How's the Black Butler AU going? Can i have headcannons for Kara in that AU?
you, uh... you wanted this to hurt, right??
(just kidding, this whole AU is filled with horror and pain! it always hurts :D)
I admit I haven't done much with this AU since the big post about it, but I'd love to do more! I just don't wanna, like, make it a big multi-chapter thing like Puzzle Pieced is lol
here's some headcanons for ya!! tread lightly, the second bullet point contains some period-typical biphobia (kinda stemming from homophobic attitudes of the Victorian era), ouch
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💙 KARAMATSU 💙
Most of London society views him as this… playboy, almost? He has a different lover every week, and can’t seem to really hold onto a relationship for longer than that. He charms people, then leaves them, or so it seems. The reality is that he’s desperately searching for someone who he truly loves, as opposed to someone who vainly fawns over him or trysts that are purely sexual. Nobody has been able to fit the bill so far, and anyone who’s been with him seems not to be able to stand him in the long term.
That said, the rumor mill is vicious when it comes to him. People will use all sorts of degrading language to refer to him ― whorish, slut, molly boy, cad, dandy, among others. Some people take the fact that he has eyes for men and women as a sign that he wants to be a woman (and thus his attraction to women would be ‘wrong’ somehow, just like a man being attracted to men would be thought of the same way), which is fifty shades of fucked up, but hey… Victorian London biphobia is, unfortunately, a very specific flavor. Despite being lonely, he feels distant from social situations in general simply because he’s painfully misunderstood in so many ways.
Of course, that doesn’t stop him from at least trying to be the life of the party. He likes to drink and woo new companions at balls, and if nothing else is said about him, one can absolutely say a party is not boring if Karamatsu is present among the guests. Add in one or more of his brothers, and things become true mayhem.
He’s sometimes incredibly stressed out about his nature as a demon. Humans are very important to him, they’re passionate and vibrant and he wishes he could be more like them in general. These are people he views in the same light as someone might view an unattainable angel, and here he is, a creature that has to feed on them to survive. There are times he well and truly just hates himself for it, even though he knows he can’t help the species he was born into.
If you ask his brothers, he’s the one who’s most likely to fall for his dinner. It really is a terrible situation, because it’s like a human falling for a Sunday roast; it’s bizarre to anyone who doesn’t view humans as anything more than ants. Although Karamatsu and his brothers are fully capable of seeing humans as fleshed out, sapient, sentient beings, to most other demons it looks like this pathetic whelp is playing with his food. Caressing his food. Kissing his food. Fucking his ― well, you get the idea.
Out of all his brothers, he’s probably the one who misses their parents the most. Or, at least the one who most freely admits to it. Matsuzo and Matsuyo have always taken care of them, even if that didn’t quite mean babying their sons. Now he and his brothers are in a place far from home, with only each other, insecure in their new existences regardless of having been here-and-there for a couple hundred years. Often he’ll have climbed out of their demon nest in the middle of the night, and will be on the balcony or outside in the garden, crying for kaa-chan and tou-chan, ripped into pieces because their parents’ whereabouts is one mystery it’s starting to look like they won’t be able to solve.
