrocuted anyone who dared get near to him, Carnival Guy used his dolls to beat down and target the weapons in their hands, and Fairy Girl was using her machine gun spell to keep the villains from fleeing or spreading out. The Raijinshuu were an admittedly well-oiled machine, and Laxus fit in well whenever needed.

But their opponents were still powerful, and it wasn't an instant victory. Not that it couldn't be, of course! If Laxus had the desire, he could wipe these motherfuckers off the face of the earth with a singular roar. They were nothing compared to him.

Just, he couldn't let The Raijinshuu think he would always be there to pick up their slack.

That was it. He wouldn't allow them to get complacent.

"Blondie, behind ya," Carnival Guy yelled over the sound of fighting, and Laxus ducked as a raised staff of magical energy slammed towards his head.

Laxus scowled; he didn't need some kid telling him how to fight.

He turned to his left, seeing as Freed's sword slammed against an enchanted sword belonging to one of the villains. The movements were quick, and it seemed like Freed was overwhelming the other man with his actions despite his weapons lack of magic. Not that Freed's sword wasn't impressive; Laxus had brought it after it became clear he wasn't going to get rid of the man. It was ornate, and a hell of a lot better than the one he'd lost when fighting Laxus.

Apparently Laxus had a lapse in attention, as a powerful club of ice flung forward and hit him on the head. The world spun for a moment and Laxus groaned, another barrage of ice hitting him and knocking him on his back.

"Laxus," A voice similar to Freed's said, and Laxus looked towards him with blurry eyes.

The effect of the head wound didn't allow Laxus to see anything in detail, but Freed apparently slipped up and, after a flash of orange flared behind him, Freed was knocked back and towards where Laxus was recovering.

Laxus rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand.

"Fuck this," He heard snapped beside him, and with his clearing sight he saw Freed stand up again.

A sudden denseness filled the air, and it seemed as though everyone felt it, as they fighting faltered slightly. Laxus looked up at Freed from the grass he was sitting on, seeing a dark magical energy flowing around him. His hair was ruffling, coat bellowing, and eyes glowing. The amount of magical energy that Freed was portraying told Laxus what this was: his demonic transformation.

He couldn't see it well in the alleyway, but this was in an open field in the middle of the day. The transformation was unhindered, and Laxus could do nothing but watch.

He watched as the magic seemed to plaster itself onto Freed's body like second skin, a miasma of shadows looming from him. His body twisted and mutated, growing in bulk and height. His clothing both burned away and ripped with the growing of his body. His skin turned grey, as if bruises spreading over his body. Scales quickly followed suit, plastering the muscles of the man's newly formed body. Horns sprouted from his head and began to twist upwards in an action that would make a more squeamish man look away.

Laxus didn't. He found himself relishing it.

When they had been fighting, Laxus had focused on readjusting his fighting style to the new side of the foe. He hadn't been able to truly appreciate the pure amount of power Freed's demonic side had. He was all but dripping with magic, and the air buzzed with it.

Not that Freed needed his magic when he was like this, though. The demon walking forward was an intimidating figure, that was something Laxus couldn't deny. He was tall, broad shouldered, with rounded muscles and a powerful frame. His teeth were sharp and twisted into a devious smile, and his long hair raised in a chaotic lift. The tattered remains of Freed's clothing made him look deranged, and the group of pseudo-mages cowered as Freed approached them. They couldn't trace magic, and they were clearly terrified already.

It was a fucking riot to watch!

Laxus remained on the ground, watching as Freed raised his hand and shadowy magic gathered before him. The air pulsed and darkened, a wind flowing towards the growing orb of magical energy. Everyone seemed enraptured with Freed's action – either by fear or anticipation – and nobody could look away. Laxus didn't care to remove the manic smile from his face. This was goddamn glorious.

Then, the magic burst.

The entire group of villains were knocked back, screaming as they were hit by the pain filled shadows that Laxus had been privy to months prior. He knew how painful it was and grinned as the group of bastards were pushed far across the field.

Freed stalked forward, and Laxus found himself unable to look away from the man as he lurched towards them. Magic warped and swirled around Freed as if he owned the air itself, and all of the villains seemed frozen in fear at the demon approaching them. A stream of shadows shot out from Freed's hands and flowed through them all, and every member of the group suddenly became frozen in place where they sat. Panicked groans told Laxus the lack of movements wasn't their choice.

Paralysis. A powerful spell.

Turning on his heels, Freed walked back towards where Laxus and the other two were watching from. He looked at them all with an enigmatic expression on his demonic features, and then over his shoulders towards the frozen villains.

