#money is poisonous if you get too much more than you really need

[transfatliberation]

that’s the big thing, enshittification. Get annoyed at the big tech companies’ products’ shittiness often enough and you’ll resent the companies. This was previously a very politically-charged issue mainly because most conservatives tended to be older and more tech illiterate, but in the past 10 years literally every tech product has gotten worse — and not just worse, actively seems to want to make the user experience as frustrating as possible, or at least has no qualms about doing so for the bottom line. Where previously the most common gripes with technology and computers were things like “It seems way too complicated to do Thing X or Y” and you could simply… learn how to do so, now the problems are things like “My Smart TV’s youtube app crashed 2 minutes into the 3 minutes of ads 2 minutes into this video I wanted to see, and now after booting the app and trying to get back to it, it restarted the ad timer from the top and wants to force me to watch 3 more minutes of ads, including one asking me to pay money to not have all these ads.”

like yes it’s still somewhat avoidable by things like adblock on pc, but that’s not the point, the point is, that’s the intended end user experience now, rather than only the experience of people who don’t know what the save icon is and how to open a pdf. To avoid shittiness in tech, you no longer need to be proficient at it - you need to actively be good enough at it to try to bypass or break down the shittiness.

So much of tech culture has changed from “look at these amazing things you can do” to “look how much money we can squeeze out of people if we annoy them enough,” with one of the only big “advancements,” AI (with the word advancements being used EXTREMELY charitably, because it’s believed to be by the general populace) actually really sucking the more you look into it. From the art theft, to the incorrect information given by ChatGPT, to the huge environmental impact, to it being made unavoidable in so many tech products, pick your poison.

People used to dream of a world with extremely advanced technology, where anything was possible. Take the average person from 2010 and offer them a superpowered brain implant that could connect to their tech and they’d think it was the coolest thing ever. Now they’d be worried about it being a buggy, crashing mess that serves ads in their dreams.

[herunswithscissors]

"with God all things are possible!"

What are the "all things" Jesus was referring to?

[fuxuannie]

ᡣ𐭩 •｡ꪆৎ 𝐢 𝐛𝐞𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐨𝐠𝐬 | aventurine x gender neutral reader

love mail — mitski reference what if i cried, this was a req from a friend and disclaimer (pls read.) i am not super knowledgeable on aventurines character, if someone could correct me on his traits pls 😞🫶 this fic is more focused on,, not really romance. but complications of a relationship if you catch my drift.

︰꒱꒱ YOU HAVE ALWAYS BEEN PATIENT WITH AVENTURINE. how could you not? you loved him with your heart and soul, despite his self destructive actions that honestly ended up hurting you too, you stayed. you thought it was an act of love — and you believed it was for so long. you didn't realize how much it was killing you. but he did, and he hated that he could. no matter how much he tried, he couldn't get you to let go. he didn't care that your loss would hurt, that he would drown in your absence — he needed you gone. for your own sanity.

but even if he yelled, even if he persisted that he was the worst person in the world, you just couldn't see it. you couldn't see the poison or malice in his heart, he was no evil man. well, he's done evil, yes. there was no denying that. but you saw that beneath that, despite what he's done, he's a scared boy who just wants to go home. he doesn't even know where that is anymore, but he hates to admit that your arms are the closest thing to it.

he hates how you hold him, and for someone who hates it so much — he could talk about it for hours. the way you have one of your hands placed perfecrly to give him comfort. whether it be his hair,, his back, his face, you just make him feel safe. it disgusts him, the idea of security, of escapism from his reality, all within your arms. you're a weakness he needs gone, but also — so desperately needed.

it was toxic, your relationship. your everything with him. you didn't want to admit it, because you truly believed that as long as you loved him, that's all that mattered. if you could show him that you loved him, but that's not how it works. a flower will not grow with an abundance of water, and love will not continue if only one person can provide the aforementioned feeling. as much as aventurine wished he could be a better man for you, he can't be. he threw away all sense of self preservation for himself when he lost everything. he had nothing to lose after all, other than his life, and that never really had value to him in the beginning. but the idea of losing you? by some cruel thing as fate or death? not on his watch. so by his own hand, he ends everything. he'll disappear from your life whether you want it or not, his contact disappears from your phone, and you can't find him anywhere. all that's left is a hefty amount of money, which couldn't soothe your turmoil, despite what aventurine believed. this was for your own good, even if it killed you.

[azu1as]

—a tangcheong reincarnation ficlet set during the shaolin tournament arc 👍

»—————————–✄

Part 1 2 3

baek cheon didn't think much of the loud commotion being made in the audience stands as a large family entered the arena.

"huh? what's all that noise over there?" yoon jong voiced out.

the rest of the mount hua disciples turned their heads in the direction yoon jong was pointing at and they watched as people unabashedly stared at the person in the center of the group.

"you missing a cousin or something, samae?" one of the disciples joked.

the man in question looked closer to a tang than he did his own family members who walked beside him. whereas their hair were varying shades of light brown, his was dark and closer to tang soso's own color.

tang soso frowned, narrowing her eyes as she tried to peer at his features which were slightly too far to distinguish properly.

"I don't recall having any cousins in shaolin..." she mutters as yu iseol also tilted her head in question.

the man's gaze sweeped lazily across the arena. even from afar, baek cheon could tell that the man's gaze was contemptuous.

he didn't need to use his qi to enhance his eyesight to know that the gaze that was thrown towards the sect leaders' stand was absolutely scathing.

jo gul scratched his cheek. "he must be the rumored son of the zheng merchant family. see the crest on his robes?"

"what do you know of him?" baek cheon asked. he doesn't really understand why but a part of him felt like he had to be on-guard towards the strange man.

"not much," jo gul winced, "just that he's a bit older than us and that he...mildly poisoned one of the daughters of another family in sichuan."

"..."

they all turned towards tang soso.

"are you sure he's not part-tang or something?" yoon jong asked.

their conversation is abruptly interrupted by loud shouts cheering for shaolin.

the disciples of mount hua shared resolute nods as they began marching forward, letting the praises pouring out from the audience straighten their spines and walk more resolutely.

chung myung seamlessly slipped back into their fold, the money pouches he brought with him noticably emptier than when he had arrived.

it felt as if the cheers for them rang louder than those for shaolin. it was a very ovewhelming feeling and all of them could feel the pressure on their shoulders.

once again, they watch the reliable back of their sajil as chung myung finally sets foot on the stage, gazing up.

the current head of the zheng family was not influenced by the excitement that seemed to radiate from his fellow tournament-goers. rather, his eyes were locked on the face of his elder brother who he had never seen look as emotional as he did now.

there was disbelief on his face. he wore a strange expression which wavered between hope and doubt. unfathomable emotions swam in his eyes.

"ge, is everything alright?" he worriedly asked. "if you wish to leave, we don't have to—"

"no." zheng bo cut him off. "we're staying."

he shared concerned looks with his other siblings, but they silently agreed to let it be.

their eldest brother had always been distant, but he was never unkind to them.

they could never understand where the weight zheng bo seemed to always carry on his shoulders came from, but he never lashed at them.

they had never known zheng bo to be anything other than melancholic, so seeing the way the beginnings of a lively spark enter his eyes...

it was as if they were watching him transform into someone else for a moment.

"hyung...?" zheng bo murmured as he practically threw himself over the railing to get a closer look.

luckily, their youngest sibling, about the same age as the youngest second class disciple of mount hua, managed to pull their eldest brother back by the robe.

"zheng bo, what's gotten into you?" their mother worriedly clutched at him.

a string of incomprehensible muttering escaped zheng bo's lips. "...a descendant? no, he—a wife? no, as if..."

questioning stares were thrown their way from other audience members, but they were quickly distracted by the start of the deciding battle between the two finalists.

it was a battle that no one could have ever expected.

it felt too one-sided and the zheng family, as with the rest of the spectators, found themselves at a complete loss over the practically one-sided battle between shaolin's hye yeon and mount hua's chung myung.

there was heavy and glooming feeling charging the atmosphere. the previous racuous and excited cheers turned into silent feelings of apprehension and confusion.

“this is nothing compared to what mount hua has been through.”

zheng bo let out a pained, heartaching noise.

"ge," the second zheng son started, still lost. "do you know what he's talking about?"

it seemed to him that chung myung was talking about something beyond the prior slow decline of their sect.

zheng bo seemed to be too overcome with his own emotions to answer.

they all turned back their heads to the stage and were graced with the sight of a soft curve of a blade that arched beautifully, tearing apart all the golden winds thrown towards its weilder's way by hye yeon.

"beautiful..." someone in the audience behind them mumbled.

and it truly was a mesmerizing sight to see.

and it became all the more so when plum blossoms pink, an unstoppable multitude, bloomed from chung myung's sword.

tang bo crumpled where he had was standing.

happiness, guilt, and, most of all, /relief/ wrapped themselves around his heart—his heart which, for the longest time, for over three decades, had been hollowed and emptied out of any possible feelings.

"you're here too."

tang bo didn't have to be alone anymore.

[gatorbites-imagines]

also if you would wanna write more jason x older vigilante reader i would be very happy -LB

Jason Todd x older vigilante male reader

Headcanons

I’ve been studying almost nonstop since Monday and I’m so tired, but fuck it we ball, Jason deserves to be loved and cared for by a bigger older man 🗣️🗣️

This is pretty much a part two other Jason x older reader thing I wrote, that you can read here.

This takes place after you two have been dating for a while, meaning Jasons family and the outlaws know. You don’t have any family yourself, as your type of work doesn’t allow family, so there’s no one for you to introduce him too.

After a while you two wouldn’t hang on each other like newlyweds, in public at least. Jason always finds himself in your lap when you are home, especially when you cleaning your guns or polishing your knives. He will whine and pout for you, his daddy, to pay attention to him.

Most days its enough for you to just caress his hair and roll your eyes softly at him, maybe even leaning down and giving him a few kisses as he lays in your lap.

But other days he needs more, biting and bratting until you pull order him to get undressed so he can sit in your lap and warm you as you work. Its always more than enough to calm him down as he sits with his head against your shoulder, almost floating away somewhere else as you give him neck soft kisses and mutter soft praise as you work on your weapons.

You still pamper him, and you find yourself almost puffing out your chest like a proud bird when he so willingly accepts your gifts. In the beginning Jason would be very against being given things, but after a while he starts to enjoy it and always makes sure to show you how much he loves it.

You don’t cover him in useless junk though, all clothes you buy him is specially made for him and is made of bulletproof fabrics and materials, and any jewelry you give him can also be used as weapons or has vials of neurotoxin or other poisons in case he needs it.

You being so protective and always looking out for his safety allows Jason to feel less stressed about his everyday life, as he doesn’t just have to rely on himself anymore, but can also lean on you when he needs it.

Most of his family doesn’t really know how to deal with the fact that Jason is dating a guy the same age as Bruce, or close to the same age at least. Especially if you’ve had run ins with Bruce as Black Demise and put him in the ground.

But since you’ve settled down with Jason, you have focused more on staying in Gotham to be with your lover and assist him in running his empire as the red hood. You don’t even really need to do any mercenary work anymore, since you have more than enough money. You can allow yourself to be picky with contracts, so you only pick the ones targeting the scum of the earth.

When you have to leave on mercenary work, you and Jason always make sure to call when you are able, and you’ll bring him a gift when you get back home again. Most of the time its different weapons from the specific country you’ve gone too, but sometimes its something as normal as a t-shirt, or piece of lingerie you felt would fit him.

Jason doesn’t really act any different to the outside world than he did before. Hes only soft and whiney with you, to everyone else hes as cold and rough as usual. Bad dealers and goons will even claim the Red Hood as gotten even worse since Black Demise showed up.

That’s why everyone in the Gotham underground believes the red hood is the student of Black Demise, as no one assumes you two are dating. It causes the people who know who you are to stay away from crime alley, as they fear what kind of thing you must be teaching Red Hood, since you are known to be crueler than Deathstroke.

You guys keep killing to the minimum though, or at least keep it under wraps. Jason is so impressed when you can get away with murder right under Bruces nose, since you are so good at hiding bodies and evidence. You teach him everything you know.

One of the batfam members that enjoys your presence, is surprisingly Alfred. Hes known about you as Black Demise for years, ever since you started, and he knows you don’t do needless killings. Sure, he isn’t the biggest fan of your work, but he was a secret agent so who is he to judge. Plus, he hasn’t seen Jason this happy in years.

Your presence also makes Jason feel more sure to go to family get togethers at the manor, as long as you can come. He acts all tough, but you know part of Jason is scared of being alone with his family, and the insecurity it creates inside him.

That’s another reason Alfred is happy to have you, since you get Jason to actually attend family dinners and holidays. Since you don’t have any family, you are able to convince Jason to go “for your sake”, since you wanna experience holidays or family time.

The batfam are uncomfortable in the beginning, but Cass sees that you mean no harm and that you absolutely love Jason, so she warms up pretty fast. Dick already knows you from his time with Deathstroke. Tim would know about you from all his deep research he does, and would be cautious, but like the others he sees Jason is happy, so he won’t judge.

Damian would want to battle you, or would not trust you further than he could throw you for a while. Hes heard about how powerful and cruel you can be from the league of assassins, but at some point, you two end up bonding over shared interests, and he begrudgingly accepts you.

The rest of the batfam would grow warmer to you over time as they see how healthy Jason actually looks with you, and how you clearly love him back just as much. It doesn’t stop some of them from making sugar daddy jokes at Jason, or joking about the age gap, but you just let it roll of your back and find it cute when Jason gets annoyed.

At this point Bruce will have to begrudgingly accept your relationship, even though he’s not the biggest fan, mainly because of your insanely high kill count. But he gets reminded about his own exes and dating history by the rest of the fam, so there isn’t much he can say.

You two come to an understanding that you make Jason happy, so as long as you don’t start killing innocents for money, you two will have a truce. You two probably end up bonding over whatever men your age are into at some point, but you both will deny it.

Somehow dating you helped Jason become closer to his family, who’d have thought getting a sugar daddy boyfriend would bring that, but you did. Congrats.

