#used to debate if I should give Violet said memory skills when making her

[beardedhandstoadshark]

which oc can recite the entire bee movie script?

I know the bee movie script is a giant meme but memorizing this whole thing seems like pure agony both because of the actual learning itself and the content, so this might as well be a "who has photographic memory“ question, which is none lol

Then again there’s probably some complete madlad out there who did it exactly because it’s a meme-

[glassworkspiderlilies]

oh traveler, take heed

Kimetsu no Yaiba | @giyushinoweek Day 8 Bonus | N*SFW or Halloween Summary: Prince Sabito survives an assassination attempt by poison but does not wake. His loyal knight Giyu goes in search of the Butterfly Witch, who is said to cure nearly anything, for the right price. Notes: I managed to squeeze in the bonus round!? this was gonna be like, a witch au and more in line with halloween stuff, but it turned out to be more like...a general fantasy au?? i should...probably make extra notes for this one, a lot got left unincorporated lol.

> additional post reading notes!

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One.

Prince Sabito survives the assassination attempt by poison, but he does not wake. His knight, the “Grim Reaper” Tomioka Giyu, is fraught with worry while his assistant and companion, the Lady Makomo, is calm.

“Get a hold of yourself,” Lady Makomo says in her usual serene tone, diluting the sharpness of the words. “Once you do, pay a visit to the Kochou princesses and ask them where to find Butterfly Witch. She can cure just about anything, if you can locate her.”

Giyu does not hesitate, nor asks any further questions as he turns on his heel. Lady Makomo sighs as his impatience, but returns to the Prince’s side to guard him. With the Grim Reaper gone, it’s up to her, the Fox Witch, to protect their prince.

“I hope you’re at least having a nice dream,” she murmurs to Sabito, laying a hand on his forehead. “You fool.”

 Two.

Giyu is brusque to the two Kochou princesses, but neither seem to mind. Princess Kanae seats him at a small table, and Princess Kanao watches his every move with an unnervingly blank gaze.

“Lady Makomo sent you to us?” Kanae says, as she shuffles cards in her hands. “I must write to her soon. Oh—my sister is away from the castle.”

“Your sister?” Giyu asks, surprised. “The Butterfly Witch is your sister?”

“It is more that my sister is the Butterfly Witch, but indeed,” Kanae says, not batting an eyelash. She knows the fame—or infamy, whichever you prefer—of her sister. The Butterfly Witch can cure almost any ailment, any curse, for a price befitting of the request. They also say she is hunting for something or someone, and so can be as cruel as she is kind to those who try and lead her astray. “I’d help you if I could, but...Shinobu’s skills are her own, and I dare not give you something from her storeroom without the proper knowledge.”

The eldest princess lays out the cards in a pyramid shape, and now Giyu understands what is happening—she is reading his fortune.

Kanae smiles as Kanao peeks over her shoulder, and Giyu watches the two sisters carefully. Little is known of the small Kochou Kingdom; they keep to themselves, with their lush gardens and rare insects, sustaining their economy on tea and perfumes and accessories. They make both very few friends and no longstanding enemies. Giyu doesn’t know how Sabito and Makomo became their friend and ally, and supposes it’s a story he should ask about when he returns.

“Oh, my,” Kanae exclaims softly, as she turns over the cards. “Very few people can find Shinobu, once she’s traveling. But it looks like the fates will align for you, Giyu-san, for you will cross paths with her soon. Still, you must chart your own path and keep searching.”

He stares at the cards, certain he is missing something, for surely the princess wouldn’t need a whole array in order to tell that?

But Kanae merely smiles in silence until Giyu thanks her for her time and rises from his seat.

“Ah, before you go,” Kanae says with a bit of a laugh, “Beware her temper.”

Giyu blinks, bows his head, and departs the Kochou princess’ castle.

 Three.

“You’re lost.”

He whirls at the voice, sword in hand. His eyes widen in surprise when he sees a young girl staring at him curiously from under her hooded cloak. Giyu doesn’t lower his sword despite her seemingly harmless appearance, and her violet eyes glimmer with respect.

“At ease,” she says, with amusement. “I’m camped nearby, and I’ve seen you walk past at least four times. You’re lost.”

He frowns, and lowers his weapon by just a margin.

“Perhaps I am. I did not see any signs of camp nearby, however.”

The stranger shrugs.

“It wouldn’t be a very good hideout if it wasn’t hidden, now would it? I have to protect myself, after all. Now, where are you trying to go?”

Giyu narrows his eyes at her. She does have to protect herself—but who is she, so young and wandering alone?