"Take care of them," Freed said in an authoritative voice, before walking past the group.

Laxus sat in the dirt as Freed walked away, eyes lingering on the demonic figure as the distance between them both grew. He found himself unable and unwilling to move, overwhelmed by a confusing mix of being dumbfounded by the apparent order he'd just been given, and exhilaration at the display of chaotic and domineering power the other man had just given. Freed had singlehandedly defeated a group of villains as if it were nothing, and didn't seem to break a sweat. How could anyone look away?

Freed was damn powerful, even more so than Laxus had assumed. When it was needed, he could be relentless, intelligent, intimidating…

And a tool. A tool for Laxus to use to get what he needed.

A means to an end. And that was all.

3 – When Laxus Lost Himself to His Rage.

Everything was going perfectly.

Every part of his plan had been executed without a damned hitch. The morons were running through the streets and fighting, deluding themselves into thinking that they were somehow helping their cause. Pathetic, as if Laxus would have allowed them access to anywhere but the guildhall if there was a chance of them effecting his plans. They were just entertainment. Rats running through a maze, keeping themselves busy while the adults did their work.

By the end of the day, the guild would be his, and it would be respected as a powerhouse again.

It was entertaining to watch the little people fighting one another, desperately attempting to defeat The Raijinshuu and get to him. They thought they had hope. They thought they were making progress. They thought they could win. They were wrong.

Because this was Laxus' magnum opus. Each aspect was perfectly planned, thought out to the point of perfection. He had a failsafe for every eventuality, so much so that it was almost entertaining when the women had been freed from their stone curse. They had seemed hopeful after that, but turning them to stone had served its purpose. That was just the start, making them all know just how serious they were.

They knew he was willing to kill them. Know they knew he was willing to let off the lighting lacrimas around the town. Makarov would crumble soon, and until he did, Laxus could find out who were the powerful members of the guild, and who were the dead wood to be set adrift. There was no room for weakness in Fairy Tail now.

It was a shame that the other dragon slayers were trapped in the guildhall. Despite being tedious creatures, they had potential. They just needed some discipline beaten into them.

But watching them batter their heads against the wall was fun, though.

Laxus paced around the cathedral, eyes darting to the projected face of his grandfather in the guildhall. He looked sad. He looked angry. He looked lost. Good, that was the expression he should be wearing, Laxus was confronting him with all of his damn shortcomings and making sure he had no chance of avoiding them. Every mistake he had made as guild master was being highlighted to him now, and it was amazing to watch.

Because Laxus wasn't going to be like him. He wasn't going to delude his underlings into thinking that friendship had any influence on the outcome of a fight. He wasn't going to blur the lines of hierarchy and allow them to forget they he was in charge. He wasn't going to let them be distracted from their work with stupid events and competitions.

It was why he's planned it for the day of the Miss Fairy Tail contest. To prove a point.

The entire thing was a stupid distraction, completely pointless and devoid of any appeal in Laxus' eyes. And Laxus had used it against his grandfather, easily too.

While relishing the squirming his grandfather was doing, a rush of magic sent a chill down his spine. An overwhelming spurge of magical power had rushed over the town, and an explosion of light flashed from the outskirts of the town. Laxus turned with a hardening expression, the magical wave was both familiar and foreign. He stalked towards a holographic lacrima and his face hardened at what he saw.

Freed was mid transformation, turning into the demon form that he only used when needed. This was not part of his plan. Freed should be strong enough to dominate anyone without relying on his demon.

A moment later, Laxus confusion twisted into anger. The reason Freed had transformed was because Mirajane Fucking Strauss had released her Satan Soul, a spell she hadn't fucking used for years after the death of her whining little sister. But of course she would fuck up his plans and bring out her alter-ego to fight with Freed. And Freed couldn't be defeated; his runes were fucking vital in keeping everyone where Laxus needed them to be.

Fucking Bitch!

But, as the flicking image of Freed showed him transformed into his monstrous demon, Laxus fought down the second-long rush of worry. Because Laxus had seen Freed fighting in that form multiple times, and he was a fucking powerhouse when he had to be. And Mirajane wasn't a match for him; she was untrained and out of practice and the inferior fucking demon. Freed would pound her into the damn ground.

But he didn't.

He fucking lost!

He let some goddamn has-been over emotional woman defeat him!

What the fuck!

And all Laxus could do watch from the cathedral as Freed was slammed into the ground, beaten with magic and punches alike. He had done what he could, so it seemed, but the woman had ended up taking him down. Laxus watched with bated breath as Freed's demon form fizzled out, while Mirajane's remained.

