#i sobbed. a lot. on the floor. very violently

[head-empty-just-sigma]

[parfaitblogs]

never grow up ❀ s. reid x reader

in which you are at the age you never thought you'd live to. 

genre: hurt/comfort + fluff! tags: established relationship. (very brief) mentions of r not eating. depression. non sexual nudity. mention of a past suicide attempt. reader is codependent on spencer #anxiousattachment!! mini argument not really because he loves you a lot!!! please know your triggers ♡  word count: 2.2k a/n: this was a vent write. LOL! i think i switch tenses a lot in this? i tried to fix it. this is why we don't write fanfiction while we're crying!!! i love u i love u i love u and i am so so glad you are the age that you are!! continue to grow please!! life will become beautiful!!!

Depression is a funny thing.

Sometimes you are forgetting there has ever been a version of you out there that fantasised about death and longed for an escape from this world you deemed so cruel, so invasive. Other times, you are sat naked on the cold floor of your bathroom rocking back and forth, clawing at your skin and ripping hair out of your scalp because you are sobbing so ferociously. The world spinning around you and your cries, so violent, are making you lightheaded and you wonder if you pass out here if anyone will ever find you. 

Clearly, tonight, you are the latter.

It started as a small pit in your stomach that morning, that you braved through and ignored to the best of your ability, even as you said gentle 'no thank you's' to food offered by your co-workers and forced your brain to focus on work and not the never-ending abyss of dread in your abdomen. Then, it became a tear or two on your way home, that you vehemently wiped away and pretended was never there because it couldn't be. 

Then you were showering to get your mind off things — a stupid decision, really. For your brain was latching on to every awful emotion it had felt thus far today, and you were stepping out of the shower with an even heavier heart, and your hands were wrapping around your now goosebump riddled body, as you were sinking to the floor in a ball.

And maybe hours passed by you. Maybe days — it certainly felt that way. Maybe it was only a mere five minutes. But your loud sobs felt like they took an achingly long time to slow and quiet down, until they were falling into ugly sniffles of the snot on your face, and a raging headache behind your eyes. 

Loud sobs — scream sobs, really — had a lot of disadvantages. The aftermath feeling of embarrassment of screaming at your brain that refused to simply shut up, the scratch at your throat from every sound you ripped from it. The audio block it gave you from the rest of the world. For you truly were in your own universe when you were howling alone in the comfort of your bathroom walls.

So much so, that the familiar sound of a door opening and closing, and a bag being placed down by the side of it, went entirely unnoticed to you. Footsteps against your apartment's wooden flooring weren't picked up, nor were the first two knocks on your bathroom door. By the third, you were blubbering through saliva and snot, and you had heard it. Followed by a very gentle calling of your name, that had your heart clenching within your chest for a new reason. 

He had said he was coming home tomorrow. Which almost always meant he wouldn't be home for another three days, and so, in your mind, you thought bawling that night could be a secret kept between you and your tiles. 

Apparently not. 

He called your name again when you didn't reply, an added hint of desperation in his voice. Trembling, you stood, your limbs feeling as though they were creaking while you straightened them out. And you didn't bother about the towel sitting in a crumpled heap on the floor, nor the pile of your clean clothes sitting on the countertop. In fact, you didn't bother about anything as a shaking hand twisted the doorknob and pulled it open.

In an instant, his worried frown deepened, and eyes that might usually drink in the sight of your naked body beautifully, now didn't wander further than the scarlet scratch marks along your neck — blood vessels risen to the surface from how fragile that part of you was. He exhaled, and took a hesitating step towards you. One you welcomed by remaining planted in your spot — you didn't know if you could move, though. 

"Can I ask what's wrong, or do you simply want a hug?" 

Both, you wanted to say. Both, but also neither. 

You didn’t say that. Instead, you said, "Hug."

He hardly took a second to register what you'd said before his arms were wrapping around you. If he found the slightly damp state of your skin annoying, he didn't comment on it. He didn't say much at all, as he enveloped you into his body, a hand securing itself on the back of your head, and his chin resting atop your head. 

Water dripped uncomfortably to the floor, splattering on the tiles and his shoes, being the only sound aside from your irregular hiccups and sniffles. His button-up was wet from your tears and your body, and you could almost hear his complaints about it, if this were any other day. 

Minutes passed, and even though you didn't want to, you pulled back, feeling his hands slip around to your waist and hold you benevolently. Your own hands reached up to your face to wipe away tears, an embarrassed laugh escaping your lips. 

"This is pathetic," you said, fingers digging into the corners of your stinging eyes. 

"How?" he asked you.

"I didn't think you'd be home to see me having a mental breakdown."

A smile that didn't quite reach his eyes appeared on his lips. "Well, I am." Fingers squeezed your waist reassuringly. "Do you wanna talk about it?"

You shrugged, wordlessly, your eyes dropping from his face to the damp spot on his chest from where your face had once been, heart stuttering. 

"We don't have to, honey," he said. "But it might help."

"I know it might," you muttered. 

He was silent, as were you. A few more beats passed between you two, before you were turning around to pick up clothes you had left for yourself on the counter. You didn't really feel any different under his watchful gaze as you dressed yourself. Accustomed to the act, or simply too overwhelmed with another emotion, you didn't know. 

He followed you into the living room when you walked out there, and he sat down next to you on the couch you curled up on. You opened and closed your mouth a few times, and he lifted his head on each intake of breath you had, as if about to say something. But you never did. 

So, he took over.

"Did something happen today?" You shook your head, and he nodded his own. "Okay. This past week?" You shook your head again, because other than missing him while he had been stuck in Texas for a case, nothing had actually happened. 

You wished it had. Truly, you wished you had experienced a murder on your way to work, or a distant family member had passed away so you could blame this feeling on something other than memories simply resurfacing. 

You sniffled again. "You know," you began, voice thick and wobbly from the lump lodged in your throat. "When I was fourteen, I didn't think I'd ever be this old."

Your gaze lifted from your lap to look at him, and you let a helpless tear fall from one of your eyes when you locked eyes with him. He was confused, unsurprisingly so.

So, you continued. "I tried to kill myself. When I was fourteen."

He readjusted his posture, eyebrows falling into a more concerned state, and he was silent for so long you wondered if this was when he decided you were too much and too complicated for him to deal with. 

He didn't. "I didn't know," he said, instead. 

"I don't exactly advertise it," you replied, and even if it was an attempt at being light hearted, it fell flat. "I just realised I never thought I'd be this age," you continued when he hardly reacted, "and I've been really anxious and down all week, so I think that realisation kind of sent me over the edge."

"Are you happy you're at this age?" 

Hesitantly, but surely, you nodded your head. "I got to meet you."

His lips twitched, but a smile never crossed his face. "You should be happy for reasons more than just me."

"You are my reason for being happy," you argued. 

"And I'm glad to hear I make you happy, but I cannot be your only reason."

"Why not?"

"Because that's dependency." 

You short-circuited, and he sighed upon realising the way you were taking his words — maybe not the smartest thing he could've said to his still tear-stricken-faced girlfriend. 

"What I mean is you should have other areas in your life that make you happy. Not just me."

"I like my job," you mumbled, gaze relocating to your lap. "And my friends."

"Great," he said, and you could feel his weight shifting on the couch as he nudged closer to you. "As long as I'm not your reason for living."

Your eyebrows furrowed. "You've been my reason for living since we started dating. Why is it different now?"

"I didn't know I was your reason for living until now."

"So if you are, then what? You leave me?" 

"No," his response was so immediate you were sure you could feel the whiplash, and he ran a hand down his face with an exasperated sigh. "I don't want to fight with you when you're like this."

"I don't want to fight with you either," you agreed, fidgeting with your fingers in your lap. "I'm sorry I'm co-dependent."

He didn't respond for a while, mulling everything you two had shared and now, your apology, over in his head. You sat, anxiously, as minutes ticked by until he was puffing his cheeks to let out air, and standing up from the couch. 

He turned to you. "I love you, you know that," he began, and even before he had a chance to finish, you were already drowning him out, world crumbling around you as tears welled back up in your eyes. Maybe if you weren't as emotional as you were that night, your vision wouldn't have already gone blurry, and your heart wouldn't be shattering in your chest already. 

"But?" you countered, a sob escaping you at the end of the word.

He froze at the sound of it, his eyebrows turning in to each other, "Sorry?"

"You love me, but?"

"I don't understand."

"I'm sitting here, sobbing really violently and I look hideous, and you've just discovered I'm co-dependent, and you don't like that about me, so now you're telling me that you love me, but this isn't going to work out, and I need to work on myself before I get into another relationship, and you hope I can find happiness, and—"

"—What are you talking about?" he cut your ranting off, blinking a few times, confused. 

"Is that not what's happening?" 

"No?"

"Oh."

You stared at him, and he stared at you, and you felt your heart slowly pick itself back up from the pits of your stomach, each piece mending itself back together. He wasn't breaking up with you.

"I wasn't going to say that at all. Please don't put words in my mouth."

"Sorry," you said, though it wasn't very sincere. He crouched down in front of you, hands finding your fidgeting ones to hold them.

"Can I finish what I'm going to say before you cut me off this time?" Wordlessly, you nodded your head, and so he continued. "I love you, and you know that, and I don't want you to think I'm upset or mad at you for being codependent. You're allowed to not know how to navigate a relationship. But—"

"—There it is—" he glared with no real heat at you, and your lips twitched "—Sorry."

"But I need you to communicate with me. I'm going to inevitably do things that upset you, because you're co-dependent. We need to figure those things out, because a lot of the time you will respond unhealthily, and knowing what I know now, I don't want to be a trigger in any way."

"You won't be a trigger," you mumbled, and he shot you a pointed look, and your shoulders deflated. "I just feel stupid communicating things like that. Like, oh, I'm sad because my boyfriend is out of state for work and he's super busy and not responding to my messages so I think he might hate me."

"That isn't stupid."

"Yes it is!"

He said your name, eyebrows risen, and he shook his head. "You're upset about something. That isn't a stupid thing at all."

"It feels stupid."

"Okay, well, how about the next time I'm away on a case and not replying and you miss me, which is what that crazy, sad, completely reasonable phenomenon is called, by the way, you communicate that with me, and you see how I respond?"

"What if you tell me to go fuck myself?" 

He didn't even need to verbally deny your words for you to know that that response was completely out of character for him. All it took was one simple look, and you were diffidently smiling and averting your gaze, mumbling a quiet, "Okay."

And yes, the next time he was out of the state and you missed him, as he so kindly put it, you told him. And he spent three hours on the phone that night with you, reassuringly expressing how much he loved you, and how little he hated you.

your reblogs and replies are always appreciated ♡

[imaginesig]

“I had the best day with you today”

Based on: “I was enchanted to meet you”

Kimi Antonelli x Norris!Reader

SMAU

Could be read as a stand alone, very short

After dedicating Enchanted to their relationship, who would’ve thought Kimi and Y/n would get to see it live

yn_norris

Liked by carmenmmundt, user71, landonorris, and 917,828 others

yn_norris: “I cry a lot but I am so productive”

tagged: no one

Kimi.antonelli it’s genuinely concerning watching you stress over bracelets and a bodysuit

oscarpiastri im right there with you mate

Yn_norris eras tour prep is not for the week‼️

lilyzniemer especially when you’re making your own stuff

user1 the nods to Midnights/Vigilante shit 🧐 Ms. Norris I think I know your outfit

Carmenmmundt I’m so excited!!

lilymhe we’re gonna have a blast in T-3 days!!

alexandrasaintmleux were all packed up and ready 🫶🫶

user2 all the wags are gonna show up and slay while the men will prod wear some boring ass clothes

yn_norris you best believe Kimi’s gonna slay, I made him a fit so he can’t embarrass me

user2 lmao Y/n

user3 this is so aesthetic i could cry

load more

Kimi.antonelli posted 2 stories!

Captions: 1) ive been roped into bracelet making 2) did I do good?

Replies:

yn_norris

you did so good

Whoever you trade that to will be so lucky

I need to do more

get to it then

Oscarpiastri

Lily hasn’t gotten to me yet

If she does idk what I’ll even make

Best of luck avoiding it solider

Olliebearman

I wanna join

Don’t worry she’s bringing the materials with us so you can make some at the hotel

yn_norris posted a story!

Caption: I’ve arrived 🫶✨🪩

Kimi.antonelli

liked by user1, taylorswift, Olliebearman, and 817,828 others

Kimi.antonelli: “I was enchanted to meet you” 💜

tagged: yn_norris, Taylorswift

yn_norris I love you 💜🫶

Kimi.antonelli I love you too 💜🫶

user1 THEY WERE AT MY SHOW

user2 ugh i need a concert bf

carlossainz55 @/landonorris after tonight I cannot do the overprotective uncle role anymore, they’re too cute

landonorris MATE WHAT

Kimi.antonelli finally a win

carlossainz55 but hurt her even a little…

Kimi.antonelli I understand

Taylorswift THE Enchanted couple

Kimi.antonelli what a compliment

yn_norris I’ve fallen to the floor and started violently sobbing

Landonorris L

user3 did you trade your bracelet??

user4 the fact that this whole post is centered around Y/n 🥹🥰

user5 drivers (+ their so) really brought the best energy

User6 do you think Travis felt more at ease bc he wasn’t surrounded by other celebrities but rather other male athletes?

user7 I wanna know if him and Logan talked American football

Load more

Yn_norris

Liked by taylorswift, Lilymhe, landonorris, and 182,928 others

Yn_norris: “I had the best day with you today” 💛

tagged: Kimi.antonelli, lilyzniemer, carmenmmundt, lilymhe, alexandrasaintmleux

Kimi.antonelli you looked so beautiful in the concert lights 💛

yn_norris ditto 💛

user2 LMAO THEIR OUTFITS

user1 the fact Kimi and Y/n matched the hearts to the lyrics album for both posts makes me sick

lilymhe it was so fun!!

carmenmmdunt gorgeous

lilyzniemer you win best couple costume!!

landonorris after seeing Vigilante Shit I have decided that your outfits are way to inappropriate and therefore I hate them

yn_norris too late 😚

taylorswift best outfits! Best energy! Best fan! Y/n I love you 🫶🪩

yn_norris you’re the best everything!! I love you too 🫶🪩

yn_norris HOLY SHIT SHE FOLLOWED ME AHHHHHHH

user3 she’s just like me fr

ussr4 her bracelet collection 😭😭

user5 people have said she wore them the whole time

Yn_norris well what was I supposed to do? Not show off all of my new besties and their hard work??

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[arcticwolf144]

A list of some things I noticed during the last matinee of Next to Normal UK

Diana pointed and yelled something from upstairs just before Natalie started singing for the first time. Like “wahey” sort of energy

She also absolutely bellowed “dive in with both feet” an inch from Dan’s face 

Diana was very insistent that Dan not touch her sandwiches. Kept waving him off

While Natalie was singing Everything Else Diana was peeling the crust off bread slices in time with the beat. I’ve never noticed that before so idk if it was a last day thing or if I’ve just missed it until now but it was very funny. 

Natalie looked like she was tearing up in Perfect for You. She was so happy and it was so cute 

Dan juggled three pieces of garlic bread during It’s Gonna Be Good lmao 

Natalie was so distressed during It’s Gonna Be Good. Like going “please get down!” when Diana climbed on the chair and flinching away from the water. She also mouthed “I’m so sorry” to Henry while everyone else was setting the table

I could hear her sobbing as she ran upstairs

Diana was mouthing “fuck off” to herself a lot while Dan was singing I Am the One.

