the second corner of the damned

21+ headcanons mostly tg with my cmms: @grimtrail

[grimpath]

Masterpost

— I write gn/fem reader

— I am an adult and I love dark themes, but not zoo, pedo and other things like that. I'm into gore. Also, not a fan of sex-related NSFW, but if combined with gore/injuries... Yeah. I can write about that

— Therefore, my blog is strictly 18+. Also, your triggers aren't my fault. Your triggers are your responsibility. I cannot know every existing one, so I'm not listing any of them. It's all or nothing. I chose the second option. Moreover, I just consider them spoilers that ruin the fun of reading

— First of all, I write for myself. I don't care if you've ever seen similar ideas. The world repeats itself, and we're all just having fun. But I can guarantee that I never intentionally repeat someone's thoughts, if at all

— You can be inspired by my works, but don't copy them

— I accept requests on an ongoing basis, but whether I fulfill them depends entirely on chance

— I can slightly deviate from request's ideas or, in the contrary, go deeper into them. My interpretation depends entirely on how detailed your request is. However, I prefer general ones, since detailed sound more like a commissioned work and turn to fanfiction rather than mere headcanons

— I post requests not as direct answers, but as separate posts, as well as answers/thanks for the request itself. If you don't want me to make a separate post with just an answer to your request, but to proceed to the said request immediately, let me know in the ask box

— My no-nos are everything that's illegal. Otherwise, I'm happy to serve. Don't be scared to ask, at least. If I'd feel uncomfortable, I just won't do the said request, but won't block you or anything like that

— I write in many fandoms and there's the list of those I can write about, but better to look at what's I'm fixated on at the moment (just glance at the last posts)

— There was an another blog of mine, called grimtrail, but it was terminated recently... I've contacted the mods and now waiting for the answer, but this blog will remain my main anyway

— I'm not quite stable in terms of writing. I write only when I feel like it, and when I feel like I can put words into something coherent and interesting for myself primarily.

[grimpath]

Temperance x my rotling OC

Not me being completely normal about Temperance. So normal that I wrote a fanfic and a bunch of headcanons, yeah. This commission is actually an illustration, but the said fic is not in Enlgish. Maybe one day I'll translate it. Aaand it's about making kids (not in the way you might think)

Credits to an amazing artist!

[grimpath]

Oswald x You

Established, general, not lore deep. Not a particular Penguin, but all of them kind of merged together (primarily the Gotham 2014 series and the Penguin 2024 series). I just can't choose. I want them both. In terms of appearance, you can imagine whatever one of you liking. Here I, personally, imagine the one from the Gotham series, but his behaviour is tougher, like in the Penguin series.

— it just happened. no confessions. no dates. it was as natural as the blood in the streets of gotham.

— obviously, being in a relationship with him is like walking on a tightrope. he's not the type of person who would hide you from danger or keep you away from the rough and tumble of mob business. no, if you're part of his life, then it's all or nothing.

— he has been treated with disrespect his entire life, but he has climbed to the top. and he will teach you how to be a cutthroat and go over the heads as well. he won't just simply provide you with luxuries.

— it's easier to teach new skills than to retrain existing ones.

— when? oh, it looks like you're being followed. get behind the wheel and drive while he shoots back. can't drive? just the time to learn.

— you don't trust anyone and never make contact with anyone. if someone tries to talk to you, you pretend to be deaf or unable to speak their language.

— you couldn't adapt to being part of the elite, so you decided to stay as you were — simple, ordinary, part of the "gray mass". in a way, it's thrilling to be around some of the most powerful people but to blend in with the crowd as well.

— he respects that and even likes it. he doesn't intrude on your life of a rat, so it's like you are together but also apart. no one quite knows your name, your past, or your present, except for the fact that you are linked to him.

— you two never meet on purpose, only by chance. in particularly exceptional situations, you, of course, participate in his illegal activities. you are willing to lay down your life for him, and he knows this. otherwise, you would not be so close to him.

— he isn't yours, but you like being his.

— you love to be close to him when you're at his club, sitting just a few inches apart, maybe even holding on to him, as if if you let go, he would disappear. you almost feel dizzy at such moments. the music, the people, and the dim lights make it even more surreal, like a fever dream. that's a rare moment of showcasing your relationship to the crowd. or maybe even posing a threat in such a way.

— you don't move in, never even spend a night together. you would like to stay in the same place where you lived before you met him, but that would be imprudent and dangerous. he made sure you have a new place to stay.

— when people get close, they pick up habits and mannerisms from each other. this is exactly what happened to you. for example, you often pretend to be more foolish than you really are so that people think you're harmless. just like he does.

— you're observant enough to notice that those who get too close to him are doomed to die at his hands. this is his essence, his nature, his way of surviving, and you understand and accept that. that's why you keep a certain distance. at least trying to. even though you know that your turn will come. but you can't but try to avoid it until the last possible moment.

— you choose your words carefully, afraid to confess one day. you must not confirm. must not push him to the realization. he knows, you know, but... as long as what's happening isn't called love out loud, you're hardly in any danger. but it's getting harder and harder to keep it this way.

[grimpath]

Jax x vegan!carnivore-animal-looking!You

General, non-established, light, a lil creepy (Jax being Jax) Just cause I'm vegan myself

"would you eat me if I gave my consent? is that how it works?"

"I'm not a cannibal"

"but we aren't the same species, are we?"

you hold an annoyed growl and just leave.