She was raising her fist. She was going to punch him. Fuck! FUCK!

But then she transformed back, and anxiety turned to rage. They were talking now, apparently, and the fact of the matter became obvious to Laxus. Freed had lost a fight, he had failed Laxus and had put this entire fucking plan at risk. The runes were going to be falling soon, and every little runt was going to be running towards the cathedral in an attempt to take him down. He'd fucking obliterate them, of course, but that wasn't the damn point.

Freed was meant to be the cornerstone of this whole thing. The stability of Laxus' life, the strong figure that Laxus could rely on. He was the part of his life that he could always fall back on.

And he had lost.

His demon form had been defeated.

Laxus had never seen that, had never been against a foe that had managed to best the man when he was fighting without restraint.

But he had just lost.

And, in the corner of Laxus' mind, a creeping dread began to form.

4 – When the Trials Were Attacked.

Laxus hadn't been sure what it would be like when he saw Freed again. He didn't expect this.

The blonde had followed the sounds of fighting, the yelling more desperate than what it should be. This was the damn S-Class trials, everything should be more or less orderly. Sure, Makarov sometimes would let his imagination blind him to the danger of his ideas, but there was genuine fear and panic to be heard from the shouting and screaming accompanying the battle. Makarov would put a stop to the trials if it had gotten that bad.

So Laxus rushed forward towards the source of the fighting. He probably shouldn't, but he also shouldn't be on the island. And if his guildmates – well, they weren't his guildmates anymore, were they – were in danger, he could probably be forgiven for trespassing if he tried to help.

And so, he ran.

When he approached the source of the yelling, he saw a vicious fight occurring. A small group of Fairy Tail mages were fighting someone unfamiliar to Laxus, someone with silver hair and stupid glasses on his head. He was clearly strong, and the Fairy Tail mages were run down and not in the best of shape; from the trials probably. This was some kind of ambush, or an attack on Fairy Tail.

Either way, Laxus knew which side he was on.

He went to join in the combat, but found himself stopping when two other men walked into view. Bickslow and Freed, looking in a better state than all the other Fairy Tail mages. The two men lurched forwards, slinging spells and joining the fight with their guildmembers as if it were second nature.

Despite the danger of the situation, Laxus found himself enchanted.

He'd done a lot of thinking as of late. A hell of a lot. He'd thought through all of his actions, all the pointless rebelling and raging against his grandfather. How his anger had begun to dominate him, and how he hadn't done anything to stop the twisting of his morals. And how he'd blocked off so much of who he used to be, and instead became an egomaniac hell bent on power and willing to do anything to get what he wanted. How he didn't want to be the person willing to kill to become the leader of a damned guild.

And once he started thinking, he couldn't seem to stop. Everything about who he was seemed to be in flux, and he was questioning it all. This included what Freed was to him. After a hell of a lot of reflection, Laxus understood why Freed had always been someone different to him. One of the few people who had garnered his respect, and why he'd gotten it so easily.

He was transfixed by him. Fascinated by him. Enraptured by him.

He had feelings for Freed.

And now Freed was standing in front of him again, in the heat of battle. He was elegance and dynamic beauty as he moved, spells flying from his weapon; he still used the sword that Laxus had brought him, and stupidly it made the blonde quietly giddy to think about. Laxus had only been able to give Freed the appreciation he deserved in retrospect, thinking back to their shared times together before Laxus had been excommunicated. But those memories, as brilliant as they were, were nothing in comparison to seeing Freed only a few feet away, fighting with all the carefully restrained power that he contained.

Fuck, he was hypnotising. The way he swung his sword though the air, jumped from side to side to avoid attacks. His long, silky hair flew through the air with each movement, and the serious expression painted on his features was incredible. The memory of Freed had been blurring, but now Laxus had him before him, and every inch of the man's handsome beauty was there in front of him.

How hadn't he noticed how incredibly good looking Freed was before?

And then, just as Laxus was going to approach the fight, Freed cast a spell that he was very familiar with. His transformation spell.

The rush of familiar magic overtook him, and Laxus damn relished in it. He was an incredibly sensory person, his lacrima had made sure of that, and the feeling of Freed's magic filling the air felt as though he was being enveloped by him. It was something he didn't know he missed until he felt it. This was the closest to Freed he had been for over a year, and the feel of his magic, the smell of his distinctive cologne, the sound of his sharp toned demands… He was relishing every second of it.

