#hanged women tag

[theodysseyofhomer]

"odysseus is [depicted as being] justified in murdering the twelve women because they [are depicted as having] betrayed the household that provides for them" yeah i know, i just don't think it means we can't interrogate the odyssey further. that is an accurate description of what the text portrays and believes, but even so, it's loaded with assumptions. why does the text assume they slept with the suitors willingly when they are otherwise depicted without much interiority (melantho's feelings about eurymachus are ambiguous even compared to melanthius)? if they weren't willing, would it have been depicted differently, and how? if they were willing, what might have made those relationships look attractive or strategic or safe to them? why are they dependent on the household in the first place? why are some readers resistant to the extension of compassion toward them? does that have anything to do with the text's depiction of them? is that worth pushing back against?

i mean, obviously i think the answer to the last question is yes. you should try to understand the context of odysseus' actions, but you should also try to understand the actions of the slaves, even though (and especially because) the text cares about them less. you can interrogate how it portrays and what it believes about power. the odyssey is thousands of years old; it can take it

[somethingaboutmint]

Quick ugly doodle of cassidy contemplating her sexuality at some dump somewhere

[radellama]

I wanna talk about Ryuusui cause I've been thinking about him. He's kind of an invert of (or somewhat adjacent to) the trope of living up to expectations. You become the monster because that's how people see you anyway...

He's greedy he's selfish he's self centred he's a bit of a brat and whatever other thing you can think to call a hedonist and privileged rich kid. These generally aren't seen as positive things to be, but Ryuusui takes these in stride and is proud to be all of them!

He's the greediest because he wants it all, so he can share it all. You'll have to pay for it, of course - but the option to buy it will be there. If HE'S having a good time, that means EVERYONE is capable of having a good time.

It's a funny way to turn such a negative connotation on its head.

No one will in the village will worry about starvation ever again! Why? Because I'm greedy enough to want more delicious food!

I just find it amusing and quite endearing that a character that could've so easily been annoying and grating based on the cores of his personality type, is instead a refreshing remix of those cores.

He's a rich kid, everyone was going to look at him and call him spoilt and greedy anyway. Why not take it in stride and use the power that comes with money to be greedy in the best possible way?

This also ties into what I like about Francois so much - their understanding of Ryuusui complements his more outlandish behaviour by recontextualising it.

Mild spoilers for the manga, but further on Francois acts as a translator quite often to ensure that people near them won't suffer because of a language barrier. They're able to translate and make sure concepts are understood so everyone is on the same page

Francois is incredibly perceptive (almost supernaturally so!) They are not only able to anticipate, but problem solve and create solutions based on those observations.

What we've already started to see in the anime with Francois in this one episode is how they're able to recontextualise Ryuusui! They understand that he's greedy to such a point of sincerity, and that's what keeps him moving forward.

And as it's been said, greed isn't necessarily a bad thing in this stone world. It's helping to motivate quick advancements that are going to be beneficial to everyone ;)

He's been super fun to read about and I hope he becomes even more fun as we get to see him animated. There's so many great moments coming up that will be really exciting >:)

[grenadineghost]

trick or treat!

happy halloween!!! this year i am giving out spooky short stories :3

looks like you unwrapped Six Hangings In The Land of Unkillable Women by Theodore McCombs! This story explores an alternate world where, at the start of the 20th century, women became impossible to kill. Rather than using this as a feel-good uplifting pop feminism story, however, McCombs's story is filled with anxiety about patriarchy, what it means to be a woman, and the horror of a world where women worry about being killed.

Sleepless and humiliated, he broke into the house and strangled Mrs. Holcomb with her tin necklace, and when it snapped, with a pajama cord—and when that failed, he dragged a kitchen knife over her throat—and when the knife chipped, and the shard cut Mill’s eye, Mrs. Holcomb ran into the street calling for help, towing her bewildered daughter by the wrist.

happy hauntings!

