#akio caught him

[den-kunn]

mmmmmmh my au has a shirai ryu oc that's a doctor and he and jin are dating and they met when jin was in his thief era

and their ship name is healing arrow ª

[moonsbijoutoo]

Hinata Sora

15

Shoyou’s actual twin with Kenma’s eye color. Smart but chaotic, like really chaotic. Smol. Best friend’s with Akio and Keisuke. He and Toshiyo are good friends too, if he feels too much like a third wheel around Akio and Keisuke he’ll drag Toshiyo into the mix whenever he can. Has a little sister named Kotori. They are bubbly and he and his sister are the light of their parents' eyes. As oblivious as his parents can be about romance, he inherited the same trait and he doesn’t know Ushijimaten is crushing on him hard. The only rebellious thing he ever did in his life was randomly get his ears pierced with his three best friends to which it was Akio’s idea. Loves gaming but isn’t as good as Kenma lol but his imagination is as active as both his parents. Games with Ten too who is way better than him for no good reason. Is smart but Akio often has to remind him to use his brain.

Kuroo Akio

14

Tol emo angel that’s usually the smartest person in the room but lowkey, lowkey has a temper. Has Kei’s features like hair and eye color but a mix of his parent’s looks. Wears glasses but always forgets them, only remembers to bring them if Sora or his parents mention it but most of the time barely listens to his parents. Has strong feelings for Keisuke he just hasn’t decided if they’re positive or negative yet tho they’re bros.

Kageyama Toshiyo

14

Shy and reserved, between Sora and Akio’s heights. Dark hair like Kageyama and eyes like Tadashi and freckles. Friends with Sora only so he claims. Has 99 problems and Haru is like 75% of them.

Bokuto Keisuke

16

Newly 16 tho lol. Has Kou’s wild dual colored hair and Keiji’s eyes. Akio is his best bro and he’s really close with Sora too. He and Akio dance around eachother as Sora puts it. Has messy hair to his shoulders and refuses to get a haircut. Heart of gold, head empty tho. Drags Akio into social situations, likes gaming as much as Sora.

Sawamura Himawari

16

Has Suga’s soft features and hair color but Daichi’s eyes. Manages karasuno's boys volleyball team. She’s tired of the boys wanting more girl friends. Her and her siblings are her parents’ world. Has a crush on Akio’s sister she thinks no one knows about.

Ushijima Ten

16

Looks a lot like Ushijima but can have Tendou’s wild side when it comes to Sora. Has a smol crush on him everyone but him knows about. Is naturally good at anything he tries and shows Sora how to game better. Shinji’s his best friend that encouraged him to spend more time with his crush through online gaming.

Iwaizumi Haru

15

Looks like Oikawa but has dark hair like Iwa, has a tol crush on Toshiyo. Has dual extroverted personalities that neither of his parents can quite attribute to themselves exactly.

Shirabu Shinji

14

Looks a lot like Semi with his features but is a prodigy but lazy. He can be as sassy as Shirabu on the rare occasions he’s pissed off tho. Ten is the only person he knows that he hasn’t clashed with at one point probably also because Ten is rarely if ever bothered enough to care. Clashes with Haru whenever they are in close proximity of each other. Also has a problem with Miya Yukio but doesn’t know it’s just because he’s crushing on him. Can always tell the difference between him and his twin and the fake triplet cousin.

Sakusa Ame

16

Calm Ambivert who is mostly unaffected by the thought of germs but feels closer to his uncles and cousins than his sibling and parents because he feels he saw them less growing up. Looks more like Atsumu and can get mistaken as a triplet to his twin cousins. Good friends with Sora and Keisuke.

Miya Yukio

15

Him and his twin Yushiro take after Osamu and their uncle heavily in looks along with their cousin Ame. It almost scares the adults. Is cocky when he’s annoyed, reserved and intelligent. Gets along with Sora and Keisuke surprisingly well. Clashes with Shinji in one sided beef on Shinji’s part.

[literaila]

stress baking

gojo satoru x fem!reader

summary: you bake a cake and satoru tries to distract you

warnings: mom guilt (angst), fluff, satoru, etc.

last part | next part

*

year five.

“ooo,” satoru reaches a hand across the counter, fingers about to contaminate everything in the kitchen. “frosting.” 

you're slouching against the oven, trying to pretend like the cakes have been cooling long enough to frost when he comes in. 

and you know immediately that you've been caught. satoru can read your mind with a mere glance most days, and so you try to avoid his eyes. because really--you don't need (or want) his input about this

you slap his hand away, turning away from the cakes. “don’t touch,” you tell him, glaring. “i don’t know where your hands have been.” 

satoru grins at you, leaning against the counter so he can observe your corrupted workspace. “i can assure you that you do.” 

you roll your eyes, flipping a cake pan over. it shouldn't take too much longer, really. just a couple... hours. 

“what is this? did i forget about a birthday?” he looks up suddenly, startled. “was it yours?” 

you scoff, moving every edible thing away from his reach, and still don't look up at him. but you can still feel every moment he makes, like a secret intuition. 

as if knowing this, satoru smiles, leaning his elbows against the counter, face in hands, just watching you. “nah, i wouldn’t forget that.” 

“hmm, when’s my birthday again?” 

“it’s… uhhh a day. once a year," you make a face, scrunching your nose away from him, and he resolves. “the best day of the year?” 

you ignore him--and your stupid instinct to look at his face, in his eyes, and observe every expression he makes--wishing that cakes were sturdier. it's late enough that you already know this is going to be a disaster. can you make cement appetizing? 

“no, really,” satoru waves a hand in your face. “what is this?” 

“it’s a cake.” 

“for what?” 

“tsumiki.” 

he raises a brow, tapping on your forehead to get you to pay attention to him. “is it her birthday?” 

“no, you deadbeat dad, her birthdays in may.” 

“right.” 

you roll your eyes again, cutting the top off of the cake. still, you try to keep your eyes concealed from him. your entire being--even though you're well aware that it's futile. 

satoru can feel it when you cut yourself shaving in the shower, so it's likely that he already knows what you're doing. 

and exactly why you're doing it. 

but, you can play chicken with him for hours. you're very used to pretending like he doesn't know what you know that he knows. very very good. 

“sooo..." satoru drawls, voice bright and smiley. like the demon he is. "what’s it for?” 

you sigh, wanting to throw the excess cake at him. “can you use some critical thinking skills? just once, please?” 

“why would i do that when you could just tell me?” 

unforunately, the two of you both know that he's not going to leave without an answer. he's purposefully using your greatest weakness--his face, your heart, your irritating want to tell him every thought that crosses your mind--against you. 

but who's fault is that if not your own?

“she’s worried about a test tomorrow,” you say, slowly, finally turning to look at him, trying not to wince. “so i’m making her a cake.” 

satoru is already grinning, hand partially covering his mouth. you glare at his terrible attempts not to laugh at you. 

at least his eyes are pretty. his cheeky eyebrows and stupid knowing look. without the view, you know, satoru would mean absolutely nothing to you (and everything, of course).

“will it give her superpowers?” 

“shut up, gojo, what are you doing to help?” 

“not worrying about it," he answers easily, "tsumiki’s a genius, she doesn’t need your anxiety too.” 

“i’m not anxious.” 

he smiles at you, tilting his head. 

you crack, trying not to squeeze the offset spatula in your hand. “whatever. last time she got in a fight with akio you tried to buy her a kitten. i’m not taking your criticism," you look away from him, frowning. but before he can say anything, you add. "or your advice."

“the kitten wasn’t just for her,” he says, whining. “it was an addition.” 

“an addition i was going to take care of.” 

“tsumiki wouldn’t have to worry about a test if she had a soft, cute, cuddly little baby kitten to cuddle with.” 

you refrain a smile. “that’s redundant.” 

“you changed the trajectory of her life by telling me no. she'll probably go to prison now," satoru sighs, shaking his head at you. 

“yup. it’s all my fault.” 

he laughs, reaching a long arm over you to try and steal some frosting again, but you grab his wrist and push it away. he frowns, but asks, “are you going to let her eat this for breakfast?” 

you pause, looking back at him (he's already smirking because you've had that conversation a dozen times) then you look back at the cake you’re currently mutilating. “um…” 

satoru shakes his head. “so she doesn’t even get to have any until after the test? what's the point in that?" 

"the point," you say, glaring at him. "is that it's nice. i want to do something for her." 

"bake a cake?" 

"shut up." 

he laughs again. "you're such a nerd." 

"you can leave now." 

"what'd she say?" satoru asks, smiling up at you, brow perked. "'i have a test tomorrow?'" 

you huff, waving him away. "fine, no cake for you." 

"tsumiki probably didn't even tell you," he continues, cockily. "you probably read it in an email and immediately turned on the oven." 

"you are not helping." 

satoru snorts at you one more time, and then he stretches as he straightens up. 

your eyes dart towards him--and the sliver of skin you can see peaking out from under his shirt, very attuned muscles--and then away. you're not being caught again. 

but satoru is already smirking at you as he rounds the counter, hands traveling to your waist automatically, squeezing you to him--in a very uncomfortable position, by the way. 

he nuzzles his nose into your hair, breathing obnoxiously. 

"satoru, i'm busy," you say, trying to sneak out of his hold. unfortunately, he's way stronger than you are.

your hands have been blocked by his hold, and you set down the spatula, forced to bend to the will of this very irritating co-parent of yours.

"you're so cute," he says, cooing into your head.

"i'll pour oil in your hair." 

he laughs, again. "then you'll have to take a shower with me." 

you push him away, finally, scowling. he only moves back a couple of inches. "not happening." 

"you realize that you're crazy, right?" satoru asks, still smiling, but a bit differently. it's less arrogant and more adoring. like he's completely star-struck, lost in the entirety of you. "this isn't news to you?" 

"i'm not crazy. i'm being nice." 

he continues to smile at you, ignoring your carefully pointed scowls and the harsh way to continue to frost the cake. "tsumiki will be fine. even if she fails her test, or gets sick, or..." he shakes his head, shrugging. "pulls the fire alarm so she doesn't have to take it." 

"i hope you're not encouraging the children to fake an emergency." 

"she's the smartest kid in that class, sweetheart, she'll do fine. and would it really matter if she didn't?" 

you pause, biting your lip. no, it wouldn't matter, you should say. you should just tell him the increasingly worrisome thoughts that have been collecting in your head the past couple of weeks. you should've just helped her study more or made sure that she was feeling comfortable, or double-checked on her grades another time, or--

"well, she can have her cake as a reward," you say, instead, ignoring that last bit. 

you both already know the answer anyway. 

satoru is quick to wrap an arm around your shoulder, gentler this time, pulling your head to his chest with an impenetrable hold. "what's this really about?" 