And then, as he looked up, he saw Freed in his demonic form. The same demon Freed had become when they first met, and when he had fought for Laxus in Magnolia. The demon lurched forward and attacked the mythical looking creature – where the fuck had that come from? – with reckless power and magic flying.

All Laxus could do was gape.

The fight, as was often the case, ended quickly. It probably didn't seem fast for those involved, but the destruction of the dragon looking thing, and then subsequently the silver haired man, only took a few minutes in reality. Laxus would have helped – he should have helped – but watching as Freed fought was impossible to look away from. The man was just so… overwhelming. It was as if he had a chokehold on Laxus, and the blonde wasn't even trying to fight it.

Rather, he was relishing in it.

His eyes fell on a now stilled Freed, who remained in his demonic form. He was panting slightly, visibly sweating too, and Laxus couldn't look away. As Freed breathed in and out, his chest and stomach compressed, abs flexing. He wiped away at the dirt and blood that speckled his body, biceps tensing as he did so. Sweat was running down his bare torso, and Laxus found his eyes following a single droplet going further and further down and…

Laxus hadn't thought about Freed's demonic form as more than a spell before. But now.

Now, it was all very… interesting.

But, before he could process these thoughts, an explosion rang though the air.

The group of Fairy Tail mages ran towards the source, and Laxus followed quickly. He would process what just happened when he had the time.

5 – When the Magic Games Were Torturous

This was hell. Everything about this was hell. A torture exercise designed specifically for Laxus.

He had just wanted to get something to eat, that was all. It was half way through the first week of the Grand Magic Games, and the exhaustion was starting to set in. Laxus hadn't been billed to fight today, and he had originally intended to take the day off and relax. Which had been a successful plan, until he had entered the B-Team viewing box at the colosseum to support Freed in his fight. Something that would have been fine, expect for one damn reason.

Freed had transformed. And thus, Laxus' torture had begun.

Because watching his boyfriend fight was always a brilliant thing, and Laxus had long since accepted he had some kind of attraction to power; both in magic and in physique. Freed had picked up on this pretty quickly in their relationship, and sometimes teased Laxus about it. Hell, even before the fight, he'd looked directly up at Laxus and winked at him. Bastard.

But that had been manageable. Demonic Freed was not.

Perhaps it was some weird kink, or just some unusual attraction, but Laxus had started to find Freed's demon hot. Fucking incredibly hot.

He couldn't explain what exactly it was that had this effect on him. The strong, beautifully muscular body. The incredible amount of power, and perhaps danger, that came with Freed's transformation. The slight adjustment in attitude, which showed a more chaotic side to the usually calm man. Every aspect of his transformation had an undeniable effect on Laxus, covering him in shivers and sending a pulse straight between his legs.

Even the fact his clothes were torn open during transformation made his dick pulse

And during the fight, all Laxus could do was sit there and watch as his lover all but destroyed the man he was fighting. The blonde did his best to remain looking stoic and emotionless, making sure his long coat was covering the front of his pants just in case Freed did something that would get his blood flowing down.

If that was it, Laxus wouldn't mind. He would wait patiently for Freed to get back, and then he'd get fucked into the mattress to relieve the tension filling him. Unfortunately, Freed's fight had been the biggest of the day, and so was being broadcasted on repeat throughout the city. Including in the restaurant where all the participants of the games were expected to eat, exactly where Laxus was eating.

So, he was being tortured. Surrounded by the repetition of his demonic lover beating a cocky bastard into the ground.

"Look at that," The commentator yelled. "Total dominance of the fight. Freed Justine has more than proven himself a powerful mage during this fight."

Laxus, against his better judgement, glanced at the screens bordering the room. The camera apparently had zoomed in on the fight for this moment, and Laxus couldn't look away as Freed slammed his arrogant opponent into the ground, the dirt cracking around his head. Freed hadn't even used his magic for this, just using his demon's physical strength to overpower his opponent. Laxus sucked in a breath, willing himself to look away from the screens but finding himself unable to do so.

Because the cameras were focused on Freed. The demons strong, perfectly formed abs flexed, chest rising and falling. His legs stood wide, thighs strong and thick. Laxus' eyes widened slightly as he saw Freed move, and the crotch of his ripped pants hugged Freed's body a little too well and showed Freed's thick, monstrous-

He should leave. He needed to leave, for his own sanity. He just needed to get Freed into his bed, and deal with this. Well, once a minute had passed. Once he could step out from under the table without people seeing his… appreciation for his boyfriend.

But, as the screens showed a slow motion shot version of the same shot, Laxus groaned to himself and buried his head in his hands. This was fucking torture.