[theodysseyofhomer]

i've noticed that when people attempt to handle the horror of the hanged women in the odyssey with care, there is an impulse to make penelope sympathetic to them. one problem with this is that i've read the odyssey, and she clearly isn't, but more tellingly: we know that she used to favor melantho, but any care she had for her has been shoved firmly into the past tense since melantho put a toe out of line. because melantho isn't a real daughter, she's a slave. because this is an issue of class, not female solidarity.

whatever penelope may believe about herself, she is not capable of caring for enslaved women in any meaningful way. this also goes for the rest of the slave-owning class in homer, and probably homer himself (if for the sake of brevity you want to call "homer" a "self"), which i bring up because i think you have to understand the perspective of the text to challenge it. but i notice this problem particularly with penelope because i find her complex and fascinating and i want other people to find her complex and fascinating and give her her dues, but i simply do not think you can do so by making her care about women she owns.

[jyou-no-sonoko19]

Seasons of Lilith is currently close to the end of its first arc, and I thought it would be fun to get it back in the tag, rather than reblogging the same post, which is stuck in its comfy orbit.

If you're feeling nostalgic for CAoS and if you read Answers for Mary, please consider picking up SoL, which I humbly believe to be a solid development of the style and themes of AfM. For a neat breakdown of the AfMverse timeline, as well as links to all the small fics that fall before AfM, between it and SoL, and after SoL, check out this post.

SEASONS OF LILITH CHAPTERS, ARC ONE:

Chapter One: A Path Obscured Chapter Two: Prevention is Better Chapter Three: Seals and Scaffolding Chapter Four: A Feeling That Persists Chapter Five: Atmospheric Pressure Chapter Six: To Converse, with Past and Future Chapter Seven: False Equivalence Chapter Eight: Expectations Chapter Nine: Prelude, in Reproach Sharp Chapter Ten: Onward and Inward Chapter Eleven: The Memory of Bones Chapter Twelve: Postpartum, fragment i Chapter Thirteen: Postpartum, fragment ii Chapter Fourteen: Postpartum, fragment iii Chapter Fifteen: Postpartum, abscedo  Chapter Sixteen: Creatures of Limbo Chapter Seventeen: Precarities of Trust Chapter Eighteen: Breathing Room Chapter Nineteen: Guilt by Omission Chapter Twenty: Outsiders Chapter Twenty-one: Conditional Release Chapter Twenty-two: Poco a poco Chapter Twenty-three: Abeyance of Vision Chapter Twenty-four: Confessions and Heresies (of the Heart)  Chapter Twenty-five: No Less Defiant in Knots Chapter Twenty-six: La Grande Trompeuse

[luv-lee]

You can relax!!

[fictionallyinparadise]

Not to be gay on main but...........f/o body hair goobd

[theodysseyofhomer]

odysseus and penelope's slaves: a primer.

eurycleia: odysseus' childhood nurse, as well as telemachus'. her backstory is briefly mentioned (book 1): she is the daughter of ops, bought by odysseus' father laertes when she was young. specific mention is made that laertes never slept with her, in order to keep peace with his wife anticleia. (her name has the opposite meaning of odysseus' mother's.) at the time of the odyssey she is old, and among named slaves has probably been with the family the longest. she is the only character who recognizes odysseus unprompted (and he threatens to kill her about it). they trust her heavily throughout the plot to kill the suitors; afterward, she handpicks the other enslaved women who have slept with the suitors, so that odysseus can execute them. if i were to beg for one thing, it would be that you consider what living in close proximity to her owners for so long might do to her psychologically, and how her experience with laertes might skew her view of the "disloyal" women.

eurynome: another older woman who attends penelope (and eventually odysseus).

hippodameia and autonoe: two younger slave girls who attend penelope.

actoris: a slave penelope mentions once (book 23) as the only person besides her and odysseus who knows the secret of the olive tree bed, because she used to guard their room. actoris was given to penelope by her father. it's possible that she's already dead by the time of the odyssey, as she never appears in person.