"nothing." 

satoru's lips twitch, and it's silent for a moment, your disheartening 'nothing' ringing through the kitchen. 

he's so stupid. and you hate that he knows what's wrong already, but that he's gonna make you say it. and you hate that it's sweet, in its own, very annoying way.

and then you break.

you sigh, a grumble coming from the back of your throat. "i just think i've been too worried about megumi lately. i mean school and missions and..." 

satoru raises a brow at you. "okay?" 

"and then there's you, too," you add, giving him a look. but it's dropped very quickly, as you look down to the floor. "do you think i've been paying enough attention to tsumiki?" you ask, softly. 

tsumiki has always been good at taking care of herself, that much was obvious when you met her--when satoru told you what the two kids had been doing for months, all on their own. 

but you don't want her to have to take care of herself. or feel like she should, just to make it easier on you both. 

she's far too people-pleasing, far too sweet to tell either of you if you're missing something. she could have a broken arm and walk around like nothing was wrong until you finally asked. 

you swallow, then continue. "you and megumi are important, but i don't want her to feel ignored just because i've been preoccupied." 

"wow. i'm just a distraction to you?" satoru asks, pouting. 

"you know what i mean," you whisper, shrugging. 

really, you know these are just venomous thoughts. trying to hit you where it hurts. 

but there's that part of you that isn't sure. if you're usually wrong, why shouldn't you be right this one time?

"you pick them both up every day, feed them, put them to bed, help with their homework..." satoru shrugs, never seeing the things that you do; stronger than you'll ever be. "how could she feel ignored?" 

"well, i've been spending more time with megumi trying to figure out his shikigami. and you and i have been going over those books, and tsumiki can't be a part of any of that so she probably feels left out, and i haven't been doing anything with her anyway--" 

"woah," satoru interrupts, a brow raised. "what's wrong with you?" 

you glare, trying to push him away to no avail. "get out, satoru. i need to finish this." 

"no, i'm serious." he holds a hand to your forehead. "are you sick? did you hit your head on something?" both of his hands grab onto your face, squeezing your cheeks together. 

"stop," you say, muffled from his pinching. 

"you're so..." satoru shakes his head, every word going unsaid. "she doesn't feel ignored. she couldn't, because you're very clingy." 

"not as clingy as you." 

satoru laughs, pinching a bit harder in retaliation. "okay, so there's two of us. at this point, tsumiki is probably looking for other families to go live with." 

"she wouldn't leave megumi." 

his grin widens. his eyes are thoughtful, careful. "you spend time with her every day. you probably know more about her schedule than she does. megumi is..." satoru tilts his head. "difficult, and a priority. but tsumiki knows she is too." 

"i just don't want her to feel lonely. or unimportant," you whisper to him, eyes darting down to his chest. 

you know that it's a natural reaction, to want more for your kids. to want to protect them from your own feelings, however different the situations might be. 

when satoru tells you that tsumiki reminds him of you there's that scared, cowardly little girl who recoils in response, flinching away from that idea. you never want her to feel like you do, to be like that little girl. 

but unless you can erase history, you're not sure that it's possible.

satoru's eyes soften, looking at you. he breathes out, letting go of your face finally. then he leans down so his forehead rests against yours, shaking his head. "you're the most ridiculous person i know." 

your eyes are forced upon his and you finally crack a smile. "have you met yourself?" 

"megumi spends more time with us because he doesn't have any friends," satoru tells you, ignoring your glare at the statement. "tsumiki's just cooler than him." 

"i'm gonna let him hide your blindfolds." 

satoru rolls his eyes, but he shakes his head again. he's just staring at you, so you know that he's not going to entertain your pity party any longer. 

at least he knows that there's no point in arguing when you're not going to listen to reason.

you nod, looking away from him, back to the counter of destruction. "okay, i'll just finish this for her. i already started, so i might as well--" 

"finish it in the morning," satoru says, finger forcing your face back to his.

"not how that works, satoru." 

"put everything away, and finish in the morning," he repeats, trying ridiculously hard to sound stern--but it's almost impossible with the smile that leeches onto his face. "she can have some after school." 

"but i just want--" 

satoru shakes his head, shaking your jaw with his hand. "you're tired. go to bed." 

you cross your arms. "since when i have i ever done anything you said?" 

"since i said so," satoru answers, as a finality. 

and then he lets go of your face and wraps his arms around your waist, getting a secure hold so he can pick you up, hoisting you across his shoulder before he can say anything. 

it's about as gently as satoru does anything, but still surprisingly comfortable.

you squirm against him, though, ignoring that thought, making sure not to squeal at the sudden feeling of being swept off your feet. the children are asleep. "put me down,” you hiss at him.

"nope. it's bedtime." 

"satoru gojo, i swear--" 

he just laughs, removing you both from the kitchen and continuing down the hall. 

but instead of stopping at your door and depositing you in your bed--probably finding a key to lock you in with--he continues to his own room, opening and door and spinning around so he can shut it softly. 

you don't have the time to question his motives or meanings before you're already trapped in the enclosed space with him, with none of the willpower to argue with him. 

your room is cold anyway. 

satoru walks you both over to the bed, laying you down in his usual spot, head against the pillow (he ignores the glare you have pointed up at him). 

he shrugs off the sweater he's wearing, throwing it somewhere behind him like the teenage boy he is, and then lays down. 

right on top of you, of course. 

his body is sprawled across yours, your shoulder digging into his chest. but his arms are on either side of you as he holds himself up so that he can continue to look at you. 

he has boxed you in completely. and just his eyes on yours keep you from any viable means of escape. 

you breathe in his face and frown. "i hate you." 

"shhh," satoru is grinning, his face bright enough to be seen in the dark. "we're sleeping. can't hear you." 

"you're heavy, satoru," you complain, pushing at his chest with an ounce of strength. it doesn't work because you don't want it to. 

satoru pretends to snore, but he's still several inches above you. his face is close enough that you can see little scars, and the flecks of white in his eyes. he's looking at every part of your face, every single inch of your being. 

your eyes should focus on his, but you're used to this. so, after a moment, they trail across his face, to the bridge of his nose, and down to the swell of his lips. 

there's light coming in from his window, the moon flattering satoru completely (not that he needs any help). 

and, right now, as he keeps himself just above you, satoru's smile is gentler than ever. 

it lacks the bravado, the carelessness he usually exudes. but it's full of something else, probably something more. 

and you're the only person that gets this smile. the slightly drowsy, completely sure one. 

so you keep your eyes on it for a moment too long, but it's really not your fault at all. 

you could just kiss him and fall asleep.

he's looking at you like that's what he wants you to do, and you know that you're probably looking at him the same way. a simple kiss and the two of you would pass out, unbothered by the aches you'll wake up to, or the body weight that could suffocate you.

but you've never made things that easy. 

when satoru leans down, his entire back tensing, muscles probably straining from staring at you for this long, you sigh. 

satoru pauses, moving back a centimeter, checking your eyes for something--his are bathed in temptation, basking in desire, and you're sure that yours are just an echo of all of that. 

but it's the perfect opportunity. 

he leans in again, but you interrupt. 

"i still need to put everything away," you whisper to him, cheek twitching. 

satoru groans and his head falls against your shoulder. 

you tangle your hands through his hair and giggle into his ear until you can feel the goosebumps across the skin of his biceps. 

*

"so, tsumiki, how'd your test go?" 

you glare at satoru, trying not to look at how tsumiki reacts. you've decided that you don't care. 

tsumiki is always happy, satoru told you this morning, she might be on drugs. 

and, well, you couldn't quite disagree with him (the first part, not the second. he got a smack for that).

she nods, forking her piece of cake again. "good," she answers, through the bite that's already in her mouth. 

"was it a hard one?" 

"nope!" 

satoru gives you a look. a very familiar 'i told you so' look. 

you roll your eyes, giving megumi a piece of cake which he takes begrudgingly. 

"shut up," you tell him.

*

next part | series masterlist

[we-are-maladaptive]

summer afternoon!

....

The sun is high in the sky, casting a golden glow over the lake in front of your house. Sitting comfortably in your relaxing chair, you watch your four children splash and play in the cool, clear water. The warm summer breeze rustles the leaves of the trees, adding to the ambiance of the afternoon.

"Katsuma, don't go too far!" you call out to your 10-year-old son, who is testing the limits of his swim area. The boy is quite the brat but respectful of you. He moves toward the shallow area, however, not without an eye roll reaching to the back of his head.

Fumiko, your 9-year-old daughter, is quietly collecting smooth stones along the water's edge. "Look! I found a perfect skipping stone!" she says, her eyes shining with excitement.

"That's great, Fumiko," you reply, smiling at your daughter.

Meanwhile, the twin boys, Isamu and Akio, are up to their usual antics. "We caught a fish!" Isamu shouts, holding up a small, wriggling creature. Isamu then decides the best way to use the poor fish is to slap it directly onto poor Akio's face… leaving him all slimy.

"Let it go, Isamu!" you instruct, "…and STOP hitting your brother, or I will take you back inside with your father."

"Aw, Mom," Isamu whines. "I just wanted to show you."

Luckily, Akio is not too fazed, resorting to sticking out his tongue at his brother and washing his face with the lake water.

The boy reluctantly releases the fish back into the water, immediately grabbing his brother and diving back in to search for more adventures. Their laughter and shouts echo across the lake, a testament to their boundless energy and mischief.

Suddenly, Katsuma and Fumiko join forces, trying to construct a small raft out of driftwood and leaves. "Do you think this will float?" Katsuma asks, a hint of skepticism in his voice.

"Only one way to find out," Fumiko replies with a grin.

The twins, not to be outdone, begin building a sandcastle on the shore, their competitive spirits driving them to create the tallest, most elaborate structure possible.

After a while, you call out, "How about some smoothies? Your father should almost be done with them."

"Yeah!" All four children rush out of the lake, water trailing behind them as they run toward the house. Trailing behind them, you chuckle softly, enjoying the simple yet joyful chaos of a summer day.

That joy dies down slightly as you view their muddy feet running straight onto your precious marble floors.

Sigh.

Katsuki raises an eyebrow at the stampede of drenched children running into his kitchen. He then furrows both of his brows at the dark foot marks staining his floors.

"WHAT did I tell you 'bout running in this house with dirty feet?" He glares at his eldest, "We have pavement for a damn reason, so why the hell are you still runnin' in the grass for, hm?"