[whiskeyghoul]

7 || She blinded me with science || [Spencer Reid x Goth!Reader]

First part, Previous part, Next part

A/N: Okay this is mostly just fluff to lead up to more things. Anyways, reader getting out of the lab dungeon! Yay! Also Spencer is definitely the type of person to get overwhelmed by feelings and get too into his head with everything. So here is a chapter of just the inner musing of the ‘oh my god I am going too fast.’ and ‘I really want to do more with them. What if I scare them off.’ type of things. Because he already realized his feelings but he is too blinded by them to see yours. Not proof read once again oops.

WC: 3 K

Tags: Fluff, just pure fluff, idiots in love, mentions of things from the past, reminiscing.

Warnings: None.

Spencer POV

Spencer had decided that he’d finish the week by staying home. So when he arrived at Quantico on Monday morning, two coffees in hand, he felt refreshed in a weird way. Where at the start of the week before he had felt terrible, tired, aching. Now he had a slight lightness in his step. The satchel hanging off of his shoulder was heavy, filled with his paperwork that he had done at home. He had spent that Friday actually working on it, feeling better than he had before that.

When you had come over that last Thursday, he had listened to your apology. Realizing how much of an impact on your life your ex had. He just hoped that it was over now. Because when he thought about you, being hurt, stalked. It made something inside him so angry. That when you had sat across from him at his dining table he just wanted you to stay close to him forever. So that he could be the one to keep an eye on you. It felt possessive. Which he hadn’t felt before. Not about a person at least.

About his favorite book, yes. Or his personal mug. About the chess set he had gotten from his mother years ago. Yet you were the first person to stir up similar feelings inside of him. He had almost even invited you to stay over that night. Which was moving way too fast considering you had just hurt his feelings immensely about a week before. Yet seeing you, in that big ragged hoodie, completely disheveled, vulnerable. He needed you close. He also wanted to kick Tommy in the teeth if he ever ran into him. For hurting you. For being a dick. He’d never felt like intentionally hurting someone like that. But you did something to him.

Spencer walked to the frosted glass door, knocking quickly before stepping in. He watched as you sat up at your desk, eyes meeting him, your concentrated frown turned to a smile. The way the crease in your brown relaxed at the sight of him made his heart still for a moment. He hadn’t thought that the sight of him was enough to make you smile. Wanting to immerse himself in that feeling. If only for a moment. “Morning Spencer.” Your voice was chipper that morning. He noted you looked put together, happy, carefree. Though that is what getting rid of a stalker usually does. He walked over, knowing he couldn’t stay long but wanting to spend as much time with you as he could.

“Good morning.” He returned with a smile, handing over the coffee that had kept his hand warm on his walk up. You gladly took it, taking an immediate sip. “You are a godsend.” You spoke with a smile after placing the cup down. “Because of the coffee or is there another reason for this compliment?” He asked, an amused smile playing on his lips as he took off the purple scarf he had worn on his way over. Draping it over the back of one of the desk chairs. “Both. I couldn’t get coffee this morning, I was in a rush since I got new evidence in.” You said, and got up from your chair, ready to show him whatever you got in. “Look, this is so interesting, they found a butt load of money on the victim. It was found at the crime scene, there was powder that could either be used for tracing or could be some drugs. Maybe it’s cocaine, maybe it is a poison absorbed through the skin.” You continued, holding up the evidence bag with a few hundred dollar notes.

“What’s the other reason?” Spencer asked. You blinked, just a little confused. “For the powder?” You questioned in return. “For the compliment.” Spencer answered and you blinked again. Doe eyed and a little embarrassed. Clearly you had changed the subject because you didn’t want to tell him the true reason. “Ehm… well, you- you look really good.” Your face had gotten tinged red as you stammered over your words. Spencer smiled. Without even thinking he leaned slightly down. Planting a tender kiss on your cheek. He couldn’t not, seeing your pinkened cheeks, the urge to kiss you was almost unbearable. But he could hold back enough to just press his lips on the apple of your cheek. Your skin was soft and warm against them. The smell of your perfume once again wafting up into his nose. It was a quick second of a move but he would keep that moment in his memories forever. 

When he pulled away you looked still as flustered as before. “What was that for?” your voice was sweet, not even a hint of apprehension in them. You feigned confusion, he could see it in the way your eyes looked at him with a slight twinkle. Only one brow quirking up and a lopsided smile that you tried to hold back. “You look really good too.” Spencer answered, his cheeks feeling just the slightest hint of warmth. He watched you, the way your bottom lip got caught between your teeth as you struggled to keep from smiling too much. He wanted to keep that look all to himself. His hands aching again to pull you closer to him, to let himself melt into that cherry scent. To never stop kissing those sweet lips. He could stay in the lab forever with you if you would let him. Or if his boss would. He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket before the sound went off. The ding of a text message that was probably sent by one of his colleagues wondering why he was later than usual.

“I think you need to get to work too.” You spoke with a hint of disappointment. A sigh crossed your slightly parted lips. “I can come back for lunch.” Spencer spoke quickly, so ready to return to you even when he hasn’t left yet. “You always have lunch here, I am sure you must be sick of the lab.” You quickly protested. How could he be sick of the place where he gets to spend time with you. It was a preposterous thought. Nothing like that would have ever crossed his mind

“What if I come to you for lunch? Would that be okay?” you asked. “Are you sure? I mean… I would love that! If you want to of course. But isn’t this your space? I get it if you don’t want to go somewhere else to have lunch. Though if you do want to. I can show you my desk. Penelope would also be happy to see you, I’m sure.” Spencer rambled, until he realized he was rambling. The last word trailing off. He knew what you were doing, you were trying to make him comfortable. Even though he wasn’t uncomfortable in the lab. Yes, it was a bit of a walk, but he never complained because it meant you two would have lunch together. But he did realize he always came to you. And maybe, you had felt bad for making him come down every time. Though, you never asked him to besides the first time. After that it was all on his own accord. “I think I should broaden my horizons outside of the lab.” You joked, the giggle following your words sounding like a melody to him. “Right. Then, I would love to.” He smiled, his face feeling suddenly hot with embarrassment. His phone went off again. 

Spencer watched as you placed your hands on his shoulders. The feeling sent tingles down his spine. “I will see you at lunch then. Thank you for the coffee, pretty boy.” You quickly moved up onto your toes and placed a peck on his cheek. Mirroring what he had done to you. So casual. A peculiar kind that bordered on domestic. He locked that thought away for now. Not wanting to open that can of worms when he had just known you for a month, maybe less. It had only been 2 weeks since your first true kiss, in the museum. God he was moving quick, he might even scare himself with the rate at which these feelings grew inside of him. He realized he loved you, but saying that now would be too soon. You spun him around , his out of control thoughts quieting down, before giving a light push towards the door of the lab. Just as the notification sound went off for a third time.

When Spencer made his way to the bullpen of the BAU and took a seat at his desk he heard Derek whistle. “Got a little honey I see. And so early in the morning, how does he do it ladies and gents?” The man sidled up to his desk as Spencer bent down to put his bag on the ground. He looked back up to Derek with a little confusion, until he realized. His eyes went just a little wide. He had been so dazed by the fact you kissed him so quickly, and then shoved him to get to work, he forgot to check his face for what most likely would be a deep red mark on his left cheek. “You got a little something right there.” Derek pointed to his own cheek with a grin.

“Just because you can’t get it doesn’t mean you have to make fun of me.” Spencer sassed, grabbing a tissue and wetting it with water from his bottle, wiping at his cheek to remove your lipstick stain. Even though it hurt him slightly to remove the lasting mark you left on him. “Oh I am not making fun of anyone. I am proud. You return back after a week of absence due to a broken heart with what is clearly a sign that she’s still into you.” Derek explained, hands up in a defensive pose. Though he still had that grin. “Or you moved on to someone new really quickly.”

Spencer looked at the stain on the tissue, it was still vaguely kiss shaped. “We made up.” He said softly, a little embarrassed again. He knew Derek truly didn’t mean any harm with his words, they were teasing, like the older brother he never had but wished he did. “Good for you.” Derek said as he patted his shoulder before returning to his own desk. Spencer sat down, stuffing the tissue in his pocket before he went to work on filing the paperwork.

Spencer kept looking at the clock, hoping, praying they wouldn’t get a case until after lunch. Maybe that was a selfish thought, wanting the murders and the kidnappings to wait for his own gain. He knew that if they were needed they would fly out within 30 minutes. But lunch with you was important. So every few minutes he looked at the clock. Every time the elevator made a noise his eyes would flick over. The clock crept nearer to 12 pm, then when it hit 12:15 on the dot the elevator doors opened. And there you were, white coat foregone, two small bags in your hands that he supposed contained your lunch. You looked around the room a little nervous.

Spencer got up from his seat, waving you over with a smile. You lit up once you saw him, walking over quickly, boots thudding heavy against the linoleum of the bullpen. “Hey.” Spencer said with a smile, feeling a little too excited. “Hey.” you said in turn with a big smile. “I eh… got lunch for the both of us. If that’s not overstepping.” You said, holding out one of the paper bags. “I texted Penelope, she said you liked BLT so I truly hope you do.” you spoke quickly and Spencer grabbed the bag with a smile. The fact that you went out of your way to get him something he liked, to text Penelope, it made his heart swell. “I do. Thank you.” He said and motioned for you to take his seat.

As he did Spencer looked around the room for a second, a slightly surprised look from Emily, a confused one from JJ, and Derek just smiled before giving him a thumbs up. A sudden reminder that he never told Emily or JJ, and he was lucky David and Aaron sat in their own offices. He could not handle getting dating advice from David right now. You sat down in his seat as Spencer pulled a free chair over, sitting next to you. Closing a few books to make space to put the food down. “Sorry, it’s a bit of a mess.” He apologized but you simply smiled. “It’s okay. I like it, it’s your apartment but in desk form.” You commented, looking over the things on his desk.

He felt a little embarrassed by the few knick-knacks that were on there. The post it notes stuck to any service as reminders of things to do. He watched as you picked up the picture frame, a photo of his mom and him in there. “That’s my mom, Diana…” he said, as he watched your intent look. “She looks nice. You have similar bone structure.” You commented. Spencer let out a soft chuckle, “No one has ever commented on our bone structure before.” He said it softly. His mom was still a little sore of a subject, he knew the situation wasn’t likely to change, his mom would just get worse. But he wasn’t ready to tell you about that part just yet. Maybe soon. He did need to tell his mom about you. He’d probably have to tell her multiple times, he just hoped she would be happy for him. “But you do!” You quickly retaliated, turning the picture to him, “all these angles, the big eyes.” you tried to reason and Spencer only chuckled more. “Didn’t you come to have lunch?” He asked as he started to unwrap the sandwich that you got for him.

“And maybe to snoop a little.” You confessed as you quickly took a bite of your own sandwich. Spencer’s eyes widened slightly, just a little surprised and amused. “Shouldn’t snooping happen without the other person’s knowledge?” He asked, taking his own first bite of the sandwich. Somehow, it tasted better when you were around. You shrugged dismissively, though a small smirk played along those blood red lips. He thought about it, about kissing you right there in the bullpen. Looking pretty in his chair, at his desk. Though he’d probably never hear the end of it from the entire team. He didn’t really care. There was that possessiveness again. Wanting to show you and him were a thing… though you never really said you were a thing. “It feels wrong to snoop on you.” You admitted, sheepish grin and a slight nudge of your shoulder against his. This is what happiness felt like. The sadness of the last week is quickly forgotten, just by having you pay attention to him again. He was weak for you.

“I appreciate the informed snooping.” He laughed softly. “I’ll make sure to only snoop when you know.” Your reply made him smile more. The both of you finished your lunch, eating and talking, until Aaron walked in. “Round table room, 10 minutes.” He stated it coolly, only inferring to Spencer that this could be a serious case. Spencer looked at you, a little apologetic. He didn’t want to leave. Wanted to finish lunch in all peace with you. “I’m sorry.” He apologized as he started to pack up the half eaten sandwich back into the paper it came in. At Least he’d be able to finish it later. “It’s okay. It is your job.” You answered, standing up before a look of realization came over you. It confused him for a moment as you looked at him with your lips parted. “What?” he asked, brows scrunching slightly. “You left your scarf in the lab. I wanted to bring it. I’m sorry, I can go get it.” You rambled. “That’s okay, no need. I can pick it up when we get back.” He assured. It was sweet how you thought about it. Wanting to return his scarf when he had to leave. Maybe to make sure he wouldn’t be cold.

“Alright… You’d have to come back soon, be safe.” Those words made his heart skip a beat. It was sweet. How you cared, made him feel warm and fuzzy inside. “I will.” He said with a nod. He wanted to bend his head down again, to kiss you and not care about his friends in the room. Instead of giving in to the urge of wanting to kiss you, he pulled you into a hug. Wrapping his arms around your waist, resting his head on your shoulder. He felt your arms wrap around him. Warmth taking over him. He pressed his nose into the crook of your neck, taking in a deep breath. Emitting your scent to memory. The feeling of you in his arms tucked away for when he needed to remember it. He almost didn’t want to let go. You were the one to pull away first. Spencer reluctantly let his arms drop back to his sides. “I’ll see you soon.” you said it softly and with a smile. He nodded his head, “I’ll text you every day.” he answered before gathering his things and heading to the round table room. A quick glance back to see you still standing at his desk, a small wave goodbye before he left to go do his job.

He just hoped it wouldn’t be a long one.

Tag list:

@luvkatryna @emma-e-a @littlemadamred @cultish-corner @styleiconsize0 @sarai-ibn-la-ahad @depressedbutartsy @mikariell95 @jasf444 @queermaxwooo @ill-be-okay-soon-enough @sammy-4103 @thedevioussmirk @pleasantwitchgarden @khxna   @suckstobrlaurie @mega-kittyglitter-1 @superlegend216 @seninjakitey

[finniestoncrane]

Hello Finnie...