the unnamed traitors to penelope: three times in the odyssey, we hear the story of penelope unweaving a shroud for laertes at night to hold off the suitors. two of those times the suitors tell it, and say that a female slave told them the truth of what was going on. later penelope tells the beggar-who-is-odysseus, and she says that they caught her in the act with the help of her slave girls.

dolius, his unnamed sons, and their unnamed mother: dolius is another slave given to penelope by her father (book 4). now an old man, he seems to look after odysseus' father laertes, who no longer lives in the main house. father of melantho, melanthius, and six other sons by a sicilian woman who also cares for laertes. it is unclear whether she is the mother of all dolius' children, or only the six sons present in the farmhouse. dolius' first and last appearance on page is in book 24, when he greets and kisses odysseus; in the text, he never learns that odysseus has executed two of his children.

melantho: the daughter of dolius, who penelope raised "like a daughter" and pampered (book 18), though clearly only to a point. she is sleeping with the suitor eurymachus (also book 18). the text doesn't offer insight into how she actually feels about eurymachus.* she has two scenes, and in both insults the beggar. both odysseus and penelope berate her and call her a dog. melantho is often assumed to be the one who betrayed penelope's weaving ruse to the suitors, but this is never stated in the odyssey.

[*EDIT: the translations i have read and have on hand to check (fagles, wilson, fitzgerald, lattimore) describe melantho variously as sleeping with eurymachus, making love to him, being his lover, or being his sweetheart. to me, these words indicated an action or a role rather than her internal feelings or state of mind. but there are also translations that say she loved him. the greek phrase in question is μισγέσκετο καὶ φιλέεσκεν—the former word seems undoubtedly sexual, and the latter derived from phileo, which also does, or can, denote love or affection. this is basically the extent to which i am able to discuss the greek, but as far as i can tell, both translations (sexual or non-sexual) are valid here. it's ambiguous.]

melanthius: the son of dolius and brother of melantho, a goatherd who sides (vehemently) with the suitors. it is said that eurymachus is his favorite (book 17). he insults the beggar and eumaeus multiple times as well. he is present for the bow contest, helping the suitors, and when the slaughter begins, he brings them armor and weapons. odysseus orders the two herdsman on his side to tie him up, hoist him into the rafters, and torture him. they leave him tied until after the fighting, when "the men" (presumably odysseus, telemachus, eumaeus, and philoetius) cut off his nose, ears, and genitals to feed to the dogs, then chop off his hands and feet.

the unnamed hanged women: twelve (out of fifty) enslaved women whom eurycleia handpicks for death, because they were sleeping with the suitors (according to her, book 22). all the enslaved women are hiding during the slaughter; afterward, eurycleia goes to them, calls the twelve, and brings them to odysseus, who has them clean up the corpses and blood. odysseus means to execute them with swords when they're done, but telemachus decides to hang them instead, specifically to deny them a clean death. melantho is presumed to be one of these twelve. like with her, the text offers no insight into how they feel about the suitors.

eumaeus: a swineherd with an extensive backstory told in book 15. his father ctesius was the king of syria, but his enslaved nurse ran away and took him with her, intending to sell him, when he was too young to know better. she died on the ship, and laertes bought him in ithaca. like melantho, he was brought up there by the queen, in proximity to odysseus' younger sister ctimene. when they were older, ctimene was married and eumaeus sent to the country. he is well-off enough to own a slave of his own. in the odyssey, eumaeus personally takes care of the beggar, tells him all about the situation in the palace, and tries to protect him from the suitors, though he is openly skeptical of anything the beggar has to say about odysseus. when telemachus returns to ithaca, it's eumaeus he goes to first, greeting him like a family member. odysseus finally trusts his identity to eumaeus right before he wins the bow contest. he promises to give him a wife, wealth, and a house near the palace (and freedom, implicitly? unsure). eumaeus participates in the slaughter, the torture of melanthius, and possibly the executions. if i were to beg for one thing regarding eumaeus, it would be to consider how often in ancient literature, the only enslaved characters who are portrayed with dignity or sympathy are those who were, at one point, nobility.