"Oh! Well… uhm…"

"That's what I thought. Since this is the third time, you're helping your ma' clean it up."

"BUT DA-"

"Nope. Now eat y'r damn smoothie before I eat it for you."

As the children eagerly grab their favorite flavors, Fumiko turns to you and her father. "Thanks, Ma n' Pa. This is the best summer ever."

You smile, feeling a warmth that has nothing to do with the summer sun. "I'm glad you're all having fun. Now go back and enjoy the lake."

The children need no further encouragement and quickly return to their games. You walk slowly back outside, savoring the moment. Katsuki joins you this time, but instead joins his children in the water and has found contentment in throwing his daughter high into the sky before she falls back into the water with a splash. The rest immediately want to join as well. The sounds of their laughter and the gentle lapping of the lake against the shore fill your heart with peace.

This is what summer is all about: lazy days, playful children, and the simple pleasures of life.

[rayshippouuchiha]

For the Oyabun!Ichigo AU:

After Kisuke manages to unseal Ichigo, the first thing he does is tuck his body away in Kisuke’s lab for safe keeping, and return to Seireitei because two of his men have passed since he took over his little but ever growing band of yakuza - one from a car accident, one from a wasting illness that didn’t react to any treatment - and Ichigo will be damned if he doesn’t take care of his people in death as he does in life. 

It takes a few days to track them both down in the outer districts of Rukongai, but enough of his senses had remained after the sealing that he knows what each and every one of his people feels like. And while they haven’t always done good things, they are good men, and every one of them has done their best to protect Karakura to their dying. 

And he knows what he needs to do.

Ichigo, showing up to Seireitei: hey

Seireitei, unaware that Ichigo had been unsealed or unalived: AAHAHAhaahahhahaHHHAHAH

Ichigo: stop screaming it’s just me

Seireitei, immediately shutting up because they’re still programmed to listen to his orders: ….

Ichigo, holding up both of his ben by their collars like misbehaving kittens: these two are mine but you can borrow them

Ichigo, to his men: listen, they kind of suck but they said they’re trying. if you see anything hinky, come get me immediately

Ichigo’s Men: we’re….dead?

Ichigo: does that look like it’s stopped me?”

And over the years the Gotei Thirteen get used to Ichigo popping up with newly deceased souls and directing them to what he feels is the appropriate Divisions. Most of them go to Kenpachi in the 11th - “He’s strong as shit, but they’re all kind of idiots and they’re bored. See if you can do something about that. Stand your ground and you’ll be fine.” - a surprising amount are directed to Unohana and the 4th - “She’s a great teacher, but the key is respect. She’ll pull out your spine to prove a point and then put it back in to make a point. You’re just a soul now; you’ll survive it and it will suck.”

Several key people are given to the 7th. Komamura is in charge of diplomacy between Seireitei and Rukongai. Ichigo has seen what the outer districts are like and he has plans. It won’t hurt to have some of the men he trusts ready and waiting for the changes he’s going to make. 

Every Captain, Lieutenant, and all of their underlings hold their collective breath the one and only time Ichigo drags - literally - one of his men to the 6th Division.

Ichigo: what’s up byakuya, rukia says we’re still on for dinner next week also i brought you this

Ichigo: *holds up his man like he’s a white boy showing off a fish he caught*

Ichigo: this is akio he is the best fucking accountant i have ever met in my life my accounts have never been cleaner he’s fucking bomb at taxes you should let him do your paperwork

Byakuya, knowing full well that Ichigo is just Like That: Rukia has mentioned the plum sake Urahara keeps on hand. Bring a bottle or two. You can leave that there. I’ll take care of it. 

Ichigo, dropping his man: cool thanks see you next week

Yes god. Once you're one of Ichigo's people you're HIS and not even death changes that. Plus, being so close to Ichigo for so long, even before Kisuke fixes him up, is absolutely going to activate and build up spiritual power in his minions.

[anzulvr]

୨୧ On Purpose Karma x (fem) reader || Chapter: 08 ୨୧

 PREV || 08 Klepto || NEXT

Last year, the strangest sequence of events altered [Name’s] life. It was a day like any other, beginning with countless possibilities. An inevitable build-up to the perfect moment, fate, which could have led to anything, led to him.

"Akio! It's good to see you, I'm on an assignment. Could you do me a favor and answer some questions?" [Name] greeted him with a smile.

Akio scoffed in reply he looked the [h/c]-haired girl up and down. "Spare me the trouble and tell me who reported me. My dad invests a ton of money into this school... so this conversation won't get you anywhere."

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Don't act clueless, it's annoying just cut to it." Akio yanked [Name’s] bag off her shoulder. "Unless you tell me who sent you, I won't be giving this back."

[Name] felt so out of the loop. Akio hadn't been apprehensive towards her before. "Gakushuu sent me. I only need to collect a student survey." He quickly backtracked in an attempt to cover up his self-incriminating tone "Of course he did... forget this, I don't need Asano getting mad at me for bothering his girlfriend."

"He's not my boyfriend and you don't have to be so hostile towards me, if you don't want to participate it's alright."

"Not your boyfriend?" Akio laughed as if it were the most ridiculous statement he'd heard come out of anyone's mouth. He blocked out anything else she'd said and honed in on that.

"The entire school knows the real reason you're in council."

She felt her heart sink. "Are you trying to insinuate something?"

[Name] shouldn't care, it's only a rumor. Still, it was hard not to when a good amount of the student body targeted her on how she didn't deserve her position. No one else in the Big Six had to take the backlash she did. It wasn't fair. Why did people assume the worst?

This was the first time someone had the guts to say it directly to her. She worked hard for her spot but her success was attributed to some guy going and "handing" it to her.

Just as she was about to wack Akio with the clipboard in her hand, Akio held his breath. A tall red-haired guy wearing a dress-code-violating uniform and a creepy smile was standing right behind him.

[Name] stared at the stranger's face a little longer, oh- that's the guy Asano constantly complains about!

He grabbed Akio's shoulder in an overly friendly manner. "Did you think you'd get away from me?" Karma's voice dripped with confidence, he was confrontational and clearly didn't run away from a fight. A weird guy, his tone was friendly; the same way you'd talk to an old friend. It was comforting in an uncomfortable way, his words didn't match his attitude at all.

The life drained from Akio's face, he went pale and rigid.

"I'm having trouble deciding what to do. I could beat your face in before I take the wallet back, or you can give me everything you have on you, clothes and all. You can keep the underwear."

"You can have it back! I swear I didn't take money out of it!"

"You're funny, I don't just want it back. Not after you made me run around the block ."

Akio dropped everything he had on the floor, Nagisas wallet, [Names] bag, his pants... Karma laughed at the sight of Akio running off like his life depended on it.

It was a cute laugh, a little maniacal considering the circumstances, but cute.

"This is like hitting the lottery... Nagisa had 10 bucks in that old thing- That blockhead carries hundreds!" He was excitedly talking to himself like a child opening an early Christmas gift.

"Karma! There you are! I finally caught up. Huh? Where'd Akio go? God, please don't tell me you actually killed him..."

Nagisa was holding his stomach for support, completely out of breath and a few minutes late. He must've gotten lost while Karma was chasing Akio.

"Even better, check this out!"

He tossed both wallets to Nagisa, Then Karma opened up [Names] bag and started rummaging through it.

[Name] spoke up softly, even though the belongings were hers she felt pretty out of place after watching the whole ordeal go down. She wasn't keen on being next.

"Hi um, that's my stuff."

Karma gave her a suspicious glance out of the corner of his eyes. "Are you trying to rip my steal?"

She shook her head no in rapid motion.

Nagisa gave a panicked expression, "Karma don't be rude! She's in our class, she always brings that bag."

Karma furrowed his eyebrows in response, "Really? I never noticed ya."

He tossed the bag back into [Names] arms, "Heads up." She dropped her clipboard when meaning to catch her bag.

"What's that stack of papers for?" Nagisa asked while picking the board back up.

"It's just a survey I'm having people fill in for the school."

Karma tapped his open palm with his balled-up fist, a lightbulb moment, "Now I remember you! You're the square's girlfriend!" A little late, but at least he had some sort of recollection of [Names] existence.

[Name] was visibly taken aback, he did not just say that.

"Seriously where did that rumor come from? Asano would put a bullet in his head before going out with me."

Nagisa gave an awkward chuckle, clearly, he was only being polite. "Sorry about Karma, we can answer the survey if you still need people."

"You'd do that for me? Thank you! I have like fifty more to collect."

"Anytime, it's no problem!"

It was a really sweet gesture until the mood got spoiled by the delinquent behind him who didn't share the same enthusiasm.

"Do I have to? There are plenty of other people to choose from."

While Nagisa started going through and checking boxes [Name] couldn't help but focus on Karma. In contrast to his perfect hair and face his uniform was completely wrong. He could get into trouble if a teacher notices then it'll become a bigger problem than it has to be.

[Name] took a step closer and began to fix his outfit the best she could. She straightened up his blazer and buttoned up his collared shirt.

He wasn't sure what to do with himself as she lectured him about cleaning up his look. He focused on her hands. "Your shirt's unbuttoned, the blazers on wrong and I have an extra tie in my locker so you can have mine if you want."

He smiled and gave her a weird look, "No thanks I'm not a big fan, ties are suffocating."

He'd gotten told off millions of times by the councilors and teachers over dress code but this was the first time a girl his age nagged him about it. What was her deal? "Sorry if I sound pushy, I'm only looking out for you."

Looking out for him, that's a first.

"Nah it's okay, your shoes are untied by the way."

She looked down to check completely forgetting they didn't have laces. "Hm? But they aren't."

He laughed again, this time not like a sadistic weirdo. "Made you look! Are you always that gullible?"

Back then, [Name] and Karma didn't know they'd eventually become the most important people to one another.

He's always there when she needs it, that's what sets him apart from anyone else. [Name] thinks this makes her over-reliant, and needy. She hopes he won't grow sick of her. In that way they're the perfect pair, behind his poker-faced facade Karma is worrying about the same thing, hopefully, she never gets sick of him.

[horse-girl-anthy]

the leading male characters of RGU have variations on the same complex: "I failed at being a prince." however, they have their own specific versions of it, which manifest in widely different behaviors. I'll run through them, basing my account of the characters on how they were at the start of the show:

Saionji is deeply troubled by Utena's despair, but then witnesses her miraculous transformation. since Touga seems to be more mature than himself, he assumes Touga must be responsible for it. Saionji begins to feel himself a child, lacking in insight; not only was he unable to save the girl in the coffin, but he couldn't even understand her plight. having caught glimpse of a world he can't enter himself, he develops an inferiority complex, which he attempts to compensate for with old-fashioned masculinity, violence, and domination of others.

