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redtsundere-writes · 1 month

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Jinx | Sukuna Ryomen

mma fighter!sukuna ryomen x femalecoach!reader

Part 9. Don't Know

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Synopsis: Sukuna is a world champion with anger issues. It's believed by many that he is untrainable. Yeah, you can't train him, but you can dominate him. Contents: Fighting. Sukuna being Sukuna. Female reader being dom. Jinx AU (the BL, not the character from lol) Warnings: Cursed words. Fighting. Sexual harassment. I only read it once, lmao Word count: 2722 words. A/N: Shoutout to @ghosts-girl_ on IG for sending me a Sukuna fanart that was inspired by this fic! Tysm <3!

Btw I made a PLAYLIST

Going back to the hospital always scared me. I always enter the doctor’s office with sweaty hands while imagining the worst in my mind. The white and neat walls, decorated with informative posters about the importance of exercising regularly. The light gray floor was freshly waxed, I could see my scared face reflected in it. There were a few fake plants around to make the place look less intimidating.

The doctor was asking me questions about my lifestyle over the past six months while typing incessantly on the computer perched in the middle of the large desk. The doctor took out the new x"ray that had been taken of my neck and inspected it in front of the light screen. He didn't say anything, he just analyzed her very carefully to not make a wrong diagnosis. My manager, Mei Mei, came with me this time for support despite having a tight schedule. She noticed I was nervous, so she patted me on the back to calm me down.

“Do you think she can fight soon, Doc?" Mei Mei asked him my biggest concern.

“Her neck has completely healed, if she wanted, she could fight tonight,” the doctor answered with a smile.

A sigh of relief escaped my lips at the wonderful news I had awaited for so long. 3 years to be precise. I was out of the octagon for 3 years on medical recommendation so that my neck would heal completely and avoid future injuries. My face was about to cry with joy, so I hid it in my hands. I was about to reborn, I already wanted to return to the gym with my team to train like in the old days. Start again, conquer the battlefield and recover the title that was taken from me.

Mei Mei and I left the office to meet my friend and training partner, Nobara, who was waiting for us along with Mei Mei's younger brother, Ui Ui. I told her the good news, and she hugged me happily. We used to do everything together before I was injured, now we could go back to our routine as if nothing had happened.

“Everyone will be very happy when they see you back at the gym,” Nobara said excitedly.

“Finally,” I sighed heavily jokingly. “Mei Mei, shall I ask you to gather the team?” I asked her nicely.

Mei Mei was in charge of ensuring that my schedule was met without delays. She was the one who organizes my fights, gathers athletes for special training, hires doctors, etc. She was always busy, but she never let me out of her sight. Not only that, but she always took care of my my needs even though Team Black gives me everything I need. I told her not to worry so much in several occasions, but she always responded with “you never know.”

"I'm already on it, darling. Also, since your appearances with Ryomen, there are several sponsors interested in you,” Mei Mei reminded me of the unexpected kiss Sukuna gave me after his crushing victory against Naoya a couple of weeks ago. "Your life will return to normal in no time."

"When do you plan to come back?” Nobara asked me excitedly.

"I don't know yet, I have to talk to Sukuna's manager to agree on a release date and find a replacement,” I replied.

"When you have the date, let me know,” Mei Mei asked me without taking her eyes off her phone.

"When you return, could you bring me something signed by the King of the Ring?". Ui Ui asked excitedly.

"I'll see what I can do,” I answered honestly.

Mei Mei and Ui Ui left after that. Once we lost sight of them, Nobara took my hands to approach my face curiously. I moved away from her face at the unexpected proximity. When I saw her eyes sparkling from excitement, I could imagine what she wanted.

"So… You and Sukuna, huh?" she asked excitedly.

Since living with him, I have noticed that our relationship had improved, but only as a coach-athlete relationship. I haven't noticed that he treats me sweeter, that he gives me flirtatious glances or that he gets nervous when I am around. He continues to act as the same fearsome Sukuna as always.

My feelings towards him have also increased. When I have to watch him to make sure he does the exercises, my mind travels back to the passionate nights we've had together. I can no longer see his hands without thinking about how he holds me by the waist or his face without imagining him moaning my name. He made me blush without even trying, I was fed up. It was so frustrating not being able to do my job well.

"There’s nothing between me and Sukuna,” I answered, removing my hands from the grip.

"Don’t lie to me! Everyone saw that passionate kiss he gave you!" Nobara scolded while pretending to make out with herself.

"Sukuna only did it to annoy Naoya," I answered, trying to downplay it…

…but I couldn't ignore it. After that night, my perspective on Sukuna had completely changed. I wasn't surprised that I fell in love with him, I mean, I have a reputation for choosing the worst possible men. I had to get rid of this feeling as soon as I could. If I could do it while I lived with him, great, but I knew perfectly well that after asking for my resignation, Sukuna would throw me out and this feeling would go away on its own like a cold.

"And how are you so sure that he doesn't like you?" Nobara asked me.

The idea that Sukuna was interested in me in that way was tempting. It wasn't crazy considering we've already slept together twice, and he kissed me on international television, but I highly doubted that was the case. Yuuji had told me that Sukuna wasn't interested in having a girlfriend and I doubt that will change anytime soon.

“Impossible,” I answered without further ado.

"Oh, come on! Men never kiss woman just because,” Nobara argued.

"What do you know know about men? You're a lesbian,” I joked.

"I know how they behave when they like a girl, it's what we have in common," she challenged me.

My heart wanted to believe her, but my mind warned me with red flags that I shouldn't. Being in love is complicated.

At first, I had a hard time adjusting to living with Sukuna. I lived alone for so long that I forgot how it was living with someone. Quickly, I could adapt to his cold attitude in the morning, seeing him walk around the house wet and with a towel wrapped around his slutty waist, and listening to his complaints when we left the gym. Sukuna is the one who pays for everything, the only thing I could contribute to the house was to cook for him from time to time if the cook was not available. I couldn't help but feel like a sugar baby, but that feeling went away every time I used the magnificent indoor pool.

The microwave announcing that my popcorn was ready brought me out of my thoughts. I was preparing myself some popcorn as tonight's fights began. The schedule was not very exciting, except for the main fight. The fight for the heavyweight division championship between Toji Fushiguro and Aoi Todo. A battle between two powerful giants of the UFC.

I returned to the kitchen to prepare the popcorn to my liking in a bowl. I opened the refrigerator to look for the juice I had bought before I got home. Being a high-performance athlete, Sukuna's smart refrigerator only served to store large amounts of chicken breast, vegetables, and sparkling water. If I wanted something with sugar or “chemicals”, I had to buy it myself and hide it so as not to tempt Sukuna's appetite. As I closed the door, I noticed the new dietary regimen that Sukuna's nutritionist had asked hm to follow.

"Chicken, rice, and broccoli for 4 days straight? No wonder he's always so angry,” I thought out loud as I quickly scanned the sheet of paper.

No sugar. Do not eat carbs after 6 pm. Just an egg without yolk in the morning. I knew that Sukuna was a highly disciplined athlete, but going on such a demanding diet was ridiculous. If a nutritionist asked me to follow this regimen like a soldier, I would fire her in no time.

There were so many things I wanted to change about his extreme lifestyle, but I was sure I wouldn't be able to figure it out before my last day. Furthermore, I had to tell him that I would no longer be his coach and that someone else was going to take my place. I didn't know how he would even take the news. I just had to make sure to tell him when he is in a good mood. Who am I kidding? He is never in a good mood, that goes against his personality.

"Fuck this shit!" Sukuna yelled as he reluctantly entered the house. Now was not the right time to tell him.

He tossed his backpack onto the small stool at the entrance, where we kept our shoes and had a mirror for finishing touches. Sukuna slammed the door shut which offended my ears. I just watched him confused while I ate my popcorn.

"Things didn’t go well with the Olympian?" I asked, trying to understand where his anger was coming from.

While I was at the doctor, Sukuna went to the Olympic stadium to have an exclusive sparring with a boxing gold medalist. He insisted that I cancel my appointment to come with him, but I told him that even if I did that, I wouldn't be much help. My specialty is jujitsu, not boxing. I told him that Gojo knows more than me, and he stopped annoying me.

"That idiot asked for a break on the fifth round. Can you fucking believe that?! The best boxer in the nation?! My balls can last longer than that!” He exclaimed in annoyance as he ran his fingers through his hair in exasperation.

"Could it be because it was training and not a real fight?" I asked before putting a popcorn in my mouth, staying calm. If I got down to his level, he would only get more upset.

"If I had wanted to waste my time, I would have trained with one of the gym's rookies,"Sukuna mumbled.

He sat on the stool and sighed heavily as he unlaced his shoes to enter the house. I could see the helplessness in his eyes at not having the demanding training he wanted. Having a perfect streak of 28 overwhelming victories, he hasn't had a rival who can match his level in years. Always being the winner means that you are not learning, and you are staying stagnant while others moved forward, Sukuna was afraid of being left behind.

I sighed as I understood his anger, putting the bowl aside to approach him. I took advantage of the fact that he was at my level to gently massage his shoulders. Even though I didn't do it with a romantic intention, touching him like that after weeks felt like drinking water in the middle of the Sahara. A temporary pleasure that I had to take advantage as much as I could.

"Do you know what it means that he didn't last more than 5 rounds?" I asked him while massaging his neck.

"I'm not in the mood for your shit," he mumbled, focused on his shoes.

"Let me finish!" I barked. "It means you're better than an Olympic medalist," he looked at me again, calmer now.

"You think?" he asked me, looking at me to deduce if I was saying it out of pity or not.

"Of course! You are the king of the ring, not just in the UFC!" I cheered, giving him a friendly pat on the arm.

"Not everyone can go against the king," he said with an evil smile.

It was one of those few times I've seen him smile like that. I'm glad to know that I could be of use to him outside the gym. I wanted to be the cause for him to smile more often, even if it meant he didn't feel the same way about me. A reality that I was willing to accept for the sake of both of us.

The fight between Aoi Todo and Toji Fushiguro was about to start. The current champion, Toji, entered shining his glorious belt with Welcome To The Jungle by Guns N' Roses in the background while the commentators read his statistics. Aoi, the challenger, Todo looked forward to the fight from the octagon. The crowd was excited, music was blaring from the speakers, and commentators were debating who would take home the belt. It was an important fight that deserved to be seen on the room's beautiful 80"inch screen.

"That son of a bitch," Sukuna snorted behind me, referring to Toji. He was in my robe as always before going to sleep.

"A talented son of a bitch," I joked. "Sit down and watch it with me."

"I'll watch it until I get sleepy," Sukuna scoffed as he sat next to me on the couch.

After formal introductions and the referee's instructions, the first round took place. The two mastodons faced each other face to face in a rain of punches and jabs that seemed to have no end. They were like two bulls striking each other with their sharp horns, making the plaza resonate with the power of their tackles. It was clear that Aoi Todo was a born boxer who did not allow himself to be intimidated by the enormous presence of Fushiguro with those beastly hits. Before Toji could take him to the ground, like he had done in the fight against Sukuna, the bell rang.

“Who are you rooting to?” I asked Sukuna excitedly.

"I do not know, and I do not care." he answered with a yawn. That answer deserved me to throw my empty popcorn bowl at him.

"It's a very important fight! You should know!" I scolded him as the TV went to commercial break. "Todo and Fushiguro have been fighting for the division title for 2 years. Both have won twice simultaneously. This is their fifth fight. It's the fight for 3 out of 3!” I explained. Sukuna shrugged his shoulders, downplaying it the importance it deserved.

"And who are you rooting for?" He asked me to make conversation as they returned to the fight.

"Aoi Todo is a magnificent boxer like you…". At the comparison, Sukuna gave me a killer glance. "Obviously, you are the best," I corrected before he killed me.