mesaulius: a slave who serves and cleans up after eumaeus. eumaeus traded for him while odysseus was away, with his own money (book 14).

philoetius: a cowherd and overseer. like eumaeus, he is kind to the beggar and expresses loyalty to odysseus. he says that he would have run away, except that he still holds out hope for odysseus' return. odysseus reveals himself to philoetius along with eumaeus and promises him the same things (wife, wealth, a house). also participates in the slaughter, torture, and executions.

medon: house slave who has become a favorite of the suitors, but reports on them to penelope (book 4). telemachus tells odysseus to spare him (along with phemius, the bard) due to medon caring for him when he was young. medon then comes out of hiding to corroborate this and profess his loyalty. toward the end, medon hears the people of ithaca assembling to avenge the suitors and tries to discourage them, saying that he personally saw a god helping odysseus.

-

a lot of other unnamed slaves are mentioned in passing. i love the passage in book 20 when odysseus overhears an enslaved woman grinding grain as she prays to zeus for relief from the suitors. to odysseus, this is an omen, but it's also a very human moment which has nothing to do with him. there are more like this; i couldn't include all of them.

i wrote this up because i see a lot of people who are more familiar with retellings of the odyssey than the epic itself getting interested in these characters, often without really understanding a) that they are enslaved and b) how they function in the odyssey. both those things are important to grasp, if you're going to question both the assumptions of the cultural world of the poem and many knee-jerk modern responses to it—including what is, or isn't, deemed suitable in a retelling.

[aldieb]

my strongest defenses of rothfuss are 1) i originally had my brain blown wide open by his stuff at age 13 and i think his books are absolutely on teens’ level in that way. unfortunately they are not marketed as ya 2) there are so many “massive book bricks” fantasy series out there where the author isn’t even trying to approach writing as an art form and i will always get behind those who do bc i like brick series and i want them to evolve and flourish

[challenge-ant]

I was going to post another ant and dec in other things from b/ridget c/hristie's new sitcom but it's just l/iza ta/rbuck calling them cunts and I thought maybe not. dshjhjdsk

[skeletonwithakeyboard]

Before I go to bed I wanna say this

With everything going on in the world, with joy on layaway and so much more I wanna add something.

Don't try to be a perfect gay, don't try to be a perfect woman, a perfect trans, a perfect minority, a perfect victim. Being perfect won't stop them, it never did, it will only cause you to turn on each other and bring you self hate. Those who voted against you will find a way to make you unworthy of existence, your indifference will be framed as bad, your intelligences will be framed as bad, your willingness will be framed as bad.

Don't be perfect, be kind, be understanding, but don't be perfect. Be you, be angry, be shaken, be guarded. Feel what everyone else would feel if they were in your shoes.

You can love, please love. Love yourself, love those who return your love, love love, love.. Breathing.

I love you, and I will try to remember this message myself ❤💚💛🖤

[pricesprincess]

part two here

you tell your new group of friends you made at work about your ex-husband and what to expect when he drops off your daughter.

who is a carbon copy of her dad and a daddy's girl all the way. "he's broody and doesn't say much but does everything for simone."

you were excited to finally see her after a weekend away from her, the two days were silent. "that's him?" one asked with a slack jaw.

she looked at you as did the other women whom you ignored as simone wiggled free from her dad's arms to run over to the front desk thankfully the waiting room was empty for her to do so.

simon stood in the back with a pink, purple, and green bag hanging from his fist as he watched his daughter snuggle up to you so closely. he felt his heart flutter like it does each time this happens.

though you've been pushing for a divorce he refused to sign the papers and you were tired of fighting him. "hi baby girl, did you have a good time with daddy?" you asked tucking a piece of hair behind her ear with a soft smile and kisses that you peppered on her forehead.