Miki gets sick, and his weakness forces Kozue to go to the concert hall alone. while she learns from this experience that she requires Miki in order to shine, he comes to the conclusion that he has committed a grave sin and destroyed the sunlight garden with his own hands. this irrational belief follows him into early adolescence, and he has somehow managed to turn it around and allot blame to Kozue as well. perhaps this is because siblings do not have strong ego boundaries, or maybe it's that Miki sees Kozue's failure to be a princess as an affront to his desire to be a prince. this becomes a vicious cycle, since negative attention is good enough for Kozue, who flaunts her naughty behavior to keep Miki fixated on her.

Touga is a two-faced character who outwardly projects the version of himself that he'd like to be. in actuality, though he may not be aware of it, he is a person who wishes the world was a better, fairer place and longs to alleviate suffering. however, he learned his own weakness young; to avoid the terror of powerlessness, he is willing to do just about anything. as Saionji believes Touga saved Utena, Touga believes Akio saved Utena, and so he models himself on him. on one level, he maintains a cynical worldview in which he is justified on acting however he pleases because he has gained power, but on another (deeply buried) level, he hopes he will become a prince and set things right. unfortunately for him, his behavior is contradictory with that goal and will only serve to enforce the status quo. he copes with this using cynicism, pretending to himself that he doesn't believe in nobility anyway.

Akio is like a monstrous combination of the previous three, with one crucial difference: Akio no longer actually wishes to be a prince. he may mourn his failure, but that's a form of narcissism; he doesn't even have the commitment to despair. rather, his "sadness" is a grand show in which he is the leading character. does he have a lingering spark of care for Anthy? perhaps, but he only calls it forth for the purposes of manipulation. long ago, his weakness caused Anthy immense suffering, suffering which has never ceased since. as eternity stretched on, Akio began to think to himself, "isn't this actually her fault? she's the reason I'm no longer a prince; she stole my beloved self from me. and what's more, she isn't a princess, which means she deserves this. in fact, doesn't she actually want this? yes, it's true: both of us love the way things are, and so she will always help me to keep them this way. why, I'm so magnanimous that I'll forgive her for starting this, even though it's so hard for me to bear living in my fallen state." thus, to Akio, being a failure of a prince is a sublime torture, and the scab he's grown over his original wound has calcified, not healing but rotting what's underneath.

the question now is where does Utena fit into this schema? I don't think she's in line with the characters listed above, since she's not living her life based on a failure, but instead on determination to suceed. in that way, I think she's most similar to Ruka, at least in outlook. Ruka tries to be a prince through manipulation and coercion, which is of course doomed to failure, but he is staking his life on his desire to be a prince. Utena, after overcoming her own hurdles, does the same.

[cafeleningrad]

unsorted thoughts about Juri and Miki: On innocence an accountability

If Akio, Anthy, and Utena are the thesis of all duelists and their respective princess-figures, then each other character represents a primariy theme (although also overlapping with other struggles). > If Miki represents an inability to move from an idealized past, Juri represents an iniability to imagine change and future.

Miki and Juri are friends because they do sense something good in the other they can bring out when together. But they also are, like every other duelist, too caught up in their own matters to care about anyone outside of the student council... who the others are, what they feel.

Shiori and Kozue are basically caught up the inte same struggle. Both need their duelist to define themselves in not so healthy ways. Their duelist refuses to take resposibility in their existencial longing and connection to the person outside the student council circle. > Miki wishes for family bliss yet is incapable of reognizing anyone outside his ideals. (Hence why he's friends with perfectionist Juri.) So he's unwilling in creating it himself. > Juri is not unreasonably afraid of homophobia and it's social repercussions so she feels lonely and isolated. Yet she can't fathom that anyone else might feel as deeply, as passionately as her. Anyone else is just bubbly happy, none can touch her in her ivory tower of detachment. Hence why Juri's outbursts are so phyiscally violent the moment Anthy or Utena do strike her nerve in either reminding her that she has attachment to other people, or fundamentally disagree in her deepseated beliefs. This leads Juri to dismiss Shiori's feelings of inferiority and abandonement, even her heartfelt apology. In fact Juri doesn't attest any genuine feelings to Shhiori at all, since the Shiori in her locket is an entirely different person. > Funny how Miki is currently treated by fandom as raging "nice guy misogynist". (Well I get it into the current dating-problem-video-for-guys to manosphere pipeline ers in which teenage boys get lured into. But only to a point since this is still a story created 1990s Japan, and personal associations can mislead during analysis) Meanwhile Shiori is then treated as the agitator of the "toxic yuri dynamic". It's total blame game in centrically symmetry on the trajectory of Juri-Shiori-Miki-Kozue. Meanwhile Kozue and Juri get a "blame free" card in current popular fandom trend. Chill and nuance, please. These are all teenagers trying to grow up in an environment that incentivizes and rewards the most cruel, selfish choices.

Personally, Kozue and Miki are my rosetta stone to Akio's and Anthy's relationship. The desires and logical trappings of the Kaoru twins reflect the one's binding Anthy and Akio. > Anthy takes on the hate of the world for Akio. In the microcosm of Ohtori all the blame for a guy's misfortune gets attributed to girls. Obviously Anthy is the one getting bullied and slapped when Saionji isolates himself from the shock that a girl beat him twice. But we also see it when Ruka breaks up with Shiori how rumors quickly switch from: "Why might they break up so suddenly? Ruka was a bit rude, wasn't he?" to "Shiori probably did something to desreve it!" Basically it's all about how society never fathoms to blame a man yet redirects anger and scorn for misdeed on women. Akio refuses to grow up, refusing to realize that he could have never possibly survived the task of Dios, he rather lets Anthy endure the blame while trying to recreate a time that never was. >Where Akio refuses to grow up, Anthy gets adultified. > This repeats in Miki and Kozue although with way less intentionality by the actors. > The theme of idealized past is prominently explored in Miki's and Kozue's relationship. Miki wants to get his sunlit garden back although it never was that impressive (as Utena realizes with a certain disllusionment), nor as harmonic (as Kozue notices), and Miki lets the garden overgrow in the present. But Miki isn't a child anymore. All his excellence academically, musically, working on his fencing skills, good behavior, timed discipline are to set him up for a propsperous carrer. And yet he speaks of no aspirations that such skills and efforts could earn him. He's entering his teenage years where he will need to make decisions for the future. However he barely has an idea what he wants - hence it takes two episodes to convince him to duel, and even then Miki has a hard time forumlating his thoughts what his objective for the future is supposed to be. "Shining thing" is such a nebulous term. > Miki refuses to grow up. What is an inextricable part of his childhood is the concept of innocence. Doing nothing out of malice, bad things just happen to you. Miki certianly doesn't like to be bossed around by adults yet can't challenge his father who left the Kaoru family on his own accord for his affair in their telphone call. Miki still upholds his well-behaved demeanous and can't direct his anger at his father. Miki's already trapped into conformity to adults where the usual protocol demands respect for them, especially for men. So in his mind his father's affair takes the shape of Anthy as only the ideal woman would explain as to why a father would leave his family.

Here's the thing: Kozue is attached to Miki for her self perception as Miki needs her for his selfperception. This represents itself in this bird's nest motive as both try to preserve the symbolic sanctity of home and family care. Understandable as their parents are divorcing which takes an emotional toll on them. > Miki greatly fails Kozue in not being interested in who she is. Kozue herself suffers under a complex in which everything Miki does is to be praised whereas she feels she can't play the piano as good as him. She feels like she could never live up to him so negative attention is the only form of conenction she cosndiers effective. >Which is very much Shiori's strategy of negative attention and taunting keeping a desired person in one's life by proxy. > Kozue is never afforded protection. She's dragged onto the piano stage in spite of her crying and protest, her goign out with different boys is seen as promiscuous character trait, or met with scorn rather than worrying anyone. Her experience makes her belief that "growing up" is equal to "loss of innocence", or in her words "getting yourself dirty". > Kozue also maintains Miki's image of innocence and brilliance. When we see Kozue's duel episode we witness her protecting Miki from a predatory music teacher. Kozue does get Miki's attention by dating around. She does so very intetionally as she confesses to Mikage. Acting like she doesn't care yet her eyes are constantly surveilling her brother. Her duel speech is entirely about how brilliant Miki is, how her duel skills are Miki's. > Kozue can only contrast the image of her self when contrasted to Miki. > Kozue also falls into the trappings of believing in the preservation of innocence for men as her reason to duel is her lossing her grip on Miki as he begins to get interested in Anthy. Instead of blaming Miki's desinterest in Kozue in first palce. > Meaning Kozue's self perception is one in which she is inferior since Miki is the brilliant child, not her with clumsy Piano play, wild attitude where Miki is polite and well-behaved. An out of love for him she will also be the "bad twin", and keep any threats challenging Miki's current state away. > A lot of readings how Miki and Kozue basically just split in gendered experience are apt. Moreso as the gendered socialisation of Miki being praised and sheltered whereas Kozue is pushed into discomfort early on is a massively different socilisation from teh get go. In any case their twin identity is one in which they themselves see each other as halves of one instead of autonomous people. > Them breaking apart in an argument is a good change actually. In their last duel Kozue wanted Miki to grow up with her until she realized how immature Miki was. And Miki realized that he did not want to share his world view with Kozue, and he rather grows up on his own terms. Granted, he could decide that for himself but he definitely won't use Kozue for that undertaking anymore.

Obviously, no matter what existencial crisis the male duelists go through, their existencial struggle will not add up in the intimate violation the female characters will likely face in the future. However, Miki is not a mosnter masquerading with doe-eyes. He's a 13 year old boy, next to Tsuwabuki one of the youngest cast members, who needed a two part episode and highly seductive hooking before he got baited into dueling. And in the end he gives up dueling, he lets go of Kozue, is inspired by Utena to make his own path and girs back to his piano playing without inhibitions. Like everyone else, he's struggling with values in an environment, makes the wrong choices, needs to learn, and is incentivised and rewarded for selfish, uncaring actions.

>He's on a dangerous path but his warning sign is Ruka with his dark blue colour coding. > Miki's theme is the refusal of responsibility, and preserving one's self-conception of innocence as refusal to grow up. Miki's colour code is light blue. > Ruka's colour code is dark blue. He returns at Ohtori on his last living days, trying to liberate Juri from her fixation of Shiori. Juri's fixation on Shiori isn't positive for Juri for many (self-made) reasons although Ruka locates the problem in Juri's sexuality. The tragedy lies in him understanding his friend better than anyone but instead of helping her through her depression, he tries to converse her in order for him becoming her love interest. Even more upsetting is him considering himself burdened by this painful task, doing a saints work, he must hurt Juri but it is for his the greater cause. In Ruka we see how the self repception of innocence mutates into lack of self-reflection, lack of accountability, immunity of guilt and misdeed. Thre is always someone else to blame. (Preferably women.)