— when you first arrived, his eyes lit up. his intent gaze and ominous smile made you feel the most uncomfortable. this bunny-like appearance of his is certainly deceptive.

— however, being the only animalistic-looking members of the crew can be quite bonding, even if it is against your clear will. it's like meeting someone from your home country while abroad — you try to stick together and treat each other more leniently.

"how about me eating you then?"

you freeze, stunned, and turn to look at him in confusion, to say the least.

"aren't you a f@%*&#g bunny?"

"I thought we were discussing types of consumers, but if you prefer to talk about another aspect of life..."

you curse once more and leave again.

— when you find yourself in an adventure that is tailored specifically for him, you realize with horror what awaits you.

— you hear a metallic click and turn around only to see a rifle pointed at you. others are yelling at Jax, but you can't hear them as your mind goes numb. it feels like you are about to die. for a moment, you believe you actually can.

— you dodge a few bullets, but eventually one finds its way into your flesh.

it's not painful, but somehow it's immobilizing. you just can't feel your body properly as you collapse on the ground, clutching at the wound on your chest.

it took him only a few seconds to sprint towards you on all fours and sink his surprisingly sharp teeth into your throat, like a predator finishing off its prey. you were so stunned that you couldn't even resist.

— you didn't know that you had internal organs. it's probably because you were created as a toy with a small plush heart hidden inside. your creators clearly made a plaything for surgeons or maniacs, because you not only have a heart, but also the rest of the organs, such as lungs, intestines, stomach... and whatever else the freak might have pulled out when gutting you.

— it wasn't the situation that was terrible, but the fact that you enjoyed it.

— you don't feel pain, but from previous adventures, it's clear that one's mind can be altered. and now, yours is not intact.

— you were drawn out of your frenzy by a vote in which your input was needed. it wasn't a decisive one, and you cast your "no" on the question of whether to end this adventure. right before it ended, Jax grabbed your heart with a sly chuckle, making you gasp.

— upon returning back "home", Caine asked everyone for feedback, but you said that you would only give it in private. this made Jax's grin even wider.

— you had immediately retreated to your room. you lay there staring at the ceiling, trying to will yourself to artificial sleep. you finally managed to, but were startled awake by the sound of the locked door opening.

"look at you. like a deer caught in headlights"

— it would not be family friendly to tell what happened that night, but it was indeed an interspecies bonding experience.

"how's that? did I meat your expectations?"

"you're too corny"

his face twitched at the mention of the vile grain, and then he lunged for your throat, causing you to gasp and laugh.

— later, Caine arranged an adventure based on the suggestion box again. it was another hunt for Jax to lead. but this time it wasn't him who requested it. while everyone yelled at him, he ignored them as background noise. he gripped the rifle and gave you the look — with a hungry, fanged grin that made your legs go weak and heart flutter.

[grimpath]

Temperance x human!You

Darkish. Unhealthy, kind of!

Ahhh to be with a morally incompetent scientist...

Disclaimer! These are not problematic relationships in terms of incest. They are problematic in a different way, but not that one. Temperance has raised the reader, but they don't have the parent-child bond! These are creator-creation relationships. The scientist-project ones. They do not see each other as family at all. I've described their situation in previous headcanons. I just don't want to repeat myself every time. It may be uncomfortable for some people, so I felt the need to mention it.

— you are not the first human. nor you are the last. you've seen him dissect black-bloods. moreover, he has taught you to do so.

— but you've never experienced being around your own kind, especially grown-ups. therefore, it's not fair to call you callous.

— the virtues, the paradise lost, are your everything. and that's not a place to call bright and cozy. but again, you have nothing to compare it with. it's your norm.

— he often guides your hands during procedures, teaching you how to operate properly. you love when he does it. however, it also makes your limbs tremble. and heart fasten. you aren't sure why. there must be something wrong with your damn living flesh. so many problems with it...

— you often wonder why you even survived. it's not a mistake — he doesn't make such egregious ones. he chose you. it was intentional. but what were the intentions or reasons? you probably will never know.

— because you asked. several times. and he... didn't change the subject, didn't brush it off, didn't make up an answer just to get away from you. he just ignored you, like he hadn't heard you.

— from the moment you were born, he protected you as if you were the most precious thing in the world. not as a parent, but as someone who cherishes the rarest of treasures. but you are human, and you make mistakes. and that's okay — who doesn't?

however, the first significant mistake, which happened to be a cut, changed everything. you were scared. ashamed. you watched the tarry blood ooze out. you tried to wipe it off, to hide it. but the placement was too conspicuous. when he noticed, he froze. the moment seemed endless.

— "that's unfortunate. but not fatal"

and that's when he started teaching you how to handle flesh. and your first lesson was sewing yourself.

but before that, he took several samples of your blood. since then, you have not been treated as well as before. you have gained a lot of scars all over your body, and not all of them were obtained by accident. many of them resemble runes, but he does not explain their meaning.

— the second turning point occurred when things were no longer enough. he had reached the boundaries he had set for himself. it was time to step beyond.

you happened to break your leg. you didn't really know how bad it was, but it was indeed painful.

and that was a perfect moment. the first time you experienced anesthesia, the first time you lost more than just a little of blood.

when you woke up, ah, it was a sight. the sight of your limb resembling one of his own now. the sight of you becoming something more than human, you thought.