"i did! daddy got me a new doll and took me out for ice cream! i also got to hang out with uncle soap!" she giggled and glanced at her dad who came closer giving you the bag with a silent gaze.

the women behind you watched with a curious glaze in their eyes as simon looked at you like there wasn't a separation between you both. "i'm sure soap loved that, you're very much loved honey bug."

simone grinned and greeted your coworkers with a wave before turning to run back to simon letting him scoop her up in a tight hug. he dreaded this with a passion. "i'll see you later princess." he sighed.

you serving him papers still left a hole in his heart and this only widens it each time he had to tell you both goodbye. "okay daddy i'll call you tonight! i love you!" she murmured and hugged his neck.

coming closer you took simone from simon and looked at him. "we can talk tonight." you promised giving him hope that the spark could come back.

comments and relogs with tags are really appreciated <3

[sttoru]

sukunas fav concubine being bullied by the other concubines?? maybe they push her into the fountain 👀👀👀

·.⌇ 𝐒𝐘𝐍𝐎𝐏𝐒𝐈𝐒. being bullied because you’re sukuna’s favorite concubine is nothing out of the ordinary. when sukuna finally notices the harassment you’re going through, he doesn’t hold back.

wc. 2.2k-ish

tags. true form!sukuna x concubine! female reader. fluff, angst (hurt to comfort). heian era. bullying. one mention of d.ecapitation. vile language. reader gets called ‘brat’. beta reading? what’s that

“she’s got nothing going on for her,” “right? i don’t get what he sees in her,” “tch—he’s only using her for her body anyway,” “duhh. he can’t be pleased by her looks. i mean, she’s really ugly. i bet he thinks of her as just ‘nother hole to use. . .”

and the shushed gossips continue. the concubines hanging around the garden have noticed your arrival, though do nothing to stop badmouthing you. they couldn’t care less if you hear what they say.

you’re used to it by now. you’ve adjusted to this life of yours as one of sukuna’s concubines. his favourite at that—which automatically makes you a victim of verbal (and sometimes physical) harassment. the other women in the ruthless sorcerer’s harem can’t stand you.

your eyes are glued to the path you’re walking on. your lady-in-waiting doesn’t utter a single word as well, holding her head low as she follows behind you. you know that the concubines will immediately pick on you if you make eye contact with one of them.

it’s moments like these where you actually miss sukuna. his intimidating presence and (in)direct threats would immediately make the others fall silent. you wouldn’t have to hear them call you nasty names.

though, unlucky you, sukuna’s out on business. uraume is left as a temporary supervisor of the entire estate. to make sure nothing goes wrong. despite all of that, you still find yourself in an unfortunate predicament.

“hey. we’re talking to you,” a female voice rings from behind you. it isn’t your lady-in-waiting, but the brown-haired woman whom you recognise as one of sukuna’s concubines. her name. . . you can’t recall.

she forcefully pushes your shoulder with two fingers. you stumble backwards, nearly tripping over the material of your kimono. you look down at the hem and notice a subtle muddy stain on the cloth now that you’ve accidentally stepped on it.

you curse the woman out under your breath. the kimono is one of your favorites since sukuna had it made and tailored to suit your taste.

“my apologies,” you mumble politely. you do not wish to make a scene as much as you want to defend yourself. not in front of those poor servants who are simply minding their business and tending to the garden.

the lady scoffs. another one joins. soon, four of them surround you, leaving you no place to escape the situation. with every step you take back, they take one forward. it’s intimidating, though you try to make it seem like you’re not afraid of their words.