Curious...how do you think the rougues would talk to someone who is facing having to move back in with their parents at age 30 due to financial/personal reasons after years of living independently and their self esteem is taking a mahoosive hit 🙃🙃🙃

(I know it's becoming increasingly common nowadays due to cost of living but still...😣)

Asking for a friend...👀

Rogues Headcanons aw anon i feel you, there's nothing like a perceived setback to knock your self-confidence HOWEVER i think you're just being a little harsh on yourself, since you know that it's super common!! but you still deserve comfort and encouragement, and i apologise for how completely sappy i was with this lol 💜 request info • prompt list • send me a request • kofi • masterlist minors DNI!! 🔞 cw: fluff, and sickeningly sweet sentiments i hope!!

two face

i think every rogue can say they've suffered setbacks, but none like harvey

by all accounts he was living the perfect life, doing exactly what he wanted to

and then everything kind of crumbled, and he lost it all

but he built himself back up (albeit... maybe on the wrong side of morality depending on the coin flip)

so he considers himself a figure of encouragement to you!!

and he's also gruffly reminding you that self-esteem can be rebuilt

little by little, piece by piece

whether you feel like you're moving "back" or not

you can start fresh and new

scarecrow

his suggestion is a little less than helpful

mostly because his solution to his own financial issues were to... rob people while wearing a costume

and if you want to go down that route he is MORE than happy to help

but if you want to be sensible about it, he can offer support

someone to listen to you while you talk it all out

and he promises he won't psychoanalyse you too much

or talk in his therapist voice

but if after all that you're still lost, he has extra straw and fabric

poison ivy

is your parent's home like a garden? is it nurturing and safe, with a balanced ph level? do you feel comfortable and familiar?

is your parent's home like an unattended back patio made of slabs? cracks with grass? minimal space to thrive?

either way, plants will grow and plants will live

nature pushes on!! and little flowers take pride in pushing their heads up, their stems stretched

to see everything that's good beyond the things that seem so close and current

and with a little help from her, anyone can grow and become their best self, even if they've been uprooted

mad hatter

nothing in this world is perfect, and nothing goes according to plan

trust him, he knows that. he has experience in that. plenty of it

but you have to believe that it's an integral part to your story

what good would alice in wonderland have been if there had been no conflict

if she hadn't been forced to learn about herself, to undergo traumas and difficulties

all in order to get home, which she did

and you will too! he knows you have a happy ending waiting, your own wonderland to get to as a reward

bane

he's never really known a home, so to him it's actually a nice idea

you've got a backup, a safety net

and yeah, you might never have wanted to use it

but it's never a bad thing to know there's another option

and it takes strength to ask for help, and even more to accept it

and while he's pretty sure he's strong enough physically to do most things

even he has to admire the emotional strength it takes to do what you're doing

so he's giving you a pat on the back and reminding you that things could always be worse

(and that pat on the back might cause bruising)

penguin

what do you need? you need money? you need a place to stay?

he'd be offering it all up to you immediately

what good is money if he can't throw it at his favourite people

keeps them under his thumb, yknow? if they own him one

so yeah it might be a favour he'll call you out on eventually

but rest assured he's not thinking of anything else but "how can i help" and "what do you need/want"

far before he'd make any judgements

it's hard to get where you want in life, he knows that very well

zsasz

have you thought about straight up just murdering everyone?

he's kiding, he's kidding!!

besides, that's his thing. don't steal his thing, or you'll end up as a little tally mark on his skin

HOWEVER his advice would be to find something to focus on that takes your mind off of the perceived negatives

it doesn't have to be wiping out humanity in a nihilistic rampage

it can be anything!! and saving some money on rent and having the comfort of home might be all you need to find something new to become skilled at

just as long as it's not murder!!

mr freeze

it might feel like you're losing something, but there's always something to be gained too

and you never really lose what you had, because it lives on in memories and hopes

it stays with you in your plans for the future, in your dreams of what you want when you get back on your feet

or in his case, frozen in time in a glass tube

not lost, just temporarily out of reach

but he's a vehement believer in perseverance and never losing hope!!

you'll both have what you want soon enough, whether that's something new or gaining what you had

riddler

i won't lie i think he's the most likely to turn his nose up at you

like what do you mean there were unforeseen events that you weren't prepared for?

you didn't have 1588729 backup plans, one of which was for that exact chain of events!?

foolish of you really, though he will concede that not everyone has the brain power to strategise like that

in fact, it really is only him who can... so maybe he should lay off

and offer you some comfort instead, since the thought of having to move in with his parents...

well, it literally terrifies him

harley quinn

listen, she's no stranger to "set backs" in your plans

she's had everything taken from her!!

freedom, lovers, career plans (both respectable and criminal)

but she bounces back! and not just because she's a gymnast

(and also deeply out of touch with the trauma it all caused her)

but she manages it because she believes it'll all get better

and it'll all work out

and she believes that for you too!!

[randomciabatta724]

Some Polites headcanons because they're good for the soul.

Note: these are a mix of details from the musical I wanted to expand on, stuff I've read from other posts, and things I randomly came up with.

He was in the frontlines (or at least near them) during the Trojan war. Not because he wanted to fight, he just thought "if I have to join the battle, I'll at least shield those behind me". I took this from Survive, because he had to be pretty close to Polyphemus to be the first one hit by the club.

Self sacrificial. Very self sacrificial. Would die for the crew, especially for Odysseus and Eurylochus.

Loves dates. Either on their own or with honey. I don't know why, he just gives me the vibe.

Had night terrors both during and after the war. Either nightmares about the people he killed (let's face it, you don't come out of a 10 year war without getting blood on your hands) or his friends dying in battle. Never explicitly told anyone, but he would stay with his friends a little longer the morning after. Also picked a lot more night watch turns as a result, just to get his mind off of things.

Bruises/gets injured extremely easily, and doesn't notice/care. Especially if someone else is hurt too. "Are you alright?" asks Polites to another soldier while coughing up blood.

Also very durable, somehow. That's why Polyphemus had to hit him twice/j.

Myopic king. The glasses are a gift from Athena, because she was like "I think you're a soft-hearted fool, but I'll be damned if you embarrass my Warrior of the Mind because you can't see beyond the bridge of your nose".

The type of person to keep eating horrible/possibly poisoned food just to not offend the person who prepared it. Odysseus had to smack the lotus out of his hand because he would have still taken a bite to not make the lotus eaters upset (he brought some with him anyway, that's where Odysseus got the lotuses to put in the wine).

Many have already said this, he's the therapist friend before therapy was invented.

Gives the best hugs.

Taller than Odysseus but shorter than Eurylochus (Odysseus reaches Polites' chest, Polites reaches Eurylochus' nose).

Apologises when he bumps into furniture. It's a reflex, he doesn't notice he does it. It's a remnant of his pre-glasses days, when he couldn't distinguish a person from a vase.

The ancient Greek equivalent of a Godfather to Telemachus.

Extremely trusting, sometimes a little too much (fun fact: in the Odyssey he's like the first one to enter Circe's palace).

Very forgiving. He gives second, third, even fourth chances like it's nothing, no matter how badly someone hurts him. You have to be pretty forgiving to still think about greeting the world with open arms after being clubbed to death. (Note: this does not apply to his friends getting hurt).

When he takes off his bandana, his curls reach his shoulders and cover his left eye, and it gives him a whole different vibe. He still radiates warmth, but it's not the same. Kinda like the sun at noon and the sun at dusk. The second is still warm and welcoming, but dimmer, softer, maybe a little darker. People have mistaken him for someone else because of this.

Super heavy sleeper. One time when they were younger, Odysseus and Eurylochus decided to try and wake him up by making the most noise possible. They did not succeed.

His first kiss was Eurylochus while Odysseus was away in Sparta to court Penelope.

One time, someone tried to rob him. The guy was like "Give me your money!" and Polites was like "Oh dear, look at you, of course I'll give you my money, you look like you really need it. Also, why don't you come to my house so I can give you some food and clean clothes?". The thief was so ashamed of himself he ran away.

He befriended Charon in the Underworld.

You know the plague that Apollo sent during the Iliad? He may or may not have gotten it, I haven't decided yet.

Considering that in epic the sirens have the ability to shapeshift into loved ones, there was definitely a siren Polites somewhere during Suffering/Different Beast.

He's generally a very calm person, the only thing that really gets him angry is when his friends get hurt. And when he's angry, he's not someone to mess with. He can and will kick ass. And the thing that rubs salt in the wound is that if you get beat up by Polites, it's almost certainly your fault, because Polites isn't the kind of person that goes around randomly beating people up. And very few people wish to carry the title "The person who got beat up by Polites".

SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

The last headcanon is something I've also based a scenario on. Basically, after Odysseus kills the suitors, they go to the Underworld. Most of them are still shaken up by the whole thing, which is understandable, getting shot by an enemy you can't see while unarmed in the dark is not fun, but not Antinous. Antinous is pissed. And so he rallies up the other suitors, he gives a whole speech where he basically says they can get revenge on Odysseus once he joins them there and also reveals all the shit they did while he was gone. And Polites is like, talking to Eurylochus or something, when he overhears. And so he goes to give Antinous the beating of his life because you do **not** disrespect his best friend and his family like that. And the suitors+Eurylochus are watching from a corner, with the suitors getting even more scared.

That's it. Nothing more :)

I know Eurylochus is married to Ctimene but I SHIP HIM AND POLITES SO BAD AAAAAAAAHHHHHH

[silverynight]

The boy with red eyes

It's been a month since he's been training in the butterfly estate as a kakushi, and he's finally been given his uniform. Tanjirou is really happy!

He has lost count of how many letters he has sent to his family since he left home, but there's been a lot of them. After that slayer saved him and his family from a demon, Tanjirou thought about becoming a slayer as a way to help the Corps and send his family even more money than he ever did as a charcoal seller.

In his mind, it was a perfect plan. However, Nezuko and his mother begged him not to do anything that risky because they wanted to see him again at some point.

Tanjirou has never been good at denying them things, so he agreed, but since he was determined to help the slayers in some way, he found out about the kakushi and decided to become one instead.

"Isn't that risky too?" Nezuko had sent him a full letter telling him all her concerns about the matter and pointing out how much his siblings, especially Rokuta, missed him.

Taking a moment to think about them, Tanjirou closed his eyes right before he explained the situation in his next letter. Of course, everything has risks, but being a kakushi usually meant arriving at the place after the battle and helping the injured slayers as much as he could.

He is sure none of them are entirely happy with his new job, but Tanjirou is determined to help. One of the slayers, Murata, saved them from a demon after all.

With an excited smile on his face, he puts his new uniform on and remembers that Aoi said he could leave the butterfly estate now.

It's been an interesting month of learning about wounds and poisoning, also different kinds of blood demon art and how to deal with them. A huge part of being a kakushi is knowing how to move without being seen and not making too much noise, so he's been practicing that too, with the help of other kakushi.

Since Aoi says he's really good with patients, they immediately send him to the Mugen Train or what is left of it.

That's where Tanjirou meets one of the nine hashira. Weirdly enough, he hasn't seen Kocho yet, even though she's the one who basically lives in the butterfly estate; Aoi says she's been really busy lately.

***

As the crows around explain the situation to the group of kakushi, Tanjirou can't help but feel a wave of gratitude and admiration for the flame hashira.

He, along with a few of his fellow kakushi, kneel next to Rengoku. His crow assured them he's still alive, but barely; the worst part of his injuries are the missing eye and an open wound in his abdomen.

Tanjirou refuses to give up so he starts working; obviously, the Pillar needs to get to the butterfly estate immediately, but first, he needs to make sure Rengoku doesn't die on the way.

At some point, while Tanjirou keeps cleaning and patching him up, praying to the gods for his spirit, praying to them to keep him in this realm, Rengoku opens his eyes.

Tanjirou takes it as a good sign.

"Stay with me, Rengoku-san!"

At first, it seems like he's not paying attention, or perhaps he's not completely conscious, but then the flame hashira manages to move one of his hands and touch Tanjirou's right cheek or at least the mask that's covering his right cheek.

"But she's waiting for me." He argues, although he smiles softly at Tanjirou.

He has no idea whom he's talking about, but if he's seeing the spirit of a loved one already, that's not a good sign.

"Maybe she could spare you for a while longer?" Tanjirou tries. He's done with the hashira's abdomen and his eye, but his fingertips are cold.

"I think she likes you," Rengoku comments, looking happier.

Tanjirou hopes that means he's fighting to stay alive, but just in case he adds: "Would you stay with us then?"

"I'll stay with you."

***

The next Pillar he meets is Kocho herself; Aoi is struggling trying to get her to sit and let her patch a wound on her arm.

"I can take care of it myself... later. I have a couple of things to do."

Tanjirou knows he shouldn't interfere, but he worries too much about the people around him not to try at least.

"We care about you too," he says then, prompting the two girls to look back at him. "You have done a lot for us that perhaps trying to patch you up is not because we think you can't handle it yourself, but it's a way to show we appreciate you."

Kocho remains speechless for a while before smiling softly at him, for the first time, Tanjirou doesn't smell any irritation in her.

"You're just like her," she mumbles, finally sitting down, offering Tanjirou her injured arm. He immediately starts cleaning the wound. "Like my sister. She had a beautiful heart, just like you."

"I bet she was amazing," Tanjirou says, noticing that Aoi is still looking at him in shock.

"She was."

Tanjirou doesn't ask what happened to her because he can tell talking about her sister still hurts Kocho, but he can guess.

"All done!"

"I like your voice," she smiles again, before leaving Tanjirou and a very surprised and confused Aoi behind. "I have work to do. Have a nice day."

***

The red light district is almost completely destroyed; Tanjirou knows he must focus on the slayers who took care of the upper moon, but he can't help but make sure the civilians on his way are alright too.

After making sure the blond one and the slayer with the boar head are fine, Tanjirou approaches a group of kakushi who are trying to convince a hashira to stay still and let them check on his wounds.

There are three women with him that, according to another kakushi, are his wives.

Tanjirou notices the sound hashira already has bandages on his face and arm, which means that his wives took care of those.

"Are you hurt?" He turns towards the women first. "Do you want me to check on you?"

"Tengen-sama, look at his eyes," one of them squeaks in delight; she's the only one who has her hair down.

"Very flamboyant of you," Uzui comments, smiling at Tanjirou. "They look like gemstones."

"Thank y-you..." The next thing he knows is that his wives are introducing themselves and Uzui agrees to have Tanjirou to check on his wounds.

Everything seems to be fine, Makio, Suma and Hinatsuru are alright too, so Tanjirou feels a lot better.

The Pillars are definitely stronger than the other slayers because not only Uzui is still conscious, he can also move.

"I only let my wives touch me like that," the hashira grins as Tanjirou grabs Uzui's face gently and tilts his head to the side to make sure his eye is not bleeding again. His wives start giggling at that.

Tanjirou thinks he's trying to tell him not to touch him anymore, although he doesn't smell upset, so he takes a few steps back from them.