— you were doomed ever since. you were sentenced to be an on-air experiment. you considered yourself lucky, you became happier with every limb that was chopped off. a walking embodiment of theseus's ship, what makes you who you are?

— the oil that lubricates your mechanical limbs is your black blood. he didn't take that away. it is an essential part of you, your defining feature. one of the things he loves most about you.

— when he ran out of limbs to replace, he turned to organs, even perfectly healthy ones. it was a matter of curiosity, a thirst for excitement, not a necessity.

it got to a point where you no longer needed anesthesia, at least not general one. you watched, observed, and even learned from these procedures. you felt his clawed hands picking through the remains of your insides, how he cut off the vessels that supplied them, and then replaced authentic organs with mechanical counterparts.

— however, your original parts did not go to the trash, at all. he has succeeded in keeping them in perfect, functional condition. outside of the body. and you can already guess what exactly for.

— you don't know what love is. you have never even heard the word. you have never seen people being in love. but you know you feel it. you know this is what keeps you awake. this is what you feel when he's a little too close. this is what makes your real heart — the only original thing besides brain that's purposefully left in you — race when he's looking at you like you're the most interesting thing he ever had. and that is what he feels too. but he, unlike you, knows what it's called.

[grimpath]

Temperance x human!You

Dark romance ones. As much as I see it possible with a distant mad scientist.

— his understanding of romance is limited to very distant memories from his former life, when he was a living person and not an immortal dead one.

— his way of loving you is to minimize your suffering during procedures and manipulations.

— after thousands of years of permissiveness, it's difficult to treat anyone else as anything other than a consumable. but with you, he really tries. at least because you are one of the most significant projects of his.

— he practically created you. you are not just a child of an angelic parent. to give birth to a human being, there's at least one other human needed. or a mastermind who is brave enough to commit violence against nature.

— your genome was modified during the earliest stages of development. you are not the first attempt, but you are one of the few that were successful. you are alive and thriving, having successfully survived the early and most important years of growth.

— however, there is beauty in the destruction of one's own creations. to dissect, explore, and understand the essence. to create again, and to create better.

— but it is not possible to predict everything, especially when dealing with a living person, who is an inherently unstable factor.

— it turned out it wasn't you who was unstable at all, but rather, it was him. because you haven't even yet developed a stable personality. but he, over thousands of years, has formed an impression of himself as a cold, unbiased scientist.

— which was destroyed the instant you were born. he could have forever proclaimed himself a dispassionate one, but in that moment he felt a twinge of a long-lost sentimentality.

— he isn't tactile. maybe because his almost completely mechanized body hardly feels anything that could be compared to your sensations. to him, his whole self feels like a big phantom limb that he has to operate with.

— each of his actions has a practical purpose. it may seem like he's displaying feelings when he suddenly runs his hand over your skin, but in fact, he is scanning your vital signs at that moment — from pulse to oxygen saturation. he is touched by the fact that your heart is beating much faster because of his antics. he knows that it is not fear that is causing such a reaction.

— you've learned to control yourself when you expect interference in your personal space. but when he catches you off guard like that, you can't be prepared for it. you hope he doesn't notice, but deep down, you know that he can read you like a book.

— he always speaks quietly, and you've learned to listen to him whenever, whatever. trained like pavlov's dog to respond to his calls when they occur.

— "little mortal one, come here", not a request, but a demand. sweetened up with a nickname that is dear to your heart. it never ends well. it sounds nice, tempting, and promising, but when he calls you like that, there's only one meaning: another round of procedures that are never pleasant is awaiting.

— you experience most of these procedures while being unconscious. and you don't know whether to be grateful for it.

— every time you wake up from those unnatural dreams, he softly runs his cold palm over your warm cheek, his face inches away from yours. it's as if he's waiting for you to open your eyes, only to recoil the same second. perhaps he's simply making sure that you have regained consciousness, but you can't help but feel that this is a reward for your obedience, a display of his intimacy. it's a sign: "I'm always here". the clear message, the subtle reminder: he was the first thing you ever saw, and he'll be the last.

[grimpath]

Temperance x human!You

Based on the theory that humans are born more often than 10k years. Mel exists at the same time as the reader. The timeline is before Ken showed up (for obvious reasons). These are quite morally questionable, as for me. It may be even uncomfortable to read. So be careful. (No NSFW, just darkish) As you might notice, I am not a big fan of the idea of "bad guys becoming good". I always try to look at things from a different perspective, seeing how they could be with all their flaws. And the Virtues themselves are absolutely not a healthy relationship material.

— your survival is the result of his curiosity. you were meant to be used to feed the "machine", but he saw a different potential in you — a prophetic one.

— under the guise of a greater good, he is experimenting on you.

"little mortal one, I need you to drink something", he declares, rather than asks, as he brings the vessel with suspicious-looking liquid to your mouth.

and you do as he said because you don't want to risk finding out what could happen if you refuse his offer.

— he may seem courteous, modest, and harmless. however, he is responsible for the most inhumane things in the paradise lost.

— he is truly dangerous, but he is helpless in a direct confrontation. however, if you find yourself in his use... he might even be able to kill an immortal. for the sake of interest.

— he has a pragmatic approach to everything. in favour of science, he neglects morality.

— for him, you are a successful creation, although not entirely the result of his efforts.