“tell me,” the blonde one speaks up and her hand trails up your arm. she twirls a strand of your hair around her index finger before harshly tugging at it. you wince, but she doesn’t budge, “tell me what sukuna sees in a worthless slut like you.”

it’s about sukuna every time. you’re getting sick of the way they treat you because of something you can’t control. you don’t know why he favors you out of all the other women at his service. the way you’re treated because of something that you cannot change is getting frustrating.

the brown-haired woman follows the other lady. she pushes you until the back of your shoe bumps against the edge of a fountain. the grande fountain in the yard that you always love to admire.

the tugs at your hair get stronger. your patience is wearing thin. you take some time to reply to the other concubines, hoping to silence them for now.

you look up at the group surrounding you—a grin tugging at your lips as you decide to taunt them. you scoff, “hah. you cannot blame me for satisfying my lord better than all of you could do together.”

audible gasps sound from the group of concubines. they can’t believe you had the audacity to talk back and be disrespectful about it. the comment you made clearly struck a nerve. or in this case multiple.

“oh, you slut!” the blonde one shrieks, clearly more than upset by your doubts about her services as a concubine. in a flash of rage, she gives you a firm push, sending you backwards until you fall into the fountain with a loud splash.

your lady-in-waiting is the one gasping this time. she looks at you with great worry in her eyes, not knowing if she needs to go fetch uraume or not. she doesn’t have much say in the matter either way.

you’re humiliated by this. you can feel the water seep into the robes of your kimono, staining the beloved material. your hair is wet as well, the water droplets falling off the ends of your locks.

“pah, you look pathetic,” one of the lower ranking concubines chimes in—giggling at the unfortunate situation you got yourself in. the others follow with their own high pitched laughs, “serves you right.”

you don’t even know what you should do. your body feels heavy because of the water wetting your clothes. your nails drag along the fountain’s surface, trying to compose yourself before you do anything irrational.

you grit your teeth and take a deep breath. you’re shaking, both because of the cold settling over your body as well as the anger simmering inside of you. you open your mouth to say something, only to be interrupted.

by someone you didn’t expect to see any time soon.

“enough.”

the deep tone sends chills down your spine. the volume of the male voice nearly shakes the ground. it’s powerful, dominant and quite aggressive. as if the owner of the voice is pissed. no, more than that.

the group of concubines freeze, not even daring to turn around and face the unexpected visitor. you notice your lady-in-waiting immediately falling to her knees, bowing at the man whom you know very well.

“my lord,” you stammer out, being the first to speak up and address him. you’re surprised to see sukuna back this early from his business trip. he normally stays away from the estate for days on end.

sukuna’s footsteps are heavy. his strides are menacingly slow. the aura surrounding him makes the others shake—one concubine being smart enough to bow to him. the king of curses is not one to be messed with, especially when he’s angry.

“tsk. have you lost all your respect while i was gone?” sukuna growls, seeing how the group of concubines are frozen in place with fearful expressions on their faces. the fact that they’re not bowing before him worsens his temper, “kneel.”

he raises one hand and they all knew what was going to happen. you squeal and shut your eyes, hearing that familiar and dooming sound of slashes around you. it doesn’t sound like they’ve hit anything, so you peek through your eyelashes.

you see how the group of women have dropped to their knees the instant sukuna raised his hand in that specific manner. everyone knew just what that meant; death to anyone who’s got their head held high in his presence.

you’ve all seen enough people get decapitated by that same action to know that the sorcerer was not playing around.

sukuna scoffs. he walks up towards you, ignoring the pleas of the other concubines that are begging for his forgiveness. his bottom set of eyes look down at them with disdain before focusing on your figure again.

he silently stands still at the edge of the fountain. his large frame looms over you and you find yourself struggling to get up from the water to bow at him as well. you keep your eyes on your lap, “i’m sorry, my lord.”

sukuna hisses at your apology. a warning for you to shut your mouth. you’re apologising when it’s not your fault and that irritates him more than anything. two of his strong arms reach down to pick you up from your vulnerable position.

the king of curses hoists you over his shoulder like you weigh nothing. he’s not bothered by the fact that you’re dripping wet. in fact, both of his left arms wrap around your torso in attempt to warm you up.