When Diana started yelling Natalie covered her ears and she was sobbing so hard like the hardest I’ve ever seen someone cry on stage oh my god 

Gabe laughed when Natalie came down the stairs in Superboy 

Diana kept mouthing “shut up, shut the fuck up” when Gabe and Natalie started singing together

A lot of tears during Catch Me I’m Falling

Gabe was so horrified when he saw the blood during I’ve Been. Like he came on, knelt down on the stage and was just staring at the floor, at one point with his nose like inches from the stage. I’ve seen various interpretations but to me it always seems like he can’t quite understand what’s happened or how it’s got there. He knows he told Diana to join him but didn’t realise how violent that would be? Idk. But anyway then he curled against the counter crying and combine that with Jamie’s unbelievable acting through song and it was a hard watch

During the first verse of Wish I Were Here Natalie kept reaching for Diana

I think there was a muck up matinee prank happening in the wings on (the audience’s) left. As the island was spinning Trevor, Jack and Jamie seemed to notice something and were trying not to laugh. Like they’d look into the wings, smile a bit, and then they’d look at each other and then really quickly look away. This happened for the whole song every time the stage rotated. Caissie also seemed to do the tiniest double take when she faced that side of the stage.

Jack didn’t leave the stage after Aftershocks he was standing in the farthest box. So you could see Gabe’s silhouette in the far corner while the next scenes were happening which was quite powerful. 

Diana literally went “what the fuck?” when Dr Madden sent her away after telling her about Gabe 

Diana fully gasped as she put the music box down and the intro to How Could I Ever Forget started. 

When Diana moved away from Gabe during I’m Alive (Reprise) she had her hands over her heart and she was crying and just kept mouthing “my baby”. It was heartbreaking. Then the realisation hit her of what it meant and she got scared and ran off.

Gabe started crying even before Diana looked at him during The Break. He went from exhilaration during the first verse to suddenly getting scared when Diana came in with “they tried a million meds…”. For the rest of the song he was trying to get her attention, crawling up and down the counter in tears. Then when she touched him he completely broke down and was clinging onto her and crying so hard. 

He was also crying when he came out from behind the counter

Natalie sobbed out “stop” when Diana kissed her head in Maybe 

I Am the One (Reprise) may deserve its own post but anyway: Gabe was crying from his first lines (Jack was subtly wiping their face on their sleeve between phrases). He absolutely latched onto Dan, and Dan was sob-shouting his lines while Gabe was absolutely screaming his. When Dan pulled away Gabe tried so hard to catch hold of him again so they had this little tussle mid song during the “yeah”s. Dan then backed away, Gabe leaned fully over the side of the counter reaching for him and tried to belt out “I am the one who loved you” with all his soul but his voice broke so badly basically no sound came out until “loved you”. The same happened with the “tried” on the next line. It was absolutely beautiful and so heartbreaking. He then managed to get out the “you’ve always known who I am”, did this massive sobbing gasp afterwards and was just staring at Dan with tears running down his face. “Hi Dad” was so small and cracky it shattered my heart. Dan then slowly walked towards Gabe with his hand outstretched but stopped just before he reached him, and Gabe raised his hand too so their fingers almost touched and that’s when Natalie came in. Gabe then broke down audibly sobbing

Dan started to break when Gabe touched Natalie’s hand but Gabe then stopped at the bottom of the stairs to cry and Dan started absolutely gasping and sobbing and it was so sad. Like he was watching Gabe leave him for a second time and it destroyed him.

Diana was watching Nat and Henry interact in Light which was a lovely moment. She did a kind of “well fair enough” smile when Henry asked if her parents were real 

[acidsugar21]

Tongues and Teeth :: TWST

Something I made at literally 12 AM... not proofread so like go easy on me thanks </3 Kind of?? An AU of my TWST X Reader ??? Yeah. (Not really ig idk) Also angst?? I guess. Slight panic attack from Kalim and MC. Lot's of crying via Kalim <3 Characters: Kalim, Jamil, (fem!) MC Song: Tongues & Teeth, The Crane Wives {{Jamil to MC, MC to Kalim}}

I’ve grown a mouth so sharp and cruel

“For what it’s worth Jamil, I don’t forgive you.” You spat the words out like venom as you stared at the servant, your lips pressed into a thin line as your nose remained scrunched in distaste.

It’s all that I can give to you, my dear

You stared blankly at the flower that sat atop your clothes. The beautiful petals seemed to have a certain aura– one of purity. They remained uncrushed, unlike the flower Kalim had oh so kindly gifted you.

And when you come in quick to steal a kiss

You blinked owlishly as you touched your lips. The kiss Kalim had given you was chaste– quick. A small peck. For some reason, it left a bitter feeling on your lips– which was odd, because Kalim’s tasted as sweet as coconuts.

My teeth will only cut your lips, my dear

You watched from afar as Kalim sobbed violently over Jamil, the servant keeping his head low as he clenched his fists in irritation at the entire situation. The constant wailing of Kalim’s voice in his ears surely didn’t help.

And I know that you mean so well

The flower was gorgeous– a pristine white that separated itself from the dark of the night sky you and Kalim sat under. Kalim’s hands were gentle as he set the flower in your hair, his fingers brushing against your cheek.

But I am not a vessel for your good intent

The black and blue swirled and mixed, unnoticeable to the human eye as it settled in your gem. Your eyes stayed on the sand, your lips pressed together as you listened to the music. 

It was so odd how humans bounced back.

I will only break your pretty things

Wide eyes watched as Jamil crushed your flower– your flower. The white petals separated from one another, rips and tears in what used to be their flawless and soft petals. Now they remained crumpled up on the floor, sitting in a disgusting pool of ink.

I will only wring you dry of everything

Covering your arms, you watched as Kalim happily chatted with Vil– a certain gleam in his eye as he babbled on and on about what repairs needed to be done to Ramshackle and how excited he was to help with the money. Next to him stood Jamil, the brunette eyeing the younger housewarden with a hidden layer of irritation and exasperation.

But if you’re fine with that

You can be mine like that

Abandon all your stupid dreams about the girl I could have been, my dear

Somewhere out there, surely, there was a version of you that was happy in Twisted Wonderland. It was made clear to you by everything the world threw at you that you should be here. It wouldn’t let you go home.

But you don’t think that happy version of you existed here, in Night Raven.

‘Cause, in the night, I know you burn with feelings 

You stared at Kalim curiously from under your lashes, the cold wind whipping and tugging at your skin harshly. His smile was soft as he stared at the sky.

That was just about the only good thing to come from Ramshackle. The view it provided.

I cannot return my, dear

“I’m always chosen. Always. That’s such an obvious truth that I’ve never consciously processed it.” He admitted softly, shrugging his shoulders rather pathetically at you.

Oh my, dear

You gotta know that this won’t last

It was a calm reassurance you had told Kalim– a true one, by all means. Kalim was not responsible for Jamil’s overblot. At least, not entirely. It was high time that both he and the servant come to that realization, for the dancing back and forth over who was right and who was wrong had long worn out both their dancing shoes, you believed. 

It had begun to get irritating. 

But it was a sweet moment– a kind, moment. And that was something you didn’t get very often.

Desperation will erase that fact

Your cries echoed through the hallway of Ramshackle– like a gentle ghosts cry, it haunted the quietness of the night, all through your bedrooms door.

Jamil’s hand hovered over the old wood, never fully touching it as he listened to your wails as you wallowed in your own pool of misery. Eventually, he let his hand fall to his side as he heard your cries come to a stop.

“She must have gone to bed.” He muttered to himself, staring at your door one last time before walking off.

I’m keeping all of the answers in my cigarette box 

Your hands gripped the ghost camera. The stupid, orange, and old camera that Crowley had gifted you. It was practically useless to you– you��ve only ever used it a handful of times before. And that mouse motif– oh, the horrid mouse motif.

It was a stark reminder that you lived in a different world. A world that, by all means, should not be possible.

But it was, and you were stuck in it.

Yeah, the answer’s in the second before the other shoe drops

The confetti rained down on you, but not for you. The colorful pieces of paper dusted your skin as yells and hollers filled the air.

But not for you. Never for you.

Slowly, your eyes found Jamils. His dark eyes stared into your own, both of you looking at each other with what felt like apathetic expressions. But there was a layer of irritation under both of your surfaces as you attempted to drown out the wails of Kalim.

And for a moment, you realized– you were witnessing Kalim’s second loss.

Ever.

And one of your many.

And if you’re blind to that

I am fine with that

The wails of Kalim echoed through the empty Ramshackle dorm as he sobbed and cried for you and Jamil to come back. His hands shook as he raked them through his hair, his ruby-red eyes doused in tears.

His body couldn’t stop itself from shaking, his lips trembling as he yelled, and screamed, and soon he began to mutter under his breath. His words were so jumbled together that even Rook had a hard time understanding the housewarden.

Oh, I will ruin you

You felt like you were in a daze– a neverending one, to boot. Your heart beat in a way it shouldn’t as you ignored Leona’s voice, your eyes focused on the passed-out Jamil.

His hair covered his face in a delicate curtain as if shielding him from the world. It was as if the pure sight of him had been enough to reel you back in. As you caught your breath, you listened to Leona quietly.

But never did your eyes stray from Jamil.

Oh, I will ruin you

Each overblot. Every single one of them– in a way, they had all turned out the same, hadn’t they?

Each boy made it out alive.

They got to apologize– but never did you ever feel quite satisfied with them. A mere apology wouldn’t make up for the trauma they caused. 

But despite it all, nothing ever changed. Another overblot always took the old ones' place. A different person. A different time. A different challenge.

But you always stared it in the face– and you always saved the day.

It’s a habit, I can’t help it

I know that you mean so well

Child Kalim laughed happily as he ran in circles around Child Jamil, the light shining down on them as you and Jamil stared at the scene with dull eyes.

But I am not a vessel for your good intent

Jamil’s hand wrapped around your own as you both stared at a similar scene– your, scene. 

He squeezed it.

And you squeezed back.

You and Jamil– however harshly you had treated one another, in a twisted, sick, and hell-bent way– understood each other.

And you weren’t sure if Kalim ever quite could. 

I will only break your pretty things

The flower Jamil had gifted you (as a replacement, you added solemnly in your mind) has long since been discarded. Where it lay now, you had no clue. 

It was a shame, you thought. 

Even a replacement for the purest gift you had been given had been lost.

Perhaps you were just never meant to have one.

I will only wring you dry of everything

The red outfit you had been gifted was tucked away in your closet. Grimly, you shoved the clothes Crewel had given you aside as you stared at it.

You really, really liked the outfit. 

It was beautiful and dripping in gold– the silk shifted against your skin, causing you no irritation.

It was expensive, to boot.

Such a shame its history was riddled with something so horrible, you thought with a frown before slamming the closet doors shut.

And if you’re fine with that

If you’re fine with that

Kalim stared at you with wide eyes, his lips parted in disbelief as you and Jamil stood in front of him. 

Jamil had…used his Unique Magic on you?

Multiple times?

Questions swam through his head at the speed of light– were any of the moments you and he shared in Scarabia together real?

When were you under the spell and when were you not?

I will poison all your happy thoughts

I will love you like the ashes in my cigarette box

And if you’re fine with that

You can be mine

If you’re fine with that

The dress was long, and the gold that was embroidered on it glistened in the light as you made your way down the aisle. Red flowers decorated the venue as you avoided everyone’s curious gazes on your form, with your head dipped low as you continued. 

“You look gorgeous.” He whispered to you, making a small smile appear on your lips.

And as you peered up, you met his eyes.

But for some reason, you couldn’t tell if they were red or a dark, rooted brown.

You can be mine

[aritsukemo]

Paradise | Chapter One - Cruelty | KNY

Summary: All is well in the Kamado Home until tragedy strikes..

Warnings: Descriptions of blood ahead. One of the main characters ( Y/n ) has a panic attack. First scene involves needles and scalpels and the character gets their skin ripped open! With all that said, read with caution!

A/N: Thanks to all the love and support I've been getting recently, I've gotten the courage to post this! This story is a very special piece to me as it's been stuck in my head for around..four, maybe five years now? ( I started the thought process of it sometime around the time the demon slayer anime came out ) This story is actually the reason I started writing, but I haven't posted it until now because of..perfectionism reason.. It's not much right now, but if you like it, please support it over on Wattpad! ..Or not and simply support it over here! ( Or don't! You simply taking the time to read this means a lot to me! )

Tagging: @overluvsick, @nursedflowers, @jspidey5 + anyone who wants to be tagged! <3

Next Chapter

First Person, ???'s Pov

 "Father, please! Stop! It hurts!" A needle invades my flesh as my protests contort into a sharp scream. It booms off the dank walls after leaving my mouth and bounces back to echo into my ears as if to mock me. The man that towers over me, my father, his breath is ragged and hot as his grip on my arm tightens.

 "Stop resisting!" He shouts. Although, I'm more focused on my arm that's slowly numbing over from the lack of circulation. I yell at him, pleading for him to let me go but he doesn't listen and instead grabs his scalpel. The steel gleams ominously in the light but I barely have the time to process the sight before it digs into the flesh of my arm and tears my skin open.

White, searing pain radiates through my arm as crimson drips onto the floor. Tears blur my vision and flows down my cheeks like a waterfall, snot drips from my nose and mixes with the blood on the floor. A brief, high-pitched scream leaves my lips followed by a choked sob. My father doesn't take much mind to my reaction.

 "Still not the right color.." I hear him mumble. There's some commotion from him as he uses his free hand to search for something on the shelf closest to him. After a few moments, I feel smooth glass touch my lip and before I even realize it, I violently flinch away.

 "Drink it!" He yanks me forward and in the process, accidentally spills a small chunk of the substance on my lips. I gag at the smell but in the process I subconsciously dart my tongue out and run the wet muscle over my lips. I nearly vomit at the taste. My father doesn't seem to care.

"Open your mouth!" He shouts, "Just drink it and get it over with!"

"No!" I yell back, "It tastes digusting!"

 "The taste doesn't matter! Just swallow this as fast as you can and--!"

 "No!" I swing my arms and twist my body, trying my hardest to escape his grasp, "No, I won't! You can't make me no matter what-!" My words get cut off by my own gags as my father wraps his calloused hands around my throat and gives it a threatening squeeze.

 "Drink it damnit!" He brings his thumb up to force my mouth open, "If you'd just get it over with you wouldn't be suffering so much right now!"

My hand comes up to grab his wrist as my head moves away as best it can while it's still in his almost suffocating grip, "Why are you doing this to us? We didn't do anything wrong!"

 "I never said you did!" He clenches his teeth, "Just drink it already!"

 "No! I told you already, I'm not drinking that!"

Suddenly a tired, almost sorrowful sigh leaves his lips as he pulls away from me completely. I look at him with wide eyes but he looks back with one that's indescribable to me.

 "You leave me with no choice then.." He reaches for something just out of my eyesight as my trembling figure backs away from him, "Remember that you brought this upon yourself."

 "Dad.. What are you.. No. No! Get away from me with that-! Stop! Please!"

"Stop!" My body jolts up and my hands shoot outwards, pushing the person in front of me with an unnecessary amount of force. There's a tumble that I just barely hear over my erractic breathing.

A few moments pass. The tightness in my chest becomes less constricting, allowing me to breathe a little better and amidst this, the warmth of someone's touch envelopes my shoulder.

 "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you.." A gentle voices reaches my ears and as if a drug was injected in my veins, my muscles instantly relaxes. That suffocating feeling in my chest ceases to exist and I'm able to breathe comfortably again.

 "You were thrashing around so much it made me worry," The warmth moves along my clothed skin and up to my naked cheeks where soft fingrtips brush away stray tears that had escaped from me without my knowing.

Kie's asks, "Are you alright, Y/n?"

As my vision clears and I can finally see her clearly, sitting on her knees and brows knitted from worry, I mumble out, "Yeah.. Yeah. I'm fine, Kie. Don't worry."

 "Are you sure?" Her question comes out almost immediately and each word that left her lips were filled with nothing but worry, "If there's anything I can do.." As she trails off, I bring my hand up, softly peeling her hands off my face before wiping away the excess tears clumped along the waterline of my eyes.

 "I promise, I'm okay. You just startled me.. No need to fret over it."

Kie's lips thin into a line. It's clear that she doesn't believe me but to my luck she silently decides to drop the conversation and gets up.

 "If you say so," She says, her eyes keenly watching my every little move, "Tanjiro is waiting for you outside."

 "Alright," I run my hand through my hair, letting out a sharp wince when it gets caught in one of many tangles, "..I'll be out in a few minutes."