— however, he does not consider himself a parent. you also do not see him as a member of your family. your relationship has always been rather cold. he has taught you many practical skills, but he has not nurtured your emotional intelligence, so you have to learn everything on your own.

— the thing is, you are human. a human who experiences everything for the first time. a human who craves emotions in this apathetic and rotten world.

— you try to reach out to him, but he ignores your attempts unless they are related to his field of interest.

— he doesn't talk much. if he does, it's usually to himself, mumbling under his breath. you love that part of him, but he gets uncomfortable as soon as he realizes that you're listening in.

— there's even a hint of tenderness towards you in his monologues

"no, it will lead to the denaturation of the proteins. my poor unmarked thing will not survive this"

— tactility, apart from scientific manipulation, is unacceptable to him. he's wary of accidental touch.

— oddly enough, he completely ignores your personal space and time if he needs it. he perceives you as an object of research and not as a conscious, living being with some kind of "boundaries".

— he scares you most when you are rarely, but seriously ill. it's obvious from his behaviour that he is calculating whether you will survive. further manipulations depend on the outcome — if you won't make it, then why not go all out?

— he is a stickler for science, but he also seems to accept the prophecy. he is incredibly polite to you and never doubts your words, and he does not impose his own opinions. it's as if he is unconsciously trying to ensure a place on the ark, just in case.

— the sight of your blood doesn't seem to affect him in the best way. his movements become more calculated and less considerate, although still careful. it's as if he no longer feels the need to be concerned about your comfort in these moments.

— maybe once, he was a follower of a highly moral approach to science. however, after thousands, tens of thousands of years of existence, one might get fed up with humane methods. they just don't work anymore. they do not expand the boundaries of knowledge. and the thirst for new things is only growing stronger. wouldn't one cling to the spring that's just a step away?

— there's a lot to learn about living flesh, and you come to be the only thing he can study in this field. so you have to bear the burden of being the primary source of research.

— you've learned to enjoy, cherish, and even look forward to his touch. cold, mechanical, purely exploratory, but still desirable. these are crumbs from the table of his affection, which you have learned to feed on.

— you don't know what romantic love is — you've never seen it around. you don't understand whether this is the right feeling or if it is forbidden. being so lonely in your kind, it doesn't make it easier for you to experience this strange and incomprehensible longing, as if you are missing something important... something you can't talk about with anyone.

— he knows. he notices. observing and studying is his endless life's work. he knows what he's doing. and this is also part of the experiment. which he also fell victim to but completely denies it.

[grimpath]

The list of my fandoms and f/os

You can request headcanons for any character from the listed fandoms! However, I have personal favourites in all of these fandoms that I would be more eager to make headcanons for.

[Fandom] — [Characters I can write headcanons for] [Exceptions, if there are any]

The Gaslight District — the whole crew Diligence, Melancholy — personal favourites

The Amazing Digital Circus — Caine, Jax, mildly Kinger

Madness Combat — the whole crew 2BDamned — personal favourite

Happy Tree Friends — Flippy/Fliqpy

Avatar (movies) — Miles Quaritch

Team Fortress 2 — Medic, Sniper

Pathologic — Artemy Burakh (Haruspex)

Subway Surfers (don't blame me) — Frank

Dune — Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen (The book one. Because new movies of the franchise are terrible)

Invader Zim — Professor Membrane

Johnny The Homicidal Maniac — Johnny

Creepypasta — Slenderman

Gotham — Penguin (from any movie/series, but I prefer to write some kind of all of them merged together), Riddler

And LOTS of horror movies. Michael Myers, Freddy Krueger, Thomas Hewitt, Jason Voorhees, Pyramid Head, Harry Warden etc... You can ask for them ALL. Even if not listed, I most likely to make some. I just cannot remember them all honestly.

Also I'm into many kind of novels (BTD, TPOF, Mushroom Oasis, John Doe, House Hunted etc.), but I don't really want to indulge into them in terms of headcanons. I've written plenty of fics about them, so I'm just overwhelmed with their dark themes.

[grimpath]

Diligence x human!You

Comfort. Because I need it.

— no one knows your origin, except for him and temperance. he made sure of that.

— you're always in his shadow, but not in a bad way. you're constantly following him, watching and analyzing, but you don't get in the way. this makes him curious about you.

— your uncluttered mind is a mystery to him — there haven't been any newborn souls in this world for thousands of years. surprisingly, he isn't annoyed by watching you make mistakes. he adores how you are learning the world that he is long familiar with. and, most importantly, he appreciates that you don't lose your determination.

— with all those sharp edges, it's hard for him to not damage your delicate, one-time use flesh. your frailty teaches him sensitivity.

— he needs much less rest than you. you try to hold on for the same amount of time, but in the end, you almost fall in front of him. at first, it angered him, but then he realized that he had once been like you. at such moments, he doesn't hesitate and, in front of everyone, picks you up and carries you home. you hate yourself for not remembering how you end up in bed. you think that someone else is responsible for it, at his request. you would never have believed he would put his hands on you.

— and even though you grew up in this world, the lack of sterility in it affects you. your immune system fights back fiercely, but sometimes it loses. when you're sick, it's a crazy thing for him. otherwise, he would have thrown you away like something beyond repair. but he can't do that. to his horror, he has become attached.

— in those moments of your decline, he terrorizes temperance very, very meticulously. poor thing experiences resurrection plenty of times, only because he does not know how to take care of living flesh at all and has no right to make mistakes. obviously, the seeming lack of effort infuriates diligence.