Overall I have the impression that the duelist's refusal to take responsibility for the loved one's around them set Kozue and Shiori down a negative developement. > Where Shiori and Kozue both started slighted too attached yet getting balanced back to affection of their prince figure - if not capable of resolving their issues by simply getting listened to - these two girls have delved deeply into their worst impulses in order to re-connect to their duelists. > Like every action in SKU can be traced back to the desire to be loved and appreciated in their personhood. Beware, Ohtori lures one into loosing oneself on the path and becoming a persona. > Juri and Miki both caused this by them stewing in their own misery until they matured into detaching themselves from the object of their fixation.

Innocence as concept itself gets challanged as, mostly demonstrated by Utena's intial lack of unterstanding for Anthy, and Miki's lack of self reflection demonstrate how innocence might start as lack of information adn experience but continues as a mode of enacting in one's own wilfulness without accountability. At some point people need to mature by recognizing how cruel the concept of "innocence" can become. > Ironically, Juri's assumption of Shiori as "innocent" is an inaccurate one. However very fitting to Utena who does hold power over Anthy without acknoledging it. Ironically, Juri is innocently cruel as she too posesses power over Shiori without acknowledging it. Meanwhile Shiori beat herself up for dating their common friend. Shiori's very aware about having made a mistake.

[dellalyra]

i can't stop thinking about what toru's parents would be like!!! his mother would definitely be the energetic type and his father would be extremely calm, and their freak out about seeing toru getting married or adopting megumi and tsumiki and then coming to akio too!! it fills my heart with love

See I always had it in my head that Satoru’s parents were either dead/not around or his father simply married to create a new Gojo heir and it wasn’t a happy childhood at all. Raised by nanny’s and as a weapon/God rather than a little boy.

However - this got me thinking.

Satoru’s mother is the Gojo, all white hair (not only with age) and pretty blue eyes. A talented sorcerer in her own right, was married by the clan elders to a son of another noble family. She protested and fought against it - going so far as to barricade herself in her room at the estate, slipping out the bedroom window and sliding down the ivy on the walls only to trip at the last minute and be caught by a pair of strong arms.

The young man recognises her immediately.

“You hurt?” He asks, righting her on her feet with gentle hands.

She freezes and stares at him.

All jet black hair with a hint of soft curls and beautiful eyes, ivory skin and a slightly shy look in his eyes. His height towered over her, all lean and slim.

“I’m guessing you’re the one they want to knock me up, then?” She says, hands on her hips and glaring.

“I - um - if you’re Gojo Izumi, then yes, I suppose so.” He flusters.

“That’s me. You are Takahiro, no?” She says, dusting off the light blue skirt she wore.

He just nods, attempting a smile at the stubborn and brash woman before him.

Safe to say, a marriage that started as a contract between two families, ended in a marriage of love.

Izumi was all excitement and enthusiasm, high energy and over the top everything, a powder keg temper and a lust for a good exorcism. Takahiro was her antithesis. Calm, quiet, subdued and relaxed - endlessly gentle and warm without a bone in his body meant for anger or violence. Yet, somehow - they worked. Both 18 when married, Satoru arrived 2 years later. Izumi wasn’t overly maternal - of course she adored her little boy but her favourite way to bond was to train with him, or bring him along on missions. Her pride in birthing the first Limitless and Six Eyes user in hundreds of years contributed to that. Izumi, in Satoru’s eyes, was the fun parent. She did ice cream for dinner and ‘don’t tell your father’ secrets. Izumi, although an only child of the late head of the Gojo clan, was refused the title herself on the grounds of being a woman. So when her father passed (she was delighted, the cranky old bastard) when Satoru was just 3 months old, the title immediately passed to him.

Takahiro was soft, gentle and kind. He read bedtime stories and made cocoa with marshmallows and helped tie his shoelaces and kissed any rare boo-boo that he got. His father’s deep voice would echo in his bedroom, soft lullabies and words of love helping the young boy drift to sleep.

His parents loved each other dearly, too - they were the model from which he learned to love. Completely, and without hesitation.

That’s how Takahiro knew. The first weekend that Satoru came home from Jujutsu Tech, he seemed different. He had wrote to them about the Geto boy, his best friend and the RCT trainee Ieiri, and his third classmate - the future head of the L/N clan, a prominent, exceptionally skilled family shunned by the elders many years ago for their rebellious nature. The look in his face changed when Izumi had asked over dinner what each of his classmates were like, and he got to the girl.

“Taka, she’s a lovely young girl - fiery as the rest of her clan and exceptionally beautiful, her mother assisted me on a mission a few years ago.” Izumi informed her husband of the L/N clan eldest.

Takahiro saw the red on the tips of his son’s ears.

“What’s her name, son?” He asked, cutting a piece of the chef’s specialty chicken.

“Y/N.” Satoru replied, with a dreamy edge to his voice that he had only heard before when his own voice had first called for Izumi.

It was no shock when 2 years later, you came home with Satoru to the Gojo estate for a portion of the break. The Gojo clan was so different to your own, who were fiery, passionate people and were completely family oriented, Christmas was spent in pyjamas by the fireplace with spiced cider flowing and cousins fighting over which film to watch and parents cuddled up on the sofa with their brood between them, and Christmas dinner served with love after being prepared (between food fights) by grandparents and their own grown children. The Gojo Christmas had a professionally decorated tree, and a chef to make a Christmas meal, gifts exchanged neatly and primly.

At least - that was what you expected.

You didn’t expect to pull up in a private car to a beautiful mansion only to have a tall, elegant woman with shining white hair bound down the steps.

“Show me her! Let me see, yes - hello Satoru, move now.” The woman smiled, moving her son, now taller than her to the side to get a better look at you.

“Hello, Gojo-sama. Thank you so much for inviting me.” You say, slightly terrified of the imposing woman (it’s clear she’s where Satoru gets his presence).

“Nonsense, child - Izumi is fine. Look at you, you look so like your mother! What a pretty little thing you are!” She says, excitedly squishing your cheeks and almost vibrating with excitement.

“Izumi, dearest, let the child breathe.” A tall man, about Satoru’s height, slim and pale with wavy inky black hair and soft eyes and smile approaches.

You go to open your mouth to greet him formally.

“No, no - Takahiro is what you’ll call me, little one. You are my little boy’s love, no need for such formalities.” He says, voice deep and soft and smooth as chocolate with a smile that reminds you of warm winter nights.

Satoru begins to walk inside, before a voice stops him.

“Gojo Satoru! Get down here and take your lady’s bag! Gosh, what have we raised?! A feral bear?!” Izumi shrieks.

The evening was spent eating a meal, indeed cooked by the families chef, and sitting drinking mulled wine in a beautiful drawing room. Izumi informed you that your own mother was a year below her in school, although she went to Kyoto where your family were staunchly Tokyo attendees. Izumi and you quickly made close friends, laughing and chatting away and answering every question the fascinated woman could think of. Takahiro, insisted on serving you extra food, saying that you just need the energy to keep up with his son, who quickly refutes that he can’t keep up with you. White Christmas began to play - and Izumi smiled widely, turning to look at her husband who groaned.

“Must we, ‘Zumi?” He whines, so like his son.

“We must.” She nods and drags him by the hand to dance a slow waltz with her.

You look at them, as Izumi smiles widely, perpetual buzz of adrenaline surrounding her - wrapped in the arms of her husband - a soothing balm in comparison.

You whisper to Satoru.

“I love your parents.”

He smirks, shrugging.

“Meh, they’re alright.”

When Suguru left - and the elders were all informed what had happened - Satoru’s phone rang showing his father’s contact.

Both Izumi and Takahiro were on the phone - with all seriousness, Izumi asks if there’s anyone else except you and Satoru there. You say no.

“We know how much Suguru means to you, Satoru - now listen to me, if you can find him - if you can convince him to come back, everything can be dealt with. We can keep you all safe - the elders won’t refuse us anything.” Izumi’s voice is cold and serious - completely embodying the role of the Mother of The Six Eyes.

You both knew he wouldn’t come back. Yet, Satoru felt safer knowing his parents were behind him.

2 years later, a knock sounds out through the apartment while you make yourself and Satoru a coffee.

“I’ll get it!” Shouts Tsumiki.

“Thank you, sweetie! It’s probably just Aunty Koko wanting some lunch.” You reply, living in the staff accommodation definitely served your best friend well.

You heard the door click, and some muffled voices - a man’s deep rumbling, a woman’s and a child’s.

Drying your hands, you walk out of the kitchen to see who was there.

In the doorway, stood Izumi and Takahiro - looking very, very confused.

“Oh, hey parents.” Satoru says, poking his head around the corner from the living room.

“Hello Satoru, hello lovely Y/N. We were in the city and thought we’d pop in to say hello since it’s been several months. Is this little one a niece or nephew?” Izumi asks you.

You blink.

“Huh? Tsumiki? Nah, she’s ours.” Satoru shrugs, as you realise he didn’t tell his parents about the Fushiguro kids.

Takahiro drops his Starbucks.

“I - would you like to come in for tea? It seems we all have some catching up to do.” You smile, rolling your eyes.

After they settle themselves on the sofa, a coffee in each parents hand - Tsumiki sitting beside you and Megumi beside Satoru - Satoru explains the situation.

“They… live with you? You’re starting the process to adopt?!” Izumi shrieks, Takahiro looks like he’s been hit by a truck.

“We’re hoping to, yes.” You nod, smiling, holding your boyfriend’s hand.

There’s silence for a moment, and Tsumiki re enters the room with a tray of cookies.

Izumi looks between both of the children, shellshocked.

Takahiro places his coffee down, and smiles at both of the children.

“Hello, children - what are your names?” He says, calmly and soothing - exuding an aura of calm safety.

“My name is Tsumiki, and this is my younger brother Megumi. I’m 8, and he’s 6.” The little girl smiles.

You could visibly see both the elders melt.

“Well then, Tsumiki and Megumi - I am your Ojiisan, and this is your Obaasan.” Takahiro says, patting them both on the head with his large hands.