Third Person Pov

 "Morning," Y/n says as she walks out of the hut, successfully catching the attention of a certain black and burgundy-haired boy. He looks back at her, his ponytail swaying a little as his red eyes meet hers.

 "Good morning, Y/n!" Tanjiro greets with a smile, causing the girl in question to mirror his expression, "You ready to go?"

"Yeah, Let's.." Y/n's smile drops as she nears him and notices the smaller girl that stands behind him, her expression blank, "What is she doing out here."

Tanjiro's smile falters for a moment as his brows knit together to form a nervous expression, "Well—"

 "Tanjiro," Both Y/n and Tanjiro look back at the call of his name. Kie walks out of the hut, a dirty cloth in hand as she walks past Y/n and up to her son, "Your face is covered in soot. Let me help you with that."

She gets down on her knees and puts the cloth to Tanjiro's cheek, "Are you sure you want to go down the mountain today? It'll be dangerous with all of this snow."

Tanjiro nods, his left eye closing as his mother rubs his cheek with the cloth, "I want us to have a good New Year's where everyone can eat as much as they want without worry."

Kie smiles, her eyes softening, "How thoughtful of you.."

 "I'm still waiting on your explanation on why she's not inside," Y/n says, interrupting the moment that was shared between Tanjiro and his mother. She crosses her arms and rest them against her chest, looking at him with expectant, irritated eyes.

 "Well.." Tanjiro begins, scratching the back of his head as he flashes her a closed-eyed smile, "Sumiko will be going down the mountain with us."

 "Like hell she will," Y/n retorts almost immediately. Tanjiro half expected the answer but even so, her instant rejection to the idea still makes him frown.

 "No need to be so angry with him, Y/n," His mother steps in, standing up and turning to face her with a carefree smile, "After all, it wasn't his idea. It was mine," She confesses.

Y/n's eyes snap over to Kie, her vexation faltering, "..Why?"

 "Sumiko needs some fresh air," She replies simply, "She hasn't struck a fever in a few weeks so now is the best time for her to go out and experience the world."

 "She doesn't need to 'experience the world', what she needs is to get back in bed and rest. I mean, look at her!" She points at her sister who's droopy, absent eyes stare at a nearby tree, "Does she look the least bit better?"

 "Yes," Kie replies. Not sparing the girl a glance nor seeing a reason to, "To me, she looks miles better than she did before. She's practically glowing."

 "You didn't even look at her," Y/n deadpans. Pinching the bridge of her nose as she shakes her head and groans. Kie doesn't seem fazed, still smiling sweetly at her.

 "I know you're worried about your little sister, but it's not fair to keep her cooped up in the house when she's clearly getting better."

 "She has a tendency of being inconsistent with her health," Y/n reminds, "Plus it's freezing. Her condition could worsen if she tags along."

 "That's a likely possibility, but I think it's for the best if she went with you," Kie's eyes trail over to stare at the blue-eyed child with a loving gaze, "It'll help her both physically..and mentally. I can feel it."

Y/n's eyes trail back and forth, staring at Sumiko, then at Kie, then back at Sumiko, her eyes flashing with confusion before she finally gives in and lets out an exasperated sigh.

 "I guess I can humor this for a bit," She grumbles something incoherent under her breath before muttering, "If her health gets worse because of this, just know I told you so.." Kie's smile widens.

 "Thank you," She says, and just as that breath of thanks leaves her lips, the sound of children's laughter grows louder as it nears the hut. The noise catches everyone's attention immediately and as they turn their heads to look back at the hut, they manage to catch Shigeru and Hanako running out of it.

 "Tanjiro!" Shigeru yells as he runs up to his elder brother with his sister in tow, "Are you and Y/n going down the mountain together today?"

Hanako runs up to Sumiko and scans her up and down with curious, perplexed eyes and after a moment, the realization hits and Hanako lets out a loud gasp.

 "Is Sumiko going too?" She asks in which Tanjiro nods his head. Hanako frowns at this.

 "Hey, no fair!" She whines, "I wanna come too!"

 "I'm sorry sweetie, but you can't." Kie butts in, "You know you won't be able to keep up."

 "Awh, come on mom!" Shigeru pleads. Backing up his sister as his bottom lip juts out in a small pout. Eyes drooping and creating a look akin to a sad, pleading puppy dog. Alas, it does little to sway his mother and she shakes her head.

 "Tanjiro won't be able to use the cart today so he won't be able to give you a ride when you're tired. And, it would be too much on them to have to watch you two, Sumiko, sell charcoal, and do whatever else they may have to do," She explains. Shigeru groans. His face scrunching up in disdain as his sister appears crestfallen beside him.

 "Hey!" Tanjiro softly exclaims, catching both of their attention, "Don't be sad guys," He smiles, "We'll bring back some yummy snacks for you."

At the mere mention of delicious treats, both Hanako and Shigeru's expressions brighten. Their previous looks of disappointment erased from their faces as if they were never there to begin with.

 "Do you really mean it?" Hanako asks, grinning from ear to ear, "Don't eat them all on the way back, alright?" Shigeru adds, his face mimicking his sister's.

Still smiling, Tanjiro straightens his posture. His hand coming up to rest over his heart as he closes his eyes and says, "I promise to eat not one snack, no matter how hungry I get on the way back home."

Shigeru laughs, both amused by his brother's sudden serious stance and happy about the promise of treats in a few hours. Hanako lets out a giggle as well but her laughter quickly dies down as she looks over at Y/n and Sumiko.

 "You two gotta promise as well!" She says, "Those snacks are for us only!"

 "Eh, Sumiko's not one for sweets anyway," Y/n mumbles under her breath before saying in a slightly louder voice, "We both swear not to touch your snacks no matter how good they smell or how hungry we are."

Satisfied, Hanako lets out a gleeful 'Yay!', her hands clapping as she bounces up and down, "Don't break your promises, okay?"

 "Wouldn't dream of it," Y/n replies. Kie doesn't say it aloud but she notices the girl's eyes softening as she said that. It makes her smile. Yes, Y/n can be a stickler about certain things but when it came to her family, she was a big softie. Whether she was aware of that fact or not remains partially unknown.

 "Hey, Takeo!" Tanjiro exclaims after spotting his spiky-haired sibling walk out from the side of the hut, "Do me a favor and chop as much wood as you can for me, okay?"

His younger sibling huffs, pulling his hatchet back to rest on his shoulder, "Yeah, I was already plannin' on doing that. But.." He pauses, his eyes darting away from Tanjiro and looking off at nothing in particular, "I was kinda hoping we'd chop wood together this time.."

Sensing Takeo's disappointment, Tanjiro walks over to him with a gentle smile displayed on his face. He pats his head, "There, there," He says, ruffling his hair. Takeo's frown deepens and he groans loudly.

 "Hands off," He grumbles, swatting his hand away. Tanjiro retaliates by attempting to ruffle his hair again but Takeo quickly stops him by grabbing his wrist. Takeo asks, "Seriously, what's with you all of a sudden?"

 "You're blushing, Take'!" Shigeru blurts out, pointing his finger at him. Takeo snaps his head in his direction, looking at him with wide eyes filled with embarrassment.

 "Huh..?!" He drawls loudily, "Shut up, you brat! You're seeing things!" Tanjiro plants his hands in Takeo's hair once more, his smile even more lax as he messes with his hair again, "There, there," He repeats.

 "Cut it out!" Takeo shouts only to be followed up by everyone else's laughter which makes him groan again. Y/n watches the sight with an unreadable expression on her face. Sumiko stares, but the absent look in her eyes give her away; she wasn't there and was most likely trapped in her own tangle of thoughts.

 "We should get going now if we want to be back before nightfall," Y/n reminds. Tanjiro looks over, finally retracting his hands from his brother's head, "Yeah, you're right." He looks over at his family, "We should go."

As Hanako and Shigeru nods their heads and Takeo responds with a small 'Yeah,' Tanjiro walks past Y/n and up to her little sister. He looks down at her and grabs her hand but she doesn't react at all to it, allowing him to trudge her along as he walks up to Y/n, "Let's go,"

 "Wait," Kie says and, of course, both Tanjiro and Y/n halt. As she walks up to them, she shoots them a brief, apologetic glance before focusing her attention on little Sumiko. She crouches down, her covered knees sinking into the thick snow beneath her as she adjusts the large scarf around the girl's neck so that it covers the bottom half of her face better.

 "I'm sorry for doing this to you," She cups her face, her skin serving as a pale contrast to Sumiko's cold, pink cheeks, "And in such weather as well. To make you tred down this mountain even though you've only been better for a few weeks.. It's selfish of me." She pulls her forward, encasing her in a warm embrace as she leans in close to her ear, whispering as she continues, "But for some reason.. All of my thoughts are screaming at me to go against my better judgement. So please..stay safe."

To Kie's surprise, when she pulls away, Sumiko's staring at her. Her eyes are surprisingly attentive which catches her off guard, "What's wrong?" Y/n asks after seeing Kie's shock on her face, but Kie quickly stands to her feet and replies with, "Oh, it's nothing. Have a safe trip, you three."

Y/n raises an eyebrow at this but decides not to question the interaction between the two and turns on her heel. Tanjiro walks up to Sumiko and grabs her hand again, quickly following after Y/n as his family shouts their goodbyes and waves until they're no longer in sight.

 "Tanjiro!" Not too long after beginning their journey down the mountain, the trio runs into Nezuko. Tanjiro smiles upon noticing his sister and Y/n's face bears a small grin. Sumiko remains unfazed.

 "Hey, Nezuko," Tanjiro greets as he walks up to his sister, tugging Sumiko along with him which she quickly notices. Her smile drops and her face now holds one of perplexment.

 "Are you going down the mountain to sell charcoal with Sumiko today?" She questions. Tanjiro nods, "Yeah, and I even convinced Y/n to come with me today." He says as Y/n finally walks up to them.

Nezuko looks over at Y/n, her smile returning, "I see. Well, I'm definitely surprised. Usually you prefer to go down the mountain super early in the morning before anyone else wakes up. Did you agree to tag along when you found out Sumiko was going?"

 "No," Y/n shakes her head, "Actually, I agreed to go with Tanjiro because he wouldn't stop asking me yesterday. I only found out Sumiko was coming this morning and the only reason she's coming with us is because Tanjiro and Kie managed to talk me out of making her stay."

 "Really?" Nezuko tilts her head a little to the side, "Why is that, Tanjiro?"

Tanjiro uses his free hand to scratch the back of his head, his brows knitted together and a crinkled smile displayed on his face as he responds, "Well, mom thought she could use a break from home and since her health has been improving lately, I agreed to take her with us."

 "Hm.." A look of worry appears on Nezuko's face for a brief moment, "I guess that's fair.. Make sure to look after her well," Tanjiro nods his head, "Don't worry, we will."

 "Rokuta's fast asleep. Did he manage to wear himself out on your walk?" Y/n points out, cutting away from the previous topic as she stares at the little boy laying on Nezuko's back. His small body covered in the thick, white cloth ( Onbuhimo ) that's wrapped around the both of them.

 "Not exactly, but I had to put him down for a nap regardless," Nezuko says, "After dad passed, he's been glued to Tanjiro's side. If he realizes he left, he'd throw a fit," She explains, Tanjiro's eyes noticeably soften.

Y/n comes closer to Nezuko, her hand reaching behind her to pet Rokuta's head. He fidgets ever so slightly and nuzzles into Nezuko's back some more, still asleep. Y/n's small smile returns, disappearing soon after she retracts her hand.

 "We should get going. Make sure to be careful on your way back up the mountain," She says, "It was nice seeing you, Nezuko," Tanjiro adds. Nezuko's smile widens.

 "It was nice seeing you guys too," She says as the three of them began to walk away, "Be safe and make sure not to overdo it, especially you, Sumiko!"

 "Ah, Y/n! Good morning!" An elderly woman who was sweeping snow from her porch greets the girl after noticing her arrival to the village, "For a second, I started to think you were finally going to take a day off since the weather has gotten so bad."

 "Not a chance," Y/n replies, "A little snow would never stop me," The woman chuckles, "I see that now.. Oh!" Finally noticing Tanjiro, the woman's expression changes to one of surprise, "Tanjiro's here too? I can't believe you came down the mountain on a day like this. You and Y/n are such hard workers!"

The woman's brows furrow, "Why is Sumiko here? Shouldn't she be resting in bed?" Y/n shoots Tanjiro a dirty look, crossing her arms as she waits for him to explain the situation. Tanjiro doesn't seem to mind.

 "Sumiko's health has been taking a turn for the better recently so we thought it would be good for her if she got out for a little," He explains, but the woman doesn't seem pleased with his answer. If the frown on her face wasn't obvious of that fact.

 "Isn't it a bit too soon? And letting her out of the house today of all days, what was Kie thinking?" She says, mumbling the last part more to herself than to them.

 "I know you're worried, but it's going to be alright. Me and Y/n are going to keep a good eye on her," Tanjiro says. And, although the woman's expression doesn't change much at all, she says, "Well as long as you two are watching her, I suppose I don't have much to worry about.. Make sure she doesn't get hurt while she's here."

 "We won't, I promise," Tanjiro says.

 "Hey, Y/n!" A man calls, catching her attention, "Are you selling charcoal today? I'll have some!" Another man pokes his head out of his window, "Ah, Tanjiro! Good to see ya'! Thanks for fixing my sliding door the other day!"

 "Y/n! I'm glad you came down today!" A dark-haired women says, a smile on her face as she asks, "Can you look after my children while I run an errand?"

 "Can you sweep my porch?" A younger, short-haired lady asks, smiling sweetly.

 "I'll take some charcoal!" A young man shouts.

 "I'll pass, but could you two help me move this furniture into my house?" An old man asks and just then, a boy comes bursting out of a nearby home. He runs but doesn't make it far before he's roughly snatched up by the shopkeeper who comes chasing after him.

 "Tanjiro!" The boy yells upon spotting him, "Thank goodness you're here!" Despite the resistance from the shopkeeper, the boy manages to wiggle his way out of her grasp, fumbling up to Tanjiro with blood dripping from his nose.

 "What's wrong?" Tanjiro asks, turning his attention to the boy on his knees before him, "I've been accused of breaking this plate! Can you help me out and sniff it?" The boy replies desperately.

Complying to his wishes, Tanjiro bends over and gives the plate a good sniff. He then straightens his posture, both brows raised as he says in a simple tone, "I smell a cat."

The laugh the village boy lets out after Tanjiro says that is one filled with joy and relief and as he turns to look back at the shopkeeper, his grin is wide and toothy, "See? I told you!"

The shopkeeper in question brings her hand up to her chin, muttering, "So it really was a cat.."

 "I told you I didn't do it!"

 "Now that that's done.." Tanjiro mumbled, his eyes panning over to Sumiko. Y/n had long left them to help out some of the villagers, leaving him alone with the eleven year old.

 "Hm, what should I do.." He thinks, "I know I used the excuse that she could help me out with selling charcoal, but will she really be able to..?"

 "Tanjiro!" Someone calls, snapping the boy from his thoughts, he looks over to see an older male calling out to him, "Can I get some charcoal?"

 "Sure," Tanjiro says. But just as he begins walking over, he stops, glancing back at Sumiko before looking down at the charcoal and then walking back up to her. He puts the charcoal in her smaller hands which, although her reaction was delayed, catches her attention.

 "Come on," He urges softly, being as gentle as ever as he nudges her in the direction of the man's home, "Let's sell our charcoal together."

 "It's already so late.. How did the day fly by so fast?" Tanjiro asks as the three walked the snowy trail back up the mountain.

 "I told you we should've left sooner," Y/n says in which Tanjiro looks at her and smiles, nodding his head in agreement.

 "Well next time, we'll definitely listen to you."

 "You say 'we' as if this is going to be a common occurrence."

 "Is that bad? I was able to sell a lot more charcoal thanks to you and Sumiko's help," Tanjiro says. Y/n rolls her eyes.

 "Sumiko didn't sell anything. All she did was follow you around and stare at nothing."