— he will never admit that he becomes overly tactile during your moments of illness. he is observant enough to understand that, in such a state, you barely remember what is happening, or you simply blame such memories on your condition.

— at first, during your severe illnesses, he even considered finishing you off so that you could be resurrected as a pristine being. but he stopped himself in time, remembering that you don't have the mark.

— he likes the feeling of your warm, soft skin against his cold, hard porcelain-like surface.

— he assembled a whole sustainable garden for you. not only to provide you with food other than rotten flesh but also to surround you with other living things besides yourself.

— he will never let you pass through the gates of paradise lost. it's too dangerous, and he cannot afford to let you into the lair of sin, even though he is not a saint himself.

— however, beyond that, he does not over-control you. he keeps an eye on you, a very intense one, but he does not interfere with your will.

— as a first-time human, there is a lot to learn about yourself and your nature. and your nature seems to be calling out to him.

— being surrounded by creatures that are sterile in terms of romantic relationships, you didn't understand what was happening to you at all. why do you want to be with him all the time? and why don't you feel that way about any other virtue?

— for him, the long-forgotten feeling of affection towards anyone was equally strange, almost alien, and in a way, sinful.

— as a human, you combine everything that he usually despises and a lot he should reject. but it turns out that he has a lot to learn about himself.

— you hide your affection in public. however, the guards have noticed that they have been receiving less punishment than before.

— from time to time, they catch a glimpse of small flowers hidden among the chains and crosses that adorn their leader. even the tiniest angel perched on his shoulder bears its own.

[grimpath]

Breadhead x human!scientist!You

Request! Hurt/comfort, fluff, protective-mode yeastboy. This looks much more like a mini-fic than headcanons, but whatever... Your request honestly was like a whole fic itself, I really liked reading it! I hope I managed to add something good to it (sorry that it took so much time, I've been delirious about Diligence 💀)

— you did a great job playing the role of a human living among the dead. you've had to survive since you were a child, and it's taught you a lot — from self-treatment to the art of changing your identity.

— you even found your place among rotlings by getting a job at a butcher shop, whose team has become like the family you never had.

— of course, nothing is ever too perfect, and this place had its own secrets that you were once privy to.

— and you yourself had something to run and hide from. at the beginning of your journey, you were careless enough for someone to start hunting you down. however, for a reason completely unrelated to your human nature, which you hid most skillfully. the reason for this was your connection with paradise lost — you were noticed when you escaped from there.

— the rumours spread like fire while you were settling into your life. you suspected, you felt something was wrong, but you couldn't figure out what exactly was the matter.

— and then they started showing up — the ones who were trying to corner you. you didn't have conversations with them, but borrowed a problem-solving method from your boss, starting to cement suspiciously annoying personalities.

— however, these were not isolated scoundrels but a real gang that runs many in the area. and an informant from paradise lost itself would be very useful to them.

— when their people began to disappear, they, of course, understood what was the matter. and once they ambushed you all together. which was extremely difficult to resist, so hard that they drew you blood, and more than once. and then it was already counting for seconds — there was no room for error.

— you did it at the cost of liters of your pitch-black blood, which covered almost the entire street. in the same state, you managed, first of all, to send all the attackers to the bottom of deep dirty waters one by one.

— and then just... crawled to the nearest secluded place, clutching the wounds. patched yourself with the first available needle you carried for a long time, completely non-sterile. secured your exposed flesh with a striated stapler from the trashcan. and leaned back, throwing head up, looking up into the dark green sky, panting hard. you just couldn't show up at the butcher shop like that.

— however, your long absence has been noticed. someone who has always taken care of everyone, but you in particular. the one you feared and respected probably the most.

— the one whose silhouette you noticed with a swollen gaze, shuddering, pressing your body, heated from injuries, against the cold wall.

— the realization in his eyes turns to rage, and you hold your breath, closing your eyes, preparing to accept the expected fate. you've seen how he reacts to the mere mention of blackbloods.

— however, all you feel is someone stepping up to you and picking you up with extreme caution.

— he brings you home, to your room, in secret from the others. he doesn't know how to help you, and therefore fulfills all your quiet requests for antiseptic or proper needle from your kit.

— only when you sigh with relief and look up at him with exhausted eyes does he ask a single question:

— "who?"

— you couldn't help but open up to the one who found out your innermost secret. and kept it.

— you told him exactly what happened and who was involved in it. you noticed how his muscles twitched when you explained the details in colours.

— he didn't leave your side that night. you couldn't help but cling to him. such a deceptively soft body, harboring a gigantic power that you were extremely wary of, eventually gave you peace.

— you've woken up alone, but you've been carefully tucked into your own bed. in the following days, no one bothered you. you suspected whose fault it was. and were worried where the culprit had gone.

— until one night you woke up, almost jumping up from the feeling of someone else's presence. and it was justified — in the semi-pitch darkness, a silhouette towered, whose sudden appearance would have terrified you just a week ago.

— but now you just breathed a sigh of relief and threw yourself into his arms, completely forgetting whether you have not only the moral right to do this, but also the capabilities of the body. you almost fell on shaky legs when you were picked up and gently carried to his soft but firm chest. the chest covered with purple blood.

— "I need to show you something"

he says, and you realize that you're willing to follow him anywhere. even to the ninth circle of hell.