Somehow, by bedtime that night - Takahiro had coaxed Megumi into showing him all of his National Geographic magazines, the older man’s calm nature a nice contrast to his adoptive parents chaotic selves. Izumi had also learned every piece of drama and gossip happening in 2nd Grade from Tsumiki, and was truly blown away by the audacity of Kinju saying that Nami’s new pink boots weren’t that cool and subsequently uninviting her to her Monster High birthday party.

3 years later

Izumi’s phone buzzed with a lunch invitation from her son, a rare occurrence outside holidays and planned visits. So she agreed, vaguely concerned something was wrong.

A small French cafe was their destination, full of decadent pastries for both Gojo’s to devour.

“Mother, I’ve asked you here because I need something.” He says.

Now that piqued her interest, Satoru had never wanted or needed for anything.

“Oh? What could it be?” She asks, sipping her tea.

Satoru lifts his sunglasses, looking her in the eyes.

“The ring.”

She almost drops the teacup.

“Satoru?! Are you finally going to ask her to marry you?! Oh, this is so wonderful! Gosh, I’ll go right away - it’s in my jewellery box at home and if you warp us there we can get it immediately and return so you can ask her right away!” She spews, grabbing her coat and purse.

“Mother - I have it all planned, I just need it by Saturday.” He smiles, taking her bag and putting it back down.

“Have you told your father? Tell me the plans! How will you ask her? Should we get the ring resized? My jeweller will do it in time for Saturday. The ring was your great grandmother’s. It’s truly beautiful, very delicate and the sapphire ” Izumi prattles off countless questions, enough to dizzy even Satoru.

The kids relationship with their Gojo grandparents was different to their relationship to your own mother, Ojiisan and Obaasan were people they liked very much and enjoyed being around, and were very spoiled by. Your own mother, their Baba, was someone they saw every week. They had sleepovers with their Baba, or Baba came to stay. Baba would sit them both on her knees and read them stories or teach them to bake. Your mother, despite being younger than Satoru’s parents, immediately became infatuated with the role of doting Baba - every Friday night they would stay with their Baba. Satoru had been greatly loved by his parents, yet as two high ranking sorcerers and both from noble families - his primary caregivers had been nannies throughout the day. Your Mama, had raised you herself with the help of your own grandmother - your family were close knit, and no nanny or external caregivers had been part of your childhood, and so it became the same for the children. Satoru fit perfectly into your family. His chaos matching theirs, his warmth and unconditional love far more suited to a less formal and traditional family as he spent his first Christmas in pyjamas watching Elf alongside you and all of the rest of the L/N clan, he realised that was how he wanted to love, and to live.

[sillybayo]

Bayo's Black Rose Arc Analysis

Some notes before I begin:

-This ramble/essay contains heavy discussions of CSA, general sexual themes, and incest. Also, keep in mind that the characters discussed here are 12-17. While I will be looking into how sex affects them mentally and such, I will not tolerate child sexualization here. I will block anyone who makes a single weird comment or make me uncomfortable. We'll be talking about this from a pure psychological standpoint.

-This is a thought dump rather than anything formal, so I won't be dropping episode titles or numbers. I'm also going purely off of memory, and things I said in group chats. So if things lack clarity, this is why.

-I'm not saying I "cracked the black rose arc code" or anything, this is purely my interpretation that I wish to share, due to not seeing many black rose analysis', and being displeased with what some people have said and concluded. I just want to put what I think out there for others to enjoy :3.

-To avoid being repetitive and cluttered, I'll be generally referring to any character who pulls swords out as "wielders", and any character who has had a sword pulled out of them as "sheaths". Any scene where this transpires will be called a "sheathing scene."

-Once again, due to the material of this analysis, I will be blocking anyone who sexualizes the characters in notes, or anyone who I see as creepy.

With that out of the way, let us begin :3!

So I was watching rgu video essays one day, and I stumbled across one about Miki. About halfway or late into the video, they begin talking about how Miki and Kozue had sex in the black rose arc, due to the way she touched him before the sheathing scene, and the way he turned beet red when Nanami asked how it felt for the sword to be taken out. And I thought it made sense at the time, as I was still new to utena, and I only watched it once. And the allegory is clearly there in other black rose sheathing scenes (besides with utenanthy), right?

But then I thought about it more when I rewatched the juriori black rose episode a year or so later, and caught Juri blushing when Nanami asked her the same question. And...wait. Because doesn't all of the black rose sheathing scenes look..uncomfortable? The sheath cries in pain as the sword comes out of their chest, and Wakaba even forced it out of Saionji. And this weirded me out, because why would a show thats so clearly against rape of any kind go on to write something like this? Why did Miki and Juri blush about something that was so forceful? And even if they were under a mind controlled like state, why would they write the wielders to be rapists? With the way rgu writes sex and rape, it didn't seem right, y'know?

So a few months later, when I decided to continue my rewatch and reached the Wakaba black rose arc episode, thats when I truly started to think about it more. And thats when I reached a conclusion: Miki and Juri are more influenced by Touga and Saionji than they realize. And by extension, they're all influenced by Akio.

You see, Touga and Saionji clearly view Anthy as someone to be sexualized. Shes their wife, who would fulfill their every request. Even though they might not know Anthys and Akios relationship, and/or how the latter treats her, this is an undeniable shared mindset.

Even though the boys and Utena uses Anthy as a sheath in the exact same ways on the outside, you know that when its with Touga and Saionji, its sexualized. They own her. When Touga demands Anthy to kiss his sword, it feels so off that Utena couldn't bare to watch. You could argue that its because it would hurt Anthys lips, but in later episodes its clear that it isn't the issue, as Utena uses the same powerup but in a more supportive fashion rather than sexual. So whats up with that?

I say; in (most of) the wielders view, the sword is like a penis.

I know, a very silly thing to say. But I don't mean exactly. And I, of course, don't mean literally.

Do you know that scene from the scream movie, where the two guys are stabbing each other, begging for it and all? It definitely has sexual undertones, because of the mood set by the characters, and heres where I'm getting at; the idea of a long pointed object being thrusted in you.

What I think is that Anthy is so sexualized by the student council, that the idea of a simple sword being pulled out of her 14 year old south asian brown girl chest, is arousing.

So when each of the student council members become sheaths themselves, of course they think that its one of the most sexually intimate things to experience. And its so stupid, right? Its just a sword. a SWORD.

And I shouldn't be referring to the student council so generally, because Nanami is the only one who sees through this. As far as I remember, she wasn't weird in the slightest when she was Tsuwabukis sheath. And even in the apocalypse arc, shes uncomfortable when Touga kisses her, and disturbed when walking in on Akio and Anthy (but then again I haven't rewatched that episode yet, so I could be wrong). She purely meant to ask how the sword felt, with no sexual intent. Miki and Juri were just pure idiots on that part.

So then, wait, if the sword pulling in the black rose arc wasn't a metaphor for rape, then what is it?

Well, I argue that it black rose wielders follow the same mindset as some sexual assaulters when they're under the effects of Mikages reverse therapy, in a way. Its the strong feeling of thinking the sheath owes the wielder something, and that the wielder deserves it no matter what they say.

Another reference to a different piece of media, but remember when its revealed that Pearl continued to fuse with Garnet for her own personal wants, which crossed Garnets boundaries? People interpreted that scene as Pearl raping Garnet, when....no. What? Of course she isn't. Its just the general idea of your wishes being disrespected, and boundaries ignored. Do you see where I'm going with this?

The black rose wielders see something in the sheaths that they want for themselves, whether it be their love, their attention, or some secret third thing. So with nothing but entitlement and desperation in their heart, they force the sword out of their hearts, where their desires lie.

But, wait. How about other scenes with swords? Like when Anthy is Utenas sheath, and when Anthy has a thousand swords stabbed into her? Do swords still represent desire?

Well, yes! Very easily. Utena fights for the pure sake of love and friendship. She fights Saionji when hes cruel to Wakaba, and she swears to protect Anthy with all her heart. She duels with the strongest ounce of care in her soul. Thats the desire to keep her loved ones happy.

What about when Anthy what continuously impaled? Well, that was the villages desire to get to the prince. And it was Akios desire to finally revolutionize the world after so long.

I may be missing a few scenes, but this is the general idea, and I hope I got the idea across. Thats the end of my little ramble :3. As an acespec hypersexual, I already spend a lot of time deconstructing the truth behind sexual things and feelings. So this was fun to think about. I hope y'all liked this, and understood it most importantly. Toodleeess

[lcvekatsuki]

. . chapter 02 . . .

“bumps along the way”

“Introduce yourself Rookie,” Commander Aizawa spoke with a rasped in his voice. I quickly nodded as I stood up , facing the rest of the people who would soon be my work mates .

My eyes traveled to glance at all of them, but one pair of eyes was hunting me down, glaring at me so hard I thought I’d commit a crime.

Oh wait I already did !

Taking a deep breath I laid my hands on my stomach , hugging myself softly . I imagine my hands were Akio’s, and he was cheering me on with a big hug.

“My name is L/n Y/n , I just graduated from Masayoshi Police Academy . And now im a rookie , training here to become a patrol officer or even more . ” I gave a small trembling smile before I quickly sat back down.

I could hear whispers talking about me . “If she graduated from Masayoshi she must be good.” A brown haired girl said as she caught my eyes looking at her , and waved but I quickly turned away .

“Alright settle down people , talk later serve now . You can introduce yourself to L/n , later but now we have to focus on saving lives . Stay safe and be careful out there .” Aizawa announced with a stern face , his toned arms crossed against his chest .

Everyone started to head out but I was still left with one more question , I gathered my purse and headed up to Commander .

“Commander Aizawa , who is going to be my training officer ?” I asked with a raised eyebrow .

His dark brown eyes looked down at me , his presence was definitely scary but not as scary as Sergeant Bakugou , thank god he can’t train me-

“Your training officer will be Sergeant Bakugou , it was orginally suppose to be Officer Iida but seeing your records and the academy you went too , I figured Bakugou will benefit you the most .” He said with a calming demeanor while I was close to have a seizure .

I wanted to ask him if I could switch to have Officer Iida instead , but he was already pushing me away to where Sergeant Bakugou was . The red hair and him were talking , and I knew I was going to get potentially screamed at for interrupting but here goes nothing .

“U-uhm, excuse me Sergeant .” I silently cursed myself for stuttering , his crimson eyes were already glaring at me he was about to yell but the red hair put his large palm on his shoulder . “Commander told m-me , you would be training me . ” I stated , accidentally making it sound more like a question then a statement.

Bakugou leaned his head back and my eyes fell on their uniforms . The red hair was extremely muscular , his muscular body was almost splurging out of the navy blue police uniform .