"That is what I thought."

"But Toji is a complete fighter, I am team Toji for life," I replied with a proud smile. Sukuna gave me another killing look, this time it was more stern. I really don't learn from my mistakes, huh? "Obviously I'm Team Black before that," I said with a guilty smile.

The champion threw a quick jab, but the challenger easily dodged it. Aoi responded with a combination of quick strikes that made Fushiguro flinched. He stumbled back, but stayed upright. He threw a wild right hand, but the challenger blocked it with his forearm. The challenger took the opportunity to launch a flurry of jabs that Toji dodged like a master. Aoi continued entering her field, causing Toji's back to hit the fence. He threw one last desperate right hand, but Todo dodged it and responded with a left hook that sent the champion to the ground.

"¡No!" I exclaimed upon seeing the knockout.

"Too bad…" Sukuna mocked me.

After my champion couldn't get up easily, the referee ended the fight. The challenger had won the fight with a monstrous knockout. The crowd roared and Todo raised his arms in victory as he ran around the octagon. He had defeated his legendary opponent and became the new champion of the heavyweight division.

"First words after defeating such an important rival?". The interviewer asked Todo as he celebrated with his team supporting him behind him.

Masterlist.

Order your own fanfic! (Starting price: $5 USD)

Tag list: @maskedpacific @thepurpleempath @mazzd4 @charlie-xo @s0uldarling @sunako-0120 @berranurates @00frenchfries00

Let me know if you want to be tagged in the next one! :)

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valenfangs · 2 months

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Valenfangs is very happy to announce . . . VamPride!

transcript and prompts under the cut

We are inviting any fans of the Vampire Chronicles and its derivative works (books, show, movie, that other movie, play – and every colour in between) to have some fun with us in June as we celebrate pride!

Show your colours through a variety of mediums - fics, art, moodboards, playlists, headcanons, edits, cosplays, we want to see it all!

Fill as many prompts or as little as you like! You have three prompts per day, and you can use just one as inspiration or combine multiple prompts into one work

This is a month of celebration and we want to celebrate everything you do! Make sure to tag us @valenfangs so we and all our followers don’t miss your awesome contributions

We're here for you! If you have any questions, our ask box is open!

PROMPTS:

1 - San Francisco // gay bar // sunshine

2 - beach // ice cream // tough love

3 - drag queen/king // butterflies // asexual

4 - rose garden // Roaring 20s // threesome

5 - rule 63 // art museum // haircut

6 - Omegaverse // sunglasses // stuffed animals

7 - Renaissance // blood-red lipstick // crushed velvet

8 - Greek mythology // handwritten letters // grey hair

9 - glitter // lollipop // ghosts

10 - free day

11 - coffee and cigarettes // impact play // musical theatre

12 - butch/femme // bondage // leather

13 - rainstorm // dom/sub drop // Shakespeare

14 - pirate AU // worn-out sneakers // candlelight

15 - free day

16 - tattoos and piercings // fishnet // hair dye

17 - Old Hollywood // hoop earrings // Hawaiian shirt

18 - high school/college AU // pet play // pearls

19 - gloves // labyrinth/maze // love triangle

20 - free day

21 - apples and pears // stained glass windows // double penetration

22 - burger and fries // Coca Cola in a glass bottle // antique shop

23 - tiara // driving lessons // reality TV

24 - silk pajamas // acrylic nails // enemies to lovers

25 - costume party // black nail polish // waterfall

26 - pencil skirt // smoothie // blind date

27 - murder mystery // slumber party // high-heeled boots

28 - black cat/golden retriever // ballet // sex shop

29 - the zoo // Oscar Wilde // reading glasses

30 - pride parade // daddy/mommy kink // brat

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baronessblixen · 7 months

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Fictober 2023

All the stories in one place. A huge thank you to everyone for their support this month.

Day 1: Secret Spots - This is cotton candy-flavored fluff set after "Millennium": Mulder and Scully go to Mrs. Scully's house and find themselves all alone for a moment...

Day 2: Just in Case - This is angst/hurt/comfort with a dash of hopeful cheesiness. Starts off in Dod Kalm (yes, you read that right). Mulder decides to be brave in what he believes to be his last moments on earth.

Day 3: The Deepest Cut - Diana/IVF angst (with a soft ending): Scully is already upset about a colleague's pregnancy and then Diana shows up and makes things worse.

Day 4: Always Expect The Unexpected - Some soft, fluffy silliness today: Scully and Mulder see her mother out on a date with... A.D. Skinner?

Day 5: If I Were The King of The World - Fluffy-fluff set in Detour: We get to see a bit more of Scully singing to Mulder...

Day 6: In The Blink Of An Eye - Angst/Mulder in peril: Mulder happens to be at the wrong place, at the wrong time...

Day 7: Glimpses of October - Post-IWTB/Pre-Revival vignette: Mulder watches his son play in the fallen leaves. Or is he?

Day 8: A Very Queequeg Morning - Hurt/comfort AND humor after "Pusher": Mulder doesn't mind Scully showing up at his apartment after the case at all. Only problem: she's not alone.

Day 9: Talk Vanilla to Me - Rated M/banter/humor(?): Mulder can't sleep, but luckily, Scully is there to listen… and maybe more.

Day 10: Wishes - Fluff(?) post "Je Souhaite": Mulder wants to know what Scully's wishes would have been.

Day 11: Always Partners - Set in season 6, hurt/comfort, some angst: Kersh puts Scully on another case without Mulder and once again she gets hurt.

Day 12: The Easiest Choice - Fluff, rewrite of the last scene in "Existence": Mulder asks Scully what she's going to name the baby.

Day 13: Don't Forget The Cake - Fluff-ish, season 6: Diana throws Mulder a surprise birthday party. Chaos ensues.

Day 14: Preparation is Everything - Fluff, set after "Alone": With Mulder being unemployed, and Scully on maternity leave, they spend their time thinking about furniture, baby names, and all the ways their lives will change.

Day 15: Temporary Insanity - Angsty first kiss fill-in for "Paper Clip": What happened on that elevator ride?

Day 16: Mothers Always Know - Post-ep (sort of) for "Chimera", fluff: It's the Sunday morning after Mulder stayed over at Scully's and he has a somewhat awkward run-in with her mother.

Day 17: In Sickness And in Health - Hurt/comfort post-"Arcadia": They're on their way back home from The Falls at Arcadia when Scully gets sick.

Day 18: Beautiful In My Eyes - UST-filled post-ep fic: Mulder thinks Scully is the most beautiful person wherever she goes. She doesn't believe him so he tries to make her see it his way.

Day 19: It's Us Against The World - Angst, canon divergence for "Nothing Important Happened Today": No matter what Kersh said, Scully doesn't want Mulder to leave her and the baby. But what choice do they have?

Day 20: Shooting Stars - Mulder and Scully sharing a bed during two nights in The Rain King. After a first awkard night, what happens during the second one after the party ?

Day 21: No Longer Stuck In The Past - A different kind of post-episode fic for "The Unnatural": After his and Scully's baseball date, Mulder runs into Diana.

Day 22: Cookie Theft and Other Crimes - How the Ghosts Stole Christmas post-ep, hurt/comfort, angst, fluff - all the fixings: Bill Jr. runs into Mulder in the middle of the night and it goes as well as you might expect.

Day 23: You're Not Welcome Here - AU in which Diana didn't die and Mulder didn't leave after "Existence": Scully and William are waiting for Mulder when no other than Diana Fowley walks into the basement office.

Day 24: Rules Are Rules - Set in season 7, fluff: They're not supposed to share a room while on assignment. But aren't rules meant to be broken anyway?

Day 25: Another Banner Year - Set after "Our Town", before "Anasazi": Melissa shows up at her sister's apartment, demanding a few answers.

Day 26: I Saw Your Face In A Dream - AU where Mulder and Scully meet on karaoke night at a bar.

Day 27: Christmas With You By My Side - Sequel to day 22 "Cookie Theft And Other Crimes" but can be read as a stand-alone: What happens when Mulder wakes up with Scully in his arms?

Day 28: The Truth Is (Not) Found In A Glass of Whiskey - All Mulder wanted to do was drop off a report. Now he has to deal with a drunk Skinner.

Day 29: Glass Half Full - Sequel to "The Truth Is (Not) Found In A Glass of Whiskey": It's the morning after and Skinner wakes up with a hangover - and remembers way too much from the previous night.

Day 30: Feelings You Can't Hide - A post-ep for "Bad Blood" obviously. A jealous Mulder, an attempt at humor and the hint of angst may be found here.

Day 31: Trick or Treat - IVF arc, angsty fluff: They're supposed to go to the Gunmen's Halloween party, but there's something they need to make sure of first.

#fictober23 #my writing #my fic #xf fanfic #msr

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thebooo-merang · 2 years

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I have always loved the idea of Danny being made the Ghost King against his will! A reluctant king For @dannymayevent ! A mixture of: Day 9: Ghost King au Day 11: Blood Blossoms

#Danny Phantom #danny fenton #Dannymay2022 #ghost king danny phantom #Dannymay #Dannymay 2022 #ghost king au #blood blossoms #clockwork #clockwork danny phantom #my art

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marzfartz · 2 years

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Dannymay Day 9: Ghost King AU

This is one of my favourite AUs the collar crown is such a great look and so much fun to draw

#danny phantom #danny phantom fanart #danny fenton #dp fanart #dannymay #dannymay2022 #my art #ghost king au #ghost king danny

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gazs-blue-hat · 7 months

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Simon Riley Reblog Masterlist

Here's everything I have ever rebloged about Simon Riley. Be it art, blurbs, whatever, you'll find it here.

Art Masterlist

Scary Dog Privilege- X Reader Art

Going Dark

Gorgeous

Dad!Simon pt.2

Glare

Soap's Simp Folder

I Don't Know Why I Bite

Big Guy

Comfort

Working Hard (or Hardly Working)

Autopsy

At the Gym

Smoke Break

You Fucked Up

Retired

Dad!Simon pt.1

Unmasked

Riley and Riley

Gone Fishin’

Fluff Masterlist

Ghost as a partner

Dead Disco- Chapter 9

A Good Father- (Wife!Reader)

Welder!Ghost Imagine

Firefighter AU

Disobedience

Great Kisser

Secret Wife pt.2

Oversized T-shirt

Nightmare- (Hurt/Comfort)

Pornstar!Ghost- Safeword

Adoration

Mama's Boy- (Hurt/Comfort)

Secret Lovers

Pornstar!Ghost- Matching Set

Hush

Girl Dad

Sleepy

Dog Dad

Observant

Lovely

Pornstar!Ghost- Aftercare

Worried About you

Wash it Away

Dark Vision- (Hurt/Comfort)

A Proper Name

Touch

Like A Horror Movie- (Hurt/Comfort)

Actions More Than Words

Lime-Sized

Just Like You

Face Shielding

Lazarus- (Hurt/Comfort) (NOT X READER)

Pillows

Panic

Not in a Long Time

Street lamps and Stories

Vows

Home

Angst Masterlist

Sand in His Pockets

Zombie!Ghost- Roommate

Hold on

Humming- (Dead Disco Zombie Au)

Shadows Of The Past

The Experiments

How Many Fingers?