— in the middle of the night, he takes you to a remote, overgrown shore. purple streaks are barely visible on the water surface. you understand everything right away.

— "whatever happens, always tell me first. there won't be a crumb left of them"

— surprisingly, he didn't become overly protective after that. of course, you were free to walk by yourself and do whatever you wanted. he understands that you're very used to surviving alone. however, the thing is, now you don't really want to survive let alone. now you want to and can just... live. happily live with the one who calls you his scored bun in private, with a touch of rebuke in his tone.

[grimpath]

Diligence x belphegor!You

Belphegor is an archdemon associated with the sin of sloth, thus the opposite of diligence virtue. It's the patron demon of inventors, asexuals and just lazy people. There are theories about demons existing in the world of gaslight district, so... here we are. These headcanons are kind of wholesome, even fluffy compared to my other pieces about him. I just can't stop my obsession over him...

— someone in the paradise lost was too active, and this activity was particularly productive, luring you like a bee to nectar.

— and it wasn't even temperance to blame, whose actions were already corrupted enough. it was diligence, the one who deservedly rules them all.

— you're quite starving, to say the least. the ones around you aren't corrupted in a way that you need them to. there aren't many lively people left.

— it was not difficult at all to get the guards of paradise lost away from their main task. on the contrary, your arrival stirred them up and made them call the one you had come to see in the first place. they were happy not to deal with you themselves.

— he didn't even meet you with a knife to your throat, which is surprising and a bit disappointing.

— "you've climbed so high. must've put a lot of diligence into it"

ah, now there is indeed a knife at your throat.

— however, you had information about the upcoming... prophetical inconvenience. so you've got your entry ticket.

— a rookie mistake for someone like him. once you're in, you never leave.

— but it's not so unexpected, actually. you wouldn't be in the lair of virtues in your right mind, too. as well as he, after being superior for thousands of years, became flighty about real threats. and temptations.

— the very idea of creating a mecha pope was planted in his mind by you, and it became the biggest temptation he could not resist.

— your relationship can even be described as a mutually beneficial one. you have at your disposal one of the hardest-working minds left, and he benefits from your exceptional ideas that he would never have come up with on his own.

— he is, of course, aware of who he is dealing with and what he is sacrificing. in your right mind, neither you nor he would have gotten involved in such a thing. but now both of you are weak enough compared to your previous selves to bicker.

— however, something happened that you did not expect from yourself. it was difficult to distinguish between desire and love, but when you refused to propose him another harmful idea and instead offered a genuinely helpful one, it was like an electric shock.

"if I don't see a catch in your idea, I shouldn't execute it"

he notes. and would be right every other time.

— maybe it's due to the long-term neglect of your own nature. or perhaps love truly has no boundaries.

— considering your background, it was quite surprising that you also started to invent things that were helpful in his field. at first, he was suspicious, but after trying a few of them, he kind of accepted your peculiar courtesy.

— you felt like a bird trying to impress a potential partner, a partner of an exact opposite species.

— from time to time, you have wondered if this is simply a consequence of being among righteous, proper, partially holy beings. but you have not felt anything like this for any other virtue, just for this exact restless workaholic one.

— to make a long story short, it just clicked. it was as if higher powers had intervened. or maybe you just have too many shared interests and similar worldviews (definitely not).

— you were given the strongest of powers to accomplish your ideas, and the said embodied power was drawing these ideas from within you.

— no one knows what such an invasion into the natural course of events will lead to. one way or another, the world is already doomed. or perhaps, on the contrary, it has taken a step towards salvation.

bonus nsfw-ish headcanons

— actually, you accept gifts not only in the form of inquisitive minds. more mundane, vulgar, but overly pleasant things also attract you, but only when it comes to your own self. you usually turn people away from such pleasures. you wouldn't even think of trying something like that on him, considering his virtuous origin. but his rotten core still has some influence over his pure soul.

— you were not even the initiator of this situation. none of you were. it just happened, and then it started happening more often, naturally.

— he's very diligent. and this applies to every aspect of his life. his mechanical body doesn't require as much rest. making out with him feels like pushing yourself to the limit in terms of endurance.

— you never bring it up, as if nothing is happening. no one from the outside can tell what you two are doing in the shadows of the gates of paradise.

[grimpath]

Diligence x rotling!prophet!You

Kind of angsty, DARK! The idea is based on my OC, the prophet who was cut in half back in alive days, but otherwise it's gn and unspecified in terms of physical features.

— you found yourself in the paradise lost by a mere accident. your suspicious behaviour was noticed by a guard. he told the chief. the chief ordered to bring you to him. it wasn't a complete surprise for you — you saw a similar outcome in many possible futures. you just didn't know which one would happen exactly.

— however, among all these threads, there are some that are the most durable, and the possibility of breaking them is almost unfeasible. and your path crossing his was one of them.

— he's trying to use you as a tool for crowd control, to play the role of a propaganda machine. but you don't like to spread your word directly. it usually finds the recipient completely by chance. so you don't obey his orders, even though it drives him to rage.

"now it's clear why they tore you apart"

— your commitment to your own ideals touches him, even though it often irritates his inner commander, who demands uncomplaining obedience from others.

— sometimes, he will share his plans with you, hoping to see changes in your behaviour to catch how much you see the possibility of them coming true.

— he's often annoyed, borderline furious. and as often you get caught in the crossfire. he loosens, then cuts or rips the stitches that hold your body together, and leaves you cloven until he decides to dig his heel into your skull, allowing you to resurrect.