 "That's not true. She sold a few pieces," Tanjiro defended, but Y/n didn't seem impressed. In fact, she didn't look like she believed him and although her reaction was understandable, it was still disheartening to Tanjiro how little Y/n seemed to believe in her little sister..

 "Hey Tanjiro, Y/n, Sumiko!" They all stop. Turning his head, Tanjiro is met with the sight of Saburo, one of the villagers that lived on the outskirts of the village.

 "Oh hey, Mister. Saburo," Tanjiro greets, "What're you—"

 "It's too late for you three to be traveling up the mountain. Come inside, you can sleep here for the night," He offers. Tanjiro opens his mouth to politely refuse the offer but Saburo quickly cuts him off, shouting, "Don't argue! Just get in here..before the demons show up.."

Despite everything, Tanjiro still wants to refuse him. Although he really appreciates the offer there was really no point in staying the night here when they were almost home..

 "Tanjiro," Tanjiro turns to look at Y/n as she rests a hand on his shoulder, eyes widening at both the serious expression on her face and the heavy scent of fear that surrounds her being.

 "I'm..pretty tired from everything I did in the village, let's rest here for the night," She begins walking down the small hill, along the pebbled stone pathway that led to his front door. Murmuring something about explaining the situation to his mom when they get home in the morning.

As he watches her disappear into the small home, Tanjiro looks over at snowy path that led up to his home. It was quite the venture, but if they were really determined, he's sure they could make it home within the same hour..

But at the same time, it's not often that Y/n admits to being at her limit so maybe he should—

 "Hey!" Tanjiro jumps a little, sharply and quickly turning his head to look back at the hut where Saburo is once again peeking his head out the window, scowling, "You two get in here already!"

Guess he has no choice..

 "Alright, we're coming," Gently tugging her along, Tanjiro and Sumiko walk down the pebbled path that leads to Saburo's home.

Hopefully his family won't be too concerned about them arriving home later than intended..

 "Thank you for the meal!" Tanjiro says as he sets his chopsticks down on top of his bowl. He then takes a sip of his tea, holding it in his hands afterwards and harboring a distant look in his eyes as he stares down at the green liquid inside.

After barely touching her food, Y/n had quickly made herself a makeshift bed out of pillows and blankets and had long went to sleep. Sumiko, who finished her food before everyone else, had ended up falling asleep against the wall near her sister, leaving Tanjiro alone to pester Old Man Saburo.

 "Hey, Mister Saburo, what are demons like?" In all honesty, Tanjiro didn't really believe this talk of demons. It was far-fetched, fantastical, and just hard to believe. Even so, the mere mention of it managed to completely capture his interest.

Without much to any hesitation, Saburo begins, "Demons are man-eating creatures that prowl around at night. That's why you shouldn't walk around when it gets late," He pulls out a futon, walking over to Y/n's sleeping form and laying it out besides her. After setting a pillow out he walks over to Sumiko, bringing the small girl into his arms and carrying her over to the futon where he tucks her in.

 "If you're done eating, go to bed. You can set off as soon as day breaks," Saburo says taking one last glance over at Sumiko before getting up. Tanjiro gets up and slides into the futon on the opposite side of Y/n, eyes wide open and showing no sign of sleepiness.

 "These demons.. They can't come inside, can they?" He asks, staring up at the ceiling as he awaits for an answer to his question. Saburo grabs his smoking pipe ( Kiseru ) and holds it in his hand, replying in a simple tone, "Yes, they could come in."

 "Then what's stopping them from coming in and eating everyone?" Tanjiro asks. Saburo doesn't respond immediately. Deciding to bring his pipe to his lips, inhaling the fumes before letting it slip from him in one, long exhale.

 "Demon hunters protect us at night by slaying as many demons as they can. Always have, even way back when," Saburo finally answers only to then tap his smoking pipe against the edge of a large, stony bowl, emptying it's contents into it.

 "Go to sleep," He suddenly repeats, but this time he follows it up by cutting the lights off. Tanjiro complies to his wishes and closes his eyes, thinking to himself, "Mister Saburo is all alone after losing his whole family. He must be so lonely.. I'll bring my brothers and sisters next time and say, 'You don't have to be scared. There are no demons. You're safe.'"

"..But come to think of it, my grandma used to say the same thing when she was still alive.."

The wind seems to have picked up a little since last night. As they walk, the chilly breeze sticks to their skin, stinging their faces like a slap in the face and leaving redness in their wake. Despite this, none of them seemed fazed by it. With Y/n leading the charge, the three hiked the treacherous mountain in tranquil silence. The icy wind blowing being the only sound heard between them.

 "Hey, Y/n," Tanjiro suddenly speaks up, "Can I ask you something?"

Y/n hums, a little surprised albeit she didn't show it, "Sure, what is it?"

The wind seems to blow just a tad bit stronger, as if trying to warn Tanjiro of the mistake he's about to make. Alas, the warning falls upon deaf ears and without much hesitation, Tanjiro asks, "What was your life like before my father found you and Sumiko?"

The silence that Tanjiro is met with intially is a bit disheartening, but it doesn't last long before Y/n answers, "Nothing interesting. We lived with our parents and when they passed suddenly, I fled home with Sumiko in my arms and.." She trails off as if the wheels were still turning in her head, as if she was struggling to remember the events that happened to her, "..Well you know how the rest goes.."

But is that really the truth, he wonders. He's not very certain of anything, but this smell that clings to her. The unusual amount of anger, sadness, and guilt that has mixed and meshed together into this heavy, uncomfortable scent that makes Tanjiro's heart sink.. A smell like this wouldn't- shouldn't exist if one lived a simple life like Y/n claims..

But for some reason, she feels the need to hide what really happened to her from him. Does she think he wouldn't be able to handle it? Is it something that she fears he would judge her for? If that's the case then he needs to change that view she has of him because it's just not true! No matter what it is, no matter what has happened in the past, nothing she says could ever make him think differently of her!

 "Y/n—!" Tanjiro halts. A grotesque scent hitting him like a truck, rust overwhelming him to the point it burns his nose and throat. The sickening scent that's like no other. The smell of..

 "Blood!" Y/n stops in her tracks, looking back at Tanjiro with knitted brows.

 "What are you talking about?" Y/n asks only for her eyes to widen at the fear-stricken face she's met with. Tanjiro lets go of Sumiko's hand, which catches her attention, and without another word begins running up the snowy mountain trail.

 "Tanjiro, wait!" Y/n calls after him, but it's too late. He was already too far away to hear her voice. Or maybe, he purposely ignored her. Maybe the scent was so strong that he panicked and tuned her out, primarily focused on finding out its source.

Either way, she knows she needs to catch up with him. Fast.

With sharp movements, she turns her head and runs up to her sister, "Why are you still standing there?" She yells, roughly grabbing her thin wrist before yanking her along, "Move your ass!"

There's this familiar feeling swelling in her chest. Was it fear of the unknown? Sadness for what she knows is to come? Maybe the dread of uncertainty? Whatever it is it's strong. So strong that as she sprints up the mountain, her stomach twists and curls, giving off this strong sense of nausea. Thank the heavens she barely ate last night, otherwise she would've puked by now..

She hopes- no, prays that everything's alright. That everything was the same as they left it and that Tanjiro was just overreacting. It has to be. There's no way one of her worst fears have manifested into reality. There's just no way..

They have to be fine. No way something happened to them.

How could this have happened?

As if a nightmare had forced itself into reality, the first sight Y/n got when she finally made it up the mountain was a pool of blood staining the snow in front of the hut the Kamado's called home with the familiar bodies of Rokuta and Nezuko lying in the middle..

Tanjiro was on his knees, shouting their names and throwing out questions while frantically nudging the corpses of his siblings. Y/n stood there, motionless and in shock even when her sister slowly moved forward, looking as if she was watching the scariest movie of her life.

Still shaking his sister's shoulder and yelling her name, Tanjiro turns his head and freezes. As the sight slowly burned itself into his memory, it felt as if the world, that had already began crumbling, came crashing down onto him. It felt as if someone squeezed his heart and made it stop beating for a moment or two..

There inside the hut, which was painted from the roof to the floor in crimson and smelled like battered flesh and rusted, decaying iron, was the rest of his family. His mother Kie, his younger brothers Takeo and Shigeru, and his younger sister Hanako all laid lifeless on the ground, their faces and body splattered in their own blood and their blank, pupil-less eyes burning holes into him.

At some point, Y/n and Sumiko had walked over. Tanjiro didn't care enough to look up and gaze at the expression on their faces. Most likely it was similar to his own distressed one.

And just then, he felt something. A slow, weak drum, thrumming against the skin of his sister's neck. A pulse. A faint one but a beating pulse nonetheless.

Wasting not another second, he hauled Nezuko's limp, bleeding body onto his back and got up, "What are you doing," It was meant to be a question, but Y/n's words came out more as an angry demand. Tanjiro didn't care, answering her in a hurried breath as he began running.

 "Nezuko has a pulse..! I- I can still save her!" Y/n's eyes grow wider. She was still alive? Soon after Tanjiro began his descent down the mountain, Y/n followed after him and then Sumiko followed her.

 "Tanjiro, wait!" Y/n called after the boy when she finally caught sight of him. She sped up as best she could with the slippery snow beneath her feet, "There's no point in doing this! She's lost too much blood!"

 "Don't say that! I can still help her!" He shouts back, but his mind was elsewhere. How could this have happened? Did a bear attack them? They should be hibernating at this time of the year, but anything is possible at this point!

As he stumbled over a fallen tree, it gives Y/n the perfect opportunity to catch up to him. She hops over the wood, planting her sandals deeply into the snow so that she doesn't slip, taking large steps so that she now runs beside him. As if she was simply going through the motions, Sumiko hopped onto the log and took a huge leap forward, only stumbling a little when she landed a little ways behind the both of them.

Tanjiro was heaving at this point. The air was icy and when he inhaled, it felt as if the air transformed into little needles. The pain in his lungs only added onto the tears that were already bubbling in his eyes.

 "Tanjiro! Listen to me!" As Tanjiro's pace begun to slow, so did Y/n's, "She's beyond saving! I know this is hard to accept, but you need to snap out of it and face reality!"

  "No!" I won't let her die, he thinks, "I'm not giving up on her!" I refuse to sit and do nothing and let Nezuko die! I'm going to save her no matter what! "How can you give up on her so easily?"

 "I'm not!" She snaps, neither of them noticing Nezuko's hand twitch and tense with life, "You're trying to run away from the inevitable! It's going to take you forever to get to the village in this weather! Hell, you'll probably pass out before you even make it halfway there!"

Slowly, Nezuko's head lifts which goes completely unnoticed, "There's still a chance! Even if it's a small one, it's better than nothing! Why are you trying so hard to—" And in that moment, Tanjiro's words are cut short as Nezuko throws her head back and starts letting out throaty growls. She grips Tanjiro by the shoulders and began rocking wildly which is all it takes for Tanjiro to slip on the snow and right off the edge of the side of the mountain.

Oh no, Tanjiro thinks before a series of screams come tumbling out of his mouth. Y/n's eyes grow wide and her hand flies out to grab at Tanjiro. She slips on the snow at the same time Sumiko jumps to Tanjiro's rescue which causes their bodies to collide roughly..

As Sumiko's body was forced in another direction, Y/n throws her arms up and over her face. Her eyes clamp shut as she fell at high speeds, and when she finally hit the snowy ground, a rush of pain shoots through her. The breath she sucks in is sharp, almost painfully so.

She lifts herself with one arm slowly, the snow that had latched itself on her clothes silently sliding off and back onto the ground which is barely noticed by Y/n as she's more focused on her other arm, specifically her throbbing wrist.

 "Nezuko!" She blinks and quickly looks up, her eyes darting around until she finally spots Tanjiro and Nezuko standing a handful of steps away from her. Both seemed to have recovered from the fall quicker than she did.

 "Nezuko! Are you alright?" Tanjiro calls to his sister once more. Y/n watches, but her eyes stayed trained on Nezuko. As her tattered haori slipped off her shoulders, revealing the dried blood sticking to her kimono, the girl remained motionless. Tanjiro didn't seem to care, but it bothered Y/n, especially after what just happened.

 "You don't have to walk!" Tanjiro take one small step forward as he continued, "Let me carry you.." He trails off as a firm grip on his shoulder catches his attention. He look back and Y/n's standing there, looking at him with scrunched brows.

 "Don't get any closer," As her eyes trail over to Nezuko, Tanjiro notices a new scent surfacing that leaves him puzzled; a scent of fear dressed in sadness, "Let's..go find Sumiko. I lost sight of her when I fell."

What? What is she saying? "But what about—"

 "Forget about her!" Her voice raises with urgency and force that has Tanjiro jumping as a result. Y/n notices and takes a breath to calm down, but in doing so, it makes her trembling more apparent, both in her limbs and tone..

 "Now's not the time to fight, we need to get out of here," Is all she tells him. But all it does is makes Tanjiro more and more confused. Nezuko was standing right there! She was still breathing and even standing! They have the chance to save her! Why is she acting so cold towards the situation? And..why does she seem so scared of Nezuko?

Furrowing his brows, Tanjiro's face bares a look of pained disbelief, "How can you act like Nezuko's nothing to you? To me? I.. How can you act like she isn't your sister too!" As those words echoed in her ears, Y/n loosens her grip and Tanjiro shoves it off his shoulders. He turns, running towards his sister before Y/n can grab him again.

As he naively approaches her, Y/n calls out for him once again. The last warning he got. Before he could even call her name again, Nezuko looked up, angry veins protruding from her skin, eyes gleaming with hunger, and sharp fangs baring for all to see. He could barely process the sight and before he knew it, Tanjiro was laid against the snowy ground and his hatchet was in between his sister's teeth as she forced all her strength onto him.

Y/n hadn't moved a muscle. She simply stared, wide eyed as her breathing labored. As Tanjiro and Nezuko struggled in the snow, Y/n remained unmoving. Memories flashed. Imaginary blood filled her vision until they were replaced by her very real tears. Her chest tightens and her nails dig into the skin of her other arm. The lifeless faces that were burned into her memory stared into her soul before they were replaced by the image of blood painting the snow and Tanjiro laying in the crimson art; lifeless, decaying, and staring into her with those dark, cold eyes. Her lungs begun to feel heavy in her chest and her mouth falls open. Small, quiet wheezes are sucked in along with the freezing air around her. It does little to fill the sudden emptiness in her lungs..

Meanwhile, Tanjiro stares up at his younger sister, sweating bullets despite the below-zero temperature and his eyes wide, fully showing off the fear in horrid surprised that covered his deep red pupils. 

"Hey, Mister Saburo, what are demons like?"

"Demons are man-eating creatures that prowl around at night," He pulls out a futon, walking over to Y/n's sleeping form and laying it out besides her. After setting a pillow out he walks over to Sumiko, bringing the small girl into his arms and carrying her over to the futon where he tucks her in, "That's why you shouldn't walk around when it gets late."

Tanjiro's heart stills in his chest, "Nezuko's a man-eating demon? Impossible! She's been a human ever since she was born! But..she no longer has Nezuko's scent."

 "But Nezuko couldn't have done this! When we found her, she was laying as if she was protecting Rokuta, and there was no blood on her mouth or hands," Nezuko's newly sharpened nails dig into Tanjiro's shoulders, feeling like knives against his skin. He grits his teeth, "There was another one.. There was one more scent!"

A small gasp slips unsuspected from Tanjiro as he watched in horror as Nezuko slowly tensed and grew in size. As she became double his size, Tanjiro's arms buckled under the newfound weight and strength. Nezuko's fangs grew an inch closer to him.

Y/n's body trembled and her tears began to build and crumble and fall in clumps down her tingling cheeks where they inevitably drop from her chin and splash on her clothes. The only thing she felt in the moment was her swallowing anxiety and the the slight stinging in the wrist she landed on earlier; one being much more intense than the other. The breath she hastily inhales grow thinner, quicker, and dries in her throat as soon as it enters..  