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You mentioned that Jyushimatsu is observant so he would be one of the quickest Muppets to betray villain reader, so how observant is Jyushi in general? :0
honestly? more than people think/more than he acts
you’d think he’s up in Jyushi-land ALL THE DAMN TIME, right? and, well, that’s true; he’s absolutely in his own world most of the time
the thing is, though, he’s usually constantly multitasking between being in his own world and being in the same one as everyone else
he takes in SO MUCH information, all the time, even if you think he’s not listening
you could be talking to a friend on the phone, with Jyushi in earshot, thinking he isn’t listening to you, and talking about how, for example, you lost your favorite lipstick and you don’t feel like going to the store where you got it
next thing you know, the next day or possibly a couple hours later, Jyushi’s poking at you, giving you the same color of lipstick, right down to the same exact brand, that he went to the store and got for you
people don’t really think of him as a person who pays attention, but that’s probably the very same reason nobody expects it from him
everyone thinks he’s a complete ditz, and he is, with his head in the clouds and everything, but a lot of the time he pays even more attention than most of his brothers
he notices details, he always knows what’s going on even if he makes comments that seem like he doesn’t, and he’s usually so much more in the moment (or, thinking about the future) than people realize
tbh that’s probably why it’s such a shock to people when he has a sudden burst of negative emotion, because it seems like it comes from nowhere, because Jyushi is always happy and energetic and tries to be positive... but the truth is he’s more thoughtful and observant and he doesn’t always bounce back as easily as people anticipate
when he ‘suddenly’ breaks down crying or punches a wall or turns on someone, it’s often not so much suddenly as it is a buildup or a true reaction to what’s going on despite the fact that people just don’t expect him to react like that
it depends on the situation, but even though he doesn’t always act like it, he’s almost always incredibly aware of what’s going on around him
(he also tends to somewhat hide the fact that he knows what’s going on, simply because often it serves him for people to think of him as this harmless, stupidly positive person; people don’t think he’s paying attention, and before long they’re spilling their guts to someone they think isn’t listening. underestimating Jyushimatsu is probably among the dumbest things a person can do)
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escape. [18!Ichimatsu x reader]
here we gooooo... the second piece of my comeback content!!
thankfully this didn’t get as long as crisscross. did... but I still had fun with it! <3
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Parties after graduation tend to be maybe a bit wilder than any party thrown during high school.
For good reason, really. By this time you’re all adults, so there are fewer consequences than when you were all under 18. Although none of you are technically drinking legally since that doesn’t kick in till 20, supermarket clerks never ask even if you look young. It’s not that big of a deal to anyone.
Plus, nobody around here will call police on you or anything unless you get too loud. There’s music playing and laughter and conversation, but nothing that would qualify as loud enough for a noise disturbance.
You’re not really sure who brought all the booze this time or where they bought it. All you know is your friend Asaka told you she was throwing a party the week after the commencement ceremony, and you decided to come, and you’ve only had like half a beer, and you’re already getting kind of bored.
It’s not that you don’t like to party from time to time. It’s just… you don’t have anyone right now to make memories with.
Asaka is in the kitchen showing off her university acceptance letter, getting shitfaced, and making out with her boyfriend. All your other friends are dancing or drinking without you. You don’t have a boyfriend of your own to have fun with at the moment.
So eventually, you wander upstairs into Asaka’s parents’ bedroom, to sit by yourself and finish your beer, away from everyone else having the time of their lives.
As you lift your bottle up to take a sip, you suddenly realize you’re not alone; there’s a bathroom attached to the bedroom, and you can hear heavy breathing from inside, like someone is crying in there.
You set your bottle on the bedside table and tiptoe over to the door. How come someone is holed up in the bathroom crying at a house party? Shouldn’t they be downstairs having fun? “Uh,” you start, unsure of how to approach, “are you okay in there?”
What you get in response, at first, is a gasp that sounds like a dying fish. Then, the weird breathing resumes. When you get an actual answer, though, it’s unmistakably a guy’s voice. “G… go away! What the f-fuck are you doing up here?!”
“Uhhhhm… I dunno. I wasn’t having fun downstairs, so I just… came up here to drink the rest of my beer and get away from everyone else.” You pick at your sleeve and wonder if you should just leave him alone. “Is, uh… is everything okay? I mean…”
“No! Everything’s… fucking…” He takes a series of breaths, all of them shaky and shallow. “… Not okay. I’m… I’m freaking out. I told my friend I d-didn’t wanna come to some stupid party… I don’t wanna talk to people… I can’t… I-I just wanna get out of here. But I can’t calm down, and… and I can’t leave without going past everybody…”
You lower yourself down to sit against the door. Even though it sounds like he really needs help, you’re sure asking to come into the bathroom with him would be a disaster. It might be all you can do to sit here and talk for a minute. With any luck, that’ll help him calm down. “So, you’re having, like, some kind of… panic attack or something?”