"We're heading back to my estate, why don't you come with us, pretty eyes?"

"He needs to report back to the butterfly mansion," a kakushi girl tells the sound hashira; she smells a little bit irritated. Tanjirou is not sure why.

"She's right," he says as Suma and Makio narrow their eyes at the kakushi girl.

"Well, I really hope you can pay us a visit soon anyway," Uzui smirks. "You'll always be welcome there."

"Thank you!" Tanjirou says sincerely. "I'll try to go there soon!"

***

Not all encounters with the Pillars are entirely pleasant.

Even though Tanjirou's life is dedicated to taking care of injured patients, he has to headbutt the wind hashira because he's pushing another kakushi away and hurting them in the process.

Tanjirou gets angry.

"What's your problem?" He hisses when the hashira is on the ground. "They're trying to help you! It's okay if you don't want them to touch you, but at least tell them instead of pushing them!"

Tanjirou helps two kakushi boys and a girl up while the others start shaking. He kind of expects the Pillar to attack him, but nothing happens.

There's only silence.

Shinazugawa is sitting on the ground, looking up at him with surprise and curiosity; he's no longer angry.

Suddenly feeling sorry, mostly because the Pillar has a red mark on his forehead and his chest keeps bleeding, Tanjirou decides to try again.

"Would you let me patch you up now?"

Shinazugawa nods, still staring at Tanjirou's eyes.

"Alright, please don't move."

For some reason, his fellow kakushi find it fascinating. Although, Tanjirou is the only one who takes care of the hashira because none of them want to approach him.

***

It seems Iguro doesn't like to be touched, but he allows Tanjirou to get closer because the boy asks for his serpent first.

"Are you alright?"

"I told you I'm fine already!" The Pillar hisses only to look confused when Tanjirou shakes his head.

"I'm talking to Kaburamaru."

"How do you know his name?"

"He told me. He's also worried about the bruise on your shoulder."

"Can you understand him?"

"Of course!" Tanjirou says, he knows the Pillar can't see his smile, but at least he hopes he can hear it in his voice. "He's very polite and kind!"

It seems like Iguro changes his mind about him after that, but he still doesn't let other kakushi touch him so Tanjirou has to work alone.

***

Tanjirou tries not to tear up when he reaches the swordsmith village; a lot of people died the night of the attack, but the two Pillars there did their best to keep the rest of the people safe.

Tanjirou is so proud of them.

He decides to help the kakushi who are trying to check on Tokito first, mostly because the mist hashira is one of the stubborn ones.

"I told you I feel better now," he whispers, slapping a hand away.

He either talks that low or he's feeling weak. Tanjirou gets closer and despite knowing he'll get his hand pushed away too, he tries to touch Tokito's forehead.

However, the Pillar doesn't do that. Instead he keeps looking directly into Tanjirou's eyes.

"You have a fever. If you don't have any major injuries, then let me give you something for that first."

"Your eyes. They remind me of someone..." He shivers, but gets closer to Tanjirou and smiles at him. "I like you."

"You were very brave," Tanjirou says and notices that the Pillar's crow looks ridiculously proud. "Thanks for saving the village."

Tokito's smile becomes wider and his face turns slightly pink. Tanjirou worries even more and asks one of the other kakushi around to bring him medicine.

"I tried my best too!" Suddenly, the love hashira is a lot closer, but at least it seems that she has already been patched up.

"They told me you were amazing!" Tanjirou nods, prompting her to squeak in delight. She turns red too, but the other kakushi said she didn't have a fever...

Must be something else. Maybe she's just tired.

"Oh, you're the kakushi with the red eyes!" Kanroji says, leaning forward. "Obanai has told me a lot of things about you!"

Then she tells him about the day he met him and when he gave her the stockings because she had mentioned that she felt shy wearing a skirt that short.

Tanjirou is glad that he has a good relationship with the serpent hashira now because he sounds like a very nice person, albeit with a sharp exterior.

At some point, Tokito complains he's not paying attention to him so Tanjirou has to give him a hug while the other kakushi bring a couple of stretchers for the injured ones.

Both Pillars end up falling asleep with their heads on Tanjirou's shoulders.

***

"Here. Take this," Aoi sighs, packing food for him and the Pillar he's about to visit.

The kakushi are not supposed to go to other Pillars' estates unless there's an emergency, but Aoi has told Tanjirou that Oyakata-sama is very impressed with the way he handles the hashira when they need it the most.

So Tanjirou has to go to the water estate, bring Tomioka food and perhaps convince him to rest for a while since Aoi told him he has two broken ribs.

When he knocks at the entrance, nobody responds, but Ubuyashiki was very insistent in the letter he sent Tanjirou, and he mentioned that he should do anything to talk to Tomioka.

So Tanjirou walks in without being invited. The Pillar gets surprised when he notices him there but doesn't say anything yet.

Then Tanjirou places the food in front of him.

"This is for you from Aoi," he says. "She also wanted me to check on your ribs, Tomioka-san."

"I'm fine," the water hashira retorts, but he doesn't ask Tanjirou to leave; instead he stares at his eyes. "You don't need to do anything."

"But I'd like to..." Tanjirou insists. "I know what you do for all of us and I'd like to show my appreciation in some way."

"Why?"

"Because a slayer from the Corps, one of you, saved my family a long time ago, and I'm still grateful for that. They mean a lot to me."

Tomioka keeps staring into his eyes while listening to Tanjirou's words, for a moment he thinks the Pillar is about to tear up, but he nods instead. Something changes in his demeanor.

"You can... see," he whispers, looking suddenly shy. Perhaps he doesn't like physical contact that much and that's why he often refuses help from the kakushi.

"I'll try to be quick," Tanjirou promises.

He helps the Pillar take his haori and the uniform's jacket off. Tomioka looks away and blushes when Tanjirou touches his ribs gently, barely using his fingertips. He notices bruises that haven't been properly healed and by the way Tomioka flinches in pain, Tanjirou is sure he hasn't rested enough.

"What?" Tomioka asks, slightly amused. "Even under the mask, I can tell you're pouting at me."

"You need to rest," Tanjirou huffs, feeling irritated. "You won't get any better like this! Come on, let's go to bed!"

"But..."

Tanjirou knows how to deal with stubborn patients, so he manages to get Tomioka to say in bed for a whole day while Tanjirou serves him food and makes tea for him.

"Please take care of yourself better, Tomioka-san!"

At least he promises to try before Tanjirou leaves again.

***

Himejima is really kind; the other kakushi are intimidated by his size, but Tanjirou doesn't mind. He always asks before he's about to touch the stone hashira so he gives his approval.

"It's fine. You don't need to be that careful," he sounds amused. "I can tell when you're approaching me because you're very loud."

"Oh," Tanjirou mumbles, disappointed. "Maybe I'm not that good at being a kakushi after all, we're supposed to be good at hiding and not making any noise at all."

"I don't think you're bad at your job," Himejima assures him immediately with a gentle smile. "I can hear you well because I'm used to rely on my other senses a lot. It's because of my training."

Tanjirou feels a bit better; he keeps cleaning the wound on Himejima's huge arm before covering it with bandages.

"You have a beautiful voice. Very sincere," he says after a while, touching Tanjirou's hand. "What color are your eyes?"

Tanjirou is not used to describing himself a lot. He feels slightly flustered.

"Uhh..."

"Red. But it's not exactly a warm red; they're deep red with pink hues that are more noticeable when the sunlight touches his face."

Tanjirou looks in surprise at the kakushi girl helping him with the bandages. He didn't expect her to answer for him. She chuckles.

"Sounds beautiful," Himejima says. He turns a bit towards the girl. "Thanks for describing them to me."

"You're welcome, Himejima-san."

After that, the other kakushi relax a bit around the stone hashira.

***

Every once in a while, Aoi is called to the hashira headquarters to give her report to Ubuyashiki and his wife about how everything's going in the butterfly estate and give her opinion on the kakushi performance of the month.

They usually call her at the end of a hashira meeting so she gets to see all of them every now and then; she still can't believe how Tanjirou can say those people are kind and nice because right now they look like the most intimidating people she has ever seen.

She always knew Tanjirou was a weird boy, but not exactly in a negative way; he's just too sweet for his own good.

Aoi gets to know the kakushi before they become one because they usually train in the butterfly estate. Tanjirou was even easier to remember since he was constantly volunteering to help her too.

He also talks to her a lot, mostly about his family and the slayers and hashira he meets while doing his job. He's probably the only one who has met them all.

"Excuse me, Oyakata-sama," the mist hashira asks before Ubuyashiki has the opportunity to dismiss them. "I'd like to say something, if you don't mind."

"Of course, Muichiro," Ubuyashiki says as Shinazugawa glares at Tokito; he's probably bored now that they don't have anything important to discuss.

"When I was in the swordsmith village, I met a kakushi boy," he begins with a smile so sincere it's like for a moment, he's another person entirely. "He was sweet and took care of me really well... his voice was kind; I could easily tell whenever he was smiling because he carries his emotions in his voice and his eyes. I have never seen anyone look at me with so much genuine kindness in a long time."

Aoi knows he's talking about Tanjirou. There's no one else like that.

"Our boy!" Kanroji sighs dreamily. "He was so sweet, I wanted to squeeze him! But I was very tired then, although he gave me a hug when I asked him!"

"So you finally met him, Mitsuri!" Iguro leans closer to her. "I told you he was different! I miss... I mean, Kaburamaru misses him; he was very nice to him when he took care of my wounds."

"I met him too!" Rengoku says then, grinning from ear to ear. There's an enamored expression on his face already. "I think he was the only reason I survived at all. I was ready to cross to the other side, but his sweet eyes pulled me back!"

"Ha! Don't let him fool you!" Shinazugawa smirks. "He seems sweet, but he can get mad too, and his anger is quite fun to watch!"

Aoi heard about the headbutting incident, but the worrying thing is that the wind hashira looks happy about it.

Tomioka stares fondly into the ceiling, almost like he's lost in his own memories.

"He got irritated at me for not taking care of myself." He sighs. "Muichiro is right, you can tell a lot by listening to his voice, even though his face is almost completely covered. He cares deeply about other people."

"It's true," Himejima nods. "His heart is pure. He was very careful with me even though I told him there was no need for it. We talked about his family before he left; I wish he had stayed longer at my estate."

"My wives adored him," the sound hashira smirks, looking almost hungry. "Once this is all over, I'll make him my fourth–"

"Oh, fuck off!" Shinazugawa growls, baring his teeth at him.

That's when everyone starts talking at the same time. Aoi worries for a moment, but Oyakata-sama and his wife seem to be enjoying the situation.

"Wait!" Kocho cuts them off. "How do we know we're talking about the same kakushi boy?"

Finally! Someone is asking the important questions, although Aoi is surprised by the jealousy she notices in her voice.

"What color are his eyes?"

"Red." Everyone says at the same time, even the stone hashira, which makes Aoi feel a little bit confused.

"So it's the same kakushi boy," Kocho huffs, slightly irritated.

"It seemed to me," Ubuyashiki says then, prompting everyone to shut up. "That you wanted to say something else, Muichiro. You brought him up for a reason."

"Yes," Tokito nods, looking slightly shy. "I'd like to learn his name and perhaps... get him to work at my estate."

Chaos unfolds again, mostly because everyone wants Tanjirou to work for them too.

Aoi rolls her eyes.

"You should ask Tanjirou yourselves," Ubuyashiki says with a soft smile on his face. "If he agrees, you can have him working for all of you exclusively, if that's what you want."

All the hashira look ridiculously happy about that. Aoi thought it would take them a while to agree to share him.

Although she has the feeling that's not the only thing they want from him.

"Can we see him now?" Kanroji asks with an excited smile on her face.

"Of course. I believe he's in the butterfly estate at the moment. Aoi can take you there."

Great. Now she has to babysit hashira.

***

"Inosuke!"

At the sound of his voice, all the hashira turn in the same direction. Aoi tries not to roll her eyes again, but it's becoming increasingly tempting the more time she spends with them.

Tanjirou is trying to get the boar head boy to stay still for once, but with very little success.

They're in the backyard now and she has no idea how Inosuke managed to do that if he just came back from a mission.

"Please, you have to take your medicine!"

Playfully, Inosuke pulls Tanjirou's mask down, making fall off his face.

The Pillars gasp and Kocho leans to tell something to Himejima as Tanjirou struggles to put it back on. He blushes.

After a while he takes the mask back and covers his face with it, but the damage is done; they all have seen the scar on his forehead, his cute nose and his red hair that is darker than his eyes.

Even Aoi has to admit that he's really pretty.

"You're so beautiful!" Kanroji says, blushing to the tip of her ears.

"Thank y-you," Tanjirou stammers, still flustered. "But please forget what you saw!"

Yeah, like that is going to happen.

"Oh! It's all of you!" He chuckles as he notices the rest of the Pillars. Aoi swears they make a disgustingly fond expression at the sound of his laughter. "I'm glad to see you again!"

"Would you marry–"

Kocho manages to hit Uzui on the face with one of her butterfly clips.

"Would you like to work for us?" Tomioka asks then, as they slowly gather in a circle around Tanjirou.

"I thought I already did?" He tilts his head in confusion and it's weird that even Shinazugawa seems to find that endearing.

"He means only for us, for the hashira," Iguro says, eagerly waiting for a response.

"Oh."

"You can stay in the hashira headquarters or here if you want. So you can take care of us whenever we come back from a mission!" Rengoku smiles with so much happiness, Aoi is sure she can hear the hearts in his voice.

Even though that should be impossible.

Tanjirou looks at Aoi then, almost like he's asking for permission.

"Oyakata-sama said it was okay if you wanted," she says reluctantly.

"Yes, I'd love to take care of you!"

Aoi is almost certain that they'll be coming here with a tiny scratch or headache, just to see him.

It's going to be a pain in the ass.

Tanjirou giggles when the Pillars start hugging him one by one; he seems confused with their enthusiasm, but since he's a sunshine, he probably thinks they're friends now.

Aoi sighs, well... at least she's sure the Pillars will let someone (Tanjirou) patch them up when they need to.

Even though she'll have to endure their obvious longing on a daily basis.