 "While I was sleeping peacefully.. You were being brutally murdered with the rest of our family. It must've hurt really badly.. You suffered greatly, didn't you?" Tanjiro's guilt knits his brows together as it strangled his chest with an iron chain. Little tears began to form along the waterline of his eyes, "I'm so sorry I couldn't save you.. I'm sorry I couldn't save any of you.."

 "At the very least, I wish I could save you, but you're too strong for me to push back..!" As his arms started to numb over, his now thick tears slid down his cheeks and Tanjiro screamed as loud as he could muster with his burning lungs..

 "Nezuko! Hang in there, Nezuko!" His voice cracked. He shakes his head as he keeps eye contact as best he can through his blurred vision, "Don't give in! You gotta hang in there!"

Soft, quick feet plant their steps into the snow, crunching it in a fast succession and nearing the dire situation completely unsuspected.

 "Don't turn into a demon! Please, stay strong! Hang in there!" An aching pain seeps into his poor bones. His arms'll give out soon, "Please! You gotta hang in there, Nezuko!"

A big tear drops onto Tanjiro's cheek. He gasps once again and more tears drop onto him and slide down his cheek. Nezuko, with humane confliction soften her once slitted gaze, stared down at her older brother with big, gleaming wet tears dropping from her pretty pink eyes like a leaking faucet.

A figure slowly appears in the distance. Despite his fast approach towards them, no one seems to notice him. In a blink of eye, a gust of wind blows through Y/n's hair as he passes by her and leaps into the air. 

Nezuko looks back, finally noticing the new presence from above, but she's not able to react before her older brother grabs her by the throat and pushes her over. He rolls over and seconds before he rolls again, gleaming blue metal slices away a portion of his hair in an instant.

The blade collides with the ground with an intense force despite the snow cushioning it. It blows a gust of wind and snow towards the siblings and the two go tumbling together until Tanjiro's back hits a tree with a harsh thud. Y/n's heart stills in her chest as her hair blows in the wind behind her, every part of her body tingling intensely from both the cold and the overwhelming feeling that clouded every inch of her being until a few moments ago.

Tanjiro can feel Nezuko's body shrinking back to it's normal size, but he's more focused on other things. As he opens his eyes, his attacker is revealed. There, standing tall with piercing blue eyes darkened like the deepest depths of the ocean, was a man with raven black hair.

 "..Who's that?"   

As the man locks eyes with Tanjiro, Tanjiro immediately breaks it. His eyes drifting down to the katana in the man's hands; the words 'DESTROY DEMONS' engraved on the side of the shining blade. Is he some kind of swordsman?

 "Why are you protecting it?" The blue eyed swordsman asked in a blank tone of voice. Tanjiro sits up as he asks this, holding his sister close to his chest.

 "She's my sister!" He yells, "My younger sister!" As those words leave his lips, Nezuko seems to awaken from her temporary unconsciousness. And as soon as she does, she immediately attempts to flee, growling up a storm as her brother held onto to her shoulders for dear life and called her name. The swordsman's eyes narrow at the sight.

 "You call that thing your sister?" He asks simply with not a hint of emotion on his face to give away how he's feeling. Tanjiro looks at him pitifully before looking away to focus on his sister once again. A mistake on his part. 

The swordsman suddenly lunges forward. Tanjiro gasps, closes his eyes, and immediately drops down to cover his sister with his body. Alas, as his eyes opens, she's gone from his grasp. He looks around in a panic. His eyes finally settle on the sight of the swordsman standing a couple feet away from him, holding his growling sister's wrist behind her back with one hand.

 "Nezuko!" Tanjiro calls as he stands to his feet, "Don't move!" The swordsman orders, his voice loud but even. Tanjiro has no choice but to comply.

 "My job is to slay demons. Needless to say, I'm going to decapitate your sister," He speaks plainly. Tanjiro's heart feels as if it'll beat right out of his chest at this point.

 "Hold on!" Tanjiro hurriedly shouts, "Nezuko hasn't killed anyone!" As he speaks, Nezuko thrashes around, her hair swaying wildly, "Back at my house, there was another scent that I've never smelled before! Whoever that smell belonged to is probably the one who killed my family! It wasn't Nezuko!"

His voice dips, "..I don't know why she's turned into something like this, but.." He takes a step forward, his voice raising again, "..But still!"

 "It's quite simple. Her wounds were exposed to a demon's blood. That's why she turned into one. That's how man-eating demons multiply." The swordsman states.

 "Nezuko would never eat humans!" Tanjiro blurts out, "You've gotta be joking. Just now, she was about to devour you."

 "You're wrong! I'm sure she knows who I am!" 

 "I won't let her hurt anyone!"

 "I'm going to turn Nezuko back into a human! I swear, I'll heal her!"

Word after word spews from Tanjiro's mouth in succession. Promise after promise slipping from his lips only to be shot down by the swordsman's finishing voice as he says, "She can't be healed. Once you become a demon, you can never go back to being human."

 "I'll find a way no matter what! So please, don't kill her!"

 "I'll hunt down the one who slaughtered my family!" As Tanjiro shouts and the wind picks up, the swordsman raises his sword, "I'll make everything right! Please!" The swordsman tilts it downwards, the tip of his blade nearing Nezuko's neck with a threatening glow to it's tip, "Don't do it!"

Y/n's eyes keep trailing from the swordsman to Nezuko to Tanjiro then back to the swordsman. At last, she can feel the air entering her lungs. She breathes in and out slowly. That insufferable suffocating feeling has just about disappeared. She bites down on her tongue and her face scrunches, her eyes narrowing with frustration. She wants to run, just like she did last time, she wants to flee from the situation.

No, at the very least, she should get Tanjiro out of here. Yeah, that's the least she could.. Huh?

As her eyes drift over to Tanjiro once again, she watches as he drops to his knees, hands planted in the snow as he bowed his head to the ground and speaks in a loud, choked up voice, "I'm begging you! Please..! Don't kill my little sister!" He practically sobs out, "Please, don't do it! I'm begging you.."

A moment of silence passes. Y/n's eyes look over at the swordsman. He hasn't moved, completely frozen in place with his blade pointed at Nezuko. Another moment passes. Y/n notices the swordsman drop his head, his unruly bangs falling over his eyes like a sliced up curtain. His jaw locks and forces his teeth together as they grind and create a low, uncomfortable cracking sound. His body begins to tremble and for just a moment, Y/n mistook it for sorrow until he suddenly looked back up, the dark coloring of his irises lighting up with fury as he starts shouting at the top of his lungs.

 "Never leave yourself so defenseless in front of an enemy!" Both Tanjiro and Y/n's bodies jump a little from the sheer power of his voice, the pure rage that coated it, "Stop that pathetic groveling! If it were even the least bit effective, your family wouldn't be dead!"

 "How can a weakling like you, who bows down when it's time to fight, who can't take initiative.. How can somebody like yourself cure his little sister or even find the enemy?"

 "The demons might know a way to cure your sister!" He swings Nezuko forward with force, still holding onto her with one hand tightly, "But don't you think for even a second that a demon will respect your whining or begging or your will or wishes! Naturally, I have no respect for you, either! That's reality! "

 "Why did you throw yourself over your sister earlier? Was that supposed to protect her? Why didn't you swing that hatchet? Why did you show your back to me?" At this point, Tanjiro's sitting up on his knees, staring with surprise reflected in his teary eyes. The swordsman redirects his blade at last only to aggressively point it at Tanjiro.

 "All those blunders led to your sister's capture!" Nezuko's growls become all the more hostile and persistent as she begins kicking her feet around which causes the snow under her feet to fly every which way, "I could've skewered her and you along with that girl over there and been done with all three of you!" 

 "Don't cry. Don't despair. Those things will do you no good. Your family is dead and your sister has become a demon. Your heart is crushed. I know your pain, how you must want to cry out.. If I'd come half a day sooner, your family might have survived. ..But there's no way to turn back time.."

 "Fill your heart with anger. Strong, pure anger that cannot be quelled. Anger that becomes the unwavering force that will drive your limbs," The swordsman's sword raises into position again, "With such fragile resolve like yours, you can't protect your sister or heal her.." He slowly pulls his arm back, "..And weakness and empty promises certainly cannot avenge your family!"

 "No!" With one final yell from Tanjiro, the swordsman forces Nezuko back and stabs the chilling steel of his blade into the soft flesh of her shoulder. She lets out a painful cry and that seems to be the last straw for her older brother.

 "Stop!" He yells before throwing a pebble. The swordsman retracts his sword and deflects it with a simple flick of his wrist. Immediately, Tanjiro gets up and as the wind picks up and blocks his view of the swordsman with the thick, scattering snow, he makes a run for his hatchet. Y/n stays sat, rooted in place.

Running around, bypassing the countless trees around him, Tanjiro chucks another pebble before disappearing by a tree. The swordsman sidesteps and the pebble hits the tree behind him. With a loud battle cry, Tanjiro charges at the swordsman, his hands at his side, ready to swing. Y/n simply watches, dumbfounded, frozen in place in the snow.

 "A simple, head-on attack driven solely by emotion.. What a fool!" Clenching his teeth, the swordsman raises his sword and swings down. His hilt hits Tanjiro's back with excruciating force. Tanjiro bites his tongue to hold back a scream as his vision blurs. Y/n merely watches as he hits the ground, his body limp, unconscious. Nezuko stares at her brother laid out in the snow, mouth agape.

The swordsman straightens his posture, his arm falling to his side, "Where's his hatchet?" He thought to himself and as if to answer his question, a whirring sound makes him look up. His heart skips a beat and he moves his head just in time for the hatchet to hurl into the tree behind him with a thud. A moment of silence passes. Both Y/n and the swordsman share a similar expression of surprise as their eyes both lock onto the hatchet that's stuck into the tree, a literal inch away from the swordsman's head..

 "Just before he hid behind the tree, he hurled the rock towards me and, at the same time, tossed the hatchet into the air," The swordsman's eyes pan over to the boy laid out before him, "He hid his hands as he pretended to attack so I wouldn't realize he was unarmed."

 "He knew he couldn't beat him, so his plan was to bring him down after he struck him. But.." Y/n's uninjured hand balls into a fist, paying no mind to the freezing chunk of snow in her hand, "He failed.." 

At that moment, Nezuko lets out a particularly violent growl. Having completely thrown off his guard, the swordsman lets go and Nezuko immediately kicks him away. The swordsman quickly recovers. Nezuko lunges for her brother.

 "Damn it.." The swordsman thinks, "No, Tanjiro!" Y/n cries out, "She'll devour him!" They both think.

 "Nezuko.."

Sliding on the snow, Nezuko moves in front of her brother, crouching down. Flashing her fangs and growling threateningly. Arms up and protecting him from the swordsman.

 "It wasn't Nezuko! She'd never eat humans!"

Nezuko launches herself off the snow and sprints towards the blank-faced swordsman, He jumps back, "Long ago, someone once said the same thing, only to be devoured soon after.."

 "When a demon is starving, it will even eat its parents and siblings because they need the energy. I've seen it countless times," The swordsman's eyes train on Nezuko's kimono, which is stained by her own drying blood, while he dodges her sharp nails that claw at him, "She's wounded. It costs her energy to heal those wounds. Not to mention the strength it took to transform into a demon.." Nezuko swipes at the swordsman's face only to miss as he spins and elbows her in the stomach. He then forcibly palms her in the chest causing her to stumble back, "She must be severely starved at this moment and wants to eat human flesh as soon as possible.."

 "Yet, she protected him, turned her anger to me, and even intimidated me."

Jumping high into the air and flipping into the tree behind the swordsman, Nezuko pushes herself off the wood using her feet. She hurls downwards, nails ready to claw open whatever part of the swordsman she can get her hands on. The swordsman steps back and slides his sword into the sheath on his hips, "These siblings might be different from others.."

And with that, the swordsman lands a firm chop on the side of Nezuko's neck. Her body twitches before falling limp and right into the snow. Y/n's heart drops at the sight of both siblings laid out on the ground. A second or two passes and the swordsman's gaze falls on her. She sucks in an icy breath and blinks; the swordsman has disappeared from her sight.

In a panic, she whips her head in every direction. Before she can look back though, a pain shoots through her neck and her entire body goes numb. As her vision blurs, her eyes look up to gaze at her perpetrator. The last sight she sees before everything goes black is the strange mismatched design of the swordsman's haori..

A loud gasp slips from Y/n's lips as her body jolts up. The sound of her uneven, quickened breathing is the only noise that she can hear. Slowly, she opens her eyes. It's blurry at first, but it fades in no time and the familiar sight before her leaves her puzzled.

She looks around. There are futons of varying colors laid out on the floor, specifically six aside from the one she's in. They're striking patterns catch her attention. They remind her of Tanjiro and his siblings. Speaking of which..

There's no sign of anyone anywhere. Not the swordsman or Tanjiro or Nezuko. She seems to be in the hut of the Kamado Residence but..everything seems fine. There's no blood, nothing's destroyed, no bodies to be found..     

She finally notices. Her wrist feels..fine. She looks down. It doesn't seem to be swelling or irritated anymore. She's sure she sprained it or worse when she fell on it earlier. Earlier.. Did earlier even happen? Was it all a nightmare?

She breathes in slowly and closes her eyes once again. Images flash one by one. Everyone falling from the cliff, Tanjiro being attacked by the newly transformed Nezuko, the swordsman, the corpses— Y/n sucks in a particularly sharp breath. Best not think about that..

 "Even here, you still run away."

Y/n's eyes shoot open. She sees herself staring her down, scrutinizing her, judging her.

 "When will you realize that you can't escape fate? That simply running away does nothing for you?" The person speaks in her voice, but the strong tone they're using breaks away the illusion. This isn't her. That much was obvious, but it feels..odd. It was as if this wasn't just some weird hallucination of herself..

 "Tell me, are you content with how everything has turned out? The innocent having been tortured and slaughtered and the lone survivor being forced into a world he was never supposed to be apart of in the first place? Surely it eats away at you."

 "Who are you?"

 "Earlier, when that boy was attacked by his sister, why did you sit there and watch? Why didn't you jump to his rescue? Were you hoping that his sister would kill and eat him?"

 "No, I—"

 "When that swordsman attacked the siblings and threatened to kill them both, why didn't you intervene? Why didn't you immediately jump to the boy's aid? Why did you allow him, a mere civilian, to risk his life to protect a demon? Why did you let your guard down? Why did you let that swordsman knock you out?" 

 "That's not my fault! Tanjiro was the one—!"

 "When will you stop blaming your own shortcomings on everyone else? When will you realize that being a coward will only present you with the same, devastating result? How can you feel okay going on with your life when you have the potential to save thousands from this cruel fate?"

 "I can feel your anger. Thatpure, boiling resentment that stems from your own sorrow and hatred of being so helpless in your current situation. You've felt this way in the past but decided to do nothing with it. Now that the chance has risen again, embrace it. Never let this feeling fade. Let it grow into this insatiable fury and let it drive you from this point forward. Use it to fight."

 "Because in the end, when you're fighting for the sake of everything you have left to hold dear, this growing rage is going to be the only thing you will be able to rely on."

 "And that's what he told me," Tanjiro said, his hand intertwined with Nezuko, who now seemed much calmer and has a bamboo muzzle wrapped around her mouth. 

Y/n's skeptical gaze and scrunched brows gives away her thoughts before she's able to speak them, "So a random guy with a sword tells you to go to some random mountain and meet this stranger you know nothing about and you're just going to do as he says?" Her tone of voice speaks every insult she doesn't say. Nevertheless, Tanjiro's mind doesn't waver for a second.

 "I know how it sounds, but I want to trust him," He says, "Even if we got off on the wrong foot, he seems like a nice guy."

 "He almost killed you."

 "And I'm sure he had his reason behind why he did what he did," Tanjiro raises his free arm and puts his soft, cool hand on Y/n's equally freezing shoulder. He decides to ignore how she slightly tenses under his touch, "I understand that you're worried about us, but I need to do this.. For Nezuko's sake..I need to take this risk."