Bitten

Smut Masterlist (Anything Sexy Really)

Need It- (Sub!Ghost x GN!Reader)

Overstim- (Husband!Simon)

Period Sex Symbiote AU

Something to Break the Tension- (Car Sex)

Body Worship

Mirror Sex

Black Metal and Bourbon pt.2

On a Slow Night

Pornstar!Ghost- Solace

Symbiote AU

Pornstar!Ghost- Accidentally On Purpose

And On The Seventh Day

Pornstar!Ghost- Make It Personal

Something to Make It Worse

Love Language

Edging

The Sun- Epilogue

Masks

Feeling you

King and Knight Ghoap

Husband!Ghost

Pillow princess!Simon

Tears

Closer

Just Practice

Crack Masterlist

Dad Jokes

Goober

Everything Else

Snowblind- (Series Masterlist)

Ghosts and Mirages- (Series Masterlist)

Ghost Masterlist by @charnelhouse

Light On- (Series Masterlist)

#simon ghost riley x reader #masterlist

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sapper-in-the-wire-old · 2 years

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METI’S SWORD MANUAL

Argument

1. Glory to the Divine Corpse, o breaker of infinities.

2. I am Meti, of no house but myself. In my 108th year I am surrounded by fools. My compatriots cling obsessively to their destiny, and my only apprentice is an idiot speck of a girl with more talent for eating than skill with the blade. Therefore I have decided to die drowning in the boiling gore of my enemies, of which there are many.

3. My master was the greatest lord general to the king Au Vam, Ryo-ten-Ryam, who first coaxed me into learning the ways of turning men into ghosts. As his interest quickly turned to the wholly uninteresting and most useless parts of my body, I returned the favor and relieved him of his.

4. It is my personal opinion the straight sword is best if you can obtain one, but I also favor the sabre. The spear, stave, or club are peasant's weapons of which I am wholly unfamiliar and so will not speak on them.

5. Upon meeting me, you might find that my appearance is quite dreadful and unkempt. I have been spat upon by priest, king, and merchant alike. I have no retainers, and possess nothing except a straight sword six hand spans (five and a half kret) long (this is the proper length). This is because I am Royalty and the undisputed master of the principal art of Cutting. I will fight naked with ten-thousand men.

6. From the age of thirteen I practiced every day with the straight sword. I followed a strict vegetarian regimen, and harsh training of barefoot sprints (five) between cities, squats and breathing exercises (two bells), and sword drills and resistance training (three bells).

7. By the age of sixteen, my body was a steel edifice. I was so often mistaken for a man I began to wear my hair long with no pins and unbind my breasts. I could break stone with my hands with no effort, I could sprint between the Yellow City and the Lunar dominions in a day or less and barely strain my breath. My mastery of the sword complete, I enlisted in the Middle Army's third legion, where I was widely respected as a swordswoman of incredible power.

8. When it came time to face my first real opponent, the Colossus of Pardos, in my youthful pride and immense skill, I brought all my training and mastery to bear. Scarcely half a day passed before my sword was shattered into thirty pieces, my right leg was almost torn from its socket, and my honed body was broken pathetically in a hundred and forty places. I defeated him by gouging his brains out through his breathing valves. My thumbs, in this case, proved far more useful.

9. At that moment, with my thumbs in his brains, I had a revelation. I had trained far too broadly. Existence and the act of combat are absolutely no different, and the essence of both, the purity of both, is a singular action, which is Cutting Down Your Opponent. You must resolve to train this action. You must become this action. Truly, there is very little else that will serve you as well in this entire cursed world.

10. I hope that by reading this manual, you will be thoroughly encouraged to become a farmer.

Mastering the Sword

1. YISUN's glory is great, and you may know this by two paths, the sanctioned words, and the sanctioned action.

2. The sanctioned words are YS ATN VARAMA PRESH. The meaning of these words is YISUN and their attainment is Royalty.

3. The sanctioned action is to Cut.

4. To Cut means division by the blade of Want, that parer of potentials that excises infinities.

5. To train with the sword, first master sweeping. When you have mastered sweeping, you must master the way of drawing water. Once you have learned how to draw water, you must split wood. Once you have split wood, you must learn the arts of finding the fine herbs in the forest, the arts of writing, the arts of paper making, and poetry writing. You must become familiar with the awl and the pen in equal measure. When you have mastered all these things you must master building a house. Once your house is built, you have no further need for a sword, since it is an ugly piece of metal and its adherents idiots.

The 18 Precepts

1. Consider: there is no such thing as a sword.

2. Your stance must be wide. You must not be spare with the fluidity of your wrists or shoulders. You must have grip on the handle that is loose and unstrained. I heard it said you must be tender with your sword grip, as though with a lover. This is patently false. A sword is not your lover. It is a hideous tool for separating men from their vital fluids.

3. Going onwards, you must adjust hands as needed, do not keep the blade close to your body, keep your breathing steady. This is the life cut. You must watch your footwork. Your feet must be controlled whether planted on fire, air, water, or earth in equal measure.

4. Breathing is very important! Is the violent breath of life in you not hot? Exhale! Exult!

5. You must strive for attachment-non-attachment when cutting. Your cut must be sticky and resolute. A weak, listless cut is a despicable thing. But you must also not cling to your action, or its result. Clinging is the great error of men. A man who strikes without thought of his action can cut God.

6. To cut properly, you must continually self-annihilate when cutting. Your hand must become a hand that is cutting, your body a body that is cutting, your mind, a mind that is cutting. You must instantaneously destroy your fake pre-present self. It is a useless hanger on.

7. A brain is useful only up until the point when you are faced with your enemy. Then it is useless. The only truly useful thing in this cursed world is will. You must suffuse your worthless body with its terrible heat. You must be so hot that even if your enemy should strike your head off, you shall continue to decapitate ten more men. Your boiling blood must spring forth from your neck and mutilate the survivors!

8. You must never make 'multiple' cuts. Each must be singular in its beauty, no matter how many precede it. You must make your enemies weep with admiration, and likewise should your head be shorn off by such an object of beauty, you must do your best to shed tears of respect.

9. When decapitating an enemy, it is severe impoliteness to use more than one blow.

10. A man who finds pleasure in the result of cutting is the most hateful, crawling creature there is. A man who finds pleasure in the act of cutting is an artisan.

11. Man always strives to cut man. Therefore he who draws his sword the fastest is the survivor. To pre-empt this, you must live, eat, and shit as a person who has their sword drawn. It doesn't matter whether your blade, in actuality, is always out of its sheathe, though you will look like an idiot if it is.

12. Consider: The undefeated swordsman must be exceptionally poor.

13. The weak swordsman reserves his sword strokes. He clings excessively to his blade. His footwork is unsteady. His grip is too hard and he is afraid to crack the earth with his step. He has a shallow and wandering gaze, his tongue is sluggish and pale. He refuses to exhale the hot breath of the Flame Immortal.

14. The weak swordsman clings to victory. He thinks of his life, his obligations, the outcome of the battle, his hatred for his opponent, his training, his pride in his mastery. By doing so, he is an imperfect vessel for the terrible fires of Will. He will surely crack. He will not laugh uproariously if he is cleft in two by his opponent’s blade. When his sword is shattered, his hands will be too reserved to tear his enemies’ flesh.

15. The weak swordsman strikes his enemy down and thinks his task done. He relishes in victory. He casts away his sword and returns to his lover. Little does he know his single cut will encircle the world five times and strike him down fifty-fold.

16. The weak swordsman clings to his instrument. It is better you have a sword, but death must lie under your fingernails, if need be. Learn death with your elbows, death with your knees, and death with your thumbs and fingertips. It is said death with the tongue is useful, but I find words too soft an instrument to smash a man’s skull.

17. In manners of terrain, you must learn to cut yourself from it. You must cut even your footprints from it, if need be. Have complete awareness of each crawling thing and each precious flower, each blade of sweet grass and each clod of bitter earth, each beating heart and each being that thrums with love, hope, and admiration. Only then are you qualified to be their annihilator.

18. Excess heat and excess coldness are undesirable. Learn to read the weather.

Closing

1. It is said the greatest warrior-kings may sublime violence and forget all they learn about the sword. This is true. But the only true path to kingship lies through regicide.

2. Moreover, only the worst kind of idiot strives to be king.

3. My extreme hope is that some measure of wisdom will penetrate the thick skull of my apprentice. If not, may reading this manual demonstrate your powerful disinterest in it, and may its true value die with me.

4. Reach heaven by violence.

#k6bd #kill six billion demons

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sunnydaleherald · 7 months

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The Sunnydale Herald Newsletter, Wednesday, October 18

CORDELIA: Buffy. You're really campaigning for bitch-of-the-year, aren't you? BUFFY: As defending champion, you nervous? CORDELIA: I can hold my own. You know, we've never really been close, which is nice, 'cause I don't really like you that much, but... you have on occasion saved the world and stuff, so I'm gonna... do you a favor. BUFFY: And this great favor is... CORDELIA: I'm gonna give you some advice. Get over it.

~~BtVS 2x01 “When She Was Bad”~~

[Drabbles & Short Fiction]

Coming Home (Buffy, PG) by badly_knitted

From the Diary of Janna Calinescu (Jenny Calendar/OC, G) by Jess_Ann_Perreault

Surprising You (Buffy/Faith, G) by CelestialVigilante

A Little Perspective (Giles/Jenny, G) by Bobbie23

It's just three words (Buffy/Spike, T) by RandomPizzaEater

Atonement (Angel/Wesley, M) by naughtywriter

A Tsunami Wave (Buffy/Spike, T) by Rosa_Inglese

Graveyard (Buffy/Spike, not rated) by lilacsandorangeblossoms

Those That Shape Our Lives (Connor, not rated) by naoa-ao3

No Strings Attached (Buffy/Spike, G) by all_choseny

Turn me upsidedown (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by Desicat

Invitation to a Truce (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by satinsafe

No Strings Attached (Buffy/Spike, G) by all_choseny

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Millennial: Kelvin, Chapter 8 (Buffy, Dawn, Star Trek xover, T) by BrennaLynn

Kinktober 2023, Chapter 18/31 (Buffy/Giles, E) by Skyson

Moments that Make You: The Hero and The Princess, Chapter 65/101 (Cordelia/Doyle, T) by myheadsgonenumb

Days of Future Past, Chapter 26/34 (Buffy/OC, Angel/OC, Buffy/Angel, M) by a2zmom

Lavender Haze, Chapter 7 (Buffy/Jax Teller, Sons of Anarchy xover, M) by Sera

Slayers and Watchers, Chapter 1/7 (Buffy/Giles, E) by Skylark62

Keep You Ghosted, Chapter 1 (Buffy/Spike, R) by hydranjenna

Ethan Rayne, Watcher, Chapter 12 (Buffy/Spike, PG) by Desicat

In The Dark With You, Chapter 24 (Buffy/Spike, R) by Geliot99

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Artwork: 1920s Spuffy WIP (worksafe) by isevery0nehereverystoned

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Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season Two | Tier Lists by cass reacts

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Halloween Must Watch | Buffy The Vampire Slayer [the movie] with Cookie Munster by Spoiler Kings

PODCAST: Episode 40: The Wish (W/ The Buffy Gays!) by Gym Was Cancelled

[In Search Of]

I found this buffy boxset in a charity shop but lots of it is missing so would anyone happen to know which version of the boxset this is? requested by mistyintherivers

Trying to find some recap videos for Angel seasons (ideally seasons 1-3) requested by whoops_batman

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[Revamped IWRY Marathon] Meet the Fandom series: Kean by iwillrememberyoumarathon [on Tumblr]

[Fandom Discussions]

I wish we got an episode where either the Scoobies + their love interests dressed up as each other for Halloween or switches bodies with them by hermyohkneegranger

I wrote an essay on BtVS in my college English class and one of my points was about Tara and Willow starting their lesbian relation in Hush by nestaenthusiast

I feel like Buffy and Angel would be way more interesting and fun as a friend duo than a couple by hermyohkneegranger

I think every sad and depressed 20 something should watch the BtVS musical episode by diasphoriaaa

[About the Slayer/Watcher dynamic the council wants there to be] by raisedbythetv89

“Spike and Buffy” this and “Angel and Buffy” that [neither was good for Buffy] by chubbie-bunnie-96