***

Patreon

[thepixelelf]

For your idol + au thing! (If you're still accepting/looking) mirror verse where you wakeup in a parallel universe and somehow your archenemy seungcheol is in love with you in this world and you're not sure if this is all just an elaborate prank

wc: 1.8k

warnings: attempted assassinations, knives/swords, choking (not the kink like actually an attack bro)

notes: sorry-- I didn't incorporate the elaborate prank part at all but I hope you enjoy!!

[in another life] As your hand guides you through the unlit servant's hallway of the palace, brushing over the paper walls, you breathe as shallowly as your lungs allow. You cannot afford error— not tonight.

Whoever brings Prince Jeonghan's head to your master first will be named his true heir. The next generation's Moonlight Assassin. Whoever completes this final task for him will be left with his overwhelming wealth...along with his immeasurable debt of sin.

Despite the caveat, you simply must be faster than Choi Seungcheol. You understand that he's been training under the master since he was young, and he surely deserves the title of Moonlight Assassin over you, but while you know he wants it, you need it.

Your sister is dying.

Racked by terrible bouts of fever and haunted nightly by ominous visions, she is now too exhausted to even leave her bed. She's already lost her sight. The physician said her hearing would be next, and not long after that, her life.

You haven't told Seungcheol any of this, lest he use your one weakness against you, but there was a moment a year ago when you told him you didn't mean to steal his glory.

"I need the money," you'd said. "It isn't about the title for me."

You thought perhaps he'd take some pity on you then, but it only made him despise you more. He hated that you'd shown up from almost nowhere and somehow charmed the master into taking you in as an apprentice — hated you even more when you seemed to know enough about poisons to impress the master when he'd worked for years to do the same.

For a brief moment, you considered telling Seungcheol your true plan. You only wanted enough money to help your sister; likely a modicum of the master's wealth could cover it. All you needed was that much, and then you'd renounce yourself and cede the Moonlight Assassin title to Seungcheol voluntarily.

But you doubted the master would be happy to hear of your intentions, and you didn't trust Seungcheol enough to stay mum. He'd probably tattle just to get you disqualified before the task even began.

In the end, you kept quiet and let Choi Seungcheol despise you. It was easy when you let yourself despise him back.

His ego was appalling, really, and you truly hated that smug smirk of his whenever he bested you in melee training.

Upon reaching the bend you know is nearest to the honeymoon quarters, you hold in a chuckle. Seungcheol won't be able to smirk now— you'll have the Prince's head before the sun rises. And you'll do it without waking up his new bride, too.

A hand wraps around your throat. Another over your mouth.

Despite your surprise, you make not a sound, knowing just one shift too loud will ruin everything. Only a moment and a half of struggling goes by before the next sound you keep inside yourself is a groan. You know these hands. They've held you down and bruised you enough times for you to remember the shape of them imprinted into your flesh.

"Fool," he whispers in your ear, the sound harsh and demeaning. "You're so slow. I've been waiting for you for hours."

Using both hands, you tear his palm from your mouth, though you have a feeling he is the one who lets you do so. You keep your voice to a low hiss. "You've been here for— why wait for me? You could've killed him by now."

Seungcheol huffs, the quiet version of a haughty scoff. "I could kill a measly prince any day. Tonight is about beating you." He tightens the hand he has around your neck. "I'll enjoy putting you in your place."

"You braggadocios, bull-headed prick—" The insults don't flow from your lips, they come out choking. Your head starts to feel light. "You parading, pathetic narcissist—

Another huff. "If there is one thing I'll miss, it will be your colourful mouth."

Your eyes flutter, eyelids growing heavy. There is not enough air for you to say anything more.

"Goodnight," Seungcheol whispers, his smiling curving against the shell of your ear. "You'll see me well won when you wake."

The last thing you feel is him lowering you softly to the floor, his hand under your head— if only to make less noise than dropping your slack body like a sack of rice.

=

Your first instinct when your consciousness returns is to keep your eyes shut. There is an arm over your waist, and you are lying on your side atop something soft.

Heaven's threads— have you already been jailed? Is some prisoner using you for warmth?

But no, the softness under you feels too fine on your skin. The arm around you feels...tender. Loving. An embrace.

For a moment, you fall into an illusion of time gone backward. You picture yourself and your sister in the small home of your childhood, in the tiny bed you shared before her sickness took over.

This arm is not hers, though. It is much too thick, and — you slowly shift your hand to find the stranger's fingers that graze over your stomach — strong. A hand belonging to someone who developed this strength for years, who...

You freeze.

A hand that was just around your throat. You would recognize it anywhere.

Whipping around, you shove Seungcheol's shoulder so he lays flat, and you straddle his legs to keep them from moving. The knife you keep strapped to your leg is still there, despite everything else feeling so foreign. You hold his dominant arm down with one hand and bring your knife to his neck with the other.

You're shaking.

Slowly, groggily, Seungcheol opens his eyes. You expect him to break free and strike you back — at least try — but his eyes just widen.

"Love," he whispers. "What are you doing?"

"What are you doing?" you interrogate, head swimming. "Where are we? Why am I— why are we—"

His thick brows furrow. "Are you alright?" He doesn't seem to fear the knife at his throat. Doesn't seem to fear you, or the way you've started to struggle against your own breath. "Love, calm down." His hand reaches to push the knife away from his neck, and with his soothing tone of voice, you let him. He sits up and brushes the back of his fingers over your cheek. Gently, he squeezes your hand. "It's alright. You're safe here. I'm with you."

As soon as your breathing evens, you come back to yourself. You smack his hand away from your face. "What the hell has gotten into you? This looks like..." You turn left and right, taking in the room around you lit only by a sparse few candles. "...the palace. What happened? Where is the prince?"

Seungcheol pouts. You didn't know his lips could do that. He presses the back of his hand to your forehead, but you slap it away again. "Are you feeling feverish? Dizzy?"

"I'm confused. Why are you acting so strange?"

"Love--"

"That!" you exclaim. "That word-- 'love'. You keep saying it. I don't understand."

He squeezes your hand again, and for some reason, you don't pull away. "I thought you liked that one... You never liked honey, or blossom, or dewdrop--"

You scowl and shove his shoulder, which he only smiles and laughs at. The smile throws you off -- it isn't the smug, irritating one you are accustomed to -- it's wide and bright and warm. He cups your cheek, his smile softening but not going away.

"Love, I think you're tired. Let's go back to sleep."

"Let's?"

Seungcheol chuckles. "You must be exhausted after today. 'Where is the prince'? I'm right here, love."

For a few moments, you simply stare at him. This man, Choi Seungcheol, who once had to be ordered by the master to stop sparring, otherwise he'd break both of your legs -- this man is cradling your face like treasure, and claiming...

"Hah!" you can't help the disbelief that escapes your lips. "You, Seungcheol? A prince? What else are you going to tell me-- that I'm your starry-eyed marrier?"

He tilts his head. "I wouldn't say starry-eyed," he teases, but then his brow furrows again, and he studies your eyes. "You're truly starting to worry me. Should I call for the physician?" His eyes seem to finally adjust to the darkness of the room, and he curiously takes in the clothes you're wearing, the same ones he caught you in outside Prince Jeonghan's honeymoon quarters. "When did you change?" he asks, then lets his gaze dart over to the knife you'd abandoned on the other side of the bed. "And where did you find that?"

"You... you're actually the prince?"

Seungcheol wraps an arm around you, and the protectiveness in his eyes makes you take a sharp inhale. "Something is wrong. I'll call for the--"

"Shh!"

At the slightest sound of shuffling past the thin paper walls, you tackle Seungcheol down to the bed and cover his mouth with your palm. This is starting to feel familiar in a strange, mirror-like way.

You meet Seungcheol's eyes and whisper as quietly as possible. "You're the prince."

Despite his obvious confusion, he nods.

"And we were married yesterday?"

He nods again.

"Heaven's threads," you curse, then turn your head towards the noise outside. When you hold your breath, you're sure you hear the sounds of a quiet, restrained struggle, followed by a body being lowered to the floor.

Seungcheol pries your hand from his mouth. "Love, what's--?"

The door slides open, and a masked figure freezes in the opening, eyes wide as he registers that you're both awake. Still, his surprise doesn't last long. He pulls out his weapon, a short sword you recognize as Seungcheol's -- your Seungcheol, not the prince still holding you in his arms -- and moves so quickly you hardly have time to react.

Though Seungcheol attempts to pull you tighter into him and turn so he will take the brunt of the attack, you are just fast enough to slip from his hold. You grab your knife and send a kick straight into the intruder's chest. He falls to floor. Grabbing his wrist, you slam it against the wood and kick the sword he lets go of as far across the room as possible.

In the frenzy, you rip down the piece of cloth covering the lower half of his face, out of breath as you realize, "Prince Jeonghan?"

The man growls, but the sharp edge of your knife kissing his neck is enough to keep him still. "Who--"

You don't allow him to finish his sentence. Raising your hand, you slam the hilt of your knife into his temple, and he falls limp, eyes rolling back.

The room falls back into silence, left only with your heavy breathing and -- you look over at Seungcheol -- his, too. Through the open door, you spot the feet of whomever has taken your spot in this strange, backwards world.

"Love," Seungcheol says in a breathless exhale. "That..."

You place your hands on the floor and push yourself to your feet. Seungcheol meets you between the bed and the unconscious assassin on the floor. He wraps his arms around you.

"That was strangely the most beautiful thing I've ever--"

His words choke to a stop when he feels you press the tip of the knife into the back of his neck.

"Love," you say, voice shaking. "Take me to my sister."

[fictionalgap]

Steal My Heart

(chapter4)

Pairing: Kit Thantalos x Reader

Summary: Kit makes you a surprise.

Warnings: Swearing, underwater kiss😉😉😉

Chapters: Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3

Song Recommendation: Fire on fire - Sam Smith

You and Kit have been riding for two hours. Wherever Kit wanted to visit, It was really close to where your mother stayed.

"Kit, why are we here?" you asked suspiciously.

She stopped in front of your house. You stopped when she stopped.

She got off from the horse and landed on her feet. She approached to you and said "Suprise!" with a giant smile.

Your mouth moved but no words came out. You didn't know how did she knew you lived here but you were happy that she brought you here.

You saw your mum at the door of your house.

"Y/N!" She ran at you with open arms.

You got off from your horse and ran to her. You hugged and Kit watched you from where she stood.

"I wasn't expecting you too soon." your mother said with excitement.

"Should I go back?" you teased her with a smirk.

She playfully hit your shoulder then hugged you tighter. You broke the hug.

You turned to Kit. "This is Ki-, the Princess of Tir Aslee-"

"Your highness." your mum bowed to Kit.

"It's really nice to meet you. Just Kit is enough." she smiled to your mother.

"It is really nice to meet you too, Kit." she smiled then looked at you.

"Don't stand there, come in. " Your mum hurried into your house.

You all walked into the house. You and Kit were sitting in your kitchen. Marlene and kids were out somewhere. Your mum was brewing some tea as you fidgeted with your fingers anxiously.

"Thank you." you said to the girl next to you with a smile. "Don't. I just wanted a break from the castle." she pushed the subject away. A pleased smile obvious on her face.

"How did you know I lived here?" you questioned.

She cleared her throat after she avoided your gaze.

Your mum came with teas and placed them on the table. You both took the cups.

Your mum sat down with a wide smile.

"So, tell me everything."

Kit told her how you saved her life. You told about how Queen forgave your crimes and had a generous job offer for you.

Your mum told Marlene and her kids were great to her. They were able to live well since she was town's healer and made more than enough money. She told you she helped her during she was working and also take care of the kids.

You were grateful Marlene was there for your mother. You knew your mother wanted to give up on doing theft long time ago.

Your father didn't want to. He was a good man but he liked stealing so much it was almost like he needed it.

"Once a thief, always a thief." you remembered his words to your mother after she told him she didn't wanted to do this anymore.

After a couple of hours it was almost evening. "We should get back." you turned to Kit.

Kit nodded and stood up from her seat. You felt her hand brushing yours.

You said your goodbyes then got back on the road to the castle.

"You never answered me." You asked her calmly.

"Hm?" She turned to you.

"How did you know I lived here?"

She sighed nervously.

"You know that while were training your letter fell down. When you went to drink water I read it before I gave it to you." She looked down.

You stopped riding your horse. Your face fell with disappointment. Never in a million years you would think of her as someone like that.

"I know It's not nice to read someone else's p-"

"No. It's not and-" You started to get angry but something stopped you.

Your eyes got bigger when you looked at her direction.

"Kit. Don't move."

Kit's eyes widen with fear and she had the urge just to take a look but she couldn't.

She had a big hairy spider on her shoulder.

You didn't know how the hell she didn't feel that. It looked big and poisonous.

'What is with the Princess Of Tir Asleen and poisonous animals?' you thought to yourself.

She eyed her left and with realization her eyes got wider and she panicked for a second then fell from the horse.

She fell into the mud and now she was covered in it.

"Fuuuuuck!"

You snorted as you ran to her, saving her from the mud and the spider.

Spider was barely in the mud, was already crawling its way out to the clean grass.

You held Kit's hand and helped her up.

"Come on, there is a pond over there."

She groaned as she followed your lead.

She got rid of her outer clothes and you both washed them . You were glad it was Summer. It would dry quickly.

"I am sorry."

You looked at her direction.

"I shouldn't have looked. I just I didn't know why I did it. I - I guess I was curious or I-I don't have any excuse. When It's about you I just want to know more. A-and I guess I got excited."

You knew she was telling the truth.

You nodded to her and to yourself.

She looked at you as she was waiting for an 'I forgive you.'

Instead you stood up and wondered around the pond. She got up from her seat and stood next to you.

She looked in your eyes desperately. "Y/N?"

You stared at her coldly and she frowned at your expression.

Then, all of a sudden, you put your hands on her arms and pushed her to the pond in front of you.

"Wha-" she managed to get out before water splashed around and your giggles filled the woods.

She got up to the surface and swam her way back and got off from the water.

You expected an annoyed look on her face but she was smiling. She came next to you with her arms on her waist.

She bit her lip and nodded to herself. "I deserved it."

You laughed. She smiled as you laughed more.

What you didn't expect was her pushing you into the water.

You found yourself in blue-green pond and you saw her jumping in the water again. She was swimming to your direction. You looked at her with a smile. There was enough light inside the pond. Thanks to the Sun. You could see her clearly.