“Who are you?” he asks, cautiously.

She snorts.

“Does it matter, if it gets you out of the forest?”

“It does, when it’s strange for a child such as you to be wandering alone.”

Giyu doesn’t know what happens after that—one moment he’s standing, and the next he is hanging upside-down from a tree by some white threads.

“I will only forgive that comment because I did not properly introduce myself,” the stranger says, throwing back her hood. “However, do refrain from calling me that again, thank you.”

Now that he sees her in full light, she is certainly not the child he thought she was. She’s young, but probably not more than a few years younger than he is.

“Apologies,” he says, as the blood rushes to his head from hanging. “Can you…let me down, please.”

She does, and when he lands, back to the ground, she leans over him.

“And so? Where are you going?”

“I’m not sure,” he huffs. “I’m looking for the Butterfly Witch. I heard rumors she was sighted in the nearby village.”

The girl’s eyes glaze over.

“I advise against going to the village,” she says, her voice low. “They’re dealing with…problems of their own making, right now.”

Giyu stares at her. She stares back.

“Why do you need the Butterfly Witch?” she asks, and he debates on whether or not to tell her the truth. He’s not sure he can trust her, and if word gets out about Sabito’s condition…Makomo is strong, but she cannot defend against everything.

“Someone important to me…he was poisoned. He is alive, but won’t wake.”

She hums.

“And are you prepared to pay the price?”

He turns over his answer, even though the answer is yes.

“I’ll have to know the price first. But if it…does not do more harm than good, then yes, I will pay it.”

She seems pleased with his answer, and something about this conversation strikes Giyu as particular.

“I’m Tomioka Giyu,” he says slowly. “May I ask your name?”

She smiles.

“Shinobu,” she says. “Kochou Shinobu. Ah—you’ve met my sisters, have you, if you recognize that name? Then there’s no need to linger. Come, take me to your friend.”

 Four.

Only the briefest of greetings are exchanged when Shinobu arrives at the castle; Sabito takes precedence, and her lips thin as she examines him.

“It’s a curse,” she says, “If he does not wake soon, he will be eaten from the inside out. First the mind, then the body. Tomioka Giyu, it was you who made the request of me, and so it is you who shall pay the price.”

Makomo makes a noise, but Shinobu shakes her head.

Giyu steps forward.

“Name your price.”

When she looks at him, her gaze is solemn.

“In order to counter this, I must take one thing of yours in relation to your prince, one thing that you value deeply, perhaps above all others. Will you give it to me?”

Giyu stares, trying to think of what the price is—it cannot be Sabito’s life, for that would be counterproductive. It cannot be his memories of Sabito, for though he treasures them, there’s no reason for him to cling to them if he does not fear the lack of ability to make more.

Then—what?

Makomo gazes at him.

It takes a few more minutes, but slowly, Giyu understands.

“Yes,” he says. “I will give it to you. I will relinquish my place by his side if you save his life. Such a thing is a small price to pay.”

“Then kneel,” Shinobu says, a little sadly, “For I will take you with me.”

Giyu kneels, and pays the price.

 Five.

“It’s not as if you can never see him again,” Shinobu says as she throws her cloak around her. “It is not as restrictive as other prices have been.”

Giyu nods, looking at the castle in the distance. Sabito had been furious after he had awoken and recovered, but out of sorrow. He, Giyu, and Makomo had nearly always been together, so losing part of that trio was…difficult. They’d stayed in the castle for three days, getting their affairs in order and making their farewells.

“I said if the price did not do more harm than good, I would pay it,” he says.

“That you did,” Shinobu murmurs, and sighs.

“So? Where are you—we—going?” GIyu asks.

“I’m not sure,” she says, chewing on her lip. “I’m looking for a certain demon.”

Giyu raises an eyebrow.

“Kanae is marked,” Shinobu says bitterly, and Giyu’s eyes widen at her tone. “She will die by her twenty-fifth birthday, if I do not become the rainbow-eyed demon’s bride.”

He raises both eyebrows.

“The second prince of demons?” he says, his mind whirling.

She snorts.

“Indeed. It is my goal to kill him before Kanae’s twenty-fifth birthday, but the sooner the better, naturally.”

The side of Giyu’s mouth quirks up slightly. This is a job he could get behind.

She glances at him sidelong.

“Yes, they don’t call you the Grim Reaper for nothing, do they?” she says curiously, but he merely shrugs. “Well, we might as well try the rumors we’ve got.”

Shinobu’s cloak snaps in the wind behind her, and after one last look at the castle that��s been his home, Giyu follows the Butterfly Witch into the darkness.