— and even though over time he realizes that you are not of much practical use, only giving him even greater doubts, he still refuses to let you leave. and you don't resist, because all the paths you see lead only to the paradise lost, where you both belong.

— it may not be obvious, but you are his favourite sin. it's just that the feelings other than rage and annoyance have long been forgotten, and it's difficult to bring them back.

— by just existing, you smooth out his sharp edges, protecting not only him from his own self, but also the prophesied human from dying at his porcelain hands.

[grimpath]

Diligence x human!You

General, established, mildly dark. Can't get enough of him. I'm such a bitch for angst with him.

— you like to lie on his chest while he draws oozing black streaks with his claws on your skin. he doesn't need to put a lot of effort into it — your skin is thin enough to give under the lightest pressure. he's pondering, and you're enjoying this rare moment of peace, a lack of action for this restless soul.

— these aren't just random notches and lines. these are runes, letters that form words. the words you can't translate and he ignores the need to explain. you recognize only the mark of the black hand, the deepest of the carvings, right above your beating heart.

— you strive to be involved in plans of the virtues, but he doesn't let you a step close. he may even hurt you, albeit unintentionally, if you try to peek in on their doings.

— he calls you names for your weak, corruptible flesh. but he also adores it, as he doesn't have much flesh himself.

"isn't it hard to exist only as a brain?", you ask

"it doesn't matter as long as I'm capable of getting things done"

— he's not the most talkative when it comes to himself. he never shares what he is feeling, which creates the impression that he feels only irreconcilable anger and a thirst for perfection.

— his modified body doesn't need as much rest as yours, but it still needs it. for his indefatigable brain, it's crucial to process the information it receives relentlessly. however, he constantly puts this matter off until the last minute. until he literally shuts down. you always know exactly how long he has been awake in order to be there at the right time to lead him home or even catch him when he collapses.

— his emotions are hidden by an equally hard shell that is hiding the last flesh left of his body. in addition to obedience, he basically just needs to be heard and cared for. he never asks for it; you just feel it when it's necessary.

— you keep yourself quite aloof in public. he doesn't want to show any affection, because this will immediately become a lever of pressure on both of you. it's literally dangerous. he doesn't want to put you at risk in any way.

[grimpath]

Diligence x rotling!sin!You

Reader represents the sin of dejection/sloth. Based on the theory that sins can kill virtues and vice versa. General, established.

— he tries to assert dominance, but you shake it off. it annoys him, but there's not much he can do about it.

— a lot of fighting turning into... fighting in bed.

— oh, how many epithets you hear about yourself! slothful, indolent, vacuous, etc., etc… yeah, electric broom, whatever you say.

— your mind works in such a way that it finds the shortest path to the goal, so you put less effort and time into achieving it. perhaps that's why he keeps you around. he's good at getting things done, but he's not always the most efficient person.

"my diligent, you don't actually need so many guards. half of them are doing less than nothing"

"just like you are then"

he quips and proceeds to downsize the security staff.

— he uses you as a piece of furniture from time to time. to sit on, lean against, or lie down on — well, he's welcome. you don't mind.

— in fact, you are not on anyone's side. you have chosen for yourself a position that is most advantageous for observing events without taking sides. whether the world falls or is saved, you don't care. therefore, you refuse to get involved in things that could potentially affect the balance, such as building a mecha pope.

— and that's what pisses him off the most. it's difficult for him to restrain himself from hurting you severely for such an attitude. the thing that probably stops him is the fact that, in theory, you're capable of damaging him significantly in return.

— your relationship is a very delicate balance. however, opposites do, in fact, attract...

[grimpath]

Diligence x human!You

Random and rather dark, mostly one-sided, without major plot. Just because felt like it. Writing such things is quite comforting for me.

— he's used to treating everyone as if they are errand-running punching bags. and you, with your weak, flimsy, frail body, are no exception. temperance has a hard time sewing you up and collecting your bones back like a puzzle.

— difficult times make strong people. if you're destined to destroy something but your own self, he's not raising you spoiled.

"you're doing well. for someone who'd want their head cut off"

— you're never a [name], always a nephilim. he uses it as both your nickname and an insult. respect must be earned, it isn't something you're born with.

— that's quite the situation where you fear, hate and respect someone at once.

— he's the type of mentor who will make you cry over assignments. pressure makes diamonds.

— he's also not a mentor who wants to see his students outpowering him. he's cultivating his own weapon out of you.

— surprisingly, he has a positive quality. he will make anyone who dares to encroach upon you regret it. it makes you think that all the injuries he inflicts on you are quite controlled, as if he is shaping you into a perfect form.

— how did you dare to morbidly fall for him you cannot explain a bit.

— he knows it. at least bears it in mind. he found it out against his will, through the usual checking of your vital parameters. accelerated heartbeat, increased sweating, nervousness and eye avoidance all formed a clear picture. such knowledge actually allows him to push you further than he would manage to without your, well, attachment.

— he'll let you grab onto him only out of rage or desperation. he'll be silently watching you tearing your skin against sharp edges of his body, smearing his porcelain surface with your pitch-black blood. not for long, though. it seems that at those moments his faultless posture becomes literally monumental.

— he knows that if the fire is not fed, it will die out. it makes him tick, in a way. to push you further. to set the bar higher. the more hardened you are, the better it is for him. his embodied knife will not break, gun will not overheat.