You saw her looking at you softly. That look melt your heart but also It awoke something inside you. You pulled her to yourself to give a peck to her lips. You looked at her face. It was blank. Than you swam to the surface and took a deep breath. When you saw her coming right after you. You couldn't find the courage to face her.

You took a deep breath and dived into the pond. You decided to wait there as If that was a good solution. You saw her coming down. She had a happy expression on her face as much as someone can when they are holding their breath. She came down to your level.

Then something you never could have guess happened. She held your cheeks with both of your hands and kissed you. You relaxed into the kiss as you felt her not hating this.

Your smile met your eyes as she clinged onto you. You looked at her eyes as she looked at yours. You held her arms but she smiled and pulled you to the surface with her.

Taglist: @valenftcrush @elliewilliamsgf69 @hayatistirahati @rubycruzsbitch @crxmxnzl-c0rpzes @scarletchase1989

[viviennevermillion]

poisoned veins

✧ notes: first work for my "autumn remedies" event! i'm doing the commonly triggering topics first before moving on to my more soft prompts. stay safe while going out and look out for your friends as well. here's an article about how to recognize drink spiking if it happens to you or a friend and what to do in this situation.

✧ synopsis: sampo protects you and takes you to natasha's clinic after your drink has been spiked, waiting in worry for you to wake up. (hurt/comfort), 3.1k words

✧ now playing: bad things — breathe

✧ warnings: drugging, medical emergency, vomiting, seizure, needles

Entertainment was always sparse in a place like the Belobog Underworld. It was almost a little ironic that a Masked Fool like Sampo found enough amusement in a place where most people spent their free time in fight club and meeting up in backalley taverns. That's what pretty much every establishment in Boulder Town was like in the late evenings. You could hardly expect a fancy restaurant in a community that had been sealed off and short on resources for such a long time. But people still made the best of it. Most bars and taverns had enjoyable menus, so people didn't mind coming back on their weekends. It was not Epsilon XII and hardly comparable to the joyful atmosphere Sampo knew from the Masked Fools taverns, but it was the perfect place to get some inspiration for a new scam.

He didn't expect to find you there when he entered the tavern late at night. He had helped Wildfire out with procuring a couple of necessary items and had gotten back late; deciding he wasn't in the mood for half-burnt scrambled eggs that he tried to make while tired and with a hardly commendable attention span. So take-out food was the way to go tonight. He sat down on the stool next to you at the bar. "Hey, fam!", he addressed you with a cheerful smile on his face, "do you come here often?"

You chuckled at his remark and took a sip from your drink. "Why does this sound like a cheap pick-up line?", you raised an eyebrow at him as Sampo ordered the weirdest food on the menu. "It's not, I swear!", he held up his hands defensively and laughed, "I was just curious, is all." You shrugged. "Well, to answer your question, I don't really go to places like this all that often but I was in the area and I really needed a drink. I'm exhausted." Sampo didn't know what you had been doing beforehand, but he could guess that it probably had something to do with helping another poor soul in need or just not understanding what an appropriate time to stop work was. A common pattern around here, really.

"What a coincidence, I just came here for a meal as well", he smiled at you but was a bit annoyed about having to yell over all the background noise. He felt like you were a little uncomfortable with the atmosphere at the bar. "You don't seem to like the place a lot", he remarked, earning a glare from the bartender who probably thought it was out of place for someone to declare loudly that a person didn't like his establishment. But you seemed almost relieved that someone pointed it out. "Yeah it just isn't as safe and comfortable as I'm used to", you nodded, taking another sip of the drink, "had to shoo away some idiots who were getting a little too comfortable being in my personal space before you arrived."

Sampo took his plate with the chocolate sauce burrito into his hands and got up from the stool as soon as it was brought to him. "Well, if you need their money as compensation, you know where to find me", he winked and nodded his head towards the front door, "wanna sit outside where it's a little more quiet?" Pondering on his words, you noticed you were more than ready to leave this place.

So you followed Sampo Koski to sit on a small bench under a lamp post across from the tavern.

There were a few guests outside and Sampo kept his distance from them as he walked through the dining area. Meanwhile you seemed to struggle a little. "Watch where you're going", an older woman hissed as Sampo turned back and saw you getting a little dizzy, bumping into the sitting customer and causing her to let go of her fork which promptly dropped down to the floor. The waiter made his way inside to get her a new one. "Sorry...", you mumbled and seemed a little bit out of it.

Sampo walked back to you and wrapped an arm around your shoulder for support, guiding you over to the bench. "Don't need to hold onto you, really", you sighed and sat down, your words sounding a little bit slurred. He wondered how much you had to drink. "Friend, are you doing okay?", he asked with a smile on his face. "Mmmh...", you replied, feeling the wooden surface under your hand as you sat down, almost missing the bench a couple of times, "...just a little tired."

Sampo raised an eyebrow and there was a look of concern on his face but he brushed it off. He knew how a person could get with enough sleep deprivation. Besides, he was there to look after you when you got too drowsy. It was late and he made a mental note to walk you home when the time came. For now though, he thought he'd just sit under the moonlight with you for a while, letting you take in the fresh air and clear your senses. Maybe he'd get to talk with you a little bit and finally find the courage to ask you out. He had done so a couple times, always hiding his true feelings behind his goofy facade. You had thought he was joking and he didn't have it in him to correct you thus far. He couldn't blame you, really.

The downside of being a jester could very well be that people struggled to see that there was a person with feelings just like everyone else underneath the mask. Sampo gazed up to the stars with a helpless smile on his face. He remembered when he made you laugh and how his first thought had been that maybe this had been the reaction he had been looking for all along when he committed to his shenanigans. That seeing you giggle about his endeavors made it worth running from the Silvermane Guards every once in a while. Ever since the border between the underworld and the overworld was reopened, they had been patrolling in Boulder Town as well, which made Sampo's line of work even more difficult. He wondered if you could love someone who had an arrest warrant on his back. Perhaps he'd always be a coward when it came to letting you see what was in his heart, he mused.

"Well, maybe it's time to head back for us. It isn't long until the night patrol passes through here and I wouldn't want to run into the guards tonight. How about I walk you back home?", he sighed but his heart seemed to stop for a second when he looked at you again. You were slouching, your hand pressed to your head and Sampo noted that you looked a little sick. "Y/n?", he called out your name and tapped your shoulder multiple times. You were unresponsive. "Y/n?", he tried again and grasped your shaking hand as you leaned over to your side to empty your stomach into the trashcan next to you. You missed.

"Hey, maybe we should stop by Natasha's clinic before we get you home, alright?", he spoke softly but there was worry evident in his voice, "you don't look like you're doing too well..."

Sampo saw you reach for the drink next to you with unsteady hands, struggling to hold onto the glass as you lifted it to your mouth. A realization seemed to cross Sampo's mind. He took the beverage from your hands before you could take another sip. Something inside you seemed to protest, and you tried to reach for the glass again in confusion, knocking it out of his fingers by accident.

It fell to the floor with a loud shattering sound, startling you. Sampo saw tears forming in your eyes from the shock. You seemed scared and confused but unable to communicate. "Come on, let's get you to a doctor", Sampo whispered in a comforting voice, helping you up, "I'm sure someone will clean this up, don't worry about it. Can you walk?"

He got his answer when you collapsed and your legs gave in. Luckily, Sampo was fast enough to catch you before your head hit the pavement. You stared up with wide eyes but didn't seem to look at anything in particular. It was like you were staring right past him. Your muscles tensed and you tried to point at something that Sampo couldn't see. He called out your name a couple more times in panic, gently tapping your cheek multiple times as if hoping you would just snap out of it. His heart had sunken in his chest and a shiver ran down his spine, seemingly freezing his bones. You looked like consciousness had left you; clenching your jaw and moving it like you were chewing on something.

Sampo swallowed his fear and picked you up, ignoring the concerned stares of the nearby tavern guests. Natasha's clinic was only a few streets away from here. He could make it in 5 minutes if he ran. Running with you in his arms proved to be a challenge as your body continued writhing. The movements reminded Sampo of a new-born baby tossing and turning in the crib and grasping for nothing in particular. Definitely not something that should be happening to you.

You looked dead inside. The image sent a feeling of panic through Sampo's heart and he was hoping his own legs wouldn't give in due to the shock. He needed to be strong for you now. Memories flashed through his mind of the last time he had met you, grabbing a coffee with you in the overworld and joking around about his newest scam. Everything had seemed like fun and games during a time where the possibility of losing you had never crossed his mind. But now it did. And it terrified him. As the cold air of the night seemed to burn in his lungs as he kept running, a quiet voice inside him wondered what would happen if he never got to see your smile again. He could only guess at what had put you in this state but he didn't know what it actually meant for your health. Were you going to see the dawn? Were you going to stay like this? He probably shouldn't think about that for now, he mused.

He opened the door to Natasha's clinic with such force that it sounded like he had kicked it down as he called out for the underworld doctor. He recognized her by the sound of her heels on the floor as she made her way towards him. "Sampo Koski, how many times have I told you to keep your voice down in my hospital-", Natasha stopped in her tracks when she saw Sampo holding you like this, trying to keep you still as to not drop you, "oh god." She hurried over to the emergency section of the clinic and got a stretcher ready for you. "Put them down here", she instructed Sampo, who carefully lowered you onto the stretcher. Natasha noticed there were tears in his eyes and he was shaking. She had never seen him this concerned about anybody.

"Will they be okay?", Sampo bit his lip and tried to calm down, taking deep breaths while simultaneously doing his best to keep your arms and legs on the bed so you wouldn't hit them against something and injure yourself. "Probably", Natasha calmed him down and brought her medical equipment to your bedside, "I've had cases like this before and so far none of them died on me, so have a little faith, okay?" Sampo nodded. "Would you help me keep their arm still? I need to take a blood sample", she asked him. He firmly but gently pinned your arm down with both hands while Natasha took a sample of your blood and then put you on an IV. She brought the tube with your blood to the laboratory while Sampo held your hand in his to make sure you didn't move your arm too much with the catheter in it.

Seeing you writhing on the stretcher made his heart break. Neither trying to comfort you with his words nor swearing that whoever did this to you was going to pay for it seemed to bring you back to him. He felt helpless. The time Natasha took to get results from the blood test, administer medicine to you and ultimately cause your body to relax again felt like an eternity to him. It eventually just looked like you were sleeping, which allowed Sampo to calm down as well. "They need rest now", Natasha said eventually, "I need to attend to the other patients but you can stay here if you'd like to... though I do have the feeling you wouldn't leave even if I kicked you out." She gave him an encouraging smile, having noticed how much you meant to him. Sampo just smiled back weakly and let her continue with her duty as a physician.

When you woke up your head hurt. You felt confused and didn't know where you were. Images flashed through your mind of you talking to Sampo at the bar counter. That was the last thing you remembered. So it was confusing to you to open your eyes and find yourself in a hospital bed with a catheter in your arm and an annoying beeping sound coming from the machine next to you. Natasha had noticed you had woken up and came over to your bed.

"I see you're awake", she remarked with a soft voice and sat down on a chair beside you, "how do you feel?"

You cleared your throat and noticed how dry your mouth felt. Natasha already had a glass of water ready for you. "Can you hold it?", she asked and carefully handed it to you, keeping her hand on the bottom of the glass in case you dropped it. You managed to hold onto it and take a few sips from the water. "Thank you", you mumbled with a weak voice and sat up, feeling a bit of your strength return already, so you kept drinking.

Natasha allowed you to take your time to gather yourself. "So... how did I end up here?", you asked, your voice still sounding a little hoarse. Natasha sighed. "What's the last thing you remember?", she asked you. You took a moment to reply. "I was sitting at the bar counter, talking to Sampo", you explained and chuckled weakly, "he ordered this horrible chocolate sauce burrito... seriously who eats something like that?" A small smile found its way onto Natasha's face. "So, what happened?", you asked quietly.

"Well... it seems someone mixed something into your drink...", she started, seeing your eyes widen, "nothing more happened but you collapsed in front of the tavern and had a seizure. Sampo brought you into my clinic." "Oh...", you mouthed, your thoughts scrambled all over the place as you tried to process what Natasha just said. She nodded towards the other side of your bed and your eyes followed her gesture, finding Sampo passed out on a chair next to you with his crossed arms and head on your nightstand and a blanket draped over him. He was drooling a little and even though he was asleep, you could tell he seemed exhausted.

"He stayed here the whole night", Natasha told you, "...refused to leave your side even when the guards wanted to take him into custody because they suspected he did it." "He didn't", you retorted immediately and Natasha stopped you. "I know. They found that out after investigating the tavern and hearing from other witnesses that you had that drink before Sampo even entered the tavern." You sighed with relief. The last thing you wanted was for the man who brought you here and made sure you got the medical treatment you needed to be arrested.

"Honestly, I've never seen Sampo so scared before", Natasha remarked, "he looked like he had seen a ghost." Your hand reached for your sleeping companion and your fingertips gently carded through his dark blue strands of hair, stirring him awake in the process. Sampo yawned and opened his eyes with a tired expression but as soon as they met yours, he felt wide awake once more. "You're alive!", he exclaimed with a relieved smile on his face and reached for your hand, holding it in his own, "Sampo Koski was so worried about you!" You squeezed his hand. "Thank you for looking out for me."

"There's absolutely nothing to thank", he told you, sounding more sincere than you had ever heard him, "I'm sorry I couldn't do more..." Those last words were more of a whisper but you picked up on them anyway. "You did everything you could", you insisted as Natasha did some further testing to make sure everything about your condition was stable.

"You're going to need to stay here for further testing for now", she explained to you, "you will likely be fine but it's best for you to remain in the hospital and be monitored for today." You nodded. "Don't hesitate to call out to me if you need anything", Natasha continued, "as for everything else, I'm sure Sampo doesn't mind keeping you company while you're here." You looked over to him and he nodded to confirm what Natasha had said. "If you don't mind, of course", he added awkwardly. "I don't", you reassured him and held onto his hand.