Watching Angel and Buffy back to back is like by mikadolightsaber

This is the only scene we get between Willow and her mother or any parental figure by girl4music

one weird thing to me about buffy the vampire slayer is how the treatment of demons changes over time by raginrayguns (ask), st-just (answer)

Indira is entirely right. The Council chose Giles [spoilers for Slayers: A Buffyverse Story] by girl4music

What the f*ck? What the f*ck happened to Giles? [spoilers for Slayers: A Buffyverse Story] by girl4music

SLAYERS: A BUFFYVERSE STORY (Willow SPOILERS) by girl4music

Angel could no longer enter the home he shared with his family without an invite once he became a Vampire but presumably Spike could because he surprises his mother INSIDE the house by raisedbythetv89

[About Tara in Slayers: A Buffyverse Story - Major SPOILERS] by girl4music

4 more episodes to go before I finish Slayers. I’m actually really enjoying it. I love [Redacted - spoilers] by girl4music

[Spoilers about Anya in Slayers: A Buffyverse Story] by girl4music

My god… Cordelia is literally Buffy in this audible [contains spoilers] by girl4music

So wait… does Tara [Redacted - major spoilers for Slayers: A Buffyverse Story] by girl4music

This Slayers audible is really well written. It’s kooky and there is plot holes but it is well written in terms of its lore [contains spoilers] by girl4music

SLAYERS: A BUFFYVERSE STORY (Tara SPOILERS) by girl4music

The council jumped at any chance to make buffy look weak by glossyfruitloops

[About a ship in Slayers: A Buffyverse Story - Spoilers] by girl4music

i love darla/angel so much by winepresswrath

So I’ve finished ‘Slayers: A Buffyverse Story’. All 9 parts of it. These are the endgame story spoilers. by girl4music

Rank the Angel season 2 episodes continued by multiple posters

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[Articles, Interviews, and Other News]

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#btvs #buffy the vampire slayer #ats #angel the series #fan art #fan fiction #meta #slayers: a buffyverse story

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blackbloodteeth · 4 days

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121 Soul ideas (Pt. 1)

For fun and because I love ramblin' around, I've decided to share all the newer prompts I had stored for the March of Madness event that I hadn't really brought up anywhere. Since they don't need to be left open for interpretation anymore, I've even added some more info to some of them. Honestly might return to some of the ideas myself some day, but if anyone gets inspired by anything feel free to do whatever haha

Since this list is pretty long, I've gone and split this up into two parts, which you can find the second half here.

———

Soul and Maka are rivaling hitmen constantly at each other's throats, however they are so evenly matched that neither can manage to outplay the other. One day, one of them finally figures out how to defeat the other, only to start to reflect on their long-going rivalry now that there's a means to put it to an end.

2. One day Soul wakes up to find that everyone in the world has vanished. In the original idea this is inspired by, it involved a short story of wandering around to find where everyone went, eventually leading to seeing people still inside the mirror and the character (in this case Soul) realizing he's trapped on the wrong side.

3. In his desire to protect Maka, Soul ends up turning into a monster and losing conscious awareness of himself in the process. Maka can only watch on in horror at the devastating power he now has.

4. A King Kong-inspired AU where Maka gets separated from her exploration team while on a previously undiscovered island, and ends up finding a giant ape (that being Soul) who is curious about her. Soul actually lives with his brother but had been lazing around by himself, and he is quite friendly and eager to show her some of his favourite views before she has him take her back to her team.

5. Every winter Soul leaves to live in the woods, as he turns into an inhuman creature for the entire season. His conscious mind most likely "sleeps" during this period.

6. Soul returns from his long-term Death Scythe training, and finds that during the time Maka had been simultaneously training her Grigori soul, she'd also picked up archery to expand upon having different ways to use Soul in fights. Mostly had been a one-shot idea where the two are eager to see each other again and compare their strengths since they were last together.

7. Due to his hunting instincts, Soul starts to lose control of himself whenever he smells blood. I had shark inspirations in mind for this one, however it's up to interpretation if he's a demon weapon.

8. Soul needs to consume at least a little bit of blood to use his inner power. Maka's blood has an unusual effect on him, however.

9. Due to demon weapons being more carnivorous (and probably more like actual demons), Soul needs blood as his main source of iron, which weapons need a lot more of. Human blood is more effective in maintaining good health and staving off hunger.

10. Soul and Maka investigate the ongoing case of livestock being taken and eaten. After splitting up, Soul however ends up not coming back once night falls, and Maka catches a glimpse of the thing responsible. Idea was initially werewolf related, however the details are left to interpretation.

11. Soul believes he has died and become a ghost, only for him to actually still be alive the entire time.

12. After Soul eats a witch's soul without knowing what it is, he discovers that he's actually a demon weapon when it results in his soul "overflowing" due to becoming bigger than his body, giving him superpower-like abilities including manifesting his scythe form outside of his body. Originally a doodle idea that I didn't get around to.

13. Soul wakes up in the middle of the night when a serial killer sneaks into his room after being attracted to his soul, which ends in Soul managing to kill the murderer in self-defense and waking up his family. This was a one-shot idea I had related to the previous idea, however it works as its own separate idea.

14. Soul finds he loves dissecting all kinds of things and seeing how they tick, but doesn't understand why.

15. Bloodborne-inspired AU where Soul is much like the Orphan of Kos, abandoned by the river after his mother passed away giving birth to him and sorrowfully looking up at the moon every night.

16. While investigating an abandoned lab with Stein, Kid, and Maka, Soul ends up getting forcefully taken by one of the machines after they accidentally start it up, and his body ends up getting near-perfectly duplicated. His soul, however, does not.

17. AU based on Exit 8. Soul finds himself trapped in an endlessly looping hallway and must find the differences to progress, only going forward when that iteration of the hall has no anomalies. Unbeknown to him, Kid is monitoring him as this is actually a test.

18. Soul has the ability to move objects telekinetically like you would in VR, however he mostly just uses it to be lazy. A potential idea I had for this world is that powers like these are usually restricted outside of their homes due to how easy to misuse they are, which contrasts with Soul using it in the most mundane way imaginable. Hey I mean couch snacks are couch snacks.

19. Soul loves the smell of the freezer, however this ends up getting him in trouble when opening it up for too long and too often causes ice to start spreading into the rest of the surrounding apartment.

20. Soul and Maka run a diner at the edge of the multiverse. Bonus points if they act like an old married couple.

21. Soul and Maka challenge each other to seeing who can beat a Sudoku puzzle first. After a few rounds, Soul’s puzzles start containing strange symbols and he finds out that he must complete the puzzle he started or he can’t leave.

22. After riding his motorcycle out to take a walk in the woods, Soul unknowingly encounters Siren Head until it's too late and he's then grabbed by it. The shock ends up turning him into a scythe (an ability he didn't know he had) and only saving him because the sudden transformation startles it, causing him to be dropped and letting him escape back on his bike. This was originally a one-shot idea that ended up changing a bit as I thought of it as an art piece as well.

23. I had a dream of adding a prompt where Soul turns into a werewolf and eats someone's livestock with the phrase "Sorry Maka, I was so hungry." Seems to be based on the earlier one where Soul and Maka investigate the missing livestock case.

24. As a prank, Soul pretends that he laid an egg when he woke up that morning. When he continues to incubate it for the joke, it hatches into something unexpected.

25. In a Wonderland, the “Mad Hare” is keeping “Alice” captive at a tea party, and must decide if he will let her go or take her soul to finally leave Wonderland for himself.

26. After finding out he’s a demon weapon, Soul travels through the Nevadan Desert on his own to find the elusive Death City, and sees some strange wildlife along the way.

27. Soul is a circus performer who works alongside a Clown (as in the kind like in Soul Eater but not with the same lore), and despite him feeling more at home here, he’s lately been struggling with feeling like he doesn’t fully belong when he sees the other troupe members start to have deeper affections for each other. And then Maka comes along.

28. One-shot idea where Soul is watching the cicadas call at sunset before Maka joins up with him, and it leads into the joke of Soul saying "Trees are screamin' again." These two are scholars in some sort of alternative time period, and Soul is taking a break out in the grass while Maka, as usual, is carrying far too many books/scrolls.

29. IT-inspired AU where child Soul is lured into the drainage by a reality-bending clown, however because Soul isn’t afraid of all the fun circus-y stuff (and because of his sharp teeth), the clown decides to just keep him instead.

30. After finding a cool rock stashed away in a tree in the woods, Maka takes it home and leaves it displayed in her living room. As it turns out, Soul's soul is inhabiting said rock and has now been awakened, making him haunt her apartment. Maka is oblivious to him being there, and because he can't really be detected or have much influence on the world, Soul ends up mostly moping on her furniture because he's lonely and depressed. Eventually though, she starts to see him after something causes her to "connect" with him and leads to them steadily interacting. At the height of the story, it is revealed that Soul was merely cursed to be trapped inside the rock after wishing he could be left alone, but now he wants to break free with the two having ended up befriending each other.

31. Partly a joke idea based on a video of a small group of people trapped inside a room with a pig-masked chainsaw murderer outside, and them escaping by just phonk walking out with the killer not knowing what to do. I'll leave this one up to your imagination.

32. Everyone’s always joked about how “it’s the humidity that’ll get you” until Soul gets pursued by the fog.

33. Soul is coerced into joining along in karaoke night because people (especially Maka) love the sound of his singing voice. He, however, does not and spends the night trying to figure out how to worm his way out of singing.

34. Based on the one hypothetical scenario where "if aliens invaded, would you fight them or try to hide," except it's actually occurring for real. I think this idea made me wonder if DWMA has any protocol for if aliens ended up being real and invading.

35. Post-canon idea where Soul and Maka end up going on a break of sorts to improve their connection and resonance when it gets worn thin, though things turn a little awkward when the "mind" and "body" portion involves close-contact social activities such as back massaging each other and soaking in the same hotsprings together.

36. Soul finds a plush rabbit that turns out to contain the soul of Maka who'd been sleeping before he took it home.

37. Soul and Maka, whom have never met, are being arranged to marry very soon. Soul dreads this because the wedding rings will bind them for the rest of their lives, however he comes to realize that Maka is far more dangerous than his family is.

38. A one-shot I call Who's Afraid of the Were-turkey. It's a Thanksgiving-themed idea where there's a local urban legend about a "man turkey" that will catch you around Thanksgiving if he finds you during the full moon, and will either eat you if you've eaten turkey or simply turn you into one if you anger him. While Soul's a little more wary of the possibility of this tale being true, Maka wants to debunk it after their idiot group of friends kept going on about it, and drags him along to disprove it once and for all. As it turns out, following the neighborhood turkeys was probably a bad idea when they all corner them and summon the Man Turkey. After reigning his judgement and the two are swarmed by the turkeys, they wake back up covered with scratches and bites, and the turkeys are nowhere to be found. They both look up when they remember the moon if full, and decide to hide under their jackets while returning home.

39. Another one-shot idea I've had for a long while where after Soul and Maka get stranded on a snowy mountain during a trip with no way to contact anyone for help, Soul reveals he is a were-animal and willingly changes to keep her warm for the night. Given there were two different iterations of this idea, I don't mind it being more open to interpret for the time being.

40. …Okay apparently I did have the other iteration on the list hah, can't say I wasn't tired by this point haha. After Soul and Maka get separated from their friend group in the mountains, they decide to seek refuge in a small cave for the night and Soul reveals he is a werewolf as he willingly transforms to make sure she’ll be warm during the snowstorm.