“Anxiety attack,” he clarifies. “I just, I can’t… it’s like… shit… my heart’s racing, I’m having trouble getting a breath in, I’m all sweaty…” You hear him get a good enough breath in that he’s able to scoff. “God. I-I sound like a real catch, right?”
“Pff… hey, I’d probably take you over any of those douchebags downstairs,” you laugh. “One of them started headbanging to a song so hard he knocked his head into the wall, and another one bet his asshole friend he could fit his fist in his mouth. They’re all dumbasses.”
He snorts. “Fuck, is… is everyone drunk?”
“Please. You’re underestimating how stupid most of those guys are; they’d do this shit stone-cold sober.”
When he laughs this time, he sounds a little less shaky. You’re sure he’s still sort of panicking and nowhere near okay, but maybe talking gives him something to focus on. “Okay… okay, fair. Hey, uh… by the way… w-what’s your name?”
You lean your head against the door. “(Name). What’s yours? I feel like I recognize your voice, like, a little bit.”
“Oh, yeah, uh… Ichimatsu.”
And ding goes the light bulb. “Wait… Matsuno Ichimatsu?” That guy was one of the most popular kids in your graduating class, as far as you know. Despite not really knowing him, you know about him. He’s got five identical brothers, and yet, during the last few years of high school, he was the one who was the center of attention. Any party, he was invited without exception. Every time you passed him in the halls, he was with his main group of friends, talking away or listening to them, barely giving a glance to anyone else.
He always struck you as being so… together. Perfect and confident and ready to take on the world.
And here he is now, at Asaka’s house party, riding out an anxiety attack in the bathroom, freaking out because he’s surrounded by people and expected to be social.
That’s… wow.
… Was he just kind of holding it together throughout all of high school? Has he always had this anxiety and just shoved it down until now, when he can’t do that anymore?
“You were, like, one of the coolest guys in our class. You went to all the parties, right?” You run your finger over the carpet, just to have something to do with your hand. “Is something different about this one?”
For a minute, he’s quiet. You hear a thump that might be him letting his head fall against the door, too. “No, it’s… it’s just like every other party. Dancing and drinking and… people dry-humping each other in every fucking corner of every fucking room.”
It sounds like he’s shifting around on the other side. Like he’s so anxious he doesn’t know what to do with himself. “(Name)… can you, uh… can you keep a secret?”
You tug your knees up against your chest. “Yeah, sure.”
“I… never really liked those parties. I, um, I just… I mean, I’d go… then I’d either… stay, like, five minutes and make some excuse to leave… o-or… or I’d… stay a couple hours… and when I got home…” He sucks in a breath that, thankfully, sounds a little less anxious than a few minutes ago. “I’d… I’d cry for like ten minutes in the bathroom. I hate being around… people. I faked it all the way through the last couple years, but I just… I-I can’t do it anymore.”
He takes another few breaths, and you almost think that’s it before he starts speaking again. “I tried so hard, but… but people… th-they want you to act a certain way or, or say certain things, and I… I was so afraid if I slipped up, said something they didn’t expect or… or did something ‘wrong’… I’d lose all my friends. Nobody would like me. And I… I was trying to be different than my brothers… trying to be, y-you know, this popular guy… and that’s… that’s just… not me.”
You hear him sigh. “I hate people. I hate parties. I hate… sitting here in the fucking bathroom, being terrified to leave… thinking someone’s gonna… come l-looking for me and… drag me back down there. Small talk and people complaining about their parents or their girlfriends and shit I don’t care about… b-but I can’t say I don’t care… I just… I’m tired of pretending, and I just wanna go home, and I can’t…”
For another handful of minutes, you sit there listening to Ichimatsu trying to breathe normally. It sounds like he’s doing a bit better than he was when you first sat down. At the same time, all he wants is to leave the party. He doesn’t want to go past everyone else and, probably, have to explain why he’s not staying.