— when the smiling dead showed up, you turned against them side by side with guards and your fellow virtue. you were one of those who managed to slice the girl, the sight of her blood made you recoil in horror. good for you she was nimble enough to run away immediately. you wouldn't want to deal with her further.

— you didn't bring it up. but maybe now you understand why he's raising you to be a destroyer. because you will have to confront not only a pile of walking corpses and overly intelligent birds, but also your own kind.

[grimpath]

Diligence x human!You

Request with the couple that really called to me at the moment! Far from healthy, but as much as I can imagine it can be with someone as Diligence. Mel exists, as well as reader. Humans are born much more often than every 10k years.

— you making it so far, in terms of age, is a hell of an oversight. it wasn't supposed to happen. he trusted his fellow virtues too much.

— it's already taking an unacceptable amount of time to complete the mecha pope. and this unfortunate mistake has significantly slowed the process down.

— he cannot afford another accident. not on his watch.

— "where is it?"

a rhetorical question, of course. not where it — you — should be anymore.

— temperance just couldn't, well, to put you on the supply, not when he had raised you. it is much easier when humans are younger. but you were raised exactly to see what would happen if an adult specimen would be fed to the machine.

— so, both options are equally bad for you. you can't stay with either the angels or the virtues, as each of them dreams of making you the horseman of the apocalypse for the other. and the rotlings... will simply end you as soon as they find out about your origins.

— you sat there, torn apart by doubts, not far from the border between the paradise lost and the gaslight district. there were guards, but they pretended not to see you, probably for their own safety.

— you heard him approaching from afar with his marching, yet graceful strides. you know you don't stand a chance against him if you decide to fight or run.

— "have you lost something, nephilim?"

you clenched your teeth. he always refers to you as "that" — a nephilim without a name. however, it's better than being referred to by a number, like every other human before you, as temperance has informed you about.

— you don't respond. because it always only gives him more reasons to pick on you.

— a firm cold hand lays on your shoulder, nails — claws — digging into your soft flesh, through the fabric, borderline painfully. you resist the urge to shake off the touch, and stand up, finally turning to him.

— his tall frame towers above everything, not just you, but it feels like he is asserting dominance over you in particular.

— the things is, you don't even hate him. on the contrary...

— it's hard to imagine a worse scenario than falling in love with someone like him, especially given who you are. indeed, the heart wants what it wants.

— you have no parents, no friends to talk to about it. that's just another cross you have to bear, in addition to all the others.

— you look at him and see only a practical approach towards you. and you try to follow it as it will grant you his affection.

— but the thing is, obedience doesn't impress him this much. this is what he expects from others as a given. your rebellious antics, on the contrary, attract him, if you can say so in relation to how he feels.

— it's quite unusual for him to experience something outside his usual range of emotions, which consists mostly of righteous wrath combined with persistent annoyance.

— he finds it pleasant, not even in a sadistic way, to be in charge of your safety. an alien thought comes up from time to time. the thought of leaving you just... be. the thought of you staying alive and under his watch tingles something in his mechanical body and even in his fleshy brain.

— so here you both are, feeling confused and hesitant about taking a single step forward.

— until the day the smiling dead showed up. they didn't seem to notice you with the fuss. you, however, while diligence was distracted dealing with the intruders, slipped away from his supervision. you just felt that these creatures weren't here for any minor reason.

— long story short, you got caught up in a fight. not as a participant, but as a victim, being hit by a random swing of a blade, and you didn't even know who it belonged to.

— hot black blood splattered onto your chilled skin. you've never seen so much of your own blood before, and it made your legs feel weak. you could barely escape to a relatively safe place, clutching your open wound on the stomach.

— at least it's easy to blame it on angel's blood. you were terrified at the thought of being exposed.

— you found yourself whispering, begging diligence to show up. even though it was a good excuse for him to get rid of you like he had always dreamed of, without even being directly involved.

— he didn't come. you barely made it to temperance, only to find him missing, having somehow abandoned his work halfway through.

— he actually taught you how to take minor urgent care of yourself. not much he could educate you on dealing with alive flesh, but at least you managed to sew yourself up before shutting down.

— it was a horrible sight for diligence. a sight of his defeat. he became even more convinced that no one could be trusted with important matters. and the most important matter at that moment was you.

— he did everything in his abilities and knowledge. your wound, it wasn't fatal. he's scanned it first of all. as he held your unconscious body, he, for the first time, felt a disgusting, burning, stabbing sense of guilt.

— there wasn't a practical need to keep holding you next to the chest. there wasn't a need to keep doing it, especially when you woke up, dizzy, eyes barely focusing. for a second, you thought you had died. seeing his porcelain body covered in thick black blood is quite... a view.

"that's exactly why you shouldn't wander alone, nephilim"

he said, gently digging his nails into your wound, causing you to squint in pain. it wasn't a gesture of dominance, as it always was. it was a gesture of... nervousness mixed with concern.

— it's not easy for both of you, and it will never be. but with enough of diligence... it may work out.

[grimpath]

Hi!! I hope you don't mind the request, can we get Diligence x Human!Reader headcanons 🥺🙏

YES PLEASE thank youuu AGH I wanted to make some! I hope you don't mind that I refer to this sassy fella 💅 as he/him, since there isn't canon pronouns as far as I know (correct me if I'm wrong🙏)