41. Another one-shot idea, where Soul's mother is on the run with her infant son while being hunted, as demon weapons are seen as actual demons in this world. To save him, she drops him off at the door of a church before running the other way to distract her pursuers, leaving him crying in the rain before Spirit (who is a part of the church to hide his own weapon nature) quickly takes him inside when he catches on to what's happening. At first he's nervous about there potentially actually being a demon baby as Soul has started growing in sharp teeth by this point, however he's soon taking a liking to him when Spirit's presence calms him, and he carries Soul further inside to help dry him off.

42. Another one-shot idea, where a young Soul is taken to the square with his brother to watch a young Maka be publicaly executed for being a witch. Despite the pleas of her father and Maka's tears, the fire is lit until suddenly it goes out, the crowd then parting as dozens of arms reach up from the ground, all running away as Soul walks up to Spirit quickly freeing his daughter. Now with her back in his arms, he thanks Soul for saving her while the strange hands return to his shadow, and offers him to come with them to live a new life. Soul turns to see Wes is already gone, and quietly nods, fleeing into the shadows with his new family.

43. After Soul gets convinced to skip school on his first day, things are all fun and games of being one of the cool kids until he gets turned into a donkey. Pinnochio-inspired AU.

44. Soul and Maka take on a special training assignment where they must face their innermost fears separately, and then together.

45. Soul is the Pied Piper, able to control any living creature with the sounds of his music playing. He doesn’t like to speak much as Black Blood is his sickness. May take place after the events of spiriting away the children of the town that refused to pay him for his service.

46. Had one prompt listed that was just me picking out any of my SoMa Week prompt ideas, such as "Catharsis" where a non-linear story interweaves the events of Soul playing piano for Maka after he smashed a mirror, and "Confession" where Soul finds Maka sleeping in a way that reminds him of the scene of Juliet being "dead," causing him to ramble out his feelings about Maka until it turns out she wasn't ever actually asleep.

47. Sekiro AU where Soul has the form of a wolf in the shape of a man, and Kid is Kuro. Was noted that it didn't have to be lore-heavy since it would've probably been loosely described for open interpretation if this had been chosen.

48. When a curse is spreading where people suddenly turn into animals, Soul ends up afflicted by it and turning into a wolf, a common but highly feared iteration. As fate would have it though, he finds himself waking up the next day as a human despite that being completely unheard of, with only the vague memory of a hand and the face of a girl having been in front of him.

49. The gang decide to set up a game of water balloon tag. This was originally an idea I had long ago where it was set up like the Hunger Games simulator, except just… water balloons haha

50. One morning Soul gets a frantic phone call from his best friend Maka, and quickly bicycles over to her house with a couple Poptarts still on hand. He's surprised to find that not only has she apparently woken up as a Kadabra, she's talking to him with just her thoughts, and he soon offers her a remaining Poptart of sympathy.

51. Soul and Maka go to investigate a wrecked house for an assignment, and once inside, their reflections begin to move and start messing with their heads.

52. Soul suddenly wakes up in the display case of a museum, not knowing how he got there.

53. Soul is a cyborg that utilizes DWMA's recent tech which operates on the power of one's soul, in turn making a literal phantom limb that is able to be used physically. When he gets infected, however, his false arm begins to act strangely.

54. Soul was once a spirit of the forest, now reduced to being only a nature park. He is wary of humans, but approachable to those wanting to help preserve and restore nature, although part of his skittishness stems from a dark look-alike that seems to be his direct counterpart and a spirit of pollution.

55. Wes is the dragon of the West Winds, Soul is the dragon of the East Winds. The two travel around on their respective halves, however sometimes they end up clashing and causing great storms.

56. Fern Gully-inspired AU, where Soul gets shrunk down and meets the fae of the forest.

57. Having been owned by a witch his whole life, Soul suddenly finds himself not knowing what to do when said witch is killed during the confrontation with a lone weapon in a suit of armor. The warrior, despite being heavily injured, refuses his help, and not being used to the concept of free will, Soul decides to follow her anyway until she passes out. Having carried her the rest of the way to have her injuries treated, he lingers around afterwards to help her recover back to health, and finds out more about who they both are.

58. After Soul jokes about wishing he had the memory of an elephant, he ends up getting turned into a small elephant.

59. A story like The Three Little Pigs where little piggy Soul lets a big bad wolf inside when he claims to be here to talk to his parents. After keeping him company like a proper guest, because Soul has been raised with good manners, his mother comes in, terrified, and the wolf simply leaves her with a warning to look after her son a little better as he was put in a good mood. It's then revealed that this is Soul retelling having unknowingly met Free when he was a kid to Maka.

60. A young Soul gets lost in a crowd and separated from his parents until a strange man finds him and offers to help reunite him. Soul isn't really aware of what's going on, but the strange man has them both avoid the dangers lurking around them (part of the cause of why Soul ended up separated), and soon enough gets him back to his family as promised. When Soul tries to point out the stranger that helped him, however, the man has already completely vanished.

#rambles #soul eater #soul variant #soul evans #maka albarn

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anqelbean · 1 year

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I have many mdzs fanfic ideas (or mxtx in general) that I'll never write because I'm a coward with no time to spare so I'll just share what's supposed to be a 100k fic in my head into a long tumblr post.

So I have been thinking of this tgcf x mdzs crossover for months basically.

You know those AUs where hualian adopt wwx? What if. Hear me out. Wei Wuxian is their actual blood son?

Like. One of the two of them finally took that childbearing pill and popped out little A-Ying, who's basically the first human to be born immortal. Little young master of Ghost City. Little prince of the heavens. Spoiled with love and care by his parents and endless list of uncles and aunts. Crimson red eyes and a bright smile.

So, of course, in this au, his last name wouldn't be Wei, but what if they couldn't decide whose name he should take? I don't think hualian would care much for that anyway, but the realms have different opinions. The heavens want his name to be "Xie Ying" after his godly father, but the ghosts want it to be "Hua Ying" after their king.

So, why not both, you know? The Gods call him "Xie Ying" and the Ghosts call him "Hua Ying".

He grows up a very happy child with incredible parents, beloved in all three realms, by Heaven, Earth and Ghost.

Then, he turns 22, and decides he wants to know what mortality felt like, being the only one in his family to have never experienced it. He asks his parents to grant him the chance to see how it felt to be mortal, at least for a while.

Xie Lian and Hua Cheng take this with a heavy heart, as both of them are incredibly worried over their son. They agree of course, but they make a deal.

It goes like this: A-Ying will be reverted to a 9 year old, and until the day he reaches the same age as he was the day he gained his mortality, he shall not have the memories of his immortal life. He will not remember his fathers, he will not remember how it's like to walk through the golden streets of the heavens, or the colourful ones of Ghsot City. He will not remember his relatives, nor will he remember his friends. He will lose all of them, for 13 years as a mortal.

And so, the little young master is sent to Earth, with no memories nor spiritual power. His parents sent him purposefully on the path of two young newlyweds, who unfortunately couldn't have children. They send word to their friends that they have adopted a child. He gains a third name, one for the Earth to call him, Wei Ying, a normal silver eyed boy.

Then, his mortal parents die, and Wei Ying is alone. Hua Cheng and Xie Lian are worried sick as they watch their little boy from afar. Then, while Jiang Fengmian is searching for his da-shixiong's child in Yiling, he spots something quite peculiar.

A butterfly, with wings that seemed as if made of pure silver, looking neither alive nor dead. He decides to follow it, thinking it the will of the heavens.

He finds a young boy, cornered by a pack of stray dogs in an alley. He rescues the boy and asks for his name.

"My name is Wei Ying," The boy bows to him in gratitude. "Thank you for saving me, kind shushu!!"

Jiang Fengmian thinks it the blessing of the heavens.

And so, Wei Ying gains a new family, a kind shushu and an angry madame, a sweet older sister and a grumpy little brother and he couldn't be happier.

So he works hard, he learns how to cultivate, he does everything so that he doesn't disappoint this new, fragile family he has. Soon enough he becomes da-shixiong, just as his adoptive father before him. He even gets a his own sword, one made specifically for him!

(Xie Lian's hands itch to see his son's spiritual weapon, especially since it's a sword, but he cannot help but laugh at the name)

The madame is harsh, but he'll take any punishment if it means keeping his family.

His little brother is often jealous of him, insecure in his standing as heir to their clan, but he still cares for his older brother, even when he is reckless, so Wei Ying tries everything to help his brother with his woes.

His shijie is the best. But she's in love with an idiot. So he needs to protect her. It's the least he can do for her.

His shushu is still as kind as the first day he met him, but he is too harsh on his shidi. He cannot have that, so he tries everything to get him to acknowledge his son.

And then there's Cloud Recesses.

Then there's long black hair and sharp golden eyes. Bright white and soft blue against a moonlit night. An uptight personality and a face he cannot get out of his head. And easily triggered annoyance, an even but deep voice, a natural rule follower. Someone who he can spar with on even ground.

Wei Ying, now Wuxian, has always been smart. He realizes why he wants this boy's eyes and attention to always be directed at him. He wishes he could ignore it. It would be preferable to dreaming of being pressed to a desk at the Library Pavilion by an angry Lan Zhan and being kissed within an inch of his life.

Although not by much, if such a fantasy were to come true.

Then, he punches Jin Zixuan and gets sent home. It's worth it, it's to protect his shijie's honour. But as he says goodbye to Lan Zhan, as he leaves him with two small bunnies, as he sees blush seep into the top of his ears and back of his neck, he thinks he should've been more careful about it.

(As Xie Lian watches his son from afar, he cannot help but chuckle at his son's first love, and thinks that maybe, that Lan Wangji would be a good son-in-law. His husband is not as convinced, protective over his child. Maybe this is how Guoshi felt when he found out about him and Xie Lian.)

When Wei Wuxian sees him again at the archery competition, he feels overjoyed, and, wanting to show off in front of Lan Zhan, wins the competition single handedly, but not before accidentally taking off Lan Zhan's forehead ribbon, and angering him in the process. He really didn't understand what's so serious about it.

(Feng Xin could not be more proud of his nephew for winning in archery, but he does wish he could smack him on the head for not realizing the meaning of his actions. Mu Qing rolls his eyes as his husband's boisterous laughter fills the room.)

Then there's a dark cave and a murderous monster, blood and hunger and wounds. But there's also a kiss, soft, speaking a thousand promises, a song, a sweet melody to lull him to sleep, and the lap of his beloved, supporting his head as he rests and Wei Ying thinks he could happily die like this, in Lan Zhan's arms.

(There's also a brother, who's frantic to return home to get help. There's also a silver butterfly, guiding Jiang Cheng back to the cave, where he finds his brother hurt and battered, sleeping peacefully on Lan Wangji's lap.)

Then. He wakes up alone to the ceiling of his room. He would think it all a dream but his wounds say otherwise. He understands, of course, why Lan Zhan couldn't stay, but oh how he wishes he did.

But then there's fire.

There's fire and a mountain of corpses. There's hands around his neck, and tears falling on his face. There's Zidian, pressed to his brother's palm.

Then there's steady hands cutting him open with precision honed by years of experience. There's pain worse than anything he's ever felt. There's a peak in Yiling, there's a golden spiritual core.

Then there's darkness and resentment. There's spirits around him. He learns to wield it. To bend it to his will, no matter the cost. Asks the spirits of the dead for their bodies, to help his cause. They agree.

But then there's a worried father dressed in red. There's an unplanned reunion. Unplanned memories. Unplanned tears. Unplanned consequences.

Hua Cheng tries everything to save his son from the pain, but even with the knowledge he was given again, his A-Ying, his A-Xian, couldn't stop.

He had loved ones to protect.