+1 – When He spoke His Mind

"Fuck me."

Laxus was done. He was done with this fucking hell. Freed had been using his demonic form a hell of a lot more lately, and Laxus was starting to take it personally. Because rather than the appeal of Freed's demon dying away like Laxus had expected, it felt like each time he saw the man in his alternate body, Laxus' lust for it doubled. And now he was done.

Freed, standing above Laxus with a small quick in his eyebrow, turned to face his boyfriend.

The two had just finished fighting a dark mage, and Freed was battle worn and radiating magical energy. Dirt, blood, and rain was covering his body, and even that was making Laxus hard in his pants. It was ridiculous, but he didn't care. Freed as a demon was Laxus' weakness, and he'd accepted that.

"Excuse me?" Freed asked, distorted voice chilling.

"I said: fuck me," Laxus said, voice firm and demanding. He crossed his arms, taking a step towards his demonic boyfriend.

"Yes you did," Freed grinned, cupping Laxus' jaw with his claw. "And how would you have me fuck you, exactly?"

"Rough," Laxus demanded, showing no shame. "Fucking overpower me. Make me your fucking bitch. I don't give a shit. Because I've been watching you in this fucking demon body for months, I keep jerking off to the thoughts of you fucking me like this, and I'm sick of having blue balls all the damn time. So we're gonna fuck right now."

Freed thought for a moment, and his claw slowly began to scrape down Laxus' chest. The blonde froze, crotch twitching as his lover's hand got lower and lower. A groan was the only sound between them.

"No," Freed whispered. "I don't think so."

"Why the fuck not?"

"Because I want you to squirm," Freed smirked. "I've been aware of your arousal for a while, and I want you to become desperate and needy and to beg for me, which you will," A warped laugh filled the air, going straight to Laxus' dick. "Your birthday's in a month, if you can hold out, my ripping you apart will be my gift. Until then, I get to have some fun."

Before Laxus could react, the demon dissolved into runes, leaving Laxus alone with an expression of fury and a raging boner.

"Fuck!"

[sardonic-sprite]

If You Ever Fall Down

Version 1

Whumptober 2022, Days 18 Alt. 15, 19, 20

Batman, 3k words

Tim waited, panting, until his opponent was nearly on top of him before darting to the side, hearing the cage wall rattle and the crowd scream in glee.

"Slayer" staggered back, raising a hand to his head. The wires had made an imprint in his face, which already wasn't pretty. His grimacing leer made him even uglier, especially when he turned it on Tim.

"You're gonna pay for that one, you little brat!"

He lunged again, Tim dodged again. He hit the wall again. Staggered back with another furious snarl and lunged, missed, crashed for the seventh time in a row.

"Y'know," Tim quipped breathlessly, spinning away for the eighth time, "the definition of insanity--"

Crash.

"--is doing the same thing--"

"Raaahhhh!"

"--and expecting--"

Crash.

"--different results."

"You're gonna be a grease spot when I'm through with you!"

Tim dodged again, throwing himself from one wall to the other, curling his fingers into the cage's lattice just to keep himself standing. Slayer's nose was bloody when he turned around, and the audience shrieked in delight.

"Rob-in! Rob-in! Rob-in!"

"Get him, Slayer, he's a flyweight!"

"Little bastard!"

Tim's chest was burning. He wasn't sure how much longer he could keep this up. Slayer was hurling himself indiscriminately about the twelve foot space, a cyclone bound to catch Tim in its gale. The screams and jeers of the crowd made his head throb ever harder, and he couldn't hear his brain yelp Shit! let alone think up a plan for victory.

He ducked down in a corner just after Slayer passed it, clutching the cage bars on each side so he could pull himself back up. His throat burned as he gulped down air. Or maybe it was just still sore from when "The Demon" had throttled him.

Slayer circled back as his fans screamed and pointed to Tim. He hauled himself up and tried to dart underneath Slayer's windmilling fists, but one foot caught on the other and he fell, pain stinging his knees and hands.

Tim rolled out of the way seconds before Slayer's fist could connect with his head, and tried to stand, but he was too far from the walls to pull himself up, and his aching muscles screamed no. He choked and coughed as Slayer kicked him in already cracked ribs, tossing him onto his back.

He couldn't breathe. His throat burned, his lungs burned, his ribs throbbed, the world spun--

Crack and a burst of pain in Tim's head, and he blinked away splotches seconds before Slayer headbutted him again.

He still couldn't breathe, definitely couldn't see, but he could feel the weight over his hips and the fist gripping his shirt, then the force of a massive object in motion.