Sampo remained by your bedside until you were discharged in the evening, aside from the time he went out to get lunch for the two of you, surprising you with a meal you had mentioned liking. He was ready to answer any question you had about the time when you were unconscious and the things amnesia has made you forget. He made sure to let you know that whenever you needed to talk or just didn't want to be alone after this, he'd be only one call or text away. Whether he had a 'business meeting' or not, according to his words. He doubted he fully knew how to deal with the situation but he swore he would do his best to make sure you'd be okay. You didn't know where the future would take you and how this situation would affect you in the times to come, but you found comfort in the fact that, come what may, you wouldn't have to deal with it alone. Perhaps that was all the confirmation you needed to understand how much you meant to Sampo. Maybe words weren't even needed anymore...

if you liked this fic, keep an eye out for the other works i have scheduled this month. reblogs and comments are appreciated! 👍🏻

any support for my event would be greatly appreciated! 💕

[toastedjeans]

Siren Tower Maurice, Doise and Peddito!

The main cast is over here!

I just realized Doise's gloves should be more white but I'm too lazy to change that, just imagine they're white okay?

Some info about them down here

Maurice

Peppino's older brother and a piece of shit, who constantly belittles him and calls him a disappointment. His apartment has water damage or something similar, or maybe it got destroyed, so now he temporarily lives with Peppino until his flat is repaired. (Alternative: he didn't pay rent and got kicked out, continues not to pay rent to Peppino because "we're family, you can't charge your own brother.") He's either divorced or his girlfriend left him, is only allowed to see his son once a month. It's probably for the better.

Peppino is incredibly fed up with him but he tries to endure it, until he one day snaps and probably slaps him, they end up both kicking the shit out of each other (but Peppino is stronger because i said so).

Maurice invites himself to poker night and other activities Pep and the others do after work times, then complains that he's bored or something (M: "This sucks, why did you invite me?" P: "I didn't??"). He gets along a little with Mr. Stick, but only because they're both gamblers, he's somehow even more unlucky than Stick and keeps losing almost all his money. Doesn't get along with Hazel cause he doesn't take her seriously, thinks she's childish and stupid.

Doise

Goblin shark. He's basically Noise but blue. Noise hates him because he thinks Doise is imitating him, but they're just the same species of siren. He's a little more mellow and doesn't go feral as much or as easily as Noise. He throws rocks cause he doesn't know he's immune to sea urchin and puffer fish poison / venom. He can also go on land but needs water nearby.

He has heterochromia (one eye is blue, the other is purple-ish brown), and has the same "whiskers" as Noise, just turned down.

Absolutely terrified of Peddito, as he seems to always want to kill him, and has tried doing so a few times. Sometimes plays dead hoping that Peddito leaves him alone, it doesn't really work though.

Peddito

A failed clone of Peppino, made before Fakey. Pizzahead didn't like him as much because he didn't get the eyes right so he threw him out (basically the Other Eye problem, but he ended up leaving his eye sockets empty out of frustration). He can't see because of this, but he can still navigate through the water effortlessly. There's way less sea creature DNA in him, so he looks almost completely human just with a fin on his back and webbed hands. It's unclear where his vibrant coloring comes from.

He's strangely obsessed with Doise for some reason and doesn't interact with anyone cause he's just not interested in anyone else. He actually wants to be friends with Doise, but since Pizzahead designed him to be a killing machine, he doesn't know his own strength and ends up almost killing Doise several times. His "killer side" comes out every time he's near Doise, and he can sense his presence because of this.

When not near Doise, Peddito seems almost dead, he moves very little, and is unresponsive. He can't talk, neither human nor siren language, but he understands both. He doesn't swim, just floats through the water like a dead fish, despite this he's incredibly agile and fast. Would follow Doise on land, and could survive with pretty much no problems. He just slides across the floor when on land, as if he was on rails. The bottoms of his feet are always slippy, making it easier for him to move. Might leave a trail wherever he goes.

And here's your reward for reading, some doodles of various age and messiness

Also some shippy stuff hehe

[reputationmunson]

In This Together | Eddie Munson x fem!reader

Summary: The beginning of your journey through parenthood with Eddie

Content: pregnancy fic (reader finds out she’s pregnant), mentions of nausea and throwing up, fluff, use of y/n

Word Count: 1.9K

a/n: so this is the first part “series” and if you have any requests/things you would like to read for this please let me know and i will be more than happy to oblige!

_

For the past week, life has been throwing you punches left and right. 

On your way home from work one night, your car decided that in the middle of a thunderstorm would be the perfect time to break down. Luckily, your mechanic husband came to the rescue. Unluckily, he ordered chinese takeout for dinner to cheer you up, which led to you getting food poisoning. 

You’ve had to call off of work for the past five days due to being ill. Somehow, Eddie must’ve skipped on the side dish of foodborne illness because he never ended up getting sick. 

Eddie has been picking up a few extra shifts this week because you were so stressed about missing work and the effect that would have on your paycheck. Honestly, money hasn’t been much of an issue lately, but he insisted on working so his chance for a promotion would increase. 

You’ve been an emotional wreck without him lately. Every time he leaves you feel like he’s going off to war and you have no idea when he’ll return. He thinks it’s adorable while you think you’re going insane. Sometimes throughout the day you’ll spray his cologne, even though the scent has been making you a bit queasy for some reason. 

You haven’t been able to keep any food down, so you decided to give your mom a call and ask for her special soup recipe. She always made it when a friend or family member was sick and you swear it has healing powers. 

“Hi, mom. it’s me” you say, voice hoarse from all the throwing up. 

“Hi, sweetie. you sound awful, is everything okay?” 

Tears immediately fill your eyes when she asks. Your period must be coming soon because your emotions have been all over the place.

“Not really. I’ve had food poisoning and I can’t keep anything down, so I just wanted the recipe for your soup” 

“Oh, honey. Is Eddie there to make it for you?”

“N-no. he’s working like all the time recently because he’s up for a promotion and I just miss him so much that I think I'm losing my mind and I'm also starving but the thought of eating anything makes me want to puke '' you sob. 

“y/n, are you pregnant?” 

“what? no i’m not preg-” your voice drifts as realization hits you. You missed your period last month, but chalked it up to stress and this month is halfway over and you still haven’t gotten it. 

“y/n? are you there?” 

“y-yeah i’m here. I just, um, I think I need to sit down.” 

“I’m coming over, honey. don’t worry everything will be okay” 

In shock, you hang up the phone without saying another word. Could you really be pregnant? I mean, let’s be honest you and Eddie go at it like rabbits, so it shouldn’t be a surprise, but it is. 

You and Eddie have discussed having kids on many occasions, but you both agreed to wait until the time was right. You wanted to move into a bigger house, nothing too fancy that you’d be paying off for the rest of your lives, but one big enough for your little rascals to run around. All you ever both wanted was a house filled with love and laughter, no matter how big or small. 

_

After anxiously sitting in silence, your mom walks through the door with handfuls of grocery bags and she looks just about as frazzled as you do. 

“yep. you’re pregnant.” is the first thing she says and you groan. “how do you know? Are you secretly psychic or something?” 

“all mothers are psychic, you’ll find that out very soon. So, I bought all the fixins for my soup, three pregnancy tests, and a gallon of water. Drink up, i’ll start cooking”

You pour yourself a glass of water and chug until there isn’t a drop left in the cup. 

“I can’t believe I’m gonna be a grandma! Between Eddie’s hair and your eyes, this baby is going to be beautiful.” 

“Alright, I’ll go take the tests but please don’t get your hopes up” 

In reality, you had your hopes up too. The thought of having a baby that was a mix of you and Eddie was the most amazing thing you could ever think of. You hoped they’d have his eyes, which if your kid is anything like their dad, they will use those big, brown eyes against you.

Maybe this hypothetical baby will even have a passion for music and Eddie can teach them how to play guitar. You can see it now. Your baby wouldn’t even be a year old before Eddie tried to form a family band. 

“Don’t look at the first test until you take the other two!” your mother shouts as you disappear into the bathroom. 

You take a deep breath to calm yourself after you're done and the anticipation is killing you. This plastic stick is holding the answer to your future and you still had two more to take before you could find out. 

_

Almost a gallon of water and three pregnancy tests later, the pink sticks lay face down on the bathroom sink counter. 

“Will you look for me? I can’t do it” 

“Let’s do it together, okay? This is a wonderful experience” your mom squeezes your hand and you try to gather yourself. 

On the count of three, you each pick one up and you gasp when you turn it around. 

Two pink lines

Two. Pink. Lines

“It’s positive!” you shriek, anxiety replaced with glee. “Are they all positive?” you scan over all three and they show the same result.

You start to cry again, but this time it’s happy tears. Like the tears you cried when Eddie told you he loved you for the first time, then again when he got down on one knee, and also when he vowed to love you for the rest of his life no matter what, a promise he’s yet to break and you are confident he never will. 

Your mom also begins to cry tears of joy while giving  a hug. She was right, this is a wonderful experience. 

When the thought crossed your mind during the phone call earlier, you were horrified. Now, you realize there’s nothing to be scared of. You’re having a baby with the man you love more than anything. 

“When are you going to tell him? I don’t know how long I can keep this in!” she exclaims 

“I’m telling him tonight I don’t think I can wait longer than that. But, please don’t say anything to anyone until we’re ready” 

“I won’t. Now, tell me how you’re gonna tell him!” 

_ 

Once your mom left, you decided to make yourself more presentable and set up a nice dinner for when Eddie got home. He would be home any minute and you were oozing with excitement. 

The table was set, soup was on the stove, and you had put the tests in a gift bag with some tissue paper. 

You had no worries about Eddie reacting badly to this news and not only did that soothe your nerves, it also reaffirmed that being with him was the best decision you ever made. 

You hear his vehicle pull into the driveway and you scurry over to the door, ready to greet him the second he walks in. 

“Eddie!” you squeal, throwing your arms around his neck right when he comes inside. “hey, baby” he arms wrap around your waist and pulls you into him. “How are you feeling?” he pulls back slightly to put his hand on your forehead to check if you have a temperature. 

“So much better now that you’re home” you nuzzle into him and bask in the feeling of his presence. “Sweetheart, you didn’t have to make dinner. you’re sick” he pouts and you can’t resist the urge to kiss him. He tastes like spearmint gum with a hint of the chapstick you force him to wear because his lips are too pretty to be chapped. 

“My mom came over and made it, actually. she says hi, by the way” you lead him over to the couch and sit down. “Her special soup? fuck yeah” he says and you giggle at the enthusiasm. 

“So, I was gonna wait until dinner but I have a present for you” you say, giddily. “A present for lil ol’ me? oh you didn’t have to, darlin’” he says in a fake southern accent. “Stay here, you goof” 

You return to the living room, gift bag in hand and a big smile on your face. Eddie hasn’t seen your smile much since you got “food poisoning” and it’s the best present he can think of. For now, at least. 

“Don’t just stare at me! Open it!” you excitedly demand as you stand in front of him where he’s sat on the couch. 

“you’re just so goddamn pretty. i missed that smile” fuck, you love him so much. If you weren’t so nauseous and in anticipation for him to find out you're pregnant you’d take him to the bedroom and show him just how much you appreciate him. 

“Eddie, I love you, but if you don’t open it right now I’ll make sure to never smile again” you threaten and try not to smile, but you can’t help it. After all these years, you still feel the same way you did on your first date with him. Absolutely lovesick. 

“Jeez, no need for threats, Mrs. Munson” he teases and you playfully roll your eyes. 

He tears through the tissue paper like it’s christmas morning and stops in his tracks once he looks in the bag. 

“Is this?” He pulls out each test and stares intently at each one. “Are you?” He looks up at you with wide eyes and apparently he’s lost the ability to form a sentence. “yeah. we’re having a baby” and here come the waterworks again. Damn hormones. 

His hand rests on your stomach and you cover his hand with your own. “Are you okay with that?” you whisper and he stands up, hand still on your belly. “I’m - fuck- I thought I’d be scared shitless when this day came, but I’m not. Are you okay with this?” 

“I’m a little scared when I think of things like how we’re gonna have to move eventually and ya know, the whole childbirth part that’s probably gonna rip me to shreds, but I’m happy. Really happy” 

“Me too and I think I’m gonna get that promotion to manager, which comes with a huge raise. We’ve been saving up for this since we got married, babe. We’re gonna be fine, okay?”

“I’m gonna get huge” you whine and he chuckles then presses a kiss to your forehead.

“I know. think about how big your tits are gonna get” he jokes. “Eddie! this is supposed to be sentimental!” you chide with a laugh. “But, seriously. Are you still gonna love me when I'm all swollen and grumpy? or when I make you get me ice cream at two in the morning?” 

“First of all, you already make me get you ice cream at two in the morning. Second, you’re carrying our baby. If anything, I'm going to love you even more” he promises and pulls you into a loving hug. 

“Is it okay that I’m somewhat terrified?” you ask, words a little muffled from your face being buried in his chest. 

“I am too, but we’re in this together, yeah?” he assures you.

“yeah. together”

_

my baby fever has been through the roof lately i can’t wait to write more of these :)))

_

[colourstreakgryffin]

heyyy, btw i hope you liked the story I wrote for you<33

can you write Tanjiro x fem reader for a royal au where Tanjiro is in charge of testing all food and drinks for the royal family to make sure it’s not poisoned by sniffing it? like maybe one day the chef just brings out the food and tanjiro doesn’t get to test it and it turns out the chef put something like cyanide in the reader’s tea or something like that and Tanjiro like runs in and quickly takes the tea from her before she can drink it.

Oooh! I really like the Royal AU aspect, it’s so smart! I’ve honestly been a roll with Tanjiro too and I’m all for it~! I love this angel of sunshine so much!