 "I promise I'll stay as safe as I can and as soon as I get there, I'll find a way to send you letters—"

 "I'm going with you."

 "Huh?" Tanjiro pauses. Y/n places her hand atop of Tanjiro's and removes it from her shoulder, giving it a squeeze of affirmation as her eyes drift away. Her sights landing on the graves of their late family lined up in a neat row.

 "I said, I'm going with you," She repeats, "After everything that happened, it would bother me to let you go on alone. Especially with that reckless intuition guiding you.." She mutters. Tanjiro seems shocked at first, but it's soon replaced by a wide smile.

 "If that's what you truly want, then I won't stop you," He says, his hand squeezing hers back. His eyes sliding to look behind her, where their eleven year old sister lays against the hut, unconscious.

 "What are we going to do with Sumiko? It'd be wrong to make her go with us.." As Tanjiro says this, Y/n walks over to her, "She'll travel with us for now until I can find a place to drop her off," She responds. Her hand grabbing Sumiko's arm and throws it over her shoulder before doing the same to her other arm, pulling the girl onto her back and getting up with ease. Tanjiro waits for Y/n to walk back up to him before turning towards the slope of the snowy mountain..

 "Hey, Y/n.." Tanjiro calls.

 "What is it now?"

 "I'm sorry for what I said before, about you not caring about Nezuko. You noticed before I did, right? You were trying to protect me and I.." As he trails off, his expression grow somber. Y/n takes the expression in before looking back towards the slope.

 "I already forgot about it. You should focus on the journey ahead," She says, but Tanjiro doesn't seem satisfied. Noticing this, Y/n takes the first steps down the mountain, cutting the conversation short and leaving him no choice but to follow after her with Nezuko in silence..

Dividers were made by me, pictures used are from Pinterest, post formatting is inspired by @xxsabitoxx

[matchadobo]

Can I request Kid x reader (established relationship) where he and the crew find out the reader is a run away princess beacuse she was arranged to get married to a prince who was awful? You can expand on this concept as much as u want!!

KIDD; runaway princess

wc: 2003

warning/s: none, very fluff, kidd's being violent tho

"snap at me when you've taken down more than half of what i had done, cutie." he taunted, pinning down enemies one after the other that almost got to you. "so i don't gotta watch your back all the time."

"i'll point the gun at you instead, numbskull."

once the lot of you had reached a quiet alley, you all settled down. some had got a hold of their knees, sat on the ground with their backs on the cold, bricked walls, or face flat on the asphalt trying to catch their breaths.

but you were too occupied with thinking if you should out yourself because you are overflowing with guilt. some of your men have been injured but thankfully enough no one died. while some of your mates tended to their wounds, you couldn't take all the guilt so you stepped up.

"why are you standin' like that?" kidd looked at you funny. he stood tall with his back against the wall, his arms crossed, a puzzled expression on his face.

"i... have something to confess to you guys." you said with your head hung low, fists balled up. the others figured that it was serious, so everyone stopped lousing around and had their eyes on you. you took your time gathering your thoughts and words and they anticipated patiently.

"out with it, love." kidd nudged you, placing his human arm on your shoulder. he donned a gentle smile which cheered you on. a smile only known to you and for you.

"the real reason why we're being chased by the royal guards of my village is not just because we're pirates. it's mostly because i-i'm the lost princess who ran away on her wedding day." you spat bitterly, bile rising across your throat.

you pulled out a bounty poster of you that you snatched from the pub you lot were drinking at earlier. "i colored and grew out my hair so i wouldn't be recognized." you placed the poster side by side. the utter astonishment in their eyes as even the littlest resemblance was not evident. you got too careless that your hair later grew out and your roots were showing. even with the make up, the people from your village were able to recognize you.

you took a look at them and they all had the same expression, jaws dropped on the floor. but you especially took a long glance at kidd, his face was unparalleled and you couldn't read him. was he angry? shocked? sad? amused?

he sucked in his teeth and tsked, "sounds like my little rockstar." he looked at you, eye-to-eye as he watched how tears pooled by your eyes. "kinda figured you're somewhat of a princess though, you're too damn pretty to be in my world."

"yeah?" you placed your hand above his which was clutching your cheeks. "i-i'm sorry i lied... i was... scared."

in a millisecond, kidd pulled you to his grasp by the back of your neck. he stroked at the back of your head, combing his fingers through your locks. "that ain't a problem, alright? i'm more than happy to take you away whatever reason you got going on." he pledged by your ear, his embrace tightening. "you better tell me all about it though, aye?"

"i'm really sorry, this is all my fault you guys got hurt." you sobbed silently yet you don't even think deserve to cry. "i-i'll just surrender so you guys can get off the hook-"

"name, no! what?!"

"now that's going too far, name!"

"don't even think about it, name! as if we'd let you!"

"what the hell do you think you're talking about?!" kidd fumed, eyes furious alternating between your glassy ones. "you do realize that when you became part of the crew, you're stuck with us, aye? whatever bullshit you're planning, get it the fuck outta your mind." he kicked a lone rock by the asphalt before turning his back to you. "don't go dropping shit like that like it's some normal fuckin' thing. think about what you really want, and maybe consider my goddamn feelings along the way, why don'tcha." kidd strutted deeper into the alley, with each click of his heel you felt guilt boring through your soul. you couldn't see it but his eyeliner was starting to fuck up because of the forming tears.

you fell to your knees, frustrated. some of the crew members gave you a hug as you started crying your heart out, remembering all the excruciating days of royalty. it was tormenting. but you wanted your crew to go free. if it means to save them, you'd do anything. so you made your way to consult your lover by the corner.

"if you want to surrender. you're just being selfish at this point, name." kidd said through gritted teeth, bitter words making your heart break. "you don't even think about what we want? what i fuckin' want? i know for goddamn sure that you don't want that, why else would you run away then? so let me ask you, what do you really want?" he looked you in the eye, both hands on your shoulders.

"i-i want to be with you. i feel the most free when i'm with you. i want you to be the one i marry. i don't want to be shackled by these posh shit, i want to sail the seas with you. i want to celebrate every birthday with the crew. i want to see everyone reach their dreams, especially you. i want to be with you every step along the way. i-i want to have that, b-but if this princess thing-"

"no buts, i heard you loud and clear, baby." he interrupted with a kiss on the forehead. "you wanna settle this the kidd pirate's way or what?" he suggested with the most manic grin against your ear. "i'm tempted to hunt down that moron prince who had the nerve to marry you. gotta teach 'em to not meddle with someone else's treasure."

"don't tell me you're burning the whole village down..." you looked up at him, though there was no shred of empathy in your eyes. seems like he and the crew had rubbed off on you.

"you bet i will."

hiii thanks for the request! very sporadic updates bc i'll have exams in a week 😞

[yanderes-galore]

Can I get a Steven from Steven Universe Future yandere alphabet, please?

Sure! Here's what I came up with :)

Original Steven Concept I Did Here.

Yandere Alphabet - Steven Universe

Pairing: Romantic

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Obsession, Clingy behavior, Fear of loss, Trauma/PTSD, Steven's a mess, Blood, Violence mention, Attachment issues, Jealousy, Anger issues, Manipulation, Stalking, Kidnapping, Dark themes, Poor mental health, Angst, Possessive behavior, General yandere themes, Delusional behavior, Unhealthy behavior, Forced relationship.

Affection: How do they show their love and affection? How intense would it get?

Steven is naturally clingy due to his past. He doesn't like leaving you so he comes off as smothering. He's used to losing others and now that he's found someone new... he doesn't want to let go.

Steven comes off as intense, even when he doesn't mean to. He just wants to cover you in hugs and kisses. He just wants to feel your warmth and not be alone again.

Blood: How messy are they willing to get when it comes to their darling?

Steven has always been a person who wants to solve problems by talking them out. However, with his new unpredictability... there may be times he gets more violent than he'd like to be.

He feels conflicted and horrible the moment he sees blood on his hands. Yet he quickly hides it. After all... you shouldn't view him as a monster just yet, right?

He wants to enjoy you for a while longer before you leave him.

Cruelty: How would they treat their darling once abducted? Would they mock them?

Steven would not purposefully try to mock you unless you set him off or something. He's impulsive though, which may lead to him kidnapping you without thinking things through.

Abduction would be a last ditch effort for him to not lose his darling. He cares for you the best he can all while trying to self soothe himself in your embrace. In abduction you can truly see how messed up the poor young man is.

He always asks how he can help. He denies you your freedom and quickly becomes the only thing you see. He's in denial of everything... including his toxicity.

He's been struggling to find a purpose, but when he meets you... He just knows he's needed you since he met you.

He just hopes you understand him... eventually.

Darling: Aside from abduction, would they do anything against their darling’s will?

He probably doesn't mean to, but it ends up happening anyways. He's so caught up in what he wants or trying to "help" and "care" for you... only to forget you really need space, not him.

Exposed: How much of their heart do they bare to their darling? How vulnerable are they when it comes to their darling?

He may try to hide it, but in the end he's very vulnerable with you. He struggles to be open but it ends up spilling out of him anyways. When he's vulnerable... it's almost upsetting when he holds you close and sobs.

However... he's still dangerous... and you know that.

Fight: How would they feel if their darling fought back?

Genuinely upset and you may set off his temper. He may fight back verbally, but even with just words... his powers can get hectic by accident.

If he ever hurt you by accident, he pauses and either isolates himself or tries to make things better again.

Game: Is this a game to them? How much would they enjoy watching their darling try to escape?

No and he hates it.

Hell: What would be their darling’s worst experience with them?

Well, with this one there can be a lot of candidates due to how volatile Steven can be. As I said before, he'd never mean to hurt you but he may do it by accident.

Seeing his mental breakdowns... seeing him snap at others... at some point he'll take it too far.

In a fit of desperation, he may accidentally harm you or someone close to you. You're terrified once you see his hands and the floor covered in blood. The realization of what he's done may break both of you.

The thought is unnerving... as that blood can either belong to someone you know... or you.

Ideals: What kind of future do they have in mind for/with their darling?

In the end, somehow, Steven wants to have you two married and happy together. Yet he's so emotionally driven and plagued with trauma, that even if you tried to help him, it only hurts the both of you.

Jealousy: Do they get jealous? Do they lash out or find a way to cope?

Yes. Steven has a fear of being left behind. So when he sees you turn your attention to other people, it affects him. He'll usually try to deal with it alone, often going into a depressive state and crying about it in his room.

Honestly, him just being sad is the better option. All you have to do is comfort him afterwards. Although... he is fully capable of lashing out, which would be dangerous for anyone around him. We've seen in Future how he gets.

Left unchecked and someone may get hurt.

Kisses: How do they act around or with their darling?

Obsessive, Clingy, Affectionate, Manipulative, Controlling, Needy, Volatile, Possessive, Intimidating, Caring, Smothering.

Love letters: How would they go about courting or approaching their darling?

Pulling from my older concept, you two most likely met after he left home to have a fresh start. You offer to be his friend, to help him, and he ends up feeling attached. However... soon friendship turns into more than friendship.

He wants you to be lovers, to be married, to support him.

He's moving too fast with his feelings which causes issues for both of you. He stresses out over the fact you don't feel the same and worries you'll leave him. He doesn't want to lose you...

So it seems he must prevent that somehow.

Mask: Are their true colors drastically different from the way they act around everyone else?

Well, he's not really trying to mask anything. He may try to hide his darker nature... but you'll find out eventually.

Naughty: How would they punish their darling?

He doesn't like hurting you, the only times he does is by accident. So your punishment may be something like... forcing you by his side or something like that. Isolation punishes him too, so he'll do the opposite.

He'll use his powers to chain you to his side until he knows you won't leave him.

Oppression: How many rights would they take away from their darling?

Most of them if it meant he wouldn't be left behind.

Patience: How patient are they with their darling?

I like to think at first he's really patient... but as he gets worse and worse... he's impatient.

Quit: If their darling dies, leaves, or successfully escapes, would they ever be able to move on?

Honestly, if anything bad happened to you, he'd snap. Like... monster Steven snap.

Regret: Would they ever feel guilty about abducting their darling? Would they ever let their darling go?

A little and maybe.

Stigma: What brought about this side of them (childhood, curiosity, etc)?

Childhood trauma. One of the main things dealt with in Future.

Tears: How do they feel about seeing their darling scream, cry, and/or isolate themselves?

Steven is used to helping. He'd do whatever he can to see you happy again. Sometimes he's even unaware that he could be the one causing it due to his delusions. He'll hold you close, kiss your head, and just stay beside you. He hates it when you're upset.

Unique: Would they do anything different from the classic yandere?

SKIPPED

Vice: What weakness can their darling exploit in order to escape?

Get this man the help he needs, put up boundaries, and probably get the poor man a therapist. He'll be much easier to manage. (Also he just really needs help.)

Wit’s end: Would they ever hurt their darling?

Unintentionally, afterwards he panics and tries to fix things.

Xoanon: How much would they revere or worship their darling? To what length would they go to win their darling over?

Steven may actually be a worship yandere at times. There's times he's just so grateful that you want to help him and he just wants to keep you forever. He'd do anything to have you. Just so he can keep your warmth all to himself.

Yearn: How long do they pine after their darling before they snap?

Anything from months to a couple years.

Zenith: Would they ever break their darling?

Not on purpose.

[dceuheadcanons]

How my main batboy pookies respond to personal conflict/act in arguments. Because I feel angsty today

If someone was mad at Bruce he probably wouldn't care. But! It does heavily depend on who's mad at him. If it was any of his kids (especially Dick or Jason, considering how heavily he feels like he's failed the two of them in the past) he'd probably go quiet and grit his teeth. His words would get stuck sorely in his throat, and when he tried to speak he'd probably start crying. He'd try to wipe away the tears quickly but they would definitely just keep coming. He probably doesn't get angry at other people that often, unless they hurt people he loves in some way. Even then he isn't really the violent type, he'd probably be more cold, calm and cutting in that situation.

Dick! He'd get MAD mad. No tears, no shaky voice, nothing. Obviously depending on what the argument's about, but if it's serious.. yeah. I have an anger issues Dick Grayson agenda. He is all bark and ALL bite. He would probably throw a punch or just full on dive at you if you went too far. That man has a terrifying angry voice, and even if his actions aren't angry or violent.. if you hear that voice, maybe consider running? And never stopping? Until you reach the other side of the galaxy?

Jason is a crybaby to me. Not the whimpy kind, really, but he cries a lot. Crying is probably one of his main pastimes, let's be honest, he's a very emotional guy. When he gets truly angry it tends to be from a place of sadness. But he's a master of words, so he will also be telling you all the ways in which he hates you as tears stream down his face! I loooove imagining him getting mad at Bruce for, like, everything. He'd definitely yell awful things at Bruce and then, as soon as Bruce leaves, he'd sink to the floor and sob like a baby.

Tim. Timmy boy. Timber. He.. he doesn't like conflict. He doesn't start it directly. He tries to avoid engaging in any of his friend's conflicts. If he's mad at someone he'll just sabotage them in some way. Probably by resetting all their passwords or something, if it's a fairly minor conflict. If someone starts yelling at him he shuts down and tunes them out. He never cries (except for his monthly Five Minute Crying Session™️) over anything. Emotions? What are those? Tim has no idea.

Ough Damian. This actually heavily depends on who's mad at him. If it's an authority figure he'll probably at least think about it for days and cry over it in private. If it's his grandfather.. yeah this kid is probably self disciplining himself over it. If it's any of his brothers he won't apologise, won't act like he regrets what they're mad at him for, but he WILL feel guilty about it for the rest of his life. He can very clearly remember every time he's messed up or made someone angry. The main trait that he inherited from Bruce, personality wise, was his guilt.. though everyone assumes it's the cold and uncaring exterior. Or the acting skills.

[lookingfts]

✍🏼 Writing pride tag game

Thanks for the tag @rosesatdawn24! I've thought about this for a few days because I have a lot of fics haha. But I knew I wanted to include something from In love and death, we don't decide because that's still the fic that I'm proudest to have written.