“Get the shit then boot , why the hell are you standing around for huh? You think because you went to Masayoshi your special , let me break it to you your not . Your worthless and you just proved it to me when you sat in my seat , did the academy not teach you rookies sit in front ? Or are you that pathetic and stupid .” He yelled in my face , I felt like crying again .

“Katsuki sto-” the red hair tried to interrupt him but Bakugou cut him off . “I’m going to make you drop out of UAPD , show how much of a lost cause you are .” He snapped at me , I bit my lip to try to stop myself from wanting to cry .

“Yes , sergeant Bakugou .” I nodded my head , it was silly of me to think this job would be easy and smooth .

Walking out of the room I took a deep breath , I made it to the equipment room . I gathered my bullet proof vest wrapping it around my torso , and then I slid my radio into my police uniform pocket . I was just about to turn my body cam on until a large hand and a scent of Carmel cologne covered it .

“I wasn’t lying when I told you I’m going to make this job absolute hell for you , boot .” Bakugou whispered into my ear , his face was close to mine . “Now get the firearms and head into the patrol car .”

He walked away leaving me there, my cheeks felt like they were heating up so vibrantly but I hit the inside of my cheek stopping it. Even though he was tormenting his body was . . . Respectfully muscular and toned .

I can’t believe I'm gushing over my boss's body right now .

I slid the firearm into the holster, still feeling the weight of Bakugou’s words pressing on me. My hands shook slightly, but I forced myself to steady them. You’ve made it this far, Y/N. Don’t let him scare you out of this.

I walked out into the parking lot, scanning for the patrol car. My heart sank when I saw Bakugou already inside, engine running, looking more irritated than ever. His crimson eyes zeroed in on me as I approached, and I could feel the intensity of his glare even through the windshield.

I opened the door and slid into the passenger seat, quickly fastening my seatbelt. Bakugou didn't waste any time slamming his foot on the gas, jerking the car into motion before I could even get fully settled.

"Get your shit together, rookie," he growled. "You move too damn slow. This ain't some damn academy drill."

I bit my tongue, trying not to react. The city passed by in a blur as Bakugou weaved through traffic, clearly annoyed with everything — and especially with me.

“You’re gonna sit there and stare out the window all day, or are you gonna actually do your job and read the patrol log?” Bakugou snapped, slapping the tablet onto my lap with unnecessary force.

“Y-yes, Sergeant,” I stammered, fumbling with the device.

"Don't 'yes, Sergeant' me," he barked. "Act like you know what the hell you're doing. I don’t have time for you to play catch-up, rookie."

I quickly pulled up the patrol log, reading through the dispatches. The patrol route was mostly routine — nothing major so far. I tried to ignore the feeling of Bakugou’s eyes occasionally flicking over to me, like he was waiting for me to mess up.

“Spit it out, rookie. What’s the first stop?” Bakugou demanded.

“Uh, there's a potential disturbance call at Tsubasa Street," I answered, trying to keep my voice steady. "A neighbor reported loud shouting—"

"I know what the fuck a disturbance is, I don’t need the damn definition," he cut me off. "Next time, just tell me the address."

"Y-yes, Sergeant," I muttered, feeling my face heat up again from embarrassment .

The tension in the car felt suffocating as we made our way to the location. Bakugou kept muttering curses under his breath, occasionally glancing at me like he was annoyed I even existed.

When we arrived at Tsubasa Street, Bakugou parked with a sharp jerk of the wheel, nearly sending me flying forward in my seat.

“Get out,” he ordered, already out of the car before I had even unclipped my seatbelt.

I scrambled out after him, adjusting my vest and following closely. Bakugou didn’t wait for me, striding up to the apartment complex with purpose, and I had to half-jog to keep up with his long, confident strides.

"Stay behind me, and for fuck’s sake, don’t make a sound unless I tell you to," Bakugou growled under his breath. He moved like a predator, all coiled strength and aggression.

We reached the door, and Bakugou gave a swift knock. No answer.

“Useless. Figures,” he muttered, then pounded on the door with the side of his fist, his whole body radiating impatience.

Finally, the door opened, revealing a disheveled man who looked like he’d just woken up.

“Police. We got a call about a disturbance,” Bakugou said, voice flat but laced with authority. "Mind telling us what the hell’s going on?"

The man blinked, rubbing his eyes. "Disturbance? Oh—uh, yeah, me and my girl were just having a… disagreement. Nothing big. She left, though."

"Where’d she go?" Bakugou asked, his tone ice-cold.

The man shifted uncomfortably. "I don't know, man, she just walked out. Probably went to cool off."

"Yeah? And how about we take a look inside, just to be sure?"

I watched as Bakugou leaned closer to the man, his entire demeanor screaming ‘don’t mess with me.’ The man swallowed hard, backing up to let us in.

The apartment was a mess—furniture overturned, a couple of broken plates on the floor, and signs that a serious fight had taken place. My gut twisted. This didn’t look like a simple "disagreement."

Bakugou’s eyes swept over the scene, his jaw clenching. “Looks like more than just words were thrown around in here.”

I stayed silent, watching him work. He was harsh, rude even, but there was no denying Bakugou’s instincts. He moved like he knew exactly what had happened before the guy even had a chance to explain.

"Tell me the truth, or I swear, I’ll make sure your next stop is a cell," Bakugou warned, his voice low and dangerous.

The man’s face went pale. “Look, man, it was an argument, okay? I didn’t touch her—”

Here's an edited and improved version of your scene to make it more engaging and polished:

“Save the excuses," Bakugou cut him off, his voice sharp as a blade. I stood by, my lips pressed into a tight line as I watched the tense exchange.

The man, dark hair slick with sweat, furrowed his brows in frustration and sighed. "Can I at least use the damn bathroom in my own house? Then I'll tell you where she went," he groaned, shooting an annoyed glance in my direction.

I hesitated, unsure of how to respond. Bakugou's piercing gaze was fixed on me, clearly expecting me to make the call. My throat tightened, but I forced myself to stand straighter. “Uh… okay, but be quick. You’ve got two minutes,” I said, trying to sound more confident than I felt.

The man turned and walked toward what looked like the bathroom. For a second, I thought it was going to be fine—until he suddenly spun around and bolted for the door.

“Shit,” I muttered, instinctively looking to Bakugou, whose crimson eyes were burning holes into me.

“Well, don’t just stand there, boot! Go after him!” he barked, crossing his arms with a amused smirk.

My stomach sank, but I snapped into action, sprinting out the door. I scanned the street, people bustling around in the afternoon heat. Come on, Y/N… think. Where would he go?

Then, I saw him. The suspect was leaping over a fence at the end of the block. Without thinking, I pushed my legs harder, running after him. My heart pounded in my chest as I reached the fence, adrenaline surging through me. I jumped and cleared it in one fluid motion, still hot on his trail.

He was fast, but I wasn’t about to let him slip through my fingers. With a final burst of speed, I lunged forward, tackling him to the ground. The man struggled beneath me, but I pinned him down, grabbing my cuffs.

“Turn around! Hands behind your back!” I commanded, breathless but determined. I snapped the cuffs on him, securing his wrists behind his back.

Panting, I stood up and pulled him to his feet, adrenaline still coursing through me. That’s when I heard slow, mocking clapping behind me.

“Well, well… maybe you’re not as fucking useless as I thought,” Bakugou said, arms still crossed as he approached, a smirk playing on his lips.

I swallowed hard, my breath coming in shallow gasps, but I couldn’t help the small spark of pride that flickered inside me. Bakugou might be impossible to please, but I’d proved myself—at least for now.

[dragonslaved]

I've been rewatching Utena for the first time in. Gosh. well over 15 years. I think the last time I truly watched this series beginning to end was, at the latest, 2006. But my partner has never seen it. We're in the final 5 episodes, and I had to watch ahead to check for content warnings and the art/animation direction for the Apocalypse arc is so subtle and sinister.

Up until this point, Utena when she's in her dueling garb has been fairly unchanged except for the added flourishes to her uniform.

Just the added epaulette and tassels, the bit of ruffle at the bottom of her uniform coat.

But once she hits the Apocalypse arc, once she begins using the gondola to the arena and Anthy is pulling her sword from Utena, there is the most subtle change: she starts having lipstick on during the duels.

Anthy does as well. It's such a subtle thing that no one brings attention to. When you know what Akio is doing to her, when you know what's coming for her in the end, this subtle change is so glaring and blatant. On a first blind watch, you may not even notice it. Or if you do (like my partner did), you may not even question it.

One other subtle thing is Dios. In all the duels before when he appears, he's this featureless, faceless image.

(Literally, the final frame I can get of him coming down. This is as much as we see.)

But once she meets Akio properly, once he starts grooming her, there's the slightest change. I never really caught it before until this watch, and I know my partner didn't catch it at all.

They're such quick, subtle changes as Utena falls further and further into Akio's hands. I'm glad I'm rewatching this after so long, noticing new things to appreciate in its production.

I know for folks who have watched this series more often than I have, these are likely obvious things that have been spoken about repeatedly. But man. It really hit me this watch through.

[transmascutena]

Hey hey, I forget if you've ever posted about this, but one thing that fascinates me about Utena is the food side of everything. How Akio bakes, how Anthy basically only successfully makes shaved ice, and how Utena talks about the food going bad from lack of refrigeration. How it's not the job of the Rose Bride to cook. How Wakaba being able to prepare food makes her a good wife. I have thoughts about this, but I'll avoid saying too much because I wanna hear what you have to say too

i have gotten an ask about anthy's cooking before, where i talked about the ability to make food as a symbol for agency/freedom/independence, and how anthy can cook certain things like festival food, shaved ice, rosehip jam, the cantarella cookies, but not really anything that counts as a substantial meal (the curry is a bit of an outlier here. i guess it shows that her agency is mainly expressed through messing with nanami?) anthy says she wants to get better at cooking, and i'm inclined to believe her. i think she has the potential to be good at it too, but that akio has.... discouraged her from trying, as a way to make her more reliant on him. although, i actually can't recall if akio ever does anything in the kitchen other than (allegedly) bake that cake to impress utena, so maybe i'm way off. or maybe that's another piece of symbolism i haven't quite figured out.

you bring up a good point about gender roles here in regards to wakaba too. cooking is traditionally a woman's role in a lot of cultures, which makes it interesting that anthy, who as the rose bride is supposedly meant to be the ideal bride/wife not only cannot cook very well, but, according to touga, should not cook at all? i guess that ties back to the agency thing, though. but does wakaba have a lot of agency? she has a certain degree of freedom, at least, that comes with not being tied up in the main narrative most of the time. i'm not sure. i think food and cooking is one of the (many) things within this show that does not have one specific meaning that can be used to interpret everything related to it. i suppose my conclusion is that cooking can be both a limiting role if it's forced on you (in the sense of "you need to cook well to make for a good wife which is of course something you should want to be"), and something liberating if you do it for yourself. it's also just kind of a necessary survival skill, which is why it's so telling that anthy doesn't have it.

surprisingly enough i've never really posted about utena's food talk in episode 33 or how it may or may not play into this symbolism, so i guess i'll take this as an opportunity to do that. first, during the othello game, she talks about messing up measurements when cooking, and about the flavor coming out wrong. "you can't undo it once it's done." this shows her worries about what is happening/what will happen, and is already hinting at her regret afterward. it's a metaphor, but it also kind of ties into the agency symbolism. it tells us that utena is not very good at cooking either, and hints at the similarities between her and anthy. later she talks about what to make for lunch the next day. she's rambling, trying to distract herself, dissociating, and i don't tend to read a lot into what specifically she's saying. that's not really what's important. however, i do think it's signicant that she's bringing up anthy, for one, but mostly that she's talking about something urgent she needs to do that isn't here. she's making excuses to go home, to stop. if you buy the cooking as agency thing, utena's worry about the food going bad could once again reflect her worries and doubts about the whole thing. is there symbolism to the fact that she specifically brings up salmon and eggs and asparagus and sandwiches? maybe. but i think it's too easy to get caught up in all the little details and miss or ignore the bigger picture of what actually matters (very vaguely referring to an analysis of this scene that i hate. if you know you know.)