Kamado Tanjiro- Wait, Your Majesty

“My princess~!” Tanjiro, the Royal Poison Detector bowed politely as you giggled at his adorable, optimistic voice and passed him with a unwanted heavy heart. You didn’t want him to have to wait outside, you wanted him to come inside and eat with you

His job, at the castle of the royals, was to smell the supplies of foods and drinks shipped over from other kingdoms and from the kingdom’s own markets for any trance of deadly laces. You, alongside your parents, highly valued him and his incredible sense of smell, he was such a high position for something as simple as smelling food for poison, and it was why he got such a hefty check

He constantly protects your lives, from disease and from assassins with poison. Anything rotten or foul-smelling, the servants took Tanjiro’s word and immediately threw the food out. No matter how much it took to make it nor how safe it seemed

The King, your father, was truly thankful to Tanjiro over and over, for constantly protecting the lives of his beloved family and he was willingly to keep up his payment to the young man. He knew well that Tanjiro doesn’t lie, it’s impossible for such a loveable character to be twisted and lie, and the King even tested Tanjiro before he was hired as a precaution, the experiment was such a success that none of the royals doubted Tanjiro’s ability

Tanjiro wholeheartedly cared for the health and safety of his kingdom’s royalty, as he cared for the people like him’s health and safety. Tanjiro doesn’t really remember how he managed to land this role but he is always happy to be of service. On a cool but dazzling night, Tanjiro alongside a pair of highly-trained royal knights guarded the large entrance of the dining room. Tanjiro, himself, had lots of knight training and he could fight if he needed

Almost all knights he trained with proclaimed he was on a level of a prodigy as he mastered specific techniques and movements with little fail. Tanjiro is truly incredible and you knew that well, more than your parents did, you had developed a crush on the “lowly, coal boy”, the more you spent time with him

The dining room consisted of the King and Queen with their one and only daughter, you. Finishing up their lunch as you begin to crave a sweet treat as a nice touchup from your truly incredible dinner, asking the butler politely for a chocolate moose. Neither of your parents argued with your wants, you’re in charge of your own body and nobody can tell you what to do

“Royal Poison Detector, come” A friendly yet partly-exhausted maid remarked when she strolled up to him as Tanjiro immediately skipped over to her to follow her to the grand and familiar kitchen of the palace. Such a huge area that smelt like a culinary heaven, potent with savoury chicken, vegetables and pastries. Tanjiro smiled sweetly at the hardworking patrons of the castle as he watched them work vigorously

He felt truly pampered as a worker of the palace as compared to them. All he did to earn money and love from the royal family was sniff foods and shipments for anything fishy, he didn’t work his back off. Though, he was always willing to be around for you, the crowned princess, when no other knight was available or simply when you asked him too

It’s the least he can do

He suspected a wave of beautiful dishes to be presented to him by the many chefs but before the one glass of chocolate moose, in which he guessed was order by you or the Queen. The infamous King entered the kitchen and snapped his fingers for Tanjiro’s attention, ignoring the number of maids and butlers. Of course, Tanjiro immediately listened to his King’s orders and approached him with that unchanging, heart-fluttering beam. He must have wanted his services elsewhere?

It was simple and it made Tanjiro laugh a bit. The King wanted advice on princes of choice for you and he figured to ask the only other teenager your age and he was thankful that one is a boy. He may know the type of guy you would want and Tanjiro was surprised by the King’s rockiness. He understood well that he wanted the right suitor for his daughter and Tanjiro gave the older man his best opinion

As usual of the entire palace, the King took his word and flashed a grateful smile. He did that a lot and he wouldn’t stop. To him and his wife, Tanjiro is one of the most important workers they have

“Thank you, Tanjiro, my boy. Please return to your services now” Tanjiro nodded without a single ounce of refusal and turned around to be met with the eyes of a chef but nothing. Wait, where is the chef with the dessert? He hadn’t gotten the chance to smell the glass, it was his job to protect the family as he took a deep breath to try locate a trail leading out of the miniature ballroom-sized kitchen

And he did find a trail after only a few seconds of closing his eyes and smelling as deeply as he could… a disgusting smell trail

Poison! The dessert is poisoned!

“WAIT! MY PRINCESS!” Tanjiro called out at the top of his lungs, effectively alerting you to draw the sweet contents of the moose from your lips before anything could touch the skin. Your mother and father were equally as alarmed, they never argued with Tanjiro’s remarks. If he said something was poison, it was poison!

Tanjiro had sprinted out of the room and threw the doors open with heaves for air as he only thought to get that dessert away from you, the mere millisecond he realised he could smell a pungent thread of poison in the air. He can’t be too late to protect the family, no! He can’t! Thankfully, he had caught you, just in time before you took the first bite of your craved dessert

Oh thank goodness… he saved you

“IT’S POISON! DON’T EAT IT!” He was sprinting full speed to the table without a second to take a breath, he didn’t get to smell it as he was occupied discussing a important task with the King. Shit, no, he seriously hoped you didn’t take a bite of that moose, it didn’t seem like you did! His eyes didn’t trick him, were they? He could smell the hints of poison, such a powerful poison dumped inside the thick chocolate substances

It was disgusting… so thick and suffocating. What a nasty, chemical-like smell…

You dropped the spoon instantly once looking at his concerned plum reds, the spoonful of moose landing messily on the silky red sheet of the dinning table as Tanjiro scooped up the dessert-filled glass from in front of you and dumped all of the jello-ey sweet into the nearby bin with a sigh of relief. That awful potent smile of medicinal-like chemicals is finally gone. You’re safe again, though, he felt bad for interrupting the privacy of the royal family’s dinnertime

It’s not like the King and Queen would ever get mad at him for protecting their daughter. He was their savourer

Your father was furious at the fact poison was even inserted inside the dessert. What chef made the desert?! Has a assassin infiltrated the royal grounds?! He gruffly ordered every guard the kingdom had inside the walls to fish out the many high-grade chefs working under the kitchen roof and Tanjiro, using his mighty hound senses, effectively sniffed out the culprit from the long line of horrified persons

“This one, your majesty! He has some type of poison inside his pocket!” Tanjiro’s confident-toned statement was right as a plastic bottle of deadly cyanide pills was drawn out from the chef’s uniform pocket when the guards tackled him to the floor. Tanjiro was always right, he never got anything wrong and you felt yourself falling deeper in love with the Royal Poison Detector standing before you, he kept saving you over and over

He is so selfless and brave, yet he was polite and he apologised to your understanding parents for ruining the dinner. You didn’t even care if he accidentally poured wine all over your gown, you just love him. You’ve always loved Tanjiro and whatever suitor your father wanted you to marry wouldn’t be like him. He would accompany you at night anytime you felt uncomfortable and he was at your doorstep in a instant

Sure, he was just the Royal Poison Detector to your parents and to the palace’s systems but to you, he was like a personal bodyguard and your crush. He waited on your hand and foot with zero problem, he’d make such a great King to you. Tanjiro was truly honoured to serve the crowned princess as she pleased, from the bottom of his heart

What working class man like himself wouldn’t want to help such a beautiful advisory, like yourself

“I’m very glad you didn’t take a bite of that moose, your majesty. But don’t worry now, you’re safe”

[itsjaywalkers]

for the drabbles me n you 71 (jokes....unless..)

but seriously rosekiller 60—i think it fits their vibe perfectly

i seriously considered writing a silly drabble for u and me.. greatest ship of our generation etc etc

but anyways !! here u have some rosekiller darling <3

60. "Before you decide to murder me, let me explain..."

If you asked Barty how he ended up pinned to the ground, right next to an open and half-dug grave, and with a scalpel to his neck, he wouldn't know what to tell you.

He knows it started with the disinheritance. Or maybe it was a bit later, when Regulus had told him he couldn't keep hiding in his dorm room, because his neighbour was starting to get suspicious, and he couldn't afford to be kicked out, now that he had also stopped being a trust fund baby. Not like he behaves any less spoiled.

Barty is convinced that it had nothing to do with the risk of getting discovered, and everything to do with that brainless rugby player who has started coming over. Regulus keeps insisting that it's just for uni, because they have a project together, or something, but Barty has caught that stupid jock ogling his best friend more times than he can count.

And there's also that one time he climbed Regulus' dorm window a bit earlier than he had said he would, and had seen the rugby dude lifting his shirt for some unknown reason and Regulus touch his abs with a ridiculous amount of awe. Like it was the first he was seeing a human body.

Barty still wishes he had recorded it. Regulus keeps trying to gaslight him about it but he knows what he saw. Unfortunately. He still has nightmares.

The point is that Regulus needed him out of there, and Barty also had jumped at the chance of getting away. It was fun, at first, interrupting their alone time and being the target of all those murderous glares Dave—or whatever his name is—kept sending his way. But it was beginning to grow old. The fear of Regulus poisoning his food or choking him in his sleep was getting a bit too real—he gets so cranky when he's horny but doesn't get any.

It's not like it's Barty's fault. He used to take care of that for Reg, because he's a great friend like that, but, well, after that one incident of Barty eating Regulus out and Regulus moaning that stupid jock's name, he refuses to lend him a hand anymore. Literally.

Not being able to rely on Regulus' dorm room, Barty needed money, and he needed it fast. So, technically, it had started with the disinheritance. Because like everything else in Barty's life that goes wrong, of course his father is somehow to blame.

Although, and watching the angel straddling his hips and who's about to slit his throat open, Barty isn't sure he'd say this is going exactly wrong.

"As much as I'm enjoying this, blondie," Barty starts, voice a little strained. "I think the scalpel and the whole threatening my life is a little unnecessary. We can have a conversation like grown ups—"

The angel presses the tool against Barty's skin a bit harder, abit deeper, and he has to bite his tongue to repress a groan when he feels the first drops of blood trickle down his neck.

Is this doing it for him? Really? It's not the weirdest thing that has managed to turn him on, but it's about to get very awkward if he pops a boner all of a sudden.

"Or not," Barty rushes to add, chuckling hoarsely. "We can totally talk like this. The dirt is actually pretty comfortable, and it's such a lovely night. I'd dare to say it's even kinda romantic."

The angel tilts his head to the side, brown emotionless eyes blinking down at him. "Are you flirting with me?"

Blondie's voice is empty, lacking any form of inflexion, but so smooth and so soft it's genuinely doing things to Barty.

"Depends. Is it working?"

He blinks at Barty again. Somehow, the gesture looks more condescending this time. The angel cuts him a bit more, and Barty hisses.

"What do you think?"

"I'm taking that as a maybe," Barty retorts, managing a little smirk.

Barty really has no survival instinct. He might actually die tonight, and yet his brain doesn't seem to be able to get with the program.

Not like Barty can blame it. If his killer looks this pretty, then he has no complaints. Or not as many as he should, at least.

"You were nosing around my grave," the angel states, squinting his eyes slightly. "Why."

"Your grave? I don't know if that's right, blondie, you look quite alive to me—"

The angel exhales loudly through his nose, and then moves the blade to the side of Barty's throat, as if getting ready to properly cut.

"Wait, wait," he exclaims, attempting to grab blondie's wrist and then remembering both of his hands are being crashed by his own back. "Before you murder me, let me explain..."

He pauses, leaves the sentence hanging and stares up at the angel with what he hopes are convincing puppy eyes. They've never worked on Regulus, but then again, he's a heartless man who only gets moved by his Prada slippers, so it doesn't really count.

Blondie doesn't say anything, just continues watching him with the most deadpan expression Barty has ever seen in his life. But his throat is only bleeding just a little, and he's still alive, so he'll take it as a win.

"I didn't know it was your grave, blondie," he assures him, and it feels a bit weird, not having to lie to defend himself. Most of the time, he's done whatever they're accusing him of and worse. "Really. Maybe you should put some sort of sign, something that actually stakes your claim, so people like me don't get confused—"

"You shouldn't be digging up graves anyway," the angel cuts him off with a pointed look.

Barty arches an eyebrow. "I'm not sure how I feel about a bloke who's literally threatening me with a scalpel judging what I decide to do with my free time."

"You said you were gonna explain and I'm not listening to any explanations." The angel rolls his eyes so hard Barty is momentarily concerned. "My hand is getting sore."

"You know how it'd feel less sore? If you dropped that cute little knife, or at least put it away from my face—"

"You have thirty seconds to talk before I cut your neck open."

"Okay, okay!" Barty sighs, closing his eyes for a moment. "It really was nothing personal, blondie. I just needed a body, a recent one, with all its organs intact, so I could sell them for an insane amount of money and pay for a room in the uni accommodation."

The angel finally looses the grip on the scalpel, the pressure becoming bearable. "You're digging up graves because you're broke?"

"Pretty much, yeah," Barty confirms with a shrug. "It's easy money. And I have experience digging up graves." He stops for a second and then he adds, "don't ask."

"I wasn't going to."

"So? Truce?"

Blondie gives another one of his slow blinks. "Not yet. How good are you with dismemberments?"

Barty doesn't miss a beat. "As in, having enough stomach to watch them or doing them myself?"

"Both."

"Quite good, I'd say. If I have the right tools, that is."

"I can provide them."

"Can you? Really?" Barty questions with a lazy smile. "Why would a cute, murderous thing like you need someone who knows how to dismember bodies for?"

"That's none of your business," the angel replies, raising his chin. "It's just for a little project I'm working on."

A project that includes referring to random graves as yours? That needs dead bodies' limbs?

Oh, this guy is absolutely batshit insane.

Barty wants him so ridiculously bad he's starting to get dizzy.

"You can have the organs," blondie adds, after Barty takes a little too long to answer. What can he say, he's a little busy fantasising about bending the angel in half and having his way with him. "They're of no use to me. I only need the limbs. And a head."

"Tempting," Barty admits, nodding. "But the question is, can you afford to hire my services?"

The angel finally puts the scalpel in his jacket's pocket, sitting up slightly and crossing his arms over his chest oncee the blade is away. "Afford? An amateur grave-digger's fee can't be that high, especially when you're this desperate. I'm sure I have enough money to—"

"Woah, woah, no one said anything about money, blondie. That's what selling organs illegally is for," Barty chuckles, squirming until he can free his hands from behind him. Still, he's gentle enough to not jostle the angel in his lap too much.

"Then?"

"A kiss?" Barty bats his lashes for good measure.

Blondie glares at him for a few long seconds, and when Barty is about to laugh it off, assure the other boy he was just joking and simply agree to his insane business proposal, the angel leans down.

Barty is sure that blondie only intended it for it to be a peck, but he's nothing if not an opportunist, and the moment the other boy's lips touch his, he rushes to deepen the kiss. Surprisingly, the angel allows it, opening up his mouth all sweetly when Barty licks at the seam teasingly, and tangling their tongues together.

He lets Barty explore a little, shuddering when he hums lowly into his eager mouth, but then he pulls away, the back of his hand coming up and rubbing furiously at his lips.

It's too dark to tell, but Barty could almost swear the angel is a bit flustered.

"Happy?" he grumbles, slightly muffled.

"Very much so," Barty says, not bothering to hide his shit-eating grin. "That's only the payment for a limb, though, blondie. So, if you need more..."

"It's Evan," the other boy correct him with a huff, finally putting his hand away from his lips. "And don't push it. I have to see how good you are first."

"Barty," he introduces himself in response, offering a handshake that Evan accepts, if a little begrudgingly. "I can assure you, I won't disappoint."