“stay. you’ll all be dealt with accordingly when i return,” sukuna harshly orders your aggressors as he turns around and walks away from the group. he carries you in his arms, not sparing a single glance at his concubines.

he doesn’t even care that he stepped on one of the women’s hands as he passed by. the high pitched shriek only serves to annoy him, which you notice by the way he squeezes your waist in response.

it’s silent between you two for a bit. sukuna steps inside of the estate, his ominous aura making you hesistant to speak. you decide to stay quiet for the sake of keeping the peace. for now.

sukuna’s breathing is a little heavy. he’s trying not to lash out or say anything hurtful. he doesn’t like raising his voice at you—but sometimes he feels like he needs to. especially when you land in situations like those.

“how long has this been going on?” sukuna asks through a heavy sigh. his red eyes are focused on the end of the hallway, where his chambers lay. the veins in his neck look like they could pop out any second now, “and don’t you dare fuckin’ lie to me, y’hear?”

you gulp. you’ve never been so nervous to answer him, ever. you attempt to respond, “uhm, for quite a while, my lord.”

sukuna breathes in sharply at the revelation. the fact that you did not specify your answer only made him think that it’s worse than you’re making it out to be. he stops in his tracks, two hands on your waist as he forces you to face him.

your body dangles in the air as sukuna makes you look at him from up close, showing you that dangerous look in his eyes. you do not dare to avert your gaze from his as he speaks.

“you should’ve told me the moment they started disrespecting you like that,” sukuna grunts. another big hand grabs your jaw firmly, squeezing your cheeks together. you whine as it hurt a little. he scoffs and releases your jaw with a light push, “pathetic.”

you feel your body get thrown into your original position once more. your head is upside down and your legs hang limply over his shoulder. you try to defend yourself in a quiet tone, “i thought you were too busy. i didn’t want to bother you with such unimportant matters.”

it’s true. as much as you wanted to tell sukuna about the mistreatment you were receiving, you knew how busy he was attending to more urgent business. you didn’t want to annoy him with your own problems that you could easily solve.

if only you could stand up for yourself.

“nonsense,” sukuna raises his voice in a moment of weakness, though remembers that you’ve probably been through enough for the day. he doesn’t need to add to that by treating you like shit as well.

he simply sighs it off, “unimportant, huh? ‘s that how you think i view you?”

you raise an eyebrow at sukuna’s last sentence. you’re at a loss for words. you know sukuna values you more than any of his other concubines—it’s the main reason you’re getting bullied for—yet you never heard him speak to you in such a surprisingly soft way.

almost like he’s disappointed that you don’t realise the extent of his favoritsm. he cares about you more than you actually think he does.

“i-i’m sorry, my lord,” you stutter. you really do not have a clue about what to say. all you can do is apologise as you’re left overthinking that one little sentence he said.

“what a brat,” sukuna quickly regains his usual stoic and stern composure. he reaches his chambers and enters his personal bathroom before putting you down on your feet. he looks down at your short stature, feeling the warmth of your body leave his skin once you’re separated.

sukuna watches you shiver. he wants to get angry at you for not telling him about anything that’s been going on while he’s not present, though he simply cannot at the moment.

he’ll let you off the hook for now. but, he’s surely going to give you your own special scolding after he’s taken care of the other concubines. the man grabs a large towel from nearby and messily wraps it around your upper body.

sukuna turns around to walk out of his bathroom, looking over his shoulder once more, “get dressed into something else before you catch a cold.”

he calls for a couple servants to tend to you while he’s away to take care of those deviant concubines. sukuna watches the three maids rush to your service, preparing you a new set of clothes as well as trying to dry you off.

his gaze lingers on you for more than is necessary, his jaw clenching at the sight of you trembling from the low temperatures you’re experiencing. sukuna’s going to make sure those other women pay for what they’ve done to you.

he leaves the bathroom after that, though not without leaving you an order to follow;

“you’re staying in my chambers tonight.”