(After all, his A-Ying always took after his love)

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the-apollyon-experiments · 1 month

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the official poster of the Prologue Arc of the ApolloEra, an Unofficial AU Crossover between the SCP Foundation and Godzilla overall, and as a homage to the Heisei Era in some aspects, it will include some elemts of the plot of the ps4 game just like with the zajiaoverse's storyline, but that won't be until series 3. which really takes up the notch of being a true homage to the heisei era, this is more or less an prologue series because i realized that series 1, aka God Of The Monsters, is gonna be more or less an callback to the Showa Era if it was more or less in a heisei era like aspect. this is basically Series 0 of the ApolloEra, titled as Birth Of Godzilla. and yes this was purely inspired by Godzilla Zero/Minus One's trailer to have the prologue series be it's own thing, here is the plot and summary.

Plot: The Foundation in it's early days before containment was fully made, had faced an abundance of strange anomalies and what not that posed an threat to the world, while most have been somewhat secured. it wasn't until a few years after 682's discovery in 1906, that an new type of Anomaly, far more different than the SCPS have appeared, with only one major threat that has proven to be quite the disaster, an ancient sea dragon known only in odo island folklore as an god incarnate called simply... Godzilla.

Summary: The World is given an Grim reminder that man is not so superior to life as all would like to believe, as nuclear tests continue on and on, two groups, the SCP Foundation, and MONARCH, alongside the Global Occult Coalition, discovered an ancient anomalous creature that is feared on an island as a god incarnate based off of an legendary sea dragon called Gojira. where they all see the terror and wrath of what would be known today as, the king of monsters himself... Godzilla.

here is the list of episodes in this order.

1- Gojira Awakens (takes place during 1912)

2- Terror Of Odo Island (takes place during 1918)

3- Ghost Of Slumber Island (Takes Place in 1925)

4- Lucky Dragon (takes place during 1933)

5- The Lonely Behemoth (takes place during 1941)

6- The Broken God (Takes Place During 1943)

7- From Zero To Minus (Takes Place During 1945)

8- Minus One (Takes Place during 1946)

9- Incident Zero (Takes Place During 1947)

10- The Demon Beast (Takes Place During 1950) 11- An Ghostly Whale (Takes Place during 1952)

12- 20,000 Fathoms (Takes Place during 1953)

13- Hellfire Of Tokyo (takes place during 1954)

14- Symbol Of Fear (takes place during Mid 1954)

15- End Of The Terror? (takes place during Late 1954)

Human Characters are of course the Of cast, like Steve Martin, Emiko, Ogata, Serizawa, etc, but also with some returning characters from the Zajiaoverse and maybe the MutantoVerse, and also the Foundation itself, with some original characters both human, kaijus, and anomalies also being present. alongside the GOC, as for kaijus, it is obviously gonna be Godzilla, and if you all can't tell yet, Rhedosaurus. they'll probably be more but eh, gotta make the cast first. because im also lowkey lazy here is the link to the full thing, https://www.deviantart.com/toonartist403/art/ApolloEra-Birth-Of-Godzilla-Poster-970532278 credits of those involved will be in the said link, go check it out, very sorry for how uh. dead this blog has been, we've been more focused on the discord side of things ^^; -Admin Toon

#the apolloera au #mod toon posts #toon's art #king of the monsters (godzilla)#godzilla #containment breach. (dash commentary)#poster art #Addendum; [REDACTED] (Lore Posts)

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nabtime · 10 months

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Our Empty Graves X

Fandom: Danny Phantom / Batman: Under the Red Hood

Pairings: Danny Fenton/Jason Todd (Dead on Main)

Rating: Mature

Tags: batfamily, hazmat AU, Nobody Knows AU, Mute!Phantom, potential ghost king danny, slow burn?, DC means Disregard Canon, AU means AU nothing is exactly the same, Angst with a Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, more than canon typical violence, danny is a Halfa and also a Fetch, no beta we die like basically everyone

Summary: They say that Red Hood has a loyal mutt. The man rules his territory in Crime Alley with an iron fist and a guard dog at his side. They say that Hood calls him Fetch, sometimes Fetcher. No one's ever heard him speak. Anyone who's ever seen him says he looks like an experiment gone wrong, that Hood picked him up somewhere unspeakable. They say he'll do anything Red Hood asks of him and he'll do it well. That he's strong and fast and probably inhuman. The girls say he's sweet; quiet but charming in his own way. Rival gangs say he's vicious; that he'd sooner rip your throat out than let you go.

Jason just wants to help him.

Chapter 10: is there anyone out there (cause its getting harder and harder to breathe)

Chapter Summary: Jason has a welcome home party. Danny decides to crash it.

Chapter Notes: title from Harder to Breathe by Letdown. Links: AO3 // Chapter 1 // Chapter 9 // Chapter 11 // Spotify

Danny was at a bit of a loss. Red had allowed him back into Crime Alley. But he also hadn’t seen the guy since floating his way back in. Hadn’t been yelled at or told to leave, though, so he guessed Nadi was right in saying he could. It still felt wrong. Like at any moment he’d be chased out. Nadi had told him multiple times that she’d kick Hood’s ass six ways to Sunday if he said anything about Danny being there, and he appreciated it, but it still felt rude.

It was an eerily similar feeling to trespassing on another ghost’s Haunt.

He felt… conflicted.

On the one hand, Red Hood had taken care of him at one point. Made him food, given him a place to live (to Haunt), and given him something to do. A purpose. Something he’d severely lacked after Amity had emptied out. But then, just as easily as it had been given, Hood had taken it away. Forcibly. Angrily. And Danny didn’t even know what he’d done wrong. Not really. He hadn’t understood most of what Red had yelled at him for- hadn’t a clue who Raysh was- but he could feel the layer of betrayal under it all. The incitement for the anger.

So, on the one hand. Red Hood had hurt him. Deeply. Acting so comfortable around him without his suit and then ripping it all to shreds- the food, the comfort, the camaraderie- before he’d even really gotten to enjoy it. Threw words at him that tore him to pieces. Confirming what he already knew. That he was a monster.

On the other hand. Red Hood had only done that because he thought Danny had betrayed him. Something that seemed to strike deeply within the other man. Something that had already hurt him before. And it didn’t matter, at heart, if Danny had actually betrayed him or not. Just as it didn’t matter that Hood acted without knowing the truth, had lashed out. Because in the end

But was it just that? Just a misunderstanding?

Danny couldn’t tell. He wasn’t keen on finding out, either. The other might have let him back into his territory, but that didn’t mean forgiveness on either side. He couldn’t fathom what the man was thinking and was content (not really) to never find out. He’d follow Nadi, doing whatever she asked of him around the Alley, and avoid Red Hood like the plague. If Hood wanted to talk, then Hood could find him. He glowed well enough for it, it’s not like he was hard to find.

Nadi and the girls were fine enough to watch over. Nadi was a saint for putting up with him. Feeding him. He’d trail after her at night, when she was working the streets, so she had two body guards instead of one- him and Charlie. But during the day he’d pull back to his hide-away in the cemetery. He didn’t want to overstay his welcome, and it left him on edge to stay in the Alley for too long. Where once it had started feeling like a Haunt he could settle into, it felt foreign now.

The girls and guys that Nadi hung around, and Danny hung around by extension, weren’t half as good at figuring out his charades, though. Not like Red had been. It was a little disheartening, and even though he could talk using the whiteboard, it still felt like too much of a hassle sometimes. It was a good enough excuse to keep his distance.

And he needed to remember to keep his distance. He couldn’t forget what he was again. It could put them in danger.

So, he drifted. Nothing new. He kept the girls out of trouble and made sure their customers kept in line. Occasionally let Nadi feed him gas station snacks. Took care of any crimes he saw if he knew Hood wasn’t nearby.

It was one of those times he’d been helping someone who was getting mugged by the docks when he’d heard the first explosion.

═════ ◈ ═════

Jason hadn’t known what he was going to walk into after following the instructions on the invitation Harley had given him- but he sure as fuck wished he had.

Fuck the plan, he’d have found another way to snare the stupid clown without having to suffer the indignity of being thrown a welcome home party by the guy who killed him in the first place.

This was so goddamn stupid.

The abandoned carnival grounds near the docks had been the destination- because of course it was. If the freakish funny-man was anything it was certainly on brand. And the ‘party’ was specifically being held in the decrepit fun-house mirror building. Again, because of course it was.

What the fuck was his life? After life?

You know, when Jason had been so enthusiastic about being Robin all those years ago, this was not the shit he’d expected out of the gig. It was supposed to be magic. Supposed to be like flying. Not something that could end so badly with a crowbar and explosives. Nor something that would lead him to the creepiest fun-house imaginable. He was so fucking naive back then.

“Baby Jay!” Harley squealed as he stepped into the building, back tense and gun ready- safety off. She whipped around him, throwing an arm over his shoulders despite the fire-arm so very close to going off near her face. “You made it!”

“Couldn’t miss my own party,” he drawled, using the gun (Mina, this time) to gesture to the large banner hung on the ceiling, just above the entrance to the maze, that said ‘Welcome Home Robin!’ in bright red paint. At least, he fucking hoped it was paint. He didn’t see any obvious bodies, but that didn’t mean there were none. God, he fucking hated murder clowns.

Harley’s grin was sharp as she pulled him into the maze, the gleam on her teeth reflected all around. Her grip around his neck was iron-tight as it pulled him along. He knew this was a fucking trap, knew she’d been lying. But he’d wanted to snatch the clown more than he’d wanted to come up with a better plan. Hadn’t wanted to think it through and plan like he should have. Too distracted by other things. His fingers flexed around the trigger of his gun. If he was going to be an idiot at least he was going to be an armed one.

His eyes tracked their distorted reflections as they moved about the space, Harley knowing which trail to take. He took note of every turn, every dead-end they passed. He’d shoot his way out of the maze if he had to, but he didn’t want to waste bullets.

Sudden cackling rang out as they stepped into a large room within the maze, Joker’s image reflected from every angle as the green menace spread his arms out, bent party hat nearly falling off his head. He could hear the strains of crackling circus music under the laugh. Streamers of red, green, and yellow were hung haphazardly, making the space more confusing as they were reflected in the mirrors in every direction.

“The guest of honor!” Joker crowed, grin just as manic as Jason remembered. Red splattered across his face. Blood or paint? “Welcome home, little birdie!”

And suddenly, Jason wasn’t as prepared for this confrontation as he thought he was. This was the first time he’d seen the Joker since his resurrection. Since he’d died. And he was surrounded on all sides, the grin that haunted his nightmares coming from every direction. The phantom pain of broken bones and cracked ribs twinged as he could see nothing but that crowbar coming at him over and over and over again. The memory of demented laughter ringing out as he was beaten, slowly entwined with the real deal as Harley took advantage of his distraction.

He wasn’t quick enough when Harley’s grip around his neck shifted and grew tighter. Choking him out until everything went black and the grasp on his gun went slack.

═════ ◈ ═════

Something was wrong. He could feel it in his core. This wasn’t your run of the mill explosion disturbing the peace of Gotham. He needed to go faster. To fly.

An unknown panic filled his chest as he tried to take flight, clumsy arms pinwheeling as his feet tried to lift off the ground with no success. Flying had always been one of the harder powers for him to master and even now, six years dead, he had trouble. He’d only ever been able to manage a fast hover or a higher than humanly possible jump. Low flight or a glide.

Right now he couldn’t even lift off the asphalt of the road as he ran toward the roaring fire, the dread like a pit in his soul keeping him grounded and growing worse with every failed lift off. He needed to be faster. He needed to be there already. Someone was dying.

Someone was dying.

═════ ◈ ═════

He woke up in the same room not long after Harley knocked him out, tied to a chair that had been placed on a pedestal in the middle- his mirror image reflected a thousand times around him. His helmet had been removed and even the domino underneath. Not like it mattered when both Harley and Mr. Pudding knew who he was. He could feel the irritating pinch of cheap string around his head. They’d taken the time to give him a fucking party hat. Great.