It's actually a scene between Anthony and Benedict, but I chose it because it makes me feel emotional every time I reread it.

A no-pressure tag to @waterlilyrose @fitrahgolden and @mimix007 if they'd like to share a snippet of something they're proud of!

--

The door shuts behind him and Anthony jumps, spinning around to face Benedict. Mouth already open – to berate him, surely – but he sucks in a harsh breath instead, processing Anthony’s black eye and bloodied shirt. “What happened?”

“What the fuck do you care?” he spits, resuming his haphazard packing. “You very politely asked to be left out of my bullshit, so don’t worry about it.”

He forgets how fast Benedict is, as his brother is by his side in a flash, grabbing his arm in an iron grip to get him to stay still. Anthony tries to pull away, but the effort makes his muscles ache unbearably. Ben’s other hand goes up to his jaw, twisting his face to the left to examine his injuries. “Come on, we’re going to A&E. I’ll drive you.”

Taking advantage of his brother’s loosening grip, Anthony knocks him away. Benedict stumbles back a few steps, looking wounded. “I’m not going to A&E. Tell mum I’m staying in a hotel, if she even bothers to ask.”

“Anthony, seriously, what the fuck is going on? You’re sneaking around with some mystery woman you won’t tell me anything about, and now you show up here covered in blood and expect me not to ask any questions?”

“I murdered someone, you happy?” His voice doesn’t sound like his own, hollow and echoing. The mention of Kate makes his head pound – she’s the last person he wants to think about right now. “I don’t know why you give a shit!”

“Because you’re my brother!” Benedict shouts back, grabbing the front of Anthony’s ruined shirt so he can’t turn away. “You’re an absolute jackass, but I love you, Ant. And I don’t care how much you push me away, that’s never going to change. So stop fucking running and let me help you!”

For a moment, they just stare at each other. He searches for the resentment, the blame, but it’s not there. All he sees is his brother, his friend, begging to help him carry the weight that is so close to suffocating him.

The anger and desperation that has been propping Anthony up for months ebbs out of him, and he nearly collapses. Ben is quicker, caging him with strong arms, lowering them both to their knees on the cold tiled floor. His brother’s grip is unrelenting, not giving Anthony a chance to escape this time, and he gives in, too exhausted to protest. There’s nothing left for him to fight for, anymore.

It’s not until he feels his body heave violently that Anthony realizes he’s sobbing into Ben’s shoulder.

“It’s okay,” Benedict murmurs, running a soothing hand through his hair as he rocks them gently. His voice is watery, his own tears falling onto the back of Anthony’s shirt. “I love you, Ant, we’re gonna be okay.”

One hundred and eighty-nine days after Edmund dies, Anthony Bridgerton finally breaks.

[hestzhyen]

Leap of (Lack of) Faith

There's some discourse about Hakuri's suicide attempt in chapter 24 going around on Twitter that got me thinking. Well, actually, I just want to share my own pointless take. Yeah, I genuinely want to be perceived for once. But I hate trying to communicate in 240-character snippets on that hellsite, so I'll post here to rot in obscurity where I'm most comfortable.

Basically, there was a post in the Kagurabachi Twitter community that requested to talk about the abuse flashback-jump sequence. And yeah, uh, I'm kind of surprised at how little it gets brought up too. To quote myself:

Please don't ask me why I have three different usernames- there's no satisfying answer.

It's been a while since chapter 24 happened, so let's recap the lead up to this important moment. We first see Hakuri in Ch. 19 with his drink spilling out of his mouth, putting his inner monologue about "hav[ing] to grit your teeth and push through" to the lie. The very first shot of him, the very first food metaphor we see with him, is Hakuri being unable to cope. We don't know why he lost his his family, but he's clearly alone and not doing well. He's struggling.

Next thing we see is him being coincidentally saved by Chihiro. We get a full page of him narrating his impression of the moment, showing us the contrast between his desire to do some unspecified "job" and his fatalistic frame of mind. Then we learn he's weak as hell even though his heart's in the right place. He saves a little girl and insists on being taken back to the Yakuza's hideout, leading him to get kicked around and beaten up. He's a bloody, scribbly-eyed mess by the time he meets Chihiro for real. And this is exactly how we are supposed to see him until the moment he jumps in chapter 24.

It's so, so easy to overlook the hints towards Hakuri's painful past due to the way he's written. Most of his actions and dialogue are framed in a comedic way to bounce off of Chihiro's stoicism. Hakuri's pessimistic inner monologues when he's being hurt or nearly killed are right at home in this demographic too- wimps start at their lowest to leave lots of room to grow. And Shounen series always have a weak, lonely kid who's inspired to become strong. It's extremely standard stuff. But this moment right here was probably the biggest, most blatant hint that he's got more to his circumstances than the average zero-to-hero character:

That tiny little panel of him casually smearing the blood from his nose while he talks to Chihiro lives rent-free in my head. It's a throwaway motion in the moment, and not really out of place in an ultra-violent series like Kagurabachi. But compare that to how Azami -a professional combat sorcerer and war veteran!- screamed when he realized his hand was sliced in chapter 7, or how Chihiro is often shown wincing and having to adjust to his injuries. These characters definitely feel the hits that land on them. But the most hilariously pathetic character yet acts like the beat-down he received never happened. Nor like he's surrounded by bloody corpses. Hakuri is not only used to violence, he's used to it experiencing it.

Again, this is all framed in a comedic way due to his over-the-top personality and expressions. He's a freakish mess on the floor after taking the hit from Hiyuki, sobs in a silly way over Chihiro's backstory, is called "weak" and "a moron" and "a mess" by other characters, on and on. Hakuri's not written like he's supposed to be taken seriously after the first few pages we see of him.

The only other moments of foreshadowing came in chapter 23 as a set of blink-and-you'll miss panels and the last scene:

Hakuri's clenched, shaking fist when he talks about his "scary" older siblings isn't a huge tell. Neither is the insistence that they'd kill him on sight. We can comfortably assume that he's afraid of the consequences of betraying his powerful family despite being a weakling- that's where most authors would have gone with this scenario. But then why does his big brother Soya look so happy to see him? Was Hakuri over-reacting again when he talked about his family? Something's off here, but it's impossible to say exactly what.

The next chapter starts. Chihiro and Shiba are facing off against the Tou and it's looking tense. Chihiro flashes back to his dad talking about the Shinuchi, the fight's about to begin- but it cuts to Soya being a pretty normal person who misses his little brother.

And then we see this.

Suddenly a whole new and very serious dimension is added to Hakuri's character. He's not a goofy weakling that's going to improve himself with some determination and a training arc: he's a victim of abuse. This is the signal that the Sazanamis are truly fucked up more than we know, setting the stage for the major themes of the Rakuzaichi arc. And it makes re-reading those little bits of foreshadowing so much more painful.

This scene is the "oh shit" equivalent of Chihiro finding Char's severed leg in the car- yeah, the author really went there. And it's not even the last time we'll get a moment like this for Hakuri. The Ice Lady chapter is rightly remembered for it's impact, but Hakuri choosing to commit suicide should be held up alongside it IMO. Again: the author really went there, and not just for the shock value.

This moment should be remembered far more often than it is. It was the pivot from Hakuri being a generic potential sidekick into a complex and fully-realized character. Hakuri found people who could help him. Who treated him kindly. Who inspired him. But he chose death in an instant when his past came back to haunt him. Despite his improved circumstances, he had no hope for the future. He only felt fear and the urge to escape from looming torment.

Looking at what we know up to this chapter alone... how can you not feel for him? This goofy, ridiculous mess of a boy is really truly hurting and probably has been for years. But like many victims, he downplays and doesn't talk about it. He just tries to escape via whatever means he can.

So it burns me up that people are still reducing him to Chihiro's silly sidekick. If this scene was somehow not enough to dispel that notion, consider that Chihiro probably doesn't know that Hakuri had all those tools used on him, much less anything about Ice Lady. He knows that Hakuri was regularly ganged up on and beaten, and probably could infer that Kyoura deliberately looked away. But we haven't seen Hakuri talk about in detail about how "someone set him on the right path", nor mention taking a flying leap, nor share what's in his storehouse. He's still got a hell of a lot of literal and metaphorical pain he keeps inside. In the right circumstances, Hakuri could jump again.

Talk about this scene more often! REMEMBER it more often!

[allzelemonz]

Horses: Kieran Duffy X Male Reader

Pronouns: None Mentioned, Reader referred to as ‘sir’, ‘mister’, and ‘man’ Physical Sex: None Mentioned Rating: T/Violent themes, language Warnings: Chapter 1 setting, kidnapping, very fluffy Kieran Duffy, Kieran loves horses, passing joke about bestiality, Reader is kind of an asshole Summary: You volunteered to watch the O’Driscoll prisoner and all he seems to want to talk about are the horses around him.

He really does look pathetic. Bill had told you as much but you didn’t think an O’Driscoll could look so small. Since Charles has gone out hunting with Arthur, someone has to watch the prisoner and you jumped at the excuse to be away from the boys’ little building with all of their bickering. You’ve barely opened the door and his eyes have already found yours and looked away quickly. You decide to pay him little mind and go over to your horse, they need attention after all.

After a few minutes he speaks up. “A-Are you gonna hurt me?”

“No.” You say plainly. “Unless you give me a reason to.”

He hunches his shoulders, making himself look a little smaller. Another few minutes pass as you pet your horse and idly give them a few treats.

“Your horse is real pretty.” He says before hunching on himself again. “Sorry.”

You stare at him for a moment, a little baffled by the confidence to compliment a horse of all things only to go back into his little shell. “It’s fine… thanks.”

He perks up ever so slightly and watches for a moment as you pick a piece of hay out of the horse’s mane. “Seems like a good horse.”

You eye him and he shrinks again. “You got a thing for horses or something?”

“I-I,” He shakes his head. “No, sir. N-Not like that…”

You smirk to yourself as he trails off and stares at the floor. “You like them though?”

He nods.

“Well,” You walk around to stand in front of him and point to Baylock who stands just a few feet away. “That one’s the only one that might not like you, best to keep your distance.”

Kieran looks over at the black stallion then down at himself. “Kinda hard ta… ya know.”

You smile. “You’re funny, O’Driscoll.”

“Mister… I-I ain’t an O’Driscoll.”

“Really?” You mockingly tilt your head. “Because I distinctly remember looking through a pair of binoculars and seeing someone that looked a hell of a lot like you down in that little camp.”

“I-It ain’t like that!” He whines. “I… forget it…”

You sigh as he slumps in his bindings and sobs quietly. “Just keep quiet, I don’t wanna deal with you more than I have to.”

He sniffles, stifling the next sob as he nods.

You shake your head to yourself and go around to the horses, giving treats where you can. The Count seems colder than the others but he’d never let you put a blanket on him, you’ll have to go tell Dutch about it so he can. You give Brown Jack an extra treat because he looks uncomfortable all crammed into the stables. He’s always appreciative of treats anyway, even if Bill spoils him with them most days.

Only by the time you’ve seen every horse does the O’Driscoll speak up. “Can I ask ya somethin’, Mister?”

You let your hand drag down Maggie’s flank as you walk away from her to stand by the prisoner. “What?”

He wavers in his stature, the pole he’s tied to likely not making it easy to stand upright. “Could ya tell me about ‘em… the horses?”

You give him an odd look. “You wanna know about the horses?”

“I-I told ya, I like horses…”

“What is it you wanna know?”

He looks over his shoulder at a few of the large steeds. “Just, I don’t know, their names n’ such.”

“You don’t wanna ask for food or something?”

“I know ya ain’t gonna give me any… but ya seem ta like the horses.”

For a moment you consider if he could use the information against the gang somehow, if Dutch would be mad if the O’Driscoll suddenly knew things about the horses, or if he’s trying to weasel his way into something. But you determine all of those to be untrue enough to cave. “Fine.”

He cracks a smile, a broken one but still a smile.

You walk over to the generally threatening black stallion first. “This is Baylock.”

Then you walk to each horse in turn, introducing them. The Count, Silver Dollar, Brown Jack, Nell II, Old Belle, poor Ennis and the Callander boys’ horses without their owners. All except for Taima and Boaz who are out doing work or settled outside. Then you stop at your horse and say their name with a pat to their nose.

“R-Real pretty…” The O’Driscoll mumbles to himself.

Now Kieran has never called a man pretty before. He never thought he would. But after watching you treat each and every horse with such a fondness before even getting to your own, he can’t quite make his brain think of the right word to describe you. So when you stop right in the light of sunbeams and your face is illuminated just right as you smile at the horse in front of you, pretty is the only word that comes to mind.

[grapejuicestyless]

The Tide Always Goes Out

Conrad Fisher x fem!reader

ANGST

Summery: You were sick. You had always been sick. But you looked so healthy, so it couldn’t be true. Conrad could live in denial of his best friend’s inevitable death but there was nothing he could do to stop it and he has to accept it.(Inspired by the book Little Women specifically the scene in the 2019 film between Beth and Jo.) Mentions of illness and death.

We sat on the beach squished on a small blanket. wrinkles from our shifting and creases beneath us from where we sit. We talk about everything and anything all morning. Not minding the grey overcast of the clouds covering the usually very blue sky. Or how the waves are more violent than they usually are. I know this because I remember it vividly. It wasn’t that long ago I was really there. Making sure it would last forever. Only now I wish I hadn’t because it haunts me more than it comforts me. And the entire way it played out still makes my heart ache with regret.

Somehow I end up with her lying over me. She lays her head in my lap, the thin blanket woven together with faint reds and oranges creating a little hammock for her to rest on. I can feel the way her heartbeats erratically over my thigh. The way her lip’s curl into a soft smile. The ocean reflected in her eyes. If it weren’t for the heavy eye bags and the slight tremble in her bones, she’d be normal. A normal girl with no issues. You wouldn’t even know how deeply her suffering ran. Sometimes, on the better days, I let myself become fooled as well. Playing dumb hurts less than facing the truth.

“Con.” Her eyes flick up to mine, and I can’t help the way my own avert her gaze. I am too afraid to face her. Even now. The girl who I worship day and night. I never did pray before her, but now I pray that when I wake up, she’ll still be beside me. And we can enjoy the company the other has to offer just one last time. I can’t look down and see how much she’s changed. It scares me, because the traces of the illness torturing her is evidence to how real it is. And I would rather live in oblivious bliss.

“I want you to know I’m not really scared anymore.” It’s not what I expected to come from her lips, but it’s what she lands on. Theres no room in her wording for me to deny what she’s trying to say. My eyes flick down to hers, and my hands moves the hair blowing in the wind messily across her face.

“Y/n, come on. Don’t say shit like that.” I smile, but I don’t really mean in. I don’t find her words funny, and I don’t like that my best friend is sick.

“No, Conrad. I’m serious.” She breathes out, hands pressing against my skin to lift herself up. I feel a chill run through my body without her warmth to ease the morning chill. More than that, I can feel the coolness in my heart when she separates from me, and I long for the next moment I’ll feel her gentle touch.

“I’ve had a lot of time to think about this and I’m certain that I’ll be okay.” I continue to look at her, but only this time, she is the one looking at the sand, tracing her fingers in it as they stretch past her ankles to the floor.

“And I’m only so sure because I know you’ll be there.” Her eyes flicker up to the sky and I swear I see the sky brighten for just a moment. The blue underneath all the grey breaking free for a split second. “I’ve known you my whole life, and I’ve felt things for you that I have felt with no one else. I know you, and I trust that you’ll come find me in the next life.” Pulling at her lip, she waits for a response.

“But I want to keep you in this one.” My hand finds hers and all I can do is squeeze onto her desperately. Wanting nothing more but to keep her close. So I can watch her. Make sure shes okay. She’s lost all of her fight, her will to stay. And I know it’s because of the pain. I’ve heard her sobs just down the halls and the hushed whispers of my mother and her’s. But part of me wonders if it’s simply because I did not do enough. If I wasn’t enough reason for her to stay.