Tim wrapped his arms around his head and jerked sideways right before the collision, and Slayer kept going, yelping in shock as he smacked his skull, not against Tim's nose, but against the concrete cage floor.

Deafening shrieks became utter silence as the hand on Tim's shirt went slack. He tried to squirm free, but gave up, panting as Slayer remained a motionless weight.

A hushed count began, sounding more like a cult ritual than a timer.

"--two, three, four, five--"

Tim squeezed his eyes shut and pressed his hands over his ears, not that it would do anything to lessen the headache or dull the increasing roar.

"--eight, nine, TEN!"

A cacaphony of cheers, catcalls, boos, and even death threats erupted. Tim whined as the agony in his head spiked, trying to curl in on himself and failing. He felt more than heard the doors to the cage open and footsteps stride in.

"And that's Robin with the victory, still undefeated after five matches!"

Slayer's weight was lifted, and hands grabbed Tim's shoulders and dragged him up. Someone raised his right fist in the air as a handcuff was clamped around his left. As soon as his arm was dropped, down went Tim, knees buckling, body pitching forward, about to bust his own head against the concrete if his captors hadn't caught his fall.

They jerked him back up and finished binding his hands, mercifully supporting his entire weight as they more carried than dragged him out of the arena.

Away from the deafening noise and stench of sweat and beer, it got a little easier to breathe. The black patches in Tim's vision began to recede, not that they left anything better in their places. It was just the same empty subway tunnel as always, full of rocks and gravel for him to trip on.

"How many fights are you gonna keep winning, boy?" asked the guard on his left.

"Not that many," cackled the one on the right. "Nearly went out this round!"

Tim didn't bother answering. He just stared at his bare feet and watched them go each out ahead of the other, trying not to catch on rocks or cracks. His knees sagged with every step.

"If only Batman could see you now!"

"He'd be so proud!" The man pretended to sniffle. Tim thought he brushed a fake tear from his eye.

If Batman could see me, Tim thought, you would be cuffed and concussed, and I'd be at home with Alfred's cookies.

But that was impossible. Bruce was currently laid up with a shattered hip, and for once was obeying Leslie's instructions to stay off it, although it was more likely that his body wouldn't let him disobey than his mind decided not to. By the time he healed enough to come after Tim...

Well, Tim wasn't actually sure.

The organizers weren't going to kill him, and probably wouldn't let other competitors kill him either. He'd seen enough people slapping money into each others' hands to know he was their most lucrative fighter. But he'd been in five fights so far in just two days, and his opponents kept getting bigger. Tim was wearing down fast, and if he stopped being entertaining, and therefore stopped making them money... they might kill him then, or let him be killed.

They did have death matches after all.

Tim would never win one of those.

They finally reached Tim's cell, and he hated that he was almost glad to see it because it meant the closest thing he could get to rest. The left guard held him up as the right one opened the door. Together they shoved him inside.

Tim stumbled, tripped, toppled over. He managed to take the fall on his shoulder and not his skull, but it didn't much matter. In seconds, the world faded to black.

«»«»«»«»

Tim's headache had become a migraine by the time he woke up. He groaned and curled in on himself, struggling to find a way to pillow his head on his arms and not the cuffs. The only position was killer on his shoulders, but he decided to take that over digging metal into his brains.

The floor was cold. And hard. Tim wished for his bed, or the couch in the library, or even the rug in the den. He wished for Tylenol and ice for his ribs, and Alfred's cooking for his gnawing stomach. He really, really wished for Bruce to worriedly hover and read stories and stroke his hand through Tim's hair and let Tim curl up on his bed with the fluffy comforter and call Dick to come and hold him close and gentle and warm--

Tim didn't realize he was crying until the tears seeped out beyond the edges of his mask, making the glue itch worse than ever. He cried harder at that, futilely rubbing at his eyes until he remembered to retract the mask's lenses. The tears dripped onto his arms and into his hair.

The force of his sobs made his head and ribs ache worse than ever, and soon he was gasping in order to breathe. He forced himself to stop crying then, as well as he could, which wasn't well at all.

Footsteps.

Tim hiccupped and swallowed his last tears, refusing to cry in front of his captors no matter how much pain he was in or how desperately he wanted to be home. He made himself sit up, bracing against the back wall so he didn't topple over.

Three men entered his cell. Two guards, interchangeable with any of the others, wearing cruel, excited smirks, and the announcer, who was the organizer of the whole vile business, as best as Tim could figure. His expression was dangerously blank.

"Hello, Robin."