Finally, you clear your throat. “You know, um, this… this is my friend Asaka’s house. I know where everything is. If you wanna leave… I know how you can get to the back door. It’s near the kitchen, but you don’t even really have to pass the kitchen to get to it after you come down the stairs. I can probably help you get out through there, and… I could, um, maybe walk you home.”
You might think he’d stopped even conversing with you if he didn’t speak up suddenly. “You… really? Y-you don’t even really know me… the fuck is this, some kind of trick? You’re gonna take me past everyone?”
“No! No way, what the hell??” Though… you guess you can’t blame him for thinking that. If he’s spent the last few years of high school with friends who wanted him to do certain things and now this so-called friend who forced him out to this party, it’s no surprise he doesn’t have complete faith in what you’re saying.
“I wouldn’t do that,” you add in a softer, more understanding tone. “I just want to help you get out of here so you can be comfortable. You shouldn’t have to spend time being all anxious at a party you didn’t even wanna come to.”
After a couple seconds of holding your breath, the bathroom door creaks open. There’s Matsuno Ichimatsu alright, with half-lidded eyes and endearingly messy hair and face red from the anxiety. “… Can I trust you?”
You give him a smile as best you can and hold your hand out to him. “That’s up to you.”
“…” He looks at you for a long moment, then runs a hand through his hair.
“Screw it. How much more could you really fuck me up?”
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As it turns out, mercifully you can’t fuck him up much more.
Once you get him through the back door of Asaka’s house, out into the street where freedom awaits, he just kind of sags against you. All his energy, whatever he had anyway, has been spent on anxiety, and now he’s just tired.
He leans against you, and you do your best to support his weight, and before you know what’s happening, you notice that he’s laughing.
“It was that easy?” He tries to straighten up a little, his hands still shaking, the pink flush still in his cheeks. You never noticed it, maybe because the two of you didn’t run in the same circles and thus didn’t pay attention to each other… but he’s really very cute. Especially that tired, relieved smile of his.
“It was that easy,” you giggle, giving a hesitant pat to his shoulder. “I’m, uh… I’m sorry you… had that anxiety attack, or, whatever. Parties are only fun if you wanna be there.”
He nods and lets out a long sigh. Even though he doesn’t seem to be fully recovered, you think he’s probably coming down from how ‘on’ the anxiety made him feel. That shit is like adrenaline if it’s intense enough. “Uh… hey… thanks. I might’ve spent all damn night in that bathroom if you weren’t… weirdly persistent.”
You shrug. “It’s no problem. You were having trouble, so I just… wanted to see if I could help.”
“Well… y-you, uh. You did help.” His eyes shift down, suddenly shy. “I… I feel a little better. I don’t… really talk to many people… especially about… uh, that stuff. It… felt kinda good to talk about it. So… th-thanks… for listening.”
Honestly, more than anything, you’re just glad you got him out of there without too much fuss. Someone who’s sick of pretending to be a social person when they’ve actually got anxiety surrounding social stuff has no business being at a rowdy party unless it’s their choice. He must have been miserable.
“You’re welcome. Thanks for talking to me,” you tease. “I didn’t really have anyone at that party to talk to. You’re the most interesting thing to happen to me all night.” With that, you gesture toward the street. The lights are starting to come on, though it’s not quite near midnight yet. “Mind if I walk you home? I just, um… you know… wanna make sure you get back okay.”
His face gets a little redder, and this time you don’t think it’s from the anxiety. “I, u-uh, well… I guess… that makes sense…”
You don’t hold his hand or anything. But he sticks maybe a little closer than he really has to as you head down the sidewalk.
You can hear the music from the party start to get quieter and quieter the farther you get.
Eventually, it fades out completely, leaving behind a warm, slightly awkward silence.
Funny enough, neither of you are complaining.
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