He tested the rope, his muscles feeling lax and hard to work with while he did it. They’d drugged him. Nothing intense, as far as he could tell. Muscle relaxer, maybe? He didn’t like it. The rope was also unforgiving- wound tight and chafing. The portion tied around his wrists was irritating against his skin- his gloves long gone- and he could tell that if it stayed cinched much longer he’d start loosing circulation.

“You know,” came the drawl of Joker’s voice, echoing around the mirrors with the clown himself nowhere to be seen. “You took such a long time coming back, that I almost thought you never would!”

“Were you betting on it?” Jason spat, words slightly slurred from his jaw feeling loose. Everything felt heavy, like he was being weighted down. At least he was still cognizant. At least it wasn’t Joker gas.

“No, actually,” he said, sounding disappointed. “But what a fun thing to add to the Arkham betting pool.”

“What do you want with me?” Jason asked, tugging at his restraints again. If he kept the clown talking, he could distract him long enough to get free and beat the shit out of him like he’d planned. Probably.

“Not as talkative as you used to be now that you’re a zombie, huh?” Joker said, voice still ringing out and bouncing around the mirrors of the room, making Jason feel slightly dizzy. Which was likely the point. “Straight to the point, no time for chit-chat.”

“Maybe you’re just a shit conversationalist.”

“My, my,” he tutted, “little birdie’s got a dirty mouth now. You kiss your mother with that mouth?”

It didn’t sound like his voice was coming from a speaker, but it was loud enough that the clown should be in the room with him. Maybe around a corner? He couldn’t tell what direction it was coming from, only that it kept circling. And circling.

“Get to the fucking point.”

“Well,” the Joker started, sighing dramatically, scratchy voice grating on Jason’s last nerve. “I’ve noticed that the big ol’ Bat has been taking an interest in you and, honestly, I’m a bit jealous!”

“Gross,” the response slipped out before he’d even realized. He could hear Harley giggling before a smacking sound rang out and he heard her quietly say, “sorry puddin’.”

Oh, he was gonna wring that clown’s fucking neck. He was gonna turn that bastard into a squeaky toy, punch him over and over to see what fun noises he would make next.

“Anyway,” Joker continued, growl to his tone that wasn’t there before. “I figured- I take you out and Batsy has more time to focus on other things.”

“Like you?”

“Like me.”

Again, gross.

“Don’t think I didn’t know you wanted your pound of flesh from me, either. I just decided to go on the offensive about this instead of defensive. Take initiative. Be proactive. Get ahead of the game.”

He was going to have to dislocate something to get out of these binds and he didn’t have the strength to do it while he was drugged like this. Fuck. He was so fucking stupid. If he hadn’t been so damn distracted lately, he wouldn’t have made so many mistakes like this. He needed to get it together already before he got himself killed again.

“And, you know,” Joker continued, “I was thinking, and thinking… and thinking- of some creative new way to kill you…” he trailed off, and Jason could hear footsteps but he still couldn’t see the clown. Just his own reflection, fear mirrored back at him a thousand times.

“But then I thought-,” and then the lights went out and he couldn’t see anything and suddenly he could feel something hovering over his shoulder and he did not like where this was going.

And then the Joker’s voice was right behind him, crooning with delighted malice, “if it ain’t broke!”

There was a whistling noise.

The crowbar came down hard with a crack! against his jaw.

“Don’t fix it!”

He toppled to the floor, still tied to his chair, his left side taking the brunt of the fall where he couldn’t brace himself. He could feel his skull bounce off the concrete. His lungs were constricting with panic. His mouth was filling with blood. Not again, not again.

“Also,” the Joker cackled, the lights in the maze flickering on just in time to watch him bring the crowbar down on Jason’s hands. “How fun is it that I get to murder you twice!”

Pain bloomed in his wrists and his fingers. Broken bones. Bruises. Blood.

“If I had a nickle for every time I’ve killed a Robin-,” Joker mused, stopping to tap the crowbar menacingly against the chair, “well, I wouldn’t exactly be rich but I’d definitely have more nickles than before!”

He watched the crowbar. Up and down. And tap. Tap. Tap. With every word it would thunk against the wood- dangerously close to his already broken hands.

Joker reared back and even though Jason could see it coming it still felt like a shock when he was kicked in the stomach.

Everything hurt. New wounds and old. Phantom pains from the first time he was beaten near to death by this man were making themselves known.

He couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t breathe.

The mirrors were starting to blur in and out of vision, flashes of the warehouse from before overtaking his sight. Everything was jumbling together in a mess of pain and uncaged fear and his lungs were straining against his ribs and his heart was beating so, so fast and he was gonna die again. He was gonna die.

He wanted Bruce.

The crowbar came down again. And again. Blood splattered the mirrors. Pooled on the concrete.

It was harder for the Joker to beat him while he was still tied to the chair but that didn’t stop him from hitting every inch he could get. All along his right side, blow after blow. And the whole time he was laughing.

Laughing and laughing and laughing.

Wack!

And Jason couldn’t breathe.

Wack!

Where was Bruce? Why wasn’t he here? Why wasn’t he here to save him? Batman always saved him.

Wack!

He wanted his dad.

“That should do it.” Jason could barely hear the Joker’s voice, faded and distorted as it sounded to his ears. He heard the clatter of metal falling to the ground. “Ta, little birdie! Have fun being dead again!”

“Oh, by the by,” he could only just hear the man, smug glee lacing his tone. “I’ve rigged up several bombs this go around. Expanding on a good idea and all that. Gotta make sure you don’t come back this time!”

The sound of feet tapping away, growing fainter and fainter. Leaving him with nothing but the roaring sound of his own heartbeat and the wet, ragged, desperate pull of air into his lungs.

He was going to die here. All over again. He could already feel the lick of fire crawling over him, the smoke choking him and scratching his throat, the pain of bones snapping as he was flung through the air. The sharp burst of pain that meant his skull was getting crushed.

He could hear the sound of ticking. A countdown. A bomb.

Maybe this time it’d be faster. Maybe this time the explosion would take him out instantly. Maybe this time there would be nothing left to bury.

Maybe this time he’d stay dead.

═════ ◈ ═════

Bruce watched the wreckage from the screen of the Bat-Jet, scanning the drone footage that Alfred had sent him of the latest explosion to rock Gotham and her people. He was already traveling as fast as he could to get back to his city, but he couldn’t help but feel like he was too late. Like he’d failed, even though he couldn’t say way.

Something was wrong and it set a cold pit in his stomach to think that one of his children might have been caught up in whatever new trouble this was. Whether it be Tim or Dick or… Jason. He couldn’t stand to loose another soldier.

And then he saw it, on the edge of the camera, the mysterious meta that had been working with Red Hood around the Alley.

Just standing on the edge of the flames. Suspicious.

He closed out of the footage and focused on getting back as fast as possible.

═════ ◈ ═════

Danny made it to the docks and stopped. Everything was on fire. Everything was wrong. Something was crying out in pain, something that tugged at his core. Something familiar. Something dying.

He broke out into a wild sprint, core leading him in a certain direction. He followed without hesitation. There was no sound but the roar of the fire and the crunch of glass under his boots. There was nothing he could see but flame and smoke and splintered beams. There was nothing he could feel but overwhelming heat and panic.

Where?

He listened. Nothing. He crept forward. Which direction? His core was no longer helpful. Just screaming.

Where?

He listened. Nothing. He turned. There was nothing but fire, and fire, and smoke. And rubble.

Where?

He listened. Nothi- There. Something- digital? Like a clock. Like a counter. Like another bomb. Like what had likely caused the first explosion. It started ticking faster and his heart matched the frantic beat. He had to find them. Now.

He moved forward through the debris, intangible, and searched.

There was broken glass everywhere. Reflective, like mirror shards, it made it all the harder to navigate the space. Fire danced in every direction, sometimes a mirage, sometimes real. Danny continued to sweep through it all, searching and searching. The beeping was getting louder. He needed to go faster, but he couldn’t risk missing the one he was searching for in the first place.

He felt like he was melting.

He moved forward again- there. His core cried out. He’d found them.

They looked broken. The remains of what was likely a chair they’d been tied to was strewn across the small patch of concrete, the legs and back of it still pressed against them with charred rope. There was a broad beam of wood, caught on one of the walls that was still standing, that looked like it’d shielded them from the roof coming down.

They were surrounded by a pool of blood and Danny didn’t know what to do. Wasn’t it dangerous to move people with certain injuries? If they were bleeding would moving them exacerbate the blood loss enough to kill them? Would any of that matter if the second bomb went off while they were still here?

They were still breathing, at least.

As gently as he could, even phasing his arms into the ground to maneuver without jostling them. One arm to brace the back, one arm under the knees. He got a good grip on them. Turned them both intangible. Then booked it.

Their body was large, too large, too awkward to carry. Their blood dripped down to the ground with every step, flying behind them and splattering against the concrete and mirror shards. The fire did not touch them, even if it felt like the heat was trying to devour them both. Smoke smothered everything. Without having to stop and search the area like he had before, Danny made good time fleeing the building and the area in general. He’d have continued to run to a hospital but the blood that slicked his hazmat was too concerning. He needed to patch them up first. Somehow.

The blanket Nadi had given him was phased into his stomach for safekeeping. As were multiple knives to cut it with.

He needed to find a place-

A loud BANG! sounded and Danny braced them both.

The bomb had gone off behind them, the blast sending wood and concrete and glass raining in every direction. The fire roared louder. The wind from the blast whirling past them in a concussive force. He kept them intangible until it passed. He pulled the other into an alleyway that just edged the docks, the noise of it burning being dampened. Like a pocket of safety. Or so Danny hoped.

He laid them down and pulled a knife, cutting the rope around their chest and wrists and legs and freeing them from the leftover chair pieces.

Their hands looked the worst off. Crooked and dark with bruises. Bleeding, but sluggishly at least. Slowing, stopping.

Right arm looked broken, leaking red too. He pulled the blanket out and cut a strip off to wrap it. Anything to stem some bleeding. He didn’t dare touch the hands. Pants were torn and scratched but nothing looked bad underneath. No gaping chest or back wounds but their breathing was rapid. Danny then remembered that smoke inhalation was a thing and tore off his breathing apparatus and the tank that connected it.

He didn’t know what being infused with ectoplasm would have done to the oxygen within it, but here’s hoping it would be fine.

He gently rolled them, noticing more blood was pooling around their neck. Shit. But then it looked like a wound from the jaw not the jugular. He balled up another slice of blanket and pressed it to the underside of their chin. He fumbled with the mask with one hand to put it over their mouth.

And then he noticed who he was treating.

Red Hood.

His hands trembled, mixed emotions entangling in his core, but he didn’t stop.

He placed the mask over his face, noticing that this was the first time he’d seen it completely bare. His domino was missing. He tried not to think about it. Tried not to think about anything except what was practical. (Not about his hands, completely mangled. Not about the blood, so so much of it. Not about any of the grief trying to well up inside him, churning like a building storm.) He fit the mask and moved the strap of it so it was holding the blanket in place, leaving his hands free.

He couldn’t take Hood to the hospital, especially not without a domino. But he needed someone. He’d taken Red to someone for medical attention before. He’d try the clinic again. Ancients, he hoped that doctor Leslie lady was still there.

Hood coughed, rough, body jerking with the motion. His eyes blinked hazily and a low groan escaped his throat before his eyelids fluttered closed again.

His eyes were very blue.

They opened again for a moment, staring at nothing, and Danny could see the man trying to say something. He leaned in close but heard nothing. Danny moved back, assuming that Hood had maybe become delirious with anemia. He couldn’t blame the guy, he’d be a hypocrite otherwise.

A low whine reached his ears and he paused to sweep a hand through Red’s hair to offer a moment of comfort. He couldn’t do much, but he hoped it would calm him for the time being. His aching core might not handle it otherwise.