Tim didn't answer.

"You are quite the impressive fighter, I'll admit. Only two other contestants in our history have gone so long undefeated. Unfortunately--"

Fuck.

"--that's boring."

Tim's stomach twisted. Were they done with him already? They couldn't be, it had only been two days! Rescue was still weeks away, Tim needed time, he needed to bargain, what did they want? Entertainment. What could he do to give them that?

"I'll lose," he croaked, as the announcer opened his mouth again. "If, if you want, I can, I'll lose the next fight."

"Yes, you will."

The guards strode closer, hauling Tim to his feet and pinning him against the wall. His heartbeat kicked into overdrive as one guard grabbed his left leg and lifted it to waist height.

"Wait--"

"Your winning strategy seems to be running away."

The guard pressing Tim to the wall grabbed his thigh in a vice grip. The other man tightened his hold on Tim's calf.

"No!" Tim yelped. "No, please, wait, I won't run, I'll--"

"No, you won't."

One guard shoved down as the other jerked up, and agony exploded in Tim's knee. He might have screamed.

He knew he was sobbing as they let him drop, jolting the break all over again. His breath came sharp and ragged, and fast enough to make him dizzy. Unless that was the pain.

"Let's see if that fixes our little problem."

The guards dragged Tim, still crying, back to the arena and flung him inside the cage.

He lost.

«»«»«»«»

Two more days, three more fights, and Tim was no longer worried about whether he'd walk normally again, but if he'd walk again period.

He had no way to immobilize the broken bones, and no way to stop his opponents from taking full advantage of the obvious weak point. The next "Bruiser" or "Breaker" or "Skull-Crusher" probably only needed to flick Tim's kneecap to reduce him to a puddle of agony. From there, one kick to the head, and he'd be out cold. Again.

And the worst part was, it was all for nothing. The audience's ecstasy at seeing Robin finally toppled from his throne had faded after the second beatdown billed as a brawl. Tim was boring again, and there was nothing anyone could do to change that.

Except throw him into a death match and snap every bone right up to his neck.

Tim knew it was coming, any day, any hour even. And he didn't want to die, but if it would make the agony and humilation just stop...

"Hey, little birdie, ready to fly away?"

This was it then. At least Tim wouldn't have to anticipate it for long.

He wondered if he'd meet Jason.

Or get to see his mom again.

Every limping step was a fresh jolt of agony, and Tim chewed his lip to shreds in the effort not to scream. He was so focused on denying anyone that satisfaction that he didn't realize they weren't going to the arena until the announcer's voice came at normal volume, tone clipped instead of excited.

"Here he is. Slightly used, as I said."

"Slightly," snorted an impossibly low voice. "The hell did you use him for? Crash testing?"

Tim dared to glance up from his feet and went rigid with horror.

Deathstroke the fucking Terminator was the one speaking, dressed in full armor with that freakish, near faceless mask, and bound and gagged at his feet was

"Nightwing!"

"Shut up, kid."

The left guard yanked at Tim's arm, knocking him off balance. He put more weight on his foot that his knee could take and cried out, crumpling before being jerked up again.

Dick hadn't reacted to his name, but he flinched at Tim's scream. Tim wondered what the hell he'd been drugged with.

"We used him as a fighter," the announcer answered. "But he's all or nothing I'm afraid. The betting pools get too unbalanced."

"That won't happen with this one," Deathstroke promised, kicking Dick. "Born performer, he is. He'll give you good shows, and he knows how to give an audience what they want."

"You sound incredibly confident."

"That's 'cause I've seen it. And I've seen him fight with half his bones broken. Lasts much longer than junior there, I guarantee."

"I find it difficult to belive that the infamous Deathstroke would strike a bargain so apparently one-sided."

Bargain? Dick a performer, fighter...

"No!" Tim yelled. "No, don't--"

Who did he plead with? Dick couldn't be sold to this hell, he couldn't, Tim wouldn't let them. Dick was, he was, strong, and powerful, and hopeful, and proud, and unbending, and he couldn't live in this place and fight for nothing every single day, forever, because they'd never get rid of him because he could do what they wanted, no, no, no, no...

"No! No, no, n--"

A hand clamped over Tim's mouth, and it wouldn't let go when he bit, or struggled, or even kicked, screaming, but it had to, Tim had to tell them no, not Dick!

"Very well, done, take the brat off our hands, then."

The guards flung Tim at Deathstroke, who threw Tim over his shoulder and began to walk away.

"No! No, no, you can't--"

The announcer reached out to tilt Dick's head this way and that, like a child inspecting a new action figure. Dick didn't fight back.