[inazumaeleven-headcanon-space]

Ekhem

MORE

ANGST

(Kind of)

(Not realy)

This one is about their family dynamics.

1. **Endou Mamoru**

- **Family**: Endou’s family is complicated. His mom got married young and got divorced soon later but she was already pregnant with endou at the time. She got re-married when Endou was 6 and is married happily.

2. **Gouenji Shuuya**

- **Family** Gouenji has a older brother who moved out at 18 after a big argument with his father. He is 24 while Gouenji is 15. They dont have a close relathionship but his brother is trying hard.

3. **Kidou Yuuto**

- **Family**: Kidou feels conflicted about his adopted family; while grateful, he occasionally wonders what his life would have been like if he had grown up with his biological family. He has a step cousin (i dont if thats a thing) they are preety close.

4. **Kabeyama Heigorou**

- **Family**: Kabeyama’s parents are still together, though his father was often critical of him growing up, focusing on physical strength over emotional intelligence. His mother is very supportive, though, and always tried to encourage him.

5. **Kazemaru Ichirouta**

- **Family**: Kazemaru's parents are divorced, and he lives with his mother. He has a difficult time with the split, feeling caught between both parents, especially since his father remarried and had another child, which caused a rift between them. His mother is in a lesbian relathionship. He is close with her partner.

6. **Domon Asuka**

- **Family**: Domon was raised by a single mother who works multiple jobs, and while they are close, there is often tension due to her work commitments. He’s never met his father, as his parents divorced before he was born.

7. **Ichinose Kazuya**

- **Family**: Ichinose comes from a traditional family, but his parents have been distant emotionally. His mother was more nurturing, while his father was strict and demanding. Eventually, his parents separated when he was 12 due to conflicting values on how to raise him.

8. **Tsunami Jousuke**

- **Family**: Tsunami comes from a large family, and his parents are happily together. His father is a sailor, and his mother works in marine biology, so he was raised with a deep love for the ocean and travel. His parents were a lavender marriege and tsunami is their only biological son. Then rest is adopted.

9. **Tachimukai Yuuki**

- **Family**: Tachimukai was raised by his father, as his mother left the family when he was young. His father was distant and cold, prioritizing work over their relationship.

10. **Fubuki Shirou**

- **Family**: Fubuki was adopted by a gay couple who realy love him but Fubuki has a hard time adjusting to them since he still grieves his family.

11. **Sakuma Jirou**

- **Family**: Sakuma’s parents are very close with him, even tho they are both politician. They are protecting him from the press as much as they can

12. **Fudou Akio**

- **Family**: Fudou was adopted by a single business woman after FFI when his mother passed away due to an accident. After a while they grew to love each other.

13. **Kurimatsu Teppei**

- **Family**: Kurimatsu comes from a loving family where both his parents are supportive of his endeavors. However, they are very traditional, and his father especially pushes him to take over the family business.

14. **Kogure Yuuya**

- **Family**: Kogure got adopted by his father after FFI. He found him through tv after searching for him for years.

15. **Utsunomiya Toramaru**

- **Family**: Toramaru was raised by his mother. He never met his father who died soon after He was born. His sister knew him better dosnt like to talk about him so he has no info absout his father.

16. **Hijikata Raiden**

- **Family**: Raiden comes from a BIG family. Like very big, his parents are laid back and since Raiden is the oldest he helps his family a lot.

17. **Tobitaka Seiya**

- **Family**: Tobitaka got adopted by Hibiki son, he is a popular lawyer. They are very close with each other and he helped him to cut his delinquent "friends" out of his life.

18. **Afuro Terumi (Aphrodi)**

- **Family**: Aphrodi was raised by his father after his mother passed away when he was young. His father is extremely doting but can be overbearing, often putting too much pressure on Aphrodi.

19. **Rika Urabe**

- **Family**: Rika has a single mother who runs her business. Her father was never in the picture, and she has a somewhat strained relationship with him, as he was absent during her formative years.

20. **Kudou Michiya**

- **Family**: Kudou’s parents are still together, but they are very old-fashioned and push him to succeed in a career that he’s not passionate about, such as taking over their family business. He cut them out and is only close with his sister.

[thejellyfaerie]

What are your headcanon voices for all the skeith husbands? (Skarl, Hagan, Malkus, Gordos, and any others you like)

I'm gonna have to put this under a read more because I prattled on for just a bit longer than I meant to hskdjfh

I love Skarl and Hagan's canon voices from N:TDF. If I had different voices for them in my head before, they don't matter because these ones have permanently overwritten them. We'll likely never get another voice acted piece of Neopets media with Fred Tatasciore and Dwight Schultz voicing the two and it kills me each time I think about it. I'm thankful for the amount of Skarl dialogue and cutscenes we got with him in them, but it's a shame that Hagan got ONE cutscene with dialogue and that was it. I don't know if it's because the team decided that one cutscene that was the first non-news introduction of King Hagan to some Neopets players was all anyone needed*, or if Dwight Schultz was somehow a really expensive guy to get and they were adamant about getting him to be Hagan's VA but it was so costly that they could only get him for a small number of lines. If I ever come across a huge sum of money, I won't say anything, but y'all will know (-cough cough- 5 minute long animated and fully voice acted short of Skarl and Hagan. -cough-) (Fun Fact: I've mentioned it before on this blog but both Fred Tatasciore and Dwight Schultz have voiced Dingodile in the Crash Bandicoot franchise [you could include them both voicing Nemesis Orcs here but they're separate beings and not different instances of the same singular character], and these two have been cast in the same piece of media 44 times! Including but not limited to: Chowder, Invader Zim, Yakuza, MadWorld, and Lego Dimensions.)

I have thought before about "What if something voice acted with well-known VAs were possible again but they couldn't get the TDF cast back?" and while I didn't look into voice actors for every character, I feel like JB Blanc would be a good choice for Skarl (his Kingpin voice from TASM2), both because he could do a voice that isn't exactly like the one Fred Tatasciore did but it's still very close IMO. Especially if you consider they both did Nemesis Olog voices in Middle-earth: Shadow of War. And because it would be amusing to no end for me that King Skarl and Saxton Hale from Team Fortress 2 would share a voice actor.

While still in the realm of N:TDF... going into watching clips a year back, I had known Keith Ferguson voiced Gordos, but at some point, my brain mixed up him with Keith Silverstein, so when I heard Gordos' voice, I was caught pretty off-guard. It's not a bad voice! It's just so far off from what I had in my head by that point that even after listening to his canon voice multiple times, I just can't unstick Keith Silverstein's "MaleCondescending" voice from Skyrim as my headcanon Gordos voice, regardless of if it fits the character or not. ("Do you get to the Money District very often? Oh, what am I saying - of course you don't.")

Malkus Vile: Doug Stone. Listen to him as the Junkyard Man from Pluto or Akio Kawazu from Paranoia Agent (this one is quite a bit longer.) If it were just a lil' bit deeper than these examples, it would be perfect.

Bigsby Shadington: Jacksepticeye. There's just something that when I look at him, I fully expect to hear Seán's voice coming out of that mouth.

Commander Flint: Jon St. John as Axe from DOTA 2.

I'd like to include more like Snargan, but no joke, I've been at this for a few hours because as soon as I get into sifting around voice actors and roles on BTVA and watching clips on Youtube to listen to scenes or even seeking out full episodes of shows to find a character, it's over. I only stopped to get up and make food lmao

(*Small tangent: Does TNT hate Hagan or something? It feels like they made him during the development of TDF for game purposes, introduced him on the site, made a few flash games, and then dropped him. To be fair, quite a lot of site NPCs were made and then immediately forgotten about after they were used for a plot or a flash game, but compared to some of the other land rulers like Princess Amira or King Kelpbeard, Hagan's been pretty neglected on account of not being given much of a speaking role in just about anything post-TDF and any inclusion in a plot comic has been... redrawing him in the background with the same pose and expression multiple times. How many words has he spoken in TVW, anyways?)

[arweenie64]

hold on hold on hold on okay I'm gonna utenapost sorry so obviously Kiriona is the prince- but she's also kind of the rose bride. Shes an imaginary living body. John forced her soul to cling to her corpse and play out the role that was most convenient for him. She can't die because she's already dead, but he goes one step further and ensures that she is near physically impenetrable- all because he wants her to perpetually fight at the front lines of a war waged SPECIFICALLY against him (just as anthy becomes the target for the swords of hatred, which were meant specifically for akio).

I think if I had to link this instance of intertextuality to specific themes id say its really playing with this concept of sacrifice and pushing it to its limits, showing how one's identity can get so caught up in what they feel their worth is to others, or perhaps more accurately, the system. This makes me really excited to see how this iteration of Gideon's character continues to develop in Alecto (hopefully). Will she, like Anthy, learn the power of hashtag hitting the bricks, and decide not to take part in the oppressive system shes been molded into (bc if u remember at the end of Nona she thinks becoming Johns cavalier will just fix everything. Her idea of change is simply adhering to the same systems in a sense)??!?!? Idk and I'm very excited to see where all this stuff goes okay byeeeee