He wrapped Hood up as much as he could and balanced the man and the tank in his arms before lurching to his feet with them both in tow. He really hoped he could remember the way correctly. The blood may not be flowing as bad, but he still wanted the man treated as quickly as possible.

So Danny, as quickly as he could manage, set off to find Dr. Leslie.

═════ ◈ ═════

Jason’s entire body felt like lead. Heavy, weighed down. Like there was a current running over his body that had sunk to the bottom of a river.

He felt like he’d been hit by a truck. He would know. He’d absolutely been hit by a truck before.

This might be worse though.

He didn’t want to open his eyes. Didn’t want to face the world. Didn’t want to fully remember the latest fuck up that had knocked him on his ass. Joker’s laugh was already haunting him, he didn’t need it back in surround sound.

He was so certain that he was going to die. Again. Because he was a dumb-ass that fell into traps too easily with no backup and a foolhardy plan to out villain the villain in order to get what he wanted. And now, here he was, back to square one with nothing to show for his efforts except a broken- basically everything.

Great.

Question now was- how did he survive? He didn’t remember getting out of there on his own. He didn’t remember getting out of there at all. Maybe he was dead? But this didn’t feel like dying had last time.

(Dying hadn’t really felt like anything at all, not once the pain ended. Or, maybe, he didn’t have a memory of anything else after that. Had he gone to an afterlife? All he knew was that once second he was dying in a warehouse and the next he was waking up in a grave. This didn’t feel half as suffocating as the coffin.)

The only way to answer that would be to open his eyes. Dammit. Fuck.

Someone else was in the room.

He could hear them breathing. Steady. Slow. Someone else had been in the room with him while he was out and injured, which made him tense. But they also seemed to be asleep, which was confusing more than anything. He’d have to open his eyes to even try to guess who it was though. Which he hated. He’d nearly blown up again, the world should be nicer to him. He waited a bit longer, listening to the steady breathing from what sounded like the corner of a small room, before his curiosity (paranoia) finally got the better of him.

He blinked open his eyes, however reluctantly, and braced himself for a blinding light that never came. The room he was in was dim and small. And recognizable. The little sectioned off back room in Leslie’s clinic. Huh.

But who was-

He sucked in a surprised breath that made his lungs ache, making him cough and then groan when that made his ribs twinge. And his jaw ache. Jesus fuck he was a mess.

And Fetcher was there, awake and watching, hovering on the edge of his vision, unmasked face pinched in worry.

“Fuck are you doing here?”

The words came out harsher than he meant, and he regretted them wholly when it made Fetcher reel back and close in on himself. Fuck. He was horrible at this kind of thing. He should apologize, he knew that. But the words were so hard to say and he still wasn’t convinced that he should. That it wouldn’t be better for Fetcher to stop coming anywhere near him. All he did was hurt the guy. It’s all he would ever do.

Fetcher shrugged, small and skittish.

“I hurt you,” he said, not knowing what else to say but the obvious. He was still just so baffled by why the other man was here. Why he’d gone through the effort to save him. Why he’d stayed.

Fetcher looked at him then, pale green eyes heavy in their stare. He tilted his head in a little nod of acknowledgment but otherwise stayed unmoving. Tense and waiting, crossed arms resting across a blood-stained suit. Jason winced at the sight.

“But you saved me?” he asked, uncertain.

Another nod. Another small shrug.

He sighed and closed his eyes for a moment, fire roaring in the memory that immediately came back to haunt him. The pain. The explosion. The jeering laugh of the mad clown that had gotten the better of him again. Tricked him so easily. He was so fucking stupid for falling for his traps again. He should have known his plans would fall through, no matter how meticulous he’d been. Self-sabotage. Because he was arrogant and impulsive and a moron. Just like he’d always been. Just like Batman had always though him to be.

And Fetcher had risked himself for his dumb ass. Had been yelled at and hurt by him and still braved the clown and explosions and a burning dock to save him. He should never have put himself in danger like that. Not for Jason. He wasn’t nearly worth it.

“That was dangerous,” he told him, keeping his eyes closed to avoid having to look the other man in the eye. “You shouldn’t have put yourself at risk like that.”

He took a heavy breath, a cough threatening in his throat from the action.

“You should have just let me die.”

And then he felt a smack to his chest and opened startled eyes to find Fetcher looming over him, angry and glaring with the slight sheen of tears threatening to fall. He pointed a stern finger in Jason’s face (and he couldn’t help but notice it was tipped with a small sharp claw) and smacked him again, lightly, to get his point across.

“Why do you care?” he asked, confused beyond anything why this angel of a man would do anything for him after the things Jason had done and said.

═════ ◈ ════

Danny leaned back after he made sure Red knew he wouldn’t stand for that kind of talk. Not from Hood. And he thought about his question.

That was the thing, though, wasn’t it? Why did he care? Because he sure as hell seemed to care more than just a cursory sense of obligation to not let someone die. Despite the fact that Hood had been an absolute asshole back in the dojo. Despite everything- he cared.

It was in the way he’d made Danny food. In the way he’d taken care of him. Made him feel human again, even if only for a moment. In the way he’d pester Danny to eat and sleep and patch him up when he got hurt. It was in the way he cared. About everyone in the Alley. The way he checked in on the girls so often. The way he brought food and blankets to the shelters so often. The way he tolerated playing with the Alley kids even when he was busy. It was in the way he talked about the changes he planned to bring to Gotham. To make it better. Make it livable for everyone. In how many people he wanted to help that way.

Yes, he murdered people. Yes, he was a Crime Lord. Yes, he could be a bit of a dick.

But he was earnest in his efforts to make the Alley, and Gotham at large, a safe place for innocents. He was a man made of compassion underneath it all. Made of strong convictions and strong emotion. Sometimes that emotion was anger and it overwhelmed him and he lashed out because of it. And yes, he’d lashed out at Danny, but Danny was nothing if not a glutton for punishment and if it meant having Red’s homemade soup again- he’d save the man any day.

He couldn’t exactly say any of that though.

So he simply stepped forward and smiled, small and tired and gave Red another shrug. Then he thought about it a bit and brought a finger to the other man’s chest, tapping the area where his heart was, reveling in the confused look it bought him.

“My heart?” Red asked slowly. “Do you… want it?”

Danny tilted his head in question, now also perplexed.

“Like to eat or something?”

He had to take a deep breath and turn away, shoulders shaking from the laughter he was trying to keep down. Red thought he saved him, that he cared- because he was saving his heart to snack on?! Why? What the fuck? What the hell kind of life experiences had this man had for that to be a reasonable conclusion?

He got himself under control and turned back around to see Hood giving him a bemused smile. It was a nice smile.

He huffed a bit and waved his hand in order to refute Red’s previous idea of cannibalism. Because really. He thought about it, how to convey everything he was thinking. Everything that made Hood a good man at his core.

He pointed at Red. You. And then he held up a hand, flat with his palm facing inward and his fingers touching his chin and pulled it away in a decisive, forward motion. It was one of the few signs he’d been taught so far. Good. And then he tapped Red’s chest again and could almost feel the beating under his fingers. Heart.

Red scrunched his nose and shook his head. “I do not. And that’s way too fucking cheesy a reason anyway.”

Danny rolled his eyes and smacked Hood for what felt like the tenth time already since he’d woken up.

Red smiled before it dropped. He looked up past Danny and toward the ceiling, staring at nothing with a grim look on his face. Danny couldn’t even begin to guess what he was thinking about.

“I was stupid,” Hood murmured. “All I’ve been since I got back is stupid. I never should have fallen for Joker’s trap. Never should have been so blind to what he was up to.”

Of course it was the Joker that Hood had nearly gotten blown up by. Danny fucking hated clowns for a reason and the Joker was just one of them. He watched as Hood raised a heavily bandaged hand in an attempt to comb it through his hair, only to pull back and stare blankly at the mitten of gauze and wrap that enveloped both hands. He accepted his fate with a sigh, weary and broken and Danny wanted so badly to fix it, but he couldn’t. All he could do was watch.

“But I needed him. Still need him. He’s the center of the question, here. The crux of the whole problem,” Red kept talking, low and mumbling and Danny was certain that he wasn’t talking to him anymore. But he wasn’t about to stop listening.

“I underestimated how much it would affect me- seeing him again for the first time. I should have handled that better.”

Danny could see blood seeping into the bandages around his hands, likely from Hood agitating his own wounds for whatever reason. He reached out and caught one of the hands between his own, tapping at the edge where the wrapping stopped in a bid to remind Hood of what he was doing and to stop hurting himself.

“You don’t understand-,” Hood gritted out. “I need that fucker dead. I won’t let him murder anyone else.”

Hood closed his eyes, but Danny still saw the pain within them.

“I should have been the line. My death should have been the line.”

And Danny froze.

No. No, he couldn’t be- He didn’t feel like a ghost. Or a halfa, even. But sometimes… No. There was no way. It was so faint. You couldn’t be a third of a ghost or whatever and he didn’t set off Danny’s ghost sense at all and- he was getting far too ahead of himself. He didn’t even know what Red Hood meant. Maybe he’d gone into cardiac arrest before. Been only medically dead for a few minutes. No ghostly business involved.

But he had to make sure.

He leaned over Red where he was still reclined back in the bed Doctor Leslie had ordered Danny to place him. Bruised and bloody and broken. Almost dead a second time.

He held the man’s head between his hands, solemn as he searched for- for something. Red didn’t say a word, just let it happen, eyes opening and trying to catch Danny’s- question what he was doing without interrupting. And Danny just looked into bright, bright blue and- there was a thin sliver of green. Ectoplasm green. Barely there and barely noticeable. But there all the same.

He pulled back and made Red focus on him. On his stare. All the while lifting a hand and turning it intangible to plunge into the other’s chest. If he was a ghost, or a half ghost, or a quarter ghost, he should have something of a core. Even if it was hiding.

Hood gasped and sputtered and coughed and tried to fight off Danny’s arm with useless hands. But Danny kept his soft grip on the uninjured side of Red’s face and brought his forehead down to rest on Hood’s, trying to calm him. It shouldn’t hurt- just feel weird. But he hadn’t exactly given the other a warning.

He felt Red shiver underneath him, the feeling of a ghost running a cold hand through your chest was never a pleasant sensation, but it was necessary.

He didn’t feel anything at first, waving a hand through Red’s chest, slowly combing through muscle and organ and bone and blood. He didn’t have much experience looking for a core, especially not in one currently still living, but he was letting his instincts drive him. He needed to know.

And then he felt it.

It wasn’t a core, not quite. Not so ghostly but definitely of the dead. It was half-formed and weak and felt like poison. It pulsed feebly when his fingers brushed over it a chorus of anger fear rage pain betrayal betrayal betrayal rang out from the touch.

He pulled back, just enough to take his arm out of Red’s chest and let him breathe, but not enough that he left the bedside. He let Hood take in ragged breaths, coughing and heaving from smoke inhalation damage (he regretted it for that, but not enough to have stopped his search). When it looked like the other had calmed down and was about to question just what the hell Danny had done, he held up a hand.

He pointed at Red. You. He slid a finger across his own throat. Died. And tilted his head to the side to turn it into a question, even though he knew the answer.

“Yes,” Hood said, voice rougher and raspier than before, tight from the cough and likely sore throat. “I died, Fetch.”

Danny stared down at the man, debating on what to say. Red’s eyes searched his own, blue that looked deeper in the dim lighting but he didn’t say anything either. Just let the quiet sit between them for a moment.

Eventually, Danny lifted and hand and pointed towards himself. I. He slid a finger across his throat. Died. He held up two fingers. Too.

#naps fics #dp x dc #Our Empty Graves #dpxdc

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