"Nightwing!"

"Calm the fuck down, Robin," Deathstroke hissed. They turned a corner and Dick was out of sight.

"No!"

"For fuck's sake."

Tim cried out as he was dumped on the ground. When the agonizing white-out cleared he was staring at a weathered face with just one steely blue eye.

"Nightwing is going to be fine," Deathstroke snarled. "You are not unless you calm. The fuck. Down."

"No. Trade me back!"

"That's it."

Deathstroke pulled back, reaching into a pocket for a syringe.

"No!" Tim couldn't fight, couldn't run, couldn't even move once Deathstroke pinned him against the wall. "No, give me back, they can kill me, don't let them have Night--"

"Self-sacrificing idiots, the whole lot of you," Deathstroke griped.

The needle bit Tim's neck. Something cold flooded the vein and made him shudder.

"No," he sobbed.

And then it all went blank.

«»«»«»«»

Softness and warmth surrounded Tim, and he cozied deeper into it with a happy sigh. Someone chuckled, hand stroking through Tim's hair.

"Feeling better, kiddo?"

Tim opened his eyes to see, "Dick?"

"Yeah, Timmy?"

Tim blinked. Memory came flooding back, and with it a rising horror as he realized, wondered, feared...

"Are we dead?" Tim whispered.

"Are..." Dick frowned, looking confused. He leaned closer, peering into Tim's eyes. "No, sweetheart, we're not... why would you think--"

"The, the fight ring." It felt hard to breathe. "And Deathstroke, and--"

"Death... Slade, what the hell did you do!?" Dick hollered, turning over his shoulder to someone Tim couldn't see.

"It was a mild sedative, he was about to pass out anyway," complained that low voice.

And Deathstroke the Terminator appeared right over Dick's shoulder.

"I told you to calm down."

"'Calm down,'" Dick echoed, twisting further to glare up at Deathstroke. "Calm down while he's having a panic attack, and then drugging him? No wonder he thinks he's dead! Your bedside manner is fucking atrocious--"

"And here I thought you quite liked my bedside manner."

Dick's cheeks went bright pink. The top of his ears were practically scarlet.

"Slade... Morris Wilson," he choked.

"Morris?"

"I don't know your fucking middle name--"

"Why the hell would you think it was Morris?"

"I didn't, I wanted to piss you off--"

"For the love of--"

"SLADE MORRIS WILSON," Dick hollered. "There is a child present. A child who happens to be my kid brother. Shut the fuck up and let me clean up your mess, please!"

"By all means..."

There was a sound of a boot against a shin and a short huff, then Deathstroke disappeared and Dick turned back to Tim with a weary smile.

"What the fuck just happened?" Tim whimpered.

"It's ok, Timmy," Dick promised, brushing back Tim's hair. "The trade was a fakeout. It was the best plan we could think of to get you out safe and get me in to take down the ring at the same time. Slade's just an asshole who never learned how to use his words."

"That's exceptionally bold for a man raised by Batman, Grayson."

"Go away, Slade."

"I... I don't understand."

"Bruce called me as soon as he knew you were missing. It took me two days to figure out where you were, and then I knew I couldn't get you out safely by myself. So I called Slade, and we came up with a plan where he would pretend to trade me to them in exchange for you. Then he could take you to safety, and I'd get loose and shut down the operation."

"With more of my help, naturally," Deathstroke called.

Tim glanced from where Deathstroke's voice came to Dick's face. "You... called Deathstroke," he repeated slowly. "And he helped you."

"We're allies, when we need to be," Dick said, face far too straight.

"War makes strange bedfellows."

"Would you shut up?"

Tim was certain he was still missing something important. But he understood enough to know that he was alive, and safe, and Dick was safe, and somehow everything would be ok.

"Thank you," he said softly. "For coming for me."

Dick smiled, though his eyes were sad. "Always, kiddo."

He leaned down and kissed Tim's forehead, smoothing back his bangs.

"Now get some rest. You're gonna need it."

Tim nodded. He felt Dick shift to stand up, and heard lowered voices talking a little away.

"You need rest too, Grayson."

"I'm fine."

"I know for fact you haven't slept in two days, little bird. Go rest or I'll sedate you too."

"Asshole."

"Brat."

A heavy sigh. "Alright. You win this one."

"Good."

Warm weight sank the mattress once more, this time wrapping around Tim and pulling him close. His head was tucked under a chin, a heartbeat against his cheek.

"'S'ok, Timmy," Dick murmured. "Go to sleep."

So he did.