“It’s like the tide going out. It goes out slowly, but it can’t be stopped.” And we both know it. Theres no stopping what will happen to her. Theres no wish or medicine or fight that could keep her here beside me. It makes me want to cry, but I don’t. It would be selfish of me to get so upset when I am still here. Well and alive. Promised many years to age and achieve things she never was given the chance to.

“I’ll stop it.” I don’t look down at her, but I can feel how she shifts. The way her frown only deepens and the bags in her eyes get heavier. She sighs heavily into the silence, shaking her head slowly. She refuses to cry though. Partly because I know she knows she’ll have plenty of time to cry in the darkness of her room, when the ache in her bones is too much and theres no way of stopping it. And the other part of me recognizes that it’s because there’s no reason to in her eyes.

Y/n knew it better than all of us. She had lived a good life. She could do things and want things some children could never even dream of. She had a warm home with a glowing fireplace that her family often gathered around. A loving sister and a great brother. Her mother and father were healthy and she had the best friends she could have ever asked for. Her only regret is that she had to make her own mother pick out the details for her headstone.

When I pull her into my body, I have no idea it will be for the last time. I have no clue that her sobs won’t part from her lips. Because when she closes her eyes, she doesn’t drift into her usual place of rest. Her eyes don’t flutter open at the soft creak of the stairs when Jeremiah decides he wants a late night snack. Nor does she stir when Steven laughs, following behind him not as skillfully.

Not even when her mother screams early in the morning, hands clinging to her limp wrists, cold and lifeless. The tears from my mother mixing with her younger sisters don’t even make her flinch. And it’s chilling because it almost looks like she was smiling. The lift of her lips is barely there, but it makes me feel better knowing she went in peace.

I remember that day more clearly than ever. How the grey sky haunts me and the way she spoke so surely about her death still sends chills through my veins. I could have only wished to have looked at her a little closer that day. So that even in her darkest moments, I could be as certain as she was that the image of her would never fade, and I would always be able to memorize each wrinkle in her skin.

So I tell myself that when it’s my time, I’ll do what she said I would. I’ll find her in the next life. And I’ll look a little harder at her, and I’ll admire her for longer.

[eyelessjackspuppyshark]

“Becoming the very thing he swore he'd never be.”

Characters: Toby Rogers

TW: Abuse, Alcohol

Summary: Toby’s nearly eight and doesn’t understand why his Daddy is mad at him. all he knows is he doesn’t want to end up like his Father.

Note: I think this is a one shot? I haven’t posted my writing online since around 2014 during my Wattpad days. I’m new to Tumblr and really want to post some writings!! I mainly muse Toby due to projecting a lot of my childhood onto him!! Also I may take requests, and questions about my Toby!! Oh also I write at 5AM while I’m passing out so…

Also!! Big Thanks to my Best friend @p1gsbl00d for editing this for me!! :)

‧˚₊꒷꒦︶︶︶︶︶꒷꒦︶︶︶︶︶꒦꒷‧₊˚⊹

“He didn’t mean what he said, he doesn’t want to hurt us…”

The words spilled put of his mother’s mouth as Toby sobbed hysterically. His golden eyes consistently darting towards the door as his body violently twitched. Fear overwhelming him as he pictured his father walking through the door; only to continue his drunken violence.

“Your Father still loves you.”

He knew his Father loved him; but deep down Toby couldn’t help but feel hatred towards the man.

“But Mama… He….” Toby sobbed. Bringing his little hands up to his face in a desperate attempt to wipe away his tears. He knew his Daddy hated when he cried. Men didn’t cry. He was a pussy for crying.

He was nearly eight years old, He should've known better.

“It’s okay, Come here.” His mother interrupted, wrapping Toby’s frail body in a comforting hug.

But Toby couldn’t calm down. His Daddy had hurt his Mama, and had nearly hurt him.

As Toby hyperventilated he tried to comprehend the situation that had unwravelled before him.

All he had wanted was his Daddy’s help. He wanted his Daddy to help him with his homework.

He had been watching TV, drinking from a brown bottle with a silver label. He could still smell the sour scent on his father’s breath as he shouted at the boy, the stench of his body odour overwhelming his nostrils even after leaving the room.

Why did his Father smell so foul? What did he do that set his Father off?

“Get out of here, you little Fucker!” His Father had shouted at him shortly before an argument between his Mama and Daddy began. The entire time, he stood near a wall, frozen and unable to move while his body jerked and contorted in ways he never knew was possible. During his parent’s argument he couldn’t make out a single word, his ears ringing as his head went fuzzy.

Though Toby had been snapped back into reality as an object slammed against the wall behind him. His body subconsciously turned to look at the hole in the wall, the TV remote on the floor, its batteries laid out on the floor.

His Father had thrown the TV remote at his mother, and it had just barely missed his head, leaving a hole in the wall.

“Mama?…” Toby sobbed, his puffy golden eyes looking up to her.

“Yes, Toby?”

“I don’t wanna be like Daddy, I don’t want to hurt anyone…”

Now he’s twenty-two.

Becoming the very thing he swore he'd never be.

[footprintsinthesxnd]

I want you

Pairings: Jake Seresin x reader Summary: this is a blurb I wrote for @top-hhun for my 1K celebration with the prompt ‘You look… you look very nice. Beautiful, I mean. Damn, why can’t i speak?’ for post ww2 Jake. Warnings: PTSD, shell shock, post war trauma.

At first, Jake tried to hide his nightmares from you, excusing himself to go and get a glass of water or that he needed some fresh air. You knew he was lying to you and you’d be lying to yourself if you said you weren’t worried about him. Ever since he’d come home from Europe everything had been different. He rarely spoke of the war and the things he had seen but you could see in his eyes, in the way he’d dive under a table when there was a loud bang or the overly protective grip he held on your waist in public. Things would never be the same.

You tried to talk about it and asked him what you could do to help but he shut you out, he shut everyone out. Jake had never been one to show a lot of emotion, he showed you how much he loved you but when it came to emotions he deemed weak he’d close himself off.

Tonight was no different. You woke to the sound of Jake crying like a dog in pain, pitiful whimpers filling the moonlit bedroom. Turning your head, you could see his pale form and the outline of his tousled blond hair. He kept continually tossing and turning.

“Jake? Jake, honey?” you hissed, poking his forearm.

He immediately lurched forward, still asleep, crying, and mumbling.

You rolled over, switching on the lamp on your bedside table. The garish yellow light blinded you, causing you to scrunch your eyes up, watering due to the sudden brightness. You reached over the bed, placing your hand on your husband's shoulder gently.

“Jake? Baby wake up, it’s just a dream.”

Jake shot up, gasping suddenly. He threw the covers off his sweaty frame, jumping out of the side of the bed, his body shaking violently. He turned around and looked at you with wide eyes. He then drooped his head with guilt, his eyes watery and his lip catching between his teeth.

“Jake?” You asked, leaning further across the bed.

“No! No please don’t…” he put his hand up to stop you, cowering against the wall. “Please don’t.” He whispered again, his fingers gripping his pyjama shirt, scrunching the fabric between his fingers.

“I’m so sorry” he apologised, unable to meet your eyes.

“Darling, it was just a nightmare. You don’t need to apologise,” you insist.

Jake nodded, sliding slowly down the wall until he appeared as a crumpled mess on the floor.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered again, voice breaking as he let out a silent sob. He bought his knees up to his chest, burying his head in his palms. “I’m so sorry.”

You climbed out of the bed quickly, sitting down on the floor beside your husband. You wrapped your arms around his shaking frame, pulling his body into your lap.

“It’s okay. It’s going to be okay.” You whispered, pressing kisses to his head, his jaw, his neck. He clutched onto your nightdress and his lower lip was shaking. Badly.

When Jake’s sobs eventually lulled and his shoulders stopped shaking you rested your lips against the shell of his ear.

“Was it about the war?” you asked tenderly.

Jake remained silent, chewing his lip as he processed what you’d asked, pondering how he was meant to explain it.

“It’s always about the war. Just different every time.”

“Can you tell me what it was tonight?” you query.

After a moment Jake nodded, pushing himself away from you so he could see your face.

“I was in the cockpit again. I was on a mission and the whole squadron was flying. We were misinformed regarding a German airfield close by and we were ambushed.” Jake swallowed hard but you continued to rub reassuring circles on his back.

“The plane next to me was hit. They went up in flames. I can still hear the pilot's cry as he was burnt alive. He was just a kid.” You let his head rest on your chest, and you smoothed his hair as he sobbed. “He was just a kid.”

Hot tears stained through the white cotton of your nightdress leaving large dark circles.

“There was nothing I could do. I was a coward. I should have helped them. I’m no man. You deserve a man. A perfect man” he said, all while trying to keep a tight grip on your waist, as if you were the only thing keeping him from combusting. You were his anchor, speaking softly as you soothed his nightmare, keeping him grounded. Hushing him, you placed both hands on his face. There was no resistance when you gently wiped the cooled tears from his cheeks.

“You’re the bravest person I know, Jake,” you said. “I don’t want a perfect man. I want you. I want my husband.”

Jake watched you, not sure whether to believe you. He carded your fingers through his hair, pulling at the loose strands before moving to cup his cheeks. You placed a small kiss on his lips, soft and gentle. It wasn’t passionate or needy but just reassuring and loving. Jake kissed back instantly, sucking your bottom lip. Jake pulled away, gripping hold of your face in his large palms.

“I’m so sorry you have to put up with this…you may have to every night…” he said slowly, his voice slurred from sleep. “I know this isn’t what you signed up for and I wouldn’t blame you. When I first met you I thought you looked really nice… I mean beautiful. You are always so beautiful. I always somehow lose the ability to speak around you, even now.” He admitted sheepishly. “But I understand if you’re getting tired of this, if you don’t want this… if you don’t want me anymore.”

“I would gladly stay awake with you every night for the rest of my life as long as I can bring you some comfort,” you admitted, placing another kiss on his lips. “We’ll get through it together. You are the love of my life and I don’t want to be with anyone else.”

Jake nodded, standing up and pulling you with him. Once you were back under the covers Jake pulled your body close to his, nuzzling his head into the crook of your neck and gripping hold of your hips.

As you reached over to turn off the light, you felt him move a little, guiding your face to kiss your lips.

“I love you,” Jake whispered.

“I love you too.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tag list: @callsign-phoenix @imjess-themess @averyhotchner @mayhem24-7forever @green-socks @alexxavicry @a-reader-and-a-writer @topguncortez @maggiescarborough @callsignmaverick5 @ssprayberrythings @smoothdogsgirl @xoxabs88xox @luckyladycreator2 @abaker74 @elenavampire21 @classyunknownlover @okiegirl24 @flashyourgreeneyesatme @sunlightmurdock @airedale17 @callmemana @shadowolf993 @t-nd-rfoot @topguncultleader @flyboyjake @soulmates8 @topguncultleader @callmemana @marchingicenotes7 @shanimallina87 @jstarr86 @starkleila @bradshawseresinbabe @roostette @floralfloyd @soulmates8 @depressed-friend-blog @mayhemmanaged @shadowsintheknight @bcon24 @desert-fern

[saruman-the-silly]

can we get some angst/fluff where terzo was just dragged off stage and fem reader comforts him and cooks him his favorite food and makes him all better?

ABSOLUTELY god I love this idea, thank you!!!! I could not resist adding the reader being a part of the confrontation, I'd imagine any of us would beat their asses for dragging Terzo off the stage so violently. I tried to make it with a fem!reader in mind but this is probably very gender neutral anyway, sorry :D (I probably should practice writing gendered characters more lol)

---------------

A Bitter Finale

tags: terzo x fem!reader, hurt/comfort

They dragged him off the stage.

You were fuming, when you pushed your way through the crowd to the back. Heart racing and heavy, you rushed backstage, and you heard him yelling. You quickly threw your hair up in a ponytail, getting it out of your face.

You silently sneaked to Omega's dressing room and grabbed the baseball bat you had taken with you. (You were supposed to go playing with the ghouls after the tour, but looks like it would have other uses now.)

"What are you doing, I have to get back on stage, you cannot do this-"

"You had your final warning and still, you did not listen. This cannot continue, Terzo." The cold voice of Sister Imperator was heard.

You had enough.

You emerged from the shadows, and struck the man holding Terzo by the arms. When he tried to get up, you kicked him in the guts. You swept the other guy off his feet with the bat, and when he hit the ground with a thud, you swung the bat at his knees, hearing a cracking sound when it hit.

"Hands. Off." You sneered at them, before kneeling beside Terzo.

He squeezed your hand and smiled weakly, "Il mio salvatore, grazie amore." You helped him up, and faced Sister Imperator.

"The public has been riddled with rumours of a new Papa, and we cannot have your performance tarnish the reputation of the Ministry." Sister said coolly.

"What abou-" Terzo tried to interject, but Sister held up a hand.

"You are done. You were given one task and you could not do even that, so, your time is up." Sister smiled coldly.

"It is time for a new era."

When Sister left, Terzo crumbled to the ground and started sobbing. You kneeled down beside him, rubbing his back and hugging him.

"They cannot do this, I was in the middle of a show-" He sobbed, clinging on to you. You shushed him gently, "I know, I know, but we gotta get you home now, we can discuss this more then and there, not here."

You helped him up and led him out of the venue, hearing distantly Nihil getting on the stage.

When you got home, Terzo just collapsed. He couldn't even get a word out through his sobs so you held him tightly, running your fingers through his hair gently and whispering reassuring words into his ear.

When Terzo had calmed down enough, you tried to get up and he held onto you, not wanting you to go.

"Amore, you need to take your paints off," You said, running your hands through his hair. "Will you come with me to the bathroom so I can take care of you?" He nodded, getting up and letting you lead him to the bathroom.

You got out all of the skincare he used (which was a lot but hey, the paints were quite intense and wouldn't disappear with just water) and started gently wiping his paints off.

Terzo looked at you, eyes red and glossy from crying, and asked: "..Are you going to leave me?"

You dropped the moisturizer on the floor, shocked. You gently cupped his face, and looked at his eyes.

"No. Never. What they did tonight was wrong on so many levels I cannot even begin to describe it, and it makes me enraged they would treat you like this." You gently kissed his forehead, Terzo closed his eyes and gave a sigh of relief.

"Grazie. I thought- I thought that-"

You put a finger to his lips. "No more of that now, we will discuss what we need to do tomorrow." You finished by washing his face gently with warm water, and patting him dry with a fluffy towel.

"Now, you, my darling will go and pick a trashy soap opera to watch while I make us some food, okay?" Terzo tried to object, but you kissed him to make him shut his mouth.

"I'll bring it out when it's ready, just turn the volume high so I can hear what's happening." He smiled, kissed you on the top of your head and did as he was told.

The rest of the evening was spent by eating some great food and watching a trashy soap opera. Omega came by to check on Terzo, and was relieved to see he was doing okay. (Well, not okay but with the situation at hand? He was doing a lot better than most would.)

When you had eaten and finished the soap opera, you were laying down on the couch with Terzo beside you. You gently drew some shapes with your fingers on his back, while he breathed in your calming, sweet scent.

"I still cannot believe it.. Why would she do this.." Terzo whispered, tearing up slightly. You continued to trace circles on his back with your fingers, and contemplated a response.

"Honestly? I don't know. For all I know that old hag deserves to have her nose broken." Terzo snorted at that, and you grinned.

"But listen, we don't know what made Imperator do this, but the most important thing now is to stick together." You sat up beside Terzo. "We don't know what she has planned so we need to tread carefully." Terzo looked serious.

"I won't let them do anything to you. I'll kill them myself if they touch you." He said, frowning, while holding your hand.

You smiled, and cupped his cheek. "I know darling. And I'll bash their skulls in with my trusty bat if they plan to do something with you." You flashed him an angelic smile.

Terzo laughed, and hugged you tightly. You kissed his cheek. "I mean it. You're stuck with me, amore." He smiled, eyes bright.

"And I wouldn't have it any other way."

--------------------

there ya have it, some angst/fluff with Terzo :D I apologize, the reader's gender isn't really specified that much, I just struggle to write gendered characters soo I hope thats okay!

anyway thaaank you for reading and enjoy <33